Saturday, December 31, 2011

Ryan expects Schottenheimer back with Jets

(AP) ? Rex Ryan expects Brian Schottenheimer to be back with the New York Jets next season unless the embattled offensive coordinator gets a head coaching job elsewhere.

Ryan says Friday that he puts Schottenheimer's return at "probably 50-50" because he believes there will be opportunities for the assistant to get a top job in the offseason. Schottenheimer has turned down a few interview opportunities in previous years to remain with the Jets.

But with increasing criticism of the offense and Schottenheimer's play calling, he could potentially look elsewhere. Many fans and media members have insisted that the Jets need to make a change with the Jets ranking 27th in overall offense. Schottenheimer said Thursday that he would like to remain with the Jets, but understands the nature of the business.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-30-Jets-Ryan-Schottenheimer/id-b43727fe3c7c42a1ab75c9919d47b5fb

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Lawsuit seeks to get Gingrich on Va. ballot (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A Virginia attorney and tea party activist is seeking to have Newt Gingrich's name placed on the state's Super Tuesday primary ballot.

Attorney Jonathon Moseley of Reston, Va., says he filed the suit Thursday in the Circuit Court of Richmond County. It contends that Gingrich met the requirement of filing 10,000 signatures and that many of those were improperly excluded. The suit also takes issue with how the Republican Party of Virginia determined that not enough signatures were valid.

Only Mitt Romney and Ron Paul have been found eligible for the Virginia primary ballot. The campaign of Rick Perry is challenging his exclusion in court.

Moseley says he is acting independently of the Gingrich campaign but is encouraging the former House speaker to join his suit.

Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said the campaign has not decided how to proceed in Virginia.

Gingrich believes that he was kept off the ballot in the state ? where he now lives ? because a paid campaign worker committed fraud by turning in false signatures, according to Hammond.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111230/ap_on_el_pr/us_gingrich_virginia_lawsuit

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'Cold lava flood' kills villagers near Indonesia volcano

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Fast-moving mudflows streaming from the mouth of a volcano killed four villagers in eastern Indonesia, officials said Wednesday.?

About 1,000 other people?have fled their homes.

Mount Gamalama, located in the Molucca Islands, sprang back to life this month with a powerful, non-fatal eruption.


Government spokesman Yusuf Sunnya said Wednesday that days of heavy rains triggered flows of cold lava, rocks and other debris that slammed into villages Tuesday night.

He said four people were killed and more than a dozen others were hospitalized with injuries ranging from broken bones to head wounds.

The Jakarta Post described the?deadly incident as?a "cold lava flood."

Provincial spokesman Andi Arief said the cold lava slides destroyed several houses in the villages.

"Initial data cited that three people died, while many other residents (were) evacuated to a school building and the former North Maluku governor's office," Andi said in a statement.

Indonesia is a vast archipelago with millions of people living on mountains or near fertile flood plains. Seasonal downpours here often cause landslides.

The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/28/9766518-cold-lava-flood-kills-villagers-near-indonesia-volcano

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If Canada is Google's sweetheart, why is access still a problem?

Google GOOG-Q marked its 10th year in Canada by nearly doubling the size of its staff here and the Mountain View, Calif.-based company intends to make its Canadian presence even larger in 2012.

?Canada is one of the fastest growing markets for Google and it?s one of our big bets corporately. It?s a market that Google is very committed to and investing in heavily in terms of resources and growing very, very quickly,? said Eric Morris, head of mobile advertising at Google Canada.

More related to this story

Mr. Morris was one of the first two Google employees to set up shop in Canada after the company first moved north in 2001. When asked if Google might double its Canadian staff again in 2012, from its current roster of about 300 employees, he said ?hopefully.?

?We hope to continue that robust pace well into 2012. We?re going to continue to expand our business here and continue to hire and continue to invest in Canada.?

The company currently has four Canadian offices, in Toronto, Waterloo, Ont., Montreal and Ottawa, and the employees there work on some of Google?s top projects.

?Some of the smartest, smartest talent we have corporately comes out of Waterloo and some other places in Canada,? said Mr. Morris.

?They?ve contributed to Gmail, some of our mobile apps, to commerce, to making the Internet safer and faster with things like Chrome and knocking out malware ? so lots and lots of technological innovation has come from Canada.?

Mr. Morris said Google?s growing presence in Canada has a lot to do with the strong digital culture here and the way it?s grown over the last decade.

In 2002, the company projected that 70 per cent of Canada?s population would be online by 2017 ? we?re already past 80 per cent.

?If you think back to when Google first opened its office in Canada the Internet was a growing medium, but it was much, much smaller,? he said.

?It was kind of mass media at the time, but today virtually everybody is online.?

He admits it?s tough to explain to his fellow Canadians why we?re still not among the first to get access to some Google features, noting Google Voice in particular is ?the toughest one.?

?Yeah, I think that?s frustrating. I?m a lover of tech and even because I work here I don?t always get access to everything that I read about,? Mr. Morris said.

?It?s something we?re working on. These are complicated products ? when we can we launch globally ? but there are some nuances to products, whether it?s language issues or policy-related issues, that make global launches more challenging.?

Canadians also do not yet have access to Google Wallet, which allows users to make payments in stores with a smartphone. In general, Canadian businesses are a bit behind when it comes to adopting e-commerce, which Google sees as an opportunity, Morris said.

?We think it?s going to happen here and it?s increasing each year. And as a result, that?s a place Google wants to invest in to try and accelerate that process,? he said.

Earlier this year, Google started a program called Get Your Business Online to help Canadian small businesses establish a web presence and embrace the web.

?Canada is certainly ripe for that kind of technological innovation ... so we hope to see it take off here soon.?

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-news/if-canada-is-googles-sweetheart-why-is-access-still-a-problem/article2285273/?utm_medium=Feeds:%20RSS/Atom&utm_source=Globe%20Investor&utm_content=2285273

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Rev. Dr. Susan K. Hedahl: Luke 2:22-40: How Are We Caring for Our Children Today?

The enactment of religious rituals for children in the Jewish faith of Jesus' time is the background of this only biblical glimpse we have of Jesus' early infancy. This luminous text of hope from Luke's Gospel is pictorial in its rendering of Jesus presentation at the Temple. As a newborn, he is brought by his parents to be circumcised and officially named, following the custom of their faith.

Luke's description of Jesus' bris at the age of eight days leaves an indelible tableau in our mind's eye. Four adults are part of the scene, eager to see this child launched with due ceremony and love. We can almost see them posed on the front steps of the Temple! They are proud, happy and awed by this child. Along with Jesus' parents, there are two other adults of deep piety, Simeon and Anna, who respond to the occasion. These two devout and faithful people are recorded as praising God. God has granted them the opportunity to witness the arrival of an infant whom they understand to be the central change agent for the cosmos.

This story of a baby's first religious rituals prompts the memories of many adults whose own parents involved them at an early age in the practices of their faith. Luke paints a touching and very typical picture of just such an occasion. Today, even though obscured in the unknowingness of early infancy, how many adults still cherish the pictures and artifacts from their own infancy rituals? Caregivers of all sorts save a scrapbook of pictures, perhaps a special robe, a candle, a signed guestbook or maybe a picture of the banquet table of well-wishers. All of these are reminders which can still bear meaning for adults about the religious and personal commitments caregivers made for them as infants.

The child, Jesus, launched into the world, through the faithful hopes and practices of his parents and others, prompts the Gospel writer to conclude: "The child grew and became strong..."

Paradoxically this text, while focused on Jesus throughout, also records the responses of the adults around him to the child. In fact, this text poses a critical set of questions for adults who have anything to do with children, be they parents, members of religious communities or the general public.

  • What expectations do we have for our children as they grow toward adulthood?
  • What are our hopes for them?
  • How do we utilize the resources of our faith communities to support children?
  • What protection and guidance do we offer them so hopes and expectations can be realized for their flourishing?
  • What responsibilities do all adults have for children, regardless of whether or not they are related to them by blood or marriage?

Luke's words portray a picture of hope, innocence and adult concern for the infant Jesus. His words foster nostalgia and loving sentiments. This child, Jesus, has received a strong start in life. But in juxtaposing this text with some of today's facts and realities about children, the biblical passage slashes across our lives with one harsh notice: "Warning!"

WATCH "The Quest to End Child Trafficking":

This lectionary text marks the first day of the New Year. Nevertheless, the contemporary on-going violent abuse of children haunts its very reading. Whether one speaks of global venues or domestic ones, signifiers of this reality are heard everywhere in such phrases as "Penn State," "sex tourism" and "child trafficking." Recent analysis of the fashion in which all 50 states in America are enforcing existing laws to protect children yields a dismal picture of how adults are not protecting children.

Luke's words have at their center a child: surely a prompt to everyone to consider the treatment of children today. What does it mean to cherish and value children? Several years ago a proverbial phrase was popularized through a speech; "It takes a village to raise a child." How true in the best sense of that phrase. And yet, there is ready and ugly evidence that communities of varied sorts are devoted to the destruction of children, particularly through sexual trafficking. One witnesses this in the print and electronic media and in the reports about those who have been caught vandalizing the souls and bodies of children. Indeed, the incredible commodifying of children's lives and bodies can be seen on the streets and hidden rooms of both large urban centers and smaller towns throughout America.

This destruction of children through sexual trafficking stands in absolute contrast to the Lucan story of the nourishing and flourishing of children. Children's bodies instead of being blessed and protected are bought and sold by adults. These adults seek only to gain obscure and profit from them.

In the words and acts of the devout adults who bless Jesus, Luke offers an unsettling warning of his own about this child, Jesus. Simeon notes to Mary, his mother, that her child will cause "the rising and falling" of many. What will happen to her son will cause her own heart to be pierced as though by a sword. Furthermore, Anna's act of endurance involves fasting. Fasting does not signify feasting. To the contrary it signifies that there are things yet to be accomplished and fulfilled. Anna was also keenly aware of the need for the coming redemption. The child, Jesus, exemplified that for her.

Within this text of love and support for a child, we unmistakably hear the note of justice sounded clearly. Indeed the rising and falling of many has and will occur in terms of their treatment of children. Luke's words have set both the model of parental and adult love for children and they also challenge all adults to ask: "How are we caring for our children today?"

Editor's Note: ON Scripture is a series of Christian scripture commentaries produced in collaboration with Odyssey Networks. Each week pastors from around the country will approach the lectionary text of the week through the lens of current events, providing a religious voice that is both pastoral and prophetic.

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-dr-susan-k-hedahl/luke-2-22-40-caring-for-children_b_1171690.html

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TheWilsonTimes: Wilson, Edgecombe, Wayne and Sampson counties are under a tornado watch until 7 p.m.

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Source: http://twitter.com/TheWilsonTimes/statuses/151731176028119040

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Scientists fixate on Ric-8 to understand trafficking of popular drug receptor targets

ScienceDaily (Dec. 28, 2011) ? Half the drugs used today target a single class of proteins -- and now scientists have identified an important molecular player critical to the proper workings of those proteins critical to our health.

A protein known as Ric-8 plays a vital role, according to new results from a team led by Gregory Tall, Ph.D., assistant professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of Rochester Medical Center. The work was published recently in Science Signaling.

What you see, what you smell, how you feel -- molecules known as G-protein coupled receptors and their prime targets, G proteins, are key to those and many other processes that are ubiquitous in our bodies. These proteins serve as the targets of drugs used to treat conditions like cancer, diabetes, depression, allergies, and heart disease.

These receptors normally weave themselves throughout the cell membrane, with one part protruding from the outside of a cell, and the rest of the protein inside the cell. When a compound like a drug or a hormone attaches to a receptor on the cell surface, it affects the G protein bound to the portion of the receptor that is inside the cell, triggering a cascade of signals that make life possible -- or improve health, in the case of a drug, or perhaps hurting health in the case of a toxin.

Previously, Tall discovered the existence of Ric-8 and learned that it binds to G proteins, which are made inside cells and have to make their way to the cell's outer edge, the membrane, to work correctly. In the new work, his team found that Ric-8 is a chaperone that G proteins need to be transported to the cell membrane. When Ric-8 is knocked out, G proteins don't work as they should and are destroyed.

"G proteins are involved in many biological processes -- how we see and taste, how our heart beats, even our mood," said Tall. "It's a very important class of proteins. Ric-8 is the chaperone that gets G proteins where they need to be, to the cell membrane. Without it, many of these proteins end up destroyed within the cell."

"Understanding more precisely how this important class of proteins operates in the body can perhaps make many of the drugs we use today more effective for patients," Tall added.

To do the study, Tall and colleagues had to devise a system where they could study the molecules in action. In living animals such as mice, when Ric-8 is knocked out completely, the animals die. So the team worked to identify a stem cell line in which the Ric-8 gene was knocked out, so they could study G protein function in the absence of Ric-8.

The first author was graduate student Meital Gabay. Other authors at the University include Mary Pinter, an undergraduate student now at the University of Colorado at Denver; technical associate Forrest Wright, now at SUNY Upstate Medical University; and graduate student PuiYee Chan. The team worked with scientists at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals who created the "knockout" mice used in the study.

Funding for the work came from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and from the Empire State Stem Cell Board.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Rochester Medical Center.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. M. Gabay, M. E. Pinter, F. A. Wright, P. Chan, A. J. Murphy, D. M. Valenzuela, G. D. Yancopoulos, G. G. Tall. Ric-8 Proteins Are Molecular Chaperones That Direct Nascent G Protein ? Subunit Membrane Association. Science Signaling, 2011; 4 (200): ra79 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.2002223

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/vH3xjppmpB4/111228111722.htm

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SMX Israel Speakers Announced: 3 Weeks Away

SMX Israel is now under 3 weeks away and today we have posted the full agenda with speaker names.

I have to stress, please register this week because I will have to raise the price soon in order to give the venue a solid number on the attendees coming. So please register this week, so you don't have to pay an extra $50 in a week or so when the price is increased. You can register here now for $150. Do it now before I increase the price to $200.

SMX Israel Sponsors:

Before I list the revised agenda with speaker names, please thank our sponsors for making this event possible. They include Majestic SEO, Analytics Ninja, Universal McCann Search, Mad Mimi, Go Internet Marketing, Rapid Fire, Responder.co.il, SEO Genie, Sorezki, SEFO, iSEO and Viruous Online.

SMX Israel 2012 Agenda & Speakers

SEO From Basic To Advanced

The SEO Tips panel will contain all grades for organic SEO ranking tips. Starting off with basic SEO tips, then going into SEO tips for image search, video search, and much more. Join this session if you want a refresher and additional tips on how to improve your SEO skills.

Moderator: Olivier Amar, Point Up Media
Speakers: Eli Feldblum, RankAbove; Roman Zelvenschi, RomanZ Media Group; Branko Rihtman, RankAbove.

PPC From Basic To Advanced

This paid search panel will start basic with core campaign set up and keyword research techniques. It will then move into more advanced tips including various geo-targeting, demographic target, day parting, and even re-targeting. Paid search is one of the highest converting traffic generation techniques.

Moderator: Ophir Cohen, Universal McCann Search
Speakers: Adam Tal, adamtal.com; Thomas Bindl, Refined Labs; Dani Arrusi, Web Metro; Dan Perach, PPC Proz.

In House SEM

Do you work in at a company as an in-house SEO? Are you looking for tips and techniques to handle managing SEO and SEM campaigns in a company? The tips range from selecting vendors, to managing internal budgets and politics.

Moderator: Mayer Reich, RankAbove
Speakers: Daniel Rostenne, EyeCarePro.Net; Amir Yarkoni, Seperia; Alex Chernorudsky, Maxi Services Ltd.

Analytics & Landing Page Optimization

Search Engine Marketing is not just about organic or paid listings. If you rank well for a keyword, but you don?t convert on that traffic, then what good is it? This session will review how to use analytics tools to track the success of your online marketing and key strategies to optimize your landing pages for optimal conversions.

Moderator: Ophir Cohen, Universal McCann Search
Speakers: Yehoshua Coren, Analytics Ninja; Adam Tal, adamtal.com; Ariel Hochstadt, Google Israel; Adir Regev, Go Internet Marketing; Daniel Waisberg, Online Behavior.

Google Panda, Freshness & More

This advanced session incorporates dealing with the latest Google updates ? from the Panda update to the freshness algorithm, both of which had a huge impact on the search results. How do you build sites that are Panda-Proof, how do you build sites that rank in the new freshness algorithm and ultimately, how do you build sites that withstand Google updates in the future.

Moderator: Barry Schwartz, RustyBrick
Speakers: Eli Feldblum, RankAbove; Aviv Manoach, Universal McCann Search; Dixon Jones, Majestic SEO; Gil Reich, Managing Greatness.

Legal Issues in Search

From competitors keyword bidding on your brand name to hiding trademarks in their meta data, how can you protect yourself legally from legal issues in search. This panel will explore some local and global topics in search and the legal arena.

Moderator: Mayer Reich, RankAbove
Speakers: David Mirchin, Meitar Liquornik Geva & Leshem Brandwein; Yoram Lichenstein, Yoram Lichtenstein, Attorneys at Law; Uri Breitman, TBWA; Danny Hen, Personyze; Sharon Aloni, Goldfarb, Levy, Eran, Meiri, Tzafrir & Co.

Link Building

Link building ? is it still king? Can you rank your pages with just good content? Learn the latest link building techniques, tips and how to withstand Google?s link buying algorithms. This session will discuss the basics behind link building, share tips on link building and discuss the future of linkage in the overal Google & Bing algorithms.

Moderator: Branko Rihtman, RankAbove
Speakers: Gil Reich, Managing Greatness; Ofer Dascalu, Wise Impact; Menachem Rosenbaum, Matan Media; Michael King, iPullRank.

Mobile SEO & PPC Tips

Mobile internet usage is skyrocketing globally, with that, mobile searches are growing faster than any other form of searching. Searches on mobile devices often have local intent and thus show local results. This session will cover local SEO tips, such as Google Places. It will also cover possible issues with creating mobile friendly web sites without duplicate content issues.

Moderator: Barry Schwartz, RustyBrick
Speakers: Yam Regev; Adir Regev, Go Internet Marketing; Nichola Stott, theMediaFlow.

Hebrew SEO

Hey, we are in Israel and isn?t the language here Hebrew? Optimizing your SEO and SEM campaigns specifically for the Hebrew speaking searcher can differ from English language searchers. We have pros on this panel who can share their experience on a basic to more advanced level. This session will be given in Hebrew.

Moderator: Gilad Sasson, Nekuda.co.il
Speakers: Uri Breitman, TBWA; Oren Shatz, SEO Israel; Ori Golan, SEORI.

Aggressive Black Hat SEO

Are you in an aggressive competitive space online? Learn how to compete ?dirty? through techniques you don?t want to tell your mother about. Learn how to rank for porn, pills and casino related keywords or at least how to un-rank your competitors. Warning, this session is for educational purposes, so you know how to protect your site and brand.

Moderator: Barry Schwartz, RustyBrick
Speakers: Ziv Dascalu, Wise Impact; Oren Sea, Cyber-Security Researcher.

Facebook, Twitter & Google +

Social networks are taking over the web. Facebook is arguably one of Google?s most fierce competitors. Learn from experts on how to target and leverage social networks and the people on those networks to send qualified traffic to your web site. Also learn how to use these networks to build links and awareness of your site and services.

Moderator: Marty Weintraub, aimClear
Speakers: Nancy Shapira, shapira Marketing; Miriam Schwab, illuminea; Shira Abel, Hunter & Bard.

SEO Tools

SEO is not getting easier and there are many tools out there to help you manage the day to day SEO activities. This panel will cover some of the tools to help you become a more efficient and effective SEO.

Moderator: Olivier Amar, Point Up Media
Speakers: Eli Feldblum, RankAbove; Miriam Schwab, illuminea; Dixon Jones, Majestic SEO; Mark Ginsberg, Matan Media.

Reputation Management

Searching makes it way to easy for people to bring up the dirt on a company or a person?s name. A growing sector is managing what results show up for your corporate or personal brand. These experts will explain the risks out there, document recent Google changes, share reputation management tools and deliver tips on how to repair a bad ORM situation.

Moderator: Sam Michelson, Five Blocks
Speakers: Shira Abel, Hunter & Bard; Nichola Stott, theMediaFlow; Jon Sumroy, National Positions.

Expert Site Clinic

An open site clinic for those who want to ask experts specific questions about their web site. Get direct advice from expert SEOs and paid search consultants.

Moderator: Itay Paz, Revenue Seminar
Speakers: Gilad Sasson, Nekuda.co.il; Charlie Kalech, J Town; Yehoshua Coren, Analytics Ninja; Ofer Dascalu, Wise Impact; Gab Goldenberg, SEO ROI.

Meet Tomer From Google

Hear from Tomer Honen, Israeli born and a Google search representative based in Ireland on the best practices they recommend to succeed on Google search. This panel will be a one on one with a Google representative. There will be time for question and answer towards the end of the panel. This is your chance to talk with a real Google representative about your web site and its performance on Google.

Moderator: Barry Schwartz, RustyBrick
Speakers: Tomer Honen, Google

Disclaimer: Session topics, time slots and speakers are subject to change last minute.

SMX Israel Advisors:

Of course, a huge thank you to our advisors for SMX Israel 2012! Olivier Amar, CEO, PointUp Media www.pointupmedia.com, Michael Barnett, VP Marketing, RankAbove www.rankabove.com, Ophir Cohen, CEO, Universal Mccann Search www.usearch.co.il, Roi Hildesheimer, CEO, TENS Technology www.tenswebmarketing.com, Mayer Reich, CEO/Founder, RankAbove www.rankabove.com, Gilad Sasson, CEO, nekuda www.nekuda.com, Branko Rihtman, Senior SEO Analyst, RankAbove www.rankabove.com, and Hillel Fuld, Tech enthusiast at Tech N? Marketing.com.

Please register here now and if you have, tell your friends!

Source: http://feeds.seroundtable.com/~r/SearchEngineRoundtable1/~3/jBSQ2HzkKow/smx-israel-2012-speakers-14505.html

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Preventive care: It's free, except when it's not

In this photo taken Dec. 2, 2011, Bill Dunphy poses for a photo in Phoenix. Dunphy, a 61-year-old small business owner, thought his colonoscopy would be free under the nation's year-old health care law. But when the doctor removed two non-cancerous polyps, turning a preventive screening into a diagnostic procedure, it allowed his insurance company to bill him $1,100. "That's bait and switch," Dunphy said. "If it isn't fraud, it's immoral." (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

In this photo taken Dec. 2, 2011, Bill Dunphy poses for a photo in Phoenix. Dunphy, a 61-year-old small business owner, thought his colonoscopy would be free under the nation's year-old health care law. But when the doctor removed two non-cancerous polyps, turning a preventive screening into a diagnostic procedure, it allowed his insurance company to bill him $1,100. "That's bait and switch," Dunphy said. "If it isn't fraud, it's immoral." (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

In this photo taken Dec. 2, 2011, Bill Dunphy poses for a photo in Phoenix. Dunphy, a 61-year-old small business owner, thought his colonoscopy would be free under the nation's year-old health care law. But when the doctor removed two non-cancerous polyps, turning a preventive screening into a diagnostic procedure, it allowed his insurance company to bill him $1,100. "That's bait and switch," Dunphy said. "If it isn't fraud, it's immoral." (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

In this photo taken Dec. 2, 2011, Bill Dunphy poses for a photo in Phoenix. Dunphy, a 61-year-old small business owner, thought his colonoscopy would be free under the nation's year-old health care law. But when the doctor removed two non-cancerous polyps, turning a preventive screening into a diagnostic procedure, it allowed his insurance company to bill him $1,100. "That's bait and switch," Dunphy said. "If it isn't fraud, it's immoral." (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

In this photo taken Dec. 2, 2011, Bill Dunphy poses for a photo in Phoenix. Dunphy, a 61-year-old small business owner, thought his colonoscopy would be free under the nation's year-old health care law. But when the doctor removed two non-cancerous polyps, turning a preventive screening into a diagnostic procedure, it allowed his insurance company to bill him $1,100. "That's bait and switch," Dunphy said. "If it isn't fraud, it's immoral." (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

(AP) ? Bill Dunphy thought his colonoscopy would be free.

His insurance company told him it would be covered 100 percent, with no copayment from him and no charge against his deductible. The nation's 1-year-old health law requires most insurance plans to cover all costs for preventive care including colon cancer screening. So Dunphy had the procedure in April.

Then the bill arrived: $1,100.

Dunphy, a 61-year-old Phoenix small business owner, angrily paid it out of his own pocket because of what some prevention advocates call a loophole. His doctor removed two noncancerous polyps during the colonoscopy. So while Dunphy was sedated, his preventive screening turned into a diagnostic procedure. That allowed his insurance company to bill him.

Like many Americans, Dunphy has a high-deductible insurance plan. He hadn't spent his deductible yet. So, on top of his $400 monthly premium, he had to pay the bill.

"That's bait and switch," Dunphy said. "If it isn't fraud, it's immoral."

President Barack Obama's health overhaul encourages prevention by requiring most insurance plans to pay for preventive care. On the plus side, more than 22 million Medicare patients and many more Americans with private insurance have received one or more free covered preventive services this year. From cancer screenings to flu shots, many services no longer cost patients money.

But there are confusing exceptions. As Dunphy found out, colonoscopies can go from free to pricey while the patient is under anesthesia.

Breast cancer screenings can cause confusion too. In Florida, Tampa Bay-area small business owner Dawn Thomas, 50, went for a screening mammogram. But she was told by hospital staff that her mammogram would be a diagnostic test ? not preventive screening ? because a previous mammogram had found something suspicious. (It turned out to be nothing.)

Knowing that would cost her $700, and knowing her doctor had ordered a screening mammogram, Thomas stood her ground.

"Either I get a screening today or I'm putting my clothes back on and I'm leaving," she remembers telling the hospital staff. It worked. Her mammogram was counted as preventive and she got it for free.

"A lot of women ... are getting labeled with that diagnostic code and having to pay year after year for that," Thomas said. "It's a loophole so insurance companies don't have to pay for it."

For parents with several children, costs can pile up with unexpected copays for kids needing shots. Even when copays are inexpensive, they can blemish a patient-doctor relationship. Robin Brassner of Jersey City, N.J., expected her doctor visit to be free. All she wanted was a flu shot. But the doctor charged her a $20 copay.

"He said no one really comes in for just a flu shot. They inevitably mention another ailment, so he charges," Brassner said. As a new patient, she didn't want to start the relationship by complaining, but she left feeling irritated. "Next time, I'll be a little more assertive about it," she said.

How confused are doctors?

"Extremely," said Cheryl Gregg Fahrenholz, an Ohio consultant who works with physicians. It's common for doctors to deal with 200 different insurance plans. And some older plans are exempt.

Should insurance now pay for aspirin? Aspirin to prevent heart disease and stroke is one of the covered services for older patients. But it's unclear whether insurers are supposed to pay only for doctors to tell older patients about aspirin ? or whether they're supposed to pay for the aspirin itself, said Dr. Jason Spangler, chief medical officer for the nonpartisan Partnership for Prevention.

Stop-smoking interventions are also supposed to be free. "But what does that mean?" Spangler asked. "Does it mean counseling? Nicotine replacement therapy? What about drugs (that can help smokers quit) like Wellbutrin or Chantix? That hasn't been clearly laid out."

But the greatest source of confusion is colonoscopies, a test for the nation's second leading cancer killer. Doctors use a thin, flexible tube to scan the colon and they can remove precancerous growths called polyps at the same time. The test gets credit for lowering colorectal cancer rates. It's one of several colon cancer screening methods highly recommended for adults ages 50 to 75.

But when a doctor screens and treats at the same time, the patient could get a surprise bill.

"It erodes a trust relationship the patients may have had with their doctors," said Dr. Joel Brill of the American Gastroenterological Association. "We get blamed. And it's not our fault,"

Cindy Holtzman, an insurance agent in Marietta, Ga., is telling clients to check with their insurance plans before a colonoscopy so they know what to expect.

"You could wake up with a $2,000 bill because they find that little bitty polyp," Holtzman said.

Doctors and prevention advocates are asking Congress to revise the law to waive patient costs ? including Medicare copays, which can run up to $230 ? for a screening colonoscopy where polyps are removed. The American Gastroenterological Association and the American Cancer Society are pushing Congress fix the problem because of the confusion it's causing for patients and doctors.

At least one state is taking action. After complaints piled up in Oregon, insurance regulators now are working with doctors and insurers to make sure patients aren't getting surprise charges when polyps are removed.

Florida's consumer services office also reports complaints about colonoscopies and other preventive care. California insurance broker Bonnie Milani said she's lost count of the complaints she's had about bills clients have received for preventive services.

"'Confusion' is not the word I'd apply to the medical offices producing the bills," Milani said. "The word that comes to mind for me ain't nearly so nice."

When it's working as intended, the new health law encourages more patients to get preventive care. Dr. Yul Ejnes, a Rhode Island physician, said he's personally told patients with high deductible plans about the benefit. They weren't planning to schedule a colonoscopy until they heard it would be free, Ejnes said.

If too many patients get surprise bills, however, that advantage could be lost, said Stephen Finan of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. He said it will take federal or state legislation to fix the colonoscopy loophole.

Dunphy, the Phoenix businessman, recalled how he felt when he got his colonoscopy bill, like something "underhanded" was going on.

"It's the intent of the law is to cover this stuff," Dunphy said. "It really made me angry."

___

AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/CarlaKJohnson

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2011-12-28-Preventive%20Care%20Confusion/id-5b1c9dfa34aa4cb5b8a89d41181f1d99

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

dogsdoingthings: Dogs adjusting the picture-in-picture feature on a spacetime viewer until Santa appears at the Sack of Rome, and thinking, "Better."

Twitter / Dogs doing things: Dogs adjusting the picture ... Loader Dogs adjusting the picture-in-picture feature on a spacetime viewer until Santa appears at the Sack of Rome, and thinking, "Better."

Source: http://twitter.com/dogsdoingthings/statuses/150994283049132032

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KCOY: NBA Season Opens Up: Even though people had their doubts about the NBA season moving forward, the big basketball... http://t.co/8mCLUwRm

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NBA Season Opens Up: Even though people had their doubts about the NBA season moving forward, the big basketball... bit.ly/tIACtM KCOY

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Sunday, December 25, 2011

Pigeons Can Follow Abstract Number-Counting Rules

60-Second Science60-Second Science | More Science

Trained pigeons demonstrate an ability to use abstract number-counting rules on par with primates, and to recognize which groups of items contain more of those items. Sophie Bushwick reports

More 60-Second Science

Several vertebrate species can distinguish between, say, two and five bananas?but with the exception of primates, they can?t grasp the numerical rules that would let them arrange their piles of fruit from least to most. Now, new research suggests that pigeons, like primates, can follow these abstract numerical rules. The study is in the journal Science. [Damian Scarf, Harlene Hayne and Michael Colombo, "Pigeons on Par with Primates in Numerical Competence"]

Researchers trained pigeons with cards on which were pictures of one, two or three shapes, sometimes in different sizes and colors. The birds were ultimately able to correctly pick a card with one large green square first, followed by a card with two small red ovals, followed by one showing three long blue rods.

Then, the pigeons demonstrated a new ability?faced with two cards each showing up to nine images, they could tell which card had more. Which indicates that they had an abstract understanding of the single-digit amounts. Rhesus monkeys trained in a similar way displayed the same talents. Whether this shared ability evolved independently or came from a common ancestor is unclear. But it is clear that birdbrains aren?t so dumb.

?Sophie Bushwick

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]?


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Britney Spears first to hit 1 million followers on Google+

Britney Spears first to hit 1 million followers on Google+

Britney Spears accepts the best pop video award for "Till the World Ends" at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Zap2it

8:02 a.m. EST, December 23, 2011

Well, it appears people do use Google+ after all. The search company's second foray into the social media space (remember Google Buzz?) has delivered its first account with 1 million followers. And that person is Britney Spears.

The pop star recently surpassed the milestone and now leads the second most popular person, Google co-founder Larry Page, by just more than 100,000 fans. Coming in third place is self-professed "Spiritual Advisor" Snoop Dogg. The rapper has 941,000 followers.

These numbers all seem like a lot until you realize that they pale in comparison to more popular social media outfits like Facebook and Twitter.? On Facebook, Spears has nearly 16 million "likes" and she's just shy of 12 million followers on Twitter.

Considering Spears had only 1,100 followers as recently as mid-July, it's still a pretty impressive number.

Source: http://www.myphl17.com/entertainment/zap-britney-spears-first-to-hit-1-million-follower-20111222,0,2202617.story?track=rss

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

NKorea media dubs young Kim 'outstanding leader' (AP)

PYONGYANG, North Korea ? The handover of power in North Korea to Kim Jong Il's young son appeared to be going smoothly Thursday, with official media calling him the "outstanding leader" and no outward unrest in the capital or troop movements along its borders.

Foreign governments have focused intense scrutiny on North Korea since Kim's death was announced Monday because of concerns over his untested heir's rise in a country with a nuclear program, 1.2-million strong military and a history of deep animosity toward its neighbors.

But the capital remained a scene of mourning ? not protest ? on Thursday. U.S. and South Korean military officials said there had been no unusual military movements by the North Koreans in recent days.

"This appears to be a relatively smooth transition on the peninsula, and we hope it stays that way," Pentagon spokesman George Little said in Washington, adding that there has been no increase in force protection levels for U.S. troops in South Korea.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak sought to assure Pyongyang that his country was "not hostile," despite putting its front-line troops on alert since Kim's death was announced.

South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Yoon Won-sik said North Korea's military isn't showing any particular movement and that the South's troops are operating normally despite the alert.

In a clear signal to North Korea's people and the outside world, the North's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun in a lengthy editorial urged the country to "rally, rally and rally behind great comrade Kim Jong Un and faithfully uphold his leadership."

It called him "the outstanding leader of our party, military and people and a great successor."

Ratcheting up the personality cult it builds around the Kim family, North Korea claimed that Kim Jong Il's death generated a series of spectacular natural phenomena, creating a mysterious glow atop a revered mountain, cracking a sheet of ice on a lake with a loud roar and inspiring a crane to circle a statue of the nation's founder before perching in a tree and drooping its head in sorrow.

Dramatic scenes of mourning in the capital have continued nearly nonstop since Monday's announcement of Kim's death, which the government says happened two days earlier when he suffered a massive heart attack while on a train.

On Thursday, a long line of North Koreans filed past the body of Kim Jong Il, which lay in state in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace. With a military band playing a funeral dirge and a flag flying at half staff above the palace, mourners in black suits slowly circled Kim's glass coffin, Kim's head and shoulders bathed in a spotlight, a red cloth pulled tight around his body.

Outside powers, including the United States, Japan and South Korea, are watching with keen interest to see how the transition proceeds.

Communication between the United States and North Korea still appears open as the North continues its official 11-day mourning period. This is in sharp contrast to the confusion that followed the death of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung in 1994 and an indication that discussions may resume after the mourning period on food aid and efforts to rid North Korea of its nuclear arms programs.

The State Department said it wasn't expecting any meeting with the North Koreans this week, and little contact before the mourning period ends Dec. 29.

"We want to be respectful of the period of mourning, but the ball's in North Korea's court," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. "We are also appreciative that this is not a moment in Pyongyang where we're likely to have fresh instructions until after the mourning period."

South Korea sent its nuclear envoy to China on Thursday for talks on ways to restart international negotiations to rid North Korea of its nuclear programs.

Despite the signs that North Korea is consolidating power behind Kim Jong Un, fears of instability remain high.

Chinese boatmen along a river separating North Korea and China told The Associated Press that North Korean police have ordered them to stop giving rides to tourists, saying they will fire on the boats if they see anyone with cameras.

Kim Jong Un only entered the public view last year and remains a mystery to most of the world.

South Korea's intelligence agency has told Parliament members that an ad hoc committee in which Kim Jong Un is a vice chairman is expected to handle key state affairs before he formally becomes the country's leader.

The agency predicts Kim Jong Un's aunt Kim Kyong Hui, a key Workers' Party official, and Jang Song Thaek, her husband and a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, will play larger roles supporting the heir, according to a lawmaker who spoke to the AP.

___

Reporting from Pyongyang by Associated Press Television News senior video journalist Rafael Wober. AP writers Foster Klug, Hyung-jin Kim, Sam Kim and Eric Talmadge in Seoul, South Korea, Lolita Baldor in Washington, and Korea bureau chief Jean H. Lee contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111222/ap_on_re_as/as_kim_jong_il

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Pilot told of icing before NJ crash that killed 5

A State Police helicopter lands on the southbound lanes of route 287 in Harding Township, N.J., where a small plane headed for Georgia crashed, raining debris down on the highway and local streets Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. The plane spiraled out of control and lost a section of the aircraft before hitting the wooded median strip, skidding into the roadway and exploding. All five people aboard were killed but no one on the ground was injured. (AP Photo/Joe Epstein)

A State Police helicopter lands on the southbound lanes of route 287 in Harding Township, N.J., where a small plane headed for Georgia crashed, raining debris down on the highway and local streets Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. The plane spiraled out of control and lost a section of the aircraft before hitting the wooded median strip, skidding into the roadway and exploding. All five people aboard were killed but no one on the ground was injured. (AP Photo/Joe Epstein)

A piece of a small plane hangs from a tree located between Hilltop Circle and James Street near Interstate 287 where the plane crashed forcing the police to close all lanes of the highway to conduct their investigation, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011 in Harding Township, N.J. (AP Photo/Joe Epstein)

A piece of a small plane that crashed Tuesday morning can be seen on James Street near Interstate 287, Tuesday Dec. 20, 2011 in Harding Township, N.J. Two New York City investment bankers are among the five dead in the small plane crash, which left debris on the highway and local streets, forcing the police to close the highway to conduct their investigation. The FAA says the plane departed Teterboro Airport for DeKalb Peachtree Airport near Atlanta Tuesday when there was a garbled transmission and it disappeared from the radar. (AP Photo/Joe Epstein)

A firefighter walks along the northbound lanes of Interstate 287 looking for pieces of a small plane that crashed Tuesday morning, Dec. 20, 2011 on Interstate 287 in Harding, N.J. Two New York City investment bankers are among the five dead in the small plane crash, which left debris on the highway and local streets, forcing the police to close the highway to conduct their investigation. The FAA says the plane departed Teterboro Airport for DeKalb Peachtree Airport near Atlanta Tuesday when there was a garbled transmission and it disappeared from the radar. (AP Photo/Joe Epstein)

A piece of debris from a plane that crashed in Morris Township, N.J. lies on the ground Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011. The small plane heading for Georgia spiraled out of control and crashed Tuesday morning on a major New York-area highway, hitting a wooded median and scattering wreckage across the road. All five people aboard, including two investment bankers, were killed, but no one on the ground was injured. (AP Photo/The Asbury Park Press, Bob Karp) NO SALES

(AP) ? After a normal takeoff and a routine conversation with air traffic controllers about potential icing conditions, a small plane carrying two investment bankers and three others to Georgia headed off into the skies over New Jersey on Tuesday morning.

Minutes later, the high-performance Socata TBM-700 turboprop had spun out of control and crashed in a fireball on a busy highway, killing all five people aboard and narrowly avoiding dozens of cars and trucks speeding by.

Federal investigators were to resume searching the area for wreckage Wednesday morning. The debris was scattered over at least a half-mile, with one section found lodged in a tree a quarter-mile away. The crash closed both sides of busy Interstate 287 for hours on Tuesday.

The New York investment banking firm Greenhill & Co. said two of its managing directors, Jeffrey Buckalew, 45, and Rakesh Chawla, 36, as well as Buckalew's wife and two children, were on the plane. Buckalew was the registered owner of the single-engine plane and had a pilot's license.

National Transportation Safety Board officials said Tuesday the plane wasn't required to have a black box, which would have recorded flight data, but they said investigators would be searching for other memory devices, including GPS, collision avoidance systems or any device with a recordable chip that might yield more information.

The NTSB didn't say what role icing may have played in the crash. But an audio recording available online of the pilot speaking to air traffic controllers in the minutes before the crash offered some early clues.

The pilot was told to maintain an altitude of 10,000 feet as he headed southwest over northern New Jersey as a controller warned him about the conditions in the clouds above ? specifically accumulations of ice particles known as rime.

"There are reports of moderate rime. ... If it gets worse let me know and when center takes your handoff I'll climb you and maybe get you higher," one controller said.

The pilot responded: "We'll let you know what happens when we get in there. And, yeah, if we could go straight through it, that's no problem for us."

Seconds later, another controller is heard telling a different pilot about reports of severe icing at 14,000 feet.

Ice can form on airplanes when temperatures are near freezing and there is visible moisture, such as clouds or rain. The ice adds weight to an aircraft, and rough accumulations known as rime interrupt the flow of air over wings. In extreme cases, a plane can lose so much lift that it falls out of the sky.

Several eyewitnesses to Tuesday's crash described an out-of-control descent.

Will Keyser, who works in maintenance at the Spring Brook Country Club in Morristown, is used to hearing small planes fly over en route to nearby Morristown Memorial Airport. He was near the 13th hole Tuesday when he heard a loud plane overhead.

"It didn't sound quite right," Keyser said, recalling how he and his co-workers all looked up simultaneously. "We kind of lost it in the clouds, it came out of the clouds on the other side of the course, and it didn't look right, it didn't look like the pilot had control."

Keyser said the plane pitched back and forth, and for a moment he thought it was a stunt pilot.

"It was kind of rolling and making circles ? 'cause I've seen air shows before ? so I thought: 'Oh, OK;' but then he finally did a nosedive and we realized that was completely wrong."

Greenhill & Co. said Buckalew's wife, Corinne, and the couple's two children, Jackson and Meriwether, were traveling with him.

"The firm is in deep mourning over the tragic and untimely death of two of its esteemed colleagues and members of Jeff's family," the company said in a written statement.

A resident at Chawla's Manhattan apartment building remembered him as being constantly on the go, leaving early and getting home late. Arthur Yellin said that Chawla and his family were "wonderful people" and that the banker doted on his three children.

Authorities said a dog aboard the plane also was killed.

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Shawn Marsh and Beth DeFalco in Trenton, David Porter in Newark, Christopher Hawley and Cristian Salazar in New York, and Leonard Pallats in Atlanta.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-21-US-Plane-Crash-Highway/id-ad74ccce58a2439aa3ad57f7c737e186

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National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day Held In San Francisco (PHOTOS)

Roughly 100 homeless individuals died on San Francisco's streets during this past year alone, and on Wednesday night, their lives were recognized for a final time.

Dozens of advocates attended a vigil outside City Hall as part of the National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day, an annual event aimed to raise awareness about the growing homelessness problem in America. Similar ceremonies were held in 150 cities throughout the United States.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOS)

"It is really important for us to honor folks who have died without housing so that we can step up our efforts to ensure all people have a safe and dignified place to live," Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of San Francisco's Coalition on Homelessness, which co-sponsored the event, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

San Francisco is often dubbed the "homeless capital of America," as our mild climate and progressive social services provide friendlier streets than other cities. A 2009 special report in the Chronicle estimated as many as 5,000 "chronically indigent" individuals living without shelter here.

National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day has been taking place on Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year and the first day of winter, since 1990. "According to organizers, [Winter Solstice] represents the coldest, darkest time for the homeless population," Salena Bailey, director of programs for San Francisco Network Ministries, the vigil's other co-sponsor, told The Huffington Post.

Wednesday's vigil involved chanting, signing, prayers and a reading of the names of the recently deceased. Take a look at images from the program below:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/23/national-homeless-persons-memorial-day_n_1166908.html

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Monday, December 19, 2011

Hiring Hitchens

I became editor of The Nation in 1978, and one of the first and best things I did that year was to ask, via old-fashioned snail mail, a writer I didn't know, but whose elegant pieces I had been reading in the New Statesman, and everywhere else, since he seemed to be traveling the world anyway, why not write an occasional article for The Nation? Which he proceeded to do with elegance, wit, and brilliance.

As I wrote some years later: "Then, one day around five p.m. a dimpled five-o'clock shadowed face peered through my half-open door, surrounded by a haze of smoke. 'Drink?? asked the deep, richly accented baritone voice that accompanied all of the above. If it is possible in one word to convey an upper-class sensibility attached to a heart ostentatiously identified with the toiling masses, Christopher Hitchens succeeded.

"We repaired with some comrades, as he liked to call all who partook of his charismatic company, to the Lion's Head, our local [Greenwich Village] pub, where we indeed had a drink or three," and this was the beginning of an adventure which?despite our subsequent political differences?I like to think was as rewarding for him as it was for us.

See Slate?s full tribute to the life of Christopher Hitchens. Read Slate?s complete collection of Christopher Hitchens' columns.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=bf3256df7746255ea25871f78e623d9f

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