Bridgewater leads Louisville to BCS

Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) throws a pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J., Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. Louisville won 20-17. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) throws a pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J., Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. Louisville won 20-17. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

A Rutgers defender tackles Louisville tight end Ryan Hubbell during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Piscataway, N.J., Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Rutgers wide receiver Mark Harrison (81) celebrates his touchdown with teammate Quron Pratt during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Louisville in Piscataway, N.J., Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) throws a pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J., Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. Louisville won 20-17. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Louisville cornerback Terell Floyd (19) intercepts a Rutgers pass to seal the win with about a minute left in an NCAA college football game in Piscataway, N.J., Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. Louisville won 20-17. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) ? Teddy Bridgewater couldn't take a snap from under center because of a broken wrist, and had a hitch in his step because of a sore ankle.

The Louisville quarterback was too banged-up to start, but more than well enough to finish off Rutgers and send the Cardinals to the Bowl Championship Series.

Bridgewater came off the bench to throw two second-half touchdown passes, and John Wallace kicked a 29-yard field goal with 1:41 left to give Louisville a 20-17 victory on Thursday night in what was essentially the Big East championship game.

In a game between one team headed to the Big Ten and another bound for the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big East handed out its second-to-last BCS bid to a school that entered the league during its first massive rebuild in 2005 and watched its athletic program blossom.

The Cardinals will be going to the BCS for the second time. Either the Orange or Sugar Bowl will be the destination.

"We dropped two the last couple weeks. But for us to go on the road and win the championship, it's so special," said third-year coach Charlie Strong, who has quickly gotten Louisville back on track after the Cardinals hit a rough patch following their only other BCS bid in 2006.

"I'm just so happy for us to get a 10-win season, go win the conference title and get us to a BCS bowl."

Louisville (10-2, 5-2) will share this Big East title with Rutgers (9-3, 5-2), Syracuse and possibly even Cincinnati, but those guys only get a banner. The Cardinals get the ticket to the big game. The BCS standings will be used to break the tie and there is no doubt Louisville, with the best overall record in the conference, will be on top.

Bridgewater didn't start a week after breaking his left wrist and spraining his right ankle in a loss to Connecticut.

"He's the toughest quarterback in the nation," Louisville linebacker Preston Brown said.

Strong went with senior Will Stein as the starter because Bridgewater could only take snaps from the shotgun. But it quickly became apparent Louisville could not win without their star quarterback.

"Once I saw that we weren't finishing drives, I was just ready," Bridgewater said. "I had a good feeling deep down inside."

He entered for the first time against in the second quarter and finished 20 for 28 for 263 yards and threw a pair of TD passes in the third quarter to wipe out a 14-3 deficit.

"He came up to me midway through the first quarter. I said to warm up," Strong said. "I gave our medical staff a game ball because they were able to get him ready."

Cardinals linebacker James Burgess picked off a pass that bounced off Timmy Wright's hands with 3:53 left in the fourth quarter in Rutgers territory, and Bridgewater hit Andrell Smith on a slant for 30 yards to put Louisville in field goal range. Wallace booted through the short kick to give Louisville a three-point lead.

"They have a tremendous playmaker at the quarterback position," first-year Rutgers coach Kyle Flood said. "We just weren't able to match him in the end."

Rutgers' last chance ended when Gary Nova threw deep, but his receiver stopped short. Terrell Floyd made an over the shoulder interception with 1:06 left. Nova bent over and grabbed his helmet in disgust.

The Scarlet Knights, the only team that has played in the Big East since it started playing football in 1991, probably will have only one more shot to win the conference for the first time before moving to the Big Ten.

Louisville can add one of the biggest wins in school history to an already memorable week for the school, which was in Conference USA just eight years ago. On Wednesday, Louisville announced it was joining the ACC after at least one more season in the Big East.

There is some question whether Strong will be around that long. He denied on Wednesday a report that he had interviewed for the Auburn job, and it's been speculated that Arkansas and Tennessee are interested, too.

"(Strong) told us he's not going anywhere, don't listen to the rumors," receiver Damian Copeland said.

Rutgers was up 14-3 at half after Nova hooked up with his big receivers for two long TD passes ? an 85-yarder to Brandon Coleman and a 68-yard play by Mark Harrison. Nova finished 13 for 28 for 284 yards.

The Scarlet Knights were poised for another big play in the third quarter when a fake field goal turned into a touchdown pass from holder J.T. Tartacoff to D.C. Jefferson. It would have made the score 21-3, but an illegal man down field penalty wiped out the play and Rutgers punted from the Louisville 31.

Everything changed from there.

Bridgewater and the Cardinals put together a 90-yard drive that took 14 plays and nearly eight minutes and cut the lead to 14-10 when the quarterback flipped a pass to Jeremy Wright, who scooted 14 yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals needed only 16 more seconds to take the lead.

Burgess stuck kick returner Jeremy Deering in the chest, forcing a fumble recovered by Calvin Pryor. Bridgewater went right to work, floating a perfect deep ball to DeVante Parker for a 20-yard touchdown pass.

Just like that, it was 17-14 and Scarlet Knights fans fell silent.

"It's kind of a 21-point swing in a very short amount of time, and we were never able to swing the momentum back, and that's my job," Flood said.

Bridgewater had the Cardinals on the move again in the fourth quarter when a high pass bounced off the hands of Eli Rogers and into the arms of Rutgers' Lorenzo Waters, who returned the interception to the Louisville 42.

The Scarlet Knights turned the turnover into Nick Borgese's tying 38-yard field goal with 7:48 left.

Fans waved white towels, and AC/DC blared from the loud speakers. But that was the last big play Rutgers could muster. The Scarlet Knights are likely headed to the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, still searching for their first BCS bid.

"I think we have a football team right now that's hurting," Flood said.

Louisville ended up tossing oranges in the air when it was over and exchanging high-fives with a small group of its fans in a corner of the stadium.

The Cardinals might end up in New Orleans instead of Miami, depending on how the rest of championship weekend plays out. Surely, they will be fine with either.

___

Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphdrussoap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-11-30-FBC-Louisville-Rutgers/id-5307befce00845d0b07f29489c3b1657

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Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation vs. Personal Injury Claims ...

If you have been injured while working at a construction site, you maybe be wondering whether it is in your best interest to file a workers? compensation claim, personal injury lawsuit, or both. The circumstances that lead to a construction accident injury, along with the documentation and other evidence involved in the case, will help determine the best course of action for workers injured on the job. Our Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and New Jersey personal injury attorneys can investigate your case and advise you of your legal options, which may include:

A Workers? Comp Claim against the Employer

If the injury that occurred while on the job at a construction site was not caused by another party?s negligence, the employee may file a workers? compensation claim against the employer. In workers? compensation claims, the injured party must show that the injury occurred while he or she was working. There is no need to establish negligence in workers? compensation claims. Instead, we will gather evidence that shows the injury happened at work, as well as the nature and extent of the injury. The types of injuries that may result in a workers? comp claim can include repetitive stress injuries, back injuries, neck injuries, herniated or ruptured discs, and strained muscles or tendons. These injuries may be caused by repeating the same motions day after day or by lifting heavy materials on a daily basis.

A Workers? Comp Claim against the Employer and a Personal Injury Claim against a Third Party

If you suffered an injury at work that was due to the negligence of a third party, you can file a workers? comp claim against your employer, and a personal injury lawsuit against the third party you believe to be at fault. In this scenario, the injury caused to the worker may be the result of:

• A defective product; the injured worker could then file a personal injury claim against the manufacturer, wholesaler, or supplier of the defective product.
• Another construction company working at the same site, in which case the injured party could file a personal injury claim against the other company.
• Unsafe premises; in this case, the property owner may be at fault for personal injury.

A Personal Injury Claim against the Employer

If the injury suffered by the worker is due to fault on the part of the employer, the worker can file a personal injury claim, instead of a workers? compensation claim, against the employer. The advantage of a personal injury claim is that more damages can be awarded in these cases; there are fewer caps placed on compensatory damages (those that can be awarded for lost wages and medical expenses), and the injured party can be compensated for pain and suffering. The disadvantage of personal injury claims is that the plaintiff is required to establish negligence on the part of the employer; this is considerably more difficult than merely proving that the injury occurred at work, as is the case with workers? compensation cases.

A Personal Injury Claim against the Employer and Third Party/ies

If there is sufficient evidence to prove negligence against the employer and third party/ies, you can file a personal injury lawsuit that names all of these parties.

The Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and New Jersey construction accident lawyers of Locks Law can review your claim and advise you on the best course of legal action. Contact us for a case evaluation.

Source: http://www.lockslaw.com/blog/2012/11/construction-injuries-%E2%80%93-workers-compensation-vs-personal-injury-claim/

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60-Million-Year Debate on Grand Canyon?s Age

Richard Perry/The New York Times

The new research into the age of the Grand Canyon used a dating technique based on the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium atoms.

How old is the Grand Canyon? Old enough to be gazed on by dinosaurs, which died out 65 million years ago, or closer to six million years old, formed about when the earliest human ancestors began walking upright?

A bitter controversy among geologists over this question edged into the open on Thursday, when a report published in the journal Science offered new support for the old-canyon hypothesis, which is not the prevailing one. In the report, Rebecca M. Flowers of the University of Colorado and Kenneth A. Farley of the California Institute of Technology used an improved dating technique based on the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium atoms into helium atoms in a mineral known as apatite. They said this yielded a thermal record of these rocks under the canyon floor, hot at great depths but cooler the closer they were to the surface.

An analysis of the data, the geologists said, revealed where surface erosion had gouged out canyons and how much time had passed since there was significant natural excavation in the Grand Canyon region. They concluded in the report that the western segment of the canyon was carved to within a few hundred yards of modern depths by about 70 million years ago.

The more ancient origin would put much of the canyon in place in the last epoch of the dinosaurs. Publicity for the journal report duly noted that one of nature?s wonders, dinosaurs, might well have stood and gawked at another wonder, one of today?s most majestic tourist attractions.

This was only one of the immediate objections to the findings raised by geologists favoring the young-canyon school of thought. They said that the research results had been hyped. One critic, Karl E. Karlstrom of the University of New Mexico, noted that the early-canyon model had been proposed before and was ?now in what I think will be a short-lived revival.?

If the interpretation of the findings proves to be correct, it contradicts the prevailing hypothesis that the entire canyon was formed as recently as five million to six million years ago, advocated by many of the notable authorities on Grand Canyon geology. These dates were drawn from an examination of pebbles and other sediments from upstream reaches of the Colorado River system that washed up at the western exit of the canyon.

Dr. Flowers said that when she started this research seven years ago, she had not expected to find the canyon?s presumed age to be so ancient. But the first set of experiments with the radioactive helium technique in 2008 was followed up with a new round of tests and more sophisticated levels of analysis.

In their paper, Dr. Flowers and Dr. Farley wrote that their findings implied a dichotomy in the late eastern and early western canyon origins. This history, they said, ?supports a model in which much of Grand Canyon incision was accomplished by an ancient Cretaceous river that flowed eastward from western highlands,? not from northeast to west, as today?s Colorado River does. This was followed by a ?reversal of the river?s course as topography rose in the east and collapsed in the west,? in consequence of the rising Rocky Mountains.

Dr. Flowers said in an interview that the findings supported the ancient-origin hypothesis advanced in recent years by Brian P. Wernicke, a Caltech geologist, who had proposed such a chain of events. It is still not clear when the eastern and western canyons merged into the canyon as it is seen today.

She also said she foresaw ?a fair amount of controversy? over the research results. That turned out to be an understatement, even before the official publication date.

Dr. Karlstrom of the University of New Mexico is a leader among geologists who have devoted much of their careers to Grand Canyon studies. When reporters called this week, he was prepared with four pages of criticism of the new research. He pointed out that at a meeting two years ago of the most active Grand Canyon researchers, ?a near consensus view was expressed? in support of the young-canyon hypothesis.

As a rule of thumb, he defined the Grand Canyon as ?the canyon you see from the rim today.? How fragments of paleocanyons and paleorivers contributed to the Grand Canyon?s origin is not established, he said.

Dr. Karlstrom was not entirely negative in his assessment of the research. He praised the thermochronology method the researchers used, saying it ?offers one of the few ways we may be able to reconstruct past landscapes in rocks that have long since been eroded away.? The Flowers-Farley team, he added, ?is pushing welcome new advances? in this dating technology.

?Less welcome to me,? he continued, ?is their attempt to push the interpretation of their new data to their limits without consideration of the whole range of other geologic data sets.?

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: November 29, 2012

An earlier version of this article misstated the direction in which the Colorado River flows. It flows from northeast to west, not from west to northeast.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/30/science/earth/study-sees-older-grand-canyon-stirring-controversy.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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State finance official admits faking audit

SANTA FE (KRQE) - The former controller of the New Mexico Finance Authority didn?t know whether it was laziness or an oversight, but on Thursday he admitted a huge and felonious blunder.

Greg Campbell pleaded guilty to his crimes in a Santa Fe courtroom but couldn?t really explain why he cooked the books at the NMFA.

?I could say it was a time pressure," he said in court.? "I don?t know why I honestly did it because I know I wasn?t going to benefit from it.

"I did want to make sure we got our bond sale done."

Campbell pleaded guilty to three felony counts including forgery and securities fraud for his role in producing a fake audit circulated in the investment community by NMFA.

The scandal that erupted in July prompted a shakeup in the agency that acts something like a bank selling bonds to loan project money to local governments.? NMFA Chief Executive Officer Rick May was suspended and eventually fired .

Chief Operating Officer John Duff, Campbell's boss, was arrested and suspended, but a grand jury declined to indict him on criminal charges.? He, too, left the agency although it was unclear whether he resigned, retired or was also fired.

The scandal also delayed bond sales forcing local governments to delay the work or seek funding elsewhere.

In September the grand jury indicted Campbell on 12 counts of forgery and securities fraud.

Campbell had no prior criminal history and told the judge he had a family to support.? The judge gave him five years probation.

State investigators say they?re making their entire report public and giving it to lawmakers and the governor next week.?

?To institute whatever reforms they see fit to insure this doesn?t happen again, and that the internal controls and management are strengthened,? said Daniel Tanaka, director of the state Securities Division.

Investigators say no one else will likely face criminal charges.
?

Source: http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/state-finance-offial-admits-faking-audit

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Covington businessman pleads guilty in Deepwater Horizon ...

Bay Ingram, a well-connected St. Tammany Parish businessman, pleaded guilty in New Orleans on Wednesday to a count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Ingram, 50, of Covington,?has confessed to?fabricating documents?in a bid to defraud?BP for a helicopter and helipads used to help the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office do recovery work after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010.

He faces as much as five years in prison. U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Vance set a Feb. 20 sentencing date.

Vance postponed accepting the plea agreement pending a pre-sentencing report. The conspiracy charge carries a lesser sentence than a charge for actual wire fraud, where the maximum is 20 years.

"I'm guilty, yes," Ingram said as the judge queried him on his plea. Ingram declined to comment on the case outside the courtroom, as did his attorney, Pat Fanning.

As part of his plea deal, Ingram agreed to drop a civil lawsuit against BP over the company's alleged failure to pay for the helicopter and helipads.

Ingram's varied business interests have ranged from surgical hospitals to nightclubs to video bingo machines. He owns the Bimini Bay?lounge in Slidell, where he has hosted political fundraisers and charity events. He is a frequent contributor to local political campaigns.

Ingram maneuvered his way into a helicopter procurement deal by falsely claiming to one BP official that another one had approved it, according to a federal bill of information.

Then-St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jack Stephens had asked BP to pay for a helicopter to help the sheriff's office and the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries do emergency work in the parish following the Macondo blowout.

BP initially paid Ingram $113,000 for the first few weeks of invoices, and in turn he paid Rotorcraft Leasing Company $52,000 for the helicopter hours.

According to federal prosecutors, Ingram never received proper approval for use of the helicopter after June 15, 2010.

Yet he invoiced BP more than $1.4 million over nearly six months and "desperately sought payment" -- enlisting Stephens to press the oil giant for payment, according to a civil lawsuit that Ingram's business, Southeast Recovery Group, filed against BP.

Ingram "falsified and forged dozens of pages of documents provided to BP." Among them was a contract with a forged signature. He also is accused of falsifying flight logs, listing flights that were never taken and bloating the number of oil spill-related flights.

The helicopter, dubbed "Sheriff One," was stationed at a BP operating base in Hopedale. That's also where Ingram sought to have several helipads built, hiring subcontractors for the work.

In summer of 2010, he paid subcontractors a little more than $110,000 for the helipad construction, then billed BP $254,000. Ingram also added a 20-percent markup, for a total bill of more than $300,000, the feds allege.

BP paid his company that money.

But Ingram wasn't getting paid for the helicopter use by that point, and eventually Rotorcraft Leasing Company and other unpaid subcontractors sought documentation from Ingram that BP intended to pay him.

At that point, according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office, Ingram created false emails, including some from a fictional executive for a BP subcontractor.

Early this month, Stephens, who is now retired after 28 years as sheriff, declined to comment on the charge, saying only that he has "cooperated completely" with the investigation and that he had a "friend and business relationship" with Ingram.

A major contributor to Gov. Bobby Jindal's campaign, Ingram was appointed by Jindal to the state Mineral Board in March 2008. Then, he was listed as being the president of Healthcare Holdings of Louisiana and Ingram Investments.

In 2006, Ingram was caught up in a controversy involving the sale of a former golf practice facility along Interstate 12 near Slidell to St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain's office.

Ingram and frequent business partner Don McMath -- both contributors to Strain's campaign - bought the property for $2 million, then sold it to the sheriff for $2.4 million a few hours later. Strain defended the move as a good value for the money.

Vance allowed Ingram free on his existing $25,000 bond pending his sentencing?.

Source: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/11/covington_businessman_pleads_g.html

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Huge Saturn Vortex Swirls in Stunning NASA Photos (Little green footballs)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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No Comments - Susan Goldberg Executive Search Consulting ...

Are you up for it?? You?re invited to?witness a new blog:? Susan Goldberg from SGES co-launched a new blog,? The Wonderland Odyssey.? It is being used in conjunction with the co-authoring of a business book, ?The Wonderland Odyssey, Turning Leadership on its Hat? by Susan and Rebecca Lacy from Pinnacle Management Group. Susan and Rebecca met through a mutual contact via linkedin and have been working on the book for a year.? What started out as sharing business experiences and giving support in the consulting professions (executive search consulting and training)? became?a discovery?of mutual passions, views, compatible personality traits and values.??One of the results of this relationship, besides making business introductions and offering leads, was a driving force to write a book.?? The work? is an unconventional business book from two unconventional business consultants: one in New York City, the other in the countryside of St. Louis.? It is a business book for anyone who wants to learn about leadership, running and managing a business, entrepreneurialism, working with others, selfknowledge, self assessment, and personal development, but can?t abide reading any business book from cover to cover because it never holds your interest.? Want something different?? You can read about, follow and join?the whole experience on the blog: http://wonderlandodyssey.com/

Tags: entrepreneurial, Larry Lacy, leadership, leadership development, Pinnacle Management Group Inc., PMG International, Rebecca Lacy, SGES, Susan Goldberg, Susan Goldberg Executive Search Consulting, Wonderland

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 28th, 2012 at 8:05 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.susangoldbergsearch.com/news/2012/11/a-different-blog/

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William R. Cline on CCTV: William Cline on Argentina's Methods of Tackling Debt

One person was rescued and 16 others went missing Wednesday after their fishing boat capsized and sank off the coast of Dalian in northeast China?s Liaoning Province, local maritime officials reported.

The latest UN climate change conference is entering day three in Doha, as developing countries call for more commitment and action to tackle the challenges of a warming globe.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday as a senior U.S. legislator?s disheartening remarks on the "fiscal cliff" negotiations spurred a round of late-time sell-off despite the fact that international lenders have agreed to provide financial aid to Greece.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PIIE-in-news/~3/uKZbaDNBRRw/104015.shtml

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U.S. stops short of labeling China a currency manipulator

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Tuesday said China's currency remained "significantly undervalued" but stopped short of labeling the world's second-biggest economy a currency manipulator.

In a congressionally mandated semi-annual report, the U.S. Treasury noted that yuan had risen 12.6 percent against the U.S. dollar in inflation-adjusted terms since June 2010. An official said it was up 9.7 percent on a nominal basis through Tuesday, when it closed at a record high.

Although Beijing keeps the yuan, also known as the renminbi, in a tight trading band, the Treasury said China did not meet the legal requirements to be deemed a currency manipulator. The label is largely symbolic but would require Washington to open discussions with Beijing on adjusting the yuan's value.

The Chinese government had "substantially" reduced its intervention in foreign exchange markets since the third quarter of 2011 and loosened capital controls, the Treasury said in the report, which examines the currency practices of major U.S. trading partners.

"In light of these developments, Treasury has concluded that the standards ... have not been met with respect to China," it said. "Nonetheless, the available evidence suggests the renminbi remains significantly undervalued."

During the U.S. presidential campaign, Republican candidate Mitt Romney pledged to label China a manipulator on his first day in office to show he would be tougher on the United States' chief economic competitor than President Barack Obama.

Many U.S. businesses and lawmakers complain that China keeps the value of its currency artificially low to gain an advantage in trade.

But an international consensus is growing that the yuan is closing in on its fair value after about a decade at an artificially weak level. The International Monetary Fund softened its language on the yuan in July.

YUAN AT RECORD HIGH

The yuan closed at a record high on Tuesday as the central bank's reluctance to let the currency rise more quickly limited trading activity.

The People's Bank of China limits currency moves by allowing the yuan to rise or fall by only 1 percent from whatever rate the central bank sets that day.

It has been 18 years since the U.S. Treasury has designated any country a currency manipulator. China was so labeled five times from May 1992 to July 1994.

Charles Schumer, the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate and a longtime critic of China's yuan policy, said the Treasury should label China a manipulator to be able to impose penalties on it.

"It's time for the Obama administration to rip off the band-aid, and force China to play by the same rules as all other countries," the New York senator said in a statement.

But the U.S.-China Business Council, which represents about 240 American companies that do business with China, applauded the latest decision.

"The exchange rate has little to do with the U.S. trade balance or employment," council President John Frisbie said. "We need to move on to more important issues with China, such as removing market access barriers and improving intellectual property protection."

The Treasury said further appreciation of the yuan would help China balance its economy toward consumption by giving households greater purchasing power.

The report also called on China to reduce its "exceptionally high" foreign exchange reserves and to publish data about its intervention in currency markets.

The Obama administration also used the report to keep pressure on South Korea to limit its intervention in foreign exchange markets.

South Korea says it intervenes to smooth the volatility of its won currency, but it has gone into the market throughout 2012, the Treasury report said. In July, the IMF said the won was undervalued by up to 10 percent.

"We will continue to press the Korean authorities to limit their foreign exchange interventions to the exceptional circumstances of disorderly market conditions," the report said.

(Reporting by Anna Yukhananov, additional reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by James Dalgleish and Dan Grebler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-withholds-china-currency-manipulator-label-211030381--business.html

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Meat of the Matter: Are Our Modern Methods of Preserving and Cooking Meat Healthy?

Image: CHRISTOPHER GRIFFITH Trunk Archive

John Durant really likes meat, but he does not keep much of it in his refrigerator?there is not enough room. Instead he stores his meat in a large white freezer chest in his shared Manhattan apartment. Durant, 29, opens the chest and pulls out some frozen chunks of venison wrapped in butcher paper. He digs through the ice to find a couple of cuts of grass-fed beef. He shows me lamb kidneys, pork fatback and ham hocks. As a proponent of what is known as the Paleolithic diet, Durant tries to eat the same way our evolutionary ancestors did. That means big portions of meat, usually red meat?cooked beef, pork, lamb or flesh from other mammals?almost every day.

Durant, who is currently completing a book on the Paleolithic lifestyle, is correct about at least one thing. Without meat, humanity would probably not be where it is today. Evolutionary biologists have shown that hunting game and eating cooked meat significantly altered human anatomy and likely helped us develop bigger brains. Today meat is the largest source of protein in all affluent countries except Japan. Annual global consumption of meat might reach 376 million tons by 2030.

Yet most people in industrial nations live far more sedentary lives than early humans living millions of years ago. Whereas our ancestors worked hard to gather any food at all and most likely confronted the possibility of starvation between successful kills, many of us have easy access to calorie-rich meats whenever we want. Are we in fact eating more meat than is healthy?

Twenty years ago most nutritionists would have said, ?Yes,? especially when it comes to fatty cuts, such as hamburger or ribs. After all, the human body readily converts the saturated fat in such meats into cholesterol in the blood, which can in turn lead to atherosclerosis?a leading cause of both heart attack and stroke. In recent years, however, some researchers have questioned whether the link between red meat and cardiovascular disease is as strong as has long been assumed.

A few studies have begun to suggest that some of the ways in which meat is processed?that is, preserved with chemicals?or cooked may be more worrying than its saturated fat content. In addition, researchers now emphasize the importance of looking at the whole diet when trying to figure out what constitutes healthy eating habits. For example, deciding to cut back on red meat while compensating for the loss with comfort foods such as pizza, white bread and ice cream will probably not help anyone. In line with these more nuanced views, many nutritionists have tempered their advice. ?A shotgun approach telling people to avoid all red meats may not be the biggest bang for your buck,? says Dariush Mozaffarian, an epidemiologist at Harvard University. ?Not all meats are the same. We have choices.? How to make those choices, however, is the subject of ongoing debate.

Man Meets Meat

Before delving into recent, sometimes contradictory, findings about how eating red meat changes our health, it is worthwhile to consider the dietary habits of our evolutionary ancestors. Although the record is by no means complete?and our ancestors' diets varied widely by geography?paleontologists have gathered enough evidence to mark a few milestones. If we travel far enough back in time, to when our predecessors first split off from the last common ancestor we share with chimpanzees, they probably ate fruits, leaves and a smattering of termites. Meat was a very rare treat. As long as three million years ago, however, our ancestors had apparently learned to slice meat off of animal bones with stone tools. At first, these early humans might have primarily scavenged the kills of other predators, stealing bits of meat from a felled gazelle or chasing off smaller carnivores. Learning to cook with fire (at least 400,000 years ago) and the invention of stone spearheads (at least 200,000 years ago) dramatically improved our ancestors' chances of eating their fill.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=ea8642a845af1c347e37f2819d260197

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Experts exhume remains of Palestinian leader

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) ? The remains of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were exhumed from his grave on Tuesday so international forensic experts could search for additional clues to his death, Palestinian officials said.

The remains were taken from the massive mausoleum in the West Bank city of Ramallah where Arafat was buried and moved to a nearby mosque so Palestinian doctors could take samples from his bones, the officials said. Under Islam, only Muslims can handle a Muslim's remains.

The samples will be handed over to French, Swiss and Russian experts who have flown in for the exhumation and who will examine them in their home countries, the officials said. Earlier, samples were also taken from Arafat's bedroom, office and personal belongings, they said.

The Palestinian officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.

The new investigation into Arafat's death was sparked earlier this year by the discovery of a lethal radioactive substance, polonium, on clothing said to be his.

Arafat died in November 2004 in a French military hospital, a month after suddenly falling ill. While the immediate cause of death was a stroke, the underlying source of an illness he suffered in his final weeks has never been clear, leading to persistent speculation in the Arab world that Israel poisoned him. Israel has denied such allegations.

The exhumation might not resolve the mystery. Polonium-210 decomposes rapidly, and some experts say it is not clear whether any remaining samples will be sufficient for testing.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/experts-exhume-remains-palestinian-leader-052946982.html

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Five Best Remedies For Thinning Hair - Ayushveda

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Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

Thinning of hair is a common problem seen nowadays. If this problem is not taken seriously and treated at the right time, it might lead to baldness over a period of time. Hair has always been a crown on any one?s head. Thinking of a scalp without hair definitely is not something that can be imagined. Hence, by following a few natural therapies you can gain thick hair.

Here are the five best remedies which can prove to be very effecting in treating thinning hair:

Remedies For Thinning Hair

Coconut Oil

This is one of the most primitive, common method and a wonderful recipe for hair from grandma?s kitchen. Take some coconut oil in a pan and heat it. Add some sesame seeds and let it spurt out. Now, add some hibiscus flower petals, Tulsi leaves, and few pieces of Indian goose berry. Heat it for a while and then let it cool down.

Take some oil and apply it on your scalp and hair. Give a good massage by running your fingers through the hair. Leave it on for at least an hour and then rinse it off with mild shampoo. Repeat this process for at least thrice a week and you will definitely be awarded with thick hair within a few weeks down the line.

Apply Eggs

Take some eggs and beat them well. Mix them with henna powder. Let the mixture settle down for about half an hour. Apply the mixture on the hair carefully using a brush. Make sure that you have covered all the ends of the hair and then massage it for some time. Cover it with a plastic or an aluminum foil.

Olive Oil

Heat some olive oil in a pan and add hibiscus flower petals. Let the oil cool down. Take some oil and apply it. Massage the hair well.

Move your fingers in circular motion and keep massaging for at least ten minutes. Leave it for about forty five minutes. Olive oil is supposed to be very good for health and is rich in nutrients.

Also Read

Tips To Cure Thinning Hair At Your Home
5 Easy Ways To Thicken Your Thin Hair
Causes And Treatment Of Thinning Hair
East Ways To Style Thinning Hair

Baking soda

Take some baking soda and apply it to the wet hair. Massage the scalp for a few minutes. After that, rinse the hair well with water. It removes the dead skin, oil cells and also helps in treating dandruff problem along with promoting hair growth.

Diet and Exercise

Diet, exercise and lifestyle also play a pivotal role in gaining thick hair. Eat those fruits and vegetables which are rich in proteins, calcium and vitamins. They include spinach, carrot, eggs, poultry, walnut etc. In case your body needs more intakes of such nutrients, then it is better to go in for additional supplements like vitamin tablets etc.

Exercising and yoga also promote hair growth. Giving up smoking and alcohol can also prove to be beneficial in promoting hair growth. You should also avoid over brushing of hair.

These are a few of the simple methods that can be followed at home to gain good thick hair. These methods are natural and lack side effects. The results seen may be pretty slowly, but it is better for the health of your hair. Keep it natural, keep it safe!

Five Best Remedies For Thinning Hair, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating

Source: http://www.ayushveda.com/magazine/five-best-remedies-for-thinning-hair/

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5 Smart Tips For Throwing A Family Holiday Party - Business Insider

A lot of preparation goes into throwing a holiday party in your home, especially when your family is invited.?

Here are five of the smartest party planning tips we've come across this holiday season.

• Mix and match your plates and silverware: Mixing and matching is in, according to The LA Times, so embrace it! If you don't have a full set of matching plates and glasses, don't stress. Just alternate settings by seat so the table seems balanced.?

• Make a signature holiday cocktail: Most people actually don't like having endless drink options at a party, according to Marie Claire. Guests will gladly try something new, especially when it's right in front of them. So skip the full bar, and stock up on wine, beer, and one premade cocktail.?

• When someone offers to bring something, say yes: Your family probably has a few signature favorites during the holidays. If Aunt Joan's homemade pumpkin pie is the best, let her bake it and bring it when she offers. It's a time-tested favorite, and cuts down on your prep time.

• Obey the one-bite rule: House Beautiful suggests keeping appetizers to the size of a single bite. That way guests will be able to keep their hands free and sample everything you serve.

  Don't forget to serve water: The last thing anyone wants is a drunken family holiday fight. Serving water to keep guests from getting too tipsy, suggests Apartment Therapy.

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Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/holiday-party-tips-2012-11

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AVADirect Mini Gaming PC Core i5 Z77

Manufacturers, especially of the boutique variety, know that enthusiasts' PCs can get out of control easily?some of the huge systems and cases we?ve seen here over the years bear that out. So who can blame some system makers for wanting to swing in the other direction? The AVADirect Mini Gaming PC Core i5 Z77 ?is exactly the opposite of a towering tower: It?s short and squat, looking like it?s longing to hide behind one of its bigger cousins. The good news is that this desktop?s diminutive dimensions don?t prevent it from achieving most of its gaming goals. But if you want the fastest or most flexible gaming computer out there, even of the small-form-factor style, this is not it.

Design and Features
For the space-challenged, the Mini Gaming PC is ideal. Measuring approximately 15.5 by 9.6 by 13.9 inches (HWD), it takes up not much more space than an average-size subwoofer. Whether it looks better than one of those depends on your personal tastes. Its off-white coloring, accented with tinges of black along the edge of the front panel and on the fan grille on top, isn't the height of chic, but it's not bad. More problematic are the handles. We appreciate having them attached to the front and rear sections of the top panel, as they make this system even simpler to carry from place to place. But we don't like how much they flex when you lift the system up; even if they are actually secure, they don?t feel like it.

Something else that not all users will appreciate is evident once you open the Mini Gaming PC?s side panel: This system has limited upgradability due to how tightly packed together its components are. AVADirect has developed some ingenious methods for getting around the space restrictions, such as by having the power supply bay (occupied by an 850-watt PSU) open externally, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 video card secured on the back panel, and the 3.5-inch drive well that opens out the side panel so you can quickly access the 240GB Vertex 3 ?solid-state drive and 2TB Seagate hard drive. But there?s almost no room for removing the giant heat sink atop the Intel Core i7-3770K processor (which has been overclocked from 3.5GHz to 4.4GHz), and good luck getting at the 8GB of included RAM (which can theoretically be increased to as much as 16GB). As for the additional expansion slots?there aren?t any, so forget about popping in, say, a sound card or a PCI Express?based storage device. (At least the Blu-ray combo drive in the sole 5.25-inch external bay would be easy to remove and replace if you wanted.)

To perform surgery inside the Mini Gaming PC at all, you?ll need to unscrew and remove both the handle assembly and the top panel?and even then, the cramped nature of the case means that doing any work will not be painless. AVADirect obviously intended this computer primarily (if not exclusively) for those who are happy with using what comes out of the box.

Connectivity options are fine given how little surface area is available for them. On the right side panel you?ll find the headphone and microphone jack and two USB 3.0 ports; gracing the motherboard?s I/O port on the rear panel are eight USB ports, four each of 2.0 and 3.0; one Ethernet jack; two eSATA ports; and standard three-port audio (rather than surround sound) and S/PDIF out. There are also technically video output ports (HDMI, DisplayPort, and DVI), but you don?t need to worry about them because you?ll be using the two DVI ports, HDMI port, and DisplayPort jack on the video card when you hook up the Mini Gaming PC to a monitor.

Should you run into any problems, the Mini Gaming PC is covered by a three-year parts-and-labor warranty, and AVADirect offers free lifetime tech support.

Performance
The Mini Gaming PC unsurprisingly held its own against similarly equipped systems we?ve tested recently, though it took first place in only one of our tests. That would be Futuremark PCMark 7 overall system benchmark test, on which it scored 6,259?not significantly higher than either the Cyberpower Gamer Xtreme 4000SE (6,032) or Falcon Northwest Tiki , but higher nonetheless. On our other tests the Mini Gaming PC performed credibly, scoring 8.99 on our CineBench R11.5 rendering test, and needing 55 seconds to convert a video in HandBrake and 2:28 to apply a dozen filters and effects in Adobe Photoshop CS5. In all these cases the Mini Gaming PC was outmatched by the Editors? Choice Maingear Potenza Super Stock , which needed finished with ratings of 9.57, 51 seconds, and 2:16, respectively.

Living up to its name, the Mini Gaming PC is also solid for entertainment purposes?but the other systems we?ve reviewed have done better in one area or another. The Cyberpower 4000SE and Maingear Potenza computers beat it on frame rates in Crysis (129 frames per second, or fps, at 1,280 by 720 and with medium details, versus 124fps; the Maingear Potenza, with 65fps, beat both at 60fps when we upped the resolution to 1,920 by 1,080 and the details to high), and the Falcon Northwest Tiki just edged it out with Lost Planet 2 at 1,920 by 1,080 with high details (94fps versus 90fps). Scores in our Futuremark 3DMark 11 gaming graphics benchmark test were a bit closer overall, though the Maingear Potenza reigned supreme with 15,119 at the Entry preset and 5,100 on Extreme?the Mini Gaming PC, with 13,888 and 3,261 respectively, couldn?t quite compete.

Whether the AVADirect Mini Gaming PC Core i5 Z77 is an outstanding choice depends on a lot of the attendant factors. Though it wraps everything in a compact, original package, its somewhat cheap design and challenged expandability make it less than absolutely perfect for the gamer who likes to maintain control over the hardware. The Maingear Potenza isn?t much better in that area, admittedly, but with an even smaller footprint, a more mature appearance, superior performance, and a lower price, it compensates nicely for the benefits it takes away. Its handles may make the Mini Gaming PC a little easier to carry around, but otherwise the Maingear Potenza offers more to grab onto.

More Desktop reviews:
??? AVADirect Mini Gaming PC Core i5 Z77
??? Apple Mac mini (Late 2012)
??? Asus ET2300INTI-B022K
??? Lenovo H520s
??? Sony VAIO Tap 20 (SVJ20215CXW)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/U1vQTRudmlk/0,2817,2412347,00.asp

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SFR to make fewer job cuts than expected: report

PARIS (Reuters) - French mobile operator SFR is planning to announce lower-than-expected job cuts on Wednesday, French daily Le Figaro reported on Saturday, citing an unidentified source close to the matter.

The French daily said that instead of the 2,000-job cuts expected by unions in the summer the number would be "less than 1,000."

A person close to SFR said the newspaper's estimate was realistic but declined to provide more details about the news to be made public at a workers' council meeting on Wednesday.

SFR is seeking to make 500 million euros ($647.93 million)in cost cuts in 2013 on top of the 450 million euros already targeted for 2012 as it grapples with low-cost competition, union sources told Reuters in July.

SFR, which is controlled by French media group Vivendi , declined to comment on Saturday.

($1 = 0.7717 euros)

(Reporting by Astrid Wendlandt, editing by William Hardy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sfr-fewer-job-cuts-expected-report-150529988--finance.html

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'I'll have a white wine with that steak' | Eats Blog

Willinda and Peter McCrea of Stony Hill Vineyard, doing their best imitation of "American Gothic," at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse. His parents founded Stony Hill, one of Napa's first vineyards.

Suggesting white wine with dry-aged prime steak might be the height of heresy in some circles, but bear with me. ?These are steak whites?. This is one of only two U.S. gewurztraminers I drink,? remarked Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, master sommelier and head wine honcho Barbara Werley as she poured glasses of the gewurztraminer at a dinner last month at where I was privileged to be a guest.

With that introduction, we were treated to a rare evening with one of the most esteemed couples in the Napa wine biz. No one of Screaming Eagle or Silver Oak ilk, but producers specializing in white wines and one of the first families to grow grapes in the famed appellation. I hesitate to call this a cult wine, except that it is highly idiosyncratic, has extremely limited and sought-after production, and fines to the beat of drummer so out of step with mainstream Napa winemaking as to be eccentric.

I?m speaking, of course, of Peter and Willinda McCrea of Stony Hill Vineyard. But before I tell you the family?s story, I?ll tell you what the McCreas did at the dinner. After a prelim of awesome food matches with Stony Hill?s riesling, gerwurztramier and chardonnays (2005 and 2007 magnums), Pappas executive chef James Johnson presented entrees with two small portions of dry-aged prime strip loin. One was sauced with bernaise, the other with lime hollandaise (pictured).

The McCreas celebrated 60 years of winemaking this year with the production of their first cabernet sauvignon. ?What we wanted to make,? says McCrea, ?was a lower-alcohol wine that was a food wine.? They made exactly 250 cases of the 2009, 10 of which were allocated to Texas. Call this the anti-Cal cab: beautifully balanced fruit and acidity (13.5 percent alcohol), absent the screaming, alcohol-on-steroids jamminess more common to California cabs. We ate it with the bernaise ? and bingo! With the less acidic sauce, it was a wonderful match. But you knew it would be.

?

The steak on the left: sauced with bernaise. The steak on the right: sauced with lime hollandaise.

We ate the other strip sirloin, the one with the lime hollandaise, with three vintages of chardonnay (2005, 2007, 2008) ? and bingo! It was heavenly with every vintage. Note that the McCreas make a leaner, more European-style chardonnay using neutral oak. ?If you like buttery chardonnay,? quipped McCrea, ?you?ve come to the wrong dinner.?

As much as we were primed to be believers, the white wine-steak match was still surprising. ?We did it just to prove that you can drink white wine with meat,? McCrea said. Werley added: ?A hint of salt and a hint of acid, and you can drink any white with beef.? Point taken.

Now for Stoney Hill?s back story.

Peter?s parents, Fred and Eleanor, bought the property on Spring Mountain above Napa Valley in 1943. ?It was a goat ranch,? says McCrea. He was 5, and his sister was 1. There was no electricity, no one to work the place, no equipment ? World War II was on, after all ? and darn few gas coupons to make the round trip from San Francisco, where his father worked. ?No phone, either,? says McCrea.

In 1948, the McCreas started planting grapes with help from the University of California: chardonnay, riesling and pinot blanc. There were 10 other wineries in Napa at the time. In 1951, they built the winery from the lumber used to frame the swimming pool. Still used today, it looks like an old barn. (I got to visit one year at the Napa Valley Wine Writers Symposium, where I had my first glorious mouthful of the riesling.) In 1952, they released their first vintage: 50 cases of chardonnay.

?In 1962, my father retired and moved to St. Helena full-time and planted 30 acres. We started making riesling and gewurztraminer, and those have been our staple wines for the last 60 years.,? says McCrea. Over that 60 years, they?ve had two winemakers, including the current one, Mike Chelini, who joined the team in 1973.

So that?s a slice of the Stony Hill legend. My favorite story of the Pappas evening was listening to the McCreas reminisce with their guests about making a vodka-like spirit when they were working in the oil business, stationed in Saudi Arabia. They couldn?t buy alcohol, so they had to improvise. ?We called it ?white.?? It was basically better than anything coming out of Appalachia.?

As you might guess, Stony Hill wines are hard to come by in Texas. You can order them from the winery. A few places, such as Pappas, have part of the Texas allocation. If you go to Pappas, ask chef Johnson to prepare some of that lime hollandaise so you can taste for yourself and ask Werley pick the Stony Hill Chardonnay for you. The combination of steak and hollandaise just makes the wine pop with fruit and liveliness.

Source: http://eatsblog.dallasnews.com/2012/11/ill-have-a-white-wine-with-that-steak.html/

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Clashes in Cairo after Egypt's president seizes new powers

CAIRO (Reuters) - Angry youths hurled rocks at security forces and burned a police truck as thousands gathered in central Cairo to protest at Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's decision to grab sweeping new powers.

Police fired tear gas near Tahrir Square, heart of the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak at the height of the Arab Spring. Thousands demanded that Mursi should quit and accused him of launching a "coup".

There were also violent protests in Alexandria, Port Said and Suez.

Mursi on Thursday issued a decree that puts his decisions beyond any legal challenge until a new parliament is elected. Opponents immediately accused him of turning into a new Mubarak and hijacking the Egyptian revolution.

"This is the point of no return for Mursi. He has dug himself deeper in a hole and won't know how to get out of it," said Ahmed Saleh, an activist who said many would stay in Tahrir square until Mursi withdrew the decree.

"The people want to bring down the regime," shouted protesters in Tahrir, echoing a chant used in the uprising that forced Mubarak to step down.

The United States, the European Union and the United Nations expressed concern at Mursi's move.

Mursi's rivals condemned him as an autocratic pharaoh who wanted to impose his Islamist vision on Egypt.

The president's aides said the decree was intended to speed up a protracted transition to democracy that has been hindered by legal obstacles

"I am for all Egyptians," Mursi said on a stage outside the presidential palace, adding that he was working for social and economic stability and remained committed to the revolution.

JUDGES MEET

Egyptian judges will meet on Saturday to respond to Mursi's move, which put him above the judicial oversight. The judges could threaten to go on strike, which would bring the judiciary to a halt.

Some non-Islamist political parties called for a million-strong march on Tuesday to demand that Mursi rescinds his decree.

But Islamist parties, including the Building and Development Party, accused Mursi's opponents of undermining the democratic process that brought him to office.

"Those calling for the downfall of President Mohamed Mursi have rejected democracy because President Mursi has been democratically elected by popular will," the party said in a statement. Mursi's decree would "save the revolution from the remnants of Mubarak's regime", it said.

Buoyed by accolades from around the world for mediating a truce between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, Mursi on Thursday ordered that an Islamist-dominated assembly writing the new constitution could not be dissolved by legal challenges.

Mursi, an Islamist whose roots are in the Muslim Brotherhood, also gave himself wide powers that allowed him to sack the unpopular public prosecutor and opened the door for a retrial for Mubarak and his aides.

TURBULENCE AND TURMOIL

The president's decree has consolidated his power but looks set to polarize Egypt further, threatening more turmoil in a nation at the heart of the Arab Spring.

In Alexandria, north of Cairo, protesters ransacked an office of the Brotherhood's political party, burning books and chairs in the street. Supporters of Mursi and opponents clashed elsewhere in the city, leaving 12 injured.

A party building was attacked by stone-throwing protesters in Port Said, and demonstrators in Suez threw petrol bombs that burned banners outside the party building.

Although Washington has praised Egypt for its part in bringing Israelis and Palestinians to a ceasefire on Wednesday, it expressed reservations about Mursi's latest move.

"The decisions and declarations announced on November 22 raise concerns for many Egyptians and for the international community," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.

The European Union urged Mursi to respect the democratic process, while the United Nations expressed fears about human rights.

"The decree is basically a coup on state institutions and the rule of law that is likely to undermine the revolution and the transition to democracy," said Mervat Ahmed, an independent activist in Tahrir protesting against the decree.

Leading liberal Mohamed ElBaradei, who joined other politicians on Thursday night to demand the decree was withdrawn, wrote on his Twitter account that Mursi had "usurped all state powers and appointed himself Egypt's new pharaoh".

Almost two years after Mubarak was toppled and about five months since Mursi took office, Egypt has no permanent constitution, which must be in place before new parliamentary elections are held.

An assembly drawing up the constitution has yet to complete its work. Many liberals, Christians and others have walked out accusing the Islamists who dominate it of ignoring their voices over the extent that Islam should be enshrined in the new state.

(Additional reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva and Sebastian Moffett in Brussels; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/clashes-cairo-mursi-seizes-powers-053441160.html

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Gaza cleric calls violation of Israel truce sinful

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) ? A leading Islamic cleric in the Gaza Strip has ruled it a sin to violate the recent cease-fire between Israel and the Hamas militant group that controls the Palestinian territory.

The fatwa, or religious edict, issued by Suleiman al-Daya late Saturday accords a religious legitimacy to the truce and could justify any act by Gaza's government to enforce it.

"Honoring the truce, which was sponsored by our Egyptian brethren, is the duty of each and every one of us. Violating it shall constitute a sin," the fatwa read.

The Wednesday truce put an end to an eight-day Israeli offensive against Gaza militants who fired rockets into Israel. The agreement remains fragile because details beyond the initial cease-fire have not yet been worked out.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-11-25-Israel-Palestinians/id-b0db82ee02c548b8a60b2b2a76606a10

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Chilling Effect: Air-Conditioner Repairs Undermine Coolant Restrictions

Marcus Yam for The New York Times

A repair technician in New Jersey removed an air-conditioning unit that uses HCFC-22, which is banned for use in new units, to install a new one that uses a different coolant, R-410A.

When Mark Spector?s central air-conditioning system stopped cooling his Trumbull, Conn., home this summer, he sent an S O S to his repairman. What happened next illustrates the myriad challenges the United States faces as it tries to phase out the popular but environmentally devastating cooling gas that was in Mr. Spector?s unit.

The Environmental Protection Agency has tried to reduce use of this gas, HCFC-22, which depletes the ozone layer and contributes to global warming, by imposing strict quotas on its production. Since 2010, it has also banned the sale of new air-conditioning units containing the compound, and has promoted recycling of the gas from old machines so it will not be released.

But what followed at Mr. Spector?s home circumvented all the agency?s rules and good intentions: Instead of finding and repairing the hole in his aging unit, a complicated task, a serviceman pumped in more coolant, which leaked out by the next day. When Mr. Spector called around for another solution, a salesman offered to swap in a new condenser unit, but one that still used HCFC-22 ? meaning one more American home would continue relying on an environmentally damaging coolant for years.

HCFC-22 is being phased out of air conditioners worldwide under an international treaty called the Montreal Protocol, and the United States has aggressively pressed poor countries to pick up the pace. But the United States has yet to put its own house in order. And, with 140 million central air units still running on HCFC-22 in this country, it is a major offender.

Leaks abound in working equipment. Coolant seeps out of discarded equipment in landfills. Regulatory loopholes allow manufacturers to sell parts that rely on HCFC-22, so systems using the old gas can be refurbished rather than replaced. There is almost no reclamation of the gas from old machines for recycling. The E.P.A. is behind schedule in imposing rules to ratchet down domestic production, and smuggling is rarely detected. Even where there are regulations ? for example, repair technicians are legally bound to collect old gas rather than vent it ? there is little enforcement.

And, as Mr. Spector discovered, many of the environmental crimes and misdeeds that keep the country dependent on HCFC-22 happen on your property, most likely without your knowledge.

?It?s totally illegal to vent gas, but it?s also totally inconspicuous,? said Stephen O. Andersen, a former E.P.A. official who has campaigned for better controls on cooling gases. ?I always watch like a hawk when they?re in my yard,? he said of technicians.

The concentration of HCFC-22 in the atmosphere is 218 parts per trillion, more than double the amount two decades ago, and it gets there in a number of ways. Low-quality or old equipment leaks, and detecting the colorless and odorless gas without pressure-testing devices is difficult. Sometimes the release is intentional, because it costs less. For example, installing a new part properly usually requires first siphoning a machine?s coolant into a canister, for later replacement. But it is quicker, though illegal, just to cut the line. A technician saves half an hour on a job, and the customer gets a smaller bill.

Bobby Ring, who runs a servicing company in suburban New Jersey, said that makes it hard for him to compete. ?There are contractors out there who refuse to make the investment in recovery equipment to reclaim or recover refrigerants, and no one is looking, so ? phsssst ? they let the refrigerant escape,? he said.

Although large companies, which are required to report use of the gas, have been fined for large leaks, the E.P.A. has never prosecuted a residential service company for intentionally releasing HCFC-22.

Asked about the lack of backyard enforcement, David Bloomgren, a spokesman for the E.P.A., said it is ?a challenge to locate or obtain evidence of illegal venting,? so the agency focused on large polluters but encouraged homeowners to report possible backyard violations they observed to an E.P.A. tip site at epa.gov/tips/.

While it is hard to quantify exactly how much coolant is illegally released from America?s residential air conditioners, the E.P.A. estimates that only 7 percent of used coolant is turned in for recycling.

?The vast majority of it hits the sky,? illegally vented, said Kevin Zugibe, chief executive of Hudson Technologies Inc., a company set up to recycle HCFC-22. Under the Montreal Protocol, the United States has until 2015 to cut production and imports of newly made HCFC-22 to 10 percent of what it was a decade ago.

Without a much better supply of recycled HCFC-22, the United States will not be able to do that ? or have enough to service all the older air conditioners, grocery store freezers and other refrigeration equipment.

In the European Union, only recycled or reclaimed HCFC-22 can be legally used to service equipment. In Australia and Japan, recovery of the gas from old appliances is mandatory, and technicians receive a fee for collection.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/science/earth/air-conditioner-repairs-undermine-coolant-restrictions.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Insurers face $1.6 billion flood bill - PwC

LONDON (Reuters) - British insurers look set to absorb 1 billion pounds of flood-related claims this year, their biggest flood damage bill since 2007, accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said on Friday.

Heavy flooding during the summer inflicted a loss of about 500 million pounds on the industry, and further inundations this week across England and Wales are likely to boost the total for the year to 1 billion pounds, PwC said.

That would be the most since 2007, when severe flooding in several parts of England triggered claims of about 3 billion pounds, according to the Association of British Insurers.

The fresh wave of flood damage comes as the insurance industry is locked in talks with the government over how to guarantee affordable insurance for homes in flood-prone regions once an existing subsidy arrangement expires next year.

The industry's favoured solution, a fund financed by a levy on low risk households and backstopped by the taxpayer, could fail because the government is reluctant to act as insurer of last resort, industry sources told Reuters on Thursday.

"Who will step in to insure homeowners exposed to flood risk remains a key question for insurers and customers alike," said Domenico Del Re, PwC's head of catastrophe management.

Britain's Environment Agency said 59 flood warnings, indicating that flooding is expected, were in place across England on Friday.

Britain's leading home insurers include Aviva, RSA, and Direct Line.

(Reporting by Myles Neligan; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insurers-face-1-6-billion-flood-bill-pwc-174106315--finance.html

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