Saturday, September 29, 2012

The Climate of Climate Science

Science Talk

James McCarthy, Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard, talks about climate science and testifying before Congress, and the collaborations between climate scientists and the national security community as well as with evangelicals. And the Union of Concerned Scientists releases a report about the misleading coverage of climate science at Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.

More Science Talk

  • Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...

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James McCarthy, Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard, talks about climate science and testifying before Congress, and the collaborations between climate scientists and the national security community as well as with evangelicals. And the Union of Concerned Scientists releases a report about the misleading coverage of climate science at Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.
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Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=b9762bde5a2ff50b5d032586cefae247

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Friday, September 28, 2012

Garden Party for Strength After Cancer Sun. 10/7/12 in LA [Breast ...

Garden Party for
Strength After Cancer
A New Post-Cancer Wellness Program
Featuring Cancer Survivor & Nurse Practitioner Dale Perry
Sunday, October 7, 2012
At a Private Home
In Hancock Park, Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, CA ??September 27, 2012 ? Strength After Cancer, a new post-cancer wellness program, is launching with a garden party hosted in a private Hancock Park home in Los Angeles on Sunday, October 7, 2012 during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The new program was developed by fitness specialist Jennifer Cheng and nurse practitioner Dale Perry to help cancer survivors create a life of wellness with holistic health support.? Perry is a unique health practitioner ? a breast cancer survivor who gained strength and mobility, overcoming muscle weakness and challenges, by developing a protocol with Cheng using specialized rehab exercises and a post-cancer nutraceutical program. The goal of the party is to introduce a new wellness program, based on Perry?s success working in collaboration with Cheng, to select healthcare practitioners, potential clients, the media, and other interested parties in a social setting.? At the event, Strength After Cancer will specifically introduce its innovative pilot program for breast cancer survivors with lymphedema to manage their swelling. Perry will be the featured guest speaker at the event.? The garden party is from 3:00pm to 5:00pm with formal presentations promptly at 4:00pm.? The event will be held at a private home in Hancock Park (S. Windsor Place Los Angeles, CA 90004 ? full address to be provided after RSVP).? To RSVP, please contact Lynn Tejada at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.? For additional information, please see http://www.strengthaftercancer.com.

Garden Party -
The garden party provides an opportunity to learn about the new program, become an ambassador to help Strength After Cancer reach cancer survivors who might benefit from participating in the pilot study, and to help start a scholarship fund for people who need financial assistance to facilitate their participation in the new post-cancer wellness program.? Guest speakers will include Dale Perry and other health experts. Refreshments will be served.

Schedule:
3:00pm to 4:00pm ? Mix & Mingle
4:00pm to 4:30pm ? Guest Speaker Presentations Featuring Dale Perry
4:30pm to 5:00pm ? More Mixing & Mingling

Dale Perry?s Breast Cancer Recovery Story -
Perry was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. She had right mastectomy, with reconstruction and all lymph nodes removed. She also had 6 rounds of chemotherapy and 30 days of radiation. She started physical therapy within the first month after her last surgery. With physical therapy, Perry increased her range of motion, but still had numbness in the radiated area. ?In January of 2012, she noticed swelling of the right hand and early signs of lymphedema.? A customized therapeutic exercise program, developed with Cheng on the Power Plate system, in combination with a customized nutraceutical program featuring antioxidants, resulted in a decrease the swelling within a month. When she saw her oncologist and physical therapist, they also noted the significant decrease in swelling. Perry now has full use of her arm and the swelling has been resolved for over 8 months.? The current treatment protocols for lymphedema focus on the use of mechanical, external tools and techniques, such as compression sleeves, massage, and pumps.? Available research describes the condition as irrevocable.? Perry?s results represent hope for thousands of breast cancer survivors who suffer with lymphedema.

?Both my physical therapist and oncologist are blown away by the results that I?m getting,? says Perry, ?It?s very exciting to share this program so we can help more people.?

Strength After Cancer Pilot Program -
Strength After Cancer is currently launching a pilot program for breast cancer and lymphedema to replicate Perry?s results with a larger test group of breast cancer survivors (30 people).? While the fitness component of the program is based specifically in the Los Angeles area, the nutrition and weight loss programs serve anyone in the United States.? The Strength After Cancer Pilot Program will consist of a 90-day regimen of specific nutritional recommendations and exercises.? Clients will first consult with the nurse practitioner for a nutritional assessment, then again at the end of the 90-day period.? Clients also commit to two to three weekly 30-minute sessions with the fitness specialist.? The program includes an assessment of the client?s physical condition. Each client will have an individualized plan based on their specific issues. Many of the principles that Strength After Cancer uses for wellness are also applicable to men recovering from prostate cancer as well as anyone who has been through radiation looking to regain strength and functionality in weakened muscles.

Dale Perry -
A certified family nurse practitioner with a special interest and long career in women?s health, Dale Perry earned her Master of Science in Nursing from Pace University Graduate School of Nursing in New York in 1978.? Since becoming a nutraMetrix Health Practitioner, Perry specializes in wellness consulting primarily in the areas of anti-aging, genetic testing, healthy weight loss and post-cancer treatment. As a breast cancer survivor herself, Perry is uniquely qualified to share her expertise and give hope to women dealing with lymphedema in the Strength After Cancer program. ?She remains active as a national speaker in organizations that support women?s health. (photo credit: Lisa Arellanes)

Jennifer Cheng -
A fitness specialist and wellness consultant, Jennifer Cheng uses the exercise systems of?Power Plate, Pilates,?and yoga-inspired strength training for?whole-body movement analysis. ?She has received training and mentorship from rehab specialists in Europe and New York City. ?With over 8 years of?experience training a variety of clients ??athletes, cancer survivors, and seniors with severe injuries ??Cheng enjoys teaching fitness with creative?imagery and laughter. ?The early experience of losing college professors and friends to cancer has motivated Jennifer to create the Strength After Cancer?program. ?As a wellness consultant, Cheng is also a weight loss coach and enjoys teaching her clients with science and mind-body-spirit education to?help them live better longer. (photo credit: Stephen Hurst)

Strength After Cancer -
Strength After Cancer is committed to helping clients and their families create better options for post-cancer wellness care and achieve optimal health for all. Through cutting-edge exercise design, science-based nutritional interventions, and public education, Strength After Cancer empowers clients to gain strength in their bodies and share their inspiration to impact healthier communities. ?For patients who have completed the medical (chemotherapy, radiation and surgery) portion of their cancer treatment, Strength After Cancer offers hope and strategies for post-cancer wellness. The program was developed by Dale Perry, a nurse practitioner, and Jennifer Cheng, a fitness specialist, using current scientific data and years of experience.

?We want to reach as many people who want to be pioneers for post-cancer wellness,? says Perry, ?Everyone knows someone in their community who has been affected by cancer, and it is through human connections that people can find the wellness care that best suits them.?

#?????????? #????????? #

For more information on Strength After Cancer or to RSVP for the garden party, please contact Green Galactic?s Lynn Tejada at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

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Posted on September 27th, 2012 lynn-hasty

More info...

Events, Healing Arts, Press Releases, Strength After Cancer antioxidants, breast cancer, breast cancer survival, CA, California, cancer, Dale Perry, exercise, fitness, fitness specialist, garden party, Hancock Park, healthcare, Jennifer Cheng, LA, Los Angeles, lymphedema, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, nurse practitioner, nutraceuticals, nutrition, pilot program, pioneer, post-cancer, Power Plate, range of motion, rehab, Strength After Cancer, wellness

Source: http://www.greengalactic.com/2012/strength-after-cancer-garden-party/

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EMS Providers Should Improve their Ability to Detect & Treat - Jems

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Chad Brocato, CFO, DHSc, JD | Peter P. Taillac, MD, FACEP | From the October 2012 Issue | Thursday, September 27, 2012

Serious hemorrhage from truncal wounds is internal and uncontrollable, and requires EMS providers to assist the body?s natural ability to form a clot.

Photo Edward Dickinson

Learning Objectives
>> Identify major anatomical components? of the cardiovascular system.
>> Describe the physiological components? of blood pressure.
>> Differentiate between compensated,? uncompensated, and irreversible shock.
>> Use a comprehensive assessment to? formulate a treatment plan for a patient suffering from shock.

Key Terms
Hemorrhagic shock: Shock associated with the sudden and rapid loss of significant amounts of blood often caused by severe traumatic injuries. This results in inadequate perfusion to meet the metabolic demands of cellular function.
Compensated shock: Category of shock that occurs early, while the body is still able to compensate for a shortfall in one or more of the three areas of perfusion.
Uncompensated shock: Category of shock that occurs when the compensatory mechanisms fail and the patient?s condition deteriorates.
Irreversible shock: The terminal category of shock that will lead to the patient?s demise because it can?t be reversed.
Truncal injury: Injuries pertaining to the chest, abdomen, or pelvis, where hemorrhage can be difficult to detect and control for prehospital providers.

Case Presentation
On a cold, rainy evening, the crew of Rescue 4 is jolted to attention by a dispatcher announcing, ?Respond to a shooting at 7th Street and Main.? The lead paramedic recognizes the address as a location within a community with a long-standing history of violent crimes. Local police have already secured the scene. The EMS crew arrives to note a young male lying in a pool of blood with a visible gunshot wound (GSW) to his right abdomen.

He?s conscious but slow to respond to questioning. The crew quickly assesses his initial airway, breathing and circulation status. Although his skin is cool to the touch, he has a palpable radial pulse. High-flow oxygen is applied while additional assessment is conducted. One crew member quickly performs a rapid head-to-toe exam to discover a second GSW to the left anterior thigh, which is actively hemorrhaging bright red blood. The EMS provider immediately places a tourniquet proximal to the wound and quickly stops the hemorrhage.

When the crew rolls the patient to assess his posterior surfaces and place him on a backboard, they note an exit wound just lateral to the spine at approximately the level of the eighth rib on the right posterior thorax. The exit wound is approximately the size of a quarter. Vital signs include a blood pressure of 108/74, respiration rate of 30 and a pulse rate of 128 beats per minute (bpm) His Glasgow Coma Scale score is 14, and he?s confused about the time and place.

Once inside the ambulance, the patient is quickly reassessed. The lead medic quickly places two peripheral IV lines while the unit is en route to the hospital. During the 15-minute ride, the patient rapidly deteriorates. His blood pressure drops to 74/50; his heart rate increases to 144 and respirations are 38. Suspecting a possible tension pneumothorax, the medic inserts a 14-gauge catheter into the patient?s chest, and a rush of air ensues. The lead medic then administers a 500 cc bolus of normal saline. The patient?s respiratory rate and pulse immediately decrease, and his blood pressure improves to 95/50. The lead medic provides a concise radio report to the hospital and arrives shortly thereafter, having stabilized this critical patient.

Patients with internal or external bleeding are at risk for developing shock. In some cases, such as the one illustrated above, the onset of shock will be rapid. EMS providers need to be able to predict that shock will occur prior to discovering the hallmark signs. This article will address key considerations related to determining the risk of developing shock, detecting shock when it?s present, and providing rapid assessments and interventions to improve patient outcomes.

Anatomy & Physiology
The body meets its metabolic demands through a series of anatomical features and physiological mechanisms. In the context of bleeding and shock, the EMS provider must have a keen awareness of the anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular system. It?s equally important to understand how the system attempts to compensate during times of injury.

The Heart
The heart is at the core of the cardiovascular system. It?s a four-chambered organ that must constantly pump blood to the lungs and the body as a whole. Blood is received in the two superior chambers, known as the atria. The lower chambers are known as the ventricles. The right atrium gets its blood from the inferior and superior vena cava. The blood is then pumped past the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle, which then ejects blood through the pulmonary valve, into the pulmonary artery, where it?s delivered to the lungs to be oxygenated. The ?fresh? blood will return to the left atrium via the pulmonary veins.

It will then pass through the mitral valve into the left ventricle, which is considered the high-pressure side of the heart. Blood is ejected from the left ventricle past the aortic valve into the aorta. It?s then distributed throughout the body.

Blood Distribution & Composition
The body?s distribution system for blood includes all of the vessels. Arteries, with the exception of the pulmonary artery, deliver highly oxygenated blood throughout the body. These vessels are relatively thick and are composed of three layers: the tunic intima (innermost layer), the tunic media (middle layer), and the tunic adventitia (outermost layer).

The arteries branch off to become smaller vessels, known as arterioles. These smaller vessels bring blood to the capillaries, which are tiny, thin-walled vessels that allow the diffusion of oxygen and nutrients for the benefit of the body?s cells. Waste products are then diffused from the cells into the venous side of the capillaries. Smaller vessels, known as venules, carry this blood to the veins. The venous blood is lower in oxygen but not devoid of it. The veins eventually connect to the vena cava to return the blood to the heart for its next loop in the cycle.

The blood is composed of both fluid and formed elements. The fluid is known as plasma, which contains important proteins, including critical clotting factors. The formed elements include the red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes) and platelets. The leukocytes work to fight off infections. However, more important to learn about in the context of bleeding and shock are the erythrocytes and platelets.

When the system works properly, the body?s cells, tissues and organs are properly perfused. Perfusion is a complicated process that can be simplified down to this critical point: in order for the cells to function properly, they need an adequate flow of oxygen and nutrients coupled with the need to eliminate harmful waste products. Perfusion is accomplished when the heart, blood vessels and blood are working in harmony. Thus, the heart must be functioning, the blood vessels must have proper tone (resistance), and an adequate amount of blood must be present. EMS providers roughly measure perfusion by assessing blood pressure. Mathematically, blood pressure is a product of heart rate multiplied by stroke volume multiplied by peripheral vascular resistance.

The heart rate must be adequate to ensure proper blood flow. The average adult heart rate is between 60?100 bpm while at rest. Significant decreases or increases in the heart rate have a direct impact on perfusion.

Stroke volume is the volume of blood pumped from each ventricle with each beat and is typically 70 mL for the average adult male. Stroke volume can be decreased by such factors as increased resistance, improper functioning of the heart or valves, and inadequate blood volume.

Peripheral vascular resistance is the tone in the blood vessels. Because our bodies must constantly fight the forces of gravity and pump the blood throughout the body, the vessels need to have some pressure or ?squeeze.? If all of your vessels were to dilate, your blood pressure would plummet as the blood would pool to the areas where gravity pulled it. So the peripheral vessels maintain this tone in order to equalize the effects of position changes (gravity) and to ?fine tune? the blood pressure second?to second.

Under normal conditions, the entire system works in concert to ensure that the blood flows to all organs, tissues, and cells. When the body has been compromised, such as when hemorrhage from a gunshot wound occurs, it will attempt to compensate for any reductions.

For example, if the blood pressure falls, the heart will respond by pumping faster and with more force, and the vessels will constrict and reroute blood from peripheral areas to the core in an effort to preserve the vital organs. Thus, prehospital caregivers should consider any factors that would reduce the overall flow of blood as they relate to heart rate, stroke volume and peripheral vascular resistance.

If external or internal bleeding is present, the stroke volume will obviously be affected because of the lost blood. If the patient has a rapid heart rate, then the volume and resistance will need to increase to ?compensate? for the change. If the blood vessels lack adequate tone, the heart rate will need to increase as will the force of contractions. It?s important to understand the interconnectedness of the heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV) and peripheral vascular resistance (PVR).

Pathophysiology
Simply stated, shock is a state of inadequate perfusion. Hemorrhagic shock occurs when, as a result of acute blood loss, cells are negatively impacted because they are inadequately perfused. Therefore, they don?t receive an adequate supply of oxygen or removal of wastes.

Three types of shock exist: compensated, uncompensated, and irreversible. The prehospital provider can have the greatest effect if shock can be prevented, by preventing blood loss. If this isn?t possible because of factors beyond the provider?s control, then caregivers should act quickly to keep compensated shock from becoming uncompensated shock. All efforts should be undertaken to avoid irreversible shock.

Compensated shock occurs early while the body is still able to compensate for a shortfall in one or more of the three areas of perfusion (HR, SV, and/or PVR). The signs and symptoms of this stage of shock include tachycardia and tachypnea, as well as cool pale, and diaphoretic skin. The patient?s blood pressure may be within normal ranges during compensatory shock. Mental status may also be normal during this early stage.

Uncompensated shock occurs when the compensatory mechanisms fail, and the patient?s condition deteriorates. The hallmark sign of uncompensated shock is a reduction in blood pressure. Other signs include decreased mental status, tachycardia, tachypnea, thirst, reduced body temperature and skin that is cool, sweaty and pale. If untreated or inadequately treated, the patient may lapse into irreversible shock. As its name implies, this latter category of shock will lead to the patient?s demise because it can?t be reversed.

New Concepts
Now back to our gunshot victim. How do we prevent the cascade of physiologic events that leads to the irreversible shock state? The key is prevention of shock in the first place. EMS providers are in a critical position because their actions in the first hour after injury, often called the ?Golden Hour? (or ?Platinum 10 Minutes?) can mean the difference between a stable patient and one who rapidly develops an uncompensated and then irreversible shock state, resulting in death.

Research from trauma centers and experience from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan have suggested new approaches to both the avoidance and the management of shock in the prehospital environment. Extremity injuries are addressed with immediate control of hemorrhage, with a pressure dressing or a tourniquet. For patients with a truncal injury (wound to chest, abdomen or pelvis) careful and judicious fluid administration in the field can help minimize hemorrhage and preserve critical blood volume, thus giving the patient a better chance to make it to the operating room where such internal bleeding can be directly controlled.

Aggressive and lifesaving EMS care for this shooting victim begins with a rapid but thorough assessment of his wounds. This requires visualization and palpation of the entire torso and extremities for wounds. This patient in this example demonstrates a penetrating wound to abdomen with an exit wound posteriorly at approximately the eighth rib level, which raises the possibility of a chest injury, such as a tension pneumothorax.

Rolling the patient to evaluate posterior wounds is a critical step that can be easily missed in the evaluation of a shooting victim. In this case, this revealed a wound that may compromise pulmonary and cardiac function. In addition, an actively bleeding thigh wound is noted as part of the head-to-toe exam.

The management of these wounds (extremity and torso) requires prompt action on the part of the medic to avoid the onset of shock, to minimize internal bleeding, and to address the rapid deterioration of the patient. The two torso wounds aren?t visibly bleeding; however, it?s assumed there may be significant internal hemorrhage.

First, the EMS provider immediately stops the rapid blood loss from the thigh wound by the prompt application of a tourniquet proximal to the wound. This rapid and simple intervention may be lifesaving by preventing the onset of shock. Research from battlefield injuries in Iraq demonstrates a nearly 25-fold (96% vs. 4%) improvement in survival when hemorrhage was controlled by tourniquets prior to the onset of shock.
Depending on the status of the patient and the transport time, this tourniquet can either be left in place until arrival at the emergency department (ED) or, if possible, replaced by an effective pressure dressing.

If a tourniquet is left in place, the EMS provider must alert the ED personnel that a tourniquet is in place, so it isn?t overlooked while the other, more obvious, wounds are managed. If a pressure dressing is placed, then the tourniquet should be left loosely in place and the thigh wound frequently re-evaluated by the EMS provider for continued bleeding. Then, if bleeding recurs, the tourniquet can then be simply re-tightened.

Once the thigh hemorrhage is stopped, the medics placed two large bore IVs. This has been a recommended practice in early trauma management for decades. However, although the placement of such ?lifelines? is still recommended to provide access for medications and fluids, newer research indicates that less IV fluid may be better for truncal wounds. Serious hemorrhage from truncal wounds is internal and uncontrollable by the medic in contrast to extremity wounds, which present with external hemorrhage and are controllable, with direct pressure or a tourniquet.

For internal hemorrhage, the medic must assist the body?s natural ability to form a clot. Research indicates that this clot formation is disrupted by rapidly increasing the BP with crystalloid IV fluids, such as normal saline. In addition, crystalloid dilutes the clotting factors that are critical to formation and strengthening of these fragile clots. Based on this research, the new recommendation is ?don?t pop the clot? by the use of excessive IV fluid in the field. For patients with internal bleeding who aren?t in uncompensated shock (their systolic BP is greater than 80?90 mm/Hg, or a radial pulse is present and mentation is normal), IV fluids should be withheld until the patient can receive definitive control of this internal hemorrhage in the operating room.

Resuscitation studies demonstrate that this strategy minimizes hemorrhage and subsequent transfusion requirements. However, in the case of a patient who is demonstrating signs of uncompensated shock (systolic BP is less than 80?90, or the patient has a loss of radial pulse or decreasing mentation), administration of judicious boluses of crystalloid to support the blood pressure may be required to get the patient to the ED alive. Administration of boluses of 500?1,000 cc at a time, with reassessment after each bolus to keep the systolic BP above 80?90 mm/Hg is recommended. This strategy of minimizing IV fluid by such calibrated boluses is contrasted with our former practice of indiscriminately administering large volumes of IV fluid to all trauma patients.

Lastly, the patient initially had a systolic BP of 108, but then rapidly decompensated, demonstrated by worsening hypotension and increasing tachycardia and tachypnea. The astute medic realized that, with a possible chest wound, this patient may be manifesting a tension pneumothorax. In this condition, the pneumothorax enlarges progressively, increasing pressure in the chest to the point that the return of blood to the heart is compromised, resulting in decreased SV, and a shock state ensues. The immediate and lifesaving treatment is to decompress the tension pneumothorax by placing a large-bore IV catheter in the second intercostal space in the mid-clavicular line.

This results in an immediate decrease in the intrathoracic pressure and improvement in venous blood refilling the heart, restoring SV and cardiac output. Our medics recognized and treated this patient with chest decompression followed by a calibrated 500 cc bolus of crytalloid, with improved vital signs found on reassessment. These medics prevented the onset of irreversible shock and saved this patient?s life with their prompt and expert interventions.

Conclusion
New concepts in trauma management differentiate between controllable hemorrhage from extremities and uncontrollable internal hemorrhage from truncal injuries. The goal of trauma management is the prevention of uncompensated and irreversible shock.

Prompt control of blood loss from extremities with a pressure dressing or a tourniquet is an immediate priority and should be implemented during the primary survey of the trauma patient. Internal bleeding control from truncal injuries is facilitated by ?not popping the clot.? These patients may be managed in their compensated shock state (BP above 80?90 mm/Hg) by avoiding excess prehospital IV fluids. Judicious and calibrated IV boluses are used to support the BP below this level.

Last, remember that a penetrating chest injury in the face of shock may represent a tension pneumothorax and require immediate needle thoracostomy to restore cardiac output. JEMS

References
1. Kragh J, Littrel M, Jones J, et al. Battle casualty survival with emergency tourniquet use to stop limb bleeding. J Emerg Med. 2011;41(6):590.
2. Bickell W, Wall M, Pepe P, et al. Immediate versus delayed fluid resuscitation for hypotensive patients with penetrating torso injuries. N Eng J Med.1994;331(17):1,105.
3. Taillac P, Doyle G. Tourniquet first! Safe and rational protocols for prehospital tourniquet use. JEMS.2008(Oct Suppl);24.
4. Butler F, Holcomb J, Giebner S. Tactical combat casualty care 2007: Evolving concepts and battlefield experience. Mil Med. 2007:172(suppl 1):1.
5. McSwain N, Champion H, Fabian T, et al. State of the art fluid resuscitation 2010: Prehospital and immediate transition to the hospital. J Trauma 2011;70(5)(supplement):S2.

Source: http://www.jems.com/article/patient-care/ems-providers-should-improve-their-abili

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Prep Football Preview: Ezeagwus Eagles' latest twin tandem - The ...

ALSO: Weekly Top 5 and MORE

BY TAFT COGHILL JR.

The Colonial Forge football program has had success in part because some of its best players have come in pairs.

Twins Blake and Eric Frohnapfel helped lead the Eagles to back-to-back Northwest Region, Division 6 playoff appearances in 2009 and ?10.

There have also been Pete and Trey Reed, Dallas and Donald Driver and Daniel and David Williams.

This season, it?s juniors Daniel and David Ezeagwu.

The transfers from Peoria, Ariz., are key reasons why the Eagles (4?0, 3?0 Commonwealth District) are unbeaten heading into tonight?s home showdown with North Stafford (4?0, 3?0).

?If you get a set of twins that can?t play it wouldn?t be an advantage,? Colonial Forge coach Bill Brown said. ?We?re lucky to have twins that play to the level that they play.

?I?d like to send a message out around the country that if any good twins want to come to Colonial Forge and keep the tradition going, we?ll be glad to take them.?

Brown was certainly glad to take the Ezeagwu brothers.

They arrived at Colonial Forge early last season, but not soon enough to become major factors right away.

They had to adjust to their new surroundings. They didn?t know anyone, and the Eagles had bonded through offseason weightlifting sessions, a passing league and preseason practice.

Daniel, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound wide receiver and safety, said he envisioned walking into practice and earning a starting spot right away. He grew a bit frustrated when that didn?t materialize. He later understood why.

?It?s a big difference this year,? Daniel said. ?I was mad last year, just coming on the scene, thinking ?Oh yeah, I?m going to start.? But I didn?t know the team. We weren?t prepared. We didn?t know any of these guys. But now we?ve gotten real close. We?re all brothers. And that?s what you need for every team.?

Brown said Daniel?s size and athleticism makes him a prototypical major college prospect. He said Daniel?s talent level is akin to the several Fredericksburg-area players who have already received scholarship offers. Daniel has been visited by coaches from Virginia, Virginia Tech and Old Dominion.

?I will be in total shock if Daniel isn?t offered at the end of this spring,? Brown said. ?Based on all the kids I?ve had over the years, I?ll be really surprised if he?s not offered. He?s one of those kids that jump out at you when you watch the film.?

While Daniel is known for his skill, David works closer to the trenches. He?s a starting outside linebacker for an Eagles? defense that has surrendered just 22 points all season (5.5 per game).

Brown said David ?is a big, physical athlete, who runs well and gets off blocks.?

David was a defensive end in Arizona. Brown said when he, his brother and cousin Odera Okani arrived last year, it was difficult getting them acclimated.

?At the start, it was kind of hard going from defensive end to linebacker,? David said. ?I was the new kid, so it all took some time. But by the end of the year I got to start three games.?

That trickled into the offseason. The brothers as well as Okani (a rotational defensive lineman) were able to settle in and become a major part of the Eagles? plans.

Daniel and David were adopted by Okani?s parents. They all moved to Virginia when Okani?s father accepted a job in Washington. The three also competed with Colonial Forge?s track and field team last season, along with Okani?s sister, Amanda, now a freshman at Virginia Military Institute.

?It?s really cool because not everybody has three brothers or cousins or sisters who are all athletic and around the same age that you can talk to and enjoy life with,? Okani said. ?We all have the same friends, we eat lunch together, and we do the same things over the weekend. We?re brothers.?

Tonight, the trio hopes to offer some resistance to North Stafford. The Wolverines return 18 starters from last year?s state semifinal team. Daniel said all week, even Colonial Forge?s student body has doubted the Eagles can compete.

?People don?t really know what we?re capable of,? Daniel said. ?We?re a good group of brothers and I think we can shock some people. I have no doubt in my mind we can go out there and win that game.?

Taft Coghill Jr.: 540/374-5526
tcoghill@freelancestar.com

Source: http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/sports/2012/09/27/prep-football-preview-ezeagwus-eagles-latest-twin-tandem/

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The Democratic Coup d'Etat by Ozan Varol - Opinio Juris

HILJ Symposium: The Democratic Coup d?Etat

by Ozan Varol

[Ozan Varol is Assistant Professor of Law at Lewis & Clark Law School.]

This post is part of the Harvard International Law Journal Volume 53(2) symposium.

This article examines the typical characteristics and constitutional consequences of a largely neglected phenomenon that I call the ?democratic coup d??tat.? To date, the academic legal literature has analyzed all military coups under an anti-democratic framework. That conventional framework considers military coups to be entirely anti-democratic and assumes that all coups are perpetrated by power-hungry military officers seeking to depose existing regimes in order to rule their nations indefinitely. Under the prevailing view, therefore, all military coups constitute an affront to stability, legitimacy, and democracy.

This article, which draws on fieldwork that I conducted in Egypt and Turkey in 2011, challenges that conventional view and its underlying assumptions. The article argues that, although all military coups have anti-democratic features, some coups are distinctly more democracy-promoting than others because they respond to popular opposition against authoritarian or totalitarian regimes, overthrow those regimes, and facilitate free and fair elections.

Following a democratic coup, the military temporarily governs the nation as part of an interim government until democratic elections take place. Throughout the democratic-transition process, the military behaves as a self-interested actor and entrenches, or attempts to entrench, its policy preferences into the new constitution drafted during the transition. Constitutional entrenchment may occur in three ways: procedural, substantive, and institutional. The article uses three comparative case studies to illustrate the democratic-coup phenomenon and the constitutional-entrenchment thesis: (1) the 1960 military coup in Turkey; (2) the 1974 military coup in Portugal; and (3) the 2011 military coup in Egypt.

Related Posts

http://opiniojuris.org/2012/09/26/the-democratic-coup-detat-by-ozan-varol/

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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Kane County committee OKs 3 percent property tax hike

GENEVA ? The County Board soon could decide whether to put in writing an intention to collect more in property taxes next year ? and whether to leave it to newly elected board members to reduce that amount come spring.

Tuesday, the County Board Finance and Budget Committee recommended the full County Board approve a budget that calls for the county to increase its property tax levy by 3 percent, the maximum amount allowed by law this year.

Should such a tax levy increase ultimately be approved, it could increase the tax bill owed by county taxpayers owning a house with an assessed value of about $250,000 about $5 to $12 next year, with an average increase of about $7 a year, according to county finance officials.

However, while the budget, which must be enacted by November, would state the county?s spending and taxing intentions, the actual tax levy on which that budget is based will not be acted upon until spring.

So, members of the Finance Committee said they believe the current County Board should leave it to the next County Board ? which will be seated after the November elections ? to decide whether to leave the property tax levy alone or scale it back.

Finance Committee Chairman Jim Mitchell, R-North Aurora, said the next County Board will know more about the county?s financial footing than the current board does.

He noted the County Board is still waiting to learn how much Kane County will have collected in sales taxes and its portion of the state income tax.

?It means that [the County Board] will actually know what you?re levying for,? Mitchell told the committee.

Other committee members also backed the levy increase.

?All we?re doing is setting a budget,? said board member Cathy Hurlbut, R-Elgin. ?We can?t ask for more than what we budget.?

The levy increase will not be needed to fund raises for county employees, committee members said.

Instead, the Finance Committee backed a proposal to use the county?s general contingency fund to pay for a 2 percent increase for most of the county?s nonunion, nonelected employees and for raises specifically for the county?s assistant state?s attorneys and public defenders.

In all, those raises would total about $1.06 million that would come from money the county already has on hand, Mitchell said.

While stressing the levy increase will not be used to pay for raises, committee members did not state why the levy increase might be needed.

Mitchell said that will be discussed by the full County Board when it takes up the matter, perhaps as soon as Oct. 9.

That lack of specificity caused at least one committee member, Christina Castro, D-Elgin, to question the need to increase the levy at all.

?When I talk to constituents, they say they can?t even take another $5,? Castro said. ?I?m OK with using the money out of contingency to pay for these raises, but I?m totally opposed to raising the levy.?

There are 29 hours, 4 minutes remaining to comment on this story.

Source: http://www.kcchronicle.com/2012/09/26/kane-county-committee-oks-3-percent-property-tax-hike/ab4f40y/

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Zimbabwe's rapid growth seen slowing to 5 pct: IMF

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After two years of high growth Zimbabwe's economy is set to slow to 5 percent this year amid a poor farming season blamed on erratic rainfall and concerns about upcoming elections, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

Zimbabwe's economy grew at a rapid clip of 9.6 percent in 2010 and 9.4 percent last year as the country rebounded from a decade-long recession widely blamed on the policies of long-time President Robert Mugabe.

In its annual review of the Zimbabwean economy, the IMF said growth should moderate over the medium-term to average about 4 percent, although electricity supply problems and tight liquidity conditions could pose problems.

The IMF said Zimbabwe's current account deficit is projected to narrow to 20.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2012, as a spike in imports in 2011 is reversed and exports continue to expand.

The IMF said Zimbabwe carries a heavy debt burden with total external debt estimated at $10.7 billion, or 113.5 percent of GDP, at end-2011, of which 67 percent of GDP are in arrears.

"The large debt overhang remains a serious impediment to medium-term fiscal and external sustainability," the IMF said.

Two salary increases for civil servants since 2011 raised employment costs by 22 percent, and was compounded by an increase in employee allowances and unbudgeted recruitment.

With elections expected later this year or next, there are concerns about a repeat of violence that marred the 2008 presidential poll. Mugabe, 88, has held onto power since independence from Britain in 1980 and is blamed for running the economy into the ground and for massive human rights abuses.

The West has imposed sanctions on Mugabe and his allies, accusing them of election violence and using state security agents to beat up and detain opponents.

Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is prime minister, share power in a unity government. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party is pushing for elections this year, ahead of schedule, while Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change wants new elections only after the adoption of a new constitution and electoral, security and media reforms.

Under the terms of the power-sharing deal new elections must be held by next year.

The government has turned to South Africa and Angola to help plug a $400 million hole in Zimbabwe's budget. The country has struggled to attract private investment and funding from global institutions like the IMF.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zimbabwes-rapid-growth-seen-slowing-5-pct-imf-054315389--finance.html

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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Website Hosting in Your Very Small Commerce ? Will Not Wait ...

For those who prepare to private a fresh websites, you need to host your internet site with a world-wide-web server. Once your internet site goes continue to exist the internet server, using the net buyers can then browse your site on the net. Business enterprise that gives the internet servers to host your internet site known as website hosting suppliers.

You can get countless hosting companies over the internet and just how would you come to a decision which an individual you?ll want to use? Internet sites like may help you by evaluating all leading internet hosting suppliers.

The capabilities that webhosting establishments are giving are finding extremely conventional presently. There is general options that you will will need inside a world-wide-web host. Yow will discover out far more below.

To provide an online host an aggressive edge in excess of people, way more enticing capabilities are quite crucial. You will learn that more and more hosts are prepared to give absent cost-free things that utilized to fee around $10 monthly.

These are generally a number of the highly developed characteristics that our top notch hosts are offering up.

* Net Buider

A good number of of our best ten hosts will offer you formidable world-wide-web builder application identified as SiteStudio. SiteStudio will allow you for making websites with none html, FTP and HTTP expertise. It?s also possible to generate page over the fly whilst at your house, college or at succeed. Hostgator?s SiteStudio has about five hundred ready-made templates that you should choose between.

* Ecommerce Enabled

For those who are promoting products and services on the blog, you require a merchant account. A procuring cart is usually a handy resource should you have in excess of one merchandise in numerous types. SSL(Secured Sockets Layer) is regarded as a must-have any time you really should acquire worthwhile critical information this sort of as your customers? credit score card material. PowWeb, Hostgator and Lunarpages produce osCommerce searching cart and shared SSL for ones ecommerce demands.

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Most internet marketing deal such as lookup motor submission computer software, key phrase generator and website link checker. Some internet hosting establishments like iPower have set up partnership with Yahoo! Research (earlier referred to as Overture) and Google AdWords to supply you pay-per-click credit score to leap start out your organization.

Global recognition

The highest quality promotional technique is certainly from phrase of mouth. Once you indicator up for just a website host and they are content with the effectiveness, most probably you?re going to suggest to anybody who is seeking a solid host. Massive internet hosting firms learn about this idea so effectively which they would go all out to keep their current prospect. The greater content people they may have, the greater acceptance they are going to get. We get this being an principal indicator of how beneficial a host is.
There are several issues that we decide the recognition of the special hosting supplier.Quantity of present consumers.

The fulfillment stage in their present potential clients: We regulate for getting maintain in their present purchasers from your beneficial critical reviews they submitted throughout our host remark variety, their remark while in the third social gathering website hosting and inhouse boards in addition to the customers? remark noticed on other internet hosting directories.

The quantity of pretigious internet hosting awards they received

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Netfirms leading the recognition amid our best rated ten hosts.
Community Dependability, Velocity and Uptime Ensure

In relation to dependability, we?ve been considering how redundant is a server, how frequently the businesses backup the server and just how properly they manage unexpected emergency. ?Redundant? ensures that if any from the Net connections get interrupted, the alternate Connection to the internet will acquire around. PowWeb Load Balancing Technological know-how is probably the leading that we discovered to make sure your internet site is up ninety nine.9% the many time.

Please explore to Rewards And Drawbacks Of Low Cost Homepage Internet Hosting if you happen to need to have extra info concerning the theme.

Related posts:

  1. Internet Hosting Selections for New Enterprises: Shared Web Hosting ? Useful For Small-scale Corporation
  2. Lower Expenditure Internet Hosting Is Excellent For Smallish Small Businesses
  3. Small Venture Web Site Internet Hosting That Bills Little Or No
  4. Website Hosting: Probably The Most Key Aspect of The Online World Company
  5. Word Wide Web Internet Hosting: What To Seem For inside Of A Web Host

Source: http://mysixstringsblog.com/website-hosting-in-your-very-small-commerce-will-not-wait-around-any-more/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=website-hosting-in-your-very-small-commerce-will-not-wait-around-any-more

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Useful Tips to Choose an SEO Friendly Domain Name | Geek ...

If you want to make your presence felt online, then the first and foremost thing you need to do is create a website that will highlight your company. Prior to building the site, you have to find a name for your domain. That?s the website URL. It is highly significant because this website URL is what that is going to represent your company. In addition to this, a domain name that favors SEO should be chosen. This will be one of the deciding factors which determine the page rankings your site will receive. This domain should also include keywords that will help generate significant traffic to your site.

  • One of the most important tips to keep in mind is the pattern of your Domain name. If you take a look at the top rated sites such as Apple, Google or NY Times. You will notice that they all follow the .com pattern. The good thing about this extension is that it is very easy to remember and it is also very simple. Even though you might come across certain other extensions that are equally attractive, the .com pattern is the most famous one and it helps you to get easily recognized online.
  • When you choose a company name, it should register well in your mind. In other words, the domain name should be simple yet attractive. For this reason, it is advisable not to go for domain names that are lengthy and complicated. In case you have already chosen a long name, try to reduce it by making use of abbreviations. For instance if the name of the company is Douglass, Franklin Associates, you can shorten it to dfassociates. One more thing that you need to keep in your mind is to avoid the usage of symbols and numbers.
  • The age of a Domain plays a significant role in increasing the visibility of your site. I know that it might be a little surprising for you. If you are wondering the link between the age of a domain to its visibility, you should know that search engines follow the practice of prioritizing old domain names to new ones. That?s because, older domains are believed to be more active than the newer ones. So naturally, there lies the tendency to receive better ranking. And at the end of the day, that is what all the companies strive for.
  • The sequence in which keywords are chosen is important. For this you need to spend some time and effort in analyzing what type of words your target audience would love. You should be able to strike a chord with their ideas and know the type of words they use while searching for a particular topic. Normally, they would use a particular logic and you have to choose your domain name accordingly. In a nutshell, the order of words matter a lot.
  • The keywords that you choose for the domain should be linked to your business. That is the only way by which you can get your website indexed by noted search engines. This is one of the quick ways to get better page rankings. When the ranking is good, your site holds a better chance to be placed in the top page. Not only this, but viewers also be able to remember your site easily.

Follow these simple tips to drive maximum traffic to your site.

This is a guest post by Samantha Kirk of mytechhelp.com, a site that offers savings and current information on Remote Tech Support.

Source: http://www.geekbusiness.com/2012/09/useful-tips-to-choose-an-seo-friendly-domain-name/

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Business events scheduled for Thursday

Major business events and economic events scheduled for Thursday:

WASHINGTON ? Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims, 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

WASHINGTON ? Commerce Department releases durable goods for August, 8:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON ? Commerce Department releases second-quarter gross domestic product, 8:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON ? Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, releases weekly mortgage rates, 10 a.m.

WASHINGTON ? National Association of Realtors releases pending home sales index for August, 10 a.m.

Discover Financial Services reports quarterly financial results.

Nike Inc. reports quarterly financial results.

Hennes & Mauritz AB, the Swedish fashion retailer that runs H&M stores, reports quarterly financial results.

BERLIN ? Germany releases September unemployment figures.

LONDON ? Britain releases third estimate of second-quarter gross domestic product.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/business-events-scheduled-thursday-183031597.html

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Video: Biz Economists Gone Rogue!

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/49172449/

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HBT: Yu Darvish scratched with stiff neck

Yu Darvish won?t be on the mound as the Rangers try to put more distance between themselves and the A?s tonight. He?s been scratched due to a stiff neck, the team announced.

Scott Feldman will pitch in his place.

Darvish has been on a terrific roll of late, having gone 4-0 with a 1.46 ERA and a 42/8 K/BB ratio in his last five starts. There hasn?t been any word yet on when he?ll pitch again, but his injury isn?t considered serious.

Feldman lost his rotation spot after giving up six runs in 2 2/3 innings against the Mariners on Sept. 15 and had pitched once in relief since, throwing three scoreless innings versus Seattle on Friday. He?s 1-1 with a 16.20 ERA in two starts against Oakland this year.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/25/yu-darvish-scratched-with-stiff-neck/related/

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Constraining world trade is unlikely to help the climate

Monday, September 24, 2012

Instead, researchers were able to pin down a number of factors explaining the pronounced imbalances between emission importers and exporters, the US current account deficit being one of them. Their conclusion: interventions in world trade, like CO2 tariffs, would probably have only a small impact on global emissions.

Steadily growing world trade leads ? as earlier research has shown ? to a substantial transfer of CO2 from one country to another. The traded goods effectively contain the greenhouse gas, as it originates from the energy used during their production. "Typically, in the West we import goods whose production causes a lot of greenhouse gas emissions in poorer countries ? and it is a contested question to which countries these emissions should be attributed," explains Michael Jakob from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), one of the authors. This is a delicate issue, because many Western countries have ambitious targets for emissions reductions. Simply transferring emission-intensive industries to third countries in order to achieve these goals would not serve climate protection ? and might even damage the economy.

Almost half of the CO2 transfers into the US are caused by the American trade deficit

"For the first time, we have now broken down the known emission transfers into their components," Jakob says. The economic analysis is based on an evaluation of estimates that were determined by other researchers in earlier studies. "We can show that of the CO2 flowing into the US in form of imported goods, almost 50 per cent are due to the American trade deficit alone," Jakob explains. The US emits less CO2 in the production of its exports than is contained in its imports, simply because it imports more than it exports. "And only about 20 per cent of CO2 transfers from China into the US can be traced back to the fact that China is in effect relatively more specialized in the production of dirty goods," Jakob says. But this is the only driver of emission transfers on which the currently controversially discussed climate tariffs could take effect.

Without world trade, the emission of greenhouse gases in countries like China could potentially be even higher than today, according to the study. Western countries often export goods like machines that need a lot of energy in the production process. Usually, this energy stems from comparatively clean production processes. On the other hand, China produces a lot of export goods like toys, whose production needs relatively little energy, but stems from emission-intensive coal power plants. If China with its fossil energy mix had to produce more energy-intensive goods itself instead of importing them, emissions would increase. "In the end, interventions in world trade could do more harm than good," says co-author Robert Marschinski from PIK and Technische Universit?t Berlin.

"The crucial question is how clean or how dirty national energy production is in each case"

"Crucial for CO2 transfers is not only world trade, but also the question of how clean or dirty national energy production is in each case," Marschinski emphasizes. To look only at CO2 transfers could be misleading. If for instance the European Union were to adopt new low emission production methods, its net imports of CO2 could increase even though there is no relocation of production.

"To really justify trade-policy interventions like the much discussed CO2 tariffs, further analysis would be needed ? the observed CO2 transfers alone are not enough as a basis," Marschinski explains. "Such measures cannot replace what it really takes: more international cooperation." Binding global climate targets could give incentives for investors to promote low-emission technologies. Innovations in efficiency could get financial support, and regional emission trading systems could be linked with each other, Marschinski says. "All this could help to achieve climate protection targets in an economically reasonable way."

###

Jakob, M., Marschinski, R. (2012): Interpreting trade-related CO2 emission transfers. Nature Climate Change [DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1630] http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1630

Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK): http://www.pik-potsdam.de

Thanks to Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/123751/Constraining_world_trade_is_unlikely_to_help_the_climate

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Thursday, September 13, 2012

China's Xi cited in state media as health rumors fly

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has issued the first comments attributed to president-in-waiting Xi Jinping since his disappearance from the public eye over 10 days ago ignited rumors over his health, but there was no public sighting or new photograph of him.

Xi, who has skipped meetings with visiting foreign leaders over the past week, was cited by state media late on Wednesday night as expressing condolences to the family of a veteran Communist Party official who died last week.

Beijing has still not issued a statement directly responding to the rumors over the 59-year-old's health, which have included a bad back, heart trouble, a stroke and a sinister car-crash injury.

China experts doubt Xi is suffering more than a minor ailment - a version supported by sources close to the leadership - but Beijing's refusal to clarify the situation has begun to emerge as a talking point in global financial markets.

"Xi Jinping has been a big worry for people. He's been out of the public eye for about a week now ...," Francis Cheung, head of China and Hong Kong strategy with investment group CLSA, said on the sidelines of a conference in Hong Kong.

Another chief strategist, with a U.S. securities firm in Tokyo, added that Beijing's silence - though in keeping with a tradition of not discussing the health of senior leaders - could indicate some discord behind the scenes.

"I assume this whole incident reflects some behind-the-scenes frictions in formulating policies under the new leadership," the strategist said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.

The uncertainty has had no impact so far on Chinese or foreign markets, absorbed by Europe's debt crisis and China's own economic slowdown, but investors are now keeping a close eye on Xi in a year already notable for high political drama.

Senior leader Bo Xilai was suspended from the Politburo earlier this year and his wife convicted of the murder of a British businessman. Blind human rights activist Chen Guangcheng escaped from house arrest in May and took refuge in the U.S. embassy before leaving for New York.

In another scandal this month, a senior ally of President Hu Jintao was demoted after sources said the ally's son was involved in a deadly crash with a luxury sports car.

Xi, expected to be named as the party's new boss next month and take up the reins as president in March, was last known to have appeared in public on September 1. But speculation took off last week when he skipped meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Singapore's prime minister.

This week, a pre-arranged photo opportunity between Xi and the Danish prime minister never happened.

Some sources have said Xi suffered a back injury while swimming, though they gave no more details.

China has yet to formally announce a date for the party congress at which Xi will be anointed, though it is still widely expected to be held in Beijing next month.

"It is in fact quite concerning that they still haven't announced a date of the congress and it's very, very close now," one China-based European diplomat told Reuters on customary condition of anonymity.

He said it was understood that hotels around Beijing had made bookings related to the congress for the third week of October.

SYMPATHIES

The China News service, in a report posted on its website late on Wednesday, said Xi and other top Chinese leaders had offered their sympathies to the family of Huang Rong, a retired official from southern Guangxi region who died on September 6 - the day after Xi missed his meeting with Clinton.

Senior officials including President Hu Jintao and Xi, "expressed their grief and heartfelt sympathies through various means to the relatives of Huang Rong", the China News service said. It did not directly quote Xi.

Asked again about Xi's whereabouts at a daily news briefing on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei declined to comment, saying: "I have already answered this question many times".

China's Internet users have spread rumors about Xi as Beijing prepares for the 18th Communist Party Congress to usher in a once-in-a-decade transition to a new top leadership team headed by Xi.

Experts say the official silence on Xi's situation in face of wild rumors shows that Beijing has yet to come to terms with its position as the world's second-largest economy and an emerging superpower.

"It is truly a thing of wonderment that we can speculate the way we are about the leadership of the world's second most powerful country," David Finkelstein, director of China studies at CNA, a U.S. think tank, said at a forum in Washington.

"People are paying attention to what goes on in domestic Chinese politics, just like they watch the U.S. election."

Douglas Paal, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the secrecy was a function of one-party rule.

"The Chinese people don't get a big vote in the 18th Party Congress, and the people who do probably all know exactly where he is and what he's doing," he told the same event.

Xiao Minjie, an independent economist based in Tokyo, told Reuters he would wait to see if Xi made an appearance at celebrations marking China's national day on October 1 before reading into his hiatus from the spotlight.

"Judging from the fact that other top Chinese officials are acting normally, it may just be his health problem and not a sign of something extraordinary happening," he said.

(Additional reporting by Terril Yue Jones, and John Ruwitch in Shanghai, Cathy Yang in Hong Kong, Paul Eckert in Washington and Chikako Mogi in Tokyo; Editing by Ron Popeski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-xi-cited-state-media-health-rumors-fly-072910068.html

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Video: Natalie?s new hairdo is a hit on Twitter

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/49023007#49023007

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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Expectations high for Fed to announce major action

WASHINGTON (AP) ? If the world's investors are right, the Federal Reserve is about to take a bold new step to try to invigorate the U.S. economy.

And many expect the central bank, which began a two-day meeting Wednesday, to unleash its most potent weapon: a third round of bond purchases meant to ease long-term interest rates and spur borrowing and spending. It's called "quantitative easing," or QE.

Others foresee a more measured response. They think it will extend its timetable for any rise in record-low short-term rates beyond the current target of late 2014 at the earliest.

Fed officials will end with an announcement of any decision around 12:30 p.m. Eastern time (1630 GMT) Thursday. Later, Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold his quarterly news conference.

The stock market edged higher Wednesday, partly in anticipation of Fed action.

The Fed is facing pressure to act now because the U.S. economy is still growing too slowly to reduce high unemployment. The unemployment rate has topped 8 percent every month since the Great Recession officially ended more than three years ago.

In August, job growth slowed sharply. The unemployment rate did fall to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent, but that was because many Americans stopped looking for work, so they were no longer counted as unemployed.

Chronic high unemployment was a theme Bernanke spotlighted in a speech to an economic conference late last month. Bernanke argued that QE and other unorthodox Fed actions had helped ease borrowing costs and boosted stock prices.

Higher stock prices increase Americans' wealth and confidence and typically lead individuals and businesses to spend more.

In his speech, Bernanke cited research showing that the two previous rounds of QE had created 2 million jobs and accelerated economic growth. Still, he said persistently weak hiring remains "a grave concern" that inflicts "enormous suffering."

His remarks sent a clear signal that the Fed will do more.

"He had a sense of urgency," said David Jones, chief economist at DMJ Advisors. "I think he is convinced that there is a need to do something."

Some critics, inside and outside the Fed, remain opposed to further bond buying. They fear that by pumping so much cash into the financial system, the Fed is raising the risk of high inflation in the future. And many don't think more bond purchases would help anyway because interest rates are already near record lows.

Some economists who doubt the Fed is about to begin more bond buying say the European Central Bank has eased some pressure on the Fed. Last week, the ECB announced a plan to buy unlimited amounts of government bonds to help lower borrowing costs for countries struggling with debts.

If the ECB's plan succeeds in bolstering Europe, the U.S. economy could benefit, too. Europe's financial crisis and recession have slowed the U.S. economy, in part by reducing European purchases of U.S. goods.

Some also think the Fed might be reluctant to launch a bond-buying program in the final two months of the presidential campaign. Many Republicans have been critical of the Fed's unconventional methods to boost the economy. After the financial crisis struck in 2008, the Fed bought more than $2 trillion in Treasury and mortgage-backed securities.

The Fed "is already a campaign issue, and enlarging its balance sheet will make it even more of one," argued Vincent Reinhart, chief economist at Morgan Stanley and a former top economist at the Fed. Reinhart thinks the Fed will prefer to wait until at least December before announcing more bond buying.

By then, he said, the Fed will have reviewed more employment data. The effect of Europe's debt crisis on the U.S. economy will be better known. And Congress' plans for addressing a U.S. fiscal crisis at year's end will be clearer. Without a budget deal, higher taxes and deep spending cuts will kick in next year.

If the Fed takes the more modest step Thursday of extending its timetable for any rate increase, many analysts think it would push its target date to mid-2015. The goal would be to lower borrowing rates by assuring investors that short-term rates will likely stay near zero even longer than previously thought.

Yet Bernanke's remarks last month about unemployment were so downbeat, and his defense of Fed bond purchases so strong, that many economists suspect a bond-buying program will be unveiled Thursday.

So do investors. In part because of anticipation of a QE3, they've boosted the Dow Jones industrial average nearly 2 percent in September, a month that's typically weak for stocks. On Tuesday, the Dow rose 69 points. And Treasury yields have dropped on expectations that a new Fed bond-purchase program would lower interest rates.

The concern Bernanke expressed followed a Fed policy meeting in which many officials felt more Fed action would "likely be warranted fairly soon" unless there was a "substantial and sustainable strengthening in the pace of the economic recovery," according to minutes of the meeting.

Friday's report that U.S. employers cut back sharply on hiring in August dimmed hopes of a strengthening job market.

If the Fed does unveil QE3, some economists think it might differ from the previous bond-buying programs. With its earlier purchases, the Fed announced a dollar amount and a time frame for the bonds it planned to buy.

This time, any new bond-purchase program might be more open-ended. Three regional Fed bank presidents ? Eric Rosengren of Boston, James Bullard of St. Louis and Charles Evans of Chicago ? have expressed openness to a program in which the Fed would buy bonds until the economy improved significantly and unemployment fell consistently ? as long as inflation remained tame.

None of those officials now have a vote on the Fed's policy committee. But they take part in the committee discussions that would allow them to push the idea.

Jones of DMJ Advisors said he thinks open-ended bond purchases will be discussed at this week's policy meeting. Still, he expects the Fed to announce a more conventional bond-buying program of around $500 billion. That would be less than the $600 billion in bonds in QE2 and well below the $1.75 trillion in QE1.

In light of Bernanke's recent comments, Jones doesn't think the Fed wants to delay further support for the economy until the election is over. Neither does Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial.

"This will be an effort on the part of Fed officials to pull out as much firepower as they can," Swonk said. "They are trying for as much shock and awe as they can muster."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/expectations-high-fed-announce-major-action-193847574--finance.html

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Is a Combo iPhone Case/Wallet a Great Idea or a Terrible Mistake? [Chatroom]

Either you lose everything—phone, keys, wallet—all at once. Or, you never lose any of them because, at any given point, you are using one such feature... and so the other two will always be accounted for as well. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/RuDlB96wx8I/is-a-combo-iphone-casewallet-a-great-idea-or-a-terrible-mistake

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US stocks rise ahead of Fed meeting

A specialist works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, Sept. 7, 2012. Stocks are opening mixed on Wall Street following news that the U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected in August. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A specialist works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, Sept. 7, 2012. Stocks are opening mixed on Wall Street following news that the U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected in August. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

(AP) ? Investors spent Tuesday preparing for two events sure to move markets this week: a Federal Reserve meeting and a court decision on whether Germany can help support its struggling neighbors. And if the stock market's gains Tuesday are any sign, they expect both events to turn out well.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 69.07 points to close at 13,323.36. The average of 30 large company stocks has already gained 1.8 percent to start September, a month which is usually dismal for stocks.

Bank of America led the 30 stocks in the Dow, rising 5 percent, or 45 cents, to $9.03.

Federal Reserve officials will gather for a two-day meeting on Wednesday. Many expect the Fed will announce a new effort to revive the sluggish economy Thursday afternoon.

On the same day the Fed starts its meeting, Germany's high court is expected to rule on whether the country can participate in a European bailout fund. The court rejected a last-minute appeal to delay the decision on Tuesday.

"It's going to get interesting this week," said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at the brokerage Charles Schwab.

Frederick expects the Fed will make some sort of move, especially after the government reported last Friday that employers added fewer than 100,000 jobs in August.

"Prior to the employment report people weren't as sure," Frederick said. "I am definitely on the majority side here. There's some sort of easing coming."

In other trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.48 points to 1,433.56. The Nasdaq composite increased 0.51 of a point to 3,104.53.

The assumption that the Fed will announce new stimulus measures is so widespread that some worry the market could take a plunge if the Fed fails to deliver.

Ron Florance, managing director of investment strategy at Wells Fargo Private Bank in Scottsdale, Ariz., said he's always wary when stocks rise on nothing more than expectations.

"These are the things that make you nervous, when markets are going strong in anticipation of news," Florance said.

On Tuesday, the Commerce Department reported that exports to Europe dropped 11.7 percent in July, stoking concerns that Europe's troubles could smother the U.S. recovery. Overall U.S. exports fell 1 percent to $183.3 billion, lowered by weaker sales of autos, telecom equipment and heavy machinery.

Morgan Stanley and Citigroup rose after the two banks settled a dispute over how much to value their jointly owned brokerage firm, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. The deal cleared the way for Morgan Stanley to buy Citigroup's stake. Citi gained 83 cents to $32.66. Morgan Stanley rose 64 cents to $17.25.

A profit warning from luxury clothing chain Burberry helped tug down other high-end retailers in early trading. Burberry said slowing sales to China will likely weaken earnings. Ralph Lauren lost $4.09 to $156.22. Tiffany & Co. sank 78 cents to $62.26.

Among other stocks making moves:

? Legg Mason jumped 5 percent following reports that its CEO will step down Oct. 1. Clients have been pulling money out of the money manager's funds, weakening revenue. Legg Mason's stock surged $1.38 to $26.85.

? Hewlett-Packard gained 52 cents to $17.95, a 3 percent gain. The computer and printer maker said late Monday that it will cut 29,000 jobs by October 2014, or 2,000 more than it had previously planned. Sales of personal computers have slumped as people favor smartphones and lightweight tablet computers.

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AP Business Writer Christina Rexrode contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-09-11-Wall%20Street/id-afc9b4c790d043f3aaf673e4d0773cff

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