If Only You Knew

Almost a third of kids are overweight, with prevalence higher for boys: study

2012-09-20T14:55:00.000-04:00

OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says almost a third of Canadian children are either overweight or obese.

It says data from a Canadian Health Measures Survey from 2009 to 2011 show that 31.5 per cent of children aged five to 17, an estimated 1.6 million individuals, are overweight.

It says the prevalence of obesity was higher for boys, especially in the five to 11 age group.
For children overall, 15.1 per cent of boys were obese compared with eight per cent of girls.
But in the five to 11 group, the prevalence of obesity among boys was more than three times higher than for girls, 19.5 per cent compared with 6.3 per cent.

The survey says the estimates of obesity among children have not changed in recent years.

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Toronto burger joint feels the heat over ‘racist’ menu item names

2012-08-31T11:37:00.000-04:00

People take their burgers seriously in Toronto, but not as seriously as some people take their burger names.

As the Toronto Star reports, two items have been wiped from the menu at popular bun-and-patty joint Holy Chuck after the owners received multiple complaints over their "Half-Breed" and "Dirty Drunken Half-Breed" burgers.

"The term 'half-breed,' if you look it up in just about any dictionary, is really a negative, disparaging and offensive term used to describe people of mixed ancestry, specifically people of mixed indigenous and non-indigenous ancestry," Ryerson University professor Pamela Palmater told the Star.

"Now add dirty and drunken to the term half-breed and it takes it to a much higher level in terms of the level of insult that you're talking about."

Though the two offending burgers had been on full display for seven months, it wasn't until last week that a grassroots movement against the Yonge St. restaurant really took shape.

The business has been inundated with angry phone calls, while Holy Chuck's Twitter account and Facebook page have been pounded with charged commentary.

"You should be charged with a Hate Crime," wrote one incensed individual.

"Happy to hear you've removed the offensive burger from your menu, but what are you going to do to make it right?" asked a woman named Jen, one of many who demanded a public apology.

Co-owner Bill Koutroubis told the paper he's lost sleep over the uproar and claims he never meant to insult any cultural group.

He insisted that while he's familiar with the Metis, an aboriginal group of mixed white and First Nations heritage, he had no idea "half-breed" was a negative term.

"Within the hour I was informed it was a racial slur, it was removed immediately," he said, adding that he's learned a hard lesson in being better informed about cultural sensitivities.
Like most of the items on the menu, the burger names constituted a cheeky play on words.

As Koutroubis explained, "Half-breed" referred to the fact that the patties are mixed with a blend of cured bacon and beef.

"Drunken" alluded to the alcohol content in one of the specialty toppings, while "dirty" simply drew attention to the fact that you were likely to need lots of napkins while eating it.

They joined their saucy brethren "The Go Chuck Yourself" and "The Greek Bahahastard" — the restaurant's signature lamb burger and a nod to the owners' Greek heritage.

True to form, the controversy has attracted a band of burger defenders, most of whom can't believe so much fuss has been made over what they feel is nothing.

"Bill and John are great guys and make a hell of a burger. Keep it up boys and don't let the PC police worry you," wrote self-identified "Korean-Irish half-breed" David Lee.

"This is not racial but just a joke, because it targets no specific ethnic group of people," suggested a Toronto Star reader.

"Political Correctness does not solve the problem it just breeds revulsion and drives everything underground which is a lot more damaging," the comment concluded.

And while it may appear that Canada has the lockdown on political correctness, a restaurant south of the border recently met with similar wrath over its menu item names.

Lola's Burrito in Jacksonville, Fla. was hit with heavy backlash after introducing the "Wetback Willie" burrito. It joined the "No Papers Shrimp," both derogatory references to illegal Latin American immigrants crossing the U.S./Mexico border.

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Moth that looks like a poodle has Internet abuzz (Bizarre photos)

2012-08-28T06:21:00.000-04:00

The first word that comes to mind when casting your eyes upon this photo of a bedazzling insect labeled the Venezuelan Poodle Moth is Photoshop. Really? A moth that looks like a poodle? Eyelashes that Lady Gaga would envy? Seriously?

As it turns out, yes, it is real. The image that has been buzzing around the Internet in the past week--and has been greeted with a measure of skepticism--is very much authentic and comes to you via a zoologist from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Dr. Karl Shuker, a zoologist, science writer, and cryptozoologist (one who studies animals in order to evaluate the possibility of their existence), investigated the photo that is taking the Web by storm and discovered Dr. Arthur Anker, NUS, and his legitimate collection of 75 photos from Gran Sabana national park in Venezuela.

From the ShukerNature blog:

These photographs formed just one set of numerous spectacular images that Art has taken while visiting tropical rainforests and other exotic locations worldwide, and which he has placed in photosets on the Flickr website (his Flickr user name is artour_a).

The photo of the Venezuelan Poodle Moth--someone likened it to a Pokemon character--had been in mothballs since 2009 until someone plucked it out of Anker's Flickr account and posted the funny-looking insect online within the past week or so. Not surprisingly, it subsequently took off in cyberspace.

Fortunately, Dr. Anker agreed to allow us to show you some of the other bizarre and funny-looking moths in that Gran Sabana collection, with his descriptions and our comments:

Description: "This one is very funny looking."

Comment: It's the Rickie Fowler of moths. You know, the PGA player who dresses like this.

Description: Psychophasma erosa.

Comment: For some reason (the name, maybe?), this moth reminds us of Lady Gaga.

Description: Arctiidae.

Comment: Believed to have had a cameo role in "The Dark Knight Rises."

Description: Copiopteryx semiramis.

Comment: One wonders how this moth with a skeletal hipbone-like frame ever gets off the ground, let alone finds a way into an old suit hanging in the closet.

Description: Trosia.

Comment: The Santa Claus moth.

Description: Noctuidae.

Comment: If an ordinary housefly looked this good, we might not be so quick with the fly swatter.

Description: Pretty geometrid moth.

Comment: Each year, children worldwide wear these angel wings during Christmas pageants.

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World may be forced to go vegetarian by 2050, scientists say

2012-08-28T06:18:00.000-04:00

Cattle drink from a water tank in Tallula, Ill., Aug. 3, 2012. (Seth Perlman/AP)

By the year 2050, you may be forced to become a vegetarian. That is, if Sweden's water scientists are to be believed.

According to the Stockholm International Water Institute, "There will not be enough water available on current croplands to produce food for the expected 9 billion population in 2050 if we follow current trends and changes towards diets common in western nations."

Humans now derive about 20 percent of their daily protein intake from animal-based products, reports London's Guardian. But a new report published by the institute says the world's population will have to cut that figure to 5 percent by 2050 to accommodate the planet's "considerable regional water deficits."

Why not just produce more food?

"Nine hundred million people already go hungry and 2 billion people are malnourished in spite of the fact that per capita food production continues to increase," the report said. "With 70% of all available water being in agriculture, growing more food to feed an additional 2 billion people by 2050 will place greater pressure on available water and land."

So vegetarianism, the scientists say, is one option to combat the water shortage.

"A move towards vegetarian diets could help free up large portions of arable land to human food production," Orion Jones wrote on BigThink.com. "A third of current farmland is used to grow crops that feed animals. Additionally 'animal protein-rich food consumes five to 10 times more water than a vegetarian diet.'"

The report was released for the start of "Water Week" and the annual world water conference in Stockholm. And while the forecast may sound dire, the world's water situation is already grave.

According to the World Water Council, 1.1 billion people now live without clean drinking water.

And the United States is experiencing its worst drought in a generation, punishing farmers and burning up the nation's corn crop. On July 31, nearly 65 percent of the nation was experiencing drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The drought's been so severe and water levels so low, Midwestern towns that were intentionally submerged decades ago are starting to surface.

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Delaware Daycare Workers Arrested For Encouraging Toddler 'Fight Club'

2012-08-23T16:19:00.001-04:00

Between astronomical daycare costs and the idea that anything can go wrong when they're not around, many parents feel anxious about leaving their children in the care of others.

But it's doubtful any mom or dad could conceive of this horrifying scenario: Three Delaware daycare worker have been charged after allegedly encouraging a pair of 3-year-olds to beat each other up last March — then capturing the chaos on video.

"It's not like they didn't know what was going on, and they were just encouraging them to continue," Dover Police Capt. Tim Stump tells CNN about the cell phone footage that "shocked" local police.

"One of the children attempted to run, but one of the teachers pushes him back into the fray."
Police first caught wind of the video after responding to an unrelated incident. During this call, an unidentified person showed officers a recording of the toddler "fight club."
While neither child sustained any injuries, Stump says it was clear they were hurting each other.

At one point, a woman's off-camera voice warns, "No pinching, only punching."
Seven other children can reportedly be seen in the periphery, their backs turned to the fighting going on nearby.

Police have not released the video footage.

Though this may be the first reported incident of its kind, it's far from the only headline-making daycare atrocity.

In 2011, an unlicensed daycare operator in Mississauga, Ont. was charged with second-degree murder after a 14-month-old girl died in her care.

April Luckese was accused of aggressively shaking Duy-An Nguyen. Shaken baby syndrome can result in brain damage and death. The little girl was taken to the hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.

In yet another incident, police arrested a 54-year-old daycare operator in Connecticut last March after she allegedly locked a 6-month-old girl in a crawlspace to prevent health inspectors from seeing that her centre was over capacity.

Back in Delaware, police are investigating to determine whether the three suspects had engaged in this sort of toddler fight baiting before.

To date, authorities have offered the daycare's owners the benefit of the doubt, suggesting they may not have been aware of what was happening — but their business licence has been suspended all the same.

An institutional abuse investigation by the state's Division of Family Services is also underway.

Meanwhile, Tiana Harris, 19; Estefania Myers, 21; and Lisa Parr, 47 have been arrested on charges of assault, reckless endangerment, endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy.
And parents of infants and toddlers everywhere may be be paying much closer attention to the places they deposit their little ones.

Ontario economy could be worse than California’s

2012-08-06T11:37:00.000-04:00

It seems every day there's a new report about California's financial woes.

Governor Jerry Brown is proposing a multi-billion dollar tax increase to deal with that state's debt problem and in recent weeks three cities have filed for bankruptcy protection.

While California's economy grabs the world headlines, the grim reality for us in Canada is that Ontario's financial situation is just as, if not more, dire.

As chronicled in a recent report by citizens' group Fair Pensions for All, California trumps Ontario with lower debt-to-GDP ratio — the ratio used to measure a country's ability to repay debt. California's debt-to-GDP is 19 per cent whereas Ontario's is a whopping 35 per cent. California also boasts a much lower per capita debt: each Ontario resident owes $18,651 while Golden State residents owe just over $10,000.

This isn't the first time Ontario has been compared to the world's most struggling First World economies.

In a report released earlier this year, former TD Bank chief economist Don Drummond made 362 recommendations to the Ontario government to balance the books by 2017-18. Drummond cautioned against dawdling, noting that while Ontario's debt situation is nowhere near that of Greece, it could eventually compare, if steep spending cuts and reforms aren't made by Premier Dalton McGuinty's government.

"You can't really pick up a newspaper without reading about Greece and Spain and Italy . . . although keep in mind that Ontario's debt-to-GDP ratio is 35 per cent and Greece's was 35 per cent in 1984," Drummond said according to the Toronto Star.

The respected economist pointed out that government debt burdens can rise quickly if they are not "headed off early with appropriate action." Drummond cited Spain's net debt, which doubled to 56 per cent of GDP between 2007 and 2011; Portugal's, which doubled to 103 per cent since 2003; and Britain's, which went from 35 per cent — the same as Ontario — to 73 per cent since 2004.

When talking debt problems and financial troubles, Ontario already 'deserves' to be in the same conversation as California.

Unfortunately, it could soon be in the same conversation as Europe.

Ontario's financial situation by the numbers:
• Population
Ontario: 13 million
California: 38 million
Greece: 11 million

• Annual government spending
Ontario: $121 billion
California: $422 billion
Greece: $139 billion

• Government debt
Ontario: $242 billion
California: $388 billion
Greece: $478 billion

• Debt-GDP ratio
Ontario: 35 per cent
California: 19.3 per cent
Greece: 160 per cent

• Unemployment rate
Ontario: 7.7 per cent
California: 10.8 per cent
Greece: 16.5 per cent

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6 Things You Didn't Know You Can Recycle For Money

2012-08-04T20:23:00.000-04:00

Recycling is great for the planet, saves resources and basically helps clean up our world. Many of us know that we can recycle things like plastic, paper, glass bottles and metals. However, there are many other items that you probably didn't know could be turned in for cash or a tax deduction. Here's a list of a few of them.

Trash
A company called TerraCycle will pay for your trash. This program works best with schools or other non-profit organizations that can collect a lot of trash. The company will donate money to your cause for every piece of trash you send the organization. According to its website, the company will take everything from empty scotch tape rolls to energy bar wrappers. TerraCycle will even pay the shipping. If you have a cause, charity or school program in need of some extra money, this could be a great way to go about raising some funds.

Wine Corks
While this may seem a bit odd, cork is a heavily used resource and recycling them won't make you rich, but they could definitely pay for a free bottle of wine. There are a couple of places to make money on wine corks. First, is eBay. Odd products for sale are very common on eBay. There are many crafters, businesses and others that use old corks and they are willing to pay for them. The price isn't much, usually around five cents per cork. Many also prefer to purchase corks in bulk, meaning they want a box of several hundred.

SEE: 8 Secrets For Selling On The New eBay
The second option is to send them to Yemm & Hart Green Materials. It is a leading recycler of corks and will pay you for them. Yemm & Hart Green Materials requires a minimum of 10-pounds of corks be sent and the corks must be "pure" cork because synthetic or plastic corks will not be accepted. The rate of pay is determined by the current market value of cork.

Gift Cards
Many of us receive gift cards for a holiday or a birthday to a place we will never shop, eat or visit. If you have a few of those lying in a drawer you might consider trading them. Gift Card Rescue will take your unused gift cards and send you a check for them. While the amount is less than the face value of your gift card, you aren't getting any money with that card sitting in a drawer. It would be wise to trade it in for some cash that you could use.

Gift cards, gas cards, grocery store savings cards are all made from PVC. This plastic can be recycled. If you have a spent card, outdated store card or old cards from now defunct establishments, bundle them up and recycle them. Gift Card Recycler will take them and give you points for the number of cards you send.

SEE: Will Your Gift Card Go Unused?
Cooking Oil
As odd as this seems, there are many recycling centers, biodiesel firms and individuals that will pay you for used cooking oil. Scan Craigslist in your area. Many of these places have a continual ad soliciting oil. Winter is usually the prime time for getting cash for your oil because a number of people use this to heat their homes. Several cities in the U.K. will trade used cooking oil for bus passes, movie tickets and cash. U.S. cities are beginning to do this as well, but it is a fairly new practice and you will have to find places locally via the newspaper or Internet.

Prices range from 33 cents to 66 cents per gallon. Think of all the used oil your family has after deep frying those holiday turkeys. It isn't much money, but it is a great way to get rid of that oil, and you won't even get taxed for selling it like you used to.

Tennis Balls
There are 300 million tennis balls manufactured every year. They are made with a rubber that is not biodegradable creating over 20,000 metric tons of rubber waste a year. A small company, Rebounces, has come up with a solution. It has created a machine that "re-bounces" tennis balls, and will give you money for donated balls. It does have specific requirements for the tennis balls it will take. The tennis balls cannot be missing felt or have been wet for instance. They also require a large amount, roughly 100-250 balls before they will take them.

Although this probably isn't an option for the regular individual, if you belong to a tennis club, or your kids are on a tennis team, you might consider this as a fundraising effort. Prices are not listed on its website and you must contact the company for further information. Keeping that much rubber out of the landfill and raising some funds for your cause looks like a win-win proposition.

Human Hair
There is a lucrative, high-paying market for human hair. If you have long hair or the ability to grow it fast, you could be looking at some serious cash. Rates for unbleached, natural hair can range from $200 to well over $1,500 depending on shade, length and condition. Hair extension companies, wig makers, and even heirloom hair weavers will pay you for hair. Sites such as buyandsellhair.com, thehairtrader.org or hairwork.com are few sites that will purchase your hair.

You can even find buyers of hair on eBay and Craigslist. Before you buzz off your locks, do your research and make certain you are dealing with a reputable person or business. There are lots of fraudulent "buyers." If you don't want the cash, but would really like to help a child, you can donate your hair to Locks for Love. Locks for Love has been collecting hair for years, is a reputable charity and gives locks to youngsters who've lost their hair due to a variety of illnesses.

The Bottom LineIf you look around, almost everything we use can be recycled. Most of it won't bring you any cash or compensation, but if you take a few minutes to recycle it will save the planet from being overloaded with debris. There is approximately 2.5 million pounds of e-waste created per year from our cell phones, computers and other electronic devices. It is becoming necessary for everyone to seriously consider recycling electronics. All of us should recycle as part of our daily routine whether it is for cash or for the sake of the environment.

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Facebook.... time to shortsell

2012-08-01T18:07:00.000-04:00

Facebook Sinks To Record Low As Doubts Grow

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook Inc.'s shares slid 6.2 percent to another record low on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila), diving for the third straight day since lackluster results showed decelerating user growth and revived doubts about its ability to sustain its rich valuation.

A sobering report from Bernstein Research, combined with online chatter about the potential proliferation of automated Facebook accounts and a looming sell-off of employee shares next month all conspired to rock the stock, analysts say.

Facebook has lost more than 40 percent of its value since becoming on May 18 the first American company to debut with a value of more than $100 billion.

The stock, down 6.2 percent at $21.71, still trades at more than 40 times forward earnings, versus Google Inc.'s 15.

Investors have punished the stocks of the No. 1 social network and other consumer-focused Internet companies such as Zynga Inc., questioning their ability to sustain growth and maintain lofty valuations.

Last week, Facebook reported results but offered no outlook or forecast for the year, disappointing investors who had hoped for affirmation of its growth prospects.

Wall Street is also bracing for a potential deluge of hundreds of millions of shares after August 16, when Facebook employees can sell their company-awarded shares for the first time.

"It's a combination of the Bernstein note, and partly complaints about the Facebook bot. Lockups are also causing pressure on shares today," said analyst Herman Leung of Susquehanna Financial Group, which owns and is a market maker in Facebook shares.

"People are just wondering what the next update is, and there's more headwinds than not. But the long-term story still feels intact."

Facebook's IPO was to have been the culmination of breakneck growth for the company that Mark Zuckerberg started 8 years ago in his Harvard dorm room. Instead, the May 18 Nasdaq debut was marred by trading glitches and accusations of inadequate disclosure.

On Tuesday, UBS blamed a 349 million Swiss franc ($360 million) loss from Facebook's botched debut on exchange operator Nasdaq, becoming the latest financial investment institution to report a hit from the first day of trade.

UBS said orders for the stock had been entered multiple times due to a systems failure.

Facebook bot

Compounding Facebook's woes was a Tuesday report from Bernstein Research analyst Carlos Kirjner that valued its display advertising business at just $19 a share, half the company's $38 IPO price.

Kirjner set Facebook's 12-month target price at $23, placing a $4 premium on what he said was untapped advertising potential around the company's innovative social graph. But, that potential remains "yet to be defined and built," he wrote.

Kirjner on Tuesday upgraded Facebook to market perform, but suggested that the lockup's expiry, which could unleash up to 211 million shares, will weigh on the stock.

The size of the current float could be nearly tripled by November, as more and more employees begin to sell, Kirjner warned.

Finally, an Internet startup late on Monday publicly called into question Facebook's user-number claims, igniting debate among industry executives and on the Internet.

A commerce site called Limited Run, in announcing that it was deleting its Facebook page, claimed that 80 percent of its ad-clicks on Facebook came from "bots" or automated accounts, and only a fifth from genuine users.

"We're currently investigating their claims," said an external spokeswoman for the social network. — Reuters

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5 Store-Brand Items to Avoid

2012-07-28T12:37:00.000-04:00

Though grocery shopping experts have long touted buying store brands as a great savings strategy, consumers are finally paying attention. Maybe too much attention.

Though grocery shopping experts have long touted buying store brands as a great savings strategy, consumers are finally paying attention. Maybe too much attention.

Nearly 40% of shoppers purchased more store-brand items over the past year, according to a new survey from research firm Accenture. Two-thirds of shoppers say half of what they buy carries a store-brand label. The main reason: the prices beat those of the big brand names. In most cases, consumers aren’t sacrificing taste, either, because the same big brand producing say, canned veggies, is also responsible for packaging the store’s line.

“Quality has really gone up,” says Jill Cataldo, founder of Super Couponing workshops. Stephanie Nelson, the founder of CouponMom.com, agrees. “Some stores actually have several tiers of private labels,” including gourmet and organic products, she says.

MORE AT SMART MONEY

(See also: Here come the summer Facebook scams)

But in some cases, consumers are better off sticking with the brand names they know and love, experts say. Those trying out store brands should “start small,” Cataldo says. “Buy one, not 12, to make sure you like it.” Here are five product categories that may warrant caution:

Paper products

Store-brand paper towels, paper plates and other goods can be of varying quality. The toilet paper rolls are often smaller and lighter, says Teri Gault, founder of price-tracking site TheGroceryGame.com. Plates might be flimsier, and towels or tissues may be less absorbent, meaning you’ll need to use more than you might with a brand name, negating savings.

Cleaning products

Consumers tend to prefer brand-name laundry detergent and other cleaning products, Nelson says. The risk: the store brands sometimes are not as strong, she says.

Coupon-heavy items

Store-brand items might not be cheaper after all. “The right coupon and sale combo is key,” Cataldo says. “I still do better on the whole buying national brand instead of house brand.” That combination beats even low store-brand prices. Some stores do offer coupons on their own brands, too, so be sure to compare prices regularly, she says.

Macaroni and cheese

Boxed macaroni and cheese is one of the few categories where shoppers across the board tend to be brand loyal, says Nelson. “It’s Kraft all the way,” she says. Gault says complaints she has heard fault store brands for being “too orange,” and not that cheesy.

Diapers

Some parents love store-brands, Nelson says, but others complain of leaks. Retailers and manufacturers market heavily to new parents with coupons and loyalty rewards, too, so buying store-brand diapers may not be the cheaper option.

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Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines

2012-07-23T11:11:00.000-04:00

Pilot exposes airline health risk

Mar 08, 2008

A hard-hitting documentary by a former pilot who has accused the airline industry of allowing passengers to breathe toxic fumes will be premiered this week.

Tristan Loraine, 45, of Coltstaple Lane, Horsham, began filming Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines after being forced to quit his job because he had developed ill-health associated with fumes.

The Michael Moore-style film is an expose of a situation he says is being covered up by the authorities.

It will be shown at the Rich Mix Cinema in London on Sunday, March 9, and negotiations are underway for a screening at the Duke of York Picturehouse in Brighton.

Mr Loraine, who has discussed the issue on BBC's Inside Out television show, said oil from aeroplane engines was being allowed to contaminate the cabin air circulation.

He suffered nerve damage in his fingers and feet as well as memory loss while working as a pilot. Twelve different doctors said the symptoms were a result of being exposed to poisonous chemicals in planes.

Ill health forced him to leave his work with a major British airline last year and he set up his production company, Fact Not Fiction Films, to make the documentary.

The 93-minute film follows him as he travels around the world to interview scientists, politicians and crew members and claims to uncover 30-year-old secrets from an industry which knowingly puts the health of passengers and crew at risk.

Mr Loraine said: "I made this film so the world could know what's going on.

"It's been hushed up and less than four per cent of these events are reported by crew members because of commercial pressure.

"If they did, the plane would have to be grounded."

theargus.co.uk

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Toxic Airlines

Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines Facebook page

Watch Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines (2007) Free Online

Release Date: 2007 Duration: 93 min
Categories: Movies, Culture & Society, Health & Fitness, Environmental Science, Social issues, Documentary
Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines is a 2007 British investigative documentary film directed and produced by former airline captain Tristan Loraine on the subject of so-called aerotoxic syndrome. The documentary asserts that for nearly fifty years, airline passengers and crews have been supplied with unfiltered air to breathe taken directly from the engines, and shares how certain political advocacy groups have alleged that this air supply sometimes becomes contaminated with neurotoxins, carcinogens and other hazardous chemicals. The film investigates the supposed cover-up as well as alleged consequences for any passengers and crew that might have been exposed to such contaminates. The film was used by the political advocacy group GCAQE in promoting allegations of a cover-up as a reason to call for a public inquiry in March 2008. Former British Airways Captain Tristan Loraine, the producer of the film, is co-chair of the GCAQE group. Captain Loraine had his Class 1 aviation medical suspended by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, in late 2006, after the CAA had reviewed over a dozen medical reports that all stated that Captain Loraine's health had been adversely affected from exposure to

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US poverty on track to rise to highest since 1960s

2012-07-23T08:25:00.000-04:00

WASHINGTON (AP) — The ranks of America's poor are on track to climb to levels unseen in nearly half a century, erasing gains from the war on poverty in the 1960s amid a weak economy and fraying government safety net.

Census figures for 2011 will be released this fall in the critical weeks ahead of the November elections.

The Associated Press surveyed more than a dozen economists, think tanks and academics, both nonpartisan and those with known liberal or conservative leanings, and found a broad consensus: The official poverty rate will rise from 15.1 percent in 2010, climbing as high as 15.7 percent. Several predicted a more modest gain, but even a 0.1 percentage point increase would put poverty at the highest level since 1965.

Poverty is spreading at record levels across many groups, from underemployed workers and suburban families to the poorest poor. More discouraged workers are giving up on the job market, leaving them vulnerable as unemployment aid begins to run out. Suburbs are seeing increases in poverty, including in such political battlegrounds as Colorado, Florida and Nevada, where voters are coping with a new norm of living hand to mouth.

"I grew up going to Hawaii every summer. Now I'm here, applying for assistance because it's hard to make ends meet. It's very hard to adjust," said Laura Fritz, 27, of Wheat Ridge, Colo., describing her slide from rich to poor as she filled out aid forms at a county center. Since 2000, large swaths of Jefferson County just outside Denver have seen poverty nearly double.

Fritz says she grew up wealthy in the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch, but fortunes turned after her parents lost a significant amount of money in the housing bust. Stuck in a half-million dollar house, her parents began living off food stamps and Fritz's college money evaporated. She tried joining the Army but was injured during basic training.

Now she's living on disability, with an infant daughter and a boyfriend, Garrett Goudeseune, 25, who can't find work as a landscaper. They are struggling to pay their $650 rent on his unemployment checks and don't know how they would get by without the extra help as they hope for the job market to improve.

In an election year dominated by discussion of the middle class, Fritz's case highlights a dim reality for the growing group in poverty. Millions could fall through the cracks as government aid from unemployment insurance, Medicaid, welfare and food stamps diminishes.

"The issues aren't just with public benefits. We have some deep problems in the economy," said Peter Edelman, director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty, Inequality and Public Policy.

He pointed to the recent recession but also longer-term changes in the economy such as globalization, automation, outsourcing, immigration, and less unionization that have pushed median household income lower. Even after strong economic growth in the 1990s, poverty never fell below a 1973 low of 11.1 percent. That low point came after President Lyndon Johnson's war on poverty, launched in 1964, that created Medicaid, Medicare and other social welfare programs.

"I'm reluctant to say that we've gone back to where we were in the 1960s. The programs we enacted make a big difference. The problem is that the tidal wave of low-wage jobs is dragging us down and the wage problem is not going to go away anytime soon," Edelman said.

Stacey Mazer of the National Association of State Budget Officers said states will be watching for poverty increases when figures are released in September as they make decisions about the Medicaid expansion. Most states generally assume poverty levels will hold mostly steady and they will hesitate if the findings show otherwise. "It's a constant tension in the budget," she said.

The predictions for 2011 are based on separate AP interviews, supplemented with research on suburban poverty from Alan Berube of the Brookings Institution and an analysis of federal spending by the Congressional Research Service and Elise Gould of the Economic Policy Institute.

The analysts' estimates suggest that some 47 million people in the U.S., or 1 in 6, were poor last year. An increase of one-tenth of a percentage point to 15.2 percent would tie the 1983 rate, the highest since 1965. The highest level on record was 22.4 percent in 1959, when the government began calculating poverty figures.

Poverty is closely tied to joblessness. While the unemployment rate improved from 9.6 percent in 2010 to 8.9 percent in 2011, the employment-population ratio remained largely unchanged, meaning many discouraged workers simply stopped looking for work. Food stamp rolls, another indicator of poverty, also grew.

Demographers also say:

—Poverty will remain above the pre-recession level of 12.5 percent for many more years. Several predicted that peak poverty levels — 15 percent to 16 percent — will last at least until 2014, due to expiring unemployment benefits, a jobless rate persistently above 6 percent and weak wage growth.

—Suburban poverty, already at a record level of 11.8 percent, will increase again in 2011.

—Part-time or underemployed workers, who saw a record 15 percent poverty in 2010, will rise to a new high.

—Poverty among people 65 and older will remain at historically low levels, buoyed by Social Security cash payments.

—Child poverty will increase from its 22 percent level in 2010.

Analysts also believe that the poorest poor, defined as those at 50 percent or less of the poverty level, will remain near its peak level of 6.7 percent.

"I've always been the guy who could find a job. Now I'm not," said Dale Szymanski, 56, a Teamsters Union forklift operator and convention hand who lives outside Las Vegas in Clark County. In a state where unemployment ranks highest in the nation, the Las Vegas suburbs have seen a particularly rapid increase in poverty from 9.7 percent in 2007 to 14.7 percent.
Szymanski, who moved from Wisconsin in 2000, said he used to make a decent living of more than $40,000 a year but now doesn't work enough hours to qualify for union health care. He changed apartments several months ago and sold his aging 2001 Chrysler Sebring in April to pay expenses.

"You keep thinking it's going to turn around. But I'm stuck," he said.

The 2010 poverty level was $22,314 for a family of four, and $11,139 for an individual, based on an official government calculation that includes only cash income, before tax deductions. It excludes capital gains or accumulated wealth, such as home ownership, as well as noncash aid such as food stamps and tax credits, which were expanded substantially under President Barack Obama's stimulus package.

An additional 9 million people in 2010 would have been counted above the poverty line if food stamps and tax credits were taken into account.

Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, believes the social safety net has worked and it is now time to cut back. He worries that advocates may use a rising poverty rate to justify additional spending on the poor, when in fact, he says, many live in decent-size homes, drive cars and own wide-screen TVs.

A new census measure accounts for noncash aid, but that supplemental poverty figure isn't expected to be released until after the November election. Since that measure is relatively new, the official rate remains the best gauge of year-to-year changes in poverty dating back to 1959.

Few people advocate cuts in anti-poverty programs. Roughly 79 percent of Americans think the gap between rich and poor has grown in the past two decades, according to a Public Religion Research Institute/RNS Religion News survey from November 2011. The same poll found that about 67 percent oppose "cutting federal funding for social programs that help the poor" to help reduce the budget deficit.

Outside of Medicaid, federal spending on major low-income assistance programs such as food stamps, disability aid and tax credits have been mostly flat at roughly 1.5 percent of the gross domestic product from 1975 to the 1990s. Spending spiked higher to 2.3 percent of GDP after Obama's stimulus program in 2009 temporarily expanded unemployment insurance and tax credits for the poor.

The U.S. safety net may soon offer little comfort to people such as Jose Gorrin, 52, who lives in the western Miami suburb of Hialeah Gardens. Arriving from Cuba in 1980, he was able to earn a decent living as a plumber for years, providing for his children and ex-wife. But things turned sour in 2007 and in the past two years he has barely worked, surviving on the occasional odd job.

His unemployment aid has run out, and he's too young to draw Social Security.

Holding a paper bag of still-warm bread he'd just bought for lunch, Gorrin said he hasn't decided whom he'll vote for in November, expressing little confidence the presidential candidates can solve the nation's economic problems. "They all promise to help when they're candidates," Gorrin said, adding, "I hope things turn around. I already left Cuba. I don't know where else I can go."

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Visa, MasterCard, banks in $7.25 billion retail settlement

2012-07-14T08:28:00.002-04:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Visa Inc, MasterCard Inc and banks that issue their credit cards have agreed to a $7.25 billion settlement with U.S. retailers in a lawsuit over the fixing of credit and debit card fees in what could be the largest antitrust settlement in U.S. history.
The settlement, if approved by a judge, would resolve dozens of lawsuits filed by retailers in 2005. The card companies and banks would also allow stores to start charging customers extra for using certain credit cards in an effort to steer them toward cheaper forms of payment.

The settlement papers were filed on Friday in Brooklyn federal court.

Swipe fees - charges to cover processing credit and debit payments - are set by the card companies and deducted from the transaction by the banks that issue the cards, essentially passing on the cost to merchants, the lawsuits said.

The proposed settlement involves a payment to a class of stores of $6 billion from Visa,
MasterCard and more than a dozen of the country's largest banks who issue the companies' cards. The card companies have also agreed to reduce swipe fees by the equivalent of 10 basis points for eight months for a total consideration to stores valued at about $1.2 billion, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs.

The deal calls for merchants to be allowed to negotiate collectively over the swipe fees, also known as interchange fees.

Merchants would also be required to disclose information about card fees to customers, and credit card surcharges would be subject to a cap, according to the settlement papers. Surcharge rules would not affect the 10 states that currently prohibit that practice, which include California, New York and Texas.

An additional $525 million will be paid to stores suing individually, according to the documents.

"This is an historic settlement," said Bonny Sweeney, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. The settlement "will help shift the competitive balance from one formerly dominated by the banks which controlled the card networks to the side of merchants and consumers," said Craig Wildfang, who also represented the plaintiffs.

Noah Hanft, general counsel for MasterCard, said the company believed its interests were "best served by an amicable resolution" of the case. Visa Chief Executive Officer Joseph Saunders said the settlement was in the best interest of all parties and did not expect the settlement to impact its current guidance.

Not everyone was pleased with the proposed settlement, however. One class plaintiff, the National Association of Convenience Stores, rejected the settlement in a statement on Friday from its president, Tom Robinson, who is also president of Robinson Oil Corp.

"Not only does the proposed settlement fail to introduce competition and transparency, it actually provides Visa and MasterCard with the tools to continue to shield swipe fees from market forces," Robinson said.

The proposed considerations are a far cry from the $50 billion in swipe-fees paid each year by U.S. retailers, he said.

The American Bankers Association, a trade group whose members include the bank defendants, said retailers, not consumers, stood to gain the most from the proposed settlement.

"Big-box retailers will likely seize this opportunity to ask Congress for even more handouts," said ABA President Frank Keating in a statement, referring to the Durbin amendment passed by Congress in 2010 limiting debit-card swipe fees - a move that banks say resulted in an $8 billion windfall for retailers.

"The legal process worked and should send a signal to Congress that it is wrong to pick winners and losers in a complex dispute between two industries," the Electronic Payment Coalition, which represents payment networks, said in a statement.

The plaintiffs charged that Visa and MasterCard colluded directly and indirectly through the issuing banks to keep merchants from finding ways to mitigate credit-card costs.

Plaintiffs in the case include supermarket chain Kroger Co, pharmacy chain Rite-Aid Corp and shoe retailer Payless ShoeSource, as well as trade associations such as the National Association of Convenience Stores, National Grocers Association and the American Booksellers Association.

The National Retail Federation, a trade group representing retailers, said that "the test will be whether the injunctive relief is meaningful. Unless it is, the card market will stay broken and neither merchants nor their customers will achieve a long-term benefit."
A number of banks that issue Visa and MasterCard cards, including JP Morgan Chase & Co, were also named as defendants in the lawsuit, along with Visa and MasterCard's payment networks.

A spokeswoman for Bank of America NA said it believed the terms of the settlement were fair. JP Morgan declined to comment. Citigroup Inc acknowledged its role in the deal and declined further comment.

A spokesman for Wells Fargo said the company was pleased to put the matter behind it.

An estimated 7 million retailers will be affected by the settlement, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs.

Visa and MasterCard have been plagued by legal problems over their payment-card policies for the last decade. In 2003, the companies paid a combined $3 billion to settle a lawsuit by stores over their "honor all cards" policies, which tied acceptance of credit to debit cards.

The U.S. Department of Justice brought and settled a civil antitrust suit against Visa and MasterCard in 2010. As part of the consent decree, the companies agreed to drop certain policies that kept stores from steering their customers to cheaper forms of payment.

But the decree left intact policies that prohibit stores from charging customers more when they use certain payment cards, according to a July 2011 court filing from plaintiffs.
The defendants denied that any collusion took place.

Visa said its share of the settlement is $4.4 billion, and Mastercard said its share is $790 million.

In December, Visa announced it set aside an additional $1.57 billion to cover the cost of a potential settlement in the case, bringing its litigation reserve balance to $4.28 billion, according to a regulatory filing. MasterCard in the fourth quarter of 2011 recorded a $770 million pretax charge, as an estimate of its potential liability in the case, a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed.

MasterCard said in a statement that it expected to incur an additional $20 million pre-tax charge in its 2012 second quarter financial statements to cover its portion of the settlement.

Visa and MasterCard together accounted for more than 80 percent of U.S. credit and debit card purchases by volume in 2011, according to data from the Nilson Report, a California trade publication.

Albert Foer, president of think-tank the American Antitrust Institute, said that the settlement should create more transparency for consumers at the cash register. Because merchants had been forbidden from charging customers extra for costlier payment forms, they often built that cost into the retail price, he said.

While it may not lead to lower prices, "it gives the consumers some choice and it should ultimately mean a better deal for everybody," Foer said. "In the longer run, it should help keep retail prices under better control."

It may also be the last time retailers are allowed to take Visa and Mastercard to court over interchange fees. The proposal provides for extensive litigation releases that would keep stores that join the settlement from suing over a wide range of issues relating to fees and anti-steering restraints.

The case is In re: Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, no. 05-1720.

(Reporting by Jessica Dye; editing by Bernard Orr, Andre Grenon and Carol Bishopric)

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Coach Fired For Having Too Many Blacks On Basketball Team

2012-07-13T18:50:00.000-04:00

High School Coach Fired For Having Too Many Blacks On Basketball Team [VIDEO]

» by Latifah Muhammad July 13, 2012, 13:46pm

A high school basketball coach was fired last month for not making his team “whiter,” and now the NAACP is asking that the New Jersey Attorney General investigate the matter.

After 14 years as head basketball coach at Collingswood High School, Joe McLoughlin, was relieved of his post, despite helping push the team to a state championship. In response to his pink slip, several current and former students and their parents all attended a school board meeting on June 25, and unsuccessfully fought to save his job.

The board voted unanimously to fire McLoughlin, and although they gave no official reason behind letting him go, supporters are accusing the school of racial bias. As a result, the NAACP penned a letter to the State Attorney General requesting further inquiry. "Please accept this letter as a formal request for an independent investigation into the rampant but covert discrimination and civil rights violations occurring against African-American students attending and/or participating in the sports program at Collingswood High School in Collingswood, New Jersey, including the participants in the boys and girls' basketball program," read the letter.

Parents Malcolm and Leslie Clark, told NBC 10 that their children—Myesha and Malik—were treated unfairly when they transferred to the school. Although both made the team Myesha, who is 5-foot-11, and Malik, who is 6-foot-3, were not allowed to play often likely because of pressure from the school district. "I'm very happy that someone is finally getting involved," said Malcolm. "The reality is that it's 2012 and things like this should not be going on."

Attorney Joseph Betley, who represents the school, denied that any racial discrimination played a part in his firing.

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Many Wall Street executives say wrongdoing is necessary: survey

2012-07-12T07:55:00.000-04:00

(Reuters) - If the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes were to go out with his lantern in search of an honest man today, a survey of Wall Street executives on workplace conduct suggests he might have to look elsewhere.

A quarter of Wall Street executives see wrongdoing as a key to success, according to a survey by whistleblower law firm Labaton Sucharow released on Tuesday.

In a survey of 500 senior executives in the United States and the UK, 26 percent of respondents said they had observed or had firsthand knowledge of wrongdoing in the workplace, while 24 percent said they believed financial services professionals may need to engage in unethical or illegal conduct to be successful.

Sixteen percent of respondents said they would commit insider trading if they could get away with it, according to Labaton Sucharow. And 30 percent said their compensation plans created pressure to compromise ethical standards or violate the law.

"When misconduct is common and accepted by financial services professionals, the integrity of our entire financial system is at risk," Jordan Thomas, partner and chair of Labaton Sucharow's whistleblower representation practice, said in a statement.

The survey's release comes as the fallout from Barclays PLC's (BARC.L) Libor-rigging scandal continues and other banks including Citigroup Inc (NYS:C), HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA.L), Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS.L) and UBS AG (UBSN.VX) await the outcome of an industry-wide probe.

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Is Your Child Safe? Sleep Time

2012-07-10T06:51:00.000-04:00

2012
HC Pub.: 120077
Cat.: H129-11/2012E
ISBN: 978-1-100-20592-2

Help on accessing alternative formats, such as Portable Document Format (PDF), Microsoft Word and PowerPoint (PPT) files, can be obtained in the alternate format help section.

(PDF Version - 446 K)

Introduction

Likely the only time you will leave your baby or young child unattended is while he or she sleeps. The important thing is to make sure children are sleeping where they will be safe. For this, parents and caregivers must be aware of safe sleep practices. Health Canada has produced this guide to provide you with information to keep your child safe during sleep time.
The Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA), which came into force on June 20, 2011, is administered by Health Canada. Its purpose is to protect the public by helping to address and prevent dangers to human health or safety that are posed by consumer products in Canada. The Act and its regulations define the safety requirements applicable to consumer products, several of which are covered in this guide.
The CCPSA and its regulations do not distinguish between new and used products. Any person who sells, distributes, or gives away products that do not comply with the legislative requirements would be contravening the CCPSA and be subject to compliance and enforcement actions.

General Sleep Safety Tips

The safest place for your baby to sleep is on his or her back, in a crib, cradle or bassinet. Health Canada recommends room sharing for the first six months of your baby's life.
Babies and young children should never be placed to sleep on standard beds, water beds, air mattresses, couches, futons or armchairs. A baby can suffocate when sleeping on these unsafe surfaces.
Health Canada has received reports of injuries and/or deaths related to the improper use of many products mentioned in this guide. Follow the safety tips provided to reduce the risk of injury or death related to the use of these products.

Put your baby on his or her back to sleep, both at nap time and at bedtime.
Your baby's crib should be completely empty, except for the crib's mattress and fitted sheet.
Avoid the use of loose bedding or soft objects in your baby's sleeping area. Products like these can be suffocation hazards and should not be placed where your baby sleeps:
- comforters, heavy blankets and quilts
- infant or adult pillows
- foam padding
- stuffed toys
- bumper pads
- sleep positioners
Blankets can be dangerous if a baby's head gets covered when he or she sleeps and may cause suffocation. Instead of a blanket, consider dressing your baby in light sleep clothing, like a one-piece sleeper. If a blanket is needed, infants are safest with a thin, lightweight, and breathable blanket.
Overheating is a risk factor for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). If the room temperature is comfortable for you, it is also comfortable for your baby.
Keep your home completely smoke free. Cigarette smoke is harmful to babies and increases the risk of SIDS. No one should smoke near your baby.
It is not safe for a baby to sleep for long periods of time in products such as strollers, car seats, swings, bouncers, slings or baby carriers, that keep him or her in a seated or semi-reclined position. Move your baby to a crib, cradle or bassinet for naps or overnight sleep, or once you have reached your destination.
Cords on window blinds, shades and curtains are a strangulation hazard. Tie the cords out of your child's reach or install a tension device for looped cords. Whether the blind is up or down, make sure your child cannot reach the cords.
Place your baby's sleeping area so that hazards like windows, patio doors, lamps, candles, electrical plugs, corded baby monitors, extension cords and small objects are out of your child's reach.
Not everyone will take the same care you do in making sure their home is safe for children. When visiting family and friends, scan your surroundings for potential hazards and supervise your children closely.
Check regularly for recalls of children's toys, clothing, furniture and equipment by contacting the manufacturer or by visiting Health Canada's Consumer Product Recalls web page: www.healthcanada.gc.ca/cps-recalls.

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Safe Places for a Baby to Sleep

Room Sharing

Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada recommend room sharing for the first six months of your baby's life. Room sharing is when you place your baby to sleep in a crib, cradle or bassinet that is within arm's reach of where you sleep. Research has shown that it is good for babies to share a room with one or more caregivers, and that it may reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Remember that room sharing is not sufficient to ensure a safe sleep for your baby. You should follow all applicable safety tips, including the general sleep safety tips provided in the previous section. In particular:

Place your baby on his or her back to sleep, both at naptime and at bedtime.
Avoid using bedside sleeping products with the sides lowered.
Cords on window blinds, shades and curtains are a strangulation hazard. Tie the cords high and out of your child's reach or install a tension device for looped cords. Whether the blind is up or down, make sure your child cannot reach the cords.
Place your baby's sleeping area so that hazards like windows, patio doors, lamps, candles, electrical plugs, corded baby monitors, extension cords and small objects are out of your child's reach.

Bassinets

A bassinet that meets current Canadian safety regulations is an appropriate place for your baby to sleep until he or she reaches the maximum weight recommended by the manufacturer OR until your baby can roll over, whichever comes first. When your baby reaches this milestone, you should put him or her to sleep in a cradle or crib.

Always follow the manufacturer's instructions for setting up and using the bassinet. Only use parts provided by the manufacturer. Your baby's bassinet should not be modified in any way.
Check often to make sure the bassinet's hardware is secure and not damaged.
Check that there are no small parts on the bassinet that could be a choking hazard. Make sure there are no sharp points on the bassinet.
Check that the mattress is firm. Mattresses that are too soft or worn down in any area could create a gap where a baby's face could become stuck, causing them to suffocate.
- The bassinet mattress must not be thicker than 3.8 cm (1 1/2 in).
- There must not be a gap of more than 3 cm (1 3/16 in) between the mattress and any part of the bassinet's sides. Push the mattress firmly against the sides of the bassinet to test this.
If the bassinet has removable fabric over the frame, check often to make sure the fabric is securely attached to the frame.
Avoid the use of loose bedding or soft objects in your baby's bassinet. Things like comforters, quilts, heavy blankets, infant pillows, adult pillows, foam padding, stuffed toys, bumper pads and sleep positioners should not be in your baby's sleeping area.
A blanket should not be draped over the bassinet to keep light out. This could restrict air flow, or the blanket could fall on a baby's face, causing them to suffocate.
Use a fitted bottom sheet made specifically for a bassinet mattress of the same size.
Place your baby's bassinet so that hazards like windows, patio doors, lamps, candles, electrical plugs, corded baby monitors, extension cords and small objects are out of your child's reach.

Cradles

A cradle that meets today's Canadian safety regulations is an appropriate place for your baby to sleep until he or she reaches the maximum weight recommended by the manufacturer OR until your baby can push up on his or her hands and knees, whichever comes first. When your baby reaches this milestone, you should put him or her to sleep in a crib.

Always follow the manufacturer's instructions for setting up and using the cradle. Only use parts provided by the manufacturer. Your baby's cradle should not be modified in any way.
Check often to make sure that the cradle's hardware is securely fastened and not damaged.
Do not use cradles with decorative cut-outs, corner posts that are more than 3 mm (1/8 in) in height or large spaces between the bars (spacing should be no more than 6 cm [2 3/8 in]).
Check that there are no small parts on the cradle that could be a choking hazard. Make sure there are no sharp points on the cradle.
Check that the mattress is firm. Mattresses that are too soft or worn down in any area could create a gap where a baby's face could become stuck, causing them to suffocate.
- The cradle mattress must not be thicker than 3.8 cm (1 1/2 in).
- There must not be a gap of more than 3 cm (1 3/16 in) between the mattress and any part of the cradle's sides. Push the mattress firmly against the sides of the cradle to test this.
Avoid the use of loose bedding or soft objects in your baby's cradle. Things like comforters, quilts, heavy blankets, infant pillows, adult pillows, foam padding, stuffed toys and sleep positioners should not be in your baby's sleeping area.
Use a fitted bottom sheet made specifically for a cradle mattress of the same size.
Place your baby's cradle so that hazards like windows, patio doors, lamps, candles, electrical plugs, corded baby monitors, extension cords and small objects are out of your child's reach.

Cribs

A crib that meets current Canadian safety regulations is the safest place for your baby to sleep. A crib should not be used if the child is taller than 90 cm or if he or she is able to climb out of it, whichever comes first. When your baby reaches this milestone, you should put him or her to sleep in a toddler or standard bed.

Do not use a crib made before September 1986 as it does not meet current safety regulations. Also, cribs older than ten years are more likely to have broken, worn, loose or missing parts, and to be missing warnings or instructions.
Always follow the manufacturer's instructions for putting together and using the crib. Only use parts provided by the manufacturer. Your baby's crib should not be modified in any way.
Check often to make sure that the crib's hardware is securely fastened and not damaged.
Do not use cribs with decorative cut-outs, corner posts that are more than 3mm (1/8 in) in height (unless they are over 406 mm (16 in) in height) or large spaces between the bars (spacing should be no more than 6 cm [2 3/8 in]).
Check that the mattress is firm. Mattresses that are too soft or worn down in any area could create a gap where a baby's face could become stuck, causing them to suffocate.
The crib mattress must not be thicker than 15 cm (6 in).
There must not be a gap of more than 3 cm (1 3/16 in) between the mattress and any part of the crib's sides. Push the mattress firmly against the sides of the crib to test this.
Check often that the crib's mattress support system is secure. Shake the crib from side to side, thump the mattress from the top and push up hard on the mattress support from underneath the crib. The mattress support system should hold the mattress firmly in place.
If the crib has movable sides, after placing your baby in the crib, make sure both sides are upright and locked in place.
Avoid the use of loose bedding or soft objects in your baby's crib. Things like comforters, quilts, blankets, infant pillows, adult pillows, foam padding, stuffed toys, bumper pads and sleep positioners should not be in your baby's sleeping area.
Use a fitted bottom sheet made specifically for a crib mattress of the same size.
Remove mobiles and toy bars as soon as your baby begins to push up on his or her hands and knees.
Place the mattress support in its lowest position as soon as your baby can push up on his or her hands and knees.

Never harness or tie your baby in a crib. Your baby should not be left in a crib with a necklace, elastic band, scarf or pacifier on a long cord. These items could cause strangulation.

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Other Places a Baby Might Fall Asleep

Bed Sharing

Bed sharing is when an adult or another child sleeps on the same surface as a baby, like a bed, couch, chair, futon or armchair. Health Canada does not recommend bed sharing.
Bed sharing is not safe because of the following potential hazards:

A baby can suffocate if:
- He or she becomes trapped between objects like the sleeping surface, the body of the adult or another child, the wall and other objects.
- The adult or another child rolls over onto the baby.
- There are soft bedding materials, like pillows or comforters, in the bed.
Babies sleeping on a high surface can fall off and be seriously hurt.

Some people believe that bed sharing will reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), but there is no evidence to support this view. In fact, research shows that the risk of SIDS is higher if the baby is sharing a bed with a person who is a smoker, very tired, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. For more information about SIDS, contact the Public Health Agency of Canada (see Other Resources).
On the other hand, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada recommend room sharing as a safe alternative to bed sharing (see Room Sharing). Research has shown that it is good for babies to share a room with one or more caregivers, and that it may reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Bedside Sleeping Products

A bedside sleeping product looks like a bassinet or a crib, and usually has three closed sides and one open side. Some may have four sides with one that can be lowered so an opening is created above the mattress support. The open side is meant to be placed next to an adult bed. Health Canada does not recommend using these products with a side lowered. Room sharing is a safer sleeping choice for babies (see Room Sharing).
The use of a bedside sleeping product with a side lowered can lead to the following hazards:

If the space between the bed and the product is too wide, a baby can become trapped. It may seem like there is no gap, but one might be created when the adult lies down.
If the fabric over the frame is not securely attached, it can bunch up when the side is folded down, creating an opening between the fabric and the product's frame. This opening can cause a baby to suffocate or fall.

Hammocks

Health Canada does not recommend using baby hammocks because:

Hammocks can become unstable causing the product to tip forward, causing a baby to become wedged into one corner or side and suffocate.
Hammocks intended to be used by infants and young children can suddenly twist around a child's neck, causing them to strangle.
Babies placed on soft bedding (including hammocks) can become wedged in positions where they cannot breathe.
Babies and young children using hammocks can fall from the high surface, causing injuries.

Playpens

Playpens are not intended to be used for unsupervised sleep because they do not meet the same safety requirements and are not as durable as cribs.

If a change table or bassinet comes as an attachment for the playpen, always follow the manufacturer's instructions for putting it together and using it.
Never place a baby in a playpen while the change table or bassinet attachment is still in place. A baby's head can become trapped in the gap between the attachment and the playpen and can strangle or suffocate.
Your baby should not be placed to sleep on the change table attachment.
Avoid adding blankets, pillows, extra padding or an extra mattress to a playpen. Using these items could cause a baby to suffocate.
When you are using your playpen, keep the sides securely locked in place. Never leave your baby in a playpen with any side down. A baby can roll into the space between the mattress and the mesh side and suffocate.
Check that the mattress pad is firm. Mattress pads that are worn down in any area could create a suffocation hazard.
Large toys or stuffed toys that can be used to climb out of the playpen should not be placed in a playpen with your baby.
Check for tears in vinyl rail coverings, mesh panels or the mattress pad of the playpen. Your baby could bite off small pieces and choke.

Other Products (Baby Carriers, Bouncers, Car Seats, Slings, Strollers and Swings)

It is not safe for babies to be in a seated or semi-reclined position, in products like strollers and car seats to sleep. When sleeping, a baby's head can fall forward because their muscles are under- developed, and their airway can become constricted.

Once you reach your destination, move your baby to a crib, cradle or bassinet.
You can use things like strollers and swings to lull your baby to sleep, but once asleep, move your baby to a crib, cradle or bassinet.

Sleep Accessories Unsafe for Babies

Bumper Pads

Health Canada does not recommend bumper pads because:

Babies can suffocate if their faces become pressed against the fabric of a bumper pad.
A baby's head can get trapped between the bumper pad and the side of the crib.
Long ribbons, strings or ties can cause a baby to become tangled or to strangle.
Children can use bumper pads to climb out of their crib once they are able to pull themselves up into a standing position. They could fall from the crib and be seriously hurt.

Sleep Positioners

Sleep positioners are meant to keep babies on their backs to sleep. They are often made of two pieces of foam that are attached together by a piece of fabric that the baby sleeps on. Health Canada does not recommend using these products because babies can suffocate on them. Using make-shift sleep positioners, like rolled up towels, is not recommended either. When babies are able to turn over on their own, do not force them to stay on their back.

Other Sleep Accessories for Babies

Pacifiers/Soothers

Never tie or hang a pacifier/ soother or any other object around a baby or child's neck. They can strangle on the cord or ribbon.
Replace pacifiers at least every two months. You should not wait for signs of breakdown.
Inspect pacifiers every day:
- Check the nipple for changes in texture, tears or holes. These can happen with age or exposure to heat, acidic foods or sunlight.
- Check that the nipple and the ring or handle stays together when pulled on forcefully.
- Any pacifier showing signs of breakdown should be thrown out right away. Broken or loose pieces are choking hazards.
If your baby begins to chew on the pacifier, replace it with a teething ring.

Sleepwear

Cotton, cotton-blend and rayon fabrics catch fire and burn more quickly than most synthetic materials. Nylon and polyester are harder to catch fire and burn more slowly.
Loose-fitting sleepwear includes nightgowns, bathrobes and loose pyjamas. They are more likely to catch fire than tight-fitting sleepwear and should be made of slower burning fabrics.
Tight-fitting sleepwear, like polo pyjamas or sleepers, is less likely to catch fire than pyjamas or nightgowns with flowing skirts, wide sleeves or large ruffles.
Other safety tips for children's clothing:

Dress your children in actual sleepwear when putting them to bed, instead of T-shirts or other day clothes. Most day clothes do not meet the flammability requirements for sleepwear.
Make sure belts, ties and sashes on your children's bathrobes are stitched firmly to the centre back. Children can strangle on any type of cord that can be removed from their clothing.
Check for loose buttons or other small parts, which can be a choking hazard.
Check blankets and sleepwear regularly for loose threads and fix them right away. Threads can wrap around your baby's arms, legs or neck and cause injury.
Teach your children about the dangers of fire. Tell them to "STOP, DROP and ROLL" if their clothes catch fire.

Toys

Your children should not take battery-operated toys to bed. Batteries can leak or overheat and cause burns or other injuries.
Infants can suffocate on stuffed toys. Also, toddlers can use large stuffed toys as steps to climb out of their crib or playpen.
Make sure any toys your child plays with do not have loose or small parts they can choke on.

Top of Page

Sleep Products for Toddlers and School-Age Children

Portable Bed Rails

Portable bed rails are often installed on standard adult beds to keep children from falling out, but they can cause your child to become trapped if not used properly.

Never place a child who is under two years old on a bed fitted with portable bed rails.
- To keep younger children safe if they fall out of bed, keep the floor area around the bed clear, or use a crib mattress on the floor beside the bed.
Use portable bed rails only on a bed that has both a box spring and mattress, unless otherwise instructed by the manufacturer.
Before each bedtime and naptime, check that the portable bed rails are securely in place and that there are no gaps between the mattress and the bed rail.
Pillows and toys should not be placed against the bed rail because a child can suffocate on them if their face becomes pressed up against them.
Health Canada recommends buying only portable bed rails that meet the latest ASTM International standard. Ask before you buy.

Toddler Beds

Toddler beds are often used when a child has outgrown a crib, but he or she is not yet big enough to use a standard bed. These beds are meant to be used until a child turns about five years old. Toddler beds usually come with guardrails on each side of the mattress.

Read and follow the manufacturer's instructions for putting the bed together, and read the warning labels.
Follow the age and weight restrictions recommended by the manufacturer.
Many crib mattresses fit toddler beds:
- Know what your crib mattress dimensions are before shopping for a toddler bed and make sure both are compatible.
- Make sure that your crib mattress is in good condition before using it on a toddler bed.
- Make sure there is no large gap between the mattress and the guardrails, headboard or footboard.
The bed should be low to the ground. The guardrails are meant to remind your child that they are getting close to the edge, but they do not actually prevent your child from falling out of the bed or climbing over the rail.
Openings in guardrails or other parts of the bed that are above the mattress support system should be less than 8.4 cm (3.3 in) apart.
Check often to make sure the bed frame is sturdy.

Bunk Beds

Children under six years of age should never use the upper bunk of bunk beds.

Only buy bunk beds meeting the latest ASTM International standard. Ask before you buy.
Only allow one person at a time on the top bunk.
Teach your children to use the ladder to get up or down. The ladder should always be securely attached to the bed. It should not be removed for any reason.
Children should not be allowed to play on the top bunk. They should also not be allowed to play under the top bunk, unless the area under the bed is designed as a play area by the manufacturer.
Never tie ropes or cords (like bathrobe belts or skipping ropes) to any part of the bed. These can be a strangulation hazard.
Check often to make sure the frame of the bunk bed is sturdy and in good condition.
Make sure the top bunk has guard rails on all four sides of the bed, even if the bed is pushed up against a wall.
Make sure all parts of the bed, like corner posts or ladder uprights, do not extend more than 0.5 cm (0.2 in) above the upper edge (usually the guardrails) of the bed.
Mattresses should fit snugly on all sides, leaving no gaps between the mattress and the sides of the bed. The sleeping surface should be at least 12.7 cm (5 in) below the top of the guardrails.
Do not allow children younger than six years of age on the top bunk. If the manufacturer allows for this option, consider removing and storing the top bunk, or setting it next to the lower bunk until the child is old enough to use it. If the top bunk is used on the floor for a child under the age of six years, the guard rails should not be used. These guardrails have been designed to be used with a child of at least six years of age. Using guardrails with a younger child could cause them to become trapped.

Resources

Recalls

To check for consumer product recalls, go to: www.healthcanada.gc.ca/cps-recalls
If you want to know when new information, advisories and warnings, consumer product recalls and consultation documents about consumer product safety are posted on the Health Canada website, subscribe to Consumer Product Safety News: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/advisories-avis/_subscribe-abonnement/index-eng.php

Incident reporting

To submit a complaint or report a problem about a consumer product, go to: www.healthcanada.gc.ca/reportaproduct

Contact

For inquiries and complaints about consumer products, please contact your nearest Product Safety office by calling the toll-free number 1-866-662-0666 (calls will be routed to the nearest Product Safety office).

Other Resources

Canadian Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (SIDS)

www.sidscanada.org

1-800-END-SIDS

1-800-363-7437
Canadian Paediatric Society

www.cps.ca

613-526-9397
Public Health Agency of Canada

www.publichealth.gc.ca
Tobacco Control Programme, Health Canada

www.GoSmokefree.gc.ca

1-866-318-1116
Transport Canada

www.tc.gc.ca

1-800-333-0371

Consumer Product Safety, Health Canada

Protecting and promoting the health and safety of Canadians is of the utmost importance to the Government of Canada. The Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) is the law that helps protect consumers from unsafe products. The CCPSA and its regulations are administered by the Consumer Product Safety Directorate (CPSD) of Health Canada.

The CPSD of Health Canada, in consultation with industry, consumers and the medical community, has developed safety regulations for a number of children's products, including toys, cribs, playpens and children's sleepwear.

The Program Development Bureau in CPSD provides information to families, caregivers, daycare centres and health professionals through initiatives like safety awareness campaigns, pamphlets and education bulletins.

For more information on injury prevention, please contact:
Consumer Product Safety Directorate
PDB - Outreach Unit
Health Canada
Address Locator: 3504D Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9
Email: CPS-SPC@hc-sc.gc.ca
Toll-free: 1-866-662-0666
For inquiries and complaints about consumer products, please contact your nearest Product Safety office by calling the toll-free number above.

How LinkedIn Gets TWENTY Times More Money Per User Than Facebook

2012-07-07T10:07:00.000-04:00

Get market insight on digital business models at "IGNITION: Future Of Digital," Nov.27-28, 2012, in New York. From Apple to Amazon, from tablets to mobile payments, hear from innovative executives at Google, Washington Post, News Corp, LinkedIn, Pepsi, and more. Reserve your ticket now.

See Also

LinkedIn's Excellent Revenue Mix

Barclays: LinkedIn Is On Fire, Will Generate Nearly $2 In Billion Revenue In 2014

LinkedIn Can't Stop Beating

Forbes has LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner on the cover—but the professional social network's business model is the real hero of the story. Here are some of the amazing statistics Forbes' George Anders reports:

LinkedIn users spend an average of 18 minutes a month on the site. Facebook users spend 6.4 hours a month.

But LinkedIn gets $1.30 in revenue for every hour those users spend on site. Facebook: 6.2 cents.

Anders describes LinkedIn's most expensive product offering, LinkedIn Recruiter, as a "Bloomberg terminal" for talent scouts. It costs up to $8,200 a year per "seat," or user license.

Adobe, a big LinkedIn customer, has 70 seats. At list prices, that's about half a million in revenue a year from a single client.

LinkedIn's top salespeople make as much as $400,000 a year selling Recruiter.

LinkedIn spends 33 percent of revenue on sales and marketing.

LinkedIn's profits are expected to double this year to $70 million.

Forbes didn't mention this, but the group which develops LinkedIn's amazing money-making products is called "Team Money" inside the company. And LinkedIn's sales force is growing so explosively that the company has rented space in Sunnyvale, one suburb over from its Mountain View headquarters, which is already packed to the gills.
Go read the whole profile for more.
Update: LinkedIn's monetization-products team, not its sales force, is called "Team Money." We've corrected the story to reflect that.
Don't Miss: Our exclusive look inside LinkedIn's headquarters >

Over 100,000 Local Teaching Jobs Have Been Lost In The Last Year

2012-07-07T09:35:00.000-04:00

Not sure how upset I am about this as a good chunk of teachers SUCK!

I had my daughter's teacher removed from teaching any more after inappropriate behavior, favoritism, and talking to other teachers about how the children were going to be pot heads next year, in front of the same students! Inappropriate? YES.

Not to mention she tried to teach the children a dance by LMFAO and study a story about the devil being good! smfh!

One major cause of the unemployment crisis. Ongoing cuts at the state and local level.

According to the latest BLS report (page 30 of this pdf), local education jobs dropped by 14 in the last month, and over the last year, the number is down by over 100K, from 7.9 million in June 2011 to 7.8 million.

Note the highlighted line near the bottom of the table below.

The 'Manhattanization' of Toronto will change family-housing dreams

2012-07-04T12:35:00.002-04:00

Along with a shrinking stock, prices for single detached homes and townhomes are projected to go up 30 to 50 per cent in the next decade, while condo prices are expected to rise only moderately or stay flat as the oversupply in that market continues to grow.

The housing dreams of families wanting to live in central Toronto will undergo a sea change in the coming decade as the supply of detached homes dwindles and the remaining ones soar in price, real estate experts say.

The pressure is already mounting with single-family homes being snatched up in fierce bidding wars for tens of thousands of dollars — and in a few cases for $200,000 or more — over asking, often with no conditions attached to the offers to purchase.

Along with a shrinking stock, prices for single detached homes and townhomes are projected to go up 30 to 50 per cent in the next decade, while condo prices are expected to rise only moderately or stay flat as the oversupply in that market continues to grow.

That scenario effectively eclipses ordinary families out of the market, making condo living the default housing option for those who want to remain in the core.

It's a phenomenon real estate mogul Brad Lamb refers to as the "Manhattanization" of Toronto.

"In New York City, even if you're an investment banker making $1 million a year, you still can't afford to buy a house in Manhattan, so you're buying a condo," says Lamb.

It's the same phenomenon, he says, that you see in other big cities of the world, such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, London and Paris.

"If you want to live in central Toronto, you're going to have to live in a condo. Families will be forced to buy into high-density living. It's the natural evolution of a city," says Lamb who develops condo projects in Toronto, Ottawa and Calgary.

[More from CBC: Toronto condo boom changing city's landscape]

Shift in expectations

Real estate newsletter editor Ben Myers says the transition to condo life will require a change in mindset for families.
For families, the transition to condo life will require a change in mindset and shift in expectations to vertical living in a smaller space, says Ben Myers, editor and vice-president at Urbanation, a real estate newsletter.

It's a mindset that new Canadians coming here from cities like Hong Kong, Singapore and Mumbai are used to and have no problems with, he adds.

"It's more the Canadian mindset where you have to have a piece of property, fenced in with a yard and a garage."

Toronto's condo boom

Toronto has 132 highrise buildings, defined as between 12 to 40 floors, under construction, according to a German research company that tracks data on multi-storey buildings.
Mexico City is second with 88 and New York City is third with 86. Rounding out the top five are Chicago, which is building 17 high-rises and Miami with 16.

With 1, 875 completed high rises and skyscrapers, Toronto is second only to New York City, which has more than 4,000, and ranks just ahead of Mexico City and Chicago.
-Source: Emporis

[More from CBC: Toronto's new condo mix]

Culturally and economically, Torontonians haven't arrived at the Manhattan scenario — yet, says John Pasalis, president of Realosophy Real Estate Brokerage.

"You can't buy a house in New York City or Hong Kong. It's so expensive, it's just not an option, but in Toronto we do still have affordable houses."

Buyers can get a freehold house for around $500,000 if they're prepared to go further east on Danforth Avenue or further west along Bloor Street and lower their expectations in terms of finishes, according to Pasalis.

"We're at least a decade away before families truly cannot afford houses in Toronto and have to start considering condos as an option," he says.

Size going to be an issue

With Toronto building more highrises than anywhere else in North America, local buyers might think they have plenty of options in terms of buying condos.

About 53,000 new condo units are due to be completed in Toronto over the next 18 months alone.

However, even when families do adjust their expectations and mindsets to embrace condo living, they will come up against a wall over a lack of larger units roomy enough to accommodate a growing family of any size, experts say.

Of the 6,005 condos ready for occupancy this year in the former city of Toronto, 63 per cent are studios, one-bedrooms or one-bedrooms plus den. The average size is 822 square feet, according to a report by Urbanation

Meanwhile, of 9,090 condos slated for completion in 2014, 67 per cent are studios, one-bedroom units, or one-bedroom plus dens. The average size of all these units is only 695 square feet.

The reason for this is that, typically, developers have to sell 60 to 80 per cent of their units before they can secure bank financing to start construction, so they're building what sells now — small units for singles and young couples who want to be urban dwellers.

"There's just no demand for three-bedroom condos downtown. Those units sit on the market a long time," says Pasalis.

Adds Myers, "the developers in the downtown market are catering their product to investors, who are interested in smaller units that are easier to rent or flip. The larger the unit, the longer it takes to rent out or sell."

[More from CBC: Uncertain fate for Vancouver real estate prices]

A looming glut in 'micro' units

But today's trend may well lead to a glut of "micro" units and a looming housing crunch for families who will eventually want to live in condos.

Toronto city Coun. Adam Vaughan, for one, is worried about what he calls the "explosion" of single occupancy units in the downtown core.

"Family housing has to be in all parts of Toronto not just in the suburbs," he says. "If all we do is build this type of housing, we'll just delay sprawl for another generation and create a simplistic monoculture downtown."

Toronto city Coun. Adam Vaughan is pushing developers to build more family housing in his downtown ward.
Vaughan is pushing developers to build more family housing in his downtown ward with some success — more than 600 units of housing with three or more bedrooms have been constructed or approved in the last four years.

"I appreciate that developers are nervous about building what they can sell," he says, "but we can't allow market forces to do city planning."

The city does offer incentives to developers by approving additional height and density for their projects in exchange for their building larger family-friendly units, as well as condos with knockout panels, which can be combined to make larger suites in the future, and units designed for disabled residents.

"Diversity keeps the downtown core vibrant. Diversity is accommodating different family configurations and different economic price points," says Vaughan.
For his part, Lamb agreed to build 30 three-bedroom units in his 300-unit 32-storey King Charlotte project at King Street east and Spadina in order to get it approved.

[More from CBC: Okanagan leads fall in B.C. real estate values]

Tough sell

But so far, only seven of the 1,000-square-foot three-bedroom condos, priced at under $600,000, have sold.

"They're a tough sell," says Lamb. "We've had to offer all kinds of incentives. It's just not what people want right now. It's a shame."

Acceptance of condo life has gone through several phases, says Lamb who has been selling them since 1988.

When he started, Lamb recalls that people "turned their noses up at condos," seeing them as an inferior housing option.

Real estate mogul Brad Lamb says that anyone wanting to live in central Toronto will have to live in a condo.
Then, through the condo boom of 2000 to 2012, builders enticed young buyers and investors with tiny "super highly-stylized Prada shoe apartments," by selling a hip, downtown lifestyle.
Twenty years ago, studio condos — units without bedrooms — were typically 600 square feet. Today they’re more likely to be half that size at 300 square feet.

Lamb predicts the next wave of condo building will reverse the trend to pint-sized units.
"As the city matures, and there is no room for single family homes and the price gap between them and condos grows, that gap will be filled with larger, more luxurious condo units that resemble small homes."

Click for more information and credits

A Man’s Basic Needs Are Simple, But Often Forgotten

2012-07-02T08:59:00.000-04:00

A Man’s Basic Needs Are Simple, But Often Forgotten

July 1, 2012 | Posted by Stanley Yorker
Tagged With: a man's basic needs, Couples, intimacy, Love And Relationships, marriage, Relationships

Man was made simply with straightforward needs and basic desires. They don’t need much to be happy. However, women are more complicated so they often forget the basic needs a man has.

Men become unhappy to the point they want to find someone that will make them happy again. If you want to win your husband’s heart back after losing him, you’re going to need to know what he needs.

As surprising as it may seem men don’t generally leave for a shallow reason like “She just wasn’t attractive to me anymore” as many women tend think. In fact, they leave for a rather justified reason. When asked by a counselor why a man left a relationship, all men had the same general response: “I just couldn’t make her happy anymore.” Would you believe it? Honestly, this is a good response and you can’t get mad if a guy left you for this reason because some of the blame falls on you for not letting him know he made you happy.

That is the reason why most men leave a relationship. On the basis that he couldn’t make you happy anymore, he figured the best thing to do would be to move on so someone else could make you happy instead.

He would then be able to go out and find someone else to make him happy. Happiness is the core in relationships. Even if things are tough, as long as happiness exists, both parties can survive anything in a relationship.

Since men are simple, when they see that they make their partner happy, they will be able to push them through everything else. Men will stick through all sorts of relationship adversity but as long as a man can see he makes his partner happy he will stick through it.

It’s not a matter of tricks to get his attention but rather it’s a matter of showing him that he makes you happy. He needs to see you glow again. You have to be obvious because men don’t like hints. Being happy is the key.

Source: HowtoMakeYourHusbandHappy.com

Chicago to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession

2012-06-29T09:57:00.000-04:00

Good news for green enthusiasts in the Windy City.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago City Council voted Wednesday that they would decriminalize marijuana possession, joining a number of states who have opted for fines instead of arrests for small amounts of the drug.

Beginning Aug. 4, police can issue tickets of between $250 and $500 to someone caught with 15 grams or less of pot. More than 18,000 people are arrested for pot possession in Chicago annually, allowing the new law to allocate dollars towards Chicago. When the marijuana cases are dismissed, there's no cash flow into the city.

Chi-town's Mayor Rahm Emanuel relied on a lengthy list of misbehavior to take care of the city's budget but says marijuana fines weren't put in place for financial benefits.

"It's not about revenue, it's about what (police officers) were doing with their time," the mayor said. "The only revenue I'm interested in, I don't want to be paying for these officers time and a half to sit in a courtroom for four hours on something that 80 to 90 percent of the time will be thrown out and everybody, both the residents and police officers and judges, already knows the outcome."

Click HERE for more information and credits

Chinese Dog Meat Market Images Provide Glimpse Into Controversial Industry (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)

2012-06-29T08:33:00.000-04:00

While many people regularly consume farm animals such as cows, chickens and pigs, the reaction by many to these graphic photos of a dog meat market suggest cultural differences play a role in how some view the treatment of different animals.
WARNING: Graphic Images Below.

According to the Daily Mail, the market pictured, located in Yulin City in China's Guangxi province, routinely cuts up and cooks dogs in front of patrons.
Despite efforts by activists to end the practice in China and in Korea -- where it is technically illegal -- the industry has seemed to persevere.
Animal rights activist group PETA touched on the issue when discussing a past controversy, writing on their blog that while very upsetting, they view it as no different than all other forms of animal consumption.

"Before we point the finger and call such people hypocrites, think of people in the Western world who have "pet" hens and pot-bellied pigs yet still eat fried chicken and ham sandwiches. They balk at eating animals they "know" but have no problem eating an animal they never met who invariably endured a miserable life on a filthy factory farm and ended up in a very scary place: the slaughterhouse."

WARNING: Graphic Images:

Chinese Dog Meat Industry (PHOTOS)

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Chinese vendors transport cages of dogs to be killed and eaten at a free market in Yulin city, south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 20 June 2012. (Imaginechina)

Read More

$30B TTC Plan: Property Tax Hikes, New Subway Lines

2012-06-29T06:59:00.000-04:00

There’s a new transit plan up for debate at city hall and this one has Toronto property owners footing the bill for a TTC expansion.

TTC Chair Karen Stintz is submitting a proposal to her council colleagues Wednesday that outlines an ambitious 30-year, $30-billion plan for 170-kilometres of new transit lines. Those lines include six new subway routes, 10 new LRT lines and five new bus and streetcar paths.
Her proposal, titled “OneCity Transit Plan,” would be supported through a 1.9 per cent property tax hike over four years. Under the plan, Toronto property owners would pay about $45 more in the first year, $90 more in the second year, $135 more in the third year and $180 more in the fourth year and beyond.

"If we are asking people to pay, they need to know what they are buying into and that is what this plan is all about," Stintz said during a press conference held to unveil details of the plan Wednesday morning. “These are projects we believe we need to invest in and we want people to say ‘Yes, this is something I want to invest in.’”

In a letter to her council colleagues, Stintz explains that under current regulations, the city can only collect the same amount of property taxes every year because of provincial revenue-neutral requirements.

Under the “OneCity Transit Plan” a dedicated fund would be set up that would be separate from the city’s annual budget process.

“Some people feel very strongly about no taxes, which I understand, so we have to convince the public that there is value here,” Stintz told CP24 in an interview with Stephen LeDrew Wednesday afternoon. “It is not just a tax; it is an investment in our future city and once people realize that this plan will benefit everyone, I think they will be willing to pay in.”
The first step of the plan is to replace the Scarborough RT with a subway extension from Kennedy Station to Scarborough Town Centre and then to Sheppard Avenue, Stintz said.
Next, the plan will focus on building transportation to support the waterfront and the anticipated 2015 Pan-Am Games.

Twenty other projects named in the plan would be prioritized by council at a later date, Stintz added.
Those projects include:

Building a Don Mills Express line from Queen Station to Eglinton to alleviate the current pressures on the Yonge/Bloor subway line
Upgrading the Bloor-Yonge subway station
Extending the Yonge subway to Steeles Ave.
Extending the Sheppard East LRT line to Malvern
Extending the Eglinton Crosstown LRT line to Pearson Airport

In an interview with CP24 Wednesday morning TTC vice-chair Glenn De Baeremaeker said the entire plan took about a month to come up with and would represent good value for taxpayers.
“Every line has been talked about over the last 30 years at one time or another and all Coun. Stintz and I did was take all of these ideas and put them into one comprehensive plan and figure out a way to pay for it,” he said. “For an $180 tax increase you get $30 billion in new transit and that’s something we think people will support.”

Congratulations Black America We've Made The KKK Very Proud!!! (BLOG) | Global Grind

2012-06-16T22:13:00.001-04:00

Congratulations Black America We've Made The KKK Very Proud!!! (BLOG) | Global Grind

Thanks to Russell Simmons & GlobalGrind.com

Keyboard Shortcuts

2012-06-16T21:10:00.000-04:00

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012

I have a dear friend who can make his way around a keyboard without ever touching the computers mouse. I Love watching him at the computer because it is just so fascinating to me.

I found this article and thought that I would share it with you here.

Windows system key combinations

F1: Help
CTRL+ESC: Open Start menu
ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs
ALT+F4: Quit program
SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently
Windows Logo+L: Lock the computer (without using CTRL+ALT+DELETE)

Windows program key combinations

CTRL+C: Copy
CTRL+X: Cut
CTRL+V: Paste
CTRL+Z: Undo
CTRL+B: Bold
CTRL+U: Underline
CTRL+I: Italic

Mouse click/keyboard modifier combinations for shell objects

SHIFT+right click: Displays a shortcut menu containing alternative commands
SHIFT+double click: Runs the alternate default command (the second item on the menu)
ALT+double click: Displays properties
SHIFT+DELETE: Deletes an item immediately without placing it in the Recycle Bin

General keyboard-only commands

F1: Starts Windows Help
F10: Activates menu bar options
SHIFT+F10 Opens a shortcut menu for the selected item (this is the same as right-clicking an object
CTRL+ESC: Opens the Start menu (use the ARROW keys to select an item)
CTRL+ESC or ESC: Selects the Start button (press TAB to select the taskbar, or press SHIFT+F10 for a context menu)
CTRL+SHIFT+ESC: Opens Windows Task Manager
ALT+DOWN ARROW: Opens a drop-down list box
ALT+TAB: Switch to another running program (hold down the ALT key and then press the TAB key to view the task-switching window)
SHIFT: Press and hold down the SHIFT key while you insert a CD-ROM to bypass the automatic-run feature
ALT+SPACE: Displays the main window's System menu (from the System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the window)
ALT+- (ALT+hyphen): Displays the Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child window's System menu (from the MDI child window's System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the child window)
CTRL+TAB: Switch to the next child window of a Multiple Document Interface (MDI) program
ALT+underlined letter in menu: Opens the menu
ALT+F4: Closes the current window
CTRL+F4: Closes the current Multiple Document Interface (MDI) window
ALT+F6: Switch between multiple windows in the same program (for example, when the Notepad Find dialog box is displayed, ALT+F6 switches between the Find dialog box and the main Notepad window)

Shell objects and general folder/Windows Explorer shortcuts
For a selected object:

F2: Rename object
F3: Find all files
CTRL+X: Cut
CTRL+C: Copy
CTRL+V: Paste
SHIFT+DELETE: Delete selection immediately, without moving the item to the Recycle Bin
ALT+ENTER: Open the properties for the selected object

To copy a file
Press and hold down the CTRL key while you drag the file to another folder.

To create a shortcut
Press and hold down CTRL+SHIFT while you drag a file to the desktop or a folder.
Back to the top

General folder/shortcut control

F4: Selects the Go To A Different Folder box and moves down the entries in the box (if the toolbar is active in Windows Explorer)
F5: Refreshes the current window.
F6: Moves among panes in Windows Explorer
CTRL+G: Opens the Go To Folder tool (in Windows 95 Windows Explorer only)
CTRL+Z: Undo the last command
CTRL+A: Select all the items in the current window
BACKSPACE: Switch to the parent folder
SHIFT+click+Close button: For folders, close the current folder plus all parent folders

Windows Explorer tree control

Numeric Keypad *: Expands everything under the current selection
Numeric Keypad +: Expands the current selection
Numeric Keypad -: Collapses the current selection.
RIGHT ARROW: Expands the current selection if it is not expanded, otherwise goes to the first child
LEFT ARROW: Collapses the current selection if it is expanded, otherwise goes to the parent

Properties control

CTRL+TAB/CTRL+SHIFT+TAB: Move through the property tabs

Accessibility shortcuts

Press SHIFT five times: Toggles StickyKeys on and off
Press down and hold the right SHIFT key for eight seconds: Toggles FilterKeys on and off
Press down and hold the NUM LOCK key for five seconds: Toggles ToggleKeys on and off
Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK: Toggles MouseKeys on and off
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN: Toggles high contrast on and off

Microsoft Natural Keyboard keys

Windows Logo: Start menu
Windows Logo+R: Run dialog box
Windows Logo+M: Minimize all
SHIFT+Windows Logo+M: Undo minimize all
Windows Logo+F1: Help
Windows Logo+E: Windows Explorer
Windows Logo+F: Find files or folders
Windows Logo+D: Minimizes all open windows and displays the desktop
CTRL+Windows Logo+F: Find computer
CTRL+Windows Logo+TAB: Moves focus from Start, to the Quick Launch toolbar, to the system tray (use RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW to move focus to items on the Quick Launch toolbar and the system tray)
Windows Logo+TAB: Cycle through taskbar buttons
Windows Logo+Break: System Properties dialog box
Application key: Displays a shortcut menu for the selected item

Microsoft Natural Keyboard with IntelliType software installed

Windows Logo+L: Log off Windows
Windows Logo+P: Starts Print Manager
Windows Logo+C: Opens Control Panel
Windows Logo+V: Starts Clipboard
Windows Logo+K: Opens Keyboard Properties dialog box
Windows Logo+I: Opens Mouse Properties dialog box
Windows Logo+A: Starts Accessibility Options (if installed)
Windows Logo+SPACEBAR: Displays the list of Microsoft IntelliType shortcut keys
Windows Logo+S: Toggles CAPS LOCK on and off

Dialog box keyboard commands

TAB: Move to the next control in the dialog box
SHIFT+TAB: Move to the previous control in the dialog box
SPACEBAR: If the current control is a button, this clicks the button. If the current control is a check box, this toggles the check box. If the current control is an option, this selects the option.
ENTER: Equivalent to clicking the selected button (the button with the outline)
ESC: Equivalent to clicking the Cancel button
ALT+underlined letter in dialog box item: Move to the corresponding item

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Attention All Entrepreneurs

2012-06-16T16:45:00.000-04:00

9 Things Startups Must Know Before Approaching Lenders

Aisha Benson, the Vice President and Managing Director of Seedco Financial, talks to entrepreneurs at the America Means Business event in New York City.

If it seems like you're still swimming against the tide to find money for your small business, you're not alone. But there are preparations you can make as a business owner that will increase your chances of getting a loan.

"I want to dispel the myth that there is no money out there for small businesses," says Aisha Benson, vice president and managing director of Seedco, an alternative finance organization. As part of the America Means Business event in New York this week, Benson spoke to entrepreneurs about what they need to know before approaching a lender for a loan.
Here are quick tips from Benson to position yourself smartly:

1. Write a business plan. Vague ideas scribbled in your notebook won't impress lenders. For help with a business plan, Benson suggests starting with free templates available online. For examples, check out those available here or on the Small Business Administration's website. She also recommends contacting your local Small Business Development Center, or make an appointment with a SCORE volunteer. Once you have a plan, update it at least once a year, she says.
Related: How to Craft a Business Plan That'll Turn Investors' Heads

2. Organize your paperwork. Lenders have checklists of documents they need, like legal operating agreements, tax returns, and insurance papers. Have hard copies of these important business documents in one place so you can answer questions easily and promptly.

3. Determine how much money you need. Benson says lenders and investors do not like to hear "whatever you want to give me" or broad terms like "working capital," because that indicates disorganization. Know how much you need and what you are going to do with that money. Also, be ready to explain why you are borrowing it and how you are going to pay it back.

4. Be prepared to put your own skin in the game. Investing your own money into your business inspires confidence in lenders. Be sure you have documentation to prove exactly how much you invested.
Related: 3 Online Tools To Find Funding

5. Know your business numbers. It's fine to hire an accountant, but when you sit down with a lender you need to know what the line items on your balance sheet and income statement represent.

6. Be transparent. Don't keep secrets. Lenders will research your financial history. So, even if you don't disclose debt on your application, the lender will find it. "It only delays the process," Benson warns.

7. Ask questions about the process. If the lender conducts site visits, schedule one at a time when you are likely to have customers. If your business partner needs to be present, be sure that he or she is there. If your application goes to a credit committee, don't expect a decision overnight.

8. Read the fine print. In addition to understanding the interest rate, know the "all-in" cost of your loan: Ask about application costs, transaction fees, renewal fees, and any penalty fees.

9. Be yourself. "We want you to be honest and open -- that is about character," Benson says. "The investor is really banking on you." Especially if you are working with micro lenders or alternative lenders, if they're impressed with your character, they're more likely to work with you.
Related: 3 Rules for Successful Crowdfunding

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Recalls

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Contact

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Attention All Entrepreneurs