Electricity grids fail across half of India

Streets are packed in heavy traffics following power outage and rains in the central part of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. India's energy crisis spread?over half the country Tuesday when both its eastern and northern electricity grids?collapsed, leaving 600 million people without power in one of the world's biggest-ever blackouts. Traffic lights went out across New Delhi. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Streets are packed in heavy traffics following power outage and rains in the central part of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. India's energy crisis spread?over half the country Tuesday when both its eastern and northern electricity grids?collapsed, leaving 600 million people without power in one of the world's biggest-ever blackouts. Traffic lights went out across New Delhi. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

A traffic jam following power outage and rains at the Delhi-Gurgaon road on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. India's energy crisis cascaded over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving 620 million people without government-supplied electricity in one of the world's biggest-ever blackouts. (AP Photo)

Commuters walk on empty railway tracks at the New Delhi railway station following a power outage in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. India's energy crisis cascaded over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving more than 600 million people without government-supplied electricity in one of the world's biggest-ever blackouts. (AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi)

A traffic jam following power outage and rains in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. India's energy crisis cascaded over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving more than 600 million people without government-supplied electricity in one of the world's biggest-ever blackouts. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

A handwritten notice about power failure is pasted outside a Metro station after Delhi Metro rail services were disrupted following power outage in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. India's energy crisis cascaded over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving more than 600 million people without government-supplied electricity in one of the world's biggest-ever blackouts.(AP Photo/ Manish Swarup)

NEW DELHI (AP) ? India's energy crisis cascaded?over half the country Tuesday when three of its regional grids collapsed, leaving 620 million people without government-supplied electricity for several hours in, by far, the world's biggest blackout.

Hundreds of trains stalled across the country and traffic lights went out, causing widespread traffic jams in New Delhi. Electric crematoria stopped operating, some with bodies half burnt, power officials said. Emergency workers rushed generators to coal mines to rescue miners trapped underground.

The massive failure - a day after a similar, but smaller power failure - has raised serious concerns about India's outdated infrastructure and the government's inability to meet its huge appetite for energy as the country aspires to become a regional economic superpower.

Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde blamed the new crisis on states taking more than their allotted share of electricity.

"Everyone overdraws from the grid. Just this morning I held a meeting with power officials from the states and I gave directions that states that overdraw should be punished. We have given instructions that their power supply could be cut," he told reporters.

The new power failure affected 620 million people across 20 of India's 28 states - about double the population of the United States. The blackout was unusual in its reach, stretching from the border with Myanmar in the northeast to the Pakistani border about 3,000 kilometers (1,870 miles) away. Its impact, however, was softened by Indians' familiarity with frequent blackouts and the widespread use of backup generators for major businesses and key facilities such as hospitals and airports.

Shinde later said power was fully restored in the northeast grid four hours after it went down, and that the north grid had 45 percent power and the east grid 35 percent. R.N. Nayak, chairman of Power Grid Corp., which runs the nation's power system, said he expected to have full power later in the evening.

Oddly, as the crisis dragged into the evening, Shinde was promoted, becoming India's home minister, its top internal security official. The promotion had been planned previously as part of a greater Cabinet shuffle before he presided over the world's two worst power outages.

The outages came just a day after India's northern power grid collapsed for several hours. Indian officials managed to restore power several hours later, but at 1:05 p.m. Tuesday the northern grid collapsed again, said Shailendre Dubey, an official at the Uttar Pradesh Power Corp. in India's largest state. About the same time, the eastern grid failed and then the northeastern grid followed, energy officials in those regions said. The grids serve more than half India's population.

In West Bengal, express trains and local electric trains were stopped at stations across the state of West Bengal on the eastern grid. Crowds of people thronged the stations, waiting for any transport to take them to their destinations.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said it would take at least 10 to 12 hours to restore power and asked office workers to go home.

"The situation is very grave. We are doing everything to restore power," West Bengal Power Minister Manish Gupta said.

New Delhi's Metro rail system, which serves about 1.8 million people a day, immediately shut down for the second day in a row. Police said they managed to evacuate Delhi's busy Rajiv Chowk station in under half an hour before closing the shutters.

S.K. Jain, 54, said he was on his way to file his income tax return when the Metro closed and now would almost certainly miss the deadline. Hours later, the government announced it was giving taxpayers an extra month to file because of the chaos.

Tuesday's blackout eclipsed Monday's in India, which covered territory including 370 million people. The third largest blackout affected 100 million people in Indonesia in 2005, according to reports by The Associated Press.

India's demand for electricity has soared along with its economy in recent years, but utilities have been unable to meet the growing needs. India's Central Electricity Authority reported power deficits of more than 8 percent in recent months.

In addition, vast amounts of power are pirated through unauthorized wiring that taps into the electrical system.

The power deficit was worsened by a weak monsoon that lowered hydroelectric generation and kept temperatures higher, further increasing electricity usage as people seek to cool off.

But any connection to the grid remains a luxury for many. One-third of India's households do not even have electricity to power a light bulb, according to last year's census.

___

Associated Press writer Nasr ul Hadi contributed to this report from New Delhi and Prasanta Pal contributed from Kolkata.

___

Follow Ravi Nessman on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ravinessman

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-07-31-India-Power%20Outage/id-8bbdf30158cb487da18ecbe892592451

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ruipiquet: Sem d?vida o melhor momento dos Jogos Ol?mpicos 2012. V? aqui: http://t.co/babWhIcE http://t.co/KKluZFgu

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Auto Insurance Shopping Made simple With These Tips ...

Certain factors that determine your own insurance costs are variable costs, which means they may be altered. However, several are fixed, which means that they can?t be changed. You can lower your monthly cost of insurance through accepting higher deductibles. Please read on for some ways to scale back on your car insurance price.

Check with your Human resources department at work to determine if there are any special discounts or offers you can get for automobile insurance by declaring your own employment there. Most employers work with insurance agencies to get lower class rates. The amount of time you might have worked for an employer may influence how much of a reduction you can get as well. If your auto insurance company won?t currently offer any kind of discount deals pertaining to special group strategies you may want to ask them to consider starting some discounts.

To keep your insurance rates minimal, pay on time and don?t allow your auto insurance protection to lapse. Trail-offs often occur whenever you change your carriers as well as when you simply change policies. Your insurance provider may well increase your rates when they discover these lapses.

If you are 55 as well as older and have participated in one of these classes, you might be eligible for such a discounted. A potential 10% discount off of your insurance fees are a great benefit.

If you are thinking about adding a teenager for your auto insurance, find out how a lot it would cost to set them on your policy, versus the amount it could cost to get them a separate policy. With regards to the vehicles involved it is sometimes cheaper overall to buy them a different policy.

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Speak with your auto insurance company and ask them about discounts they could have. Review all their discounts and make sure you are receiving all of the discounts which you qualify for.

When you are using a professional organization, it?s possible to get great discounts. AARP or some credit unions may make you entitled to auto insurance discounts.

Prior to making a change in your car insurance service provider, check carefully to be sure you are not tied to just about any outstanding traffic infractions or tickets. A fresh insurance company will definitely review your driving background, so there is no defense for you not to manage simple matters just like paying outstanding penalties. This can reduce the amount of your insurance premiums.

Cutting your yearly mileage can help you lower your monthly car insurance payments. Less time behind the wheel can mean a lower quality for you.

There are a few security features that you can add to your automobile to reduce your premiums. These include a car burglar alarm, a GPS tracker and an immobilizer. The possibility of your car being stolen is really a considerable factor in determining your policy expense and coverage. By making your car as risk-free as possible, you will assist ensure lower rates as the risk of theft, and a big insurance policy payout, is significantly reduced.

Try to drive fewer miles each year to save cash. If you are unable to decrease the miles you generate, consider investing in a less expensive, second car. It might cost less in payments to get insurance for 2 low mileage cars than it would for you to insure a vehicle that?s driven many mls each year.

As stated at the beginning of this piece, you?ve influence over a quantity of factors that establish your insurance premiums. It is possible to change all sorts of things concerning your situation to lower your charges. If you do what you can for you to optimize these specifics, you can save yourself a package deal on auto insurance monthly premiums.

For more information about commercial auto insurance quotes visit our website.

Source: http://articlereference.net/computers/auto-insurance-shopping-made-simple-with-these-tips.html

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Promotional Rugby Ball - What to consider when choosing a ball for ...

Promotional balls When the administration of a team considers purchasing equipment for the players, quality is always first on their mind. A good ball for example must be well sown and made from the best type of leather. The dimensions should be perfect and the size and weight should meet the requirements set by various sports governing bodies. The shape should also be considered since different types of balls have different types of shapes. A mini rugby ball for example is oval shaped and is made from rubber.

However, apart from these requirements, a ball could also have an attractive look and feel to it. This helps to make the ball more dynamic and appealing as well as more vibrant as it is thrown from one end of the field to another. For this, a rugby team, for example, could choose to purchase a promotional rugby ball. These balls usually feature various graphics and color finishes as well as different types of paint and pictures. All these are aimed at ensuring that the ball is appealing to the eye of the beholder.

There are various designs that are used and the administration of the team could choose the one that they fancy most. However, the administration could also choose to customize the design to meet their promotional needs. The ball could include a logo from a well known organization in the colors and designs of the organization. Such a ball will meet all the requirements of a regular ball in terms of weight and size, but the color and graphics on it will be different.

The type of sport When purchasing a ball, it is important to consider the type of sport that the ball will be used in. This is because balls that are used in the game of football are very different from balls that are used in the game of basketball. This is because a basketball is handled by hand and therefore it should have more grips, than a soccer ball which is played using the foot. Other types of sports require balls that differ in terms of weight, shape, size and even material. It is therefore important for the administration of sports clubs to be familiar with this before they purchase a ball.

Ball manufacturers Furthermore, it is important to have information on the different ball manufacturers on your fingertips. This is because reputation is also important when choosing where to buy a sports ball from. For example, some netball manufacturers are known for making high quality balls that are durable and easy to play with. However, others do not have the same reputation as they may have made less appealing balls in the past. The administration should therefore do their homework and determine which manufacturers are the best when it comes to making the types of balls that they want.

Original Article Source from http://www.articlemonkeys.com/What-to-consider-when-choosing-a-ball-for-a-team-sport-463309.html

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Phelps barely makes it, Park reinstated after DQ

USA's Michael Phelps competes in a heat of the men's 400-meter individual medley at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Saturday, July 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa De Olza)

USA's Michael Phelps competes in a heat of the men's 400-meter individual medley at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Saturday, July 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa De Olza)

USA's Michael Phelps competes in a heat of the men's 400-meter individual medley at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 28, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

USA's Michael Phelps competes in a heat of the men's 400-meter individual medley at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Saturday, July 28, 2012. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

USA's Michael Phelps competes in a heat of the men's 400-meter individual medley at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Saturday, July 28, 2012. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

USA's Michael Phelps competes in a heat of the men's 400-meter individual medley at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Saturday, July 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

LONDON (AP) ? Michael Phelps almost failed to qualify for the final in the first of his seven events, and Olympic champion Park Tae-hwan was reinstated after being disqualified for a false start in a dramatic opening to swimming at the London Games on Saturday.

"That one didn't feel too good," Phelps said after squeaking into the final in the 400-meter individual medley by seven-hundredths of a second.

Park touched the wall first in his 400 freestyle heat and was surprised by his disqualification, saying, "I don't know why" after he walked off the deck.

South Korea appealed to swimming's governing body, which reinstated Park after a video review, FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu told The Associated Press.

Park and Phelps were not the only surprises of the morning at the Aquatics Centre, where Queen Elizabeth appeared briefly. Paul Biedermann of Germany, the world-record holder in the 200-meter freestyle, failed to make the final.

"That's the Olympics," said Canadian Ryan Cochrane, who initially took the last spot in the 400 freestyle final but was knocked out when Park was reinstated. "It's always a surprise, every single heat. You just have to focus on your own race."

In Beijing, Park became South Korea's first swimming gold medalist. He also won the world title in Shanghai last year.

Phelps, the two-time defending Olympic champion, won his 400 IM heat in 4 minutes, 13.33 seconds with a time that was well off his world record of 4:03.84 set four years ago, when he won a record eight gold medals.

But it was only good enough to secure the last spot in the evening final, when Phelps will swim in Lane 8 instead of the middle of the pool. He breathes to his right, so he won't see the field coming home.

"The only thing that matters is just getting a spot in," he said. "You can't win the gold medal from the morning."

In the 400 IM, Kosuke Hagino of Japan led the way in 4:10.01, a national record. Chad le Clos of South Africa was second at 4:12.24, and Ryan Lochte of the United States advanced in third at 4:12.35.

Phelps' time was just fast enough to keep Laszlo Cseh of Hungary, the silver medalist in Beijing, out of the final. Cseh was ninth overall after leading Phelps during their heat before the American closed on the last lap of freestyle to beat him to the wall.

"I didn't expect those guys to go that fast in their heat," Phelps said. "I was slower this morning than I was four years ago."

Phelps' time in the grueling event, which he had vowed not to swim again after Beijing, took some of the luster off what was expected to be a showdown between him and Lochte for gold.

"You can't count him out," Lochte said, referring to Phelps. "Even though he just squeaked in eighth, he's a racer. We're going to do everything we can to go 1-2 tonight."

Lochte, the bronze medalist in Beijing, has won the 400 IM at the last two world championships.

"My first race is always the worst one," he said. "I'm glad I got the cobwebs out."

Kosuke Kitajima of Japan opened his bid to become the first male swimmer to win the same individual event at three consecutive Olympics. He qualified second-quickest in the 100 breaststroke at 59.63 seconds behind Christian Sprenger of Australia in 59.62.

"I don't have any pressure, I just try to enjoy," Kitajima said. "It felt so good. It was good for my first race. I will try to improve in the semifinals."

Giedrius Titenis of Lithuania was third at 59.68. Twelve of the 16 swimmers who reached the semifinals swam under 1 minute.

American Brendan Hansen, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist who was fourth in Beijing, qualified 10th at 59.93. Teammate Eric Shanteau was 11th at 59.96.

"Everybody seemed to be going out real fast in the first 50," Hansen said. "I wanted to come home strong. I let everybody know that last 50 is going to be there. This race is going to be won in the last 15 meters."

Missing from the 100 breast was Alexander Dale Oen of Norway, the world champion who would have been a medal contender in these games. He died in April of cardiac arrest at 26 during a training camp in Arizona.

"We're carrying him with us all the time," Sara Nordenstam of Norway said after her heat in the 400 IM. "We have our own way of honoring him ? that's swimming fast and remembering him and remember everything that he taught us and go for the goals that we set together."

Dana Vollmer had the fastest qualifying time in the 100 butterfly at 56.25, setting American and Olympic records, to lead 16 women into the evening semifinals.

"I'm really happy with how fast it was and I think it's only going to get faster," she said. "That's kind of a confidence-booster. I'm ready to go."

Lu Ying of China was second in 57.17 and Australian Alicia Coutts was third at 57.36. Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden, the world record holder, was fourth at 57.45.

American Claire Donahue moved on in seventh, while British teammates Francesca Hall and Ellen Gandy were eighth and ninth.

Jess Schipper of Australia, the bronze medalist four years ago, was 24th and missed the semifinals by eight spots.

In the 400 free, Sun Yang of China qualified fastest in 3:45.07. American Peter Vanderkaay was second at 3:45.80, followed by his teammates Conor Dwyer in 3:46.24.

Biedermann washed out for the second straight Olympics. He also didn't make it out of the heats in Beijing. He set the world record at the 2009 world meet in Rome at the height of the high-tech body suit craze. Those suits have since been banned.

"It wasn't so good," he said. "I wanted to lead from the front, but I couldn't hold it."

World champion Elizabeth Beisel of the United States qualified fastest in the women's 400 IM at 4:31.68. Ye Shiwen of China was second at 4:31.73.

Katinka Hosszu of Hungary, who trains at the University of Southern California, was third in 4:33.77. Britain's Hannah Miley got the loudest cheers while advancing to the final in sixth.

Rice, a triple gold medalist in Beijing who has struggled with shoulder injuries the last three years, was seventh.

"Whew! That took quite a bit out of me," Rice said. "I know that I've done everything I could. I'm pretty at peace with the fact that I'm just going to get in there and do my thing and see what happens."

American Caitlin Leverenz got the last spot in the eight-woman final.

Australia had the fastest qualifying time in the 4x100 free relay. Emily Seebohm, Brittany Elmslie, Yolane Kukla and Libby Trickett were timed in 3:36.34.

The U.S. team of Lia Neal, Amanda Weir, Natalie Coughlin and Allison Schmitt was second at 3:36.53.

"I think we did our goal of putting us in a good spot for tonight, which was the main thing," said Coughlin, who has 11 career medals but didn't qualify to swim any individual events in London.

She has a chance to join Dara Torres and Jenny Thompson as the most decorated U.S. female Olympian if the Americans earn a medal in the evening final, whether or not Coughlin returns to swim. Torres and Thompson both won 12 medals.

The defending champion Dutch team of Marleen Veldhuis, Inge Dekker, Hinkelien Schreuder and Femke Heemskerk was third at 3:37.76.

_____

AP sports writer Andrew Dampf contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-07-28-OLY-SWM-Swimming-Prelims/id-0cb5e2fd81a34ee28308eccbf91d1e8f

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Re: {UAH} L_Cpl Otto: Asbestos | Health

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous material that has been a popular building material since the 1950s. It is used as?an insulator?[this relates to clod climates to keep in heat and keep out cold], has good fire protection properties and?protects against corrosion?[the reason it was preferred to Mabati (iron sheets) which corrode faster than asbestos corrugated sheets].

Because asbestos is often mixed with another material, it's hard to know if you're working with it or not. But, if you work in a building [in Europe and Americas] built before the year 2000, it's likely that some parts of the building will contain asbestos. For Uganda think of the housing estates, schools, hospitals, dispensaries, offices built since 1960 to date that have used asbestos?corrugated?sheets for roofing. Many Ugandans used asbestos for their garage roofs.?

Asbestos is found in many products used in buildings, including ceiling tiles, pipe insulation, boilers and sprayed coatings.

The asbestos commonly found in Uganda is via corrugated asbestos roofing. The greatest danger lies with collecting rain water from those corrugated asbestos roofs. The?phenomena?of?insulation?is mainly ?a cold climate issue.

Common uses

Sprayed coating

Found as fire protection on structural supports (eg columns and beams).?It is a high hazard asbestos product and can generate very high fibre levels if disturbed.

Pipe Insulation

Asbestos thermal pipe lagging is a high hazard asbestos product.

Floor tiles

Vinyl (PVC) or thermoplastic tiles often contain asbestos.

Asbestos cement roof sheeting

Asbestos cement sheeting is often found on industrial building roofs and walls.

Textured decorative coating (such as Artex)

Textured coatings contain a small amount of asbestos. The asbestos is well bonded and fibres are not easily released. However, it is still an asbestos product, and as such, needs to be worked with safely.

Asbestos is a hidden killer that can cause four serious diseases (described below). These diseases will not affect you immediately; they often take a long time to develop, but once diagnosed, it is often too late to do anything. There is a need for you to protect yourself now.

Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma is a cancer which affects the lining of the lungs (pleura) and the lining surrounding the lower digestive tract (peritoneum). It is almost exclusively related to asbestos exposure and by the time it is diagnosed, it is almost always fatal.

Asbestos-related lung cancer
Asbestos-related lung cancer is the same as (looks the same as) lung cancer caused by smoking and other causes. It is estimated that there is around one lung cancer for every mesothelioma death.

Asbestosis?
Asbestosis is a serious scarring condition of the lung that normally occurs after heavy exposure to asbestos over many years. This condition can cause progressive shortness of breath, and in severe cases can be fatal.

Pleural thickening?
Pleural thickening is generally a problem that happens after heavy asbestos exposure. The lining of the lung (pleura) thickens and swells. If this gets worse, the lung itself can be squeezed, and can cause shortness of breath and discomfort in the chest.

The case for our experts is to provide us with stats covering the recent past of the people who have died from the above four causes. Although asbestos as we know it in Uganda does not corrode easily nevertheless the minimal quantities consumed over time could threaten life.

The responsibility lies with Government to provide public information on asbestos. It does not matter now whether the advice on developments that used asbestos were uninformed, incompetent, well intended, etc the public must be told and the Building Regulations and guidelines must be amended to include clauses on asbestos.

IK

Source: http://analisesdomjoker.blogspot.com/2012/07/re-uah-lcpl-otto-asbestos_27.html

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Gaining an Email List of Non Profit Organizations Productively | Dan ...

Finding an up-to-date list of non profit organizations is challenging. Since most people have become used to achieving things in an instant, manually compiling a list of non profit organizations is definitely the last option. It is a must for everyone to know that they can already have an email list of non profit organizations. Email lists are something that people should not ignore and regard as spam. An email list providing the names and contacts of different non profit organizations is an easy way of getting in touch with a non profit organization. It is less time consuming and economical on anyone who is interested in establishing an ongoing communication with a specific organization. Since there are many existing non profit organizations at the moment, having them in an email list is definitely a hassle free way of choosing the best organization that fits a person?s need. As long as an internet connection, a computer and an email address are available, business with non profit organizations is no longer a problem.

How to find a list of non profit organizations? It is not an easy question to answer. Although there are many free emails that a person receives in a day, not all of these emails are useful. Most of the emails that are flooding a person?s inbox and spam folder are junkies. For a person to be sure that he is not keeping a junk mail, it is wise to set two criteria on the emails that he will be using. The first criterion is that the email list of non profit organizations was acquired in a reasonable amount. Only a few good things come free in this life. It is not bad to spend some cash on something that can be useful for you in the future. Another criterion that the list should be able to meet is that it is provided by a reliable company. A source with a good reputation rarely gives you a junk product.

What do I have to do with an email list of non profit organizations? For now, you may not appreciate the importance of such list. But in the future, the list of non profit organizations at hand can help you turn some goals into a reality. If you are a writer or an advocate of a certain idea, funding is always on top of your needs. Convincing someone to believe in your capability and your idea can?t be done overnight. As long as you have a list of the non profit organizations that you can contact, you can update the organizations daily of the things that you were able to accomplish and the activities that you have in mind. At first, these organizations may think that you are just someone who is trying to gain something for yourself. In the coming days or months, your constant communication with them will let these organizations understand and believe your ideas. It may sound impossible but it is a method that most successful writers and advocates have been using. Give an updated email list a try to personally experience what the list can do to you and your goals.

Phone numbers and e-mail addresses database are the typical listings that can be used for effective marketing or advertising campaigns. That email list of non profit organizations can be the greatest key to achieve higher number of sales and gain a lot of exposure to your targeted audiences. Compared to cold calling on where you have to spend more money for each campaign, sending emails to your prospects is a more convenient and cost-effective way to hook up your their attentions. On cold calling you?ll have to spend a lot for your lead?s listing, while the e-mail addresses lead?s cost are relatively cheaper. Moreover, it is obvious that sending electronic mails save you from paying too much on your telephone bills. Majority of non-profit organizations today uses the Internet to interact with their fellows and co-organizations. Hence then, they typically have e-mail addresses that they?d check from time to time. Obtaining an email list of non-profit organizations could help you reach this wide audience. By sending electronic mails to these organizations, you are informing them about what your company can offer. Email ad or marketing campaigns are way cheaper compare to other platforms use to increase sales rating, and that is proven not just by small companies but also by corporate businesses. Having a list of non profit organizations in your database is the same as having fans for your specific product. Use your marketing skills in order to hook your prospects and watch your sales rate increases.

Source: http://danstampone.com/gaining-an-email-list-of-non-profit-organizations-productively/

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Phytoestrogen Effects On Breast Cancer Recurrence | Dr. Margileth

Discover how phytoestrogen in products such as soy affects breast cancer recurrence rates.

David A. Margileth, M.D.:?In Soy foodstuffs there are what is called phytoestrogens which are very weak estrogens.? There has always been a question of or a dilemma of whether taking such products may be estrogen-like and increase the risk of recurrence of breast cancer.? I think the most current data would indicate that it probably does not.

So that taking modest amounts of soy products is okay but taking very large amounts I guess I have to say we don?t have any clearcut data but the amount of soy that most people would take probably is totally appropriate and would not increase the risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Dr. David A. Margileth practices medical oncology at St. Joesph Hospital in Orange, CA specializing in oncology, hematology, and internal medicine (board certified). His selected area of interest is breast cancer. Dr. Margileth graduated from Baylor College of Medicine in 1971 and has since spent time treating patients at the National Cancer Institute and Methodist Hospital in Houston, TX.
****
This information should not be relied upon as a substitute for personal medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Use the information provided on this site solely at your own risk. ?If you have any concerns about your health, please consult with a physician.

Related posts:

Source: http://www.breastcanceranswers.com/phytoestrogen-effects-on-breast-cancer-recurrence/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=phytoestrogen-effects-on-breast-cancer-recurrence

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PST: All-Star week epitomizes Beckham arrangement

CHESTER, Pa. ? It was another chance to grab the headlines. Of course, David Beckham stepped up. His long diagonal for Dwayne De Rosario set up Chris Pontius?s second half equalizer, his teammates finally making good on a ball he?d been providing all night. MLS?s all-stars went on to defeat Chelsea, ending a three-match losing streak, with Beckham playing an integral part.

(MORE: Cleaning out the notebook on MLS All-Star matters)

Just as he seemed to do when Fabio Capello called him into the national team, just like he did when he went on loan with AC Milan, and just like he did in last November?s MLS Cup final, David Beckham rose to the level of his competition. His 55 completed passes were 16 more than any of his teammates. Part of that was due to playing time. Most of it was do to his Pirlo-esque role in Ben Olsen?s team. Starting on the right side of midfield, Beckham would drop into a sitter?s role in MLS?s attacking phase, regularly hitting passes into the spaces around Branislav Ivavonic (Chelsea?s right back) and Gary Cahill (right-center half). With Chelsea rekindling their end-of-season ways, laying back and ceding the battle for the ball, Beckham was able to test Chelsea?s defense whenever he wanted. Marko Marin, Yossi Benayoun and Florent Malouda seemed content to let the legend shine.

That?s why it?s hard to give Beckham too much credit. In MLS, most teams have learned they can?t give him that kind of time on the ball. That?s what made his recent double in Portland was so remarkable. How could the Timbers forget about Beckham? With two long distance first half goals, Beckham reminded them, and while he didn?t quite replicate that performance against Chelsea, the Blues still left PPL Park reminded how good Beckham can still be.

In the days leading up to Wednesday?s game, much of MLS had forgotten about Beckham, if only temporarily. With the Summer Olympics starting in England, Beckham (who served as a spokesperson throughout the nation?s bidding process) had been back in London. Amid speculation about what role Beckham will play in Friday?s opening ceremonies came questions about whether he?d play any role in Chester. When Beckham didn?t make an appearance during Tuesday?s festivities, the speculation became more explicit: Would Beckham just stay in England for Wednesday?s game? Come Tuesday evening, MLS was assuring partners the league?s marquee player would play.

With Beckham rising to the occasion late in Wednesday?s match (remarkably so, given his lack of training), the All-Star Game became a metaphor for league?s entire Beckham experience. For all the worries about his commitment to his North American mission, Beckham was there when it counted, even if it meant dropping in at the last minute (and getting out as soon as possible). Around the world, he was the game?s marquee name, still outshining those from his European title-winning opponents. If the point of signing and re-signing Beckham was an international credibility play, the acquisition?s been an amazing success. Every time Chelsea players were asked about soccer in the States, the first thing they mentioned was David Beckham.

But Beckham?s has always been a complicated picture. In this part of the world there?s the expectation that the person getting the glory should also be willing to do the dirty work. Beckham?s had good reasons for his Galaxy sojourns ? unexpected opportunities in Italy, a second life with England, a once-in-a-lifetime role helping to confirm his country?s Olympic dream ? but they?ll never sit well over here. Our sports culture has never had to reconcile such conflicts, and it was unlikely to grant its first exception to somebody from England coming over to play soccer.

On Wednesday he was one of a number of MLS stars. He?s far more limited than the player that initially came to the United States, but he?s still capable of stealing the spotlight when the curtain goes up. Beckham always turns up for a show.

The problems come off stage: the absenteeism, preferential treatment, and general uncertainty. Where will David be today? On Monday and Tuesday, as the event was building to Wednesday?s climax, Beckham was nowhere to be found. He had a good reason, and he came and performed when it mattered, but his teammates were there all week. He wasn?t. His teammates had to face the media, go to the events ? to be in Philadelphia. Beckham had another reason to temporarily withdraw.

In my ideal world, this would be a non-issue, but attitudes aren?t going to change overnight. Beckham is the first player that?s challenged our notion of where team commitment fits into the bigger picture. After his first loan spell at Milan, attitudes started to change regarding players spending their offseasons playing for other teams.

You don?t have these debates in football, baseball, or basketball. This is an issue the world?s bringing to us.

Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/26/david-beckham-mls-all-star-game/related/

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Earthquake Insurance: How it Shakes Out | World Vision News ...

World News Updated Hourly

Insurance bosses have hit back after Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said he has "lost patience" with the industry over the quake rebuild. Brownlee yesterday vented his frustration over the stalled settlement process and laid the blame

Los Angeles earthquake: A magnitude 3.8 quake rattled nerves but caused no serious damage in L. A. Wednesday. But in Indonesia, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake damaged 20 buildings, and caused at least one death. By FAKHRURRADZIE GADE

Los Angeles earthquake: A magnitude 3.8 quake rattled nerves but caused no serious damage in L. A. Wednesday. But in Indonesia, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake damaged 20 buildings, and caused at least one death. By FAKHRURRADZIE GADE

Insurance bosses have hit back after Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said he has "lost patience" with the industry over the quake rebuild. Brownlee yesterday vented his frustration over the stalled settlement process and laid the blame

About 81% of the world's biggest earthquakes occur along the Pacific earthquake belt nicknamed the "Ring of Fire," part of which runs up the West Coast from Southern California to Alaska, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. But quakes do happen in

World News Updated Hourly

Fatal error: Call to undefined function wp_related_posts() in /home/worldvis/public_html/wp-content/themes/code-blue/single.php on line 90

Source: http://worldvisionvietnam.org/earthquake/earthquake-insurance-how-it-shakes-out-2

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FundersClub Wants To Bypass VC And Let YOU Invest In Startups

FundersClub is going to change how companies get funded. Today it launches a website designed to let anyone with as little as $1000 make equity investments in startups and earn money if they succeed. For now you have to be an accredited investor with a net worth over $1 million or yearly earnings over $200,000 to use FundersClub. But an industry source familiar with the Y Combinator startup gave me an exclusive rundown of its whole roadmap, including that if the JOBS Act goes into effect or FundersClub pays to set up a mutual fund, literally anyone will be allowed to use it to invest and profit if a startup?successfully?exits. Put simply, FundersClub could utterly disrupt venture capital, democratize investment in private companies, and ensure any founder has easy access to enough funding to pursue a great idea.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/x4pr2ehjCq4/

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Europe Is a Mess But China Is Scarier: Fund ... - Yahoo! Finance

There's certainly a long list of scary things happening in the world right now that are keeping investors on edge and up at night. But for fund manager Scott Mullinix, who co-manages the Nuveen Large Cap Growth Opportunities Fund (FRGWX), China sits at the top of his list.

"The signs that we're seeing out of China right now are quite negative," he says in the attached video. While he believes the market understands the regional risks in Europe, the global fallout from just one misstep by China's relatively new economic planners "would have major ramifications for world GDP."

While the IMF now says China should be able to pull off a so-called soft landing, it also warns that there are still significant downside risks to the world's second largest economy. Risks that need only see Chinese growth slip to "4 to 5 percent" from 7.6% currently, Mullinix says, and the impact "would be very bad."

Of course, managing any large economy through a crisis is tenuous, but in China's case, its over-reliance on infrastructure spending and housing are seen as the major threats. In fact, Mullinix says housing accounted for 9% of Chinese GDP last year compared to just 6% in the U.S. at the height of our housing bubble.
Will the Chinese get it right and 'stick the landing' as they say in gymnastics? Who knows, but Scott Mullinix isn't waiting around to find out.

"We have sold our holdings with direct exposure to China," he says, including casino stocks and Baidu (BIDU), and pared back positions like Yum! Brands (YUM) and Coach (COH), which have significant parts of their business related to China.

Asked what needs to occur to restore his faith and return his money to that part of the world, Mullinix says he simply needs to see "meaningful stimulus that moves PMI back above 50."

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/europe-mess-china-scarier-fund-manager-155037134.html

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Twitter rumored to be pitching in-feed video shows to studios

Twitter has been making a giant push for expanded tweets from content providers. It's only a short logical leap from that to Twitter providing the content itself, and that's exactly what AdWeek claims may well happen. Its unconfirmed tipsters have the microblog taking a page from YouTube by pitching Hollywood movie and TV studios on "several" original shows that would live in followers' feeds, including the seemingly inescapable reality show. While Twitter wouldn't have someone in the director's chair, it might still play a role by letting viewers affect the show as it's happening -- and of course, running ads. Silence is the only official response to the rumor from Twitter so far; don't plan your viewing schedule just yet, but do brace yourself in case Twitter breaks out a Horse ebooks cameo to boost ratings in mid-season.

Filed under: Internet

Twitter rumored to be pitching in-feed video shows to studios originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 14:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/7Wj5cjb1uqE/

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Guest Blogger Jen Madiar on Love, Marriage ... - Springfield Moms

Marriage is tough.

I wasn?t big into princess gear growing up, but somewhere along the way I became utterly intrigued by the big white dress, fanciful stuff and the idea of living happily ever after. In my ?social? 20?s, I had the luxury (?) of going out on many dates with many characters, from my landlord?s son to a friend?s Client. {I plead the fifth.} And I made quite a few mistakes along the way, but each relationship got me closer to the utopian vision of The Husband. When I met Eric in my late 20s, I knew much better what I wanted and needed from a relationship. We loved each other, the timing was right, and after several years of dating, we made the faith-filled leap to being husband and wife in July of 2005.

Our wedding day was amazing and beautiful and everything we could have imagined. But before the ink dried on all those thank you?s, it became clear that we were navigating un-chartered territory. We had surrounded ourselves with friends and family at our wedding whose relationships we cherished ? and admired. Soon after, some of those relationships started to crumble. We wondered why, never wanting to pry but also wanting to support them and learn something from their experiences along the way.

?Marriage is tough,? several said. ?You?ll see.?

We bought the house and settled into our careers and along came babies. Now, see, I think that?s when marriage got tough. Kids, those adorable little beings, can sometimes steal sleep and collarbones and money and pheromones. Then loved ones started dying and careers changed and money got tight and throw in a brain aneurysm for good measure, and well, stop the madness! Is this what our friends alluded to when they said marriage is tough? With every marriage that crumbled around us, we had The Conversation. ?Could it happen to us?? ?What can we do better?? ?Why do some marriages work and others don?t??

The magazines tell us to go out on a weekly date night or read 50 Shades of Grey aloud or take special time for our partner every day. That really sounds lovely in theory, but more realistically we send each other broken texts, share two-minute phone calls and exchange pleasantries in passing. We also have a bi-annual kid-free vacation, occasionally go out to eat with other grownups and more often than not, sleep in the same bed. On a great day, we have uninterrupted and meaningful conversation, laugh, and take stock of the good that we have. And so far, this has worked for us. With three little kids this is, to put it mildly, not always easy. But we are a team, and beyond that, we are a family. We do not always like each other, but we do always love each other.

So here we are on our seven year anniversary, and I warned Eric I was going to embarrass him. Ready? I love that my husband is a hard worker, and that he has made it possible to have those three little kids. I love his hearty laugh and his ability to recognize when I am right. I love that he has always made me feel like his equal and that we are in this together. I love that his brain is healthy and that he reads intellectual books with fancy philosophical titles while I lie next to him and read People Magazine. But most of all, I love that he loves me. And trust me, there?s more of me to love than on my wedding day.

Yes, marriage is tough. But I?m so glad that I found the person I was meant to share the journey with. Seven years in, many more to go, much to learn, and so very much to be thankful for.

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Submitted by Springfield Moms contributor Jennifer Handrich Madiar who is a Wisconsin Badger, Green Bay Packer rooting mom of three kids ages five and under. In her previous life, she worked in Advertising, then Education, then Marketing. Now she combines the three and has added at least 271 additional areas of expertise in her current job of Mom. She, her husband and their family live in Springfield, Illinois.

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Source: http://springfieldmoms.org/guest-blogger-jen-madiar-on-love-marriage-and-life/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=guest-blogger-jen-madiar-on-love-marriage-and-life

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60 years on, Helsinki's Olympic legacy endures

FILE This Tuesday June 26, 2012 file photo shows Helsinki's Olympic Stadium, taken from a camera crane erected for the 2012 European Athletics Championships. If Londoners need inspiration on how to ensure that the Olympic legacy lives on long after the Summer Games, they may want to throw a glance at Helsinki. Helsinki?s Olympic Stadium was on duty just last month hosting the European Athletics Championships. Sixty years after the Finnish capital hosted the Olympics, almost every stadium built is still being used for the purpose it was intended. (AP Photo/LEHTIKUVA / Otto Turunen) FINLAND OUT

FILE This Tuesday June 26, 2012 file photo shows Helsinki's Olympic Stadium, taken from a camera crane erected for the 2012 European Athletics Championships. If Londoners need inspiration on how to ensure that the Olympic legacy lives on long after the Summer Games, they may want to throw a glance at Helsinki. Helsinki?s Olympic Stadium was on duty just last month hosting the European Athletics Championships. Sixty years after the Finnish capital hosted the Olympics, almost every stadium built is still being used for the purpose it was intended. (AP Photo/LEHTIKUVA / Otto Turunen) FINLAND OUT

FILE This Tuesday, June 26, 2012 file photo shows a general view of the Olympic Stadium hosting the 2012 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland. If Londoners need inspiration on how to ensure that the Olympic legacy lives on long after the Summer Games, they may want to throw a glance at Helsinki. Helsinki?s Olympic Stadium was on duty just last month hosting the European Athletics Championships. Sixty years after the Finnish capital hosted the Olympics, almost every stadium built is still being used for the purpose it was intended. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

FILE This July 21, 1952 file photo shows members of the United States Olympic team holding their hats over their hearts as they pay tribute to Finland's President Juho K. Passikivi, during their march into Olympic Stadium, in Helsinki, Finland. If Londoners need inspiration on how to ensure that the Olympic legacy lives on long after the Summer Games, they may want to throw a glance at Helsinki. Helsinki?s Olympic Stadium was on duty just last month hosting the European Athletics Championships. Sixty years after the Finnish capital hosted the Olympics, almost every stadium built is still being used for the purpose it was intended. (AP Photo/ United Press)

FILE This July 23, 1952 file photo shows Ademar Ferreira da Silva of Brazil competing in the Summer Olympic Games hop step and jump event at Helsinki's Olympic stadium to win the final with an Olympic record distance of 15.95 meters. If Londoners need inspiration on how to ensure that the Olympic legacy lives on long after the Summer Games, they may want to throw a glance at Helsinki. Helsinki?s Olympic Stadium was on duty just last month hosting the European Athletics Championships. Sixty years after the Finnish capital hosted the Olympics, almost every stadium built is still being used for the purpose it was intended. (AP Photo)

HELSINKI (AP) ? If Londoners need inspiration on how to ensure that the Olympic legacy lives on long after the Summer Games, they may want to throw a glance at Helsinki.

Sixty years after the Finnish capital hosted the Olympics, almost every stadium built is still being used for the purpose it was intended.

"We can still see the 1952 Games as we walk in the city," said history professor Juhana Aunesluoma of Helsinki University. "We still have almost all of the monuments that were built for the 1952 Games. The venues, they are still part of the city structure."

In London, six out of eight facilities at Olympic Park have their future secured, but a multi-million pound (dollar) plan to lease the Olympic stadium to a London soccer club fell through amid legal wrangling last year.

Now, new bids are being considered for London's stadium, including plans from a local soccer club and for use as a Formula One race track. A preferred bidder has finally been chosen for the press and broadcast centers, while the basketball arena will be dismantled once the games are over, with possible use as a pop-up stadium for future sports events.

Helsinki's Olympic Stadium was on duty just last month hosting the European Athletics Championships. The nearby aquatic center, velodrome, and rowing stadium are all still standing and in frequent use. An indoor sports hall which hosted wrestling, boxing and gymnastics fulfills the same role today.

Other major infrastructure projects completed for the 1952 Games such as Helsinki's airport and a ferry passenger terminal at the harbor are also still in use, built to last in a financially tough decade when Finland was still recovering from three wars and paying crippling reparations to the Soviet Union.

Like London, the Helsinki Olympic Village was built to be converted into a social housing project after the games were over. Today, the neighborhood of Kapyla is a much-sought-after part of the city to live in.

"It's beautiful and green and the buildings are ones the people really like," Aunesluoma said. "The aesthetic eye of 1952 is pretty much the way we like to see our neighborhoods still today."

Of course, most Helsinki venues could no longer cope with the demands of modern international sports events. The outdoor pool and velodrome are maintained only to national-level competition standards.

The Olympic Stadium in Helsinki has undergone several refurbishments over the years and work started on another intensive maintenance and make-over almost as soon as the last medal was presented at June's European Athletics Championships.

While the wooden seating inside the stadium might be a functional mainstay of Nordic design, it was never very comfortable. And facilities for athletes, officials and the media are wholly outclassed by modern stadia.

Still, the Olympic stadium has enjoyed many years at the heart of the Finnish capital's architectural landscape.

Vesa Tikander, a researcher at the Sports Library of Finland, said the 1952 Games are sometimes referred to nostalgically as "the last real Olympic Games," because of their relatively small scale, lack of commercialism and familial location right in the heart of Helsinki.

In contrast to London, the 1952 Olympics were a modest affair with roughly half the number of athletes competing in half the number of medal events.

The sports equipment inventories have grown in leaps and bounds over the past six decades ? London has ordered 600 basketballs for competition use, compared to Helsinki's 60, and 2,700 soccer balls compared to Helsinki's 200.

Advertising, funding and sponsorship have changed beyond all recognition in the last 60 years as well. Back then, there were no ubiquitous advertising campaigns promoting sports brands and fast food restaurants.

Even Coca-Cola, a brand long associated with the Olympics, was something of a novelty to Finnish crowds in 1952.

"It was the first time Coca-Cola was made available" in Finland, Tikander said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-07-22-Finland-Olympic%20Legacy/id-491d86729d1341ad8958c1719a13855c

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Golden Eye copyright claim letters set to hit almost 3000 consumers ...

The High Court has ruled that Golden Eye, acting on behalf of pornographic film producer Ben Dover, can use the names and addresses of O2 customers to pursue claims of copyright infringement. Consumer Focus is highlighting today that 2,845 people are now likely to be sent claim letters by Golden Eye.? The company originally wanted to target over 9,000 households.¹

Consumers will receive these letters in the next few months, from August onwards at the earliest. Consumer Focus wants to raise awareness of the help available to those who receive the letters and who want to either challenge the allegations against them, or settle a claim with Golden Eye out of court.

Most consumers won?t have the legal knowledge to be able to respond effectively to these letters or be able to afford specialist advice on copyright infringement claims. Consumer Focus is concerned that without independent advice, innocent consumers could feel compelled to settle, or that consumers who have infringed copyright may feel pressured into paying a sum disproportionate to the offence. Consumer Focus and Citizens Advice are therefore working together to ensure effective advice is available for consumers, from the Citizens Advice Consumer Service (08454 04 05 06) or their local Citizens Advice Bureau.?

Consumer Focus has welcomed the Court?s decision that Golden Eye?s claim letters must be reasonable and make people, who may want to contest these claims, aware of the help that is available to them from Citizens Advice. Golden Eye had previously planned to send ?pay-up or else? letters to consumers, that were misleading and deemed by the High Court to be ?objectionable in a number of respects?. Amongst other issues the letters wrongly asserted that bill payers are liable for any copyright infringement that may have occurred on their internet connection², and the Court found that the ?700 Golden Eye planned to demand from O2 customers was ?unsupportable?.?

Mike O?Connor, Chief Executive of Consumer Focus said:?

?We do not condone copyright infringement, but innocent people should not feel bullied into settling claims and they must be made aware of where to go for help.?

?We intervened in this case³ to make sure that consumers are treated fairly. People will not have ready access to the sort of specialised legal advice necessary to respond to allegations of copyright infringement. That is why we are working with the Citizens Advice service to provide clear advice to consumers about what to do if they are accused of copyright infringement.?

?We have also written to all the major Internet Service Providers and online hosts who may be required to assist copyright owners to enforce their rights.⁴ We are urging them to be rigorous in protecting their customers? personal data? to help make sure the rights of consumers and copyright owners are fairly balanced.?

ISPs and online hosts can only hand over the personal data of their customers to third parties, if a Court has made a disclosure order. Consumer Focus would expect any ISP or online host which is subject to an application for a disclosure order to:?

• Ensure that the application is supported by appropriate and consistent evidence of possible wrongdoing by customers, and that any personal data requested is necessary for pursuing the individual(s) suspected of illegal activity
  ?
• Ensure that the order contains adequate safeguards, so that the use of customers? data, once passed on, complies with data protection laws
  ?
• Review whether letters which are to be sent to customers accusing them of illegal activity are misleading or likely to cause distress
  ?
• Explain to customers and users under what circumstances their personal data may be disclosed to assist with law enforcement
  ?
• Provide effective customer service through appropriately trained staff, to help customers enquiring about any data released or concerns about mistakes in the data-matching
  ?
• Consider notifying customers of requests for personal data ? unless prohibited to do so
  ?
• Consider publishing an annual report on the number of applications made and the number of court orders complied with ? to provide transparency to customers

?ENDS?

Notes to editors:?

• The Citizens Advice consumer service provides free, confidential and impartial advice on consumer issues.? You can?call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 08454 04 05 06 or you can talk to a Welsh-speaking adviser on 08454 04 05 05.? The helplines are open Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm.?

1. The High Court granted Golden Eye a Norwich Pharmacal Order in relation to the alleged copyright infringement of films by Ben Dover Productions. The Order was sealed on the 1 June 2012 and now compels O2 to provide the personal data, that is names and postal addresses, of 2,845 internet subscribers whose internet connection is alleged to have been used to infringe copyright by peer-to-peer file-sharing.?
   ?
2. In its 26 March decision the High Court clarified that Golden Eye could not claim that the bill payer is liable for any infringement on their internet connection. The High Court confirmed that in copyright law, the bill payer would only be liable for other people?s infringement if he/she explicitly authorised the copyright infringing act.?
   ?
   The liability of the bill payer for copyright infringement by others has been subject to uncertainty in the past. ACS:Law used this uncertainty to pressure bill payers into paying damages for infringements they had not committed. The clarification by the High Court is welcome. However Consumer Focus remains concerned that under the Digital Economy Act 2010, bill payers could be made liable for other people?s infringement. This is because the Act requires bill payers to show that they took ?reasonable steps? to prevent others from infringing when they appeal an allegation of copyright infringement by a copyright owner.
   ?
3. Golden Eye International Ltd and 13 producers of pornographic films sought a ?Norwich Pharmacal Order? (NPO) against Telefonica UK, trading as O2. This would have forced O2 to hand over personal details of more than 9,000 internet subscribers.? A NPO is a disclosure order which compels an innocent third party (such as an ISP) to provide information identifying an individual in relation to alleged unlawful conduct, so that legal action can be taken against the individual.?
   ?
   Golden Eye applied for a NPO against O2 in September 2011. O2 decided to not challenge the application, so the application was referred to the High Court. Consumer Focus intervened in the application on behalf of those consumers whose personal data would be released if the order was granted. Following a hearing, the High Court granted the disclosure order to Golden Eye and Ben Dover Productions, provided that changes were made to the order and the letters. The High Court declined to grant the order in relation to the other 12 film producers.?
   ?
   The High Court said that any letter of claim, which Golden Eye will send to O2 customers, must be framed properly to safeguard the legitimate interests of consumers, particular those who have not in fact committed the alleged copyright infringements. The High Court also requires that Golden Eye to individually negotiate the settlement sum with any consumer who admits that they have infringed copyright after requiring the consumer to disclose information about their Peer2Peer filesharing. The wording of Golden Eye?s claims letters was agreed with the High Court in a second hearing on the 31 May. At this hearing Consumer Focus asked the Court to insert information into the letters, telling consumers that they can get advice on how to respond to these letters from Citizens Advice.?The disclosure order was sealed by the High Court on the 1 June 2012.?
   ?
   For further background on the first hearing and the High Court judgement from the 26 March please see Consumer Focus?s press release on the Court decision.?
4. Consumer Focus has written to the six largest UK consumer ISPs ? BT, TalkTalk, Virgin Media, BSkyB, EverthingEverywhere and O2, as well as large UK online hosts -? Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo and Google. For further information on disclosure orders please see Consumer Focus?s briefing.

Source: http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/news/golden-eye-copyright-claim-letters-set-to-hit-almost-3000-consumers-doormats

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US poverty on track to rise to highest since 1960s

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The ranks of America's poor are on track to climb to levels unseen in nearly half a century, erasing gains from the war on poverty in the 1960s amid a weak economy and fraying government safety net.

Census figures for 2011 will be released this fall in the critical weeks ahead of the November elections.

The Associated Press surveyed more than a dozen economists, think tanks and academics, both nonpartisan and those with known liberal or conservative leanings, and found a broad consensus: The official poverty rate will rise from 15.1 percent in 2010, climbing as high as 15.7 percent. Several predicted a more modest gain, but even a 0.1 percentage point increase would put poverty at the highest since 1965.

Poverty is spreading at record levels across many groups, from underemployed workers and suburban families to the poorest poor. More discouraged workers are giving up on the job market, leaving them vulnerable as unemployment aid begins to run out. Suburbs are seeing increases in poverty, including in such political battlegrounds as Colorado, Florida and Nevada, where voters are coping with a new norm of living hand to mouth.

"I grew up going to Hawaii every summer. Now I'm here, applying for assistance because it's hard to make ends meet. It's very hard to adjust," said Laura Fritz, 27, of Wheat Ridge, Colo., describing her slide from rich to poor as she filled out aid forms at a county center. Since 2000, large swaths of Jefferson County just outside Denver have seen poverty nearly double.

Fritz says she grew up wealthy in the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch, but fortunes turned after her parents lost a significant amount of money in the housing bust. Stuck in a half-million dollar house, her parents began living off food stamps and Fritz's college money evaporated. She tried joining the Army but was injured during basic training.

Now she's living on disability, with an infant daughter and a boyfriend, Garrett Goudeseune, 25, who can't find work as a landscaper. They are struggling to pay their $650 rent on his unemployment checks and don't know how they would get by without the extra help as they hope for the job market to improve.

In an election year dominated by discussion of the middle class, Fritz's case highlights a dim reality for the growing group in poverty. Millions could fall through the cracks as government aid from unemployment insurance, Medicaid, welfare and food stamps diminishes.

"The issues aren't just with public benefits. We have some deep problems in the economy," said Peter Edelman, director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty, Inequality and Public Policy.

He pointed to the recent recession but also longer-term changes in the economy such as globalization, automation, outsourcing, immigration, and less unionization that have pushed median household income lower. Even after strong economic growth in the 1990s, poverty never fell below a 1973 low of 11.1 percent. That low point came after President Lyndon Johnson's war on poverty, launched in 1964, that created Medicaid, Medicare and other social welfare programs.

"I'm reluctant to say that we've gone back to where we were in the 1960s. The programs we enacted make a big difference. The problem is that the tidal wave of low-wage jobs is dragging us down and the wage problem is not going to go away anytime soon," Edelman said.

Stacey Mazer of the National Association of State Budget Officers said states will be watching for poverty increases when figures are released in September as they make decisions about the Medicaid expansion. Most states generally assume poverty levels will hold mostly steady and they will hesitate if the findings show otherwise. "It's a constant tension in the budget," she said.

The predictions for 2011 are based on separate AP interviews, supplemented with research on suburban poverty from Alan Berube of the Brookings Institution and an analysis of federal spending by the Congressional Research Service and Elise Gould of the Economic Policy Institute.

The analysts' estimates suggest that some 47 million people in the U.S., or 1 in 6, were poor last year. An increase of one-tenth of a percentage point to 15.2 percent would tie the 1983 rate, the highest since 1965. The highest level on record was 22.4 percent in 1959, when the government began calculating poverty figures.

Poverty is closely tied to joblessness. While the unemployment rate improved from 9.6 percent in 2010 to 8.9 percent in 2011, the employment-population ratio remained largely unchanged, meaning many discouraged workers simply stopped looking for work. Food stamp rolls, another indicator of poverty, also grew.

Demographers also say:

?Poverty will remain above the pre-recession level of 12.5 percent for many more years. Several predicted that peak poverty levels ? 15 percent to 16 percent ? will last at least until 2014, due to expiring unemployment benefits, a jobless rate persistently above 6 percent and weak wage growth.

?Suburban poverty, already at a record level of 11.8 percent, will increase again in 2011.

?Part-time or underemployed workers, who saw a record 15 percent poverty in 2010, will rise to a new high.

?Poverty among people 65 and older will remain at historically low levels, buoyed by Social Security cash payments.

?Child poverty will increase from its 22 percent level in 2010.

Analysts also believe that the poorest poor, defined as those at 50 percent or less of the poverty level, will remain near its peak level of 6.7 percent.

"I've always been the guy who could find a job. Now I'm not," said Dale Szymanski, 56, a Teamsters Union forklift operator and convention hand who lives outside Las Vegas in Clark County. In a state where unemployment ranks highest in the nation, the Las Vegas suburbs have seen a particularly rapid increase in poverty from 9.7 percent in 2007 to 14.7 percent.

Szymanski, who moved from Wisconsin in 2000, said he used to make a decent living of more than $40,000 a year but now doesn't work enough hours to qualify for union health care. He changed apartments several months ago and sold his aging 2001 Chrysler Sebring in April to pay expenses.

"You keep thinking it's going to turn around. But I'm stuck," he said.

The 2010 poverty level was $22,314 for a family of four, and $11,139 for an individual, based on an official government calculation that includes only cash income, before tax deductions. It excludes capital gains or accumulated wealth, such as home ownership, as well as noncash aid such as food stamps and tax credits, which were expanded substantially under President Barack Obama's stimulus package.

An additional 9 million people in 2010 would have been counted above the poverty line if food stamps and tax credits were taken into account.

Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, believes the social safety net has worked and it is now time to cut back. He worries that advocates may use a rising poverty rate to justify additional spending on the poor, when in fact, he says, many live in decent-size homes, drive cars and own wide-screen TVs.

A new census measure accounts for noncash aid, but that supplemental poverty figure isn't expected to be released until after the November election. Since that measure is relatively new, the official rate remains the best gauge of year-to-year changes in poverty dating back to 1959.

Few people advocate cuts in anti-poverty programs. Roughly 79 percent of Americans think the gap between rich and poor has grown in the past two decades, according to a Public Religion Research Institute/RNS Religion News survey from November 2011. The same poll found that about 67 percent oppose "cutting federal funding for social programs that help the poor" to help reduce the budget deficit.

Outside of Medicaid, federal spending on major low-income assistance programs such as food stamps, disability aid and tax credits have been mostly flat at roughly 1.5 percent of the gross domestic product from 1975 to the 1990s. Spending spiked higher to 2.3 percent of GDP after Obama's stimulus program in 2009 temporarily expanded unemployment insurance and tax credits for the poor.

The U.S. safety net may soon offer little comfort to people such as Jose Gorrin, 52, who lives in the western Miami suburb of Hialeah Gardens. Arriving from Cuba in 1980, he was able to earn a decent living as a plumber for years, providing for his children and ex-wife. But things turned sour in 2007 and in the past two years he has barely worked, surviving on the occasional odd job.

His unemployment has run out, and he's too young to draw Social Security.

Holding a paper bag of still-warm bread he'd just bought for lunch, Gorrin said he hasn't decided whom he'll vote for in November, expressing little confidence the presidential candidates can solve the nation's economic problems. "They all promise to help when they're candidates," Gorrin said, adding, "I hope things turn around. I already left Cuba. I don't know where else I can go."

___

Associated Press writers Kristen Wyatt in Lakewood, Colo., Ken Ritter and Michelle Rindels in Las Vegas, Laura Wides-Munoz in Miami and AP Deputy Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-poverty-track-rise-highest-since-1960s-112946547--finance.html

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