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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Batman vs. Koolhaas - The New York Review of Books

Martin Filler

DC Comics

One reason I?ve never been a fan of graphic novels is because a central aspect of literature for me has always been imagining what the things I?m reading about look like. I can tell you in great detail about not only the lush Parisian interiors of Jean Des Esseintes?an easy task, what with all the detail Huysmans gives us about the decadent duke?s taste in decor?but also the brave little Chinese-themed party that Carol Kennicott throws to brighten life in drab Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, and the original Homer Simpson?s ?queer? Irish-Spanish-New England cottage in LA?s Pinyon Canyon.

Considering my specialization in architecture, I?m not surprised that the first graphic novel to thoroughly engage, not to say captivate, me is Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor?s Batman: Death by Design. It is by turns an impassioned plea for historic preservation, a cautionary tale of engineering hubris, a nostalgic homage to the visionary draftsman Hugh Ferriss (1889-1962), whose futuristic chiaroscuro renderings exalted the skyscraper as the ultimate symbol of burgeoning American might during the interwar years, and an acidic indictment of the present-day cult of architectural stardom.

Based on the enduringly popular comic-book superhero created in 1939 by the artist Bob Kane and the writer Bill Finger, Batman: Death by Design was created by a dynamic duo equally devoted to the Caped Crusader. Kidd, who wrote the story, is a prolific dust-jacket designer and author of Batman Collected (1996) and Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan (2008) among many other books; Taylor, who did the illustrations, is a British-born comic-book artist who has worked on several Batman projects for DC Comics, including the graphic novella Riddler and the Riddle Factory (1995).

There?s a cinematic sweep to Taylor?s compositions that makes several splash pages seem as capacious as a 70-millimeter theater screen. For their predominant tonality he chooses a warm sepia that has all the subtle gradations and dramatic multiple light sources of film-noir cinematography. Likewise, Kidd?s dialogue harks back to the fast-paced banter of B-movies in the Golden Age of Hollywood. The book?s craftily gauged pacing?which varies from crowded multi-panel pages to stunning single-image spreads?proves that all the digital gimmickry and 3-D effects of today?s action-movie franchises pale next to the imaginative powers of a first-rate artist working with pencil in two dimensions.

DC Comics

Kidd?s plot, which transpires in some unspecified period that could be a half century ago or hence, concerns the impending demolition of a major Gotham City landmark, the Art Decoid Wayne Central Station, a railroad depot that is now crumbling and abandoned. Although it had been shoddily developed by Bruce Wayne?s (a.k.a. Batman?s) father, it is an example of ?Patri-Monumental Modernism??an amusing coinage of Kidd?s that hints at the hybrid style?s ambitious and somewhat macho civic grandeur?and preservationists think it is still worthy of salvation.

A complicated series of rather choppy plot twists, which involve, inter alia, the kidnapping of one major character by the Joker, culminates with the rebuilding of Wayne Central Station in a more soundly-constructed version of the original design, an implicit endorsement of old architecture over new. The whole story is shrouded with the anachronistic ambiguity (if not the stylistic grotesquerie) of Terry Gilliam?s retro-futurist film fable Brazil (1985).

Among architectural insiders, Batman is likely to cause the most comment for its scathing portrayal of a Netherlandish master builder named Kem Roomhaus, who, as Batman says, ?may be an affected, narcissistic creep, but he?s also a genius.? This summation comes perilously close to the privately-held opinion of some who have dealt with the extravagantly gifted but notoriously difficult Rem Koolhaas.

To be sure, the megalomaniacal Dutchman drawn by Taylor bears less of a resemblance to the Nosferatu lookalike Koolhaas than to a somewhat chubbier Daniel Libeskind (minus his industrial-strength eyeglass frames.) Moreover, the fictional Kem Roomhaus?s scheme to replace Wayne Central Station with ?a massive replica of the rib cage of Megaptera nivaengliae, more commonly known as the humpback whale? is a wicked lampoon of Santiago Calatrava?s carcass-like, $3.8 billion Transportation Hub now under construction at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. Yet few design buffs will be in doubt about the prototype for the architectural villain of this piece.

DC Comics

Several other dramatis personae also evoke real figures. The hardboiled editor of the Gotham Gazette (?cut him, he bleeds ink?) is named Elliot Osbourne, an inversion of Osborn Elliott, editor of Newsweek during its Sixties and Seventies glory years. The book?s sole female character, Cyndia Syl, ?a society fixture who has taken up the cause of what she sees as an architectural masterpiece,? is a dead ringer for the late socialite and horsewoman C.Z. Guest (she of the snub nose and beautiful-hair-Breck blonde pageboy bob). Syl?s determination to rescue the endangered railway terminal closely parallels Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis?s second-career star turn as savior of Grand Central Station. And then there?s the subliminal push-and-pull between Syl and Wayne, which seems to resemble the crackling sexual tension between Howard Roark and Dominique Francon in Ayn Rand?s overheated architectural potboiler, The Fountainhead.

At times, Batman: Design by Death brings to mind the fond Moderne fantasies of Bruce McCall, as in Taylor?s vision of a vertiginous nightclub called the Ceiling, comprised of a vast transparent-glass slab cantilevered high above Gotham City?s streets and described as ?reductive design taken to its ultimate extreme, introducing a brand new school of design [Roomhaus] calls Mini-Maximalism.? (To which the architect retorts, ?No!!! It?s Maxi-Minimalism!? a clear send-up of Koolhaas?s size obsession codified in his thumping 1995 tome S,M,L, XL.)

As Kidd?s epigraph explains, ?The inspiration for this story came from two real-world events: the demolition of the original Pennsylvania Station in 1963, and the fatal construction crane collapses in midtown Manhattan in 2008.? The book?s juxtaposition of intentional and accidental architectural destruction implies that there is little difference between them in their harmful effect on civic culture.

Batman: Death by Design is as intriguingly multi-layered as the metropolis it depicts. One of the most arresting pages pairs up-and-down, day-and-night views of the imperiled Central Station?s interior that are likely informed by Berenice Abbott?s incomparable 1936 black-and-white photos of the long-lost Penn Station concourse, a soaring, sun-dappled space in which the boldly exposed but gracefully wrought steel structure conveyed all the grandeur of Classical architecture. In one panel, Syl reminds Wayne of his father?s motivation in building such an awe-inducing marvel: ?You must astonish them.?

January 29, 2013, 12:40 p.m.

Source: http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2013/jan/29/batman-koolhaas-death-by-design/

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Video: Turmoil in Syria, Egypt Escalate

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50646550/

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Chicago Girl Killed One Week After Performing in Inauguration Parade

CHICAGO ? A teen who performed in President Barack Obama?s inaugural parade was shot to death in Chicago this week, and now her story has become part of the debate in Washington over gun violence nationwide.

The shooting death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton came up in a U.S. Senate hearing and a White House press briefing Wednesday.

?She was an honor student and a majorette. And she marched in the inaugural parade last week here in Washington. It was the highlight of her young, 15-year-old life,? said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois.

Speaking at Wednesday?s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence, Durbin mentioned Pendleton?s death as he argued that more must be done to stop gun crimes.

?Yesterday, in a rainstorm after school, she raced to a shelter. A gunman came in and shot her dead,? he said. ?Just a matter of days after the happiest day of her life, she?s gone.?

White House spokesman Jay Carney described her death as a ?terrible tragedy.?

?The president has more than once, when he talks about gun violence in America, referred not just to the horror of Newtown or Aurora or Virginia Tech or Oak Creek but to shootings on the corner in Chicago or other parts of the country,? Carney told reporters. ?And this is just another example of the problem we need to deal with.?

Pendleton was shot just blocks away from her high school on the south side of Chicago, CNN affiliate WGN reported.

Police told CNN affiliates that the teenager had no gang affiliation and likely was not the intended target.

?There has to be an end to it. It?s just too much. The children cannot go to school. They?re in fear,? Bonita O?Bannion, who lives in the area where the shooting occurred, told CNN affiliate WBBM.

Carney said the president and first lady?s thoughts and prayers are with Pendleton?s family.

?And as the president said, we will never be able to eradicate every act of evil in this country,? Carney said, ?but if we can save even one child?s life, we have an obligation to try when it comes to the scourge of gun violence.?

Source: http://fox4kc.com/2013/01/30/chicago-girl-killed-one-week-after-performing-in-inauguration-parade/

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Program to overcome early US Math deficiencies could improve workforce

Public release date: 30-Jan-2013
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Contact: Tim Wall
walltj@missouri.edu
573-882-3346
University of Missouri-Columbia

America's future workers could benefit from improving a certain math skill in preschool

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- One in five adults in the United States lacks the math competency expected of an eighth grader, according to the United States Center for Educational Statistics. University of Missouri researchers identified how a lack of a specific math skill in first grade correlated to lower scores on a seventh grade math test used to determine employability and wages in adults. Intervention programs designed to overcome this early math deficiency could prepare students for later employment, help them make wiser economic choices and improve the future U.S. workforce.

"Our study made a connection between child psychology and labor economics in order to examine the roots of America's shortage of mathematically proficient workers," said lead author David Geary, professor of psychological sciences at University of Missouri. "We isolated a specific skill that has real world importance in employability and observed how that skill related to grade-school mathematical performance. By identifying a specific numerical skill as a target, we can focus education efforts on helping deficient students as early as kindergarten and thereby give them a better chance at career success in adulthood."

The particular math skill Geary identified, "number system knowledge," is the ability to conceptualize a numeral as a symbol for a quantity and understand systematic relationships between numbers. In Geary's research, having this knowledge at the beginning of first grade predicted better functional mathematical ability in adolescence. On the other hand, skill at solving math problems by counting didn't correlate to later ability. Students who started behind in counting ability were able to catch up, whereas students who were behind in number system knowledge stayed behind their peers.

"An early deficit in number system knowledge creates a weak foundation for later learning," said Geary. "That weak foundation can lead to a lifetime of problems, not limited to reduced employment opportunities. Poor understanding of mathematical concepts can make a person easy prey for predatory lenders. Numerical literacy, or numeracy, also helps with saving for big purchases and managing mortgages and credit card debt."

Geary's study involved 180 13-year-olds who had been assessed every year since kindergarten for intelligence, memory, mathematical cognition, attention span and achievement. All of these factors were controlled for in the analysis of scores on the employability tests administered in seventh grade. Demographic differences also were accounted for along with other factors.

###

The study, "Adolescents' Functional Numeracy is Predicted by Their School Entry Number System Knowledge," was published in the journal PLOS ONE. Mary Hoard and Lara Nugent, who are both senior research specialists at MU, were co-authors along with Drew Bailey, MU doctoral graduate and now postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. Geary is Curators' Professor and a Thomas Jefferson Fellow in the Department of Psychological Sciences in MU's College of Arts and Science.

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Program to overcome early US Math deficiencies could improve workforce

Public release date: 30-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Tim Wall
walltj@missouri.edu
573-882-3346
University of Missouri-Columbia

America's future workers could benefit from improving a certain math skill in preschool

###

[ | E-mail |

Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/uom-pto012413.php

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

New look at cell membrane reveals surprising organization

Jan. 28, 2013 ? Sight would dramatically alter a blind man's understanding of an elephant, according to the old story. Now, a look directly at a cell surface is changing our understanding of cell membrane organization.?

Using a completely new approach to imaging cell membranes, a study by researchers from the University of Illinois, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the National Institutes of Health revealed some surprising relationships among molecules within cell membranes.

Led by Mary Kraft, a U. of I. professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, the team published its findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Cells are enveloped in semi-permeable membranes that act as a barrier between the inside and outside of the cell. The membrane is mainly composed of a class of molecules called lipids, studded with proteins that help regulate how the cell responds to its environment.

"Lipids have multiple functions serving as both membrane structure and signaling molecules, so they regulate other functions inside the cell," Kraft said. "Therefore, understanding how they're organized is important. You need to know where they are to figure out how they're doing these regulatory functions."

One widely held belief among cell biologists is that lipids in the membrane assemble into patches, called domains, that differ in composition. However, research into how lipids are organized in the membrane, and how that organization affects cell function, has been hampered by the lack of direct observation. Although the cell membrane is heavily studied, the imaging techniques used infer the locations of certain molecules based on assumed associations with other molecules.

In the new study, Kraft's team used an advanced, molecule-specific imaging method that allowed the researchers to look at the membrane itself and map a particular type of lipid on mouse cell membranes. The researchers fed lipids labeled with rare stable isotopes to the cells and then imaged the distribution of the isotopes with high-resolution imaging mass spectrometry.

Called sphingolipids (SFING-go-lih-pids), these molecules are thought to associate with cholesterol to form small domains about 200 nanometers across. The direct imaging method revealed that sphingolipids do indeed form domains, but not in the way the researchers expected.

The domains were much bigger than suggested by prior experiments. The 200-nanometer domains clustered together to form much larger, micrometer-sized patches of sphingolipids in the membrane.

"We were amazed when we saw the first images of the patches of sphingolipids across the cell surface," said Peter Weber, who directed the team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. "We weren't sure if our imaging mass spectrometry method would be sensitive enough to detect the labeled lipids, let alone what we would see."

Furthermore, when the researchers looked at cells that were low on cholesterol -- thought to play a key role in lipid aggregation -- they were surprised to find that the lipids still formed domains. On the other hand, disruption to the cell's structural scaffold seemed to dissolve the lipid clusters.

"We found that the presence of domains was somewhat affected by cholesterol but was more affected by the cytoskeleton -- the protein network underneath the membrane," Kraft said. "The central issue is that the data are suggesting that the mechanism that's responsible for these domains is much more complicated than initially expected."

In addition, the new study found that sphingolipids domains were incompletely associated with a marker protein that researchers have long assumed dwelled where sphingolipids congregated. This means that data collected with imaging techniques that target this protein are not as accurate in representing sphingolipid distribution as previously thought.

"Our data are showing that if you want to know where sphingolipids are, look at the lipid, don't infer where it is based on other molecules, and now there's a way to directly image them," said Kraft, who also is affiliated with the department of chemistry at the U. of I.

Next, the researchers plan to use the direct-imaging method in conjunction with other more conventional methods, such as fluorescence, to further determine the organization of different kinds of molecules in the membrane, their interactions and how they affect the cell's function. They plan to begin by targeting cholesterol.

"Cholesterol abundance is important," Kraft said. "You change that, you tremendously change cell function. How is it organized? Is it also in domains? That's related to the question, what's the mechanism responsible for these structures and what are they doing?"

The National Institutes of Health, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the National Science Foundation and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund supported this work. Co-author Joshua Zimmerberg directed research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Jessica F. Frisz, Kaiyan Lou, Haley A. Klitzing, William P. Hanafin, Vladimir Lizunov, Robert L. Wilson, Kevin J. Carpenter, Raehyun Kim, Ian D. Hutcheon, Joshua Zimmerberg, Peter K. Weber, and Mary L. Kraft. Direct chemical evidence for sphingolipid domains in the plasma membranes of fibroblasts. PNAS, January 28, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1216585110

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/dlLKi0xDQOg/130128151924.htm

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What does the world expect from newly confirmed Secretary of State John Kerry?

Hillary Rodham Clinton has been one of the US?s most popular and peripatetic secretaries of state ? logging nearly 1 million miles in four years and becoming a household name from Panama to Pakistan.

Her successor, John Kerry, who was approved unanimously by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and confirmed by the Senate today as the new US secretary of State, might not have the same widespread clout. However, he comes with nearly 30 years of foreign policy experience and among his peers is largely considered one of the most capable US politicians for the job.

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The son of a US diplomat who grew up living and traveling across Europe and speaks fluent French, Senator Kerry lost his bid for the presidency in 2004 to George W. Bush. But he became well known across the globe for his work on the Senate?s Foreign Relations Committee, which he has chaired for four years and served on for 28.

In facing the globe?s most intractable problems, the world is hopeful that Kerry is well poised for the position. ?He is seen as the embodiment of traditional foreign policy,? says Ian Lesser, the executive director of the German Marshall Fund?s Brussels Office.

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Whether that is good or bad is subjective, but from Europe to Pakistan to China, many have voiced expectations that his vast experience and diplomatic skill will be a boon to dealing with international crises and issues.

MOVING ?THE PROCESS FORWARD? IN PAKISTAN

Among the immediate challenges that Kerry faces is the US relationship with Pakistan as NATO withdraws from Afghanistan. To ensure the stability of that process, Pakistan ? which shares a border with Afghanistan, is known for militant activity, and whose security establishment has been accused of maintaining close ties with the Afghan Taliban ? is considered a key player.

Insiders there have expressed hope that Kerry can navigate a complicated relationship.

"John Kerry, I personally feel, is more mature and positive in terms of looking at Pakistan and Afghanistan,? says a Pakistani security official who is not permitted to speak on the record. "He has a lot of goodwill among the foreign office people and the military. I think it is going to break a lot of ice, and move the process forward in terms of Pakistan and Afghanistan."

Kerry led a successful mission to Kabul in 2009, leading Hamid Karzai to agree to second-round presidential elections. Kerry has frequently spoken of the need for a more conciliatory approach to Pakistan, speaking out against cutting foreign aid to the country and saying that it has not gotten enough credit for killing Osama bin Laden.

"The biggest thing with Kerry is that he knows Pakistan. He's seen the ups and downs of policy here. So that's a huge plus,? says Raza Rumi, director of the Jinnah Institute in Pakistan. ?He's not a hardliner. In fact, he's viewed as a friend of Pakistan by many circles in the country."

?QUI EST JOHN KERRY?

Kerry is a five-term senator from Massachusetts, who attended the elite schools and universities of the East coast and is one of the country?s wealthiest politicians ? now married to Teresa Heinz Kerry.

He has French relatives and speaks the language perfectly, but that is not something that served him well during his 2004 presidential bid. Critics dismissed him as an out-of-touch Francophone, ridiculing him as ?Monsieur Kerry.?

But if that hurt him in middle America, it is a leg-up in Europe.

?What plays against him in the US plays 150 percent for him in France,? says Steven Ekovich, who teaches American foreign policy at the American University of Paris and wrote a book on John Kerry in French in 2004 called ?Qui est John Kerry?? or ?Who is John Kerry.? He says the French are delighted to have a man with an affinity for Europe, and especially for France, as the face of US diplomacy.

Kerry?s French counterpart, Laurent Fabius, congratulated him upon his appointment and acknowledged ?how personally committed he is to Franco-American friendship.?

Still, Kerry takes the position at a time when the ?pivot to Asia? has triggered anxiety in European corners. ?One of his biggest challenges will be convincing Europeans that Europe still matters politically in Washington,? says Mr. Lesser.

He says the US turns to Europe as the natural partner on key questions, most recently conflict in Mali, as well as nuclear arms in Iran, and questions about energy and climate. And despite the focus on Asia, trade between the US and Europe is still dominant in global terms, he says.

?ASIA PIVOT?

It is unclear, whether Kerry will maintain the same focus on Asia as did his predecessor. His first international crisis may surface in the region, as North Korea threatens an imminent nuclear test in yet another act of defiance of the international community.

But aside from having fought in Vietnam and made the foreign trips that are standard for all senior members of the US foreign policy establishment, Kerry has no particular Asia expertise.

?Clinton made rebalancing [US foreign policy toward Asia] her legacy,? says Bonnie Glaser, a senior analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. ?Kerry may want to choose another issue for his legacy.?

As a result, Ms. Glaser adds, despite the ?Asia Pivot,? ?many countries in the region are preparing themselves for a diminished level of US attention. There?s a fear the US won?t have the staying power to sustain the interest we have seen over the past four years.?

The new secretary of State is not likely to ignore Washington?s relationship with treaty ally Japan, especially in light of Tokyo?s dangerous dispute with Beijing over ownership of islands in the East China Sea.

As he manages that relationship, Kerry ?will have to keep a delicate balance? between ties with Japan and ties with China, warns Tao Wenzhao, a US-watcher at the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences.

And Chinese analysts say they expect smoother diplomatic relations under Kerry. ?I think Kerry may do more to ease China?s uneasiness over the pivot to Asia,? says Liu Feitao, an expert on US affairs at the China Institute for International Studies, a think tank linked to the Foreign Ministry. ?I think we will see less of the conflict and friction we saw under Hillary Clinton.?

Kerry, who cautioned in his Senate confirmation hearings that the US should be careful ?about not creating a threat when there isn?t one? and against ?overreacting? to China?s military buildup, ?is more diplomatic minded? than his predecessor, believes Shen Dingli, a foreign policy adviser to the Chinese government.

NUCLEAR IRAN?

Iran and its nuclear program will inevitably be near the top of Kerry's agenda, continuing a trajectory of growing importance and urgency over Iran that has bedeviled his predecessors.

Kerry has inherited a standoff between Iran and the US and its allies marked by ever-increasing sanctions, stalled nuclear talks, and a covert war that has included assassinations, mysterious explosions, and computer viruses.

Rarely in the past three decades has Iran been seen as such a challenge to Washington. So, for Kerry as secretary of State, critical decisions may determine an outcome of peace or war.

Kerry told Senators last week: "We will do what we must do to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and I repeat here today, our policy is not containment. It is prevention, and the clock is ticking on our efforts to secure responsible compliance."

Kerry's instinct appears to mirror Obama's own: to err on the side of diplomacy, and avoid a military conflict that strategists and Iran experts say would have uncertain chances of success and a host of negative consequences.

He said sanctions have succeeded in strangling Iran's economy, though they have caused no reevaluation in Tehran of its nuclear program, which Iran says is limited to peaceful power production.

A host of American and European measures target its lifeblood, oil exports, and central bank transactions, along with four sets of sanctions imposed on Iran by the UN.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has chastised the Obama administration for not laying down a "red line" for Iran's nuclear advances, which would trigger military strikes.

"Iranians need to understand that there's no other agenda here," Kerry said during his confirmation hearings. "If their program is peaceful, they can prove it. And that's what we are seeking."

PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

Kerry might face a better climate when it comes to the stalled and failing peace negotiations in the Middle East.

Kerry said in his confirmation hearing that President Obama is ?deeply committed? to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. He also warned that, ?if we can't be successful that the door ? to the possibility of a two-state solution could shut on everybody and that would be disastrous in my judgment.?

In 2012, Israel approved four times more new housing projects in East Jerusalem and the West Bank than in the previous year, raising concerns that it may soon become too difficult to piece together a viable Palestinian state. Meanwhile, the rise of Hamas in Gaza could compromise Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas?s ability to secure a peace deal that?s acceptable to his people.

Kerry is reportedly planning a trip in February to gauge the willingness of both sides to renew negotiations. It is a delicate time, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faring poorly in recent elections and the next government not expected to be firmly in place for at least a month. But once the dust settles, the situation might be riper for negotiations than when Secretary Clinton took office.

?I think he?s coming to a much more level playing field than we had in the last few years,? says Alon Liel, a veteran diplomat, citing Obama?s election victory and the Palestinian success in getting recognized as a state at the United Nations.

?We have stronger and more independent American president we have a weaker Israeli prime minister, and we have a stronger [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] after the UN vote,? says Mr. Liel.

Other key issues that Kerry is likely to face: Israeli pressure to strike Iran and working with Israel to prevent Syria?s chemical weapons from falling into the wrong hands.

ECONOMIC POLICY IN LATIN AMERICA

In Latin America, hopes are not high that the US under Kerry will pay more attention to the region than did Obama with Clinton. Some point to the scant reference to the region during Kerry?s confirmation hearing as evidence.

That?s a missed opportunity, writes Andres Oppenheimer in his column in the Miami Herald.

In response to Kerry?s comment in his opening statement at the confirmation hearing ? ?More than ever, foreign policy is economic policy? ? Mr. Oppenheimer writes: ?Nobody in his right mind will argue that Iran?s nuclear program, or al-Qaida?s cells in North Africa, should not be at the center of US foreign policy concerns.?

But, Oppenheimer writes, ?if US foreign policy is increasingly about economic policy, and if the United States needs to increase its declining share of global trade and investment, as Kerry said, it should definitely seek greater economic ties with Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and other fast-growing Western Hemisphere neighbors.?

Overall Kerry has less appeal in the region than did Clinton, says Analicia Ruiz, an expert on US-Mexico relations at An?huac University in Mexico City.

?People don?t know who he is,? Ms. Ruiz says. ?They had an affinity for Clinton because she broke a paradigm. She was a woman, the wife of the ex-president [Bill Clinton],? Ruiz says. Kerry, on the other hand, is considered a member of the ?old boys? network of Washington.

And on the issues that matter most to Mexicans, she says, the secretary of State position is not crucial. ?Whether we actually get a comprehensive immigration reform depends on the internal politics of the US,? Ruiz says.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

In fact, expectations are high across the globe for Obama's second term, and his new secretary of State might see his first challenge ?expectation management,? says Lesser in Brussels.

Blazer agrees, pointing to the possibility of Chinese hopes not being fulfilled. ?It?s the president who sets policy,? she says. ?The Chinese have inflated expectations of how much US policy might change.?

3 Keys: How to Manage Your Email Inbox

By: Amber Ludwig, Website Development ? Social Media Branding ? Internet Marketing Coaching

Do you feel like a crazy person when you open your email Inbox and wish you knew how to manage your emails a little better?

Productivity Tip

As emails come pouring in throughout the day, ask yourself these questions: How to Manage Your Email Inbox

* Is this something I need to handle right now, or is it best handled later? And if later? today or tomorrow?

* Is this something someone else on my team can respond to?

* Do I get this email question regularly?

How Does That Help?

Answering question #1 can help you prioritize so you are better serving your clients.

Answering question #2 helps with your time management. As an entrepreneur it?s SO HARD to ?not? do it all. Hiring an assistant to help with your easy admin work load can save you a LOT of time, and you?ll end up enjoying what you do even more.

Answering question #3 is KEY to your productivity. Once I realize I start typing the same kind of responses, I will copy a response into a Word doc and save it in a ?templates? folder on my computer. When i see the question arise again, I?ll paste in my response, tweak it to apply to that specific person and send it out. This could easily save you an hour a day if you get good about seeing the patterns and making it an automated process.

Bonus Tip:

To really boost email management and productivity, check out Boomerang for Gmail to schedule emails ? including recurring emails!

If you thought these tips were helpful, please ?like? and ?share? this post.

Be sure to tag me (add @Amber Ludwig) in the post so I see it and can respond.

Source: http://insightfuldevelopment.com/3-keys-how-to-manage-your-email-inbox/

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State Department: Iran jails US pastor for 8 years

An American pastor who has been jailed in Iran since September has been sentenced to eight years in prison, the U.S. State Department said Sunday.

Spokesman Darby Holladay said the department is calling on Iran to respect Saeed Abedini's human rights and release him.

Earlier this month, Iran's semi-official news agency, ISNA, quoted Abedini's attorney, Nasser Sarbazi, as saying his client stood trial in the Revolutionary Court on charges of attempting to undermine state security by creating a network of Christian churches in private homes.

The pastor, who is of Iranian origin but lives in Boise, Idaho, has rejected the charges.

"Mr. Abedini's attorney had only one day (Jan. 21) to present his defense, so we remain deeply concerned about the fairness and transparency of Mr. Abedini's trial," Holladay said.

'Devastated'
Following the court presentation, ISNA quoted Sarbazi as saying the court would issue its verdict later, and that Abedini would be allowed to leave Iran and meet his family in the U.S. after posting bail.

"The promise of his release was a lie," said the pastor's wife, Naghmeh. "With today's development, I am devastated for my husband and my family. We must now pursue every effort, turn every rock, and not stop until Saeed is safely on American soil."

Her comments were provided by the Washington-based American Center for Law and Justice, which focuses on constitutional and human rights law around the world. The center is representing the pastor's family in the United States.

Holladay said the State Department is in close contact with Abedini's family and actively engaged in the case. Abedini and his wife have two children.

"We condemn Iran's continued violation of the universal right of freedom of religion," Holladay said.

The Associated Press

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/28/16734744-iran-jails-us-pastor-for-8-years-state-department-says?lite

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Sedo to Broker the Sweet Sale of Premium Online Real Estate ...

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Egyptian protesters defy curfew, attack police stations

CAIRO/ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Egyptian protesters defied a nighttime curfew in restive towns along the Suez Canal, attacking police stations and ignoring emergency rule imposed by Islamist President Mohamed Mursi to end days of clashes that have killed at least 52 people.

At least two men died in overnight fighting in the canal city of Port Said in the latest outbreak of violence unleashed last week on the eve of the anniversary of the 2011 revolt that brought down autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Political opponents spurned a call by Mursi for talks on Monday to try to end the violence.

Instead, huge crowds of protesters took to the streets in Cairo, Alexandria and in the three Suez Canal cities - Port Said, Ismailia and Suez - where Mursi imposed emergency rule and a curfew on Sunday.

"Down, down with Mohamed Mursi! Down, down with the state of emergency!" crowds shouted in Ismailia. In Cairo, flames lit up the night sky as protesters set police vehicles ablaze.

In Port Said, men attacked police stations after dark. A security source said some police and troops were injured. A medical source said two men were killed and 12 injured in the clashes, including 10 with gunshot wounds.

"The people want to bring down the regime," crowds chanted in Alexandria. "Leave means go, and don't say no!"

The demonstrators accuse Mubarak's successor Mursi of betraying the two-year-old revolution. Mursi and his supporters accuse the protesters of seeking to overthrow Egypt's first ever democratically elected leader through undemocratic means.

Since Mubarak was toppled, Islamists have won two referendums, two parliamentary elections and a presidential vote. But that legitimacy has been challenged by an opposition that accuses Mursi of imposing a new form of authoritarianism, and punctuated by repeated waves of unrest that have prevented a return to stability in the most populous Arab state.

WEST UNNERVED

The army has already been deployed in Port Said and Suez and the government agreed a measure to let soldiers arrest civilians as part of the state of emergency.

The instability unnerves Western capitals, where officials worry about the direction of powerful regional player that has a peace deal with Israel. The United States condemned the bloodshed and called on Egyptian leaders to make clear violence is not acceptable. ID:nW1E8MD01C].

In Cairo on Monday, police fired volleys of teargas at stone-throwing protesters near Tahrir Square, cauldron of the anti-Mubarak uprising. Demonstrators stormed into the downtown Semiramis Intercontinental hotel and burned two police vehicles.

A 46-year-old bystander was killed by a gunshot early on Monday, a security source said. It was not clear who fired.

"We want to bring down the regime and end the state that is run by the Muslim Brotherhood," said Ibrahim Eissa, a 26-year-old cook, protecting his face from teargas wafting towards him.

The political unrest in the Suez Canal cities has been exacerbated by street violence linked to death penalties imposed on soccer supporters convicted of involvement in stadium rioting in Port Said a year ago.

Mursi's invitation to opponents to hold a national dialogue with Islamists on Monday was spurned by the main opposition National Salvation Front coalition, which rejected the offer as "cosmetic and not substantive".

The only liberal politician who attended, Ayman Nour, told Egypt's al-Hayat channel after the meeting ended late on Monday that attendees agreed to meet again in a week.

He said Mursi had promised to look at changes to the constitution requested by the opposition but did not consider the opposition's request for a government of national unity.

The president announced the emergency measures on television on Sunday: "The protection of the nation is the responsibility of everyone. We will confront any threat to its security with force and firmness within the remit of the law," Mursi said.

His demeanor in the address infuriated his opponents, not least when he wagged a finger at the camera.

Some activists said Mursi's measures to try to impose control on the turbulent streets could backfire.

"Martial law, state of emergency and army arrests of civilians are not a solution to the crisis," said Ahmed Maher of the April 6 movement that helped galvanize the 2011 uprising. "All this will do is further provoke the youth. The solution has to be a political one that addresses the roots of the problem."

(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair and Yasmine Saleh in Cairo and Abdelrahman Youssef in Alexandria; Writing by Edmund Blair, Yasmine Saleh and Peter Graff)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-leader-declares-emergency-clashes-kill-dozens-031734034.html

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What the 'Bqhatevwr' Did Scott Brown Tweet?

What do politicians do after losing their re-election bids? Take to Twitter, of course. Former Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts has been doing just that.

Brown has been tweeting about his everyday life post-politics, posting blurbs about house chores, football, and his family, but Brown's tweets are somewhat less refined than those tweeted by his skilled staffers when he was serving in Congress.

On his verified Twitter account on Friday morning, the former senator tweeted about seeing his daughter, Ayla perform at Pejamajo Caf? in Holliston.

"Yes. Get ready." The tweet read, but without the finesse of Brown's tweeting staff, one of his followers misunderstood the message.

"Oh we are. You have no idea how ready #MaPoli is to vote to keep you in the private sector & out of #MASen" @MattinSomerville tweeted back.

Brown responded with a series of three tweets delivered after midnight.

"Your brilliant Matt," he first tweeted.

"Whatever," followed.

And finally Brown tweeted, "Bqhatevwr."

Though he deleted his tweets, "Bqhatevwr" trended on Twitter nearly as quickly as #eastwooding.

The trending typo drew both bipartisan support and mockery. Some taunted the former senator for his late night slip-up, creating Internet memes and "Bqhatevwr" quips, while others defended Brown, saying that he is just an average Joe who committed a typical Twitter faux pas.

But what most Twitter enthusiast failed to recognize what that Brown's first "Your brilliant" tweet was grammatically incorrect, too.

The Consumer: The Drug-Dose Gender Gap

Most sleeping pills are designed to knock you out for eight hours. When the Food and Drug Administration was evaluating a new short-acting pill for people to take when they wake up in the middle of the night, agency scientists wanted to know how much of the drug would still be in users? systems come morning.

Blood tests uncovered a gender gap: Men metabolized the drug, Intermezzo, faster than women. Ultimately the F.D.A. approved a 3.5 milligram pill for men, and a 1.75 milligram pill for women.

The active ingredient in Intermezzo, zolpidem, is used in many other sleeping aids, including Ambien. But it wasn?t until earlier this month that the F.D.A. reduced doses of Ambien for women by half.

Sleeping pills are hardly the only medications that may have unexpected, even dangerous, effects in women. Studies have shown that women respond differently than men to many drugs, from aspirin to anesthesia. Researchers are only beginning to understand the scope of the issue, but many believe that as a result, women experience a disproportionate share of adverse, often more severe, side effects.

?This is not just about Ambien ? that?s just the tip of the iceberg,? said Dr. Janine Clayton, director for the Office of Research on Women?s Health at the National Institutes of Health. ?There are a lot of sex differences for a lot of drugs, some of which are well known and some that are not well recognized.?

Until 1993, women of childbearing age were routinely excluded from trials of new drugs. When the F.D.A. lifted the ban that year, agency researchers noted that because landmark studies on aspirin in heart disease and stroke had not included women, the scientific community was left ?with doubts about whether aspirin was, in fact, effective in women for these indications.?

Because so many drugs were tested mostly or exclusively in men, scientists may know little of their effects on women until they reach the market. A Government Accountability Office study found that 8 of 10 drugs removed from the market from 1997 through 2000 posed greater health risks to women.

For example, Seldane, an antihistamine, and the gastrointestinal drug Propulsid both triggered a potentially fatal heart arrhythmia more often in women than in men. Many drugs still on the market cause this arrhythmia more often in women, including antibiotics, antipsychotics, anti-malarial drugs and cholesterol-lowering drugs, Dr. Clayton said. Women also tend to use more medications than men.

The sex differences cut both ways. Some drugs, like the high blood pressure drug Verapamil and the antibiotic erythromycin, appear to be more effective in women. On the other hand, women tend to wake up from anesthesia faster than men and are more likely to experience side effects from anesthetic drugs, according to the Society for Women?s Health Research.

Women also react differently to alcohol, tobacco and cocaine, studies have found.

It?s not just because women tend to be smaller than men. Women metabolize drugs differently because they have a higher percentage of body fat and experience hormonal fluctuations and the monthly menstrual cycle. ?Some drugs are more water-based and like to hang out in the blood, and some like to hang out in the fat tissue,? said Wesley Lindsey, assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Auburn University, who is a co-author of a paper on sex-based differences in drug activity.

?If the drug is lipophilic? ? attracted to fat cells ? ?it will move into those tissues and hang around for longer,? Dr. Lindsey added. ?The body won?t clear it as quickly, and you?ll see effects longer.?

There are also sex differences in liver metabolism, kidney function and certain gastric enzymes. Oral contraceptives, menopause and post-menopausal hormone treatment further complicate the picture. Some studies suggest, for example, that when estrogen levels are low, women may need higher doses of drugs called angiotensin receptor blockers to lower blood pressure, because they have higher levels of proteins that cause the blood vessels to constrict, said Kathryn Sandberg, director of the Center for the Study of Sex Differences in Health, Aging and Disease at Georgetown.

Many researchers say data on these sex differences must be gathered at the very beginning of a drug?s development ? even before trials on human subjects begin.

?The path to a new drug starts with the basic science ? you study an animal model of the disease, and that?s where you discover a drug target,? Dr. Sandberg said. ?But 90 percent of researchers are still studying male animal models of the disease.?

There have been improvements. In an interview, Dr. Robert Temple, with the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the F.D.A., said the agency?s new guidelines in 1993 called for studies of sex differences at the earliest stages of drug development, as well as for analysis of clinical trial data by sex.

He said early research on an irritable bowel syndrome drug, alosetron (Lotronex), suggested it would not be effective in men. As a result, only women were included in clinical trials, and it was approved only for women. (Its use is restricted now because of serious side effects.)

But some scientists say drug metabolism studies with only 10 or 15 subjects are too small to pick up sex differences. Even though more women participate in clinical trials than in the past, they are still underrepresented in trials for heart and kidney disease, according to one recent analysis, and even in cancer trials.

?The big problem is we?re not quite sure how much difference this makes,? Dr. Lindsey said. ?We just don?t have a good handle on it.?

Readers may submit comments or questions for The Consumer by e-mail to consumer@nytimes.com.

Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/the-drug-dose-gender-gap/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Monday, January 28, 2013

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Performing arts groups use personal sponsorships to build bridges ...

Art needs money and money needs art.

Money allows the arts to flourish. Art allows wealth to be a positive cultural force.

It?s a relationship you can trace to, well, to the invention of money itself.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, for example, has ancient funereal statuary and monumental sculptures that are thousands of years old. And it?s a safe bet that they were underwritten by someone with access to large numbers of Babylonian shekels, Greek drachmas or Roman sesterces.

Performing arts organizations in Kansas City are largely funded by our local equivalent of the Medici banking dynasty of Renaissance Italy ? foundations, corporations and wealthy private donors ? but there?s another option available to people with means and an urge to help the arts: personal sponsorships.

Open a program for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City or Kansas City Repertory Theatre and you?ll see that many of the actors, singers and perhaps even directors and designers have been sponsored by individuals. Often the sponsors are on the organization?s board, but not always. It?s a way for donors and artists to rub elbows, enjoy some private time with performers and get to know one another as human beings over lunch or dinner.

Denyce Graves, an internationally famed mezzo-soprano, will make her Kansas City debut in April when she appears in the Lyric Opera?s production of ?The Mikado.? But without personal sponsorships, neither she nor bass-baritone Dale Travis, who will play the title role, might be appearing at the Lyric.

Deborah Sandler, the Lyric?s new general director and CEO, said she actively pursued Graves but wasn?t sure she could meet the opera star?s fee. Sandler found a way to get her to Kansas City.

?I came here and I inherited a budget and not everything was cast and the role of Katisha was not cast,? Sandler said of plans for staging ?The Mikado.? ?So I negotiated with her agent, and we were still a little bit apart. And I wondered: What else could she do that would have a great impact on the company and the community that would allow me to go to a donor??

Sandler turned to attorney Jon Gray, a member of the Lyric board?s executive committee. Gray said he?d help sponsor Graves if she could do something substantial for young people in the community.

So Sandler decided to ask the singer to make a commitment beyond her performance. Graves agreed to conduct a master class for the company?s apprentices as well as Frost Honors Artists ? high school students showing vocal promise ? and observers from the Musical Bridges program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City?s conservatory. The program provides musical instruction to talented at-risk students in the Kansas City area.

?So that?s pretty much a win-win,? Sandler said.

Gray and his wife, Valerie Chow (who serves on the Youth Symphony board), had previously sponsored an out-of-town actor in Kansas City Rep?s production of ?Broke-ology,? and they have thrown cast parties in their home. Gray had a special interest in sponsoring Graves because she, like Graves, is African-American.

?If I want an opportunity to see people of color performing at the highest level, I need to do more than buy a ticket,? Gray said.

Chow helped found Musical Bridges, and Gray said he wanted to include kids from the program.

?We mentioned some things we hoped for in respect to Ms. Graves,? Gray said. ?We hope to meet her. But one of the things we asked for was for the Musical Bridges students to have the opportunity to, if not participate in a master class, at least be in the room to watch it.?

The Lyric?s annual budget is about $6.4 million, and sponsorships help the organization buttress the bottom line. Sandler said an individual sponsor could contribute $5,000 to $25,000 for one artist and could spend as much as $75,000 to underwrite more than one artist. Artists have been sponsored by private donors at the Lyric for at least five years.

Sandler said the money helps but it has a greater value. It?s a way to enrich relationships between the organization and its supporters.

?They are people who already have a relationship with the company, but this gives them an opportunity to forge a deeper relationship,? she said. ?And from our perspective it sometimes makes the difference between having a particular singer here or not having them.?

And if there were no sponsors?

?We?re in the business of producing opera,? Sandler said. ?It?s not that absent the sponsorships we wouldn?t do the opera. Of course we?re going to do the opera. But the more money we can raise, the higher production values the production will have.?

At Kansas City Rep, which has a budget of about $7.5 million, sponsorships for artists and others involved in the first show of the current season, ?Pippin,? came to $27,000, according to former managing director Cynthia Rider, now with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. That helps the bottom line a little, but an individual sponsorship doesn?t cover the total cost of hiring a single actor or director.

?I think there are two primary benefits,? Rider said. ?One is that it really connects philanthropy with the artists and that in turn leads to greater stability and financial support for the Rep. The other is really supporting the artists in a personal way. It?s one of the ways we can make the Rep a place for artists to do their best work.?

Eric Rosen, the Rep?s artistic director, said the sponsorships began in a small way about four years ago as part of a company plan. They?ve grown since then.

?When I got here it was a very disconnected world between the people who gave us money and those who made it work,? Rosen said. ?It?s much better than I thought it would be. We thought we?d do it for one show and see how it went. And now it?s a major board strategy.?

Rosen, like Sandler, said one of the benefits of the sponsorship program was creating a positive experience for the visiting artists, who will then spread the word about the Rep and the Lyric to their colleagues in New York and around the world.

?It sounds like a small thing, but it?s in our strategic plan, the goal of making this a more exciting experience for all of our artists, so it becomes their top choice in the future,? Rosen said.

In almost every case there?s a social event in which sponsors and artists meet face-to-face. A leisurely lunch, a late dinner, a reception at someone?s home or a visit to a Kansas City barbecue joint are all in the mix.

Elizabeth Caballero, a soprano who played the title role in the Lyric Opera?s production of ?Madama Butterfly,? said the private time is a chance for sponsors to get a sense of who the artist really is.

?It?s always nice because you can meet them and thank them in person,? said Caballero, who was sponsored by Lyric board president Richard P. Bruening and his wife. ?They ask questions about how you got started. They just want to know who you are as a person more than as a singer. They get to know you more as an individual.?

Ann Baum and husband Kenneth sponsored the Kansas City Symphony?s opening weekend this season with featured guest violinist Vadim Gluzman. After the first performance the Baums dined with Gluzman and music director Michael Stern.

?In the case of the Symphony, the most fun aspect of it is we have an intimate dinner afterwards with Michael, with Gluzman, with some of the leaders within the Symphony family,? Ann Baum said. ?It?s an opportunity to really get to know people behind the scenes in a much more intimate way.?

She said a major sponsorship could yield another benefit: inspiring others in the community to follow suit.

?I think Kenny and I would support the Symphony anyway, but it is an opportunity to lead by example,? she said. ?We all know how much money it takes from the private community to support the orchestra.?

No matter which organization you consider, the dynamics are basically the same: A small universe of donors, supporters and subscribers embraces the organization. Social relationships between the artistic leadership and the donors are integral to fundraising. Baum, for example, described Stern as a personal friend. Bunni Copaken, a Rep board member, described Rosen as a friend and attended his wedding in upstate New York last year.

Frank Byrne, the Symphony?s executive director, said donors are regularly offered opportunities to sponsor concerts or specific artists.

?This is a very common structure to connect artists and donors,? Byrne said. ?For the people who have done this for the Symphony, I think they find it particularly rewarding.?? It?s part of creating that connection.?

Sponsorships are not exclusive to the major institutions in town. Just this season Quality Hill Playhouse, the intimate downtown theater that specializes in musical revues showcasing iconic American songwriters, began offering sponsorship opportunities. They include $5,000 to sponsor one performer for one show, $15,000 for an instrumentalist for the entire season and $30,000 to cover pianist and executive director J. Kent Barnhart for a season.

Managing director Rick Truman said all five performers in the company?s inaugural show this season were sponsored.

?It connects the sponsor to both the organization and the performer in a more special way than just that person attending or that person giving to the organization,? Truman said. ?It gives them a broader awareness of what?s involved. People have said to us before, ?Do they wear their own clothes?? ?Do you rehearse a couple of days and then do the show??

?I don?t know if anybody understands anybody else?s job, even in corporate America, but in theater there is a sense of, ?Oh, you just get up there and do it.? It?s nice for them to have an appreciation of what that person does, not just in this one show, but in general to keep themselves working artists.?

Source: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/26/4033052/sponsorships-match-money-music.html

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Camco 36153 RV Brass Blow Out Plug Reviews

27 Jan 2013

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Camco 36153 RV Brass Blow Out Plug

Helps clear the water lines in your RV during winterization and dewinterization
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Completely clear your water lines with the Camco RV Brass Blow Out Plug. Screw the plug into the city water inlet, open all drains and faucets, attach and activate the air pump until all lines are clear. Patented.

Source: http://atixi.com/camco-36153-rv-brass-blow-out-plug-reviews/

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Bank of America begins moving $50 billion of derivatives to UK: FT

LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of America has begun moving $50 billion of derivatives out of its Irish-based operations into its British subsidiary, The Financial Times reported on its website on Sunday, citing people close to the operation.

The move will allow the world's number 10 bank by assets to benefit from tax breaks stemming from accumulated losses in its UK business, the FT said.

According to the Financial Times, bankers said Irish officials were uncomfortable with the scale of the business which posed a theoretical risk to Irish taxpayers.

UK regulators were also keen to have closer control of the European operations of the bank which has its operational management based in London, said the FT.

A large chunk of Bank of America's European business, including cash management, corporate lending and derivatives, is traditionally routed through the Dublin subsidiary, said the FT. Bank of America was unavailable for immediate comment.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Jason Webb, Bernard Orr)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bank-america-begins-moving-50-billion-derivatives-uk-003239943--sector.html

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Sunday, January 27, 2013

Liberty Ross Files For Divorce From Rupert Sanders!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/liberty-ross-files-for-divorce-from-rupert-sanders/

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Dick Van Dyke: 'I don't get the comedies today'

By Jill Jacobs, Reuters

From "Mary Poppins" to "Night at the Museum" and his own long-running TV comedy, Dick Van Dyke has done it all during a show business career spanning seven decades.

On Sunday, Van Dyke, 87, gets a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild in Los Angeles, just a year after his 1960s "Dick Van Dyke Show" co-star Mary Tyler Moore received the same honor.

Nbc / Getty Images Contributor

Reuters spoke to Van Dyke about his career, his thoughts on today's comedies and being a newlywed in his 80s.

Q: Was it really as much fun working on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" as it seemed?
A: "It was just absolutely wonderful. (Co-star) Morey Amsterdam used to say it was like going to a party every morning. It was the perfect improv group. I think it was the best five years of all of our lives."

Q: Do you have a favorite episode?
A: "'Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth,' where Mary gives away that Alan Brady, Dick's boss (played by show creator Carl Reiner) is bald, is one that comes to mind. I tend to like the ones that I had the most fun on, and I think the one I recall immediately is 'Where Did I Come From?,' the story of Richie's birth, and all the hijinks that happen with the nervous father. A lot of crazy things happened, a lot of slapstick, which, of course, I love to do. It was a farce, but I just had so much fun on that one."

Q: How have sitcoms changed since "The Dick Van Dyke Show's" run from 1961-66?
A: "I think the big change is that 10 minutes of every 30 are commercials. We had 28 minutes to tell our story. Today they get 20 minutes. It's just a one-line joke and a canned laughter, and a one-line joke and a canned laughter. I won't say it's bad, it's just that I have trouble understanding it.

"It seems to me that relationships are what's missing. I think back to 'All in the Family,' when you knew what those relationships were and the comedy that came out of that. Today it's just one line after another, and they seem to try to cover too much in the way of story in a short time. Then I think they signal when they're trying to be funny, and the minute I catch someone trying to be funny, then I won't laugh."

Q: What do you watch on television?
A: "I have to admit, I don't get the comedies today. Maybe it's just my vintage. Actually I stick pretty much with the news, and I love 'Jeopardy!' I watch Al Jazeera. They have news that you can't find anywhere else. They do great documentaries, too."

Q: Do children tend to recognize you from your earlier roles in film classics such as "Mary Poppins" (1964), or for your more recent work in the 2006 family film "Night at the Museum"?
A: "It's just thrilling. I get little kids who recognize me from 'Mary Poppins,' and it just delights me because it's our third generation. I was in the market the other day and a woman said to her daughter, 'Honey, that's the man who played Bert.' And she ran over to her little brother and said, 'I just met Bert's grandpa!' So to be recognized by kids is just wonderful. Kids have all seen 'Mary Poppins,' almost every family has a copy of it, and the children have come up and sung all the words from the songs of 'Mary Poppins' for me. It's amazing."

Q: You're a member of the barbershop quartet, Dick Van Dyke and the Vantastix. Where do you perform?
A: "We sing mostly at fundraisers and benefits. We also sing the opening theme song from "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Morey Amsterdam wrote the lyrics, but I don't think they've ever been published. I sing with guys half my age in the group, so they keep me young. A couple years ago we sang at Ford's Theater for the president, so that was a big thrill for us."

Q: You married makeup artist Arlene Silver last February. You two met at the SAG awards seven years ago. How's married life treating you?
A: "Absolutely wonderful! She sings and dances, so there is a lot of that going on around our house. She's a joy and she just lights up my life!"

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I have heard about an - MS Estate Planning

In general, the drawback of S corporations is the maze of complexity that shareholders and their advisors must consider in formation and operation. ?There are many restrictions for an S corporation that do not apply to other pass-through entities. ?These restrictions include the following:

Only a domestic corporation may file an S corporation election.
An S corporation cannot have more than 100 shareholders.
Generally, only natural persons can be shareholders. ?Certain other organizations can also be shareholders, such as the following: the deceased shareholder's estate; a bankrupt shareholder's estate; specified trusts, including qualified subchapter S trusts, and electing small-business trusts; and specified tax-exempt organizations.
An S corporation cannot have a nonresident alien as a shareholder.
An S corporation cannot have more than one class of stock.
Certain businesses are prohibited from operating as S corporations.
S corporation status can be terminated inadvertently.

Excerpt from The Complete Guide to Estate and Financial Planning in Turbulent Times (Collaborative Press, 2011) - Walt Dallas, Contributing Author

Click here to register for our eNewsletter.

For more information on Madison and Jackson MS Wills Trusts and other Estate Planning please visit our website.

For a Video on Health Care Directive please visit our website.

Source: http://blog.estateplanning123.com/2013/01/business-planning-i-have-heard-about-an-s-corporation-what-does-that-mean-and-what-is-the-difference-1.html

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Republican chair re-elected, promises GOP for 'everyone'

CHARLOTTE, N.C.?The Republican National Committee re-elected Reince Priebus to a second term as the organization's chairman Friday. He will serve for two more years.

In his acceptance speech, Priebus focused on widespread criticism after the November presidential election that Republicans were perceived as a party for the privileged few. While he didn't specifically mention Mitt Romney's candid remark during the campaign that "47 percent" of the voting population would never support his candidacy, Priebus took pains to repudiate the notion that the Republican party is exclusive, and vowed to create a "permanent" Republican presence in historically Democratic areas.

"We want to be Republicans for everybody. We have to take our message of opportunity where it's not being heard," Priebus said. "We have to build better relationships in minority communities, urban centers and college towns. We need a permanent, growing presence. It doesn't matter where you live, who you are, what you look like, or what your last name is. Because we will be a party for everyone, everywhere."

Committee members attending the conference concede that bringing in voters who supported Democrats in 2012?particularly minorities?will be an uphill challenge. And the address to the 168 RNC committee members did carry themes of repentance for Republican sins and admissions of failure in the past. But it also included promises to promote candidates who would work for the vote of all Americans.

"We must compete in every state and every region, building relationships with communities we haven't before," he said. "We must be a party concerned about every American in every neighborhood."

The bottom line message: Give the GOP another chance. "We want to earn your trust again," said Priebus. "To those who have yet to join us, we welcome you with open doors and open arms. This is your home, too. There's more that unites us than you know."

The RNC in December commissioned a task force to analyze the 2012 presidential contest and gather input about the party's strategy for elections ahead. They plan to reveal their findings in March.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/reince-priebus-elected-republican-national-committee-chair-184700993--election.html

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