Feed Wrangler for both iPhone and iPad is the new guy on the block when it comes to RSS reader apps but that doesn't mean it lacks in quality. Complete with smart streams, Google Reader import options, and read it later integration for both Pocket and Instapaper, it may be a better option for those who don't like the more dynamic interfaces of apps like Feedly or Flipboard.
While Feed Wrangler is a free download, you'll need to subscribe to the service in order to actually use the app. This service will run you $18.99 a year which might be off putting to many users. What you're paying for, however, is sync and server-side smarts, which is what made Google Reader so fast, and now makes Feed Wrangler really fast as well. Since "free" services like Google Reader have a way of disappearing, they can ultimately be more costly in terms of time, stress. Apps that charge a fair and sustainable price could be a better alternative to some users. And at $18.99 a year, it's pennies a day.
If you decide RSS is a service worth paying for, the first thing Feed Wrangler asks you to do is import your feeds from Google Reader or add them manually. This is easy enough within the app settings, or via the website. Just be aware it may take a few minutes for your feeds to filter in.
Feed Wrangler also has deep read-later integration with both Pocket and Instapaper. In a nice touch, if I had no need feeds, Feed Wrangler gave me an instant link to my read-later service of choice. One thing I always seem to do is forget that I've saved articles for later and then I have a ton to catch up on when I do remember. This may help to me jump in and play catch up more often when there aren't any new stories available to browse.
Many Google Reader users may have categories set up but sadly, those won't import. The good news is that Feed Wrangler actually has what a lot of people may consider a better way to sift through news feeds. Smart streams allow you to enter keywords and create a stream that will filter in news that only contains those terms. For example, if you wanted to create an Apple stream, you can input keywords such as iOS, iPhone, iPad, and anything else you're interested in. Feed Wrangler will then follow that criteria and, under that stream, only feed in stories that contains those terms.
Features like search work exactly like you'd expect. Results are displayed quickly and in most cases, accurately.
The good
Simple interface that doesn't distract from actually reading
Syncs quickly and articles load almost instantly
Smart Streams are brilliant and a much better way to filter news than just regular categories
Share options including email, message, Twitter, Facebook, and App.net
The bad
No unread badge count
Convincing people to pay for RSS could be a tough sell (until Google Reader goes away).
Google Reader sync had some issues
The bottom line
Feed Wrangler is incredibly fast and for users that want a simple interface that allows them to just read content with no distractions, it may be a perfect fit. The $18.99/year subscription fee will undoubtedly be a turnoff to potential users. However, with Google Reader going away this summer, it's very possible we're going to see RSS subscriptions become a much more common option. Great sync and great server-side services aren't easy, and "you get what you pay for" is a clich? for a reason.
Either way, it will definitely be interesting to see where the RSS market goes over the next several months.If you decide to give Feed Wrangler a try, let me know what you think about the app and the service.
Free (requires in-app subscription purchase) - Download Now
WELL KEPT SECRET IS OUT! A GROUP OF AMAZING PEOPLE HAVE GATHERED TOGETHER IN BRICK AND OPENED A MULTI DEALER SHOP. TRAINS ART?TOOLS GIFTS ANTIQUES VINTAGE ITEMS. SO MANY?DEALERS GIVE THE STORE A UNIQUE VARIETY? FOR EVERY SHOPPER! THE?PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS WILLING TO CHAT AND EVEN HAVE A WISH LIST STARTED FOR ITEMS SPECIFIC TO YOU! KID FRIENDLY TOO! OFFERS ALWAYS CONSIDERED! GREAT PLACE TO BROWSE. SIT IN AN OLD CHAIR AND CHECK OUT OLD BOOKS , POST CARDS, OR JUST CHAT WITH ANY OF THE DEALERS. ITS WORTH A DROP BY..YA NEVER KNOW WHAT MIGHT GRAB YOUR EYE OR?REVIVE A MEMORY! OPEN DAILY 10-7 LATER AS THE SEASON STARTS! BRING ITEMS TO SELL TRADE OR JUST SHOW US. THE PEOPLE HERE ARE NOT ABOUT THE MONEY ITS THE HISTORY, THE STORIES THE PERSONAL SIDE OF COLLECTING THAT DRIVES THE DEALERS AT TRACI LINS. SEE YA THERE!
Brian Hare?studies the cognitive abilities of primates and dogs as associate professor of Evolutionary Anthropology and Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University and received his Ph.D. from Harvard. He recently co-authored the New York Times best-seller "The Genius of Dogs" with Vanessa Woods. He contributed this article to LiveScience?s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
Nothing is more controversial in the realm of animal research than medical testing on primates. So when a primate center that is run by the Harvard Medical School announces that it will close, the world takes note. ?
Last Tuesday, Harvard announced that the New England Primate Research Center in Southborough, Mass., will be shuttered over the next two years. All of the current research projects will be moved or shut down. The 1,500-individual-strong rhesus macaque colony and the collection of critically endangered cotton-top tamarins will need to be relocated (or potentially euthanized).
Both the Boston Globe and the New York Times ran articles that were structured similarly: The center had a troubled past because of mistreatment of animals in its care. But, Harvard is claiming that the center is being closed down for economic reasons. A journalist looking for an angle must wonder ? which is it? Both papers covered "both" sides of the story by interviewing researchers and what the Boston Globe dubbed "animal rights activists." [Image Gallery: Monkey Mug Shots]
The answer, of course, is that both likely played a big role in the decision. Improving welfare conditions to meet federal standards can be expensive in many cases ? this type of research is expensive to start with ? and there is now less funding due to federal budget cuts. With fewer projected funds and more expenses, it was unlikely Harvard could meet welfare standards and conduct research without burning millions in cash. It seems they made a very rational decision. Closing the center has the added benefit of preventing future bad PR for Harvard. ?
Given how clear this seems, a couple of things bothered me about how the papers covered the story. First, the Boston Globe's casual use of "animal rights activist" to characterize an employee at the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is inaccurate. HSUS is an animal welfare organization that works to prevent cruelty to animals by helping encourage enforcement and improvement of existing welfare laws. These are typically laws regarding food, water, space and provisions for psychological health. This is a very different stance than someone who is an animal rights activist who fights for animals to have humanlike rights that would prevent any form of research.
In fact, all federal employees are legally obligated to take a welfare stance when working with federally owned research animals. Too often, welfare and animal rights are being confounded. As a result, nongovernmental organizations and researchers striving to improve the lives of animals in their care are being branded as animal rights activists instead of being celebrated for finding new ways to protect both human and nonhuman health and well-being.?
Second, both papers failed to note that cotton-top tamarins are critically endangered in the wild but are used in research at Harvard's center. It seems the National Institutes of Health and Harvard should find housing for all the monkeys, but Harvard likely can euthanize the monkeys with no legal consequences. This is known as a "humane endpoint" in biomedical research. Legally, there will be nothing to compel Harvard to move the endangered primates to a sanctuary, or even another lab. The only protection the monkeys have is an informed press that can alert everyone to Harvard's actions.?
Supreme hypocrisy would be on display if the richest university on the planet cannot find a suitable sanctuary for a colony of endangered monkeys while they preach the importance of biodiversity to developing countries. Sadly, the journalists were so busy trying to polarize the wrong issue they missed blowing the giant whistle in the room.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. ?
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ROME (AP) ? Italy's new government easily passed its first confirmation vote Monday in Parliament after Premier Enrico Letta made concessions to his uneasy coalition allies, promising to ease part of a slate of austerity measures that have weighed on Italians impatient at the slow pace of economic recovery.
While pledging the country will do what the eurozone wants to improve its public finances and debt problem, the center-left leader has to placate his tense two-day-old coalition, including former premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservatives, whose support he needs for confirmation.
The lower house of Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, approved his fledgling government by a vote of 453 to 153. The government faces the second mandatory confidence vote of confirmation in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon.
Bending in part to a key Berlusconi campaign promise, Letta said his government will immediately suspend an unpopular tax on primary residences due in June and make it fairer to less affluent taxpayers. He also pledged not to raise the sales tax and to reduce some payroll taxes.
"Reducing taxes is a priority," Letta said, promising he would "pinpoint a strategy to revive growth without interfering with the process to heal finances."
The European Union has insisted on rigorous austerity to heal Italy's finances, but the public's patience has been tried by spending cuts and higher taxes. Voters across the continent have been rebelling against governments that have imposed such measures.
While Letta stressed the urgency of reducing the tax burden on homeowners, consumers and businesses, he didn't say how he planned to make up for the reduced revenues. He might have to resort to more spending cuts, which could ultimately sharpen an already harsh part of the austerity agendas.
Markets appeared pleased over Letta's brand new government. Italy's stock market was trading up some 2.2 percent at the market's close, while the country's borrowing costs on its 10-year bonds dropped below 4 percent for the first time since 2010.
The failure of Letta's party to win both chambers in the February election left the nation in political paralysis until he agreed to a deal on Saturday with Berlusconi.
Berlusconi had demanded that the new government honor his No. 1 campaign promise to voters ? abolishing the property tax on primary residences and refunding what Italians paid in the tax last year. Letta didn't say if last year's property tax payments would be refunded, but a top Berlusconi aide immediately shouted victory and insisted it would be.
"If Letta wants the PDL votes, this is the condition posed in a coalition government," an exultant Brunetta told state TV, referring to the initials of Berlusconi's party.
Standard & Poor's rating services said that it wasn't clear yet whether the government can put growth reforms in place, but said Letta's initial comments "suggest an intention to slow, but not to reverse" the pace of austerity.
Intent on reassuring eurozone governments and European Union officials that despite his demanding coalition partners, Italy's would stay the course of economic reform, Letta will soon visit major European capitals. He begins in Berlin on Tuesday, assuming his government wins the Senate confidence vote.
He'll also visit Paris and Brussels to give, as he put it, a "sign that this is a European and a pro-Europe government."
He vowed to keep the sales tax from rising to 22 percent from 21 percent in July, as predecessor Mario Monti's government had planned. Italy's business sector is worried the higher tax would discourage consumers from buying everything from washing machines to new clothing.
The new premier also pledged to reduce payroll taxes for businesses hiring the young or those currently on temporary work contracts.
Italy's central bank said Monday that Italian companies were suffering ever more as loans dry up, with banks reluctant to make risky deals.
Italians are impatient after 18 months of austerity budget, pension reform and new taxes under Monti to see jobs return and the small and medium firms that power the economy bounce back. Letta denounced the "anger and conflict" that the five-year economic slump has triggered.
On Sunday, an unemployed man shot and wounded two police officers Sunday in a crowded square outside the prime minister's office at the same time the government was being sworn in elsewhere in the capital.
The premier indicated his impatience with the political class' failure to enact reforms. He indicated that he would give this legislature 18 months to make serious inroads or he might throw in the towel. However, virtually nobody expects the new government to last anywhere near Parliament's five-year term.
Given the expense of shipping people and supplies into orbit, and the fact that the people you are going to be shipping are generally known in advance, wouldn't it be substantially simpler just to ask them for their preferred beverage mixture and seal that in a single pouch?
This isn't some sort of commercial aviation scenario, where the catering supplier has to do an approximate match against the uncertain tastes of 250 random passengers, which makes modular food much more sensible; or an MRE-type scenario where they have to stamp out a zillion of them and ship them wherever, so it just isn't practical to ensure that Pvt. SomeGuy gets exactly the combination he wants assembled at the factory and supply-chained out to him at firebase nowhere 18 months from now...
This week the NHL joins the NBA in celebrating its postseason, with plenty of games on the schedule for each. There are a number of premieres and finales this week, as well as the debut of individual seasons of Friends on Blu-ray. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.
Star Trek: TNG S3 / The Best of Both Worlds The third season of Star Trek The Next Generation comes home this week remastered in HD, and it should be a good for fans. If you can't live with its cliffhanger ending until the fourth season arrives, The Best of Both Worlds Part 1 & 2 are also being released, edited together as a single episode. either way you get it, judging by the first two seasons, the adjustments should be well-received. ($59.99 and $14.99 on Amazon)
The Americans FX's cold war spy drama closes out its first season this week. While it hasn't grabbed the mindshare of other popular cable series yet, the quality of the writing and acting is still there. (May 1st, FX, 10PM)
Parks & Recreation It appears that NBC's best remaining comedy will be renewed after this season, so this week's season finale will represent only the start of a vacation for the residents of Pawnee, IN. The Office finally getting yanked from the stage, 30 Rock calling it a series recently and Community... well. Let's just hope we have more PnR to look forward to this fall. (May 2nd, NBC, 9:30PM)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Tony Parker could only shake his head at the travails of the Los Angeles Lakers, who probably packed more drama and turmoil into this season than the Spurs point guard has experienced in his entire career with steady San Antonio.
Parker is just grateful the Spurs sidestepped the drama and kept moving steadily into the second round of the playoffs.
Parker scored 23 points, Kawhi Leonard and DeJuan Blair added 13 apiece, and San Antonio eliminated the injury-plagued Lakers with a 103-82 victory in Game 4 on Sunday night, completing a one-sided series with a second straight blowout on the road.
San Antonio trailed for fewer than five combined minutes in the four-game series, grinding out points and defensive stops with the steady professionalism of coach Gregg Popovich's best teams. The Lakers played the finale without Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Metta World Peace and two key reserves, tamping down most of the playoff vibe.
"It was just a weird feeling," Parker said. "Obviously, I am happy we won, but it was just weird. They were missing a lot of guys, so we're just happy to go to the next round."
Tim Duncan had 11 points and six rebounds for the second-seeded Spurs, who will face the winner of Denver's series with Golden State in the second round. They'll get plenty of rest after flattening the Lakers, who staggered through their first opening-round exit since 2007.
"Obviously, it wasn't a fair fight," Popovich said. "When you're a competitor, you want to compete on an even basis, and the Lakers weren't able to do that. ... Even though it wasn't a fair fight, we still want to win the series, and I'm glad we did. Our focus was great."
San Antonio never trailed in the clincher, leading by 25 points in one more businesslike effort against the seventh-seeded Lakers, who provided their usual drama right down to their last gasp.
After Duncan led the Spurs' blowout in Game 3, Parker took the lead in the clincher, scoring 15 points in the first half while exploiting the Lakers' hastily assembled backcourt. Los Angeles' top four guards are out with injuries, including backups Steve Blake and Jodie Meeks, and Parker was merciless against third-stringers.
"This is a good start for us," Duncan said. "We like the pace we're at right now. We like the rhythm we're at right now, and how healthy we are right now. Hopefully it can stay that way."
In his final game before unrestricted free agency, Dwight Howard scored seven points before getting ejected early in the third quarter for arguing. Pau Gasol had 16 points for the Lakers, who were swept from the postseason for the second time in three years despite a late courtside appearance by Bryant on crutches.
"It's like a nightmare," Howard said. "It's like a bad dream we couldn't wake up out of. That's what it felt like. It seemed like nothing could go right from the start."
There's almost no turbulence around the Spurs, who seamlessly replaced injured starting center Tiago Splitter in Game 4 with Australian rookie Aron Baynes, who had six points and played decent defense in his first NBA start.
The Lakers gave away thousands of white towels to their fans Sunday, and they acquired an unfortunate symbolism. They had just nine available players in uniform for the final minutes.
"I'm proud of them, because they fought," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said. "It was kind of a year that was all upside-down, but I appreciate the effort to get us into the playoffs. We just didn't have it."
After an unimpressive game featuring just two field goal attempts in 20 minutes, Howard was tossed with 9:51 left in the third quarter for his second technical foul. The All-Star center, furious with the Spurs' unpunished physical play, yelled a few parting words at the court after walking past general manager Mitch Kupchak in the tunnel to the locker room.
Afterward, Howard said he must "do a better job of keeping my cool."
"I hate it for him," D'Antoni said, lamenting the lack of fouls called against players guarding Howard. "He gets banged up so much in there that I'm sure he didn't mean to (get ejected), but he takes a pounding, and after a while, I guess his nerves were shot."
Moments later, Bryant got the solemn Staples Center crowd on its feet when he hobbled out of the tunnel to a seat behind the Lakers' bench, making his first appearance at courtside since tearing his Achilles tendon 16 days ago. Bryant, who might not be healthy by the start of next season, repeatedly yelled instructions and encouragement at the Lakers' young backcourt, Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris, and fill-in starter Earl Clark.
The Spurs had control of this series from the start: They posted two methodical victories at home before sending the Lakers to their biggest home playoff defeat in their long franchise history in Game 3, 120-89. The clincher was more of the same, with the Lakers unable to mount enough teamwork to challenge the smooth Spurs.
The Spurs have swept three of their last four playoff series, winning every game in the first two rounds last season before losing in six games to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals. San Antonio is in the second round of the postseason for the fourth time in six seasons since their last championship in 2007.
NOTES: Gasol got a standing ovation when he left the game with 3:08 to play. The two-time NBA champion has one year left on his contract with the Lakers, but could be a trade chip in the Lakers' rebuild. ... Splitter has a sprained ankle and is out indefinitely, although his teammates think he can return during the second round. F Boris Diaw practiced with contact this weekend in his comeback from a back injury. ... The Lakers faced an 0-3 series deficit for the eighth time in franchise history ? and for the eighth time, they were swept. ... Jack Nicholson and Lil Wayne watched at courtside, but both left early in the fourth quarter.
Author: Martie McCabe | Total views: 102 Comments: 0 Word Count: 1031 Date:
At the present time, your online business needs a strong focus on Website marketing. Promoting yourself and your website online is vital to the success of your business. If you're not engaged in Online marketing already, now's the time to begin. Before you get started, make sure you check out these marketing tips to help you promote your web business.
Give something away to those visiting your website. One of the most popular giveaways used by online businesses is an interesting and relevant article. For example, if you are a general contractor, you might have a good article of home repair tips for your customers to download. This tells customers that you care about what is important to them.
Use persuasive words in your emails to customers, encouraging them to take a specific action. Actions you want customers to take can range from purchasing a product, visiting a page on your site or subscribing to your ezine. Since you can track these actions, you will be able to see how effective your marketing efforts are.
There is no exact formula to internet marking, rather it is half art and half science. You must research the online advertising methods that are effective within your industry and learn about newly designed techniques. This can sometimes be challenging.
Whatever claims you make in your website advertizing about top blogging sites, make sure you can back it up with facts. If people believe you are trying to sell them something, they are likely to be distrustful. Credibility is key; augment your sales pitch with support like references, customer testimonials and fact-based evidence. Unless you can substantiate your claims, you run the risk of appearing dishonest or lazy in the eyes of your prospective customers.
To advertise your product, you should create a sort of FAQ. For each issue or question, write a helpful answer, and be sure to mention your products as a solution. Write your questions with this in mind, giving yourself the subtle opportunity to promote your wares.
Affiliate marketing takes a lot of work and research. Choose a trusted mentor that you admire online. Many veteran internet marketers give out free advice, and some mentor newbies for a fee. Once you have chosen a technique you want to try, stick with it until it proves profitable or shows that you need to move on to a new technique. You may have a slow start, but in the end, it will be well worth the effort.
Customers should be able to provide a rating for products in your listing. Additionally, at your discretion, you can allow them to write a review of a product they have purchased. Not only can these reviews help you improve your products, but they allow potential customers to feel more confident in their purchasing decision.
Always avoid spam. Web crawlers, which quickly post hundreds or thousands of comments in a short amount of time, rarely produce the desired effect for your business. Instead, the lack of personalization when advertising could turn your customers off and cause them to become less interested.
Make sure the design of your website on blogging for dummies, makes your links highly visible. This will give the people interested in you, more ease when looking through your website. All of your information will not be hidden away in obscure links that no one can seem to find.
Always try to keep your content fresh and current on your website. If your site only contains dated information, potential customers may think the website is old or your company is closed. A website that is user-friendly and up-to-date is inviting for readers.
Tailor versions of your website to different audiences worldwide. Translate the content into multiple languages so that people all over the world can read your site. This is a potent approach to increase global sales. Customers who can read your website in their own language are more likely to make a purchase from the site.
Ask major companies to add your link to their site, this will make you more credible. Visitors will see these familiar and trusted names on your site and have a tendency toward association, giving you the benefit of the doubt as well as a favorable customer image. In the future, their larger customer base will think of you when they think of them.
Design your banners to be subtle and not annoying to visitors to your website. Do not let them know that it is really a link. Many people do not click banners, but they will not hesitate to click a link that will lead them to more info.
When marketing your business online, it's important that you make your customers feel as if they're in control. This might require you to set up your content in such a way that the customer actually dictates the flow. This is important today in a marketing world full of spam and unwanted opinions. Always have a link people can click on if they wish to discontinue emails from you.
Create a 500 error page that is user-friendly. This happens when your code does not work properly. A boring page that gives this message may annoy your potential customer. You can inform your customers that you know about the problem and are working on resolving it in by better methods than resorting to the generic error page.
Change around the links you use in your emails. Emails that are always the same are the ones that are most often ignored. Customers don't like seeing the same thing repeatedly, and it's important to offer variation to keep them engaged.
Most of the tactics you'll learn about are very easy to implement. You just need to make sure you implement them correctly. There are several approaches for this. So much information is at your disposal to begin to reap the rewards. By following these tips, you are well on your way to becoming a successful internet marketer.
Martie McCabe is an internet marketer.. My articles focuses on developing strategies and tips on blogging services. Learn more about promoting your blog and blog names. For more articles go to my blog at http://www.empowernetwork.com/10k/top-blogging-sites/
Related to: auto blogging - blog name - blogging for dummies - blogging services - custom blog - top blogging sites
1: Article Marketing Strategy: Putting Together a "Class Schedule" For Your Article Topics
Businesses go to so much trouble when there is one sure-fire, simple, very inexpensive way to attract new clients to a business: Teach a free class. That is what article marketing is like. Your articles are just like free classes. You teach your target readers something helpful in your article. Your resource box then says, "If you enjoyed this article you can visit my website and apply what you have learned."
2: Why You Need To Build Multiple Streams of Income For Yourself
Being an entrepreneur and earning multiple streams of income is a dream that many have, but in reality it does take some initial hard work to achieve this. Earning multiple streams of income is the wave of the future, and here are some tips and advice for you when you are looking for ways in which to do this for yourself.
3: Understanding Online Business Success
Starting a home based business to earn income online takes a significant amount of time and energy upfront to get things going. Not seeing results immediately can be discouraging and cause people to give up too early. In this article, we look at the process of starting a home based business and working through the frustrations to be there when the sales come flowing in.
4: What is Cyber Marketing And Why It Is So Important For The Success Of Your Website
Cyber marketing has now become an indispensable segment of e-commerce as well as the internet and World Wide Web related topics. Cyber marketing simply refers to a technique of attracting potential customers by advertising your products or services through such means as websites, emails, and banners.
5: The Best Way To Optimise Your Website SEO For Google Panda
If you want your SEO to work you now need to concentrate on appeasing Google Panda, and to do this you need to know what Google Panda's spiders/bots will be looking for. Find out here how to search engine optimise your website for the latest Google Panda algorithm, and achieve the success you deserve.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? The daughter of Cuba President Raul Castro cannot visit Philadelphia to receive an award for her gay rights activism because the State Department has denied her permission to travel there, officials said Thursday.
Mariela Castro had been expected to attend a conference next week on civil rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities sponsored by the Equality Forum, according to Malcolm Lazin, the advocacy group's executive director.
"We find it shocking that our State Department would deny freedom of speech, particularly at an international civil rights summit, to anyone, let alone the Cuban president's daughter," Lazin said.
State Department spokesman Noel Clay said he could not comment on the case because visa records are confidential.
Mariela Castro, the niece of retired leader Fidel Castro, is director of Cuba's National Center for Sex Education. As that country's most prominent gay rights activist, she has instituted awareness campaigns, trained police on relations with the LGBT community and has lobbied lawmakers to legalize same-sex unions.
Guillermo Suarez, spokesman for Cuba's United Nations Mission, confirmed that Mariela Castro was in New York on Thursday attending meetings related to the U.N. population conference in Cairo in 1994. She is one of the experts designated by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to work on the 20-year follow-up to the action plan adopted in Egypt, Suarez said.
"That's why she asked for the visa and it's the reason for her presence in New York," he said.
Suarez said Castro "doesn't have any personal reaction" to the State Department's denial of her request to travel to Philadelphia.
The State Department bars Cuban diplomats from traveling more than 25 miles from central Manhattan.
The Philadelphia-based Equality Forum sponsors an annual, dayslong international summit on LGBT civil rights. Each year, the event spotlights issues being faced by the LGBT community in a particular nation; this year, the featured nation is Cuba.
Lazin said Castro had agreed to speak on a panel about Cuba on May 4 and was to accept an award for her activism at a dinner that night. He did not expect any visa problems because she had been granted permission to attend an academic conference in San Francisco last year.
However, a number of Cuban-American politicians criticized the State Department for issuing Castro an entry visa for that event. They noted that U.S. rules prohibit Communist Party members and other high-ranking Cuban government officials from entry without special dispensation.
Castro has no official link to the government aside from kinship, although the sex education center is part of Cuba's public health ministry.
___
Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
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Online:
www.equalityforum.org
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Follow Kathy Matheson at www.twitter.com/kmatheson
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) ? Country singer Billy Currington has been indicted in Georgia on charges that he threatened bodily harm to a man over the age of 65.
A Chatham County grand jury indicted Currington on Wednesday on charges of making terroristic threats and abuse of an elderly person. The indictment says only that Currington threatened "to cause bodily harm" to a man named Charles Harvey Ferrelle on April 15.
District Attorney Meg Heap spokesman Daniel Baxter says a warrant was being issued for Currington's arrest.
A representative for Currington did not immediately return a phone message. It was not known if he had hired an attorney.
Currington is a native of the Georgia coast. His hits include "Pretty Good At Drinkin' Beer," ''That's How Country Boys Roll" and "People Are Crazy."
Dr. Lisa Seto Nielsen, an Assistant Professor of the School of Nursing at York University, spoke at the Women?s Mental Health and Well-Being Speaker Series held at York University. Using the lessons she learnt from her research in palliative care, home care, death, dying, and immigrant health she found that in Chinese immigrant families caring for a family member with terminal cancer, how women took up the caregiving role was potentially different from men, but it was highly contextual. Most importantly, the pragmatics of dying at home took priority over adherence to essentialized cultural ?beliefs? such that the social and material conditions of participants and the enormity of dealing with death and dying provided more insights into patient?s experiences of palliative home care. Her presentation was informed by her doctoral dissertation which explored the palliative home care experiences of Chinese immigrants with advanced cancer in the Greater Toronto area. Even though her dissertation did not focus solely on gender, gendered aspect regarding dying at home did emerge.
Using postcolonial theory, a critical perspective of culture was adopted that viewed culture as dynamic and fluid, rather than a set of static beliefs. Of particular interest was the work of Bhaba (1994/2004) and the ?Third space? as a space for cultural transformation and cultural hybridity. A postcolonial perspective provided an critical analysis that highlighted how different roles and the positioning of the other created vulnerabilities for both men and women caregivers.
? ? getting up, washing, dressing and cooking, a little cooking. (I: Does your family help you?) Oh, when they come home from work in the evening, they help a little because they have to work and don?t have a lot of time?. even if there?s pain, I still have to get up.? (CR4, translated). ?Those were the words of one of the study participants who was describing the impact of being a terminal cancer patient, wife, and caregiver. Using lessons learned from her research, Dr. Seto Nielsen elaborated on how caregiving roles are still mostly carried out by women but this was due in part because immigrant family members could not take time off work because of lack of job security. Dr. Seto Nielsen also described how this issue is complex and should not be looked at solely from a gender perspective but also to include social and material conditions immigrant women are living in.
She spoke of how some men still categorized doing groceries as women?s work and that one male caregiver in her study spoke comfortably about doing meal preparation and household chores, but not personal care. As such, a key aspect of whether Chinese immigrant women would move from home to hospice is whether they were able to provide their own personal care. The female care recipients indicated that they would consider being admitted to a hospice or palliative unit when they could no longer bathe or toilet themselves. Thus male care recipients were able to stay at home to die because they could reject personal care from outside providers as they could depend on their wives to provide that care. In doing so, the male care recipients could avoid the vulnerability of exposing their bodies to strangers, but inadvertently became dependent on their wives for their care. She concluded her lecture by answering questions from the audience and offering some helpful discussion on social and spatial complexity of palliative home care.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina have discovered that transcription factors regulating the levels of oxygen in the blood also play a role in the spread of the skin cancer melanoma.
In research published April 8 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, a research team led by William Kim, MD, member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and graduate student and first author Sara Hanna, linked melanoma metastases to a pair of transcription factors known as HIF1 and HIF2.
Researchers found that HIF1 and HIF2 are overexpressed in melanoma tumors. In healthy cells, HIF1 and HIF2 assist in regulating hypoxia, the state caused by low levels of oxygen in the blood. Hypoxia has been linked to metastases in several sold tumors, and the UNC team has found that it promotes the spread of melanoma from the skin to other sites in the body through the lymphatic system.
Patients who are diagnosed with early stage melanomas have a high rate of survival, but the prognosis worsens significantly once the tumors spread to other sites throughout the body. Using in vitro systems and mouse models, researchers suppressed the expression of HIF1 and HIF2 in the melanoma tumors. While the inactivation of the transcription factors did not reduce the growth of the initial tumors, it did reduce the rate at which the melanoma spread to other sites in the body.
Both HIF1 and HIF2 independently activate the protein kinase SRC using different signaling pathways. The SRC protein has been linked to several different cancers, and the identification of its role in melanoma suggests that existing therapies targeting SRC may prove to be a viable target for therapies aimed at reducing the spread and ultimate lethality of the cancer.
"What we are trying to do now is inhibit these pathways with drugs in the mice to see if we see a decrease of metastasis," said Hanna.
###
University of North Carolina Health Care: http://www.med.unc.edu
Thanks to University of North Carolina Health Care for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
Vtok goes beyond just enabling iOS users to send messages to their connections logged in to Gmail or Google Apps, with many of the features people love about the service. That means voice and video chat first and foremost, but it also includes a number of other features.
The interest rate on new government-subsidized Stafford loans is set to double on July 1 ? to 6.8 percent from 3.4 percent ? unless Congress acts to stop it. And there?s no guarantee it will.
In his budget plan released on Wednesday, President Obama proposed having the interest rates on new Stafford loans tied to market rates.
Christian Walker, an economics and political science major at Northern Arizona University, needs Stafford loans to stay in school next year. He already expects to graduate with $50,000 in debt.
?Raising the interest rate on those loans just compounds the problem and increases the amount of money I?ll have to pay back after I graduate,? he said.?
It?s truly d?j? vu for families who rely on Stafford loans to help pay for college. The interest rate hike was going to take effect last year, but faced with a nationwide backlash, Congress agreed to delay the increase for one year. So here we are again.
Student groups and college educators across the country have called on Congress to stop the rate hike, which would affect more than 7 million students. The consumer advocacy group U.S. PIRG estimates that doubling the interest rate on Stafford loans would add another $1,000 to the cost of each loan ? and many students need one loan for each year of school.
Related: Will you be affected by an increase in student loan interest rates?
?The argument against it is the same as it was last year: The interest rate is way too high,? said Ethan Senack, U.S. PIRG?s higher education associate. ?At a time when students and their families are already facing massive debt, this is a cost increase they simply cannot afford.?
The average student in this country already graduates with $26,600 in loan debt, according to the Project for Student Debt at the Institute for College Access & Success.
?It?s scaring everyone on campus,? said 19-year old Tori Uyehara, a freshman at Southern Oregon University. ?We can?t afford the amount of interest we?re paying right now. Doubling the interest rate is just too much.?
What if the rate doesn?t go up as planned? The non-partisan Congressional Budget office estimates the loss to the U.S. treasury would be nearly $6 billion a year.
But Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education (ACE) believes lawmakers should consider the interest rate spread when deciding what to do.
?The government is borrowing the money at about 2 percent and lending it at 3.4 percent," Hartle said. "They don?t need to get a 6.8 percent return."
The council, a trade association of about 2,000 public and private colleges and universities, wants Congress to keep the current interest rate and prevent student debt from increasing.
What can we expect? As you might expect, Congress remains divided on this issue along political lines. Republicans think the rate should go up, Democrats don?t.
The Senate budget resolution, authored by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) would keep the interest at 3.4 percent.
"The cost of a college education has never been higher, and students across our country can't afford higher interest rates for Stafford loans," Sen. Murray said in an email to NBC News. ?
Republicans in the House are talking about a long-term solution that would change the way the interest rates on Stafford loans are calculated.
At a recent hearing on student loans, Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said he wanted to see government ?move away from a system that allows Washington politicians to use student loan interest rates as bargaining chips, creating uncertainty and confusion for borrowers.?
One idea being discussed is to replace the fixed rate arbitrarily set by Congress with a variable rate tied to some market indicator, such as Treasury notes.
Supporters of this idea, including some educators, believe a floating rate would make more families eligible for these popular loans.
In his budget plan released on Wednesday, President Obama proposed having the interest rates on new Stafford loans tied to market rates. Because those rates would not be capped under the President's proposal, consumer advocates are not happy with it.
In a joint news release, a number of consumer groups said: "While the President?s budget keeps rates low in the near term, we?re disappointed that it risks sky-high interest rates in the long term."
A final word T.J. Legacy Cole, a political science major at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, needs a Stafford loan to finish his last semester. He knows how important it is to balance the budget, but he hopes Congress will consider the big picture.
?They need to understand that education is the key to our future, not debt,? he said.
What do you think? Share your thoughts with me on Facebook. Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitteror visit The ConsumerMan website.?
SPOKANE, Wash. - The homicide investigation into the death of 18-month-old
Rylee
Castner comes as local children advocates launch their seventh year of Our Kids: Our Business, a campaign dedicated to nurturing Spokane kids. The month of April is also National Child
Abuse Prevention Month.
?
Castner's death is just the latest is a long list of child abuse deaths
in the Inland Northwest over the last seven years. 3-year-old Dominick Boyd was beaten to death in
Grangeville, Idaho. Last year, his
mother and her boyfriend were charged with killing him. 1-year-old Santiago McCreight was shaken to
death by his mother's boyfriend in 2010.
Both Nevaeh Miller and Izayah Denison were killed before their first
birthday in 2008. Their mothers'
boyfriends were charged with their murders.?
And finally, four-year-old Summer Phelps died from abuse at the hands of
her father and stepmother in 2007. The
deaths are just a handful of the abuse cases that have occurred over the last
seven years.?
?
The
stories reiterate the importance of children advocates. Our Kids: Our Business is made up of dozens
of local agencies dedicated to nurturing children. They say each person can do their part by
being the eyes and ears for local kids who may be facing abuse. They also say a person can do their part by
fostering relationships with children through volunteering or helping support
local children advocacy groups. The Our
Kids: Our Business campaign runs through April.
Marketing research offers prescription for better nutritionPublic release date: 10-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jamie Hanlon jamie.hanlon@ualberta.ca 780-492-9214 University of Alberta
Consumer data show decisions people make after being diagnosed with conditions like diabetes may lead to higher health risks
It may seem counter-intuitive to take health advice from a marketing professor, but when it comes to analyzing consumer data and its relationship to managing health issues such as diabetes, one University of Alberta researcher may have the right prescription.
In a paper recently published in the Journal of Marketing, Alberta School of Business professor Yu Ma uncovered information that has implications for health-care professionals, marketers and consumers alike. He says the data on consumer spending contain streams of information showing that decisions consumers make after being diagnosed with a major health issue like diabetes may seem sound on the outside, but actually expose them to greater health risks. And although education related to disease and proper nutrition should be a major driver of changing habits, Ma says it ranks far lower than another critical factor that could affect the waistline and the bottom line.
"The second-largest factorand only slightly less influential than eating habitsis price. If the price is cheap, they're going to buy that (food item)," he said. "There are lots of things you can do just by changing the price of healthy food."
Changes: Hyperfocusing and the halo effect
Ma's data analysis shows that after a diagnosis of diabetes, patients tend to down the sugary beverages and foods that put them at risk for problems. Yet, while being hyper-vigilant with these choices, they tend to load up on other foods high in sodium or fattwo ingredients that could increase their chances of heart disease or high blood pressure. The key for people with diabetes, he says, is to consult a health-care professional about all foods that pose risks, both now and in the future.
Ma says the other critical factor is that people have a tendency to divide foods into two groups: healthy and unhealthy. In doing so, they tend to over-consume foods in the healthy column.
"What we found is that people paid too much attention to categorization, but they failed to monitor how much of those healthy alternatives they actually take in," said Ma. "It's what we call the health halo effect."
Food for thought: Is healthy eating too expensive?
Ma says it might not be a lack of wanting to eat healthier that drives people to unhealthy foods. Instead, the cost of making the switch may be the biggest hurdle. He says some choices come down to issues of education, such as switching from soft drinks to diet drinks or avoiding fruit juices. But he notes that purchasing and consuming more fruits and veggies or organic foods is not an option for consumers in all income brackets. Ma says that lack of access to better nutritional choiceswhich can also be reinforced by what is available from local storesis difficult to overcome. He says people may think middle-class consumers can easily afford to switch, but the price difference from the healthy option to the "next best thing" can be significant once the whole food bill is totalled up.
"If you compare the price of healthy, whole-grain bread versus regular white bread, there's a cost increase between them," he said. "Sometimes, if you have a family to feed, it's hard to justify the price difference."
People first, profit second?
The goal of businesses is to maximize their profit by marketing and selling their product to target groups. However, Ma says, it comes down to an issue of needs and wants, especially when the need to change eating habits is necessary to stay alive. Health should not be at a premium, he says, and if marketers looked at a bigger, socially responsible picture, they may see the many benefits that would come from lowering their prices and making their products available to broader markets. He says companies may make less profit per customer, but making more money overall would go hand in hand with enhanced brand identity and recognition.
"They might have to sacrifice some short-term profit, but once they build up their brand name, and the goodwill in the consumer's mind, then it's a win-win for the customers and the company in the long run."
###
[ | 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.
Marketing research offers prescription for better nutritionPublic release date: 10-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jamie Hanlon jamie.hanlon@ualberta.ca 780-492-9214 University of Alberta
Consumer data show decisions people make after being diagnosed with conditions like diabetes may lead to higher health risks
It may seem counter-intuitive to take health advice from a marketing professor, but when it comes to analyzing consumer data and its relationship to managing health issues such as diabetes, one University of Alberta researcher may have the right prescription.
In a paper recently published in the Journal of Marketing, Alberta School of Business professor Yu Ma uncovered information that has implications for health-care professionals, marketers and consumers alike. He says the data on consumer spending contain streams of information showing that decisions consumers make after being diagnosed with a major health issue like diabetes may seem sound on the outside, but actually expose them to greater health risks. And although education related to disease and proper nutrition should be a major driver of changing habits, Ma says it ranks far lower than another critical factor that could affect the waistline and the bottom line.
"The second-largest factorand only slightly less influential than eating habitsis price. If the price is cheap, they're going to buy that (food item)," he said. "There are lots of things you can do just by changing the price of healthy food."
Changes: Hyperfocusing and the halo effect
Ma's data analysis shows that after a diagnosis of diabetes, patients tend to down the sugary beverages and foods that put them at risk for problems. Yet, while being hyper-vigilant with these choices, they tend to load up on other foods high in sodium or fattwo ingredients that could increase their chances of heart disease or high blood pressure. The key for people with diabetes, he says, is to consult a health-care professional about all foods that pose risks, both now and in the future.
Ma says the other critical factor is that people have a tendency to divide foods into two groups: healthy and unhealthy. In doing so, they tend to over-consume foods in the healthy column.
"What we found is that people paid too much attention to categorization, but they failed to monitor how much of those healthy alternatives they actually take in," said Ma. "It's what we call the health halo effect."
Food for thought: Is healthy eating too expensive?
Ma says it might not be a lack of wanting to eat healthier that drives people to unhealthy foods. Instead, the cost of making the switch may be the biggest hurdle. He says some choices come down to issues of education, such as switching from soft drinks to diet drinks or avoiding fruit juices. But he notes that purchasing and consuming more fruits and veggies or organic foods is not an option for consumers in all income brackets. Ma says that lack of access to better nutritional choiceswhich can also be reinforced by what is available from local storesis difficult to overcome. He says people may think middle-class consumers can easily afford to switch, but the price difference from the healthy option to the "next best thing" can be significant once the whole food bill is totalled up.
"If you compare the price of healthy, whole-grain bread versus regular white bread, there's a cost increase between them," he said. "Sometimes, if you have a family to feed, it's hard to justify the price difference."
People first, profit second?
The goal of businesses is to maximize their profit by marketing and selling their product to target groups. However, Ma says, it comes down to an issue of needs and wants, especially when the need to change eating habits is necessary to stay alive. Health should not be at a premium, he says, and if marketers looked at a bigger, socially responsible picture, they may see the many benefits that would come from lowering their prices and making their products available to broader markets. He says companies may make less profit per customer, but making more money overall would go hand in hand with enhanced brand identity and recognition.
"They might have to sacrifice some short-term profit, but once they build up their brand name, and the goodwill in the consumer's mind, then it's a win-win for the customers and the company in the long run."
###
[ | 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.
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - The Republican-led Arkansas Senate, in the latest statehouse swipe at abortion providers around the country, approved a bill on Tuesday that sponsors said was aimed at cutting off the last vestiges of state funding to groups such as Planned Parenthood.
While it does not explicitly name Planned Parenthood or any other organization, the bill would bar all Arkansas state funds from going to any entity that provides abortions, refers patients to abortion providers or contracts with any group that does so.
The measure cleared the state Senate on a mostly party-line 19-11 vote, and now moves to the Republican-controlled House, where it is expected to gain final passage.
Governor Mike Beebe, a Democrat, has not said whether he would sign the bill. But the Arkansas legislature last month overrode his veto of two previous bills placing new restrictions on abortions, including one to ban most abortions from being performed after the 12th week of pregnancy.
"The hardworking taxpayers of Arkansas should not have to see their money sent to organizations that perform abortions," said David Ray, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Arkansas. "Surely with all of our nation's pressing problems in education, transportation and rampant government overspending, we can find something more responsible to do with these funds."
Abortion rights advocates say the latest bill could effectively cut off funding for domestic violence shelters or rape crisis centers that also happen to offer abortion referrals.
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, which operates in Arkansas, does not currently receive any state dollars for its abortion or other family planning services, which are funded from other sources.
But if the bill becomes law, the organization stands to lose two state grants for HIV and syphilis prevention programs that it administers in Arkansas public high schools and reach about 2,000 women, men and teenagers, according to Planned Parenthood.
"Today's vote is extremely disappointing for the thousands of teens who count on us for life-saving prevention programs," said Jill June, the group's president and CEO.
Bills similar to the latest measure in Arkansas have passed in other states, including Indiana, New Jersey and Texas, according to the Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group in Washington, D.C.
In the most restrictive anti-abortion action to date, North Dakota's lawmakers approved legislation to ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, though legal scholars have questioned whether that measure or a post-12-week ban would survive likely court challenges.
Efforts to clamp down on abortion and abortion providers in Arkansas were made after Republicans won control of both chambers of the state legislature for the first time since the Reconstruction era following the Civil War.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arkansas, the national ACLU and the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights plan to sue the state in federal court over the 12-week ban before it becomes law this summer.
(Reporting by Suzi Parker; Editing by Mary Wisniewski, Steve Gorman and Pravin Char)
It's around a week since we first heard of the Samsung Galaxy Mega series -- supposedly two big-screened devices due to launch later this year. Now oft-reliable Samsung rumormonger SamMobile says it has more details on exactly what kind of hardware will be found within the 5.8-inch variant (GT-i9152), and unfortunately for those hoping for a Galaxy Note 2 successor, it's a rather mid-range affair.
The Galaxy Mega 5.8 is said to pack a dual-core Exynos CPU, a qHD (960x540) resolution LCD display, 1.5GB of RAM and an 8-megapixel rear camera. Other vital stats include a 2600mAh battery and dimensions of 164x83.8x9.7mm; on the software side it's TouchWiz'd Jelly Bean running the show.
With the exception of the screen, that's pretty close to the internals of the original Galaxy Note, which is nothing to sniff at. But we're unconvinced by the prospect of qHD on a screen of that size. As reported last week, the Mega 5.8 will supposedly come in single and dual-SIM variants.
No word yet on how the rumored Galaxy Mega 6.3 will compare, but our money is on similarly middling specs.
Vtok goes beyond just enabling iOS users to send messages to their connections logged in to Gmail or Google Apps, with many of the features people love about the service. That means voice and video chat first and foremost, but it also includes a number of other features.
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Public release date: 10-Apr-2013
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