The 2012 Rome Christmas Parade

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The 2012 Rome Christmas Parade

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Source: http://rn-t.com/pages/full_story/push?media-video-The+2012+Rome+Christmas+Parade%20&id=20954128&instance=Video

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Hold an Estate Sale to Downsize and Make Money from Your Old Crap

Contrary to popular belief, estate sales can take place when the person selling is alive and well. When done right, you can get a tidy sum for the stuff you've been meaning to get rid of but haven't gotten around to listing on Craigslist, or easily prep to downsize to a smaller apartment or home with little hassle.

Make no mistake, estate sales are for people who have more money than time to sell their stuff. Estate sale companies will take a cut of all of the sales, which can definitely add up. They will, however, come to your home, help you draft up a complete catalog of what you're selling and what's staying, and handle the arrangements of getting people to come to the auction, actually auctioning off the items for sale, collecting money, and handling the paperwork resulting from the sales. When they're all finished, your old crap is all gone and you have money in your pocket.

It's a drastic measure to be sure, but if you've been meaning to list your crap on Craigslist for years or a more sensible approach to decluttering just hasn't worked for you, it may be a good option. Hit the link below for some helpful tips from the commenters at Apartment Therapy on finding the right people to help with a sale.

How Do I Sell the Contents of My House? | Apartment Therapy

Photo by Elliott Brown.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/9aE5pthWbqY/hold-an-estate-sale-to-downsize-and-make-money-from-your-old-crap

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French court delays Strauss-Kahn charge ruling

PARIS (AP) ? A French court on Wednesday pushed back a ruling on whether to drop aggravated pimping charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former IMF chief who has successfully fought accusations linked to his "libertine" lifestyle.

Three Appeals Court judges in the northern city of Douai set a new date of Dec. 19 to decide the demand by Strauss-Kahn to annul the charges linking him to a suspected prostitution ring run out of a luxury hotel in Lille.

Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn have claimed the investigating judges were biased.

The economist admits attending "libertine" gatherings but denies knowing that some women present were paid.

In August, a separate case against Strauss-Kahn centered on allegations of rape in a Washington D.C. hotel was dropped after prosecutors said the supposed victim, an escort girl, changed her account to say no rape was involved in the encounter when Strauss-Kahn headed the International Monetary Fund.

Criminal charges also were dropped by New York prosecutors in August 2011 in a case based on allegations of sexual assault by a hotel maid. But the high-profile case tarnished Strauss-Kahn's reputation. He resigned from his job as chief of the IMF.

If the judges decide to dismiss the aggravated pimping charges in December, Strauss-Kahn's legal load would be considerably eased ? but not fully gone. He would become an "assisting witness" in the case, meaning that if investigators discovered new elements implicating him he could face preliminary charges once again.

The prosecutors office has argued against dropping the charges, saying there are "serious" indications that justify the preliminary charges brought against Strauss-Kahn.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/french-court-delays-strauss-kahn-charge-ruling-094309278.html

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Many flame retardants in house dust at unsafe levels, study finds

ScienceDaily (Nov. 28, 2012) ? A peer-reviewed study of the largest number of flame retardants ever tested in homes found that most houses had levels of at least one flame retardant that exceeded a federal health guideline.

The journal Environmental Science & Technology will publish the study online on Nov. 28.

The study led by scientists at Silent Spring Institute tested for 49 flame retardant chemicals in household dust, the main route of exposure for people and especially for children. Forty-four flame retardant chemicals were detected and 36 were found in at least 50% of the samples, sometimes at levels of health concern. The flame retardants found in house dust are in furniture, textiles, electronics, and other products and include hormone disruptors, carcinogens, and chemicals with unknown safety profiles.

The highest concentrations were found for chlorinated organophosphate flame retardants. This chemical group includes TCEP and TDCIPP (or chlorinated "Tris"), which are listed as carcinogens under California's Proposition 65.

TDBPP (or brominated "Tris") was banned from children's pajamas in 1977 due to health concerns but is still allowed in other products, and was present in 75% of homes tested in 2011.

There are no federal rules requiring that flame retardants be safety tested. Among the limited number of flame retardants with EPA health risk guidelines, the study found five at levels higher than those guidelines -- BDE 47, BDE 99, TCEP, TDCIPP and BB 153.

"Our study found that people are exposed to toxic flame retardants every day. These hazardous chemicals are in the air we breathe, the dust we touch and the couches we sit on. Many flame retardants raise health concerns, including cancer, hormone disruption, and harmful effects on brain development. It is troubling to see that a majority of homes have at least one flame retardant at levels beyond what the federal government says is safe. Infants and toddlers who spend much time on the floor are at higher risk for exposure," said Dr. Robin Dodson, a co-author of the study and a scientist with the Silent Spring Institute.

The study was conducted in California homes, because furniture manufacturers use flame retardants in products sold throughout the U.S. in order to meet California's stricter flammability standard. Many health experts have called on California Governor Jerry Brown to make good on his promise to amend the requirement, which affects the health of people around the country.

This study complements a separate study, also being published in Environmental Science & Technology on Nov. 28, that found many potentially problematic flame retardants in couches. Both studies break new ground by revealing the wide range of flame retardants in use. The Silent Spring Institute study demonstrates that flame retardant chemicals in couches and other products wind up in house dust at levels of health concern.

Two PBDE formulations have been phased out due to health concerns, but other flame retardants with considerable evidence of toxicity, such as chlorinated organophosphates and HBCYD, appear to remain at high or increasing levels of use. Every home tested had HBCYD, which was prioritized by regulators in the US and Europe because of its persistence and concerns about human reproductive, neurological, and developmental effects.

Other flame retardants being used as replacements for PBDEs have unknown health implications. The study found that levels of chemicals in Firemaster? 550 increased from 2006 to 2011, likely because it is being used as a replacement for PentaPBDE, which was phased out.

"When one toxic flame retardant is phased out, it's being replaced by another chemical we either know is dangerous or suspect may be. It's not comforting to swap one hazardous chemical for its evil cousin. Instead, we should test chemicals before they are allowed on the market," said Dr. Julia Brody, executive director of the Silent Spring Institute and co-author of the study.

Many of the detected chemicals show evidence of hormone disruption; in particular the PBDEs, HBCYD, and TBBPA affect thyroid hormone, which is important for brain development. The breakdown products of TDBPP (brominated "Tris") damage DNA and cause mammary tumors in animal studies, raising concern about breast cancer in people.

"The potential harm from fire retardant chemicals used in furniture is very concerning. My research found that the California fire standard provides no meaningful protection against the hazard it addresses -- furniture ignited by small flames. In view of the toxicity of substances put into furniture foam to meet the California standard, the rule does more harm than good," according to Dr. Vytenis Babrauskas, an independent fire safety scientist.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Silent Spring Institute.

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. Robin E. Dodson, Laura J. Perovich, Adrian Covaci, Nele Van den Eede, Alin C. Ionas, Alin C. Dirtu, Julia Green Brody, Ruthann A. Rudel. After the PBDE Phase-Out: A Broad Suite of Flame Retardants in Repeat House Dust Samples from California. Environmental Science & Technology, 2012; 121128000141002 DOI: 10.1021/es303879n

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/top_news/top_environment/~3/OQzhftlvduU/121128093810.htm

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The trouble with education in Nigeria ? The Punch - Nigeria's Most ...

Pat Utomi
| credits:

Every day, it seems, these days, I am telling one group or the other that leadership is other -? centred behaviour. Obsession with self, the prevalent narcissism, I say often, is part of the reason we have a dearth of leaders. So, is there a select group of the altruistic from whose ranks true leaders can emerge? Not at all, to my mind. Service to others is not masochism or less love for self. Indeed for the really enlightened, it is the highest form of selfishness.

Does this sound like a confusing paradox? Not at all. Think of this. Two Governors start out. One of them just keeps thinking of No 1 because, as he read in one of Chinua Achebe?s works, the person who has escaped the rain into shelter does not want to get back there. So, determined to assure his future, after this temporary stay in public office, he abuses public trust with recklessness, piling up material goods abroad to take care of the rainy day. He does not want to imagine a time in old age when he cannot afford medical care and current wisdom is that medical care is better taken care of abroad.

The other, a very selfish Governor, knows many who lost their lives in accidents and is so protective of his good health he decides to spend money on good roads and builds a world class Trauma Hospital. The inevitable happens after they leave office. They are both in road mishaps. The first Governor, given his chunk of wealth abroad, can afford an air ambulance evacuation and it is all quickly activated. But as we know from the case of one former minister of works who also served as Military Governor, he did not make it to the hospital abroad. The other governor who left office with no savings but had done the roads and built a trauma centre is saved in the surgery of the Theatre he inaugurated. Who was more selfish?

My reference to other ? centred behaviour as the heart of the leadership phenomenon is really self interest defined in an enlightened manner. The enlightened self-interest as living selfishness in deferred gratification is a concept I have long argued needs to enter school curriculum very early. This is one part of an array of soft skills that can drive up the quality of life in our country if education planners are ready for completely rethinking education in Nigeria. I find so often that many people who have the energy, know ? how and know ? why of their specialties are unable to get the cooperation of others to work together to solve problems that challenge us in community. There is emerging a number of initiatives on finishing schools aimed at helping bridge social skills gaps but more needs to be done to fill so many gaps that reduce our effectiveness.

Just as these missing skills are debilitating of leadership so does the problem of an unreliable self-seeking, low morale, poor soft-skilled civil service.

Everywhere in Nigeria, politicians are being called names for failure to deliver. Often, it is deserved because of the absence of a clear vision and passion that can bring out the best in stakeholders. The truth, however, is that even with the best of intentions politicians will have difficulty delivering. The capacity situation in the civil service, across the country, is a frightening national emergency. Unless we deal with this urgently, the story may not change.

Nigeria is hurting because the educational system much praised in the early 1960s had gone South as Sir Eric Ashby said to Prof. Akinkugbe at Oxford just before Ashby?s death. Finding creative ways of bridging these gaps is of utmost importance if we are to save the future.

Right now, we say these challenges to execution of projects happen because of a corrupt civil service. I have given enough thought to the fact that a misconception of self love is responsible partly because these civil servants do not realise that abuse of the system for self-aggrandisement ultimately hurts them more. The ultimate gift would be to teach them to so know.

?Prof. Pat Utomi is founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership

Source: http://www.punchng.com/opinion/letters/the-trouble-with-education-in-nigeria/

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Droopys Pride to capture the big prize in Sheffield Stadium Standard ...

Droopys Pride to capture the big prize in Sheffield Stadium Standard - Dup

Droopys Pride is running well these days. His current good form makes him the most appealing contestant in Sheffield Stadium Standard - Dup, to be hosted by Sheffield on Tuesday, November 27^th.

The black dog has matchless skills. His ability to make strong finishes always makes him the one to watch out. E. Parker?s charge is producing good results these days. He put his journey back on the winning track at the end of October, when taking the top prize by a length?s distance.

Another comprehensive victory came to him early in November, when he beat Fire Height Spec by three and a quarter lengths. The son of Blackstone Gene had every chance of striking hat-trick, but failed unfortunately. On the thirteen of this month, Sheffield?s audience saw him missing the gold by one and a quarter lengths.

It was a disappointing loss. Droopys Pride reacted quickly, and got his act together. On his latest trip, he showed an impressive performance. Despite getting crowded at the first bend, he succeeded in establishing dominance at the fourth bend. Making no mistake afterwards, he claimed the first place by one and a quarter lengths.

Having made a few solid efforts lately, the skilful hound is all set for more. So, one needs a special thing to stop him from taking the honours. Among his opponents are: Trickys On Fire, Endova Rossi, Change Of Shift, Droopys Cinders and Hather Siobs. The 500 metres meeting, which holds a winning prize of 200 pounds, is scheduled to begin at 19:58 GMT.

Droopys Cinders is well drawn, looking to make a break for freedom. Her recent form is a concern though. Change Of Shift has kept good company, and cannot be underrated. Hather Siobs, on the other hand, will be picking up momentum from the third corner. The black bitch is coming from Sunderland, where she enjoyed mixed fortune.

Endova Rossi has run some big races around here in the past. Another bold effort is likely. Trickys On Fire, from the sixth box, can come up with a strong wide-running - a threat to the selection.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not reflect Bettor.com?s editorial policy.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Droopys-Pride-to-capture-the-big-prize-in-Sheffield-Stadium-Standard-Dup-a203942

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Cloudy with a chance of flu? Study offers influenza forecast

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New research suggests it may be possible to forecast flu outbreaks in much the same way meteorologists predict weather, a potential boon for public health officials and consumers, one of the study's authors said on Tuesday.

Using real-time U.S. data gathered by Google Inc, along with a computer model showing how flu spreads, the researchers offered a system that could generate local forecasts of the severity and length of a particular flu outbreak.

This kind of forecasting could improve preparation and management of annual flu outbreaks in the United States, said Irene Eckstrand of the National Institutes of Health.

Influenza kills 250,000 to 500,000 people each year around the globe; the U.S. annual flu death toll is 35,000.

If the forecasts are reasonably accurate, they could help public health officials target vaccines and anti-viral drugs to areas of greatest need, said study co-author Jeffrey Shaman of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

"If you have a six-week forecast with good confidence that you're going to have an outbreak in New York City and nothing's going on in L.A., you'd send the vaccines there (to New York) because there's enough time to distribute them ... before there's an actual outbreak," Shaman said.

He suggested that flu forecasts might be distributed through TV weather programming. Individuals then could decide whether to get the flu vaccine, keep their distance from people who sneeze or cough and closely monitor symptoms.

This pilot study, published on Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, looked only at the New York City area, using data from 2003 through 2008.

TRACKING FLU MOVEMENTS

Even so, if all goes well, the system could offer rudimentary forecasts as soon as next year's flu season, Shaman said. It might be possible to issue a few flu forecasts this season, though those would be in "test-case form," he said.

"We have to try it for other regions, other cities," said Shaman. "We have to look and see how it worked during the pandemic years ... we have to see the differences in performance depending on the aggressiveness of the strain of flu."

The computer program the scientists used is a standard epidemiological model showing how influenza moves through a population, from those who are susceptible to flu, to those who have it, to those who have recovered, said study co-author Alicia Karspeck of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.

The problem with this model is that it's nearly impossible to pinpoint who is susceptible and difficult to track recoveries, though it is possible to figure out the trajectory of an outbreak, Karspeck said.

To conduct their research, the authors said, they needed real-time data, and they found it in an online tool called Google Flu Trends, which uses search terms people put into the Web-based search engine to figure out where influenza is occurring. The tool, launched in 2008, then notifies the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in real time.

In a process known as retrospective forecasting, the scientists tested their findings against what happened in the New York area from 2003 through 2008. Because they knew what had happened in these years, they could check their work.

Using the computer program and the flu trends data, they generated retrospective weekly flu forecasts, which predicted the peak of the outbreak more than seven weeks before it occurred.

(Reporting by Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent; Edited by Marilyn W. Thompson and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cloudy-chance-flu-study-offers-influenza-forecast-235446766.html

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