Saturday, December 31, 2011

The deathbed (non)conversion (slacktivist)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/181169460?client_source=feed&format=rss

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U.S. to give states $300 million for child health coverage (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Nearly $300 million in bonus payments have been awarded to 23 states for providing health coverage for children, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Wednesday.

To qualify for the bonuses, states needed to surpass a specified enrollment target under the Medicaid program for low-income Americans and adopt procedures that make it easier for children to enroll and retain coverage under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The performance bonus payments are designed help offset costs states incur when they enroll lower income children in Medicaid. They are funded under the 2009 Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act.

Since CHIP was reauthorized in 2009, the number of children with insurance has risen by 1.2 million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The 23 states eligible for performance bonuses are: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111228/hl_nm/us_usa_health_children

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Health Tip: Dealing With Alzheimer's (HealthDay)

(HealthDay News) -- Getting a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease doesn't mean life as you know it is ending. People with Alzheimer's can lead a purposeful and productive life if they take steps to care for their physical and mental health, the Alzheimer's Association says.

Here's what the association recommends to protect physical health:

  • Get regular physical checkups.
  • Take all medications as directed by a physician.
  • Eat a healthy diet.
  • Be physically active every day.
  • Get rest when fatigued.
  • Limit alcohol intake.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111230/hl_hsn/healthtipdealingwithalzheimers

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The Year Of GOP Hostage-Taking (talking-points-memo)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/180120860?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Reprimen protestas contra plantas de carb?n en China

Published Date: 27-12-2011
Source: EFE
Source Date: 21-12-2011

Al menos dos personas fallecidas y varios heridos fue el resultado de la acci?n de la polic?a de China al reprimir una manifestaci?n de al menos 30,000 ciudadanos que protestaban contra la construcci?n de una planta termoel?ctrica a carb?n, cerca de la sure?a ciudad de Haimen.

ENGLISH

Nuevas protestas en el sur de China por c?ncer causado por la contaminaci?n

EFE

21 de diciembre 2011

Pek?n - Cientos de vecinos del pueblo de Haimen, en la provincia sure?a de Cant?n (Guangdong), retomaron hoy su protesta en contra de la expansi?n de una planta de combusti?n de carb?n a la que atribuyen un aumento de los casos de c?ncer en la localidad.

Seg?n informa la agencia oficial de noticias Xinhua y testigos presenciales a trav?s del servicio de microblog de Twitter, se trata de la segunda jornada de protestas en Haimen, despu?s de que ayer la Polic?a lanzara botes de humo y golpeara a los manifestantes, en un nuevo conflicto social en Cant?n.

En la de hoy, los vecinos, en su mayor?a j?venes de Haimen, un pueblo dedicado a la pesca en la ciudad de Shantou, volvieron a bloquear el peaje de la autopista que une a esta ciudad con Shenzhen, durante al menos cinco horas.

Los vecinos de Haimen iniciaron sus protestas este martes en la sede del Gobierno local, y se trasladaron despu?s a la autopista en protesta por la expansi?n de la planta de carb?n Fengsheng Electricity Investment Company, que seg?n los manifestantes ha provocado un aumento de los casos de c?ncer en el pueblo.

Adem?s, la presencia de la planta ha deteriorado el medio ambiente y reducido los bancos de pesca, seg?n los afectados.

Seg?n Xinhua, en la concentraci?n de hoy no hubo heridos ni conflictos y el Gobierno local de Shantou ha pedido una investigaci?n a la agencia local de medio ambiente sobre la ampliaci?n de la planta de carb?n.

Cant?n, con una tradici?n revolucionaria hist?rica, ha sido escenario en los ?ltimos meses de protestas masivas, como la de Wukan, que en los ?ltimos tres meses logr? expulsar a sus autoridades corruptas y hoy alcanzaron un acuerdo con el Gobierno sobre la compensaci?n por la expropiaci?n de sus terrenos de cultivo.

En los ?ltimos meses, otro pueblo canton?s, Dongguang, registr? tambi?n conflictos masivos entre los obreros de las manufacturas por problemas de salarios.

Seg?n expertos consultados por Efe, las revueltas laborales y sociales son uno de los retos que afronta la segunda econom?a mundial, ya que superan las cien mil anuales, cuando hacen cinco a?os eran la mitad, debido a la desigualdad de ingresos.


?

Descubierta en el noroeste de China la mayor reserva de carb?n de Asia

EFE

23 de diciembre 2011

Pek?n, 23 dic (EFE).- Un yacimiento de 89.200 millones de toneladas de carb?n, el mayor de toda Asia, ha sido descubierto en el lago Shaer de la regi?n aut?noma china de Xinjiang, en el noroeste del pa?s, inform? la agencia oficial Xinhua.

Los responsables de su exploraci?n esperan el visto bueno estatal para comenzar a explotar la reserva, y destacaron que el carb?n es de muy buena calidad, bajo en sulfuros, f?sforos y elementos da?inos.

Se calcula que en Xinjiang, regi?n habitada mayoritariamente por etnias de religi?n musulmana y en la que operan movimientos independentistas, hay reservas de 2 billones de toneladas de carb?n, el 40 por ciento del total de China.

El carb?n sigue siendo la principal fuente de energ?a de China y representa un 70 por ciento del total consumido por la segunda econom?a mundial.

Source: http://www.minesandcommunities.org//article.php?a=11403

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I have a question.

Hey everyone! :) I'm Gemma, and I am new to this website. I came here in hopes of finding a literate role play that doesn't have ridiculous restrictions like some of the other websites I've been on. I was thinking about creating a new role play, but it said not to create a high school one since so many already existed...Is this an actual rule? Will I be punished if I do? If so, does anyone know of any literate, active, high school role plays? I had a good plot in mind, but it seems like I'm not allowed to create a new high school role play.

Help?
Sincerely, a newbie.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/w72dLNQKQqg/viewtopic.php

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Schools object to NCAA multi-year scholarship plan

Schools are objecting to an NCAA reform measure on multi-year scholarships sought by university presidents.

More than 75 schools want to override a proposal allowing multi-year athletic scholarships rather than one-year renewable awards. That's the number of dissenters needed for reconsideration by the Division I Board of Directors when it meets next month in Indianapolis.

More schools have objected to NCAA plans to give athletes a $2,000 stipend for living costs not covered by scholarships. That proposal also returns to the Board of Directors.

Both measures were pushed by NCAA President Mark Emmert and adopted as emergency legislation after a presidential summit in August.

A permanent reversal could force schools to have two sets of standards, with an obligation to honor multi-year scholarship offers for some students but not others.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/27/2562936/schools-object-to-ncaa-multi-year.html

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Video: Rating Regulations & Rule-Making Process

For the most part the rule making activities are pretty successful, says John Taft, Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) chairman/RBC U.S. Wealth Management CEO. Taft continues to add that regulators are listening more and workin...

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45795105/

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sports car cummins swap?

i was thinking the other day about it... and again today when i drove my old mans cummins truck that he recently had a shop trick out his trans and pump. sucker is FAST now!

would be interesting to put it in an older muscle car or some kind of sports car or kit car. would be nice and fast and still get 20+ mpg AND blow coal...

food for thought i guess... anyone know of any interesting non-truck/4x4 swaps?

Source: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5532439-sports-car-cummins-swap&goto=newpost

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Monday, December 26, 2011

Chinese hackers target U.S. Chamber of Commerce, sensitive data stolen

According to sources close to The Wall Street Journal, Chinese hackers are at it again, this time hitting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and capturing information from three million members. Those familiar with the matter told the WSJ that hackers stole around six weeks worth of emails regarding Asian policy, but may have had access to sensitive correspondences for as long as a year. The Chamber only learned it was under attack when the FBI sent an alert that servers in China were stealing information, although the exact amount of data stolen is unknown. After confirming the breach, the Chamber shut down and destroyed parts of its computer network, proceeding to revamp its security system over a 36-hour period. Unfortunately, this isn?t the first time the U.S. of A has fallen victim to Chinese hackers, as both Google and NASA have experienced breaches over the past few years. The Chamber is currently investigating the attack, hoping to find some digital clues that might reveal the details of who done it and why.

Source: http://bestsmartphonetoday.com/smartphone-pda/chinese-hackers-target-u-s-chamber-of-commerce-sensitive-data-stolen/

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Army Specialist back home in E. Texas for the holidays

HENDERSON, TX (KLTV)-

An East Texas soldier is home from Iraq after a year-long tour.

Army Specialist Dedrick Walker was a part of the last groups of US troops to deploy for Iraq back in October 2010.

He's also a part of the last groups to come home from Iraq for good.

Walker says it is good to be home this Christmas--and many more to come.

Military roots run deep in the walker family.

It's evident Bishop L.J. Guillory, Dedrick's father, is proud.

The latest edition to the long line of servicemen is his 23-year-old son, Army Specialist Dedrick Walker.

Dedrick is home for Christmas. Home now, for good.

"He is the biggest present that we have for Christmas," says Guillory, "And his brother and I are just happy, just elated to have him here."

Dedrick's father and dozens of others welcomed him home Sunday, after he served a year in Iraq.
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Dedrick served as a Preventive Medicine Specialist, helping make the drinking water and living conditions safe for our troops.

He says he helped the Iraqis develop a better quality of life.

His work in Iraq earned him a bronze star.

Dedrick explains that he inspected Iraqi compounds, taught classes, and gave tips to the locals.

Last Christmas morning he was serving overseas. Dedrick says it was then he missed some of the little things, "Just this house, you know, I really missed it. So, I'm not looking for any gifts or anything like that. It's just being around the people I love."

Guillory says, "He is my present from God. My son and I, he is our present from God. That's the biggest present that God could have given me. Santa Claus, St. Nick, all those guys they just don't know. This is the best Christmas I've ever had.

Specialist Walker will attend SFA in the fall, where he will study psychology.

He says he wants to help soldiers cope with mental health issues.

Copyright 2011 KLTV. All rights reserved.

Source: http://henderson.kltv.com/news/news/75851-army-specialist-back-home-e-texas-holidays

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

Watch Out Yammer And Jive, Google Is About To Enter The Social Enterprise Space

Google AppsThe social enterprise has been growing as more and more companies look to incorporate Facebook-like communications among workers. Jive (which just debuted on the Nasdaq), Yammer, and Salesforce are all betting on the social as an integral part of productivity and business processes in the future. And it looks like Google will be entering the space soon. Google's Vice President of Enterprise Amit Singh tells us that Google will soon bring a more in-depth Google+ social experience to businesses and institutions using Google Apps. In October, Google announced that Google Apps users could sign up for Google+, allowing businesses and educational institutions to share posts directly to other users within their workgroups and/or universities.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/01sv1-OE0Ac/

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BossHawgKasino: RT @svictoria24: Tough.... Times... RT @OG_Humble_One: RT @SHAZAM_X: [News] Nelly Sued For Credit Card Debt By American Express http://t ...

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Source: http://twitter.com/BossHawgKasino/statuses/150739629878943744

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

With Microsoft Out, Who Will Keynote CES 2013?

A CES tradition is coming to a close: Microsoft will not appear, let alone own the keynote, at next year's consumer electronics trade show. But with ending traditions come new opportunities, all begging the question: Who will deliver the CES keynote in 2013?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/rLdIV0Yk2Xc/

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Doctors take fight to remove man from life support to Supreme Court of Canada

A little more than a year ago, Hassan Rasouli underwent surgery to remove a benign brain tumour. Instead of recovering, he developed a serious bacterial infection and suffered a massive injury to his brain and spinal cord. He has been in a coma, kept alive by a ventilator and a feeding tube, ever since.

Mr. Rasouli?s doctors at Toronto?s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre agreed the 60-year-old father was in an irreversible coma known as a persistent vegetative state and believed that rather than keeping him alive on life support, Mr. Rasouli was actually slowly dying of complications from being confined to a hospital bed. They told his family they planned to take Mr. Rasouli off a ventilator and place him in palliative care until his death.

His family disagreed, saying Mr. Rasouli was making noticeable improvements and that not attempting to prolong his life was against their Muslim faith.

The doctors took their case to court, arguing that life support that didn?t benefit a patient couldn?t be considered a medical treatment under the law. By requiring doctors to get approval from Mr. Rasouli?s family to take him off of a ventilator, the court would set a dangerous precedent that would force doctors to obtain consent anytime they wanted to refuse or stop a treatment that wasn?t working. Two Ontario courts have sided with Mr. Rasouli?s family. But on Thursday, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear the doctors? appeal in a case that could end the enduring legal confusion that has forced doctors and families into court battles over end-of-life health-care decisions.

It is a case that could be ?the most significant judicial examination of medical futility ever in the world,? said Thaddeus Pope, director of the health law institute at Hamline University in Minnesota and one of America?s leading academics on end-of-life issues.

The family has started a Help Hassan Rasouli Facebook page stocked with photos of Mr. Rasouli, his eyes open but unfocused, raising his fingers, grasping objects and attempting, the family says, to give a thumbs up.

?He wants to live and his family wants him to live,? the family wrote in response to questions Mr. Pope posted on his blog about medical futility issues. ?When there is hope and actual evidence for hope, as there is for Hassan, medical intervention is not futile.?

His doctors have said the movements are nothing more than the automatic reflexes of an irreversibly unconscious man.

The Supreme Court?s ruling could significantly alter Canada?s medical landscape at a time when hospitals are likely to face more such cases as the country?s aging population turns to a medical system strained for resources.

?We will have an ever-increasing number of incapacitated elderly patients who are unable to make these decisions themselves, who have not made advanced directives for these sorts of cases and where you could easily see where family members and doctors will be at loggerheads about what should happen,? said Udo Schuklenk, a Queen?s University medical ethics scholar who chaired a Royal Society of Canada expert panel on end-of-life issues.

Both doctors and family members of patients have an ethical conflict of interest in such cases, which should be left to an impartial third-party to decide, Mr. Schuklenk said. As much as families want the medical system to stop at no expense to keep their relatives alive, such decisions tie up valuable resources that could be used to help patients who could actually recover. At the same time, doctors may be equally biased in making such decisions, he said.

?It would be better if this decision was not made by doctors and not by the relatives or the family either,? he said.

?Doctors might have a conflict of interest in regards to what?s best, they might already have some other patient in mind who is also looking at using a particular resource. The families, of course, also have a conflict of interest because they also don?t see the bigger picture. So it would be much better if somebody removed from the case would look at this impartially and make that decision.?

National Post
tmcmahon@nationalpost.com

Source: http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/12/22/doctors-take-fight-to-remove-man-from-life-support-to-supreme-court/

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Friday, December 23, 2011

The winner of 'The X Factor' is ...

By Craig Berman, TODAY.com contributor

Michael Becker / FOX

Melanie Amaro was crowned the first "X Factor" champ on Thursday night.

Melanie Amaro was crowned the winner of ?X Factor? on Thursday, surprising almost nobody and completing the journey that nearly ended before it began.

Amaro famously wasn?t one of judge Simon Cowell?s original four female finalists, but got called back into the competition when he either changed his mind or decided that the charade had gone on long enough, depending on how cynical you are. Once she got that second chance, she immediately became the favorite among the women, sailing through the competition and earning the $5 million recording contract.

She fell to her knees in prayer after hearing the news, overwhelmed enough to resist host Steve Jones? numerous attempts to get something resembling a sound bite out of her. She choked up several times during her show-closing number, but presumably will recover in time to record what everyone at Fox hopes?will be?a monster album that sells millions of downloads.

Josh Krajcik, the former burrito maker and champion of the 30-somethings, came in second, with Chris Rene having been eliminated earlier in the evening as the third-place finisher.

The result capped an evening that was more of a holiday special than a coronation. The three finalists all sang Christmas tunes, as did Justin Bieber in a duet with Stevie Wonder. Bieber than sang a few notes with Drew, the teenager eliminated earlier in the competition who auditioned with Bieber?s ?Baby? and seemed as overwhelmed by the opportunity as any girl her age would.

?She is a very special girl and she will go far,? Bieber said, though he did not indicate that he was prepared to fulfill Drew?s fantasy of a date with him at the beach.

The show also featured the snippets of interviews with friends and family members that tug at the heartstrings and are a staple of all reality competitions, or so it seems.

?We used to complain about you singing all the time, and now look at you singing in front of millions of people,? Amaro?s brothers said.

?I?m not really surprised we?re here right now. I want you to know that I love you so much, and I don?t think I say that enough,? said Krajcik?s daughter.

The night also saw the rivalry between Simon and judge?L.A. Reid depicted as a battle of heavyweights, while judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Adbul had the ?Cry-Off? clip show instead. This concept was brought to you by the 1950s, which wants its gender roles back.

Rachel Crow made her return, two weeks after her elimination in what was called the most shocking moment of the season. She didn?t seem to have any lingering scars from that experience.

?I?m gonna steal your job,? she told Steve.

It was a tough night for the host in general, who was often stymied in his attempts to talk with the contestants and had Nicole whiff on a punchline several times before he finally threw up his hands and gave up.

Other acts included 50 Cent, who tested the Fox censors and was accompanied by some of the less-heralded members of the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as Ne-Yo and Pitbull. Also singing was Leona Lewis, who won the British version of the show and is what the folks at Fox are desperately hoping that Amaro becomes. That, as much as anything else, will determine whether this becomes the next ?American Idol? or just one of the countless shows stuck in its wake.

Did the right contestant win?

?

More in The Clicker:

Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/22/9645437-the-winner-of-the-x-factor-is

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Ashton Kutcher, friends key to Twitter's success

Christine Daniloff

The rise of the microblogging site Twitter was fueled by media attention and traditional social networks based on geographic proximity and socioeconomic similarity, a new study says.

By John Roach

Developers of the next-big social networking application stand a greater chance at skyrocketing success if Hollywood stars and big media go gaga over it, according to an analysis of Twitter's meteoric rise in popularity.

Data collected on the number of users adopting the microblogging service in its early years (between 2006 and 2009) show that it first spread gradually via traditional social networks ? real-world friends, work colleagues, neighbors ? then took off when media stars started to?gather their flocks.

?


"The first big run up in the number of Twitter users corresponded to the months that Ashton Kutcher was trying to be the first one to a million followers," Jameson Lawrence Toole, a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and co-author of the study, told me today.

?

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The Hollywood actor, who is most recently in the news for his recent divorce with actress Demi Moore and starring role in the hit TV series Two and a Half Men, touted his Twitter flock on Oprah Winfrey's daytime talk show.?And that's also when Oprah herself sent her first tweet.

"The most number of people ever signed up for Twitter during that week," Toole said.

A visualization showing the adopting of Twitter across the United States. From late March 2006 through the early August 2009, nearly 3.5 million people signed up for twitter. 2.3 million of those users signed up in the 408 cities displayed here.

From there, Twitter's rise was unstoppable. News reporters wrote about Kutcher and Oprah and more people signed up for Twitter. More media personalities wrote their own stories about sending 140-character tweets. More people signed up. More stories, more users.

While the data isn't all that surprising, it suggests a new way for researchers to model the power of media influence in their analyses of what drives a company to success, according to Toole.

In traditional models, he said, the role of media is considered a constant across time. What the Twitter analysis illustrates is the existence of a feedback loop present in today's media. "The more people sign up, the more news articles are written, and then more people sign up," he said.

The effect has been named elsewhere as the Oprah Effect, which is particularly prevalent in book sales. Aspiring authors know that if the talk show host picks their book for her monthly book club, for example, a spot on the best seller list is almost certainly in their future.

The comedian Stephan Colbert has a similar effect, known as the Colbert Bump, which is particularly effective for politicians, according to Toole.

Given the analysis of Twitter data from its early years, the power of big media stars seems to apply to Internet-based applications as well. So, if you want millions of users to use your app, make sure a big name pitches it, preferably in a quasi-viral way. That should mean success, according to the new model.

"What we can't model is if Oprah is going to pick up your Web service," Toole noted.?

More stories on Twitter and the power of media:


The study?is scheduled to appear this month in the journal PLoS One.

John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Where nations used to compete to get into space, now the competition focuses on private businesses, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into next-generation spaceships. Msnbc.com science editor Alan Boyle reports from inside the rocket factories on the future of spaceflight.

Source: http://futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/21/9610751-ashton-kutcher-friends-key-to-twitters-success

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

The Cancer Season - Ecademy

Merry Christmas

It's that time of year again when you tend to look back and plan forward. Not for nothing is the first month of the year named after the two-faced Roman god Janus who is the god of beginnings and transitions as well as being the god of gates and doors.

Best news professionally? Have at last finished my studies for the RDR Retail Distribution Review - in plain language raising the qualification level for financial advisers. After this, 30 or so hours a year of CPD Continuing Professional Development will keep me current - until the regulators/government/EU move the goalposts again. Any bets on how long before this happens?

Along with more qualifications, comes fitness and propriety previously mentioned in The Law is a Ass where the issue is, is the guy/gal concerned the right sort of person to advise on how people should invest their money? Showing the limitations of exams, a case comes up on the forum for financial advisers IFALife where a firm has satisfied itself on the qualifications of a guy, but are unhappy about his fitness and propriety. He currently works for a high street bank where every month, you get a list of potential clients - people you can flog their products to. But 6 complaints have been upheld against him, he has had his wrist slapped for giving out incorrect product documentation in another case and didn't mention plastic debt of over ?20,000 as he didn't feel it was important. The question asked on the forum was, is this guy fit and proper? Would you employ the guy?

If not, should the regulators and his professional association be informed - otherwise known as whistleblowing? Whistleblowing is a clear duty for IFAs where money laundering is concerned, or employees generally where there is a public interest or health and safety issue, but how far does this extend into professional standards? Feedback welcomed.

Being Nice to your Customers

Continuing the banks or lender theme, one client contacts me when another high street lender has approved a large Buy-to-Let mortgage in principle. Client is refurbishing property and would like the (re)mortgage money now please - tax bills due in January. Manager concerned is on holiday until second week January so papers will only be fully completed then. After this, they go to the monthly credit committee meeting with the bank kindly informing my client that she will get the money first week March! Quicker lenders are available but only at a higher rate, so client is stymied.

Cancer Claims

On a sadder but ultimately positive note, another client contacts me with a cancer diagnosis. Could I check the benefits? After buying protection, it is quite common for clients to forget the exact details of their policies which highlights the importance of regular financial reviews with your adviser. Fortunately, the amount of Critical Illness Cover is more than the mortgage so there will be money for time off to recover from surgery planned before Christmas. The income protection policy will help too.

This reminds me of another claim where a couple needed a mortgage and had two small children. Recommended Critical Illness Cover for the mortgage but after they both discussed it, told me they couldn't afford the premium. How much can you afford? I asked. Working out an amount of cover they could afford was quite straight forward and covered about two-thirds of the loan. Four years go by and husband is diagnosed with cancer. He is self-employed and while the claim will not extinguish the whole mortgage, some of the cash will allow him to take time off to recover. Ask anyone who has had cancer treatment, and they will tell you that fatigue is often the main issue.

Christopher Hitchens

Writer, journalist, polemicist and perhaps most famously atheist, died from cancer complications this week. Why do I mention this? Well both us were born in the same year and our cancers were similar. Makes you feel life can be a bit of a lottery and whether you agreed with his atheist & other contrarian views or not, the world is a duller place without him. Obituary link here which is worth reading. It is much longer than the average Daily Telegraph obit which of course, says much for its subject.

To read George's other blogs or if you have any comments or feedback, go to: www.georgeemsden.co.uk

George Emsden ACIB, DipPFS
The Cancer IFA

Source: http://www.ecademy.com/node.php?id=171810

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It's the cable guys! Antarctic ice wired

One of the most desolate spots on Earth recently got a visit from one of the most elusive characters on Earth ? the cable guy. Four very high-tech and capable cable guys, to be specific.

A small team of scientists recently installed a fiber-optic cable in the Ross Ice Shelf, a colossal plain of floating ice larger than the state of California that clings to the edge of Antarctica, straddling a massive bay between the eastern and western halves of the continent.

The cable, more than half a mile (1 kilometer) in length, is threaded straight down through 600 feet (200 meters) of solid ice and 2,000 feet (600 m) of water to dangle above the seafloor.

The fiber-optic cable is "like the kind that goes to your television or computer," said project leader David Holland, a professor at New York University, and was set in place so that the giant ice plain can, in essence, make phone calls to his office in Manhattan, and tell him what things are like in the ocean underneath it.

Holland and three colleagues ? an NYU graduate student and researchers from Ohio State University and the University of Nevada ? spent two weeks living out on the ice, sleeping in tiny tents to complete the pilot project, which is a year-long test run for the technology.

"You can measure the temperature on a fiber-optic cable at every meter," Holland told OurAmazingPlanet. "With this technology you can 'watch' the ice shelf," he said.

It took three days of drilling to bore a tiny hole just 2 inches (3 centimeters) across into the ice to complete the installation, which was sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Loquacious ocean
A nifty suite of instruments sits atop the ice shelf, connected to the fiber-optic cable ? a data logger, a low-power laser and a modem ? powered by solar panels, wind turbines and batteries to get through the dark winter months, Holland said.

Every three hours, a modem on the roof of Holland's NYU building calls up the modem parked on the Antarctic ice to get a full rundown of temperatures throughout the ice shelf and, far more important, the ocean below.

So who wants to talk to a chatty ice shelf about its watery nether regions? Just about anyone who studies the mechanisms driving the significant changes observed in Antarctic ice. Research has revealed that warm ocean water gnawing away at ice shelves is a key player in unprecedented losses to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet over the last two decades.

"The temperature of the water underneath the ice shelves and the rate that water circulates in the ocean cavities underneath the ice shelves are the major determinants of the mass balance at the bottom of the ice shelves ? in other words, how fast they're melting at the bottom," said Stan Jacobs, an oceanographer at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Ice shelves act as door stops for glaciers ? which are, essentially, slow-moving rivers of ice ?? and slow glaciers' inexorable march into the sea. When ice shelves thin, or completely disappear, glaciers speed up.

"That moves more ice more rapidly into the ocean, and of course that has sea-level implications," Jacobs told OurAmazingPlanet.

Satellites have glimpsed changes in ice shelves, and even their disappearance ? the dramatic collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula made headlines in 2002 ? yet they can't see underneath them to capture the details concerning how warm ocean water is taking a toll.

Holland said the fiber-optic cable can operate for many years at a time, delivering a steady stream of data on temperature conditions in the ocean under the ice shelf.

Jacobs, who was not associated with the project, said that getting temperature data during the winter months, when the darkness and brutal conditions make field work impossible, would be valuable.

"You'd like to have year-round measurements, and once you have year-round measurements, you'd like to have them more than one year," Jacobs said. "We already know that properties and circulation (of the water) change from one year to the next."

Testing, testing
Holland said that so far, the data indicate things are pretty stable under the Ross Ice Shelf, which is precisely what he expected. Unlike its neighbors in western Antarctica, the ice shelf doesn't appear to be suffering any losses.?

"This was not necessarily the most important place to go," Holland said, "but it's a smart idea for testing the technology." The ice shelf is next door to McMurdo Station, the largest of the United States' three research stations in Antarctica.

"If it works for one year, it will be a proven technology ? and if it's good I would ask that it be installed elsewhere," Holland said.

Jacobs said that ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea, particularly the Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf, are of most concern to scientists, because they appear to be melting rapidly.

The glaciers in this western region of Antarctica are responsible for about 7 percent of annual global sea level rise, and of those speedy glaciers, the Pine Island Glacier is moving the fastest, at a clip of about 2.5 miles (4 km) per year.

A team of scientists is currently camping out on the Pine Island Glacier ice shelf to get some of the first precise measurements of temperature beneath it, yet they will have to pack up and go home when Antarctic winter approaches.

Although drilling into a giant piece of ice clinging to a continent at the bottom of the world may appear frivolous to some, Holland said, the research is important.

"It's just one element in a puzzle," he said. The ultimate goal is to hand over enough puzzle pieces to climate modelers, Holland said, because it's clear that changes in the atmosphere are driving changes in Antarctic ice, and changes in Antarctic ice drive changes in global sea level.

"If you talk to one individual, they're working on some piece of the puzzle around the change," he said. "No one piece is more important than the other, but if one piece is ignored you can't figure out this story."

Reach Andrea Mustain at amustain@techmedianetwork.com. Follow her on Twitter @AndreaMustain.Follow OurAmazingPlanet for the latest in Earth science and exploration news on Twitter @OAPlanet and on Facebook.

? 2011 OurAmazingPlanet. All rights reserved. More from OurAmazingPlanet.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45690009/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Friday, December 16, 2011

Lions DT Suh says little about stomp, suspension

FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2011 file photo, Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (90) sits on the bench during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, in Detroit. Suh is suspended for two games by the NFL for stomping on the arm of Green Bay's Evan Dietrich-Smith during a Thanksgiving game. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2011 file photo, Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (90) sits on the bench during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, in Detroit. Suh is suspended for two games by the NFL for stomping on the arm of Green Bay's Evan Dietrich-Smith during a Thanksgiving game. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

FILE - In this file photo taken Nov. 24, 2011, Green Bay Packers' Evan Dietrich-Smith (62) lies at the feet of Detroit Lions' Ndamukong Suh, right, during a third quarter incident in their NFL football game in Detroit. Suh was ejected from the game after he stepped on the Packers offensive lineman. (AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Julian H. Gonzalez, File)

FILE - In this file photo taken Nov. 24, 2011, Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (90) is ejected by an official after an incident against a Green Bay Packers player in the third quarter of an NFL football in Detroit. (AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Kirthmon F. Dozier, file)

FILE - In this file photo taken Nov. 24, 201, Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz talks with defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (90) as he leaves the field after being disqualified in the third quarter during an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field in Detroit. The Packers won 27-15. Suh was ejected from the game after he stepped on a Packers offensive lineman. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, Robin Buckson, File)

(AP) ? Ndamukong Suh is back with the Detroit Lions. And he's not interested in rehashing the past.

Suh declined to answer questions Wednesday about his two-game suspension and car accident after rejoining his teammates for the first time in two-plus weeks.

"The most important thing right now is this football team and not me individually," Suh said.

The reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year was forced by the NFL to sit out two games without pay for stepping on the right arm of Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith during a loss on Thanksgiving Day.

He was defiant during his postgame news conference that day and after the Lions criticized his conduct the next day, Suh followed up on his Facebook page with an apology to his teammates, organization and fans. Why he hasn't ? at least publicly ? said sorry to Dietrich-Smith was one of the questions Suh left unanswered.

Suh said he wouldn't change his game after his fourth fine from the league earlier this year. On Wednesday, he said nothing has altered that mind-set.

"I think I can pretty much stick with that, playing within the rules and continuing to play between the whistles," Suh said.

Suh was banned from Lions headquarters during his suspension. He returned to his hometown of Portland, Ore., and was in a car accident on his first weekend away from the team. Police decided not to investigate further after two women claimed they were injured during the wreck.

He wouldn't respond to questions about the crash. Suh seemed aware that unflattering things have been written and said about him, but doesn't look or sound concerned.

"It's not going to make me cry at night," he said.

Of more interest to Suh and the rest of the Lions is the team's quest to make the playoffs for the first time since the 1999 season. The team lost at New Orleans and barely beat Minnesota at home without Suh.

Detroit (8-5) plays at Oakland (7-6) this weekend in a game it needs to win to keep its favorable spot in the NFC wild-card race.

Even though Suh has been on his own since the suspension, Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said he looked about the same as he did before being forced to stay out of the building.

"He's obviously healthy," Schwartz said. "And we need all the healthy players we can get, particularly for this last stretch."

Suh didn't think anything was out of the ordinary about his first workout with teammates in a while.

"Practice to me was normal," he said. "I wasn't out of breath."

He saved some breath in a calm, but terse, session with reporters following practice. Suh acknowledged needing to be accountable for his actions, but said answering every question from the media was not one of his responsibilities.

"It doesn't always involve you guys," he said. "It's been handled. You guys make your speculations and then you report what you think is right and not right."

Notes: Lions DT Nick Fairley went through at least part of Wednesday's practice while banged-up players CB Eric Wright, S Louis, CB Aaron Berry, LB Justin Durant and DE Lawrence Jackson were held out because of injuries while reporters had access. ... Starting CB Chris Houston, who has missed two games with an injured left knee, practiced and said he expects to play at Oakland. RB Kevin Smith was on the field and was optimistic about playing Sunday after missing the Vikings game.

___

Follow Larry Lage on Twitter at www.twitter.com/larrylage

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-14-Lions-Suh/id-5acf127838614ea385aef09d83eccd9e

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PFT: Bears WR Hurd arrested on drug charges

Chicago Bears v Denver BroncosGetty Images

Well, I?m finally gaining some ground.

Not much, but some.

A stellar 14-2 weekend could have been 15-1, but for that late collapse by the Cowboys.? In that moment, a three-game win over Rosenthal slid to a one-game edge.

I?m nine back with three weeks to go. ?For the season, he?s 142-66.? I?m 133-75.

This week, we disagree on four games.? This is my last chance to make a push.

Hopefully, God likes me better than him.

Jaguars at Falcons

Florio?s take:? If the Falcons can?t beat the Jaguars, the Falcons have no shot at winning at New Orleans on December 26.? And if the Falcons can?t win at New Orleans on December 26, the Falcons won?t have to worry about another one-and-done performance in the playoffs.

Florio?s pick:? Falcons 31, Jaguars 16.

Rosenthal?s take: The Jaguars are back in prime time! Atlanta is a 10-point favorite, which seems crazy until you look at the state of the Jags. An undrafted rookie and journeyman will cover Roddy White and Julio Jones.? At wideout for Jacksonville: Chastin West and Jarrett Dillard. Interim coach Mel Tucker isn?t playing with a stacked deck.

Rosenthal?s pick: Falcons 28, Jaguars 13.

Cowboys at Buccaneers

Florio?s take:? The best way for Dallas to avoid blowing a close game late in the fourth quarter is to never allow it to be close in the fourth quarter.? If this one gets too out of hand, Tampa coach Raheem Morris could be the fourth coach to go before Christmas.

Florio?s pick:? Cowboys 34, Buccaneers 17.

Rosenthal?s take: The Bucs are slump busters. The Panthers defense couldn?t stop anyone, but they could stop the Bucs. Jacksonville?s offense couldn?t score on anyone, but they could score on Tampa. This game is exactly what Jason Garrett and the ?Boys need.

Rosenthal?s pick: Cowboys 40, Buccaneers 27.

Dolphins at Bills

Florio?s take:? Nothing takes the steam out of a team that is playing hard down the stretch to try to save its coach?s job than the coach losing his job.? The Bills end a six-game losing streak with their sixth, and likely last, win of the season.

Florio?s pick:? Bills 28, Dolphins 21.

Rosenthal?s take: It?s weird and a little sad that J.P. Losman?s status decides my pick. If Matt Moore is out, I like Buffalo. Bills fans will happily tell you not to bet on J.P. Losman in Buffalo. (Especially with Jake Long out.) If Matt Moore starts, I like the Dolphins. (Can we make conditional picks, Florio?)

Rosenthal?s pick: Dolphins 20, Bills 17.

Seahawks at Bears

Florio?s take:? If the Bears had Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, they?d be the clear pick to win.? But they don?t, and if they can?t beat the Chiefs at home without these key players, they?ll have a rough time handling an underrated Seahawks team.? The bell continues to toll for the Bears, whose only remaining hope will be to do to the Packers on December 25 what the Dolphins did to the Bears in 1985.

Florio?s pick:? Seahawks 14, Bears 7.

Rosenthal?s take: Bears fans swore Chicago could go 4-2 or 3-3 at worst with Caleb Hanie to close the season. They haven?t won a game yet. Seattle, meanwhile, has won four of five because of a physical defense and running game. After this game, the Seahawks will have a better chance to make the playoffs.

Rosenthal?s pick: Seattle 16, Bears 13.

Panthers at Texans

Florio?s take:? The Texans keep losing key components.? And the Texans just keep winning.? This one won?t be easy without defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, but the Texans simply continue to find a way.

Florio?s pick:? Texans 34, Panthers 24.

Rosenthal?s take: If Cam Newton and T.J. Yates faced off last year, Yates? team would not be favored by a touchdown. Things change quickly. The Texans are a defense tough enough to withstand the loss of their best pass rusher. They can survive losing their playcaller for a week or two.

Rosenthal?s pick: Texans 21, Panthers 17.

Titans at Colts

Florio?s take:? It?s time.? Call it a gut feeling.? Call it a hunch.? Call it clinical insanity.? But it?s time for the Colts to win a game.? Especially since this very well could be their last chance to avoid going 0-16 and getting everyone not named Jim Irsay fired.

Florio?s pick:? Colts 19, Titans 17.

Rosenthal?s take: The Colts look likely to face three straight rookie quarterbacks. Unfortunately, Jake Locker isn?t a huge downgrade from Matt Hasselbeck. The Titans offense is different with Locker, but not necessarily worse. The Titans are just mediocre enough to let the Colts make this interesting.

Rosenthal?s pick: Titans 24, Colts 21.

Packers at Chiefs

Florio?s take:? Interim coach Romeo Crennel could go a long way toward securing the permanent job by winning his first game.? He likely wishes Todd Haley had lasted one more week.

Florio?s pick:? Packers 35, Chiefs 10.

Rosenthal?s take: The Chiefs have enough secondary talent to give the Packers offense some issues. Kansas City certainly upgrades this week at quarterback with Kyle Orton. And that ends the portion of this preview where I try to convince myself this game will stay interesting.

Rosenthal?s pick: Packers 31, Chiefs 14.

Saints at Vikings

Florio?s take:? From epic NFC title game to overhyped season opener to Cornell-Hofstra slaughter.? Les Steckel gets closer and closer to getting off the hook.

Florio?s pick:? Saints 34, Vikings 14.

Rosenthal?s take: Drew Brees is peaking at the right time. The Vikings are peeking at the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.? This is the game where Brees makes sure he wins the yardage crown for the season.

Rosenthal?s pick: Saints 33, Vikings 17.

Redskins at Giants

Florio?s take:? After the Redskins beat the Giants in Week One, safety Antrell Rolle said that Washington would win five out of 100 games between the two teams.? More recently, Rolle dropped that number to one.? Though we?re not ready to agree with a 99-percent success rate, we?re comfortable with 50.

Florio?s pick:? Giants 28, Redskins 14.

Rosenthal?s take: A Giants? loss Sunday could make next week?s Jets-Giants game almost inconsequential. A win against the Redskins would guarantee Big Blue a ?win and in? scenario in Week 17 against Dallas. Washington is feisty, but they are one-win-in-seven-games feisty. Rex Grossman is just good enough to get you beat.

Rosenthal?s pick: Giants 33, Redskins 28.

Bengals at Rams

Florio?s take:? It won?t be easy to keep a young Bengals team focused and motivated after losing a heartbreaker to the Texans.? But the Bengals are playing the Rams.? The Rams.? Yes, the Rams.

Florio?s pick:? Bengals 34, Rams 14.

Rosenthal?s take: Despite winning seven games last year, the Rams are on pace to have the worst five-year run of any team in NFL history. Steve Spagnuolo coached the worst NFL team in 2009 and the second worst team this year. It may not be fair, but it?s hard to imagine any coach surviving that combination.

Rosenthal?s pick: Bengals 23, Rams 13.

Lions at Raiders

Florio?s take:? The Lions have struggled lately, but the Raiders have struggled more.? Neither team may make it to the postseason after promising starts, but the Lions have at least shown a recent ability to find a way to win.? Plus, while he?s not as dominant as he was in 2010, the return of Ndamukong Suh should help.? The ongoing absence of Darren McFadden doesn?t.

Florio?s pick:? Lions 24, Raiders 20.

Rosenthal?s take: These are two desperate teams that peaked too early. At least the Lions are getting players back: Ndamukong Suh, Kevin Smith, and cornerback Chris Houston all look likely to return for Detroit. The Raiders might get Denarius Moore back. The Lions win that trade.

Rosenthal?s pick: Lions 27, Raiders 24.

Browns at Cardinals

Florio?s take:? Though a little too late, the Cardinals have found their groove, regardless of whether Kevin Kolb or John Skelton is playing quarterback.? With a couple more wins, they?ll be one of the teams we?re all picking to make the playoffs in 2012.? The Browns, on the other hand, continue to be the Browns.

Florio?s pick:? Cardinals 30, Browns 17.

Rosenthal?s take: Skeltonmania is sweeping the nation. The Cardinals are 4-1 in the former Fordham quarterback?s games, winning insane, inexplicable games late in the fourth quarter. They are 2-5 without him. Skelton fever could last into the playoffs. I?d bet on a 9-7 team making the playoffs and the Cardinals should be 7-7 after this one.

Rosenthal?s pick: Cardinals 22, Browns 13.

Patriots at Broncos

Florio?s take:? The list of ?thou shalt nots? now includes a line regarding picking against Tim Tebow.? New England?s defense stinks, and Denver?s defense is good enough to keep it close.? If the Broncos keep it close, the guy who says God has spoken to him will overcome the once little-known sixth-round pick who possibly struck a deal with the devil.

Florio?s pick:? Broncos 24, Patriots 23.

Rosenthal?s take: The Patriots defense can barely slow down Grossmania, so Tim Tebow should have a big day. Tom Brady should be even better. There are weak spots in this Broncos? secondary that Brady can exploit, especially at safety. This result will test Florio?s Tebow man-crush.

Rosenthal?s pick: Patriots 31, Broncos 27.

Jets at Eagles

Florio?s take:? The Dream Team is waking up too late, but not late enough to crush the dreams of Team Rex.? And that will make next week?s Giants-Jets game even more intriguing.

Florio?s pick:? Eagles 27, Jets 23.

Rosenthal?s take: The Eagles won last week, but Michael Vick looked very rusty. The offensive line got pushed around. The Jets are not a defense you want to face when your passing game is out of synch and your line is not recognizing blitzes. The Dream should finally die for good, to the delight of many Eagles fans.

Rosenthal?s pick: Jets 22, Eagles 10.

Ravens at Chargers

Florio?s take:? The Ravens finally realize the connection between beating inferior foes and hosting home playoff games.? Chargers fans finally realize that they could have a new coach and G.M. in 2012.? Both could be very happy after Sunday night.

Florio?s pick:? Ravens 24, Chargers 17.

Rosenthal?s take: This is Norv?s last stand, and he has a shot to win. Philip Rivers? pinpoint accuracy returned the last two weeks. So did his pass protection. This is a dangerous game for the Ravens, but it?s hard to imagine Rivers? rag-tag linemen holding up against the Baltimore pass rush.

Rosenthal?s pick: Ravens 27, Chargers 24.

Steelers at 49ers

Florio?s take:? When the Steelers enter the red zone at Heinz Field, giant ketchup bottles unleash their contents onto the scoreboard.? When the 49ers get into the red zone on Monday night, the Steelers will be putting ketchup on Frank Gore?s legs and Alex Smith?s arm.

Florio?s pick:? Steelers 20, 49ers 13.

Rosenthal?s take: The Cowboys? 3-4 defense gave the 49ers problems. Baltimore?s 3-4 defense ate up the 49ers line. Arizona?s defense ? coordinated by former Steelers coach Ray Horton ? allowed two first downs to the 49ers in the second half last week. You see where I?m going with this one.

Rosenthal?s pick: Steelers 13, 49ers 10.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/15/bears-sam-hurd-arrested-on-federal-drug-charges/related/

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Must See HDTV (December 5th - 11th)

All you have to do is look at the calendar to know we're suddenly going to be buried under a deluge of holiday-season-specific programming. Of course, it's not all Michael Buble's Christmas Special, with unlikely sources like Syfy channel tossing in their efforts. While cable shows like Sons of Anarchy, Boss, and Boardwalk Empire wrap their seasons up, we also have a few new entries in the form of Luck, Moonshiners, and Invention USA. Check below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listings of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Sons of Anarchy
It's been yet another explosive season for the boys of SAMCRO, and now it's coming to an end. As is standard for the show, main character Jax is finding himself caught between the law, rival gangs, and the loyalty to his mother, wife, and best friend, all pulling in different directions. We don't know if he will avenge his father's death in the season finale, or if the entire motorcycle club will end up in jail first, but you can bet we'll be watching to find out.
(December 6th, FX, 10PM)

Spike TV Videogame Awards 2011
We haven't been a big fan of the Spike Videogame Award's presentation in the past, but with the promise of a peek at BioWare's next project and an Advisory Council that again includes our good friend and Joystiq EIC Chris Grant voting on the winners, maybe this is the year things get turned around. Videogames and the people who make them deserve their due like any other industry, and Spike is at least making an effort to make sure that happens. One of the other tweaks for the 2011 show is a focus on augmented reality, so that's another thing to keep an eye out for during the broadcast.
(December 10th, Spike, 8PM)

Eureka / Warehouse 13 / Haven
For some people it takes see It's A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, or Peanuts to get in the holiday spirit, but if you're a fan science fiction shows then you'll want to know these are all checking in with special holiday episodes Tuesday night. As silly as Syfy's name change has been, these shows have at least maintained, if not increased, their level of quality and have dedicated audiences. The special episodes are dropping in sort of out of the blue so we don't know what to expect, but we'll give them a look -- check out a sneak peek embedded after the break.

Continue reading Must See HDTV (December 5th - 11th)

Must See HDTV (December 5th - 11th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Yahoo Hub offers free messaging to anyone, locks horns with RIM and Google

Yahoo, evidently tired of being passed up by hundreds of free messaging apps floating around the various smartphone application stores, has launched a service of its own to take on the likes of BBM and Google Messenger. The new app, called Hub, is only available for Android devices at the moment, but there's a brightside here: you can send a message to anyone, not just other folks who've downloaded the same app. The recipient -- or multiple recipients, since group chat is allowed -- can easily reply to the thread using their own standard SMS service. Curiously, Hub is only offered if you have a US SIM card and a text plan, even though the messages are transmitted using your data connection or WiFi. If you do a lot of international travel, Hub is supported in nine other countries besides the US, a rather small number we hope will grow as the service graduates from its beta status. While Yahoo can use all the help it can get right now, is this going to endear very many users?

[Thanks, Ashish]

Continue reading Yahoo Hub offers free messaging to anyone, locks horns with RIM and Google

Yahoo Hub offers free messaging to anyone, locks horns with RIM and Google originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monday, December 5, 2011

Activists invade nuclear plant site in France (AP)

PARIS ? Greenpeace activists secretly invaded a French nuclear site before dawn Monday and draped a banner on its reactor containment building, embarrassing the government and exposing the vulnerability of atomic sites in France.

Police, whom Greenpeace told immediately of the publicity stunt, took several hours to round up nine intruders who had broken into the power plant in Nogent-sur-Seine, about 95 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Paris.

France, which gets about three-quarters of its electricity from nuclear power, regularly faces protests from environmental activists over shipments of nuclear waste. Activist incursions into atomic plants are unusual.

Greenpeace said the break-in aimed to show that an ongoing review of safety measures ? ordered by French authorities after a tsunami ravaged Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant earlier this year ? was focused too narrowly on possible natural disasters, and not human factors.

Activists who tried to enter three other French nuclear sites in the coordinated action Monday were prevented from doing so, but Greenpeace said other invaders were still holed up inside other, unspecified, nuclear sites.

That prompted authorities to immediately launch a "thorough sweep" of all of France's 20 nuclear power plants, Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said by phone. Interior Minister Claude Gueant has scheduled a meeting this week to launch a review of the security breach, Brandet said.

French power company Electricite de France, which operates the site, denounced the "illegal" break-in at Nogent-sur-Seine, and insisted that it did not harm security at the site.

After Greenpeace alerted authorities that its activists were behind the incursion, police and security teams held their fire and allowed the peaceful activists to continue scaling a containment building that houses the reactor to put a banner on top, Brandet said. The activists didn't penetrate the reactor.

EDF said activists' banners were also hung on the outside of two other nuclear sites ? Chinon in northwestern France and Blayais in the southwest ? before they were removed. Three other activists were driven off by security forces while trying to enter yet another plant, in southeastern Cadarache.

"We have to understand what's behind this malfunction ? notably in Nogent," Brandet said, adding that "in the other sites security worked ... the intrusions were thwarted."

EDF said it had no indication of intrusions at other sites in France.

"With this nonviolent action, Greenpeace has shown how vulnerable French nuclear plants are," said Sophia Majnoni d'Intignano, a Greenpeace activist. "Simple activists, with peaceful intentions and of few means, were able to reach the heart of a nuclear plant."

French TV showed pictures of activists in miner's helmets rummaging through the dark and crawling in what appeared to be a tunnel with banners that read "Coucou" (Hey) and "Facile" (Easy) on them.

"The government is going to conclude in several months that our nuclear plants are very, very safe, because it's believed that they could withstand a flood or an earthquake," she told i-Tele television, referring to the upcoming government report.

"But those aren't the real risks for our nuclear industry," Majnoni d'Intignano said. "It's the risk of external, non-natural attack ? like the risk of terrorism."

Speaking later by phone with The Associated Press, she urged the government to consider other risks in its review like an airplane crash, a computer virus, or chemicals explosion at a nuclear site.

"It's a very limited review; they have badly understood the signal sent from the Fukushima incident," she said. "For us, the real risks are human and technological."

Henri Guaino, a special adviser to conservative French President Nicolas Sarkozy, called the intrusion "irresponsible," but acknowledged "it still makes you think about the security of access to nuclear plants."

"So yeah, I think we'll have to learn some lessons."

___

Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111205/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_france_nuclear_intrusion

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