Monday, December 31, 2012

Business Career Review | Online Share Dealing, Trading Stocks ...

Why choose business as a career?

Many of you may wonder exactly why people choose to become involved in the world of business as it can be a dog eat dog world full of disappointment and stress. To answer your question people choose to study for business as it is one of the most rewarding careers in the world and can offer the successful business person a host of benefits once they have become qualified and gained experience. In order to undertake a Business Career Review, we have compiled some useful information below, to assist anyone who is unsure if this career is the right one for them.

There are many ways to break into the business world such as learning a trade and starting your own business but the most common way is for the potential business person to enrol in any of the huge variety of business courses in the United Kingdom. During these courses which can range from an L.L.M degree to a simple foundation course the student will be taught all the skills that they will need to become successful. These skills when used properly will enable the person to make management decision, forecast revenues as well as many other skills such as man management and accounts. If we look at the syllabus for one of these courses such as the L.L.M in International Business Law we will see that the student will be required to learn a host of topics. The Icloud Careers Website?is a new concept offering an online Careers advice service for all ages, we highly recommend a browse, as it is packed with some very interesting facts and help sheets for anyone who is unsure which career path to choose.

These topics can consist of comprehensively learning issues such as Company Formation, Corporate Personality, Corporate Theory, The Functions of Companies as well as many further topics such as Liquidation and Directors Duties. More information on UK Company Structures can be located on the Companies House Website.

As you can see many of these courses will aim to teach you a broad selection of skills that when used right can make you effective at your job. You will also find on courses like this that you will be required to learn aspects of business that you would never have heard of before and this can be tough. The average courses length for a degree course in business is three years full time or if available five years part time so as you can see this type of course will require a huge commitment from the student.

With all this in mind you may still be wondering why would you wish to do this and what benefits would you get from taking on such a challenge? There are many benefits from becoming fully involved in business with the most important reason in many peoples eyes is the salary. The average wage for someone who works mid level in business in the United Kingdom is around ?40,000 per annum but this can vary in range dramatically depending on the business and the area. There are some very good resources on the Berkeley University Business pages of there website, offering a valuable overview of Business Career types and what else to expect from a Career in this industry.

Another reason to be involved in business is that it can provide you with new challenges each day which is very rare in many jobs as they can become repetitive. As the business world changes each second of the day so does the requirements of the businessman so you will rarely see a day that is the same as the one before. Business will also give you the chance to earn the respect you deserve as you will be able to show your skills more often than not with issues such as marketing and so on. As you can see there are many reasons you should take a business course if you thinking about it as for the right people it these course can be the stepping stone to greatness.

Other Resources ? National Careers Advice Centre?and the Skills Funding Agency.

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Source: http://www.thejuniorstocks.com/business-career-review

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Forestwood Featured in Houzz Article | Forestwood Antique Mall

First of all, if you haven?t heard of the iPhone app called Houzz, you better download it immediately (it?s free!). Houzz is the leading online platform for home remodeling and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish ? online or from a mobile device. From decorating a room to building a custom home, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world. With the largest residential design database in the world and a vibrant community powered by social tools, Houzz is the easiest way for people to get the design inspiration, project advice, product information and professional reviews they need to help turn ideas into reality.

Now onto our featured article?

A complete overhaul gives a 1940s colonial near Dallas an airy, romantic and feminine aesthetic. Craving a cozy retreat where they could raise their girls, Katie and Steve Aldrich chose this stunning home near Dallas. After they gutted the house and fixed up the exterior, Katie infused the interior with her signature simple and feminine style, accenting with family antiques. ?I just want to create a happy environment for our family,? she says. This included an antique mirror from yours truly, Forestwood Antique Mall. Just click the image below for the full article by Kara Weik on Houzz.com.

forestwood in Houzz

Source: http://forestwoodmall.com/forestwood-featured-in-houzz-article/

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2 fishermen missing in central Florida lake

Authorities are searching for two fishermen whose undamaged boat was found stranded in a central Florida lake.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission continued searching Sunday for Charles Jackson of Deltona and Jason Cobb of Osteen.

Jackson's boat was found Saturday in Lake Jesup after relatives reported the men overdue from a fishing trip.

Conservation commission spokeswoman Joy Hill says the men left in a 15-foot boat early Saturday. The boat was later found in some cattails north of their camp.

Hill says the men may have been ejected from the boat. It contained two life jackets, two paddles and eight unopened beer cans.

Hill says the lake has a large alligator population but it's too cold for them to be very active.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/30/3161388/2-fishermen-missing-in-central.html

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Suspects in India rape case charged with murder

NEW DELHI (AP) ? Indian police have charged six men with murder, adding to accusations that they beat and gang-raped a woman on a New Delhi bus two weeks ago in a case that shocked the country.

The murder charges were laid Saturday, hours after the woman died in a Singapore hospital, where she had been flown for treatment.

New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said the six face the death penalty if convicted, in a case that has triggered protests across India for greater protection for women from sexual violence, and raised questions about lax attitudes by police toward sexual crimes.

The tragedy has forced India to confront the reality that sexually assaulted women are often blamed for the crime, forcing them to keep quiet and discouraging them from reporting it to authorities for fear of exposing their families to ridicule. Police often refuse to accept complaints from those who are courageous enough to report the rapes, and the rare prosecutions that reach courts drag on for years.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was aware of the emotions the attack has stirred, adding it was up to all Indians to ensure that the young woman's death will not have been in vain.

The victim, who has not been identified, "passed away peacefully" early Saturday at Mount Elizabeth hospital in Singapore with her family and officials of the Indian Embassy by her side, Dr. Kevin Loh, the chief executive of the hospital, said in a statement.

The victim's body was cremated Sunday in New Delhi soon after its arrival from Singapore on board a special Air-India flight, amid an outpouring of grief by people across the country.

Singh and Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party, were at the airport to receive the body and meet family members of the victim who had also arrived on the special flight.

After 10 days at a hospital in New Delhi, the Indian capital, the victim was brought Thursday to Mount Elizabeth, which specializes in multi-organ transplants. Loh said the woman had been in extremely critical condition since Thursday, and by late Friday her condition had taken a turn for the worse, with her vital signs deteriorating.

"Despite all efforts by a team of eight specialists in Mount Elizabeth hospital to keep her stable, her condition continued to deteriorate over these two days," Loh said.

The woman and a male friend, who also has not been identified, were on a bus in New Delhi after watching a film on the evening of Dec. 16 when they were attacked by six men who raped her. The men beat the couple and inserted an iron rod into the woman's body, resulting in severe organ damage. Both were then stripped and thrown off the bus, according to police.

As news of the victim's death reached New Delhi on Saturday, hundreds of policemen sealed off the high-security India Gate area, where the seat of India's government is located, in anticipation of more protests.

The area is home to the president's palace, the prime minister's office and key defense, external affairs and home ministries, and has been the scene of battles between protesters and police for days after the attack.

Police were allowing people to assemble at the Jantar Mantar and Ramlila grounds, the main areas allotted for protests in New Delhi, Bhagat said.

Mourners gathered at Jantar Mantar to express their grief and demand stronger protection for women and the death penalty for rape, which is now punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. Women face daily harassment across India, ranging from catcalls on the streets, groping and touching in public transport to rape.

They put a wreath studded with white flowers on the road, lit a candle and sat around it in a silent tribute to the young woman. Members of a theater group nearby played small tambourines and sang songs urging Indian society to wake up and end discrimination against women.

Dipali, a working woman who uses one name, said the rape victim deserved justice. "I hope it never happens again to any girl," she said.

Dozens of students of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi marched silently to the bus stop from where the rape victim and her friend had boarded the bus on Dec. 16. They carried placards reading "She is not with us but her story must awaken us."

Sonia Gandhi, the governing Congress party chief, assured the protesters in a statement that the rape victim's death "deepens our determination to battle the pervasive, the shameful social attitudes and mindset that allow men to rape and molest women and girls with such an impunity."

The protesters heckled Sheila Dikshit, the top elected leader of New Delhi state, when she came to express her sympathy with them and forced her to leave the protest venue. They blamed her for the deteriorating law and order situation in the capital.

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said the woman's death was a sobering reminder of the widespread sexual violence in India.

"The outrage now should lead to law reform that criminalizes all forms of sexual assault, strengthens mechanisms for implementation and accountability, so that the victims are not blamed and humiliated," Ganguly said.

Prime Minister Singh said he understood the angry reaction to the attack and that he hoped all Indians would work together to make appropriate changes.

"These are perfectly understandable reactions from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change," Singh said in a statement. "It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channel these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action."

Mamta Sharma, head of the state-run National Commission for Women, said the "time has come for strict laws" to stop violence against women. "The society has to change its mindset to end crimes against women," she said.

Indian attitudes toward rape are so entrenched that even politicians and opinion makers have often suggested that women should not go out at night or wear clothes that might be seen as provocative.

Separately, authorities in Punjab state took action Thursday when an 18-year-old woman killed herself by drinking poison a month after she told police she was gang-raped.

State authorities suspended one police officer and fired two others on accusations they delayed investigating and taking action in the case. The three accused in the rape were arrested only on Thursday night, a month after the crime was reported.

"This is a very sensitive crime, I have taken it very seriously," said Paramjit Singh Gill, a top police officer in the city of Patiala.

The Press Trust of India reported that the woman was raped Nov. 13 and reported the attack to police Nov. 27. But police harassed the girl, asked her embarrassing questions and took no action against the accused, PTI reported, citing police sources.

___

Associated Press writers Heather Tan and Faris Mokhtar in Singapore and Ravi Nessman in New Delhi contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/suspects-india-rape-case-charged-murder-004801507.html

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[Mod] Rose Parade 2013 Live Stream

It may not be an creative development, but it will be more unbelievable than the world comparison would forestall. Rose Parade 2013 Live Stream is a nice hodgepodge of characters, scripts, and writers. Rose Parade 2013 Live Stream does what it's supposed to do, which is to make you smile and snigger at the appropriate points. Be that as it may, the finale never soars beyond the level of being charming and fantastic.

Rose Parade 2013 Live Stream

Source: http://forum.cyanogenmod.org/topic/64253-mod-rose-parade-2013-live-stream/

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

davidwatson569: Rugby Wagering Tips ? Recreation and Sports

Rugby is one of the few sports that present thrilling exciting action all through. The sport also enjoys commendable representation internationally through world cup championships and continent-based competitions that are held all over the world . In addition , Quite a few people love watching rugby which makes it a good sport to place your wagers on. Nevertheless, you cannot place your bet from the blues and expect to be on the winning side. You need to have some facts in mind before placing your bet. Rugby free picks and betting tips are offered on several sites that will assist you on who to wager on.

One of the most successful ways to evaluate a wise destination of your bet is to evaluate the history of the competing teams. Anyone who has been an avid follower of any international rugby championship can testify that not all top-ranked teams will prevail in their most crucial matches. For instance, New Zealand rugby team which is unanimously considered to be best team in the world has only won the world championships once even though the South African team which is ranked behind it has won the title twice. However, at the early stages, betting for the teams ranked high would be advantageous. Some of these teams include New Zealand, France, South Africa, Wales, England, Scotland, Fiji, Australia and Ireland.

Top rugby players are also a good betting strategy for you and this makes it worth to know the best rugby players in the Diaspora as well as upcoming rugby players. Many of these top rugby players include Brain Driscoll from Ireland, Heinrich Brussow from South Africa, Richie McCaw from New Zealand, Du Preez from South Africa, Dan Carter from New Zealand , Jamie Heaslip from Ireland and Matt Giteau from Australia.

In addition, following rugby action closely will also save you a great deal of time. The best rugby predictions are made with a good amount of updates on the recent injuries that every team is having at hand, you can easily select which team has a better chance of winning the match that you are betting for.


Tags: free picks, rugby predictions

Source: http://recreationandsports.emilie.org/uncategorized/rugby-wagering-tips/

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Source: http://davidwatson569.blogspot.com/2012/12/rugby-wagering-tips-recreation-and.html

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Obama summons congressional leaders for ?fiscal cliff? talks (Washington Post)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/273481011?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Instagram Denies 25% Holiday User Drop From TOS Backlash, And Here Are Real Explanations For A Usage Dip

instayellowSure, it's not unlike the New York Post to be?sensationalist. But in this case it misinterpreted data to suggest Instagram was hit harder by backlash to its terms of service changes than it actually was. Combined with it being a quiet-ish holiday news week, I am taking?a story?it published today on a 25 percent drop in Instagram users?with a little more than a grain of salt.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Z_jbleIqeAs/

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Bloody Murder (talking-points-memo)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/273607110?client_source=feed&format=rss

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A better pencil sharpener? Inventor dreams of erasing life's annoyances

58 min.

Long lines at amusement parks. Traffic stalled at rush hour. Cycling uphill. To most of us, these are just minor problems we face in an otherwise comfortable existence.?To Anwar Farooq, they are personal call-outs, challenges that he must answer with his own ingenuity. These days, the math?teacher and habitual?inventor is wrestling with the age-old problem of the?pencil sharpener.

"When I saw my students struggling with the regular pencil sharpener, I honestly knew that there must be an alternate approach, so I started thinking," Farooq, who teaches?at Maywood Academy,?southeast of Los Angeles, told NBC News.

That's not the first time Farooq "started thinking."

His inventions, spanning 1986 to now, may?seem whimsical at first, but on closer inspection are like early ancestors of devices in use today. There's a bike where your pedaling is boosted by an air compressor, for instance. If you replace the air compressor with an electric motor, you get today's battery-powered bikes.

There's?the Robocam, a?remote-controlled camera platform that's a precursor to telepresence robots and smartphone?videoconferencing apps alike.

For those annoying amusement park or movie theater?lines, Farooq proposes a chain of connected, moving chairs.?You take a load off, enjoy the?built-in entertainment system, and before long, it's your turn to get up and enjoy the ride or show. He calls it Waiting Is Fun.?It may seem far-fetched?... until Disney goes and installs one in Tomorrowland.

The idea Farooq seems most proud of is the?Rapid Commute. Cars traveling from the outskirts of a city?drive right onto a high-speed train, as if they were boarding a ferry boat. The train then brings them to a central location downtown, where they disembark. Next month he will be presenting it to the Transportation Research Board, an off-shoot of the non-profit?National Research Council,?at its annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

And then there's the?Quick N Silent pencil sharpener.?

* * *

Pencil sharpeners are, in fact, one of the few classroom technologies that have?not?experienced a radical redesign in the past century. The most common type of institutional sharpener, the hand-cranked type you can still see?mounted to a wall or the teacher's table in classrooms all over the world,?was introduced in 1904.

Sure, electric versions have been introduced, but?the cylindrical mills rotating in "planetary" fashion within?are still dominant ? despite the inconsistency of their results.

Nevertheless, when Farooq wrestled with how to modernize the?pencil sharpener, he didn't look to some?laser that could hone the tip of a pencil with micron-level precision. Instead, he found inspiration in the distant?past.

"I remembered that people carried pocket knives and they just used those to sharpen pencils quietly and efficiently."

He set to work on the new machine based on the same principles.

* * *

Farooq was always an inventor at heart, but he told us that, growing up in Pakistan, he never had a chance to exercise his creative capabilities. "Even if I had an idea, we were from the lower middle class, so we didn't have any money to do anything," he told us. "My biggest break is that I came to a country like America ??and now I can do those things I desire."

But even after moving to the U.S. in the 1970s, inventing hasn't been exactly easy for Farooq. In fact, following his dreams can at times be something of an expensive habit. "Of course it's a hardship to me and tight financially," he admitted. "My wife says, 'Why don't you take up gambling?'"

At least to him, though, the cost is worth it.?"I live for that, that excitement of finding something, of discovering something." He points out that the famed inventor Nicola Tesla died a poor man, but now they're building a Tesla?museum. Farooq doesn't expect a museum, but he does hope that his inventions will outlast him.

It may be his latest baby, the pencil sharpener,?that lives on. Even in our increasingly?digital world, Farooq feels strongly that pencil and paper, as?a medium for recording thoughts and images, won't disappear any time soon.?"Yes, it is old and unglamorous technology, but it's foolproof and works as advertised."

Its biggest asset is its low cost: "It's cheap enough to be owned by almost anyone in the world," he said.

When he finally figured out how to implement the pocket-knife method of sharpening, Farooq built a mock-up and?patented his design.

His prototype doesn't grind, like the rotary sharpeners in classrooms?worldwide. Nor does it shave around the edge, like the small twisty?single-blade sharpeners that predate the rotary type. Instead, it uses multiple blades to whittle down the edge from all sides at once. True to its name, the blades slice down the end of the pencil, exposing a sharp tip and plenty of lead in a single, silent pass.

Farooq is looking for funding to start manufacturing the device, which he has continually modified over the last few years in his spare time.?A crowd-funding attempt at?Fundageek, a website for inventors, has not produced much income. But he intends to put a more complete version of the device up for consideration on Indiegogo, a larger platform for collecting funding.

In the meantime, Farooq will keep on inventing. His own modest?website lists two things ? Personal Safety 360 and GPS Live Cam ??that he isn't ready to discuss publicly.

"When I came to this country,?I wanted to do something positive, a legacy to leave behind." Whether his inventions find widespread adoption or not, Farooq's insatiable inventor's spirit may continue to inspire the kids in his classroom ??as well as those who encounter him through his growing portfolio.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC?News Digital. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/better-pencil-sharpener-inventor-dreams-erasing-lifes-annoyances-1C6340098

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Making Easy Child Friendly Home Improvements | Tyler Electric

TIP! You should have a detailed plan and idea of how much money your home improvement project will cost. Do this before starting any work.

No matter what level of experience you may have with home improvement, it can make your home a more pleasant place to live. Your home has a lot to do with who you are and your lifestyle. The below article provides some information on how you can drastically improve the condition of your home.

TIP! Have a plan formulated for discarding debris. Home improvement adventures, especially those requiring any kind of demolition, create debris that will only get in your way if you don?t decide what you?re going to do with it, prior to starting your project.

When you own a home with a deck you have to look for some things to see if it needs repair. Are there uneven or cracked boards? Are there nails or screws sticking out? Are any of the boards dry rotted?

TIP! Before starting a home improvement project, it is important to consider local conditions. For instance, a deck may not provide much enjoyment if your area is especially windy.

Remember that your bathroom needs to have plenty of ventilation to function properly. Humidity from taking showers can create environments where mold can spread and grow. Even if you continuously repaint the walls of your bathroom, the mold still will not die. You will need to be proactive to prevent mold from growing. Reduce the humidity in the space with ventilation or a window.

TIP! Make sure you get a pro to do your plans so you do not run into a disaster. The expense will be well worth the investment.

Try using radiant heat tiles if you are going to be resetting tile. These tiles use heat via electricity and are very interesting. If you follow the instructions, you could even do it yourself. You?ll be able to add this onto an existing project or do it on your own. Once you step onto that warm floor on a cold morning, you will be forever grateful that you installed heated floors.

TIP! If you decide to replace your roof entirely, white or lightly-colored tiles are your best bet. When you use light tiles, your attic will tend to absorb less heat, which in turn will keep your house a little cooler during the hot summer months.

Once you install new carpet or hardwoods, make sure the new surfaces stay fresh by forbidding shoes inside the house. You should have slippers at the front door for anyone who comes in. That way, dirt will be kept away from carpeting and scratches will not be made in wood flooring.

TIP! Don?t ever hire an unlicensed contractor. No matter where it is that you currently reside, all contractors are required to have some sort of certification from your state.

As a result, perfecting your home can improve your self-esteem. It is unpleasant to have to live in a house that is falling apart. This info should help you get your house back to somewhere you want to be.

IF you need an electrician in Thomasville ga, please give us a phone call at 229-234-9960. We can easily handle household and commercial job. No task is too huge or too little. Please see our site at http://www.sharperelectrical.com/thomasvillegeorgia

Source: http://www.sharperelectrical.com/thomasvillegeorgia/making-easy-child-friendly-home-improvements/

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US shuts embassy in Central African Republic

(AP) ? The State Department has closed its embassy in the Central African Republic and ordered the ambassador and his diplomatic team to leave the country as rebels there continue to advance and violence escalates, U.S. officials said Thursday.

A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, said that at the State Department's request, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had directed U.S. Africa Command to evacuate U.S. citizens and designated foreign nationals from the U.S. Embassy in Bangui "to safe havens in the region."

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the U.S. Embassy had temporarily suspended operations, but not diplomatic relations with the country.

"This decision is solely due to concerns about the security of our personnel and has no relation to our continuing and long-standing diplomatic relations" with the Central African Republic, Ventrell said in a statement.

Shortly after announcing the evacuation Thursday, the State Department warned U.S. citizens against travel to the Central African Republic, saying it could not "provide protection or routine consular services to U.S. citizens" and urging Americans who have decided to stay to "review their personal security situation and seriously consider departing" on commercial flights. Four days earlier, the State Department had issued a warning recommending against travel to the country and authorizing its non-emergency personnel in Bangui to leave.

U.S. officials said about 40 people were evacuated on an U.S. Air Force plane bound for Kenya. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the details of the operation.

The departure of Ambassador Laurence Wohlers and his staff comes as the president of the Central African Republic on Thursday urgently called on France and other foreign powers to help his government fend off rebels who are quickly seizing territory and approaching this capital city, but French officials declined to offer any military assistance.

Rebels have seized at least 10 towns across the sparsely populated north, and residents in the capital of 600,000 people fear insurgents could attack at any time.

The developments suggest the Central African Republic could be on the brink of another violent change in government, something not new to the impoverished country. The current president, Francois Bozize, himself came to power nearly a decade ago in the wake of a rebellion.

Speaking to crowds in Bangui, Bozize pleaded with foreign powers to do what they could. He pointed in particular to France, Central African Republic's former colonial ruler.

About 200 French soldiers are already in the country, providing technical support and helping to train the local army, according to the French defense ministry.

French President Francois Hollande said Thursday that France wants to protect its interests in Central African Republic and not Bozize's government. Paris is encouraging peace talks between the government and the rebels.

President Barack Obama late last year sent about 100 U.S. special operations forces to the region ? including Central African Republic ? to assist in the hunt for Joseph Kony, the fugitive rebel leader of the notorious Lord's Resistance Army. Forces have been hunting the elusive warlord in Central African Republic, South Sudan and Congo.

___

Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://bangui.usembassy.gov/service.html

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-27-US-Central%20African%20Republic/id-fac5a6a92c8f468eaeb14084b2e06ba5

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

Shopping for gifts for girlfriend in Mumbai - ArticlesWide.com

You have probably heard by now that online shopping in Mumbai for gifts is a very convenient alternative to the traditional gift shopping in Mumbai where you have to fight the crowd and wait in long queues. In addition to convenience of being able to get all your gift shopping done from the comfort of your home, online shopping in Mumbai offer many other benefits and few among them are discussed below.

1. Discount coupons: One of the biggest benefits of online shopping in Mumbai for gifts for girlfriend is the discount coupons. There are many online shopping stores that offer discount coupons. They are able to offer discount coupons because they do not have the high overhead costs that traditional retailers have. This means that by choosing online shopping in Mumbai you can make huge savings.

2. Variety: When doing online shopping in Mumbai for gifts for girlfriend, you will get a lot of options to choose from. This is possible because there you have access to merchants from all over the world, not just the store retailers in your local area. So instead of being limited to choosing what you nearby stores carry, you have the ability to choose from unbelievable variety of items from all over the world. So, go online and find amazing and unique gift options for your girlfriend.

3. Convenience: In this way of shopping, you dont need to deal with salespersons. Hence, you will be able to choose gifts for girlfriend at your own pace. Also, there is no fighting the crowds involved. All you need to need to do is sit in the comfort of your home and browse the store offering online shopping in Mumbai and discount coupons. Once you find such shop, place your order at that store and save more.

The perfect destination for online shopping in Mumbai for gifts for girlfriend is Majorbrands. It is one of the well stocked and well established online shopping stores that carry an extraordinary collection of women products. Here you will get the chance to lay hands on varieties of options that can be chosen as gift for girlfriend. The various items for girl available here include fashion accessories, apparels, footwear, cosmetics, lingerie, lounge wear and more. The best part of shopping gifts for girlfriend at this web store is that it offer products from some of the high end brands like Mango, bebe, Aldo, Nine West, La Senza, Inglot etc. while shopping here you can also get discount coupons. The store often offer discount coupons. So whenever you have to do online shopping in Mumbai, you can switch to this online shopping store.

Sunita kamboj is a famous writer for Online shopping in India. She has written many articles on bra brands, water bottles for kids, buy watches online, gifts for girlfriend, perfumes for women, makeup base, aldo, bra brands, ladies suits, gifts for girls and many more in India.

Source: http://www.articleswide.com/article/12202-Shopping_for_gifts_for_girlfriend_in_Mumbai.html

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Chipmaker Marvell loses $1.17 billion patent verdict

(Reuters) - A federal jury on Wednesday found that Marvell Technology Group infringed two patents held by Carnegie Mellon University, and ordered the chipmaker to pay $1.17 billion in damages.

The award is one of the largest by a jury in a U.S. patent case, and is nearly twice Marvell's profit in its latest fiscal year. It followed a month-long trial in the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, the home of Carnegie Mellon.

Jurors also found that Marvell's patent infringement was willful. This could enable the trial judge, Nora Barry Fischer, to award triple damages, a sum close to the $3.96 billion market value of Marvell, whose chips are used for reading and writing data on hard disk drives.

Shares of Marvell fell 10.3 percent on Wednesday, closing down 85 cents at $7.40 on the Nasdaq.

Carnegie Mellon said it was gratified by the verdict. "Protection of the discoveries of our faculty and students is very important to us," it said.

Marvell and its law firm, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The company had argued that it had acted in good faith, and the Carnegie Mellon patents were invalid. In a November 29 regulatory filing, Marvell said it intended to litigate vigorously in any potential appeal if it lost at trial.

Carnegie Mellon had accused Marvell of infringing patents used in technology for hard disk drive circuits to read data from high-speed magnetic disks, according to a statement from the university's law firm, K&L Gates.

The law firm said the patents related to systems and methods developed by Carnegie Mellon Professor Jose Moura and a doctoral student, Aleksandar Kavcic, who is now a professor at the University of Hawaii.

Through its verdict, the jury found that Marvell had sold billions of chips incorporating the technology without being licensed to do so, K&L Gates said.

Marvell is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Its U.S. operating unit Marvell Semiconductor Inc is based in Santa Clara, California, and was also a defendant in the case.

The company posted a $615.1 million profit on net revenue of $3.39 billion in its most recent fiscal year, which ended on January 28. It counts Western Digital Corp and Seagate Technology Plc among its largest customers.

The trial judge set a May 1, 2013, hearing to consider a final judgment in the case, court records show.

The case is Carnegie Mellon University v. Marvell Technology Group Ltd et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania, No. 09-00290.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Nate Raymond in New York and Himank Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Steve Orlofsky, Leslie Adler, Andrew Hay and Phil Berlowitz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chipmaker-marvell-loses-1-17-billion-patent-verdict-010235521--finance.html

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China bust nabs nearly 200 pounds of meth

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/27/16191768-china-bust-nabs-nearly-200-pounds-of-meth?lite

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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Will 2013 Bring Financial Reform?

Slate:

Here's an odd prediction for the coming year: 2013 will be a watershed for financial reform.

Read the whole story at Slate

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/25/2013-financial-reform_n_2362453.html

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Nicaragua volcano spews ash cloud, residents evacuated

MANAGUA (Reuters) - Nicaragua's tallest volcano has belched an ash cloud hundreds of meters (feet) into the sky in the latest bout of sporadic activity, prompting the evacuation of nearby residents, the government said on Wednesday.

The 5,725-foot (1,745-meter) San Cristobal volcano, which sits around 85 miles north of the capital Managua in the country's northwest, has been active in recent years, and went through a similar episode in September.

The latest activity began late on Tuesday.

Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo called on residents who live within a 1.9-mile (3-km) radius of the volcano to leave the area. Around 300 families live near the volcano.

"We have some families who have self-evacuated. ... We ask (the people) to go to a safe place, it's just for a few days during this emergency," she said, adding it was a precautionary measure.

A billowing grayish cloud could be seen drifting sideways from the volcano's peak.

The volcano also stirred in mid-2008, when it expelled gas and rumbled with a series of small eruptions.

(Reporting by Mexico City bureau; editing by Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nicaragua-volcano-spews-ash-cloud-residents-evacuated-222656075.html

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Online Job Search: The Perfect Way To Turn Your Career Around ...

Posted on by weblinkindia

Searching for a job is a full time job in itself. It involves a lot of patience, research and relentless efforts. With the Internet becoming a mainstay in our lives, Online Job Search has become the norm today. Online Job Search has largely given way to the traditional means of job search like ? responding to newspaper ads, through recruitment consultancies, etc. There are many reasons that can be attributed to this gradual shift, some of the relevant ones are enumerated below:-

The Many Advantages Of Online Job Search

Speed And Convenience - Online Job Search is a speedier way to find suitable vacancies and applying for jobs is also easier. Rather than going through the recruitment advertisements in different newspapers, you can find a lot about different jobs available with different companies on the Internet. Also in many cases, you can get instant alert services as soon as a new vacancy is posted on the online job portals.

Lesser Costs -All it requires for an Online Job Search is a PC and an Internet Connection at your home (or within reach). You only need to apply online for any jobs matching your experience and skills. There is no need to post resumes, cover letters & other documents to every random company offering a job. Yet another benefit of Online Job Search is that with advanced technology available, you can have a video conference with recruiters sitting in another country or some distant location. So, candidates do not have to spend anything on travelling and related expenses.

Accessibility - When you post a resume online via job portals & other such tools, more number of employers are able to view it. Since a lot of companies have a presence online, the scope for getting into a company of your choice increases, every time a recruiter checks your resume.

With more & more people becoming tech-savvy, Online Job Search is a simpler and more effective way of getting a good job in today?s world.

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Source: http://blogs.placementindia.com/2012/12/25/online-job-search-the-perfect-way-to-turn-your-career-around/

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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

How to Save Time in the Kitchen this Christmas Holiday

Entry #1957, December 24, 2012


Preparing holiday meals three times a day is not easy. Moreover, you have to plan, shop, and prepare the meals and perform the cleaning job afterward. The whole process is time consuming and when it comes to prepare festive meal with all the trimmings, you have to allot even more times to it.

Perfectly cooked turkey, mouth-watering gravy, and delicious roast potatoes do not appear by magic. However, that does not mean that the cooking will take up hours of your day. Follow these tips to save time on cooking and to enjoy this festive season with your dear ones instead of slaving over a hot stove all day.

Image via: www.apartmenttherapy.com

Keep your holiday kitchen clean and tidy

Image via: Apartment Therapy

Make a Plan for Cooking:

Stop becoming experimental with cooking when it is Christmas time. Make a plan for preparing those dishes that you can cook well. Otherwise, you will end up spending your Christmas in the kitchen. Plus, sort out what items are essential for the lunch and what you can exclude from the list. Just for instance, people eat lots of nuts and chocolates during Christmas, so you do not really need to serve starters.

Work in Advance:

In order to lessen the workload, you can prepare some items in advance. It is a better option than getting up at 6 a.m. to start cooking so that you can serve at lunchtime. Organize all the utensils in a manner so that you can have them within your reach when needed. Sort out plates, glasses, bowls, and cutlery, wash them, and put them to one side. Check if the carving knives are sharp enough and if the jugs are ready for cream, bread sauce, and gravy. You can peel and chop carrots and sprouts the day before Christmas and store them in the fridge.

holiday kitchen ideas

Keep your holiday kitchen looking great this season

Image via: BHG

Save Time on Turkey:

You can save time by using one or two peeled onion for stuffing turkey and then cooking the stuffing in a different side dish. You can also prepare roast potatoes from raw beside turkey. It will take more time but will give you space for doing other necessary chores in the meantime. Another way to save time is to buy a ready-stuffed turkey.

christmas turkey

Save time with your turkey this season

Image via: The Grocer

Roast Vegetables:

Consider roasting vegetables as it will give you space for doing other things. You can put them in, put them out of your mind, and save on washing up. Parsnips, sprouts, and carrots can be roasted for Christmas meal.

This season keep yourself sane with these Christmas tips to save time and energy! Happy holidays to you.

For more holiday ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

?

Source: http://stagetecture.com/2012/12/how-to-save-time-in-the-kitchen-this-christmas-holiday/

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Welton Arthur to win the Corrs Christmas Stayers from the fourth trap ...

Welton Arthur to win the Corrs Christmas Stayers from the fourth trap

The first heat of the Grade OR Corrs Christmas Stayers has attracted a wide mix of talent as all of them have not emerged from the identical backgrounds. The 660 metres flat race will be hosted by Sheffield on Monday, 24th December, 2012. Competing to take over the ?150 prize money are, Bansha Jax, Farloe Brainy, Cape West, Welton Arthur, Storming Coco and Russelena Nani.

Trap two, three, four and five are well seasoned at the open level while Bansha Jax and Russelena Nani are racing the debut tonight.

Welton Arthur and Farloe Brainy are the 6 to 4 joint favourites for the race.

The three-year-old, Welton Arthur, has been racing since the previous season and has thrived under the supervision of trainer, E. Parker.

He has won open contests that were over more distance than he has to race in the stayers first heat. Head Bound?s son has a hat-trick at Newcastle over 670 metres in late September and early October.

The black hound was the favourite winner as it took him 41.02 seconds to reach the wire. The blue trap got crowded when racing in the first position and his running in got the better of the rest of the lot. He defeated Swabys Princess by just half-length.

Welton Arthur had his very last two trips at the same level and over the distance that awaits him tonight.

The E. Parker trained seized the winner?s prize money in the Sheffield Stadium Stayers on 6th December, 2012 at Sheffield over 660 metres.

The favourite entry raced in the white of the third trap. He captured a disputed lead which came back to him once he was barging in from the second position. It took him 41.70 seconds to complete the trip.

Storming Coco, who is still the part on the line-up, clocked the distance in the same time and shared the success.

In the most recent outing, Welton Arthur could not grab the lead and missed the winner?s prize money by 1 ? length. The race on 13th December was won by, Farloe Brainy, in 40.10 seconds, who took off from the second trap.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent bettor.com?s official editorial policy.

?

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Welton-Arthur-to-win-the-Corrs-Christmas-Stayers-from-the-fourth-trap-a210846

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Longest surviving coma patient dies after 42 years of ... - KWGN 2

Posted on: 11:57 am, December 24, 2012, by Web Staff, updated on: 04:36pm, December 24, 2012

(CNN) ? Colleen O?Bara bathed her older sister, Edwarda, and fixed her hair. She fed her through a feeding tube like she?d done countless times. It was going to be a good day, the day before Thanksgiving.

With her morning routine complete, Colleen planned to fetch a cup of coffee. She bent down and kissed her big sister, told her she?d be right back.

?She gave me the biggest smile she has ever given me in her life,? Colleen recalls. ?Her face was aglow. There was a sparkle in her eyes.?

But just then, Edwarda closed her eyes.

For 42 years, her family held vigil. They awaited the day Edwarda would awake, the miracle that never came.

At the age of 59, Edwarda died, believed by medical experts to have lived longer than anyone in a comatose state.

Her father, Joe, died six years after she fell into her diabetic coma, the strain of working three jobs to pay her medical bills too much. Her mother, Kathryn, had promised to never leave her side; she died in 2008 after caring for Edwarda for 38 years.

Former President Bill Clinton, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, singer Neil Diamond and other celebrities visited the home over the years. Renowned self-help author Wayne Dyer penned a book, ?A Promise Is A Promise,? about Kathryn?s unconditional love.

Thousands of people ? from Japan to Australia, from Italy to Canada ? took the pilgrimage to the O?Bara home, inspired by the devotion of her mother. They were drawn too because they believed Edwarda had miracle healing powers: A woman with an inoperable brain tumor was cancer-free months after she touched Edwarda. Two girls with cystic fibrosis were apparently healed in the months after visiting her room. Even skeptics said they felt a strange aura when they walked into the North Miami home.

Kathryn claimed Mother Mary appeared in visions. Mom wrote Pope John Paul II. He responded with letters of his own.

On the walls of Edwarda?s room, Mom pinned inspirational quotes: ?Where there is great love, there are great miracles.?

The Hemlock Society phoned often, pleading with the mother to let her daughter die. The day after Christmas in 1981, someone called to say he was going to put Edwarda out of her misery. A few hours later, three bullets were fired into the home. No one was hurt.

Edwarda was just 16 when she fell into her comatose state. Her favorite song then was ?Bobby?s Girl,? because she had a crush on a boy named Bobby.

In the decades that followed, Bobby would visit the home, but she even outlived him.

It seemed Edwarda touched everyone she came into contact with, even the doctor who saved her life. He struggled with the ethics of what he?d done.

He wondered: Would it have been better if I?d let her die?

A promise kept

Edwarda and Colleen were inseparable, born just 18 months apart. Edwarda was the studious, obedient, loving child. Colleen was the mischievous tomboy.

Edwarda and Colleen visit with Santa Claus. It was during Christmas break in 1969 that Edwarda fell into a coma.

?She kept me in check,? Colleen recalls. ?I had a short fuse on my temper when we were younger. My sister was just calm. She put up with me unbelievably.?

Family photos show the bonds of sisterhood at an early age: as ballerinas, on Santa?s lap, playing with the family?s German shepherd. Birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas were a bundle of fun, a time to celebrate as family.

?All I ever wanted in life was to have two girls. God was very good and granted me my wish,? Kathryn O?Bara told Dyer in his book.

Kathryn McCloskey and Joe O?Bara married in 1948, a promising young couple eager to start a family. She was the daughter of the mayor of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He was the Navy?s middleweight boxing champion during World War II and went on to star on the University of Pittsburgh?s football team.

The family eventually settled in South Florida. Joe became a physical education teacher at a Catholic elementary school. Kathryn ? Kaye to family ? taught math at a high school.

Kathryn?s niece, Pam Burdgick, remembers her aunt and uncle as pillars of the family. She went to college in the mid-1960s in South Florida and would stay with the O?Baras on weekends. ?Kaye was the personification of unconditional love. That was for all of us, not just Edwarda.?

Edwarda, then 12, would watch her put makeup on. ?She was a sweet, loving child.?

Like so many girls, Edwarda and Colleen loved horses. At a nearby ranch, the sisters? friendship grew. ?Colleen had horses, and Edwarda had a pony because she was always the cautious one,? says Burdgick.

Edwarda did the hard work around the stables, allowing her younger sister a lot more time to ride the horses. ?My sister would clean the stalls, brush the horses, let me have all the fun, and she would do all the work.?

?That?s what she wanted to do for me. She?s the most giving sister that anybody could possibly have had,? Colleen recalls. ?She was my best friend in the whole wide world.?

Edwarda was diagnosed with diabetes in late 1969. She was prescribed an oral insulin medication ? a medicine that is no longer given to adolescents due to harmful side effects.

Her diabetes didn?t hinder her studies. A junior in high school, she got straight A?s. Edwarda had been accepted to the University of Notre Dame, at a time when the school was mostly male. She hoped to become a pediatrician.

The family looked forward to Christmas that year. But during the break, Edwarda fell ill with the flu.

?She was sick and throwing up and stuff,? Colleen says.

If Edwarda had been given insulin shots, her bad bout with the flu likely would have been just that, nothing more. But every time she vomited, she was throwing up her medicine ? and sugar was building up in her system.

By the time anyone realized what was happening, her health had deteriorated.

Joe O?Bara had just returned from a fishing outing when he went into his daughter?s room. The skin on her legs had sugar lumps under them, like Charley horses. They were all over.

?My sister was screaming. I remember it like it was yesterday,? Colleen says. ?My dad started rubbing her legs to try to get the sugar to flow in her legs. He picked her up, and we just rushed her to the hospital.?

It was January 3, 1970, when Edwarda arrived at North Miami General Hospital around 2 a.m. ? Joe and Kaye?s 22nd wedding anniversary.

Dr. Louis Chaykin, who was on call that night to treat another patient, remembers seeing Edwarda and her mother in the emergency room. Daughter and mother were holding hands.

?I remember the words the daughter told the mother when she was lying in the emergency room: ?Don?t ever leave me,?? the doctor says. ?And the mother said she never would.?

Soon, her lungs collapsed. Her kidneys failed. Her heart faltered, causing a lack of oxygen to the brain.

Chaykin was 35 then. A nurse suggested Edwarda?s mother ask him to care for her daughter. He was an endocrinologist with specialized skills.

?When I saw her, she was almost near death. It was a Sunday. We worked on her for hours,? he says. ?We got her into intensive care, and we were able to reverse a lot of the metabolic abnormalities, but the damage that was done to the brain appeared to be permanent.

?She was in a comatose state. She would respond to pain, but that was it.?

Colleen, then 15, continued her life at school, thinking her sister would eventually be OK. ?I didn?t realize how bad it really was,? she recalls. ?You see, my sister wasn?t on any machines or anything. She just didn?t wake up and speak.?

For five months, Edwarda was treated at the hospital. The family refused to put her in a nursing home. Medicaid would have paid for those expenses, but mom had made a promise. And so they brought Edwarda home.

?To my parents, if you promised somebody something,? Colleen says, ?you never broke a promise.?

Edwarda and Colleen dressed for a recital. The sisters, born 18 months apart, were inseparable.

The parents? bedroom in the family?s humble bungalow was transformed into a round-the-clock care center, with Kathryn serving as chief nurse. She set up a folding chair next to Edwarda?s bed. It was eventually replaced with a brown velvet recliner. Every two hours, she fed her daughter baby formula through her feeding tube. She had more than a dozen alarm clocks. They went off at midnight, 2, 4, 6 in the morning. Angel figurines and family photos adorned the room.

Mom gave insulin shots, turned her daughter so bedsores wouldn?t grow, changed her diaper. Mom?s back grew hunched from slouching over. She got arthritis. Sleep came in 75-minute power naps.

Chaykin pledged to treat Edwarda for free. He set up an IV for fluids and the feeding tube through her stomach.

?It?s not a big deal,? says Chaykin, 77. ?Recognizing the cost of just maintaining Edwarda, it was a non-starter. I wouldn?t accept any money.?

Kathryn called the doctor her angel.

Yet, as he watched the family grapple with Edwarda?s condition and her father die under the weight of it all, the doctor worried that he might?ve done the wrong thing by saving her.

?I felt that it was very futile,? Chaykin says. ?That was early on.?

His views, though, changed with time. ?I became so impressed by the dedication and the love that this mother had. As I grew older, I thought that, perhaps, God had a better reason for me allowing Edwarda to survive, albeit in a comatose state.?

He remembers watching hundreds, if not thousands, of people visit Edwarda?s bedside because they believed ?there were certain miracles that would happen if they came and visited Edwarda and touched her.?

?There were different things that happened that I could not explain as a doctor,? he says.

He wondered: Was it coincidence or something more?

?A mystery of faith?

No one remembers exactly when the first of the perceived miracles happened. Most everyone from those early days has died. But whatever the cause ? a mother?s devotion, visions of Mother Mary ? word spread, and people ranging from sick children to missionaries on healing trips flocked to the home.

Joi Mejia brought both of her young daughters, around 6 and 8 years old, to the home. They suffered from cystic fibrosis.

?I was willing to do anything and try anything,? she says.

Kathryn O?Bara had been Mejia?s kindergarten teacher. She had heard of Edwarda?s healing powers and felt the urge to visit ? the start of a friendship that lasted until Kathryn died.

?The feeling of peace and love in the room was so profound,? she says.

Family and friends celebrate Edwarda?s 51st birthday.

In the months that followed, doctors told Mejia her daughters no longer suffered from cystic fibrosis, something the mother chalks up to the miracle of Edwarda. Touched by what happened, Mejia helped Kathryn tend to Edwarda for years.

?There were many miracles that came,? Mejia says. ?We don?t always get a perfect package, but we always get a perfect soul.?

A woman from South America once visited. Chaykin said she?d been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, traveled to Massachusetts for a second opinion and stopped at the O?Baras? while flying back home. She prayed at Edwarda?s bedside.

?About six or nine months later, a truck pulled up with new furniture for the whole downstairs with a note saying, ?I just got back from my doctor, and the tumor I had is gone,?? Chaykin says.

?Those things happened all the time.?

Adds Mejia, ?That was the freaky part. People came from everywhere. Why would it draw them? ? It?s a mystery of faith.?

A devout Catholic, Kathryn told people that caring for her daughter was a blessing from God.

Yet she could also muster a joke about its physical toll. ?If I could turn myself in and get some new parts, I?d be all right,? she once told the Miami News.

The family fell into mountains of debt. Joe began painting homes and fixing motor boat engines for extra cash to supplement his teaching income. But the pain ? both financial and emotional ? was too much for the Navy tough guy, who died in 1976.

?No question that it contributed to the father?s death,? says Chaykin.

Colleen gave up her dream of college to help her family pay their debts.

Already shattered by her sister?s condition, Colleen?s pain deepened with the death of her father.

She wondered: What type of cruel God would torture a family so?

The power of two words

Mom never lost faith.

She rarely left her daughter?s side, let alone the house. On Mother?s Day in 1982, Kathryn had a heart attack as she watched Edwarda sleep. She was hospitalized for 10 days, the first time she?d been away from Edwarda overnight in 12 years of caring for her.

Among those who covered the story was Miami Herald columnist Charles Whited. He first met the family in the years after she fell into the coma. He?d write a column around the holidays of a mother who refused to give up on her daughter.

?I?ve seen her, over these years, alternately buoyed by hope and crushed by despair, with even her faith tested as she awaits the miracle that never comes: Edwarda?s awakening,? Whited wrote in 1982.

Kathryn would call him often. Sometimes, she?d send letters. Her return address always carried the message: ?Hope never dies.?

?One of these days Edwarda is just not going to be able to fight off another infection,? she said in one of her letters. ?But even then, I will be richer for having cared for her and experienced all the love that people have shown her.?

The next year Whited penned a different column. In August of 1983, Edwarda?s mother said she?d heard her daughter utter one word: ?Hey.? She was in the kitchen with friends at the time. They rushed into the room.

?You?ll never know the sensations that went over me. It was Edwarda?s voice. We all ran in. She was smiling, as if she had done something terrific,? Kathryn told him.

The next night, Edwarda said ?hey? again. Kathryn wept at her bedside for an hour.

Whited asked, what if Edwarda never said anything again.

?I?m so elated that nothing can knock me down now,? she told him. ?Edwarda spoke. She really spoke.?

Edwarda would never speak again. She would outlive the columnist. By 21 years.

The years came and went. Mom remained steadfast, always hoping, always praying. Edwarda had been reading the James Michener novel ?Hawaii? when she fell ill during that Christmas in 1969. Mom read it to her more than 10 times over the years.

?It was never a sad place,? recalls niece Pam. ?She always considered it a privilege. She loved having people come and visit. ? You left with a kind of sense of priorities, of how important family is.?

While pilgrims made their way to visit Edwarda in South Florida, across the state a very different saga was playing out: that of Terri Schiavo, whose persistent vegetative state became a political, legal and family feud with her husband wanting to let her die and her parents wanting to let her live.

Schiavo, 41, died in 2005 after 15 years in a coma after a judge sided with her husband.

Kathryn paid attention to that battle but didn?t cast judgment. She told people that families must deal with such tragedies in their own way ? and hers was united behind Edwarda.

Stephen Mayer, a professor of neurology and neurological surgery at Columbia University, has treated many comatose patients over the years. He says new research suggests that patients in persistent vegetative states may perceive what?s around them in a way that doctors didn?t previously understand.

?The best evidence of that are people who don?t follow commands and appear to be vegetative, but after several years they wake up and start following commands,? says Mayer.

Mayer, who did not treat Edwarda, says it?s possible ?she was perceiving what was going on around her to some extent over those 40 years, but not really able to communicate to us in a way that we can believe. And maybe the daily contact, the voices, the touches with her loved ones gave her reason to live.?

?One thing I?ve learned over the years as somebody who treats people in a coma and tries to save them,? he says, ?is there?s something very important about human contact with the people that bring meaning to your life, your loved ones.?

Kathryn believed that to the fullest.

?God has given me the strength to care for Edwarda by sending angels in many forms ? friends, families, strangers who became friends, and many others,? she told Wayne Dyer. ?God has given me the gift of staying cheerful and being able to help others.?

In March 2008, at the age of 80, Kaythryn was found dead on the floor in her daughter?s room. She?d cared for Edwarda for nearly four decades. Mom had kept her promise.

Kathryn had worried what would happen if she died first. She wasn?t sure whether Colleen could handle the stress of caring for Edwarda. ?She can?t understand why God did this,? Kathryn once said of her younger daughter.

Mom had wondered: Could Colleen stand up to the task?

?A hole in my heart?

Colleen tried to live as normal a life as possible. Yet she couldn?t shake her devastation.

Her sister ? her best friend ? lay in a coma. Her father was taken from her when she was 21. Dad had become her confidant. ?I always had my dad to fall back on when my mom was tied up with my sister,? she says.

It would be too much to bear for most anyone, let alone a young woman trying to find meaning.

She married in 1974, with the reception held in Edwarda?s room. She gave birth to a son, Richard, in 1976, just eight days after her father died. Colleen?s marriage lasted only six years.

The divorce was yet another bad blow. She and her son moved in with her mother, and her boy became a fixture alongside Edwarda.

?My marriage fell apart and I didn?t feel like I belonged anywhere,? she says. ?That?s when I ventured into drugs. I was just trying to belong somewhere.?

Her troubles spiraled further. She was arrested on an array of drug offenses in the early 1990s. She was sentenced to nine months in prison at the Broward Correctional Institutional.

Being locked up, she had an epiphany: If something happened to her mother while she was behind bars, Edwarda would have no one to care for her ? all because of her selfishness.

?I went to prison and turned my life around,? she says. ?I knew where I belonged.?

She took a job as a horse trainer, not too far from the family home. Many days she wished she could put Edwarda in her car and take her to the stables.

When their mother died, Colleen immediately quit her job. She suffered from multiple sclerosis but quickly figured out a way to manage her sister?s needs.

?My mom worried I wouldn?t be able to do it,? she says. ?But when you love somebody, you can do it. That?s what you do for family.?

And so she tended to her sister, day and night, for five years until that morning this past November.

?When I was down in the dumps, she would give me a big smile and it would just make everything seem like it was OK,? Colleen says. ?I talked to her just like I would talk to you.?

She still rises before the sun, expecting to feed her sister. Then, her loss sinks in.

?I knew I loved my sister, but until she was no longer physically here I didn?t realize how much I would ache,? she says. ?I feel a hole in my stomach, a hole in my heart.?

In a quiet ceremony on November 28, Edwarda was buried next to her mother and father. Colleen was never sure what to make of her mother?s visions of Mother Mary. Colleen had never seen the visions herself.

When she returned to the empty home after the funeral, Colleen walked into Edwarda?s room.

There on the screen, she says, was an image of Mother Mary. ?Not sitting on my TV, but on my actual TV screen.?

It lasted for six seconds, then disappeared.

Source: http://kwgn.com/2012/12/24/longest-surviving-coma-patient-dies-after-42-years-of-unconsciousness-3/

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Monday, December 24, 2012

TapMyBiz ? The evolution of the business card

You probably have a few business cards in your wallet that you hand out when the opportunity presents itself. Plain old printed cards may get the job done, but if you want to impress people, check out the latest in business card technology from TapMyBiz. These cards have an embedded Mifare 1K Classic NFC (Near [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/12/24/tapmybiz-the-evolution-of-the-business-card/

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Pagan Roots? 5 Surprising Facts About Christmas

When you gather around the Christmas tree or stuff goodies into a stocking, you're taking part in traditions that stretch back thousands of years ? long before Christianity entered the mix.

Pagan, or non-Christian, traditions show up in this beloved winter holiday, a consequence of early church leaders melding Jesus' nativity celebration with pre-existing midwinter festivals. Since then, Christmas traditions have warped over time, arriving at their current state a little more than a century ago.

Read on for some of the surprising origins of Christmas cheer, and find out why Christmas was once banned in New England.

1. Early Christians had a soft spot for pagans

It's a mistake to say that our modern Christmas traditions come directly from pre-Christian paganism, said Ronald Hutton, a historian at Bristol University in the United Kingdom. However, he said, you'd be equally wrong to believe that Christmas is a modern phenomenon. As Christians spread their religion into Europe in the first centuries A.D., they ran into people living by a variety of local and regional religious creeds.

Christian missionaries lumped all of these people together under the umbrella term "pagan," said Philip Shaw, who researches early Germanic languages and Old English at Leicester University in the U.K. The term is related to the Latin word meaning "field," Shaw told LiveScience. The lingual link makes sense, he said, because early European Christianity was an urban phenomenon, while paganism persisted longer in rustic areas.

Early Christians wanted to convert pagans, Shaw said, but they were also fascinated by their traditions.

"Christians of that period are quite interested in paganism," he said. "It's obviously something they think is a bad thing, but it's also something they think is worth remembering. It's what their ancestors did." [In Photos: Early Christian Rome]

Perhaps that's why pagan traditions remained even as Christianity took hold. The Christmas tree is a 17th-century German invention, University of Bristol's Hutton told LiveScience, but it clearly derives from the pagan practice of bringing greenery indoors to decorate in midwinter. The modern Santa Claus is a direct descendent of England's Father Christmas, who was not originally a gift-giver. However, Father Christmas and his other European variations are modern incarnations of old pagan ideas about spirits who traveled the sky in midwinter, Hutton said.

2. We all want that warm Christmas glow

But why this fixation on partying in midwinter, anyway? According to historians, it's a natural time for a feast. In an agricultural society, the harvest work is done for the year, and there's nothing left to be done in the fields.

"It's a time when you have some time to devote to your religious life," said Shaw. "But also it's a period when, frankly, everyone needs cheering up."

The dark days that culminate with the shortest day of the year ?? the winter solstice ? could be lightened with feasts and decorations, Hutton said.

"If you happen to live in a region in which midwinter brings striking darkness and cold and hunger, then the urge to have a celebration at the very heart of it to avoid going mad or falling into deep depression is very, very strong," he said.

Stephen Nissenbaum, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist "The Battle for Christmas" (Vintage, 1997), agreed.

"Even now when solstice means not all that much because you can get rid of the darkness with the flick of an electric light switch, even now, it's a very powerful season," he told LIveScience.

3. The Church was slow to embrace Christmas

Despite the spread of Christianity, midwinter festivals did not become Christmas for hundreds of years. The Bible gives no reference to when Jesus was born, which wasn't a problem for early Christians, Nissenbaum said.

"It never occurred to them that they needed to celebrate his birthday," he said.

With no Biblical directive to do so and no mention in the Gospels of the correct date, it wasn't until the fourth century that church leaders in Rome embraced the holiday. At this time, Nissenbaum said, many people had turned to a belief the Church found heretical: That Jesus had never existed as a man, but as a sort of spiritual entity.

"If you want to show that Jesus was a real human being just like every other human being, not just somebody who appeared like a hologram, then what better way to think of him being born in a normal, humble human way than to celebrate his birth?" Nissenbaum said. [Religious Mysteries: 8 Alleged Relics of Jesus]

Midwinter festivals, with their pagan roots, were already widely celebrated, Nissenbaum said. And the date had a pleasing philosophical fit with festivals celebrating the lengthening days after the winter solstice (which fell on Dec. 21 this year). "O, how wonderfully acted Providence?that on that day on which that Sun was born ??Christ?should be born," one Cyprian text read.

4. The Puritans hated the holiday

But if the Catholic Church gradually came to embrace Christmas, the Protestant Reformation gave the holiday a good knock on the chin. In the 16th century, Christmas became a casualty of this church schism, with reformist-minded Protestants considering it little better than paganism, Nissenbaum said. This likely had something to do with the "raucous, rowdy and sometimes bawdy fashion" in which Christmas was celebrated, he added.

In England under Oliver Cromwell, Christmas and other saints' days were banned, and in New England it was illegal to celebrate Christmas for about 25 years in the 1600s, Nissenbaum said. Forget people saying, "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," he said.

"If you want to look at a real 'War on Christmas,' you've got to look at the Puritans," he said. "They banned it!"

5. Gifts are a new (and surprisingly controversial) tradition

While gift-giving may seem inextricably tied to Christmas, it used to be that people looked forward to opening presents on New Year's Day.

"They were a blessing for people to make them feel good as the year ends," Hutton said. It wasn't until the Victorian era of the 1800s that gift-giving shifted to Christmas. According to the Royal Collection, Queen Victoria's children got Christmas Eve gifts in 1850, including a sword and armor. In 1841, Victoria gave her husband, Prince Albert, a miniature portrait of her as a 7-year-old; in 1859, she gave him a book of poetry by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

All of this gift-giving, along with the secular embrace of Christmas, now has some religious groups steamed, Nissenbaum said. The consumerism of Christmas shopping seems, to some, to contradict the religious goal of celebrating Jesus Christ's birth. In some ways, Nissenbaum said, excessive spending is the modern equivalent of the revelry and drunkenness that made the Puritans frown.

"There's always been a push and pull, and it's taken different forms," he said. "It might have been alcohol then, and now it's these glittering toys."

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience. We're also on Facebook & Google+.

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pagan-roots-5-surprising-facts-christmas-145921591.html

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