Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/274130632?client_source=feed&format=rss
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TIP! If a person is interested in buying an expensive item, they can try to get their entire family involved and make a group purchase. If the item provides a benefit to the family then get everyone to put their money together to help reduce the cost to you.
Do you want to be better with your money? Truly attaining control of money matters is a milestone in life. The tips in this article will allow you to gain control of your finances, decide on a personal financial goal, and use your money wisely.
TIP! Learn from your past financial mistakes. If its taken you some time to get back on track with your credit, use that as a learning tool to keep yourself out of debt.
Eliminate your cell phone to save money. This may seem harsh, but you survived before without a cell phone, and you can do it again. A cellphone may seem like a necessity, but really it?s just a convenience. Start this process by taking a look at how many minutes you use and switch to a less expensive plan.
Set up your flexible spending account if you don?t already have one. This will be your savings since you will not be taxed.
TIP! Don?t take out large amounts of student loan debt unless you expect to be in a financial situation to pay it back. Getting into that private school and being unsure of your future will more than likely put you into debt for a very long time, so be very careful about this.
During the years, financial problems might arise even when you plan carefully. Know your late fees and grace periods for all your accounts. Know what types of options you have before you signing a lease for a year.
TIP! A sale at a grocery can be a good deal, but only if you get as much as you know you will be able to use. Stocking up on foods you regularly eat will save you a bunch of money, just make sure whatever you buy is eaten before the expiration date.
An individual that is fully aware of the true value of his or her possessions is far less likely to discard a valuable item or sell it for an unsuitably low price. When you sell a vintage item, you may gain some personal wealth.
TIP! If you want to make sure you make your credit card payments on time, set your payments to automatically draft from your account. When you can?t completely get rid of your credit card debt, making regular monthly payments will improve your credit history.
If you are planning on buying a home or a vehicle, you should improve your credit score first. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can either take out a small personal loan and repay it on an accelerated schedule, or open a couple of credit cards and build an excellent payment history. Aim to pay at least double the minimum payment on all your outstanding debt, even more if you can afford it.
TIP! When trading Forex, know when to allow your profits to run. Only use this tactic when you have reason to believe the streak will continue.
It?s never too late to put your finances in order. Doing so will help you be better prepared for your sixties. It?s always a good time to start working toward better finances.
TIP! Keep up with world money markets so you know what is happening. Often times people do not watch the world markets but you should! Being knowledgeable about the world around you allows you to be more successful.
To get out of debt quickly, pay off your highest interest debts first. You may feel that it?s better to pay off your debts evenly, but paying off high interest debts as soon as possible is more cost efficient in the long run. Credit card interest rates are only going to go up in the future, so whatever financial problems you may have, avoid accumulating credit card debt!
TIP! Sacrificing your home is a difficult decision that nobody wants to make. Consider if your personal finances would be easier to maintain if you moved in a home with a lower mortgage or rent payment.
You must have money in a liquid savings account. It should also be a savings account that is high-yielding. Online banks are one such facility that can offer you what you require. These banks are mandated to have FDIC insurance so your savings are protected.
TIP! When you are trying to save some money abroad, eat at local restaurants. Most likely, the restaurant in the hotel, and the restaurants located in tourist areas will be expensive, so look around and discover where the local people eat.
Allow yourself a weekly cash allowance to prevent splurging your savings wastefully. The cash can be used for treats like coffee with friends, new music, books or a new pair of shoes, but once it?s spent, you?re done until the next allowance. Being on a budget doesn?t have to mean deprivation. So, go ahead and enjoy a meal out, or some other small expense once in a while.
TIP! Think about purchasing store brand foods over name brand foods. These store brand foods taste similar to higher end foods, but without the flair.
Put a little foreign intrigue into your investments. International investments can be made through a no load mutual account, it will give you what you need and also lessen your cost of research.
TIP! Make concrete financial plans to ensure your personal finances are managed effectively. The use of a plan will provide motivation, as well a logical reason to put money in certain places, rather than following your impulses at random times.
With the economy in its present condition, putting savings into varied sources makes good sense. You could put some funds into a savings account and some into checking and also invest in stocks or gold. Protect your money with whichever of these ideas appeals to you.
Although you may not like your job too much, making some money is better than none. Don?t quit your job until you have another one lined up.
TIP! If you want to pay your child?s way through college, establish a college fund as soon as he is born. College costs a fortune, and if you wait too long to start saving for their college fund, you may not be able to cover the costs of their education.
As the article indicates, learning to effectively manage your personal finances is a critical life skill. You can improve your financial situation by following the helpful tips in this article. You will be empowered to manage your own finances, achieve your financial goals and make wise spending and saving decisions.
Source: http://cashnowpaydayloans.net/news/the-importance-of-personal-finance-in-this-day-and-age/
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FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2012 file photo, television personality Kim Kardashian poses for photographers at the red carpet during the 40th anniversary of Cosmopolitan magazine in Spanish in Mexico City. Kanye West announced at a concert in Atlantic City Sunday night, Dec. 30, 2012 that his girlfriend Kardashian is pregnant. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2012 file photo, television personality Kim Kardashian poses for photographers at the red carpet during the 40th anniversary of Cosmopolitan magazine in Spanish in Mexico City. Kanye West announced at a concert in Atlantic City Sunday night, Dec. 30, 2012 that his girlfriend Kardashian is pregnant. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
FILE - Kim Kardashian, right, and Kanye West, left, are shown before an NBA basketball game between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks in this Dec, 6, 2012 file photo taken in Miami. The rapper Kanye West announced at a concert Sunday night Dec. 30, 2012 that his girlfriend is pregnant. He told the crowd of more than 5,000 at the Ovation Hall at the Revel Resort in song form: "Now you having my baby." ( AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)
FILE - In a Monday, May 7, 2012 file photo, Kanye West arrives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute gala benefit, in New York. West announced that his girlfriend Kim Kardashian is pregnant at a concert in Atlantic City Sunday night, Dec. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) ? Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are feeling lucky about their first child together.
"It's true," the 32-year-old reality TV star said in a statement on her site Monday. "Kanye and I are expecting a baby. We feel so blessed and lucky and wish that in addition to both of our families, his mom and my dad could be here to celebrate this special time with us."
Kardashian's father, Robert Kardashian, died in 2003. West's mother, Donda West, died in 2007.
Kardashian added in the blog post that she was "looking forward to great new beginnings in 2013 and to starting a family."
The 35-year-old rapper revealed to a crowd of more than 5,000 in song form at a concert Sunday that his girlfriend is pregnant. Kardashian was in the crowd at Revel Resort's Ovation Hall with her mother, Kris Jenner, and West's mentor and best friend, Jay-Z.
The news instantly went viral online, with thousands posting and commenting on the expecting couple.
Most of the Kardashian clan tweeted about the news, including Kim's sisters. Kourtney Kardashian wrote: "Another angel to welcome to our family. Overwhelmed with excitement!"
West told concertgoers to congratulate his "baby mom" and that this was the "most amazing thing."
Representatives for West and Kardashian didn't immediately respond to emails about the pregnancy.
The rapper and reality TV star went public with their relationship in March.
Kardashian married NBA player Kris Humphries in August 2011 and their divorce is not finalized.
West's Sunday-night show was his third consecutive performance at Revel. He took the stage for nearly two hours, performing hits like "Good Life," ''Jesus Walks" and "Clique" in an all-white ensemble with two bandmates.
Kardashian is expected to spend New Year's Eve at public appearance at a Las Vegas nightclub.
___
AP Writer Bianca Roach contributed to this report.
___
Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MusicMesfin . Follow Bianca Roach at http://twitter.com/B__Roach
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Source: http://article.wn.com/view/2012/12/30/Australia_condemns_Japan_for_whale_hunt/
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SAN FRANCISCO ? (CNN) A high school student is facing possible expulsion for writing a dark poem about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Courtni Webb didn?t write a memorial to the victims or voice her grief about the devastating incident. Instead, she said she could see what drove Adam Lanza to do what he did.
?I understand the killings in Connecticut. I know why he pulled the trigger,? Courtni?s poem says.
School officials at the Life Learning Academy on Treasure Island suspended the 17-year-old senior until further notice.
?Why are we oppressed by a dysfunctional community of haters and blamers. The meaning of the poem is talking about society and how I understand why things like that incident happened. So it?s not like I?m agreeing with it, but that?s how the school made it seem,? Courtni explained.
Courtni didn?t turn the poem in as an assignment. Instead, the teacher discovered it in class and took it to the principal.? Courtni says she?s turned in dark poems before? about suicide and sadness.
?For example, the only person I can think of would be like Stephen King. He writes weird stuff all the time. That doesn?t mean he?s gonna do it or act it out.?
The school says things have changed drastically since December 14th when Adam Lanza, 20, took guns belonging to his mother, Nancy, and shot her as she slept in her bed. Then he went to the school in Newtown, Connecticut, where he gunned down 20 children and six staff members before killing himself.
School officials say there is now a zero tolerance approach to violence, the threat of violence and any violation can result in dismissal from school.
?I feel like they?re over reacting. Why? Because my daughter doesn?t have a history of violence. She didn?t threaten anybody. She didn?t threaten herself. She simply said she understood why,? Courtni?s mother said.
The San Francisco Unified School District will decide if Courtni?s poem was a form of art or a genuine threat to the safety of fellow students.
Meanwhile, the father of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza claimed his body last week, a family spokesman said.
Peter Lanza claimed the body Thursday, spokesman Errol Cockfield said. He declined to specify where the body would be buried.
Peter Lanza was questioned by authorities after the shooting, as was the gunman?s 24-year-old brother, Ryan.
Authorities have offered few details about Adam Lanza. He had no known criminal record, authorities have said.
Geneticists are now studying Adam Lanza?s DNA, a spokeswoman for the University of Connecticut Health Center said last week.
The geneticists were asked to join the investigation by the state medical examiner?s office, spokeswoman Carolyn Pennington told CNN. She said that there is no specific genetic marker the team is looking for, and that lab results and a complete analysis of the DNA ?are not expected for several weeks ? probably the end of January.?
While experts agree that there are genetic components to many mental illnesses, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of genes involved. Most believe that no single gene or mutation alone could foretell violent acts like those committed by Adam Lanza.
After the school massacre, Peter Lanza released a statement saying that his family is ?grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy.?
?Our hearts go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones and to all those who were injured,? the father said. ?We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can. We, too, are asking why.?
Source: http://fox4kc.com/2012/12/31/school-suspends-h-s-senior-for-poem-about-newtown-adam-lanza/
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by SUSAN WYATT / KING 5 News
BioKING5.com
Posted on December 29, 2012 at 1:06 PM
Updated yesterday at 3:59 PM
The Museum of History is holding a grand opening celebration at its new location in the beautifully restored Naval Reserve Armory at Lake Union Park in downtown Seattle.
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn invited a group of children to help cut the ribbon as the new MOHAI was declared officially open.
It took more than a decade and $90 million to move the museum from its site along SR 520 near the University of Washington to its new home.
"Moveing to South Lake Union is truly a transformational experience for MOHAI," said Leonard Garfield, MOHAI's Executive Director. "We are simply thrilled to welcome the community into our new space."
Among the pieces on display are the iconic red neon Rainier Beer "R," the 1919 Boeing B-1 floatplane that carried mail between Seattle and Victoria, and the big pink "Toe Truck."
More information on grand opening events
?
Source: http://www.king5.com/news/cities/seattle/New-MOHAI-opens-at-South-Lake-Union-location-185165941.html
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Je pr?cise qu'en mode "hors connexion" le probl?me est le m?me:
"Impossible d'enregistrer le document"
puis
Enregistr?
/data/data/com.google.android.apps.docs/cache...
mais le document n'est pas enregistr?...
Modifi? par jeanraoul, aujourd'hui, 14:04.
Source: http://forum.frandroid.com/topic/132546-snote-et-google-drive/
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LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Central African Republic's neighbours have agreed to increase the number of troops stationed there to help defend against rebels threatening to overthrow the government.
The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) - which already has more than 500 peacekeepers in CAR - announced its decision overnight in Gabon's capital Libreville, ahead of peace talks planned between the SELEKA rebels and the government in early January.
The insurgency poses the biggest threat yet to President Francois Bozize's nearly ten years in charge of the nation, which has remained poor since independence from France in 1960 despite rich deposits of uranium, gold and diamonds.
"We are thinking of a way to deploy this mission as quickly as possible," Gabon Foreign Minister Emmanuel Issoze Ngondet told reporters after a meeting with his regional counterparts. He did not say how many soldiers would be deployed.
The ECCAS troops, mostly from Chad, are part of the MICOPAX (Mission for the consolidation of peace in Central African Republic) peacekeeping force, but have been unable to prevent a rebel advance to within 75 km (45 miles) of the capital Bangui since early December.
The SELEKA rebels have threatened to overthrow Bozize if he does not live up to a previous peace deal offering former fighters pay and jobs, but they have agreed to stay out of Bangui to allow for peace talks.
Officials in Bangui on Friday said rebels had agreed to send delegates to Libreville in early January. A rebel spokesman was not immediately available to comment.
Some clashes between government troops and rebel fighters were reported on the outskirts of Damara, 75 km north of Bangui, on Friday, and some residents of the capital were fleeing the city, fearing a fresh rebel push.
Clashes were also heard in Bambari, some 385 km northwest of Bangui, residents told Reuters.
Bozize came to power in a rebellion in 2003 and has since won two elections. France conducted air strikes against rebels challenging him in 2006, but Paris has said it will not intervene militarily in the current conflict.
The United States said on Thursday it had closed its embassy in Bangui and evacuated its staff.
Central African Republic is one of a number of countries in the region where U.S. Special Forces are helping local forces try to track down the Lords Resistance Army, a rebel group responsible for killing thousands of civilians across four African nations.
Some 1,200 French nationals live in CAR, mostly in the capital, according to the French Foreign Ministry, where they typically work for mining firms or aid groups.
French nuclear energy group Areva mines the Bakouma uranium deposit in CAR's south - France's biggest commercial interest in its former colony.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/central-africa-states-troops-car-ahead-peace-talks-095950810.html
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Choosing a skilled professional who uses the quality materials and understands heating and AC system is the most important thing if you need repairs in your home. There are many types of furnaces that all have distinct parts and functions. Depending on your home and location, your home temperature and utility bill can improve greatly if you purchase an appropriate furnace. Cooling systems are also quite different and it is essential to use one that is the most effective. When you hire a heating and cooling professional, they will analyze your situation and help pick the system that will meet your needs the best. These specialists can also handle all kinds of heating and AC repairs. Notice a large difference in your year-round comfort with experienced heating and cooling specialists working for you. Air Conditioning Repair Service Corpus Christi TX
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ROKKASHO ?
How is an nuclear-powered island nation riddled with fault lines supposed to handle its nuclear waste? Part of the answer was supposed to come from this windswept village along Japan?s northern coast.
By hosting a high-tech facility that would convert spent fuel into a plutonium-uranium mix designed for the next generation of reactors, Rokkasho in Aomori Prefecture was supposed to provide fuel while minimizing nuclear waste storage problems. Those ambitions are falling apart because years of attempts to build a ?fast breeder? reactor, which would use the reprocessed fuel, appear to be ending in failure.
But Japan still intends to reprocess spent fuel at Rokkasho. It sees few other options, even though it will mean extracting plutonium that could be used to make nuclear weapons.
If the country were to close the reprocessing plant, some 3,000 tons of spent waste piling up here would have to go back to the nuclear plants that made it, and those already are running low on storage space. There is scant prospect for building a long-term nuclear waste disposal site in Japan.
So work continues at Rokkasho, where the reprocessing unit remains in testing despite being more than 30 years in the making, and the plant that would produce plutonium-uranium fuel remains under construction. The Associated Press was recently granted a rare and exclusive tour of the plant, where spent fuel rods lie submerged in water in a gigantic, dimly lit pool.
The effort continues on the assumption that the plutonium Japan has produced ? 45 tons so far ? will be used in reactors, even though that is not close to happening to a significant degree.
In nearby Oma, construction is set to resume on an advanced reactor that is not a fast-breeder but can use more plutonium than conventional reactors. Its construction, begun in 2008 for planned operation in 2014, has been suspended since the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdowns, and could face further delays as Japan?s new nuclear watchdog prepares new safety guidelines.
If Japan decided that it cannot use the plutonium, it would be breaking international pledges aimed at preventing the spread of weapons-grade nuclear material. It already has enough plutonium to make hundreds of nuclear bombs ? 10 tons of it at home and the rest in Britain and France, where Japan?s spent fuel was previously processed.
Countries such as the U.S. and Britain have similar problems with nuclear waste storage, but Japan?s population density and seismic activity, combined with the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, make its situation more untenable in the eyes of the nation?s nuclear-energy opponents. Some compare it to building an apartment without a toilet.
?Our nuclear policy was a fiction,? former National Policy Minister Seiji Maehara told a parliamentary panel in November. ?We have been aware of the two crucial problems. One is a fuel cycle: A fast-breeder is not ready. The other is the back-end (waste disposal) issue. They had never been resolved, but we pushed for the nuclear programs anyway.?
Nuclear power is likely to be part of Japan for some time to come, even though just two of its 50 functioning reactors are operating and Japan recently pledged to phase out nuclear power by the 2030s. That pledge was made by a government that was trounced in elections Dec 16, and the now-ruling Liberal Democratic Party was the force that brought nuclear power to Japan to begin with.
Liberal Democrats have said they will spend the next 10 years figuring out the best energy mix, effectively freezing a nuclear phase-out. New Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he may reconsider the previous government?s decision not to build more reactors.
Construction at Rokkasho?s reprocessing plant started in 1993 and that unit alone has cost 2.2 trillion yen so far. Rokkasho?s operational cost through 2060 would be a massive 43 trillion yen, according to a recent government estimate.
The reprocessing facility at this extremely high-security plant is designed to extract uranium and plutonium from spent fuel to fabricate MOX ? mixed oxide fuel, a mix of the two radioactive elements. The MOX fabrication plant is set to open in 2016.
Conventional light-water reactors use uranium and produce some plutonium during fission. Reprocessing creates an opportunity to reuse the spent fuel rather than storing it as waste, but the stockpiling of plutonium produced in the process raises concerns about nuclear proliferation.
Fast-breeder reactors are supposed to solve part of that problem. They run on both uranium and plutonium, and they can produce more fuel than they consume because they convert uranium isotopes that do not fission readily into plutonium. Several countries have developed or are building them, but none has succeeded in building one for commercial use. The United States, France and Germany have abandoned plans due to cost and safety concerns.
The prototype Monju fast-breeder reactor in western Japan had been in the works for nearly 50 years, but after repeated problems, authorities this summer pulled the plug, deeming the project unworkable and unsafe.
Monju successfully generated power using MOX in 1995, but months later, massive leakage of cooling sodium caused a fire. Monju had another test run in 2010 but stopped again after a fuel exchanger fell into the reactor vessel.
Some experts also suspect that the reactor sits on an active fault line. An independent team commissioned by the Nuclear Regulation Authority is set to inspect faults at Monju in early 2013.
Japan also burned MOX in four conventional reactors beginning in 2009. Conventional reactors can use MOX for up to a third of their fuel, but that makes the fuel riskier because the plutonium is easier to heat up.
Three of the conventional reactors that used MOX were shut down for regular inspections around the time three Fukushima Daiichi reactors exploded and melted down following the March 201l earthquake and tsunami. The fourth reactor that used MOX was among the reactors that melted down. Plant and government officials deny that the reactor explosion was related to MOX.
Japan hopes to use MOX fuel in as many as 18 reactors by 2015, according to a Rokkasho brochure produced last month by the operator. But even conventionally powered nuclear reactors are unpopular in Japan, and using MOX would raise even more concerns.
When launched, Rokkasho could reprocess 800 tons of spent fuel per year, producing about 5 tons of plutonium and 130 tons of MOX per year, becoming the world?s No. 2 MOX fabrication plant after France?s Areva, according to Rokkasho?s operator.
The government and the nuclear industry hope to use much of the plutonium at Oma?s advanced plant, which could use three times more plutonium than a conventional reactor.
Meanwhile, the plutonium stockpile grows. Including the amount not yet separated from spent fuel, Japan has nearly 160 tons. Few countries have more, though the U.S., Russia and Great Britain have substantially more.
?Our plutonium storage is strictly controlled, and it is extremely important for us to burn it as MOX fuel so we don?t possess excess plutonium stockpile,? said Kazuo Sakai, senior executive director of Rokkasho?s operator, JNFL, a joint venture of nine Japanese nuclear plant owners.
Rokkasho?s reprocessing plant extracted about 2 tons of plutonium from 2006 to 2010, but it has been plagued with mechanical problems, and its commercial launch has been delayed for years. The operator most recently delayed the official launch of its plutonium-extracting unit until next year.
The extracted plutonium will sit there for at least three more years until Rokkasho?s MOX fabrication starts up.
Giving up on using plutonium for power would cause Japan to break its international pledge not to possess excess plutonium not designated for power generation. That?s why Japan?s nuclear phase-out plan drew concern from Washington; the country would end up with tons of plutonium left over. To reassure Japan?s allies, government officials said the plan was only a goal, not a commitment.
Japan is the only nation without nuclear weapons that is allowed under international law to enrich uranium and extract plutonium without much scrutiny. Government officials say they should keep the privilege. They also want to hold on to nuclear power and reprocessing technology so they can export that expertise to emerging economies.
Many officials also want to keep Rokkasho going, especially those in its prefecture. Residents don?t want to lose funding and jobs, though they fear their home state may become a waste dump.
Rokkasho Mayor Kenji Furukawa said the plant, its affiliates and related businesses provide most of the jobs in his village of 11,000.
?Without the plant, this is going to be a marginal place,? he said.
But Rokkasho farmer Keiko Kikukawa says her neighbors should stop relying on nuclear money.
?It?s so unfair that Rokkasho is stuck with the nuclear garbage from all over Japan,? she said, walking through a field where she had harvested organic rhubarb. ?We?re dumping it all onto our offspring to take care of.?
Nearly 17,000 tons of spent fuel are stored at power plants nationwide, almost entirely in spent fuel pools. Their storage space is 70% filled on average. Most pools would max out within several years if Rokkasho were to close down, forcing spent fuel to be returned, according to estimates by a government fuel-cycle panel.
Rokkasho alone won?t be able to handle all the spent fuel coming out once approved reactors go back online, and the clock is ticking for operators to take steps to create extra space for spent fuel at each plant, Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said.
?Even if we operate Rokkasho, there is more spent fuel coming out than it can process. It?s just out of balance,? he told the AP.
A more permanent solution ? an underground repository that could keep nuclear waste safe for tens of thousands of years ? seems unlikely, if not impossible.
The government has been drilling a test hole since 2000 in central Japan to monitor impact from underground water and conduct other studies needed to develop a potential disposal facility. But no municipality in Japan has been willing to accept a long-term disposal site.
?There is too much risk to keep highly radioactive waste 300 meters underground anywhere in Japan for thousands or tens of thousands of years,? said Takatoshi Imada, a professor at Tokyo Technical University?s Decision Science and Technology department
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/nowhere-to-use-japans-growing-plutonium-stockpile
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genie garage door opener salem or Selecting a skilled professional who uses the quality materials and understands heating and AC system is the most essential step if you need repairs in your home. There are many types of furnaces that all have various advantages and disadvantages. Depending on the type of home you live in, your home temperature and utility bill can improve dramatically if you select an appropriate furnace. Air conditioning systems are also very unique and it is essential to use a system that operates effectively. When you hire a heating and air conditioning professional, they can analyze your situation and help choose the tools that best meets your needs. These specialists can also handle all varieties of heating and AC repairs. Experience a large difference in your year-round comfort with quality heating and air conditioning technicians working for you.
Source: http://www.lacc2010wjp.org/taking-care-of-your-homes-heating-and-cooling-systems-2/
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Source: www.nytimes.com --- Saturday, December 29, 2012
The death of a young woman savagely assaulted and raped in the national capital has mushroomed into a volatile crisis that has touched a deep chord of discontent. ...
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Wednesday evening's snow couldn't stop the 36th annual Pearl River Track & Field Holiday Festival Thursday at RCC's Levy Fieldhouse, but it did keep some schools away.
According to Dan Doherty, the former Pearl River girls track coach and organizer of the event, 11 of the 44 teams scheduled to participate didn?t make it due to Wednesday?s storm. He said most of the schools that canceled are located in norther Orange and Ulster counties.
Still, plenty of schools did make it to RCC on Thursday, and many local competitors scored wins or other strong finishes throughout the day.
On the girls side, Pearl River High School?s Kayla Clohessy finished first in the long jump with a score of 16-0.25. Amanda Moroney, also from Pearl River High School, won the 55 meter hurdles with a time of 9.1 seconds.
Erin Jaskot, from Tappan Zee High School, won the 300 yard dash with a time of 37.8 seconds. She also finished second in the 1,000 yard run to Suffern eight-grader Kameron McIntosh, who finished 2.4 seconds ahead of Jaskot. Nyack?s Ifetayo Tyler finished third in that face.
In the boys competition, Clarkstown North?s 4x200 meter relay team took home first place in their event with a time of 1:36.7. The team is made up of Billy DeLay, Jeremy Job, Aiden Daly and Dennis O?Connor. DeLay finished second in the 55 meter dash, Job finished eighth in the high jump and O?Connor finished second in the long jump.
Clarkstown South?s Najee Taylor won the long jump with a score of 20-06.00. Taylor finished seventh in the 55 meter hurdles as well. Also winning from South was Chris Guglielmo, whose topped all in the pole vault with a mark of 13-00.00. The South 4x400 meter relay team also took home a first-place finish. The team was made up of Sammy Abdallatif, Michael Guglielmo and Nicholas Jung.
Full results from Thursday's meet are attached to this report.?
Source: http://nyack.patch.com/articles/photos-36th-annual-pearl-river-track-field-holiday-festival
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Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50304152/
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Every business, however small or large, wants to succeed online. As the 2013 starts, how to increase profits and succeed online is at the top of most business? agenda.
Whether you?re just starting a new business or taking your existing business to the next level, the following tips will guarantee your success in the coming year.
A great website can be a very important asset for any business. Whether you are an e-commerce business or a traditional bricks and mortar company, how well you are able to leverage your website to acquire new customers will play an important role in the success of your business in 2013. This is the year to take a fresh look at your website and explore ways to drive leads and boost sales.
A good quality website does not have to cost thousands. Rather than spending a fortune to get a website with all the bells and whistles, it may be more profitable to use an affordable website and use your resources to integrate the right features, create valuable resources and expand your online profile.
Here Are Some Tips:
Social media marketing has become an essential ingredient of any successful Internet marketing strategy today. Most businesses already maintain profiles on the leading social networks. 2013 is the year to expand your social presence and take it a step further. Think beyond a basic social presence and put an effort to take your social media marketing to the next level.
Here are some tips:
PWC have estimated that mobile internet use will surpass desktop use within the next 3 years. Yet, only a quarter of businesses have a mobile enabled website. It is important to make sure your website offers a seamless experience whether it is accessed from desktop or a mobile phone.
If you want your business to capitalise on the mobile marketing trend, at the least you should make your website mobile enabled.
How to Make Sure Your Website is Mobile-Enabled?
Creating a mobile website is not as difficult as you might think. The approach depends on whether you already have a website for? your business or you are starting from scratch.
If You Don?t Have A Website:
If you are creating a new website then I highly recommend creating a responsive website. Responsive web-design is a new approach for creating websites where CSS techniques are used to scale the site automatically to fit the screen resolution of the user. This ensures users can access your website seamlessly from a desktop, tablet or smart phone. It also means there is no need for your business to create and maintain separate versions of your website for each device.
If You Have a Website That is Not Mobile-Optimised:
If you already have a website, the chances are the design is not responsive. In such cases, creating a separate mobile version of your existing website is a more suitable option. There are several web-based services you can use to create a mobile version of your site.
Inbound marketing is the new way of marketing that is much more productive and efficient than traditional direct marketing methods. Inbound marketing is a highly targeted marketing approach that involves acquiring customers by creating exceptional content and information.
It typically involves creating quality content to attract prospects towards your website and then using leveraging website to convert them into leads for your business. It is far more efficient than traditional marketing methods like billboard advertising or even direct mail.
Inbound marketing is also more cost-effective and cheaper than traditional marketing methods. Studies have found that businesses that use inbound methods have a 62% lower cost-per-lead than companies that focus on outbound tactics. (Source: Hubspot).
The 3 main stages of inbound marketing:
Content marketing, the process of creating and distributing content,? is at the heart of inbound marketing. Publishing content is one of the most effective ways to attract customers and drive traffic to your website. Although it takes time and effort to create quality content, the benefits are well worth the effort.
Businesses that time and resources to implement an ongoing content marketing plan have a much better chance of succeeding in 2013. Having a publishing schedule can be a great help and ensures a consistent approach.
Types of Content You Can Create:
Following are some types of content that you can create as part of your marketing efforts:
Businesses that wish to capitalize on the mobile marketing trend and succeed online in 2013 will need to do much more than simply making sure their website is accessible on smart-phones.
Businesses that prioritise mobile marketing and try out new ways to target this ever-increasing consumer-base are much more likely to succeed online in the coming year.
There are many mobile advertising options that businesses can take advantage of. Here are some of them:
a) Mobile Paid Search Ads:
Mobile Search Ads is an easy way to get your site listed above other sites on search engines. Most search engines including Google, Bing and Yahoo offer paid search ads that specifically targets mobile customers.
b) Mobile Advertising Networks:
Mobile advertising networks make it easy for businesses to run and manage mobile ad campaigns on several sites, apps and other channels from a single place. There are many self-service as well as managed mobile advertising networks that your businesses can take advantage of.
c) Location Based Services:
The last couple of years have seen an increase in the popularity of location-based services. Sites like Foursquare and Yelp offer a great way to offer deals to customers based on their location as well as to reward loyal customers.
2013 is a great year to leverage Internet marketing to grow your business and increase your profits. Whether you are starting a new business or are looking for ways to expand your existing online business, the tips above can help you take your online business to the next level.
What About You?
What are your plans for 2013? How does your business plan to expand its online presence and boost its online profits? Please add your response by leaving a comment below.
If you like this article, please share it!
Source: http://www.kronikmedia.co.uk/blog/how-can-business-succeed-online/6404/
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Senate on Friday approved a $60.4 billion emergency spending aid package for victims of Hurricane Sandy that had been backed by Senate Democrats.
Democrats had to turn back Republican efforts to cut programs such as $150 million in fisheries aid that Republican lawmakers said was unrelated to the storm that hammered the East Coast late in October. The measure cleared the Senate on a 62-32 vote, with 12 Republicans supporting the bill. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., was the only Democrat to vote against the bill, but he later switched his vote to support the measure.
The bill faces uncertain prospects in the House, where GOP leaders appear reluctant to move quickly on a big spending bill in the final days of a lame duck session. Congress' attention is focused on talks over the so-called fiscal cliff of tax hikes and automatic spending cuts.
Sandy was blamed for at least 120 deaths and battered coastline areas from North Carolina to Maine. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were the hardest hit states and suffered high winds, flooding and storm surges. Sandy damaged or destroyed more than 72,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey. In New York, 305,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed and more than 265,000 businesses were affected.
Senate Republicans failed on an amendment for a smaller package of about $24 billion in aid for Sandy, which was the most costly natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and one of the worst storms ever in the Northeast.
House GOP leaders have not said how they plan to proceed. But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers of Kentucky has said Congress should probably begin with a smaller aid package for immediate recovery needs and wait until more data can be collected about storm damage before approving additional money next year.
Rep. Paul Ryan, the 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee and a leading House fiscal conservative, has criticized the Democratic bill as "packed with funding for unrelated items, such as commercial fisheries in American Samoa and roof repair of museums in Washington, D.C."
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., urged House leaders to "put this bill on the floor quickly and allow a vote." If the House balks, Schumer said, the Senate bill provides "very good groundwork" for seeking Sandy aid next year.
The measure includes $11.5 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's chief disaster relief fund and $17 billion for community development block grants, much of which would help homeowners repair or replace their homes. Another $11.7 billion would help repair New York City's subways and other mass transit damage and protect them from future storms. Some $9.7 billion would go toward the government's flood insurance program. The Army Corps of Engineers would receive $5.3 billion to mitigate flood future risks and rebuild damaged projects.
Senate Republicans said much of the spending in the Democratic bill was for projects unrelated to Sandy, such as $150 million for fisheries disasters that could go to Alaska as well as Gulf Coast and New England states. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., sought to strip the fisheries funding, but his amendment failed.
To court votes, Democrats last week broadened some of their bill's provisions to cover damage from Hurricane Isaac, which struck the Gulf Coast earlier this year. A provision was added to the $2.9 billion allotted to Army Corps of Engineers projects to reduce future flooding risks; the coverage area for that program will now include areas hit by Isaac in addition to Sandy. Democrats also shifted $400 million into a community development program for regions suffering disasters, beyond areas struck by Sandy.
A Coburn amendment to reduce the federal share of costs for the Army Corps of Engineer projects to reduce future flooding risks also failed.
Most of the money in the $60.4 billion bill ? $47.4 billion ? is for immediate help for victims and other recovery and rebuilding efforts. The aid is intended to help states rebuild public infrastructure like roads and tunnels, and help thousands of people displaced from their homes.
"It will actually put people to work in their own communities, rebuilding their own communities," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Coburn, two frequent critics of government spending, targeted what they called "questionable" spending in the Democratic bill, including $2 million for roof repairs at Smithsonian Institution museums and $58 million in subsidies for tree planting on private properties. A McCain amendment to strip the tree subsidies failed.
Republicans also criticized $13 billion in the Democratic bill for projects to protect against future storms, including fortifying mass transit systems in the Northeast. Republicans said however worthy such projects may be, they are not urgently needed and should be considered by Congress in the usual appropriations process next year.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that only about $9 billion of the $60.4 billion proposed by Democrats would be spent over the next nine months. The Democratic bill included many large infrastructure projects that often require years to complete, but Republicans said the CBO estimate of such drawn-out spending undercuts the urgency of the Democrats' aid package.
More than $2 billion in federal funds has been spent so far on relief efforts for 11 states and the District of Columbia. FEMA's disaster relief fund still has about $4.3 billion, and officials have said that is enough to pay for recovery efforts into early spring.
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are receiving federal aid.
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4 hrs.
Sharon Begley , Reuters
NEW YORK --?An unknown illness, suspected of being a norovirus, has sickened 194 passengers and 11 crew members aboard the luxury cruise ship Queen Mary 2, causing vomiting and diarrhea, federal health officials said on Friday.
Earlier in the week, 189 passengers and 31 crew members on the Emerald Princess came down with the same symptoms.
The symptoms are those of norovirus, a contagious microorganism that can be acquired from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Norovirus causes an inflammation of the stomach or intestines called acute gastroenteritis, producing stomach pain, nausea and diarrhea, and is the most common cause of acute gastroenteritis in the United States.
Each year, norovirus causes some 21 million illnesses, of which 70,000 require hospitalization. It kills about 800 people a year, the CDC says.
The Queen Mary 2, with 2,613 passengers and 1,255 crew members, is now docked in Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, according to ship owner Cunard Line, which is owned by Carnival Corp. The cruise left Brooklyn, New York, last Saturday and is due to return there next Thursday.
The CDC learned of the illnesses on the QM2 on Christmas Day on Tuesday, and of those on the Emerald Princess last Saturday. Vessels are required to notify the agency when 2 percent of those on board develop a gastrointestinal illness.
Although the microbial culprit remains unclear In both cases, another reason to suspect norovirus is that the pathogen "has affected a number of schools, hospitals, nursing homes and children's day care centers this winter" in the United Kingdom, Cunard said in a statement.
The UK's Health Protection Agency reports that norovirus activity in the country is 83 per cent higher than last year.
The QM2 sails regularly scheduled crossings between New York and Southampton, England, between April and late November, Cunard spokeswoman Jackie Chase said in an email. "In addition, many of our guests come from the UK."
The QM2's captain is advising passengers with gastrointestinal symptoms to report to the medical center, Chase said. Those sickened are asked to "isolate themselves in their cabin until non-contagious. They are also asked not to proceed ashore, and any shore excursion costs will be refunded. Room service is provided to affected passengers and every effort is made to make them as comfortable as possible."
Of the 194 QM2 passengers who had fallen sick, said Chase, all but 12 had recovered as of Friday.
'Norovirus?active on board'
In a post on the message board cruisecritic.com on Wednesday, a woman who said her daughter was on the QM2 said she "just received a message from her indicating that the Norovirus is active on board."
On Thursday, someone reporting being on the ship posted that "the restaurants are still full. The Captain last night recommended that people take all of their meals in the full-service restaurants rather than the buffet, but the buffet remains open as of this morning. We've been kept informed daily of the persistent cases."
Another post said: "The crew are working like crazy to service all the guests. At lunch today I noticed the hand rails on the promenade deck were wiped three times in about 1 hour."
In response to the outbreak, the QM2 crew has increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, the CDC said, and is asking passengers and crew to report cases of illness and "encourage hand hygiene."
Medical personnel are also collecting stool specimens from ill passengers and crew, which a CDC lab will analyze to make a definitive diagnosis.
When the QM2 docks in Brooklyn, an officer from the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program and an epidemiologist will board, conduct an environmental health assessment "and evaluate the outbreak and response activities," the CDC said.
Two officers boarded the Emerald Princess, also owned by Carnival, when it arrived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Thursday and are conducting an environmental assessment.
The Vessel Sanitation Program has authority to inspect cruise ships that carry 13 or more passengers and call at U.S. ports. It gave the Queen Mary 2 a perfect 100 on its most recent inspection this past summer, but found a few minor infractions, including a lack of serving utensils with breakfast pastries at a buffet.
Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/passengers-queen-mary-2-sickened-unidentified-pathogen-1C7753032
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ROME (Reuters) - The Vatican newspaper on Thursday praised Mario Monti's announcement that he may run in February's general election, signaling that Italy's technocrat prime minister had replaced Silvio Berlusconi as the Church's preferred politician.
Monti said on Sunday that he was willing to seek a second term if a credible, reform-minded political force backed his agenda ahead of the February 24-25 parliamentary election.
On Sunday Monti said he would "rise" into politics, a thinly veiled dig at four-time premier Berlusconi, who has always said he "descended onto the field" of public service in 1994.
Monti's message was "an appeal to recover the higher and more noble sense of politics that is ... to take care of the common good," the Vatican's Osservatore Romano newspaper wrote.
Italy remains overwhelmingly Catholic, and the Church has always played a role in domestic politics. During most of the 19 years that Berlusconi led the center right he enjoyed the backing of the Church hierarchy. He stepped down last year amid a burgeoning euro zone debt crisis and was replaced by Monti.
The Church began distancing itself from the 76-year-old Berlusconi before he resigned, after a sex scandal involving an underage prostitute and details of so-called "bunga-bunga" parties in his Milan villa emerged.
The center left led by Pier Luigi Bersani leads in the polls, at more than 30 percent, followed by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party that are both more than 10 percentage points behind.
Before Monti said he would enter the political ring, the four centrist parties together failed to attract more than 10 percent of the potential votes. No polls have been released since Monti's announcement.
(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/vatican-paper-lauds-italy-pm-montis-election-bid-171751330.html
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FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2012 file photo, a truck driver watches as a freight container, right, is lowered onto a tractor trailer by a container crane at the Port of Boston in Boston. The crane and a reach stacker, left, are operated by longshoremen at the port. The longshoremen's union may strike if they are unable to reach an agreement on their contract, which expires Dec. 29, 2012. A walkout by dock workers represented by the International Longshoremen?s Association would bring commerce to a near halt at ports from Boston to Houston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 18, 2012 file photo, a truck driver watches as a freight container, right, is lowered onto a tractor trailer by a container crane at the Port of Boston in Boston. The crane and a reach stacker, left, are operated by longshoremen at the port. The longshoremen's union may strike if they are unable to reach an agreement on their contract, which expires Dec. 29, 2012. A walkout by dock workers represented by the International Longshoremen?s Association would bring commerce to a near halt at ports from Boston to Houston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
NEW YORK (AP) ? In just a few days, a walkout by thousands of dock workers could bring commerce to a near standstill at every major port from Boston to Houston, potentially delivering a big blow to retailers and manufacturers still struggling to find their footing in a weak economy.
More than 14,000 longshoremen are threating to go on strike Sunday ? a wide-ranging work stoppage that would immediately close cargo ports on the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico to container ships.
The 15 ports involved in the labor dispute move more than 100 million tons of goods each year, or about 40 percent of the nation's containerized cargo traffic. Losing them to a shutdown, even for a few days, could cost the economy billions of dollars.
"If the port shuts down, nothing moves in or out," said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation. And when the workers do return, "it's going to take time to clear out that backlog, and we don't know how long that it's going to take."
Shipments of such varied products as flat-screen TVs, sneakers and snow shovels would either sit idle at sea or get rerouted, at great time and expense. U.S. factories also rely on container ships for parts and raw materials, meaning supply lines for all sorts of products could be squeezed.
Joseph Ahlstrom, a professor at the State University of New York's Maritime College and a former cargo ship captain, called container ships the "lifeblood of the country."
"We don't fly in a lot of products. It's just too expensive," Ahlstrom said. "The bulk of the products we import come in inside containers."
The master contract between the International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, a group representing shipping lines, terminal operators and port associations, expired in September. The two sides agreed to extend it once already, for 90 days, but they have so far balked at extending it again when it expires at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
The union said its members would agree to an extension only if the Maritime Alliance dropped a proposal to freeze the royalties workers get for every container they unload. The Alliance has argued that the longshoremen, who it said earn an average $124,138 per year in wages and benefits, are compensated well enough already.
Federal mediators have been trying to push negotiations along, but there has been no word from either side on the progress of the talks since Dec. 24. As recently as Dec. 19, the president of the longshoremen, Harold Daggett, said the talks weren't going well and that a strike was expected.
The work stoppage would not be absolute. Longshoremen would continue to handle military cargo, mail, passenger ships, non-containerized items like automobiles, and perishable commodities, like fresh food.
Yet the economic damage could still be severe.
"The global economy moves by water, and shutting down container ports along the East and Gulf coasts while the national economy remains fragile benefits no one," Deborah Hadden, acting port director at Massport, the public agency that oversees shipping terminals in Boston. It is not a part of the contract dispute.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said "the livelihood of thousands of Florida families lies in the balance."
The White House weighed in, too, urging dockworkers and shipping companies Thursday to reach agreement "as quickly as possible" on a contract extension. Obama spokesman Matt Lehrich said the administration is monitoring the situation closely.
If it happens, the walkout could be the biggest national port disruption since 2002, when unionized dockworkers were locked out of 29 West Coast ports for 10 days because of a contract dispute.
The ports only reopened after President George W. Bush, invoking powers given to him by the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, ordered an 80-day cooling-off period. Some economists estimated that each day of that lockout cost the U.S. economy $1 billion. It took months for the retail supply chain to fully recover.
An East Coast port freeze would have its biggest impact at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, where 3,250 longshoremen handled 32.3 million tons of cargo in 2010. The authority is not a party to the contract dispute.
Other major ports affected would include Savannah, Ga., which handled 18 million tons, and Houston and Hampton Roads, Va., which each handled more than 12.5 million tons.
Thousands of other jobs would be directly affected by the shutdown. Truck drivers might not have any cargo to transport, tug boat captains no ships to guide and freight train operators nothing to haul.
Simultaneously, another labor dispute involving dock workers was playing out on the West Coast.
Longshoremen at several Pacific Northwest grain terminals worked Thursday under contract terms they soundly rejected last weekend. The owners implemented the terms after declaring talks at an impasse. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has yet to announce its next move.
Workplace rules, not salary and benefits, have been the obstacle to a new deal.
The dispute involves terminals in Portland, Ore., Vancouver, Wash., and Seattle, where longshoremen have been working without an agreement since the last contract expired Sept. 30.
___
Associated Press writers Ken Thomas in Washington and Tamara Lush in Tampa, Fla., contributed to this report.
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