Friday, November 30, 2012

Thyroid Surgery: What to Expect ~ Health Fitness & Beauty Secrets ...

Thyroid Surgery: What to Expect

Thyroid surgery is the primary treatment for thyroid cancer, thyroid nodules and hyperthyroidism.? During the procedure, all or part of the butterfly-shaped thyroid gland located at the front of the throat is carefully removed.? Here, we'll take a closer look at what the procedure involves, plus we will discuss ways your body may change after thyroid surgery.

About Thyroid Surgery

Surgery is normally used to treat thyroid problems in a number of cases.? For instance, if your doctor has diagnosed you with thyroid cancer or if it is suspected that thyroid cancer is developing, you are a likely candidate for thyroid surgery.? In addition, if you have a benign thyroid nodule that has begun to interfere with swallowing or breathing, or if you have a fluid filled thyroid nodule which returns after having been drained more than once, you are a candidate for surgery.? Thyroid surgery is also prescribed for hyperthyroidism and Graves Disease which does not respond to radioactive iodine or medications.

During thyroid surgery, you may have your entire thyroid gland removed, or you may need to have only a portion of your thyroid removed.? If you require a total thyroidectomy, the entire gland, along with the lymph nodes surrounding it will be removed.?

If you require a thyroid lobectomy, either with or without an isthmectomy, only the affected lobe will be removed.? With an isthmectomy, the isthmus, which is the band of tissue that connects the two lobes, will be removed as well.? Before finishing surgery, the surgeon will have the removed tissue analyzed to determine whether cancer is present.? If cancer is present within the cells, the surgeon will remove the remainder of the thyroid.? This is called a completion thyroidectomy.

In cases of hyperthyroidism caused by Graves Disease, a subtotal thyroidectomy will be performed.? In this thyroid surgery, one complete lobe, part of the second lobe, and the isthmus will be removed.

Thyroid surgery once required long incisions which completely opened the neck; today, many surgeons are conducting endoscopic thyroidectomies using a number of small incisions which allow surgical instruments and a tiny camera to be inserted into the surgical site.? Not only does this reduce the appearance of scars post-surgery, it also reduces recovery time and produces less pain than standard thyroidectomies do.

As with most modern surgeries, thyroid surgery is generally safe.? There are some complications which may occur due to the surgery, including a changed voice or persistent hoarseness brought on by nerve damage.? The best way to avoid this is to select an experienced surgeon; in addition, those having lobectomies rather than complete thyroidectomies are at lower risk for speech difficulties.

If the parathyroid glands are damaged or mistakenly removed during a total thyroidectomy, then hypoparathyroidism can result.? This is not a common problem encountered in patients having lobectomies, and again, the more experience a surgeon has, the less risk there is of accidental parathyroid gland removal.

Thyroid surgery patients are sometimes seen on an outpatient basis; most remain in the hospital for a day or two after surgery.

Additional Considerations

If you must undergo a total thyroidectomy, you will need to take synthetic thyroid hormone; this can also occur if you have a subtotal thyroidectomy or a lobectomy.

If you have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and have undergone thyroid surgery, you will more than likely require treatment with radioactive iodine after the surgery, to ensure that all the cancer cells and thyroid tissue are gone.?

If you have undergone thyroid surgery for hyperthyroidism, you may have low calcium levels; in this case, you will need to take calcium supplements.?
Be sure to have a discussion with your doctor regarding any concerns you may have surrounding thyroid surgery.? While the risk for complications is present, most patients go on to enjoy life better than they have in many years, once thyroid surgery is successfully completed.?


Dr. Michael Barakate is a paediatric and adult otolaryngologist located in Sydney, Australia.? For more information on ENT surgery and ENT disorders, visit ENT-Surgery.com.au.

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Source: http://healthbeauty-guide.blogspot.com/2012/11/thyroid-surgery-what-to-expect.html

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Thursday, November 29, 2012

grange genna: Reference and Education Posting Category - May ...

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Source: https://wiki.waratah.spcc.nsw.edu.au/groups/2012bathursttripmccowenb/weblog/b087a/

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Acquia Lands $30 Million Series E To Scale Out Its Enterprise Drupal Development Platform

Acquia logoAcquia, the company that makes a suite of software tools for the open source web development and content management system Drupal, has secured $30 million in a fresh new round of funding. The round, which serves as Acquia's Series E, was led by Investor Growth Capital

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/UvS5S9C1mbQ/

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Local unemployment still down a tick, jobs growing

Joblessness among residents in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metro area slipped modestly in October, falling one tenth of a percentage point to 9.5 percent.

The region's unemployment remained the highest among the state's 14 metro areas. The marginal movement in the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate frustrated labor market observers. But, behind the unemployment rate were positive signs. The number of jobs in the region was up 5,700 over the same time in 2011, according to establishment data - a tally of the number of jobs within the metro area. Also, more than 9,000 people joined the labor force over the last 12 months, a sign that more people were looking for work and felt more confident they would find it.

The numbers, combined with other economic indicators, has Dana Harris, Ph.D., professor of business in Keystone College in La Plume, more confident in the economic improvement than at any point since the recession.

"The unemployment rate is hovering high," she said. "But it is a slight decrease, and with personal income risings, the housing market rebound, and consumer confidence at a high, there is a growing sense of optimism."

On a county level, Lackawanna's unemployment rate was 8.7 percent, Luzerne was at 9.5 percent and Wyoming was at 10.1 percent. Pennsylvania's statewide unemployment was 8.1 percent, a bit higher than the U.S. October unemployment of 7.9 percent.

The seasonally adjusted data show that more people were working in October, with the ranks of the employed growing 2,600 in October alone. That improvement has had a limited effect on the unemployment rate, however. The number of unemployed, 27,600, was unchanged from the previous month. But the labor force, those working or looking for work, continued to expand in October. Over the year, for example, the labor force grew by 9,200, faster than the additional jobs being created.

Satyajit Ghosh, Ph.D., professor of economics and finance at the University of Scranton, calculated what the region's unemployment rate would have been if the labor force remained what it was in October 2011. Under that scenario he calculated that region's unemployment rate would have been 6.5 percent.

"Our job growth seems like it is anemic but we need to look at it in the proper perspective," he said. "A growing labor force is an expected part of a recovery."

Among the most improved job sectors over the last year was the catch-all professional and business services with 1,500 new jobs. Leisure and hospitality added 1,300 jobs.

Also, the closely watched construction/mining and manufacturing sectors each added 800 jobs over the year. Transportation/warehousing/utilities added 800. No sector lost more than 200 jobs in October compared to same month a year ago

While Dr. Ghosh dismisses rankings as not very meaningful, the region's unwanted distinction as having the state's highest unemployment irks him.

"I know it is a relative ranking," Dr. Ghosh said. "Someone has to be first and someone has to be last. I don't want to be last."

Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

Source: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/business/local-unemployment-still-down-a-tick-jobs-growing-1.1409462?localLinksEnabled=false

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'Middle ground' of sea-level change: 'Intra-seasonal' variability impacts forecasting and ecosystems

ScienceDaily (Nov. 27, 2012) ? The effects of storm surge and sea-level rise have become topics of everyday conversation in the days and weeks following Hurricane Sandy's catastrophic landfall along the mid-Atlantic coast.

Ongoing research by professor John Brubaker of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science is throwing light on another, less-familiar component of sea-level variability -- the "intra-seasonal" changes that occupy the middle ground between rapid, storm-related surges in sea level and the long-term increase in sea level due to global climate change.

"These are cases when the water is just 'running high,'" says Brubaker, "but not from an obvious direct cause of a storm. It isn't necessarily windy, it's just an elevated water level without a clear cause."

Intra-seasonal variability -- which Brubaker says takes place on time-scales of 10 to 90 days and can add or detract a foot or more from the predicted tide -- is likely due to shifts in oceanic currents and large-scale movements of water masses along the coast. It often goes unacknowledged in discussions of sea-level trends, but can play an important role in water-level forecasts, coastal activities, and ecosystem health.

"Intra-seasonal variability has significant impacts," says Brubaker. "For instance, being aware of these non-tidal, non-storm anomalies is very important for forecasting. If you're experiencing a relative high during the approach of a storm, with water levels already elevated by a foot or more above predicted tides, that could make a big difference in terms of storm surge and coastal flooding." Indeed, graduate student Carissa Wilkerson, whom Brubaker co-advises, is studying how intra-seasonal anomalies combine with storm surge as part of her Master's research at VIMS.

Brubaker, who teams with researchers John Boon and David Forrest on the Tidewatch Forecast system at VIMS, says the Tidewatch forecasts account for at least some part of intra-seasonal variability by using as their starting point a moving average of the most recent 30 days of sea-level measurements. Other forecasts use mean sea level, a tidal datum that NOAA defines as the average measured over the years 1983-2001.

Brubaker notes that intra-seasonal variability can also impact marine life, most notably underwater grasses. Dr. JJ Orth, head of the Seagrass Monitoring and Restoration Program at VIMS, raised concern during a period of unusually high water in May 2011, noting that "with water levels this high above predicted, it means less light for seagrasses, and with light declining exponentially with depth it could mean added stress to plants at the deeper edges of the grass beds."

Periods of unusually low water could also affect seagrasses and other marine life, says Brubaker, but the impacts are likely to be less significant because the long-term rise in sea level tempers their effects.

The Summer 2009 Event

Brubaker's interest in intra-seasonal variability was piqued during summer 2009 -- when a prolonged period of high water affected the U.S. East Coast -- and again during the shorter period of unusually high water during May 2011, which he experienced first-hand while teaching a course at VIMS' Eastern Shore Lab in the seaside village of Wachapreague.

"The 2009 event got a lot of attention -- eventually," says Brubaker. "It wasn't dramatic and it took quite a while to gain much attention, but at some point NOAA posted a notice about it in response to questions and concerns from the public, who had noticed week after week of abnormally high tides."

Three NOAA scientists, Bill Sweet, Chris Zervas, and Stephen Gill, subsequently issued a technical report to describe and explain the 2009 event. They note that water levels of 0.6 to 2.0 feet above predicted tides persisted for up to 6 weeks in areas from North Carolina to New Jersey, with slightly lower elevations experienced as far south as Florida and as far north as Maine.

If intra-seasonal changes in sea level aren't generated by regular tides, storm surge, seasonal heating or cooling, or long-term sea-level rise, what is their cause? Sweet, Zervas, and Gill attributed the 2009 event to the confluence of two factors -- persistent winds from the northeast measured far offshore, and a slow-down in the Gulf Stream.

Brubaker says the northeasterly winds contributed to high water along the coast due to "Ekman transport," a phenomenon in which surface waters begin to move to the right of the prevailing wind because of the Coriolis force. "The Ekman transport associated with these winds would push the water towards the shore," says Brubaker. Persistent offshore winds from the northeast were also measured during May 2011.

The slow-down in the Gulf Stream contributed to 2009's persistently high water levels through the re-positioning of what oceanographers call a "geostrophic slope." "The Gulf Stream creates a geostrophic slope that's related to the speed of the current," says Brubaker. "If the current speeds up, the slope gets steeper, and if the current slows down, the slope levels off. We on the East Coast are on the low side of the geostrophic slope, so as the Gulf Stream slowed down during the summer of 2009, the slope flattened out and water levels rose."

Preliminary Results

Brubaker's interest in intra-seasonal variability focuses on using tidal records from the last 15 years along the U.S. East Coast to better understand the frequency, magnitude, and duration of high-water events in the region. He's also interested in how these events propagate spatially through coastal water bodies like Chesapeake Bay.

"Our results are very preliminary at this point," says Brubaker, "but there are a few things that stand out. One is that July and August are typically relatively quiet in terms of intra-seasonal high-water events. Another is that there is a lot of year-to-year variability. There seem to be more active years in terms of these events and then multi-year periods of relative quiet."

He says the data also suggest an intriguing correlation between the high-water events and the occurrence of El Ni?o in the Pacific, as measured by the "Oceanic Ni?o Index," a commonly used measure of El Ni?o-La Ni?a activity.

"You can't help but notice," he says, "that the spikes in the duration of high-water events seem to correspond to the very strong El Ni?o event in 1997-98, and again in 2009-10, which is the next biggest El Ni?o peak. There's obviously not a direct correlation through the years, but El Ni?o is known for its teleconnections and effects that happen at great distances. So it's not unreasonable to think that there might be some connection there. It's something we continue to keep track of."

Intra-seasonal Variability in Chesapeake Bay

Brubaker's study of how high-water pulses propagate through Chesapeake Bay has also produced some interesting preliminary results. "The magnitude of the peaks in non-tidal water level are pretty consistent across the lower, middle, and upper parts of the Bay," says Brubaker. "But their impacts can be quite different because of the different tidal ranges in those areas."

Brubaker notes that tides in Chesapeake Bay are driven by the ebb and flow of water at its mouth. "The tidal range is higher at the mouth of the Bay, drops to lower levels in the mid-Bay, and then picks up again in the upper Bay," says Brubaker. "Because of that, a coherent peak in water level during an intra-seasonal event will have the greatest impacts in the mid-Bay, where the tidal range is lowest."

Explaining further, Brubaker introduces the term "highest astronomical tide," or HAT, which is the highest high tide predicted for any particular tidal station. "Near the Bay mouth, at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, the HAT is 2.5 feet above mean sea level," says Brubaker, "but at Solomons Island in the mid-Bay, it's only 1.1 feet -- so there's a big difference. In 2009, water levels were elevated at all the tidal stations in Chesapeake Bay for about 6 weeks from June into July, but at the Bridge Tunnel they only exceeded HAT for 24 hours, a cumulative total of 2 days. At Solomons, by contrast, the water level exceeded HAT during almost every high tide. In fact, there was a period when the whole tidal cycle, from high through low tide, remained above HAT. All told, water levels at Solomons exceeded the HAT for a total of 15 days from June into July.

"The bottom line," says Brubaker, "is that the same rise in water level will have different impacts at different locations in the Bay. Even though the water rises uniformly, the relative impact will differ by location and the level of the highest astronomic tide. HAT is an important datum for ecosystems, and it should be an important datum for people too. City planners, waterfront property owners, and land-use decision makers shouldn't build too close to the HAT where they live. When they do, they're likely to get in trouble."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The original article was written by David Malmquist.

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


Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/6uavXhgthWI/121127111346.htm

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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Automated phone and mail notices increase medication adherence

ScienceDaily (Nov. 26, 2012) ? Patients newly prescribed a cholesterol-lowering medication were more likely to pick it up from the pharmacy if they received automated phone and mail reminders, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine November 27. This is one of a few published studies to examine strategies for reducing primary nonadherence, which occurs when patients do not pick up new prescriptions.

The study of 5,216 Kaiser Permanente Southern California patients found that those who received an automated reminder were 1.6 times more likely to fill prescriptions for cholesterol-lowering statins than those who didn't receive a reminder. Informational and encouraging phone calls were automatically generated if a patient did not pick up his or her medication within one or two weeks of a doctor's appointment where a prescription was ordered. One week after the telephone call, researchers sent a reminder letter to patients who still had not picked up their prescription. When systems for automated outreach exist, the expense of outreach is relatively small. Expenses for both these prompts totaled $1.70 per participant in the study. After the intervention, the percentage of patients who picked up their prescriptions increased from 26 to 42 percent.

"Getting patients to take the well-proven medicines their physicians prescribe for them will ultimately reduce their risk of heart attacks and stroke," said Stephen F. Derose, MD, of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation. "This automated intervention is a good way to very efficiently reach a large number of people and improve their health outcomes."

Medication nonadherence occurs when a patient does not follow a clinically prescribed medication course, endangering his or her own health and possibly necessitating more aggressive treatment or hospitalizations later. Previous studies estimated that in the United States each year medication nonadherence contributes to approximately 125,000 deaths and costs the health care system $290 billion. One in three patients prescribed a medication by their health care provider never pick it up from the pharmacy, and, among those who do, nearly 3 in 4 Americans do not take prescription drugs according to providers' orders.

Although this study examined medication adherence exclusively among patients at Kaiser Permanente Southern California receiving their first prescription for a statin drug, the low-cost method is likely to be viable for large populations, other chronic conditions, and other medications. Based on the results of the study, Kaiser Permanente Southern California implemented a new regional outreach program in April 2012. The program has sent reminders to about 2,200 members each month.

"Given the prevalence of the problem, especially among patients with chronic conditions, minor improvements in medication adherence among groups of people should yield significantly better health outcomes for patients and savings for hospitals and health systems," said Dr. Derose.

Kaiser Permanente can deliver transformational health research in part because it has the largest private electronic health system in the world. The organization's integrated model and electronic health record system securely connect 9 million people, 533 medical offices, and 37 hospitals, linking patients with their health care teams, their personal health information, and the latest medical knowledge. It also connects Kaiser Permanente's epidemiological researchers to one of the most extensive collections of longitudinal and de-identified medical data available, facilitating studies and important medical discoveries that shape the future of health and care delivery for patients and the medical community. This research is a part of Kaiser Permanente's broader efforts to understand and prevent medication nonadherence. Previous Kaiser Permanente research includes:

  • A study of 12,061 men and women in Kaiser Permanente Colorado that found patients whose pharmacies are linked to their electronic health records are more likely to pick up their prescriptions. (Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2011)
  • A Kaiser Permanente Northern California study that found patients who obtained new statin prescriptions via a mail-order pharmacy achieved better cholesterol control during the first year of therapy. (Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2011)
  • A first-of-its-kind study that found buying mail-order medications may encourage patients to stick to their doctor-prescribed medication regimen. (American Journal of Managed Care, 2010)

This study was funded through a collaboration with Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ.

Other authors of the paper include: Kelley Green, RN, PhD, T. Craig Cheetham, PharmD, MS, Vicki Chiu, MS, Teresa Harrison, SM, Kristi Reynolds, PhD, MPH, Southida Vansomphone, PharmD, and Ronald D. Scott, MD of Kaiser Permanente Southern California; Elizabeth Marrett, MPH, and Kaan Tunceli, PhD, of Merck, Sharp & Dohme Corp.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Kaiser Permanente.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Stephen F. Derose et al. Automated Outreach to Increase Primary Adherence to Cholesterol-Lowering MedicationsOutreach to Increase Adherence to Statins. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2012; : 1 DOI: 10.1001/2013.jamainternmed.717

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/zRGovoxcfAE/121126164303.htm

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Iran preparing internal version of Internet | Benjamin Max Gottlieb

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Source: http://benjaminmaxgottlieb.com/2012/11/iran-preparing-internal-version-of-internet/

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5 companies everyone wants to work for

1 hr.

For the fourth year in a row, business students from around the world rated Google as the company they would most like to work for.?The World?s Most Attractive Employers 2012?report, produced by employer branding firm Universum, asked tens of thousands of business students from the 12 largest economies in the world to identify where they would like most to be hired out of school from a list companies based around the world.

Included on the final list of the most attractive companies are major tech giants like Google, bank holding companies like Goldman Sachs and accounting firms like KPMG. 24/7 Wall St. analyzed company financials, brand valuations, and ratings of these companies by current employees to identify how they manage to be so attractive to potential employees. Based on Universum?s 2012 list, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 13 companies everyone wants to work for.

24/7 Wall St.: America's Worst Companies to Work For

One factor many of these companies have in common is the fact that they have been able to market themselves as very innovative. In an interview with 24/7 Wall St., Camille Kelly, Vice President of Employer Branding at Universum, explains that this generation of students in particular prioritizes being on the cutting edge of technology.

?Innovation means to a student that there is going to be new challenges, and that they?re going to continue to be able to work on cutting-edge technology,? she says. Of the 13 companies identified as most attractive for prospective employees, five made the Thomson Reuters list of the 100 most innovative companies in the world. Kelly adds that in the case of Google, which did not make the Reuters list, the tech giant branded itself as a very innovative company.

By far, the industry with the most representation on this list is accounting. All of the Big Four accounting firms -- PwC, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, and KPMG -- are not only all on this list, but in the top 10. Kelly explains that accounting firms have been able to, despite the lack of glamour in their industry, successfully brand the business as well as their specific companies as attractive, lucrative places to work.

The 13 most attractive companies are, for the most part, also powerful global brands. Of the 13 companies voted as most attractive by the students, eight are on Interbrand?s 2012 list of the 100 most valuable global brands. BrandZ, which produces a similar list, also ranks seven of these 13 companies among the 100 most valuable global brands.

Kelly explains that ?there is definitely a strong relationship between a strong consumer brand and a strong employer brand? because any prestige and stability are important to students. As a result, prospective employees are more likely to be attracted to companies with familiar products.

Being financially successful also appears to impact the degree to which companies are considered attractive. Most of the 13 companies reported healthy earnings and strong growth over the past several years. For example, Apple?s revenue has more than quintupled in the past few years.

These companies also tend to have highly regarded workplace environments. Companies like Apple, Google, and Ernst & Young, regularly receive accolades for being great places to work. According to a Glassdoor survey of employees, seven of these 13 companies are in the top 50 places to work in the U.S.

24/7 Wall St.: 10 Brands Losing the Most Value

Based on the World?s Most Attractive Employers, a report by New York-based global employer branding firm Universum, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 13 companies students most-wanted to work for in 2012. We also reviewed?Fortune?s 100 Best Companies to Work For and Glassdoor?s Best Places to Work in order to identify the best workplaces for current employees. We considered two studies on the value of the companies? core brands, one by Interbrand and another by BrandZ. Additionally, we also considered information on the world?s most innovative companies from Thomson Reuters? Top 100 Global Innovators. Revenue and profit listed for these companies was for the most recent full fiscal year.

1. Google

????????? Interbrand rank:?4

????????? Number of employees:?53,546

????????? Revenue:?$37.9 billion

????????? Net income:?$9.7 billion?

Google tops the list of the World?s Most Attractive Employers, a position the company has now held for the past four years. The company also ranks first on?Fortune?s 100 Best Companies to Work For, and it isn?t hard to see why.?Fortune?points out that the company?s headquarters, dubbed the Googleplex, contains bocce courts, a bowling alley and 25 cafes company?wide. ?Employees are never more than 150 feet away from a well-stocked pantry,? one Google employee told the magazine. The company is also generally known for its laid-back corporate environment, with one of the company?s philosophies, ?you can be serious without a suit.? Employees, even those not at the top, have also reaped financial success. Software engineers at Google were paid a base salary of $128,336 in 2012, well above the average of $92,648 for all software engineers.

2. KPMG

????????? Interbrand rank:?n/a

????????? Number of employees:?145,000

????????? Revenue:?$22.7 billion

????????? Net income:?N/A

For the third consecutive year, KPMG was named by business students as the world?s second most desirable company to work for, according to Universum. Of this achievement, Chairman Michael Andrew noted that ?attracting top students into our firms enables us to bring in the best talent, expertise and knowledge to our clients.? The company earned at least $20 billion in revenue in both fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2011 from its auditing , advisory, and tax services businesses. However, in its survey of top employers,?Forbes?ranks KPMG the lowest among the Big Four accounting firms.

3. Procter & Gamble

????????? Interbrand rank:?n/a

????????? Number of employees:?126,000

????????? Revenue:?$83.7 billion

????????? Net income:?$10.8 billion

Procter & Gamble, the maker of household name products such as Crest toothpaste and Tide laundry detergent, has a host of job opportunities for business graduates in many of its departments. And P&G?s alumni have gone on to very successful careers. Prominent alumni include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt, and Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman. But the largest consumer goods company in the world has had challenges recently. Profit has declined for the last several years, and the company announced in February it planned to slash 5,700 jobs over a four-year time frame as part of a plan to cut $10 billion in costs.

24/7 Wall St.: America's Most Expensive Neighborhoods

4. Microsoft

????????? Interbrand rank:?5

????????? Number of employees:?94,000

????????? Revenue:?$73.7 billion

????????? Net income:?$17.0 billion

Alongside Apple, Google and IBM, Microsoft is considered one of the top five brands in the world by both Interbrand and BrandZ. The company, which offers widely-used products such as Windows, Xbox, Skype and Microsoft Office, has been a top choice among business students in each of the past three years, according to Universum. Further, Microsoft has been listed in Fortune?s 100 Best Companies to Work For each year since 1998, although the company ranked just 76th in Fortune?s 2012 report. Additionally, the company had a mediocre quarter to begin fiscal 2013. Revenue in the first quarter fell by 8 percent and operating income fell by 26 percent year-over-year, while earnings per share fell from 68 cents in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 to 53 cents in fiscal 2013. The company?s stock has risen by 13.8 percent in the last 12 months, about the same as the S&P 500 index.

5. Deloitte

????????? Interbrand rank:?N/A

????????? Number of Employees:?193,000

????????? Revenue:?$31.3 billion

????????? Net income:?N/A

In each of the past three years, Deloitte has been one of the top five desired employers according to Universum, making the consulting group one of just three companies to achieve this distinction. The firm, which provides consulting, audit, tax and risk management services to clients worldwide, employs over 56,000 people and has annual revenues exceeding $13 billion in the U.S. alone. According to?Fortune, which rates Deloitte as one of its 100 Best Companies to Work For, the average pay for a Senior Consultant, the most common position at the company, is more than $86,000. The company has received accolades for military hiring, LGBT equality and women?s advancement.

Click here to read the rest of 24/7 Wall St.'s The Companies Everyone Wants to Work For

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/5-companies-everyone-wants-work-1C7226149

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ChannelAdvisor says eBay sales up 57 percent early on Cyber Monday

Country music titan Dolly Parton is anything but shy.In an exclusive interview with "Nightline," Parton dished about her love life (including those rumors that she is secretly gay), losing a drag queen lookalike contest and building an entertainment empire estimated at half a billion dollars.Watch the full story on "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m. ETIn her long reign as a country music legend, Parton, now 66, has done it all. In her new motivational memoir, "Dream More," which will be released on Nov. 27, Parton talks about growing up dirt poor in Sevierville, Tenn. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/channeladvisor-says-ebay-sales-57-percent-early-cyber-181431413--sector.html

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Monday, November 26, 2012

On the road again: Travelers head home after holiday

16 hrs.

Video

The Thanksgiving feast is over, and the majority of travelers will be heading back home Sunday. It?s a busy day that could prove challenging if Mother Nature decides to tag along. NBC?s Michelle Franzen reports.

Playlist

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/road-again-travelers-head-home-after-holiday-1C7227557

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Nexus 4 16GB available on Daily Deals for $499

Daily Deals Nexus 4

While many people still have backordered Nexus 4 devices waiting to be shipped, deals site Daily Deals is offering the unlocked 16GB version for a cool $499. The "list price" is a severely inflated $799, although we all know they're listed for $349 on the Play Store. We're not sure if this site got their devices from LG with a bulk discount, or somehow snatched up some when they were briefly on sale from Google, but we doubt they have that many in stock.

As is usually the case with these, they're probably going to sell out quick, so be sure to jump on one of these if you just can't wait any longer to get that sweet Nexus into your hands. If it's any consolation, you'll likely save some money when compared to the prices on eBay right now.

Source: Daily Deals



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/LqNcz40vDN8/story01.htm

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Former SNC-Lavalin executive charged in Switzerland: report

TORONTO (Reuters) - A former executive of SNC-Lavalin has been indicted in Switzerland on allegations he laundered money in connection with $139 million in payments by the company, according to CBC News and RTS, the Swiss public broadcaster.

Riadh Ben Aissa, a former vice president, has been charged with fraud, corruption and money laundering involving transactions executed in North Africa, according to the report.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are working with Swiss police on the investigation, according to the CBC, citing unidentified police sources.

Swiss authorities have tracked funds that flowed from SNC-Lavalin, Canada's largest engineering company, to Swiss bank accounts. The accounts were registered to companies in the British Virgin Islands, according to the report.

Ben Aissa was arrested in Switzerland last year on suspicion of money laundering and corruption of public officials but had not yet been formally charged.

SNC-Lavalin could not be immediately reached for a reaction to the report.

The company, however, told the CBC it was not commenting.

"Because these investigations are ongoing and we continue to cooperate, unfortunately there is nothing further that we are able to add at this time, except to reiterate that we hope that if anyone is found to have committed any wrongdoing, they are brought to justice," a company spokeswoman told the CBC.

Ben Aissa's Canadian lawyer was not immediately available for comment.

The Globe and Mail reported that the Tunisian-Canadian executive was in charge of SNC's international construction projects and a key link for the company to the former Libyan regime of Muammar Gaddafi.

SNC-Lavalin's former chief executive Pierre Duhaime resigned in March on accusations from the company that he authorized $56 million in payments to unknown agents on nonexistent construction projects. Canadian police are investigating.

They are also investigating bribery allegations against SNC executives involving a $1.2 billion bridge project in Bangladesh. The World Bank has suspended its loan for the development and temporarily banned an SNC subsidiary from bidding on its contracts in the country.

(Reporting by Russ Blinch; Editing by Dale Hudson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/former-snc-lavalin-executive-charged-switzerland-report-200941866--sector.html

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Home for the Holiday: Turkey, Antiques, BBQ, + Family Time

Having not been home since my cousin's wedding clear back on September 1st, I had been looking forward to Thanksgiving for weeks. Though my hometown's only a 1.5 hour drive from where I currently live, I don't always make it home as often as I like.? Adalae greeted me upon arrival and didn't leave my side for a good hour.? Isn't that a sweet face?!

I also came home to find that Christmas had exploded in my parents' house.? You see, my mom would put Mrs. Claus to shame.? This is just one of the trees that goes up every year.? And this is just a tree.? Don't even get me started on all the festive Christmas decor strewn about the house.? Io (under the tree) thinks all the decorations were put out especially for her...

I spent Thursday evening stuffing myself, laughing, and hanging out with my family, cousins, aunts, and uncles at Grandma's house.? We did it all again on Friday until the leftovers were all used up.? I am all turkey'ed out.?

Since yesterday was Small Business Saturday, my hometown held a Christmas Walk.? Shoppers browse/shop a bunch of different local businesses and at each location get to enter a drawing for a big cash giveaway.? My grandma, mom, one of my sisters, and I went.? (Oh, how I'd love for one of us to win the $500 or $250 or even $100.? I'm sure we could burn through it real fast at the book store or antique shop.)? In the meantime, I bargain hunted for fun jewelry.? The old community theatre (where I once performed in plays) has been turned into an antique shop.? I scored the treasures up above for super cheap.? The little leather-band watch was a whopping $3.? On the far right, I'm showing off the three rings I bought---two for $5, one for $3.? (In the middle is just the collection of rings that I like to wear on a daily basis... often one on each finger.)

I can't visit my hometown without grabbing a bite at my favorite BBQ joint!? After all that turkey, stuffing, and Thanksgiving cuisine... nothing sounded better than barbeque.? (Well, maybe Mexican.? Maybe.)? I met up with an old friend I hadn't seen in years and indulged in hot wings and curly fries.? Yum. Yum. Yum.? Afterward, I walked down the street to my favorite coffee shop for a cup of joe.? Then I visited my newlywed cousin's first house!? It's so cute and she's turning it into such a well-decorated home.? ...The girl's got taste. :)

Finally, I spent Saturday evening cozied up at my parents' place.? After pizza, my mom, two sisters, and I gathered around the kitchen table with our laptops to Facebook, browse Pinterest, and share funny animal memes.? Yes, that's some quality sister time up^there. ??


(I totally made them pose for these photos. Haha.)? It was a wonderful weekend home and I can't wait to come back for Christmas.

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately!? I've been crazy busy with a shifting schedule, new job, classwork, and an attempt at a social life.? ;)?


How were your Thanksgivings?!

Source: http://www.lovelyundergrad.com/2012/11/home-for-holiday-turkey-antiques-bbq.html

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Effective Skin Care Tips For Glowing Skin - Ayushveda

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Effective Skin Care Tips For Glowing Skin A beautiful skin does not need expensive skin care products. It rather needs adequate care and attention on a regular basis. By ?adequate care and attention?, we mean taking care of skin according to the changing weather, lifestyle and age specific needs on a constant basis. Here, we present you 10 most effective skin care tips that will stand your skin in good stead forever.

Skin Care Tips for Glowing Skin

Use Sunscreen

Unprotected exposure to sunlight leads to premature ageing, hyper pigmentation, wrinkles and even skin cancer. Sunburns and tans indicate a damaged skin which needs to be shielded with sunscreen on regular basis. Wear a broad spectrum sunscreen throughout the year, which protects your skin from both ? UVA and UVB rays.

Apply sunscreen 20 minutes prior to stepping out of home on all the exposed parts of your body. Even when you stay indoors, don?t forget to slather your daily dose of sunscreen.

Moisturize Properly

A dry skin is a sure shot guarantee of prematurely old and sagging skin. If you want your skin to be taut and youthful than it is very important to moisturize your skin. Even if you don?t have a dry skin, it will be good to moisturize yourself with a water based lotion on regular basis. If you have dry skin than you can go for oil based moisturizer immediately after bath when the skin is still moist and is able to hold the moisture for longer periods.

On the other hand, in order to provide moisture from environment to your skin when it gets too dry, it is important to run a humidifier in the room, especial in the bed room at night time. Besides, always ensure to use some good quality moisturizing soaps and hand washes to avoid dryness on hands.

Exfoliate Regularly

If your skin is very dry than it will be wise to exfoliate once in a week. Exfoliation helps in unclogging the blocked pores, remove dead skin cells and helps in better absorption of moisturizer.

Effective Skin Care Tips For Glowing Skin

Too much of exfoliation can lead to damaged skin so be gentle with your skin while exfoliating. If you have normal to oily skin than you can exfoliate up to two times a week. Use a good quality moisturizer immediately after exfoliating for a glowing skin.

Sleep with a Makeup Free Face

To sleep with make up on is one of the biggest beauty crimes. Never sleep with make up on your face because it leads to clogging of pores, oxygen deprived and lifeless skin and premature ageing of facial skin. Always use a good quality face wash for removing the makeup. For removing eye makeup, use baby oil or cleanser meant for removing eye makeup.

Eat Nutritious Foods

Basically how our skin looks depends on our genes, our environment and our food. While we can?t do much about our environment and our genes, we can certainly take care of our food and can dramatically change the texture of our skin and can look beautiful.

This can be achieved by eating low fat and highly nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy products, lean meats, low fat sea foods, etc. Cutting on refined flours, sugar, cigarettes and alcohol can make a dramatic difference to our looks. Foods containing vitamin C, E, A and H are especially beneficial for our skin since these vitamins are building blocks of our skin.

Exercise Consistently

While everyone knows that exercising is good for health, not everyone is aware that consistency in exercises is very important for getting best results. You should exercise at least 4 times a week for 45 minutes.

Effective Skin Care Tips For Glowing Skin

Exercising helps in removing toxins from the body, releases endorphins- the feel good chemicals in body, helps in melting the fat and gives our skin a natural glow which cannot be achieved through cosmetics or beauty products. You can include a variety of exercises in your fitness regimen like aerobics, yoga, strength training, Pilates, stretches, cardio-vascular exercises like jogging, running, swimming, etc.

Stay Away from Stress

No amount of beauty products can improve a stressed skin and hence the best beauty bet is to stay away from stress. Somehow, this seems to be impossible in today?s age of hectic lifestyles. In such a scenario, learn to manage stress. You can learn meditation, breathing exercises or can enroll in one of your favorite hobbies to stay away from stress. A stress free skin can ooze real beauty and glow and can make your friends envy with you.

Also Read

Natural Skin Care Tips
Herbal Skin Care Tips
5 Tips for Establishing Skin Care Routine
Natural Skin Care For Dull Complexion

Go for Regular Facials

A facial is a complete package of skin care for your face. It takes care of deep pore cleaning, scrubbing, massaging and applying a suitable face pack on your face. Regular facials very well take care of facial skin and give it a beautiful glow. It is important to choose a well trained and well experienced beauty professional who can assess your skin type well and can give you an appropriate facial accordingly.

Effective Skin Care Tips For Glowing Skin

Hygiene is a very important factor while considering facials. Ask your beautician to use properly washed napkins and sterilized equipments while performing a facial. Use of dirty lines and equipments can lead to skin infections and can do more bad than good for your skin.

Dry Body Exfoliation

You must have heard that toxins are bad for our health and beauty and detoxing body can be a single great strategy for looking good. Apart from detoxing through diet, detoxing can be done through dry body exfoliation also. You can do dry body exfoliation before taking a bath.

You will need a dry body exfoliation brush for the same. Just start from your foot and work your way up to enhance the blood circulation and eliminate the toxins.

Drink Adequate Amount of Water

While everyone drinks adequate amount of water during summers, we tend to drink less amount of water during winters. Drinking adequate amounts of water is very important to eliminate waste products and maintain general health of body cells. A dehydrated body shows itself through shrinking and lifeless skin hence it is important to drink at least 8 glasses of water during winters also to maintain a plump and youthful look throughout the year.

These tips can help you achieve a beautiful skin for lifetime.

Effective Skin Care Tips For Glowing Skin, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating

Source: https://www.ayushveda.com/magazine/effective-skin-care-tips-for-glowing-skin/

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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Hurricane Sandy: Make or break for the US economy ? RT

People continue the clean-up in the heavily damaged Rockaway neighborhood, where a large section of the iconic boardwalk was washed away on November 19, 2012.(AFP Photo / Spencer Platt)

Hurricane Sandy is expected to bring the US economy an economic boost with up to $240bn in reconstruction and replacement purchases and add 0.5% to the countries GDP next year, surpassing the $50bn loss it caused.

?Construction costs to rebuild all that was lost will be more than simply replacement because a lot of the work will also involve fortifying structures,? Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at Economic Outlook told Bloomberg. ?We?ll see construction ramped up, and that?s going to bring in jobs and an increase in demand for material of all sorts, and that?s going to further stimulate the economy.?

Most of the reconstruction projects worth from $140 billion to $240 billion will take place in the first quarter of 2013, adding as much as 0.5% to growth, Goldman Sachs forecast. The economic boost from housing construction ?would take place over several years," based on the experience of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, David Crowe, chief economist for National Association of Home Builders said.
Families spend an average of $8,000 on furniture, appliances and landscaping for a new home, according to Crowe.

In this regard, home improvement retailers and construction companies would be among the winners after Sandy as their sales surge.? Home Depot Inc. has seen its share rally 6.8% to a 12-year high, while shares of its rival Lowe rose 10% to a more than five-year high.?

However, not all sectors will win back their losses, experts say. Economic output will slump by about $20 billion because ?airlines don?t get those flights back and restaurants don?t get those meals back,? said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody?s Analytics Inc

Estimates of insured damage caused by Sandy range from $7 billion to $25 billion. When lost wages and sales are added, the total comes to $50 billion, according to catastrophe risk modeler Equecat Inc.? Sandy could cost the US economy up to $50bn or 0.5% in the fourth quarter after it disrupted industrial production, retail sales and employment, according to economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. If accurate, that estimate would put Sandy behind hurricane Katrina in 2005, which caused losses worth $146 bn.

Sandy made landfall on October 29 near Atlantic City, New Jersey, and claimed more than 100 lives in 10 states. New York City and the New Jersey coast, one of the most densely populated regions of the country, suffered the most damage. More than 20,000 flights were cancelled and about 8.5 million homes and businesses from South Carolina to Maine were left without power. In New York stock trading was shut for weather for the first time since 1888, while economic activity in the city dipped 20%.

Source: http://rt.com/business/news/us-sandy-economy-gains-418/

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Saturday, November 24, 2012

Fighting cancer with cell phones | WTVR.com ? Richmond News ...

Posted on: 2:24 pm, November 23, 2012, by Nick Dutton, updated on: 02:25pm, November 23, 2012

NEWS >> GENERIC >> HEALTH >> Cell Phone -- Cancer

By Teo Kermeliotis for CNN

(CNN) ? Only innovation can reduce illness and poverty in Africa, according to a program that is funding creative approaches to healthcare in developing countries.
More than 50,000 women die each year of cervical cancer in Africa, according to World Health Organization estimates, as more than 80% of the cases are detected in late stages.

In countries such as Tanzania, where nearly 4,500 women die annually from the disease, the problem is exacerbated by an acute shortage of medical experts and a lack of quality screening services, especially in rural areas.

But now a group of Canadian and Tanzanian health innovators have joined forces to apply simple and safe mobile technologies to improve cervical cancer screening and thus potentially reduce mortality rates in the East African country.

The idea is to send teams of two trained non-physician healthcare workers in remote Tanzania to examine women living several hours away from health centers.

The nurses, who will be equipped with cervical screening and treatment tools as well as standard smartphones, will take a photograph of the cervix with their phone and send it via SMS to a medical expert in a specialized clinic.

Trained doctors will then be able to review the image immediately and text the diagnosis back to the health worker, as well as give instructions about treatment.

?That?s the beauty of it ? for early grade cancers, those will be able to be treated right in the field, right in the rural area,? says Dr Karen Yeates, of Queen?s?University, Ontario, the principal investigator of The Kilimanjaro Cervical Screening Project.

The effectiveness of the idea will be put to the test in the coming months as Yeates was named Thursday amongst the 68 innovators to receive $100,000 Canadian grants to pursue bold concepts for tackling health issues in developing countries.

In total, some $7 million has been awarded to 51 innovators in 18 low and middle-income countries, and to 17 Canadian projects, by Grand Challenges Canada, a group sponsoring breakthrough concepts to improve health in poor parts of the world. Thirty-eight of these projects will be implemented in Africa.

?This is probably the largest pipeline of innovation in global health from the developing world,? says Peter Singer, chief executive of Grand Challenges Canada, which is funded by the Canadian government. ?It shows that poor countries are very rich in ideas because talent is everywhere, opportunity is not and what we are trying to do is to bring opportunity to talent to improve health.?

Amongst the Africa-based projects is a new trading system in Kenya where researchers will create a barcoded vaccination card that people can redeem for farm seeds and fertilizer as part of efforts to encourage vaccination of children.
Benson Wamalwa, of the University of Nairobi, says the project ?would powerfully incentivize parents to seek and adhere to their children?s immunization schedule even when hard pressed financially to reach a distant vaccination center. The idea is a practical solution that would significantly boost small farm productivity and incomes for poor households while safeguarding the general health of children in farming villages through up-to-date immunizations.?

Other programs include restoring native freshwater prawns in Senegal to eat the populations of snails that are responsible for the spreading of the parasitic disease schistosomiasis; paying youth in Uganda to collect and sort garbage and deliver it to a plant for conversion to fertilizer and biogas in order to improve sanitation; and anti-diarrhea kits for children hitching a ride on Coca-Cola?s distribution chain to improve the availability of life-saving drugs.

Grand Challenges Canada says it will repeat its Stars in Global Health program every six months, funding hundreds of projects over the coming years. It also plans to work with partners to provide scale-up funding of up to $1 million to those ideas that are proved to be successful so that they can have a bigger impact in a more sustainable way.

Singer says that many of the traditional approaches when it comes aid have proved to be inadequate. Instead, he argues, fostering innovation and investing in the ideas of the people can be an effective exit strategy from poverty.

?There are only two ways for a country to develop, there?s only two sources of wealth in the world,? he says. ?Either you mine the ground for resources and minerals,if you do that in a non-corrupt manner, or you mine the brains of your citizens for their bold ideas and help them to create social enterprises, to create businesses that can improve the local conditions in a broader scale.?

He adds: ?I do think that these innovators can help the problems of their community ? in fact, they are the only thing that can.?

Source: http://wtvr.com/2012/11/23/fighting-cancer-with-cell-phones/

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The politics of shopping: Does that store lean left or right?

Black Friday: It?s a day in which most American citizens put aside politics in pursuit of shopping bargains. But in Washington we can sort almost anything in the US in terms of partisan proclivity, and temples of commerce are no exception. Want to know whether the big box store where you?re waiting in line leans Democratic or Republican? The folks at the invaluable Center for Responsive Politics have compiled a handy guide based on campaign contributions.

Toys R Us, for instance, seems a solidly blue store. Self-identified employees of the store gave $39,000 to political candidates in the 2012 election cycle, and $36,000 of that went to Democrats.

Dig into the numbers though, and you?ll see that Toys R Us is not so much Democratic as Klobucharian. All that $36,000 went to one candidate, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) of Minnesota. (That?s kind of odd, isn?t it? The retailer?s corporate headquarters are in New Jersey.) Other than that, Mitt Romney got $1,750 from Toys R Us workers. President Obama got zilch, according to CRP?s Open Secrets blog.

Are you a smart shopper? Take our quiz to find out.

Macy?s employees, on the other hand, were big Obama fans. They donated $28,870 to the president?s reelection campaign, as opposed to $16,390 to GOP nominee Mr. Romney. This Democratic lean was counterbalanced to a certain extent by the store?s corporate political action committee, however. (Toys R Us doesn?t appear to have a central PAC.) Macy?s PAC gave $12,000 to Republicans, and $4,000 to Democrats.

Best Buy seems more of a red retailer. Both it s employees and the company?s PAC had a slight preference for Republicans, according to CRP. Store employees gave $17,662 to Democrats and $22,419 to the GOP, for instance.

But there?s Senator Klobuchar again ? she?s the individual candidate to whom Best Buy-related entities donated the most. Yes, she?s chairperson of a Senate Commerce subcommittee on competitiveness, so that might have something to do with it. Maybe the money comes due to her political affiliation with Minnesota?s Gov. Mark Dayton? Governor Dayton is the scion of the Dayton retail empire, which among other things founded Target.

Hmm, we see that Target leaned GOP as well, so maybe that theory isn?t right. Of the store?s $483,777 in individual and PAC contributions, the majority went to the right side of the aisle, according to Open Secrets. And the top recipient is not Sen. Klobuchar, but Rep. Eric Paulsen ? a Twin Cities Republican.

Then there?s Wal-Mart. Sam Walton?s empire has a major presence in politics compared with its big box brethren. Its employees and PAC gave $2.7 million to candidates in the 2012 cycle.

Employee donations skewed Republican ? which might not be surprising, since Wal-Mart is a big employer in the exurban/rural areas where Romney ran strongly. The firm?s PAC gave roughly equal amounts to candidates of both parties, however. That might be because Wal-Mart lobbies hard in Washington and needs relationships on both sides of the aisle.

In fact, Wal-Mart has spent more than $12 million on lobbyists in the past two years. It has its own Washington office, with 15 employees, and pays hundreds of thousands of dollars in retainers to such top outside lobby firms as Patton Boggs and the Podesta Group.

The firm?s No. 1 issue is sales taxes ? specifically, getting states to slap sales taxes on web retail. Rep. Steven Womack (R) of Arkansas, whose district includes Wal-Mart?s Bentonville headquarters, has long pushed national legislation that would force out-of-state online retailers to collect sales tax. He?s one of the top recipients of Wal-Mart campaign contributions.

?The traditional brick and mortar retailer is not asking for special treatment. They know they have to compete against a number of consumer criterion. What they don?t want ? and should not compete against ? is a disadvantage based on a tax loophole,? said Congressman Womack earlier this year during a Judiciary Committee hearing on the issue.

Are you a smart shopper? Take our quiz to find out.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/black-friday-politics-stores-lean-democratic-republican-173757530.html

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Relationship Columnist Ana Loiselle examines the Five Stages of ...

Many people have unrealistic and idealized expectations of love relationships. They believe that the excitement and emotional highs of new love will last forever. It comes as a huge shock when the euphoria wears off and disillusionment sets in. Couples often struggle with this change, believing they have ?fallen out of love? and wonder what to do next.

So why does love change from feeling great to feeling wrong once you take that step of commitment?? One reason is that relationships go through predictable stages, and by understanding these stages, couples can be better prepared to maneuver each stage successfully? be less likely to blame their partner or experience self-doubt about their relationship choice.

So let?s take a look at these stages:

There are 5 stages of love that have been identified by Dr. Susan Campbell. All couples move through the different stages at different speeds and will move back and forth from stage to stage but both will predominately be in the same stage at the same time:

? Romantic Love Stage

? Power Struggle Stage

? Stability Stage

? Commitment Stage

? Co-Creation Stage

Stage I ? Romantic Love

All relationships begin with this stage. The need satisfied here is love and belonging. This stage is characterized by its dream-like qualities, fantasies, hopes for the future, the possibilities and the asking of ?what if.? Everything is wonderful, beautiful, fun and exciting.? The pair unfortunately are brain dead! They focus on similarities and do things to please each other.

Differences are viewed as bad so are denied. The emphasis is on how to fit and move together and soon they look like they?re glued together at the hip. Each will do anything to get along. You deny part of yourself and the thinking is ?Now that I have this other person I am complete and happy.? This stage is short lived but does allow for the building of a foundation for the relationship in the future. However, real love cannot begin at this stage so paradoxically one must fall out of love to learn to love.

This stage lasts, on the average, two months to two years. Romancing takes up a lot of energy with all the courting and pretenses and trying to be the same ? eventually you begin to tire. As well, melding at the hip becomes uncomfortable. When the cost to your individuality becomes too great you begin trying to change the other person or make them conform.? Guess what you get? Resistance with a capital ?R?; but you try to insist and there is a fight, leading to the next stage, which is ?

Stage II -Power Struggle

In this stage both parties struggle for power and some freedom. There is an awareness now that you are different but the premise remains that differences are bad ? your differences are magnified. You seem to have nothing in common anymore and everything the other person does is wrong. There is a pulling away from each other, and a need for space ? all of which is quite normal.

This is a critical stage where divorce occurs most frequently and when couples seek counseling. The fight is for boundaries and clearly defining unacceptable bottom line behaviors.? There is a nervousness about the future and some questioning whether there will even be a future together. This stage is a prerequisite to readiness to relate to each other as whole people.

See this stage as a positive one, an opportunity to journey together, to learn how to negotiate, to equally care about your needs getting met as you do about your partners. It is possible to have one partner still in the romance stage while the other is into the power struggle stage. This can be painful when the one in the romance stage finds that what he or she does for love and belonging leaves the other feeling oppressed (i.e., he brings you flowers which was once okay but now you feel controlled by his actions and react by desiring even more space).

Stage III ? Stability

The needs satisfied in this stage is freedom and choice. You are now aware of each other?s personal world instead of just your own and the difference is okay. It is finally clear you are not going to reshape your partner. Clear boundaries are determined.

There is a sense of loss and a certain sadness at this time as your realize dreams aren?t reality. The power struggle was hard and has weathered you. You feel older and wiser. If you had not learned good relationship and coping skills as a child the power struggle stage was even harder than it had to be.

This is a resting time. The war is over and it?s time to relax. You breathe a sigh of relief. The danger at this stage is you may start to move apart as each does their own thing. There is a realization that each other?s? paths in life may be different. There may be a feeling of boredom, a sense of not being connected and having nothing in common.

This is the second most common stage for counseling or divorce. At first it feels good to agree to stop changing the other but life is not like that. Life is about growing and changing. The positive aspect is that at this stage you have history and it can be used to your advantage. Don?t throw away the relationship easily. At this time you either learn mutual respect or you go back to the second stage.

Stage IV ? Commitment

This is the only stage where there really is a readiness for marriage though people usually have already married in the romance stage. In this stage you are wide awake, making clear choices about yourself and your partner, based both on individual differences and those things you have in common. You see clearly who you are and what you want as well as who your partner is and what they want. This is the basis of a healthy relationship.

You now choose each other with awareness of past, present and direction to the future. The needs fulfilled here are a balance of love, belonging, connection, fun, and freedom. You don?t need each other, you choose to be with each other.

If one of you is in the stability stage and one ready for commitment, you will either both remain in stage three or could return to stage two. Both need to be ready for the commitment stage. Though parts of previous stages may reappear you probably would have done enough work to have developed strategies for dealing with problems. The statement can now be made to your partner, ?I choose to love you knowing all I know, good and bad.?

Stage V ? Co-Creation/Bliss

In this stage you are two people who have decided to be a team moving out into the world. This world may include children, a project, a church, a joint business venture, etc. You move beyond the relationship. The danger at this stage is over involvement with the outside world and relationship being neglected. The relationship must be continually nurtured along the way. There needs to be time for you, for me, for us and for them. This is difficult sometimes and choices must be made.

A test of where you may be in the relationship is: If your spouse and children are away for a while, who gets the first hug upon their return? If it?s the kids then maybe it?s time to take a better look at ?us.?

These stages are not a linear process; it is a circle spiraling upwards so when you hit a ?certain stage in the power struggle it becomes easier. You retain stages and bring them forward as you grow ? you are in one stage or another at any given time with bits of the others thrown in for good measure. Knowledge of the stages helps move through them.

adapted from the relationship coaching institute.

Source: http://albuquerquenmcounseling.com/archives/1248

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