Have you been doing your best to support all your favorite restaurants in our annual Readers? Choice: Food and Drink voting? Have you been visiting the site every day to cast your ballots? You haven?t? ?Well, I?m not here to judge you. ?I?m here to implore you to vote today, tomorrow, and Sunday. ?For those are your last three opportunities.
So go tell us where to find, among other things, the best Indian food, the best French food, the best bakery, the best wine bar, the best burger, and the best pizza in town.
Warren Sapp?s on-air claim that Jeremy Shockey was the ?snitch? who informed the league office about the Saints bounty program has earned him a talking-to from his NFL Network bosses.
In a statement to PFT, NFL Network Senior Vice President of Programming and Production Mark Quenzel said the matter has been addressed with Sapp.
?We have discussed it with Warren and stressed that he is an analyst and not a reporter for NFL Network,? Quenzel said. ?In the future, if he comes across something he thinks is news he will let his producers know and before it is reported or Tweeted, that content will be subject to the same verification procedure that our reporters follow.?
Sapp did not name his source for the information about Shockey, which he first posted on Twitter and then reiterated on NFL Network. He said on the air that he had not asked the league office if his source was correct. Shockey has denied that he informed the league office and posted on Twitter what appeared to be a text message from Saints coach Sean Payton absolving Shockey of having anything to do with getting Payton in trouble. Shockey also said he wants the NFL to come down hard on Sapp, saying Sapp should lose his job or at least be suspended or fined.
[ [ [['chance to show up and campaign', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GIioD2', '[RELATED: Santorum says re-electing Obama would be better than Romney]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Witnesses said the gunman pulled up on a black scooter', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GzwOIW', '[Related: New York police tighten security at Jewish sites]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['test Zimmerman for alcohol or drugs', 11]], 'http://yhoo.it/Gzn6VF', '[Related: White House says Trayvon Martin is local issue]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['The charges signed against Bales include', 1]], 'http://yhoo.it/wZT5zV', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/a0/7a07c51b2aa0f39b1a23355046d13870.jpeg', '512', ' ', 'AP Photo/DVIDS\, Spc\. Ryan Hallock\, File', ], [ [['George Zimmerman, if I had a son', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/thousands-protest-fla-teen-death-1332387124-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/22/d761a49f3fcc99080a0f6a70670053cd-jpg_150905.jpg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/John Minchillo', ], [ [['Mohamed Merah', 10], ['prosecutor Francois Molins', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/four-dead-in-french-jewish-school-shooting-1332173151-slideshow', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120321/2012_03_21t151508z_425380421_gm1e83l1sqs01_rtrmadp_3_france_shootings_raid.jpg', '630', ' ', 'REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier', ], [ [['Shortly after he wrapped up his victory remarks', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/Steven Senne', ], [ [['best understands the problems of average Americans', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/4-straight-romney-wins-washington-gop-caucus-1330835515-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/3/e9/3e9b0082c3c3111dcc19e3527ae94cc7.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP Photo/Steven Senne', ], [ [['Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GB2RVy', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/03/20/photo-1332257995646-4-0-jpg_171722.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AFP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
[ [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
ShareThis, the company behind the ubiquitous sharing widgets of the same name, is rolling out a new way for publishers to see how their social sharing strategy stacks up ? and it's sharing a list of the top publishers in two categories. ShareThis first announced its Social Quality Index back in November, and it's going live for publishers next month. The SQI assigns each publisher a score between 1 and 10 based on how much their content is shared on social networks. Scores are assigned in 27 different categories, and multi-category publishers receive multiple scores. ShareThis looks at all the sharing data on any page with its widget, which means that sharing through things like the Facebook Share button are included too.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Less than three months into the job as Yahoo Inc's chief executive, Scott Thompson faces a proxy showdown with hedge fund Third Point that will determine whether he or a slate of dissident directors nominated by the hedge fund's founder, Dan Loeb, gets to chart the company's course.
"Thompson has got to make his case. And now he has to do it persuasively because there's another guy who is going to make his case persuasively," said Lawrence Haverty, a fund manager with GAMCO Investors, which owns Yahoo shares.
Thompson is finishing plans to overhaul Yahoo's operations, the first step in an ambitious effort to pull off one of the Internet industry's biggest comebacks. But Third Point has its own ideas about what to do with the once-dominant, now-slumbering Internet icon.
Armed with a slate of four alternative candidates for the Yahoo board of directors, Third Point officially launched a campaign on Wednesday to have a formal role at Yahoo.
For Yahoo shareholders, the central question is whether they believe Thompson can create more value for them than the company's current $15 to $16 stock price or if they should cut their losses and push for a sale of Yahoo's various assets, said Haverty, who declined to comment on how his firm will vote in the proxy contest.
Third Point, which ranks as Yahoo's largest institutional shareholder with a 5.8 percent stake, has not yet articulated its intentions, except to say that it believes the company needs to change.
Third Point has accused Yahoo of being dismissive of its input and described the current board as "sorely in need" of restructuring capabilities and media strategies.
In addition to himself, Loeb has nominated former NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker, long-time media consultant Michael Wolf, and Harry Wilson, a turnaround specialist, for election to Yahoo's board.
Yahoo's market capitalization currently stands at less than half of the $44.6 billion Microsoft offered for it in 2008, giving Third Point a rich vein of investor discontent to tap.
"If gets through the annual meeting and successfully navigates these issues then he's going to be looked at as a more credible and effective CEO," said Jim Post, a professor at Boston University School of Management who specializes in corporate governance. "If he doesn't, he's going to be seen as a weaker CEO. And if he's seen as a weaker CEO, that's like blood in the water," said Post.
100 DAYS
Thompson, a former president of PayPal and Yahoo's fourth CEO in five years, is not wasting time shaking things up at Yahoo.
According to one Yahoo insider, the company is preparing for a massive reorganization that could come within weeks and could result in layoffs of several thousand of its roughly 13,000 employees.
Rather than simply cutting jobs, the Yahoo insider said, the reorganization could eliminate entire business lines, allowing Yahoo to concentrate on its most promising opportunities. As it stands now, this person said, Yahoo is a jumble of media businesses and technology products that have saddled it with huge costs and little, if any, growth.
While Yahoo has stagnated, Web rivals such as Google and Facebook are increasing revenue and market share. Last year, Google's revenue rose 29 percent to $37.9 billion while Facebook's revenue increased 88 percent to $3.7 billion. By contrast, Yahoo's revenue declined more than 20 percent to $4.98 billion last year.
"They have to figure out how to better monetize the site and how to maintain users on the site. They've got a lot of work to do because they're becoming less and less relevant every day," said Brian Pitz, an analyst at UBS, referring to Yahoo.
The reorganization would represent the third splashy headline Thompson has generated in his first 100 days on the job, alongside the company's decision to sue Facebook for patent infringement and the end of negotiations on a complex deal to spin off Yahoo's Asian assets.
Yahoo owns roughly 40 percent of Chinese Internet giant Alibaba Group and 35 percent of Yahoo Japan.
The Facebook lawsuit sparked outrage among Silicon Valley's tech crowd, as critics accused Yahoo of resorting to crass legal tactics instead of developing innovative products. When news surfaced last month that talks between Yahoo, Alibaba Group and Softbank relating to a $17 billion tax-free asset swap had fallen apart, investors promptly sent the company's shares down nearly 6 percent.
Thompson, a native of Boston's south shore whose thick accents stands out in Silicon Valley, recently met with representatives from Alibaba and Softbank, according to a person familiar with the situation, though it's unclear whether the meeting would revive negotiations.
DEAL OR NO DEAL?
Sour feelings among investors about Yahoo's failure to spin off its Asian assets could provide ammunition for Third Point to promote its alternative vision of the company's future.
"If Yahoo is able to come to an agreement soon with Alibaba that's good for shareholders, that will be helpful," said Ryan Jacob, chairman and chief investment officer of Jacob Funds, which owns Yahoo shares.
"If they can't, you have to assume that Third Point will have some degree of success in terms of nominating their own slate," he added, noting that he was currently leaning toward voting for Third Point's candidates.
Third Point's four directors would not have a majority on Yahoo's 11-member board. Still, they could represent a voice "that can't be ignored" on key matters and gain seats on important board committees, said Boston University's Post.
At the top of Third Point's list, Post reckoned, is likely the five-member Transactions and Strategic Planning committee, which oversaw the negotiations with Alibaba and Softbank and is currently chaired by Intuit CEO Brad Smith.
A representative for Yahoo, which has said that four of its current board members will not stand for re-election this year, declined to comment beyond a statement that said a committee of the board has reviewed a wide range of candidates, including Third Point's, and will make its own recommendations shortly. Third Point did not return a request for comment.
Third Point's campaign to install its directors on the board may not come down to a dramatic vote at the annual meeting, expected to be held some time in June.
"These things do get negotiated," said Stephen Diamond, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law who teaches classes on business organizations and corporate governance. He cited a November deal by Hewlett Packard Co that gave activist shareholder Ralph Whit worth a seat on the company's board of directors, as well as seats on two board committees.
Any deal between Yahoo and Third Point would likely include a condition that the new directors support the CEO for the foreseeable future, said Diamond.
"The current board will not agree to simply place these dissidents on the slate without some agreement," he said.
Some Yahoo investors do want to give Thompson a chance, so that kind of an arrangement might be the best outcome for all sides.
"I like Scott Thompson, I think he's making the right moves," said Adam Seessel, director of research at Martin Capital Management, which owns Yahoo shares. But, he added, "it's always good to have a shareholder looking over his shoulder."
(Reporting By Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Peter Lauria and Steve Orlofsky)
Contrary to reports from villagers where the massacre took place, U.S. military officials say there is no evidence of an IED attack on Americans around the time of the shooting that killed 16 Afghan civilians. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.
By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services
Senior Pentagon and military officials said Wednesday?that they have "no evidence" to support claims by Afghan villagers that they were lined up and threatened at gunpoint by American soldiers prior to the massacre of civilians 10 days ago.
Residents of a village, near where American soldier Sgt Robert Bales is alleged to have killed 16 civilians, are convinced that the slayings were in retaliation for a roadside bomb attack on U.S. forces in the same area a few days earlier.
In accounts to The Associated Press and to Afghan government officials reported earlier this week, the residents allege that U.S. troops lined up men from the village of Mokhoyan against a wall after the bombing on either March 7 or 8, and told them they would pay a price for the attack.
Pentagon officials on Wednesday said they could not completely deny the claims amid the confusion of battlefield reporting, but several officials raise serious doubts about the accusations.
One senior official told NBC News: "We are obviously trying to get to the bottom of these claims and if there's any credence to them it will come out in the ongoing investigation."
Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby told reporters Wednesday?afternoon he "can't rule it out" but there was "no evidence" of any attack on US forces in that region prior to the massacre as claimed.
Villagers: Afghan slayings were an act of retaliation
The lawyer for Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who is accused in the March 11 killings of the 16 civilians, has said that his client was upset because a buddy had lost a leg in an explosion on March 9.
It's unclear if the bombing cited by attorney John Henry Browne was the same as the one described by the villagers that prompted the alleged threats. After a meeting at a military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Browne said Bales told him a roadside bomb blew off the leg of one of his friends two days before the shootings occurred.
Inquiry targets 'command climate' in Afghan killings
Bales, 38, is suspected of leaving a U.S. base in Panjwai district of Kandahar province, entering homes and gunning down nine children, four men and three women before dawn on March 11 in the villages of Balandi and Alkozai. Mokhoyan is about 500 yards east of the base.
The shootings have further strained ties between the U.S. government and President Hamid Karzai, who has accused the U.S. military of not cooperating with a delegation he appointed to investigate the killings.
NBC News Chief Pentagon Correspondent Jim Miklaszewski?and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
All Critics (58) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (55) | Rotten (3)
A wonderfully human and humane story about one of those lost-and-found children who tend to slip through society's not-so-safe safety nets.
Within its tight 87 minutes, not a lot happens, unless you count the saving of a life.
It's minor, but powerfully so.
As is usual in their films, the Dardennes remain both deeply interested and carefully objective. The photography and editing are unfussy and unhurried. There is no attempt to do anything but present these small fictions as simple fact.
A sly but finally banal update of the Italian neorealist classic "The Bicycle Thief."
A quietly rapturous film about love and redemption from Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne...
Their central characters are flawed, and often do awful things, but the Dardennnes' world view is entirely practical.
A tragic figure in the person of an eleven year old, but a boy who never gives up.
A richly textured and human drama brimming with warmth, tenderness and pure, unadulterated poignancy.
It's a quietly powerful film about redemption that works on multiple levels, thanks in part to its superb performances.
...when they (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) hit the mark they create understated but deeply moving dramas that are uniquely their own. 'The Kid with a Bike' is their latest effort and it is among their best.
In an act of grand thievery, debut child actor Thomas Doret makes off with The Kid With a Bike.
A lovingly understated film from masters of naturalistic cinema.
comes to its triumphs after tremendous internal struggles, unseen yet palpable at every moment.
continues the Belgian writing-directing brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's extraordinary run of charting the lives of European down-and-outers navigating difficult moral and spiritual terrain.
The Kid With A Bike feels like a companion piece to Rosetta, though it's far less severe and more open-hearted, even borderline sentimental.
A salute to the art of empathy and the need to cultivate it in our approach to troubled kids and other outsiders on the fringe of society.
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne return to devastating form with this compelling riff on the Italian neo-realist classic "Bicycle Thieves."
[ [ [['Witnesses said the gunman pulled up on a black scooter', 7]], 'http://yhoo.it/GzwOIW', '[Related: New York police tighten security at Jewish sites]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['test Zimmerman for alcohol or drugs', 11]], 'http://yhoo.it/Gzn6VF', '[Related: White House says Trayvon Martin is local issue]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['The public radio show This American Life has', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/AaEZ6u', '[Related: Mike Daisey Says Technology Is New Religion]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Apple fanboy Mike Daisey that aired in early January', 6]], 'http://yhoo.it/zAwXWV ', '[Related: The Darker Side of Apple]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['I think that these guys are getting mercilessly picked apart', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/FOlkib', '[Related: Invisible Children defends Kony 2012 film in new video]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['With U.S.-Afghanistan relations in crisis', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/no-afghanistan-obama-campaign-video-021313177.html', '[Related: No ?Afghanistan? in new Obama campaign video]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Jon Stewart weighed in on the Rush Limbaugh', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/rush-limbaughs-slut-controversy-proves-staying-power-100110062--abc-news.html', '[Related: Rush Limbaugh comment controversy proves it has staying power]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Mammadyarov said democratisation', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/russian-grannies-win-bid-sing-eurovision-095946819.html', '[Related: Russian grannies win bid to sing at Eurovision]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A massive manhunt is underway in France on Monday', 4]], 'http://yhoo.it/Gzy0M9', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/d/b4/db49ba9fa9a9bb5b59d2503822dd212c.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'AP/Manu Blondeau', ], [ [['With U.S.-Afghanistan relations in crisis', 1]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/civilians-killed-in-afghanistan-attack-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/82/782db3234689df989a5b05a09e71511c.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'Reuters/Naseer Ahmed', ], [ [['Rutgers', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/tyler-clementi-cyberbullying-trial-begins-1329842758-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120316/ravi.jpg', '630', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
[ [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
LONDON (AP) ? Schoolchildren, charity fundraisers, war veterans and a centenarian are among 8,000 people who will carry the Olympic flame in the torch relay for the 2012 London Games, organizers announced Monday.
London Games officials unveiled a street-by-street map of the 8,000-mile (12,875-kilometer) route, which begins at Land's End ? the westernmost tip of England ? on May 19.
Some 8,000 torchbearers will carry the flame across Britain, with a stop in Dublin, Ireland.
The International Olympic Committee ruled relays should be confined to host countries after human rights protests disrupted the international route before the 2008 Beijing Games.
Most of the torchbearers are members of the public chosen for embodying community spirit, courage and sporting determination.
The volunteers, who each will cover about 300 yards (meters) include Britain's oldest full-time firefighter and a soldier who lost three of his limbs in an explosion in Afghanistan.
The youngest is 12, the oldest, Londoner Diana Gould, who turns 100 on May 23.
"As long as the walk is on the flat I think I'll be OK," she told the BBC.
One of the first torchbearers will be Dave Jackson, a volunteer coast guard officer from Cornwall, southwest England.
"I think it'll be a case of 'don't drop it'! That'll be going through my mind quite a bit," he said. "'Don't start any fires.'"
While most torchbearers will walk or run, the flame will also be carried on skates, whizzed on a zip wire off the Tyne Bridge in Northeast England and rowed along the River Thames during its 70-day trip.
Olympic organizers said Monday that the relay will pass within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of 95 percent of Britain's population.
Details of the final two days of the journey ? and the names of those who will carry the flame into the Olympic Stadium ahead of the July 27-Aug. 12 games ? are being kept under wraps.
One of the main reasons why companies approach a web agency is for them to manage the online side in the enterprise, making sure that the company sticks to on-line requests and needs. Acquiring the services of a web firm is similar to employing a individual to work for you. These businesses are considered your worker, thus, you will have to method them in the same way as the manager does. The duty in choosing the best net agency to work for your small business becomes your obligation so it is but typical that you will require a few credentials that will identify them as experts in their field.
For your business to be successful, a thorough process of recruitment should be undertaken. When choosing on an agency to handle all your online and website requires, you will have to request that they show you their chemical.v. in the form of their portfolio or their site. These venues can indicate their pros and cons. You will be able to search through their past jobs. Some agency websites will also include testimonials from previous customers. This will be very helpful inside recruitment stage since you will also want to hear a number of insights from organizations.?Get on page one
Some websites of web agencies will even include a complete client list together with backlinks to the completed assignments or perhaps a brief description in the ongoing work. For anyone who is needing more tangible examples, you can get in touch with the company and ask for details. This is also one way in testing how they deal with prospective clients. A reputable internet agency will do their utmost to bag a project.
References are also important because they provide a third party testimonial about the firm. This is one of the best methods for finding out the how the agency goes with regards to its work and the way they work with their customers. When looking at the agency?s website, make sure that the testimonial page is often updated. Few testimonials could either indicate one of two things: that they?re barely new, or perhaps that their work is not satisfactory enough to get a client to reward them. Do your own personal research and try to obtain as many references as possible.
The next important thing to take into consideration is to meet them face to face. You will want to realize who you will be dealing with. With web companies, the work is usually long term, so rapport must be established from the start. Draw a list of concerns without sounding as if you are prying. Require professional opinions or even backgrounds or what you think about a particular task. Try to find out as much as you are able to about them because you will be investing in their providers. Like any other company endeavor, it is best that you are made aware of what you?re getting yourself into.
Hiring a web agency to work for you?ll be like hiring your personal staff. Having your own business website will really make any difference to your company. Which is all with the help of a professional and reputable world wide web agency.
Learn more about posizionamento siti web . Stop by Remedios Tavernia?s site where you can find out all about agenzia seo roma and what it can do for you.
Related posts:
SEO Agency, It is Tempting to Pick A Agency That Provide Guaranteed SEO Services
The Advantages of Hiring a Good PPC Agency
Very Important Skills Internet Marketers Need
Choosing the Best Backlink Service for Your Business
If You Run A Business Or Nonprofit, Dallas SEO Should Be Important For Your Advertising Work
Have we been pouring over the travel market looking with charter a private jet however aren?t sure what company or alternatively route with take? PBJ can be a private jet charter broker specializing in freedom of choice, value and even accessibility. It has usually been our belief that customers must be the focus of any lucrative company as well as which can be why we all currently have such a firm emphasis on customer service not to mention affordability. We all employ travel specialists who have a passion for aviation and a breadth of knowledge within the business and also we all make them that you can buy to you at any kind of time. We in addition implement transparent pricing schemes thus that our clients won?t be surprised by any hidden bills or perhaps commission rates, creating a refreshing change for those who happen to be too frequently landed with extra costs at the last minute. By emphasizing the actual importance of your individual satisfaction we aim with build a long-term excellent relationship with you and in addition support you within the future with almost all your travel needs.
We all fully understand that flying on jet typically is not everyone?s ideal method of travel due in order to fear of heights plus general travel anxiousness. For this reason we take additional care of our customers or perhaps any of their passengers who can currently have anxiety regarding flying by assuring all the people which we all take your own protection extremely seriously. Underneath the particular luxury, comfort and in addition efficiency of our private charter service, we all have built upon a foundation of safety. Whilst being held accountable for all the of our own exacting safety measures, each single it of our employees, operators plus aircraft are in addition rigorously subjected in order to the actual FAA Part 135 rules plus regulations. Let a mind be put at ease knowing which you re in the safest hands in the industry in the course of each and every step of your journey.
Based found on the number of passengers we happen to be planning to be able to take with we aboard your flight not to mention how far you are generally travelling, our expert aviation consultants will certainly support we inside selecting the ideal aircraft model for your individual requirements out of an enormous selection of the actual 15,000 aircraft we all provide. We all even take any kind of time restrictions into consideration thus which we can provide we the particular best cruising speeds and in addition altitudes with receive you where you have to go because swiftly as possible. Arrangements may be made for extra baggage space, ground transportation and in addition even hotel reservations. Our onboard amenities offer a diverse array of options including elegant dining not to mention beverage service, full leisure systems, totally stocked office areas with wireless internet access plus even full beds. In the event you may dream it, we will bring it with everyday living.
If perhaps you would like to charter a private jet now and / or would merely like to be able to gain more information and facts about Paramount Business Jets, please do not hesitate in order to call us at +1-877-727-2538. We happen to be accessible to be able to aid you 24/7, all the year round. We happen to be happy to be able to answer any kind of questions or simply concerns you can have so which together we can easily commence to create a travel plan of the particular highest standards.
If you want to charter a private jet with PBJ and want further info, please contact us here.
[ [ [['The public radio show This American Life has', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/AaEZ6u', '[Related: Mike Daisey Says Technology Is New Religion]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Apple fanboy Mike Daisey that aired in early January', 6]], 'http://yhoo.it/zAwXWV ', '[Related: The Darker Side of Apple]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['I think that these guys are getting mercilessly picked apart', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/FOlkib', '[Related: Invisible Children defends Kony 2012 film in new video]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['With U.S.-Afghanistan relations in crisis', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/no-afghanistan-obama-campaign-video-021313177.html', '[Related: No ?Afghanistan? in new Obama campaign video]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Jon Stewart weighed in on the Rush Limbaugh', 2]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/rush-limbaughs-slut-controversy-proves-staying-power-100110062--abc-news.html', '[Related: Rush Limbaugh comment controversy proves it has staying power]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Mammadyarov said democratisation', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/russian-grannies-win-bid-sing-eurovision-095946819.html', '[Related: Russian grannies win bid to sing at Eurovision]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['With U.S.-Afghanistan relations in crisis', 1]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/civilians-killed-in-afghanistan-attack-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/7/82/782db3234689df989a5b05a09e71511c.jpeg', '630', ' ', 'Reuters/Naseer Ahmed', ], [ [['Rutgers', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/tyler-clementi-cyberbullying-trial-begins-1329842758-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120316/ravi.jpg', '630', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
[ [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
A few years ago while on a business trip, I was stuck in traffic en route to the airport, worrying about a missed flight and aborted appointments. Stranded motorists sat on the grass beside the highway.
Skip to next paragraph
I watched a TV helicopter hovering high above us, wishing I could see what the traffic reporter up there was seeing. Perhaps he could see that the problem that caused the traffic jam was almost cleared and we would soon be on our way ? and that?s what happened. Had I benefited from the reporter?s higher perspective, I would have saved myself needless worry.
Just as the reporter?s higher view gave him an accurate picture, we can get a loftier view of reality when we turn to our all-seeing heavenly Father. Things come into focus when we strive to see through prayer what He sees and what He knows.
Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science and founder of the Monitor, described the mental tug that says there is more to reality than what meets the eye. She called it our native ?Soul-sense.? She wrote: ?This Soul-sense comes to the human mind when the latter yields to the divine Mind. Such intuitions reveal whatever constitutes and perpetuates harmony, enabling one to do good, but not evil? (?Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,? p. 85).
I find that this verse from the Bible also hints at the existence of Soul-sense: ?So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal? (II Corinthians 4:18, New International Version). I take this to mean that if only the unseen world of God?s spiritual creation is eternal, then everything seen through human sense is only temporal, insubstantial. So no matter how bad or scary the mortal picture ? what Mrs. Eddy called ?the ghastly farce of material existence? (see p. 272) ? it is not eternal.
As we strive to live a God-centered life, our innate Soul-sense will assure us that nothing unlike God truly has power or presence. God cannot be ungodly. The Christ presence, or divine message of God to humanity, shows us the way when we listen to it. Another Bible verse describes the activity of Soul-sense in this way: ?[T]hine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left? (Isaiah 30:21).
Spiritual good is always at hand, deep as the ocean and near as the air we breathe. Eddy explained, ?This understanding is not intellectual, is not the result of scholarly attainments; it is the reality of all things brought to light? (Science and Health, p. 505).
Our innate Soul-sense may hear the Christ presence coming as a holy whisper. We don?t need a helicopter.
To receive Christian Science perspectives daily or weekly in your inbox,?sign up today.???
To learn more about Christian Science, visit ChristianScience.com.
Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens were caught getting totally wasted in Florida this week, but fear not. They aren't going all Lindsay Lohan on us.
The young actresses co-star with Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine in Spring Breakers, an upcoming film in which the quartet portrays college girls who end up in prison after robbing a restaurant in order to finance their vacation.
They then get bailed out by a drug/arms dealer who wants them to do engaged in even more dirty work.
Sounds intriguing, and looks even better. Compare the bikini bodies below of Selena and a blonde-wigged Vanessa and vote now: Who rocks hers the best?
Passing along news of an important event to help raise funds for a young woman who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer. The young woman is Serena and she graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Women?s studies. She was the Arizona State Debate Champion during her freshman and sophomore years at Blue Ridge High School (Pinetop/Lakeside). Serena started coaching debate students when she was in high school and has helped judge, run and teach debate camps every year since.
Now 31, Serena is an activist for women?s rights and founder of an organization that helps homeless and other underprivileged women find funding for necessary health care when no other sources are available. Serena is self employed as a web designer and social network consultant.
If you?re in or near Tucson, you can help by attending the Grey Matters Book Fair to Fight Brain Cancer on March 24 from 9am to 5pm. It will be held at Montery Court, 505 W. Miracle Mile, west of the intersection of Oracle and Miracle Mile.
Join over 20 authors and artists as they participate in Montery Court?s first-ever Book Fair to Help Serena Fight Brain Cancer. There will also be face painting, music, and food. They need to raise $40k!!!
If you?re not in Tucson, you can help by shopping Serena?s Esty site at: http://www.etsy.com/people/sizzledesign
Let?s all band together to help someone who has already helped so many!
Mike Der, owner of Advanced Micro Technologies recaps latest in near field marketing technologies.
Every January, consumer technology professionals gather in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). CES is primarily a show for attendees that represent the consumer technology industry. This year?s show attracted more than 140,000 attendees from across the globe. The biggest names in technology are there to talk about their plans for 2012. One of the emerging technologies featured at the show is NFC or ?Near Field Communications?. ???
Near Field Communication
NFC allows two devices to communicate by touching or by being in close proximity. The foundation of NFC is Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, which has been around for some time. The applications, such as mobile payments and mobile health, however, are new.
Within the last few years, contactless card technology has been maturing and has been adopted by major sectors such as transport, payment, and retailing. In parallel, mobile phones, with the additional offerings of Internet and multimedia services, have successfully entered people?s lifestyles.
Coming soon to your Mobile Phone
The Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile service, which leverages the current contactless infrastructures, has just started to emerge.
Now every major mobile brand has at least one mobile device model on the market that is NFC enabled. And there are much more to come. Contactless card technology can now expand its domain of applicability by adding contactless functionality to the mobile phone.
In some countries, services benefiting from the convergence of contactless card technology and mobile phones have already been introduced commercially, and these converging services are ubiquitous and successful.?
What can we do with it?
Well, sky?s the limit as is usually the case with every emerging technology, but here are some specific uses for NFC:
Card emulation: the NFC device behaves like an existing contactless card (think transit passes, etc)
Reader mode: the NFC device is active and reads a passive RFID tag, for example for interactive advertising (this would KILL/OWN QR codes)
P2P mode: two NFC devices communicating together and exchanging information (e.g. file / data transfer ? would give a whole new meaning to ?giving? files to other users)?
A Day in the Life NFC Mobile User
NFC technology has the power to bring new simplicity and convenience to many aspects of a typical person?s daily life, as this example illustrates:
7:30 ? Eric gets on a train to go to his office, using his NFC-enabled phone to tap a reader and easily open the turnstile.
7:32 ? He sees a poster announcing a free concert that evening. He touches his NFC-enabled phone to the N-Mark on the poster, which transfers the detailed information onto his phone. He reserves seats for the concert with his mobile phone, using mobile communications (e.g., SMS, internet, packet-based connections), and the complimentary tickets are sent to his mobile phone. He sends a text message to his wife to invite her to the concert and dinner.
8:15 ? When he arrives at his office, Eric touches his NFC-enabled phone to the office gate to unlock the security mechanism.
Noon ? At lunch time, he pays for his meal using one of the credit cards stored in his phone.
13:00 ? After lunch, Eric visits the office of his new business partner for a meeting. Those attending the meeting exchange electronic business cards, stored in their NFC-enabled phones, by touching their phones together.
18:00 ? Eric meets his wife and they go to the concert venue. He touches his NFC-enabled phone to a turnstile at the entrance to the venue, their reservations are confirmed, and they are admitted.
20:00 ? After the concert, they visit a shopping center, where they make a few purchases and have dinner, using their NFC-enabled phones to pay for everything.
22:00 ? When they arrive home, Eric realizes that he left his NFC-enabled phone on the train. He immediately calls the mobile network operator and makes a request to disable all active NFC services in the phone. If his phone is later found and returned to him, he will be able to reactivate these services.
NFC uses in Social Media and Marketing
Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and other social networking sites are likely to use NFC technology in the realm of location-based services. Mobile users could also ?friend? people on Facebook or share personal content by tapping each other?s NFC-enabled phones together.
Instead of running an application on a mobile device to ?like? something on Facebook or ?check in? on Foursquare, mobile users will be able to tap their phones on a NFC tag wherever they are and the task will be complete.
Foursquare has already rolled out this technology to some degree. Foursquare on the Symbian operating system for Nokia smartphones is NFC-enabled and allows for quick check-ins by tapping the phone to a NFC tag where available.
Mobile users could soon be able to tap on a product that has a NFC tag on it with their NFC-enabled phones while inside a store and receive information instantly about the product. Mobile users could also interact with brands by tapping a tag to ?like? a product.
Besides ?check-ins,? when a consumer makes a purchase with NFC technology via a mobile wallet, the retailer can also treat the mobile device as a loyalty card, offering the consumer deals.
See Demo Incorporating NFC in Home Theater Systems
NFC is not only limited to business applications or social media. Prashant Mantha, Broadcom Blog Squad member, interviews Ron Wong, Broadcom?s associate product line director for Bluetooth in the Mobile & Wireless Group, who demonstrates how NFC?coupled with a Wi-Fi connected display and a Bluetooth-enabled remote, headset and gaming controller?brings easy pairing to in-home entertainment systems.
Contributor Micheal Der is the owner of Advanced Micro Technologies a Network/Systems? Integration company that provides IT consulting services to small, medium and large enterprise businesses.? For questions or comments you can email him at info@admt.com.
Sometimes it pays to look beyond the obvious when it comes to investing.
That means adding some exotic investments to a portfolio laden with blue-chip stocks and Treasury bonds. Think platinum and pipelines.
Jason Schneider
The popularity of blue chips has driven the Dow Jones Industrial Average to levels not seen since before the financial crisis. And investors so crave Treasurys that yields have plunged and remain close to historic lows. The way to find bargains is where others aren?t and that means going off the beaten path.
Platinum
Now is one of the rare times in history when an ounce of platinum is cheaper than an ounce of gold. Platinum is going for $1,712 an ounce, compared with $1,775 for an ounce of gold.
Market observers say platinum prices are down due to unwarranted worry over the health of the global economy, while gold has held up as a haven.
But that relationship may change. If the economy warms up, so will demand for platinum?likely pushing up the price. The metal is used to make catalytic converters for automobiles. When more cars are made, more platinum is needed.
?The price is very attuned to the economic cycle,? says Matthew Turner, a strategist at Mitsubishi Corp. in London.
In addition, intensifying supply problems could further boost prices, Mr. Turner says. Most of the world?s platinum comes from South Africa and failing infrastructure in that country could curtail production, he says. The last time a major supply shock happened, in 2008, platinum prices catapulted to over $2,000 an ounce.
For investors looking to get their hands on some physical platinum, the U.S. Mint manufactures platinum coins, which it sells through approved dealers. You should buy only those coins whose price is based on the metal content, not the coins? finish. The latter can be harder to resell.
Another option is an exchange-traded fund that holds bars of physical platinum, such as the ETFS Physical Platinum Shares.
Shipping Stocks
Shipping stocks have had a rough trip lately as a slew of new vessels has pushed freight rates down. But the supply of vessels looks set to moderate in the near future?meaning there could be profits for those with the guts to take the plunge.
Freight rates for hauling dry products such as coal and iron ore have fallen near multi-decade lows, as measured by the Baltic Dry Index. In some cases, the cost of a voyage is about the same as the revenue.
?I think freight rates will bounce to more healthy levels,? says Natasha Boyden, a shipping analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald in New York, but she adds that it could take a year before we see a solid recovery.
For investors willing to ride some bumpy waves, Ms. Boyden recommends Navios Maritime . She says it has good long-term contracts (meaning the company is less exposed to the gyrations in freight rates), a strong management team and healthy balance sheet. Navios trades at $4 a share, but she says the stock is worth $6.
Ms. Boyden also likes Diana Shipping, which has $400 million cash on its balance sheet and long-term contracts.
Oil and Gas Pipelines
With oil prices topping $100 a barrel, investing in oil-and-gas producers may seem like a no-brainer. But rather than betting the farm on energy prices going higher?even if it looks likely amid the standoff with Iran?consider pipelines instead. With pipeline stocks, you can benefit from the volume of the energy piped?regardless of which direction prices are headed.
?Pipelines are like toll roads,? says Avi Feinberg, an analyst at Morningstar in Chicago, meaning the operator gets paid for the volume of what passes through the tube.
You can invest in pipeline producers through master limited partnerships (MLPs), which run the pipelines. MLPs don?t pay federal income taxes, says Mr. Feinberg. Instead, the people who own the partnership units, or shares?meaning investors?are taxed based on the distributions from the partnership. Still, there can be good profits in MLPs.
Watch out for the MLPs that get paid to process energy and also sometimes get a stake in the value of that resulting product, says Mr. Feinberg. ?We tend to like MLPs that have steady fee-based cash flows as a high percentage of their revenue.? Among his picks: Energy Transfer Equity,
which runs a long-haul pipeline and currently yields around 5.8%.
Apartment Buildings
Now that the job market has started to improve, apartment vacancy rates are falling and rents are getting higher.
Sounds like a good time to be a landlord. The big problem: It typically requires millions of dollars to buy even a small multifamily property.
One way around this is by investing in real-estate investment trusts, which own, operate and lease apartment complexes.
As investors anticipated the apartment-sector recovery, REIT prices have surged lately, but there are still some bargains out there, says David Toti, an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald in New York.
REIT shares can be purchased just like other stocks. But because of their trust structure, REITs don?t pay taxes on profits as long as they distribute most of their earnings to shareholders. Instead, investors must pay taxes on the distributions. The distributions are taxed in a variety of ways.
Mr. Toti likes MidAmerica Apartment Communities,
which owns apartments buildings outside big cities, and Post Properties , a Sunbelt apartment owner with high-quality assets. They have dividend yields of around 4.2% and 2%, respectively.
Foreign Currencies
With Europe?s debt crisis continuing to put pressure on the euro and dollar, investors may want to look to currencies with a better chance of appreciation.
Mark McCormick, a currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York, likes the currencies of commodity-producing countries like Australia, Norway and Canada. Those countries are earning lots of cash on the back of a surge in materials prices.
You can invest through ETFs like the CurrencyShares Canadian Dollar Trust and the CurrencyShares Australian Dollar Trust
.
Want some actual hard currency? Commerce Bank of Missouri sells packets of foreign notes. Minimum amounts vary, but the bank keeps most major currencies in stock, says Craig Stevenson, international manager at the Kansas City, Mo., branch. Or they can order it.
The downside: You must buy the currency in person at a bank branch. To sell the currency back to Commerce, you?ll need to become a customer of the bank.
Individuals experiencing hair loss have come across different techniques for hair loss prevention, but you can find very few hair loss prevention tactics. These kinds of tactics fundamentally depend on the type of hair and the kind of hair loss. Hair loss prevention can be completed within a number of techniques retaining in mind the harm, for topical harm topical shampoos and conditioners can deliver considerable change to the hair and make these much healthier.
In case of loss of hair and bald patches, fixing hormone balance can stop further hair loss. The hormone disproportion in addition leads to other types of flaws in the human body and can also trigger serious headaches and abdominal aches.
Hair loss prevention can be possible by taking in a healthy diet plan and making sure the quantity of thyroxin in the human body remains constant by preserving thyroid gland balance in the body. There are a variety of facts that may trigger hormone imbalance. Getting pregnant, menopause, delivery of a infant and many others may trigger extra ordinary alterations, thinning and losing of hair. Hair loss prevention for all of those aspects may be performed by restoring hormone imbalances in the human body of the man or woman suffering from hair loss.
You can find various sorts of hair loss induced owing to air pollution along with other external variables, hair loss prevention for these types of hair loss can be usage of the suited potion which creates a defensive layer on the top of this hair that doesn?t let harmful materials to come in direct contact with your hair and there by stops harm to the hair. Harm to the hair can be also avoided by making use of suited quantity of oils. A combination of which can help make the hair stronger and silkier. There are lots of sorts of organic oils that are available in the marketplace and these types of oils are accountable for making the hair stronger and therefore are one of this best hair loss prevention techniques.
It truly is recommended to stop extreme styling. As excessive styling and pulling of this hair tends to make that much more prone to hair loss and hair loss prevention in cases like this may very easily performed by avoiding excessive styling and pulling of hair in the process of styling. You can find handful of individuals who may have the habit of pulling their hair, excessive puling may trigger hair loss to an irreparable extent, hair loss prevention in that scenario may be reducing pulling of hair and let that grow naturally.
Want to find out more about Large Breast Implants, then visit Victor Ghenghin?s site on how to choose the best Plastic Surgery Breast Augmentation for your needs.
?Mail this post
Technorati Tags: hair loss prevention home remedies, hair loss prevention tips, hair loss treatment, health and fitness
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will lift a controversial ban on cotton exports just a week after imposing it, allowing more supplies into a global market that is oversupplied and which is likely to further push down international prices.
The ban, announced unexpectedly on March 5, after a record 9.5 million bales had been shipped, ran into criticism from the influential farm minister, Sharad Pawar, and China, the biggest buyer of cotton from the world's second-largest producer.
Government ministers had taken into account the interests of farmers, industry and trade in deciding to lift the ban, a statement quoting Trade Minister Anand Sharma said on Sunday.
"A formal order will be made public tomorrow by the Government," he added.
Indian exporters had some 2.5 million bales outstanding for overseas sales when the ban -- aimed at protecting domestic textile mills -- was imposed. That put total supplies into exports since October 1 at 12 million bales -- well above the government's projections of 8.4 million bales set in January.
"It's good news as far as (exporters) and farmers are concerned, said Nayan Mirani, vice-president of the Cotton Association of India, which groups exporters and traders.
"We must realise that we are a cotton surplus country and our surplus needs to be exported. These are short-sighted views that (the textile) industry sometimes takes by asking to ban cotton exports."
New York cotton futures, which had ended limit up on Monday when the ban was announced, closed lower on Friday after USDA estimated higher production worldwide. The May ICE futures contract closed down 0.76 cent to 88.80 cents per lb.
"There could be more downside pressure in international markets due to more supplies from India," said Chowda Reddy, senior analyst with JRG Wealth Management in Hyderabad, adding domestic prices could rally on supply concerns.
The short-lived ban is the latest policy U-turn by India on exports, as the country tries to balance the huge demands for commodities of its 1.2 billion population with its global role as one of the world's biggest producers.
The USDA upped world 2011/12 cotton production to 123.64 million (480-lb) bales, from 123.34 million and reduced world consumption to 108.72 million bales from 109.71 million in its report on Friday.
Cotton ended 2011 as the worst-performing commodity market of the year, falling 37 percent from 2010 as record prices boosted output and decimated demand, while a shaky global economy scared off investors.
China is expected to cut imports by one million bales in 2012/13 from about 17 million bales in the current cotton year, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.
(Additional reporting by Siddesh Mayenkar in MUMBAI; Editing by David Hulmes)
Hear that? That?s the sound of the Smoky Mountains. They?re calling you?re name, beckoning you to break out of your routine and come play a lil? golf all up in them.
Gatlinburg, Tennessee is where it?s all going down. All you gotta do is purchase this voucher, grab a friend, and come on up.
With this offer, you?ll 18 rounds of golf for 2 at Bent Creek Golf Course, plus a complimentary cart rental, and a 15% discount off whatever you want at the course?s pro shop.
Designed by 3-time Masters & British Open winner Gary Player, Bent Creek is a par 72 course that opened way back in 1972. The front nine hugs the valley floor while the back nine offers a challenging mountain course. A beautiful sparkling mountain stream meanders through the entire set of links, making for a breathtaking contrast between the water and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Perhaps that?s why Southern Living Travel Guide rated Bent Creek Golf Resort one of the ?Top 50 Golf Courses in the South.?
Limit one per person per visit ? Tee time can only be made after 11:00 AM when using voucher ? Tee time reservations are required and subject to availability ? Merchant cancellation/re-scheduling policy of 24 hours applies; voucher subject to forfeiture
? Not valid on holidays ?
There are no reviews for this product at this time.
Sleepiness is a huge problem for airline pilots, study finds
You might want to bring a cup of black coffee to the pilot on your next flight. Results from a major study conducted by the National Sleep Foundation suggest airline pilots are some of the sleepiest transportation workers in the country, along with train operators.
ATLANTA (Reuters) - Adults applying for welfare in Georgia would have to pass a drug test before receiving benefits under a bill approved by the state Senate late on Wednesday.
The legislation, called the Social Responsibility and Accountability Act, is designed to ensure that welfare payments, called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, are "not diverted to illicit drug use."
The legislation, which now goes to the Georgia House, would not affect welfare payments to children. Under the bill, if a parent failed a drug test, children could still receive payments through another person designated by the state.
Two states, Michigan and Florida, have adopted similar legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Michigan Court of Appeals in 2003 ruled that state's law unconstitutional. Florida's law has been temporarily blocked by a federal lawsuit.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia opposes the drug-testing requirement, the organization's executive director, Debbie Seagraves, told Reuters.
"Blanket drugs tests of any kind by the government are unconstitutional," she said.
Seagraves predicted Georgia would face a lengthy court fight over the legislation if it won final passage and is signed into law.
Republican State Senator John Albers, one of the sponsors of the bill, told Reuters he was confident the legislation would withstand any court challenges.
Welfare reform legislation passed by Congress in 1996 specifically allows states to require drug testing, he said. The Georgia bill is aimed at encouraging welfare recipients to stop using illegal drugs, Albers added.
"True compassion is doing what is best for people, not the easiest," he said.
HOUSTON?As Congress slogged through a mishmash of mostly political messaging votes on energy and environmental policies, a top industry executive warned that America?s lack of an energy policy could compel global companies to invest elsewhere.
?We need a smart, prudent national framework and proactive energy policy that uses the collective wealth of this country,? Dow Chemical CEO and President Andrew Liveris said on Thursday at a major energy conference here. ?That?s hard to do in two-, four-, and six-year election cycles. But we have to do it.?
The Senate voted on Thursday on five disparate measures that affect different parts of the U.S. energy landscape. All the measures except one failed. The one successful vote was on bipartisan legislation requiring that 80 percent of the fines that oil giant BP pays in response to its 2010 spill go into restoration efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.? The measures that failed include proposals delaying mercury rules for industrial boilers, expanding offshore oil and gas drilling, and mandating approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
Liveris, who leads one of the world?s biggest chemical companies and is based in Michigan, said inaction on energy issues by the U.S. government will drive investments away.
?We will go to a country that will have a more robust and comprehensive energy policy,? he said during a speech to hundreds of the world?s top energy executives at the IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates annual conference. ?Saudia Arabia understands that. China understands. Singapore understands that. Germany understands. Want me to keep going?? Liveris rhetorically asked. ?There have been 45 countries I?ve visited that understand. The United States understands but it has not been able to implement it.?
Could a NOSH-aspirin-a-day keep cancer away?Public release date: 8-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jessa Netting jnetting@ccny.cuny.edu 212-650-7615 City College of New York
New hybrid aspirin shrinks tumors, curbs cancer cell growth
The humble aspirin may soon have a new role. Scientists from The City College of New York have developed a new aspirin compound that has great promise to be, not only an extremely potent cancer-fighter, but even safer than the classic medicine cabinet staple.
The new designer aspirin curbed the growth of 11 different types of human cancer cells in culture without harming normal cells, reported a team from the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education of The City College of New York in a paper published this month in the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters. The cancers controlled included colon, pancreatic, lung, prostate, breast, and leukemia. "The key components of this new compound are that it is very, very potent and yet it has minimal toxicity to the cells," said Associate Professor Khosrow Kashfi, the principal investigator.
The aspirin compound also shrank human colon cancer tumors by 85 percent in live animals, again without adverse effects, according to a second paper in press by the City College researchers and colleague Kenneth Olson of Indiana University School of Medicine, South Bend. Their results will appear in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, now available online. "If what we have seen in animals can be translated to humans," said Professor Kashfi, "it could be used in conjunction with other drugs to shrink tumors before chemotherapy or surgery."
Long the go-to drug for minor aches and pains, aspirin and other so-called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen, are known primarily for their ability to calm inflammation. Studies in the 1980's resolved a decades-old debate on the utility of a daily dose of aspirin to cut the risk of heart attack and stroke.
More recent studies tracking regular use of the drug and other NSAIDs demonstrated their remarkable ability to inhibit the growth of cancer. "There's a lot of data on aspirin showing that when taken on a regular basis, on average it reduces the risk of development of colon cancer by about 50% compared to nonusers," noted Professor Kashfi.
The fly in the ointment has been that prolonged use of aspirin posed its own dangers: side effects ranging from bleeding ulcers to kidney failure. To resolve this, the researchers created a hybrid of two earlier formulations, which they have called "NOSH-aspirin." They used the aspirin as a scaffold to support two molecules that have been shown to increase the drug's safety and potency.
One arm of the hybrid aspirin releases nitric oxide (NO), which helps protect the stomach lining. The other releases hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which the researchers have previously shown enhances aspirin's cancer-fighting ability. The researchers suspected that the hybrid would be more effective than either of the two components alone to boost aspirin's safety and power against cancer.
"The hybrid is more potent and it is more potent by orders of magnitude compared to aspirin," said Kashfi. Only 24 hours after treating a culture of cancer cells, the NOSH-aspirin demonstrated 100,000 times greater potency than aspirin alone. "At 72 hours it is about 250,000 times more potent in an in-vitro cell culture against human colon cancer," Kashfi added. "So you need a lower amount to get the same result."
The effect of the hybrid was also far greater than the sum of its parts. Its potency was as much as 15,000 times greater than existing NO-aspirins and 80-fold more than those that incorporate H2S. The upshot is that a drug based on this hybrid would require lower doses to be effective, minimizing or potentially eliminating its side effects.
In the second study, when mice bearing human colon cancer tumors on their flanks were given oral NOSH-aspirin, the compound caused cancer cells to self-destruct, inhibited the proliferation of the cells and significantly reduced tumor growth without any signs of toxicity in the mice.
The stage is set for the development of a drug based on NOSH-aspirin. Kashfi noted that any working therapy for humans is years away, but the next step would be toxicity testing, and then clinical trials.
Dr. Ravinder Kodela and Dr. Mitali Chattopadhyay are members of Professor Kashfi's lab at Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education and co-authors on both papers. These studies were funded by The National Cancer Institute through a subcontract from ThermoFisher, and also by the National Science Foundation.
Professor Kashfi and his colleagues will present these findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Chicago, March 31st - April 4th.
Ravinder Kodela, Mitali Chattopadhyay, and Khosrow Kashfi. NOSH-Aspirin: A Novel Nitric OxideHydrogen Sulfide-Releasing Hybrid: A New Class of Anti-inflammatory Pharmaceuticals. Published online ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters Article ASAP Publication Date (Published online ahead of print January 28, 2012) doi: 10.1021/ml300002m
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ml300002m
M. Chattopadhyay et al., NOSHaspirin (NBS-1120), a novel nitric oxide- and hydrogen sulfide-releasing hybrid is a potent inhibitor of colon cancer cell growth in vitro and in a xenograft mouse model, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. (In press. Available online February 2012), doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.02.051
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006291X12002847
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Could a NOSH-aspirin-a-day keep cancer away?Public release date: 8-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jessa Netting jnetting@ccny.cuny.edu 212-650-7615 City College of New York
New hybrid aspirin shrinks tumors, curbs cancer cell growth
The humble aspirin may soon have a new role. Scientists from The City College of New York have developed a new aspirin compound that has great promise to be, not only an extremely potent cancer-fighter, but even safer than the classic medicine cabinet staple.
The new designer aspirin curbed the growth of 11 different types of human cancer cells in culture without harming normal cells, reported a team from the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education of The City College of New York in a paper published this month in the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters. The cancers controlled included colon, pancreatic, lung, prostate, breast, and leukemia. "The key components of this new compound are that it is very, very potent and yet it has minimal toxicity to the cells," said Associate Professor Khosrow Kashfi, the principal investigator.
The aspirin compound also shrank human colon cancer tumors by 85 percent in live animals, again without adverse effects, according to a second paper in press by the City College researchers and colleague Kenneth Olson of Indiana University School of Medicine, South Bend. Their results will appear in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, now available online. "If what we have seen in animals can be translated to humans," said Professor Kashfi, "it could be used in conjunction with other drugs to shrink tumors before chemotherapy or surgery."
Long the go-to drug for minor aches and pains, aspirin and other so-called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen, are known primarily for their ability to calm inflammation. Studies in the 1980's resolved a decades-old debate on the utility of a daily dose of aspirin to cut the risk of heart attack and stroke.
More recent studies tracking regular use of the drug and other NSAIDs demonstrated their remarkable ability to inhibit the growth of cancer. "There's a lot of data on aspirin showing that when taken on a regular basis, on average it reduces the risk of development of colon cancer by about 50% compared to nonusers," noted Professor Kashfi.
The fly in the ointment has been that prolonged use of aspirin posed its own dangers: side effects ranging from bleeding ulcers to kidney failure. To resolve this, the researchers created a hybrid of two earlier formulations, which they have called "NOSH-aspirin." They used the aspirin as a scaffold to support two molecules that have been shown to increase the drug's safety and potency.
One arm of the hybrid aspirin releases nitric oxide (NO), which helps protect the stomach lining. The other releases hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which the researchers have previously shown enhances aspirin's cancer-fighting ability. The researchers suspected that the hybrid would be more effective than either of the two components alone to boost aspirin's safety and power against cancer.
"The hybrid is more potent and it is more potent by orders of magnitude compared to aspirin," said Kashfi. Only 24 hours after treating a culture of cancer cells, the NOSH-aspirin demonstrated 100,000 times greater potency than aspirin alone. "At 72 hours it is about 250,000 times more potent in an in-vitro cell culture against human colon cancer," Kashfi added. "So you need a lower amount to get the same result."
The effect of the hybrid was also far greater than the sum of its parts. Its potency was as much as 15,000 times greater than existing NO-aspirins and 80-fold more than those that incorporate H2S. The upshot is that a drug based on this hybrid would require lower doses to be effective, minimizing or potentially eliminating its side effects.
In the second study, when mice bearing human colon cancer tumors on their flanks were given oral NOSH-aspirin, the compound caused cancer cells to self-destruct, inhibited the proliferation of the cells and significantly reduced tumor growth without any signs of toxicity in the mice.
The stage is set for the development of a drug based on NOSH-aspirin. Kashfi noted that any working therapy for humans is years away, but the next step would be toxicity testing, and then clinical trials.
Dr. Ravinder Kodela and Dr. Mitali Chattopadhyay are members of Professor Kashfi's lab at Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education and co-authors on both papers. These studies were funded by The National Cancer Institute through a subcontract from ThermoFisher, and also by the National Science Foundation.
Professor Kashfi and his colleagues will present these findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Chicago, March 31st - April 4th.
Ravinder Kodela, Mitali Chattopadhyay, and Khosrow Kashfi. NOSH-Aspirin: A Novel Nitric OxideHydrogen Sulfide-Releasing Hybrid: A New Class of Anti-inflammatory Pharmaceuticals. Published online ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters Article ASAP Publication Date (Published online ahead of print January 28, 2012) doi: 10.1021/ml300002m
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ml300002m
M. Chattopadhyay et al., NOSHaspirin (NBS-1120), a novel nitric oxide- and hydrogen sulfide-releasing hybrid is a potent inhibitor of colon cancer cell growth in vitro and in a xenograft mouse model, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. (In press. Available online February 2012), doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.02.051
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006291X12002847
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Have you been doing your best to support all your favorite restaurants in our annual Readers? Choice: Food and Drink voting? Have you been visiting the site every day to cast your ballots? You haven?t? ?Well, I?m not here to judge you. ?I?m here to implore you to vote today, tomorrow, and Sunday. ?For those are your last three opportunities.
?Mail this post 
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 8-Mar-2012
Share ]