How Neuroscientists Observe Brains Watching Movies

Image: Todd Davidson/Stock Illustration Source

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Unless you have been deaf and blind to the world over the past decade, you know that functional magnetic resonance brain imaging (fMRI) can look inside the skull of volunteers lying still inside the claustrophobic, coffinlike confines of a loud, banging magnetic scanner. The technique relies on a fortuitous property of the blood supply to reveal regional activity. Active synapses and neurons consume power and therefore need more oxygen, which is delivered by the hemoglobin molecules inside the circulating red blood cells. When these molecules give off their oxygen to the surrounding tissue, they not only change color?from arterial red to venous blue?but also turn slightly magnetic.

Activity in neural tissue causes an increase in the volume and flow of fresh blood. This change in the blood supply, called the hemodynamic signal, is tracked by sending radio waves into the skull and carefully listening to their return echoes. FMRI does not directly measure synaptic and neuronal activity, which occurs over the course of milliseconds; instead it uses a relatively sluggish proxy?changes in the blood supply?that rises and falls in seconds. The spatial resolution of fMRI is currently limited to a volume element (voxel) the size of a pea, encompassing about one million nerve cells.

Neuroscientists routinely exploit fMRI to infer what volunteers are seeing, imagining or intending to do. It is really a primitive form of mind reading. Now a team has taken that reading to a new, startling level.

A number of groups have deduced the identity of pictures viewed by volunteers while lying in the magnet scanner from the slew of map?like representations found in primary, secondary and higher-order visual cortical regions underneath the bump on the back of the head.

Jack L. Gallant of the University of California, Berkeley, is the acknowledged master of these techniques, which proceed in two stages. First, a volunteer looks at a couple of thousand images while lying in a magnet. The response of a few hundred voxels in the visual cortex to each image is carefully registered. These data are then used to train an algorithm to predict the magnitude of the fMRI response for each voxel. Second, this procedure is inverted. That is, for a given magnitude of hemodynamic response, a probabilistic technique called Bayesian decoding infers the most likely image that gave rise to the observed response in that particular volunteer (human brains differ substantially, so it is difficult to use one brain to predict the responses of another).

The best of these techniques exploit preexisting, or prior, knowledge about pictures that could have been seen before. The number of mathematically possible images is vast, but the types of actual scenes that are encountered in a world populated by people, animals, trees, buildings and other objects encompass a tiny fraction of all possible images. Appropriately enough, the images that we usually encounter are called natural images. Using a database of six million natural images, Gallant?s group showed in 2009 how brain responses of volunteers to photographs they had not previously encountered could be reconstructed.

From Images to Movies
These reconstructions are surprisingly good, even though they are based on the smudged activity of hundreds of thousands of highly diverse nerve cells, each one firing to different aspects of the image?its local intensity, color, shading, texture, and so on. A further limitation I have already alluded to is the 1,000-fold mismatch between the celerity of neuronal signals and the sedate pace at which the fMRI signal rises and falls.

Yet Gallant?s group fearlessly pushed on and applied Bayesian reconstruction techniques to the conceptually and computationally much more demanding problem of spatiotemporal reconstruction.

Three members of the group each watched about two hours? worth of short takes from various Hollywood movies. These data were used to train a separate encoding model for each voxel. The first part of the model consisted of a bank of neural filters. These filters are based on the cumulative research that has been conducted over two decades into the way nerve cells in the visual cortex in people and monkeys respond to seeing visual stimuli with varying positions, size, motion and speed. The second part of the model coupled these neuronal filters to the blood vasculature, describing how the neuronal activity is reflected in much slower fMRI signals.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=c18a3f4e0f8a99d8a713abdd891545c2

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Pasta alla puttanesca {literally whore's style pasta} - Food Recipes HQ

Back to the normal food! I could not stand the festive fatty meals anymore. It?s been a couple of days I?m avoiding sweets and choosing light meals. Today I wanted to enjoy the flavors of Italian cuisine to the fullest so I made these Spaghetti alla Puttanesca, a dish very popular in the region where I was born, Campania, in Southern Italy. Just tomatoes, capers, black olives, chilly and oregano. And pasta, usually linguine or spaghetti.

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca means whore?s style pasta, don?t ask me why,?Italians?themselves don?t know the reason. A?legend tells about brothels where, to attract customers, fast and tasty spaghetti were served to the customers. Today no one considers this name as something vulgar or bad: it?s just another?very quick, easy to prepare and full in flavour italian recipe.?You can not wrong with it, just follow the recipe for 6 persons I took from a cookbook (see image above, it is written in three langagues: italian, neapolitan, english!) and a few important steps/secrets I suggest you below:

1. Wash the capers to wipe off the salt;
2. Do not overcook spaghetti (cook them ?al dente?);
3. While cooking the sauce, be careful that it does not dry out too much. If needed add the salty water where the pasta is cooking;
4. When spaghetti are ready and well drained (do you have a colander, right?), toss them in the pan to give pasta a chance to absorb the sauce.
5. Serve warm and enjoy it!

?

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Source: http://www.foodrecipeshq.com/pasta-alla-puttanesca-literally-whores-style-pasta/

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Use Military Retirement Calculator To Anticipate ... - Home and Family

During the first few years of service, retirement income may not be high on everybody's list of concerns. Nonetheless as their career in the army advances, figuring out retirement income with an army retirement calculator can help someone plan for the future. Retirement income for retired army is similar to civilian calculations, and they should include the same variables.

When you?re having a look at your pension plan, begin with your age, and the age at which you plan to retire. In the military, you can consider the quantity of years of service and know what % of your pay you'll receive upon retirement after an established period of years. Using these numbers in a military retirement calculator you can figure if you are going to have to find another job, or can stay home and unwind. Most calculators do not include the final year you?re employed when computing income. For example, if you intend to retire at age 65, the last year of earnings you must consider is for year 64.

When you consider income, don't forget to take into consideration your spouse?s revenue in the household totals and any amounts your married spouse has in their own retirement savings account. Individual retirement accounts should also be included in the military retirement calculator when working out the present pension savings amount.

Future Earnings Estimates Are Questionable

The earnings you realize from your current investments are questionable, at best and depending on where your savings are being held will play a significant role in its growth. A military retirement calculator can work with known numbers, but the variables in interest rates and potential for losses in market investments can make your savings plan unstable. While high-interest accounts are typically safe and consistent, their returns are also a lot lower that investments. Securities dealing however, can be rewarding, financially, they can also take a big slice of your original investment in a down market.

For post-retirement expenses, it is often worked out that 90 percent of your last year?s income will be what you may spend on living costs. When using your military retirement calculator by understanding what your total savings should be upon retirement, and working out how many years you can live on the balance, should help you determine how much more you need to save in order to survive. Knowing the amount of money you need to save can help you calculate the amount each month you've got to put away, figuring in your expected rate of growth.

This work is thanks to advisor hub. Before taking any early pension lump sum or considering a pension release, it could be prudent to order a meeting with a professional consultant as this will impact on your allowance in retirement.

Tags: pension lump sum, Pension plan, pension release

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 27th, 2012 at 2:32 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Source: http://homeandfamily.emilie.org/uncategorized/use-military-retirement-calculator-to-anticipate-savings/

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Europe's new antenna picks up a Mars pic

Europe's newest deep-space tracking station has received its first interplanetary message: a photo of a half-lit Mars as seen by an orbiting spacecraft.

The new Mars photo was snapped by the European Space Agency's Mars Express probe and beamed to Earth on Dec. 18, where it was received by the agency's brand-new space tracking station in Malarg?e, Argentina. Argentina's President Cristina Fern?ndez de Kirchner activated the huge antenna dish via a remote link from the country's Casa Rosada presidential palace to commemorate the event, ESA officials said.

In the Mars photo, the Red Planet appears to lie on its side with its daytime side facing down. Three huge volcano domes can be easily seen in the view, as well as several canyons etched into the Martian landscape. The Mars Express spacecraft used its low-resolution Visual Monitoring Camera to capture the image from a distance of 6,065 miles (9,761 kilometers).

The photo was sent to the Malarg?e station during the site's official inauguration last week by ESA officials. It took about 18 minutes to cross the 203 million miles (327 million kilometers) between Earth and Mars, ESA officials said.

The Malarg?e antenna is one of three deep-space tracking installations that make up ESA's Estrack system. Construction of the 600-ton antenna began in 2010 and was completed this year. The site's nearly 115-foot (35-meter) dish is designed to serve as both a ground station for satellites in Earth orbit and spacecraft exploring other destinations in the solar system. The two other installations of the Estrack system are located in New Norcia, Australia, and Cebreros, Spain.

1. Space news from NBCNews.com

   1. Grasshopper rocket takes 12-story-high hop for SpaceX

      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: SpaceX's prototype Grasshopper rocket takes one giant leap, rising to a 12-story height and settling back down safely with a dummy cowboy riding along.

   2. Last full moon of 2012 rises Friday
   3. Telescope-toting balloon lifts off from Antarctica
   4. 'Star of Wonder' leaves lots to wonder about

"With the Malarg?e station, ESA becomes only the second space agency in the world to provide all-sky coverage for deep-space missions," ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain said in a statement. The other space agency with the capability is NASA, which operates its own Deep Space Network of ground stations.

ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has been orbiting the Red Planet since December 2003. It is currently in the midst of an extended mission that runs through 2014.

Follow Space.com on Twitter@Spacedotcom. We're also onFacebook and Google+.

? 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50300430/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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Adele Trademarks Her Name

Gareth Catermole, Getty Images

While she still hasn?t revealed the name of her son, who born in October, British singer Adele has reportedly trademarked her own moniker. She has done so in order to protect it, so that savvy marketers can?t use her name to sell perfume, jewelry or other items without her consent. She doesn?t want to be associated with products she doesn?t endorse and doesn?t want her fanbase ?tricked? into thinking she is involved based on the usage of her name.

It?s essentially a move to prevent a company from creating an item and then using her image and her fame to sell it. With a trademark in place, she can take legal action against anyone who attempts to use her name.

The Sun reports that an unnamed source shared the news of Adele?s decision, saying, ?She doesn?t want anyone exploiting her name by using it on products which may trick punters into thinking she?s involved with it.?

This isn?t a surprising decision, given Adele?s fierce desire to avoid the trappings of stardom. She has said that she is a singer, not a pop star, and that she doesn?t believe in showing off one?s body in order to sell records. Clearly, she feels the same way about ancillary items like perfumes and clothing lines.

Many singers have business portfolios featuring products and endorsements. But Adele is too focused on, you know, singing and having the best-selling album in a decade in the form of ?21? to worry about that stuff.

?

Source: http://diffuser.fm/adele-trademarks-name/

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? Buy Cheap Home Improvement Tools Cake Candles (set of 5 ...

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Tips To Consider When Marketing Your Business Online | Jim ...

Mistakes Are Costing You! Learn To Stop?Making ALL 189 Of Them!

Struggling With WordPress? 100+ Step-By-Step Videos Now Available!

Posted by Administrator on Dec 23, 2012 in Uncategorized | Comments Off

When you market and sell merchandise online, it is called web marketing or Online marketing. It can be complicated if you are new to Website marketing, but luckily for you there is a whole of host valuable information to help you get started in your Internet marketing venture.

You must determine what audience you want to reach; then you must figure out how to go about attracting that audience to your website. Now that you know who your target audience is, it will be easy to find the information that will encourage them to access your site time and again.

It may cost money to buy a domain name that you are happy with. Many of the good domain names are already taken, so you may not be able to get one that matches your company name. You can get any domain name you want if you have over a thousand dollars to spend. You should definitely weigh the pros and cons of this investment.

TIP! You can build a client list by using a squeeze page. Squeeze pages prompt visitors to provide their email.

Joining forces with a charity can help your business, increase your visibility and help the charity also. Choose a charity and give a set percent of your profits to that charity. This will give you free publicity, create good will and benefit your business and the charity. You can partner with more than a singular charity to give your costumer base a chance to choose which to support.

Be certain to make use of textual emphasis techniques as you plan your site?s layout. Tools like bold, italics, and underline are ways to make a word more important than the surrounding words. This can improve clarity and direct the focus of the reader.

Many people respond to titles. Don?t be afraid to let it be known that you are indeed the head honcho. Try labeling yourself as ?CEO? or ?President? of your business.

TIP! Current content is very important on your website. When people come to your website and see information that is dated, they think that the business is not performing and may be leery of initiating contact with you.

Don?t throw in the towel if you experience a few bumps on the road. Even if you are close to giving up do not do it! You may be so close to the prize. If you are designing a website, make sure you have done your research and are confident about the direction you are taking it in. At times, this can take a lot of effort. Keep your focus on your end result and realize that your hard work will pay off.

Let customers rate and review your products, and allow them to explain the reasons for their ratings. Providing honest feedback from consumers will help new potential customers have confidence in purchasing your products.

Remember your specific goals and stick with them. Determine the type of articles you wish to write and which directory you will be submitting them to. Directories have article requirements that you should be aware of. Write with these guidelines in mind to have the best submissions.

TIP! Make sure your customer can easily find a page on your website that accurately presents content about your product or service before they buy. This will allow them to feel educated about their potential purchase.

Change your headlines and add relevant content often. Keep a record of how those changes affect the traffic generated on your site. After you?ve found a tone that is particularly effective for your products and your customers, start employing it regularly and make all of your content consistent. This will pay off in the future with increased customer visits.

The key to any Online marketing campaign is knowing what works and doesn?t work for your competition. If you are aware of what they are selling and know you can do something a bit better, then you can be very profitable and surpass them in sales. This is a key component in Internet promotion.

Here is a great tip for successful website marketing. Make your landing page simple with a clear objective. Here you should focus on selling. They should know what they are selling when they get to that page. If they have to look around on your site for the information they want, they will likely leave more quickly.

TIP! It can be challenging to choose which direction to lead your business in and design the accompanying website. Start out broad and list interests and niches that are important to you.

Make sure you utilize social media. Facebook fan pages give clients as well as customers a place to give feedback that anyone can view. Twitter can allow you to communicate informally with your customers.

Now that you?ve learned a little more about marketing your business online, you should be able to formulate a plan. With successful Website marketing, you can sell goods and services to people from all over the world.

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Source: http://leucabiz.com/blog/tips-to-consider-when-marketing-your-business-online/

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New Orleans area to see wet Christmas Eve, stormy Christmas Day ...

Expect a wet Christmas Eve, with more rain and the possibility of dangerous thunderstorms - even a strong tornado or straight line winds of 75 mph or greater - on Christmas Day in the New Orleans area, according to the Slidell office of the National Weather Service.

Forecasters issued a special weather statement to warn of the two spates of stormy weather. A cold front will bring showers and thunderstorms into the area on Monday, with the front stalling near the coast in the afternoon. While widespread severe weather isn't expected on Monday, an isolated severe storm or two is possible, forecasters said.

More problematical is what will happen late Monday night and Tuesday morning, when the front unstalls, moving north as a warm front as a surface low also moves northeastward over the area.

That will be followed by a cold front moving out of the west, and the unstable air between the two fronts could spark severe weather,, including straight line winds, isolated tornadoes or large hail, most likely occurring north of Interstates 10 and 12.

"The Storm Prediction Center is currently indicating a slight risk of severe weather across the entire region Tuesday, but this could be upgraded, if confidence continuest to increase over the coming days," the statement said.

The possibility of severe weather will continue until the cold front sweeps through the area Tuesday evening, the statement said. Forecasters warned residents to review their severe weather plans and to continue to monitor forecasts over the next two days.

Rainfall could total between 1 and 2 inches on Monday and Tuesday, with higher amounts likely on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain.

With the rapidly changing frontal systems, expect to see some fast changes in temperature during the next few days. Highs on Monday and Tuesday will be in the mid-70s in New Orleans, dropping to the mid-60s overnight Monday, and into the mid-40s on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, the thermometer will reach only the lower 50s, despite a return to sunny skies, with temperatures dropping into the upper 30s in New Orleans and the upper 20s on the Northshore overnight, and staying in the lower 50s during the day Thursday.

Another cold front approaches on Friday, with more rain showers expected in the afternoon, as temperatures climb to the lower 60s. The chance of rain continues on Saturday, and temperatures will drop to the mid-30s in New Orleans and mid-20s on the Northshore Saturday night.?

Source: http://www.nola.com/weather/index.ssf/2012/12/new_orleans_area_to_see_wet_ch.html

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I Love Being a Christmas Baby

Being born on or near Christmas ain't so bad

Hemera/Thinkstock.

I?ve come to expect a certain kind of response when I tell someone my birthday: a sympathetic frown, a pat on the shoulder, a few lighthearted words of support. That?s because I was born on Dec. 24, and everyone knows?or thinks they know?what a bummer having a birthday on or near Christmas must be. This view was articulated emphatically on this week?s episode of the ABC comedy Happy Endings, in which we learned that Jane?s real birthday is on Christmas Day. Jane (Eliza Coupe) has been pretending her birthday is on Jul. 16 for decades?she even carries around a fake ID bearing the summer date?because ?when your birthday is on Christmas, you get completely forgotten about.?

I?m here to tell you that this claim is ludicrous. Having a Christmas birthday is awesome.

Think, for a moment, about how you spent your birthday over the past few years. I?m guessing it involved going to work as usual?where, if they happened to remember your special day at all, your co-workers probably presented you with some dry cupcakes or maybe serenaded you unenthusiastically with an off-key ?Happy Birthday.? After work, maybe you went out to dinner with friends who didn?t really want to be there. Now let me tell you how I spent mine: I slept in (in my superlatively comforting childhood bedroom), then I went for a leisurely run and did a little yoga. I whipped up a batch of Melissa Clark?s Butterscotch Scotch Eggnog, which I sipped throughout the afternoon. I caught up with a few of the people I love most in the world over sugar-crusted slices of stollen. I periodically opened a present, and I frequently enjoyed the small thrill of receiving well wishes from far-flung acquaintances on Facebook.

In other words, being a Christmas baby means you really can do whatever you want on your birthday. Many employers dismiss people early on Christmas Eve, or don?t ask them to come in at all, and nearly everyone gets Christmas itself off from work. (Even Ebenezer Scrooge gave Bob Cratchit the day off. Then again, capitalism has become more heartless since Dickens? era.) And if you are a tot, being a late-December baby means never having to go to school on your birthday.

But what about presents? I hear all the anxious materialists out there asking. On Happy Endings, Jane uses the term ?Christmas-birthday combo gift? to describe her parents? half-hearted attempts at recognizing her birthday when she was a kid. She recalls a particularly traumatic year her parents gave her an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas and a pack of batteries for her birthday. This definitely sounds like a crummy gift (especially since Easy-Bake Ovens don?t run on batteries). But it doesn?t jibe with what I know about parents, who, in my experience, usually (usually) want their children to feel loved and appreciated. I don?t want to get into a pissing contest with a fictional character, but my parents never had any trouble buying me a few more toys and sweaters than they bought my sister, and wrapping them in balloon-printed rather than holly-festooned wrapping paper. This is a question of ratios, not means; moms and dads can allocate presents fairly regardless of their budget. Anyone whose parents are unwilling to make such a token gesture at recognizing their child?s birthday has bigger problems than their date of birth.

The best thing about having a Christmas birthday, though, is not the glut of presents but the glut of festiveness. I never have to lift a finger to create a celebratory atmosphere on my birthday?everyone else does all the work for me. There are lights, decorations, and cheerful music everywhere, and the weeks leading up to the big day are chockablock with spirited parties that I can emotionally mooch off of. For the indolent, among whom I count myself, having a Christmas birthday is the best-case scenario: maximum merriment for minimum effort. (Hijacking those parties by announcing that your birthday is coming up is optional; whether you go this route will depend on whether your impending new age brings you pleasure or dread.)

I realize that gloating about my superior birthday fortune is a little rude, like talking about your high metabolism or thick, luxurious hair. It?s not as though there?s anything you can do to become more like me in this regard. (Although if you were planning to conceive anytime soon, might I suggest waiting till early April for your future offspring?s sake?) But I hope setting the record straight about the joys of having been born on Christmas Eve will limit the amount of furrowed brows and consoling comments we Christmas babies get in the future. Save your pity for the poor schmoes who actually have to put work into making their birthdays feel special.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=3bdcf415b8c2a5e19c70351d4d32a475

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Factbox: Russia's energy disputes with Ukraine and Belarus

(Reuters) - Russia has had repeated disputes over gas and oil supplies with Ukraine and Belarus, ex-Soviet countries through which pipelines carry much of its energy exports, leading to disruptions of flows to European Union countries.

The disruptions have increased the EU's resolve to diversify supply away from Russia, while Moscow has sought to build pipelines to bypass Ukraine as a transit country, while pushing Kiev to cede control of its gas pipeline network.

In the latest developments, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized Ukraine on Thursday for failing to strike a compromise deal on gas and refusing to lease its gas transportation system to both Moscow and the EU. [ID:nL5E8NK6D9]

On Friday, Russia and Belarus openly disagreed over the amount of crude oil Moscow will supply to Minsk next year.

* UKRAINE

- Gas pricing disputes between Kiev and Moscow came to world attention in January 2006, when supplies to western European customers were halted. A dispute over gas prices - Ukraine then paid just $50 per 1,000 cubic meters and Russia's Gazprom wanted to charge $230 - was complicated by accusations of corruption in the energy sector from then Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

- Russia's gas export monopoly Gazprom cut off supplies on January 1 2006, but turned them on again a day later. European consumers complained their supplies had been hit. Gazprom accused Ukraine of stealing gas from export pipelines and Kiev denied any such move.

- Ukraine agreed to a price of $95 per tcm and the introduction of intermediary RosUkrEnergo, which soon became a source of conflict over future gas agreements.

- In March 2008, Russia halved supplies to Ukraine in another row, but quickly reached agreement to restore the flows without affecting European customers.

- In January 2009, yet another pricing row between Moscow and Kiev resulted in a stoppage of Russian gas flows to Europe for about two weeks, further tarnishing Russia's image as a reliable exporter and spurring Europe to seek new suppliers.

- In April 2010, Russia and Ukraine clinched a new pricing deal, under which Ukraine would pay for 2010 alone about $3 billion less than previously agreed. The deal was in exchange for an extension of a lease for the Russian navy in a Ukrainian Black Sea port.

- Gazprom supplies Europe with a quarter of its gas needs and some two thirds quarters of this passes through pipelines across Ukraine, which in the fourth quarter of 2012 was paying $430 per 1,000 cubic metres of Russian gas - one of the highest prices among Russia's customers.

* BELARUS:

- Russia traditionally charged Minsk below market prices for oil in a policy analysts say reflected Moscow's desire to keep an ally on its Western flank. In recent years Russia has sought prices more in line with booming international market prices.

- Low energy prices and financial help from Moscow are crucial for Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko's efforts to keep the economy afloat.

- The Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline carries Russian oil through Ukraine and Belarus to Europe.

- The Belarussian spur of Druzhba supplies about one-tenth of Europe's shipments from west Siberia, going to Poland and Germany.

- During a pricing dispute with Russia in January 2007, oil shipments through Belarus were halted for three days.

- In January 2010, Russia and Belarus signed a new oil supply deal, resolving a month-long row during which they managed to avoid major supply cuts to Europe.

- In June 2010 Russia cut gas supplies to Belarus by 15 percent, pressing its neighbor to pay a $192 million debt and raising the possibility of a reduction in flows to Europe.

- In November 2011, Russia agreed to slash gas prices for Belarus by 40 percent and lend Minsk $10 billion to build a nuclear plant in return for Gazprom's acquisition of 100 percent in Belarus gas pipeline operator Beltransgaz and a deepening of their existing free-trade zone. Russia also wants Ukraine to be a part of the Customs Union.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Additional writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; Editing by Anthony Barker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-russias-energy-disputes-ukraine-belarus-193032262--finance.html

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Armed guards, locked doors: Schools seek security

A long-dormant national conversation about guns has reignited: some are calling for an assault weapons ban while other feel guns themselves aren't the root of the problem. So far the shootings have sparked several gun buy-back programs and even an anti-gun video organized by big-city mayors ? but the NRA says it's the entertainment industry that is partly to blame. NBC's John Yang reports.

By Elizabeth Chuck and M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

The National Rifle Association?s call to put armed guards in every public school in America has further intensified the debate over how to protect our nation?s children in class, with some districts saying they?re preparing to take just that action and other educators cautioning that doing so sends the wrong message about education.

And short of giving teachers and officers their own guns, administrators across the country are desperate to find a way to keep their pupils safe. Locked vestibules with buzzers, emergency preparedness drills, stronger glass and surveillance cameras are among measures being considered after the massacre last week at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Even before the?NRA?s Wayne LaPierre said Friday that armed police should be placed in schools, guards with guns were posted at all 14 schools in Butler, Pa.

This Sunday on Meet the Press: NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre

The district of 7,500 pupils about 40 miles northeast of Pittsburgh had already gone to court to get a judge's approval to have at least one armed retired state trooper in every school. They were in place as classes resumed Monday after the mass shootings Dec. 14 in Newtown, Conn.

"We plan to have that on a daily basis from now on," Superintendent Michael Strutt told NBC station WPXI of Pittsburgh. By the time the next school year begins, every guard in the school system will be armed, he said.

---

The sense of urgency is undeniable, with a few districts willing to fight fire with fire, as in Butler. Schools in Marlboro, N.J., for example, will have armed officers in place by January, Mayor John Hornik told NBC News on Friday.

After a week of calls for tighter gun restrictions, the National Rifle Association called for putting more armed security officers in the nation's schools and expressed concerns about violence portrayed in video games, movies and music. NBC's Pete Williams reports.

State Sen. Joe Scarnati, a Republican representing northern Pennsylvania, said there was only one important question: "What do we do to protect our kids?"

"If it requires to put armed individuals in our schools to protect our kids, then we need to do that," Scarnati told NBC station WJAC of Johnstown.

But that idea doesn't sit well with other educators, like Tony Scott, superintendent of schools in Bellaire, Ohio, where a local firearms association said it would provide free shooting training to teachers after the Connecticut shootings.

"I just don't believe our teachers signed up for this," Scott told NBC station WTOV of Steubenville, Ohio. "I know I didn't sign up for it."

Ronald Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center, a joint project of the U.S. Education and Justice departments, said there's no centralized database tabulating how many school systems have an official armed presence on campus, but he estimated it at 25 percent. He called the NRA proposal "unfeasible."

"We have to ask ourselves what kind of climate we want to create in our schools. Do we want our school campus to look like the Old West with people having sidearms attached to their hip, or do we want education to happen in a positive way?" Stephens told NBC News. "That's the hard part of this."

Michael Smerconish, author Steve Siebold and David Corn of Mother Jones debate the NRA's idea that more guns and armed teachers would curb gun violence.

Some administrators are looking elsewhere for solutions.?After years of unlocked front doors and casual conversations about someday increasing security in the small school district of New Hartford, Conn., Superintendent Philip O'Reilly isn't wasting another minute.

Fearing a repeat of the tragedy in nearby Newtown, O'Reilly is planning to modify the district's school buildings so they each have a small, locked vestibule between the main entrance and the building's interior, which will hold visitors for screening.

O'Reilly wouldn't give the cost of these new entryways, but he said the money must be found.

Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com

"Cost is no longer the priority. Keeping kids safe is the priority," he said.

In some cases, parents are leading the charge.

"I've had superintendents and headmasters who have been fighting for a year or two trying to do this, and the parents have been fighting them hand and fist because they didn't understand, and now the parents are coming to the school officials saying, 'Why aren't you?'" said Michael Dorn, executive director of Safe Havens International, a nonprofit group based in Georgia that helps schools improve their crisis preparedness.

Michael Dorn of Safe Havens International relays tips on how schools and parents can keep kids safe.

Security experts recommend that school districts start with a security assessment. Because changing entryways or installing security cameras can be expensive, these experts said school systems need to figure out exactly what their biggest shortcomings are before plowing ahead.

"The number one request [schools have been asking for since Newtown] is to conduct a security assessment. We look at everything, from your written practices to the physical security devices and emergency plans," said Paul Timm, president of Illinois-based, school security consulting firm RETA Security.

He said his recommendations usually fall in two main areas.

"There are two categories that protect people better than anything else: access control, which includes a locked vestibule, running a closed campus, visitor management procedures; and communications.

Do we have public address systems, do we have telephones that are outfitted with emergency dialing instructions, do we have two-way radios?" Timm said. "Those two areas, more than cameras, more than metal detectors, more than burglar alarm systems, protect people."

Locked vestibules can literally stop an intruder in his or her tracks. As administrators have become more concerned about security, many schools have restricted access to just one main entry point in the hope of doing that, Timm said.

Another solution for safety-proofing schools: bullet-resistant glass. Timm recently helped a school in Hastings, Minn., replace all the tempered glass in the building with laminated glass after a student brought a gun to school, and the total cost was about $3,500.

But such a low dollar figure for security fixes is rare.

"A large percentage of our schools are not designed well for any of these things. Sometimes, something simple can be $5 million," Dorn said.

Federal funds for school safety ? the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) project ? were eliminated in March 2011. Now the money must come from local taxpayers.

"There's not much in the budget for security at all. I want to say that before Columbine, not many schools had a line item for security in their budget," Timm said.

One security measure that doesn't come with a hefty price tag is running drills with teachers, students and administrators for various scenarios.

"It prepares us to make life-and-death situations more quickly," Dorn said. "They have an opportunity do something like lock a door, move kids out of a classroom, and [if] for various reasons don't take that action, our casualty rate doubles or triples. The human brain works faster than my laptop to make those life-and-death decisions, but only if you've had the exposure to prepare you."

Andrew Mach of NBC News contributed to this report.

The manufacturer of a children's backpack designed to stop bullets says sales have skyrocketed in the wake of the Newtown massacre. But are some parents overreacting? KPRC's Courtney Zavala reports.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/20/16042916-armed-guards-locked-entryways-cameras-schools-seek-security-after-sandy-hook?lite

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Selamat Datang ke MPK2053 Current Issues in TVE : CRITICLE ...

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AHMAD SASHWANI BIN AZMI

MP111480

Critical Review

An article review of Yunfei? Chong ,2011.? ? The Research on how Chinese vocational education break through the current bottleneck of its development , Concurrent discussion on how to establish the mechanism of school enterprise cooperation in Chinese vocational education?. ????Zhengzhou Railway Vocational and Technical College

This article focuses on ?how to develop Chinese Vocational Education by establish the mechanism of school-enterprise cooperation . The authors have stressed the cooperation between schools and enterprises that appear to have a problem in creating a program of bilateral cooperation which respectively provide help to achieve a common goal or a win-win due to? the failure of the government to encourage partnerships between schools and enterprises.; government-lead ?. The author aims to highlight the collaboration between industry and academia like ?Dual System?? vocational education models in Germany that provide job internship ,one of the reason for difficulty of school-enterprises cooperation; administrative subordination;. Yunfei mentions that perhaps almost vocational colleges perfom actively, but it not accompany with enterprise or industry that did not contact the colleges forwardly.

This article is significant given that the difficulties of school-enterprise cooperation is lack of talent training as well as evaluated by educational expert. ?However as a result of somewhat abstract implications, the article would perhaps only be of interest on ?co-sponsorship mechanism and policy guarantee especially on government-lead.? The authors have used ?vocational education models to describe the government- lead in developing countries like ;Amerika, England, Germany and Japan; and to compare the efficient model of personnel training.Although showing differences in ??implementation but strives to achieve the common goal of providing provisions to ensure the training is going well.The author mention it provides good reference to strengthen the government ?lead, strengthen the legislation of vocational education, strengthen the overall plan and supervise, and establish the cooperation mechanism.

The author has started writing specifying keywords should be known and so began a discussion on the topic. The author have a very good in processing due to problems in school-enterprise Cooperation is more specific that can identify the cause of how the occurrence constraints to progress chinese vocational education. The topic has an objective to be achive.The author has made a claims that government-lead is the only way to break through the current bottleneck of vocational education development but ?an evidence was provided is not reliable. The conclusion also are drawn just a simple word and not complement. The principal of the text can be better organized

As a conclusion it can be said that the author has managed to transfer information on how to solve the bottleneck problem as experienced by chinese vocational education which should strengthen the school-enterprise cooperation.? To the success of this cooperation must be the government in terms of provision of assistance and reform The author seems to only look to the government-lead, although the schools are supposed to provide entrepreneurship education as recommended by Robert Kowasaki in her book, rich dad, poor dad where he suggested that education for entrepreneurship have since translated children from school. Similarly, vocational education should start at school with teachers who are trained as discussed by Qiu Feiyue and Lifang Le (2010). Quality education will produce a quality student . I am? agree with Malaysia system vocational school that was up grade to be a college and develop the teachers skill.

Source: http://citve1213.blogspot.com/2012/12/criticle-review-1-ahmad-sashwani-azmi.html

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Nancy Lanza, Mother Of Newtown Gunman, A Quiet Woman, 'Guns Were Her Hobby'

A woman pays respects at a memorial outside of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. On Friday, a gunman allegedly killed his mother at their home and then opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Residents wait for the start of an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 at Newtown High School in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Eknoor Kaur, 3, stands with her father Guramril Singh during a candlelight vigil outside Newtown High School before an interfaith vigil with President Barack Obama, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

US-SCHOOL-SHOOTING-MEMORIAL

US President Barack Obama speaks during a memorial service for the victims and relatives of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty-six people were killed when a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary and began a shooting spree. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

US-SCHOOL-SHOOTING-MEMORIAL

A woman covers her face as US President Barack Obama reads out the names of children killed during Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting at a interfaith memorial for victims and relatives at the Newtown High School on December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty-six people were killed when a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary and began a shooting spree. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

A woman pays respects at a memorial outside of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. On Friday, a gunman allegedly killed his mother at their home and then opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Residents wait for the start of an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 at Newtown High School in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Cheryl Girardi

Cheryl Girardi, of Middletown, Conn., kneels beside 26 teddy bears, each representing a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, at a sidewalk memorial, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children.(AP Photo/David Goldman)

Connecticut State Police officers respond to a bomb threat outside of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. Worshippers hurriedly left the church Sunday, not far from where a gunman opened fire Friday inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Ava Staiti

Ava Staiti, 7, of New Milford, Conn., looks up at her mother Emily Staiti, not pictured, while visiting a sidewalk memorial with 26 teddy bears, each representing a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

This photo provided by the family shows Jessica Rekos. Rekos, 6, was killed Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn., killing 26 children and adults at the school, before killing himself. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Rekos Family)

A U.S. flag flies at half staff outside the Newtown High School before President Barack Obama is scheduled to attend a memorial for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

David Freedman, Zachary Freedman

David Freedman, right, kneels with his son Zachary, 9, both of Newtown, Conn., as they visit a sidewalk memorial for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A man reacts at the site of a makeshift memorial for school shooting victims in Newtown, Conn., Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012. A gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the town, killing 26 people, including 20 children before killing himself on Friday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

People wait in line to attend an interfaith vigil with President Barack Obama, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

Barack Obama

Residents greet each other before the start of an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 at Newtown High School in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Barack Obama

Residents greet each other before the start of an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, at Newtown High School in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into the school Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. President Barack Obama is to scheduled to speak at the event. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Barack Obama

Residents greet each other before the start of an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, at Newtown High School in Newtown, Conn. A gunman walked into the elementary school Friday and opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children. President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak during the vigil. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

This image provided by the family shows Grace McDonnell posing for a portrait in this family photo taken Aug. 18, 2012. Grace McDonnell was killed Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., killing 26 children and adults at the school. (AP Photo/Courtesy of the McDonnell Family)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

This Nov. 18, 2012 photo provided by John Engel shows Olivia Engel, 6, in Danbury, Conn. Olivia Engel, was killed Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn., killing 26 children and adults at the school. (AP Photo/Engel Family, Tim Nosezo)

Emilie Alice Parker

This 2012 photo provided by the family shows Emilie Alice Parker. Parker was killed Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn., killing 26 children and adults at the school. (AP Photo/Courtesy of the Parker Family)

Noah Pozner

This Nov. 13, 2012 photo provided by the family via The Washington Post shows Noah Pozner. The six-year-old was one of the victims in the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Family Photo)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

This handout image provided by ABC News, shows Nancy J. Lanza mother of suspected mass shooter Adam Lanza at an unspecified time and place. Twenty six people were shot dead, including twenty children, after a gunman identified as Adam Lanza opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lanza also reportedly had committed suicide at the scene. A 28th person, believed to be Nancy Lanza was found dead in a house in town, was also believed to have been shot by Adam Lanza. (Family of Nancy Lanza / ABC News / Getty Images)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20121215/us-school-shooting-victims/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage">Lauren Rousseau, 30,</a> had started a job as a full-time teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School this fall. She was killed in the Dec. 14 shooting at the school.

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

School psychologist Mary Sherlach, 56, was killed during an attempt to stop gunman Adam Lanza during the Dec. 14 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20121215/us-school-shooting-victims/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage">Sherlach and school principal Dawn Hochsprung</a> reportedly both lunged at Lanza in an attempt to protect the school's students and teachers. Both Sherlach and Hochsprung were killed.

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Victoria Soto, a 27-year-old teacher, was killed in the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Her cousin, Jim Wiltsie, told ABC that Soto, a teacher, died while shielding her young students from the gunman, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20121215/us-school-shooting-victims/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage">according to the AP.</a>

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/14/sandy-hook-principal-dawn-hochsprung_n_2303944.html">Sandy Hook Elementary School Principal Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung</a>, 47, was killed as she, along with school psychologist Mary Sherlach, attempted to overtake gunman Adam Lanza during the Dec. 14 mass shooting at the school. Hochsprung and Sherlach reportedly both lunged at Lanza in an effort to defend the students and teachers at the school. Both women were killed.

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

This photo posted to the Emilie Parker Fund Facebook page shows Emilie Parker. Fighting back tears and struggling to catch his breath, Robbie Parker the father of 6-year-old Emile Parker who was gunned down in Friday's school shooting in Connecticut told the world about a little girl who loved to draw and was always smiling, and he also reserved surprising words of sympathy for the gunman. (AP Photo/Emilie Parker Fund)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Shop owner Tamara Doherty paces outside her store just down the road from Sandy Hook Elementary School, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at the school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

This photo posted to the Emilie Parker Fund Facebook page shows Emilie Parker and her father Robbie Parker. Fighting back tears and struggling to catch his breath, Robbie Parker the father of 6-year-old Emile Parker who was gunned down in Friday's school shooting in Connecticut told the world about a little girl who loved to draw and was always smiling, and he also reserved surprising words of sympathy for the gunman. (AP Photo/Emilie Parker Fund)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Robbie Parker, the father of six-year-old Emilie who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, fights back tears as he speaks during a news conference, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Isabella Jimenez, 12, reacts while talking to reporters about the shooting rampage from a day earlier when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. Jimenez said she might know the victims because she has done volunteer work with small children. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Newtown, Connecticut mass shooter Adam Lanza is third from right in this 2008 yearbook photo. <a href="http://abcn.ws/UlqIyn">(ABC News)</a>

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Flowers and stuffed animals of a makeshift memorial for school shooting victims encircle the flagpole at the town center in Newtown, Conn., Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A homemade sign written on a table cloth, hangs outside the Stone River Grille, in honor of the teachers who died along with students a day earlier when a gunman open fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in the Sandy Hook village of Newtown, Conn. Gary Seri, general manager at the Stone River Grille, put up red balloons that were not used when a sweet 16 party was canceled the night before in light of the massacre, said the teachers were scheduled to have their holiday party at his restaurant. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Allen Breed)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A man weeps while praying in front of a memorial for shooting victims outside Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012 in Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A line of 20 white paper bags containing small candles sit in a field, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012 in Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A child looks on as people read from prayer books during a service in honor of the victims who died a day earlier when a gunman open fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., as people gathered at St. John's Episcopal Church, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in the Sandy Hook village of Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Molly Delaney, left, holds her 11-year-old daughter, Milly Delaney, during a service in honor of the victims who died a day earlier when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., as people gathered at St. John's Episcopal Church , Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in the Sandy Hook village of Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Elizabeth Bogdanoff, left, kisses her daughter Julia, 13, both of Newtown, Conn., during a prayer service at St John's Episcopal Church, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Catherine Purcell, of Mansfield, Mass., reacts during a service in honor of the victims who died a day earlier when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., as people gathered at St. John's Episcopal Church , Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in the Sandy Hook village of Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A woman cries during a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church following an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 15, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on December 14 after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Residents leave after paying a flower tribute to the victims of an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 15, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on December 14 after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A resident pays tribute to the victims of an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 15, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on December 14 after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Cynthia Alvarez (R) is comforted by her mother Lilia as people gather for a prayer vigil at St Rose Church following an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on Friday after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Offerings are left at a curbside shrine as residents pay tribute to the victims of an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 15, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on December 14 after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A young girl's message (bottom) is lposted on a memorial board as people gather for a prayer vigil at St Rose Church following an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on Friday after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

People gather for a prayer vigil at St Rose Church following an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on Friday after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

People gather for a prayer vigil at St Rose Church following an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on Friday after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

NEWTOWN, CT - DECEMBER 14: Connecticut State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance (L) and Lt. George Sinko of the Newtown Police Department brief the media on the elementary school shooting during a press conference at Treadwell Memorial Park on December 14, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. According to reports, 27 are dead, including 20 children, after a gunman identified as Adam Lanza in news reports, opened fire in at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Lanza also reportedly died at the scene. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

People gather for a prayer vigil at St Rose Church following an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on Friday after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/nancy-lanza-mother-of-gunman-private-home-life_n_2313027.html

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How Remaining Healthier Will Help You In With Self ... - i4Giveu.com

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Polar Mobile Launches MediaEverywhere Hybrid Mobile Cross ...

Polar Mobile, a pioneer in creating publishing apps for top media brands back when the move from print and web to mobile was still a novel concept, today opened up the next stage in its content delivery strategy for publishers everywhere. Originally debuted in closed beta with a few select publishers back in October, Polar is now throwing open the gates to its MediaEverywhere cross-platform solution with more than 20 paying customers on board, including The Toronto Star,?British?Vogue, Canadian Living and more.

The MediaEverywhere platform is an extension of Polar Mobile?s existing business, but intended as a one-stop platform for making content available across devices, in a format best-suited to each?individual?platform. HTML5 is a cornerstone element of the strategy, Polar Mobile CEO and founder Kunal Gupta told me in an interview, but he also stressed that it?s not the only piece. There are native components for apps on iOS, Android, Windows 8 and more to make sure that publications are delivered best on each platform where they appear, rather than seeming shoe-horned into a best-fit solution.

?Our customers are giving a lot of positive feedback on the platform, and there are a few different reasons why,? Gupta explained, describing the benefits of his company?s platform for media publishers. ?The first one is because we?re addressing a lot of the challenges of how do you get your advertising, your analytics, you content to work everywhere. The second is that we?re accelerating time to market and reducing cost, and the third is that we enable monetization, and we do that by integrating with the right tech and systems to help them do that.?

Another benefit, and one Gupta says is most important, is that MediaEverywhere is working with internal development teams at these various publications to help them build on top of the platform, meaning they can be very heavily involved in what the final product looks like. This takes away the concern that publishers will be stuck with whatever product Polar?s platform spits out, and also ensures that no two products built by different publishers with MediaEverywhere will ever look exactly the same.

What Polar Mobile is offering here isn?t the same type of simple mobile site conversion being sold by companies like OnSwipe and Pressly. Gupta says their main?competitors?are more comprehensive services like Adobe?s suite of digital publishing tools, and existing content management systems like WordPress and Drupal, which offer mobile templates for content that has traditionally been hosted on the desktop web.

?Our belief is that to create a great user experience, you need an optimized platform for mobile devices,? Gupta argues. ?Especially when you start to build both web and native experiences, the alternative of using a CMS just doesn?t work.?

Going forward, MediaEverywhere will be the flagship product for Polar Mobile, which is the platform it raised $6 million last January to develop. The company has a strong foothold with media companies already, including over 400 media brands it counts as customers for existing mobile app development efforts, so it has a head start getting publishers on the cross-platform MediaEverywhere product. This is a big new direction for a company that in its infancy helped define what a media app even looked like, back before the iPhone when the BlackBerry was the most important mobile OS. Polar is now seeing a sea change in the industry, and this is a shift designed to help usher in the new era, where content companies focus on content, and don?t have to worry about product delivery fragmentation.

Polar Mobile provides media companies globally an industry-leading Platform that makes it fast and easy to launch branded mobile Apps across every smartphone and tablet devices. Thousands of mobile apps are powered by Polar Mobile?s SMART? Platform for hundreds of media Publishers in dozens of countries, which include top-tier magazines, newspapers, broadcasters and online portals across the news, sports, entertainment and lifestyle media verticals. For more information, visit www.polarmobile.com and follow @polarmobile.

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Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/06/polar-mobile-launches-mediaeverywhere-hybrid-mobile-cross-publishing-platform-for-publishers/

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