UN chief: Climate change, Syria war are priorities

Laurent Gillieron / EPA

A worker makes the last preparations Monday before the opening of the 43rd Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Ban Ki-moon, other world leaders and business people will meet.

By Edith M. Lederer, The Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says his top hopes for 2013 are to reach a new agreement on climate change and to urgently end the increasingly deadly and divisive war in Syria.

The U.N. chief told The Associated Press that he's also hoping for progress in getting the global economy humming again, restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, promoting political solutions in Mali, Congo and the Central African Republic, and providing energy, food and water to all people.

Ban laid out this ambitious wish list in an interview before heading to the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, saying he plans to take "the uncommon opportunity" of being with some 2,500 government, business and civil society leaders in the Swiss ski resort to exchange frank views on these issues.

"The world is now experiencing unprecedented challenges," Ban said.

"Climate change is fast happening ? much, much faster than one would have expected," he said. "Climate and ecosystems are under growing strain."

Ban spoke before President Barack Obama, in his inaugural address Monday, put a similar emphasis on tackling climate change in his second term.

'Mobilize the political will'
Two-decade-old U.N. climate talks have so-far failed in their goal of reducing the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions that a vast majority of scientists says are warming the planet.

In December, a U.N. climate conference in Doha, Qatar, agreed to extend the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty that limits the greenhouse gas output of some rich countries, and affirmed a previous decision to adopt a new global climate pact by 2015.

"I will do my best to mobilize the political will and resources so that the member states can agree to a new legally binding global agreement on climate change," Ban said.

Ban urged progress in getting nations and people to use the world's limited resources without waste and in ways to ensure their replacement, so that all people will have enough to eat and drink and there will be electricity for their homes ? and have energy to spare to promote economic growth.

"We have to have sustainable development," he said. "That's our number one priority together with climate change."

Momentum for fighting climate change has stalled amid recessions, financial meltdown and government debt crises of the past five years.

"At the same time, we need to see some economic dynamism," Ban said. "The world is still suffering, struggling to overcome its economic crisis."

The forum at Davos, opening Wednesday, focuses this year on how to ensure a more sturdy economic recovery that can withstand the kind of shocks the past few years have wrought.

Among the world leaders he may rub elbows with at Davos are Microsoft founder Bill Gates, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The secretary-general expressed hope that the major powers will be able to revitalize growth, which will help developing countries meet the U.N. Millennium Development Goals to combat poverty by the target date of 2015.

The goals include cutting extreme poverty by half, ensuring a primary school education for every child, reducing maternal and infant mortality, and halting and reversing the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

On the political front, Ban said he is deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation in Syria where the conflict will soon be entering its third year.

"I believe that world leaders must address this issue with a top priority and a sense of urgency. We cannot go on like this," he said. "More than 60,000 people have been killed, and if the situation continues like this way, we will have to see more and more death, more and more people who are fleeing Syria."

The secretary-general said he is also mobilizing U.N. envoys and others to try to make progress on the Mideast peace process; in Mali, where a French-led military operation is fighting Islamist extremists; the deteriorating political situation in Congo where M23 rebels have gained ground; and in the Central African Republic where rebels recently signed a peace agreement with the president.

Related content:

Climate talks end with deal that's 'not where we wanted to be'

Kremlin begins evacuation of Russians from Syria

Insurgents abandon towns in central Mali as French troops advance

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/22/16637571-un-chief-puts-fast-happening-climate-change-syria-top-of-to-do-list-for-2013?lite

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Study finds linchpin of skin response to UVA light

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Last year, a team of researchers at Brown University discovered that certain skin cells use a light-sensitive receptor found outside of the eye to sense ultraviolet light and quickly begin pumping out melanin to protect against DNA damage. In a new study, lab members identify a key player in that biomolecular chain of events that could someday become a pharmacological target for improving this protective response.

The new discovery, published the week of Jan. 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is that human melaoncyte skin cells rely on an ion channel called TRPA1 to allow a flood of calcium ions into the cells when they are exposed to UVA light. The resulting abundance of calcium ions signals the cell to begin making melanin, the pigment responsible for the tanning response in people.

Several experiments described in the paper show that TRPA1, which is known from a number of other appearances elsewhere in the body, is an essential step in the skin's response to UVA light, said senior author Elena Oancea, assistant professor of medical science in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology at Brown.

As a matter of basic science, the finding strengthens the evidence of a striking parallel between the skin's response to UVA light and the way the eye detects light.

"Its exciting because it confirms this phototransduction pathway is similar to those found in the eye. It consists of a light-sensitive receptor, molecular signaling cascade, and an ion channel," Oancea said. "The involvement of an ion channel makes this pathway a lot more like other phototransduction pathways."

In other parts of the body, TRPA1 has been shown to help detect pungent but benign chemicals, such as those in intensely flavorful foods. Oancea and lead author Nicholas Bellono said the chemical sensitivity of TRPA1 offers the intriguing possibility that it could become a target for experiments to boost melanin production.

"TRPA1 ion channels are involved in the detection of pungent chemicals such as cinnamaldehyde, wasabi, and mustard oil, and we've now found it's important for this melanin response," Bellono said. "There is a possibility that we can pharmacologically alter pigmentation through regulation of this ion channel."

Oancea and Bellono emphasized, however, that people who go out in the sun should always take widely recommended precautions to protect their skin, such as using high-SPF commercial sunscreens or wearing protective hats and clothing.

Finding the channel

From the prior research in Oancea's lab, Bellono knew he was looking for some kind of molecular pathway that would start with a light sensitive receptor and trigger an elevated level of calcium ions in the melanocytes.

It seemed possible that a TRP ion channel would be involved because TRPs are involved in phototransduction elsewhere in the body that lead to an increase in intracellular calcium. There are, however, many types of TRP channels, and the molecular identity of the UVA-activated channel in melanocytes was not apparent. Oancea confessed that she even suspected another as the culprit. But many experiments later, the team hit on TRPA1 and amassed considerable evidence to confirm its vital role.

In one experiment, for example, they treated melanocytes with "antagonist" chemicals known to block TRPA1 activity. They then exposed the cells to UVA light and measured the resulting electrical response. The cells blocked with the antagonists had 80 to 90 percent reduction in current compared to the unhindered cells.

They used a similar technique of specifically blocking TRPA1 activity to show that the ion channel contributes greatly to the presence of calcium ions after UVA exposure compared to unhindered melanocyte cells. They also found melanocytes produce little or no melanin following exposure to UVA when TRPA1 is blocked.

They did not, however, do experiments to see whether adding TRPA1 stimulating substances could increase melanin production.

###

Brown University: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau

Thanks to Brown University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 40 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126385/Study_finds_linchpin_of_skin_response_to_UVA_light

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Using real-world evidence to support medical communications ...

Posted 21st January 2013 in Articles | Register to comment

Sally Bull and Andy Turner

Complete True Life

When planning a medical communications strategy, Sally Bull and Andy Turner discuss the importance of including real-world evidence-based research in order to support value demonstration in the development of pharmaceutical products.

Real-world observational patient studies are becoming a necessity to support value demonstration in the development of pharmaceutical products, both to validate early marketing insights and to support evidence-based health economic arguments as part of the reimbursement process.

We believe that real-world observational patient studies need to be embraced within medical communications planning to provide clear and relevant messages to all key stakeholders ? health-care professionals, patients, payers and governments.

The role of medical communications

A medical communications agency will work closely with a pharmaceutical brand team to ensure all the relevant data that supports the product reaches the target audiences in a clear and consistent way, using a wide range of media. This includes, but is not exclusive to, journal articles, congress posters, learning resources, scientific slide kits, animations, materials for sales representatives, and media materials to support PR. Digital communication tools, such as social media initiatives, are also employed in communicating the brand story, and are becoming an increasingly important resource in the brand teams? communication tool kit.

?

?There is now, however, an increasing requirement from stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of medicines when used in routine clinical practice??

?

The core principle of medical communications is to use these different channels to educate and inform a wide variety of stakeholders about the risks and benefits of new therapies. This has historically been supported by the use of clinical data from Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) which provides evidence on efficacy and safety for healthcare interventions.

The rise of real-world studies

There is now, however, an increasing requirement from stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of medicines when used in routine clinical practice by conducting real-world observational patient studies.

By conducting a real-world study, additional information is made available to understand patient populations, patient sub-groups, health resource use, cost effectiveness / utility arguments and patient reported outcomes. This all needs to be clearly packaged and communicated in alignment with the clinical data to support the best chances for successful reimbursement.

The patient as a key stakeholder

An increasingly important element of this communication is now centring on the patient as a key stakeholder.

Understanding the patient journey in relation to the management of a condition over time is a central requirement. Key questions that can be asked in a real-world observational study to help support this are:

? What type of treatment does the patient receive?

? What influence does the patient have over treatment decisions?

? Which health care professionals has the patient seen on the journey and at which stage?

? How long has a diagnosis taken?

? How long after the diagnosis was a medication prescribed?

? What switching patterns occur and at what decision points are these switches taking place?

Real-world studies provide an opportunity to hear the patient voice by recording information from the physician on presenting patients and then matching it with data collected directly from the patient.

?

?Real-world studies provide an opportunity to hear the patient voice??

?

Data collected directly from the patient can incorporate validated Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) measures to gain a robust understanding of specific areas relating to their condition, including Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), severity, symptoms, and functionality.

Understanding routine clinical practice for insights and evidence

Real-world studies open a ?true-to-life? window on what is happening in routine clinical practice and can add to the weight of evidence already provided by the clinical trial programme. This evidence can be gathered either to validate early insights work in the development of establishing brand value or to provide evidence based health outcomes / economic arguments to support the reimbursement process.

Real-world insights

Data from real-world studies can assist in validating hypothesis that have been developed from early insights work to demonstrate what value a new product will need to exhibit in order to maximise the opportunity for market access.

Medical communications companies that can offer a deeper understanding of how to incorporate real-world insights to identify the most appropriate channels for targeting value demonstration, which will ultimately provide enhanced communications for their target audience.

The communication of messages associated with a specific sub- group of the patient population, where the unmet need matches the value proposition for the brand, will have greater success than generating generic messages to the total population.

Real-world evidence

Identification of evidence gaps via real-studies rather than the clinical trial programme can provide additional opportunities for medical communications.

There is an increasing need, particularly from payers, to provide additional publishable real-world evidence which can be included as part of the reimbursement submission.

?

?There is an increasing need, particularly from payers, to provide additional publishable real-world evidence??

?

Evidence that demonstrates the burden of illness within a defined real-world patient population can then be associated with the value of reducing the burden with the selected intervention. By showing this in real clinical practice, the drug is more likely to gain a favourable reimbursement decision.

An understanding of how to utilise real-world studies to support these evidence gaps again provides additional opportunities for enhanced medical communications.

The message is clear; real-world studies are a vital tool in medical communications, and will become increasingly important in the near future as the information they provide is sought by physicians, patients, and payers within the healthcare system.

As part of the medical communications planning process, serious consideration should be made to understand the relevance and need for real-world insights and evidence based research to add value and validity to your recommendations.

?

?

About the authors:

Sally Bull is Research and Operations Manager at Complete True Life.

You can contact her at: sally.bull@completetruelife.com

Andy Turner is Head of Complete True Life.

You can contact him at: andy.turner@completetruelife.com

How can payers provide pharma with publishable real-world evidence?

Source: http://www.pharmaphorum.com/2013/01/21/using-real-world-evidence-support-medical-communication-strategy-implementation/

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Woman Scares Attendant, Avoids Parking Fees

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Hester Creek Estate Winery seeks permission | Oliver Daily News

RE: Agricultural Land Commission Referral ? Non-Farm Use

Recommendation:

THAT the RDOS Board not ?authorise? the application to undertake a ?non-farm use? at 877 Road 8, Electoral Area ?C? to proceed to the Agricultural Land Commission.

Purpose: To allow?a full-service restaurant at Hester Creek Winery.

OCP: Agriculture (AG) Zone: Agriculture Two Site Specific (AG2s)

Proposed Development:

An application has been lodged with the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) under Section 20(3) of the Agricultural Land Commission Act (the Act) in order to allow for a non-farm use within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

Specifically, the applicant is seeking ALC approval to expand the range of wine and spirits sold in the restaurant (?Terrafina?) operated at Hester Creek Winery in accordance with the ?terms of our Food Primary License issued by the LCLB.?

At present, the proponent is limited under the Agricultural Land Reserve Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulation to serving only alcohol products produced on the premises.

Statutory Requirements:

Under Section 34 of the Agricultural Land Commission Act, the Regional District of Okanagan- Similkameen (RDOS) must ?review the application, and ? forward to the commission the application together with comments and recommendations?, unless Section 30(4) applies wherein the Board has the ability to refuse to ?authorise? an application.

In this instance, Section 30(4) is seen to apply as the property ?is zoned by bylaw to permit agricultural or farm use? and an amendment to the Zoning Bylaw will be required in order for this proposal to proceed.

Site Context:

The subject property is situated on the southern side of the terminus of Road No. 8? and represents a land area of approximately 34 hectares (ha), the majority of which is currently under agricultural production (i.e. vineyard).

There is currently an existing winery, restaurant and associated structures located towards the north-west corner of the property, a ten unit agri-tourism accommodation towards the south-west corner of the property and an accessory structure in the middle of the property.

Background:

Under the Electoral Area ?C? Zoning Bylaw No. 2453, 2008, the subject property is currently zoned Agriculture Two Site Specific (AG2s). The AG2 Zone permits ?agriculture? as a principal use and, amongst other things, ?wineries and cideries, including sales? as a secondary use.

The site specific zoning that applies to the subject property relates to an increase in floor area for all buildings associated with the retail, processing, packing and storage of farm produces from 1,500m2 to 2,361m2, and which was approved by the Board at its meeting of December 13, 2007.

At Section 4.0 (Definitions), ?winery? is defined as meaning ?an establishment involved in the manufacture, packaging, storing and sales of grape and fruit-based wines, including a wine bar and food & beverage service lounge [emphasis added].?

A ?lounge? is permitted in the ALR provided the interior lounge area does not exceed 125m2, the patio area does not exceed 125m2 and any alcohol products offered for sale are produced on the premises.

This is seen to be different from an ?eating and drinking establishment? which is not permitted in the AG2 Zone and is defined as meaning ?a development where prepared foods and beverages are offered for sale to the public for consumption within the premises or off the site ?? (i.e. alcohol products offered for sale need not be produced on the premises).

Under the Electoral Area ?C? Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 2452, 2008, the property is the subject of a Watercourse Development Permit (WDP) and Environmentally Sensitive Development Permit (ESDP) Area.

Analysis:

In considering this proposal, Administration notes that the intent behind allowing food and beverage service lounges to operate within the ALR is to assist wineries in the marketing of farm products produced on-site.

Winery lounges are further seen as being supportive of agriculture in that they encourage visitation, sales, and ultimately agricultural production and that food service helps develop links to local products and farmers, which further supports agriculture.

Approval to act upon Food Primary Licence, however, is seen as potentially diminishing the link between the agricultural operation and the retail outlet by allowing a restaurant to exist as an independent commercial entity.

Administration shares many of the concerns expressed by the ALC when it refused a similar application in Electoral Area ?C? that was submitted in 2010 by Burrowing Owl, including:

. the erosion of the agricultural land base due to larger structures and expanded parking; . impacts of more people, traffic, noise and trespass on adjacent farm operations (i.e. neighbour complaints); . complaints and conflicts with other types of agriculture that may not fit with the ?winery aesthetic?; and . pressure for other, non-farm related amenities (i.e. meeting facilities, hotels, spas, etc?).

It is also noted that the recent Zoning Bylaw amendments which resulted from the Electoral Area ?C? Agriculture Area Plan (AAP) specifically addressed the issue of lounges within the AG2 Zone and sought to clarify that these should be limited in scope and incidental to an existing agricultural operation. This was done through an update to the definition of a ?winery? in order that it would be consistent with the ALC regulations, and relisting ?wineries and cideries? as a permitted secondary use as opposed to principal use within the AG2 Zone.

Although the OCP does contain objectives and policy statements that seek to preserve and protect agricultural land while also supporting a strategy to diversify and enhance farm income by creating opportunities for uses secondary to and related to the agricultural use. The Plan also seeks to direct ?? general business commercial uses to existing town centres, which have the necessary infrastructure and support services?.

While it is acknowledged that there is unlikely to be an intensification of the existing lounge use at Hester Creek should this application be approved (i.e. increased seating/floor area or vehicle parking), Administration does not consider an ?eating and drinking establishment? to be consistent with the objectives for the Agricultural designation. Administration is concerned that such a use will diminish the nexus between the lounge and the agricultural operation, and did not support the recent application from Tinhorn Creek Winery being forwarded to the Commission on this basis.

Should the Board and ALC support this proposal, an amendment to the Zoning Bylaw will be required, and it is envisioned that this could be in the form of a site specific amendment permitting an ?eating and drinking establishment? as a permitted use.

RDOS document ? for Meeting January 24th

Source: http://oliverdailynews.com/hester-creek-estate-winery-seeks-permission/

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Villagers in Kashmir brace for escalating violence

CHAKOTHI, Pakistan (AP) ? Villagers in Kashmir are building bunkers as they brace for more clashes along the fragile line of control that divides Pakistan and India after the recent killings of soldiers on both sides in one of the worst flare-ups in violence in the disputed Himalayan region in a decade.

In the past two weeks, three Pakistani and two Indian troops have died in clashes on the heavily-militarized border, drawing harsh words from both Islamabad and New Delhi. Caught in the middle are villagers who have lived for years near the makeshift border splitting the region.

There has been low-level shooting and shelling across the 750-kilometer (460-mile) line since a cease-fire was signed in 2003. Civilians and livestock have died in the skirmishes, but now soldiers are being killed and many people in this village of 5,000 worry that simmering tension could boil over.

"We are perplexed and scared about recent incidents of shooting on the line of control," said Muhammed Shabbir, a shopkeeper in Chakothi who is building a bunker near his house in the village, surrounded by snow-capped peaks, just 500 meters (yards) from the line.

Some villagers built bunkers a decade ago during heavy violence in the area, but many were destroyed during a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in 2005. Worried about the recent clashes, some villagers are trying to rebuild the shelters.

"We are not certain about our future after these shootings," said Shabbir, whose wife was killed in shelling in May 2003, about six months before the cease-fire took effect.

He added that many residents who used to freely graze their livestock near the line of control are now avoiding the area. Since 2005, both countries have let local residents cross the line to visit relatives.

But Shabbir said that last Monday ? the travel day for local residents ? none of the villagers from the Pakistani side went to the Indian-held side because they were worried about escalating tensions.

Both countries claim the Muslim-dominated Kashmir region in its entirety, and two of the three major wars the two nuclear-armed nations have fought have been over the mountainous Himalayan region.

Multi-layered barbed wire fences separate the two sides, and Indian and Pakistani troops man guard towers, eyeing each other's territory.

Tensions, however, rose on Jan. 6 when Pakistan accused Indian forces of crossing the line and killing a Pakistani soldier and wounding another in a raid. India denied raiding the post. It said its troops fired across the border in response to Pakistani shelling that destroyed a home on the Indian side.

Two days later, India claimed Pakistani troops had crossed into Indian territory and killed two of its soldiers, beheading one. Pakistan denied the allegations.

Then, on Jan. 10, Pakistan claimed Indian troops fired across the border, killing another Pakistani soldier.

Political rhetoric from both capitals also intensified. Pakistan's foreign minister accused India of "warmongering" while India's army chief urged his troops to be "aggressive and offensive" when dealing with gunfire from Pakistan.

In the latest verbal barrage, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Sunday that India was reviewing its future ties with Pakistan in light of the "inhuman killing" of its soldiers.

About 30 people from at least seven villages in Indian-held Kashmir met last Monday with government officials in the town of Uri, demanding that the government build bunkers in their villages to protect them from shelling.

Almost everyone there remembers what it was like before the 2003 cease-fire.

"I was born and raised amid firing and shelling," said 28-year-old Nadeem Abbassi, speaking by telephone from his village of Gwalta. "We don't want to live like before. Honestly, we don't have any energy left in us to face such a situation again."

Many people expressed frustration that the deaths of the Indian soldiers had sparked a loud response while there had been little public outcry when civilians have died on both sides.

"There is so much warmongering and hue and cry over the soldiers' killings," said Farid Ahmed, a businessman from the village of Charunda in Indian-held Kashmir. "In our village, three people, including a woman, were killed in shelling. But we're lesser mortals and nobody utters a word when we're killed."

Earlier this week, both Pakistani and Indian officials agreed to work to ease tension along the line of control ? a sign that each recognized the risks of an escalating conflict, especially when relations between the two countries had been warming.

Their relationship hit a recent low point in 2008 when Pakistani militants killed 166 people in the Indian coastal city of Mumbai, but last year both countries took steps to mend ties and boost trade. Events during the past two weeks have shown how fragile that progress can be.

Villagers on the front line of a region that has always been the most contentious issue between the two countries are wondering whether Indian and Pakistani leaders can overcome this latest problem.

"Only one or two incidents of firing along the line of control are enough to ruin relations between Pakistan and India, and it is worrying us because we are the ones who would suffer," said Tahir Mehmood, a 28-year-old shopkeeper in Chakothi.

___

Hussain contributed from Srinagar, India.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/villagers-kashmir-brace-escalating-violence-060909345.html

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Recreation Faciltiy Management With Web Resource | Xmas

Recreation Faciltiy Management With Web Resource

• SHK01503
• reate, shape, reinforce, & sustain myths, values, perceptions, power structures, socialization, social policies, & beliefs within a society An analysis of the history & impact of the unique relationship between athletes & the pressA discussion of the legal rights of those in sport journalism to acquire, report, & publish information relative to athetes & sport entities Technology's impact on legal issues in sport communication from real-time scores to fantasy sports leaguesReaders of Strategic S
• port Communication will enjoy the interesting interplay of theoretical findings & insights from sport communication professionals. Each chapter opens with a vignette designed to help readers translate the chapter topic into practice. Further learning opportunities are offered at the end of each chapter through chapter summaries, reviews with discussion questions, suggested exercises, & additional study references in a variety of formats. These learning tools, along with the accessible writing st
• yle, promote comprehension for a variety of learning styles. Strategic Sport Communication is the definitive text for those who want to gain a comprehensive understanding of the emerging field of sport communication. Through the examination of key research, current trends, industry demands, & the organizational value of sport communication, readers will gain a thorough grounding in the diverse areas the field offers for both academic study & professional practice.author: Mull, Richard Pages: 312

Recreation facility management is a complex responsibility. Professionals in this field are responsible for various types of facilities?recreation centers, water parks and pools, playgrounds, parks, fitness centers, sport complexes, and resorts?each with its own set of goals and challenges. Recreation Facility Management: Design, Development, Operations, and Utilization provides students and new professionals with a basic understanding of recreation facilities and prepares them to perform the duties required of a recreation facility manager.

Part I of Recreation Facility Management offers a detailed look at the foundations of the profession, including the defining characteristics of recreation facility management and descriptions of the duties of a recreation facility manager and the areas within the facilities. Also featured are descriptions of the common indoor and outdoor elements of facilities, including sites, spaces, lighting, surfaces, utilities, landscaping, walkways, and parking areas.

The remaining parts of the book detail the practical knowledge and skills as well as tasks and processes required for managing various types of recreation facilities. Readers will find these features:

-A thorough discussion of the facility design and development process, including needs assessment, planning, reading blueprints, funding, the bid process, and construction

-Information on managing facility resources, including equipment; financial issues, such as budgeting, taxes, fees and charges, and donations; and human resources, including hiring, training, and evaluating employees

-A detailed examination of facility utilization, including safety and security, scheduling, maintenance, and emergencies and emergency response

-A review of parks, playgrounds, aquatic facilities, and ancillary spaces, including parking areas, showers and restrooms, and child care areas

-Coverage of national industry standards and guidelines for various types of facilities

Throughout the book readers will find examples from settings in recreation, leisure, parks, and tourism that will help them apply their knowledge to various types of recreation facilities. Recreation Facility Management also includes access to an online student resource (OSR) that will help students tie the information in the book to practical matters on the job. The OSR contains learning activities, forms from the files of actual facility managers, worksheets, and Web links to help students further explore the ideas found in the book.

Recreation Facility Management offers a practical introduction to facility design, management, and maintenance for practicing or future recreation professionals. This resource provides the knowledge and skills necessary for becoming a successful facility manager in any recreation setting.

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Source: http://xmasin.com/2013/01/19/recreation-faciltiy-management-with-web-resource/

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RSVP: Preventing cancer | The Salt Lake Tribune

Concerts at Sundance

Concerts at Sundance will feature national and international performers as a fundraiser for the Huntsman Cancer Institute during the Sundance Film Festival. Donations are being taken at www.concertsatsundance.com.

When ? Sunday through Saturday, Jan. 20-26, 9 a.m.

Where ? Cisero?s Nightclub, 306 Main, Park City

Tickets ? $20-$100; concertsatsundance.com/buy-tickets

Cancer Awareness Open House

If you or your loved ones have been affected by cancer, come learn about how American Cancer Society is helping people stay well, get well, find cures and fight back. Light refreshments will be served and information about services and resources will be offered.

When ? Tuesday, Jan. 22, 6-8:30 p.m.

Where ? Sandy Library, 10100 S. Petunia Way (1405 East), Sandy

Tickets ? Free

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Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, click the red "Flag" link below it.
See more about comments here.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/55642699-223/cancer-sundance-tickets-com.html.csp

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simple blood test may predict breast cancer's return

(BlackMediaScoop) Scientists say a simple blood test could predict if the most common form of breast cancer will come back after treatment.

By providing an early warning the technique would spare some women unnecessary treatment with gruelling anti-cancer drugs. Researcher Sambasivarao Damaraju said: ?If we can accurately predict which women are at high risk of breast cancer recurrence, it gives the physicians and oncologists treating these women time to design a more aggressive therapy in the hopes of preventing the cancer from coming back.

The kit, which is being developed in Canada, focuses on something called luminal A breast cancer ? the most common form of the disease and the type generally thought to have the best prognosis.

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However, with it making up around 60% of the 50,000 cases of breast cancer diagnosed each year, it still accounts for a substantial number of relapses and deaths. The University of Alberta researchers tested blood samples taken from women when they had been diagnosed with breast cancer years previously.

Other predictor tests in development use the genes from the cancer itself. But the Canadian researchers believe their technique will be more accurate as it uses the DNA a person is born with to work out if they have a predisposition to breast cancer recurring.

It is hoped that in future, the test could be used alongside traditional microscopic techniques to improve the way breast cancer patients are treated. The Canadian charities that funded the research said it would have a ?substantial? impact on ensuring women treated for breast cancer ?continue to live cancer-free lives?.

More research and several years of large-scale testing is needed before the test is marketed. Cancer Research UK said that many scientists, including its own, are trying to perfect such a test.

What do you think?

SCOOP: UNIVERSITYOFALBERTA

Source: http://www.blackmediascoop.com/2013/01/19/simple-blood-test-may-predict-breast-cancers-return/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=simple-blood-test-may-predict-breast-cancers-return

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Are Your Written Words Magically Powerful? - Copywriter for ...

Today?s article is about communicating a clear message to the people who most need your help.

As you may know, I write sales copy and do editing for health coaches who are on a mission to liberate people from excess weight, poor eating habits, and a general sense of being ?malnourished? in life.

Some of these health coaches have literally changed people?s lives. I?m blown away by the knowledge they share, their compassion towards their clients, and their ability to hold someone?s hand through challenges both big and small.

I am not a health coach myself, but I?m very into fitness and nutrition and have studied a lot on these topics. And there are certain people in my life ? namely, family members of mine ? whom I have been trying with all my might to get on board with the ?health movement.?

But it?s a waste of energy. These people won?t budge until they make the decision to do so. In fact, they may very well die without ever changing their bad habits.

Which brings me to my point in today?s blog: You can?t force someone to let go of what?s keeping them miserable, stuck, or in pain.

Believe me, I?ve tried.

If you?ve ever attempted to market your business by ?force? ? doing things that feel forced, pushing your message out there but getting no bites, or communicating in a way that doesn?t feel right ? it may be because you?re either targeting the wrong market from an energetic standpoint, or your written communications are not transferring the right energy that you intend. (Been there, done that, too!)

The people whom you can best serve are actually ready for your services. Energetically, they?re willing to receive help. They?re willing to make changes. They?re actually craving someone to come along and help them, and hold their hand through whatever difficulty they?re experiencing ? unlike the stubborn individuals in my family who have zero interest in improving their health!

The only problem is, your market might not know exactly what they need. So you need to make it clear for them. Maybe they?ve never been aware that the particular solution you offer is available. Maybe they don?t have words for the solution itself. (So they don?t know what to Google, and they?re not finding you.)

That?s why it?s so important to convey your message clearly to the people who need your help most. It?s like sending out a radio signal into the universe and those who are ready for it will tune in.

Clear communication is step 1 in attracting the right clients to you. And fortunately for you, written communication is my gift.

If you have a website, sales page, advertisement, or other piece of marketing that just doesn?t seem to be connecting with your audience ? let?s troubleshoot it and see what the deal is. Often times, it?s a structural or a language issue. Sometimes it?s an emotional issue ? and we just need to infuse more YOU into the copy.

Whatever the issue is, it can be resolved. I believe that whole-heartedly, because I?ve devoted my entire life to studying the written word - and I deeply know the magic that happens when one?s words are clear.

I also know the misfortune that can happen when one?s words are unclear.

So if you?ve got a piece of marketing or sales copy that needs troubleshooting, email it to me. I?ll be able to quickly determine what needs to change in the communication in order for you to speak directly to your target market.

Sending you ?clarity,?

Michelle Lopez
Writer, Editor, Copywriter

P.S. In 2013, I am dedicating myself to helping other committed business owners craft clear, compelling messages that light the way for a better life. Think of it as an arrow shooting directly to the heart, and then spreading love. If your business serves people and helps them improve the quality of their life in some way, say hello! I?d love to get acquainted with you!

P.P.S. Check out what some of my past copywriting and editing clients have said.
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Thought of the Day: Be impeccable with your word.

Source: http://quickresultscopywriting.com/2013/01/are-your-written-words-magically-powerful/

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Debt Relief: New Techniques to Buy Financial commitment Property

Securing residence is traditionally the most perfect investment. Just before the Nineties people sensed that is was almost unheard-of to throw away cash in residence. The refrain many people followed was "Buy investment residence." In case you have been viewing the international areas you already identify there have been residence pockets in a number of nations such as Ireland in europe, The country, the UK, Hong Kong, Asia, and lately the U. s. Declares.Colorado Springs investment property

Source: http://pweetytales.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-techniques-to-buy-financial.html

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Governor Christie Tired Of Waiting On FEMA Flood Maps [AUDIO]

Governor Christie won?t be waiting for FEMA to release the final Flood Base Elevation maps, instead saying he will make the decision on the state?s flood maps.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Christie notes he is ?tired of waiting? and that people waiting to know what standards to rebuild their homes to can?t wait either.

?People are stalled right now because they don?t know what to do, and I had this conversation with my staff and I said ?to hell with it, I?m deciding. We?ll set the standard in New Jersey let everyone else follow us. They all do anyway.??

Speaking during a Town Hall meeting in Manahawkin, the Governor said he will make the decision over the weekend, however says he won?t be putting anyone in danger.

?My goal is to try and give you the most aggressive protective standards I can give you. If they lower them later on, then you?ll benefit from that in your flood insurance premiums because you will be built to a higher standard.?

Adding he doesn?t want people to build to old standards, because they don?t know what the new standards are.

?And then they get a huge flood insurance bill because you say ?oh well you built to the old standards but the new standards are much higher.? so now your flood insurance is going to cost instead of 2,000 dollars, 20,000 dollars.?

He acknowledges building to a higher standard will cost more upfront, but it will be recouped through the lower insurance premiums and because homes build to the new standards are much more likely to survive if another storm hits.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Source: http://nj1015.com/governor-christie-tired-of-waiting-on-fema-flood-maps-audio/

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'Mohawk Guy' to march in the inaugural parade

When President Barack Obama takes his oath of office to begin his second term Monday, NASA will be there.

NASA's famed "Mohawk Guy" Bobak Ferdowsi will march in Monday's Presidential Inaugural Parade on Monday (Jan. 21) along with life-size replicas of the space agency's Mars rover Curiosity and Orion space capsule.

Ferdowsi is a flight director at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory whose unique hairdo catapulted him to Internet fame after the spectacular Mars rover Curiosity landing last year.

"The things we do, the exploration we do, is not just about learning about other planets. It's about understanding our own. NASA gives us a chance to travel outside our world as a way to look back and learn about ourselves as a species ? as people. There's nowhere else in the world where you get to do that,"?Ferdowsi said in a statement.

Ferdowsi will march in the inaugural parade alongside Curiosity, the Orion spacecraft and other NASA scientists as part of the agency's official Presidential Inaugural Weekend. The $2.5 billion Curiosity rover landed on Mars on Aug. 5 to begin a two-year mission aimed at determining if the planet could have ever supported microbial life. [Obama and NASA: A Presidential Gallery]

NASA's Orion deep-space capsule?? the agency's first new spaceship designed by NASA since the space shuttle in the 1970s ? is designed to send humans farther into space than ever before. The space agency hopes the capsule will be the vessel for manned missions to asteroids, the moon and even Mars.

NASA is also hosting an open house for the agency?s social media participants today (Jan. 18) in honor of the inauguration as well. The open house is available to the public without a reservation, but 75 specially chosen guests will get a ?reserved seat? that gives them special access to various events throughout the day.

The open house will also include panel discussions with NASA astronauts and displays showing off some of the agency?s accomplishments.

Telescopes will be set up outside the David M. Brown Planetarium in Arlington, Va., for a "Star Party" tomorrow (Jan. 19). Experts with NASA will speak about the future of space exploration and missions the agency already has in the works.

For NASA's full schedule of Inaugural Weekend events, click here.

You can follow SPACE.com staff writer Miriam Kramer on Twitter?@mirikramer.?Follow SPACE.com on Twitter?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.?

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nasas-mohawk-guy-march-obamas-inaugural-parade-190251568.html

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Liberal Jewish Israel Bashers: Foolish or Malevolent?

J Street, a liberal Jewish organization.

I must confess to a rising sense of frustration and rage when observing the increasing number of ill-informed and fallacious critiques of Israel by liberal Diaspora Jews.

This is not in reference to the loathsome so-called anti-Zionist Jews who call for boycotts of Israel. Nor even to jaundiced far-Left Jewish groups like J Street, that inflict considerable damage on the Jewish state by calling on the US government to pressure Israel, or orchestrate petitions such as those recently circulated among liberal Jewish clergy demanding that Israel cancel plans for residential construction in Jerusalem?s Jewish suburbs and the E-1 area.

I refer to those Jews who, when it was fashionable, were enthusiastic supporters of Israel. But the estrangement of many of their liberal non-Jewish friends from the Jewish state encouraged them to also assume politically correct attitudes, even adopting an ?anti-Zionist chic.? Some were swept up in the tide of post-modernism with its often espoused view that Israel was born in sin and represents one of the last bastions of colonialism.

This was an evolutionary process which began with the progressive application of moral equivalence to Israelis and Arabs and climaxed with Binyamin Netanyahu?s election and demonization as an extremist nationalist. At this point, these Jewish liberals began chanting the mindless mantra that Israel had become obsessed with maintaining ?the occupation.?

They adopted the Arab narrative that settlements represented the greatest obstacle to peace, dismissing the fact that settlements comprise only two percent of territory over the Green Line and that since Oslo, every territorial concession from Israel merely emboldened Palestinian radicals and resulted in intensified terror.

AS A rule, these liberal Jewish critics ignored the facts that the PA, no less than Hamas, consistently refused to make reciprocal compromises and that the conflict was not related to territorial compromise but over ongoing Jewish sovereignty in the region. They also downplayed the ongoing missile attacks and vicious incitement and anti-Semitism infusing all levels of Palestinian society.

Israel is now more isolated than at any time since its creation. We are surrounded by anti-Semitic Islamic regimes bent on our destruction and Iran is on course to becoming a nuclear power. Most European countries, whose soil was drenched in Jewish blood, are again standing on the sidelines as they did prior to and during the Shoa when Jews were being slaughtered. Surely, at such a time, even liberal Diaspora Jews could be expected to unite in support of the Jewish state. Yet alas, increasing numbers of them are distancing themselves further from Israel.

A recent example was the condemnation by the North American Board of the Union of Reform Judaism of housing construction in the exclusively Jewish suburbs of east Jerusalem and E-1. This undermined a central Israeli policy, endorsed by the vast majority of Israelis.

Were the Reform Jewish leaders not aware that this area had always been designated to remain within Israel and that the Bush administration even acknowledged this in a letter to prime minister Ariel Sharon in the wake of the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and the forcible uprooting of Jewish settlements?

Were they unaware that the uproar instigated by the Palestinians over residential construction is a ploy to undermine our vital interests in areas which until now were never in dispute? That they are seeking to impose upon us, as an opening benchmark to negotiations, indefensible borders based on the 1949 armistice lines? That this formula would deem the Temple Mount and the Old City of Jerusalem occupied territories?

Or the subsequent extraordinary outburst by the progressive rabbis of BnaiYeshurun, one of New York?s most prominent temples, who proclaimed that ?the vote at the United Nations was a great moment for us as citizens of the world? an opportunity to celebrate the process that allows a nation to come forward and ask for recognition.? This, in the immediate wake of the UN speech by PA head Mahmoud Abbas, who accused Israel of killing innocent Palestinians during the Gaza war and indulging in ethnic cleansing.

Aside from also endorsing the 1949 lines as future borders for Israel, were these rabbis not aware that Abbas was calling for reunification with Hamas, whose leader had just proclaimed that ?Palestine is ours from the river to the sea and from the south to the north? there is no legitimacy for Israel? We will free Jerusalem inch by inch, stone by stone. Israel has no right to be in Jerusalem.?

THE EXTENT of the breakdown among Jewish liberals was highlighted when even David Breakstone, vice chairman of the World Zionist Organization and a devoted Zionist, recently provided a Kosher certificate to Peter Beinart, one of Israel?s most biased and hostile Jewish Diaspora critics.

Breakstone stressed that while strongly disagreeing with Beinart?s call to boycott Israeli settlement products, he was attracted to him because he is a committed Jew, sends his children to Jewish day schools and provides a service to Zionism by criticizing our failure to sufficiently promote peace and uphold the ethical high ground because we maintain the ?occupation.?

Few would dispute our obligation to be self-critical and expose injustices in our midst. But this is not what Beinart and other liberal Jews like New York Times columnist Tom Friedman promote. They produce distorted one-sided evaluations demonizing Israel as the principal obstacle to peace. They promote anti-Israeli politicians like Chuck Hagel and accuse Jewish leaders of promoting McCarthyism. They call on the US and other governments to exert pressure and force Israel to conform.

How can Breakstone possibly describe such people as ?champions of good old-fashioned Zionism??

THERE IS also an increasing tendency among Jewish liberals to hijack the memory of assassinated Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin as a means of discrediting Netanyahu. This is outrageous. Rabin, whom I knew and admired, was a genuine patriot. His ?gamble for peace? proved disastrous. But at no stage did he even come close to promoting the views attributed to him today by liberals.

He was adamantly committed to the unity of Jerusalem and initiated the E-1 project. He would never have contemplated delaying its construction or freezing residential building in Jewish Jerusalem. It is therefore unconscionable to shamelessly exploit his name to promote views he himself bitterly opposed.

The reality is that Netanyahu has made more concessions and is far more accommodating to the Palestinians than Rabin.

One would wish to believe that much of the condemnation of Israel by liberal Jews, compounded by purportedly being grounded on Jewish values, is not malicious but based on ignorance. The blame for such behavior could then be directed solely toward Israel?s failure to convey the reality of our situation.

Yet sadly, one becomes increasingly convinced that many Jewish liberals have closed minds and do not wish to be enlightened, because their principal motivation is to demonstrate to their ?progressive? friends that they are more open-minded, universal and tolerant than their ?bigoted? Israeli kinsmen.

This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom.

Source: http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/01/18/liberal-jewish-israel-bashers-foolish-or-malevolent/

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Lost without a map: Despite a globalized society, university students can't locate the Atlantic Ocean

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.linkswarm.com/links/70719/lost-without-a-map-despite-a-globalized-society-university-students-cant-locate-the-atlantic-ocean/

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Gun debate 101: Time to ban high-capacity magazines?

President Obama proposes banning high-capacity magazines in a bid to make mass shootings less likely. But gun rights advocates worry that the ammo ban is a sleeper provision that will, ultimately, make many handguns illegal, as well.

By Patrik Jonsson,?Staff writer / January 16, 2013

President Obama (r.) and Vice President Joe Biden announce proposals to counter gun violence during an event at the White House on Jan. 16.

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Enlarge

Adam Lanza, police say, used at least 150 bullets shot from an AR-15 assault-style rifle during his attack on the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14 ? killing 26 children and staff, and shocking the nation into a tumultuous debate over gun control.

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Using the standard 30-bullet magazine that comes with the rifle, Mr. Lanza would have had to detach the springloaded magazines that pump each cartridge into the chamber only four times, as he fired relentlessly into two classrooms full of grade-school children. James Holmes, using a "drum magazine" that held 100 rounds, shot 70 people in an Aurora, Colo., theater in July in fewer than 90 seconds, police say.

That's why a ban on so-called "large-capacity" magazines is at the top of a gun control reform proposal by President Obama on Wednesday, which also includes banning assault-style rifles and beefing up background checks, among other actions.

The proposed ban on devices that are, in essence, small bullet-packed boxes with springs is an attempt to confront their popularity among gun enthusiasts. As New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) questioned: Who needs more than seven bullets to kill a dear? Advocates of a ban say the ubiquity of large-capacity magazines contributes to bloodshed.

But gun rights activists challenge whether banning high-capacity magazines will reduce lethality in mass shooter-type situations. They question whether the ultimate motivation for regulating how many bullets Americans can jam into their guns at one time is to make criminals out of lawful rifle owners ? and, eventually, to make standard handguns harder legally to use for self-defense.

Here's a primer on the current state of law on high-capacity ammunition magazines and how that might change with the new regulations proposed by Mr. Obama.

What is a 'high-capacity' magazine, and how many are in circulation?

Guns such as the AR-15 rifle and the Glock 17 pistol have magazines, or springloaded cartridge feeding devices, that hold more than 10 bullets, the limit proposed by Obama. Those magazines were technically illegal during the 1994-2004 assault weapons ban. (Several loopholes allowed manufacturers to make cosmetic changes to keep some versions legal.)

Gun control advocates such as Governor Cuomo, who on Jan. 15 signed the nation's first post-Newtown gun restrictions, suggest that regular Americans don't need the ability to shoot large numbers of continuous bullets for hunting or standard self-defense. Gun rights advocates say that it's not up to the government to decide what gun owners need for self-protection, and that new laws would only serve to criminalize lawful gun owners, while criminals would get hold of illegal magazines and guns anyway.

Experts estimate that as many as 40 million high-capacity magazines may be in circulation today in the US.

Have "high-capacity" magazine bans worked before?

While task forces concluded that the 1994 assault-weapons ban and bans on large-capacity magazines didn't noticeably effect violent-crime rates or mass shootings in the US either way, some evidence does show that such set-ups were used fewer times during the commission of crimes in some US cities during the 10-year span of the ban.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/oBv2EgGSfKQ/Gun-debate-101-Time-to-ban-high-capacity-magazines

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Alabama Military Collectors Show Jan. 19 & 20 $5 admission (Free for police, military, fire)

?Military enthusiast and history buffs will want to check out the Alabama Military Collectors Show this Saturday and Sunday in Huntsville. The event featuring more than 150 booths will be at the Jaycee Community Building on Airport Road.

Hours: Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

What you can expect:?

Military collectibles include: guns, edged weapons, uniforms, medals, helmets, flags, badges, field equipment, photographs, books & more.

Admission:

$5.00, Children under 12, Military, Fire, Police and Re-Enactors in Uniform are free.?

Parking is free.

Location:
Huntsville Jaycee?s Community?Building
2180 Airport Rd,
Huntsville AL, 35802
(Click?here?for Directions)Go?here?to follow me on Facebook.Go?here?to follow me on Twitter.?Go?here?to follow me on Instagram.

Source: http://blog.al.com/bargain-mom/2013/01/alabama_military_collectors_sh.html

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Shakira hosts shower for underprivileged kids

This December 2012 image released courtesy of singer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Shakira shows her posing with FC Barcelona star Gerard Piqu?. The couple, who are expecting their first child, are inviting friends and fans to join their online baby shower to help provide life-saving items to children and communities in some of the poorest corners of the globe. After purchasing an Inspired Gift, they will then receive a personal thank you message from the couple. (AP Photo/courtesy of Shakira)

This December 2012 image released courtesy of singer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Shakira shows her posing with FC Barcelona star Gerard Piqu?. The couple, who are expecting their first child, are inviting friends and fans to join their online baby shower to help provide life-saving items to children and communities in some of the poorest corners of the globe. After purchasing an Inspired Gift, they will then receive a personal thank you message from the couple. (AP Photo/courtesy of Shakira)

This December 2012 image released courtesy of singer and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Shakira shows her posing in a gown. Shakira who are expecting her first child with soccer star Gerard Pique, is inviting friends and fans to join their online baby shower to help provide life-saving items to children and communities in some of the poorest corners of the globe. After purchasing an Inspired Gift, they will then receive a personal thank you message from the couple. (AP Photo/courtesy of Shakira)

FILE - This May 29, 2011 file photo shows Colombia's singer Shakira performing with FC Barcelona soccer player Gerard Pique during The Sun Comes Out World Tour concert in Barcelona, Spain. UNICEF is hosting an online baby shower on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013 in honor of Shakira and Pique?s first baby. Shakira, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and Pique are inviting people to donate to poor children worldwide through the online event. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? What does the baby of the world's most famous Latin American singer need? Nothing, apparently.

Expectant parents Shakira and soccer star Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona are inviting friends and family to join an online baby shower to benefit underprivileged children. Their own child is expected to be born early this year.

A UNICEF-hosted web site invites those attending the virtual baby shower to buy gifts costing as little as $5, which can buy a mosquito net to ensure a sleeping baby stays safe from malaria ? a leading cause of child deaths worldwide. Guests can spend $10 for polio vaccines to protect 17 children, or $37 for a baby scale.

"To celebrate the arrival of our first child, we hope that, in his name, other less privileged children in the world can have their basic needs covered through gifts and donations," reads a message from the 35-year-old Colombian superstar, a goodwill ambassador for the UN children's agency, and Pique. "Thank you for sharing this unforgettable moment with us."

?The site also features never-seen photos of the couple, taken in December.

In a black-and-white image, a shirtless, 25-year-old Pique poses with his right arm around a hugely pregnant Sharika, who wears a bikini top and hip-hugging skirt that shows off her exposed belly.

A second photograph shows her in a white full-length gown that accentuates her expanding torso.

___

Online: http://uni.cf/baby

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-16-US-People-Shakira-Baby-Shower/id-46bd78efb32744a089f75c2d2b9b98f5

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Obama unveils $500 million gun violence package

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Braced for a fight, President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled the most sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence in two decades, pressing a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

A month after that horrific massacre, Obama also used his presidential powers to enact 23 measures that don't require the backing of lawmakers. The president's executive actions include ordering federal agencies to make more data available for background checks, appointing a director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and directing the Centers for Disease Control to research gun violence.

But the president, speaking at White House ceremony, focused his attention on the divided Congress, saying only lawmakers could enact the most effective measures for preventing more mass shootings.

"To make a real and lasting difference, Congress must act," Obama said. "And Congress must act soon."

The president vowed to use "whatever weight this office holds" to press lawmakers into action on his $500 million plan. He is also calling for improvements in school safety, including putting 1,000 police officers in schools and bolstering mental health care by training more health professionals to deal with young people who may be at risk.

Even supportive lawmakers say the president's gun control proposals ? most of which are opposed by the powerful National Rifle Association ? face long odds on Capitol Hill.

House Speaker John Boehner's office was non-committal to the president's package of proposed legislation, but signaled no urgency to act. "House committees of jurisdiction will review these recommendations," Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said. "And if the Senate passes a bill, we will also take a look at that."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said ahead of Obama's presentation that he didn't know whether an assault weapons ban could pass the Senate, but said there are some measures that can, such as improved background checks.

"There are some who say nothing will pass. I disagree with that," Leahy, D-Vt., told students at Georgetown University Law Center. "What I'm interested in is what we can get."

Acknowledging the tough fight ahead, Obama said there will be pundits, politicians and special interest groups that will seek to "gin up fear" that the White House wants to take away the right to own a gun.

"Behind the scenes, they'll do everything they can to block any commonsense reform and make sure nothing changes whatsoever," he said. "The only way we will be able to change is if their audience, their constituents, their membership says this time must be different, that this time we must do something to protect our communities and our kids."

The president was flanked by children who wrote him letters about gun violence in the weeks following the Newtown shooting. Families of those killed in the massacre, as well as survivors of the shooting, were also in the audience, along with law enforcement officers and congressional lawmakers.

"This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe," Obama said. "This is how we will be judged."

Seeking to expand the impetus for addressing gun violence beyond the Newtown shooting, the president said more than 900 Americans have been killed by guns in the month since the elementary school massacre.

"Every day we wait, the number will keep growing," he said.

The White House has signaled that Obama could launch a campaign to boost public support for his proposals. Nearly six in 10 Americans want stricter gun laws in the aftermath of the Newtown shooting, with majorities favoring a nationwide ban on military-style, rapid-fire weapons and limits on gun violence depicted in video games, movies and TV shows, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.

A lopsided 84 percent of adults would like to see the establishment of a federal standard for background checks for people buying guns at gun shows, the poll showed.

The president based his proposals on recommendations from an administration-wide task force led by Vice President Joe Biden. His plan marks the most comprehensive effort to address gun violence since Congress passed the 1994 ban on high-grade, military-style assault weapons. The ban expired in 2004, and Obama wants lawmakers to renew and expand it.

Other measures Obama wants Congress to take up include limiting high-capacity ammunition magazines and requiring background checks for all gun buyers in an attempt to close the so-called "gun-show loophole" that allows people to buy guns at trade shows and over the Internet without submitting to background checks.

Obama also intends to seek confirmation for B. Todd Jones, who has served as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives since 2011.

The president's plan does little to address violent images in video games, movies and entertainment, beyond asking the CDC to study their impact on gun crimes. Some pro-gun lawmakers who are open to addressing stricter arms legislation have insisted they would do so only in tandem with recommendations for addressing violence in entertainment.

The president's long list of executive orders also include:

? Ordering tougher penalties for people who lie on background checks and requiring federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.

? Ending limits that make it more difficult for the government to research gun violence, such as gathering data on guns that fall into criminal hands.

? Requiring federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.

? Giving schools flexibility to use federal grant money to improve school safety, such as by hiring school resource officers.

? Giving communities grants to institute programs to keep guns away from people who shouldn't have them.

_

Associated Press writers Ken Thomas and Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-unveils-500-million-gun-violence-package-165911357--politics.html

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Warp Speed: What Hyperspace Would Really Look Like

The science fiction vision of stars flashing by as streaks when spaceships travel faster than light isn't what the scene would actually look like, a team of physics students says.

Instead, the view out the windows of a vehicle traveling through hyperspace would be more like a centralized bright glow, calculations show.

The finding contradicts the familiar images of stretched out starlight streaking past the windows of the Millennium Falcon in "Star Wars" and the Starship Enterprise in "Star Trek." In those films and television series, as spaceships engage warp drive or hyperdrive and approach the speed of light, stars morph from points of light to long streaks that stretch out past the ship.

But passengers on the Millennium Falcon or the Enterprise actually wouldn't be able to see stars at all when traveling that fast, found a group of physics Masters students at England's University of Leicester. Rather, a phenomenon called the Doppler Effect, which affects the wavelength of radiation from moving sources, would cause stars' light to shift out of the visible spectrum and into the X-ray range, where human eyes wouldn't be able to see it, the students found. [How Interstellar Space Travel Works (Infographic)]

"The resultant effects we worked out were based on Einstein's theory of Special Relativity, so while we may not be used to them in our daily lives, Han Solo and his crew should certainly understand its implications," Leicester student Joshua Argyle said in a statement.

The Doppler Effect is the reason why an ambulance's siren sounds higher pitched when it's coming at you compared to when it's moving away ? the sound's frequency becomes higher, making its wavelength longer, and changing its pitch.

The same thing would happen to the light of stars when a spaceship began to move toward them at significant speed. And other light, such as the pervasive glow of the universe called the cosmic microwave background radiation, which is left over from the Big Bang, would be shifted out of the microwave range and into the visible spectrum, the students found.

"If the Millennium Falcon existed and really could travel that fast, sunglasses would certainly be advisable," said research team member Riley Connors. "On top of this, the ship would need something to protect the crew from harmful X-ray radiation."

The increased X-ray radiation from shifted starlight would even push back on a spaceship traveling in hyperdrive, the team found, slowing down the vehicle with a pressure similar to the force felt at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. In fact, such a spacecraft would need to carry extra energy reserves to counter this pressure and press ahead.

Whether the scientific reality of these effects will be taken into consideration on future Star Wars films is still an open question.

"Perhaps Disney should take the physical implications of such high speed travel into account in their forthcoming films," said team member Katie Dexter.

Connors, Dexter, Argyle, and fourth team member Cameron Scoular published their findings in this year's issue of the University of Leicester's Journal of Physics Special Topics.

You can follow SPACE.com assistant managing editor Clara Moskowitz on Twitter?@ClaraMoskowitz.?Follow SPACE.com on Twitter?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/warp-speed-hyperspace-really-look-170710011.html

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Home Staging Expert, Christine Rae, Signs Publishing Deal With ...

Christine Rae will team with CelebrityPress, a leading book publishing company, and several leading experts from around the world to release the book, ?Home Staging Secrets.?

Toronto, Ontario. ? January 7, 2013 ? Christine Rae, President and CEO of CSP International, has joined a select group of the world?s leading home staging experts co-write the forthcoming book titled, ?Home Staging Secrets: The World?s Leading Experts Reveal Their Secrets for Getting Maximum Value for Your Home with Minimal Effort.? Nick Nanton, Esq., along with business partner, JW Dicks, Esq., recently signed a publishing deal with each of these authors to contribute their expertise to the book, which will be released under their CelebrityPress imprint.

Christine Rae is known as the leading expert and trendsetter of the Real Estate Staging Industry. In her role as President and CEO for CSP International, ?she steered the company to the top of the excellence chart for her industry. The CSP International Academy is known as a successful incubator for ?would be? entrepreneurs with a decorating flair who want control over their own destiny, while building successful, profitable businesses of their own. CSP International provides a safe haven for learning, support, knowledge, best practices and leading market trends. Graduates from the Academy benefit from a reputation of excellence, helping them gain credibility and recognition as they market and develop their own business.

Christine and her unique signature CSP? Real Estate Staging Business Program is accredited through RESA from whom she has received awards, accolades, and recognition ? including Innovator of the Year. ?Currently six US colleges across the country endorse the program. Her book, Home Staging for Dummies?, has also been selected as the textbook on Staging at several colleges in Canada.

?Home Staging Secrets? will feature proven secrets and strategies to help both real estate agents and homeowners get houses ready for sale. They go ?way past? the old standby sales advice to transport your house to a new level of sales readiness and marketability ? one that appeals to a broader range of buyers ? with the specific goal of selling it in a shorter time for a higher price. The book is expected to be published in April 2013.

To learn more about Christine Rae please visit http://www.stagingtraining.com

About Christine Rae:?

Christine?s success stems from her work ethic, desire for excellence, integrity and integral goodness. In a very competitive industry, what sets CSP International? apart are the differentiators and the driving force to be of service and value to the student. ?From the outset, CSP International core values, mission, ?pay it forward? philosophy and their apprenticeship program have been the catalyst for the myriad of differentiators which set CSP apart.

Christine has also developed and trademarked EcoStaging?. In February 2012 she was presented with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award from the Real Estate Staging Association for her work and contributions to the industry.? She is an Industry Expert Blogger for REALTOR? magazine, a regular contributor to Real Estate Magazine and is the Green Staging Expert for HomeGain?. ?Christine was also a guest on the Michael E Gerber TV show, featured on NBC, ABC, FOX and CBS. She has been a featured speaker and keynote for many industry events including six Stagers Expo?s, Real Estate Staging Association, a Real Estate event in Sydney Australia, and expert speaker at the California Association of Realtors convention.

About Celebrity Press?:

Celebrity Press? is a business book publisher that publishes books from thought leaders around the world. Celebrity Press? specializes in helping its authors grow their businesses through book publishing. Celebrity Press? has published books alongside Brian Tracy, Dr. Ivan Misner, Ron Legrand, Mari Smith, Kelly O?Neil, Alexis Martin Neely and many of the biggest experts across diverse fields.

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Source: http://www.stagingtraining.com/news/home-staging-expert-christine-rae-signs-publishing-deal-with-celebritypress-for-new-book-home-staging-secrets.php

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