Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

A Breath Of Scalding Hot Steam Could Relieve Your Emphysema [Medical]

Uptake Medical's InterVapor looks like a steamer used to iron clothing. But it's actually designed to deliver a blast of piping hot steam to your lungs, which they claim will actually help alleviate the symptoms of emphysema and other lung conditions. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/tY20FNVhZVs/a-breath-of-scalding-hot-steam-could-relieve-your-emphysema

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Army IDs remains of last missing soldier in Iraq

By msnbc.com staff

The U.S. military has identified the remains of the last American service member unaccounted for in Iraq, the Associated Press has reported.

Staff. Sgt. Ahmed Kousay al-Taie was an Army interpreter from Ann Arbor, Mich. He was born in Iraq and moved to the U.S. as a teenager. He joined the Army Reserve in December 2004.

The military?s mortuary in Dover, Del. positively identified part of his remains. Army officials provided no details about how his remains were discovered.

In 2006, al-Taie left Baghdad?s heavily fortified Green Zone by motorcycle to visit his wife, an Iraqi he had married the year before. At his relative?s house, three cars pulled up. Hostage-takers handcuffed al-Taie, then 41, and forced him into one of the cars, Mag. Gen William Caldwell said in a statement in 2006. One of the kidnappers took his cell phone.


Officials in Iraq offered up to $50,000 for information that would lead to al-Taie, according to an Army press release.

Caldwell said troops had conducted 51 search operations based on 328 tips. Those raids resulted in 35 suspects, many of whom were detained and offered valuable information, Caldwell said.

"We have fairly good information that tells us where we think he could still be held and who perhaps may have him," Caldwell said in 2008. Three soldiers were killed and six wounded during those search operations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/26/10511834-after-search-army-identifies-remains-of-last-unaccounted-soldier-in-iraq

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Monday, February 27, 2012

Daily Workout ? Chest & Back | Skinny Ms.

Let?s do a chest & back routine. You will need water, a mat, either a flat bench or exercise ball and 2-3 sets of dumbbells of varying weights. Be sure to increase your weight with each set. Below are videos showing correct form for each exercise. Complete 3 circuits!

Push-ups ? 20 reps (videos included for beginning and more advanced levels.
Rest ? 15 seconds
One arm rows ? 10 reps each arm
Rest ? 15 seconds
Dumbbell Flyes ? 12 reps
Rest ? 15 seconds
Bent over rows ? 10 reps
Rest ? 15 seconds
Dumbbell Press ? 12 reps
Rest 1 minute

Push-ups ? Military

Push-ups ? knee

One Arm Row

Dumbbell Flyes

Bent over Rows

Dumbbell Press

This workout challenge was designed by Gale Compton (Skinny Ms. Fitness) who is a nationally certified fitness instructor. Gale received her training from the National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association.

Exercise and health are matters that vary from person to person. Participants of the daily workout should speak with their doctors about their individual needs before starting any exercise program. This Web site is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice and supervision of your personal physician. Any application of the recommendations set forth in the following pages is at the viewer?s discretion and sole risk. See your physician before beginning any exercise program. This is especially important if your family has a history of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, arthritis, obesity, cigarette smoking, or other health conditions. If you have any doubts whatsoever, consult your physician. Please submit feedback using our Contact Page.

Source: http://skinnyms.com/daily-workout-chest-and-back/

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Saturday, February 25, 2012

cell phone jammer adopts the imported and full-automatic surface ...

Domestic mobile phone industry External Environment Analysis 2.1 Political mobile phone license ?2.1.1? mobile phone licenses ?exit October 12, 2009, the official website of the State Council published the? State Council on the fourth installment of cancellation and to adjust the administrative approval decision, announced the cancellation and adjustment of 186 administrative examination and approval projects, including the original implementation of the ?national special provisions mobile communication systems and terminals, and other production projects approved by the Development and Reform Commission.? after the abolition of the approval system, the mobile phone industry barriers to entry will gradually reduce, for domestic especially cottage machine is definitely a great opportunity to expand the mobile phone market, but also on behalf of state support for the domestic mobile phone but by no means mean that there is no threshold, no regulation. 6 samples ofcell phone jammerwill be selected for the further inspection.
In this issue of the state will not off the interests of consumers, industry, laissez-faire, in order to occupy a place in the domestic mobile phone must have a good brand influence, guaranteed sale system, the determination of sustainable development in the industry, to the survival and development. ?The introduction of the 2.1.2 new Labor Contract Law of 2009 the new Labor Contract Law will mean an increase in the cost of handsets, which also made mobile phones more tired and disadvantages of deep price points, driven by domestic mobile phone industry must break through the price the vicious cycle of war, looking for other aspects of the breakout. 2.2 economy with the mobile phone is becoming the people essential items, the Chinese mobile phone market is gradually expanding, the 2009 mobile phone users in China has reached more than 600 million households. cell phone jammer adopts the imported and full-automatic surface-mounted equipment.
And China in recent years, GDP, GNP, rapid growth, people can increase in disposable income, but also to the Chinese mobile phone market and its potential are favored by the professionals at home and abroad, and this is a foreign mobile phone to actively join the main reason for the Chinese market. Economic strength and to show the profitability of the market, the domestic mobile phone market competition is quite fierce, most of the domestic mobile phone but is the price advantage as a means, technology, shape, function, and so far inferior to foreign brands This is also the domestic mobile phone industry is unable to seize one of the main reasons for the local market. Community with the improvement of people?s living standard, while the phone is also increasingly important, the attention of the people on the phone daily to enhance. A new industry base is under construction to manufacture more cell phone jammer.
We can see from the figure, the first half of 2009 mobile search index volatility, steady rise in the second half of the second half of 2009, further reduced with the mobile phone charges as well as the three major operators in the 3G battle officially began, the mobile phone industry search index has remained at around 8 million fluctuations. Mobile consumers three changes: 1) With the improvement of people?s lifestyle, personal culture of the highlights, especially the pursuit of the young people?s lifestyle, personalized mobile phones more and more attention. 2) with the propose to improve the status of women, female phone market segments also increasingly sought after by the market. 3) the phenomenon of aging intensifies, the sudden emergence of the older phone. The company has successfully passed the review of cell phone jammer.
Technology made mobile phones in the shape of the product?s features follow the strategy, such as the imitation of the Bluetooth technology to follow the well-known foreign brand mobile phones, MP3, MP4, camera, shape characteristics, etc. And in the domestic mobile phone is still a large copy special copy At the same time, foreign mobile phone brands are constantly developing new technologies, innovative features and appearance, to the domestic mobile phone manufacturing technology barriers. In this system, the development of the domestic mobile phone naturally limited to foreign mobile phones. Domestic mobile phone does not have its own technology development department, must no longer be able to flex its muscles on their own territory. Particularly pointed out in January 2009, China?s formal entry into the 3G era, which opened a wide door to the domestic mobile phone. The company rewarded many technical personnel ofcell phone jammerfor their achievements in developing new type of cell phone jammer.

Source: http://www.phone-jammer-cell.com/cell-phone-jammer-adopts-the-imported-and-full-automatic-surface-mounted-equipment/

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Friday, February 24, 2012

Professional Internet Offerings with NJ Web Design Businesses ...

February 23, 2012 by wpa

Expert NJ web design organizations promise their consumers of great performing rapport, supplying the finest offerings to their troubles by making their clients? aspirations their own. This strategy from the NJ web design businesses allows the consumers to hand over the key process of developing a web page that will become the face of their web business.

Opposition is the spruce of life as it shoves an individual to do better to remain on top. Internet market place is no unique. Day by day, countless new sites are being developed while the prevailing ones are continually updated. Deep down, every single site owner desires to make his site the very best so that it attracts the most amount of customers, assuring much better conversions and increased results. Obtaining a personalized site developed by specialists is the correct method towards the attainment of this target but it?s not the end of possibilities. Actually it?s the start. Joining up with the best individuals in the industry is what an individual must strive for simply because this will not just get a person an incredible website however long term associations for powerful online solutions.

Website developing is not only pertaining to providing pleasing images or eye-catching visuals, nevertheless concerning the trust that a customer puts in the designer. The NJ web design businesses generate websites with a vision ensuring clearness of purpose, attractive appeal and simple navigability. Given that every enterprise is unique, its requirements are different from other folks. Taking this cue, the NJ web design firms commence the procedure of webdesign by listening to their clients indicating their needs. When the idea is apparent, a basic draft in line with the info and suggestions of the buyer is made. This original draft is then approved by the buyer and any adjustments needed are incorporated by the NJ web design businesses.

A visually desirable web site is ineffective when it is unknown to the internet based community. This requires the powerful usage of search engine optimisation techniques, which will put the web-site higher in the search engine rankings. Useful Search engine optimization solutions are the specialty of most of the NJ web design companies and they develop techniques relevant to their clients? company. This assists in inserting the newly developed web-site in the top positions of the major search engine results.

The function of the NJ web design business is not restricted to creating a web page nevertheless additionally comprises the supply of related help services like that relating to web site statistics, functionality, search engine marketing and performance optimizing to ensure that the Revenue for the web site is at the maximum. Every organization needs to adjust to new problems and possibilities and this gets to the digital technique also. The NJ web design organizations supply versatile services so that any certain needs of consumers may be handled consequently.

Consequently, those seeking impressive looking web-sites for the goal of being ahead in competition ought to lookup for the very best NJ web design organization. The web is the best channel to discover such a business. One could go to forums or take critiques from current clients to discover the most efficient, legitimate and impressive NJ web design business.


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Source: http://tearoundtable.com/professional-internet-offerings-with-nj-web-design-businesses/

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Ex-NBA player Crittenton jailed on speeding charge

RIVERDALE, Ga. (AP) ? Former NBA player Javaris Crittenton is back in jail.

Out on bond on charges that he killed a woman in an August drive-by shooting in south Atlanta, authorities said he was jailed on Wednesday after being pulled over for speeding and refusing to get out of his Porsche.

The former Washington Wizards player was pulled over for going more than 60 mph in a 45-mph zone, said Riverdale police Maj. Greg Barney.

The former Georgia Tech star initially refused to get out of his "fairly new" black Porsche and refused to sign the speeding ticket, forcing the officer to call for backup, Barney said.

"He was very argumentative," Barney said of Crittenton, 24. "Initially, he just did not want to cooperate with the officer."

A message left for Crittenton's attorney, Brian Steel, was not immediately returned Wednesday night.

Police have said the former first-round draft pick for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2007 was retaliating for being robbed of $55,000 in jewelry when the Aug. 19 shooting happened. He is accused of killing Jullian Jones, a 23-year-old mother of four, outside her house. A trial date for that charge has not been set.

Crittenton was with the Wizards in December 2009 when he and Arenas had a dispute over a card game. Two days later, Arenas brought four guns to the locker room and set them in front of Crittenton's locker with a sign telling him to "PICK 1." Crittenton then took out his own gun.

Crittenton pleaded guilty in January 2010 to a misdemeanor gun charge and received a year of unsupervised probation. Arenas entered a guilty plea on Jan. 15, 2010, and served a short time in a halfway house.

For most of his career, Crittenton played little with Los Angeles, the Memphis Grizzles and Washington. After the Wizards declined to re-sign him, he signed a non-guaranteed contract with Charlotte last year but eventually was waived.

He then played five games in China for the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions, averaging 25.8 points.

After the incident with Arenas, there wasn't much demand in the NBA for Crittenton, who averaged 5.3 points and 1.8 assists during his four-year career. He also played for the NBA Development League's Dakota Wizards, averaging 14.3 points in 20 games last year.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-02-22-Crittenton-Jailed/id-6b07fb05446d48dfaf96babca07348ae

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Thursday, February 23, 2012

TechFellow Awards: Clara Shih

ClaraCEO, Hearsay Social

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/SRdlz4vYwOg/

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Dirty Celebrities ? Blog Archive ? Italian Animators/Entertainers ...

Posted on February 22nd, 2012 by Poster 2
Filed under Test Cat 2 |

EGYPT / Karisma Entertainment Agency

Karisma Entertainment Agency is looking for active and young individuals to join their International Animation Team.

We are looking for Sport, Fitness and Dance Entertainers. Experience is needed in either the following subjects ? Animation, Performing Arts, Dance or General Entertainment.

We provide: Accommodation, Meal Allowances inside the Hotel, All Hotel services including Medical Assistance and Laundry, also Good Salary paid.

English spoken and written is a must. Another spoken language is a plus.

Candidate needs to be available as soon as possible for work.

For more information please do not hesitate to contact me on

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 1:20 am and is filed under Test Cat 2. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://mctry.com/italian-animatorsentertainers-wanted-immediately

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Factors To Consider Before Buying Patio ... - Home Improvement Idea

by Home on Monday, February 20th, 2012 | Comments Off

Having a patio is in itself rewarding since it is a place where you can normally find the comfort in having a cool and relaxing feeling. When you have patio furniture that is well-crafted and elegantly designed you will surely find it more favourable to stay outdoors. There are quite a number of companies that manufactures patio furniture and umbrella. However, not all of them actually crafts their products using good quality materials and with excellent craftsmanship.

Poolsaboveground is a company that produces above the ground pools as well as equipment and patio furniture. The Patio umbrellas manufactured by the company are one of the top-selling patio furniture that is highly favoured by a lot of consumers. The beautiful Santorini Cantilever umbrella for example features a type of patio furniture that is made with strength and quality. It is too easy to install and to operate that anyone can do it. There is a wind vent at the top of the square canopy which allows the air to freely flow and prevents the umbrella from inverting especially when the weather condition is windy. The pole that supports the umbrella is made of rugged anodized aluminium and has an integral crank so that the owner can easily make adjustments in raising or lowering the canopy. There are different shades to choose from so that you can make the umbrella go along well with the style and color of areas in your patio.

Aside from the square-shaped patio umbrella there is also an octagon cantiliever umbrella that can be opened or close with one finger. Owners won?t have to struggle in pulling cords just to install or operate the umbrella. The patio umbrellas and furniture are backed with 30-days warranty so you can make sure that the money you spend on in buying the umbrella will not be put to waste in case the color fades or something goes wrong with the product. The Vega umbrella light on the other hand is an add -on that can be extremely useful during evenings. This product is designed to be easily adjustable to fit the umbrella pole and is powered by long lasting ED lights.

The pool box offered by the company is made of durable resins that can withstand the heat of the sun and other climate changes while keeping the stored materials in good condition inside the box. It is easy to assemble, to use and move anywhere in the patio.

Source: http://home-improvement-idea.com/factors-to-consider-before-buying-patio-furniture-and-umbrella/

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How Ireland's corporation tax rate is sinking the economy like a ...

corporation tax?A low rate of corporation tax on export-orientated activity has been a cornerstone of our industrial policy since the 1950s and the 12?% rate is now part of our international ?brand?. The contribution from? the corporate sector will be made through the maintenance and creation of high value employment.?

So said the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014, issued on 24 November 2010 by the Fianna F?il/Green Party and which received glowing approval from the EU, IMF and the ECB.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal towards the end of 2011 Taoiseach Enda Kenny was asked if it was true that the reason so many tech firms set up European headquarters in Ireland was because of Ireland?s low corporate tax rate. Kenny gave an emphatic no to that. But, the interviewer wanted to know, if that was the case, why then was the rate defended to vigorously?

?Foreign investors like decisiveness? he said. ?There isn?t any confusion about Ireland?s corporate tax rate: it is 12.5%. End of story.? He then added ?but that is not why major corporations come here. It is a cornerstone undoubtedly of why companies might invest in Ireland. But no matter what the business is, it is always about people that can actually develop it and grow it.?

See what he did there? As an indication of how different the Fine Gael/Labour government?s industrial policy is to that of the previous regime he just moved the word ?cornerstone? from Ireland?s policy to a company?s rationale. But there can be no doubt that the thinking is exactly the same.

This attempted fudge acknowledges the widely held view that any government that has made various tax reliefs the ?cornerstone? of its industrial policy for 50 years is an admission of its failure to develop. In short, reliance on a low rate of? corporation tax is evidence of a failed state: tax relief can be part of the first phase of industrial development, not the cornerstone 50 years later. And it has failed spectacularly ? despite the vast amount of money that moves through Dublin?s docklands ? to produce anything other than good jobs and handsome incomes for tax advisers and middle managers with good tax accountancy skills. This failure was accentuated by the introduction of the 12.5% corporation tax. In the 5 years when corporation tax was 40%, according to data from the National Income and Expenditure Accounts, the average annual growth rate was over 7%. However, in the 8 years since the rate was reduced to 12.5%, average growth was little more than 1.5% per annum.

History of Ireland?s corporation tax relief

Ireland?s history of providing tax relief on exports began with the introduction of the Export Profits Tax Relief (EPTR) by John A. Costello in 1956. The relief provided a ?remission of 50% income tax on profits of a manufacturing industry derived from increased exports? to be used ?for the expansion of the industry?. As a Department of Industry and Commerce note in 1950 suggested: ?It is possible that the granting of the concession may induce foreign enterprise to establish in this country industries capable of exporting goods to the dollar area.? This is the establishment of the ?cornerstone of Ireland?s industrial policy?.

It was not until the 1970s that the IDA started to overtly market low taxation to attract FDI. Measures offered in the mid-70s included a fifteen year tax holiday for exporting firms, full depreciation and total tax relief on earnings from royalties and incomes from licenses patented in Ireland. These generous reliefs clearly did little to avert the problems for Irish economy in the 70s and 80s.

Once Ireland entered the EEC, however, such tax incentives were judged to be discriminatory, and a change was required, although plenty of time was allowed for them to be implemented. This lead to a broad10% tax rate for manufacturing in 1981, although a 32% corporation tax remained for other sectors. In the 1998 budget however, Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevey announced that he would bring forward legislation for a phased introduction of a new regime of corporation tax. On 1January 2003 the 12.5% rate of corporation tax came into existence.

Reducing the rate does affect FDI ? negatively

At the time the new rate was justified on the grounds that the EU, once again, considered the dual rates to be ?discriminatory?. But it was also regularly stated that the rate itself would create jobs and bring on prosperity. The defence of it since then has remained the same. In a March 2011 debate on corporation tax in the D?il, the freshly appointed Fine Gael Minister of State Brian Hayes suggested that the wording of the motion being debated in the chamber should be changed to ?D?il ?ireann recognises that the 12.5% corporation tax rate will support Irish economic recovery and employment growth by attracting foreign investment.? The nostrum is that the sacrosanct 12.5% rate itself is responsible for attracting and maintaining this investment.

But what actually happened when the rate was introduced was a significant increase in the FDI leaving Ireland. Economist Michael Burke examined the inflow and outflow of FDI from 1998 to 2010 and found that after the rate was cut in 2003 ?there have been many quarters with a net outflow of FDI and the annual average total was an inflow of just ?2.3bn. Before the rate was cut that annual average inflow was ?17.7bn, and there was only one quarter of net outflow in FDI.?

That the outflow of direct investment should increase after the rate was reduced would not surprise those aware of the wide number of studies which show that firms involved in direct investment consider other factors to be more important than the corporation tax rate when choosing where to invest. Perhaps the most important of these is the availability of a high quality workforce. One reason for the rise of direct investment prior to 2003 is revealed in the Eurostat data for the percentage of the 20-24 year old population in EU countries who achieved at least an upper second level education. Ireland has the highest. The point is obvious, even to large MNCs, a country that lowers its rate will be less able to pay for investment in infrastructure, transport links and education.

Another aspect of the change in the corporation tax rate that gets very little attention is the boost that it gave to Irish banks and certain domestic firms to whom it applied (the vast majority of Irish firms do not earn enough to be liable for corporation tax). This moved their corporate tax liability from 32% to 12.5% overnight. The resulting profits however, were not invested back into businesses, but into property speculation.

Drop in direct investment, rise in financial investment

Dr. Jim Stewart, lecturer in Finance in Trinity College Dublin, has also found that direct investment, which is associated with manufacturing and creating jobs, reached a peak in 2003 and has since fallen. Foreign investment, however, in the form of portfolio and other investment such as the financial assets of banks and financial services in the IFSC ?continued to rise until 2007 and fell in 2008 reflecting the financial crisis. In 2008 IFSC investment was over 13 times the size of foreign direct investment and approximately 11 times the size of GNP.?

However, this ballooning of investment is just the movement of capital in and out of the country. As Keith Walsh, an economist with the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, wrote in a report titled The Economic and Fiscal Contribution of US Investment in Ireland and published at the end of 2010, ?much of the inward IFSC investment involves the movement of capital by multinational companies to subsidiaries in the IFSC that is re-invested overseas.? In September 2010 the Irish Times published a report on internal briefing material drawn up by Revenue officials which showed that: ?there has been a significant rise in firms transferring the residence of their main holding companies to Ireland or are considering doing so. The very limited amount of tax paid by some of these firms indicates they do not have any meaningful presence here in terms of investment or jobs.?

One of the essential components of this movement is not the 12.5% rate, but our loose regulatory tax regime and Ireland?s membership of the Eurozone. Richard Murphy of Tax Research UK, in a report prepared for ICTUNI on the proposed cut in Northern Ireland?s corporation tax rate to 12.5%, shows data from a UNCTAD report which looks at the FDI flows of selected countries in 2009-2010. He noted that in ?five quarters in 2009/10 Ireland had inward investment of $31.1bn. Outward investment in that period was $31.0bn. In other words, Ireland is not the location in which foreign direct investment is taking place.? The attraction of using Ireland as an entry point for US corporations? investments in Europe is that it reduces the foreign exchange risk considerably compared to locating those investments and sales in a sterling zone, Murphy added.

The IFSC: The cornerstone of the shadow banking system

The reality is that the IFSC is at the core of the international ?shadow banking system?. As Jim Stewart has shown, many of the banks that fell victim to the problems of subprime lending had subsidiary banks in the IFSC. ?Ireland hosts over half of the world?s top 50 banks and half of the top 20 insurance companies; in 2008 it hosted about 8,000 funds handling ?1.6 trillion of assets; the Irish Stock Exchange hosts about a quarter of international bonds.? In addition ?The IFSC along with Luxembourg are the two main centres for administering hedge and other funds in Europe.? The attraction of the IFSC for managing hedge funds is that the regulatory requirement of these funds having a stock market quotation can be met. Up to August 2011 the Irish Stock Exchange claimed it had ?standards of regulation to stockbrokers and listed companies which are acknowledged to be among the highest in Europe.? Yet in spite of these standards many of the funds that were at the centre of the collapse of liquidity in 2008 were listed on the exchange. Significant losses occurred at subsidiaries of two German landesbanks (Sachsen Bank and WestLB) as well as IKB, located in the IFSC. However, as Jim Stewart points out ?the largest and potentially most serious losses occurred at Depfa Bank, an Irish-registered bank located in the IFSC which became a subsidiary of Hypo Real Estate in 2007. Losses at these banks required large amounts of state aid from the German government.? Hypo Real Estate is now the largest German bad bank and the recipient of the biggest bailout in German banking history. Depfa Bank is not expected to be re-privatised until 2015.

It is the lack of regulation used as a selling point to attract investment that is the cause of these difficulties. But Ireland?s reluctance to provide legislation to gather tax is at the core of the tax regime here, and while the IFSC is not officially a ?tax haven? it still has many of the characteristics of one. This is particularly clear when you see how it allows companies to use the Irish regime in tandem with recognised tax havens. One example is Ireland?s treatment of holding companies.

Here?s how it works: foreign multinationals set up holding companies in Ireland with subsidiary companies located in a tax havens like the Cayman Islands. The intellectual property of these companies (pharmaceutical companies? patents or the registered trademarks of major brands like Google, for example) are registered in the tax havens with royalty income then being paid by the holding companies to those subsidiary companies.

The tax revenue authorities in many countries are aware of this practice and argue that at least some of the income earned from these transactions with tax havens belongs to the country where the parent (or holding) company resides. In the UK and many other countries they have ?controlled foreign company? (CFC) legislation that lets them deem a tax haven subsidiary of a parent company to be resident for tax purposes in the country.

Ireland doesn?t have any CFC legislation, a fact that is widely advertised by the Irish branches of international accountancy firms that offer tax advice to foreign multinationals. As Richard Murphy says: ?The decision by Ireland not to have CFC legislation cannot be chance: it must be deliberately designed to attract FDI. And it does. There can be no doubt that this form of tax relief adds immensely to the attraction of Ireland to tax minimising IT and pharmaceutical companies in particular.?

This is revenue that Irish Revenue is simply not interested in collecting. Allowing companies to avoid tax in this way would suggest that the Irish legislature is simply a branch of one of the major four accountancy firms that offer tax advice to clients who wish to set up business in Ireland.

There has been plenty of debate about effective tax rates, with perhaps the most notorious being Google, which, according to Bloomberg, was able to reduce their overseas tax rate to 2.4% through various mechanisms available in Ireland, in tandem with tax havens like Bermuda. There are plenty of other examples, however, such as Boston Scientific which had an effective tax rate of 0.54% for 2001 ? 2003; Forest Laboratories had an effective tax rate of 6.2% for 2005-07; Jansen Pharmaceutical had an ETR of 8.2 for 2003-05; between 2004-5 Symantic had an effective tax rate of zero.

12.5% corporation tax rate supports employment growth?

The unemployment rate now stands at 14.3% of the labour force. The massive increase since 2007-8 is due to the collapse of the construction and retail sectors. However, FDI, even job-bearing investment, has never supported substantial employment growth in Ireland. There was virtually no change in foreign-based industrial employment between 1983 and 2006 and in 2007 the total for direct employment by foreign direct investment in Ireland was?152,267, or 7.25% of the workforce.

The IFSC is also not a source of employment growth. 39 of the 46 treasury management firms out of the over 400 located at the IFSC that Jim Stewart surveyed in 2008 reported no fixed assets and had a median employment of zero. yet they were highly profitable and had median financial assets of ?643 million.

One of the strongest features of the collapse in employment since 2007-8 has been the fact that most of the job losses have occurred in working class occupations. Employment for those with third level education has remained relatively stable and most who have become unemployed have been able to return to the workforce within six months. In contrast, the fall in employment of those in working class occupations has led to a significant rise in long-term unemployment. The employment that FDIs provide, with the exception of some manufacturing, are mostly middle class, professional occupations ? those high value employments that the government believes Ireland needs more of, even though historically the level of employment has remained static. It is telling that when calculating the taxable income from MNCs, the Revenue Commissioners include tax on income from wages earned by those employed by FDI companies.

The failure of the 12.5% rate

This use of one of the most significant weapons in a government arsenal in order to maintain the employment and income levels of a fraction of the workforce without any corresponding plan to bring on industrial development and employment elsewhere in the economy is an indication not only of its specific class-interest focus, but its ultimate failure as an industrial policy. The attraction is solely to companies who are more mobile, who come and go with relative ease, leaving very little residual skills in their wake. In the case of businesses operating out of the IFSC they are even exempt form Dublin council rates. So the sewage and water services provided to their offices comes free of charge.

The policy has also lead to a decline in real investment, and it has failed to prevent those who domestically benefited from an income boost ploughing their increased profits into useless property speculation. It has failed to increase employment and failed to improve the tax returns available to a government which could use them to develop indigenous industry and the means of creating a sustainable and successful economy.

Increasing the rate and closing off avenues by which companies can avoid tax, in line with other jurisdictions such that stalwart of neoliberalism, the UK, would allow for increased investment, in schools, infrastructure, transport and health, all of which would boost additional inward investment and create jobs. It certainly would be a more successful way of solving Ireland?s economic difficulties than imposing austerity. But then again, Ireland?s comprador/corporate advocacy/ tax consultant/banking/political class won?t allow that.

Originally published in Look Left.


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Politico contains digitised versions of several?prominent Irish?magazines?published since 1968. Over 400 editions are available, which appear online just as they did in print.?Access them?here. Subscribe here.

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Source: http://www.irishtimez.com/2012/02/how-irelands-corporation-tax-rate-is-sinking-the-economy-like-a-stone/

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Monday, February 20, 2012

UN nuke inspectors arrive for key talks in Tehran

In this frame made from TV Herman Nackaerts, of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks to reporters at the airport in Vienna, Sunday, Feb. 19 2012. A senior U.N. nuclear official said Sunday he hoped for progress in upcoming talks with Iran about suspected secret work on atomic arms, but his careful choice of words suggested little expectation that the meeting will be successful. The comments by Herman Nackaerts as his International Atomic Energy Agency team prepared to leave for Tehran for the second time in less than a month appeared to reflect IAEA reluctance to raise hopes that Iran will engage on an issue that it claims has no substance. (AP Photo / APTN) TV OUT

In this frame made from TV Herman Nackaerts, of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks to reporters at the airport in Vienna, Sunday, Feb. 19 2012. A senior U.N. nuclear official said Sunday he hoped for progress in upcoming talks with Iran about suspected secret work on atomic arms, but his careful choice of words suggested little expectation that the meeting will be successful. The comments by Herman Nackaerts as his International Atomic Energy Agency team prepared to leave for Tehran for the second time in less than a month appeared to reflect IAEA reluctance to raise hopes that Iran will engage on an issue that it claims has no substance. (AP Photo / APTN) TV OUT

In this frame made from TV Herman Nackaerts, left, of the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks to his team at the airport in Vienna, Sunday, Feb. 19 2012. A senior U.N. nuclear official said Sunday he hoped for progress in upcoming talks with Iran about suspected secret work on atomic arms, but his careful choice of words suggested little expectation that the meeting will be successful. The comments by Herman Nackaerts as his International Atomic Energy Agency team prepared to leave for Tehran for the second time in less than a month appeared to reflect IAEA reluctance to raise hopes that Iran will engage on an issue that it claims has no substance. (AP Photo / APTN) TV OUT

In this frame made from TV, Herman Nackaerts, of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is seen at the airport in Vienna, Sunday, Feb. 19 2012. A senior U.N. nuclear official said Sunday he hoped for progress in upcoming talks with Iran about suspected secret work on atomic arms, but his careful choice of words suggested little expectation that the meeting will be successful. The comments by Herman Nackaerts as his International Atomic Energy Agency team prepared to leave for Tehran for the second time in less than a month appeared to reflect IAEA reluctance to raise hopes that Iran will engage on an issue that it claims has no substance. (AP Photo / APTN) TV OUT

(AP) ? A team of inspectors from the U.N nuclear watchdog has arrived in Tehran for what are expected to be key talks about Iran's controversial nuclear program.

Iran's state TV says the International Atomic Energy Agency team arrived early on Monday morning. The report did not give a timetable or agenda for the two-day visit .

This is the second IAEA visit to Tehran in less than a month.

Herman Nackaerts, a senior U.N. nuclear official, said in Vienna before the team departed on Sunday that he hoped for progress in the talks but his careful choice of words suggested little expectation the meeting will be successful.

The West suspects Iran's nuclear program is geared toward making weapons, a charge Iran denies.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-02-20-Iran-Nuclear/id-02796741337642639f9fc0cef0bd4c9b

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Insurance For Home Health Care Providers

Published by Sherry | February 18, 2012 | | 20

Approximately 7.6 million individuals currently receive care from 83,000 Home Health Care Providers in the U.S. today. The need for home health care providers is growing due to acute illness, long-term health conditions, permanent disability, and terminal illness. If you are just starting your home health care agency or if you have been in business for years there are critical items that you should be looking for in your insurance coverage.

The first concern is why it is necessary to have coverage and at such high limits? Well the issue is that many states require you as a home health care provider to carry coverage for your license. Also, it offers you protection from claims that may not have any merit but that are brought against you. Your clients may perceive negligence on your part even though you have done nothing wrong. These claims can be very costly to defend so make sure your policy provides defense cost before you purchase it.

Many policies provide defense cost, but they can be very different. Some include defense cost within the limit of liability and others outside the limit. If the costs are included in the limit this will reduce the amount that your policy will be able to respond to in the event of a judgment against you. The best situation is to have your defense cost outside your policy limit.

Another issue you should understand is that most policies for home health care providers are written on a ?Claims Made Basis?. That means that the date of the incident and the date that it is reported must be during the in force policy period. This can be very confusing and you should always make sure that you understand the reporting requirements and periods that are required by your insurance carrier.

Your agent will be able to assist with this. It is also possible to purchase ?Tail? coverage that will extend the reporting period for an additional premium charge.

Many people who are new to ?Claims Made? policies don?t understand that they will increase in premium each year during the first few years. This is because the likelihood of a claim being reported increases as time goes by. So you should expect the cost to increase for the first 5 years or so till the policy hits its ?mature? level. It will normally flatten out at that time.

There are many factors that should be investigated when purchasing insurance for your home health care agency. Make sure you have a competent well experienced agent to guide you through the process and point out all the potential pitfalls.

Source: http://www.1directory.net/health-fitness/insurance-for-home-health-care-providers-5537.html

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Sunday, February 19, 2012

Find a Real Estate Mentor for Creative Real Estate Investing

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Discovery may someday lead to prevention and treatment of sudden infant death syndrome

Discovery may someday lead to prevention and treatment of sudden infant death syndrome

Friday, February 17, 2012

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered that brain cells commonly thought to play a supporting role actually are critically important for the growth of brainstem neurons responsible for cardiorespiratory control. The discovery has profound implications for the prevention and treatment of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), the leading cause of death in children aged one month to one year.

The new discovery is published online in Neuroscience.

In their study, the OHSU team looked at glial cells, non-neuronal cells of the brain, and found that they very potently regulate growth of nerve cells in the brainstem. In fact, the glial cells actually inhibit the growth of brainstem neurons and may be as important for establishing neuronal networks as neurotrophic factors, a family of proteins essential for brain growth and survival. The OHSU study is the first to find that glial cells inhibit nerve cell growth.

"Previous research has shown that a common feature of the brains of SIDS babies is a dramatically increased number of glial cells," said Agnieszka Balkowiec, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator and associate professor of integrative biosciences in the OHSU School of Dentistry. "Based on the results of our new study, the increase in glial cells in SIDS babies could be the cause of a compromised growth of brainstem neurons that control the cardiorespiratory function and, ultimately, cause death."

The new study also shows that glial cells direct the growth of brainstem neurons caused by BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor), another molecule found by the Balkowiec lab to play an important role in cardiorespiratory control.

"Our study shows that the picture is more complex than we had previously thought," said Balkowiec. "A better understanding of interactions between BDNF and glial cells could play a significant role in the development of treatment for SIDS, high blood pressure, and other disorders with a deficient cardiorespiratory control."

###

Article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306452212000358

Oregon Health & Science University: http://www.ohsu.edu

Thanks to Oregon Health & Science University 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.

This press release has been viewed 96 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117706/Discovery_may_someday_lead_to_prevention_and_treatment_of_sudden_infant_death_syndrome

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Saturday, February 18, 2012

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Source: http://www.businesstraveltours.com/boutique-hotels-attracting-every-segment-of-travelers.html

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Friday, February 17, 2012

U.N. head sees possible crimes against humanity is Syria (Reuters)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Reuters - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Syrian authorities to stop killing civilians and said potential crimes against humanity were taking place in the country.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120216/wl_nm/us_syria_un_ban

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Swimming Pool Chlorine Dangers - Kusiquyllur Home Improvement ...

Chlorine can have its benefits. But, what people don?t know is that chlorine can become a disadvantage especially the moment it comes in contact with your body, inside and out. Despite the dangers of chlorine in pools, owners have a very good reason why they put chlorine together with their water.

First, if used on a low concentration, chlorine can effectively kill any kind of bacteria that can live inside the water in a very effective and fast manner. Next, if in higher concentrations, it has the capability to kill algae that can live at the side of the pool. Bather wastes are broken down by chlorine which is known as skin oils and flakes and lotions.

With all those advantages, pool owners are looking on the side where chlorine becomes the enemy of the body and altering its every function. By far, there have been reports on the different dangers when in contact with either high or low level of chlorine.

Trihalomethanes

According to studies, THMs or Trihalomethanes considered as pollutants to the environment and are also addressed to be carcinogenic.

It is a result of the combination of chlorine and water compounds which are organic. There is a less chance for these chemicals to degrade and when inside the body, can be found in fatty tissues.

So, what about it? Seems harmful right? Wrong.

When you start to think about the fatty tissues, you can regard it as a mother?s breast which produces milk. These chemicals are stored in the milk based from the mother?s breast which can also be found in certain fluids in the body ? semen and blood. When this comes in contact with the body, it can cause certain mutation that has the ability to suppress immune function and interferes with growth and development of new cells.

Irritant

Chlorine is considered as one of the chemical compounds that can cause irritation to the skin and eyes.

You know that chlorine is doing a very good job in killing microorganisms in pools if you have a feeling of blurry, stinging eyes. You can also spot a different kind of smell that is not normal with ordinary water. Studies show that water with chlorine can cause skin irritation which can be associated with eczema.

Water with chlorine can have the ability to damage Vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acids that are normally situated inside the body and considered as essentials to the body?s healthy status. Chlorine also has the capability to generate toxins that can produce damaging free radicals. Upon noticing that your skin is highly irritated because of pool water, this can be undone by supplementary diet. Chlorine also has the capability to aggravate some existing skin conditions like psoriasis, seborrhea and acne.

It doesn?t stop there. There are still multiple reasons why chlorine is considered as a dangerous compound. It concerns other health problems that are associated with melanoma, bladder and breast cancer and difficult bowel movements. In children, development of early asthma can be of concern. Furthermore, there are studies that show links between chlorine and cardiac anomalies.

The dangers of chlorinated water to people are increasing and others are still innocent of the bad effects of it. Chlorine can be good and become potentially bad if not prevented nor taken into consideration.

Find More Swimming Pools Articles

Source: http://www.kusiquyllur.org/2012/02/swimming-pool-chlorine-dangers/

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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Syria's Assad offers vote, tanks shell rebel areas (Reuters)

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) ? Syrian President Bashar al-Assad offered on Wednesday to hold multi-party elections within four months, while his troops assaulted city districts held by rebels trying to oust him.

Under world pressure to end a crackdown that has cost at least 6,000 lives, Assad promised a referendum in two weeks' time on a new constitution leading to elections within 90 days.

Opposition figures spurned the offer and the United States called it "laughable."

And Assad made clear he was still intent on crushing the uprising with tanks and troops.

The military unleashed a new offensive in Hama, a city with a bloody history of resistance to Assad's late father, Hafez al-Assad, firing at residential neighborhoods with anti-aircraft guns mounted on armored vehicles, opposition activists said.

Artillery also shelled parts of Homs for the 13th day in a row. In Damascus, troops backed by armor swept into the Barzeh district, searching houses and making arrests, witnesses said.

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For graphic of Homs http://link.reuters.com/tuc56s

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International efforts to halt the carnage have stuttered.

France said it was negotiating a new U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria with Russia, Assad's ally and main arms supplier, and also wanted to create humanitarian corridors to ease the plight of civilians caught up in the violence.

"The idea of humanitarian corridors that I previously proposed to allow NGOs to reach the zones where there are scandalous massacres should be discussed at the Security Council," Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on French radio.

He said a U.N. General Assembly vote on Thursday on a non-binding resolution on Syria would be "symbolic." It follows a February 4 veto by Russia and China of a draft Security Council resolution that backed an Arab League call for Assad to quit.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei said he would listen to Juppe's views, but added: "If the plan is to use the Security Council and United Nations to adopt some language to help legitimize regime change, then I'm afraid international law does not allow this and we cannot support such an approach."

The Arab League also wants a joint U.N.-Arab peacekeeping force to be deployed in Syria and has adopted a resolution that would allow its members to arm Syrian rebels.

Western powers are keen to see Assad go but are wary of intervening in Syria, at the heart of a volatile region.

PROMISES OF DEMOCRACY

The referendum promise signaled that Assad wants to win the struggle on his own terms, rather than step down, as the United States, its European allies, Turkey and the Arab League demand.

According to state media, the draft constitution to be put to a vote on February 26 would establish a multi-party system in Syria, under Baath Party rule since 1963. Parliamentary elections would follow within 90 days of its approval.

It would allow the president to be elected for two terms of seven years. Assad's late father Hafez al-Assad was president for 29 years and was succeeded by his son when he died in 2000.

"The political system of the state will be based on a principle of political plurality and democracy will be practiced through the voting box," Syria TV cited the draft as saying.

It also said new parties cannot be based on a religion or regional interests, a clause that would exclude the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood or autonomy-seeking Kurdish parties.

Melhem al-Droubi, a member of the exiled opposition Syrian National Council and the Muslim Brotherhood, told Reuters that Assad must resign now.

"The truth is that Bashar al-Assad has increased the killing and slaughter in Syria. He has lost his legitimacy and we aren't interested in his rotten constitutions, old or new," he said.

U.S. QUANDARY

The United States also dismissed the referendum plan.

"Promises of reforms have been usually followed by increase in brutality and have never been delivered upon by this regime since the beginning of peaceful demonstrations in Syria," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

"The Assad regime's days are numbered."

But President Barack Obama's administration is struggling to craft a policy in a region thick with U.S. strategic priorities including Iraq and Israel and overshadowed by fears over Iran's nuclear program.

"The U.S. strategy, as it stands now, is simply too little, too late," said Steven Heydemann, a Syria expert at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington.

The United States cites Syria's ethnic and sectarian mix, urban population, divided opposition and powerful military to argue against any Libya-style international intervention.

Many analysts believe Assad's downfall is far from imminent although he now faces rebels in an armed insurrection as well as peaceful demonstrators. The Syrian leader dismisses the revolt as the work of terrorists backed by a conspiracy of enemy nations.

Thousands of civilians have been killed since the uprising began in March, inspired by other Arab revolts. The government says it has lost more than 2,000 soldiers and police dead.

Syrian forces battered rebel-held areas on Wednesday, although official media restrictions made it impossible to verify the accounts provided by activists.

Tanks deployed near the citadel of Hama shelled the neighborhoods of Faraya, Olailat, Bashoura and al-Hamidiya, and troops were advancing from the airport, opposition sources said.

An activist called Amer, speaking by satellite phone, said communications had been cut in Hama, a Sunni city where Assad's father crushed an armed Muslim Brotherhood uprising in 1982, killing many thousands of civilians.

In the Damascus operation, witnesses said at least 1,000 soldiers swamped Barzeh district, a hotbed of opposition to Assad, whose family belongs to the minority Alawite sect.

In Homs, an explosion hit an oil pipeline feeding a refinery, witnesses said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported two people killed in Homs' Baba Amr district in a new wave of shelling in the evening.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the military's nearly two-week-old bombardment of rebel-held areas of Homs. Activists and aid groups report a growing humanitarian crisis there, with food running short and wounded people unable to get proper care.

The British-based Observatory also said five soldiers were killed in Idlib, near the Turkish border, when a homemade bomb planted by rebels hit an armored vehicle.

Also in Idlib province, two people, one of them a 12-year-old boy were killed by gunfire from security forces in Sarmin and at least 15 wounded, it said.

(Additional reporting by Dominic Evans and Erika Solomon in Beirut, and John Irish in Paris, Andrew Quinn in Washington; Anthony Deutsch in the Hague; Matt Spetalnick aboard Air Force One; Writing by Angus MacSwan in Beirut; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120215/wl_nm/us_syria

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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

After nearly three years, a charge of murder | Local news, sports ...

photo

Died of ruptured appendix in 2009

OKANOGAN ? It took nearly three years for the Okanogan County Prosecutor?s Office to file charges against the parents of Zachery Swezey, a 17-year-old Carlton boy who died from a ruptured appendix on March 18, 2009.

Officials say they were too busy with other cases to move this case forward, until now.

Gregory and Garnet Swezey ? who told investigators they believe in faith healing, but didn?t force their faith on their son ? have been charged with second-degree murder in Okanogan County Superior Court.

Documents filed with the charges say they were ?criminally negligent in their responsibility to provide care for their child? by failing to seek medical attention. The Swezeys told investigators they are members of the Church of the First Born, and that elders from the church came to their home the day before Zachery died to pray and anoint Zachery with olive oil.

The Okanogan County Sheriff?s Office sent its investigation to prosecutors Sept. 3, 2010, about a year and a half after Swezey?s death. ?This case was like in March of ?09, and it was one thing after another,? Sheriff Frank Rogers said Thursday.

He said among other things, his two main detectives were just beginning to investigate the March 1, 2009 Michelle Kitterman murder when Swezey died. The 25-year-old pregnant Tonasket woman was found on the side of a remote road, and police initially had no suspects. Four people were eventually convicted of murder in that case. Two are serving life sentences.

Prosecutor Karl Sloan said that and other homicide cases, along with attorney staffing issues, contributed to the time it took his office to review the case and file charges.

?This wasn?t one we wanted to add to the pile,? Sloan said.

He said the Swezeys were not considered at risk of leaving the area, or a threat to the community.

?Where a violent homicide occurs, that?s a whole different thing, because you have a community safety issue,? he said. ?This is not that type of case.?

To some, filing charges after such a long period of time comes as a shock.

?To dig this up after this period of time is outrageous, and I mean outrageous,? said John Hayes, a Winthrop land use planner and construction manager. He said he has known Greg Swezey for many years as business acquaintance, and always found him ?honest and most capable.? ?There are a lot of other people in the community who will not only be surprised but upset that our prosecutor would want to do this,? he said.

Hayes said waiting this long to charge the Swezeys just adds to the grief they?re already feeling over losing their son. ?Their grief is deep. Why would he want to add to the grief of this family?? he asked.

He added that Zachery Swezey, just four months away from his 18th birthday, was old enough to decide for himself whether a doctor should be called.

Hayes contended there?s no punitive or rehabilitative value in charging the Swezeys for their son?s death. ?It?s a waste of taxypayer dollars, and attacks a family that is wholely a part of our community,? he said.

Still, some are understanding of the length of time it took to file charges.

?I know that prosecutors and everybody involved in law enforcement are very over-burdened,? Rita Swan, president of CHILD Inc., a nonprofit group formed to protect children from abusive religious and cultural practices. ?It takes an extraordinary degree of dedication to set forth the facts and document them in a forensic way for a court trial.?

Swan ? who has followed this case since Swezey?s death ? noted that most states, including Washington, have child abuse laws that allow some religious exemptions for parents who do not seek medical treatment when their children are sick. Washington?s law limits its protections to Christian Science faith.

?I?m grateful that Okanogan County is standing up for the rights of the child and saying this child?s life had value, and that children are not just the property of their parents,? Swan said.

Sloan said public sentiment is not the only factor in determining whether to file charges. He declined to talk specifically about charges against the Swezeys, but said a case like this is likely to spur everything from support for the family to outrage. ?We don?t ignore the public, but you can?t make a decision based on who?s most vocal,? he said.

K.C. Mehaffey: 997-2512

mehaffey@wenatcheeworld.com

??Recommend this story. ??Know more about this story? Tell us.

Source: http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/feb/14/after-nearly-three-years-a-charge-of-murder/

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Custom Log Homes For Sale In North Carolina Asheville Area | Log ...

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Source: http://www.fallcreekland.com/2012/02/13/custom-log-homes-for-sale-in-north-carolina-asheville-area/

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Monday, February 13, 2012

Norwegians seek A-ha! moment in North Korean music (AP)

OSLO, Norway ? It's not the face of North Korea the world is used to: five young musicians adding a playful twist to one of the most popular Western pop songs of the 1980s.

On Saturday, an accordion quintet that gained unexpected YouTube fame with their cover of A-ha's megahit "Take on Me" performed the song live at an arts festival in Kirkenes, on Norway's Arctic border with Russia.

"For many it is a revelation that North Koreans open up and play Western pop music with such great joy," said Norwegian artist Morten Traavik, who recorded the video during a visit to the Kum Song school of music in Pyongyang in December. It has since been viewed more than 1 million times on YouTube.

The ensemble accepted his invitation to come to Norway, and their chords formed the musical backdrop Saturday as 250 Norwegian border guards holding colored flipboards tried to create a small-scale version of the giant human mosaics performed at North Korean mass games.

It was choreographed by two North Korean directors, but instead of the patriotic motifs typical to those events, the display in Kirkenes featured local images, such as polar bears and reindeer herders, Traavik said.

It's part of an art project that he's labeled "The Promised Land."

"My idea is to challenge our perceptions of North Koreans, which is extremely negative and stigmatized," he said. "I have a lot of good friends in North Korea. Like other people, they are proud of their country and nature. They are among the friendliest people I have gotten to know."

However, he said North Koreans are marked by a "siege" mentality, from being cut off from the rest of the world by their own authoritarian regime.

"It is important that they experience a very positive response during their visit here," he said. "That they feel welcomed and taken care of."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120211/ap_en_mu/eu_norway_north_korea

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