Increasingly frustrated by Iranian defiance over its nuclear program, the Obama administration has been crafting a "menu" of sanctions that could be imposed by the United Nations or in concert by the United States and its European allies.
U.S. officials, congressional aides and Western diplomats said the administration has grown increasingly cool to broad-based sanctions targeting the oil sector with the aim of destabilizing the Iranian economy.
Such measures, while favored by a growing number of U.S. lawmakers, would not only be a hard sell in the U.N. Security Council and Europe, but could have unintended consequences like undercutting Iranian public support for the opposition movement, officials and diplomats said.
Software Security - Open source in the enterprise
Often part of the ‘intellectual property’ they so carefully guard is the nature of that ‘intellectual property’ itself. By refusing either to open their standards or in fact to use existing open standards, many companies adhere to a policy of security through obscurity, whereby nothing at all is made public about the way the software works, particularly with regard to security issues. Wait, I hear you cry, isn’t that a good thing? The unequivocal answer is no.
I have read on the free web articles, This may seem counter-intuitive, but bears closer scrutiny. If a company builds a bank safe and declares it secure, it means nothing unless the safe has passed independent testing at the hands of some disinterested standards body. Sadly, in the software industry, this can rarely happen. What’s more, imagine if you purchased a bank safe and were told that to test its security and probe its vulnerabilities even after legally buying one was illegal. Software companies are prone to selling solutions that are declared secure by those who build them. This is a ludicrous state of affairs. Clearly such software needs to be tested independently. The best way and save your Income to test the technical strengths and weaknesses of a product is to open it up to public scrutiny.
I have read on the free web articles, This may seem counter-intuitive, but bears closer scrutiny. If a company builds a bank safe and declares it secure, it means nothing unless the safe has passed independent testing at the hands of some disinterested standards body. Sadly, in the software industry, this can rarely happen. What’s more, imagine if you purchased a bank safe and were told that to test its security and probe its vulnerabilities even after legally buying one was illegal. Software companies are prone to selling solutions that are declared secure by those who build them. This is a ludicrous state of affairs. Clearly such software needs to be tested independently. The best way and save your Income to test the technical strengths and weaknesses of a product is to open it up to public scrutiny.
Optimize You Business With Web Directory
For me Or More People Maybe, especially i am interested in web directories because i found articles that is suited for my interests in the field of art like photography, literature and many other more. Web-directories also suggest ways and tips for you.
You can also start to read web articles that will surely help you in your ways to live life and for you to discover new things and knowledge.These are the web-directories websites that has high quality and are best recommended:
If you are looking for a web directory website that offers or has specialties in business, then, this is the site that you must visit. They will help you boost your visitors and your site's popularity. They also has different types of category in arts, health care, lifestyle and many other more that is also related to business web directory and is also suited for your tastes and interests.
Every links to this site is also carefully researched for you to gain the proper information that you are needed and for you to apply and develop them. Plus, Jasmine directory also insures the quality and high-standard information that they give by their experienced editors.
The Max directory- The max web directory is a free web directory that is edited by human. What is nice about this site is the submission of your web category is fast and easy!. In just 24 HOURS OR LESS!. The submission process is also fast and easy so SEO friendly web directory.
This site is also recommended to website owners who want to add and increase their traffic and website's popularity. Where-in your website is linked into one of the categories they have, that depend on what your style, taste and desire! You will surely find the best category that you would like because there are really applicable categories that you will suit on you.
DMOZ - You may also try dmoz where in you can become an editor for them. They have also different languages that is applicable for you to understand more about their website. But it seems that this website is dull and not a user friendly.
Yahoo Directory - once you visit their website you can easily find and search on what is the web directory you would like to find and know. They also feature categories on the main page of the site.
BOTW - This site also offers free site submission and advertisement and they have been in this field since 1994. May these websites help you learn more in your interests, hobbies and goals. Visit now!
You can also start to read web articles that will surely help you in your ways to live life and for you to discover new things and knowledge.These are the web-directories websites that has high quality and are best recommended:
If you are looking for a web directory website that offers or has specialties in business, then, this is the site that you must visit. They will help you boost your visitors and your site's popularity. They also has different types of category in arts, health care, lifestyle and many other more that is also related to business web directory and is also suited for your tastes and interests.
Every links to this site is also carefully researched for you to gain the proper information that you are needed and for you to apply and develop them. Plus, Jasmine directory also insures the quality and high-standard information that they give by their experienced editors.
The Max directory- The max web directory is a free web directory that is edited by human. What is nice about this site is the submission of your web category is fast and easy!. In just 24 HOURS OR LESS!. The submission process is also fast and easy so SEO friendly web directory.
This site is also recommended to website owners who want to add and increase their traffic and website's popularity. Where-in your website is linked into one of the categories they have, that depend on what your style, taste and desire! You will surely find the best category that you would like because there are really applicable categories that you will suit on you.
DMOZ - You may also try dmoz where in you can become an editor for them. They have also different languages that is applicable for you to understand more about their website. But it seems that this website is dull and not a user friendly.
Yahoo Directory - once you visit their website you can easily find and search on what is the web directory you would like to find and know. They also feature categories on the main page of the site.
BOTW - This site also offers free site submission and advertisement and they have been in this field since 1994. May these websites help you learn more in your interests, hobbies and goals. Visit now!
Babor Skin Care Products Self Tanning Summer
You may want to consider the Babor Self Tanning Summer Effect, which is one of the many products in the Babor Skincare product line. As the name suggests, the Babor Self Tanning Summer Effect is a creamy gel-like cream that instantly creates a visibly strong, bronze shimmer effect in the skin.
The self tanning effect is such that it continues to develop on the skin for quite some time, after application, while gradually producing a natural looking tan. With this formula, users can easily attain and maintain a desired shade or balanced tan with continuous reapplication. Also, the Babor Products Self Tanning Summer Effect acts as a magnifying self-tanner as well as a moisturizer and the more it is used.
With a bronzing self-tanning lotion, then the Babor Skin Care Products Self Tanning Summer Effect might be a good option. It is capable of effectively tanning the skin without the sun, and is usually recommended to be used with Babor Body Peeling Gel to carry away any excess dry skin cells for an even smoother tan.
The Babor Skin Care Self Tanning Summer Effect combines the power of several productive ingredients to give all the effects described above and many more. Some of such ingredients are: Alcohol, Ascorbic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Water, Fragrance, and a whole lot more. Use the product all over body; massage well until it is completely absorbed by the skin.
The self tanning effect is such that it continues to develop on the skin for quite some time, after application, while gradually producing a natural looking tan. With this formula, users can easily attain and maintain a desired shade or balanced tan with continuous reapplication. Also, the Babor Products Self Tanning Summer Effect acts as a magnifying self-tanner as well as a moisturizer and the more it is used.
With a bronzing self-tanning lotion, then the Babor Skin Care Products Self Tanning Summer Effect might be a good option. It is capable of effectively tanning the skin without the sun, and is usually recommended to be used with Babor Body Peeling Gel to carry away any excess dry skin cells for an even smoother tan.
The Babor Skin Care Self Tanning Summer Effect combines the power of several productive ingredients to give all the effects described above and many more. Some of such ingredients are: Alcohol, Ascorbic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Water, Fragrance, and a whole lot more. Use the product all over body; massage well until it is completely absorbed by the skin.
the parenting class
Today, I would like to share with all of you of things that I’ve learned or reminded again in the parenting class. There is a total of 10 classes in which I’ve attended 8 of them. I will break this topic into several postings.
I’m pretty sure everyone of us who are parents would like to give our kids the best. Making sure that we raise them well, not physically but also mentally. Wishing that they grow up just fine and well mannered.
I’m pretty sure everyone of us who are parents would like to give our kids the best. Making sure that we raise them well, not physically but also mentally. Wishing that they grow up just fine and well mannered.
A file hosting service
A file hosting service, online file storage provider, cyberlocker or online media center is an Internet hosting service specifically designed to host static content, typically large files that are not web pages. Typically they allow web and FTP access. They can be optimized for serving many users (as is implied by the term "hosting") or be optimized for single-user storage (as is implied by the term "storage"). Related services are video sharing, virtual storage and remote backup.
Software file hosting
Authors of Shareware, Freeware and Open Source Free software often use Free file hosting services to serve their software. The inherent problem with free downloads is the huge bandwidth cost. These hosts also offer additional services to the authors such as statistics or other marketing features.
Personal file storage services are aimed at private individuals, offering a sort of "network storage" for personal backup, File upload file access, or file distribution. Users can upload their files and share them publicly or keep them password-protected.
Prior to the advent of personal file storage services, off-site backup services were not typically affordable for individual and small office computer users.
Sometimes people prefer hosting their Upload files or File uploading a publicly accessible HTTP server. In this case, they generally choose paid hosting, and use their hosting for this purpose. Many free hosting providers do not allow the storage of files for non-website-related use.
Content providers who potentially encounter bandwidth congestion issues may use services specialized in distributing cached or static content. It is the case for companies with a major Internet presence.
Software file hosting
Authors of Shareware, Freeware and Open Source Free software often use Free file hosting services to serve their software. The inherent problem with free downloads is the huge bandwidth cost. These hosts also offer additional services to the authors such as statistics or other marketing features.
Personal file storage services are aimed at private individuals, offering a sort of "network storage" for personal backup, File upload file access, or file distribution. Users can upload their files and share them publicly or keep them password-protected.
Prior to the advent of personal file storage services, off-site backup services were not typically affordable for individual and small office computer users.
Sometimes people prefer hosting their Upload files or File uploading a publicly accessible HTTP server. In this case, they generally choose paid hosting, and use their hosting for this purpose. Many free hosting providers do not allow the storage of files for non-website-related use.
Content providers who potentially encounter bandwidth congestion issues may use services specialized in distributing cached or static content. It is the case for companies with a major Internet presence.
Ridley Scott's movie based on the board game Monopoly is really in development
In the name of everything one holds sacred … it's real. Far from being a dare, or some elaborate satire on the end of ideas in Hollywood, it appears that Ridley Scott's movie based on the board game Monopoly is really in development.
To be candid, when Lost in Showbiz first handled this story last year, it was more for its novelty value than out of any serious belief that a collaboration between Universal, Ridley, and the games manufacturer Hasbro would actually get within a million earth miles of pre-production stage. But here we are, faced with a detailed piece in the LA Times in which the producer Frank Beddor explains how he convinced Sir Rid that he wanted to be a part of the magic.
I created a comedic, lovable loser who lives in Manhattan and works at a real estate company and he's not very good at his job but he's great at playing Monopoly. And the world record for playing is 70 straight days – over 1,600 hours – and he wanted to try to convince his friends to help him break that world record. They think he is crazy. They kid him about this girl and they're playing the game and there's this big fight. And he's holding a Chance card and after they've left he says, 'Damn, I wanted to use that Chance card,' and he throws it down. He falls asleep and then he wakes up in the morning and he's holding the Chance card, and he thinks, 'That's odd.'
He's all groggy and he goes down to buy some coffee and he reaches into his pocket and all he has is Monopoly money. All this Monopoly money pours out. He's confused and embarrassed and the girl reaches across the counter and says, 'That's OK.' And she gives him change in Monopoly money. He walks outside and he's in this very vibrant place, Monopoly City, and he's just come out of a Chance Shop. As it goes on, he takes on the evil Parker Brothers in the game of Monolopy. He has to defeat them. It tries to incorporate all the iconic imageries - a sports car pulls up, there's someone on a horse, someone pushing a wheelbarrow - and rich Uncle Pennybags, you're going to see him as the maître d' at the restaurant and he's the buggy driver and the local eccentric and the doorman at the opera. There's all these sight gags.
It was that pitch, that's where Sir Ridley got excited. After I pitched it to him, he put out his hand and said, 'What do I have to be part of this movie?'
Be insane? Naturally, it now falls to us to begin dreaming of fantasy casts - I myself will be praying Sir Rid makes it the third of his Russell Crowe epics - before sitting back to wait for the inevitable moment at which the words "mired in development hell" are uttered, and some measure of human sanity is restored.
To be candid, when Lost in Showbiz first handled this story last year, it was more for its novelty value than out of any serious belief that a collaboration between Universal, Ridley, and the games manufacturer Hasbro would actually get within a million earth miles of pre-production stage. But here we are, faced with a detailed piece in the LA Times in which the producer Frank Beddor explains how he convinced Sir Rid that he wanted to be a part of the magic.
I created a comedic, lovable loser who lives in Manhattan and works at a real estate company and he's not very good at his job but he's great at playing Monopoly. And the world record for playing is 70 straight days – over 1,600 hours – and he wanted to try to convince his friends to help him break that world record. They think he is crazy. They kid him about this girl and they're playing the game and there's this big fight. And he's holding a Chance card and after they've left he says, 'Damn, I wanted to use that Chance card,' and he throws it down. He falls asleep and then he wakes up in the morning and he's holding the Chance card, and he thinks, 'That's odd.'
He's all groggy and he goes down to buy some coffee and he reaches into his pocket and all he has is Monopoly money. All this Monopoly money pours out. He's confused and embarrassed and the girl reaches across the counter and says, 'That's OK.' And she gives him change in Monopoly money. He walks outside and he's in this very vibrant place, Monopoly City, and he's just come out of a Chance Shop. As it goes on, he takes on the evil Parker Brothers in the game of Monolopy. He has to defeat them. It tries to incorporate all the iconic imageries - a sports car pulls up, there's someone on a horse, someone pushing a wheelbarrow - and rich Uncle Pennybags, you're going to see him as the maître d' at the restaurant and he's the buggy driver and the local eccentric and the doorman at the opera. There's all these sight gags.
It was that pitch, that's where Sir Ridley got excited. After I pitched it to him, he put out his hand and said, 'What do I have to be part of this movie?'
Be insane? Naturally, it now falls to us to begin dreaming of fantasy casts - I myself will be praying Sir Rid makes it the third of his Russell Crowe epics - before sitting back to wait for the inevitable moment at which the words "mired in development hell" are uttered, and some measure of human sanity is restored.
Wrestler writer channels `nerd rage'
When director Darren Aronofsky sought a screenwriter to turn his idea about a broken-down wrestler seeking one last shot into a movie, he turned to writer Robert Siegel.
The Wrestler went on to be nominated for a slew of awards last year, including Oscar nominations for its stars, Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei. And the script for the original film that drew Aronofsky to Siegel, Big Fan, is finally hitting Toronto theatres Friday.
Big Fan "has a similar vibe" to The Wrestler, said Siegel, as he talked with the Star in a downtown hotel dining room this week. "At least superficially they are stories of guys on the fringes of the sports world."
Comic Patton Oswalt (who voiced Remy in Ratatouille) plays Paul, a 35-year-old parking-lot attendant who still lives with his mother in Staten Island, N.Y. A rabid New York Giants fan, Paul can't wait for his nightly calls to a local sports radio station, where he reads carefully scripted rants loaded with sports clichés.
But when Paul finally comes face-to-face with his hero, Giants star linebacker Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm), after following him to a Manhattan strip club, he ends up crashing into reality with heartbreaking results.
Siegel has once again penned a script that features a very believable anti-hero. But this time, he's also directing the dark film, which drew comparisons to Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
"I like writing character-driven stuff. Character interests me even more than the story," explained Siegel, 38, former editor-in-chief of the American newspaper satire, The Onion.
Siegel started working on Big Fan when he was still at The Onion, but he left after nine years on the mock paper to take some "low-level Hollywood writing jobs" to pay the rent while he finished the Big Fan script. Soon it was making the rounds in Hollywood, and directors – including Aronofsky – started calling.
Aronofsky was one of several "high-profile" directors interested in the project, said Siegel. But although the two met and talked at length about Big Fan, Siegel was reluctant to relinquish control of the movie. "I just wasn't that excited about somebody else directing it," he said. "It sounds cheesy, but I felt maybe the script was just waiting for me. I was pretty ambivalent about having some big-name director involved."
But Aronofsky was clearly impressed with Siegel and came back to him for The Wrestler script. That project took Siegel away from Big Fan for two years.
Unlike The Wrestler, which Siegel wrote "with Mickey Rourke in my head" even though the actor hadn't even been cast, Siegel didn't have anybody in mind for chubby loner Paul. He knew he didn't want to cast obvious choices like Paul Giamatti or Philip Seymour Hoffman, and he needed an actor in his 30s to play the role.
He sent the script to Oswalt.
"I didn't test him, I didn't ask him to read," said Siegel. "I knew he was a very smart guy and I knew he was funny and I knew he understood the psychology of nerd rage, based on his comedy."
Siegel has a soft spot for Toronto; The Wrestler was picked up for distribution at TIFF, a day after winning the Golden Lion top prize at the Venice Film Festival.
But he added that people are mistaken if they think critical success equals a big payday. "People think if you have a successful movie, money just falls from the sky," Siegel said with a smile. "There's an opportunity for me to make lots of money, but I would have to write Ice Age 4 or The Hangover 2. I would have to come up with an idea for something with vampires and Seth Rogen.
"It's hard to get any movie made and it's even harder when you don't have Johnny Depp attached and you don't have aliens."
The Wrestler went on to be nominated for a slew of awards last year, including Oscar nominations for its stars, Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei. And the script for the original film that drew Aronofsky to Siegel, Big Fan, is finally hitting Toronto theatres Friday.
Big Fan "has a similar vibe" to The Wrestler, said Siegel, as he talked with the Star in a downtown hotel dining room this week. "At least superficially they are stories of guys on the fringes of the sports world."
Comic Patton Oswalt (who voiced Remy in Ratatouille) plays Paul, a 35-year-old parking-lot attendant who still lives with his mother in Staten Island, N.Y. A rabid New York Giants fan, Paul can't wait for his nightly calls to a local sports radio station, where he reads carefully scripted rants loaded with sports clichés.
But when Paul finally comes face-to-face with his hero, Giants star linebacker Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm), after following him to a Manhattan strip club, he ends up crashing into reality with heartbreaking results.
Siegel has once again penned a script that features a very believable anti-hero. But this time, he's also directing the dark film, which drew comparisons to Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
"I like writing character-driven stuff. Character interests me even more than the story," explained Siegel, 38, former editor-in-chief of the American newspaper satire, The Onion.
Siegel started working on Big Fan when he was still at The Onion, but he left after nine years on the mock paper to take some "low-level Hollywood writing jobs" to pay the rent while he finished the Big Fan script. Soon it was making the rounds in Hollywood, and directors – including Aronofsky – started calling.
Aronofsky was one of several "high-profile" directors interested in the project, said Siegel. But although the two met and talked at length about Big Fan, Siegel was reluctant to relinquish control of the movie. "I just wasn't that excited about somebody else directing it," he said. "It sounds cheesy, but I felt maybe the script was just waiting for me. I was pretty ambivalent about having some big-name director involved."
But Aronofsky was clearly impressed with Siegel and came back to him for The Wrestler script. That project took Siegel away from Big Fan for two years.
Unlike The Wrestler, which Siegel wrote "with Mickey Rourke in my head" even though the actor hadn't even been cast, Siegel didn't have anybody in mind for chubby loner Paul. He knew he didn't want to cast obvious choices like Paul Giamatti or Philip Seymour Hoffman, and he needed an actor in his 30s to play the role.
He sent the script to Oswalt.
"I didn't test him, I didn't ask him to read," said Siegel. "I knew he was a very smart guy and I knew he was funny and I knew he understood the psychology of nerd rage, based on his comedy."
Siegel has a soft spot for Toronto; The Wrestler was picked up for distribution at TIFF, a day after winning the Golden Lion top prize at the Venice Film Festival.
But he added that people are mistaken if they think critical success equals a big payday. "People think if you have a successful movie, money just falls from the sky," Siegel said with a smile. "There's an opportunity for me to make lots of money, but I would have to write Ice Age 4 or The Hangover 2. I would have to come up with an idea for something with vampires and Seth Rogen.
"It's hard to get any movie made and it's even harder when you don't have Johnny Depp attached and you don't have aliens."
The Adam Lambert AMA video on YouTube has been extremely
The Adam Lambert AMA video on YouTube has been extremely popular for the past couple of days. Those that missed the Adam Lambert AMA performance are searching for the YouTube video to see what all the controversy is about. A lucky few will be successful and find an Adam Lambert AMA video on YouTube. They will get excited, link it in their blog and email all of their friends. Then, a short few minutes later they try to re-visit the link only to realize that it has been pulled by Dick Clark Productions because of a copyright claim. Then, you have to delete your blog post (which was bringing in thousands of page views and ad revenue), email your friends a retraction (to avoid looking like an idiot) and try to find another link to the video (and try to save it to your computer this time.)
So what's the big deal? Why does Dick Clark Productions even care that people uploaded the video on to YouTube? Isn't it actually a GOOD thing? After all - viewing the Adam Lambert AMA performance was technically free..
Dick Clark Productions owns the rights to the Adam Lambert AMA performance. They can sell, distribute, and reproduce copies of the performance as they see fit. The copyright protects their financial interest in the production. After all - they did most likely spent a lot of money on the production. With all the controversy surrounding the Adam Lambert performance, distributing the video could bring in a significant amount of money.
Dick Clark Productions isn't pulling the Adam Lambert AMA video on YouTube because they are a buzz kill. They aren't doing it because they are embarrassed of the performance. They have deleted the videos as they pop up on YouTube because they want to protect their financial interests. This is something that everyone should accept and understand.
So what's the big deal? Why does Dick Clark Productions even care that people uploaded the video on to YouTube? Isn't it actually a GOOD thing? After all - viewing the Adam Lambert AMA performance was technically free..
Dick Clark Productions owns the rights to the Adam Lambert AMA performance. They can sell, distribute, and reproduce copies of the performance as they see fit. The copyright protects their financial interest in the production. After all - they did most likely spent a lot of money on the production. With all the controversy surrounding the Adam Lambert performance, distributing the video could bring in a significant amount of money.
Dick Clark Productions isn't pulling the Adam Lambert AMA video on YouTube because they are a buzz kill. They aren't doing it because they are embarrassed of the performance. They have deleted the videos as they pop up on YouTube because they want to protect their financial interests. This is something that everyone should accept and understand.
Best Headlights Designing
A headlamp is a lamp, usually attached to the front of a vehicle such as a car, with the purpose of illuminating the road ahead during periods of low visibility, such as darkness or precipitation. Headlamp performance has steadily improved throughout the automobile age, spurred by the great disparity between daytime and nighttime traffic fatalities.
Many people improve their headlights designing and ability as its not only able to give a better look on your car appearance overall, but in some cases it might also ensure your safety especially if you have to get through dark routes in everyday. Are You wondering to know the place where to get those items for the improvements, I show you the best site, that is at Carid.com.
Carid.com focused in providing car parts and accessories inside, which it means that visiting this site will ease you in finding any car parts or accessories you, might needed to arrange your custom headlights project. Projector Headlights provide the versatile element in style that factory headlights never could. The alluring Angel Eyes that captured the attention of the industry have handed down even more hot and accessible options for the future. Now, get yourself into the page and there you will see many options of car lightning systems to look and apply on your car. Find out the best advice of headlights improvement inside with more options of projectors to choose , visit at Carid.com.
Many people improve their headlights designing and ability as its not only able to give a better look on your car appearance overall, but in some cases it might also ensure your safety especially if you have to get through dark routes in everyday. Are You wondering to know the place where to get those items for the improvements, I show you the best site, that is at Carid.com.
Carid.com focused in providing car parts and accessories inside, which it means that visiting this site will ease you in finding any car parts or accessories you, might needed to arrange your custom headlights project. Projector Headlights provide the versatile element in style that factory headlights never could. The alluring Angel Eyes that captured the attention of the industry have handed down even more hot and accessible options for the future. Now, get yourself into the page and there you will see many options of car lightning systems to look and apply on your car. Find out the best advice of headlights improvement inside with more options of projectors to choose , visit at Carid.com.
island of bali is one of the world's most popular holiday
The exotic island of bali is one of the world's most popular holiday destinations, offering something for everyone including a wide range of activities that all of the family will enjoy. bali blends its beautiful nature with the glamour of top class resort , chic coctail bars and internationally acclaimed restaurant.
It's home to some of the most sumtuous and sophisticated hotels and private villas on the globe, while also hosting the highest concentration of spas in the whole of shoutheast asia. Furthermore,there are endless dining possibilities , restaurant can be found in abundance throughout all of the tourist areas, and the variety of style , setting, ambience and cuisine is huge.
Finally , the compact size of the island means that all of its scenery is easly accesible throught day trips. activities abound from surfing, golfing and diving, to adventure tours and theme parks, its has also proved it self to be an alluring wedding destination.
this guide provides important tips on where to stay , as well as ideas for outdoor activities , and where to go for spa treatments, fine dining and entertainment.
At rest & relax Bali , we cherish the experience of a memorable occasion, good food and above all, time well spent with family , friends and lovers, enjoying the wonders and incredible choice that Bali has to offer, flip through the pages and join us on journey of discovery.
It's home to some of the most sumtuous and sophisticated hotels and private villas on the globe, while also hosting the highest concentration of spas in the whole of shoutheast asia. Furthermore,there are endless dining possibilities , restaurant can be found in abundance throughout all of the tourist areas, and the variety of style , setting, ambience and cuisine is huge.
Finally , the compact size of the island means that all of its scenery is easly accesible throught day trips. activities abound from surfing, golfing and diving, to adventure tours and theme parks, its has also proved it self to be an alluring wedding destination.
this guide provides important tips on where to stay , as well as ideas for outdoor activities , and where to go for spa treatments, fine dining and entertainment.
At rest & relax Bali , we cherish the experience of a memorable occasion, good food and above all, time well spent with family , friends and lovers, enjoying the wonders and incredible choice that Bali has to offer, flip through the pages and join us on journey of discovery.
island of bali is one of the world's most popular holiday
The exotic island of bali is one of the world's most popular holiday destinations, offering something for everyone including a wide range of activities that all of the family will enjoy. bali blends its beautiful nature with the glamour of top class resort , chic coctail bars and internationally acclaimed restaurant.
It's home to some of the most sumtuous and sophisticated hotels and private villas on the globe, while also hosting the highest concentration of spas in the whole of shoutheast asia. Furthermore,there are endless dining possibilities , restaurant can be found in abundance throughout all of the tourist areas, and the variety of style , setting, ambience and cuisine is huge.
Finally , the compact size of the island means that all of its scenery is easly accesible throught day trips. activities abound from surfing, golfing and diving, to adventure tours and theme parks, its has also proved it self to be an alluring wedding destination.
this guide provides important tips on where to stay , as well as ideas for outdoor activities , and where to go for spa treatments, fine dining and entertainment.
At rest & relax Bali , we cherish the experience of a memorable occasion, good food and above all, time well spent with family , friends and lovers, enjoying the wonders and incredible choice that Bali has to offer, flip through the pages and join us on journey of discovery.
It's home to some of the most sumtuous and sophisticated hotels and private villas on the globe, while also hosting the highest concentration of spas in the whole of shoutheast asia. Furthermore,there are endless dining possibilities , restaurant can be found in abundance throughout all of the tourist areas, and the variety of style , setting, ambience and cuisine is huge.
Finally , the compact size of the island means that all of its scenery is easly accesible throught day trips. activities abound from surfing, golfing and diving, to adventure tours and theme parks, its has also proved it self to be an alluring wedding destination.
this guide provides important tips on where to stay , as well as ideas for outdoor activities , and where to go for spa treatments, fine dining and entertainment.
At rest & relax Bali , we cherish the experience of a memorable occasion, good food and above all, time well spent with family , friends and lovers, enjoying the wonders and incredible choice that Bali has to offer, flip through the pages and join us on journey of discovery.
Download Mobile Phone Ringtones
A ringtone or ring tone is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming call or text message. Not literally a tone, the term is most often used today to refer to customizable sounds used on mobile phones, A phone “rings” when its network indicates an incoming call and the phone thus alerts the user. For landline telephones, the call signal can be an electric current generated by the switch to which the telephone is connected. For mobile phones, the network sends the phone a message indicating an incoming call.
Mobile phones and ringtones enjoy a partnership that ensures each other's popularity. While ringtones distinguish one brand's creativity from the other, they also function as a form of self-expression of a person's personality, MP3 and polyphonic ringtones are just a few of the types of mobile ringtones available. In truth, these tones are what bring a mobile phone to life since they give off lively sounds that reflect the character and mood of the phone's owner.
Have your phone personalized by the kind of ringtone you choose. Let your mobile phone be part of your style statement using your favorite ringtones. To find your favorite your Ringtones visit http://www.ringtonesleader.net and Download Ringtones
Mobile phones and ringtones enjoy a partnership that ensures each other's popularity. While ringtones distinguish one brand's creativity from the other, they also function as a form of self-expression of a person's personality, MP3 and polyphonic ringtones are just a few of the types of mobile ringtones available. In truth, these tones are what bring a mobile phone to life since they give off lively sounds that reflect the character and mood of the phone's owner.
Have your phone personalized by the kind of ringtone you choose. Let your mobile phone be part of your style statement using your favorite ringtones. To find your favorite your Ringtones visit http://www.ringtonesleader.net and Download Ringtones
The Leonid Meteor Shower will hit its peak early in the morning Tuesday
For those far enough from city lights and fortunate enough to have clear skies, it will be quite a sight and here's some tips on where and how to see it.
Of course not all will be so lucky. Meteorologists in the Grand Rapids area in Michigan have already said it may be difficult to see due to clouds in the region, and the same will hold true for others.
Scientists have also said the show is likely to be less spectacular in North America. The best viewing spot on the planet for the Leonid Meteor Shower is predicted to be Asia.
But for those who don't see it in person, here's a glimpse at what the shower might look like, with up to 30 to 300 shooting stars per hour.
WATCH A PREVIEW OF THE LEONID METEOR SHOWER:
Of course not all will be so lucky. Meteorologists in the Grand Rapids area in Michigan have already said it may be difficult to see due to clouds in the region, and the same will hold true for others.
Scientists have also said the show is likely to be less spectacular in North America. The best viewing spot on the planet for the Leonid Meteor Shower is predicted to be Asia.
But for those who don't see it in person, here's a glimpse at what the shower might look like, with up to 30 to 300 shooting stars per hour.
WATCH A PREVIEW OF THE LEONID METEOR SHOWER:
The Name 'Lorenzo Von Matterhorn'
The Name 'Lorenzo Von Matterhorn' is quite the rage amongst web surfers today, not bad for being the entirely fictional pseudonym of an entirely fictional How I Met Your Mother character. Lorenzo Von Matterhorn is but one of Barney's (Neil Patrick Harris) many non de plume's on the show.
The Name 'Lorenzo Von Matterhorn' Von Matterhorn made an appearance this evening, setting off an explosion of web interest – most of it propelled by the discovery of a Wikipedia page that had been created for the character. The page is a lot fun, mostly talking about Matterhorn's afflictions – he suffers from phallumegaly, or bigness of penis disorder – and various hobbies. Problem is, Wikipedia – as we all know – is a bastion of fact, and so this little bit of How I Met Your Mother fun had to go.
Once Wikipedia found out that the Wikipedia entry was part of a show-related hoax, they redirected the entry to Barney's character page – in the process jettisoning some highly entertaining 'facts' about Mr. Matterhorn. But don't worry, we've fetched some of Lorenzo Von Matterhorn's most delightful details from the clutches of google cache. Here they are for your enjoyment.
The Name 'Lorenzo Von Matterhorn' Von Matterhorn made an appearance this evening, setting off an explosion of web interest – most of it propelled by the discovery of a Wikipedia page that had been created for the character. The page is a lot fun, mostly talking about Matterhorn's afflictions – he suffers from phallumegaly, or bigness of penis disorder – and various hobbies. Problem is, Wikipedia – as we all know – is a bastion of fact, and so this little bit of How I Met Your Mother fun had to go.
Once Wikipedia found out that the Wikipedia entry was part of a show-related hoax, they redirected the entry to Barney's character page – in the process jettisoning some highly entertaining 'facts' about Mr. Matterhorn. But don't worry, we've fetched some of Lorenzo Von Matterhorn's most delightful details from the clutches of google cache. Here they are for your enjoyment.
NASA's fourth space-rated space shuttle
NASA's fourth space-rated space shuttle, OV-104 "Atlantis," was named after the two-masted boat that served as the primary research vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts from 1930 to 1966. The boat had a 17-member crew and accommodated up to five scientists who worked in two onboard laboratories, examining water samples and marine life. The crew also used the first electronic sounding devices to map the ocean floor.
Image to right: During its second major overhaul, Atlantis received the new Multifunction Electronic Display System, or "glass cockpit." Credit: NASA
Construction of the orbiter Atlantis began on March 3, 1980. Thanks to lessons learned in the construction and testing of orbiters Enterprise, Columbia and Challenger, Atlantis was completed in about half the time in man-hours spent on Columbia. This is largely attributed to the use of large thermal protection blankets on the orbiter's upper body, rather than individual tiles requiring more attention.
Weighing in at 151,315 pounds when it rolled out of the assembly plant in Palmdale, Calif., Atlantis was nearly 3.5 tons lighter than Columbia. The new orbiter arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 9, 1985, and over the next seven months was prepared for her maiden voyage.
Like her seafaring predecessor, orbiter Atlantis has carried on the spirit of exploration with several important missions of her own. On Oct. 3, 1985, Atlantis launched on her first space flight, STS-51-J, with a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense. The vehicle went on to carry four more DOD payloads on later missions.
Image to left: Riding twin plumes of flame produced by its Solid Rocket Boosters, Space Shuttle Atlantis clears the tower as it launches on mission STS-46. Credit: NASA
Atlantis also served as the on-orbit launch site for many noteworthy spacecraft, including planetary probes Magellan and Galileo, as well as the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. An impressive array of onboard science experiments took place during most missions to further enhance space research in low Earth orbit.
Starting with STS-71, Atlantis pioneered the Shuttle-Mir missions, flying the first seven missions to dock with the Russian space station. When linked, Atlantis and Mir together formed the largest spacecraft in orbit at the time. The missions to Mir included the first on-orbit U.S. crew exchanges, now a common occurrence on the International Space Station. On STS-79, the fourth docking mission, Atlantis ferried astronaut Shannon Lucid back to Earth after her record-setting 188 days in orbit aboard Mir.
In recent years, Atlantis has delivered several vital components to the International Space Station, including the U.S. laboratory module, Destiny, as well as the Joint Airlock Quest and multiple sections of the Integrated Truss structure that makes up the Station's backbone. As NASA seeks to fulfill the Vision for Space Exploration, beginning with the completion of the Station, Atlantis will be called upon for many missions to come.
Construction Milestones - OV-104
Upgrades and Features
By early 2005, Atlantis had undergone two overhauls known as Orbiter Maintenance Down Periods. Some of the most significant upgrades and new features included:
Image to right: During its second major overhaul, Atlantis received the new Multifunction Electronic Display System, or "glass cockpit." Credit: NASAConstruction of the orbiter Atlantis began on March 3, 1980. Thanks to lessons learned in the construction and testing of orbiters Enterprise, Columbia and Challenger, Atlantis was completed in about half the time in man-hours spent on Columbia. This is largely attributed to the use of large thermal protection blankets on the orbiter's upper body, rather than individual tiles requiring more attention.
Weighing in at 151,315 pounds when it rolled out of the assembly plant in Palmdale, Calif., Atlantis was nearly 3.5 tons lighter than Columbia. The new orbiter arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 9, 1985, and over the next seven months was prepared for her maiden voyage.
Like her seafaring predecessor, orbiter Atlantis has carried on the spirit of exploration with several important missions of her own. On Oct. 3, 1985, Atlantis launched on her first space flight, STS-51-J, with a classified payload for the U.S. Department of Defense. The vehicle went on to carry four more DOD payloads on later missions.
Image to left: Riding twin plumes of flame produced by its Solid Rocket Boosters, Space Shuttle Atlantis clears the tower as it launches on mission STS-46. Credit: NASAAtlantis also served as the on-orbit launch site for many noteworthy spacecraft, including planetary probes Magellan and Galileo, as well as the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. An impressive array of onboard science experiments took place during most missions to further enhance space research in low Earth orbit.
Starting with STS-71, Atlantis pioneered the Shuttle-Mir missions, flying the first seven missions to dock with the Russian space station. When linked, Atlantis and Mir together formed the largest spacecraft in orbit at the time. The missions to Mir included the first on-orbit U.S. crew exchanges, now a common occurrence on the International Space Station. On STS-79, the fourth docking mission, Atlantis ferried astronaut Shannon Lucid back to Earth after her record-setting 188 days in orbit aboard Mir.
In recent years, Atlantis has delivered several vital components to the International Space Station, including the U.S. laboratory module, Destiny, as well as the Joint Airlock Quest and multiple sections of the Integrated Truss structure that makes up the Station's backbone. As NASA seeks to fulfill the Vision for Space Exploration, beginning with the completion of the Station, Atlantis will be called upon for many missions to come.
Construction Milestones - OV-104
| Jan. 29, 1979 | Contract Award |
| March 30, 1980 | Start structural assembly of crew module |
| Nov. 23, 1981 | Start structural assembly of aft-fuselage |
| June 13, 1983 | Wings arrive at Palmdale from Grumman |
| Dec. 2, 1983 | Start of Final Assembly |
| April 10, 1984 | Completed final assembly |
| March 6, 1985 | Rollout from Palmdale |
| April 3, 1985 | Overland transport from Palmdale to Edwards |
| April 9, 1985 | Delivery to Kennedy Space Center |
| Sept. 5, 1985 | Flight Readiness Firing |
| Oct. 3, 1985 | First Flight (STS-51-J) |
Upgrades and Features
By early 2005, Atlantis had undergone two overhauls known as Orbiter Maintenance Down Periods. Some of the most significant upgrades and new features included:
- Installation of the drag chute
- New plumbing lines and electrical connections configuring the orbiter for extended duration missions
- New insulation for the main landing gear doors
- Improved nosewheel steering
- Preparations for the Mir Orbiter Docking System unit later installed at Kennedy
- Installation of the International Space Station airlock and Orbiter Docking System
- Installation of the Multifunction Electronic Display System, or "glass cockpit"
The BMW Art Cars Are About To Embark On Their First World Tour
Since 1975, leading artist from around the world have been transforming BMW models into unique Art Cars that mirror cultural and historical development in art, design and technology. Up until now , these mobile works of art heve only been on display individually as loan exhibits to major museums.
Following a launch event is Kassel, this unique collection is now heading off on a round the world trip. Under the motto " Art on cars and the car in contemporary art " , the art Cars - along with works by well know artist in the host countries will first go on show in asia, followed by the USA.
The complementary artworks will lend each exhibition its own individual character. Next year the collection return to Europe to go on show in england. during the world tour, Art Car number 16 will be in progress at the hands of iceland's installation artist Olafur Eliasson. He is putting his unique signature on the BMW H2R record breaking hydrogen powered car.
The Cars :
Caesar Manrique , BMW 730i
David Hockney, BMW 850 Csi
Matazo Kayama, BMW 535 i
Jenny Holzer, BMW V12 LMR
Robert Rauschenberg, BMW 635 CSi
A.R. Penck, BMW Z1
Frank Stella, BMW 3.0 CSL
Roy Lichtenstein, BMW 320i
Following a launch event is Kassel, this unique collection is now heading off on a round the world trip. Under the motto " Art on cars and the car in contemporary art " , the art Cars - along with works by well know artist in the host countries will first go on show in asia, followed by the USA.
The complementary artworks will lend each exhibition its own individual character. Next year the collection return to Europe to go on show in england. during the world tour, Art Car number 16 will be in progress at the hands of iceland's installation artist Olafur Eliasson. He is putting his unique signature on the BMW H2R record breaking hydrogen powered car.
The Cars :
Caesar Manrique , BMW 730i
David Hockney, BMW 850 Csi
Matazo Kayama, BMW 535 i
Jenny Holzer, BMW V12 LMR
Robert Rauschenberg, BMW 635 CSi
A.R. Penck, BMW Z1
Frank Stella, BMW 3.0 CSL
Roy Lichtenstein, BMW 320i
The cause of menstruation, followed by lots of dysmenorrhoea due to endometriosis or pelvic infection
Menstrual cycle changes indicate a disturbance in the reproductive system or other parts that affect the reproductive system. Menstrual cycle length in normal menstrual periods called menorrhagia. Menorrhagia can be caused by blood pembekuran disorders, hormonal disorders, or disorders of the endometrium (innermost lining of the uterus). Depending on the cause, menorrhagia can be followed by pain during menstruation (dysmenorrhoea).
The cause of menstruation, followed by lots of dysmenorrhoea due to endometriosis or pelvic infection. If you're married, then the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy and abortion can be considered inkomplit.
Pain in the breast called Mastalgia can be caused due to several things, including the hormonal changes associated with menstruation, pregnancy, puberty, alcoholism, injury, and infection of the breast. At your age, chances are hormonal changes, infections, or fibrocystic changes in breast tissue.
If complaints continue, we recommend that you consult directly to a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology to be dealt with holistically.
The cause of menstruation, followed by lots of dysmenorrhoea due to endometriosis or pelvic infection. If you're married, then the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy and abortion can be considered inkomplit.
Pain in the breast called Mastalgia can be caused due to several things, including the hormonal changes associated with menstruation, pregnancy, puberty, alcoholism, injury, and infection of the breast. At your age, chances are hormonal changes, infections, or fibrocystic changes in breast tissue.
If complaints continue, we recommend that you consult directly to a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology to be dealt with holistically.
Ultrasound Examination Can Detect the Pregnancy Since the Late Period
Ultrasound examination can detect the pregnancy since the late period and how many weeks can reply Pack test when? (Female, 29 yrs, 150 cm, 55 kg)
Mother / Sister dear,
Thank you for using e-consultation services Klikdokter.
Ultrasound is recommended at 12 weeks of gestation because at that time you can see the shape that resembles the human fetus perfect. Under age or less than 9 weeks, ultrasound can only see the sack just a pregnancy and the fetus have not seen because it is still too small to be seen.
To know more clearly about the ultrasound examination in pregnancy, you can access our website:
Ultrasound Accuracy Fetal Abnormalities Detection
While to know the age of pregnancy, you can perform calculations according to HPHT (First Day of Last Menstrual). Many factors that affect the calculation of pregnancy by HPHT. Calculation of pregnancy according to reliable HPHT only if you have regular menstrual cycles and normal (21-35 day cycles, @ 3-7 days). If your cycle is irregular then the calculation is not valid.
For example, if your regular menstrual cycle and the last period is on 25-30 August 2009, then you HPHT is August 25, 2009. Then you can perform calculations of gestation since that date until today.
Pack test works by detecting chemical markers in the body, called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). The presence of these markers can be detected in blood or urine approximately after implantation (6-12 days after conception). Remember! rather than 6-12 days after sexual intercourse. Fertilization process depends on each woman's menstrual cycle.
You can read more about fetal growth in the womb during the week along with 1-40 tipsnya through our features below:
Mother / Sister dear,
Thank you for using e-consultation services Klikdokter.
Ultrasound is recommended at 12 weeks of gestation because at that time you can see the shape that resembles the human fetus perfect. Under age or less than 9 weeks, ultrasound can only see the sack just a pregnancy and the fetus have not seen because it is still too small to be seen.
To know more clearly about the ultrasound examination in pregnancy, you can access our website:
Ultrasound Accuracy Fetal Abnormalities Detection
While to know the age of pregnancy, you can perform calculations according to HPHT (First Day of Last Menstrual). Many factors that affect the calculation of pregnancy by HPHT. Calculation of pregnancy according to reliable HPHT only if you have regular menstrual cycles and normal (21-35 day cycles, @ 3-7 days). If your cycle is irregular then the calculation is not valid.
For example, if your regular menstrual cycle and the last period is on 25-30 August 2009, then you HPHT is August 25, 2009. Then you can perform calculations of gestation since that date until today.
Pack test works by detecting chemical markers in the body, called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). The presence of these markers can be detected in blood or urine approximately after implantation (6-12 days after conception). Remember! rather than 6-12 days after sexual intercourse. Fertilization process depends on each woman's menstrual cycle.
You can read more about fetal growth in the womb during the week along with 1-40 tipsnya through our features below:
Herta Muller - After Winning the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature
An ethnic German born and raised in Romania, Müller has made the trials of life under the brutal Communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu -- which ended with his overthrow and execution 20 years ago -- the focus of her work. In giving thanks for the award, she spoke of the way Ceausescu's regime has shaped her fiction.
Herta Müller appeared overwhelmed as she was escorted Thursday into the headquarters of the Trade Assn. of German Publishing in central Berlin, her first public appearance after winning the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. Müller, 56, took a few seconds to compose herself before a crowd of journalists, then said, "I didn't expect it. . . . I still can't speak about it, it's still too early and I think I need some time to order it in my mind." "It's the topic of all my books," said Müller, who immigrated to Germany in 1987. "I believe that literature always goes precisely there where the damage to a person has been done. . . . I didn't choose this topic, it was thrust upon me."
Although Müller, a novelist, short story writer and occasional poet, is not widely known in the U.S., she was thought to be among the top contenders for the award, along with Israel's Amos Oz and Peru's Mario Vargas Llosa. And yet, there was speculation that the Nobel committee would steer clear of another European winner, especially after Peter Englund, permanent secretary to the Swedish Academy and the most prominent member of the prize jury, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the Nobel had become too "Eurocentric."
Englund said, "there are authors that really deserve and could get the Nobel Prize and that goes for the United States and the Americas, as well."Last year, the Nobel committee provoked a bit of a controversy when then-Permanent Secretary Horace Engdahl declared American literary culture "too isolated, too insular. They don't translate enough and don't really participate in the big dialogue of literature." The 2008 prize went to French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, a writer with virtually no public profile in the United States.
Müller is no household name either; although she's the author of 19 books, only four -- most recently 2001's "The Appointment" -- have been published in the U.S. (Her publisher said that after the award was announced a flurry of offers for worldwide English rights to her books had been received)."We've received three offers for the worldwide English rights and a fourth one is on the way," Friderike Barakat, foreign rights director at Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Co., KG, the Munich-based publisher, said in an interview, declining to say from whom and on what terms. "I'm sure we'll receive more."
Müller comes to the award with a certain moral and political authority; as a translator in a Romanian factory, she was fired for not cooperating with the secret police, and in the 1970s she was a member of Aktionsgruppe Banat, a group of dissident writers that opposed the Ceausescu regime.She published her first book in 1982, a collection of short stories depicting the difficulties of living in a small village like her own. It was censored by Romanian authorities, but an uncensored version was smuggled into Germany, where it found critical acclaim.
After a second book, she was prohibited from publishing in Romania, leading to her immigration to Germany.In its citation, the Nobel committee wrote that Müller, "with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed." "She has many important things to say about the relationship between East and West, about how bad it was in Romania under the Communist regime," said Dr. Wolfgang Nehring, professor of German at UCLA.
Still, even among his colleagues, her work has not been widely read. "Although she writes about simple things," Nehring said, "she has a literary style that is difficult for many readers." Müller will receive a medal and $1.4 million at a ceremony in December.
Herta Müller appeared overwhelmed as she was escorted Thursday into the headquarters of the Trade Assn. of German Publishing in central Berlin, her first public appearance after winning the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. Müller, 56, took a few seconds to compose herself before a crowd of journalists, then said, "I didn't expect it. . . . I still can't speak about it, it's still too early and I think I need some time to order it in my mind." "It's the topic of all my books," said Müller, who immigrated to Germany in 1987. "I believe that literature always goes precisely there where the damage to a person has been done. . . . I didn't choose this topic, it was thrust upon me."
Although Müller, a novelist, short story writer and occasional poet, is not widely known in the U.S., she was thought to be among the top contenders for the award, along with Israel's Amos Oz and Peru's Mario Vargas Llosa. And yet, there was speculation that the Nobel committee would steer clear of another European winner, especially after Peter Englund, permanent secretary to the Swedish Academy and the most prominent member of the prize jury, told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the Nobel had become too "Eurocentric."
Englund said, "there are authors that really deserve and could get the Nobel Prize and that goes for the United States and the Americas, as well."Last year, the Nobel committee provoked a bit of a controversy when then-Permanent Secretary Horace Engdahl declared American literary culture "too isolated, too insular. They don't translate enough and don't really participate in the big dialogue of literature." The 2008 prize went to French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, a writer with virtually no public profile in the United States.
Müller is no household name either; although she's the author of 19 books, only four -- most recently 2001's "The Appointment" -- have been published in the U.S. (Her publisher said that after the award was announced a flurry of offers for worldwide English rights to her books had been received)."We've received three offers for the worldwide English rights and a fourth one is on the way," Friderike Barakat, foreign rights director at Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Co., KG, the Munich-based publisher, said in an interview, declining to say from whom and on what terms. "I'm sure we'll receive more."
Müller comes to the award with a certain moral and political authority; as a translator in a Romanian factory, she was fired for not cooperating with the secret police, and in the 1970s she was a member of Aktionsgruppe Banat, a group of dissident writers that opposed the Ceausescu regime.She published her first book in 1982, a collection of short stories depicting the difficulties of living in a small village like her own. It was censored by Romanian authorities, but an uncensored version was smuggled into Germany, where it found critical acclaim.
After a second book, she was prohibited from publishing in Romania, leading to her immigration to Germany.In its citation, the Nobel committee wrote that Müller, "with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed." "She has many important things to say about the relationship between East and West, about how bad it was in Romania under the Communist regime," said Dr. Wolfgang Nehring, professor of German at UCLA.
Still, even among his colleagues, her work has not been widely read. "Although she writes about simple things," Nehring said, "she has a literary style that is difficult for many readers." Müller will receive a medal and $1.4 million at a ceremony in December.
The Announcement of 2009 Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize for Literature betting odds and leaving comments on last year’s competition – so we’ve decided to show you the odds available for the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature.
The announcement of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature will be made at 1pm CET – so 11am GMT on 8th October 2009 (remember we are on British Summer Time, so that will be 12 noon UK time!) – so make sure if you have a feeling about who you think will win this year’s prize, that you place bets before then!
Ladbrokes have the Nobel Literature Market from which we have selected the prices below – to open the Nobel Literature Prize betting with Ladbrokes, you must first register an account, then navigate to the “Sports Betting” section, and click “Specials” on the left-hand menu. Then you need to hit Awards and Nobel Literature Prize 2009.
Here are the betting odds available:
Amos Oz 3/1
Herta Muller 3/1
Joyce Carol Oates 5/1
Philip Roth 5/1
Thomas Pynchon 7/1
Adonis 9/1
Assia Djebar 9/1
Haruki Murakami 9/1
Mario Vargas Llosa 9/1
Claudio Magris 12/1
Don DeLillo 12/1
Thomas Transtromer 12/1
Ismail Kadare 14/1
Ko Un 14/1
Milan Kundera 14/1
A.B Yehoshua 16/1
Luis Goytisolo 16/1
Antonio Tabucchi 20/1
Cees Nooteboom 20/1
Chinua Achebe 20/1
Peter Handke 20/1
Shlomo Kalo 20/1
Alice Munro 25/1
Arnot Lustig 25/1
Bob Dylan 25/1
Juan Marse 25/1
Les Murray 25/1
Ngugi wa Thiongo 25/1
Yves Bonnefoy 25/1
Atiq Rahimi 40/1
Margaret Atwood 40/1
A. S. Byatt 50/1
Bei Dao 50/1
Carlos Fuentes 50/1
Gitta Sereny 50/1
Mahasweta Devi 50/1
Michael Ondaatje 50/1
Vassilis Aleksakis 50/1
Adam Zagajewski 66/1
E.L Doctorow 66/1
Harry Mulisch 66/1
Peter Carey 66/1
Umberto Eco 66/1
William H Gass 66/1
William Trevor 66/1
Salman Rushdie 80/1
Antonio Lobo Antunes 100/1
Beryl Bainbridge 100/1
Cormac McCarthy 100/1
David Malouf 100/1
Eeva Kilpi 100/1
Ernesto Cardenal 100/1
F. Sionil Jose 100/1
Ian McEwan 100/1
John Banville 100/1
Jonathan Littell 100/1
Julian Barnes 100/1
Kjell Askildsen 100/1
Marge Piercy 100/1
Mary Gordon 100/1
Maya Angelou 100/1
Michel Tournier 100/1
Patrick Modiano 100/1
Paul Auster 100/1
Rosalind Belben 100/1
As you can see, Ladbrokes make Amos Oz and Herta Muller joint favourites, at 3-1 a piece, however, the favourites rarely win the Nobel Prize for Literature in our experience. It might be worth taking a small stakes bet on an outsider, such as Peter Handke of Ko Un.
The announcement of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature will be made at 1pm CET – so 11am GMT on 8th October 2009 (remember we are on British Summer Time, so that will be 12 noon UK time!) – so make sure if you have a feeling about who you think will win this year’s prize, that you place bets before then!
Ladbrokes have the Nobel Literature Market from which we have selected the prices below – to open the Nobel Literature Prize betting with Ladbrokes, you must first register an account, then navigate to the “Sports Betting” section, and click “Specials” on the left-hand menu. Then you need to hit Awards and Nobel Literature Prize 2009.
Here are the betting odds available:
Amos Oz 3/1
Herta Muller 3/1
Joyce Carol Oates 5/1
Philip Roth 5/1
Thomas Pynchon 7/1
Adonis 9/1
Assia Djebar 9/1
Haruki Murakami 9/1
Mario Vargas Llosa 9/1
Claudio Magris 12/1
Don DeLillo 12/1
Thomas Transtromer 12/1
Ismail Kadare 14/1
Ko Un 14/1
Milan Kundera 14/1
A.B Yehoshua 16/1
Luis Goytisolo 16/1
Antonio Tabucchi 20/1
Cees Nooteboom 20/1
Chinua Achebe 20/1
Peter Handke 20/1
Shlomo Kalo 20/1
Alice Munro 25/1
Arnot Lustig 25/1
Bob Dylan 25/1
Juan Marse 25/1
Les Murray 25/1
Ngugi wa Thiongo 25/1
Yves Bonnefoy 25/1
Atiq Rahimi 40/1
Margaret Atwood 40/1
A. S. Byatt 50/1
Bei Dao 50/1
Carlos Fuentes 50/1
Gitta Sereny 50/1
Mahasweta Devi 50/1
Michael Ondaatje 50/1
Vassilis Aleksakis 50/1
Adam Zagajewski 66/1
E.L Doctorow 66/1
Harry Mulisch 66/1
Peter Carey 66/1
Umberto Eco 66/1
William H Gass 66/1
William Trevor 66/1
Salman Rushdie 80/1
Antonio Lobo Antunes 100/1
Beryl Bainbridge 100/1
Cormac McCarthy 100/1
David Malouf 100/1
Eeva Kilpi 100/1
Ernesto Cardenal 100/1
F. Sionil Jose 100/1
Ian McEwan 100/1
John Banville 100/1
Jonathan Littell 100/1
Julian Barnes 100/1
Kjell Askildsen 100/1
Marge Piercy 100/1
Mary Gordon 100/1
Maya Angelou 100/1
Michel Tournier 100/1
Patrick Modiano 100/1
Paul Auster 100/1
Rosalind Belben 100/1
As you can see, Ladbrokes make Amos Oz and Herta Muller joint favourites, at 3-1 a piece, however, the favourites rarely win the Nobel Prize for Literature in our experience. It might be worth taking a small stakes bet on an outsider, such as Peter Handke of Ko Un.
Jon Gosselin - Kate Twins on Bday
"She's trying to prevent me from seeing my kids on their birthday because she doesn't want to see me," alleges the dad of eight, 32, in an interview on Entertainment Tonight that airs Wednesday night.
Jon Gosselin says estranged wife Kate is trying to keep him from seeing his twins Mady and Cara on their 9th birthday Thursday. See adorable photos of the Gosselin kids through the years, Jon says that if "obeys" Kate, "That's like giving her full custody.... She can't tell me what to do."
Jon and Kate switch off living in the family's $1.1-million Pennsylvania home when they have custody of the kids, but Jon says he's "just going to stay" when his turn is up.
"I own the house, so I can do what I want," he says.
Look back at Jon's most scandalous moments
Kate -- who alleges that Jon stole $230,000 from a bank account, leaving her without enough cash to pay bills -- wrote Jon an email that says, "Due to recent events, it will be too stressful to the kids to have both of us here as planned. I would like to split the evening so they can see us both."
But despite Kate attempting to set up a visit between 4 and 6 p.m. that day, Jon still says, "She doesn't want to work things out." Earlier Wednesday, Jon said most of his kids didn't care when they found out their parents were splitting up.
Check out all the women Jon has romanced
"When we told them we were going to get divorced, the 5-year olds said, 'What's for lunch?' The only two people who really cared with [9-year-old twins] Mady and Cara," Jon told ET. "Cara broke down and Mady said, 'Oh, I saw this coming.'"
Jon Gosselin says estranged wife Kate is trying to keep him from seeing his twins Mady and Cara on their 9th birthday Thursday. See adorable photos of the Gosselin kids through the years, Jon says that if "obeys" Kate, "That's like giving her full custody.... She can't tell me what to do."
Jon and Kate switch off living in the family's $1.1-million Pennsylvania home when they have custody of the kids, but Jon says he's "just going to stay" when his turn is up.
"I own the house, so I can do what I want," he says.
Look back at Jon's most scandalous moments
Kate -- who alleges that Jon stole $230,000 from a bank account, leaving her without enough cash to pay bills -- wrote Jon an email that says, "Due to recent events, it will be too stressful to the kids to have both of us here as planned. I would like to split the evening so they can see us both."
But despite Kate attempting to set up a visit between 4 and 6 p.m. that day, Jon still says, "She doesn't want to work things out." Earlier Wednesday, Jon said most of his kids didn't care when they found out their parents were splitting up.
Check out all the women Jon has romanced
"When we told them we were going to get divorced, the 5-year olds said, 'What's for lunch?' The only two people who really cared with [9-year-old twins] Mady and Cara," Jon told ET. "Cara broke down and Mady said, 'Oh, I saw this coming.'"
Secret Girlfriend - Comedy Central's
Along with the show's origins, its format also is unusual. Shot from a first person perspective, Secret Girlfriend engages the viewer as its "central character." First there was NBC's Quarterlife. Then came ABC's In The Motherhood.
Now, the latest series to morph from the web to TV is Comedy Central's Secret Girlfriend. Launching Oct. 7 on the cable channel, the program actually began as a series of mobisodes.
In an exclusive interview, Mediaweek correspondent Alan Frutkin talks with the show's four major cast members about Secret Girlfriend's unique look and its relevance to media-savvy young viewers.
Now, the latest series to morph from the web to TV is Comedy Central's Secret Girlfriend. Launching Oct. 7 on the cable channel, the program actually began as a series of mobisodes.
In an exclusive interview, Mediaweek correspondent Alan Frutkin talks with the show's four major cast members about Secret Girlfriend's unique look and its relevance to media-savvy young viewers.
Is it Safe Vaginal Soap?
I want to ask each doctor info about female genital.
1. whether the cleaning fluid which are sold in general it was a chemical, and whether it was not good and can give bad impact on the future ..??
2. My friend told me that a liquid such as betel and absolute soap was not good .. he told me that better .. using herbal products she says, is a natural herbal remedies from organic and so, as for these products for the early stages of a 2 yg important, sex soap, lotion bleach groin and genital salt to soak .. doc, whether it is really good product for the consumption and no bad influence? and he said, that because of this natural medicine, the process to reach the desired stage should also wrote a long time .. .. tdak can instantly thank you for her answer doc .. night .. (female, 22 yrs, 160 cm, 70 kg)
Mother / Sister dear,
Thank you for using e-consultation services klikdokter.
Use of vaginal cleanser on a regular basis and in the long term is not recommended because it may interfere with the natural environment of the vagina. Vaginal cleanser can disrupt the existing balance of microorganisms-bacteria in the vagina 'evil' vs. normal flora / 'good'. Actually, bacteria 'evil' is in the vagina, but in fewer numbers than the normal flora. However, if disturbed ecological balance of the vagina, the bacteria 'evil' will increase in number. The situation may facilitate the occurrence of infection.
Regarding herbal soap, the true function is not much different from the vagina soap on the market. Actually, cleaning with clean water will suffice, because the vagina has his own mechanism for cleaning. This is done also to prevent irritation and allergies.
Note that in a normal vaginal mucus is often called white. Normal vaginal discharge is a colorless, odorless, and not many. However, if the discharge becomes abnormal, the color (milky white, yellow, or green), and smell a lot of mucus, you should consult a doctor or specialist general and genital skin closest to the cause he explained.
This information can we convey. Hopefully useful. (PI)
Regards,
Editors Klikdokter
1. whether the cleaning fluid which are sold in general it was a chemical, and whether it was not good and can give bad impact on the future ..??
2. My friend told me that a liquid such as betel and absolute soap was not good .. he told me that better .. using herbal products she says, is a natural herbal remedies from organic and so, as for these products for the early stages of a 2 yg important, sex soap, lotion bleach groin and genital salt to soak .. doc, whether it is really good product for the consumption and no bad influence? and he said, that because of this natural medicine, the process to reach the desired stage should also wrote a long time .. .. tdak can instantly thank you for her answer doc .. night .. (female, 22 yrs, 160 cm, 70 kg)
Mother / Sister dear,
Thank you for using e-consultation services klikdokter.
Use of vaginal cleanser on a regular basis and in the long term is not recommended because it may interfere with the natural environment of the vagina. Vaginal cleanser can disrupt the existing balance of microorganisms-bacteria in the vagina 'evil' vs. normal flora / 'good'. Actually, bacteria 'evil' is in the vagina, but in fewer numbers than the normal flora. However, if disturbed ecological balance of the vagina, the bacteria 'evil' will increase in number. The situation may facilitate the occurrence of infection.
Regarding herbal soap, the true function is not much different from the vagina soap on the market. Actually, cleaning with clean water will suffice, because the vagina has his own mechanism for cleaning. This is done also to prevent irritation and allergies.
Note that in a normal vaginal mucus is often called white. Normal vaginal discharge is a colorless, odorless, and not many. However, if the discharge becomes abnormal, the color (milky white, yellow, or green), and smell a lot of mucus, you should consult a doctor or specialist general and genital skin closest to the cause he explained.
This information can we convey. Hopefully useful. (PI)
Regards,
Editors Klikdokter
The Technology Behind Logic 7
The professional logic 7 dolby surround hi-fi sytem uses 13 loudspeaker for high quality reproduction in all audio formats and for improved surround sound. this unique audio experience is created by combination of seven midtone units, four tweeter units and two centrally positioned woofer ( central bass concept ).
The technology Behind Logic 7, the tweeter and mid tone speaker ( 100 mm in diameter ) have alumunium membranes, the tweeter domes are also ceramized. the seven midtones speaker are positioned in the front and doors to left instrumen panel.
The woofers ( 217 mm diameter ) are mouted beneath the front seats. the central bass concept creates a symmtrical distribution of low frequency sound throught the passenger compartement.
At the same time the woofer are connected acoustically to the side sills, using these hollow cavities as resonating acoustic chambers to create a voluminous sound. this solution means there is no loss of space in the luggage compartement, interior trim does not vibrate and there is minimal bass distortion.
The technology Behind Logic 7, the tweeter and mid tone speaker ( 100 mm in diameter ) have alumunium membranes, the tweeter domes are also ceramized. the seven midtones speaker are positioned in the front and doors to left instrumen panel.
The woofers ( 217 mm diameter ) are mouted beneath the front seats. the central bass concept creates a symmtrical distribution of low frequency sound throught the passenger compartement.
At the same time the woofer are connected acoustically to the side sills, using these hollow cavities as resonating acoustic chambers to create a voluminous sound. this solution means there is no loss of space in the luggage compartement, interior trim does not vibrate and there is minimal bass distortion.
Chynna Phillips Believes Mackenzie's Story 100 Percent
Actress Mackenzie Phillips scandalously and disturbingly reveals that she had a 10-year affair with her father, musician John Phillips. It's an outrageous claim, but likely (and sadly) not an untrue one. Mackenzie's half-sister, Chynna Phillips, backs her up all the way.
Of the hit 90s group Wilson Phillips, Chynna, shares her side of the sad tale, recalling how she once got a call from Mackenzie, now 49, in 1997. This was 11 years after the affair had ended. Mackenzie Phillips spilled to Chynna, now 41, all about how their father had an affair with her.
"She said, 'I don't know why, but I just really felt the need to call you and tell you something that I think you need to know,'" Chynna Phillips said. Chynna Phillips believes Mackenzie's story 100 percent. "[Mackenzie] went on to tell me that she had had an incestuous relationship with our dad (of '60s band The Mamas and the Papas) for about 10 years."
When the affair began, John Phillips was married to his third wife, model Genevieve Waïte. Chynna's reaction, not surprisingly, was total shock. "Somebody could have dropped a piano on my head and I probably wouldn't have felt it," the singer says in an interview with Us Weekly. "But I knew it was true. I mean, who in their right mind would make such a claim if it wasn't true?" She says the news sent her into "a deep, deep sadness and depression."
High on Arrival, Mackenzie Phillips also claims she and her father did drugs together and that her father "shot me up for the first time." Chynna confirms this as well: "They were both doing drugs together." "After long nights of heroin use, she's claiming that she once woke up and that my father was on top of her having sex with her," Chynna said.Do I believe that they had an incestuous relationship and that it went on for 10 years? Yes.
Of the hit 90s group Wilson Phillips, Chynna, shares her side of the sad tale, recalling how she once got a call from Mackenzie, now 49, in 1997. This was 11 years after the affair had ended. Mackenzie Phillips spilled to Chynna, now 41, all about how their father had an affair with her.
"She said, 'I don't know why, but I just really felt the need to call you and tell you something that I think you need to know,'" Chynna Phillips said. Chynna Phillips believes Mackenzie's story 100 percent. "[Mackenzie] went on to tell me that she had had an incestuous relationship with our dad (of '60s band The Mamas and the Papas) for about 10 years."
When the affair began, John Phillips was married to his third wife, model Genevieve Waïte. Chynna's reaction, not surprisingly, was total shock. "Somebody could have dropped a piano on my head and I probably wouldn't have felt it," the singer says in an interview with Us Weekly. "But I knew it was true. I mean, who in their right mind would make such a claim if it wasn't true?" She says the news sent her into "a deep, deep sadness and depression."
High on Arrival, Mackenzie Phillips also claims she and her father did drugs together and that her father "shot me up for the first time." Chynna confirms this as well: "They were both doing drugs together." "After long nights of heroin use, she's claiming that she once woke up and that my father was on top of her having sex with her," Chynna said.Do I believe that they had an incestuous relationship and that it went on for 10 years? Yes.
Heal Your Pain Relief Disease With Painreliefreviews.com
Most complaints are back pain caused by excessive stretching. But there are some serious medical conditions that can cause similar complaints. Among the circumstances which can also cause complaints of chest pain relief is heart disease and blood vessels, bile disorders, intestinal 12 fingers, or salivary glands. Each situation requires an intensive treatment by specialists in internal medicine doctors who are competent.
What to watch out for is the clinical symptoms of back pain relief or arthritis pain relief which occurs continuously, without any connection with the activities of a person. "For example, back pain or pain, either at the time of the move or not. This is what should be observed. If this happens, you must visit the site at http://www.painreliefreviews.com to find solution, I hope this article can
help you. thanks
What to watch out for is the clinical symptoms of back pain relief or arthritis pain relief which occurs continuously, without any connection with the activities of a person. "For example, back pain or pain, either at the time of the move or not. This is what should be observed. If this happens, you must visit the site at http://www.painreliefreviews.com to find solution, I hope this article can
help you. thanks
World of V8-Powered Monster Miata
Here at Monster Miata, we tend to think on the extreme end of things, Brute torque is the name of the game here. But handling, strength and reliability will not be compromised. There are a lot of scary fast cars on the road these days – the goal at Monster Miata is to provide a fun yet civilized daily driving car that can out-perform “those cars” on the track. I’m proud to say we have achieved this. T he Mazda Miata lends itself quite nicely to the torture of a torque monster V8 transplant, I have converted 100+ Monster Miatas in the past 14 years. It is a passion of mine. After having talked to a great many gearheads, my consensus is there needs to be a straight-forward way for the average person with a toolbox to do a V8 conversion themselves.
Welcome to the world of V8-Powered Miatas. Monster Miata has produced the “easy to understand” V-8 conversion kit. The instruction manual and detailed photos are the key to simplicity. The majority of the conversion parts simply bolt on. Welding is required in some areas. If you do not have welding capabilities, the exhaust shop can handle it at the same time you have the exhaust done.
Welcome to the world of V8-Powered Miatas. Monster Miata has produced the “easy to understand” V-8 conversion kit. The instruction manual and detailed photos are the key to simplicity. The majority of the conversion parts simply bolt on. Welding is required in some areas. If you do not have welding capabilities, the exhaust shop can handle it at the same time you have the exhaust done.
First Rocky Extrasolar Planet.
Astronomers have finally found a place outside our solar system where there's a firm place to stand — if only it weren't so broiling hot. As scientists search the skies for life elsewhere, they have found more than 300 planets outside our solar system. But they all have been gas balls or can't be proven to be solid. Now a team of European astronomers has confirmed the first rocky extrasolar planet.
Scientists have long figured that if life begins on a planet, it needs a solid surface to rest on, so finding one elsewhere is a big deal."We basically live on a rock ourselves," said co-discoverer Artie Hatzes, director of the Thuringer observatory in Germany. "It's as close to something like the Earth that we've found so far. It's just a little too close to its sun."
Close that its surface temperature is more than 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit, too toasty to sustain life. It circles its star in just 20 hours, zipping around at 466,000 mph. By comparison, Mercury, the planet nearest our sun, completes its solar orbit in 88 days.
"It's hot, they're calling it the lava planet," Hatzes said.
Major discovery in the field of trying to find life elsewhere in the universe, said outside expert Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution. It was the buzz of a conference on finding an Earth-like planet outside our solar system, held in Barcelona, Spain, where the discovery was presented Wednesday morning. The find is also being published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Planet is called Corot-7b. It was first discovered earlier this year. European scientists then watched it dozens of times to measure its density to prove that it is rocky like Earth. It's in our general neighborhood, circling a star in the winter sky about 500 light-years away. Each light-year is about 6 trillion miles.
Four planets in our solar system are rocky: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
The planet is about as close to Earth in size as any other planet found outside our solar system. Its radius is only one-and-a-half times bigger than Earth's and it has a mass about five times the Earth's. Now that another rocky planet has been found so close to its own star, it gives scientists more confidence that they'll find more Earth-like planets farther away, where the conditions could be more favorable to life, Boss said.
Scientists have long figured that if life begins on a planet, it needs a solid surface to rest on, so finding one elsewhere is a big deal."We basically live on a rock ourselves," said co-discoverer Artie Hatzes, director of the Thuringer observatory in Germany. "It's as close to something like the Earth that we've found so far. It's just a little too close to its sun."
Close that its surface temperature is more than 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit, too toasty to sustain life. It circles its star in just 20 hours, zipping around at 466,000 mph. By comparison, Mercury, the planet nearest our sun, completes its solar orbit in 88 days.
"It's hot, they're calling it the lava planet," Hatzes said.
Major discovery in the field of trying to find life elsewhere in the universe, said outside expert Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution. It was the buzz of a conference on finding an Earth-like planet outside our solar system, held in Barcelona, Spain, where the discovery was presented Wednesday morning. The find is also being published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Planet is called Corot-7b. It was first discovered earlier this year. European scientists then watched it dozens of times to measure its density to prove that it is rocky like Earth. It's in our general neighborhood, circling a star in the winter sky about 500 light-years away. Each light-year is about 6 trillion miles.
Four planets in our solar system are rocky: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
The planet is about as close to Earth in size as any other planet found outside our solar system. Its radius is only one-and-a-half times bigger than Earth's and it has a mass about five times the Earth's. Now that another rocky planet has been found so close to its own star, it gives scientists more confidence that they'll find more Earth-like planets farther away, where the conditions could be more favorable to life, Boss said.
The Lost Symbol - Freemasons await Dan Brown novel
The lodge room of the Naval Masonic Hall is a colorful and somewhat inscrutable sight for the nonmember, with its blue walls, Egyptian symbols, checkered floor in the center and high ceiling painted with gold stars. Countless secrets supposedly have been shared in this and thousands of similar rooms of the Masons around the world. Facts of life have been debated, honors bestowed, rituals enacted. You would need to belong to a lodge to learn what really goes on.you could simply ask.
"Emphasis on secrecy is something that disturbs people," says Joseph Crociata, a burly, deep-voiced man who is a trial attorney by profession but otherwise a Junior Grand Warden at the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the District of Columbia. "But it's not a problem getting Masons to talk about Masonry. Sometimes, it's a problem getting them to stop."
All the books and Web sites dedicated to Freemasons, the Masonic Order has been defined by mystery, alluring enough to claim Mozart and George Washington as members, dark enough to be feared by the Vatican, Islamic officials, Nazis and Communists. In the United States, candidates in the 19th-century ran for office on anti-Mason platforms and John Quincy Adams declared that "Masonry ought forever to be abolished."
And now arrives Dan Brown.
Six years after Brown intrigued millions of readers, and infuriated scholars and religious officials, with "The Da Vinci Code," he has set his new novel, "The Lost Symbol," in Washington and probed the fraternal order that well suits his passion for secrets, signs and puzzles.
Released Tuesday, has an announced first printing of 5 million copies and topped the best-seller lists of Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble online. At Kramerbooks in Washington, about two dozen copies were purchased the morning it went on sale and the store expects to easily sell out its order of 150 books.
The Lost Symbol," symbolist Robert Langdon is on a mission to find a Masonic pyramid containing a code that unlocks an ancient secret to "unfathomable power." It's a story of hidden history in the nation's capital, with Masons the greatest puzzle of all. Brown's research for "The Da Vinci Code" was highly criticized by some Catholics for suggesting that Jesus and Mary Magdalene conceived a child and for portraying Opus Dei — the conservative religious order — as a murderous, power-hungry sect.
Mason response could well be milder. Brown goes out of his way in "The Lost Symbol" to present the lodge as essentially benign and misunderstood. Masons are praised for their religious tolerance and their elaborate rituals are seen as no more unusual than those of formal religions. The plot centers in part on an "unfair" anti-Masonic video that "conspiracy theorists would feed on ... like sharks," Langdon says. "I have enormous respect for the Masons," Brown told The Associated Press during a recent interview. "In the most fundamental terms, with different cultures killing each other over whose version of God is correct, here is a worldwide organization that essentially says, `We don't care what you call God, or what you think about God, only that you believe in a god and let's all stand together as brothers and look in the same direction.'
"I think there will be an enormous number of people who will be interested in the Masons after this book (comes out)," Brown said.
Crociata and other Washington Masons expressed amusement, concern, resignation and excitement about Brown's novel. Crociata anticipates a "page-turner," like "The Da Vinci Code," and assumes, for the sake of a "good read," that Brown will make the Masons seem more interesting than they actually are. Fellow Mason Kirk McNulty can't wait to read the novel: "Dan Brown is a writer of fiction; he's not writing an article for the Encyclopedia Britannica. Whatever he says is OK. But it would be better if he says something nice about Freemasonry."
Mason Michael Seay says some members are "not pleased about all the hoopla," but sees the attention as a chance to "get our story across." Lodge member Darryl Carter says he expects some "artistic license" and senses from conversations with other Masons that they expect to benefit from the attention. "We welcome Dan Brown doing his work because Masonry has not had the kind of popularity that it once did and that a work by somebody of Dan Brown's caliber could really attract people to Masonry," Carter says.
The Freemasons date back to the Middle Ages, to associations of workmen who built cathedrals in Britain, though some also believe in a connection to ancient times with the mines where King Solomon took material for his Temple. Freemasonry has endured, and transformed. The British began to accept members who were not stonemasons and by the 1700s, lodges were being called "speculative," philosophical societies rather than worker guilds.
The Masons, Crociata and others emphasize, are not a political or religious organization. No theology beyond the belief in a divine being is required and no causes are advocated beyond millions of dollars in annual contributions to children's hospitals, cancer wards and other charities. "This is the world's oldest fraternity and it has an old and distinguished history," Crociata says. "There's much beauty to be found in its ritual. On the other hand, it's a fraternity, not a religion. It's a place to get together with guys that you know, that you trust, that you are willing to trust. A place where you can speak from the heart, if you want."
No official gathering is taking place at the hall on this recent afternoon, so it's all right for a reporter to have a look around. The Naval Masonic room has features common to other lodges, such as the Mason emblem, a set square and compass and letter "G" (for both God and Geometry), and some decorative images, such as the Egyptian-styled eyes and snakes painted throughout. Brown's book moves quickly among such Washington landmarks as the Library of Congress and the Washington Monument and draws upon the Masons' very public presence in Washington, dating back more than 200 years.
George Washington used a Masonic gavel and trowel in 1793 as he lay the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol. The same trowel would be included 55 years later when President James K. Polk, a Mason, presided over the laying of the cornerstone of the Washington Monument, and again in 1907 when President Theodore Roosevelt, also a Mason, laid a cornerstone for a Masonic temple.
According to "Freemasons for Dummies" author Christopher Hodapp (his book is so well regarded at the Naval lodge in Washington that it's kept in a glass cabinet outside the meeting room), membership peaked in the United States just after World War II, when there were close to 5 million Masons. The number dropped in the 1960s, when the Masons seemed hopelessly antiquated to a rebellious generation, and dropped again in the late 1980s as older members died. Hodapp, himself a Mason based in Indianapolis, says there are now around 1.5 million in the U.S. and 3 million worldwide.
"But it's picking up again, in part because of people like Brown and (novelist) Brad Meltzer ('Book of Lies,' 'Book of Fate'). Younger men are seeing popular references to it. We're also seeing people from single-parent households who don't have that kind of brotherhood feeling you get in the lodge," Hodapp says. Meetings at the Naval Masonic room are presided over by a Master who sits in a high-backed chair on the East side of the room, in honor of where the sun rises. On the South and West are chairs for the top aides, the senior warden and the junior warden. Only the North, "a place of Masonic darkness" (a belief related to the lighting of Solomon's Temple) is not represented.
Every lodge has an altar on which is placed a holy book, or books. A Bible is usually there, but because only a belief in a higher being is required, a Quran or other religious text might be found, depending on the religious faith of the members present. The black and white squares of the checkered floor below the altar represent "good" and "evil," terms the Masons resist defining too closely.
"As far as what is good and bad for any individual ... the idea is to inspire thought on some of the important questions of life on the minds of our members so that they can go home and think about them and draw their own conclusions," Crociata says.
Would-be members pass through three degrees of acceptance: Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason. In "The Lost Symbol," Brown describes an initiation ceremony that Hodapp says is essentially accurate. A man is blindfolded, has a dagger pressed against his chest and is instructed to vow that, "uninfluenced by mercenary or any other unworthy motive," he will offer himself as "a candidate for the mysteries and privileges of this brotherhood."
Brown is not a Mason, but said that working on the novel helped him imagine a time when religious prejudice would disappear and added that he found the Masonic philosophy a "beautiful blueprint for human spirituality." He was tempted to join, but, "If you join the Masons you take a vow of secrecy. I could not have written this book if I were a Mason," he says.
First Commencement at Singularity University
Founded last year with the idea that rapidly evolving technologies can be harnessed to solve problems like poverty and climate change, Singularity University does not offer a traditional degree — though it is working to get some universities to accept students' coursework for credits. Chatter about ensuing plans permeates any graduation, though it's not common for the talk to surround which class projects will receive venture capital funding.
Hot topic at the first commencement at Singularity University, a school that is backed by Google, operates on NASA's Silicon Valley campus and gets its name from futurist and co-founder Ray Kurzweil's favorite term for our technologically enhanced future. More than a graduate school, it resembles an incubator for technological ideas that, at the end of a nine-week program, may turn into actual companies with a humanitarian edge.
In June, students spent three weeks attending lectures by faculty members and visiting luminaries such as Vint Cerf — one of the founding fathers of the Internet — to get a basic grounding in fields ranging from networks and computing systems to artificial intelligence and robotics. After that, they chose one of four subjects to study more closely for three weeks. For the privilege, the 40 members of the initial class paid $25,000 apiece. Singularity is working bring the cost down, by starting monthly sessions for executives in November. Those will fund scholarships for the summer program, said Peter H. Diamandis, Singularity co-founder and CEO of the X Prize Foundation.
There were 1,200 applicants. Executive director Salim Ismail said the next session — which is slated for mid-June 2010 — will include 100 or 120 students, and added that even that expansion may not fulfill demand. The premise for the school is that change is occurring exponentially from the frenetic pace of technology and globalization.
The final weeks of their studies, students split into four groups and created projects whose only requirements were that they needed to focus on one of the world's great challenges and have the potential to improve the lives of a billion people over a decade. The goal, as some Singularity faculty admit, sounds lofty. But with classic Silicon Valley optimism, the faculty, leaders and students seem confident that work done at Singularity U. will change the world.
There were no spaceship models on display during a presentation of the projects Thursday afternoon. One team, called Acasa, proposed the use of rapid prototyping machines to essentially "print" affordable housing. Another team, Gettaround, showed an iPhone application and corresponding in-car technology that people can use to rent out their cars to others when not using them — without needing to hand over their keys. The groups displayed their work to a room full of faculty, staff and potential investors, explaining how and when their projects could play out in the real world.
A reception afterward, attendees piled plates with fragrant Indian food while venture capitalists mingled with some students. In a side room, students in dress clothes spoke with Google co-founder Larry Page, who sported a white T-shirt, khaki shorts and red Crocs. Asked about the students' projects, Page said only that he thought they looked good, and then stepped away to join the reception.
Margo Liptsin, 23, a member of Acasa who is about to begin pursuing a Ph.D. in the history of science at Harvard, said her group arrived at its idea for the automated construction of affordable homes after toying with "three-dimensional printing," a process that uses a machine called a rapid prototyper to "print" an object, often out of plastic. Acasa explored how this technology could be used to help people, and figured housing was the most relevant and tangible answer, Liptsin said. An architect in her group suggested the team get in touch with University of Southern California professor Behrokh Khoshnevis, who had developed a rapid prototyping technology that can be used to make walls.
Acasa plans to meet with venture capitalists. The company is seeking $10 million in initial funding, and it hopes to build a prototype house within eight months of getting financing. Acasa wants to build its first houses in Mexico and branch out from there. Even though part of the point of developing this project in Singularity University was to snag funding, Liptsin said it was hard to imagine the group would be talking to investors so quickly.
Hot topic at the first commencement at Singularity University, a school that is backed by Google, operates on NASA's Silicon Valley campus and gets its name from futurist and co-founder Ray Kurzweil's favorite term for our technologically enhanced future. More than a graduate school, it resembles an incubator for technological ideas that, at the end of a nine-week program, may turn into actual companies with a humanitarian edge.
In June, students spent three weeks attending lectures by faculty members and visiting luminaries such as Vint Cerf — one of the founding fathers of the Internet — to get a basic grounding in fields ranging from networks and computing systems to artificial intelligence and robotics. After that, they chose one of four subjects to study more closely for three weeks. For the privilege, the 40 members of the initial class paid $25,000 apiece. Singularity is working bring the cost down, by starting monthly sessions for executives in November. Those will fund scholarships for the summer program, said Peter H. Diamandis, Singularity co-founder and CEO of the X Prize Foundation.
There were 1,200 applicants. Executive director Salim Ismail said the next session — which is slated for mid-June 2010 — will include 100 or 120 students, and added that even that expansion may not fulfill demand. The premise for the school is that change is occurring exponentially from the frenetic pace of technology and globalization.
The final weeks of their studies, students split into four groups and created projects whose only requirements were that they needed to focus on one of the world's great challenges and have the potential to improve the lives of a billion people over a decade. The goal, as some Singularity faculty admit, sounds lofty. But with classic Silicon Valley optimism, the faculty, leaders and students seem confident that work done at Singularity U. will change the world.
There were no spaceship models on display during a presentation of the projects Thursday afternoon. One team, called Acasa, proposed the use of rapid prototyping machines to essentially "print" affordable housing. Another team, Gettaround, showed an iPhone application and corresponding in-car technology that people can use to rent out their cars to others when not using them — without needing to hand over their keys. The groups displayed their work to a room full of faculty, staff and potential investors, explaining how and when their projects could play out in the real world.
A reception afterward, attendees piled plates with fragrant Indian food while venture capitalists mingled with some students. In a side room, students in dress clothes spoke with Google co-founder Larry Page, who sported a white T-shirt, khaki shorts and red Crocs. Asked about the students' projects, Page said only that he thought they looked good, and then stepped away to join the reception.
Margo Liptsin, 23, a member of Acasa who is about to begin pursuing a Ph.D. in the history of science at Harvard, said her group arrived at its idea for the automated construction of affordable homes after toying with "three-dimensional printing," a process that uses a machine called a rapid prototyper to "print" an object, often out of plastic. Acasa explored how this technology could be used to help people, and figured housing was the most relevant and tangible answer, Liptsin said. An architect in her group suggested the team get in touch with University of Southern California professor Behrokh Khoshnevis, who had developed a rapid prototyping technology that can be used to make walls.
Acasa plans to meet with venture capitalists. The company is seeking $10 million in initial funding, and it hopes to build a prototype house within eight months of getting financing. Acasa wants to build its first houses in Mexico and branch out from there. Even though part of the point of developing this project in Singularity University was to snag funding, Liptsin said it was hard to imagine the group would be talking to investors so quickly.
The U.K Government Calculates a System Ticketing for Transport
U.K. aims to have a plan by the end of this year that lets people use their mobile phones or smart cards to pay for travel across England's public transport system.
U.K government calculates such a system could save £2.6 billion (US$4.3 billion) per year in cash, convenience and the reduced use of motor vehicles. The Department for Transport started a consultation on Thursday to solicit input from the public, which will run through Oct. 28.
Smart cards and mobile phones would use near-field communication (NFC) technology, with embedded microchips storing transport credit. The system would be centered around a technical platform called ITSO, which was created by a nonprofit organization. ITSO is a set of technical standards for integrated smart ticketing, which would allow passengers to use smart cards or their mobile phones for tickets sold by different transport entities.
Smart card technology used in the U.K. is the Oyster card, which is compatible with most transport systems in greater London. But the Oyster card, launched in 2003 and used on 78 percent of bus and subway trips in London, won't be in the running for use across England. "Oyster is a proprietary system with only one supplier and was designed specifically for London, so it is not flexible enough to deal with a wide range of tickets that might be required for a national standard,".
System offers many benefits for passengers. Tickets don't have to be purchased in stations, which reduces queues at stations, passengers can board buses and pass through turnstiles faster, and passengers don't have to deal with loose change. But while smart card and mobile phone payment technology is mature, use of the systems is not widespread due to cost and technology issues, according to the consultation. The up-front infrastructure costs to implement the system could be as much as £1.1 billion, with running costs around £260 million annually. However, the 10-year projection is that for every £1 spent on the system, £7 in benefits would be derived, the document said.
Many European payment cards allow for contactless payments under a certain amount. In the U.K., the maximum purchase allow is £10 without the cardholder entering their four-digit PIN (Personal Identification Number). NFC-enabled mobile phones are not common yet. The Department of Transport, however, said there are indications the mobile phone industry will release those kinds of mobiles in larger numbers soon.
U.K government calculates such a system could save £2.6 billion (US$4.3 billion) per year in cash, convenience and the reduced use of motor vehicles. The Department for Transport started a consultation on Thursday to solicit input from the public, which will run through Oct. 28.
Smart cards and mobile phones would use near-field communication (NFC) technology, with embedded microchips storing transport credit. The system would be centered around a technical platform called ITSO, which was created by a nonprofit organization. ITSO is a set of technical standards for integrated smart ticketing, which would allow passengers to use smart cards or their mobile phones for tickets sold by different transport entities.
Smart card technology used in the U.K. is the Oyster card, which is compatible with most transport systems in greater London. But the Oyster card, launched in 2003 and used on 78 percent of bus and subway trips in London, won't be in the running for use across England. "Oyster is a proprietary system with only one supplier and was designed specifically for London, so it is not flexible enough to deal with a wide range of tickets that might be required for a national standard,".
System offers many benefits for passengers. Tickets don't have to be purchased in stations, which reduces queues at stations, passengers can board buses and pass through turnstiles faster, and passengers don't have to deal with loose change. But while smart card and mobile phone payment technology is mature, use of the systems is not widespread due to cost and technology issues, according to the consultation. The up-front infrastructure costs to implement the system could be as much as £1.1 billion, with running costs around £260 million annually. However, the 10-year projection is that for every £1 spent on the system, £7 in benefits would be derived, the document said.
Many European payment cards allow for contactless payments under a certain amount. In the U.K., the maximum purchase allow is £10 without the cardholder entering their four-digit PIN (Personal Identification Number). NFC-enabled mobile phones are not common yet. The Department of Transport, however, said there are indications the mobile phone industry will release those kinds of mobiles in larger numbers soon.
Critics Of The President's Barack Obama Plans
President Barack Obama returns to the White House after a day of diplomacy in Guadalajara, Mexico, His approval ratings slipping, President Barack Obama is retooling his message on health care overhaul, aiming to win over Americans who already have insurance.Polling shows that Americans — especially those who already have coverage — are skeptical of the Democratic proposals to expand coverage to the nearly 50 millions who lack it. So Obama will use a potentially boisterous town hall-style meeting in New Hampshire to highlight how his proposals would affect workers whose employers provide their health insurance.
Critics of the president's plan — his top domestic priority — have grabbed headlines by disrupting town hall meetings, putting the White House on the defensive.Hours before Obama was to arrive at Portsmouth High School, the road leading to the event site was lined with people — about 100 supporters of Obama's health care overhaul on one side and about half as many opponents on the other. "I'm here because I'm an American, I believe in free speech and I'm scared to death," said Barbara Taylor, 65, of Exeter, N.H.
She arrived at 7:30 a.m. and was soaking wet from a severe downpour earlier in the morning. The rain had blurred the red ink on the sign Taylor carried: "Hands Off Our Health Care."On the other side, Linda McVay held her own sign calling attention to Americans without health insurance. She said her son has been without insurance since losing his job in November.
Obama is prepared for possible disruptions Tuesday, said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, appearing on television talk shows."I think what the president will do is turn to that person and probably ask them to be civilized and give them an answer to their question," Gibbs told CBS' "The Early Show."
Concerns over Obama's proposal are heating up meetings, chat rooms and radio shows, driving his approval numbers down and threatening the future of his signature issue. While Congress is in recess for the month of August, lawmakers are hearing from frustrated constituents worried about government's role in health care and the costs of an overhaul. "There's a lot of fear out there," said Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, a New Hampshire Democrat.
To calm that fear, Obama plans to spend the month highlighting the upside of health overhaul for Americans already with insurance, starting in a state in which 89 percent of residents have health coverage.In Portsmouth, N.H., Obama will speak directly about his proposal to ban insurance companies from denying individuals coverage because of pre-existing conditions. During a Friday trip to Bozeman, Mont., he will talk about how his plan would block companies from dropping an individual's coverage if he or she becomes ill. And in Grand Junction, Colo., the president will talk about how the Democrats' plan would end high out-of-pocket costs in some policies.
The Democratic National Committee began running television ads that ask, "What's in it for you?" and then highlights those goals. Officials said the ad started running Monday night in Washington and on cable; it would follow as early as Tuesday in states Obama planned to visit, including New Hampshire.
About 1,800 people are expected for that midday event in the Democratic-leaning Seacoast region of the Granite State. Of those, 70 percent were given tickets based on a random lottery — a potentially dicey crowd in a state known for its grass-roots political activism.
"Participating in government here in New Hampshire is like putting on socks for the average American," said Ray Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party.
Outside, a dozen grass-roots organizations plan a counter-rally.Republicans say the heated debate is a sign of widespread public dissatisfaction with Obama's ideas. But with some of the anxieties spilling into angry disruptions and even threats, Democrats have accused Republicans of orchestrating the events to sabotage legislation. In an article published Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wrote, "Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American."
Critics of the president's plan — his top domestic priority — have grabbed headlines by disrupting town hall meetings, putting the White House on the defensive.Hours before Obama was to arrive at Portsmouth High School, the road leading to the event site was lined with people — about 100 supporters of Obama's health care overhaul on one side and about half as many opponents on the other. "I'm here because I'm an American, I believe in free speech and I'm scared to death," said Barbara Taylor, 65, of Exeter, N.H.
She arrived at 7:30 a.m. and was soaking wet from a severe downpour earlier in the morning. The rain had blurred the red ink on the sign Taylor carried: "Hands Off Our Health Care."On the other side, Linda McVay held her own sign calling attention to Americans without health insurance. She said her son has been without insurance since losing his job in November.
Obama is prepared for possible disruptions Tuesday, said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, appearing on television talk shows."I think what the president will do is turn to that person and probably ask them to be civilized and give them an answer to their question," Gibbs told CBS' "The Early Show."
Concerns over Obama's proposal are heating up meetings, chat rooms and radio shows, driving his approval numbers down and threatening the future of his signature issue. While Congress is in recess for the month of August, lawmakers are hearing from frustrated constituents worried about government's role in health care and the costs of an overhaul. "There's a lot of fear out there," said Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, a New Hampshire Democrat.
To calm that fear, Obama plans to spend the month highlighting the upside of health overhaul for Americans already with insurance, starting in a state in which 89 percent of residents have health coverage.In Portsmouth, N.H., Obama will speak directly about his proposal to ban insurance companies from denying individuals coverage because of pre-existing conditions. During a Friday trip to Bozeman, Mont., he will talk about how his plan would block companies from dropping an individual's coverage if he or she becomes ill. And in Grand Junction, Colo., the president will talk about how the Democrats' plan would end high out-of-pocket costs in some policies.
The Democratic National Committee began running television ads that ask, "What's in it for you?" and then highlights those goals. Officials said the ad started running Monday night in Washington and on cable; it would follow as early as Tuesday in states Obama planned to visit, including New Hampshire.
About 1,800 people are expected for that midday event in the Democratic-leaning Seacoast region of the Granite State. Of those, 70 percent were given tickets based on a random lottery — a potentially dicey crowd in a state known for its grass-roots political activism.
"Participating in government here in New Hampshire is like putting on socks for the average American," said Ray Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party.
Outside, a dozen grass-roots organizations plan a counter-rally.Republicans say the heated debate is a sign of widespread public dissatisfaction with Obama's ideas. But with some of the anxieties spilling into angry disruptions and even threats, Democrats have accused Republicans of orchestrating the events to sabotage legislation. In an article published Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wrote, "Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American."
Rates Of Severe Childhood Obesity In The United States
In the last 25 years, rates of severe childhood obesity in the United States have tripled, putting increasing numbers of children at risk for diabetes and heart disease, says a new study. Researchers looked at National Health and Nutrition Survey data on 12,384 youths, ages 2 to 19 years, and found that the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 0.8 percent in the period from 1976 to 1980 to 3.8 percent in 1999 to 2004. Severe obesity correlates to a body mass index that's equal to or greater than the 99th percentile for age and gender.
The finding could mean that 2.7 million children in the United States are severely obese, the researchers said. Black and Mexican-American children had the largest increases in severe obesity, along with children in families below the poverty level. For example, the percentage of severely obese Mexican-American children rose from 0.9 percent to 5.2 percent.
The researchers also found that a third of severely obese children had metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors for diabetes, stroke and heart attack. The risk factors include high blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin levels.
The study appears online in Academic Pediatrics.
"Children are not only becoming obese but becoming severely obese, which impacts their overall health," Dr. Joseph Skelton, an obesity expert at Brenner Children's Hospital, part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., and lead author of the study, said in a news release from the center.
"These findings reinforce the fact that medically based programs to treat obesity are needed throughout the United States, and insurance companies should be encouraged to cover this care," Skelton said.
The finding could mean that 2.7 million children in the United States are severely obese, the researchers said. Black and Mexican-American children had the largest increases in severe obesity, along with children in families below the poverty level. For example, the percentage of severely obese Mexican-American children rose from 0.9 percent to 5.2 percent.
The researchers also found that a third of severely obese children had metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors for diabetes, stroke and heart attack. The risk factors include high blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin levels.
The study appears online in Academic Pediatrics.
"Children are not only becoming obese but becoming severely obese, which impacts their overall health," Dr. Joseph Skelton, an obesity expert at Brenner Children's Hospital, part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., and lead author of the study, said in a news release from the center.
"These findings reinforce the fact that medically based programs to treat obesity are needed throughout the United States, and insurance companies should be encouraged to cover this care," Skelton said.
The latest U.S. Missile Defense Test in Hawaii
The latest U.S. missile defense test, conducted Thursday evening in Hawaii waters, was deemed a success as tensions continue with North Korea over that country's missile program. A short-range ballistic missile was fired from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai and then was shot down by a three-stage interceptor missile from a destroyer, the USS Hopper.
The test, The latest U.S. Missile Defense Test in Hawaii conducted by the Navy and the Department of Defense's Missile Defense Agency, marked the 23rd firing by ships equipped with the Aegis ballistic missile defense system. With the latest test, there have been 19 successes, including the shooting down of a dead U.S. spy satellite last year.
On July 4, North Korea violated U.N. Security Council resolutions by sending seven ballistic missiles into waters off its east coast. There had been speculation North Korea would launch a missile toward Hawaii — about 4,500 miles away — to coincide with the Independence Day holiday in the U.S. Two other Navy ships participated in Thursday's test, dubbed "Stellar Avenger."
According to a Missile Defense Agency statement, the Hopper fired and guided an SM-3 Block IA missile that intercepted the target missile about 100 miles above the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, the USS O'Kane simulated an engagement and the USS Lake Erie detected and tracked the target, the agency said.
Statement said the Hopper's weapons system guided its missile to a "direct body to body hit, approximately two minutes after leaving the ship."
Lake Erie used an advanced version of the Aegis system in a simulation to evaluate how it would function with a SM-3 Block IB missile. Next year, the ship is to use the system to fire a new SM-3 Block IB, which features an improved propulsion system, signal processor and warhead seeker.
The test, The latest U.S. Missile Defense Test in Hawaii conducted by the Navy and the Department of Defense's Missile Defense Agency, marked the 23rd firing by ships equipped with the Aegis ballistic missile defense system. With the latest test, there have been 19 successes, including the shooting down of a dead U.S. spy satellite last year.
On July 4, North Korea violated U.N. Security Council resolutions by sending seven ballistic missiles into waters off its east coast. There had been speculation North Korea would launch a missile toward Hawaii — about 4,500 miles away — to coincide with the Independence Day holiday in the U.S. Two other Navy ships participated in Thursday's test, dubbed "Stellar Avenger."
According to a Missile Defense Agency statement, the Hopper fired and guided an SM-3 Block IA missile that intercepted the target missile about 100 miles above the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, the USS O'Kane simulated an engagement and the USS Lake Erie detected and tracked the target, the agency said.
Statement said the Hopper's weapons system guided its missile to a "direct body to body hit, approximately two minutes after leaving the ship."
Lake Erie used an advanced version of the Aegis system in a simulation to evaluate how it would function with a SM-3 Block IB missile. Next year, the ship is to use the system to fire a new SM-3 Block IB, which features an improved propulsion system, signal processor and warhead seeker.
The First Generation IPod
It was nearly eight years ago that I was among the very first people in New York City to carry around the first-generation iPod. About the size of a pack of cigarettes, it was advertised with the tagline "A thousand songs in your pocket." I can even remember the song used in the first TV spot: Take California by The Propellerheads.
Since then, I've upgraded to a 2007 model boasting a 160-gigabyte hard drive that makes holding a mere thousand songs seem quaint. Before long, I will no doubt be waxing nostalgic about this music player as well—one that, at not even half full, holds 5,231 songs, 141 videos, and 228 podcasts.
The iPod as many of us have known it is on the wane and giving way to a more feature-rich family of devices that in time will bear little resemblance to the trailblazing digital music players that helped Apple capture 70% of the North American market. Evidence of the iPod's decline came July 21, when Apple disclosed its first quarterly decline in iPods sold. In the three months ended in June, Apple (AAPL) sold 10.2 million iPods, versus 11 million a year earlier.
Anticipation of the drop-off is "one of the original reasons" Apple developed the iPhone and the WiFi-enabled iPod touch, Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said on a July 21 conference call with analysts. Apple is prepared for lower sales of what it calls "pocket products:" the iPod shuffle, nano, and classic.
At the same time, the iPod business "will last for many, many years," Apple believes. The company has good reason to want to extend the life of a product line that's generated $38 billion on sales of 218 million units, catapulting Apple ahead of SanDisk (SNDK), Microsoft (MSFT), Toshiba (6502.T), and others.
Flash Memory Is Cheaper
What will iPod's next generation look like? Most of Apple's energy is going to be devoted to the iPod touch, the most advanced and versatile version of the iPod.
My prediction is that one of the first casualties of Apple's emphasis will be the hard drive-based iPod classic. Flash memory is cheaper, consumes less power, and resists abuse better than hard drives, so future high-capacity iPods will most likely be based on flash.
I'm also betting those high-capacity models will look more like the iPod touch, and less like my iPod classic. If history is any judge, Apple will revise its iPod lineup in September, as it has every year since 2005.
A Mic Would Broaden Appeal
Besides a refresh of the iPod nano (it's been revised every fall since its introduction), you can also expect a more advanced version of the iPod touch. The next touch will come with 64GB of flash memory.
And since it runs virtually all of the same applications that the iPhone does, then it stands to reason that the touch will starting taking on more hardware features to accommodate applications. Aside from music and video, it's now already marketed as a handheld gaming machine, a communications device, and a handheld Web device. In a limited way it can even be used for navigation.
Over time, the touch will do even more. Consider its appeal if Apple were to add a microphone that lets you make calls on Skype (EBAY) or other Internet-calling services, without the need for the awkward headset that's required for such calls now.
You could talk on it as if it were an iPhone, and the mic would put in double duty for simple audio recordings like meetings, lectures, and voice memos.
How About a Camera?
The touch should really have a camera, too. And is there any reason why that camera can't be better than the one in the iPhone? The latest iPhone 3GS sports a 3-megapixel camera sensor, while the latest phones from Nokia (NOK) have an 8-megapixel sensor. Apple could split the difference and give the touch a 5- or 6-megapixel sensor, giving it the ability to take really gorgeous pictures.
And if the touch has a camera, then it should support video. All that added memory leaves plenty of room for clips, and the Wi-Fi connection makes it easy to send them directly to YouTube (GOOG) and other video-sharing sites. And while Apple has resisted adding memory-card slots to its handhelds in the past, now that the Mac has a slot for SD memory cards, is there any reason the iPod touch (and for that matter a future model of the iPhone) can't have a slot for Mini-SD cards for added storage capacity?
While we're wish-listing, why should the iPhone be the only device in Apple's lineup that can help you get from one place to another? Why not add a GPS chipset, and let the iPod touch become a full-fledged personal navigation device? The touch's limited navigation features currently only work when Wi-Fi is present. This is fine when you're in a city, but no help when you're on the road. With excellent personal navigation devices from Garmin (GRMN) and TomTom (TOM2.AS) selling for as low as $120—more than $100 below the entry-level touch—why consider navigation a premium, iPhone-only feature?
Since then, I've upgraded to a 2007 model boasting a 160-gigabyte hard drive that makes holding a mere thousand songs seem quaint. Before long, I will no doubt be waxing nostalgic about this music player as well—one that, at not even half full, holds 5,231 songs, 141 videos, and 228 podcasts.
The iPod as many of us have known it is on the wane and giving way to a more feature-rich family of devices that in time will bear little resemblance to the trailblazing digital music players that helped Apple capture 70% of the North American market. Evidence of the iPod's decline came July 21, when Apple disclosed its first quarterly decline in iPods sold. In the three months ended in June, Apple (AAPL) sold 10.2 million iPods, versus 11 million a year earlier.
Anticipation of the drop-off is "one of the original reasons" Apple developed the iPhone and the WiFi-enabled iPod touch, Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said on a July 21 conference call with analysts. Apple is prepared for lower sales of what it calls "pocket products:" the iPod shuffle, nano, and classic.
At the same time, the iPod business "will last for many, many years," Apple believes. The company has good reason to want to extend the life of a product line that's generated $38 billion on sales of 218 million units, catapulting Apple ahead of SanDisk (SNDK), Microsoft (MSFT), Toshiba (6502.T), and others.
Flash Memory Is Cheaper
What will iPod's next generation look like? Most of Apple's energy is going to be devoted to the iPod touch, the most advanced and versatile version of the iPod.
My prediction is that one of the first casualties of Apple's emphasis will be the hard drive-based iPod classic. Flash memory is cheaper, consumes less power, and resists abuse better than hard drives, so future high-capacity iPods will most likely be based on flash.
I'm also betting those high-capacity models will look more like the iPod touch, and less like my iPod classic. If history is any judge, Apple will revise its iPod lineup in September, as it has every year since 2005.
A Mic Would Broaden Appeal
Besides a refresh of the iPod nano (it's been revised every fall since its introduction), you can also expect a more advanced version of the iPod touch. The next touch will come with 64GB of flash memory.
And since it runs virtually all of the same applications that the iPhone does, then it stands to reason that the touch will starting taking on more hardware features to accommodate applications. Aside from music and video, it's now already marketed as a handheld gaming machine, a communications device, and a handheld Web device. In a limited way it can even be used for navigation.
Over time, the touch will do even more. Consider its appeal if Apple were to add a microphone that lets you make calls on Skype (EBAY) or other Internet-calling services, without the need for the awkward headset that's required for such calls now.
You could talk on it as if it were an iPhone, and the mic would put in double duty for simple audio recordings like meetings, lectures, and voice memos.
How About a Camera?
The touch should really have a camera, too. And is there any reason why that camera can't be better than the one in the iPhone? The latest iPhone 3GS sports a 3-megapixel camera sensor, while the latest phones from Nokia (NOK) have an 8-megapixel sensor. Apple could split the difference and give the touch a 5- or 6-megapixel sensor, giving it the ability to take really gorgeous pictures.
And if the touch has a camera, then it should support video. All that added memory leaves plenty of room for clips, and the Wi-Fi connection makes it easy to send them directly to YouTube (GOOG) and other video-sharing sites. And while Apple has resisted adding memory-card slots to its handhelds in the past, now that the Mac has a slot for SD memory cards, is there any reason the iPod touch (and for that matter a future model of the iPhone) can't have a slot for Mini-SD cards for added storage capacity?
While we're wish-listing, why should the iPhone be the only device in Apple's lineup that can help you get from one place to another? Why not add a GPS chipset, and let the iPod touch become a full-fledged personal navigation device? The touch's limited navigation features currently only work when Wi-Fi is present. This is fine when you're in a city, but no help when you're on the road. With excellent personal navigation devices from Garmin (GRMN) and TomTom (TOM2.AS) selling for as low as $120—more than $100 below the entry-level touch—why consider navigation a premium, iPhone-only feature?
Obesity's not just dangerous
Obesity's not just dangerous, Nearly 10 percent of health spending for obesity it's expensive. New research shows medical spending averages $1,400 more a year for an obese person than for someone who's normal weight. Overall obesity-related health spending reaches $147 billion, double what it was nearly a decade ago, says the study published Monday by the journal Health Affairs.The higher expense reflects the costs of treating diabetes, heart disease and other ailments far more common for the overweight, concluded the study by government scientists and the nonprofit research group RTI International.
RTI health economist Eric Finkelstein offers a blunt message for lawmakers trying to revamp the health care system: "Unless you address obesity, you're never going to address rising health care costs."
Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, and the average American today is 23 pounds overweight, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Obesity and with it diabetes are the only major health problems that are getting worse in this country, and they're getting worse rapidly," Frieden said Monday at the CDC's first major conference on the obesity crisis.
It's not an individual problem but a societal problem — as the nation's health bill illustrates — that will take society-wide efforts to reverse, Frieden stressed. His agency last week released a list of strategies it wants communities to try. They include: increasing healthy foods and drinks in schools and other public venues; building more supermarkets in poor neighborhoods; encouraging more mothers to breast-feed, which protects against childhood obesity; and discouraging consumption of sodas and other sweetened beverages.
The average American consumes 250 more daily calories today than two or three decades ago, 120 of them from those kinds of drinks, Frieden said. Science suggests that while eating a candy bar before dinner will spoil your appetite, liquid calories don't — you won't cut back on dinner if you have a sugary soda first.
Some evidence that adding a tax to those drinks might help curb consumption, although he stressed that wasn't a view of the Obama administration. The new Health Affairs study found obesity-related conditions now account for 9.1 percent of all medical spending, up from 6.5 percent in 1998. During that time, the obesity rate rose 37 percent.
Health bills for a normal-weight person are about $3,400 a year, but that rises to $4,870 for someone who's obese, Finkelstein said. Prescription drugs are the biggest driver of those costs: Medicare spends about $600 more per year on medications for an obese beneficiary than a normal-weight one.
Health economists have long warned that obesity is a driving force behind the rise in health spending. For example, diabetes costs the nation $190 billion a year to treat, and excess weight is the single biggest risk factor for developing diabetes. Moreover, obese diabetics are the hardest to treat, with higher rates of foot ulcers and amputations, among other things.
The new study's look at per-capita spending may offer a shock to the wallets of people who haven't yet heeded health warnings. "Health care costs are dramatically higher for people who are obese and it doesn't have to be that way," said Jeff Levi of the nonprofit Trust for America's Health, who wasn't involved in the new research.
The Harsh Glare Of a Flash Bulb " Invisible Flash "
Bright and sudden pop of a flash bulb means photos are being snapped, and while it's (arguably) fun to have your picture taken, the harsh glare of a flash bulb often leaves subjects squinting and annoyed.
But what else can you do if natural light isn't an option?
Enter the so-called "invisible flash" or "dark flash," which utilizes light waves outside the visible spectrum to illuminate your subject. Infrared and ultraviolet light is pulsed, with visible light frequencies filtered out, and a special camera sensor captures the invisible-to-the-naked-eye frequencies to create a finished image.
The resulting image isn't perfect -- the pictures are described as having the character of night-vision shots --so the new system, developed by two researchers at New York University, grabs color information from a flash-free picture which is snapped after the UV-illuminated shot is taken. Detail from the first shot and color data from the second are then combined in software, with what is called a "remarkably natural end result."
The system isn't perfect. Not all objects reflect UV or IR light, so the camera can't pick them up properly. The New Scientist story linked above notes that freckles present a particular challenge for the system. (I guess that's one way to clear up your skin in photographs, without resorting to Photoshop.)
Still, the prospect of taking shots in low light without the harsh glare and distraction of a flash bulb pop is a tantalizing one, even if the results are imperfect. The paparazzi, renowned for sneaky night-time shots, must be positively drooling over the possibility.
But what else can you do if natural light isn't an option?
Enter the so-called "invisible flash" or "dark flash," which utilizes light waves outside the visible spectrum to illuminate your subject. Infrared and ultraviolet light is pulsed, with visible light frequencies filtered out, and a special camera sensor captures the invisible-to-the-naked-eye frequencies to create a finished image.
The resulting image isn't perfect -- the pictures are described as having the character of night-vision shots --so the new system, developed by two researchers at New York University, grabs color information from a flash-free picture which is snapped after the UV-illuminated shot is taken. Detail from the first shot and color data from the second are then combined in software, with what is called a "remarkably natural end result."
The system isn't perfect. Not all objects reflect UV or IR light, so the camera can't pick them up properly. The New Scientist story linked above notes that freckles present a particular challenge for the system. (I guess that's one way to clear up your skin in photographs, without resorting to Photoshop.)
Still, the prospect of taking shots in low light without the harsh glare and distraction of a flash bulb pop is a tantalizing one, even if the results are imperfect. The paparazzi, renowned for sneaky night-time shots, must be positively drooling over the possibility.
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