ZoomInfo

The company data provider focuses on bringing more intelligent data to the midmarket.

According to the United States Small Business Association, small businesses account for 60 percent of new jobs. Executives from ZoomInfo, a provider of business information on the Web, shares that despite the 2.4 million SMBs in the United States, the yearly churn rate with this market is at a staggering 50 percent. Keeping up with midmarket businesses is difficult. Web sites may pop up one day and become irrelevant the next. For this reason, ZoomInfo has placed new emphasis on the SMB, and is devoting more resources to finding small and midsize businesses and the data that defines them.

"Our goal is to make data broader, deeper and fresher," Says Sam Zales, president of ZoomInfo, explaining that the provider's data on SMBs will now be more complete and up-to-date. In the competitive landscape, ZoomInfo is runs up against Hoovers, a site which boasts to subscribers extensive data on enterprises, but lacks the intelligence of companies with fewer than 50 employees. ZoomInfo, with newly enhanced Web crawling abilities and data aggregation technology seeks move beyond the Fortune 1000 to fill the SMB void -- providing its users with insight on company descriptions, revenues, number of employees, and geographic locations.

Chip Terry, ZoomInfo's vice president and general manager of enterprise products shares the advantages ZoomInfo can provide to salespeople and marketers. Essentially, it can expose entirely new lead pools for organizations. A salesperson can find companies that other people aren't finding yet. Zales relays that ZoomInfo's focused once rested solely on providing data for recruiters, but now has found more interest --and sustainability -- within sales intelligence.

http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/CRM-News/Daily-News/ZoomInfo-Zooms-In-On-the-SMB-52974.aspx

Black Paris Divas Honored Guests at Josephine Baker Celebration in Dordogne, France

The African American heritage tour group participates in historical centennial celebrating the life of the legendary entertainer.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) July 5, 2006 -- Black Paris Divas travel group were the honored guests at the 100th anniversary commemoration of Josephine Baker’s birth, celebrated in her adopted homeland of Dordogne, in southwest France.

On Saturday June 3rd, in front of celebrities and politicians, flag-bearing ex-combatants, local residents, and Josephine Baker’s eldest son, Black Paris Diva member Robin Bates presented an honorary letter from the NAACP to the Alain Bogaert, president of Opération Joséphine, the association behind the project. The exchange exalted Ms. Baker’s political engagement as demonstrated through her participation in the NAACP’s 1963 March On Washington as well as her spying activities for the French Resistance during World War II, for which she decorated with the Medal of Resistance and the Legion of Honor.

Under an azure Perigord sky and blazing sun more than 600 people attended the official ceremony that began with the unveiling of a life-size bronze statue of The Black Pearl. It depicts a mature, maternal Ms. Baker with her arms wound tightly around a young child. Baker and her husband, bandleader Jo Bouillon, adopted twelve children of different nationalities between 1954 and 1964. Akio Bouillon-Baker, their first adopted child, told the Sud-Ouest newspaper that sculptress Chouski perfectly captured the message of the universal mother figure his mother lived fully. In the 1950s Baker created a World Village to global brotherhood in this tiny corner of Perigord, as well as a thriving theme park complete with hotel, pool, restaurants and many attractions enjoyed by streams of tourists and locals.

Josephine is remembered fondly by Perigordians for her personal warmth and generous spirit. Many approached the African-American tourists to recount stories such as passing La Grande Dame as she shopped in a nearby town ‘just like everyone else’. They also expressed their surprise and appreciation that her countrymen and women had made the pilgrimage. Black Paris Divas regularly organizes trips to visit the permanent exhibit at The Black Venus’ Chateau des Milandes, just up the hill, but this excursion marked a once-in-a-lifetime experience for both sides. It allowed French and Americans to share their mutual gratitude and raise a glass of specially labeled champagne to the multifaceted woman who bridged Black and French culture in the most personal and enduring of ways.

The memorial to Josephine Baker stands permanently on one-third of an acre of open terrain in the community of Castelnaud. It is both practical and a site of reverence. With its statue in the centre flanked by a boardwalk in the shape of a J, the site includes the original guardian’s stone hut renovated into an information centre of Ms. Baker’s life. The shelter also doubles as a rest stop for hikers, and personifies Ms. Baker’s lifelong concern: a bus shelter that serves children from the Children’s Centre across the road.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/07/prweb407249.htm

Josephine Baker: Revelations of conflict

Revelations of conflict

Collections of graphic works depict a trail of battles - in history and life

08: A GRAPHIC DIARY OF THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
By Michael Crowley and Dan Goldman
Three Rivers, 160 pp., paperback, $17.95

THE BEATS: A Graphic History
By Harvey Pekar, Ed Piskor, Paul Buhle
Hill and Wang, 208 pp., $22

ALAN’S WAR: The Memories of G.I. Alan Cope
By Emmanuel Guibert
First Second, 336 pp., $24

THE PHOTOGRAPHER: Into War-Torn
Afghanistan With Doctors Without Borders
By Emmanuel Guibert, Didier
Lefevre and Frederic Lemercier
First Second, 288 pp., paperback, $29.95

NOCTURNAL CONSPIRACIES: Nineteen Dreams From
December 1979 To September 1994
By David B.
NBM ComicsLit, 124 pp., paperback, $14.95

MISS DON’T TOUCH ME
By Hubert and Kerascoet
NBM ComicsLit, 96 pp., paperback, $14.95

IN THE FLESH
By Koren Shadmi
Villard, 160 pp., paperback, $14.95

War - in the world, this country, the culture, a person's head, the bedroom and on the street - is the focus of the graphic works arrayed here. After all, Barack Obama's original, distinctive position was his opposition to the Iraq War, so starting with a book about his campaign is appropriate, as is devolving to the culture wars (The Beats certainly defied the mainstream). World War II, the subject of "Alan's War," is a natural segue to "The Photographer," a startling look at Afghanistan, one of Obama's most vexing preoccupations. We land - if not so gently - in more personal territory with a fresh interpretation of dreams, an update of the classic murder mystery, and dark stories about the pleasures and perils of the flesh.

With the Obama administration in power, Michael Crowley and Dan Goldman take a graphic look at the '08 campaign, produced fast, furious and fascinating at the end of that dramatic year. Three Rivers teased "08" last fall in an open-ended sampler. (If McCain had won, it would have been different, right?) "08" vividly summarizes that long campaign in New Republic senior editor Crowley's judiciously chosen words and Goldman's tabloid-style drawings. They capture the campaign's drama, particularly the winnowing of the party fields. History as breaking news, it resounds with the bytes that made the year so riveting.

History with a deeper perspective is the province of "The Beats," a multifaceted effort led by writer Harvey Pekar, his frequent collaborator Paul Buhle and artist Ed Piskor. It delivers the texture of a movement easy to underestimate in brief biographies of touchstones like poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, novelists William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac and lesser-known lights like poet d.a. levy (an underground Cleveland icon) and mythopoeic poetess Diane di Prima. Like others in this revisionist, unabashedly liberal Hill and Wang series, this fearless, substantial history entertains as it uncovers.

A more subtle kind of revelation characterizes "Alan's War," one of two books spearheaded by notable French illustrator Emmanuel Guibert. Subtitled "The Memories of G.I. Alan Cope," this tracks that soldier's picaresque World War II journey by tank, train, and on foot. Guibert befriended Cope, who died in 1999, in the early '90s, persuading him to lay down these recollections. In art both quiet and kinetic, Guibert frames Cope's modest story, rendering a kind of Everyman life during wartime - and after - in spare, moving terms. The text is clear and unobtrusive and the imagery understated, in pages that effectively link the power of black-and-white pictures to the black-and-white world of those times; the strength of this book lies in Cope's honesty and Guibert's empathy. They make the quotidian business of war as moving as more common, determinedly heroic "war pictures."

That's even truer of "The Photographer," the account of a trip through Afghanistan that photographer Didier Lefevre made with Doctors Without Borders in 1986. I never thought I'd want to travel in that wild coun try, but "The Photographer," oversized and majestic, makes a persuasive case despite the dangers Lefevre confronted, not to mention the challenges facing the doctors.

The unconquerable terrain, captured in Lefevre's remarkable black-and-white photography, Guibert's limpid and respectful art, and the colors and designs of Frederic Lemercier, seems otherworldly and ravishing, the people alternately kindly and cruel. That Lefevre, who died of a heart attack in 2007 at age 49, had the guts to make the trip to tell the story of medicine on so challenging a frontier is remarkable in itself. Then you ponder the courage of Juliette, the mission head, and the doctors Robert and Regis, and their patients, and your heart catches. An inspiring, beautiful book about a perpetually knotty country at the height of the Soviet-Afghan conflict, "The Photographer" should be mandatory reading for our secretary of State and president.

The other three books are about sex and dreams. They, too, are enthralling, and like the Guibert books, are French.

"Nocturnal Conspiracies," David B.'s first book since his excellent graphic memoir, "Epileptic," explores his dreams from the late '70s on. They teeter between paranoia and paradise in stark pages, most in two, three or four panels. The art is superficially simplistic, and the coloring, largely blue-tinged, is fittingly minimal. But the look is singularly expressive, attesting to David B.'s direct line to his subconscious. Teeming with animals, corrupt politicians, alluring women, his own malleable consciousness and other shape shifts, this scans like a dream.

Koren Shadmi's far darker "In the Flesh" is dreamlike, too. Its nine short stories are a weird admixture of rot and rapture, proving kink can still astonish despite today's jaded atmosphere. "Grandpa Minolta" suggests photography can indeed steal one's soul (and innocence); "A Lavish Affair" brings new dimensions to the notion of appetite, and "Radioactive Girlfriend" puts a new spin on the idea of afterglow. Israeli artist Shadmi doesn't paint pretty pictures, muting their inherent drama with his black-and-white palette. But he certainly paints provocative ones.

A more orthodox piquancy infuses "Miss Don't Touch Me," a charming, Gallic twist on the murder mystery. Illustrated by Kerascoet (a husband and wife team that also has worked with the graphic novel magician Joann Sfar), Hubert's story tracks the steely virgin of the title as she solves the puzzle of her sister's death. Set in Paris at the dawn of the 20th century, it is charming and anything but prudish. The women are far more full-bodied than the men, the men have even fewer scruples, and, as for singer Josephine Baker . . . well, she always was a category unto herself.

http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/03/29/revelations_of_conflict?mode=PF

lax meltdown: AIG Directors Sued to Force Immediate Return of Total Bonuses

Today, Freedom Watch announced the filing of a class action lawsuit by shareholders of AIG to force the directors of the company to themselves pay back the millions in illicit bonuses, dividends and other perks they paid out to themselves and other officials who destroyed the company's financial standing.

The lawsuit, filed in the federal court in Los Angeles, is wide reaching and will accomplish what Congress cannot, given the patent illegality of its taxing scheme, which violates the U.S. Constitution as it would tax ex post facto and discriminately.

Larry Klayman, the Chairman and General Counsel of Freedom Watch, who represents the shareholders in their class action suit, issued this statement:

"Today, the American people, not the compromised ruling elite in Washington, D.C., have begun a second American Revolution to take the country back from the con men on Wall Street, and on Pennsylvania Avenue - who under successive administrations played a central role in the meltdown of the U.S. financial system and economy. Freedom Watch will not rest until justice is done and it won't come from the Obama administration, bent on deceiving the U.S. taxpayer that it intends to clean up this corruption, all the while lining the pockets of its friends at AIG with government bailout money, who gave handsomely to have the President elected."

The lawsuit also seeks to recover, from the directors, the losses of the shareholders of the last many months and years, as well as to make AIG whole under new leadership, without the use of government money.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/aig-directors-sued-force-immediate-return-total-bonuses/

A new way forward: Obama’s strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan

The President's plan for the increasingly troubled region is ambitious, although his goals are more limited than Bush's.

President Obama unveiled a new Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy Friday that includes new troops — beyond the 17,000 additional US soldiers the president has already ordered ­ new civilian development personnel, and new aid.

But the plan also for the first time sets benchmarks – or, as the president preferred to call them, “metrics” – for US involvement in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, suggesting the military engagement is not open-ended and that both the Afghan and Pakistani governments must deliver on particular objectives. Those include reining in corruption for the Afghans and closing down Al Qaeda and Taliban safe havens for the Pakistanis.

The new “comprehensive” strategy underscores how both Afghanistan, where 38,000 US troops are already on the ground, and Pakistan, a nuclear power threatened by a growing Islamic militancy, are crucial to the battle with Islamic extremism. The futures of the two countries are “inextricably linked,” Mr. Obama said.

In explaining the new strategy before an audience of military and diplomatic officials and flanked by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Mr. Obama invoked the memory of the 9/11 attacks more forcefully than ever before in his young presidency.

He revisited the history of Al Qaeda planning the attacks from camps in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and he insisted that Al Qaeda is now “actively planning attacks on the United States” from “safe havens in Pakistan.” As a result, Obama says, “For the American people, this border region has become the most dangerous place in the world.”

More limited goals than Bush

Perhaps mindful that the strong reference to 9/11 might remind listeners of the former administration’s justification for and handling of two wars, Obama also pointedly declared that the US was “not blindly staying the course” in Afghanistan. The new strategy is designed to “restore basic security in Afghanistan,” he said, without reference to the lofty goals of democratization and freedom set by former president Bush.

The new strategy calls for 4,000 additional troops to focus on training Afghanistan’s army and police. Such training is already under way by US and NATO forces, but the addition of several thousand new trainers reflects reports from the field that the training undertaken so far is yielding results. The plan also calls for several hundred additional civilian government and development experts, while it endorses a proposal before Congress for $1.5 billion in development aid to Pakistan over each of the next five years.

Announcement of the anticipated plan is the result of a two-month inter-agency review that consulted military, diplomatic and civilian development officials and experts as well as the leaders of the two principle countries involved and NATO partners. It paves the way for discussing the new strategy with international partners next week.

Secretary Clinton will attend an international conference on Afghanistan in The Hague next Tuesday armed with the new strategy. Subsequently, Obama will take it up with NATO leaders when he attends the Alliance’s 60th anniversary summit in Strasbourg, France, next Friday. Those two events will permit Obama to underscore his point that the challenge presented by Afghanistan and Pakistan “is not simply an American problem — far from it — [but] is instead an international security challenge of the highest order.”

To support that position, Obama reminded the foreign ambassadors who attended the strategy unveiling that terrorist attacks in London, Bali, North Africa, and Kabul and Islamabad have been linked to “Al Qaeda and its allies in Pakistan.”

Situation in the region deteriorating

The new strategy reflects concerns that surfaced even before the new administration took office that the situation in both Afghanistan and Pakistan was rapidly deteriorating, in part because the US and Allied presence in Afghanistan lacked a clear objective. Dispatched during the transition between administrations to the region, Vice-President Joe Biden returned to Washington “very worried” about the absence among US troops and officials of a clear idea of what they were doing, administration officials say.

“When this administration came into office we found a policy adrift and a lack of focus on the central challenge,” says Denis McDonough, White House deputy national security adviser for strategic communications.

The administration says the new strategy narrows the focus of US involvement to Al Qaeda.

“Disrupting, dismantling, and defeating Al Qaeda – the president set down a marker that this is our goal in Afghanistan,” adds Caitlin Hayden, National Security Council director for communications.

History of foreign occupation

But the heavy emphasis on economic development and governance, while eschewing the imposition of Switzerland-level foreign standards, also reflects an understanding that the US and its allies cannot succeed if they are seen by locals to be simply serving their own interests. Foreign armies installed in Afghanistan with expressly domestic security objectives — the Soviet Army invasion of the 1990’s for example – have come to be seen as occupiers and have not fared well.

In unveiling his plan, Obama made no mention of the growing use of unmanned Predator drones to attack and kill terrorists located in Pakistan’s autonomous tribal regions. The missile attacks have stirred already strong anti-American sentiment among Pakistanis – a challenge that would surely be exacerbated if the US decides to follow through on the idea of extending the drone strikes to areas of western Pakistan under the Pakistani government’s control.

The new focused strategy is viewed as a step forward by many analysts, though some are seconding the president’s warning that the road ahead in Afghanistan and Pakistan remains perilous.

Pointing to data showing an expansion last year of Afghan territory where the Taliban holds a permanent presence to 72 percent, and significant increases in the number of suicide and roadside bombing attacks, Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says almost all indicators point to a “rising threat.”

In a new report, Mr. Cordesman commends recent efforts to lay out to the American public the challenge the US faces, but says more “transparency” and honesty about the complexity of the conflict is necessary.

Critics urge more limited role

Others fault Obama’s new plan, saying more troops and more money are not the answer. Saying that “most of the greatest successes scored against Al Qaeda since 9/11 have not relied on large numbers of US troops,” Malou Innocent of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, says small-team special operations and short-term “capacity building” are a better answer. Extensive development projects, she adds, require security coverage “at a level we cannot provide.”

The president’s strategy also includes a nod towards Tehran. To emphasize his conviction that the challenges in Afghanistan and Pakistan require a regional approach, Obama announced creation of a “contact group” of countries from Central Asia, the Gulf, China, India, and notably including Iran.

Administration officials say no official invitations to join such a group have been extended, but inclusion of Iran reflects both memory of the helpful role Iran played early in the war with Afghanistan’s Taliban, and recognition that Tehran is more likely to do mischief if left outside.

http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/03/27/obamas-strategy-for-afghanistan-and-pakistan/

Angela Lansbury

Angela Lansbury is appearing in the current revival of Blithe Spirit which began preview performances on Thursday, February 26, 2009 and had an official opening on Sunday, March 15, 2009 at The Shubert Theatre (225 West 44th Street).

Stage legend Lansbury is profiled in an a wonderful article in the Wall Street Journal, she gives a witty and candid interview on her return to Broadway.

She tells the WSJ that, "To have this opportunity at my time of life and career, it was too good to pass up,"adding "Having done the other roles I have -- let's say it was a natural for me."

Angela Lansbury, who last appeared on Broadway in Deuce, has enjoyed a career without precedent. Her professional career spans more than a half-century, during which she has flourished, first as a star of motion pictures, then as a four-time Tony Award-winning Broadway musical star and most recently as the star of "Murder, She Wrote," the longest-running detective drama series in the history of television. The actress made her Broadway debut in 1957 when she starred as Bert Lahr's wife in the French farce, Hotel Paradiso. In 1960, she returned to Broadway as Joan Plowright's mother in the season's most acclaimed drama, A Taste of Honey, by Shelagh Delaney. One year later, she starred on Broadway in her first musical, Anyone Can Whistle. Lansbury returned to New York in triumph in 1966 as Mame, for which she won the first of her unprecedented four Tony Awards as Best Actress in a Musical. She received the others as the Madwoman of Chaillot in Dear World (1968), as Mama Rose in the 1974 revival of Gypsy and as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd (1979). From 1984-1996 she starred as Jessica Fletcher, mystery-writing amateur sleuth, on "Murder, She Wrote," for which she won four Golden Globe Awards. In 1982, she was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame, and in 1994 she was named a Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. Angela and her husband Peter were married in 1949. They worked together until Peter's death in January 2003. Angela has three grown children, Deirdre, Anthony and David, and three grandchildren.

http://broadwayworld.com/article/BLITHE_Star_Angela_Lansbury_Featured_in_WSJ_20010101

Iliza shlesinger - The economy melts down, and stand-up comics joke

The banking crisis. Rising unemployment. Foreclosures. Comedians call it material.

Sharing the pain

It's no secret to professional comedians, this release, the pithy vocalization of common anxiety, can actually make the recession a comedic gold mine. According to Bill Burr, a comic admired by his peers for an uncompromising approach, "It's probably one of the easiest subjects ever because we're all in the same sinking boat."

Even invoking an audience's own shortcomings in the erstwhile Age of Excess can pay off. A much-forwarded interview with Conan O'Brien from October has earned comedian Louis C.K. voice-of-a-generation status on the Internet for calling out "the Crappiest Generation" and its discontent with the marvels of modern life: "Everybody on every plane should just constantly be going, 'Oh my God! Wow! You're sitting on a chair -- in the sky.' "

As he preps for his Friday night show in Los Angeles at the Wiltern, C.K. says he feels no qualms about mining the pain for humor. "The more emotional and more negative a thing is in a person's life, the more reason to travel to that place and find something funny." To him, brutally honest soul-searching goes arm in arm with self-deprecating laughter:

"I'm including myself in the Crappiest Generation. I think what I'm trying to say is something positive. Life is about surviving failure, having a tough knock, and coming back stronger. . . . In a year, maybe we're not going to be the fattest people in the world anymore. Is that so bad?"

Burr agrees that you can make the dreariest, most self-damning material funny, if you tell the truth from an authentic perspective. "I do it from my point of view, from the boat I'm sitting in. I don't like to be lectured to -- if I was going to make fun of what a scam mortgages are . . . I make fun of the ignorance I had going into the mortgage, which is, I bought an apartment because I heard in a bar it was a good thing to do."

A ring of truth

For him, the key is tackling serious material honestly while not taking himself too seriously: "You know that guy who rants in the bar and you're laughing because he kind of makes sense? That's who I am."

This seems to be the understanding comics have that lets them lead audiences into the dark parts of life and return with laughter. Iliza Shlesinger, whose 2008 victory in NBC's "Last Comic Standing" catapulted her to headlining status, knows the deal. "You should only stay away from a topic if it's not going to be funny," she says. "As a comic, your priority is to make people laugh while staying true to your views."

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-comicrelief25-2009mar25,0,2168620.story

David Letterman (finally) gets hitched to Regina Lasko

David_letterman OK, there's definitely something in the water.

First, Bruce Willis marries his Demi Moore clone, Emma Heming. Then Harrison Ford pops the question to longtime love Calista flockhart.

Now David Letterman and Regina Lasko, the mother of his 5-year-old son, got hitched in a courthouse ceremony near their Montana ranch, Letterman announced during the taping of his CBS "Late Show" yesterday.

"Regina and I began dating in February of 1986, and I said, 'Well, things are going pretty good, let's just see what happens in about 10 years,'" joked Letterman.

“I had avoided getting married pretty good for, like, 23 years, and I — honestly, whether this happened or not — I secretly felt that men who were married admired me ... like I was the last of the real gunslingers, you know what I'm saying?'" he said

The family's truck got stuck in the mud en route to the courthouse, he said. Jeepers. Letterman "walked two miles back to the house in 50 mph wind. It's not Beverly Hills — it's Montana."

"And the whole way, I'm thinking, 'See ... you try to get married and this is what happens.'"

Can you believe it took David Letterman this long to get married? What is it with men?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/03/ok-theres-somet.html

Missing money? Head to missingmoney.com to see if the government has it

Money's tight these days. But maybe you have a little more of the green stuff than you think you do.

All you need to do is search for it. No, not under the car seats or between the couch cushions. Online.

The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators has a Web site called MissingMoney.com where people can search for funds that may be owed to them. Or you can head directly to the Illinois CashDash database.

According to the Wall Street Journal:

"You may be entitled to some of the nearly $33 billion in unclaimed property sitting in state governments' coffers.

"These are sums that businesses were required to turn over to the states after no activity or contact with the owner after a period of a year or more.

"Items can include dividend or payroll checks that haven't been cashed, refunds, trust distributions, unredeemed money orders, insurance payments or refunds, annuities, certificates of deposit, customer overpayments and the contents of safe-deposit boxes."

All you have to do is head to MissingMoney.com to access state records (most states are included) for free.

And you can search to see if a deceased relative of yours has unclaimed property as well. To claim those accounts, you have to be able to prove you're the legal heir.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/1490879,w-missing-money-search-032309.article

Norwegian Pavilion at the Shanghai 2010 World Expo

NORWAY has never failed to attract tourists with its spectacular and charming landscape of forests, fjords, mountains and coastline. And for World Expo 2010, Norwegians promise visitors to its national pavilion a full experience of all these.

The pavilion of the Scandinavian country will be constructed around 15 model trees made of wood and bamboo. The trees will be arranged in such a way as to present a clear interpretation of Norway’s varied landscapes.

All the model trees will be covered by a semi-transparent roof and when the sun shines through the roof, it will create the effect of shade or blue skies.

The roof will also be able to collect solar energy to make the entire pavilion self-sufficient.

It will house the Fjord Restaurant which will serves Norwegian food and a business center for conferences and forums, creating special experiences of eating near a fjord or having a meeting in a forest.

Visitors will enjoy a “powerful sensory experience,” said Arild Blixrud, Norway’s acting commissioner general for the Expo.

Designers got the idea for the pavilion when walking through a forest in Norway, said Siv Helen Stangeland, one of the chief designers.

“Through this innovative design, Norway wanted to present its concepts in resource and energy conservation with the theme ‘Norway Powered by Nature’,” said Oyvind Slaake, Norway’s vice minister of trade and industry.

Most Norwegian cities are close to the sea, forests or mountains, and Norway will show the world “how we invite nature into the city and use nature to improve the quality of life,” said Philip Lote, communications director of Norway’s Expo delegation.

The country signed its participation contract with the Expo organizers on October 16. So far, 225 countries and international organizations have confirmed their participation in the Expo, with 108 have signed participation contracts.

The US$22.8 million Norway Pavilion will not be constructed from scratch, but assembled using prefabricated laminated wood building kits and bamboo which will be shipped from Norway.

But the stability of the pavilion will not be a concern as Blixrud says it will be able to withstand even the most powerful typhoon.

Wood is widely used as a construction material in Norway while bamboo is the traditional construction material in China. The pavilion will also aim to present a combination of Norwegian and Chinese cultures, said the commissioner general.

Another highlight will be the Norwegian government’s post-Expo plan for the “trees pavilion.”

“The government hopes to leave the 15 trees in China after Expo as a symbol of friendly relations between the two countries,” Blixrud said.

They could be split into single trees and moved to different areas of China and used as restaurants or conference halls or located in local parks for people to enjoy.

http://shownbylocals.com/shanghai/expo-2010-presented-by-shownbylocalscom/norwegian-pavilion-at-the-shanghai-2010-world-expo.html

Marcus Jordan: Jordan's son leads prep team to state title

Michael Jordan celebrated another Chicago basketball championship — his son's.

Marcus Jordan, son of the Bulls' six-time champion, scored a game-high 19 points to lead Chicago Whitney Young to a 69-66 victory over Waukegan in the Illinois Class 4A championship Saturday.

As Marcus Jordan and his teammates celebrated on the court after the final buzzer, Michael Jordan stood quietly, clapping his hands with tears in his eyes.

"Crying?" the NBA great said in response to a reporter's question. "I'm not crying. Not for me, anyway."

The younger Jordan was key down the stretch after two teammates fouled out, hitting four of four free throws in the final 3 minutes to seal the victory.

"Awesome," Marcus Jordan said. "Just awesome."

Michael Jordan, part-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, skipped his team's home loss to Indiana so he could attend his son's game. Another son, Jeff Jordan, plays basketball for the University of Illinois.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/03/22/sports/BKH-Jordans-Son.php

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

A TV movie based on 'Battlestar Galactica', 'The Plan' is taking the story on board the Cylon ships from the point of view of the Cylons.

With "Battlestar Galactica" winding down on Friday, March 20, Sci Fi is gearing up for the two-hour event which provides as the extension of the series in Fall. Set as a TV movie, "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan" will revolve around the plan when Cylons are operating on board the Cylon ships before and after the attack.

"The Plan" is directed by series star Edward James Olmos and written by series writer Jane Espenson. Official synopsis has not been disclosed but Kate Vernon who plays the final Cylon, Ellen Tigh, said that she is involved in it and gave a little bit of the frame.

She explained to NY Post, "You'll definitely have a few 'ah ha' moments. But there's a big chunk of what's been happening on the show that this movie will show the moments right before. You'll get a big piece of the puzzle from 'The Plan. It'll just slide right into focus. The movie will open up the show for fans in a big way, because there's a giant piece missing and this will show you the bigger picture."

Apart from having "The Plan", "Battlestar" continues its legacy with "Caprica" which is set 50 years earlier. "Caprica" will tell the story of how humanity first created the robotic Cylons, who would later plot to destroy human civilization. It is picked up by Sci Fi again, and is expected to be premiered in early 2010.

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00022956.html

Norway in the forefront of rainforest conservation: Full text of the interview with Hans Brattskar

mongabay: What led Norway to identify forests as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Brattskar: The main reason for why the government of Norway initiated our work with REDD is of course that emissions from deforestation and forest degradation measure up to almost one-fifth of total greenhouse gas emissions. The Norwegian government realized REDD was a field which needed leadership in order to kick start the process, and where Norway, by making significant initial contributions, could be catalytic in the sense that we could start building the international framework needed to make it easier for other countries to follow.

Norway is a forest-nation and several Norwegian NGOs are involved in work with tropical forest countries, therefore it was natural that this became a focused topic in the country. Our main goals are to include emissions from deforestation and degradation in a new climate regime and to reduce emissions from forests—but we also recognize that this may have added value in terms of protecting biodiversity, strengthening indigenous people's interests and improving local livelihoods.

mongabay: What are Norway's principle concerns with REDD in terms of the challenges that need be overcome to make it a reality?

Brattskar: There are of course several challenges. The drivers behind deforestation are strong and to find ways within each country to reduce the deforestation is probably the main challenge. Another challenge is to establish funding mechanisms for REDD to that generate sufficient funds to make REDD possible at a scale that really matters to combat climate change and to provide the developing countries with long-term, predictable compensation for their REDD-achievements. REDD is recognized as a cost effective and relatively fast way to reduce emissions, but as we like to say: that does not mean it is neither cheap nor easy. Our main goal and challenge is the inclusion of REDD in a future climate regime, in a form that ensures cooperation and predictable financing for REDD in developing forest countries.

REDD financing should in the future be based on results based compensation - that is, developed countries should provide compensation to tropical forest countries based on reduced or limited emissions. I believe key words here are coordination and verification. The REDD efforts need to be coordinated, and the results must be verifiable. One challenge is to build systems for measuring, reporting and verifying (MRV) emission reductions. We are convinced that it is now technically possible to monitor deforestation and forest degradation with satisfying precision. But it will take a lot of investments and capacity building to establish national MRV-systems in many developing countries.

It is also important to ensure a coordination of REDD efforts. We believe the multilateral institutions, like the UN, the World Bank and the African Development Bank should play important roles in this coordination. The efforts must be anchored at a national level, based on inclusive, holistic, multi-stakeholder national strategy building and implementation processes - and the national governments must cooperate with an international organization such as the UN, the World Bank or the African Development Bank.

It is important that REDD efforts are not fragmented, and we feel that we are doing great progress in this field. The World Bank and the UN are for example working together in an extraordinarily well coordinated way on REDD.

Our main goal and challenge is of course to include REDD in a future climate regime – in order to ensure cooperation and predictable financing for REDD in tropical forest countries.

mongabay: Is Norway is finding support for REDD from other industrialized governments?

Brattskar: In addition to our contributions to the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which is also supported by a number of other countries, Norway is financing the first phase of the United Nations' REDD program which is run by the UN agencies of UNEP, FAO and UNDP. In the long run, this needs to be supplemented by funding from other donors. We do not want this to be seen as a 'Norwegian project'. One main reason for establishing the multilateral UN REDD program is for other countries to be able to easily fund REDD. It is also important that REDD is included in the climate regime after 2012. We will not be able to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation through fragmented approaches.

So far, Britain is funding the Congo Basin Forest Fund together with Norway, and Germany providing significant support inter alia to forest conservation through its international climate initiative. Other donor countries also show great interest in REDD.

We think it is important to underline that REDD is more than development aid, and more than combating climate change. It might seem ambitious but we strongly hope that the work with reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation can create deep, substantial, lasting partnerships between developed and developing countries to help put the latter on the path to genuine, sustainable, low-carbon development.

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0319-norway_forests.html

Amazon Rainforest: Norway emerges as champion of rainforest conservation

Scandinavian country with population 1.5 percent that of the United States is the biggest international funder of rainforest conservation.

While citizens in western countries have long paid lip service to saving rainforests, Norway has quietly emerged as the largest and most important international force in tropical forest conservation. The small Scandinavian country has committed 3 billion krone ($440 million) a year to the effort, a figure vastly greater than the $100M pledged — but never fully contributed — by the United States under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA). Norway now hopes it can help push to include forest conservation in the successor to the Kyoto Protocol by providing funding and fostering cooperation among international actors like the UN and World Bank, as well as developing countries, to fund the creation of an international architecture which makes it possible to incorporate deforestation and degradation into a post-2012 climate regime.

Norway's leadership on forest conservation arose from its concern over the impacts of climate change and what it sees as an attractive source for cuts in carbon dioxide emissions: reducing deforestation and forest degradation, which together account for roughly 20 percent of emissions caused by human activity or more than all the world's trucks, cars, ships and airplanes combined. The country, which is the world's third-largest gas exporter, the fourth-biggest oil exporter, and has some of the highest emissions per capita in Europe, aims to be carbon neutral — in terms of compensating for all remaining domestic emissions through emission reductions in other countries — by 2030. Although Norway was among the first countries in the world to adopt a carbon tax (in 1991) and hydropower is the source of nearly 99 percent of its electricity, it needs to aggressively reduce n emissions to meet its targets.

Norway's intention to support forest conservation as a mechanism for reducing greenhouse gas emissions was announced by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg at the 2007 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bali, Indonesia. At the time, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), was still a somewhat esoteric idea for curtailing emissions; one championed by a handful of major conservation groups, a coalition of tropical nations led by Papua New Guinea, and the World Bank. Today the landscape has changed. REDD — in various forms — is backed by a broad range of interests, from politicians to business leaders to environmental groups. Still, few have ventured forth with the funds needed to jumpstart REDD projects. The United States for example has not directly committed money to the initiative. Norway hopes its commitment will prod other countries to follow its example.

"The Norwegian government realized REDD was a field which needed leadership in order to kick start the process," Hans Brattskar, ambassador and director of the Norwegian government's International Climate and Forest Initiative, told mongabay.com. "Norway, by making significant initial contributions, could be catalytic in the sense that we could start building the international framework needed to make it easier for other countries to follow."

"Our main goals are to include emissions from deforestation and degradation in a new climate regime and to reduce emissions from forests—but we also recognize that this may have added value in terms of protecting biodiversity, strengthening indigenous people's interests and improving local livelihoods," he continued.

The Norwegian government cites these multiple benefits — a "triple dividend" — as the critical reason for supporting REDD. It also sees REDD as an opportunity to engage developing countries in climate negotiations set to resume in Copenhagen this December.

"We think it is important to underline that REDD is more than development aid, and more than combating climate change," Brattskar said. "It might seem ambitious but we strongly hope that the work with reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation can create deep, substantial, lasting partnerships between developed and developing countries to help put the latter on the path to genuine, sustainable, low-carbon development."

Oil palm plantation border rainforest. Oil palm has arisen as an important driver of deforestation in Southeast Asia
Norway is optimistic about the potential of REDD to simultaneously reduce the risk of dangerous climate change, alleviate rural poverty, and protect ecosystem services and biodiversity. But it notes that daunting challenges need to be overcome, including building capacity for developing nations to reduce deforestation, thus ensuring equitable distribution of benefits to stakeholders including forest people, verifying reductions in emissions, and providing the long-term funding needed to compete economically with the primary drivers of deforestation, among them agriculture and logging.

"REDD is recognized as a cost-effective and relatively fast way to reduce emissions," Brattskar said, but added that it will be neither cheap nor easy. "Our main goal and challenge is the inclusion of REDD in a future climate regime, in a form that ensures cooperation and predictable financing for REDD in developing forest countries."

Norway has demonstrated its willingness to commit substantial sums for forest conservation — provided recipient countries honor their commitments to reduce deforestation. Last year Norway pledged up to a billion dollars to Brazil's Amazon Fund, an initiative that seeks to reduce deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 70 percent relative to a 1996-2005 baseline. It also announced NOK 500 million ($73 million) towards the development and implementation of a national REDD strategy in Tanzania over the next five years, millions of dollars for the South American country of Guyana, and more than $100 million to Congo Basin countries. It continues to seek new partnerships and opportunities in countries committed to developing national strategy plans for REDD. Most of the support is channeled through multilateral organizations such as the African development bank (which administers the Congo Basin Forest Fund), the World Bank (Forest Carbon Partnership Facility) and the UN (UN Redd Programme) that support countries in drafting national strategies for REDD.

Norway is counting on other industrialized nations to eventually join the effort initiative by supporting multilateral processes for REDD. Brattskar said Britain is already providing financial backing for the Congo Basin Forest Fund while Germany is supporting forest conservation through its international climate initiative. He said other donor countries are showing "great interest".

"In addition to our contributions to the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which is also supported by a number of other countries, Norway is financing the first phase of the United Nations' REDD program," which is run by three UN agencies, UNEP, FAO and UNDP. "In the long run, this needs to be supplemented by funding from other donors. We do not want this to be seen as a 'Norwegian project'."

"We are certainly not alone in this field. At the same time, we would strongly appreciate more countries' getting involved and providing support to REDD efforts."

Norway has demonstrated its willingness to commit substantial sums for forest conservation — provided recipient countries honor their commitments to reduce deforestation. Last year Norway pledged up to a billion dollars to Brazil's Amazon Fund, an initiative that seeks to reduce deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 70 percent relative to a 1996-2005 baseline. It also announced NOK 500 million ($73 million) towards the development and implementation of a national REDD strategy in Tanzania over the next five years, millions of dollars for the South American country of Guyana, and more than $100 million to Congo Basin countries. It continues to seek new partnerships and opportunities in countries committed to developing national strategy plans for REDD. Most of the support is channeled through multilateral organizations such as the African development bank (which administers the Congo Basin Forest Fund), the World Bank (Forest Carbon Partnership Facility) and the UN (UN Redd Programme) that support countries in drafting national strategies for REDD.

Norway is counting on other industrialized nations to eventually join the effort initiative by supporting multilateral processes for REDD. Brattskar said Britain is already providing financial backing for the Congo Basin Forest Fund while Germany is supporting forest conservation through its international climate initiative. He said other donor countries are showing "great interest".

"In addition to our contributions to the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which is also supported by a number of other countries, Norway is financing the first phase of the United Nations' REDD program," which is run by three UN agencies, UNEP, FAO and UNDP. "In the long run, this needs to be supplemented by funding from other donors. We do not want this to be seen as a 'Norwegian project'."

"We are certainly not alone in this field. At the same time, we would strongly appreciate more countries' getting involved and providing support to REDD efforts."

http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0319-norway_forests.html

Epidural Hematoma After Skiing Accident

British Actress' Family and Friends 'Devastated by the Tragic Death of Their Beloved Natasha'

Natasha Richardson's death was indeed caused by her fall on a Canadian ski slope.

The New York City Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy on the Tony Award-winning actress Thursday. She died Wednesday at age 45. The office ruled her death accidental, citing the cause as an epidural hematoma due to a blunt impact to the head.

Funeral arrangements for Richardson will be handled by New York City's Greenwich Village Funeral Home.

Richardson's husband, actor Liam Neeson, and family members were by her side when she died. Her death was announced in a statement released Wednesday evening by Neeson's publicist.

"Liam Neeson, his sons and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha," the statement said. "They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

Richardson fell Monday at the Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec. She initially appeared fine and joked about the fall, but the ski patrol insisted she see a doctor. Richardson declined, the resort said in a statement Tuesday.

Thursday, ABC News learned more details about what happened between when Richardson fell and when she sought medical attention. At 12:43 p.m. Monday, the first call to the paramedics was made. An ambulance arrived at 1 p.m. and transported Richardson from the foot of the mountain to the infirmary by sleigh.

Richardson thought she was fine and didn't want to stay at the infirmary. At 1:10 p.m., Richardson signed hospital waiver paperwork and walked 300 yards to hotel along with her ski instructor. She was back in her room by 1:30 p.m.

At 2:59 p.m., paramedics received a second call for help. An ambulance showed up at the hotel exactly ten minutes later. Richardson was conscious but showing signs that made paramedics call the hematology department at the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Ste-Agathe, where the ambulance took her.

On Wednesday, a Canadian newspaper confirmed that an ambulance was dispatched to the resort right after the accident, but the paramedics were told they were not needed and left.

"They never saw the patient," Yves Coderre, the operations manager for the ambulance service, told the Globe and Mail. "So they turned around."

"When you have a head trauma you can bleed. It can deteriorate in a few hours or a few days," Coderre added. "People don't realize it can be very serious. We warn them they can die and sometimes they start to laugh. They don't take it seriously."

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Movies/story?id=7119825&page=1

Atomic Blogging Review

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Making Home Affordable Launches At Makinghomesaffordable.gov

The U.S. government today launched its new website makinghomesaffordable.gov helping the U.S. homeowners to find ways of what they can do for making their homes affordable in this financial and mortgage crisis.

The New Obama administration website launches to help you to see if your are eligible for housing plan help at MakingHomesAffordable.gov. The site is meant for consumers seeking information about loan modification and refinancing and in which ways they can making home affordable.

The housing rescue plan is fully covered at Making Home Affordable. It provides a self-assessment tools to see if you are among the seven to nine million homeowners who may be able to benefit from Making Home Affordable.

Ways Of Making Home Affordable According To The Plan

* Refinancing Mortgage

* Mortgage Loan Modification

Many homeowners pay their mortgage on time, but according to makinghomesaffordable.gov, are not able to refinance to take advantage of today's lower mortgage rates perhaps due to a decrease in the value of the home. Many homeowners are struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments perhaps because their interest rate has increased or they have less income.

Makinghomesaffordable.gov provides help with eligibility, loan look up, finding a counselor, audio and video information, resources as well as related resources.

Once you have determined if you are eligible for a Home Affordable Refinance or Modification, the next step is to contact your mortgage service provider to discuss your situation.

I believe everyone needs to check out makinghomesaffordable.gov. If you own a home you may qualify for the federal goverment's new program. This may be the way you did not know for making your home affordable.

By the way please note that the site's name is Making Home Affordable, where home is singular. However, the URL of the website is www.makinghomesaffordable.gov where homes is plural. This may have already caused some confusion for the homeowners seeking to get there.

http://www.huliq.com/1/78652/making-home-affordable-launches-makinghomeaffordablegov

Crohn s Disease: Even 'Snake Oil' Can Help Patients Heal

Our conference was being held over lunch, but Pat, a middle-aged health-care consultant, did not touch a bite of her food. When I asked if something was wrong, she revealed her lifelong battle with Crohn's disease, an inflammation of the bowels that causes diarrhea and abdominal pain.

I asked what her doctor advised. With some hesitation, she told me she was chiefly being treated by someone she called her "teacher," who helped her use her use qi gong, a Chinese system of breathing and energy exercise, to manage her illness.

She also sees a conventional doctor. But I was struck that this woman, whose job involves ensuring that hospital practices are supported by scientific evidence, had chosen to consult a provider of alternative medicine.

"My teacher looks at me as a whole person," she explained. "He looks at my emotional state, not just my diseased state. . . . He empowers me on how to care for myself. . . . My doctor looks at me just as a disease."

As an MD with two decades of experience, I felt a sense of rebuke. Personally, I am not averse to alternative medicine. Though I was raised and educated in America, I was born in India, where treatments such as ayurveda and yoga originated and where they are perceived as an equivalent method of healing many illnesses. And I use meditation and massage as aids to relaxation.

I also recognized some truth in Pat's words.

In a critically ill patient, we conventional doctors figuratively dissect the body. The cardiologist manages the heart, the pulmonologist manages the lungs, the nephrologist manages the kidneys, and each treats the diseases inflicting our respective organs. When the organ is no longer diseased, we sign off the chart.

When there is time, I try to step back and address my patients as a whole and try to listen to their concerns, but I admit I've been known to refer to a patient as "the pneumonia in Room 5133" or to describe an emotional patient as "a bit squirrelly."

But I have no patience with alternative providers when they reach beyond their expertise or when they allow themselves to be misunderstood by the patient. I am too aware of the potential for disaster. A physician's assistant recently told me about a woman in her 30s with a prosthetic heart valve who had done well for years on blood-thinning medicine -- until her preacher/faith healer told her she was "cured." She discontinued her lifesaving medication. Within weeks, the PA said, a blood clot formed near her heart valve, shutting it down. She died in the operating room.
Tempting Advice

I've shared my skepticism with my parents, who are retired and spend the winters in India and summers in Boston. They both see conventional doctors and are proud of my career. But my mother is also an instructor of reiki, a practice based on the idea of healing energy. She tells me she has used it on her grandchildren to improve their SAT scores and on my father to help him prepare for medical procedures, and has employed it to treat her own headaches. She swears reiki is effective, though I remind her that randomized controlled trials don't support that conclusion.

My father, who takes blood pressure medicine, aspirin and lipid-lowering drugs, is learning about ayurveda and nudges me at every opportunity to do the same.

"Your health will benefit from drinking two glasses of lukewarm water each morning," he insists. "It will flush out your toxins." He offers this evidence: "Your grandfather does it every morning" -- and as I know, my grandfather is 90. It is tempting to take advice offered with passion by those you trust.

I think of alternative-medicine providers as good used car salesmen -- that is, with little scientific proof for their treatments, they find many willing customers.

But I don't mean that as an insult. On the contrary, the alternative providers offer a useful lesson in the doctor-patient relationship for conventional doctors like me. A good provider is a teacher, a coach, a friend and a fan; many alternative practitioners manage to play those roles, with the result that their patients trust them and have faith in their treatments. Within the constraints of the conventional health-care system -- with its 15-minute office visits, recurrent insurance denials and unnecessary diagnostic tests to avert malpractice suits -- I find it hard to perform all those important interpersonal tasks.

In addition, alternative providers have mastered the art of maximizing the power of the placebo. As R. Barker Bausell, author of the book "Snake Oil Science," writes, alternative therapies don't do much if any better than placebo treatments.

But placebos can be effective tools: For certain conditions, they have definitely been shown to cure or reduce symptoms. By listening carefully to patients and convincing them that they have the power to manage their illnesses, alternative therapists make the most of the mind's ability to help heal the body.

Pat, the health-care consultant, is far from alone in seeing alternative practitioners to complement or augment medical care. More than a third of American adults use alternative therapies, with some of the most popular being meditation, acupunture, chiropractic and the use of natural products such as glucosamine and echinacea. Almost all of those patients also see conventional doctors. Judy, a former intensive-care-unit nurse who works in my administrative office, is another example. For most of her life, Judy battled low back pain caused by scoliosis. As an adult she sought help at a respected orthopedic clinic. There, a doctor entered the exam room having looked at her X-ray -- but not having examined or spoken with her -- and said, "Your pain is not coming from your spine." Judy resented his instant pronouncement and was disappointed with the results when he tried to treat her. Soon after, Judy went to a chiropractor whose manipulations were helpful, but only for a few days or weeks.

Then she met an instructor of Pilates, an exercise system that emphasizes body alignment and correct breathing. He worked with her patiently, teaching her how to sit at her desk and in the car. He suggested repositioning her work space so that her right side would face the wall of her cubicle, encouraging her to stretch her left side. With his advice and regular Pilates exercises, she has been pain-free for more than five years.
Not So Fast

Judy summarized her experiences without mincing words. A conventional doctor "listens to my symptoms and is quick to prescribe a medicine or to order tests. My instructor listens to my story and works with me." I asked her for another example.

"Well, do you remember two weeks ago, when I had a terrible cold, followed by a cough, low-grade fever and lots of sinus drainage, and I came to your cubicle? In less than a minute -- listening to my symptoms -- you said, 'You have sinusitis' and called in antibiotics." The drugs worked, but she thought the encounter was a little too quick. "I am not criticizing you, but that is how conventional doctors work."

What Judy, like Pat, has decided is that she needs both a conventional doctor and an alternative therapist.

That is often the case. In a national survey published in 1998, John A. Astin, a researcher at Stanford University School of Medicine, found that most Americans did not seek alternative medicine because they were dissatisfied with their doctors, but rather because alternative care was more consistent with their values and philosophical orientation. Judy, Pat and most alternative medicine followers and providers see themselves in a "mind-body-spirit" continuum.

As for myself, I'm not about to take up Pilates or become my mom's reiki pupil. But I have taken my father's ayurvedic advice and started drinking two glasses of lukewarm water in the morning. I am not sure if it is helping, but it sure keeps me regular.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/16/AR2009031602140_pf.html

Natasha Richardson Hospitalized After Skiing Accident

Natasha Richardson is in critical condition at a Montreal hospital after being injured in a skiing accident.

The British actress, a member of the Redgrave acting dynasty and the wife of Liam Neeson, reportedly suffered head trauma, although the extent of the damage is unknown.

Calls to Richardson's agent were referred to Neeson's publicist, who said he didn't have any information because he has been unable to get in touch with his client.

Initial reports said Richardson suffered severe head trauma in the mishap. Later, it was learned Richardson walked away from her fall on the beginner's slope and fell ill with a headache about an hour later. She reportedly was conscious upon leaving for the hospital.

Richardson, 45, was transferred to Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal at about 5 p.m. after initially being taken to Centre Hospitalier Laurentien, which is close to the tony Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec, per People. The accident was first reported by the news site IrishCentral.com.

http://www3.eonline.com/uberblog/b104720_natasha_richardson_hospitalized_after.html

Ponzi Scheme - Madoff Is Guilty in Ponzi Scheme; Ordered to Jail

Bernard Madoff was jailed after admitting he masterminded the largest Ponzi scheme in history, an epic swindle that may have reached $65 billion and made him the symbol of investor distrust in a global recession.

Madoff, 70, entered his guilty plea in Manhattan federal court three months after confessing to relatives that his firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, was “one big lie.” U.S. District Judge Denny Chin ordered that Madoff, who has been free on $10 million bond, should be jailed while awaiting sentencing, scheduled for June 16. He faces as much as 150 years in prison.

“I never invested the funds in securities as promised,” Madoff told Chin at a hearing today in a courtroom packed with victims and members of the media. He said he was “deeply sorry” and knew what he did was criminal.

Madoff told Chin that in the early 1990s, when the U.S. was in a recession, he felt “compelled’” to provide the returns he promised investors. He said when the Securities and Exchange Commission asked about it, he lied to the SEC.

Madoff’s guilty plea -- he repeated the word 11 times this morning -- marks the downfall of a once-acclaimed money manager who told the world his fortune came through an eponymous firm that specialized in making markets, trading securities and advising wealthy clients.

Client Roster

Over three decades, he built a reputation as a brilliant stock picker who delivered steady returns through both bull and bear markets, attracting an international client roster that included celebrities like filmmaker Steven Spielberg, fund managers like J. Ezra Merkin, charities, universities, friends, and even royalty.

Some of the thousands of his investors lost their life savings. Thierry Magon de La Villehuchet, chief executive officer of Access International Advisors, which managed $3 billion, was driven to suicide because of his firm’s Madoff- related losses, his brother, Bertrand Magon de la Villehuchet, said in January.

The scandal has cast scrutiny on the Securities and Exchange Commission, whose chief, Mary Schapiro, pledged to beef up staff and expedite enforcement cases. Harry Markopolos, a former money manager, told Congress that he tried to persuade the agency for nine years that Madoff was a fraud, and that most agency officials he dealt with suffered from “investigative ineptitude.”

No Deal

The case doesn’t end with Madoff’s plea. Investigators have seized control of his offices at the lipstick-shaped building at 885 Third Avenue in Manhattan, where Madoff Securities operated out of three floors. Prosecutors say his subordinates helped him swindle investors. A central issue for investigators is whether employees knew of the fraud. No one else has been charged.

Madoff didn’t sign a plea deal that would have granted him leniency or other consideration in exchange for cooperation with the government. He was forced to plead guilty to all 11 counts against him because he refused to admit to a conspiracy, a charge that would have required him to disclose co- conspirators, according to people familiar with the case.

Prosecutors are hunting for Madoff’s assets, as they seek forfeiture of the $170 billion they said moved through Madoff Securities since the fraud began in the 1980s. The firm’s bankruptcy trustee has found about $1 billion in cash and securities.

4,800 Investors

Madoff told 4,800 investors in November that their accounts held $64.8 billion, though their holdings were a “small fraction” of that, prosecutors said in court papers. Defense attorney Ira Sorkin said it’s unclear how much investors lost.

Madoff pleaded guilty to securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, investment adviser fraud, three counts of money laundering, false statements, perjury, false filings with the SEC and theft from an employee benefit plan.

His scheme unraveled in early December amid a rush of investor redemptions, the government said. He told his sons Mark, who ran Madoff’s proprietary trading business, and Andrew, who was a director of the unit, that he wanted to pay bonuses two months earlier than usual, according to prosecutors.

There was “absolutely nothing,” and the business was “all just one big lie,” Madoff told his relatives, according to an affidavit filed in court on Dec. 11 by Federal Bureau of Investigation Agent Theodore Cacioppi.

Arrest

The sons turned their father in to federal authorities, according to their lawyer, Martin Flumenbaum. Neither is accused of any wrongdoing.

Madoff was arrested Dec. 11 and charged with one count of securities fraud for using billions of dollars from new investors to pay off old ones at his firm. Dogged by news cameras as he traveled to and from court, Madoff was allowed to remain free on $10 million bail and ordered to remain in his multimillion dollar apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, under electronic and video surveillance and watched over by security guards.

The scheme centered on Madoff’s claim to investors that he used a “split-strike conversion strategy” in which he promised to invest in stocks that mimicked the price movement of the Standard & Poor’s 100 Index, while “opportunistically” timing purchases, Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin said.

Madoff promised some investors returns of up to 46 percent and “created a broad infrastructure” to give the appearance of “a legitimate investment advisory business,” prosecutors said in court papers. His back-office staff had little or no experience and at Madoff’s direction misled clients about investments, the government said.

Manhattan Apartment

Madoff is being sent first to the 12-story Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan, federal marshals said. Later he may be assigned to one of several U.S. facilities in the New York area, including the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, New York.

Madoff is joining a corps of aging white-collar convicts including former WorldCom Inc. Chief Executive Officer Bernard Ebbers, 67, now housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale, Louisiana, and John Rigas, 84, the ex-CEO of Adelphia Communications Corp. who is imprisoned at the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina.

Last week, a different judge said in court papers in a related lawsuit by the SEC that Madoff’s lawyers claim that Madoff’s wife, Ruth, is the sole owner of the couple’s Manhattan apartment, $45 million in bonds and $17 million in cash. These assets are “unrelated” to Bernard Madoff’s alleged fraud scheme, his attorneys said, according to the judge.

It may ultimately be left to Chin to decide whether Ruth Madoff may keep the assets. She hasn’t been charged with a crime.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&refer=home&sid=arlJGM_6.zsM

Willis Tower: Sears Tower name to change to Willis Tower

Sears Tower will change its name to Willis Tower under the terms of a new lease signed by global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings.

Willis Group plans to consolidate five area offices and move nearly 500 Associates into Willis Tower, at 233 S. Wacker, initially occupying more than 140,000 square feet on multiple floors.

London-based Willis said its move to the new space, at $14.50 per square foot, will result in significant real estate cost savings, and that there is no additional cost to the company associated with renaming the building.

"Having our name associated with Chicago's most iconic structure underscores our commitment to this great city, and recognizes Chicago's importance as a major financial hub and international business center," said Joseph J. Plumeri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Willis Group Holdings.

Sears, Roebuck & Co., now based in Hoffman Estates, finished construction on the office building in 1973 but has not had offices in it since 1992. At the time it was the tallest building in the world. Now, it is the tallest in the Western Hemisphere.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-sears-tower-name-change-willis-march12,0,7014962.story

London Symphony Orchestra/ Andsnes

Purposefully written for his concert tour of the USA in 1909, Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto was designed to impress.

It’s a show-off piece and then some. But, as the gifted Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes has been demonstrating time and again in recent years, there is another way of playing it.

The piano’s very first statement – so relaxed as to be almost horizontal – was pitched by Andsnes in such a way as to allow the singing counterpoint in the bassoon to make almost more of an impression than the piano itself. At once he was establishing the symphonic nature of the piece, the undisputable fact that the orchestra leads as surely as it supports and that the real mark of a great performance is the degree to which the soloist can convincingly integrate into the whole.

Andsnes’ often understated manner and self-effacing approach was his triumph here. Which is not to say that his performance did not dazzle – quite the contrary. But nor did it draw attention to itself, nor did it assume primacy. The real beauty of the playing was in its quiet luminosity and luxuriant tone – meaningful, never merely showy. Only in the mighty first movement cadenza, where the piano briefly mutates into an entire orchestra, did Andsnes deploy the full force of his technical armoury. There was, of course, flash, too, in the barnstorming finish of the piece, but some of us left the hall remembering the reflective sequence of chords just prior to the home run far more than we did the glittering prize of the coda. Impressive.

Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra shone, too, turning on the ardour and shimmer of the score and achieving such impressive unity with their soloist. But Pappano in the concert hall is inclined to let his natural dynamism run away with him. His account of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony “Pathetique” was full-on, to say the least, but did it really take us to that dark place far beyond the surface histrionics? Pappano’s intensity of feeling is never in doubt but how I wish it had expressed itself more inwardly here and with a greater range of true pianissimo. At least no one applauded as the third movement brashly frogmarched us to the abyss. But the dying moments of the symphony revealed too strong a pulse and this heart resolutely refused to break.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/london-symphony-orchestra-andsnes-barbican-hall-1640472.html

usns impeccable: Chinese vessels harassed unarmed ship

The Pentagon charged Monday that five Chinese ships shadowed and maneuvered dangerously close to a U.S. Navy vessel in an apparent attempt to harass the American crew.

Defense officials in the Obama administration said the incident Sunday followed several days of "increasingly aggressive" acts by Chinese ships in the region. The incident took place in international waters in the South China Sea, about 75 miles south of Hainan Island.

U.S. officials said a protest was lodged with the Chinese government over the weekend and it was to be repeated to a Beijing military attache at a Pentagon meeting Monday.

The USNS Impeccable sprayed one ship with water from fire hoses to force it away. Despite the force of the water, Chinese crew members stripped to their underwear and continued closing within 25 feet, the Defense Department said.

"On March 8, 2009, five Chinese vessels shadowed and aggressively maneuvered in dangerously close proximity to USNS Impeccable, in an apparent coordinated effort to harass the U.S. ocean surveillance ship while it was conducting routine operations in international waters," the Pentagon statement said.

The Chinese ships included a Chinese Navy intelligence collection ship, a Bureau of Maritime Fisheries Patrol Vessel, a State Oceanographic Administration patrol vessel, and two small Chinese-flagged trawlers, officials said.

"The Chinese vessels surrounded USNS Impeccable, two of them closing to within 50 feet, waving Chinese flags and telling Impeccable to leave the area," officials said in the statement.

"Because the vessels' intentions were not known, Impeccable sprayed its fire hoses at one of the vessels in order to protect itself," the Defense statement said. "The Chinese crew members disrobed to their underwear and continued closing to within 25 feet."

Impeccable crew radioed to tell the Chinese ships that it was leaving the area and requested a safe path to navigate, the Pentagon said.

But shortly afterward, two of the Chinese ships stopped directly ahead of the Impeccable, forcing it to an emergency stop to avoid collision because the Chinese had dropped pieces of wood in the water directly in front of Impeccable's path.

"The unprofessional maneuvers by Chinese vessels violated the requirement under international law to operate with due regard for the rights and safety of other lawful users of the ocean," said Marine Maj. Stewart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman.

"We expect Chinese ships to act responsibly and refrain from provocative activities that could lead to miscalculation or a collision at sea, endangering vessels and the lives of U.S. and Chinese mariners," Upton added.

In Beijing, Chinese officials did not immediately respond to voicemail messages and e-mail.

China views almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its territory. China's claims to small islets in the region have put it at odds with five governments — the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Upton said U.S. Navy ships and aircraft routinely operate in the area and that Chinese ships and aircraft routinely steam or fly nearby. "However, these actions were considerably more aggressive and unprofessional than we have seen."

He said the Impeccable is one of five surveillance ships that gather underwater acoustical data.

The incident came just a week after China and the U.S. resumed military-to-military consultations following a five-month suspension over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. And it came as Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi was due in Washington this week to meet with U.S. officials.

Pentagon officials said the close encounter followed several other incidents involving the Impeccable and another U.S. vessel Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

_ On Wednesday, a Chinese Bureau of Fisheries Patrol vessel used a high-intensity spotlight to illuminate the ocean surveillance ship USNS Victorious as it operated in the Yellow Sea, about 125 nautical miles from China's coast, the Pentagon said. The move was made without notice or warning, U.S. officials said. The next day, a Chinese Y-12 maritime surveillance aircraft conducted 12 fly-bys of Victorious at an altitude of about 400 feet and a range of 500 yards.

_ On Thursday, a Chinese frigate approached USNS Impeccable without warning and crossed its bow at a close range of approximately 100 yards, the Pentagon said. This was followed less than two hours later by a Chinese Y-12 aircraft conducting 11 fly-bys of Impeccable at an altitude of 600 feet and a range from 100-300 feet. The frigate then closely crossed Impeccable's bow yet again, this time at a range of approximately 400-500 yards without rendering courtesy or notice of her intentions.

_ On Saturday, a Chinese intelligence collection ship challenged USNS Impeccable over bridge-to-bridge radio, calling her operations illegal and directing Impeccable to leave the area or "suffer the consequences."

Sunday's incident is reminiscent of a similar early foreign policy crisis that forced former President George W. Bush to deal with Beijing shortly after he took office — China's forced landing of a spy plane and seizure of the crew in April 2001.

That incident between a Chinese jet and U.S. Navy spy plane infuriated Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who responded by breaking off U.S. military contacts with China for a time.

The Chinese fighter jet collided in midair with a U.S. Navy EP-3 surveillance plane. The Navy plane was so badly damaged that it made an emergency landing on China's Hainan Island.

The Chinese pilot died and the U.S. crew of 24 was detained by the Chinese military for 11 days. China refused to allow U.S. officials to fix the Navy plane and fly it off the island; eventually it was shipped home in pieces.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLGjotiM5K34OisyYCFafERRGJ7wD96QJOR00

Seagulling: Ex-Seagull's role in deal

Dick Knight has revealed the key role played by a former Seagull in the appointment of Russell Slade as Albion boss.

The chairman consulted with Welshman Jones, a regular in the Yeovil defence under Slade and now assistant manager of next Saturday's visitors to Withdean.

“I had a long chat with Nathan and he told me some good stuff,” Knight said. “It was a very honest appraisal and I took that into account.

“When I met with Russell initially he impressed me greatly. His CV speaks for itself and his confidence and tactical shrewdness were obvious when I interviewed him.

“He has delivered at this level. He has an extremely competent track record at clubs who have punched above their weight, like Grimsby and Yeovil.

“His players like him. He will convey confidence to our squad and give them a lift.”

Knight met Slade on Tuesday after Stockport chief Jim Gannon turned the job down last week.

A deal was sealed late on Thursday night, in company with Board member Ray Bloom, following Paul Ince's refusal to hold talks with Knight the previous day.

“The quality of applications was tremendous, even up to the last minute, from the top of the top league in Romania to one from Portugal which was very interesting but not appropriate at this time,” said Knight.

“By handing the mantle to Russell at this stage, the club is in good hands to address the task right now of staying in League One. We have got a very good and capable man.”

http://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/4182458.Ex_Seagull_s_role_in_Slade_deal/

Oslo Opera House - rising out of the fjord

The Oslo Opera House by Norwegian architects Snøhetta was opened to the public in April 2008.

The opera house is the realization of the winning competition entry. Four diagrams, which were part of the entry, explain the building’s basic concept.

http://www.archicentral.com/opera-house-oslo-norway-sn%C3%B8hetta-7601/

Explosion destroys businesses in Bozeman, Mont.

An explosion in downtown Bozeman, Mont., has collapsed three buildings and prompted the evacuation of a two-block area.

Authorities say they don't know whether anyone was hurt in Thursday morning's blast. But a spokeswoman for the main medical facility in the city of about 38,000 says no victims of the explosion had been admitted there.

KBZK-TV says a restaurant and bar was destroyed and another bar was heavily damaged.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle says officials were investigating the possibility that a natural gas leak caused the explosion.

Crews were working to extinguish a fire caused by the blast.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvm9jIgn-Fh3rArpJSg_vCsG6WSQD96O1CR82