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By Kim Palmer
CLEVELAND, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The world-renowned Cleveland Clinic said on Wednesday it would cut jobs and slash five to six percent of its $6 billion annual budget to prepare for President Barack Obama's health reforms.
The clinic, which has treated celebrities and world leaders such as musician Lou Reed, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and former Olympic gold medal skater Scott Hamilton, did not say how many of its 44,000 employees would be laid off. But a spokeswoman said that $330 million would be cut from its annual budget.
"Some of the initiatives include offering early retirement to 3,000 eligible employees, reducing operational costs, stricter review of filling vacant positions, and lastly workforce reductions," said Eileen Sheil, Executive Director of Corporate Communications for the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
The clinic is Cleveland's largest employer and the second largest in Ohio after Wal-Mart. It is the largest provider in Ohio of Medicaid health coverage for the poor, the program that will expand to cover uninsured Americans under Obamacare.
"We know we are going to be reimbursed less," under Medicaid, Sheil said.
Cleveland Clinic has almost 100 locations around Ohio employing 3,000 doctors. Its main campus is world renowned for cancer and cardiovascular treatment.
"To prepare for healthcare reform, Cleveland Clinic is transforming the way care is delivered to patients," Sheil said without elaborating.
The clinic's Lerner Research Institute had a total annual research expenditure of $255 million in 2012 and recently announced breakthroughs in creating a breast cancer vaccine, drugs to treat Alzheimer's patients and research into the genetic mutations in prostate cancer.
A 2009 study by the clinic concluded that it accounts for nearly eight percent of the economic output of northeast Ohio.
A key part of Obamacare, officially known as the Affordable Care Act, goes into effect on Oct. 1, when states are supposed to begin offering Americans health insurance options through online exchanges to compare prices.


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Terrorist threat may be at most 'heightened state' since 9/11, Napolitano says
Wednesday, February 9, 2011; 5:08 PM
The terrorist threat to the United States may be at its most "heightened state" since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and al-Qaeda and its affiliates are placing increased emphasis on recruiting Americans and other Westerners to carry out attacks, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said at a congressional hearing Wednesday.
Napolitano spoke before the House Committee on Homeland Security, whose chairman, Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), is planning hearings on the threat posed by domestic radicalization and a growing incidence of U.S. citizens or legal residents involved in terrorist plots.
"This shift, as far as I'm concerned, is a game changer that presents a serious challenge to law enforcement and the intelligence community," King said.
While Napolitano addressed the growing threat of homegrown terrorism, Michael E. Leiter, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said al-Qaeda's leadership, based in Pakistan, is "at one of its weakest points in the past decade."
He said, however, that the pressure on al-Qaeda has allowed its affiliates, such as the group's allied organization in Yemen, "to innovate on their own."
"I actually consider al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula . . . [to be] probably the most significant risk to the U.S. homeland," said Leiter, using the formal name for the Yemeni affiliate. "They've been quite successful at being innovators."
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has been tied to attempts to blow up a commercial aircraft over Detroit and two cargo planes traveling to the United States. One of the group's leading ideologues, the U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, has been linked to Nidal M. Hasan, the Army major facing trial for the mass shooting at Fort Hood.
The Yemeni group has also aggressively courted Westerners, an effort that has included the launch of an English-language magazine titled Inspire.
"It is spiffy," Leiter said. "It's got great graphics and in some sense we think probably speaks to individuals who are likely to be radicalized."
Articles in the magazine have called on supporters to launch their own attacks in Western cities. King asked Leiter whether he was concerned that messages or signals were being sent through Inspire.
"I think I'd take that more in a classified setting," Leiter said, "but as a general matter, I think Inspire is attempting not to build a secret network between AQAP folks in the United States or other English-speaking countries. It is more looking to what the title suggests: inspire them to act on their own."
King's focus on the radicalization of American Muslims has drawn criticism that his forthcoming hearings could indict an entire community.
"There are a variety of domestic extremist groups more prevalent in the United States than Islamic extremists, including neo-Nazis, environmental extremists, anti-tax groups, and others," Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), the ranking minority member on the committee, wrote last week in a letter to King in which he called for the scope of the hearings to be expanded.
King rejected that idea, saying in a written reply that threats from "Islamic jihad were uniquely diabolical."
"The Committee cannot ignore the fact that al Qaeda is actively attempting to recruit individuals living within the Muslim American community to commit acts of terror," he said.

subset: commoncrawl


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Our second full day in the Amazon on our International Expeditions River Cruise started at the crack of dawn, as we left on our skiffs for an early morning birdwatching expedition on a small tributary of the Ucayali River. We saw dozens of species along the way, but the light was largely too low (or the birds too far away) for good photos, even with my 400mm lens. But this gorgeous Dusky Headed Parakeet proved remarkably cooperative, posing atop a stump near the water.
This juvenile Black Crowned Heron was equally photogenic. He appeared to be keeping an eye out for an early morning fish, sitting in branches just a few feet about the creek's water, which was black from the tannins accumulated as it made its way down from the Peruvian Andes. I was mesmerized by the color of his brilliant orange eyes, just as he seemed to be mesmerized by the clicking and beeping of our cameras.
Bats have gotten a bit of a bad rap in the years since Bram Stoker's Dracula was written, but they're FAR more likely to eat pesky insects such as mosquitoes than they are to suck human blood. These long-nosed bats were very tiny (bodies no more than 3-4 inches long) and had a uniquely adorable appeal. As our naturalist guides pointed out, the bats are more fearful than fearsome, with everything from caimans to various birds of prey considering them a tasty snack. No wonder they stayed so close to the water…
As we made our way deeper into the Amazon rainforest, we saw fewer and fewer signs of human habitation, which made the sighting of a Ribereños home seem all the more incredible. Located many miles from the nearest town, with nothing but a dugout canoe for transportation, these "river people" lived and worked in harmony with nature, fishing and harvesting local fruits to feed their families and building floating houses or houses on stilts to avoid flooding when the river's waters reached their annual high of 40 feet or more. This shot is a great example of a simple Ribereños home.
We've never seen more birds of prey (in terms of different species or sheer quantity) than we saw every single day we were in the Peruvian Amazon. Owls, falcons, hawks, caracaras, vultures and osprey seemed to be everywhere. The beautiful bird is the Grey-Headed Kite, a raptor species found in open woodland and swamp-like forests ranging from eastern Mexico and Trinidad down to Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. This guy was clearly on the hunt (for reptiles and frogs), and his profile against the blue sky was as distinctive as his call, a mewling keow.
Unlike in the Galapagos Islands, Amazon wildlife seems to have a healthy fear of humans (perhaps because many of them have historically been hunted for food), scrambling away anytime our skiffs got a little too close for comfort. So any time we DID get within 20 yards or so, the encounter felt incredibly special. As I stood up in the bow of our boat to get the shot, this handsome juvenile green iguana (check out the vivid colors of his spikes!) took notice of us immediately, and we were only able to squeeze off two quick shots before he made his escape.
In our last major wildlife encounter of the morning, we were treated to the rare sight of two primate species side by side. The little fella on the bottom is a Squirrel Monkey, and this is literally the only one of the dozens we saw in the Amazon who wasn't skittering around like crazy. The big, bushy tail belongs to a Equatorial Saki Monkey, whose range includes much of northern and central South America. Sakis are fairly small, but their thick fur coats make them look a little like the pimps of the monkey world. It was really incredible to see these two species co-existing peacefully.
Saki Monkeys are generally very shy and cautious, living and sleeping in the rainforest trees and leaping from branch to branch in search of fruit. But this guy immediately took an interest in our boat, and apparently felt threatened enough by our presence to stand up on his powerful hind legs to check us out. The moment provided an awesome view of his muscular form, and the hooded fur that made him look a little like a man in a monkey suit.
After we made our way back to the Aquamarina for lunch and our daily siesta, I quickly realized I wasn't feeling well. At first I thought I was just tired from too much sun and sweat, but when Montezuma's Revenge kicked in I wondered if perhaps it was something more. Soon there were chills, rapidly spiking fever, and a near-delusional dizziness that I later realized was some sort of dehydration/heat stroke! I was really bummed to miss our afternoon trek out to Yuracocha Lake, which is connected to the river by a small stream, but fortunately Mary was able to get some killer shots. This Great Egret in flight was one of my favorites, with its vivid white feathers providing a stark contrast to the verdant green forest, which was darkened by foreboding rain clouds.
The worst part about not feeling well enough to go on the Caro Lake excursion was missing out on our one and only opportunity to see the distinctive species known as the Hoatzin (a.k.a. Canje Pheasant). Found only in the swamps and riverine forests of Amazon and the Orinoco delta, the Hoatzin's DNA makes them genetically enigmatic, and there has been intense scientific debate about its evolutionary connections to other bird species. The pheasant-sized bird, whose chicks possess claws on two of their wing digits, is often called the Stinkbird due to the manure-like odor caused by its unique digestive system.
Locals also refer to the hoatzin as the Punk Rock Bird, and Mary's killer close up shot makes it easy to see why: With its brilliant blue face, maroon eyes, and a spiked orange crest that looks a little like a mohawk, this bird is one leather jacket and a few dozen safety pins shy of fitting in at a Black Flag concert circa 1984. Their noises are just as odd as their appearance, making a bizarre variety of groans, croaks, hisses and grunts that are often associated with body movements, such as wing spreading. This is a truly a freaky looking/smelling/sounding species, and missing the chance to see them was the only major downside of my Amazon adventure.
We tend to focus most of our photographic attention on people and wildlife when we travel, but the Peruvian Amazon was full of fantastic flora as well as fauna. From the mustard yellow flowers of Rosewood trees and vast patches of purple Morning Glories to vivid red Passion Flowers and the huge green pods of Ice Cream Fruit, the plants of the Amazon were just as colorful and spectacular as the wildlife. We obviously didn't stop for them nearly as often, but Mary was able to get a great shot of these massive 3-foot wide lilypads, which were dotted with gorgeous pink Water Lilies.
For an area known as the Amazon Rainforest, the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve had a lot less precipitation than we expected. In fact, this late afternoon shower on Lake Yuracocha was one of only two we experienced during our entire week in the Amazon. Although I was sad to miss the Hoatzin sighting, seeing pictures of our friends Jeff, Paul and Cathy starting to get soaked and seeing their hangdog looks as they got off the boat convinced me I'd made the right decision in staying behind. Though I was miserable for the night, it gave me the time I needed to re-hydrate and recuperate, recharging my body for the next day of our amazing Amazon adventure. –by Bret Love; photos by Bret Love & Mary Gabbett
If you liked Peruvian Amazon 2, you might also like:
Day 1 Photo Gallery: Piranha, Iguana & Hotter Than A Sauna
Day 3 Photo Gallery: 3-Toed Sloth, Toucan Sam and the Elusive Pink Amazon River Dolphin
Day 4 Photo Gallery: Up Close & Personal with one of the Amazon's Most Endangered Species
Day 5 Photo Gallery: Visiting a Shaman, Peruvian beauty & the cutest kids you've ever seen!
Day 6 Photo Gallery: Out Of The Village & Into The Jungle
VIDEO: Amazon River Cruise Highlights
VIDEO: Amazon River Boat Party With Peruvian Music
PHOTO GALLERY: The Faces of Peru


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(CNN) -- It was both painful and strange for Robert Soulas and his wife, Corinne, as they stared across the Atlantic. The ocean still held the bodies of their daughter and son-in-law, three months after the crash of Air France Flight 447.
That day in 2009, standing along the shoreline of Brazil's festive Ipanema Beach was as close as the Soulases could come to the spot hundreds of miles offshore where 24-year-old Caroline Marie and Sebastian Vedovati, 34, had taken their last breaths.
"You are crying, you are praying, you are thinking about your child, while beside you, you can hear people laughing and playing," said Robert Soulas on the phone Wednesday from his home outside Paris. "It was not a good country for grieving -- for crying."
The Soulases' daughter and her flight attendant husband were among the 228 victims aboard the Airbus A330 which disappeared from radar between South America and Africa en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. In the two years since the crash, the Soulases say they've been haunted by the pain of not knowing why the plane went down.
It was only this month that searchers were able to find the aircraft's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder -- the so-called black boxes -- in mountainous terrain under 13,000 feet of ocean.
The first information from that data is expected to be made public on Friday.
Investigators will be able to ID bodies, official says
But if data from those devices had been uplinked from the plane to satellites immediately before the crash, would hundreds of victims' loved ones have been spared some anguish?
"If we'd had the technology before, we would now have the causes of the crash and it would be less painful," said Robert Soulas, a 59-year-old electrical engineer who works in the French defense industry. He helps lead a group of more than 300 others who also lost loved ones aboard Flight 447, all of whose grief would be less intense, he said, if they could only know why.
Did the plane crash because of pilot error or bad weather or equipment malfunction? Speculation has been easy to come by, but answers have been elusive.
Two years ago in Washington, the Air France crash spurred U.S. aviation safety officials to look into uplinking critical flight data to orbiting satellites from airplanes flying across vast oceans.
Here's how advocates say such a system would work: Currently flight data recorders use computer chips to record information about how the plane is working in flight. Another device, the cockpit voice recorder, records audio from crew members including pilots. If the plane crashes over a large body of water, the devices can't be retrieved without help from special recovery teams.
See photos of Flight 447 black boxes and wreckage
A new system being researched by the National Transportation Safety Board would uplink airplane data about its location, direction, equipment functions and about 30 other parameters to orbiting satellites, which would then beam the data back to the ground for storage. In the event of a crash, that data could be easily accessed from the storage sites and then analyzed for clues to what caused the disaster.
Advocates say such a system -- although pricey -- could save millions of dollars in operations to recover on-board flight data devices. Searching for the Air France devices and aircraft wreckage cost $40 million, according to a report by France's aviation investigation agency, the Bureau d'Enquetes et Analyses. "Fortunately they found these boxes," said Greg Feith, a former NTSB investigator, "but who knows, tomorrow we could lose another airplane and not be so lucky."
The time saved by having immediate access to aircraft data offers critical safety benefits, said Feith, because experts could warn airlines sooner about potential equipment problems blamed for the crash.
But skeptics cite several reasons why in-flight data uplinks might not work, including high costs, limited bandwidth, security concerns, privacy issues, and cumbersome aviation bureaucracies.
In fact, two powerful government bureaucracies with oversight of the U.S. aviation industry -- the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration -- disagree about the promise of in-flight uplinks.
"While the technology may exist, the use of telemetry for commercial airplanes is not currently practical due to bandwidth issues," said an FAA spokeswoman.
Jim Cash, the NTSB's chief technical adviser for vehicle recorders, who's been studying flight recorder technology for decades, is optimistic about a solution.
Bandwidth issues can be beat, Cash says, by limiting data and only uploading it to satellites when necessary. The data upload would begin automatically if the plane shows signs of distress during flight. "You wouldn't get a continuous data stream -- it would be activated by an automatic trigger -- but at least you would get the data when it counts," said Cash. The NTSB and France's BEA are asking the industry for data from past accidents to help design "trigger criteria" that would be used to activate the uplink system.
"Airbus is seriously looking at providing that triggering criteria technology as standard equipment on large aircraft," said Cash. A BEA report on the crash of Flight 447 said uplink technology would cost more than $10,000 to retrofit each airliner. However, Cash says much of the satellite uplink technology already exists aboard many of the world's newer airliners as part of a ground-to-plane messaging technology called the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System.
Sarasota, Florida-based L-3 Communications Aviation Recorders makes about 60% of flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorders used on U.S. aircraft, according to vice president of engineering Tom Schmutz. "People can't understand why we can't simply strap a cell phone onto an airplane and move a bunch of data around," said Schmutz. "This is a complicated system. Complicated systems cost a lot of money. They don't always work right. I'm a little skeptical about, one, how necessary it is right now, and two, how realistic it is that somebody's going to foot the bill for this in the short term."
Representing the airline industry, the Air Transport Association says it's concerned about the potential cost and wants to assess the overall need for such a system within the aviation community.
But Peter Goelz, former top NTSB administrator, says an uplink system "ought to be ordered immediately for all extended range aircraft right away. We ought to just do it. There's no reason not to."
"The aviation industry historically fights what they consider to be extraneous safety mandates, particularly if it costs them money that they cannot immediately recover," said Goelz, who compared the situation to the cargo hold fire that led to the 1996 Florida crash of ValuJet Flight 592, which killed all 110 passengers and crew.
Goelz said he and his NTSB colleagues fought industry push-back for their recommendation that smoke detectors and fire suppression systems be mandatory equipment in airplane cargo holds. "It cost about 10% of what they thought it was going to be, and we haven't had any fires in cargo holds since then," he said. "There's always an opposition."
Industry figures worry about other questions that may trouble developers of the uplink system, including how to protect the data from hackers. Uplinked audio likely would have to be encrypted, experts say, because privacy laws protect audio from cockpit voice recorders from being released to the public.
The NTSB considered other methods of collecting data from troubled aircraft, including "deployable" systems that would eject from distressed planes to be picked up later by search teams. Researchers determined satellite uplinks to be the most promising. The Transportation Security Administration is looking into the possibility of using similar technology to monitor hijacked aircraft, said Cash.
At their home in France, the Soulases hope clues from the newly found data recorders will shed some light on why their loved ones died, two long years ago. "I will be in peace when I know the truth," Robert Soulas said. "I need to know exactly what happened."


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By Matthew Thompson, Associate Food Editor for EatingWell Magazine
Has this ever happened to you? You're planning a summer get-together with friends -- just something casual, maybe a picnic by the lake or a backyard cookout—when someone asks you to stop by the supermarket to "pick up a few things."
Don't Miss: 15 Tricks to Save Money at the Grocery Store
It's easy for a backyard picnic to get expensive. Fortunately, there are a few equally easy ways to control costs. We talked with eco-expert Pablo Päster about whether "eco-friendly" picnic items are worth the extra expense for the July/August issue of EatingWell Magazine and did some price comparisons of our own on which popular cookout foods will set you back the most. The results were often surprising.
Don't Miss: Best & Worst BBQ Foods to Eat & Avoid
Here are 5 things you definitely don't need to buy for your next cookout.
1. Skip: Fancy Picnic Sets – Reusable cups, plates and picnic baskets (or fancy sets of them all together) can be an environmentally friendly alternative to disposables…but only if you actually use them. Since they take a lot more energy to make than disposables, a durable item that collects dust in your closet after one use is actually less environmentally friendly than a disposable one. For instance, a stainless-steel travel mug has roughly the same impact as 24 paper or 46 Styrofoam cups. And then there's the cost…the lowest price we could find for a picnic basket set with 4 plates was $39.99. That's over nine times the cost of a 50-pack of plates. In other words, you'd have to go on at least 112 picnics with your reusable set for it to cost less.
2. Skip: Prepackaged Veggie Platters – What could be easier than grabbing an already assembled veggie platter from your supermarket's deli counter and bringing it along to your next cookout? Sounds great, but that convenience comes with a price. You can save more than $10 by buying veggies from the produce aisle, cutting them and assembling your own platter.
Don't Miss: 13 Cooking Tips to Save You Money
3. Skip: Compostable Plastic Cutlery – So-called "compostable" plastics are being marketed as a greener alternative to traditional plastic forks and knives. The problem is, they might not be. According to Päster, there are conflicting claims about their true compostability. In addition, many recycling centers can't process them. The result? These "green" plastics often end up in a landfill -- making them unworthy of the steep markup they come with. A 100-pack of compostable plastic cutlery costs $10.10 -- that's $6.31 more than traditional plastic, which, in many areas, can be recycled.
4. Skip: Disposable Bamboo Plates – Bamboo is often marketed as a "green" material. And in many ways it is: since it grows so fast, it's much more sustainable than wood. However, most of the bamboo grown industrially comes from Southeast Asia. And since it's both heavy and shipped a long distance that means it's got a hefty carbon footprint. So much for sustainability! Until there are more domestic sources for this product, don't be tempted. A 25-pack of 9-inch disposable bamboo plates costs a staggering $22.46. That's $20 more than a pack of paper plates!
5. Skip: Prepared Fried Chicken – There are few things more classic than bringing fried chicken to your summer picnic. However, take care where it comes from. Premade 12-piece buckets can cost around $12.99/lb. at supermarket deli counters -- and as much as $20 at national restaurant chains. That might not seem like too much, but some of EatingWell's oven-fried chicken recipes (including the Oven-Fried Chicken on a Stick, pictured above) shake out to a lean $2.07/lb. So making your own chicken will save you $10.92. Of course, there's a nutrition bonus, too: fried chicken isn't exactly the world's leanest meal. A 5-ounce serving of chicken drumsticks from KFC has 334 calories and 6 grams of saturated fat. Our recipe has only 280 calories and 2 grams of fat. Talk about savings!
Don't Miss: 6 Simple Tricks to Save $2,997 on Food
Total Savings: $87.22
What's your best tip for saving money at a cookout?
By Matthew Thompson
Matthew Thompson is the associate food editor for EatingWell Magazine.
More from EatingWell:


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Join the Barristers this Saturday, July 6th, as volunteer attorneys provide guidance to the public on various legal issues and basic legal rights in the areas of consumer law, landlord-tenant, small claims, wills and trusts, business disputes and other related legal issues.
Our Monthly Free Legal Clinic is held at our new location at La Cienega Park, located at 8400 Gregory Way (La Cienega Blvd and Gregory Way) in Beverly Hills while our permanent home at Roxbury Park undergoes construction over the next year.
If you are interested in volunteering or would like more information please feel free to contact co-chairs Brian Smith at firstname.lastname@example.com or Anton Labrentz at firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Barristers Monthly Free Legal Clinic is a community service program of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, 9420 Wilshire Blvd, 2nd Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.


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But the study also shows how difficult doctors find it to criticise the ethics and professional conduct of their colleagues, to their own and their colleagues' detriment.
The findings are based on a survey carried out by the Research Institute of the Norwegian Medical Association, to which over 90% of practising doctors in Norway belong.
Just over 1600 doctors were surveyed on various political and social aspects of medical practice. They were specifically asked if they had ever made any mistakes while caring for a patient and how difficult they found it to mete out criticism to colleagues.
In all, 1318 responses were received from doctors in general medicine, primary care, laboratory medicine, internal medicine, surgery, psychiatry, public health, and occupational medicine.
Around seven out of 10 of the respondents said that a patient had never come to serious harm under their care. But 354 (27%) answered "a few times, and 14 (1%) answered "several times."
Male surgeons were significantly more likely to make mistakes than other doctors, although the authors point out that it may be easier to measure errors in surgery. And doctors don't always recognise "adverse events," so the figures in other disciplines may actually be higher, they say.
A proportion of respondents had sought professional help after making a serious mistake or found that the incident had made it harder to work as a doctor. And almost one in five said that it had had a negative impact on their private life.
One in four doctors admitting to serious mistakes said that they had not been supported by their colleagues afterwards.
Around half the doctors found it difficult to criticise a colleague's performance. But those who felt more comfortable doing so also ten
Contact: Emma Dickinson
BMJ Specialty Journals


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and you go up 100+ points in 16 games while losing 2?????? seems legit
Sorry, what?
First off, it was 93~ rating. Secondly, merk has screenshots of every single one of our wins automatically taken and uploaded to an imgur album which proves that we've played a variety of random teams and not fed 3 games and log out simultaneously.
Lastly, when your MMR is significantly higher than your team rating, you tend to gain rating fast, derp. You must be new to the MMR system.
Omg you made a team at 0 and got +96 for one win??? WIN TRADE!!111


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November 12, 2011
Video: Bullet-time surfing
Rip Curl and Time-Slice Films used GoPro HD cams to build a "'30 camera Array'–a line of cameras firing consistently as surfers ride towards and past it."
The same team erected an in-water scaffolding in Malaysia's Sunway Lagoon Hotel to mount 52 full-sized DSLR cameras:
Core77 features more details & photos of the rigs, along with behind-the-scenes videos.
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Answered By: Kathleen Goldfarb Last Updated: May 13, 2015 Views: 28
Answered By: Kathleen Goldfarb
Last Updated: May 13, 2015 Views: 28
We did not have any sources that provided an answer in our library. This is the kind of information that is most likely to be found locally, in this case Amsterdam, New York where Simcer road is located. I was found an email for the Amsterdam Free Library. I recommended contacting them. They are the most likely to have access oi this information if it is available: firstname.lastname@example.com.
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The porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) outbreak peaked in February and March of this year, with more than 200 new cases being reported every week. Now that's fallen below 100.
The number of states reporting cases remains at 30.
Watch the full AgDay report:
Because it is not still fully known how PEDv spreads, fairs around the nation are closing their doors to the swine barn. That means not allowing hogs at some fairs. The Indiana State Fair is allowing hogs, and those there tell us why they didn't cancel this year's exhibit.
"I was a little concerned at first, going to some of these jackpot shows in the early spring," says Indiana producer Cade Patten.
For many, visiting the swine barn at the Indiana State Fair is a yearly tradition. This year, that tradition almost didn't happen.
"We didn't know in January that this was possible. The mortality rate was so significant in herds across the state. We didn't know if we could host shows," says Indiana State veterinarian Bret Marsh.
For months Marsh had conversations with fair managers, helping them decide what actions to take because of PEDv.
"We have been taking cues from them and all the county fairs in the state. It never got to a critical level," says Indiana fair manger Andy Klotz.
As a precaution this year, Marsh and his staff performed an electronic identification check-in process before hogs were placed in the barn.
"As they come off the trailers, they are reinspected. We're looking at any clinical illness before arrival. Once in building, vets on campus are there to help with diseases," Marsh says.
Marsh and his staff perform daily checks around the building to be extra cautious.
"They have those who are actually sampling pigs for influenza throughout the run of the 4-H fair. It's an ongoing process," he says.
Purdue University ag economist Chris Hurt says PEDv has lessened.
"We were getting 300 new herds weekly that were being tested positive to PED. Those numbers are being tested down to 100," Hurt says.
Hurt adds that it's still not full control. How long the virus remains around is uncertain.
"The disease persists better and transmits better in cold weather months. So the question is as we go into this cooler fall and winter, will we have a resurgence of PED cases and death loss?" he says.
That's why it's important for producers like Cade Patten to stay on top of the disease.
"The breeders are doing an excellent job of keeping hogs vaccinated," Patten says.
Marsh says he did suggest terminal shows to many fair managers who were uneasy about the virus. He says this is the first summer PEDv has been found in exhibition pigs.
Marsh says these extra precautions at the fair aren't new. He did them last year as well for H1N1.
Milk Powders, Cheese Drive June's U.S. Dairy Exports
Project Aims to Boost Standing Rock Cattle


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Notorious headline-chaser and online retailer Kogan last week boasted it would sell Apple's just-released iPhone 5 for $100 less than the maker of the iPhone itself, Apple.
The offer appears to have been available only for Kogan's first batch of the new smartphones - the price has now gone up from from $699 to $749 for the 16GB model. Apple is offering the same model for $799.
The offer also does not include shipping, which will generally set buyers back around $20 depending on location. Therefore buying the new iPhone from Kogan will mean a discount of around $30.
It's important to note Kogan's iPhone 5 is a grey import from Hong Kong, meaning the retailer is bringing the devices over through non-official Apple channels. Hong Kong's 4G networks use the same spectrum, 1800 MHz, as Australia, so the imported products will still be compatible with local 4G networks.
Apple was forced to create three separate models of its latest iPhone in order for it to work with global LTE networks. Australia comes under the banner of the A1429 GSM model, which Hong Kong is also listed under.
There are a few factors that come into play when looking at how Kogan can afford to sell the iPhone 5 cheaper than Apple.
Exchange rate
Buying products in bulk from overseas at a likely discount (Ruslan Kogan declined to be interviewed) means savings in both purchase price, as well as through exchange rate differences for Kogan. The high Aussie dollar makes purchasing the smartphone from Apple in Hong Kong cheaper than it does in Australia.
For example, the 16GB iPhone 5 sells for around $A690 in Hong Kong compared to $A799 locally - a saving of over $100. Add to that a bulk discount, a lack of physical retail outlet overheads and you can see why Ruslan Kogan is Australia's richest person under 30, valued at $62 million according to the 2011 BRW Young Rich List.
In late 2010 Kogan launched its LivePrice service, as a method of letting consumers in on the production process and giving them a discount for getting in early - at the same time allowing Kogan to remove any chance of ending up with unsold stock.
The idea was to make pricing more transparent for customers, giving them the ability to choose at what stage of the production cycle to purchase a product, putting the cost of the products' manufacture in the hands of customers rather than investors.
The price grows through each stage of the manufacturing process, encouraging customers to get in early and save money, while simultaneously allowing Kogan to cut out the risk of excess stock in the warehouse.
Kogan lists 50 employees on its books. The company is able to cut through the overheads experienced by traditional bricks and mortar stores by operating as an online-only entity and bypassing wholesalers, distributors and retailers.
The retailer also aims to be as cheap as possible with Australian delivery. Rather than partnering with one single courier, Kogan gets several couriers to bid against one another for the cheapest delivery, Ruslan Kogan told Leading Company.
Kogan offers its own free 12-month warranty with each device, which has its drawbacks.
As it is offering the iPhone 5 under its "Kogan HK" business rather than "Kogan Australia", the device could require shipment back to Hong Kong for service, which could take up to three weeks to be returned to the customer*.
Apple confirmed Kogan's iPhones are still serviceable at Apple stores under its global one-year warranty.
The iPhone 5 is being sold at Apple stores as well as the local major telcos Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. Click through for the full local buying guide
The iPhone was originally slated to ship on September 21, however Apple has been forced to push that date back to September 28 because of overwhelming pre-order demand.
Pre-orders for the iPhone 5 sold out just one hour after the new smartphone became available on Apple's online store early Friday, trumping the previous records held by the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4.
Update 4:04pm: Kogan has since said it will be able to resolve any issues with devices imported from Hong Kong locally.


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Feature: Level Cap
An entirely objective ranking of the 50 best PC RPGs ever released. Covering the entire history of computer role-playing games is a daunting task and attempting to place the best games in such a broad genre in any kind of order is even more daunting. Thankfully, we are equal to all tasks and below, you will find the best fifty PC RPGs of all time.


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Don't believe everything you read on the internet.
In fact, don't believe much of what you read on the internet, as it pertains to pro wrestling. At least take it with a grain of salt.
Before this week's edition of Raw, there were rumors circling the internet and the internet wrestling websites that this week's episode of Raw would be a "throwaway" episode, with not much plot advancement leading to Wrestlemania.
Pretty much the opposite happened.
This episode of Raw saw The Undertaker return and receive a Wrestlemania opponent -- CM Punk. It saw Triple H call out Brock Lesnar. It saw Ryback and Mark Henry exchange a stare, which led many to think they are 'Mania bound. It saw John Cena and The Rock in the same ring, giving us a reason to care about their rematch.
The way I look at wrestling news sites is this -- if it's rumors or backstage gossip, there are three scenarios:
a) It's true. Somehow information was leaked, there is a mole that is passing along information. The organization might become aware of this and either change plans or continue on because it's not a big enough deal.
b) It's completely false. Which it is much of the time. The reason it's posted could be many -- to increase interest and clicks, to cause speculation.
c) It's purposely fed. The Brock Lesnar news items are a perfect example. News leaked that Brock Lesnar had signed a deal with WWE before Wrestlemania 28, fans were chanting "Lesnar" the night after on Raw and he returned. The weekend before he returned to WWE, another report leaked that he had re-signed. In all honesty, unless we have copies of the documents, we don't know the terms of the contract -- for all we know it could have been a two-year deal to begin with, and someone is feeding this information to the sites knowing that it will generate interest in watching Raw, which is, of course, a very smart move.
Moral of the story -- take what you read with a grain of salt, unless it's fact. On this blog, you won't see any reports on gossip or rumors. Just analysis and facts. Raw wasn't "throwaway" at all -- it was, in fact, a great plot-building episode leading to Wrestlemania.
-- I really love the "old school" theme. The legends were used just fine, and the attention to detail is superb. The signature, video intro/music, old school pyro, ropes, flags up high, mic flash, no mic sock, turnbuckles, guardrail, ring skirt, blue mats and steps, Justin Roberts in a blue tux, Michael Cole in a mustard blazer, Jerry "The King" Lawler in his old getup, refs in blue shirts and bowties, old school pop-up promos (Cesaro), the R-A-W stage, Cesaro's attire (like a 1950s pro wrestling shooter), logos in LCD displays ... #TheLittleThings matter, people!
-- The U.S. champion (Antonio Cesaro lost to Ryback), Intercontinental champion (Wade Barrett lost to Alberto Del Rio) and the Money in the Bank briefcase holder (Dolph Ziggler lost to The Miz) all fell this week. This is not a recording. This needs to change. I'm tired of secondary champions and future main event players losing all the time.
-- CM Punk interrupted Mae Young's 90th birthday celebration. Did anyone else notice Michael McGillicutty clapping at this in the background?
-- Mark Henry vs. Ryback seems to have become a thing. I don't mind it. Two behemoths colliding at Wrestlemania, both freakishly strong. Bring it on.
-- The Rock and John Cena met in the ring for the first time in a long time. Prediction -- this match will not close Wrestlemania. Undertaker vs CM Punk will.
-- Triple H called out Brock Lesnar for a match at Wrestlemania. I feel this one needs a stipulation to make it more interesting.
-- PTP lose again to Team Hell No. Brodus Clay and Tensai (Sweet T) beat 3MB. New Age Outlaws beat Primo/Epico. What's going on in the tag team division? Nice to see Honky Tonk Man back in a WWE ring. His reign as Intercontinental champion (454 days) was 20 days longer than CM Punk's reign as WWE champ (434).
Arda Ocal is an on air personality with The Score Television Network. Follow him on Twitter @arda_ocal


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FRIDAY, Oct. 18, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Despite efforts to stop drivers from texting behind the wheel, new research revealed that four of five college students have used their cell phones to send or receive text messages while driving.
And texting while driving is more common among men, according to researchers at King's College, in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., who said men often believe they are better drivers and therefore less likely to hurt themselves or others when texting behind the wheel.
The study was published recently in the International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management.
Previous research has shown that only 2.5 percent of people are actually able to perform more than one task at a time, according to a journal news release. Those who multitask well are simply better at shifting from one activity to the next, study authors Garold Lantz and Sandra Loeb, of the McGowan School of Business, said in a journal news release.
Moreover, previous studies have shown that texting behind the wheel is not unlike drunk driving, and can actually slow drivers' reaction time even more than alcohol.
"There seems to be a mentality that use of electronic devices is dangerous for everyone but 'me'," the researchers wrote. They said their findings could help government officials better understand attitudes about texting while driving and improve public-awareness efforts to curb this behavior.
"If further research conclusively demonstrates that texting while driving is as dangerous as driving drunk, this study suggests that a promotional campaign should be undertaken to assure that this point is clearly understood," the researchers said.
Texting while driving is banned in several countries such as the United Kingdom, according to the news release.
More information
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has more about texting and other forms of distracted driving.


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Tiny Tim, Houston's Beloved Fat Cat, Has Cancer
(HOUSTON) -- Tiny Tim, the hefty Houston feline that gained national attention for his overweight figure and subsequent strict diet and exercise plan, has been diagnosed with cancer in his leg that could prove fatal.
Dr. Alice Frei, who has been monitoring the 30-pound cat's progress at the Southside Place Animal Hospital, Thursday announced Tiny's "aggressive tumor" on his Facebook fan page, "Tiny Tim at Spah."
"Tiny Tim has cancer," Frei wrote. "There is no radiation or chemotherapy for such an aggressive tumor."
Frei said Tiny was rushed to Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine for treatment on Wednesday after SPAH staff noticed his elbow was swollen and pathology results showed cancer. A&M veterinarians confirmed the pathologist's findings, and "said the cancer was so rapidly growing that they could not define the cell of origin," Frei wrote.
Tiny is scheduled to have a CAT scan on Friday to see how far the tumor has spread and assess a treatment plan, but options for the beloved cat seem dire.
"If Tiny Tim's CAT scan does not show [the] tumor has invaded his chest, we have decided that the only course of treatment is to have the leg amputated," Frei wrote. "If the tumor has spread to his chest his treatment options are basically zero."
They are now waiting to see if Tiny Tim will need surgery, but even that will be a difficult decision for the staff.
"Surgery for Tiny Tim is a huge risk because of his size, and if he makes it through the surgery he has a long road back," Frei wrote. "It will be rough. With it he may die. Without it he will die."
Tiny, who's about 9 years old, weighed in at a hefty 35.2 pounds when he arrived at the animal hospital around Christmas 2011, but testing showed that Tiny was otherwise healthy. When a search for his owner proved unsuccessful, the hospital took him in as a permanent resident -- provided he'd lose weight.
By New Year's, the "super sweet cat" had been placed on a strict diet for the year.
"He has been on a very, very regimented diet -- measured meal plans, the whole works, and he is at 28.6 pounds," SPAH manager Debbie Green told ABC News in a recent interview. "He weighs in twice a week, and he gets meals measured in little bags throughout the whole week, so we know exactly what he's eating."
Tiny is fed a precise 307 calories per day, and his team of doctors would be "really, really excited if he got closer to 20 pounds," Green said.
Earlier this year, Tiny seemed to plateau at 30 pounds. The cat, somewhat ironically, lives in a food pantry in the animal hospital because he is too big for the normal cat cages at Southside. A staff member figured out Tiny had clawed a small hole into a bag of food and had been having midnight snacks.
Tiny's doctors make sure Tiny exercises by making him work for his bed and board. He is carried to the front of the clinic at least three times a day, and he has to walk the 50 feet back to his room for meals.
"He doesn't voluntarily walk around the office," Green said. "He used to move 10 steps and then sit down. Now he can get from the front to the back, which is about 50 feet, without much trouble at all."
Tiny's cancer hasn't been the only health concern for the SPAH staff. He is also at risk for feline diabetes or thyroid problems in the future because of his weight, Green said. They believe arthritis could become a problem for him too.
Regardless, the popular feline is pretty quiet and prefers the peace of his pantry to the business of the hospital's waiting room, but he enjoys the attention and brushing he receives from friends and fans who often stop by to visit him.
On Thursday night, he remained at the A&M veterinary hospital, where "he is doing fine, has the entire cat ward to himself and is getting lots of attention," according to his Facebook fan page.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio


text: Upgrading from regular old World of Warcraft to the newly released expansion Wrath of the Lich King is likely reward enough for fans of the MMO. But Blizzard obviously appreciates its fans enough to go to the lengths to give them a bit of an Easter Egg following the upgrade process in the form of a gorilla and shark high-fiving in front of an explosion. You know this image, right? Of course you do; you're a well traveled man or woman of the internet. In the slim chance that you're not, we'd direct you to the site of Dr. McNinja, where one can purchase the t-shirt that inspired the hidden gem. Reader Patrick was nice enough to screen cap it and let us know. Thanks for making our day a little brighter. *high five*


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Competence without credentials
Nevzer Stacey, National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning (U.S.), World Bank, Stanford University. Center for Work, Technology, and Organization
U.S. Dept.of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1999 - Business & Economics - 100 pages
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Nobody Is Telling You About The Regulatory Armageddon About To Swamp The US Economy
If you think federal regulation is bad today, just wait. You ain't seen nothin' yet.
By the EPA's own reckoning, the rule if implemented annually would cost American businesses $90 billion. But a related rule due to be taken up in December similarly would declare large swaths of the U.S. "closed for new business" until emissions are reduced to meet lower caps than exist today, says Anne Kolton, spokeswoman for the American Chemistry Council.
Those are just two of 600+ EPA regulations that the Obama Administration put on hold until after the election. (Source: Barrons)
From Enterprise Zones To Economic Dead Zones
Some of these regulations would put an outright ban on any new businesses across huge chunks of the United States. Others would shut down the coal industry, once and for all, throwing tens of thousands of workers into long-term unemployment.
These regulations will begin rolling out this month. That's another reason why smart businesses are stashing their cash. They have no idea what the regulations will mean to them.
Stocks Get Hammered
The DJIA fell more than 300 points today in the euphoria of Obama's re-election. If these regulations hit the books, we might not see 13,000 Dow for a decade.
Elections have consequences. This one's consequences could kill us.
Related articles
- November surprise: EPA planning major post-election anti-coal regulation (givemeliberty01.com)
- Obama's EPA Rushes to Push Job-Killing Regulations Into Place Before New Year (thegatewaypundit.com)
- The looming EPA power grab (thedaleygator.wordpress.com)
- A Tsunami of Costly Regulations Trails Obama (illinoisreview.typepad.com)
- Obama Admin. Ignores Legal Deadline To Disclose Regulatory Plans, Economic Impact - Again (cnsnews.com)


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Richie Incognito issued an apology to Jonathan Martin on Tuesday.
So heartfelt.
Whatever, it's a little late for that. A lot late.
Incognito, the former Dolphins offensive lineman who assaulted his former teammate with anti-gay and racist slurs in person and texts, was saying recently the truth would bury Martin.
Instead, Ted Wells' 144-page report buried Incognito, two teammates and the offensive line coach.
Yes, the offensive line coach, Jim Turner. That's how Incognito became enabled to commit reprehensible acts.
Well, more reprehensible acts, given Incognito's history of troglodyte behavior.
Wells documented ways in which Incognito, Turner, Mike Pouncey and John Jerry gleefully showed their homophobic and racist sides in their supposed mission to toughen up Martin.
The harassment included such things as explicit talk of what the players would do to Martin's female family members, repeated use of the N word, homophobic taunts, and "improper physical touching,'' Wells wrote.
Turner, the coach, the guy who could've acted like an adult in this pathetic act, bought a male blowup doll for Martin.
Incognito and his gang of idiots even verbally tortured the assistant trainer because he's Asian.
Click here for NFL.com's summary of lowlights of the Wells report, but you already know enough to know this:
Incognito can take his apology and sit forever. Incognito and his whole despicable bunch. None of them should be allowed back in the NFL.
Wells' report details behavior that's awful and actionable. That ought to get Roger Goodell's attention.
If Goodell has a thought that goes beyond making money for the owners, then he bans these guys. All of them. Forever.
Ban them to make the point that human beings work here.
Look, if you can suspend players for parts of a season and a coach for a year for putting bounties on opponents' heads, then you can certainly suspend these pathetic losers for violating so many forms of human decency that it would cost any normal company millions of dollars if this toxic workplace ever reached the courts.
Goodell and the NFL failed to hand down workplace rules, although in their defense, you shouldn't have to set down things a normal person should already know, things that parents should teach their kids.
But enabled players don't need much time to show how stupid they can be in the name of being a manly man.
So now, basic human conduct must be detailed by the league and sent to every player and coach and posted in every locker room, no matter how stupid that concept seems to basic humans.
That message has to be learned. But another message must be sent immediately. It has been five days since Wells released his report. Plenty of time. Quick, someone wake up Goodell and tell him it's time to do the right thing right now.


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Lost in the Forest
Gay Asian soldiers Thomas and Vernon have become lost in the forest while on patrol. When the pair realize that they are alone, they aren't worried, they are horny instead, and want to taste each others cock. The soldiers french kiss, and rub each others bodies through their uniforms. Thomas slides his friend's trousers down and sucks his cock. Vernon loves this, but wants to taste Thomas' cock in his mouth. Thomas still wears his uniform as Vernon on his knees, licks his shaft. The pair hope they don't get found too soon.
Private Jason's Basic Training
Soldier Jason is ordered to paint the office of his new commander David. But kinky Jason is more interested in his own cock than the paintbrush. His hands disappear in his pants and soon he needs to piss. The private has no qualms and pisses all over himself. By the time his commander walks in to check on the work, Jason and his uniform are soaking wet. But commander David is thirsty. He sucks the private's cock, and then drinks Jason's piss. The soldier then returns the pleasure and swallows a large pissdump himself. And that's just the appetizer.


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|"Black" and "White"
"Two players. Two sides. One is light. One is dark." The quote comes from Lost, but it's a perfect epitaph for The Sunset Limited, a stage play by Cormac McCarthy, and now also an HBO film.
The Sunset Limited has only two characters, named simply "Black" and "White." Early on it becomes apparent that Black had been on his way to work, waiting on the platform at the train station, when White had attempted to throw himself in front of the train. Black had caught him, stopped him, and brought him home to his apartment. The play itself consists of the two characters engaged in a verbal wrestling match for an intense ninety minutes.
White is a professional intellectual - Black calls him "Professor," and he is clearly better at stringing the words together than Black, who's an ex-con and reformed murderer living in the ghetto in hopes of being a sort of Good Samaritan to the hopeless lost (he calls them "the junkies").
The two debate the existence of God (Black believes; White doesn't), the meaning of life (to Black, it's about God; to White, there is no meaning to life), the reality of suffering (to Black, suffering is real, but has a purpose and an end; to White, all of life is vain suffering, a cruel joke, and death is the sickly sweet, desired end).
Throughout it all, White has a dazed, haunted look about him. Whereas Black can break out into a raucous laughter at his own silly joke, White can only laugh the despondent, despairing cackle of a man who's given up all hope of anything making sense.
Dialectically, Black is no match for White. But he possesses a simple wisdom about life that transcends all of White's big words and long sentences. With obvious anguish, Black pleads with White to, "Stay with me a while," "Let's talk some more," all the while hoping that White will open himself up to God and find the great relief and release that follows that simple act of the will. White won't do it – whether he cannot or will not, it's hard to say. In the end, it doesn't matter. He doesn't do it. All he wants to do is die and end his absurd, miserable, meaningless existence.
This week marks Passover, when Jews commemorate the Angel of Death passing over all the firstborn of the Jews in Egypt. At God's command, every Jewish family sacrificed a lamb and placed the blood on their door frames. When the Angel of Death came through, he saw the blood and "passed over" their homes, but every Egyptian firstborn was slain. The following day, Moses led the Jews out of Egypt, in plain view of the Egyptians who were mourning their dead.
The events of the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy take place after all this happens. It basically consists of one long sermon from Moses to the people of Israel. If you were to summarize it in one sentence, it might go something like this: "Serve God and you will have life. Reject God, and death will have you." Consider this sober prediction concerning the one who rejects God. "You will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. In the morning you will say, 'If only it were evening!' and in the evening, 'If only it were morning!' - because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see."
An 'anxious mind,' 'eyes weary with longing,' and 'a despairing heart filled with dread day and night.' That is White. He's rejected God, and death has him. All that's left is for him to finish himself off, making the choice complete.
This week is also Easter, when Christians, to whom Jesus is the Passover lamb of sacrifice, celebrate the great feat of redemption, not from the physical bondage of slavery in Egypt, but from the bondage of sin and slavery to a meaningless existence. The wholly redeemed life is signified by the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead which took place three days after Passover. Life, purpose, meaning … That is Black. He has simply responded to God, acknowledged God, and he has life.
Death or life. Some things really are black and white. "Two players. Two sides. One is light. One is dark." Which one will you choose?


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Apple in Talks to Buy Beats Electronics for $3.2 Billion
Deal Would Give Apple High-End Headphones, Fledging Subscription Music Service
Apple Inc. is preparing to bolster its streaming-music business with a proposed $3.2 billion deal to acquire Beats Electronics LLC, the high-end headphone maker that recently launched the Beats Music subscription service, according to people familiar with the matter.
The potential deal would provide Apple with an entree into two burgeoning markets: high-end headphones and subscription music. Services that charge a monthly fee for access to an unlimited amount of music are growing rapidly, led by Spotify AB, which counts more...


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Rich Countries Diseases Driving Poor Deeper Into Poverty - WHO (Report)
(HN, December 8, 2010) - Diseases that have traditionally been the leading cause of death in industrialized countries - such as cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic lung disease - are now mostly found in poorer countries, and are increasing the circle of poverty.
So-called noncommunicable diseases now account for 60 percent of all deaths - or more than 35 million - and of these - a whopping 80 percent occur in low and middle income countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
"The main burden is on low and middle income countries," said Dr. Ala Alwan, WHO Assistant Director-General, Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health.
Alarmingly, Africa will see the highest increase in mortality from noncommunicable diseases - 25 percent in the next decade.
Noncommunicable diseases account for 80-85% of mortality and share the same risk factors - such as an unhealthy diet and alcohol abuse.
A high proportion of the deaths are pre-mature, occurring in people under 60-years-old. "They are not only an enormous health problem, but also have very negative socio-economic consequences," said Alwan.
The problem for poorer countries, WHO says, is that treatment of these chronic diseases are expensive. "Health care costs are increasing and in poor populations a significant proportion of families with a family member with cancer or heart diseaes, will experience what we call 'catastrophic expenditure' - which drive the family below the poverty line," Alwan said at a media briefing in Geneva, monitored by HUMNEWS.
He said that when families are driven further into poverty, the risk factors increase - such as tobacco use, diabetes and obesity. For example, the highest rates of smoking is in developing countries: about 60 percent of men in certain poor countries use tobacco prods.
Of 10 countries with the highest prevalence of diabetes in the world, almost all are in developing populations. The Pacific island nation of Nauru now has the highest prevalence of diabetes (about 30 percent) in the world, followed by the Gulf States.
"We now have clear evidence that the magnitude of diabetes is increasing in developing populations - including India and China," Alwan said.
"So there have been repeated initiatives to find solutions to address this increasing problem. What we want to highlight is these are largely preventable, said Alwan, adding that by addressing tobacco control, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity a substantial amount of illness and premature death can be averted.
Noncommunicable diseases, such as cancer, are expensive to treat in developing countries so the most effective way to manage the epidemic is through prevention, experts say. The high rates of increase in cancer in the developing world was a key issue at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative in New York.
The active engagement of non-health sectors - such as agriculture, finance, trade, education, information and transportation - are crucial to addressing the epidemic. For example, increasing the price of tobacco products is "one of the most effective ways" of decreasing smoking, Alwan said.
While there is no prospect for negotiation with the tobacco industry, Alwan said, the food sector might be able to come up with such tactics as reformulation of food products and more responsible marketing. WHO is also pressing countries to reduce the amount of salt in food products.
Poorer countries complain that the epidemic of noncommunicable diseases is not a priority of development agencies and donor countries. They are also calling for indicators and benchmarks - such as the MDGs - to assist the battle against noncommunicable diseases.
The UN General Assembly will be hosting a high-level global meeting on noncommunicable diseases in 2011.
- HUMNEWS staff


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Lake Success, NY — Polar and Virgin HealthMiles, a health incentive rewards program that connects health clubs, health care and corporations by motivating consumers to take greater control of their health and fitness, have partnered to allow members to improve their fitness level by incorporating the benefits of heart-rate monitoring into their workouts and increasing the opportunity to earn even greater rewards. By adding a Polar heart-rate monitor as a tool for tracking exertion levels and progress, HealthMiles may be able to introduce members currently using a pedometer to higher fitness intensities through activities such as running, hiking or cycling, according to HealthMiles.
All Polar fitness watches will sync to the member's personal account on the HealthMiles LifeZone Web site, enabling them to track their overall activity and view their progress online, according to Polar.


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Catbird Pikkolo Baby Carrier Apriana
The Catbird Pikkolo is a compact, versatile, soft structured baby carrier that carries the baby from newborn up to 40 lbs. It's unique feature is the unstructured waist which makes it possible to cinch the carrier narrower to enable small babies to ride legs-out or older infants to face forward comfortably. Shoulder straps have absorbant padding makes long periods of baby carrying easy and comfortable. All buckles adjust both ways for an optimal fit. This is the New and Improved version for 2011
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by ANNE
I am a Grandma and have been a carrier junkie for decades. I decided to try out the Pikkolo after seeing it and reading the reviews. I have been wearing it with a 1 1/2 year old and a 2 month old and love it. I will not be buying another brand and am ordering my second Pikkolo to give to the parents of a coming grand-child. In a word - BRILLIANT!
by Marilea
I absolutely love my Pikkolo carrier. I originally bought it for an airplane trip with my 4 month old baby, but we use it practically every day for housework, walks, errands, and the late afternoon fussy period. My baby is much happier in the carrier. I also love that it has an additional support belt, which I've added now that my little one is getting bigger.
by Andrea
I thought it might be difficult to get my 1 year old into back carry position alone, but it was easy and he loves it! Customer service was great, got my question answered the same day, too. Fast shipping.
by Jessica Field
I got my Pikkolo from Fei over a year ago and have loved having it. It is so versatile and a must have when doing airplane travel. I flew by myself when my daughter was 3 months and used it the whole trip. Just recently I flew with her again by myself at 18 months and it was still such a lifesaver. She can breastfeed in private and feels cozy and comforted right next to me....and I'm comfortable to boot! Love this website and seller!
by Jessica
I'm a petite mom (5') married to a big & tall dad (6'4") and this fit both of us. We choose this one because of the versatility of having baby facing out when front wearing. She loves it. I love wearing her on my hip. More comfortable than other carriers I tried. Some the strap dug into my neck, but this one stayed comfortably on my shoulder. One tip, take note of the description above to wear at your natural waist or above. I had it lower, on my hips at first and it wasn't comfortable. Moved it up my torso to the right spot and it was perfect. See all reviews for Catbird Pikkolo Baby Carrier »
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Inspired by S'mores from designer Jo Morton
Quilt tester: Laura Boehnke
1⁄2 yard solid white (sashing, inner border)
1 yard blue floral (outer border, binding)
3—1⁄8-yard pieces assorted white prints (blocks, setting and corner triangles)
7⁄8 yards total assorted 1930s prints in yellow, lavender, green, orange, blue, and pink (blocks, setting and corner triangles)
1-1⁄8 yards backing fabric
40" square batting
Finished quilt: 31-3⁄4" square
Finished blocks: 4" square
Yardages and cutting instructions are based on 42" of usable fabric width.
Measurements include 1⁄4" seam allowances. Sew with right sides together unless otherwise stated.


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The Amarillo Bulls will look to continue their dominance of West Texas rival Odessa when the two teams face off for a pair of games at the Amarillo Civic Center Cal Farley Coliseum in North American Hockey League action this weekend.
The Bulls (23-3-3) and Jackalopes (5-23-2) will play at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Amarillo has an 8-0-0 record against Odessa this season and has outscored Odessa 38-12 in those games.
The Bulls are returning to action for their first game since a 3-1 win at Topeka on Dec. 15 and their first home contest since a 4-3 win against Wichita Falls on Dec. 9.
Amarillo has won five consecutive games.
Amarillo is in first place in the NAHL's South Division with 49 points, followed by Texas (22-10-1, 45) and Topeka (19-7-5, 43). Odessa has the league's worst record, although four of the team's wins have come on the road.


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Following the release of a Greenpeace pesticides report that named six well-known supermarkets that sell fresh fruits and vegetables, activists took their message directly to a RT-Mart in Taipei. Greenpeace is calling on companies like RT-Mart to deal with the issue of controlling pesticide use directly at the source, and ensure food safety for the benefit of consumers.
© Greenpeace / Up Against the Wall
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text: University Plaza Waterfront Hotel in downtown Stockton hosted a Bridal Event on Feb. 19. Janet Lang and Ron Maxwell learned at the very end of the event they had won a dream wedding prize worth $40,000. The event featured wedding vendors including Elegance Harp and Flute, which performed during the show. There was a fashion show with tuxedos from Formal Connection and dresses from Maggie's Bridal and Formal and The Elizabeth Bridal.


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Alaska National Guard unit being investigated for allegations of sexual misconduct
Current and former members of the Alaska National Guard say there's serious sexual misconduct within the ranks and an investigation of recruiters accused of rape is now underway.
Lt. Col. Jane Wawersik, a former Anchorage police officer, is investigating allegations of sexual assault as well as other offenses, such as inappropriate relationships with new recruits, by members of the Alaska Army Guard's recruiting and retention unit headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Members of the guard said other soldiers are also under investigation.
Sgt. Rosa Ralls, a currently serving member of the Alaska National Guard who reported being raped in 2009 by a former member of the military, said the sexual assault problem is severe.
"It's horrible, it really is," she said.
Lt. Col. Rick Koch, the state command chaplain for the Alaska National Guard, and Lt. Col. Ted McGovern, a chaplain in the Alaska Army National Guard, questioned why it's taken so long for action.
The two chaplains said sexual assault victims have been coming to them for years, and that the majority were assaulted by fellow guard members. The chaplains said victims don't trust their commanders to help because of a history of mishandled complaints, in which victims felt that nothing was being done.
"There were lots of bread crumbs on the trail that were never taken seriously. It was almost shocking to think that somebody wouldn't try to bore down deeper than they did," Koch said.
Maj. Gen. Tom Katkus, who has led the Alaska National Guard since 2009 as the adjutant general, confirmed "we do have some investigations going on." He said he could not discuss the details.
Katkus said the guard investigates all allegations of sexual misconduct.
"The Alaska National Guard will do everything appropriate to protect our women and men from sexual assault, and those who would attack their dignity and honor. We are focusing efforts on prevention, victim support, investigations, and accountability," the general said in a written response to questions.
The military is grappling with a nationwide sexual assault crisis. The Pentagon reported a 35 percent increase over two years in the estimated number of military personnel victimized by sexual assault and related crimes. Sexual misconduct is already an issue in Alaska, where the commander of the Army National Guard's 49th Missile Defense battalion at Fort Greely was suspended this summer following complaints that he condoned affairs.
The Alaska National Guard is part of the state's Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs. There are 1,905 members of the Army guard and another 2,029 serving in the air guard
Katkus said the federal National Guard Bureau has helped every state as the Department of Defense gained an understanding of the magnitude of the problem across the country.
The Alaska National Guard now has a trained sexual assault investigator, he said, while it used to have to rely on its senior officers to investigate.
Chaplains Koch and McGovern said the administration of Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, who oversees the Alaska National Guard, was told of sexual assault problems as far back as fall 2010.
The chaplains also said sexual harassment is pervasive in the Alaska guard and that the culture needs to change. "I would imagine every female in our organization has at least been harassed," Koch said.
The chaplains said some of the victims came to them through Lt. Col. Ken Blalock. Blalock said the first sexual assault victim, a subordinate, came to him around four years ago for help.
He said others soon followed after word got around that he would help them.
"I've had 15 sexual assault victims come to me," said Blalock, who is no longer in the National Guard.
Blalock said he brought sexual assault victims to the Anchorage police and the governor's office but nothing came of it except he got in trouble with his chain of command.
"I reported to police and the next thing I know I was getting my butt chewed by Gen. Katkus for daring to go outside of the chain of command with this stuff," Blalock said. "If a guardsman goes and robs a bank you call the police, you don't call the general."
Katkus said multiple agencies have looked into allegations by Blalock and "so far they haven't been able to substantiate too much."
In his written response to questions, Katkus said National Guard investigators pass information to law enforcement immediately when they became aware of possible criminal activity.
Katkus, a member of the governor's Cabinet as commissioner of Alaska's Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs, was an officer in the Anchorage Police Department for more than 20 years.
He said that as a police officer he was learned firsthand to the impact that sexual assault has on victims and the community, and that he is committed to protecting members of the guard.
"It is my non-negotiable responsibility to ensure that every member of this organization root out any and all harassment, hostile work environment, sexual assault, or trading of sexual favors," he said.
Lt. Col. Wawersik's investigation began in December and focuses on multiple members of the guard's recruiting unit. Wawersik declined to comment when reached by McClatchy.
Court filings show that this summer Wawersik sought and obtained a 20-day protective order against one of the soldiers, Master Sgt. John Nieves, who was a recruiting commander before being reassigned.
Wawersik wrote in the court filings that she was afraid Nieves would hurt or kill her.
"Nieves is a subject of a military investigation I am conducting regarding recruiter misconduct with recruits. . . . As a result of my investigation Nieves stands to lose his 20 year career and be publicly humiliated," she wrote.
Nieves told his counselor at Fort Richardson that "he has a specific plan in mind to harm me," Wawersik wrote in her petition for the protective order. The counselor took the threat seriously and contacted Wawersik to warn her, the petition said.
Wawersik also wrote that the Anchorage Police Department was conducting an undercover investigation "regarding Nieves offering an individual money to harm a witness in my investigation."
Police consider Nieves dangerous and advised her to get the protective order, Wawersik wrote. She added that, even as a former 10-year police officer, she had "never felt more in fear for her life."
Nieves has not been charged with any crime. He said at a July court hearing that the alleged threat against Wawersik was an overreaction. "It was a counselor, somebody I confide in with my issues, it just happened to be that day I was upset. . . . No woman should be under any threat. Period. I am sorry," Nieves said, according to an audio recording of the court hearing.
The judge declined to issue a long-term protective order.
Nieves, reached for comment last week, said he's never committed sexual assault and did not seek to harm any witness.
He said he is awaiting the conclusion of the National Guard's investigation.
"I haven't been charged with anything, just told that I'm being investigated for basically sexual misconduct. And that's it, that's all I know," he said.
Nieves said he couldn't discuss details while the investigation is ongoing.
"I wish I could, honestly, I do want to talk about it. . . . I haven't had any chance to clear my name at all."
The guard's problems have attracted the attention of Alaska's congressional delegation. Sen. Mark Begich said he started hearing last year from constituents about misconduct in the organization.
"We were getting such a frequency from a variety of sources that it told us there is something going on there," Begich said.
Begich said his inquiries led to a National Guard Bureau review of the Alaska Guard. While it didn't tackle the scope of the sexual assault issue, Begich said he thinks it triggered a broader review.
Sexual assault numbers are problematic, as it's a crime that's often unreported. Gen. Katkus said there have been 29 cases of alleged sexual assault reported since 2009 to the Alaska Army and Air National Guard's sexual assault response coordinator.
The alleged perpetrators were members of the military in 11 of the cases and civilians in the rest of them, according to Katkus.
In some cases the victim did not want the attack known. But most of the reports were referred for investigation to local law enforcement, he said, such as Anchorage police or state troopers.
Katkus said he is not aware of any prosecutions resulting from the cases.
Anchorage police offered little explanation in response to a series of questions from McClatchy, other than to say that its special victims unit works closely with the National Guard.
"The Anchorage Police Department has made targeting the problem of sexual assault in our community a priority, and each report of sexual assault submitted to APD is reviewed and investigated based on its individual circumstances and merit, regardless of suspect or victim affiliations," said spokeswoman Dani Myren.
National Guard Sgt. Ralls said she told the Anchorage police and National Guard about her rape in 2009, but never found justice.
"I have no trust for either organization," Ralls said.
Ralls obtained her police report and provided a copy to McClatchy. It shows the Anchorage Police Department investigated the alleged rape. But the last entry, which was from 2011, said the case was suspended awaiting analysis of a DNA sample from her alleged attacker. Anchorage police did not respond to an inquiry about the status of her case.
Ralls said she believes her attacker slipped something in her drink. Melissa Jones, who said she was raped while in the Alaska National Guard in 2007, also said she thinks she was drugged.
Jones said she told her guard supervisors about the rape and was then confronted by her fellow soldiers with rumors, including that she'd been gang raped by the entire F Company.
Jones, who does not know who raped her, said the guard gave her no help.
Jones said she left Alaska but was traumatized by what happened, started cutting herself, and at one point attempted suicide.
"I am extremely angry," she said.


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The Needs Assessment on the Problematic Use of Drugs and Alcohol
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|3 Days Suzhou Tour: Five-Star: Pan Pacific Suzhou Hotel | Deluxe: Days Hotels
|One of the smallest and yet most remarkable is known as the Garden of the Master of the Fishing Nets
(Wangshi Yuan). A garden was first built here in the Song dynasty, but
its present form and name date from the late 18th century, when the
scholar, Song Zongyuan, bought the property. A walk through the garden
with its bridges and carefully devised views is particularly rewarding.
Some visitors may recognize the Hall for Eternal Spring, which has been
recreated in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The larger and more open garden known as the Garden of the Humble Administrator (Zhuozheng Yuan) is part park and part a restored Ming garden. In the park section, visitors can stroll by the small pond and enjoy hot snacks served at a nearby stall. The classical Ming garden has a pool patterned with islands and bridges, one island of which—the Xiangzhou—is said to suggest a moored boat. In the small enclosed Loquat Garden are a series of decorative pebble pictures.
The oldest extant garden in the city is reputed to be the Pavilion of the Blue Waves (Canglang Ting), dating back to the Song dynasty. The garden was re-landscaped in the Ming dynasty and then destroyed in the Taiping Rebellion of the mid-19th century. It was restored in 1873. The garden has an imposing artificial hill and an open vista to an adjacent, willow-fringed canal.
Another seductively named garden is the Lingering Garden (Liu Yuan). With stylized landscapes in an ornamental setting, this large 16th-century garden is famous for its classical round doorways known as moon gates. These and other geometrically-shaped doorways provide natural frames for viewing the plants, pools and rocks beyond. The garden pool is framed by vast rock formations, which create the impression of mountains.
For the connoisseur of rocks, the Forest of Lions Garden (Shizi Lin) is a favourite. It was laid out in the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) under the supervision of the painter Ni Zan, and is thus one of Suzhou's most admired gardens. The garden was also the childhood home of the Chinese American architect, I.M. Pei. It has a fine collection of rocks, one of which is so large and eroded that it has small caverns and grottoes through which you can actually walk. Oddly shaped rocks were an indispensable feature of Chinese gardens; they were regarded as aesthetic objects and the most ornamental and coveted ones were those dredged from the bottom of Taihu Lake near Wuxi.
The Garden of Harmony (Yi Yuan) is a Qing-dynasty garden which has been modelled on earlier Ming ones. It too has a number of rocks dredged from Taihu Lake, which have been arranged as a mountain frame for the pond. It is interesting to note that this, like other classical Chinese gardens, does not have the dynamic, fluid quality of the Japanese garden. In the Chinese version there is a pleasure in the composed harmony of elements and the appreciation of devised contrasts.
|As far as temples are concerned, staying in Suzhou would be incomplete without a visit to the Cold Mountain Monastery.
This monastery has been immortalized in a Tang-dynasty poem by Zhang
Ji, copies of which are painted on fans or carved on inkstones and sold
as Suzhou souvenirs. The temple was founded in the fifth century and is
adjacent to a small, attractive canal, spanned by a high-arched bridge
which is featured in the name of the poem, 'Midnight at Maple Bridge'.
The monastery's bell has disappeared and the Ming replacement was taken to Japan and lost. The present bell, cast in 1906, was given by a Japanese Buddhist delegation. Cold Mountain Monastery is also famous for its association with the Tang-dynasty Buddhist monk-poet Han Shan, who stayed here at one time.
Opposite the Lingering Garden, you will find the West Garden Temple, designed by the scholar, Xu Shitai, in the Ming dynasty. The main curiosity is a pond where a reputedly 300-year-old turtle lives.
Of the many stone bridges remaining in Suzhou, the most famous lies in the southeast of the city and is known as the Precious Belt Bridge. It is over 1,000 years old, built in 816, and it has 53 arches. In its present form, it is a 19th-century restoration of the original. The bridge is so named because an early governor of the city is said to have sold a precious belt in order to raise funds to build it.
The North Temple Pagoda, easy to find because of its height, is a prominent landmark of Suzhou. It was built in 1582 and has been restored so that visitors can safely climb up to get a good view of the city. In the central district of the city stand the Twin Pagodas, which were built in the Song dynasty. They are all that remain of an earlier Tang temple.
To the northwest of the city is Tiger Hill. It is a wonderful sight, with its leaning pagoda, waterfalls, spring, rocks and landscaped paths. The hill was built in the Zhou dynasty (1027–256 BCE) as a burial mound for a local ruler, the King of Wu. Legend has it that a tiger guards the tomb—hence its name. For another half-day outing, the Dongshan area, 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of Suzhou on Taihu Lake, and Changshu, about the same distance to the north, both offer a glimpse of rural life.


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In the year 2207 a hail of strange meteors strike the Earth, effectively killing an estimated 60% of mankind. Prior to the impact, the nations of the world moved bulks of their populations to space to dodge the coming apocalypse. All but one made this move. Japan decided to ignore the mandate and moved underground, building massive bunkers. Fifty-three years later, mankind returns to the surface, and the struggle for resources of an unprecedented scarcity prompts one of the greatest conflicts in Earth's long history. But will mankind notice the alien passengers that arrived with the meteorites?
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April 16th Playtest Screenshots.


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You can spend $40 or $50 dollars to tour London via a sightseeing bus, or for a couple of bucks and a little ingenuity you can get the same sightseeing experience by riding London's famous red double-decker city buses like a real Londoner. Remember the tour buses have to run in the same traffic as everybody else. Buy a Travelcard for the day and take a self-guided city tour on London's best bus routes. Here are four routes that cover most of the major sights in the city.
Number 74
Starting in Putney, this route travels past London's museums hub in South Kensington where the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum sit side by side. It then passes luxury department store Harrods and the boundary of one of London's largest green spaces at Hyde Park Corner. You can catch a glimpse of The Dorchester hotel just after, followed by the famous haunt of public rhetoric – Speaker's Corner at Marble Arch. The final stop is Baker Street, home to both the Madame Tussauds wax figure museum and the Sherlock Holmes Museum, at the site of the fictional detective's residence.
The number 9 is one of only two routes operating the old-style Routemaster buses on part of its route. Leaving from Hammersmith, it passes Kensington Palace (you'll have to get off to see it) followed by the beautiful Royal Albert Hall and the monument to Queen Victoria's husband which sits opposite it. Like the number 74, the 9 passes the museums in Kensington, Harrods and Hyde Park corner. It takes a different route afterwards to visit St James's Palace, Trafalgar Square, The Savoy hotel and arts and cultural centre Somerset House.
Number RV1. Despite being a single decker, it still passes through some of the best parts of London, giving you a great cultural tour of the city. Soak up some shops and street theatre at Covent Garden before taking the RV1. Hopping on it will take you to the South Bank where you'll see the London Eye and Royal Festival Hall. The London Bridge stop is metres from the London Dungeon and City Hall is the next sight on the route, which crosses Tower Bridge to finish up at the Tower of London.
The 24 sets off from Camden Town which offers alternative fashion and food. The bus then heads to the more mainstream Leicester Square in the centre, calling in at Trafalgar Square and Horse Guards Parade. The political heart of London is next as the bus passes Parliament Square where you'll find Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, as well as the nearby Westminster Abbey where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were married in 2011. The final site is the city's policing headquarters at the iconic New Scotland Yard building.
Written by: Matt Owinski


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Northern Route stage 03: Zarautz - Deba
This stage passes through...
Zarautz, Getaria, Askizu, Zumaia, Elorriaga, Itziar, Deba
Outstanding destinations
- Route belonging to:
- The Way of Saint James
- Name of route:
- Northern Route
- Distance:
- 21,30 km
- Mode of transport
- Bicycle
- Walking
- Main difficulties
- Due to the extreme differences in level, pilgrims following the Way on bicycles are advised to take the N-634 coastal road to Zumaia. The second half of this stage is easy, except for the stretch leading up to the Itziar heights, which is also best done on the N-634.
- Flora, fauna and crops
- The stretch between Deba and Zumaia, declared an "Area of Natural Interest", has some spectacular "Flysch" formations. This phenomenon occurs due to the erosive action of the sea on hard and soft strata of rocks, so they penetrate hundreds of metres into the waters like giant ribs. At low tide it is a spectacular sight.
- Craft products
- The work of craftsmen is closely linked to the peoples and culture of Euskadi. It honours the ancestral customs and ways of life and opens channels to welcome new ideas. www.ereintza.com www.gabiltza.org
- Gastronomic products, cakes and pastries
- Txakoli (Basque wine) is the local speciality in the Getaria area, and served together with baby squid Pelayo, (a recipe exported everywhere in the Basque Country), they form one of the gastronomic delights of this coast.


text: Ed O'Donoghue was the greatest field athlete in Boston State College track and field history. His 1967 season was nothing short of spectacular, winning the NCAA Division II National Championship in the hammer throw, while becoming the first track All-American in school history. Not only was he the first Warrior to win an NCAA field championship with his throw in Salt Lake City, Utah that year, but he helped Boston State to its second consecutive New England Small College Athletic Conference crown, while winning the NESCAC championship in the hammer. The 1968 graduate never lost to a NESCAC competitor in the hammer throw during his entire career and competed in such prestigious meets as the Boston College Relays and the Penn Relays. O'Donoghue is the school's record holder with a throw of 164'8" in the hammer and a mark of 48'4" in the 35lb. weight toss. Following his graduation from BSC, he became the varsity track & field coach at Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School from 1972-99 as well as the football team's defensive coordinator from 1972-89, while earning his masters degree from Boston State. He also lent his knowledge to NCAA Division I hammer champion Boris Djerassi of Northeastern University in his quest for a spot on the United State Olympic squad at the 1980 trials. A competitive weight lifter and power lifter, he finished second in the Massachusetts Bench Press Championship in 1984 and third in the Massachusetts Powerlifting Championship in 1980. He retired as Superintendant of the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District after 31 years and also earned a masters degree from Boston College. He is currently an educational consultant/guest lecturer at Bridgewater State College, where he received the Distinguished Service Award in 1999.


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FRAY is a unique and fast paced multiplayer simultaneous turn-based strategy game for PC. Plan your orders swiftly and watch the action unfold as all the players' squads execute their turns simultaneously. Choose your characters among 6 different classes and arm them with a vast arsenal of weapons and items. Before each combat, you can pledge your allegiance to one of the 3 dominating global corporations, and gain access to faction specific bonuses and enhancements. With Fray: Reloaded Edition, experience the game like never before with new special effects, a new user interface, solo maps, complete class and weapon rebalance, matchmaking and much more. You will also have access to the game's Original Soundtrack composed by electro band Sound Washed!
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