Sunday, March 31, 2013

2013 World Car of the Year Awards announced. Volkswagen wins big.

Every year, an international panel of automotive journalists selects the best cars in the world under various categories, handing out its awards at the New York Auto Show. This year, the 2013 Mark VII Volkswagen Golf took top honors.?

By Kurt Ernst,?Guest blogger / March 31, 2013

Volkswagen design chief Walter de Silva holds a trophy after the Volkswagen Golf was named 2013 World Car of the Year during the New York International Auto Show in New York, March 28, 2013.

Lucas Jackson/Reuters/File

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Every year, an international panel of automotive journalists selects the best cars in the world under various categories, handing out its awards at the New York Auto Show.

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?Atop the hierarchy is the World Car of the Year, followed by the World Performance Car, the World Car Design of the Year and the World Green Car (where our own John Voelcker, editor of Green Car Reports, contributed his expertise for the panel of judges).

?For 2013, the panel chose the Mark VII Volkswagen Golf (which will debut in the United States next year, as a 2015 model) as the World Car of the Year, saying it was ?as close to the perfect hatchback design as any car company has come yet. If ever there was a car for everyman, the Golf is it.?

?This makes two in a row for Volkswagen, as the brand took top honors in 2012 with its Up! city car. The new Golf beat an impressive list of finalists, including the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, the Porsche Boxster / Cayman and the Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ / Toyota GT 86.

In the World Performance Car category, the new Porsche Boxster / Cayman defeated the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and the Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ / Toyota GT 86 to take the win, with the judges declaring that the Boxster is now less of a ?secretary?s car,? while the Cayman is a ?better Porsche sports car than the iconic 911.? Those are their words, not ours.

In the World Car Design of the Year Category, it was the stunning new Jaguar F-Type that beat out challengers like the Mazda6 and the Aston Martin Vanquish. Of their pick the panelists called the F-Type ?almost Italian at first glance,? saying that the F-Type is ?the promising dawn for the company?s latest roadster.?

The Tesla Model S continued its global winning streak, earning the pick as the World Green Car of the Year and beating out the Renault Zoe and the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid in the process

Calling the Model S ?fast and stylish,? the judges cited the car?s sensible range, seating capacity and near-supercar performance as grounds for their selection. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best auto bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger,?click here.?To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link in the blog description box above.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/QguZTYtgKjs/2013-World-Car-of-the-Year-Awards-announced.-Volkswagen-wins-big

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Business, labor close on deal for immigration bill

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Prospects for a Senate deal on an ambitious rewrite of the nation's immigration laws improved markedly as business and labor appeared ready to set aside their differences over a new low-skilled worker program holding up the agreement.

The AFL-CIO and U.S. Chamber of Commerce had been fighting over wages for tens of thousands of low-skilled workers who would be brought in under the new program to fill jobs in construction, hotels and resorts, nursing homes and restaurants, and other industries. But on Friday, officials from both sides said there was basic agreement on the wage issue, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said a final deal on the low-wage worker dispute was very close.

That likely would clear the way for Schumer and seven other senators in a bipartisan group to unveil legislation the week of April 8 to overhaul the U.S. immigration system, strengthening the border, cracking down on employers, allowing in tens of thousands of new high- and low-skilled workers and providing a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country.

"We're feeling very optimistic on immigration: Aspiring Americans will receive the road map to citizenship they deserve and we can modernize 'future flow' without reducing wages for any local workers, regardless of what papers they carry," AFL-CIO spokesman Jeff Hauser said in a statement. "Future flow" refers to future arrivals of legal immigrants.

Under the emerging agreement between business and labor, a new "W'' visa program would bring tens of thousands of lower-skilled workers a year to the country. The program would be capped at 200,000 a year, but the number of visas would fluctuate, depending on unemployment rates, job openings, employer demand and data collected by a new federal bureau pushed by the labor movement as an objective monitor of the market.

The workers would be able to change jobs and could seek permanent residency. Under current temporary worker programs, personnel can't move from employer to employer and have no path to permanent U.S. residence and citizenship. And currently there's no good way for employers to bring many low-skilled workers to the U.S. An existing visa program for low-wage nonagricultural workers is capped at 66,000 per year and is supposed to apply only to seasonal or temporary jobs.

The Chamber of Commerce said workers would earn actual wages paid to American workers or the prevailing wages for the industry they're working in, whichever is higher. The Labor Department determines prevailing wage based on customary rates in specific localities, so that it varies from city to city.

There was also disagreement about how to deal with certain higher-skilled construction jobs, such as electricians and welders, and it appears those will be excluded from the deal, said Geoff Burr, vice president of federal affairs at Associated Builders and Contractors. Burr said his group opposes such an exclusion because, even though unemployment in the construction industry is high right now, at times when it is low there can be labor shortages in high-skilled trades, and contractors want to be able to bring in foreign workers. But unions pressed for the exclusion, Burr said.

The low-skilled worker issue had loomed for weeks as perhaps the toughest matter to settle in monthslong closed-door talks on immigration among the senators, including Republicans John McCain of Arizona and Marco Rubio of Florida. The issue helped sink the last major attempt at immigration overhaul in 2007, when the legislation foundered on the Senate floor after an amendment was added to end a temporary worker program after five years, threatening a key priority of the business community.

The amendment passed by just one vote, 49-48. President Barack Obama, a senator at the time, joined in the narrow majority voting to end the program after five years.

___

Follow Erica Werner on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericawerner

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/business-labor-close-deal-immigration-bill-185315130.html

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Friday, March 29, 2013

Is Master School Right For You?

The decision to attain one's master degree is an important one. A few things should be taken into consideration before deciding to go back to school. One must first decide if he or she has enough time to devote to school. Secondly, a critical eye should be given to a potential school budget. Finally, one needs to decide if it is the right time to go back to school. Ultimately, the decision to go back to school should be well thought out and informed.

Most people who are thinking about going back to school consider whether or not they really have the time for it first. It may be very difficult to juggle a full-time job with school. Some people may go back to school during a transition period in their life. They may be able to focus on school full-time. This doesn't mean that one must quit whatever they are doing to go to school. Many people juggle school and work successfully.

Getting a master degree is not a cheap endeavor. One should sit down with a calculator and figure out how much it is actually going to cost. Tuition is only a fraction of what it will cost to go back to school. Potential students should also figure out how much it is going to cost for books, food and living expenses. They need to decide if they will be able to apply for scholarships or if they will need to take out student loans. Many students will save up money before going back to school. This can help to offset expenses if one has to cut back on work hours. It may be necessary to discuss the budget with one's family members as well.

There have been so many technological advancements in the past decade. Students can now study at traditional schools or online. In addition, students are replacing expensive text books with digital copies of their required books. Students often keep all of their notes on laptops or tablets. There are so many great gadgets to help one prepare for getting a master degree. Most professors have decided to go paperless also. Students who are primarily attending school online will get the most use out of their electronic devices.

Ultimately, one needs to decide on whether or not it is the right time to go back to school. Money and time should be the first two factors that need to be considered. Sometimes, it just isn't the right time to go back to school. Other potential students may like to take advantage of transition periods in their life. Staying with one's family after college is a great way to save money during a graduate program. Each situation is different. Every potential student must decide if he or she is ready for graduate school. Pursuing a master degree is a tough but worthy goal. Students will appreciate all of the time they spent planning to ensure scholastic success.

This post is brought to you by Walter Lake, a former student at University of Western Ontario, one of the top Canadian Universities offering quality Master programs in the country. For more information, visit their website. http://www.edu.uwo.ca/

Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/is-master-school-right-for-you--322997

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Here's How David Meerman Scott Writes | Copyblogger

Image of The Writer Files Logo

As publishers of online content, you and I inevitably run into the challenge of making the leap from the blank page, into the hearts and minds of our audience.

Content marketing ? at its core ? is finding the successful integration of great content and time-tested marketing strategies. International bestselling author and marketing strategist, David Meerman Scott, has made it his mission to help you find that sweet spot.

Mr. Scott is the author of eight books published in over 30 languages, the former marketing VP of two publicly traded companies, as well as Asia marketing director of Knight-Ridder.

With his extensive experience at that junction of the new media frontier and the old guard of publishing and PR, he?s found highly effective avenues to helping content creators and businesses connect with their audiences in extraordinary ways.

Let?s explore the file of David Meerman Scott, writer ?

Everything old is new again, online

Copyblogger?s Brian Clark was featured in Mr. Scott?s instant industry classic The New Rules of Marketing & PR (currently in its third edition), a textbook for the digital frontier on leveraging modern marketing to build your business.

Last year David brought us Newsjacking, an ingenious way for online marketers to leverage PR using nothing more than your blog and a Twitter account.

And today he shares his observations on the writing life, strategies for creating epic content, connecting with your audience, using your blog as an idea generator, and the nature of perfection.

About the writer ?

?
Who are you and what do you do?

I?m David Meerman Scott.

Meerman is my middle name which I?ve used professionally since the first time I Googled myself in the 1990s and found that David Scott (Commander of Apollo 15), David Scott (Congressman from Georgia), and David Scott (Ironman Triathlon champion) were too difficult to compete with for SEO.

I?ve written eight books, delivered talks at events in 36 countries on six continents, and serve on the advisory boards of a bunch of very cool companies.

What is your area of expertise as a writer or online publisher?

My first job was on a bond trading desk in the 1980s where I learned how to use real-time online content from media companies like Dow Jones and Reuters.

In the 1990s I was Asia Marketing Director for Knight-Ridder?s online media business and later VP of marketing at NewsEdge where I learned how to create content.

By the 2000s I realized that I had 20 years experience at the intersection of online media and marketing when most people had zero, so I left the corporate world to write and speak about that intersection.

Where can we find your writing?

davidmeermanscott.com

With thanks to my publisher John Wiley & Sons, my book World Wide Rave is now completely free as a PDF (with no registration required) and on Kindle, iPad, Nook, and Kobo ebook readers:

davidmeermanscott.com/free-stuff/free-ebooks/

The writer?s productivity ?

How much time, per day, do you spend reading or doing research?

All day, every day. My best ideas come at odd times, like waiting in line to board a plane.

Before you begin to write, do you have any pre-game rituals or practices?

When I?m not traveling, I wake up at 3:00am, check email and social feeds for a few minutes, then exercise for 90 minutes. After breakfast and a shower I go to my little hideout office in town and do long-form writing for about 3 hours. I eat lunch around 10:30, and after lunch is meetings, phone calls, interviews, and short form content like blog posts. I?m in bed by 8:30.

What?s your best advice for overcoming procrastination?

Don?t think of a book as 60,000 words. Instead think of a book as 120 blog posts of 500 words each.

What time of day is most productive for your writing or content production?

Mornings.

Do you generally adhere to a rigid or flexible writing system?

I use what I call a ?writing ladder? but I?ve never thought of it as a system till now. Maybe it is!

If a tweet resonates (it gets a bunch of RTs and @ replies) then I consider it good blog post fodder. If a blog post resonates, I?ll explore it with a riff in a speech and maybe another blog post or two. If a series of posts on the same topic resonates, that?s my next book.

Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead (which I wrote with HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan), Real-Time Marketing & PR, and Newsjacking were all developed this way.

How many hours a day do you spend actually writing (excluding email, social media etc.)?

Including my blog as writing, probably 3 hours a day average.

Do you write every day?

Yes. But the length of time varies significantly.

The writer?s creativity ?

Define creativity.

Seeing patterns that others don?t and effectively communicating them.

Who are your favorite authors, online or off?

In no particular order and with apologies to many people I?ll forget: Ann Handley, C.C. Chapman, Seth Godin, Bob Lefsetz, Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah, Brian Clark, Laura Hillenbrand, Tom Wolfe, Michael Collins, Nathaniel Philbrick.

Can you share a best-loved quote?

Here I am at the turn of the millennium and I?m still the last man to have walked on the moon. It says more about what we have not done than about what we have done.
~ Gene Cernan, Commander of Apollo 17

Do you prefer a particular type of music (or silence) when you write?

Silence.

How would you personally like to grow creatively as a writer?

My first book, Eyeball Wars, was a thriller. I?d like to take another shot at fiction.

Do you believe in ?writer?s block?? If so, how do you avoid it?

No writing is perfect. Just write.

Who or what is your ?Muse? at the moment (i.e. specific creative inspirations)?

Musicians like Phil Lesh, Charlie Musselwhite, B.B. King, and Keith Richards, who are still working the stage and making people happy half a century on.

Would you consider yourself someone who likes to ?take risks??

Absolutely.

What makes a writer great?

The ability to connect with an audience.

The writer?s workflow ?

What hardware or typewriter model are you presently using?

Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro 2.6GHz with Retina display (which I love), Apple 27-inch Thunderbolt Display, Apple mouse, and, to complete the package, an ergonomic keyboard made by Microsoft(!).

What software are you using for writing and general workflow?

Microsoft Word, TypePad for my blog, and WordPress for my site.

Do you have any tricks for staying focused?

Fear that someone else will write about the pattern I?m seeing before I write about it.

Have you run into any serious challenges or obstacles to getting words onto the page?

No. Only minor ones.

How do you stay organized (methods, systems, or ?mad science?)?

After nearly 1,000 posts over almost a decade, I use my blog as a catalog of my ideas. It may seem strange, but I search my own blog several times a day.

How do you relax at the end of a hard day?

Put away the MacBook Pro and iPhone and read something printed on paper.

A few questions just for the fun of it ?

Who (or what) has been your greatest teacher?

My liberal arts education.

What?s your biggest aggravation or pet peeve at the moment (writing related or otherwise)?

People who say, ?I?ve always wanted to write a book,? but don?t.

Choose one author, living or dead, that you would like to have dinner with.

Brian Clark, so we can talk both writing and music. It will happen. I hope it is soon.

Do you have a motto, credo or general slogan that you live by?

You are responsible for your own success.

What do you see as your greatest success in life?

When my ideas spark people to be more successful.

If you could take a vacation anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go (cost or responsibilities are no object)?

Does the Moon count?

What would you like to do more of in the coming year?

Surfing and scuba diving.

Can you offer any advice to writers and content producers that you might offer yourself, if you could go back in time and ?do it all over??

You can?t convince a publisher to accept your work. But if you show publishers that you already have readers of your work, they?ll come knocking at your door.

Please tell our readers where they can connect with you online.

Google David Meerman Scott and connect with me any way you like ? except the telephone.

Is there anything else you?d like our readers to know?

If you?ve read this far, I want to thank you very much for your interest.

I really appreciate it. You are why I write.

And finally, the writer?s desk ?

Building an audience that builds your brand or business requires some fearlessness.

But fearless exploration of the unknown, whether it be outer space, or the blank page, is the most rewarding part about this whole mysterious process.

Be prepared.

Innovative ideas arrive when you least expect them.

You might be jacked into the Matrix, or wandering aimlessly in the world, completely free of technology.

And writing 1000 words that gets your audience thinking, talking, and sharing, that is the part that requires some old-school ?ass-in-chair? time.

Thank you, Mr. Scott.

Thank you for tuning in to The Writer Files ?

Stay tuned for more inspiring Q&As from writers we admire.

If you?ve already subscribed to Copyblogger via email or RSS, the next installment will be delivered to you just like the rest of our daily content.

If not, go ahead and subscribe right now so you don?t miss a thing.

Now sharpen your pencil and get back to work!

About the Author: Kelton Reid is Director of Marketing for Copyblogger Media's StudioPress division, and an independent screenwriter, and novelist. Get more from Kelton on Twitter and Google+.

Source: http://www.copyblogger.com/writer-files-david-meerman-scott/

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Travel: Sports and active tourism in Benidorm - PinkNews.co.uk

Whilst Benidorm is synonymous with sun, sand and sea, it might come as a surprise to know that it?s also a growing gay?destination for sport leisure breaks. Sheltered by the Sierra Cortina and offering crystal clear waters, the year round mild climate makes it ideal for a wide range of land and watersports with activities to suit all budgets and interests, for families, couples, more leisurely guests or the thrill-seeking adrenalin-junkie!

Of course, the Costa Blanca is renowned for its golf courses and there are three just minutes from the town, including a superb Jack Niklaus-designed PGA golf course with the choice of another 7 excellent courses all within easy reach.

The quieter golden sands of Poniente beach and its attractive new waterfront promenade not only attracts families and sunworshippers but joggers, serious runners, dog walkers, cyclists and roller blade fans along the wide sweep of the bay with a floating swimming platform in summer.?The other Blue Flag beach, Levante, is more than 2 kilometres long with full beach facilities, including beach volleyball and bathing facilities for the disabled. As well as all the usual beach watersports, this is where you will find a unique cable ski (a great introduction to waterskiing) and wakeboarding, jet skis, canoes and kayaks too, as well as the excellent facilities and sailing experiences at Club Nautico.

A 20 minute boat ride from the Marina below the old town of Benidorm brings you to Benidorm Island and its marine reserve, one of several renowned sites in the region where scuba-diving enthusiasts from all over Europe appreciate
the unique marine life, easily visible around the cliffs.

If you don?t want to go as far as donning a wetsuit, the boat trip is a pleasant half-day out and costs just ?14 Euros return which includes viewing the marine life from a glass-bottomed boat.?The island has a few good walking paths for viewing birds and wildlife or a swim off the rocks and there?s a small caf? to enjoy a cold beer and tapas while you soak up the breathtaking views of Benidorm across the bay.?See more on the resorts? range of watersports facilities at the Visit Benidorm website.

If you prefer your sport on terra firma, you?re literally spoilt for choice:? the recently built Sports Pavilion offers excellent facilities and a wide range of sports including rugby, football, athletics and ?paddle, tennis, squash and much more, as well as several local private clubs. There?s an excellent public transport service of buses and taxis to help you get to explore the surroundings too. On the outskirts of the resort you can enjoy all sorts of leisure activities from go-karting to paintball and the excellent riding at Benidorm Horse Riding Club. Just above the resort there is a new network of excellent walking and cyclepaths designed to encourage locals and visitors alike to appreciate the freedom, fresh air and wonderful coastal views you can enjoy just minutes from the centre of the resort.

Leisurely hikers and serious climbers will enjoy stunning landscapes of the Sierra Helada, Valencia?s first national park reserve, with a choice of routes and levels of difficulty.

With the perfect combination of the glorious Mediterranean / Mountain setting of the Marina Baixa region, Benidorm is one of Spain?s most popular cycling regions and is host to a number of important competitions, including stages of the Tour of Valencia. There are?routes to suit all abilities from a gentle ride along the seafront to hard-core mountain biking. The resort operates ?Bicidorm? (a Boris?bike type scheme) with pickup points around the resort promoting sustainable travel. Several companies and specialist sports tourism operators in the resort, such as Marco Polo Expeditions, offer mountain bike hire and a range of other services too: half-full day walking, hiking tours, mountaineering, canyoning, parascending, paragliding, guided jeep safaris and more.

Just 15 minutes from the bustle of the town are the lush, secluded valleys of the Sierra Cortina and Puig Campana, the highest peak in the range, where you can immerse yourself in nature and spectacular mountain landscapes with guides with expert local knowledge who tailor-make the tours to suit small groups and individual abilities, so it can be as daring or sedate as you wish!

See more at?the Visit Benidorm website for a full list of the resorts? sports facilities and major sporting events & festivals throughout the year.

Just 45 kms from Alicante airport and 140 kms km from Valencia, both are served by major tour operators and low-cost flights from most UK airports.

Check out Visit Benidorm and the Visit Benidorm Facebook page for more information.

Visit?Benidorm is an advertiser on PinkNews.co.uk

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Source: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/03/27/travel-sports-and-active-tourism-in-benidorm/

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Owen Wilson-led animated film gets new title

By Lucas Shaw

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Relativity and Reel FX have renamed their upcoming animated film "Free Birds," replacing the previous title of "Turkeys."

"Turkeys" was a working title, and the parties felt that this new name aptly fit a raucous buddy comedy. It has not yet been decided if the Lynyrd Skynyrd song will be used (but we asked).

The film features the voices of Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson as two spunky turkeys that take a time machine back to the first Thanksgiving. They want to expunge turkeys from Thanksgiving's culinary tradition.

Amy Poehler will voice the female lead while Dan Fogler, Lesley Nicol of "Downton Abbey," George Takei of "Star Trek" fame, Keith David and Colm Meaney all lend their voices as well.

Relativity decided in February to move the release of the film up a year from November 14, 2014 to November 1 of this year because of an opening in the calendar and its confidence in its early sneaks of the film.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/owen-wilson-led-animated-film-gets-title-223332604.html

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Chinese Consumers Scoff At The State-Run Media's Heavy-Handed Swipes Against Apple

Image (1) chinapple2.jpg for post 335615Tim Cook has said that China will soon become Apple’s biggest market, but the government is not as besotted as Chinese consumers.?China’s state-run media has taken several swipes at Apple this month, moves which may be?part of a (heavy-handed) public relations strategy to pave the way for locally grown operating systems as the Chinese government seeks to move its IT industry away from Western software. But if popular response to the anti-Apple articles is anything to go by, Chinese consumers and their iOS devices won’t be so easily parted. Earlier this week, People’s Daily, the Chinese government’s official newspaper, published articles calling Apple’s customer-service practices arrogant.?The People’s Daily article followed a story earlier this month by official government press agency Xinhua, which blamed Apple for an increase in high-interest loans taken out by students to buy “fancy electronic products, most Apple devices.” And just a few days prior to the Xinhua story, China Central Television’s investigative program “3.15″ criticized Apple’s warranty practices, saying that the Cupertino company discriminates against Chinese iPhone owners by offering shorter guarantees than in other countries, using refurbished components, and refusing to honor after-sale obligations. China observer Gordon G. Chang wrote in a Forbes opinion piece that “executives in Cupertino should get worried that the 3.15 show is not a one-off.” What’s at stake for the Chinese government is its efforts to decrease dependency on foreign software by upping the profile of locally developed operating systems.?Apple is just one of several foreign tech companies targeted by the Chinese government. Earlier this month, for example, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a white paper declaring that China is?too reliant?on the Android smartphone operating system (though it?overstated Google’s power in China). The Chinese government is?building its own Ubuntu-based open-source OS?in partnership with Canonical and Chinese developers. The Linux-based OS, called “Ubuntu Kylin,” is set for release next month, and a China-specific version of Ubuntu Touch for smartphones and tablets may also be in the works. Most of Huawei and ZTE’s handsets are Android-based, but both Chinese companies are working on their own smartphone operating systems. Huawei Device CEO Wan Biao told Reuters last September that the company is “devoting resources into coming up with a phone operating system based on our current platform in case other companies won’t let us use their system one day.” Though ZTE’s operating system was built with Mozilla, it’s also meant

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/L1lcj_HiIVg/

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

2 heads not always better than 1 -- like on a shark

Journal of Fish Biology / C. M. Wagner et al

The two-headed bull shark fetus. It's about 8 inches (20 centimeters) from head to head.

By Douglas Main
LiveScience

When a fisherman caught a bull shark recently off the Florida Keys, he came across an unlikely surprise: One of the shark's live fetuses had two heads.

The fisherman kept the odd specimen, and shared it with scientists, who described it in a studypublished online Monday?in the Journal of Fish Biology. It's one of the very few examples of a two-headed shark ever recorded ? there about six instances in published reports ? and the first time this has been seen in a bull shark, said Michael Wagner, a study co-author and researcher at Michigan State University.

Technically called "axial bifurcation," the deformity is a result of the embryo beginning to split into two separate organisms, or twins, but doing so incompletely, Wagner told OurAmazingPlanet. It's a very rare mutation that occurs across different animals, including humans.

"Halfway through the process of forming twins, the embryo stops dividing," he said.

The two-headed fetus likely wouldn't have lived for very long in the wild, he said. "When you're a predator that needs to move fast to catch other fast-moving fish ? that'd be nearly impossible with this mutation," he said. ?[See the two-headed shark.]

Journal of Fish Biology / C. M. Wagner et al

A radiograph of the two-headed shark.

Wagner said the description of the deformed shark may someday help better understand how these deformities arise in sharks and other animals.

Two-headed snakes and turtles can be bought from certain specialty breeders, and there is a small market for such creatures, Wagner said.

Several of the few examples of two-headed sharks available today come from museum specimens from the late 1800s, when deformed animals and other macabre curiosities fetched high prices, he said.

Another reason the two-headed shark likely wouldn't have survived: its small body. "It had very developed heads, but a very stunted body," Wagner said. There's only so much energy that can go into the body's development, and it went into the shark's double noggins, he added.

Email Douglas Main?or follow him @Douglas_Main. Follow us?@OAPlanet, Facebook?or ?Google+. Original article on LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/29f9ec8a/l/0Lscience0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C250C17458690A0E20Eheads0Enot0Ealways0Ebetter0Ethan0E10Elike0Eon0Ea0Eshark0Dlite/story01.htm

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Monday, March 25, 2013

Bye, Bye American Dream! U.S. Economic Inequality Is Permane ...


Kit B. (322)
Sunday March 24, 2013, 12:31 pm
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

A new study by a team of economists in academia and the government has concluded that economic inequality is a permanent?not temporary?feature in the United States, based on an analysis of 350,000 federal income tax returns between 1987 and 2009.

?For household income, both before and after taxes, the increase in inequality over this period was predominantly, although not entirely, permanent,? the highly technical report concluded. ?We also find evidence that the U.S. federal tax system helped reduce the increase in household income inequality; but this attenuating effect was insufficient to significantly alter the broad trend toward rising inequality.?

The study by economists at two state universities, the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury Department, also found, not surprisingly, that the wealthiest Americans consume more than less well-off people, and that disparity causes poorer Americans to suffer as a result.

?Our findings, along with economic theory, suggest that the increase in income inequality observed in roughly the last two decades should translate into increases in consumption inequality, and is therefore likely to be welfare-reducing, at least according to most social welfare functions,? the report said. ?Although measurement problems with household consumption data in the U.S. have made it difficult to convincingly measure the degree of the increase in consumption inequality, some recent studies? suggest that the increase in consumption inequality was indeed substantial.?

Simply put, the study confirms what Vermont's U.S. Sen. Bernard Sanders has been saying for years, ?The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.?

?The takeaway here is rough,? the Washington Post?s Ezra Klein wrote in his Wonkblog column. ?The reason the permanent/transitory distinction matters is that lifetime earnings are much more important than a single year?s earnings. It?s lifetime earnings that decide how you live in general, what sort of house you can afford, whether you can send a kid to college, whether you can retire comfortably.?

Better-off Americans often opine that those below them on the economic ladder should just work a little harder. But this study suggests that there are irreconcilable gaps in income, lifetime wealth, consumption and the resulting health between the haves and have-nots in America. It also suggests progressive taxation can buffer those inequalities a bit, but not make up for the gaps.

It will be curious to see if this study will be cited in Washington?s ongoing debate about 'reforming' entitlement programs?namely Medicare and Social Security. It suggests, if anything, that growing slices of American society are heading to less financially secure futures, especially in old age. That means federal safety nets are more needed than ever?despite the GOP?s ideological crusade to cut spending on them.
****Links to study and other links within article at VISIT SITE***

By: Steven Rosenfeld |alternet |

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