UPS offers regulators concessions on TNT bid

AMSTERDAM (AP) ? United Parcel Service Inc. says it has offered the European Union's regulatory watchdog some concessions in its proposed ?5.16 million ($6.8 billion) takeover of TNT Express NV.

UPS said the remedies involve the small package delivery sector and "comprise the sale of business activities and assets, in combination with granting access to air capabilities," but didn't release any information as to how this could affect the deal financially.

UPS offered to buy the struggling TNT, Europe's second-largest delivery company, in May. It hopes to bulk up its European operations to compete with the biggest express company in Europe, Deutsche Post and its DHL arm.

In October, regulators said they were worried the UPS deal would lead to over-concentration in the sector, with the only other remaining large competitor FedEx Corp.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-11-30-Netherlands-UPS-TNT/id-bfc4ab653a50430cad5fd83710bf9d7a

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Handicap International urges U.S. to join the Mine Ban Treaty

U.S. delegation to attend Mine Ban Treaty's 12th annual Meeting of States Parties; 2012 Landmine Monitor Report underlines Treaty's importance

Takoma Park, Maryland (PRWEB) November 30, 2012

Handicap International welcomes the participation of the U.S. delegation at the 12th Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva, from December 3 to 7. In response to calls from civil society, the Obama administration began a review of U.S. landmine policy in December 2009, but has yet to announce its conclusions. Now that President Obama has been elected for a second term, Handicap International urges his administration to move swiftly towards accession to the treaty. News of the administration?s progress is expected during the upcoming conference.

The 2012 Landmine Monitor?an annual report that provides a global overview of developments in mine ban policy; mine contamination, clearance, and casualties; and support for victim assistance and mine action?was released on Nov. 29, and presents several disturbing findings. Handicap International is particularly concerned about a reported 30% drop in international funding for victim assistance last year. Despite the overall reduction in aid to victims, however, the U.S. has increased its mine action aid.

?I applaud the generosity of the U.S., which has supplied $534.5 million in aid since 2007, making it the biggest funder of mine action,? says Elizabeth MacNairn, Executive Director of Handicap International U.S. ?However, assistance must be coupled with an absolute ban on further use of the weapon. It is time for the U.S. to match its policy to its financial commitment by ratifying the Mine Ban Treaty and destroying the 10.4 million landmines currently held within the U.S. stockpile." The Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty bans the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel landmines.

The 2012 Landmine Monitor counted 4,286 new victims of landmines and explosive remnants of war in 2011. It estimates that around the world, there are more than 500,000 survivors of mine accidents who require lifelong assistance. However, the resources deployed by the State Parties to the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty are not equal to the very serious challenges faced.

?Funding for victim assistance is at its lowest ever level since the Landmine Monitor began keeping records,? says MacNairn. ?Last year the State donors gave only $30 million to support 500,000 survivors and their families and communities which is clearly not enough.?

Eighty-eight countries and territories are still affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war. One new victim of these weapons is recorded every two hours. Almost three-quarters of these victims are civilians, and more than 40% are children. In some countries, the proportion of child victims is much higher: in Kenya, Uganda, and Yemen, 90% of victims are children and the figure stands at about 60% in Libya, Afghanistan, and Laos (58%). Yet, because of the reduction in international aid, countries such as Afghanistan and Uganda have had to scale down or halt victim assistance projects.

"The needs [of child victims] are greater than those of adults,? says Rahmatullah Merzaveean, an Afghan Ban Advocate who lost both legs in a landmine explosion at the age of nine. ?Their prosthetic limbs need regular adjustment as they grow, treatment is lengthy and costly, and they run a particularly high risk of exclusion from the education system."

Handicap International and Ban Advocates, an association of survivors of landmine and cluster munition explosions, will attend the 12th Meeting of States Parties, to remind the governments present of their responsibilities and to call on them to fully respect the obligations set out in the Treaty. Ban Advocates will also confront the States Parties with the appalling consequences of landmines and explosive remnants of war.

Handicap International currently works in 63 countries, 40 of which are polluted by landmines and explosive remnants of war. The organization implements mine clearance, risk education, rehabilitation, and victim assistance projects. Its expertise in the field gives legitimacy to its international advocacy work to ban and eradicate these weapons.

About Handicap International

Co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, Handicap International is an independent international aid organization. It has been working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster for 30 years. Working alongside persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, our actions and testimony are focused on responding to their essential needs, improving their living conditions, and promoting respect for their dignity and basic rights. Since its founding in 1982, Handicap International has set up development programs in more than 60 countries and intervenes in numerous emergency situations. The network of eight national associations (Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States) works constantly to mobilize resources, jointly manage projects and to increase the impact of the organization?s principles and actions. Handicap International is one of six founding organizations of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and winner of the 2011 Hilton Humanitarian Prize. Handicap International takes action and campaigns in places where ?standing tall? is no easy task.

About Ban Advocates

Ban Advocates are survivors of landmine or cluster munition accidents who lobby governments in favor of banning these weapons and ensuring that the rights of victims are fully respected. Today the group is comprised of 30 victims from eight polluted countries (Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Kosovo, Laos, Lebanon, Serbia and Vietnam). This project was launched by Handicap International in Serbia in September 2007. Handicap International has supported their initiatives every year since.

Mica Bevington
Handicap International
(240) 450-3531
Email Information

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/handicap-international-urges-u-join-mine-ban-treaty-170636633.html

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WSJ: Sharp courting US firms for investments, will trade displays for dollars

Loans, cuts and mortgages -- Sharp is doing everything it can to meet its "profitable by 2014" pledge, and according to the Wall Street Journal, it's looking to US suitors to lend a hand. Sources close to the company say that it's offering a stake in Sharp to companies like Dell, Intel and Qualcomm in exchange for a capital investment. So far, all four companies have declined to comment, but investors would reportedly score easy access to Sharp displays, a deal that could be a boon for Dell's hardware division. The display outfit had originally hoped to bolster its bottom line by selling a capital stake to Hon Hai, but the deal fizzled in August. No official numbers have been announced, but the WSJ is being told that Sharp is hoping to take in ¥20 billion (about $240 million) from both Dell and Intel, and is negotiating a more meager investment with Qualcomm. With any luck, the international agreements will keep Sharp afloat long enough for its IGZO-based LCD panels to put some black ink in the firm's ledgers.

Filed under: Displays, Misc, Intel, Dell

Comments

Source: Wall Street Journal

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/29/wsj-sharp-courting-us-firms-for-investments/

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Saints tweet that bus egged at Atlanta airport

ATLANTA (AP) ? The New Orleans Saints players say their bus was pelted with eggs by airport workers after they touched down in Atlanta.

Tight end Jimmy Graham, linebacker Will Herring and quarterback Chase Daniel tweeted about the incident Wednesday night at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The Saints (5-6) face the first-place Falcons (10-1) Thursday night at the Georgia Dome. New Orleans won the first meeting between the longtime rivals, 31-27 on Nov. 11.

Graham wrote on Twitter: "Bus just got egged after landing in ATL by the ramp workers. Classy!"

Daniel tweeted, "Wow ... we start getting eggs thrown (at) us by airport workers! Guess they do hate us!"

Herring seems amused by the incident.

"First time my bus has been egged by opposing fans!" he tweeted. The game "should be fun!!"

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/saints-tweet-bus-egged-atlanta-airport-130054492--nfl.html

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2013 Real Estate Outlook ? Plan Early for Your Lafayette Home ...

The outlook for the Bay Area real estate market continues to improve.

Pacific Union?s blog article titled, ?Bay Area Job Growth, Healthy Housing Markets May Outshine Washington?s Fiscal Cliff? offers an excellent discussion of current real estate market trends, including an improving 2013 outlook for the Bay Area. In the article,?Mark McLaughlin, CEO of Pacific Union, notes that the Bay Area?s economic fundamentals are the envy of the rest of the country. With the almost-certain likelihood of a compromise in Washington, McLaughlin sees a continued recovery ahead ? one getting stronger month by month.

?Our 2013 outlook is based on the Bay Area?s ability to generate high-salary jobs and continued growth in high-tech industries, trade, and tourism,? says McLaughlin.

Lafayette?s 2013 Real Estate Outlook

What does this mean for our hyper-local Lafayette real estate market? Good news, according to Dana Green, Lafayette?s #1 Realtor.

In 2012, Green closed twice as many Lafayette transactions as any other Realtor. She represents both sellers and buyers, and is already helping clients organize to achieve their 2013 real estate goals.

Says Green:

?I anticipate a healthy 2013 for the Lafayette real estate market. Inventory and interest rates remain at all-time lows and buyer demand is currently high.?This means the best properties will likely attract lots of buyer interest, a continuation of what?we?ve experienced in the 2012 real estate market.

?Buyers who work?with the Dana Green Team come to the market pre-qualified and well educated about Lafayette home values. When?they?see the home of their dreams, they?re prepared to work with us to move quickly to compete successfully in?multiple offer situations. This?level of?readiness will continue to be important for buyers as we enter the 2013 market.

?The anticipated 2013 high buyer?demand?is good news for Lafayette home sellers, but that doesn?t mean all properties on?the?market will move?quickly at any price.?Real estate fundamentals still apply, including price, location, home condition, and presentation.

?If you are considering buying or selling soon, please contact me at your earliest convenience so I can orchestrate a successful experience! Timing and planning are critical.?

It?s never too early to begin. You can reach Dana Green directly at (925) 339-1918 or Dana@DanaGreenTeam.com

Source: http://www.danagreenteam.com/blog/2013-lafayette-real-estate-outlook/

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Polar ice melting faster than thought, scientists warn

A new study published in 'Science' found the ice in Greenland is melting five times faster than in the early 90s, part of what accounts for a 20 percent rise in sea level over the past two decades. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.

By Miguel Llanos, NBC News

What had been a blurry picture about polar ice ? especially how it impacts sea levels???just got a whole lot clearer as experts on Thursday published a peer-reviewed study they say puts to rest the debate over whether the poles added to, or subtracted from, sea level rise over the last two decades.

"This improved certainty allows us to stay definitively that both Antarctica and Greenland have been losing ice," lead author Andrew Shepherd of the University of Leeds in Britain, told reporters. Not only that, but the pace has tripled from the 1990s, the data indicate.

Combining satellite data from dozens of earlier studies, the study "shows that the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets have contributed just over 11 millimeters (0.4 inches) to global sea levels since 1992," he added. Two-thirds was from Greenland, a third from Antarctica.

---

NASA Earth Observatory

This 20-mile-long rift on Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier, seen from a satellite on Oct. 26, will eventually calve off, possibly in the next few months, creating an iceberg the size of New York City. While that won't raise sea levels since the glacial tongue sits on water, the loss could speed up the flow of ice from Antarctica's mainland into the sea.

That's 20 percent of all sea level rise over the last two decades, with the rest mostly from thermal expansion of waters due to warming sea temperatures, the authors noted. In recent years, however, the percentage "has gone up significantly" to nearly 40 percent, added co-author Michiel van den Broeke from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Published in the journal Science, the study was based on input from 47 experts at the 26 institutes that produced earlier studies with wild variations. Some estimated melt was raising sea levels by up to 2 millimeters a year, Shepherd noted, while a few said that overall polar ice was growing, and thus countering sea level rise.

Much of the discrepancy was due to data showing that Antarctica's vast eastern ice sheet was adding, not losing ice.

Eastern Antarctica has indeed added ice, but continent-wide the last decade shows a "50 percent increase in ice loss rate," said study?co-author Erik Ivins, a satellite data expert with NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.?

Most of that loss is in western Antarctica ? at places like Pine Island Glacier, where an iceberg the size of New York City is set to calve off. The iceberg itself won't raise sea levels since that ice is already atop water, but thinning glaciers mean that ice on the mainland can make its way downhill to the sea faster.

ESA/NASA/Planetary Visions

Based on the new study in Science, this chart shows changes in global sea level due to ice sheet melting since 1992. The background image shows thickening (blue) and thinning (red) of Antarctica's ice sheets over the same period.

Even more dramatic, Ivins said, is that Greenland?"is losing mass at about five times the rate today as it was in the early 1990s."

Greenland's melt rate has gone from 55 billion tons a year in the 1990s to nearly ?290 billion tons a year recently, according to the study.?

A top ice expert who was not a study co-author told NBC News that the new data mark "an important step forward" in better estimating future sea level rise.

"While we had a basic picture of what was going on, it was an incomplete and blurry one," said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado-Boulder. "We needed to?step back and take a fresh look, making the best use of all of the different data sources?that we have.

"With this study," he added, "we now have a lot confidence in how the ice sheets are behaving."

The findings come as nations negotiate in Qatar over a new climate treaty to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which aimed to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases tied to a warming Earth.?

And while a half-inch rise in sea levels over 20 years doesn't sound like much, many experts fear further warming will accelerate the polar melt. The ice sheets would raise sea levels by more than 200 feet if they completely melted over centuries ? not likely, but even a tenth of that would have catastrophic impacts on coastal areas.

The authors warned that while the new data should become the benchmark for future forecasts, any new studies could be compromised if aging satellites are not replaced. In the U.S., the Obama administration is overhauling its satellite program after an outside review team found it "dysfunctional."

Related: Sea levels rose 60 percent faster than forecast, study finds

"It?s really critical that these measurements are sustained and several satellites are beginning to fail," noted?Ian Joughin, a University of Washington researcher.

"If we really want to have meaningful information that you know planners can use to build seawalls," he added, "there?s going to have to be a big push to improve our projections of sea level rise using models."

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/29/15518574-antarctica-greenland-ice-definitely-melting-into-sea-and-speeding-up-experts-warn?lite

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Angus T. Jones Apologizes for 'Two and a Half Men' Slam

Spoke to soon? Perhaps Angus T. Jones had a change of heart or maybe he realized that you shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you -- either way, the 19-year old star has issued an apology for encouraging people to stop watching Two and a Half Men. Yes, the very show that pays him a reported $350,000 per episode.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/angus-t-jones-apologizes-slamming-two-and-half-men/1-a-504821?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Aangus-t-jones-apologizes-slamming-two-and-half-men-504821

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World's most dangerous walk to school? Fixed!

Beawiharta / Reuters

Students walk across a new bridge as they cross a river to get to school at Sanghiang Tanjung village in Lebak regency, Indonesia's Banten village on November 29, 2012.

Children in Indonesia are taking a perilous route to school using a broken suspension bridge. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

By David R Arnott, NBC News

A perilous daily journey undertaken by a group of Indonesian schoolchildren just got a whole lot easier.

In January, PhotoBlog reported on the dangerous river crossing the children faced?after a bridge collapsed. Ten months on, Reuters reports that a new bridge has opened.

Epi Sopian, the head of Sanghiang Tanjung village, said the bridge had been built with the assistance of non-governmental organizations and the country's?largest steel producer, PT Krakatau Steel.

Related content:

Beawiharta / Reuters

Then and now: A combination photo shows children crossing the old collapsed bridge (top) on January 29, 2012, and students using the new bridge (below) on November 29, 2012.

Follow @NBCNewsPictures

Sign up for the NBCNews.com Photos Newsletter

Source: http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/29/15539345-new-bridge-means-indonesian-kids-no-longer-have-to-risk-lives-to-get-to-school?lite

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Art Institute of New York City Digital Filmmaking: UHE Looking for ...

-->







Hey every one this is information coming straight out of career services, If you want to get your work seen and start getting it out there check out the following:

"UHETV, a new global entertainment network is looking for brand new, well-produced, HD content such as independent artist videos, webisodes that run thirty minutes to an hour,
short/full-length feature films and movie trailers. We would like to run this content as a promotion for 90 days at no cost to you in order to measure our audience?s response.

Urban Hollywood Entertainment has obtained national distribution through Dish Network on demand and Simply Me Distribution.? The UHE TV channel provides 24 hour access to all kinds of television and film content. Our present viewership is 4.3 million per month.
Urban Hollywood is a brand that will always provide quality, dedication, exposure, and professionalism. The executives of Urban Hollywood have created what most networks don?t have all in one which is diverse programming for a globally diverse audience.? The content that is broadcast by Urban Hollywood consists of Reality Shows, HD Films, Sports, Travel, Radio and more in development."

There will be a conference call with more information and how to submit your films @ 1pm today, Here is the info:
CONTACT: SHIRLEY BURRIS
CONFERENCE# 605.475.4350
ACCESS CODE: 2713282

Source: http://ainycvpstudents.blogspot.com/2012/11/uhe-looking-for-content.html

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Ho-ho-high-tech: Kids send wish lists to Santa's inbox

EmailSanta.com

Letters to Santa come flooding into his inbox as much as his mailbox these days.

By Adrienne Mand Lewin, TODAY contributor

PowerPoint presentations. Wish lists at online registries. Webcams and tweets. Welcome to writing to Santa Claus 2.0.

Today?s tech-savvy kids have put a new twist on the time-honored tradition of pleading their case for niceness before St. Nick and asking for whatever their hearts desire most. And Santa will even write back.

?The Internet and Santa?s magic work quite well together,? said Alan Kerr, head elf at EmailSanta.com, adding that answering the more than 1 million letters a year received by the site is nothing compared with delivering gifts around the world in one night.

EmailSanta.com allows kids to write directly to Santa, watch him checking out his map via a 24/7 Webcam, and follow his tweets at @KringleClaus. (A typical tweet might include a "HHHOL" and say something like: "Those silly elves are playing dinosaurs again! Roar! Roar! What a funny sight!")

Kerr started the business in 1996 from his home in Calgary in Alberta, Canada during a postal strike when his nieces and nephews were disappointed they wouldn?t be able to mail letters to Santa. He expected a handful of messages and instead got 100,000 in a few weeks.

?It wasn?t like nowadays where domain names are pretty obvious,? Kerr said. ?Back then, the URL was longer than Santa?s beard. It wasn?t something people would find by accident.?

On a recent weekday, traffic to the site came from South Africa, Ecuador, the United States and Ireland. Pre-Thanksgiving, EmailSanta.com received a letter every 30 seconds, but Kerr said that number typically increases to several each second as Christmas gets closer.

The emails sent to EmailSanta.com have ranged from hopeful ...

Can I also have some magic cream to get rid of my Daddy's grey hair.

?Jordan, 7.

... to confessional:

?I've been bad a few times this year but I hope you can still see the good in me and not just the naughty. I really can be a good kid!

?Lane, 9.

?Sory bout the exlaxx in the milk last yeer. Poppa wasnt to happi.

?Seanie, 8

... to bluntly practical:

Santa, you know how it is nowadays, my parents are divorced, so please put me on your special delivery list to come 2 nights, Christmas Eve at Mom's and Christmas night at Dad's. Thank you!

?Ashley, 7.

Dear Santa ...
There are many other Santa-related websites and online methods kids use to connect with their main man. Michele Niec of Nashville, Tenn., said her 9-year-old son, Austin, has been receiving monthly e-mails from Santa Claus since September after mailing him a postcard through Macy?s last year.

?He was completely surprised about it,? Niec said. ?He was very excited.?

Austin, however, doesn?t make a list for Santa, believing ?if Santa is watching me every day, he knows what I want.?

But many young writers don?t take such chances. EmailSanta.com has received lengthy lists from Target?s gift registry, videos made by children, digital photos and even a PowerPoint presentation detailing must-have presents. The wishes themselves also have evolved.

EmailSanta.com

Many children still stick to the tried-and-true method of writing an old-fashioned letter to Santa.

?This year is very interesting,? Kerr said. ?For the first 12 or so years, the top 10 always had a puppy, a bicycle, Barbies. Now those rarely appear in the top 10. It?s very much electronics.?

Kids can be just as creative online as on paper.

?It?s good to see kids pick up crayons and pencils and practice their handwriting, but on the other hand, it is a different era we?re living in now,? Kerr said.?

Though they may be part of the digital age, many children do stick to old-school ways of writing to Santa, with a traditional letter addressed to him at the North Pole.

?Most are handwritten,? said Pete Fontana, chief elf for the U.S. Postal Service?s Operation Santa Claus. ?Those are the ones I love the best, especially the ones who do the color drawings and put glitter and stuff on them to make them look really pretty.?

Fontana runs the 100-year-old program for the five boroughs of New York and has been a part of it for 16 years. After kids write letters to Santa, anyone can adopt up to 10 letters to answer. With 300,000 to 500,000 notes received each year just from the city, the art of letter writing is far from dead.

?There are funny ones, ones that touch your heart, sad ones, interesting ones,? Fontana said.

A unique bond
Children often write to Santa with their deepest concerns and wishes, not just to ask for tangible gifts.

?I discovered that quickly, the very first year, the very special relationship between Santa and kids,? said Kerr, who runs a computer program screening for certain words and refers children to police and other authorities if their letters indicate they have a problem that requires intervention.

EmailSanta.com

Children's letters to Santa received by EmailSanta.com have often asked for more than just tangible gifts.

?Kids share with Santa things that they wouldn?t tell anyone else,? he said. ?You have to take it seriously. It?s serious being Santa. It?s a lot of fun but a lot of responsibility too.?

That has been reflected in emails Kerr has received this year, like this one:

"I just wish that the parents of a friend of mine really loved him (which?they don't), as he now lives in an Aid Center for kids and I want him to get?out of there!"?

?Name withheld by Santa

Carole S. Slotterback, a professor of psychology at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania and author of ?The Psychology of Santa,? said kids open up to Santa about their most heartfelt concerns.

?It?s more than just presents,? Slotterback said. ?He?s kind of a confidant. Some of the letters that I?ve analyzed don?t ask for any presents at all. All they want is for their mom and dad to stop fighting for once and be nice to each other, or they want Santa to send an angel to watch over their grandmother.?

Current events often weigh on children?s minds. Slotterback, Fontana and Kerr all said the economic downturn in recent years has led to more letters asking for basic needs to be met. They anticipate an increase this year in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy on the East Coast.

?They?re kids. They?re not stupid,? Slotterback?said. ?They?re going to pick up on economic hardships.?

She noted that the tone of letters was much less festive after 9/11.

?In 2001, the letters were different after the terror attacks,? she said. ?They were much more containing wishes for other people, not just themselves. The drawings were much more patriotic, and they were using flag stamps as opposed to using Christmas stamps.?

Wishes fulfilled
For New York?s chief elf, there have been many favorite stories over the years. Fontana said his new favorite letter was received last year from a family that was living in a basement and didn?t have enough beds for the kids. They were asking for a queen-sized bed.

?I put the letter down on my desk and my phone rang within 10 seconds ??people think this is not a true story ??it?s Sleepy?s [mattress store] on the phone,'' he said. "They wanted to help [with the program].?

Fontana managed to get the bed to the family with help from Sleepy's.?

?I?m more like a doubting Thomas kind of guy,??Fontana said. ?I felt like the guy in ?Miracle on 34th Street? when they see the cane in the house. It?s just one of those moments that I can?t explain. That is either an extreme coincidence or something other.?I?d like to believe there?s something magic with Santa.?

Have your kids written special letters to Santa? We'd love to see them! You can share your images here:

More from TODAY:?

Source: http://holidayblog.today.com/_news/2012/11/29/15544259-ho-ho-high-tech-kids-send-digital-wish-lists-to-santas-inbox?lite

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Bon Jovi, Grohl added to Sandy benefit concert

NEW YORK (AP) ? Jon Bon Jovi, Dave Grohl and Eddie Vedder are adding to the star power at next month's Superstorm Sandy benefit concert at Madison Square Garden.

A news release says the three rock stars will join Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Paul McCartney, Kanye West, Roger Waters, Alicia Keys, The Who, Billy Joel and others on Dec. 12 to raise money for the Robin Hood Relief Fund to benefit devastated areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Those areas were especially hard hit by Sandy earlier this month, killing dozens and causing billions of dollars in damage.

Tickets for the concert, dubbed "12-12-12," go on sale Dec. 3 at 12 p.m. EST.

__

Online:

http://www.thegarden.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bon-jovi-grohl-added-sandy-benefit-concert-180932798.html

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Sleeping boy, 6, killed when bus crashes into home

A 6-year-old boy was killed when a bus crashed into his Hempstead, N.Y., home Tuesday evening.

By NBCNewYork.com

A bus driver trying to avoid hitting a pedestrian slammed into a multi-family house on Long Island, N.Y., killing a 6-year-old boy inside and injuring his older brother, Nassau County police said.

The incident was one of two fatal accidents on the island involving public buses on Tuesday evening.

The 6-year-old boy was killed when the bus, part of the Nassau Inter County Express (NICE) system, crashed into the house in Hempstead around 9:30 p.m., police said. The boy and his 7-year-old brother were in the front bedroom of the house when the bus hit the pedestrian before plowing into the house, police said.

For more, visit NBCNewYork.com

Police said 11 passengers suffered minor injuries. About 20 people were on the bus.

The boy was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His brother suffered non-life threatening injuries, police said.

The pedestrian who was struck was taken to the hospital. Police described his injuries as non-life threatening.

The identities of the children were not immediately released.

Police said a preliminary investigation indicated no apparent criminality. The investigation was continuing.

A spokesperson for NICE said the company "is cooperating with police officials, and has its own team investigating the incident."

Earlier Tuesday evening, a 35-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed by a transit bus in Coram. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene around 5 p.m. There were no other injuries.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/28/15511054-sleeping-boy-6-killed-when-bus-crashes-into-home?lite

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PR Agencies: Why your staff are leaving, Business

When I tell people that I?m a specialist PR recruiter, many people say, ?Wow, you must have tons of people applying for your jobs. PR seems really fun?. These people are only half right.?PR is a dynamic, creative, interesting, challenging, competitive industry that can be very fun and rewarding. But do I have tons of qualified people jumping at roles I advertise? Absolutely not.

Most of my time is spent finding creative ways to connect with top PR talent worldwide and developing a strong working relationship with them. It allows me to tap into the talent in my network when a client comes to me with a great job brief.? The best talent have a multitude of options because there are less and less people in agency PR.

So why on earth are these people so hard to find?? The answer is simply that people are leaving PR agencies and opting for other opportunities.

In speaking to talent, I?ve found out why:

1. They?re burnt out

They are working exceptionally long hours on a regular basis, and some of these endeavours don?t end up in a result (i.e. not winning the pitch). Of course there will be times that everyone has to put in harder yards during pitch season or a major campaign, but when it?s ongoing, eventually even the hardest workers will say enough is enough. Many agencies, due to budget constraints, will not hire enough staff to manage all that they have on. This leaves the top talent carrying a huge load.

The Solution? Leadership should keep a close eye on work-flow, and spread the workload across the employees. And if there simply is too much work on everyone?s plate, hire somebody new, or interns to help. It?s much more costly to lose an exceptional employee than to hire a junior to shoulder some of the responsibility.

2. Promises are broken

People choosing to work in Agency PR are often driven, thrill-seekers who can handle the ups and downs, and are often motivated by it because the reward is enticing. But oftentimes, the promised reward never arrives. I recently had a candidate who won an exceptional amount of new business for an agency at the cost of many a night away from their partner ? all in the expectation of a promised bonus, only to be brought into a room and told there would be no new business bonuses, after the work was done. The result? The incredible talent left immediately and had 3 other offers within a week. The agency was left high and dry.

The Solution?? If you say you?re gonna do it, DO IT. Put it in writing. And if you know you may not have budget to stick to it, don?t promise it in the first place, or you?ll lose your best employees.

3.?You didn?t ask

Sometimes staff won?t say exactly what is bothering them. They let it build up and discuss it with their close friends and partner, but as their manager, YOU?RE the one who could do something about it. It can be intimidating for an employee to run to a manager, or they may think it?s trite and you don?t have time to hear their grievance. So check in! Ask them what would motivate them. Would they like to work across practice areas? Where do they see themselves going and how can you help them achieve those goals? These questions will enable you to nip an issue in the bud before it blossoms into a resignation letter. I recruit for a number of agencies that do this on a regular basis, and their staff wouldn?t leave for anything. Feeling valued is priceless.

With a few small tweaks in your staff retention strategies for your PR business, you could save yourself a lot of time, money, effort (and clients!) ? and most importantly, keep your staff (happy).

More reading

What makes a kick-ass Account Manager?
PR Professionals: What works better for you? Agency or in-house?
Employee disengagement ? and the remedy
What does a PR professional do anyway??

*****************************************************************************************************

Enjoy our blog posts??Subscribe here?to receive them via email as soon as they are published

Source: http://blog.firebrandtalent.com/2012/11/pr-agencies-why-your-staff-are-leaving/

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Think your office has long meetings? Try China's Party confabs

China's leaders have refined the endless-meeting concept to an exquisite level of pointlessness ? making the country's?progress over the past 30 years even more remarkable.

By Peter Ford,?Staff writer / November 9, 2012

Members of the Xinjiang provincial delegation and representatives from the National People's Congress (NPC) attend a meeting in the Xinjiang Room inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 9. The banner reads: '18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Representative Committee.'

David Gray/Reuters

Enlarge

Endless and pointless meetings are by no means unique to China, as almost anybody who works in a large organization can attest.

Skip to next paragraph Peter Ford

Beijing Bureau Chief

Peter Ford is The Christian Science Monitor?s Beijing Bureau Chief. He covers news and features throughout China and also makes reporting trips to Japan and the Korean peninsula.

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But the Chinese Communist Party has refined the endless meeting to an exquisite level of pointlessness, and on Friday, when journalists were invited to sit in on ?private? discussions among delegates to the 18th?Party Congress, the phenomenon was on full display.

None of us had expected lively and spontaneous debate about the speech that party leader Hu Jintao had given on Thursday at the opening of the Congress. That is not the way things work here.

But there was no discussion of any description of the speech at any of the three gatherings that I attended in ornately decorated, thickly carpeted, marble pillared meeting rooms in the gigantic Great Hall of the People.

The Shanxi provincial delegation meeting seemed pretty typical. Thirty or so delegates were sat around a U-shaped table, and one by one they made their speeches.

'Yesterday, I heard Hu Jintao's report'

?Yesterday, I listened to Hu Jintao?s report and I found it very profound and very correct,? said Wu Huada, president of a coalmining company, before reading his prepared remarks about improved mine safety in Shanxi.

?I heard Hu Jintao?s report yesterday, and I firmly support this report,? said Niu Guodong, who introduced himself as a worker at the largest stainless steel factory in the world, and then read from a text explaining the energy saving measures the factory has introduced.

?Yesterday, I heard President Hu Jintao?s report and it expressed the will of people across the nation. I shall study it further,? promised Li Fei, a local party secretary, who then read her speech detailing the number of kilometers of road paved recently and the number of rural schools that had been remodeled in the county she rules.

All over the Great Hall of the People, in room after room, delegates were droning on about things their audiences knew already, or if they didn?t know, they evidently did not care about. Some stared into the middle distance; others pored over the speeches they themselves were about to make; some openly read a newspaper, or dozed.

The whole exercise appeared to strike them as a monumental waste of time; everything had been scripted in advance, and everyone had heard it all before.

Nor are these sorts of meeting uncommon in China. This was the cream of the Communist Party, but officials at all levels of the Chinese system spend huge amounts of time engaged in similar meetings.

It struck me that the progress China has made in so many spheres over the past 30 years is even more remarkable when you take into account that its successes have been achieved even though the people running the country waste so much of their time in endless and pointless meetings.

A Chinese colleague, however, had a more cynical take on what we were witnessing. ?It just shows,? she said, ?that the country goes on running perfectly well even without all these guys while they waste their time at meetings.??

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/mV_sUj5Jffk/Think-your-office-has-long-meetings-Try-China-s-Party-confabs

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Elderly man scammed for thousands, kids? lives threatened

A whizbang in the insurance and financial worlds for decades, a spry retiree in Chicago was the last guy his children imagined they'd see snared in a money scam.

But in a mere month earlier this year the 80-year-old grandfather was conned out of an estimated $25,000.

"It might even be more," his oldest son said.

Once the victim's kids caught on, the scam got scarier.

"These people threatened to kill me on more than one occasion," the son said.

Still, they want their father's story told. To protect their identity, Yahoo News is not naming the elderly victim or his family.

"If it can happen to my dad, it can absolutely happen to anyone else," the son said.

Federal officials agree and are sounding the alarm. A government report released this month described elder financial exploitation as an "epidemic with societywide repercussions." While this type of fraud is woefully underreported and often overlooked, officials estimate that Americans 65 and older are taken for nearly $3 billion a year.

Elder fraud comes in all forms, including the lottery scam pulled on the Chicago widower. A Feb. 20 letter in the style of Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes informed the widower he'd won at least $5 million. To claim his prize, the letter said, he would need to send $3,000 to cover "insurance, shipping and handling for the safe delivery."

He complied, but the fraudsters kept calling back for more. Time and again, he'd go to neighborhood stores and wire money by the hundreds and thousands. In mid-March, one of his children paid a visit and spotted money transfer receipts scattered about.

Fraud letter sent to Chicago victim

"My dad became hush-hush and actually tried to hide stuff," the son told Yahoo News. "That was totally out of character for my dad. And he came up with a BS story that my brother did not believe."

His children alerted the Illinois attorney general, Publishers Clearing House and the financial institutions involved. MoneyGram and Western Union blocked the 80-year-old's accounts, but he continued to get calls from strangers in New York and Jamaica. His sons intercepted some of the calls, which turned threatening when the sons refused to put their father on the phone.

"They said they could see us through the window, that they were going to shoot us that afternoon," his son said.

The family and others familiar with the case believe the original fraudsters sold the victim's information to other fraudsters. One female caller told the son she was his father's girlfriend. Others knew personal details about the elderly man, like his dog's name.

"Anything to get through to my dad," said the son, who doubts his father will ever see justice or restitution. "They're good, they're organized and they are ruthless."

Chris Irving, assistant vice president of consumer and legal affairs at Publishers Clearing House, says imposters are a thorn in the company's side.

"Our efforts to get the criminals to stop using our name are numerous," Irving said. "And at the end of the day, perhaps the most effective deterrent is the comprehensive education we provide to consumers through many different programs that reminds them that if you have to pay to win, it is not a legitimate prize and it is certainly not from the real Publishers Clearing House."

[RELATED: Federal judge OKs MoneyGram fraud deal, $100M fund]

Nine months later, the man's children are still puzzled by how their financially astute father fell for the scam.

"My dad was and is still in denial," the son said. "He told the police that it was a very small amount, but we know he fibbed."

Shame and fear of losing their independence keeps elders from reporting such crimes, but Pamela Teaster, a gerontologist, says executive function is often the first sign of cognitive decline in seniors.

"That's where that sort of reasoning and dealing with numbers issue comes into play," said Teaster, who heads the University of Kentucky's Justice Center for Elders and Vulnerable Adults.

Criminal gangs are noticing the growing elder population in the United States.

"They have the nation's wealth," Teaster said. "That's where the money resides."

The Government Accountability Office recently called on the Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department, Health and Human Services and other federal agencies to step up efforts to combat elder financial exploitation.

"It calls for a more cohesive and deliberate approach governmentwide that, at a minimum, identifies gaps in efforts nationwide, ensures that federal resources are effectively allocated, establishes federal agency responsibilities, and holds agencies accountable for meeting them," the GAO report concluded.

"Often the response has been disjointed," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a speech at the inaugural meeting of the Elder Justice Coordinating Council in October. The new multiagency federal council is charged with creating a better road map for elder justice.

[RELATED: Yellow pages scammers ordered to pay back $10 million]

Cases like the one in Chicago often fall through the cracks because of overlapping local, state and federal jurisdictions or limited resources for law enforcement. Privacy and antitrust laws complicate matters, too.

Publishers Clearing House and money transfer companies already report fraud to the government. But Kim Garner, MoneyGram's senior vice president of global security, said more crime patterns could be identified if the FTC would allow business and law enforcement networks to share fraud data.

"If we could come up with new ways of sharing information that doesn't violate antitrust or privacy laws, that would be a step in the right direction," Garner said.

Garner, a former Secret Service agent, was hired in 2010 to help MoneyGram beef up security after prosecutors accused the company of turning a blind eye to scam artists and money launderers from 2003 to 2009.

On Wednesday, a federal judge approved a settlement on the fraud charges against the Dallas-based payment service agency, including the establishment of a $100 million victim compensation fund.

Garner and her MoneyGram team now help police where they can. Fraud-detection software implemented in 2010 is constantly updated to try and catch scams before a transaction is complete.

"Because the bad guys get really good at the rules," she said.

No one knows that better than the Chicago victim and his family.

After their father was blocked from wiring money, the shysters persuaded him to open new checking and savings accounts. They gained online access but were stopped before they could play switcheroo with his money.

"God only knows what he might have lost," the son said.

Fraud prevention resources:

? File a complaint with the FTC

? MoneyGram's fraud prevention tips

? FBI advice for senior citizens

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/elderly-man-scammed-thousands-kids-lives-threatened-144912375.html

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Stocks cut losses to end the day mixed

13 hrs.

JeeYeon Park , CNBC

Stocks eased off their lows to close mixed Monday, but gains were limited as concerns over the "fiscal cliff" and Greece resurfaced.

?Going out and making big bets in any one direction is probably not fruitful until we get some kind of clearer road," said Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen Asset Management. But the good news is that [the fiscal cliff] is so big that they can?t just sweep it under a rug.?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 42.31 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 12,967.37, led by AmEx and Coca-Cola . The blue-chip index was down more than 100 points in its session low.

The S&P 500 slid 2.86 points, or 0.20 percent, to finish at 1,406.29. The Nasdaq edged up 9.93 points, or 0.33 percent, to end at 2,976.78.

The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, ended above 15.

Among the key S&P sectors, telecoms and energy led the laggards, while utilities gained.

"Unfortunately for the last 10 days, with the House and Congress gone for the Thanksgiving recess... much progress hasn't been made," said Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat.?

Serious negotiations are expected to resume this week as policymakers return to Washington from the Thanksgiving holiday. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have been trying to convince the public that they are willing to compromise and can reach a deal before year end.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet with a second group of CEOs on Wednesday to discuss the deficit plan, according to the Wall Street Journal, two weeks after he met with a dozen chief executives including Jeff Immelt of GE and Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo.

"[The] pending U.S. fiscal restraint is likely to be hurdled by a late-year compromise, but that the expected agreement likely will only resolve the short-term fiscal cliff issue," wrote Citigroup in its latest research note.

U.S. stocks rallied more than 1 percent last Friday in a holiday-shortened session amid encouraging signs on the "fiscal cliff" and following some positive economic reports. Major averages soared more than 3 percent last week, logging their best weekly performance in more than five months.

Knight Capital shot higher after news that trading firms Getco and Virtu are pursuing purchase of the entire company. While exact financial terms of the deal is unclear, sources told CNBC that the price for Knight Capital will likely range between $600 million and $700 million.

Europe shares closed lower, dragged by financials, ahead of a meeting of Greece's lenders to decide when it will receive its next tranche of emergency funds.

Euro zone finance ministers, the ECB and the IMF plan are meeting in Brussels to finalize the second bailout package for Greece worth 31.2 billion euros ($40 billion).

Apple rose after Citigroup initiated coverage of the tech giant with a "buy" rating and a $675 price target. Separately, the iPhone maker said it is adding new Samsung devices to its patent-infringement lawsuit.

Facebook jumped after Bernstein upgraded the social-networking giant to "outperform" from "market perform" and raised its price target to $33 from $23. Despite the stock's 40 percent spike in the last three months, the company is still trading well below its IPO price of $38 a share.

Yahoo gained after Goldman Sachs added the Internet company to its "conviction buy list" and upped its price target to $24 from $22.

And Research In Motion was upgraded to "sector outperformer" from "sector underperformer" at CIBC World Markets. The brokerage also lifted its price target on the struggling BlackBerry maker to $17 from $8.

Google edged lower after the CEO of ICOA claimed that the press release announcing the search-engine giant has acquired the small tech company for $400 million was a "hoax," adding his firm has never been in acquisition talks.

A survey by the National Retail Federation showed a record 247 million shoppers visited stores and websites over the Black Friday weekend, up from 226 million last year. U.S. retail sales jumped an estimated 12.8 percent on the previous year over the four-day holiday weekend, according to the organization.

Amazon.com , Best Buy and Ebay traded higher.

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart said it had its "best ever" Black Friday events, selling 1.8 million towels, 1.3 million televisions, 1.3 million dolls and 250,000 bicycles.

McGraw-Hill rallied after the publishing company announced it will sell its education business to Apollo Global Management in a deal worth $2.5 billion.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/stocks-cut-losses-end-day-mixed-1C7209897

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Winners Best Real Estate Investing Blogs Contest

Best Real Estate Investing Blog

Winners For 2012 Are Selected

It?s time to name the winners of our Best Real Estate Investing Blog Contest!

So who is the Best Real Estate Investing Blogger out there? We were on a mission to find out who investors thought had the BEST Real Estate Investing Blog on the world wide web. Results are in?

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Best Real Estate Investing Blogs (Individual)

	The Investor Insights Susan Lassiter-Lyons Wow! I?m honored and humbled for TheInvestorInsights.com to be voted the #1 single-author real estate investing blog for the second year in a row! I work hard to deliver in-depth, quality content to our readers and fans and I promise that in 2013 you will be wowed! Thanks so much for the honor and special thanks to REIClub, Tim, Camille and the rest of the team for sponsoring the contest. GRAND PRIZE ? Apple 16GB iPad with Wi-Fi
	Freedom Mentor RE Coach Phil Pustejovsky It was an honor and a privilege to even be considered in this contest. Now, being runner up is absolutely incredible. Thank you so much to everyone who chose my blog as their favorite. I love real estate so I?d write about it even if no one was reading. But it sure is sweet to have such loyal fans who enjoy my real estate ramblings! Thank you again and may the Lord bless your real estate business abundantly. PRIZE ? $150 Best Buy Gift Card

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Best Real Estate Investing Blogs (Multi-Author)

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Best Real Estate Investing Blogs (Up & Coming)

	Jean Norton Investor Jean Norton Thanks so much for everyone that took the time to vote for this blog! Real Estate Investing is not as easy as the infomercials lead you to believe, which is why I dedicated the last 3 and ? years sharing my experiences, the good and the bad. If my stories helps anyone in anyway, then all the time I put into it was worth it. GRAND PRIZE ? Kindle Fire 8G with Wi-Fi
	LouisvilleGalsRealEstateBlog Sharon Vornholt Thanks a million to everyone that came out and voted for my blog ?Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog? as one of the top real estate investing blogs. It was an honor to be included in this awesome group. I would also like to thank REIClub for hosting this great event every year. PRIZE ? $100 Best Buy Gift Card

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To all the Real Estate Bloggers in the Best Real Estate Investing Blog Contest -

REIClub & Your Supporters Thank You!

P.S. Feel free to leave your congratulations and comments below. It would mean so much to all of the Real Estate Bloggers.

P.S.S If your want your website or blog to be included in next years contest, please comment and let us know below.

Source: http://www.reiclub.com/realestateblog/winners-best-real-estate-investing-blogs-contest/

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Gaming's most forgettable sequels | GamesRadar

It saddens me deeply to see Kid Icarus: Uprising in this list. So far, to me it's by and large the best 3DS game to have graced the console so far. (yes, even despite the stupid control layout.) And to see that it has failed commercially is pretty damn discouraging.

Also, maybe it's because i didn't play previous Panzer Dragoon games, but I would never think Orta was a step back of anything, the game was pretty effing great and amazing looking at the time. Also a big shame that it didn't sell well ):

Source: http://www.gamesradar.com/gamings-most-forgettable-sequels/

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Sweeping changes suggested for Pa. child abuse law

FILE - In this June 22, 2012 file photo, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky arrives at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. A commission set up by the Pennsylvania Legislature after Jerry Sandusky?s molestation arrest last year will issue a report that could recommend changes to state law. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - In this June 22, 2012 file photo, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky arrives at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. A commission set up by the Pennsylvania Legislature after Jerry Sandusky?s molestation arrest last year will issue a report that could recommend changes to state law. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Dr. Cindy Christian, right, along with Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler, left, addresses the media during a news conference announcing the findings of a report from the Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012 at the capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. Pennsylvania should enact "sweeping" changes to state child abuse laws, the legislative commission concluded Tuesday after a year of study prompted by Jerry Sandusky's arrest on child molestation charges. The Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection's recommendations include rewriting state law, redefining what constitutes child abuse and expanding the list of people who are required to report suspected abuse.(AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)

Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler, center, holds a news conference announcing the findings of a report from the Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012 at the capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. Pennsylvania should enact "sweeping" changes to state child abuse laws, the legislative commission concluded Tuesday after a year of study prompted by Jerry Sandusky's arrest on child molestation charges. The Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection's recommendations include rewriting state law, redefining what constitutes child abuse and expanding the list of people who are required to report suspected abuse.(AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)

Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler holds up a copy of a report from the Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection during a news conference Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012 at the capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. Pennsylvania should enact "sweeping" changes to state child abuse laws, the legislative commission concluded Tuesday after a year of study prompted by Jerry Sandusky's arrest on child molestation charges. The Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection's recommendations include rewriting state law, redefining what constitutes child abuse and expanding the list of people who are required to report suspected abuse.(AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)

Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler addresses a news conference announcing the findings of a report from the Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012 at the capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. Pennsylvania should enact "sweeping" changes to state child abuse laws, the legislative commission concluded Tuesday after a year of study prompted by Jerry Sandusky's arrest on child molestation charges. The Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection's recommendations include rewriting state law, redefining what constitutes child abuse and expanding the list of people who are required to report suspected abuse.(AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) ? Pennsylvania should enact sweeping changes to its child abuse laws, a legislative commission concluded Tuesday after a year of study prompted by Jerry Sandusky's arrest on molestation charges.

The Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection recommended rewriting state law, redefining what constitutes child abuse and expanding the list of people who are required to report suspected abuse.

"We propose a transformation in the way information concerning child abuse is handled and maintained, the way in which crimes against children are investigated in parts of the state, and the way in which those with a responsibility for the well-being of children are trained," said David Heckler, the Bucks County district attorney who chaired the panel.

The recommendations are nonbinding and will probably require a set of as-yet-unwritten bills for the Legislature to consider when it convenes for a new two-year session in January.

"Strengthening these laws must be done as soon as possible, but we should recognize that it cannot be done overnight," Heckler said.

Sandusky, a 68-year-old former Penn State assistant football coach, is serving a 30- to 60-year state prison sentence after being convicted this summer of 45 counts of sexual abuse of 10 boys. He maintains his innocence and is pursuing appeals.

Heckler acknowledged that the Sandusky and Roman Catholic priest molestation scandals provided the impetus for the creation of the task force but said the panel took a wider view.

"What we did here is not a knee-jerk reaction to anything. It is a seizing of the opportunity to look at the whole system" and gather advice from experts, he said.

One of its proposals, to increase the use of investigative teams from various fields for child abuse cases, may have prevented additional victims after Sandusky's acts drew the attention of police and child welfare workers more than a decade before his arrest, Heckler said.

"I firmly believe if there had been a multidisciplinary team in Centre County in the late '90s and early 2000s, that you would have heard about Jerry Sandusky then," he said.

Dr. Cindy W. Christian, a child-abuse pediatrician at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania, said the proposed expansion of the definition of child abuse in Pennsylvania is central to the recommendations. The present definition "is so narrowly defined that what is child abuse in every other state in this country is not necessarily child abuse in Pennsylvania," Christian said.

Under current law, children have to show they experienced severe pain in order to substantiate abuse claims. The 11-member task force said that requirement should be eliminated and a lower bar be established.

Other highlights of the recommendations include enlarging the pool of people labeled as "perpetrators" under one state law. Task force members said such a change would get more children help from county services, help authorities identify more abusers, provide a more complete picture of the amount of abuse and likely lead to more criminal investigations.

The task force also suggested setting harsher penalties when people who are required to report abuse fail to do so.

Those who should be required to report suspected abuse also should be expanded to include college administrators and employees, coaches, lawyers and computer repair people who encounter images of child abuse, the committee said.

The definition of sexual abuse also should be expanded to include sexually explicit conversations, the panel said.

Under the recommendations, more people would find themselves subject to the child endangerment criminal statute, including anyone who knowingly acts to prevent police or child welfare workers from learning of abuse in order to protect someone.

Three Penn State officials face related charges for their actions in response to complaints about Sandusky acting inappropriately with children in Penn State showers: the university's former president Graham Spanier, former athletic director Tim Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz. Each has said he is innocent.

___

Online:

http://www.childprotection.state.pa.us/index.cfm

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-11-27-Penn%20State-Abuse-Commission/id-187e5ca5e1ef4cf9add7ff23ff83d595

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W.H. blasts GOP 'obsession' with Rice

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee?flanked by fellow committee??The White House sharply escalated its attacks Tuesday on Republicans trying to stop Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice from succeeding Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state. Press secretary Jay Carney described GOP lawmakers as being gripped by a politically fueled "obsession" with a series of television appearances Rice made shortly after the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, in which she wrongly suggested the attack had stemmed from a demonstration over an anti-Muslim video rather than a terrorist assault.

Carney's comments came after Rice met privately on Capitol Hill with Republican senators who have said they intend to block her nomination if President Barack Obama chooses her to replace Clinton as the nation's top diplomat.?Rice also acknowledged for the first time, in a written statement issued by her office, that her initial public comments on the Benghazi assault were wrong because there had been no protest outside the compound.

Carney said the U.S. still does not know who carried out the assault, which claimed the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. But he said GOP focus on Rice's early statements was a politically motivated distraction from efforts to identify those responsible for the killings.

"The questions that remain to be answered have to do with what happened in Benghazi, who was responsible for the deaths of four Americans, including our ambassador, and what steps we need to take to ensure that something like that doesn't happen again." Carney said.

In appearance after appearance, Rice said that American intelligence had pinned the blame on the assault on extremists who took advantage of a demonstration outside the facility.

Tuesday, Rice acknowledged the information initially provided by the intelligence community had proven to be incorrect.

"Neither I nor anyone else in the administration intended to mislead the American people at any stage in this process, and the administration updated Congress and the American people as our assessments evolved," Rice said.

Rice, accompanied by Acting CIA Director Michael Morell, met with Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who have accused Rice (and the Obama administration in general) of misleading the public by tying the assault to the video. Republicans have suggested the administration hoped to blunt the potential political impact of the attack?the first to claim the life of an American ambassador in 30 years?shortly before the presidential election.

"Bottom line: I'm more disturbed now than I was before," Graham told reporters after the meeting. "We are significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got and some that we didn't get," McCain said.

Carney shot back, saying there were "no unanswered questions" about Rice's early televised statements.

"The focus on?some might say obsession on?comments made on Sunday shows seems to me and to many to be misplaced," Carney said. "I know that Sunday shows have vaunted status in Washington, but they have almost nothing to do?in fact zero to do?with what happened in Benghazi."

And neither, to hear Carney tell it, did Rice.

"Ambassador Rice has no responsibility for collecting, analyzing and providing intelligence, nor does she have responsibility as the United States ambassador to the United Nations for diplomatic security around the globe," he said.

So why, then, did the White House anoint Rice the administration point person to answer questions about a possible intelligence failure and consular security? Why not Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? Director of National Intelligence James Clapper? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta? National Security Adviser Tom Donilon?

"She is a principal on the president's foreign policy team," Carney said.

He added, "To this day it is the assessment of this administration and of our intelligence community ? that they acted at least in part in response to what they saw happening in Cairo and took advantage of that situation."

In other words, according to one well-placed source, the perpetrators of the attack may have concluded that anger at the video gave them the maximum opportunity to get sympathy or support across the Muslim world, and might even inspire copycat attacks.?Rice's much-dissected Sept. 16 comments broadly follow those lines.

Obama has fiercely defended Rice, while carefully declining to say whether he has chosen her to succeed Clinton. Another leading contender is the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry.

McCain and Graham have pledged to try to filibuster her confirmation, but they are well short of the votes needed to do so.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/white-house-blasts-republican-obsession-rice-benghazi-195406348--politics.html

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