Cautious vs. Creative | Swissmiss
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012
?You Can Be Cautious or You Can Be Creative (But There's No Such Thing as a Cautious Creative).?
Microsoft balks at Apple's 30% fee, leaving SkyDrive ... - The Next Web
Microsoft and Apple are currently locked in something of a Cold War over the future of SkyDrive in the iOS App Store.
Sources close to Microsoft have detailed to TNW a difficult, and perhaps unresolvable situation between the two companies that underscores the difficulty with certain Apple rules?concerning?its app?marketplace, and how far the company is willing to go to protect its vaunted 30% cut of in-app revenues.
The difficulty began when Microsoft rolled out the ability for SkyDrive users to purchase more storage space on the service. From that point, the company was not permitted to update its application in the iOS App Store.
The reason? It doesn?t pay Apple a 30% cut of subscription revenue generated by the application through the paid, additional storage. Microsoft, TNW has learned, has a new version of the application ready to go, including a key bug fix that would rectify a crashing bug, but cannot get it through.
Microsoft does not appear keen to pay Apple the 30% cut, as it lasts in perpetuity, regardless of whether a user continues to use an iOS device or not, as the billing is through their Apple account.
Therefore, if a user signed up for a few additional gigabytes on their iOS device, and then moved to Android or Windows Phone or not phone at all, for the length of their account, Apple would collect 30% of their fee for storage. This hasn?t sat well with Microsoft.
Microsoft has persisted in trying to work out a compromise with Apple, but has thus far failed to come to an agreement. The company offered to remove all subscription options from its application, leaving it a non-revenue generating experience on iOS. The offer was rebuffed.
If a service has a subscription option, it seems, and it is not listed in the iOS store, the application cannot, and will not be allowed. That is, unless you are small enough that Apple doesn?t bothers to check. I assume that smaller companies could slip under the radar.
Pressure
The second side to this is that Apple appears to be freezing out developers who build?third-party applications that interact with SkyDrive, as the Microsoft service isn?t paying a cut of its fees to Apple.
Developer complaints are cropping up. For example, the following:
Our iOS app ?Files Pro? [Link] includes support for SkyDrive using the official Live SDK.
A few days ago our last update was rejected by the Apple review team because of the presence of the ?Sign Up? button in the Live login authorisation page. According to Apple the presence of this button violates their guideline that:
?Apps that link to external mechanisms for purchases or subscriptions to be used in the app, such as a ?buy? button that goes to a web site to purchase a digital book, will be rejected?
In short, because SkyDrive has a ?Sign Up? button on its login page, Files Pro had its update blocked, as the third-party service that the third-party app was trying to submit to Apple first-party App Store wasn?t paying it a cut of its revenues.
Recall that Microsoft, TNW has learned, offered to remove all paid subscription options from its application, a compromise that was rejected. TNW suspects that the sticking point in that matter was the ability to sign up for SkyDrive through the application, a ?no? in Apple books.
The same sources informed TNW that if Microsoft removed its application from the store entirely, the issue would remain, and that developers would not be able to interface with SkyDrive, so long as a system was not in place by which Apple could collect a cut.
Other developers are having similar problems:
My iOS app ?CloudMusic for SkyDrive? utilizes LiveConnect SDK for iOS to stream user?s audio content to iDevice. ?I have a ?Sign In? button that invokes LiveConnectClient ?login? method which shows Windows Live sign-in page in UIWebView. ? The app was rejected by Apple review team saying that ?the log in interface must be native and not a link or a web view.? ?Is there any other way to login to SkyDrive?
In short, applications that wish to integrate with SkyDrive cannot, until Microsoft bows to Apple?s demands, and retools SkyDrive to allow for it to be integrated with the technology firm?s payment system by which the firm would garner a fee for the length of the account.?A user could go into their Apple account, cancel their subscription, and then re-purchase it outside of the Apple ecosystem, but as that would save them no money, few, if any, will.
Apple?s prerogative
Naturally, this is Apple?s call; its application marketplace is its own to run as it will. However, it is not hard to say that its strict?adherence?to rules that may not be developer-positive is the effect of its large, strong?presence?in the mobile world.
However, we have been here before. Try this on for size, from TNW?s coverage of Dropbox?s earlier woes:
One such oddity has started causing an issue for apps that use the?Dropbox?SDK. Apparently, apps have started to be rejected left and right because of a rogue link to a desktop version of the service that allows users to add more storage to their account.
That?s right,?Apple?has rules against allowing users to purchase things outside of the application. If a service isn?t using Apple?s in-app purchase platform, it can?t provide an outside link to purchase a subscription service.
And around we go.
Apple has created certain exemptions from its rules, including for periodicals and other specific content varieties in set circumstances.
Perhaps a compromise could be met if Microsoft agreed to pull its first-party app, in exchange for the lifting of restrictions on third-party developers. Or, perhaps Apple will allow the app if in no way can it lead to a sale of any sort. We?ll have to see.
The last SkyDrive for iOS update came in June. How long until we see another is unknown.
Top Image Credit:?MartialArtsNomad.com
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Sunday, December 9, 2012
Climate Talks Yield Commitment to Ambitious, but Unclear, Actions
Osama Faisal/Associated Press
Bard Vegar Solhjell, Norway?s environmental minister, with protesters on Saturday.
DOHA, Qatar ? The annual United Nations climate change negotiations concluded here late Saturday after the customary all-night negotiating session and recriminations over who must bear the costs and burdens of a warming planet.
Delegates from more than 190 nations agreed to extend the increasingly ineffective Kyoto Protocol a few years and to commit to more ambitious ? but unspecified ? actions to reduce emissions of climate-altering gases.
Wealthy nations put off for a year resolution of the dispute over providing billions of dollars in aid to countries most heavily affected by climate change. Industrial nations have pledged to secure $100 billion a year by 2020 in public and private financing to help poor countries cope with climate change, but have been vague about what they plan to do before then.
Only a handful of countries, not including the United States, have made concrete financial pledges for adaptation aid over the next few years. Todd D. Stern, the senior American negotiator, said that the United States would continue to provide substantial climate-related aid to vulnerable countries. But he said he was not in a position, given the budget talks in Washington and the Congressional process, to promise new American financing.
The participants noted with ?grave concern? the widening gap between what countries have promised to do to reduce emissions and the growing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. They declared it unlikely that on the current path the world would be able to keep global temperatures from rising more than two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial times, a central goal of the United Nations process.
But the group left for future years any plan for addressing the mismatch between goals and reality, merely stating an intention to ?identify and explore in 2013 options for a range of actions to close the pre-2020 ambition gap.?
The accomplishments of this year?s meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change were modest, but so were its aims.
The meeting, formally known as the 18th Conference of the Parties, or COP 18, was always seen as a transition from the longstanding division of nations into industrialized perpetrators and developing-world victims of dangerous climate change. That division was enshrined in the Kyoto Protocol, which the United States never joined and which assigned pollution reduction targets to advanced nations but none to developing countries, including the world?s current largest greenhouse gas emitter, China.
The parties agreed last year in Durban, South Africa, to work toward a new protocol or other legally binding instrument that would require actions of all parties, not just rich nations as under the Kyoto agreement of 1997. The new agreement is to be concluded by 2015 and enter into force in 2020.
The Doha meeting did not produce even the barest outline of what that new agreement would look like, leaving those questions for future meetings.
The convention addressed the concept of loss and damage, recognizing the increasing frequency of extreme weather events as well as slower-acting threats like drought and sea level rise. The body adopted language urging more financial and technical support for the most vulnerable countries. But it did not create a mechanism to handle such aid, angering some delegates.
Kieren Keke, foreign minister of the Pacific nation of Nauru and chairman of the Alliance of Small Island States, called the package adopted Saturday ?deeply deficient.?
?This is not where we wanted to be at the end of the meeting, I assure you,? he told the delegates. ?It certainly isn?t where we need to be in order to prevent islands from going under and other unimaginable impacts. It has become abundantly clear that unless the work is supported by world leaders, particularly those representing the countries most responsible for the crisis, we will continue to fall short year after year.?
It has long been evident that the United Nations talks were at best a partial solution to the planetary climate change problem, and at worst an expensive sideshow. The most effective actions to date have been taken at the national, state and local levels, with a number of countries adopting aggressive emissions reductions programs and using cap-and-trade programs or other means to help finance them.
While the United States has not adopted a comprehensive approach to climate change, the Obama administration has put in place a significant auto emissions reduction program and a plan to regulate carbon dioxide from new power plants. California has adopted a cap-and-trade system for 2013.
Other countries, including South Korea, Australia and most of Europe, started earlier and have gone much further. It is those kinds of efforts that hold the most promise, at least in the short term, for controlling a problem that scientists say is growing worse faster than any of them predicted even a few years ago.
?What this meeting reinforced is that while this is an important forum, it is not the only one in which progress can and must be made,? said Jennifer Haverkamp, director of the international climate programs at the Environmental Defense Fund. ?The disconnect between the level of ambition the parties are showing here and what needs to happen to avoid dangerous climate change is profound.?
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Sunday, November 11, 2012
Need Some Extra Business Tools? Get Them Now!
If you?ve ever wanted to stock up on some MannaBearsTM Sampling Cards, 4Free Tearsheets, or those cool purple LIFTTM?mirrors, now?s the time during our Business Tools Final Inventory Sale that will continue until the end of BP 13, December 21, 2012.
Business tools like these are crucial when you?re meeting with customers?they can really enhance your sale. Use them to accent your presentation and then leave them behind for prospects to read about the products and programs you?ve discussed. The value they add it significant!
Just go to www.mannatech.com, sign in, then go to Business Tools and grab them now while supplies last!
Source: http://www.allaboutmannatech.com/archives/need-some-extra-business-tools-get-them-now
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Saturday, November 10, 2012
Making The Right Internet Marketing Plan With Help
Running your own business and having total control over your life is an amazing thing. This can be done via Website marketing. The following tips will help you gain business.
Monitor the vocabulary within online conversations about your brand and incorporate them into your future internet promotion strategies. Your customers will feel closer to your brand. Make them feel ?at home? with your products and services. If you use the most appropriate wording, you will ensure that you communicate more effectively with customers.
Blogging can be a big help in boosting traffic. However, you absolutely must keep it updated by regularly posting fresh, original content. When readers learn that your blog contains fresh content from one visit to the next, you?ll have more loyal visitors.
Keep This In Mind Internal links on your website should include the most relevant keywords. You want people to stay on your website and browse around.
Internet promotion can be very successful by following this tip. Show your customers how they are able to visit your site worry-free. Put a site-wide link to your privacy policy at the top right corner of your site. Doing so will provide visitors confidence that you conduct business in a safe manner. You can help them feel comfortable that their identities are completely secure when they make a purchase with you.
Be creative when designing your banner and avoid making ads that look generic. An exciting or interesting banner ad will attract more attention and inspire more clicks.
Whether you realize it or not, you have everything that you need to make your web marketing venture a success. All you need to have is you. No expensive software or other tricks are needed. It just takes some hard work and time, and you need to really think about every marketing decision that you make.
Try having events and promotions for your site. Try offering a limited time $1 sale on an e-book. When people enter your site to purchase the e-book, they?ll probably look around at what else you offer. Some of them will probably buy a product or two.
Keep This In Mind While internet marketing shares some similarities with other disciplines, it does have its own set of principles and nuances. For example, you may find that search engines are no longer paying attention to your title tags.
If you want people to come to your website instead of your competition?s, you need to give them something original. E-books filled with tips or a humorous article or cartoon can also bring traffic to your site. You can create an excellent hook for your market site by offering propriety merchandise that is not available on any other website.
Joining forces with a charity can help your business, increase your visibility and help the charity also. Select a cause that will most likely reflect your customers interests and agendas, and inform them that some of your profits are donated to that charity. This will allow you to market your business to a wide variety of customers and will help increase your image. You could support multiple charities; this way your customers can pick their favorite.
Change around the links you use in your emails. If your links are the same in all of your email communications, your customers will ignore them and possibly send your messages to their spam filters. Customers don?t like seeing the same thing repeatedly, and it?s important to offer variation to keep them engaged.
You could bring more traffic to your site by offering a free service. People may visit the site for free offers and be drawn in by the content. Free tools such as a calculator to help do tax returns are a good choice for a financial website to offer.
Keep This In Mind Give your customers the opportunity to rate and review your products and encourage them to explain their opinions fully. The feedback you receive will give you an idea of any changes you need to make to your products, and it also improves customer confidence.
Using available software and technology is a major foundation of Website marketing. If your company fails at using technology, your customers will notice and may begin to not trust your company. Impress your clients by proving that you are up-to-date with technology and software.
A great way to play to your customers is to offer a variety of special deals on the ordering page of your site. You could also send an email with a special promotion to previous customers. You can get rid of additional stock, boost sales and make the client feel that received a great deal.
Be prepared to answer their questions. People come to a website seeking information, and if they do not get the information they are searching for at your site, then chances are they will not be with you very long. Offering detailed information and answering frequently asked questions will provide them with what they need and they will be more likely to become a customer.
It requires lots of dedication and hard work to make anything successful. Luck alone will not make you money through internet marketing. Big business do not get that way through being lucky. Did Coca-Cola just get lucky? Absolutely not! They had a well-oiled marketing machine.
Keep This In Mind Use press releases or blurb in industry blogs as a way to promote your business and bring in traffic. A clear, concise, well-written press release can be published online on many different outlets.
Although your business might begin as small, you can build business by making goals for yourself. Don?t stop when you initials goals are satisfied, come up with new goals and continue to grow and improve. As you learn some crucial tips on the subject, you will be able to create different campaigns with relative ease. Best of luck to you in your business ventures!
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cornelia accumulator: HEALTH and FITNESS | Aromatherapy For ...
Aromatherapy For Beginners ? 5 Oils Toolkit
Quality Ebook! Learn How To Use 5 Popular Essential Oils ? Lavender, Lemon, Oregano, Peppermint And Tea Tree. Over 40 Recipes And 130 Instant Tips For Using Essential Oils For Health, Beauty And Natural Remedies. Great Feedback, Super-low Refunds.
Aromatherapy For Beginners ? 5 Oils Toolkit
Source: http://kashwealthsystem.com/health/2012/11/06/aromatherapy-for-beginners-5-oils-toolkit/
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Source: http://funnybestfriendquotes.bblit.info/527/health-and-fitness-aromatherapy-for-beginners-5-oils-toolkit/
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Source: http://cornelia-accumulator.blogspot.com/2012/11/health-and-fitness-aromatherapy-for.html
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Source: http://woodlouse-methoxy.blogspot.com/2012/11/cornelia-accumulator-health-and-fitness.html
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Source: http://obukegyvo.posterous.com/cornelia-accumulator-health-and-fitness-aroma
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Thursday, November 1, 2012
Storm surge coverage - Insurance Quotes
John Egan
One phrase ? ?storm surge? ? has blanketed news coverage about Hurricane Sandy. But just what is storm surge? And does your home insurance cover damage from it?
Here are answers to some key questions about storm surge and home insurance.
What is storm surge?
Storm surge is caused by water that?s pushed toward the shore by storm winds. It can increase the normal high tide by 15 feet or more. In addition, wind-driven waves on top of storm surge can trigger severe damage in coastal areas.
?The stronger a hurricane?s winds, the harder its punch. But it?s the water that gets driven ashore that causes much of the damage,? insurance company USAA says.
Powered by the force of a wave, storm surge packs much more energy than the floodwaters of a rising river. In fact, storm surge is the No. 1 killer of people in a hurricane.
?It only takes a wave that?s a foot-and-a-half high to equal or exceed the force of a 120-mile-per-hour wind,? Tim Reinhold, senior vice president for research and chief engineer at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, says in an article on USAA?s website. ?The forces of the waves just dominate over everything.?
Does my home insurance policy cover damage from storm surge?
No. A standard home insurance policy normally doesn?t cover damage caused by storm surge or flooding. To be covered for damage from storm surge, you?ve got to buy separate flood insurance. Most people purchase flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program.
If I have flood insurance, how much coverage do I have?
A policy from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) provides coverage of up to $250,000 for your home?s structure. Keep in mind that contents coverage isn?t automatically included in a standard flood insurance policy; you?ll have to pay to add it. Contents coverage pays up to $100,000 for your personal possessions. The NFIP policy provides replacement cost coverage for home?s structure, but only actual cash value coverage for your possessions.
What is replacement cost coverage?
Replacement cost coverage pays to rebuild your home like it was before the damage occurred.
What is actual cash value coverage?
Actual cash value is replacement cost coverage minus depreciation. The older your possessions are, the less money you?ll get if they?re damaged.
My insurer denied my claim because of where my home is located and said the damage was caused by storm surge. Is that right?
Whether a claim is paid depends on the language in your home insurance policy or policies. Insurers can?t make blanket decisions and reject claims without investigating the facts. If you think your insurer unfairly handled your home insurance claim, file a complaint with your state insurance department.
Can I buy flood insurance now to cover damage from Sandy storm surge?
No. There?s a 30-day waiting period before this type of coverage takes effect. Therefore, don?t wait until the last minute to buy flood insurance.
Who?s at risk for damage from storm surge?
In the Atlantic Coast region, where Sandy landed, about 2.2 million homes are at risk of damage from storm surge; those homes are valued at more than $500 billion. Along the Gulf Coast, just under 1.8 million homes are at risk of storm-surge damage; those homes are worth nearly $200 billion.
How much damage can storm surge cause?
In the past, storm surge from hurricanes has destroyed large buildings and wiped out coastal communities. Just 1 inch of storm-surge water in your home can lead to thousands of dollars in damage and cleanup costs.
Source: http://www.insurancequotes.com/storm-surge-home-insurance/
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Measuring Learning Readiness : A Resource Guide for Students
Collection: Learning Materials
This manual was designed specifically to help both practitioners and First Nations learners get a broad picture of an individual's learning ability. The exercises can be used as part of the processing of both assessing a student and developing a training plan.
The author has included a section on understanding Aboriginal values in order to create a safe and culturally supportive learning environment.
Other sections include exercises to help learners identify their own skills; determine what motivates them; understand what others expect of them; and identify barriers to success.
http://library.nald.ca/item/10884
Source: http://librarypathwaysandfootprints.blogspot.com/2012/10/measuring-learning-readiness-resource.html
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Philips L-Prize LED Lightbulb Lights Up a Room for 22.8 Years
by Adam Dachis
When the US government held a contest aimed at creating the future of lightbulbs, Philips won with their L-Prize series. ?These bulbs are rated to last 22.8 years, which is so long you?ll probably lose them before they have a chance to burn out. ?But if you manage to keep them throughout their lifetime, each bulb can save you hundreds in energy costs.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Drugmaker Boehringer settles marketing claim for $95 million: U.S.
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/drugmaker-boehringer-settles-marketing-claim-95-million-u-201348192.html
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Advice To Make The Process Of Bankruptcy Easier | Siben & Siben ...
TIP! If your finances are tight and you are considering filing for personal bankruptcy, why not put your plans for getting a divorce on the back burner? The economic stress of a divorce can be the final blow leading to bankruptcy and this situation may be avoided. If divorce is imminent in your future, then you may want to plan your finances accordingly so you are not forced to file for bankruptcy.
Are your debts out of control and you think that your only escape is bankruptcy? Know you are not the only one. Many people are filing bankruptcy to relieve financial hardship. This article will provide you with bankruptcy tips to ensure everything goes as smoothly as it should.
Chapter 7
TIP! You must disclose the names of all creditors to your bankruptcy attorney. That means you need to tell him about credit cards, lenders and hospitals, but you also have to mention money you need to repay to friends and family.
When you are looking at a Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy, you may well have debts to worry about for which you share responsibility with another person, such as a spouse, family member, or business partner. When filing for Chapter 7, you won?t be responsible legally for debt signed by co-debtors and yourself. Your creditors can then come after your co-debtor for full repayment of the debt.
TIP! Prior to filing for bankruptcy, purge from your vocabulary the word ?shame?. This process is less that glamorous, and it makes most people lose their self-esteem.
Visit forums online to chat with others who are also going through bankruptcy. The bankruptcy process can be stressful; it can often leave you feeling out of place in the company of your friends. If you need to, share your experience on the Internet with people who are going through a similar situation and ask for advice on message boards.
TIP! If you suspect that bankruptcy filing may be a reality, don?t try to discharge all your debt in advance by emptying your retirement or saving accounts. Retirement accounts should never be accessed unless all other options have been exhausted.
Don?t leave all the details in your lawyer?s hands. Your lawyer is knowledgeable when it comes to bankruptcy laws, and it would be beneficial for you to understand as much as possible when it comes to the proceedings. While it may seem simpler for your lawyer to do everything for you, it is your financial future on the line so take a strong interest in what is happening.
TIP! Always be honest when filing for bankruptcy, even if your situation seems bleak. One of the worst things you can do is lie about your debts and assets.
Facing bankruptcy is not a fun situation and cause a lot of stress and anxiety. In order to keep things together and protect yourself from excess stress, be sure to hire a competent attorney. Do not choose your attorney based solely on price. While the person you select does not have to cost the most, they should be competent and reliable. Rely on word-of-mouth referrals from others who have filed for bankruptcy, check the BBB, and take advantage of free consultation offers. Consider attending a court hearing so you can witness how the lawyer operates.
TIP! If you can, get a word-of-mouth referral for a lawyer. There are so many dime-a-dozen companies out there who make it a practice of preying on financial desperation.
Pick the right time to file. When it comes to filing for personal bankruptcy, timing is vital. In some cases, you should file for bankruptcy right away, but in others, there may be reasons why filing quickly would be a bad idea. Speak with a lawyer specializing in bankruptcy in order to learn when you should file your petition.
TIP! Familiarize yourself with the bankruptcy code before you file. This area of law is in constant flux and it is imperative that you know where the law stands at the time you file for your bankruptcy.
Check each debt to be sure everything can be cleared through bankruptcy to avoid any excessive filing. For example, even if you file your student loans, they?ll still be a part of your credit history. Instead, for this type of debt, use a credit repair agency or loan consolidation service to help reduce your debt.
TIP! A good idea regarding bankruptcy is to have a backup plan in case the filing you submit is turned down. By equipping yourself with knowledge in advance, you will know what may occur if your case is dismissed, including things such as home foreclosure and vehicle repossession.
Even if you are involved with Chapter 13 bankruptcy, it is still possible to get a mortgage or an automobile loan. It is a little more difficult, though. You need to speak with your trustee so that you can be approved for a new loan. Draft a personal budget to show that you will be able to repay your new loan. Also, be sure you have a clear explanation as to why the item you are purchasing is absolutely necessary.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
TIP! Don?t wait when you?re thinking about filing for bankruptcy and have been for a while. It can be difficult to admit you?re in need of help, but your debt will only grow larger if you put off your decision.
Understand the differences between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Should you choose Chapter 7, your total debt load will be erased. This type of bankruptcy ends any relationship you might have with creditors. With a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you will have to make payments for 5 years before the debts are forgiven. You need to be aware of the pros and cons of each type of bankruptcy so you can correctly select the best choice for your situation.
TIP! If you plan on filing bankruptcy, never wait too long. Some people will just ignore their outstanding debts, hoping that someone or something will come and save them, but this never ends well.
Remember from the beginning of this article? You aren?t the only one who is filing for bankruptcy. Unlike others in this situation, you now have the information you need. Use these tips to help make sure you get through the process of filing bankruptcy with a minimum of stress
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Gaps in border controls are related to alien insect invasions in Europe
ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2012) ? European countries with gaps in border security surrounding agricultural imports have been invaded by the largest number of exotic insect pests, according to research published Oct 24 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Steven Bacon and colleagues from the Swiss Federal Research Station Agroscope ART and the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
Invasive agricultural pests pose growing environmental and economic problems, threatening biodiversity and costing billions of dollars in economic losses annually. Large volumes of cross-border trade increase the risks of invasion, but the lack of metrics to estimate this risk makes control a challenge.
In the new study, the authors combine global data sets of international agricultural trade with the biology and distribution of invasive insect species to create metrics that can be used to evaluate and improve border controls.
According to the study, known insect pests on many agricultural imports may be frequently undetected by European plant protection authorities. The authors suggest that this leaves European imports vulnerable to pests from countries like the USA, Argentina and Brazil, particularly to insects on large scale commodities such as soybeans, coffee and fruits like bananas, grapes and pineapples, which are the least controlled imports.
According to the authors, these metrics could help quantify the link between invasive insects and international trade. "Developing these metrics enables us to evaluate existing border controls in Europe for the first time. Highlighting gaps in border controls, which relate to insect invasions, gives plant protection authorities the tools to improve biosecurity," says Bacon.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Public Library of Science, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
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Journal Reference:
- Steven James Bacon, Sven Bacher, Alexandre Aebi. Gaps in Border Controls Are Related to Quarantine Alien Insect Invasions in Europe. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (10): e47689 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047689
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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/7uhxmy4bMrE/121024175349.htm
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Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Video: Twitterverse pounces on ?horses and bayonets?
>> the debates are in the books, and they have made things like big bird and binders full of women hot topics online. last night the president was trending for that line about horses and bayonets.
>> how do you know something is about to enter the cultural phenomenon ? you look at twitter, of course, and it became the most tweeted moment of the night, helping drive a total, i can't believe this, of more than 6.5 million tweets.
>> but you knew it as you heard it.
>> when the line came out, whether it was practiced or spontaneous you knew that would be something that people would talk about. another common theme online, reaction to governor romney's apparent agreement with president obama on a lot of issues, take a look.
>> i want to underscore the same point the president made. the president was right. i believe as the president indicated and said at the time that i supported his action there. i congratulate him. i felt the same as the president did.
>> i guess you could say it's nice to see the candidates agree about some things two weeks before election day , and the other line was one to research. i love teachers. governor romney used that phrase several times as he turned from foreign policy to domestic issues. mod raider bob schieffer quipped i think we all love teachers. no question that they both took the foreign policy debate to domestic issues.
>> a programming note, brian williams is joining president obama for a series of interviews over the course of two days on the campaign trail. can you see those interviews. wednesday here on "today" and "nightly news" and thursday night on "rock center."
Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/49515594/
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Research reveals Beluga whale that could mimic human voices
It may sound like a whale of a tale, but it's true. Beginning in 1984, scientists in San Diego studied the sounds of a captive male Beluga whale that was able to mimic human voices.?
A male Beluga whale that scientists say made human-like sounds. An acoustic analysis revealed the human-like sounds were several octaves lower than typical whale calls. The research was published online Monday, in Current Biology.
US Navy/AP
EnlargeIt could be the muffled sound of singing in the shower or that sing-songy indecipherable voice from the Muppets' Swedish Chef.
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Surprisingly, scientists said the audio they captured was a whale imitating people. In fact, the whale song sounded so eerily human that divers initially thought it was a human voice.
Handlers at the National Marine Mammal Foundation in San Diego heard mumbling in 1984 coming from a tank containing whales and dolphins that sounded like two people chatting far away.
It wasn't until one day, after a diver surfaced from the tank and asked, "Who told me to get out?" did researchers realize the garble came from a captive male Beluga whale. For several years, they recorded its spontaneous sounds while it was underwater and when it surfaced.
An acoustic analysis revealed the human-like sounds were several octaves lower than typical whale calls. The research was published online Monday in Current Biology.
Scientists think the whale's close proximity to people allowed it to listen to and mimic human conversation. It did so by changing the pressure in its nasal cavities. After four years of copying people, it went back to sounding like a whale, emitting high-pitched noises. It died five years ago.
Dolphins and parrots have been taught to mimic the patterns of human speech, but it's rare for an animal to do it spontaneously.
The study is not the first time a whale has sounded human. Scientists who have studied sounds of white whales in the wild sometimes heard what sounded like shouting children. Caretakers at the Vancouver Aquarium in Canada previously said they heard one of the white whales say its name.
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Girl Talk: I Think I've Figured The Allure Of Online Dating Out
Last night, I did something I thought I?d never do again, especially not on a random Monday evening: I reactivated my online dating profile.
I looked at the description of myself I wrote the last time I was single. I looked at the photos that I had thought best represented myself. ?I checked my months-old messages. I read the new messages that came in as my account had been re-activiated again. And all the while I thought, Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, what are you doing?
This morning, I deactivated it again. You see, I think I had just wanted instant gratification.
When I broke up with O?Boyfriend, a huge impetus to do so was my ambivalence about being in a relationship. I wasn?t feeling passionate about being in a relationship with him because I wasn?t feeling passionate about being in a relationship with anyone. I looked at my life ? the job I love at The Frisky, the job I love at BlackBook, my awesome friends, my supportive and loving family, my good health, my roommate?s cat who has stopped biting me all the time like the assole THAT HE IS ? and it felt complete. I feel happy right now with just me, with just what I bring to the table for myself. Adding a man to the mix felt like placing the one card on top of the whole house of cards that made it topple over.
Breakups are always crappy but I felt good about being by myself. I told my friends, my family, my coworkers and my therapist some version of ?I just want to enjoy being single for awhile.?
And I do. Ambivalent Single Lobster?forever!?But as days and weeks wore on, I started becoming more conscious of my self-esteem: my desirability to other people. One thing about not being in a relationship is that there?s 100 percent less affirmation that someone wants you. Despite all the reasons we didn?t work out, O?Boyfriend always made me feel wanted and desired; he told me all the time that he thought I was gorgeous. There was never any doubt in my mind that he was being sincere.
That?s gone now and it?s bittersweet; I am grateful to have been loved that thoroughly by someone, but I also can live without the charming self-esteem boost on tap. It doesn?t mean I don?t still want a self-esteem boost, though. Figuring out where to find it (outside of a relationship) is tricky. That part of my brain that switches off when I?m in a relationship that doesn?t pick up on other people flirting with me got turned on again ? and promptly got confused. Did the guy who said he wished he wasn?t in a relationship so he could have sex with other partners mean he might want to have sex with me? Does the woman who wants to hang out and is really looking forward to it have a little crush on me? I?m so confused!
That?s where online dating comes in. Whether guys are just looking at my profiles or send me messages and flirting, it?s confirmation of something. Sure, the only thing it confirms is someone was intrigued enough by a tiny little pixelated image, or a few sentences, to click my profile and read the whole thing. That really doesn?t mean anything. That?s like a random dude turning his head to check your ass out as you pass him on the sidewalk. But even if it doesn?t mean anything, it?s something.
I realized I had turned my online dating profile back on because I had been reading about a celebrity couple online. I felt schmoopy and nostalgic and wondered if I would ever find what she has. How will I find that? I switched my profile back on. I looked at guys who had sent me messages right around the time I deactivated my profile to date O?Boyfriend. I looked at guys who were checking my profile out now. I felt instantly gratified that, yes, some might want to be with me.
I felt chopped up with anxiety all last night and all this morning about being ?on the market again.? Because no, no, no. I?m not on the market. I?m very not on the market. I don?t want a boyfriend, let alone to respond to the inevitable series of going-nowhere online dating messages. What were you thinking, Jessica?
So I switched it off this morning and then bought myself a coffee that I love, in an outfit that I love, on my way to the job that I love. And I felt once again complete.
Contact the author of this post at Jessica@TheFrisky.com. Follow me on Twitter.
Source: http://www.thefrisky.com/2012-10-23/girl-talk-i-think-ive-figured-the-allure-of-online-dating-out/
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Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Exercise Video of the Week: Scapular Push-up ... - Syatt Fitness
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Good morning and happy Monday!
I hope you had a fantastic weekend and were able to find some time to relax and enjoy yourself, your friends, family, and loved ones.
I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to NYC and spend the weekend with several of my best friends in celebration of one of their 21st birthday?s. All in all, I couldn?t have asked for a more amazing experience.
Now, in this weeks? Exercise Video of the Week I want to discuss a simple exercise to include within your current training program for improved shoulder health and function:
The Scapular Push-up
The Scap Push-up is a relatively common exercise designed to recruit the serratus?anterior.
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Sufficient serratus strength and recruitment patterns are essential for optimal shoulder performance but are, unfortunately,?an often neglected component of the average trainees programming.
In the video below I briefly describe why the serratus is so important and how to perform several variations of the Scapular Pushup. I hope you enjoy the video and, as always, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions leave them in the comments section at the end.
Never Minimal. Never Maximal. Always Optimal.
-J
Scap Push-up Progressions
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Benefits
- Effectively recruits the Serratus Anterior which will improve scapular stability and shoulder health/function.
- Personally, I find the plank position significantly easier to teach. I also ?feel? it more in the plank position as opposed to the standard pushup position.
- The plank position allows for improved core stability.
Technique Points
- Get in the standard Plank position.
- Maintain a neutral spine, keep your chin tucked, and place your elbows beneath your shoulders.
- Keeping your abs tight, allow your chest to sink in towards the ground.?DO NOT let?your lower back cave in or allow your neck to shoot forward.
- Once you?ve sunk in as far as you can go, forcefully drive your elbows and forearms into the ground?as hard as possible! Push up as far as you can go while maintaining a neutral spine.
- Repeat for the prescribed number of sets and repetitions.
Programming
- Frequency:?Add a Scap Push-up variation into your warm-ups prior to upper body training sessions and/or on rest days.
- Intensity: This movement is not meant to be heavily loaded or taken to failure. Your own body weight is plenty of resistance and you can increase the difficulty by slightly elevating your feet.
- Sets: ~2-3
- Reps: ~8-12
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Can backers of Idaho Props 1, 2 & 3 pass the 'spell test?' | Voices ...
Betsy Russell of the Spokesman-Review has documented how a 30-second spot from proponents of Propositions 1, 2 and 3 unfairly twists the context of National Education Association General Counsel Bob Chanin's 2009 retirement speech. Russell overlooked something less weighty, but more amusing, given the proponents' aim to bring K-12 education in Idaho "into the 21st century."
At the close of the ad, the screen says, "Don't let the unions take over our schools. VOTE YES on Propositons 1, 2, and 3."
Yes, YES for Idaho Education, misspelled "Propositions." The mistake appears at 27 seconds in this YouTube video. (Perhaps this is a derivative of "There is NO 'I' in T-E-A-M!? Or a concession to the sloppy spelling that electronic devices seem to encourage?)
I asked Ken Burgess, campaign manager for YES for Idaho Education, for comment, figuring he'd have a pithy retort. (Burgess, unlike some politicos, has an excellent sense of humor, and I doubt the spelling error was his.)
Burgess told me this morning that he'd double check, but said, "I understand the error you reference was corrected in the broadcast version of the ad."
Asked who made the error, Burgess wouldn't name names and channeled Harry Truman. "As the campaign manager, I must shoulder that responsibility."
He also appeared to gently mock my interest in such trivia: "I suggest Idahoans watch the ad VERRRY carefully, over and over and over again to see if there are any other typos."
You can follow Idaho Statesman Politics on Twitter.
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A Mississippi river diversion helped build Louisiana wetlands, Penn geologists find
A Mississippi river diversion helped build Louisiana wetlands, Penn geologists find
Monday, October 22, 2012The extensive system of levees along the Mississippi River has done much to prevent devastating floods in riverside communities. But the levees have also contributed to the loss of Louisiana's wetlands. By holding in floodwaters, they prevent sediment from flowing into the watershed and rebuilding marshes, which are compacting under their own weight and losing ground to sea-level rise.
Reporting in Nature Geoscience, a team of University of Pennsylvania geologists and others used the Mississippi River flood of the spring of 2011 to observe how floodwaters deposited sediment in the Mississippi Delta. Their findings offer insight into how new diversions in the Mississippi River's levees may help restore Louisiana's wetlands.
While scientists and engineers have previously proposed ways of altering the levee system to restore some of the natural wetland-building ability of the Mississippi, this is among the only large-scale experiments to demonstrate how these modifications might function.
The study was headed by Douglas Jerolmack, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at Penn, and Federico Falcini, who at the time was a postdoctoral researcher in Jerolmack's lab and is now at the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche in Rome. Benjamin Horton, an associate professor in the Earth and Environmental Science Department; Nicole Khan, a doctoral student in Horton's lab; and Alessandro Salusti, a visiting undergraduate researcher also contributed to the work. The Penn researchers worked with Rosalia Santoleri, Simone Colella and Gianluca Volpe of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Leonardo Macelloni, Carol B. Lutken and Marco D'Emidio of the University of Mississippi; Karen L. McKee of the U.S. Geological Survey; and Chunyan Li of Louisiana State University.
The 2011 floods broke records across several states, damaged homes and crops and took several lives. The destruction was reduced, however, because the Army Corps of Engineers opened the Morganza Spillway, a river-control structure, for the first time since 1973 to divert water off of the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya River Basin. This action involved the deliberate flooding of more than 12,000 square kilometers and alleviated pressures on downstream levees and spared Baton Rouge and New Orleans from the worst of the flood.
For the Penn researchers, the opening of the Morganza Spillway provided a rare look into how floods along the Mississippi may have occurred before engineered structures were put in place to control the river's flow.
"While this was catastrophic to the people living in the Atchafalaya Basin, it was also simulating ? accidentally ? the sort of natural flood that used to happen all the time," Jerolmack said. "We were interested in how this sort of natural flooding scenario would differ from the controlled floods contained within levees that we normally see in the Delta."
To capitalize on this opportunity, the team began examining satellite images showing the plume of sediment-laden water emerging from the mouths of the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers. They calculated the amount of sediment in the plumes for the duration of the flood based on the ocean color in the satellite images and calibrated these data to field samples taken from a boat in the Gulf of Mexico. Their boat sampling also allowed them to gather data on the speed of the plume and the extent to which river water mixed with ocean water.
From the satellite images, researchers observed that the Mississippi River unleashed a jet of water into the ocean. In contrast, the waters diverted into the Atchafalaya Basin spread out over 100 kilometers of coastline, the sediment lingering in a wide swampy area.
"You have this intentionally flooded Atchafalaya Basin and when those flood waters hit the coast they were trapped there for a month, where tides and waves could bring them back on shore," Jerolmack said. "Whereas in the Mississippi channel, where all the waters were totally leveed, you could see from satellite images this sort of fire hose of water that pushed the sediment from the river far off shore."
The researchers used a helicopter to travel to 45 sites across the two basins, where they sampled sediment cores. They observed that sediment deposited to a greater extent in the Atchafalaya Basin than in any area of the Mississippi Basin wetlands, even though the Mississippi River plume contained more total sediment.
The recently deposited sediments lacked plant roots and were different in color and consistency from the older sediments. Laboratory analyses of diatoms, or photosynthetic algae, also revealed another signature of newly deposited sediments: They contained a higher proportion of round diatoms to rod-shaped diatoms than did deeper layers of sediment.
"This diatom ratio can now serve as an indicator for freshwater floods," Horton said. "With longer sediment cores and analyses of the diatoms, we may be able to work out how many floods have occurred, how much sediment they deposited and what their recurrence intervals were."
Taken together, the researchers' findings offer a large-scale demonstration of how flooding over the Atchafalaya's wide basin built up sediment in wetland areas, compared to the more-focused plume of water from the Mississippi River. Jerolmack says this "natural experiment" provides a convincing and reliable way of gathering data and information about how changes in the Mississippi's levees and control structures could help restore marsh in other areas of the Delta.
"One of the things that we found here is that the Atchafalaya, which is this wide, slow plume, actually produced a lot of sedimentation over a broad area," Jerolmack said. "We think that what the Atchafalaya is showing us on a field scale is that this is the sort of diversion that you would need in order to create effective sedimentation and marsh building."
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University of Pennsylvania: http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews
Thanks to University of Pennsylvania for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
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Monday, October 22, 2012
Mannyw | Your Car Insurance Plan
Free Auto Insurance Quotes With more cars and accidents happening all the time, it is important to possess an effective car insurance plan. There are many benefits to car insurance. Auto insurance will protect your against financial loss, cover damage to or theft of your car, pay for your legal responsibility if you are liable in an accident. Auto insurance rates will fluctuate from company to company, which can be frustrating. Instead of spending hours researching yourself, why not let us shop around for you and give you all your options? Our site is your location to find a variety quotes on car insurance, home insurance, life insurance, health insurance, and business insurance. Take the hassle out of purchasing insurance and get yourself protected now.
Source: http://www.mannyw.com/your-car-insurance-plan-2/
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Castro publishes article criticizing health rumors
This picture released by Cubadebate on its website Monday Oct. 22, 2012 shows Cuban leader Fidel Castro holding a copy Friday's Oct. 19, 2012 edition of the newspaper Granma in Habana, Cuba. Persistent rumors circulated last week that the former Cuban leader was on his deathbed or had suffered a massive stroke.(AP Photo/Alex Castro, Cubadebate)
This picture released by Cubadebate on its website Monday Oct. 22, 2012 shows Cuban leader Fidel Castro holding a copy Friday's Oct. 19, 2012 edition of the newspaper Granma in Habana, Cuba. Persistent rumors circulated last week that the former Cuban leader was on his deathbed or had suffered a massive stroke.(AP Photo/Alex Castro, Cubadebate)
This picture released by Cubadebate on its website early Monday Oct. 22, 2012 shows Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Habana, Cuba Sunday Oct. 21, 2012. Castro has written Sunday an article in state-media criticizing those who spread rumors he was on his death bed. Persistent rumors circulated last week that the former Cuban leader was on his deathbed or had suffered a massive stroke.(AP Photo/Alex Castro, Cubadebate)
This picture released by Cubadebate on its website early Monday Oct. 22, 2012 shows Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Habana, Cuba Sunday Oct. 21, 2012. Castro has written Sunday an article in state-media criticizing those who spread rumors he was on his death bed. Persistent rumors circulated last week that the former Cuban leader was on his deathbed or had suffered a massive stroke.(AP Photo/Alex Castro, Cubadebate)
This picture released by Cubadebate on its website Monday Oct. 22, 2012 shows Cuban leader Fidel Castro holding a copy of Friday's Oct. 19, 2012 edition of the newspaper Granma in Habana, Cuba. Persistent rumors circulated last week that the former Cuban leader was on his deathbed or had suffered a massive stroke.(AP Photo/Alex Castro, Cubadebate)
This picture released by Cubadebate on its website early Monday Oct. 22, 2012 shows Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Habana, Cuba, Sunday Oct. 21, 2012. Castro has written Sunday an article in state-media criticizing those who spread rumors he was on his death bed. Persistent rumors circulated last week that the former Cuban leader was on his deathbed or had suffered a massive stroke.(AP Photo/Alex Castro, Cubadebate)
HAVANA (AP) ? (AP) ? Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said he doesn't even suffer from a headache in an article he published in state-media Monday criticizing those who spread rumors he was on his death bed.
The article, ironically titled "Fidel is Dying," is accompanied by photos taken by son Alex Castro that show the revolutionary icon standing outside near some trees wearing a checked shirt and cowboy hat, including one in which he is seen reading Friday's copy of the Communist Party newspaper Granma.
Castro is leaning against a cane in the photos and he looks every bit his 86 years, but his eyes are sharp and his expression determined as he gestures with his left hand.
"I don't even remember what a headache feels like," Castro claims in the article, adding that he was releasing the photos to show "how dishonest" the rumor mongers have been.
Cubans reacted with a mix of support and cynicism.
"He looks well to me and the truth is I'm happy, but one day he will die because at his age he's on borrowed time," said Camilo Fuentes, a 67-year-old Havana resident.
"I think it is a big show," said Carina Rojo, a 57-year-old retiree. "People don't care anymore ... there is much more interest in these things outside the country."
Castro's article was published on the state-run Cubadebate Web site early Monday, and in virtually all other state-media later in the day. It is the latest evidence the former Cuban president is alive and seemingly well after more than a week of intense speculation he was seriously ill.
Twitter and other social media sites have been abuzz with claims of Castro's demise.
On Sunday, a visiting former Venezuelan vice president released a photo of a meeting he said he had the previous day with Castro, and a hotel manager also present for part of the meeting claimed Castro's health was "magnificent."
In the article Monday, Castro says he has been dealing with disinformation about Cuba since the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961.
He criticized Western media he said are in the pocket of the rich, and singled out Spain's ABC newspaper for publishing comments by a Venezuelan doctor who claimed to have information that Castro had suffered a stroke and had weeks to live.
Castro has been out of the public eye since March, when he received visiting Pope Benedict XVI. He also stopped writing his once constant opinion pieces, called "Reflections," the last of which was published in June.
Former Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jaua said he met with Castro for five hours and showed The Associated Press photos of the encounter, quashing persistent rumors that the former Cuban leader was on his deathbed or had suffered a massive stroke.
Jaua also confirmed that Castro personally accompanied him to the Hotel Nacional after their encounter Saturday, in which they talked about politics, history, culture and tourism.
"He had the courtesy of bringing me to the hotel," Jaua said Sunday, adding that Castro looked "very well."
In the article Monday, Castro explains that he chose to stop the opinion pieces of his own accord, not because he was too sick to continue them.
"I stopped publishing Reflections because it was really not my role to take up pages in our press which are needed for other work the country requires," he wrote.
Castro stepped down in 2006 following a severe illness, handing power to his brother Raul.
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Anne-Marie Garcia contributed to this report.
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Follow Paul Haven on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/paulhaven
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