IFPRI, USAID, others launch Women's Empowerment in Agriculture ...

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Page last updated at Tuesday, February 28, 2012 10:10 AM //

A Women?s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) to directly measure women?s levels in the agricultural sector has been launched.

The Index, launched February 27, 2012 is a partnership between the US Government?s ?Feed the Future? initiative, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) of Oxford University.

According to a joint press release issued by the institutions and copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, the Index focuses on five areas ? decisions over agricultural production, power over productive resources such as land and livestock, decisions over income, leadership in the community, and time use.

The partners explain that the Index focuses on women because ?they play a critical role in agricultural growth in developing countries yet face persistent obstacles and economic constraints, limiting further inclusion in the sector.?

The Index also takes into consideration the empowerment of women compared with men in the same household, based on asking women and men the same survey questions, the release said.

The US government will use the Index for performance monitoring and impact evaluations across ?Feed the Future? focus countries, it noted.

The index is being piloted in three countries with diverse socioeconomic and cultural contexts?Bangladesh, Guatemala, and Uganda.

By Ekow Quandzie

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Source: http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2012/02/28/ifpri-usaid-others-launch-womens-empowerment-in-agriculture-index/

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New?discovery resurrects 'Jesus Tomb' debate

One of the designs etched on a bone box found within a 1st-century Jerusalem tomb suggests the biblical story of Jonah and the fish, which held significant symbolism for early Christians.

By Alan Boyle

Using a remote-controlled camera on the end of a robotic arm, investigators have found what could be the earliest evidence of a Christian iconography in Jerusalem, engraved on a set of "bone boxes" inside a nearly intact 1st-century tomb.

One of the limestone boxes, known more formally as an ossuary, carries a Greek inscription calling on God to "rise up" or "raise up" someone. Another box appears to show the carved image of a fish, perhaps with the prophet Jonah in its mouth. Allusions to fish and the "sign of Jonah" came to be widely used among early Christians, but not among Jerusalem's Jews.

Update: Doubts raised about the 'Jesus Discovery'

Those discoveries alone would be enough to get biblical scholars excited. But the investigators in this case are the same people who claimed five years ago that ossuaries from a nearby tomb were engraved with the names of the biblical Jesus and his family. They're putting forth this new find as supporting evidence for their earlier claims, and resurrecting the topic in a newly published book ("The Jesus Discovery") as well as a Discovery Channel documentary that's due to air this spring.

"This does reopen the whole question about the 'Jesus Tomb,'" James Tabor, a scriptural scholar at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, told me.

---

That almost guarantees that the link to Jesus will take center stage once again in the discussion of the discovery, with most archaeologists discounting the connection. There's even a chance that the renewed controversy would push this most recent find out of the spotlight. That would be a terrible shame, said John Dominic Crossan, an expert on 1st-century Christianity and former Catholic priest who is a professor emeritus at DePaul University.

"It's a stunning discovery," he said. "It's a stunning piece of technology. As a scholar, I really don't want to get lost in saying, 'Oh, come on, it's off the wall.' Yeah, it's off the wall. But look at the wall!"

James Tabor / UNCC

Engineer Walter Klassen and filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici hold the camera-equipped robotic arm in its folded-up configuration.

Or in this case, look at the box.

How the boxes were found
Tabor and documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici located both of the 1st-century tombs ? the so-called Jesus Family Tomb as well as the one with the newly revealed inscriptions ? in a Jerusalem neighborhood known as Talpiot years ago. They looked into previous claims that the bone boxes in the Jesus Family Tomb were marked with names that meshed with the names of Jesus' brothers and sisters, as mentioned in the Gospels. The investigators went on to cite a statistical analysis of name frequency as evidence that the family interred in the caskets was that of Jesus.

Most provocatively, they pointed to one box that was said to contain the remains of Jesus, and another containing the remains of "Judah, son of Jesus." These claims ran counter to the mainstream Christian view that Jesus made a bodily resurrection after his crucifixion and death, and that he did not marry or have children. To explain the seeming discrepancy with the Gospels, Tabor and his colleagues suggested that early Christians did not necessarily believe in a bodily resurrection, but rather a spiritual resurrection in which Jesus left behind the "old clothes" of the flesh.

The first book ("The Jesus Family Tomb") and TV documentary ("The Lost Tomb of Jesus") set off a wave of protests, with skeptics saying that Tabor and Jacobovici were sensationalizing an unprovable assertion. Despite the criticism, the team continued their work, focusing on the other tomb. This tomb was only briefly examined in 1981 before protests by Orthodox Jews, concerned about the disturbance of a gravesite, forced an end to the archaeological study. The tomb was sealed back up, and a condominium was built over it. Tabor and his colleagues refer to this tomb as the "Patio Tomb," because a patio sits almost directly above the tomb.

Israel's civil and religious authorities were resistant to efforts to reopen the Patio Tomb, so Tabor, Jacobovici and their colleagues came up with an unorthodox alternative: They suggested building a robotic arm that could be extended down vent holes and drill holes into the tomb, to a maximum length of more than 15 feet. The authorities gave their permission, and the documentary team proceeded with their remote-controlled video exploration in June 2010.

James Tabor / UNCC

Investigators shot imagery of the 1st-century Jerusalem tomb and the bone boxes inside the tomb using a robotic arm, as shown in this video frame.

The filmmakers peered into niches cut into the tomb and found several inscribed bone boxes, including one that was left ajar to reveal the bones still within. In one of the niches, two boxes were jammed close together. As the robotic arm maneuvered to look at the side of one of the boxes, one of the investigators cried out, "Wait, wait, stop there!" A design had been etched into the limestone ? a design that could be interpreted as a fish with a stick figure hanging out of its mouth.

The meaning of the inscriptions
After consulting with other scriptural experts, the investigators concluded that the etching showed a representation of Jonah and the fish. The biblical tale of the prophet who was swallowed by a giant fish, only to be vomited up alive three days later, had a special resonance for early Christians, who believed in Jesus' resurrection after three days in a tomb. The image of the fish, which would not typically be carved on a Jewish ossuary, suggested to Tabor and his colleagues that this might be the earliest surviving example of a Christian marking on an artifact in Jerusalem.

The team's excitement grew when they saw the inscription on the box sitting next to the one with the fish: A four-line inscription in Greek appeared to refer to a belief in the resurrection. The inscription could be read as "Divine Jehovah, raise up, raise up," or "The Divine Jehovah raises up to the Holy Place," or "Divine Jehovah, raise up [abbreviated name]."

"This inscription has something to do with resurrection of the dead, either of the deceased in the ossuary, or perhaps, given the Jonah image nearby, an expression of faith in Jesus' resurrection," Tabor said in a news release.

Live Poll

What do you think of the Patio Tomb discovery?

• 177176

  It strengthens my faith.

  19%

• 177177

  It strengthens the case for the "Jesus Tomb."

  22%

• 177178

  It's interesting, but has no personal impact.

  52%

• 177179

  It's not interesting.

  6%

VoteTotal Votes: 13237

The Jesus connection
Tabor and his colleagues tie this latest discovery to their earlier claims by suggesting that the two tombs were part of one complex, which might have been chiseled out by a wealthy supporter of Jesus and his disciples. They even name their prime suspect: Joseph of Arimathea, a high-ranking religious official who was said in the Gospels to have arranged Jesus' burial. In the investigators' view, the fact that they found such a strong connection to early Christianity in the Patio Tomb strengthens their original claims for the Jesus Family Tomb, which is 200 feet away.

"We now have the new archaeological evidence, literally written in stone, that can guide us in properly understanding what Jesus' earliest followers meant by their faith in Jesus' resurrection from the dead ? with his earthly remains, and those of his family, peacefully interred just yards away," Tabor and Jacobovici wrote.

Crossan said that was too much of a leap. "There's nothing that associates [the Patio Tomb] with Joseph of Arimathea," he said.

He said the two tombs may well have no relationship to each other: "This whole area is riddled with tombs, as far as we can tell."

Ben Witherington, a New Testament scholar at Asbury Theological Seminary, voiced a similar view. "The attempt to connect [the Patio Tomb] to the other tombs is sheer conjecture, unless the tombs were connected," he told me.

Witherington said the connections made in the newly published book were similar to those put forth in Tabor's earlier work. "Most of us who have evaluated his work would say, OK, all very interesting, but it's building one speculation on another speculation," he said.

However, Witherington was intrigued by the fish carving. "We have early Christian ossuaries with the fish symbol ... in the 2nd century, if not back into the 1st century," he said. "That is the early Christian symbol for I-Ch-Th-Y-S ... 'Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.' What we don't have any evidence for is that symbol on Jewish ossuaries."

The words of the inscription also caught Witherington's interest. "They imply a belief about the resurrection," he said.

It is thought that the use of such bone boxes in Jerusalem ceased in the year 70, due to the Roman destruction of the city. Thus, there's a chance that the residents buried in the Patio Tomb actually lived during the time of Jesus and his first disciples. However, Crossan noted that Christians weren't the only ones in 1st-century Jerusalem who held a religious belief in resurrection. The Pharisees and the Essenes also looked forward to the resurrection of the righteous, he said.

"What I would say is ... this is a rich Pharisee, a rich person in the 1st century who believes in the resurrection," Crossan told me. "We always thought that [the image of] Jonah coming out of the fish was peculiarly Christian. Maybe that's one more thing that the early Christians took from Jewish tradition, and this would be the first evidence."

More about biblical archaeology:

---

An academic paper on the Patio Tomb project is being posted to The Bible and Interpretation on Tuesday, and Tabor says the paper will be submitted for print publication as well. A press event about the project and the Discovery Channel documentary has been scheduled for 11 a.m. ET Tuesday at Discovery Times Square in New York City. Funding for the project was provided by Discovery Channel / Vision Television / Associated Producers. Tabor's colleague in obtaining the excavation license from the Israel Antiquities Authority was Rami Arav, professor of archaeology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/27/10521007-new-find-revives-jesus-tomb-flap

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Which Male Enhancement Supplement Is Right for You. ? Article ...

Which Male Enhancement Supplement Is Right for You.

The choices we make affect those around us, specially our loved ones. In an intimate relationship, choices can have a profound effect on your partner. Such personal issues as sexual dysfunction, premature ejaculation and low libido can drive relationships apart. While relationships need openness and communication to be healthy and thrive, these sexual dysfunctions are frequently hidden or not discussed. You and your partner may blame each other for your lack of drive or performance. Communication breaks down, leading to further separation and depression. Sexual dysfunctions, unless discussed and treated, can be devastating.

Sexual dysfunction, the difficulty in obtaining or maintaining an erection, is an embarrassing and frustrating condition. Also known as impotence, sexual dysfunction can have as much a psychological as a physical cause. Poor performance or a lack of libido affects your confidence and can lead to depression. A repeated history of failure affects your future performance. Perhaps most devastatingly, relationships not able to exchange affection freely can cause doubt and feelings of low self-worth in each partner. Your partner may incorrectly feel you do not desire, or want, them. You may doubt your ability and desire in your partner.

Low libido, frequently confused with sexual dysfunction, is another condition that can leave devastating results. Low libido is rarer than sexual dysfunction. Perhaps one low libido is diagnosed for every fifteen diagnosed with sexual dysfunction. Sufferers of low libido are able to achieve erections, but have lost the desire to have sex. Some of the causes of low libido in men are depression, stress, and mental trauma. Performance anxiety, intense worry, depression and lack of confidence about these dysfunctions, can cause hurtful feelings, lack of communication and conflict. Anything that intensifies the worry about your performance causes additional negativity to form about your performance. Known as performance anxiety, this psychological condition further worsens your sexual dysfunction. Choosing to discuss your sexual dysfunction, and perhaps cure it, will bring renewed hope and closeness to you and your partner.

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Supreme Court Should End Affirmative Action in College Admissions (ContributorNetwork)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]ContributorNetwork - COMMENTARY | The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear the controversial case Fisher v. University of Texas. The case comes from Abigail Fisher, a white college student, who sued the University of Texas after she was denied admission.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120226/pl_ac/11001360_supreme_court_should_end_affirmative_action_in_college_admissions

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Killer Tips For Internet Home Based Business ... - Marketing With It

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Source: http://marketingwithit.org/killer-tips-for-internet-home-based-business-ideas-and-the-traffic-building-2/

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Weidmann-Bundesbank profit will be crimped by reserves (Reuters)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Reuters - The Bundesbank profit turned over to the federal government will be considerably smaller this year than in 2011 due to the risk provisions linked to the euro zone crisis, central bank president Jens Weidmann was quoted telling Der Spiegel.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120226/bs_nm/us_germany_bundesbank

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Benefits of Teak Patio Furniture | Home Improvement On Post

It was nice when we have outdoor furniture that has a high quality, a case of teak patio furniture. Teak patio furniture has been widely recognized by many people, so they will continue to look for because it has the advantage that no other furniture made from. This time, Home Furniture will tell the benefits of having teak patio furniture so you will feel confident to buy it.

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Our client needed to change to continue delivering business support services to young entrepreneurs.? We developed a growth strategy with stakeholders, mapped competitors and re-engineered existing products? to extend current services in to new markets .? Key people are in position and driving performance.

Source: http://www.theinspirationconsultancy.co.uk/change-management/

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Police investigate Best Buy TV porn

5 hrs.

Athima Chansanchai

Police are now investigating how porn infiltrated one Best Buy store's Wi-Fi network, forcing the store to issue an apology to shocked customers.

The last thing a family browsing in the TV section at its local Best Buy in Greenville, S.C., expected to see is 55-inches of pornographic images, but that's what happened earlier this week to a woman in the store shopping with her son and grandchildren. She filed a complaint with the Greenville Police Department.

And that's not the only time it happened, as the store's manager admitted it had happened the night before the woman reported her incident. An image was apparently uploaded through the Wi-Fi network and uploaded to a smart TV.

NBC affiliate WECT reported on the apology issued by the chain's corporate office:

"Two individuals accessed our store's wireless signal to broadcast inappropriate content on a smart television display. In both cases, we worked immediately to disable the inappropriate content. We greatly apologize for this unfortunate incident and we are working to ensure that it does not happen again."

UPDATE (9:37 a.m.) -- We reached out to the Greenville Police Department, and Officer Alia Urps told us that they're going through footage from in-store cameras to see who was there those evenings. Police suspect someone using a tablet or other mobile device streamed the image to the smart TV. But because there is no hard drive on the TV, it didn't ?save the offending material.
Officer Urps said that even if they were to find the culprit, "It would be difficult to prove the person sent that particular image." The charge would be disseminating obscene material.

"This is something we?ve not seen before," Urps said. "It'll be good for us to figure out what to do with this one. It'll serve as a foundation for further incidents."

On Twitter, follow?Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the?Google+?stream.

Source: http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/police-investigate-porn-infiltration-best-buy-tv-screens-190267

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Romney would raise eligibility age for Medicare

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to the Detroit Economic Club at Ford Field in Detroit, Friday, Feb. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to the Detroit Economic Club at Ford Field in Detroit, Friday, Feb. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Secret Service agents stand watch as Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, not pictured, speaks to the Detroit Economic Club at Ford Field in Detroit, Friday, Feb. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, addresses the Detroit Economic Club at Ford Field in Detroit, Friday, Feb. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, addresses the Detroit Economic Club at Ford Field in Detroit, Friday, Feb. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

A rolling billboard truck drives around Ford Field in Detroit as protestors march where Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivered a speech to the Detroit Economic Club, in Detroit Friday, Feb. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, Daniel Mears) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT

DETROIT (AP) ? Four days before critical primary elections, Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney outlined a far-reaching plan Friday to gradually delay Americans' eligibility for Medicare as well as Social Security.

Romney said the shift, as people live longer, is needed to steer the giant benefit programs toward economic sustainability.

Speaking to the Detroit Economic Club ? in cavernous Ford Field, where the Detroit Lions football team plays ? he also made a play for primary election support in Michigan, which votes on Tuesday along with Arizona.

Romney said previous steps to toughen government emission standards had "provided a benefit to some of the foreign automakers" at the expense of American companies. He said future changes should be worked out cooperatively between government and industry.

Campaigning in the city where he was born, Romney described himself as "a car guy" who has a Ford Mustang and a Chevy pickup and whose wife, Ann, drives "a couple of Cadillacs." Aides said they were model year 2007 and 2010 SRX vehicles, one each registered in Massachusetts and California.

Romney said his proposals for Medicare and Social Security would begin in 2022, meaning no current or near-retirees would be affected. He also said he favors adjustments to curtail the growth of future benefits for the relatively well-to-do, so "lower-income seniors would receive the most generous benefits." He had described his Social Security proposals previously.

The two programs provide retirement and health care benefits to tens of millions of older Americans.

Beginning in 2022, Romney said, "we will gradually increase the Medicare eligibility age by one month each year. In the long run, the eligibility ages for both programs will be indexed to longevity so that they increase only as fast as life expectancy."

Under current law, the age for collecting full Social Security benefits is gradually rising from 65 to 67. Medicare is available at age 65. In both cases, the age is set in law, and Romney's suggestion that it be tied automatically to increases in the life expectancy of Americans would mark a major change.

He spoke in the run-up to a pair of primaries that mark his latest tests as he tries to break free of Rick Santorum and his other persistent but underfunded rivals in the presidential race.

He is widely expected to win Arizona. Neither he nor his rivals is airing television ads in the state, a reliable sign that all sides view it as a closed case.

Although public and private polls in Michigan show Romney has erased much or all of an earlier deficit, he still faces a stiff challenge from Santorum in the state, where the disparity in television advertising is not as overwhelmingly in Romney's favor has it has been elsewhere.

It is an unwritten rule of Michigan politics that presidential candidates appear before the Detroit Economic Club. Santorum addressed the group several days ago, and officials familiar with the details said Newt Gingrich's camp had been in discussions for an appearance as late as last week. A spokesman for the former House speaker did not respond to a request for comment.

Romney's commitment caused a spike in interest, and as a result, the former governor spoke in the huge stadium. He stood on a makeshift stage set up on the 35-yard line, with his audience on the stadium floor ringed by thousands of empty stadium seats. Goalpost uprights were visible above the black draping that served as his backdrop. United Auto Workers protested outside.

The event's optics were widely criticized. When asked who chose the venue, Romney's campaign pointed to a letter from the Detroit Economic Club citing the 1,200-person crowd. The club blamed security concerns for moving the event from an atrium inside the stadium complex down onto the field. The Secret Service provides Romney's security.

Later Friday, Romney campaigned deep into more conservative western Michigan, headlining a rally at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo after stopping at a restaurant in Mount Clemens.

Santorum, meanwhile, intensified his effort to score an upset on what amounts to Romney's political home field.

The former Pennsylvania senator greeted parishioners Friday at a packed Catholic Church fish-fry dinner in Walled Lake, Mich., and then spoke for 55 minutes to a small crowd in the Detroit suburb of Lincoln Park.

Santorum said Romney's plan to limit tax deductions for charitable gifts by high-income people would hurt churches and civic groups. He called for sharp cuts in federal spending and regulations, and new restrictions on government entitlement programs that he said make Americans dependent on government. These were parts of his "economic freedom agenda," which he plans to enact in his first 100 days in office.

By contrast, Romney rarely strays from economic issues as he presses his case that as a former businessman he is best equipped to help restore an economy still recovering from the worst recession in decades.

"I not only think I have the best chance. I think I have the only chance" of defeating Obama, Romney told his midday audience, although he quickly added with a nervous-sounding laugh, "Maybe I'm overstating it a bit."

While aides earlier had touted the speech as a major economic address, Romney seemed to pre-empt himself earlier in the week when he called for across-the-board income tax cuts of 20 percent to help the economy grow and begin creating jobs in large numbers.

He repeated that proposal, along with his calls to cut the corporate income tax rate and abolish the estate tax.

On Medicare, Romney also supports changing the program to give beneficiaries a choice between the traditional setup and one in which the government provides them with a monthly payment that can be used to purchase private coverage.

"With these commonsense changes, we will have fixed our balance sheet," Romney said. "Instead of $62 trillion in unfunded commitments hanging over America's future, we'll have a balance sheet that is actually in balance."

In all there are 30 Republican National Convention delegates at stake in Michigan next week, 29 in Arizona.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-02-24-US-Romney/id-c7cf7d0decc448caa60c7563705e9ee6

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'This Means War' Writer Breaks Down The New Action Comedy

"This Means War" owes much of its power to the chemistry between Chris Pine, Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon, but there's another essential ingredient in place: screenwriter Timothy Dowling ("Role Models," "Just Go With It"). MTV News spoke with Dowling to get the scoop on the tools of his trade with regard to his work [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/02/24/this-means-war-chris-pine-tom-hardy/

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Roll out the red carpet -- Distro Issue 29 presents the Engadget Awards

You won't see our nominees flashing smiles and diamonds on a step and repeat, but the 2011 Engadget Awards are here and we've got all the winners in this week's issue of Distro. Alongside these champions of consumer electronics, we'll be scrutinizing Pantech's waterproof tablet, the Element, and its budget-friendly LTE handset, the Burst, as well as Sony's Walkman Z. We'll also give Apple's latest OS refresh a thorough once over in our in-depth preview of OS X Mountain Lion. In addition, the father of Nerdcore, MC Frontalot, answers our burning questions, we bring you our latest Recommended Reading and Box Brown takes Cupertino's big cats to task for Last Word. So, if you've been wondering who (or what) played second fiddle to Honda's ASIMO for robot of the year, there's only one way to find out: get to downloading!

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Roll out the red carpet -- Distro Issue 29 presents the Engadget Awards originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/distro-issue-29-engadget-awards/

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Cyndi Lauper's 'Kinky Boots' heads to Chicago

FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2012 file photo, Cyndi Lauper arrives at the 54th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. A new musical bringing together Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein and rock icon Cyndi Lauper is to high-step it to Chicago this fall. Producers said Wednesday that ?Kinky Boots? will make its world premiere at the Bank of America Theatre in October ahead of a possible Broadway transfer. Casting and specific dates haven't been announced. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)

FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2012 file photo, Cyndi Lauper arrives at the 54th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. A new musical bringing together Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein and rock icon Cyndi Lauper is to high-step it to Chicago this fall. Producers said Wednesday that ?Kinky Boots? will make its world premiere at the Bank of America Theatre in October ahead of a possible Broadway transfer. Casting and specific dates haven't been announced. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)

FILE - In this June 7, 2009 file photo, actor Harvey Fierstein arrives at the 63rd Annual Tony Awards in New York. A new musical bringing together Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein and rock icon Cyndi Lauper is to high-step it to Chicago this fall. Producers said Wednesday that ?Kinky Boots? will make its world premiere at the Bank of America Theatre in October ahead of a possible Broadway transfer. Casting and specific dates haven't been announced. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer, file)

NEW YORK (AP) ? A new musical bringing together Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein and rock icon Cyndi Lauper will put its best foot forward in Chicago this fall.

"Kinky Boots" will make its world premiere at the Bank of America Theatre in October ahead of a possible Broadway transfer, producers Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig said Wednesday.

The musical is based on the 2005 British movie about a failing shoe factory that's struggling following the death of its founder until it finds new life in fetish footwear.

Fierstein, known for his witty musicals like "La Cage Aux Folles" and "Newsies," pushed to have Lauper make her theatrical debut with music and lyrics for "Kinky Boots."

"She has one of those big-fat-all-over-the-place-you-can't-hide-it-hearts," he said. "There are just some people that you can't hide it with at all, and she's one of those people."

Lauper, the singer-songwriter behind such hits as "True Colors" and "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," jumped in with a full score that will surprise people, Fierstein said.

"There was a lot of chasing her around because that woman works," he said. "Her musical vocabulary is wonderful. Each character has their own sound."

The musical will be directed and choreographed by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell. Casting and specific dates haven't been announced yet.

Fierstein said the story teases out the relationship between Charlie, the shoe factory's new head, and a sassy drag queen performer named Lola.

"It really amplified what, for me, the story was about," he said. "Here are two people who couldn't be more different who realize that, in their minds, they're complete failures to their fathers. They find each other and heal each other."

___

Online: http://broadwayinchicago.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-02-22-Theater-Kinky%20Boots/id-36b52410c23544febb5f65633db71b9c

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Michael Fassbender Confirmed for The Counselor

This feels like a story we already reported, but Michael Fassbender has just updated his status from "strongly rumoured" to "confirmed" as the star of The Counsellor. Cormac McCarthy's original screenplay is being directed by Ridley Scott.

The film is coming together amazingly quickly. McCarthy (author of No Country For Old Men, The Road and All The Pretty Horses) delivered his screenplay to his surprised publishers in January, and Scott was signed as director only weeks later.

The story involves a successful lawyer who thinks he's clever enough to exploit the system by moonlighting in the drug business, but finds himself quickly dragged into a world of pain. Naysayers are starting to mutter that that sounds rather like Breaking Bad, but producer Steven Schwartz is understandably enthusiastic: "Since McCarthy himself wrote the script, we get his own muscular prose directly, with his sexual obsessions.?It?s a masculine world into which, unusually, two women intrude to play leading roles. McCarthy?s wit and humour in the dialogue make the nightmare even scarier. This may be one of McCarthy?s most disturbing and powerful works.?

Those two female leads will be Hollywood's next most contested roles, we'd imagine. And there's also the matter of casting the villain. Deadline's Mike Fleming says he's hearing rumours of Jeremy Renner, Bradley Cooper or Brad Pitt, but presumably those names come up for practically every current project, and nobody is yet remotely confirmed.

True to The Counsellor's brisk form though, shooting starts at the beginning of May, so we should hear further updates soon enough...

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924585/news/1924585/

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Google pads IP portfolio, purchases Cuil's pending search-related patent applications

Google's been buying a fair amount of IP over the past several months from IBM, and now the Big G has acquired seven new patent applications from the now-defunct search engine, Cuil. Back in 2008, Cuil aimed to take Google's crown as the king of search, but was shut down 2010 because it often failed to provide relevant results (despite its massive site index). Good thing the patent apps Google's gotten are for different methods of displaying search results, as opposed to, you know, finding them. The full list of assignments can be found at the source below, so head on down to get your fill of patent claims and black and white drawings.

Google pads IP portfolio, purchases Cuil's pending search-related patent applications originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/gNFxdXKep1I/

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Daily Tips for Business: Industrial-Mechanical

How Much Does a Welder Get Paid an Hour These Days?

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 11:11 AM PST

The subject of salary is an important one, no doubt. That is why so many people make the kind of salary that they can make at a job the basis for making their career choices. After all, the career path that a man takes would very well determine how his whole life would eventually turn out.

Ground Support Equipment Crews That Made The History Books

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 09:59 AM PST

We've all heard tales about fighter pilots during World War II. But what about the untold history of the ground support equipment crew who made their missions possible?

Purge and Trap for Autosamplers and Gas Chromatography

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 08:47 AM PST

Gas Chromatography (GC) is used to analyze compounds that can be vaporized without decomposing. To analyze these compounds, a gas chromatograph requires an autosampler whose injection mechanism meets the demands of the analysis. When low levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) or aroma compounds must be analyzed, a purge and trap autosampler is the optimal choice.

Thermal Deburring: Efficient, Effective Parts Finishing

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:57 AM PST

The thermal deburring process offers faster, more efficient finishing for metal and plastic parts and components than other common methods. It uses a small, controlled explosion of combustible gases to rapidly burn away unwanted materials.

Scrap Aluminum Grades - How to Sort and Clean Scrap Aluminum to Maximize Its Value

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 06:32 AM PST

An explanation of the different grades of scrap aluminum. Tips for how to maximize the value of an aluminum load by cleaning and separating the material.

Die Casting Process and Its Advantages

Posted: 20 Feb 2012 05:55 AM PST

It is a metal casting method that is exemplified by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a steel mold. Two hardened tool steel dies are used to create the mold cavity which has been machined into shape and work.

Source: http://dailytipsforbusiness.blogspot.com/2012/02/industrial-mechanical_20.html

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Whitney Houston's hometown remembers her fondly (Reuters)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Reuters - The New Hope Baptist Church, where pop star Whitney Houston first sang and family and friends will gather on Saturday to pay her a final tribute, sits in a hardscrabble corner of Newark, New Jersey. Its well-maintained red-brick facade seems at odds with the dusty parking lot and derelict housing projects around it.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120220/music_nm/us_whitneyhouston_hometown

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Senior Analyst iLIM (Liquidity and pooling) Amsterdam | Volwerk

Senior Analyst iLIM (Liquidity and pooling) Amsterdam

COCT31375
End Date:
01-06-2012
Start Date:
01-03-2012?
Location:
Amsterdam:

Scope of Work: GTS Change Management (GTS CM)

Purpose of the role / accountabilities: how it adds value
? Deliver quality business analysis solutions within agreed time scales, where key progress checkpoints are established, monitored and controlled typically by a more senior business analyst or change manager
? Perform the acquisition and analysis of the data to identify business issues and opportunities
? Provide high quality detailed analysis, design and build processes to improve operational efficiency & customer service
? Typically work on small single projects or small components of larger projects that are multi-discipline
? Within the project structure, may take responsibility for managing the relationship with stakeholders, where appropriate
? Suggest a range of alternative solutions based on specific selection criteria to aid the more senior business analyst and/or change manager to take informed decisions
? Develop Terms of References and budgets for projects and work plans
? Input to the development of training for solution
? Test business solutions and ensure they conform to requirements
? Complete project reporting for business analysis activities
? Take part (sometimes in a lead role) in meetings/workshops between GTS CM and representatives from other business areas as appropriate

Key role deliverables: criteria/results by which success can be measured
? Provide effective support to Analyst and Change managers and act as a link between GBI and the business areas across RBS Group on business analysis issues

Experience
? Change Management or related Project Management experience with a proven ability to work on own initiative to deliver optimum business solutions
? Process modelling through the use of analytical tools and structured analytical techniques
? Understanding of Project Management Frameworks, documentation standards, Project Lifecycle planning
? Competent use of project tools e.g. MS Project
? Competent use of Microsoft Office
? Experience with international cash management products and processes
? Experience with Liquidity Management products and processes
? Experience with online channels
? Familiar with global programmes/projects
? Prince 2
? Preferred experience with ABN AMRO and/or RBS, knowledge of current infrastructure, products, organization, and RBS Framework

Other Significant Role Requirements: Any further key factors which have a bearing on a candidate?s ability to perform
? Willing to work towards a recognised formal qualification in Business Analysis and/or analytical tools and structured analytical techniques e.g. ISEB Business Analyst Diploma is desirable
? Can demonstrate numeracy skills in relation to analysis
? Good communications skills and the ability to understand conceptual ideas and how they translate into meaningful solutions
? Good PC skills including the ability to use PowerPoint and other applications to produce complex reports, spreadsheets and presentations to an excellent quality, suitable for the audience
? Ability to work in partnership with the business areas and Change Managers to manage effectively the links with operations, project staff and other programmes
? Ability to manage own workload by prioritising activities, balancing conflicting demands and working on own initiative
? Requirement to travel may feature

Scope of Role
Change Management
? Ability to establish and build relationships across GTS CM to facilitate achievement of GTS CM goals
? Ability to understand change drivers and how these translate into viable projects

Customer
? Ability to understand and interpret the impact of solutions on the customer proposition
? An appreciation of how solutions meet end user and customer requirements

Continuous Improvement
? Actively engage in CI initiatives and share CI Knowledge and best practices, across GTS CM
? Support CI in the project environment, and promote Lean principles, as appropriate, through use of CI tools e.g. Work-Out, Work-Place Work Out (WPWO) and Team Based Problem Solving (TBPS)

Technical Knowledge:
? Appreciation of Project Management methodologies and the project lifecycle
? Knowledge and use of process mapping techniques and the ability to suggest alternative solutions to address business requirements
? Competent use of Microsoft Office applications e.g. MS Project, analytical tools etc

People Management:
? Communicates with people (verbally and in writing) at least two levels above and demonstrates leadership in day to day activities persuading others to follow

Financial Management:
? Budget control / financial management may feature

Consultant name: Chelle Tjabring

Klik voor bron

Source: http://www.volwerk.nl/?p=298738

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Societal Alienation Inside International locations Based On ...

?There is limited many of these item since society? can be a pronouncement attributed to help Mrs. Maggie Thatcher, an old Pm of Great britain. On the, the community is the fact highly tidied as well as included collective of an individual, vendors and additionally corporations which often, in a different civilisation, carries selected features, operates, plus obligations to permit limbs of the civilisation to operate mainly because proficiently as you possibly can, and has protection, interpersonal equilibrium, fantastic governance, together with practices with the furtherance of their children towards helpful forthcoming functions, in an progressing surroundings which happens to be inevitably potentially destabilising.

Without the need of this sort of prepared creature, humankind would definitely be employed in a fabulous cluttered way. Dissimilar to the particular natural and also inorganic marketplace, in which there are available coherent behaviours associated with constancy from the identified bedlam, there isn?t really basis for if very much the same security would probably underpin any kind of bedlam of individual race. Indeed individual damage is actually underpinned by just interpersonal lack of stability with unfettered envy. The actual gatherings of latest record internationally help such a conclusions.

Francis Fukuyama, as a famous university student from widely recognized, gave them in-depth in the worsening involved with modern society the united states, a civilised united states. It is usually a number one an associate those countries around the world designed around relatively recent centuries above the oceans through immigration with Europe. All of these nations around the world tend to be in so doing reigned over via the ethos involving individualism, as opposed to the communalism within the more established areas with The japanese not to mention The eu. Individual liberties seem to be proliferating in these lands (which will accordingly become known as a Ultra-West) but throughout those portions of fascination in to the Vatican . . . a strange comparison.

With no extended family aid with these brand new areas, self-sufficiency and personal image actually came out on top. This really is as opposed using the time-tested communitarian worth associated with Japanese groups. These kinds of ideals are actually defined by certain Oriental business leaders as displaying ?Asian values.Woul Nonetheless, migrants within the Mediterranean australia wide memorialize precisely the same morals: people and additionally atomic family members really being backed by your longer familys, esteem for a elders as well as authorised management, including a sense of of a tribe utilizing defensible guidelines, especially when utilized in a new conglomeration about multi-ethnic a persons.

It style involving personal image also has engendered boasts for extra and even more very own liberties. Taken up of a kind, regular admire for others might be declined, if not unnoticed. Situations during uncle particular person legal rights can arise. Australia wide presently, surnames plus tackles stipulating regard to get age, posture, or loving relationship currently have supplied way for you to the particular worldwide using first companies.

Proper rights particular breed the legal ( space ) along with outdoors! The particular growth involved with claimed the legal, improved from those while using the tennis courts to obtain still much more legal (even for outlawed asylum searchers) could be juxtaposed while using the inescapable fact which usually the legal commonly are not prepare through the Constitution, or even Charge of Rights, and also endorsed coverage phrases australia wide. This particular contributes to many societal issues, largely due to a a shortage of relating or maybe counter-balancing personalized duties to your gathered.

Several resulting effects of improved having access to reported particular legal rights will be the struggling generated to make sure you babies because of the impermanence about marriage plus cohabitation, anxiety when unload pavements (all they wanted brutal violence as a result of louts or just a danger so that you can youngsters), the intense misuse in lucrative survival together with free of charge medical-related products, an important denial of non-public task (for example. purchasing capabilities to enable employment and even to re-locate so that you can companies providing a job), and even growing necessitates by way of the well-off to get ?middle style wellbeing.No

Source: http://made4ll.com/societal-alienation-inside-international-locations-based-on-individualism/

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Whitney Houston remembered at NJ hometown funeral

A coffin holding the remains of singer Whitney Houston is carried into the New Hope Baptist Church before her funeral services in Newark, N.J. on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

A coffin holding the remains of singer Whitney Houston is carried into the New Hope Baptist Church before her funeral services in Newark, N.J. on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

The hearse carrying the body of Whitney Houston leaves Whigham Funeral Home in Newark, N.J. for a short ride to the New Hope Baptist Church for her funeral Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

Candles burn at a memorial at a memorial to Whitney Houston outside New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., early Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012. Whitney Houston's funeral will take place later Saturday at the church where she sang in the choir as a girl. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Singer Bobby Brown, left, is seen outside during the funeral of his ex-wife Whitney Houston at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012. Houston died last Saturday at the Beverly Hills Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., at the age 48. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Fans sing Whitney Houston songs as they gather a few blocks from the New Hope Baptist Church before the singer's funeral in Newark, N.J., Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) ? Clapping hands and swaying to gospel hymns in the church where Whitney Houston's powerful voice once wowed her congregation, the biggest names in entertainment sang along with the choir to remember the pop superstar at her hometown funeral Saturday.

"We are here today, hearts broken but yet with God's strength we celebrate the life of Whitney Houston," the Rev. Joe A. Carter told the packed New Hope Baptist Church after the choir behind him sang "The Lord is My Shepherd."

Mourners including singer Jennifer Hudson and Houston's mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston, stood, swayed and clapped along in the aisles as gospel singers BeBe Winans and the Rev. Kim Burrell joined with pop stars like Alicia Keys in paying tribute to the 48-year-old pop superstar who first began singing in the Newark church.

"You wait for a voice like that for a lifetime," said music mogul Clive Davis, who shepherded Houston's career for decades.

Others were more mournful; singer Ray J., who spent time with Houston during her last days, broke down crying. His sister, singer Brandy, put her arm around him. Cissy Houston and Houston's daughter, 18-year-old Bobbi Kristina, clutched each other in the front of the row.

Actor Kevin Costner, her co-star in "The Bodyguard" that spawned her greatest hit, remembered a movie star who was uncertain of her own fame, who "still wondered, 'Am I good enough? Am I pretty enough? Will they like me?'"

"It was the burden that made her great and the part that caused her to stumble in the end," Costner said.

Filmmaker Tyler Perry praised Houston's "grace that kept on carrying her all the way through, the same grace led her all the way to the top of the charts. She sang for presidents."

Stevie Wonder and Oprah Winfrey were among the biggest names gathered to mourn Houston, along with Hudson, Monica, Brandy and Jordin Sparks ? representing a generation of big-voiced young singers who grew up emulating her. Houston's voice, a recording of "I Will Always Love You," was to close the funeral.

Houston's cousin Dionne Warwick presided over the funeral, introducing speakers and singers and offering short comments about Houston between them.

Houston's mother was helped by two people on either side of her as she walked in and sat with her granddaughter and other family to begin the service. Houston's ex-husband, Bobby Brown, briefly appeared at her funeral, walking to the casket, touching it and walking out. Security guards said Brown was upset that he would have to sit separately from the people he arrived with, and left. A Brown representative didn't immediately comment.

Mourners fell quiet as three police officers escorted Houston's casket, draped with white roses and purple lilies. White-robed choir members began to fill the pews on the podium. As the band played softly, the choir sang in a hushed voice, "Whitney, Whitney, Whitney."

Close family friend Aretha Franklin, whom Houston lovingly called "Aunt Ree," had been expected to sing at the service, but she was too ill to attend. Franklin said in an email to The Associated Press that she had been up most of the night with leg spasms and sent best wishes to the family. "May God bless and keep them all," she wrote.

A program featuring a picture of Houston looking skyward read "Celebrating the life of Whitney Elizabeth Houston, a child of God." Pictures of Houston as a baby, with her mother and daughter filled the program.

"I never told you that when you were born, the Holy Spirit told me that you would not be with me long," Cissy Houston wrote her daughter in a letter published in the program. "And I thank God for the beautiful flower he allowed me to raise and cherish for 48 years."

"Rest, my baby girl in peace," the letter ends, signed "mommie."

The service marks one week after Houston, one of music's all-time biggest stars, was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel in California. A cause of death has yet to be determined.

To the world, Houston was the pop queen with the perfect voice, the dazzling diva with regal beauty, a troubled superstar suffering from addiction and, finally, another victim of the dark side of fame.

To her family and friends, she was just "Nippy." A nickname given to Houston when she was a child, it stuck with her through adulthood and, later, would become the name of one of her companies. To them, she was a sister, a friend, a daughter, and a mother.

"She always had the edge," the Rev. Jesse Jackson said outside church Saturday. "You can tell when some kids have what we call a special anointing. Aretha had that when she was 14. ... Whitney cultivated that and took it to a very high level."

A few fans gathered Saturday morning hours before the service as close as they could get to the church, some from as far away as Washington, D.C., and Miami. Bobby Brooks said he came from Washington "just to be among the rest of the fans."

"Just to celebrate her life, not just her death," said Brooks, "just to sing and dance with the people that love her."

Others were more entrepreneurial, setting up card tables to sell silk-screened T-shirts with Houston's image and her CDs. But only the invited would get close to the church; streets were closed to the public for blocks in every direction. But their presence was felt around the church, with a huge shrine of heart-shaped balloons and personal messages that covered the street corner around the church entrance.

Houston's death marked the final chapter for the superstar whose fall from grace while shocking was years in the making. Houston had her first No. 1 hit by the time she was 22, followed by a flurry of No. 1 songs and multi-platinum records.

Over her career, she sold more than 50 million records in the United States alone. Her voice, an ideal blend of power, grace and beauty, made classics out of songs like "Saving All My Love For You," ''I Will Always Love You," ''The Greatest Love of All" and "I'm Every Woman." Her six Grammys were only a fraction of her many awards.

But amid the fame, a turbulent marriage to Brown and her addiction to drugs tarnished her image. She became a woman falling apart in front of the world.

Her last album, "I Look To You," debuted on the top of the charts when it was released in 2009 with strong sales, but didn't have the staying power of her previous records. A tour the next year was doomed by cancellations because of illness and sub-par performances.

Still, a comeback was ahead: She was to star in the remake of the movie "Sparkle" and was working on new music. Her family, friends and hard-core fans were hopeful.

The funeral is for invited guests only. Houston is to be buried next to her father, John Houston, in nearby Westfield, N.J.

__

Contributing to this report were Global Entertainment and Lifestyles Editor Alicia Quarles and Mesfin Fekadu.

___

Online:

http://www.whitneyhouston.com

__

Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's music editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-02-18-Whitney%20Houston-Funeral/id-f26326e5db5c4e9495e7c9273932fe1c

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