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Libido feeling a bit low? Maybe you?ve been working hard and are feeling fatigued to like you could use a boost in energy. Whether your trouble stem from erectile dysfunction, stress, impotence, or a mixture of different culprits these herbs for?male herbal enhancement will have you ?standing at attention? in no time! In this article I only briefly mention 5 natural male enhancement herbs but if you are interested and would like to learn more check out this FULL LENGTH article on herbal aphrodisiacs, their benefits and suggested daily dosages.? If you would like all of this information and more on natural male enhancement, curing erectile dysfunction naturally, lasting longer in bed naturally, male herbal enhancement, or how to increase testosterone naturally Get The Hidden Libido Secrets Guide-TODAY!
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Yin Yang Huo The name pretty much gives this one away, and it?s a fantastic natural male enhancement herb that can be taken by itself by both men and women. Traditionally, it has been used to increase libido and improve sexual performance by correcting erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation. Horny Goat Weed elicits a moderate androgen-like effect on the testes and the prostate, increasing sperm production while stimulating the sensory nerves by which it indirectly increases sexual desire.
Yin Yang Huo is a leaf that can be steeped into a tea all by itself and enjoyed throughout the day and/or right before the lights go out (or stay on). Unlike its Western counterpart, drinking a glass of Horny Goat Weed tea will not leave you squirming in your seat. It will however, give a boost for natural male enhancement? and put a little bit of umph in your evening when needed.
More specifically for the ladies, especially good for menopausal women that suffer from vaginal dryness. Schizandra or Wu Wei Zi is a famous tonic herb used by Chinese royalty for decades. Wu Wei Zi is said to astringe or keep vital fluids from leaking out of the body. It can be added to the above herb or taken singly as well. It?s slightly on the
bitter side and a little bit goes a long way flavorwise.
Long used in Africa as?natural male enhancement and often called natural Viagra, yohimbine is thought to improve male impotence although clinical trials have been disappointing. Yohimbe is said to work mentally as well as physically, making orgasms more powerful by postponing ejaculation. Yohimbe, being a mild monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor, has an uplifting affect on depression, and it dilates blood vessels, which is why it has been used for erectile dysfunction. Yohimbe is used primarily to stimulate a physical reaction rather than promote the amorous mood of sex, as a true aphrodisiac would. (Consider taking it along with Damiana.)? Yohimbe is fast acting male herbal enhancement, and often effects can be noticed in as little as 1-1.5 hours after ingestion. Take it a few hours prior to intercourse and the effects will last several hours. Since it works quickly it is best to take Yohimbe only when needed, avoiding excessive use. Do not take yohimbe on a daily or long term basis because of the potential side effects.
*A WARNING: Yohimbe should not be taken when driving or operating machinery. And should be used with caution in those with a medical condition. Yohimbe should not be taken by people with high blood pressure, psychiatric disorders, diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease or heart disease. Yohimbe should also be avoided by anyone on MAO inhibitors, anti-depressants, sedatives, tranquilizers, anti-histamines, amphetamines, caffeine or other stimulants. Do not take yohimbe with foods that contain the amino acid Tyramine. The combination may cause an increase in blood pressure. Sources of Tyramine include: aged cheeses, beer, wine, breads, preserved meats, soy sauce and raisins.
(Turnera diffusa) is a herb used traditionally by the Mayan people of Central America to enhance sexual function in men and women. It is reported to be an aphrodisiac, stimulant, mood enhancer, stress reliever and a health tonic.? Natural male enhancement herb Damiana is used as a muscle relaxant and is beneficial in pain management. It is a known mood elevator and us commonly used to relive anxiety, depression, and mental exhaustion. It induces a relaxed state of mind, considered especially useful when anxiety and depression are discouraging sexual arousal. Damiana is shown to balance hormones, helping women with irregular menstrual cycles and during menopause. Damiana for?male herbal enhancement, improves digestive disorders and helps to relieve constipation and flatulence. It is a diuretic and is useful in cases of edema, prostrate complaints and urinary or vaginal infections.
While both tongkat ali and kacip fatima both work as?natural male enhancement herbs by raising free testosterone, tongkat ali is the stronger of the two.? Provided you buy it from a legitimate source that doesn?t sell you an outright fake or grossly under-dosed product. To avoid being cheated by an online con artist selling fake tongkat ali extract, just do a Google search for: tongkat ali scam. You may also want to avoid a product that uses stearic acid or stearates. To be sure, just do a Google search: tongkat ali stearic. It is better to take an Indonesian product, as a large number of Malaysian ones have been shown to be contaminated with mercury and other heavy metals. Again, just google: tongkat ali
heavy metals. If you buy a Indonesian product, just make sure it is not connected to the indonesiaherbals scam
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While men in Southeast Asia have traditionally been using tongkat ali to increase their virility, women in Southeast Asia have always relied on kacip fatima to keep pace with their men and their male herbal enhancement remedies. On the other hand, women who want a stronger effect can also use tongkat ali, typically at half the male dosage.
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Egyptian protesters chant anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans as they attend a rally in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. Egypt's opposition has called for a major rally Friday in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where some demonstrators have camped out in tents since last week to protest decrees that President Mohammed Morsi issued to grant himself sweeping powers. Hundreds gathered in the plaza for traditional Friday prayers, then broke into chants of "The people want to bring down the regime!" ? echoing the refrain of the Arab Spring revolts, but this time against a democratically elected leader. Other cities around Egypt braced for similar protests.(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Egyptian protesters chant anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans as they attend a rally in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. Egypt's opposition has called for a major rally Friday in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where some demonstrators have camped out in tents since last week to protest decrees that President Mohammed Morsi issued to grant himself sweeping powers. Hundreds gathered in the plaza for traditional Friday prayers, then broke into chants of "The people want to bring down the regime!" ? echoing the refrain of the Arab Spring revolts, but this time against a democratically elected leader. Other cities around Egypt braced for similar protests.(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
An Egyptian protesters holds a cross and a Quran as he chants anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans at an opposition rally in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. Egypt's opposition has called for a major rally Friday in Cairo's Tahrir Square, where some demonstrators have camped out in tents since last week to protest decrees that President Mohammed Morsi issued to grant himself sweeping powers. Hundreds gathered in the plaza for traditional Friday prayers, then broke into chants of "The people want to bring down the regime!" ? echoing the refrain of the Arab Spring revolts, but this time against a democratically elected leader. Other cities around Egypt braced for similar protests. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Members of the constitutional assembly attend a session to vote on a final draft of a new Egyptian constitution in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. An Islamist-dominated panel began a fast-track vote on a final draft of a new Egyptian constitution Thursday, pushing through the document despite liberals' boycott in a move likely to stoke a deepening political crisis between the Islamist president and the opposition.(AP Photo/Mohammed Abu Zaid)
The Islamist-dominated panel vote on a final draft of a new Egyptian constitution in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. The assembly, overwhelmingly made up of allies of President Mohammed Morsi, abruptly moved up the vote which hadn't been expected to take place for another two months in order to pass the draft before Egypt's Supreme Constitution Court rules on Sunday on whether to dissolve the panel. (AP Photo/Mohammed Asad)
A man sleeps on a bench among others, some who have camped out in tents since last week, as opposition groups plan to gather for a major rally in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. Islamists approved a draft constitution for Egypt early Friday without the participation of liberal and Christian members, seeking to pre-empt a court ruling that could dissolve their panel with a rushed, marathon vote that further inflames the conflict between the opposition and President Mohammed Morsi. (AP Photo/Thomas Hartwell)
CAIRO (AP) ? Giant crowds of protesters packed Cairo's Tahrir Square and marched in other cities Friday vowing to stop a draft constitution that Islamist allies of President Mohammed Morsi approved hours earlier in a rushed, all-night session without the participation of liberals and Christians.
Anger at Morsi even spilled over into a mosque where the Islamist president joined weekly Friday prayers. In his sermon, the mosque's preacher compared Morsi to Islam's Prophet Muhammad, saying the prophet had enjoyed vast powers as leader, giving a precedent for the same to happen now.
"No to tyranny!" congregants chanted, interrupting the cleric. Morsi took to the podium and told the worshippers that he too objected to the language of the sheik and that one-man rule contradicts Islam.
Crowds of protesters marched from several locations in Cairo, converging in central Tahrir Square for the opposition's second mass rally in a week against Morsi. They chanted, "Constitution: Void!" and "The people want to bring down the regime" as fireworks went off.
The crowd appeared comparable in size to the more than 200,000 anti-Morsi protesters who thronged Tahrir on Tuesday. Tens of thousands more marched Friday in Alexandria and other cities.
In contrast to the largely leaderless uprising by youth activists against autocrat Hosni Mubarak last year, a more energized, cohesive leadership has started to emerge in the new campaign against Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president. It is made up of a number of prominent liberal, secular and moderate Islamist politicians, notably reform advocate Mohamed ElBaradei.
"We are determined to continue with all peaceful means, whatever it takes to defend our legitimate rights," ElBaradei told the Tahrir crowd, saying the draft constitution must be voided.
His ally, senior opposition leader Hamdeen Sabbahi, vowed protests would go on until "we topple the constitution."
"The revolution is back ... We shall be victorious," said Sabbahi, a liberal politician who came in a surprisingly close third in last summer's presidential election. "We are united against the oppressive regime."
The protests were sparked by the president's decrees a week ago granting himself sweeping powers and neutralizing the judiciary, the last check on his authority. The edicts tapped into a feeling among many Egyptians that Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, from which he hails, are using their election victories to monopolize power and set up a new one-party state, nearly two years after the fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
But the sudden adoption of a draft constitution by the Islamist-dominated assembly tasked with producing the document throws the confrontation into a new phase.
The draft must now be put to a nationwide referendum for public approval, likely to be held in mid-December. Morsi is expected on Saturday to announce the date. He says his new powers are in effect until the referendum passes.
The opposition appeared determined to launch a street campaign aimed at blocking the document from coming to a referendum.
They are also counting on a revolt by the judiciary, where opposition to Morsi's edicts runs strong. The Supreme Constitutional Court is to rule on Sunday whether to dissolve the constitutional assembly. If it does so, the effect on the draft already adopted by the assembly is unclear. In part it may be a question of whose legitimacy is stronger and whose public support is larger.
If the charter does come to a referendum, the opposition is faced with the choice of boycotting in protest or trying to rally the public to vote to reject the draft.
In every scenario, Egypt's most polarizing and volatile crisis since Mubarak's ouster is likely to deepen. The past week, clashes between Morsi's supporters and opponents left two dead and hundreds wounded and raised fears of further chaos.
The Brotherhood and other Islamists plan their own massive rally backing Morsi on Saturday. Already on Friday, Brotherhood activists were passing out fliers calling for the public to come out and "support Islamic law." A number of Muslim clerics in Friday sermons in the southern city of Assiut called the president's opponents "thugs" and "enemies of God and Islam."
The draft constitution has an Islamist bent. It strengthens provisions that set Islamic law as the basis of legislation, gives clerics a still undefined role in ensuring laws meet Shariah and commits the state to enforce morals and "the traditional family" in broad language that rights activists fear could be used to severely limit many civil liberties.
At the same time, it installs new protections for Egyptians against some abuses of the Mubarak era, such as stronger bans on torture and arbitrary arrest. It weakens somewhat what had been the near total powers of the presidency, giving parliament greater authorities.
Almost all liberal and secular members of the assembly had quit in the past weeks to protest what they called Islamists' hijacking of the drafting process.
As a result, 85 members ? almost all Islamists, with no Christians ? participated in the session that began Thursday. The voting, which had not been expected for another two months, was hastily moved up to approve the draft before the Constitutional Court rules Sunday.
Racing against the clock, the members voted article by article for 16 hours on the draft's more than 230 articles, passing them all by large margins.
The rush resulted in a process that at times appeared slap-dash. Assembly head Hossam al-Ghiryani doggedly pushed the members to finish.
When one article received 16 objections, he pointed out that would require postponing the vote 48 hours under the body's rules. "Now I'm taking the vote again," he said, and all but four members dropped their objections.
In the session's final hours, several new articles were hastily written up and swiftly voted on to resolve lingering issues. One significant change would reduce the size of the Supreme Constitutional Court by nearly a third to 11 judges, removing several younger, sharply anti-Brotherhood judges.
The voting ended just after sunrise Friday, to a round of applause from the members.
"This constitution represents the diversity of the Egyptian people. All Egyptians, male and female, will find themselves in this constitution," declared Essam el-Erian, a representative of the Muslim Brotherhood.
But the opposition denounced the vote as a farce.
Among the protesters in Tahrir on Friday, Salwa Mustafa said the constitution was "cooked up."
Her daughter, Basma Mohieddin, who was marching with her, added, "We must not let this charter reach the referendum because you know that people are easily fooled. We have to stop it right now and cancel it."
Speaking in an interview on state TV aired late Thursday, Morsi said the constitution's swift passage was necessary to get Egypt through a transitional period in which there has been no elected lower house of parliament. The courts dissolved the Brotherhood-led lower house elected last winter.
"The most important thing of this period is that we finish the constitution, so that we have a parliament under the constitution, elected properly, an independent judiciary, and a president who executes the law," Morsi said.
Rights group Amnesty International said Friday that the adopted text of the constitution has provisions that purport to protect rights but instead "mask new restrictions."
As in past constitutions, the new draft said the "principles of Islamic law" will be the basis of law.
Previously, the term "principles" allowed wide leeway in interpreting Shariah. But in the draft, a separate new article is added that seeks to define "principles" by pointing to particular theological doctrines and their rules. That could give Islamists the tool for insisting on stricter implementation of rulings of Shariah.
Another new article states that Egypt's most respected Islamic institution, Al-Azhar, must be consulted on any matters related to Shariah, a measure critics fear will lead to oversight of legislation by clerics.
The draft also includes bans on "insulting or defaming all prophets and messengers" or even "insulting humans" ? broad language that analysts warned could be used to crack down on many forms of speech.
The draft says citizens are equal under the law but an article specifically establishing women's equality was dropped because of disputes over the phrasing.
One article underlines that the state will protect "the true nature of the Egyptian family ... and promote its morals and values." The phrasing suggests the state could prevent anything deemed to undermine the family.
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty's deputy director for the region, said the document "blocks the path to equality between men and women. It is appalling that virtually the only references to women relate to the home and family."
___
Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb and Lee Keath contributed to this report.
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Your home maintenance will involve home improvements which can be tackled by effectively determining the time and money you'll need for a project. There are many different kinds of regulations, design elements and tools that you need to know. Here's some tips to be sure your home improvement project is done safely and correctly.
It is very important that you install an exhaust fan in certain areas of your home, including bathrooms, laundry rooms, and cooking surfaces. Proper venting of moist air lowers the humidity of the room, reducing the chance of developing a mold or mildew problem. Also, you can halt condensation that can collect inside walls, thus preventing rot.
Let your neighbors know ahead of time about any future home improvements you decide to make. If it involves a major renovation project, it could entail having part of the street blocked off from traffic in order to move equipment around and make deliveries. This will be appreciated by your neighbors, and they might even offer to let you borrow some tools.
Bugs can wreak havoc on your home, and cracks in the wall or gaps in the window can cause bills to skyrocket. Make sure you seal all those little cracks and gaps in the house to save money and to avoid infestation. Add caulk to your floor boards, on windows or doors. When caulk dries, it will help prevent bugs from entering and air from escaping.
You need to improve the outside appearance of your house. Try to improve your home's exterior by moving the lawn and trimming your hedges. Add a couple of strategically placed shrubs. Even just sweeping your walkways make a big difference. Have the roof and exterior of the home power washed. Clean your windows until they shine. All these things can leave a lasting impression on those who come to view your home.
Do you like being outdoors, but dislike bugs? The addition of a screened porch can be the perfect solution. It will give you a nice place to read, eat or spend quality time with your loved ones without being bothered by pests. Place a ceiling fan on the ceiling for even more comfort.
Planting a tree for tomorrow is a common phrase most people have heard. However, many people do not realize the benefit of planting trees in your yard. For each tree that grows to its full size, you can add a thousand dollars to the value of your property.
If you are purchasing a house, make sure to enlist a professional home inspector. This will give you an objective evaluation and allow you to see things from different perspective. Enlisting a professional inspector who does not have a stake in the sale is a smart method of keeping things honest.
Installing a property lined fence can have many beneficial effects to your home. This provides your family with a level of protection from stray animals. A fence can also keep a dog from leaving the yard. A fence can also be made that makes a home look improved.
You can make your home safer and more valuable by installing some aluminum shutters or some roller shutters. They can be especially valuable if your home is located in an area prone to high winds or hurricanes, or if you are in need of extra security.
You will save a ton of money by living in your house while you complete home improvements, so try to stick to one room at a time. This will make it easier to live in your home, until it's the bathroom! If you don't have more than one bathroom, you might need to stay with friends or family.
By using the tips in this article you can avoid costly mistakes in your home improvement project. Now you're ready to swing that hammer confidently in your very own home improvement projects.
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By Karen Billing
After living a single life for 40 years, local psychologist Dr. Diana Weiss-Wisdom got married and inherited an instant family with her husband?s three daughters. In addition to being a new wife, she had the added challenge of becoming a stepparent to children who were 10, 13 and 14 at the time.
?I had a lot to learn to figure out how to navigate that role and what worked best for my family,? Wisdom said.
Her own experience, as well as examples based on clinical cases from her practice that specializes in marriage counseling and blended families, led to a new book, ?Wisdom on Stepparenting: How to Succeed Where Others Fail.?
Wisdom spent eight years working on the book, completing multiple revisions until she was completely satisfied with the finished product. Wisdom said she felt like a weight was lifted when the book was finally published on Oct. 26, now available on Amazon.com and the Barnes and Noble website.
?I feel so much happier seeing it published because it was in me and I had to get it out,? Wisdom said. ?A lot of my heart and soul is in it; this is my little something left behind. My clients say they can hear my voice in it and it feels soothing.?
Local psychologist Diana Wisdom has released a new book, ?Wisdom on Stepparenting: How to Succeed Where Others Fail.? Photo/Karen Billing
Wisdom has practiced out of The Cottage Clinic, a cozy space off Rancho Santa Fe Farms Road, for the last four years. She has been a licensed psychologist since 1991.
The book is Wisdom?s second, her first was ?Stress and a Healthy Ticker,? which dealt with the depression, anxiety and marriage challenges that can occur among patients recovering from cardiac issues.
?Wisdom on Stepparenting? is a helpful resource for blended families, whose numbers are growing considering the statistics that 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce. That percentage goes up to 60 to 70 percent for second marriages and Wisdom said many times second marriages fail as a result of conflict over issues related to the children.
Wisdom admits she struggled in her early years of being a stepparent. She said she did extensive studying and research on how best to take on that role. She found that learning how to become a better stepparent helped her mature as a person.
?When you become a parent you mature and grow up at a different level because you have to really think about other people?s needs before your own,? Wisdom said. ?It?s really an opportunity for stepparents to work on their own character?you have a better quality of life because you have to rise to the occasion.?
Her book features examples from her clinical cases, with the names changed. Many stories of blended families are similar, as many of the same issues arise. Wisdom tried to pick stories that a lot of people can relate to.
While the book does incorporate part of her own experiences, she was careful to respect the privacy of her family.
Wisdom compares blended families to ?little countries? where everyone has their own responsibilities and needs. She hopes the book will help stepparents step up and recognize their role, as it is an important one. Chapters in the book deal with communication, co-parenting tactics, compromises and how to avoid tags of ?wicked stepmothers? and ?overbearing stepfathers.? One unique chapter features advice from stepchildren, gleaned from interviews with 50 stepchildren of different ages.
Much of the book deals with taking care of the marriage in a blended family. Wisdom said one of the biggest keys to stepparenting is making the marriage a priority as the kids have been through enough instability.
?It?s so important for the kids to see a decent relationship and not be in the middle of hostilities,? Wisdom said.
In her practice, Wisdom sees both couples and children when treating blended families. Wisdom usually works to get the couple ?back on their feet? first and will sometimes bring the kids in for family therapy, usually on their own without the parents. She said it?s important for the children to be able to talk about how they feel, to just be understood and taken seriously.
?It?s very helpful for teens to have their own space to talk without worrying about hurting their parents? feelings,? Wisdom said.
Wisdom also holds a couple?s marriage retreat at the cottage based on ?Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love? by Dr. Sue Johnson.
The retreat has a very high success rate and she recalls vividly the first one they did a few years ago. Wisdom?s husband helped her with the parking for the 15 participating couples and noted to Wisdom that as couples were arriving, all the husbands looked really angry. He told her he wasn?t sure how it would work out.
On the second day, he observed their moods seemed a little better.
By the third day, her husband elbowed her to point out that every couple was sitting as close as they could to one another, husbands? arms around their wives, some holding hands, everyone smiling.
Wisdom said the workshop is a powerful experience and she loves seeing the results. She recalls one 60-year-old husband at the end of the workshop saying, ?I finally understand what my wife wants after 30 years of marriage. She wants me to tell her when I?m sad.?
Those kinds of breakthroughs, making relationships and families work better, make Wisdom?s work worthwhile, she said.
?I love what I do,? said Wisdom. ?My passion really is doing this work and the workshops, they are an amazing experience.?
The next ?Hold Me Tight? retreat will be held in February.? A special retreat for stepfamilies is being planned for April. For more information, visit drdianaweiss-wisdom.com or call (858) 259-0146.
Editor?s Note: Wisdom is also a contributing columnist to this newspaper.
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There are few people who were as excited about the addition of the Hospitality Management Program at West Virginia University as Mike Bodnar. He has been a major supporter of the program that is well on its way to becoming a major in the College of Business and Economics, and now Bodnar is putting his money, well, where his heart is.
A highly successful restaurant executive and president of Bodnar Investment Group, Inc., J. Michael Bodnar, a Nashville, Tenn., area resident, has announced a gift of $1 million to B&E. The gift is the latest in a long line of giving back to the business school where he earned a M.B.A. in 1969, and will be divided into two equal parts ? $500,000 to establish the J. Michael Bodnar Entrepreneurship and Innovation Endowment and $500,000 for the J. Michael Bodnar Hospitality and Tourism Support Fund.
?I am happy and honored to announce this gift to the College of Business and Economics,? said Bodnar, who was named to the inaugural class of the WVU College of Business and Economics Roll of Distinguished Alumni in 2011. ?The College is making great strides in the areas of entrepreneurship, innovation and hospitality, and those are things I am very passionate about in my life. It?s important to me to provide this kind of support, which will only help the College advance in these areas.?
Bodnar, along with fellow alum and business partner Doug Van Scoy, donated a Taziki?s Mediterranean Caf? to B&E, which opened in August 2010. The restaurant operates in WVU?s Mountainlair and sees net profits directed to B&E?s Hospitality Management Program, operating also as a working lab for students in the program. In fact, he and Van Scoy were instrumental in the initiation and development of the program, and both serve on the program?s advisory board.
Click below to hear WVU alumnus Mike Bodnar talk about a philosophy he shares with fellow alum and business partner Doug Van Scoy and their commitment to creating opportunities for young entrepreneurs at WVU.
?We are very thankful for this gift,? said WVU President Jim Clements. ?As a WVU graduate, Michael Bodnar is providing future students with the kind of opportunities he found at WVU. In all that he has done for our College of Business & Economics, he is enhancing the quality of our programs, and most importantly giving others the opportunity to follow their dreams. We are extremely grateful for his support.?
?Our business school has a true and dear friend and supporter in Mike Bodnar, and we are deeply appreciative of his generous gift,? said Dr. Jose Sartarelli, Milan Puskar Dean, WVU College of Business and Economics. ?He has embraced business and hospitality in our College in a number of ways, and his gift will have a significant impact on entrepreneurship, innovation, and hospitality and tourism.?
Wayne King, president and CEO of the WVU Foundation, said, ?Mike?s passion and love for the College of Business and Economics and its academic programs are evident by his long history of giving back. We salute Mike for his continued generosity and sincere desire to help students.?
Bodnar has served as a coach and judge for the West Virginia Statewide Business Plan Competition, hosted by B&E. He has also worked directly with students on team projects in Entrepreneurship, Management, Marketing, MIS and the M.B.A. programs.
After earning degrees at WVU in civil engineering and his M.B.A., Bodnar has had a highly successful career in the hospitality industry. At one time, he was the largest franchisee of Wendy?s, has served as CEO of Shoney?s, and operated a Dairy Queen territory in two states with 68 franchised stores
While there, he and Jim Clutter ? another WVU graduate ? developed the back-office system that became the Back Office standard for Wendy?s. Over a decade, he built the business into a public company, Restaurant Systems Inc., with more than $50 million in annual revenue and in 1986 merged with Wendy?s. He was a Wendy?s franchisee in New York City until 1997 with annual revenues of $60 million and served on the Franchise Advisory and National Advertising Council, winning numerous awards for his successful operations.
After turning his focus to restaurants and real estate, he founded Bodnar Investment Group in 1986, a company that develops real estate, provides start-up equity and provides consulting for restaurants. He has developed several restaurant chains, including Maxie?s in northern Florida, El Polo Loco in Las Vegas, Taziki?s Mediterranean Caf?, Baha Burgers, Tellini?s Italian Caf? and Martin?s BBQ. In 1994, he partnered with Nick Pihakis to develop Jim N? Nicks BBQ, which has grown into a chain of 30 restaurants and annual revenue in excess of $100 million. In 1999, he was named CEO of Shoney?s, one of the largest restaurant chains in the United States. His other business ventures include his co-ownership of Sunlight Mountain Resort in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
In his current position with Bodnar Investment Group, he invests and develops restaurant chains using his experience and knowledge of branding, quality food products and operational expertise to help young restaurant entrepreneurs develop their local concepts into national brands.
?It?s very rewarding to support programs at my alma mater,? Bodnar said. ?It?s a good thing when you can help your university mold minds, develop skill sets and tap into the passions of students. WVU?s business school is doing great things, and I certainly want to be a part of that.?
The contribution was made in conjunction with A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia?s University. The $750 million comprehensive campaign being conducted by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December 2015.
For further information on the comprehensive campaign, please visit www.astateofminds.com or www.be.wvu.edu .
-WVU-
pg/11/28/12
CONTACT: Patrick Gregg, WVU College of Business and Economics
304.293.5131; patrick.gregg@mail.wvu.edu
Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.
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By mutual agreement with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), CNOOC Limited and Nexen Inc. withdrew and resubmitted a Joint Voluntary Notice with respect to the proposed acquisition of Nexen by CNOOC Limited.
?Discussions with CFIUS continue, with a view to completing the CFIUS review process as expeditiously as possible,? the companies said in a statement.
?The closing of the arrangement remains subject to the receipt of applicable government and regulatory approvals, by the relevant authorities in Canada, the U.S., the EU and China, and the satisfaction or waiver of the other customary closing conditions,? the two companies added.
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Source: http://www.lngworldnews.com/canada-nexen-cnooc-resubmitt-notice-for-acquisition-to-cfius/
FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2012 file photo, actor Hugh Grant speaks during the news conference for the film "Cloud Atlas" during the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto. Lord Justice Brian Leveson will release his report, Thursday, Nov. 29 2012, on a year-long inquiry into the culture and practices of the British press and his recommendations for future regulation to prevent phone hacking, data theft, bribery and other abuses. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Aaron Vincent Elkaim, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2012 file photo, actor Hugh Grant speaks during the news conference for the film "Cloud Atlas" during the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto. Lord Justice Brian Leveson will release his report, Thursday, Nov. 29 2012, on a year-long inquiry into the culture and practices of the British press and his recommendations for future regulation to prevent phone hacking, data theft, bribery and other abuses. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Aaron Vincent Elkaim, File)
FILE - In this July 28, 2011 file photo, Lord Justice Brian Leveson speaks during the first formal session of his phone hacking inquiry in London. Leveson, who spent a year investigating the misdeeds of Britain's lively newspapers, is giving Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron an early look at his recommendations on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012 for the regulation of the press. (AP Photo/Sean Dempsey, Pool-File)
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron walks back to number 10 through Downing Street in London, after arriving back from Prime Minister's Question at the Houses of Parliament, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. The judge who spent a year investigating the misdeeds of Britain's lively newspapers is giving Prime Minister David Cameron an early look at his recommendations for the regulation of the press. Officials say Cameron will get a copy of Lord Justice Brian Leveson's report Wednesday, a day before the public sees it, but Cameron is already being besieged with advice about how to respond to the still-secret recommendations. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron walks out the front door of 10 Downing Street in London, to greet the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah during his State Visit to the UK, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. The judge who spent a year investigating the misdeeds of Britain's lively newspapers is giving Prime Minister David Cameron an early look at his recommendations for the regulation of the press. Officials say Cameron will get a copy of Lord Justice Brian Leveson's report Wednesday, a day before the public sees it, but Cameron is already being besieged with advice about how to respond to the still-secret recommendations. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
LONDON (AP) ? After a yearlong inquiry full of sensational testimony, Britain's Lord Justice Brian Leveson is releasing his report Thursday into the culture and practices of the British press and his recommendations for future regulation to prevent phone hacking, data theft, bribery and other abuses.
The long-simmering scandal has already led to scores of arrests and some criminal charges. Dozens of cases have been settled out of court after victims of press intrusion sued. Here are some of the cases the Leveson inquiry has investigated:
MILLY DOWLER
The 13-year-old girl was abducted and murdered in 2002. In July 2011, it was reported that employees of Rupert Murdoch's News of the World tabloid had hacked into her telephone while police were still searching for her, giving her parents false hope that she was alive. Her mother, Sally Dowler, told the inquiry that when she could again leave a message on her missing daughter's phone, she shouted: "She's picked up the voice mails! ... She's alive!" Outrage over this case prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to commission the Leveson inquiry.
KATE and GERRY McCANN
Their young daughter Madeleine had vanished during a vacation in Portugal. The parents said newspapers were sympathetic at first but coverage later turned hostile. One story said the couple had sold their daughter into slavery, another that they had killed her and hid her body in a freezer. The couple successfully sued several British newspapers over suggestions that they had caused their daughter's death and then covered it up. Kate McCann described her dismay when extracts from her private diary ? in which she wrote to her missing daughter ? appeared in the News of the World in 2008. "I felt totally violated," she said. "There was absolutely no respect shown to me as a grieving mother or as a human being, or to my daughter."
HUGH GRANT
The popular actor testified that since "Four Weddings and a Funeral" made him a movie star, details of his hospital visits had been leaked, his garbage was rifled through, his ex-girlfriend and his infant daughter harassed. He said an article earlier this year in The Sun and the Daily Express about his visit to a hospital emergency room was a gross intrusion of privacy. "I think no one would expect their medical records to be made public or to be appropriated by newspapers for commercial profit. That is fundamental to our British sense of decency," he said.
J.K. ROWLING
The best-selling author of the Harry Potter series said she was completely unprepared for the tsunami of media attention when the first of her books became a sensational success. "It feels threatening to have people watching you," she said. Rowling said she had tried to keep her three children out of the media glare and was outraged when her eldest daughter came home from primary school with a letter from a journalist in her backpack. "I felt such a sense of invasion," she said.
CHARLOTTE CHURCH
A singer who became a star as a teenager, Church said she had been asked to perform at Rupert Murdoch's wedding to Wendi Deng and was offered either a $100,000 fee or a promise of favorable treatment from his newspapers. She took the latter but was hounded anyway. "In fact, Mr. Murdoch's newspapers have since been some of the worst offenders," she said. Between the ages of 16 and 20, Church said photographers were frequently stationed around the clock outside her home. Church said that she was repeatedly chased in her car and suffered "the indignity of paparazzi trying to take photographs up my skirt and down my top."
CHARLOTTE HARRIS
A lawyer who represented several people who claimed to be hacking victims, Harris testified that she was a victim of "highly intrusive" surveillance by newspapers. The purpose, she said, "was to obtain information which could be made public in the hope of putting pressure on me, presumably to deter me and my clients from pursuing claims against the company."
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STATESVILLE, N.C. (AP) ? "That '70s Show" star Lisa Robin Kelly is free on bond after being arrested for assault.
Police in the Charlotte, N.C., suburb of Mooresville arrested the 42-year-old Kelly and 61-year-old husband Robert Joseph Gilliam after responding to a disturbance at their home Monday. Both are free on bond.
Gilliam is charged with misdemeanor assault on a female. Kelly is charged with misdemeanor assault. They were taken to the Iredell County Detention Center and released on $500 bond apiece. They have a court date of Jan. 25. It's not known if either has an attorney.
Kelly portrayed Laurie Forman, sister of Topher Grace's lead character Eric, on the FOX series, which ended in 2006. She also appeared on the TV shows "Murphy Brown" and "Married . . . With Children."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/70s-show-star-arrested-north-carolina-040626459.html
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Cast members Hugo Weaving, left, and James Nesbitt pose on the red carpet at the premiere of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," at the Embassy Theatre, in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford) NEW ZEALAND OUT
Cast members Hugo Weaving, left, and James Nesbitt pose on the red carpet at the premiere of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," at the Embassy Theatre, in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford) NEW ZEALAND OUT
Cast members Peter Hambleton, left, who plays Gloin and Jed Brophy who plays Nori, pose on the red carpet at the premiere of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," at the Embassy Theatre, in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford) NEW ZEALAND OUT
Cast members Barry Humphries, left, who plays Great Goblin, his wife Lizzie Spender, center, and Sylvester McCoy who plays Radagast, on the red carpet at the premiere of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," at the Embassy Theatre, in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford) NEW ZEALAND OUT
Chinese actress Yao Chen poses on the red carpet at the premiere of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," at the Embassy Theatre, in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford) NEW ZEALAND OUT
Co-producer Philippa Boyens smiles on the red carpet at the premiere of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," at the Embassy Theatre, in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/SNPA, Ross Setford) NEW ZEALAND OUT
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) ? Wearing elf ears and wizard hats, sitting atop their dad's shoulders or peering from balconies, tens of thousands of New Zealanders watched their favorite "Hobbit" actors walk the red carpet Wednesday at the film trilogy's hometown premiere.
An Air New Zealand plane freshly painted with "Hobbit" characters flew low over Wellington's Embassy Theatre, eliciting roars of approval from the crowd.
Sam Rashidmardani, 12, said he came to see Gollum actor Andy Serkis walk the red carpet ? and he wasn't disappointed.
"It was amazing," Rashidmardani said of the evening, adding his Gollum impression: "My precious."
British actor Martin Freeman, who brings comedic timing to the lead role of Bilbo Baggins, said he thought director Peter Jackson had done a fantastic job on "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."
"He's done it again," Freeman said in an interview on the red carpet. "If it's possible, it's probably even better than 'The Lord of the Rings.' I think he's surpassed it."
While it is unusual for a city so far from Hollywood to host the premiere of a hoped-for blockbuster, Jackson's filming of his lauded 'LOTR' trilogy and now "The Hobbit" in New Zealand has helped create a film industry here. The film will open in theaters around the world next month.
One of the talking points of the film is the choice by Jackson to shoot it using 48 frames per second instead of the traditional 24 in hopes of improving the picture quality.
Some say the images come out too clear and look so realistic that they take away from the magic of the film medium. Jackson likens it to advancing from vinyl records to CDs.
"I really think 48 frames is pretty terrific and I'm looking forward to seeing the reaction," Jackson said on the red carpet. "It's been talked about for so long, but finally the film is being released and people can decide for themselves."
Jackson said it was strange working on the project so intimately for two years and then having it suddenly taken away as the world got to see the movie.
"It spins your head a little bit," he said.
Aidan Turner, who plays the dwarf Kili in the movie, said his character is reckless and thinks he's charming.
"I don't get to play real people it seems, I only get to play supernatural ones," he said. "So playing a dwarf didn't seem that weird, actually.
Perhaps the most well-known celebrities to walk the carpet were Cate Blanchett and Elijah Wood, who reprise their roles in the LOTR in the "Hobbit."
"Mostly I came here to see everyone. I like them all," said fan Aysu Shahin, 16, adding that Wood was her favorite. She said she wanted to see the movie "as soon as possible. I'm excited for it."
At a news conference earlier in the day, Jackson said many younger people are happy to watch movies on their iPads.
"We just have to make the cinema-going experience more magical and more spectacular to get people coming back to the movies again," he said.
Jackson said only about 1,000 of the 25,000 theaters that will show the film worldwide are equipped to show 48 frames, so most people will see it in the more traditional format. The movie has also been shot in 3D.
A handful of animal rights protesters held signs at the premiere.
The protest by the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals comes after several animal wranglers said three horses and up to two dozen other animals had died during the making of the movies because they were housed at an unsafe farm.
Jackson's spokesman earlier acknowledged two horses had died preventable deaths at the farms but said the production company worked quickly to improve stables and other facilities and that claims of mistreatment were unfounded.
"No mistreatment, no abuse. Absolutely none," Jackson said at the news conference.
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Here's a word. Nothing special about it. Just look at it.
Focus on the first letter, the "S."
Now shift your body, left to right, right to left.
Does the "S" shift too?
No, it doesn't. Even though you're moving, the "S" stays stable.
How'd you do that?
It's a reflex. Your eye and your brain do this automatically. When your head moves to the right, your eyes move to the left. Our eyes automatically compensate for our bobbing bodies. Physicians call it the vestibulo-ocular reflex, but we don't have to think about it. It just happens. This is why we can run, dance, jump through the world and the world doesn't spin with us. It stays stable. We have a built-in stabilized camera in our heads.
We're really good at handling bumps, drops, bounces, but wandering the web, I discovered some people think chickens do it better. Yes, chickens. One guy took a chicken for a bike ride, a walk, a drive on bumpy roads, attached a chicken-cam to its head and compared what chickens see to what we see. He thinks chickens get rid of bounces better than we do.
Then he tried to prove it.
These investigators aren't biologists, they're just chicken champions with gadgets, but I find their experiments wonderfully engaging. So let's begin with one of the finest chicken videos ever posted on YouTube: A rocket engineer from Alabama, who calls himself Destin, or "destinws2," is going to rotate a chicken ? a perfectly ordinary chicken ? and see if it holds its head steady. This chicken is not a genius. It's just a brilliantly typical.
Destin decided to investigate more deeply. (Destin, by the way, is not his real name. He wants to stay anonymous to protect his kids; they appear regularly on his delightful blog, Smarter Every Day) In a subsequent video, he wondered if could literally mount a camera onto a chicken and then, when rotating the bird, he would see if the chicken behaves like a Hollywood Steadicam and eliminates unnecessary movement. What happened?
His first attempt, using a frisky white bird, doesn't work very well. Then, about a minute and a half in, he switches to a big rooster (who is wearing a teeny Japanese camera attached with a rubber band), and the effect is impressive. Destin rotates the rooster, but its head and its camera stay focused on a nearby microwave oven. (Does this rooster know something?) The bird just locks in and lets its neck do the adjusting.
(Is it fixating on a specific object? Destin isn't sure. When he puts his hand up close to the bird's face, it seems to lock its gaze, but only kinda.).
Destin claims the rooster was comfortable throughout this experiment, though I'm not so sure. At the very end, the bird has his revenge.
Now we get to the bird versus man part. When a kid named Jeremiah Walken saw Destin's video he decided to take the obvious next step and do a species comparison. Jeremiah has a chicken, but no driver's license. So he put a teeny camera on his own head, another on his chicken's head and off they went, biking together, walking together, sitting in the car together (Dad drove), the question being, who is better at eliminating bounce, Jeremiah or the avian?
To me, the winner was not obvious. Jeremiah's chicken is a very curious animal, a lot more curious than Jeremiah. The bird keeps looking around, at trees, sky, trees again, so there's more herky-jerky from the bird than you'd want. Jeremiah is not as interested in tree gazing. Still, if you are comparing a boy and a chicken and you eliminate the wow-what's-that? factor, I guess you could say, as Jeremiah loudly and definitely declares, chickens are more even in their gaze. When they travel, their sensitive necks soften the impact of potholes, reduce the bounce on roads and even out the ups and downs of walking; so, I guess ? based on a very small sample and only some of the time ? you could say chickens are better than we are.
Or you could say the question is still open. At this point, all I will say is, when it comes to a steady gaze, chickens have my respect. That's as far as I'll go.
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Here comes the modern story of an impossible love. When world is huge playground and when internet keep making it look smaller. Its easy to get into impossible relationships. Those kind of love that both knows that would neva happend but still makes goosebump.
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BKRW is proud to introduce the whole new fashion shoot of american photographer Christina PAIK with Bijon HILL and SHYNE wearing the hotest and freshest street culture products as much of a selection of high fashion pieces.
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Photographer : Christina PAIK
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Thanks : Christina PAIK, Shyne, Bijon, Nico x REEDSPACE...
Source: http://www.bkrw.com/prs-nyc-ldr-long-distance-relationship/
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Bangladeshis prepare to bury the bodies of a part of the victims of Saturday's fire in a garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. Bangladesh held a day of mourning Tuesday for the 112 people killed in a weekend fire at a garment factory, and labor groups planned more protests to demand better worker safety in an industry notorious for operating in firetraps. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)
Bangladeshis prepare to bury the bodies of a part of the victims of Saturday's fire in a garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. Bangladesh held a day of mourning Tuesday for the 112 people killed in a weekend fire at a garment factory, and labor groups planned more protests to demand better worker safety in an industry notorious for operating in firetraps. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman)
Bangladeshi garments workers take out a protest through a street to mourn the death of the victims of Saturday's fire in a garment factory on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. Bangladesh held a day of mourning Tuesday for the 112 people killed in the weekend fire, and labor groups planned more protests to demand better worker safety in an industry notorious for operating in firetraps. (AP Photo/Khurshed Rinku)
Bangladeshis prepare to bury the bodies of some of the victims of Saturday's fire in a garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. Bangladesh held a day of mourning Tuesday for the 112 people killed in the weekend fire at the factory, and labor groups planned more protests to demand better worker safety in an industry notorious for operating in firetraps. (AP Photo/Khurshed Rinku)
Bangladeshi women watch the bodies of some of the victims of Saturday's fire in a garment factory being prepared to be buried, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. Bangladesh held a day of mourning Tuesday for the 112 people killed at the factory, and labor groups planned more protests to demand better worker safety in an industry notorious for operating in firetraps. (AP Photo/Khurshed Rinku)
Bangladeshi garments workers take out a protest through the streets to mourn the death of the victims of Saturday's fire in a garment factory on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012. Bangladesh held a day of mourning Tuesday for the 112 people killed in a weekend fire at a garment factory, and labor groups planned more protests to demand better worker safety in an industry notorious for operating in firetraps. (AP Photo/Ashraful Alam Tito)
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) ? Clothing is king in Bangladesh, a country that exports more garments than any other in the world except China. It is responsible for four out of every five export dollars and has turned factory owners into members of parliament and leaders of sports clubs.
That strength has often been turned against the workers in those factories, especially those who complain about poor working conditions and pay that can be less than $40 a month. A law-enforcement agency called the Industrial Police is specifically assigned to deal with unrest in factories, and labor activists accuse government forces of killing one of their leaders. Employees are barred by law from forming trade unions, even though Bangladesh allows workers in other industries to unionize.
Workers hope that could change following the industry's latest tragedy, a fire Saturday that killed 112 people at a factory that made T-shirts and polo shirts for Wal-Mart and other retailers around the world. But they have their doubts.
"The owners must treat the workers with respect. They should care about their lives and they must keep in mind that they are human beings. They have families, parents and children," said Nazma Akhter, president of Combined Garment Workers Federation. "Is there anybody to really pay any heed to our words?"
There have been many garment-factory fires in Bangladesh ? since 2006, more than 300 people have died. But Saturday's was by far the deadliest, and has drawn international attention to labor practices as the government tries to encourage Western countries and companies to expand their relationships here.
The Tazreen Fashions Ltd. factory had no emergency exit, and workers trying to flee found the main exit locked. Fire extinguishers were left unused, either because they didn't work or workers didn't know how to use them. One survivor said that after the fire alarm went off, managers told workers to get back to work.
In an interview published Tuesday in Dhaka's Daily Star newspaper, the managing director of Tazreen Fashions expressed concern ? about possibly losing foreign buyers. "I'm concerned that my business with them will be hampered," said Delwar Hossain. But there was no mention in the article of concern for victims or their families.
Tazreen has not responded to repeated requests from AP for comment.
Bangladesh's $20 billion-a-year garment industry accounts for 80 percent of its total export earnings and contributes a major share of the country's $110 billion GDP. This from an export market created only in 1978, with a consignment for 10,000 men's shirts.
By 1982, the country had 47 readymade garment factories. In three years the number rose to 587. Now it has more than 4,000.
The factory owners are a powerful group, holding parliamentary posts in both major parties. The head of the prominent Dhaka sports club Mohamedan is in the business; so is a former president of the national cricket board.
An important reason for their success is cheap labor. Almost a third of the South Asian country of 150 million lives in extreme poverty.
The minimum wage for a garment worker is 3,000 takas ($38) a month, after being nearly doubled this year following violent protests by workers. According to the World Bank, the per capita income in Bangladesh was about $64 a month in 2011.
On Tuesday, as Bangladesh held a day of mourning for the dead, 10,000 people, including relatives and colleagues, gathered near the site of Saturday's blaze, many wearing black badges as a sign of mourning. Security forces were deployed, but no clashes were reported.
"I've lost my son and the only member to earn for the family," said Nilufar Khatoon, the mother of a worker who died. "What shall I do now?"
The country's factories were closed as a mark of respect, and prayers for the dead were held in places of worship across the Muslim-majority South Asian nation. The national flag flew at half-staff in government buildings.
Authorities buried 51 unidentified bodies in a grave outside Dhaka. Many of the dead were charred beyond recognition. Some other bodies were buried in the same grave Monday.
Also Tuesday, about 2,000 members of 14 labor organizations held a rally in central Dhaka where leaders accused the government of neglecting the rights of garment workers.
About 15,000 workers protested a day earlier near the burned factory to demand better safety.
The factory itself is gutted. Its eight floors are littered with burned clothes, yarn, machinery and furniture. Broken windows and black ashes are scattered on the floors and staircases.
Authorities have formed three committees to look into the incident. An industry group has suggested that sabotage may be to blame, though fire officials have said it was not the fire itself, but the poor safety measures that caused the high death toll.
"It was complete darkness," said Mohammad Zakir Hossain, a Tazreen worker who survived the fire. "I couldn't see anything but I started moving forward. I can hear shouts from many of my colleagues in the darkness, 'Oh Allah, save me, save me.'"
Hossain says he was making 4,500 takas ($55) a month, plus about 30 takas (37 cents) an hour in overtime.
Wal-Mart has said the Tazreen factory was making clothes for the retail giant without its knowledge. Wal-Mart, which had received an audit deeming the factory "high risk" last year, said it had decided to stop doing business with Tazreen, but that a supplier subcontracted work to the factory anyway. Wal-Mart said it stopped working with that supplier on Monday.
Wal-Mart and other companies linked to the factory's products have expressed sympathy for the victims and a commitment to improving worker safety.
The European Union's delegation to Bangladesh said while it recognizes the importance of the garment industry to the local economy and European consumers, "the EU has always been very clear about the need to improve working standards and safety in this sector."
Dan Mozena, the U.S. ambassador to Bangladesh, also expressed his concern over labor rights and warned that any chaos in the sector could drive global brands away.
The United States and even many global buyers have been pressing Bangladesh to allow garment factories to form trade unions, but the government and industry have resisted.
The industry fell under more pressure after a labor leader was killed in April, his body found in a roadside ditch. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton raised concern about the killing, and workers' rights issues overall, during a visit to Bangladesh the following month.
Aminul Islam had complained before his death about police harassment, wiretapping and even being abducted and tortured, allegedly by a domestic intelligence agency. Authorities are investigating his death but have revealed nothing about their progress. Meanwhile, the leading Bengali-language Prothom Alo newspaper recently reported, citing an anonymous source, that top officials of the National Security Intelligence had regular contact with the main suspect before and after Islam's death.
Even as it fends off criticism, Bangladesh is seeking more business from the West, including pressing the United States for quota-free and duty-free access for its garment products to the U.S. market.
Earlier this month, senior executives from more than two dozen global brands and retailers visited Bangladesh in a bid to forge long-term agreements to source garments from its factories.
In September, Karl-Johan Persson, chief executive of the Swedish retail chain H&M, visited Bangladesh and said his 2,600-store group would increase its business relationship with the country.
Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of the Center for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh's leading independent think tank, said there is "hypocrisy" among buyers who "talk about ethical buying and ethical sourcing, but when it comes to price they refuse to offer a good rate. They often go to less compliant factories for a cheaper rate. Being compliant is not cheap."
At the same time, Rahman said Saturday's fire "highlights inner weaknesses of a giant industry very essential for the country's survival."
"This has come as a strong warning," he said. "But it was too costly."
Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, blames a "nexus of influence" between senior government officials and factory owners that "allows impunity to flourish." Until that changes, he said, government vows to improve safety should be treated with skepticism.
"Six months or eight months down the road, if history is any indication, we will have another factory fire, and more workers will be killed," he said.
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Greg Kahn / Getty Images, file
A street market sells necklaces and bracelets in Old Havana on November 12, 2012 in Havana, Cuba. Shops like this, until a year ago, were only found in the black market.
By Reuters
HAVANA -- Most Cubans have not paid taxes for half a century, but that will change under new regulations starting January 1.
The landmark move will change the relations of Cubans with their government and are a signal that market-oriented reforms are here to stay.
They were launched after President Raul Castro succeeded his brother, Fidel Castro, in 2008.
The recently published code constitutes the first comprehensive taxation in Cuba since the 1959 revolution abolished just about all taxes.
In the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country's main benefactor, the Cuban government imposed a few scattered taxes, but mostly preferred to maintain low wages so it could fund free social services.
The government's free-market reforms introduced over the last two years are designed to encourage small businesses, private farming and individual initiative. There are also plans to pay state workers more.
Under the new tax code, the state hopes to get its share of the proceeds.
'Major step' toward 21st century
The government also envisions replacing subsidies for all with targeted welfare, meaning that the largely tax-free life under a paternalistic government is on its way out.
"This radically changes the state's relationship with the population and taxes become an irritating issue," said Domingo Amuchastegui, a former Cuban intelligence analyst who lives in Miami and writes often about Cuba.
Traveling to Cuba is now easier for Americans and Cuban exiles because the government has relaxed years of restrictions on who can visit.
A Western businessman who has worked in Cuba for almost two decades told Reuters the reforms would take time, but added, "this is of course a major step forward toward the 21st century and a modern state."
The new code covers 19 taxes, including such things as inheritance, environment, sales, transportation and farm land, various license fees and three contributions, including social security.
Cuba issue deals blow to US stature at 'Summit of the Americas'
A sliding-scale income tax -- from 15 percent for annual earnings of more than 10,000 pesos (about $400) to 50 percent for earnings of over 50,000 pesos (about $2,000) -- adopted in 1994, remains in the new code for the self-employed, small businesses and farms.
It also includes a series of new deductions to stimulate their work. For example, farmers may deduct up to 70 percent of income as costs.
'Can't spare a single peso'
Eventually all workers will pay income taxes as well as a new 2 percent property tax, but both measures are suspended until "conditions permit" them to go into effect.
The government admits, with an average pay of about 450 pesos per month (or $19), many workers do not earn enough to make ends meet.
Cuba to let its people leave the country?
"They collect taxes for all these things around the world, it's normal," said Havana economist Isabel Fernandez.
"But here we face two problems. On the one hand we are not used to paying for anything and on the other our wages are so low we can't spare a single peso," she said.
Under the old system, large and small state-run companies, which accounted for more than 90 percent of economic activity, simply handed over all their revenues to the government, which then allocated resources to them.
Cuba detains 70 'Ladies in White' ahead of Pope visit
The reforms call for large state-run businesses to be moved out of the ministries and become more autonomous.
The state-owned Cuban National News Agency said Cuba had studied the tax systems of a number of other countries, including several with capitalist economies.
"The experiences of China, Vietnam, Venezuela, Brazil, Spain and Mexico were taken into account, but they were refined to the particularities and conditions of the island," the news agency said.?
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FOR KIDS: How to stop a speeding bullet
Scientists take a close look at a plastic that has Superman?s ability to stop a speeding bullet
Web edition: November 26, 2012
Scientists take a close look at a plastic that has Superman?s ability to stop a speeding bullet
By Stephen Ornes
Web edition: November 26, 2012
Enlarge A new experiment showed how a popular plastic can stop a speeding bullet. The supersmall glass bead in the middle of this image is speeding through plastic at 1,500 meters per second (nearly 1 mile per second). Red areas show where the plastic compresses most on impact.
Credit: Thomas Lab/Rice University
A bullet fired into a disk of polyurethane ? a type of plastic ? may not burst out the other side. In some instances, the bullet will stop in its tracks, frozen by the plastic and sealed inside. How a simple plastic can do this had left researchers scratching their heads. Until now.
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Citations
R. Ehrenberg. Plastic fantastic seals in speeding projectiles. Science News Online, October 30, 2012. [Go to]
Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/346660/title/FOR_KIDS_How_to_stop_a_speeding_bullet
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