বুধবার, ৯ মে, ২০১২

Observatory: Zombie-Ant Fungus Has Its Own Killer Fungus

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A new study reports that a fungus that sends carpenter ants marching to their deaths itself faces attack by another fungus.

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CIA thwarts 'undetectable' al-Qaida bomb plot

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The CIA thwarted an ambitious plot by al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb with a sophisticated new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden, U.S. officials said Monday.

The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Christmas 2009. This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger's underwear, but this time al-Qaida developed a more refined detonation system, U.S. officials said.

The FBI is examining the latest bomb to see whether it could have passed through airport security and brought down an airplane, officials said. They said the device did not contain metal, meaning it probably could have passed through an airport metal detector. But it was not clear whether new body scanners used in many airports would have detected it.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who heads the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters Monday that she had been briefed about an "undetectable" device that was "going to be on a U.S.-bound airliner."

There were no immediate plans to change security procedures at U.S. airports.

The would-be suicide bomber, based in Yemen, had not yet picked a target or bought a plane ticket when the CIA stepped in and seized the bomb, officials said. It's not immediately clear what happened to the alleged bomber.

White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said President Barack Obama learned about the plot in April and was assured the device posed no threat to the public.

"The president thanks all intelligence and counterterrorism professionals involved for their outstanding work and for serving with the extraordinary skill and commitment that their enormous responsibilities demand," Hayden said.

The operation unfolded even as the White House and Department of Homeland Security assured the American public that they knew of no al-Qaida plots against the U.S. around the anniversary of bin Laden's death. The operation was carried out over the past few weeks, officials said.

"We have no credible information that terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, are plotting attacks in the U.S. to coincide with the anniversary of bin Laden's death," White House press secretary Jay Carney said on April 26.

On May 1, the Department of Homeland Security said, "We have no indication of any specific, credible threats or plots against the U.S. tied to the one-year anniversary of bin Laden's death."

The White House did not explain those statements Monday.

The CIA mission was such a secret, even top lawmakers were not told about it as the operation unfolded, one U.S. official said Monday.

The AP learned about the thwarted plot last week but agreed to White House and CIA requests not to publish it immediately because the sensitive intelligence operation was still under way. Once officials said those concerns were allayed, the AP decided to disclose the plot Monday despite requests from the Obama administration to wait for an official announcement Tuesday.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security acknowledged the existence of the bomb late Monday, but there were no immediate plans to adjust security procedures at airports. Other officials, who were briefed on the operation, insisted on anonymity to discuss details of the plot, many of which the U.S. has not officially acknowledged.

"The device never presented a threat to public safety, and the U.S. government is working closely with international partners to address associated concerns with the device," the FBI said in a statement.

It's not clear who built the bomb, but, because of its sophistication and its similarity to the Christmas bomb, counterterrorism officials suspected it was the work of master bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri or one of his prot?g?es. Al-Asiri constructed the first underwear bomb and two others that al-Qaida built into printer cartridges and shipped to the U.S. on cargo planes in 2010.

Both of those bombs used a powerful industrial explosive. Both were nearly successful.

The operation is an intelligence victory for the United States and a reminder of al-Qaida's ambitions, despite the death of bin Laden and other senior leaders. Because of instability in the Yemeni government, the terrorist group's branch there has gained territory and strength. It has set up terrorist camps and, in some areas, even operates as a de facto government.

But along with the gains there also have been losses. The group has suffered significant setbacks as the CIA and the U.S. military focus more on Yemen. On Sunday, Fahd al-Quso, a senior al-Qaida leader, was hit by a missile as he stepped out of his vehicle along with another operative in the southern Shabwa province of Yemen.

Al-Quso, 37, was on the FBI's most wanted list, with a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. He was indicted in the U.S. for his role in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in the harbor of Aden, Yemen, in which 17 American sailors were killed and 39 injured.

Al-Quso was believed to have replaced Anwar al-Awlaki as the group's head of external operations. Al-Awlaki was killed in a U.S. airstrike last year.

___

Associated Press writers Kimberly Dozier, Eileen Sullivan and Alan Fram contributed to this report.

___

Contact the Washington investigative team at DCinvestigations(at)ap.org

Follow Goldman and Apuzzo at http://twitter.com/goldmandc and http://twitter.com/mattapuzzo

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মঙ্গলবার, ৮ মে, ২০১২

Obama leads Romney, helped by independents

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama extended his lead over Republican challenger Mitt Romney to 7 percentage points because of increased support from independent voters and some optimism over the economy, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Tuesday.

With six months to go before Election Day on November 6, Obama was backed by 49 percent of registered voters in the telephone poll, compared to 42 percent who supported Romney. In April, the poll showed Obama leading Romney 47 percent to 43 percent.

The numbers suggest Romney's general election campaign has not yet taken off, although he has effectively clinched the Republican nomination in recent weeks when Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich dropped out of the race.

Obama's overall approval rating among the 1,131 adults surveyed was 50 percent, up 1 point from last month as the anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden gave Obama a chance to tout his national security credentials and stage a high-profile visit to Afghanistan.

Forty-seven percent of people in the poll disapproved of how Obama handles his presidency.

"The economy continues to chug along. Presidential ratings are correlated fairly closely with economic optimism and when the public sees things like unemployment going down and other signs of economic recovery, they are more inclined towards voting for the status quo - which in this case is to keep the incumbent in office," said Ipsos pollster Julia Clark.

The U.S. jobless rate fell to 8.1 percent in April, the lowest since Obama took office in January 2009, although employers cut back on hiring as the economy struggles to pick up growth.

INDEPENDENTS HOLD POWER

Independents swung behind Obama. Forty eight percent approved and 40 percent disapproved of his performance in May compared to 37 percent who approved and 57 percent who disapproved in April.

"Independents obviously are going to be critical in this election," said Clark. "That independent approval jump is absolutely significant. It contributes to his jump in approval month on month. We're talking increments here, but where Obama is right now, the increments matter a lot."

The poll, conducted from May 3-7, showed voters from the two parties are falling in behind their candidates, which makes the independent vote more important, Clark said.

"In the broader picture, this month Obama does really appear to be making that slow but steady progress he will need to continue to make to seal the deal," said Clark.

The poll showed voters think Obama is just slightly stronger than Romney, a former business executive who has touted his economic experience during the campaign, on the issues of jobs and the economy. When asked which of the two was stronger on the topic, 45 percent of registered voters surveyed picked Obama while 43 percent chose Romney.

Among the 959 registered voters surveyed, a majority said Obama was stronger than Romney on healthcare, Afghanistan and the global fight against terror. Romney had a 1-point advantage over Obama on immigration.

The poll was conducted just after Obama made a surprise trip to Afghanistan to mark the first anniversary of the killing of bin Laden. While in Afghanistan, Obama signed a strategic pact with Kabul and told Americans the war was winding down.

Romney, who has criticized Obama's handling of Afghanistan and for setting a timeline for a troop withdrawal, accused the president of politicizing bin Laden's death.

But the poll showed that 51 percent of registered voters thought Obama was stronger on Afghanistan and on terrorism while 28 percent said Romney had a stronger position on Afghanistan.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey, conducted over landlines and cell phones, is considered accurate within 2.9 percentage points for the total sample. Among registered voters it has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.

(To see full text of poll click on http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5621)

(For graphic click on http://link.reuters.com/kub28s)

(Reporting by Deborah Charles. Editing by Alister Bell and Christopher Wilson)

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1 supernova type, 2 different sources

1 supernova type, 2 different sources [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 7-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Christine Pulliam
cpulliam@cfa.harvard.edu
617-495-7463
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

The exploding stars known as Type Ia supernovae serve an important role in measuring the universe, and were used to discover the existence of dark energy. They're bright enough to see across large distances, and similar enough to act as a "standard candle" - an object of known luminosity. The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the discovery of the accelerating universe using Type Ia supernovae. However, an embarrassing fact is that astronomers still don't know what star systems make Type Ia supernovae.

Two very different models explain the possible origin of Type Ia supernovae, and different studies support each model. New evidence shows that both models are correct - some of these supernovae are created one way and some the other.

"Previous studies have produced conflicting results. The conflict disappears if both types of explosion are happening," explained Smithsonian astronomer and Clay Fellow Ryan Foley (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics).

Type Ia supernovae are known to originate from white dwarfs - the dense cores of dead stars. White dwarfs are also called degenerate stars because they're supported by quantum degeneracy pressure.

In the single-degenerate model for a supernova, a white dwarf gathers material from a companion star until it reaches a tipping point where a runaway nuclear reaction begins and the star explodes. In the double-degenerate model, two white dwarfs merge and explode. Single-degenerate systems should have gas from the companion star around the supernova, while the double-degenerate systems will lack that gas.

"Just like mineral water can be with or without gas, so can supernovae," said Robert Kirshner, Clowes Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University and a co-author on the study.

Foley and his colleagues studied 23 Type Ia supernovae to look for signatures of gas around the supernovae, which should be present only in single-degenerate systems. They found that the more powerful explosions tended to come from "gassy" systems, or systems with outflows of gas. However, only a fraction of supernovae show evidence for outflows. The remainder seem to come from double-degenerate systems.

"There are definitely two kinds of environments - with and without outflows of gas. Both are found around Type Ia supernovae," Foley said.

This finding has important implications for measurements of dark energy and the expanding universe. If two different mechanisms are at work in Type Ia supernovae, then the two types must be considered separately when calculating cosmic distances and expansion rates.

"It's like measuring the universe with a mix of yardsticks and meter sticks - you'll get about the same answer, but not quite. To get an accurate answer, you need to separate the yardsticks from the meter sticks," Foley explained.

This study raises an interesting question - if two different mechanisms create Type Ia supernovae, why are they homogeneous enough to serve as standard candles?

"How can supernovae coming from different systems look so similar? I don't have the answer for that," said Foley.

###



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


1 supernova type, 2 different sources [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 7-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Christine Pulliam
cpulliam@cfa.harvard.edu
617-495-7463
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

The exploding stars known as Type Ia supernovae serve an important role in measuring the universe, and were used to discover the existence of dark energy. They're bright enough to see across large distances, and similar enough to act as a "standard candle" - an object of known luminosity. The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the discovery of the accelerating universe using Type Ia supernovae. However, an embarrassing fact is that astronomers still don't know what star systems make Type Ia supernovae.

Two very different models explain the possible origin of Type Ia supernovae, and different studies support each model. New evidence shows that both models are correct - some of these supernovae are created one way and some the other.

"Previous studies have produced conflicting results. The conflict disappears if both types of explosion are happening," explained Smithsonian astronomer and Clay Fellow Ryan Foley (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics).

Type Ia supernovae are known to originate from white dwarfs - the dense cores of dead stars. White dwarfs are also called degenerate stars because they're supported by quantum degeneracy pressure.

In the single-degenerate model for a supernova, a white dwarf gathers material from a companion star until it reaches a tipping point where a runaway nuclear reaction begins and the star explodes. In the double-degenerate model, two white dwarfs merge and explode. Single-degenerate systems should have gas from the companion star around the supernova, while the double-degenerate systems will lack that gas.

"Just like mineral water can be with or without gas, so can supernovae," said Robert Kirshner, Clowes Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University and a co-author on the study.

Foley and his colleagues studied 23 Type Ia supernovae to look for signatures of gas around the supernovae, which should be present only in single-degenerate systems. They found that the more powerful explosions tended to come from "gassy" systems, or systems with outflows of gas. However, only a fraction of supernovae show evidence for outflows. The remainder seem to come from double-degenerate systems.

"There are definitely two kinds of environments - with and without outflows of gas. Both are found around Type Ia supernovae," Foley said.

This finding has important implications for measurements of dark energy and the expanding universe. If two different mechanisms are at work in Type Ia supernovae, then the two types must be considered separately when calculating cosmic distances and expansion rates.

"It's like measuring the universe with a mix of yardsticks and meter sticks - you'll get about the same answer, but not quite. To get an accurate answer, you need to separate the yardsticks from the meter sticks," Foley explained.

This study raises an interesting question - if two different mechanisms create Type Ia supernovae, why are they homogeneous enough to serve as standard candles?

"How can supernovae coming from different systems look so similar? I don't have the answer for that," said Foley.

###



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


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Restoration! Forest People Wanted.

roleplay/restoration/

Hey fellow roleplayers!
So I have created a roleplay called Restoration and I need some people to fill in some spots. First of all, we need some people to take the role of the forest children. Anyone can do it as we can have as many as we like. Here is an example: Zeta Also I would appreciate it if you read this: Moving Forest Description since that tells you a bit about your role as well as the place you shall be living in as well as the Introduction.
Plus I need someone to play Mother Nature(need you to read the same as above) and 3 of her minions(ditto). Feel free to do whatever you want with these characters! Just make it plausable of course and nothing too far fetched.
Finally, aside from the woodland, I need a henchman for the evil guy. You may wanna speak to ShadTheWerepire about that since he plays the evil guy.

Since the rp has already began, you might wanna read through the post. But it's not compulsory, so yeah. Have fun and I hope you join! XD

I live in the air
I die in the water
I sleep under stars
I wake in the sun
My music is silent
My silence is loud
I am night
I am day
I love everything
I hate nothing
I am your best friend
I am your worst nightmare
I am dreams
I am nightmares
I am me
You are you
This is pipzel
That is the world

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Movie Review: ?The Kid With A Bike? | Gay Richmond News ...

"The Kid With a Bike" is a downer French import.

Read More: movie reviews, Movies

?The Kid With a Bike.? Photo Credit: Les Films du Fleuve.


This film examines the plight of a boy whose father abandons him. From a group home to a foster parent to rejection to trouble, this is as bleak as you?d expect from the French. Also, the pacing is Gallic, which means glacially slow: every scene runs just a bit longer than necessary. It starts with promise, but the relentless misfortune makes it a dreary downer.

GAY ANGLE: Even though his foster mom runs a hair salon, no gays in sight.

Jerry Williams reviewed movies for WTVR-TV for 14 years and for Style Weekly for 10 years. When he launched his own website in 1998 at TVJerry.com, he took his reviews to the Internet. Through those hundreds of reviews, Jerry kept his sexual orientation muted. So, he's excited to be adding "gay angles" to his postings for GayRVA.com.

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Scientists tuning in to how you tune out noise

ScienceDaily (May 8, 2012) ? Although we have little awareness that we are doing it, we spend most of our lives filtering out many of the sounds that permeate our lives and acutely focusing on others -- a phenomenon known as auditory selective attention. In research that could some day lead to the development of improved devices allowing users to control things like wheelchairs through thought alone, hearing scientists at the University of Washington (UW) are attempting to tease apart the process.

The work will be presented at the Acoustics 2012 meeting in Hong Kong, May 13-18, a joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), Acoustical Society of China, Western Pacific Acoustics Conference, and the Hong Kong Institute of Acoustics.

Auditory selective attention is extremely important in everyday life, notes UW postdoctoral researcher Ross Maddox. "In situations as mundane as ordering your morning cup of coffee, you must focus on the barista while tuning out the loud hiss of the espresso machine and the annoying cell phone conversation happening in line right behind you," says Maddox. "However, the mechanisms behind selective attention are still not well understood." In addition, some individuals suffer from Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), "which means they have normal hearing when tested by an audiologist," he says, "but they are completely lost in loud settings like restaurants and airports."

To determine how auditory selective attention works -- and perhaps how it fails in people with CAPD -- Maddox, along with Adrian K.C. Lee, an assistant professor of speech and hearing sciences, and colleague Willy Cheung, created laboratory situations that promoted the breakdown of the process. The researchers had 10 subjects try to focus their attention on just one target sound -- a continuously repeating utterance of a single letter -- among a total of 4, 6, 8, or 12 such sounds. The subjects had to determine when an "oddball" item (the letter "R," chosen because it doesn't rhyme with any other letter) was inserted into the target sound stream.

"Most studies systematically degrade sounds and measure the effects on listeners' performance," Maddox explains. "Here, we made the target sound as easy to distinguish from all the other sounds present as possible, and tested the upper limit on the number of sounds a listener could tune out, given all these acoustical advantages."

Unsurprisingly, it is harder to tune in to just one stream when the number of streams increases. However, study subjects did better than expected -- successfully identifying the target 70 percent of the time in the most difficult conditions. Repeating letters faster did make the task harder -- although with faster repetition, listeners more quickly learn what the letter they're listening to sounds like, "so there is a tradeoff involved when deciding on repetition speed," Maddox says.

The work, Maddox and colleagues say, is a first step toward developing an auditory brain-computer interface (BCI) -- a device that reads brain activity to allow users to control computers or machines such as wheelchairs. "We hope to create a system that presents a user with an auditory 'menu' of sounds -- similar to the letter streams here -- and allows the listener to make a choice by reading their brainwaves to determine which sound they are focusing on. The more sound streams a user is able to tune out, the more menu options we can present at a single time."

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

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সোমবার, ৭ মে, ২০১২

The Fifth of May | My Brain Cancer Diary

My wife and son are out of town for the weekend, so I stayed with my father last night. We spent most of the evening waiting for my stepmother?s plane to arrive, listening to the Red Sox on the radio. They lost, but fortunately the game lasted 13 innings. We didn?t have much to say, nor need to say it. Listening, together, is enough.

This morning we went out to breakfast at Roy?s in Auburn. I asked if anyone remembered where I was a year ago.

?I do,? my stepmother said.

?I made it: one year?, I said.

On May 5, 2011 my brain tumor was discovered and I was admitted to the hospital. The tumor was to be removed in brain surgery the next day, if it proved operable. Otherwise: an opiate-lubricated slide into darkness and death. I reminded my wife: if I?m a veggie, pull the plug.

One year later, I remain anchored to the events of that day. It is now, perhaps, more important than my birthday. What are ?years of age? to a terminal cancer patient? Some pile of ticket stubs. The one year I have survived is like a charm in my pocket.

She invited me to celebrate next year?s Fifth-of-May back at Roy?s (with the whole family) and added the event to her iPhone calendar.

?I look forward to it,? I said, pleased. I might not make it, but if I do, I think it?s going to be fun.


In the afternoon we all rode down to Westbrook for a celebration of various milestone birthdays in my brother-in-law?s family (30 years, 60 years). The birthdays are not particularly close to May 5, but I suppose ?Cinco de Mayo? is a good day for a feast.

We arrived early. As party supplies were hauled inside, one of the balloons escaped. I sat in the car and watched it float into the sky. At first I could see its sunny side and its shadow side and the twinkling ribbon tail. In a few minutes it diminished to a tiny speck. I was aware, at the time, of the convenience of this metaphor to a mission of tortured self-distinction: a man elegantly disappears and no one notices.

Inside, the crowd swelled. I was not uncomfortable, just bored: self-righteously bored and possessed of the opinion that I need not pretend otherwise; not afraid to mingle, but enclosed in the conviction that it would be pointless and false. I would say that I was content to sit and watch, but I fear it?s becoming impolite. My habit of seeing everyone in the room, of lingering on the brighter faces, of casting the women in fairy tales, might in decades past have passed for adolescent curiosity. Now it?s just creepy.

I pulled the bill of my cap down over my eyes, or focused on the empty soda can on the table in front of me. Yet reflexively I would turn, and see someone looking at me. Again, I index the lore of my social anxiety: I am sensitive to being looked at. That is why, if you look at me, I will see you looking at me. Am I projecting the annoyance and confusion I have seen upon meeting their eyes, as if I?m a crown of flies? Am I some sort of optical glutton, taking more than my fair share of sights? I covered my face.

My father rescued me. Thirty years ago he might have questioned my ?attitude?, but today he understood. With rare sincerity he asked if I would like a ride home. I seemed tired. I would, and thank you. Later he acknowledged we each would often rather be alone. True, true.


I found flowers on my doorstep: purple tulips in an antique brown-glass pint bottle, with a card addressed to ?BOGART?.

I?m not sure if the one-year anniversary of a brain cancer diagnosis is something you feel like noting, but I can?t help thinking about the last year and all you have done? this bottle from Tunk being one of them.

I looked more closely at the pint bottle. Apparently it was the one I rescued from ten feet of water in Tunk Lake last August, during a visit to our friends? camp, when I craved to be in the water. They cleaned it up, gave it a nice bow. Lettering in the glass warns:

FEDERAL LAW FORBIDS SALE OR RE-USE OF THIS BOTTLE

I think we?ll get away with it.

366 days since my diagnosis

One (leap) year, still kickin'

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Tell us what's OK for kids online

Thierry Roge / Reuters file

When is it OK for your child to have a Facebook profile? Let us know what you think.

When is it OK for your child to have a cell phone? Have a Facebook profile? Log onto YouTube? James Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media and the father of four children, tackles those questions and more in a new book, "Talking Back to Facebook: The Common Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age."

Steyer will talk about the potential pitfalls and payoffs relating to kids? use of media and technology on the TODAY show on Wednesday. We?d like to hear how you handle these issues with your own children. Please answer the four questions below, and we?ll share the results during the broadcast segment.

Live Poll

1. When is it OK to let your child create a social media profile?

  • 183021

    Birth to age 4

    3%

  • 183022

    Ages 5-8

    0%

  • 183023

    Ages 9-12

    14%

  • 183024

    Ages 13-15

    47%

  • 183025

    16 or older

    36%

VoteTotal Votes: 36

Live Poll

2. When is it OK to let your child log onto the Internet?

  • 183026

    Birth to age 4

    6%

  • 183027

    Ages 5-8

    26%

  • 183028

    Ages 9-12

    45%

  • 183029

    Ages 13-15

    19%

  • 183030

    16 or older

    3%

VoteTotal Votes: 31

Live Poll

3. When is it OK for your child to have a cellphone?

  • 183031

    Birth to age 4

    0%

  • 183032

    Ages 5-8

    3%

  • 183033

    Ages 9-12

    33%

  • 183034

    Ages 13-15

    42%

  • 183035

    16 or older

    21%

VoteTotal Votes: 33

Live Poll

4. When is it OK for your child to use electronic games/apps?

  • 183036

    Birth to age 4

    13%

  • 183037

    Ages 5-8

    47%

  • 183038

    Ages 9-12

    20%

  • 183039

    Ages 13-15

    20%

  • 183040

    16 or older

    0%

VoteTotal Votes: 30

More about kids and online issues:

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Social Media traffic provider

This article has been viewed 50 times.

Social media is the latest breakthrough inside technology to come along since the online network first took off in fame during the latter part of the 1990s. in the last 5 years, web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Digg, have rapidly advanced the way individuals combine to one additional and network in a type of dissimilar relationship types. several people avail it to introduce their network of social alliances. several people use these services for dating. Still others see the full corporation latent of the platforms and do their best to find connections in and related to their niche so they might moreover grow customer base and possible revenue streams. As an on the internet industry professional, you want to harness the power of social media to up sales and grow your corporation inside the new millennium.

Social media is perhaps the correct way of building client and customer lists and keeping them apprised of specials on products and techniques. large on the internet businesses favor to use the power of social media to create special offers, but the tactic is not confined solely to the World Wide Web. number of brick and mortar businesses have started to realize the power of the social media marketplace within developing sales beyond what is offered within a store. It is easy for followers of a pizzerias Facebook page to find out relating to one-day specials and deep discounts for various menu items. Without paying for the price of an advertising spot, a cafeteria or added corporation can run specials for those who follow their page and reap benefits along with zero overhead inside ad expenses.

added than making offers online, businesses could get a pleasant idea of the consumers that are keeping them in industry. They could develop another advanced selling plans based on various attributes and demographics that a basic email list simply doesnt have. When a person chooses to follow a businesss social media profile, he or she willingly grants access to likes and interests that a business could then avail in crafting promotions which may better convert sales from existing consumers. Protecting a clients privacy, however, should still be a top priority, so no matter what business you are in, you should never sell information youve compiled to other parties without the clients consent.

If you own a blog for your industry for a while now, then you ought to know the rule traffic=subscribers=sales. This general rule simply means that the additional visitors which you has for your site, the another likely which you will have another subscribers that will reflect to the high sales of your megacorp. For this reason, it is very high profile that you know by whose help to keep the traffic up within your blogs.

Now together with the creation of social networking web pages like Facebook and Twitter, this had provided a pleasant avenue for online entrepreneurs to market their products and techniques to their clients. inside fact, several have even gone additional and linked their WordPress blog to their social networking accounts. within earlier studies, many online marketers get high amount of traffic by utilizing social networking web pages than applying Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tips. This is the debate why a lot of social media tools are created so which on the internet marketers could easily link their social websites to their blogs like WordPress or BlogSpot.

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How Florida 'pill mill' fueled painkiller abuse epidemic

Customers at one of the Florida pain clinics run by Jeff and Chris George wait their turn in chairs on the sidewalk in surveillance footage shot by the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office.

By Thomas FrancisSpecial to msnbc.com

The prescription painkiller business was booming in 2009, making millionaires of Chris and Jeff George, twin brothers who operated several pain clinics in South Florida. Unfortunately for them, their customers had a tendency to die, and not always in a subtle fashion.

In November of that year, three customers were on their way to a George brothers? clinic when the driver tried to weave her Toyota Camry through the lowered arms of a train crossing. The car was struck by commuter train going 79 mph. The driver and a passenger were ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. The third occupant died six months later.?

An associate of the Georges who read about the accident in the paper called Chris George to break the news. ?Did it say they were pain clinic people?? George asked.?

It didn?t, but the Roxicodone scattered through the backseat of the crumpled car, and on both sides of the train tracks, made it obvious to investigators that this threesome from Tennessee didn?t come to Fort Lauderdale to get tans. (Roxicodone is a brand name for one of the prescription painkillers that contain oxycodone, the opioid that has a chemical structure like heroin, with roughly the same addictive qualities.)


Chris George worried that the accident would bring police scrutiny to the family?s pain clinics. To avoid situations like this, he and his workers coached their customers in keeping a low profile. ?You?ve got to be an idiot to get hit by a train,? he complained.??

?

What George didn?t know is that federal and local investigators had already targeted him and his brother ? after oxycodone distributed at George clinics was found near the dead bodies of dozens who overdosed -- and were listening to that very phone call.

Chris George, left, and Jeff George, in police booking photos broadcast by a local TV station in Florida.

Two years later the conversation would appear in a federal indictment charging the Georges with racketeering and drug trafficking for operating what federal officials say was the largest, most sophisticated painkiller trafficking organization in the country.?

Chris and Jeff George, both of whom have pleaded guilty to some of the charges against them and reported to prison last month to begin serving long sentences, declined to comment for this series, citing concerns that their remarks would add to their legal difficulties. Federal agents and prosecutors also refused interview requests, due to related cases that remain open. The information in these articles was gleaned from court records, interviews with associates of the Georges and informants, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.?

Fueling an oxy epidemic
South Florida -- and the Georges, in particular -- were the vanguard of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls an ?epidemic? of oxycodone addiction and death -- one that had attacked America more suddenly than any drug has before.?

In 2008, prescription painkiller overdoses killed 14,800 Americans. In 2009, when the George clinics were at their peak, opioid abuse propelled a ghastly rise in the number of drug-related deaths nationwide. That year, 37,485 Americans died from narcotics overdoses -- a figure that for the first time surpassed the number of deaths from car accidents.?

?The toll our nation?s prescription drug abuse epidemic has taken in communities nationwide is devastating, and Florida is ground zero,? said Obama drug czar Gil Kerlikowske, speaking at a press conference last year.?

In 2009, Florida was one of 15 states that lacked a prescription drug tracking system, which enabled buyers to fill overlapping prescriptions without being flagged as drug abusers. That made the state susceptible to abuse on a grand scale.??

The Georges were not rags-to-riches drug dealers. They were born to a wealthy home builder named John George and grew up in Wellington, an ultra-affluent community known for its polo grounds and celebrity residents, including Bruce Springsteen.?

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South Florida was one of the first regions to be struck by the bursting of the housing bubble. By 2006, when the George family?s Majestic Homes was the featured builder on an episode of ?Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,? the business was already in a tailspin. John George said that buyers were breaking their contracts because the homes were depreciating so rapidly, causing construction delays. Other buyers then complained, he said, earning Majestic an ?F? from the Better Business Bureau.?

To cut costs, George closed the Majestic Homes office on Florida?s west coast run by Chris George, who moved back east across Alligator Alley to his native Palm Beach County. When he arrived, he soon learned that his brother, Jeff, had found an enterprise more lucrative than home building.

Jeff George, who has the broad shoulders and bull neck of an avid weightlifter, was selling steroids online. A physician wrote prescriptions to the buyers without having conducted a physical examination, according to a criminal indictment. That made the practice illegal.??

While moving through this black market, Jeff George made the acquaintance of a physician named William Overstreet. Versed in the nuances of Florida?s health care regulations, Overstreet suggested to George that the real money was in oxycodone, court records indicate.??

Overstreet was an authority on this subject. Based on his generosity dispensing pain pills, local cops nicknamed him the ?Candy Man,? according to the criminal indictment of the Georges.??

With Overstreet?s coaching, Jeff George opened South Florida Pain Center in early 2008 in a small shopping plaza north of Fort Lauderdale. Brother Chris soon joined the business, according to court records.?

Recruiting physicians on Craigslist
To find physicians, the Georges posted Craigslist ads that promised generous pay. Job interviews were straightforward: the Georges wanted to know whether the physician was licensed by the state and registered with the DEA to prescribe controlled substances. Most important, according to the indictment, that physician had to be willing to prescribe with a heavy hand ? including a drug ?cocktail? of oxycodone and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax. Users often take oxy and Xanax simultaneously ? a combination that killed actor Heath Ledger in 2008.?

The doctors who collaborated with the Georges had financial incentives to risk their licenses.??

Dr. Patrick Graham, for instance, maintained a successful plastic surgery practice in Boca Raton for decades, until he discovered that an office manager had been embezzling the clinic?s profits, according to friends who wrote letters to the court on his behalf. By the time he found out, it was too late to save the practice. Without enough savings to retire comfortably, and too proud to ask his professionally accomplished siblings for help, the 64-year-old Graham began working at a George clinic in July 2009.?

Cuban brothers arrested in biggest pharmaceutical theft

He had misgivings. In one recorded call detailed in court records, Graham was asked by Chris George to turn over some of the oxycodone he had ordered, presumably so that George could sell it to street dealers. Said Graham: ?I think the idea is that I?ll do this one time, but I don?t like playing around with this stuff. This is just not something that you (do) in a medical setting.? (Graham, who was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in the Georges? operation, declined to comment for this article.)

Skeptical physicians were assured that pain clinic practice had been vetted by attorneys and was entirely legal. Each clinic was structured to insulate the workers from prosecution and to maximize the flow of painkillers, according to the indictment.?

The Georges? pain clinic customers were directed first to a mobile MRI unit, parked behind a West Palm Beach strip club. Since every individual?s spinal column has differences in alignment, the scans were used to support diagnoses that ?irregularities? were causing the patient?s pain, a claim too subjective to dispute, according to the indictment.?

Patients were required to submit urine samples to demonstrate that they weren?t abusers. But the George clinics looked the other way when patients swapped clean urine, a practice that was so common that the clinic toilets would often become clogged after patients tried to flush condoms and containers they?d smuggled into the restroom, according to the indictment. Even when the urinalysis showed the presence of narcotics, lab technicians (many of whom were friends of the Georges) waved the patients through, directing them to other clinics run by the Georges for a physician?s exam, it said.?

Although ?exam? may not be the best word. It was more like a physician?s glance. Undercover investigators said pain clinic doctors devoted an average of three minutes to each patient, ignoring the results of the MRIs, failing to inquire about the patient?s medical history and neglecting to ask the questions necessary to make an objective diagnosis, according to testimony by agents in DEA hearings.??

To save physicians? hands from cramping, they were given stamps with which to ?sign? prescriptions.??

Said Michael Aruta, one of the fastest-moving physicians: ?These hillbillies don?t give a s--- about their health.? Powerful painkillers, he added, are ?all they?re here for,? the indictment said. (Aruta, who was sentenced to six years in prison, declined to comment for this article.)?

Having received their scripts, customers were guided to pharmacies controlled by the George family. Chris George?s wife, Dianna, volunteered to help dispense the drugs. Given the dangers of mixing a deadly dose of medication, pharmacists are trained to take specific safety measures. Dianna?s previous job was dancing at a strip club.?

Efficiency becomes a problem
The efficiency of the George clinics soon became a problem. Shortly after the South Florida Pain Center opened in 2008, the brothers outgrew it. Jeff George opened East Coast Pain in West Palm Beach and Hallandale Pain in the South Broward County city of Hallandale Beach. In summer 2008 Chris George opened a clinic he called American Pain in Boca Raton. But the voracious appetites of his pill mill customers made it necessary to find an even bigger location, which is what led him in 2009 to launch the new American Pain in a 20,000 square-foot building in Lake Worth, near a mostly immigrant neighborhood. Immigrants don?t call cops, George said during a recorded phone call.?

American Pain was the biggest single clinic in the country, a Super-Walmart of addiction. Investigators say that the five most generous script-writing doctors saw 500 patients per day and, at up to $100 per patient, earned nearly $2 million in a year?s time.?

Said Dr. Graham during a recorded conversation with Chris George: ?You make a lot more money doing this than doing plastic surgery.? Indeed, George was heard bragging that physicians who worked for him made an average of $35,000 per week.??

The parking lot and surrounding streets were lined with cars bearing plates from Kentucky and Tennessee, hotbeds for painkiller abuse. To make it less conspicuous, the clinic instructed patients to park in lots several blocks away, where they?d be picked up by a shuttle van and delivered to the clinic?s front door.?

To keep the painkillers coming by the truckload, the Georges also needed to deceive the pharmaceutical suppliers. Investigators recorded a conversation where George told an employee, ?Remember, we?re lying about how many (clinic customers) are out of state. If you give them our real dispensing log it?s going to show that everybody?s from out of state.??

For drug dealers in states like Kentucky or Tennessee, the 1,000-mile trek to South Florida paid for itself, and it became common for them to fill a van with people willing to pose as patients with chronic pain. On average, clinic patrons (or their sponsors) paid about $5 per 30-mg dose of oxycodone, which they could sell in Appalachia for $30. Just one of the George brothers pharmacies could dole out over 10,000 doses of 30-mg oxy in a single day.?

In addition to the millions of oxy doses the clinics administered over the counter, thousands more were diverted by George employees to street traffickers, who paid cash, according to investigators? filings.?

The grip of oxy addiction guaranteed a loyal customer base. The more patients the clinics served, the more customers lusted for another fix. According to a DEA agent?s testimony in an administrative hearing, it was common to see 30 patrons in a queue before American Pain opened at 7 a.m., many of them itching compulsively, dressed in ragged clothing and chain-smoking cigarettes. The most woebegone addicts had track marks on their arms and appeared to be under the influence of drugs, the agent said.?

Security workers cruised the clinic grounds in golf carts, steering customers to the clinic door and punishing those inclined to loiter. At Jeff George?s clinics, a friend, Derik Nolan, became an enforcer, delivering beatings to patrons who did anything that could attract police, such as snorting the drugs outside the clinics or handing them to a dealer. Proud of his role, Nolan was heard on the wire boasting, ?I?m like the f----ing underboss here. I?m the one who knows all (Jeff?s) dirty little secrets and the f----ing one that gets called when s--- needs to get done.??

Nolan who pleaded guilty to his role in managing the pill mills and was sentenced in December to 14 years in prison, referred questions to his attorney, who declined to comment.?

As patients jumped ahead of others in line, fights broke out. It was also common for patients to have drug-induced overdoses and seizures. On the day after the train killed the group from Tennessee, another clinic customer was found dead on the side of a South Florida highway.?

John George, father of the two brothers, says that the clinics were operating within the law and that any illegal activity that occurred there was the fault of rogue physicians. He did not have a role in the clinics and was not charged with any wrongdoing in connection with the case.?

Burning dollar bills in barrels
The deluge of cash became a problem. Employees could be heard on the wiretaps complaining about cash drawers being stuffed to the top. It wasn?t worth keeping dollar bills, so those were separated and then burned by the barrel. Bigger bills were stuffed into garbage bags, then hauled to a bank. Chris George?s wife, Dianna, accepted the chore of making these rather suspicious deposits, although not without grousing that she?d become her husband?s ?money mule.???

Other cash-filled bags went to the home of the Georges? mother, Denice Haggerty, who stacked it in safes in her attic. At one point, says a friend of the Georges, there were 14 safes in the attic, each containing $1 million. Haggerty, who divorced John George in 1988, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.?

The cash piled up despite the brothers? free-spending ways. Jeff George bought a monster truck, multiple Lamborghinis and a Mercedes Saks 5th Avenue Edition. There were only five of those cars made, and George liked his so much that when he totaled it, he bought himself another, according to a friend.??

Jeff George assembled a small navy, including a 36-foot racing vessel, a 39-foot sports boat and two yachts, 38 and 55 feet in length. He also bought the shopping plaza housing his favorite strip club. The purchases were a convenient way to launder money, according to the indictment.?

As the Georges? painkiller empire grew, it attracted enemies, both from within and without. The indictment cites recorded phone calls in which Chris George and Derik Nolan threatened violence against other pain clinic operators they perceived to be encroaching on the Georges? turf.?

The Georges learned to suspect treachery even from their friends. A roommate of Jeff George named Robert Eddy was thought to have stolen some $500,000 in clinic funds. According to federal filings and testimony in pre-trial hearings, the brothers had Eddy handcuffed then brought to a vacant home owned by Jeff George. To intimidate Eddy, Jeff George allegedly fired a gun just inches from Eddy?s head, according to the indictment. Eventually, he was released unharmed. Chris George allegedly gave Eddy $10,000 to keep quiet about the incident, although court filings indicate the brothers remained dubious about Eddy?s loyalty.?

The incident may have made Jeff George paranoid about his other friends and clinic associates. According to the indictment, he put employees through lie detector tests. Chris George had his clinic regularly swept for listening devices.?

They even had doubts about whether they could trust the man who introduced them to the painkiller business, Dr. William Overstreet. Multiple sources with knowledge of the investigation say that the Georges had a dispute with the so-called ?Candy Man? over money.??

Overstreet left the pain clinic business around 2009, moving to Panama. Shortly thereafter, Overstreet?s car reportedly flew off a cliff, killing him. The U.S. Consulate confirmed the death of an American by that name, though it refused to give a date or the manner of death, citing privacy rules.??

Jeff George made multiple trips to Panama and Costa Rica while the pain clinics were in business, but there?s no evidence he was there at the time of Overstreet?s death, and there are no filings in the drug trafficking case to suggest that he had any role in it.?

Despite the internal conflicts, the brothers? clinics were thriving like never before in early 2010, having made nearly $1 million in a single week in late February. But on the morning of March 3, they were awakened by urgent phone calls: The clinics were being raided by a DEA task force.?

Even as masked agents emptied file cabinets and hauled off boxes of pills, clinic customers walked past them to the front desk, demanding new prescriptions. At the same time, agents were swarming through the George brothers? homes and counting the millions of dollars squirreled away in their mother?s attic.?

'I'll take the fall'
Jeff George managed to keep a stiff upper lip. When a reporter for the Palm Beach Post called, he said, ?It?s unfortunate for the patients that they have nowhere to go now. They are the ones that are really going to be affected the hardest by this.??

Meanwhile, Chris George, who spent the morning driving in his SUV between clinics, was panicking. The feds were listening on the wire when he told his wife, Dianna, ?I?m f----ed.? He added, ?Babe, I don?t know. Maybe I should just kill myself.???

Said Dianna George, ?I?ll take the fall for everything, OK????

But perhaps there was another way out. With investigators needing months to sift through the medical records they collected at the George clinics, it would take time before the Georges were formally charged with crimes.?

In pretrial hearings, prosecutors alleged that Chris George discussed with an informant named Zack the murder of Robert Eddy, the former friend who had been handcuffed and threatened after it was believed he stole $500,000. Nothing came of the alleged plot, and Chris George was not charged with attempted murder.?

But he may have deployed another strategy for deterring witnesses. In October 2010, Chris George got a tattoo on his lower leg: a rat, its lifeless body hanging from a noose. A friend took a picture of the tattoo, then texted it to a witness in the case.?

Prosecutors moved swiftly, hauling George into court and citing the rat tattoo as evidence that the clinic kingpin was a threat to government witnesses and should be jailed without bond. A federal judge agreed.?

Having apparently exhausted all other ideas, in 2011 the George brothers finally agreed to testify against the doctors they hired at the clinics. That, as well as guilty pleas to racketeering charges, would spare them from going to trial and risking a sentence that would put them in prison for the rest of their lives.

Jeff George came to his January sentencing hearing dressed in a double-breasted suit, hands clasped contritely in front of him. His hair, frosted at the tips when he began the clinic business, was now streaked with gray. ?I realize what I did was 100 percent wrong,? he told the judge. ?I take 100 percent responsibility.??

The judge sentenced him to 15 1/2 years. George has also pleaded guilty to a state case of murder in the case of a patient named Joey Bartolucci, who died by overdosing on oxycodone he received at East Coast Pain clinic. The sentence in that case may bring George?s total prison stay to 20 years.?

Chris George, who also pleaded guilty to racketeering, was sentenced to 17 1/2 years. In all, 26 of the brothers? associates will serve time, including Chris George?s wife Dianna and the Georges? mother, Denice Haggerty, both for over more than a year. Of the nine doctors indicted in the federal case, seven have entered guilty pleas -- the first time that doctors have been convicted in a ?pill mill? racketeering case. The remaining two appear likely to go to trial, currently set for August.?

20 million pills in three years
During the nearly three years that Georges? four primary clinics operated, investigators estimated that they churned out roughly 20 million doses of oxycodone.?

Based on what they learned from listening to wiretaps, federal prosecutors believe that the Georges made at least $40 million through the pain clinic and other fraudulent enterprises. In the raid, the government seized about $5 million in cash and property worth $9 million. The rest of the money is still unaccounted for.?

It?s much harder for the government to calculate the human casualties of the George clinics. By cross-referencing files from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission, investigators found that the George?s drugs had a role in 53 overdose deaths in Florida alone. Considering that 80 percent to 90 percent of the patients came from out of state, the number of deaths that occurred outside of Florida must be far greater. As a federal prosecutor noted at one hearing, ?We don?t know how many kids died behind barns in Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia? -- the Appalachian states home to the Georges? most loyal customers.??

The brothers may have known that their drug-dealing in Florida wasn?t going to last. Thanks to new state laws regulating the amount of oxycodone a single doctor can purchase, sales of the drug declined 97 percent from 2010 to 2011, according to figures cited by Obama drug czar Kerlikowske at a congressional hearing on March 1.??

In the Georges? former base of Palm Beach County, the number of pain clinics likewise plummeted by 65 percent in the past year, according to Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, who said that the remaining clinics are either under investigation or are legitimate practices.?

These developments may have played a role in the Georges? interest in taking their enterprise national. At the time they were raided, the brothers had recently launched a clinic in Kennesaw, Ga. and were scouting locations in Texas and St. Louis.?

Considering that the Georges? physicians ranked among the nation?s biggest oxycodone purchasers, the bust of their South Florida clinics played a major role in reversing both local and national trends of rapidly increasing painkiller abuse.?

Despite the hard fall taken by his sons, who began serving their prison sentences on April 27,?real estate developer John George still maintains that they were victims of physicians who broke the law. ?We had every indication that what (the clinics) were doing was perfectly legal,? he said. ?My sons aren?t doctors. They counted on the doctors and their staff to do their work correctly, but they didn?t.?

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Blue Origin dishes more details on its Bezos-backed spacecraft

Blue Origin dishes more details on its Bezos-backed spacecraft

Blue Origin typically keeps pretty tight-lipped about its projects. The private space-travel firm claims it prefers to talk about what is has done, rather than what it hopes to do. As such, We recently heard about its "Space Vehicle" (that's its actual name,) having completed wind-tunnel testing, and now the firm (partly funded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos) has revealed a little more. The craft in question is a seven-seater, and it took 180 rigorous tests to get to the final design. Blue Origin has been working with NASA under the agency's CCDev program, which awarded the firm $22 million to develop the project. Under the same initiative, Blue Origin is about to start testing on its BE-3 engine thrust chamber, which will help give the BE-3 rocket motor its 100,000 pounds of thrust. Once complete, this engine will be used in the company's multi-launch vehicle, and is currently on the test stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Mississippi. We'll spare you the puns about it not being "rocket science."

Blue Origin dishes more details on its Bezos-backed spacecraft originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 May 2012 02:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ALL IN THE FAMILY: A Intimate Marriage

Marriage is ordained by God to be an intimate relationship between a man and his wife. Intimacy is more than sexuality, although it is an important part. Intimacy may be described as knowing each other in a transparent way. That is to say, you feel safe in sharing your thoughts, emotions, desires, and bodies with one another unreservedly. Nothing is off-limits for you or your spouse in mutual transparency. That results in a intimate marriage.

Marriage is about two persons, the husband and his wife, becoming one. The marriage union is designed by God to be the most intimate relationship between two human beings. This union has three dimensions. It is a spiritual union in a covenant relationship blessed by God. It is a bonding of hearts, whereby the two persons are transparent in mind, will and emotions. It is a physical union, as two become one flesh in a sexual relationship. The union is incomplete without all three dimensions.

Marriage is a covenant relationship, not merely a civil union. Covenant means God is the witness to our vows. He delights in blessing those who seek to do His will in marriage. The words in the vows between the bride and groom become the basis for the union of the two becoming one. Covenant relationships are built upon trust. The bond of trust is the foundation of the covenant relationship.

Marriage is a heart-to-heart relationship. The heart is our mind, will and emotions. In the intimacy of marriage we share all with our mate. Our hearts become transparent to each other. We share our thoughts, desires and emotions. Our conversations share all. Transparent communication strengthens the bond of marriage. Both husband and wife must feel safe to share their hearts with one another.

Marriage is a sexual relationship. There is nothing evil about sex in marriage. It is God's idea. He blesses such an intimate relationship within the covenant boundaries of marriage. "Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and the church and to provide for the man and the woman the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards and the means for procreation of the human race" (Baptist Faith and Message, article xviii, 2000).

Marriage is a intimate relationship ordained of God for us to give and receive love. It is to be a model for His covenant relationship with us in Christ. A marriage blessed of God is one which is built upon the foundation of His unconditional love. The apostle Paul illustrates the covenant relationship between Christ and the church like the relationship between a husband and wife (Ephesians 5:22-33). The two become one through God's unconditional love.

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NLP Neuro Linguistic Programming for Beginners: Transform Your ...

?For every diciplined effort there is a multiple reward.? ? Jim Rohn

In terms of personality, temperance, attitude, intelligence, technical ability, and beliefs, every human is truly unique.Some people love to be the center of attention while others prefer to retreat into the background. If they?re satisfied
with that life, there?s nothing that can be done, but if they want to break free from that shell, NLP is a legitimate method.

Most people who lack confidence are well aware of that fact. They?d like to be more outspoken but simply can?t.

They don?t know how to train themselves to have faith or believe that their opinions have a hefty value.

If you are one of those people, this is the perfect opportunity for you. There is a wide range of obscure teachings built specifically for you.

Enclosed within the pages of this book, you?ll find basic information regarding NLP, or neuro-linguistic programming, an advanced self-help technique that?s sure to pick you up from the slumps of self-pity into the realm of confidence and
achievement.

?For every diciplined effort there is a multiple reward.? ? Jim Rohn

In terms of personality, temperance, attitude, intelligence, technical ability, and beliefs, every human is truly unique.Some people love to be the center of attention while others prefer to retreat into the background. If they?re satisfied
with that life, there?s nothing that can be done, but if they want to break free from that shell, NLP is a legitimate method.

Most people who lack confidence are well aware of that fact. They?d like to be more outspoken but simply can?t.

They don?t know how to train themselves to have faith or believe that their opinions have a hefty value.

If you are one of those people, this is the perfect opportunity for you. There is a wide range of obscure teachings built specifically for you.

Enclosed within the pages of this book, you?ll find basic information regarding NLP, or neuro-linguistic programming, an advanced self-help technique that?s sure to pick you up from the slumps of self-pity into the realm of confidence and
achievement.

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Suspected U.S. drone kills two Yemeni al Qaeda men

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Gingrich: Romney has earned the GOP nomination

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich announces that he is suspending his presidential campaign, Wednesday, May 2, 2012, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich announces that he is suspending his presidential campaign, Wednesday, May 2, 2012, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich pauses while announcing that he is suspending his presidential campaign, Wednesday, May 2, 2012, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

(AP) ? Former White House candidate Newt Gingrich says Mitt Romney has "earned the right to represent the Republican Party" against President Barack Obama and that he'll help Romney's campaign in any way he can.

Gingrich says Romney has "fought his way to the nomination" and that "nobody gave him an inch."

Gingrich also tells CNN's "State of the Union" that he's discussed speaking at events on Romney's behalf.

The former House speaker laughs off any suggestion that he would try to be Romney's running mate, noting that the campaign would probably prefer someone younger and hinting at his reputation as a domineering leader:

"Oh, I can't imagine that. ... Would you pick me to be No. 2?" he asked in the TV interview.

Associated Press

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Can't have it both ways

Team personnel pull clumps of grass from Vick's facemask during their NFL football game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, MarylandReuters

The death of linebacker Junior Seau has triggered a flurry of comments and articles regarding the future of football.? Former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner has said that he would prefer that his sons not play football (before later that same day saying he would ?love? for them to play).? ESPN, a network that pays billions of dollars for the right to televise football games, is showcasing on the NFL home page of its website a column that makes the case for not letting our sons play football.? One of the men who currently plays the game, Ravens safety Bernard Pollard, believes football will be extinct in 20 to 30 years.

But here?s the point everyone who is pointing the Seau suicide as a key crossroads for football is badly missing:? The NFL already has arrived at the crossroads, and the NFL has embarked on the path of safety.

Against the wishes of most players and fans.

It happened in 2009 ? nearly a year after Ashley Fox of ESPN.com made her own personal decision to not let her then-unborn son play football ? when Congress grilled Commissioner Roger Goodell and others regarding head injuries.? That relatively minor investment of political resources served as the proverbial shot across the bow, compelling the NFL to make a flurry of changes aimed at reducing the number of concussions that occur during games, diagnosing more effectively the players who have sustained concussions, and ensuring that players who have suffered concussions are not allowed back onto the field until their concussions have fully healed.

Does more need to be done?? Absolutely, and I?ve been at the front of the line (to the chagrin of more than a few readers) arguing for further changes, especially as it relates to the development of safeguards and redundancies strong enough to override the all-powerful head coach when a player like Mike Vick has ?dirt on his face? or when Colt McCoy clearly had been (as ESPN used to famously call it) ?jacked up.?

But the challenge isn?t simply to get coaches, who are driven to win and are driven crazy when rules regarding concussions keep their best players out of action, to accept the new realities of football.? Players and, ultimately, the fans must buy in, too.

As one PFT commenter recently pointed out, current players are complaining about efforts to take hard hits out of the game at a time when former players are suing the NFL for, in part, letting them hit each other too hard.? For some former players, the concussion issue becomes a convenient vehicle for venting about the fact that today?s owners and players are making obscene amounts of money, and that not enough of it is being shared with the men who made the game what it is.? Current players, however, continue to play the game without reservation or hesitation.? Indeed, 253 draft picks and hundreds more undrafted players unanimously accepted the offers of employment that have come their way in the last 10 days.

And so, at a time when so many voices are clamoring for football to change even more, the men who play the game don?t want it to.? For example, Pollard?s headline-generating prediction didn?t come from his belief that some external body will outlaw the sport, but from a concern that efforts by the NFL to make the game safer will kill it.? ?This is football,? Pollard said.? ?It?s not powder puff.? When Nike unveiled their new uniforms, I?m surprised they didn?t have flags on the side. . . .? You?re taking away the game of football.? If a quarterback throws an interception, get his butt down or run to the sidelines.? If you?re going to try to make a tackle, I?m going to look for you.? I promise you, I?m going to look for you.?

The fans have a role in this, too.? As the NFL has tried to make the game safer, the folks who devote money and/or time to watching it have complained, almost as loudly as the players.? Those same fans, who love the hits and the intensity of the sport, can?t then wring their hands and gnash their teeth when men who know that the sport entails a significant risk of getting hurt actually, you know, get hurt.

In the end, how far must the NFL go to protect players from themselves?? We remain a nation of risk-takers; in many ways, taking risks helped make our country what it is.? And we routinely take far greater risks for far less money than NFL players receive.

Hell, we even spend good money to take risks, whether it?s jumping out of airplanes or climbing rock walls or driving motorcycles, with or without helmets.? (Ashley Fox doesn?t mention in her column whether she?ll let her son engage in any of those activities.? Eventually, however, she?ll lose her vote.)

If grown men, who now can?t say they don?t know the risks of playing football, choose to play, why should anyone stop them?? And even if enough parents are actually able to steer that 14-to-18-year-old with testosterone pumping through his body away from playing football to the point where there is no high school football, the best of the best young athletes will nevertheless be recruited to learn football at the college level, at which point the wishes of mom and/or dad will go out the window ? especially if playing football pays for tuition and expenses that mom and/or dad otherwise couldn?t afford.

Though plenty of men choose to play college football because they hope to play pro football and not because they want a college education, plenty of men know that football ultimately serves its purpose by providing a college education that they otherwise wouldn?t be able to obtain.? And if, in the end, the decision comes down to the risk of incurring CTE on a gridiron or encountering an IED on a dirt road in Afghanistan, plenty of men will gladly embrace the risks of playing college football.

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