Thursday, December 27, 2012

Obama spending Christmas Day with family in Hawaii

KAILUA, Hawaii (AP) ? President Barack Obama is spending Christmas Day with his family at a rented vacation home in his native Hawaii.

White House officials have not released the details of all the first family's Christmas Day activities. On Tuesday morning, Obama traveled from the suburban Honolulu home to a Marine Corps base for a workout.

The Obama family flew to Hawaii from Washington on Friday night. White House officials have not announced when the president is expected to go back to Washington but say he is likely to curtail his holiday vacation, perhaps returning as early as Wednesday.

In the past, Obama has spent 10 to 14 days in Hawaii at Christmastime. Budget negotiations with lawmakers over the so-called fiscal cliff have complicated this year's trip.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-25-Obama-Christmas/id-0524a85d054b4b5b9a7d05948298c735

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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Mattel and Hasbro: Terrified By Kids' High-Tech Christmas Lists?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/mattel-and-hasbro-terrified-by-kids-high-tech-christmas-lists/

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My Craft Shed ? Ideas For Using an Outdoor warehouse Shed As a ...

Anyone who loves to do a range of crafts and hobbies knows just how difficult it can be to find room for everything inside your home. Once you start developing hobbies, the materials and resources you have for that hobby just seem to manifold all on their own. And this makes it very frustrating for you and your house too. You love your hobby and can?t resist buying new things for it every time you come over great materials and sales, but your home is overflowing so much that you feel like you can barely walk nearby everything sometimes.

And this is where storage sheds can be a wonderful addition to your home. Using an outdoor storage shed for your craft materials not only opens up room in your home, it also gives you fullness of space to help keep all your materials more organized. There are many distinct types of hobbies we all have though, so here are any ideas for how a storage shed can help with one or more of your own, or your family?s beloved hobbies.

Whether you love to crochet, knit, sew clothing, create quilts, or embroidery, if you?re like the rest of us you have tons of extra supplies. It?s just not potential to resist a sale on beautiful yarns or fabrics, and you know you?ll use everything sooner or later, right?

My Craft Shed ? Ideas For Using an Outdoor warehouse Shed As a Craft and Hobby center

Well using a storage shed to keep these materials is an excellent way to keep it from over running your home, and it also does wonders for helping you to keep things organized. When you use a storage building to keep your craft and hobby materials, you can set up small bins on shelves to hold buttons, threads, and scrap materials for instance.

You can also have larger bins and packaging to hold your crochet or knitting yarns ? in fact you can separate yarns into bins based on projects, or based on colors, then just label the bins so you?ll be able to no ifs ands or buts find the yarns you want at any time.

Use other bins to hold your fabrics for sewing, scrapbooking or other hobbies too, and again separate these by color, fabric type, or scheme you plan to use them for.

Try putting in a filing cabinet, shelves, or small bins to hold your scheme patterns and instructions too. You could have individual binders on shelves for instance, which hold your crochet or knitting patterns, clothing sewing patterns, and Scrapbooks you create too.

My Craft Shed ? Ideas For Using an Outdoor warehouse Shed As a Craft and Hobby center

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Source: http://buyitnoww.tk/my-craft-shed-ideas-for-using-an-outdoor-warehouse-shed-as-a-craft-and-hobby-center/

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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Retailers hope late Christmas shoppers bring good cheer

CHICAGO/WHITE PLAINS, New York (Reuters) - Retailers limped into Christmas with last-minute blowout deals on everything from TVs to celebrity-branded clothing, after a disappointing few weeks of sales led many analysts to lower their expectations for the holiday season.

Some industry watchers said shoppers were making smaller purchases, even though they are still visiting stores and browsing online. Since the holiday quarter can account for about 30 percent of annual sales and half of profit for many chains, such small distinctions can be crucial.

"The attitude of the shopper went from Christmas euphoria on Thanksgiving weekend to more subdued, to less frenetic," said Thom Blischok, chief retail strategist and a senior executive adviser with consulting firm Booz & Company's retail practice.

Before the season began, Blischok was looking for sales to rise more than 5 percent in November and December over the same period in 2011. Now, he said a gain of 2 percent to 2.5 percent appears more likely. Research firm ShopperTrak last week said it now expects an increase of 2.5 percent, rather than 3.3 percent.

"The season will be an OK season. It won't be as strong as last year, but it won't be maybe as bad as feared heading into it," said Joseph Feldman, managing director and senior research analyst at Telsey Advisory Group. "Christmas comes every year."

Some of the winning chains this holiday season appeared to be Macy's, TJX, Michael Kors, Costco, Limited, Gap Inc, Anthropologie and Walmart, Feldman said, citing the number of shoppers in their stores, their products and online presence.

Even so, some of those who are buying said they were holding back.

Terene Collymore, a student of criminology at Monroe College in New Rochelle, New York, was at a Walmart on Monday, buying last-minute gifts, such as knitting supplies for her mother. Collymore said she was being more careful this year and not spending more on herself.

"I don't throw money away," she said.

CHEAP TELEVISIONS ABOUND

Retailers have done a good job controlling inventory levels, even in the face of diminished forecasts, analysts said.

The season has been "decent" but "not exceptional," said Noam Paransky, vice president in AlixPartners retail practice.

He said he has not seen unplanned discounting or too much excess inventory despite slightly slower-than-expected growth.

"Retailers have been disciplined. They haven't hit the panic button yet," Paransky said.

Still, Target Corp slashed the price of its collaborative holiday collection with Neiman Marcus by 50 percent a few days ago. The collection was still marked at full price at Neiman Marcus.

Meanwhile Sears was offering 60 percent off clothing from the reality TV family's "Kardashian Kollection," and Target, Walmart and Best Buy all had last-minute discounts hundreds of dollars deep on big-screen TVs.

Apple's iPad mini has been tough to find in some places but is still available, while the new iPhone 5 is still in stock, suggesting that people may have stuck with their prior models or bought the less expensive iPhone 4S instead, said Feldman.

A mix of electronics are selling "exceptionally well," from low-cost tablets to very large-screen TVs, and items such as audio sound bars and headphones, said NPD Group's Stephen Baker.

One area of concern is in computers, as sales of PCs and tablets running Windows 8, from its launch in late October to mid-December, were down 13 percent from a year ago, Baker said.

That will likely be a disappointment to Microsoft and many third-party retailers, as past releases of Windows have spurred PC sales. However, that has been disrupted by the popularity of tablets eating away at PC sales, Baker said.

AFTER-CHRISTMAS SALES

Superstorm Sandy hit sales in the densely populated Northeast in late October and early November but retailers were able to bounce back weeks later with a strong turnout on Thanksgiving weekend.

Now, fresh concerns about whether Washington will reach an agreement to avert the "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts before January 1 is leading some shoppers to curb spending.

Overall, analysts said inventory levels appeared about right, though consumers' minds have changed since retailers placed orders for items such as apparel back in the spring.

"I don't think it's an issue of ordering too much, I think it's the fact that the consumer has recognized 'I can learn to live with less, I don't have to have that fourteenth sweater, I just don't have to have it,'" said Blischok.

Even if the stores are quiet, the Internet is not. There were 12 days this holiday when spending topped $1 billion, up from 10 such days in 2011, according to comScore. Online sales rose 16 percent in the first 51 days of the holiday season, it said.

Those retailers that are seeing weakness before the holiday could use after-Christmas sales to sell discounted goods, analysts said.

Typically, retailers like to clear out their holiday merchandise quickly, so that shoppers coming in with the gift cards they received are more likely to buy full-price spring merchandise at fatter profit margins.

The S&P 500 retail index rose 0.15 percent on Monday, outpacing a 0.24 percent dip in the S&P 500.

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago and Phil Wahba in White Plains, N.Y.; additional reporting by Bill Rigby in New York; Editing by Ben Berkowitz, Gunna Dickson and Steve Orlofsky)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/retailers-hope-last-minute-christmas-shoppers-bring-good-172659834--finance.html

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How Intimate Relationships Fail | Psychology Today

There are three clear cut ways to measure if your relationship is thriving or headed for trouble. Independently or simultaneously, they pose significant threats to a relationship?s survival. The sooner intimate partners recognize them and change their patterns, the more likely they can get their relationship back on track and recreate the love they once knew. ?

Threat Number One ? When bad interactions begin to outnumber good ones

Most intimate love relationships begin with many more positive, intriguing, and loving interactions than painful ones. In time, though, every relationship will face unexpected hurdles that create negative interactions. If the partners do not resolve the resulting emotional damage at the time, they will silently suffer from those buried, unresolved issues and begin the process of withdrawing energy and hope from the relationship. ?

When your relationship began, you most likely remember how treasured you felt by your partner, praised for your assets and readily forgiven for your faults. Some ?not-so-compatible? areas may have existed, but consciously or unconsciously, you chose to give them less attention. ?

Over time, those non-attended-to negative interactions may have changed the percentages of good connections to bad ones. Now you are having more difficulty both erasing them and also holding on to the positives you once took for granted. The good parts of your relationship may still be there, but the damage is taking its toll and you can feel each other?s lowered frustration tolerance and increased quickness to anger. Emotional scars are building and your relationship?s ability to create new options is diminishing.

If you cannot transform your negative patterns and grow beyond your current limitations, your lack of action will keep feeding energy into the bad interactions and starve out the good ones. Your relationship will begin to show signs of decay: loss of hope, more conflict, and decreased intimacy. Stuck in old patterns and destructive rituals, you may no longer be able to access the resilience you once had.

Solution

The imbalance of bad interactions to good can be reversed if both partners do the following:

  1. Recognize the direction the relationship is going without blaming each other for what has happened. This is a crucial time to not judge, but simply to share your observations with each other without becoming defensive.
  2. Identify and stop whatever interactions that may be causing either of you to feel scarred. You must stop your destructive behaviors destruction before you can move forward.
  3. Begin focusing on behaviors that still feel positive between you, and share those observations. Agree to continue to remind each other of feel-good interactions every day until your love feels stronger again.
  4. Look for new ways to go beyond your current relationship?s limitations by creating better communication skills, more joyful times together, re-prioritizing your obligations and commitments, and cutting down on any stressors that have weighed your both down.

Threat Number Two ? Letting attachments suppress authenticity

Every partner in an intimate relationship has attachments to his or her significant other. An attachment is anything that you may be afraid to lose or something you want from your partner. As the relationship matured, you may both have increased or added attachments to certain behaviors, and found others to be less important. ?

As you deepened your commitment to each other, your attachments likely increased as well. To keep them secure, you had to sacrifice some of your own needs at times in order to give your partner what he or she wanted from you. You may have felt a little martyred some of the time, or even gave up some of your own self-respect, but in the moment, it seemed the right thing to do. You felt that your partner not only recognized your willing sacrifice, but would readily have done the same for you.

Somehow, over time, you began to feel that you were giving more than you were getting back. Your sacrifices now appear to be more expected and your paybacks are not adequately compensating you for your efforts. Your partner not only doesn?t give you more of what you want, he or she doesn?t even recognize that you?ve been silently bargaining.

If you allow this imbalance to continue, you will eventually feel like you?re being taken for granted and lose trust in your partner?s willingness to reciprocate. Shutting down your own needs to keep your attachments from being threatened, you are now self-blackmailing just to keep things in place. Worse, you may be blaming your partner for breaking a contract that he or she never signed.

Status quo attachments are hard to give up. You started out readily sacrificing and expecting reciprocity, as your partner may have as well. Over time, you may have also have created many other legitimate tethers: children, possessions, families, friends, business partnerships, spiritual communities, values, and commitments. You would understandably want to hold on to those attachments, not knowing how to resolve with the imbalance that is now expected.

Solution

  1. Make a list of the behaviors or things you are attached to in your relationship. Put a number from one to ten after each to let your partner know how important they are to you. Asking yourself what you would be afraid to lose can help guide you in creating your list.
  2. Tell your partner which of the things on the list he or she already provides for you, and which you feel you are not getting.
  3. Let your partner know those things or behaviors you have been willingly sacrificing, and those you martyred yourself in giving.
  4. Ask your partner if there is anything you can do to get your needs met.
  5. Ask your partner which things you are presently sacrificing that may no longer be important to him or her.

Threat Number Three ? Trust-breaking incidents

Most new couples do not address their non-negotiable bottom lines up front. They either trust that their lovers have the same values and ethics, or believe that they would never hurt them by doing something they have agreed would be unacceptable.

You probably began the same way. Then, as your relationship matured, you discovered new things about each other that altered your initial perceptions. Some of those revelations were delightful surprises that deepened your trust and love. Others may have caused concern, like past behaviors that your current relationship could not survive. You?ve probably talked to each other about what each of you holds sacred, and trusted that your commitment would keep any potential trust-breaking at bay.

As you grew to know what your partner could or could not tolerate, you may have begun withholding some potentially relationship-destroying thoughts, telling yourself that you would never act upon them. Perhaps you feared a loss of your intimacy or painful criticism if you did share what you were thinking. Whatever the apprehension, you chose to keep them in an internal, emotionally secret compartment to keep the love between you intact. ?

If you were aware of the slippery slope you were creating by rationalizing the situation, you may have decided to risk sharing your internal desires with your partner to restore your relationship?s authenticity. Hopefully, your partner was grateful that you were honest and was willing to work with you. If, instead, he or she communicated anger, resentment, or fear, you may have regretted your decision to be honest, offered superficial reassurance to ameliorate the situation, and gone underground again. That choice will have left you vulnerable to act out your hidden desires at some future time.

Couples who cannot share their secret thoughts or behaviors risk the loss of their intimacy. Their bond weakens, and they are more likely to act without considering the outcome. For instance, one partner may have started a non-flirtatious relationship with a co-worker, then found it slowly becoming more intimate over time. Were the other partner to know, he or she would feel exposed, threatened, or embarrassed. The initially innocent partner now cannot share how far it has gone without fearing incrimination or loss.

If you have been the unfortunate one who discovers your partner?s secret, threatening behavior, your trust may be irrevocably shattered. You must now decide whether you to stay in the relationship, and, if so, what it would take to rebuild. A significant break in trust is agonizingly difficult to repair, and you both must decide if you have what it takes to stay together.

Solution

Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rediscovering-love/201212/how-intimate-relationships-fail-0

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Ashton Kutcher: Spotted with Mila Kunis in Iowa

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/ashton-kutcher-spotted-with-mila-kunis-in-iowa/

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Ranchers split over US border security plan

In this Friday, Aug. 10, 2012 photo, rancher Dan Bell checks out part of his property at the border fence between the United States and Mexico, in Nogales, Ariz. When Bell drives through his property, he speaks of the hurdles that the Border Patrol faces in his rolling green hills of oak and mesquite trees: The hours it takes to drive to some places, the wilderness areas that are generally off-limits to motorized vehicles, and the environmental reviews required to extend a dirt road. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

In this Friday, Aug. 10, 2012 photo, rancher Dan Bell checks out part of his property at the border fence between the United States and Mexico, in Nogales, Ariz. When Bell drives through his property, he speaks of the hurdles that the Border Patrol faces in his rolling green hills of oak and mesquite trees: The hours it takes to drive to some places, the wilderness areas that are generally off-limits to motorized vehicles, and the environmental reviews required to extend a dirt road. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

In this Friday, Aug. 10, 2012 photo, rancher Dan Bell, who owns a 35,000-acre cattle ranch along the border between the United States and Mexico, drives around as he checks out part of his property, in Nogales, Ariz. When Bell drives through his ranch, he speaks of the hurdles that the Border Patrol faces in his rolling green hills of oak and mesquite trees: The hours it takes to drive to some places, the wilderness areas that are generally off-limits to motorized vehicles, and the environmental reviews required to extend a dirt road. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

In this Friday, Aug. 10, 2012 photo, rancher Dan Bell, who owns a 35,000-acre cattle ranch along the border between the United States and Mexico, checks out part of his property in Nogales, Ariz., including a watering station for his cattle, which is also user-friendly for illegal immigrants that walk his land. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

In this Friday, Aug. 10, 2012 photo, rancher Dan Bell checks out part of his property at the border fence between the United States and Mexico, in Nogales, Ariz. When Bell drives through his property, he speaks of the hurdles that the Border Patrol faces in his rolling green hills of oak and mesquite trees: The hours it takes to drive to some places, the wilderness areas that are generally off-limits to motorized vehicles, and the environmental reviews required to extend a dirt road. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

In this Friday, Aug. 10, 2012 photo, rancher Dan Bell, who owns a 35,000-acre cattle ranch along the border between the United States and Mexico, checks out part of his property where the barbed-wire fence is often damaged by illegal border crossers, in Nogales, Ariz. When Bell drives through his property, he speaks of the hurdles that the Border Patrol faces in his rolling green hills of oak and mesquite trees: The hours it takes to drive to some places, the wilderness areas that are generally off-limits to motorized vehicles, and the environmental reviews required to extend a dirt road. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

(AP) ? When Dan Bell drives through his 35,000-acre cattle ranch, he speaks of the hurdles that the Border Patrol faces in his rolling green hills of oak and mesquite trees ? the hours it takes to drive to some places, the wilderness areas that are generally off-limits to motorized vehicles, the environmental reviews required to extend a dirt road.

John Ladd offers a different take from his 14,000-acre spread: the Border Patrol already has more than enough roads and its beefed-up presence has flooded his land and eroded the soil.

Their differences explain why ranchers are on opposite sides of the fence over a sweeping proposal to waive environmental reviews on federal lands within 100 miles of Mexico and Canada for the sake of border security. The Border Patrol would have a free hand to build roads, camera towers, helicopter pads and living quarters without any of the outside scrutiny that can modify or even derail plans to extend its footprint.

The U.S. House approved the bill authored by Utah Republican Rob Bishop in June. But prospects in the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate are extremely slim and chances of President Barack Obama's signature even slimmer. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testified in Congress this year that the bill was unnecessary and "bad policy."

Still, an idea that House Republicans kicked around for years has advanced farther in the legislative process than ever before and rekindled discussion over how to balance border security with wildlife protection.

The debate raises some of the same questions that will play out on a larger scale when Congress and the president tackle immigration reform: Is the U.S. border with Mexico secure, considered by some lawmakers to be a litmus test for granting legal residency and citizenship to millions? Has the U.S. reached a point of border security overkill?

Heightened enforcement ? along with a fewer available jobs in the U.S. and an aging population in Mexico ? has brought Border Patrol arrests to 40-year lows.

The U.S. has erected 650 miles of fences and other barriers on the Mexican border, almost all of it after a 2005 law gave the Homeland Security secretary power to waive environmental reviews. The administration of President George W. Bush exercised its waiver authority on hundreds of miles after years of court challenges and environmental reviews delayed construction on a 14-mile stretch in San Diego.

The Border Patrol, which has doubled to more than 21,000 agents since 2004, has also built 12 "forward operating bases" to increase its presence in remote areas. Instead of driving long distances from their stations every shift, agents stay at the camps for several days.

Lots more needs to be done, according to backers of Bishop's bill to rewrite rules on millions of acres of federal land managed by the Interior and Agriculture departments, including more than 800 miles bordering Mexico and 1,000 miles bordering Canada. The bill would waive reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act and 14 other laws in dozens of wilderness areas, national forests and national parks.

"It's a paralyzing process now," Bell, 44, said as his GMC truck barreled down a dirt road on a 10-mile stretch of his ranch that borders Mexico. "They wanted to put this road in for a decade, probably even longer. They broke ground on it last year."

Bell, a burly, third-generation rancher who leases his land from the Agriculture Department, acknowledges there are noticeably fewer border crossers since the government built a fence on the eastern part of his ranch, near Nogales. In the ranch's west end, the Border Patrol opened one of its camps in 2005 ? a collection of shipping containers that agents use as a base while alternating 12-hour shifts.

Yet migrants continue crossing in some rugged reaches that are well outside of cellphone range. Bell says waiving environmental reviews within 100 miles of the border may be unnecessary but that a 25-mile zone would help immensely.

"There are areas where the agents can't get to," he said. "By the time they get out of the station and get to these remote areas, then hike another two or three hours just to get close to the border, they have to come back because their day is pretty much eaten up. It's really difficult when there's no access out there."

Ladd, a fourth-generation rancher whose spread near Douglas is in a flatter, more easily traveled area of mesquite-draped hills, thinks the Border Patrol has gone far enough. The agency installed four 80-foot camera towers on his land about six years ago. In 2007, it completed a fence along the 10.5 miles of his ranch that borders Mexico.

Rainfall that runs downhill from Mexico is stopped by debris caught in the mesh fence and an adjoining raised road, Ladd says. The water is diverted to other areas, causing floods and soil erosion on his property.

Ladd, 57, thinks the bill would allow the Border Patrol to "run roughshod" over ranches and farms.

"Be careful what you wish for, they're going to tear it up," Ladd tells other ranchers. "Once they get in, it pretty well turns into a parking lot. It's really hard to get them out."

Ladd says the 37 miles of roads on his ranch are enough for the Border Patrol's needs. "Why do you need new ones?" he asks.

The Interior Department raised concerns in a survey of Arizona's Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge last year that found nearly 8,000 miles of off-road vehicle trails, blaming much of it on smuggling and Border Patrol activity. It urged the Border Patrol to rely on tools like radars and cameras, which are less threatening to wildlife.

Critics of the Border Patrol's growth have long called new fences, roads and other infrastructure a threat to Sonoran pronghorn, Mexican grey wolves, jaguars and other border wildlife.

A Government Accountability Office report in 2010 offered fodder for both sides of the debate. It found Border Patrol supervisors generally felt land laws didn't hinder them on the job but that the agency sometimes encountered roadblocks. An unnamed agency took four months to review a Border Patrol request to move a camera tower in Arizona, by which time traffic had moved to another area.

Rep. Raul Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat who has led opposition to the bill that has largely split along party lines, calls the effort a disguised step toward repealing environmental laws.

"The border has become a very convenient excuse to go after laws that have been on the books for four or five decades," he said. "You plant your flag on the 100 miles (of border) and then build from there."

Bishop dismisses that criticism as a scare tactic and a "lousy argument."

"Sovereign countries control their borders. Anything that stops us from that is a violation of why we are a nation," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-23-Border-Remote%20Lands/id-7b6c76bcf34e4998a90c531a8526be22

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Monday, December 24, 2012

PR Newswire's Business Technology Round-up, 24 December 2012

LONDON, December 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ ?

New ?Prepper? Facebook app launched, Notify announces end of year results and late surge of spending boosts online sales growth

Social networks may prove to be an invaluable resource to people experiencing periods of hardship or disaster in the future following the launch of a?new Facebook?app.

?Prepper??is a platform designed to allow companies and individuals to pool together news, knowledge and products to help Facebook users prepare for and survive disasters ranging from cyber attacks to droughts. Users will be able to find out first-hand information relevant to their concerns, and organise themselves into online communities with other like-minded people.

Independent software vendor?Notify Technology Corporation has announced a slight dip in revenue for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012 following what David?Hanabusa, the company?s President and Chief Executive Officer described as ?a challenging year?.

The company?s total revenue for the fiscal period stands at $6,107,445 ? down from $6,833,885 the previous year. The 11 percent drop follows a drop in sales of the?NotifyLink?and?NotifySync?products together with what has been viewed as slow growth of the?NotifyMDM?product line, despite being the company?s primary marketing focus.

Notify Technology Corporation, who specialises in wireless mobility solutions, has found the mobile device management (MDM) market to be ?much more competitive? than they expected, Mr.?Hanabusa?admitted, however he also affirmed the company?s commitment to improving its?MDM?product, and its investment in development assets in order to fulfil that commitment.

Meanwhile, a late surge in online spending has given the e-commerce market a significant boost, according to a report by a leading web?analytics?company.

ComScore?yesterday announced?that a total of $38.7 billion has been spent during this year?s holiday season ? an increase of 16 percent when compared to the same period last year. The growth has been partly put down to ?Free Shipping Day?, which this year occurred on the 17 December and saw $1.01 billion spent in one single day online ? 76 percent up on last year?s Free Shipping day ? heralding the strong week of sales which followed.

The?internet?technology company have also revealed that ?Cyber Monday?, which this year fell on the 26 November, was once again the strongest day for purchases online, with $1.465 billion spent on the day.?This year?s holiday season also saw 12 days where more than $1 billion was spent in a day, two more days than during the same period in 2011.

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Source: http://ctolabs.com/2012/12/pr-newswires-business-technology-round-up-24-december-2012/

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As gun control controversy rages, officials make only vague mention ...

"People had one level of care and now have a different level of care. To think those cuts didn?t have any effect would be foolish." - Sue Walther

Every week, Roger Morgenthal has to make the choice.

Is the person sitting in front of him an immediate danger to themselves or others because of severe mental illness? Should this person be kept in a hospital to receive treatment, even if it is against his or her will?

Morgenthal has served as the mental health hearing officer for Cumberland and Perry counties since 1976. In that time, he estimates he?s held between 9,000 and 10,000 such hearings for 5,000 to 6,000 people. He felt he had reason to worry that maybe 10 of those people, all in the throes of psychotic disorders, might be dangerously violent toward others.

Since Adam Lanza murdered his mother, 20 school children and six adults in Newtown, Conn., public officials from President Barack Obama down have talked about the need for a new dialogue on guns. Somewhere in those statements, the officials make vague mention of improving mental health care.

Gun laws have a Presidential task force. Mental health care, as usual, is receiving lower billing.

Gun control is controversial, but comparably simple. With one piece of federal legislation, Congress could install a national assault weapons ban.

Mental health care is vastly more complex, governed largely at the state level, with 50 different sets of laws that reflect dramatically different philosophies and levels of funding.

So far, we don?t know Lanza?s mental health history. It?s unclear if stronger commitment laws or better treatment options would have prevented the massacre in Newtown.

But other mass murderers, like Arizona shooter Jared Loughner, did have a history of mental illness. Some experts say better treatment and intervention measures might have kept Loughner from shooting former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killing six people.

The politicians talking of improving care don?t specify if they mean for the very few people whose illness might prompt violence, or the majority of those living with mental illness who are more likely to be the victims of violence and crime.

Few are talking about the slipover affects of mental illness that touch our society.

According to the Treatment Advocacy Center:

? A third of the homeless population has untreated mental illness.

? About 16 percent of people in state prisons have untreated mental illness.

? About the same percentage of people living with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia will eventually take their own lives.

No major public official has yet to call for a significant increase in spending on psychiatrists, social workers, group homes, peer support services or pharmaceutical research to better treat the six percent of Americans living with serious mental illness.

Here in Pennsylvania, advocates say the lack of housing and other resources makes it difficult for those recovering from breakdowns to maintain necessary stability. That was made worse by budget cuts last year.

Most people who have never had contact with the mental health system through a family member or friend do not understand how it works. That ignorance, and the evil stigma that has long surrounded those with illnesses of the brain, has made it difficult for any reforms to gain popular support.

What?s more, the groups of advocates that care passionately about improving mental health care disagree about how far the state can go to compel people who are clearly not well to receive treatment. Some want the reach of the state?s commitment law expanded, others think it goes far enough. ?

?Resources needed?

Any attempt to reform the mental health care system begins with a question:

What scale do leaders want to aim this reform?

A small scale reform, aimed only at the minority of those living with severe mental illness who are potentially violent, would do nothing to lessen the other forms of human misery that plague the chronically untreated. Such narrow measures, advocates argue, would do nothing to prevent those with worsening conditions from deteriorating until they became a potential danger.

Reform on a larger scale, a combination of education, treatment, housing, support services and better drugs, could keep people off the streets, out of jail and safe. It would also be costly.

Advocates argue we?re not doing a good job of paying the mental health bills we already have.

Beginning with former Gov. Tom Ridge, Pennsylvania has closed many of its large mental health facilities.

That program continued through Gov. Ed Rendell?s administration, including the closure of Harrisburg State Hospital. At the same time, the state built smaller facilities in each county. Numerous studies have shown people with severe mental illness are more likely to recover in the least restrictive settings.

These new facilities were aimed at treating people with specific needs. In theory, a person could move from a crisis center to a residential treatment center to a structured group home to outpatient treatment.

But the system doesn?t always work that like.

Instead, waiting lists have been common at most of the midstate?s residential facilities since they opened. People wind up staying at inpatient hospitals ? designed to house someone for a few days ? for months.

And that was before last year?s budget.

The state cut payments to the county mental health offices by 10 percent. There was also a 10 percent cut to the Community/Hospital Integration Program Projects ? money specifically designated to pay to treat people in residential facilities and through outpatient services instead of state hospitals.

?For the first time in the modern history of hospital closures, the commitment was not honored because the dollars were cut, and they were cut significantly,? said Sue Walther, executive director of the Mental Health Association in Pennsylvania.

?People had one level of care and now have a different level of care. To think those cuts didn?t have any effect would be foolish.?

By eliminating the general assistance fund, the state also removed the payments that advocates said often covered co-pays on drugs for people waiting to qualify for Social Security disability.

The state Department of Public Welfare said that by allowing 20 counties ? including Dauphin County ? to accept the funding in block grants, the counties had more freedom to better use the money they were given.

However, most counties, including Adams, Cumberland, Lebanon, Perry and York, were not invited to participate.

When asked if services were cut along with the funding, Donna Kirker Morgan, a welfare department spokeswoman, wrote in an email: ?This would be up to the individual counties to determine how they would make changes, so I am going to defer to them.?

Kirker Morgan did not respond when asked if agency was doing anything to determine the potential impact of the cuts.

With the state facing serious financial challenges ? and little political will for a tax increase ? the welfare department was given a smaller budget last year. Many of the services it oversees, like Medicare, could by law not be cut, Kirker Morgan said. Mental health care was one of the areas that could.

She noted that, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey of 2010 data, Pennsylvania spent the fourth most per-capita on mental health care of any state in the country.

Advocates counter the lack of housing affects even the most serious cases.

When he has to decide if a person should continue to receive involuntary care, or what level of involuntary care they should receive, Morgenthal often finds his options limited.

?Honestly, I don?t have the option of saying I want this person in outpatient group care because the options just aren?t there,? Morgenthal said. ?If a social worker says we don?t have any place to put this person ? there?s a waiting list in structured group homes for six or eight months ? I don?t have a place to put this person.? ?

?Change the law?

?Only a small percentage of people with untreated severe mental illness are prone to violence, but those that are can have a disproportionate impact on society.

Ten percent of homicides in America are committed by people with untreated severe mental illness, according to the Treatment Advocacy Center.

By the letter of the law in Pennsylvania, a person can only be treated against their will if they present a serious harm to themselves or others in the past 30 days. Technically, a person would not just have to threaten to harm someone else, they would need to have attempted to carry out an act.

If the person does not meet the standard ? even if he or she has clearly decompensated and is not thinking rationally ? they can refuse treatment, including medication.

In theory, if the first time a person seriously attempts to carry out a violent act was a mass shooting, there would be no legal way to intervene before that.

Some advocates feel it?s time to change the law.

?There needs to be an expansion of the definition of a danger to self or others,? said Taylor Andrews, a longtime mental health advocate from Carlisle.

?For an individual that has a known condition, who has responded to treatment in the past, and is deteriorating and will likely continue to deteriorate if they aren?t treated, and you know they cannot make a rational decision about treatment, they should be considered a danger to themselves.?

Other states, like New York, allow for earlier intervention.

Since changing the law, and investing significant money, New York has seen a 74 percent drop in homelessness among the mentally ill, a 77 percent drop in hospitalizations, an 83 percent drop in arrests and an 87 percent drop in incarcerations.

State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery, has introduced legislation that would change Pennsylvania?s law, though it does not include new funding. Greenleaf estimates his bill would affect about 400 people a year.

The biggest problem with the law as its currently written, Greenleaf said, is it does nothing to help people with anosognosia ? a condition that prevents people with mental illness from recognizing the effects of the disease.

The way the law is written in Pennsylvania and other states, people with irrational minds need to keep making the rational choice to continue treatment in order to stay well, said Doris Fuller, the executive director of the Virginia-based Treatment Advocacy Center, which backs Greenleaf?s bill.

Many people who did not recognize their condition until after they were involuntarily committed said they would not have been able to recover without the initial ruling, Fuller said.

At the extreme end, Loughner, the Arizona shooter, was forced into treatment after his arrest. By the time of his sentencing, he said he understood what he had done and deeply regretted it. ?

?Medication isn?t enough?

Many in the mental health community do not agree with Greenleaf or the Treatment Advocacy Center.

The consumer movement began in the bad old days of mental health care, which were exactly that bad, and not that old.

Supported by research saying peer support groups, housing options and other support services were as important to successful long-term recovery as medication, they helped push treatment out of the large state hospitals and into the community.

The consumer movement also led the fight against the stigma that those with severe mental illness were evil or inherently dangerous.

When those in the consumer movement hear Greenleaf?s proposal, they see society trying to take a shortcut, instead of building holistic treatment options that help those with severe mental illness fully establish their lives.

?We need to look at what we?re offering and tailor the offerings to meet their needs,? Walther said. ?There?s evidence to suggest peer support and things like that can move people toward recovery.?

MHA and the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers? Association both oppose Greenleaf?s bill. So does DPW?s Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, which believes the current standard is sufficient, Kirker Morgan said.

Walther is skeptical that anosognosia exists. Instead, she said, it?s a question of creating an environment where people are willing to be treated. Pennsylvania?s current commitment laws can protect a person in the most acute cases, she said.

?I understand why this has an appeal,? Walther said. ?But even if I could accept this argument, if you don?t have the support services there, forced medication is not going to be enough.?

?It requires money?

Morgenthal, the hearing officer, says both sides are right.

He has between 50 and 100 people he sees two or three times a year, his regulars. He also has another 100 or so he sees every few years, after their recover breaks down.

He believes the law as currently written does give him wiggle room when deciding to continue a commitment, especially in these cases.

?Frankly, if it?s a patient that I know well and they have a pattern, I?m not going to disregard their medical history,? he said. ?I?m going to say to the court, ?This is what?s likely to happen, let?s try and prevent that.??

He also thinks the law needs to go further.

A man or woman shouldn?t need to be able to carry out a plan to kill themselves in order to be committed.

?I think a good psychiatrist or psychologist has the ability to tell if someone has a sincere intent to harm themselves instead of just a cry a help,? Morgenthal said.

Most of the people he sees couldn?t carry out a violent attack in the actual world. But if they are having delusions telling them they should and are unwilling to be helped, he should be able to order them into treatment. He should be able to order they continue that treatment after they have been discharged.

But without a real investment in treatment options and support services, he said, simple changes in the wording can only matter so much.

Source: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/12/as_gun_control_controversy_rag.html

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Anderson Cooper: Tickled by a Pickle!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/anderson-cooper-tickled-by-a-pickle/

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ZTE's 5-inch 1080p Grand S leaked, teased and confirmed for CES debut

ZTE Grand S product shot leaked ahead of CES debut

Earlier today a kind anonymous tipster shared the above product shot of a ZTE Z753, which is allegedly the Chinese manufacturer's contribution to the ever-growing list of five-inch 1080p devices -- including those from HTC, Sharp, Oppo and eventually Nubia, Huawei, Lenovo plus Sony. Conveniently, ZTE's also been teasing its upcoming Grand S flagship on Sina Weibo ahead of its CES debut, and we've been able to confirm that this is indeed the aforementioned Z753 -- not that we don't already know the Grand S' main selling points thanks to a brief description on CES' website: "the world's thinnest for 5 inch FHD smartphones." There isn't much information about the guts at this point, but we do know that the phone will feature a unibody design, along with a slight bump around the off-center camera on the back. Until we make it to CES next month, you can see more in the official sketches after the break, courtesy of ZTE's Sina Weibo account.

Continue reading ZTE's 5-inch 1080p Grand S leaked, teased and confirmed for CES debut

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Comments

Source: Sina Weibo

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/22/zte-grand-s-ces/

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Sunday, December 23, 2012

Dartmouth Students' Greenland Research Highlighted In 'Science: It's A Girl Thing' Parody (VIDEO)

  • List Provided By Zoological Society Of London/ International Union For Conservation Of Nature

    <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Poecilotheria metallica</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Peacock Parachute Spider <strong>Category:</strong> Spider <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat loss and degradation as a result of deforestation, firewood collection and civil unrest

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Abies beshanzuensis</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Baishan Fir <strong>Category:</strong> Conifer <strong>Population: </strong>5 mature individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Agricultural expansion and fire

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Actinote zikani </em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>None <strong>Category:</strong> Butterfly <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown, one population remaining <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat degradation due to pressure from human populations

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Aipysurus foliosquama</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Leaf Scaled Sea-Snake <strong>Category:</strong> Sea snake <strong>Population: </strong> Unknown, two subpopulations remain <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Unknown - likely degradation of coral reef habitat

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Amanipodagrion gilliesi</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Amani Flatwing <strong>Category:</strong> Butterfly <strong>Population: </strong> < 500 individuals est. <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat degradation due to increasing population pressure and water pollution

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Antilophia bokermanni</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Araripe Manakin <strong>Category:</strong> bird <strong>Population: </strong>779 individuals (est 2010) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat destruction due to expansion of agriculture and recreational facilities and water diversion

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> Antisolabis seychellensis <strong>Common Name: </strong> Seychelles Earwig <strong>Category:</strong> Earwig <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Invasive species and climate change

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> Aphanius transgrediens <strong>Common Name: </strong>None <strong>Category:</strong> Freshwater fish <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Competition and predation by Gambusia and road construction

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> Ardeotis nigriceps <strong>Common Name: </strong> Great Indian Bustard <strong>Category:</strong> Bird <strong>Population: </strong> 50 -249 mature individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat loss and modification due to agricultural development

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> Aproteles bulmerae <strong>Common Name: </strong>Bulmer's Fruit Bat <strong>Category:</strong> Bat <strong>Population: </strong>150 individuals (est) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Hunting and cave disturbance

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> Ardea insignis <strong>Common Name: </strong>White Bellied Heron <strong>Category:</strong> Bird <strong>Population: </strong>70-400 individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat destruction and degradation due to hydropower development

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Astrochelus yniphora</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong> Ploughshare Tortoise / Angonoka <strong>Category:</strong> Tortoise <strong>Population: </strong>440-770 <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Illegal collection for international pet trade

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Atelopus balios</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Rio Pescado Stubfoot Toad <strong>Category:</strong> Toad <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Chytridiomycosis and habitat destruction due to logging and agricultural expansion

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Aythya innotata</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Madagascar Pochard <strong>Category:</strong> Bird <strong>Population: </strong> Approximately 20 mature individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat degradation due to slash-and-burn agriculture, hunting, and fishing / introduced fish

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Azurina eupalama</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong> Galapagos damsel fish <strong>Category:</strong> Pelagic fish <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Climate Change - oceanographic changes associated with the 1982 / 1983 El Nino are presumed to be responsible for the apparent disappearance of this species from the Galapagos

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Bahaba taipingensis</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong> Giant yellow croaker <strong>Category:</strong> Pelagic fish <strong>Population: </strong> Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Over-fishing, primarily due to value of swim-bladder for traditional medicine - cost per kilogram exceeded that of gold in 2001

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Batagur baska</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong> Common Batagur/ Four-toed terrapin <strong>Category:</strong> Turtle <strong>Population: </strong> Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Illegal export and trade from Indonesia to China

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> Bazzania bhutanica <strong>Common Name: </strong>None <strong>Category:</strong> Liverwort <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat degradation and destruction due to forest clearance, overgrazing and development

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Beatragus hunteri</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Hirola <strong>Category:</strong> Antelope <strong>Population: </strong> < 1000 individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat loss and degradation, competition with livestock, poaching

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Bombus franklinii</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Franklin's Bumble Bee <strong>Category:</strong> Bee <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Disease from commercially bred bumblebees and habitat destruction and degradation

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> Brachyteles hypoxanthus <strong>Common Name: </strong> Northern muriqui <strong>Category:</strong> Primate <strong>Population: </strong> < 1,000 individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat loss and fragmentation due to large-scale deforestation and selective logging

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Bradypus pygmaeus</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Pygmy sloth <strong>Category:</strong> Sloth <strong>Population: </strong> < 500 individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat loss due to illegal logging of mangrove forests for firewood and construction and hunting of the sloths

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Callitriche pulchra</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>None <strong>Category:</strong> Freshwater plant <strong>Population: </strong> Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Exploitation of the species' habitat by stock, and modification of the pool by local people

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Calumma tarzan</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Tarzan's Chameleon <strong>Category:</strong> Chameleon <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat destruction for agriculture

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Cavia intermedia</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Santa Catarina's Guinea Pig <strong>Category:</strong> Guinea Pig <strong>Population: </strong> 40-60 individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat disturbance and possible hunting; small population effects

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Cercopithecus roloway</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Roloway Guenon <strong>Category:</strong> Primate <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Hunting for consumption as bushmeat, and habitat loss

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Coleura seychellensis</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Seychelles Sheath-Tailed Bat <strong>Category:</strong> Bat <strong>Population: </strong> < 100 mature individuals (est 2008) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat degradation and predation by invasive species

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Cryptomyces maximus</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>None <strong>Category:</strong> Fungus <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Limited availability of habitat

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Cryptotis nelsoni</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Nelson's Small-Eared Shrew <strong>Category:</strong> Shrew <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> habitat loss due to logging cattle grazing, fire and agriculture

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Cyclura collei</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Jamaican Iguana <strong>Category:</strong> Iguana <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Predation by introduced species and habitat destruction

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Dendrophylax fawcettii</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Cayman Islands Ghost Orchid <strong>Category:</strong> Orchid <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat destruction due to infrastructure development

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Diceros sumatrensis</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Sumatran rhino <strong>Category:</strong> Rhino <strong>Population: </strong> < 250 individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Hunting for horn -used in traditional medicine

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Diomedea amsterdamensis</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Amsterdam Island Albatross <strong>Category:</strong> Bird <strong>Population: </strong>100 mature individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Disease and incidental capture in long-line fishing operations

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Diospyros katendei</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong> None <strong>Category:</strong> Tree <strong>Population: </strong>20 individuals, one population <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> High pressure from communities for agricultural activity, illegal tree felling, habitat degradation due to alluvial gold digging and small population

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Dipterocarpus lamellatus</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>None <strong>Category:</strong> Dipterocarp (tree) <strong>Population: </strong>12 individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat loss and degradation due to logging of lowland forest and creation of industrial plantations

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Discoglossus nigriventer</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong> Hula painted frog <strong>Category:</strong> Frog <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (recent rediscovery in 2011) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Predation by birds and range restriction due to habitat destruction

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Discorea strydomiana</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Wild Yam <strong>Category:</strong> Yam <strong>Population: </strong>200 Individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Collection for medicinal use

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Dombeya mauritiana</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>None <strong>Category:</strong> Flowering plant <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat degradation and destruction due to encroachment by alien invasive plant species and cannabis cultivation

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Eleocarpus bojeri</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>None <strong>Category:</strong> Flowering plant <strong>Population: </strong> < 10 individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Small population and degraded habitat

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Eleutherodactylus glandulifer</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>La Hotte Glanded Frog <strong>Category:</strong> Frog <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat destruction due to charcoal production and slash-and-burn agriculture

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Eleutherodactylus thorectes</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Macaya Breast-Spot Frog <strong>Category:</strong> Frog <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat destruction due to charcoal production and slash-and-burn agriculture Credit: <a href="http://www.robindmoore.com">Robin Moore</a>

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Eriosyce chilensis</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Chilenito <strong>Category:</strong> Cactus <strong>Population: </strong> < 500 individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Collection of flowering individuals

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Erythrina schliebenii</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Coral Tree <strong>Category:</strong> Flowering tree <strong>Population: </strong> < 50 individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Limited habitat and small population size increasing vulnerability to stochastic events

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Euphorbia tanaensis</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>None <strong>Category:</strong> Semi-deciduous tree <strong>Population: </strong>4 mature individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Illegal logging and habitat degradation due to agricultural expansion and infrastructure development

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Eurynorhynchus pygmeus</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Spoon-Billed Sandpiper <strong>Category:</strong> Bird <strong>Population: </strong> < 100 breeding pairs <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Trapping on wintering grounds and land reclamation.

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Ficus katendei</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>None <strong>Category:</strong> Tree (ficus) <strong>Population: </strong> < 50 mature individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Agricultural activity, illegal tree felling and habitat degradation due to alluvial gold digging

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Geronticus eremita</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Northern Bald Ibis <strong>Category:</strong> Bird <strong>Population: </strong>200-249 mature individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat degradation and destruction, and hunting

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Gigasiphon macrosiphon</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>None <strong>Category:</strong> Flowering tree <strong>Population: </strong>33 mature individuals <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Timber extraction and habitat degradation due to agricultural encroachment and development, seed predation by wild pigs

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Gocea ohridana</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>None <strong>Category:</strong> Mollusc <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat degradation due to increasing pollution levels, off-take of water and sedimentation events

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Heleophryne rosei</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>Table Mountain Ghost Frog <strong>Category:</strong> Frog <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat degradation due to invasive plants and water abstraction

  • <strong>Scientific Name:</strong> <em>Hemicycla paeteliana</em> <strong>Common Name: </strong>None <strong>Category:</strong> Mollusc <strong>Population: </strong>Unknown (declining) <strong>Threats To Survival:</strong> Habitat destruction due to overgrazing and trampling by goats and tourists

  • Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/22/dartmouth-greenland-research_n_2349073.html

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    Obama nominates John Kerry as next secretary of state (reuters)

    Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

    Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/272451855?client_source=feed&format=rss

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    Saturday, December 22, 2012

    Investors shed shares of Blackberry maker

    (AP) ? Shares of Blackberry maker Research in Motion slumped more than 16 percent Friday with future revenue coming into question and a declining number of subscribers.

    RIM's stock jumped initially Thursday when the Canadian company released better-than-expected third-quarter results and a stronger cash position.

    Shares reversed course during a conference call later, when executives said that the company won't generate as much revenue from telecommunications carriers once it releases the new BlackBerry 10.

    RIM's stock had been on a three-month rally in which the stock more than doubled from levels not previously seen since 2003.

    "Despite a solid quarter, the stock is trading down due to the introduction of a lower enterprise service tier and fears that RIM will not receive monthly services revenues for consumer BB10 subscribers," said Jefferies analyst Peter Misek. He thinks RIM has offered carriers a lower-priced option in exchange for a bigger purchase commitment for the new device. He kept his "Hold" rating.

    Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu kept maintained a "Neutral" rating on the stock, but lowered his earnings estimates, saying he continued to be concerned about RIM's ability to compete with Apple and Google.

    Shares of Research in Motion Ltd. fell $2.29 to $11.83 in morning trading.

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-12-21-US-Research-In-Motion-Mover/id-7d2f504ae81e4d6e93bc5b6c538ebeb3

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    Monti weighs running as Italy sets stage for vote

    Italian Premier Mario Monti delivers his speech at the Foreign Ministry on the occasion of the Italian Ambassadors conference in Rome, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. Monti's speech in Rome was his last official act as premier. He has pledged to step down as soon as Parliament gives final passage to the budget law, which happened just as diplomats were giving Monti a standing ovation. Italian news reports say he is expected to hand in his resignation Friday evening after his last Cabinet meeting. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

    Italian Premier Mario Monti delivers his speech at the Foreign Ministry on the occasion of the Italian Ambassadors conference in Rome, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. Monti's speech in Rome was his last official act as premier. He has pledged to step down as soon as Parliament gives final passage to the budget law, which happened just as diplomats were giving Monti a standing ovation. Italian news reports say he is expected to hand in his resignation Friday evening after his last Cabinet meeting. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

    In this photo released by the Italian Presidency, the general secretary Donato Marra officially announces the resignation of Mario Monti at the Quirinale presidential palace in Rome Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. Mario Monti handed in his resignation to Italy's president in Rome on Friday, bringing to a close his 13-month technical government and preparing the country for national elections. President Giorgio Napolitano -- who tapped Monti in November 2011 to come up with reforms to shield Italy from the continent's debt crisis -- asked Monti to stay on as head of a caretaker government until the national vote, expected in February. (AP Photo/Antonio Di Gennaro, Italian Presidency ho)

    Italian Premier Mario Monti moves his tag name as he delivers his speech at the Foreign Ministry on the occasion of the Italian Ambassadors conference in Rome, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. Monti pledged to resign as soon as the budget law is passed after Silvio Berlusconi yanked support for his government, accelerating national elections now expected in February. The budget law was approved Friday afternoon. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

    ROME (AP) ? Italy's president is meeting with political leaders to set the stage for general elections early next year as Premier Mario Monti weighs whether to run for office after having handed in his resignation.

    Monti, appointed 13 months ago to steer Italy away from a Greek-style debt crisis, stepped down Friday after ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi's party yanked its support for his technical government.

    His resignation sets the stage for President Giorgio Napolitano to dissolve parliament and set a date for elections, expected in February, after consulting Saturday with leaders of Italy's political parties. More eagerly anticipated though is Monti's decision, expected Sunday, as to whether he will run.

    Small centrist parties have been courting Monti, but Italian newspapers said Saturday he was inclined to refuse. The center-left Democratic Party is expected to win.

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-22-Italy-Politics/id-63c4b9b0f92b484a86a6c270ff7db3eb

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