We've got a busy week ahead in the TechCrunch TV studio for our Ask A VC series, where you put VCs in the hot seat. First up we have Comcast Ventures' Managing Director Michael Yang.?Later in the week, we'll be joined by Javelin Venture Partners' Managing Director Noah Doyle, and then investor and AngelList's Naval Ravikant.
AWKA?A survivor of breast cancer, Miss Juliet Agunwa has begun an awareness campaign on how to ensure early detection of the disease, advising women to constantly examine themselves and go for early treatment when detected.
Delivering a lecture to secondary school students on breast cancer and its curability at Nkpor in Anambra State, Agunwa argued that breast cancer killed many women in Nigeria due to ignorance and stigmatisation of the victims.
Aguwa, who is the founder of ?Courage to Dare Foundation?, a non-governmental organisation, NGO, noted that what every person having challenges of cancer needed was love and encouragement.
She said: ?A lot? of people need the information; people have actually shown the interest to learn about how to prolong their life and how to cut down the death rate caused by breast cancer.
?Educating people about cancer is something I always look forward to because when I was diagnosed of breast cancer, I thought that my world had turned for the worst.?
Comments are moderated. Please keep them clean and brief.
This undated product image provided by the Hewlett-Packard Co. shows the company's new tablet computer announced Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. The HP Slate 7 will have a 7-inch screen, making it similar in size to the Amazon Kindle Fire. It will cost $169 when it goes on sale in April in the U.S. (AP Photo/Hewlett-Packard Co.)
This undated product image provided by the Hewlett-Packard Co. shows the company's new tablet computer announced Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. The HP Slate 7 will have a 7-inch screen, making it similar in size to the Amazon Kindle Fire. It will cost $169 when it goes on sale in April in the U.S. (AP Photo/Hewlett-Packard Co.)
This undated product image provided by the Hewlett-Packard Co. shows the company's new tablet computer announced Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. The HP Slate 7 will have a 7-inch screen, making it similar in size to the Amazon Kindle Fire. It will cost $169 when it goes on sale in April in the U.S. (AP Photo/Hewlett-Packard Co.)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? Hewlett-Packard Co. is making a tablet computer that uses Google's Android operating system, steering clear of Microsoft's latest tablet-oriented version of Windows, the company said Sunday.
The HP Slate 7 will have a 7-inch screen, making it similar in size to the Amazon Kindle Fire. It will cost $169 when it goes on sale in April in the U.S.
Most tablet makers, including Samsung and Amazon, have chosen Android as the best and cheapest operating system for products that can compete against Apple's iPad. HP previously made a tablet based on Palm's WebOS software, but the effort fizzled. The company also makes a more powerful tablet with PC-type components for the corporate market, which runs a PC-style version of Windows 8. It hasn't produced a tablet using Windows RT, Microsoft's product for iPad-type tablets.
"When we looked at creating a real killer product for consumers, a very portable, very entertainment-focused device, we thought that Android was the better choice," said Alberto Torres, who signed on as head of HP's mobile devices division five months ago. Previously, he worked for cellphone maker Nokia Corp. "Of course, we continue to work closely with Microsoft on other products as well."
Torres didn't rule out using Windows RT in the future, saying the company plans a broad portfolio of tablets tailored toward different types of buyers. But HP's choice of Android for a consumer device and Windows 8 for a corporate tablet leaves little room for Windows RT, which Microsoft hopes will expand the reach of Windows beyond corporate tablets.
Torres said the Slate 7 will use a relatively "vanilla" version of Android. The company is avoiding the interface modifications Asian manufacturers apply and the deeper changes imposed by Amazon and Barnes & Noble for their tablets. The Slate 7 will ship with the ability to talk to printers, HP's forte. At $169 the device is aggressively priced, costing half of what Apple charges for an iPad mini.
HP made the announcement on the eve of Mobile World Congress, the wireless industry's annual trade show, which starts Monday in Barcelona, Spain.
Competitor Samsung Electronics announced a new tablet earlier Sunday, to launch in the April to June time frame. The Galaxy Note 8.0 will be slightly larger than the Slate 7. It will run Android and accept pen input.
*****Try listening to the show on SoundCloud. Go on. Please******
Dave Farrar's back for more pod-based frivolity and he's joined on today's Football Weekly Extra by Raf Honigstein, Barry Glendenning and Jacob Steinberg.
First up on the agenda is the Champions League and Arsenal's mullering by Bayern Munich, an almost embarrassingly one-sided affair. What's next for Arsenal and their embattled professor, M Wenger? A visit from Aston Villa, that's what.
Sticking with the Champions League, we hear from Sid Lowe, who predicted that Barcelona would come a cropper as soon as they faced half-decent opposition. Milan put in fine performance as they saw off Messi and co 2-0 in the first leg.
Finally, we turn our attention to the weekend, which features the Capital One Cup final between Swansea and Bradford, Manchester City v Chelsea in the Premier League, and David Beckham's (possible) debut for PSG as they face Marseille.
AC Jimbo is back on Monday, and there's a very special edition of the European paper review up on Friday morning, hosted by Teutonic housewives' favourite, Herr Honigstein.
An intelligence report suggests that a secretive military unit in China has been hacking the computer systems of American corporations and organizations since 2006 and stealing information. President Obama highlighted the need for greater cyber security in his recent State of the Union address. Judy Woodruff reports.
JUDY WOODRUFF: A U.S. security firm charged today that there's an all-out effort to break into computer systems in the U.S. and elsewhere. The report laid out an extensive case against China and its military.
The newest allegations of cyber-attacks by the Chinese government came up at the White House today. Reporters asked spokesman Jay Carney about a study that blames China's military for a large-scale years-long hacking campaign.
JAY CARNEY, White House Press Secretary: We have repeatedly raised our concerns at the highest levels about cyber-theft with senior Chinese officials, including in the military, and we will continue to do so.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The report alleges this nondescript 12-story office building is the locus of the hacking. It's situated in Shanghai and is run by unit 61398, a bureau within the general staff of the People's Liberation Army.
A Virginia-based security firm, Mandiant Corporation, traced the hacking there and concluded it is one of the most prolific cyber-espionage groups in terms of the sheer quantity of information stolen. Mandiant said the Chinese stole reams of information from U.S. military contractors, energy companies, the aerospace and telecommunications industry and others.
In Beijing, a Chinese government spokesman called the report groundless, without addressing the specific findings.
HONG LEI, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman: China firmly opposes hacking, has implemented relevant laws and regulations and adopted strict enforcement measures to prevent hacking activities. China is also a victim of Internet hacking attacks.
We have stressed many times that hacking attacks are transnational and anonymous. Determining their origins is extremely difficult. We don't know how the evidence in this so-called report can be tenable.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Still, the Mandiant findings are some of the most detailed accusations yet against China over hacking.
More generally, a U.S. national intelligence estimate said this month that China is carrying out a major cyber-espionage campaign against American targets. And Apple said today it was hacked by the same group that attacked Facebook last week. Both companies said no data was compromised and both traced the attacks back to China.
The report noted that there have been more than 140 different victims since 2006, and that the Chinese unit maintained access to those networks for nearly a year on average.?
Search engine optimization, or Seo, is utilized by online firms as a way to improve their probabilities of be?
When you are looking on the web for some thing you want to purchase or just search for some information, you go to a handful of search engines out there and kind in what you are hunting for and receive a ton of various websites to check out. So what if you want your site or business to show up at the leading of the web page ? This is where search engine optimization comes into play.
Search engine optimization, or Search engine marketing, is used by online businesses as a way to boost their probabilities of being in the best ten rankings on search engines. Because most net surfers only look at the prime 3 or 5 websites listed, becoming that higher in ranking increases the possibility of making a sale. Since there are several tricks to making use of Search engine optimization, you may grow to be confused simply if you are not utilized to it.
Search phrases are the most critical portion of search engine optimization. Otherwise known as tags, keywords are descriptors of your enterprise or website. The ideal techniques to use Search engine optimisation is to add search phrases and phrases to your web pages and generate back hyperlinks to your website so prospective clients will be able to discover your internet site regardless of whether they use a search engine or not. Search engines use net spiders that search every web site and web sites connected to it in order to generate rankings. Even though this occurs really rapidly, search engines in fact check millions of pages checking for websites that are frequently pointed out on-line. Adding search phrases and phrases and adding back links on other internet sites are simple techniques to enhance your web presence. computer service Right after generating your web site, you must conduct study to uncover the most popular search phrases that individuals use when hunting for goods and services similar to the ones on your web site. Every page within your internet site should include key phrases in the content, Meta tags, and in the heading of your web page. Deciding on keywords and phrases is not an exact science. Considering that you can not read the minds of these employing search engines, you will require to select words and phrases that are widespread. Search engines have free tools you can use to establish which words are the most common for your site. Let?s say your business is promoting laptop goods. Attainable search phrases, or tags, could contain software, diagnostic tools, printers, keyboard, mouse, and window operating method. And these are just to name a handful of. The much more keywords and phrases you obtain implies much more attainable hits for your web site. And in some cases the more keywords, or tags, that you have, the far better the opportunity is of possessing your internet site at the prime of the list.
You will have to update key phrases each and every month because the reputation will opportunity and words will no longer be used as significantly as they utilized to. Update your net pages when adding new content material or sections of your site. This will help increase the number of hits you get. Track your hits to see where they are coming from so you can have a far better understanding of which words operate the ideal.
Making back links is one more way to increase your net presence. Back hyperlinks are simply links to your net internet site. They can be added to your weblog, articles you submit to report directories, press releases, and other net sites. The much more back hyperlinks you have, the greater your search engine ranking will be. Adding keywords to your press releases and articles will also assist.
Seo is not challenging to obtain as soon as you get the hang of it. Start off by adding keywords and phrases in order to commence making use of Search engine marketing. Add back links whenever attainable so you will gain a lot more exposure on the net. Track where all of your visitors is coming from so you can marketplace in locations that produce the most visitors.
Fibromyalgia prevalence at 2.1 percent of general German population Public release date: 19-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dawn Peters sciencenewsroom@wiley.com 781-388-8408 Wiley
Study suggests fibromyalgia is a spectrum disorder
Researchers have determined that fibromyalgia prevalence is 2.1% of the general population in Germany. Results appearing in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), suggest that fibromyalgia is a spectrum disorder rather than a categorical illness. Additionally, a number of fibromyalgia cases in the general population satisfy proposed criteria for physical symptom disorderthe presence of one or more physical symptoms that impair function, which cannot be explained by another clinical or psychiatric illness.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic, musculoskeletal syndrome characterized by chronic widespread pain together with fatigue, sleep disturbances, cognitive problems, and multiple somatic symptoms. In 2010 the ACR released modified diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia, eliminating the tender point count assessment that was part of the 1990 criteria. Shortly after the modified criteria was published it was decided that the widespread pain index and symptom severity score could be combined to form a new measurement of pain and symptom severity termed the polysymptomatic distress scale (PSD).
The lead author of the current study, Dr. Frederick Wolfe with the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases and University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita, reported on 2,445 subjects who were randomly selected from the general German population in 2012. The team used the 2010 modified ACR preliminary diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia to identify patients with the disease.
Findings show fibromyalgia prevalence at 2.1% with occurrence in women and men at 2.4% and 1.8%a difference that was not statistically significant according to researchers. Furthermore, the team found evidence supporting the hypothesis that fibromyalgia is a spectrum disorder and not a distinct disease. Nearly 40% of fibromyalgia patients met the proposed criteria for a physical symptom disorder.
The authors suggest that fibromyalgia should be considered a spectrum or dimensional disorder by giving the range of polysymptomatic distress experienced by patients. A patient with a widespread pain index of 7 or more out of 19 pain sites and symptom severity score of 5 or more out of 12 will have a PSD scale score of at least 12, a cut point below which fibromyalgia criteria will not be met.
"Given the continuum of symptoms in patients, our study provides important evidence supporting fibromyalgia as a spectrum disorder," concludes Dr. Wolfe. "Our findings have important implications for epidemiologic and neurobiologic studies, clinical diagnosis and disease management, along with determining disability in those with fibromyalgia."
###
This study is published in Arthritis Care & Research. Media wishing to receive a PDF of this article may contact sciencenewsroom@wiley.com.
Full citation: "Fibromyalgia Prevalence, Somatic Symptom Reporting, and the Dimensionality of Polysymptomatic Distress: Results From a Survey of the General Population." Frederick Wolfe, Elmar Brahler, Andreas Hinz and Winfried Hauser. Arthritis Care and Research; Published Online: February 19, 2013 (DOI: 10.1002/acr.21931).
About the Journal
Arthritis Care & Research is an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), and the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP), a division of the College. Arthritis Care & Research is a peer-reviewed research publication that publishes both original research and review articles that promote excellence in the clinical practice of rheumatology. Relevant to the care of individuals with arthritis and related disorders, major topics are evidence-based practice studies, clinical problems, practice guidelines, health care economics, health care policy, educational, social, and public health issues, and future trends in rheumatology practice. The journal is published by Wiley on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). For more information, please visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)2151-4658.
About Wiley
Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley and its acquired companies have published the works of more than 450 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace.
Wiley is a global provider of content and content-enabled workflow solutions in areas of scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly research; professional development; and education. Our core businesses produce scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising; professional books, subscription products, certification and training services and online applications; and education content and services including integrated online teaching and learning resources for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley's global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey, with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The Company's Web site can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb.
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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.
Fibromyalgia prevalence at 2.1 percent of general German population Public release date: 19-Feb-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dawn Peters sciencenewsroom@wiley.com 781-388-8408 Wiley
Study suggests fibromyalgia is a spectrum disorder
Researchers have determined that fibromyalgia prevalence is 2.1% of the general population in Germany. Results appearing in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal published by Wiley on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), suggest that fibromyalgia is a spectrum disorder rather than a categorical illness. Additionally, a number of fibromyalgia cases in the general population satisfy proposed criteria for physical symptom disorderthe presence of one or more physical symptoms that impair function, which cannot be explained by another clinical or psychiatric illness.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic, musculoskeletal syndrome characterized by chronic widespread pain together with fatigue, sleep disturbances, cognitive problems, and multiple somatic symptoms. In 2010 the ACR released modified diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia, eliminating the tender point count assessment that was part of the 1990 criteria. Shortly after the modified criteria was published it was decided that the widespread pain index and symptom severity score could be combined to form a new measurement of pain and symptom severity termed the polysymptomatic distress scale (PSD).
The lead author of the current study, Dr. Frederick Wolfe with the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases and University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita, reported on 2,445 subjects who were randomly selected from the general German population in 2012. The team used the 2010 modified ACR preliminary diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia to identify patients with the disease.
Findings show fibromyalgia prevalence at 2.1% with occurrence in women and men at 2.4% and 1.8%a difference that was not statistically significant according to researchers. Furthermore, the team found evidence supporting the hypothesis that fibromyalgia is a spectrum disorder and not a distinct disease. Nearly 40% of fibromyalgia patients met the proposed criteria for a physical symptom disorder.
The authors suggest that fibromyalgia should be considered a spectrum or dimensional disorder by giving the range of polysymptomatic distress experienced by patients. A patient with a widespread pain index of 7 or more out of 19 pain sites and symptom severity score of 5 or more out of 12 will have a PSD scale score of at least 12, a cut point below which fibromyalgia criteria will not be met.
"Given the continuum of symptoms in patients, our study provides important evidence supporting fibromyalgia as a spectrum disorder," concludes Dr. Wolfe. "Our findings have important implications for epidemiologic and neurobiologic studies, clinical diagnosis and disease management, along with determining disability in those with fibromyalgia."
###
This study is published in Arthritis Care & Research. Media wishing to receive a PDF of this article may contact sciencenewsroom@wiley.com.
Full citation: "Fibromyalgia Prevalence, Somatic Symptom Reporting, and the Dimensionality of Polysymptomatic Distress: Results From a Survey of the General Population." Frederick Wolfe, Elmar Brahler, Andreas Hinz and Winfried Hauser. Arthritis Care and Research; Published Online: February 19, 2013 (DOI: 10.1002/acr.21931).
About the Journal
Arthritis Care & Research is an official journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), and the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP), a division of the College. Arthritis Care & Research is a peer-reviewed research publication that publishes both original research and review articles that promote excellence in the clinical practice of rheumatology. Relevant to the care of individuals with arthritis and related disorders, major topics are evidence-based practice studies, clinical problems, practice guidelines, health care economics, health care policy, educational, social, and public health issues, and future trends in rheumatology practice. The journal is published by Wiley on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). For more information, please visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)2151-4658.
About Wiley
Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations. Wiley and its acquired companies have published the works of more than 450 Nobel laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace.
Wiley is a global provider of content and content-enabled workflow solutions in areas of scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly research; professional development; and education. Our core businesses produce scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising; professional books, subscription products, certification and training services and online applications; and education content and services including integrated online teaching and learning resources for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley's global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey, with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The Company's Web site can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com. The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb.
[ | 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.
The Council of Europe?s Youth Department is looking for 2 educational consultants acting as authors and one consultant acting as general editor for a Toolkit on combating discrimination, anti-Gypsyism and Romaphobia affecting young people.
About the publication
The publication will serve as a starting point to understand what young people can do in order to counter discrimination, anti-Gypsyism and Romaphobia. It should include approaches to understand anti-Gypsyism, Romaphobia and discrimination targeting Roma, educational methodologies and activities, ideas for action and an overview of the existent know-how in the youth sector and other sectors of the Council of Europe (e.g. European Court of Human Rights, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, Parliamentary Assembly, Commissioner for Human Rights etc.).
The publication will include references and materials as print version, but all contents shall also be made available online at a later stage.
The youth sector will build upon the experience gained with its previous educational activities and materials related to the topic, which will serve as sources of reference and information, mainly the Education Pack, Companion and Compass ? the Manual on Human Rights Education with Young People.
The main purpose of this publication is to provide young activists and educators an educational support to understand and address anti-Gypsyism, Romaphobia and discrimination affecting European societies and targeted at Roma. The Toolkit will be based on human rights education principles. The Toolkit is created in view of non-formal education activities but should also be of interest, and therefore usable, in formal education contexts.
Role of authors and general editor
The authors and the general editor:
develop the contents of the Toolkit;
draft sections and chapters of the publication in line with the terms of reference and in close communication with the youth sector secretariat and other partners invited for the editorial team;
submit drafts for discussion in line with the given timetable;
?integrate comments from the youth sector secretariat in order to ensure a coherent content and style;
ensure the respect of deadlines;
take part of the preparatory meetings related to the development of the Toolkit (one meeting of 2 days is foreseen to take place in spring 2013, dates t.b.c.);
iaise with the youth sector secretariat.
Additionally to the above roles, the general editor:
coordinates the writing of the Toolkit;
is responsible for content;
amends (and rewrites, if necessary) texts submitted by authors in order to
ensure coherence of content and style;
seeks and integrates the feed-back of the Youth Department?s secretariat.
Eligibility
The authors/ general editor should have the following qualifications and experience:
experience of working with Roma youth and youth work;
?relevant experience in combating discrimination, anti-Gypsyism and Romaphobia;
solid understanding of the mechanisms, manifestations and consequences of discrimination, anti-Gypsyism and Romaphobia from a European and human rights perspective;
experience in writing and developing educational publications and training materials;
excellent English writing skills; knowledge of other languages will be an asset;
awareness of existing publications and programmes of the Council of Europe related to Roma is an added value.
Conditions
This call is open for expressions of interest by members of the Trainers Pool alone and to other experts non-members of the Trainers Pool.
The authors and general editor will be paid on the basis of the rules in place in the Youth Department regarding the Trainers Pool, at a senior rate.
How to apply
Trainers and experts interested in this call, should send the following documents to the youth sector secretariat no later than 25 February 2013:
The form for expressions of interest;
An updated CV (2 pages maximum);
A short (max 3 pages) sample of previous written material in English, related to the thematic content of the Toolkit.
Use the following email address to send your candidature: dys.trainers.pool@coe.int
For more information and clarifications, you can write to Mara Georgescu, mara.georgescu@coe.int, Educational Advisor, Youth Department
BOGOTA, Colombia -- At least seven Colombian soldiers were killed and five others were wounded in fighting with rebels who tried to seize a town on Wednesday, the military said.
The gunbattle erupted when rebels tried to take over Milan in the southern state of Caqueta and were repelled by dozens of troops, army Gen. Emiro Barrios said.
It was the deadliest clash between Colombian troops and rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia so far this year. On Jan. 29, four soldiers were killed in fighting with rebels elsewhere in the country.
The violence came while the Colombian government and FARC rebels are pursuing peace talks in Cuba.
Barrios said a group of rebels estimated at about 150 fighters had clashed with three platoons, or about 90 troops.
He said that in addition to the seven soldiers killed, five were wounded and were taken out of the area to be treated. No soldiers were missing, he said.
The combat occurred in a rural area considered a traditional stronghold for the leftist guerrillas.
The FARC declared a two-month unilateral cease-fire when the formal peace talks in Havana began, but that cease-fire lapsed on Jan. 20. The FARC had urged the government to join the cease-fire, but President Juan Manuel Santos has refused.
Santos argues that agreeing to a cease-fire would give the FARC the opportunity to regroup, as it did during failed 1999-2002 talks when it was granted a Switzerland-sized safe haven.
As the exchange traded fund space grows in size and popularity, online brokerage firms have set up special perks for trading ETFs. Some brokers offer discounted trades or even commission-free transactions, while others provide integrated ETF portfolios.
We recently covered low-cost online brokers for ETFs, but here?s one we missed. Folio Investing allows investors to manage ETFs as transparent, low-cost investment portfolios, or ?Folios.?
On the institutional platform, advisors can invest in portfolios with low asset based fees, reducing cost considerations when constructing a well-rounded portfolio. The asset based pricing is negotiated based on each advisor?s practices. On the other hand, advisors can still use a transaction based plan with $7 per trade.
For retail investors, a basic plan comes with $4 per ETF trade if executed within a twice daily window, or $10 trades outside of the windows. Additionally, retail clients can sign up for the Folio Unlimited Plan that costs $290 per yer, which comes with an unlimited number of trades.
While investors can create their own portfolios with ETFs, Folio Investing also offers ?Ready-to-Go Folios,? such as the company?s ETF-based target-date folios, which recently celebrated a five-year record of outperformance, according to a press release. The target-date folios include a more diversified blend of commodities, REITs, TIPs and other asset classes to help reduce volatility and generate higher returns.
In related news, Charles Schwab recently launched a new platform that will allow investors to trade over 100 ETFs commission-free. [Schwab Unveils ETF Platform]
For more information on trading ETFs, visit our ETF 101 category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.
PARIS (AP) -Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti is uncertain about his future with the club and has not yet opened talks over extending his contract with president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
Ancelotti joined the club in December 2011 on a 2 1/2-year deal, but the final year is optional and must be renewed by PSG depending on results this season.
"I want to stay. But I know that, at the end of the season, the club will decide whether they're happy or not with my work," the Italian coach said in an interview with sports daily L'Equipe on Monday.
PSG is in first place in the French league, six points ahead of Lyon and eight clear of Marseille. But winning the title will not necessarily guarantee that Ancelotti will stay.
"I haven't spoken with Nasser. It's simple. We will see how things stand at the end of the season and, if the club is happy, and me too, we will continue," Ancelotti said. "Otherwise, there's no other choice. It's one or the other. I'm very happy here, but if the club is not happy, I will have no problem changing."
Ancelotti's comments come after sporting director Leonardo recently expressed a wish to one day manage a club in England.
"Leo did a lot to bring me here, but I don't think my future is linked to his," Ancelotti said.
Speculation has linked Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger as prospective replacements at PSG should Ancelotti leave.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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United becoming uncatchable
PST: Robin van Persie set up one goal and scored another as Manchester United extended its EPL lead to 12 points with a 2-0 win over Everton.
Feb. 12, 2013 ? NASA's progress toward a return to deep space missions continues with a new round of upcoming tests on the next-generation J-2X rocket engine, which will help power the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) to new destinations in the solar system.
Beginning this month, engineers will conduct a series of tests on the second J-2X development engine, designated number 10002, on the A-2 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Once the series is completed, the engine will be transferred to the A-1 Test Stand to undergo a series of gimbal, or pivot, tests for the first time.
"The upcoming test series is not only a critical step forward, but important to the Stennis test team, as well," said Gary Benton, manager of the J-2X test project at Stennis. "This test series will help us increase our knowledge of the J-2X and its performance capabilities. In addition, the series will help us maintain the high skill level of our team as we look ahead to continued J-2X testing and testing of the RS-25 engines that will be used to power the SLS first-stage."
The first objective of the testing is to verify and demonstrate the engine's capability. Data from what is known as hot-fire engine tests will be compared to the performance of the first engine. Engineers also will vary liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen inlet pressures and subject the engine nozzle to higher temperatures than in previous tests to see what effect they have on performance.
NASA already has conducted successful tests on engine number 10001 and on the J-2X powerpack assembly. In total, 34 tests were conducted on the J-2X engine and powerpack, with the J-2X achieving a full flight-duration firing of 500 seconds in the eighth test, earlier than any rocket engine in U.S. history.
The engine is being designed and built by NASA and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., to power the upper stage of the 130 metric-ton (143-ton) version of the SLS rocket.
The SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, providing an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit.
For more information about the J-2X engine and NASA's Space Launch System, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/sls
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PHOENIX (AP) ? The self-proclaimed "America's Toughest Sheriff" joined forces this weekend with action movie star Steven Seagal to train volunteer armed posse members to defend Phoenix-area schools against gunmen.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced the controversial plan in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting that left 27 people dead, including the gunman and 20 first-graders.
The exercise took place Saturday at a closed school site in suburban Fountain Hills, outside Phoenix, where sheriff's SWAT members acted as shooters and teenagers played the part of students during mock scenarios involving up to three gunmen.
Seagal, best known for his roles in movies such as "Above the Law" and "Under Siege," planned to lead training on hand-to-hand defense tactics, among other techniques, drawing from his expertise in martial arts, according to a sheriff's office news release.
Arpaio's office didn't respond to requests for comment Friday and Saturday, and Seagal representatives also did not return telephone messages from The Associated Press.
When faced with criticism in January about the school posse plan, Arpaio snapped back, "Why would people complain about my posse being in front of schools to act as prevention?"
He boldly announced the plan on the grounds of an elementary school, saying at the time he wanted the patrols publicized.
"I want everyone to know about it for the deterrence effect," Arpaio said, adding that no taxpayer money would be spent on the patrols and volunteers will be supervised over the radio or telephone by actual deputies.
Arizona Democratic House Minority Leader Chad Campbell called the plan to use Seagal as an instructor "ludicrous."
"Steve Seagal is an actor. That's it. Why don't we also have Clint Eastwood and Chuck Norris and Bruce Willis come out and train them too while we're at it," Campbell said.
Campbell has been a vocal critic of Arpaio's school posse protection plan, complaining that using untrained, armed civilians to protect students is a bad idea and likely will only make the facilities more dangerous.
"He's making a mockery out of it. You're having a movie actor train people how to protect schools?" Campbell said.
Randy Parraz, president of Citizens for a Better Arizona, also a longtime Arpaio critic, said it's unfortunate the sheriff, known nationally for his tough stance on illegal immigration, is using the "wake of a tragedy like Newtown" to grab headlines.
"We'd like to think he would take something like this much more seriously," said Parraz, who added that his group planned to be at Saturday's event with petitions to recall Arpaio.
The patrols were launched at 59 schools in January throughout unincorporated areas and communities that pay Arpaio's agency for police services. The sheriff announced this week he needs more members to continue the patrols, calling for 1,000 additional citizens to step up and volunteer.
Current posse members already are used to bolster the sheriff's office force by providing police protection at malls during the holidays, directing traffic and transporting people to jail.
Arpaio even sent one group of posse members to Hawaii to conduct an examination into the authenticity of President Barack Obama's birth certificate.
Joselyn Wells, a mother of three children at a school in suburban Phoenix, where Arpaio's posse has begun patrolling, said she was excited to hear about the initiative.
"A lot of people sit around and watch these things happen, watch key signs and no one wants to do anything about it," she said when Arpaio announced the plan. "Nobody wants conflict, nobody wants to be out in the limelight. And he doesn't care. He wants to do the right thing."
Andrew Sanchez, however, a town council member in Guadalupe, said he wants nothing to do with posse members patrolling schools in his community, which spends about $1.2 million annually for Maricopa County sheriff's patrols.
"We are paying him to have certified deputies here, not to bring a circus and not to use our town as a political platform," Sanchez has said.
The volunteers, dressed in uniforms and driving patrol vehicles, some authorized to carry guns after training, won't go onto school grounds unless they spot danger, but will instead patrol around the facilities, Arpaio said.
Seagal is already a volunteer posse member in Maricopa County and has been deputized with sheriff's offices in New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana, where a film crew followed the actor on ride-alongs with Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputies for the reality TV show "Steven Seagal: Lawman."
Arpaio says other notable people also have joined his more than 3,000-strong volunteer armed posse, including "The Incredible Hulk" star Lou Ferrigno and actor Peter Lupus of TV's "Mission: Impossible."
Kim Dotcom?s latest venture Mega, which opened its doors last month offering encrypted cloud-storage services, has a new CEO -- announcing today that Vikram Kumar, former CEO of not-for-profit open internet advocacy organization InternetNZ, will take over from Mega's interim CEO, Tony Lentino.
SEATTLE (AP) ? Workers using a tower crane to build a 304-unit apartment complex in Seattle have run into a complication: two raccoons climbed 150 feet up the crane and made a home behind the crane's cab.
KING-TV reports (http://is.gd/ntbMII) that the raccoons have temporarily brought the giant machine to a halt.
A crane operator spotted the new residents while ascending the tower Wednesday. The general contractor, Rafn Company, called in experts who are trying to catch the critters with humane traps.
Project superintendent John Kellberg says this is a first for him.
The apartment complex in the city's Ballard neighborhood is due to open in the summer of 2014. KING reports that neighbors say large raccoons are common in Ballard.
The new iOS jailbreak tool, evasi0n is now available to download for Windows, Mac, and Linux to jailbreak devices running iOS 6 through 6.1.
The new jailbreak tool is compatible with all of Apple's currently available devices, including the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini. The jailbreak process is incredibly simple. Once you download evasi0n, just connect your iOS device with a USB cable, run the app, click "Jailbreak," and wait about five minutes. Eventually, evasi0n will ask you to unlock your device and tap the "Jailbreak" button on your home screen. From there, your iOS device will run through the boot process and finish up a few things. Once it's done, you're jailbroken. Hit the link below for download links for the software.
The nuclear reactor near Crystal River north of Tampa Bay will never fission again. Duke Energy has decided to shutter the troubled nuclear power plant, which has been shut down since 2009 thanks to a crack in the dome that shields the reactor. Attempts to repair the initial crack had caused other cracks to form and the company estimated that fixing those cracks would cost another $1.5 billion minimum, possibly much more.
As a result, the reactor will instead be mothballed while Florida electricity customers can expect to foot a $1.6 billion bill from 2017 to 2037 to repay the utility for its investment in the nuclear power plant, according to a plan worked out by state regulators. The full tear-down will most likely wait for 40 to 60 years, according to a company statement, in part to avoid adding to that cost.
What will replace the reactor?s 860-megawatts worth of power? Electricity generated by natural gas turbines, according to Duke. In fact, cheap natural gas may sound the death knell for the nation?s dwindling number of nuclear reactors, now down to 102.
The Kewaunee nuclear power plant in Wisconsin will also close this year and plans for new nuclear power plants in Texas and Maryland have been scrapped. At the same time, costs have continued to rise for two reactors under construction in Georgia?the nation?s first new nuclear reactor approved in more than three decades. Critics argue that the new reactors at the Vogtle Power Plant involve too much risk for taxpayers given the $8 billion in loan guarantees that have been extended to Southern Company and partners to build them (though the loans have not been finalized or accepted as of yet). ?They[the U.S. Department of Energy] are socializing the risk and privatizing the profits for big power companies,? charged Sara Barczak of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in a conference call with reporters.
The woes facing nuclear reactors are not confined to the U.S. New reactors in France and Finland are behind schedule and over budget and Germany plans to phase out its nuclear fleet in coming years. Meanwhile, the politicians of Cumbria in northwest England voted to reject a planned repository for nuclear waste in their county. Paired with decisions by energy company Centricato abandon plans to build new reactors in the U.K. and a new government report highlighting nuclear industry incompetence, nuclear energy may be ?finished in the U.K.,? according to nuclear power proponent and environmental columnist George Monbiotof The Guardian.
Nuclear power has more steam in countries such as China, which continues to push forward with a massive construction program in a bid to cut down on coal burning. Last week, Westinghouse lowered the top of the containment dome on its first new AP1000reactor in Sanmen. But even 80 large nuclear power plants will do little to restrain China?s now world-leading greenhouse gas emissions (and air pollution) from all of the country?s coal burning. And Japan?s greenhouse gas emissions have surged in the wake of the decision to shut down that country?s nuclear fleet after the multiple meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi.
U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have been falling in recent years, dropping by nearly 5 percent from power plants alone in 2011, according to Environmental Protection Agency data. Yet, if natural gas power plants begin to replace low carbon but aging nuclear power plants as well as high CO2 coal-fired ones in this country, CO2 emissions will not fall as far as fast?more fallout from the stalled nuclear renaissance.
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The federal government's push for drastic reforms at chronically low achieving schools has led to takeovers by charter operators, overhauls of staff and curriculum, and even school shutdowns across the country.
It's also generated a growing backlash among the mostly low-income, minority communities where some see the reforms as not only disruptive in struggling neighborhoods, but also as civil rights violations since turnaround efforts primarily affect black and Latino students.
"Our concern is that these reforms have further destabilized our communities," said Jitu Brown, education organizer of Chicago's Kenwood-Oakwood Community Organization. "It's clear there's a different set of rules for African-American and Latino children than for their white counterparts."
The U.S. Department of Education's civil rights office has opened investigations into 33 complaints from parents and community members, representing 29 school districts ranging from big city systems such as Chicago, Detroit and Washington D.C. to smaller cities including Wichita and Ambler, Penn., said spokesman Daren Briscoe. Two additional complaints are under evaluation, and more cities, including Los Angeles, are preparing their filings.
Last week, Secretary Arne Duncan fielded complaints at a public forum in Washington. The forum was attended by some 250 people who boarded buses, vans and planes from around the country to demand a moratorium on school closings and present a reform model that calls for more community input, among other items.
The recurrent theme is that communities are fed up with substandard education, but want solutions that will not create upheaval at the schools, which are often seen as pillars of stability in neighborhoods where social fabric is fragile.
Instead of focusing on dramatically changing the structure of a school, officials should invest in improving teaching, learning, equipment, and community engagement, which happens more often at schools in white, affluent neighborhoods, Brown said.
"But the response of the school district is to throw a grenade into our schools," Brown said.
Reformers say civil rights complaints are misguided because school failure disproportionately impacts minorities in the first place. Turnarounds are efforts to improve that, said Michael Petrilli, executive vice president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education think tank.
However, he noted that turnarounds are often a "Band-Aid solution. Most of the turnarounds aren't going to succeed because the school continues to exist in a dysfunctional school system. Radical change at the district may be what's needed."
Federal officials said they are open to working with communities to lessen the impact of turnarounds.
"On the ground, these policies can have an impact we don't see," Briscoe said. "But there's no promise that we'll be able to satisfy all people."
Overhauling the nation's 5,000 lowest-performing schools is a cornerstone of the Obama administration's education policy. To do that, the federal government revamped the existing School Improvement Grant program, boosting it from a $125 million annual initiative in 2007 to $535 million for the current school year.
Under the renewed program, which launched in 2010 with a onetime $3.5 billion infusion, districts receive grants to institute one of four school jumpstart models. They can turn the school over to a charter or other operator, replace at least half of the staff and principal, transform the school with a new principal and learning strategy, or simply close the school. Improvement schools can receive up to $2 million annually for three years.
Results have been mixed.
In Chicago, where the nation's third largest school system has undertaken one of the more extensive turnaround programs, a study of 36 schools by the University of Chicago found some improvement in academic achievement in elementary and middle schools but not until the second or third year of either a principal or staff replacement or a charter conversion.
"They're closing the gap but it's taking some time to do so," said Marisa de la Torre, who directed the study.
With high schools, researchers did not have academic data to parse, so instead looked at attendance rates, which are often a good indicator of performance, de la Torre said. Attendance rates improved in the first year of a turnaround, but then reverted to pre-turnaround rates. "We can't really say if the glass is half full or half empty," de la Torre said.
A study released last May found graduation rates and college-prep course participation increased dramatically at a Los Angeles high school in the Watts section taken over by charter Green Dot Public Schools in 2008. The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing called the new Locke High School "an impressive success story in many ways," but noted overall achievement remains low.
To boost academic performance, Green Dot now plans to revamp its ninth-grade curriculum to offer more remedial help and open a middle school to better prepare kids for high school.
With no guarantee that turnarounds produce solid results quickly, some question whether drastic reform is worth the disruption, and whether less radical changes could work as well given adequate time and funding.
"We take issue with experimental reforms such as these when it is only children of color who are the subject of the experiment and especially when the experiment has already failed," wrote Jonathan Stith of Empower DC in his federal complaint about Washington D.C. schools.
Staff replacements have proven especially problematic at schools where teachers have to reapply for their jobs. Many don't reapply out of resentment and it's hard to find experienced teachers who want to work in an urban classroom.
A study by the National Education Policy Center found that in turnaround schools in Louisville, Ken., 40 percent of teachers were fresh out of college. Other reformed schools have had to start off with substitutes.
"Teachers are like their surrogate parents," said Christina Lewis, a special education teacher at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, where teachers will have to reapply for jobs in the fall when the school is converted to a magnet. "I'm so afraid that teachers who have put their hearts and souls into their jobs won't return next year. We just need stability and resources."
Experts also note that impoverished children often rely on schools for meals, positive role models, and mentors for personal issues, as well as education. Trust built with familiar faces in the school community gets severed by drastic reforms, said John Rogers, director at the University of California Los Angeles' Institute for Democracy, Education and Access.
Several students at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, where teachers must reapply for their jobs when the school is converted to a magnet program next fall, said it was disconcerting not to know who or what to expect.
"We have a lot of kids in foster care. Their lives are changing all the time," said Crenshaw student Anita Parker. "We have teachers who ask me if I need to talk. We have teachers who care about us."
The prospect of a civil rights complaint does not faze Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy, who has several high schools on his turnaround list. For Deasy, the real civil rights issue is that these schools have been allowed to fail for so long.
Crenshaw High School, the turnaround that is spurring community advocates to file the complaint, is the lowest performing school in the nation's second-largest system, a fact that Deasy called "immoral" at a recent school board meeting.
Just three percent of students are proficient in math and 17 percent in reading. Just 37 percent of students attend school 96 percent of the time. Just half of the class of 2012 graduated.
"Students aren't learning. Students aren't graduating," he said. "The purpose of this decision is to make sure Crenshaw gets dramatically and fundamentally better."
School board member Marguerite P. LaMotte, the board's only black member who represents the Crenshaw area, said she was angry that every effort to reform Crenshaw had gone nowhere and civil rights was about improving the school: "We have got to change something at Crenshaw for the better."
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Contact the reporter at http://twitter.com/ChristinaHoag.
We've got a busy week ahead in the TechCrunch TV studio for our Ask A VC series, where you put VCs in the hot seat. First up we have Comcast Ventures' Managing Director Michael Yang.?Later in the week, we'll be joined by Javelin Venture Partners' Managing Director Noah Doyle, and then investor and AngelList's Naval Ravikant.
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Public release date: 19-Feb-2013
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Kim Dotcom?s latest venture Mega, which opened its doors last month offering encrypted cloud-storage services, has a new CEO -- announcing today that Vikram Kumar, former CEO of not-for-profit open internet advocacy organization InternetNZ, will take over from Mega's interim CEO, Tony Lentino.
The new iOS jailbreak tool, evasi0n is now available to download for Windows, Mac, and Linux to jailbreak devices running iOS 6 through 6.1. 