WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's respect for religious freedom deteriorated last year as it interfered with Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in ways that may have contributed to a dozen Tibetan self-immolations, the United States said on Monday.
In its annual International Religious Freedom Report for 2011, the State Department said it discerned a rise in anti-Semitism around the world as well as the increased use of anti-blasphemy laws to restrict the rights of religious minorities.
It said conditions worsened in countries such as Iran, where the report cited state "imprisonment, harassment, intimidation and discrimination based on religious beliefs," as well as Pakistan, where "abuses continued under the blasphemy law."
The State Department also cited "a marked deterioration" in official respect for and protection of religious freedom in China, including greater restrictions on religious practice especially in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries.
"Official interference in the practice of these religious traditions exacerbated grievances and contributed to at least 12 self-immolations by Tibetans in 2011," the report said.
In Iran, with which the United States has had acrimonious relations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, religious freedom "deteriorated further from an already egregious situation," the State Department said.
It cited the restoration of 20-year sentences for seven Bahais charged with spying for and collaborating with Israel as well as the imprisonment of Yousof Nadarkhani, a Christian pastor sentenced to death for apostasy.
(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Weight loss hypnosis is probably one of the most common things that you will come across in the world today. Whether you are thinking in terms of social media, social forums and so many other places, you will get to come across so many people who are worried about their weight. For this reason therefore it is important that you get to learn a thing or two about weight management, and in particular, weight loss. So that is the reason why weight loss hypnosis has become so popular. There are so many people in the world today who have come to benefit from it. The results if anything to go by make it one of the simplest and most successful ways through which you can get to lose weight. There are so many people who have tried all possible means to get to lose weight, including but not necessarily limited to using pills. As a matter of fact, weight loss pills have become so popular that they are in the process becoming dangerous. There are those who have become addicted to them so much that they cannot do without them, while there are also those who just cannot use any other means to lose weight. There is also the fact that these pills usually have side effects that if not monitored carefully, can lead to disastrous results.
Hypnosis weight loss is therefore the perfect alternative for you in the event that you are looking to cut down some weight. It is important to note that this technique is not exactly a new one since it has been in existence for as long as we can remember. The only difference that comes in is the fact that most people are not exactly privy to such information. Besides that there is also the fact that unlike pills that you can get over the counter, you have to see a professional in order for you to induce, proceed with and succeed in weight loss hypnosis. If you would like to know how far back this technique has been in use, you will have to consider how people who are smoking addicts have been able to cope with the situation. Patients suffering from memory lapses and also pain control are some of those on the list of people who have benefitted from this kind of treatment, and in the process, weight loss hypnosis has also become a success.
The hypnosis weight loss techniques that have been used to cure weight loss problems have in the past been improved upon from time to time in a bid to make sure that they work seamlessly. The reason for this lies in the fact that over time people seem to get more worried and concerned about their health issues, and in the process, things like weight gain and loss have emerged as important aspects of their health. There is also the need to fit in with what society considers as the norm, which has also played a huge role in ensuring that such techniques live to see the light of day.
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In the event that you are looking to lose some weight with ease, you should consider hypnosis weight loss. There are so many people in the past who have come to benefit from weight loss hypnosis , and so should you.
Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from PIMCO's Investment Outlook.
Several generations were weaned and in fact grew wealthier believing that pieces of paper representing ?shares? of future profits were something more than a conditional IOU that came with risk. Hadn?t history confirmed it?
Now in 2012, however, an investor can periodically compare the return of stocks for the past 10, 20, and 30 years, and find that long-term Treasury bonds have been the higher returning and obviously ?safer? investment than a diversified portfolio of equities. In turn, it would show that higher risk is usually, but not always, rewarded with excess return.
Got Stocks?
Chart 1 displays a rather different storyline, one which overwhelmingly favors stocks over a century?s time ? truly the long run. This long-term history of inflation adjusted returns from stocks shows a persistent but recently fading 6.6% real return (known as the Siegel constant) since 1912 that Generations X and Y perhaps should study more closely. Had they been alive in 1912 and lived to the ripe old age of 100, they would have turned what on the graph appears to be a $1 investment into more than $500 (inflation adjusted) over the interim. No wonder today?s Boomers became Siegel disciples. Letting money do the hard work instead of working hard for the money was an historical inevitability it seemed.
Yet the 6.6% real return belied a commonsensical flaw much like that of a chain letter or yes ? a Ponzi scheme. If wealth or real GDP was only being created at an annual rate of 3.5% over the same period of time, then somehow stockholders must be skimming 3% off the top each and every year. If an economy?s GDP could only provide 3.5% more goods and services per year, then how could one segment (stockholders) so consistently profit at the expense of the others (lenders, laborers and government)? The commonsensical ?illogic? of such an arrangement when carried forward another century to 2112 seems obvious as well. If stocks continue to appreciate at a 3% higher rate than the economy itself, then stockholders will command not only a disproportionate share of wealth, but nearly all of the money in the world! Owners of ?shares? using the rather simple ?rule of 72? would double their advantage every 24 years and in another century?s time would have 16 times as much as the skeptics who decided to skip class and play hooky from the stock market.
The legitimate question that market analysts, government forecasters, and pension consultants should answer is how that 6.6% real return can possibly be duplicated in the future given today?s initial conditions, which historically have never been more favorable for corporate profits. If labor and indeed government must demand some recompense for the four decade?s long downward tilting teeter-totter of wealth creation, and if GDP growth itself is slowing significantly due to deleveraging in a New Normal economy, then how can stocks appreciate at 6.6% real? They cannot, absent a productivity miracle that resembles Apple?s wizardry.
Got Bonds?
With long Treasuries currently yielding 2.55%, it is even more of a stretch to assume that long-term bonds ? and the bond market ? will replicate the performance of decades past.
The primary magic potion that policymakers have always applied in such a predicament is to inflate their way out of the corner. The easiest way to produce 7?8% yields for bonds over the next 30 years is to inflate them as quickly as possible to 7?8%!
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. drug czar says cocaine production in Colombia has declined by 25 percent in the last year.
Gil Kerlikowske (kur-lih-KOW'-skee), director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, says a U.S. government survey of drug production also shows that Colombian cocaine production has declined by 72 percent since 2001. He says the decline is largely the result of Plan Colombia, a program largely funded by the U.S. to help the Colombia government crack down on a left-wing insurgency and drug organizations.
Kerlikowske says a greater government presence around the country, focused eradication efforts and a law enforcement focus on drug operations have contributed to the production decline.
Colombia now ranks third, behind Peru and Bolivia, in production of pure cocaine.
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain slid deeper into recession in the second quarter as a tough new round of austerity to head off the budget crisis that threatens the euro took effect both on overall demand and the price consumers have to pay for goods.
The first official numbers on gross domestic product showed the economy shrank 0.4 percent from the previous quarter after contracting 0.3 percent in the first three months of the year. The economy was 1.0 percent smaller than a year earlier.
Consumer prices according to both Spanish and EU methodology rose 2.2 percent year-on-year, with the EU-harmonized increase above forecasts being due to medicine price hikes put in place by the government to save money and deflate the deficit.
Economists warned price hikes, and especially a 3-point rise in value-added tax due to come into effect in September, would distort consumer prices while the deepening recession reflected slower domestic demand.
That will further weaken the government's efforts to get the economy growing again - vital if it is to meet targets on reducing its budget shortfall and halting a market-inspired crisis in how it finances its debt.
"To properly follow Spain's economic reality, I would look at domestic service inflation, which is where we'll see stagnation and even deflationary pressures. Consumption remains very weak," economist at Madrid-based broker Intermoney Jose Carlos Diez said.
Spain slipped into the second recession since 2009 in the first quarter and is expected to continue to shrink until well into 2013 as consumers and businesses rein in spending and the euro zone debt crisis saps investor confidence.
Fears over the health of Spain's economy as it fights to reduce its public deficit has lifted funding costs to euro-era highs in recent weeks leading many to think an application for a full-bailout could soon become inevitable.
A full breakdown of the growth data will be published August 28, while the final price data will be available August 14.
(Reporting By Nigel Davies, writing by Paul Day; Editing by Julien Toyer and Patrick Graham)
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There are several sorts of surfboard tail shapes, each which might be utilized in selected surfing conditions simply because it has various consequences on the surfboard effectiveness. Below are three normal varieties of surfboard tail shapes used on most surfboards but there are many variations and different layouts in the marketplace, many of which perform very similar to each other.
-Squash tail or square tail: That is defiantly the most widespread surfboard tail design and style on the market, as it is a good all-rounder. The square tail surfboard mixes both rotate and generate, will allow the surfboard riders to keep very good manoeuvrability. Is a wonderful design for use in smaller to medium sized surf.
-Pin tail layout: The pin tail surfboard design is a type of design for big wave surfboards. It has a smaller tail surface area around the surfboard, which works inside various ways when riding a trend. It will allow the surfboard to rotate and keep traction within the wave, that is certainly perfect for massive wave surfing. You do not want a broader surface that a square longest tail surfboard provides, because can cause you to definitely slip out where by the smaller pin tail holds in snug with all the wave and does not move out. This can be a perfect surfboard for the barrelling, steeper situations.
-Take tail design: This particular surfboard tail style permits drive through your spins. It truely does work a lot like a block tail since it makes it possible for an increased surface in the direction of the tail with the surfboard. Each of the two items of the swallow tail act much like smaller pin tails, presenting the surf board that additional extender.
These are the basic three very popular surfboard tail styles you can get on many surfboards and they also supply you with a huge assortment and solution when acquiring a surfboard. For example lots of options within the surfboard you ought to remember to consider exactly what waves you is going to be driving and ways in which you will end up using the surf board, to achieve the optimum effectiveness from a surfboard. It is just a wise course of action to get a quiver of surfboards, which means you can certainly make choices of the kind of surfboard an individual experience based on the types of conditions within the surf. As an example you could have a huge wave surfboard using a pin tail style, then come with an all-rounder surf board for people scaled-down to channel days, with a rectangle or consume longest tail.
Oftentimes the surfboard tail design will determine exactly what type of fin technique you've on the surfboard. It is deemed an essential characteristic of your surfboard, when purchasing your upcoming surfboard you must contemplate what type of dunes you surf, this will assist assistance the results substantially water. Professional guidance could make the buying decision a lot more sensible, and help with having the best surf board for you.
About the Author: Like many capabilities utilized on a surfboard when you produce one slight alteration to the form feature, it possesses a great affect on the operation of the surfboard.
Losing weight and keeping it off is a difficult process; consequently, most overweight people are always looking for new ways to take weight off. The Cabbage Soup diet plan is known to many people as a popular ?fad diet? that offers a quick way to lose excess weight, but does it really work? The diet is explained here, along with the keys to success for permanent weight loss.
The Cabbage Soup diet calls for, as the name suggests, eating cabbage soup for seven days. During this period, dieters only consume low calorie cabbage soup and a few other specific foods for weight loss. The diet program is not a lifestyle altering plan like many popular diet plans, and requires no long-term lifestyle changes beyond the week-long duration of the diet regimen.
There are several versions of the recipe for cabbage soup. Most contain seasonings, cabbage and other vegetables, such as onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, celery, and tomatoes. Some people like to add spicy seasonings to improve the taste of the soup. Other dieters monitoring their sodium intake want to use a reduced-sodium version of the recipe. Many current versions of the diet incorporate sources of protein, such as protein shakes and tofu to make the diet more balanced.
Besides the soup, there are very specific rules for what other foods are permitted on each day of the diet. As a general guideline, dieters can eat cabbage soup every day, along with fruit on day one, vegetables on day two, vegetables and fruit on day three, skim milk and bananas on the fourth day, beef and tomatoes on the fifth day, beef and vegetables on day six, and vegetables, fruit juice, and brown rice on the seventh, final day. Dieters then switch back to normal eating habits, hopefully now weighing a few pounds less.
Does the Cabbage Soup diet truly offer a fast way to lose weight? Although no formal scientific research has examined the diet conclusively, people who have used the weight loss diet report mixed results. For several dieters, the program resulted in weight loss (up to ten pounds), but only for a limited time, as the weight gradually returned as the individual returned to normal eating habits. Some dieters report lack of focus, light-headedness, and fatigue while following the diet. Other dieters felt no effects whatsoever, experiencing no illness, but no weight loss either.
The Cabbage Soup diet program is only one of many popular diets that dieters can use. However, because this plan may not be best for all, for many dieters it just adds to the frustration of not being able to lose weight. A better approach to losing weight does not depend on gimmicks or temporary plans. It takes consistent efforts and lifestyle changes to achieve permanent weight loss. This means eating healthy and getting plenty of physical activity.
Unfortunately, many of us fight to maintain the habits necessary to take weight off. Lots of dieters cannot seem with their weight because of their strong cravings, uncontrollable appetites or eating habits, or a simple lack of motivation. hypnosis therapy is effective for working through these obstacles and supplying the motivation needed for natural weight loss.
Among the reasons weight loss hypnosis is excellent as a tool for weight loss is because weight loss hypnosis may be used for controlling the appetite. A great number of overweight people have out-of-control appetites because have a habit of ?emotional eating? which gives them an unconscious urge to eat and eat even when they aren?t actually hungry. weight loss hypnosis helps re-program the unconscious mind to extinguish the drive to eat too much, resulting in appetite control without the use of pills.
Another way hypnosis works to make you take weight off is by reducing the anxious thoughts that give you the urge to overeat and undermine your motivation to stay on an exercise plan. The moment you start to have negative thoughts, hypnosis taps into your unconscious mind to automatically think positively instead, which allows you to become more relaxed.
Your motivation to exercise can be dramatically enhanced through hypnotherapy and NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming). First, you recognize what the most significant aspects of your life are. Then you use NLP techniques to guide you into believing that the things that mean the most to you will become enhanced if you exercise, or placed at risk if you fail to do so. Thus, it becomes easy to stay motivated to get physically fit and stay physically fit.
Everyone can be able to learn hypnosis and NLP techniques from a good weight loss hypnosis CD program. The techniques in hypnotherapy CDs utilize the power of the unconscious mind to help dieters stop their cravings. By putting a stop to urges and cravings, the appetite is suppressed or eliminated. Hypnotherapy techniques can also assist you in getting motivated to get physically active and shed pounds.
By reprogramming your unconscious mind, hypnosis makes weight loss easy. It is a superb tool to keep you motivated and naturally committed healthy habits. So before taking on a new fad diet, think about a healthier approach to weight loss through exercise, eating right, keeping stress-free, and using hypnosis to make it happen.
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Madagascar's ousted leader Marc Ravalomanana Saturday denounced the expulsion of his wife hours after she had returned home as proof that his rival was not serious about peace efforts.
The former president and his wife have repeatedly tried and failed to enter the country after he was toppled in 2009. Lalao Ravalomanana returned to the island on Friday but was forced by authorities to go on to Thailand.
"Once again the regime in Madagascar has proven that it cannot be trusted," Ravalomanana said of his rival Andry Rajoelina, the current ruler who took power with army backing three years ago.
The two held talks this week.
Rajoelina's office described the attempt by Ravalomanana's wife to return, as "provocative" and in "flagrant violation of the resolutions taken at the face-to-face talks held in Seychelles."
But Ravalomanana fired back, saying: "I am appalled by the treatment of my family. My wife is not involved in politics."
He insisted that Lalao Ravalomanana sought only to visit her 82-year-old mother.
"Once again, Mr Rajoelina has broken his word and shown that he is not trustworthy. He will continue to abuse anybody for his own ends and this only sets back attempts to resolve the conflict in Madagascar peacefully," the ousted leader said.
The first direct talks between the two in Seychelles failed to agree on conditions for Ravalomanana's eventual return, one of the major hurdles in guiding Madagascar towards elections.
The two rivals are expected to meet again within three weeks, before the next summit of the Southern African Development Community, which is mediating in the crisis.
Nguyen Hung Cuong, deputy director of the Social Insurance Implementation Department under Viet Nam Social Insurance (VSI), speaks to the Government?s online portal about increasing cases of fraud.
Do you think the recent discovery of so many forgeries has started alarm bells ringing in the VSI?
During the process of handling unemployment insurance claims, staff in some VSI offices detect a certain number of forgeries. The claims are denied and referred to the police for investigation.
However, in late 2011 and early 2012, the number of violations has been rising and spreading, particularly in big cities and industrial parks in HCM City and the neighbouring provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai.
I think the situation has reached an alarming level, with some organisations and individuals abusing our social insurance policy to make a profit and destabilise production.
Could you elaborate about how the certificates are forged?
There are various ways to forge insurance certificates, including photocopying an original and changing the details, among others.
In some cases, the claimants bribe people such as doctors and pharmacists to provide them with false medical certificates.
In the worse case, a company was established with the sheer objective of defrauding the VSI. The company recruited pregnant women, and labour contracts were signed by both parties to make the women eligible for maternity insurance. Once their social insurance contributions were completed, the maternity money started rolling in and was split between the company and the women.
Does this sort of behaviour undermine the VSI policy?
A huge sum of the VSI money is lost in this way, as well as overheads for expenses such as staff salaries.
In addition, it affects the rights and benefits of people who participate in the VSI.
Such bad practices have negatively impacted on social law and order and the production stability of enterprises.
Some social insurance violations have recently been punished. What are your comments on that?
I can say that with efforts from the central and local governments, the situation has improved.
Social insurance departments in provinces and cities have co-ordinated with relevant agencies to investigate alleged cases and punish them.
In Binh Duong and Dong Nai, some 1,000 fake social insurance certificates were detected, and the culprits were ordered to return the money to the social insurance fund.
What measures are needed to protect the social insurance fund?
First of all, we need to investigate, detect and punish fraudulent behaviour, ranging from issuing false documents to forging certificates.
Second, employers must abide by insurance laws and uphold their responsibilities.
Provincial/city people?s committees should co-operate with relevant agencies to step up their state management role to make sure insurance payments go to the right people. ? VNS
Q: I?m a first time home buyer in rural Ontario, Canada. I don?t have a buyers agent yet. Went to an open house and I am VERY interested. The house has been on the market for 3, almost 4 months. It is vacant, the owners have relocated out of town. Also, the listing agent is the father of the owner (interesting?) My question is: should I get my own buyers agent? Or try to work out a deal with the selling agent? I?m not sure how commissions work. But I would think the selling agent is taking a low commission? I thought it might be best for both parties if a commission didn?t have to be paid to a second agent. Thoughts? Advice? Thank you so much! ?Dreamer, Ontario, Canada
A: y advice is to have your own agent representing you. In my opinion it is never a good idea for the listing agent, especially one who is related to the seller, TRY and represent you too.
You need someone on your side completely dedicated to you. In the long run you will have a lot less to worry about by having a professional agent working for you and you alone.
Find out who the top three agents are in your area, interview them (just a seller?s interview their prospective agents), and choose the one that best fits your style and needs. Then let them go to work FOR you.
The commission will probably be the same whether or not you have an agent. The seller pays the commission and it is part of the listing agreement. So the commission amount is already set.
Good luck! Jim Guido is a Realtor? with California Real Estate Internet Group in San Clemente. CA.
A: You SHOULD get your own agent to represent your best interests. First, you are a first-time home buyer and, as such, would be at a HUGE disadvantage when negotiating to buy the house. Second, the listing broker is the seller?s father. Would you really expect him to be impartial and treat you (or any stranger) the same as he would his son/daughter in a negotiation? The listing broker is almost certainly offering to pay a fee to a buyer?s agent, and that has already been considered in the asking price. You will not benefit if the seller or the listing broker do not have to pay a second agent. The smartest thing you can do is hire a buyer?s agent to represent your best interests. The worst thing you can do is trust the seller?s father/listing broker to treat you fairly. Phil Lunnon is a Realtor? with Lunnon Realty in Lakewood, CO.
A: You SHOULD get your own agent to represent your best interests. First, you are a first-time home buyer and, as such, would be at a HUGE disadvantage when negotiating to buy the house. Second, the listing broker is the seller?s father. Would you really expect him to be impartial and treat you (or any stranger) the same as he would his son/daughter in a negotiation? The listing broker is almost certainly offering to pay a fee to a buyer?s agent, and that has already been considered in the asking price. You will not benefit if the seller or the listing broker do not have to pay a second agent. The smartest thing you can do is hire a buyer?s agent to represent your best interests. The worst thing you can do is trust the seller?s father/listing broker to treat you fairly.
A: No it doesn?t work that way.The commission has already been agreed to by contact in the listing agreement and will be split between the listing agent and the buyer agent. The listing agent is bound by his fiduciary responsibilities to fully represent the owner of the property and to get the highest price possible for the owner. This puts you at a disadvantage right from the start. You will not get a better deal! You will likely pay more and be represented less?or not at all! Do yourself a favor and get a really good buyer agent. Dorene Slavitz is a Realtor? with The Real Estate Group in Culver City, CA and Torrance, CA.
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NEW YORK (AP) ? CNN chief Jim Walton said Friday he is quitting, saying the company needs new leadership at a time its flagship U.S. network is suffering through some of its poorest ratings ever.
Walton built the company into a profitable international news organization in his 10 years as president of CNN Worldwide, and said it is on track for record profits this year. But the U.S. network is the most visible part of the business and is now entrenched in third place behind rivals Fox News Channel and MSNBC in prime time.
He announced the decision in an email to staff members on Friday. He said he'll continue working until the end of the year during the company's search for a successor.
Walton said he's been talking to his boss, Turner Broadcasting Chairman Phil Kent, about leaving since the first few months of the year. CNN is owned by Time Warner.
"There's always pressure," he said. "I've been doing this a long time and CNN has had its ups and downs, like all companies have had ups and downs. I feel really strongly about a number of parts of this company. We're having a really strong year internationally and in mobile. It's clear there's a lot of spotlight on CNN's U.S. performance and it's reasonable that there is that spotlight."
CNN's U.S. network had its worst-ever ratings for a second quarter, down 40 percent for some of its prime-time shows. The decline was particularly notable in May, when CNN faced tough competition from broadcast networks during a slow news period and its ratings were compared to a year earlier, in the aftermath of the Osama bin Laden killing.
It hasn't improved appreciably since then, with veteran newsman Wolf Blitzer often losing in the ratings to broadcast novice Al Sharpton on MSNBC. Piers Morgan's show has been a bright spot this month.
The network was also embarrassed by initially reporting incorrectly the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on President Obama's health care law, then taking longer to correct itself than Fox, which made a similar error.
CNN's ratings traditionally fluctuate based on the intensity of the news. Fox and MSNBC have insulated themselves from that problem somewhat through its partisan prime-time hosts. Walton has resisted this approach, believing CNN's strength lies in being a nonpartisan news source and the company's reputation would be damaged worldwide if the U.S. network changed.
Walton said he doesn't expect that to change after he leaves.
"We kind of know who we are and our corporate colleagues know who we are and there has always been great support internally that we're going to be a news organization," he said.
At CNN, "we want to be accurate above all else, we want to be timely ? first if possible ? we want to actually go to where the news is, not just subscribe to some agency's news feed and talk about it. We want to report the news from multiple sides, all sides, and without bias."
Walton, 54, began working at CNN in 1981 shortly after it started. His first job involved ripping paper scripts off wire machines and operating the TelePrompter for news anchors.
Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner chairman and CEO, said Walton took over an underperforming company in 2003 and tripled earnings, delivering an annual growth of 15 percent. Roughly half of the company's earnings come through subscription fees from cable and satellite companies, and they have been growing steadily worldwide.
"Jim has been instrumental in growing the business into the financial powerhouse it has become, while establishing the brand as the worldwide leader for television news," Bewkes said. "I respect him personally and professionally and support the decision he and Phil Kent have reached."
Kent said Walton has a track record of great judgment when it matters most. He "challenged the organization to think bigger, reach further, do better," he said.
"I think this company needs some new thinking," Walton said. "I've been doing this job I'm in now for 10 years and I'm ready for a change."
MIAMI?? A New York man agreed Tuesday to pay a $6,500 fine to settle a long-running dispute with the U.S. Treasury Department over a trip he made to Cuba as an unauthorized tourist 14 years ago.
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Zachary Sanders, now 38, said he was 23 and had been living and teaching English in Mexico when he decided to go to Cuba for a couple of weeks in 1998.
"I wanted to learn about how a socialist country worked in practice," Sanders said in an interview. "I had no illusions. ... I'm not like some diehard supporter of the (Cuban) government or anything like that."
Varying enforcement of restrictions The United States has long restricted U.S. travel to Cuba as part of a 50-year-old trade embargo aimed at punishing Cuba's communist government. The actual restrictions and the degree of enforcement have varied with different U.S. administrations and with the evolving state of U.S.-Cuba relations.
Sanders did not obtain the required U.S. Treasury license to visit Cuba and a U.S. Customs agent became suspicious when Sanders returned to the United States through the Bahamas without declaring that he had been to Cuba. The agent also seized an undeclared box of Cuban cigars from Sanders' luggage.
Two years later, Sanders received a letter from the Treasury Department asking for details of his expenditures in Cuba. He said he was scared, had lost the receipts and missed the deadline to return the form.
Photos: The new Cuba (on this page)
Another two years went by and the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) reviewed his case during a Bush administration crackdown on travel to Cuba, notifying Sanders of its intent to fine him for failing to return the form. In 2008, an administrative law judge fined him $1,000.
Both sides appealed, and on the final business day of the Bush administration in January 2009, a Treasury administrator raised the fine to $9,000. He reasoned that the original fine was too low to discourage people from ignoring OFAC forms.
Sanders had a constitutional right not to provide incriminating evidence against himself, said his lawyer, Shane Kadidal of the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Cuban dissident and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Paya dies in crash
Now a lawyer representing immigrants By the time the fine was issued, Sanders had successfully battled cancer, completed law school and been admitted to law practice in New York, where he is a sole practitioner who mainly represents poor immigrants.
He also passed the bar exam in New Jersey, but was denied admission to that state's bar because he acknowledged that he had gone to Cuba knowing it was illegal.
Sanders sued OFAC, the Treasury Department and the Justice Department in federal court in 2009, appealing the fine as arbitrary and capricious. He lost and then turned to the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York, where Tuesday's settlement agreement was filed.
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'An ideological traveler' Kadidal said Sanders' fine was still far greater than most Americans pay for violating the travel ban, and suggested he had been singled out because he was "an ideological traveler."
Civil penalties for tourist travel to Cuba can range up to $7,500 for the first trip and $10,000 for subsequent trips.
OFAC resolved more than 200 such cases for "a standard $1,000 settlement" from 2001 to 2004, Kadidal said, and dismissed many others with no fine at all.
Under the Obama administration, which has relaxed restrictions on travel to Cuba, OFAC has generally pursued cases against financial institutions and manufacturers that violate the embargo, rather than individual travelers.
The case is Sanders vs. Szuben, Case No. 12-601 cv in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
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Recycling and repurposing what we have is not only a smart economical move, it?s green and good for the environment. Most of the time it?s plastic and paper that we recycle, but if you open up your refrigerator you?ll find plenty in there that can be used for another meal. This is the ultimate in recycling; taking leftovers and giving them new life in the form of a meal makeover.
We are all guilty of throwing away food from time to time. But honestly, we can do better than throwing away half our leftovers.
How?
First, be aware of the food you have. Maybe keep a little magnetized dry erase board on the refrigerator door so you can jot down the leftovers that you?ve put in it through the week (don?t forget to date them, too).Second, don?t let leftovers exist beyond the 4 day mark. At that point they?re primed for cooties! And the third point of course, is to actually eat your leftovers.
Sometimes ample leftovers put you in the place of dread?no one wants to eat the same meal three days in a row. However, I?ve purposefully cooked ?extra? just to get the leftovers. This is my ?go to? guide for leftover proteins:
1) Leftover roast chicken, roast beef or pork? Shred it up and make it into a burrito (just add some canned black beans and salsa).
2) Grilled meat, chicken or fish? Make it into a main course salad, repurpose it as a sandwich or use it as your protein source for a new pasta dish.
Awareness empowers; make a plan for all your food, leaving no morsel wasted!
Want to stretch one pathetic chicken into 3 meals? Check out my Rubber Chicken!
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Want to join in on the fun? Click here to get started Losing it With Leanne!
A free event promoting health and fitness to a generation of children facing childhood obesity ? a serious health issue in the Ohio community and throughout the United States
The event begins at 9:30 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m. The Challenge will take place at the French Field House on the campus of The Ohio State University. For the past ten years, ASAS-OH has hosted a fitness centered challenge that has served more than 150,000 economically disadvantaged youth.
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In an effort to further its passion in aiding the underserved and most at risk, ASAS-OH has decided to increase its outreach and tackle childhood obesity head on through fitness, education and awareness.
?We are absolutely thrilled to be hosting the 2012 Live Fit Challenge,? said Aslyne Rodriguez, Co-Executive Director: Development & Community Relations for ASAS-OH. ?Recent data from Nationwide Children?s Hospital indicates 1 in 3 kids will have Type 2 Diabetes in his or her lifetime due to the rising health issue of childhood obesity.?
ASAS-OH will challenge each All-Star to learn about healthy eating habits and to experience the sports and enrichment clinics offered throughout the day. Complete with live entertainment, lunch and refreshments, visits from local politicians and professional athletes, the Live Fit participants will be inspired and empowered to lead their generation into a healthier future.
?We are looking forward to the opportunity to impact and educate an audience of over 1,000 intelligent and willing children; and we are honored by the endorsement of First lady Michelle Obama?s Let?s Move Campaign,? said Rodriguez. ?We know that our mission and vision for the day has been reviewed and approved by one of the nation?s leading health and fitness campaigns and we are very proud to be part of this great movement. We simply believe that we can and will help lead the children of Ohio to new levels of health and fitness.?
After-School All-Stars was founded in 1992, and has grown to serve over 80,000 disadvantaged children in 453 schools, through twelve different chapters across the country.
After-School All-Stars Ohio was established in 2000, and serves over 2,000 students each year in partnership with Ohio Schools, Columbus Recreation and Parks and other community partners.
The mission of After-School All-Stars is to provide quality, comprehensive after-school programs that keep children safe and help them succeed in school and in life.
For more information, visit www.asascolumbus.org or call 614-257-1678.
Bless Their Hearts Mom: Product Review and Giveaway: Julep Nail Polish
Product Review and Giveaway: Julep Nail Polish
Have you heard about Julep Nail Vernis (Nail Color)?
I hadn't until I head they were looking for reviewers to be part of their VIP Program. After reading about the company i was THRILLED to be able to review their products, as they are so representative of the type of company that espouses the term 'girlpower"! Hear from their website:
"Julep was created as a tribute to the girlfriends who tell it like it is.?Who push us to take a break from the bob and try something a little more daring with our hair.Who insist that we have a little fun with our fashion and refuse to let us settle for ordinary.?We believe that?nail color is at the intersection of beauty and fashion. It allows grown-up women to play, to step out of their comfort zone a little bit and experiment with color and style. It helps to unleash the inner artist in all of us.
Our nail colors are named for women who inspire us?women who are strong and smart and funny and gorgeous and different.?Because everything we do as a company is grounded in the power of women emboldening other women to be their most vital, beautiful, confident and happy?and to have a lot of fun along the way.We?donate $1 from the sale of every Julep Nail Vernis to organizations that empower women, likeGirl Up, The White Ribbon Alliance and The Heart Truth, This month's charity is SOPHIE'S VOICE FOUNDATION is a charitable organization supporting family outreach programs, prenatal education and surgical studies for children and adults with Spina Bifida."
Wow, right?
The fun starts from the moment you take?their Style Maven Quiz to see where your style is on their scale. I toe the line between Classic with a Twist and Boho Glam. if you know me, you know that's pretty right on! If you join their Julep Maven Club, you pay only $19 for $40 worth of Nail Vernis and their excellent Pedi Creme, delivered to your house every month. if you've bought any decent nail polish in the past year, you know $19 for TWO polishes is a great buy! And if you're like me and recently went through all your polishes and got rid of the OLD ones, it's a great price to restock your supply with modern and great colors! And you not only get new releases, they also give you 20% off any of their other products- woo hoo!
i was sent a Maven style box to review,consisting of their Pedi Creme and 2 nail vernis, in my style colors.
The Pedi Creme? AMAZING! It not only has a yummy cucumber smell, it exfoliates with alpha hydroxy acids, it hydrates with Shea butter and coconut oil. Plus it has vitamin E. After only 2 nightly uses, i could see noticable results! And I've been having problems with my cuticles, so I cheated and put some on them too. Guess what? They softened right on up and were easy to handle. YEAH!
But then you open the Nail Vernis (color) and are even MORE astounded! they have such a depth to them, that you really only need ONE coat! AND I have never had polish dry SO quickly! Seriously 5 minutes, one coat and they are ready to go DRY (I use a quick dry base, and this is without a top coat)! I was sent Rose and
Here is what?Rose (a?watermelon red creme) looked like in the quickest pedicure ever- aka did nails, put on shoes and ran out door to church! (So please excuse the slight smudge on the big nail). I love that the color works with my skin tone perfectly, but is a shade I normally would not wear!
But my favorite was the other shade I was sent: Robin!?But then I've been wearing a light turquoise green, similar to their Piper color, ?all Summer, so it stands to reason, as this is a darker shade. Check it out (on right)! It looks good with my skin tone and really makes my short nails pop (no idea WHY I keep breaking them lately, but I can't seem to grow them out any more than what they are now).
Now for the update on how well they wear. I had a picture of what my nails looked like, after the first manicure, after 5 days, but I hadn't sent them to my computer, prior to my phone getting ran over (yeah I know, AFTER I did the cell phone post, Murphy's Law right? LOL), so you're just gonna have to trust me when i say they held up pretty well without any top coat, only chipping on the end edges. in fact, it looked like I had a French manicure, as they chipped perfectly across the nail line. It was very weird!
I love that when you go to their Nail Vernis Products on their website, you can select color choices by skin tone, season, collection, as seen magazines/on tv and by selecting a color on their rainbow bar (which then gives you all available colors in that hue)! SO simple!?
Julep want everyone to try their great product line and offering ALL BTHM readers a promo code for your readers to receive a discounted introductory box (similar to the box you will review) for ONLY a PENNY. Yes, you heard me right. A PENNY. Just use the?Promo code?MAVENINTRO! ?So what are you waiting for? GO take the quiz and get your discounted box!?
And one LUCKY BTHM reader will win a free Maven box of their own to try out! Enter below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure / Disclaimer:? I received this kit free of charge, from Julep, aspart of the VIP Blogger Program, for review purposes. No other?compensation, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all reviews/thoughts are my own.
Many readers of this blog may be interested in an article with the above title that appeared on line and in The Boston Globe yesterday. (It is a little irritating to read since it is spread over three pages and interrupted to too many ads.)
When it came time to choose my career path, I was very indecisive. One thing I did know, however, was that I did not want to have to sit behind a desk all day. I wanted something where I could be out and about, meeting new people and helping them in some way. This led me to decide on pursuing a career in HVAC, or heating ventilation and air conditioning. After obtaining my degree, I was lucky enough to find employment with a Tampa, FL air conditioning company.
Every day on the job brings something different. No maintenance run is exactly the same, which is just what I like. The summer months are understandably busier than during the winter but to be honest there is no real down time. All ?home and business owners should have their heating and cooling system serviced at least every six months, more if it is for a larger structure. I enjoy the satisfaction I get when the owner thanks me for a job well done. A clean unit is important because it will improve the air quality in the home which will, in turn, help with any respiratory issues there may be. Another reason I chose this path is that I would eventually like to run my own business. I?m gaining valuable experience by being an HVAC technician. By knowing all aspects of what the job entails, I will have the knowledge needed to ensure my business is successful. In warmer climates like Tampa, FL, it is important that the air conditioning companies are able to meet the demands of the high temperatures and humidity. It is fulfilling to me that I can go to a customer?s home and improve their living conditions by fixing their air conditioning unit.
If this sounds like a job that you would be interested in, the experts at JDK would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
There are many different ways of looking at home improvement projects ? for many it?s a weekend hobby, whereas for others it can become something of an obsession! In the UK in particular, home improvement has become a national obsession, as evidenced by the number of DIY and ?property? related programs on the daily TV schedule! Of course if you are new to DIY its really important to take things one step at a time, and not to overstretch yourself. In this short article I?m going to share a few tips to help you along the way. Tags: | found | as an example |
FILE - In this July 22, 2011 file photo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch enters the News Corp. building, in New York. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has resigned from a number of News Corp. subsidiary boards in Britain and the United States, a spokeswoman confirmed Saturday, July 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, File)
FILE - In this July 22, 2011 file photo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch enters the News Corp. building, in New York. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has resigned from a number of News Corp. subsidiary boards in Britain and the United States, a spokeswoman confirmed Saturday, July 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, File)
LONDON (AP) ? British police are investigating new tabloids in the country's growing phone hacking scandal, including the Trinity Mirror PLC newspaper group as well as the U.K.'s Express Newspapers, a senior Scotland Yard official said Monday. More than 100 new allegations of "data intrusion" also are being probed.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers' comments indicated that the scandal, which erupted last year at Rupert Murdoch's News of the World and has involved hundreds of victims, could end up burning the now-defunct tabloid's U.K. competitors as well.
Akers gave as an example payments of tens of thousands of pounds (dollars) allegedly made to the same prison officer by all three newspaper groups.
"Our assessment is that there are reasonable grounds to suspect offenses have been committed and that the majority of these stories reveal very limited material of genuine public interest," Akers told a judge-led inquiry into media ethics.
Akers also said her force was combing through a mountain of electronic information to find evidence for more than 100 claims of what she called "data intrusion" ? a category which includes computer hacking and improper access to medical records.
In what might be a newly discovered tabloid espionage technique, she said that police had seen at least two cases in which detectives had discovered data which "appears to come from stolen mobile telephones."
Police were examining "whether these are just isolated incidents or just the tip of the iceberg," Akers said.
The phone hacking scandal erupted last July after it emerged that journalists at the News of the World routinely eavesdropped on cell phones' voicemail boxes in order to score scoops. The probe has since grown to take in allegations of computer hacking and bribe-paying across the British media ? and beyond.
Police have been widely criticized for their failure to come to grips with the hacking issue when it first emerged nearly seven years ago. Police repeatedly ignored crucial leads and dismissed new evidence, claiming that phone hacking was a limited practice affecting only a handful of people.
On Thursday, Akers gave the force's most up-to-date accounting yet, telling the inquiry that more than 702 people "are likely to be victims."
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A free event promoting health and fitness to a generation of children facing childhood obesity ? a serious health issue in the Ohio community and throughout the United States
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