Keith Rabois, COO Of Square, Resigns After Relationship With Employee, Harassment Allegations

Keith Rabois, the chief operating officer of mobile-payment giant Square, stepped down from his position at the company on Thursday due to allegations of sexual harassment and the threat of legal action.

In a post on Tumblr, Rabois, who was an early executive at PayPal, said that several years ago he began a relationship with a man he met through a mutual friend. After dating for a few months, Rabois wrote, he encouraged the man to apply for a job at Square, where, after going through the regular interview process, he was hired. Rabois noted that he "had no impact on his potential success at the company," and the employee never reported directly to him.

Rabois said that last week, he and the company were threatened with a lawsuit that said the relationship wasn't consensual and "that only a payment of millions of dollars will make this go away, and that my career, my reputation, and my livelihood will be threatened if Square and I don?t pay up."

He wrote that the lawsuit accused him "of some pretty horrible things," but denies the accusations and said the relationship was consensual. He vowed to defend himself "to the full extent of the law."

Writing for Gawker, Cord Jefferson points out an interesting footnote to the story: In 1992, when Rabois was in law school at Stanford, he was accused of, and admitted to, yelling homophobic slurs at the home of a lecturer. According to a Stanford news release, he and two other students yelled "Faggot! Hope you die of AIDS!" and "Can't wait until you die, faggot" outside a lecturer's residence.

In a letter to the Stanford Daily, Rabois chalked up the incident as an expression of free speech. "Admittedly, the comments made were not very articulate, not very intellectual nor profound," Rabois wrote to the school paper, according to press materials from the university. "The intention was for the speech to be outrageous enough to provoke a thought of 'Wow, if he can say that, I guess I can say a little more than I thought.'

Square, which was co-founded by Twitter's Jack Dorsey in 2009, processes more than $10 billion worth of transactions per year and last summer was valued at $3.25 billion, according to Bloomberg News. Rabois joined the company in 2010 when it had only 17 employees.

Sarah Friar, the company's CFO, will fill in as COO while Square looks for a permanent replacement, TechCrunch reports.

According to The Wall Street Journal, a lawsuit has not been filed against Square or Rabois.

Read the full statement from Rabois on Tumblr.

Earlier on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/26/keith-rabois-square-resigns_n_2559017.html

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News ? Mobile broadband a key issue, says Communications ...

It is crucial that the UK maximises the value of its available spectrum, Ed Vaizey has claimed.

Speaking at the Oxford Media Convention this week, the Communications Minister said mobile infrastructure and connectivity are key issues for the UK at present.

He noted that 4G mobile broadband has a vital role to play in increasing access to digital services -? with EE already offering super-fast mobile broadband and other operators set to follow in 2013.

"The spectrum auction, currently taking place under the watchful eye of Ofcom, will set the ball rolling for the arrival of 4G in the spring from a choice of operators," Mr Vaizey stated.

"This will maximise the value and benefit of this scarce spectrum resource."

Ofcom is auctioning off spectrum in the 800MHz and 2.6GHz frequency bands, with seven UK companies competing for a share.

These include the parent companies of mobile broadband providers Vodafone, Three, Orange, O2 and T-Mobile.

However, Mr Vaizey commented that rolling out 4G "isn't enough" - as more ambitious targets are required.

He noted that spectrum has "many uses" and there is a real need for more to be freed up where possible.

"It needs to be used more flexibly; it needs to be allocated and re-allocated faster; it needs to meet the requirements of emerging technologies," the MP stated.

"In short it needs to support businesses to let them deliver for consumers."

He claimed the UK already has the world?s most ambitious programme to release public sector spectrum.

But the challenge is now to focus on mechanisms to ensure the UK has the spectrum it needs to meet the challenges ahead.

Source: http://www.uswitch.com/broadband/news/2013/01/mobile_broadband_a_key_issue_says_communications_minister/

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Monkeys stressed from longer foraging times

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Endangered Mexican howler monkeys are consuming more leaves and less fruit as a result of habitat disturbance by humans, which is forcing them to invest much more time foraging for sustenance and leading to increased 'stress' levels, as detected through hormone analysis.

The research, published today in the International Journal of Primatology, took place in the tropical rainforests of the Mexican state of Veracruz, which are being deforested and fragmented by human activity - primarily the clearing of forest for cattle raising. It shows that increases in howler monkey 'travel time' ? the amount of time needed to find requisite nourishment ? are leading to increases in levels of stress hormones called glucocorticoids.

These hormones are not only indicators of stress, but are also known to relate to diminished reproductive success and lower survival rates. Researchers believe the study could serve as a model for behavioural change and resulting health implications more generally in primates living in habitats disturbed by human activities, such as deforestation.

"Howlers are arboreal primates, that is to say they spend their wholes lives in the trees", said Dr Jacob Dunn from Cambridge's Department of Biological Anthropology, who carried out the research.

"As forests are fragmented, the howlers become cut off, isolated on forest 'islands' that increasingly lack the fruit which provide an important component of their natural diet. This has led to the monkeys expending ever more time and effort foraging for food, often increasing leaf consumption when their search is, quite literally, fruitless."

Fruit occurs in natural cycles, and the monkeys will naturally revert to 'fallback' foods, including leaves, when fruit is scarce. But as habitats shrink, and fruit is harder to find, leaves from second-choice plants, such as lianas, have increased in the Mexican howlers' diet.

While leaves may sound like a plentiful resource in a rainforest, many leaves are difficult to digest and can be filled with toxins - a natural defence mechanism in most trees and plants - so the monkeys are actually forced to spend more time seeking out the right foliage to eat, such as new shoots which are generally less toxic.

"The traditional view was that the leaves exploited by howler monkeys were an abundant food source - but this is not the case," said Dunn.

"The monkeys rely much more heavily on fruit than previously believed, and when turning to foliage for food - as they are increasingly forced to do ? they have to be highly selective in the leaves they consume, visiting lots of different trees. This leads to the increased 'travel time' and consequent high levels of stress we are seeing in these primates as their habitats disintegrate."

As trying to catch the howlers to examine them would in itself be highly stressful for the animal, the best way of evaluating stress levels in wild primates is by analysing their faeces for glucocorticoid stress hormones, which are general to all vertebrates.

Through statistical modelling, the researchers were able to determine that it is the 'travel time' - rather than the increased foliage intake - causing high levels of stress.

"Monkeys in disturbed habitats suffering high levels of stress is in itself unsurprising perhaps, but now we think we know why, the root cause from the primates perspective. Our results also highlight the importance of preserving and planting fruit trees - particularly those species such as figs that can produce fruit during periods of general fruit scarcity - for the conservation of howler monkeys? said Dr Jurgi Crist?bal-Azkarate, also from Cambridge, who led the research in collaboration with Dr Joaquim Vea from the University of Barcelona.

The authors say that further studies are required to fully understand the significance of increases in stress in howler monkeys living in disturbed habitats. "Determining the full relevance of our results for the conservation of primates living in forest fragments will require long-term studies of stress hormones and survival", said Dunn.

###

University of Cambridge: http://www.cam.ac.uk

Thanks to University of Cambridge for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126393/Monkeys_stressed_from_longer_foraging_times

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RNC Winter Meeting: Prelude To A Party Makeover

ABC News' Michael Falcone reports:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Last September, Democrats gathered in Charlotte, N.C. to see Barack Obama officially accept their party's presidential nominee for a second term.

Nearly five months later, the leadership of the Republican National Committee, state GOP chairs and party movers and shakers from around the country have descended on the same city - in the only swing state Mitt Romney won in November - for the RNC's annual winter meeting.

It comes as Republicans are still in the midst of assessing what went wrong during the 2012 cycle and what Republicans need to fix as the midterm elections and the next presidential contest loom on the horizon.

WHO'S IN CHARLOTTE? Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus, the top brass of the RNC (Political Director Rick Wiley, Communications Director Sean Spicer and others), GOP state chairs, executive directors and national committeemen and women from around the country - more than 160 in all.

Also more than a few Republican operatives and strategists like former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, who has stepped in to help the party re-tool its communications efforts, and party elders like Newt Gingrich who is leading a Thursday afternoon session on messaging.

"Think of Newt as a guy who saw firsthand where the party went wrong in 2012 and is working to make sure it never happens again," a Gingrich aide told ABC News.

THE BIG DRAW: BOBBY JINDAL: The centerpiece of this year's RNC's winter meeting will be a keynote address Thursday night by Louisiana governor - and potential 2016 presidential contender - Bobby Jindal. He is also the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, and he has not been shy about expressing his disappointment with some Republicans, including Mitt Romney, for their mis-handling of the GOP message in 2012.

"The Republican Party must become the party of growth, the party of a prosperous future that is based in our economic growth and opportunity that is based in every community in this great country and that is not based in Washington, DC," Jindal plans to tell the GOP leaders tonight, according to excerpts of his remarks.

Jindal is scheduled to deliver his speech at 7 p.m.

THE SOUL SEARCHING: After the November election, Chairman Priebus launched what he called the "Growth and Opportunity" project, which is an effort to chart a new course for the party going forward. The project, which is not complete, is split into eight subject areas, according to Bloomberg News' John McCormick:

Campaign strategy and ground game

Messaging

Fundraising

Demographics

Third-party groups

Campaign finance

The presidential primary process

Lessons learned from the Obama campaign and Democrats

THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: No small amount of Republican hand-wringing about Mitt Romney's loss last November has focused on the GOP's shortcomings in the area of technology and digital strategy. That's why it's no accident that attendees are getting lessons from representatives from companies like Google, Facebook, AOL and Eventbrite. And seeing an opportunity to take advantage of the concern that the party still lags behind Democrats in this area, more than a few Republican digital consultants are also on hand in Charlotte looking to network and make deals.

THE RETURN OF REINCE: Reince Priebus, the 40-year-old Wisconsin native who was elected chair of the party in 2011, did not preside over a period that saw a winning Republican presidential candidate, but he did lead his party out of a deep hole of debt - more than $20 million left by former RNC Chairman Michael Steele. And he's earned the respect of the vast majority of his fellow committee members.

He is up for re-election on Friday and is expected to win easily. Mark Willis, a little-known Republican National Committeeman from Maine and former Ron Paul supporter, has announced he is planning to challenge Priebus, but his bid is unlikely to go very far.

THE PERMANENT CAMPAIGN: Chairman Priebus plans to address the RNC meeting on Friday and one of his big themes will be about how Republicans need to stay on a campaign footing at all times.

"Simple outreach' a few months before an election will not suffice," Priebus plans to tell the gathering, according to excerpts of his remarks. "In fact, let's stop talking about 'reaching out' - and start working on welcoming in. Political support is cultivated over time - not collected on Election Day."

THE OTHER BIG THEME: DIVERSITY: It's one of the top buzzwords at this year's RNC gathering, and listed on the official agenda for the meeting is a strategy session on "outreach to African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics and women."

In his speech on Friday, Chairman Priebus will issue this call: "To those who have left the party, we want to earn your trust again. To those who have yet to join us, we welcome you-with open doors and open arms."

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rnc-winter-meeting-prelude-party-makeover-161714146--abc-news-politics.html

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Astrocytes identified as target for new depression therapy: Starry brain cells used to mimic sleep deprivation

Jan. 23, 2013 ? Neuroscience researchers from Tufts University have found that our star-shaped brain cells, called astrocytes, may be responsible for the rapid improvement in mood in depressed patients after acute sleep deprivation. This in vivo study, published in the current issue of Translational Psychiatry, identified how astrocytes regulate a neurotransmitter involved in sleep. The researchers report that the findings may help lead to the development of effective and fast-acting drugs to treat depression, particularly in psychiatric emergencies.

Drugs are widely used to treat depression, but often take weeks to work effectively. Sleep deprivation, however, has been shown to be effective immediately in approximately 60% of patients with major depressive disorders. Although widely-recognized as helpful, it is not always ideal because it can be uncomfortable for patients, and the effects are not long-lasting.

During the 1970s, research verified the effectiveness of acute sleep deprivation for treating depression, particularly deprivation of rapid eye movement sleep, but the underlying brain mechanisms were not known.

Most of what we understand of the brain has come from research on neurons, but another type of largely-ignored cell, called glia, are their partners. Although historically thought of as a support cell for neurons, the Phil Haydon group at Tufts University School of Medicine has shown in animal models that a type of glia, called astrocytes, affect behavior.

Haydon's team had established previously that astrocytes regulate responses to sleep deprivation by releasing neurotransmitters that regulate neurons. This regulation of neuronal activity affects the sleep-wake cycle. Specifically, astrocytes act on adenosine receptors on neurons. Adenosine is a chemical known to have sleep-inducing effects.

During our waking hours, adenosine accumulates and increases the urge to sleep, known as sleep pressure. Chemicals, such as caffeine, are adenosine receptor antagonists and promote wakefulness. In contrast, an adenosine receptor agonist creates sleepiness.

"In this study, we administered three doses of an adenosine receptor agonist to mice over the course of a night that caused the equivalent of sleep deprivation. The mice slept as normal, but the sleep did not reduce adenosine levels sufficiently, mimicking the effects of sleep deprivation. After only 12 hours, we observed that mice had decreased depressive-like symptoms and increased levels of adenosine in the brain, and these results were sustained for 48 hours," said first author Dustin Hines, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow in the department of neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM).

"By manipulating astrocytes we were able to mimic the effects of sleep deprivation on depressive-like symptoms, causing a rapid and sustained improvement in behavior," continued Hines.

"Further understanding of astrocytic signaling and the role of adenosine is important for research and development of anti-depressant drugs. Potentially, new drugs that target this mechanism may provide rapid relief for psychiatric emergencies, as well as long-term alleviation of chronic depressive symptoms," said Naomi Rosenberg, Ph.D., dean of the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences and vice dean for research at Tufts University School of Medicine. "The team's next step is to further understand the other receptors in this system and see if they, too, can be affected."

Senior author, Phillip G. Haydon, Ph.D., is the Annetta and Gustav Grisard professor and chair of the department of neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM). Haydon is also a member of the neuroscience program faculty at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts.

Additional authors are Luke I. Schmitt, B.S., a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience at the Sackler School; Rochelle M. Hines, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow in the department of neuroscience at TUSM; and Stephen J. Moss, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine and a member of the neuroscience program faculty at the Sackler School.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Tufts University.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. D J Hines, L I Schmitt, R M Hines, S J Moss, P G Haydon. Antidepressant effects of sleep deprivation require astrocyte-dependent adenosine mediated signaling. Translational Psychiatry, 2013; 3 (1): e212 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2012.136

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/mind_brain/depression/~3/fGdXlDKoKoM/130123093725.htm

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Timberlake to perform at pre-Super Bowl party

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Justin Timberlake will appear in his first concert in more than four years the night before the Super Bowl.

Timberlake has signed on to perform during "DIRECTV Super Saturday Night," held Feb. 2 in New Orleans.

The singer recently released a new single, "Suit and Tie," featuring Jay-Z, and will release new album "The 20/20 Experience" later this year.

The invitation-only concert also features Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of The Roots as DJ and will benefit the Shriners Hospitals for Children. It is co-hosted by Mark Cuban's AXS-TV.

The show will be held after DIRECTV's "Celebrity Beach Bowl," which features a performance by Pitbull.

___

Online:

http://justintimberlake.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/timberlake-perform-pre-super-bowl-party-190348917--spt.html

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Market Online Business With These Simple Tips | Web Design ...

Internet marketing is just what the name implies. Advertising products and services online. There are several types of online marketing, including search engine optimization, pay per click and social media marketing. This type of marketing makes it easier for companies and individuals to target specific advertisements to a defined audience.

The smart webmaster tests his website on as many platforms as possible. There are, at least, a half dozen different web browsers that render websites slightly differently, as well as, dozens of more less popular browsers. Wireless access adds more options for potential website platforms. When a website loads improperly on a particular platform, it represents lost potential sales, no matter how obscure the platform is.

When you get a customer on your site, it is important that you turn them into a lead. If your site does not accomplish this, then you will never be able to make the profit that you wish for. It is vitally important that your site attracts people and then persuades them to purchase your product.

Make sure that your website is cleanly displayed and easy to read. You don?t want your customers and people who are interested in you and your product to come onto your website, hoping to find out more information, only to not be able to read anything at all. Find colors that work well when it comes to website formats, to make for easy reading.

Making a successful internet marketing strategy necessitates knowledge of the different types of venues your target customers interact on then advertising on those venues. Do some research through Google or other search engines to see where most of the conversation around your brand is taking place, then, once you have identified a few key websites, contact the administrators to reserve ad space.

Pick a theme for the website and stick with it. People want to see a site that has organized content that makes sense. Become an expert in one field to prove that the information is coming from a knowledgeable source. Dipping into too many different subjects makes the site look confusing and messy.

It is smart internet marketing strategy to maximize the variety of payment methods the business website offers to its customers. Different payment systems have different costs. Research in the business?s niche will show which systems are common for the business?s products and these should be supported from day one. More unusual payment methods that come up through customer feedback, should be investigated and taken advantage of if they look profitable.

Avoid using the word ?buy? or ?purchase?. Instead, try using the word ?invest? more often. This will make your customers feel less like they are actually buying something, and more likely they are investing in something more worthwhile. The word ?invest? has a much nicer ring to it in the ears of someone wanting to spend money.

Use beautiful pictures and rich graphics to promote the products on your website. Make sure the images are crisp and clear and present an accurate, detailed representation of your product. Sometimes there is no substitute for a customer holding an item in the hands in order to make a purchasing decision, but fabulous pictures can often make the sale as well.

These tips should have given you some much needed insight on where to start and how to begin with your own internet marketing plan. These tips were thoughtfully compiled to help the new internet marketer learn the basics and some other cool techniques that are simple enough to use for their business.

For more information we advice you to look on Ppc services and traffic booster

Source: http://www.finding-the-time.co.uk/web-business/market-online-business-with-these-simple-tips/

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DuPont reports 4Q earnings dropped

DOVER, Del. (AP) -- Soft demand for a key industrial pigment and solar energy products, coupled with increased spending on growth initiatives, led to a sharp drop in the DuPont Co.'s fourth-quarter income.

But the results reported Tuesday still beat the consensus estimate of Wall Street analysts of 7 cents per share on revenue of $7.2 billion, according to FactSet. And the company forecast higher operating earnings for 2013.

DuPont's shares rose 83 cents, or 1.8 percent, to close at $47.82 Tuesday. They are still down 11 percent from their high for the past year of $53.98 set last May.

DuPont chairwoman and CEO Ellen Kullman said the company is stronger than it was a year ago, having recorded nearly 2,300 new product introductions in 2012, an increase of 30 percent.

"However, weakness in markets served by performance chemicals and electronics and communications provided significant challenges in 2012," she said. "We've adjusted our plans to meet the changing market environment and grow our businesses in a slow-growth world economy."

The Wilmington, Del.-based chemical and biosciences company reported Tuesday that its net income fell to $111 million, or 12 cents per share, for the last three months of 2012. That is down 70 percent from $373 million, or 40 cents per share, for the fourth quarter of 2011.

Revenue for the quarter was flat at $7.3 billion, with currency effects and portfolio changes offsetting a 3 percent increase in global volumes. Sales in Latin America grew 10 percent, with an 8 percent volume gain and a 7 percent increase in local prices. A 6 percent increase in volume in the Asia-Pacific region, was offset by negative currency and pricing effects.

For the full year, DuPont earned almost $2.8 billion, or $2.95 per share, on revenue of $34.8 billion. That's down from last year's net income of almost $3.5 billion, or $3.68 per share, on revenue of $33.7 billion. Sales volumes fell 2 percent.

DuPont said it expects operating earnings excluding significant items will range from $3.85 to $4.05 per share in 2013, up from $3.77 per share last year.

One-time items affecting fourth-quarter results included $135 million to resolve legal claims stemming from the use of DuPont's Imprelis weedkiller, bringing the total amount spent on Imprelis claims to $750 million.

DuPont chief financial officer Nick Fanandakis said the company was working to validate and resolve claims regarding damage to trees, particularly evergreens such as Norway spruce and white pine, linked to the weed killer.

"We want to bring closure to this as soon as possible," he said.

DuPont also recorded asset impairment and restructuring charges totaling $99 million, and a pretax gain of $117 million associated with the sale of a business within its agricultural unit.

The company's fourth-quarter performance was led by the agricultural unit, which saw sales increase 18 percent to $1.5 billion on 11 percent higher volumes and 7 percent higher prices. Full-year sales for the agricultural unit were up 14 percent to $10.4 billion on 8 percent higher volume and 6 percent higher prices. DuPont said sales of its Pioneer seeds benefited from higher global volume and pricing gains in corn and soybeans, while strong demand for insecticides and herbicides resulted in increased sales of crop protection products.

Agriculture remains a key focus in DuPont's growth initiatives. Fanandakis noted that of the 12-cent per share impact from fixed costs in the quarter, more than half was related to growth projects, specifically agricultural research and development and selling expenses.

Matt Arnold, an analyst with Edward Jones, said agricultural product characteristics such as drought-resistance and pest resistance require intensive research and development, even if it takes years to see the payback.

"We think it's probably one of the best places to be active in terms of R & D," he said.

Meanwhile, cyclical pressure in the market for titanium dioxide, a whitening pigment with a broad range of industrial applications, contributed to a 15 percent drop in sales for DuPont's performance chemicals unit, which saw pretax operating income plunge 54 percent.

While acknowledging the cyclical nature of the TiO2 market, DuPont officials said they expect demand will rebound later this year with improvements in the U.S. housing market and China's economy.

"This is a very strong business," Kullman noted. "It's a very strong cash generator."

DuPont said weak demand for photovoltaic products used in solar panels partly offset increased demand for materials used in smart phones and tablet computers in the most recent quarter. For the year, the company's electronics and communications segment saw pretax operating income, excluding one-time items, drop 52 percent, to $172 million.

DuPont officials said the photovoltaics market has shown signs of stabilizing but remains volatile because of overcapacity.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dupont-reports-4q-earnings-dropped-114658664.html

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Credit Agricole eyes up to 200 million euros in cuts: source

PARIS (Reuters) - Credit Agricole is working on a cost-cutting plan of 150 million to 200 million euros ($199 million to $266 million) through 2015 at its corporate and investment banking unit, a union source said.

The bank's management recently briefed unions on the planned expense reductions, reassuring them that there wouldn't be any new job cuts after the bank laid off 1,750 staffers last year, the source said.

"The management told us there wouldn't be any layoff plan," the source said, "but that there were expenses to be cut between 150 and 200 million euros, by 2015."

The plan is the latest sign that big European banks are having to resort to further cost cuts to try to boost profits as investment banking revenues remain erratic and retail and consumer lending are depressed by weak economic growth.

On Friday, a union source told Reuters that Credit Agricole's larger rival BNP Paribas planned to spend 1 billion euros over three years to pare down its business.

The Credit Agricole cost cuts would be found by not replacing departing employees, as well as unspecified cuts in the areas of real estate and information technology, the source said the unions were told.

A Credit Agricole spokeswoman declined to comment on the plan, which was first reported by newsletter Agefi.

Like other banks, Credit Agricole has been selling assets and streamlining its business to meet stricter regulations after the 2008 financial crisis. It was forced to take a 1.96 billion euro in writedowns on the sale of its Greek unit, Emporiki Bank, in November.

($1 = 0.7524 euros)

(Reporting by Lionel Laurent and Leila Abboud; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/credit-agricole-eyes-200-million-euros-cuts-source-095859738--finance.html

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Five people wounded at gun shows in 3 states on Gun Appreciation Day (Americablog)

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What Wi-Fi Would Look Like As a Physical Object

Wi-Fi's all around you. Chances are you're in the middle of a big blanket of it right now, as you're reading this. But what does it look like? Well, nothing; it's invisible. But if it wasn't it might look a little something like this. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/YC9ZyiiAanM/what-wi+fi-looks-like-as-a-physical-object

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Te'o among many victims of online wishful thinking

CHICAGO (AP) ? It started out a stunner: The Heisman Trophy runner-up had told heartbreaking stories about a dead girlfriend who didn't exist. Then it became unreal: The All-American linebacker said he had been duped, and theirs was a relationship that existed only in phone calls and Internet chats.

The reaction was predictable: Unbelievable. Couldn't happen.

People speculated he must be a straight-laced Mormon, naive and unfamiliar with modern-day dating hazards. Or he must be part of an elaborate hoax designed to bolster his image. Because no big-time college football player, beloved on campus and adored by millions, could have a girlfriend he's never ... actually ... met.

Yet even people who really ought to know better say what Notre Dame's Manti Te'o says happened to him has happened to them, and they believe it happens far more often than people care to admit.

"If we shake the tree, we would find hundreds of thousands of people falling out of the tree who are experiencing something like this," said Robert Epstein, a senior research psychologist at the California-based American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology.

It's just human nature, Epstein said, something known formally by psychologists as "confirmation bias." We watch the news that matches our political beliefs. We discount viewpoints we don't like. We ignore good advice and miss red flags, so we can continue believing in something we want to be true.

In Epstein's case, it was believing he'd made a real connection with an attractive Russian woman named Ivana he met online. In fact, she was nothing more than a computer bot someone had set up to respond to queries on an online dating site.

"A lot of people still make fun of me," he said.

Today's social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, make it easy to "meet" someone without ever doing more than chatting online or exchanging emails. The same tools that allow for such casual contact also can be used by impostors to create intricate personas that exist only on the Internet.

All of it simply makes it that much easier to delude ourselves.

"After a generation of kids growing up with Facebook and decades of online life, you'd think we wouldn't be so easily duped, but I think these people who do the duping are more inventive than people who use the technology," said Steve Jones, a communications professor and online expert at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

It's been happening since people first began mingling in chat rooms more than 20 years ago. In 2006, one mom in Missouri, Lori Drew, created a MySpace page for non-existent teenage boy so she could "romance" ? and strike back at ? a girl she thought was spreading rumors about her daughter. Humiliated, the targeted girl later killed herself.

"As far back as the 1980s, men were impersonating women, kids were pretending to be adults, and all kinds of relationships with non-existent or phony people flourished online," says Paul Levinson, a professor of communication and media studies at Fordham University, who studies social media.

Now, he says, "the rise of Twitter and Facebook have only made that easier."

Those behind Te'o's imaginary girlfriend, for instance, created more than one Twitter account for her and appear to have used photos lifted from a California woman's Facebook page to make it look that much more real.

"In retrospect, I obviously should have been much more cautious," Te'o said in a statement earlier in the week. "If anything good comes of this, I hope it is that others will be far more guarded when they engage with people online than I was."

Te'o has company. As Notre Dame rose to No. 1 in the AP Top 25, sport writers nationwide recounted the story of the heroic, grieving athlete who persevered on the field after a girlfriend named Lennay Kekua was diagnosed with leukemia. Te'o and his family provided them with plenty of stories about the relationship, and no one figured out it was fiction until Deadspin.com broke that news this past week.

In his first interview since, Te'o told ESPN he had lied to his father about having met Kekua. To cover that up, he apparently lied to everyone else.

"That goes back to what I did with my dad. I knew that. I even knew that it was crazy that I was with somebody that I didn't meet," Te'o said during the off-camera interview Friday. "So I kind of tailored my stories to have people think that, yeah, he met her before she passed away."

The fact is that many people don't like to admit that they find love online, let alone that they might be misled by someone they've met that way.

For a young woman in Chicago, it started last February when a potential love interest responded to a personal ad she'd posted in the Craigslist "W4M" section. They communicated for several months online, first by email, and then instant messaging and then online voice chat.

She sent him her photo. He delayed sending his, again and again, and put off meeting in person. He wasn't ready, he told her. It bothered her, but she was so taken with the ease and intimacy of their long, daily conversations ? about their lives and their jobs, their family and friends, even sex.

After this went on for eight months, he abruptly deleted his email and Yahoo Messenger accounts, the only means she'd had to reach him. She didn't even know his last name and wouldn't know him if he passed her on the street.

"It all sounds ridiculous when you're not immersed in the situation, but when you are, it's incredibly easy to get sucked in and not want out," said the 23-year-old, a young professional who shared her story on the condition of anonymity, still hesitant to admit how truly heartbroken she was over a person she'd never met in person.

Te'o offered similar details Friday, telling ESPN he never met Kekua face-to-face and when he tried to speak with her via Skype and video phone calls, the picture was blocked. Still, he said he didn't figure out the ruse.

After he was told Kekua had died of leukemia in early September, Te'o admitted he misled the public about the nature of the "relationship" because he was uncomfortable saying it was purely an electronic romance. Skeptics remain, including some young adults accustomed to making connections on the Internet and by text message.

"Maybe I'd be more inclined to buy it if he was an everyday 'Joe Schmoe,' but with his fame, I can't imagine it happening," said Jennifer Marcus, a 26-year-old New Yorker who blogs about dating and other topics. "To me it seems like he did it for sympathy, or maybe has a few screws loose like a ton of people in this world. People go to great lengths to fit in."

For the 23-year-old Chicagoan, her experience online hasn't led her to swear off using Craigslist and the OkCupid website to find dates. She has, however, started heeding the red flags she once ignored, she says, and cuts off communication with anyone who won't meet with her in person.

"I don't want my time wasted again with someone who isn't willing to give the same amount of transparency and availability that I am," she said. "I'm planning a third date with someone who is very much the person he claimed to be."

___

Online:

Epstein's article: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=from-russia-with-love

___

Martha Irvine is an AP national writer. She can be reached at mirvine(at)ap.org or via http://twitter.com/irvineap

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/teo-among-many-victims-online-wishful-thinking-161225803--spt.html

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NCAA Division I rules would ease recruiting restrictions

When people talk about the superfluous and sometimes nonsensical regulations in the National Collegiate Athletic Association?s 400-plus-page rulebook, one might first think of entries like the bagel rule, NCAA President Mark Emmert?s favorite example of overreach. That notorious rule, which Emmert has cited multiple times when explaining why he sought to deregulate the rulebook, stipulates that colleges may provide prospective athletes with bagels -- but not bagels with cream cheese -- when recruiting. The difference?

The former constitutes an allowable ?snack? under NCAA rules, while the latter counts as an impermissible ?meal.?

But the deregulation proposals up for a vote at this week?s NCAA convention are significantly less trivial than the bagel rule, with some experts suggesting that their (likely) approval would give the wealthiest programs even more of an advantage while changing the face of athletic recruiting.

On Saturday, the 18 college presidents who make up the Division I Board of Directors will consider 26 legislative changes designed to streamline the NCAA rulebook. The most significant shifts would allow for greater flexibility in recruiting by removing numerous restrictions on timing, frequency and forms of contact between coaches and athletes. Other rules would permit athletes more compensation for athletic-related expenses, eliminate restrictions on players' publicity and employment, and codify a new driving philosophy for NCAA rulemaking.

While the potential changes would undoubtedly simplify enforcement for colleges and the NCAA by scrapping regulatory laundry lists and leaving more decisions up to the discretion of campus officials, they could also put extra burdens on coaches and prospective athletes and expand the gap between the ?have? and ?have-not? programs.

?There are a bunch of rules in there that look like, at the very minimum, they?re going to benefit schools with a lot more money, with a lot more staff or better representation, right off the bat,? said John Infante, NCAA expert for the athletic recruiting website Athnet and author of the Bylaw Blog, which analyzes NCAA regulations and compliance.

The proposals are the recommendations of a Rules Working Group, one of the committees Emmert formed as part of his reform agenda to improve integrity, academic standards and financial sustainability in college sports.

?Some of our rules are counterintuitive, outdated and just unenforceable. They don?t make sense in the world we live in,? Emmert said in a press release. ?We are refocusing on the things that really matter, the threats to integrity, and the biggest issues facing intercollegiate athletics.?

To do that, the working group set aside the notion of ?competitive equity,? a guiding philosophy that sought to place all athletic programs on equal footing, and accepted that colleges with natural advantages ? or ?deeper pockets,? as the NCAA put it ? will use them.

So, some of the proposals could face opposition from the less wealthy programs. However, the board of directors will likely approve most, if not all, of them anyway. Per NCAA legislative procedure, colleges that oppose the rules will then submit override requests, and if enough institutions sign on then there will be an override vote, which could overturn the rules in question. (That?s what happened with last year?s controversial proposals allowing multiyear scholarships and up to $2,000 in additional financial aid for athletes, though the former didn?t draw enough opposition to be cut.)

Division II is also considering a smaller "ease of burden" package, whose three proposals would lift some recruiting and amateurism restrictions.

Proposed rules like 13-3 -- which would eliminate existing restrictions on how colleges can get in touch with athletes they are recruiting, ending bans on text messaging and remove limits on the frequency of other forms of contact, like telephone calls -- would give those programs that can afford it free rein to court star athletes all day from all sides, if they want to. That prospect might drive the leaders of smaller, less wealthy programs to spend more on recruiting staff and related expenses in hopes of snatching up some of those athletes for themselves.

However, the coaches who have to do the actual legwork might not be up to the job, for reasons both practical (recruiting is already a time- and energy-sucking activity) and philosophical (a big part of the reason these rules existed in the first place was to respect the privacy of students). "I'm a fan of where we're at right now," Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald told ESPN last week. "I do not believe the system is broken. I think we need to consider the quality of life for the kids and their families and the quality of life for my assistant coaches."

?As much as recruiting is the lifeblood of the program,? Infante said, ?most college coaches see it as a necessary evil rather than a part of the job that they embrace.?

But the NCAA isn?t making any apologies. In an entry on its website, the association acknowledged some institutions ?will be pressured? to adopt new policies to not be at a competitive disadvantage. But using rules to create a level playing field has resulted in too many regulations that aren?t ?meaningful, enforceable, or contributory? to the success of athletes, it said.

?The changes are intended to better define what fairness means in terms of eligible student-athletes, scholarships, the length of the playing and recruiting seasons, and the number of coaches,? the NCAA said. ?The new rulebook would require that policies be in place in specified areas, that they address key components or campus values and that they will be followed.?

The proposal that would have the most impact is probably 11-2, Infante said, which would ?eliminate rules defining recruiting coordination functions that must be performed only by a head or assistant coach.? That means any staff member could call, write to and evaluate recruits. But Infante was careful not to overestimate the potential impact of the rules changes, citing the multiyear scholarship proposal as an example: last year, programs panicked that the proposal would turn recruiting upside-down. (It didn?t.)

?[Some] could allow for more flexibility or ability to cut loopholes,? Infante said, ?but I think in general it?s just going to be allowing schools to do the same things they were, but do it in a clearer manner.? (Infante broke down each proposal and predicted the likelihood of opposition in an entry on the Bylaw Blog.)

The board of directors meets Sunday afternoon in Grapevine, Texas, to consider the following proposals:

• 2-1, which establishes the commitments that guide the underlying operating bylaws. This includes a commitment to fair competition, which ?acknowledges that variability will exist among members in advantages, including facilities, geographic location and resources and that such variability should not be justification for future legislation.?
• 11-2, which would eliminate the rules defining recruiting coordination functions that must be performed only by a head or assistant coach.
• 11-3-B, which would prohibit the live scouting of future opponents except in limited circumstances.
• 11-4, which would remove limits on the number of coaches who can recruit off-campus at any one time, the so-called ?baton rule.?
• 12-1, which would establish a uniform definition of actual and necessary expenses [to include meals, lodging, transportation and other competition-related expenses].
• 12-2, which would allow the calculation of actual and necessary expenses to be based on the total over a calendar year instead of an event-by-event basis. The working group recommended the calculation change for both prospective and enrolled athletes.
• 12-3, which would allow an athlete to receive $300 more than actual and necessary expenses, provided the expenses come from an otherwise permissible source.
• 12-4, which would permit individuals to receive actual and necessary competition-related expenses from outside sponsors, so long as the person is not an agent, booster, or representative of a professional sports organization.
• 12-5, which would allow athletes in sports other than tennis to receive up to actual and necessary competition-related expenses based on performance from an amateur team or event sponsor.
• 12-6, which would allow athletes and prospects to receive actual and necessary expenses for training, coaching, health insurance, etc., from a governmental entity.
• 13-1, which would allow schools to treat prospects like enrolled athletes for purposes of applying recruiting regulations once a National Letter of Intent or signed offer of admission or financial aid is received.
• 13-2, which would allow off-campus contact with recruits beginning the first day of junior year in high school and communication with recruits on or after July 1 after the completion of the recruit?s sophomore year in high school. [Currently, different sports have different dates on which contact becomes permissible; this rule would establish a uniform date for all sports.]
• 13-3, which would eliminate restrictions on methods and modes of communication.
• 13-4, which would eliminate the requirement that institutions provide materials such as the banned-drug list and Academic Progress Rate data to recruits.
• 13-5-A, which would eliminate restrictions on sending printed recruiting materials to recruits.
• 13-7, which would eliminate restrictions on publicity [such as press conferences for when a high-profile athlete signs with a program] once a prospective athlete has signed a National Letter of Intent or written offer of financial aid or admission.
• 13-8, which would deregulate camps and clinics employment rules related to both recruits and current athletes. Senior football prospects would be allowed to participate in camps and clinics.
• 14-1, which would eliminate academic regulations that are covered elsewhere and directly supported by institutional academic policy.
• 16-1, which would allow institutions, conferences or the NCAA national office to provide an award to athletes any time after initial full-time enrollment.
• 16-2, which would allow conferences, an institution, the U.S. Olympic Committee, a national governing body or the awarding agency to provide actual and necessary expenses for an athlete to receive a noninstitutional award or recognition for athletics or academic accomplishments. Expenses could also be provided for parents/legal guardians, a spouse or other relatives as well.
• 16-3, which would allow institutions, conferences or the NCAA to pay for other academic support, career counseling or personal development services that support the success of the athlete.
• 16-4, which would allow institutions, conferences or the NCAA to pay for medical and related expenses for a student-athlete.
• 16-5, which, except for Bylaw 16.6.1.1, would change all Bylaw 16 references to an athlete?s spouse, parents, family members or children to ?family member,? establish a specific definition of ?family member,? and permit specified benefits to such individuals
• 16-6, which would allow institutions to provide reasonable entertainment in conjunction with competition or practice.
• 16-7, which would allow schools to provide actual and necessary expenses to athletes representing the institution in practice and competition (including expenses for activities/travel that are incidental to practice or competition) as well as in noncompetitive events like goodwill tours and media appearances.16-8, which would allow athletes to receive actual and necessary expenses and ?reasonable benefits? associated with a national team practice and competition. The proposal would also allow institutions to pay for any number of national team tryouts and championship events.

Source: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/01/15/ncaa-division-i-rules-would-ease-recruiting-restrictions

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Guys on Girls, Season 2

Lena Dunham, Zosia Mamet, and Allison Williams.

Photo by Jessica Miglio/HBO

Kois: Can I borrow The Fountainhead?

Haglund:?Let?s not pretend,?Dan?I know you really want to talk about Girls. What did you think of the Season 2 premiere?

Haglund: ?There are so many guys in fezzes!?

Kois:?Which I didn?t mind, although if every episode is like this the show will shortly turn into, like, a network sitcom with asses.

Haglund:?In both senses.

Kois: What movie were they watching? I hoped it was Ishtar but I don?t remember that having musical numbers, exactly.

Haglund: Fezzes made me picture a Marx Brothers movie.

Kois: Time to launch a Slate Investigation.

Haglund: Maybe our commenters will have better guesses.

Kois: What did YOU think?

Haglund: I also worried it was drifting too much in the sitcom-y direction. It was very broad?the early exchanges between Hannah and Elijah in particular. ?I love living with you!? And so on. When Shoshanna showed up in their apartment, she didn?t even seem out of place.

Kois: I didn?t mind seeing Hannah happy?or at least fake-happy?for a little bit, though.

Haglund:?And I didn?t mind seeing Marnie sad. She?s becoming more complicated as a character?and Alison Williams has improved considerably as an actor. That was one of the main bright spots for me.

Kois: I agree! That brittle lunch with her horrible mom (Rita Wilson!) was pretty terrific?a nice counterbalance to Hannah?s sudden cheeriness. I love her mom?s total inability to understand how 30-year-olds talk to each other, even though she?s sleeping with one.

Haglund: There was also that brittle post-lunch with her horrible (and about to be former) boss. All the older women in her life are sleeping with men her age.

Kois: She?s like poor Lady Edith, except that instead of all the guys her age being dead from the war, they?re dating her mom.

But this is Guys on Girls, so let?s talk about the guys. There were a lot of guys in this episode. Ray is infatuated with Shoshanna. (I loved their Times Square kiss at the end.) Adam is stuck in bed and pining for Hannah. Elijah looks like Troy Donahue but can only get a boner for Lisa Rinna and Allison Janney.

And Donald Glover (as Sandy) is crazy about Hannah. I really liked our introduction to him?so meta! ?You wanted this and now you?re fucking getting it. It?s about fucking time.?

Haglund: ?I?m doing this a different way.? It was hard not to hear all their dialogue as being actually about the HBO show Girls, rather than each other.

Kois: It can be both! Levels!

Haglund: Yes. And that Fountainhead joke at the end was apparently a reference to Sandy?s conservatism, though we weren?t introduced to it during the episode, unless I missed something.

Kois: Wait, he?s a conservative?

Haglund: It?s revealed in a future episode, as Troy Patterson mentioned.

Did you buy Elijah?s fake bisexuality? I don?t mean, do you think he?s actually bisexual, because obviously he?s not. But did you buy him even faking bisexuality for any reason?

Haglund: I did, actually. Someone who couldn?t come out of the closet at Oberlin is probably fairly confused about his sexual identity. And that awful older boyfriend could make someone question pretty fundamental things.

Kois: But it didn?t seem like he was actually fundamentally questioning anything?it seemed like he was putting on a show. For Marnie. Why would he care what Marnie thinks?

Haglund: I thought it was more about feeling sexy and powerful. He wanted to seduce her. It was about his self-image, in other words, not about how he looked to her.

Kois: And then there was Charlie and *his* horrible girlfriend?and his muttered justifications. ?Women, right?? ?Love, right??

Kois: His hair is a big mistake.

Haglund: But his beard is spot on.

Kois: Agreed. What do you think about the Ray-Shoshanna pairing?

Haglund: I love those two. Though I had my doubts when Shoshanna reintroduced herself by saying ?OMG, this place looks amaze,? because, man.

Kois: At least she didn?t say ?amazeballs.?

Haglund: It?s only a matter of time. But I can buy that Ray is attracted to her, and she to him. And Karpovsky and Mamet are maybe the best actors on the show.

Kois: Agreed! Is it a step downward that we?re just talking about the characters and their various twists and turns as opposed to talking about how revolutionary the show is, etc.? Because I think it maybe bodes well for Girls that it turns out I actually want to know what happens to all these people.

Well, maybe not Thomas-John.

Haglund: That guy. Though Jessa was a breath of preposterous air as always.

And yes, I do think it?s a step down. Dunham & co. clearly decided to re-introduce all the characters and make their current places in life and relationships to each other readily apparent to the audience in a fairly conventional way.

On the other hand, like you, I did find myself interested by the end about where they would all go from here, and both believing and being intrigued by the decisions they made for each one of them.

I do worry about how they can possibly attend to all these storylines in 10 episodes of 30 minutes each. But I was won over again, despite the occasionally bumpy, expository awkwardness of the premiere.

Kois: It suggests the show has a future other than just taboo-breaking and sitcom-tradition-smashing. Anyways, my verdict: I liked this premiere! I came, you came hard, we all laughed.

Haglund: When you love someone, you don?t have to be nice all the time.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=028d6171b2fb4755dca05d7643bd4a3f

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'Biggest Loser' traps one team with junk food

NBC

One team faced a junk food-filled room after losing a trivia challenge on "The Biggest Loser."

By Ree Hines, TODAY contributor

Pizza, candy, ice cream, soda -- those aren't the usual items on "The Biggest Loser" menu. But as week three of the competition kicked off, the fat-filled, sugary treats played a major role in the game and served as a symbol of what the season is really all about -- the battle against childhood obesity.

The grownup contestants met in a room that some kids might consider a dream come true. Snacks lined the walls, sofas and gaming chairs filled the floor, and video games consoles and TVs took up much of the remaining space -- save for an area devoted to a trivia challenge. That's where the teams gathered to test their knowledge of the dangers of childhood obesity. It's also where they risked a major hurdle if they got those questions wrong.

In a twist on the traditional temptation challenge from seasons past, which often saw players forced to face their favorite foods during a one-time, nail-biting session, this time, contestants contended with a much bigger chance of self-sabotage. The team to lose the trivia battle would be locked in that junk food and distraction-packed room for the same amount of time that the average kid crashes in front of the TV each day -- four and a half hours. And that team would have to endure it every day for a week.

Therefore, it was important that they were all well aware of the staggering stats associated with this weighty epidemic (such as the fact that 60 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 10 already have one risk factor for heart disease).

At first the red, white and blue teams all seemed evenly matched in these matter, but soon Team Red broke away from the pack and White just edged out Blue.

Yes, that left Bob Harper's bunch doomed to the room for workout-free daily detention. But at least they were determined not to give into temptation. To illustrate and reinforce their commitment, they poured orange juice over the hot dogs, donuts and other concoctions to render them far less tasty.

As for the kid participants, Sunny, Lindsay and Biingo were all back home and ready to put their faces to some of those aforementioned statistics. For instance, during a visit from pediatrician Dr. Joanna Dolgoff, 13-year-old Biingo explained that his video game habit routinely takes up between 5 and 9 hours a day -- sometimes much more.

"I love video games so much that this one time, I sat down and played the same video game for 17 hours straight," he confessed.

The doctor helped each of the kids take one step toward getting on the right track by throwing out the junk food filling their homes.

Back on the ranch, the grownups faced their own troubles. For Cate, on the red team, that meant tackling a momentary emotional setback.

"I hope it was worth it, every terrible lazy day I had, every time I ate more than I should," she cried to trainer Dolvett Quince after a particularly tough workout.

Once the workouts were over for the week, all the teams gathered for the weigh in.

The blue team wanted to shake off the week-two curse that saw one player pull a zero on the scale last week and prove that the junk food room didn't defeat them -- and with strong numbers all around, they did just that.

For the white team, the goal was simply to stay out of last place. With only two players left, Jillian Michael's charges just couldn't take another loss. This week, they didn't have to.

That left Dolvett's reds in last place, and with no red line in sight for the first time this season, they had to vote one of their own out. It came down to the three players that only shed 2 pounds each -- Jackson, Lisa and Cate.

Despite her emotional breakdown and breakthrough, Cate was sent packing.

Do you think the red team made the right choice? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

Related links:

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Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2013/01/14/16515218-biggest-loser-traps-one-team-with-junk-food-treats-video-games?lite

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Boys Basketball: Union County basketball this week, Jan. 15

PLAYER TO WATCH Linden was dangerous enough with Cairo Brown at guard and Quadri Moore patrolling the paint. But the No. 8 team in the state got even more dangerous on Sunday when Cardinal McCarrick transfer Alonzo Hamilton made his debut for Linden.

The 6-4 junior averaged 10.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last year before making the move to his hometown team. He had 12 points in his debut as Linden defeated Union Catholic in the Investors Games at Kean University. With more reps under his belt, he'll be even more of an asset.

Coach Phil Colicchio praised him after the game, and he sees the potential there for an impact player, whether he's starting or coming off the bench. He won't have to be the primary option, which should make him that much more dangerous. With him in the rotation, Linden will be that much deeper and harder to beat.

TEAM TO WATCH
It was clear early in the season that The Patrick School was going to be one of the best teams in the state. But last Thursday against Linden, the No. 3 team in the state made it abundantly clear it might be in the elite class of squads.

Beating Linden? Impressive. Doing it in Linden's gym? Even more impressive. But to win by nearly 20 points? One of the most resounding victories of the early season.

De'Andre Bembry went off for 28 points, including 11 first quarter points to jump out to a massive lead. But even as he went scoreless in the second quarter, the rest of the team thrived around him.

With Roselle Catholic falling to Elizabeth on Saturday, The Patrick School took over the top spot in Union County. With the way its playing right now, it will be interesting to see how much farther it goes up the ranks.

GAME TO WATCH
Union is fresh off a big win over Roselle. Elizabeth is fresh off a stunning upset of then-No. 2 Roselle Catholic. But one team's momentum will be broken when the two squads face off in Union on Thursday at 4 p.m.

Several players are still getting into the swing of basketball after playing football for Elizabeth. Meanwhile Jaleel Chain is the main offensive option for Union.

Email Jeremy Schneider at jschneider@njschoolsports.com

?Download the High School Sports app

Source: http://www.nj.com/hssports/blog/boysbasketball/index.ssf/2013/01/boys_basketball_union_county_basketball_this_week_jan_15.html

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Using lysine estimates to detect heat damage in distillers dried grains with solubles

Jan. 14, 2013 ? Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) are a good source of energy and protein in swine diets. However, they can be damaged by excessive heat during processing, compromising their nutritional value. University of Illinois researchers have found that it is possible to assess heat damage by predicting the digestibility of lysine in DDGS.

Excessive heat causes some of the lysine in DDGS to bond with sugars and form Amadori compounds. The lysine bound in these compounds is called unreactive lysine; pigs cannot digest it. Lysine that is not bound is referred to as reactive lysine; pigs can use it for protein synthesis.

"Some sources of DDGS are heat damaged. And, therefore, the digestibility of the lysine in particular is poor," said animal sciences professor Hans Stein. "If you know up front that a particular source is heat damaged, then you can add synthetic lysine to compensate. But the question is, how do you know whether or not a specific source is heat damaged?"

To answer this question, Stein and his team predicted the digestibility of lysine in 21 samples of corn DDGS based on several different methods of analysis: total crude protein concentration, total analyzed lysine concentration, reactive lysine concentration as determined using the furosine procedure, and lysine to crude protein ratio.

After making the predictions, they determined ileal lysine digestibility in the 21 samples using cannulated pigs and compared the predicted values for lysine digestibility with results obtained in the animals. Results indicated that the concentration of analyzed lysine in the sample was a good predictor of lysine digestibility (r² = 0.849), but using the concentration of reactive lysine rather than the concentration of analyzed lysine improved the prediction accuracy (r² = 0.898). Using the lysine to crude protein ratio as a second independent variable in the regression equation improved the predictions. Researchers could not accurately predict lysine digestibility using the concentration of crude protein alone.

"The practical outcome of this is that you can't analyze only for crude protein. You will need to have some kind of an estimate of lysine or furosine to know if your source of DDGS is heat damaged," Stein said. "However, if the concentration of lysine or furosine in a given source of DDGS is known, the digestibility of lysine can be predicted fairly accurately."

The study was published in the Journal of Animal Science and was co-authored with Beob Gyun Kim and Dong Yong Kil, both former members of the Stein Monogastric Nutrition Laboratory at Illinois, and Yanhong Zhang of the National Corn to Ethanol Research Center in Edwardsville. The Illinois Corn Marketing Board and the feed company Agrifirm from the Netherlands provided funding for this research.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. The original article was written by Susan Jongeneel.

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

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/-uS59AJ36TA/130114111620.htm

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Fab Sale Roundup: GILT Baby & Kids, gDiapers and More!

Check out our roundup of this week's best mommy and baby deals.

Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/XKP5tQI8Mqw/

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Harvey Levin Picks NFL Winner -- PLAYOFF EDITION!!!

Harvey Levin Picks NFL Winner
PLAYOFF EDITION!!!

Harvey Levin is back ... and even though he didn't deserve to make the post-season, we're gonna let him take on the NFL Playoffs anyway ( ... because we don't wanna get fired).

This week's matchup is the Green Bay Packers vs. the San Francisco 49ers.

Heeeeeeeeere we go!!!

Harvey Levin: "I have several connections to Green Bay. First, I did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin, where the waterskiing was awesome."

"On the other hand, I have another connection ... because Evan's brother Alex went to the University of Nevada and played football on the same team as Colin Kaepernick.

"But here's the thing ... I'm just so-so on Alex ... so I'm going with Green Bay.

"P.S. I'm finally ready to let that whole Aaron Rodgers 'I won't wear the jersey even though I lost the bet' thing go. So ... go Green Bay."

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Vote Here For No Assignment Or Subletting Restrictions In Leases ...

A situation came across?our desk this week and we thought we?d work it into a piece about circumventing assignment and subletting restrictions. As we started to scribble some notes, we were forced to rethink some of the whys and wherefores of these restrictions in the first place. And, that?s the plan today, leaving ?circumvention? for later, probably next week.

As has been said here and elsewhere, a lease is a conveyance, more particularly of a ?non-freehold? estate in land. It has a limited duration and isn?t really an ownership interest. What is does do is give the tenant ?exclusive possession? of the land. And, by ?exclusive,? it means that even the landlord does not have any right to possess or use the land (or premises).

To Ruminations, this means that when a landlord says: ?I don?t want you making money from my property, after all it is mine, not yours,? its tenant should respond,? I?m not interested in making any money from your property, only from my exclusive possession of the premises.? After all, the landlord has absolutely no right to put anyone else into the premises during the lease term and the landlord doesn?t lose anything it hadn?t already lost once it agreed that its tenant had a five, ten or whatever year lease.

?OK,? you say, ?but it isn?t just that the premises are going to be occupied anyway, it?s that I picked ?you? to be my tenant.? That might be true in a small number of special cases, but in our experience that?s just not the case. In many, many cases, the landlord is thrilled that anyone who could pay the rent is interested in the space. It usually doesn?t matter whether it is Sally or Janet or Gaeta or Yosef. For small spaces, the tenant?s bank account rarely seems to matter. And, as readers will see below, financial tests for assignees or subtenants shouldn?t even matter.

What we are saying is that once a landlord has given possession of the premises to a tenant who has obligated itself to pay rent and maintain those premises until a given date, the landlord gets the benefit of its bargain no matter who is in the space. Of course, there are going to be rules of behavior for that occupant, but they aren?t dependant on the ?face? of the tenant. The original tenant remains obligated to pay the rent and remains obligated to see that the rest of the occupant?s?lease obligations are met. In fact,?when a tenant assigns its lease or sublets its premises, even more people are obligated to stand behind and abide by the lease?s requirements. That should be good for a landlord ? an unbargained-for advantage. Yet, landlords think they can restrict their tenant?s ability to pay the rent (by barring or interferring with their tenant?s getting sublease revenue or with finding someone else to take over primary payment liability) and?still insist that the tenant?remain obligated to pay.

When a landlord leases space, it rolls the dice as to whether its tenant will be able to pay the rent. Landlords make their guess based on the prospective tenant?s financial and operational ability and once a lease is signed, it?s just like bowling. After the ball leaves your hand, there is nothing you (think, landlord) can do to change the ball?s direction (think, enhance the tenant?s financial worthiness). You (the landlord) made your choice and the tenant is going to hit a lot of pins or go into the gutter, so to speak. A landlord can pick a 250 bowler who stays in that range or falls off a cliff. You can pick Circuit City or Apple (today?s darling). More often, however, if the space is ?sucking wind? many (most?) landlords will grab anyone short of someone on the wrong side of life support.

What does this all mean? Here?s what Ruminations is thinking. Tenants have committed to paying rent for the premises no matter whether they need the space any longer or not. You can call it ?exclusive possession,? but what it really means is that a tenant has exclusive control over the premises during the lease term. It never seems to matter if the tenant runs its business ?hands on? by showing up every day or hires people to do that work. Why should it matter if the tenant ?hires? a whole company to operate a business within its premises? No landlord asks its tenant: ?How do you pay the people who run your business?? Why should a landlord tell someone who has committed to pay rent for ten years that it, the tenant, can?t let someone else run the business within the premises? That ?someone else? could be an employee or an assignee or a subtenant.

Now, we know this is getting some readers a little hot under the collar. Some will say, ?But, I made my deal with ?you.? I expected to see ?you? in the premises.? No, they didn?t; in almost all cases, they only really expected ?you? to pay the rent. And, in the case of a sublease, that very same ?you? will continue to pay the rent. In the case of assignment, that very same ?you? is in the role of a guarantor of the rent. In fact, the landlord is never worse off when it comes to financial security; it can only be better off following an assignment or even a subletting. In the case of an assignment, even if the assignee?s net worth is only a dollar, the landlord now has one dollar more of net worth behind the rent than it had immediately before the assignment. In the case of a subletting, its tenant now has its own net worth PLUS the ability to go after its subtenant?s net worth.

None of this is to say that a landlord doesn?t have a legitimate right as to things like tenant mix or to insist that a lease include provisions setting behavior rules for whoever might be in the premises, such as hours of operation or tenant parking. But, we don?t thing that the name over the door matters all that much (and rarely ever in other than retail projects) and certainly don?t think that the ?face? of the actual occupant matters at all. That?s not to say that a familiar trade name might not be important, but there is an irony there as well. The better known the trade name or ?flag,? the less likely it is that the lease will have many transfer restrictions. Often, the best a landlord can do with a strong bargaining power tenant is to restrict ?free transferability? to regional or national tenants. That means that the most onerous assignment and subletting restrictions are found in leases with tenants the initial identity of whom mattered the least when the lease was signed.

Today?s blog posting is intentionally open ended, with no attempt to answer every objection that could be raised. That?s because we?d like to open a dialog, not about how thing are being done, but about the logic behind what we all put in our leases. Help us with this project by posting your comments just under the title to this posting. You can click on ?Leave a Comment? or on ?Comments,? whichever you see.

Source: http://www.retailrealestatelaw.com/2013/01/vote-here-for-no-assignment-or-subletting-restrictions-in-leases/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=vote-here-for-no-assignment-or-subletting-restrictions-in-leases

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