Thursday, January 31, 2013

CRM Integration via Small Business Grants | Mentor Works

SAP, Oracle, IBM, Salesforce, Salesnet, SugarCRM, Pipeline, and PipeDrive. These are a small sampling of the CRM vendors available on the market, each offering various solutions, bundles, and tiers. Undeniably, the selection process alone is a challenge, compounded by horror stories of implementation, adoption, and carrying costs. However even a basic CRM solution can provide significant sales and operations productivity gains essential for any firm?s business growth strategy.

In this CRM article series, CRM misconceptions and essential features are explored in detail, along with a guide to selecting the right solution for your organization, as well as Canadian government funding programs to help make the transition easier for small and medium-sized businesses.

CRM Misconceptions Debunked

Misconception 1:? CRM systems are only useful for organizations with intricate sales cycles and large sales teams

While it is true that organizations with large sales teams and geographic dispersion could best leverage CRM solutions, even a basic CRM system can provide material improvements to contact record management, appointment scheduling, internal communications, and sales cycle visibility. A basic CRM provides the infrastructure that will be required as your business acquires new clients, engages in marketing initiatives, and grows its overall client base.

Misconception 2:? CRM systems are too expensive

Names like Salesforce and SugarCRM resonate heavily in CRM solution space with some of the world?s largest companies on board, but these vendors also offer small business packages that can support your business needs. If you are unable to find the features you need at an affordable rate with ?big brands,? other very comprehensive affordable solutions exist such as PipeDrive, Salesnet, Zoho CRM, and Pipeline Deals that can be implemented and customized for less than $1000 per year. In addition, several small business funding?grants and other Canadian government funding options are available to offset the cost of implementing the system.

Misconception 3:? CRM systems have low sales team adoption

Your sales team?s function is to communicate value, foster relationships, and secure revenues. To ensure successful CRM adoption, management has to deliver proper training, emphasizing client management and productivity gains, as well as committing compensation to goals achieved or measured using the CRM solution. Sales representatives perceive CRM systems as a clerical or administrative tool that distracts them from ?making money?, which perpetuates the likelihood to discourage others from using the system or having low regard for integrity of the sales and client records. The winning sales representative formula ties ?making money? into the CRM:

CRM adoption = capacity to manage more leads * better conversion rates * planning repeat business * tied compensation

Misconception 4:? CRM systems are for everybody

At the end of the day, your efforts to find the right solution for your customers and sales team will be met with a sales representative selling the value of their solution as a perfect fit for your needs. If your daily operations involve prospecting and routine multiple client touch points, a CRM of some scope is likely of benefit to your business growth strategy. If you are established, stable, with only a handful of clients, a CRM may present less value due to a simple and established sales cycle.

Misconception 5:? CRM systems require IT professionals to maintain

There are many solutions that are available ?out of the box? and customizable without any programming or systems experience. Both Zoho and Pipedrive are easy to setup, have simple interface, and have customizable solutions. While it is necessary to invest up-front time and due diligence including specification time to setup users, products, and custom fields if needed, most reports and analysis come pre-built and automated. Greater emphasis on adoption will result in data integrity, lowering commitment to clean up records afterwards.

Misconception 6:? ERP systems are a better investment than CRM systems

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are different than CRM systems. Each system has a unique, albeit complimentary role in business operations. Whereas a CRM system focuses on sales cycle management and automation, an ERP system focuses on material and workflow planning and automation. Both have components of reporting and analysis, and a CRM can in fact improve ERP effectiveness by providing records of current and future sales orders that are closed or likely to close. An ERP in turn can provide details on expected lead times and barriers to product availability. Many vendors do offer both systems as well as standalone module extensions, which can significantly reduce implementation time as well as overall cost. Although there are small business funding grants for ERP System Implementation/Customization, the suitability of both an ERP and CRM depends on the company?s structure and needs.

Small Business Funding Grants to Support CRM Implementation, Customization, and Maintenance

  • Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) Accelerated Review Process?provides grant funding for business projects that revolve around software implementation, productivity improvements, and production design or marketing projects. This funding for small business program, which covers 80% direct labour costs and 50% sub-contractor costs, up to a maximum of $50K in non-repayable funding
  • Information and Communications Technology (ICTC) Career Focus? Program supports the hiring of a new graduate to perform IT activities such as software development, database creation and maintenance, and various other content and linking strategies.??ICTC Career Focus?contributes 50% of salary and benefits up to $12,750 to hire a graduate full-time for 4-8 months.
  • Graduate Enterprise Internship (GEI)/iSTEM?program supports the hiring of specialized graduates from the Science, Technical, Engineering and/or Mathematics (STEM) fields of study. The GEI/iSTEM program contributes 50% of salary (CPP+EI) for a 6-month internship, supporting up to $10K for graduate interns with a Bachelor degree, and up to $15K for Masters or Ph.D?s.

Contact Mentor Works: The Funding for Small Business Experts

If you would like to receive additional information regarding any of the programs mentioned in this article, or if you would like to learn more about other similar?Canadian government grants?and small business grants?keep up with new from Mentor Works via their?Canadian Government Funding Blog, or contact a?Canadian Government Funding Expert?for a free consultation. ?We ?invite you to follow Mentor Works? activity on?Facebook,?Twitter,?LinkedIn, and?Google+.?? We also invite you to our next Free?Canadian Government Funding Workshop?on Wed. February 27th, 2013 at 10am in Burlington, Ontario.

Source: http://www.mentorworks.ca/blog/government-funding/crm-integration-via-small-business-grants-part-12/

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Ballmer: Office with no iPad support makes 'a lot of sense'

The question of Office for iOS has burned for a year, but a release is still up in the air after comments by Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer at yesterday's "new" Office 365 launch.

Asked about Office for the iPad, Ballmer gave a terse reply: "I have nothing to say on the topic."

"We're very happy with the product that we're putting in market," Ballmer told Bloomberg. "It makes sense on the devices like the Mac and the PC. We have a product that we think makes a lot of sense. We do have a way for people always to get to Office through the browser, which is very important. And we'll see what we see in the future.

Rumours that Office would be coming to iPads and iPhone in March 2013 surfaced late last year after Microsoft's Czech office announced Office Mobile for Android and iOS, allowing owners of Apple devices to purchase a subscription to Office 365. In meantime, the only tablet on which Office is available is Microsoft's own Surface.

The fundamental issue thought to be behind the delay in bringing Office to iOS is Microsoft's unwillingness to pay Apple's 30-percent commission on apps sold through its App Store. Negotiations on the issue derailed Microsoft's plans to update its SkyDrive app for iOS last year, according to All Things Digital.

Microsoft also announced on Tuesday?that the Home Premium version of Office would get tighter integration with its SkyDrive cloud storage service, along with Skype calling.

Despite Microsoft's late entry to a market that Dropbox cornered early, Ballmer told Bloomberg he remains unfazed by the "fine little start-up" and its 100 million users, which, he noted, are dwarfed by Microsoft's one billion for its Office cash cow. (How many users does Microsoft's Dropbox rival Skydrive have? It's not quite clear: last month Microsoft said more than 200 million people "have used" SkyDrive, but didn't give a figure on how many are still active users.)

A key difference between the two, according to Ballmer, is that Dropbox is dominated by consumers, while Office 365 gets a much higher percentage of revenue from business customers. That said, Dropbox is making its way into the enterprise: a recent study found one in five corporate IT users are using the service to store work documents.

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/ballmer-office-with-no-ipad-support-makes-a-lot-of-sense-7000010545/

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Chris Brown Likens Self to Jesus; Feeling Crucified in Wake of Frank Ocean Melee?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/chris-brown-likens-self-to-jesus-feeling-crucified-in-wake-of-fr/

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Forget buying software: You can now rent Microsoft Office

9 hrs.

Considering that we can have music, movies, TV shows, Photoshop???even underwear???via some sort of monthly or yearly subscription, it's about time we can finally rent Microsoft Office 365, too.

In exchange for $100 per?year (or $10 per?month), you'll be able to install Office 2013 on up to five PCs, Macs or Windows tablets. You'll have?access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access. Additionally, you'll get an extra?20GB of cloud storage through SkyDrive (on top of the 7GB you already get for free) along with 60 minutes of Skype world calling per month.?

You can still buy Office 2013 the old-school way, though don't expect to see any physical media in the software box; you'll just buy a product code and be sent online to download the actual software. The Home & Student version of that is $140 and is limited to one device (and just Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote); Home & Business is $220 (which includes Outlook as well), and Pro ? with all of the same?apps offered in the subscription ??is $400.

Besides being able to install on up to five devices, there are other benefits to the subscription plan:?Free upgrades to the latest versions of the Office software are included, so you can buy in at any time without worrying about missing the next version. Better still, since the subscription?license covers different types of devices, you don't have to buy a bunch of different versions.?(Besides Mac support, Microsoft has said in the past that this Office 365?license would even?provide you with not-yet-released editions, including a possible iPad version.)

If you have a family with lots going on, it is likely to be a money saver, even when you factor in the deals you get from home/student pricing.?

If you are simply?a power user with a lot of different devices, you'll be able to sync Office 365?documents between them with ease. (And you'll, of course, also be able to share documents quickly, thanks to SkyDrive.)?It doesn't stop with the documents though: Your settings and preferences sync as well. This means that no matter where you sign into Office 365, you'll have the same experience. This is, once again, a great benefit for those who split their time between one too many devices.

Pricing and cloud support aside, the latest Office itself isn't a radical redesign. Everything feels familiar, with some small tweaks. It appears that Microsoft is attempting to reduce the bloat we occasionally experience when it comes to its software suite. Does it succeed? Well, we'll have to use the software for a bit longer to make a solid judgment call in regards to that.

While?the?latest version of the software isn't?lacking anything?from?the?traditional?desktop?view???in fact, our initial impression is that it might be the best version of Office we've used so far???we're still waiting for a finger-friendly tablet version of the?legendary?suite.?Though?it?would?be?a?huge?success?given?the?popularity?of?iPads?and?other?tablets,?Microsoft?isn't?going?to?rush?that?out?in?haste,?because?the?company's?developers?say?they?want?to?get?it?right.

You can snag a free one-month trial of Office 365 through Office.com and we suggest taking advantage of this deal. Odds are that you'll find it feeling comfortable and familiar ? and a little lighter on the checkbook as well.

Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/forget-buying-software-you-can-now-rent-microsoft-office-cheap-1C8157930

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Philips Bows Out Of Consumer Electronics Business

Image (1) philipsdvr1.jpg for post 88274Philips, a brand well known for their televisions and optical media devices, is leaving the consumer electronics market and is now focusing on medical equipment and lighting. The company sold its CE business to the Japanese manufacturer Funai Electric Co. for $201 million.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Pdes6nKxZFo/

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Dutch Queen Beatrix abdicating, son will be king

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) ? The Netherlands' Queen Beatrix announced Monday that she is ending her reign after 33 years and passing the crown to her eldest son, who has long been groomed to be king but who will have to work hard to match his mother's popularity.

The widely expected abdication comes at a time of debate over the future of the largely ceremonial Dutch monarchy, but also as calm has descended upon the Netherlands after a decade of turmoil that saw Beatrix act as the glue that held together an increasingly divided society.

"Responsibility for our country must now lie in the hands of a new generation," Beatrix, one of Europe's longest-serving monarchs, said in the simple, televised speech announcing her abdication.

The queen, who turns 75 in just a few days, said she will step down from the throne on April 30. That same day, her eldest son, Willem-Alexander, will be appointed king at an inauguration in Amsterdam. He will be the Netherlands' first king since Willem III died in 1890.

Willem-Alexander is a 45-year-old father of three young daughters, an International Olympic Committee member, a pilot and a water management expert.

Over the years, he has struggled to win the affection of this nation of 16 million, but his immensely popular wife, the Argentine-born Maxima, has helped him gain more acceptance ever since she brushed away a tear during their wedding in 2002.

They are a hard-working couple: Willem-Alexander regularly gives speeches at water conferences, sharing his low-lying nation's centuries of experience battling to stay dry, while soon-to-be Queen Maxima, a former investment banker, has carved out a career as a microfinance expert.

Together, the pair has often been seen cheering on Dutch sportsmen and women at Olympics from Beijing, to Vancouver and London.

"He's known as 'Mister Water,' isn't he? He seems like a reliable person, just like his mother," said Desiree Hoving, an Amsterdam resident. "I don't really have an emotional response to him, but I do think it's nice that Maxima is going to be queen."

Despite regular public appearances, Willem-Alexander is also fiercely private, giving reporters and photographers brief, choreographed glimpses of his family in return for being left in peace the rest of the time.

"He and Princess Maxima are fully prepared for their future roles," Beatrix said. "They will serve our nation with dedication, faithfully preserve the constitution and bring all their talents to the monarchy."

Despite her popularity, Maxima has always carried an air of controversy because her father was an agriculture minister in the military junta that ruled Argentina with an iron fist in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In a move that may curtail possible protests, the Royal House said that Maxima told Prime Minister Mark Rutte that her parents will not attend the inauguration.

In her brief, prerecorded speech from her Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague, Beatrix said she was, "deeply grateful for the great faith you have shown in me in the many years that I could be your queen."

The queen's departure is sure to bring about an outpouring of sentimental and patriotic feelings among the Dutch, most of whom adore Beatrix. In everyday conversation, many of her subjects refer to her simply by the nickname "Bea."

Well-wishers immediately gathered outside the palace Monday.

One of them, Laura Dinkshof, took along a homemade orange banner. "We hope the queen will see it," she said. "It says we were very happy with our queen and we wish her a nice retirement and that we have trust in our new king."

Rutte, a staunch monarchist, said that ever since her coronation in 1980, Beatrix ? the nation's oldest-ever monarch ? "applied herself heart and soul for Dutch society."

Beatrix succeeded her mother, Juliana, as head of state, and her reign has been marked by tumultuous shifts in Dutch society and, more recently, by personal tragedy.

Observers believe Beatrix remained on the throne for so long in part because of unrest in Dutch society as the country struggled to assimilate more and more immigrants, mainly Muslims from North Africa, and shifted away from its traditional reputation as one of the world's most tolerant nations.

Beatrix was also thought to be giving time for her son to enjoy fatherhood before taking the throne.

The abdication also comes at a time of trial for Beatrix. A year ago, she was struck by personal tragedy when the second of her three sons, Prince Friso, was left in a coma after being engulfed by an avalanche while skiing in Austria.

And even in a job that is mostly symbolic to begin with, the previous government stripped her of one of her few remaining powers: the ability to name a candidate to begin Cabinet formation after the election of the national parliament.

Beatrix's reign began in difficult economic times and there were riots in Amsterdam at her inauguration, as thousands of demonstrators protesting the city's housing shortages fought pitched battles with police just a few hundred meters (yards) from the downtown palace where she was crowned.

But throughout her tenure she was a calming influence on society, particularly in the aftermath of the 2002 assassination of populist politician Pim Fortuyn and the murder two years later of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim extremist.

Personal tragedies have exposed a softer side of the queen and brought her closer to her subjects.

The 2002 death of her German-born husband, Prince Claus, took a toll on her, and it was apparent how deep her reliance on the quiet man had been: she was filmed leaning heavily, almost hanging, on Prince Friso's arm as they entered the church for her spouse's funeral.

In another blow, a deranged loner tried to slam a car into an open-topped bus carrying members of the royal family as they celebrated the Queens Day national holiday in 2009. The driver killed seven people who had gathered to watch the royals, a brazen attack that shocked the nation.

Friso, who had been such a support after Claus' death, remains in a coma. Late last year, the Royal House said he showed "very minimal" signs of consciousness.

"I think it's a good time for her to leave, with all that happened in her life recently," said 44-year-old Bert Duesenberg of The Hague as he stood at the queen's palace gates. "I also think that Alexander is ready to take over, and he has to do that. It is good news, and it's time for the change."

____

Associated Press writer Toby Sterling contributed from Amsterdam and Alex Furtula contributed from The Hague.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dutch-queen-beatrix-abdicating-son-king-231410038.html

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Monster Truck Will Shake New Zealand for Safer Buildings

With the tires of a monster truck and guts that pound the ground like a dinosaur, the T-Rex is not just the ultimate Tonka toy.

The truck simulates an earthquake, revealing the properties of rocks and sediments below to watching researchers, and therefore shedding light on how the ground shakes during a temblor.

The U.S. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation is sending T-Rex to New Zealand's South Island, to shake the soils around Christchurch, where a series of earthquakes in 2011 destroyed buildings and took lives.

The earthquakes caused widespread liquefaction, a phenomenon in which shaking of water-logged soils turns the sediment temporarily from a solid to a liquid. The jiggly, wet soils undermined buildings and other structures. As many as 7,500 homes were abandoned. Parts of downtown Christchurch remain cordoned off due to the extensive damage.

The seismic data gathered with T-Rex will inform engineers, on an area-by-area basis, how to rebuild structures in Christchurch to resist future earthquakes, according to a statement from the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation.?The seismic waves can find which soils are more likely to liquefy, and which soils are more stable. Engineers can design structures to withstand earthquakes, but first they need to know more about the soils in each area, the statement said.

"Designing a quake-resistant building starts with the soil," Brady Cox, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said in the statement. "The stiffness and layering of the soil has a profound effect on the strength of shaking felt during an earthquake."

The 64,000-pound (29,000 kilogram) shaker truck will sail overseas on Feb. 3, arriving in Christchurch in March.

Reach Becky Oskin at boskin@techmedianetwork.com. Follow her on Twitter @beckyoskin. Follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter?@OAPlanet. We're also on?Facebook?and Google+.

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

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/monster-truck-shake-zealand-safer-buildings-201727346.html

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Researchers break million-core supercomputer barrier

Jan. 28, 2013 ? Stanford Engineering's Center for Turbulence Research (CTR) has set a new record in computational science by successfully using a supercomputer with more than one million computing cores to solve a complex fluid dynamics problem -- the prediction of noise generated by a supersonic jet engine.

Joseph Nichols, a research associate in the center, worked on the newly installed Sequoia IBM Bluegene/Q system at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LLNL) funded by the Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) Program of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Sequoia once topped list of the world's most powerful supercomputers, boasting 1,572,864 compute cores (processors) and 1.6 petabytes of memory connected by a high-speed five-dimensional torus interconnect.

Because of Sequoia's impressive numbers of cores, Nichols was able to show for the first time that million-core fluid dynamics simulations are possible -- and also to contribute to research aimed at designing quieter aircraft engines.

The physics of noise

The exhausts of high-performance aircraft at takeoff and landing are among the most powerful human-made sources of noise. For ground crews, even for those wearing the most advanced hearing protection available, this creates an acoustically hazardous environment. To the communities surrounding airports, such noise is a major annoyance and a drag on property values.

Understandably, engineers are keen to design new and better aircraft engines that are quieter than their predecessors. New nozzle shapes, for instance, can reduce jet noise at its source, resulting in quieter aircraft.

Predictive simulations -- advanced computer models -- aid in such designs. These complex simulations allow scientists to peer inside and measure processes occurring within the harsh exhaust environment that is otherwise inaccessible to experimental equipment. The data gleaned from these simulations are driving computation-based scientific discovery as researchers uncover the physics of noise.

More cores, more challenges

"Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, like the one Nichols solved, are incredibly complex. Only recently, with the advent of massive supercomputers boasting hundreds of thousands of computing cores, have engineers been able to model jet engines and the noise they produce with accuracy and speed," said Parviz Moin, the Franklin M. and Caroline P. Johnson Professor in the School of Engineering and Director of CTR.

CFD simulations test all aspects of a supercomputer. The waves propagating throughout the simulation require a carefully orchestrated balance between computation, memory and communication. Supercomputers like Sequoia divvy up the complex math into smaller parts so they can be computed simultaneously. The more cores you have, the faster and more complex the calculations can be.

And yet, despite the additional computing horsepower, the difficulty of the calculations only becomes more challenging with more cores. At the one-million-core level, previously innocuous parts of the computer code can suddenly become bottlenecks.

Ironing out the wrinkles

Over the past few weeks, Stanford researchers and LLNL computing staff have been working closely to iron out these last few wrinkles. This week, they were glued to their terminals during the first "full-system scaling" to see whether initial runs would achieve stable run-time performance. They watched eagerly as the first CFD simulation passed through initialization then thrilled as the code performance continued to scale up to and beyond the all-important one-million-core threshold, and as the time-to-solution declined dramatically.

"These runs represent at least an order-of-magnitude increase in computational power over the largest simulations performed at the Center for Turbulence Research previously," said Nichols "The implications for predictive science are mind-boggling."

A homecoming

The current simulations were a homecoming of sorts for Nichols. He was inspired to pursue a career in supercomputing as a high-school student when he attended a two-week summer program at Lawrence Livermore computing facility in 1994 sponsored by the Department of Energy. Back then he worked on the Cray Y-MP, one of the fastest supercomputers of its time.

"Sequoia is approximately 10 million times more powerful than that machine," Nichols noted.

The Stanford ties go deeper still. The computer code used in this study is named CharLES and was developed by former Stanford senior research associate, Frank Ham. This code utilizes unstructured meshes to simulate turbulent flow in the presence of complicated geometry.

In addition to jet noise simulations, Stanford researchers in the Predictive Science Academic Alliance Program (PSAAP), sponsored by the Department of Energy, are using the CharLES code to investigate advanced-concept scramjet propulsion systems used in hypersonic flight (with video) -- flight at many times the speed of sound -- and to simulate the turbulent flow over an entire airplane wing.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford School of Engineering. The original article was written by Andrew Myers.

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


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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/ms7cX5a1IAs/130128104628.htm

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Twitter's Vine features porn video as 'Editor's Pick'

15 hrs.

Since Vine, Twitter's video-sharing service, launched on Thursday, it's been plagued by all sorts of woes. We noticed that it lacks privacy settings and?abuse prevention measures, Facebook prevented it from finding any friends through the social network, and now ... well, now pornographic?content has slipped?into Vine's?"Editor's Picks" section.

Vine's a rather neat service, in theory. If you've got an iOS device, you can create and share Vine videos. All you have to do is point your iPhone (or iPod Touch) at something and press your finger to the screen to record a clip up to six seconds in length (both sound and motion are captured, of course). Once done, you can share it to Vine, Twitter and Facebook. You can also use the app to browse through popular videos and those featured as "Editor's Picks."

And that's where Vine's latest troubles appear. On Monday morning, a video shared by "nsfwvine" ??an account created for the sole purpose of posting pornographic videos to Vine (hence the "Not Safe For Work" part of the name)???received the service's "Editor's Pick" badge of honor.

While the video did lose the "Editor's Pick" badge later in the morning, it was not removed from the service. Instead, it now carries a warning message declaring that the video?"may contain sensitive content" and requires a tap to be viewed. (From what we can tell, this warning message is automatically added to videos which are reported as inappropriate by Vine users.)

We have reached out to Twitter for more information regarding how the video in question?? which shows a young woman and a?sex toy?? was chosen as an "Editor's Pick." We wondered if some sort of automated process may be involved in the selection. A Twitter spokesperson explained that an actual person was actually to blame. "A human error resulted in a video with adult content becoming one of the videos in Editor's Picks," she wrote in an email to NBC News. "[U]pon realizing this mistake we removed the video immediately. We apologize to our users for the error."

We have also contacted Apple, as we suspect the Cupertino-based company is probably not all too happy about pornographic content being?prominently?featured in an iOS app. (It has banned apps for far less racy issues in the past.)

In the meantime, obscene material continues to flood into Vine. Several accounts ? including "nsfwvine" ? have been posting pornographic clips since Vine launched last week. Not all of porn clips?carry the "sensitive content" warning yet and it's not clear if any have been removed so far.

"Wow. How did this happen, Vine?" a user asked?on one of the videos, while another wondered "[c]an I flag this as inappropriate more than once?"

Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/twitters-vine-features-porn-video-editors-pick-1C8137828

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Monday, January 28, 2013

Firefighters: Death toll to 180 in Brazil fire

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) ? Firefighters say that the death toll from a fire that swept through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil has risen to 180.

Officials say the fire broke out at the Kiss club in the city of Santa Maria while a band was performing. At least 200 people have been injured.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/firefighters-death-toll-180-brazil-fire-122402429.html

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Sunday, January 27, 2013

Remembering Apollo 1, NASA's First Major Disaster

46 years ago today, veteran astronaut Gus Grissom, first American spacewalker Ed White, and rookie Roger Chaffee were killed in a cabin fire during an Apollo 1 launch pad test. The first majorly fatal accident in NASA's history, the fire was caused in part by the cabin's pure oxygen atmosphere and a number of other dangerous design flaws that were corrected over the 20 month delay that followed the incident. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/F-CNIWaqofk/remembering-apollo-1-nasas-first-major-disaster

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SAG Awards: More 'Lincoln,' 'Argo' drama?

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Ben Affleck's "Argo" and Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" are battling back and forth as the favorite film awards season rolls on.Ben Affleck's "Argo" and Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" are battling back and forth as the favorite film awards season rolls on.


Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/01/26/16713941-sag-awards-could-provide-more-lincoln-vs-argo-drama?lite

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Acer Predator AG3620-UR308 Gaming Desktop (Black) - Computers ...

Acer Predator AG3620-UR308 Gaming Desktop (Black)

Product Description

Acer Predator AG3620-UR308 Desktop PC comes with these specs: 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3770 processor 3.4GHz with Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.9GHz, Windows 8, Intel B75 Express Chipset, 12GB DDR3 Memory, NVIDIA GeForce GT630 Graphics with 2GB of Discrete Video Memory, 16X DVD?R/RW SuperMulti Drive, 2TB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader, 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless, Bluetooth 4.0+HS, High Definition Audio with 5.1-Channel Audio Support, 6 - USB 2.0 Ports, 4 - USB 3.0 Ports, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, Keyboard and Mouse, 29.0 lbs./13.2 kg (system unit only), 1 Year Parts and Labor Limited Warranty with Toll Free Tech Support, Registration/ Limited Warranty Card, McAfee Internet Security Suite Trial

Details

  • 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3770 processor 3.4GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 Technology up to 3.9GHz (8MB Total Cache)
  • 12GB DDR3
  • 2 TB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
  • NVIDIA GeForce GT630 with 2GB Discrete Video Memory
  • Windows 8

Source: http://www.sacada2.net/acer-predator-ag3620-ur308-gaming-desktop-black/

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Social Security and Medicare: Do you get back what you pay in?

People who pay into Social Security and Medicare their whole working lives are often told by politicians that they've 'earned' these retirement benefits. Here's why that's not necessarily so.

By Peter Grier,?Staff writer / January 25, 2013

This 2005 photo shows rolls of blank social security checks at the U.S. Treasury's Financial Management services facility in Philadelphia.

Bradley C Bower/AP/File

Enlarge

Are Social Security and Medicare ?earned entitlements,? returning benefits for which recipients have already paid?

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The question arises because earlier this week House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R) of Wisconsin said they are. Appearing on Laura Ingraham?s radio show on Jan. 22, Representative Ryan said President Obama had mischaracterized the GOP?s attitude toward the nation?s big social insurance programs.

?No one is suggesting that what we call our earned entitlements ? entitlements you pay for, like payroll taxes for Medicare and Social Security ? are putting you in a ?taker? category,? said Ryan. ?No one would suggest that whatsoever.?

Of course, Ryan is far from the only politician to describe Social Security and Medicare in this manner. The wording may be more common among Democrats, who often imply that these programs are simply keeping folks? tax cash warm until they need it ? so hands off!

Let?s quote Mr. Obama himself from an appearance last September before an American Association of Retired Persons audience: ?I want to emphasize, Medicare and Social Security are not handouts. You?ve paid into these programs your whole lives. You?ve earned them.?

To this we say, weelllll, not really. The situation is more complicated than that.

It?s true that workers fork over Social Security and Medicare taxes every payday. But under current law, over their lifetimes most Americans will get back substantially more from these programs then they?ve paid in, even after accounting for inflation and adjusting for interest you might have earned if you?d kept the money.

That?s primarily due to the rising value of projected Medicare health benefits. Social Security is a different story. In recent years the raising of the Social Security retirement age, plus other tweaks, have made the big retirement income entitlement less generous. New retirees won?t get back quite as much income support as they?ve contributed in Social Security taxes.

However, individual tax/benefit ratios for both programs are highly variable, depending on lifetime earnings, longevity, marital status, and health conditions.

Got all that? We weren?t kidding when we said it was ?complicated.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/yKAEdh-O0Vw/Social-Security-and-Medicare-Do-you-get-back-what-you-pay-in

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Saturday, January 26, 2013

More Clamoring for Rubio's Immigration Plan | Florida Center for ...

Everyone is waiting for Sen. Marco Rubio's immigration plan. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)

Everyone is waiting for Sen. Marco Rubio?s immigration plan. (Photo by Gage Skidmore.)

By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-FL, has been making it known that he is taking on the herculean task of drafting comprehensive immigration reform. His plans could not come a moment too soon as the right and left look to Rubio for the next step.

This week, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Goldwater Institute VP Clint Bolick?wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal?calling for immediate, sweeping changes to the country?s immigration laws.

They wrote:

Some policy makers are calling for piecemeal changes?such as issuing visas for high-skilled workers and investors, or conferring legal status on immigrants who were illegally brought into the country as children. Congress should avoid such quick fixes and commit itself instead to comprehensive immigration reform.

In some conservative circles, the word ?comprehensive? in the context of immigration reform is an epithet?a code word for amnesty. People who oppose such reform declare that securing the United States border must come before moving toward broader reform.

Such an approach is shortsighted and self-defeating. Border security is inextricably intertwined with other aspects of immigration policy. The best way to prevent illegal immigration is to make sure that we have a fair and workable system of legal immigration. The current immigration system is neither.

Bush and Bolick insisted that Democrats and Republicans need to talk about many issues neither party wants to face. Among them: the fact that??it is not law enforcement but the law itself that is broken, the U.S. needs workers of all types, the driver of immigration policy is ?chain migration,? and amnesty promotes illegal immigration.?

So far, the only person that has raised a hand to take on this task has been Rubio. And everyone else is waiting.

Bush has been a longtime supporter of Rubio?s plan and has shown interest in what Rubio eventually takes to Congress.

This week, White Press?Secretary?Jay Carney was asked whether the president was looking to work with Rubio on immigration reform. Carney said that he hadn?t seen Rubio?s full plan yet, but was interested in his ideas.

According to a transcript from The Tampa Bay Times,?Carney told a reporter:

The President looks forward to working with Congress, members of both parties. He has always said that this is the kind of thing that has to be bipartisan and has in the past enjoyed bipartisan support from Republican leaders as well as rank-and-file senators and members of Congress.

President George W. Bush, as you know, was a strong proponent of comprehensive immigration reform, as was Senator McCain. And the President looks forward to working with Republicans and Democrats in achieving comprehensive immigration reform. He does absolutely believe that we need to do this in a comprehensive way, that that?s the appropriate way to move forward to ensure that we put in place the kind of comprehensive reform that achieves all the goals that are necessary here.

So far, only parts of Rubio?s immigration plans have trickled out.

The New York Times was able to chat with Rubio about his plan. Here are some of the things that Rubio?s plan tackles:

  • ?A nationwide exit system to check foreigners out of the country, to confirm that they left before their visas expired.?
  • ?A nationwide program for employers to verify the legal authorization of new workers.?
  • ?His plan would give a temporary ?nonimmigrant visa? to illegal immigrants, which would allow them to remain and work in the United States. They would have to wait a ?significant but reasonable? period of time before they could apply to become legal permanent residents, going to the back of the line in the existing system. Once they became residents, they could go on like other legal immigrants to naturalize as citizens.?

The Times also reported that??Rubio?s principles did not sound very different from outlines for an overhaul that President Obama has offered.?

Rubio plans to release his proposal?before the president?s State of the Union address.


Source: http://fcir.org/2013/01/25/more-clamoring-for-rubios-immigration-plan/

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Video: Rhode Island steps closer to legalizing gay marriage

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The Ultimate House Painting Tips Guide - Articles :: Networx

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Whether you are repainting an entire house, or just touching up the corner of a room, painting is an important part of home-ownership (and even renting). Knowing this, we've published quite a few articles on painting over the years, all of which were written by professional painters and home improvement experts. We've rounded up all of our favorite painting tips articles into one handy guide. It's time to paint!

Tips for Saving Money on Paint: A guide to how to get the best deals on paint.

Challenges That Exterior Painters Face: Read this before doing any exterior painting work. It is written by a Denver tile contractor and all around remodeling and painting pro.

Choosing and Using Spray Paint: Learn how to purchase and use spray paint for any kind of surface.

The Pros and Cons of Painting Brick Surfaces: Should you paint that brick wall or fireplace surround? Find out.

Techniques for Antiquing Wood: The distressed look is in. This was written by a painter who specializes in faux finishes.

Remove Wallpaper, Don't Paint Over It: If you are considering painting over wallpaper, read this first.

Good Question: Can You Paint Over Wood Paneling?: Yes, you can paint over wood paneling, and you can also stain it.

Four Painting Shortcuts That Will Cost You Long-term and 10 Painting Don'ts: Read these or weep.

Selecting a Paint Color in Six Steps: This is an organized guide for people who don't know where to start when it comes to choosing paint colors.

Secrets of Saving Paint for Later: Get the most from your paint purchase by saving paint for later like a pro.

Latex vs. Oil Paint: There is a time and a place for both latex and oil-based paints.

Chaya Kurtz writes for Networx.com.

Source: http://www.networx.com/article/the-ultimate-house-painting-tips-guide

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Does Your Small Business Have Risks?


Indianapolis business InsuranceBy starting your business, you have done thousands dream of?and in succeeding in your business, you do what millions of others aspiration to. But just because you are a risk taker and have the talents which lead you to success, caution is required to avoid flirting with disaster which could cause insurable risks to hurt your business? bottom line.

With a little bit of research, there are many ways that you can minimize your risks and provide a safe, low-risk business for your employees to work.

Alarm and Safety Alarm Systems

Basic smoke detectors may be required for your business, but maintenance and upgrading your system is the easiest way to protect your business. The installation of a fire notification and security system will keep you and your employees safe while giving you the time needed to call the fire department and curb any fires from damaging your business equipment. Upgrading to a fire detection system that is monitored by an offsite company will offer even more advanced protection.

Advanced security systems, alarms, security cameras and motion detection lights will not only help your business property avoid theft and vandalism but will also help notify the police of any break-ins. ?Also, security cameras will give you the ability to record any theft or vandalism that may occur and thus have a better chance of an arrest being made and possessions returned.

Keeping your Business Clean

Many workplace injuries are the result of preventable accidents. For instance, a loose piece of carpet on the floor, a loose tile, a pile of files on the floor or general debris blocking a hallway all can cause an employee to trip, fall and become injured. Keeping your business clean and organized will help reduce the risk of injury and the responsibilities that follow and employee being injured.

Disaster Plans

No matter how hard you work to prevent injury, fire and other disasters at work, some things are just not under your control. A tornado, earthquake, hurricane or damaging snow storm could someday interrupt your employees? workday or even destroy your place of business.

A well thought out disaster plan can minimize the risks associated with natural disasters. In the plan, you can explain how your employees should react to a potential disaster, what they should do to prevent damage to business items and data as well as a plan to keep themselves safe.

Safe Storage for Personal Items

Having a safe and secure place for your employees to leave their personal belongings while they work is essential. You may be responsible for losses if you do not provide the proper setting for your employees to leave their things such as purses, wallets, and car keys.

In addition, there should be a safe, secure location for you to secure business valuables each night while the business is closed. Expensive equipment and computers, cash, and data back-ups should be stored in a safe or lock box that serves as a preventive against theft or some safety boxes even protect against fire.

There is no way to erase all possibilities of injury or liability from your business, but there are many ways that you can reduce the risks and keep your business and employees safe. Adequate business insurance is there for you in the case of injuries and disasters. The tips presented here can help diminish risky situations that can hinder your business? ability to stay up and running and can hurt your financial foundation. Call Bolander and Ianni Insurance today at 888-360-9150 to make sure your Indianapolis Business Insurance is in place to take care of your business. We promise to serve you with the best possible business insurance products at the best possible rate.?

Posted Thursday, January 24 2013 5:03 PM
Tags : Indianapolis Business Insurance, business insurance, Bolander Ianni Insurance, Indianapolis Commercial Insurance

Source: http://www.bolanderianni.com/blog/does_your_small_business_have_risks.aspx

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Pfizer Prevnar vaccine wins approval for ages 6-17

(Reuters) - Pfizer Inc on Friday said U.S. regulators had approved wider use of its Prevnar 13 vaccine to prevent infections with pneumococcal bacteria, for children and adolescents aged 6 years to 17 years.

The product was already approved in the United States to prevent infections among children aged 6 weeks through 5 years. It is also approved for adults aged 50 and older.

The vaccine protects against infection with 13 strains of the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium. The bacterium can cause pneumonia, ear infections and other problems.

Prevnar 13 has annual sales of about $3.5 billion, making it Pfizer's third-biggest brand. It was approved in 2010, and has largely displaced an older vaccine called Prevnar, which protected against only 7 prevalent strains of the bacterium.

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by David Gregorio and Dan Grebler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pfizer-prevnar-vaccine-wins-approval-ages-6-17-221143655--finance.html

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Friday, January 25, 2013

What We're Reading: Is investing in Africa a good bet? | ONE

Huffington Post: Germany Davos Announcement: Country Donates 1 Billion Euros To The Global Fund ? Germany?s Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Dirk Niebel, announced on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos that it will increase its contribution to The Global Fund to 1 billion Euros. Germany had already committed 400 million Euros over the past two years, and the announcement extends the country?s commitment to another 600 million Euros over the next three years. ?We need to continue to devote hard work and determined efforts to halting the spread of HIV, malaria and other infectious diseases,? said Niebel. (Lance Gould)

Guardian: Opinion: To stop hunger, it?s not enough to change policy; we must challenge power ? The If campaign proposes policy options aimed at ending hunger: ?more aid, stopping companies dodging taxes, stopping land grabbing for biofuels and other crops, and forcing governments and companies to be more transparent about their investments in developing countries.? While all important goals, in order to end hunger and poverty we need to tackle their root causes. (Deborah Doane)

VOA: Is Investing in Africa a Good Bet? ? Many sub-Saharan countries have had sustained economic growth despite the global recession, but ?conflict, political instability and weather extremes? still deter some investors. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, African leaders discussed strategies for making the continent more attractive to investors. South African President Jacob Zuma explained that African leaders are coming together to ?grow out infrastructure; to grow our intra-trade . . . [and] to integrate the five economic regions in the continent.? (Joe DeCapua)

Bloomberg: Africa Infrastructure Deficit Widening, SABMiller Chairman Says ? The lack of basic infrastructure in Africa is hampering investments by companies, and according to the World Bank, Africa needs $93 billion per year over a decade to improve infrastructure, with ?almost half that required to boost power supply.? Despite the fact that the economies of sub-Saharan Africa countries will expand 5.3 percent this year, the infrastructure gap is still significant. (Maram Mazen)

Washington Post: Fake drugs flood East African markets ? Government officials and international aid agencies have long encouraged the sick to place their trust in modern medicine. Recently, however, the influx of fake pharmaceuticals from Asia into Uganda and other African nations have ?pushed patients back to traditional healers.? In cities like Kampala, Uganda, waiting in long lines at clinics takes vulnerable time and top-end malaria cures are expensive. Because of this, when a malarial fever strikes, many people search for medicine in neighborhood drugstores, where the fakes are frequently found. (Kathleen McLaughlin)

Source: http://www.one.org/us/2013/01/24/what-were-reading-is-investing-in-africa-a-good-bet/

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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Top senators: Tentative deal to curb filibusters

(AP) ? The Senate's senior Democrat and Republican reached a tentative agreement Thursday to impose modest limits on the filibuster, the delaying tactic that minority parties have long used to kill legislation.

The deal would reduce ? but not eliminate ? the number of times opponents can use filibusters on legislation and limit the time spent debating some bills and nominations. If acceptable to most lawmakers, the Senate was expected to approve the restrictions later Thursday.

The pact does not represent a dramatic reworking of Senate rules and leaves the minority party with far more power than it has in the House, where procedures allow a united majority party to muscle through its priorities.

But it could streamline some of the Senate's work and it would avoid what could have been prolonged, nasty battling between the two parties if Democrats ? frustrated by the GOP's growing reliance on the delays ? tried ramming through more decisive changes.

The curbs on filibusters fall short of what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., initially said he favored months ago. He wanted to completely ban the tactic's use when the Senate tries to begin debating a measure, and he threatened to use Democrats' majority in the Senate to simply impose it.

That tactic is called the "nuclear option" because of the bitter partisan warfare it would likely trigger in the chamber, potentially halting almost any business the Senate tried to conduct.

The restrictions also fall far short of what some of the Senate's newer Democrats were demanding. Their proposals included requiring filibustering senators to actually debate on the chamber's floor, a practice immortalized in the film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" but seldom used in recent years.

The No. 2 Senate Democratic leader, Richard Durbin of Illinois, said this week that Democrats lacked enough votes to force that proposal through the Senate.

Durbin said Thursday that the tentative deal was "great for the Senate," and said lawmakers who wanted tighter curbs would have to settle for less.

"That's how this world works," Durbin told reporters. "People start aspiring at very high levels, then you get a negotiation, then you reach something called compromise. And I think we are at that point."

Tight restraints on filibusters were championed by less-senior Democrats like Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Tom Udall, D-N.M, frustrated with the chamber's often glacial debates and the ability of the minority ? these days Republicans ? to kill bills with less than majority Senate support. It takes the votes of 60 of the 100 senators to halt the delaying tactics.

More veteran lawmakers like Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., were reluctant to stifle the tactic, mindful that his party could find itself in the minority after any election and would want to be able to use the maneuvers.

"It is bipartisan, it will give great momentum to working on a bipartisan basis here in the Senate and it will get rid of the major roadblocks that gridlock this Senate," Levin said of the tentative deal.

But at least one long-serving Democrat expressed dissatisfaction, saying the pact would continue to let lawmakers in the minority force those in the majority to get 60 votes to prevail.

"It stands the principle of majority rule on its head," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.

The liberal group Common Cause, which has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the filibuster, criticized Reid for the agreement, saying the senator "has gone missing in the fight for filibuster reform."

Democrats say Republican use of the tactic has become almost routine and far too frequent. Republicans say they use it because Reid often blocks them from offering amendments.

As part of the agreement, filibusters could be avoided when the Senate tries beginning debate on a bill or nomination. In return, the majority leader would have to allow each party to offer at least two amendments ? addressing a major complaint of Republicans that their amendments are often shut out.

In addition, once the Senate votes to limit debate on certain nominations ? district court judges and administration posts below Cabinet level ? the debate would be limited to two hours, far below the 30 hours now allowed. The proposal was aimed at speeding the time spent on such nominations.

In addition, instead of three separate opportunities for opponents of a bill to wage filibusters to block a Senate vote allowing the chamber to try writing compromise legislation with the House, there would only be one such filibuster allowed.

According to the Senate Historian's Office, there were 73 "cloture" votes to end filibusters in the two-year Congress that ended earlier this month. There were 91 such votes in the Congress that served in the two previous years, and 112 in the two-year Congress before that.

Those are the three highest number of cloture votes in any Congress since the Senate started allowing such votes to end filibusters nearly 100 years ago.

___

Associated Press writers Jim Abrams, Stephen Ohlemacher and Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-24-Senate%20Filibuster%20Fight/id-2bd5efb89bd54015b575697b45e53270

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Te'o tells Couric he briefly lied about girlfriend

NEW YORK (AP) ? Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o has told Katie Couric that he briefly lied about his online girlfriend after discovering she didn't exist, while maintaining that he had no part in creating the hoax.

Pressed by Couric to admit that he was in on the deception, Te'o said he believed that his girlfriend Lennay Kekua had died of cancer and didn't lie about it until December.

"Katie, put yourself in my situation. I, my whole world told me that she died on Sept. 12. Everybody knew that. This girl, who I committed myself to, died on Sept. 12," Te'o said in an interview to air Thursday on Couric's syndicated talk show. A segment of the interview with Te'o and his parents was broadcast Wednesday on "Good Morning America."

The Heisman Trophy runner-up said he only learned of the hoax when he received a phone call in December from a woman saying she was Kekua.

"Now I get a phone call on Dec. 6, saying that she's alive and then I'm going be put on national TV two days later. And to ask me about the same question. You know, what would you do?" Te'o said.

An Associated Press review of news coverage found that the Heisman Trophy runner-up talked about his doomed love in a Web interview on Dec. 8 and again in a newspaper interview published Dec. 10.

Te'o's father defended his son when Couric pointed out that many people don't believe the Irish star, suspecting he used the situation for personal gain.

"People can speculate about what they think he is. I've known him 21 years of his life. And he's not a liar. He's a kid," Brian Te'o said with tears in his eyes.

On Tuesday, the woman whose photo was used as the "face" of the Twitter account of Te'o's supposed girlfriend says the man allegedly behind the hoax confessed and apologized to her.

Diane O'Meara told NBC's "Today" show that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo used pictures of her without her knowledge in creating a fake woman called Lennay Kekua.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/teo-tells-couric-briefly-lied-girlfriend-124641409--spt.html

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Many Women Victims of 'Contraceptive Sabotage,' Experts Say


WEDNESDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Obstetricians and gynecologists should screen women and teens for signs that their partner is sabotaging their birth control, forcing them to have unprotected sex or otherwise trying to control their reproductive choices, says a leading group of U.S. doctors.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) lays out guidelines for detecting sexual and reproductive "coercion" -- which it calls an under-recognized form of violence against women -- in the February issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

"Most ob/gyns are probably unfamiliar with sexual and reproductive coercion as an entity and probably don't ask about it," said Dr. Eve Espey, chairwoman of the ACOG's Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women.

The abuse includes hiding or destroying a woman's birth control method of choice; poking holes in a condom or removing it during sex; coercing a woman to carry out or end a pregnancy against her will through violence or threats; and intentionally exposing her to a sexually transmitted disease.

It's not clear how common this type of abuse is, Espey said. One study of teenagers on public assistance found that of those who said they were victims of any type of domestic violence, two-thirds said it included birth-control sabotage.

"It's hard to determine the prevalence of this form of abuse, and it's understood that most [domestic] violence is under-reported," Espey said.

A 2011 government survey found that one in four U.S. women has been physically abused by a partner.

"Given how prevalent [domestic] violence is, reproductive coercion is probably not uncommon," Espey said.

Rita Smith, executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, praised the ACOG's move. Encouraging doctors to regularly ask women about such abuse is "a great addition to women's health care needs," Smith said.

"Chronic health care issues can be avoided, and women can manage the needs of their families and themselves much better if their reproductive decisions are not interfered with by an abuser," Smith said.

The ACOG said doctors should ask women about potential reproductive coercion when they screen for domestic violence in general -- something ob/gyns already know to ask about, Espey said.

Futures Without Violence, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, has developed wallet-sized "safety cards" with information on reproductive coercion that doctors can give to women. Doctors also can use those cards as a starting point for talking to their patients, said Rebecca Levenson, a senior policy analyst at Futures Without Violence.

The term "reproductive coercion" was coined several years ago after researchers began recognizing it as a distinct form of violence that some women suffer independent of other types of abuse, Levenson explained.

She said the ACOG is on the "cutting edge" in making its new recommendations, and it is important for ob/gyns to specifically ask about reproductive coercion because they can help women directly.

Espey agreed. Giving a woman a birth-control method that is not obvious to her abuser is one way.

"For example, an IUD with the strings cut off would protect against pregnancy but would not be felt by the partner during intercourse," Espey explained.

IUDs, or intrauterine devices, are implanted in the uterus, where they release small amounts of either copper or the hormone progestin to prevent pregnancy. Espey said the copper IUD might be preferable for women who are victims of abuse because they do not usually keep a woman from menstruating, and some abusers monitor their partner's periods.

Espey said the takeaway for women is that they have the right to decide whether and when to have children, and what to do about an unplanned pregnancy.

"Most women involve their partners in these decisions, but in some circumstances, it is unsafe to do so," Espey said. "If a woman feels that she is experiencing reproductive coercion, there is help."

More information

Learn more about preventing partner abuse from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

SOURCES: Eve Espey, M.D., chairwoman, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women; Rita Smith, executive director, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Denver; Rebecca Levenson, senior policy analyst, Futures Without Violence, San Francisco; February 2013 Obstetrics & Gynecology

Health News Copyright ? 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Source: http://womens-health-news-feed.com/art672765.asp

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Video: Prince Harry: I ?let my family down? in Vegas

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