Cell reprogramming during liver regeneration

Public release date: 28-Mar-2013
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Contact: Karen Kreeger
karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu
215-349-5658
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

PHILADELPHIA During embryonic development, animals generate many different types of cells, each with a distinct function and identity.

"Although the identities of these cells remain stable under normal conditions, some cells can be persuaded to take on new identities, through reprogramming," says Ben Stanger, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

Researchers have been able to reprogram cells experimentally, but few have shown that cells can change their identities under normal physiological conditions in the body, particularly in mammals.

In the cover article of this month's issue of Genes and Development, Stanger, PhD candidate Kilangsungla Yanger, Yiwei Zong, PhD, and their colleagues, did just that in the liver of a mouse. Stanger is also an investigator in the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute and the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology.

The adult liver contains two major cell types hepatocytes and biliary cells that differ dramatically in appearance and function. Hepatocytes are the main cell type in the liver, where they synthesize proteins and other macromolecules, and detoxify toxic substances. Biliary cells, on the other hand, line the bile ducts, which carry bile from the liver to the small intestine to help digest fats.

Using a sensitive method to tag and track how cells develop and differentiate, the researchers found that conditional expression of an activated Notch1 gene converted hepatocytes into biliary cells. Notch is an important receptor for relaying signals to tell cells how to develop.

What's more, after the researchers injured liver cells with a variety of toxins to stimulate wound healing, they found that over two to three weeks hepatocytes activated a biliary cell program on their own, acquiring the shape and function of biliary cells. These changes were dependent on the activation of endogenous Notch signaling.

"This is direct evidence that cells can be converted from one mature cell type to another in a live animal, as part of a normal response to injury," says Stanger. "We think that augmenting pre-existing cell reprogramming relationships may be another way to engineer cells for the treatment of diseases in which there are not enough bile ducts, such as cholestasis."

###

Other co-authors are Lara Maggs, Suzanne Shapira, Ravi Maddipati, Nicole Aiello and Rebecca G. Wells, all from Penn, and Linda Greenbaum, from the Jefferson University School of Medicine.

The research was funded by Public Health Services grants (DK083355, DK 090306) and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2012, Penn Medicine provided $827 million to benefit our community.

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 28-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Karen Kreeger
karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu
215-349-5658
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

PHILADELPHIA During embryonic development, animals generate many different types of cells, each with a distinct function and identity.

"Although the identities of these cells remain stable under normal conditions, some cells can be persuaded to take on new identities, through reprogramming," says Ben Stanger, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

Researchers have been able to reprogram cells experimentally, but few have shown that cells can change their identities under normal physiological conditions in the body, particularly in mammals.

In the cover article of this month's issue of Genes and Development, Stanger, PhD candidate Kilangsungla Yanger, Yiwei Zong, PhD, and their colleagues, did just that in the liver of a mouse. Stanger is also an investigator in the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute and the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology.

The adult liver contains two major cell types hepatocytes and biliary cells that differ dramatically in appearance and function. Hepatocytes are the main cell type in the liver, where they synthesize proteins and other macromolecules, and detoxify toxic substances. Biliary cells, on the other hand, line the bile ducts, which carry bile from the liver to the small intestine to help digest fats.

Using a sensitive method to tag and track how cells develop and differentiate, the researchers found that conditional expression of an activated Notch1 gene converted hepatocytes into biliary cells. Notch is an important receptor for relaying signals to tell cells how to develop.

What's more, after the researchers injured liver cells with a variety of toxins to stimulate wound healing, they found that over two to three weeks hepatocytes activated a biliary cell program on their own, acquiring the shape and function of biliary cells. These changes were dependent on the activation of endogenous Notch signaling.

"This is direct evidence that cells can be converted from one mature cell type to another in a live animal, as part of a normal response to injury," says Stanger. "We think that augmenting pre-existing cell reprogramming relationships may be another way to engineer cells for the treatment of diseases in which there are not enough bile ducts, such as cholestasis."

###

Other co-authors are Lara Maggs, Suzanne Shapira, Ravi Maddipati, Nicole Aiello and Rebecca G. Wells, all from Penn, and Linda Greenbaum, from the Jefferson University School of Medicine.

The research was funded by Public Health Services grants (DK083355, DK 090306) and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2012, Penn Medicine provided $827 million to benefit our community.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/uops-crd032813.php

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Gucci Mane And Waka Flocka Will 'Never' Do Music Again

'I greet fans; he punches fans. It's a difference,' Waka Focka tells 'RapFix Live' in response to his fallout with Gucci Mane.
By Rob Markman, with reporting by Sway Calloway

Waka Flocka Flame on "RapFix Live"
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704479/gucci-mane-waka-flocka-flame-music-fallout.jhtml

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Russia criticizes Arab League move on Syria

MOSCOW (AP) ? Russia on Thursday harshly criticized the Arab League's recognition of the Syrian opposition as the only representative of the country, saying it effectively kills efforts to negotiate a peaceful end to the civil war there.

At a summit in Qatar on Tuesday, the Arab League let the main Syrian opposition coalition take over the country's seat for the first time.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his government "deeply regrets" the move, which he said amounts to "the Arab League's rejection of a peaceful settlement." He told reporters that the decision amounts to discarding of an international peace plan approved in Geneva in June, which was supported by the Arab League at the time. It called for an open-ended cease-fire and peace talks to form a transitional government that would run the country until elections.

However, the plan was a non-starter for the opposition because of Moscow's insistence it did not explicitly ban Syrian President Bashar Assad and other members of his regime from taking part in the transitional leadership.

Lavrov said the summit's decision Tuesday "strokes out all the efforts that have been made, including the Geneva agreements, and throws the status of Lakhdar Brahimi, U.N. and Arab League envoy for Syria, into limbo.

"If one of the founders of his mission, the Arab League, declares that the opposition coalition is the only legitimate representative of the country, there will be no talks and those who want to oust the regime will be provided with weapons. I simply can't see how Mr. Brahimi could remain the envoy.... That effectively puts an end to international mediation from the point of view of the Arab League."

Lavrov said the Doha summit's decision signaling an intention to supply the Syrian opposition with weapons is aimed at "inciting confrontation and encouraging irreconcilable forces."

At the United Nations, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin reiterated Lavrov's message and accused the Arab League of creating obstacles to progress in Syria, saying it was "beginning to act more like a negative than a positive force."

Russia has been Assad's main supporter throughout the two-year conflict, joining forces with China at the U.N. Security Council to shield his regime from international sanctions over his crackdown on an uprising that turned into a civil war that has killed an estimated 70,000 people.

___

Associated Press writer Maria Sanminiatelli contributed to this report from the United Nations.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-criticizes-arab-league-move-syria-163129068.html

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Hillsboro family flees home after fire breaks out in utility room ...

A Hillsboro family escaped without injury from their burning home Wednesday night after a fire broke out in the home's utility room, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue reported.

The fire, which started about 7:30 p.m., caused an estimated $8,000 damage to the duplex at 851 N.W. 229th Ave.

Firefighters said Aaron Hanson, his wife and four children aged three to eleven were at home. Hanson and his wife smelled smoke and found flames in the utility room.

Investigators are checking the utility room and appliances to determine the cause of the fire.

?Tom Hallman Jr.

?

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/index.ssf/2013/03/hillsboro_family_flees_home_af.html

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How The Internet Is Making Us Poor - Business Insider

Everyone knows the story of how robots replaced humans on the factory floor. But in the broader sweep of automation versus labor, a trend with far greater significance for the middle class?in rich countries, at any rate?has been relatively overlooked: the replacement of knowledge workers with software.

One reason for the neglect is that this trend is at most thirty years old, and has become apparent in economic data only in perhaps the past ten years. The first all-in-one commercial microprocessor went on sale in 1971, and like all inventions, it took decades for it to become an ecosystem of technologies pervasive and powerful enough to have a measurable impact on the way we work.

This feature is Part II in a series on the rise of the machines. You can read Part I, on the usurpation by robots of the last of the world?s unskilled manufacturing jobs, here.

?Software is eating the world?

Bloomberg TV

Marc Andreessen is funding the companies making the software disrupting labor markets the world over.

Sixty percent of the jobs in the US are information-processing jobs, notes Erik Brynjolfsson, co-author of a recent book about this disruption, Race Against the Machine. It?s safe to assume that almost all of these jobs are aided by machines that perform routine tasks. These machines make some workers more productive. They make others less essential.

The turn of the new millennium is when the automation of middle-class information processing tasks really got under way, according to an analysis by the Associated Press based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Between 2000 and 2010, the jobs of 1.1 million secretaries were eliminated, replaced by internet services that made everything from maintaining a calendar to planning trips easier than ever. In the same period, the number of telephone operators dropped by 64%, travel agents by 46% and bookkeepers by 26%. And the US was not a special case. As the AP notes, ?Two-thirds of the 7.6 million middle-class jobs that vanished in Europe were the victims of technology, estimates economist Maarten Goos at Belgium?s University of Leuven.?

Economist Andrew McAfee, Brynjolfsson?s co-author, has called these displaced people ?routine cognitive workers.? Technology, he says, is now smart enough to automate their often repetitive, programmatic tasks.??We are in a desperate, serious competition with these machines,? concurs Larry Kotlikoff, a professor of economics at Boston University. ?It seems like the machines are taking over all possible jobs.?

Like farming and factory work before it, the labors of the mind are being colonized by devices and systems. In the early 1800?s, nine out of ten Americans worked in agriculture?now it?s around 2%. At its peak, about a third of the US population was employed in manufacturing?now it?s less than 10%. How many decades until the figures are similar for the information-processing tasks that typify rich countries? post-industrial economies?

Web pioneer and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen describes this process as ?software is eating the world.? As he wrote in an editorial?(paywall) for the Wall Street Journal, ?More and more major businesses and industries are being run on software and delivered as online services?from movies to agriculture to national defense.?

The hollowing out of the middle class

To see how the internet has disproportionately affected the jobs of people who process information, check out the gray bars dipping below the 0% line on the chart, below. (I?ve adapted this chart to show just the types of employment that lost jobs in the US during the great recession. Every other category continued to add jobs or was nearly flat.)

People who process information are losing their jobs at rates comparable to the rate of loss in manufacturing.St. Louis Fed

What?s apparent is that the same trend seen in making and processing things?represented by the ?Production?? and ?Operators?? categories?shows up for the routine cognitive workers in offices and, for related if not identical reasons, sales.

Here?s another clue about what?s been going on in the past ten years. ?Return on capital? measures the return firms get when they spend money on capital goods like robots, factories, software?anything aside from people. (If this were a graph of return on people hired, it would be called ?Return on labor?.)

Not surprisingly, information processing tasks benefit as much from the application of capital?including information technology?as manufacturing does.St. Louis Fed

Notice: the only industry where the return on capital is as great as manufacturing is ?other industries??a grab bag which includes all the service and information industries, as well as entertainment, health care and education. In short, you don?t have to be a tech company for investing in technology to be worthwhile.

Companies that invest in IT do better

Here?s yet a third clue about what?s going on. For many years, the question of whether or not spending on information technology (IT) made companies more productive was highly controversial. Many studies found that IT spending either had no effect on productivity or was even counter-productive. But now a clear trend is emerging. More recent studies show that IT?and the organizational changes that go with it?are doing firms, especially multinationals?(pdf), a great deal of good.

One reason for the delay is that it has taken some time for companies to learn how best to use IT. Economist Carlota Perez calls this the ?installation phase.? Moreover, the more recent rise of the internet has multiplied the power that IT has on its own.

In any case, if computers are the factory floor for routine cognitive workers, then when software and the internet makes some workers more productive, others are no longer needed.

Winner-take-all, the power of capital to exacerbate inequality

One thing all our machines have accomplished, and especially the internet, is the ability to reproduce and distribute good work in record time. Barring market distortions like monopolies, the best software, media, business processes and, increasingly, hardware, can be copied and sold seemingly everywhere at once. This benefits ?superstars??the most skilled engineers or content creators. And it benefits the consumer, who can expect a higher average quality of goods.

But it can also exacerbate income inequality, says Brynjolfsson. This contributes to a phenomenon called ?skill-biased technological [or technical] change.? ?The idea is that technology in the past 30 years has tended to favor more skilled and educated workers versus less educated workers,? says Brynjolfsson. ?It has been a complement for more skilled workers. It makes their labor more valuable. But for less skilled workers, it makes them less necessary?especially those who do routine, repetitive tasks.?

The result is that, with the aid of machines, productivity increases?the overall economic pie gets bigger?but that?s small consolation if all but a few workers are getting a smaller slice. ?Certainly the labor market has never been better for very highly-educated workers in the United States, and when I say never, I mean never,? MIT labor economist David Autor told American Public Media?s Marketplace.

The other winners in this scenario are anyone who owns capital. Only about half of Americans own stock at all, and as more companies are taken private or never go public, more and more of that wealth is concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people. As Paul Krugman wrote, ?This is an old concern in economics; it?s ?capital-biased technological change?, which tends to shift the distribution of income away from workers to the owners of capital.?

Unlike other technological revolutions, computers are everywhere

The ubiquity of smartphones in rich countries is just the tip of the silicon iceberg. Computers are more disruptive than, say, the looms smashed by the Luddites, because they are ?general-purpose technologies? noted Peter Linert, an economist at University of Californa-Davis. Sensors, embedded systems, internet-connected devices, and an ever-expanding pool of cloud computing resources are all being put to the same use: how to figure out, in the most efficient way possible, what to do next.

?The spread of computers and the Internet will put jobs in two categories,? said Andreessen. ?People who tell computers what to do, and people who are told by computers what to do.? It?s a glib remark?but increasingly true.

In a gleaming new warehouse in the old market town of Rugley, England, Amazon directs the actions of hundreds of ?associates? wielding hand-held computers. These computers tell workers not only which shelf to walk to when they?re pulling goods to be shipped, but also the optimal route by which to get there. Each person?s performance is monitored, and they are given constant feedback about whether or not they are performing their job quickly enough. Their bosses can even send them text messages via their handheld computers, urging them to speed up. ?You?re sort of like a robot, but in human form,? one manager at Amazon?s warehouse told the Financial Times. ?It?s human automation, if you like.?

And yet despite this already high level of automation, Amazon is already working on how to eliminate the humans in its warehouses all together. In March 2009, Amazon acquired Kiva Systems, a warehouse robotics and automation company. In partnership with a company called Quiet Logistics, Kiva?s combination of mobile shelving and robots has already automated a warehouse in Andover, Massachusetts. Here?s a video showing how Kiva?s robots, which look like oversize Roombas, can store, retrieve and sort goods with minimal involvement from humans.

This time it?s faster

History is littered with technological transitions. Many of them seemed at the time to threaten mass unemployment of one type of worker or another, whether it was buggy whip makers or, more recently, travel agents. But here?s what?s different about information-processing jobs: The takeover by technology is happening much faster.

From 2000 to 2007, in the years leading up to the great recession, GDP and productivity in the US grew faster than at any point since the 1960s, but job creation did not keep pace. Brynjolfsson thinks he knows why: More and more people were doing work aided by software. And during the great recession, employment growth didn?t just slow. As we saw above, in both manufacturing and information processing, the economy shed jobs, even as employment in the service sector and professional fields remained flat.

Especially in the past ten years, economists have seen a reversal of what they call ?the great compression??that period from the second world war through the 1970s when, in the US at least, more people were crowded into the ranks of the middle class than ever before. There are many reasons why the economy has reversed this ?compression,? transforming into an ?hourglass economy? with many fewer workers in the middle class and more at either the high or the low end of the income spectrum. But whatever those forces, they are clearly being exacerbated by technological change.

The hourglass represents an income distribution that has been more nearly the norm for most of the history of the US. That it?s?coming back should worry anyone who believes that a healthy middle class is an inevitable outcome of economic progress, a mainstay of democracy and a healthy society, or a driver of further economic development. Indeed, some have argued that as technology aids the gutting of the middle class, it destroys the very market required to sustain it?that we?ll see ?less of the type of innovation we associate with Steve Jobs, and more of the type you would find at Goldman Sachs.?

Is any job safe?

Recently I sat down with the team at Betterment, a tech startup to which people have already handed over $150 million in assets. For many, that money represents a significant chunk of their savings and retirement accounts. Betterment is the sort of company that, it it does well, will someday be a canonical example of the principle that ?software eats everything.? It?s an attempt replace the kind of job you might think is still beyond the reach of an algorithm: personal financial advice.

The legal field has been transformed by software too. For example, it replaced paralegals in the previously labor-intensive process of sifting through documents during the discovery phase of a lawsuit.

No one, it seems, is more aware of this phenomenon than the technologists themselves. In an interview with Pando Daily, Josh Kopelman, a venture capitalist with First Round Capital, said that even his industry is going to be eaten by software. ?In fifteen years, will VCs make as much money as they do now?? he was asked. ?They probably shouldn?t,? was his response.

Survival of the fittest?and the richest

Barring a civilization-ending event, technology is not going to move backward. More and more of our world will be controlled by software. It?s already become so ubiquitous that, argues one of my colleagues, it?s now ridiculous to call some firms as ?tech? companies when all companies depend on it so much.

So how do we deal with this trend? The possible solutions to the problems of disruption by thinking machines are beyond the scope of this piece. As I?ve mentioned in other pieces published at Quartz, there are plenty of optimists ready to declare that the rise of the machines will ultimately enable higher standards of living, or at least forms of unemployment as foreign to us as ?big data scientist? would be to a scribe of the 17th century.

But that?s only as long as you?re one of the ones telling machines what to do, not being told by them. And that will require self-teaching, creativity, entrepreneurialism and other traits that may or may not be latent in children, as well as retraining adults who aspire to middle class living. For now, sadly, your safest bet is to be a technologist and/or own capital, and use all this automation to grab a bigger-than-ever share of a pie that continues to expand.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-internet-is-making-us-poor-2013-3

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6 months post-Benghazi, Obama taps new Libya envoy

FILE - In this March 8, 2010 file photo, then-US Ambassador to Kuwait Deborah Jones is seen in Kuwait City. President Barack Obama nominated a new ambassador to Libya on Wednesday, filling a post that has been vacant since Chris Stevens was killed in the Sept. 11 Benghazi attack and signaling the United States' commitment to the North African country as it undergoes a perilous transition from decades of dictatorship. The White House tapped Deborah K. Jones, a career diplomat who has served in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and the now-shuttered U.S. Embassy in Syria. Jones, who currently works as a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, also has spent time at embassies in Turkey and Ethiopia. (AP Photo/Gustavo Ferrari, File)

FILE - In this March 8, 2010 file photo, then-US Ambassador to Kuwait Deborah Jones is seen in Kuwait City. President Barack Obama nominated a new ambassador to Libya on Wednesday, filling a post that has been vacant since Chris Stevens was killed in the Sept. 11 Benghazi attack and signaling the United States' commitment to the North African country as it undergoes a perilous transition from decades of dictatorship. The White House tapped Deborah K. Jones, a career diplomat who has served in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and the now-shuttered U.S. Embassy in Syria. Jones, who currently works as a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, also has spent time at embassies in Turkey and Ethiopia. (AP Photo/Gustavo Ferrari, File)

Secretary of State John Kerry, accompanied by Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan gestures as he speaks to reporters during their joint news conference at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, March 13, 2013. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama nominated a new ambassador to Libya on Wednesday, filling a post that has been vacant since Chris Stevens was killed in the Sept. 11 Benghazi attack and signaling the United States' commitment to the North African country as it undergoes a perilous transition from decades of dictatorship.

The announcement came as Secretary of State John Kerry was meeting Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan, and two days after the six-month anniversary of the storming of the U.S. diplomatic mission in the eastern Libyan city. No one has yet been captured for the attack, which has caused significant political headaches for Obama and his foreign policy team.

"The United States will continue to stand with Libya during this difficult time of transition," Kerry told reporters. "The Libyan people have begun to chart the course for their own future, and they're defining it. Obviously there are challenges ahead and we understand that, from building political consensus to strengthening the security and protecting human rights, and growing the Libyan economy."

Kerry thanked the Libyan government for its cooperation after the Benghazi attack and insisted that "those who killed Americans in Benghazi will be brought to justice." He promised Zidan that America would continue working for a stable Libya.

"We must not walk away from the difficult work that Chris Stevens and his cohorts were so dedicated to," Kerry said. Stevens was the first ambassador killed in the line of duty since the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan in 1979.

To replace Stevens, the White House tapped Deborah K. Jones, a career diplomat who has served in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and the now-shuttered U.S. Embassy in Syria. Jones, who currently works as a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, also has spent time at embassies in Turkey and Ethiopia.

Jones will assume a difficult position heading the embassy in Libya's capital, Tripoli. The North African country has been beset by lawlessness, militant group rivalries and political instability since rebels, with the help of the U.S. and other governments, overthrew long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

"She is a very capable and experienced diplomat," Kerry said of Jones. "I have no doubt that she will help to strengthen the partnership between us."

Zidan also met with Obama and his national security adviser Tom Donilon at the White House.

The president added his support Libya's democratic efforts and outlined areas the U.S. could help the government strengthen its institutions and improve the rule of law, according to a statement by Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council.

From Washington's perspective, the most pressing problem is insecurity.

Stevens and three other Americans were killed a half-year ago when a large group of men, possibly tied to Islamic extremist groups, assaulted the American outpost in Benghazi, and the help that arrived proved far too little and too late.

The militant group Ansar Al-Shariah is suspected of carrying out the attack, which the administration initially attributed to a protest over an American-made, anti-Islam video that spiraled out of control. Officials later retracted that account and called it a terror attack. But no one has been punished in Libya or elsewhere for involvement.

Zidan has been trying to reassert government control over Libya. Last month, he called on militias to evacuate buildings and headquarters and join government security forces, vowing that his government will take a hardline stand against any armed group that tries to hijack control of "Tripoli or Benghazi or any other city."

However, the Libyan government heavily depends on security provided by commanders of several powerful militias that the president has labeled "legitimate" forces. Militias in Libya often act with impunity, running their own prison cells, making arrests and taking confessions in total absence of state control and oversight.

The lawlessness also has allowed Gadhafi's once-vast stock of weapons to fall into the hands of extremists who've sparked a civil war in neighboring Mali. A France-led intervention has pushed back the Islamist militants after they seized half the country last year.

Speaking next to Kerry, Zidan thanked Obama and the U.S. for its key contribution in the effort to defeat Gadhafi. He said Libya would partner the U.S. in stabilizing his country and region.

"This relationship will be at the best level," Zidan, in his first to trip to Washington as prime minister, said through an interpreter.

___

Associated Press National Security Writer Lara Jakes contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-03-13-US-US-Libya/id-c2b7f92cb0ee4cbd845852d60de97805

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Reebok Fitness: Get Rid of Your Excuses to Get Fit

Getting in shape can be difficult, but it's a little bit easier if you have a routine. Reebok's new fitness app should help you out in that department. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/IlvZI-ygvkc/reebok-fitness-get-rid-of-your-excuses-to-get-fit

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Notre Dame to join ACC next season

Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins and Kayla McBride react in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Louisville in the semifinals of the Big East Conference women's tournament in Hartford, Conn., Monday, March 11, 2013. Notre Dame won 83-59. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins and Kayla McBride react in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Louisville in the semifinals of the Big East Conference women's tournament in Hartford, Conn., Monday, March 11, 2013. Notre Dame won 83-59. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Notre Dame's Eric Atkins, right, drives around the defense of Louisville's Russ Smith during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, March 9, 2013, in Louisville, Ky. Louisville defeated Notre Dame 73-57. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey, left, talks with forward Jack Cooley during senior class ceremonies prior to an NCAA college basketball game against St. John's on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) ? Goodbye Madison Square Garden, Georgetown and Villanova. Hello Greensboro Coliseum, North Carolina and Duke.

A year from now, Notre Dame men's basketball team will be preparing for the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament instead of its annual trip to New York, where the Irish are a frustrating 9-17 all-time in the Big East tournament and have never made it to the league title game. The school announced Tuesday it is leaving the fractured Big East a year sooner than originally anticipated for the ACC in all sports except football and hockey.

The switch was approved in a vote by Big East university presidents in the wake of a split announced last week of the league's football schools and seven other Catholic schools that next season are forming their own basketball-focused conference with the Big East name. The vote means Notre Dame coaches can move forward with scheduling for the 2013-14 school year.

"It removes the uncertainty that made it hard for our coaches and athletes, so we're very happy to resolve that for them," athletic director Jack Swarbrick said in a telephone interview.

The move means stability for all Notre Dame sports and has some familiarity to Irish fans, with Syracuse and Pittsburgh joining the Irish in moving to the ACC next season and former Big East teams Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech already part of the ACC.

If the Irish had opted to stay in the football-centric league, they would have faced some not-so-familiar opponents in Memphis, Central Florida, Houston, Tulane and SMU, along with returning members Cincinnati, Connecticut, South Florida, Louisville and Rutgers. Louisville joins the ACC after next season, while Rutgers joins the Big Ten.

If the Irish had chosen to align with the Catholic schools, they would have faced DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, St. John's, Seton Hall, Providence and Villanova. Butler, Xavier and Creighton have been mentioned as potential members.

The ACC will provide some Notre Dame's non-revenue sports with more challenging opponents. North Carolina's women's soccer team has won 21 national championships; four different men's soccer teams from the conference have won national championships in the past six years; Virginia and Maryland played for the national title in men's lacrosse in 2011; and Duke has won four national championships in golf in the past 11 years.

"It's a better situation than the consequence of having the Catholic 7 and the Big East split," Swarbrick said.

The move comes six months after Notre Dame announced it was opting to join the ACC in all sports except football and hockey. Big East Commissioner Mike Aresco said the move made sense for the league.

"The Big East can now focus fully on its future alignment and rebranding efforts," he said.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford said the league welcomed the early arrival of the Irish, saying the additions of Syracuse and Pitt this year and Louisville next year will make the league's basketball schedule "brutal, which is a great thing for our league and fans."

Swarbrick said the decision to join the ACC early evolved over time, saying Notre Dame had been in constant touch with the ACC.

At a news conference later, before the Big East women's basketball title game, he gave few details of the financial deal that made Notre dame's early exit possible.

"The easiest way for me to describe it is that the deal struck by the Catholic 7 did provide a template that made a lot of sense to follow," he said. "We're a school that's essentially the same. Our participation in the league was under the same terms. Our withdrawal under the mutual commitment agreement was the same, so it made sense to follow their deal in form."

As recently as last month it appeared Notre Dame would remain in the Big East for one more season, with Swarbrick telling coaches to proceed with scheduling for next season under the assumption the Irish would be in the Big East for a 19th season. That was based on the assumption the seven Catholic schools would not be able to form their own league in time for next season.

Last week, Aresco said the seven Catholic schools were leaving effective July 1 and taking the Big East name with them. A person familiar with the negotiations last week told The Associated Press the football members, which do not include Notre Dame, will receive a payment of about $100 million from the conference and NCAA men's basketball tournament funds, with the bulk of the money going to holdover members Cincinnati, Connecticut and South Florida.

Swarbrick said it was best for Notre Dame to join the ACC as soon as possible.

"Once we made a decision like we made, everybody psychologically moves on. You're better off getting there," he said.

The ACC has already announced a basketball scheduling model for Notre Dame's arrival. In October, the league said the men would stay with an 18-game slate that would pair each team with two scheduling partners that each team played twice a year. Notre Dame's scheduling partners are Boston College and Georgia Tech.

On the women's side, the league is going back to a 16-game schedule. Scheduling partners have yet to be determined.

The decision to join the ACC early had no impact on Notre Dame's commitment to play five games a year against ACC teams starting in 2014, when it also will have access to the league's non-BCS bowl tie-ins. For the 2013 season, Notre Dame has no bowl tie-ins, meaning that if the Irish don't earn a BCS berth and are bowl eligible they will have to wait to see what bowls have unused spots to see where they will play.

___

AP College Football Writer Ralph Russo and AP Sports Writers Aaron Beard contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-12-US-ACC-Notre-Dame/id-3c68aa8c2bba4c66a6c55837833a66e2

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Wood Flooring And Home Improvement Loans: 2

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China Suggests Setting Rules for Cyberwar Games

As it continues to deny accusations that its army is involved in serial computer hacking, China is now also asking for worldwide rules and cooperation on Web-based espionage. China cited the lack of international definitions and regulations on cyberespionage as part of its first round of denials against the landmark report by security firm Mandiant.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/2973ee3e/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C7750A20Bhtml/story01.htm

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Ube WiFi Smart Dimmer to receive customized multitouch gesture control

Here's a cool little addition to the increasingly competitive world of home automation. Ube's got a WiFi Smart Dimmer that utilizes multitouch functionality to control the lights in your house -- use one finger to turn off a single light, or use two to turn off a set. The company picked SXSW as the venue to announce the forthcoming launch of customized gestures for other smart devices -- in the example given to us by CEO Utz Baldwin, a user can input a "W" to turn on the sprinklers -- or an "A" plus up swipe to turn on an alarm and an "A" plus a down swipe to disable it.

Sadly, the functionality won't be available for the launch of the first generation, though it's likely to come in time for the second generation, along with a software update for early adopters. Interested parties can support the company via Kickstarter right now -- Ube's a bit over halfway to its goal of $280,000, with 24 days to go. You can also watch Baldwin discuss the product and today's news in a video after the break.

Gallery: Ube WiFi Smart Dimmer hands-on

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Source: Kickstarter

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Camp Yachad Open House | Scotch Plains-Fanwood Sports ...

Thursday, May 23, 2013, 6:30 pm

Jewish Community Center of Central NJ, 1391 Martine Ave, Scotch Plains, NJ | Get?Directions??
FREE

Come check out all the great programs Camp Yachad has to offer
at one of our upcoming Open Houses!

• Day Camp in Scotch Plains for ages 18 months - 9 years
• Travel Camp out of our Springfield site for ages 10 - 14
• Summer Academy for Performing Arts on the UCVTS campus for grades 5 - 8
• Maccabi Sports Day Camp on The Wardlaw-Hartridge campus for grades 1 - 4

All Camp Yachad camps at various locations
Thursday, May 23 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Day and travel camps at the JCC, 1391 Martine Avenue, Scotch Plains
Maccabi sports day camp at The Wardlaw-Hartridge campus, 1295 Inman Avenue, Edison
Summer Academy for Performing Arts at the UCVTS Academy for Performing Arts, 1776 Raritan Road, Scotch Plains

40.631092

-74.36587

primary

Camp Yachad Open House

May 23, 2013, 6:30 pm?8:30 pm

Jewish Community Center of Central NJ

1391 Martine Ave, Scotch Plains, NJ

/listings/jewish-community-center-of-central-nj

6980

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Source: http://scotchplains.patch.com/events/camp-yachad-open-house-ed75be1f

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Woods stretches his lead on Blue Monster

DORAL, Fla. (AP) ? With one last birdie putt that never looked like it was going anywhere but in the hole, Tiger Woods walked off the Blue Monster in a familiar position.

He had a four-shot lead over Graeme McDowell in the Cadillac Championship, the 17th time on the PGA Tour that he has led by at least four shots going into the final round. Woods has never lost when leading by that much on tour.

Saturday at Doral was a reminder, however, how quickly it all can change.

Woods knocked in a short birdie putt on the 15th hole to put six shots between him and McDowell.

Two holes later, after McDowell chipped in for eagle and Woods found himself staring some 20 feet in the air at his golf ball lodged in a palm tree to the right of the 17th fairway, the lead was cut in half.

Woods saved his best for the final hole.

He drilled a tee shot into the fairway, hit 9-iron to 15 feet and made his 24th birdie of the tournament for a 5-under 67, putting him on the cusp of another World Golf Championship and a big step toward returning to No. 1 in the world.

"After I made birdie on 15, I was looking pretty good with a six-shot lead, and with a drivable par 4," Woods said. "Two holes later, it's now cut down to three. I piped a tee shot down there, hit a little 9-iron there and was able to pour that putt in there."

The ball never came down from the tree, which was about the only thing that didn't fall his way.

The 24 birdies and 74 putts are personal records for Woods. More importantly, it put him in great position to win his 17th WGC title, and his first since 2009.

"He controlled every part of his game very well, very few loose shots," said McDowell, who did well to two-putt for par from 85 feet on the last hole for a 69 that at least kept him in final group for Sunday.

"You know, 17 was a really bad break for him. But in true Tiger fashion that we've become very accustomed to over the years, to come back and birdie the last, he was fantastic today," he said.

"So maximum respect there. He's going to be a tough man to catch tomorrow. I get to watch it and get to see him, and hopefully get a chance to get close to him tomorrow."

Woods has a 39-2 record when he has the outright lead going into the final round on the PGA Tour. The only time he has ever lost a lead of more than two shots in any tournament around the world was in 2010 against an 18-man field at the Chevron World Challenge, when McDowell beat him in a playoff.

McDowell certainly was up for the fight on a breezy, sunny afternoon near Miami. Despite a shaky stretch of holes that appeared to end his chances, he drove just over the green on the par-4 16th and chipped in for eagle, and hit that putt across the 18th green that amazed even Woods.

"He hit a hell of a putt," Woods said.

Woods was at 18-under 198.

Phil Mickelson, who badly wanted to get into the final group, overcame a three-putt from 4 feet for double bogey on the third hole by making four birdies the rest of the way. He had a 69, along with Steve Stricker, and both were five shots behind.

"I threw away five or six shots on the greens and around the greens, and I feel like I don't have to play too much different," Mickelson said. "I just can't afford to give away those shots. I'm going to have to play a round like I played at Pebble last year, something in the low 60s."

A year ago, Mickelson shot 64 in the final round to win at Pebble Beach while playing in the same group with Woods.

Rory McIlroy, the world's No. 1 player, had a rough start until rallying on the back nine with five birdies in a six-hole stretch that carried him to a 71. He was 15 shots behind.

Woods used to own these WGC events, winning 16 of the first 30 that he played. He has gone 0-for-10 since Firestone in August 2009, though the odds were stacked in his favor at the Cadillac Championship. He already is a three-time winner at Doral, and he has been putting well ever since Stricker gave him a tip on the eve of the tournament.

"You know what kind of closer he is," Stricker said. "When he gets the lead in a golf tournament, it's tough. He doesn't let too many guys in usually when he gets the lead. We've all got our work cut out for us. We're going to have to go out and try to make birdies on a difficult golf course, which is hard to do."

It's even tougher with Woods playing like this. He has matched the low round of the tournament all three days.

For nine holes, McDowell threw his best golf at Woods, and Woods counterpunched in a magnificent display on the breezy Blue Monster.

McDowell opened with a 20-foot eagle, Woods with back-to-back birdies. McDowell hit his approach to 10 feet on the third hole, and Woods followed with a shot 6 inches inside as both made birdie.

McDowell finally tied him for the lead with a 20-foot putt on the sixth hole, and he had a 10-foot birdie attempt on the seventh for the outright lead. The stroke was tentative, and the ball dipped on the low side.

And that was as close as McDowell could get.

Woods had a one-shot lead as they walked toward the green on the par-5 10th hole, with McDowell on the green in two and poised to catch him again.

It all turned so suddenly.

Woods hit another superb wedge to 6 feet for birdie, while McDowell's eagle attempt slid 4 feet by the cup, and he missed it coming back for par. McDowell was furious, slapping his leg in disgust. McDowell and Woods each had 6 feet for par on the 11th ? Woods made, McDowell missed, his first bogey of the week.

That gave Woods a three-shot lead, and McDowell fell even further behind when he muffed a pitch behind the 14th green and took double bogey, and Woods hit a towering tee shot on the par-3 15th to 6 feet for birdie.

"The three-putt on 10 kind of rattled me a little bit, because Tiger didn't look like he was going to do anything wrong," McDowell said. "I really felt like I needed to be making putts like that."

McDowell at least stayed in the game, but after his putt across the length of the 18th green stopped inside a foot from the hole, he could only watch as Woods poured in another putt for yet another birdie, making the task on Sunday even more difficult.

The leaderboard still had the best golfers. Woods, however, separated himself from them.

Honda Classic winner Michael Thompson and Sergio Garcia each had a 67 and were at 11-under 205, along with Charl Schwartzel (69) and Keegan Bradley (69). Masters champion Bubba Watson could only manage a 71 and was eight shots behind.

Woods will be going for his second win of the year, an ominous sign with the Masters a month away. Woods has not won twice before the Masters in five years.

"All respect to the way he handled himself today and the way he played," McDowell said. "He's going to be a tough guy to catch. But according to the forecast tomorrow, we are going to have strong winds. I think that's an advantage to the rest of the field. ... With tough conditions tomorrow, hopefully we'll have a chance."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-09-Cadillac%20Championship/id-3368a56f1c5640859032e2c35c22e37c

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Microsoft Wants Students To Give Office A Try, Gives Them Up To 6 Free Months Of Office 365, 20GB Of Extra SkyDrive Storage

With Office 365 out of the door, Microsoft has now set its sights on getting more college students to give it a try. The company, which already makes a heavily discounted $80/4 years version of Office 365 University available to students, just announced a new offer that gives college students three months of free Office 365 access, plus another three months when they also share the offer on Facebook. In addition, students get 20GB of additional SkyDrive storage. As a Microsoft spokesperson told us, the company is launching this campaign because it has “seen a lot of excitement among customers as they use SkyDrive to access documents and collaborate anywhere on any device. In particular, Microsoft has seen through direct feedback that students are one group that can really benefit from these types of tools.” To promote this offer, which is open to anybody with a .edu email address in the U.S., Microsoft also launched a new marketing campaign that features ?Parks and Recreation? star Aubrey Plaza. Microsoft’s biggest competitor in this space is obviously Google, which makes its Drive apps available for free. Microsoft Office, however, is arguably a more feature-rich product and still the standard on many campuses. But Microsoft’s hold on the academic world is slowly shrinking despite quite a few colleges that have adopted Office 365 for Education (formerly Live@edu). Like most offers for students, this deal is clearly meant to lock students into the Microsoft Office ecosystem early, but given that the documents are all in standard formats, you can obviously always leave and take your documents with you. After the trial is over, the Office apps enter read-only mode, so you can only view and print documents, but the files are obviously still yours to download from SkyDrive (and the basic Office Web Apps on SkyDrive will also still work).

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/eVqq9-IdAPA/

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Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg urges women to 'lean in'

Gregory Bull / AP

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's new book, "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead," will be released on Monday.

By Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press

NEW YORK - For a book that has yet to be released, Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In" ? part feminist manifesto, part how-to career guide ? has got a lot of people talking.

In the weeks leading up to the book's release on Monday, pundits and press hounds have been debating its merits. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd called Sandberg a "PowerPoint Pied Piper in Prada ankle boots," and countless bloggers have suggested that Facebook's chief operating officer is the wrong person to lead a women's movement.?

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"Most of the criticism has to do with the position she is coming from," said Susan Yohn, professor and chair of Hofstra University's history department.

Sandberg, 43, hopes that her message of empowerment won't be obscured by the lofty pedestal from which she speaks. But is the multi-millionaire with two Harvard degrees too rich to offer advice? Too successful? Does her blueprint for success ignore the plight of poor and working-class women? Does the book's very premise blame women for not rising to top corporate positions at the same rate as men?

And just how big is her house?

The questions keep coming largely because few people have actually read the book. But in it, Sandberg seems to have foreseen much of the criticism. The book acknowledges that critics might discount her feminist call to action with an easy-for-her-to-say shrug.

"My hope is that my message will be judged on its merits," she writes in the preamble.

Sandberg recognizes that parts of the book are targeted toward women who are in a position to make decisions about their careers. Still, she writes, "we can't avoid this conversation. This issue transcends all of us. The time is long overdue to encourage more women to dream the possible dream and encourage more men to support women in the workforce and in the home."

Published by Alfred A. Knopf Inc., "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead" will be launched Thursday with a reception in New York City hosted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Arianna Huffington.

It's true that Sandberg is wealthy. She also has a supportive husband. Mark Zuckerberg is her boss. And, yes, her home in Menlo Park, Calif., has 9,000 square feet.

But as a woman in Silicon Valley, Sandberg hasn't exactly had it easy, and her tale shows she's no armchair activist. After all, not many women would march into their boss' office and demand special parking for expectant mothers. But Sandberg did just that when she worked at Google. Company founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin complied.

After Sandberg moved to Facebook in 2008, she became even more outspoken on the issues facing women in corporate America. At a time when other executives, male or female, have largely stayed quiet, Sandberg has delivered speeches on topics such as "Why we have too few women leaders."

And she's no workaholic. In an age of endless work hours, Sandberg is famous for leaving the office at 5:30 to spend time with her family. She does admit, however, to picking up work once her kids have gone to bed.

Of the many inspirational slogans that hang on Facebook's walls, her favorite asks "What would you do if you weren't afraid?" "Lean In" is about pushing past fear.

"Fear is at the root of so many of the barriers that women face," she writes. "Fear of not being liked. Fear of making the wrong choice. Fear of drawing negative attention. Fear of overreaching. Fear of being judged. Fear of failure. And the holy trinity of fear: the fear of being a bad mother/wife/daughter."

Sandberg peppers the book with studies, reports and personal anecdotes to back up her premise ? that for reasons both in and out of their control, there are fewer woman leaders than men in the business world and beyond. For example, the Fortune 500 has only 21 female CEOs. Sandberg is among the 14 percent of women who hold executive officer positions and the 16 percent of women who hold board of director seats, according to Catalyst.org.

For minority women, the numbers are even bleaker. Women of color, she writes, hold just 4 percent of top corporate jobs and 3 percent of board seats.

"A truly equal world would be one where women ran half our countries and companies and men ran half our homes. I believe that this would be a better world," she writes. "The laws of economics and many studies of diversity tell us that if we tapped the entire pool of human resources and talent, our collective performance would improve."

At less than 200 pages, plus a good chunk of footnotes, "Lean In" does not purport to be the end-all solution to inequality. It deals with issues Sandberg sees as in women's control.

"Don't leave before you leave" is one of her catchphrases, aimed at successful women who gradually drop out of the workforce in anticipation of children they may someday bear. "Make your partner a real partner" is another. She says everyone should encourage men to "lean in" at home by being equal partners in parenting and housework.

"Lean In" is, by and large, for women who are looking to climb the corporate ladder (which Sandberg calls a jungle gym), and ideally their male supporters. She hopes it's the start of a conversation. To that end, Sandberg plans to donate all of the proceeds to her newly minted nonprofit, LeanIn.org.

Sandberg's book shares personal details that reveal a fair share of stumbles and lesser-known tidbits. Did you know she was an aerobics instructor in the 1980s ?big hair, silver leotard and all? The book paints a picture of an exceptionally successful woman who admits to lacking confidence at various points in her career.

Sandberg writes about the "ambition gap" between men and women in the workplace ? that while men are expected to be driven, ambition in women can be seen as negative. She writes about parents' gender-based approaches to child rearing that teach girls to be "pretty like mommy" and boys "smart like daddy," as she's seen on baby onesies sold at Gymboree.

And she writes about "feeling like a fraud" ? that insidious notion, felt largely by women but men as well, that success is due not to one's own merit but to some sort of gross oversight or accident.

Sandberg's book comes half a century after Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique," which identified "the problem that has no name" among largely white, suburban housewives who felt unhappy and unfulfilled in their roles at home. Friedan, too, was criticized for focusing on a privileged swath of womankind.

In a recent critical piece on Sandberg's movement, Michael Kazin wrote in the New Republic that, like Friedan, Sandberg, "also seems primarily concerned with the economics of gender. But there's a key difference: Friedan didn't share a view from the corporate boardroom."

Kazin's barbs echo most of the book's pre-release criticism. But some writers have gone further. In a Washington Post op-ed, Melissa Gira Grant dismissed Sandberg's "Lean In" movement as "simply the elite leading the slightly-less-elite, for the sake of Sandberg's bottom line." Dowd wrote that she believes "Sandberg has co-opted the vocabulary and romance of a social movement not to sell a cause, but herself."

In the end, "Lean In" is a call to action to make it easier for women to become leaders. It's a call for women to take space at the table, raise their hands, speak up and step up. It's a personal account of a woman who, through a mix of talent, luck and ambition, but also with plenty of internal and external obstacles along the way, managed to do that.

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem, whom Sandberg thanks in the acknowledgements and cites as inspiration, praises "Lean In" on her Facebook page, saying that it "addresses internalized oppression, opposes external barriers that create it and urges women to support each other to fight both."

She adds that even the book's critics "are making a deep if inadvertent point: Only in women is success viewed as a barrier to giving advice."

Related content:

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Source: http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2013/03/07/17226247-facebooks-sheryl-sandberg-urges-women-to-lean-in-in-new-book?lite

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The Department Store Is Watching You

It's one thing for e-commerce stores to track your behavior as you shop online, but now real-world stores are following your every move through your cellphone. That's right: It's not quite that scene at the Gap in?Minority Report, but the next time you leave your iPhone's WiFi signal on in public, expect to have a digital trail.

RELATED: Stop Putting Words on Girls Clothing

As?The New York Times's?Quentin Hardy reports,?over 100 brick-and-mortar stores ? including big ones like Home Depot and Nordstrom ? have paired up with the shopping behavior watchers at Euclid Analytics, who can learn a lot just by following your wireless connection:

Using the information, retailers can tell whether someone walked by the store, whether a customer came in and how long the visit lasted. If it is a big store, with a couple of Wi-Fi antennas, the owner can start to see where in the store someone went.

If you think about it, this in-store transition really isn't that different from Amazon dropping some cookies on a user's browser history and tracking their only shopping and browsing habits. Following shoppers down the aisle, by way of phone, doesn't differ too much than seeing where someone clicks around on, say, the Urban Outfitters website. It may ultimately be?less invasive, but you're not signing up for it either.

RELATED: The New iPad's Wi-Fi Problem Is Real

Expectations and discomfort can trigger privacy violations, even if it's in the fine print of an Apple end user agreement. Being watched by random marketers as you walk into their stores, whether it makes your shopping experience better or not, is not something cellphone users expect. Similarly, when Facebook bought Datalogix in order to better understand its users offline buying habits, it surprised many users because it was taking their expected privacy concerns where they least expected to have to worry about them. The same goes for this new offline tracking innovation in retail: Stores aren't supposed?to be doing that.

RELATED: The Cost of Buying Less; Fukushima Didn't Wreck the Ocean

There's also the very legitimate concern that Euclid Analytics has a lot of information on its hands. "Euclid has more data than it gives to customers," explains Hardy, alluding to the trove of data inside each phone ? not so much your files as the GPS tracker everyone with a smartphone has unwittingly put in his pocket. "It gives its customers only anonymous data in a collected form, so individuals won't be targeted." Euclid also requires stores offer an opt-out feature for customers, but when was the last time you noticed that while cruising racks at Nordstrom?

RELATED: The Cyber Monday Record Is More About Online Shopping Than Fake Holidays

In the future, these might change from opt-out to opt-in, which sounds a lot less threatening. People who want the perks of an "efficient" location-based marketing service can let stores watch them beeline to the tampon aisle. Until then, however, if this kind of thing weirds you out, it might be a good idea to turn Wi-Fi off each time you head to the mall. Or else it's hello Mr. Yamamoto, indeed:

RELATED: Your Guide to Black Friday Scams

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/department-store-watching-200250900.html

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Another New One

RolePlayGateway is proudly powered by obscene amounts of caffeine, duct tape, and support from people like you. It operates under a "don't like it, suggest an improvement" platform, and we gladly take suggestions for improvements or changes.

The custom-built "roleplay" system was designed and implemented by Eric Martindale as of July 2009. All attempts to replicate or otherwise emulate this system and its method of organizing roleplay are strictly prohibited without his express written and contractual permission; violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

? RolePlayGateway, LLC | with the support of LocalSense

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/trEoxcZyxs4/viewtopic.php

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