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Source: http://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/automating-risk-management-may-take-change-management
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Thursday, January 31, 2013
Astro to offer Dead Space 3-themed A30 and A40 headsets on February 5th
Just in time for the release of EA's ultra-creepy Dead Space 3, Skullcandy subsidiary Astro Gaming is introducing themed versions of its A30 and A40 gaming headsets. While the headgear remains virtually unchanged, the news here is the addition of six custom magnetic speaker tags that feature tricked-out artwork taken directly from the game. Available on February 5th for $210 (A30) and $260 (A40), both headsets feature Dolby 7.1 virtual surround, a swappable cable system and cross-platform support for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. However, if you already own this eargear and are just looking to spruce up your cups, you can pick up the tags as a standalone purchase for $20 (A30) and $25 (A40) each.
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds
Source: Astro Gaming
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/jzjniY8xwvk/
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New look at cell membrane reveals surprising organization
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Sight would dramatically alter a blind man's understanding of an elephant, according to the old story. Now, a look directly at a cell surface is changing our understanding of cell membrane organization.
Using a completely new approach to imaging cell membranes, a study by researchers from the University of Illinois, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the National Institutes of Health revealed some surprising relationships among molecules within cell membranes.
Led by Mary Kraft, a U. of I. professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, the team published its findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Cells are enveloped in semi-permeable membranes that act as a barrier between the inside and outside of the cell. The membrane is mainly composed of a class of molecules called lipids, studded with proteins that help regulate how the cell responds to its environment.
"Lipids have multiple functions serving as both membrane structure and signaling molecules, so they regulate other functions inside the cell," Kraft said. "Therefore, understanding how they're organized is important. You need to know where they are to figure out how they're doing these regulatory functions."
One widely held belief among cell biologists is that lipids in the membrane assemble into patches, called domains, that differ in composition. However, research into how lipids are organized in the membrane, and how that organization affects cell function, has been hampered by the lack of direct observation. Although the cell membrane is heavily studied, the imaging techniques used infer the locations of certain molecules based on assumed associations with other molecules.
In the new study, Kraft's team used an advanced, molecule-specific imaging method that allowed the researchers to look at the membrane itself and map a particular type of lipid on mouse cell membranes. The researchers fed lipids labeled with rare stable isotopes to the cells and then imaged the distribution of the isotopes with high-resolution imaging mass spectrometry.
Called sphingolipids (SFING-go-lih-pids), these molecules are thought to associate with cholesterol to form small domains about 200 nanometers across. The direct imaging method revealed that sphingolipids do indeed form domains, but not in the way the researchers expected.
The domains were much bigger than suggested by prior experiments. The 200-nanometer domains clustered together to form much larger, micrometer-sized patches of sphingolipids in the membrane.
"We were amazed when we saw the first images of the patches of sphingolipids across the cell surface," said Peter Weber, who directed the team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. "We weren't sure if our imaging mass spectrometry method would be sensitive enough to detect the labeled lipids, let alone what we would see."
Furthermore, when the researchers looked at cells that were low on cholesterol ? thought to play a key role in lipid aggregation ? they were surprised to find that the lipids still formed domains. On the other hand, disruption to the cell's structural scaffold seemed to dissolve the lipid clusters.
"We found that the presence of domains was somewhat affected by cholesterol but was more affected by the cytoskeleton ? the protein network underneath the membrane," Kraft said. "The central issue is that the data are suggesting that the mechanism that's responsible for these domains is much more complicated than initially expected."
In addition, the new study found that sphingolipids domains were incompletely associated with a marker protein that researchers have long assumed dwelled where sphingolipids congregated. This means that data collected with imaging techniques that target this protein are not as accurate in representing sphingolipid distribution as previously thought.
"Our data are showing that if you want to know where sphingolipids are, look at the lipid, don't infer where it is based on other molecules, and now there's a way to directly image them," said Kraft, who also is affiliated with the department of chemistry at the U. of I.
Next, the researchers plan to use the direct-imaging method in conjunction with other more conventional methods, such as fluorescence, to further determine the organization of different kinds of molecules in the membrane, their interactions and how they affect the cell's function. They plan to begin by targeting cholesterol.
"Cholesterol abundance is important," Kraft said. "You change that, you tremendously change cell function. How is it organized? Is it also in domains? That's related to the question, what's the mechanism responsible for these structures and what are they doing?"
###
The paper, "Direct chemical evidence for sphingolipid domains in the plasma membranes of fibroblasts," is available from PNAS.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: http://www.uiuc.edu
Thanks to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126511/New_look_at_cell_membrane_reveals_surprising_organization
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Mali conflict: French troops retake Kidal airport without resistance
Kidal airport in northern Mali is now under the control of French forces, who are reportedly encountering no resistance in the town. Photograph: Romaric Hien/AFP/Getty
French forces have taken control of the airport in the Malian town of Kidal, the last remaining urban stronghold of Islamists in the north, as France's foreign minister vowed troops would depart from Mali "quickly".
Kidal, 1,500km from the capital Bamako and towards the Algerian border, would be the last of northern Mali's major towns to be retaken by French-led forces after they reached Gao and Timbuktu earlier this week in a campaign to drive out al-Qaida-linked Islamists.
The military operation in Kidal itself was "ongoing" on Wednesday, according to French armed forces spokesman Colonel Thierry Burkhard in Paris. The airport was secured on Tuesday night by French troops.
"They arrived late last night and they deployed in four planes and some helicopters," said Haminy Belco Maiga, president of the regional assembly of Kidal.
"Afterwards they took the airport and then entered the town, and there was no combat," said Maiga, who had been in touch with people in the town by satellite phone as all the normal telephone networks were down. "The French are patrolling the town and two helicopters are patrolling overhead." Kidal is the capital of the desert region of the same name, to which Islamist fighters are believed to have retreated during nearly three weeks of French airstrikes and an advance by hundreds of ground troops.
Tuareg rebels of the Mouvement National de Liberation de l'Azawad (MNLA), who want greater autonomy for the desert north, said this week that they had taken control of Kidal after Islamists abandoned the town.
The MNLA, which fought alongside the Islamists before being sidelined by them in mid-2012, was not immediately available for comment on the French deployment.
Earlier this week, after French and Malian troops secured Timbuktu, French president Fran?ois Hollande said: "We're winning this battle, and when I say 'we', I mean the Malian army, the Africans backed by the French."
France, which has 3,500 troops on the ground, as well as fighter planes and helicopters in the country, is cautious about declaring victory, knowing that Islamists who have retreated to desert hideouts could stage comebacks that would be difficult to contain for Mali's weak army. But France has insisted on the rapid implementation of a European training programme for the Malian army as well as the deployment of a joint African force which will eventually assume control of operations.
"Now it's up to African countries to take over," France's foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, told Le Parisien on Wednesday. "We decided to put the means in ? men and supplies ? to make the mission succeed and hit hard. But the French aspect was never expected to be maintained. We will leave quickly."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/30/mali-conflict-french-troops-retake-kidal-airport
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Langley Middle School shows off iPad program
January 29, 2013 ? Updated 1:53 PM?
Part of South Whidbey schools? $1 million tech program will be up for community and parent examination Thursday, Jan. 31. Langley Middle School will host an open house for its seventh-grade iPad pilot project from 1 to 2:15 p.m. Seventh-grade students will demonstrate how they use their iPads in class.
Email questions to Mary Bakeman at mbakeman@sw.wednet.edu.
Source: http://feeds.soundpublishing.com/~r/swrall/~3/LnI5g4e2ALQ/188905401.html
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In immigration debate, separating concept of legal vs. illegal ...
Can you tell?? If you look close enough, maybe listen for an accent can you figure it out?legal or illegal?
If, like Sheriff Joe Arpaio you think you can, you?re wrong.
Illegals, or persons who are undocumented, come in all shapes and sizes?from dark-skinned Mexican men to blue-eyed French 20-somethings.? And just as hard as differentiating who is in this country with their immigration paperwork in order is disentangling the meaning of legal v. illegal.
The term ?illegal? conjures up images of shadowy criminal figures lurking in the night, such as was depicted in Sharon Angle?s 2010 Senate campaign ad.
How about a reality check?? Illegal immigrants are the smiling face that greets you at your favorite restaurant, the loving arms that take care of your children, and the blistered hands that pick the fruit for your organic smoothie.
More often than not, the people we term as illegal are law-abiding citizens who pay taxes (though do not receive government benefits). These individuals are tightly woven into the fabric of our daily lives by making sure all of the goods and services we want are at our fingertips.
The fundamental difficulty in parsing out immigrants into legal and illegal is that they both come here for the same reason?demand. ?American employers want immigrants, whether they are biophysicists or landscapers, legal or illegal.
The problem and the root cause for the legal/illegal classification is that our immigration laws do not allow for demand to be sufficiently met through legal channels.? The obsession with fitting people into neat little boxes of legal and illegal misses the larger issue of the systemic flaw within our immigration system?demand is not being met by legal supply channels.
The second difficulty in relying on the legal/illegal paradigm is that it doesn?t take into account the day-to-day reality of immigrant families. ?The two younger kids may be citizens but mom, dad, and the two oldest may be undocumented.? Families are not neatly parsed into those that are legal or illegal.
Close your eyes and think about your own family.? Think about the gripping fear that you would live with if you knew you could be separated from your loved ones. In other words, the notion of simply keeping the legal ones in and booting out the illegal ones isn?t so simple.
The final difficulty with the legal/illegal paradigm is that it shapes the way we think and act.? It allows us to become detached from the human element involved in the issue of immigration.? Its no coincidence that anti-immigrant advocates cling to the term ?illegal.?? This rhetorical construct allows them to have an easy target, the individual, while missing the larger institutional picture and the human element.
An action may be illegal, but a human being is not. ?The dichotomy between legal and illegal is a false one and one that only stymies any advancement in the resolution of immigration.
Source: http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/01/30/in-immigration-debate-separating-concept-of-legal-vs-illegal/
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Source: http://brilliant-fullsoftwares.blogspot.com/2013/01/8-skin-pack-for-windows-7-free-download.html
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10 Least Expensive Private Colleges and Universities
The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College and The Short List: Grad School to find data that matters to you in your college or grad school search.
Private colleges often come with hefty price tags, which can be an automatic turnoff for prospective students. Close to 43 percent of incoming freshmen said they "carefully considered" cost when choosing which school to attend, according to an annual survey of more than 190,000 first-time, full-time students by the University of California--Los Angeles.
For price-conscious students, the cost of private school can be difficult to reconcile against their less expensive public counterparts. Average private school tuition for the 2012-2013 school year was $28,946, compared with $8,176 (in-state) and $18,855 (out-of-state) at public institutions, according to data reported by 1,088 ranked public and private universities in an annual survey by U.S. News.
[Discover tips and resources to help pay for college.]
But private does not always equal expensive. The average tuition and fees at the 10 least expensive private schools was $7,558 in 2012-2013--more than $21,000 below the average for private institutions--and some schools still fall far below that average.
At Berea College, a private liberal arts school in Kentucky, tuition and fees totaled just $980 for 2012-2013, less than any other private or public school, with the exception of military academies. In fact, all students at Berea work on campus in exchange for free tuition, and some receive financial aid to cover the cost of fees.
Tuition and fees at Brigham Young University--Provo, a private university in Utah, totaled $4,710 for 2012-2013, roughly $24,200 below the average sticker price for a private school and almost $3,500 less than average in-state tuition at public universities.
At BYU, a Mormon university, religious affiliation factors into the lower than average cost. Tuition for students who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was $9,420 for 2012-2013, still far below the national average, thanks to a subsidy from the church, according to the school's website.
[Learn how your tuition dollars are spent.]
Several of the least expensive private schools are designated as Rank Not Published (RNP), which means they fell in the bottom one fourth of their ranking category. U.S. News calculates a numerical rank for these schools, but has decided not to publish them. Unranked colleges, which do not submit enough data for U.S. News to calculate a ranking, were not considered for this report.
Below are the 10 private colleges and universities with the lowest tuition and fees for the 2012-2013 school year (figures do not include room and board, books, and other miscellaneous costs):
| School name (state) | 2012-2013 tuition & fees | U.S. News rank and category |
|---|---|---|
| Berea College (KY) | $980 | 75, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Brigham Young University--Provo (UT) | $4,710 | 68, National Universities |
| Arkansas Baptist College | $7,800 | RNP, Regional Colleges (South) |
| Rust College (MS) | $8,300 | RNP, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Lane College (TN) | $8,560 | RNP, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Concordia College (AL) | $8,590 | RNP, Regional Colleges (South) |
| Mid-Continent University (KY) | $8,810 | RNP, Regional Colleges (South) |
| Blue Mountain College (MS) | $9,230 | 23, Regional Colleges (South) |
| Amridge University (AL) | $9,260 | RNP, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Life University (GA) | $9,342 | RNP, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find tuition data, complete rankings, and much more.
U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2012 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported a myriad of data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News's data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News's rankings of Best Colleges or Best Graduate Schools. The tuition and fees data above are correct as of Jan. 29, 2013.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/10-least-expensive-private-colleges-universities-174610869.html
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Wednesday, January 30, 2013
China's complicated history with video games: when a ban isn't ...
Earlier this week, China Daily quoted an anonymous government source -- allegedly straight from the Ministry of Culture -- saying China is considering lifting a 12-year-old "ban" on game consoles soon. While it's was unclear how reliable the source was at the time, the Tokyo stock market sucked it up anyway, with Bloomberg observing a significant rise for Sony and Nintendo after the rumor was published. Then today we learned from Tech In Asia that Dongfang Daily followed up with two representatives from the Ministry of Culture, one of which said the department has never looked into lifting the ban, while the other person was more vague about the matter. But here's the thing: game consoles were never really banned in China. Allow us to set the record straight for you.
Let's take a look at the actual paperwork that supposedly imposed the game console ban. In 2000, the video arcade business was booming in China, but many were illegal or were poorly operated and thus "seriously harming the healthy growth of youngsters." As such, seven ministries got together to come up with a plan. These included: the Ministry of Culture, the State Economic and Trade Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Industry and IT, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the General Administration of Customs and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. The outcome was a bill awkwardly titled "Feedback regarding the launch of special operation on video game arcades," and this was passed by the Chinese state council in June of that year -- merely three months after the release of the original PlayStation 2 in Japan.
In a nutshell, the bill covers guidelines on the safety requirements, opening hours and restrictions of video arcades, as well as what types of content are forbidden on the then-remaining arcade machines. Oh, and even internet cafes were forbidden from running businesses related to computer gaming, but that part of the ban is barely enforced these days. Anyhow, the specific parts that many assumed would put a stop on consoles were these:
"As of the day this report is released, the manufacturing and selling of any electronic gaming equipment plus its parts and accessories headed to China are stopped immediately. No company or individual can partake in the manufacturing and selling of electronic gaming equipment plus its parts and accessories headed to China."
"With the exception of processing trade, the import of electronic game equipment plus its parts and accessories through other forms of trade is strictly limited."
Note that the bill's main purpose is to keep underage folks away from dangerous venues and unhealthy content, rather than to prevent gaming addiction -- something for which China eventually had to set up boot camps to deal with. It's also worth pointing out that the ban on manufacturing and selling arcade machines is no longer valid since April 2009, and you can find a list of approved machines on the Ministry of Culture's website. But going back to 2000, the above statement uses the term "strictly limited" for the import of game consoles, meaning there's still space for negotiation.
Indeed, Sony did do a low-key launch for the PlayStation 2 in China in January 2004, but only in two cities instead of five as originally planned, thus upsetting many distributors and gamers in the neglected regions. According to a report by Tencent, Sony's only official statement regarding the launch was this: "The PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system is now in Shanghai and Guangzhou to meet you." Yes, a "computer entertainment system." But even with the cheeky use of words here to dodge the law, Sony's real problem came after China's auditing system blocked a huge portion of the games that were deemed unhealthy, thus providing more excuses for folks to just get pirated games. And at ?1,988 ($320) per device due to heavy import duties on foreign products, the PlayStation 2 for China was nowhere as attractive as the ones sold in the black market -- this was at a time when the PlayStation 2 was available for just $179 in the US. With such easy access to the rarely policed black markets in big cities like Shenzhen and Beijing, it didn't make sense to buy the more expensive Chinese PS2 and its games, anyway. Even the official ?500 ($80) drop about a year later didn't save the console in China. The PSP and the PS Vita also never officially made it to China presumably due to the strict content restrictions, but like many other flagship gadgets, they were quite popular on the black market.
Sony hasn't given up, though. Last June, Sony Computer Entertainment opened its China headquarters at Guangdong Animation City, a government-backed project in Guangzhou to boost the local animation and gaming industry. The following month Sony made a surprise return to Shanghai's Chinajoy, the country's largest gaming expo, after a four-year hiatus. Coincidentally, the previous-gen PlayStation 3 (CECH-3012A and CECH-3012B, as sold in Hong Kong) was quietly granted a China Compulsory Certificate or "CCC" around the same time, only to be withdrawn by Sony soon after the discovery in November, as the database screenshot below shows.
Speaking to Sina Games in December, SCE Asia's Director of Planning and R&D Eitaro Nagano admitted that the biggest obstacles for his company right now are still the legal requirements in China, but his team's still communicating with the government over this issue -- presumably mainly to do with the content auditing. Nagano also acknowledged the fact that China already has many PS Vita and PS3 users, along with many developers with great potential.
Despite Sony's failed attempts, Nintendo has had better luck with its handheld consoles under the iQue brand, a joint venture between the Japanese company and Chinese American entrepreneur Dr. Wei Yen. In November 2003 the company launched the ?598 ($96) iQue Player, a somewhat experimental version of the N64 that packed the brain and a flashable game cartridge inside the controller. As an attempt to avoid piracy, the games were downloadable using an iQue Depot in stores, and it was ?48 or about $7.70 a pop with free updates forever, but each cartridge can only store one game.
Sadly, the console never took off due to its poor marketing and inconvenience, and pirated games eventually appeared. Since then, iQue has instead been focusing on handhelds, including the Game Boy Advance, SP, Micro, DS Lite, DSi and 3DS XL. To fight the likes of R4 cards that let people pirate games, the iQue's 3DS XL is bundled with Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 by default for the price of ?1,699 (US$270), which is understandably higher than Hong Kong's HK$1,749 (US$225) and the US' US$199.99 for the device alone. But hey, at least iQue gets to openly sell its consoles -- take a look at the "About" page on the company's website and you'll see why it's the Chinese government's darling:
"The reason Nintendo is iQue's best partner is because the former has always been strongly opposed to violence and pornography in the gaming industry, and its mission is to develop quality healthy games suitable for all ages, at a global gaming market flooded by vulgar products today, Nintendo still maintains a precious social responsibility and business ethics, therefore is consistent with iQue's corporate philosophy and the Chinese moral values."
But wait, even the innocent-looking 3DS has violent games! Well, not in China. iQue's website only lists a handful of major titles that are mostly, if not all, made by Nintendo, including the two aforementioned 3DS titles and six DS titles (Nintendogs, WarioWare, Yoshi's Island DS and more), along with several downloadable DSiWare apps. Fortunately, the devices are still compatible with normal DS games from outside China, though normal DS devices can't play games released by iQue. As for the Wii, Nintendo did announce that it would launch the console in China in 2008 (and iQue even obtained the CCC in December 2007), but that never happened after it failed to get the other authorities' approval. We'll probably never know exactly why this was the case, but at least the Wii is all over the black market, ironically.
Don't worry -- we haven't forgotten Microsoft, which is the least active of the three companies in the Chinese gaming market. Back in September, Microsoft announced the Kinect's availability in China, but the catch was there would be no Xbox 360 to go with the motion-sensing peripheral, meaning only the developers could make the most out of the sensor on a PC. Conveniently after Microsoft's announcement, the Ministry of Culture promptly denied the speculation that it was about to make it easier for foreign companies to sell their consoles and games in China.
Ironically, the console black market in China is, well, not that black at all. We've seen plenty of small shops in Shenzhen and Beijing that openly sell imported consoles (as well as KIRFs), and you can even pick one up from online retail platform Taobao, where some resellers claim to be offering devices that were confiscated and then released by customs. Yes, another gray area in the system. But even without those machines from outside China, the country itself has already been pumping out its very own gaming devices, including the shameless iReadyGo (pictured above), the Lenovo-backed Eedoo and various Wii clones. Clearly, the ban isn't as strict as it appears, especially to the local brands and venues that stay well away from content related to gambling and pornography -- we all know what happens when they don't.
So to summarize: the real challenge for the game console makers is to convince the Chinese government that their devices won't touch any "unhealthy" content, which is actually near impossible for Microsoft and Sony, whose gaming success relies heavily on realistic shooting and fighting games. Nintendo, however, doesn't mind offering a much smaller game library for its handhelds in China, though it remains a mystery as to why the Wii never made it to China as originally promised. Not that this matters to the majority of Chinese gamers, who have developed a huge appetite for RPGs like Warcraft and Diablo on the PC.
Now, will China ever loosen up on the legal requirements for games? With the recent transition in the government and the boom in local smart devices (especially Android, which offers considerable freedom when it comes to app sources), it's easy to see why these rumors have made a comeback; but then again, you have to remember that the authorities behind the Great Firewall have not backed down at all. Worse yet, in the latest five-year plan (published on December 1st) for the development of China's service industry, the government specifically encourages more support to help local gaming products to go global. Such favoritism suggests things aren't going to change any time soon for Sony and Microsoft.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/30/china-console-ban/
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Small Private Garden Home by Acha Zaballa Arquitectos | Inthralld
Home design is all about working with what you?ve got. If it?s a quirky exterior, historic architectural details on the interior or a really small plot of land? there?s a way to showcase the great. Luckily for this family, they were able to create their space from the ground up in collaboration with Acha Zaballa Arquitectos of Spain.
Ultimately, their residence is built into the hillside plot and teeters three stories high. Each of the upper levels are cantilevered off of the other, creating a unique juxtaposed appearance. Concrete and timber were the materials of choice, with the entire facade mesmerized with wood and glass.
Via: Inhabitat
Source: http://inthralld.com/2013/01/small-private-garden-home-by-acha-zaballa-arquitectos/
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Google's newly detailed North Korea maps offer a peek into an isolated land
North Korea has yet to welcome the internet with open arms despite Eric Schmidt's visit, but the internet is certainly welcoming North Korea: as of a sweeping update, Google Maps touts detailed cartography of the secluded state rather than the voids we've known before. The results still leave significant blank spots, although that's forgivable when Google Map Maker is virtually the only option to improve accuracy. We doubt a suspicious government is about to let Street View cars run freely on Pyongyang's streets when visitors can't even get mobile internet access, after all. Google already plans to patch those holes in a timelier fashion by incorporating future Map Maker changes as soon as they're proven accurate. While many of those covered by the update might never see it for themselves, Google's work at least paints a more complete picture of the world for the rest of us.
Filed under: GPS, Internet, Google
Via: The Next Web
Source: Google Lat Long Blog
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/28/google-posts-newly-detailed-north-korea-maps/
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Today is Plumbing?. | The Oracle Of Ahwatukee . . .
I still am not sleeping well, I don?t know if it?s the excitement/apprehension involved in the Home Improvement project so I?ve been getting up early and preparing myself for a day ahead of the workmen, noise and progress. This 4:00 am thing is getting a little old, though?..
Today plumbing is on the schedule. The plumber got here at 8:00 am sharp and is hard at work. It is noisy, so hopefully he?s getting a lot of work done! Gary the Tile & Stone man got here at about 9:30 ? 10:00 and showed me the new Roman faucet for the tub. It?s very nice. Two thumbs up on that??
Gary is waiting for Ken the plumber to finish with the plumbing though it may take longer than he thought since there was the extra work to do with the unexpected hidden pipes that needed to be?resituated?so his men can move ahead with the Durarock and prepare the walls and shower area for tile. Ken said it?s hard to work in the small space and it was taking longer than he thought.
Gary said when he?s done the guys will be back to prepare the shower. I can?t wait to see that part of the process, unfortunately the plumbing is not a process where you?necessarily?see progress, and I can?t wait to see physical progress. We?ll then be on our way to getting ready for the tile??..I can?t wait to see that. I picked out tumbled stone in tannish white for the major part of the work and glass tile as the accent.
So we?re progressing?and I?m getting excited!
Evelyn Garone 1.29.13
About Evie Garone
I am a 40 something year old women with independent views of the world. I am spiritual but also realistic. I've raised two children who I've successfully sent off to college and now am following my love of English and writing. Thus, this blog and two books I'm currently working on. This entry was posted in artistic, bathrooms, Blogging, creative writing, Decorating, Home Improvement, Home Repair, Homes, plumbing, Uncategorized and tagged bathrooms, blogging, Home Improvement, plumbing, tile work. Bookmark the permalink.Source: http://evelyngarone.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/today-is-plumbing/
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Deal of the Day: Incipio NGP Soft Shell Case for Galaxy S3
The Jan. 30 ShopAndroid.com Deal of the Day is the Incipio NGP Soft Shell Case for Galaxy S3. This flexible case guards your Galaxy S3 with a semi-rigid polymer shell featuring custom-cut holes for complete access to the ports and buttons of the device. The NGP material is malleable enough to slip around and snugly hold the Galaxy S3, but also firm enough to withstand impacts and scrapes. Color options include black, pink, gray, and turquoise.
The Incipio NGP Soft Shell Case is available for just $13.00, 35% off today only. Backed by our 60-day return policy and fast shipping!
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/gV6uAdT6ogk/story01.htm
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Video: Sticking With the Sequester?
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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50633369/
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L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, again, cast as possible transportation secretary
L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, again, cast as possible transportation secretary
The departure of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood raised new questions over what Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa would do if he is offered the job - either now or after July 1, when his term as mayor expires. | Also: Doug McIntyre on the mayor's next move
Villaraigosa was in South Korea for the Special Olympics and is not expected to return until Thursday.
However, the mayor told The Wall Street Journal last week that he would not say what conversations he has had with the Obama administration, and he told the newspaper: "When you have a conversation with the president, you say 'Yes,' or 'Yes, sir."'
Villaraigosa has been a key political ally for the president both in this most recent election and four years ago, actively campaigning in the Southwest to get out the Latino vote.
The mayor was at this year's inauguration and has been to Washington numerous times lobbying for funds and programs.
Transportation has been a major part of Villaraigosa's efforts since he was elected mayor, first pushing for Proposition R, the half-percent sales tax, and its offshoot, America Fast Forward, in which the city is seeking an advance on the $40 billion that will be generated by Proposition R over the next 30 years to speed up project construction.
He also has pushed for the multibillion-dollar modernization of Los Angeles International Airport, with one of his first acts as mayor being to resolve a lawsuit filed against the project.
In addition, he has sought to reduce air pollution from trucks and ships at the Port of Los Angeles, while also pushing the deepening of the channel to compete with the Panama Canal expansion.
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What we know about BlackBerry 10
Despite -- or rather thanks to -- major delays in releasing BlackBerry 10, RIM has let quite a bit slip about its upcoming operating system and related BB10 devices. We've had more than a year to absorb leaks, rumors and official information, after all, so it's no surprise that we have a very good idea of what to expect when Waterloo pulls back the curtain on January 30th. That doesn't mean things are as plain as day, though; the deluge of blurrycam shots and carrier screens have provided an almost indigestible amount of information about BB10, and we don't blame you if you can't keep the story straight. We're here to parse the madness, though, so read on to find out what to expect at tomorrow's launch event.
Software
Touch keyboard with predictive input
The first BB10 handset likely won't sport a physical keyboard, but that doesn't mean you should expect a subpar typing experience. RIM's on-screen layout will boast quite a few enhancements to compete with SwiftKey and other similar input options. For instance, the company has demoed predictive typing; press on a letter, and a selection of likely words will hover over the corresponding character ("hey" when you hit H, for example). To pick one of the predicted words, you simply swipe up on it. The keyboard will learn and adapt to your linguistic habits, so you can expect more accurate suggestions over time. In addition to predictive input, the on-screen layout features intuitive gestures such as swiping to the left to delete text and swiping from the lower left to minimize the keyboard. Other gestures include swiping from the bottom to reveal numbers and special characters.
Timeline lens, camera filters
At BlackBerry World 2012, RIM showed us its take on fancy camera software: the "timeline lens," which uses Scalado's Rewind technology to capture frames even before you hit the shutter. This means you can cycle back through the shooter's cache if you miss an image by a second or two.
If The Gadget Masters website, which posted a hands-on video with a "pre-production Z10," is to be believed, we can also expect photo-editing software courtesy of Scalado, including Instagram-style filters and options such as transform, brightness / white balance adjustment, rotate and aspect ratio customization.
User interface with Peek, flow gestures
One of the most anticipated aspects of BlackBerry 10 is the user interface's focus on multitasking. The aptly named Peek feature, showcased at BlackBerry Jam last September, lets users view apps running in the background by simply swiping from the left or right. From there, users can either return to their previous task or swipe back to go into previously launched programs. At least in theory, this is meant to provide a more fluid app-switching experience than the task list à la webOS and Android.
Back in May, RIM officially previewed the BB10 home screen, which will include an app grid that displays all currently running programs. From here, swiping to the right will bring up the full launcher, and gesturing to the left will bring you to the unified inbox. Here as well, you can use Peek to view recent notifications and any currently running applications, and then swipe to backtrack to the main hub. Users can also minimize a given window to see new notifications. We also got a hands-on look at the UI in action when we met with RIM Principal Architect Gary Klassen last June -- check out our video.
Security features, BYOD
Historically, RIM's handsets have been almost synonymous with the BYOD (bring your own device) movement, so it's no surprise that BB10 devices will come with corporate-minded features on board. First off, the OS has FIP 140-2 certification, meaning it meets the security and encryption requirements of government agencies and enterprises.
BB10 devices will also have BlackBerry Balance, which partitions RIM's phones into separate work and personal profiles. To toggle between these two modes, you simply pull down from the app icon grid. You'll see different applications listed depending on which profile you're in, and you can run applications simultaneously in both profiles. For instance, you can have the browser open on the corporate side, and it will adhere to your IT desk's policies, and on the personal side it will run without these restrictions.
Apps
One of many tidbits we've gleaned from the leaked BB10 training manual is that RIM is promising some 70,000 QNX apps in the BlackBerry World store at launch. And indeed, Waterloo has been aggressively courting developers, offering a $10,000 guarantee for approved apps that make less than 10k in the first year. The company also held "Portathon" events to drum up app submissions with a cash incentive. One such contest netted 15,000 entries in less than 38 hours.
In addition to seeking new applications, RIM has invested time and money into securing the top names for its platform. Rest assured that a native Facebook app will be on board at launch, as will Foursquare. We also have good reason to believe that Google Talk and Twitter will be integrated into the unified inbox.
The devices
The all-touch BlackBerry Z10
Back in November, CEO Thorsten Heins told us that a full-touch device will be RIM's way of gaining back market share, as the company's smartphone success to date has been in the QWERTY category. Hence, the first BB10 device will feature an on-screen rather than a physical keyboard.
All signs point to the first flagship device being the full-touch BlackBerry Z10, a phone in the higher-end L-Series line. We've seen that model name come up repeatedly, in RIM marketing materials and most recently in a screen cap from Verizon's website.
Leaked specs for the Z10 match up quite closely with the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha we first saw last May. Unveiled at BlackBerry World, the device sported a 4.2-inch, 1,280 x 768 display with 16GB of internal storage. Rumors and leaks about the Z10 have echoed that same set of specifications -- save for 2GB rather than 1GB of RAM -- and we now hear it will run a 1.5GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor under the hood. Whether that CPU spec turns out to be true or not, it's safe to assume the phone will pack a dual-core chip.
Lower-end and QWERTY models coming soon
From the beginning, Heins has made it clear that RIM's BB10 strategy is to target the more "premium" end of the market first, though "at least six" handsets in total will debut in 2013. We can expect mid-range and lower-end devices in this batch; Heins said a physical keyboard model will be released soon after the first BB10 touch device, and this QWERTY model should fall under the N-Series. Physical keyboards have arguably been RIM's bread and butter, and while the company clearly finessed its on-screen input for the all-touch Z10, it's unclear whether QWERTY models will receive a keyboard revamp as well.
We'd be remiss to move on without mentioning the PlayBook. Though we don't know if any new models are on the horizon, RIM has confirmed that existing versions of its biz-focused tablet will receive the upgrade to BlackBerry 10. Of course, this is possible because the PlayBook is a QNX-based device.
Carrier support
Unsurprisingly, most of the major carriers will be on board when BlackBerry 10 hits the market. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have all confirmed that they'll be carrying BB10 devices at launch, and Sprint recently spoke up to reassure customers that it will be on board by "later this year." UK carriers, including Three, O2 and EE, also confirmed that they'll offer BB10 products in early 2013. Additionally, in our interview with Heins, he confirmed that BB10 devices, including the QWERTY handset, will support 4G LTE.
Wrap-up
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, RIM
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/29/what-we-know-about-blackberry-10/
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Tiger Woods wins the 2013 Farmers Insurance Open - SBNation.com
The outcome was not in doubt before Monday's final 11 holes began, but Tiger Woods took care of the field and closed out his 2013 PGA Tour debut with a four-shot win at Torrey Pines.
Tiger Woods picked up the 75th win of his career on Monday afternoon, closing out the week at the Farmers Insurance Open at 14-under for a four-shot win. Woods took a two-shot lead at the midpoint on Friday, and extended it to six shots during yesterday's dawn-to-dusk march through the third and start of the fourth round. He entered Monday's finish with that six-shot margin and 11 holes to play, making it academic in his 2013 PGA Tour debut.
Tiger's Monday March to Victory | Tiger bags $1.098 million with victory
It wasn't a smooth walk into the clubhouse for Woods, however, as he carded two bogeys and a double bogey in a four-hole stretch to lop four shots off his lead. Tiger was wild off the tee all day, and things went a little sideways around the green for a stretch on the back side. The outcome was never in doubt, but Woods is someone who will be a bit angered by the lackluster inward nine that led to a final round 75.
But Tiger's work over the first three rounds put him in position to have it in cruise control during Monday's final 11 holes. His short game was amazing, whether it was out of the bunker or with wedge in has hand from 130 yards and in. There were too many darts fired within 10 feet of the flagstick to count, and he repeatedly set himself up for short birdie putts with his wedge game. The precise wedges and some steady driving enabled him to dominant the par-5s and close it out early on Sunday with a majority of the final round still waiting on Monday.
It's his seventh win at this event, pulling it even with the annual stops at Bay Hill and Firestone for the most in his career. Throw in the 2008 U.S. Open, which he also won on a Monday afternoon finish, and that's eight titles on the South Course at Torrey Pines. The finish tempered enthusiasm a bit on a day that started with the potential for a double-digit victory. But after he got the lead to eight, the field was in no position to make a charge and the scuffle into the clubhouse did not matter.
The next appearance for Woods probably won't come until the WGC Match Play event in Arizona at the end of February. On Monday, news surfaced that he would not play at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after playing in the former Bing Crosby Clambake last year. Woods has not played in the annual tour stop at Riviera in his hometown, so that leaves his likely next tournament as the Accenture Match Play.
If that's how his schedule is set, it means Woods will have almost a month to enjoy his PGA Tour season-opening win. Historically, when Woods opens his Tour season with a win, it results in a huge multi-win and major-winning year. He's won at least four events in every season after getting a win at the Farmers. With the way his game was in control at Torrey Pines this week, it appears that kind of success could be on the horizon this year for the game's biggest star.
For a final leaderboard from Torrey Pines, visit Golf.com.
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Source: http://www.sbnation.com/golf/2013/1/28/3926108/farmers-insurance-open-2013-tiger-woods
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Fried foods increase prostate cancer risk
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Source: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/13913850-fried-foods-increase-prostate-cancer-risk
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Power helps you live the good life by bringing you closer to your true self
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
How does being in a position of power at work, with friends, or in a romantic relationship influence well-being? While we might like to believe the stereotype that power leads to unhappiness or loneliness, new research indicates that this stereotype is largely untrue: Being in a position of power may actually make people happier.
Drawing on personality and power research, Yona Kifer of Tel Aviv University in Israel and colleagues hypothesized that holding a position of authority might enhance subjective well-being through an increased feeling of authenticity. The researchers predicted that because the powerful are able to "navigate their lives in congruence with their internal desires and inclinations," they feel as if they are acting more authentically ? more "themselves" ? and thus are more content.
Their findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
In their first experiment, the researchers surveyed over 350 participants to determine if internal feelings of power are associated with subjective well-being in different contexts: at work, with friends, or in romantic relationships.
The results indicated that people who feel powerful in any context tend to be more content.
The most powerful people surveyed felt 16% more satisfied with their lives than the least powerful people. This effect was most pronounced in the workplace: Powerful employees were 26% more satisfied with their jobs than their powerless colleagues. The power-based discrepancy in happiness was smaller for friendships and romantic relationships. The researchers posit that this may be because friendships are associated with a sense of community rather than hierarchy, and therefore having power in this kind of relationship is less important.
In the second and third experiments, Kifer and colleagues examined the causal relationship between power, feelings of authenticity, and general well-being, by manipulating each of the factors independently. The results revealed that being in a position of power causes people to feel more authentic and "true to themselves" ? that is, it allows their actions to more closely reflect their beliefs and desires. Feelings of authenticity, in turn, enhance subjective feelings of well-being and happiness.
"By leading people to be true to their desires and inclinations ? to be authentic ? power leads individuals to experience greater happiness," the researchers conclude.
Kifer and colleagues propose that future research into power dynamics, happiness, and authenticity should focus on specific kinds of power, both positive (such as charisma) and negative (such as punishment).
Together, these findings suggest that even the perception of having power can lead people to live more authentic lives, thereby increasing their happiness and well-being.
###
Association for Psychological Science: http://www.psychologicalscience.org
Thanks to Association for Psychological Science for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
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Stick Time: Home-Schooler in the Choir - ChoralNet
Date: January 28, 2013
by Scott Dorsey
Views: 277
Bring up the topic of home-schooling among a group of educators and you can be assured of a vibrant discussion.? A study by the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) estimates that in the spring of 2010, there were more than two million home-schooled students, K through 12.? That accounts for about four percent of our school-aged population.?
As choral music educators, we are eager to provide access to our art for as many students as possible within our respective schools.? How can a home-school student experience the same level of music education available to a child in a traditional educational environment?
?
Among several possible ways to provide a choral music experience to home-school students is through a community youth choir.? There are many such excellent community youth choral programs in cities throughout the U.S.; including this choir ? the Concord Vocal Ensemble - featured at a recent ACDA Divisional Conference.?
Source: http://www.choralnet.org/view/409469
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Detroit edges closer to bankruptcy filing
6 hrs.
DETROIT - At the Detroit Auto Show earlier this month, luxury was in the air. Pricey new Bentleys and Maseratis glittered - including a Maserati 2014 Quattroporte with a $132,000 price tag; U.S. Cabinet Secretaries and dignitaries rubbed shoulders; and many of the well-heeled attendees ponied up for a $300-a-ticket black-tie charity ball.
But in a city that is slowly dying, the glitz didn't extend much beyond the Cobo Center exhibition hall.?General Motors Co. and Chrysler, which along with Ford Motor Co. gave the Motor City its identity, survived near-death experiences after filing for bankruptcy during the financial crisis.?
Now, Detroit itself is edging closer to a similar precipice, only unlike the automakers, its chances of getting a federal bailout are almost nonexistent.
The story of Detroit's decline is decades old: Its tax revenue and population have shrunk and labor costs have remained out of whack. But the city's budget problems have deepened to such an extent that it could run out of cash in a matter of weeks or months and ultimately be forced into what would be the largest-ever Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy filing in the United States.
Frustrated by the lack of concrete progress, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, last month appointed a team to scour the city's books. The audit could result in a state takeover of Detroit's finances through the appointment of an emergency financial manager. Such a manager, who would seize control of the city's checkbook, could then propose federal bankruptcy court as the best option.
Snyder, who has called the situation "a crisis in terms of financial affairs," said the team would deliver its report in February.
"Detroit is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy after the City Council has failed to make the necessary cuts to deal with having a smaller population," said Rick Jones, chairman of the Republican majority caucus in the state Senate.
Jones, who has indicated he does not favor a bankruptcy, said he would like to see an emergency manager installed to fix the city's problems. If that failed, there would be a case for finding a way to shrink the Detroit municipal area, he argued.
Detroit's population is now just over 700,000 - down 30 percent since 1990 - but the city still has to provide services to an area encompassing more land than San Francisco, Boston and the borough of Manhattan.
While Democratic Mayor Dave Bing and the Detroit City Council have moved to reduce spending and initiate some reforms to stave off a takeover, including layoffs and wage and benefit cuts, the progress may not be enough for Michigan officials and lawmakers.
Streets without lights
In the booming post-Second World War era, Detroit was America's fifth-largest city. Today, it ranks 18th. In addition to a sharp population decline, it suffers from high unemployment related to a loss of businesses, a flood of home foreclosures and a cut in state funding. That has led to shriveling revenue, leaving the city unable to afford a workforce of more than 10,000 and the surging health and pension costs that go with them and with its retirees. As a result, credit ratings on Detroit's approximately $8.2 billion of outstanding debt have sunk deeper into junk territory.
The city's labor costs, including health care and pensions, are shrinking in absolute terms but rising as a share of the budget. They are slated to drop to $968 million, or nearly 49.5 percent of the operating budget, in the fiscal year ending June 30 versus $1.14 billion, or 45.5 percent, a year earlier.
Signs of decline are everywhere - in a rising crime rate, streets without lights and block after block of abandoned buildings. The murder rate of one per 1,719 people last year was more than 11 times the rate in New York City. The jobless rate is above 18 percent, more than twice rate for the country as a whole.
A bankruptcy would be messy.
The interests of creditors would likely collide with those of labor unions wanting to protect workers' benefits, said Eric Scorsone, a Michigan State University economist who has written papers on municipal bankruptcy and on the state's emergency manager laws.
"It is going to require the players - the City Council, the mayor, the state - to be on the same page. If you go into bankruptcy with a lot of conflict and dissent, it's going to cost more," said Scorsone.
It could also be racially explosive. Detroit has the largest percentage of black people of any U.S. city, with 83 percent of the population identifying themselves as African American, black or Negro, according to the 2010 U.S. census. Most of Michigan's state government, including the governor's office, is run by white Republicans. ?
Detroit Council Member JoAnn Watson, who along with two other members of the city's all-black City Council has been resisting reform measures, said she is still hopeful of a federal bailout or an injection of state money that she claims the city is owed.
Mayor Bing would not comment for this story.
Consequences
The automakers have little to say publicly about the crisis. Most of their operations in Michigan are now outside Detroit, and getting any top executive to even discuss the possibility of a city bankruptcy was almost impossible at the auto show. "I don't want to get into the politics," said GM CEO Dan Akerson, while Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said: "I don't see what the consequences would be for us."
One of the city's biggest challenges is its complex set of labor agreements with a whopping 48 bargaining units that represent most of the city's workforce.
Max Newman, a bankruptcy attorney at Michigan-based Butzel Long, said a Chapter 9 bankruptcy could help the city throw out its collective bargaining agreements with unions.
Costs would have to be tackled since Detroit cannot just jack up taxes to reduce the cumulative budget deficit, which grew to $326.6 million in fiscal 2012 from $196.6 million in fiscal 2011. The state would likely resist tax increases, and they might only make matters worse anyway. "If taxes go up any further it would exacerbate the flight out of the city," Newman said.
But for some of those who have seen Detroit struggle for years, bankruptcy is starting to look like the least awful option - even though it will be painful.
"I think...off and on, that it wouldn't be a bad idea," said former Ford chief financial officer Allan Gilmour, now the president of Detroit's Wayne State University. "Let's clean this out once and for all."
Additional reporting by Deepa Seetharaman and Paul Lienert in Detroit.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/stuck-reverse-detroit-edges-closer-bankruptcy-1C8149698
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Tuesday, January 29, 2013
ECB's Draghi met Italy minister over Monte Paschi case
SIENA/ROME (Reuters) - European Central Bank head Mario Draghi, head of Italy's central bank until 2011, met Economy Minister Vittorio Grilli to discuss the widening scandal at Monte dei Paschi bank a day before Grilli was due to address parliament on the issue on Tuesday.
An ECB spokesman in Frankfurt confirmed the meeting, declining to give any details, but a source with knowledge of the encounter said earlier it was likely they talked about Grilli's address to a parliamentary committee later on Tuesday.
As governor of the Bank of Italy from 2005 until late 2011, Draghi was responsible for supervision of the banking sector when Monte Paschi got into trouble following its 9-billion-euro cash acquisition of rival Banca Antonveneta in 2007, just before the global financial crisis broke out.
A series of complex derivatives trades, apparently aimed at massaging accounts to lessen the impact of past losses, are also in focus in the scandal, after the bank revealed last week that they had led to losses of as much as 720 million euros ($969.19 million).
The case, involving allegations of bribery and corruption connected with the Antonveneta acquisition, has raised questions over the future of Italy's third-largest bank, which depends on state support to continue, and to the wider issue of links between politicians and Italian banks.
Grilli is expected to outline the actions of the government and the Bank of Italy in overseeing the Antonveneta acquisition, as well as the derivatives and structured finance transactions which a central bank report had already identified as problematic as long ago as 2010.
He is due to address a finance committee hearing in parliament at 1400 GMT and prepared for the session at his meeting with Draghi in Milan on Monday.
MILAN MEETING
"Draghi was already in Milan. There was a meeting with Grilli at the office of the Economy Ministry in Milan," the source with knowledge of the meeting said.
Prosecutors in Siena are investigating allegations of massive bribery connected with the Antonveneta acquisition, judicial sources say, and newspapers on Tuesday identified several senior former managers of Monte Paschi as under investigation.
The Bank of Italy has said that Monte Paschi management concealed vital information connected with the loss-making derivatives trades.
Monte Paschi chief executive Fabrizio Viola, appointed last year after a clear-out of the bank's former management, has acknowledged accounting irregularities by his predecessors but said he had seen no evidence of bribery.
Giuseppe Mussari, former chairman of the bank until he was replaced last year, resigned from his position as head of the Italian banking association last week after Monte Paschi revealed the problems with its derivatives trades.
($1 = 0.7429 euros)
(Additional reporting by Paul Carrel in Frankfurt and Francesca Landini in Milan; editing By Barry Moody)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ecbs-draghi-met-italy-minister-over-monte-paschi-092400162--finance.html
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Claims Representative - Workers Compensation -CA - Insurance ...
Claims Representative - Workers Compensation
CLAIM YOUR FUTURE AS A GREAT PERFORMER!
Providing both satisfying and challenging work along with a highly professional and friendly work atmosphere, Sedgwick has a strong commitment to its colleagues and its clients. If you are seeking place where you can do great things for those whose lives you touch while maximizing your own career possibilities, Sedgwick is the place for you. As the largest and most innovative Third Party Administrator in the claims industry and the first and only TPA to receive both recognition as the Best TPA in America and the coveted Employer of Choice designation, we invite you to come be a part of our team and, ?Claim Your Future.?
PRIMARY PURPOSE : To analyze mid- and higher-level workers compensation claims to determine benefits due; to ensure ongoing adjudication of claims within company standards and industry best practices; and to identify subrogation of claims and negotiate settlements.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS and RESPONSIBILITIES
ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS and RESPONSIBILITIES
QUALIFICATION
Education & Licensing
Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university preferred.
Experience
Three (3) years of claims management experience or successful completion of Claims Examiner II training required. Licenses as required.
Skills & Knowledge
- Knowledge of regulations, offsets and deductions, disability duration, medical management practices and Social Security and Medicare application procedure as applicable to line of business
- Excellent oral and written communication, including presentation skills
- PC literate, including Microsoft Office products
- Analytical and interpretive skills
- Strong organizational skills
- Good interpersonal skills
- Ability to work in a team environment
- Ability to meet or exceed Service Expectations
WORK ENVIRONMENT
When applicable and appropriate, consideration will be given to reasonable accommodations.
Mental: Clear and conceptual thinking ability; excellent judgment, troubleshooting, problem solving, analysis, and discretion; ability to handle work-related stress; ability to handle multiple priorities simultaneously; and ability to meet deadlines
Physical: Computer keyboarding, travel as required
Auditory/Visual: Hearing, vision and talking
NOTE : Credit security clearance, confirmed via a background credit check, is required for this position.
The statements contained in this document are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by a colleague assigned to this description. They are not intended to constitute a comprehensive list of functions, duties, or local variances. Management retains the discretion to add or to change the duties of the position at any time.
Sedgwick is an Equal Opportunity Employer
and a
Drug-Free Workplace
Additional Information: Must have California Self-Insurers Certificate (SIP) or AB1262 California Experienced Examiner Designation or currently meet the requirements for designation under AB1262. WCCA, WCCP preferred.
Requisition #: 10659
Source: http://jobs.insuranceclaimsweb.com/c/job.cfm?site_id=1635&jb=12115839
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