Judge Okays BP Plea, $4B Penalty in Gulf Oil Spill

A U.S. judge accepted an agreement by BP Plc to plead guilty for its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster and pay a record $4 billion in criminal penalties for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

The company said it pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts related to workers? deaths, a felony related to obstruction of Congress and two misdemeanors. It faces five years? probation and the imposition of two monitors who will oversee its safety and ethics for the next four years.

After the April 2010 explosion on the Transocean rig in the Gulf of Mexico, 4.9 million barrels of oil spewed into the Gulf over 87 days. Shorelines from Texas to Florida were fouled before responders could cap the mile-deep (1.6 km) well.

BP has struggled with political, financial and legal fallout ever since. Even after settling federal criminal charges, the company faces civil penalties of up to $21 billion and separate state claims due to be heard at a trial starting in New Orleans on Feb. 25.

Alabama?s attorney general, Luther Strange, said the BP sentence was welcome for setting some federal money aside to restore the Gulf coast, but he planned to press ahead with his state?s own claims for economic and natural resource damages.

?I look forward to presenting Alabama?s case that BP was grossly negligent when we have our day in court next month,? Strange said in a statement.

Transocean, owner of the doomed Deepwater Horizon rig, agreed this month to pay $1.4 billion to settle U.S. government charges over the disaster.

Halliburton Co, the oilfield services company that performed cementing work on the Macondo well and is being sued in the civil litigation along with BP, said on Friday it was working on its defense ahead of the trial next month.

BP, with its federal plea agreement now approved, has 60 days to send a remedial plan to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Environmental Protection Agency laying out how it plans to meet all its stipulations. The plan could go back and forth among the three parties before it is agreed to by all sides.

The judge who imposed the sentence on BP, U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance of the Eastern District of Louisiana, found the fines far exceeded any in U.S. history, and were structured so BP will feel the ?full brunt? of them, the DOJ said.

BP?s total of $4.5 billion in federal penalties includes $2.4 billion for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a $1.256 billion criminal fine and $350 million for the National Academy of Sciences ? all payable over five years ? and a $525 million civil penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

?Our guilty plea makes clear, BP understands and acknowledges its role in that tragedy, and we apologize ? BP apologizes ? to all those injured and especially to the families of the lost loved ones,? Luke Keller, a vice president of BP America Inc, told the court, according to a BP statement.

BP now aims to settle the civil claims, for which negligence is a key issue. A gross negligence finding could quadruple civil damages owed by BP under the Clean Water Act to $21 billion.

The British company has already announced an uncapped class-action settlement with private plaintiffs that the company estimates will cost $7.8 billion to resolve. The litigation was brought by more than 100,000 individuals and businesses claiming economic and medical damages from the spill.

BP believes it can handle it all after selling off $35 billion worth of assets. As of November, when it agreed to the plea, BP had paid $23 billion in clean-up costs and claims.

The U.S. government banned BP from new federal contracts over its ?lack of business integrity? in the spill, which could threaten its role as a leading U.S. offshore oil and gas producer.

But BP said on Tuesday that its mandatory debarment under the settlement did not affect any existing contracts or leases.

?The government has awarded BP over 50 federal leases since the Deepwater Horizon accident,? said BP, which is the largest investor and deepwater leaseholder in the Gulf of Mexico with interests in 700 blocks and seven rigs now operating there.

The criminal case is?USA v. BP Exploration and Production Inc, case no. 2:12-CR-00292, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans.

Source: http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2013/01/30/221996.htm

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Social Bowl XLVII: Why You Should Move Your Money to the Web ...

We all know that the Super Bowl is the Super Bowl of, well, Super Bowls.? It?s even MORE super for mega-brands with colossal marketing budgets, fancy Hollywood contacts and burping frogs.? But not everyone is a Coke? Or even a Pepsi.? Consequently, if you?re a mid-sized business looking to maximize your advertising dollars this Sunday, the place to spend that cash isn?t on TV, but online.

Say you?re Shasta.? Or Thrifty Car Rental.? Or Kettle Brand.? Sure you have an ad budget, but at $3.8 million per 30 second TV spot, those dollars are burned in a half-minute.

But social media is different.? There?s a lower financial barrier to entry and seemingly endless opportunities to improve your ?bang for the buck.?? So rather than blow your budget on 30 seconds, small businesses and mid-sized concerns should stretch their Benjamins across Twitter and Facebook.

As Portent?s President Steve Gahler says, ?You can?t own the Super Bowl, but you can own the space where everyone talks about the Super Bowl.?

Here?s how you, too, can put some points on the board during the biggest media marketing event of the year.

The Game Day audience

Last year, 111.3 million people watched the Super Bowl ? the largest audience ever.

And according to NBC (last year?s broadcaster), 2.1 million people watched the game live online.? Yes, a much (much) smaller market, but potentially a more tech-savvy, higher-income one as well.? Add that number to the masses following the game on social media and you have a nice chunk of engaged fans to market to.

This year?s broadcaster CBS will be streaming live on their site, as will nfl.com.

TV ad costs

Up, up and away:

According to Forbes:? ?Current reports plug [Super Bowl XLII?s] ad price at $3.8 million, up from the $3.5 million that companies paid for a spot at [last] year?s game, and that is just the cost of air time. Ad budgets for Super Bowl commercials can run as high as $5 million per 30-second spot.?

So, potentially $8.8 million for 30 seconds.? Yes, it?s the biggest media event in the world, but?

Super Bowl ads don?t work for everyone

According to NBC News:? ?Most of the top 10 [Super Bowl] spenders are perennial also-rans. Yum! Brands, owner of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, spent $67 million over the past 10 years. Meanwhile, McDonald?s, the indisputable market leader, spent less than half that amount and is not a top 10 spender. Similarly, E*Trade, well-known for the talking baby campaign, spent more than any other online brokerage firm, yet remains fourth in the industry.?

Most mid- to-small-size companies can?t afford to blow $9 million on a spot that doesn?t guarantee a great ROI.? And for all their hype, Super Bowl ads don?t.? For example, check out this graphic from nfl.com?s Football Freakonomics:

Social media and television: Partners in engagement

According to the latest Nielsen Social Media Report, ?As of June 2012, more than 33 percent of Twitter users had actively tweeted about TV-related content. Some 44 percent of U.S. tablet owners and 38 percent of U.S. smartphone owners use their devices daily to access social media while watching television.?

And those numbers are an aggregation.? Super Bowl engagement is even higher.

But does social really convert?

Even the NFL is using social media to evaluate Super Bowl ads? ROI.? The NFL?s Head of Sales Seth Winter says social media improves an ad?s TV value, allowing them to charge more.? So why not start with social if you can?t afford the TV kit and caboodle?

Where to spend your money: Twitter

In the final moments of last year?s game, Twitter interaction was averaging over 12,000 tweets per second.? PER SECOND.? And the grand total for Super Bowl related tweets?? 13.7 million.

From Zander Lurie, SVP, Strategic Development at CBS:

They refer to it as a ?second screen? experience: the audience watches conventional media while using new media to comment on / interact with it.? Take a look at this graphic by Nielsen:

And for social proof, do you know who?s monitoring Twitter on Super Bowl Sunday?? All of those enormous in-game advertisers? For real time feedback, they turn to the social media network.

(Interesting aside: With social media, you may not even lose an impression due a pit stop: according to the Nielsen report, 32% of people use social networking in the bathroom.)

Option 1: Promoted Tweets

A tip from Twitter?s advertising department: ?Leverage real-time intent: Run Promoted Tweets in search to target relevant [timely] terms that have trended in the past on Twitter and are likely to once again spark high levels of discussion.?

A Promoted Tweet looks like this:

I could obviously do with some more followers? Hint.

And just in time to collect your Super Bowl dollars, Twitter made improvements to Promoted Tweets:? You can now target negative keywords.? Their example: ?If you sell bacon, you can now keep your campaigns more than six degrees apart from Kevin Bacon by using ?Kevin? as a negative keyword.?

You can also target your promoted Tweets to geographic regions (a great advertising option for brick and mortar businesses), existing follower base and gender.

But the best thing about Promoted Tweets?? You only pay when people play.? From Twitter: ?Promoted Tweets are priced on a Cost-per-Engagement (CPE) basis, so you only pay when someone retweets, replies to, clicks or favorites your Promoted Tweet.?? Pretty sweet deal for someone with a small ad budget.

Option 2: Sponsored hashtags

Also known as Promoted Trends, a sponsored hashtag will appear at the top of Twitter?s Trending Topics list at the left of a user?s feed.

Anecdotal evidence of their efficacy ? at least for bigger brands ? is positive.? For example, Coke used a promoted tweet during the 2010 World Cup and snatched 86 million impressions with a 6% engagement rate.

Today, the price tag of a 24-hour sponsored hashtag is around $120,000, though Twitter is expected to hike that cost for this year?s Bowl.? It?s a bargain at even twice or three times that figure, however, when you consider that your brand will stay in the spotlight for 24 hours (compared to a 30 second, $3.8 million TV spot).

Sponsored hashtags also appear on iPhones, Android mobile devices, Tweetdeck and Hootsuite, making them a good choice for folks tweeting in front of their flatscreens.

A caveat: As with any social or viral marketing campaign, you do not control the interaction.? It is important to consider that the hashtag, once created, takes on a life of its own.? Some of your feedback may be negative. For example, check out the Republican National Committee?s #AreYouBetterOff debacle.

And for those of you truly looking for a bargain, you can get ahead of the game and capitalize on tags that you KNOW will be trending; in 2013, #ManofSteel, #IronMan3 and #Hangover3 are all pretty safe bets.? You can also check out hashtag search engines like Tweet Archivist or Tweet Charts to see what people are talking about most.

Option 3: Promoted accounts

While a promoted account won?t necessarily be visible on everyone?s Twitter page, it allows for greater targeting of potential customers. Twitter?s algorithm recommends a user follow your account only if they fit a specific profile, resulting in less wasted coverage.

Like Promoted Tweets, you only pay for interaction ? specifically when someone follows your account. You decide how much you want to spend per day or new follower, and you can geo-target.

Our in-house social media guru Doug Antkowiak also suggests: ?Promoted accounts target people based on who the target account is already following.? If you want to be seen by a specific niche, you need to go follow those people first.? Followerwonk is a great place to start.?

Where to spend your money: Facebook

Are people really looking at their Facebook pages during the big game?

Allfacebook.com studied the wall posts of more than 1,400 brands during game time and found that engagement during the Super Bowl soared 60%.

Not unexpectedly, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg maintains advertising on Facebook is better than advertising on television.? More unexpectedly, she had this stat to back it up:? Facebook?s daily traffic is over three times greater than Super Bowl viewership.

Option 1: Facebook Ads

Facebook Ads allow you to select a page or piece of content you?d like to promote.

Facebook has greater targeting dexterity than Twitter, allowing you to select from a number of demographic categories, including location, age, gender and interests.? You set your campaign budget and are charged every time someone sees your ad or sponsored story.? Then choose whether you?d like to optimize for engagement, impressions or clicks.

If a mid-sized business elects to go with Facebook Ads, it may want to create some pieces of quality Super Bowl-centric content to promote on Game Day.? Craft the message for your target market and select the demographic filters that correspond.

Option 2: Facebook Apps

More expensive but great at brand building, Facebook apps allow you to more fully engage with a potential customer base, often via a contest, game or service.? It also enables an advertiser to control a corner of the social media juggernaut, increasing user engagement rates.

With highlights like automatic bookmarking, newsfeed stories and a notifications API, Facebook apps are front and center for engaging potential customers.? Once you reach 10 active users, your app will be automatically included in the Facebook search index.? Facebook Insights also allows you to accurately track user engagement and referral traffic.

In fact this year, Doritos is using a Facebook App to choose their network Super Bowl commercial as the latest incarnation of their popular ?Crash the Super Bowl? promotion.

While posting your app to Facebook is free, building it can cost anywhere from $500 to tens of thousands of dollars.

Your Game Day playbook

1. Start with content.? Create something relevant to the Super Bowl, but not necessarily about football.? Think of your target market and generate a campaign that connects your product or service to the event in a way that engages them.? For a conventional media example, the Puppy Bowl entertains Animal Planet?s demographic (pet owners) with a silly, cute ?game? that is relevant enough to capitalize on the Super Bowl?s PR, but distant enough they can carve their own niche.
2. Capitalize on Twitter trends through promoted tweets and sponsored hashtags.? Also take advantage of some ?free? promotion with Tweets using hashtags that are certain to be popular.
3. Anything that is cost-per-whatever, consider using.? You?re only paying for people who have seen your Facebook ad/Promoted tweet/account/etc.? No wasted coverage.
4. As always, monitor and measure.? Improve.? You?ll have another shot next year.

The takeaway

?Playing your own game? is about forging a relationship with your customer base on your terms.? Small- to mid-sized businesses should grasp the opportunity to capitalize on a trending, water cooler topic like the Super Bowl, but they must do so strategically, for the right price, and be able to measure the result.

For anyone who?s not Coke (or even Pepsi), the smart money?s online.? There you?ll have time to build a brand identity? One that stands a chance against a talking gecko and some Clydesdales.

Ultimately, you can spend $3.8 million on 30 seconds of TV which may or may not catch fire? Or you can become part of the excited, week-long dialogue that surrounds the big game, engaging potential consumers on a topic they are already vested in.

Now it may be too late to implement a strategy for the Super Bowl ? it IS on Sunday ? but there?s still a little time to capitalize on the Female Super Bowl: the Oscars air on Sunday, Feb. 24.

Am I missing any other viable social media ad outlets for Super Bowl Sunday?? Should we bet on YouTube?? Pinterest? (Hint: not them.)? Let me know in the comments below.

Source: http://www.portent.com/blog/internet-marketing/social-bowl-xlvii.htm

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One FC?s Peter Davis is a fighter, model, actor and a ?Hot Guy Who Cooks?

Peter Davis is a model, actor, and has worked in finance. He also once worked in finance, and appeared on an Asian television show called, "Hot Guys Who Cook." In addition to those roles, Davis will take his 5-1 record to One FC 7 this weekend, where he will fight Leo Krishna in Kuala Lumpur.

Davis said that fighting, acting and modeling are not as different as you would think.

"I'm in entertainment. In modeling, acting, film, and sometimes I do fighting," Davis told Cagewriter. "It's a bit of a strange thing to do, considering modeling and acting but it's still all entertainment."

He has had runway shows and commercial shoots after fights. When he told agents about fights, they rarely understood what MMA entailed. He has been asked if he wore headgear to fights.

"The agencies are usually quite concerned when I say I'm going to fight. Headgear? Kind of?"

He describes his style of fighting as unorthodox, comparing it to Lyoto Machida.

"If they're looking at me, and they're looking at my fighting style, it's just not very orthodox. I end up with lots of options with my striking. My ground game is quite reasonable. I can roll with brown belts and purple belts, but I'm a stand-up fighter who has the power to knock people out."

Being elusive helps him from getting too beat up in the face, which helps with modeling.

"It's really the modeling style," Davis joked.

The son of a British man and Malaysian woman, Davis started fighting in 2004 in the UK, but retired in 2006. He continued to train, but didn't fight again until the MMA scene heated up in Malaysia, where he now lives. Now, he fights to test himself and see where the fight world will take him.

"I want to see that what I know does work, but to win a title belt would be nice. That would be amazing. It's such a huge event. After that, I don't know what I'd like to do. Whether it's acting, modeling or fighting. I don't want a long and arduous career of being punched in the face. I'd like to do more fights, maybe get a title belt and see where it takes me."

This weekend, it means a bout with Leo Krishna at One FC 7. Check out pay-per-view information here.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/one-fc-peter-davis-fighter-model-actor-hot-212749506--mma.html

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Israel Bombs Convoy on Syria-Lebanon Border

Israeli jets reportedly struck a convoy on the Syrian-Lebanese border today.
The Jerusalem Post reported:

A western diplomat and three regional security sources said Wednesday that Israel Air Force warplanes struck a target on the Syrian-Lebanese border overnight, hours after Lebanon reported a series of three overflights by Israel in its airspace.

Israel has expressed increasing concern over the fate of Syrian chemical and conventional weapons as the country slides further into chaos after almost two years of civil war.

The sources, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, had no further information about what might have been hit or where precisely the attack happened, but the news website Al-Monitor quoted unnamed sources as saying that the target had been an arms convoy in Syria, close to the Lebanon border.

A Western diplomat in the region who asked about the strike said ?something has happened?, without elaborating.

An unnamed security source told AFP: ?The Israeli air force blew up a convoy which had just crossed the border from Syria into Lebanon.?

An activist in Syria who works with a network of opposition groups around the country said that she had heard of a strike in southern Syria from her colleagues but could not confirm.

?

Source: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/01/israel-bombs-convoy-on-syria-lebanon-border/

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More contenders for the great Super Bowl adfest ? Taco Bell and Hyundai Canada

Here we go: Deutsch LA have been busy bees; producing VW?s Jamaican-themed opus for the Super Bowl on Sunday and also this one for Taco Bell showing a bunch of senior citizens partying at the popular eaterie.

Deutsch recently muscled onto the Taco Bell roster alongside ?lead? agency DraftFCB (both agencies are owned by Interpublic). Poor old DraftFCB, by contrast, has been missing out somewhat this Super Bowl season: Mondelez?s Oreo, where DraftFCB is also supposed to be lead agency, has given its Super Bowl task to non-roster Wieden+Kennedy Portland.

It was directed by Noam Murro for Biscuit Filmworks.

The Super Bowl isn?t just popular in the US of course, 16 million people watch it over the border in Canada too. So, for the second year in a row, Hyundai Canada is entering the fray with this ad Hyundai ?Gaspocalypse? from in-house agency Innocean Worldwide plugging the fuel-efficient Sonata Hybrid.

It was directed by Benjamin Weinstein for Steam Films/Tool of America.

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Source: http://www.moreaboutadvertising.com/2013/01/more-contenders-for-the-great-super-bowl-adfest-taco-bell-and-hyundai-canada/

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Tattourism: Permanent souvenirs make their mark

3 hrs.

Dana McMahan , NBC News contributor

Who needs tchotchkes? Eiffel tower snow globes are passe,?and with open borders, passport ink is growing harder to come by.?

For an unforgettable souvenir, some adventurous travelers are bringing home an indelible reminder of their vacation. For them, getting inked on vacation is a new way to commemorate a trip abroad.

Actress?Scarlett Johansson may be the most visible, but is just one of the latest travelers to get a tattoo while abroad. Johansson added a ?Lucky You? horseshoe by Paris artist Fuzi Uvtpk to her body art last fall. Elsewhere in Paris, former ad man ?Sailor Roman? welcomes visitors to his apartment where he adorns ?sailors, wanderlust seekers and adventure junkies? with his old-school single color art.

What compels people to go under the needle while far from the comforts of home??

?When on vacation you are more free???free of spirit and free of the time,? reasons Rocky Rakovic, editor of Inked magazine. ?Because you can't order tattoos on Amazon.com, if you want a piece by a particular tattoo artist you have to be in the presence of the tattooist so some people even plan their travel around tattoo appointments abroad.? Rakovic says certain people ?collect tattoos.? They ?pick up tattoos here and there???it sure beats buying a keychain or snow globe.?

When web designer Jazmine Atienza, a Filipino-American living in Brooklyn, traveled to the Philippines in 2011, she?said, ?I was already into tattoos ... I had designed Filipino tattoos in my head.??

She learned about a traditional tattoo artist living in the mountains, Whang-Od, a ?95-year-old woman who's been on Discovery Channel,??and embarked on a rainy season 12-hour drive from Manila and?a?harrowing hike into the mountains to reach the artist. ?It was the middle of a typhoon, hiking Indiana Jones kind of ravines,? she said.

Using the traditional ?tapping method? of charcoal soot and a sharp stick, Od emblazoned her arm with a small Filipino motif as Atienza ?stood in a doorway with chickens and pigs running around outside.?

?For me it ended up being very much about the journey,? Atienza said. ?It was more than going and being a consumer. It?s not just about the mark as much as it is about the experience. It goes beyond being a novelty experience to being a really meaningful one.?

Atienza's experience may be a little extreme for some travelers' preference, but ?customs vary between tattoo shops and cultures,? Rakovic said. ?The masters in Japan may require a written introduction, a Maori artist may not tell you what the design will be. Explain ... that you have never been tattooed outside your time zone and they will let you know the process.?

Before choosing a tattoo artist overseas, a wise traveler will do some research.?

Sailor Roman???who gave himself his first tattoo in a dirty parlor on the island of Koh Chang using a traditional Thai bamboo method?? says visiting international tattoo conventions for referrals is a good starting point, as is visiting the shop beforehand to evaluate its hygiene, and inspecting for essential safety measures like new needles.?

Rakovic adds some timing tips. ?Keep in mind that if you get a tattoo your first night in the tropics that you won't be able to go out into the sun or take a dip in the ocean,? he said. ?And if you get the tattoo on the back-end of your excursion, book an aisle seat and remember to buy aftercare lotion bottles small enough that the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) allows them in your carry-on.?

And though a tattoo could be a spur of the moment decision on a vacation, Rakovic reminds travelers to stop and think:??They must really be certain that they are prepared to live with the tattoo forever.?Many artists won't cover over someone else's work.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/itineraries/tattourism-permanent-souvenirs-make-their-mark-1B8041251

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Cadavers honored in med student dissection lab

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., medical student Jimmy Beasley, left, speaks with Joan Terry, about her sister, donor Judy A. Clemens, after a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., medical student Jimmy Beasley, left, speaks with Joan Terry, about her sister, donor Judy A. Clemens, after a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., family members watch as a medical student lights a candle atop the remains of their grandfather, donor William N. Kelly, during a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., A military honor guard folds the flag of a Viet Nam veteran and anonymous donor, during a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., Linsdey Ellingsen, granddaughter of donor William N. Kelly, wipes a tear from her eye as a song is sung during a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., medical student Sarah F. Shaaban reads from the Quran during a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

GARY, Ind. (AP) ? When medical students have finished their study and practice on cadavers, they often hold a respectful memorial service to honor these bodies donated to science.

But the ceremonies at one medical school have a surreal twist: Relatives gather around the cold steel tables where their loved ones were dissected and which now hold their remains beneath metal covers. The tables are topped with white or burgundy-colored shrouds, flags for military veterans, flowers and candles.

The mixture of grace and goth at the Indiana University School of Medicine-Northwest campus might sound like a scene straight out filmmaker Tim Burton's quirky imagination. Yet, despite the surrounding shelves of medical specimens and cabinets of human bones, these dissection lab memorials are more moving than macabre.

The medical students join the families in the lab and read letters of appreciation about the donors, a clergy member offers prayers, and tears are shed.

Family members are often squeamish about entering that room. This year's ceremony was last Friday, and relatives of one of the six adult donors being honored chose not to participate. And some who did attend had mixed feelings.

Joan Terry of Griffith, Ind., came to honor her sister, Judy Clemens, who died in 2011 at age 51 after a long battle with health problems including multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis. Terry said she felt a little hesitant about being in the dissection lab and was relieved that nothing too graphic was visible.

"I was kind of looking forward to coming," Terry said. "This is ... like a closure. I know Judy's not with us anymore. I know that she's dancing on the streets of gold in heaven. She's probably smiling knowing that her body's helping other people, helping these young doctors learn something about her, because that's what she wanted. That's the type of person that she was. She was always giving."

More than three dozen students, donors' relatives and campus staff members crowded the anatomy lab during Friday's memorial, surrounding the tables and standing solemnly along the room's perimeter. Some dabbed their eyes as prayers and remembrances were said, but faces were mostly stoic and there was no sobbing. The lab's usual odor of formaldehyde was strangely absent, masked perhaps by the sweet aroma of bouquets decorating the cadaver tables.

Some donors' relatives wore formal funeral attire. Terry, noting her plain pink T-shirt, said her sister wasn't a fancy person, either. Terry closed her eyes and struggled not to cry during the service, saying beforehand that Clemens "would be upset if I did."

Abdullah Malik, a medical student who worked on Judy Clemens, thanked her in a letter he read aloud during the ceremony.

"To have the courage and fortitude to endure as much as she did is a testament to her strength and an inspiration to us all," he read, standing next to Clemens' sister beside the dissection table holding Clemens' remains.

Ernest Talarico Jr., an assistant professor and director of anatomy coursework, created the unusual program and began holding the laboratory ceremonies in 2007. The cadavers are considered the medical students' first patients, and students are encouraged to have contact with the donors' families during the semester, too.

At other medical schools, donated bodies remain anonymous and students never meet the families. Talarico said his program humanizes the learning experience.

Talarico views the services as life-affirming and a chance to give thanks. The education these donated bodies have provided is invaluable, he says, teaching doctors-to-be how the body works, and what causes things to go wrong.

"We look at it as a celebration of the lives of those individuals and the gift that they have given to us," Talarico said.

He considers the location fitting.

"I think it is appropriate in that we honor them in the setting in which they desired to give what they viewed as their last gift to humanity," he said.

Malik, the medical student, said knowing the donors' identities and meeting their families enriches the students' medical education.

"Once you put a name and a face to the body that you're working with, once you kind of put an identity to it, you kind of connect to it in a really meaningful and powerful way," he said.

Medical student Kyle Parker said he admired the donors' relatives for showing up, and wondered if he were in their shoes, "would I be willing to meet the people who have actually dissected my family member?"

Parker said he hopes the answer would be yes.

___

Online:

Indiana University School of Medicine-Northwest: http://iusm-nw.medicine.iu.edu

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at: http://www.Twitter.com/LindseyTanner

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-29-Cadaver%20Memorial/id-015833758b8a440bbea0198148c2bd7d

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Just Add Sugar: Oklahoma Baby Shower

Ryan & I have been so blessed with wonderful friends & family offering to host baby showers for us.? I know it's sort of unusual to have so many.? But since we both have large families that live in town?& just moved from Kansas City to Bartlesville, OK we've ended up having several showers.? We have the best friends? and family anyone could ever ask for!? Thank you guys!!

Two weeks ago my good friends, Janet & Sara, hosted a small baby shower for friends in Bartlesville.? That way they didn't have to travel to the one in Kansas City.? The shower was held at Janet's beautiful home that's actually just down the street from our house!

I LOVED these invitations.? Sara found the design off Etsy.

How cute is this setup??

The girls made everything homemade including the strawberry lemonade.? Everything was to die for.

Sara also made this sweet diaper wreath for the front door.? I've never seen one of these before!? This girl is talented.? :)

Sara also found this idea on Pinterest to have all the guests make head bands for Maggie!? She found the kit on Etsy.? I had never heard of this before either!! I LOVED this and can't wait to put them on Maggie's sweet little head knowing my friends made them for her.

Katie, Stacey, Megan & Lauren (the back of her)

Of course the finger print tree came to this shower as well!

Sara, Megan, Katie, Lauren, Jill (the back of her), Janet?& Stacey

I love getting girly baby clothes!? Sara found this sweet thing off Etsy as well. (Don't you just love Etsy?!)

A gift from my good friend, Emily, (shout out!)?who now lives in Texas & couldn't make it to the shower.

Janet, Me & Sara

The amazing hostesses!!? Thank you guys so much for the gorgeous shower.? It was absolutely perfect!!

Source: http://www.just-add-sugar.com/2013/01/oklahoma-baby-shower.html

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Kurtz: Sarah Palin's fall from stardom (CNN)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/280055942?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Internet Marketing Strategies Entrepreneurs & Home Based ...

Internet Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs and Home Based Business

Internet Marketing can be challenging if you are seeking to make an income online.? Some people are able to understand internet marketing and monetizing sales quickly.? Are you ready for your breakthrough?? Good? here?s how?

I just wanted to share some internet marketing strategies for entrepreneurs and home based business from the latest network marketing event that I attended in Austin last week:

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Internet Marketing

l.? Internet Marketing:? Be Clear ? Be extremely clear in your intentions what your purpose is for being online.? Are you trying to?

- build a list of people to market to

- seeking to build a brand

- philanthropy

- blogging to create traffic to your blog

- provide information to a specific niche

- provide information for a mass market

- create income for a business/affiliate product

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ? shop online(!)?

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2.? Internet Marketing:? Get All In ? Once you?ve decided why you are online, make sure you get ?All In.?? Be committed to your cause.? If you are not committed, you?ll not be committed to the action, and if you?re not committed to the action, you?re basically saying, ?This isn?t going to work.?

?

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3.? Internet Marketing:? Blogging? ? Blogging works.? Create content relevant to your purpose, and your cause.? If it is something you love to talk about, then you might not know what to blog about first, because there is so much you want to communicate.

?

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If you are a perfectionist or have some perfectionist tendencies, you?ll end up wanting to put everything in a logical order, which may slow you down when it comes to getting your content out there.? There is no perfect? just get to the business of blogging.

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Actual blogging may even feel a bit awkward as you learn to be yourself, rather than grammatically correct, as if your 12th grade English teacher was about to grade you on your sentence structure, spelling or mechanics.

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You feel that ?freeze? block, don?t you, even as you read this?? I think we all go through that when we first start out, though.? We never realize how afraid we are to make mistakes when it comes to writing, until we actually think about blogging as a method to build a presence online for a business.

?

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But don?t let your past dictate your future? just go for it.

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Solution?? Just keep pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone to get your message out there.? It?s fun, therapeutic, creates ownership, and will create the results you want according to your intention?if? you?re committed enough to your cause, that is.

?

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Aim to blog daily.? Life will do it?s best to disrupt your plans, so you are now forewarned.? And if you miss a day?begin as soon as you can again!

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4.? Internet Marketing:? Market ? There are many paid and free resources on marketing.? I?ve seen a lot, spent a lot, and have had some expensive learning experiences that have taught me a few things.

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Should you want my completely honest opinion on the best internet marketing as well as blogging platform combined in one that will help you achieve your goals, then take the time to click here and review it, not just assume you know without taking the time to do some diligence.? I?m an ex-Instructor; I?ve done the research meticulously, and I care about my ?students.?? This is? what I recommend to my audience.

?

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5.? Internet Marketing:? Take Action - Sooner than later.

?Procrastination is not your friend.?

Place that on a sticky notes in the most obvious places in your house so that you see it daily.? Stop making excuses ? just stop.? Push yourself to take action.

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6.? Internet Marketing:? Ignore Everything ? that is keeping you from your goals.? (Take that into context of course, and I?m going to have faith you understand what I mean?) Unsubscribe from lists in your email box.? Tell yourself, you can re-subscribe, once you?ve hit your internet marketing success and achieved your goals.

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Ignore the little things that are keeping you from achieving your daily mission.? If you don?t ignore and change something in your life, realize one, two, and five years from now you still will be in the same place you are today.

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Nothing will change unless you make the effort to put something aside long enough to get the changes you want in your life.

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That?s why it is called Effort.

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7. Internet Marketing:? Be Consistent -? Be consistent no matter what.? Why?? Because your audience is not listening to you today.? But they will?they will change their mind, once they see you making it!

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?You are destined for greatness in your life? you?ve only been distracted.? ~ D. Wood

?

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If you enjoyed this post about? ?Internet Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs and Home Based Business? please comment, Google+ and share.?

To Your Business Success!

?Doris Hullett

Doris Hullett

About The Author:?? Doris Hullett is a consultant who trains in business and marketing, fully embracing the power of business relationships.

Struggling in mlm, network marketing or direct sales? ? (3 tips) ?>>> ? get in & watch the video??? Enter email, and get instant access.?????

(Your Email is protected)

Related Post:

Internet Marketing System

Internet Marketing Strategies

Photos of above event

Source: http://meetdorishullett.com/home-based-business/internet-marketing-strategies-for-entrepreneurs-and-home-based-business/

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Invest in HP's High-Speed LTO-5 Backup Tape Technology and ...

Author: Shawn | Total views: 157 Comments: 0
Word Count: 563 Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2013 7:59 AM

Every company needs backup technology in the world of today regardless of size, type or the field they specialize in. Small businesses that have newly started out require backup technology so that they can store information regarding taxes, progress, balance sheets, interest rates, loaners, etc. Medium sized businesses would require such technology so that they can keep a track of how they can progress further. Some medium sized businesses come up with projects and products that would help them get greater profits and they may need to research about these products before they can bring these into the market. Backup technology would also be required in order to store such information and to protect this information from getting into the wrong hands because often businesses steal each other?s ideas and patent and copyright problems make cases and litigation confusing, long and expensive. Big businesses (and multinational corporations) face similar issues.

In addition to the need for the storage of important information there is the problem of having to protect data from other businesses that are willing to go to any length in order to ?cut down the competition? and get to a point where they can monopolize the market and manipulate prices so that they can maximize their profits. Many businesses hire hackers so that they can gain access into another company's computer and extract information that they can use this data for their own gains and purposes. Yes, this does happen in real life, not just in movies.

Backup technology would help these companies protect any important data on to a separate device rather than on to their databases which can be affected by viruses or hacked into by hackers. These come in the form of DDS tapes, LTO tapes and flash drives and USBs. USBs are mostly used by individuals such as students, teachers, employers, etc. When it comes to saving large documents, digital files, sensitive information and data that is vital to a company?s existence DDS and LTO tapes are the right backup technology devices because they have more storage capacity. If you are looking for the right devices then, the HP LTO5 tape is just the thing you need.

This LTO 5, the fifth generation of leading Linear Tape Open system, has a backup storage capacity of 3 TB of compressed (and 1.5 TB of native) data. You could store digital files and large documents into this tape and use it whenever you want. The advantage of using this tape is that it is compact and light, so you can hide it and/or store it anywhere you want. Another plus point about these tapes is that they come with an AES encryption which would add to the security granted to information stored inside.

The HP ultrium 5 system is very affordable and would be of great use to businesses (medium sized). HP has a number of other LTO tapes which small and medium sized businesses can purchase if they require tapes with less storage capacity considering the size of the business.

The HP ultrium 5 system is very affordable and would be of great use to businesses (medium sized). HP has a number of other LTO tapes which small and medium sized businesses can purchase if they require tapes with less storage capacity considering the size of the business.

Frank Miller is the Marketing Manager of Backuptape and markets Fuji LTO3 tape and Sony LTO6 tape. He has vast experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping buyers who have the backup needs and guide clients about the technology.

Frank Miller
Backuptapes.net
111 Deerwood Road, Suite 200
San Ramon CA 94583-4409
Tel: 888-686-8273
Fax: 888-449-5050
Email: sales@backuptapes.net

Related to: HP LTO-5 tape - lto-5 - lto5 media - lto 5 ultrium

-- HTML code --

1: Backup Virtualization and LTO-5 Tape System is an Ideal Combination That Makes Data Management More Efficient

Good news is that the LTO ultrium-5 customers can further elevate their performance.

by: Shawn on: Fri, 19 Oct 2012

2: High Performance Features Of HP 1840 LTO-4 Tape Drive

HP LTO4 drives have capability to encrypt your data with highly dependable

by: Shawn on: Thu, 25 Oct 2012

3: Quantum?s High Performance Backup Tape Solutions Engineered For Efficient Performance in SMB Environment

Quantum brings you the finest range of world-class backup solutions that are robustly engineered and are deliver the best performance. Quantum has the richest portfolio of backup solutions that are efficiently fulfilling the fast-growing needs of SMBs.

by: Shawn on: Tue, 10 Jul 2012

4: Dell TL2000 Library Supports LTO4, LTO 3 and LTO 5 Ultrium Tapes

Dell TL2000 library is the solution of choice for unattended backups, small office environments and medium-sized organizations.

by: Shawn on: Tue, 7 Aug 2012

5: Cisco?s Intelligently Designed 5500 Series LAN Controllers Simplify Data Management in Complex Networks

Cisco 5500 series is a smart choice for campus environments, large businesses and mid-sized IT centers.

by: Shawn on: Wed, 12 Sep 2012

Source: http://www.content4reprint.com/computer/hardware/invest-in-hps-high-speed-lto-5-backup-tape-technology-and-confidently-scale-your-storage-capability.htm

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UK: Reports of threat against Tripoli embassy

LONDON (AP) ? Britain's Foreign Office says it is aware of reports about a potential threat against the U.K. embassy in Tripoli, the capital of Libya.

The reports come less than a week after the British government joined Germany, the Netherlands and Canada in urging their citizens in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi to evacuate in response to what was described as an imminent threat to Westerners.

The Foreign Office said Monday it is working closely with the Libyan government in response to reports of a potential threat against its embassy in Tripoli.

Britain has not changed its travel advice, which recommends against all but essential travel to Tripoli.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-reports-threat-against-tripoli-embassy-183858662.html

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PFT: Adrian Peterson says he is NFL MVP

Getty Images

We agree wholeheartedly with the opinions expressed by Peter King in his latest Monday Morning Quarterback and elsewhere regarding the merit (or more accurately lack thereof) of former Raiders receiver Tim Brown?s non-allegation allegation that former Raiders coach Bill Callahan ?sabotaged? a 10-year-old Super Bowl.? But some questions remain as the latest Super Bowl week commences.

First, will 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh be asked about the situation at one of his many media availabilities this week?? Harbaugh, who was a first-year offensive assistant with the Raiders in 2002, wasn?t asked about it on Sunday night when the team arrived.? And given the extent to which the story has faded in recent days, he may not be asked about it at all.

Second, did the Raiders? game plan change two days before the game?? Brown?s ludicrous opinion of sabotage comes from his belief, as a factual matter, that Callahan changed the game plan.? So did he?? There has been no definitive answer provided to that question.

Third, did the Raiders fail to change audibles and line calls?? It has been presumed for nearly a decade that the Raiders didn?t account for the fact that former Oakland coach Jon Gruden knew the code words that would be used at the line of scrimmage on offense.? But Peter King?s dismantling of the sabotage theory in the latest Monday Morning Quarterback extends to the notion that the Bucs knew what the Raiders were planning to do.? The game broadcast, however, contained strong evidence to the contrary.

Tampa Bay safety John Lynch wore a microphone, and he plainly can be heard telling former Bucs defensive backs coach Mike Tomlin after the Raiders fell behind 20-3 late in the first half, ?Mike, every play they?ve run, we ran in practice.? It?s unreal.?

Said Tomlin, ?I know.?

Whatever the reason, the Buccaneers? dominance was enough, we?re told, to prompt Raiders receiver Jerry Rice to rip the microphone he was wearing during the game from his pads and flush it down a toilet at halftime.

Fourth, given that King believes Brown?s assertion is ?utterly preposterous? and that King is one of the voters for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, will this mess keep Brown out for another year?? The voters will swear that they don?t consider anything other than what happens on the field, in accordance with the Hall of Fame?s bylaws.? But as we explained in our one-time-and-one-time-only PFT season preview magazine (which apparently made a cameo appearance several months ago in an episode of Mike & Molly on CBS), the human beings who cast the votes are influenced by the things that tend to influence the decisions made by human beings.

If it?s a close call between Brown and someone else as a given voter makes the excruciating descent from 15 modern-era finalists to up to five modern-era enshrinees, Brown?s assertions could be viewed, consciously or otherwise, as reflecting the kind of disrespect for and misunderstanding of the game that could be the factor pushing that person one way or the other.

There would be no hard proof of it, and none of the voters will risk their vote by proclaiming publicly that they sabotaged Brown?s candidacy in part because of his claim of sabotage.? But it definitely could, in a close case, be a factor ? and we?d never know that it was.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/27/adrian-peterson-thinks-hes-the-nfl-mvp/related

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Nanohybrid with remarkable properties using a new laser-plasma process

Jan. 25, 2013 ? By achieving the synthesis of a novel nanohybrid structure by means of the pulsed laser ablation (PLA) technique, Professor My Ali El Khakani and his team paved the way for a new generation of optoelectronic materials. The combination of carbon nanotubes and lead sulfide (PbS) nanoparticles was performed using an effective and relatively simple process that offers considerable latitude for creating other nanohybrids for a variety of applications. The INRS ?nergie Mat?riaux T?l?communications Research Centre researcher's work, published in the journal Advanced Materials, presents very promising prospects for the development of third-generation solar devices, fast photodetectors, and optoelectronic switches.

In recent years, research on the photoelectronic properties of semiconductor nanoparticles, such as PbS, has been growing. The coupling of these nanoparticles with carbon nanotubes is a promising strategy for effectively generating photocurrent. The synthesis methods used by other research teams had significant limitations. "When chemically synthesizing nanohybrids, researchers used ligands, which prevented nanoparticle agglomeration, on one hand, but significantly affected the charge transfer dynamics from nanoparticles to nanotubes," said Professor El Khakani. Ligands reduce photoresponse efficiency and increase the reaction time -- two effects that were not observed in nanohybrids produced by PLA since PbS is in direct atomic contact with the nanotubes' surafce.

"At the beginning, we didn't know if the nanohybrids would form in such a way as to enable their effective use for photodetection," said Ibrahima Ka, an INRS doctoral student working under the supervision of Professor El Khakani and co-supervised by Professor Dongling Ma. "By optimizing our approach, we developed nanohybrids whose photoactivity can be almost tailored at will." By integrating the new nanohybrid material into functional photoconductive devices, the researchers were pleased to demonstrate its strong photoresponse, which overpasses the results obtained by other methods. Thus, they have been able to achieve photoresponse values as high as 670% at 633 nm and 1350% at 405 nm under conditions where other nanohybrids did not exceed 37%. Furthermore, when the material is illuminated by a laser, the photocurrent response time is 1,000 to 100,000 times faster than those reported to date for other nanohybrids.

The PLA synthesis process produces very pure nanostructures and provides greater control over nanohybrid characteristics. Professor El Khakani's results demonstrate the enormous potential of these carbon nanotubes with PbS quantum dots.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by INRS, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. I. Ka, V. Le Borgne, D. Ma, M. A. El Khakani. Pulsed Laser Ablation based Direct Synthesis of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube/PbS Quantum Dot Nanohybrids Exhibiting Strong, Spectrally Wide and Fast Photoresponse (Adv. Mater. 47/2012). Advanced Materials, 2012; 24 (47): 6288 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201290298

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/physics/~3/ME_1DopCgu8/130125142206.htm

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Kissinger Gives Forecast For Options On Iran - Business Insider

Henry Kissinger recently gave an ominous forecast on the future of Iran's nuclear program: that it will be taken care of one way or another very soon.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum at a Swiss ski resort in Davos, Kissinger said,?"People who have advanced their view will have to come to a determination about how to react or about the consequences of non-reaction," he said.

"I believe this point will be reached within a very foreseeable future."

Also at Davos, Agence France Presse reports that?President Shimon Peres said,?"There will be more attempts to try and negotiate, but there will always be in the horizon a military option, because if the Iranians think it's only economic and political, they won't pay attention."

Kissinger, Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak all seem to think that the Iran nuclear situation will come to close in some way in the next few months.

However, exactly how that will happen remains a subject of debate ? where some see military threat and possible strikes as integral, , others report that sanctions have crippled the country, opening up critical lanes for upcoming nuclear talks with the U.N. Security Council.

One recent Haaratz report said that Iran's income from oil had plummeted 50% in recent months, and the country has been unable to find the space to store its excess oil. Iran's oil represents 80 percent of its income, and the U.S. has almost unilaterally banned the import of that oil. On the other side, Iran's major importers are Asian countries (though China is exempt, it still represents an ally) ? countries likely to, and more importantly, able to, put pressure on the U.S. to drop sanctions.

While Iran may try to delay and quibble over locations for the negotiation, it looks like economic sanctions may well cause their hand to fold, and soon.

From Haaratz:

Iran's leaders know the only route to ease the economic pressures - and possibly undercut threats of military action on its nuclear sites by Israel - is through potential deal-making with the six world powers, which include the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany.

SEE ALSO:??Iran says war is the only thing that will stop them >

SEE ALSO:??The Military and Defense Facebook page for updates >

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/kissinger-gives-forecast-for-options-on-iran-2013-1

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Depression-era drainage ditches emerge as sleeping threat to Cape Cod salt marshes

Jan. 24, 2013 ? Cape Cod, Massachusetts has a problem. The iconic salt marshes of the famous summer retreat are melting away at the edges, dying back from the most popular recreational areas. The erosion is a consequence of an unexpected synergy between recreational over-fishing and Great Depression-era ditches constructed by Works Progress Administration (WPA) in an effort to control mosquitoes.

The cascade of ecological cause and effect is described by Tyler Coverdale and colleagues at Brown University in a paper published online this month in ESA's journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

"People who live near the marshes complain about the die-off because it's not nice to look at," said Coverdale. "Without cordgrass protection you also get really significant erosion, retreating at sometimes over a meter a year." The die-back is ugly, but it is also a substantial loss of a valuable ecological resource.

When fishermen hook too many predatory fishes out of the marsh's ecosystem, the fishes' prey go on fruitfully multiplying, unchecked. The reverberations down the food chain can result in uncomfortable environmental changes for human residents. The problem for Cape Cod is the native purple marsh crab (Sesarma reticulatum), which burrows in the mud along the inner shorelines of the marshes, and dines almost exclusively on the tall and fast-growing low marsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) that lines the marsh edges.

The tall and sturdy cordgrass is an essential buffer against the friction of tides and storms. Without it, soft banks erode out from under the other plants and the water line retreats farther and farther back into the marsh. The unchecked multitudes of purple marsh crabs have taken a visible toll on the developed areas of the Cape. By 2008, 50 percent of the creek banks in the marsh had worn back. Old drainage ditches have expanded from nearly invisible threads to open channels -- some nearly 30-40 meters wide -- with muddy, exposed edges.

The purple marsh crabs need tidal creek edge habitat to thrive, and do not venture into the inner heart of the marsh, where a shorter cordgrass species (the closely related, but squattier Spartina patens) and other high marsh plants dominate. The old WPA mosquito ditches also fulfill the crabs' habitat requirements. Once benign, the ditches nucleated dramatic reconstruction of the landscape with the loss of blue crab, striped bass, and smooth dogfish, and the subsequent boom of purple marsh crabs.

One of the remarkable features of the cordgrass die-off is its tight locality. Some areas of undeveloped marsh as close as a kilometer to the denuded banks around private residences and public docks appear healthy and unaffected. Mosquito ditches that can only be reached by a hard slog through undeveloped marshland do not display the striking die-off and bank erosion. The pattern cued the researchers to the possibility that recreational fishing was the trigger, Coverdale says. Few people wade into the swamp to fish.

Marshes are excellent model systems for observing the intersection of human impacts that can trigger environmental degradation, the authors say, because they have been exploited by humans for centuries, if not thousands of years, and are easily studied from aerial and satellite images.

"Marshes are one of the most heavily utilized resources worldwide," said Coverdale. "They are easily accessible, and provide shellfish, fuel, baitfish and opportunities for recreational anglers. A lot of those harvests are probably sustainable."But he is interested in the tipping points at which use of the marsh becomes unsustainable. The revelation of the slumbering menace of the mosquito ditches raises the prospect of other submerged impacts that may surface under the influence of new, contemporary pressures.

In the early twentieth century, Cape Cod was a very different place from the summer vacation destination it is today. As land use shifted from agriculture toward tourism, the local chamber of commerce funded an effort to draw off standing water through drainage ditches to suppress the mosquito population. The program was probably not very effective at controlling mosquito-borne disease, Coverdale says, but it did put a lot of people to work, and they were industrious. Over 2400 kilometers of old ditches stripe the marshes of the long, low-lying peninsula. The Cape Cod Mosquito Control Project continues ditch-dredging under the Barnstable County Department of Health and the Environment.

The ditching program had a relatively minor impact on the marshes compared to other forms of development, however. Following the Second World War, Cape Cod developed rapidly, nearly tripling in permanent human population between 1940 and 1976, when a new awareness of the ecological and economic benefits of the marsh brought strict limitations on further development. Ditches claimed only 2 percent of the marsh, compared with the 70 percent affected by roads, houses, restaurants, marinas, and other hallmarks of a modern coastal community. Alone, the ditches did not fundamentally alter the marsh ecosystem. The species that colonized the ditches were already present in the marsh; the WPA's remodeling project just moved them around. The additional pressure of recreational fishing changed that equilibrium.

How do Cape Cod residents and local fishing enthusiasts feel about this news? Coverdale says the area has a strong conservation ethic. People remember what the Cape looked like when their parents lived there, and are unhappy with the changes. As a fishing enthusiast himself, Coverdale does not see ecologists and fishermen as opposing forces.

"People enjoy catching fish today, but they come back year after year. They want to see the fish there tomorrow," Coverdale said. He has faith that the tendency of residents and long-time visitors to take the long view will make a solution possible. A system of catch and release could make fishing the Cape sustainable and allow the local community to retain its fishing heritage.

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---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Ecological Society of America. The original article was written by Liza Lester.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Tyler C Coverdale, Nicholas C Herrmann, Andrew H Altieri, Mark D Bertness. Latent impacts: the role of historical human activity in coastal habitat loss. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2013; : 130117050902007 DOI: 10.1890/120130

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/XV9qna5jpG8/130125104228.htm

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13 Writers Who Need To Get Writing (PHOTOS)

Writer's block is a terrible affliction.

And yet, we find ourselves with little sympathy when it comes to some of our favorite writers who haven't produced a book in years. WE WANT MORE BOOKS! FEEEEEED USSSSSSS!

Here are 13 writers from whom we only want books, not excuses:

• Philip Pullman

  Yes, he did produce his own retelling of classic fairy tales last year, but really we want him to write<em> The Book of Dust</em>, the latest companion book to the His Dark Materials series. No publishing date has been announced yet. Get on with it, Philip! (Photo by MJ Kim/Getty Images)

• George R.R. Martin

  Yes, you just wrote a new novella set in Westeros. Not enough, sorry. STOP WITH THE EVERYTHING ELSE, GEORGE! STOP IT NOW! (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)

• John Green

  So you hosted an amazing gig at Carnegie Hall, you make more videos a day than we eat meals, and you blog/Tumb/tweet more than a teenager whose cat just died. But we loved <em>The Fault in Our Stars</em> so much, we just want more books. Write on, Mr G. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

• EL James

  We're not necessarily excited about the prose that will result, but the survival of the publishing industry may yet depend on EL James writing several more books a year. (Photo credit should read KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images)

• George Saunders

  Suddenly the flavor of the moment, his quirky, disturbing sci-fiesque suburban short stories have critics fighting over each other to say who thinks <em>Tenth of December</em> is the best book of the month/year/decade. However, as Adrian Chen <a href="http://gawker.com/5978325/writer-of-our-time-george-saunders-needs-to-write-a-goddamn-novel-already">so perceptively puts it at Gawker</a>, write a goddamn novel already.

• Hilary Mantel

  <em>Wolf Hall</em>: Booker Prize. <em>Bring up the Bodies</em>: Booker Prize. The final part of the trilogy, <em>The Mirror and the Light</em>... publishing date unconfirmed. What? Get to it, Mantel! They can only give the Booker to so many other people before you take it back again. (Photo credit should read JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

• Cormac McCarthy

  It's been seven years since <em>The Road</em>, and still no sign of <em>The Passenger</em>, <a href="http://www.thewittliffcollections.txstate.edu/research/a-z/mccarthypapers.html">his unfinished next novel</a>. You're turning 80 this year, Mr McCarthy. On your olde worlde typewriter, it's time to tap a little faster. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

• Erin Morgenstern

  We liked <em>The Night Circus</em> so much, we made it <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/the-night-circus-morgenstern-book-club_n_1501671.html">a book club pick. </a>But it came out more than a year ago. Morgenstern says her next book is "a film noir-flavored <em>Alice in Wonderland</em>." We want to read it, Erin. WE WANT TO READ IT NOW. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Summit Entertainment)

• Jhumpa Lahiri

  <em>The Interpreter of Maladies</em> was an incredible debut. <em>The Namesake</em> was a fascinating book and movie. But <em>Unaccustomed Earth</em> was five years ago now. Time to put the fingers to the keys and give us all what we want. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images)

• Jonathan Franzen

  Hey, Franzen. Enough with your compilations of witty, insightful non-fiction and documentaries on bird watching. You know what we see flying over the horizon? Another bloody novel. PUT DOWN THOSE BINOCULARS AND PICK UP A PEN. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for HBO)

• Donna Tartt

  <em>The Little Friend </em>was disturbing and memorable. It was also 11 years ago. Time for another, Donna. You can thank us later. (Photo by Bruno Vincent/Getty Images)

• Jeffrey Eugenides

  <em>The Marriage Plot</em> was fun and less frothy than many people assumed. Two years have now passed. Take your lovely shirts back to your desk, and don't leave until you're done. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

• Harper Lee

  We know, OK? You wrote <em>To Kill a Mockingbird</em> and that was it. But you started a second novel, <a href="http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_happened_to_The_Long_Goodbye_written_by_Harper_Lee"><em>The Long Goodbye</em></a>. Isn't it time you gave it an ending? Please? (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/25/13-writers-who-need-to-ge_n_2545073.html

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