Lawyers, CEOs boosted Obama's Sept. donations

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawyers-ceos-boosted-obamas-sept-donations-013650041--election.html

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The Growth of Misogyny and the Erosion of Women's Rights ? Social ...

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars Loading ...?Loading ... Social Justice Solutions - woman's rights

Social Justice Solutions ? woman?s rights

Lately,?I?ve?been processing troubling thoughts on the growth of misogyny in this country and many parts of the world. What does it mean for children growing up in such a society and what is the impact on the future of human relations and the rights of women? How is this happening, why now, and why are we not addressing it openly and definitively?

Girls are growing up in world that prizes physical attractiveness above all else and belittles female achievement in everything from sports to business, to political and religious engagement. Females are largely and routinely defined by their looks and body parts, and as a society we have gone to great lengths and expense to meet some largely unrealistic ideal of beauty as evidenced by the explosion of cosmetic and augmentation surgery at younger and younger ages. Granted, this?isn?t?only a gender issue, but it affects women and girls at exponentially greater rates than men or boys. We are a society that is said to prize youth and beauty, but do we value it? Do we offer it a unique voice or equal protection under the law? Or does such gendered commodification reduce the voice of all women?

Comprising 51% of American society, women hold only 16% or so of the leadership positions in business and government. How is this possible when women have been a necessary part of the work force for well over half a century and a necessary part of the world since the beginning of time? In 2010 only 2.4% of the U.S. Fortune 500 chief executives were female. In the FTSE 500 the statistics are even worse?only 1.8% of its companies are led by women. In world rankings of women in government, The United States scores a deplorable 79 out of a listing of 139 countries, having 16.9% representation in the house of representative, and 17.0% in the senate. For a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, it is apparent not all of the people are equally represented or protected under the law.

Have women?s rights advanced? Yes, to a degree. We can now vote and own property in most of the world. But has it been three steps forward and two steps back? Women?s rights are being eroded openly and publicly yet that fact is disguised and deflected by arguments which compare apples to oranges. How many of us are aware that rapists have the same rights and privileges under the law as other fathers in most states in our nation? Even when the rape victim is a 14 year old girl! How many of us know that children are not legally able to consent to sex, but across this nation get placed in foster care and are incarcerated as juvenile delinquents, often as young as 11, when arrested for prostitution? Though in several states their legal status has come to be redefined to the that of victim of human trafficking, thanks to rights worker?s efforts, funding has not provided the necessary services and supports to ensure the proper care of these young victims making this a hollow victory for children?s rights and in the fight against human trafficking by providing no real aid, only lip service and paper protection. 90-95% of sex trade and human trafficking victims are female, half of whom are under the legal age of 18. Does the general public know or acknowledge that violent, openly misogynistic pornography is readily available and easily accessible to the average 11 year old with computer access? Or that cartoons, and reality?programming?use misogynistic depictions and language supportive of an already growing ?rape culture? in this country?

As noted in a previous post, rape is reported to be on the rise throughout the world, the easily understood concept of rape has been perverted through semantics making some ideas of rape more ?legitimate? than others, and in several states, in an alarming and seemingly little contested trend, women are forced to endure vaginal ultrasounds before abortions regardless of the conditions of pregnancy.

Silence is equivalent to acceptance and assent. We have all heard the phrase for evil to triumph, all is required is for good men to do nothing. What are our good men, and our good women doing?

I am not a particularly religious person, though I do observe the major holidays of my heritage. I think most traditional expectations of formal religions tend to be indoctrination into norms and values handed down through generations of men imposing what is in their best interests over the rights of women and these norms and expectations are perpetuated through what these institutions teach children. Women are not given equal standing in any formal religious tradition that I am aware of though they are equally capable and equipped. Women have continued to be placed in subservient positions by the men that lead these organizations and the myth that such a hierarchy is the natural order of things based on a higher power or purpose simply serves to justify men?s rights to make rules that govern women and keep them at a disadvantaged position in every manner from world affairs to family hierarchies more often than not. Our nation?s religious roots run deeply, and have much greater power than our founding fathers ever intended.

From a strict anthropological or sociological perspective I am not sure if a straight definition of sexual equality is entirely possible, but gender equality certainly should be in an advanced civil society. Women are equally educated, and have equal expectations regarding being productive wage earners, yet laws are enacted that hobble women and limit their ability to benefit as fully from, or participate as fully in our society as men.
I worry about what it means for boys as well; boys exposed early and repeatedly to a ?double standard? and a ?rape culture? and socialized in societies that favor the rights of males above the rights of females. In my home, and my circle, I teach equality and tell those I love that they can achieve anything if they work at it and believe in themselves. But is that true? Can they really believe in the absoluteness of their human rights and potential when society?s message tells them their accomplishments mean less than their physical attributes, or their gender dictates what they can and should aspire to?

At this point in time equality is an illusion. Our?hierarchical?society is far from promoting genuine equality in many ways. Equal pay for equal work is an illusion. Non-discriminatory hiring practices are an illusion. Discrimination is real. Sexism is real. The glass ceiling is real. The growth of openly accepted misogynistic messages in our culture in everything from music, to television?programming? to talk show hosts public statements, and elected officials gender-biased views on the legitimacy of rape, contraception, pregnancy and abortion is too real and colors the world of those growing up in it.
Is this the legacy we want to leave this and future generations? Those of us with daughters, how should we respond and prepare our girls for the possibility that they may, statistically, be sexually abused or raped at some point in their lives as 1 in 5?women are? And those of with sons, how do we impart the message to value women as equals when the culture they live in teaches them a very different message through a variety of avenues? I hope what I say makes a difference in the lives of those I love, but my bigger hope is that starting a hard and uncomfortable dialog can begin to change a mindset that does not equally support, value, or respect half of the world?s population.

Source: http://www.socialjusticesolutions.org/2012/10/20/the-growth-of-misogyny-and-the-erosion-of-womens-rights/

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Obama chides the GOP: Help homeowners

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-weekly-address-urging-gop-lawmakers-help-homeowners-100200221--abc-news-politics.html

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Finance, Bookkeeping, Accounting for a Webhosting Business ...

  • Project ID:

    2582764
  • Project Type:

    Hourly
  • Hours of work:

    Unspecified
  • Project Duration:

    Unspecified

Project Description:

Hello everyone,

================= PLEASE READ THE COMPLETE PROJECT FIRST AND DO NOT BID IF YOU DON'T HAVE =================
================= GOOD EXPERIENCE IN FINANCE WITH HIGH REPUTATION IN FREELANCER =================

The project is about a webhosting company.

***** The brief explanation of our finance is that none of our incomes and costs numbers
would match to each other at the end of the month.

***** The invoices that we should pay monthly to the vendor aren't match with our income
from the sales that we had in that months.

***** Profit and loss in this company is not clear and there is no any correct numbers for everything
Our financial aspects must be organized totally.

***** We should make everything clear to discuss with our vendor to convince them that they have done many thing
incorrect in numbers and because of those mistakes our numbers are like this and are not match.
"We believe that the vendors don't make their promiss in dicount and other things in finance."

There are three other important points in our business:

1- We pay our invoices as postpaid (The July invoice will be pid at the end of July)
2- But we receive the money prepaid from the clients .
3- Consider that we have been using 3 or 4 Payment Gateway for the online
payments. (Paypal, Moneybookers, Alertpay and recently direct Credit Card)

********** At the end we need someone who can help us professionally with every thing
in numbers, costs, incomes, cash flow or any other financial aspects to solve our complete
financial problems.

********** Some part of this mess should be organised before end of the October which is the date for our
invoice payment.

Skills required:

Source: http://www.freelancer.com/projects/Accounting-Excel/Finance-Bookkeeping-Accounting-for.html

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Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li returns to insurance with $2.1 billion ING deal

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong businessman Richard Li, the younger son of Asia's richest man, is buying ING's Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand insurance units for $2.14 billion in cash, bringing the Dutch financial services company a step closer to paying off its state bailout.

Li's bid, through unlisted Pacific Century Group, marks his return to an industry he exited in 2007 and would help expand his business empire, which is now made up of telecoms, media and funds management.

He is paying 24.3 times estimated 2012 earnings for the three units. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013, according to a statement from ING.

"What we really want to do is to expand the business regionally," Li, 45, told Reuters, walking by himself from the Citibank office tower toward downtown Hong Kong on Friday.

He previously owned a Hong Kong life insurance company, called Pacific Century Insurance (PCI), which he sold to Dutch and Belgian financial services firm Fortis in 2007.

Li said that when he invested in PCI, the business plan was very narrowly aimed at the Hong Kong market. "And then, after a while, we realized that this is a good business," Li said, referring to the overall insurance sector.

A source familiar with the sale process said that Li is interested in other insurance acquisitions and distribution agreements in Asia-Pacific.

Li's father, billionaire Li Ka-shing, is a legendary businessman and a rags-to-riches property tycoon. The family's business empire spans property, ports, power, water, supermarkets, drug stores and is spread across 52 countries.

In May Li Ka-shing named elder son Victor Li his formal successor but also pledged to continue to back the younger son's ventures.

Richard Li did not say how he plans to fund the acquisition but bankers are already betting he will participate in other insurance deals in the region.

"I will call him on every single sell-side I run," one Hong Kong-based M&A banker said.

DIVESTMENT PLAN ALTERED

The timing of Richard Li's comeback plans to the insurance business coincided with ING's need to shed assets to repay the 10 billion euro ($13.1 billion) state bailout it received during the 2008 financial crisis.

Last week, ING announced the sale of its Malaysian insurance business to AIA Group Ltd for $1.73 billion in cash, helping it to strike its first deal in a nine-month drive to sell its Asian insurance and investment management assets.

AIA paid 14.3 times 2011 earnings for the Malaysian business. Insurers in Asia-Pacific on average trade at a 12-month forward multiple of 15.9 times, according to Thomson Reuters data.

With the latest deal, ING would be raising a total of $3.87 billion so far from its Asia exit plan, with the divestment of its much bigger Japan and South Korean operations still pending.

"It seems to be going well," Cor Kluis, an analyst at Rabobank, said on Thursday when Reuters reported the news of Li's purchase based on sources.

Kluis said he had expected the Hong Kong and Thai businesses to be sold for about 1.4 billion euros ($1.84 billion) and for the Asian insurance and investment assets to raise 6.1 billion euros in total.

Negotiations to sell ING's Japan and South Korean operations have been dragging on and it was not immediately clear when the sale of those two units would be announced.

Li has also bid for part of the Japan business though it was not clear if he was still interested in that. ING's South Korea unit is expected to be sold to KB Financial Group , sources previously told Reuters.

ING launched the sale of its Asian insurance and asset management operations in March and had planned to find a single buyer for the insurance units, raising more than $7 billion.

With no single suitor emerging, the Dutch firm decided to break up the auction along different geographies.

ING shares were down 0.6 percent in Friday morning trade in a flat Amsterdam market . The insurer's shares are up 27 percent this year.

KEY LIEUTENANTS

Li was a surprise bidder for ING's insurance operations, which had attracted interest from global insurers, including Metlife Inc and Manulife Financial Corp .

His purchase of the assets would shake up the sector less than if they had gone to another insurer.

"Richard Li coming in and doing this doesn't really change the market because there's no consolidation. It's just a new owner for the ING assets," Barclays Asia insurance analyst Mark Kellock said before the official confirmation of the deal.

Li has two key lieutenants advising him on his insurance and financial services business - Martina Chung Kit Hung, a former AIA employee, and Alvin Chooi, an ex-Temasek Holdings insurance specialist - separate sources told Reuters.

The purchase would give Li access to ING's 270,000 customers and 1,600 tied agents in Hong Kong and Macau, and its 300,000 customers and 4,000 tied agents in Thailand.

Li, who runs phone, pay-television and Internet company PCCW Ltd , also hired HSBC to advise on the deal.

ING hired Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan to advise on the divestment.

(Additional reporting by Sara Webb in Amsterdam and Michael Flaherty in Hong Kong; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hong-kong-tycoon-richard-li-returns-insurance-2-062332543--finance.html

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How to Respond to Legal Threats with Cute Animals

How to Respond to Legal Threats with Cute AnimalsI registered designskunkworks.com, thinking it would be a good name for an Internet product company, not realizing that Skunkworks was a real, trademarked facility run by Lockheed Martin?or that you can now threaten to sue people just for registering a domain name.

I've long been a fan of David Thorne's hilarious email exchanges on 27b/6 and wondered if the technique could be put to use in a real word scenario. Big companies don't do surreal. So when I received a nasty takedown letter from Lockheed Martin's lawyers, I sent them a picture of a kitten.

Dear *****,

I'm happy to transfer this domain, since for ethical reasons I do not wish to be associated with Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of cluster bombs and weapons of mass destruction, or any of the people such as yourselves who represent them in such a harassing manner.

The domain was bought in good faith that it was not a trademark violation, since skunkworks is a commonly used term. I do not host this domain and any monies being made from it are by the domain registrar, whom you can contact separately. Since I have no idea how to assign a domain please send detailed instructions.

Here is a picture of an 8 week old kitten taken by Sasan Geranmehr to take your mind off things How to Respond to Legal Threats with Cute Animals

Regards
David

__________________________________

Dear Mr. Galbraith:

Thank you for your cooperation. In order to transfer the domain name to Lockheed Martin, we will need you to do the following:

(1) Contact your registrar, Domain.com, and request that the domain name be unlocked;

(2) Also request that Domain.com provide you with an authorization code to transfer the domain name (this may not be available for 60 days following the registration of the domain name);

(3) Once you obtain the authorization code, please forward it to my e-mail address as well as to **************@******.com;

(4) As the administrative contact for the domain name, you will then receive an e-mail from Corporation Service Company (i.e., ****************@*******.com) asking that you approve the transfer of the domain name to Lockheed Martin Corporation. Please reply to that e-mail stating "I agree" to the domain name transfer.

We look forward to receiving the transfer authorization code.

Sincerely,

**********

__________________________________

Hi *****,

I was a bit disappointed that you didn't thank me for the nice picture of the kitten I sent you.

I thought it was a kind gesture since, after having registered a domain that I quite reasonably believed was merely a concatenation of commonly used English words, I was wrongly, distressingly and somewhat unbelievably accused of attempting to harm the business and reputation of a colossal arms manufacturer. I was also incorrectly accused of attempting to make money from this, when simple due diligence would have shown this to be false.

I'm further distressed since having done a Google search for Lockheed Martin to see if you were in fact acting for them or this was just some kind of weird practical joke, there were some really gruesome images of people with no eyes and disfiguring wounds under the title ?Lockheed Martin Cluster Bomb victim'. I need to see some pleasant and reassuring pictures of cute animals to remove these horrible images which have permeated my subconscious.

So here's the deal. I'm out of pocket $9.99 for the domain you want me to give to you and doing this transfer to gift it to you is a considerable hassle vs letting the domain lapse, as is, without me ever using it (I have cancelled automatic annual renewals and will never host any website there), which I agree to do unconditionally. I also doubt I would win a fight against someone with nuclear weapons with my Swiss Army Knife.

If you send me a link to a picture of a really cute puppy, I'll transfer the domain to you.

Best Regards

David

__________________________________

Dear Mr. Galbraith:

We appreciate your cooperation. Our client is willing to reimburse your costs for registration of the domain name if you can provide us with proof of same (e.g., receipt, invoice, etc.). We will also need you to complete the attached W9 form to process any reimbursement costs. Thank you.

Sincerely,

************

__________________________________

Hi *****,

Sorry for the delay, I was in London, which would have been nice had it not rained cats and dogs.

Speaking of which, since the costs of me providing you with what you need to process the $9.99 reimbursement you offer would exceed the amount offered, and since, without doubt, the costs for your client to process this would also exceed the amount. Further, since the costs for yourself to organize this reimbursement would also certainly exceed this, it would be both a waste of money for all parties concerned and merely a symbolic gesture.

I am sure we agree on not wasting money and I am happy that you are interested in a symbolic gesture. The picture of a puppy will be much cheaper and fill me with the joy that money simply cannot buy. It will more that recompense for the tedium of following the steps your client would like, beyond merely not doing anything with the domain DesignSkunkworks.com

I look forward to receiving a wonderful picture of a puppy (as long as it isn't a Chihuahua, or any other dog that is smaller than a domestic cat when fully grown) after which I will gladly go through the detailed instructions your client would ideally like.

Best Regards

David

__________________________________

Hi *****,

I didn't receive a response from my last email of July 24th, with the
suggestion of a settlement using puppy pictures rather than cash. I
thought I might, since your first letter contained all sorts of
terrifying crypto-intimidatory legalese like I imagine you get when
you haven't returned a library book for 36 years in a Kafka novel,
demanding "steps" and "written assurances" etc. with a deadline of
"August 6th, 2012?.

It's now September and I've received less than one puppy image.

I understand that puppy picture payment must be a more demanding
logistical problem, due to its unorthodox nature, for a corporation
like Lockheed Martin in comparison with Byzantine legal procedure or,
indeed, the manufacture of thermonuclear devices. I can comprehend
that, it's no doubt a serious business and gravitas is important

Gravitas, isn't important to me, however. I genuinely believe the
world would be a better place if eminently solvable legal disputes
were resolved by the ludicrous ritual exchange of somewhat cloyingly
saccharine pictures that nevertheless made people whose personality
has been subsumed by institutional groupthink melt like grannies
huddled round a new born.

I've invented a new term for this, Skunk Puppying.

Accordingly, if I haven't heard from you by September 17th 2012, I'll
assume that you are taking this matter no further and I'll have to get
a copyright free or Creative Commons (CC BY-SA) puppy pic, elsewhere.

All the best

David

I thought it would be good to to a Skunkpuppy logo for other people to use when skunkpuppying. If you want to reward people who send you nasty letters with pictures of cute animals, you would be free to use this under a Creative Commons license.

I was thinking something along the lines of a cartoon dog wearing a superhero outfit with his fist in the air.

David Galbraith is a designer and co-founder of several Internet companies including Yelp. He used to be an architect, working for Norman Foster. He's designed of all sorts of things from skyscrapers to software applications, but specializes in designing the obvious. He created the visual bookmark concept behind Pinterest, the one-line bios used by Twitter and Facebook, and co-created RSS.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5953224/how-to-respond-to-legal-threats-with-cute-animals

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Highlights: Comments before EU leaders' summit

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU leaders meet on Thursday at a summit where they will try to bridge deep differences over plans for a banking union.

It will be the fourth time EU leaders have met this year and the 22nd summit held since the crisis erupted in Greece in late 2009. Diplomats expect no breakthroughs at the two-day gathering, with the agenda focused instead on longer-term efforts to retool the region's banks and economies.

Following are comments by EU leaders and officials ahead of Thursday's talks:

GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL

ON BANKING UNION:

"We've got to work very fast, but also very thoroughly."

SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER FREDRIK REINFELDT

ON BANKING SUPERVISION:

"It's better to get things right than to rush things. These are complicated matters and there are a lot of questions that need to be answered legally, but also when it comes to how do you answer to what happens in a bank that has problems.

"Who is recapitalizing the bank, who is paying? If you don't have the answers to that then you don't have a proposal that is finished."

ON POSSIBLE EURO ZONE BUDGET:

"We are not part of the euro zone. I think it has been perceived differently in different countries. I know that it might be a German idea to link incentives to reforms needed in different countries.

"I think it's more for the euro zone to answer if they want to have something. We will have a huge discussion in November about the EU 27 budget. That's my main focus."

FRENCH PRESIDENT FRANCOIS HOLLANDE

ON CURRENT ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES:

"This Council is taking place in very hard social and economic environment, with growth figures that are not acceptable either for Germany or France - but which is not under pressure from the markets."

ON RELATIONS BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY:

"We have a common responsibility, France and Germany, which is to bring the euro zone out of the crisis that we have been going through for two-and-a-half years now."

ASKED EARLIER ABOUT THE PROPOSAL FOR A SUPER COMMISSIONER WITH A RIGHT OF VETO OVER NATIONAL BUDGETS:

"The topic of this summit is not the fiscal union but the banking union, so the only decision that will be taken is to set up a banking union by the end of the year and especially the banking supervision. The other topic is not on the agenda."

CZECH PRIME MINISTER PETR NECAS

ON BANKING UNION:

"The date of January 1 next year is an unnecessarily ambitious date."

"We prefer quality ahead of speed. I don't think this should be adopted 'salami style' but rather as a whole package."

ON GERMAN PROPOSAL FOR NEW COMMISSIONER WITH BUDGET POWERS:

"I have to say that we are very cautious when it comes to creation of new institutions.

"We already have many of them and should concentrate on how to make them more efficient."

EARLIER, COMMENTS ON A EURO ZONE BUDGET TSAR/SUPER COMMISSIONER:

"I would not say it would be a good idea. We have enough instruments to improve fiscal discipline, we've got the six pack, we'll have the two pack, we have the fiscal compact, and I don't see any reason to increase the number of commissioners."

BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER ELIO DI RUPO

ON HOPES FOR THE SUMMIT:

"We need to work to change the climate, bring back confidence for investors and citizens... We need to do what we decided on the pact for growth and jobs, on the banking union, send clear signals to Spain and Greece to prevent the euro zone being in a bad situation."

DUTCH PRIME MINISTER MARK RUTTE

ON IDEA OF SEPARATE EURO ZONE BUDGET:

"The idea of strengthening budget discipline always has our support. We have a lot of questions about separate budgets because there is already a EU budget and we want to know what such a budget entails for the budget we already have and the payments the Netherlands and other countries have to make to it.

"Tonight I will only ask questions, that is the idea of the summit, to see what the proposals of (EU Council President Herman) Van Rompuy are exactly. I can't say yes or no to proposals that have not been completed."

FINNISH PRIME MINISTER JYRKI KATAINEN

ON BANKING UNION:

"I hope everybody shares the big picture that we should be capable of separating sovereigns from the banking crisis.

"Of course there are some practical challenges still, for instance how to integrate the outside the euro zone countries into the arrangement, and this is very important for Finland.

"We need to create a system in which all the member countries can join."

ON WHEN EFFECTIVE BANKING SUPERVISION COULD BE IN PLACE:

"It's not a question of one or two days or weeks. The quality of the decision is the most important thing. But we want to move on as fast as we can.

"The Finnish position is that we have to work as fast as possible, because we need a European supervision and supervisory body, but it's not the most easy thing to create.

"So that's why the quality of the decision is the most important thing."

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON

ON SINGLE MARKET AND COMPETITIVENESS OF EUROPEAN UNION:

"There is a global race taking place, and some countries are going to make it and some countries are going to struggle and there is a danger of European countries and the European Union falling behind.

"So I think what is absolutely vital is that we encourage enterprise, we cut the costs of regulation on our businesses, we do trade deals with the some of the biggest economies in the world like America, like Japan, and with fast-growing countries as well.

"And finally, perhaps most importantly, we look at the greatest asset we've got, which is the single market, which is the single biggest market anywhere in the world, and we complete that market.

"It is its 20th anniversary right now, but it still isn't finished, in digital, in services, in energy, and that is the agenda I'll be pushing very hard at this council."

AUSTRIAN CHANCELLOR WERNER FAYMANN

ON THE POSSIBILITY OF A EURO ZONE BUDGET:

"I actually don't think that we need a euro zone budget. With the financial transaction tax (FTT) not all countries are with us.

"I would prefer if we focused on how we could integrate the FTT and other measures into the new common budget, against youth unemployment."

EU ECONOMIC AND MONETARY AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER OLLI REHN

ON POSSIBILITY OF CURRENCY COMMISSIONER WITH POWER OVER BUDGETS:

"These proposals are in line with recent and ongoing reforms of economic governance and certainly will be a key element of negotiations towards a stronger economic union."

ON BANKING UNION AND SUPERVISION:

"It is very important that the summit now maintains the momentum of reforming the economic and monetary union including the banking union and, first of all, the single supervisory mechanism (SSM) for euro zone banks, which is related to direct bank recapitalisation, which is critical to break the vicious circle between sovereigns and banks."

ON TIME-SCALE FOR BANKING SUPERVISION MECHANISM:

"I believe it is realistic to finish work on the SSM by the end of the year, it is a matter of political will. Now the political will of member states is tested. I trust there is the will. In fact, if the member states and (European) Parliament work as intensively in the coming weeks, as the European Commission worked during the summer break, then I am sure this work can be concluded by the end of the year.

"It is essential that all EU member states and the EU Commission stick to the commitment undertaken during the summit in June. It gives precise political guidance in that regard (on when the SSM should be ready), the entry into force and start of operation for the single supervisory mechanism for euro zone banks is a necessary, but not alone sufficient condition for direct recapitalisation of banks."

(Reporting by Martin Santa, Julien Toyer, Paul Taylor, Sebastian Moffett, Robert-Jan Bartunek, Charlie Dunmore, Barbara Lewis, Ethan Bilby, Robin Emmott, Julien Toyer, Claire Davenport, Jan Strupczewski; editing by Rex Merrifield)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/merkel-seeks-more-eu-budget-control-french-cool-112014943--business.html

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Timing of First Sex Has Far-Reaching Relationship Effects | Psych ...

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on October 18, 2012

Timing of First Sex Has Far-Reaching Relationship EffectsResearch looking at how the timing of sexual initiation in adolescence impacts adult romantic ties finds that having sex later may lead to better relationships.

In a new study, Dr. Paige Harden, a psychological scientist, investigated how the timing of sexual initiation in adolescence influences romantic outcomes ? such as whether people get married or live with their partners, how many romantic partners they?ve had, and whether they?re satisfied with their relationship ? later in adulthood.

To answer this question, Harden and colleagues from the University of Texas at Austin used data from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health to look at 1659 same-sex sibling pairs who were followed from adolescence (around 16) to young adulthood (around 29).

Each sibling was classified as having an Early (younger than 15), On-Time (age 15-19), or Late (older than 19) first experience with sexual intercourse.

Harden?s findings are reported in a new research article published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

As expected, later timing of first sexual experience was associated with higher educational attainment and higher household income in adulthood when compared with the Early and On-Time groups.

Individuals who had a later first sexual experience were also less likely to be married and they had fewer romantic partners in adulthood.

Among the participants who were married or living with a partner, later sexual initiation was associated with significantly lower levels of relationship dissatisfaction in adulthood.

Researchers found that these associations with a later sex experience were not changed when genetic and environmental factors were taken into account. Furthermore, the associations could not be explained by differences in adult educational attainment, income, or religiousness, or by adolescent differences in dating involvement, body mass index, or attractiveness.

Experts believe the results suggest that the timing of first experience with sexual intercourse predicts the quality and stability of romantic relationships in young adulthood.

Although investigators have often focused on the consequences of early sexual activity, the Early and On-Time participants in this study were largely indistinguishable.

Researchers say the data suggests early initiation is not a ?risk? factor so much as late initiation is a ?protective? factor in shaping romantic outcomes.

According to Harden, there are several possible mechanisms that might explain this relationship.

It?s possible, for example, that people who have their first sexual encounter later also have certain characteristics (e.g., secure attachment style) that have downstream effects on both sexual delay and on relationship quality.

They could be pickier in choosing romantic and sexual partners, resulting in a reluctance to enter into intimate relationships unless they are very satisfying.

It?s also possible, however, that people who have their first sexual encounter later have different experiences, avoiding early encounters with relational aggression or victimization that would otherwise have detrimental effects on later romantic outcomes.

Finally, Harden said that it?s possible that ?individuals who first navigate intimate relationships in young adulthood, after they have accrued cognitive and emotional maturity, may learn more effective relationship skills than individuals who first learn scripts for intimate relationships while they are still teenagers.?

Experts say that additional research is needed to help to tease apart which of these mechanisms may actually be at work in driving the association between timing of first sexual intercourse and later romantic outcomes.

Prior studies by Harden and her colleagues have provided evidence that earlier sexual intercourse isn?t always associated with negative outcomes.

For example, using the same sample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, she found that teenagers who experienced their first sexual intercourse earlier, particularly those who had sex in a romantic dating relationship, had lower levels of delinquent behavior problems.

She said, ?We are just beginning to understand how adolescents? sexual experiences influence their future development and relationships.?

Source: Association for Psychological Science

Intimate teenagers photo by shutterstock.


APA Reference
Nauert PhD, R. (2012). Timing of First Sex Has Far-Reaching Relationship Effects. Psych Central. Retrieved on October 19, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/10/18/timing-of-first-sex-has-far-reaching-relationship-effects/46256.html

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Advocacy and Policy, Children and Teens, Featured, General, Health-related, LifeHelper, Mental Health and Wellness, Professional, Psychology, Relationships and Sexuality, Research, Students -->

Source: http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/10/18/timing-of-first-sex-has-far-reaching-relationship-effects/46256.html

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High levels of estradiol, progesterone during pregnancy associated with increased risk for HR-negative breast cancer

ScienceDaily (Oct. 18, 2012) ? Increased concentrations of the pregnancy hormones estradiol and progesterone were associated with an increased risk for hormone receptor-negative breast cancer diagnosed before age 50, according to the results of a nested case-control study presented at the 11th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held in Anaheim, Calif., Oct. 16-19, 2012.

Annekatrin Lukanova, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany, and colleagues examined the effects of hormonal exposure during early pregnancy and its possible association with risk for maternal breast cancer.

"Pregnancy influences maternal risk for breast cancer, but the association is complex and the biological mechanisms underlying the associations are unknown," Lukanova said. "Understanding the mechanisms underlying the protective effect of childbearing on cancer risk can form the basis for primary prevention of breast cancer."

Lukanova and colleagues used the Northern Sweden Maternity cohort to conduct a nested case-control study of 417 controls and 223 women who had donated blood samples during their first trimester of pregnancy and were later diagnosed with breast cancer. About three quarters of the breast cancer cases were hormone receptor (HR)-positive.

The researchers examined two groups of hormones: The first group included estradiol, estrone and progesterone, the concentrations of which increase substantially with pregnancy progression. The second group included testosterone and insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1). During early pregnancy, concentrations of testosterone and IGF-1 are largely similar to prepregnancy concentrations.

"We found that circulating concentrations of IGF-1 and testosterone are directly associated with risk for HR-positive breast cancer, in line with studies in nonpregnant women," Lukanova said.

Results indicated a heightened risk for HR-negative breast cancer diagnosed before 50 years of age with increased levels of estradiol and progesterone.

Lukanova noted that this study was small, that the hormones were measured during the first trimester of pregnancy only, and that further and larger studies will be necessary to characterize the association of pregnancy hormones with risk for hormone-defined maternal breast cancer.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), via Newswise.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/fFf4CC51JYw/121018151934.htm

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