Heart Disease: Signs of Heart Problems - Health Me Up

Heart attacks and cardiac arrests can take away loved ones in an instant. The best way is to prevent such unfortunate and tragic otucomes is to keep a constant check on heart health. Heart disease must be detected well in advance, before it can cause damage. One way to do this is to lower cholesterol and reduce unnecessary fats in the body. But heart diseases also affect people who are 'slim' or who have no history of heart problems in the family. Just like any other disease and sickness, there are ways to judge if you will suffer a heart attack and there are signs that you can watch out for in others around you. These are the top 10 signs of heart problems. *Images courtesy: ? Thinkstock photos/ Getty Images

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Future Trends in Israel's Nonprofit Sector: A Review of the Top ...

We Must Look To The Past To Know The Future (George Santayana)

by Shuey Fogel

The headlines in 2012 were all about looking to the future.

While there were some stories with immediate consequences, the effects of most of the headlines will only rear their heads in 2013 (at the earliest). Change in the wind? Yes. On the ground, not so much.

So what?s in store for Israel?s global nonprofit sector? The following are nine of the top news stories of 2012 and their significance:

9. Charities Advocate for Israel?s Nonprofit Sector in the Upcoming Elections

The end of November saw?Manhigut Ezrachit [ICLA or Israel Civil Leadership Association in English]?release a primer (Hebrew)?on the contribution to Israel by its nonprofit sector.

The goal of the one-page summary was to educate citizens in the hopes that they would support candidates that expressed an interest in supporting, developing and strengthening Israel?s voluntary sector.

While the effort didn?t seem to garner public support, it was definitely a step in the right direction and reminded me of the much more successful?efforts in the United States.

This recent effort in Israel is very much in its infancy but with the election results showing that Israel is ready for a change, I?m very to interested to see if charities decide to band together and capitalize on it for the next elections.

8. Private-Philanthropy Database to be Initiated by the Statistic Bureau and Yad Hanadiv

While a Yearbook is ?great for organizational statistics (see below number 4), it does nothing to analyze those that are actually doing the giving, the donors. Thus enters Yad Hanadiv (The Rothchild Foundation) and Israel Statistics Bureau?who announced in late October (Hebrew)?about a joint project to establish a database of giving statistics.

Currently, the numbers are gleaned from a hodgepodge of places, including: automatic reports generated from incoming money from foreign sources; data submitted by the Tax Authority on private and business donations; and various surveys done by private and government bodies.

The new initiative will gather data from three primary sources: data submitted by the Tax Authority on private and business donations (a previous contributor); information transferred from Guidestar Israel (see below number 4); and a survey to be conducted on 300 sample charities. Building the database will take a year from when the first pieces of information will be transmitted (approximately towards the end of 2013).

The new initiative database will:

• map donations from individuals and businesses, originating ?from both within and outside Israel
• and will provide information on the sources, amounts, and destinations of the philanthropy received by Israeli charities.

It could be that the goal of this project is to mimic the?Giving USA Report?published yearly, whose vast data is used to ?track reports of similar types of charity, train board members, assist in setting organizational strategy, identify funding gaps, and teach about current trends.?

With the continuous complaints about Israel?s lack of formal philanthropy, this is an important initiative indeed.

7. Acknowledgement that it?s Time to Explore New Organizational Structures for Charities?

Two announcements from the Israeli government signaled that the powers-at-be are realizing that charities come in all different shapes and sizes; something that other countries have known for quite some time. (In America, the?B Corporation?and?L3C legal?entities are great examples.)

With traditional fundraising drying up, alternative funding sources and the entities that can support them are crucial.

In late November, The Third Sector Roundtable run by the Prime Minister?s Office?expressed its support (Hebrew)?for the creation of Socially-Minded Businesses in Israel. The directive will provide the basis necessary for legislation, regulations, and a the fiscal structure necessary for the success of such an entity. (Similar strides were recently made in the States when the IRS declared that social investments or PRI?s would be considered tax-deductible.)

This headline followed an?earlier one in September?that announced that the Israeli government had created an official?Request for Information (RFI)?on the establishment of a Social Entrepreneurship Fund.

As exciting as this sounds, with the recent Israeli elections and reports of overspending, deficit explosions and subsequent looming budget cuts, all this great talk might be just that: talk.

6. Interior Ministry to Reward Local Authorities on Social Activities

Real change needs to come from within, despite the sometimes much-needed external push.

Misrad Hapnim (Israel?s Interior Ministry)?announced (Hebrew)?that they would give financial rewards to those Local Authorities that instituted social programs that meet eight predetermined criteria. Officials were quick to point out that the type of programming they are looking for is attainable even for smaller and more cash-strapped local authorities and wouldn?t require infusions of large capital.

In addition to changes how local governments approach and prioritize social programming (hopefully), this announcement will hopefully galvanize charities into researching further ways to collaborate with the municipalities in which they operate.

Could this actually usher in a new era of government and charity collaboration?? (And yes, I?m ever the optimist.)

5. Midot: Acting More Like a Regulator than a Social Cause?

The Israeli nonprofit organization Midot made headlines a few times in 2012.

None more explosive than in September after the its CEO?s?interview with Haaretz/TheMarker,?one of Israel?s leading business dailies,?where he called the majority of Israel?s charities ineffective, where ?it was quickly used to confirm the public?s worst fear in the countries nonprofits.

This story followed Midot?s pilot program with Israel?s?Chashav Haklali (Hebrew)?where Midot essentially served as the gatekeeper to the government?s coffers. A program that many feared would be misused by the government as an excuse to refuse allocation of grants.

Manhigut Ezrachit [ICLA or Israel Civil Leadership Association in English] and the Hitarginut Hamankalim [The Organization of Nonprofit CEOs] banded together in September to?issue a letter (Hebrew)?defending against the claims of lack-of-effectiveness. The letter was followed by a call for Midot to act more like a ?social cause and less like a regulator.?

In the past years, Midot has made inroads with big companies and Israel?s elite (in addition to the government as was demonstrated above), convincing them of the organization?s critical mission.

Recent headlines seem to suggest that the organization?s effectiveness is not universally accepted. Midot is at a fork-in-the-road and only time will tell which path they will choose and how Israel?s nonprofit sector will be affected accordingly.

4. Creation of Israel?s First Nonprofit Sector ?Yearbook?

At the June?Guidestar Israel conference, a ?yearbook? (or Shnaton as its referred to in Hebrew) of Israel?s nonprofit sector was released.

Using the 12 internationally recognized?nonprofit classifications (see pages 18-22), the report allows Israel to analyze its own sector, as well as, compare it to others around the globe. The hard numbers (many of which were unattainable until now) shed light on many important statistics and were used by one reporter to combat the myth that high salaries are prevalent among Israel?s charities.

The yearbook released in June was Israel?s first. Coming years will not only continue to deliver critical data but will provide the basis for trend-watching and true analysis.

More articles on the Yearbook can be found on NPTech?s (the organization that manages Guidestar Israel) site,?here?(Hebrew). Don?t miss this one either:?Aren?t You Tired of Suspecting Charity CEO?s??(Hebrew)

3. Supreme Court Rules that Charities Need to Pay Tax on Land Sales

The city of Ashkelon sold 53 plots of land to private individuals. The city charged the individuals VAT (Value Added Tax) but didn?t transfer the VAT to the Tax Authority because it was granted a VAT exemption by the Tax Authority ? as most Israeli charities do. Even though the exemption was granted to the municipality because of its ?social? status, the Tax Authority claimed that the transaction was a ?commercial and not social, thus not included in the exemption.

In October,?Israel?s Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Tax Authority (Hebrew), in essence ruling that all charities will need to pay VAT (currently 17%) when they sell property they own. Until then, it was a ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell? policy that allowed those institutions that didn?t report tax they had collected as free from VAT payments to the Tax Authority.

In Israel, many organization received land from the government or from bequeaths ? land that is not needed by the charity. Many have already sold portions of their property, while most still maintain this ?extra? real-estate.

The multitude of charities and other exempt organizations affected will now have to take VAT into consideration and rethink their plans.

2. One Year for the Tax Authority to Rethink Tax-Deductible Eligibility

Many people, including?myself, have complained about the lack-of-clarity facing charities that are seeking tax-deductible status in Israel, known as Se?if [Paragraph] 46.

In addition to the basic requirements associated with applying to become a Mosad Tziburi [Public Institution], the Minister of Treasury prepares a recommendation to a Knesset sub-committee that must approve the organization?s request. The problem, as Prof. Nissan Limor pointed out, is that applicants do not know beforehand what is exactly required of them. Furthermore, Limor notes that the procedures are gathered as guidelines that have not been incorporated into any legislation.

In August,?Israel?s Supreme Court ruled (Hebrew)?that the Treasury has one year in which to formulate clear criteria for receiving Se?if 46.

According to Guidestar?s Yearbook released in June of this year, only 12% (4,280 out of 34,398) of charities have tax-deductible status.

It is hopeful that new, clearer guidelines will both encourage more charities to apply for tax-deductible status and give those organizations struggling to get an approval the boost they need to finally be granted their well-deserved eligibility.

1. Corporations Authority Releases for First Time Instructions for Business Activities by Nonprofits

The world of nonprofit financing has been changing for a while, especially after the global economic. However, regulations here in Israel haven?t been keeping pace. Actually, they?re trailing far behind.

But maybe not anymore?

A funding method making headlines in recent years is business related income generated by the nonprofit itself, as opposed to strict reliance on donations.

Maybe saving the best for last, Israel?s Corporations Authority (CA), which governs the Registrar of Charities,?released in November (Hebrew)?for the first time instructions for ?business? activities by charities. The guideline?s four sections cover:

1. How decisions should be reached
2. Relevant considerations concerning business activities
3. Collaboration with other nonprofit or for-profit entities
4. Restrictions of business activity

While not perfect, the guidelines are a work in progress. More importantly, they are signal that the regulators are realizing that charities are multifaceted, complex, economic organisms and not simply operational sub-contractors.

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

I?ve got high hopes for 2013. Looking forward to joining everyone for the ride.

What were your impressions? Which headline will reverberate the most for years to come? Can you suggest a headline that wasn?t included in the list?

Tizku Lemitzvot,

Shuey

Disclaimer: This blog houses my personal opinions and is for informational purposes only ? not advice. As charity laws can be quite complex and ever-changing, please refer all questions to qualified and licensed professionals. Read the?full disclaimer.

Shuey Fogel is a nonprofit professional turned banking specialist. He is currently Director of Solutions for Nonprofits for an Israeli Bank. Shuey shares relevant conversations, articles, and experiences on his blog,?nonprofitbanker.com.

Source: http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/future-trends-in-israels-nonprofit-sector-a-review-of-the-top-headlines-in-2012/

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The Rock's Five Greatest Royal Rumble Moments

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Federal Agency Funds New Energy Technologies

Renee Montagne talks to Cheryl Martin, deputy director of the Energy Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. Modeled after the Defense Department's research program, ARPA-E provides grants to researchers developing cutting edge energy technologies that are too early for private sector investment.

Copyright ? 2013 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has incubated many important technologies over the decades in computer networking and other areas. The Energy Department wants to make similar strides with an agency called ARPA-E. Over three years now in operation, ARPA-E has spent nearly $800 million on 285 experimental projects.

We invited the agency's deputy director, Cheryl Martin, into our studio so we can find out more about these projects. Good morning.

CHERYL MARTIN: Good morning.

MONTAGNE: Let's clarify, because I think some people hear the words clean energy and government investment put together and they think Solyndra, the failed solar panel company that ate up hundreds of millions in Energy Department loans. Is ARPA-E the agency that funded Solyndra?

MARTIN: ARPA-E is a part of the Department of Energy, but an entirely separate part, with a sole mission to focus on the development employment of early-stage technologies. We fund in $2 to$3 million increments, generally, small companies, academics doing these transformational energy projects.

MONTAGNE: So you're never effectively going to turn into a Solyndra situation, because you're never going to have that kind of money to throw at any one thing.

MARTIN: Exactly. And so we are actually looking to measure success in terms of handing it off to somebody else. We're going to catalyze an investment and then somebody else will pick it up and move it forward. So we are very much focused on really out there kind of technologies.

I mean let me give you an example of the type of things that we would fund. When you think about fuels, ARPA-E took the whole idea of biofuels and kind of turned it on its ear and said OK, well, plants have been trying to be plants for millions of years. Suppose you thought about this differently and said, could a plant be designed to be something that was more fuel-like? So could you take loblolly pines, which grow all over the southeast of the United States - and they actually make a component today, it's called a terpene. It's a molecule that is very close to the type of molecules that are in fuel. And so you could envision that the crop from these trees would be of a type of fuel.

MONTAGNE: And so you try to grow a lot more of them?

MARTIN: What this is actually saying that the tree itself, so you think about when you have, you know, maple syrup - you tap the tree and you get the syrup out to make syrup - this would be actually a fuel component that you could extract from the tree to be the fuel itself.

Another example, is the idea that algae produce really nice oils, and people like to think about them for fuels. We've looked at taking those traits and having them in tobacco plants. So could you have the good properties of algae in a tobacco plant, which we know how to grow on poor soil?

MONTAGNE: So ARPA-E is like DARPA in that its purpose is sort of big think.

MARTIN: What we think about picking projects, it's not does it work? We asked if it works, will it matter. So we actually really take risks, saying if it works it's going to really change the game.

MONTAGNE: You know, I wonder if there is less impetus, now, for what you're doing now that the U.S. is producing so much more oil and gas.

MARTIN: We look at it as creating more opportunities. So we actually just ran a project called MOVE(ph), which is trying to envision natural gas as a fuel for passenger vehicles, could you develop new tank designs for the car as well as compressor designs that would work at home.

MONTAGNE: So I mean, you're talking about cars that can be fueled at home, effectively.

MARTIN: Exactly.

MONTAGNE: Do you have a sense of the percentage of projects that just don't pan out?

MARTIN: Well, because we're only three years old, we don't have enough data yet to say definitively we expect a certain percentage absolutely to not pan out. But we certainly, because of our charter, can stop projects where the technology is not going where we want it to. And so already we've stopped on the order of 10 projects. And then certain projects certainly will be picked up and carried forward, others will provide knowledge about what is or is not working to fund our thinking for future ideas.

MONTAGNE: But that's part, in a way, of the idea. If these were sure things the government would need to fund them.

MARTIN: It wouldn't be our job to do them if we already knew the outcome. But I think it's wonderful that we can stop things that don't work, further fund things that do work, and then look to hand off to somebody else who is going to be interested in carrying it all the way to the market.

MONTAGNE: Thank you very much for joining us.

MARTIN: Thanks for having me.

MONTAGNE: Cheryl Martin is deputy director of ARPA-E. That's the Energy Department's Advanced Research Project Agency.

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NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/01/28/170436051/energy-department-encourages-new-energy-technology?ft=1&f=1007

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Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/crazy-video-of-a-truck-in-china-tipping-over-and-nearly-flattening-a-guy-2013-1

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Glooscap Heritage Society v. The Queen - FCA refuses applic. to ...

In the case of Glooscap Heritage Society v. The Queen, a charity had its charitable status revoked for improperly issuing tax receipts and operating for the benefit of a tax shelter. The Charity filed an objection to the revocation and applied for an order delaying the revocation until their challenge was heard but this objection was ultimately dismissed.? The Court acknowledged that ?Glooscap?s activities are socially worthy and important to the community? but the Court noted that ?Glooscap?s involvement with the tax shelter is central.?? There is a very important discussion about the issue of reputation.? There is also an interesting recognition by the FCA on the subject of ?the regrettable, often abysmal, sometimes unspeakable events surrounding Canada?s history of aboriginal/non-aboriginal relations: Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples: Looking Forward, Looking Backward, vol. 1 (Ottawa: Canada Communication Group Publishing, 1996)?.? In this case the Court noted that Glooscap issued $19,775 in total donations during 2007-2011 that were not related to the tax scheme but issued $116 million in tax receipts related to the scheme.

In the decision, the court stated:

?[4] In order to delay the revocation, Glooscap must satisfy the Court that it has met the normal test for the granting of stays and injunctions: International Charity Association Network v. Minister of National Revenue, 2008 FCA 114 at paragraph 5. Glooscap must show it has an arguable case against the revocation, it will suffer irreparable harm if the revocation is allowed to happen, and the balance of convenience lies in its favour: RJR-MacDonald v. Canada (Attorney General), [1994] 1 S.C.R. 311.

[5] For the reasons set out below, Glooscap has not satisfied this test. Therefore, I shall dismiss Glooscap?s application to delay the revocation of its registration as a charity, with costs.?

The FCA then goes on to talk about the low threshold for the first step of the test, ?arguable case?, and the Minister conceded and the Court concluded that the charity met this part of the test.

However, to meet the second part of the test, ?irreparable harm?, there must be evidence that the unavoidable irreparable harm would result unless the stay was granted. In this case, it was accepted that the charity would suffer some reputational harm however most of it was caused by the actions of the charity by being associated with a tax shelter, not the revocation of the charity?s status. The charity knew that they could lose their charitable status if they became involved with a tax shelter yet they still chose to continue with these actions. The Court stated (my highlighting):

?[35] Glooscap has adduced evidence from very well-placed deponents: the executive director of the tourist association with which Glooscap is partnered, a multi-decade councillor with the Millbrook First Nation reserve, and the general manager of the museum. However, much of the evidence of harm given by these deponents consists of sweeping, unparticularized assertions and declarations that difficulties would arise that might result in actual harm.

[36] Without a better understanding of Glooscap?s overall financial situation and fundraising ability, I cannot conclude that a loss of donations would result in any irreparable harm to it or its activities.

[37] Glooscap submits that revocation of its registration as a charity will cause harm to its relationships, particularly with non-aboriginal organizations, and these injuries are not capable of later remediation. However, its evidence goes no higher than to identify ?jeopardy? or a risk to those relationships: see paragraphs 11 and 13 of the Mingo Affidavit.

[38] The Court does accept that Glooscap will suffer some reputational harm. However, as explained below, much of the reputational harm, especially in the donor community, will be caused not by the revocation of Glooscap?s registration as a charity, but rather by the reassessment of the donors to the tax shelter.

[39] Ultimately fatal to Glooscap`s application is the requirement that it establish irreparable harm that is unavoidable, i.e., irreparable harm that will be caused by the failure to get a stay, not harm caused by its own conduct in running a clearly-known risk that it actually knew about, could have avoided, but deliberately chose to accept: Dywidag Systems International, supra at paragraphs 14 and 16.?

...
?[41] In this case, Glooscap knew about the sizeable advantages of registered charitable status: exemption from income tax and the ability to issue receipts for donations received. It was warned at an early stage that it might lose its advantageous charitable status if it associated with this tax shelter. Part of that risk is the very thing that has now materialized ? the revocation of its charitable status before it can challenge the revocation in this Court. Warnings about involvement with this tax shelter came from the Canada Revenue Agency (two emails and a meeting), Glooscap?s own lawyer (two letters) and its own auditor. Glooscap?s auditor resigned, at least in part over the issue. There were also warnings that involvement in the tax shelter would require an amendment to Glooscap?s objects and the approval of the Canada Revenue Agency. Yet, knowing of the risks, Glooscap chose to continue its association with the tax shelter, and in fact renewed its association in 2009.

[42] Glooscap submits that it exercised good faith throughout. In support of that submission, among other things, Glooscap points to confirmatory testimony given on cross-examination of a representative of the Canada Revenue Agency. That may be so, but the fact remains that at an early stage Glooscap knew of the risk of the very harm that has eventuated here and it chose to run that risk.

[43] If Glooscap blundered itself into involvement in this tax shelter, oblivious to any real risk, the irreparable harm might not be fairly laid at its feet. Similarly, circumstances such as mistaken advice, mistake as to the facts, trickery, duress or unauthorized conduct by someone wrongly purporting to act for Glooscap might cause a different view to be taken of the matter. But in this case none of these circumstances are present.?

As the irreparable harm part of the test was not met the court did not go into detail on the third part ?balance of convenience?.? The Court just noted:? ?[44] Were it necessary to proceed to this branch of the test, this Court would have found that the balance of convenience lies against the granting of relief to Glooscap.?

The Court noted:

[45] This Court recognizes the high significance and importance of the aboriginal/non-aboriginal partnership in this case between Glooscap and the tourist association, especially when viewed against the regrettable, often abysmal, sometimes unspeakable events surrounding Canada?s history of aboriginal/non-aboriginal relations: Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples: Looking Forward, Looking Backward, vol. 1 (Ottawa: Canada Communication Group Publishing, 1996).

The Court discussed the issue of what is in the ?public interest?.? I find this part to be fascinating:?

?[53] The weight to be accorded to that public interest, already significant, is driven upward by the sizeable amounts said to be in issue in this case: $116,999,482 given in receipts to participants in the tax shelter in 2008-2011, in circumstances where valid non-tax shelter donations over the same period totalled only $19,775. It is also driven up by Glooscap?s decision to involve itself in the tax shelter despite the clear warnings it received.

[54] In assessing and weighing the public interest considerations in this case against the considerations offered by Glooscap, I can do no better than to adopt the words of my colleague, Sharlow J.A., in International Charity Association Network, supra at paragraph 12 (2008 FCA 62):
The Minister takes the position, properly in my view, that the public has a legitimate interest in the integrity of the charitable sector. It is reasonable for the Minister to attempt to safeguard that integrity by carefully scrutinizing tax shelter schemes involving charitable donations of property and, where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the property has been overvalued, by taking appropriate corrective action. In the circumstances of this case, the Minister?s factual allegations, while untested, are sufficiently serious to outweigh any advantage [the charity] might derive from an order deferring the revocation of its registration as a charity.?

The Court ultimately decided:

?For the foregoing reasons, I shall dismiss Glooscap?s application to delay the revocation of its registration as a charity. The Minister shall have his costs of the application.?

Source: http://www.globalphilanthropy.ca/index.php/blog/comments/glooscap_heritage_society_v._the_queen_-_fca_refuses_to_delay_revocation_of/

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'Blood-biting' predator identified

27 January 2013 Last updated at 21:00 ET

Prehistoric remains discovered more than a century ago have been identified as a new species of marine super-predator.

Researchers said the 165-million-year-old creature was distantly related to modern-day crocodiles.

Parts of its skeleton were found near Peterborough in the early 1900s and are held at Glasgow's Hunterian museum.

The species has been named as Tyrannoneustes lythrodectikos, meaning "blood-biting tyrant swimmer".

Scientists found that the partial skeleton - including a jawbone and teeth - belonged to a group of crocodiles that were similar to dolphins.

The animal's pointed, serrated teeth and large gaping jaw meant it would have been suited to feeding on large-bodied prey.

A team of experts led by the University of Edinburgh said it would help scientists better understand how marine reptiles were evolving about 165 million years ago.

'Missing link'

The researchers believe the species represents a missing link between marine crocodiles that fed on small prey, and others that were similar to modern-day killer whales, which fed on larger prey.

Their findings have been published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

Dr Mark Young of the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences, said: "It is satisfying to be able to classify a specimen that has been unexamined for more than 100 years, and doubly so to find that this discovery improves our understanding of the evolution of marine reptiles."

Dr Neil Clark, palaeontology curator at the Hunterian, said little research had been done on the specimen since it was first listed in 1919.

He added: "It is comforting to know that new species can still be found in museums as new research is carried out on old collections.

"It is not just the new species that are important, but an increase in our understanding of how life evolved and the variety of life forms that existed 163 million years ago in the warm Jurassic seas around what is now Britain."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-21220499#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Nooly: Get the Most Accurate Forecast Possible

There are few things more annoying than bringing an umbrella with you when you don't need it. Never make that mistake again—Nooly will give you accurate, super-local forecasts for your exact neighborhood. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/pqEQ2hUN2PY/nooly-get-the-most-accurate-forecast-possible

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Do You Backup Your Social Media Accounts?

Whenever something sketchy happens to your favorite social network's TOS, there are always folks who say they're packing up, taking their data and leaving. But backing up your social data doesn't have to be a last resort. After all, who knows what might happen to the cloud. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/06AC5H7Go-Y/do-you-backup-your-social-media-accounts

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French, Mali forces head toward Timbuktu

SEVARE, Mali (AP) ? French and Malian forces pushed toward the fabled desert town of Timbuktu on Sunday, as the two-week-long French mission gathered momentum against the Islamist extremists who have ruled the north for more than nine months.

So far the French forces have met little resistance from the militants, though it remains unclear what battles may await them farther north. The Malian military blocked dozens of international journalists from trying to travel toward Timbuktu.

Lt. Col. Diarran Kone, a spokesman for Mali's defense minister, declined to give details Sunday about the advance on Timbuktu, citing the security of an ongoing military operation.

Timbuktu's mayor, Ousmane Halle, is in the capital, Bamako, and he told The Associated Press he had no information about the remote town, where phone lines have been cut for days.

A convoy of about 15 vehicles transporting international journalists also was blocked Sunday afternoon in Konna, some 186 miles (300 kilometers) south of Timbuktu.

The move on Timbuktu comes a day after the French announced they had seized the airport and a key bridge in Gao, one of the other northern provincial capitals under the grip of radical Islamists.

"People were coming out into the streets to greet the arrival of the troops and celebrate," said Hassane Maiga, a resident of Gao. "At night, youth from Gao went out alongside the Malian military. They scoured homes in search of the Islamists and the youth smashed the houses."

French and Malian forces were patrolling Gao Sunday afternoon searching for remnants of the Islamists and maintaining control of the bridge and airport, said Kone, the Mali military spokesman.

The French special forces, which had stormed in by land and by air, had come under fire in Gao from "several terrorist elements" that were later "destroyed," the French military said in a statement on its website Saturday.

In a later press release entitled "French and Malian troops liberate Gao," the French ministry of defense said they brought back the town's mayor, Sadou Diallo, who had fled to Bamako.

However, a Gao official interviewed by telephone by The Associated Press said late Saturday that coalition forces so far only controlled the airport, the bridge and surrounding neighborhoods. And in Paris, a defense ministry official clarified that the city had not been fully liberated, and that the process of freeing Gao was continuing.

Both officials insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Gao, the largest city in northern Mali, was seized by a mixture of al-Qaida-linked Islamist fighters more than nine months ago along with the other northern provincial capitals of Kidal and Timbuktu.

The rebel group that turned Gao into a replica of Afghanistan under the Taliban has close ties to Moktar Belmoktar, the Algerian national who has long operated in Mali and who last week claimed responsibility for the terror attack on a BP-operated natural gas plant in Algeria.

His fighters are believed to include Algerians, Egyptians, Mauritanians, Libyans, Tunisians, Pakistanis and even Afghans.

Since France began its military operation, the Islamists have retreated from three small towns in central Mali: Diabaly, Konna and Douentza. However, the Islamists still control much of the north, including Kidal.

The Pentagon said late Saturday that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told France the United States will aid the French military with aerial refueling missions.

U.S. aerial refueling planes would be a boost to air support for French ground forces as they enter vast areas of northern Mali, which is the size of Texas, that are controlled by al-Qaida-linked extremists.

The U.S. was already helping France by transporting French troops and equipment to the West African nation. However, the U.S. government has said it cannot provide direct aid to the Malian military because the country's democratically elected president was overthrown in a coup last March.

The Malian forces, however, are now expected to get more help than initially promised from neighboring nations.

Col. Shehu Usman Abdulkadir, a Nigerian in charge of regional forces heading to Mali, told The Associated Press that the African force will be expanded from an anticipated 3,200 troops to some 5,700 ? a figure that does not include the 2,200 soldiers promised by Chad.

Most analysts had said the earlier figure was far too small to confront the Islamists given the huge territory they hold.

The Mali conflict has been dominating the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which runs through Monday. On Sunday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met in the Ethiopian capital with Mali's interim president, Dioncounda Traore.

Ban "stressed the need to pursue a political process that would lead to a consensual roadmap for the transition to full constitutional order, in parallel with ongoing military operations," according to a U.N. statement.

Traore is heading a civilian transitional government that was set up following the coup last March. No date has been set yet for elections to choose a new government.

___

Associated Press writers Baba Ahmed and Rukmini Callimachi contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/french-mali-forces-head-toward-timbuktu-085610699.html

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A matter of choice: &#39;Little Star&#39; Baby shower

Back in July when I was still waddling around with my big baby bump my friend Sam threw a lovely Baby Shower for me. So when she announced that she was also expecting a baby my mind turned to making plans to return the compliment.

Sam found out she was having a little boy so I had my colour scheme sorted but I was trying to think of what else I could do to make it special. ?One day while changing Louka it came to me in a flash of inspiration....

Louka was wearing a star patterned babygrow and I happened to think that I'd have to keep that one for Sam as she loves anything and everything Starry. (well, and skulls but that's a much harder theme to work with!)

So our 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Baby shower was?conceived.....

With a fantastic whip round from the girls, we had a fantastic amount of presents for Sam and the baby. ?A?play mat?and arch as the main gift along with a whole host of 'baby essentials' - wipes, nappies, toiletries etc. ?I also created a 'Birth Day' Kit using an idea I'd seen on Pinterest, with little goodies just for Sam to take to hospital -?paracetamol, a notebook and pen, lip balm and face wipes among others

Mum and I spent an evening covering boxes and arranging all the goodies, Aaron made a poster with the meaning of the baby's name which we framed for the centre of the table. ?We decorated the room with blue tinsel, balloons and a home made banner reading 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'

I made a 'cake, sponge with fondant icing to match the theme and iced star shaped cookies for everyone to take home.

Knowing that many people do not enjoy lots of the 'typical' baby shower games as they often have a?tendency?to be naff I tried to find a line between doing nothing and being tacky. ?In the end we played 'Star Bingo', ? a fairly quick game using star phrases rather than numbers. (Wish upon a Star, Shooting Star, Star Bright and so on)

I also made a 'Name meaning Game' ?where you had to match the meanings to the list of names. ?I previously had looked up the meanings of all the names of the people who would be there and printed them out ready.

At Sam's request we also played the 'Guess the bump size game' that we played at mine. Each player takes a length of toilet paper they estimate to fit round the bump, closest wins. ?I wish I'd noted what mine had been but Sam was 8 sheets!

Everyone seemed to have a great night, it was lovely to meet up with the girls without all the children (there are quite a few between us all) and actually have a proper conversation. I loved all the planning and organising of the evening and Sam really enjoyed herself so it was more than worthwhile.

Source: http://emsyjo.blogspot.com/2013/01/little-star-baby-shower.html

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'Migration Is Beautiful' Documentary: Artist Favianna Rodriguez Talks Immigrant Rights And Art's Role In Politics (VIDEO)

Artist and activist Favianna Rodriguez recently teamed up with Pharrell Williams' I Am Other YouTube Channel to create a moving new documentary series titled "Migration is Beautiful." Addressing the debate surrounding immigration policy in the United States and the overall perception of immigrants, the three-episode project focuses on the growing influence of artists in the political realm.

Rodriguez, known for her whimsical digital artworks and prints, teamed with author Jose Antonio Vargas and actor Rosario Dawson to create the portrait of immigration rights advocates, released by Voice of Art. The documentary captures not only the dedicated efforts of undocumented activists risking arrest to protest in Arizona, but also the participation of countless creative figures -- street artists, filmmakers, musicians, public performers and more -- who use visual expression to affect the national dialogue.

Migration is Beautiful, Part 1 (watch Parts 2 & 3 below)

We had a chance to chat with Rodriguez over email, who spoke with us about her views on immigration policy and how she envisions the future role of artists in politics:

HP: Your new project, "Migration is Beautiful," sheds light on a group of artists working together for social justice. Can you tell us what prompted you to make this documentary series?

FR: Art can spark the imagination like nothing else can, and yet I think that progressives do not fully understand the powerful role that artists can play in social change.

The anti-immigrant movement has successfully been able to dominate the immigration debate by pushing out messages about migrants that are inhumane, racist, xenophobic and hateful. But those of us who fight for migrant rights are not only fighting back, we want to reframe the way migrants are viewed, artists especially. We want to expose the tragic losses that have resulted from unjust immigration laws, and we want to inspire and challenge people to reimagine migration as something beautiful and natural -- somethign we all do.

HP: In 2011, you also co-founded an organization called CultureStrike, which similarly works to engage artists in migrant rights. Do you see art as having a distinct advantage for creating social change?

FR: Art is uniquely able to speak to our understanding of the world by delivering potent, powerful and empathetic content. People engage with art in a very different way than they engage with a policy paper or a news article or even a protest. This is why I believe in the power of art to shape thoughts, change hearts, and ultimately help shape laws and policy. Art has the potential to distill the most complex social challenges down to their most basic and simplest values. Values like love, family, caring for the other, caring for those in need, and fighting the things that cause human suffering.

Migration is Beautiful, Part 2 (watch Part 3 below)

HP: Artists like Ai Weiwei and Pussy Riot have long stated that "all art is politics." Do you agree? How would you characterize an artist's role in activism?

FR: Yes, I do agree. Art is always reflective of an experience and a world view. Politics is so often the most grotesque form of humans trying to shape their human existence. Art is also about us shaping our human experience, but through beauty, form, reflection, and critical analysis. Artists have a unique responsibility to recognize the power and impact of what we can create, not only can we expose and critique, we can also be visionary.

HP: You've chosen the monarch butterfly as the symbol for your message. Why?

The symbol of the monarch butterfly has been adopted by various migrant rights organizations, artists, and lovers of justice. It was not my idea, but an idea that?s been circulating for years -- throughout the country and in Latin America as well. I was drawn to the butterfly because of the transformative nature of this creature. The monarch butterfly represents the beauty of migration and the right that living beings have to freely move.

Migration is Beautiful, Part 3

HP: Do you anticipate a major shift in immigration policy or a change in the general perception of immigrants in our country?

Yes, this is definitely starting to shift. You can see this not just in the polls, but in the ways that people are understanding the complexities of just how bad our immigration is. This is thanks to the amazing work that has been done by organizers, artists, cultural workers and most importantly, undocumented youth and their families. The strategy of undocumented folks coming out was not just a brilliant political strategy, but an important cultural one as well.

• Favianna Rodriguez

• Favianna Rodriguez

• Favianna Rodriguez

• Favianna Rodriguez

• Favianna Rodriguez

• Favianna Rodriguez

• Favianna Rodriguez

Related on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/26/migration-is-beautiful-artist-favianna-rodriguez-documentary_n_2535690.html

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Ending the Stopgap Budget - The Daily Collegian

Flickr/tobym

The United States government has been at a relative standstill since the beginning of President Barack Obama?s first term, with Republicans filibustering almost every bill in the Senate and, since 2011, the majority-Republican House passing severely conservative alternatives to mainstream ideas.

The 112th Congress, in particular, was a travesty and has been incompetent in solving major issues that face the nation. From deficit reduction to simply passing a budget, Congress hasn?t compromised, and the first step towards sanity is achieving bipartisan agreement on an annual budget for the U.S. government.

Although both the 111th and 112th Congress passed significant bills regarding health care, education, taxation and deficit reduction, the Senate has not passed a comprehensive budget since April 2009. The ongoing debate over the spending priorities of the U.S. government has not been resolved, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been unwilling and unable to bring a budget to the floor for debate.

Now, to the public it seems that all Congress has been doing is debating the budget, but the parliamentary realities of the two chambers are quite different. Instead of passing comprehensive, annual budgets, the federal government has been funded by stopgap compromises and continuing resolutions such as the Budget Control Act, which resolved the 2011 debt ceiling crisis, and the American Taxpayer Relief Act (H.R.8), which averted the fiscal cliff.

The stopgap measures of H.R.8 are apparent. The law provides a one-year ?doc fix? for Medicare that extends current physician payment rates until Dec. 31, 2013, to prevent a 27 percent reduction in said payment rates. It will cost $25.17 billion over 10 years. This cost control method, which has been extended annually since 1997, protects doctors from pay cuts automatically required by Medicare law. The American Medical Association (AMA) and over 100 other medical groups propose a permanent solution to the ?doc fix,? but repealing it would cost $245 billion over 10 years. President Obama proposed repealing the ?doc fix? and covering the cost with $400 billion in health care savings, but that option never came to fruition.

Instead of dealing with the ?doc fix? for good, Congress surrendered to its modus operandi, a temporary fix. In order to cover the $25 billion cost of the one-year fix, hospitals will face a $10.5 billion recoupment of Medicare overpayments and a $4.2 billion reduction in payments to hospitals that care for large numbers of Medicare patients, according to Kaiser Health News.

Hospital groups are unhappy with the fiscal cliff deal. Dr. Jeremy Lazarus, president of the AMA, said in a press release that the ?last-minute action? is ?a clear example of how the Medicare program is increasingly unreliable for physicians and patients. Congress? work is not complete. ? Over the next months, it must act to eliminate this ongoing problem once and for all.?

The stopgap funding will influence federal spending on colleges and universities. The fiscal cliff deal did not address the spending cuts known as sequestration, which were pushed two months into 2013. According to The Huffington Post, the fiscal cliff deal spared the American Opportunity Tax Credit, but delayed sequestration could cause an 8.2 percent cut in all discretionary spending and a 7.6 percent cut in mandatory spending, which would cut funding for scholarships and research to universities. The deal also capped charitable tax deductions, which Inside Higher Ed noted are major source of funding for universities through alumni donations. Education still faces cuts in federal research money and eligibility for federal financial aid programs in 2013.

Obama warned, in reference to higher education, ?We can?t keep cutting things like basic research and new technology and still expect to succeed in a 21st century economy,? The Huffington Post reported.

These potential cuts and temporary patches are representative of the inability of opposing politicians to compromise and the intransigence of tea party Republicans about federal spending. When polled, strong majorities of Americans oppose severe cuts to federal spending.

Serious people, including the Simpson-Bowles commission, the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress have proposed comprehensive budgets that reform taxes, earned benefits such as Social Security and Medicare, and discretionary spending that keep much of the federal government intact, while reducing the deficit and the debt. Both Democrats and Republicans must come together on comprehensive budget reform. The U.S. economy is the largest in the world and has the ability to adapt to changing conditions in both the public and private sectors.

Massive debt is the only condition in which the U.S. economy can fail, and we are not there yet. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the federal debt held by the public reached 73 percent of GDP at the end of 2012. This is still far below the danger-levels over 100 percent, and the deficit reduction undertaken by the president and Congress since 2011 has ensured that the debt will not go over 90 percent until at least 2022.

Reforming the federal budget as soon as possible is key to ensuring continued economic recovery and the fiscal stability of the U.S. government. Most of the key players in Washington agree on a path that decreases the national debt, and a few radical members on either end of the political spectrum must not derail progress. The American people face massive uncertainty as to the budget of the federal government and even whether the government will pay its debts. The only way to ease uncertainty and improve confidence is to have a solid budgetary plan for the future.

Detrimental stopgap measures will continue to breed uncertainty, and the only solution is for Congress and the president to do their job and pass a real budget.

Zac Bears is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at ibears@student.umass.edu.

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Source: http://dailycollegian.com/2013/01/25/ending-the-stopgap-budget/

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Five Star Resort strikes Platinum & Gold ? Golf Business News

Page last updated at 12:01 am, Friday, January 25th, 2013

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Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa from the Swilken Bridge

The five red star Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa in St Andrews is celebrating ?the best possible start? to 2013 with three very high profile awards.

VisitScotland has acknowledged the ?exceptional standards? at the Home of Golf resort with five gold stars through its national tourism Quality Assurance Scheme. Richard Pinn, VisitScotland Regional Director, explains: ?Our gold award recognises serviced accommodation businesses across Scotland that consistently achieve the highest levels of excellence. Businesses achieving this prestigious award excel in customer care and hospitality and show real commitment to staff development and training.? Richard adds: ?Establishments such as the Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa are the stand-out businesses when it comes to exceptional quality and service in providing accommodation for visitors. It is a real pleasure to make this announcement ? and we congratulate all at the St Andrews resort.?

The iconic resort has also been recognised by Cond? Nast Traveler in their ?Platinum Circle?, an award for destinations that have made their gold list every year for five consecutive years. The 144 bedroomed hotel scores highly with those voting for the award, achieving over 90% for the ?killer location?, ?Jacques Garcia-designed rooms? and the array of activities available to guests. The service provided by the resort staff is complimented as ?courteous, prompt and professional? and the award-winning Kohler Waters Spa, the three AA rosette Road Hole Restaurant and the world famous Road Hole Bar all receive mentions within the award summary. And hot on the heels of the Gold & Platinum recognition is the resort?s inclusion in the exclusive Travel & Leisure?s Top 500 Worldwide Resorts ? the Old Course Hotel being the only destination recognised in Scotland.

General Manager, Daniel Pereira, is ?absolutely delighted? with the news, saying: ?Awards are always welcome, but accolades that recognise our ongoing commitment and investment in our staff and training are especially welcome.?

Daniel adds: ?Recognition from those who travel the world and stay in destinations around the globe are also very highly valued as they truly reflect the customers? view. When we share news of this kind, it helps to show that the resort is so much more than a hotel. It is the day-to-day enthusiasm, dedication and commitment from our entire team that results in such recognition, benefiting not just the resort but also our many local, regional and Scottish suppliers as well as the wider tourism market. It is wonderful news of which we are enormously proud ? and the best possible start to 2013.?

Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort & Spa www.oldcoursehotel.co.uk

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Technology kills jobs for middle class | TribLIVE

By The Associated Press

Published: Saturday, January 26, 2013, 12:01?a.m.
Updated 6 hours ago

NEW YORK ? Five years after the start of the Great Recession, the toll is terrifyingly clear: Millions of middle-class jobs have been lost in developed countries the world over.

And the situation is even worse than it appears.

Most of the jobs will never return, and millions more are likely to vanish as well, say experts who study the labor market. What?s more, these jobs aren?t just being lost to China and other developing countries, and they aren?t just factory work. Increasingly, jobs are disappearing in the service sector, home to two-thirds of all workers.

They?re being obliterated by technology.

Year after year, the software that runs computers and an array of other machines and devices becomes more sophisticated and powerful and capable of doing more efficiently tasks that humans have always done. For decades, science fiction warned of a future when we would be architects of our own obsolescence, replaced by our machines; an Associated Press analysis finds that the future has arrived.

?The jobs that are going away aren?t coming back,? says Andrew McAfee, principal research scientist at the Center for Digital Business at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-author of ?Race Against the Machine.? ??I have never seen a period where computers demonstrated as many skills and abilities as they have over the past seven years.?

The global economy is being reshaped by machines that generate and analyze vast amounts of data; by devices such as smartphones and tablet computers that let people work just about anywhere; by smarter, nimbler robots; and by services that let businesses rent computing power when they need it, instead of installing expensive equipment and hiring IT staffs to run it. Whole employment categories, from secretaries to travel agents, are starting to disappear.

?There?s no sector of the economy that?s going to get a pass,? says Martin Ford, who runs a software company and wrote ?The Lights in the Tunnel,? a book predicting widespread job losses. ?It?s everywhere.?

The numbers startle labor economists. In the United States, half the 7.5 million jobs lost during the Great Recession were in industries that pay middle-class wages, ranging from $38,000 to $68,000. But only 2 percent of the 3.5 million jobs gained since the recession ended in June 2009 are in midpay industries. Nearly 70 percent are in low-pay industries, 29 percent in industries that pay well.

In the 17 European countries that use the euro as their currency, the numbers are worse. Almost 4.3 million low-pay jobs have been gained since mid-2009, but the loss of midpay jobs has never stopped. A total of 7.6 million disappeared from January 2008 through last June.

Experts warn that this ?hollowing out? of the middle-class workforce is far from over. They predict the loss of millions more jobs as technology becomes even more sophisticated and reaches deeper into our lives. Maarten Goos, an economist at the University of Leuven in Belgium, says Europe could double its middle-class job losses.

Some occupations are beneficiaries of the march of technology, such as software engineers and app designers for smartphones and tablet computers. Overall, though, technology is eliminating far more jobs than it is creating.

To understand the impact technology is having on middle-class jobs in developed countries, the AP analyzed employment data from 20 countries; tracked changes in hiring by industry, pay and task; compared job losses and gains during recessions and expansions over the past four decades; and interviewed economists, technology experts, robot manufacturers, software developers, entrepreneurs and people in the labor force who ranged from CEOs to the unemployed.

The AP?s key findings:

? For more than three decades, technology has reduced the number of jobs in manufacturing. Robots and other machines controlled by computer programs work faster and make fewer mistakes than humans. Now, that same efficiency is being unleashed in the service economy, which employs more than two-thirds of the workforce in developed countries. Technology is eliminating jobs in office buildings, retail establishments and other businesses consumers deal with every day.

? Technology is being adopted by every kind of organization that employs people. It?s replacing workers in large corporations and small businesses, established companies and start-ups. It?s being used by schools, colleges and universities; hospitals and other medical facilities; nonprofit organizations and the military.

? The most vulnerable workers are doing repetitive tasks that programmers can write software for ? an accountant checking a list of numbers, an office manager filing forms, a paralegal reviewing documents for key words to help in a case. As software becomes even more sophisticated, victims are expected to include those who juggle tasks, such as supervisors and managers ? workers who thought they were protected by a college degree.

? Thanks to technology, companies in the Standard & Poor?s 500 stock index reported one-third more profit the past year than they earned the year before the Great Recession. They?ve also expanded their businesses, but total employment, at 21.1 million, has declined by a half-million.

? Start-ups account for much of the job growth in developed economies, but software is allowing entrepreneurs to launch businesses with a third fewer employees than in the 1990s. There is less need for administrative support and back-office jobs that handle accounting, payroll and benefits.

? It?s becoming a self-serve world. Instead of relying on someone else in the workplace or our personal lives, we use technology to do tasks ourselves. Some find this frustrating; others like the feeling of control. Either way, this trend will only grow as software permeates our lives.

? Technology is replacing workers in developed countries regardless of their politics, policies and laws. Union rules and labor laws may slow the dismissal of employees, but no country is attempting to prohibit organizations from using technology that allows them to operate more efficiently ? and with fewer employees.

Technological innovations have been throwing people out of jobs for centuries. But they eventually created more work, and greater wealth, than they destroyed. Ford, the author and software engineer, thinks there is reason to believe that this time will be different. He sees virtually no end to the inroads of computers into the workplace. Eventually, he says, software will threaten the livelihoods of doctors, lawyers and other highly skilled professionals.

Many economists are encouraged by history and think the gains eventually will outweigh the losses. But even they have doubts.

?What?s different this time is that digital technologies show up in every corner of the economy,? McAfee says.

Peter Lindert, an economist at the University of California, Davis, says the computer is more destructive than innovations in the Industrial Revolution because the pace at which it is upending industries makes it hard for people to adapt.

Occupations that provided middle-class lifestyles for generations can disappear in a few years. Utility meter readers are just one example. As power companies began installing so-called smart readers outside homes, the number of meter readers in the United States plunged from 56,000 in 2001 to 36,000 in 2010, according to the Labor Department.

In 10 years? That number is expected to be zero.

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Source: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/3351101-74/jobs-technology-software

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