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Sunday 30 October 2011
Thursday 27 October 2011
Second day of US-NKorea nuclear talks delayed (AP)
GENEVA ? The start of a second day of talks between U.S. and North Korean diplomats on Pyongyang's nuclear program was delayed without explanation Tuesday, a day after the top U.S. envoy reported some progress in narrowing differences between the two sides.
U.S. officials said North Korea had asked the American delegation to come to its U.N. mission in Geneva "for a working lunch and an afternoon session." The talks had been scheduled to start at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT; 4 a.m. EST).
North Korean officials couldn't be reached for comment.
In the closely watched meetings, the second direct encounter between the two parties in less than three months, diplomats from both sides are trying to determine whether the so-called six-party nuclear talks, which include China, Japan, Russia and South Korea in addition to North Korea and the United States, can resume.
The top U.S. envoy, Stephen Bosworth, said late Monday night that the discussions are also touching on other long-standing issues, such as urgently needed food aid for the North, families long separated on the Korean peninsula and the remains of troops missing in action. The U.S. and North Korea are still technically at war.
The U.N.'s top relief official, Valerie Amos, said Monday after visiting North Korea that it was "not appropriate" for the nuclear talks in Switzerland to extend to humanitarian assistance to the chronically hungry Asian country because that aid "must be kept separate from a political agenda." The U.N. is calling on countries to provide $218 million in emergency aid to North Korea.
The first day of talks was hosted by the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The U.S. delegation was being hosted Tuesday at the North Koreans' U.N. mission, on the opposite side of Lake Geneva, where Bosworth's counterpart is First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan. Bosworth is accompanied by Glyn Davies, the U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, who is taking over the negotiating brief in future talks.
At his hotel late Monday night, Bosworth told reporters he was "neither optimistic nor pessimistic" with one day left for discussions.
"I think we're moving in a positive direction. We have narrowed some differences, but we still have differences that we have to resolve," he said at the elegant lakeside hotel where both parties are staying.
"As you know, our goal is to try to find a solid foundation on which to launch a resumption of discussions both bilateral and multilateral, and we will continue to work hard to bring that about," Bosworth said. "We have made some progress, we have issues still to resolve and we will work hard to do that."
U.S. diplomats want North Korea to adhere to a 2005 agreement it reneged on requiring verifiable denuclearization in exchange for better relations with its Asian neighbors. China, North Korea's closest ally, has urged Pyongyang to improve its strained ties with the United States and South Korea.
Beijing wants to revive the stalled six-nation disarmament negotiations. North Korea walked out on the talks in 2009 ? and exploded a second nuclear-test device ? but now wants to re-engage. Last year, Pyongyang also was blamed for two military attacks on South Korea that heightened tensions on the peninsula.
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Monday 24 October 2011
At Pat Robertson's Site, Herman Cain Pulls Out An Even More Extreme Abortion Position (Little green footballs)
Sunday 23 October 2011
Saudi Royal Family and U.S. Relations (ContributorNetwork)
Saudi heir to the throne Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz died after an illness today. He had been suffering from colon cancer and had been in New York being treated since June. He was 80 years old. Sultan was next in line to the throne of Saudi Arabia in the event that King Abdullah dies or abdicates.
President Barack Obama called Crown Prince Sultan a "valued friend " who served as the country's defense minister for more than 50 years. Throughout his time in the Saudi government, Sultan procured arms deals with the United States and was a key ally in the war on terror.
Ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia run deep. Here's a look at U.S.-Saudi relations over the past several decades.
Beginnings
U.S.-Saudi relations began in 1933 under the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, several years after King Abdel Aziz bin Saud unified the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia following a series of military conquests. PBS states oil ties began that same year when Standard Oil dug an oil well in 1938 and Saudi Arabia's oil production began.
The country was also vital to the Allied victory in World War II. Roosevelt deemed Saudi Arabia necessary to the defense of the United States and initiated a lend-lease program for foreign aid. The U.S. then used Saudi Arabia as a way to defend the world against Communism and the Soviet Union. The Project on National Security Reform states President Dwight Eisenhower visited the nation in 1956 to shore up ties and foster security in Saudi Arabia.
Royal Family and Oil
The next ruler of Saudi Arabia took over in 1953 as Crown Prince Saud became king after his father's death. He was forced to abdicate in 1964, seven years after turning over day-to-day operations of the government to his half-brother Faisal. It was under Faisal's leadership that OPEC was founded.
Saudi Arabia became increasingly more modern thanks to the royal family and oil money. As oil exports became increasingly profitable, eventually Saudi oil interests took over the country's economy. Originally, Standard Oil and Saudi Arabia split oil profits down the middle. By 1980, Saudi Arabia gained full control of the oil wells in a series of legal agreements. By this time, the Middle Eastern country was vital to the world economy.
Wars
Ties with the United States were tested from 1991 onward. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the United States used land bases in Saudi Arabia to launch attacks against troops of Saddam Hussein. BBC reported about 5,000 to 10,000 U.S. troops were stationed in Saudi Arabia until 2003. Part of that force was used to support operations in the Iraq War of 2003.
Relations became strained in September 2001 when former Saudi national Osama bin Laden was blamed for the terrorist attacks against the United States. Salon.com reported his family's company had huge loans and financial backing from Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. Because of the oil industry, the United States has always had to rely on Saudi interests no matter how strained they might become.
Most recently, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia both condemned an apparent assassination plot on Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir in mid-October. Although not a member of the royal family, Al-Jubeir is a trusted member of the Saudi government appointed to his post by King Abdullah.
William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics. Born in St. Louis, Browning is active in local politics and served as a campaign volunteer for President Barack Obama and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.
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Saturday 22 October 2011
Video: Fiery volcano offers geologic glimpse into land that time forgot
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The first scientists to witness exploding rock and molten lava from a deep sea volcano, seen during a 2009 expedition, report that the eruption was near a tear in the Earth's crust that is mimicking the birth of a subduction zone.
Scientists on the expedition collected boninite, a rare, chemically distinct lava that accompanies the formation of Earth's subduction zones.
Nobody has ever collected fresh boninite and scientists never had the opportunity to monitor its eruption before, said Joseph Resing, University of Washington oceanographer and lead author of an online article on the findings in Nature Geoscience.Earth's current subduction zones are continually evolving but most formed 5 million to 200 million years ago. Scientists have only been able to study boninite collected from long-dead, relic volcanos millions of years old.
Resing was chief scientist on the expedition, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation, that pinpointed the location of the West Mata volcano, erupting 4,000 feet (1,200 meters) below the surface in the Southwest Pacific Ocean.
"Everything about the eruption itself ? how fast, how intense, the ratio of lava to explosive fragments, the amount and composition of gas released ? is new to us," said co-author Kenneth Rubin, University of Hawaii geologist. "Plus, having a young, fresh occurrence of this very rare rock type to study gives us the opportunity to examine subtle chemical and mineralogical variations in a pristine specimen."
At subduction zones the oceanic crust on one tectonic plate slides beneath another, producing abundant volcanism and contributing heat, gases and mineral-laden fluids to ocean waters. Scientists have long studied the impact of subduction zones on geological and geochemical cycles. To puzzle out how subduction zones form and evolve they study inactive contemporary marine volcanos that do not produce boninite and they collect and study boninite lavas collected on land and examine cores collected from the deep sea.
"West Mata lies above the subducting Pacific plate and is part of the rapidly expanding Lau Basin, which is bounded by Samoa, Tonga and Fiji," Resing said. "The large bend at the northern end of the Tonga trench produces a tear in the Pacific plate and creates unusual lavas that usually only form at very young subduction zones."
Conditions are right for boninite to form, there's lots of seawater released from subducting rock that mixes into relatively shallow mantle that has previously melted, causing the mantle to remelt at high temperatures. Boninite lavas are believed to be among the hottest from volcanos that erupt on Earth."What makes this exciting is how uncommon these eruptions of boninite are, both now and in the past," Rubin said. "Locked within the boninite is critical information about the rates and magnitudes of subduction-zone magmatism and global geochemical cycles."
The scientists writing in Nature Geoscience think the release of gaseous water, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide from the slab is the reason the eruption was so explosive. No one realized such energetic eruptions happened so deep, Resing says. Streams of red and gold lava 35 feet long shot through the water and lava-skinned bubbles some three feet across emerged.
West Mata, which the scientists estimate has been erupting for at least three years, and eight other elongated volcanoes that overlap each other in the northeast Lau Basin sit within one of the most magmatically active areas on Eart h, Resing says.
"The basin may prove an important place to study submarine volcanic eruptions in relation to early stages of subduction," he said.
Rubin and Robert Embley, with NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Newport, Ore., and co-author on the paper, will return to the area in November for further study and to try to determine if the volcano is still actively erupting.
"Observing the eruption in real time was a rare and special opportunity because we know so little about how submarine volcanic activity behaves," Embley said. "This is one of only a handful of 'glimpses' of the process we've had to date and is the first time we've actually observed natural submarine light from the glowing magma."
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University of Washington: http://www.uwnews.org
Thanks to University of Washington for this article.
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Ice Cream Sandwich already unofficially ported, Nexus S 4G gets first dibs
Continue reading Ice Cream Sandwich already unofficially ported, Nexus S 4G gets first dibs
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Friday 21 October 2011
Link Explored Between Colon Cancer, Bacterium (HealthDay)
TUESDAY, Oct. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Colorectal cancers contain high levels of a bacterium that may contribute to the cancer and could prove important in diagnosing, treating and preventing it, according to new research.
A team from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute in Boston analyzed nine samples of normal colon tissue and nine samples of colorectal cancer tissue and found unusually high numbers of Fusobacterium cells in the tumor samples.
The study was published online Oct. 17 in the journal Genome Research, which also includes a paper by Canadian researchers who reported similar findings.
"Tumors and their surroundings contain complex mixtures of cancer cells, normal cells, and a variety of microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses," Dr. Matthew Meyerson, senior author of the Dana-Farber/Broad Institute study, said in a Dana-Farber news release.
"Over the past decade, there has been an increasing focus on the relationship between cancer cells and their 'microenvironment,' specifically on the cell-to-cell interactions that may promote cancer formation and growth," he noted.
There's no definitive link between Fusobacterium and colorectal cancer, but there are hints that the bacterium may play a role in the cancer, said Meyerson, co-director of the Center for Cancer Genome Discovery at Dana-Farber and a professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School.
Previous research has suggested an association between Fusobacterium and inflammatory bowel diseases, such as ulcerative colitis, which can increase the risk of colon cancer.
"At this point, we don't know what the connection between Fusobacterium and colon cancer might be," Meyerson said. "It may be that the bacterium is essential for cancer growth, or that cancer simply provides a hospitable environment for the bacterium. Further research is needed to see what the link is."
If it's confirmed that Fusobacterium plays a role in the onset of colorectal cancer, it would be the first time that any microorganism has been found to be involved in this type of cancer.
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. More than 141,000 people in the nation will be diagnosed with the disease this year, and it will kill more than 49,000 people, according to the American Cancer Society.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about colorectal cancer.
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Senate passes amendment to block funding for future Fast and Furious programs (Daily Caller)
The Senate passed an amendment Tuesday to block any federal funding to programs similar to Operation Fast and Furious ? the controversial program that allowed guns to be walked across the U.S.-Mexican border and into the hands of violent drug cartels.
Introduced by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the amendment passed with unanimous support. It was tacked onto an appropriations bill for law enforcement funding.
?When I look at what happened in Operation Fast and Furious, I was fast to be furious about the bungled, botched occurrences that occurred,? Democrat Sen. Barbara Mikulski said. ?It was poorly planned, poorly executed, had flawed leadership, and it was definitely of questionable integrity and value.?
The full text of the article reads, ?No funds made available under this Act shall be used to allow the knowing transfer of firearms to agents of drug cartels where law enforcement personnel of the United States do not continuously monitor or control such firearms at all times.?
Some of the guns allowed to be walked across the border were later linked to the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.
Sen. Cornyn said the amendment was just the beginning of stopping such operations and holding the Justice Department accountable. (RELATED: Issa theorizes about missing third weapon from scene of border agent?s murder)
?Today?s bipartisan effort is just the first step towards ensuring that such a foolish operation can never be repeated by our own law enforcement,? Sen. Cornyn said in a statement. ?The onus is now on Attorney General Holder to hear not just today?s bipartisan call for answers, but the American people?s demands that Washington be held accountable.?
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Thursday 20 October 2011
Robert Auerbach: Chairman Bernanke's "Urban Legend" About Deception and Corruption at the Fed
On the same day, October 4, 2011, I testified on Capitol Hill about the terrible record for transparency and corrupt records at the Federal Reserve, its chairman, Ben Bernanke, gave a strong opposing view before the Joint Economic Committee. When Senator Michael Lee (R, Utah) said he was concerned about the "general veil of secrecy under which the Federal Reserve typically operates," Bernanke replied: "That's an urban legend." (Defined as "a bizarre untrue story that circulates in society...")
Bernanke's reply incorporated the Fed's urban legend: "We are thoroughly audited at this point." and "Nobody has found an impropriety." While Bernanke may confine this reply to the partial audit in the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, which the Fed vigorously opposed, the Fed's long history of deception and corruption should not be bypassed.
My testimony on the same day before the Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Technology of the House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Congressman Ron Paul, reveals a different record from Congressional investigations in which I participated:
Blocking large parts of the Federal Reserve from GAO audits
House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Chairman Henry Reuss (D, Wisconsin) proposed a GAO audit of the Fed in 1976. The Fed orchestrated a massive campaign using the officials of the private banks it regulates to lobby to kill the audit bill. The Fed won. The bill could not garner enough support to pass out of the Committee. It passed the Government Operations Committee two years later, only after glaring no-audit barriers for Fed monetary policy and international operations were added.
Billions of dollars can be made from inside information leaks from the Fed's monetary policy operations. One necessary step to stop leaks is to severely limit inside information on future Fed policy to a few Fed employees.
This has not happened. Congress received information in 1997 that non-Federal Reserve employees attended Federal Reserve meetings where inside information was discussed. Banking Committee Chairman/Ranking Member Henry B. Gonzalez (D, Texas) and Congressmen Maurice Hinchey (D, New York) asked Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan about the apparent leak of discount rate information. Greenspan admitted that non-Fed people including "central bankers from Bulgaria, China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Russia" had attended Federal Reserve meetings where the Fed's future interest rate policy was discussed. Greenspan's letter (4/25/1997) contained a 23-page enclosure listing hundreds of employees at the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. and in the Federal Reserve Banks around the country who have access to at least some inside Fed policy information.
Destroying Fed records
In 1995 Greenspan held a non-recorded vote - no finger prints - to destroy the source transcripts of the Fed's policy-making committee, the Federal Open market Committee (FOMC). I was informed November 1, 2001 by Donald Kohn, the future Fed Vice Chairman, that this destruction would continue and that the Fed considered the destruction to be legal.
The Fed's shredding machines destroyed the 1995 source FOMC transcripts of Fed officials who bypassed the Congress and voted for a $5 billion loan to Mexico collateralized by revenue from Mexico's oil industry. When the potential loan become public the peso stopped falling, and the loan was not made.
No audits can be made of source FOMC transcripts that were formerly sent to the National Archives and Records Administration because the transcripts are destroyed. That is not an urban legend.
Corrupted bookkeeping at Fed vaults
A 1997 Gonzalez investigation, assisted by the GAO, found extensive corrupt accounting at the cash section of the Los Angeles branch of the San Francisco Fed Bank with dire possibilities at other Fed vault facilities. Greenspan informed Gonzalez that nearly $500 thousand had been stolen from Fed vaults by Fed employees from 1987 to 1996. The Gonzalez/GAO investigation indicated this was an understatement.
The Fed Banks' vaults contain uncirculated currency and coin transferred from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and cash from banks throughout the country. The Fed district banks and branches need to be audited with GAO personnel who are trained and experienced in central bank operations and auditing. When will these audits be done and reported to the Congress or will Bernanke dismiss this national security problem as an urban legend?
Bernanke replied in a similar manner at a previous Congressional hearing (2/23/2010) to Congressman Paul's questions based on material in my book, Deception and Abuse at the Fed (2008). It may not be a coincidence that the Fed's Inspector General office contacted me about my book (5/19/2011) shortly after Congressman Paul announced his candidacy for president. Since the Fed's IG is appointed by the Fed's chairman, the IG's investigation of my book does not rule out a continuing cover-up to save the Fed's "urban legend".
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Follow Robert Auerbach on Twitter: www.twitter.com/prof2718
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-auerbach/chairman-bernankes-urban-_b_1014290.html
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Small Satellites Prompt Big Ideas for Next 25 Years (SPACE.com)
LOGAN, Utah ? There is big news on the small satellite front. From super-secret agencies and the U.S. military to academia and private firms, as well as world space agencies and NASA, ultra-small satellites are the big thing.
In sizing up "smallsats," there are a range of classifications in the less-than-500- kilogram department, be they minisatellites, microsatellites, nanosatellites, picosatellites, palm-size CubeSats, even the diminutive Femto satellite, weighing in at less than 100 grams.
Cornell University has begun to delve into a postage stamp-size "satellite on a chip" design, called Sprite, envisioning a swarm of these tiny probes exploring planetary atmospheres for organic compounds.
Call them a powerful force in the universe. Smallsats have already shown their ability to monitor disasters, study Earth?s environment and support agriculture, cartography and earth science missions.
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Passed the tipping point
Smallsats are part of the solution ? when they used to be a distraction, said Matt Bille, an associate with Booz Allen Hamilton in Colorado Springs, Colo.
So, what does this foretell?"The knowledge of how to make and use smallsats has passed the tipping point," Bille told SPACE.com. "It exists worldwide and has fostered a global generation of satellite builders and engineers. It used to be only a few organizations could build a satellite. Now, a smart teenager with a CubeSat kit and a soldering iron is a space agency. We?ve only begun to grasp the implications of that."
"What this means for the future is that use of smallsats and satellites in general will only increase. The proliferation of smallsat capabilities has unleashed the most powerful force in the universe ? human creativity," Bille said.
That was the message from Bille, joined by about 1,100 participants who gathered here Aug. 8-11 at Utah State University. The meeting was used to reflect upon 25 years of smallsat progress and what?s ahead ? a gathering of experts convened by Utah State University and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.?[7 Aerospace Technologies On the Road]
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Low-cost high-tech
Looking back over thelast few decades and gazing forward was Siegfried Janson, a senior scientist at The Aerospace Corp. in Los Angeles.
Janson flagged the onslaught of advances in micro- and nanoelectronics, microelectromechanical (MEM) systems, solar cell technologies, global positioning systems, and the Internet itself. Toss in for good measure personal computers, he said, stuffed with multiple processors, graphic cards, pepped up with more and more memory.
All that low-cost high tech has allowed small teams to blueprint, build and fly progressively smaller satellites with ever-increasing capacity, Janson told the audience.
Janson anticipates that there will be a wider diversity of missions by highly capable small satellites, like formation flying to create large but virtual antenna sizes to make possible enhanced imaging from space.
Collaboration
"Advancement of the technologies is no longer the primary issue," said Pat Patterson, chairman of the smallsat conference and director of the strategic and military space division at Utah State University?s Space Dynamics Laboratory. "It?s still the mission that matters. It has to give the customer some value," he told SPACE.com.
"It?s kind of all coming together," Patterson said, pointing to smallsat attitude- control devices, batteries and solar cells, new ways to beat the heat and cold of space, coupled with smaller, lower-costing launchers.
Collaboration is the key, said Doug Sinclair, owner of Sinclair Interplanetary in Toronto, Canada. He advised that universities building CubeSats need to focus on what they do best and rely on other groups to supply other resources.
"For instance, exchange a radio for a computer. Both groups end up with a CubeSat, but now they?ve got much better odds of succeeding," Sinclair said.
Common utility
As for what?s the future of smallsats, there will be growth, new missions, and new ways of working together, said Bille,expressing his own views and not speaking for Booz Allen Hamilton policy. "CubeSats are like the personal computer of this industry."
Hunsaker?s personal crystal ball predicts networked satellites with individual IP addresses controlled through the Internet and providing individualized positioning, communications, social and multimedia capability."Perhaps just like personal computing and cell phones that have common utility among individual consumers today, smallsats will also follow that trend," said colleague Tom Hunsaker, also an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton.
Bille concluded: ?The age of microspacecraft is on solid ground now. There?s a definite trend toward putting small things together to do big accomplishments.?
Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is a winner of this year's National Space Club Press Award and a past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society's Ad Astra and Space World magazines. He has written for SPACE.com since 1999.
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Wednesday 19 October 2011
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Police: Disabled victimized by theft scheme
PHILADELPHIA?? The landlord of the apartment building at first thought a circuit breaker had tripped when he went to the basement Saturday and found all the lights were out. Then he realized all six bulbs had been removed, and he heard dogs barking inside a boiler room, its door chained shut.
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He removed the chain, stepped into the dank, foul-smelling room and lifted a pile of blankets. Several sets of human eyes stared back at him.
Turgut Gozleveli had stumbled upon four mentally disabled adults, all weak and malnourished, and one chained to the boiler.
He may have also stumbled upon a vast scheme ? stretching from Philadelphia to Norfolk, Virginia; West Palm Beach, Florida, and Texas ? to steal the monthly Social Security disability checks of defenseless and vulnerable people, authorities said.
Philadelphia police on Saturday arrested three adults staying in an apartment upstairs, including the person accused of being the ringleader, Linda Ann Weston, who had been convicted of murder in a 1981 starvation death.
Detectives also found dozens of identity cards, power-of-attorney forms and other documents in the apartment, suggesting the theft scheme involved more than just the four captives.
"Without a doubt. This is just the beginning of this investigation," Lt. Ray Evers said Monday. "We think she's been doing this for quite some time."
How long, how much money the scheme brought in, how the disabled were deceived and how many people in all were victimized are still unclear, investigators said. The FBI has joined the investigation.
Weston, 51, was charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment and other offenses, with bail set at $2.5 million. Also arrested and jailed were the man she described as her boyfriend, 50-year-old Eddie "the Reverend Ed" Wright, and 47-year-old Gregory Thomas.
"Talk about preying on the weak and weary," Evers said. "You can't get any lower than this person."
As of Monday, the defendants did not appear to have lawyers. They couldn't be reached for contact in jail.
The victims, a woman and three men, were found in a crawlspace that reeked of urine and was too shallow for an adult to stand up. There were mattresses and blankets, but the only food found was a container of orange juice. The adults shared their space with three dogs.
Gozleveli called police, suspecting they were squatters, then watched as officers and ambulance workers helped them up the steps to the street in a working-class section of the city's Tacony neighborhood.
The victims, ages 29 to 41, had the mental capacity of 10-year-olds, along with some physical disabilities, authorities said. One could barely see.
Three of them ? Tamara Breeden, Derwin McLemire and Herbert Knowles ? told KYW-TV on Monday that they were mistreated by Weston, Wright and Thomas.
Breeden, 29, told the TV station that she was hit on her head and showed where she said some of her teeth were knocked out.
McLemire, 41, said he met Weston through an online dating service and tried to escape but didn't get away "so they got me."
Knowles, 40, was shackled to the boiler and said he was hit by one of the two men arrested with Weston.
Neighbors said the defendants and the basement captives had arrived in an SUV from West Palm Beach, Florida, about two weeks ago, though it does not appear the victims spent the entire time in the basement.
Danyell "Nicky" Tisdale, a neighborhood resident, said that about a week ago a man and a woman and four mentally disabled adults held a yard sale, selling piles of shoes, jackets and other clothing on the sidewalk.
Since the arrests, police have slowly and patiently been trying to elicit information from the captives. All four were treated at hospitals and placed with social service agencies.
Breeden had been reported missing by her family in Philadelphia in 2005, police said. One of the men also is from Philadelphia, and a second, McLemire, is from North Carolina. Their relatives were contacted. Police were having trouble finding family members for Knowles.
According to an investigative report obtained by The Associated Press, Knowles was reported missing in Norfolk, Virginia, in December 2008 after a mental health case worker couldn't reach him and family members failed to hear from him. The report described him as "slightly mentally retarded."
The case worker reported that Knowles' Social Security checks were going to a Philadelphia address. The report said Philadelphia police went by the address and were told no one there had ever heard of Knowles.
Knowles' government benefits were stopped after his mail was forwarded to Philadelphia, but Weston took him to a Philadelphia social service agency in 2008 and showed identification, and the checks resumed, Norfolk police said.
Norfolk police spokesman Chris Amos said police did not continue looking for Knowles because as an adult he was under no obligation to report to his case worker.
"It's not illegal to be missing," Amos said. "A lot of people are missing by choice."
Scam artists can get control of a disabled person's checks by visiting the Social Security office with the victim, who then designates the other person to receive the payments, said Nora J. Baladerian, a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles and advocate for people with disabilities.
Only if there is a report of suspected abuse would social service agencies enter the picture, she said.
In Florida, Weston and Thomas appeared to live with several disabled adults, including a man and woman who had bruises on their faces, neighbors in a poor section of West Palm Beach said. The woman also had what looked like a large burn mark on her face, neighbor Ronald Bass said.
He said that he often heard yelling, apparently from the disabled women, and that police frequently went to the house.
Another neighbor, Sadie Pollard, said she saw bruised lips and other facial injuries on the disabled people but was told they had been fighting with each other.
Weston was convicted of murder and voluntary manslaughter in the death of her sister's boyfriend. According to news accounts, Weston and her sister beat him and locked him in a closet because he refused to support the unborn child he had fathered. He died of starvation weeks later.
It was unclear from court records whether Weston served any prison time.
Gozleveli, the landlord who discovered the victims, freed the man chained to the boiler.
"He was just watching me when I cut the chain," Gozleveli said. "I asked them what they are doing here and how they got in. There was no communication. I asked questions, and I don't get any answers."
Philadelphia police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said: "This case is going to be going on for a while. We don't know how far it will extend."
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Associated Press writers Randy Pennell and JoAnn Loviglio in Philadelphia, Dena Potter in Richmond and Matt Sedensky in West Palm Beach contributed to this report.
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44926636/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
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Monday 17 October 2011
KC mom admits she was drunk on night baby vanished
FILE - This file photo provided Oct. 4, 2011, by the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, shows Lisa Irwin. Police and federal authorities have been searching extensively for Irwin who was 10 months old when her parents reported her missing on Oct. 4, 2011. (AP Photo, Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, File)
FILE - This file photo provided Oct. 4, 2011, by the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, shows Lisa Irwin. Police and federal authorities have been searching extensively for Irwin who was 10 months old when her parents reported her missing on Oct. 4, 2011. (AP Photo, Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, File)
FILE - This file photo provided Oct. 4, 2011, by the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, shows Lisa Irwin. Police and federal authorities have been searching extensively for Irwin who was 10 months old when her parents reported her missing on Oct. 4, 2011. (AP Photo, Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, File)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? The mother of a missing Kansas City baby said Monday that she was drunk when her daughter disappeared, may have blacked out and actually last saw the child hours before the time she originally told police she checked on her.
The revelations came hours before a New York attorney best known for defending Joran Van der Sloot, the Dutch man suspected in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba, said he had been hired to represent parents Deborah Bradley and Jeremy Irwin.
The couple reported their 10-month-old daughter missing Oct. 4 after Irwin returned from working a night shift and found the front door unlocked, the house lights blazing, a window tampered with and the baby gone. Bradley and their two sons were asleep elsewhere in the home.
Bradley told police she last saw her daughter, Lisa Irwin, when she checked on her at 10:30 p.m. But Monday, she told NBC's "Today" show she actually last saw Lisa when she put her to bed at 6:40 p.m. She gave no explanation for the modified times.
Bradley told Fox News that she got drunk after she put her children to bed that night and may have blacked out. Asked how much she drank that night and whether it was more than five glasses of wine, she responded, "probably." She said she didn't have more than 10 glasses. Bradley said she frequently drinks heavily at home but only after her children are safely in bed. She also said she takes anxiety medication and had taken a dose that day.
Bradley told NBC that police accused her of killing Lisa and she believes she will be arrested. But she also insisted again that she had not harmed her daughter.
"No, no ... I don't think alcohol changes a person enough to do something like that," she said.
She became defiant when asked on Fox News how she would respond to people critical of her heavy drinking while caring for her children.
"She was sleeping. You know, I don't see the problem in me having my grown up time," Bradley said. "I take good care of my kids. I keep my house clean, do their laundry. I kiss their boo-boos. I fix them food. I'm involved in their school stuff. I mean, to me, there's nothing wrong doing what I want to do after dark."
FBI agents used tracking dogs Monday to search the family's house, a home next door and Irwin's parents' house. They also drained a creek near Bradley and Irwin's home in their effort to find the child. There were no immediate reports of what, if anything, they found.
Police have said they have no suspects or major leads even after multiple searches of the family's neighborhood, nearby wooded areas, a landfill and abandoned homes.
Bradley and Irwin held hands at a Monday afternoon news conference where defense attorney Joe Tacopina announced he was representing them. Tacopina said it was natural for police to focus on the parents.
"The police have to start with the mother and father, they absolutely have to," he said. "They're the first people they should look at. But don't come to a conclusion because there's no other answers."
Tacopina refused to say who was paying him, only saying he had been hired to counsel their parents through the investigation. He insisted they "have nothing to hide."
"I don't recall in recent history anyone under this umbrella of suspicion be so open and forthright, warts and all, regarding the events," Tacopina said.
Bradley told NBC she is scared her arrest would essentially end the police search and Lisa would never be found.
"If they arrest me, people are going to stop looking for her and I'll never know what happened," Bradley said.
She also said her two sons, ages 6 and 8, say they heard noises the night Lisa disappeared, but she doesn't know whether they heard noises before they went to sleep or later in the night and she doesn't want them involved in the investigation. The boys have been made available to police for interviews, Tacopina said later.
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Friday 14 October 2011
Home Inspections When Buying a Home - 4 Points
There are several inspections that are carried on a property during the escrow process. Each serves to ensure that the house you buy is in good condition the point where you can see the house and where you get the title. House Inspector. Home inspector is the first to visit the facility. This is a person who has the most information on how property should be similar, if it is in good condition. If they see something broken, damage, or worse, who shall communicate it to you. If you get an FHA loan, you may need to be an inspector for the home, but even if you use something else to buy or borrow all the money, a home inspection should take, because it gives you a warning of what problems at home can be expensive to fix you need, when you own the property. Inspector pests. The pest inspector will be able to tell you if you have termites, insects, rodents, fungi or other property offenses, which could also be costly. When their work is done, they will give you an estimate of how much it will cost to get rid of parasites. Some inspectors home inspectors are certified and pests, so you can get these two jobs held by the same professionals. Final control agent. Before the building is closed, the review would take place, as well as representatives of the buyer and the seller. And 'interest in being responsible for your agent to represent you and make sure you are buying safe assets, and although often not in depth assessment of the condition of the property, they can see the problem, and if they do, will bring to your attention and store the file what they find in their files. Final Walk-Through. Now is the turn of the buyer to go through the house. This procedure is performed at the end of the right to escrow before closing so that the customer is the last chance to go through and make sure the property is still in the same condition it was the first time offered. If you find something that worries you, it would bring attention to the seller of the store, so that corrections can be made before the property changes. Assessment, even if it is a form of control, not really be considered a home inspection because it is made to find the value of the house, not the condition. Welcome to the Best South Florida Home Inspection, Inc. Our inspectors are licensed and insured home. We provide a detailed home inspection West Palm Beach home as well as on-site report. The next day, our clients receive confidential written report, including photographs and cost estimates. Our services do not work out of control. If you have questions about the review, we have available.
Tags: first time, South Florida, buying a home, buying safe, florida homeSource: http://www.212articles.com/home-inspections-when-buying-a-home-4-points/
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Thursday 13 October 2011
Wellbeing and Health and fitness Work opportunities You Can ...
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Wellbeing and Health and fitness Work opportunities You Can Attempt. Published by admin on October 12th, 2011 - in Uncategorized. The wellness care market is a multi million dollar sector that has a really broad coverage, ranging from ...
Source: http://wp7development.org/2011/wellbeing-and-health-and-fitness-work-opportunities-you-can-attempt/
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Monday 10 October 2011
An Introduction to Forex Trading ? A Guide for ... - Personal finance
October 8, 2011 ? Tagged with Finance Tools?
An Introduction to Forex Trading ? A Guide for Beginners
This is the Ebook version of the extremely popular ?An Introduction to Forex Trading ? A Guide for Beginners?.
A great reference book for anyone wanting to learn to trade the Forex (Foreign Exchange) Markets. It introduces a wide range of Forex trading topics, and condenses a wealth of trading knowledge into relatively short, easy to read sections. Includes useful examples, ideas and trading strategies.
The book has been written with novice traders in mind, but would equally be ideal for anyone who has recently started trading and would like to increase their trading knowledge.
Topics covered include: Forex Essentials; Analysing the Forex Market; Forex Charts; Technical Trading Techniques; Common Chart Patterns; Moving Averages; Indicators & Oscillators; Fibonacci; Trading Cycles; Advanced Chart Patterns; Time-frames; Trading Strategy; Carry Trades; and, Trading Systems.
?A great reference tool for anyone wanting to learn how to trade the Forex Markets?
?Just the right amount of information to get anyone started with Forex trading?
?A really useful Forex guide?
This is the Ebook version of the extremely popular ?An Introduction to Forex Trading ? A Guide for Beginners?.
A great reference book for anyone wanting to learn to trade the Forex (Foreign Exchange) Markets. It introduces a wide range of Forex trading topics, and condenses a wealth of trading knowledge into relatively short, easy to read sections. Includes useful examples, ideas and trading strategies.
The book has been written with novice traders in mind, but would equally be ideal for anyone who has recently started trading and would like to increase their trading knowledge.
Topics covered include: Forex Essentials; Analysing the Forex Market; Forex Charts; Technical Trading Techniques; Common Chart Patterns; Moving Averages; Indicators & Oscillators; Fibonacci; Trading Cycles; Advanced Chart Patterns; Time-frames; Trading Strategy; Carry Trades; and, Trading Systems.
?A great reference tool for anyone wanting to learn how to trade the Forex Markets?
?Just the right amount of information to get anyone started with Forex trading?
?A really useful Forex guide?
List Price: $ 7.99
Price:
Related Forex Products
You may also want to read...Source: http://www.netpeller.com/an-introduction-to-forex-trading-a-guide-for-beginners-reviews.html
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Friday 7 October 2011
Business Presentation Courses ? Helping You Succeed As a Project ...
Posted by Jamil-ud-din sheikh on October 7th, 2011
You might wonder why you need to enroll for business presentation courses if you are well versed in the technicalities of your job as a project manager. As a project manager you should have the ability to motivate a group of people to complete a set of tasks, and making business presentations is a great part of this. Unfortunately most people are dumb struck at the prospect of addressing a group of people, and that to in a clear and concise manner. If this is your situation then you will find it very difficult to get people to understand what you expect of them. In addition, you will also find it hard to convince bosses and clients about the progress of the project as well as your expectations unless you can develop your presentation skills.
There are business presentation courses that will enhance your skills regarding how to effectively lead a project. You will learn how to structure your presentations in the correct manner so that they convey all the information that is necessary. There is a correct format to a presentation that includes all information in a structured manner. In addition, you should also learn how to make presentations in a really good manner. You should be able to grab the attention of your audience right at the beginning and retain it till the time you sit down. You will also know how to deal with all sorts of questions from the audience without worrying about making a bad impression about yourself.
You will also gain a lot of confidence in your public speaking abilities once you get the correct input from the best presentation courses. You will no longer be afraid of standing in front of a crowd no matter how senior the audience members are to you. This will help you immensely at your work because you will be able to make teams of very different people work together to achieve a common objective by having the right communication skills.
The other advantage of attending business presentation courses is that your increased confidence will help you grab a variety of business opportunities that come your way. Your personal life will also benefit from this since you will be able to communicate better with all the people in your life. Identify the best possible courses you could attend because they will help you get rid of your fear of making presentations.
Learn how to impress a crowd by getting the necessary skills to make effective presentations. Visit http://www.icml.com.au in order to find out about the best business presentation courses available.
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Tuesday 4 October 2011
Reasons for Computer Renting and Leasing Compared to Computer ...
Reasons for Computer Renting and Leasing Compared to Computer Buying:
In our company we always face some challenges when a new computer is up in market. Every worker is talking about new laptops and their special features and at the end of the day every one feels like getting one of such of a laptop. But Young generation workers get it hard to decide whether they should buy an expensive notebook computer with their little salaries that?s when our boss came up with the decision of notebook computer leasing.
In this modern world everything can be leased out .Some people think that leasing and renting is left to cars and real estate and forget that they can also go leasing and renting of laptop computers. The best thing with notebook computer leasing is that you get a modern notebook that suites you. This could be hard when you decide to buy one because new notebooks with modern programs are always expensive.It doesn?t make any sense for you to buy a notebook every three months but with computer leasing you can get a new notebook after every 3 months. Many companies face a shortage of money when it comes to purchasing of computers to every individual in a company. Computers loose value quickly and for that matter one should consider leasing than buying. Like any machinery computers are vulnerable to depreciation which means that one will have to buy a notebook every year and that means that the company will be loosing a lot of money in buying a computer for every individual in the company. But considering buying computer to leasing, it can be cheaper to a company because after the elapse of the agreed period the computer will be returned back and may be given a new one or refresh the contract if the computers are still functioning to its fullest.
In this computing world it is on record that every other day new programs are manufactured and some computers that were purchased some years ago don?t have those programs. How will you manage to get a computer with new programs at higher price? Just go for a computer leasing and you will be relieved because this may not need the involvement of looking for a loan from the bank like the case of computer buying.If you are in a big company, you need to engage your accountant to determine whether the company should go for laptop computer buying or renting option. Low cost computers are found everywhere as long as one wants computers for secretarial work in their offices.Some sections of the company may need high end computers which may require the company to lease from out and if the company sees it right, it may go ahead and purchase them. So it is up to the company to sort things out.Depending on the size of the company, the computers shouldn?t be a burden. But suppose it is a small company that can manage its workers closely, then the decision of buying may occur. On the other hand when it is the big company with many branches in different places, the decision of rent to buy may be used .So depending on individual decisions, one could think of renting a computer or buying.
WHERE TO GET THEM? Almost all bigger computer companies like Dell, Sony, Toshiba and many others deal in notebook computer leasing .It is up to your company to contact any computer suppliers near you to see how the deal can be dealt with.For individuals, there are very many companies on the net that deal on notebook computer selling and renting. A company like Tigerdirect can give good deals on Laptop renting and leasing.
Twinomugisha Charles is a Retired Tour and Travel Guide in Millennium Tours and Travel Company in Uganda and now works with E-Office Management a company that deals in Computers and Computer Accessories. More of his articles about Computer Renting and Leasing can be found at The Computer Renting and Leasing Outlets and at Notebook Computer Hardware
Source: http://www.revoiced.com/reasons-for-computer-renting-and-leasing-compared-to-computer-buying/
Saturday 1 October 2011
Small Business Finance the Smart Way | Business Innovation
Are you a small business owner? If you are, you?ll know that running a small business is one of the most difficult things you?ll ever do in your life. You?re the company?s spokesperson, owner, founder, advertiser and investor. You are its inspiration. It is your livelihood and your passion. And like all passions it is all consuming.
It has you crunching numbers when you should be sleeping. It has you sketching out ideas on napkins in restaurants when you should be eating. But like any love affair the irritations are worth it. You know that almost nothing in your life can match the highs that your business gives you. So stick with it! Give your business all your heart and soul. But be sensible when it comes to your cash.
Business Finance.
Starting your business can be incredibly costly. Buying the machinery, renting the premises, purchasing the advertising space? well you get the picture, you?ve been there. You are also probably aware that the cost of kicking your business into life is so high it can affect your businesses ability to grow later on down the line.
You?ve established yourself as a great business; you know you have the ability to expand and to grow. But you just don?t have the cash to do it. But what is the best way to get that much needed cash injection? You don?t want to be taken for a ride. This is why you need to know about business finance.
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Small Business Cost.
The first thing to do when you start investigating small business finance is to look carefully at what you want to achieve. Having clear goals is one of the basic rules of success in business. If you are going to borrow money to support your business you must have a clear aim in mind. That way you can easily track the success of any investment and see how much, making your small business grow will cost. So, determine what you want. Are you purchasing assets, such as land or machinery, or stock? Or are you looking to improve your market position through advertising, or expand into new markets? Whatever you?re doing be clear about your goals.
Small Business Finance.
There are two types of small business finance available to you. The first is the more traditional and common form, known as ?debt finance?. This involves your company lending money from a financial institution, usually your bank. There are up sides to this deal, you get your cash and you keep all your business. You do have to pay more back than you borrowed in the first place, with the onus on you to repay as soon as possible.
However, if you have clearly identified a use for your money this should present no problem to you and allow you to expand quickly. This is why it is the route taken by the majority of small businesses. If you fail to pay back the money you have borrowed however the consequences are severe, as part of the agreement will involve collateral. Often, this could be your house.
A less common option is that of ?equity finance?. Ever seen the TV show Dragon?s Den? Then you?ll know what I?m talking about. Equity finance is when an investor gives you the cash you need and in return you give him a share, or a stake of your business. As the investor has no assurances, unlike the bank, he or she requires a much greater pay off if things go well. They want some of those profits! However if things don?t work out, you won?t be sleeping in the streets!
Your Future.
So there are plenty of ways you can offset your small business cost. Small business finance is easy to get if you pitch correctly and your business is heading in the right direction. Whichever mode of business finance you choose make sure you keep following the dream and your passion might end up making you millions.
Source: http://www.innovationnow.org/small-business-finance-the-smart-way
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