Chevron Fined Nearly $1 Million For California Refinery Fire

SAN FRANCISCO ? Chevron was fined nearly $1 million by the state on Wednesday in connection with a fire last year at the company's San Francisco Bay area refinery that sent a cloud of gas and black smoke over residential areas.

Investigators found "willful violations" in Chevron Corp.'s response before, during and after the Aug. 6 fire in Richmond caused by an old, leaky pipe in one of the facility's crude units, said Ellen Widess, chief of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

"Our ... investigation showed that Chevron had repeated warnings and recommendations from its own metallurgists and pipe inspectors about the condition of this pipe," Widess said.

"Chevron was in a unique position to really know the hazards that they deal with from their dynamic technologies and processes, many of which are proprietary. They alone were in position to have addressed these hazards."

The agency filed 25 citations against oil giant, and said the $963,200 in fines were the largest allowed by state law. The company said it planned to appeal some of the violations.

Among the findings, the agency said the company didn't follow recommendations of its own inspectors and scientists made in 2002 to replace the corroded pipe that ultimately ruptured and caused the fire.

"Chevron had pervasive violations in its leak repair procedures throughout the refinery," the agency found. "Investigators identified leaks in pipes that Chevron had clamped as a temporary fix. In some cases the clamps remained in place for years, rather than replacing the pipes themselves."

Cal-OSHA also cited Chevron for not following its own emergency shutdown procedures when the leak was first spotted, and said the company exposed workers to harm by not ensuring they wore proper safety equipment when going back into the burnt out crude unit following the blaze.

No workers were seriously injured in the incident.

Eleven of the violations have been classified as "willful" because investigators found that Chevron had not taken actions to eliminate dangerous conditions for employees, including replacement of the pipe that ruptured.

The investigation also cited the company for failing to file in writing its mandated "thorough review" of a new type of pipe that it wants to use in replacement of the old one that failed.

Company spokesman Sean Comey said Chevron disagreed with some of the violations.

"Although we acknowledge that we failed to live up to our own expectations in this incident, we do not agree with several of the (Cal-OSHA) findings and its characterization of some of the alleged violations as `willful,'" he said in an email. "Chevron intends to appeal."

Smoke and gas from the fire prompted thousands of people to seek medical treatment, with many complaining of eye irritation and breathing problems.

The fire was caused by a decades-old pipe that the company had neglected to replace, even after inspecting areas near the segment that failed less than a year earlier.

Chevron has paid $10 million in connection to nearly 24,000 claims from residents and to nearby hospitals and local government agencies in Richmond and Contra Costa County, the company said in a report filed earlier this week.

Most of that money went to the hospitals to pay for medical exams and treatments following the incident.

While the fines may not be a major deterrent for a company that earned an estimated $25 billion in 2012, the agency said industry is often more sensitive to a violations classification, such as "willful," than monetary penalties.

"There's a huge stigma to willful violations with all industries," Erika Monterroza, a Cal-OSHA spokeswoman.

Chevron's El Segundo refinery and its oilfield near Bakersfield are also under investigation by Cal-OSHA.

___

Follow Jason Dearen on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/JHDearen

Earlier on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/31/chevron-fined_n_2587468.html

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Denver mayor finally does the Ray Lewis dance

It has been a few weeks since the Ravens beat the Broncos to advance to the AFC title game, condemning the mayor of Denver to pay up on his wager and do the Ray Lewis dance. His first attempt at making good on his bet resulted in injury. Yesterday, the city of Baltimore and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake finally got their winnings.

Here?s Denver mayor Michael Hancock doing the Ray Lewis dance.

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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2013/01/30/denver-mayor-finally-does-the-ray-lewis-dance/

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Germany marks 80th anniversary of Hitler's rise

BERLIN (AP) ? On the 80th anniversary of Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans to always fight for their principles and not fall into the complacency that enabled the Nazi dictator to seize control.

Speaking Wednesday at the opening of a new exhibit at the Topography of Terror memorial documenting Hitler's election, Merkel noted that German academics and students at the time happily joined the Nazis only a few months later in burning books deemed subversive.

"The rise of the Nazis was made possible because the elite of German society worked with them, but also, above all else, because most in Germany at least tolerated this rise," Merkel said.

After winning about a third of the vote in Germany's 1932 election, Hitler convinced ailing President Paul von Hindenburg to appoint him chancellor on Jan. 30, 1933 ? setting Germany on a course to war and genocide.

"This path ended in Auschwitz," said Andreas Nachama, the director of the Topography of Terror.

The Topography memorial is built around the ruins of buildings where the Gestapo secret police, the SS and the Reich Security Main Office ran Hitler's police state from 1933 to 1945. A stretch of the Berlin Wall along the edge serves as a reminder of Germany's second dictatorship under the Communists in the 20th century.

Once chancellor, Hitler was able to use his position to consolidate absolute control over the country in the months to follow.

About a month after being appointed chancellor, Hitler used the torching of the Reichstag parliament building ? blamed on a Dutch communist ? to strengthen his grip on power. He suspended civil liberties and cracked down on opposition parties, paving the way for the police state.

By midsummer 1933, he had declared the Nazi Party to be the only political party in Germany. He later named himself "Fuehrer" or "Leader" of the country.

The fact that Hitler was able to destroy German democracy in only six months serves as a warning today of what can happen if the public is apathetic, Merkel said.

"Human rights do not assert themselves on their own; freedom does not emerge on its own; and democracy does not succeed on its own," Merkel said. "No, a dynamic society ... needs people who have regard and respect for one another, who take responsibility for themselves and others, where people take courageous and open decisions and who are prepared to accept criticism and opposition."

Following the morning ceremony, Germany's Parliament held a special session in tribute to those who died under the Nazi dictatorship.

Inge Deutschkron, a 90-year-old Jewish Berliner and writer, recalled Germans celebrating Hitler's rise to power as she addressed lawmakers.

She remembered her family growing more tense over the subsequent weeks amid worries about Hitler's paramilitary SA thugs who roamed the streets.

"Often, I couldn't get to sleep in the evenings and listened for footsteps in the staircase," she said. "If they were boots, I became afraid they could be SA men coming to arrest my father."

Deutschkron's father managed to escape to England shortly before World War II, while she and her mother were hidden by friends in Berlin for the final years of the war.

She recalled most ordinary Germans' indifference to the fate of Jews, who were forced to wear yellow stars.

"The majority of Germans I met in the streets looked away when they saw this star on me ? or looked straight through me," she said.

And when she visited West Germany's capital of Bonn after the war, she recalled that most "had simply erased from their memory the crimes for which the German state had set up its own machinery of murder."

Deutschkron remembered West Germany's first postwar chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, saying that most Germans opposed the Nazis' crimes against Jews and that many had helped Jews to escape.

"If only that had been the truth," she said.

___

Geir Moulson contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/germany-marks-80th-anniversary-hitlers-rise-122859349.html

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Female deer take control during the mating season

Public release date: 30-Jan-2013
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Contact: Neha Okhandiar
n.okhandiar@qmul.ac.uk
020-788-27927
Queen Mary, University of London

A new study provides the first evidence of polyandry when females choose to mate with more than one male in female fallow deer.

According to a team of scientists from Queen Mary, University of London, UWEHartpury, and University College Dublin, female fallow deer play an active role in selecting their mates, with a consistent proportion (on average 12 per cent) choosing to mate with multiple males each year.

"Until now there has been limited understanding of female mate choice during this process, with many people believing that female deer are controlled by males during the mating season, explains co-author Dr Alan McElligott from Queen Mary's School of Biological and Chemical Sciences.

"In fact, not only do females decide with whom they mate, but our study has shown that a proportion choose to mate more than once each year, and with different males. Traditionally most research of this type has focused on male deer mating strategies and female behaviour during the rut was often overlooked."

The research was carried out on a herd of fallow deer in Dublin's Phoenix Park over a 10-year period.

Dr Elodie Briefer, also from Queen Mary's School of Biological Sciences, said: "While the majority of female deer only mated once, we found that 5-20 per cent of the female fallow deer population mated with multiple males over the 10-year period. We believe that the presence of polyandrous females each year in the population is very good evidence of female fallow deer adopting different mating strategies."

The researchers suggest that the most likely explanation for polyandry in female fallow deer is to ensure that they become pregnant. For example, they observed that the female deer were more likely to mate again if their first mate was relatively old, or he had mated many times before, potentially indicating sperm depletion.

Dr Mary Farrell from UWEHartpury commented: "The timing of breeding is driven by the best time for offspring to be born. If a female is not fertilised during the first breeding season, she will come back into oestrous three weeks later. This causes a delay in the birth of the fawn, which can reduce its chances of survival."

###

The research was published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology today.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 30-Jan-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Neha Okhandiar
n.okhandiar@qmul.ac.uk
020-788-27927
Queen Mary, University of London

A new study provides the first evidence of polyandry when females choose to mate with more than one male in female fallow deer.

According to a team of scientists from Queen Mary, University of London, UWEHartpury, and University College Dublin, female fallow deer play an active role in selecting their mates, with a consistent proportion (on average 12 per cent) choosing to mate with multiple males each year.

"Until now there has been limited understanding of female mate choice during this process, with many people believing that female deer are controlled by males during the mating season, explains co-author Dr Alan McElligott from Queen Mary's School of Biological and Chemical Sciences.

"In fact, not only do females decide with whom they mate, but our study has shown that a proportion choose to mate more than once each year, and with different males. Traditionally most research of this type has focused on male deer mating strategies and female behaviour during the rut was often overlooked."

The research was carried out on a herd of fallow deer in Dublin's Phoenix Park over a 10-year period.

Dr Elodie Briefer, also from Queen Mary's School of Biological Sciences, said: "While the majority of female deer only mated once, we found that 5-20 per cent of the female fallow deer population mated with multiple males over the 10-year period. We believe that the presence of polyandrous females each year in the population is very good evidence of female fallow deer adopting different mating strategies."

The researchers suggest that the most likely explanation for polyandry in female fallow deer is to ensure that they become pregnant. For example, they observed that the female deer were more likely to mate again if their first mate was relatively old, or he had mated many times before, potentially indicating sperm depletion.

Dr Mary Farrell from UWEHartpury commented: "The timing of breeding is driven by the best time for offspring to be born. If a female is not fertilised during the first breeding season, she will come back into oestrous three weeks later. This causes a delay in the birth of the fawn, which can reduce its chances of survival."

###

The research was published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology today.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/qmuo-fdt013013.php

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'First Time' May Influence Sexual Satisfaction for Life | Psych Central ...

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on January 29, 2013

New research suggests a person?s first sexual experience can set the tone for the rest of one?s sexual life.

Matthew Shaffer, a doctoral student in psychology at the University of Tennessee, and C. Veronica Smith, Ph.D., an assistant psychology professor at the University of Mississippi, devised the research project to study the effects of losing one?s virginity.

The study is published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy and is the first to look at whether the circumstances of losing one?s virginity have lasting consequences.

?The loss of virginity is often viewed as an important milestone in human development, signifying a transition to adulthood,? said Shaffer.

?However, it has not been studied in this capacity. We wanted to see the influence it may have related to emotional and physical development.?

The researchers examined how first-time sexual satisfaction impacts long-term sexual function as well as how first-time physical and emotional responses affect long-term sexual experiences.

They found that positive first-time experiences were predictive of physical and emotional satisfaction. Specifically, those who felt loved and respected by their partner found later encounters more emotionally satisfying.

The researchers asked 331 young men and women about how they lost their virginity. The anonymous participants ranked the experience according to emotions related to anxiety, contentment and regret.

Survey responders also answered questions about their sex life using scales measuring sense of control, satisfaction and well-being. Finally, the participants filled out a diary for two weeks describing each sexual experience.

A series of analyses revealed those who were most emotionally and physically satisfied the first time found their sex lives the most fulfilling. Those who reported higher levels of anxiety and negativity with the first time reported lower overall sexual functioning.

?While this study doesn?t prove that a better first time makes for a better sex life in general, a person?s experience of losing their virginity may set the pattern for years to come,? said Shaffer.

Shaffer suggests that a first-time sexual experience may create a general pattern of thought and behavior that guides sexual experiences and understanding of information concerning sexuality.

Source: University of Tennessee

APA Reference
Nauert PhD, R. (2013). ?First Time? May Influence Sexual Satisfaction for Life. Psych Central. Retrieved on January 30, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/01/29/first-time-may-influence-sexual-satisfaction-for-life/50954.html

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Source: http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/01/29/first-time-may-influence-sexual-satisfaction-for-life/50954.html

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What we know about BlackBerry 10

Despite -- or rather thanks to -- major delays in releasing BlackBerry 10, RIM has let quite a bit slip about its upcoming operating system and related BB10 devices. We've had more than a year to absorb leaks, rumors and official information, after all, so it's no surprise that we have a very good idea of what to expect when Waterloo pulls back the curtain on January 30th. That doesn't mean things are as plain as day, though; the deluge of blurrycam shots and carrier screens have provided an almost indigestible amount of information about BB10, and we don't blame you if you can't keep the story straight. We're here to parse the madness, though, so read on to find out what to expect at tomorrow's launch event.

Software

Touch keyboard with predictive input

The first BB10 handset likely won't sport a physical keyboard, but that doesn't mean you should expect a subpar typing experience. RIM's on-screen layout will boast quite a few enhancements to compete with SwiftKey and other similar input options. For instance, the company has demoed predictive typing; press on a letter, and a selection of likely words will hover over the corresponding character ("hey" when you hit H, for example). To pick one of the predicted words, you simply swipe up on it. The keyboard will learn and adapt to your linguistic habits, so you can expect more accurate suggestions over time. In addition to predictive input, the on-screen layout features intuitive gestures such as swiping to the left to delete text and swiping from the lower left to minimize the keyboard. Other gestures include swiping from the bottom to reveal numbers and special characters.

Timeline lens, camera filters

At BlackBerry World 2012, RIM showed us its take on fancy camera software: the "timeline lens," which uses Scalado's Rewind technology to capture frames even before you hit the shutter. This means you can cycle back through the shooter's cache if you miss an image by a second or two.

If The Gadget Masters website, which posted a hands-on video with a "pre-production Z10," is to be believed, we can also expect photo-editing software courtesy of Scalado, including Instagram-style filters and options such as transform, brightness / white balance adjustment, rotate and aspect ratio customization.

User interface with Peek, flow gestures

One of the most anticipated aspects of BlackBerry 10 is the user interface's focus on multitasking. The aptly named Peek feature, showcased at BlackBerry Jam last September, lets users view apps running in the background by simply swiping from the left or right. From there, users can either return to their previous task or swipe back to go into previously launched programs. At least in theory, this is meant to provide a more fluid app-switching experience than the task list à la webOS and Android.

Back in May, RIM officially previewed the BB10 home screen, which will include an app grid that displays all currently running programs. From here, swiping to the right will bring up the full launcher, and gesturing to the left will bring you to the unified inbox. Here as well, you can use Peek to view recent notifications and any currently running applications, and then swipe to backtrack to the main hub. Users can also minimize a given window to see new notifications. We also got a hands-on look at the UI in action when we met with RIM Principal Architect Gary Klassen last June -- check out our video.

Security features, BYOD

Historically, RIM's handsets have been almost synonymous with the BYOD (bring your own device) movement, so it's no surprise that BB10 devices will come with corporate-minded features on board. First off, the OS has FIP 140-2 certification, meaning it meets the security and encryption requirements of government agencies and enterprises.

BB10 devices will also have BlackBerry Balance, which partitions RIM's phones into separate work and personal profiles. To toggle between these two modes, you simply pull down from the app icon grid. You'll see different applications listed depending on which profile you're in, and you can run applications simultaneously in both profiles. For instance, you can have the browser open on the corporate side, and it will adhere to your IT desk's policies, and on the personal side it will run without these restrictions.

Apps

One of many tidbits we've gleaned from the leaked BB10 training manual is that RIM is promising some 70,000 QNX apps in the BlackBerry World store at launch. And indeed, Waterloo has been aggressively courting developers, offering a $10,000 guarantee for approved apps that make less than 10k in the first year. The company also held "Portathon" events to drum up app submissions with a cash incentive. One such contest netted 15,000 entries in less than 38 hours.

In addition to seeking new applications, RIM has invested time and money into securing the top names for its platform. Rest assured that a native Facebook app will be on board at launch, as will Foursquare. We also have good reason to believe that Google Talk and Twitter will be integrated into the unified inbox.

The devices

The all-touch BlackBerry Z10

Back in November, CEO Thorsten Heins told us that a full-touch device will be RIM's way of gaining back market share, as the company's smartphone success to date has been in the QWERTY category. Hence, the first BB10 device will feature an on-screen rather than a physical keyboard.

All signs point to the first flagship device being the full-touch BlackBerry Z10, a phone in the higher-end L-Series line. We've seen that model name come up repeatedly, in RIM marketing materials and most recently in a screen cap from Verizon's website.

Leaked specs for the Z10 match up quite closely with the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha we first saw last May. Unveiled at BlackBerry World, the device sported a 4.2-inch, 1,280 x 768 display with 16GB of internal storage. Rumors and leaks about the Z10 have echoed that same set of specifications -- save for 2GB rather than 1GB of RAM -- and we now hear it will run a 1.5GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor under the hood. Whether that CPU spec turns out to be true or not, it's safe to assume the phone will pack a dual-core chip.

Lower-end and QWERTY models coming soon

From the beginning, Heins has made it clear that RIM's BB10 strategy is to target the more "premium" end of the market first, though "at least six" handsets in total will debut in 2013. We can expect mid-range and lower-end devices in this batch; Heins said a physical keyboard model will be released soon after the first BB10 touch device, and this QWERTY model should fall under the N-Series. Physical keyboards have arguably been RIM's bread and butter, and while the company clearly finessed its on-screen input for the all-touch Z10, it's unclear whether QWERTY models will receive a keyboard revamp as well.

We'd be remiss to move on without mentioning the PlayBook. Though we don't know if any new models are on the horizon, RIM has confirmed that existing versions of its biz-focused tablet will receive the upgrade to BlackBerry 10. Of course, this is possible because the PlayBook is a QNX-based device.

Carrier support

Unsurprisingly, most of the major carriers will be on board when BlackBerry 10 hits the market. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have all confirmed that they'll be carrying BB10 devices at launch, and Sprint recently spoke up to reassure customers that it will be on board by "later this year." UK carriers, including Three, O2 and EE, also confirmed that they'll offer BB10 products in early 2013. Additionally, in our interview with Heins, he confirmed that BB10 devices, including the QWERTY handset, will support 4G LTE.

Wrap-up

Clearly, we won't be walking blindly into the BlackBerry 10 launch event, as both RIM itself and countless leaks have furnished us with plenty of details about what devices and software features to expect. Still, nothing is for certain until Waterloo announces it on stage, so you'll want to tune into our liveblog when the action goes down tomorrow.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, RIM

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/mrrd9lkel0c/

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Britain Blanketed by Snow in New Satellite Image

Unusually frigid and snowy conditions blanketed much of the island of Great Britain in snow earlier this month. The winter wonderland was spotted from above by NASA's Terra satellite on Jan. 26.

The snow started falling mid-month when a storm system blowing in from over the North Atlantic combined with unusually chilly conditions ushered in by a pattern called the Scandinavian Block, according to Accuweather.com. This high-pressure pattern sits in place over Scandinavia and funnels cold air toward the United Kingdom from over the Baltic and western Russia, according to the U.K. Met Office.

As of the afternoon of Jan. 21, Redesdale Camp, Scotland, was the nation's leader in snowfall, with 11 inches (29 centimeters), Accuweather reported. Earlier Accuweather reports said 8 inches (20 cm) had fallen in Sennybridge, Wales, and 6 inches (15 cm) in Dunkeswell, in the southwest of England. The snows closed many schools and forced flight cancellations and delays at London's Heathrow Airport.

Snow is a relatively uncommon sight, particularly in the southern parts of Great Britain, as the flow of the Gulf Stream funnels warm waters toward the islands, influencing the atmosphere and making conditions there milder than might be expected for the island's northerly latitudes.

Met Office records show that the U.K. sees about 33 snow days per year, based on 1971-2000 averages, though most of this falls on higher ground where temperatures are colder. And not all of that snow even settles on the ground, with the U.K. seeing only about 16.5 days a year of snow on the ground. Scotland, situated at higher latitudes, sees a higher average, with about 52 days of snow or sleet in a given year and 27.7 days of snow on the ground, the Met Office says. It lists the snowiest place in the U.K. is Banffshire, a county in the northeastern part of Scotland, which has a yearly average of 63.8 days of snow or sleet. (At the other extreme is Cornwall, which has an average of 10.2 days of snow or sleet.)

The snowiest winter of the 20th century for the U.K. was that of 1947, the Met Office says, when snow fell every day somewhere in the country between Jan. 22 and March 17.

Since the snows came earlier this month, temperatures have gotten milder and precipitation has fallen in the form of rain, at least in the southern parts of the island. Skies had largely cleared when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite snapped its picture of Great Britain, the NASA Earth Observatory noted, though a few remained over the western part of the island.

Southern parts of the island are currently threatened by flooding from heavy rains, with some higher elevations possibly seeing strong wind gusts, the Guardian reports.

Follow OurAmazingPlaneton Twitter?@OAPlanet. We're also on?Facebook?and Google+.

Copyright 2013 OurAmazingPlanet, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/britain-blanketed-snow-satellite-image-201731484.html

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Soldier who lost 4 limbs has double-arm transplant

FILE - In this July 4, 2012 file photo, Army Sgt. Brendan Marrocco of Staten Island, N.Y., wearing a prosthetic arm, poses for a picture at the 9/11 Memorial in New York. Marrocco, 26, the first soldier to survive losing all four limbs in the Iraq war, has received a double-arm transplant in Baltimore. His father, Alex Marrocco, said Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 that his son had the operation on Dec. 18, 2012 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

FILE - In this July 4, 2012 file photo, Army Sgt. Brendan Marrocco of Staten Island, N.Y., wearing a prosthetic arm, poses for a picture at the 9/11 Memorial in New York. Marrocco, 26, the first soldier to survive losing all four limbs in the Iraq war, has received a double-arm transplant in Baltimore. His father, Alex Marrocco, said Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 that his son had the operation on Dec. 18, 2012 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

FILE - In this July 4, 2012 file photo, Army Sgt. Brendan Marrocco of Staten Island, N.Y., left, Marine Cpl. Todd Love of Atlanta, Ga., center, and Marine Cpl. Juan Dominguez of Deming, N.M., pose for a picture at the 9/11 Memorial in New York. Marrocco, 26, the first soldier to survive losing all four limbs in the Iraq war, has received a double-arm transplant in Baltimore. His father, Alex Marrocco, said Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 that his son had the operation on Dec. 18, 2012 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

On Facebook, he describes himself as a "wounded warrior...very wounded."

Brendan Marrocco was the first soldier to survive losing all four limbs in the Iraq War, and doctors revealed Monday that he's received a double-arm transplant.

Those new arms "already move a little," he tweeted a month after the operation.

Marrocco, a 26-year-old New Yorker, was injured by a roadside bomb in 2009. He had the transplant Dec. 18 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, his father said Monday.

Alex Marrocco said his son does not want to talk with reporters until a news conference Tuesday at the hospital, but the younger Marrocco has repeatedly mentioned the transplant on Twitter and posted photos.

"Ohh yeah today has been one month since my surgery and they already move a little," Brendan Marrocco tweeted Jan. 18.

Responding to a tweet from NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski, he wrote: "dude I can't tell you how exciting this is for me. I feel like I finally get to start over."

The infantryman also received bone marrow from the same dead donor who supplied his new arms. That novel approach is aimed at helping his body accept the new limbs with minimal medication to prevent rejection.

The military sponsors operations like these to help wounded troops. About 300 have lost arms or hands in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Unlike a life-saving heart or liver transplant, limb transplants are aimed at improving quality of life, not extending it. Quality of life is a key concern for people missing arms and hands ? prosthetics for those limbs are not as advanced as those for feet and legs.

"He was the first quad amputee to survive," and there have been four others since then, Alex Marrocco said.

The Marroccos want to thank the donor's family for "making a selfless decision ... making a difference in Brendan's life," the father said.

Brendan Marrocco has been in public many times. During a July 4 visit last year to the Sept. 11 Memorial with other disabled soldiers, he said he had no regrets about his military service.

"I wouldn't change it in any way. ... I feel great. I'm still the same person," he said.

The 13-hour operation was led by Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee, plastic surgery chief at Johns Hopkins. It was the seventh double-hand or double-arm transplant done in the United States.

Lee led three of those earlier operations when he worked at the University of Pittsburgh, including the only above-elbow transplant that had been done at the time, in 2010.

Marrocco's "was the most complicated one" so far, Lee said in an interview Monday. It will take more than a year to know how fully Marrocco will be able to use the new arms.

"The maximum speed is an inch a month for nerve regeneration," he explained. "We're easily looking at a couple years" until the full extent of recovery is known.

While at Pittsburgh, Lee pioneered the immune-suppression approach used for Marrocco. The surgeon led hand-transplant operations on five patients, giving them marrow from their donors in addition to the new limbs. All five recipients have done well, and four have been able to take just one anti-rejection drug instead of combination treatments most transplant patients receive.

Minimizing anti-rejection drugs is important because they have side effects and raise the risk of cancer over the long term. Those risks have limited the willingness of surgeons and patients to do more hand, arm and even face transplants.

Lee has received funding for his work from AFIRM, the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, a cooperative research network of top hospitals and universities around the country that the government formed about five years ago. With government money, he and several other plastic surgeons around the country are preparing to do more face transplants, possibly using the new immune-suppression approach.

Marrocco expects to spend three to four months at Hopkins, then return to a military hospital to continue physical therapy, his father said. Before the operation, he had been fitted with prosthetic legs and had learned to walk on his own.

He had been living with his older brother in a specially equipped home on New York's Staten Island that had been built with the help of several charities. Shortly after moving in, he said it was "a relief to not have to rely on other people so much."

The home was heavily damaged by Superstorm Sandy last fall.

Despite being in a lot of pain for some time after the operation, Marrocco showed a sense of humor, his father said. He had a hoarse voice from the tube that was in his throat during the long surgery and decided he sounded like Al Pacino. He soon started doing movie lines.

"He was making the nurses laugh," Alex Marrocco said.

___

Associated Press Writer Stephanie Nano in New York contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Army regenerative medicine:

http://www.afirm.mil/index.cfm?pageid=home

and http://www.afirm.mil/assets/documents/annual_report_2011.pdf

___

Follow Marilynn Marchione at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-28-US-Soldier-Transplanted-Arms/id-3fd9ce8dde6942b8b05a148bffde9896

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Egypt violence persists despite emergency moves

CAIRO (AP) ? Protesters and riot police clashed in Cairo and the riot-torn city of Port Said as Egypt's political violence stretched into a fifth day on Monday, despite efforts by the Islamist president to contain the crisis by imposing a state of emergency in three provinces.

At least 56 people have been killed in the wave of violence, which has led to the military deploying in Port Said and another city along the Suez Canal and threatened to shake the control of President Mohammed Morsi's government.

The main opposition coalition rejected Morsi's call for national dialogue to resolve the crisis, demanding that he first make deep concessions to break what opponents call the monopoly that Islamists have tried to impose on power. The National Salvation Front said it wouldn't join any dialogue until Morsi forms a national unity government and begins work to rewrite parts of the Islamist-backed constitution.

Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, which forms the backbone of his rule, have instead tried to take a tougher approach. Angry and at times screaming and wagging his finger, Morsi went on national TV Sunday night and declared a 30-day state of emergency in the Suez Canal provinces of Port Said, Ismailiya and Suez, which are named after their main cities. A nighttime curfew goes into effect in those areas Monday ? though protesters are likely to challenge it.

In Port Said ? the hardest hit city so far with at least 44 people killed in clashes over the weekend ? thousands poured out into the streets Monday for the funeral of six people killed during clashes the day before. They offered prayers on the dead at the city's Mariam mosque and marched with the bodies to the city's cemetery about a mile away.

Two army helicopters hovered above the funeral.

Clashes erupted in the evening in the al-Arab district of the city, and a security forces' armored personnel carried opened fire, one witness, Ibrahim Ezzideen, told The Associated Press. He did not have word on casualties. The same district saw heavy fighting the past two days.

In Cairo, hundreds of young, stone-throwing protesters fought pitched battles Monday with riot police near Qasr el-Nil Bridge, a landmark bridge over the Nile River next to major hotels. One protester died of gunshot wounds, according to health and security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to the press.

White clouds of tear gas hung over the area from early on Monday morning and at times wafted across the river to the upscale island of Zamalek and the leafy district of Garden City. The fighting was reminiscent of scenes two years ago to the day, when police and protesters battered each other on the same bridge in the most violent day of the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Anger over Morsi's latest measures was evident at the site of Monday's clashes, near Tahrir Square.

"People died to gain their freedom, social justice, bread. Now after 29 years of the despotic Mubarak, we're ruled by a worse regime: religious fascist, more dangerous," said Mohammed Saber, a 65-year old engineer who came to watch the clashes with his wife and children.

The wave of violence began Thursday and accelerated the following day, which fell on the two-year anniversary of the start of the anti-Mubarak uprising. Protests Friday that turned to clashes around the country left 11 dead, most of them in Suez.

The next day, riots exploded in Port Said after a court convicted and sentenced to death 21 defendants ? mostly locals ? for a mass soccer riot in the city's main stadium a year ago. Rioters attacked police stations, clashed with security forces in the streets and shots and tear gas were fired at protester funerals in mayhem that left 44 people dead over the weekend.

Throughout the past five days, anger over the policies of Morsi, who in June became Egypt's first freely elected president, and the slow rate of change have helped fuel the protests and clashes.

The opposition National Salvation Front has painted the explosion of unrest as a backlash against attempts by Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists to monopolize power in Egypt. It says the instability is proof that Morsi doesn't have enough legitimacy to bring security or achieve reforms alone.

In his television address, Morsi repeated calls for a national dialogue to resolve the nation's problems, a call opponents have repeatedly rejected, saying the talks are mere window-dressing with no real say.

At a televised news conference, Salvation Front head Mohamed ElBaradei said the call was "without form and content."

ElBaradei said Morsi must first appoint a national unity government and a commission to amend the disputed constitution ratified in a referendum last month before the opposition can join a dialogue. He also wants Morsi to take legislative powers away from the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament, or the Shura Council. Normally, the body is toothless with no lawmaking powers but it is serving in the role until a new lower house is elected. Fewer than 10 percent of voters bothered to cast ballots in elections for the body last year.

"We support any dialogue if it has a clear agenda that can shepherd the nation to the shores of safety," said ElBaradei, flanked by former Arab league chief Amr Moussa and leftist Hamdeen Sabahi.

The Front later issued a statement in which it said failure by Morsi to meet its conditions should be cause for early presidential elections, now scheduled for 2016. It also insisted Morsi, his administration and the interior minister bore political responsibility for last weekend's bloodshed and called for the lifting as soon as possible of the state of emergency declared in the three Suez Canal provinces.

It also called for mass, nationwide protests on Friday.

An official at President Mohammed Morsi's office said the dialogue will go ahead as scheduled later on Monday despite the absence of what he called "some forces." The official listed six parties and two political figures to be participating in the dialogue. They are mostly Islamist groups supporting Morsi.

The military was deployed in Suez on Friday and in Port Said the next day ? a move that threatens to drag the armed forces into a direct conflict with protesters.

The Cabinet on Monday approved draft legislation that would authorize the armed forces to work alongside police in keeping security and arrest civilians, the state news agency MENA said. The military would have that role until the end of parliamentary elections, expected in April.

The legislation, quickly adopted by the Shoura Council for approval, means soldiers would be maintaining law and order on the streets alongside the police at a time when many Egyptians are increasingly distrustful of both.

The state of emergency call has sparked criticism that Morsi is using the same methods as Mubarak, who maintained his police-state rule through emergency laws in effect over the entire country throughout his rule.

Morsi has struggled to address the country's daunting social and economic problems since taking power in June. A relative unknown until his Muslim Brotherhood nominated him to run for president last year, he has been criticized for offering no coherent policy to tackle seemingly endless problems, from a free falling economy and deeply entrenched social injustices to surging crime and chaos on the streets.

___

Associated Press writer Amir Makar contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-violence-persists-despite-emergency-moves-162807589.html

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In breast cancer metastasis, researchers identify possible drug target

Jan. 27, 2013 ? The spread of breast cancer to distant organs within the body, an event that often leads to death, appears in many cases to involve the loss of a key protein, according to UC San Francisco researchers, whose new discoveries point to possible targets for therapy.

In the January 27, 2013 online edition of Nature Cell Biology, UCSF scientists describe for the first time how the protein, known as GATA3 -- which is abnormal or absent in many cases of human breast cancer -- normally acts downstream in biochemical pathways to prevent the distant spread of cancer, an event called metastasis.

The discovery points to a biochemical control point that simultaneously holds in check several key events required for tumor cells to successfully spread.

"When GATA3 is present, it turns off many genes that are active in metastasis," said Zena Werb, PhD, a UCSF professor of anatomy who led the research. "We now have identified the molecular mechanisms involved."

The key finding of the new study is that GATA3 acts downstream biochemically to activate a molecule -- obscure until now -- called microRNA29b. MicroRNA29b in turn stops protein production from other genes that play vital roles in metastasis.

The absence or loss of GATA3 can free cancerous cells to break free from their defined roles and tethers within a tumor, to move away from the tumor mass, to induce cancer-promoting inflammation, and to stimulate the development of new blood vessels that can help spreading cancerous cells regrow as tumors in new locations.

"People knew that some of these genes were turned on in some cancers, but they did not know they were turned on because GATA3 and microRNA29b were turned off," Werb said. "If you have 20 genes that are becoming less active all at once due to microRNA29b, it could have a profound effect."

Working with mice, the researchers found that restoring microRNA29b to one of the most deadly types of breast cancer stopped metastasis. But the researchers also found that if they knocked out the microRNA29b, tumors spread even in the presence of GATA3, suggesting that microRNA29b can be the driver of metastasis.

In the mouse models of breast cancer studied by Werb's team, GATA3 normally restrains cancerous cells from breaking away from the main tumor and migrating to other organs.

It might be possible, Werb said, to develop drugs that inhibit breast cancer metastasis by re-activating these controls in cancerous cells that have lost the normal protein.

Many researchers who study early stages of cancer focus on abnormal genes and proteins that cause cells to expand their numbers rapidly, a hallmark of cancer.

However, the ability to spread to distant places and to eventually cause lethal complications requires not only cell division and tumor growth, but also changes in how the cancerous cell negotiates with its surroundings. This relationship must be altered to permit cancer to spread, according to earlier research findings by Werb and others.

"Many of the key processes in cancer that GATA3 suppresses take place outside the cell, in the surrounding environment," she said.

GATA3 is a master control for luminal cells, which line the milk-carrying ducts of the breast. In essence, GATA3 dictates the defining characteristics of a normal breast cell, Werb said.

Luminal breast cancers are the most common form of the disease, and the hormones estrogen and progesterone drive their growth. Loss of the normal GATA3 protein as luminal breast cancers evolve is associated with a greater risk of death, Werb said, and occurs in roughly 10 percent of luminal breast cancer cases.

But, along with many other proteins, GATA3 also is absent in "triple negative," breast cancers, which are more often fatal. Triple negative breast cancers, which disproportionately affect black women and younger women, do not depend on the hormones, nor do they require a third growth factor, called HER2.

Triple negative breast cancers, which account for roughly one-in-five breast cancers, have been more difficult to target successfully with newer treatments.

"The targeting we would like to do is to give back microRNA29b specifically to breast tumor cells to prevent metastasis," Werb said.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of California - San Francisco, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Jonathan Chou, Jeffrey H. Lin, Audrey Brenot, Jung-whan Kim, Sylvain Provot, Zena Werb. GATA3 suppresses metastasis and modulates the tumour microenvironment by regulating?microRNA-29b expression. Nature Cell Biology, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/ncb2672

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/9MKEP8kbDFI/130127134214.htm

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Senators reach deal on immigration changes

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A bipartisan group of leading senators has reached agreement on the principles of sweeping legislation to rewrite the nation's immigration laws.

The deal, which was to be announced at a news conference Monday afternoon, covers border security, guest workers and employer verification, as well as a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants already in this country.

Although thorny details remain to be negotiated and success is far from certain, the development heralds the start of what could be the most significant effort in years toward overhauling the nation's inefficient patchwork of immigration laws.

President Barack Obama also is committed to enacting comprehensive immigration legislation and will travel to Nevada on Tuesday to lay out his vision, which is expected to overlap in important ways with the Senate effort.

The eight senators expected to endorse the new principles Monday are Democrats Charles Schumer of New York, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado; and Republicans John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida and Jeff Flake of Arizona.

Several of these lawmakers have worked for years on the issue. McCain collaborated with the late Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy on comprehensive immigration legislation pushed by then-President George W. Bush in 2007, only to see it collapse in the Senate when it couldn't get enough GOP support.

Now, with some Republicans chastened by the November elections which demonstrated the importance of Latino voters and their increasing commitment to Democrats, some in the GOP say this time will be different.

"What's changed, honestly, is that there is a new, I think, appreciation on both sides of the aisle ? including maybe more importantly on the Republican side of the aisle ? that we have to enact a comprehensive immigration reform bill," McCain said Sunday on ABC's "This Week."

"I think the time is right," McCain said.

The group claims a notable newcomer in Rubio, a potential 2016 presidential candidate whose conservative bona fides may help smooth the way for support among conservatives wary of anything that smacks of amnesty. In an opinion piece published Sunday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Rubio wrote that the existing system amounts to "de facto amnesty," and he called for "commonsense reform."

According to documents obtained by The Associated Press, the senators will call for accomplishing four goals:

?Creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already here, contingent upon securing the border and better tracking of people here on visas.

?Reforming the legal immigration system, including awarding green cards to immigrants who obtain advanced degrees in science, math, technology or engineering from an American university.

?Creating an effective employment verification system to ensure that employers do not hire illegal immigrants.

?Allowing more low-skill workers into the country and allowing employers to hire immigrants if they can demonstrate they couldn't recruit a U.S. citizen; and establishing an agricultural worker program.

The principles being released Monday are outlined on just over four pages, leaving plenty of details left to fill in. What the senators do call for is similar to Obama's goals and some past efforts by Democrats and Republicans, since there's wide agreement in identifying problems with the current immigration system. The most difficult disagreement is likely to arise over how to accomplish the path to citizenship.

In order to satisfy the concerns of Rubio and other Republicans, the senators are calling for the completion of steps on border security and oversight of those here on visas before taking major steps forward on the path to citizenship.

Even then, those here illegally would have to qualify for a "probationary legal status" that would allow them to live and work here ? but not qualify for federal benefits ? before being able to apply for permanent residency. Once they are allowed to apply they would do so behind everyone else already in line for a green card within the current immigration system.

That could be a highly cumbersome process, but how to make it more workable is being left to future negotiations. The senators envision a more streamlined process toward citizenship for immigrants brought here as children by their parents, and for agricultural workers.

The debate will play out at the start of Obama's second term, as he aims to spend the political capital afforded him by his re-election victory on an issue that has eluded past presidents and stymied him during his first term despite his promises to the Latino community to act.

"As the president has made clear for some time, immigration reform is an important priority and he is pleased that progress is being made with bipartisan support," a White House spokesman, Clark Stevens, said in a statement. "At the same time, he will not be satisfied until there is meaningful reform and he will continue to urge Congress to act until that is achieved."

For Republicans, the November elections were a stark schooling on the importance of Latino voters, who voted for Obama over Republican Mitt Romney 71 percent to 27 percent, helping ensure Obama's victory. That led some Republican leaders to conclude that supporting immigration reform with a path to citizenship has become a political imperative.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-28-Immigration/id-5eeacbb7069c46dba7460c092bb690e5

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If employee loses workers - Business Management Daily

Congratulations! You just won a workers? compensation case because you had strong evidence that the employee?s injury wasn?t caused by anything that happened at work. Now get ready for round No. 2.

If the employee appeals, be sure to ask for attorneys? fees. Under the right circumstances, you?ll be entitled to payment.

Recent case: Christopher developed acute myelogenous leukemia when he was 33 and sued his most recent employer for workers? compensation benefits. He alleged that his illness was caused by workplace exposure to benzene, a chemical that can sometimes trigger cancer like his.

But the employer presented compelling evidence that none of the processes Christopher worked on involved benzene, and that any ex?posure at work would at most have been 1/2000th of the limit OSHA considers safe. Plus, the evidence suggested that the type of cancer Christopher developed was based more on genetics and cigarette exposure than benzene.

Christopher?s case was dismissed, but he appealed, arguing that his ?expert witness? presented evidence from science journals published in the 1950s showing a connection between benzene and cancer.

The employer asked for attorneys? fees if he lost the appeal.

The court refused to overturn the decision and ordered the North Caro??lina Industrial Commission to determine whether Christopher should pay the employer?s legal fees for a frivolous appeal. (Scearce v. Chemtek, No. COA12-345, Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2012)

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Free Pets to Good Home ? Blog Archive ? Hoof Clipping Gear

By far the most crucial a part of horse foot care is right hoof trimming and you can find needed hoof trimming tools necessary to accomplish appropriate hoof trimming. Horse apron or horse chaps are required for the protection from the pet owner?s legs from the pet horse?s hoof and legs at the same time as help within the firm holding with the horse?s hoof involving the pet owner?s knees.
A horse hoof pick cleans debris from the bottom from the horse?s hoof that remain along the grooves on the sides in the frog at the same time as the sole area. Debris dull hand tools and hide hoof injuries. A horse hoof knife trims loose dried-out sole away and loose and ragged frog off. Remember never to cut into reside flesh as the sole can get sore and bleed.
Horse nippers trim the hoof wall outgrowth in the hoof. Generally, a full-grown averaged size horse need to have in between 3? and 3 ?? of hoof wall at the toe. Toe length, which varies with all the size and breed of your horse, is measured in the hoof wall leading for the bottom or ground, at the center in the hoof wall toe.
A horse rasp levels the bottom in the hoof wall, removes burrs and smoothes and rounds the hoof wall outside edge, just after horse nipper trimming. Horse callipers measure the length in the hoof in the toe center, All four feet may well not be the exact same length, although most of the time the two front feet will be from the exact same length in the toe plus the two hind feet will be with the similar length in the toe at the same time. The horse hoof gauge matches foot pairs within their angle towards the ground. Relative to one another must be the angles with the shoulder, pastern, and hoof wall on the horse at the toe. You can come across the very best hoof trimming tools at Things For Horses.net.

Source: http://siscer.net/articles/pets/hoof-clipping-gear/

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US may give $32M to train African troops in Mali

SEVARE, Mali (AP) ? The Obama administration is seeking an additional $32 million to train African troops to fight Islamic extremists in Mali.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters Friday the request had been made to Congress.

The United States is not providing any direct aid to the Malian government because the democratically elected president was overthrown in a coup last year.

However, it has been providing aid to the French-led mission, transporting French troops and equipment to Mali.

France has some 2,400 forces in the West African nation but says it wants African nations to take the lead in fighting the extremists who rule northern Mali.

The French-led operation began on Jan. 11 after the militants surged southward from their strongholds and took the town of Konna, later recaptured by government forces.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-may-32m-train-african-troops-mali-085310169.html

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Why You Need Car Insurance | INWD

There are more drivers hitting the road every year. As this number goes up, the chances of a car wreck will also increase. If you get in a car crash, the auto insurance you own can make a big difference in how much you have to pay. But why do you need insurance and just how much do you need? Auto insurance provides you with protection from paying for damage or injury you cause others while you are driving, damage to your vehicle or personal injury or injury to your passengers from a crash, plus certain other incidents, such as theft. No matter where you live, you will need to purchase some variety of auto insurance. Deciding to drive without insurance could mean you have to repair or replace a stolen or damaged vehicle or pay the cost of any damage for which you might be responsible. Liability: It pays for the expenses you have caused to others in a car accident, including injury and property damage. If you are sued, it also pays your legal fees. Recommended, more comprehensive levels of liability insurance can be purchased that cover more than the lower, state-mandated insurance. Personal Injury Protection: Personal injury insurance is required in some states and is optional in others. Sometimes referred to as no-fault coverage, this pays the medical treatment for you or your passengers regardless of who was at fault. This insurance can also pay for lost earnings, service replacement and funeral expenses. The minimum amount of personal injury protection is typically set by the state. Medical Payments: This coverage is available in states that are not considered no-fault; it will pay despite who may have been at fault. This insurance will pay for all insured person?s reasonable and necessary medical or funeral expenses for bodily injury from a crash. Collision: This pays for damage to your vehicle caused by an accident. Comprehensive: Cover your vehicle from all non-collision damages when you buy this type of coverage. This may include protection from theft, vandalism, and fire or flood damage. Uninsured Motorist: This pays for repair and replacement costs when someone with insurance is injured in an accident caused by another person who does not have liability coverage. Under-Insured Motorist: There are other drivers who have liability insurance that might not be able to pay for all the expenses they are responsible for. Under-insured motorist coverage protects you in accidents involving those drivers. Other types of coverage, such as emergency road service, are also available. What you pay for auto insurance varies based on the company and will depend on multiple factors, such as: *Your selected coverage *Your vehicle?s make and model * Whether or not you have been in an accident * Your age, sex and marital status * Where you live Some people think they can get by without auto insurance, but it is honestly something you don?t want to live without. Evaluate your needs, research your options, and with the guidance of your insurance agency, choose the option that best suits you. Auto insurance Oakland

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January 26, 2013 Saturday at 2:08 pm

Source: http://inwd.org/why-you-need-car-insurance-6/

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Interview: Adam Kolbrenner (Madhouse Entertainment) ? Part 6 ...

This week, we are fortunate to have as our guest manager-producer Adam Kolbrenner from Madhouse Entertainment, an L.A.-based production and literary management company that works with screenwriters and writer/directors in the areas of film, television and new media.

I will be posting the whole interview over the course of the week. Today in Part 6, Adam reveals what he is looking for when he reads a script and in a prospective writer client.

Now let?s look at what you do through the eyes of an aspiring screenwriter. How do you go about the process of surfacing a new talented writer?

It?s all about that one script that?s a calling card.? If you don?t have it but ask to meet people or just ?get out there? Madhouse is not the right representative.? I think you might require something more like a dating service.? If you can?t fundamentally write the script that will define you, perhaps you should choose another profession.? When we do have that script, the world is yours.

What specifically are you looking for when you read a script from a potential writer client?

Voice.? Characters.? Plot that we did not see coming.? Dialogue that is not derivative of what we?ve seen on screen before.? If I?m on page 1 of a cop thriller and the cliches start to pop up, say a character gives me: ?I?m too old for this shit? or ?The Mayor is on my ass already? I?ll be putting your script down on the ground.? Have you heard this line of dialogue in a movie from years ago?? You probably have, and it?s not yours to write again.

Let?s say you read a terrific script by a new writer. What?s your process in checking them out as a potential client? Are there certain types of personality traits or skill sets you?re looking for in addition to their writing talent?

Yes as I mentioned, great writing is 99% of what this business is.? But the other 99% is how hard are you willing to work for it.? (99+99 adds up right?).? If I meet a writer and he tells me how great that script is I just read and he asks me what I?m going to do to get it made, and THEN he?ll figure out what he?ll write next, I end the meeting there.? Don?t worry about what I?m going to do, worry about what YOU will do for your career as writer.? Go write.

Okay, so let?s further hypothesize you agree to represent this writer and they have this one great spec script they?ve written. It doesn?t immediately sell, but it?s a strong writing sample. How might you approach guiding this writer through their first six to twelve months in Hollywood? What opportunities might you be focusing on? How closely would you be working with them and what would that work look like?

Madhouse Boot camp.? For both of us actually.? We certainly look at opportunities out there in the marketplace that are realistic.? But, the reality is our boot camp is working together to determine what is going to be the next spec.? Why didn?t the first one sell?? Who knows.? But put it behind you and move on to the next.? Now people know your name.? What are you going to give them next?? That?s all they care about.

Does Madhouse Entertainment accept unsolicited submissions? Can writers submit loglines to you by email?

We get dozens of unsolicited emails a day.? It?s not cool and now I just delete them because while it might seem to a writer that sending an email first thing in the morning for representation is the best time to get a response, I get up in the morning and have at least 50 emails to start going through from clients and others around the world.? Delete.? So, Madhouse?s system can be found out online at our website:? www.madhouseent.net ? we look at every email there, all log lines, determine what sounds interesting and we go from there.? Lots more info and updates on twitter:? @madhouse_ent ? the website link is there as well to submit.

A few subjects that come up again and again. First what?s your advice on whether a writer should relocate to LA or stay where they are and write from there?

We represent plenty of writers that live all over the country.? When you?re starting out, working from anywhere is fine to an extent.? But, in order to be constantly in the game you need to be in Los Angeles.? It shows a more serious commitment to the craft. You meet plenty of other writers here, more opportunities open up and you feel connected.? You want to work on Wall Street, live in NYC.? You want to work in Hollywood, live in Hollywood.? If you don?t want to live in Los Angeles, at least move to Burbank.

Next would you generally advise aspiring writers to focus on one genre or to write whatever stories they want to pursue?

I think it?s vital for a writer to write in the lane that they want to write in for a long time.? I hear from new writers they have a comedy and a drama and a horror film and my head explodes.? Know who you are.? Look at the best screenwriters in the world.? Does David Koepp write the next Will Ferrell movie?? Does John August write Paranormal Activity 6?? They don?t cross genres, why should you?

One more: Should an aspiring screenwriter be more concerned about writing for the market or writing stories about which they are truly passionate, even if their content may fly in the face of Hollywood conventional wisdom?

This sort of wraps around to our whole conversation.? Good writing will rise to the top.? No matter what the story is. ?On the 2012 Black List Madhouse had everything from a 14th Century? movie about whaling, to a slave escape film, to a multi-generational road trip comedy, to a teen time travel adventure and more.? Passion is great.? But great storytelling and great writing wins.

If you had to estimate how many scripts you read a year, what would that total be? After reading so many scripts, do you still get excited about the possibility that this next one could be great? How do you sustain that positive energy?

Madhouse recently ran a contest that was basically a jelly bean count on all the scripts that were stacked behind my desk over a two year period.? (There?s a photo in Screenplay Magazine by Tom Benedek from a year or so ago).? I print every script and read them all.? The number in the script contest was exactly 2,897.? We read everything we can get my hands on.? I stay positive because I have to.? I substitute a classic novel or the great screenwriters (August, Koepp, etc) work in there from time to time to keep perspective.? Every time someone recommends a new writer to me, whether i?ve heard the name or not, I get excited.? I read everything by the following monday.? Always.? I don?t sit around.? Energy?? The Coffee Bean across the street from the Madhouse office and constant flow of interns running over there.

What?s the single most satisfying aspect of what you do as a literary manager?

Building lives and careers.?? Seeing our clients cash checks.? Seeing clients get married, have kids, build houses.? Seeing movies get made.

Finally what?s the one biggest piece of advice you can give to aspiring screenwriters?

Read everything.? Write more than everyone else.? Stay focused.? Don?t quit.? Don?t expect results from others, the only results come from when you type ?THE END? and send that script to the universe.? The universe will decide on the great ones.? Tip your bartenders and the valet guys because they might just have a great story idea for you.

That concludes this great interview with one of Hollywood?s most notable managers Adam Kolbrenner.

Please stop by comments to thank Adam for taking the time for the interview and post any follow-up questions you may have as he has agreed to answer them.

Source: http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2013/01/interview-adam-kolbrenner-madhouse-entertainment-part-6.html

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MAME returns to the App Store this time hidden in a game called Gridlee

A new game has been released in the App Store that offers a little more than meets the eye. Gridlee was a game that was originally developed for the arcade back in 1982 and never released; that is until now. It is a really simple game as you would imagine as it dates back to 1982; what?s interesting here however is that it is built on the MAME4iOS engine. The information comes from Touch Arcade whose eagle eyed forum members made the discovery.

When word of this hit our forums, readers were quick to pull out iExplore and begin digging about the app's directory structure looking for a ROM folder. Well, it's in there, and sure enough, if one copies other MAME ROMs into that folder, the Gridlee app starts up with the standard MAME4iOS ROM listing, allowing for a great many games beyond just Gridlee to be played on the iPhone or iPad in this Universal app.

This is going to be pulled from the App Store very quickly so if you want the opportunity to grab a working MAME emulator for your iPhone or iPad get this free game now. iMAME was originally released in the App Store back in 2011 with a small bundle of included games. When Apple discovered that more could be added by dropping ROM?s into a folder, it was pulled soon after. This game is no different so expect a very short shelf life. Also as this is a MAME emulator, it offers full iCade support; if you have one of those do not miss out, download it now!

Free ? Download Now

Source: Touch Arcade

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/dZG4DvSRBzo/story01.htm

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