turkey travel: September 2012

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Egypt?s top military commander promises army overhaul

A policeman stands guard in front of a graffiti with Egypt?s former president Hosni Mubarak, former Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi and Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie, along Mohamed Mahmoud street near Tahrir Square in Cairo, September 26, 2012. ? Reuters pic

CAIRO, Sept 30 ? Egypt?s most senior military commander has promised better training and more modern weaponry for the army in an apparent effort to satisfy officers? demands for change, which have multiplied after an uprising last year.

Commander-in-Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is also the defence minister, was appointed by the country?s first Islamist president Mohamed Mursi only last month and is under pressure to shake up a military which until recently had held the balance of power in Egypt for decades.

Addressing troops last week during the first military drill in a series to mark the 39th anniversary of the 1973 war with Israel, Sisi reassured troops that change was on its way despite the fact that the drill was being conducted using old arms like the Soviet BM-21, a rocket launcher in use for 40 years.

?We will devise a comprehensive programme that develops real training for the forces in all military branches to maximise the performance of individual officers and soldiers during my time here,? he said, according to a live recording of his speech obtained by Reuters.

Addressing troops participating in the drill, which took place along Egypt?s western border with Libya, Sisi, 57, acknowledged that Egypt?s military capabilities trailed those of other armies.

The army would replace some of its arsenal within 3-6 months and was working to extend the range of a missile system known as ?Saqr? to 45-kilometres, he said.

?Regarding the status of our military equipment, we may feel that some of it is modest but we must work with what arsenal we have.

?We will not be able to change all of our hardware completely. What we can do is achieve the highest standards of shooting and efficiency.

?This will compensate for the modest equipment we are gradually trying to replace,? he said.

Egypt receives US$1.3 billion (RM4 billion) in military aid annually from the United States but officials say that is not enough for the country to keep up with rivals such as Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Officers have said the US money benefits American arms manufacturers as it forces Egypt to buy outdated weaponry.

Pressure over Sinai

Sisi?s comments appeared to be aimed at army officers who have said they view Egypt?s revolution ? which toppled veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak last year ? as their own chance to win better salaries and improved conditions and training.

Sisi is also under pressure to tighten up security in the Sinai Peninsula, a desert area which borders Israel, and to crack down hard on Islamist militants operating there.

President Mursi sacked Sisi?s predecessor, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi last month along with other senior military and police officials after an attack blamed on Islamist militants killed 16 Egyptian border guards in the area.

Israel, which has repeatedly urged Egypt?s new rulers to tackle the Sinai problem is looking on nervously and is uneasy that Egypt is now being governed by Islamists.

Israeli troops used to occupy the Sinai Peninsula, the scene of several conflicts between it and Cairo, but withdrew in 1982.

To many officers, Sisi?s words were a break with previous senior commanders who had been criticized for not developing the army?s capacities.

Unlike previous drills, Sisi organised a discussion between lower ranking officers and commanders to try to ensure that lessons were learned and that the concerns of officers were heard.

One commander later remarked that Sisi ?had introduced a new approach? to communications between officers and their superiors.

Officers say Sisi?s elevation to the country?s most senior military role upset many senior commanders who had a longer and richer record of service than him.

Earlier this month, Sisi ? in coordination with Mursi ? issued a list of long-serving generals who he said would retire, opening the door to more promotions, local papers reported. ?? Reuters

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Analysis: Candidates' Deficit Plans Don't Add Up

Here's the rap on the presidential candidates' plans for cutting federal deficits: Mitt Romney's is too bold and the numbers don't add up, while President Barack Obama's is too timid and his numbers don't add up, either.

As the government closes the books Sunday with a $1.1 trillion deficit for the year, which required borrowing 32 cents for every dollar it spent, budget analysts have little confidence in either man's plan to address the accumulating debt, now at about $16 trillion.

The Republican nominee promises to balance the budget in eight years to 10 years, but he also offers a mix of budgetary contradictions: higher Pentagon spending, restoring cuts that Democrats made in Medicare and an absolute refusal to consider tax increases.

To fulfill his promise, Romney would require cuts to other programs so deep ? under one calculation requiring cutting many areas of the domestic budget by one-third within four years ? that they could never get through Congress.

In other words, it wouldn't work.

Obama claims more than $4 trillion in deficit savings over the coming decade. But it you peel away accounting tricks and debatable claims on spending cuts, it's more like $1.1 trillion. Republicans say it's even less because of creative bookkeeping used to mask spending on Medicare reimbursements to doctors.

The accounting gets tricky, but the biggest faults with Obama's math are his claims of more than $2 trillion in savings from earlier budget deals with Republicans and an additional $848 billion in savings from winding down of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"You can't find a $4 trillion number," said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a conservative who once led the Congressional Budget Office.

Obama promises relatively small cuts of $597 billion from big federal benefit programs such as Medicare and Medicaid over the next decade while proposing tax increases of $1.9 trillion that he couldn't push through Congress when Democrats controlled both the House and Senate.

Obama's performance on the deficit should be his Achilles heel. The deficit has exceeded $1 trillion each year on his watch. He gave a cold shoulder to his own special deficit commission. Whatever efforts have occurred over the past two years to curb the deficit have come under pressure by Republicans.

"The American people see the financial chaos. They know it must stop. They know their families are at risk, and that their country is in danger," Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said in a recent GOP radio address. "Yet the president does not rally the country to action. Instead, he says our debt course is nothing to worry about."

Romney offers a set of principles and promises rather than a detailed plan. He pledges to shrink the government to 20 percent of the size of the economy, as opposed to more than 23 percent of gross domestic product now, by the end of his first term. The Romney campaign estimates that would require cuts of $500 billion from the 2016 budget alone.

Romney proposes saving hundreds of billions of dollars over the coming decade by following House Republicans' plan to sharply cut federal spending on Medicaid health care for the poor and disabled, and turn it over to state governments. He pledges to cut the federal workforce by 10 percent.

But Romney also promises large budget increases for the Pentagon and rejects a plan by his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., that endorses more than $700 billion in cuts to Medicare that were made as part of Obama's health care law. Social Security is off the table.

That means big cuts to what's left over: nuts-and-bolts government agencies including the FBI, Federal Aviation Administration and Border Patrol; programs such as food inspection and space exploration; and popular subsidy and benefit programs for farmers, veterans and college students.

The liberal-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities calculates that Romney's budget outline could require a one-third cut in domestic programs by 2016, excluding Social Security and Medicare, to make the math work. By 2022, such programs would have to be cut by more than half.

"You have to have large cuts in the rest of the non-defense budget, very large cuts," said Paul Van De Water, an analyst at the budget think tank. "Whether it's politically and practically achievable is subject to question."

Romney also is light on details on his tax cut proposal.

He says he wants to cut rates by 20 percent, but won't specify how he'll find the $5 trillion required to pay for it. For all the rhetoric of tax loopholes and cleaning up the tax code, finding that kind of money would require looking at popular deductions and tax breaks for the middle class. Those include deductions for mortgage interest, charitable contributions and state and local taxes, and breaks for college savings, employer-paid health insurance and families with children.

Tax experts say he could very well come up short.

Obama's budget has a lengthy and detailed mix of initiatives. But other than raising $1.4 trillion over a decade by allowing George W. Bush-era tax cuts on family income exceeding $250,000 to expire, they're mostly small-bore ideas.

There's little in the way of political danger. For instance, his budget would permit the cost of both Medicare and Medicaid to double over the coming decade. He offers cuts to health care providers, but asks no sacrifice from beneficiaries.

In private negotiations last year with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, that failed, Obama displayed some willingness to take on Medicare's problems by raising from 65 the age to qualify for benefits. A "grand bargain" to get the debt under control would require him to go further.

"What he's put on the table is insufficient to get us to the goal," said Robert Reischauer, a former Urban Institute president and one-time director of the Congressional Budget Office who is one of the trustees for who oversee Social Security and Medicare. "He's going to have to ramp up the game after the election if he really wants to stabilize the debt in a reasonable length of time."

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EDITOR'S NOTE ? Associated Press writer Andrew Taylor has covered Congress and fiscal policy for The Associated Press since 2005.

An AP News Analysis

Selena Gomez to Star in Wizards of Waverly Place TV Movie

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/09/selena-gomez-to-star-in-wizards-of-waverly-place-tv-movie/

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Saturday, September 29, 2012

Update: After Katz apology, Edmonton mayor says next step is public discussion with council

EDMONTON ? In the wake of a letter to Edmontonians from Oilers owner Daryl Katz, Mayor Stephen Mandel said team officials must now come to city hall and talk publicly about the new arena deal they want.

Mandel made the comments Saturday night after Katz published a full-page ad in the Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun apologizing to citizens and Oilers fans for botched negotiations over the proposed downtown arena.

Mandel said he was informed Friday that there would be a letter in the papers, but did not know what it would say. Earlier this week, Mandel set an Oct. 17 deadline for someone from the Katz Group to detail at an open council meeting what the Oilers? franchise needs to reach a final agreement on building, financing and operating the arena.

?What?s important is on the 17th for Katz and his team to come to city council to go over a way in which we can do an acceptable deal for all people,? Mandel said when asked for his reaction to Katz?s letter. ?That?s really what I?m concerned about.?

Mandel, who had just greeted runners at the starting line of the Alberta Sports & Recreation Association for the Blind?s Night Sight run, said it was not his place to comment on what Katz said or didn?t say.

The letter begins with Katz telling fans that he owes them an explanation for his methods. ?I took for granted your support and your love of the Oilers,? he wrote. ?

He goes on to say ?That was wrong, and I apologize.?

Katz apology letter

Coun. Don Iveson said the apology is warranted.

?Many people are saying it?s not good enough, but we had to start somewhere,? Iveson said.

?That?s what I mean by a positive development. But, and there is a but, this just opens the door for the next conversation we still need to have, which is what does the Katz Group want and what?s their justification? That needs to happen.?

Katz?s letter comes five days after he sparked a powerful backlash among Edmonton residents by making a trip to Seattle, a city that hopes to secure an NHL franchise.

Katz, along with former Oilers star Wayne Gretzky, team executives Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish and club president Patrick LaForge, visited Seattle, Wash., on Monday ? the same day Seattle city council approved a wealthy hedge-fund manager?s plan for a new, $490-million arena.

Iveson, who voted against the arena framework, said he supports Mandel?s Oct. 17 deadline for the Katz Group to publicly tell council what they are looking for.

?This opens the door,? Iveson said. ?This is a very positive, but very small, step in the right direction. There?s still a lot of work to do for the Katz Group to come to an understanding with our public that will allow us to move forward.?

The Katz Group and the city have been negotiating the details of a new arena deal, but in the past weeks, the talks broke down. Council held a closed-door meeting to discuss new issues raised by the Katz Group, including that the price tag had gone up to $475 million.

Other proposals by the Katz Group included an ongoing $6-million subsidy to help with operating costs and hopes the city will move employees to an office tower to be built adjacent to the arena.

Councillors rejected the company?s request for more public money.

In his letter, Katz said, ?In hindsight, I have underestimated the degree to which it would be up to us to make the case for public funding.?

A Katz Group spokesman said they won?t comment further.

Coun. Kerry Diotte agreed the letter is a good first step, but said there is much work still to do.

?Show me the figures of what the Oilers need to be sustainable,? Diotte said. ?I haven?t seen any figures. If they?re losing money, let?s see the figures. If they?re making money, let?s see the figures.

?This is public money, so discussions about it should be in public,? he said. ?If this is an investment for our city, I want to see what the return is.?

As with most of the debate connected to the downtown arena project, public opinion ranged widely on whether the apology was sincere and whether it should change anything with the negotiations.

Shopping downtown Saturday, Kent Timanson said he thought Katz?s letter was a smart thing to do.

?It?s a PR move obviously, but at the same time, you can?t be mad at someone once they apologize,? said Timanson, a Sherwood Park resident who was wearing an Oilers T-shirt.

He said he thought Katz was honest about his shortcomings in the letter, but that the Oilers owner will need to be more sensitive to public reaction in the future. ?I think ultimately that he wants to keep the team here,? he said. ?This whole thing was just a bit of a power play and it backfired on him and a lot of fans are ticked off at him.?

Elaine Yip, a 20-year-old who was taking in some of the Alberta Culture Day activities behind the Stanley A. Milner Library, said she is an Oilers fan, but had soured on the idea of a downtown arena in recent months when it appeared Katz was trying to get more out of the city. Reading his Saturday letter swayed her opinion slightly. ?It appears like he is trying to be more open minded, or at least appear to be more open,? Yip said. ?I personally do want to be optimistic about it.?

Chris Seewalt said he did not think Katz had anything to apologize for, although he recognized that might be an unpopular sentiment among some Edmontonians.

?It?s his team,? the 31-year-old Edmonton resident said. ?In my opinion, he?s well within his rights to look at all his options. I?m a fan of this team, but at the end of the day, it?s a business.?

Adam Finn, chairman of the University of Alberta School of Business marketing department, said Katz had to apologize for a series of steps, such as his high-profile Seattle trip, that irritated Oilers fans and many other Edmonton residents.

?Obviously, he?s got to do something, and the strong apology is something you can do as a start-off.?

Making a full-page apology in mass-market papers is not unusual for a company facing problems, Finn said, noting Maple Leaf Foods took similar action during the 2008 listeria outbreak that forced a recall of its products.

It?s important for Katz to take a second step and become more open and honest about what he needs, recognizing he is negotiating with a local government, not another private business, Finn said.

Kenneth Wong, a faculty member at Queen?s University?s School of Business who specializes in marketing, said Katz needed to respond to the sense of betrayal felt by Oilers fans who have supported an underperforming team for years.

?I think this is a classic example of an entrepreneur encountering both the bureaucracy of city hall, and the philosophical constraints and issues that centre on any public arena debate,? Wong said.

?With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, he?s probably thinking, ?Of course people are upset.? ?

With files from Journal staff

sodonnell@edmontonjournal.com

Twitter.com/scodonnell

Does he mean it? Edmonton residents divided on Daryl Katz?s

apology.

Source: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/edmonton-oilers/After+Katz+apology+Edmonton+mayor+says/7320204/story.html

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China seals Bo's fate ahead of November 8 leadership congress

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's ruling Communist Party accused disgraced politician Bo Xilai of abusing power, taking huge bribes and other crimes on Friday, sealing the fate of a controversial leader whose fall shook a leadership handover due at a congress from November 8.

The once high-flying Bo now faces a criminal investigation that stemmed from a murder scandal, and will almost certainly be jailed. With the Communist Party congress about six weeks away, further steps in the case could come before then, helping pave the way for a transition of power, experts said.

"Bo Xilai's actions created grave repercussions and did massive harm to the reputation of the party and state, producing an extremely malign effect at home and abroad," the official statement from a party leaders' meeting said, according to a report by the official Xinhua news agency.

Bo's wife Gu Kailai and his former police chief Wang Lijun have already been jailed over the scandal stemming from the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing, where Bo was Communist Party chief.

The official statement carried by Xinhua said that in the murder scandal, Bo "abused his powers of office, committed serious errors and bears a major responsibility".

That charge appears to reflect accusations from Wang's trial that suggested Bo tried to stymie the murder investigation.

Reports that Bo, the "princeling" son of a revolutionary leader, could escape with a light punishment have now been dealt a fatal blow, and accusations of womanizing could further tarnish his reputation in the eyes of Chinese people.

But the few weeks left before the congress will probably not allow time for a trial, said He Weifang, a law professor at Peking University who has closely followed Bo's downfall.

"I think it's quite certain that he won't be able to escape punishment under the criminal law, but the timing makes it unlikely that will happen before the congress," said He.

"I'd guess that he'll get a jail sentence of 20 years or longer. The death penalty is unlikely, although the bribery charges could in theory allow it, if the amount is as huge as they say."

At the congress, Chinese President Hu Jintao will step down as party chief, almost certainly making way for Vice President Xi Jinping to emerge as top leader. Xi is then almost sure to be appointed state president at the annual parliament session, likely in March next year.

WARNING TO HEED EXAMPLE

Bo, 63, has been expelled from the party as well as the elite decision-making Politburo and Central Committee "in view of his errors and culpability in the Wang Lijun incident and the intentional homicide case involving Bogu Kailai", said the party announcement.

Bogu is his wife's official but rarely used surname.

Bo's "grave violations of party discipline" extended back to his time as an official in Dalian city and Liaoning province in northeast China, and as minister of commerce, said the statement from the Politburo.

"Party organizations at all levels must use the case of Bo Xilai's grave disciplinary violations as a negative example," it said.

Bo's son, Bo Guagua, who was a friend of the murdered Heywood, has remained largely silent throughout the fall of his parents. He appears to be still in the United States, after finishing graduate studies at Harvard University.

Since Bo Xilai was ousted in March, he has not been seen in public and has not been allowed to answer the accusations against him. At a news conference days before his removal, Bo rejected as "filth" and "nonsense" the then unspecified allegations against him and his family.

At the same time as announcing the slate of accusations against Bo, the party set the November 8 date for the congress that will unveil the country's new central leadership line-up. Eight is considered a lucky number in China.

The twin announcements will "significantly reduce perceived political and economic risks" and "help end policy paralysis," Ting Lu, China economist Bank of America/Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong said in an emailed research note.

"If anything, this should make markets and the general public somewhat assured that this is not really being delayed too far," Damien Ma, an analyst for the Eurasia Group who follows Chinese politics, said of the November 8 congress date.

LEFTIST SYMPATHISERS CRY FOUL

Bo, 63, was widely seen as pursuing a powerful spot in the new political line-up before his career unraveled after his former police chief, Wang Lijun, fled to a U.S. consulate for more than 24 hours in February and alleged that Bo's wife Gu had poisoned Heywood to death.

After his appointment as party chief of Chongqing in 2007, Bo, a former commerce minister, turned it into a showcase of revolution-inspired "red" culture and his policies for egalitarian, state-led growth. He also won national attention with a crackdown on organized crime.

His brash self-promotion irked some leaders. But his populist ways and crime clean-up were welcomed by many of Chongqing's 30 million residents, as well as others who hoped that Bo could take his leftist-shaded policies nationwide.

His likely trial could still stir that ideological contention. China's party-run courts rarely find in favor of defendants, especially in politically-sensitive cases.

After state television announced the charges against Bo, some leftist sympathizers insisted that he was the innocent victim of a political plot.

"I just still don't believe that Bo has so many problems with corruption," Han Deqiang, a leftist Beijing academic who has supported Bo, told Reuters. "We have to wait and see what else comes out. But I don't think we've been given the truth."

In March, Bo was sacked as Chongqing party boss, and in April he was suspended from the party's Politburo, a powerful decision-making council with two dozen active members.

The latest party statement also said Bo "had or maintained improper sexual relations with multiple women". It added that the investigation discovered clues of other, unspecified crimes.

"We'll have to wait and see what charges are accepted by the prosecutors in any indictment," said Li Zhuang, a Beijing lawyer who was jailed by Bo after raising allegations that Chongqing's anti-crime gang policies involved torture and other unchecked abuses. "The charges could change."

(Additional reporting by Michael Martina and Sally Huang in Beijing, and John Ruwitch in Shanghai; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-accuses-bo-xilai-multiple-crimes-101910904.html

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Students parade their pets at SWG

By BRANDON L. SUMMERS, bsummers@messengernews.net , Messenger News

Southeast Webster Grand Elementary held its annual pet parade Friday.

The school's first-grade students have completed a section on animals in their science unit, and celebrated by bringing their pets from home.

"What kind of pets did we learn about?" science teacher Jennifer Axness asked her class.

Article Photos

-Messenger photo by Brandon L. Summers
Brylie Butrick holds her crested Swedish duck at Southeast Webster Grand?s annual pet parade Friday.

-Messenger photo by Brandon L. Summers
Student Mikayla Stevens, left, pets the lizard, Lizzie, brought by her classmate Jace Hanson and held by his father, Matt Hanson, at Southeast Webster Grand?s annual Pet Parade Friday.

The students answered, in unison, "Mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds."

Asked what are some of the things they've learned, the students, in turn, answered that birds have two stomachs, mammals drink milk from their mothers, fish have cold blood and need gills to breathe.

They also learned that mammals have four-chambered hearts and are born alive.

The first-grade students were also able to identify an animal's type by its characteristics.

"What do we know about giraffes? What kind of animal would they be?" Axness asked.

The students answered that it is a mammal, because it is warm-blooded and has fur.

Parents brought the students' pets from home to show to their classmates. Friday the classroom was filled with dogs as big as a Labrador and as small as a Chihuahua, a turtle, a lizard, a rabbit and a grown cat and a kitten. Students without a pet were allowed to bring a stuffed animal.

Student Brylie Butrick showed her crested Swedish duck, which honked loudly, to the other students' delight.

Axness asked the students what they have to do to care for their animals. They answered that the animals have to be bathed, given fresh water and food and be loved.

"They need love and care just like we do, don't they?" she said.

After showing their pets to the class, the students lined up along the elementary school's basketball court to display the animals to their fellow schoolmates. Outside, students got to pet each animal and learn about them.

Student Riley Sorenson, with her grandfather, Troy Sorenson, showed her pet goat, Daisy.

While students admired the animals, judges circulated to give awards. Awards included most unusual, hairiest, cutest, cleanest and happiest.

Axness said she enjoys holding the pet parade.

"This is my second time, and it's been something I enjoy a lot," she said.

Asked if they enjoyed learning about animals, Axness's students answered, loudly and in unison, "Yeah!"

Source: http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/551410.html

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Technology Improves Student Performance | Kiddo!

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DOE Study Shows Technology Improves Student Performance

Before this summer, middle school teachers who wanted their students to use computers had to reserve one of the school?s desktop computer labs.? With 45 teachers and only two labs, getting a space often required six weeks? lead time, wreaking havoc on curriculum planning and making it a challenge to integrate computers into classroom teaching.

But no longer.? This summer, thanks to designated donations from two Mill Valley families and a matching grant from the Macquarie Group Foundation, Kiddo! was able to provide $75,000 to MVMS for the purchase of four iPad carts with 30 iPads each, plus software and staff training. ?Now each of the three academic ?pods? at the school has a dedicated iPad cart, shared by only 6-7 teachers, and the library has its own iPad cart reserved for research projects.

In addition, once the desktop labs were no longer needed, the school was able to clear out the lab space and distribute the desktop computers to smaller labs within each pod for use on a project basis. This has not only freed up much-needed space for the growing middle school population, but has also created, through the combination of iPads and smaller computer labs closer to classrooms, a nimbler and more flexible technology platform.? In other words, it?s now much easier for teachers to use computers in their daily lessons.

And that?s important.? A recent study by the United States Department of Education documented the numerous benefits that students derive from the use of computers in school.? Most significantly, it found that students with greater amounts of computer access became more motivated and self-confident learners.? The study found that when students are using technology, ?they are in an active role rather than the passive role of recipient of information transmitted by teacher, textbook or broadcast,? and they are able to handle more complex assignments in which they define their own goals, make decisions, and evaluate their progress.? Technology also provides students with opportunities to excel across a broader range of challenges and tasks than those offered in traditional settings, which primarily stress verbal knowledge and multiple choice test performance.

Middle school principal Anna Lazzarini sums it up this way: ?Technology is no longer a bells and whistles item in education.? There are so many ways to use technology to deepen learning, to create hands-on experiences for students, to engage them, and to provide instruction that fits the needs of students in every area of study.?? In the technology-driven world our children must navigate, she adds, it?s critical to ?teach students how to use technology in appropriate ways.?

Middle school teachers are loving it, too.? Each iPad comes pre-loaded with features such as Pages, Keynote, iMovie, and iPhoto that already have proven to be valuable teaching tools.? But individual teachers can also buy apps pertinent to their subject area.? Cari Pompanin, who teaches sixth grade language arts and social studies, can?t wait to use Google Earth to help her students ?literally walk the Earth.?? She?s also planning to use Virtual Roma, which can take students not just to present-day Rome but to Rome at any period in its history.? ?Just think,? she says, ?we can travel to ancient Rome right from our desks!?

Our students deserve the best education we can give them, so that they can realize their full potential and meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world.? Improving their access to technology and computers in the classroom is an important piece of that puzzle.? Kiddo! is deeply grateful to all those in our community whose donations and support make that possible.

Source: http://kiddo.org/2012/09/technology-improves-student-performance/

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Friday, September 28, 2012

US Navy tests mine-seeking sub during Gulf drills

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ? The admiral in charge of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet says a prototype mine-detecting drone was put through more tests during military exercises in and around the Persian Gulf this month.

The advanced sonar-equipped Kingfish sub is being evaluated by the Pentagon. Vice Admiral John W. Miller says the sub was used for the first time internationally during the maneuvers of more than 30 nations that wrapped up this week.

The Navy says drills were not designed to specifically confront a threat from Iran. Tehran has warned it would try to close the Gulf's strategic Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for sanctions over its nuclear program.

Miller told reporters Thursday that the Kingfish could eventually be deployed with the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet and other places around the world.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-navy-tests-mine-seeking-sub-during-gulf-154535860--finance.html

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Coastal Living Ultimate Beach House Inspires | Cottage and Bungalow

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Home / Made Goods / Coastal Living Ultimate Beach House Inspires

The 2012 Coastal Living Ultimate Beach House took place in quiet, sophisticated Rosemary Beach, Florida. The home is just the right size for family living and entertaining small groups.

Screenshot via Coastal Living video.

The distinctive features of the architecture ? clean lines and solid materials ? are celebrated throughout the home. The light-filled living room opens into the kitchen. The flow between the two spaces is reinforced by a common neutral color palette. Overall, the style could be characterized as transitional.

Screenshot via Coastal Living.

A guest bedroom is elegant and gender-neutral, with a mix of wooden and painted pieces. The soft greens in the soothing painting over the bed are echoed in lamps and pillows. In a smaller room like this, it is a good idea to exercise subtlety in color and pattern.

Screenshot via Coastal Living.

The Florida sun is celebrated outdoors with a cheerful umbrella and apple-green pillows.

Screenshot via Coastal Living

For more images that inspire Cottage and Bungalow, visit out Pinterest page!

Source: http://blog.cottageandbungalow.com/made-goods/coastal-living-ultimate-beach-house-inspires/

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2012 NCLEX Pass Rates | Blog

Many people did NCLEX several times. In 2012, in USA, the rate of passing NCLEX?is around 75%. ?So that is the point as you prepare well, there is no problem.?The National Government bodies for Licensure Assessment provides two breastfeeding exams: the NCLEX-RN for rns and the NCLEX-PN for genuine the healthcare team. The evaluation defends the following four main areas of nursing: psychosocial stability, physical stability, health and fitness marketing and maintenance, and providing an safe and effective health care environment. People who wish to become qualified the healthcare team either through the NCLEX-RN or the NCLEX-PN must fulfill several specifications.

NCLEX Requirements
Individuals who have obtained all of their educational breastfeeding experience are required to apply for qualifications from their situation board of breastfeeding concurrent to implementing to sit for the NCLEX. Once their situation board of breastfeeding has examined their program and helping qualifications, students will be sent an ATT (Authority To Test) for the NCLEX evaluation, which information available analyzing places, plans and times. On analyzing day, students are required to present their ATT, as well as a government launched image identification.

Registered Nursing Program
Nursing applicants who will take the NCLEX-RN examination are required to attend an authorized nursing system. Candidates can earn a qualification, an associates level or a bachelors level. Degrees are provided through hospital applications. There are only approximately 100 such applications staying in the United States; the applications generally take between two and three decades to finish. Affiliate degrees in nursing are provided through technical educational institutions, business educational institutions and community institutions. The applications take two decades to finish and generally consist of scientific encounter under the guidance of a certified doctor. Bachelor?s level applications in nursing are provided at approved institutions. The applications generally take four decades to complete; students are given a comprehensive generous arts and nursing education, including classes on authority and management. Bachelor?s level applications in nursing also consist of an extensive amount of monitored scientific encounter.

NCLEX Exam Questions How To Prevent This Point-Stealing Trap
Nurse Aide Exam Preparation 2012

Source: http://cnaexamination.com/prometric-cna-test/2012-nclex-pass-rates.html

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Texas learns from West Nile virus outbreak

Jim Gathany / Centers for Disesase Control via EPA

A Culex quinquefaciatus female mosquito feeds on human blood. This species is a known vector for West Nile Virus.

By Marice Richter, Reuters

DALLAS ?When Dr. Robert Haley spotted a dead blue jay lying in his neighbor's driveway early this summer he became suspicious. When he saw another blue jay dead in the birdbath at his Dallas home the next morning, he knew it was a bad omen of disease.

What he could not predict at the time was that the bird corpses heralded one of the worst U.S. outbreaks of West Nile virus on record, with nearly 40 percent of cases in Texas alone.

"It's unusual to see dead birds lying in the open," said Haley, chief of epidemiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. "Typically, birds die in some out-of-sight place or they are carried off by animals if they die out in the open."

West Nile is transmitted from sick birds to humans and other mammals by mosquitoes and was first detected in the United States 13 years ago, in New York City. Texas declared a state of emergency last month after seeing the worst toll from West Nile this year, which has reached 3,545 total cases and 147 deaths nationwide, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other states with large outbreaks include Mississippi, Michigan, South Dakota, Louisiana, Oklahoma and California.

"From the beginning, I thought it could be a bad year," said Haley, who spent 10 years working for the CDC and now lives in the epicenter of the outbreak. "But it turned out to be much worse than anyone imagined. It was a public health disaster."

More than 400 new U.S. cases of West Nile virus emerged in the last week, in an outbreak that remains one of the worst of record but has begun to show signs of slowing down.?Experts hope the outbreak has peaked as cooler weather sets in and widespread pesticide spraying takes effect. Now is the time to learn the lessons for the future.

Good weather for mosquitoes
Five counties within the Dallas-Fort Worth area?? the fourth largest metropolitan area in the country ??recorded 28 of the 63 deaths and 869 of the 1,429 cases reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services by Tuesday. Dallas County alone has recorded 16 deaths and 371 cases, according to county authorities.

CDC and state officials believe a year's worth of record high temperatures and intermittent rainfall this past spring contributed to the severity of the epidemic by affecting bird and mosquito populations. Following a record hot summer and drought conditions in 2011, Dallas-Fort Worth had a warm winter with fewer than normal freezes followed by bouts of rain in the spring, officials said.

"One of the things we are closely looking at is the effect of weather on this year's outbreak," said Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC's Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases. "West Nile outbreaks tend to be difficult to predict. Why it occurred in Dallas more than other areas is a matter of speculation at this point, and it's something that we're going to be looking at very carefully."

In addition, health officials in the region have witnessed an especially large number of neuroinvasive cases, the more severe form of the disease that often leads to meningitis and encephalitis.

Haley estimates that about 25,000 people likely were infected with West Nile in Dallas County this summer. Of those, about 80 percent showed no symptoms at all, while many of the remaining residents came down with West Nile Fever, a mild form of the disease that is largely under-reported and only sporadically tested. State figures show only that Dallas County recorded 168 West Nile fever cases and 154 neuroinvasive cases.

Death toll may rise
Haley and others say the worst should be over in terms of new infections, but more cases are expected to be reported due to the lag time between infection, testing for the virus and reporting to state agencies and the CDC. The death toll is also likely to rise as it can take weeks to months for patients to deteriorate.

In the meantime, Dallas residents are still coming to terms with the ravages of the outbreak, which dwarfs the four deaths seen in the region in 2006.

With no vaccine to prevent West Nile in humans, the only defense is prevention ??wearing insecticide outdoors and pesticide spraying by ground and air.

Dr. Don Read, a surgeon in Dallas who was infected by neuroinvasive West Nile in 2005 while walking in his Dallas neighborhood and now runs a support group for survivors, said people tend to think they are invincible. "I didn't think I would get it until I did. It only takes one mosquito bite."

Read, who was infected at age 63, spent almost five weeks in the intensive care unit. He now wears braces on his legs due to polio-like paralysis, but considers himself lucky to be alive.

The sound of a plane buzzing overhead spreading insecticide in the suburban community of Southlake was a welcome sound to Ann Dachniwsky, 47, who spent much of the summer so fatigued from neuroinvasive West Nile that her only activity was "going from the bed to the couch back to the bed."

At the height of her illness, her husband and three children took turns waking her up every few hours to force her to drink.

"My balance and sight were affected so I could barely work or see. I was flat on my back for weeks," she said. "I was a healthy, active person. I'm getting better but I can barely manage one activity without needing to lay down afterwards."

Dachniwsky's family had pleaded with the Southlake City Council to allow aerial spraying of pesticide for the first time since an encephalitis outbreak nearly 50 years ago. Dallas and nearby Denton counties conducted aerial spraying missions in August. Southlake, which is partially in Denton and Tarrant counties, was sprayed. Officials in Tarrant County, home of Fort Worth, chose to spray only by ground.

As the outbreak has slowed, Dallas County health officials continue to be criticized both for not moving fast enough to start spraying and also for going too far in the breadth of the aerial spraying program once it started.

"We had a protocol in place and we followed it," said Zach Thompson, director of the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services. "We started with public education, followed by localized ground spraying, then enhanced ground spraying and finally aerial spraying."

As research and analysis of the outbreak continue, Thompson said officials will work diligently to avoid a repeat of history.

"We were surprised by the magnitude of the outbreak this year but we feel that our response was appropriate," Thompson said. "Hindsight is 20/20."?

West Nile cases in the U.S. continue to climb in the country's worst outbreak for this time of year since the virus was detected here in 1999. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

More stories in Vitals

Source: http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/26/14113622-texas-seeks-to-learn-lessons-from-west-nile-virus-outbreak?lite

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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Syrian rebels bomb army command in Damascus

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels bombed a military complex in Damascus on Wednesday, striking at the heart of President Bashar al-Assad's power and igniting a fire which gutted the army command headquarters.

The Free Syrian Army, the main rebel force fighting to overthow Assad, claimed responsibility for the attack which it said killed dozens of people.

But an armed forces statement said military leaders were unhurt and only a number of guards were wounded in the blasts, which shook the whole city at around 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) before regular working hours.

It was the biggest attack in Damascus since July 18 when a blast killed several senior security officials, including Assad's brother-in-law, the defense and interior ministers.

That attack paved the way for a rebel advance into the centre of the capital, although they have since been pushed back to the outskirts.

Internet footage of Wednesday's fire at the General Staff Command Building in central Umayad Square showed flames engulfing its upper floors, indicating explosives were planted inside the building itself.

The main gate was completely blackened from the fire while all the windows of the building were blown out. Shards of glass littered the nearby streets, Reuters television foootage showed.

The blast gouged a deep crater, apparently where the explosive-laden car blew up.

Residents reported that gunfire rattled out around the district for at least two hours after the explosions. Roads in the area were blocked off as ambulances rushed to the scene.

"All our colleagues in the military leadership, the army staff command and the Defense Ministry are unhurt," Information Minister Omran Zoabi told Syrian Television.

Security forces were chasing "armed terrorists" - a term the authorities use to refer to insurgents waging war to oust Assad.

"It's a terrorist act, close to an important site, that's true. But as usual they failed to achieve their goal," he said.

Activist Sami al-Shami said the main explosions were caused by a suicide car bombing and second car loaded with explosives on the perimeter of the complex.

"Then the fighters went inside and clashed with security inside, while some of the men started to torch the building".

"There must be several security forces dead, there's no way the rebels could have made it in that far, fighting their way in, without killing any security forces," he told Reuters.

That appeared to tally with accounts from residents who heard gunfire and smaller blasts after the first explosions.

"The explosions were very loud. They shook the whole city and the windows of our house were shuddering," one resident reached by telephone said. "Black smoke was rising from the area near the army staff building."

A reporter for al-Manar television, run by Assad's Lebanese ally Hezbollah, said he was in the building after the explosion and saw the bodies of three "armed men", suggesting clashes between security forces and rebels at the site.

MAJOR STRIKE

Another resident said: "I was woken up at four minutes to seven by the first loud explosion. Five or six minutes later there was a second."

"We're used to the sound of artillery but these were very big - bigger than usual. I can hear gunfire still," he said.

He said he saw soldiers on the roof of the nearby Air Force Intelligence building, part of the same military complex which was hit.

Syria's conflict, once a peaceful protest movement, has evolved into a civil war that the U.N. special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said was "extremely bad and getting worse."

Activists say more than 27,000 people have been killed in the 18-month-old uprising against Assad, and even Damascus has become a battleground.

Pro-Assad gunmen killed at least 16 people in the city on Wednesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The British-based Observatory said three of those killed in the poor district of Barzeh, which is sympathetic to opposition fighters, were children and six were women.

A correspondent for Iran's English-language Press TV was shot dead by a rebel sniper and its Damascus bureau chief was wounded while they covered Wednesday's explosions, Press TV said.

With no foreseeable prospect of foreign intervention and diplomacy stuck, outgunned rebels have relied increasingly on attacks with homemade bombs, striving to level the playing field against an army using fighter jets, artillery and tanks.

At the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York, French President Francois Hollande sought to shake up international inertia over the crisis by calling for U.N. protection of rebel-held areas.

"The Syrian regime ... has no future among us," Hollande said in a speech. "Without any delay, I call upon the United Nations to provide immediately to the Syrian people all the support it asks of us and to protect liberated zones."

PROTECTION ZONES

Protection for "liberated" areas would require no-fly zones enforced by foreign aircraft, which could stop deadly air raids by Assad's forces on populated areas. But there is little chance of securing a Security Council mandate for such action given the opposition of veto-wielding members Russia and China.

The United States, European allies, Turkey and Gulf Arab states have sided with the Syrian opposition while Iran, Russia and China have backed Assad, whose family and minority Alawite sect have dominated the major Arab state for 42 years.

But Western powers have stopped short of supplying military aid to the rebels to an extent that could turn the tide of the conflict, in part out of fear of arming Islamist militants who have joined the anti-Assad revolt.

In another speech to the General Assembly, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said Arab nations should intervene in Syria given the Security Council's failure to stop the civil war [ID:nL1E8KPBSE]

Qatar, which backs the rebels, called on big powers to prepare a "Plan B" within weeks and set up a no-fly zone to provide a safe haven inside Syria in case mediator Brahimi fails to make headway.

The Qatari emir said he believed Arab and European countries would be ready to take part, despite their public wariness of committing the forces needed for such a mission.

Humanitarian conditions are worsening as the violence drags on. The president of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which has been the only relief group on the ground the entire 18 months of conflict, said it was in dire need of supplies.

"We need to concentrate mostly on health and shelter because there are 1.5 million displaced people," Abdul Rahman Attar told Reuters during a visit to Oslo. "We need more of everything."

(Additional reporting by Dominic Evans and Erika Solomon in Beirut, Rania El gamal and Sami Aboudi in Dubai; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/two-explosions-near-damascus-army-building-state-tv-053244736.html

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Stacey Mathis Copywriting Small business marketing and ...

101 Habits of Highly-Successful Websites

If you?re ?gonna? tell someone how to be effective at something, you certainly better be in a position to do so or bring back-up.? When I hear about the best ways to do anything from someone, I need to know that they know what they?re talking about.? So, I vet the source. And Bill Hall, a national marketing expert, has done just that as well. ?He went out and returned with massive information gleaned from at least 18 different industry experts and came up with this invaluable e-book designed with beginner and intermediate website owners in mind.

I saw Bill?s e-book. I read his credentials.? Looked for trash about him online. ?Then I went over to the?site belonging to?a?colleague I trust?to check him out further. My conclusion,: When someone like Bill offers you an instantly downloadable 62-page PDF file e-book for only $29.00, that includes the very same advice he uses in his own practice and profession, it?d be a ?sin? not to grab a copy and mimic the steps.

In this post I review what I found and thought while reading 101 Habits of Highly Successful Websites.

So, is 101 Habits of Highly Successful Websites a good choice for you?

If you have a website or plan to have a website for your small or freelance business and you want more sales, which basically means pulling in more traffic and lead generation, 101 Habits of Highly Successful Websites is for you. ?If you are anxious to set up your website on your own but you get frustrated with all the technical stuff . . . this e-book is for you.

Highlights of 101 Habits of Highly Successful Websites

?Using Bill?s guidelines, you can increase the effectiveness of your website and achieve major differences in any number of ways. For example, did you know that the graphics on your website can contribute to or hinder the success of your website? ?Did you know that there is a right way and an ineffective way to link to other areas on your site?

?This e-book is particularly handy when you have a web developer or designer creating a site for you.? Some designers will build a site with outdated trends, because either they don?t know any better or because they think you won?t know any better.? 101 Habits of Highly Successful Websites puts you in control and arms you so that you know the right questions to ask and the right lingo to use so you are not at the mercy of your web geek.

?When I make auto purchases, I use a long checklist to run through to make sure everything I need or should have is there. 101 Habits of Highly Successful Websites serves that same purpose. It?s a way of making sure your web person is providing all that your site needs, and it aims to make sure that you take nothing for granted when having your site set up for the first time or when revamping it.

?Many bloggers who started their blogs back in the day, had no guidance whatsoever; they were paving the way, which meant, many started with the wrong habits.? Fortunately, there are systems and resources like 101 Habits of Highly Successful Websites in place to prevent you from doing the same thing.? You have a better chance of being successful a lot sooner than they did.

?This e-book is compact. ?Although it?s 62 pages, there?s not a whole lot of heavy reading, which can be draining.? Each section or tip, if you will, is short, sweet and to the point without belaboring self-explanatory matters. Yet, each item is clearly delivered.? In cases when he uses a word you may not be familiar with, there?s a glossary at the end that explains just what he means . . . in plain English.

As someone who?s done everything web-wise from hiring and dealing with my own web specialists to do-it-myself approaches, I must say that 101 Habits? tells me things about web-building that most geeks, books and online tips article writers simply don?t tell you, such as:

?You should announce changes to your website ? Nobody ever told ME that.

?The width of panels seems to be critical for helping users ? Not this either.

?You should reduce the negative consequences of double clicking ? And certainly not this!

In my experience, I have found that though some designers are amazing, there are many designers who merely like when things look pretty or cool. ?But see, this is a business, my business, and what my designer implements on my site has to be what?s practical for my visitors, not what simply looks great.? I want my designer to think ahead about things that may not dawn on me until it?s too late, her bill is paid and she?s too busy with her next paying client.? For example, until I read 101 Habits? I didn?t know it was possible for my designer to prepare information with the expectation that it will either be read online or printed. 101 Habits? does that sort of thinking for you. Who knew!

Why Bill Hall?

Because Bill didn?t just rely on his own very extensive knowledge.? He didn?t try to fool us with fluff to create a thicker manual.? He sought out the expertise of very specific trade professionals and researchers.? Bill is a well-respected Internet marketer is his own right, who also runs the marketing divisions of two multi-million dollar companies.? His marketing-related writings have been endorsed by one of the most?reputable marketing professionals out there, the well-known copywriter, Bob Bly.

I am still implementing Bill?s ideas from this piece, and he?s right, they do make a difference.

The two things that bothered me about this e-book, however, were that there is no table of contents, and a few of the sections do not have category headings. ?It could have been organized a bit better, but it?s so filled with crucial information that these oversights are easily forgivable.

I know you will enjoy this read.

__________________________

Increasing traffic and making sales can be easily overcome when you have a better understanding of the root of your website?s problem. ?Stop pulling your hair out.? If you?re ready to fix your website and take your small business to the next level, download 101 Habits of Highly Successful Websites and follow it regularly.? Make it a part of your routine. You?ll begin to see a difference too.

Have fun,

Stacey

P.S. When you purchase 101 Habits of Highly Successful Websites, Bill throws in a second e-book that includes 560+ Free Resources for Online Marketers, valued at $19.95, at a cost to you of $0!? Yes, the second e-book is absolutely free. ?And get this, the second e-book contains everything from numerous free stock images sites to font sites, from file storage sites to image manipulation sites, from video hosting sites to color tools sites, from sites for sounds and music to html sites, you name it, he included it ? all to enhance the running of your website or web-based business.

The best part is, their services are?free or cheap, but not cheesy. ?I know, because I also use many of these resources for my own business.

Download 101 Habits of Highly Successful Website & Get Started!

Yes, I am an affiliate of RealMarketingWorks, but my blog visitors are way more important to me than a few bucks in my pocket, so you can be sure, I will NEVER endorse a product or service that I think sucks!!! And if it sucks, you?ll know it, because I will flat out tell you, no holds barred. Transparency rules at staceythewriter.com!

Source: http://staceythewriter.com/101-habits-of-highly-successful-websites-e-book-review/

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FIDM Graphic Design/Entertainment Portfolios Offer Unique Concepts

We?re always excited to see how students who have earned their Graphic Design/Entertainment degree at FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising reinterpret movie marketing in their portfolios.

FIDM Graphic Design Students are constantly finding inventive ways to market films, television shows and video games. Whether they are developing ?theatrical key art or interactive online marketing concepts, FIDM Students learn the value of research and conceptual thinking first and foremost.

?The visual field of Graphic Design is being blown wide open, and FIDM has responded,? says FIDM Graphic Design Department Director Steve Reaves. ?We have brought together the best Graphic Designers in entertainment and key art design to teach our classes with the same inside knowledge and expertise that have put FIDM on the map.?

Below, check out five inspiring portfolios by recent Graphic Design/Entertainment grads by Kristen Baquerizo, Adabel Sarhad, Camille Sigler, Rebecca Wheatman and Joseph Macri. Each book offers unique qualities and includes beautiful title designs, photo rendering and visually compelling design details.

Entertainment Graphics: Kristen Baquerizo

Don?t miss Baquerizo?s clever taglines (she wrote all of her own copy lines) throughout her portfolio, and interesting interactive marketing concepts for the creepy post-apocalyptic zombie television series ?Walking Dead.?