Canon hit by Japan-China dispute

It?s not just the Japanese carmakers that have suffered from their country?s territorial dispute with China.

Canon, the camera and office equipment manufacturer, reported on Wednesday that its sales in China fell by more than 30 per cent last year due, as the company put it, to a ?cooling off of demand in China during the latter half of the year?.

The Beijing-Tokyo spat compounded difficulties caused by weak economic growth in Europe, consumers switching from cameras to smartphones, and the strength of the yen. The group?s results ? and its 2013 forecast ? fell well short of analysts? forecasts.

Canon reported a 14.5 per cent decline in consolidated annual operating profits to Y323.8bn ($3.72bn) on a 2.2 per cent drop in sales to Y34809bn. Net profits were down 9.7 per cent at Y224.6bn.

Operating profits in the fourth quarter, when the tensions in China were particularly acute, fell 17.9 per cent to Y77.7bn on a 1.4 per cent decline in sales to Y951.4bn.

Canon said it hoped to benefit the yen?s recent weakening and forecast a full-year operating profit increase for 2013 of 26.4 per cent to Y410bn, compared with the average expectation of a Y443.3bn profit from 21 analysts polled by Reuters. Canon predicts a 14 per cent rise in net profits to Y255bn ($2.8bn).

Commenting on 2012, Canon said in its results statement:

Owing to the economic slowdown mainly in Europe and the high valuation of the yen against the euro, combined with the cooling off of demand in China during the latter half of the year, the Canon Group faced increasingly challenging conditions across all of its businesses.

For 2013, the group is strikingly upbeat for most regions except Europe:

As for the outlook in 2013, while the challenging conditions from the previous year will continue, the global economy is expected to realize a moderate recovery in the latter half of the year. The U.S. economy is expected to achieve moderate growth thanks to improved unemployment conditions and housing issues. In Europe, since a significant amount of time will likely be needed to realize a recovery, the region?s economy will likely remain sluggish throughout the year. Emerging economies such as China and India are expected to recover from the previous year?s temporary slowdown to achieve high rates of growth. Japan, buoyed by aggressive economic policies and the recovery of the global economy, is expected to emerge from recession in the latter half of the year.

Canon is among the first top Japanese companies to report 2012 results, so there will be other groups with stories to tell about their travails in China. The results were announced after the Tokyo stock market closed.

Related reading:
China and Japan attempt to ease tensions, FT
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Chinese dispute dents Toyota and Nissan, FT

Source: http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2013/01/30/canon-hit-by-japan-china-dispute/

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Futurity.org ? Breast cancer: When is lumpectomy the best option?

Research shows that early stage breast cancer patients treated with breast-conserving treatment had a significantly better short-term survival rate from breast cancer than women who underwent mastectomy. (Credit: iStockphoto)

DUKE (US) ? Patients who received a less invasive procedure for treating early stage breast cancer may have a better chance of survival compared with those who underwent mastectomy, research suggests.

The findings from a recent study, published in the journal Cancer, raise new questions as to the comparative effectiveness of breast-conserving therapies such as lumpectomy, where only the tumor and surrounding tissue is surgically removed.

?Our findings are observational but do suggest the possibility that women who were treated with less invasive surgery had improved survival compared to those treated with mastectomy for stage I or stage II breast cancer,? says E. Shelley Hwang, chief of breast surgery at Duke Cancer Institute and the study?s lead author.

Taking advantage of 14 years of data from the California Cancer Registry, a source of long-term outcome data for women diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer in California, the research team found improved survival to be associated with the less invasive treatment in all age groups, as well as those with both hormone-sensitive and hormone-resistant cancers.

Women age 50 and older at diagnosis with hormone-sensitive tumors saw the largest benefit of choosing lumpectomy plus radiation: they were 13 percent less likely to die from breast cancer, and 19 percent less likely to die from any cause compared with those undergoing mastectomy.

Prior randomized trials have shown that when it comes to survival, lumpectomy with radiation is as effective as mastectomy in treating early stage breast cancer. As a result, the rate of women electing lumpectomy with radiation has climbed in the past few decades.

However, a recent trend has emerged with more early stage breast cancer patients, often younger women with very early cancers, opting for mastectomy. These women may perceive mastectomy to be more effective at eliminating early stage cancer and therefore reducing the anxiety accompanying long-term surveillance.

?Given the recent interest in mastectomy to treat early stage breast cancers despite the research supporting lumpectomy, our study sought to understand what was happening in the real world, how women receiving breast-conserving treatments were faring in the general population,? Hwang explains.

The team analyzed data from 112,154 women diagnosed with stage I or stage II breast cancer between 1990 and 2004, including 61,771 who received lumpectomy and radiation and 50,383 who had mastectomy without radiation.

The researchers looked at age and other demographic factors, along with tumor type and size to decipher whether each treatment had better outcomes for certain groups of women. Patients were followed on average for 9.2 years.

The researchers evaluated whether illnesses other than breast cancer, such as heart and respiratory disease, may have influenced whether women chose lumpectomy or mastectomy.

Within three years of diagnosis, breast cancer patients who underwent lumpectomy and radiation had higher survival rates than those who chose mastectomy when all other illnesses were evaluated.

This suggests that women choosing lumpectomy may have been generally healthier.

However, Hwang and her colleagues were surprised to also find that early stage breast cancer patients treated with breast-conserving treatment had a significantly better short-term survival rate from breast cancer than women who underwent mastectomy. A subset analysis limited to women with stage I cancer only showed consistent results.

?The hopeful message is that lumpectomy plus radiation was an effective alternative to mastectomy for early stage disease, regardless of age or tumor type,? says Hwang. ?Our study supports that even patients we thought might benefit less from localized treatment, like younger patients with hormone-resistant disease, can remain confident in lumpectomy as an equivalent and possibly better treatment option.?

The authors emphasize that observational studies such as this one cannot establish causality between type of surgery and outcome and that longer follow up is needed. Nevertheless, this is a provocative observation that requires more research to understand whether patient factors that were not available for analysis might contribute to these observed survival differences.

Additional researchers from Duke and the University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center also contributed to the research, which was supported by the National Cancer Institute. The collection of cancer incidence data used in this study was supported by the California Department of Health Services.

Source: Duke University

Source: http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/breast-cancer-when-is-lumpectomy-the-best-option/

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Green Blog: Market for Bear Bile Threatens Asian Population

European Pressphoto Agency Bears await food on a farm in Fujian Province in China that is run by the pharmaceuticals maker Guizhentang. The company legally makes tonics from bear bile.

The six bears that arrived this month at Animals Asia, an animal rescue center in China, had the grisly symptoms of inhumane ?bile milking.? Greenish bile dripped from open fistulas used to drain gall bladders; teeth were broken and rotted from gnawing on the bars of tiny cages.

Four of the bears have since had surgery to remove gall bladders damaged by years of unhygenic procedures to extract their bile, which is coveted for its purported medicinal properties. One bear?s swollen gall bladder was the size of a watermelon.

The latest batch of bears was rescued from an illegal farm by the Sichuan Forestry Department and joins 145 other bears at the center, near Chengdu in southwestern China.
Over all, 285 bears have been rescued since the center opened in 2000

With luck, the six bears will recover at the sanctuary. But thousands on farms, both legal and illegal, continue to suffer in wretched conditions, and countless others living in the wild across Asia are threatened by poaching and their illegal capture.

Bear bile contains a chemical called ursedeoxycholic acid, long used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat gallstones, liver problems and other ailments. There are an estimated 10,000 farmed bears in China, 3,000 in Vietnam, at least 1,000 in South Korea and others in Laos and Myanmar.

Tigers, rhinos and elephants are notoriously poached to satisfy high demand in Asia for their parts, which are falsely assumed to have medicinal properties. Experts warn that sun bears and Asiatic black bears, known colloquially as ?moon bears,? are on a similar route to endangerment, although their plight draws less media attention. ?No bears are extinct, but all Asian ones are threatened,? said Chris Shepherd, a conservation biologist and deputy regional director of the wildlife trade group Traffic who is based in Malaysia.

To address the threat, the demand for bear bile must be sharply reduced, Dr. Shepherd told hundreds of researchers at the International Conference on Bear Research and Management, an annual event held recently in New Delhi.

Reducing demand would require a multi-pronged effort, experts say. That would mean enforcing existing laws, arresting and prosecuting violators, promoting synthetic and herbal alternatives, and closing illegal farms.

Chinese celebrities like the actor Jackie Chan and the athlete Yao Ming have both spoken out against the bear bile industry to raise public awareness about poaching and the inhumane conditions typically found on farms. Bears often live for years in coffin-like cages in which they are unable to stand or turn around.

The bile is extracted through catheters inserted into the abdomen, with needles or by bringing the gall bladder to the skin?s surface, where it will leak bile if prodded.

Legal farming was conceived as a way of increasing the supply of bile to reduce the motivation for poaching wild bears, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. But there is no evidence that it has done so, it noted in a resolution passed last September, and there is concern among conservationists that it ?may be detrimental.?

The resolution also called on countries with legal bear farms to close down the illegal ones, to ensure that no wild bears are added to farms; to conduct research into bear bile substitutes (there are dozens of synthetic and herbal alternatives) and to conduct an independent peer-reviewed scientific analysis on whether farming protects wild bears.

Some groups argue that the increased supply of farmed bile has only exacerbated demand. ?Because a surplus of bear bile is being produced, bile is used in many non-medical products, like bear bile wine, shampoo, toothpaste and face masks,? Animals Asia says. Since bear farming began in China in the early 1980?s, bear bile has been aggressively promoted as a cure-all remedy for problems like hangovers, the group added.

In mainland China and Japan, domestic sales of bear bile are legal and theoretically under strict regulation as prescription products. But such sales are illegal in Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and the international trade is illegal as well.

Yet a 2011 report from Traffic indicated that bear bile products were on sale in traditional medicine outlets in 12 Asian countries and territories.

Nonprescription bear bile products like shampoo or toothpaste are illegal in China yet are readily available for purchase, conservationists say. Tourists from South Korea, a country that has decimated its own wild bear population, are major buyers in China and Vietnam even though taking bear bile products across borders is illegal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.

?Farms have drawn in bile consumers by creating a huge market ? farmed bile is cheap,? said David Garshelis, a research scientist at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources who is co-chairman of the I.U.C.N.?s bear specialist group.

In Vietnam, a milliliter of bile might sell for $3 to $6; about 100 milliliters can be extracted from a bear each time, according to Annemarie Weegenaar, the bear and veterinarian team director at Animals Asia?s Vietnam center.

In four years, the I.U.C.N. is to issue a report on whether bear farms threaten wild populations. Meanwhile, demand appears to be spreading further afield in Asia and is now growing in Indonesia, largely as a result of demand from the Chinese and Koreans doing business there, said Gabriella Fredriksson, a conservation biologist based in Sumatra. A low-level poacher can sell a gall bladder from a bear caught in a simple snare and then killed for about $10.

So far the biggest threat to bears in Indonesia is loss of habitat from forest fires and the conversion of land to palm oil plantations. But in the last few years, poaching has increased, said Dr. Fredriksson, who has been there 15 years.

She cautioned that bears in Indonesia could also become highly threatened. ?Fifty years ago, bears were doing well in Cambodia and Laos,? she said. ?Now there?s hardly any left.?

Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/market-for-bear-bile-threatens-asian-population/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Holocaust items put on display for remembrance day

Holocaust survivor Stella Knobel's teddy bear on display at the memorial's "Gathering the Fragments" exhibit at Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013., Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. When Stella Knobel's family had to flee World War II Poland in 1939, the only thing the 7-year-old girl could take with her was her teddy bear. For the next six years, the stuffed animal never left her side as the family wondered through the Soviet Union, to Iran and finally the Holy Land. "He was like family. He was all I had. He knew all my secrets," the 80-year-old now says with a smile. "I saved him all these years. But I worried what would happen to him when I died." So when she heard about a project launched by Israel's national Holocaust memorial and museum to collect artifacts from aging survivors - before they, and their stories, were lost forever - she reluctantly handed over her beloved bear Misiu - Polish for ?Teddy Bear?- so the fading memories of the era could be preserved for others. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Holocaust survivor Stella Knobel's teddy bear on display at the memorial's "Gathering the Fragments" exhibit at Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013., Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. When Stella Knobel's family had to flee World War II Poland in 1939, the only thing the 7-year-old girl could take with her was her teddy bear. For the next six years, the stuffed animal never left her side as the family wondered through the Soviet Union, to Iran and finally the Holy Land. "He was like family. He was all I had. He knew all my secrets," the 80-year-old now says with a smile. "I saved him all these years. But I worried what would happen to him when I died." So when she heard about a project launched by Israel's national Holocaust memorial and museum to collect artifacts from aging survivors - before they, and their stories, were lost forever - she reluctantly handed over her beloved bear Misiu - Polish for ?Teddy Bear?- so the fading memories of the era could be preserved for others. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Holocaust survivor Stella Knobel, poses next to her teddy bear during a new exhibition of Israel's national Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. When Stella Knobel's family had to flee World War II Poland in 1939, the only thing the 7-year-old girl could take with her was her teddy bear. For the next six years, the stuffed animal never left her side as the family wondered through the Soviet Union, to Iran and finally the Holy Land. "He was like family. He was all I had. He knew all my secrets," the 80-year-old now says with a smile. "I saved him all these years. But I worried what would happen to him when I died." So when she heard about a project launched by Israel's national Holocaust memorial and museum to collect artifacts from aging survivors - before they, and their stories, were lost forever - she reluctantly handed over her beloved bear Misiu - Polish for ?Teddy Bear?- so the fading memories of the era could be preserved for others. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Holocaust survivor Stella Knobel, smiles as she speaks during a new exhibition of Israel's national Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. When Stella Knobel's family had to flee World War II Poland in 1939, the only thing the 7-year-old girl could take with her was her teddy bear. For the next six years, the stuffed animal never left her side as the family wondered through the Soviet Union, to Iran and finally the Holy Land. "He was like family. He was all I had. He knew all my secrets," the 80-year-old now says with a smile. "I saved him all these years. But I worried what would happen to him when I died." So when she heard about a project launched by Israel's national Holocaust memorial and museum to collect artifacts from aging survivors - before they, and their stories, were lost forever - she reluctantly handed over her beloved bear Misiu - Polish for ?Teddy Bear?- so the fading memories of the era could be preserved for others. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Holocaust survivor 83-year-old Shlomo Resnik and his wife attend the memorial's "Gathering the Fragments" exhibit at Yad Vashem of more than 71,000 items collected nationwide over the past two years in Israel's national Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. His item was the steel bowl that he and his father used for food at the Dachau concentration camp. His father Meir's name and number are engraved on the bowl, which serves as a reminder of how hard they had to scrap for food. "We fought to stay alive," he said. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit

JERUSALEM (AP) ? When Stella Knobel's family fled World War II Poland in 1939, the only thing the 7-year-old girl could take with her was her teddy bear. For the next six years, the stuffed animal never left her side as the family wandered through the Soviet Union, to Iran and finally the Holy Land.

"He was like family. He was all I had. He knew all my secrets," the 80-year-old said with a smile. "I saved him all these years. But I worried what would happen to him when I died."

So when she heard about a project launched by Yad Vashem, Israel's national Holocaust memorial and museum, to collect artifacts from aging survivors, she reluctantly handed over her beloved bear Misiu, Polish for "teddy bear," so the memories of the era could be preserved.

"We've been through a lot together, so it was hard to let him go," said Knobel, who was widowed 12 years ago and has no children. "But here he has found a haven."

The German Nazis and their collaborators murdered 6 million Jews during World War II. In addition to rounding up Jews and shipping them to death camps, the Nazis also confiscated their possessions and stole their valuables, leaving little behind. Those who survived often had just a small item or two they managed to keep. Many have clung to the sentimental objects ever since.

On Sunday, Knobel's tattered teddy bear was on display at Yad Vashem, one of more than 71,000 items collected nationwide over the past two years. With a missing eye, his stuffing bursting out and a red ribbon around his neck, Misiu was seated behind a glass window as part of the memorial's "Gathering the Fragments" exhibit.

The opening came as other Holocaust-related events took place around the world.

In 2005, the United Nations designated Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking 60 years to the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp.

Israel's main Holocaust memorial day is in the spring, marking the anniversary of the uprising of the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, Poland, against the Nazis.

To coincide with the international commemorations, Israel released its annual anti-Semitism report, noting that the past year experienced an increase in the number of attacks against Jewish targets worldwide, mainly by elements identified with Islamic extremists.

At Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the lessons of the Holocaust have yet to be learned. He accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons with the goal of destroying Israel.

"What has not changed is the desire to annihilate the Jews. What has changed is the ability of the Jews to defend themselves," he said.

Yad Vashem showcased dozens of items, each representing tales of perseverance and survival. They included sweaters, paintings, diaries, letters, dolls, cameras and religious artifacts that were stashed away for decades or discarded before they were collected and restored.

Yad Vashem researchers have been interviewing survivors, logging their stories, tagging materials and scanning documents into the museum's digitized archive.

Aside from their value as exhibits in the museum, Yad Vashem says the items are also proving helpful for research, filling in holes in history and contributing to the museum's huge database of names.

"Thousands of Israelis have decided to part from personal items close to their hearts, and through them share the memory of their dear ones who were murdered in the Holocaust," said Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev. "Through these examples, we have tried to bring to light items whose stories both explain the individual story and provide testimony to join the array of personal accounts that make up the narrative of the Holocaust."

For 83-year-old Shlomo Resnik, one such item was the steel bowl he and his father used for food at the Dachau concentration camp. His father Meir's name and number are engraved on the bowl, a reminder of how hard they had to scrap for food. "We fought to stay alive," he said.

Approaching the glass-encased display, Tsilla Shlubsky began tearing. Below she could see the handwritten diary her father kept while the family took shelter with two dozen others in a small attic in the Polish countryside. With a pencil, Jakov Glazmann meticulously recorded the family's ordeal in tiny Yiddish letters. His daughter doesn't know exactly what is written and she doesn't care to find out.

"I remember him writing. I lived through it," said Shlubsky, 74. "Abba (Dad) wasn't a writer, but with his heart's blood he wrote a diary to record the events to leave something behind so that what had taken place would be known."

She said it pained her to part with the family treasure.

"I know this is the right place for it and it will be protected forever," she said. "Now is the time and this is the place."

____

Follow Heller on Twitter at (at)aronhellerap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-27-Israel-Holocaust%20Remnants/id-1d4f76e2bb5a4210a76ad913742da009

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Good Reads: 'purdah' culture in India, born good, finding purpose, a Jedi response

This week's good reads includes a young woman's perspective on India's 'purdah' culture, the morality of babies, on whether a life's purpose brings happiness, and an unusual petition to the White House for building a Death Star.

By Ben Arnoldy,?Staff Writer / January 21, 2013

Female staff members of a luxury hotel exhibit their skills after a 10-day self-defense course initiated by the hotel management and Delhi Police women?s wing in New Delhi, India, Jan. 17, 2013. A brutal rape of a 23-year-old student last month has sparked a national debate about the treatment of women and the inability of Indian law enforcement to protect them.

Altaf Qadri/AP

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?My first sense as a young girl of sexual menace came from my Indian grandfather. Let me be clear: He never even remotely sexually threatened or molested me. But he made sure I knew that the world in which I, a girl, was growing up was innately perilous to women.?

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So starts an illuminating first-person recollection of an American learning the rules of purdah ? or concealment of women from men ? on visits to relatives back in India. Her grandfather upbraided her for uppity talk and anything but simple dress, to teach her that the more invisible she was, the more safe she would be.

Mira Kamdar, writing on the Asia Society website, connects these lessons to the recent gang rape of a young woman on a bus in Delhi: ?It is clear ... that a purdah mentality still dogs Indian society. A woman who can be seen is seen as a woman available for violation.? But, at the same time, ?[r]apid modernization and urbanization in India have made women, especially young women, visible as never before.?

Babies born good

Parents, it turns out that your bundles of joy could also be described as budding altruists. Writing for the Smithsonian magazine, Abigail Tucker writes on a heartwarming new area of research that?s finding babies showing preferences for ?good guys? over ?bad guys? and a proclivity to help and care for others.

?These findings may seem counterintuitive to anyone who has seen toddlers pull hair in a playground tunnel or pistol-whip one another with a plastic triceratops,? notes Ms. Tucker.

But a series of cleverly designed experiments at Yale and Harvard universities are seeing an orientation toward the good long before parents would seem to have had much chance to shape behavior.

The eureka moment for one researcher came while passing a ball back and forth with a toddler. The ball got away from the scientist, and rather than get it, he faked an inability to reach it. Seeing his struggle, the toddler got up to retrieve it for him. Other experiments involved puppet shows in which one color puppet is shown helping or hindering another. Eye-tracking tests found infants as young as 3 months old preferring the helper.?

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of meaning

Whether we are born with it, or taught it, altruism looks to be key to our well-being as adults.

Emily Esfahani Smith, writing for The Atlantic, highlights a new psychological study that suggests ?a meaningful life and happy life overlap in certain ways, but are ultimately very different.? Researchers interviewing 400 Americans found meaning in life to be tied up with being a ?giver,? while happiness was more linked with being a ?taker.? Meaning is also found in contemplating the future and the past, while happiness is fixated on the present ? and is consequently more fleeting.

From the nation?s foundational documents to the self-help aisles of bookstores, Americans are famously in pursuit of happiness. But that?s something of a mug?s game: ?Research has shown that having purpose and meaning in life increases overall well-being and life satisfaction, improves mental and physical health, enhances resiliency, enhances self-esteem, and decreases the chances of depression. On top of that, the single-minded pursuit of happiness is ironically leaving people less happy, according to recent research,? Ms. Smith writes.

The magazine goes on to cite data that roughly 40 percent of Americans have not found a ?satisfying life purpose.?

There will be no Death Star

A group of Internet pranksters raised the 25,000-plus signatures needed to get a response from the White House on their petition to have the US build a Death Star. The White House, to no one?s surprise, replied that the country would not be building the moon-shaped space station from the ?Star Wars? films that could blast planets into space dust. But the wording of the response, glorious it was.

?Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars? ? $850,000,000,000,000,000, according to one study ? ?on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?? wrote Paul Shawcross, chief of the Science and Space Budget at the White House Office of Management and Budget, and arguably the best communicator to emerge from the intersection of space science, accounting, and the federal government.

This smooth-talking Jedi then went on to highlight the gee-whiz stuff the government and the private sector are doing in space.
?[W]e?ve got two spacecraft leaving the Solar System and we?re building a probe that will fly to the exterior layers of the Sun. We are discovering hundreds of new planets in other star systems and building a much more powerful successor to the Hubble Space Telescope that will see back to the early days of the universe.?

In other news, the White House has just upped the signature threshold for a response to 100,000.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/TFtKZzT7T9E/Good-Reads-purdah-culture-in-India-born-good-finding-purpose-a-Jedi-response

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"Zero Dark Thirty" heads to Europe: will torture controversy follow?

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Best Picture Oscar nominee "Zero Dark Thirty" rolls out in several Western European countries starting Wednesday, absent - at least for now - the firestorm of criticism that has accompanied its U.S. release.

The movie has been a lightning rod for detractors in the U.S. over its perceived endorsement of torture, an allegation that director Kathryn Bigelow and Sony executives have repeatedly denied.

"Overall, I believe Europeans are far less ambiguous than Americans when it comes to the use of torture," Bruce Nash of box-office tracking service TheNumbers told TheWrap.

"To the extent that the film is perceived as pro-torture -- whether it is or not, and I don't believe it is -- if that somehow became how the film is defined, that would hurt it at the box office," Nash said. "But I don't think that's the case."

Bigelow, screenwriter Marc Boal and several others involved with the picture have been in Europe for the past two weeks to promote the film. Boal told the New York Times that interviewers in France seemed to regard the torture issue as belonging to the Americans, and in fact appreciated the film's head-on approach.

Indeed, the film begins its foreign run with a lot of momentum. The dark thriller about the hunt for Osama bin Laden was No. 1 in its first week of wide release on January 11 and has finished a strong second for the past two weeks.

Of course, the publicity surrounding the torture issue hasn't hurt it at the box office in the U.S. The domestic haul for "Zero Dark Thirty" to this point is nearly $57 million, ahead of pre-release projections and likely heading for $100 million.

The film's five Oscar nominations and the critical acclaim it has received have helped, too, but even Sony has acknowledged the flood of news stories raised the film's profile.

Universal will be handling the film's release in most countries in Western Europe, after buying rights to those territories from Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures, which financed it and cut distribution deals territory by territory.

It will open in France and Switzerland on Wednesday and in the U.K and Finland on Friday. Its debut in Germany will be on January 31, and Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Norway and South Africa will follow in February. Regional distributors will handle the film's February releases in Russia and Latin America, and the Annapurna is still considering a China run.

"Zero Dark Thirty" is one of three Best Picture Oscar nominees that is currently hitting overseas theaters with a distributor different than the one that handled its U.S.release.

Sony, which along with the Weinstein Company co-financed "Django Unchained," is overseeing the foreign release of Quentin Tarantino's slave saga. It opened last weekend and took in $48 million from 54 overseas markets.

DreamWorks' "Lincoln," distributed by Disney in North America, debuted in Spain and Mexico this past weekend via Fox.

With an explanatory preamble approved by director Steven Spielberg added, "Lincoln" opened to $2.3 million on 344 screens in Spain and to $729,000 on 259 screens in Mexico. "Lincoln" goes much wider next weekend, when it opens in 19 markets including Brazil, Germany, Italy, Russia and the U.K..

As for the torture controversy that accompanied "Zero Dark Thirty's" U.S. release, it doesn't seem to have caused the slightest ripple.

Indeed, the fact that torture has been used in the war against terror has been seen as a reality in Europe for some time.

In December, Europe's highest court, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, concluded that techniques used routinely by the Bush-era CIA in connection with its extraordinary-renditions program constituted torture.

If torture does not become an issue, The Numbers' Nash said it should do solid business. He pointed out that other U.S. films about the war on terror have done pretty well overseas. In 2006, "United 93" made $31 million domestically and nearly $45 million overseas. Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" did $70 million in the U.S. and went to make $92 million abroad that same year.

Bigelow's last movie, "The Hurt Locker,'" was about a U.S. bomb squad in the Iraq war, and it nearly doubled its $17 million domestic take, with $32 million from abroad in 2009. The bulk of that foreign run came after its surprise victory over "Avatar" for the Best Picture Oscar, however.

This weekend's U.K. and France debuts will be telling, but Universal quietly opened "Zero Dark Thirty" on just 250 screens in Spain on January 4. With a minimum of criticism, politicians' ire or public furor, the movie has taken in nearly $4 million over three weekends.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zero-dark-thirty-heads-europe-torture-controversy-004246504.html

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Bellucci says next movie will be filmed in Bosnia

AAA??Jan. 19, 2013?11:15 AM ET
Bellucci says next movie will be filmed in Bosnia
AP

Italian actress Monica Bellucci , during a meeting with the President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik , during a visit to Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic )

Italian actress Monica Bellucci , during a meeting with the President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik , during a visit to Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic )

Italian actress Monica Bellucci accompanied with Milorad Dodik, right, president of the Republic of Srpska, right, and Emir Kusturica film director, left, during a visit to Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic )

Italian actress Monica Bellucci waves to supporters during a visit to the Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic )

Italian actress Monica Bellucci talks with the President of Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik , during a visit to Bosnian town of Banja Luka, 240 kms northwest of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Radivoje Pavicic )

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) ? Italian actress Monica Bellucci says her next movie will be filmed in Bosnia by Serbian director Emir Kusturica.

Bellucci arrived in Banja Luka, the capital of the Serb region of Bosnia, on Saturday and was met by Kusturica. The two proceeded to a village in Serbia that he has built and where he is organizing a film festival.

Bellucci and Kusturica provided little information about the forthcoming movie, except to say it will be titled "Love and War" and that the shooting will begin in May in the Bosnian town of Trebinje.

The actress has appeared in movies such as "That Summer," "The Passion of the Christ" and "The Matrix Reloaded."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-19-EU-Bosnia-Bellucci/id-f866ab555f1c4888892208ff526c9e5d

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When disagreement turns to cursing and threats, feel free to ...

Plenty of employees have chips on their shoulders. Some are hypersensitive to perceived slights and constructive criticism. Others get angry over minor problems.

Acting out has long been regarded as insubordination and grounds for discipline, including termination.

Recent case: Roberta, who is black, worked as a mail carrier. After returning to work from an injury, she got a new route. Soon, she was complaining that her supervisor was micromanaging her, criticizing how she delivered the mail.

The incident that led to her termination occurred when the supervisor sent another employee out on Roberta?s route, ostensibly to help her. Roberta sought out her supervisor and said, ?If [the employee] comes out here again, I?m going to kick her a**.? When the supervisor told Roberta to calm down, Roberta told her, ?You are not my boss?. You ain?t s**t and you can?t tell me what to do.?

Roberta was suspended for insubordination and then fired for that incident, plus a poor attendance record. She had missed 53 days without an excuse in a three-month period. Roberta sued, alleging race discrimination.

But the court didn?t buy it. To the court, it was clear that Roberta had been insubordinate, which was the main reason why she was terminated. She had no case, since she couldn?t show that anyone outside her protected class had missed so much work and also been insubordinate without being fired. (Matthews v. Donahoe, No. 1065, 7th Cir., 2012)

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Facebook?s new Graph Search and Google: This means war

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/venturebeat/posts/471791676212339

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Rival hockey teams comes together for "Pink the Rink" to raise awareness about breast cancer

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UK: Jobs fears as Blockbuster collapses

A Blockbuster video store in London

Wednesday, January 16, 2013
5:57 PM

DVD and video games rental firm Blockbuster UK has gone into administration, putting more than 4,000 jobs at risk.

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Administrators Deloitte said the collapse was driven by competition from internet firms and digital streaming of movies and games.

The Uxbridge-based business trades from 528 outlets employing 4,190 staff.

Blockbuster will continue to accept gift cards and credit bought through its trade-in scheme for second-hand movies and games, as well as operating its loyalty scheme.

The collapse comes a day after music and entertainment retailer HMV, hit the rocks, with more than 4,000 jobs under threat.

Deloitte stressed Blockbuster?s core business was profitable and it would be looking for a rescue deal for all or part of the business as a going concern.

More than 8,000 retail jobs have been put at risk during the last two days alone in a bleak week for Britain?s high street.

Deloitte said around 66 people are employed across Blockbuster stores in the region, and average around five a store.

They include three Ipswich stores in Felixstowe Road, St Matthews Street and Woodbridge Road, and others at Felixstowe, Colchester, Clacton-on-Sea, Lowestoft, Mildenhall, Newmarket, Saffron Walden, Stowmarket and Thetford.

Joint administrator Lee Manning said: ?In recent years Blockbuster has faced increased competition from internet-based providers along with the shift to digital streaming of movies and games.

?We are working closely with suppliers and employees to ensure the business has the best possible platform to secure a sale, preserve jobs and generate as much value as possible for all creditors.?

Source: http://www.eadt.co.uk/uk_jobs_fears_as_blockbuster_collapses_1_1795597

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Indiana Pacers vs. Charlotte Bobcats NBA Betting Pick: January 15th 2013

Indiana Pacers vs. Charlotte Bobcats
NBA Betting Pick: Charlotte +8 -110 odds
CLICK HERE FOR MATT FARGO?S PREMIUM NBA BETTING PICKS

The Pacers and Bobcats played just three days ago with Indiana coming away with an eight-point win at home. They have had a tough time on the road though and the Bobcats look to snap a 12-game home losing streak on Tuesday.

These teams just met on Saturday with Indiana winning the game by eight points at home as it was able to pull away in the second half. Obviously with the game taking place just three days ago, not much has changed between these teams therefore the change in venue should make the Pacers a 5.5-point favorite based on giving three points for each home court. But that is not the case as the Pacers come in way overvalued. Indiana owns the second best home record in the NBA at 15-3 but following a loss on Sunday at Brooklyn, they are just 8-12 on the road and along with the Celtics, that is the worst road record amongst Eastern Conference teams currently holding down playoff positions. Charlotte is coming off a loss last night in Boston which was the sixth straight win for the Celtics so they certainly caught them at the wrong time. After winning two of three games, both coming on the road, the Bobcats have dropped four in a row with the last three coming on the highway and they are pretty overdue for a win on their home floor as they have dropped 12 straight games on their home floor but it isn?t for lack of trying as over half of those losses came by fewer points than what they are getting tonight. Charlotte is 4-1-1 ATS in its last six games following a loss while the Pacers are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against teams with a losing record. The home team has won each of the last 10 Pacers games and while an outright Charlotte win here is far from out of the question, we will grab the generous amount of points. Play (502) Charlotte Bobcats

Tags: Charlotte Bobcats, Indiana Pacers

Category: Free NBA Basketball Picks

Source: http://www.handicapperspicks.com/indiana-pacers-vs-charlotte-bobcats-nba-betting-pick-january-15th-2013-9129.html

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Various Techniques to Learn Chinese Language

It is a renowned fact that understanding a language is the best way to learn it. Learning a new language becomes of the essence whenever an individual relocates to a new location. Nowadays, more and more people are migrating to different countries for various reasons such as marriage, study, permanent residing, purchasing property, etc. Therefore, it has become essential for them to learn the language of area they are going to visit. Speaking, listening, writing and reading are the main core areas to learn in second language.

Like Spain has Spanish, France has French, Italy has Italian, Japan has Japanese, Chinese is the main language which is spoken in China and plenty of other countries. The only thing which makes this language dissimilar to other languages is that it has difficult writing style and it is intricate to read, speak and write. Those who are interested to learn Chinese must use flash cards as it is considered as the best way to learn Chinese. Language learning software is also an excellent method to learn a specific language. Lack of sufficient time, busy schedules and absence of a mentor are the biggest hindrances that lots of beginners have to face. When it comes to learn a language, individual attention is the paramount requirement.? Interacting with Chinese speakers on Skype will be helpful to know about new words and confidence level of a person will definitely increase by doing this. One should adopt comfortable method in order to learn Chinese or any other language.

As per opinion of experts, nothing would be better than regular practice. Reading out Chinese dictionary, magazines, books and novels can increase knowledge about this language.

A standard procedure should be followed. It is advisable to start from individual words rather than going for sentences. Repeat the words as much as you can and then one should read phrases. With availability of internet, everyone can become proficient in every language. Large number of educational institutes offer wide range of online courses. Enrolment process for online courses is easy and straightforward. In addition, one can get top-quality education at affordable prices. There is no dearth of companies that offer massive information about Chinese language. By going through websites of these companies, one can easily know about best time to speak Chinese. Some websites give details about techniques through which one can become fluent in Chinese language. By contacting these companies, one can speak Chinese language without making much effort. One-on-one learning is an imperative factor which can lead to quick learning. By talking to Chinese teachers or business professionals, every entity can develop his language skills. Allusions and idioms from professional teachers can improve speaking and learning. Native speakers can be consulted for correct pronunciation. Cantonese and Chinese Mandarin are common in several locations such as Singapore and Beijing. Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Peru ate the places where Chinese language is spoken. Chinese has diverse dialects and it is known as sinitic language.

Source: http://language.ezinemark.com/various-techniques-to-learn-chinese-language-7d382d5b19b8.html

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Oil price flat

http://www.sxc.hu/

Oil prices were nearly unchanged Tuesday after industrial production shrank in the 17 countries that use the euro, raising concerns of a prolonged recession in the region.

Benchmark crude for February delivery was up 3 cents to $94.17 per barrel at late aftenroon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 58 cents to finish at $94.15 per barrel in New York on Tuesday.

Industrial output across the eurozone fell in November for the third straight month, the European Union statistics office said Monday. The worse-than-expected 0.3 percent monthly decline was felt across the whole economy and sparked worries that it was a sign the current recession might linger.

?The weaker than expected European industrial production ... has seen Brent and US crude prices remain under pressure,? Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at CMC Markets, said in a market commentary.

Brent crude, used to price international varieties of oil, rose 27 cents to $111.22 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:

- Wholesale gasoline was up 0.1 cent at $2.773 a gallon.

- Natural gas fell 2.6 cents to $3.347 per 1,000 cubic feet.

- Heating oil rose 0.8 cent to $3.071. - Sapa-AP

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/oil-price-flat-1.1452251

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General Medicine Education Publishing Market - Global Industry ...

General Medicine or internal medicine is a branch of medicine which
deals with the prevention, diagnosis and subsequent treatment of adult
diseases. The specialists who deal with this branch of medicine are
called ?internists? and ones who work with children are called
pediatricians. General Medicine is further specialized depending on the
organ or organ systems, such as cardiology, anesthesiology,
endocrinology, nephrology etc. On an average 75,000 medical students
choose internal medicine as a career option annually around the world.?

?

The global publishing market for general medicine education is highly dynamic in nature since there is a strong disparity in the availability and adoption of modern technology along with its cost. It is estimated that in the Asian and developing European regions along with RoW, more than half of the people do not have access to internet as a source of education in their homes. This severely undermines the quality of education. Printed books and literature are thus the major tools of spreading education here.

?

The report presents an excellent environmental analysis with emphasis on market drivers, restraints and future opportunities. It gives an impact of various factors on the market with a business perspective and highlights potential shortcomings, advantages for key players and new entrants as well. The global publishing market for general medicine education is highly dynamic in nature since there is a strong disparity in the availability and adoption of modern technology along with its cost. It is estimated that in the Asian and poorer European regions along with RoW, more than half of the people do not have access to internet as a source of education in their homes. This severely undermines the quality of education. Printed books and literature are thus the major tools of spreading education here.

?

The key players in the medical publishing market include Reed Elsevier, Wolters Kluwer, Thomson, Mc Graw-Hill, and Optum Health among others. Elsevier is currently considered as overall market leader with popular contributions to books in internal medicine such as Davidson?s Principles and Practice of medicine. It also has popular online platforms such as MDConsult and mobile apps such as Procedures Consult, which are highly accepted in the medical community. McGraw-Hill?s Harrison?s Principles of Internal Medicine is also considered a gold standard amongst a large student population.

?

A comprehensive assessment of key players and their strategies along with winning imperatives have been analyzed by segmenting the market as below:

• Electronic & Online publishing market for general medicine education?
• Online Reference Tools
• Mobile Applications
• Electronic & Digital textbooks and reference books
• Multimedia Content
• Testing & Self-Assessment
• Hospital Training
• Distance Learning

Print publishing market for general medicine education

• Custom content publishing
• Print textbooks and reference books
• Testing & Self-Assessment
• Hospital Training
• Distance Learning

In addition a detailed cross sectional analysis of the above segments with respect to the following geographical markets has been performed:

• North America
• Europe?
• Asia
• Rest of the World (RoW)

Source: http://mrrbiz.blogspot.com/2013/01/general-medicine-education-publishing.html

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March Festival of Women Writers Planning 55 Events in Berkshire ...

Sweet Dreams :: Trailer from Liro Films on Vimeo.

Women writers of all ages and from many different walks of life will be featured in the Third Annual Berkshire Festival of Women Writers, taking place throughout the month of March, Women?s History Month, at venues all over Berkshire County.

The Festival, sponsored by Bard College at Simon?s Rock with the collaboration of many other organizations, includes the participation of more than 150 women writers, at 55 separate events.

Berkshire Theatre and Film Highlights

Kristen van Ginhoven of WAM.

Of course, we are especially interested in the performances and film screenings?a special women-only edition of Made in the Berkshires, with performances by Sally-Jane Heit, Susan Merrill and Joy Spivak; a new show from Alison Larkin, Alison Larkin Live!, at the Unicorn; a Festival /BIFF screening of the new Dutch film Water Children; a special International Women?s Day film screening of Sweet Dreams, featuring local filmmaker Rob Fruchtman and Blue Marble Ice Cream founder Jennifer Dundas; and a screening of sections of the documentary film Half the Sky at the Mahaiwe, with a community conversation on women?s human rights moderated by Caroline Wheeler of Sisters for Peace and Kristen Van Ginhoven of WAM Theater.

Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez

Festival director Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez, a professor of comparative literature and gender studies at Bard College at Simon?s Rock, founded the event to give more women the opportunity to share their writing with local audiences.

?Research has shown that while boys and men tend to over-estimate their own talents and abilities, girls and women tend to second-guess themselves or have such high standards for themselves that they hesitate to speak up or take the limelight,? Browdy de Hernandez says.

?The ethos of this Festival is supportive and inclusive?we?re not so much about big names as about opening up multiple platforms for talented girls and women to share their writing and gain confidence in their own abilities.?

Diane Patrick

The 2013 Festival does feature a few women of national renown, such as the writing guru Julia Cameron, author of The Artist?s Way and many other books, who will be speaking at Kripalu on March 7, and First Lady of Massachusetts Diane Patrick, who will be speaking about women?s empowerment at Bard College at Simon?s Rock on March 16.

But there will also be spaces opened for student writers, older writers, and immigrant writers, many of whom will be sharing their work in public for the first time.

Students from Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington will be sharing their writing at the Guthrie Center on March 11 under the leadership of faculty member Lisken Van Pelt Dus.? And the Railroad Street Youth Project will sponsor a poetry workshop for teens led by two teenage women writers on March 14.

Sonia Pilcer will return with her popular panel of older women writers, ?Women of a Certain Age,? on March 2 at the Mason Library in Great Barrington.? The Mason Library will also host Sondra Zeidenstein, octagenarian poet and publisher of Chicory Blue Press, a press dedicated exclusively to the work of women over 70, for a talk on March 9 on ?Women, Creativity and Aging.?

Yuko Takaya

The Berkshire Immigrant Center is sponsoring a special event called ?Coming to America,? at Williams College on March 6, which will give four Berkshire immigrant women from different countries a chance to share their written autobiographical stories.? There will also be a bilingual panel on March 5 at Bard College at Simon?s Rock entitled Cuatro mujeres, Cuatro generos / Four Women, Four Genres, featuring student presenters reading and discussing the work of four Latin American women writers.

In addition, any Berkshire woman writer is welcome to enter the 2013 Essay Contest, sponsored by Michelle Gillett and Nina Ryan, with special guest judge Katherine Bouton of The New York Times. ?The topic is ?masculinity,? and the postmark deadline is January 28.

A special feature of the Festival is the International Women?s Day observance, which has been held annually at Bard College at Simon?s Rock since 2002.

Sweet Dreams will be screened on International Women?s Day 2013.

This year?s IWD event, co-sponsored by the Berkshire Human Rights Speaker series, will offer a screening of the new documentary film Sweet Dreams, about the partnership between a dynamic women?s drumming ensemble in Rwanda and the founders of the Brooklyn-based Blue Marble Ice Cream, which brought the first ice cream shop ever to Rwanda.? A talk-back with filmmaker Rob Fruchtman and Blue Marble founder and film star Jennifer Dundas will follow the screening, and the event will end with an Ice Cream Social featuring Blue Marble Ice Cream.

Other special events include:

• the screening at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on March 15 of several segments of the film HALF THE SKY, based on the book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, with a community discussion to follow led by Caroline Wheeler of Sister for Peace and Kristen Van Ginhoven of WAM Theatre;
• a staged reading of a new, 21^st century version of ?Women of Troy,? written and directed by Leigh Strimbeck, at Bard College at Simon?s Rock on March 22;
• Out of the Mouths of Babes on March 1, hosted by Suzi Banks Baum and Gina Hyams, focusing on the complex relationship between mothering and creativity, and featuring readings by Baum and Hyams as well as Michelle Gillett, Janet Elsbach, Nichole Dupont, Jenny Laird and Alana Chernila;
• a gala reading at The Mount on March 23 of the winners of the 2013 Festival Essay Contest, coordinated by Michelle Gillett and Nina Ryan, and judged by Katherine Bouton of The New York Times;
• A reading of women poets hosted by Orion Magazine on March 17 at Bard College at Simon?s Rock, and a panel on the relationship between writers and editors hosted by Berkshire Magazine on March 3 at the Triplex;
• and much, much more!

?
Most events are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis, though tickets are available for advance purchase at the events at Kripalu and the Berkshire Theater Group.

The Festival is made by possible by grants from the Massachusetts Council on the Humanities, the Local Cultural Councils of many Berkshire towns, and generous support from many organizations, businesses and individuals.

For more information, contact Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez at 413-528-7224 or email bfww@simons-rock.edu.

Berkshire Festival of Women Writers Events 2013: Week 1, March 1?9

?

• Laundry Line Divine presents: Out of the Mouths of Babes ~ March 1, 2013

• Why Sedna Matters to Women Writers ~ March 2, 2013

• Women of a Certain Age ~ March 2, 2013

• Getting Married and Other Mistakes ~ March 2, 2013

• Made in the Berkshires presents: Exquisite Dilemmas: Women and Choices ~ March 2, 2013

• Berkshire Magazine presents: Women Writers and the Role of the Editor ~ March 3, 2013

• Cows Save the Planet: How to Find and Tell Stories of Ecological and Economic Restoration ~ March 3, 2013

• Fleeting Reality: Interpreting Place in Words and Images ~ March 4, 2013

• Writing Your Power, Passion, and Play: Letting Your Soul Have Its Way with You ~ March 5, 2013

• Cuatro mujeres, cuatro g?neros/Four Women, Four Genres ~ March 5, 2013

• WRites of Passage and the Age of Becoming: Puberty and the Onset of Fertility ~ March 6, 2013

• The Berkshire Immigrant Center presents: Coming to America ~ March 6, 2013

• Kripalu presents: Salmon in the Stream: A Lecture on Writing By Julia Cameron ~ March 7, 2013

• Do You Want to Be a Published Author? ~ March 8, 2013

• Before I Forget . . . A Workshop in Memoir Making ~ March 8, 2013

• Return to Little Women ~ March 9, 2013

• Women, Creativity & Aging ~ March 9, 2013

• Your Genie Awaits?How to Access Your Wisdom Through Writing ~ March 9, 2013

• Alison Larkin LIVE! ~ March 9, 2013

• The 12th Annual International Women?s Day Observance: ?Sweet Dreams of Women?s Human Rights? ~ March 10, 2013

Source: http://berkshireonstage.com/2013/01/15/march-festival-of-women-writers-planning-55-events-in-berkshire-county/

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Hog-nosed skunk causes stir at Grand Canyon

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) ? Desert bighorn sheep, river otters and mountain lions, yes. But a hog-nosed skunk at the Grand Canyon? Hardly.

The striped creatures are usually found in southeastern Arizona, Texas and Mexico. But one of them somehow made its way north of the Colorado River last year.

A group of rafters camping along the river in August was headed for bed when they noticed a black-and-white animal in the bushes near one of their tents. Jen Hiebert grabbed her camera, zoomed in and took some pictures.

When the rafters didn't see the skunk listed as one of the animals found at the Grand Canyon, Hiebert sent photos and a note to the National Park Service.

"It was just walking through the canyon, totally ignored us and was just digging away in the sand," said Hiebert, of Moscow, Idaho. "I'm not sure what it was after."

Grand Canyon biologists later confirmed the group's suspicion that it was a hog-nosed skunk.

At first, officials weren't sure whether the skunk was merely visiting the area, or if they should to add it to the list of about 90 mammals that live in the national park. They decided that by listing it ? even as extremely rare ? people might be on the lookout for more of the skunks, and that could help biologists determine how prevalent they are in the park.

"Obviously it's in the park and there's a photograph of it," Grand Canyon wildlife program manager Greg Holm said. "I guess the question would be, is it going to live out its life here or was it traveling from point A to point B?"

The hog-nosed skunk is just as smelly as the western spotted skunk and the striped skunk, which are also found in the park. But it's distinguished in appearance by its entirely white back and tail, largely naked snout and long claws.

Holm said skunks tend to be solitary animals so it wasn't strange that Hiebert and the others saw just one. The puzzling thing for biologists was how it crossed the Colorado River, which Holm said tends to be a significant barrier to animal movement because of water temperature, the river's flow and its size.

"Whether or not it crossed, swam across, it certainly could," he said. "How else would it get there?"

The other idea is that the skunk came from southern Nevada, traveling east from the north end of Lake Mead through the Grand Canyon, but "it's all speculation," Holm said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hog-nosed-skunk-causes-stir-grand-canyon-201053314.html

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Toshiba Satellite U840W Webcam Driver 2.0.3.37 for Windows 7 x64

The package provides the installation files for Toshiba Satellite U840W Webcam Driver version 2.0.3.37. This driver and software is needed to use the integrated webcam.

It is highly recommended to always use the most recent driver version available.

Do not forget to check with our site as often as possible in order to stay updated on the latest drivers, software and games.

Try to set a system restore point before installing a device driver. This will help if you installed a wrong driver. Problems can arise when your hardware device is too old or not supported any longer.

Source: http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/SCANNER-Digital-CAMERA-WEBCAM/OTHER-SCANNERS/Toshiba-Satellite-U840W-Webcam-Driver-20337-for-Windows-7-x64.shtml

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15 Mobile Billing Systems For E-Commerce - web design Singapore

There are over 6 billion mobile phones in use and three-quarters of the world?s population has access to a mobile phone. Many of these mobile phone users shun debit/credit card transactions online for fear of fraud or other security reasons. So if you have an e-commerce business you might want to consider using a mobile or carrier billing system to tap into these potential customers.

Mobile billing systems offer an unprecedented one-stop convenience for online purchases and will give you an edge over your competitors. Check out the following 6 biggest mobile payment systems around to give you an idea of how it can work in your favor.

1. Zong

Owned by eBay, Zong is one of the largest mobile payment systems so far to manage transactions of digital and virtual goods. Some of its most popular merchants include Facebook and Habbo and it has serviced more than 30 million customers around the world. ZONG operates in over 40 countries.

How It Works

As you reach the payment section for your online purchase, look out for that prominently red Zong button, click on it and key in your mobile number. Next, they will send you a secure PIN code to your mobile device and all you need to do is enter that in to approve the transaction. It?s really that simple!

The draw is that you will never have to enter all the card information every time you make a purchase; you simply need your mobile number to process the payment. Zong liaises closely with online security solutions companies such as Verisign, McAfee and TRUSTe to provide secure transactions and detect frauds.

Extra Features

An optional upgrade is also available with Zong+ where you can choose to link your credit or debit card to your mobile number and get free stuff at the same time.

2. BOKU

With a global coverage of 66 countries and servicing 240 carrier mobile network operators, BOKU is set to be another huge contender of the most extensive mobile payment systems around. Its partnerships with major online merchants such as Facebook, Disney, EA and Zynga (among others) offer customers a wide range of products and services for mobile billing.

How It Works

Similar to other mobile payment services, BOKU?s two-step authentication process for mobile billing involves entering your mobile number and replying ?Y? to a message sent to you by the online merchant to confirm the transaction.

Due to its well-established background in the service, it assures customers of bank-grade protection and has reliable customer support to provide assistance where necessary.

Extra Features

BOKU also has a Offers and Loyalty Platform. There, you can reach millions of mobile subscribers around the world through advanced targeting based on demographics, purchase history, competitor shopping patterns and geo-location.

3. Text2Pay

Text2Pay is available in over 50 countries across the globe. For US merchants, the mobile payment service gives only 30% of the revenue of the transactions to the mobile carrier and leaves you with 70%. This is much more competitive than the 50-50 split in most other mobile carriers.

How It Works

After clicking on the "Pay by Fone" button when you?re ready to make your online payment, you key in your mobile number as per usual. As an added security feature, you will need to key in your ZIP code for Text2Pay to verify if it matches the cell phone number account.

It wil then send you a PIN code to be entered to approve the transaction. Once approved, a reference number is provided as your proof of purchase.

Extra Features

It also allows you to customize the interface of the payment platform for your customers with your preferred web design Singapore and your own logo. Check out here for other features of the service!

4. ImpulsePay

Capitalizing on Payforit technology for UK micropayment scheme, ImpulsePay supports all UK mobile network operators (T-mobile, Orange, O2, Three and Vodafone) as well as virtual operators like Tesco Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Lebara.

How It Works

As it is with mobile payment services, ImpulsePay allow you to charge online purchases to your monthly mobile network bill by your mobile text messages.

For UK consumers, this mobile payment service offers two purchase options for your customers, the typical send-a-PIN-code service where customers enter their mobile number or by texting a message to a given number instead to complete the transaction.

It does not require any prior registration on the part of the customers and the service can be used by a wider range of industries (e.g. gambling sites) compared to other mobile payment services.

Extra Feature

When browsing on a mobile data connection, ImpulsePay can automatically detect the mobile number and let them click on the ?Buy Now? button. Such seamless transactions provide an unmatchable convenience for customers and encourage them to make future purchases on your website.

5. Fortumo

It gets better with Fortumo, where its mobile payment service is available in 73 countries and supporting more than 250 mobile operators.

How It Works

Fortumo?s selling point is its ability to be incorporated into any mobile app and have the transaction made without having customers leaving the app (i.e. 1-click checkout). This means that whether you are accessing your browser on your PC or through your mobile, or that you?re in some app on your phone, you?ll be able to make instantaneous purchases without the need to sign up for an account.

Extra Feature

Fortumo promises a quick 30-min integration with your site or mobile app, along with the guarantee of overnight activation of your payment service. There?re also no setup fees or monthly fees for the set-up, only a percentage from each successful transaction goes to Fortumo. Be wary of the payout cycle which differs from one country to the next.

6. JunglePay

JunglePay is the ultimate all-in-one online billing solution for consumers and merchants alike. In terms of mobile payment service, its SMS billing extends to over 80 countries worldwide. JunglePay also supports various platforms ranging from web, mobile to in-app purchases.

How It Works

JunglePay can be said to be more merchant-friendly than most other competitors. Its strength lies with the range of options for payment (be it mobile, phone or credit card). To pay by SMS, the buyer need only send a text message to confirm payment then enter the sent password into its widget. Payment can also be made via landline, just call the number on the widget and the payment will be charged to the line when you hang up.

Extra Feature

JunglePay has customizable interface, excellent customer service support and an extensive mobile payments API to personalize your billing platform.

Other Mobile Payment Systems

Now that you have a better idea of mobile payment services and the benefits they can offer to you as an online consumer or merchant, here are 9 other such services available online:

7. Onebip

Coverage: Over 60 countries
Usage Mode: SMS, WAP & Mobile Internet
Selling Point: Registration is required but this also means that you need not key in anything during purchases ? just login to your account. By registering, you can also manage your account from any PC or mobile device, see your transaction history, and add mobile numbers for future transactions.

8. Mach

Coverage: 54 Countries
Usage Mode: In-app
Selling Point: Authentication and authorization of mobile billing takes place within the app via 1-click checkout. Mach?s Direct Operator Billing (DOB) solution provides online merchants built-in financial reporting and analytical tools to track sales traffic.

9. Surfpin

Coverage: Over 40 countries
Usage Mode: SMS
Selling Point: The interface for the mobile payment system can be customized to suit the needs of online merchants. There are also HTML5 mobile-optimized checkout and Android in-app payment system.

10. Netsize

Coverage: 29 countries
Usage Mode: SMS, MMS & WAP
Selling Point: Robust customer support for online merchants, 24/7 availability and formalized processes for incident response and resolution. Netsize is up-to-date with the latest rules and regulations across different countries and provides strong End User Support services.

11. Mopay

Coverage: More than 80 countries
Usage Mode: SMS
Selling Point: Mopay allows customers to log into their online customer portal to check their purchase history, manage subscriptions, vouchers, etc without any prior registration. All you need is your mobile number for them to send you a SMS with a pin code before you login with it.

12. Allopass

Coverage: Over 80 countries
Usage Mode: SMS
Selling Point: Easy setup process, intuitive dashboard for online merchants to adjust pricing for individual countries and products, and to generate comprehensive sales reports for analyses.

13. boxPAY

Coverage: More than 70 countries
Usage Mode: SMS
Selling Point: Mobile billing service is supported in various platforms ranging from widgets, browsers, tablets, mobile phones to even smart TVs. boxPAY also affords online merchants with enhanced customizability through HTML, CSS and API.

14. Bango

Coverage: Over 50 countries
Usage Mode: SMS and In-app
Selling Point: Bango?s customers include Facebook, Google Play, EA Mobile, Blackberry App World and Windows Phone.

15. SMS-Online

Coverage: Over 70 countries
Usage Mode: SMS
Selling Point: Offers an optional ?SMS-Lock? for online merchants who wish to restrict the granting of access to only premium users, such that access rights can be customized for certain services on their website.

Source: http://www.ipixel.com.sg/blog/web-design/15-mobile-billing-systems-for-e-commerce/

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