FL: Restaurant workers targeted in expansion of union's activities ...

By Marianela Toledo | Florida Watchdog

SICK TIME: Unions and activist groups are pushing legislation that would require small businesses to provide paid sick time. Businesses say they can?t handle the financial strain.

MIAMI ? The latest battle brewing across Florida centers on?controversial county ordinances that would require employers to offer paid sick time, a move that would increase costs for small businesses still hurting in this severe recession.

In?Orlando, Citizens for a Greater Orange County?collected enough signatures to have the question placed on the November ballot. If voters pass it, all businesses within Orange County with 15 or more employees must provide paid sick leave.

However, opponents, including the?Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce, Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association?and Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando,?filed a complaint asking the?Orange County Circuit Court?for an injunction to stop the ballot initiative.

Miami-Dade County commissioners are set to decide on a similar proposed ordinance next month.

Unions and activist groups have rallied around the issue, but critics say this will increase burdensome regulations for small businesses.

At the federal and state levels, no laws require employers to provide paid sick leave to employees.

HERRLE: ?We want this issue to be addressed in Tallahassee as a single statewide policy.?

?There are over 300 governments in Florida between cities and counties, and if we would have 300 different policies on this issue, that would be a nightmare,? said?Bill Herrle, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses in Florida. ?We represent about 10,000 businesses around the state, and what they don?t want is a local ordinance about this issue. We want this issue to be addressed in Tallahassee as a single statewide policy.?

He added that a small restaurant owner in one town shouldn?t?have different regulations from one 10 miles down the road, adding to business uncertainty and burdening small businesses.

If passed on Nov. 20, the Miami-Dade County ordinance would affect 45 percent of local workers and 88 percent of workers in the?restaurant?industry, which is the?third-largest private sector business in the?Miami-Dade?region, directly employing over 70,000 workers,?according to the?Miami Herald.

Unlike Florida, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have laws that require certain employers to provide paid sick leave. In response to this law, some employers in San Francisco have cut vacation benefits to offset the increased costs associated with sick leave for full- and part-time employees, according to Bloomberg News.

The Orange County sick leave initiative is estimated to cost businesses between $69.2 million and $82.3 million each year, according to a study by William Seyfried, professor of economics at Rollins College in Winter Park.

Other key findings in his study point to a greater impact on small businesses, estimating that 40 percent of employees will lose similar benefits to pay for the measure, and 54 percent of businesses will see their annual profits reduced.

Florida Watchdog tried to reach the Greater Chamber of Commerce in Miami, but it said it is not ready to take a position on this issue at this time.

ORGANIZE: The Restaurant Opportunities Center is backing an effort to offer sick time pay for food service employees

A report titled ?Backed into the Corner,? released in August by the?Restaurant Opportunities Center?of Miami and the?Miami-Dade Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces,?has been presented as the greatest evidence for why the measure should be adopted.

The report concludes that workers feel pressured to work while sick, afraid of not being paid during their absence.

?In this economy, we need to make sure that people can afford to stay home when they or a loved one are sick without fear that they?ll fall behind on bills or lose their job,? Commissioner?Barbara Jordan,?who introduced the bill, told the?Huffington Post.??No working person in Miami-Dade should be forced to choose between their family?s economic security and their family?s health.?

Capitol reporter?Will Patrick, of the?James Madison Institute, a nonprofit free-market think thank based in Tallahassee, said there is sufficient cause for concern that labor organizations?? led and financed by out-of-state groups?? may be trying to maneuver around right-to-work laws and unionize Florida?? one area at a time.

?One way that labor organizations and their political allies are maneuvering around such laws in Florida?? soon to be the nation?s third most populous state?? is through non-unionized activism and workforce centers,? he wrote in Capitol Vanguard.

?Jobs with Justice,?Organize Now?and the?Restaurant Opportunities Center?are just a few of the groups currently working a ground game in Florida to train and mobilize workers as labor activists, particularly in the restaurant and retailing industries.?

Contact Marianela Toledo at?toledo.marianela@gmail.com

Source: http://watchdog.org/59986/fl-restaurant-workers-may-be-targeted-to-expand-unions-activities-in-florida/

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GRD Football Night | Granville Recreation District

Posted on October 8th, 2012 by Lara

The Granville Recreation District?s Tackle and Flag Football (3^rd-6^th) teams and Cheerleader (3^rd-6^th) squads have been invited to attend a Granville High School Football game. Head Football coach, JR Wait, would like you to come to cheer on the Blue Aces and be recognized at half time for participating in the GRD football and cheerleading programs.

Players will be admitted free of charge to the game by wearing their team shirt/uniform. ?Parents and siblings will need to pay at the door.

Varsity Football Game is Friday, October 12th.? Game beginning at 7:30 PM.? The players will be recognized at half time.

Thanks for supporting your Granville High School athletes!? Have a fun evening.

Grant Willis, Football Commissioner

Source: http://www.granvillerec.org/2685/grd-football-night/

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As Online Retailers Launch Vendor Financing, Is Apple Credit Corp ...

As we have been saying for over a year now, there are two key issues (one of which follows logically from the other) that central bankers are banging their heads against: the increasing scarcity of money good-assets, i.e., credible collateral, that can be pledged in exchange for debt at both the private and public level, and the collapsing cash flows at the corporate and household level (both incidentally direct artifacts of ubiquitous central planning and central banker intervention). This, among various other reasons chief among which is the parallel collapse in CapEx and R&D spending at the corporate level, is the main reason for the now secular decline in corporate revenues, which in turn will impact corporate profitability for years to come (now that the easy cost cuts have been made and firms have no choice but to cut into the muscle), and why any expectations that currency dilution will transform into higher profits in a time when input costs rise far more aggressively than revenues, are merely pipe dreams, as is the market's obsession with expanding PE multiples. Perhaps the best confirmation that the much needed cash flows continue to not materialize, is the news that first Amazon, and now Google, are slowly migrating to a model of vendor financing, whereby they provide credit to their product and service vendors to stimulate top line growth. And while this may boost AMZN and GOOG stock price briefly, all it indicates is what we have all know for a long time: the US consumer is once again tapped out, and is unwilling and/or unable to spend money at the rate needed to justify either the forecast S&P earnings or the applied multiple, confirming fundamentals are even more disjointed from market surreality than previously expected.

From the FT:

Google is getting into the credit business for the first time, with the launch on Monday of a programme in the UK to finance purchases of its search advertising by businesses.
?
The move marks the opening of a new front in the battle between the biggest internet companies, as they turn to their balance sheets as a source of competitive advantage. Amazon said last week that it had begun making loans to independent sellers that offer their products on its marketplace, marking the online retailer?s first move into financial services.

Google?s decision to issue its own credit card, which will also be made available in the US within weeks and other unspecified countries later, signals the company?s first attempt to use its huge cash reserves to support its core search advertising business by subsidising low-interest rate credit lines.
?
It said it would offer customers credit of between $200 and $100,000 a month to pay for their use of Adwords, which places messages next to the results in its search engine and made up the bulk of its $37bn in advertising revenues last year.

Where it gets downright scary however, is the admission of Google's Treasuer for the reason why Google is entering the crediting business:

?They weren?t buying Adwords as much as they need to,? said Brent Callinicos, Google?s treasurer. A pilot lending programme begun in the US a year ago had led to customers advertising more, he added.

Or, stated differently, we have crossed the IRR threshold where without Google's model no longer generates the rate of return our shareholders demand of it. The same shareholders who recently pushed Google to its all time high price and who are perfectly oblivious to this very disturbing dynamic below the otherwise shiny surface.

As for Amazon's endless "diversification" strategy, no surprise there. The one time retailer, which is now into video streaming, cloud sharing, stock exchanging, who knows what else and recently entered the real estate business, has been desperate to expand into something, anything, that will boost its meager profitability, so far without success. The time to experiment may have now run out, since AMZN now too has to provide debt to lever up its "vendors":

Amazon also indicated that its lending was aimed at credit-starved
businesses that would otherwise struggle to finance initiatives such as
expanding the inventory of products they sold on its site.

?We?re
providing a solution to a problem that is vexing many sellers,? Amazon
said. ?A lack of access to cash can inhibit their growth.?

What is left unsaid, is that a lack of cash will lead to a lack of transactions, and a lack of commissions which will immediately crash AMZN's already razor thin margins.

Finally, the admission that corporate cash now has to be used to fund the lowest possible returning IRR project, where discharges and bad loans will soon galore as the ongoing depression once again strikes with a vengeance, in the process crippling long-term profitability prospects, will not be easy to extract. Instead we get spin:

Google executives did not rule out going deeper into financial services with the provision of more lending products to the small and medium-sized businesses that make up the bulk of its 1m search advertising customers, though they said the company was not planning any moves at present.

?

?We are helping them, uniquely, with online marketing ? we aren?t going into a finance business as Google,? said Francoise Brougher, vice-president of sales and operations for small and medium businesses at Google.

Of course not. For now. Because suddenly those massive growth multiples will have to be dramatically readjusted, not to mention starting to value online "retailers" as... banks?

Which finally brings us to the topic of Apple, and its Braeburn hedge fund, which for the time being is allocating its $120+ billion cash stash for safe purposes. How long before shareholders demand a boost to ROEs and insist that Apple pull an AMZN and/or GOOG, and launch Apple Credit Corp, providing credit cards that can only be used to purchase AAPL products?

If we were betting people we would say 3-6 months...

P.S. the currently offered Barclaycard financing option for Apple product purchases is not the same, as the balance sheet risk lies with Barclays, not with Apple's balance sheet. Soon that will change.

Average:

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Source: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-08/online-retailers-launch-vendor-financing-apple-credit-corp-imminent

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Fighting spreads in Aleppo's walled city, Syria's cultural jewel

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Fires that gutted a vast historic market have broken out in other areas of the Old City of Aleppo, a world heritage site, as rebels and government forces fight for the ancient heart of Syria's biggest city, opposition activists said on Monday.

The rebels last week announced a fresh attempt to seize the wider city, home to 2.5 million people, which was until July firmly under the control of President Bashar al-Assad.

With government forces holding the large medieval citadel in the heart of the Old City, the fighting that has already claimed more than 30,000 lives across Syria seems certain to destroy more cultural treasures too.

"Rebels control more that 90 percent of the Old City now," said Ameer, an opposition activist working with rebel brigades.

But he said they were struggling to hold their positions under heavy artillery fire.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists across Syria, said at least 100 people had been killed countrywide on Monday, including 18 members of the security forces in an ambush on a convoy heading from the central city of Homs to the eastern desert town of Palmyra.

In Aleppo, Ameer said rebels still held the Souk al-Madina, a covered market of 13 km (8 miles) of vaulted stone alleyways and carved wooden facades, once a major tourist attraction.

Fires that damaged more than 1,500 shops had been put out, he said, but new fires had now broken out in the Old City's Zahrawi, Aqaba and Bab Al Nasr markets. Plumes of black smoke were rising from many districts, and gunfire could be heard.

The rebels are sensitive to suggestions that they might have brought the conflict to one of Syria's greatest historical and commercial centers. Aleppo was once the last stop before Europe for traders plying the ancient Silk Route from Asia.

"It's urban warfare. I cannot blame any side specifically for the fires," Ameer said over Skype.

"POISON OF TERRORISM"

The 18-month-old uprising-turned-civil war has pitted Assad's minority Alawite sect against rebels who are mostly from the Sunni majority, stirred sectarian tensions in the Middle East and divided world powers.

In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem accused the United States, France and the mostly Sunni Muslim Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey of supporting terrorism by providing arms and money to rebels, and said their calls for Assad to step down were "blatant interference".

All the five countries have denied arming the rebels, although some have given logistical support such as communications equipment. However, Gulf sources told Reuters in July that Turkey had set up a secret base with Saudi Arabia and Qatar to direct military and communications aid to the rebels.

In talks with Moualem, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "raised in the strongest terms the continued killings, massive destruction, human rights abuses, and aerial and artillery attacks committed by the government", Ban's spokesman said.

Assad has painted Syria's uprising as a Sunni Muslim conspiracy, which many Syrians say is a tactic to deter minority groups from joining the revolt. Revenge attacks are common.

The Observatory said Mohammad al-Assad, a prominent founder of the 'shabbiha' groups, which started life as smuggling networks in the 1980s and have developed into pro-Assad militias, was severely wounded at the weekend.

It said Assad, a relative of the president known as the Sheikh of the Mountain, had been shot in a row about smuggling revenues in the family hometown of Qurdaha in the Alawite mountains.

Other activists said the fighting had been triggered by some Alawite families' fear of being dragged into a sectarian war. A visitor to the area said roads had been blocked on Sunday.

CYCLE OF DESTRUCTION

Syria's uprising has developed its own cycle of destruction. When rebel fighters - lightly armed and low on ammunition - push forward, government forces respond with artillery until fighters and civilians are flushed out and the army can move in.

But the rebels often sneak back, and the cycle restarts, suggesting bleak prospects for Aleppo's Old City, where the weekend's fires came close to the Great Mosque, parts of which are a thousand years old.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said that, as a signatory to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, Syria was obliged to safeguard its heritage from the ravages of war.

"The human suffering caused by this situation is already extreme," she said in a statement. "That the fighting is now destroying cultural heritage that bears witness to the country's millenary history - valued and admired the world over - makes it even more tragic."

A visitor to the Old City, who asked not to be named, said the fires, which started on Saturday, were a side effect of the fighting in the covered market, famous for its silks.

"An electrical fire started during clashes and spread quickly," he said, adding that several rebel groups, including those from the most prominent Tawheed Brigade, were involved in the rebel advance, which has had only marginal success.

UNESCO believes that five of Syria's six world heritage sites have already been damaged. The other sites include the ancient desert city of Palmyra, the Crac des Chevaliers crusader fortress and parts of old Damascus.

(Additional reporting by Dominic Evans in Beirut and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fighting-spreads-aleppos-walled-city-syrian-cultural-jewel-112850643.html

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Bill and Giuliana Rancic Will Show Their Baby's Birth | Famecrawler

Bill and Giuliana Rancic.

Proud new parents are often eager to share everything with the world, from the official birth announcement to the video of baby?s first steps.

So it is with Giuliana and Bill Rancic. Ever since the birth of their son, Edward Duke, they?ve been sharing photos and talking to interviewers about the sheer joy of being parents after so many long and frustrating years.

Now they?re taking the sharing a step further. Giuliana tells the Chicago Sun-Times Sunday magazine Splash that they?ll be airing their home footage of Duke?s birth on the upcoming season of their reality show, Giuliana & Bill.

The couple had previously decided that they wanted the birth to stay personal. They told the Style Network not to send their cameras into the Denver delivery room when their gestational surrogate, Delphine, went into labor. But Giuliana and Bill did bring their own video camera to capture the miraculous moment.

And now that a month has passed, they?ve reconsidered their decision.

?This is our sixth season and people have followed our story for years,? Giuliana tells the magazine.

?To have people praying for you and supporting you and wanting the best for you and wanting you to have this baby so badly, and then to say, ?Thanks for all your prayers, thanks for your support, we?re not showing the baby.? That?s wrong.? So they gave their own footage to the producers.

But there?s lots more for Giuliana & Bill fans to see before the birth episode airs. The new season, which starts Tuesday, will also feature Giuliana?s baby shower, her coverage of the Olympics in London, the couple?s search for a larger house and their hunt for just the right nanny for little Duke.

The Rancic family has been spending time in Chicago while Bill supervises the opening of his new restaurant. Soon, they?ll be packing up again and traveling back to Los Angeles to settle into their new home.

What do you think? Are you glad Giuliana and Bill are sharing the birth video?

[Photo: via PacificCoastNews]

More from Shana:

Drop Dead Gorgeous! Amy Adams Goes Shopping With Her Family

Jessica Alba and Family Have Lunch in L.A.

Family Day! Heidi Klum and Her Boyfriend Go to the Park With Her Kids

Kristin Cavallari Can?t Wait to Be a Mom Again!

Kim vs. Kourtney: The Kardashians Go Dragon Boat Racing

Read more of Shana?s writing at Momsperiments.

And don?t miss a post! Follow Shana on Twitter!

Don?t miss the latest from Famecrawler ? like our Facebook page!

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/famecrawler/2012/09/30/giuliana-rancic-baby-dukes-birth-will-be-televised/

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Afghan 'inside' attack puts U.S. troop deaths at 2,000

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? An apparent insider attack by Afghan forces has killed a U.S. service member and a foreign civilian contractor with NATO, officials said Sunday. The shooting ?the latest in a string of attacks on international troops by their Afghan allies ? marked the 2,000th U.S. troop death in Afghanistan over the long-running conflict.

A U.S. official confirmed that the service member killed was American. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the nationality of the dead had not yet been formally announced.

At least two Afghan soldiers were also killed in Saturday's attack at an Afghan army checkpoint in Wardak province, said Shahidullah Shahid, a provincial government spokesman.

An Afghan soldier turned his gun on the Americans and started shooting, Shahid said. He said the checkpoint was in Sayd Abad district, just outside a joint U.S.-Afghan base.

"Initial reports indicate that a misunderstanding happened between Afghan army soldiers and American soldiers," Shahid said. He said investigators had been sent to the site to try to figure out what happened.

An Afghan military spokesman declined to comment.

Afghan soldiers and policemen ? or militants in their uniforms ? have gunned down more than 50 foreign troops so far this year, eroding the trust between coalition forces and their Afghan partners. An equal number of Afghan policemen and soldiers also died in these attacks, giving them reason as well to be suspicious of possible infiltrators within their ranks.

The attacks are taking a toll on the partnership between international and Afghan forces, prompting the U.S. military to restrict operations with small-sized Afghan units earlier this month.

The close contact ? with coalition forces working side by side with Afghan troops as advisers, mentors and trainers ? is a key part of the U.S. strategy for putting the Afghans in the lead as the U.S. and other nations prepare to pull out their last combat troops at the end of 2014, just 27 months away.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-inside-attack-puts-us-troop-deaths-2-062902604.html

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English 1020-013 Sarah McHenry: RJA 6a: Websites

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What to Make of Declining Democratic Registration? (Powerlineblog)

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Rick Ross and Young Jeezy Brawl at BET Awards; Shots Possibly Fired

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Potential voter registration fraud in Florida: GOP?s own 'ACORN' scandal?

The Republican Party fired a voter registration contractor this week after the firm turned in illegible, incorrect, and falsified voter registration forms to Florida election officials.

By Patrik Jonsson,?Staff writer / September 29, 2012

A supporter of Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney attends a campaign rally in Sarasota, Florida, September 20, 2012.

Jim Young/REUTERS

Enlarge

The Republican Party promptly fired a voter registration contractor this week after the firm, Strategic Allied Consulting, turned in illegible, incorrect, and falsified voter registration forms to Florida election officials.

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Saying the party has ?zero tolerance? for voter fraud, the GOP also filed complaints against the company with the Florida Secretary of State?s office. The company, run by long-time GOP operative Nathan Sproul, says a single employee was responsible for the forged signatures, though the problem, by Friday, had spread to 10 counties.

"This is an issue we take extremely seriously," RNC spokesman Sean Spicer told CBS News. "When allegations were brought to our attention we severed all ties to the firm."

While reasonable, those explanations could have trouble finding traction among the US electorate, which has watched battles erupt in mostly swing states from Florida to Ohio over control of voter rolls, and heated debates about potential disenfranchisement of key Democratic constituencies, poorer, minority, and elderly voters.

Why do Election 2012 swing states matter? 5 resources to explain.

The allegations are particularly poignant in Florida, which decided the presidential race in 2000 after a massive recount was halted by the US Supreme Court in a way that gave the election to the GOP, and where the current Republican state administration has fought with the US Department of Justice over an effort to weed out illegal immigrants from the state?s voter rolls.

Even more to the point of third-party voter registration contractors, the League of Women Voters sued Florida earlier this month after it instituted a new 48-hour deadline for turning in registration forms. The state relented, reinstating a 10-day deadline.

What?s more, the fraudulent registration findings have echoes of the 2008 controversies over the now-disbanded ACORN community activism group, which was accused by Republicans in 2008 of falsifying forms.

Brad Friedman, who runs the electoral watchdog Brad Blog, helped break the story, tying it to other emerging GOP registration controversies in California and Colorado. Other states where Sproul?s firm had been hired to gather registrations have not reported any problems.

?A massive GOP voter registration scheme, which appears to involve the upper-echelons of the national party, [has begun] to emerge,? Mr. Friedman writes.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/boJD__x_opI/Potential-voter-registration-fraud-in-Florida-GOP-s-own-ACORN-scandal

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Tasweek to outline strengths of UAE market at region's premier ...

Cityscape Global has been a catalyst for real estate investment and development growth across the world's emerging markets for more than a decade. This year's edition will welcome over 20,000 participants who will grab the opportunity to build and maintain their presence across the regional markets. Al Awar will use the event as a platform to showcase the real estate strengths of the UAE, particularly its main markets of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The Tasweek head will explain his company's extensive experience as an international property developer and investor and compare the advantages of international markets. He will also recommend strategies to sustain and accelerate business growth.

During Cityscape Global, Al Awar will conduct conference sessions on 'Sovereign Wealth and Strategic Partnerships' and 'Dubai on the World Stage,' where he will discuss how to form profitable and stable joint venture partnerships between local and foreign investors and reveal strategies for drawing international investors back to Dubai.

"In our previous studies, Tasweek has shown that the Dubai and Abu Dhabi markets are still steadily working their way towards recovery. Cityscape Global is a perfect platform to show the world that the UAE is still an outstanding destination for property investments and developments and will pay huge dividends to those who position themselves in strategic partnerships and projects. We also look forward to sharing our company's expertise and sharp market insights to help those who intend to do serious business with the Middle East," said Al Awar.

In its latest comprehensive market research, Tasweek noted a slight rally in some of Dubai's prime real estate locations. With thousands of real estate investors, developers, financiers, architects, consultants and other real estate professionals set to troop to Cityscape Global, Tasweek is gearing up to help energize the local markets through the end of 2012 and beyond.
Cityscape Global 2012 is the 11th edition of the essential business-to-business networking exhibition and conference for emerging real estate markets globally.

Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/tasweek-outline-strengths-uae-market-regions-313256

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Teens to stage concert | Toowoomba Music | Music Reviews ...

TOOWOOMBA teen Jenyu Shaw is shaking up the belief that all teenagers are game-playing couch potatoes.

The 16-year-old Concordia Lutheran College student is organising the Toowoomba Youth Charity Concert.

It is the second time he has staged the youth-focused event.

"Last year I was practising for my exam and thought it would be good to be able to play for an audience," Jenyu said.

"There were other musicians in the same boat and I also thought we could raise some money."

The inaugural concert raised more than $1600 for the group, Jubilee Ministries, to help fund programs for the disadvantaged.

This year, World Vision will benefit from the concert.

"People definitely think that teenagers just sleep and play games," he said.

"But I know a lot of people my age who have done heaps."

Jenyu's instruments of choice are the piano and the trombone.

He, along with six other performers, will present a 10-minute piece for the concert.

"There are different people performing this year," he said.

"We have people from different schools and groups.

"The whole concert has been organised by teenage kids, and on the day, the ushers and crew are all going to be teenagers from Toowoomba.

"I have been around to many of the eisteddfods and invited some of the best youth musicians from Toowoomba to play."

Source: http://www.thechronicle.com.au/story/2012/09/29/teens-to-stage-concert-and-prove-their-point/

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Liver cells, insulin-producing cells, thymus can be grown in lymph nodes

Friday, September 28, 2012

Lymph nodes can provide a suitable home for a variety of cells and tissues from other organs, suggesting that a cell-based alternative to whole organ transplantation might one day be feasible, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and its McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. In a report recently published online in Nature Biotechnology, the research team showed for the first time that liver cells, thymus tissue and insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells, in an animal model, can thrive in lymph nodes despite being displaced from their natural sites.

Hepatitis virus infection, alcoholic cirrhosis and other diseases can cause so much damage that liver transplantation is the only way to save the patient, noted senior investigator Eric Lagasse, Pharm. D., Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Pathology, Pitt School of Medicine. Children with DiGeorge syndrome lack functional thymus glands to produce essential immune cells, and diabetes can be cured with a pancreas transplant.

"However, the scarcity of donor organs means many people will not survive the wait for transplantation," said Dr. Lagasse, whose lab is at the McGowan Institute. "Cell therapies are being explored, but introducing cells into tissue already ravaged by disease decreases the likelihood of successful engraftment and restoration of function."

In the study, his team tested the possibility of using lymph nodes, which are abundant throughout the body and have a rich blood supply, as a new home for cells from other organs in what is called an "ectopic" transplant.

They injected healthy liver cells from a genetically-identical donor animal into lymph nodes of mice at various locations. The result was an enlarged, liver-like node that functioned akin to the liver; in fact, a single hepatized lymph node rescued mice that were in danger of dying from a lethal metabolic liver disease. Likewise, thymus tissue transplanted into the lymph node of mice that lacked the organ generated functional immune systems, and pancreatic islet cell transplants restored normal blood sugar control in diabetic animals.

"Our goal is not necessarily to replace the entire liver, for example, but to provide sufficient cell mass to stabilize liver function and sustain the patient's life," Dr. Lagasse said. "That could buy time until a donor organ can be transplanted. Perhaps, in some cases, ectopic cell transplantation in the lymph node might allow the diseased organ to recover."

###

University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences: http://www.upmc.com/Pages/default.aspx

Thanks to University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences 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/123964/Liver_cells__insulin_producing_cells__thymus_can_be_grown_in_lymph_nodes

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Improving Your Internet Business ? The Best Way to | Travel

Just about the biggest hurdle that today?s Internet Marketers face is time management so that they can get as much done in less time. Especially when you are just getting started, there is so much to do and lots of different tasks to accomplish; it can all get so confusing and even a little bit frustrating too. This is precisely why you need to focus on reducing the things that are going to distract you and better organizing your tasks so that you won?t have to put so many hours into a task that can be accomplished in far less time.

Heard of the famous phrase ?keep it simple stupid?? The phrase is famous for real reasons and it applies to your work as well. When you?re dealing with a specific task, try to find methods for keeping it super simple instead of spending a lot of time making it complex. There are often times when, in our quest to keep things simple, we make them more complicated; work hard not to do this. Try to get an overview of the task from a broader perspective; separate it into three sections and then work on them in sequence. Making something hard is pretty senseless especially when there are easier routes to get there. Work against your kitchen timer; this method can double your speed and raise your productivity too. This particular technique can help you achieve quite a lot because as you work against the time you have left you?ll be pushed to work faster and you will get more done in less time. To use one example, if it typically takes you around twenty minutes or so to finish a 500 word article set the timer for half that time and try to write the same article in that time period. However, make sure your quality isn?t affected in the quest to get more work done.

?Touch any task at hand just once? is a rule that most Internet Marketers fail to master; it means that when you look at a task that needs to be completed, get to work on it. Going through it a bunch of times without any real course of action isn?t going to get you anywhere. For example, when you go through your inbox, decide right there and then what to do with your email: reply, delete or archive and take care of it while you can; don?t just let it sit around taking up room in your brain. All of the tips we?ve talked about in this article are easy to apply and can really change the way you see online business. After all, being able to grow your web business is dependent upon how well you actually manage your time and the tasks you do so you can get the most from them. The only thing that you really need to remember is that it is really important to make sure that you are open to experimenting with new methods for improving your productivity on a regular basis so that you can make sure that you are always increasing the return you will get on the investment of your time. WoW Skinning Guide

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Source: http://nicoleevaemery.com/advertising/improving-your-internet-business-the-best-way-to-2/

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High Associates Blog For commercial real estate, the Northeast ...

Published by High Associates. on September 26th, 2012

According to the Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS?? (SIOR) most recent Commercial Real Estate Index (for Q2 2012), which looks at information gathered from its members and measures ten variables related to the U.S. industrial and office markets, there are mixed results across the country. But the continued slow economy definitely ?has spilled over into industrial and office markets.??

This is certainly true in the Northeast, which has some of the lowest levels of leasing activity according to the index.?

?Both asking rents and vacancy rates are closing in on historical averages, with vacancy rates lower than they were a year ago. Development activity remains low and sublease space is declining,? reported the SIOR.

These current statistics bring to mind two of my most important pieces of real estate advice:

One:? You make money when you buy, and this is a good time to buy

Down times such as these are a great time to analyze and seize the right buying opportunities. Most investors understand that economic cycles occur and a business downturn only lasts so long, and then values increase once more.

Fully appreciate that you make your money when you buy, and buying when the market is down makes you even more money.

It?s important to evaluate a property correctly to determine what the potential is if you?re redeveloping or repositioning it in the market. It?s also important to reflect carefully on how you can enhance a property in a way that perhaps others can?t envision.

Consider the future income stream you can realize through the process from renovations and repairs through to lease up. Everything is about the future income of that building as well as the future value when you sell it.? The same is also true for a vacant parcel of land, with regard to determining a higher and better use for the property at acceptable financial returns.

Two: Leasing may be an attractive option

In bad economic times, leasing is an attractive option for a number of reasons.? Since it?s more difficult to gain access to capital, in dealing with banks you might be able to acquire only a certain amount of funding, and you won?t want to sink that capital completely into purchasing. Leasing is virtually 100 percent financing, freeing working capital for other business uses.

During such times, you most likely will be able to increase the value of your investment more through expanding your business than with any potential increase in property value.? If you lease, your entire rental payment is tax deductible, whereas if you buy real estate, you cannot depreciate the land, only the improvements on your land.

If you lease an existing building, it is almost always immediately available. Additionally, you avoid much of the development process and its related issues of zoning, permits, codes, fees, etc.

So, as with every challenging set of circumstances, there is always the silver lining if you look for it. Right now, that silver lining could be to purchase or lease a new property.

?

Lin Good, CCIM, SIOR, Senior Vice President, Brokerage Services

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Tags: brokerage, commercial real estate, CRE, investing, leasing

Source: http://blog.highassociates.com/2012/09/for-commercial-real-estate-the-northeast-remains-a-tenants-market-and-a-buyers-market/

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Peter Weller Talks Star Trek Into Darkness

Actor Peter Weller?really is just a stand up guy. While the rest of us complain about how the Robocop?reboot looks pretty damn stupid, Weller instead wishes the film well.

Speaking with I Am Rogue (via Comic Book Movie), Weller said that the franchise is not a part of his life anymore, but he hopes they make a good movie.?He also admits that actor Joel Kinnaman, who takes on the titular role that Weller originated, is going to ?have to pull up his boots.?

Indeed.

Weller was far more excited though to discuss his as-of-yet-unnamed role in the Star Trek sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness. While he cannot reveal what his character or his role is in the new film, he had nothing but praise for director J.J. Abrams:

?[Abrams is] the best, one of the greatest human beings ever [and] one of the most talented people I have ever worked with.?

High praise indeed from a man who has worked with David Cronenberg and Paul Verhoeven.

We will know soon enough what Peter Weller has in store for us with?Star Trek Into Darkness?as the film hits theatres May 17, 2013.

As for the Robocop reboot??Early buzz on the film isn?t too hot but on August 9th, 2013 we?ll finally get a chance to see how it turned out.

Did you enjoy this article? If so, we?d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It would be great if you subscribed to our RSS feed, followed us on Twitter or liked us on Facebook. There?s lots more where this came from! If you're interested in writing for us, feel free to submit an application.Hot Stories From Around The Web

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1925964/news/1925964/

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'Like a puppy mill': 39 emaciated horses rescued

By NBC News staff and wire reports

SEATTLE -- Animal control officers seized 39 emaciated and sickly horses from inhumane conditions in dark stalls filled with feces on a breeding farm outside of Tacoma on Wednesday, authorities said.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents discovered the malnourished animals, many injured and some standing in more than a foot of waste, while serving drug-related warrants on Tuesday at the 99-acre property in Graham, Washington, Pierce County Animal Control supervisor Brian Boman told Reuters.

Animal control officers and sheriff's deputies from Pierce and Kitsap counties returned to the ranch a day later to seize the animals and found many were highly skittish because they had been "stall-bound" in three dark barns, Boman said.

"It was like a puppy mill, only with horses," Boman told Reuters. "The conditions are terrible. There's no telling how long it's been since they've seen daylight."

Read the story on NBC's KING5.com

Pierce County auditor Julie Anderson told NBC station KING 5 that the horses had not been handled in a very long time. "They literally have their 'night eyes' on so they're very sun sensitive and are having trouble with depth perception," she said, describing?the scene as "wanton criminal neglect."

The horses were receiving veterinary care and were being held for the time being as evidence, KING 5 reported.

No-one has been arrested so far but the owners could face charges of animal cruelty in the second degree, a gross misdemeanor in the state of Washington.

KING 5 reported that an attorney for the owner said his client "loves these animals" and did not believe the conditions reached a criminal level.

'No lighting or ventilation'
Authorities spent more than nine hours rounding up the horses, which included mostly purebred Arabians as well as Belgian Draft horses and Clydesdales, to take them to nearby fairgrounds. None were race horses.

Some likely would be euthanized, Boman said.

A Pierce County Sheriff's Office news release, describing the roundup as the largest horse seizure the county had ever undertaken, cited the horses' living conditions as deplorable.

"Most of the horses were in barns that had large amounts of urine and feces in the stalls," the release said. "Some of the barns had no lighting or ventilation and the smell of ammonia was very strong."

Because federal and county criminal investigations are ongoing, federal authorities would not immediately release the name of the farm's owner, said Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle.

NBC News staff and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/27/14120365-like-a-puppy-mill-dozens-of-emaciated-horses-rescued-from-washington-farm?lite

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Nikon D600 Review: Images This Spectacular Have Never Been So Cheap [Video]

Earlier this year, we fell in love with the Nikon D800. How could you not? It's a 36.6-megapixel hulk of a professional camera. But if you don't have $3000 lying around, too bad. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8-BxSvJR9PA/nikon-d600-review-images-this-spectacular-have-never-come-so-cheap

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FREE Printable Slow Cooker Cookbook from Family Circle! | Budget ...

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?Head over to the Family Circle Facebook Page and grab a FREE Printable Cookbook!

?Get a FREE printable cookbook with 15 of our Slow Cooker recipes! Simply ?Like? the Family Circle Facebook page and then you can download the free PDF. ?

Source: http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2012/09/free-printable-slow-cooker-cookbook-family-circle/

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Libya leader to NBC: Film not behind consulate attack

In an NBC News exclusive, Libya's President Mohammed Magarief tells NBC's Ann Curry that no mastermind has been arrested in the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi but that he believes it was a pre-planned act of terrorism involving elements of al-Qaida.

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By NBC News staff

Updated at 6:37 p.m. ET: An anti-Islam film that sparked violent protests in many countries had?"nothing to do with" a?deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi earlier this month, Libya's president told NBC News.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News'?Ann Curry, President Mohamed Magarief discounted claims that the attack was in response to a movie produced in California and available on YouTube. He noted that the assault happened on Sept. 11 and that the video had been available for months before that.

"Reaction should have been, if it was genuine, should have been six months earlier. So it was postponed until the 11th of September," he said. "They chose this date, 11th of September to carry a certain message."

---

NYT: Deadly Libya attack a major blow to CIA efforts

Magarief said there were no protesters at the site before the attack, which he noted came in two assaults, first with rocket-propelled grenades on the consulate, then with mortars at a safe house.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Protests ignited by a controversial film that ridicules Islam's Prophet Muhammad spread throughout Muslim world.

The attack took the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens, as well as information management officer Sean Smith and security personnel Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.

US Ambassador Chris Stevens was 'courageous,' Obama says

Magarief told Curry that based on the accuracy of the assault, he believes the attackers must have had training and experience using the weapons.

"It's a pre-planned act of terrorism," he said, adding that the anti-Islam film had "nothing to do with this attack."

Though Magarief believes the attack was the work of Islamist fundamentalists, he dismisses any notion that Libya is in danger of becoming a theocracy.

?This will never happen,? he said. ? They don?t have the strength. They don?t have the supporters. They will remain a minority that?s isolated, that will not be accepted by us. And I?m sure Libyans will fight to the last man against seeing this happen in our land.?

'A strong friend'
Magarief said that while Libyans appeared to be behind the attack that "these Libyans do not represent the Libyan people or Libyan population in any sense of the word."

Hilary Stevens, sister of Christopher Stevens, the U.S. Ambassador to Libya who died Tuesday during an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. In an interview with Rock Center Anchor Brian Williams, Stevens reflects on her brother's legacy and work.

He added: "We consider the United States as a friend, not only a friend, a strong friend, who stood with us in our moment of need."

More than 40 people have been questioned in connection with the incident,?the Libyan leader?told Curry.

He described Stevens as a "humble and very unique human being" and a "great friend of Libya."

Thousands of Libyans stormed the headquarters of an Islamist militia group in Benghazi Friday night in a deadly exchange. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

Backlash: Protesting Libyans storm militant compound

The Obama administration initially maintained that the attacks were directly linked to protests over the film. Speaking on NBC?s ?Meet the Press? on Sept. 16, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said: ?What happened in Benghazi was in fact initially a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired hours before in Cairo, almost a copycat of the demonstrations against our facility in Cairo, prompted by the video.?

However, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney last week said it was "self-evident that what happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack."

Slain ambassador's mom: 'He was trying to do something much bigger'

Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Barack Obama said: ?There are no words that excuse the killing of innocent? people.

On Tuesday, President Obama spoke to the United Nations general assembly in an emotional speech about the recent violence against Americans. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/26/14105135-libyan-president-to-nbc-anti-islam-film-had-nothing-to-do-with-us-consulate-attack?lite

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Romney assails Obama after US ambassador's death

Flags wave as Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum in Pueblo, Colo., Monday, Sept. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Bryan Oller)

Flags wave as Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum in Pueblo, Colo., Monday, Sept. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Bryan Oller)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama appear on the ABC Television show ?The View? in New York, Monday, Sept. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns in Pueblo, Colo., Monday, Sept. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force Once prior to leaving from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, Sept. 24, 2012, for a trip to New York City. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Barack Obama point to people on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 24, 2012, as he walks from the Oval Office to Marine One, Monday, Sept. 24, 2012, en route to New York. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) ? Mitt Romney led a chorus of Republican criticism of the administration's foreign policy on Monday, accusing President Barack Obama of minimizing the recent killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya as a mere "bump in the road" rather than part of a chain of events that threatens American interests.

White House press secretary Jay Carney called the accusations "desperate and offensive," an attempt by Romney and his allies to gain political advantage in the latter stages of a political campaign that seems to be trending Obama's way.

The president did not comment on the criticism when he and first lady Michele Obama taped an appearance on ABC's "The View" that blended the personal with the political. Asked if a Romney presidency would be a disaster, Obama said the nation can "survive a lot." He added: "The American people don't want to just survive, we want to thrive."

The back and forth on foreign policy occurred as Romney said he was shifting to a more energetic schedule of public campaign events, bidding to reverse recent erosion in battleground state polls. After days spent largely raising campaign cash ? and trying to minimize the fallout from one speech to donors last spring ? he pledged to make the case for "real and positive change."

While national polls make the race exceedingly close, Obama has gained ground on Romney in many recent surveys when potential voters are asked to compare the two rivals in their ability to fix the economy. Sluggish growth and national unemployment of 8.1 percent make the economy by far the dominant issue in the race, and the two men have focused much of their time and advertising budgets on highlighting their differences on taxes, spending and plans for job creation.

The same polls show Obama with a healthy lead over Romney when voters are asked which candidate is better equipped to handle foreign policy, and the president has not shied away from trumpeting his decision to order the secret mission by U.S. forces that killed terrorism mastermind Osama bin Laden in his Pakistani hideout more than a year ago.

At the same time, Romney's advisers say voters are more inclined to question Obama's handling of foreign policy after the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, earlier this month resulted in the death of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.

Not only Romney, but other Republicans, as well, challenged Obama on foreign policy on Monday.

In a conference call with reporters, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., the House majority leader, said, "Israel continues to find itself on the receiving end of harsh language by the president of the White House. ... There is a somewhat continued pattern of throwing Israel under the bus when Israel stands as our closest ally."

And the National Republican Senatorial Committee issued challenges to Democratic candidates in several races to "share their view" on Obama's remarks in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" over the weekend.

In the interview, Obama was responding when asked if recent events in the Middle East gave him pause for supporting governments that came to power following a wave of regime changes known as the Arab Spring.

He said he has long noted that events were going to be rocky, adding that the question itself "presumes that somehow we could have stopped this wave of change."

"I think it was absolutely the right thing for us to align ourselves with democracy, universal rights. ... But I was pretty certain and continue to be pretty certain that there are going to be bumps in the road because ? you know, in a lot of these places ? the one organizing principle has been Islam. ...

"There are strains of extremism, and anti-Americans, and anti-Western sentiments and you know can be tapped into by demagogues," he added.

Romney was eager to talk about the topic, squeezing interviews with three television networks into his schedule and touching on the subject at the beginning of a rally in Pueblo, Colo.

"I can't imagine saying something like the assassination of ambassadors is a bump in the road, when you look at the entire context, the assassination, the Muslim Brotherhood president being elected in Egypt, 20,000 people killed in Syria, Iran close to becoming a nuclear nation, that these are far from being bumps in the road," he told ABC.

"They represent events that are spinning out of the kind of influence we'd like to have. We're at the mercy of events rather than shaping the events in the Middle East."

U.S. officials are investigating the deaths in Libya, which occurred when the consulate was breached.

In his appearance on "The View," the president avoided a direct answer when asked if the attack had been terrorism.

"There's no doubt that the kind of weapons that were used, the ongoing assault, that it wasn't just a mob action. What's clear is that, around the world, there are still a lot of threats out there," he said.

Romney intends to return to the subject of international affairs and discuss foreign aid, trade agreements and international development when he addresses the Clinton Global Initiative in New York on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the campaign's thinking.

Romney, like Cantor, took a slap Monday at Obama's handling of relations with Israel.

"The president doesn't have time to actually spend time with leaders of these nations, particularly Bibi Netanyahu, I find that very troubling," he said.

In a campaign setting records for television advertising, both campaigns released new commercials during the day. And Obama conceded some of his own had gone too far.

"You know, do we see sometimes us going overboard in our campaign, the mistakes that are made in areas where there is no doubt that somebody could dispute how we are presenting things ? that happens in politics," he said during the "60 Minutes" taping. The remark was not part of the broadcast but was posted to the CBS website.

___

AP White House correspondent Ben Feller contributed from New York; AP writers Jim Kuhnhenn and Philip Elliott contributed from Washington. Espo reported from Washington.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-09-24-Presidential%20Campaign/id-44903cebba274a2592e8b5005a8920e6

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