Maroon 5
Posted: February 13, 2012 at 12:32 pm
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Maroon 5
Grammy Awards 2012 – Rhianna Performance [RIP WHITNEY HOUSTON] – Video
Posted: at 12:32 pm
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Grammy Awards 2012 - Rhianna Performance [RIP WHITNEY HOUSTON] - Video
Up-Close and Personal with Grace Lee in ‘Patrol ng Pilipino’
Posted: at 12:32 pm
Up-Close and Personal with Grace Lee in ‘Patrol ng Pilipino’
Filipino-Korean DJ, TV host, and interpreter Grace Lee has hit recent news headlines for dating the country’s most eligible bachelor, President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III whose love life has been a media circus for the past year.
Tomorrow, February 14, in “Patrol ng Pilipino,” showbiz reporter Marie Lozano dishes out fascinating information about the woman of the hour and the newest apple of PNoy’s eyes. Know how she met PNoy and how her life has changed since the president confirmed they are dating.
Will the meticulous public approve of her and PNoy’s potential romantic relationship despite their 23-year age gap?
Meanwhile, join Jorge Cariño as he goes to Dumaguete City, which was recently ravaged by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake along with other towns in Negros Oriental. Watch the account of the experts from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on how the earthquake led to the landslide that generated aftershocks and tsunami alerts that sent victims into pandemonium.
“This tragedy has strengthened my goal to deliver news and information to citizens, to help them prevent harm and get their lives back on track,” Jorge said.
Know the stories behind the news tomorrow, February 14, in “Patrol ng Pilipino” after “Bandila” on ABS-CBN or watch it earlier on DZMM TeleRadyo (SkyCable Channel 26), 9:15 p.m.
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Up-Close and Personal with Grace Lee in ‘Patrol ng Pilipino’
Frustration continues over PPSR
Posted: at 12:32 pm
Beverley Head
Monday, 13 February 2012 18:17
IT Policy - Government Tech Policy
Page 1 of 2
A fortnight after the $33 million Personal Property Security Register was launched, the system performance is slowly improving – but there remains frustration at the lack of firm commitments regarding system upgrades.
The PPSR was built by Fujitsu for the Attorney General’s department and has endured a fraught first fortnight, described as “exceptionally challenging” by Moses Samaha, head of commercial risk for Veda . Mr Samaha said that the performance of the system today is much better than it was a fortnight ago, when it first launched, but there remain issues, particularly regarding the data migrated from ASIC databases which was missing Australian Company Numbers.
The PPSR website is still featuring a warning about system performance, and thanking users for their patience.
Mr Samaha said that such was the poor performance of the system when first launched, Veda felt obliged to waive its clients’ PPSR usage fees for the first few days, although it has since reinstated charges.
He said that the system performance was improving, but that there remained some limitations. “The Attorney General’s (department) is working through that but there are no commitments about time which is a little frustrating,” said Mr Samaha.
Veda’s clients access the PPSR system via Veda’s front end systems, and Mr Samaha said that that continued delays “put us in a bit of a predicament as we don’t want people to think it’s us” causing the delays.
Nevertheless he said that the PPSR search facility was getting a little better and more consistent. He said that in the first days of the Register’s operation the search function was stalling, prompting users to start searches again which led to a backlog of searches quickly developing.
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Frustration continues over PPSR
Green Acre Radio: Will Duwamish cleanup success be undercut?
Posted: at 12:32 pm
After years of study, one of the region’s toxic hot spots just got a major make over. It didn’t come cheap. The total cost was a cool $8 million. But the clean up demonstrated that an urban waterway can be home to both industry and nature.
Click on the audio player above or here to listen.
The barge, DB Anchorage, navigates a bend in the river. A 75 ton crane it carries has dredged three and half acres of contaminated mud from Slip 4, a pier on the Lower Duwamish River. The toxic hot spot which for more than a century was a berthing area for Boeing and other companies, is now a lot closer to being a river that nurtures salmon and bull trout. It’s taken a long time.
“But we couldn’t really start clean up until the ongoing sources of pollution, especially PCB into this area, were controlled.” BJ Cummings with the Duwamish River Clean Up Coalition. PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyls, found in coolants, lubricants, and plasticizers, were banned in the U.S. in 1979 but are extraordinarily persistent. “It turned out there was PCB in the caulking at Boeing Field that was then seeping into the soil and getting into the storm water pipes and then flowing out right here into Slip 4.”
The river was designated a Superfund site in 2001. The EPA worked with Boeing, the city, county, and port for years on a clean up plan. Finally in 2007 a plan to clean up this particular bend in the river was in place. But the project was delayed. The Department of Ecology determined storm water discharges from North Boeing Field would likely re-contaminate the river unless they were controlled. The Environmental Protection Agency waited for Boeing to take action. “After about five years I was tired of waiting,” Karen Keeley is Superfund Project Manager for EPA Region 10.
She and the Department of Ecology worked with Boeing to install a state-of-the-art storm water treatment system. “It wasn’t the process of how to do the clean up; it really was just ensuring that we had controlled sources of contamination in the slip enough that we could move forward and not have re-contamination down the road.”
The heavy lifting began last fall. Seattle Public Utilities and local contractor, General Construction Company, had a short window — October through February when salmon don’t migrate. By all accounts the Slip 4 clean up has been a success — on time, on budget, with a local company and local employees.
In addition to dredging the river’s contaminated muddy bottom, shoreline has been restored. Jennie Goldberg with Seattle Public Utilities: “We cut back the banks to create a more natural flow so that we could create another acre of inter-tidal riparian habitat for the Chinook salmon and the bull trout that are the protected species that cruise through here in the waterway.” An otter has even been sighted. Those who know the river well say otters were already in residence, but at least the work didn’t scare them away.
So is that the end of the story for this toxic hot spot on the Duwamish waterway? With an $8 million tab, 67 percent paid by Boeing and 33 percent by the City of Seattle, one might think so. But urban storm drains don’t just carry legacy contaminants like PCBs. They also carry a toxic stew of petroleum and copper from vehicles, phthalates, pet waste, and flame retardants.
There are thousands of storm drains and outfalls in King County alone, many which empty into the Duwamish. Storm water permits determine how cities and industries will curb this pollution and are issued by the Department of Ecology every five years. New permits are expected this summer. But the current draft, says Heather Trim with People for Puget Sound, is full of loopholes. “We don’t want to spend all this money to do the clean-up and then turn around and have contamination continuing to come in and re-contaminate the whole river."
The draft permit fails to recognize the power of low-impact development and green infrastructure to curb pollution spread by storm water, says Trim. “The term feasibility was used way too much in the whole permit.”
Cities and urban enclaves including Seattle, Bremerton, and the Port of Tacoma, have been proactive with green infrastructure such as porous pavement to absorb pollution. Storm water permits throughout the state need to be held to the same bar, says Trim. Legislation has been proposed to delay implementation on new runoff controls. “And we argue that it’s way more cost effective to do those techniques and it’s important to clean up the Sound. We can’t delay this.”
The EPA’s proposal for cleaning up the rest of the Duwamish waterway Superfund site is scheduled for public review in August.
Green Acre Radio is supported by the Human Links Foundation. Engineering by CJ Lazenby. Produced through the Jack Straw Foundation and KBCS.
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Green Acre Radio: Will Duwamish cleanup success be undercut?
Success Story: Patti Radcliff
Posted: at 12:32 pm
It took a neighbor to get Patti Radcliff into the gym, but it took a personal trainer to get her into her ideal dress size.
Photo by Lesley Young
Kettle bells have been a key part of Patti Radcliff's regimen with personal trainer Tommy Gerber. She has lost 70 pounds and dropped five dress sizes.
"My neighbor approached me to start walking," said Radcliff, 40, who works for International Paper. "The two of us had decided our weight was out of control."
"I joined the gym and started taking classes and working out, but I wasn't seeing results."
Following several friends' recommendations, Radcliff contacted personal trainer Tommy Gerber and began meeting with him three days a week.
"Several different people told me about him independently of each other, plus a friend of mine had made a phenomenal change. You could hardly recognize her," Radcliff said.
Since last February, Radcliff has lost 70 pounds and dropped five dress sizes.
"I'm addicted now," she said.
Gerber first helped Radcliff with her diet, giving her guidelines to follow that offered versatility for any situation.
"It made sense and was easy to do, and it was easy to eat out and do," she said.
She met with Gerber at Forever Fitness in the Clark Tower three days a week for weight training that included weight machines, free weights and kettlebells -- lots of kettlebells.
"He incorporated them into every workout," she said. "In addition to the muscles you're supposed to be working out, like the shoulders or back or arms, you're incorporating balance and core strengthening."
In the year she has been working with Gerber, Radcliff has experienced many different types of workouts.
"Just when it seems to plateau, he changes the routine," she said. "Just when I get to the point where it wasn't hard anymore, that's when he changes it."
Radcliff also worked out her cardiovascular system three or four days a week, putting in 10 minutes on the treadmill, 10 on the Stairmaster, 10 on the Elliptical and 10 on the stationary bike, for a total of 40 minutes.
Although she has met her goal -- and then some -- Radcliff completed her first half-marathon in October and is training for another one in March. She continues to meet with Gerber, now twice a week, and get in her 40-minute cardio sessions three or four days a week.
"I just want to keep working out," she said.
More important than her weight, Radcliff has seen changes in the numbers for something else.
"I'm no longer on cholesterol medication," she said.
Have you lost weight and kept it off, adopted better eating habits, started exercising or had success living a more healthful lifestyle? E-mail your story to sunyata00@gmail.com.
Patti Radcliff
Age: 40.
Hometown: Bartlett.
What she did: Radcliff began meeting with personal trainer Tommy Gerber three days a week for weight training and working out her cardiovascular system for 40 minutes three or four days a week. She lost 70 pounds and dropped five dress sizes.
Personal trainer: Tommy Gerber, tgfitness.net, (901) 438-6115.
Gym info: Forever Fit Health Club in the Clark Tower, 5100 Poplar, 7th floor, (901) 763-1140.
Advice: "It's really hard to do it by yourself. Either have a buddy to work out with you, or find a trainer, and find a trainer who works for you."
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Success Story: Patti Radcliff
Briggs hits back in police expenses row
Posted: at 12:31 pm
Adam Briggs hits back in police expenses row
3:35pm Sunday 12th February 2012 in
A FORMER deputy chief constable who faced an investigation over his expenses has branded the inquiry “vindictive”.
Adam Briggs was investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) over allegations he claimed £11,700 for personal development training from North Yorkshire Police despite already receiving a £31,600 allowance to cover private medical insurance and personal development training since taking up his post in 2007.
The IPCC’s report said it was unacceptable for the authority to give Mr Briggs more than £30,000 without auditing how the money was spent.
It added it was disappointed that Mr Briggs, who retired last year, had not so-operated with its inquiry.
But Mr Briggs said: “The issues contained in the IPCC release were all closely examined by the chief constable and the ethics of the standards committee of the North Yorkshire Police Authority, who are the appropriate bodies.
“They were examined in detail in 2009 and 2010 when I answered every question asked of me, acknowledged I had made a minor administrative error in a procurement process that was new to me and I listened to the advice.
“I regard the IPCC inquiry as a vindictive act and I was not prepared to be a party to it as the appropriate bodies had already concluded no further action was required.”
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Briggs hits back in police expenses row
ClevrU and China Telecom Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Jointly Work Together in Developing the Mobile Online …
Posted: at 12:30 pm
China Telecom and ClevrU Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding today in Beijing China witnessed by the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, to jointly work together to develop the mobile online education market in China and in 50 other countries.
Waterloo, Ontario (PRWEB) February 10, 2012
It is the intention of ClevrU and China Telecom to develop a long-term strategic partnership relationship to research and develop a business model for the mobile online education market in China and 50 other countries that China Telecom has operations.
China Telecom and its subsidiary China Communication Services Corporation Limited and its subsidiary’s will support ClevrU’s market development with assistance in market research, business model development, platform deployment and operational implementation.
ClevrU agrees to support China Telecom and its subsidiaries with adapting ClevrU’s education platform and applications to the needs of the Chinese market and 50 other countries supported by China Telecom.
“ClevrU is excited with the opportunity to work with China Telecom and its affiliated companies to jointly study and develop the mobile online education market and the need to provide greater access to quality education services both in the enterprise training market and the consumer education market.” said Dana Fox, CEO and President of ClevrU Corporation.
About ClevrU Corporation
ClevrU is focused on WEB 3.0 applications that intelligently leverage Cloud Computing in a mobile environment. ClevrU has developed an e-teaching content delivery platform with advanced tools to assist in interactive teaching and student/instructor collaboration. This application uses an intelligent engine to adapt course content to users personal needs in a mobile environment. ClevrU is initially focused on international education markets. ClevrU's technology combines video e-teaching with semantic based intelligent social network tools for educational institutions universities and colleges, cellular phone/ tablet computer manufacturers and cellular carriers to deliver course content to students anywhere, anytime. ClevrU branded the platform ClevrU EDU and registered a patent pending on its Intelligent Collaborative Platform Technology.
About China Telecom
China Telecom Corporation Limited is the world's largest wireline telecommunications and broadband services provider and the world's largest CDMA mobile operator. Serving as a full services integrated information service operator, China Telecom provides basic telecommunications services, such as wireline telecommunications services and mobile telecommunications services, and value-added telecommunications services, such as Internet access services and information services in the PRC. As of the end of March 2011, the Company has wireline access lines in service of about 173 million, wireline broadband subscribers of over 66 million and mobile subscribers of more than 100 million. The Company's H shares and American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") are listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and the New York Stock Exchange, respectively.
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Dana Fox
dana@clevru.com
519 575 1477
Email Information
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ClevrU and China Telecom Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Jointly Work Together in Developing the Mobile Online ...
GW wary to adopt free online courses
Posted: at 12:30 pm
Administrators are skeptical about the trajectory of online education after a startup company made a splash last month by offering free online courses taught by universities’ top professors.
Udemy, a for-profit company that allows users to create and sell courses, tapped into professors’ knowledge base with the launch of The Faculty Project Jan. 26. Twelve professors at universities like Vanderbilt, Northwestern and Colgate have developed free courses in subjects ranging from public health to Russian literature and music.
The Udemy courses – which are offered for no academic credit – are presented through a combination of media, often including video mash-ups in which the professor is seen talking and outlining graphs next to a presentation. Students can post comments and questions under the lectures to which professors might respond.
GW professors are not offering any courses through the project, which cost about $500 each to develop, director of The Faculty Project Tim Parks said. The company has to select professors to participate.
Academic administrators have yet to jump on board with free online courses, citing their costly upkeep as a deterrent.
Provost Steven Lerman said the University is looking closely into the online education marketplace, which “has a lot of different models floating around,” including Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s OpenCourseWare, which Lerman helped launch 10 years ago when he was a professor there. After a decade of offering free lecture videos to students around the world, MIT will start granting certificates to students who take the courses this spring in a new program called MITx.
“The hard question is how do you sustain those [courses]. Even if you get some money to help do it at first, there’s a care and feeding cost to these things,” Lerman said. “The courses have to be updated, certainly if you want to do something like give examinations to students and give them certificates.”
The University is making strides in offering more hybrid courses – taught partly in the classroom and partly online – as a way to mitigate dwindling classroom space and the pinch of the city-imposed population cap for on-campus student enrollment. GW also offers 60 degree and certificate programs that use a standard distance learning model where students never have to set foot on campus.
To keep up with the expenses of developing online options and help subsidize free course materials, some universities rely on grants or donations.
Stephen Ehrmann, vice provost for teaching and learning, said the separation between GW and elite institutions that are taking up free online education models comes from the significant grants pulled in yearly from foundations.
“GW has no plans to offer free online non-credit courses comparable to the ones offered by MIT and Stanford,” Ehrmann said. “When we get large gifts or foundation support, I’d like to see us use it to improve the education of GW students who are working hard to earn a degree,” instead of outside students seeking free online courses, he said.
Likening free online courses to “public television or the New York Public Library,” Ehrmann said, “You have to have a lot of money to offer them. If you can do it, it can be a real public service.”
Especially as tuition costs are spotlighted nationwide, Robert Garland, a Colgate professor who is teaching ancient Greek religion through Udemy, said no-cost courses open doors for people who cannot otherwise afford higher education.
“This is an important issue for all institutions of higher learning, that online learning is here to stay. What format classes will be in and how they’ll impact higher learning is not clear at this moment,” Garland said. “I certainly believe in trying to promote learning to a wider group of people.”
Other online education issues, including the costs of courses, will be on the docket for GW’s six-month-old Teaching and Learning Collaborative this spring, the advisory board’s lead faculty member Rahul Simha said.
The 19-person board was created to examine teaching strategies toward boosting student engagement in the classroom.
“It’s exciting that today’s technology allows certain kinds of scaling and cost efficiencies, so institutions of higher education need to figure out how to make use of that,” Simha, who is also a computer science professor, said.
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GW wary to adopt free online courses
VIP Executive Room Life Coaching and Lunch with Success Coach Jewel Diamond Taylor – Video
Posted: at 2:06 am
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VIP Executive Room Life Coaching and Lunch with Success Coach Jewel Diamond Taylor - Video