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Cheetahs on the Edge
Most vulnerable of the world's big cats, cheetahs are also one of its shrewdest survivors.
Anticipation ripples through the crowd. Fingers tighten around binoculars. Camera lenses snap into focus. No fewer than 11 canopied safari buses, bright with tourists and bristling with long lenses, huddle near a solitary acacia tree in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. For the past half hour a mother cheetah named Etta has been sitting in the shade with her four young cubs, eyeing a herd of Thomson's gazelles that drifted into view on a nearby rise. Now she's up and moving, sidling toward the herd with a studied nonchalance that fools no one, least of all the gazelles, which are staring nervously in her direction.
Suddenly one of the guides shouts, as the gazelles break and run and Etta launches into an explosive sprint. The sleek cat is too fast for the eye to follow, blurring through the grass like a bullet. The drama is over in seconds, ending with a puff of dust and a stranglehold on a luckless young gazelle. As Etta drags the carcass back to her cubs, they emerge from the scrub eager to tuck into the feast. The safari buses are only seconds behind, the drivers jockeying to get the best camera angles for their customers.
Cheetahs have come to occupy a curious place in the human imagination. Beautiful and exotic, sports car fast and famously docile, they are as much media stars as denizens of the wild, darlings of filmmakers and advertisers the world over. Tap "cheetah" and "images" into your computer's search bar, and more than 20 million results pop up—from fashion shoots to flashy car ads to photos of pet cheetahs riding in the backseats of Mercedes convertibles.
All this pop culture presence might create the impression that cheetahs are as secure in nature as they are in the popular imagination. They are not. In fact, cheetahs are the most vulnerable of the world's big cats, surprisingly rare and growing steadily rarer. A few centuries ago cheetahs roamed from the Indian subcontinent to the shores of the Red Sea and throughout much of Africa. As fleet of foot as they are, though, they couldn't outrun the long reach of humanity. Today the Asiatic cheetah, the elegant subspecies that once graced the royal courts of India, Persia, and Arabia, is all but extinct. In Africa cheetah numbers plummeted by more than 90 percent during the course of the 20th century, as farmers, ranchers, and herdsmen crowded the cats out of their habitat, hunters shot them for sport, and poachers captured cubs for the lucrative trade in exotic pets. In all, fewer than 10,000 cheetahs survive in the wild today.
Even within Africa's great game parks, cheetahs are under heavy pressure. Shy and delicately built, the only big cats that cannot roar, they are bullied into the margins by lions, which are far stronger both in body and number. Consider Tanzania's Serengeti National Park and the adjoining Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Taken together the two parks are home to more than 3,000 lions, an estimated 1,000 leopards, and a mere 300 cheetahs. And despite their celebrity status, cheetahs lose out to lions in the tourism stakes as well. "Cheetahs tend to be something people look for on their second safari," says guide Eliyahu Eliyahu. "The first time around is all about seeing lions. The trouble is, where you have a big lion population, you will never have many cheetahs."
If cheetahs seem a breed apart, it's because they are. Not only are they a separate species from the other great cats, but they belong to a separate genus as well, a genus with just one member: themselves. Their genus name, Acinonyx, comes from Greek words for "thorn" and "claw" and refers to the cheetah's curious semi-retractable claw, a feature they share with no other cat. Unlike lions and leopards, whose fully retractable claws are tools designed for tearing flesh and climbing trees, cheetahs have claws that are more like the spikes on a sprinter's track shoe and serve a similar function: solid grip and quick acceleration.
Everything about a cheetah is designed for speed—pure, raw, explosive speed. Put a cheetah and a Lamborghini side by side on a freeway, and it will be an even-money bet which will smash the speed limit first. Both can do zero to 60 in under three seconds, but the cheetah can crack 45 miles an hour in the first couple of strides. And what strides. Thanks to its flexible spine and long, fluid legs, a cheetah can gobble up turf in bounds that exceed 25 feet. An elite human athlete who could leap that far even once, after a good run, would be well on his or her way to qualifying for the Olympic Games. A cheetah sprinting at top speed might be doing that up to four times a second.
Such superhuman abilities lent cheetahs an otherworldly aura in ancient times. Egyptians were the first people to tame them as pets and immortalize them in images on tombs and temples, nearly 4,000 years ago. In India, Iran, and Arabia, coursing with cheetahs—or "hunting leopards," as they were known—became an immensely popular sport among the aristocracy. In the courts of the Mogul emperors, cheetahs became a kind of motif, celebrated in paintings and tapestries, folklore and verse. Favorite cheetahs were adorned with jeweled collars and featured prominently in royal processions.
Cheetahs remain highly fashionable in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, where a cub can fetch upwards of $10,000. "A rich, young man buys himself a cheetah to go with his sports car," says Mordecai Ogada, a Kenyan wildlife biologist who has studied cheetah-human relationships and wildlife trafficking. "It's typically a new-money thing nowadays."
In places such as the United Arab Emirates cheetahs occupy a kind of legal limbo. "The importation is clandestine," says Ogada, "but once there, the trade is open. Trafficked cheetahs can easily be 'laundered' and made to appear as though they were legally bred in captivity. It's difficult to determine the source of cubs unless you do genetic analysis and identify them as members of a subspecies that's endemic to a particular area."
How great a toll trafficking is taking on the world's dwindling cheetah population is anyone's guess, but evidence suggests that trade in wild cheetah cubs is a large-scale enterprise. Even a cursory trawl of the Internet turns up plenty of cubs being offered for sale by "breeders" in places like Dubai. Several cheetah smugglers were arrested last year in Tanzania and Kenya, and there were rumors of cheetah cubs being offered for sale as far afield as Cameroon.
"I suspect the problem is bigger than we imagine," says Yeneneh Teka, head of Ethiopia's Wildlife Development and Protection Directorate. "There is a great deal of money involved, and like the people who are smuggling drugs and guns, those who smuggle wildlife have well-established networks."
Last year Ethiopian authorities cracked down on wildlife smuggling and instituted a training program for border guards and customs officials. The stepped-up enforcement paid off when officials intercepted a consignment of cheetah cubs as they were being smuggled into Somalia.
"While the border guards were examining the truck's paperwork, they heard scratching sounds coming from a jerry can that was supposed to be full of petrol," Teka says. "When they opened it up, they found five tiny cheetah cubs in very poor condition." One of the cubs died. The other four, after weeks of veterinary care, were taken to a wildlife sanctuary operated by the Born Free Foundation an hour north of Addis Ababa, where they will spend the rest of their lives. Although it's a happy ending for the four survivors, it's a net loss for the species.
"They'll never be able to return to the wild," says Ogada. "Even if you could teach them to hunt, humans can't teach cubs how to recognize and avoid predators such as lions and hyenas." And although some cheetahs have been successfully rewilded on large, fenced reserves in South Africa, the wide-open grasslands are a far more dangerous place to grow up. Orphaned cubs "wouldn't stand a chance in a place like the Serengeti," says Ogada.
Even mother cheetahs find it difficult to raise cubs in the wild, where mortality among cubs can run as high as 95 percent. The great majority of cubs may never make it out of the den in which they're born. They're killed in raids by lions or hyenas, or they die of exposure, or they're abandoned by mothers that aren't skillful enough hunters to support them. Indeed, many female cheetahs go their entire lives without raising a single cub to maturity.
There are a rare few, however, that somehow manage to beat the odds and enjoy astonishing success in raising cubs, some even fostering the offspring of other females. Superb hunters and wise in the ways of the bush, these supermoms manage to make a kill nearly every day while keeping their brood safe on the wide-open stage of the African grasslands, beneath the very noses of lions and hyenas. One such supermom, a seven-year-old named Eleanor, is known to have mothered at least 10 percent of all the adult cheetahs in the southern Serengeti.
"I'm not aware of any other carnivore whose survival relies so heavily on the success of so few females," says Sarah Durant of the Zoological Society of London. Durant directs the Serengeti Cheetah Project, one of the world's longest running carnivore studies. Now in its 38th year, the project has chronicled the lives and maternal pedigrees of generations of the Serengeti's cheetahs. It is hot, dusty work, involving long hours bouncing over the grasslands in hard-bitten Land Rovers seeking out the most elusive of Africa's great cats. It was Durant's painstaking research that revealed the vital importance of supermoms.
Though the matriarchal lines of the Serengeti's cheetah population are now well documented, paternity is another matter. Wildlife biologist Helen O'Neill waits patiently in her Land Rover a short distance from where three cheetah brothers—Mocha, Latte, and Espresso, known collectively as the Coffee Boys—lie sprawled in the shade of a ballanite tree. O'Neill is on what is delicately referred to as "poop patrol," collecting feces dropped by specific, identifiable cheetahs. Scientists at the Zoological Society of London are able to extract DNA samples and hope to fill in the paternal side of the Serengeti's family trees.
Analysis so far suggests that cheetah females are far more promiscuous than anyone suspected: In as many as half their litters, the cubs have different fathers. "We suspect this kind of multiple mating could have genetic benefits in an uncertain environment," says Durant. "Think of it as bet hedging by the cheetah mothers to try to ensure that some of their progeny survive."
A world away from the sunlit grasslands of the Serengeti, late on a cold, clear winter's afternoon, a lone male cheetah picks his way along a snow-dusted ridgeline. He pauses briefly to scent mark a tamarisk tree, then slinks out of view of the remotely operated video camera that has been recording his passage.
The concealed camera is one of 80 camera traps that have been deployed around the Dasht-e Kavir, a remote region in Iran's mountainous central plateau, in the hopes of glimpsing one of the world's rarest and most elusive big cats: the Asiatic cheetah.
"It's like a dream come true when we get something like this," says Iranian wildlife biologist Houman Jowkar of the 27 seconds of footage. Jowkar is with the Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project, which was set up by Iran's Department of Environment in 2001 in a bid to save the last remaining population of these endangered cheetahs. "These cats are incredibly rare," says Jowkar. "We have game wardens who have lived and worked in these mountains for years but have never seen a live cheetah."
The camera-trap program has helped Iranian scientists determine roughly how many cheetahs are left and where they live—vital information for developing a conservation strategy. "We're lucky these beautiful cats are spotted," Jowkar says. "By using their unique coat patterns, we can identify them individually and work out their population and distribution."
All the same, saving the Asiatic cheetah will be a tall order. Its downfall traces back to the glory days of the Mogul Empire, when hunting with cheetahs became all the rage. One Mogul emperor is said to have collected more than 9,000 cheetahs during his 49-year reign.
Compare then and now. In ten years of setting out scores of cameras, Iranian researchers have so far managed to obtain a mere 192 fleeting images. Those images document 76 gaunt individuals, pretty much all that remains of a noble subspecies of cheetah that once roamed throughout much of Asia. Today's survivors eke out a precarious existence. Stalking antelope and mountain sheep on steep, stony slopes, they compete with wolves and even humans, for whom gazelles and sheep are also a handy food source.
"They are living on a knife edge, at the very limit of what is ecologically possible," says Luke Hunter, president of Panthera, an international conservation group dedicated to preserving big cats, and a collaborator on the Iranian cheetah project. "What's intriguing, though, is that these cheetahs have not been pushed into these mountains recently. They've been here for thousands of years. People don't realize how tough and versatile cheetahs really are."
Indeed they are. Despite their vulnerability, cheetahs are one of the world's hardiest and shrewdest survivors, enduring both the bitter winters of the Iranian steppes and the scorching heat of the Sahara wadis. "They are not just fast," says Algerian wildlife biologist Farid Belbachir, who has been setting camera traps in Algeria's Ahaggar Mountains, trying to capture images of the critically endangered Saharan cheetah. "They understand the landscape. They've figured out how to use the narrow parts of the wadis to launch their attacks, to give their prey less opportunity to escape."
Back in Serengeti National Park, it's now in the shank of the afternoon, with the hot taste of dust in the air and thunderheads tumbling and billowing along the horizon. For the past hour or so Etta has been creeping up on a big male gazelle, drawing to within 40 yards of him, while he has remained oblivious to her presence.
"It's too early to tell if Etta is going to turn out to be a supermum," Durant says. "This is only her first litter. But the fact that she has brought four cubs out of the den and has raised them this far is an encouraging sign."
The gazelle is big and healthy, with a lot of meat on him. Etta takes another couple of quick, furtive steps forward, then crouches and waits, looking like a sprinter on the starting blocks, poised and ready for the gun.
A tense minute crawls by, then another. Suddenly, and seemingly for no reason at all, Etta just stands up and strolls away. Something doesn't feel right to her—a whiff of hyena on the breeze or maybe the scent of lions. Whatever it is, to a mother of four young cubs alone on the Serengeti, one fat gazelle isn't worth the risk. She beckons to her cubs to come along, and together they trot off into the violet haze.


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Kiwanis Club of Canandaigua Meeting
Come to a meeting as our guest and consider being a part of the club!
Proving that one can make a difference, Kiwanis has helped eradicate disease, build schools, shelter the homeless, feed the hungry and generate millions of smiles.
- Improve communities one child at a time
- Build enduring friendships
- Better the lives of children
- Participate in fun and fellowship
- Sharpen leadership skills
- Develop business contacts
- Gain insight into local and international issues
- Attain a greater appreciation of their own talents and successes.
The Kiwanis Club of Canandaigua meets every Tuesday at Noon, except for the 4th Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m.
All meetings are at the American Legion, 454 North Main Street, Canandaigua. *Meetings may cancel for holidays or as determined by the club.
For more information, or to attend a meeting, call Kiwanis Membership Chair, Elisha Everson, (work) 585-394-4400, ext. 203 or email firstname.lastname@example.com or message Kiwanis Club of Canandaigua on Facebook.
Kiwanis Club of Canandaigua Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022

subset: commoncrawl


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Religion is a controversial topic. Not only do believers and atheists have strong (and opposing) feelings on the subject, but there because it hinges on the question of faith, by definition it is difficult to draw conclusions based on empirical evidence (my favorite mode of thinking).
I know two things that are definitely true. The first is that I am not particularly religious. This should come as no surprise to those who have heard Ben Casnocha and I talk about establishing a secular church. The second is that many of those figures I admire most were devout believers (Abraham Lincoln comes to mind) and wrote about how they drew upon their beliefs to sustain them in their lives. These facts have always struck me as somewhat contradictory.
Until now.
A series of things I've read over the past few weeks keep swirling around in my head, and I can't stop thinking about how they seem to fit together in ways simultaneously unexpected and natural.
It began, oddly enough, with Mr. Rogers.
I just finished reading "I'm Proud of You," writer Tim Madigan's book about his friendship with the remarkable Fred Rogers (himself an ordained minister). It is a wonderful book, and I won't spoil it for you by telling too much of the story. Suffice it to say that when Madigan calls Rogers "a man of historic goodness," he'll get no argument for me.
The core of Rogers' greatness was his incredible caring. Madigan opens his heart to Rogers, showing all his flaws and making himself vulnerable. And Rogers, remarkably, is able to both acknowledge those flaws yet still provide sincere, powerful, and unconditional love.
The title of the book, "I'm Proud of You," comes from a letter Madigan writes to Rogers, desperately seeking his approval, yet feeling unworthy. Rogers doesn't dismiss Madigan's flaws and failings (like our friends often do, in an effort to be kind) but he doesn't punish or excoriate either. He simply sees the good in Madigan as well, and signs all of his letters with, "I'm proud of you."
I've written recently about how all of us feel like imposters, like we're not worthy of the regard others have for us. We all want someone to be proud of us, yet no matter how much we achieve, we never seem to get to that magical safe place.
And when someone tells us how wonderful we are, our mind rebels. "If only you knew me the way I knew me," we think, "You wouldn't be so full of praise."
Mr. Rogers made a difference because he pursued intimacy with people; he made them feel safe enough to open up about their failings and fears. Whatever the issue in your life, he felt that you should speak openly about it. And once people did open up, he showered them with unconditional love.
He didn't absolve them; while we crave absolution, we know ourselves too well for absolution to feel real. His genius was to convey a simple, yet powerful message. "You are struggling. You sometimes fail. But despite those things, I love you, and I am proud of you."
In case you can't tell, I'm a big Mr. Rogers fan.
And as I examined my own feelings about Mr. Rogers, I began to feel that perhaps this was how the truly devout feel about their deity.
A figure of overwhelming goodness and wisdom, who knows my deepest, darkest secrets, yet loves me anyways. A caring force that accepts me for who I am, yet also helps me to be a better person. Doesn't that sound like the kind of relationship that believers want to have with their God?
The next thread came from Walter Kirn's piece in The New Republic, "Confessions of an Ex-Mormon."
This moving piece details Kirn's relationship with the Church of the Latter Day Saints, from his family's conversion at a time of crisis during his childhood, to his leaving the church, to fascinating quasi-return to the community during his mid-life crisis.
Kirn, who isn't a member of the church, nonetheless paints what is ultimately a sympathetic portrait of a religion which is less about its beliefs (which he points out can be odd, and aren't always universally believed even by church members) and more about an old-fashioned kind of community that seems to be hard to find these days.
In 2008, at the age of 46, Kirn was in the middle of a crisis:
My life has been spiraling down these past few years. A divorce from the mother of my two kids. Fat medical bills from repeated bouts of kidney stones, which are one of those puzzling ailments you blame yourself for because the doctors can't tell you what else to blame. A dwindling income due to a contraction both of my stamina and the publishing industry. I'm using Ambien to sleep, Ritalin to yank me back awake, and three varieties of narcotic pain pills to keep me from going fetal on the sidewalk when the stones start axing through my ureter.
While other landlords shun him (and his poor credit scores), a group of Mormons take him in and accept him into their lives. And despite never attending a single church service or Bible study, he finds that live among them heals his wounds:
I'd forgotten that social life could be so easy. I'd forgotten that things most Americans do alone, ordinary things, like watching television or listening to music or sweeping a floor, could also be done in numbers, pleasantly. One night, I sat on the floor next to a kid, muscled and tall, rectangularly handsome, who turned out to be a quarterback for UCLA. I learned this from Kim; he'd never bothered to mention it. Too absorbed in the goofy talent show, too busy barbecuing chicken breasts or squirting Hershey's Syrup on bowls of ice cream, assembly-line style, while someone else stuck spoons in them. At Beverly Zion, that's how it worked: pitch in, help out, cooperate, cooperate.
One day, in the car ride back from a housemate's wedding (the marriage took place just weeks after the couple met), Kirn's girlfriend Amanda (a Catholic) tells him, "I give up: I want to join."
I was struck by the similarities between Madigan's experience with Fred Rogers and Kirn's experience with the Mormons. In each case, a troubled intellectual turns his life around thanks to the compassionate caring of devout friends. The Mormons don't proselytize; they simply accept Kirn, even though he admits to carousing on the Sunset Strip until dawn and lives in sin with his girlfriend, and show him caring and kindness.
Both Madigan and Kirn had isolated themselves (as many writers do); Rogers and the Mormons made them part of a community again.
That's where the third thread comes in. Like many people, I read Alex Williams' piece in the New York Times, "Friends of a Certain Age: Why Is It Hard to Make Friend Over 30?"
Williams writes about how despite the proliferation of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, many adults in their 30s or later feel like they have a hard time developing new close friendships. The scientists he talks with agree:
As external conditions change, it becomes tougher to meet the three conditions that sociologists since the 1950s have considered crucial to making close friends: proximity; repeated, unplanned interactions; and a setting that encourages people to let their guard down and confide in each other, said Rebecca G. Adams, a professor of sociology and gerontology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. This is why so many people meet their lifelong friends in college, she added.
As I read this, I can't help but think back to Mr. Rogers' gentle push for emotional intimacy with Tim Madigan, and the sense of community ("proximity" and "repeated, unplanned interactions") that the Mormons provided to Walter Kirn.
Perhaps one of the reasons friendship is so powerful is that it represents the kind of loving acceptance that we crave, yet often do not receive.
I can't speak for women, but among men, one's close friends provide the same kind of paradoxical support as Mr. Rogers and the Mormons. My friends know my various flaws, and are quick to point them out. Much of male bonding consists of busting one another's asses with friendly insults and embarrassing stories. Yet underlying it all is a sense of acceptance and brotherhood. The unspoken message is simple: "You're a fuckup, but I love you anyways. Let's grab a beer and hang out. Just don't sleep with my sister."
When Robert Putnam wrote "Bowling Alone," he argued that the decay in community institutions (such as bowling leagues) was isolating people and making them angrier and less empathetic. Yet while his concept of declining social capital is a powerful one, I always had problems with finding solutions to the challenge.
I don't think we can turn back the clock to an age where people lived their entire lives in a small town, and attended Rotary Club meetings every week. Putnam thinks that the entry of women into the workplace contributed to these changes; I doubt many of us want to go back to 1950s chauvinism.
But when I consider "Bowling Alone" in the context of faith, community, and friendship, I think I start to see a different solution.
Ultimately, the institutions of the past were imperfect. I don't belong to any fraternal institutions because I find them kind of weird and creepy. But we can't let our desire to avoid imperfection keep us from building meaningful bonds.
When I was a freshman at Stanford, I became very close with my freshman dormmates (happy birthday Mike!). The six of us who lived on the first floor of Alondra (plus our other friends Rock and Kelso) have been together ever since. We all live very different (if first world) lives. Not one of us shares a profession or even an industry (in order: early-stage startups, hardware engineering, law, market research, medical research, non-profits, management consulting, and financial services).
Yet what I know is that we've known each other at our worst, yet still stick together.
Maybe Walter Kirn didn't have that much in common with the Mormons who took him in. But did that really matter? As imperfect a match as a depressed middle-aged apostate and 20something devout Mormons might be, simply eating ice cream sundaes together helped turn his life around.
Here's what I think.
I think we all have a need to be known, really and truly, and then accepted for what we are. Call it love. Call it friendship. Whatever it its, we need it.
I think we all have a need for community–repeated, unplanned interactions with a group of people that accept us–even if the pieces fit together imperfectly.
I think that religious organizations like the Mormon Church, wittingly or unwittingly, have built a culture around meeting both of these needs. And in doing so, they provide great benefits to their adherents, regardless what's in their theology.
If you are known, accepted, and loved by a community of people, no matter who those people are, I think you have something special that you should hang on to.
In the 2002 Disney movie, "Lilo and Stitch," the titular character, a genetically engineered space monster, finds itself part of a strange little community: Two orphans, a government agent, and two aliens–one a mad scientist, and one a bureaucrat. You couldn't find a more imperfect bunch. Yet with them, he finds happiness.
At the climax of the move, Stitch talks about this strange little unit:
This is my family. I found it, all on my own. Is little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good.
Fred Rogers died of stomach cancer the year after "Lilo and Stitch" came out. I don't know if he ever saw the movie, or if he would have approved of everything in it. But I know he would have been proud of its message.


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French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole
ETC Group and Heinrich Böll Foundation are releasing new language versions of a ten minute animated introduction to Synthetic Biology. Titled "What is Synthetic Biology ? : Engineering life and livelihoods" this short explainer cartoon, drawn by award-winning Canadian animator Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre and produced by documentary filmmaker Jocelyne Clarke was previously only available in English but is now available in French, Spanish, Portuguese and German. Additonally, a Haitian Creole version is available thanks to support from the 11th Hour Project.
Twitter Hashtag:


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I've heard a fair bit of discussion about whether IBM or Oracle is likely to step in and start a bidding war for Autonomy which HP last week announced that it will buy for $42.21 per share, or $10.2B, as discussed last week in Kellblog when the rumors first surfaced.
My opinion — and this is an educated guess / speculation only — is that the answer is no. Here's why:
- I'm told by those who've analyzed the deal that it is a very target-friendly deal on contractual terms as well as price. HP wants this deal to happen.
- I'm also told that HP is moving through the acquisition process with great speed. HP wants this deal to happen.
- I'm also told that HP is messaging that the deal is not just about buying into unstructured data but also about getting Autonomy's CIO-level relationships that are supposedly superior to HP's. While I'm not sure that Autonomy has great CIO relationships (think: "let Jimmy here tell you how much you're going to pay next year"), that's not the point. The point is if that HP believes it, the deal becomes about protecting the core as much as about expanding into software which again would suggest that HP wants this deal to happen.
- Because HP wants the deal to happen, I suspect the deal was not shopped and the first Oracle or IBM heard about it was the announcement. If that's true, then they didn't get a chance to bid (and/or not bid) before the deal was announced. But if that's true, HP had to offer a market-clearing price such that Autonomy could accept the deal without shopping it. That's how you get a 70% premium to the market.
- Oracle can move quickly. The biggest reason that I think Oracle will not start a bidding war is that they haven't already.
- I'm told that Oracle investor relations is making comments along the lines of [not verbatim] "if we were worried about Autonomy as a competitor, we couldn't think of a better place for it to land than HP." And my guess is they believe that. I suspect Oracle is more bummed about Clearwell slipping away (a leading pure-play e-discovery solution) than it is about a mini-me of document-oriented solutions (i.e., Autonomy) with a mere $250M/quarter spanning numerous categories including enterprise search, web content management, e-discovery, and digital archiving with over 40 products in a product line built through inorganic growth.
- If either Oracle or IBM cared about a document-oriented, unstructured data platform, they could acquire other companies (e.g., MarkLogic!?) for a lot less than $10B. If they care about enterprise search, they could buy one of many small vendors in that space or put (more) wood behind Lucene and Solr. They already have offerings in web content management and e-discovery. The key point is that if you de-construct Autonomy, Oracle and IBM either already have or could easily buy each of the pieces. Buying them all-in-one at discount? Maybe. At $10B for the starting bid? Methinks not.
I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again, but I just have a lot of trouble seeing a bidding war on this deal. It reminds me of the Sun / MySQL deal where a hardware company paid a hefty multiple for a deal they decided is absolutely strategic to their future. You usually don't get bidding wars on those because the purchaser precludes them by offering a market-clearing price. And $10B for Autonomy strikes me as a market-clearing price.


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Time with God - March 7, 2016
- Sign Up for Email?
- 2016 Mar 07
Moses and Aaron were among His priests, and Samuel was among those who called on His name; They called upon the Lord and He answered them. He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud.
Calling on the Lord is a right response to God!
In the Bible, "calling on the Lord" means asking God to be involved in areas where you need His help. When you study those who were men and women of God in the Bible, you find that those who were more godly called on the Lord more. That is, they recognised that they needed God's involvement in every area of life!
Sometimes they called on the Lord for forgiveness (see verse 8), or for help in battle, or for guidance, or for His anointing on their work for His Kingdom, and the list goes on. When "they called...He answered".
As you read this devotional today, God is inviting you to change the way you approach life so that you involve Him in every aspect of your life. What relationship do you need to call upon the Lord about? What decision do you need to bring before Him? What ministry are you trying to accomplish with your own abilities and resources?
God wants you to learn to take every daily issue of life to Him.
For the iPhone app and more from John North and Ambassadors For Christ International, click here.


text: We already brought you details on the Samsung Impulse 4G, which is expected to be one of AT&T's first 4G LTE devices, and now new information is available on another 4G LTE phone dubbed the HTC Holday. Engadget recently published specs and photos of the Holiday, which is said to sport a 4.5-inch qHD display and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. It is also equipped with an 8-megapixel camera, a 1.3-megapixel forward-facing camera for video chat, 1GB of memory, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0. The Holiday, which may reportedly launch as the HTC Waikiki when AT&T makes its official announcement, will also run Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) with HTC's Sense 3.0 custom user interface on top. AT&T will deploy its 4G LTE network in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio this summer before it extends the network to at least 15 markets later this year. Read on for more images of the Holiday/Waikiki UI.


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Thanks to Daily Mail for posting this
Say hello to 2020! Europe brings in the New Year following huge fireworks displays across the rest of the world
- People around the world are ringing in the New Year and a new decade as 2019 comes to an end at midnight
- Auckland and Sydney became the first major cities to kick off the celebrations with huge firework displays
- They were joined by Seoul, Tokyo and Pyongyang, before Hong Kong marked the New Year amid protests
- South East Asia welcomed the new year next with epic firework displays from Singapore and Thailand
- The celebrations then drove westward, with western European countries now setting the skies alight
- The UK, Brazil and America are among the countries still waiting to put on a big show for 2020
By Ryan Fahey and Sophie Tanno and Chris Pleasance for MailOnline and Afp
Published: 05:32 EST, 31 December 2019 | Updated: 19:49 EST, 31 December 2019
Billions of people around the world are celebrating the start of a new year and a new decade after the clock struck midnight across the globe.
Sydney and Auckland became the first major world cities to let rip with huge firework displays, after a handful of remote Pacific island near the international date line had already flipped the calendar to 2020.
Organisers in Sydney decided to go ahead with their show despite calls for it to be cancelled amid wildfires that have brought swathes of devastation across the country, killing at least 12 and destroying dozens of homes.
There were also fraught scenes in Hong Kong as the state marked the start of the New Year amid pro-democracy protests, as Beijing and Singapore celebrated at the same time.
It comes ahead of Brazil and America who are still set to put on a big show when their times come. Hawaii will be one of the last to mark the end of 2019.
New Year fireworks explode near the Petronas Twin Towers New Year Celebrations, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 01 Jan, 2020
The light drawing of 2020 during the New Year celebrations near the Petronas Twin Towers New Year Celebrations, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 01 January, 2020
01 January, 2020
The twin Petronas skyscrapers are temporarily overshadowed by the dazzling display of New Year's Eve pyrotechnics
New Year fireworks light up the night sky around the Petronas Twin Towers during celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Hong Kong pro-democracy activists stage a demonstration as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, after a year of political upheaval in the Chinese administered region
Pro-democracy protesters in a rally and revellers use their phones at the promenade of Tsim Sha Tsui district as fireworks explode over Hong Kong
A dazzling fireworks display in Hong Kong as the clock ticks over to midnight on New Year's Eve on Tuesday night
Pro-democracy protesters take part in a march along the promenade of Tsim Sha Tsui district in Hong Kong to mark New Year
Pro-democracy protesters and people gather at the promenade of Tsim Sha Tsui district, Hong Kong, as they they take part in a rally and to celebrate New Year
Video – Dazzling rooftop fireworks display rings in New Year Eve in Hong Kong
Singapore also marked the start of 2020 with a fireworks and laser display on Marina Bay
Drones are seen in the sky forming the shape of a planet as Singapore awaits 2020 with curtain-raiser fireworks by Star Island as revellers join in the biggest countdown celebration at Marina Bay on December 31, 2019
A drone forms a light display which depicts a running man during today's New Year's Eve celebrations in Singapore
A light show erupts as Singaporeans celebrate the New Year tonight
Singapore awaits 2020 with curtain-raiser fireworks by Star Island as revellers join in the biggest celebration at Marina Bay
South Koreans perform on stage to celebrate New Years at the Bosingak pavilion in Seoul
Thousands of South Koreans filled cold downtown streets in Seoul ahead of a traditional bell-tolling ceremony near City Hall to send off 2019
People attend a ceremony to celebrate the new year in Seoul, South Korea
People gather to celebrate New Years at the Bosingak pavilion on January 1, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea
South Korean celebrate on New Years Eve at the Cheonggyecheon stream in Seoul, South Korea
Residents and tourists watch the New Year's Eve fireworks show at Yulpo Beach in Yulpo, South Korea
South Korean Buddhist devotees light candles as they pray at the Jogyesa temple on New Year's Eve in Seoul
Japanese priestesses offer up New Year prayers at Kanda Myojin Shrine in Tokyo
People visit Kanda Myojin Shrine to offer New Year prayers for the health and wealth of their families in Tokyo
A man wearing a costume with LED lights poses for a photograph during the You Make Shibuya Countdown 2019-2020 event at Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo today
Revellers release balloons as they take part in New Year countdown event in Tokyo, Japan,
Kanda Myojin Shrine
People flocked to temples and shrines in Japan, offering incense with their prayers to celebrate the passing of a year and the the first New Year's of the Reiwa era, after a new Emperor took the throne
Video – Japanese flock to Shibuya crossing in Tokyo for New Year countdown
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a New Year's speech as Beijing marks the start of 2020
Video – China celebrates the New Year with lights display in Beijing
Entertainers pose for photo at the countdown event to celebrate the arrival of 2020 during the New Year's Eve celebration at Shougang Industrial Park in Beijing, China on January 1
China on January 1
A young child celebrates the arrival of the year 2020 at a New Year's Eve countdown event at Shougang Park on December 31, 2019 in Beijing, China
People celebrate the arrival of the year 2020 at a New Year's Eve countdown event near the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic headquarters in Beijing January 1, 2020
Fireworks exploded over Pyongyang in North Korea as the country became the latest to join in with New Year celebrations, with millions celebrating the end of the decade across the world
Video – North Korea celebrates New Year with vintage-style fireworks
Kim Jong-un will give a televised address to the North Korean people following the display, where he will lay out his priorities for the year ahead amid fears the country could restart nuclear testing
Residents of Pyongyang, where only those most loyal to Kim Jong-un's regime live, celebrate the New Year with fireworks
Sydney went ahead with its New Year firework display despite calls for it to be cancelled amid wildfires raging across the country, with furious Australians describing it as 'slap in the face'
Thousands of tourists and locals packed in to the city harbour and on to viewing platforms as the pyrotechnic display – which took 15 months to plan – took place
Fireworks explode over Sydney Harbour as part of New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney
Fireworks explode after midnight over Garuda Wisnu Kencana cultural park as part of New Year's celebrations in Bali, Indonesia, while tens of thousands of revelers in Indonesia's capital of Jakarta were soaked by torrential rains as they waited for New Year's Eve fireworks.
Festive events along Indonesia's coastal areas near the Sunda Strait were dampened by a possible larger eruption of Anak Krakatau, an island volcano that erupted last year just ahead of Christmas Day, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 430 people.
People flocked to temples and shrines in Japan, offering incense with their prayers to celebrate the passing of a year and the the first New Year's of the Reiwa era.
Under Japan's old-style calendar, linked to emperors' rules, Reiwa started in May, after Emperor Akihito stepped down and his son Naruhito became emperor.
Although Reiwa is entering its second year with 2020, Jan. 1 still marks Reiwa's first New Year's, the most important holiday in Japan.
'We have a new era and so I am hoping things will be better, although 2019 was also a good year because nothing bad happened,' said Masashi Ogami, 38, who ran a sweet rice wine stall at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo, drawing a crowd of revellers.
Thousands of South Koreans filled cold downtown streets in Seoul ahead of a traditional bell-tolling ceremony near City Hall to send off an exhausting 2019 highlighted by political scandals, decaying job markets and crumbling diplomacy with North Korea.
Dignitaries picked to ring the old Bosingak bell at midnight included South Korean Major League Baseball pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu and Pengsoo, a giant penguin character with a gruff voice and blunt personality that emerged as one of the country's biggest TV stars in 2019.
Video – Sydney rings in 2020 with spectacular fireworks over the harbour
Fireworks explode to welcome in the New Year over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House
Fireworks explode over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House during the midnight display
Fireworks explode over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House
Video – Sydney kicks off NYE celebrations with early fireworks display
Fireworks light up the sky during the New year Celebrations in the New Zealand capital of Wellington
Fireworks light up the sky during the new year celebrations in Wellington, New Zealand
Fireworks erupt over the Melbourne central business district during New Year's Eve celebrations
Crowds watch a fireworks display during New Year's Eve celebrations in Brisbane
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A proposal for Twitter: Shut it down
But not for good. Close the site temporarily. Put plywood over the doors and windows, as it were, with a big "We're remodeling!" sign on the front.
As I write this, Amazon.com, like Twitter, is offline. Amazon's outage is the big news Friday morning. But what of Twitter?
I used to love Twitter. But the site's pogo status--it's up! it's down! it's up again!--is driving me away. I've removed the Twitter sidebar from the Webware home page, and I've stopped religiously updating it. Because I figure its users, and my followers, are learning to not trust it, to not bother visiting the site since it's likely to be down when they visit. Chances are fewer people are reading my Twitter posts now than a month ago.
I believe Twitter is bleeding users. Every time Twitter users go to Twitter.com or to their Twitter app and they see the "Fail Whale," an error message, or just a non-responsive site, they're that much less likely to come back the next time. Instead, they're going to FriendFeed, Jaiku, Pownce, or even the whacked-out Plurk.
Until the Twitter team can get the service working again for good, here's what they should strongly consider: Close the site. Take it offline. Put plywood over the doors and windows, as it were, with a big "We're remodeling!" sign on the front. Ask users if they want to be e-mailed when the site reopens for business and don't send that e-mail until the thing is fixed. Really fixed. Then have a grand reopening party.
It's not like doing this would cost Twitter revenue. It doesn't have any. But if Twitter is going to be online, it needs to be reliable. Twitter is not just a toy. It's a communications platform that people were just beginning to rely on before it overloaded and got flakey. Now, no one can rely on it and we're learning that at any given moment, there's a very good chance that Twitter will be offline. The more people who learn that, the fewer people will visit, and the more people will walk across the street to competing services. Remember how Friendster lost its momentum?
If Twitter can't deliver a reliable experience, I think its best bet is to close until it can. That way, we can all come back to the site at the same time, all together, instead of each of us showing up one by one and finding it deserted.
Related: Disqus' Downtime Reminds Us of Woes for Data In the Cloud, by Louis Gray.
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Neo-Fisherism says, basically: "Excuse me, but I think you have the sign wrong." Conventional central banking wisdom says that increasing interest rates reduces inflation. Neo-Fisherites say that increasing interest rates increases inflation. Further, it's not like this is some radical, novel theory. Indeed, a cornerstone of Neo-Fisherism is:
Neo-Fisherian Folk Theorem: Every mainstream macroeconomic monetary model has neo-Fisherian properties.
Let me illustrate that. A nice, simple, version of the standard New Keynesian (NK) model is the one in Narayana Kocherlakota's slides from this conference put on by the Becker Friedman Institute. I'll use my own notation. NK's version of the NK model is a reduced form, with two equations. The first comes from a pricing equation for a nominal bond - what's often called the "NK IS curve," or
So, substitute for y in equation (1) using the Phillips curve equation, to get
But consider the following. Suppose we look at the deterministic version of the model, and use (3) to solve for a first-order difference equation in the inflation rate:
Next, from the difference equation, (4), if the nominal interest rate is a constant R forever, then there is a continuum of equilibria, indexed by the initial inflation rate, and they all converge to a unique steady state, which is given by (6) and (7). To see this, start with any initial pi, and solve (4) forward. So, we know that the long run is Fisherian. But what about the short run?
We'll consider the transition to a higher nominal interest rate. In the figure, the nominal interest rate is constant until period T, and then it increases permanently, forever. In the figure, D1 is the difference equation (4) with a lower nominal interest rate; D2 is (4) with a higher nominal interest rate. We'll suppose that everyone perfectly anticipates the interest rate increase from the beginning of time. Again, there are many equilibria, and they all ultimately converge to point B, but every equilibrium has the property that, given the initial condition, inflation will be higher at every date than it otherwise would have been without the increase in the nominal interest rate. A straightforward case is the one where the equilibrium is at A until period T, in which case the inflation rate increases monotonically, as shown, to a higher steady state inflation rate. Inflation never goes down in response to a permanent increase in the nominal interest rate. That's consistent with what John Cochrane finds in a related model.
So, that's the second Neo-Fisherian property, embedded in this NK model. The NK model actually doesn't conform to conventional central banking beliefs about how monetary policy works. What's going on? From equation (1), an increase in the current nominal interest rate will increase the real interest rate, everything else held constant. This implies that future consumption (output) must be higher than current consumption, for consumers to be happy with their consumption profile given the higher nominal interest rate. But, it turns out that this is achieved not through a reduction in current output and consumption, but through an increase in future output and consumption. This serves, through the Phillips curve mechanism, to increase future inflation relative to current inflation. Then, along the path to the new steady state, output and inflation increase. But, if you read Narayana's Bloomberg post from five days ago, you would have noted that he thinks that lowering the nominal interest rate raises inflation and output:
Monetary policy makers should be seeking to ease, not tighten. Instead of satisfying a phantom need to "normalize" rates, the Fed should do what's needed to get employment and inflation back to normal.Apparently he's thinking about some other model, as the one he constructed tells us the opposite.
For more depth on this, you should read this paper by Peter Rupert and Roman Sustek. Here's their abstract:
The monetary transmission mechanism in New-Keynesian models is put to scrutiny, focusing on the role of capital. We demonstrate that, contrary to a widely held view, the transmission mechanism does not operate through a real interest rate channel. Instead, as a first pass, inflation is determined by Fisherian principles, through current and expected future
monetary policy shocks, while output is then pinned down by the New-Keynesian Phillips curve. The real rate largely only reflects consumption smoothing. In fact, declines in output and inflation are consistent with a decline, increase, or no change in the ex-ante real rate.
Conventional central banking wisdom is embedded in Taylor rules. For simplicity, suppose the central banker just cares about inflation, and follows the ruleBenhabib et el. that Taylor rules have "perils," and this model can illustrate that nicely. The difference equation determining the path for the inflation rate becomes
Rules with -1 < d < 1 all have the property that there are multiple equilibria, but these equilibria all converge to the inflation target - there's a unique steady state in those cases. Note that the Taylor rule central banker is Neo-Fisherian if d < 0, and that this can be OK in some sense. But aggressive neo-Fisherism, i.e. d < -1 -2(a/b), is bad, as this implies that the inflation rate cycles forever without hitting the inflation target.
But if the central banker actually wants to consistently hit the inflation target, there are better things to do than (8). For example, consider this rule:
The rule (10) specifies out-of-equilibrium behavior that kills all of the equilibria except the desired steady state. Why does this work? If the central banker sees incipient inflation in the future, he or she knows that this will tend to increase current output, increase current inflation, and increase future output, which will also increase current inflation. To nullify these effects, the central banker commits to offset this completely, if it happens, with an increase in the nominal interest rate. In equilibrium the central banker never has to carry out the threat. Maybe you think that's not plausible, but that's the nature of the model. NK adherents typically emphasize forward guidance, and that's not going to work without commitment to future actions.
Some people (e.g. Garcia-Schmidt and Woodford) have argued that Neo-Fisherian results go out the window in NK models under learning rules. As was shown above, these models are always fundamentally Fisherian in that any monetary policy rule has to somehow adhere to Fisherian logic on average - basically the long-run nominal interest rate is the inflation anchor. But there can also be learning rules that give very Fisherian results. For example, suppose that the economic agents in this world anticipated that next period's inflation is what they are seeing this period, that is
Thus, if conventional central bankers are basing their ideas on some model, it can't be a mainstream NK model, since increasing the nominal interest rate makes inflation go up in mainstream NK models. But don't get the idea that it's some other mainstream model they're thinking about. As the Neo-Fisherian Folk Theorem says, all the mainstream models have these properties, though some of the other implications of those models differ. For example, it's easy to show that one can get exactly the same dynamics from Alvarez, Lucas and Weber's segmented markets model. That's a model with limited participation in asset markets and a non-neutrality of money that comes from a distribution effect. Everyone in the model has fixed endowments forever, and they buy goods subject to cash-in-advance. The central bank intervenes through open market operations, but the people on the receiving end of the initial open market operation are only the financial market participants. The model was set up to deliver a liquidity effect, i.e. if money growth goes up, this increases the consumption of market participants (and decreases everyone elses's consumption), and this will reduce the real interest rate. Thus, you might think (like the NK model) that this produces the result that, if the central bank increases the nominal interest rate, then inflation will go down.
But, the inflation dynamics in the Alvarez et al. segmented markets model are identical to what we worked out above. In fact, the model yields a difference equation that is identical to equation (4), though the coefficients have a different interpretation. Basically, what matters is the degree of market participation, not the degree of price stickiness - it's just a different friction. And all the other results are exactly the same. But the mechanism at work is different. The quantity theory of money holds in the segmented markets model, so what happens when the nominal interest goes up is that the central bank has to choose a path for open market operations to support that. This has to be a path for which the inflation rate is increasing over time, but at a decreasing rate. This will imply that consumption grows over time at a decreasing rate, so that the liquidity effect (a negative real interest rate effect) declines over time, and the Fisher effect increases.
So, once you get it, you can form your own Neo-Fisherian support group. Moving from denial to advocacy is important.
Addendum1: Thanks to Narayana. This took some work, but this is a Taylor rule that assures that the central banker hits the inflation target period-by-period, implying that the nominal interest rate is constant in equilibrium, and will move one-for-one with the inflation target. If future inflation is anticipated to be sufficiently high, then the central banker follows the forward looking rule (10):
Addendum 2: This is interesting too. Suppose the policy rule is
Addendum 3: Here's another one. Central bank follows rule (20) if current inflation is below the inflation target. Central bank follows rule (10) if current inflation is at or above the inflation target. With inflation below the target, this implies raising the nominal interest rate to get inflation to target. With inflation at or above the target, the central bank promises to raise the nominal interest rate in response to incipient inflation. At worst, this implies one period of inflation below target in equilibrium.


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Researchers identify genetic variation behind acute myeloid leukemia treatment success
Researchers from the College of Pharmacy and Medical School working within the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, have partnered to identify genetic variations that may help signal which acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients will benefit or not benefit from one of the newest antileukemic agents.
Their study is published today in Clinical Cancer Research.
In the latest study, U of M researchers evaluated how inherited genetic polymorphisms in CD33, a protein that naturally occurs in most leukemia cells, could affect clinical outcomes of patients treated with an existing chemotherapy drug, gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO), an immuno-conjugate between anti-CD33 antibody and a cytotoxin known as calicheamicin, which binds to CD33 on leukemic cells. As GO is internalized by leukemia cells, the cytotoxin is released, causing DNA damage and generating leukemic cell death.
In recent clinical trials GO has been shown to induce remission and improve survival in subset of patients with AML, however there is wide inter-patient variation in response.
Jatinder Lamba, Ph.D., and colleagues identified and evaluated three genetic variations of CD33 in two groups of patients with pediatric AML – one group that received the drug GO, and one group that did not. They found that specific genetic variation in CD33 that significantly affected the clinical outcome of AML patients who received GO based chemotherapy.
"Understanding how genetics play a role in how drugs work is extremely useful, particularly for a drug like GO which has shown a very heterogeneous response in AML patients," said Jatinder Lamba, Ph.D., the study's lead author and a researcher who holds appointments in both the College of Pharmacy and the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota. "Our latest findings lead us to believe that genetic variation in CD33 influences how AML patients' leukemic cell responds to GO."
AML is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, and is the second most common form of leukemia in children. Though the most common type of treatment for AML is chemotherapy, Lamba says the disease remains hard to treat and newer, more effective therapies are needed.
"The overall goal of our study was to use genetic data to predict beneficial or adverse response to a specific drug, thus opening up opportunities to use this information for drug optimization to achieve maximum therapeutic efficacy and minimum toxicity. Our hope is that our research could serve as a marker of prognostic significance for clinicians to select the therapy that has the greatest odds of being effective for individual patients based on their CD33 genotype."


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Girl, seven, feared taken by crocodile in Australia 18 ноября 2012, 14:24
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Australian police searching for a 7-year-old girl feared taken by a crocodile Saturday said finding what appeared to be human remains inside a three-metre reptile was a "heartbreaking" development, AFP reports.
An extensive search began at first light for the girl who was last seen swimming at the natural pool at an outstation about 340 kilometres (210 miles) east of the city of Darwin on Friday afternoon.
The girl was swimming with other children and an adult at the time.
"Witnesses have told police that a crocodile attacked the male adult before pulling the girl under water," Senior Sergeant Shaun Gill said.
"The crocodile is estimated to be about 2-3 metres (6.6-10 feet) in length."
Police searching the waterhole shot dead a three-metre crocodile at the Gumarrirngbang Outstation on Saturday and an examination of the animal revealed what are believed to be human remains in its stomach.
"Further forensic testing will be conducted in Darwin to determine if the remains are human and if found human, the identity of the person," said Gill.
"This is now a matter of investigation and a report will be prepared for the coroner."
An earlier search by police and volunteers on Friday failed to find the child and extra police were flown to the remote area about 100 kilometres from the Aboriginal community of Maningrida.
"Everyone involved in this search has been working under difficult conditions. This is a heartbreaking outcome for the family and the community," said Gill.
Saltwater crocodiles, which can grow up to seven metres (23 feet) long and weigh more than a tonne, are a common feature of Australia's tropical north.
They have been protected since the 1970s and their numbers have increased steadily since, along with the number of human encounters.
Crocodiles were reportedly not thought to be present in the area where the girl went missing, and locals had presumed the pool to be safe for swimming.
But Northern Territory Police urged residents and visitors not to become complacent about the predatory reptiles, warning "croc danger is real".
An average of two people are killed each year in Australia by saltwater crocodiles, with one thought responsible for death of a barge captain whose body was found in remote waters in northern Australia in December 2011.
In May 2011, an Australian fisherman was believed taken by a large crocodile while standing in chest-deep water also in the Northern Territory.
The 54-year-old's belongings, including his wallet and fishing rod, were found on Elcho Island, some 515 kilometres (319 miles) east of Darwin.


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Photo: Chen Guangcheng and family (courtesy ChinaAid)
NEW YORK (ANS) -- Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng told CNN, in his first in-depth TV interview since his dramatic escape from house arrest, about his departure from China and his continuing concern for family and friends he left behind.
He also spoke about tasting freedom recently.
Chen Guangcheng spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper about his daring escape from house arrest, and concern for his family and friends who are still in China, in an interview on the Anderson Cooper 360° program Thursday.
Chen told CNN: "I haven't been able to feel [nature] for a long time."
Chen, who is blind, said: "I had some time to soak in the sun and feel the breeze. I just felt I hadn't been able to do that in so long. I have missed out for too long."
Asked about speaking out against China, he said: "It was natural for me, it was very natural for me. I feel it's in people's nature to want to stop evil and embrace the good."
His experience being under house arrest in China, he said, brought much suffering.
"I want to correct one thing here," Chen said. In the future, he continued, "let's not use the word 'house arrest' but instead let's use the term 'illegal detention.' It's hard for me to describe what it was like during that time. But let's just say that my suffering was beyond imagination."
Chen made his comments Thursday morning in an exclusive with CNN's Anderson Cooper, airing in Primetime Thursday night.
Chen's arrival in the United States on Saturday brought an end to a diplomatic firestorm between Beijing and Washington that erupted after he escaped from house arrest in the Shandong province, according to an online article at CNN's webpage.
Chen, 40, and his wife and children are in the United States for Chen to study at New York University under a fellowship.
Chen told CNN that he and his wife were beaten periodically in China.
"Yes, it was beyond everybody's imagination," Chen said. "But I don't want to talk about it right now."
In the CNN interview, five days after arriving in the United States, Chen said he was still gathering his thoughts about his escape.
"After evading danger and the obstacles, I was able to get out of Dongshigu village [his home town] and then I called my good friend Guo Yushan in Beijing.
"He quickly led a team to find me and drove me to Beijing. I was able to talk extensively with him during the journey and found out what had been going on in the outside world. So Mr. Guo played a very important role in this process," Chen said.
Though staying in a safe place in Beijing, he began to worry about his safety, he said. He was also getting treatment for a foot injury. He then came up with a safer place to stay, he said.
Chen noted how acquaintances in China helped him.
"There's one thing I want to mention that may be a surprise to many people," Chen said.
"When a group of people come together and accomplish something, they often fight for credit." He added: "In my case, all those people who went to Shandong to pick me up, when the news broke, they were fighting for risk instead of credit. They were all trying to claim responsibility to make others safer."
On Saturday, the activist indicated through a translator that the U.S. government granted him partial citizenship rights. He asked people to work with him to "promote justice and fairness in China."
Chen also said he was looking forward to recuperating in "body and spirit."
Michael Ireland is the senior international correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China and Russia.
c. 2012 ASSIST News Service. Used with permission.
Publication date: May 25, 2012


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If you like Italian design and can't afford a Ferrari, just put an Haurex Italia Tremor on your wrist.
The bold red and black Haurex Italia Tremor 2P504URR is simply sensational. You'll look like an Italian Formula 1 driver with this sporty 43 mm timepiece on your wrist. This bad boy features a tough bright red plastic case with stainless steel case back and is equipped with a matching red soft touch rubber strap.
The dramatic 3-hand configuration of this Haurex Tremor model utilizes an oversize black dial with luminous raised red bar indices and red pencil-style hands to complete the inspired design. There is also a convenient date window at 6 o'clock and a minute scale inscribed on the chapter ring.
The exciting new Tremor 2P504URR is a lot more than just a pretty face. The watch is powered by a precision Swiss made quartz movement, has a scratch resistant mineral glass crystal, and is water resistant to 165 feet. Best of all, the affordable Tremor represents an exceptional value. Like all Haurex timepieces, the Tremor 2P504URR has the look and feel of a watch that costs many time more than its very modest price point.
This unique combination of style and value is exactly what Maurizio Bianchini, Giuseppe La Guisa and Stefano Turrini envisioned when they created the Haurex brand in 1989. Their goal was to offer the best of Italian design at a price that young, fashion forward customers could actually afford. By combining quality materials with innovative manufacturing techniques and contemporary Italian styling, the brand has become a "must have" fashion accessory in over 40 different countries.
Haurex 2P504URR Men's Tremor Watch
- Swiss quartz movement
- Plastic case with stainless steel case back, diameter 43 mm, thickness 12.5 mm
- Black dial with red details, second hand, date window
- Stationary plastic bezel, minute track on inner bezel
- Mineral crystal
- Red rubber band, 24 mm, buckle clasp
- Water resistant to 165 feet
- 2-year manufacturer's warranty
For the past 25 years, Haurex timepieces have been proving that you don't have to spend a fortune to enjoy the latest styles. A watch like the Haurex Italia Tremor 2P504URR is not only fun to wear, it is something you'll be proud to wear. If you'd like to see how this big, bold Italian masterpiece looks like on your wrist, contact your authorized Haurex dealer today, and ask to see the Italia Tremor 2P504URR.
Gevril Group US Agent for Haurex Watches
Gevril Group is the sole US agent for Haurex Watches. Contact us by email or call 845-425-9882.
Join the conversation! Follow Gevril Group on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also follow Haurex Watches on Facebook and Twitter. Please subscribe to the Gevril Group newsletter and blog.


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Post On Bed Bug Injuries by Susan C Jones
Post On Bed Bug Injuries by Susan C Jones
Fact Sheet on Bed Bugs by Susan C Jones, PH.D., Assistant Professor of Entomology Extension Specialist, Household and Structural Pests of The Ohio State University Extension
See the original article by clicking on the link below:
Bedbugs are parasites that preferentially feed on humans. If
people aren't available, they instead will feed on other warmblooded animals, including birds, rodents, bats, and pets.
Bed bugs have been documented as pests since the 17th century.
They were introduced into our country by the early colonists.
Bedbugs were common in the United States prior to World War
II, after which time widespread use of synthetic insecticides
such as DDT greatly reduced their numbers. Improvements in
household and personal cleanliness as well as increased regulation of the used furniture market also likely contributed to their
reduced pest status.
In the past decade, bedbugs have begun making a comeback
across the United States, although they are not considered to be
a major pest. The widespread use of baits rather than insecticide
sprays for ant and cockroach control is a factor that has been
implicated in their return. Bed bugs are blood feeders that do not
feed on ant and cockroach baits. International travel and commerce
are thought to facilitate the spread of these insect hitchhikers,
because eggs, young, and adult bed bugs are readily transported
in luggage, clothing, bedding, and furniture. Bed bugs can infest
airplanes, ships, trains, and buses. Bed bugs are most frequently
found in dwellings with a high rate of occupant turnover, such
as hotels, motels, hostels, dormitories, shelters, apartment complexes, tenements, and prisons. Such infestations usually are not
a reflection of poor hygiene or bad housekeeping.
Bed bugs are fairly cosmopolitan. Cimex lectularius is most
frequently found in the northern temperate climates of North
America, Europe, and Central Asia, although it occurs sporadically in southern temperate regions. The tropical bed bug, C.
hemipterus, is adapted for semitropical to tropical climates and
is widespread in the warmer areas of Africa, Asia, and the tropics
of North America and South America. In the United States, C.
hemipterus occurs in Florida.
Adult bedbugs are brown to reddish-brown, oval-shaped, flattened, and about 3/16 to 1/5 inch long. Their flat shape enables
them to readily hide in cracks and crevices. The body becomes
more elongate, swollen, and dark red after a blood meal. Bed bugs
have a beaklike piercing-sucking mouthpart system. The adults
have small, stubby, nonfunctional wing pads. Newly hatched
nymphs are nearly colorless, becoming brownish as they mature.
Order: Family—Hemiptera: Cimicidae
Common name Scientific name
Bed Bug Cimex lectularius
Tropical Bed Bug Cimex hemipterus
Mature BedBug
HYG-2105-04—page 2
Nymphs have the general appearance of adults. Eggs are white
and about 1/32 inch long.
Bed bugs superficially resemble a number of closely related
insects (family Cimicidae), such as bat bugs (Cimex adjunctus),
chimney swift bugs (Cimexopsis spp.), and swallow bugs (Oeciacus spp.). A microscope is needed to examine the insect for
distinguishing characteristics, which often requires the skills of
an entomologist. In Ohio, bat bugs are far more common than bed bugs
Rodent Control in New York City
As we can see by this Wikipedia article Rats are such an issue in New York City that they have their own Wikipedia section. Rats are an ongoing challenge to the pest control operator. This would be true of any area but New York City poses particular challenges. The main challenge that we face in controlling rats is that we are typically just treating the tip of the iceberg so to speak. What we see on the surface is just a small percentage of the actual rats that live in New York. There are some studies that state there are between six and ten Rats for every human being. That's a lot of rats. So Rat Control is a daunting task
Life Cycle
Female bedbugs lay from one to twelve eggs per day, and the
eggs are deposited on rough surfaces or in crack and crevices.
The eggs are coated with a sticky substance so they adhere to
the substrate. Eggs hatch in 6 to 17 days, and nymphs can immediately begin to feed. They require a blood meal in order to
molt. Bed bugs reach maturity after five molts. Developmental
time (egg to adult) is affected by temperature and takes about
21 days at 86º F to 120 days at 65º F. The nymphal period is
greatly prolonged when food is scarce. Nymphs and adults can
live for several months without food. The adult's lifespan may
encompass 12-18 months. Three or more generations can occur
each year.
[Bed Bug] Habits
Bedbugs are fast moving insects that are nocturnal bloodfeeders. They feed mostly at night when their host is asleep. After
using their sharp beak to pierce the skin of a host, they inject a
salivary fluid containing an anticoagulant that helps them obtain
blood. Nymphs may become engorged with blood within three
minutes, whereas a full-grown bed bug usually feeds for ten to
fifteen minutes. They then crawl away to a hiding place to digest
the meal. When hungry, bed bugs again search for a host.
Bed bugs hide during the day in dark, protected sites. They
seem to prefer fabric, wood, and paper surfaces. They usually
occur in fairly close proximity to the host, although they can
travel far distances. Bed bugs initially can be found about tufts,
seams, and folds of mattresses, later spreading to crevices in the
bedstead. In heavier infestations, they also may occupy hiding
places farther from the bed. They may hide in window and door
frames, electrical boxes, floor cracks, baseboards, furniture, and
under the tack board of wall-to-wall carpeting. Bed bugs often
crawl upward to hide in pictures, wall hangings, drapery pleats,
loosened wallpaper, cracks in plaster, and ceiling moldings.
[Bed Bug] Injury
The bite is painless. The salivary fluid injected by bed bugs
typically causes the skin to become irritated and inflamed, although individuals can differ in their sensitivity. A small, hard,
swollen, white welt may develop at the site of each bite. This
is accompanied by severe itching that lasts for several hours to
days. Scratching may cause the welts to become infected. The
amount of blood loss due to bed bug feeding typically does not
adversely affect the host.
Rows of three or so welts on exposed skin are characteristic
signs of bed bugs. Welts do not have a red spot in the center such
as is characteristic of flea bites.
Some individuals respond to bed bug infestations with anxiety, stress, and insomnia. Bed bugs are not known to transmit
disease. (So can a Bed bug kill you? Probably not)
Tell-tale Signs
A bed bug infestation can be recognized by blood stains from
crushed bugs or by rusty (sometimes dark) spots of excrement
on sheets and mattresses, bed clothes, and walls. Fecal spots,
eggshells, and shed skins may be found in the vicinity of their
hiding places. An offensive, sweet, musty odor from their scent
glands may be detected when bed bug infestations are severe.
Control Measures
A critical first step is to correctly identify the blood-feeding
pest, as this determines which management tactics to adopt that
take into account specific bug biology and habits. For example,
if the blood-feeder is a bat bug rather than a bed bug, a different
management approach is needed.
Control of bed bugs is best achieved by following an integrated
pest management (IPM) approach that involves multiple tactics,
such as preventive measures, sanitation, and chemicals applied
to targeted sites. Severe infestations usually are best handled by
a licensed pest management professional.
[Bed Bug]Prevention
Do not bring infested items into one's home. It is important
to carefully inspect clothing and baggage of travelers, being on
the lookout for bed bugs and their tell-tale fecal spots. Also,
inspect secondhand beds, bedding, and furniture. Caulk cracks
and crevices in the building exterior and also repair or screen
openings to exclude birds, bats, and rodents that can serve as
alternate hosts for bed bugs.
A thorough inspection of the premises to locate bed bugs and
their harborage sites is necessary so that cleaning efforts and
insecticide treatments can be focused. Inspection efforts should
concentrate on the mattress, box springs, and bed frame, as well
as crack and crevices that the bed bugs may hide in during the
day or when digesting a blood meal. The latter sites include
window and door frames, floor cracks, carpet tack boards,
baseboards, electrical boxes, furniture, pictures, wall hangings,
drapery pleats, loosened wallpaper, cracks in plaster, and ceiling
moldings. Determine whether birds or rodents are nesting on or
near the house.
In hotels, apartments, and other multiple-type dwellings, it
HYG-2105-04—page 3
is advisable to also inspect adjoining units since bed bugs can travel long distances
[Bed Bug] Sanitation
Sanitation measures include frequently vacuuming the mattress
and premises, laundering bedding and clothing in hot water, and
cleaning and sanitizing dwellings. After vacuuming, immediately
place the vacuum cleaner bag in a plastic bag, seal tightly, and
discard in a container outdoors—this prevents captured bed bugs
from escaping into the home. A stiff brush can be used to scrub
the mattress seams to dislodge bed bugs and eggs. Discarding the
mattress is another option, although a new mattress can quickly
become infested if bed bugs are still on the premises. Steam
cleaning of mattresses generally is not recommended because
it is difficult to get rid of excess moisture, which can lead to
problems with mold, mildew, house dust mites, etc.
Repair cracks in plaster and glue down loosened wallpaper
to eliminate bed bug harborage sites. Remove and destroy wild
animal roosts and nests when possible.
[Bed Bug] Trapping
After the mattress is vacuumed or scrubbed, it can be enclosed
in a zippered mattress cover such as that used for house dust
mites. Any bed bugs remaining on the mattress will be trapped
inside the cover. Leave the cover in place for a year or so since
bed bugs can live for a long time without a blood meal.
Sticky traps or glueboards may be used to capture bed bugs
that wander about. However, the effectiveness of these traps is
not well documented.
[Bed Bug]Insecticides
Residual insecticides (usually pyrethroids) are applied as spot
treatments to cracks and crevices where bed bugs are hiding.
Increased penetration of the insecticide into cracks and crevices
can be achieved if accumulated dirt and debris are first removed
using a vacuum cleaner. Avoid using highly repellent formulations, which cause bed bugs to scatter to many places. Dust
formulations may be used to treat wall voids and attics. Repeat
insecticide applications if bed bugs are present two weeks after
the initial treatment since it is difficult to find all hiding places
and hidden eggs may have hatched.
Do not use any insecticide on a mattress unless the product
label specifically mentions such use. Note that very few insecticides are labeled for use on mattresses. If using an appropriately
labeled insecticide on a mattress, take measures to minimize
pesticide exposure to occupants. Apply the insecticide as a light
mist to the entire mattress, opening seams, tufts, and folds to
allow the chemical to penetrate into these hiding areas. Allow
the treated surface to completely dry before use. Do not sleep
directly on a treated mattress; be sure bed linens are in place. Do
not treat mattresses of infants or ill people. Alternatives to using
an insecticide on a mattress are discussed in the ʻSanitation' and
ʻTrapping' sections.
No insecticides are labeled for use on bedding or linens. These
items should be dry cleaned or laundered in hot water and dried
using the "hot" setting.
All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race,
color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.
Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension
TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868
Contact Us Now
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Banish bad hair days in just a few dollops. Multiple products, one goal: to leave your hair its beautiful best (even in the rain).
You know that feeling: you've left the house with shiny, sleek hair only to return a few hours later with a head full of frizz. The problem is that wasn't exactly the look you were going for. Not to worry, though – there's a solution. We've rounded up our best products for frizzy hair to keep it at bay (just where it belongs). So even in humid weather, you can look and feel fabulous.
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Explore our products and tips below and get frizz under control…
Formulated with Weightless Nutri-Oils, Dove Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner gives deep hair nourishment for smooth hair.find out more—Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner find out more


text:
Only until monday,September 25th 2023
Promotion code: AUTUMN23
We know very little about Jan Vermeer's life. He was born the 31st of Octobre 1632. He married Catharina Bolens in 1650 and was accepted as a master in the Saint Lucas guild. Jan Vermeer died the 15th of December 1675.With Hals and Rembrandt, he is one of the most famous Dutsch painters. His artwork is fascinating because of the color hamonies, the perspective lines and the light effects. His favorite topic is to paint women in her house intimacy.His work started to be well-known at the beginning of the 19th century.


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Celebrate Maryland's spirit of innovation at the second annual Innovation Expo. Makers, scientists, librarians, artists, and other creative thinkers from across the state will gather at the Central Library to share their skills with Marylanders of all ages.
Keynote Speaker: Justin Hoenke, teen librarian at the Chattanooga Public Library, shares some of his successful creative strategies and invite conversation about the potential for new forms of innovation in Maryland public libraries.
Presented in partnership with the Division of Library Development and Services, Maryland Dept. of Education.
Recorded On: Saturday, May 31, 2014


text:
Confederate heroes have their own medal of honor
By DAVID DISHNEAU
Associated Press
HANCOCK, Md. (AP) — The Medal of Honor, created by Congress during the Civil War as America's highest military decoration for valor, was never meant for Americans who fought for the South. They were the enemy, after all.
But there's a Confederate Medal of Honor, little known yet highly prized, that the Sons of Confederate Veterans bestows on those whose bravery in battle can be proven to the private group's satisfaction.
The silver-and-bronze medal is a 10-pointed star bearing the Great Seal of the Confederate States and the words, "Honor. Duty. Valor. Devotion."
It has been awarded 50 times since 1977, most recently to Maj. James Breathed, a native Virginian buried in Hancock. He was honored last year for his bravery as an artillery officer in the 1864 Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse in Virginia.
The number of recipients is tiny compared to the 3,487 on the U.S. Medal of Honor roll, including more than 1,500 who fought for the Union in the War Between the States. Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans say their medal is given less freely than those the Union awarded during the war.
"The SCV created their own Confederate Medal of Honor simply because there were some incredible acts of valor that had received little or no recognition during and after the war," said Ben Sewell III, executive director of the 29,000-member group, based in Columbia, Tenn.
The medal has Civil War-era origins. Confederate President Jefferson Davis signed a law in 1862 authorizing medals for courage on the battlefield, but none was issued. The U.S. Army Center of Military History says Gen. Robert E. Lee refused to award individual citations for valor, mentioning noteworthy performance in his dispatches instead.
The Confederate Medal of Honor recipients are largely low-to-middle-ranking figures. Perhaps best-known is Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest of Tennessee, who tormented Union commanders with lightning raids, reportedly had black Union soldiers executed after their surrender at Fort Pillow, Tenn., and was for a time a post-war member of the Ku Klux Klan.
The first medal recipient was Pvt. Samuel Davis of Smyrna, Tenn. Davis was captured by Union troops and hanged as a spy in 1863 at age 21. His statue graces the grounds of the state capitol in Nashville, along with those of presidents Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson. Other recipients include the eight crew members of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley who perished in 1864 while attacking the federal war sloop USS Housatonic near Charleston, S.C.
Military historian Gregg Clemmer researched Confederate medal recipients for his 1996 book, "Valor in Gray." He cites Sgt. Richard Kirkland of South Carolina, honored for actions in the 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg, Va. Kirkland, moved by the cries of dying Union soldiers, reportedly brought them water on the battlefield during a firefight – an account doubted by some historians.
"People don't know these stories," Clemmer said. "They need to know these stories."
Not everyone wants to hear them. Hancock Town Councilman Sinclair Hamilton was dismayed by a procession of Confederate re-enactors down Main Street to Breathed's grave last October. He says honoring Confederates is tantamount to endorsing slavery.
"He was a traitor and dishonored the United States with his rebellion," Hamilton said. "He is not a hero, should not be honored and should be a forgotten footnote in history."
Breathed's medal was awarded through the efforts of a great-great-nephew, David Bridges, 51, a retired Presbyterian minister and SCV member from Richmond, Va. He said it's wrong to stereotype individual Confederates as fighting to retain slavery.
"Someone should want to know about James Breathed because he was an extraordinary character," Bridges said.
Breathed's citation describes his disregard for his safety in keeping a cannon from falling into enemy hands even as two horses were shot out from under him in battle.
The Congressional Medal of Honor Society, representing U.S. medal winners, brushed off questions about Confederate medals.
"We don't really know about this program," said Carol Cepregi, deputy director of operations. "They're certainly free to do whatever their little hearts desire, as long as they're calling it the Confederate Medal of Honor and not our Medal of Honor."
U.S. medal recipient Thomas G. Kelley, a retired Navy captain from Somerville, Mass., says the Confederate program helps fill a void in the history of brave and noble Americans.
Kelley, honored in 1970 for valor in Vietnam, participated in a 1993 Confederate medal ceremony honoring Pvt. Benjamin Welch Owens, a Marylander who fought for the South.
Despite having a great-grandfather from the Union who died in a Confederate prison, Kelley feels no animosity toward Confederates.
"These men were doing what we all did when we served our county or our cause – looking out for your fellow soldier and trying to bring him home safely," Kelley said.
On The Web: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONFEDERATE_MEDAL_OF_HONOR_VAOL-?SITE=VALYD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


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The peacock network has announced that America's Got Talent, their popular summer talent competition, is returning on Tuesday, June 4th.
Howard Stern and Howie Mandel are returning as judges and will be joined by Mel B and Heidi Klum. Nick Cannon is back as host.
Here are the details:
Hour-long Wednesday-night Editions Begin on July 10 as New Judges Mel B and Heidi Klum Join Returning Judges Howard Stern and Howie Mandel
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – March 19, 2013 – NBC's "America's Got Talent" – America's top-rated summer series – will return for its eighth season when it premieres on Tuesday, June 4 (9-11 p.m. ET) and will begin its regular hour-long Wednesday edition on July 10 (8-9 p.m. ET). This season will feature new judges Mel B and Heidi Klum who will join returning judges Howard Stern and Howie Mandel — marking the first time that the series has showcased four judges on the panel.
Live episodes will begin on Tuesday, July 23 (9-11 p.m. ET) and Wednesday, July 24 (8-9 p.m. ET).
The 2012 edition of "America's Got Talent" ranked as the #1 summer series on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in adults 18-49 and total viewers, marking the seventh-straight year the show finished as the #1 summer series in total viewers. "Talent" ranked #1 among non-sports primetime telecasts on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in total viewers for 12 of its last 14 weeks on the air last summer. The Monday edition of "Talent" averaged a 3.4 rating, 10 share in adults 18-49 and 11.1 million viewers overall, the Tuesday telecast earned a 3.4/10 in 18-49 and 11.7 million viewers and the Wednesday edition delivered a 2.9/8 in 18-49 and 10.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
"America's Got Talent," NBC's top-rated summer series from producers Simon Cowell's SYCO Television and FremantleMedia North America, returns this summer with the hottest performers from across the country ready to compete in the blockbuster reality show's new season. The live shows again will originate from the New York Tri-State area. This year, Klum joins the recently announced, high-octane entertainer and former Spice Girl Mel B as the newest judges who take their seats on the experienced and talented judge panel along with the outspoken, unedited radio personality, television host and author Stern and comedian, TV host and producer Mandel. Actor, producer and comedian Nick Cannon returns as host.
With the talent search open to acts of all ages, "America's Got Talent" has brought the variety format back to the forefront of American culture by showcasing performers from across the country. The series is a true celebration of the American spirit, featuring a colorful array of hopeful stars, including singers, dancers, comedians, contortionists, impressionists, jugglers, magicians and ventriloquists, all vying for their chance to strut and perform on stage hoping to win America's hearts — and the $1 million prize.
"America's Got Talent" is produced by Simon Cowell's SYCO Television and FremantleMedia North America. Simon Cowell, Jason Raff, Sam Donnelly, Trish Kinane and Rob Wade are the executive producers.
For embeddable clips and full episodes from NBC shows, please visit NBC.com's official show site: http://www.nbc.com/americasgottalent/
Please like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/nbcagt and follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/nbcagt
What do you think? Are you looking forward to the return of America's Got Talent on NBC this summer?


text: Community Solar Programs are Challenged and Sharpened by Competition May 22, 2013Community solar – also known as shared solar – is gaining traction as a vehicle to "bring solar to the masses" in significant, visible and diverse ways. It is a model for solar growth that is proving attractive to a variety of organizations, none more so than electric utilities.Utilities have an obligation to offer reliable electric service to all customers in their service areas. Community solar programs are conceived in the same spirit of customer service.Community solar offers a solar option to those who may not have the means, interest or space to install their own solar system.Why is community solar an attractive fit for a growing number of utilities?It contributes to the utility's reputation as THE leading provider of energy. Utilities want to maintain a strong tie to their customers, especially those early adopters interested in solar. A utility-managed community solar program accelerates the utility learning curve across the internal utility structure.Solar adds to customer satisfaction and engagement. Solar is popular with the public and surveys show that most customers want their utility to add solar to the mix. Customers want meaningful choices in energy, and for a segment of the customer base, local solar fills the bill.Solar is a new source of local economic development. This is especially compelling to electric cooperatives and municipal utilities, which as locally owned utilities, share a strong connection to the community.The opportunity to locate solar where it may have the optimal strategic benefit to the operation of the distribution system. And to quantify those benefits in real-time.But as solar costs continue to fall, the solar business attracts greater entrepreneurial diversity, and customers become more sophisticated in their expectations, simple good intentions will not guarantee success.This is one of the key lessons learned in a new member report released by SEPA, Utility Community Solar Handbook, a guide to designing solar programs based on the experience of more than a dozen SEPA member utilities.The nature of the offer to the customer matters a great deal. This relates closely to the mixed experience of utility green pricing programs of the last decade. Poll after poll of customers showed huge support for the idea of buying renewable energy from the utility, but the actual buyers of green pricing options were substantially lower, on the order of 1-2%.Did this mean that people didn't really want renewable energy? Or did the product not meet customers' value expectations as simply a charitable donation? Was the product – blocks of kilowatt-hours from a distant wind farm – too abstract?Perhaps customers were not convinced that their contribution "caused" more renewable energy to be installed.Four takeaways for utilities designing or updating their community solar programsSimplify the Value Proposition: Utilize local, visible generation resources, combined with an easy-to-understand product offer that can provide economic value to customers. Customers will readily perceive offers that expand the use of solar in meaningful ways from offers that are "green-washing".Understand the Market: Solar leasing firms are turning the solar value proposition on its head. Solar had been viewed as an expensive purchase motivated by environmental concern or early adopter interest. It is now being sold as a way to save money on utility bills with "no money down." In a few markets, utility community solar programs have lost customers and momentum to solar leasing.Serve the Underserved: Utilities may want to focus on serving the market the private sector won't. In some areas with low solar activity, that's the entire customer base, but in more advanced markets already serving homeowners, focus on those with lower credit scores or savings, renters, shaded homes, etc. Specifically design programs for these underrepresented parts of the market.Learn from Others: The complexity of a viable program surprised some utilities interviewed by SEPA. "There are complicated legal and financial issues," said one community solar program manager. "This is not just a 'feel good' program." There is no one-size-fits-all model – adapt and improve upon what other utilities have started, or seek outside partnerships that will avoid replicating the wheel to save time and money.So competition – even if it is indirect – is compelling community solar program designers to better understand the market, sharpen their pencils and improve their offers.It is important to take a page from the solar leasing companies and explore all of the financial vehicles available to a utility in crafting the most attractive option. ShareShare on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInAbout the Author