Texas cancer agency OK'd faulty $11M grant

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Leaders of Texas' embattled $3 billion cancer-fighting effort approved an $11 million grant to a biomedical company even though the proposal wasn't reviewed, according to an internal audit that deepens the troubles of a state agency that has been denounced in recent months by some of the world's top scientists.

The discovery was uncovered during an internal review of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The award to Peloton Therapeutics Inc. in 2010 was among first ever handed out by the agency, and remains one of its largest taxpayer-funded grants to date.

The Associated Press on Thursday first reported the audit's findings, which were later announced by the agency.

Tim Kutzkey, Peloton's acting chief executive officer, declined comment and referred questions to CPRIT. In a statement, the agency said the Dallas-based company was unaware that "CPRIT processes had not been followed."

The cancer institute is home to the nation's second largest pot of cancer-research money, behind only the National Institutes of Health, and has awarded nearly $700 million. But it has come under intensifying scrutiny as several scientists, including two Nobel laureates, resigned in protest claiming the agency was charting a new politically-driven path that put commercial interests before science.

The Peloton revelation is the latest blow to CPRIT, which launched in 2009 to widespread acclaim among scientists and cancer survivors but has spent the past year unraveling. Dozens of scientists have resigned from the agency's peer review panels en masse in recent weeks, some of whom criticized the fund for "hucksterism" and "suspicion of favoritism" on their way out the door.

Pelton's application would have been presented to the agency's oversight committee by Jerry Cobbs, the agency's chief commercialization officer. Cobbs announced his resignation this month, and his last day was set for Friday.

Members of the oversight committee are appointed by Gov. Rick Perry and other state elected leaders. The panel has the final say on whether an award is funded, but under agency rules, all applications must be reviewed by an outside panel of peer reviewers who evaluate the scientific and commercial merits of the proposal.

The agency's statement did not explain how Pelton's application made it through the process without anyone noticing that a review never took place. It only said that Cobbs "improperly included" the proposal in a slate of other recommendations to the oversight committee in December 2010.

Attempts by the AP to reach Cobbs were not immediately successful Thursday evening.

Bill Gimson, the executive director of CPRIT who vowed that his reeling agency would recover from the growing onslaught of criticism at its annual conference in October, said in response to the audit's findings that the agency must have the state's trust.

"We proactively initiated this comprehensive review in the effort to be transparent and ensure good stewardship," Gimson said.

Peloton's funding has been halted and that the company's application is undergoing a second review, the agency said.

Started behind a push led by cancer survivor Lance Armstrong and Perry, CPRIT spent most of its first five years basking in praise and industry awe of the unprecedented amount of taxpayer dollars committed to a state-run, cancer-fighting effort. But those plaudits abruptly gave way to rebukes starting in May, and the fissures came from within.

Dr. Alfred Gilman, the agency's chief scientific officer and a Nobel laureate, announced his resignation following a $20 million award that never received a full scientific review. The money was for a so-called incubator project at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, one of the country's top research institutes.

Gilman accused the agency's oversight board of ramrodding the project through the application process, despite the proposal being just six pages long. Gimson has said the type of proposal didn't require a full scientific review under agency rules but has since conceded missteps in how that award was handled.

___

Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-cancer-agency-okd-faulty-11m-grant-003142864.html

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Microsoft Announces Pricing Details on Surface with Windows 8 Pro

Microsoft announced pricing details in the Surface with Windows 8 Pro today, the second tablet in its Surface lineup.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/5d2X1dETYfQ/

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Chrome gets Passbook support on iOS, bug fixes on Android

Google's unleashed new versions of Chrome for iOS and Android (both x86 and ARM-specific flavors) that each pack miscellaneous stability updates, but the iDevice-bound release has been graced with a few new features. With the newly-minted build, users will be able to save boarding passes and tickets with Passbook, open PDFs in other apps and have the option to automatically detect text encoding. To get your mitts on the fresh downloads, hit the neighboring source links.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Google

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auto insurance-Queen Creek | SFPIS

auto insurance Queen Creek AZ We see more drivers on the road every year. This can lead to a higher possibility of a car accident. The difference between a small aggravation and major pain can be the car insurance you own. How can you decide what insurance you need and where you should go to buy it? Car insurance protects you by paying for damage caused to your car or another person?s car and injury to others, yourself, or passengers in your car, and certain other situations, such as robbery. No matter where you live, you are required to buy some variety of auto insurance. Deciding to drive without insurance could cause you to repair or replace a stolen or damaged vehicle and pay the cost of all the damage that you may have caused. Liability: This kind of insurance coverage will pay for the damage that you are responsible for. These damages may include personal injury, and property damage. If you are in legal trouble, it also pays your legal fees. State laws usually mandate minimum amounts of liability insurance, but higher amounts are available and very beneficial. Personal Injury Protection: Personal injury protection pays for all medical treatment for you and your passengers, no matter who was responsible for the crash. It is mandated in some states and optional in others. This insurance can also cover lost earnings, service replacement and funeral expenses. State government usually sets minimum amounts. Medical Payments: This type of coverage is available in states that are not considered no-fault and will pay no matter who is responsible for the accident. All necessary medical or funeral expenses will be paid for under this type of coverage. Collision: This pays for damage to your car caused by an accident. Comprehensive: Protect your car from all non-collision damages by purchasing this type of insurance. This can include protection from theft, vandalism, and fire or flood damage. Uninsured Motorist: Too many drivers are ignoring the law by driving without owning the right amount of insurance. This insurance will protect you if you are in a collision with one of these drivers. Under-Insured Motorist: There are other drivers who have liability insurance that can?t cover all the expenses they are responsible for. This type of insurance protects you in accidents involving those drivers. Emergency road service, car rental, and other varieties of coverage can also be purchased.

# November 27, 2012, 11:32 pm
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Source: http://www.sfpis.org/auto-insurance-queen-creek/

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Researchers team up to sequence the complex wheat genome

ScienceDaily (Nov. 28, 2012) ? Intent on developing wheat varieties with higher yields and enhanced nutritional content, researchers at the University of California, Davis, have teamed up with scientists at nine other institutions in an attempt to sequence the wheat genome.

Results from that endeavor, led by researchers at the U.K.-based Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, will be reported Nov. 29 in the journal Nature.

"This work moves us one step closer to a comprehensive and highly detailed genome sequence for bread wheat, which along with rice and maize is one of the three pillars on which the global food supply rests," said Jan Dvorak, professor of plant sciences at UC Davis and a study co-author.

"The world's population is projected to grow from 7 billion to 9 billion by 2050," he said. "It is clear that, with no new farmable land available to bring into cultivation, we must develop higher-yielding varieties of these three cereals to meet the growing global demand for food."

The bread wheat genome is especially complex because bread wheat originated from three ancient grass species. Its genome is, therefore, a composite of three genomes -- and is five times the size of the human genome.

Wheat geneticists have historically designated the genomes of those parent grasses as the A, B and D genomes, each containing a similar set of genes. As a result, most bread wheat genes exist in triplicate.

To aid the sequence assembly of bread wheat, Dvorak and the UC Davis researchers have worked with scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service and with scientists at two other U.S. institutions on sequencing of the genome of the parent species Aegilops tauschii -- the source of the bread wheat D genome.

The U.S. team shared the Aegilops tauschii sequences with the British team, which was assembling all three of the wheat A, B and D genomes.

Comparing the Aegilops tauschii sequence with modern wheat allows researchers to assess genomic changes that have taken place in bread wheat since its origin approximately 8,000 years ago.

In the study reported in Nature, the researchers used the whole genome "shotgun sequencing" approach, which generates billions of random genome sequence "reads" and then pieces them together. The results provide information about the DNA making up wheat genes that will help wheat breeders develop hardier varieties by linking genes to key traits, such as disease resistance and drought tolerance.

"This sequencing effort has yielded important information that will accelerate wheat genetics and breeding and help us better understand wheat evolution," Dvorak said. "It cannot be overemphasized, however, that this is just one step in the global effort to produce a high-quality draft of the bread wheat genome sequence."

He said completion of such a high-quality genome sequence for bread wheat is still a few years away and will require broad international collaboration to complete.

Other members of the UC Davis team included Ming-Cheng Luo, Patrick E. McGuire and Frank M. You, all of the Department of Plant Sciences. The USDA team also included two UC Davis research affiliates -- Olin D. Anderson and Yong Gu -- at the USDA Agricultural Research Service Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif.

The other collaborating institutions were Kansas State University; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York; University of Liverpool; University of Bristol; John Innes Centre; and European Bioinformatics Institute.

Funding for the study was provided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council of England, the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, The Royal Society, the German Ministry of Education and Research, and the National Science Foundation.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - Davis.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Rachel Brenchley, Manuel Spannagl, Matthias Pfeifer, Gary L. A. Barker, Rosalinda D?Amore, Alexandra M. Allen, Neil McKenzie, Melissa Kramer, Arnaud Kerhornou, Dan Bolser, Suzanne Kay, Darren Waite, Martin Trick, Ian Bancroft, Yong Gu, Naxin Huo, Ming-Cheng Luo, Sunish Sehgal, Bikram Gill, Sharyar Kianian, Olin Anderson, Paul Kersey, Jan Dvorak, W. Richard McCombie, Anthony Hall, Klaus F. X. Mayer, Keith J. Edwards, Michael W. Bevan, Neil Hall. Analysis of the bread wheat genome using whole-genome shotgun sequencing. Nature, 2012; 491 (7426): 705 DOI: 10.1038/nature11650

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/Kkag23qMTGw/121128132301.htm

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Universe Grows Like a Giant Brain

The universe may grow like a giant brain, according to a new computer simulation.

The results, published Nov.16 in the journal Nature's Scientific Reports, suggest that some undiscovered, fundamental laws may govern the growth of systems large and small, from the electrical firing between brain cells and growth of social networks to the expansion of galaxies.

"Natural growth dynamics are the same for different real networks, like the Internet or the brain or social networks," said study co-author Dmitri Krioukov, a physicist at the University of California San Diego.

The new study suggests a single fundamental law of nature may govern these networks, said physicist Kevin Bassler of the University of Houston, who was not involved in the study. [What's That? Your Physics Questions Answered]

"At first blush they seem to be quite different systems, the question is, is there some kind of controlling laws can describe them?" he told LiveScience.

By raising this question, "their work really makes a pretty important contribution," he said.

Similar Networks

Past studies showed brain circuits and the Internet look a lot alike. But despite finding this functional similarity, nobody had developed equations to perfectly predict how computer networks, brain circuits or social networks grow over time, Krioukov said.

Using Einstein's equations of relativity, which explain how matter warps the fabric of space-time, physicists can retrace the universe's explosive birth in the Big Bang roughly 14 billion years ago and how it has expanded outward in the eons since.

So Krioukov's team wondered whether the universe's accelerating growth could provide insight into the ways social networks or brain circuits expand.

Brain cells and galaxies

The team created a computer simulation that broke the early universe into the tiniest possible units ? quanta of space-time more miniscule than subatomic particles. The simulation linked any quanta, or nodes in a massive celestial network, that were causally related. (Nothing travels faster than light, so if a person hits a baseball on Earth, the ripple effects of that event could never reach an alien in a distant galaxy in a reasonable amount of time, meaning those two regions of space-time aren't causally related.)

As the simulation progressed, it added more and more space-time to the history of the universe, and so its "network" connections between matter in galaxies, grew as well, Krioukov said.

When the team compared the universe's history with growth of social networks and brain circuits, they found all the networks expanded in similar ways: They balanced links between similar nodes with ones that already had many connections. For instance, a cat lover surfing the Internet may visit mega-sites such as Google or Yahoo, but will also browse cat fancier websites or YouTube kitten videos. In the same way, neighboring brain cells like to connect, but neurons also link to such "Google brain cells" that are hooked up to loads of other brain cells.

The eerie similarity between networks large and small is unlikely to be a coincidence, Krioukov said.

"For a physicist it's an immediate signal that there is some missing understanding of how nature works," Krioukov said.

It's more likely that some unknown law governs the way networks grow and change, from the smallest brain cells to the growth of mega-galaxies, Krioukov said.

"This result suggests that maybe we should start looking for it," Krioukov told LiveScience.

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

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/universe-grows-giant-brain-211328713.html

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California man accused in plot to join al Qaeda denied bail

RIVERSIDE, California (Reuters) - A California man accused alongside three co-defendants of conspiring to provide support to al Qaeda and Taliban militants plotting attacks against Americans overseas was ordered held without bail on Monday by a federal judge.

Arifeen David Gojali, 21, was arrested with two others last week outside a southern California apartment complex by authorities who said the trio had imminent plans to travel to Afghanistan via Mexico and Turkey to prepare for "violent jihad."

A fourth man, accused ringleader Sohiel Omar Kabir, 34, was apprehended in Afghanistan and remains in custody there, according to the FBI.

"I specifically find that the defendant poses a serious risk of flight and a danger and the defense has not rebutted to the contrary," U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym said in ordering Gojali jailed without bond.

Defense attorneys did not contest Pym's ruling during proceedings in U.S. District Court in Riverside, 60 miles east of Los Angeles, and said outside court that Gojali and his family could not afford to post bond.

"When you can't get over that hurdle, there's nothing you can do," attorney John Aquilina said of his client, who was escorted into court by U.S. Marshals wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and shackled at the waist.

The four defendants, all U.S. citizens or permanent residents, are charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.

Kabir, the accused ringleader, is charged with recruiting co-defendants Ralph Deleon, 23, and Miguel Alejandro Santana Vidriales, 21, who converted to Islam under his tutelage. Those two are in turn alleged to have enlisted Gojali.

In conversations relayed or recorded by an unidentified paid FBI informant, Deleon and Santana spoke about traveling to Afghanistan to join Kabir and engage jihad, according to the criminal complaint. It said they described potential targets for attacks including U.S. military bases.

Together with Gojali, they also made visits to a Los Angeles firing range and a paint ball facility for shooting practice "to prepare for terrorist training oversees," the FBI said.

Kabir, a naturalized U.S. citizen who lived in the Los Angeles suburb of Pomona before going abroad in late 2011, was born in Afghanistan and served in the U.S. Air Force from 2000 to 2001, according to the FBI.

The FBI has declined to elaborate on Kabir's status or discuss when he might be returned to the United States to face charges, saying only that he remained in custody in Afghanistan.

They each face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.

(Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/california-man-accused-plot-join-al-qaeda-denied-235719934.html

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Boertala.com ? Online Build Own Business Network Your Online ...

Many online business owners and marketers use a variety of tools to make their business successful. Good strategies include maintaining a web site, publishing an ezine, joining affiliate programs, advertising on other people?s ezines, and much, much more. As any good Internet ?guru? will tell you, getting your name and product ?out there? is the most important part of your success. So, the general rule is: Use as many strategies as possible.

What I suggest is that you take this rule one step farther. What I think works best is combining as many of the strategies together, as possible. In other words, when you can, build your own network, using the tools you already have in place. And I?m using the word network, as it relates to networking your online systems ? not in the sense of a prospect or client network, though I have some tips on that, near the end of this article.

So, let?s break down this concept. Suppose you have a web site that promotes a product or service. You probably have a sales letter, some testimonials and a merchant account, so people can buy your product. Now, what I would suggest next, if you don?t already have it, is your own ezine (online magazine, operated by an e-mail autoresponder). You get visitors to subscribe to your ezine, using a pop-up or another type of FREE subscription form on your web site. Again, this may not be new to most people, but here?s another spin on it. In addition to your pop-up or basic sign-up form on your site, why not add a page to your site, with a link on your home page, that does nothing but promote your ezine.

You see, many people pass up your subscription form, because they are afraid of SPAM, or they don?t know enough about your ezine. Will it interest them? Or, will it just bombard them with more advertising?

A separate page can explain exactly what the ezine does, promote articles that you have in it, even give a sample issue, so prospects can see what they are getting. Be sure to have several subscription forms on this page between sections of your text, so people have plenty of opportunity to subscribe. Also, be sure that visitors are linked back to your home page, once they?ve subscribed, so they get back to looking at your product. Any good autoresponder will have this feature, which is crucial, because although you desperately want people signing up for your ezine, you also want them to read your sales letter and, hopefully, buy your product.

Make sure your ezine articles always link back to your web site, so you are constantly promoting yourself. After all, this is really what ezines are for.

Another part of good online networking is to set up affiliate programming, in a similar fashion to the aforementioned ezine promotion. That is, instead of just offering your own product as an affiliate program, set up a separate page on your web site for affiliate programs you use. So, you might have a link on your home/sales page called ?Other Great Products.? Obviously, you can use your own creativity for this title.

This link will take visitors to a site that promotes other products, for which you gain a commission as an affiliate. If you are unfamiliar with affiliate programs, visit ClickBank, the largest free affiliate program on the Internet. Most Internet marketers only offer their own product to people, who want to join affiliate programs, or they may offer just one other related product, with a link on their home page.

Plus, don?t forget any other web sites of your own. Always be sure to link to them on all of your URLs and in your ezine articles. The key to building your own online network is to be sure you have promotional pages for all of your products and affiliates on your web sites and to link everything together. Remember, you want every visitor on your e-mail list, and you always want them landing back on your promotional pages.

One final thought. Promoting your business network offline is also critical to your success. Some basic techniques I use are:

? URL on return address stickers

? Business cards with ezine address and web site

? Fliers at community businesses and public places (be sure your community knows you above all others)

? Free seminars in regional communities, discussing my topic (remember, you don?t need to make money here ? all you want is to get your name out there and to get e-mail addresses, so you can add them to your ezine list)

? Teach a class at a community college (get more e-mail addresses)

? Give free information away at community festivals, like Home Days

? Advertise in your local Money Saver magazines. It?s cheap, and it reaches tens of thousands of people, who love cheap or free stuff.

? Anything else you can think of that get people to your site and to your ezine

Stay positive. Building a network takes time and hard work, but it?s well worth it in the end.

To get Let?s Talk Sports, send a blank e-mail to letstalksports@getresponse.com

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Source: http://www.boertala.com/build-your-own-online-network.html

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"Two and a Half Men" star finds religion, calls TV show "filth"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Angus T. Jones, star of CBS's raunchy television comedy "Two and a Half Men", has urged viewers to change the channel, saying his new-found religious beliefs are at odds with his job playing a fun-loving teen on the popular show.

Jones, 19, who has played Jake Harper - the son of Jon Cryer's character Alan - for nine years, appealed to fans to stop watching the show "and filling your head with filth."

In a YouTube video made for the California-based Forerunner Christian Church, Jones said his recent Bible studies made him uncomfortable with the risque humor that marks one of the most-watched comedies on U.S. television.

"If you watch 'Two and a Half Men', please stop watching 'Two and a Half Men," Jones says in the video. "I'm on 'Two and a Half Men' and I don't want to be on it."

"If I am doing any harm, I don't want to be here. I don't want to be contributing to the enemy's plan... You cannot be a true God-fearing person and be on a television show like that.

"I'm not okay with what I'm learning, what the Bible says and being on that television show," Jones added.

The CBS network and Warner Bros Television, which makes the comedy, both declined to comment on Monday on Jones's remarks.

Jones's character recently had a brief fling with actress Miley Cyrus, who made a guest appearance as a young temptress in an October episode.

His remarks could pose new problems for the comedy, which was revamped in 2011 following the firing of star Charlie Sheen for erratic behavior off screen and his vicious public dispute with the show's producers.

Sheen's womanizing bachelor character and alter-ego, Charlie Harper, was killed off and replaced by Ashton Kutcher, playing an Internet billionaire.

The comedy, now in its 10th season, is watched by about 14 million Americans, and is seen in more than 20 countries around the world.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Alden Bentley)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/two-half-men-star-finds-religion-calls-tv-213606045--finance.html

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Quadrant Online - Family violence is more than a gender issue

by Terry Barnes

November 26, 2012

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Every year, White Ribbon Day shines a needed light on the scourge of violence against women and children. The Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Ken Lay, spoke from the heart when he told a White Ribbon event that ?violence against women is not OK. It is not acceptable.?

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In Victoria, this year?s White Ribbon Day message has been embodied in the intense public reactions to the brutal murders of young women Jill Meagher and, this month, Sarah Cafferkey. ?In September, Meagher?s death sparked an extraordinary public reaction, with a crowd of thousands marching through the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick in silent vigil for her. ?

While the White Ribbon movement opposes all violence against women, its main messages focus on the social pestilence that is domestic and family violence. ?Indeed, bold banners in?2012 White Ribbon marches declared that to stand against family violence is to stand against violence against women and children.

None must doubt that family violence and violence against women are intertwined, but simply to conflate them does not reflect sad reality. An unpleasant and buried social truth is that the perpetrators of family violence are not always men, but in many cases are women.

Statistics tell their own story. Earlier this year the Victorian Department of Justice released a sobering longitudinal report analysing the Victorian Family Violence Database for 1999- 2010.?What it found is that the stereotype of male-perpetrated violence is not as universal as most people want to believe.

Even allowing for great advances in incident reporting and response, the Database?s police and court annual data show consistently across the eleven-year period that in cases of family violence against adult victims ? predominantly partners ? around that 80 per cent of detected perpetrators are men and 20 per cent are women. That?s a one in five ratio, making female perpetrators a significant minority of offenders and certainly not, as some claim, rare.

Given the gender stereotyping that still exists in our society, it?s probably right to say that beyond these statistics there are many unreported cases of so-called ?battered husbands? who have kept to themselves what they see as their personal shame.?When working in the Human Services portfolio, as well as in my personal experience, I was exposed to cases of such spousal abuse ? they are ugly and all too real.

In relation to violence against children, domestic violence and child protection reporting also show that men are not the sole perpetrators.?Sadly, mothers as well as fathers lash out at children in relationships where they are physically, as well as emotionally and economically, dominant over children in their care.?Highly volatile fuels of harm, notably alcohol and drugs, affect both sexes too.

What?s more, reports like the Family Violence Database don?t effectively document cases of emotional and economic abuse that, although now included in Victoria?s statutory definition of domestic violence, mostly escape police and court notice.?In these areas, women are just as capable as men of playing aggressive and demeaning mind games to dominate and hurt partners and children.

In short, domestic violence is not just a gender issue. Male and female, we all have the latent capacity to hurt others.?The evil seeds of violence, the animal desire to physically and emotionally dominate other human beings around us, lurk in every heart. ?Those seeds know no gender, and while the better angels of our nature mostly suppress these dark impulses, the statistics bear mute witness to the tragic reality that not all of us succeed.

While not politically correct to say it, the generally unchallenged assumption that men are always the aggressors, and that women and children need to be protected from them, needs to change.?Community attitudes, and the public policy that flows from them, should state unambiguously that any and all relationship and family violence, whatever the perpetrator?s gender, ethnicity or socio-economic status, is evil and must be stamped out.

Anti-violence advocates such as White Ribbon encourage men to take responsibility for their actions and emotions, and to offer women and children a helping hand instead of a fist.?While well-intentioned, this message reinforces the perception that only violent men are the problem, especially in domestic and relationship violence.

Similarly, the tendency of federal and state governments, and political parties seeking the women?s vote, to treat domestic violence as a women?s rather than a general social issue is counter-productive.?Domestic violence is a mainstream issue and demands mainstream policy responses to be combated effectively.

To this end, the White Ribbon movement itself can take a big lead by lending its considerable advocacy clout, demonstrated by the number of bandwagon-jumping politicians in the lead-up to the White Ribbon Day itself, to ensuring that all family violence ? whether spouse on spouse, parent on children, or child on parent ? is treated with the repugnance that it deserves.

While not diminishing the evil of violence against women, it?s only by questioning the established gender stereotypes of violence that we can make real progress in ensuring that all family life is free of fear and harm.?We need to take that next step.

?

Terry Barnes is a social policy consultant and former senior ministerial adviser in social portfolios, including child protection. He blogs at Cormorant

?

Source: http://www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/qed/2012/11/family-violence-is-more-than-a-gender-issue

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Tourists trickle into violence-plagued W. Myanmar

MRAUK-U, Myanmar (AP) ? It was dusk in a corner of Myanmar recently shaken by some of the bloodiest sectarian violence in a generation, and a dozen Canadian tourists climbed to the top of a grassy hill, cameras ready to capture the sweeping view.

Moss-covered pagodas rose from foggy hilltops all along the horizon, their bell-shaped silhouettes dark against the blue sky. Birds flitted through lush treetops. A small throng of children played on a dirt road nearby.

From here, it was hard to tell anything was wrong.

Just six miles (10 kilometers) to the south, though, security forces have blocked roads to a village that was reportedly overrun last month by a frenzied mob of Rakhine Buddhists armed with swords and spears who beheaded Muslim civilians and slaughtered women and children.

Across western Myanmar's Rakhine state, the United Nations is distributing emergency supplies of food and shelter to terrified refugees who have fled burning homes. A nighttime curfew is in force in several townships, including Mrauk-U.

But none of that has kept a small but steady trickle of determined tourists from traveling here to ogle at the monuments of this region's glorious past.

"We heard the news before coming," Caroline Barbeau, a French-speaking social worker from Montreal, said of violence that has shaken the region since June, displacing 110,000 people from their homes.

But "we've had no problems," she said. "The people are very nice, very kind."

Asked what had touched her most, Barbeau turned pensive. "Their smiles."

Mrauk-U itself has been spared the bloodshed between Buddhist and Muslims that has scarred other parts of Rakhine state. It is calm, and for foreign tourists, safe. But the Muslims who once worked and traded here just a few months ago no longer dare set foot in the town, part of a worrying new pattern of segregation that has split the two communities.

What draws tourists to this remote place are its storied relics ? hundreds of them, scattered across the hilltops. Mrauk-U is the spiritual heartland of the Rakhine, the former capital of a now-defunct Buddhist kingdom that reached its height in the 16th century. The dynasty conquered a swath of mountainous territory along what is now Myanmar's western coast, waging major battles against rival empires ? including Muslims from Bengal.

Their descendants ? the Buddhist Rakhine and the Muslim Rohingya ? have been fighting and killing each other across this region in recent months.

The conflict centers around the question of nationality, scarce land, and some say, racism. The Rakhine consider the darker-skinned Muslims among them to be foreign intruders from Bangladesh, even though many have lived here for generations. The government denies the Rohingya citizenship, considering them "Bengalis." But Bangladesh does too, effectively rendering them stateless.

After three Muslim Rohingya men allegedly raped and murdered a Buddhist Rakhine woman in late May, violence rocked the state for a week in June, then again in October. In what may have been the bloodiest episode so far, a thousands-strong mob of Buddhists with spears, arrows and homemade guns overran the village Yan Thei, just south of Mrauk-U, razing most of it to the ground, according to Human Rights Watch.

Although the violence has subsided, tensions have not, and there are fears the worst is yet to come.

Which raises the question: Should any tourists be traveling here at all?

During Myanmar's half-century of military rule, which ended last year, only the most intrepid travelers made their way to places like Mrauk-U, and even then there was debate over whether traveling to the Southeast Asian country would bolster the oppressive junta.

But after the army ceded direct power last year to an elected but still military-dominated government, the new president embarked on a wave of widely praised democratic reforms, and the number of tourists skyrocketed.

The serene pace and historic legacy of places like this are a big part of the draw.

Even the route to Mrauk-U is worth the trip ? a slow, meandering boat journey up the Kaladan River past a timeless horizon of shimmering rice fields. Thatched bamboo huts rise from the water's edge on stilts. Oxen graze. Golden pagodas rise from green hills.

Philippe Grivel, a retired Frenchman traveling solo in Rakhine state, said he was afraid not of the potential for violence, but of the possibility of missing one of Myanmar's grandest historical sites.

After the fighting began, the government banned local travel agencies from taking foreign tourists to the region. But nothing has stopped individual travelers from making the journey, and special permits have been granted to some larger tour groups.

When Grivel emailed a hotel in Mrauk-U to inquire if it was possible to visit, they told him that if the authorities didn't turn him back at the airport in Sittwe, the state capital, he was free to come.

Explorateur, the Canadian tour agency that arranged Barbeau's travel and advertises three-week trips to Myanmar called "Light and Harmony," assured its clients the trip would be safe.

And it was.

"This is still a virgin country without many tourists," said another of the Canadian tourists, a francophone from Montreal who gave only her family name, Allard, because of security concerns. "It's magnificent."

The sightseers ? 12 tourists and one guide ? spent several days bicycling through Mrauk-U's quaint, crumbling streets. They visited the town market. They saw nothing disturbing.

Allard, though, was surprised to learn that one of Mrauk-U's monasteries is home to more than 700 Buddhist refugees, nine of whom had just walked there after hearing rumors that Muslims armed with Molotov cocktails were readying for an assault.

The tour group did not visit the monastery. But they did express concern over the violence. Allard called the recent bloodshed "horrible."

On the eve of their final day, the group toured Mrauk-U's most famous temple, a stone labyrinth called Shittaung. Also known as the "Temple of Victory," it was built in 1535 to commemorate King Min Bin's conquest over the 12 provinces of Muslim-dominated Bengal.

As a Burmese guide explained the temple's history, the group snapped photos of the ubiquitous stone Buddhas lined up inside its dim, maze-like hallways. Some strained their necks to gaze up at the elaborate royal artwork painted on the ceilings above.

Kyaw Zaw Tun, who works at the temple and lost a brother in the October clashes, said it would normally be full of local Buddhist pilgrims at this time of year.

But its halls are almost empty, its guest book filled with, on average, one or two foreign visitors a day.

Asked if Muslims had ever visited before the violence began, he shook his head with disgust.

Never.

"If they came in here now," he said, pausing to tighten his right hand as if it were a knife about to slice meat, "chop, chop, chop."

As he spoke, the Canadians walked out of one of the temple's stone doors, one by one. They then climbed to the top of a nearby hill beside Shittaung, pulled out bottles of mineral water, and watched the sun sink beneath the hills.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tourists-trickle-violence-plagued-w-myanmar-093933950.html

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Feeling Lost? Find Your Way With These Self-Help Solutions ...

TIP! Always look for opportunities to compliment another person. Being nice to others will help you learn to be nicer to yourself.

Personal development is about taking action to improve yourself as a person. It deals with improving self-awareness and knowledge, spiritual development and fulfilling personal goals. This article contains many great self improvement tips. If you are methodical, you will gain an understanding of your self-knowledge and awareness.

TIP! Exercise is for everyone, not just people who are trying to lose a few pounds. There are countless physical benefits to exercising.

Do you drink too often? Are nicotine or other destructive habits something that harms you? Your body is certainly a temple, yet these types of behaviors disregard its sanctity. Deleting harmful patterns and obsessions will undoubtedly lead to an improved standard of living. Assess your life and what habits you have, and see if there are any that you could work on omitting.

TIP! Read a passage that inspires you. Such texts might include religious scripture, inspirational books, poetry and other forms of writing.

You have to provide care for yourself before you can properly care for other people. No matter where you are in life, allow yourself time to recover and rejuvenate yourself.

TIP! Don?t solely focus on your outside looks; have a look at the person you are within. In the end, your looks do not matter that much.

Recognize that the person you are now is not the person you want to be. You cannot successfully make the journey from here to there if you do not know the intervening territory. If you do not accept your desire to improve your current situation and listen to what you wish for, you will never realize your true potential.

TIP! Use other successful individuals as role models and look for ways to replicate their methods. Don?t start with many of the habits, just a few, and practice until they are a part of your everyday life.

Instead of bragging abut your achievements and awards, ask other people about what they have accomplished that they are most proud of. You will then find out things that others have done to accomplish their goals, and you will get some insight.

TIP! It is well known that being a good listener is an excellent character trait to develop. This is particularly true if you want to improve yourself.

Every champion benefits from the encouragement of a great coach. The proper mentor can guide you through the tough times on your way to becoming a champion. There are many people that are more than willing to help others. If people didn?t have this, how would they do their very best? Everyone who is great at something has had help getting to where they are.

TIP! Don?t be a shopaholic like those people on Hoarders. Taking up a hobby is a better alternative.

Humility is a very important trait to have when working on your personal development. When you realize how insignificant you really are, you will begin to understand you have more to learn. Once you realize this, you will be able to understand and improve upon yourself.

TIP! Learn to care for others for a shift in your own personal growth. It might be hard at first, but do your best to make sacrifices and help others.

Never forget that you are priority number one. Likewise, you cannot stress over making everyone around you happy 24/7; this is impossible no matter how hard you try. If you want to be happy, you have to take charge of your behavior, and do things that make you feel happy. Remember that this doesn?t mean being selfish or abusing other people; it just means treating yourself with the same respect and love that you treat everyone else with. Your personal development plan will increase your happiness as long as you uphold your own code of ethics and moral standards.

TIP! Getting and staying healthy is one of the most important parts of personal development. If you want to build healthy habits, you need to be motivated to eat better and exercise more.

You need to know what it is that you want your life to be if you want to develop as a person. One of the things that will make the biggest difference in your outlook is having long-term goals.

TIP! When you are angry, count to ten before saying anything. Maybe take a short walk, breathe deeply, and concentrate on peaceful thoughts.

Figure out your goals in life, and go after them. If you sit in your chair thinking about how you would like your life to be, and you do nothing to make it happen, you will never get that life. You need to step up and pursue your goals to make them really happen.

TIP! Unless you take care of yourself, you won?t be able to care for anyone else. No matter where you are in life, allow yourself time to recover and rejuvenate yourself.

You need to analyze your progress as you work on your personal development. Use the great suggestions and tips offered in this article to help you take stock, improve and move forward. Write down the processes you use on a regular basis and record changes that occur.

Stephanie Deltor is a Spelman College student aiming to achieve her dreams of becoming a licensed psychologist and author. With her ambition here she write to inspire and encourage others in any way she sees fit. To learn more about her, her business, and her words, Click the following link: http://letters2thesoul.blogspot.com/

Source: http://www.empowernetwork.com/sdeltor/blog/feeling-lost-find-your-way-with-these-self-help-solutions/

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US stocks rise sharply in Black Friday retail rush

The stock market enjoyed some Black Friday cheer, rising sharply as shoppers braved the annual post-Thanksgiving rush. Major indexes were on track for their biggest weekly gains since early June.

Traders were encouraged by positive economic news from Germany and China, two engines of global growth. Technology stocks soared after a few weeks of selling. And early reports from retailers suggested that consumers may be ready to spend ? a sign of the economy's progress.

"Foot traffic appears heavier than we've seen in recent years, there are a lot of positive statements out of the companies themselves, and momentum appears to be strong," said JJ Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at the brokerage TD Ameritrade.

Many stores opened earlier than ever this year, Kinahan said, allowing for earlier informal reports about their performance.

Technology stocks soared, lifting the Nasdaq composite index by more than 1 percent. Computer maker Dell, chipmaker AMD and computing giant Hewlett-Packard were the top three gainers in the Standard & Poor's 500 index. Technology rose the most among the index's 10 industry groups.

The stocks were bouncing back after confidence in tech stocks declined broadly, Kinahan said. AMD dropped sharply in recent weeks as investors fretted about its solvency. HP plunged 12 percent on Tuesday after executives said that a company HP bought for $10 billion last year lied about its finances.

The Nasdaq rose 29 points, or 1 percent, to 2,955 as of 12:30 p.m. EST. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 110 to 12,947. The S&P 500 added 12 to 1,402.

Stocks started strong after news that German business confidence rose unexpectedly in November after six straight declines. The gain in a closely watched index published by Munich's Ifo institute raised hopes that Europe's largest economy can continue to weather the continent's financial crisis.

China's manufacturing expanded for the first time in 13 months in November, the latest sign that the world's second-biggest economy is recovering from its deepest slump since the 2008 global crisis. HSBC Corp. said its monthly Purchasing Managers' Index improved to 50.4 for November. Any number above 50 indicates expansion.

The PMI measures overall manufacturing activity by surveying indicators including orders, employment and production. The result was released Thursday, when the U.S. market was closed for Thanksgiving.

Around the U.S., shoppers flocked to malls and logged on to computers to take part in the annual cheer-fueled retail rush known as Black Friday.

Target and Toys R Us welcomed buyers on Thanksgiving evening. Retailers are also trying to draw shoppers with free layaway and shipping, by matching prices of online rivals and by beefing up mobile shopping apps.

Retail is a key driver of the nation's economy. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity. November and December, which can account for as much as 40 percent of a retailer's annual revenue, are crucial for stores.

The Friday after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday because it begins the period in which many retailers turn profitable for the year. Traders will be looking for signs about how enthusiastically Americans are spending. That could reflect the momentum of the economic recovery.

Trading volume on Wall Street was light, with many investors away for an extended weekend after Thanksgiving. The market was to close early, at 1 p.m. EST.

The rally's strength will be tested on Monday, as many traders return to their desks and retailers begin to release hard data about their holiday sales results, Kinahan said.

"It's great when something like this happens, but on a half-day without the major players in there, it's not so surprising," he said.

European indexes added to earlier gains after Wall Street opened and closed higher. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares rose 0.5 percent. Germany's DAX and France's CAC-40 both added 0.9 percent.

Investors were monitoring developments in Brussels, where European Union leaders are trying to agree on a $1.25 trillion long-term spending plan for the 27-nation bloc. Markets expect that another meeting will be needed for an agreement.

Among the stocks making big moves:

? Research in Motion Ltd. jumped on growing optimism for an earlier-than-expected launch of its delayed BlackBerry 10 smartphone. A senior executive from the Canadian company said earlier this month that Research In Motion, or RIM, will release the latest version of its smartphone "not long after" a Jan. 30 event. One analyst saw that as an indication that the products are to be unveiled in February. U.S.-traded shares of RIM rose $1.45, or 14 percent, to $11.71.

? MAP Pharmaceuticals spiked after the company announced that the Food and Drug Administration will review its experimental migraine drug Levadex. The stock rose $2.46, or 19 percent, to $15.28.

? KIT Digital Inc., a video software and technology company, lost two-thirds of its value after the company's former chief executive accused it of blaming prior management for its financial problems. Two days earlier, KIT said it would restate its financial results because of accounting errors. The stock lost $1.34, or 65 percent to 73 cents.

Among tech's big gainers:

? Dell rose 51 cents, or 6 percent, to $9.57.

? HP added 53 cents, or 4 percent, to $12.47.

? AMD 9 cents, or 5 percent, to $1.96.

___

Daniel Wagner can be reached at www.twitter.com/wagnerreports.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-stocks-rise-sharply-black-friday-retail-rush-154329895--finance.html

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Protests greet shoppers at Walmarts nationwide

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) ? Wal-Mart workers and supporters marched in protest at a number of stores nationwide Thursday and Friday, blasting the wages, benefits and treatment of employees of the world's largest retailer.

The efforts seemed to do little to keep shoppers away though ? Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it was its best Black Friday ever.

In Paramount, Calif., authorities arrested a small group of protesters Friday outside a Walmart. Elizabeth Brennan of Warehouse Workers United said nine people, including three employees, were arrested shortly after 12 noon for blocking the street outside the store in Paramount. At one point, however, more than 1,000 people blocked traffic outside the store, Sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker told KNBC-TV.

In Lakewood, Colo., shoppers hesitated as they passed dozens of protesters outside a Walmart but entered without incident. Some protesters held signs playing off of the retailing giant's corporate slogan, "Live better," accusing the company of corporate greed and underpaying its workers.

"This is the way you get a fair shake. You've got to fight for it. You've always had to," said protester Charlie May, of the Industrial Workers of the World labor organization.

A union-backed group called OUR Walmart has said that it is holding an estimated 1,000 protests in 46 states. The exact number is unclear. Wal-Mart has refuted that estimate, saying the figure is grossly exaggerated and that the protests involved few of its own employees.

A number of demonstrations and walk-outs occurred last week at stores but were scheduled to culminate on one of the year's busiest shopping days.

OUR Walmart, made up of current and former Wal-Mart employees, was formed in 2010 to press the company for better working conditions.

The retailer filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board last week against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. The company said that the demonstrations organized by OUR Walmart threatened to disrupt its business and intimidate customers and associates.

Wal-Mart said roughly 50 employees participated in the events Thursday and a "few dozen" employees Friday. Company spokesman Dan Fogleman said that the number of associates who missed their shifts during the two days of events is 60 percent lower than last year.

"It was proven last night ? and again today ? that the OUR Walmart group doesn't speak for the 1.3 million Walmart associates," the company said in a statement.

The union group estimated that "hundreds" of employees participated nationwide.

Victoria Martinez, 29, marched in front of the store in Paramount on Black Friday. The Walmart photo department employee worked her shift on Thanksgiving but skipped work on Friday to "speak out". She said the company shows a lack of respect for employees, noting that she faced retaliation by local managers after speaking out about problems during an open discussion sponsored by the head office.

"I believe that when I started at this company, it was great," said Martinez, who's worked for Wal-Mart for seven years. "They've taken away everything that is great."

Wal-Mart for many years has faced intense scrutiny over its wage and benefit policies and treatment of its workers. Fogleman says that the company provides some of the best jobs in the retail industry and that its wages and benefits typically meet or exceed those of competitors. The retailer maintains that it has many long-term employees and that its turnover rate is below the industry average.

The company, based in Bentonville, Ark., operates 10,400 stores in 27 countries.

____

Robert Jablon in Los Angeles and Peter Banda in Lakewood, Colo., contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/protests-greet-shoppers-wal-marts-nationwide-215954311--finance.html

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Rockville Holiday Home Tour slated for Dec. 1 - Brazil Times

The home of Dan and Robin Vukovits

The Wilkins Mill guesthouse

ROCKVILLE -- Five homes will be on the annual Rockville Holiday Home Tour and Christmas Bazaar, scheduled for Dec. 1, between 1-6 p.m.

The homes' ages range from the 1830s to one built 11 years ago.

Another was once a place for trade transactions for both the English settlers and Native Americans.

The Christmas Bazaar has been brought back by popular demand.

The artists have donated craft and food items just in time to help with shopping lists.

All proceeds for the Home Tour and Bazaar will be used for Art Gallery in Rockville maintenance and restoration of the second floor.

The restoration project is underway and should be completed during the first part of the next year. A special celebration is currently being planned.

The following is a list of the homes on the tour:

* Dan and Robin Vukovits.

On old State Road 36, the home was built 11 years ago by Joe Miller.

The 4,000-square foot home has four to five bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths and is located on five acres.

The living area is very open and has country decor with neutral tones.

The decorating is a little eclectic with family antiques.

Robin collects Longaberger baskets, Cat's Meow village pieces, Row pottery and quilts.

Christmas collectibles include Dept. 56 North Pole Series, Anna Leigh dolls, Clothique Santas and Byers' Choice carolers.

Aunt Della and Robin's mother helped decorate for Christmas,

* Ted and Darla Burgess.

The home in Bloomingdale was built by James T. Boswell for his wife, Rachel Morris Boswell, in the early 1900s.

This Victorian Queen Anne Cottage contains some original ornate woodwork and light fixtures, which have been rewired.

There are hardwood floors throughout.

It has a cottage theme with soft colors and a casual feel with the addition of some antiques.

When renovated, a large man cave with a loft was added as well as a gourmet kitchen with quartz countertops and custom designed cabinetry.

The master bedroom and bath was updated with a custom vanity with a Bianco Carrara marble top, heated marble flooring and a refinished antique claw foot tub.

Special interests of Darla include gardening, antiques, baskets and collecting Santas.

Assisting in the decorating were daughter Natalie, sister Debbie McKinney, Dixie Hunt and Debbie Davies,

* Zane and Kelly Davies. The home in Bloomingdale was built in the 1830s and has been owned by Ferguson Lumber, Kersey Newlin and Elaine and Bill Davies.

The traditional farmhouse has had several renovations done by Joe Miller.

Five years ago, a garage was added and the kitchen was renovated.

Original fireplaces add to the home's charm.

Three years ago, the master bedroom and bath were renovated, and a stonewall added in the bedroom and bathroom.

The beautiful stairway plus calm and neutral colors also add to the charm of the historic home,

* Joel and Sondra Clendenin.

The 61-year-old home in Bloomingdale was built by Frank Garrard.

It was first lived in by Milton and Mildred Davies and later by Bill and Elaine Davies until 2011.

In 2011, Mike Sandusky Construction remodeled the entire home by adding a master bedroom and bath, dining room, office, a front porch and laundry room.

The color schemes include gallant golds, greens and reds.

The master bedroom is salmon.

The home sits on a beautiful hill surrounded by 23 acres of pasture and farmland.

It is an absolutely wonderful place for children, and

* Wilkins' Mill Guesthouse.

In the Bloomingdale area, the popular-sided structure next to the old Wilkins' Mill was built by George Wilkins in 1842.

It was the center of economic activity where English settlers and Native Americans traded goods.

Now reborn as the Wilkins' Mill Guesthouse, the former general store is the gathering spot for family and friends to enjoy the wooded area and scenic Wilkins' covered bridge.

Notice the two doors used for trading: One for English traders to enter and exit and one half-door for trading with the Native Americans.

Owner Jean Turnmire has preserved the hand-milled paneled walls and pine floors while adding air conditioning, heat, TV and a modern bath with a whirlpool tub.

The main cabin accommodates six, but extra guests can sleep on a sofa bed inside or on bunk beds on the screened-in porch.

A three-stall horse barn and paddocks are available for four-hoofed guests.

Tickets for the Home Tour, with directions and a map, are available at the Rockville Art Gallery on the north side of the square in Rockville. Cost is $10.

For more information, contact the gallery at 765-569-9422.

The home of Ted and Darla Burgess

The home of Joel and Sondra Clendenin

The gallery is open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (except closed Tuesdays) and Sunday from 1-5 p.m.

Source: http://www.thebraziltimes.com/story/1916180.html

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New law allows illegal immigrants to get drivers licenses in Illinois ...

Lawmakers in Springfield are drafting legislation that would provide a way for illegal immigrants to get driver?s licenses. The bill has not been introduced in the General Assembly, but legislators expect to make the proposal soon.

This is not the first time our state lawmakers have tried to legalize undocumented aliens on the road. A similar proposal has been defeated twice already. But this time, the bill has support from Democrats and Republicans.

The bill is touted as a public safety measure in that it would bring an estimated 250,000 people into legal status requiring a driving test and insurance coverage.

The Chicago Tribune asserted that the proposed law is a response to the November 2012 election that saw record turnout of Latino voters.

Politicians held a press conference to support the bill? on November 20, 2012. Supporters in attendance included Senator John Cullerton, Governor Pat Quinn, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, as well as Republican Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka and former Governor Jim Edgar.

The broad outline of the proposal calls for expanding an existing program that provides temporary driver?s licenses for immigrants who are in Illinois legally. Under that program, foreign students and family members of temporary workers and long-term visitors can qualify for licenses that are valid for three years with the proper immigration paperwork.

That would be tweaked to allow illegal immigrants to qualify for the temporary licenses if they can provide a valid passport or identification card issued by a consulate, plus proof of Illinois residency. Applicants must pass a vision, written and road test and obtain insurance. The licenses could not be used as a form of identification.

Similar legislation passed out of the House in 2007 but stalled in the Senate. That measure also required applicants to be fingerprinted, a point that is still under negotiation in the latest proposal.

If the measure passes, Illinois would join Washington state and New Mexico with similar legislation on the books. Quinn has vowed to sign the proposal if it reaches his desk.

The Illinois Highway Safety Coalition says that illegal immigrants without licenses are responsible for $64 million in damages from traffic accidents in Illinois each year.

If half of the estimated 250,000 unlicensed immigrants became properly licensed and insured, Illinois insurance policy holders would save an estimated $46 million a year in premium payments. Nationwide, unlicensed motorists are five times likelier to be involved in a fatal crash than licensed drivers.

They also say that in 2011, almost 48,000 charges of driving without a license were issued in Cook County alone.

At the present time, undocumented aliens cannot obtain driver?s licenses from the Secretary of State. Every applicant for a license must have a social security number. It has been reported that stolen social security numbers can be bought for about $5,000 for use in obtaining a driver?s license.

Any person caught driving without a license will be charged with violating 625 ILCS 5/6-101. This charge is a Class B misdemeanor. The maximum penalty is 180 days jail. A conviction for driving without a license will cause the Secretary of State to suspend that person?s driving privileges. As a result, if that person is caught driving again, the offense is a higher Class A misdemeanor driving while license suspended (625 ILCS 5/6-303). The potential penalty for DWLS up to one year in jail.

Operating a motor vehicle without proof of insurance, 625 ILCS 5/3-707, is not a crime but still has serious consequences. The law requires a $500 fine and a conviction causes the Secretary of State to suspended that person?s license.

Tagged as: 625 ILCS 5/3-707, 625 ILCS 5/6-101, 625 ILCS 5/6-303, Class A misdemeanor, Class B misdemeanor, driver's license, driving while license suspended, driving while suspended, driving without a license, driving without a valid license, driving without insurance, illegal immigrants, Illinois Highway Safety Coalition, Jim Edgar, John Cullerton, Judy Baar Topinka, New Mexico, no proof of insurance, Pat Quinn, Rahm Emanuel, Secretary of State, Washington

Source: http://www.illinoistrafficlaws.us/2012/11/22/new-law-allows-illegal-immigrants-to-get-drivers-licenses-in-illinois-approval-pending/

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Pakistan cuts phones in hope of stopping attacks on Shi'ites

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan is suspending phone coverage in many cities this weekend, an important one in the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, after a series of bomb attacks on Shi'ites triggered by mobile phones.

Hardline Sunnis have threatened more attacks as the Shi'ite mourning month of Muharram comes to a climax. More than a dozen people have already been killed this week attending Muharram processions.

"All the blasts that occurred in the last 15 days were mobile phone-based," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters on Friday.

A suicide bomber killed himself and wounded two police officers near a Shi'ite procession in the northwestern city of Lakki Marwat on Friday.

Intelligence information indicates more attacks have been planned for the coming days in the capital city of Islamabad, Karachi and Quetta. Mobile phone service will be suspended for hours in the three cities and dozens of others over the weekend.

In Karachi, more than 5,000 police are expected to patrol the streets during Muharram events over the next two days, with hundreds more on alert.

"The army is on standby. If any untoward incident occurs, we will call them, if need be," Malik said.

Muharram marks the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala, where the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad and his family members were killed.

Pakistani intelligence officials say extremist groups led by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi have intensified their bombings and shootings of Shi'ites in the hope of triggering conflict that would pave the way for a Sunni theocracy in U.S.-allied Pakistan.

(Reporting by Aisha Chowdhry and Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-cuts-phones-hope-stopping-attacks-shiites-143513031.html

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7 Tips To Market Your Business On Foursquare

If you have a true local business like a restaurant, hotel or retail store, Foursquare is an ideal social media platform to connect with existing customers, reward loyal customers and attract new ones. Today I will be sharing some best practices &? tips on how to get the most out of Foursquare to help your business grow and get more customers through the door. Interested? Read on.?Never heard of Foursquare? Be sure?to watch the short introductory video first:

So, Foursquare is a great platform to bridge the gap between offline and online audience in an affordable and scalable way. As Brian Honigman explains:

As the leading location-based social network, Foursquare offers a plethora of opportunities for businesses both big and small. There are many alternatives to using Foursquare, but when it comes to location-focused social apps, Foursquare is the king of location with its 20 million users and robust features for users and businesses alike.?Don?t miss this opportunity to connect your online and offline experiences.

People use Foursquare to check into locations they?ve visited by using the app on their?smartphones. Once they?ve checked into a location, it can then be shared with their Foursquare friends, Facebook friends and Twitter followers. This is where?companies on Foursquare can benefit from being on the platform because users? friends see where they?re checking in to eat, shop, work etc, which might influence them to do the same based on the recommendations of their trusted connections.

7?tips & best practices to market your business?on Foursquare

1: Claim Your Company

The first thing to do is claim your business on Foursquare. Maybe people have already added your place so search for it first. Once found, you will have to select the claim/verify option and start the verification process to prove that you are indeed the owner. If you don?t claim it, you can?t market your own business, so this is the first crucial step. Tip: make sure the position of the marker on the map is accurate so people can easily find your company.

2: Use and Promote Local Updates

The ability to send updates from your venue on Foursquare is a?recently launched feature that allows your business to engage with people who?ve previously checked into your location and who are nearby. You can send out specials, coupons, deals, announcements etc, and also include attachements like text or images.

3: Create a?Page

A Foursquare page is your company?s hub on the network where all of your locations can be managed from 1 single place. You can share your location and news with your followers from the viewpoint of your entire company.

Note that when you check-in at a particular location from your page, it will be?listed in the newsfeed of your followers and on your page itself. Be aware these check-ins are different from your local Foursquare updates as discussed above, because they are from a higher level about the entire company, not specific to one of your locations.

4: Add Engaging Tips About Your Company and Others

People who visit your business on Foursquare can leave their opinion of their experience. Users are even prompted to leave tips about places they?ve checked into in the past. This provides an opportunity for both positive and negative feedback.

Many business owners don?t like this thought of negative feedback. That?s understandable, however, it?s only natural to not always get ?excellent? as feedback. People are different and you probably can?t always satisfy 100% of your clients. Negative feedback should rather be seen as an opportunity for improvement: by directly addressing the issues of unhappy customers and responding to them, you can turn a negative experience into a loyal customer.

It?s also important for your company to leave tips on the locations of other businesses to foster community in your area, help grow your authority on a particular subject and brand your company in front of other relevant customers frequenting similar locations.

5: Offer Specials

You can offer specials to attract new customers or reward loyal existing customers. There are many types of specials that you can set up, so which one is best depends on your type of business and personal preference.

You can and should test different specials too. Use other social networks like Facebook to spread the word about your Foursquare specials.

6: Use Events

You can use?Foursquare on location at your events. This is?a helpful way to increase visitors, while syncing interactions with your business online and offline. Using updates from your page and check-ins on behalf of your business, your events can reach new audiences and promote interest in your services, booth, conference or store opening.

Events are useful to both B2B and B2C companies. It enables you to?get in front of your potential customers and build a deeper connection. Make sure to stand out at your next conference or trade show by updating attendees with the location of your company at the event, as well as other helpful information from your Foursquare page.

7: ?Use Signs at Your Business

The unique aspect of Foursquare is that it connects?your actions in the real world to your actions online. Be sure to include?calls to action at your physical locations to encourage, communicate and support your company?s presence on Foursquare.

Be sure to use window clings, stickers or signs in your location?s window or doorway to remind people to check in at your business. Calls to action about Foursquare will help drive your customers to check in, leave tips and become more active with your company on the platform.

Source: http://www.netconnexion.com/blog/foursquare-marketing-tips/

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