Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Afghan presidential election set for April 2014

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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Smoker in training ? The Scarlet [online]

In Opinions on October 25, 2012 at 9:00 am

The Dawn of the virtual cigarette

By Claire Tierney

Editor-in-chief

Courtesy of Google

Smart phones are now offering apps that let you light and smoke a virtual cigarette. You simply blow into the microphone, or onto the screen, and an image of a cigarette glows red and ?burns.?? Exciting, huh? The kids will love it too. Experts, as well as the rest of society, are in general agreement that cigarette and tobacco ads have a strong effect on our youth. In fact, The World Health Organization has set strict requirements on how smoking and tobacco products are marketed. Tobacco companies in the United States are banned from sponsoring sports teams, giving away t- shirts and advertising on TV at all. These applications advertise directly to kids in that they feature cartoons and celebrities. They also feature simple games whose primary goal is to smoke a cigarette as fast as possible or not mess up the rhythm of the smoking circle, hence the name of one game, ?puff, puff, pass?. This is undeniably a more hands-on, interactive form of advertisement than simply a billboard or TV commercial. According to Barbara Loken in an NPR article, a consumer psychologist at the University of Minnesota, these applications serve to ?increase the involvement or engagement of the participant, even more than advertisements.? Furthermore, this ?may make the participant even more likely to take up smoking.? According to NPR, ?Public health researchers at the University of Sydney have found 107 apps on iPhones and Androids with pro-smoking messages, including these so-called smoking simulators.? These applications are popping up at an increasing rate and threaten to cross the line that these strict tobacco-marketing guidelines have been enforcing for decades. The bitter irony of this situation is that many of the pro-smoking apps (created by tobacco companies like Marlboro) claim to help stop smoking by curbing the need for a cigarette. This puts these applications square in the ?Health and Fitness? section. Loken argues, however, that for an app to facilitate quitting a severe addiction such as nicotine, it would have to ?depict smoking in a negative light.? Rather than help quit, these apps are serving to normalize smoking, says Loken. Beyond the smoking simulators, which account for about %99 of the smoking-related app downloads, smartphone users can purchase ?photo galleries of cigarettes for wallpapering your phone, instructions for rolling cigarettes into various shapes and tobacco ?shops? where you can build your own cigarettes.? All interactive advertising strategies which facilitate the normalization of smoking. Obviously these apps and games are being played by bored adults as well as our impressionable youth, but these apps are hardly regulated in distribution or in content so as to avoid reaching an unintended (or perhaps intended) audience. The idea of a college student sitting in class rolling his virtual ?cigar or cigarette? into various shapes on his iPhone doesn?t bother me in the slightest. In fact, as a smoker, it sounds sort of appealing. But kids are highly impressionable. Adolescents are in the awkward process of forming their identity and their values. By normalizing tobacco and making it so widely available to ?virtually? enjoy, we are removing the taboo that smoking has in our culture, which is a very dangerous thing. According to the Center for disease control and prevention, the percentage of the population that smokes cigarettes has decreased by about 50% since 1965. Clearly these advertising regulations have been effective in reducing our youth?s exposure to tobacco products. Why stop now?

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Source: http://clarknews.wordpress.com/2012/10/25/smoker-in-training/

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Barnes & Noble reports breach of U.S. customer credit card data

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stock market news: Sure Fire Badminton Drills, Sports & Recreation

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Source: http://schubert-maurie.blogspot.com/2012/10/stock-market-news-sure-fire-badminton.html

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Source: http://abkyom.posterous.com/stock-market-news-sure-fire-badminton-drills

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Source: http://joyridden-rydberg.blogspot.com/2012/10/stock-market-news-sure-fire-badminton.html

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Source: http://chrishellstause.dnfmoshenwg.com/113/stock-market-news-sure-fire-badminton-drills-sports-recreation/

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Source: http://vvslaxman25.blogspot.com/2012/10/stock-market-news-sure-fire-badminton.html

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Redbeacon For Android Helps You Find The Right Home Improvement Professional For Any Job You Need Done

Maybe you're looking for a pro to fix up some odds-and-ends things around house. Maybe you some painting done. Or perhaps you're in desperate need of a landscaper. No matter what your home improvement quandary is, there's someone out there who will gladly accept your money to perform said activity. The problem is, though, finding the right person for the job.

Fear not, oh unskilled one - you can now use the power of your smartphone to find just such a person, thanks to the new Redbeacon app.

1?2?3

For those who many not know, Redbeacon is a service that helps you find the right pro for the job you need done. With its simple and intuitive interface, the app will walk you through all the necessary steps to enter your project, with options to attach pictures and videos along the way. After that, applicable professionals can bid on the job, and the app will alert you of incoming offers. From there, you can book the job and rest easy knowing that stuff's getting taken care of. Isn't technology great? You didn't even have to get off the couch!

Of course, Redbeacon's service is only available in select areas, so if you're not in Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Houston, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Washington DC, New York, or the San Francisco Bay Area, then you're on your own. Better grab the duct tape and hope for the best.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AndroidPolice/~3/ecUfqP1xlJo/story01.htm

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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Health & Fitness: Self Improvement


Personal goal setting is one of those activities that people take for granted. Some people live their lives without any objective. They run around the field, going in every direction, until they somehow hit the big bull?s eye of life. However, people need to be reminded that the chances of this happening are quite slim. When you do hit a target you do not know about, the chances are, you won?t even see it. You will just go on, day after day, seeking something you know nothing about.

Personal goal setting will help you get direction. It will help you gain a perspective on how to lead your life. Personal goal setting will give order to chaos. Because of personal goal setting, you will be able to understand your inner workings.

Here are some types of personal goal setting that people use to govern their lives:

1) Fulfillment ? while people can claim that this is the ultimate quest of man, the ones who focus their personal goal setting on this path can be categorized separately. People do a lot of things to attain self-fulfillment. Many people go on pilgrimages. A person?s pilgrimage can be religious in nature, or it cannot. What matters is not the type of pilgrimage, but its meaning to a person.

Some people think that self-fulfillment can be achieved through a skill. Some of those who study Japanese martial arts seek fulfillment through the way of the warrior. Fulfillment is not a state of physical being or material wealth. It is a state of mind which makes this type of personal goal setting noble and very hard.

2) Financial ? some people set personal goals based on monetary wealth. People who go with this type of personal goal setting often do everything they can to reach their target amount at their targeted age. These people often learn all they can about business and work very hard to make their dreams come true.

By setting a personal financial goal, you will be able to use something tangible to judge your progress. This way, you can remain motivated and continue working hard.

3) Public service ? people want to change the world. Although all people would like to have this opportunity, few people actually work towards it. People who aim to change the world are often very specific about how they want to change it. Sadly, this type of goal setting is often left behind with childhood. Today, only a few people truly want to change the world for the better. Doctors start out wanting to save lives, but end up saving cash for a Ferrari.

4) Achievement ? some people are driven by certain achievements. This type of personal goal setting often involves a person improving his or her skills in order to achieve his or her goals. One example of this type of personal goal setting is a list of ?things to do?. People make these lists all the time, but only a few are truly serious about attaining them. For these people the rewards of an achievement are secondary to the achievement itself.

Whichever type of personal goal setting you choose, you have to remember that setting a goal is the first step to achieving a goal. Knowing where you are going is always the first step towards getting there.

Related posts:

  1. Personal goal setting must be done early
  2. How Goal-Setting Articles can help You
  3. Be Smart: Some Things You Might Want to Know About Goal-Setting Theory

Source: http://newshealthfitnessworld.blogspot.com/2012/10/self-improvement_23.html

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Politics Gondwe next Malawi Finance Minister, Pres Banda to shuffle ...

Goodall-GondweEXCLUSIVELILONGWE--Former Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe is set to make a return to his old job as finance minister, four years after he relinquished it, a senior Peoples Party (PP) official has told MaraPost.

Goodall a retired International Monetary Fund guru and a politician who announced his retirement is expected to make the return to his post before November 12 sitting of Parliament and International cooperating partners have welcomed the development. Accredited for bringing Malawi back to the IMF programme after a messy two-year period (2003 to 2005) and the country?s completion of the debt relief requirement, Gondwe, who served as finance minister, became popular for helping save Malawi?s economy and putting it on a steady path to recovery.

?He is someone everyone respects highly,? a senior Western diplomat said. ?Mrs. Joyce Banda has been preaching the spirit of inclusiveness. By recognizing Goodall talents, she is sending a powerful political message that all talented Malawians are welcome to rebuild the country.?

Goodall is said to have already met Pres Joyce Banda and Vice President Khumbo Kachali over the deal and a Cabinet reshuffle announcement is expected to come before the next sitting of the National Assembly slated for November 12.

He will replace Ken Lipenga who refused to resign after it became clear that he presented to parliament a false report touting the success of the failed zero deficit budget which the Banda administration discontinued.
---
? The Maravi Post 2012. Reproduction without acknowledgement prohibited

Source: http://www.maravipost.com/malawi-news/malawi-political/2075-gondwe-next-malawi-finance-minister,-pres-banda-to-shuffle-cabinet.html

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Here?s How Zynga is Copying Facebook?s Business Model

Social and mobile gaming company Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) has taken a page out of Facebook?s (NASDAQ:FB) strategy manual and is developing its own advertising platform that it hopes will not only generate revenue, but also help attract more big-ticket game developers.

Sources close to the company ? which has been hurting as of late to find the next hit game ? say the ad network is still under construction, but parts of it could be up and running by the end of the year.

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The initiative is a bold foray into third-party advertising for Zynga, which has heretofore remained relatively quiet on the advertisement front, gathering the majority of its revenue from the sale of virtual goods. However, such virtual goods sales come with a hefty price ? that is, a mandatory 30 percent kickback to Facebook ? and Zynga appears eager to create a revenue stream for itself that would eliminate the middleman.

Building its own advertising network is one way to do that, and Zynga has placed longtime Chief Technology Officer Cadir Lee in charge of the operation that is expected to significantly boost ad revenues, which currently account for 12 percent of the company?s overall revenue.

In addition to boosting ad sales, Zynga hopes the platform will offer a more ?complete package? to mobile game developers that are looking to bring new games to the market. Winning the business of those developers is a key to Zynga?s success, and these recent plans to unveil its very own ad platform signal Zynga?s willingness to do whatever it takes to lock up those developer relationships in the future.

Don?t Miss: Here?s How Facebook Is Increasing Advertising Dollars.

To contact the reporter on this story: staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: editors@wallstcheatsheet.com

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wallstcheatsheet/~3/CwI3wjrm5V4/

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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

MetroPCS picks up Google Wallet support for Galaxy S III; Where will this leave T-Mobile?

We all saw yesterday that Google Wallet has something in the pipeline. The page that we caught showed ?iOS? and ?other device? as options to choose and get info about at a later date when it becomes available. We are certain there is a lot more going on behind the scenes with Google and the Wallet, but we just don?t have much more information about it yet. Yesterday afternoon the Google Wallet Twitter account announced support for the wallet app on MetroPCS and specifically the Galaxy S III. We aren?t MetroPCS specialists, but we assume this is probably the best-selling device they have with Android and maybe one of the few that has a NFC chip. This is great news for MetroPCS subscribers, especially S III owners.
We are a bit confused though at how this will all play out in the long run though. If MetroPCS just signed on board as a partner for Google Wallet, what does that mean for T-mobile? We ask this question because T-Mobile is buying MetroPCS and we all know that T-Mobile just launched trials for Isis Mobile Wallet the other day. The actual buy out and merger and whatever, won?t be happening for quite some time, we know this. In the long-term though, what will happen with Google Wallet when that deal goes through and MetroPCS customers become T-Mobile customers. Will they be forced off Google Wallet and merged to Isis Mobile Wallet, or will T-Mobile take a different approach and potentially support both? We are personally hoping the latter of the two outcomes is the chosen one, or else there are going to be quite a few?dissatisfied?MetroPCS customers on T-Mobile?s hands.

What do you guys think will happen?

Source: http://androidspin.com/2012/10/23/metropcs-picks-up-google-wallet-support-for-galaxy-s-iii-where-will-this-leave-t-mobile/

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EU Unveils Online Gambling Mission | Gambling911.com

The European Union on Monday unveiled plans to improve safeguards for money laundering activities via online gambling websites.

The EU mission also looks to prevent match fixing while protecting players against fraud.

From Bloomberg News:

The European Commission will also speed up probes into whether national restrictions on online gambling firms are legal in a bid to clarify market-access rules for the industry, according to an EU official.

The measures will be included in an action plan for the online gaming and betting industry to be published tomorrow by Michel Barnier, the EU?s financial services chief, said the official, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren?t yet public.

The European High Court has reviewed a series of cases brought on behalf of online betting companies to determine whether state monopolies can legally block them from operating freely across the 27-nation region.

Ironically, the Brussels-based Commission is based in a nation, Belgium, that has been among the most aggressive when it comes to blocking foreign wagering firms from operating within its borders.? Belgium has even gone as far as to impose a ?black list? of operators.?

Nations like Belgium and Germany tend to justify the curbs on the basis that they are needed to protect citizens from gambling addiction and to prevent crime, according to Bloomberg News.?

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com

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Source: http://www.gambling911.com/gambling-news/eu-unveils-online-gambling-mission-102212.html

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Jessica Biel Shows Off Her Wedding Bling

Oh hai, Mrs. Timberlake

Posted by: Trent on |

A few days ago we learned that longtime engaged couple Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake finally got themselves married in a private ceremony in Italy. Today we get our first look at the newlywedded couple as husband and wife. BUT, before we take a look at the happy couple, we get to see the first photos of Jessica out and about in Italy as Mrs. Timberlake. As you can see in the photos below, Jess didn?t really seem to have any problem flashing her ridiculous wedding bling for the cameras. Check it out.

Biel was seen taking a stroll at the Borgo Egnazia Resort in Fasano, Italy, waving off her guests and showing off her stunning wedding ring.
Wearing a simple loose-fitting white T-shirt and black leggings, the Total Recall star couldn?t seem to keep the smile off her face as she basked in the glory of being a married woman. Speaking to People, Justin described the special day as a ?magical? and ?unforgettable evening.? His blushing bride also gushed about the ceremony and said: ?It was a fantasy?. With her brunette locks piled on top of her head and dark shades shielding her eyes from the Italian sun, Jessica made sure to show off her favourite accessory as she said her goodbyes. As she faced her hand towards the camera, the Hollywood beauty flaunted her stunning wedding ring for all to see ? Justin Timberlake and his blushing bride Jessica Biel have been pictured together for the first time since becoming man and wife. The happy couple were spotted on Sunday at the airport in Italy, where they were jetting off to a mystery location ? perhaps on their honeymoon.
Justin was dressed casually in a hoodie and jeans while Jessica donned a white hat and coat, teamed with black trousers.


Jess looks pretty happy in her solo photos but they do not look happy at all together at the airport. Perhaps I should?ve captioned the photo, Crappily Every After? In any event, it?s done ? they?re married ? Mr. & Mrs. Timberlake are a done deal. I truly hope the couple are happy together ? I mean, even tho they don?t look very happy, I wish them nothing but all the love and happiness in the world. I mean, right?

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pinkisthenewblog/bfrn/~3/sDBwtauC1dg/jessica-biel-shows-off-her-wedding-bling

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Monday, October 22, 2012

Wake up to the death toll from killer landslides

Rocks, mud and debris kill tens of thousands more people than previously realised. Time for action on this neglected global hazard

DEADLY landslides have been in the news on several occasions in recent weeks. A landslide in Yunnan, China, buried a school, killing 18 children. A series of landslides in Uttarakhand, India, claimed the lives of at least 40 people. In Dorset, UK, three people died in two landslides triggered by heavy rain.

Given these deadly impacts, it is surprising that until recently we had almost no data on the global cost of landslides, nor about where they cause the highest losses. To fill this gap, I have spent the past 10 years collecting data about deadly landslides from around the world.

The results are surprising. In a paper in the journal Geology, I analysed the data from 2004 to 2010. In this seven-year period I recorded 2620 rainfall-induced landslides worldwide that killed more than 32,000 people, a much higher toll than previously thought (vol 40, p 927).

The total number of fatalities is even higher than that, as my analysis only considered landslides triggered by rainfall. If other landslides are taken into account, especially those triggered by earthquakes, the death toll rises to a remarkable 80,000.

This is in stark contrast to official figures in the United Nations International Disaster Database, which indicate only about 7400 deaths from landslides and avalanches during the same period.

Why such a large discrepancy? The explanations lie both in what gets included and the nature of landslides themselves.

Let's address the first issue. A key factor is that the UN database includes many other hazard types, such as earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions. Compiling such data is a huge task, so the researchers set a minimum impact threshold for inclusion. This is either 10 fatalities or a large economic loss, meaning that many small events are excluded. This is not a problem for earthquake-related data, as unfortunately almost all events that cause significant damage also kill more than 10 people, but it leads to substantial under-reporting for landslides, most of which are small and localised.

A related issue is that the UN database records only a single cause for each death. All of the approximately 68,000 fatalities in the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake in China, for example, are recorded as resulting from the quake. In a sense this is true, but more than 20,000 people were killed by landslides triggered by the event. This is a general problem: landslides are typically triggered by another event, often intense rain or an earthquake, so their impacts are consistently underestimated.

A second key factor is that fatal landslides are concentrated in populous but remote mountain areas prone to heavy rainfall or earthquakes. The global epicentre is along the southern edge of the Himalayas; other hotspots are Indonesia, the Philippines, western China, some Caribbean islands and Colombia.

In such places, obtaining information about landslides that kill small numbers of people has been hitherto impossible. The availability of digital and social media has made it easier.

The ultimate goal of such data gathering, of course, is to reduce landslide deaths. In the past three decades several countries have set up successful programmes to manage landslide risk. A good example is Hong Kong, which suffered a series of major accidents in the 1970s. Their programme has reduced loss of life to a handful of fatalities per decade through a combination of engineering works - such as building retaining walls and installing drainage - public awareness, relocation of people most at risk and an early warning system. While replicating this in full in less developed countries is probably not feasible, some of the measures should be possible even with limited budgets.

An interesting question is whether deaths from landslides are increasing. There are good reasons to think they might be. My research shows that as population density increases so does the number of fatal landslides. In part, this is probably because rising population forces people to live and work on unstable land and, of course, when there are more people in the landscape it becomes more likely that any given landslide will hit someone.

Other factors will also be at play. Environmental degradation, especially deforestation, seems to be making landslides more likely. And the widely observed increases in rainfall intensity, which are probably associated with a warming atmosphere, may also be contributing.

My data set is still too small to determine whether there is a long-term upward trend. The impact of landslides varies considerably from year to year. Although 2010 has the highest number of recorded landslides, the number is considerably lower for 2011 and 2012 looks like it will be lower still. This probably reflects the state of global weather systems such as the El Ni?o/La Ni?a cycle, and continental systems such as the Asian monsoon, which has been much weaker than normal in 2012.

The landslide data set has very similar characteristics to a weather one; in the latter case about 30 years of data are required before a trend can be determined. It is likely that I will need to continue to compile data for 20 more years before this question can be addressed.

Rainfall-induced landslides are for the most part a manageable hazard, and a coordinated effort to reduce landslide deaths in poorer nations could be highly effective. The first step needs to be a research programme that seeks to better understand the occurrence of landslides, and the mechanisms responsible for them. Unfortunately at present there is little indication that this is a priority.

Dave Petley is a professor of geography and co-director of the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience at the University of Durham in the UK

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Social media put all of us in debate 'spin room' (Star Tribune)

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World sea piracy falls to lowest level since 2008

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) ? Sea piracy worldwide fell to its lowest level since 2008 over the first nine months of this year as navies and shipping companies cracked down on attacks off the coast of Somalia, an international maritime watchdog said Monday.

The International Maritime Bureau said 233 attacks were recorded worldwide in the first nine months of this year, down from 352 in the same period last year. The bureau's piracy reporting arm, which is based in Kuala Lumpur, said 24 vessels were hijacked worldwide between January and September 2012, with 458 crew members taken hostage and six killed.

The numbers fell because attacks off Somalia's coast plummeted during that same period, from 199 last year to 70 this year. The bureau said only one Somali attack was reported in the entire third quarter of 2012.

Piracy soared in 2009 because of attacks off largely lawless Somalia, where pirates became more daring and desperate. Since then, pirates have been deterred by international navies, and by ships taking their own security measures, such as hiring armed guards.

A recent trip by Associated Press reporters to areas of the Somali coast once controlled by pirates found many of them hiding from creditors in unfurnished rooms. Rather than attacking cargo ships, they were playing cards, or catching lobsters.

"We welcome the successful robust targeting of pirate action groups by international navies in the high-risk waters off Somalia, ensuring these criminals are removed before they can threaten ships," said IMB director Pottengal Mukundan. But he added that the waters "are still extremely high-risk and the naval presence must be maintained."

The bureau said piracy in Africa's Gulf of Guinea, ranging from Benin to Togo, was becoming increasingly dangerous, with 34 cases in the first nine months. It said the attacks were often violent, planned and aimed at stealing refined oil products.

Mukundan said 21 attacks were recorded in Nigeria alone, but he praised the country's navy for helping to rescue vessels. He said many navies in the vast gulf don't have resources to fight piracy far out at sea, allowing gangs to shift their operations to other areas.

In Asia, the bureau said Indonesia reported 51 attacks in the first nine months this year, up from 46 for the whole of 2011. It also warned ships to be alert in Malacca Straits, South China Sea and around Malaysia; each of those areas has reported a hijacking this year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/world-sea-piracy-falls-lowest-level-since-2008-064700265--finance.html

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Sunday, October 21, 2012

Green Tea Benefits: How The Drink Improves Your Health

The health benefits of tea stretch across the spectrum -- green, black or white all promise to fight free radicals and hydrate you, among other benefits.

But green tea may have the advantage on one front: It's less processed and therefore the good guys (antioxidants, in particular one variety called EGCG) are more concentrated, WebMD reported.

Now, new clues are emerging as to just how powerful green tea really is. It's long been linked to fighting cancer, but researchers presented new evidence about how green tea prevents or slows the growth of prostate and breast cancers.

In a small new study, men who drank green tea had less prostate tissue inflammation and lower levels of the protein PSA, higher levels of which are often used as an indicator of prostate cancer, than men who didn't drink it, thanks to the antioxidants called polyphenols in the drink, WebMD reported.

The polyphenols were also seen to hinder two proteins that spur tumor cell growth in a study of 40 women with breast cancer, LiveScience reported.

While experts agree that more research is still needed, this only adds to the body of work linking green tea to healthy, happy living. And it doesn't only play a role in cancer prevention. Here are some of the other ways that green tea can help your health. Did we forget something? Tell us in the comments.

  • ?Protect The Heart

    A few cups of any tea have been linked with a <a href="http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v61/n1/full/1602489a.html">lower risk of heart disease</a>, but green tea in particular seems to <a href="http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1820250,00.html">keep heart arteries "flexible and relaxed"</a> to better handle changes in blood pressure, Time.com reported. The antioxidants known as flavonoids <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20837049">keep the endothelial cells working properly</a>, which in turn helps to prevent clogged arteries.

  • ?Boost Immunity

    The studies mostly come from the lab rather than real life, but some experts believe that the same EGCG catechin can fight off viruses. In one study, green tea <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12742577">prevented a particular strain of the cold virus from replicating</a>. It's thought to work thanks to a boost to the number of <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21621552">"regulatory T cells"</a> in the body, a marker of stronger immune system functioning.

  • ?Fight Obesity

    Green tea can aid in weight loss and prevent weight <em>gain</em>, making it a useful tool in the fight against our ever-expanding waistlines. Five cups a day seems to <a href="http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20409937,00.html">up the body's natural fat-burning abilities</a>, Health.com reported. And in a 2011 study, mice <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111004123824.htm">gained weight more slowly</a> when they were given green tea along with a high-fat diet.

  • ?Improve Functioning In Old Age

    In a study of 14,000 adults over the age of 65, the ones who drank the most green tea <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/08/green-tea-functioning-old-age_n_1258028.html">coped the best with the aging process</a>. Everyday activities like bathing or dressing were easier for the seven percent who drank at least five cups a day, HuffPost reported. While some of this benefit may be chalked up to healthier lifestyles in general, the researchers said something about green tea itself still seems to play a role.

  • ?Prevent Diabetes

    Both black and green tea are thought to have <a href="http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20050420/black-tea-green-tea-good-for-diabetes">blood-sugar-lowering effects that could stave off diabetes</a>, according to WebMD. But a 2006 study of more than 17,000 Japanese adults found that drinking at least six cups of green tea a day <a href="http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=722135">lowered a person's risk of diabetes by about a third</a>, while other types of tea <a href="http://www.diabetes.org/news-research/research/access-diabetes-research/iso-coffee-green-tea.html">didn't offer any protection</a>, according to the American Diabetes Association.

  • ?Lower Cholesterol

    Those same polyphenols seem to block cholesterol absorption, contributing to lower LDL or "bad" cholesterol levels. However, the effect is not enormous -- a 2011 study found <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/17/us-tea-idUSTRE7AG0BD20111117">LDL levels dropped only about five or six points</a>. "If someone is already taking medication for their cholesterol, they should stick with it and not to trade it for green tea," study author Olivia Phung, an assistant professor of pharmacy at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California, told Reuters Health.

  • ...Improve Memory

    That same famed EGCG also seems to protect your grey matter. Green tea sparks <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120905083852.htm">new brain cell growth</a>, according to a 2012 study conducted in mice, bolstering memory and learning.

For more on diet and nutrition, click here.

Related on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/20/green-tea-benefits-health_n_1988290.html

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China's new leaders face tough economic choices

(AP) ? China's economic model that delivered three decades of double-digit growth is running out of steam and the country's next leaders face tough choices to keep incomes rising. But they don't seem to have ambitious solutions. Even if they do, they will need to tackle entrenched interests with backing high in the Communist Party.

The cost of inaction could be high. The World Bank says without change, annual growth could sink to 5 percent by 2015 ? dangerously low by Chinese standards. Some private sector analysts give even gloomier warnings.

The government's own advisers say it needs to promote service industries and consumer spending, shifting away from reliance on exports and investment. That will require opening more industries to entrepreneurs and forcing cosseted state companies to compete. State banks would have to lend more to private business that is starved for credit.

The ruling party's latest five-year development plan promises reforms in broad terms. Premier Wen Jiabao apologized at a news conference in March for not moving fast enough and vowed quicker action. But many changes could face opposition from China's most influential factions ? state companies, their allies in the party, bureaucrats and local leaders.

"If the challenge is, can they do radical reform all at once, we know that won't happen because these leaders aren't powerful enough," said Scott Kennedy, director of Indiana University's Research Center for Chinese Politics & Business in Beijing. "They are facing interests which wouldn't possibly allow that to occur."

Also at issue is how much Communist Party leaders are willing to cut back state industry that provides jobs and money to underpin the party's monopoly on power.

Li Keqiang is the man in line to lead reforms as the next premier, China's top economic official. Now a vice premier, Li is seen as a political insider with an easygoing style, not a hard-driving reformer. Along with the rest of the party's Standing Committee, the ruling inner circle due to be installed in November, Li will govern by consensus, which could blunt their force.

"They are under pressure to change the economy, but they will not demolish party control," said Mao Yushi, an 83-year-old economist who is one of China's most prominent reform advocates. He co-founded the Unirule Institute of Economics, an independent think tank in Beijing.

Li showed his political skills but little zeal for reform as governor and later party secretary of populous Henan province in 1998-2004.

His time there coincided with several fatal fires ? including a Christmas Day blaze at a nightclub in 2000 that killed 309 people ? and efforts by local officials to suppress information about the spread of AIDS by a blood-buying industry. Other officials were punished for the fires but Li emerged unscathed and rose to national office.

"Li was known for not acting very aggressively in Henan, to put it charitably," said Dali Yang, a University of Chicago political scientist.

The man in line to become Communist Party leader and China's president, Xi Jinping, has a similar reputation for successful inaction.

In the 1990s, he served as party secretary of Zhejiang province, a thriving center for private business south of Shanghai, and won praise from observers including former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who dealt with him as an investment banker. They lauded him not for spearheading change but for not tampering with Zhejiang's free-market success.

The next leadership will inherit one of the world's strongest economies but one in which advocates say reform is stalled.

Many observers trace the past decade of double-digit growth to changes forced through by former Premier Zhu Rongji, who overcame resistance from companies and party factions to slash the size of state industry in the late 1990s. He led Beijing into the free-trading World Trade Organization, driving a jump in trade growth that propelled China past Germany in 2009 as the world's biggest exporter.

After Zhu retired in 2002, leaders reaped the financial benefits but focused on other areas: reforms of the legal system and trying to close a yawning gap between rich and poor with more spending on health and other social services.

They built up state-owned "national champions" in industries from oil and telecoms to steel and banking with monopolies, low-cost bank loans and other favors. Beijing's huge stimulus after the 2008 global crisis flowed through state companies, increasing their dominance while entrepreneurs who generate China's new jobs and wealth struggled.

The government defends the privileges given to its oil, telecoms and other major companies as necessary for building up Chinese global competitors. But entrepreneurs complain those companies abuse their control over essential resources such as energy, phone service and bank loans to gouge customers and pay their managers inflated salaries while stifling job-creating private businesses.

In a report last year, Mao's institute calculated the biggest state companies consumed trillions of yuan (hundreds of billions of dollars) in subsidies over the previous decade. It said they are so inefficient that their return on equity ? a broad measure of profitability ? was an average loss of 6 percent a year.

Wen Jia, a manager for the privately owned Traveling Bestone travel agency in the western province of Chengdu, said her company struggles to compete in an industry that is hemmed in by state companies.

"The attractions belong to the state. So do some of the good hotels. The insurance, airlines and train tickets are the same," said Wen. "State-owned travel agencies get prices 10 percent lower than we do on attractions and state-owned hotels."

The abrupt economic slowdown that began last year has heightened frustration among entrepreneurs and the public. Growth fell to 7.4 percent in the latest quarter, its lowest level since early 2009 and barely half of 2007's explosive 14.2 percent.

"''The criticism is about how the distortions are not just benefiting those vested interests but also that they reduce the efficiency of the economy," said Yang. "The pressures in the economy paradoxically provide them with more of a mandate for doing things because they have to do things."

The World Bank and a Cabinet think tank, the Development Research Center, offered an ambitious roadmap for reform with a report in March that called for scaling back state industry and opening markets to private and foreign competitors. It warned that without change, China might be trapped at its current middle-income levels.

"The difference that reforms can make is the difference between a 6 to 7 percent growth pace and no growth at all," said Societe General economist Wei Yao in a report.

Supporters of reform were encouraged by the fact that both current Premier Wen Jiabao and Li, his likely successor, supported the research that went into the World Bank report. They were disappointed when Li failed to endorse its recommendations, though he might have remained silent to avoid stirring up opposition ahead of the leadership transition.

Changes to state industry will be politically sensitive. Companies that oppose giving up monopolies and other favors can argue that they provide tax revenue, provide money to develop poor ethnic minority areas and pay for ambitious but unprofitable initiatives such as developing homegrown mobile phone technology.

Bosses of the biggest companies are appointed by the party and are politically influential. Some will take part in the November party congress to install the next leadership. Their companies also create a cadre of well-paid executives and other professionals who form a base of support for continued one-party rule.

"State-owned enterprise bosses are very powerful. They outrank the people who are supposed to regulate them," said James McGregor, an American businessman in Beijing and author of the new book "No Ancient Wisdom, No Followers: The Challenges of Chinese Authoritarian Capitalism."

"That's going to be a very hard thing to break. But the countervailing pressure is that growth can't keep going unless they loosen up," McGregor said. "The party's only credibility is making life better, and if that doesn't happen, how do you maintain stability?"

___

AP researcher Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-10-21-China-Politics-Tough%20Choices/id-244e49c0e18d4e0991d3d850bfe1916d

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The Last Debate: What the Candidates Should Be Asked (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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Saturday, October 20, 2012

Three Basic Safety Measures For Your Web Hosting Accounts | His ...

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The Communications Network ? What Just Happened?

Guest Post: ?Steven Lanfer

After the networking, the mark of a good conference is its takeaways, right?

So, here?s a to-do list for your next speech:

  • Remove your fake teeth and smile wide
  • Make racial, religious, and political jokes
  • Describe your pre-teen son as an ?arrogant a?hole?
  • Insult your audience and the timidity of its work
  • Admit you are just saying whatever comes to mind

Sound like a Green Day meltdown?

How about the opening plenary by Seattle author Sherman Alexie at the Communications Network 2012 conference?

Let me be clear, I really enjoyed Alexie?s speech. I laughed at his jokes. When it was over, I stood in one line to buy and then another line to have him sign a copy of his latest book.?I tweeted away? as he spoke to catch some of the golden, if sometimes also perplexing nuggets, like:

  • ?if it?s fiction, it better be true?
  • how much damage is done by people thinking they belong to only one tribe
  • ?binge writing towards a deadline? (on his creative ?process?)
  • the power of silence, vulnerability, humor, inappropriateness, and insults that challenge

Listening to Alexie, I admit feeling a little like I?ve felt watching episodes of Mad Men?utterly absorbed in rich storytelling, fascinating character, delightfully unexpected turns, and then at the end of it all wondering, ?What just happened??

Though, after Alexie?s talk was over, I also found myself returning to his remarks again and again.

So, later that night, I was glad to discover?Scott Miller?and?Nora Ferrel?s reflections already here on this blog. I didn?t mind them beating me to the punch. I was glad for their help in sense-making. Talking to others during our remaining time together in Seattle, Sherman Alexie was my Rorschach test.

What did you see in the ink blot?

Some loved it. Some were unimpressed. Some weren?t sure what to make of it.

It certainly wasn?t formulaic. There was no, ?Here?s what I?m going to tell you,? followed by, ?Here is me telling you what I told you I?d tell you,? followed by, ?Here?s what I just told you,? landing on a single, clear call to action.

But without question it was an EXPERIENCE we all shared.? It was communication in the sense of the word?s original meaning, ?to share? or, ?to make common.?

At one point in his meandering talk, Alexie joked that the scariest thing to hear on a reservation is the voice of an elder taking the microphone to say, ?I have a few words.?

That?s true to be sure for the audience of any speaker whose words (God help us if they were penned by any of us!) instantly set minds wandering or hands reaching for smart phones or other literal or figurative emergency exits. In the business of doing good, there is copy aplenty that is mealy-mouthed, plain vanilla, jargon-drenched, and platitude-y. And who cares if there is a clear call to action at the end, if you lose them at, ?Hello??

Storytelling step one, said Alexie, is to be ?immediately, totally, vulnerable.?

So, I?m not ashamed to say, I still don?t quite know what happened in Seattle.

But I know it was fantastic.

And somehow my work is going to be better as a result.


Stefan Barr is the knowledge officer at the Barr Foundation

?

Source: http://www.comnetwork.org/2012/10/what-just-happened/

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