A Touchstone charging mod for the Nexus 7

Touchstone mod

We've seen the Palm Touchstone be repurposed to work with a number of Android phones before, but Rod Whitby of webOS Internals fame is working up a method to use the charger with his Nexus 7.

Using two regular phone Touchstone coils (and currently experimenting with a TouchPad coil) it looks like Rod has the charging circuit figured out, and the rest is a matter of assembly. We're pretty confident that he can make it happen, so we're giving the early heads-up.

Who knows, this might just be the only way we'll ever see any sort of dock for our Nexus 7 that's more than "coming soon".

Source: +Rod Whitby

 

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/N9c46BQJ5aQ/story01.htm

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Meeting delay a sign of cooling US-Vietnam ties

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) ? The U.S. and Vietnam, former enemies who share concerns about China's rise, are finding that one issue ? human rights ? is keeping them from becoming closer friends.

Stress between the nations is clear from a delay in an annual meeting between Washington and Hanoi on human-rights concerns. Such consultations have been held every year since 2006, but the last ones in November 2011 produced little, and a senior State Department official said the two sides were still working to "set the parameters" of the next round so it would yield progress.

The U.S. is frustrated over Vietnam's recent crackdown on bloggers, activists and religious groups it deems a threat to its grip on power, and over the detention of an American citizen on subversion charges that carry the death penalty.

"We have not seen the improvements that we would like," the State Department official said last week on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly. "We would very much like to see concrete actions."

The delay in holding the meeting, to be hosted by Hanoi, could just be a matter of weeks. But it underscores how Vietnam's worsening treatment of dissidents over the last two years has complicated efforts to strengthen its ties with the U.S.

Vietnam's foreign affairs ministry spokesman Luong Thanh Nghi said the human rights dialogues had "contributed to enhancing trust" between the two countries and that both sides were in discussion on the timing of the next round. A U.S. Embassy spokesman also said the countries were discussing when to hold the talks.

Like Washington, Vietnam wants deeper trading and security relations, but the U.S. says it must be accompanied by improvements in human rights. Some influential members of Congress are also pressing the Obama administration to get tougher on Hanoi's suppression of dissent and religious freedom.

Vietnam's relationship with the U.S. has improved greatly in recent years, largely because of shared concerns over China's increasing assertiveness in Southeast Asia. Their shared strategic interests are reflected most clearly in U.S. diplomacy in the South China Sea, where Beijing's territorial claims clash with those of Vietnam and four other countries in the region.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Vietnam has opened its economy but has been unwilling to grant religious or political freedom to its 87 million people. The U.S. and Vietnam restored diplomatic relations in 1995, 20 years after the end of the Vietnam War, and their rapprochement has accelerated as President Barack Obama has prioritized stronger ties with Southeast Asia.

Vietnam's crackdown on dissent follows a downturn in its once-robust economy. Analysts say Hanoi's leadership is defensive about domestic criticism of its economic policies, corruption scandals and infighting, much of it being spread on the Internet, out of their control.

Last year, Vietnam locked up more than 30 peaceful activists, bloggers and dissidents, according to Human Rights Watch. This year, 12 activists have been convicted in short, typically one-day trials, and sentenced to unusually long prison terms. Seven others are awaiting trial. The country is also preparing laws to crackdown on Internet freedoms.

"The internal party ructions have trumped everything," said Carl Thayer, an expert on Vietnam from the University of New South Wales. "They are so paranoid about criticism they don't care about the U.S."

The detention and looming trial of American democracy activist Nguyen Quoc Quan may be the clearest example of Hanoi's unwillingness to listen to American concerns over human rights.

Quan, 59, was arrested at Ho Chi Minh City airport in April soon after arriving on a flight from the United States, where he has lived since fleeing Vietnam by boat as a young man. Quan's family and friends say he is a leading member of Viet Tan, a nonviolent pro-democracy group that the Vietnamese authorities have labeled a terrorist outfit. He was detained in 2007 in Vietnam for six months.

Authorities initially accused Quan of terrorism, but he is now charged with subversion against the state, which carries a punishment ranging from 12 years in prison to death.

With the investigation now complete, his trial could be near. Court dates are typically released only a few days in advance.

According to a copy of the indictment obtained by The Associated Press, Quan met with fellow Vietnamese activists in Thailand and Malaysia between 2009 and 2010 and discussed Internet security and nonviolent resistance. The indictment said he traveled to Vietnam under a passport issued under the name of Richard Nguyen in 2011, when he recruited four other members of Viet Tan.

His wife doesn't deny that Quan wants to change Vietnam's political system.

"He wanted to talk to the young people and bring up the idea of democracy in Vietnam," Huong Mai Ngo, said in an interview with The Associated Press by phone from Sacramento. "He has lived in the U.S., he has had freedom here and he wants them to have the same."

Congress members with large Vietnamese-American constituencies are pressuring the Obama administration.

Rep. Frank Wolf, a leading critic, maintains the government has neglected human rights as it looks to forge economic and security ties. With three Republican colleagues, the Virginia congressman has demanded the sacking of U.S. Ambassador David Shear, accusing him of failing to invite democracy and rights activists to the July 4 celebration at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi after giving assurances he would.

"The administration's approach has been a disaster. All they care about are economic and defense issues," said Wolf, who also took aim at Shear for failing to visit Quan in prison. "Human rights and religious freedom should be the number one priority."

U.S. officials have visited Quan five times in jail, mostly recently in late September.

"We believe no one should be imprisoned for peacefully expressing their political views or their aspirations for a freer, more democratic and prosperous future," embassy spokesman Christopher Hodges said. "We continue to call on the government of Vietnam to quickly and transparently resolve this case."

Wolf and other lawmakers interested in Vietnam do not have much say in setting policy, but can make life awkward for the Obama administration. Wolf hinted that he could propose amendments to budget legislation to put more pressure on the administration over its Vietnam policy. Wolf is a senior member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which oversees much of the federal budget.

The U.S. has some leverage if it wishes to try and get Vietnam to improve its human rights record: Vietnam is one of the largest recipients of American aid in Asia and is currently negotiating a free trade deal with Washington and seven other countries.

The Vietnamese government declined to comment on the charges against Quan, but Hanoi is aware of U.S. sensitivities in this case. Many observers say Quan is likely to be convicted but sentenced to time served and quickly expelled, though even that is likely to raise congressional pressure on the White House to tie the trade deal and aid to progress on human rights.

"It would be a disaster for Vietnam if they come down on U.S. citizen with an extreme sentence for peacefully advocating human rights," said Linda Malone, a professor at William and Mary Law School who is advising Quan's local counsel on his defense. "They will lose tremendous ground on what they seek to advance themselves."

___

Matthew Pennington reported from Washington.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/meeting-delay-sign-cooling-us-vietnam-ties-053738269.html

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Samsung outselling HTC by seven times in UK Android market

SINGAPORE, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Unbeaten Indonesian featherweight Chris John already has one win over Juan Manuel Marquez and after seeing the Mexican knock out Manny Pacquiao on Saturday he is keen to move up in weight and face him again. Marquez's stunning sixth round knockout of Pacquiao, considered one of the all-time greats of the sport, in Las Vegas on Saturday has made the Mexican welterweight (55-6-1 40 knockouts) a hot commodity. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/samsung-outselling-htc-seven-times-uk-android-market-133551018.html

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Pa. woman sues Google over Gmail privacy, ads

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A Pennsylvania woman has accused Google Inc. of illegal wiretapping for "intercepting" emails she sent to Gmail accounts and publishing content-related ads.

Her lawsuit echoes others filed around the country by class-action lawyers who say the practice violates wiretap laws in some states. They represent email users who do not have Gmail accounts and have therefore not signed the company's acceptance terms.

"The terms are that Google can intercept your emails and use them for direct marketing purposes," said lawyer Richard M. Golomb, who has sued Google in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida. "They are also intercepting emails of the non-Gmail account holder, in violation of wiretap laws in some states."

In court filings in the Maryland case, Google acknowledged that it routinely scans emails for spam and computer viruses, but said that's permitted under similar federal wiretap laws.

Google argued that selling advertising based on the content of a received email is a routine business practice permitted under an exception written into the wiretap law. Google notes Yahoo and other email providers sell ads through similar methods.

"There can be little doubt that selling advertising in order to provide a free service to consumers is a 'legitimate business goal,'" Google lawyer Michael G. Rhodes and others wrote in a Nov. 9 motion to dismiss the Maryland case. "If it were not, then the entire model by which content is provided on the Internet would be illegitimate, as would the business model by which television programming has been provided for free for the last half century."

Courts reviewing email wiretap cases have repeatedly held that "parties expect and impliedly consent to having their communications intercepted and recorded whenever they use email," the Google lawyers wrote. Rhodes did not immediately return a call for comment Monday.

At least one electronic privacy expert called it "a bit of a stretch" for Google to compare a search for advertising leads to rooting out spyware.

"People think when you send a message, communications companies can filter out spam and malware, and that's correct. But filtering out spam and malware is not the same as looking at the content of the email to (find) keywords for advertising purposes," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

"(What) if you were making a call on your Verizon cellphone, and you were talking to an Italian restaurant trying to make reservations for Friday and a Verizon agent jumped on the line and said, 'Oh, how about this place?'" Rotenberg said. "You're not supposed to be listening to my communications to try to sell me stuff ? even if it's a better restaurant."

The Philadelphia plaintiff, Kristen Brinkman, does not have a Gmail account and never signed the company's acceptance policy, according to her Nov. 30 lawsuit, which has been assigned to Senior U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody.

Google wants the various legal disputes resolved in northern California, where the first such lawsuit was filed in June. The area is also home base for Google, which is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pa-woman-sues-google-over-182256512.html

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Eco-Friendly Apartments: Passive Housing | Real Estate and Rental ...

passive housing apartments

Tonu Mauring Source: Flickr

Imagine marketing your apartments with the appeal of virtually no heating or cooling bills ? for you or your resident. It almost sounds too good to be true, but this concept is a reality with a rising green housing trend: passive housing. Passive homes are designed to harness energy from the sun?s heat. The buildings are designed so that the need for a furnace, fireplace, or other heat source is eliminated. Passive housing has a proven track record in Europe (more than 15,000 buildings have been remodeled to passive housing standards as of 2010) and the trend is now trickling into the U.S., where it?s taken a strong hold in Brooklyn, NY. Here?s a little bit more about the newest eco-friendly housing trend, which will probably be here to stay.

What is Passive Housing?

The Passive House Standard is the most stringent residential energy efficiency standard in the world, originating in Germany and regulated by the Passive House Institute. The focus of this type of structure is to lower a home?s energy consumption and reduce the energy use for heating a building.?The structures consume 60-70 percent less energy and 90 percent less heat than conventional structures. This is done by focusing on insulation: constructing an airtight building, with triple-glazed windows, super-insulation, and airtight building shell. Think of a passive structure like a thermos, where a comfortable interior temperature is maintained by using heat from the sun (passive solar design).

Is a Passive Housing investment financially worth it?

In climates where heating bills are costly, it can be well worth your budget to convert your building into a passive house. Because of it?s design (or focus on insulation), the building easy to maintain once the property is retrofitted. Passive housing uses old-fashioned building science as opposed to high-tech turbines or solar panels that can be expensive to buy or maintain. USA Today reports that Passive Homes cost six to twelve percent more than other new homes, but recoup their cost in seven to twelve years. By eliminating the need for heating equipment, property owners can drastically improve energy savings. Passive housing designers claim that it?s the most cost-effective renovation to reduce energy use.

Renovating your property to Passive Standards

Luckily, making a multifamily property qualify with passive housing standards is much easier than retrofitting a detached single family home. The requirements are easier to reach in large commercial spaces, schools, and apartment buildings. Basic measures include superinsulation, with focus on thick walls and roofs; high-quality windows to prevent heat from escaping; airtightness by sealing cracks, joints, and ducts; and a strong ventilation system. By reinforcing these qualities in your property, you can make any building achieve high eco-friendly standards.?Talk to a Passive Housing-certified builder to see how you can remodel your property to appropriate standards.



Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/pro/2012-12-10/eco-friendly-apartments-passive-housing/

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Does the brain become unglued in autism?

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 11-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Rhiannon Bugno
Biol.Psych@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-0880
Elsevier

Philadelphia, PA, December 11, 2012 A new study published in Biological Psychiatry suggests that autism is associated with reductions in the level of cellular adhesion molecules in the blood, where they play a role in immune function.

Cell adhesion molecules are the glue that binds cells together in the body. Deficits in adhesion molecules would be expected to compromise processes at the interfaces between cells, influencing tissue integrity and cell-to-cell signaling. In the brain, deficits in adhesion molecules could compromise brain development and communication between nerve cells.

Over the years, deficits in neural cell adhesion molecules have been implicated in schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. One adhesion molecule, neurexin, is strongly implicated in the heritable risk for autism.

Cell adhesion molecules also play a crucial role in regulating immune cell access to the central nervous system. Prior research provided evidence of immune system dysfunction in individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This led scientists from the University of California, Davis to examine whether adhesion molecules are altered in children with ASD.

To conduct the study, they recruited 2-4 year old children, 49 of whom were diagnosed with an ASD and 31 of whom were typically developing. They measured blood plasma levels of multiple molecules, conducted behavioral assessments, and measured head circumference in all participants.

"For the first time, we show that levels of soluble sPECAM-1 and sP-selectin, two molecules that mediate leukocyte migration, are significantly decreased in young children with ASD compared with typically developing controls of the same age," explained the authors. "This finding is consistent with previous reports of decreased levels of both sPECAM-1 and sP-selectin in adults with high-functioning autism."

They also found that repetitive behavior scores and sPECAM-1 levels were associated in children with ASD. Repetitive, stereotyped behaviors are a typical feature of ASD and these data suggest a potential relationship between molecule levels and the severity of repetitive behaviors.

Finally, they also discovered that head circumference was associated with increased sPECAM-1 levels in the typically developing children, but not in the children with ASD. This indicates that perhaps sPECAM-1 plays a role in normal brain growth, as larger head circumference is a known feature of individuals with autism.

"The report of reductions in adhesion molecules in blood in autism is interesting in light of recent genetic findings. However, the importance of these measurements remains somewhat uncertain," commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. "Our field continues to look for blood tests that might inform the diagnostic and treatment process."

###

The article is "Levels of Soluble Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 and P-Selectin Are Decreased in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder" by Charity E. Onore, Christine Wu Nordahl, Gregory S. Young, Judy A. Van de Water, Sally J. Rogers, and Paul Ashwood (doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.05.004). The article appears in Biological Psychiatry, Volume 72, Issue 12 (December 15, 2012), published by Elsevier.

Notes for editors

Full text of the article is available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Rhiannon Bugno at +1 214 648 0880 or Biol.Psych@utsouthwestern.edu. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Paul Ashwood at +916 703 0405 or pashwood@ucdavis.edu.

The authors' affiliations, and disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available in the article.

John H. Krystal, M.D., is Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and a research psychiatrist at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. His disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available here.

About Biological Psychiatry

Biological Psychiatry is the official journal of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, whose purpose is to promote excellence in scientific research and education in fields that investigate the nature, causes, mechanisms and treatments of disorders of thought, emotion, or behavior. In accord with this mission, this peer-reviewed, rapid-publication, international journal publishes both basic and clinical contributions from all disciplines and research areas relevant to the pathophysiology and treatment of major psychiatric disorders.

The journal publishes novel results of original research which represent an important new lead or significant impact on the field, particularly those addressing genetic and environmental risk factors, neural circuitry and neurochemistry, and important new therapeutic approaches. Reviews and commentaries that focus on topics of current research and interest are also encouraged.

Biological Psychiatry is one of the most selective and highly cited journals in the field of psychiatric neuroscience. It is ranked 5th out of 129 Psychiatry titles and 16th out of 243 Neurosciences titles in the Journal Citations Reports published by Thomson Reuters. The 2011 Impact Factor score for Biological Psychiatry is 8.283.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact

Rhiannon Bugno
Editorial Office
+1 214 648 0880
Biol.Psych@utsouthwestern.edu


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 11-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Rhiannon Bugno
Biol.Psych@utsouthwestern.edu
214-648-0880
Elsevier

Philadelphia, PA, December 11, 2012 A new study published in Biological Psychiatry suggests that autism is associated with reductions in the level of cellular adhesion molecules in the blood, where they play a role in immune function.

Cell adhesion molecules are the glue that binds cells together in the body. Deficits in adhesion molecules would be expected to compromise processes at the interfaces between cells, influencing tissue integrity and cell-to-cell signaling. In the brain, deficits in adhesion molecules could compromise brain development and communication between nerve cells.

Over the years, deficits in neural cell adhesion molecules have been implicated in schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. One adhesion molecule, neurexin, is strongly implicated in the heritable risk for autism.

Cell adhesion molecules also play a crucial role in regulating immune cell access to the central nervous system. Prior research provided evidence of immune system dysfunction in individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This led scientists from the University of California, Davis to examine whether adhesion molecules are altered in children with ASD.

To conduct the study, they recruited 2-4 year old children, 49 of whom were diagnosed with an ASD and 31 of whom were typically developing. They measured blood plasma levels of multiple molecules, conducted behavioral assessments, and measured head circumference in all participants.

"For the first time, we show that levels of soluble sPECAM-1 and sP-selectin, two molecules that mediate leukocyte migration, are significantly decreased in young children with ASD compared with typically developing controls of the same age," explained the authors. "This finding is consistent with previous reports of decreased levels of both sPECAM-1 and sP-selectin in adults with high-functioning autism."

They also found that repetitive behavior scores and sPECAM-1 levels were associated in children with ASD. Repetitive, stereotyped behaviors are a typical feature of ASD and these data suggest a potential relationship between molecule levels and the severity of repetitive behaviors.

Finally, they also discovered that head circumference was associated with increased sPECAM-1 levels in the typically developing children, but not in the children with ASD. This indicates that perhaps sPECAM-1 plays a role in normal brain growth, as larger head circumference is a known feature of individuals with autism.

"The report of reductions in adhesion molecules in blood in autism is interesting in light of recent genetic findings. However, the importance of these measurements remains somewhat uncertain," commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. "Our field continues to look for blood tests that might inform the diagnostic and treatment process."

###

The article is "Levels of Soluble Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 and P-Selectin Are Decreased in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder" by Charity E. Onore, Christine Wu Nordahl, Gregory S. Young, Judy A. Van de Water, Sally J. Rogers, and Paul Ashwood (doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.05.004). The article appears in Biological Psychiatry, Volume 72, Issue 12 (December 15, 2012), published by Elsevier.

Notes for editors

Full text of the article is available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Rhiannon Bugno at +1 214 648 0880 or Biol.Psych@utsouthwestern.edu. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Paul Ashwood at +916 703 0405 or pashwood@ucdavis.edu.

The authors' affiliations, and disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available in the article.

John H. Krystal, M.D., is Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and a research psychiatrist at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. His disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available here.

About Biological Psychiatry

Biological Psychiatry is the official journal of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, whose purpose is to promote excellence in scientific research and education in fields that investigate the nature, causes, mechanisms and treatments of disorders of thought, emotion, or behavior. In accord with this mission, this peer-reviewed, rapid-publication, international journal publishes both basic and clinical contributions from all disciplines and research areas relevant to the pathophysiology and treatment of major psychiatric disorders.

The journal publishes novel results of original research which represent an important new lead or significant impact on the field, particularly those addressing genetic and environmental risk factors, neural circuitry and neurochemistry, and important new therapeutic approaches. Reviews and commentaries that focus on topics of current research and interest are also encouraged.

Biological Psychiatry is one of the most selective and highly cited journals in the field of psychiatric neuroscience. It is ranked 5th out of 129 Psychiatry titles and 16th out of 243 Neurosciences titles in the Journal Citations Reports published by Thomson Reuters. The 2011 Impact Factor score for Biological Psychiatry is 8.283.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact

Rhiannon Bugno
Editorial Office
+1 214 648 0880
Biol.Psych@utsouthwestern.edu


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/e-dtb121112.php

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12102012 ? How to avert a fiscal cliff and turn it into a Fiscal Slide?

When it comes to Fiscal Cliff?s and those sorts of hardships that will place the John Q public at risk, I say don?t do it :)

However, it may be something that is unavoidable. ?It will not be like jumping off a cliff ?with jagged rocks below with super frigid waters. ?I think it will be more of a fiscal slide.

real estate agents in the Santa Clarita valley citiesWe have watched as the housing recovery has started to proceed. ?With home prices in the Santa Clarita valley cities rising since September of 2011. ?How much, maybe your very next question ? somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 to 12 percent from the bottom of the real estate market. ?If we track back to the low point in the real estate market, you will see that the price per square foot has increased within these percentages. ?click here to see our interactive pricing page ? with sliding graphs to see what I?m talking about in a more factual nature. ?We have also placed PPSF ? Price per square foot intel at this location for the Santa Clarita Cities.

If you bought a home last year ? September 2011 or before, and if you paid 400K for that home ? you could be expected to pay $440K today. ?This is an average only and will adjust between specific parameters within the 8-12% spread. ?The home prices also are dependent on Quartile approach to real estate?Intel. ?Splitting the home price market in 25% chunks. ?With the top Quartile being the most expensive homes and the bottom quartile being the lease expensive 25% of homes.

With the dilemmas created by the Fiscal Cliff?s, we could see a slight?halt?to those increases. ?Let me emphasize ?slight?. ?There are still going to be people that want and need to buy real estate. ?It could be that most buyers think they have missed the real estate boat and that it has sailed without them. ?This is not the case when one looks at where interest rates were back in September 2011 and where they are today ? in December 2012 ? they are much lower with record numbers being set frequently (low numbers).

So, have you as a real estate buyer missed the bottom of the market? ?No you have not. ?Another thing that is being talked about, which I am in full agreement with, is the fact the ?investor community? is drying up. ?Leaving real estate resale to the ?owner occupied? crowd. ?This will be a breath of fresh air because they are mostly financed buyer prospects. ?Most of the investor community was Cash without the need or desire for?appraisals. ?No appraisal equated to higher home prices ? a temporary bubble. ?Leaving the purchase of any real estate out of an appraisers hands created these price increases we have seen as of late.

Although short lived, we have seen as a multitude of buyers have been ?beat up? and ?beaten out?. ?This is due to change in the coming months. ?The other issue we face, as we approach the end of the Holiday season, is the fact that real estate slows down. ?From all angles ? from the banks populating the properties onto the real estate market via their bank owned (REO ? real estate owned) inventory to the investor flips ? all have slowed down for now.

Q1 is good for real estate buyers ? and sellers know this. ?With the constrictive inventory ? we are looking forward to more ?fresh? inventory to hit the market during the first two weeks of January ? which is typical in a ?recovering? real estate market.

Please feel free to subscribe to our Santa Clarita real estate News that comes every two weeks, whether you need it or not. ?Be Safe and when you hear about someone wanting to do anything within the Santa Clarita real estate world ? please connect them to us and we will take great care of them! ?You have our word on that!

?

Connor_T._MacIVOR

Source: http://blog.paris911.com/2012/12/10/12102012-how-to-avert-a-fiscal-cliff-and-turn-it-into-a-fiscal-slide/

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Rapture 1960

Rapture 1960

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Global shares fall, euro slides as Monti deepens Italy uncertainty

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro slipped towards a two-week low on Monday while shares and Italian bond prices also fell after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's decision to resign deepened euro zone uncertainty.

Monti announced over the weekend he would resign once the 2013 budget is approved, raising questions over who will take the reins of the euro zone's third largest economy after elections expected in February.

Top European shares on the FTSEurofirst 300 index were down 0.5 percent by 5 a.m. EDT with a 3.5 percent fall on Milan's Ftse Mib and 2 percent on Madrid's IBEX flanked by smaller falls in London , Paris and Frankfurt .

The euro was down over 0.2 percent at $1.2898, trading towards a two-week low of $1.2876 on Friday, and Italian bonds fell sharply, with yields on benchmark 10-year debt up 27 basis points at 4.82 percent.

"It is disappointing as Monti had gained significant credibility in the markets over the last 12 months and now the whole thing is being questioned," said Audrey Childe-Freeman at BMO Capital Markets in London.

Government bonds of Spain, the other major euro zone economy deep in crisis, also fell and the cost of insuring both Italian and Spanish debt against default rose.

Poor economic data compounded the jitters. French industrial output was much weaker than expected in October and tepid export growth reduced Germany's trade surplus to its lowest level in over half a year.

This pointed to more than a brief, shallow economic dip as Germany's euro zone export markets struggle.

"Besides weak industrial output this is another bleak piece of data that points to contraction in the fourth quarter - and a proper contraction at that," said Thomas Hessler, an economist at HSBC Trinkaus said of the German trade data.

CHINA LIFT

Balancing the European concerns, data from China showed factory output in the world's number two economy accelerated to an eight-month high in November. The upbeat figures followed a surprise drop in U.S. unemployment figures on Friday and allowed investors to look past some more disappointing Chinese trade data.

Copper prices hit their highest in almost two months on the Chinese data, gold firmed 0.2 percent to around $1,707 an ounce and oil snapped five straight days of losses to climb back above $107 a barrel.

"It does appear, based on the evidence of the data, that the Chinese economy has bottomed out," said Ben Le Brun, a market analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney.

In contrast to the later European gloom, Asian equity investors pushed MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan to a fresh 16-month high.

Back in currency markets, the dollar rose about 0.3 percent against a basket of major currencies due to the euro's weakness although an expected announcement later this week of more Federal Reserve bond buying limited the gains.

Wall Street looked set for a weak open with futures for the S&P 500 indicating a 0.25 percent fall and the Dow seen down 0.1 percent.

(Additional reporting by Anooja Debnath in London and; Manash Goswami in Singapore,; Editing by David Stamp)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-shares-firm-china-u-data-brighten-outlook-032108726--sector.html

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Students try to make recycling fashionable

As one model powdered her face with some last-minute blush and another frantically tried to perfect her catwalk strut, a thin girl donning a tight, black trash bag started to panic backstage.

Mariah Reyes, one of the student designers, rushed over to comfort her jittery classmate.

"Four-second inhale, four-second exhale," Reyes said. "Remember, you look fabulous."

The Franklin High School sophomore had started counting the days until her school's Eco-Friendly Fashion Show weeks before it happened. Not only would it help raise awareness about one of her passions ? recycling ? but it would let her showcase some of her clothing designs.

There was Plastic Tactic, the short, puffy dress made entirely of Fresh & Easy grocery bags; Eco Paperlicious, a longer, pleated dress made of strips of newspaper; and Checkerbox Beauty, a form-fitting, strapless dress made of red-and-white checkered school snack boxes.

The school's Dream Project Club ? a group dedicated to finding solutions for global problems ? held the fashion show recently to raise awareness about environmental sustainability and to raise money for Superstorm Sandy victims. They asked each attendee to donate a dollar and made about $120.

In early 2008, riding the high of President Obama's first campaign, freshman health and life skills teacher Melinda Conde started searching for a way to facilitate change in the classroom. About this time, she met Kelly Sullivan Walden, the daughter of a teacher, who had created the kind of program Conde wanted to try.

After attending a United Nations conference six years ago, Walden designed a project that asks students to envision themselves as ambassadors tackling global issues.

The program, dubbed the Dream Project, focuses on eight goals the U.N. is striving to achieve by 2015. They include eradicating extreme hunger, promoting gender equality and ensuring environmental sustainability.

Celerity Educational Group, which operates eight charter schools in the area, adapted Walden's program into a curriculum for kindergarten through eighth grade.

At Franklin, Conde intertwines elements of the program into her freshman health lessons and leads the school's Dream Project Club, which started after a group of sophomores wanted a venue to continue working toward the goals they had set during her class.

Sophomore club member Remmy Seleuco, for example, is always on the lookout for ways to recycle.

When she overheard her younger brother mention throwing away a box of Yu-Gi-Oh cards, she stepped in. "I said, 'Hold up. Whoa,' " she recalled, through a proud smirk.

She salvaged the cards, taped several strips of them together into a corset and combined them with a puffy skirt made of a trash bag, which her friend modeled at the fashion show.

The small club is working to inform the student body.

At a recent club meeting, for example, members cut up strips of paper with facts to tack up around campus the week before the show. One read: "Most families throw away about 40 kg of plastic a year."

As Reyes glued together loops of magazine strips that would create a chain to decorate the sides of the runway, the club's vice president divvied up who would bring snacks to the show.

"What do you guys think about drinks?" Jenny Huang asked. "Just water?"

A girl in the front row shook her head and interjected: "If we do that, you can't do bottles."

Several students nodded in agreement.

"Instead of handing out water bottles, cause that's not very eco-friendly," Huang said, "we could get a metal canteen and fill up cups."

They ended up serving soy milk, a blended rice drink and almond milk ? all in cups, of course ? with seaweed and cupcakes.

Before the show, in the dimly lit locker room next to the auxiliary gym, Reyes began to stress. "Where are my models?" she asked.

A doe-eyed brunet rushed over. Reyes hugged Pamela Molina and then helped her into Plastic Tactic ? the dress made of grocery bags.

"Can you breathe?" Reyes asked, as she cinched the red ribbon holding the bags together around Molina's waist.

Molina nodded and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She twirled around and the plastic bags wafted up from her waist.

"I think I found my winter formal dress," she said, through a smile.

marisa.gerber@latimes.com

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/VqkdmV6l6Uk/la-me-fashion-show-20121210,0,3074461.story

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