New BlackBerry CEO optimistic despite loss (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgmOfaF77y4R0SxhkS9QLA5UrERgYxGPibFPXYf7W6j1GPiqh3dv8hvcWMC2QHtKyyxYP43WluT-M5l1JcN0j9kCpTc0fEmjbadLvLKBq7g3VegOBnufJSy8od6RVBZfvPdmvfQvh1p4/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgmOfaF77y4R0SxhkS9QLA5UrERgYxGPibFPXYf7W6j1GPiqh3dv8hvcWMC2QHtKyyxYP43WluT-M5l1JcN0j9kCpTc0fEmjbadLvLKBq7g3VegOBnufJSy8od6RVBZfvPdmvfQvh1p4/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="cnnStorySource" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">NEW YORK (CNNMoney)</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">BlackBerry said goodbye to its terrible 2013 with yet another awful quarterly financial report -- but interim CEO John Chen was able to talk the stock higher.</h2><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Shares of <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">BlackBerry</span> <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(<span class="inlink_chart" style="background-image: url(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/img/5.0/buttons/assorted_icons.gif); background-position: -200px -160px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 2px 19px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="inlink" href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=BBRY&source=story_quote_link" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">BBRY</a></span>)</span> initially fell more than 7% in premarket trading after the struggling smartphone maker said Friday that it posted a whopping $4.4 billion loss during the quarter that ended in November.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">Excluding one-time costs, BlackBerry reported a loss of 67 cents a share. Sales fell 56% over the year to $1.2 billion. Both of those figures were worse than what Wall Street expected.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">But the stock shifted gears once Chen kicked off BlackBerry's conference call. The stock rose nearly 1.5% in early trading after the market opened.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">"The market has spoken and we have listened," said Chen, who took the interim CEO spot at BlackBerry last month after the company <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/04/technology/blackberry-fairfax/index.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">abandoned its plans</a> to sell the company and ousted CEO Thorsten Heins.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">The closed up more than 15%, possibly because more than a quarter of BlackBerry shares are held by short sellers: investors who borrow shares and immediately sell them with the hopes of buying them back when the price drops.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">A surprise jump in a stock's price can force short sellers to cover their positions quickly, buying back the stock en masse in order to cut their losses -- and sending shares higher in the process. It's a phenomenon known as a short squeeze.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chen stressed on the call that despite a lot of bad publicity and the mounting losses, the company has "a very solid base." In particular, he cited BlackBerry's engineering talent and its cash position -- which now stands at $3.2 billion, up from $2.6 billion in the previous quarter.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">He used the word "turnaround" several times, though he warned that parts of that process could take a while. Chen is no stranger to uphill battles: As CEO of the once-struggling software company Sybase, he turned it around before selling it to <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">SAP</span> <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(<span class="inlink_chart" style="background-image: url(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/img/5.0/buttons/assorted_icons.gif); background-position: -200px -160px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 2px 19px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="inlink" href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=SAP&source=story_quote_link" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SAP</a></span>)</span> in 2010.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chen also talked up BlackBerry's new five-year strategic partnership with Foxconn, the world's largest manufacturer of electronic parts. Under the terms of the deal announced Friday, Foxconn will develop and manufacture certain BlackBerry devices and manage that inventory itself.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">The BlackBerry chief praised Foxconn's "world-class supply chain," its access to emerging markets and its ability to both design and manufacture hardware. BlackBerry's internal design teams will focus on software and high-end phones, Chen said, adding that the rest of the hardware development would be left to Foxconn.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">The partnership will first focus on a smartphone for Indonesia and other emerging markets, which is set for early 2014. Foxconn is the Apple supplier that has made headlines over the past few years for myriad <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/29/technology/apple-foxconn-report/?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">labor violations</a> in China.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">S&P Capital IQ analyst James Moorman was ho-hum on the announcements. In a note to clients Friday, he said the Foxconn partnership "makes sense" and will help the company better manage its costs. But it wasn't enough to outweigh the drop in sales. Moorman kept his rating on the stock at "hold."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">BlackBerry's brutal 2013: </strong>The company kicked off the year by finally launching its long-delayed <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/30/technology/mobile/blackberry-10-rim/?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">BlackBerry 10</a> operating system in January. But its first device on the platform, the <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/20/technology/mobile/blackberry-z10-review/?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">keyboardless Z10</a>, fared poorly.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">BlackBerry took a nearly <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/20/technology/mobile/blackberry-earnings/2013/09/27/technology/enterprise/blackberry-earnings/index.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">$1 billion writedown </a>on unsold Z10 phones in September -- and Chen alluded to that when talking about the Foxconn deal, saying the partnership will reduce BlackBerry's exposure to that kind of risk.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">The new phones still aren't catching on with customers though. The company said Friday it sold about 4.3 million phones during its most recent quarter -- but 3.2 million of them were devices on the older BlackBerry 7 operating system.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Faced with declining sales and market share, the company also announced in September it would <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/20/technology/blackberry/index.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">cut 4,500 jobs </a>-- or 40% of its workforce -- and that it would<a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/23/technology/mobile/blackberry-private/?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"> seek a buyer</a> to take it private.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">But just last month, BlackBerry <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/04/technology/blackberry-fairfax/index.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">abandoned its plans</a> to sell the company and got rid of Heins.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chen faces a daunting task. <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/05/technology/mobile/blackberry-ceo/?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Experts criticized</a> Heins' failure to prioritize BlackBerry's business-focused customers. Instead, BlackBerry tried to replicate the mass consumer success of <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Apple</span> <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(<span class="inlink_chart" style="background-image: url(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/img/5.0/buttons/assorted_icons.gif); background-position: -200px -160px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 2px 19px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="inlink" href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=AAPL&source=story_quote_link" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">AAPL</a></span>, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2013/snapshots/670.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fortune 500</a>)</span> and <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Google's</span> <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(<span class="inlink_chart" style="background-image: url(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/img/5.0/buttons/assorted_icons.gif); background-position: -200px -160px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 2px 19px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="inlink" href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=GOOG&source=story_quote_link" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">GOOG</a></span>, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2013/snapshots/11207.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fortune 500</a>)</span> Android.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">BlackBerry changed gears in September and said it would focus on corporate customers and so-called "prosumers." It also said it would scale back its device offerings from six to four. But analysts said it was too little and too late. Chen, unsurprisingly, is more hopeful.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I know there has been a lot said about BlackBerry, but let me remind you that at BlackBerry, we are not dwelling on the past," Chen wrote in a company <a href="http://blogs.blackberry.com/2013/11/a-message-from-john-s-chen-blackberry-executive-chair-and-ceo/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">blog post</a> a few days after his appointment. "We are looking towards the future." <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/20/technology/mobile/blackberry-earnings/index.html?iid=EL#TOP" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="To top of page" border="0" height="7" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/images/bug.gif" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="7" /></a></div></div>

New BlackBerry CEO optimistic despite loss (BLOG)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) BlackBerry said goodbye to its terrible 2013 with yet another awful quarterly financial report -- but interim CEO John C...

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Using Botox To Treat Migraines

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Cali Marinaw</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>The use of botulinum toxin injections has advanced tremendously over the last few years. Applications in cosmetic surgery and muscle spasticity disorder are now well recognized and are offered at a number of different centers all over the world. For a short time now, some patients have been receiving botox injections in order to treat their migraines.<br /> <br /> Here, we will be discussing how botox injections can now be utilized for this purpose. <br /> <br /> Background behind this idea<br /> <br /> Paralyzation occurs in the muscles due to botox injections, and because of this, the muscles stay in a relaxed position as they don't receive the nerve signals. A bacterium called Clostridium botulinum causes this result. The main usage is for muscles different parts of the eyes, face and body to be relaxed, which will increase muscle tone and make the general muscle function be improved.<br /> <br /> Migraines and botox <br /> <br /> Migraine is primarily mediated by the release of the neuro-chemical serotonin. Treatments of botox do not affect that, but there is evidence that shows patients who find relief from migraine pain from the treatments.<br /> <br /> People are looking forward to the new research that is being done that seems to show that migraines can be reduced using these treatments. The recommendations from the studies is to inject the botox into the scalp at around 31 -39 different points in patients. There are a number of theories that have been postulated:<br /> <br /> First, that it blocks the nerves from transmitting pain signals.<br /> <br /> After that, the muscles in the scalp are relaxed, which in turn, causes the brain to have a lower blood pressure.<br /> <br /> Patients are reporting less headaches, and less severe when they occur, although the research to document this is still ongoing at this time.<br /> <br /> When a patient reports migraine headaches that happen for over 15 days a month, and do not receive relief from other types of treatment are sometimes recommended to have botox injections. Analgesic overuse headaches happen when a patient over5uses painkiller medications, so this must be examined for patients as well. <br /> <br /> Each patient is different, so in cases where botox is administered 2 times and the patient has no benefit then other options should be considered, but if it makes headaches occur less than 15 days per month, this is another signal of success.<br /> <br /> Are risks a factor?<br /> <br /> It's possible to have an allergic reaction or some neck pain from botox treatment, but that only happens to a tiny percentage of patients.<br /> <br /> Summary<br /> <br /> Migraines are now being treated by injections of botox, but it's still a new application for this condition. It's looking good for the future of botox for treating chronic migraine symptoms, but more studies need to be done to have more conclusive evidence. <br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'>Get the best <a href="http://iapam.com/botox-training">training for botox</a> with the IAPAM. Learn <a href="http://iapam.com/advanced-dermal-filler-training">train for dermal fillers</a> with us.</div><br /> </div><br />

Using Botox To Treat Migraines

By Cali Marinaw The use of botulinum toxin injections has advanced tremendously over the last few years. Applications in cosmetic surgery ...

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Canada's high court: Change prostitution laws (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05dQwHFBbfALNssKZrrBkT8EaIYsvAVlHh1cYNkTstT10zaLcPIMzZyhOs288WpbE-YNmLYYHRaK7vRUL5NNbB4t7WqGps561wHseK9y__3AT1M9EkfDpugg5J7yGYgjCkZKnht6fnk0/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05dQwHFBbfALNssKZrrBkT8EaIYsvAVlHh1cYNkTstT10zaLcPIMzZyhOs288WpbE-YNmLYYHRaK7vRUL5NNbB4t7WqGps561wHseK9y__3AT1M9EkfDpugg5J7yGYgjCkZKnht6fnk0/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">(CNN)</strong> -- Canada's Supreme Court has struck down the country's laws about prostitution.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">While selling sex for money isn't illegal in Canada, until Friday's 9-0 ruling, three specific laws had made it difficult for prostitutes to more safely and securely engage in sex work.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the laws prohibited anyone from operating a brothel. Another forbade people from earning a living working for a prostitute, such as being a driver, bookkeeper or bodyguard. Another law reportedly made it illegal to communicate in public about acts of prostitution.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph4" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">On Friday, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin said that the court's decision would be "suspended for one year" until Parliament amends the laws.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph5" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">McLachlin said the time should be allotted because "the regulation of prostitution is a complex and delicate matter."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph6" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/12/20/supreme_court_of_canada_strikes_down_federal_criminal_prostitution_laws.html" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">According to the Toronto Star</a>, if 12 months from now the federal government has not redrafted legislation, then prostitutes will be allowed to legally work, hire drivers, bodyguards and accountants, and screen their clients.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph7" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The law's purpose "is to target pimps and the parasitic, exploitative conduct in which they engage," the court said Friday.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph8" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"The law, however, punishes everyone who lives on the avails of prostitution without distinguishing between those who exploit prostitutes and those who could increase the safety and security of prostitutes, for example, legitimate drivers, managers, or bodyguards. .. The living on the avails provision is consequently overbroad."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph9" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">On another matter, the law on prohibiting soliciting was designed "not to eliminate street prostitution for its own sake, but to take prostitution off the streets and out of public view in order to prevent the nuisances that street prostitution can cause," the high court found.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph10" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">CNN affiliate CBC News, citing a criminologist, said Parliament could criminalize the sale or purchase of sex and choose to regulate where prostitution can occur.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph11" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Parliament also could do nothing, in which case the provinces and municipalities would likely develop their own provisions, CBC News said.</div></div>

Canada's high court: Change prostitution laws (BLOG)

(CNN)  -- Canada's Supreme Court has struck down the country's laws about prostitution. While selling sex for money isn't illega...

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3 dead as unusual weather mix sweeps nation, threatens holiday travelers (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVchTkztnF0vRF3JZLciFq5JpzYAYe3qL1ni7mep3SoOaW_tTqmOQoGKsZQEoxXGyN9F0_OYOJl7FY8EyewNdozSKA-Cv95kgAD1ZTY2x_P75yZ_IEG5fKEvOiB66AlUTPluF8mR7WwU/s1600/131220222121-gray-winter-science-00002217-c1-main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVchTkztnF0vRF3JZLciFq5JpzYAYe3qL1ni7mep3SoOaW_tTqmOQoGKsZQEoxXGyN9F0_OYOJl7FY8EyewNdozSKA-Cv95kgAD1ZTY2x_P75yZ_IEG5fKEvOiB66AlUTPluF8mR7WwU/s320/131220222121-gray-winter-science-00002217-c1-main.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">(CNN)</strong> -- At least three people are dead after a bizarre mix of weather across the country spawned tornadoes, ice storms and record-setting warmth this weekend.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Two deaths occurred in the Mississippi counties of Coahoma and Jasper, where severe weather damaged homes and knocked down trees, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The third fatality came from a traffic accident near Kansas City, Chris Redline of the Missouri Department of Transportation said.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph4" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We also had to close a lot of roads in southeast Missouri because of flooding," Redline said.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph5" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Flooding, extreme cold and unseasonable warmth covered other parts of the country. To make sense of it all, let us take you on a national tour.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph6" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Southeast: Thunderstorms, tornadoes and torrential downpours</strong></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph7" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Heavy rain, damaging winds and lightning were forecast to continue into Sunday morning. These storms will spread, bringing downpours to Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and up the East Coast on Sunday.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph8" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">On Saturday night, the National Weather Service said a tornado was likely to blame for damage in central Mississippi, including four semi trucks overturned and five houses heavily damaged.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph9" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Some of the highest rain totals for Saturday occurred in Junction, Illinois, where 6 inches were reported, and Trumann, Arkansas, where residents had 7 inches of rain by late Saturday evening.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph10" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The main trigger for the severe weather is the above-average temperatures farther north.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph11" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Midwest: A flood of wet worry</strong></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph12" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">On Saturday evening, some low-lying areas of Shelby County, Indiana. were evacuated as the rain continued to fall in central Indiana.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph13" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Where temperatures are lower, snow will come down across Iowa, Wisconsin and into northwest Michigan. Some areas will see up to 8-10 inches of snow, others around 4-7 inches. And an ice storm is predicted in southeast Michigan.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph14" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Central Plains: Slammed with ice and snow</strong></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph15" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">In Kansas and southeast Nebraska, snowfalls will total 3-6 inches. And those cold temps will keep folks shivering.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph16" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Whitney Eichinger of Southwest Airlines said the company is trying to offer customers options.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph17" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We are allowing customers to rebook their trip with no penalty through tomorrow," she said. "That has more to do with traveling to the airport, not flight cancellations."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph18" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The highest snow total of Saturday was in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, where 12.5 inches had fallen by late Saturday evening.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph19" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Mid-Atlantic/Northeast: Weirdly warm</strong></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph20" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">If there is one present being handed out on this first day of winter, it is the well-above-average temperatures in the Mid-Atlantic.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph21" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">By Sunday, that warm weather will grace the Northeast, sending temperatures into the 60s.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph22" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Farther north, however, the situation has been less cozy. In Maine and across New Hampshire, Vermont and into New York, winter weather -- including ice storm warnings and freezing rain -- were in effect.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph23" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a winter ice emergency and activated the state's emergency operations center. The National Weather Service in Buffalo issued a winter storm watch for five counties in upstate New York and winter storm warnings for two others.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph24" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The National Weather Service in Buffalo said up to an inch of ice accumulation is expected, and areas near the St. Lawrence and Black rivers could see even more.</div><div class="cnn_strycbftrtxt" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; padding: 4px 24px 37px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">CNN's Jennifer Gray, Nick Valencia, Todd Borek and Matt Daniel contributed to this report.</div></div>

3 dead as unusual weather mix sweeps nation, threatens holiday travelers (BLOG)

(CNN)  -- At least three people are dead after a bizarre mix of weather across the country spawned tornadoes, ice storms and record-setting ...

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Stupid Health Mistakes You Didn't Know You Were Making (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4KLRPJhsnbrKqp5Fq7-Y2Jwoi_NVAxQI0E5CvWzQHHcTUPHAwr9tO3i13MR419OQLmtTdHtqRvsmOIiqZcjZlPKxso5NRs3etqtYwstKejfDgFDo9mg8A_2k08kE3MISB7bhNHqvVULc/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4KLRPJhsnbrKqp5Fq7-Y2Jwoi_NVAxQI0E5CvWzQHHcTUPHAwr9tO3i13MR419OQLmtTdHtqRvsmOIiqZcjZlPKxso5NRs3etqtYwstKejfDgFDo9mg8A_2k08kE3MISB7bhNHqvVULc/s320/3.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">You're already aware of the folly in <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/11/31-million-americans-skip_n_1005076.html" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">breakfast-skipping</a>, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/high-heels-are-dangerous-study_n_1232278.html" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">stiletto-wearing</a>, <a href="http://www.oprah.com/health/How-To-Prevent-Hearing-Loss-How-Much-Noise-is-Dangerous" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">volume-blasting</a>, <a href="http://www.oprah.com/health/How-Many-Hours-Of-Sleep" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">sleep-skimping</a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/24/diet-soda-health-risks_n_3606906.html" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">diet-soda-drinking</a>. But did you overlook these? (We did.)</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"></div><ul class="listicle" id="listicle" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px 20px; padding: 0px; width: 590px;"><li class="slide_3255984 image slide first" id="slide_3255984" style="border: 0px !important; list-style: disc outside; margin: 68px 0px 4px 20px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><header class="no-number" style="border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; height: 3px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; width: 568px;">  <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You Air Your Dirty Laundry</strong><img class="image-image" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/330477/slide_330477_3255984_free.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-weight: bold; height: auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px -6px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /></header><div class="listicle-content" style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px 7px !important; min-height: 165px; padding: 0px 0px 5px !important; position: relative;"><span class="credits" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; bottom: -23px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto;">Getty Images</span></div><div class="caption" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 570px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The mistake:</strong> You hang up damp clothes and towels inside your home. Fresh from the washer, your laundry may <i style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">look</i> clean, but it <a href="http://homelaundrystudy.net/design.html" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">pollutes the air</a>, found a study at the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit at the Glasgow School of Art. Damp clothes can increase humidity, creating an allergenic environment in which dust mites and mold spores grow (depending on where you live) at concentrations<i style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">300 percent higher</i> than safe limits. About <a href="http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/296052-overview" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">25 percent of the homes where laundry was air-dried tested positive for <i style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Aspergillus fumigatus</i></a>, a fungus that causes lung infections in people with weakened immune systems. (And just because you don't see greenish fuzz on the wall doesn't mean you're safe—spores are often invisible to the naked eye.) <br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The lesson:</strong> For eco-lovers who worry about using the dryer but don’t hang the wash outside, the researchers recommend hanging it in a space that has, ideally, an independent heat source and ventilation. (When drying clothes in the bathroom, turn on the fan and shut the door.)</div></li></ul><ul class="listicle" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 15px 20px; padding: 0px; width: 590px;"><li class="slide_3255281 image slide" id="slide_3255281" style="border: 0px !important; list-style: disc outside; margin: 68px 0px 4px 20px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div class="title" style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You Brush Right After Breakfast</strong></div><div class="listicle-content" style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px 7px !important; min-height: 165px; padding: 0px 0px 5px !important; position: relative;"><img class="image-image" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/330477/slide_330477_3255281_free.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px -6px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /><span class="credits" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; bottom: -23px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto;">Getty Images</span></div><div class="caption" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 570px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The mistake:</strong> You clean your teeth directly following a meal or drink. Every time you drink a beverage like coffee or orange juice, acid floods your mouth. If you brush your teeth before your saliva neutralizes the pH, you're essentially scratching that acid into your slightly softened enamel—which accelerates erosion. A 2004 study found that when <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14684979" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">people brushed within 20 minutes after downing something acidic (diet soda), they lost more dentin</a> (the layer <i style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">under</i> the enamel) than those who waited longer before brushing. <br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The lesson:</strong> After you've finished an acidic beverage like fruit juice, soda or wine, drink a cup of water and wait at least 30 minutes before brushing your teeth. By then,<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23765428" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">saliva (pH 7) will neutralize the acids and remineralize the enamel</a>, explains Sergio Lima Santiago, an associate professor at Brazil's Federal University of Ceará.</div></li><li class="slide_3255282 image slide" id="slide_3255282" style="border: 0px !important; list-style: disc outside; margin: 68px 0px 4px 20px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><header class="no-number" style="border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; height: 3px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; width: 568px;"></header><div class="title" style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You Store Potatoes in the Fridge</strong></div><div class="listicle-content" style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px 7px !important; min-height: 165px; padding: 0px 0px 5px !important; position: relative;"><img class="image-image" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/330477/slide_330477_3255282_free.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px -6px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /><span class="credits" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; bottom: -23px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto;">Getty Images</span></div><div class="caption" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 570px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The mistake:</strong> Your go-to starches were exposed to too-high or too-low temperatures. Cookies, dark toast, chips, fries and other beloved brownish carbs contain two volatile ingredients: sugar and an amino acid called aspargine. <a href="http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm374855.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">At high temperatures—frying, roasting and baking—the duo forms acrylamide, a chemical whose link with some cancers</a> (including endometrial, ovarian and renal cell) recently prompted the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a consumer update. Potato chips and French fries are particularly worrisome, research finds, especially when they have been refrigerated before cooking. The cold turns more starch into sugar, resulting in even higher levels of the carcinogen. <br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The lesson:</strong> At home cooks can reduce the high levels of acrylamide in fried and roasted potatoes by storing spuds in a dark unrefrigerated place and soaking the raw slices in water for 15 to 30 minutes before cooking. When it comes to cooking techniques, boiling, steaming and microwaving are the most acrylamide-free. A general rule of thumb? The browner a starch gets when cooked (or overcooked), the more acrylamide it contains (you want your toast light tan, never burnt).</div></li><li class="slide_3255856 image slide" id="slide_3255856" style="border: 0px !important; list-style: disc outside; margin: 68px 0px 4px 20px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><header class="no-number" style="border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; height: 3px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; width: 568px;"></header><div class="title" style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You Take the Same Pill for Hangovers as Headaches</strong></div><div class="listicle-content" style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px 7px !important; min-height: 165px; padding: 0px 0px 5px !important; position: relative;"><img class="image-image" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/330477/slide_330477_3255856_free.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px -6px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /><span class="credits" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; bottom: -23px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto;">Shutterstock</span></div><div class="caption" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 570px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The mistake:</strong> You often use the painkiller acetaminophen as a chaser. Mix acetaminophen with an alcoholic drink or two and your kidneys may take a hit, found a preliminary study led by Harrison Ndetan, MSc, MPH, DrPH, an assistant professor of research and biostatistics at Parker University in Dallas. Half of the subjects who reported <a href="http://www.apha.org/about/news/pressreleases/2013/lightdrinkingpairedwithacetaminophenkidneydysfunction.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">taking the painkiller <i style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">and</i> drinking a small to moderate amount of alcohol on a weekly basis suffered from kidney disease</a> (a striking 123 percent higher increase in risk than those who took either alone rather than in combination.). Acetaminophen inhibits a protein that the body uses to metabolize alcohol, Ndetan explains. Plus, alcohol can cause dehydration, which stresses the kidneys even more. <br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The lesson:</strong> Don't combine acetaminophen with alcohol, Ndekan advises (although he notes that the findings just show an association and research is ongoing). Which sounds straight-forward enough, but the <a href="http://www.knowyourdose.org/common-medications" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">painkiller is a "hidden" ingredient in many over-the-counter medications</a>.</div></li><li class="slide_3255367 image slide" id="slide_3255367" style="border: 0px !important; list-style: disc outside; margin: 68px 0px 4px 20px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><header class="no-number" style="border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; height: 3px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; width: 568px;"></header><div class="title" style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You Carry a Shiny Yellow Handbag</strong></div><div class="listicle-content" style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px 7px !important; min-height: 165px; padding: 0px 0px 5px !important; position: relative;"><img class="image-image" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/330477/slide_330477_3255367_free.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px -6px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /><span class="credits" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; bottom: -23px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto;">Getty Images</span></div><div class="caption" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 570px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The mistake:</strong> You picked a bright faux-leather accessory. Handbags, wallets and belts made of bright "pleather" (usually vinyl or PVC) frequently contain lead levels that are much higher than those allowed in children's products, reported a study by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH). The highest in content was found in<a href="http://www.ceh.org/news-events/press-releases/content/progress-made-but-some-handbags-still-pose-lead-threats/" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">yellow purses</a>, followed by green, orange and red. Lead, which may transfer in trace amounts from handbag to hand—and into the mouth—causes developmental problems in children and is linked with heart disease and cancer in adults. While the CEH reached an agreement with dozens of retailers back in 2010 to limit lead in merchandise, the agency continues to find high levels in about <a href="http://www.ceh.org/news-events/press-releases/content/landmark-agreement-ends-lead-threats-in-handbags-from-national-vendors-and-retailers/" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">15 percent of purses and accessories sold in major stores</a>. <br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The lesson:</strong> To be safe, avoid fake-leather purses and wallets, and opt for canvas, hemp, nylon or leather instead. Check out the agency's <a href="http://www.ceh.org/news-events/blog/ceh-still-finding-lead-womens-handbags-wallets/%20https://twitter.com/CEHPurseWatch" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Purse Watch Twitter</a> page for the latest. (The <a href="http://www.ceh.org/contact/" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">CEH</a> also tests bags for free, return postage not included, and offers drop-in testing in its California office.)</div></li><li class="slide_3255368 image slide last" id="slide_3255368" style="border: 0px !important; list-style: disc outside; margin: 68px 0px 4px 20px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><header class="no-number" style="border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; height: 3px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; padding: 0px; width: 568px;"></header><div class="title" style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">You Make Out with a Marlboro Man</strong></div><div class="listicle-content" style="border: none; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px 7px !important; min-height: 165px; padding: 0px 0px 5px !important; position: relative;"><img class="image-image" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/330477/slide_330477_3255368_free.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px -6px !important; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" /><span class="credits" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; bottom: -23px; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto;">Getty Images</span></div><div class="caption" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Georgia, sans-serif; list-style: none; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 570px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The mistake:</strong> You thought "ashtray mouth" was the worst thing you could get from kissing a smoker. Cigarette toxins strip away immune defenses in the throat, which explains why smokers are likelier to harbor a bad bug called <i style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Neisseria meningitides</i>. While those with healthy immune systems often beat it back, it can manifest as meningococcus, an illness that causes fever, severe headache, confusion or coma and a purplish-red rash. The bacterium spreads through droplets that come from the back of the throat…which makes deep kissing an obvious route. But there's also evidence that <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23228079" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">prolonged household contact—kissing cheeks, cuddling—may spread it too</a>, even if the carrier is asymptomatic, found an Australian study. And while there's no hard data on actual transmission rates from smokers, the risks are serious: 1 in 10 children who contract the disease die from it. <br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="border: 0px; display: block; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The lesson:</strong> Apart from persuading your smoker to quit, reduce your chance of transmission by avoiding <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-J_Day_in_Times_Square" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">V-J-Day-in-Times-Square-style kissing</a> when you have a cold. (Any respiratory infection primes your raw nose and throat for a bacterial invasion.) The Australian study recommended immunizing children, in particular, with the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/mening/" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">meningococcal conjugate vaccine</a>. (Young adults and the under-5 set are the most susceptible.)</div></li></ul><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Keep in touch! Check out HuffPost OWN on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HuffPostOWN" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/HuffPostOWN" style="border: 0px; color: #6aa3b1; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Twitter </a></em>.</div></div>

Stupid Health Mistakes You Didn't Know You Were Making (BLOG)

You're already aware of the folly in  breakfast-skipping ,  stiletto-wearing ,  volume-blasting ,  sleep-skimping  and  diet-soda-drinki...

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Why 2014 Will Be the Year Nonprofits Finally Embrace the Cloud (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-pE_4FR916fohW9NH3zcLYLomZly4dnwFKWENBzGRTAB1VtgT3re9GG6SIQPWK7xZ1My-9Ev-i52YszUe29QxkLyVJe3mHrFYndptZQuAz1PYSm2GkCgkjecUi21Ed5I6AtwUzWav0s/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-pE_4FR916fohW9NH3zcLYLomZly4dnwFKWENBzGRTAB1VtgT3re9GG6SIQPWK7xZ1My-9Ev-i52YszUe29QxkLyVJe3mHrFYndptZQuAz1PYSm2GkCgkjecUi21Ed5I6AtwUzWav0s/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">A debate that has raged for years in the <span class="s2p00ue530" id="s2p00ue530_7" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">corporate</span> IT world has certainly now made its way to the nonprofit sector: single vendor integrated suite versus best-of-breed combinations. It seems like there's never been a good answer -- until now.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Problem with Integrated Software Suites:</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">More than a decade ago, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) was a game-changer for nonprofit organizations. Finally, it was possible to integrate the basic functions of a nonprofit online (CRM, email, fundraising, advocacy) to build relationships with supporters and engage them in meaningful ways in real-time. They were easy to adapt and were tailored specifically for nonprofits. Best of all, SaaS made it all affordable (full disclosure: I co-founded one of those <a href="http://www.salsalabs.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">companies</a>).</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">A decade later, we've seen several <a href="http://internet.blackbaud.com/site/c.duIXLgOXJrIaE/b.8646093/k.99CB/Blackbaud_Sphere.htm" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">major</a> <a href="http://www.convio.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">acquisitions</a> in the space, a VC <a href="http://www.salsalabs.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">takeover</a> and some<a href="http://engagingnetworks.net/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">smaller</a> <a href="http://www.nationbuilder.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">players</a> emerge in the space. But it would be hard to argue that consolidation has resulted in better products or innovation beyond a new feature or two. Nonprofits have been forced to accept inferior products in the interest of "seamless integration and simplicity" that never really transpired and with no control over future software upgrades.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">While the original intent of these all-in-one solutions was to reduce the number of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_silos" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">data silos</a>in an organization, this thorny issue sees little sign of improvement. In fact, supporter data is even more segregated now than it was a decade ago as the number of communication channels online has exploded.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">There are good reasons why these suite providers can't keep up: <em style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">It's hard</em>. Let's assume there are 10 channels that need to be connected to get to that coveted 360 degree view of your supporters.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">It's appealing to think that the companies that have in place sufficient platforms to accommodate three of those 10 -- say CRM, fundraising and email -- are best positioned to add on the remaining big seven (Facebook, Twitter, Mobile, Google Ads, CMS, DRTV, Direct Mail).</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">Unfortunately, the reality is that legacy code and legacy clients make it impossible to keep up with the pace of <span class="s2p00ue530" id="s2p00ue530_6" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">change</span>. The code may have been awesome five years ago, but it always ages poorly. Upgrades and integrations are agonizingly slow to push out and the increasing risk of change kills innovation.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">So to get that 360 degree view, organizations need to hire <a href="https://www.blackbaud.com/analytics/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">data analysts</a> and consultants just to get some sense of how programs are performing across all these channels and data silos.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Cloud Changes Everything:</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">Meanwhile, thanks in large part to the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">cloud</a>", application development has exploded and there's no shortage of innovation in any given area from <a href="http://www.mailchimp.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">email </a>to <a href="http://www.paypal.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">payment processing</a> to<a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">event management </a>to <a href="http://www.wordpress.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">website management</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">It has caused a major shift in the very nature of software development. While once the majority of applications were built in-house or by a vendor using a single code base that was then connected to the Internet, now software applications are mostly an elegant connection of existing services all tied together through <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_programming_interface" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">APIs</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">This change is not just faster and cheaper for software consumers, it is a fundamental difference in how to build and implement products. It presents a completely different set of challenges, but also an amazing amount of opportunity.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">For nonprofits, never before has the case for best of breed applications been more compelling. Best of breed means using a specific software program or package for each specific <span class="s2p00ue530" id="s2p00ue530_5" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">business</span> requirement. Cloud computing has made it financially and operationally viable for an organization to pick the very best application for every need. And, you no longer have to sacrifice functionality for the sake of integration.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Integration, Integration, Integration:</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">Not long ago, it was nearly impossible to make a variety of specialized apps peacefully co-exist and function as a cohesive solution.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">The cloud, with its open, flexible application architecture means that integration is far easier and cheaper to manage now than it ever was before. As cloud computing has matured, it has given rise to the "<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/08/29/welcome-to-the-api-economy/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">API economy</a>." Now, with the standardization of applications and APIs, you can easily connect different services. It's also possible to connect offline databases.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">This dramatically weakens the principle reason that organizations were buying applications from the integrated suite vendors.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">It also gives rise to a new kind of vendor: the Integrator. It's now your new vendor's job to show how they can integrate their product with your other systems; integration is no longer the IT department's shackles.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Real Cost-Savings:</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">In most cases, best of breed doesn't just mean the technology is better, it's also easier to use and cheaper!</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">If fact, it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify a suite purchase. The savviest nonprofits are always focused on reducing overall cost of ownership, which is just not possible with complex larger software providers.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">With subscription-based pricing, costs of a cloud-based combination are usually lower and more aligned with actual demand. In most cases, consultants and long-term, expensive service agreements are no longer needed.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The New Challenges:</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">Let's imagine an organization has chosen ten (not unreasonable) best of breed cloud-based systems and still has a legacy database to maintain. Now, the issues lie in the areas of standardization, data integration, data flow, process flow, vendor management, and diverse and hard to transfer skill sets.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">These are very different problems to solve than we were solving ten years ago.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">How will my legacy system stay synced with my online systems?</em></div><div style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">How can we ensure we're not spending excessive time and <span class="s2p00ue530" id="s2p00ue530_8" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">money</span> maintaining connections and managing updates?</div><div style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">How can we ensure we don't encounter a problem of "contact chaos."</div><div style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">How can we ensure that we're not spending hours/day migrating from one application to another -- never knowing who to call for support?</div><div style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">How can we manage the learning curve for each new application?</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><em style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">How can we know for sure our ROI of using multiple systems?</em></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">While these are all hard problems to solve, they are solvable now. For all the groups that desire choice, flexibility and freedom to create their own suite of best-in-class technologies from multiple vendors, the cloud is the answer and it's here now. Your organization can become nimble and responsive without technology has a hindrance, but as propeller .</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">When the latest thing from Silicon Valley emerges -- be it <a href="http://www.vine.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Vine</a> or <a href="http://www.instagram.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Instagram</a>, you'll be ready to get up and running in hours or days, and test whether or not it helps you better engage with your audience.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;">Best of all, when all of your systems are integrated you have a never before seen view of your supporters and the ability to react in real-time. A nonprofit marketer's dream come true.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div><div class="clear full" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: both; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 1px; height: 8px; line-height: 1px !important; list-style: none; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden !important; padding: 0px;"> </div><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></em><br style="background-color: white; border: 0px; display: block; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;" /><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 14px; padding: 0px;"><b style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Follow April Pedersen on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/aprilinaction" style="border: 0px; color: #0088c3; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">www.twitter.com/aprilinaction</a></b></div><div><br /></div></div>

Why 2014 Will Be the Year Nonprofits Finally Embrace the Cloud (BLOG)

A debate that has raged for years in the  corporate  IT world has certainly now made its way to the nonprofit sector: single vendor integrat...

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How To Lose Excess Weight And Feel Great Carrying It Out

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Daniel Will</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>If you feel dropped with regards to fat loss, the whole approach can be quite stressful. The purpose of this article is to help you develop a workable technique. Understanding as much as you are able to means the main difference among shedding pounds or declining. This short article will provide you with some easy-to-adhere to guidance that will help you begin and also be profitable at a diet plan.<br /> <br /> Coffee can help you shed weight. Espresso is a type of ingest, but some folks don't realize it is effective for routines. It can provide some extra energy and boost the metabolism.<br /> <br /> Consume your greatest dinner during your day. When you generally consume a sandwich at lunchtime, try out ingesting it at dinner instead. Consuming your most significant dinner for lunch or dinner gives you much more unhealthy calories when you want them. Calorie consumption taken in the evening are less apt to be burnt away.<br /> <br /> Try and prevent consuming anything a few hours prior to going to sleep. Although it may possibly not be as hard to say than to complete, you need to do not consume a lot of foods before you go to sleep. The foodstuff which you take in will remain within your stomach and it will at some point turn into extra fat. Try to continue to be lively after meal, and you may have no trouble steering free from snack food items.<br /> <br /> One great way to encourage weight loss is usually to go out with productive folks. By encircling on your own with lively folks, you will be able to get involved with the activity on your own. Spending time with a couch potato will probably effect you to curl through to the chair together.<br /> <br /> Get started your excess fat reduction program having a cardiovascular system regimen. Also known as "cardiovascular," this kind of workout consists of operating, bicycling, speed strolling and any other exercise that raises your heart rate. Once you improve you heartbeat this is basically the greatest time to lose weight. A great goal is to get a half hour of aerobic exercise three or four periods per week.<br /> <br /> When you are undertaking to shed pounds it is wise to try and keep some foods in your dish. From the young age, young children are encouraged to take in almost everything on their own platter, and this can lead to a problem with an increase in weight in in the future many years. There may be nothing wrong with consuming leftovers home. You don't need to take in food just because you can view it. You must seriously consider what foods you happen to be placing in the body and once you sense full, you must give up eating.<br /> <br /> Normal gender will help you lose weight. Sexual intercourse seems to reduce poor craving for food. Furthermore, gender can burn quite a lot of calories. In fact done properly, sexual activity has the potential to shed in excess of 150 unhealthy calories every single 30 minutes.<br /> <br /> A great weight-loss suggestion would be to regularly have sexual intercourse. Sex generally seems to lessen poor desire for food. Furthermore, gender burns up significant amounts of calories. Actually, gender could burn off about 150 calories in a thirty minute time frame if done right.<br /> <br /> It's essential to produce a practice of looking at your excess fat at regular durations while you're looking to decrease it. This will help you see should you be advancing or backward. Keep a composed report of your own think about-ins in order to keep track of your development with time. Folks who file their efforts are certainly more successful at losing weight.<br /> <br /> If you're dieting, consume a big food just before going to a bash to ensure that you aren't tempted to consume several of the delicious but unhealthy foods that will most likely be available. This will help steer clear of around extravagance. If you are there, drink on vino, or stay away from liquor together as opposed to enjoying alcohol or sweet mixed beverages.<br /> <br /> You most likely now need to recognize that shedding pounds will not be a straightforward process, even though it is obtainable. By following the advice offered in this article, that will take a little self-discipline, you may get to your unwanted weight reduction desired goals. Persevere and you will reach your desired goals.<br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'>Learn more about <a href="http://raspberryketonereview.me">Raspberry Ketone</a>.</div><br /> </div><br />

How To Lose Excess Weight And Feel Great Carrying It Out

By Daniel Will If you feel dropped with regards to fat loss, the whole approach can be quite stressful. The purpose of this article is to ...

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Phil Robertson Will Return To 'Duck Dynasty' Episodes In January (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXfazNRi4bYitrzzcxXJe4FNfJOiQ7bCx-eT2GQtBa8n4zA7DOMXyUx7k6w0ikeBVuFIXoFArCxJPNPaKScZvPnyde0TwiLmB747ZmAr8VWrk-pa8KoJz1208CZ9Fx4Z7beN5RBvyhx4/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRXfazNRi4bYitrzzcxXJe4FNfJOiQ7bCx-eT2GQtBa8n4zA7DOMXyUx7k6w0ikeBVuFIXoFArCxJPNPaKScZvPnyde0TwiLmB747ZmAr8VWrk-pa8KoJz1208CZ9Fx4Z7beN5RBvyhx4/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">It looks like <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/phil-robertson-duck-dynasty_n_4469887.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Phil Robertson's suspension from "Duck Dynasty"</a> may be just for show. Entertainment Weekly learned that <a href="http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/12/20/duck-dynasty-return-phil/" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">on Jan. 15, A&E will begin airing new episodes of the show that include scenes featuring the "Dynasty" patriarch.</a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">"The network also hopes the media and fan furor will cool down over the holidays and that tensions over shooting future episodes can then be resolved," Entertainment Weekly reports. “There’s no negotiation to have; we’re doing the show,” an inside source told them.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">A&E suspended Robertson over <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson-gay_n_4465564.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">anti-gay remarks he made in a GQ profile</a>. The duck hunter-turned-TV <span class="it7r5856" id="it7r5856_6" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">star</span> compared homosexuality to bestiality and also said, “It seems like, to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man’s anus." Robertson responded to backlash about <span class="it7r5856" id="it7r5856_1" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">his</span> comments by saying, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson-gay_n_4465564.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">"I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me."</a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">After A&E's suspension, Robertson's friends and family came out in support of him. Sources told <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/492909/duck-dynasty-family-very-serious-about-leaving-the-show" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">E! News that the family was "very serious" about leaving the reality show after Robertson was placed on hiatus.</a> "[Phil] is the reason for their success—they're not going to abandon him. They're also not about to let anyone threaten their religious beliefs," the source told E!. The family released a statement on the Duck Commander website saying, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/19/duck-dynasty-family_n_4476976.html?" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">"We are disappointed that Phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith."</a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">The episodes slated to air after the New Year are part of the show's fourth season, which averages a colossal 14.6 million viewers, including DVR playback, but there's no telling if a fifth season will happen. Based on the success of the "Duck <span class="it7r5856" id="it7r5856_2" style="border-left-color: transparent; border-right-color: transparent; border-style: solid; border-top-color: transparent; border-width: 1px; color: #009900; cursor: pointer; display: inline !important; float: none; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Dynasty</span>" brand -- <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/12/duck-dynasty-album_n_4434714.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">the family even made a holiday album that sold surprisingly well</a> -- we'd be surprised if the network let the show die. The Huffington Post's immediate request for comment was not returned.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">Meanwhile, <a href="http://houston.cbslocal.com/2013/12/19/duck-dynasty-marathons-still-on-aes-schedule-leading-up-to-christmas/" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">A&E will air a "Duck Dynasty" marathon on Sunday, Dec. 22</a>. Enjoy ... ?</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">HUFFINGTON POST.</div></div>

Phil Robertson Will Return To 'Duck Dynasty' Episodes In January (BLOG)

It looks like  Phil Robertson's suspension from "Duck Dynasty"  may be just for show. Entertainment Weekly learned that  on Ja...

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If You Like Your Santa, You Can Keep Your Santa

I like this Santa.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXJN7rxZFduAtY6Jy5sOwQgJtEtiARMOhfS_LUZaQd5JvXCTsDZKWFrHY6sCAmWBckif8OteFw9DMBb-6A8kW1F1RagpQz5yg4DMdYq2Ms4du69DqQ9zWSnTiiJ614z4bt2sivEUSelQD/s1600/Christma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXJN7rxZFduAtY6Jy5sOwQgJtEtiARMOhfS_LUZaQd5JvXCTsDZKWFrHY6sCAmWBckif8OteFw9DMBb-6A8kW1F1RagpQz5yg4DMdYq2Ms4du69DqQ9zWSnTiiJ614z4bt2sivEUSelQD/s640/Christma.jpg" /></a></div>

If You Like Your Santa, You Can Keep Your Santa

I like this Santa.

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Amazon Will Not Stock Beyonce's New Album (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxk35f0Jfa9l1ZEOcyzMrPJYBR-gBWLxywirWOrhSd2ZA2myDV8yCpvmJaQ6cXfqJZ82ToaPA1MTahMtZyH5Oe12fZ0rGTNo29elfQsJ0jG0eWakFHfhZaMQ7cBsKIbGFdVKSqyROt6YI/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxk35f0Jfa9l1ZEOcyzMrPJYBR-gBWLxywirWOrhSd2ZA2myDV8yCpvmJaQ6cXfqJZ82ToaPA1MTahMtZyH5Oe12fZ0rGTNo29elfQsJ0jG0eWakFHfhZaMQ7cBsKIbGFdVKSqyROt6YI/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">Amazon may have Beyonce's new self-titled album available for MP3 purchase, but don't expect to see any physical copies there anytime soon. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/17/target-beyonce-new-album_n_4458996.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Like Target's decision to opt out of stocking "Beyonce,"</a> the online retailer is following suit in the wake of the album's iTunes exclusive week-long sale. However, physical copies can be found on Amazon via third-party sellers.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/retail/5847794/amazon-not-stocking-new-beyonce-cd-following-itunes-exclusive" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">Bilboard also noted</a> how Amazon has not provided "Beyonce" with any prime real estate, meaning that the album is only visible when searched. Considering the album's <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/beyonce-1-million-sales-itunes_n_4468437.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">record-shattering numbers</a>, it would be expected that retailers would promote heavily.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">The question that immediately comes to mind is, "Do people still buy CDs?" Despite an MP3 driven world, physical copies do have their appeal. In 2012, physical sales may have continued to decline, but they <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/09/music-sales-2012-digital-physical_n_2440380.html" style="border: 0px; color: #b10000; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">still trumped the rising digital sales</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">With Beyonce's success, can we expect to see more exclusive deals with Apple? If so, how deeply will this injure physical retailers? Or is this just an anomaly resulting from Beyonce's supreme clout? Let us know what you think in the comments.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">HUFFINGTON POST.</div></div>

Amazon Will Not Stock Beyonce's New Album (BLOG)

Amazon may have Beyonce's new self-titled album available for MP3 purchase, but don't expect to see any physical copies there anytim...

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Storms kill 2 in southern US, thousands lose power (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfmzQ6vji_PKWf9Uz2zCQ9s4ao8Dca8VkEli6f7uuZdPqHluZZe46KY9K2uY8DedAaBP8kkKT-Gv2Dw7TZ26fdd_TdmxiL6Z_TgzkdvWJO747T8Gk3iOyuOikpTEyGMcAJMavYhjqo2k/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfmzQ6vji_PKWf9Uz2zCQ9s4ao8Dca8VkEli6f7uuZdPqHluZZe46KY9K2uY8DedAaBP8kkKT-Gv2Dw7TZ26fdd_TdmxiL6Z_TgzkdvWJO747T8Gk3iOyuOikpTEyGMcAJMavYhjqo2k/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387722419355_3766" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">MONROE, La. (AP) — A storm system swept across the central and southern U.S. on Saturday, bringing tornadoes and wind gusts that ripped roofs from barns and hurled trees into power lines, officials said. At least two people were killed.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387722419355_3778" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Wind caused the roof of a fitness center in a strip mall to collapse in Senatobia, 40 miles south of Memphis, Tenn. No injuries were reported.A man died after his mobile home overturned in northern Mississippi, said Coahoma County Coroner Scotty Meredith. Another man was killed when his car hit a tree that had fallen across a county road in southeastern Mississippi. A woman who was in the car was critically injured, Jasper County Coroner Randy Graham said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"I think it buckled the back part of it," Tate County Emergency Management director Kim Brownlee said. "There's water pouring in the back of that place."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">At the storm's height, more than 22,000 people lost power in northern Mississippi, though that number was beginning to fall late Saturday night.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Meanwhile, tens of thousands of residents lost electricity after heavy rain and strong gusts of up to 60 mph whipped northern Louisiana. Some areas had as much as three inches of rain, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Adams.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">High winds ripped the front facade off the Books-a-Million bookstore in the northern town of Monroe, 100 miles east of Shreveport. The area in front of the store was full of storm debris.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">To the northwest in Union Parish, Sheriff Dusty Gates said damage was widespread across the parish of 28,000 residents. Trees fell on houses, across roads and on power lines. No injuries were reported by late Saturday, although some areas were cut off and not accessible due to bad weather.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="13" data-uuid="17e7a9bf-842d-3060-a8ec-1809e6af7d97" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/books-million-store-seen-damaged-heavy-wind-rain-photo-050701980.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="The Books-A-Million store is seen damaged by heavy&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 178px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="The Books-A-Million store is seen damaged by heavy&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="178" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/vPoAMv7Jdy72zioJo9sRdw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE3ODtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/80459869f8b69b2a460f6a7067001923.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">The Books-A-Million store is seen damaged by heavy wind and rain during a major storm in Monroe, La. …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"There are still several areas we have not been able to access to check on," he said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Parker said a possible tornado hit the town of Downsville mid-afternoon on Saturday. The Weather Service has yet to confirm it was a twister.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Downsville Mayor Reggie Skains said a number of barns and chicken houses were damaged on the edge of his village of 250 people, including a barn on his farm.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We had about a $500,000 barn over there and it blew about half of it away," Skains said by phone.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Downsville resident Albert Mayo said he was napping when the storm came through.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"I thought the roof was going to come off, there was so much pressure," Mayo said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">More than 40,000 customers lost power in northern parts of the state. Claiborne Electric Cooperative saw more than half of its 23,000 customers lose power when a transmission line was blown down, disrupting power to three substations.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">In Arkansas, at least five people were injured and two dozen homes were damaged after two apparent tornadoes touched down.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">St. Francis County Sheriff's dispatcher Leslie White said a suspected tornado damaged three homes and injured three people late Saturday afternoon near Hughes, a town of roughly 1,400 residents about 35 miles southwest of Memphis, Tenn. She didn't know the severity of the injuries.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">David Cox, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Jackson, Miss., said another apparent tornado struck near Dermott, Ark., which is in the far southeast of the state. Two people were injured and about 20 homes were damaged, he said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The National Weather Service said severe storms with damaging winds were possible early Sunday morning in northern Georgia, including Atlanta. A flood watch for the region was in effect through Monday.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The squall line continued to produce gusty winds as it moved across Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky on Saturday night, with multiple reports of winds stronger than 50 mph. Downed trees and power outages were widespread in those states, as they were in states to the west.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">___</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1387722419355_3817" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">AP reporter Tamara Lush reported from Monroe, La. Jeff Amy reported from Jackson, Miss.</div></div>

Storms kill 2 in southern US, thousands lose power (BLOG)

MONROE, La. (AP) — A storm system swept across the central and southern U.S. on Saturday, bringing tornadoes and wind gusts that ripped roof...

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