Your World According To Dr. Castro

Gear Round-up 2012 Lazer Road Helmets

2012-01-27T16:45:00.001-08:00

Belgian firm Lazer caught our attention at last year's Interbike trade show with their innovative Magneto Eyewear System, which dispenses with the arms of normal riding glasses and instead uses two magnets fitted to your helmet straps to secure them in place. We posted our review of the system at the weekend. Now here's the only helmet that's currently compatible with it, the 2012 Lazer Helium.

Given that it's named after the second lightest element, the Helium is pretty burly, with our large sized sample tipping the scales at 325g. This makes the £189.99/$230 pricetag something of a surprise, given that road lids tend to get lighter the more expensive they get.

This new model hasn't changed much from the one we reviewed in 2010, save for the addition of the rubber-covered magnets. The Rollsys retention system, which uses a 'Magic Buckle' on top of the helmet to adjust fit, is unchanged, as are the 19 vents. It's available in 13 colours, from Bob Elliot & Co in the UK.

From: http://ping.fm/DAaZW

Fitch Downgrades 5 Countries But Not France

2012-01-27T10:16:00.001-08:00

Festive Friday fun:

FITCH TAKES RATING ACTIONS ON SIX EUROZONE SOVEREIGNS
ITALY LT IDR CUT TO A- FROM A+ BY FITCH
SPAIN ST IDR DOWNGRADED TO F1 FROM F1+ BY FITCH
IRELAND L-T IDR AFFIRMED BY FITCH; OUTLOOK NEGATIVE
BELGIUM LT IDR CUT TO AA FROM AA+ BY FITCH
SLOVENIA LT IDR CUT TO A FROM AA- BY FITCH
CYPRUS LT IDR CUT TO BBB- FROM BBB BY FITCH, OUTLOOK NEGATIVE

And some sheer brilliance from Fitch:

In Fitch's opinion, the eurozone crisis will only be resolved as and when there is broad economic recovery.

And just as EUR shorts were starting to sweat bullets. Naturally no downgrade of France. French Fitch won't downgrade France. In other news, Fitch's Italian office is about to be sacked by an errant roving vandal tribe (or so the local Police will claim).
Full release:

FITCH TAKES RATING ACTIONS ON SIX EUROZONE SOVEREIGNS

Fitch Ratings-London-27 January 2012: Fitch Ratings has today concluded its review of the six eurozone sovereigns it placed on Rating Watch Negative (RWN) on 16 December 2011.

The rating actions on the long-term (LT) and short-term (ST) Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) are as follows:

-Belgium LT IDR downgraded to 'AA' from 'AA+'; Negative Outlook; ST IDR affirmed at 'F1+'
-Cyprus LT IDR downgraded to 'BBB-' from 'BBB'; Negative Outlook; ST IDR affirmed at 'F3'
-Ireland LT IDR affirmed at 'BBB+'; Negative Outlook; ST IDR affirmed at 'F2'
-Italy LT IDR downgraded to 'A-' from 'A+'; Negative Outlook; ST IDR downgraded to 'F2' from 'F1'
-Slovenia LT IDR downgraded to 'A' from 'AA-'; Negative Outlook; ST IDR downgraded to 'F1' from 'F1+'
- Spain LT IDR downgraded 'A' from 'AA-'; Negative Outlook; ST IDR downgraded to 'F1' from 'F1+'

All the ratings have been removed from RWN, with the Negative Outlook on all six countries indicating a slightly greater than 50% chance of a downgrade over a two-year time horizon. The eurozone 'AAA' country ceiling has been affirmed for all six sovereigns. All senior unsecured issues of the six countries are affirmed in line with the new rating levels above. The ratings of guaranteed issuance by National Asset Management Ltd. are affirmed at 'BBB+' and 'F2' in line with the Irish IDRs.

As outlined in its rating review press release of 16 December 2011, Fitch has now considered both systemic and country-specific factors for these six sovereigns. As a result, the agency has reduced the score it assigns to capture financing flexibility in its assessment of the credit profiles of eurozone sovereigns that have large fiscal financing needs and significant financial/economic imbalances.

Moreover, rising "home bias" in the allocation of capital, the divergence in monetary and credit conditions across the eurozone, and near-term economic outlook highlight the greater vulnerability to monetary as well as financing shocks faced by these sovereign governments. Consequently, these sovereigns do not, in Fitch's view, accrue the full benefits of the euro's reserve currency status. The net impact of this revision under Fitch's sovereign rating methodology is to lower the long-term ratings of the affected sovereigns by one notch.

This one-notch revision was applied to Belgium, Italy, Slovenia and Spain, but not to Cyprus and Ireland, where their loss of market access had already been demonstrated by their need for official/bilateral support and is already reflected in their low investment-grade ratings. The downgrade for Cyprus, and the additional one-notch cuts for Italy, Spain and Slovenia (ie a total of two notches for each) reflect country-specific concerns primarily related to the banking sector in Cyprus and Slovenia; an adverse shift in the interest-rate growth differential and hence public debt dynamics in Italy; and a significantly worsened fiscal and economic outlook in Spain. A more detailed rating rationale can be found in six separate country specific press releases also being published shortly.

Overall, today's rating actions balance the marked deterioration in the economic outlook with both the substantive policy initiatives at the national level to address macro-financial and fiscal imbalances, and the initial success of the ECB's three-year Long-Term Refinancing Operation in easing near-term sovereign and bank funding pressures. Nonetheless, the intensification of the eurozone crisis in the latter half of last year undermined the effectiveness of ECB monetary policy and highlighted the financing risks faced by eurozone sovereign governments in the absence of a credible financial firewall against contagion and self-fulfilling liquidity crises.

Fitch recognises the significant commitments made at the 9-10 December and previous EU Summits to enhance economic policy coordination so as to prevent a recurrence of the severe macro-financial imbalances that arose in the euro's first decade, as well as efforts to create a long-term framework for fiscal stability over the medium to long term. Fitch also anticipates that European leaders will make good on these commitments in the forthcoming 30 January summit. In addition, the decision to bring forward the creation of the European Stability Mechanism and increase the resources of the IMF, if implemented effectively, is a step towards enhancing the capacity of the eurozone to absorb adverse shocks, such as a disorderly Greek default, although such a shock is not the agency's expectation.

From: Ping.fm

Blockbuster closing Salisbury Kannapolis locations

2012-01-27T10:05:00.001-08:00

Dish Network Chief Executive Joe Clayton earlier this month told Reuters the company would close more Blockbuster stores than originally planned.

SALISBURY — Blockbuster stores in Salisbury and Kannapolis will close Feb. 19.

Employees at the Salisbury location, 850 Jake Alexander Blvd. W., found out last week the store would close. The store stopped renting movies and video games Sunday and has everything in the store on sale.

Blockbuster, which once operated two locations in Salisbury, is the last free-standing movie rental business in town.

The Kannapolis store, 821 Cloverleaf Plaza, has been in the process of closing for two months, an employee said.

Blockbuster declined to comment on any one particular store.

“Blockbuster continues to evaluate the performance of each store location individually,” said Danielle Johnson, spokeswoman for Dish Network, which bought Blockbuster last year. “As we have said in previous statements, we remain committed to maintaining only those stores that we believe we will be able to operate profitably.”

Post readers commenting on the story on Facebook said they already get their movies elsewhere.

“Surprised it lasted this long. Netflix, Redbox...” Sacha Roberts said. “So many cheaper options.”

From: http://ping.fm/VrYNR

Sonja's Scrapbook Spot closing February 12th. - Los Angeles scrapbooking | Examiner.com

2012-01-27T08:32:00.001-08:00

After 4 years in business, Sonja's Scrapbook Spot located at 6081 Center Dr Suite 205 Los Angeles CA in the Howard Hughes Promenade will be closing it's doors. This week, owner Sonja Schappert sent out a newsletter breaking the news to friends and loyal customers that with much regret her last day of business would be February 12th.

Since opening her store, Sonja hosted numerous fun filled crop weekends, fantastic classes, in-store make and takes and some wonderful fundraising events like her most recent Breast Cancer 3 day crop for Pink-Link that was a huge success. Scrapbookers enjoyed visiting this local shop because Sonja's store was always full of the latest trends in scrapbooking and her warmth and smile made you want to come back again and again.

Sonja has announced that everything in the store is on sale at 20% off and some select items are being offered at 50% off. Cash only from this point on and Gift Certificates must be redeemed by February 12th.

Sonja's final day of business will be Sunday February 12th. If you'd like to wish Sonja farewell and crop for noon-6 p.m. on her final day, the cost is $15.00 and spaces are limited.

For more information on classes and her farewell crop, please visit her blog http://sonjasscrapbookspot.blogspot.com/

From: Ping.fm

Nevada solar plant cuts workforce by two thirds

2012-01-27T08:08:00.001-08:00

NORTH LAS VEGAS A solar array production plant in North Las Vegas has cut its workforce by two-thirds less than a year after opening.

The Las Vegas Sun reports that Flextronics Industrial laid off about 200 of 300-plus employees Tuesday.

Singapore-based Flextronics is the staffing partner with Seal Beach, Calif.-based Amonix Inc. in the $18 million plant.

An Amonix executive calls the layoffs a temporary “retooling” to roll out a next-generation product.

From: http://ping.fm/9MD3h

Education Management lays off 70 workers in Strip District office

2012-01-27T08:05:00.001-08:00

Education Management Corp. today began laying off as many as 400 workers from locations in the Strip District and in Arizona, as a result of a recent review of its operations.

At least 70 people who were let go worked at the Pittsburgh company's Online Higher Education business located in the Strip District, according to several workers. Those laid off were escorted from buildings along Penn Avenue late this morning.

A statement from Education Management, which owns and operates for-profit colleges, including the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, said the layoffs would affect fewer than 2 percent of its 20,000 workers, or as many as 400 people.

The moves were "not anticipated to have any impact on students," the statement said.

From: http://ping.fm/PEMY5

Mexicos Calderon urges Europe to take out bazooka

2012-01-26T20:09:00.001-08:00

DAVOS, Switzerland (MarketWatch) -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon urged Europe on Thursday to "take out the bazooka immediately" in order to resolve its long-running sovereign debt crisis. In a speech at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Calderon said Europe needs to create a firewall to prevent the spread of panic.
"The more money you put in the firewall, the more confidence you create," Calderon said, as he noted that there are some lessons to be learned from Mexico's debt crisis in 1995. The Mexican president said that debt renegotiation combined with international financial support is what several euro-zone economies, including Greece, need. Discussing debt-laden Italy, Calderon said: "Italy has a problem of liquidity. If we don't help Italy to fix its liquidity problem, it could have a solvency problem....We need to use the bazooka right now to protect Italy." Mexico currently holds the presidency of the Group of 20 nations and Calderon laid out his priorities for the group, which include strengthening international financial institutions, dealing with the euro crisis, addressing climate change, and ensuring food security.

From: http://ping.fm/rTsBt

Oral Papillomavirus Infection more common in men

2012-01-26T16:44:00.001-08:00

Scientists found that 10.1 per cent of men were infected, compared with just 3.6 per cent of women.

HPV is linked to the development of a type of cancer known as oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), but little is known about how the infection is spread, or how common it is in the mouth.

Abstract
Context Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the principal cause of a distinct form of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma that is increasing in incidence among men in the United States. However, little is known about the epidemiology of oral HPV infection.

Objective To determine the prevalence of oral HPV infection in the United States.
Design, Setting, and Participants A cross-sectional study was conducted as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2009-2010, a statistically representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized US population. Men and women aged 14 to 69 years examined at mobile examination centers were eligible. Participants (N = 5579) provided a 30-second oral rinse and gargle with mouthwash. For detection of HPV types, DNA purified from oral exfoliated cells was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction and type-specific hybridization. Demographic and behavioral data were obtained by standardized interview. Statistical analyses used NHANES sample weights to provide weighted prevalence estimates for the US population.

Main Outcome Measures Prevalence of oral HPV infection.
Results The prevalence of oral HPV infection among men and women aged 14 to 69 years was 6.9% (95% CI, 5.7%-8.3%) and of HPV type 16 was 1.0% (95% CI, 0.7%-1.3%). Oral HPV infection followed a bimodal pattern with respect to age, with peak prevalence among individuals aged 30 to 34 years (7.3%; 95% CI, 4.6%-11.4%) and 60 to 64 years (11.4%; 95% CI, 8.5%-15.1%). Men had a significantly higher prevalence than women for any oral HPV infection (10.1% [95% CI, 8.3%-12.3%] vs 3.6% [95% CI, 2.6%-5.0%], P < .001; unadjusted prevalence ratio [PR], 2.80 [95% CI, 2.02-3.88]). Infection was less common among those without vs those with a history of any type of sexual contact (0.9% [95% CI, 0.4%-1.8%] vs 7.5% [95% CI, 6.1%-9.1%], P < .001; PR, 8.69 [95% CI, 3.91-19.31]) and increased with number of sexual partners (P < .001 for trend) and cigarettes smoked per day (P < .001 for trend). Associations with age, sex, number of sexual partners, and current number of cigarettes smoked per day were independently associated with oral HPV infection in multivariable models.

Conclusion Among men and women aged 14 to 69 years in the United States, the overall prevalence of oral HPV infection was 6.9%, and the prevalence was higher among men than among women.

From: Ping.fm

1st East Coast Starbucks closing

2012-01-26T15:25:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON -- The first Starbucks store on the East Coast, which opened in 1993 on Wisconsin Avenue near the National Cathedral, will serve its last drink Sunday.

The Friendship Center Starbucks is located in the first floor of a non-descript strip shopping center.

It's been known to draw a number of well-known people in for coffee, including former first daughter Chelsea Clinton who was spotted there with classmates when she attended nearby Sidwell Friends School.

Signs posted on the store windows and inside the store offer "sincerest apologies" and thanks to "wonderful customers" who will soon have to find a new place to drink coffee and congregate.

From: http://ping.fm/XOjS6

Briggs & Stratton Clonsing plants 767 Layoffs

2012-01-26T14:55:00.001-08:00

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Engine maker Briggs & Stratton Corp. on Thursday said it will close a plant in Tennessee and shift the work to Georgia, eliminating about 690 jobs in the U.S., as it adjusts to a changing market for outdoor equipment.

The company is also closing a plant in the Czech Republic, which will result in 77 job cuts there. It is shifting that work to a Kentucky factory.

Its Poplar Bluff, Mo., engine plant will also reduce capacity further, after cutting back over the past year, but the company said it does not expect significant employment changes there.

The moves reflect sharp declines in demand for U.S. lawn and garden products. Briggs & Stratton said the market has declined more than 33 percent since 2004.

"This significant and prolonged market decline is unlike any other this industry has seen in decades," said CEO Todd Teske in a release. The actions "will better align our production capacity to the markets we serve."

The company's shares tumbled 9 percent in morning trading.

The Newbern, Tenn., facility, which manufacturers walk-behind lawn mowers and snow throwers for the U.S. market, will be closed by May 15. The Ostrava, Czech Republic facility, which makes small engines for outdoor power equipment, will end production by March 15.

From: http://ping.fm/Vyujn

FYE parent closing 52 more music and video stores in US

2012-01-26T07:49:00.001-08:00

The parent company of FYE is in the midst of closing 52 music and video retail stores following another Christmas holiday season in which sales fell.

Store closings started in December and will wrap up by the end of February. Most of the 52 closures are happening this week, said Tom Seaver, chief financial officer of Trans World Entertainment Corp. in Albany, New York. [Related: A tale of two Seavers].

The stores are being closed because of poor sales, lease expirations, and/or to improve efficiency.

The brick-and-mortar retail chain has seen its sales suffer over the past five years because of the growing popularity of digital music, competition from big-box stores, and the recession.

Trans World (Nasdaq: TWMC) has closed more than 550 stores since 2006.

From: http://ping.fm/qamuc

NEC to Cut 10,000 Jobs on Forecast of Third Loss in 4 Years

2012-01-26T07:44:00.001-08:00

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- NEC Corp., forecasting its third annual loss in four years, will cut 10,000 jobs as slower global growth reduces demand for its mobile phones, computers and wireless gear.

“As macroeconomic concerns about Europe and developing countries increase, we decided to invest limited resources in lesser business segments,” President Nobuhiro Endo said today in Tokyo.

NEC forecast a 100 billion-yen loss ($1.3 billion) for the year ending March 31, abandoning a previous outlook for a 15 billion-yen profit, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement today. The job cuts equal about 8.6 percent of NEC’s workforce.

About 7,000 of those jobs will be eliminated in Japan, and NEC will take a 40 billion-yen charge for the restructuring, according to the statement. NEC also won’t pay a year-end dividend.
“The job cuts announced today are bigger than expected,” said Yuichi Ishida, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. in Tokyo. “This will probably help the company reduce expenses, and we’ll probably see some improvements immediately from next fiscal year.”

Previous Cuts

The computer maker’s shares were unchanged at 168 yen as of the 3 p.m. close of trading in Tokyo, before the statement was released. NEC has lost 31 percent of market value in the past 12 months, compared with a 23 percent drop for Japanese computer maker Fujitsu Ltd. and a 17 percent decline for the broader Topix index.

Most of the job cuts will come from NEC’s mobile-phone handset business and may begin March 31, Endo said. The reduction is split between full- and part-time jobs, Endo said.

In 2009, the company said it was cutting more than 20,000 employees, mostly in the semiconductor and electronic-component businesses.

NEC, which formed a venture with Lenovo Group Ltd. last year, had 115,840 employees at the end of March, compared with 154,786 in fiscal year 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Lenovo, China’s biggest personal-computer maker, agreed to invest $175 million in the venture to expand in Japan.

From: http://ping.fm/YC1Az

Tips for riding in the rain

2012-01-26T07:26:00.001-08:00

Those itching to get off the trainer and onto a real bicycle aren’t going to let water and road grit get in their way. Well, there is an outside chance that one day, drops will fall from the sky and soil those perky racing singlets everybody wears.

Sooner or later, everyone will be faced with riding in the rain, and with a little knowledge and the appropriate gear, spinning through showers can actually be an enjoyable experience. How do we know this?

1. Dress to Stay Dry
The wetter you get the colder you are going to be. Being cold and wet is a quick way to get sick. Keep your core warm. A waterproof vest or jacket with a dropped skirt in the back and a hood is critical for heavy conditions. Wear a wicking underliner made from wool or polypropylene and wool socks.

Cover your shoes with neoprene booties to insulate them when they are soaked, and use full fingered water- and wind-resistant gloves. Remember, your body sweats rain or shine, so your jacket and garments must breathe (chose Gore-Tex-type fabrics or ventilated outer garments) or you’ll arrive wet from the inside, instead of the outside.

2. Clear Lenses
In low light, clear or yellow lenses for eye protection are critical. When riding in the rain, normal sunglasses cut out too much light and can make road obstacles hard to see.

If you are still having issues seeing, a cycling cap placed under the helmet will shield some of the rain and road spray from hitting your glasses. Use an anti-fog product (Rain-X is a good value) so you won’t become legally blind after waiting for a traffic light.

3. Rainbow Patches and Puddles
The road surface will be the slickest and most dangerous just after the rain has begun. During this time the rain will cause the oil buildup in the pavement to rise to the surface, causing the road surface to essentially become a giant oil slick.
Keep an eye out for little rainbow-edged patches on the street. This is an indication of an oil patch. Never brake or corner in the center of the roadway at intersections, as this is where autos leave the majority of their drippings. Make an effort to notice metal surfaces such as manhole covers or steel-grid bridge decks, painted traffic markings, or wet leaves, as they all become very slick when wet.

As fun as it may be to bash through puddles, avoid them. More than one cyclist has broken a wheel on a submerged pothole—or submarined into a construction pit that appeared to be a harmless stretch of standing water.

4. Watch Those Brake Pads
A mixture of road grit and water turns out to be the fastest method to erode rubber brake pads. Pads that last a full season in the dry will run metal to metal on the rims in a month of wet-weather training rides. Also, most rims require a full revolution before the brake pads squeegee the water from the braking surface and begin stopping. Plan ahead and brake early.

5. Watch the Corners
Cornering in the rain can be tricky and dangerous. Shift as much of your weight on the outside pedal as possible. Use body English to keep the bike more upright when cornering. Lean your body more than the bike. By doing this, you will be able to corner with a reasonable amount of speed, as the body will tend to remain balanced over the bike when the tires slide over painted lines and unseen oil patches.

6. Fenders Unite
Fenders are not foolishness. If you plan on riding for any length of time, or with others, install fenders on both wheels. It will quadruple your comfort factor and keep your vision crystal clear. It’s one of the unspoken rules that on rainy-day group rides you should never show up without fenders.

Drafting through a thin stream of grimy water gets old in about 10 meters. Several bike companies sell clip-on fenders that mount to the seatpost and downtube to fit bikes without threaded eyelets.

7. More Fenders
Don’t stop there! Once you realize how much better riding with fenders is, you’ll want to cut strips from old water bottles to make dangling mud flaps and screw them onto the backsides of your fenders. The longer, the better.

8. Chain Lube
Use a heavier chain lube. We’ve had good luck with Phil Wood Tenacious Oil. Go ahead, blob it on that chain—it’s better to have a chain that requires cleaning than to have it freeze up with rust. Remember, your lube won’t penetrate into the links unless the chain is completely dry when you apply it.

9. Light It Up
Let everyone know you are there. Heavy rain and the glare from auto headlights reduce motorists’ vision, so it is a good idea to ride with a bright LED lamp on the seatpost and handlebar.

Be seen. LED lights are relatively inexpensive and work reasonably well. A good, rechargeable lighting system will also provide more light than an LED system, something to consider if your rides take place during early morning or evening.

Finally, if you are only going to spring for one light, a flashing red LED rear lamp is an absolute essential for stormy riding. LED lights are inexpensive and most have clips that allow you to attach them to your bike, backpack, or helmet.

10. Get a Rain Bike
Really, are you going to trash your race bike? The best investment you can have is a dedicated rain bike. Leave the fenders, the LED lamps, and the mountain bike pedals on your winter bike. When the clouds cut loose, you’ll be far happier to submerge your bad-weather beater knowing that your race bike is snuggling next to the fireplace at home.

If you don’t already have an old bike hanging in the garage, shop for something with generous room for fenders in the frame and fork.

Cycle On!

From: http://ping.fm/8NJcX

ACTA The International Treaty You've Never Heard of That Could Affect Internet Freedom

2012-01-25T20:24:00.001-08:00

While there was massive attention last week to online anti-piracy bills -- SOPA in the House and the PIPA in the Senate -- ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, has received scant media attention yet poses a tremendous threat to online freedom.

RT reports on how the ACTA treaty will work:

Under this new treaty, Internet Service Providers will police all data passing through them, making them legally responsible for what their users do online. And should you do something considered "breach of copyright" like, for instance, getting a tattoo of a brand logo, taking a photo and posting it somewhere, you may be disconnected from the Internet, fined or even jailed.

This, of course, threatens the entire founding idea of the Internet – the free sharing of information. But ACTA doesn't stop there. It goes beyond the Internet, bearing down on generic drugs and food patents. If passed, ACTA will enforce a global standard for seed patenting, which would wipe out independent, local farmers and make the world completely dependent on the patent owners (read "big corporations") for supplies.

So who supports this far-reaching treaty? Wired.co.uk reports:

Acta is supported by major copyright holders including pharmaceutical companies, movies studios and record labels. Lobbying organisations include GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, Monsanto Company, Time Warner, Sony, Verizon, The Walt Disney Company, the Motion Picture Association of America, News Corporation, and Viacom. It looks like the European Commission supports it but the European Parliament are unanimously against it.

From: http://ping.fm/YIOEh

Abbott Layoff 700 Employees primarily in manufacturing

2012-01-25T17:04:00.001-08:00

Health-products maker Abbott Laboratories ABT +0.15% has laid off about 700 workers, primarily in manufacturing operations, and plans to eliminate several hundred additional positions over the course of the year.

The company attributed some of the layoffs to the impending mid-2012 expiration of Abbott's contract to supply the artery-opening stent Promus to Boston Scientific Corp. BSX +0.49% . Boston Scientific is shifting to a new version of Promus that it will manufacture internally.

Orders for Promus have slowed ahead of the contract expiration, said Abbott spokesman Scott Stoffel.

In addition, the layoffs affect some workers in Abbott's diagnostics and pharmaceutical manufacturing operations, Stoffel said.

Abbott recorded unspecified costs associated with the work-force reduction in its fourth-quarter earnings report released earlier Wednesday. The costs were among restructuring, integration and other items that reduced Abbott's fourth-quarter earnings by about $276 million, or 18 cents a share.

Abbott notified the affected workers Wednesday, including those at a stent manufacturing plant in Temecula, Calif.

From: Ping.fm

Antiemployee Control Fraud Apple Company

2012-01-25T09:16:00.001-08:00

Apple has released a report on working conditions in its suppliers’ factories. It highlights a form of control fraud that criminology has identified but rarely discussed. I write overwhelmingly about accounting control fraud because it drives our recurrent, intensifying financial crises. The primary intended victims of accounting control frauds are the shareholders and the creditors. Other private sector control frauds target customers (e.g., George Akerlof’s 1970 article on “lemons”), and the public (e.g., the unlawful disposal of toxic waste, illegal logging, and tax fraud).

Anti-employee control frauds most commonly fall in four broad, but not mutually exclusive, categories – illegal work conditions due to violation of safety rules, violation of child labor laws, failure to pay employees’ wages and benefits, and frauds based on goods and loans provided by the employer to the employee that lock the employee into quasi-slavery. Apple has just released a report on its suppliers that shows that anti-employee control fraud is the norm. Remember, fraud is hidden and is often not discovered and Apple did not have an incentive to make an exhaustive investigation. Apple calls its inquiries “audits” and it is apparent that most of its information comes from reviewing written and electronic records at its suppliers. That is exceptionally revealing. The suppliers know that they can defraud their employees with such impunity that they don’t even bother to get rid of records that prove their frauds. Apple has resisted making public its suppliers and the report refused to identify which suppliers committed which violations – often for years despite repeated, false promises to end their anti-employee control frauds. Two other facts are evident (but not reported). First, Apple rarely terminates suppliers for defrauding their employees – even when the frauds endanger the lives and health of the workers and the community – and even where Apple knows that the supplier repeatedly lies to Apple about these fraudulent and lethal practices. Second, it appears unlikely in the extreme that Apple makes criminal referrals on its suppliers even when they commit anti-employee control frauds as a routine practice, even when the frauds endanger the worker’s and the public’s health, and even when the supplier repeatedly lies to Apple about the frauds. Apple’s report, therefore, understates substantially the actual incidence of fraud by the 156 suppliers (accounting for 97% of its payments to suppliers).

“The company said audits revealed that 93 supplier facilities had records indicating that more than half of their workers exceed a 60-hour weekly working limit. Apple said 108 facilities did not pay proper overtime as required by law. In 15 facilities, Apple found foreign contract workers who had paid excessive recruitment fees to labor agencies.

And though Apple said it mandated changes at those suppliers, and some facilities showed improvements, in aggregate, many types of lapses remained at levels that have persisted for years.”
From: http://ping.fm/znjTF

The Art of Living Vipassana Meditation

2012-01-25T07:19:00.001-08:00

Everyone seeks peace and harmony, because this is what we lack in our lives. From time to time we all experience agitation, irritation, disharmony. And when we suffer from these miseries, we don't keep them to ourselves; we often distribute them to others as well. Unhappiness permeates the atmosphere around someone who is miserable, and those who come in contact with such a person also become affected. Certainly this is not a skillful way to live.

We ought to live at peace with ourselves, and at peace with others. After all, human beings are social beings, having to live in society and deal with each other. But how are we to live peacefully? How are we to remain harmonious within, and maintain peace and harmony around us, so that others can also live peacefully and harmoniously?

In order to be relieved of our misery, we have to know the basic reason for it, the cause of the suffering. If we investigate the problem, it becomes clear that whenever we start generating any negativity or impurity in the mind, we are bound to become unhappy. A negativity in the mind, a mental defilement or impurity, cannot coexist with peace and harmony.

How do we start generating negativity? Again, by investigation, it becomes clear. We become unhappy when we find someone behaving in a way that we don't like, or when we find something happening which we don't like. Unwanted things happen and we create tension within. Wanted things do not happen, some obstacle comes in the way, and again we create tension within; we start tying knots within. And throughout life, unwanted things keep on happening, wanted things may or may not happen, and this process of reaction, of tying knots—Gordian knots—makes the entire mental and physical structure so tense, so full of negativity, that life becomes miserable.

Now, one way to solve this problem is to arrange that nothing unwanted happens in life, that everything keeps on happening exactly as we desire. Either we must develop the power, or somebody else who will come to our aid must have the power, to see that unwanted things do not happen and that everything we want happens. But this is impossible. There is no one in the world whose desires are always fulfilled, in whose life everything happens according to his or her wishes, without anything unwanted happening. Things constantly occur that are contrary to our desires and wishes. So the question arises: how can we stop reacting blindly when confronted with things that we don't like? How can we stop creating tension and remain peaceful and harmonious?

In India, as well as in other countries, wise saintly persons of the past studied this problem—the problem of human suffering—and found a solution: if something unwanted happens and you start to react by generating anger, fear or any negativity, then, as soon as possible, you should divert your attention to something else. For example, get up, take a glass of water, start drinking—your anger won't multiply; on the other hand, it'll begin to subside. Or start counting: one, two, three, four. Or start repeating a word, or a phrase, or some mantra, perhaps the name of a god or saintly person towards whom you have devotion; the mind is diverted, and to some extent you'll be free of the negativity, free of the anger.

This solution was helpful; it worked. It still works. Responding like this, the mind feels free from agitation. However, the solution works only at the conscious level. In fact, by diverting the attention you push the negativity deep into the unconscious, and there you continue to generate and multiply the same defilement. On the surface there is a layer of peace and harmony, but in the depths of the mind there is a sleeping volcano of suppressed negativity which sooner or later may erupt in a violent explosion.

Other explorers of inner truth went still further in their search and, by experiencing the reality of mind and matter within themselves, recognized that diverting the attention is only running away from the problem. Escape is no solution; you have to face the problem. Whenever negativity arises in the mind, just observe it, face it. As soon as you start to observe a mental impurity, it begins to lose its strength and slowly withers away.

A good solution; it avoids both extremes—suppression and expression. Burying the negativity in the unconscious will not eradicate it, and allowing it to manifest as unwholesome physical or vocal actions will only create more problems. But if you just observe, then the defilement passes away and you are free of it.

This sounds wonderful, but is it really practical? It's not easy to face one's own impurities. When anger arises, it so quickly overwhelms us that we don't even notice. Then, overpowered by anger, we perform physical or vocal actions which harm ourselves and others. Later, when the anger has passed, we start crying and repenting, begging pardon from this or that person or from God: “Oh, I made a mistake, please excuse me!” But the next time we are in a similar situation, we again react in the same way. This continual repenting doesn't help at all.

The difficulty is that we are not aware when negativity starts. It begins deep in the unconscious mind, and by the time it reaches the conscious level it has gained so much strength that it overwhelms us, and we cannot observe it.

Suppose that I employ a private secretary, so that whenever anger arises he says to me, “Look, anger is starting!” Since I cannot know when this anger will start, I'll need to hire three private secretaries for three shifts, around the clock! Let's say I can afford it, and anger begins to arise. At once my secretary tells me, “Oh look—anger has started!” The first thing I'll do is rebuke him: “You fool! You think you're paid to teach me?” I'm so overpowered by anger that good advice won't help.

Suppose wisdom does prevail and I don't scold him. Instead, I say, “Thank you very much. Now I must sit down and observe my anger.” Yet, is it possible? As soon as I close my eyes and try to observe anger, the object of the anger immediately comes into my mind—the person or incident which initiated the anger. Then I'm not observing the anger itself; I'm merely observing the external stimulus of that emotion. This will only serve to multiply the anger, and is therefore no solution. It is very difficult to observe any abstract negativity, abstract emotion, divorced from the external object which originally caused it to arise.

However, someone who reached the ultimate truth found a real solution. He discovered that whenever any impurity arises in the mind, physically two things start happening simultaneously. One is that the breath loses its normal rhythm. We start breathing harder whenever negativity comes into the mind. This is easy to observe. At a subtler level, a biochemical reaction starts in the body, resulting in some sensation. Every impurity will generate some sensation or the other within the body.

This presents a practical solution. An ordinary person cannot observe abstract defilements of the mind—abstract fear, anger or passion. But with proper training and practice it is very easy to observe respiration and body sensations, both of which are directly related to mental defilements.

Respiration and sensations will help in two ways. First, they will be like private secretaries. As soon as a negativity arises in the mind, the breath will lose its normality; it will start shouting, “Look, something has gone wrong!” And we cannot scold the breath; we have to accept the warning. Similarly, the sensations will tell us that something has gone wrong. Then, having been warned, we can start observing the respiration, start observing the sensations, and very quickly we find that the negativity passes away.

This mental-physical phenomenon is like a coin with two sides. On one side are the thoughts and emotions arising in the mind, on the other side are the respiration and sensations in the body. Any thoughts or emotions, any mental impurities that arise manifest themselves in the breath and the sensations of that moment. Thus, by observing the respiration or the sensations, we are in fact observing mental impurities. Instead of running away from the problem, we are facing reality as it is. As a result, we discover that these impurities lose their strength; they no longer overpower us as they did in the past. If we persist, they eventually disappear altogether and we begin to live a peaceful and happy life, a life increasingly free of negativities.

In this way the technique of self-observation shows us reality in its two aspects, inner and outer. Previously we only looked outward, missing the inner truth. We always looked outside for the cause of our unhappiness; we always blamed and tried to change the reality outside. Being ignorant of the inner reality, we never understood that the cause of suffering lies within, in our own blind reactions toward pleasant and unpleasant sensations.

Now, with training, we can see the other side of the coin. We can be aware of our breathing and also of what is happening inside. Whatever it is, breath or sensation, we learn just to observe it without losing our mental balance. We stop reacting and multiplying our misery. Instead, we allow the defilements to manifest and pass away.

The more one practices this technique, the more quickly negativities will dissolve. Gradually the mind becomes free of defilements, becomes pure. A pure mind is always full of love—selfless love for all others, full of compassion for the failings and sufferings of others, full of joy at their success and happiness, full of equanimity in the face of any situation.

When one reaches this stage, the entire pattern of one's life changes. It is no longer possible to do anything vocally or physically which will disturb the peace and happiness of others. Instead, a balanced mind not only becomes peaceful, but the surrounding atmosphere also becomes permeated with peace and harmony, and this will start affecting others, helping others too.

By learning to remain balanced in the face of everything experienced inside, one develops detachment towards all that one encounters in external situations as well. However, this detachment is not escapism or indifference to the problems of the world. Those who regularly practice Vipassana become more sensitive to the sufferings of others, and do their utmost to relieve suffering in whatever way they can—not with any agitation, but with a mind full of love, compassion and equanimity. They learn holy indifference—how to be fully committed, fully involved in helping others, while at the same time maintaining balance of mind. In this way they remain peaceful and happy, while working for the peace and happiness of others.

This is what the Buddha taught: an art of living. He never established or taught any religion, any “ism”. He never instructed those who came to him to practice any rites or rituals, any empty formalities. Instead, he taught them just to observe nature as it is, by observing the reality inside. Out of ignorance we keep reacting in ways which harm ourselves and others. But when wisdom arises—the wisdom of observing reality as it is—this habit of reacting falls away. When we cease to react blindly, then we are capable of real action—action proceeding from a balanced mind, a mind which sees and understands the truth. Such action can only be positive, creative, helpful to ourselves and to others.

What is necessary, then, is to “know thyself”—advice which every wise person has given. We must know ourselves, not just intellectually in the realm of ideas and theories, and not just emotionally or devotionally, simply accepting blindly what we have heard or read. Such knowledge is not enough. Rather, we must know reality experientially. We must experience directly the reality of this mental-physical phenomenon. This alone is what will help us be free of our suffering.

This direct experience of our own inner reality, this technique of self-observation, is what is called Vipassana meditation. In the language of India in the time of the Buddha, passana meant seeing in the ordinary way, with one's eyes open; but vipassana is observing things as they actually are, not just as they appear to be. Apparent truth has to be penetrated, until we reach the ultimate truth of the entire psycho-physical structure. When we experience this truth, then we learn to stop reacting blindly, to stop creating negativities—and naturally the old ones are gradually eradicated. We become liberated from misery and experience true happiness.

There are three steps to the training given in a meditation course. First, one must abstain from any action, physical or vocal, which disturbs the peace and harmony of others. One cannot work to liberate oneself from impurities of the mind while at the same time continuing to perform deeds of body and speech which only multiply them. Therefore, a code of morality is the essential first step of the practice. One undertakes not to kill, not to steal, not to commit sexual misconduct, not to tell lies, and not to use intoxicants. By abstaining from such actions, one allows the mind to quiet down sufficiently in order to proceed further.

The next step is to develop some mastery over this wild mind by training it to remain fixed on a single object, the breath. One tries to keep one's attention on the respiration for as long as possible. This is not a breathing exercise; one does not regulate the breath. Instead, one observes natural respiration as it is, as it comes in, as it goes out. In this way one further calms the mind so that it is no longer overpowered by intense negativities. At the same time, one is concentrating the mind, making it sharp and penetrating, capable of the work of insight.

These first two steps, living a moral life, and controlling the mind, are very necessary and beneficial in themselves, but they will lead to suppression of negativities unless one takes the third step: purifying the mind of defilements by developing insight into one's own nature. This is Vipassana: experiencing one's own reality by the systematic and dispassionate observation within oneself of the ever-changing mind-matter phenomenon manifesting itself as sensations. This is the culmination of the teaching of the Buddha: self-purification by self-observation.

It can be practiced by one and all. Everyone faces the problem of suffering. It is a universal malady which requires a universal remedy, not a sectarian one. When one suffers from anger, it's not Buddhist anger, Hindu anger, or Christian anger. Anger is anger. When one becomes agitated as a result of this anger, this agitation is not Christian, or Jewish, or Muslim. The malady is universal. The remedy must also be universal.

Vipassana is such a remedy. No one will object to a code of living which respects the peace and harmony of others. No one will object to developing control over the mind. No one will object to developing insight into one's own nature, by which it is possible to free the mind of negativities. Vipassana is a universal path.

Observing reality as it is by observing the truth inside—this is knowing oneself directly and experientially. As one practices, one keeps freeing oneself from the misery of mental impurities. From the gross, external, apparent truth, one penetrates to the ultimate truth of mind and matter. Then one transcends that, and experiences a truth which is beyond mind and matter, beyond time and space, beyond the conditioned field of relativity: the truth of total liberation from all defilements, all impurities, all suffering. Whatever name one gives this ultimate truth is irrelevant; it is the final goal of everyone.

May you all experience this ultimate truth. May all people be free from misery. May they enjoy real peace, real harmony, real happiness.

MAY ALL BEINGS BE HAPPY

The above text is based upon a talk given by Mr. S.N. Goenka in Berne, Switzerland.

From: http://ping.fm/eOYGh

Immunology discoveries spark medical advances in cancer prevention and treatment

2012-01-25T06:55:00.001-08:00

In a beautifully complex and orchestrated manner, the cells and tissues that constitute the human immune system work together to fight infection and disease. At the Masonic Cancer Center, members of the Immunology Research Program are at the forefront of research to advance understanding of the basic biology of the immune system.

"Program investigators have internationally recognized expertise in basic cellular and molecular immunology," says Yoji Shimizu, Ph.D., leader of the Immunology Research Program. "They have made seminal insights into the factors that control lymphocyte development and activation during an immune response."

According to Shimizu, these studies have shed light on the development and function of the immune system that can then be used to develop new and effective immune-based cancer therapies.

Discoveries by Immunology Research Program members have led to the recent development and testing of several immunebased therapies that are cancer vaccines. One such discovery was made in the laboratory of Matthew Mescher, Ph.D., Masonic Cancer Center member and director of the University's Center for Immunology. Mescher was investigating how the immune system's T lymphocytes recognize foreign cells in the body and then become activated to seek out and destroy those cells. Using mice, his group found that foreign proteins have to be displayed on a surface that was approximately the size of a cell for the T lymphocytes to recognize them and respond effectively. According to Mescher, this cellsize presentation requirement may be why earlier attempts to use tumor proteins as cancer vaccines failed to be effective.

After their initial observations, "we started doing experiments where we put tumor proteins on cell-sized beads and gave them to mice, and discovered that this presentation method augmented the T lymphocyte response pretty dramatically," says Mescher. Based on these results, Mescher began collaborating with Jeffrey Miller, M.D., the Masonic Cancer Center's associate director of experimental therapeutics, and Julie Curtsinger, Ph.D., to develop a vaccine that could exploit the newly identified cell-size requirement to induce an anti-tumor response for treating cancer. The resulting vaccine, dubbed the large multivalent immunogen (LMI) vaccine, represents a novel vaccine delivery method for tumor proteins. The first version of the LMI vaccine consisted of cell-sized silica beads coated with cell membranes that had been isolated from an individual patient's tumor tissue. When injected back into the same patient, the LMI vaccine would first evoke a T lymphocyte-based immune response to the proteins in the vaccine's tumor cell membranes; that response would then begin to target those same proteins in the patient's tumor, leading to its attack and destruction by the immune system.

Results from the first LMI vaccine clinical trials involving patients with either advanced melanoma or renal cell carcinoma were encouraging, and Mescher and Miller have now turned to using human tumor cell lines that can be grown in large quantities in the laboratory as the source of the tumor proteins for the LMI vaccine.

From: http://ping.fm/S74Ud

Avances Medicos Contra el Cancer

2012-01-25T06:21:00.001-08:00

Cuando Maphors Weatherly, sargento mayor retirado de las Fuerzas Aéreas de Estados Unidos, de 79 años, empezó a escupir sangre el 21 de diciembre de 2009, sabía que no era una buena señal. Pero nunca sospechó que sería cáncer. El otro único síntoma hasta entonces era el cansancio. “Lo había atribuido al proceso de envejecimiento”, dice.
Tras una visita al Centro Médico Militar, Weatherly descubrió que tenía un tumor cancerígeno en el pulmón derecho. “Era más grande que un puño”, afirma. Las noticias empeoraron aún más: el tumor era avanzado, entre la fase 3 y la 4 y no se podía operar.
Weatherly decidió ir al Centro de Investigación y Terapia de Cáncer de la Universidad del Centro de Ciencias de la Salud en San Antonio (Texas), para explorar las opciones que tenía de tratamiento.

Allí, oyó hablar de una pruebas clínicas llevadas a cabo por el oncólogo Alain Mita. Implicaban combinar la quimioterapia estándar con Reolysin, una fórmula que contiene un virus vivo que se produce de forma natural en los humanos llamado reovirus. “Las células normales se pueden deshacer muy rápidamente del reovirus”, explica el Dr. Mita, “pero algunas células cancerígenas tiene problemas para eliminar el virus. Por eso es por lo que posiblemente el reovirus las matará”.
Desarrollado por Oncolytics Biotech Inc., el Reolysin está siendo actualmente evaluado en pruebas clínicas para una serie de tipos de cáncer. El Dr. Mita es el primer médico en usarlo en cáncer de pulmón de células escamosas. Según Mita, los pacientes como Weatherly viven, de promedio, menos de un año. “Tiene sentido intentar nuevos tratamientos para mejorar sus ínfimas espectativas. No hemos progresado mucho en este tipo de cáncer durante los últimos 20 años”. Las pruebas actuales de Mita incluyen a 18-20 pacientes y si los resultados son buenos, pondrá a prueba a otros 50 pacientes.
En el caso de Weatherly, los resultados del nuevo tratamiento han sido espectaculares. Tras seis meses de quimioterapia y Reolysin, el tumor se redujo en un 90%. “Se quedó en la mitad del tamaño de un pulgar”, afirma Weatherly, “y el brote que se había extendido al pecho prácticamente desapareció.”
Actualmente, Weatherly no tiene que ir a quimioterapia y toma una dosis de mantenimiento de Reolysin. Le provoca pequeños dolores de cabeza y fiebre, pero nota que cada vez está recuperando más energía. “Me siento bien. No me duele nada y respiro con facilidad”.
Las pruebas de Reolysin se están efectuando en más sitios. En Reino Unido, en una pequeña prueba con cinco pacientes que padecen graves cánceres en la cabeza y cuello, en principio pacientes terminales, se han logrado resultados increíbles en tres de los pacientes. En una segunda prueba más larga, se han logrado resultados esperanzadores y una tercera fase de la prueba está actualmente en curso con casi 200 pacientes implicados.
Todas estas noticias son buenísimas para Matt Coffey, antiguo licenciado de la Universidad de Calgary que actualmente ostenta el cargo de jefe de operaciones de Oncolytics Biotech Inc. Coffey llevaba estudiando el reovirus desde los años noventa y fue pieza clave para descubrir que el reovirus mataba el cáncer en los animales. “Ser parte del descubrimiento y luego poder ponerlo en práctica en la fase 3 de la prueba es bastante inusual”.

Modesto manufacturing plants to close ending 265 jobs

2012-01-24T18:43:00.001-08:00

MODESTO -- Dawn Food Products will close its three Modesto manufacturing plants in March, which will cost 265 workers their jobs.

Dawn officials say the closures are part of their corporate plan for "enhancing manufacturing operations and increasing efficiency."

The Michigan-based Dawn and its predecessor, Bunge Foods, have been making frozen cakes, cake mixes and other dry-mix bakery products in Modesto since 1996. Dawn leases 125,000 square feet in three buildings in the Beard Industrial District.

Layoffs begin March 10.

"Dawn will work with our Modesto team members in the coming weeks to provide useful information, tools and resources that will help people move forward," said Michelle Fehr, Dawn's sen-ior vice president of operations for U.S. bakery products. "We remain extremely grateful for the hard work and commitment of all our people during this challenging transition."

Losing those manufacturing jobs is another blow to Stanislaus County's already weak economy.

Stanislaus' unemployment rate tops 16 percent, and another big food processor, the Patterson Vegetable Co., announced that it planned to go out of business next month. The Patterson closure will eliminate 489 jobs.

"Both of those work forces, Patterson and Dawn, are largely Latino," said Bill Bassitt, who heads the Stanislaus Economic Development & Workforce Alliance.

Bassitt said many of the employees do not speak fluent English, which is going to make it especially hard for them to find new jobs.

"There just are not a lot of jobs now or in the future for semiskilled or low-skilled people who don't speak English," Bassitt said. "Everybody knew this day might come. Well, it's here."

Bassitt said the alliance has started its efforts to help the displaced Dawn and Patterson workers find ways to meet the minimum qualifications for companies that are hiring.

But that means they must learn English, and Bassitt said it's difficult to get people in their 50s to return to school.

Dawn officials say they will assist laid-off workers with vocational assessment, retraining, job searches and one-on-one counseling.

Closing the Modesto plants, Dawn contends, will improve its manufacturing efficiencies, better align its resources to meet customer demands, reduce its shipping costs and eliminate redundancies. Dawn officials expect the decision will make it "a stronger, more effective company."

From: http://ping.fm/hA49i

A Must See Movie with Gael Garcia México

2012-01-24T16:45:00.001-08:00

MAMMOTH (Mamut en Español) must see movie, if you are inteligent enough to follow the script. It is just amazingly good. The following is a great opinion about what this movie is all about.

"Mammoth is an ambitious, highly contemplative take on the implications of global capitalism for individuals, families and communities. Moodysson illustrates a world in which market economy as the Western way of life both encourages and obliges human action that, irrespective of one's intentions, reproduces unequal social relations and reinforces existing power structures.

One could criticize Moodysson of presenting only conservative, private solutions for the social problems caused by globalization. The protagonists do not try to face their social circumstance head on or to find political ways for addressing their situation. In stead of seeking social change through collective action, family becomes of central importance. Only some vague escapist dreams are left for the disillusioned workers at both ends of the global working class.

Despite the film's fatalism, Moodysson succeeds beautifully in constructing a convincing and authentic interpretation of the 21st century social reality of global interconnectedness. The tragedy of highly educated Western professionals that Mammoth portrays lies in the fact that they are conscious of the disastrous social and ecological consequences of their actions, yet find themselves completely unable to transform the social condition."
Read more about this movie

People with jobs at 17 year low in Capital Region

2012-01-24T13:31:00.001-08:00

ALBANY — The Capital Region's unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent in December from 7.1 percent a year earlier. While the regional jobless rates aren't adjusted for seasonal variations, the December rate was higher than November's 6.7 percent, according to state Labor Department figures.

The number of Capital Region residents unemployed and looking for work increased to 30,400 from 29,100 in November. It stood at 31,000 in December 2010.

The number of residents working, meanwhile, fell to 407,300 in December from 408,200 in November and 408,100 a year earlier. The labor force, at 437,700, is at its lowest point for December since 2000, when it totaled 435,200. The number of employed for December is the lowest since 1995.

The figures cover the five-county metropolitan area, Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady and Schoharie. Locally, Saratoga County had the lowest unemployment rate at 6.5 percent, followed by Albany County at 6.7 percent and Schenectady County at 7.2 percent. Schoharie County had the highest rate, with 9.6 percent of the workforce jobless, followed by Rensselaer County at 7.4 percent.

Separate data, released late last week, showed the number of jobs in the Capital Region increased to 440,400 from 437,500 a year earlier.

From: http://ping.fm/dQHQ1

Sexual Transmitted Diseases Genital chlamydia genital herpes Trichomonas

2012-01-24T11:00:00.001-08:00

Abstract
BACKGROUND:

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of women reporting ever having genital chlamydia, genital herpes, Trichomonas vaginalis, and gonorrhea, and to identify factors associated with each of these sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
METHODS:

The study was based on a large cross-sectional survey conducted in 2004-2005 among randomly sampled women (18-45 years) from the computerized population registries in Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. A total of 69,567 women were included in the study.
RESULTS:

The overall prevalence in Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden was 1.5% for reporting ever having had Trichomonas vaginalis, 1.9% for gonorrhea, 4.8% for genital herpes, and 17.0% for genital chlamydia. The prevalence of each of these STIs varied with birth cohort and country. In addition, they were strongly associated with lifetime number of partners and having a previous diagnosis of another sexually transmitted infection. Moreover, a diagnosis of genital chlamydia or gonorrhea was associated with early age at first intercourse and smoking initiation. Finally, reporting genital chlamydia was associated with early age at drinking initiation, and ever use of hormonal contraceptives and condoms.
CONCLUSION:

Genital chlamydia occurs frequently among women in the Nordic countries. Risk-taking behavior, particularly sexual behavior, is strongly associated with STIs, which suggest that further information is needed about STIs and their consequences, targeting high-risk groups. There is also a need for continued monitoring of STIs in order to follow the prevalence and to gain further knowledge about risk factors.

From: Ping.fm

US Post Office Needs to Cut 260,000 Jobs

2012-01-24T10:16:00.001-08:00

The U.S. Postal Service needs to slash 260,000 jobs and end weekend delivery if it is to climb out of its "financially insolvent" condition, Rep. Darrell Issa said.

Despite a mandate to avoid deficits, the post office loses up to $15 billion a year, Issa told CNBC during an informal gathering of senior House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members.

"It's a combination of delivering what people want at a price they're willing to pay," the California Republican said. "We've restricted what the post office can charge for various classes of mail. But the biggest challenge is there are about 660,000 workers at the post office. In the private sector there would be about 400,000."

Though Issa's numbers are likely on the high side — the most recent official estimates from the postal service put the total employees at 574,000 — reducing the size of the workforce and consolidating operations has been a priority.
Figuring out where the waste lies and streamlining operations are assignments for those who oversee the service, which receives no taxpayer funding despite being supervised by the government.

"It's not a debate about whether we need to get to that number. It's about how we get there," Issa said. "Do we get there by inducing retirements and finding ways to trim that workforce? Or do we wait for people to retire from an organization that has three fulltime employees that are 98 years old, literally."

From: http://ping.fm/VW3p5

Huge Solar Eruption Sparks Strongest Radiation Storm in 7 Years

2012-01-23T20:35:00.001-08:00

A powerful solar eruption is expected to blast a stream of charged particles toward Earth tomorrow (Jan. 24), as the strongest radiation storm since 2005 rages on the sun.

Early this morning (0359 GMT Jan. 23, which corresponds to late Sunday, Jan. 22 at 10:59 p.m. EST), NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory caught an extreme ultraviolet flash from a huge eruption on the sun , according to the skywatching website Spaceweather.com.

The solar flare spewed from sunspot 1402, a region of the sun that has become increasingly active lately. Several NASA satellites, including the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), and the Stereo spacecraft observed the massive sun storm.

Scientists call these electromagnetic bursts "coronal mass ejections" (CMEs), and they are closely studied because they can produce potentially harmful geomagnetic storms when the charged particles rain down Earth's magnetic field lines.

In addition to generating stronger than normal displays of Earth's auroras (also known as the northern and southern lights), geomagnetic storms aimed directly at our planet can also disrupt satellites in orbit, cause widespread communications interference and damage other electronic infrastructures.

"There is little doubt that the cloud is heading in the general direction of Earth," Spaceweather.com announced in an alert. "A preliminary inspection of SOHO/STEREO imagery suggests that the CME will deliver a strong glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field on Jan. 24-25 as it sails mostly north of our planet."

Sunday's solar flare was rated an M9-class eruption, which placed it just on the verge of being an X-class flare, the most powerful type of solar storm. M-class sun storms are powerful but mid-range, while C-class flares are weaker.

From: http://ping.fm/HnF1u