Thursday, February 28, 2013

Which Second Generation Game Console Boasted The Most Titles?


Answer: The Coleco Vision

In the early 1980s Coleco Industries produced a popular second generation game console, the Coleco Vision, that could play more games than any other console on the market.

The source of this claim, however, involves a bit of dubious corporate ethics and some fancy work with copyright law. While the Coleco Vision, in its own right, had wide number of original titles, it was the release of their first Expansion Pack that pushed the number of titles available on the Coleco Vision through the roof.

The first Expansion Pack Coleco Vision offered was none other than a third-party clone of the Atari 2600 which allowed Coleco Vision users to plug any of the hundreds of Atari titles right into their Coleco Vision console. While this kind of blantant ripping off of a competitor?s build would shock modern console gamers, at the time the courts ruled that because the Atari 2600 could be built by anyone with off-the-shelf hardware (if they were so inclined to build their own 2600-clone), Atari could claim no special protection from Coleco Industries? wholesale lifting of their design.

Source: http://www.howtogeek.com/trivia/which-second-generation-game-console-boasted-the-most-titles/

Ancient shoes found hidden in Egyptian temple

Franco M. Giani - Milano - Italy

The unwrapped shoe bundle showing the two pairs of children's shoes and the adult isolated adult shoe.

By Owen Jarus
LiveScience

More than 2,000 years ago, at a time when Egypt was ruled by a dynasty of kings of Greek descent, someone, perhaps a group of people, hid away some of the most valuable possessions they had ? their shoes.

Seven shoes were deposited in a jar in an Egyptian temple in Luxor, three pairs and a single one. Two pairs were originally worn by children and were only about 7 inches (18 centimeters) long. Using palm fiber string, the child shoes were tied together within the single shoe (it was larger and meant for an adult) and put in the jar. Another pair of shoes, more than 9 inches (24 cm) long that had been worn by a limping adult, was also inserted in the jar.

The shoe-filled jar, along with two other jars, had been "deliberately placed in a small space between two mudbrick walls," writes archaeologist Angelo Sesana in a report published in the journal Memnonia.

?Whoever deposited the shoes never returned to collect them, and they were forgotten, until now. [See Photos of the Ancient Egyptian Shoes]

In 2004, an Italian archaeological expedition team, led by Sesana, rediscovered the shoes. The archaeologists gave Andr? Veldmeijer, an expert in ancient Egyptian footwear, access to photographs that show the finds.

Franco M. Giani - Milano - Italy

Archaeologists discovered seven shoes, which appear to be made out of bovine, within a jar in an Egyptian temple. The shoes date back more than 2,000 years and this picture shows the inside of the jar before the shoes were removed.

"The find is extraordinary as the shoes were in pristine condition and still supple upon discovery," writes Veldmeijer in the most recent edition of the Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. Unfortunately, after being unearthed the shoes became brittle and "extremely fragile," he added.

Pricey shoes
Veldmeijer's analysis suggests the shoes may have been foreign-made and were "relatively expensive." Sandals were the more common footwear in Egypt and?the style and quality of these seven shoes was such that "everybody would look at you," and "it would give you much more status because you had these expensive pair of shoes," said Veldmeijer, assistant director for Egyptology of the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo.

The date of the shoes is based on the jar they were found in and the other two ?jars, as well as the stratigraphy, or layering of sediments, of the area. It may be possible in the future to carbon date the shoes to confirm their age.

Why they were left in the temple in antiquity and not retrieved is a mystery. "There's no reason to store them without having the intention of getting them back at some point," Veldmeijer said in an interview with LiveScience, adding that there could have been some kind of unrest that forced the owners of the shoes to deposit them and flee hastily. The temple itself predates the shoes by more than 1,000 years and was originally built for pharaoh Amenhotep II (1424-1398 B.C.).

Design discoveries
Veldmeijer made a number of shoe design discoveries. He found that the people who wore the seven shoes would have tied them using what researchers call "tailed toggles." Leather strips at the top of the shoes would form knots that would be passed through openings to close the shoes. After they were closed, a long strip of leather would have hung down, decoratively, at either side. The shoes are made out of leather, which is likely bovine.

Most surprising was that the isolated shoe had what shoemakers call a "rand," a device that until now was thought to have been first used in medieval Europe. A rand is a folded leather strip that would go between the sole of the shoe and the upper part, reinforcing the stitching as the "the upper is very prone to tear apart at the stitch holes," he explained. The device would've been useful in muddy weather when shoes are under pressure, as it makes the seam much more resistant to water.

In the dry (and generally not muddy) climate of ancient Egypt, he said that it's a surprising innovation and seems to indicate the seven shoes were constructed somewhere abroad.

Health discoveries
The shoes also provided insight into the health of the people wearing them. In the case of the isolated shoe, he found a "semi-circular protruding area" that could be a sign of a condition called Hallux Valgus, more popularly known as a bunion. [The 9 Most Bizarre Medical Conditions]

"In this condition, the big toe starts to deviate inward towards the other toes," Veldmeijer writes in the journal article. "Although hereditary, it can also develop as a result of close-fitting shoes, although other scholars dispute this ...."

Another curious find came from the pair of adult shoes. He found that the left shoe had more patches and evidence of repair than the shoe on the right. "The shoe was exposed to unequal pressure," he said, showing that the person who wore it "walked with a limp, otherwise the wear would have been far more equal."

Still, despite their medical problems, and the wear and tear on the shoes, the people who wore them were careful to keep up with repairs, Veldmeijer said. They did not throw them away like modern-day Westerners tend to do with old running shoes.

"These shoes were highly prized commodities."

Veldmeijer hopes to have the opportunity to examine the shoes, now under the care of the Ministry of State for Antiquities, firsthand.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook?and Google+.

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Source: http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/26/17104950-ancient-shoes-found-hidden-in-egyptian-temple?lite

machine gun kelly

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Central bank clamps down on car loan financing - inSing.com

Car buyers who do not have cash up front and who rely on bank loans to finance their purchase will now find it harder to own their vehicle of choice.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said yesterday it will re-introduce restrictions on motor vehicle loans granted by banks and financial institutions.

The changes come into effect Tuesday, 26 February 2013.

The maximum loan amount a buyer can get will depend on the open market value (OMV) of the vehicle bought.

This value is assessed by the Singapore Customs, based on the price paid or payable when the vehicle is sold for export. This price includes purchase price, freight, insurance and all other charges related to the sale and delivery of the car to Singapore.

For a vehicle with an open market value that does not exceed S$20,000, the maximum loan granted is 60 per cent of the price, including relevant taxes and the price of the Certificate of Entitlement.

For a vehicle with an open market value of more than S$20,000, the maximum loan granted is 50 per cent of the price.

SHORTER LOAN REPAYMENT PERIOD

On top of that, the repayment period for the loan will be shortened to a maximum of five years.

A check on the One Motoring website by the Land Transport Authority shows that vehicles with OMV of less than S$20,000 in 2012 include the Toyota Corolla Altis (1,600cc), Toyota Vios (1,500cc), Honda Jazz (1,300cc) and Nissan Sylphy (1,500cc), which are the models commonly sought after by the average Singapore car buyer.

The authority said in its statement that the financing restrictions are ?necessary to encourage financial prudence among buyers of motor vehicles?.

?In this prolonged environment of very low interest rates, there is greater risk of buyers over-extending themselves on motor vehicles,? the authority added.

These new limits will not apply to loans taken by buyers of commercial vehicles or those buying motorcycles.

The last time the central bank put financing restrictions on motor vehicle loans was from February 1995 to January 2003, when it capped the loan at 70 per cent of a vehicle buying price and the maximum loan repayment period was seven years.

Source: http://news.insing.com/tabloid/central-bank-clamps-car-loan/id-f16d3f00

Putin calls for upgrade of Russian army

MOSCOW (AP) ? Russian President Vladimir Putin told the country's top brass on Wednesday to drastically upgrade the armed forces in the next few years as part of response to attempts by the United States and NATO to "tip the strategic balance" in the world.

In his address to Russia's defense ministry and top military officials, Putin said Russia is witnessing "insistent attempts" to change that balance and complained about U.S. plans to create a new missile defense system in Europe and the potential expansion of NATO to former Soviet republics.

"Geopolitical developments call for our response to be well-calculated and quick," Putin said, according to a transcript of his speech on the Kremlin's website. "The Russian armed forces must move to a dramatically new level of capabilities as soon as in the next three to five years."

The stated goal of the multibillion-dollar missile defense system planned for Europe is to protect the U.S. from Iranian missiles. But Russia has repeatedly criticized the plan, claiming it really is intended to counter its own missiles.

Putin blasted the legacy of former Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov who was dismissed in November 2012 amid a corruption scandal involving billions of rubles reportedly embezzled by the ministry and affiliated firms.

While Putin linked the ouster to the corruption probe, most experts believe that Serdyukov was sacked because of an intensifying behind-the-scenes battle for the distribution of 23 trillion rubles ($750 billion) that the Kremlin plans to spend on buying new weapons through 2020.

Serdyukov demanded higher quality and cheaper prices from the military industry, often refusing to sign new contracts for months. He criticized arms makers for continuing to produce Soviet-era designs instead of developing new weapons, angering industry leaders with strong Kremlin connections. Under Serdyukov, the military purchased amphibious assault vessels from France, bought Israeli drones, Italian armored vehicles and other foreign weapons.

The current defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, has confirmed plans to form a new naval squadron that would patrol the Mediterranean Sea.

A small maintenance and supply base in Syria's Tartus, Russia's only naval outpost outside the former Soviet Union, is under threat because of the civil war there.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/putin-calls-upgrade-russian-army-133245037.html

Someone Is Selling Google Glass On eBay - Business Insider

Google Glass, the search giant's Internet-connected headset which lets you take photos and videos and access information, is hard to get.

If you want one, you either have to be a developer who's creating special apps for the devices, or you have to enter a contest Google is holding for creative types who describe what they plan to do with Glass and tag the post on Google or Twitter with "#ifihadglass."

Maybe there's a third way: Spend thousands of dollars on eBay.

A eBay seller claims to have a pair, and is?auctioning off a Google Glass headset on the site right now.

Bids are up to?$6,300. So far there have been 26 bids. The auction ends Thursday afternoon.

The auction seems fake.?Google has said it won't be contacting winners of its contest until mid-to-late March.

Plus, the only images the seller has are of their set of Google Glass are official publicity stills from Google.

Still, the seller claims he's been selected as an "early adapter" [sic] and estimates delivery on or before March 5.

We've asked Google and eBay what's up with this listing.

Here's a screenshot:

eBay

Google Glass eBay listing screenshot

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Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-glass-ebay-2013-2

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Insight: In Spain, banks buck calls for mortgage law reform

MADRID (Reuters) - For more than a century, Spanish law has determined that if a person borrows money to buy a home, they can only be freed of the debt when it is repaid. Even in death, the debt is not canceled. As the country enters another year of recession, calls are mounting for the system to be relaxed. But the banks worry this would damage their access to funds.

Take Francisco Lema, an unemployed 36-year-old builder, who dropped off his 8-year-old daughter at school on February 8 and returned to the family's rented fourth-floor flat in the Andalusian city of Cordoba.

The house he built himself had been repossessed, leaving a debt of 22,000 euros ($29,000) on the mortgage he took out to cover building materials, said family friend Maria Jose Vadillo, an activist for Stop Evictions Cordoba, a pressure group. His parents had stood guarantor for part of the loan. Now he was struggling with the repayments, said Rafael Blazquez, another activist with the same group.

His wife, who was out, returned home to find his body on the street, covered with a sheet.

Everything pointed to suicide, a police spokeswoman said; a witness had called to say Lema had jumped off the balcony. His wife declined to be interviewed. Of the two banks involved in the case one, Kutxabank, confirmed Lema had a mortgage with a savings bank it owns. The other, Caja 3, did not respond to inquiries. Activists and police say Lema was one of four people who have killed themselves this month in Spain because of forced evictions and the consequent debt loads.

"The foreclosure process here is very tough," says Jose Garcia Montalvo, economics professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. "The law is brutally clear and it's not interpretable case by case."

Mariano Rajoy's conservative government has taken steps to ease the burden. In November, it said it would suspend evictions for two years for vulnerable homeowners who can no longer pay, including those with small children, the disabled and the long-term unemployed. Last month, the finance minister announced more measures including partial debt-forgiveness for some defaulted borrowers who pledge to repay a certain amount of the remaining debt within five years.

But lawyers, activists and opposition politicians want more. Thousands of Spaniards bearing placards and banners took to the streets in 50 cities around the country on February 16 to protest against forced evictions. Spain's three main judge associations have said the government has not done enough, and a petition with close to 1.5 million signatures this month persuaded parliament to debate the possibility of cancelling mortgage debt once a home is handed back to the bank. Spain's eviction law is in breach of European law on consumer protection by not offering homeowners a legal chance to argue against eviction until after they have been thrown out, Juliane Kokott, the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice, has said. The Court ensures the application of European Union law across the member states.

"The mortgage law is missing a social dimension," Fernando de Rosa, a conservative judge with strong links to the ruling People's Party (PP), told Reuters. "It's too strict in the relationship between the bank and the borrower."

TOUGH LOVE

Spain's banks, which have already been bailed out by Europe to the tune of 40 billion euros, are lobbying against any change.

Moody's said earlier this month that easing the legislation would diminish borrowers' incentive to keep up with mortgage payments. Any change in the law eroding investors' protections would undermine confidence, the agency said. That risked damaging Spain's already weak credit rating. As of January 10, two ratings agencies pegged Spanish debt just one notch above junk.

In the United States, if you default on your mortgage you can often cancel the debt by handing back the house to the bank, and hope the bank agrees to accept it in lieu of the outstanding sum. In Britain, you can write off the liability through personal bankruptcy: your credit will be damaged for a time but you can wipe the slate clean. In Ireland, which suffered a similar housing boom and crash to Spain, the government has made it easier for people to be declared bankrupt, and proposed new routes for mortgage holders to discharge their debt.

In Spain, homeowners remain liable even after the bank has repossessed the property. Banks have a claim on debtors' salaries, and can put a claim on the estate of the deceased. That's not unique, but experts say it is harsher than in many countries.

Spanish house prices are around a third below their peak. More than 80 percent of the population own their homes; the mortgage debt totals over 600 billion euros or around two-thirds of gross domestic product. So far, nearly 400,000 properties have been repossessed by banks since the 2008 housing crash, and the number is rising, although no statistics are available on how many of these are homes.

People who call for reform note that while individuals have no escape from their mortgage debts, real estate companies - which built up debts of 280 billion euros to the banks - have an easier get-out. Many have declared themselves bankrupt and their bad loans have ended up in Sareb, Spain's so-called 'bad bank.'

Others say huge, lifelong debt burdens will deter even the able-bodied from seeking work or starting a business, so are not profitable for the banks to hold onto.

"It encourages these people to work in the black market or live on subsidies and it doesn't benefit banks other than acting as a threat for others to keep up with their payments," said Mikel Echavarren, chairman at Irea, a Madrid-based finance company specializing in real estate.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Pressure is mounting internationally. Warming himself by a tin bucket filled with smoldering coals outside a central Madrid branch of Bankia, 38-year-old unemployed Ecuadorian Emilio Azuero is one of many who came to Spain during the boom years, bought property at the height of the market, and now face eviction and debt. He joined a spontaneous protest at the site for three months until police cleared the site at the beginning of February.

In his home country, mortgage debt is canceled with the return of the property to the bank. In Spain, his debts would exceed 100,000 euros if he lost his home.

Ecuador said in January it had presented a case to the European Court of Human Rights that argues Spanish law abuses fundamental rights by not allowing homeowners to explain their situation in court during the eviction process. The Latin American country estimates that as many as 15,000 Ecuadorian families in Spain are affected by eviction processes or mortgage repayment problems.

LOW DEFAULT RATES

But one important reason the banks oppose reform is that, as the euro zone debt crisis runs into its fourth year, they have struggled to borrow on the money markets. Instead, to a limited extent, they turn to the mortgage-backed bond market where they can use their home loans as collateral.

Spain is the biggest issuer of mortgage-backed bonds in Europe, with 578 billion euros of bonds linked to mortgage assets outstanding as of November 2012, according to Moody's. That is equivalent to 15 percent of the banks' total funding.

Making it easier for bad debtors to cancel debt would push up the rate of default, which for Spanish banks is at 3.5 percent - around a third the rate of the home loan defaults in Ireland.

"We have managed to maintain one of the lowest mortgage default rates in Europe despite the recession," said Santos Gonzalez, chairman of the Spanish Mortgage Association, which represents banks accounting for most of the mortgage market, including Santander, BBVA and Bankia. "Do we want a knee-jerk reaction to a crisis that has affected a small percentage of people by changing the structure of our whole mortgage market, weakening its guarantees?"

Laws governing the repayment of mortgages ensure that homeowners keep up with payments, says economist Montalvo of Universitat Pompeu Fabra. "If you don't pay, the bank will get it back somehow and with interest," he adds.

One way banks have kept the default rate low is by renegotiating mortgages with borrowers. Official data is not available but according to an independent audit carried out by consultant Oliver Wyman in September, banks have renegotiated almost one in 10 residential mortgages. By comparison, 11 percent of large companies' borrowing has been restructured.

A POSSIBLE EXIT

Marcheline Rosero has reached an agreement with her bank which reformers say could serve as a partial model. She and her family escaped eviction from their small Madrid flat when she fell behind on mortgage payments two years ago, and lender Bankia repossessed it.

The unemployed 45-year-old, confined to a wheelchair by childhood polio, reached an agreement to stay by paying the bank a nominal rent of 240 euros per month.

But under the existing law she still owes most of a 222,000 euro home loan even after handing the property - now valued at 60,000 euros - back to Bankia. "I've got a debt there that I haven't paid back that is accumulating interest," says the former office clerk, greeting her three children as they return from school.

Bankia said the bank does everything possible to find alternatives before eviction. It has renegotiated around 80,000 mortgages since 2009, a spokeswoman said: she could not say how big a share of the total that was. The bank declined to comment on proposed changes to law until they materialized.

Chema Ruiz, a Madrid-based activist for 'Support for those Affected by Mortgages,' a not-for-profit group which advises those struggling with repayments, says banks delayed many evictions in November, but courts have started to send out eviction notices again.

More homeowners are attending weekly support meetings, he said; he sees 80 to 100 new cases a week. "Every week there are more people and of higher social standing."

($1 = 0.7598 euros)

(Additional reporting by Aimee Donnellan and Shadia Nasrallah in London; Edited by Sara Ledwith and Will Waterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insight-spain-banks-buck-calls-mortgage-law-reform-123409462.html

Rape Of Adopted Ohio Kids Unusual, Haunting Case - KHQ Right Now

TROY, Ohio (AP) - The one-story, brick ranch-style home blends into the working-class neighborhood along Nutmeg Square in this western Ohio city, offering no signs of the terrible secrets it once concealed.

Its former owner will return to court in Dayton on Tuesday to be sentenced for guilty pleas to child rape and related charges in a haunting case that experts call unusual because the perpetrator was an adoptive father and the victims were three boys in his care. The pleas have all but ensured he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

The 40-year-old man, whom The Associated Press isn't naming to protect the children's identities, said in an interview that he had been a foster parent, youth basketball coach and substitute teacher for years without any problems. He said he didn't adopt the boys with bad intentions.

"I always wanted to protect kids," he said during one of two interviews at the Miami County Jail. "Somewhere along the line, things went wrong."

In an era of stunning cases of sexual abuse of young boys by respected authority figures ? priests, Boy Scout leaders, an assistant coach at a famed college football program ? the repeated rapes of boys by an adoptive father who also arranged for two other men to rape one adopted son shocked his unsuspecting neighbors, investigators and children's services officials.

"It was just devastating to hear about. It's really sad for the kids," said April Long, a mother of three who was their next-door neighbor. She and other neighbors say they didn't suspect anything; the children played outside, and the man did neighborly things like pick up their mail or mow their lawn when they were away.

"You think: 'What could I have done? Is there something we missed that we should have seen?'" Long said, gazing at the home from her front porch lined with children's bicycles.

The single man was a foster parent for six other children before he began adopting children in the past three years. He adopted a brother and sister and an unrelated boy, and was in the process of adopting another boy, all ages 9 to 12, when authorities arrested him a year ago Sunday following an undercover sting that began when a detective looked into an online posting about "taboo sex."

Ohio officials don't believe there has been a comparable case in the state in recent years, and media reports over the past five years show only a handful of reported cases nationally in which adoptive fathers sexually abused children in their care. Child abuse by adoptive fathers is much rarer than by biological fathers, or by other male relatives and non-relatives, federal studies have indicated.

"This isn't a typical situation. It certainly isn't typical of people seeking adoption," said David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. "Most abusers of this sort have an interest in a child during a certain period of their development. They are looking for opportunities where they can get access to the kids. They don't want to have custodial responsibility."

Fostering and adopting children meant passing background checks and other scrutiny, with home studies and follow-up visits by social workers.

"There can be terrible, horrific instances that no one at any level of government or the adoption system foresaw," Benjamin Johnson, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said of the case. "That can be a very difficult thing to reconcile ... and we think about that a lot."

The private adoption agency, Dayton-based Action Inc., has said little about the case other than to deny wrongdoing. The state reviewed its operations and noted some procedural violations but no reason to suspend or revoke the agency's license. All the children had been in Texas foster care before coming to Ohio through the agency, one of many that work through interstate agreements to find homes for some of the more than 100,000 children in foster care awaiting adoption at any given time in the United States.

The adoptive father said the three children appeared to be doing so well, he was asked by an agency employee to take a fourth.

The children were involved in sports, school and church and played with other children. They went trick-or-treating ? snapshots from two Halloweens ago show the boys dressed as Green Lantern and Star Wars' Darth Maul and the girl as a princess. They had Xboxes, Wiis and other games and toys at home.

"I loved my kids and wanted the best for them," the man said.

He said he had been sexually abused as a child by a close family member and blames that for his feeling that he wasn't doing anything wrong when he began taking the boys into his bed in what he claimed was a way of showing love.

"I never forced the boys to do anything," he said. "That might not mean anything to anyone else, but it's important to me."

But his explanation doesn't account for subsequently inviting a man to their Troy home to rape one of the boys, and then taking the same boy to another man's home to be raped. He agreed that was wrong, although he stressed that he didn't prostitute the boy by getting anything in return.

Apparently, no child ever hinted at any problem when separated from him by case workers for interviews.

"I guess they just liked it there," the man said.

Police reported that when they interviewed the boy, then age 10, who had also been raped by the two other men, he began shaking, after initially refusing to confirm that anything wrong had happened.

He told police he "didn't want to be taken from this home and separated from his new brothers and sister," a police report stated.

After the man was arrested, the 9-year-old boy who hadn't been adopted yet was returned to Texas social services authorities, while the other three were placed in foster care in Ohio.

At a pretrial hearing last November, a child psychologist testified about some three dozen therapy sessions he had had with the 10-year-old boy, the Dayton Daily News reported.

"It is so traumatic within the security of my office, when he's laying on a sofa, hugging a bear, to talk about these things," said Gregory Ramey of The Children's Medical Center of Dayton.

The adoptive father has already been sentenced here to at least 60 years in prison. In Dayton, he is expected to be sentenced to at least 50 years, to run concurrently.

He said he agreed to plead guilty in hopes of sparing the children from having to testify, that it "was the last good thing I could do for them." In a jail interview, his eyes teared up and his voice choked as he said he was sorry for the pain he had caused them.

In a letter from jail, he wrote: "I've been able to protect my kids from everything and everyone, except myself."

Source: http://www.khq.com/story/21327751/rape-of-adopted-ohio-kids-unusual-haunting-case

Massage therapy offers students stress relief | The Miami Hurricane

College students undergo a lot of stress ? juggling academics and social life is no easy task. Conveniently, the Wellness Center offers a special service that can help take the edge off.

Ever since the center?s opening in January 1996, massage therapy from licensed therapists has been offered to members of the community, faculty, staff and students.

According to Audrey Garber, one of the three licensed therapists on staff at the Wellness Center, relief of ?chronic stress? is one of the major benefits of massage therapy.

?People of every demographic can benefit from receiving massage therapy, and there are countless different types of massage, each of which focuses on different techniques and views the body from a unique perspective,? Garber said.
She also mentioned several health benefits that massage therapy can have.

?Massages can augment other health and fitness efforts, relieve chronic stress, which in turn reduces cortisol levels, improve posture, sleep quality, focus, mood and, of course, pain relief,? she said.

Garber started working at the Wellness Center in 2012, but has experience in the field since graduating from massage school in 2007.

Although the massage therapists at the Wellness Center have a strong clientele base, the number of students who take advantage of the program could be much higher.

?Unfortunately, our massage therapy services are still not as well known as I?d like,? said Ashley Falcon, assistant director of the Wellness Center. ?However those that know of it, or those that learn of it, are always happy to know that it is available on campus. I often hear students that pass down the hall and see the sign for the first time say something to the effect of, ?Oh they have that? That?s cool.??

The rates offered at the Wellness Center are reasonable compared to the off-campus market. Student rates are $25 for 35 minutes or $55 for 50 minutes. Member rates are also $25 for 35 minutes and $65 for 50 minutes.

UM faculty and staff are offered a 10 percent discount on 50-minute massages.

?[Massage therapy] is very popular, and compared to competitors? rates we offer the most cost effective therapy,? said Marni Dow, customer service manager at the Wellness Center.

Students and faculty should be on the lookout for ?Wellness on Wheels: Chair Massage,? a massage event program hosted occasionally on campus, which provides a quick stress-relief break in the midst of busy schedules.

Massage therapy at the Wellness Center is offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m, Monday through Friday.

To schedule a massage, call or visit the wellness enrichment suite at 305-284-LIFE (5433).



Source: http://www.themiamihurricane.com/2013/02/24/massage-therapy-offers-students-stress-relief/

Monday, February 25, 2013

Tanning parlors may misinform clients about risks

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Tanning facilities often given inconsistent or incorrect information about the risks associated with indoor tanning and may let kids as young as 10 or 12 tan, according to a new study from Missouri.

Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has some guidelines on proper safety precautions for indoor tanning, those aren't enforced by states if the state government doesn't pass its own regulations, researchers explained.

Missouri is one of 17 states without any age or safety restrictions on indoor tanning - a trend that has become increasingly popular, and some say addictive, among young women.

"It's not just, ?I'm going to look good for the prom.' It's something that's a very common practice among lots of kids, particularly Caucasian girls," said Dr. Sophie J. Balk, an attending pediatrician at Children's Hospital at Montefiore in Bronx, New York.

"Teenagers in general, particularly the younger ones, may not understand the risk," Balk, who co-wrote a commentary published with the new study, told Reuters Health.

"It is a cumulative effect," said Dr. Brundha Balaraman, who led the new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "The younger you start, the more damage you accrue."

She and her colleagues made calls to hundreds of indoor tanning facilities in the state to inquire about teen tanning. In total, they talked to operators at 243 facilities, twice each.

Just under two-thirds of operators said their facility would allow kids as young as 10 or 12 to tan, sometimes without parental consent. Forty-three percent of them claimed there were no risks tied to indoor tanning, and 80 percent said tanning could prevent future sunburns, the research team wrote Monday in Pediatrics.

Single facilities often provided inconsistent information between two different calls, Balaraman and her colleagues found.

"We kind of had the sense that this was happening," she told Reuters Health. "It was scary, because 43 percent said there was zero risk with tanning, which is just blatantly untrue."

Tanning is known to increase a person's chance of developing melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 76,690 people will be diagnosed with melanoma in 2013, and 9,480 will die from it.

The researchers said there is a need for more FDA regulation of underage tanning since getting laws passed in each individual state is slow and ineffective.

"I think a federal law would be most helpful, because it would just make the process a lot more efficient," Balaraman said.

Tanning beds are currently classified in the same group of medical devices as Band-Aids and tongue depressors, she added, which means there's not much regulation of manufacturers.

Tanning bed manufacturers are, however, required to add a label to the devices, warning against the dangers of burning, skin cancer and eye damage from UV exposure, according to an FDA spokesperson.

The spokesperson told Reuters Health in an email, "FDA is committed to providing consumers with an update as soon as possible on the agency's next steps on tanning bed regulation. We consider the use of tanning lamps an important public health issue."

The Administration will review public comments and scientific data "that will help us determine the appropriate level of regulatory oversight for tanning devices," the spokesperson said.

Balk said many countries - including Australia, the UK and Portugal - have banned indoor tanning by young people.

"Governments around the world have taken action on behalf of our young people," Balk said. "I think that our federal government should do the same."

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/cxXOG Pediatrics, online February 25, 2013.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tanning-parlors-may-misinform-clients-risks-052041733.html

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Ruiz Castillo upsets women's WCup downhill field

Spain's Carolina Ruiz Castillo, center, winner of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill race, celebrates on the podium with second-placed Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch, left, and third-placed France's Marie Marchand-Arvier, in Meribel, France, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Enrico Schiavi)

Spain's Carolina Ruiz Castillo, center, winner of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill race, celebrates on the podium with second-placed Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch, left, and third-placed France's Marie Marchand-Arvier, in Meribel, France, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Enrico Schiavi)

Spain's Carolina Ruiz Castillo celebrates at the finish area after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill race, in Meribel, France, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Enrico Schiavi)

Spain's Carolina Ruiz Castillo celebrates at the finish area after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill race, in Meribel, France, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Enrico Schiavi)

Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch celebrates at the finish area after finishing second in an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill race, in Meribel, France, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Enrico Schiavi)

Slovenia's Tina Maze reacts at the finish area after taking fourth place in in an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill race, in Meribel, France, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Enrico Schiavi)

(AP) ? Carolina Ruiz Castillo stunned the field by earning her first career World Cup victory at age 31 on Saturday, winning a downhill race 13 years after her only previous podium finish.

The Spanish skier had never placed higher than seventh in a downhill but beat Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany by 0.20 seconds and Frenchwoman Marie Marchand-Arvier by 0.21.

"The win feels even better because I know all the hard work I have done," Ruiz Castillo said.

Ruiz Castillo only had eight previous top-10 finishes on the World Cup, and the only top-three finish on the podium was second place in a giant slalom in 2000 at the Italian resort of Sestriere.

"It's been too long, but it's also very different, because my first (podium) was in giant," she said. "At that time I didn't know what downhill and super-G was about, I started speed events later."

Overall World Cup leader Tina Maze, who was trying to become only the third woman to win all five disciplines in a single season, was 0.28 back in fourth spot.

Maze had the fastest training run on Thursday and was second-fastest on Friday. The 29-year-old from Slovenia was attempting to join Austria's Petra Kronberger (1990-91) and Croatia's Janica Kostelic (2005-06) as the only women to win in all disciplines in a season.

"I was sure I could do that today, but I was too slow on top," Maze said. "At the bottom, I didn't attack like the first days (in training)."

She'll get another chance to win a downhill next week at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

While her victory seemingly came out of nowhere, Ruiz Castillo said she has been building up toward it for some time.

"There's a lot of training, a lot of work behind that. This winter I've been having some good feelings," she said. "I've been working a lot on my mental strength, that's like working on your technique, your physical preparation, and it's certainly helped me a lot."

Starting late, she had a technically perfect run on the Roc de Fer course.

"I felt confident, I was quick in training," said Ruiz Castillo, who was third best in Thursday's first training run.

Marchand-Arvier made up a lot of time on the second part of the course and then watched as 10 racers failed to match her time. She looked stunned, however, when Hoefl-Riesch also made up time in the bottom section to edge her by 0.01 ? ending her hopes of a first World Cup win.

Her best remains second place at Lake Louise, Canada, in December 2011. She earned her fourth World Cup downhill podium and fifth overall.

Hoefl-Riesch consolidated her second place in the overall standings but remains a massive 858 points behind Maze, having only had three podium finishes on the World Cup this season.

"I'm really, really happy with this podium," Hoefl-Riesch said. "Although it's a little bit sad that I didn't win, I was also lucky that I ended up second."

The German skier seemed convinced she had done enough to win, patting her skis several times and giving a thumbs up to the crowd in the French Alpine resort, which was hosting a World Cup race for the first time in 19 years.

"That was the first time since a long time that I was coming into the finish in the lead. It was a great feeling to see the green light," she said.

But Ruiz Castillo, the 28th to start, was well ahead on the first two time splits and kept her pace, bringing a roar of surprise from the crowd and a nod of appreciation from Hoefl-Riesch.

"I knew if she was doing the same like she did in training, she can win one day," Hoefl-Riesch said. "She deserved it. She was fighting for a long time."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-02-23-SKI-WCup-Women's-Downhill/id-4780201552b6442685e379e74835e6a6

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When Box-Office Hits Get Nominated, Do Oscar Ratings Go Up?

80th Annual Academy Awards, 2008. Host Jon Stewart speaks on stage during the 80th Annual Academy Awards held at the Kodak Theatre on February 24, 2008 in Hollywood, California.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

After The Dark Knight was conspicuously absent from the Best Picture race at the 2009 Oscars, the academy decided to increase the number of possible nominees?which had been capped at five since 1945?to 10. A subsequent revision allowed for anywhere between five and 10 nominees, depending how many votes movies received. This move opened up the exclusive category to films that might not have gotten in before?including big box office hits. The theory seemed to be that if commercially and critically adored films like The Dark Knight were in the running for Best Picture, the TV rating for the ceremony would get a boost from their popularity. But does this theory actually hold up?

Pretty much. We took a look at the Oscar ratings data provided by the academy for every ceremony since 1976 and put them up against the estimated number of people who went to see the Best Picture nominees each year. To reach that estimated number, we added up the gross domestic totals of all the nominated movies and divided that by the average ticket price in each year. This is an imperfect gauge, of course, but it does roughly illustrate the popularity of a given slate of movies.

Ratings for the Oscar broadcast have been in a fairly steady decline over the last 35 years, but spikes have occurred when a blockbuster film was nominated: In 1998, when Titanic was nominated, the telecast rating jumped to 34.9, the highest since 1983, when E.T. was nominated in 1983. That broadcast got a 38 rating, the best in our sample.* The Best Picture nominees were seen by an estimated 22 million people that year. The following year, only 6 million saw the Oscar nominees, and the rating plunged to 30.3.

The 2008 Oscars was the lowest rated telecast in the 38 years we surveyed, at 18.7, and 2009 wasn?t much better with a 20.8. The next year, when Avatar was nominated, the rating rose to 23.1. Considering that the estimated attendance for the Best Picture movies jumped from 4.92 million to 22.74 million, that?s a pretty small increase. In a world where there is so much more to choose from on TV?not to mention the Internet?even popular blue aliens or men in dark capes may not be enough to make people sit through three hours of montages and speeches.

Correction, Feb. 22, 2013: This article originally said that the 1998 Oscars telecast was the highest rated since 1978. In fact, the 1983 ceremony had higher ratings. (Return.)

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=f407f3a70e1cdcba190fd9f81e10dacb

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Stash of stem cells found in a human parasite

Feb. 22, 2013 ? The parasites that cause schistosomiasis, one of the most common parasitic infections in the world, are notoriously long-lived. Researchers have now found stem cells inside the parasite that can regenerate worn-down organs, which may help explain how they can live for years or even decades inside their host.

Schistosomiasis is acquired when people come into contact with water infested with the larval form of the parasitic worm Schistosoma, known as schistosomes. Schistosomes mature in the body and lay eggs that cause inflammation and chronic illness. Schistosomes typically live for five to six years, but there have been reports of patients who still harbor parasites decades after infection.

According to new research from Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator Phillip Newmark, collections of stem cells that can help repair the worms? bodies as they age could explain how the worms survive for so many years. The new findings were published online on February 20, 2013, in the journal Nature.

The stem cells that Newmark?s team found closely resemble stem cells in planaria, free-living relatives of the parasitic worms. Planaria rely on these cells, called neoblasts, to regenerate lost body parts. Whereas most adult stem cells in mammals have a limited set of possible fates?blood stem cells can give rise only to various types of blood cells, for example ?planarian neoblasts can turn into any cell in the worm?s body under the right circumstances.

Newmark?s lab at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has spent years focused on planaria, so they knew many details about planarian neoblasts ?what they look like, what genes they express, and how they proliferate. They also knew that in uninjured planarians, neoblasts maintain tissues that undergo normal wear and tear over the worm?s lifetime.

?We began to wonder whether schistosomes have equivalent cells and whether such cells could be partially responsible for their longevity,? says Newmark.

Following this hunch, and using what they knew about planarian neoblasts, post-doctoral fellow Jim Collins, Newmark, and their colleagues hunted for similar cells in Schistosoma mansoni, the most widespread species of human-infecting schistosomes.

Their first step was to look for actively dividing cells in the parasites. To do this, they grew worms in culture and added tags that would label newly replicated DNA as cells prepare to divide; this label could later be visualized by fluorescence. Following this fluorescent tag, they saw a collection of proliferating cells inside the worm?s body, separate from any organs.

The researchers isolated those cells from the schistosomes and studied them individually. They looked like typical stem cells, filled with a large nucleus and a small amount of cytoplasm that left little room for any cell-type-specific functionality. Newmark?s lab observed the cells and found that they often divided to give rise to two different cells: one cell that continued dividing, and another cell that did not.

?One feature of stem cells,? says Newmark, ?is that they make more stem cells; furthermore, many stem cells undergo asymmetric division.? The schistosomes cells were behaving like stem cells in these respects. The other characteristic of stem cells is that they can differentiate into other cell types.

To find out whether the schistosome cells could give rise to multiple types of cells, Newmark?s team added the label for dividing cells to mice infected with schistosomes, waited a week, and then harvested the parasites to see where the tag ended up. They could detect labeled cells in the intestines and muscles of the schistosomes, suggesting that stem cells incorporating the labels had developed into both intestinal and muscle cells.

Years of previous study on planarians by many groups paved the way for this type of work on schistosomes, Newmark says.

?The cells we found in the schistosome look remarkably like planarian neoblasts. They aren?t associated with any one organ, but can give rise to multiple cell types. People often wonder why we study the ?lowly? planarian, but this work provides an example of how basic biology can lead you, in unanticipated and exciting ways, to findings that are directly relevant to important public health problems.?

Newmark says the stem cells aren?t necessarily the sole reason schistosome parasites survive for so many years, but their ability to replenish multiple cell types likely plays a role. More research is needed to find out how the cells truly affect lifespan, as well as what factors in the mouse or human host spur the parasite?s stem cells to divide, and whether the parasites maintain similar stem cells during other stages of their life cycle.

The researchers hope that with more work, scientists will be able to pinpoint a way to kill off the schistosome stem cells, potentially shortening the worm?s lifespan and treating schistosome infections in people.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

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


Journal Reference:

  1. James J. Collins III, Bo Wang, Bramwell G. Lambrus, Marla E. Tharp, Harini Iyer, Phillip A. Newmark. Adult somatic stem cells in the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni. Nature, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nature11924

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/strange_science/~3/Xe6KtB0k22k/130222143142.htm

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Saturday, February 23, 2013

Solid Energy farmland 'will be in demand'

Updated at 8:03 am today

The agency responsible for the Southland region's economic development says farmland Solid Energy is selling to help offset its massive debt will attract plenty of buyers.

The state-owned enterprise is in crisis talks with the Treasury and its banks over its $389 million debt and is restructuring despite cutting hundreds of jobs.

The struggling company is abandoning plans for a multibillion-dollar lignite industry in Southland and is starting to sell off some of the 3800 hectares of farmland in the region it had intended to use for the project.

Venture Southland spokesperson Steve Canny said the region's economy will not suffer as the land will be put to good use for dairy farming instead of the proposed lignite extraction.

Mr Canny said the state-owned coal miner will get at least $27,000 to $30,000 a hectare and he expects the land to be in demand for dairying, particularly in the Mataura Valley.

The company's decision to not extract lignite in Southland has been welcomed by the Coal Action Network environmental group. Spokesperson Kristin Gillies said the coal is the dirtiest and lowest grade energy available.

Business commentator Rod Oram said the sale of the land would not have been necessary if Solid Energy had been better managed by the Government and the company's board.

Mr Oram says poor governance during the past six years was responsible for excessive salaries and a shift in focus from the company's core business of specialised coal production.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/128826/solid-energy-farmland-'will-be-in-demand'

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American Cancer Society - Lifestyle Changes Can Help Fight Cancer




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Source: http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/insight/American-Cancer-Society---Lifestyle-Changes-Can-Help-Fight-Cancer-192315881.html

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Friday, February 22, 2013

Cressida Bonas: Prince Harry's Girlfriend in 10 Quick Facts

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/cressida-bonas-prince-harry-girlfriend-guide/

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Sequester ?threatens national security,? then why is Boehner threatening to use it? (Americablog)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/286200392?client_source=feed&format=rss

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iPhone 4S Outsells Galaxy S3 During Holiday Quarter

Apple stock plummeted during January of this year, immediately following what we?re now finding out was an amazing 4th quarter ? at least for iPhone sales. We already knew that the Galaxy S3 outsold both the iPhone 5 and the 4S in Q3 2012, but Fortune is this morning reporting that Q4 was quite the turn of events. Not only did Apple?s flagship smartphone the iPhone 5 outsell the Galaxy S3, but last year?s model did as well.

There has been much talk about Apple possibly introducing a ?budget? iPhone later this year, and many have suggested that an ?iPhone Plus? may be on the way as well. But if the above sales results hold any weight, a budget iPhone probably won?t be necessary. As always, last year?s model ? the iPhone 4S, in this case ? simply becomes the ?budget? model when the latest model is released. A larger 5-inch model, however, might be an interesting endeavor.

[Fortune]

Post a response / What do you think?
This entry was posted in iPhone, News. 6 comments

Source: http://www.ifans.com/blog/74677/

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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Daybook: February 21 (TIME)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/286375927?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Robbers snatch $50 million of diamonds off plane

Armed robbers steal $50 million worth of diamonds off a plane at an international airport in Brussels, Belgium. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

By Raf Casert, The Associated Press

(Editor's note: An earlier version of this article led to a correction)

Eight armed and masked men made a hole in a security fence at the international airport in Brussels, Belgium, drove onto the tarmac and snatched millions of dollars' worth of diamonds from the hold of a Swiss-bound plane without firing a shot, authorities said Tuesday.

The gang used two vehicles in their daring raid Monday, dragged the cache of stones and sped off into the darkness, said Anja Bijnens, spokeswoman for the Brussels prosecutor's office.

Police found a burnt-out vehicle close to the airport later Monday night and said they were still looking for clues.

The heist was estimated at some $50 million in diamonds, said Caroline De Wolf of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre.

"What we are talking about is obviously a gigantic sum," De Wolf told VRT network.

An airport spokesman said the robbers made a hole in the perimeter fence and drove up to the Swiss passenger plane, which was ready to leave.

The robbers got out of the car, flashed their weapons and took the loot from the hold, said airport spokesman Jan Van Der Crujsse. Without firing a shot they drove off through the same hole in the fence, completing the spectacular theft within minutes, he said.

Van Der Crujsse could not explain how the area could be so vulnerable to theft. "We abide by the most stringent rules," he said.

The Swiss flight, bound for Zurich and operated by Helvetic Airways, was canceled. Swiss, an affiliate of Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG, declined to comment on the heist, citing the ongoing judicial investigation.

The insurance for air transport ? handled sometimes by airlines themselves or external insurance companies ? is usually relatively cheap because it's considered to be the safest way of transporting small high value items, logistics experts say.

Unlike a car or a truck, an airplane cannot be attacked by robbers once it's on its way, and it is considered to be very safe before the departure and after the plane's arrival because the aircraft is always within the confines of an airport ? which are normally highly secured.

Philip Baum, an aviation security consultant in Britain, said the robbery was worrying ? not because the fence was breached, but because the response did not appear to have been immediate. That, he said, raised questions as to whether alarms were ringing in the right places.

"It does seem very worrying that someone can actually have the time to drive two vehicles onto the airport, effect the robbery, and drive out without being intercepted," Baum said.

That amount of time would also allow someone to board the plane, he said.

A decade ago the Belgian city of Antwerp, the world capital of diamond-cutting, was the scene of what was probably one of the biggest diamond heists in history, when robbers took precious stones, jewels, gold and securities from the high-security vaults at Antwerp's Diamond Center, yielding loot that police in 2003 estimated to be worth about $100 million.

Antwerp's Diamond Center stands in the heart of the high-surveillance diamond district where police and dozens of cameras work around the clock, and security has been beefed up further since the spectacular 2003 robbery.

This story was originally published on

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/19/17013510-robbers-snatch-50-million-of-diamonds-off-belgium-plane?lite

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PST: Injuries will hurt Toronto FC early on

Each day from now until the beginning of Major League Soccer?s 18th season, we will preview one Eastern Conference team and one from the West. First kick is March 2.

No. 10 in the East is Toronto FC:

Significant additions and subtractions: Ryan Nelsen took over for Paul Mariner (who had taken over just a few months earlier from Aron Winter) in one of the truly bizarre coaching shifts yet seen in MLS. New club president Kevin Payne, the polarizing architect of so much that was good and so much that went wrong previously at D.C. United.

Canadian international Kyle Bekker was the third overall MLS draft pick.

Julio Cesar has moved north from Sporting Kansas City, and may play a significant role in the center of the park.

Strengths: Torsten Frings is a skillful, determined leader who adds valuable versatility ? so long as he keeps himself healthy and motivated. The German veteran has only recently returned to Toronto, where he was either in rehabilitation, sorting out personal business or perhaps ? well, who knows what? There seemed to be some whispers of discontent, and isn?t that just what this team in high transition needs?

TFC gets a huge boost if goalkeeper Stefan Frei is back to his 2011 form (after missing most of the 2012 season due to injury).

Pressure points: The roster isn?t where it needs to be, even Payne admits it. That?s why he?s been gathering up allocation money for the next move. Or moves. Let?s go with ?moves.?

Reading too much into preseason results is always a dangerous thing. That said, it was not been a good preseason for TFC. And then some. Perhaps unfavorable results aren?t a surprise considering the teams? top two players remain on the mend. And Justin Braun?s injury over the weekend is alarming, especially considering how much of the scoring burden he needed to tote pending Danny Koevermans? healthy return (which isn?t happening anytime soon).

Cesar is a useful player, but he?s not anything close to Frings in terms of leadership and gumption.

None of these preseason woes would resonate as loudly if not for the club history, for the yawning gap that has always existed between TFC and the field. In a league where over half the teams make the playoffs each year (well over half in some of those seasons), TFC has failed to qualify for all six years of existence. The ongoing organizational flailing has been a huge beat-down for TFC supporters, who once showed up in waves. We see more and more empty seats around BMO Field, which is a doggone shame.

source: Getty Images

Jeremy Hall has a central midfielder? Hmmm. He?s been a right-sided guy through his entire career, and he?s been adequate at best there. It seems like a big stretch to play the man on the inside now ? and it probably says something about TFC?s that flagging roster strength at the moment.

Difference maker: It?s Koevermans, but there is a huge asterisk here. The Dutch striker (pictured right), sizable and skillful, looks like a Golden Boot candidate when at his best. He has 17 goals in 26 appearances for the club, which is righteous production. But can he be at his best coming off major knee surgery? He?s not even expected to be on the field until June ? and the Reds could be too far behind by then.

Potential breakout player: The club expects big things of Bekker, the third overall pick in January?s draft. He has played in the middle (as Bekker does for Canada) but also on the flanks for Ryan Nelsen?s team.

Bottom line: Given the injury concerns with Frings, Koevermans and Braun, it?s hard to be optimistic, especially over the season?s first 90 days.

Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/20/major-league-soccer-team-previews-toronto-fc/related/

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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Experts split on Detroit's fiscal recovery options

FILE - In this Oct. 24, 2012 file photo, a pedestrian walks in Greektown in downtown Detroit. A state-appointed review team Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 determined Detroit is in a financial emergency, paving the way for Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to appoint an emergency manager who would need to come up with a new plan to get the city out of its fiscal crisis. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 24, 2012 file photo, a pedestrian walks in Greektown in downtown Detroit. A state-appointed review team Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 determined Detroit is in a financial emergency, paving the way for Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to appoint an emergency manager who would need to come up with a new plan to get the city out of its fiscal crisis. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2011 file photo is the Monument to Joe Louis in Detroit. A state-appointed review team Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 determined Detroit is in a financial emergency, paving the way for Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to appoint an emergency manager who would need to come up with a new plan to get the city out of its fiscal crisis. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

FILE - This Oct. 24, 2012 file photo shows a graffiti-marked abandoned home north of downtown Detroit, in background. A state-appointed review team Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 determined Detroit is in a financial emergency, paving the way for Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to appoint an emergency manager who would need to come up with a new plan to get the city out of its fiscal crisis. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

(AP) ? In less than a month, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder will decide whether Detroit should get an emergency manager to oversee its financial recovery.

The question may not be who can save Detroit, but how can Detroit be saved.

Options are limited. Some experts are split on what may be best: long-term restructuring with state help or cutting the city's losses now through municipal bankruptcy.

National municipal bankruptcy expert James Spiotto says Detroit would be the largest city to file for Chapter 9 protection. He said that should be "the absolute last resort."

A review team said Tuesday that Detroit is in a financial emergency with more than $14 billion in long-term liabilities, a $327 million budget deficit and cash flow issues.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-20-US-Detroit-Finances/id-5c7f64ab31b346a09626a5eaf7c60b35

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Source: http://forums.ferra.ru/index.php?showtopic=54564

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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Nigeria extremists claim abduction of 7 foreigners

Map locates kidnapping, Nigeria

Map locates kidnapping, Nigeria

BAUCHI, Nigeria (AP) ? A little-known Islamic extremist group claimed responsibility Monday for the kidnapping of seven foreign workers from northern Nigeria, threatening their safety if anyone tried to intervene and free them.

The group that calls itself Ansaru issued a short statement, obtained by The Associated Press, in which it said its fighters kidnapped the foreigners Saturday night from a construction company's camp at Jama'are, a town about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Bauchi, the capital of Bauchi state.

Authorities said those kidnapped include one British citizen, one Greek, one Italian, three Lebanese and one Filipino, all employees of a Lebanese construction company called Setraco.

The statement said Ansaru committed the abduction "based on the transgression and atrocities shown to the religion of Allah by the European countries in many places such as Afghanistan and Mali." Currently, the French military is conducting operations with the Malian army to rout Islamic fighters who took over that country's north in the weeks after a military coup there last year.

"It is stressed that any attempt or act contrary to our conditions by the European nations or by the Nigerian government will" endanger the hostages, the statement read. The statement offered no conditions, suggesting the group would later contact authorities to make a ransom demand.

Police and security officials in Nigeria did not immediately respond the statement. Greek and Italian diplomats have confirmed their citizens were abducted. Britain's Foreign Office said Monday it is aware of reports that a number of foreign nationals including a British national were abducted. It said the Foreign Office is in contact with the Nigerian authorities.

The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, issued a statement earlier Monday saying none of those taken were U.S. citizens.

In January 2012 Ansaru declared itself a breakaway group from Boko Haram, the north's main terrorist group, analysts say. Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege," has launched a guerrilla campaign of bombings and shootings across Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north. Boko Haram is blamed for at least 792 killings last year alone, according to an AP count.

Ansaru's aims are unknown ? but they have a different message from Boko Haram, according to Raffaello Pantucci, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

"They seem to disagree with some of Boko Haram's strategies ? in particular, they disagreed with Boko Haram's tendency to kill Muslims," Pantucci said. "They seem to be more internationally focused, they talk a lot more in global jihad terms and they seem very eager to cultivate that side of their image. It makes them more dangerous."

An analysis published Monday by Stratfor, a U.S.-based private global intelligence firm, suggested Ansaru had stronger ties with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, the Africa branch of the terror network. It warned that there likely will be more attacks by Ansaru targeting Westerners and Western interests in Nigeria, as well as neighboring nations.

"Kidnappings in northern Nigeria probably will become more frequent," Stratfor warned. "As al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb comes under more pressure in northern Mali, it will use all available means, including its affiliate groups, to continue its insurgency."

The attack Saturday in Jama'are saw gunmen first assault a local prison and burn police trucks, authorities said. Then the attackers blew up a back fence at the construction company's compound and took over, killing a guard in the process, witnesses and police said.

The gunmen appeared to be organized and knew who they wanted to target, a local construction worker who witnessed the attack told the AP. He said the Nigerian household staff members at the residence were left unharmed, while the foreigners were quickly abducted. The worker spoke on condition of anonymity as he's not authorized to speak to journalists.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, in a statement issued Monday through his office, condemned the attack and said he ordered security agencies to "take all necessary action" to locate and rescue the abducted construction workers.

"He assures the relatives of the kidnapped foreign workers as well as the governments of their countries that the federal government and its security agencies are doing everything possible to find their abductors and ensure the safe release of all those they abducted," the statement issued by spokesman Reuben Abati read.

The Ansaru statement hinted that it would kill the hostages and vaguely referenced a previous kidnapping. The group earlier claimed the kidnapping in December of a French national working on a renewal energy project in Nigeria's northern Katsina state.

Britain also linked Ansaru to the May 2011 kidnapping of Christopher McManus, who was abducted with Italian Franco Lamolinara from a home in Kebbi state. The men were held for months, before their captors killed in March 2012 them during a failed Nigerian military raid backed up by British special forces in Sokoto, the main city in Nigeria's northwest.

Authorities initially blamed Boko Haram for the kidnapping, something that it denied. That apparently represented the public's first brush with the group, whose motivations remain murky, but whose threat is increasingly real for foreigners in northern Nigeria.

In November, Britain's interior ministry announced that a parliamentary order that makes membership in or support of Ansaru a criminal offense.

___

Jon Gambrell reported from Johannesburg and can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP .

___

Associated Press writers Cassandra Vinograd in London, Bashir Adigun in Abuja, Nigeria, and Yinka Ibukun in Lagos, Nigeria, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-18-AF-Nigeria-Violence/id-a244cb522d964b019af988360f50c145

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