Priya's Versatile Recipes: Announcing Microwave Easy Cooking Event

Its been a while i hosted food related events, finally am here with an event 'Microwave Easy Cooking' well known as MEC was initially started by Srivalli. Thanks to Srivalli for giving me this opportunity. Am damn sure that many of my blogger friends will come up with their delicious microwave entries.If you are using your microwave oven just for reheating rice or gravies, its time for you to give a try to cook different dishes.You can cook any kind of dishes using microwave oven, since i got a microwave oven at home my life became easier as am using it almost once a while to prepare a complete meal with it.You can make a simple omelette to baking cakes through them.

?Calling all food lovers to cook up dishes using microwave oven, to participate in this event. We dont have any themes for this event, you can cook any sort of dishes from appetiziers to desserts using microwave oven.

Here are the participation details :

1. Cook?Any?Dish?for the event. The entire cooking has to be done in the microwave. You can use food processor for grinding and the like. But no stove top cooking to be done. Post vegetarian /non Vegetarian recipes for the event.

2. Entries posted from 1st - 30th June 2012 is acceptable.

3.Please link your entries using the linky tools here.

4. Please use the event logo and its not compulsory. Your entry post should contain the link to the event announcement and Srivalli's?MEC Announcement.Its mandatory.

5. Multiple entries are welcome. If any of your previous posts qualify for this theme, you can send them too, provided it is re posted with the link to the event announcement.

6. Non-bloggers are invited to participate in the event. You can mail me your recipe and a photograph of the dish to the mail id Priyasuresh09@gmail.com.

Looking forward your creative and delicious entries.

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Latest Foreclosure Statistics | HomeChoice Real Estate

66,000 completed foreclosures in April

CoreLogic today released its National Foreclosure Report for
April, which provides monthly data on completed foreclosures and
the overall foreclosure inventory. According to the report, there
were 66,000 completed foreclosures in the US in April 2012
compared to 78,000 in April 2011 and 66,000* in March 2012. Since
the start of the financial crisis in September 2008, there have
been approximately 3.6 million completed foreclosures across the
country. Completed foreclosures are an indication of the total
number of homes actually lost to foreclosure.? Approximately 1.4
million homes, or 3.4% of all homes with a mortgage, were in the
national foreclosure inventory as of April 2012 compared to 1.5
million, or 3.5%, in April 2011 and 1.4 million, or 3.4%, in
March 2012.? "There were more than 830,000 completed foreclosures
over the past year or, in other words, one completed foreclosure
for every 622 mortgaged homes," said Mark Fleming, chief
economist for CoreLogic. "Non-judicial foreclosure markets, like
Nevada, Arizona and California, completed two and a half times as
many foreclosures over the past year as judicial foreclosure
states."? "The inventory of homes in foreclosure in judicial
foreclosure states is growing, but this increase is being more
than offset by declining inventories in non-judicial states where
the processing timelines to clear a foreclosure are shorter,"
said Anand Nallathambi, chief executive officer of CoreLogic.
"Nationally the inventory of homes in foreclosure decreased 0.1%
from what it was a year ago at this time, and has leveled off
over the first four months of 2012."

Highlights as of April 2012:

-? The five states with the highest number of completed
foreclosures for the 12 months ending in April 2012 were:
California (142,000), Florida (92,000), Michigan (60,000), Texas
(58,000) and Georgia (57,000). These five states account for
48.8% of all completed foreclosures nationally.

-? The five states with the lowest number of completed
foreclosures for the 12 months ending in April 2012 were: South
Dakota (62), District of Columbia (162), North Dakota (541), West
Virginia (598) and Hawaii (601).

-? The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a
percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Florida (12.0%), New
Jersey (6.7%), Illinois (5.3%), Nevada (5.0%) and New York
(5.0%).

-? The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory were:
Wyoming (0.7%), Alaska (0.8%), North Dakota (0.9%), Nebraska
(1.0%) and South Dakota (1.4%).

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David Dewhurst May Have Won the Battle, but Ted Cruz May Win the Political War

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Solar Maximum predicted for 2013, National Press club briefing June 5

Top scientists to gather at National Press Club June 5, 2012

To Warn the World About The Threats of Solar Maximum 2013

?

?The event is being called the Space Weather Enterprise Forum 2012: Solar Maximum 2013 - How Space Weather Will Affect You!

And the reason it is being held at the National Press Club in Washington DC June 5, 2012 is that the lazy press can no longer ignore the story and avoid the responsibliltiy of preparing the nation for the risks of Solar Maximum on life as we know it.

?Here is how they explain it:

?Motivation

?As we approach the next peak of solar activity expected in 2013, our Nation faces multiplying uncertainties from increasing reliance on space weather-affected technologies for communications, navigation, security, and other activities, many of which underpin our national infrastructure and economy.? We also face increasing exposure to space weather-driven human health risks as trans-polar flights and space activities, including space tourism and space commercialization, increase.?

?

This is what they will learn, from a report on www.Marsnow.info

?"Coronal mass ejections expand away from the Sun at speeds as high as 2000 km per second. They carry up to ten billion tons (10¹⁶ grams) of plasma away from the Sun, NASA explains in a posting far away from any mention of MLS.

Coronal mass ejections were once thought to be initiated by solar flares. Although most are accompanied by flares, it is now understood that flares and CMEs are related phenomena, but one does not cause the other. This has important implications for understanding and predicting the effects of solar activity on the Earth and in space.

While a flare alone produces high-energy particles near the Sun, some of which escape into interplanetary space, a CME drives a shock wave which can continuously produce energetic particles as it propagates through interplanetary space.

When a CME reaches the Earth, its impact disturbs the Earth's magnetosphere, setting off a geomagnetic storm. A CME typically takes 3 to 5 days to reach the Earth after it leaves the Sun. Observing the ejection of CMEs from the Sun provides an early warning of geomagnetic storms. Only recently, with SOHO, has it been possible to continuously observe the emission of CMEs from the Sun and determine if they are aimed at the Earth.

One serious problem that can occur during a geomagnetic storm is damage to Earth-orbiting satellites, especially those in high, geosynchronous orbits. Communications satellites are generally in these high orbits. Either the satellite becomes highly charged during the storm and a component is damaged by the high current that discharges into the satellite, or a component is damaged by high-energy particles that penetrate the satellite. We are not able to predict when and where a satellite in a high orbit may be damaged during a geomagnetic storm.

?The Space Weather Enterprise?Forum

The Space Weather Enterprise Forum brings together the space weather community to share information and ideas among policymakers, senior government leaders, researchers, service- provider agencies, private-sector service providers, space weather information users, media, and legislators and staff from Capitol Hill to raise awareness of space weather and its effects on society.? This year, we will continue this outreach but will sharpen the focus on critical infrastructure protection, with the necessary underpinnings of research, improved products and services, and applications to serve a broad and growing user community.? Our ultimate goal is to improve the Nation?s ability to prepare for, avoid, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the potentially devastating impacts of space weather events on our health, economy, and national security.

?

Forum Objectives

?

?Describe space weather, why it matters, and its potential impacts.

?Discuss critical infrastructure protection, mitigation, and response.

?Describe the Unified National Space Weather Capability (UNSWC), and highlight?? the improvements this interagency initiative has fostered.

?Describe how space weather science benefits the public.

?Improve public understanding of and access to space weather services.

Who Should Attend

?

?Users, operators, and developers of spacecraft, satellite communications, and high frequency radio and radar communications systems.

?Users, operators, and developers of global positioning systems and applications.

?Users, operators, and developers of the electric power generation system and distribution grid.

?Aircrews, operators, and aircraft design engineers for high-altitude and trans-polar aviation.

?Human spaceflight managers, astronauts, planners, and engineers including suborbital space tourism activities.

?Academic, private sector, and government space weather researchers.

?Commercial space weather data and service providers.

?Government space weather data and service providers.

?Policymakers and analysts in the areas of space, energy, aviation, communications, and national security.

?Congressional members and staff

?Staff of the Executive Office of the President

Registration Required

The forum is open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis but a registration fee of $50 is required for all attendees.? Register online by clicking on the Registration link on this page.

?

Forum Sponsors

The National Space Weather Program Council is organizing the 2012 SWEF through the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (OFCM), and we would especially like to thank the National Science Foundation for providing the financial support for this year?s forum.? Please click on the ?National Space Weather Program? link for more information on the program, the Council, the Committee for Space Weather, the OFCM, and the participating agencies.

?Presented by: The National Space Weather Program

?

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Finding the Best Advice About Contraception ? FemGuide Women ...

Contraception is one of the most responsible and most important decisions a woman and a couple will make. Children are a joy but also a responsibility, and one that affects you for life, so making a proactive decision about when you?ll have children and how you?ll prevent pregnancy is something to take very seriously.

May 30, 2012 by Rachel In Category Contraception

Source: Fotolia ? endostock

Unfortunately many women today turn to the wrong sources for advice about contraception, not realizing the medical issues involved and often forgetting that each person?s system and fertility rate is very, very different. As an example, someone might tell you that they use the ?rhythm method,? to time their sexual activity around a woman?s ovulation cycle, and that it has worked very well for them. However, this woman and her partner may simply be less fertile than you overall, so trying the same method may not work as well and you may wind up with an unexpected pregnancy.

Your doctor is the best source of information when it comes to contraception as he or she will ensure you get sound medical advice, and that advice won?t be based on what works in general but on what will work for you. He or she will also ensure you understand all the risk factors of any birth control method as well as its failure rate; many doctors even encourage women to use more than one form of birth control when they want to be certain in preventing a pregnancy.

A doctor will also know of all the methods of contraception available, including permanent options such as a vasectomy or tubal ligation. They will also inform you of which methods of contraception protect from sexually transmitted diseases and which will not.

The internet may also provide a wealth of information but be sure you?re choosing websites that are medically sound, such as www.WebMD.com or Yahoo! Health. Sites that are selling a particular product may not be giving you unbiased information, and contraception is not a subject that should be left to chance.

Related Stories:

Written by Rachel

This article is written by Rachel. She is a professional writer of our femguide-Writing-Team and has a lot of experiences in writing about all varieties, facets and colors of life. Every article was written with joy.

Tags: birth control contraception health relationships sexuality

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Integrity Roofing and Painting Donates Services for Quadriplegic Army Veteran

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Robert Pattinson Denies He's 'Catching Fire' In 'Hunger Games' Franchise

Pattinson was initially 'curious' about rumors he would be playing dreamy tribute Finnick Odair, before shutting them down.
By Jocelyn Vena

Robert Pattinson
Photo: AFP

With one saga over, "Twilight" star Robert Pattinson says he has no plans to join that other super-buzzy and much-loved book-to-movie franchise, "The Hunger Games."

In an interview with USA Today, Pattinson denied rumors that he was in talks to play the dreamy tribute Finnick Odair in the next "Hunger Games" movie, "Catching Fire."

"I woke up this morning and saw all these things about me being cast in 'The Hunger Games'," he said while promoting "Cosmopolis" in Cannes over the weekend. "I was kind of curious for a second. So I called my agent. My agent was like, 'No.' [My agent] was like, 'No one's going to offer you that part.' I was like, 'Thanks for the reassurance.' "

Finnick appears in both "Catching Fire" and the last book in the franchise, "Mockingjay." Ten years before he entered the arena in "Catching Fire," he had won the Hunger Games at age 14 using a Trident. Although they sometimes have a shaky relationship, Finnick and Katniss eventually become friends and ultimately join a group of rebel sharpshooters called Squad 451.

While Finnick's casting remains up-in-the-air, the cast is expected to hit the set for the second "Hunger Games" film sometime in the coming months. And, shortly after Francis Lawrence got the directing gig for the flick, Josh Hutcherson opened up to MTV News about the director shake-up.

"I think he'll stay true to the first one. Gary's already established a tone and a theme and kind of a whole world. So I think Francis will operate within that. I hope so," he said. "At the same time, if I were directing, I'd want to bring my own thing to it. So I hope he brings something different to it, which I'm sure he will."

Who would you cast as Finnick Odair in "Catching Fire"? Leave your pick below!

Check out everything we've got on "The Hunger Games."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

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On Thailand trip, Suu Kyi visits Myanmar migrants

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi waves while leaving a community center in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Kicking off her first trip abroad in nearly a quarter-century, Suu Kyi offered encouragement Wednesday to impoverished Myanmar migrants whose flight to neighboring Thailand is emblematic of the devastation wrought on her homeland by decades of misrule.(AP photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi waves while leaving a community center in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Kicking off her first trip abroad in nearly a quarter-century, Suu Kyi offered encouragement Wednesday to impoverished Myanmar migrants whose flight to neighboring Thailand is emblematic of the devastation wrought on her homeland by decades of misrule.(AP photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi waves to the crowd while leaving a community center in Mahachai, Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Kicking off her first trip abroad in nearly a quarter-century, Suu Kyi offered encouragement Wednesday to impoverished Myanmar migrants whose flight to neighboring Thailand is emblematic of the devastation wrought on her homeland by decades of misrule.(AP photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrives at hotel in Bangkok on Tuesday May 29, 2012. For 24 years, Aung San Suu Kyi was either under house arrest or too fearful that if she left Myanmar, the government would never let her return. Now, in a sign of how much life there has changed, she's back to being a world traveler.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, center, receives flowers from supporters as she arrives at Yangon International Airport before her departure for Bangkok on Tuesday, May 29, 2012, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)

Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi smiles upon her arrival amid tight security at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand Tuesday, May 29, 2012. Suu Kyi is in Thailand to attend the World Economic Forum on East Asia 2012 to be held May 30-June 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)

MAHACHAI, Thailand (AP) ? Kicking off her first trip abroad in nearly a quarter-century, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi offered encouragement Wednesday to impoverished migrants whose flight to neighboring Thailand is emblematic of the devastation wrought on her homeland by decades of misrule.

"Don't feel down, or weak. History is always changing," she told an exuberant crowd of thousands southwest of Bangkok. Many held signs saying, "We want to go home," and Suu Kyi said her visit was aimed at learning how she could help them.

"Today, I will make you one promise: I will try my best for you," she said.

Suu Kyi, who arrived in Bangkok late Tuesday, left her luxury hotel and the skyscraper-packed capital Wednesday for the nearby town of Mahachai, home to Thailand's largest population of Burmese migrants. Thousands of Myanmar's downtrodden crowded around her and chanted: "Long Live Mother Suu!"

"I had only seen her on TV and in newspapers," said Saw Hla Tun, who left Myanmar's Karen state seven years ago and earns a meager wage carrying heavy salt sacks on his back. "I couldn't hold back my tears when I saw her."

After speaking to the crowd from a fourth-floor balcony at a community center, the Nobel Peace Prize winner met with migrant workers who told her they face mistreatment from employers but lack knowledge of their rights and have no legal means to settle disputes.

Suu Kyi spent 15 of the last 24 years under house arrest. During intermittent periods of freedom, she dared not leave Myanmar ? not even to visit her dying husband ? because she feared the military junta ruling at the time would not allow her to return. Now, in a sign of how much life has changed, the democracy activist and newly elected member of Parliament is traveling across Thailand, where she will speak later this week at the World Economic Forum on East Asia.

She'll return to Myanmar briefly before heading to Europe for a five-country tour in mid-June. Her stops include England where she'll address the British Parliament and Oslo, Norway, to formally accept the Nobel Peace Prize she won 21 years ago.

Fixing a battered economy is one of the most crucial challenges facing Myanmar, also known as Burma, as it begins opening up in the wake of 49 years of military governance that ended only last year.

Thailand hosts around 2.5 million impoverished Burmese who have fled here to work low-skilled jobs as domestic servants or in manual labor industries like fisheries and the garment sector.

Andy Hall, a migrant expert and researcher at the Institute for Population and Social Research at Thailand's Mahidol University, said the Burmese migrants ? up to a million of them undocumented ? make up between 5 and 10 percent of the Thai work force, contributing as much as 7 percent of the nation's GDP.

Many are exploited and paid reduced wages. Some have been trafficked; some have had their passports confiscated by employers. Hall said they were nevertheless "the lifeblood of a lot of the Myanmar economy, sending home money to support families who don't have enough money to eat."

"They have no voice, they can never speak up or stand up," Hall said. "So for Aung San Suu Kyi to visit is like a dream come true, someone who finally may be able to bring attention to their suffering."

One of the migrants, a 26-year-old woman named Khin Than Nu, works at a Thai canning factory and dreams of her home in Myanmar's Mon state.

"We left our parents in Burma, and all my brothers and sisters work here to support our parents," she said. "I hope Daw Suu will help develop our country, and bring jobs so we can go home."

Associated Press

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Men in Black 3 Behind the Scenes: How Did They DO That?

Agent K and Agent J returned with a vengeance this week.

Men in Black 3 won the weekend box office as fans flocked to see Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin kick alien ass. Almost as impressive as the three leads? All of the effects that made the blockbuster so visually dazzling.

As is often the case, it's the brilliance taking place behind the scenes that truly makes the magic happen. Case in point: The motorcycle chase scene. Check out this exclusive video from our friends at Movie Fanatic to see how it came together:

Men in Black 3 Behind the Scenes Clip

Visit Movie Fanatic for more behind-the-scenes clips from Men in Black 3, as well as another set of behind-the-scenes videos they posted last week.

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Bloodletting Makes Comeback for Metabolic Syndrome

60-Second Health | Health

A small study shows that a little blood loss might improve cardiovascular health for obese people with metabolic syndrome. Katherine Harmon reports

May 30, 2012?|

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Leeches and lances might seem like prescriptions from the past. But bloodletting might be back in vogue. A small study shows that losing a little blood might improve cardiovascular health for obese people who also have what?s called metabolic syndrome.

The study tracked 33 patients with metabolic syndrome?defined by the presence of some of an assortment of conditions, such as high cholesterol, hypertension and insulin resistance. Researchers took 300 milliliters of blood from the patients, a little less than the one pint standard donation, with a repeat treatment a month later.

After six weeks, treated adults had lower blood pressure than the control group. Glucose levels also decreased, which suggests limited blood removal might improve metabolic health. The findings are in the journal BMC Medicine. [Khosrow Houschyar et al., "Effects of phlebotomy-induced reduction of body iron stores on metabolic syndrome: results from a randomized clinical trial"]

The researchers think that the blood loss reduces iron levels. And excess iron in the blood has been tied to many metabolic syndrome ailments.

The FDA has okayed leeches for some procedures. Which could lead patients to thank their doctors for a treatment that sucks.

?Katherine Harmon

[The above text is an exact transcript of this podcast.]

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Dormice whiskers 'aid climbing'

29 May 2012 Last updated at 08:12 By Anna-Louise Taylor BBC Nature

Slow motion footage of a dormouse reveals that it "whisks" as it climbs

Dormice use their whiskers to help them climb trees, researchers say.

By twitching them upwards, outwards and straight ahead up to 25 times a second, they sense where they are going, a University of Sheffield team has found.

The process, called whisking, is used by some other rodents, and by whiskered mammals including seals and walruses.

Dr Robyn Grant, from the university's Active Touch Laboratory says whisking is "a parallel sense to our sense of touch".

She says hazel dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius) use their whiskers, or vibrissae, in a similar way to how people use their eyes - scanning to recognise what is in front of them.

Continue reading the main story

Find out more

• Dormice may spend up to 75% of their life asleep
• Hazel dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius) numbers dropped by about 50% in the 20th Century
• Hazel dormice live for up to five years, hibernating on the ground in the winter
• They build their summer nests in tree holes or thick bramble and stay living in trees while it's warm
• The species is vulnerable to changes in habitat such as loss of hedgerows, altered farming practices and fragmentation of woodlands.

Watch: Why Bill Oddie loves dormice

Dormice hunting for 'tiny biscuits' in oak trees

See a dormouse waking up after winter

How a hazel dormouse fattens up

Watch more on BBC Two's Springwatch at 20:00 BST or join the conversation on twitter.

"Because of the uneven surface on branches, they vibrate them to find where to put their feet, as well as to work out where there's a gap and where to change branches," says Dr Grant.

Dormice are endangered in the UK and hibernate most of the year in small nests on the ground, but in the summer they live in trees.

Dr Grant says that they can also use the sensory nodes in their whisker follicles, which respond to the vibrations of their whiskers. This helps them to locate and determine the size, shape and quality of a food item, or to sense their way home.

The research by the team at the Active Touch Laboratory (ATL@S) is working to compare how a number animals, including opossums, seals and other rodents, move and use their whiskers in a sensory way.

Dr Grant says there are differences in how each species moves its whiskers. Different animals twitch at a different frequency, for example, and most rodents generally whisk their whiskers just backwards and forwards.

"We really want to try to classify strategies common between different animals, looking at whether all climbers use whiskers this way," says Dr says Prof Grant.

"And [we want to] use their different experiences in whisking to try and explore the evolution of their sensing systems."

By using an infrared lightbox, they were able to film nocturnal animals in the dark.

The team recorded the movements of whiskers using a high-speed video camera, which films at 500 frames per second, enabling the researchers to play back the whiskers' movements in slow-motion.

Using this high-speed digital videography, the team has examined whisker movements of nine species of British rodent.

They studied wood, harvest, yellow-necked and house mice; field, bank and water voles; brown rats; hazel dormice and one non-rodent - the water shrew.

The team then used "automatic whisker tracker" computer software to analyse the movements recorded on the video, and obtain data that they could compare.

Dr Grant says the rodents all showed whisking that was similar to rats and mice, but the water shrew did not. This indicated that the dormouse family (Gliridae) shared a common ancestor with other rodents.

She added that previous "whisker research" may have involved animals' whiskers being trimmed off. Without whiskers dormice cannot walk well; they fall off ledges and cannot cross gaps.

See more on BBC Two's Springwatch at 20:00 BST on Tuesday, 29 May.

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Obama on Memorial Day Recalls the Fallen, Winding Down of Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan

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RIM warns of operating loss, layoffs to come

FILE - In this May 1, 2012 file photo, Thorsten Heins, president and CEO of Research In Motion, delivers the keynote speech during the BlackBerry World conference in Orlando Fla. The struggling Blackberry-maker on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 warned that it will have an operating loss in the current March-June quarter and said there will be significant layoffs this year. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay, File)

FILE - In this May 1, 2012 file photo, Thorsten Heins, president and CEO of Research In Motion, delivers the keynote speech during the BlackBerry World conference in Orlando Fla. The struggling Blackberry-maker on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 warned that it will have an operating loss in the current March-June quarter and said there will be significant layoffs this year. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay, File)

TORONTO (AP) ? Struggling BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion warned Tuesday that it will have an operating loss in its current March-June quarter and said there will be significant layoffs this year.

RIM also said in a release that it has hired J.P. Morgan and RBC Capital Markets to help the company evaluate various strategies, including opportunities to partner with other companies and license software as well as other alternatives.

Waterloo Ontario-based RIM, a pioneer in the smartphone market, made no mention of a sale of the company but new chief executive Thorsten Heins did not rule it out after RIM's last earnings were released in late March.

"It's a disaster, it's bad," Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said. "The problem is you can't see a path to a sale until you stabilize the business."

Misek said if the advisers weren't brought in to consider a sale originally they are likely considering it now. Misek expects RIM to announce as many as 5,000 layoffs soon.

RIM's stock was halted in after-hours trading Tuesday. When trading resumed shares fell more than 10 percent, or $1.20, to $10.03.

The once-iconic BlackBerry company is facing the most difficult period in its history. RIM is working on the launch of a new software operating system just as North Americans are abandoning their BlackBerry's for Apple's iPhone and smartphones that run Google's Android software.

RIM's U.S. share of smartphones dropped from 44 percent in 2009 to 10 percent in 2011, according to market researcher NPD Group. The company still has 78 million active subscribers across the globe, but Apple and Android phone makers such as Samsung and HTC are taking market share.

"The on-going competitive environment is impacting our business in the form of lower volumes and highly competitive pricing dynamics in the marketplace, and we expect our (current quarter's) results to reflect this, and likely result in an operating loss for the quarter," new chief executive Thorsten Heins said.

Heins, formerly a little known chief operating officer at RIM, took over in January after RIM founder Mike Lazaridis and longtime executive Jim Balsillie stepped down as Co-CEOs after the company lost tens of billions in market value.

RIM said there will be staff reductions among its 16,500 employees and significant spending cuts as the company looks to save a $1 billion ? even as it transitions to its much-delayed "BlackBerry 10" software platform expected out later this year.

RIM reiterated that its financial performance will continue to be challenged for the next few quarters.

Misek believes that had BlackBerry 10 been released last year, the company might have had a chance, but he said now RIM is likely to release the new BlackBerrys right when Apple is due to introduce a new iPhone.

RIM is following the same trajectory as struggling Finnish handset makers Nokia and California-based Palm, both of which attracted consumers with trend-setting phones and technologies in their heyday, only to be outmaneuvered by competitors. In Canada, there is fear that RIM could go the way of former Canadian tech giant Nortel, which declared bankruptcy in 2009 and was picked over for its patents.

Associated Press

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Study provides new insights into structure of heart muscle fibers

Public release date: 28-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Chris Chipello
christopher.chipello@mcgill.ca
514-398-4201
McGill University

Discovery could be used to help engineer artificial tissue

A study led by researchers from McGill University provides new insights into the structure of muscle tissue in the heart a finding that promises to contribute to the study of heart diseases and to the engineering of artificial heart tissue.

The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveals that the muscle fibers in the heart wall are locally arranged in a special "minimal surface," the generalized helicoid. The results add a significant new dimension to our understanding of the structure and function of heart-wall muscle fiber since minimal surfaces arise in nature as optimal solutions to physical problems. (A more familiar example of a minimal surface is the film that forms when a wireframe is dipped in a solution of soap.)

Surgeons and anatomists have been examining the geometry of muscle fibers in the heart for decades, and have long known that muscle cells are aligned to form helices that wind around the ventricles. But these analyses have been confined largely to the level of individual fibers. Partly because of the limitations of traditional histology techniques, little work has been done on the more-complex geometry of groups of fibers.

Working with collaborators at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, and Yale University in the U.S., the McGill-led team used a combination of Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) and computer modeling to reveal the way that bundles of fibers bend together. The researchers examined images of the heart tissue of rats, humans and dogs and found the same pattern.

"You can think of it as analyzing a clump of hair instead of an individual hair strand," explains Professor Kaleem Siddiqi of McGill's School of Computer Science. "We've discovered that the clump bends and twists in the form of a particular minimal surface, the generalized helicoid and this is true across species. It's not particular to just one mammal. The implications of these findings are broad."

The knowledge could be used, for example, to provide a scaffold to guide the repair of heart-wall damage caused by heart attacks. While regeneration of muscle tissue is a major area in bioengineering, most developments in this field have involved skeletal muscle tissue such as that in arms and legs which is arranged in a different, more linear structure.

The first author of the study is Dr. Peter Savadjiev of Harvard Medical School, whose research on this problem began while he was a doctoral student of Prof. Siddiqi's at McGill. Other co-authors of the paper are Gustav J. Strijkers and Adrianus J. Bakermans of Eindhoven University, Emmanuel Piuze of McGill, and Steven W. Zucker of Yale University.

###

The research was supported with funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Fonds de recherche du Qubec - Nature et technologies (FQRNT), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Dutch Technology Foundation, and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 28-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Chris Chipello
christopher.chipello@mcgill.ca
514-398-4201
McGill University

Discovery could be used to help engineer artificial tissue

A study led by researchers from McGill University provides new insights into the structure of muscle tissue in the heart a finding that promises to contribute to the study of heart diseases and to the engineering of artificial heart tissue.

The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveals that the muscle fibers in the heart wall are locally arranged in a special "minimal surface," the generalized helicoid. The results add a significant new dimension to our understanding of the structure and function of heart-wall muscle fiber since minimal surfaces arise in nature as optimal solutions to physical problems. (A more familiar example of a minimal surface is the film that forms when a wireframe is dipped in a solution of soap.)

Surgeons and anatomists have been examining the geometry of muscle fibers in the heart for decades, and have long known that muscle cells are aligned to form helices that wind around the ventricles. But these analyses have been confined largely to the level of individual fibers. Partly because of the limitations of traditional histology techniques, little work has been done on the more-complex geometry of groups of fibers.

Working with collaborators at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, and Yale University in the U.S., the McGill-led team used a combination of Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) and computer modeling to reveal the way that bundles of fibers bend together. The researchers examined images of the heart tissue of rats, humans and dogs and found the same pattern.

"You can think of it as analyzing a clump of hair instead of an individual hair strand," explains Professor Kaleem Siddiqi of McGill's School of Computer Science. "We've discovered that the clump bends and twists in the form of a particular minimal surface, the generalized helicoid and this is true across species. It's not particular to just one mammal. The implications of these findings are broad."

The knowledge could be used, for example, to provide a scaffold to guide the repair of heart-wall damage caused by heart attacks. While regeneration of muscle tissue is a major area in bioengineering, most developments in this field have involved skeletal muscle tissue such as that in arms and legs which is arranged in a different, more linear structure.

The first author of the study is Dr. Peter Savadjiev of Harvard Medical School, whose research on this problem began while he was a doctoral student of Prof. Siddiqi's at McGill. Other co-authors of the paper are Gustav J. Strijkers and Adrianus J. Bakermans of Eindhoven University, Emmanuel Piuze of McGill, and Steven W. Zucker of Yale University.

###

The research was supported with funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Fonds de recherche du Qubec - Nature et technologies (FQRNT), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Dutch Technology Foundation, and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

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Treasure Coast Real Estate | Casa Del Sol Tequesta Homes For ...

by starfish on May 27, 2012

Find Casa Del Sol Tequesta Homes For Sale and Casa Del Sol Tequesta Home Values. We also have information on mortgages, insurance, movers and other Treasure Coast Real Estate Services for anyone looking to sell or buy a home in beautiful Palm Beach COUNTY Florida.

Paul Kitchen and Starfish Team provide clients, family and close friends with professional, honest and dependable service. A resident of Treasure Coast, Paul is extremely familiar with the local neighborhoods including Casa Del Sol Tequesta, school districts and the Treasure Coast Real Estate market in this beautiful Florida town.

Paul Kitchen
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Starfish Real Estate
8985 SE Bridge Road Hobe Sound, Florida 33455
(561) 935-9412
(800) 793-7304 toll free
Treasure Coast Real Estate
Treasure Coast Real Estate Blog

Tagged as: Casa Del Sol Tequesta, Treasure Coast Real Estate

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Tacit Consent From Breitbart.com Encourages Riehl To Make Sexist Attacks On Conservative Women (Little green footballs)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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FEATURE-Parma mayor becomes Italy's most-watched politician

Sun May 27, 2012 4:00am EDT

* Pizzarotti's win dealt stunning blow to traditional parties

* Hails from comic Beppe Grillo's Five-Star Movement

By Silvia Aloisi

PARMA, Italy, May 27 (Reuters) - Federico Pizzarotti was an unknown, 38-year-old computer technician at a bank until a few weeks ago. Just four days after being elected the mayor of Parma, he has become the most-watched political figure in Italy.

Pizzarotti's leap to fame comes thanks to the grassroots Five-Star Movement, led by comedian Beppe Grillo, which dealt a stunning blow to the parties that have governed Italy for the past two decades in this month's local elections.

Pizzarotti has astonished observers of the Italian political scene by emerging from obscurity to become the first Five-Star candidate to run one of the country's major cities.

The movement, which was created just three years ago and relies extensively on the Internet, has become the country's second most popular party with more than 18 percent support and more than half of Italians would consider voting for it, according to opinion polls.

"Two weeks ago, nobody knew who I was. I feel quite a bit of weight on my shoulders, everybody is watching us," Pizzarotti told Reuters in an interview in a frescoed chamber in Parma's 15th-century town hall.

The success of the protest movement reflects a Europe-wide trend seen from Greece to Germany as the economic crisis has eroded the standing of traditional political parties, blamed for the worst downturn since World War Two.

Like the Northern League 20 years ago, the Five-Star Movement is gaining momentum in Italy's economic heartland in the north. Parma, famous for Parmesan cheese and cured ham, is one of the region's most prosperous cities, and home to almost 190,000 people.

In blue jeans, tennis shoes and a purple sweater, Pizzarotti still seems uncomfortable with media attention, unlike the movement's founder, Grillo, who makes full use of the limelight to blast a scandal-prone elite that has overseen more than a decade of economic stagnation in Italy.

Grillo has also tapped into growing unease with austerity measures and recession by attacking Prime Minister Mario Monti's government of technocrats, which created 24 billion euros ($30 billion) in new taxes this year alone.

Something like an Italian Michael Moore, Grillo's language is irreverent and outlandish. He uses the most vulgar Italian swear words without hesitation, and awards his political rivals colourful nicknames.

Monti is "Rigor Montis," and former Premier Silvio Berlusconi is the "psycho-midget". Italy's established parties are dead, he says, and their leaders are "zombies, vampires, mummies".

The bear-like Grillo, who sports a beard and a mop of tangled white hair, says Italy should dump the euro, devalue the lira, and force foreign banks to accept debt payments - at a loss - in the new currency.

The baby-faced Pizzarotti does not look like Grillo and does not sound like Grillo.

As mayor, his biggest challenge will be managing Parma's 600-million-euro ($750 million) debt, and he will probably need to negotiate with banks Grillo usually derides as the root of the crisis.

"One should not demonise banks. They have a fundamental role in everybody's life," Pizzarotti said.

Pizzarotti chooses his words carefully and does not swear. Instead of attacking rivals, he talks about finding "common ground". He sidesteps the question of the euro, saying he is not an economist.

"We do different jobs," Pizzarotti said of the movement's leader. "He's our loudspeaker, he shakes up people's consciences. He is like a plough that shifts the earth. We are the ones planting the seeds."

"During the campaign, some people told me they didn't like Grillo. I told them that Grillo is not coming to govern here. I am," he said.

FROM MOVEMENT TO PARTY

The change has brought a minor revolution to the familiar cast of middle-aged and elderly men who dominate Italian politics but not everyone is convinced.

"I am puzzled. Parma has a lot of problems. It's good to see all these new, clean faces but you need experienced people to run a city," said bar owner Maria Enrica Galli.

Grillo refuses to call the movement a party, and bans his candidates from going on TV talk shows. The Internet, his blog and social networks are the movement's main means of communication.

It accepts no public campaign financing, unlike the millions of euros pocketed by the established parties every year, funding itself instead from the proceeds of Grillo's stand up shows, and sales of books, videos and T shirts. Pizzarotti spent just over 6,000 euros ($7,500) on his entire campaign.

But with national elections looming early next year and Italy still dangerously enmeshed in the euro zone crisis, the Five Star Movement will come under increasing scrutiny as it seeks to convert its local success to the national stage.

"Grillo and his people have a big job ahead, because a grassroots movement is one thing, but it's quite another thing to organise a real party," said James Walston, a political analyst at the American University in Rome.

"Where there is the smell of power, all sorts of people come out of the woodwork and they will have to work very carefully to maintain their purity," he said.

What is clear is that the thirty-somethings who make up the political bloc have a lot to learn.

In fact, Pizzarotti and his 19 council members are taking a crash course on administrative law from local professors, starting on Thursday, and he has put up an ad on Grillo's blog seeking an experienced administrator.

"We're looking for a person with experience managing the mechanics of city government to be director general as soon as possible. No criminal record, not tied to traditional parties, with proven competence," the ad read, inviting email resumes.

Even handling the time demands of his new job is a challenge for Pizzarotti. As he spoke in the interview, his wife Cinzia kept interrupting.

"We're running late. We've got loads to do. You need to learn to manage your time," she said.

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Paying Respects (TIME)

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Spain's Bankia treats $29B state aid as investment

El presidente de Bankia, Jos?e Ignacio Goirigolzarri, en una conferencia en la sede madrile?a del banco nacionalizado el s?bado, 26 de mayo del 2012. Bankia le ha costado al erario espa?ol 30.500 millones de d?lares, pero Goirigolzarr sostienen que no necesitar? m?s. (Foto AP/Antonio Heredia)

El presidente de Bankia, Jos?e Ignacio Goirigolzarri, en una conferencia en la sede madrile?a del banco nacionalizado el s?bado, 26 de mayo del 2012. Bankia le ha costado al erario espa?ol 30.500 millones de d?lares, pero Goirigolzarr sostienen que no necesitar? m?s. (Foto AP/Antonio Heredia)

Bankia's president, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, speaks during a press conference at the bank's headquarters , in Madrid, Saturday, May 26, 2012. Spain's troubled bank, Bankia, has asked the Spanish government for 19 billion euro ($23.8 billion) in financial support just as a leading credit rating agency downgraded it to junk status. The request came as Standard & Poor's downgraded Bankia and four other Spanish banks to junk status because of uncertainty over restructuring and recapitalization plans. (AP Photo/Antonio Heredia)

MADRID (AP) ? The president of troubled Spanish lender Bankia says the ?23.5 billion ($29.5 billion) in state aid it will receive in the country's biggest-ever bank bailout will be treated as an investment to make profit for the Spanish government and not as a loan.

In a statement released Sunday, Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri appeared to be trying to reassure markets after the press questioned what he meant by comments the day before that "we don't need to talk about giving any of it back."

He says Bankia's responsibility is not to return that capital, but "to generate value and profitability for that contribution."

Bankia is stuck with the ?32 billion ($40 billion) in toxic assets on its books from loans in the property sector before the real estate bubble burst.

Associated Press

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