Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/274111744?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Monday, December 31, 2012
Rain snow to hit NE SW China
Law amended in China to safeguard neglected elderly
BEIJING - China Friday amended its law on the elderly to require that adult children visit their aged parents "often" - or risk being sued by them. The amendment however does not specify the ...
Apple loses another copyright violation case in China
BEIJING - Global technology major Apple Inc has been fined 1.03 million yuan ($165,908) by a Beijing court for copyright violation by hosting and selling unlicensed electronic versions of books ...
Beijing cracks down on internet users
BEIJING - China has unveiled tighter internet controls, requiring web users to register their names and legalising the deletion of posts or pages which are considered to contain illegal ...
Joergensen retains Copenhagen Masters title
Denmark's Jan Oe Joergensen beat Hu Yun of Hong Kong 21-12, 21-11 to retain the men's singles title at the Copenhagen Masters badminton tournament here. The 24-year old Dane played his semi-final ...
China tightens Internet controls to allow deletion of illegal online info
China has tightened its Internet controls, asking web users to register their names and legalising the deletion of posts or pages which are considered to contain illegal information. China's ...
1950 documents show China acknowledging Senkakus as Japans islets
A Chinese government document from 1950 appears to refute the country's current claim to the Senkakus by indicating the islets are part of Japan's territory and referring to them by their Japanese ...
China orders children to visit their parents or face lawsuits
China has passed a law that requires adult children to visit their elderly parents or risk facing lawsuit. The law does not specify how frequently such visits should occur, but warns that neglect ...
China Tightens Controls on Internet Use
China's legislature has approved new rules that will tighten government control of the Internet by requiring users to register their real names, and demanding Internet companies censor online ...
China to formally elect new president PM March 5
China will elect its top leaders, including the president and the premier, during the first annual session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) to be convened March 5, 2013, it was announced ...
Spicy soup burns hole through Chinese mans stomach lining
A man from China was left with a burnt hole in his stomach lining after he consumed a notoriously spicy bowl of soup. The 26-year-old unnamed male ate a mala soup, meaning 'numbing hot,' a ...
China Poses Serious Threat to US Interests in Africa
US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, will complete her ten-day African tour on August 14, when she visits Cape Verde islands. Clinton previously visited Kenya, the South African Republic, Angola, ...
Vatican Official Denounces Decision by So-Called Episcopal Conference of China
Expresses Support and Admiration for Persecuted Auxiliary Bishop of ShanghaiBy Junno ArochoVATICAN CITY, DEC. 13, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, secretary of the Congregation for ...
Source: http://www.beijingnews.net/index.php/sid/211665781/scat/9366300fc9319e9b
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Sunday, December 30, 2012
Understanding HR Outsourcing and Its Value for Businesses
It is not everday that the business industry get to hear success stories concerning the human resources department. However, this aspect of the business industry is slowly but surely reaching the surface as more people are coming to realize the essence of this service. Indeed, there is a lot of work involved in terms of managing the human resources of a company and the work delivered by HR specialists and managers are some of the most critical driving forces behind its success. And so this is where the debate on whether there is more to the value of outsourcing HR functions aside from the cost savings to be enjoyed.
Larger companies typically go for HR outsourcing to help with the administrative functions, which is a given knowing that most of these companies also have a large number of employees. But for small businesses with limited employees, the debate on whether outsourcing is good for them or not isn?t as defined. Experts, however, reveal that process-driven aspects of your HR department can be relegated to an outsourcing company while you can keep the rest in-house.
The abiltiy to access modern and advanced HR software is also another benefit to be enjoyed with HR outsourcing. And this, too, is deemed by HR experts as one of the competitive edge you can enjoy with these outsourcing services. The cost of acquisition, maintenance and upgrade to keep these HR systems running fully well is something that small businesses cannot afford on their own. As you tap into HR outsourcing, you will often reveal many benefits that you never even knew existed.
Click here to find out more details about how tapping into an HR outsourcing service can spell the difference for your business.
Source: http://currencyintelligent.com/understanding-hr-outsourcing-and-its-value-for-businesses
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Fantasy Football Week 17 Injury Report: Gronk and Roll
Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
The Injury Report offers fantasy football owners with up-to-date information on notable injuries from around the NFL. Find out which injured players will be ready to suit up or will be warming the bench in Week 17.
Quarterbacks:
Carson Palmer, Oakland Raiders
Palmer (ribs) has been ruled out for Week 17, as the Raiders have nothing left to fight for except pride. The versatile yet raw Terrelle Pryor will get the start over Matt Leinart, who will serve as his backup.
Running Backs:
Arian Foster, Houston Texans
Foster (irregular heartbeat) is fully expected to start on Sunday. His heartbeat is no longer an issue and he?ll be a full-go in a must-win for the Texans if they want to keep their first-round bye.
Trent Richardson, Cleveland Browns
Richardson (ankle) has been ruled out for Week 17. There?s no reason to rush a hobbled Richardson into the lineup with the Browns out of the playoff hunt (a long time ago). RB Montario Hardesty gets the nod.
Wide Receivers:
Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh Steelers
Wallace (hip) has been ruled out for Week 17 against the Cleveland Browns. He failed to practice all week and is looking like he?s played his final game in black and yellow. Wallace is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this off-season. He?ll finish the season with 64 catches for 836 yards and eight touchdowns. WR Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders will man the aerial attack.
Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers
Nelson (hamstring) is set to return in Week 17. That leaves the Packers with a much easier decision to rest WR Randall Cobb (ankle) this week. Expect Nelson to get back in sync with his quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons
White (knee) is not expected to play in Week 17 with the Falcons already locked-in with the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye.
Tight Ends:
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
Gronkowski (forearm) is expected to play in Week 17 against the Miami Dolphins, per CSN New England?s Tom Curran. The big question is how much will coach Bill Belichick play his star tight end? I guess that depends on how the Houston Texans fair on Sunday, because if they lose, the Patriots will have a chance to earn a first-round bye with a win. Either way, with the inconsistencies at the tight end position this season, Gronk will be worth the risk even in a limited role.
Dustin Keller, New York Jets
Keller (ankle) has been ruled out for Week 17 against the Buffalo Bills. He hasn?t missed a game in his previous two seasons with the Jets but has been limited to just eight games in 2012. He?ll wrap up the season with 28 catches for 317 yards and two touchdowns. He?s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the off-season and is a candidate for the franchise tag.
Owen Daniels, Houston Texans
Daniels (hamstring) missed practice all week, but is fine and fully expected to start on Sunday.
Source: http://www.rantsports.com/fantasy/2012/12/29/fantasy-football-week-17-injury-report-gronk-and-roll/
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
Obama ?optimistic? Senate leaders will reach ?fiscal cliff? deal this weekend
Following talks with congressional leaders that yielded no news of ?a "fiscal cliff" agreement, President Barack Obama on Friday evening pressured lawmakers to reach a deal this weekend as the public's patience wears thin.
"America wonders why it is that in this town for some reason they can't get stuff done in an organized timetable, why everything always has to wait for the last minute," Obama said during a statement delivered in the White House briefing room. "The American people are not going to have any patience for a politically self-inflicted wound to our economy, not right now."
The president confirmed that following his Friday afternoon meeting with congressional leaders, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and?Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have been tasked to reach an agreement to reduce the deficit and avoid the "fiscal cliff"?automatic spending cuts and tax increases set to go into effect Jan. 1.
But in the absence of a deal, Obama said he will "urge" Reid to "bring to the floor a basic package for an up-or-down vote" that would increase taxes on households earning more than $250,000, extend unemployment insurance and disarm a sequestration?provisions the president has supported.
But Republicans have been rejecting any tax increases, even for the wealthiest earners.
"If members of the House or Senate want to vote 'no,' they can," Obama said of his plan. "But we should let everybody vote. That's the way this is supposed to work."
The president referred to Friday's meeting, which also included House Speaker John Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Vice President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, as "good and constructive" and said he remained "modestly optimistic" about Congress' ability to reach a deal.
But he blamed Congress for the 11th-hour holdup.
"The economy is growing, but sustaining that trend is going to require elected officials to do their jobs," Obama said.
No details on the proposals offered Friday were released by the White House or the lawmakers present.
According to a readout from the speaker's office, Boehner began the meeting by reminding those gathered "that the House has already acted to avert the entire fiscal cliff and is awaiting Senate action." Plan options were discussed and the speaker said the House will consider Senate-amended, House-passed legislation.
Following the meeting, McConnell said on the Senate floor that he was "hopeful and optimistic" about a deal.
"We had a good meeting down at the White House. We are engaged in discussions?the majority leader and myself and the White House?in the hopes that we can come forward as early as Sunday and have a recommendation that I can make to my conference and the majority leader can make to his conference," McConnell said. "And so we?ll be working hard to try to see if we can get there in the next 24 hours."
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Obama to make a statement on fiscal cliff
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The White House says President Barack Obama plans to make a statement following a meeting with congressional leaders on the fiscal cliff.
Obama met Friday for about an hour with House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.
The White House is trying to build support for a proposal it presented a week ago, when Obama urged lawmakers to preserve tax cuts for most Americans while letting rates rise on incomes above $250,000 a year. At the same time, Obama wants lawmakers to extend unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless.
Both sides are trying to prevent a toxic blend of middle-class tax increases and spending cuts from taking effect at the turn of the new year.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-statement-fiscal-cliff-221724474--finance.html
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AP Source: McCoy, Hicks suspended by Texas
Texas has sent home backup quarterback Case McCoy and injured linebacker Jordan Hicks on the eve of the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio for violating team rules, a person with knowledge of the suspensions told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Friday because the school wasn't releasing the names of the suspended players. The person said the players broke curfew.
Coach Mack Brown addressed the situation during a previously schedule news conference Friday and referred to a KENS-TV report (http://tinyurl.com/cw8dcj3) that police were investigating two unidentified Texas players in an alleged sexual assault at a San Antonio hotel.
"This has been reported: We had a couple young men that broke team rules last night. They have been suspended from the team and they will be sent home," Brown said at a previously scheduled news conference in San Antonio. "They will not be available for the game and I will not address any more questions in that matter."
Sgt. Javier Salazar, a San Antonio police spokesman, said only that detectives are in the early stages of investigating a case of alleged sexual assault in the downtown area. Investigators are interviewing witnesses and collecting forensic evidence, he said.
"It's a very meticulous process," Salazar said. "As far as these investigations go, it's very early."
A heavily-redacted police report says a 21-year-old woman told police she believed she was assaulted around 2 a.m. Friday after inviting two men to her hotel room. The report shows only that the men are students and that one is 21 and the other is 20. The woman told police that she had had several drinks when she invited the men to her hotel.
Police said they observed bruises on the woman's right knee and left bicep.
After talking to police, the woman was taken to a San Antonio hospital, where she was seen by a sexual assault nurse examiner, according to the report. The two suspects also were taken to the hospital and examined by the nurse, the report says.
Ben Turner, acting general manager at the Holiday Inn on San Antonio's Riverwalk, said police were summoned to the hotel between 2 and 3 a.m. Friday to investigate an alleged sexual assault. He said hotel staff was cooperating with police.
McCoy, the brother of former Texas star and current Browns quarterback Colt McCoy, has played eight games this season, including one start. He has thrown for 722 yards and six touchdowns.
Hicks was a starter but hasn't played since the third game of the season because of a hip injury.
Texas (8-4) plays Oregon State (9-3) in Saturday's game at the Alamodome. The Longhorns' walk-through at the stadium Friday afternoon was closed to the media.
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Friday, December 28, 2012
White House urges dockworkers, shippers deal
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The White House is urging dockworkers and shipping companies to reach agreement "as quickly as possible" on a contract extension for East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers whose existing pact expires this week.
Obama spokesman Matt Lehrich says the White House is monitoring the situation closely and urges the parties to "continue their work at the negotiating table to get a deal done as quickly as possible."
Talks between the dockworkers and shipping companies broke down Dec. 18 amid unresolved issues such as wages and container royalties ? the payments to union workers based on cargo weight. The International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance are expected to meet this week.
The National Retail Federation has asked the Obama administration to use "all means necessary" to prevent a strike.
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British team abandons drilling in Antarctic lake
Technical problem, fuel shortage force suspension of scientific project to find life in Earth's remotest environment. US, Russia set to begin their Antarctic drilling projects.
A seal swims by icebergs off the British Antarctic Survey's Rothera base in this 2009 file photo. A BAS team has called off an ambitious project to drill to sub-glacial lake to look for forms of life and survey the effects of what happened the last time the Antarctic ice sheet broke up.
Alister Doyle/Reuters/File
EnlargeAn ambitious British plan to search for minute forms of life in an ancient lake beneath Antarctica's ice has been suspended because of technical problems, the scientist leading the project said on Thursday.
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In a move that clears the way for U.S. and Russian teams to take the lead, Professor Martin Siegert said technical problems and a lack of fuel had forced the closure on Christmas Day of the 7-million-pound ($11 million) project, which was looking for life forms and climate change clues in the lake-bed sediment.
"This is of course, hugely frustrating for us, but we have learned a lot this year," said Siegert of the University of Bristol, principal investigator for the mission, which was headed by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
"By the end, the equipment was working well, and much of it has now been fully field-tested," he said on the BAS website.
Experts from Britain's Lake Ellsworth mission had expected to find minute forms of life in the lake three km (two miles) under Antarctica's ice, the most remote and extreme environment known on Earth.
They had also hoped that by dating bits of seashell found in the water they would have been able to ascertain when the ice sheet last broke up and to better understand the risks of it happening again.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
Scientists from the United States and Russia are hot on Britain's heels when it comes to drilling through Antarctic ice to lakes that have been hidden for thousands of years.
The U.S. team is aiming to start drilling in Lake Whillans, one of 360 known sub-glacial lakes in Antarctica, in January or February 2013.
Russia was the first to pierce 3,769 metres (12,365 ft) of solid ice to reach Lake Vostok early in 2012. But some scientists believe their samples may have been contaminated by drilling fluids.
The British scientists decided to abandon the mission after trying for 20 hours to connect two holes in the ice that were needed for the hot-water drill to work, said a BAS spokeswoman.
Without a connection between the two holes, the hot water would seep into the porous surface layers of ice and be lost, reducing the pressure and rendering the drill ineffective.
The team tried to melt and dig more snow to compensate for the water loss, but without success.
As a result of the extra time taken to fix the problem, fuel stocks had been depleted to such a level as to make the operation unviable.
Asked how long the delay might be before the project could be resumed, Siegert told the BBC: "It will take a season or two to get all our equipment out of Antarctica and back to the UK, so at a minimum we're looking at three to four, maybe five years I would have thought."
However, he said he felt this year's mission had not been a complete loss.
The BAS spokeswoman said: "It's very possible that either the U.S. or Russia may take the lead but I think the one thing we've learned here is that anything can go wrong."
"We've never depicted this as a race. All sub-glacial lakes would give different information," she said.
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Upbeat signs for vets' hearts | percent, cork, marijuana - Life - The ...
Today's servicemen have atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, less frequently than fighters generations ago, but "the national battle against heart disease is not over," according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
A study, led by a doctor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., examined the prevalence of atherosclerosis in veterans killed in Iraq between October 2001 and August 2011. According to autopsy reports of those who died in combat or from unintentional injuries, only 8.5 percent had the condition, caused by a buildup of fat, cholesterol and other deposits inside the walls of arteries.
An American soldier begins his journey home from Iraq in this Dec. 15, 2011 photo. U.S. servicemen suffer atherosclerosis, hardening of the arteries, less frequently than fighters of conflicts generations ago.
PHOTO BY KHALID MOHAMMED, AP
ADVERTISEMENT
Seventy-seven percent of men who died during the Korean War had hardened arteries. Among those killed in the Vietnam War, the prevalence was 45 percent.
An editorial accompanying the study notes that death rates from heart disease have declined 72 percent since their Vietnam War-era peak, but "cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States. The national battle against heart disease is not over; increasing rates of obesity and diabetes signal a need to engage earlier and with greater intensity in a campaign of pre-emption and prevention."
The study draws a strong connection between advanced age and risk of atherosclerosis: Service members with the condition had an average age of 30.5, about 5 years older than those who didn't have it. Service members 40 and older were 7 times more likely to have it (45.9 percent) than those 24 and younger (6.6 percent).
Also, lower education levels were "significantly associated" with atherosclerosis prevalence.
Contact the writer: lhall@ocregister.com
Source: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/percent-381758-cork-marijuana.html
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Thursday, December 27, 2012
New Toshiba camera sensor lets you refocus after the shot, plans 2013 launch in smartphones and tablets
Hoping for some after-the-fact focusing in your next smartphone camera? Well, you'll have to wait around a year, but Toshiba's planning exactly that with a new module that houses an array of 500,000 tiny lenses. Within a 1cm-thick unit, these lenses are layered in front of the camera sensor, which can capture slightly different images from each lens arrangement. Those picture can then be combined in a "complete" picture using Toshiba's own software. Apparently, the camera will also be able to measure the distance between objects in the shot -- similar to how 3D images are captured -- with the user then able to shift focus between close and distant detail, or even create images that are in-focus throughout. Toshiba says the module will also be able to capture video with a similar degree of focus management -- something that Lytro hasn't got around to just yet. The sensor is still a work in progress, but the manufacturer plans to commercialize the module before the end of 2013. Toshiba is looking to ally itself with multiple smartphone (and tablet) makers -- and here's hoping that it finds its way into a device outside of Japan.
[Thanks Franck]
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Asahi Shinbun (Japanese)
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/27/toshiba-camera-sensor-refocus-photos-2013-launch/
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Helen Hall Ramaglia, Author, Foster/Adopt Mother, Foster Care Alumni
Helen Hall Ramaglia?is an author, Foster/Adoptive Mother, Speaker and Advocate for kids in foster care.? She is Founder and Executive Director of Fostering SuperStars, a nonprofit organization designed to enrich the lives of children placed in foster care by serving as a primary connector to organizations, partnerships and providers to meet many of their needs that would normally go unmet.??Fostering SuperStars matches each child with a mentor/advocate, enrolls each child in life skills camp, and ensures that each child receives a seasonal wardrobe twice a year.? Fostering SuperStars will also connect each child who desires it with an organization that provides horseback riding/therapy.
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Helen says that we must fully understand the heart and life of a foster child before we can effectively foster, adopt or work with this vulnerable population of extraordinary children.? She shared her story with The Teen Toolbox blog readers to help America walk in the shoes of a child who has experienced physical, mental and emotional abuse, was removed from everything they had known, was provided shelter from the State and strangers, and thrust into adulthood totally unprepared.
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Helen?s early years were filled with violence, trauma, and loss. Helen was thrust into foster care at the age of eleven.? Although she had suffered significant abuse from her father and believes that being placed in foster care literally saved her from death at the hands of her father, Helen was re-traumatized by the separation from everything she had known and the uncertainty of what to expect.? She never had a chance to say goodbye to anyone and no one explained the foster care system to her nor informed her what would become her home.? Helen was even placed in several juvenile detention centers before being placed in a long-term foster home.
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Helen was placed in a safe family but still had many unmet needs.? She never learned about personal hygiene and grooming from her foster mother and never received counseling services while in care.? During her teenage years Helen stopped talking as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder.? Her foster parents did not realize the effects of the trauma she had experienced and reacted negatively to many things Helen said or did.? When Helen advocated for herself she was labeled as having a ?smart mouth?.? Because of this experience, Helen warns us that well-meaning foster parents who provide a home free from violence can still ?add insult to injury? for the children in their care thus all foster parents should be trained in positive parenting techniques.
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In 1976, Helen became the first foster child to leave the United States and live in another country.? Without warning or explanation, Helen woke up one morning to find that her sister had been taken from Europe and returned to the US.? No one ever came looking for her.? She was invisible to a system that did not remain in contact with her to ensure her safety and stability.? Helen graduated high school at age 16 and received no guidance or support regarding higher education from her foster family.? At age 17 she returned to the US but to a different state from where she departed.? Low self-esteem and little valuable communication skills led Helen to sleeping pills.? With few options, Helen was married and soon became pregnant because she had never learned about birth control.? There was also a time in her young adult life that she experienced homelessness.
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Helen had never been taught how to make good decisions but for the first time in her life she was ready to set goals and follow a plan to reach them.? She was 35 and decided to write a book.? Prior to this awakening, every day in her life was about sheer survival.? She lacked basic interpersonal dynamics and knowledge of social norms. She was jittery and nervous and felt that her words had no meaning.? The book was a catalyst for Helen to do something with her life and an avenue to ?become whole?.? She began to watch influential people and read about their personal journeys.? Helen also got the courage to reach out to people and connect as a way of filling personal gaps in her life.?
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Helen?s book?From Foster To Fabulous ? One Little Girl?s Journey Through Abuse, Foster Care, Aging Out and Life Beyond helps us all understand the emotional baggage that weighs many children in foster care down.? Her faith in God got her through many terrible ordeals and she believes that all children can find it in themselves to overcome obstacles with guidance and support.?
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When asked what we can do to better support teen girls in foster care, Helen replied that every girl should be connected with lifetime mentorship.? A person (not an authority figure) who will not leave them when they age out but stick with them, teach them about life, and connect them with needed resources.? She also believes that we should do a better job of training foster parents and holding schools and workers accountable to ensure that children are safe and thriving.? Helen also wishes that every child in foster care could have a stand in family during the holidays which can be very challenging for many young people.
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Helen truly found her voice at age 45. She and her husband became foster parents to a special needs sibling group of two toddlers and an infant who had been in seven prior placements.? She began to fight for them and has never looked back.? The Ramaglia family has adopted the toddlers who are now thriving 6 and 7 year olds.? Helen and her husband are also the parents of two biological children.? Helen is a 2012 Angel in Adoption Award winner, a Points of Light award winner, and trainer.? ?She is using her voice to advocate for changes for all children in foster care.? ?
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As we wrap up our 6th Annual?Pack A Purse Drive? in December 2012, we will use the Teen Toolbox blog as a platform to spread inspiration and hope by highlighting the triumphs of successful women foster care alumni.
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Nicki Sanders, MSW, Chief Visionary Officer
The Teen Toolbox provides youth portfolio development and civic engagement and academic empowerment strategies to help teens set goals for life after high school and create a road map to reach those goals through its PACKAGED FOR SUCCESS? Programs.? We are committed to supporting and raising awareness about the needs and potential of teenagers in the foster care system.
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Source: http://theteentoolbox.com/helen-hall-ramaglia-author-fosteradopt-mother-foster-care-alumni/
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Nervous retailers hope for post-Christmas rush
2 hrs.
The biggest holiday of the season is over, but retailers are hoping that you aren?t done with your holiday shopping quite yet.
?The next few days are critical for retailers. They?ve got some catching up to do,? said Marshal Cohen, retail industry analyst with NPD Group.
By early Wednesday, big chains including Macy's were already pushing their post-Christmas bargains, while major discounters?including Wal-Mart were encouraging shoppers to redeem their gift cards right away. But the fallout from a big Christmas storm could hurt their efforts if shoppers decide they prefer a cozy rest of the week at home instead.
Retailers had started off the all-important holiday shopping season in a much cheerier mood, as Black Friday shoppers appeared to gobble down turkey and rush to the stores ? and their computers ? in search of holiday gifts and bargains.
But then, a combination of factors including super storm?Sandy and the political upheaval over the fiscal cliff appeared to dim shoppers? moods. Experts also?said the stronger start to the season may have been a sign that people finished up early and had fewer last-minute shopping trips to make.
?The early start certainly looked like it meant that the consumer was in full spirits,? Cohen said. ?But in reality just because they had a front-loaded holiday didn?t mean there was going to be that much more spending to come.?
It's too early to paint a complete picture of how retailers fared so far in the most crucial season of the year. But early indications have some fretting that the year will end up being weaker than many had initially hoped.
Holiday-related sales rose 0.7 percent from Oct. 28 through Dec. 24, as compared to last year, according to data from Mastercard Advisors SpendingPulse. That was the lowest growth rate for that period?since 2008, at the depths of the recession. The same?survey showed a 2 percent increase in 2011.
The SpendingPulse data is based on estimates of payments made through the MasterCard network as well as by cash and check. It tracks holiday-related purchases including apparel, electronics and jewelry.
Research firm ShopperTrak, which compiles sales estimates based on foot traffic, said last week that it expects holiday sales to increase by 2.5 percent. That?s down from?its previous estimate that sales would increase by 3.3 percent.
But other researchers have not changed their initial forecasts for the season.
On Wednesday, the International Council of Shopping Centers, which produces an index of chain store sales along with Goldman Sachs, said it was holding to its estimate that holiday sales at chain stores would rise 3 percent this year.
?The ICSC?s chief economist, Michael Niemira, said in a note that sales in the last week of December could benefit from a calendar shift that put Christmas Eve on Monday this year.
A National Retail Federation spokeswoman said in an e-mail Wednesday that it also was sticking with its forecast that holiday sales would grow 4.1 percent to $586.1 billion.
Experts caution that it?s hard to say just yet what the final data will show, especially once post-holiday bargains are factored in.
?There?s no question that we saw a lot of (the) momentum slow down. How much did it slow down? We don?t really know yet,? Cohen said.
Holiday sales are considered crucial to retailers, and some can expect to make as much as half their profits, and 30 percent of their sales, during the two-month period.
The fiscal cliff, super storm?Sandy and other external factors are partly to blame for souring shoppers? moods toward the end of the season. But experts say shoppers have in recent years also become more savvy about sussing out bargains.
They?ve also become more bargain-conscious. C. Britt Beemer, retail analyst with America?s Research Group, said in a research note that major discounters appeared to fare best in keeping their customers.
?Consumers were very frugal this year, as we said all along,? Beemer said in the note.
The increasing shift to online shopping also may not be helping retailers pick up any extra sales. That?s because when a person shops online, they tend to seek out the best bargain and then buy that item. An in-store shopper may be more tempted to walk the other aisles, pick up a few things for themselves or do some other impulse shopping they hadn?t planned on.
?The consumer didn?t spend a lot of time this year buying those extra gifts. They didn?t spend a lot of time spending on themselves instead of others,? Cohen said.
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/nervous-retailers-hope-post-christmas-rush-1C7659314
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
U.N. General Assembly voices concern for Myanmar's Muslims
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly expressed serious concern on Monday over violence between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar and called upon its government to address reports of human rights abuses by some authorities.
The 193-nation General Assembly approved by consensus a non-binding resolution, which Myanmar said last month contained a "litany of sweeping allegations, accuracies of which have yet to be verified."
Outbreaks of violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and the Rohingyas have killed dozens and displaced thousands since June. Rights groups also have accused Myanmar security forces of killing, raping and arresting Rohingyas after the riots. Myanmar said it exercised "maximum restraint" to quell the violence.
The unanimously adopted U.N. resolution "expressing particular concern about the situation of the Rohingya minority in Rakhine state, urges the government to take action to bring about an improvement in their situation and to protect all their human rights, including their right to a nationality."
At least 800,000 Muslim Rohingyas live in Rakhine State along the western coast of Myanmar, also known as Burma. But Buddhist Rakhines and other Burmese view them as illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh who deserve neither rights nor sympathy.
The resolution adopted on Monday is identical to one approved last month by the General Assembly's Third Committee, which focuses on human rights. After that vote, Myanmar's mission to the United Nations said that it accepted the resolution but objected to the Rohingyas being referred to as a minority.
"There has been no such ethnic group as Rohingya among the ethnic groups of Myanmar," a representative of Myanmar said at the time. "Despite this fact, the right to citizenship for any member or community has been and will never be denied if they are in line with the law of the land."
(Reporting By Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Paul Simao)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-n-general-assembly-voices-concern-myanmars-muslims-041849796.html
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U.S. moves to sell advanced spy drones to South Korea
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration formally proposed a controversial sale of advanced spy drones to help South Korea bear more of its defense from any attack by the heavily armed North.
Seoul has requested a possible $1.2 billion sale of four Northrop Grumman Corp RQ-4 "Global Hawk" remotely piloted aircraft with enhanced surveillance capabilities, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement dated on Monday and distributed on Tuesday.
South Korea needs such systems to assume top responsibility for intelligence-gathering from the U.S.-led Combined Forces Command as scheduled in 2015, the security agency said in releasing a notice to U.S. lawmakers.
"The proposed sale of the RQ-4 will maintain adequate intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities and will ensure the alliance is able to monitor and deter regional threats in 2015 and beyond," the notice said.
The United States has agreed with Seoul to turn over the wartime command of Korean troops later this decade. Current arrangements grew from the U.S. role in the 1950-1953 Korean War that repelled a North Korean takeover of the South.
Seoul has shown interest in the high-altitude, long-endurance Global Hawk platform for at least four years. The system, akin to Lockheed Martin Corp's U-2 spy plane, may be optimized to scan large areas for stationary and moving targets by day or night and despite cloud cover.
It transmits imagery and other data from 60,000 feet at near real-time speed, using electro-optical, infrared and radar-imaging sensors built by Raytheon Co.
The possible sale has been held up by discussions involving price, aircraft configuration and a go-slow on release of such technology subject to a voluntary 34-nation arms control pact.
The Defense Department began informally consulting Congress on the possible Global Hawk sale in the summer of 2011, only to withdraw it pending further work on the make-up of the proposed export to Seoul amid lawmakers' arms-control concerns.
The formal notification to Congress came less than two weeks after a North Korean space launch of a satellite atop a multi-stage rocket, a first for the reclusive state, widely seen as advancing its ballistic missile program.
A White House statement denounced the December 12 launch as a "highly provocative act" that would bear consequences for violations of United Nations resolutions. The North is banned from testing missile or nuclear technology under international sanctions imposed after its 2006 and 2009 nuclear weapons tests.
In October 2008, then-U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters that the United States was "very sympathetic" to South Korea's interest in Global Hawk. But he cited issues that had to be overcome because of the so-called Missile Technology Control Regime, or MTCR.
The pact, established in 1987, has been credited with slowing the spread of ballistic missiles and other unmanned delivery systems that potentially could be used for chemical, biological and nuclear attacks.
Pact members, including the United States, agree to curb their exports of systems capable of carrying a 500-kilogram (1,102-pound) payload at least 300 kilometers (186 miles). The Global Hawk falls under a strong presumption against export under MTCR guidelines.
The notification to Congress did not mention that a U.S. government waiver for such an export would be required.
Arms-control advocates fear that this could fuel instability and stir regional arms-race dynamics as well as provide diplomatic cover for an expansion of such exports by Russia, China and others.
The Obama administration agreed earlier this year to let South Korea, a treaty ally, stretch the range of its ballistic missile systems to cover all of North Korea, going beyond the voluntary pact's 300 km (186 miles).
The congressional notification is required by U.S. law and does not mean that a deal has been concluded.
If a sale takes place, it would be for the third generation of Global Hawk drones known as Block 30, the security agency's notice to Congress said.
The Pentagon, in its fiscal 2013 budget request, proposed mothballing its own Block 30 Global Hawks and ending plans to buy more of that generation. Doing so would have no effect on the administration's plans to acquire other versions of the long-range drone.
South Korea's possible Global Hawk purchase would mark the system's first sale in the Asia-Pacific region. It has already been sold to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Australia, Japan and Singapore each have shown interest in buying Global Hawk systems, Northrop Grumman officials have said. Company representatives had no comment on the Christmas holiday on the proposed sale to Seoul.
(Reporting by Jim Wolf; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-moves-sell-advanced-spy-drones-south-korea-195243564.html
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US gun support runs far deeper than politics
In this photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, a customer checks out a shotgun at Burdett & Son Outdoor Adventure Shop in College Station, Texas. More civilians are armed in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world, with Yemen coming in a distant second, according to the Small Arms Survey in Geneva. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
In this photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, a customer checks out a shotgun at Burdett & Son Outdoor Adventure Shop in College Station, Texas. More civilians are armed in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world, with Yemen coming in a distant second, according to the Small Arms Survey in Geneva. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
In this photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012 taxidermist Bill Moos displays one of his shotguns in his shop in Bryan, Texas. Moos, who owns a collection of more than 30 guns, can be spotted any given morning, prowling his roughly 40-acre (16-hectare) ranch with his dogs and a shotgun slung over his shoulder. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
In this photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, gun store owner Dave Burdett talks about gun rights as he displays a hand gun in his store in College Station, Texas. Burdett, who owns an outdoors and adventure shop across the street from the sprawling Texas A&M University campus in College Station, says his affinity for guns is rooted in history, not sport. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
In this photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, a stuffed deer heads hang from the walls of taxidermist Bill Moos' shop in Bryan, Texas. Moos, who owns a collection of more than 30 guns, can be spotted any given morning, prowling his roughly 40-acre (16-hectare) ranch with his dogs and a shotgun slung over his shoulder. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
BRYAN, Texas (AP) ? Adam Lanza's mother was among the tens of millions of U.S. gun owners. She legally had a .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle and a pair of handguns, which her 20-year-old son used to kill 20 children and six adults in 10 efficient minutes inside a Connecticut school.
In the raw aftermath of the second-worst school shooting in U.S. history, countless gun enthusiasts much like Lanza's mother complicate a gun-owning narrative that critics, sometimes simplistically, put at the feet of a powerful lobby and caricatured zealots. More civilians are armed in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world, with Yemen coming in a distant second, according to the Small Arms Survey in Geneva.
Take Blake Smith, a mechanical engineer who lives near Houston and uses an AR-15 style rifle in shooting competitions.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who famously claimed to have shot a coyote while jogging with a pistol holstered to his running shorts, has signed a half-dozen certificates applauding Smith as one of the state's top marksmen. "But I won't call myself a fanatic," said Smith, 54, whose father first let him handle a gun around age 6.
"I sit at a desk all day. And when I get out to the range, I don't hear any gunfire going on," said Smith, who likens his emotional detachment to his guns to the way he would feel about a car or any other machine. "I'm so intent on my sight alignment, my trigger pull, my position. I don't worry about anything. I don't think about anything. It's relieving. It's therapeutic. Everybody has to have their Zen."
Since the school shooting, President Barack Obama has asked for proposals on reducing gun violence that he can take to Congress in January, and he called on the National Rifle Association, the country's most powerful gun-rights organization, to join the effort.
Gun laws in the U.S. vary from state to state ? for instance, as of last month it is now legal to carry a gun in public view in Oklahoma ? and are defended by a well-funded firearms industry and the NRA. On Friday, the NRA broke a weeklong silence since the Connecticut massacre by calling for armed volunteers at public schools, prompting criticism from many quarters.
But in the U.S., gun-control advocates are up against a sizeable bloc of mainstream Americans for whom guns is plainly central to their lives, whether for patriotism or personal sense of safety, or simply to occupy their spare time.
Dave Burdett, who owns an outdoors and adventure shop across the street from the sprawling Texas A&M University campus in College Station, says his affinity for guns is rooted in history, not sport.
"It isn't about hunting. Everyone says, 'Well, I can understand having a sporting rifle, but not an AR-15," Burdett said. "But wait a second ? the idea of the Second Amendment was to preserve and protect the rights of individuals to have those guns."
"Remember that the (American) revolution was fought by citizen soldiers," he added. "To this day, that's one of the cornerstones of our military defense. We have an all-volunteer military."
An NRA poster picturing a bald eagle is taped to the glass door of his office. He started as a lawyer, dabbling in everything from commercial land to trying to block the deportation of an illegal immigrant, before seguing into selling guns.
When his daughter graduated with a business degree from Texas A&M, Burdett figured she would move somewhere cosmopolitan like Dallas and work in a downtown high-rise. She instead went to work in the store, built her own AR-15 out of spare parts and used it to join what her father described as the "let's-go-pig-hunting-tonight circuit." Those feral hog hunts often include high-powered rifles as well as night-vision goggles.
"The other thing is, shooting is fun. It really is," Burdett said.
Many think so. Smith, the mechanical engineer, said that includes teenage girls. At national shooting competitions, Smith has run into a group of girls around 13 or 14 years old who call themselves "The Pink Ladies," firing high-powered rifles at targets. He also recalls meeting Australians, whose country bans guns, who told him, "I love to shoot, so I'm going to the U.S."
Others add safety to the list of reasons for allowing people easy access to guns.
"To me it's obvious ? the more people that have guns, or at least in their homes, it's more of a criminal deterrent," said Bill Moos, a local taxidermist in the small town of Bryan, near College Station. Moos, who owns more than 30 guns, can be spotted any given morning, prowling his roughly 40-acre (16-hectare) ranch with his dogs and a shotgun slung over his shoulder.
He tells a story of standing in the post office one day and hearing about a suspect driving around in a black car, wanted by the police. He thought of the woman behind the counter near him.
"My first thought was, 'How are you going to protect yourself?' Does she have a gun, in case someone tries to rob her?" he said. "It's the first thing you think of: How are you going to defend yourself?"
On the television in the corner of his workshop, above a stuffed gray fox and a clutch of animal jawbones dangling on a ring like a set of keys, Obama is holding his first press conference since the Connecticut tragedy. He's promising to send Congress legislation tightening gun laws and urging them to reinstate a ban on military-style assault weapons, like the one used by Lanza.
Moos turns down the volume.
"I guess it's something you get used to," he said of guns. "That you grow up around, and you enjoy them, and you accept the fact that you can own. It's a privilege. It's a whole different way of life. I guess I don't need three pick-ups and a Corvette. But I have them."
___
Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber
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From war with love: Christmas letters span centuries
Courtesy of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
Gen. Sidney Berry offered a Christmas update to his wife from Vietnam in 1966.
By Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor
Across three pages ??typed on Christmas Eve 1966 from a village in South Vietnam???the soldier?s words to his wife dance seamlessly from a description of singing carols in the jungle to his latest enemy kills to, finally, a vow of eternal affection.?
?Last night we had a candle-lighting ceremony ... Gasoline drums welded together end to end with a white Noel on the side. Electric light on top covered by red cellophane ... Reindeer and Santa Claus at front. It was raining,? Army Gen. Sidney B. Berry wrote to his wife. He next reveals how he recently had perched in a helicopter door, firing his rifle at men below: ?We all were shooting. And we killed several ...?
?Lovely Anne, I love thee,? Berry closed. ?Perhaps the best aspect of this whole period of separation is our increased appreciation and understanding of each other. I love thee, and I will devote the rest of my life to making love to thee.? He signs off: ?Thy wearied professional, Sid.?
This time of year, communication from combat lines has long provided a poignant piece of Christmas.
Today's troops, for the most part, send their holiday wishes via email or Skype video chat sessions. But life was much different before technology began shadowing ?service men and women so far from home.
At the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pa., thousands of notes, authored by service members from conflicts past, are painstakingly stored in acid-free folders, tucked inside protective boxes, and categorized by family, forming numerous narrow rows flanked by shelves 10 feet high. Many of the correspondences, once jammed in attic boxes, have been donated to the archive. Museum directors retrieved several dozen Christmas missives for NBC News to review.
From the Civil War to the Vietnam War, troops ranging from privates to a general struck the same literary chords???no matter the success of their conflict, their era, or the location of their last battle. They often chronicle violence during a moment meant to celebrate peace. They typically express humor, perhaps to put families at ease. And they reveal yearnings to be back with gathered families and friends.
?A lot of people wrote letters to their mothers at Christmas. I guess it?s a time you really start to think about home, really start to think about where you come from,? said Conrad Crane, chief of historical services at the Army Heritage and Education Center.
Some of the letters offered to NBC News were were originally mailed to nieces, parents and wives.?
Courtesy of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
John T. Cheney, an officer in the U.S. Army during the Civil War, wrote to his wife from Mississippi in 1862.
On Dec. 28, 1862, five months before the U.S. Army?s siege of Vicksburg, 1st?Illinois Light Artillery Capt. John T. Cheney sat at a humid encampment, he wrote, near the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi and scribbled some lines to ?My Dear Wife.? Her name was Mary. He also had two children at home at the time, including an 11-year-old son, military archives show. On now-yellowed paper in cursive style, Cheney mentioned to Mary that he was, ?waiting to retreat????revealing, however, he believed his unit ?ought not to be compelled to do so.? He told her that he and his men were living off of half bread rations and three-quarter meat rations but he reassured her that he was ?not yet out of medicine.? And he acknowledged that on Dec. 24 he had procured three gallons of whiskey for his men: ?We had a very pleasant Christmas Eve.?
?I am quite well and could I only know that you were well at home I would be thankful,? Cheney wrote. Less than two years later, he would accompany Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman?s famous march on Atlanta. ?I wish I could step in and stop with you all tonight ... Give my love to all of the friends and kiss the little ones for me a time or two ... Good night.?
Courtesy of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
While training to head to combat in World War I, Adam F. Glatfelter offered some soothing words to a niece.
Not surprisingly, the intended audience of each letter, Crane said, generally shaped the tone of words from the front. The museum has ?steamy? notes from husbands to wives, he said, and fatherly notes to children.?
On Dec. 26, 1917, Adam F. Glatfelter penned some thoughts to his niece, Carrie, from Camp Gordon in Atlanta. The training center was built to prepare men to head to the trenches of Europe to fight during World War I. In cursive hand, using a pencil, he told her of spending Christmas Day playing music with his military orchestra for the local bishop. He joked that his ensemble was quickly becoming ?pretty popular? with folks in Atlanta. He listed his holiday meal: two turkey dinners. And he thanked her for sending a spool of thread.
?Do not worry about me,? he wrote, signing as ?Uncle Frank.?
Holiday menus???and pleas not to fret???color many Christmas letters home. On Dec. 25, 1944, Navy Pfc. Clark S. Crane dashed off a one-page note to his parents in a V-mail, short for ?Victory Mail.? The system offered troops templates bordered by red ink. Their words would be censored by the military???a stamp in one corner validated the content had been approved???then copied to film and printed back to paper before being placed in the U.S. mail.
Courtesy of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
A V-Mail from Navy sailor Clark Crane, sent at Christmas 1944 to his parents.
Crane was anchored near the Philippines at the time, according to the Army Heritage and Education Center, although his letter notes he was ?Somewhere at Sea.? He tells his parents how he had ?just finished extending season?s greetings ... good natured but well felt? to other men on board via a Christmas poem that he authored with another sailor. He offered one line for his folks.?
??Shed a tear in your Christmas beer since there ain?t gonna be no egg in it this year.? Pretty corny, eh?? Crane wrote, noting that was his third Christmas spent at war and away from his parents? house at 285. N. Maple Ave. in Kingston, Pa.
?Lined up ... for Christmas dinner with tender turkey and cranberries on the menu,? he wrote. ?All of it was very good but there was a deficit of brown skin and the savory smell of a Christmas turkey at good old 285 North Maple. Lots of Love, Clark.?
Another poem???albeit a modern, bloody take on the classic ?A Visit from St. Nicholas????formed a Christmas letter home from Douglas G. Anderson, then stationed in Korea. Neatly hand-written on green paper, the note contained no date or location. Records show he was an Army sergeant who would have been about 23 at the time.
Courtesy of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
A Christmas poem - about a battle - penned by Douglas G. Anderson from Korea.
?Twas the night before Christmas and all through the tent was the odor of fuel oil. The stovepipe was bent. The shoe pacs were hung by the oil stove with care in hope that they?d issue each man a new pair. The weary GIs were sacked out in their beds. Visions of sugar babes danced through their heads,? Anderson wrote.
?When up on the ridge-line there arose such a clatter, a Chinese machine gun had started to chatter. I rushed to my rifle and threw back the bolt, the rest of my tent mates arose with a jolt.? Staying in rhyme, Anderson described the orders shouted by his platoon sergeant, Kelly. ? " 'Get up on that on hilltop and silence that red and don?t you come back till you?re sure that he?s dead.' Then putting his thumb in front of his nose, Sergeant Kelly took leave of us shivering Joes. But we all heard him say in a voice soft and light ?Merry Christmas to all, may you live through the night."
After the birth of the Internet and as modern service members waged war in Iraq during two conflicts and, now, in Afghanistan, the art of the Christmas letter home has largely been replaced by Skype sessions, said Col. Matt Dawson, director Army Heritage and Education Center.
In historic missives from combat zones, ?people bared their souls,? Dawson said. Some of the authors couldn?t be sure that those words wouldn?t be the last their families would receive from them.
Today, such intimate moments are shared during one-one-one cyber chats that rarely, if ever, are saved???unless the troops use a new service called TroopTree.com in which they can record, upload and send personal video messages for family or friends, and do so at no cost.
In most cases, however, sweet sentiments shared during Skype sessions from war zones are simply here and gone.
?So in 20, 30 or 40 years," Dawson said, "when we?re looking for this kind of stuff from the war in Iraq or Afghanistan, it will be more difficult to find," ? unless a service member takes time to mail a post card home, as Marine Sgt. Brian Snell?did this month. He sent the card to his wife Liz and their two daughters. The front shows a red Christmas ornament stamped with an ?Operation Enduring Freedom? logo, atop an American flag.
"Hey love, Hope you girls have a Merry Christmas and New Year. I miss you all,? Snell, 30, wrote to his family, who live in the San Diego area. This is his first deployment. He was sent to Afghanistan in autumn.
?There is something about being able to read his handwriting to make the world feel a little smaller, like he isn't on the other side of it,? Liz Snell said. ?Unlike a phone call, a letter lingers. You can have a bad day, pick up the card, and he is here.?
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