FOR KIDS: Suffocating waters

Coastal animals around the world are spending more time in or around waters with too little oxygen

Web edition : 10:31 am

Take a deep breath and hold it for 30 seconds. Now you know what it's like for fish in a coastal dead zone, a place where there's little or no oxygen in the water, says Robert Diaz. He's a researcher at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester Point. You can catch your breath after 30 seconds. But in a dead zone animals can't.

Visit the new?Science News for Kids?website?and read the full story:?Suffocating waters

Found in: Science News For Kids

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How Venture Capital Helps Drive Up Health Care Costs - Blog | New ...

How Venture Capital Helps Drive Up Health Care Costs

The venture capital industry gets a lot of good press, especially for job creation. [Bear in mind, however, that entrepreneurs do the heavy lifting.] But, from a health care cost perspective, I think venture capital is part of the problem. I?ve criticized doctors in recent weeks; it?s time to look at the role that we (venture capitalists) play.

The problem is the ?high tech product? paradigm that is at the core of health care venture capital. The paradigm goes: invent a new product based on a new technology that creates new value for customers, price it high to capture the value, market it aggressively, and make lots of money. Think of Apple or Google as current masters of the paradigm.

This business paradigm dovetails nicely with the American consumer?s view of health care, which is: health care is how you get yourself fixed by wizardly doctors with advanced technology when something goes wrong. We eat the wrong stuff, drink too much, and merrily watch TV on the couch, until we get sick, and then we go to the doctor (or too often the E-room) to get fixed. And, most of the time, someone else pays most of the bill.

Some doctors have been co-opted into the paradigm by profit opportunity: as normal fees have been driven down by payers, selling advanced technology to patients has been a way to maintain or grow income.

Venture capitalists feed this business paradigm with money and investment choices, and they make money from it. About 90% of the venture capital invested in health care goes into biotechnology and medical devices*: high tech products sold into the health care industry.

The problem with the paradigm is that it drives spending on high-tech medicine up. The U.S. is approaching the upper limit of what it can spend on health care. We need to allocate finite medical resources cost-effectively. More high tech medicine is often not the best place to spend scarce money.

As an example, consider MRI and CT scanners: high-tech, high-cost medical imaging equipment that enable much more accurate diagnoses and treatment planning. What follows is a summary of a detailed analysis of this business performed by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI)**.

Manufacturers and financiers of these products market them aggressively to hospitals and (increasingly) independent clinics, many of which are owned by doctors. Part of the sales pitch is ?here is how you can make more money by buying this equipment and keeping it busy?. ?The number of scanners per capita in the U.S. is now 7x (for CT) and 2.5x (for MRI) the average of France and Germany, and many of these scanners are poorly utilized but still profitable for their owners at prevailing price levels.

?

As capacity has grown, procedure volumes have grown with it, and, as MGI states in the sidebar, there is good reason to believe that a significant part of the increased volume results from ?supply push? by the owners of scanners versus patient need.

The second problem with the high tech health care paradigm: investment in important classes of health care products is showing declining productivity. Consider the bio/pharma sector. In 2010, over half of health care venture capital (17% of all venture capital) was invested in biotechnology*. While bio/pharma R&D continues at high levels, the number of new drugs approved has steadily declined, and many experts observe that the drugs that are approved are often of only incremental benefit to patients***.

Breakthrough technology in the form of first biotechnology/rational drug design (in the 90s), then genomics (in the 00s), and most recently proteomics and personalized medicine have been promoted as the force that will change this, and lots of money was raised, but the productivity curve has not turned up. And, when I talk with sophisticated professional investors in venture funds, they say that health care VC is proving unproductive, and they will be allocating capital elsewhere going forward.

Highly valuable technologies have come out of pharmaceutical research, e.g. Lipitor and similar statins that manage high cholesterol cheaply and effectively, and from biotechnology, e.g. erythropoietin (?EPO?), a godsend for patients with cancer and blood diseases. And effective drug treatments, even if very expensive, can be far more cost-effective than surgery or hospitalization. But, the return on investment in these products is clearly declining, for the nation and for investors.I believe there are great opportunities for public and private investment in health care. From a public health perspective, investment in more intensive primary care and reduction of life-style diseases has huge savings potential (see a previous post). For venture capital investors, investment in businesses that streamline health care business processes and disrupt the numerous market distortions (i.e., honey pots) offers handsome returns, often with less capital need than product businesses, and will contribute to curing the fiscal cancer that health care has become.

Sources:

* nvca.org, NVCA Yearbook for 2011, figure 3.4

**McKinsey Global Institute, Accounting For The Cost Of U.S. Health Care, January 2007, pp 40-48.

*** Nature

**** Frost & Sullivan

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LoveFilm signs multi-year digital deal with NBCUniversal, looks Kick Ass

LoveFilm is living by its name, and snapping up more movie content for its online service. The latest signing? NBCUniversal. So, if you're a paid up member, this means you'll now get exclusive access to the latest Universal Pictures flicks during the second "pay window" (i.e. once the subscription movie channels have had their time with them.) So if you were hovering over the streaming only option, or undecided on which service to go for, maybe this will help you along with that decision?

Continue reading LoveFilm signs multi-year digital deal with NBCUniversal, looks Kick Ass

LoveFilm signs multi-year digital deal with NBCUniversal, looks Kick Ass originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 06:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NYT: US winds down longer jobless benefits

Hundreds of thousands of out-of-work Americans are receiving their final unemployment checks sooner than they expected, even though Congress renewed extended benefits until the end of the year.

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The checks are stopping for the people who have the most difficulty finding work: the long-term unemployed. More than five million people have been out of work for longer than half a year. Federal benefit extensions, which supplemented state funds for payments up to 99 weeks, were intended to tide over the unemployed until the job market improved.

In February, when the program was set to expire, Congress renewed it, but also phased in a reduction of the number of weeks of extended aid and effectively made it more difficult for states to qualify for the maximum aid. Since then, the jobless in 23 states have lost up to five months? worth of benefits.

Out of benefits even as job picture improves

Next month, an additional 70,000 people will lose benefits earlier than they presumed, bringing the number of people cut off prematurely this year to close to half a million, according to the National Employment Law Project. That estimate does not include people who simply exhausted the weeks of benefits they were entitled to.

Separate from the Congressional action, some states are making it harder to qualify for the first few months of benefits, which are covered by taxes on employers. Florida, where the jobless rate is 8.7 percent, has cut the number of weeks it will pay and changed its application procedures, with more than half of all applicants now being denied.

The federal extension of jobless benefits has been a contentious issue in Washington. Republicans worry that it prolongs joblessness and say it has not kept the unemployment rate down, while Democrats argue that those out of work have few alternatives and that the checks are one of the most effective forms of stimulus, since most of it is spent immediately.

After the most recent compromise reached in February, another renewal seems unlikely.

The expiration of benefits is one factor contributing to what many economists refer to as a ?fiscal cliff,? or a drag on the economy at the end of this year when tax cuts and recession-related spending measures will all come to an end unless Congress acts. The Congressional Budget Office warned last week that the combination could contribute to another recession next year.

Candace Falkner, 50, got her last unemployment check in mid-May, when extended benefits were curtailed in eight states. Since then she has applied for food stamps and begun a commission-only, door-to-door sales job. Since losing her job two years ago, Ms. Falkner said, she has earned a master?s degree in psychology and applied for work at numerous social service agencies as well as places like Walmart, but no offers came.

Jobless claims steady as labor market grows tepidly

Ms. Falkner, who lives on the outskirts of Chicago, said she was grateful for the checks she received. But when they ended, she said, ?They should have had some program in place to funnel those people back into the job market. Not to just leave them out there cold, saying, ?The job market has improved, but there?s still 60,000 people in the city who can?t find one.? ?

Unemployment is lower than it was when the emergency unemployment extensions were ramped up in November 2009. Now, it is 8.1 percent, down from 9.9 percent then. But it is still far higher than pre-recession norms, and there are more than three job seekers for every opening.

Proponents of extended benefits say the cuts are premature. Chad Stone, the chief economist at the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said Congress had never before put the brakes on extended benefits when the labor market was so weak. ?It?s moving in the wrong direction, and it?s occurring at a time when unemployment is very high,? he said.

Conservative economists and political leaders have argued that unemployment benefits prolong joblessness and simply transfer wealth from one area of the economy to another without contributing to growth.

Kevin A. Hassett, director of economic policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said, ?I haven?t liked the 99-week solution from the beginning because it creates an environment where people are subsidized to become a structural unemployment problem.?

Still, he is troubled by the latest developments. ?If you just reduce the weeks of unemployment for people already unemployed but don?t do anything else, it?s a bad deal,? he said, ?because they?re already about the worst-off people in society.?

He points to alternatives like using unemployment money to encourage entrepreneurship or paying benefits in a lump sum, rather than over time, to encourage people to find work faster.

Most states offer 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, plus the federal extensions that kicked in after the financial crash.

The number of extra weeks available by state is determined by several factors, including the state?s unemployment rate and whether it is higher than three years earlier. So states like California have had benefits cut even though the unemployment rate there is still almost 11 percent.

?Benefits have ended not because economic conditions have improved, but because they have not significantly deteriorated in the past three years,? Hannah Shaw, a researcher at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, wrote in a blog post. In May, an estimated 95,000 people lost benefits in California.

Flat jobless claims raise worries about job market

After the recession, 99 weeks became a symbol of the plight of the jobless, with those who exhausted their benefits calling themselves ?99 weekers? or ?99ers.? But by the end of September, the extended benefits will end in the last three states providing 99 weeks of assistance ? Nevada, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Some states have tightened eligibility as well. Nationwide, most people apply for benefits by phone. Last August, Florida began requiring people to apply online and to complete a 45-minute test to assess their job skills, according to a complaint submitted to the federal labor secretary by the National Employment Law Project and Florida Legal Services.

The complaint said that applicants with limited Internet access or English skills, disabilities or difficulty reading had effectively been shut out, and that failure to complete the assessment was illegally being used to deny benefits. Denials have soared; now just over half of applicants are rejected. Nationally, 30 percent of applicants are rejected, according to the law project.

The changes have saved the state $2.7 million, according to James Miller, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. The state?s unemployment rate, he pointed out, has declined for 10 straight months. ?The Department of Economic Opportunity provides accommodations to individuals with barriers to filing their claims,? he wrote in an e-mail. ?D.E.O. welcomes any review and is certain that Florida?s statutory changes are in full compliance with federal law.?

The Labor Department is reviewing Florida?s unemployment program in response to multiple complaints, a spokesman said.

This story, "Extended federal unemployment benefits begin to wind down," originally appeared in The New York Times.

Copyright ? 2012 The New York Times

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Planet4iT Doing Business With Human Resources Analyst In ...

Job Title : Human Resources Analyst
Company : Planet4iT
City : Edmonton
State : All State
Country : CA
Location : Edmonton, AB
Date : 2012-05-29 02:28:22
latitude : 53.54945
longitude : -113.46703
Status Active
Job key e3348bdbdfd6c468

Released at May 29, 2012. Is actually Planet4iT at the time lease Human Resources Analyst. The job positioned inside of the town Edmonton, AB department of All State AB.

In addition to the status of the job is Active. So besure to read the job information below and go on go to the APPLY THE JOB button to continue further.

The summary of job description of Human Resources Analyst :

Human Resources Analyst Job information provided by Planet4iT. If you can quick apply this job you only click the Apply the job button at the bottom of this information.

Six month contract in Edmonton. The Human Resources Analyst will have:PeopleSoft 8.8 > PeopleSoft 8.8 > PeopleSoft HR Configuration > PS HR Fit/Gap Analysis To apply, please quote the job reference code # 787930 (please attach resume in MS Word format if possible)

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Investing in the Dutch Performing Arts | Honest Reviews Online

Netherlands maybe a small country but it has a lot of freedom for the performing arts. Artists from all genres of the arts have over the years enjoyed a free pass to express themselves and showcase their various talents to audiences all over Netherlands.

Netherlands maybe a small country but it has a lot of freedom for the performing arts. Artists from all genres of the arts have over the years enjoyed a free pass to express themselves and showcase their various talents to audiences all over Netherlands.

Dutch music dates back to as early as 1958 when a 14 year old violinist Dick Bor performed a solo in the Dutch youth Ochestra during a concert at the Kurhaus Scheveningen. The concert was held during the Holland Festival which is an annual event held in Amsterdam and is a platform for the dutch performing arts as well as the international arts.

The Dutch Youth Orchestra has been a breeding ground for the arts alongside such establishments as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra which was established in 1888.These institutions have both been a great contribution to Dutch music as well as the growth of many talented musicians. The RCO is world renowned and many from the international performing arts industry are always honored to work with it.

This teamwork between different artists not only goes to inspire the Dutch performing arts but also brought about the realization of their importance to the government. This led to the creation of the Raad Voor Cultuur which is the arts council so as to advise the government on management of the arts.

This council was established in 1956 in the Hague by the minister for Education, Arts and Science. The council board is made up of well respected people from the different sectors of the Dutch performing arts. For instance, the Dutch theatre is headed by Sonia Gaskell a renowned ballet dancer.

The performing arts are well sponsored by the government as well through the cultural office in the Dutch embassy. This office is responsible for the exchange of information with other performance arts missions in countries like the United States. Their biggest tasks is to implement Dutch national and international cultural policy in the United States.

The cultural office informs American cultural professionals such as curators, publishers and journalists about the arts and artists in the Netherlands. The cultural office also facilitates a smooth transition for Dutch performing artists by advising them on how they can get funding for their work. The office also represents the Dutch government in performing arts events like festivals and conferences.

However, the cultural office makes a clear distinction between what it does and does not do Although they are very much in support of the Dutch performing arts, they do not promote individual artists or companies .The office does not also book any performances for Dutch music or theatre. Nevertheless, they do offer advisory services to ensure that performing arts events are organized by the right people and that they get proper funding.

Dutch performing arts enjoy a favorable atmosphere in the United States and this has led to such sectors as the dance and Dutch theatre receiving funding and recognition. The result is that the theater is doing well which is important because it is proving that investment in cultural policies is not a waste of time.

Resources:
Kevin Sampson is the author of this article on Performing Arts.
Find more information, about Dutch Music here.

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Video: Campaigns ramp up as surrogates stump and stumble

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bradford - ron - 7 Reasons to Subscribe | Marketing Direct develops ...

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You?ll learn how to build a list of cold call prospects into a house list of qualified prospects you can market to with new offers for your products and services.??The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.? ??Peter F. Drucker

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General Election 2012: Obama Faces Electoral College Challenges in South and Midwest

President Barack Obama faces new warning signs in a once-promising Southern state and typically Democratic-voting Midwestern states roughly five months before the election even as he benefits nationally from encouraging economic news.

Obama?s new worries about North Carolina and Wisconsin offer opportunities for Republican Mitt Romney, who must peel off states Obama won in 2008 if he?s to cobble together the 270 electoral votes needed to oust the incumbent in November.

Iowa, which kicked off the campaign in January, is now expected to be tight to the finish, while New Mexico, thought early to be pivotal, seems to be drifting into Democratic territory.

If the election were today, Obama would likely win 247 electoral votes to Romney?s 206, according to an Associated Press analysis of polls, ad spending and key developments in states, along with interviews with more than a dozen Republican and Democratic strategists both inside and outside of the two campaigns.

Seven states, offering a combined 85 electoral votes, are viewed as too close to give either candidate a meaningful advantage: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia.

?As of today, the advantage still lies with the president, but there is a long and hard road ahead in this election,? said Tad Devine, who was a top strategist to Democratic presidential candidates Al Gore and John Kerry but isn?t directly involved in this year?s race.

If Romney wins all the states Republican John McCain carried in 2008 plus North Carolina, as trends today suggest he would, he would still need 64 electoral votes to hit the magic number. That would require him to win a majority of the states that are up for grabs.

Obama, on the other hand, faces the costly and labor-intensive challenge of defending those states in a much different environment than the one he enjoyed four years ago.

Big-spending, pro-Romney political committees are certain to be a factor, and already are running heavy levels of television ads in states where Obama is vulnerable, such as Florida.

But Obama?s early spending ? more than $30 million on advertising before Memorial Day ? and new glimmers of economic hope across the battleground states demonstrate the size of Romney?s challenge.

The race is expected to be close, and the past six weeks have been volatile.

North Carolina is a case in point.

Obama announced his support for gay marriage on May 9, one day after 60 percent of North Carolina voters approved a constitutional ban. ?That issue definitely hurts him down there,? said veteran Republican presidential campaign strategist Charlie Black, a top aide to 2008 nominee McCain. Black?s not directly involved in this year?s race but is an informal adviser to Romney.

North Carolina?s high African American and young voter population, keys to Obama?s 2008 wins there, give him the edge, aides say. And the president so far has spent heavily there, $2.7 million on television, according to reports provided to the AP.

But Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue gave Republicans an opening by not seeking re-election this year. And union leaders, a key Democratic constituency, are upset that this summer?s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., is being held in a state where union rights are weak.

In Wisconsin, embattled Republican Gov. Scott Walker?s improving fortunes as a contentious June 5 recall election approaches could alter that state?s landscape. Walker, who sparked mass protests by signing anti-union legislation last year, has pulled narrowly ahead of Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in recent polls.

If Walker survives, Romney aides say they have a real chance to carry Wisconsin, which no Republican has done since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

?I don?t think there?s been any better dress rehearsal for a presidential election than what?s going on in Wisconsin right now,? said Rich Beeson, political director for the former Massachusetts governor.

Indeed, the Wisconsin recall could signal a GOP shift in an arc of states from Iowa to Pennsylvania that have reliably voted Democratic in presidential elections for a generation.

?Whether Walker wins or doesn?t is going to be a big indicator of how Wisconsin goes, and how the whole upper Midwest goes,? said Iowa?s Republican Gov. Terry Branstad.

Romney has signaled plans to contest Iowa, where Obama?s 2008 caucus win propelled him to the Democratic nomination. Romney also sees opportunity in his native Michigan, where Democratic presidential candidates have won since 1988.

Bright spots are developing for Obama, too.

Public polls this month showed the president narrowly ahead in Virginia, a Southern state Republicans had carried nine times before Obama won it in 2008. Obama?s advantage among Latino voters is moving New Mexico his way. Neither campaign nor the super PACs have advertised there, despite close finishes in 2000 and 2004.

Obama also has seized on new economic data that could give him a lift across the contested map. April unemployment ticked downward in all of the up-for-grabs states except Colorado as Obama and Romney have fought over who is best equipped to lead an economic recovery.

In Des Moines, Iowa, this month, Romney blamed Obama?s spending for the recovery?s slow pace. A week later, on the other side of town, Obama said Romney?s career as a private equity executive was more suited for the boardroom than the Oval Office.

Obama?s attack dovetails with scathing ads on Romney?s career at the head of Bain Capital, which ran briefly in Colorado, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Virginia. They remained on the air last week in Ohio, where Obama aides say Romney?s opposition to the auto industry bailout in 2009 hurts him with workers in the region?s auto manufacturing sector.

Obama has had an edge in getting out his message. For nearly two months, his campaign has aired spots across 11 states, heaviest in Florida, Iowa, Ohio and Virginia, according to the ad-tracking reports.

Romney has only been airing ads for two weeks in four states. But super PACs that support him have helped shave Obama?s advertising edge, airing $10 million in ads across 10 states.

Obama aides point to an edge in state-by-state organizing that could be the deciding factor in a close election. While Romney is quickly arranging with the Republican National Committee to deploy staff to various battlegrounds, Obama?s campaign has been up and running for years.

Said Democratic strategist Devine: ?The president and his campaign have a real and potentially decisive advantage on the ground.?

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Nigeria oil bill waters down its reforms

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's long-awaited oil law, when it finally comes, looks likely to be a botched job that gives favourable tax terms to foreign oil firms while doing little to satisfy calls for transparency and reform of a corrupt and wasteful sector.

A new draft of the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is close to being finalised, potentially ending years of uncertainty that has blocked billions of dollars of investment.

Licensing rounds, contract renewals and investment have been put on hold for five years pending the new bill to regulate Africa's top oil and gas industry. Passing the bill will allow such work to resume.

But provisions that would have forced the government to publish how much oil it pumps and all the payments it receives from oil firms - in an industry where secrecy is blamed for corruption - have been stripped from the bill.

"I expect the petroleum industry to be happy. I expect many Nigerians to be upset," said Pedro Van Meurs, an oil and gas expert who has consulted with the government on the PIB.

"Transparency provisions related to corporate income tax, hydrocarbon tax and production sharing were deleted. This should be a source of concern."

The PIB is meant to change everything from fiscal terms to overhauling the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Its comprehensive nature caused years of disputes between lawmakers, ministers and oil majors.

The latest copy proposes some changes that will improve transparency: keeping royalty payments secret will not be allowed, for instance. Oil company profit taxes proposed in the bill are also in the public domain for the first time.

But it does not require disclosure of oil sales, of other taxes like income and hydrocarbon tax, nor of payments to the government, including signature bonuses. Openness on such subjects is vital to clean up the energy sector, say campaigners.

President Goodluck Jonathan commissioned a task force in January to fast-track a new copy of the PIB, which makes the passage of this condensed version more likely, even if the national assembly debate on it takes a while.

"Passage of any piece of legislation brings a level of certainty to the industry that has been absent for years," said Gordon Bottomley, Nigeria analyst at Ergo, a New York-based advisory firm that has been closely tracking the PIB.

"(But) the re-organisation of ... Nigeria's oil and gas industry is going to be far from painless. And this bill, in terms of transparency, appears less than desirable."

NEW POWERS FOR MINISTER

The bill also gives the oil minister new supervisory powers over all industry institutions, including a new regulator to police downstream and upstream, raising concerns about checks and balances. Lawmakers had rejected drafts that did this in the past.

It says anyone who "interferes" with the minister will be fined or imprisoned. And it allows the oil minister and the directors of state institutions to receive gifts, which will not please civil society groups calling for an end to graft.

Foreign oil companies like Shell, Chevron and Exxon will be relieved that tax changes are more favourable compared with previous versions. This could be a sticking point with lawmakers seeking a better deal for Nigeria.

Analysts say that the taxes foreign firms pay on profits onshore, which will be published under the PIB, will amount to a big cut from the taxes that are now levied in secret.

Furthermore, the cut will apply both to existing fields and to new fields, unlike in earlier versions of the law which cut taxes only on new fields, the analysts say. Van Meurs says the government could lose 20-50 percent of its tax revenue per barrel on existing assets.

NATIONAL OIL COMPANY

Detail is thin on plans to partly sell off the mismanaged NNPC, seen by experts as the biggest barrier to progress.

Nigeria exports some 2 million barrels per day (bpd) but could double that with a better-managed state oil firm able to pay for its share of joint ventures, foreign oil majors say.

NNPC was last month described by parliament as "answerable to no one" in a probe into a $6.8 billion fuel subsidy fraud. It is accused by oil traders of owing billions in unpaid bills.

The NNPC rejects allegations of corruption or insolvency.

The PIB proposes a new National Oil Company (NOC), which will within three years be partly listed, in theory leading to much-needed accountability.

But the PIB isn't clear on what assets the NOC gets. The old NNPC would still exist and keep joint ventures and production sharing contracts with oil majors, which cover the majority of Nigeria's known oil and gas reserves, for an indefinite period.

"For arguably the most important element of the bill, it is worrying the section on NNPC is both brief and vague," an executive at an oil major operating in Nigeria said.

There is also no domestic gas pricing in the bill, which is key to unlocking the world's seventh largest gas reserves.

Left in doubt are onshore licenses Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke is in the process of renewing. She signed a 20-year one with Exxon worth trillions of dollars in February and has promised to do the same with Shell and Chevron by June.

It has not been made clear whether they will include clauses exempting them from the PIB, in which case a huge portion of the oil business would not be governed by the new bill.

"It's meant to be single framework for everything in oil and gas. If you are going to have it but then do a special deal for, say, Exxon ... That would be a huge departure from what the bill was meant to be," said Antony Goldman, head of PM Consulting.

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Google Play a?ade suscripciones a sus aplicaciones

Google ha dado un movimiento interesante de cara a ayudar a solucionar uno de los retos m?s complicados e importantes a los que se enfrenta un desarrollador: fidelizar a sus usuarios y clientes, que vuelvan a usar tu aplicaci?n. Si hace un a?o se pon?an a la altura?de la AppStore incluyendo el in-app billing?entre las funcionalidades del por aquel entonces Market, hoy vuelven a intentarlo con In-app Suscriptions, a?adiendo otro modelo de negocio y forma de monetizar las aplicaciones en su sistema.

Para los desarrolladores, adaptar su aplicaci?n a este nuevo modelo deber?a resultar sencillo, ya que Google ha implementado el servicio como una extensi?n de lo que ya ten?an en In-app billing, siendo todas las suscripciones renovadas autom?ticamente, a menos que el usuario las cancele, aunque avisando mediante un correo electr?nico peri?dico de los cambios en la suscripci?n y cuando se realiza el cobro.

Dentro de este nuevo servicio, la compa??a de Mountain View abre una API para que los publicadores puedan ver si cierto usuario est? suscrito a su aplicaci?n en otro servicio fuera de Play, abriendo la puerta a usar tu suscripci?n?para acceder a otros portables o contenidos relacionados, como suscribirse a una aplicaci?n de una revista y usando la misma suscripci?n, tener acceso a la versi?n web.

Si bien es una funcionalidad los desarrolladores agradeceremos mucho y que facilitar? al usuario el consumo de servicios y bienes digitales, no deja de ser un coleteo de pez fuera del agua?por parte de Google para intentar equiparar su Play al AppStore de Apple, que ya implementa Apple Suscriptions desde hace m?s de un a?o, e intentar subir la rentabilidad de las aplicaciones para Android en general, muy bajas debido a la poca cultura de compra que existe entre los usuarios de la plataforma si los comparamos con los de iOS o Windows Phone.

Foto: Android Developers Blog

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Chattanooga Football Club again makes lineup adjustments

published Saturday, May 26th, 2012

Chattanooga Football Club player John Carrier drives the ball down the field during their season opener against the Knoxville Force at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga. "; objLink.IsAboveImage = false; objLink.LinkTarget = "_blank"; objLink.Render();

The Chattanooga Football Club has played three games this season. Because of injuries, adjustments and some limited player availability, the starting lineup for each game has been radically different.

That will be the case again when CFC (2-1) hosts Rocket City United (0-2) at 7 tonight at Finley Stadium, the first of four straight home games.

"This is the point where I thought [a lineup] would come together, but now we've got three would-be starters out sidelined with injuries," first-year CFC coach Bill Elliott said. "When you have guys out, that means you have opportunities for the guys that have been wanting to play."

Fynn Glover and Luis Trude started the past two games and will be out this week due to injury, as will Greg Eckhardt, who started the first two games. Elliott said at least 16 players have started at least one game already.

Injuries are an unpredictable part of the game, but having players miss games for graduation, weddings or family functions isn't something that happens in most sports. But it happens in the amateur National Premier Soccer League, which has teams made up mostly of collegiate players and former players who still want to play, while also settling down and starting families and post-soccer careers.

Defender Russell Courtney is one of those players who has a young family and a career and still has the skill to play for CFC. Courtney, in his fourth season with the club, started the season's first game but will miss his third in a row due to other commitments.

"Things have changed as far as my schedule and having a lot more things on my plate as a dad," he said. "The competitive edge is still there and it's still a lot of fun, but obviously priorities change when you have a family. ... Family takes priority over soccer."

General manager Sean McDaniel said CFC plans for having players in and out of the lineup. The club brings in enough players each season so that if several are out for whatever reasons, there are guys available so there can be a full bench for each game.

"It's why we need to carry 28-30 guys each year," McDaniel said.

Because of the number of players on the roster, CFC will play some reserve games this season. The first will be today at 4 p.m. against Rocket City United's reserves.

"It's for the younger guys or the guys that can't always travel," McDaniel said. "I think we're meeting the soccer needs of these guys. One, by bringing a lot of people in. Two, by giving them matches as well."

about John Frierson...

John Frierson is in his fifth year at the Times Free Press and fifth year covering University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletics. The bulk of his time is spent covering Mocs football, but he also writes about women?s basketball and the big-picture issues and news involving the athletic department. A native of Athens, Ga., John grew up a few hundred yards from the University of Georgia campus. Instead of becoming a Bulldog he attended Ole ...

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Tornado during Kansas wedding brings new definition to 'whirlwind romance'

Ice sculptures, elaborate wedding cakes, perhaps a small symphony -- couples can go all out to make their wedding day memorable.

But I think a couple in Kansas has you beat, courtesy of a wedding "gift," I guess, from Mother Nature.

Caleb and Canda Pence tied their knot at a spot on May 19 in Harper, Kansas -- as a tornado roared across the distant fields.

But what's more amazing to me -- the wedding guests barely flinched. It might as well have been a seagull circling around.

I understand that tornadoes in Kansas aren't exactly a rare sight, but if this admittedly non-Kansas native were there, I'd at least might have pointed and shrieked a "Holy Cow! It's a twister!" Actually, I've never even been to Kansas, so I salute their indifference to one of nature's greatest weapons of destruction.

In fact, according to the Associated Press, The National Weather Service says the twister rated an EF-3 and packed winds of at least 138 mph, ripping up a farm and wind turbines. What it did not do, was dampen the spirits of the Pences' wedding. And who else can ever match that wedding photo?

"I don't know how on earth I will ever top this," said wedding photographer Cate Eighmey, who said she posed the pair for dramatic shots of the newlyweds and the twister behind them. Eighmey's photo shows what appears to be a second funnel dropping down from the cloud.

The couple has spent their honeymoon in Wyoming fielding media calls. Reached on his cellphone by The Associated Press, Caleb Pence recalled seeing the wall cloud forming as the service was about to begin. But with tornadoes a routine occurrence, the storm was the least of his worries.

"I had my mind on marrying my now wife," said Caleb Pence.

His bride, a native of northeast Nebraska who had never seen a tornado before, was much less at ease. He said that when he told her what was happening, she responded, "I don't want to hear it right now."'

Some of the guests who filled the 250 folding chairs checked weather reports on their cellphones. But otherwise, the 20-minute service - complete with a solo singing performance - wasn't altered.

Afterward, the couple, who met at a rodeo, made a dramatic horseback ride to the metal farm building that had been transformed into the reception site. They scarcely got inside when the skies opened up and poured down rain. The party didn't end until after midnight.

"I don't know how we did it," Caleb Pence said. "It boggles my mind how perfect it worked."

Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth?contributed to this report.

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BitStories 2008-06-13: Josh and Brian Ride Again! iPhone 3G, Netbooks, and More

Hey, remember TinyPodcast? No? Well, Brian Jarvis and I (Josh Bancroft), two guys who happen to work at Intel, started doing a weekly podcast way ba...

Hey, remember TinyPodcast? No? Well, Brian Jarvis and I (Josh Bancroft), two guys who happen to work at Intel, started doing a weekly podcast way back in 2004. Basically, the two of us geeked out about the latest mobile devices, cool software, and technology news and rumors, and recorded it. It was moderately popular, and some people actually complained when it tapered off...Well, we're back! And we're under the Bit Stories banner now. I work for Intel Software Network, and I've had the idea and intention for a while now of doing a show there like Brian and I used to do. Now we're actually doing it.If you haven't listened before, this isn't some professionally produced, slick, marketing message controlled by our corporate overlords. We're just a couple of geeks who love gadgets, phones, computers, the web, and software, talking about whatever's new and cool. We try to make the audio sound good, but it's always going to be a little rough around the edges, and we're OK with that. Sound like something you'd be interested in? Come have a listen.In this show, we talk about the following, in no particular order:The iPhone 3G announcement - its features, whether Brian is finally going to cave in and get one, how AT&T is raising prices on the plans just because they can, how we can't wait to see what comes out of the App Store, and everything else we can think of. We're a little obsessed. :-)Netbooks vs. regular laptops vs. Tablet PCs (with the tangent typing vs handwriting discussion).Where we want to take the show - we don't have grand plans - we pretty much have always played this by ear, but we'd love to hear any ideas or suggestions (or complaints!) you have, so we can keep it interesting.And a whole lot more I can't remember right now!The show is about 38 minutes long (we try to stick to the magic 40 minute length), and weighs about 35MB (it's a 128kbps MP3). You can download the file directly, listen using the streaming player in this post, or (BEST OPTION!!1!) subscribe to the Bit Stories podcast feed in your favorite podcast aggregator (like iTunes). If you subscribe to the feed, you'll get each show delivered automatically as it becomes available - probably once a week or so, with the occasional bonus video or audio segment thrown in for fun. Plus, we'll love you forever if you subscribe.Are you thrilled that the show is back? Mad that we changed something? Think we suck for being gone so long? Just want to say hi? Post a comment, and let us know! Seriously. We crave the validation that your feedback brings. You have no idea how fragile our self esteem really is... ;-) Less

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M G International: 3 Smart Ways to Brand Yourself in the Job Hunt ...

?In a sea of resumes, it couldn?t be harder to stand out than it is right now. While your experience screams, ?Hire me!? so does everyone else?s. In today?s job world, it?s a competition about who you know, and even then, the process of getting plucked out of 300 resumes can be an impossible task.
There are a number of ways you can brand yourself to stick out in a crowded stack of resumes. How do you get ahead? Get interactive.
??The job search techniques of yesterday ? send out r?sum?s, search the want ads, and wait for a job to fall in your lap ? won?t even get your foot in the door. What you need in order to get a job today, says Jim Kukral, is the courage to put yourself out there and get the attention of employers by trying something no one else is doing.? ? RP News Wires

1. Keep a Blog

Blogging has become a popular new form of social media. While blogging has been in existence since the late 90?s, it has become more popular across the board as of late. While many businesses have taken to this medium as a form of social media, you can use it to boost your hiring potential. This shows that you have technical skills with your particular blogging platform and that you are dedicated to your personal growth.
? Focus on a topic you?re passionate about, even if it has nothing to do with the position you hope to get. This reflects your personal brand.
? Consider a number of options ranging from traditional written blog, to short form blogging, or photo blogging.
? Place this in your skills section and hyperlink your URL in.
Related: How Blogging Will Boost Your Personal Brand.

2. Take Advantage of Google Plus

The social platform created by Google might be your best professional portfolio. With a variety of ways to express who you are, it serves as an excellent way to be your brand. Having a Google Plus account, and using it only for professional interactions, allows you to create the best reflection of yourself.
? Photos: The trouble with Facebook photos is the tagging ability. A survey by Reppler found that 11% of survey participants decided not to hire a candidate because of inappropriate photos. With Google Plus you can place a few simple photos to communicate who you are as a person and keep your St. Patty?s festivities out of the picture.
? Portfolio: Perhaps one of the best features is the portfolio section of your profile. Here you can place links to various places where you or your work has been featured. Whether it?s photographs, blog posts, interviews, etc, being recognized or published is always good.
? Other profiles: Use this link area to send potential employers to networks other than Facebook. Link your Tumblr account, your blog, etc.

3. Create a Video

Whether you?re a skilled videographer or not creating a video of some sort is a smart way to boost your chances of being remembered for the position. Your brand will come through better in video than on paper.
This phenomenon has gained popularity on sites like ResumeTube which allow you to promote yourself via resume video. Beyond.com says, ?The use of video resumes is a growing trend used by job candidates to effectively market themselves to employers and stand out amongst other candidates who do not yet utilize this tool.?
If you can?t manage to create a video, utilize another medium such as Prezi. Whatever medium you prefer, remember to:
? Be creative: Don?t simply read your resume out loud, find creative ways to show them your resume. Mashable suggests using the video as a means of showing what you will achieve in the future, not necessarily what you already have. You can sing, act, be silly, whatever fits who you are.
? Make it short: While your video will be entertaining, the employer doesn?t have time to watch a ten minute video. Two minutes or less is ideal.
With the number of qualified candidates growing with each new graduating college class, it?s more important than ever that you stand out in your job hunt process. To do this, it?s smart to brand yourself ? give your potential employer something to really remember you by. Be creative, have fun and get the job.

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Go for drama

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How Does One Build An Online Business That Makes Cash?

By Rick Hart

Who couldn't use some additional money nowadays. Regardless of whether it's just a few hundred dollars per month, it sure would come in handy.

I think we could get a second job working at the super market or delivering pizza. But there has to be a smarter way.

One option is to create an online business. If you build a blog or a domain you can promote other folk's products on that internet site. If you can sell something they'll pay you a commission. This is named Affiliate Marketing and it's one of the very best kept secrets in the world. Why I don't know. I've been doing it for over 5 years.

And what a business idea it is. You do not have to stock products. You don't need to handle purchasers. You can even earn cash while you sleep.

Sound too good to be true?

Well it is not. Again I've been doing it for a long time.

But it's not for everyone. You do need to have good PC skills. And you'll have to discover how the internet works. Particularly you'll need to learn how Google works. Unless you can get traffic to your website then nothing occurs and you will not make any money.

This will take finding someone to train you how it works.

Luckily there's a few good systems out there which will teach you and even hold your hand through the whole process of building your second income.

But this is not Get Rich Quick. It isn't even Get Rich Slow... Unless you try hard and learn your craft. Folks do become rich selling online nonetheless it does take determination and patience. You'll have to learn a lot and spend a little time doing things that are pointless and mundane. Things like...

- Creating articles

- Getting links from other websites
- Researching products to sell
- Researching your keywords

?

But there are systems out there which will guide you each step of the way. You simply have to have the persistence to carry on doing it. Some have been around for years and have a superb past record.

?

One is a thing by the name of Site Build It. This system teaches a thing by the name of C-T-P-M.

?

Content leads to Traffic and the Preselling that traffic permits you to Monetize.

?

Monetizing is making money based on the Problems your traffic has. If you can build a site around Problems that folks wish to solve then you can earn money by offering solutions.

?

If a golfer has a driving problem you can offer them places to find new drivers or educational videos that may aid them.

?

If your visitors have a weight problem you can share diet systems that will help them to lose weight.

?

If someone need to learn how to play guitar you can send them to websites that teach them how to play via videos.

?

These are all real opportunities to untangle an issue and make money promoting an answer to that problem. All the examples above are real.

?

It does help to know a bit about the subject of your website.

?

It can help to know a little about golf or have a strong desire to learn.

?

It helps to have a weight problem or perhaps have resolved that problem yourself.

?

If you have a past-time or an experience, these are all neat ideas you can build a web businesss around. This is achievable and something that you can make money at.

?

And it sure beats delivering pizza.

?

About the Author:

?

Rick Hart is an internet marketing specialist who teaches the right way to earn cash online. He has over 20 internet sites of his very own and on his Site Build It Counsel website he teaches the correct way to use that system.

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Britney Spears denies storming off set of "X Factor"

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Newly modified nanoparticle opens window on future gene editing technologies

ScienceDaily (May 24, 2012) ? The scientific and technological literature is abuzz with nanotechnology and its manufacturing and medical applications. But it is in an area with a less glitzy aura-plant sciences-where nanotechnology advancements are contributing dramatically to agriculture.

Researchers at Iowa State University have now demonstrated the ability to deliver proteins and DNA into plant cells, simultaneously. This is important because it now opens up opportunities for more sophisticated and targeted plant genome editing-techniques that require the precise delivery of both protein and DNA to bring about specific gene modifications in crop plants. Such modifications are becoming more and more important in the face of our changing climates as new insect pests, plant diseases and soil stresses emerge where previously there were few.

While DNA delivery into cells has become routine, delivering proteins and enzymes to both animal and plant cells has proved more challenging. The Iowa State team's protein delivery advancement is an important achievement toward this end.

A research paper describing the advancement has been published online by the journal Advanced Functional Materials. The work was partially sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred with long-term support from Iowa State University's Plant Sciences Institute.

The Iowa State research team includes Kan Wang, professor of agronomy; Brian Trewyn, associate scientist in chemistry; Susana Martin-Ortigosa, a post-doctoral research associate in agronomy; and Justin Valenstein, a chemistry doctoral student.

Nanoparticles are tiny materials that are the size equivalent of several molecules sitting side-by-side or the size of a big virus. A single nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. The virus that causes AIDS is roughly 100 nanometers in diameter.

Using new and improved custom-built honeycomb-like mesoporous silica nanoparticles that the Iowa State team designed five years ago, the researchers have demonstrated co-delivery of functional protein and DNA into plant cells.

The first generation of these customized particles were relatively small (100 nanometers) and so the available packing spaces were unable to accommodate larger functional molecules such as proteins or enzymes. This next generation is five times the size (500 nanometers) and looks something like an ultra-fine piece of Honeycomb cereal.

The key to the researchers' success is a newly devised method for making larger uniform pouches in the custom nanoparticles. An additional modification-gold plating the entire silica particle prior to packing-improved DNA and protein binding for a more secure payload.

To test the new particle's effectiveness, Wang and her colleagues loaded the pores with a green florescent protein derived from jelly fish, which serves as a photo marker inside the plant cell. Next, these particles were coated with DNA encoding a red protein from coral. The complex was then shot into plant cells using a gene gun, a traditional gene delivery method that gets foreign material past the plant's protective cell wall.

The gold plating innovation added some greatly needed ballistic heft to the particles, ensuring their ability to cannonball through the plant cell wall once released from the gene gun.

Cells that fluoresce both red and green at the same time confirm successful delivery. The team has demonstrated success in onion, tobacco and maize cells.

The work is a tangible realization of efforts the team had in the design stage just two years ago when colleague Victor Lin of Iowa State University and the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory unexpectedly died. "He was such a brilliant scientist," says Wang. "We all felt completely lost when we lost him."

But the team pulled together, capitalizing on the excellent training all had received from working with Lin to make this next generation particle a reality.

"We would have been unable to work out anything without each other," says Wang. "This success proves his legacy continues."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Iowa State University.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Susana Martin-Ortigosa, Justin S. Valenstein, Victor S.-Y. Lin, Brian G. Trewyn, Kan Wang. Gold Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticle Mediated Protein and DNA Codelivery to Plant Cells Via the Biolistic Method. Advanced Functional Materials, 2012; DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201200359

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

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

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Dad Saves Kid From Falling Off Cliff, Gets Traffic Ticket Anyway

Frank Roder, a New Jersey dad, saved his son from falling off a cliff, but couldn't stop his Jeep from going over the precipice and into a river below.

The reward for his ordeal? Two traffic tickets from local police.

Roder, a construction worker from the town of Winfield Park, had taken his son, Aidan, down to the Rahway River to feed some ducks last week.

But when he stopped briefly before settling on a parking space, the impatient boy jumped out ran toward a ledge, 35 feet above the river.

Frank Roder Saves Son, Gets Ticket

"He hopped out, and I thought that was okay, I was just going to park," Roder, 38, said, but "he just took off, made a beeline for the edge."

The panic-stricken father jumped out of the cab of his Jeep Commander and raced after the errant boy, catching him just feet from the cliff.

That's when Aidan, eyes as big as saucers, said, "Um, Daddy ..."

Roder turned in time to see the Jeep nosedive down the embankment and land in the muddy water. Union County police converged on the scene.

He was counting his blessings when a cop approached him and handed him two tickets:

1. Failure to produce the insurance card (somewhere in the waterlogged cab).
2. Failure to use his emergency brake.

"I couldn't believe it," Roder said. "He said, 'If you would have taken the five seconds to apply the brake, this never would have happened!'

"I say, 'Really? And if I did and my boy stepped over the edge and fell instead, then were would I be?' He says, 'Jail, for child endangerment.'"

Union County Police Chief Daniel Vaniska told Fox News that his officers have some discretion about when and when not to write a ticket. But he said he just didn't have enough information to second-guess what this officer did.

"It probably could have gone either way," Vaniska said.

"I can't comment on the discretionary practices of an officer, but certainly, the fellow will have an opportunity to tell his story in court."

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Help Baby Emmanuel | The Greatrnk

A Guest Post By SamKitots

Three weeks ago, Sarah?s cousin Mwikali had come to the prime of her pregnancy duration. Her boyfriend had run off upon hearing that she was pregnant and she had to go back to her father?s house. This was one of the hardest choices she had to make as this relationship was her way out of the desolate family. Mwikali?s mum had long since died and her dad was very depressed for a while. Her brothers, school dropouts, were also staying in the house with her dad. None of them was really making headway with the chang?aa brewing. Desolation had struck the family and a baby was on the way.

Mwikali was insistent on making things work. She knew that this wasn?t going to be a family curse and decided that keeping the baby and bringing the child up in a positively enabling environment would be the way to go. Sarah always wanted to have such courage. She watched as Mwikali went through the motions of expecting a baby, as she dealt with the public ridicule and the shame that came with being sent back home to the village from whence she came. Time came and Sarah was called to the big city for a job. She wanted to be there to support Mwikali, but Mwikali encouraged her to go for this starter job. ?When I can travel with the baby, and your find a place to stay, I will come and visit you, maybe we will create a better world for this child?

Sarah hesitantly left and made her way to her new job as a house help.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning, Sarah was getting ready to go for her usual day off and that?s when she got the call from her dad. Mwikali had gone into labour early that morning.

The family was caught by surprise and they called a nearby family for assistance. There was a new mother in the house and she came out to help Mwikali push through the delivery. A baby boy was born. Innocent as ever, the child was healthy. Mwikali was happy. After a few minutes she started bleeding. They could not figure out why and needed to rush Mwikali to the nearest hospital which was over twenty kilometers away. The nearest vehicle was five kilometers away. By the time a vehicle came, Mwikali had lost a lot of blood and had passed out. Mwikali was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. She had not even had a chance to name the child.

The above story is a true account of real events. However, one thing is for sure, God has brought this situation for us to rally together and assist this child. A mere Kshs. 600 could feed this baby for a week. Clothes in the village are hard to come by. Should you wish to assist make life easier for this child, feel free to get in-touch with me. My wife and I have committed to supporting the child until he is weaned. Your support will be highly appreciated.

Donations can be dropped at?Kingdom Business Network?along Kabarnet Road, off Ngong road, behind Uchumi Hyper. Label the donation c/o?@SamKitots?and I will get them. Monetary donations can be sent to M-pesa number 0721 411 461. Any assistance will be highly appreciated.

THE DAY?S

Appreciation: Sam for taking care of the baby who is now three weeks old and is called Emmanuel.

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