stock market today news: December 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

How do I add the song for charity icon to my facebook landing page?

Hi, I made available one song for a charity. The "Heart" symbol with price "$1.29" shows up on my reverb page, but does not show up on my facebook landing page. How can I add the "Heart" symbol/price for charity instead of my personal reverb store on my facebook landing page? I have only one song available for download. Please advise.

Thanks,
Steven Kelley/Steven Kelley and the Live Love Life Music Project
skelleymusic@gmail.com

Source: http://support.reverbnation.com/reverbnation/topics/how_do_i_add_the_song_for_charity_icon_to_my_facebook_landing_page

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Oil trader Vitol in talks over tax-avoidance bill

The Geneva-based company, which has offices in London, is thought to have operated an ?employee benefit trust? (EBT) for more than a decade.

Such schemes, which were used by more than 2,000 companies, allowed employees to avoid paying income tax and companies to avoid national insurance contributions.

HMRC is chasing taxes which were avoided through the schemes before they were categorically outlawed in 2011, and has said it believes a ?large number of EBT schemes didn?t work under the previous legislation?.

Vitol is understood to have closed its scheme in 2011 when the law changed.

Ian Taylor, chief executive of Vitol, told The Sunday Times: ?We will have to pay something. We will work hard to do what is best for our employees, but we must abide by the legislation - and we will.?

Other companies affected include bank JP Morgan, which is said to be close to a ?500m settlement over its scheme.

Mr Taylor told the newspaper he believed that settlement may ?become a template? for others.

A spokesman for HMRC said: ?For legal reasons, we cannot discuss our management of the tax affairs of named businesses.?

A spokesman for Vitol declined to comment.

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/270dcba5/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cfinance0Cnewsbysector0Cenergy0Coilandgas0C97715370COil0Etrader0EVitol0Ein0Etalks0Eover0Etax0Eavoidance0Ebill0Bhtml/story01.htm

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TwitPic and some Twitter pages blocked behind Google's anti-malware curtain without explanation

Popular Twitter-based photo service TwitPic is currently being blocked by Google's malware checker. Upon trying to access TwitPic.com, the service's Twitter page, any Twitter page containing a TwitPic, or any webpage with a TwitPic widget, users are presented with a "Malware Ahead!" warning that urges them to turn back. The site is currently listed as "suspicious" by Google's Safe Browsing tool, even though it also states that suspicious content hasn't been found on the service in the past 90 days. TwitPic responded to the situation on Twitter, saying that it is currently trying to contact Google to remove the malware warning because "it is not true." We've asked Google and TwitPic to provide more information on the cause of the disruption.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Twitpic_malware

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/30/3818530/twitpic-flagged-by-google-as-suspicious

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Sunday, December 30, 2012

NCAA Football: Texas Tech 34 vs. Minnesota 31 - Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas

NCAA Football: Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas: Minnesota (31) vs. Texas Tech (34), Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX 12/28/2012

Source: http://www.sportspagemagazine.com/content/fb/c-fb/gal-c-fb/ncaa-football-texas-tech-34-vs-minnesota-31---mein.shtml?55336

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Your one-minute real estate update ? Off the Kuff

Dec 30th, 2012 by Charles Kuffner.

I just have one mostly tangential thing to say about this.

Houston will see a modest and steady growth in retail activity in 2013, according to Ed Wulfe?s annual retail forecast.

And the following year should be much better, said Wulfe, who is chairman and CEO of Wulfe & Co., a retail development, brokerage and property management firm.

The amount of new shopping center space to be built and opened in 2013 will be slightly greater than this year?s, while 2014 should be ?very strong based on what?s underway,? Wulfe said.

I note that story mostly because it seems like as good an excuse as any to wonder once again about the status of all those long-dormant projects whose empty lots serve as a daily reminder of their lack of activity. I speak of course of the Stables and the Robinson Warehouse, now celebrating its sixth anniversary of vacantness. At last report the Sonoma site was being redeveloped; I can?t personally confirm this, as I generally avoid the area. Regent Square was supposed to have commenced construction in October, but I haven?t seen anything on the Allen Parkway part of the property. And one property that I generally forget about but was in the news recently, the old Astroworld site, also continues to lay fallow. I know this story is about retail development, and most of the sites I?m talking about were intended to be residential or mixed-use, but I feel like the Houston real estate market won?t truly be healthy again until something is happening with all of them.

Posted in: Elsewhere in Houston.
Tagged: Astroworld ? construction ? Ed Wulfe ? Houston ? Regent Square ? Robinson warehouse ? Sonoma ? The Stables

Source: http://offthekuff.com/wp/?p=49854

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At Israel school, anyone can learn to be a prophet

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, Shmuel Fortman Hapartzy, the Cain and Abel School for Prophets founder and teacher speaks to students in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, students sit outside of the Cain and Abel School for Prophets founder in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, brochures for the Cain and Abel School for Prophets are displayed in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, a painting of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson adorns the wall in the Cain and Abel School for Prophets in Tel Aviv, Israel. Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets. For just 200 shekels ($53) and in only 40 short classes, anyone can become a certified, modern-day soothsayer at the Cain and Abel School for Prophets.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) ? Instead of long beards and robes, they wear track suits and T-shirts. Their tablets are electronic, not hewn of stone, and they hold smartphones, not staffs. They may not look the part, but this ragtag group of Israelis is training to become the next generation of prophets.

For just 200 shekels, about $53, and in only 40 short classes, the Cain and Abel School for Prophets says it will certify anyone as a modern-day Jewish soothsayer.

The school, which launched classes this month, has baffled critics, many of whom have dismissed it as a blasphemy or a fraud.

On a religious level, Jewish tradition recognizes a few dozen prophets from the biblical era ? from the monumental figures of Abraham, Moses and Elijah to lesser known foretellers of doom and tormented questioners like Micah the Morashtite and Habakkuk. Tradition says no one can be a prophet ever since the Romans destroyed the second temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 and the era of prophecy can only be revived with the arrival of the Messiah and the temple's rebuilding. As one Talmudic phrase puts it, the only prophets now are children and fools.

But also, on a philosophical level, how do you learn divine inspiration in school? And can anyone learn?

"There is no way to teach prophecy," said Rachel Elior, a professor of Jewish thought at Jerusalem's Hebrew University. "It's like opening a school for becoming Einstein or Mozart."

That hasn't deterred the school's founder and sole teacher Shmuel Hapartzy, a follower of Chabad, a worldwide Orthodox Jewish outreach and worship movement that has come under fire because part of its membership crowned its late leader the Messiah. The Chabad movement in Israel has distanced itself from the school.

Anyone looking in the curriculum for "Parting the Sea 101" or "How to Predict the Future" or even "Principles of Proclaiming A Jeremiad" will be disappointed. Instead, students learn about the meaning of dreams, the classification of angels, the mysteries of the holy spirit. They learn how to discern a person's inner feelings from his or her external behavior and appearance.

Hapartzy can't guarantee his course will give his students a direct line to God. But, he says, the syllabus provides the essential tools to bring out the prophet in anyone.

"In the past there were prophets but even now, in our time, divinity is being revealed to everyone. We just need to open our eyes to it," said Hapartzy at his introductory course, which is held at a religious center in grungy south Tel Aviv, known more for its licentious street parties than piety.

And graduates do get a diploma.

There's little "profit" motive to the venture. Hapartzy said the token fee is to prove students' dedication and is donated to the religious center hosting the school. There's no application process ? anyone who wants to become a prophet can do so by just showing up for the course.

The school's inaugural class this month welcomed a mixed bag of 12 students ranging in age from 18 to 50. One man had scruffy stubble and wore a blue track suit. Another walked in with a guitar slung over his back. Others fiddled with their phones during the lecture or stepped out to smoke. Two had long beards and wore Jewish skullcaps.

Darya Popdinitz, who drove in from Jerusalem for the course, wore a pink hat with dangling pompons. She said her knowledge of biblical prophets was limited, but she was "curious" about the course.

"It's a real diverse mix of people," said Hapartzy.

The class itself is a modest study group. In the small room, the men sat in a circle around Hapartzy, with the women separately in a corner, following Orthodox Judaism's segregation of the sexes. Hapartzy lectures and hands out study material ? photocopied excerpts of holy books ? and a question period follows. The students' homework is to conduct good deeds and pray.

The 34-year-old Hapartzy has a varied background. A software engineer and Russian immigrant, with a long beard and dressed in black ultra-Orthodox garb, he said he was originally an atheist. He dabbled in "sciences, mysticism, Chinese philosophy, astrology, black magic and Christian cults" until, he said, he turned to Judaism.

He compiled the study materials from writings he said could be found in any religious library ? including, no surprise, the books of the biblical prophets. Since there's no traditional set course for becoming a prophet, Hapartzy used his own judgment for what subjects would be appropriate.

Like some in the Chabad movement, Hapartzy believes that the Messiah has already come and that the age of redemption is nigh, so it has possible to have prophets again. Claims by some that late leader Rabbi Menachem Schneerson was the Messiah split the Chabad movement and brought harsh criticism from other Jews.

Hapartzy said his school aims to prepare everyone for the new messianic era. The school is named after the sons of Adam and Eve ? Cain was the first murderer and Abel the first victim. The name represents a person's different spiritual poles, which the school aims to unite, Hapartzy said.

The desire to open up the realm of prophecy to anyone has raised hackles in some circles.

"It's completely crazy," said Menachem Brod, a Chabad spokesman. Facebook commenters have accused the school of "charlatanism and blasphemy."

Roie Greenvald, a 27-year-old tennis instructor attending the classes, also showed some skepticism. While he expressed interest in the spiritual development the course offers, one crucial detail stands in the way of his religious elevation.

"I'm not going to become a prophet," he said. "I don't think it pays very well."

___

Follow Tia Goldenberg at http://twitter.com/tgoldenberg

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-29-Israel-Prophet%20Motive/id-004fa1b965f843729d82faa220aaa677

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Of course: David Gregory granted interview with Obama (Michellemalkin)

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Obama, Congress struggle toward fiscal cliff deal

On Friday President Barack Obama met with congressional leaders once again to try negotiating a budget deal. Obama said he walked away from the meeting 'optimistic.'

By David Espo and Jim Kuhnhenn,?Associated Press / December 28, 2012

President Barack Obama delivers a statement on the fiscal cliff negotiations with congressional leaders in the briefing room of the White House on Friday, in Washington. The negotiations are a last ditch effort to avoid across-the-board first of the year tax increases and deep spending cuts.

Evan Vucci/AP

Enlarge

The end game at hand, the White House and Senate leaders took a final stab at compromise Friday night to prevent middle-class tax increases from taking effect at the turn of the new year and possibly prevent sweeping spending cuts as well.

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"I'm optimistic we may still be able to reach an agreement that can pass both houses in time," President Barack Obama said at the White House after meeting for more than an hour with congressional leaders.

Surprisingly, after weeks of postelection gridlock, Senate leaders sounded even more bullish.

The Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said he was "hopeful and optimistic" of a deal, adding he hoped a compromise could be presented to rank-and-file lawmakers as early as Sunday, a little more than 24 hours before the year-end deadline.

Said Majority Leader Harry Reid: "I'm going to do everything I can" to prevent the tax increases and spending cuts that threaten to send the economy into recession. He cautioned, "Whatever we come up with is going to be imperfect."

Officials said there was a general understanding that any agreement would block scheduled income tax increases for middle class earners while letting rates rise at upper income levels.

Democrats said Obama was sticking to his campaign call for increases above $250,000 in annual income, even though in recent negotiations he said he could accept $400,000.

The two sides also confronted a divide over estate taxes.

Obama favors a higher tax than is currently in effect, but one senior Republican, Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, said he's "totally dead set" against it. Speaking of fellow GOP lawmakers, he said they harbor more opposition to an increase in the estate tax than to letting taxes on income and investments rise at upper levels.

Also likely to be included in the negotiations are taxes on dividends and capital gains, both of which are scheduled to rise with the new year. Also the alternative minimum tax, which, if left unchanged, could hit millions of middle- and upper-income taxpayers for the first time.

In addition, Obama and Democrats want to prevent the expiration of unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless, and there is widespread sentiment in both parties to shelter doctors from a cut in Medicare fees.

The White House has shown increased concern about a possible spike in milk prices if a farm bill is not passed in the next few days, although it is not clear whether that issue, too, might be included in the talks.

One Republican who was briefed on the White House meeting said Boehner made it clear he would leave in place spending cuts scheduled to take effect unless alternative savings were found to offset them. If he prevails, that would defer politically difficult decisions on government benefit programs like Medicare until 2013.

Success was far from guaranteed in an atmosphere of political mistrust ? even on a slimmed-down deal that postponed hard decisions about spending cuts into 2013 ? in a Capitol where lawmakers grumbled about the likelihood of spending the new year holiday working.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ehL2k6sFZ_8/Obama-Congress-struggle-toward-fiscal-cliff-deal

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Russia pushes Syria to hold talks with opposition

NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP-Getty Images

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, speaks with his visiting Egypt counterpart Mohamed Amr as they meet on the Syrian crisis in Moscow on Dec. 28.

By Reuters

Russia urged the Syrian government on Friday to act on its stated readiness for dialogue with its opponents, throwing its weight behind a diplomatic push to end a 21-month-old conflict in Syria.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had urged Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Makdad to emphasize his government's openness to dialogue with the opposition during talks in Moscow on Thursday.

"We actively encouraged ... the Syrian leadership to make as concrete as possible its declared readiness for dialogue with the opposition," Lavrov told reporters after talks with his Egyptian counterpart Mohamed Kamel Amr in Moscow.

He said the Syrian government should stress its readiness for talks on the widest possible range of matters, in line with an international agreement in Geneva last June calling for a transitional government.

"I think a realistic and detailed assessment of the situation inside Syria will prompt reasonable opposition members to seek ways to start a political dialogue," added Lavrov, who last week said that neither side would win by force.

Putin says fate of Assad unimportant to him

Russia expects to meet a senior U.S. diplomat on Syria next month to discuss with international Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi his plans to end the civil war there, the Kremlin's envoy to the region said earlier on Friday.

Brahimi will visit Moscow on Saturday for talks on the results of his negotiations with Syrian President Bashar Assad and his opponents during a five-day trip to Damascus in which he called for political change to end the bloodshed.

"We will listen to what Lakhdar Brahimi has to say about the situation in Syria, and after that, probably, there will be a decision to hold a new meeting of the 'three Bs'," Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told the RIA news agency -- in a word play on the first letter of the diplomats' last names.

Bogdanov, U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns and Brahimi, the joint special representative of the United Nations and the Arab League, agreed that a political solution to the crisis was necessary and possible in talks earlier this month.

Bogdanov, the Kremlin's special envoy for Middle East Affairs, said the three would meet again in January after the holidays.

Russia has also invited the head of the internationally-recognized, opposition Syrian National Council, Moaz al-Khatib, to talks, he said, in comments that appeared underline Moscow's commitment to helping Brahimi seek a way out of the crisis.

Brahimi, who has called for a transitional government to rule until elections, is trying to broker a peaceful transfer of power in Syria, where more than 44,000 people have been killed in a revolt against four decades of Assad family rule.

Past peace efforts have floundered as what began as peaceful protests in March 2011 turned into civil war. The conflict has become an increasingly sectarian struggle between mostly Sunni Muslim rebels and Assad's security forces, drawn primarily from his Shiite-rooted Alawite minority.

Assad forces accused of using 'poisonous gases'

World powers think Russia, which has given Assad military and diplomatic aid during the uprising, has the ear of Syria's government and must be a central player in any peace talks.

Moscow has tried to distance itself from Assad in recent months and has denied it is propping him up. But it maintains Assad's exit cannot be a precondition for talks and has repeatedly said Western powers should not impose solutions on Syria.

Lavrov warned on Thursday that time was running out to find a peaceful solution to the conflict and halt a descent into "bloody chaos".

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/28/16209381-russia-pushes-syria-to-hold-talks-with-opposition?lite

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Friday, December 28, 2012

How to use Roofing Calculator ? p1 | Home Improvement Ideas

27Dec

Download for iPhone: itunes.apple.com Download for Android: play.google.com www.roofingcalculator.org ? Roofing Calculator app is made for roofing contractors and sales people to help you quickly estimate roofing cost, roof size, and roofing materials amount and prices. This app combine most?

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Source: http://www.cohocton.org/178-how-to-use-roofing-calculator-p1

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Stocks drop as lawmaker sees 'fiscal cliff' ahead

4 hrs.

JeeYeon Park , CNBC

Stocks fell near session lows Thursday, with all key S&P sectors in negative territory, pressured by a weaker-than-expected consumer confidence report and as President Barack Obama and members of Congress headed back to Washington to resume talks over the looming "fiscal cliff."

So far, all three major averages are on pace to closing lower for the month. Still, the Dow is up nearly 6 percent for the year, while the S&P and Nasdaq are both up more than 10 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell near the psychologically?important level of 13,000, dragged by Bank of America and JPMorgan, after closing lower for the third-consecutive session. The last time the Dow traded below 13,000 was back in Dec. 5, when it hit a low 12,923.44.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also declined. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, jumped above 20 for the first time in nearly five months.

All key S&P sectors were in the red, dragged by financials and energy.

"Moves are always exacerbated during low-volume days and we'll continue to react to every headline from Washington," said Keith Bliss, senior vice president at Cutton & Co. "But I still think the overall market is in a bullish sentiment by the way that the technical are lining up. It might be prudent to keep some powder dry and buy on these dips."

Stocks took a sharp leg lower after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid expressed doubts that a deal can be reached to avert the "fiscal cliff."

"It looks like that's where we're headed," Reid said of the looming fiscal cliff and pointed fingers at House Speaker John Boehner of running a "dictatorship" by "not allowing the vast majority of the House of Representatives to get what they want."

Obama cut short his Christmas vacation in Hawaii to deal with the deadlocked talks between Democrats and Republicans on what to do with $600 billion in tax increases and automatic spending cuts, due to kick in on Jan. 1. With less than a week remaining this year, time is now running out and the pressure on politicians to find a solution is building, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned the U.S. will hit the debt ceiling on Monday, Dec. 31.

The two sides could work towards a "mini-deal" to postpone the effects of the fiscal cliff by extending tax cuts for taxpayers with incomes below $250,000, postponing the automatic spending cuts, and extending unemployment benefits.?

Meanwhile on the economic front, the consumer confidence index tumbled to 65.1 in December from a downwardly revised 71.5 in November, hitting a four-month low, according to the Conference Board.

Earlier, jobless claims fell 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 last week. Meanwhile, the four-week moving average tumbled to its lowest since March 2008.?

And new home sales rose 4.4 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted 377,000-unit annual rate, the fasts pace in 2-1/2 years, according to the Commerce Department.

Marvell Technology declined after a federal grand jury ruled the chipmaker infringed two patents held by Carnegie Mellon University and ordered the company to pay $1.17 billion in damages. In addition, at least two brokerages lowered their rating on the company.

Toyota Motor said it plans to settle a U.S. class-action lawsuit for $1.1 billion.

Domino's Pizza climbed after Oppenheimer raised its price target on the pizza chain to $50 from $44.

Hartford Financial Services edged higher after Stifel added the financial services company to its "select" list and raised its target price to $28 from $25.

BCD Semiconductor skyrocketed more than 90 percent after the chipmaker agreed to be bought by Diodes in a deal worth $151 million.?

In Europe, stocks rose in cautious trading after being closed for Christmas and Boxing Day.?Meanwhile, in Asia, Japanese stocks hit a 21-month high as a weaker yen boosted export stocks. Sentiment in Asia was boosted as profits at China's factories jumped in November, helped by the recovery in the economy.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/stocks-drop-lawmaker-sees-cliff-ahead-1C7657761

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Program helps veterans reintegrate through music

In this Oct. 10, 2012, photo, musician Julio Fernandez holds a guitar during a class session at Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J. Students are participating in a music class for service men and women that helps them cope with their life after the military through a program called Voices of Valor. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In this Oct. 10, 2012, photo, songwriter Jennifer Lampert, right, writes down lyrics during a class session at Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J. Students are participating in a music class for service men and women that helps them cope with their life after the military through a program called Voices of Valor. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In this Oct. 10, 2012, photo, students participate in a class at Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J. The music class is for service men and women that helps them cope with their life after the military through a program called Voices of Valor. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In this Oct. 10, 2012, photo, U.S. Army Sgt. Thomas Springsteen writes notes during a class session at Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J. Springsteen is participating in a music class for service men and women that helps them cope with their life after the military through a program called Voices of Valor. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In this Oct. 10, 2012, photo, musician Julio Fernandez, left, hands a guitar to U.S. Navy Petty Officer Mike Cordes during a class session at Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J. Students are participating in a music class for servicemen and women that helps them cope with their life after the military through a program called Voices of Valor. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

MONTCLAIR, N.J. (AP) ? During stressful times as a combat medic in Afghanistan, Mason Sullivan found solace in Vivaldi. New Jersey native Nairobi Cruz was comforted by country music, a genre she had never heard before joining the Army. For Jose Mercedes, it was an eclectic iPod mix that helped him cope with losing an arm during a tour of duty in Iraq.

These three young veterans all say music played a crucial role in alleviating the stresses of active duty. Now, all three are enrolled in a program that hopes to use music to ease their reintegration into civilian life.

"It's a therapy session without the 'sit down, lay down, and write notes,'" Mercedes, 26, of Union City, said of the music program. "It's different ? it's an alternative that's way better."

The pilot program, called Voices of Valor, has veterans work as a group to synthesize their experiences into musical lyrics. Guided by musicians and a psychology mentor, they write and record a song, and then hold a CD release party. The program is currently under way at Montclair State University, where students participate through the school's veteran affairs program.

Developed by husband and wife team Rena Fruchter and Brian Dallow, it is open to veterans of any age and background. No musical experience is required.

Both accomplished musicians, Fruchter and Dallow created the program as part of Music for All Seasons, an organization they founded which runs musical programs for audiences at places ranging from nursing homes to prisons.

Based on their experiences working with children at shelters for victims of domestic violence, Fruchter and Dallow realized that young people too traumatized to talk about what they had been through were nevertheless willing to bang on an instrument or sing ? often leading to communication breakthroughs. They felt the same might be true for veterans, or other populations traditionally averse to more overt forms of 'talk therapy.'

"We've had situations in which veterans have been carrying their burdens deep inside for such a long time, and they come into this group and they begin to talk about things that they've never talked about before," Fruchter said. "They really open up, and it translates into some music that is really amazing and incredible and powerful."

During a recent session of the eight-week program in Montclair, music facilitators Jennifer Lampert, a former Miss USO, and Julio Fernandez, a musician and member of the band Spyro Gyra, lead a small group of young veterans in brainstorming about their experiences.

"Tired of being angry," ''Easier not to move on," ''The war at home," were phrases Lampert extracted from a discussion among the participants and she wrote each phrase in marker on large notepads fastened to a classroom blackboard. As they spoke, Fernandez strummed an acoustic guitar while Lampert sang some of the phrases the students had come up with, adjusting the beat and tempo at their suggestion. Suddenly, a musical lyric emerged: "Sometimes, I wish the past is where I stayed."

A few weeks later, the group gathered at a sound studio in Union City, where they donned headphones and clearly relished the opportunity to record their collectively written tune, "Freedom," in a professional studio.

"To see music heal people in that way, it's beautiful, and the real incredible part is you don't have to do anything but give in to the music," Lampert said. She recounted how, time and again, the facilitators of the program had watched some participants start the class with shoulders slumped, hesitant to make eye contact, and afraid to speak up. Through the process of writing music they changed, she said, into group-focused, smiling, active participants unafraid to stand up and belt out a tune.

7/87/8_____

Follow Samantha Henry at http://www.twitter.com/SamanthaHenry

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2012-12-28-Voices%20of%20Valor/id-43912a5987f04d59a9496e391d2ccdb0

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

Best videos of 2012: Spiderman skin stops a bullet

Joanna Carver, reporter

This bullet-dodging hybrid skin comes in at number 4 in our best videos of 2012 countdown.

Imagine facing a speeding bullet without fear of it tearing through your flesh. By reinforcing human skin cells with spider silk, artist Jalila Essa?di has designed a futuristic material that could make this scenario plausible.

Spider-silk weaves are actually four times stronger than Kevlar, which explains why a half-speed bullet can't penetrate the hybrid skin in the video. However, when it meets a full-speed bullet, traveling at 329 metres per second, it's unable to stop it.

To find out more about the many applications of super-sturdy spider silk, read our full-length feature "Stretching spider silk to its high-tech limits". For more about Essa?di's project, check out our original post, "Bulletproof skin stops a speeding gunshot".

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/26fba613/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cnstv0C20A120C120Cbest0Evideos0Eof0E20A120Ebulletproof0Eskin0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

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wise self improvement | self improvement made easy: Cultivating ...

I get to have juicy conversations just about every day of my life. My work depends on it. My inner impact goddess thrives on it. My clients create change by it. In fact, I'm finding that one of my metrics for meaning, joy, and how much impact I create, is in the amount of conversations I have that 1) feed my soul, 2) make me think, 3) contribute to another human being, 4) help move something forward, and 5) create a bigger conversation that ripples positively.

One of my favorite quotes from Rumi is "The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep." I woke up early this morning in San Francisco with the "secrets" of "collaborative creative conversations" dancing in my head. Moved to create a conversation around them, and to contribute to your own conversations today as well, I offer some of them to you here.

This list falls in the "being" side of a conversation; many of these things you can't see or touch, but you can feel them- and they're potent. The energy and intention of these 5, underneath the "doing" of a quality conversation, creates magical space.

Authenticity: Bringing one's full self to the conversation and standing in one's truth.
Vulnerability: A willingness to be seen; and to be wildly brilliant or wildly off, wildly grounded or wildly lost. A willingness to have one's mind changed; a perspective even shattered.
Presence: Full attention, honor, and presence in the conversation; emotionally, mentally, physically.
Witnessing: Seeing, truly seeing, the other person in the conversation. Watching them shine, sourcing for greatness, holding space for them as they work through their thoughts.
Creative Listening: Listening below the surface for what's not being said. And listening above the surface for how to contribute to and expand upon the topic.

This is just an early morning taster... not an exhaustive list by any means... and, these 5 things, brought to the table even energetically, create connection and intimacy. When connection, intimacy and space for authenticity is present, big things happen: truth occurs, creativity flows, cool things get manifested, big problems are solved, souls are fed.

What would you add to this list? What has to be present for you to create a meaningful and collaborative conversation? Where do you hold back when these things aren't present? What gets lost? And finally, what's possible for you and your team (or partner, spouse, kids) when they are?

To listening, contributing, and being in the conversation. // axc

Source: http://wiseselfimprovement.blogspot.com/2012/12/cultivating-truth-creativity-and-impact.html

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Obama to cut short holiday in Hawaii, leave Wednesday for Washington as 'fiscal cliff' looms (Star Tribune)

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Monday, December 31, 2012

Sunday, December 30, 2012

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