Health IT Business News Wrap-up - July 29, 2012 | HITECH Answers

This week?s business news saw a familiar name. The Commonwealth Fund has named former National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal, M.D., as its next president. Dr.Blumenthal will succeed Karen Davis on January 1, 2013. The Commonwealth Fund mission is to promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society?s most vulnerable.?The Fund carries out this mandate by supporting independent research on health care issues and making grants to improve health care practice and policy. Find full details in the press release issued by The Commonwealth Fund.

In other appointment news, ICA has named Rodney M. Hamilton, MD, as their Chief Medical Information Officer. ICA is a leading provider of interoperability technology to enable health information exchange (HIE). Prior to joining ICA, Dr. Hamilton was the CMIO at PointClear Solutions. Dr. Hamilton has also held leadership positions in information technology at Vanguard Health Systems, McKesson Provider Technologies and Brentwood Pediatrics. Read ICA?s press release here.

Several large contracts were announced this week starting with Providence Health & Services selection of Nuance Healthcare?s voice recognition software. ?The Dragon Medical 360 product will be deployed across Providence?s healthcare network of 27 hospitals and 250 clinics and integrated with the network?s Epic EHR. Read more here.

Health Language,?Inc. (HLI) announced that?NextGen Healthcare has?selected its Language Engine (LE) and?provider-friendly terminology (PFT) to?enhance physician documentation and billing?workflow. ?The HLI?tools will help standardize?terminologies such as SNOMED and ICD-10?within the NextGen EHR, Practice Management and Health Information Exchange products to?support Stage 2?Meaningful Use and ICD-10?implementation requirements. Read more on Businesswire.com.

It wouldn?t be a week of business news without mentioning mobile apps. ?Azumio announced it will acquire Skyhealth, makers of the mobile health apps Fitness Buddy and Glucose Budd. ?Medipattern closed on the?acquisition of Mytrak Health System?s Mobile Technology Business Unit, including intellectual property and patented technology.

Got a startup idea to transform our healthcare system??Morgenthaler Ventures and Health 2.0 DC to VC: Health IT Startup Showcase is holding a nationwide contest to find the best venture startup ideas in health IT. The the top 10 finalists ?will present their ideas at the Annual 2012 Health 2.0 Conference in San Francisco on October 10, 2012.

And speaking of Venture Capitalists, Mercom Capital Group has reported that healthcare IT VC funding raised $293 million in Q2 this year. ?The strong uptrend that started in Q2 2011 has continued for four quarters in a row,? said Raj Prabhu, Managing Partner at Mercom Capital Group. ?Also significant is the continued strong M&A activity in the sector, providing investors and companies with viable exit strategies.? Read more here.

InformationWeek reported this week that the?American Medical Association ?(AMA) wants health insurers to standardize their doctor profiles and include clinical data from EHRs. According to the article the AMA has released guidelines to encourage health insurers to standardize their physician profiling reports. Read the full article here.

And finally, the Olympics isn?t the only news event from ?across the pond.? ?BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, and HIMSS have signed a long-term agreement to combine two of the UK?s major healthcare IT events ? HC2013 and HEALTH+IN4MATICS.?The combined event will be called: HC2013 and will be held on April 16-17, 2013 at the ICC Birmingham. Learn more about the event.

Tags: AMA, David Blumenthal, DC to VC, HIMSS, ICA, Mobile Health, NextGen, Nuance Healthcare

Category: Health Information Technology

Source: http://www.hitechanswers.net/health-it-business-news-wrap-up-july-29-2012/

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EU rejects Israeli request to blacklist Hezbollah

The European Union turned down a request Tuesday by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to blacklist Hezbollah as a terror group after last week's deadly bombing in Bulgaria.

"There is no consensus for putting Hezbollah on the list of terrorist organisations," said Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

Israel blames Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah for Wednesday's suicide attack at the Black Sea airport of Burgas in which five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver died.

But an EU decision would require the unanimous approval of all its 27 members.

Sitting beside the Cypriot minister at a news conference held after annual EU-Israel talks, Lieberman said: "The time has come to put Hezbollah on the terrorist list of Europe."

"It would give the right signal to the international community and the Israeli people."

But Kozakou-Marcoullis said Hezbollah was an organisation comprising a party as well as an armed wing and was "active in Lebanese politics".

"Taking into account this and other aspects there is no consensus for putting Hezbollah on the list of terrorist organisations," she said.

The EU would consider this if there were tangible evidence of Hezbollah engaging in acts of terror, she added.

Lieberman said Israel was continuing to compile evidence from the Bulgaria attack and would onpass proof to the EU.

But in Israel, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told AFP that "for years we have been providing Europe with information on Hezbollah's direct involvement in terror attacks.

"But certain states in the EU have clarified to us that because of political reasons, they prefer to not add Hezbollah to the list, despite them not disputing the evidence."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/eu-refuses-israeli-request-blacklist-hezbollah-001813930.html

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MH Developer Persists, Again - MH Marketing Sales Management

Following up on a series of articles first published a year ago and last reported July 12, 2012, voicesnews says Garden Homes Management Corp. has resubmitted plans for 121 manufactured homes on 40.79 acres to the Oxford (Connecticut) Conservation Commission, Inland Wetlands Agency (CCIWA). Garden Homes has been denied approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the CCIWA several times since its first application in 2006, and while a Superior Court judge denied the proposal based on the CCIWA objections, it did agree the town needed to fulfill its quota for affordable housing. The new application will also be submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission. MHProNews has learned the Board of Selectmen has also hired an attorney experienced in land use issues to assist the Planning and Zoning Commission write affordable housing regulations.

Categories: Business, Communities, Manufactured Homes, News Item, regulation, Zoning Tags: affordable housing, conservation commission, management corp, manufactured homes, mh, new application, objections, Oxford Connecticut, proposal, quota, several times, superior court judge, wetlands, zoning commission

Source: http://www.mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com/blogs/daily-business-news/mh-developer-persists-again/

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Advanced Electric Design And Service News: 44 NJ Contractors ...

New Jersey Consumers should beware of Home Improvement Contractors that hold themselves out as Licensed when they are not in fact licensed. Many list a "License Number" on their vehicles beginning with 13VH. This is not a license number it is and always has been a State of NJ Home Improvement Contractors Registration Number.

Only Electrical, Plumbing and Alarm Contractors are Licensed in the State of New Jersey, Home Improvement Contractors are not Licensed, they are merely required to be Registered. If there is no number at all, that is a huge RED Flag for any consumer to stay away from that contractor.

To that end New Jersey has issued violation notices to 44 home improvement contractors that the agency found to be non-compliant and unregistered. The Division of Consumer affairs is seeking $195,000 in civil penalties from the contractors. The investigation was based on complaints and referrals from consumers across the state.

Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa says the division receives more complaints about home improvement contractors than any other category. Chiesa says four of the contractors face sanctions for allegedly failing to perform work after accepting customer deposits totaling $3,400.

Forty of the contractors allegedly performed or solicited home repairs without properly registering with division. The contractors can challenge the violations.

Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa says the division receives more complaints about home improvement contractors than any other category. Chiesa says four of the contractors face sanctions for allegedly failing to perform work after accepting customer deposits totaling $3,400.

Forty of the contractors allegedly performed or solicited home repairs without properly registering with division. The contractors can challenge the violations.

Contact Us: Info@advancedelectricdesign.net

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Source: http://aedsllc.blogspot.com/2012/07/44-nj-contractors-issued-registration.html

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Stress can cause breast cancer to spread to bone: study | Cancer Kick

Washington: Stress or depression following primary treatment in breast cancer patients can make it more favourable for cancer cells to spread to the bone.

The study published in PLoS Biology journal found that both stress and depression activate the sympathetic nervous system, which increases bone levels of a signaling molecule called RANKL.

The researchers from Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology found that breast cancer cell migration to the bone depends on RANKL, which is known to promote the formation of osteoclasts, bone cells that break down bone tissue.

?We came to the hypothesis that sympathetic activation might remodel the bone environment and make it more favourable for cancer cells to metastasis there,? said Florent Elefteriou, director of the Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology.

?Metastasis, the spread of cancer cells to distant organs, including bone is more likely to kill patients than a primary breast tumour,? Elefteriou said.

The researchers studied cancer cell metastasis in mice. They followed fluorescently ?tagged? human breast cancer cells that were injected into the mouse heart to model the stage of metastasis when breast cancer cells leave the primary site and move through the circulation.

They found that treating the mice with a drug that mimics sympathetic nervous system activation caused more cancer lesions in bone.

PTI

Article source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/health/health-news/stress-can-cause-breast-cancer-to-spread-to-bone-study_18002.html

Source: http://cancerkick.com/2012/07/22/stress-can-cause-breast-cancer-to-spread-to-bone-study/

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Cool Cantaloupe Soup with Basil Cream ... - Maine Food & Lifestyle

Cool Cantaloupe Soup with Basil Cream
food.com

1 cantaloupe, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
2 Tablespoons mint leaves, chopped
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons fine sugar
1/2 cup packed basil leaves
3/4 cup sparkling white grape juice

Place the cantaloupe, lemon juice, and zest in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the mint and salt and pulse to combine. Transfer to a large bowl, cover, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Basil Cream: Place the cream and sugar in the bowl of food processor and process until slightly thickened. Add the basil and process until thick-about 20 seconds-and set aside.

Add the grape juice to the soup right before serving.

Divide evenly among four bowls and top with the cream. Enjoy!

Note: You may use purple sparkling grape juice, but this will change the color of the soup.

Serves 4.

MF&L Staff at Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine.

Source: http://blog.mainefoodandlifestyle.com/2012/07/cool-cantaloupe-soup-with-basil-cream.html

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7 Ways to Re-create Your Brain! | Brain World

By Greg & Melissa D?Eloia

In the summer, many of us take vacations and spend more time outside. The benefits of recreation and lesiure, however, truly span all seasons. While most people enjoy vacations and such activities as sports, hobbies and exercise, few realize the full spectrum of benefits linked to regular recreation and leisure activities.

For decades, scholars and researchers around the globe have documented a compelling body of evidence that suggests regular participation in recreation is essential for our physical, social, cognitive and spiritual development. Recreation improves physical and mental health, builds community and promotes relationships. Recreation encourages us to take risks, to be creative, and to learn and grow from experience. Overall, people who regularly participate in recreational activities report feeling more productive, less stressed and a greater sense of satisfaction.

Here are a few suggestions to take advantage of the cognitive benefits of recreation and leisure. The following list is based on empirical research that links leisure activities and environments to brain-related benefits:

Go Outside
Outdoor environments help us experience a sense of connection to the natural world. Feeling such a connection is vital to our sense of well-being and peace of mind. The therapeutic value of parks, open space and wilderness in our environments is thoroughly documented by behavioral scientists across a broad range of disciplines. Human beings often miss the solace and wonder of the natural world denied us by modern and urban lifestyles. The simple act of going outside to think for a moment can bring restoration and clarity to cognitive processes cluttered by the hectic pace and confined nature of modern life.

Bring the outside in
Bringing outdoor elements into your office and living spaces can help counteract the deficiency of nature there. Houseplants, herb gardens, aquariums, landscape art and windows with a view can make indoor spaces more comfortable, productive and therapeutic. The use of natural colors, light, textures, images and patterns help create a more pleasant habitat for recently domesticated human beings who still secretly hunger for more natural surroundings.

Let yourself Play
Research has shown that children need to play in order to foster their imaginations, learn social norms and develop problem-solving and decision-making skills through trial and error. Play is essential to the social, cognitive, emotional and physical development of children and youth. While children?s play is characterized by spontaneity, joyfulness and freedom from inhibition, adults play with increasingly specific rules and regulations. Nevertheless, adults also benefit from the opportunities for self-expression, challenge and social connections that come from participating in recreation that is spontaneous, interactive and enjoyable. Some examples of play for adults might include music, painting, theater, games with family and friends?any activity that allows us to change roles and have fun.

Experience Adventure
Do something daring! Seemingly extreme sports like rock climbing, river rafting, snowboarding, surfing, scuba diving and skydiving are all accessible and beginner-friendly for those willing to pay for expert instruction. Perhaps your idea of excitement might be bungee jumping, mountain biking, boating, hot-air ballooning or training for a race. Scientists have established a genetic and neurological basis for thrill-seeking behavior and confirmed that the desire for such experiences is hard-wired into the brain. Chronic thrill-seekers have a greater need for this type of stimulation, in some cases developing compulsions for adventure similar to drug addiction. While some of us are genetically predisposed to crave excitement more than others, everyone?s brain responds to the dopamine that gets released when our fight-or-flight instinct gets activated. The thrill of adventure pushes the brain into a state of heightened awareness and a feeling of being truly alive. Warning: These activities may be addictive!

Get Away
Travel can be invigorating and provide insight and perspective. Journeys to unfamiliar places present valuable opportunities to acquire new knowledge and skills. Whether you seek adventure and challenge or rest and relaxation, simply going somewhere different provides an opportunity to inspire, recharge and refresh emotional and mental states. Because the brain reacts to new settings with increased perception and awareness, the newness of each experience makes travel a stimulating and engaging leisure pursuit.

Rest and Relaxation
Be sure to get enough sleep, and remember to relax from time to time. Your brain needs rest and leisure time of its own which only adequate sleep and relaxation can provide. Cultivate the habit of taking a moment to breathe. Explore the brain-body connection through meditation, yoga and visualization techniques.

Take Back your Leisure Time
Free your mind from the digital grid by watching less TV, playing fewer video games, spending less time surfing the web and turning off your smartphone. While there is still relatively little information available about the long-term effects of electronics on the brain, there is no doubt that these devices represent a huge drain on your leisure time and reduce the time you have available for more important things. Cut back on digital recreation to make time for more worthwhile leisure pursuits, such as reading and outdoor recreation.

Greg D?Eloia is a professional snowboard instructor and youth program director with a Masters of Science in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism from the University of Utah. Melissa D?Eloia, PhD, is an assistant professor of Recreation & Leisure Studies at California State University, Long Beach.

Source: http://brainworldmagazine.com/7-ways-to-re-create-your-brain/

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X5 Retail Group CEO Andrei Gusev Steps Down ? Fox Business

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Source: http://www.skyfinancialnews.com/?p=300137

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GoPro Wi-Fi BacPac and Remote Review

Having played with a number of POV cameras now, one of the options I miss with the GoPro Hero2 is the remote control. Even when not being used for Extreme Sports, the ability to mount your camera and be able to initiate your video or snapshot without having to get to the camera itself has [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/07/13/gopro-wi-fi-bacpac-and-remote-review/

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Samsung's Stephen Woo to kick off day two of CES with keynote

You might be thinking, "it's too early to be talking about CES," and we wish you were right, but you're not. January's consumer electronics extravaganza is inching closer, plans are already being laid and Samsung President Stephen Woo is filling in appointments in his calendar. The most important of those will be his keynote that's set to kick off day two of the festivities in Vegas. The talk will largely focus on the little things, and we don't mean unimportant things, we mean components. All those tiny slivers of silicon that make your gadgets go are really what is pushing the industry forward and Samsung is a major player -- pumping out processors, memory, SIMs and camera sensors. The former Bell Labs and Texas Instruments employee will bring his 20-plus years of experience to bear on a vision of the future, presumably powered by Sammy's chips. Will he also unveils something new... perhaps a next gen smartphone CPU? We'll just have to wait and see. Guess it's time to start booking those flights.

Continue reading Samsung's Stephen Woo to kick off day two of CES with keynote

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Samsung's Stephen Woo to kick off day two of CES with keynote originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 10:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/11/samsungs-stephen-woo-to-kick-off-day-two-of-ces-with-keynote/

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The Housing Bust Is Over

The Wall Street Journal:

The housing market has turned -- at last.

The U.S. finally has moved beyond attention-grabbing predictions from housing "experts" that housing is bottoming. The numbers are now convincing.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal

Contribute to this Story:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/11/the-housing-bust-is-over_n_1665920.html

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Catholic Melinda Gates defies the Vatican over birth control funds

At an extraordinary summit in London, Mrs Gates announced that the charitable foundation she set up with her Microsoft founder husband Bill was donating $560m to family planning services.

The size of the donation is intended to emphasise the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation?s commitment to reducing unwanted pregnancies in poorer countries, which experts say lead to more than 100,000 women dying prematurely every year.

A life-long Catholic, Mrs Gates said she had grappled with her faith before deciding to speak out against the Vatican?s opposition to contraception.?

?Of course I wrestled with this. As a Catholic I believe in this religion, there are amazing things about this religion, amazing moral teachings that I do believe in, but I also have to think about how we keep women alive,? she said in an interview in advance of the summit.

?I believe in not letting women die, I believe in not letting babies die, and to me that?s more important than arguing about what method of contraception [is right].?

The summit, co-hosted by the Gates Foundation and Department for International Development, started with a remarkable declaration by the Indian government pledged to provide free access to family planning for all 64 million women currently denied the opportunity to control when and how many children to have.

Cash pledges then came in thick and fast from world leaders, with more than ?3bn by the end of the day, Almost half of contribution were from developing countries.

David Cameron was given a standing ovation after announcing Britain is doubling its financial support for family planning services to ?1bn over the next eight years, but was immediately asked how he would tackle religious opposition to the efforts.

He said Britain?s contribution would save the life of a woman or girl in the developing world every two hours for the next eight years by preventing deaths caused by too many pregnancies, too close together.?

Mr Cameron and Andrew Mitchell, international development minister, were widely praised for showing leadership and commitment to women?s health, though the funding is not new money and will come out of existing aid budgets.

Australia and Germany both agreed to double their contributions for family planning programmes. Nigeria, where only one in 10 couples currently use contraception, announced a 300 per cent increase in funds.

In total, the summit raised nearly enough money to expand family planning programmes to an extra 120 million women.

In her speech Mrs Gates said: ?What we?re doing is an enormous undertaking? We?re committed to innovating constantly; we?re committed to educating women about their options? It is a difficult task but it is absolutely urgent.?

Mr Cameron said: ?When a woman is prevented from choosing when to have children it is not just a violation of her human rights it can fundamentally compromise her chances in life and the opportunities for her children.

?Family planning works not just because smaller families can be healthier and wealthier but because empowering women is the key to growing economies and healthy open societies.?

Mr Cameron added: ?We?re not talking about some kind of Western imposed population control, forced abortion or sterilisation.

?What we?re saying today is quite the opposite. We?re not telling anyone what to do. We?re giving women and girls the power to decide for themselves.?

An estimated 220 million women around the world do not have access to contraceptives or family planning information.

In some countries women need written consent from their husbands before they can talk to a doctor about contraception while in others, family planning services are not offered to adolescents or unmarried women. In others, contraceptives are frequently out of stock when women need them.

For the past two decades vaccinations against infectious diseases have been pursued as the global health priority at the expense of contraception and family planning. But a series of papers published in The Lancet earlier this week concluded that addressing the unmet need for contraception was crucial if Millennium Development Goals on maternal deaths, poverty and gender equality were to be ever achieved.

And a recent report from Save the Children said every year one million teenage girls die or is injured because of pregnancy or childbirth ? making pregnancy is the biggest killer of teenage girls worldwide.

Mrs Gates said the Foundation had initially focussed on vaccines because women would not choose to have fewer children until they were sure their children would survive childhood

In address by video link, Aung Sang Suu Kyi told delegates that giving women control over family planning would lead to healthier, better educated women and children for the future.

?Reproductive rights are basic human rights,? said Hillary Clinton.

Bill and Melinda: A labour of love

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was set-up by the Microsoft founder and his wife in 1994. Since then it has become a significant player in global development and health. As co-chairs of the Foundation, the Gates? are intimately involved in its work.

Latest figures show that the foundation has funded $26.2bn worth of programmes and grants, including more than $6bn for libraries, scholarships, emergency relief, schools and homelessness in the United States.

Global health is their first love, on which more than $15bn has been spent so far. They are probably best known for their work on Malaria, vaccines and HIV/Aids, but have also invested significantly in research and treatments for diarrheal diseases, TB and pneumonia which costs millions of lives every year. They have offices in India and China where large programmes of work are focused.

Article source: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/catholic-melinda-gates-defies-the-vatican-over-birth-control-funds-7936386.html

Source: http://health-nutrition-fitness.net/health-news-and-facts/catholic-melinda-gates-defies-the-vatican-over-birth-control-funds/

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The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@zepbook.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

Additionally, a 500 Internal Server Error error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

Source: http://www.zepbook.com/cvgirg418/blog/moncler-loans-for-unemployed-save-your-financial-grade-arti/

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Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Baby Shower

Saturday, I hosted a "snips and snails and puppy dog tails" baby shower for my dear friend Nancy and sweet baby James. You may know Nancy as the mommy of Kate's BFF Becca, in which case you might wonder "why a shower for a second baby?" Since Becca was a super-mini-micro-premie, Nancy didn't get a "normal" baby shower for Becca (i.e. one while the baby was still in the belly!) and so we were all excited to celebrate this perfectly normal and healthy baby boy, growing right on schedule in mama's tummy.

You know how I go nuts with a theme, so once Nancy mentioned that Baby James' nursery would be puppy-dog themed, we were off and running!

I ordered the invites from Zazzle, and added a puppy paw print to the envelopes (using a balled-up piece of Play-Doh, since I didn't have a stamp that worked).

Like many people, Nancy and I initially wondered "what is a snip?" The consensus on ye olde internet was that the "snips" in the classic rhyme refer to the random little things boys might bring home in their pockets?twigs, leaves, etc.?so I used greenery clipped from a tree in our backyard in the decor as my "snips."
I decorated cupcakes frosted with snips, snails, and puppy dog paw prints. My platters were already being used for veggies and cheeses, so I dressed up a cookie sheet with a ruffle cut from one of the napkins and affixed with hot glue. (It peeled right off when I was done. Isn't hot glue great?)

A little snail made from a string cheese and strip of red pepper hid in the corner of the cheese tray.

I'm more into the thematic decor than cooking, so I just made my basic party fare?veggies, cheese, fruit, and spinach-artichoke dip with crackers, but added puppy chow to the mix, yes, just because it went with the puppy dog theme.
The mantle garland had paper paw prints and a snail, plus greenery snips like in the table arrangements.

We played a couple games and opened presents, of course. It was a lovely time celebrating this wonderful mama and her sweet baby boy!


I know a couple people were aware of my efforts to sculpt a puppy cake-topper out of fondant and are eagerly awaiting seeing the little guy! This was my first time working with fondant and I just couldn't seem to get it smooth, so he looked a little dry and crackly. He was so ashamed that he gradually lowered his head, once held high, down onto his paws to rest :0) I figured cupcakes work better than a cake you have to cut during the party anyway, so puppy stayed hidden away in his tupperware in the pantry.

Source: http://www.theparsonagefamily.com/2012/07/snips-and-snails-and-puppy-dog-tails.html

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Bureaucracy slows NATO supply run through Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? Bureaucratic delays have held up shipments to troops in Afghanistan through Pakistan, officials said Wednesday, a week after Islamabad reopened U.S. and NATO supply lines.

So far, only a handful of supply trucks have crossed the border, which Pakistan closed to the convoys last November after American airstrikes accidentally killed 24 Pakistani border troops. Islamabad agreed to reopen the supply routes on July 3, after months of negotiations and a U.S. apology over the incident.

Two trucks carrying supplies to U.S. and NATO troops passed through the Chaman border crossing in the southern province of Baluchistan last Thursday. A Pakistani customs official said no other trucks have crossed since then.

Four trucks from the port city of Karachi arrived at the border Wednesday and were expected to cross on Thursday, the official said. Chaman is one of two border crossings used to transport NATO supplies.

Trucks have yet to pass at Torkham, the second crossing, a regional official in northern Pakistan said. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Since the official resumption of the supply route, not a single fuel truck has left either of the two main ports in Karachi, said Israr Shinwari, president of the All Pakistan Tankers Association.

He blamed bureaucracy for the delay, saying that procedures and paperwork must be completed before goods and fuel can even be loaded on the trucks.

Goods shipments appeared likely to resume before fuel supply, Shinwari said, and the tankers are expected to move in about a week.

Pakistan is a notoriously bureaucratic country where obtaining permits or processing paperwork can take a frustratingly long time.

Before the closure, 150 to 200 trucks carrying NATO supplies crossed the border daily.

Few expected shipments to reach those numbers immediately after Pakistan reopened the supply lines, and the delay did not appear to reflect a change of heart on the side of the Pakistani government. The trucks have been waiting in Karachi for months and need maintenance and proper customs clearance before any movement can take place, officials and drivers said.

Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said in a statement Wednesday that Pakistan decided to reopen the supply lines "in the interest of regional peace and stability." He made the comments during a meeting with the outgoing U.S. ambassador, the statement said.

Security also appeared to play a role in the delay.

Mansoor Ahmad, a representative of a company that has 100 containers waiting for shipment in a warehouse in Karachi, said his firm was worried about security, given recent anti-NATO protests in Pakistan.

On Monday thousands of people rallied in Islamabad against the government's decision to reopen the supply lines. Anti-American sentiment in Pakistan is high, in part due to the continued strikes by American drones aimed at militant targets in tribal areas, and because the U.S. has accused Pakistan of harboring militants that attack its forces in Afghanistan.

More protests are scheduled for the coming days.

The Taliban and other militant groups have threatened to attack trucks carrying NATO supplies. Before the closure, militants sometimes shot at or bombed the trucks.

A test run to Chaman was successful, Ahmad said, with four trucks arriving safely at the crossing on Wednesday. The company is now assessing how to proceed.

"We can't take risks in such a situation. We are concerned about security," he said.

One truck driver in Karachi acknowledged that the anti-NATO protests were a concern.

"There are protests against the supply. The religious forces are not accepting this (decision). We are very concerned over the situation," said Azeemullah, who, like many people in the country, uses a single name.

Also in Karachi, a bomb attached to a bicycle hit a bus carrying employees of Pakistan's main space agency, killing at least one person and wounding 23 others, senior police officer Naeem Akram said.

There was no claim of responsibility, and it was not clear whether the bus was specifically targeted.

___

Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed and Asif Shahzad contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bureaucracy-slows-nato-supply-run-pakistan-185811765.html

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Myanmar plans to open doors to foreign telcos for affordable cellular, internet service

Hefty price tags haven't exactly made cellphones ubiquitous in cash-strapped Myanmar. According to AFP, an estimated 96 percent of the nation's 60 million inhabitants don't own a mobile handset, but that might soon be changing. A new reform plan announced by Myanmar's Post and Telecommunication Minister, Thein Tun, lays out a strategy that could finally give said folks a crack at affordable cellular and internet services. If succesful, the initiative will start a bidding process for international telcos to set up shop in the country, allowing the companies to partner with the state-owned telephone provider and the ISP Yatanarpon Teleport. There's no word on when the partnerships may coalesce, but here's to hoping that $200 SIM card registration fees in Myanmar soon become a thing of the past. Full details at the source link below.

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Video: Climate changing ?in ways we haven?t seen before?

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Automotive Shares Tumble on News of Motorcycle Sales Dip | The ...

Automotive Shares Tumble on News of Motorcycle Sales Dip
Jakarta Globe & Antara | July 10, 2012

Shares of Astra International, the country?s biggest automotive distributor, and its rivals fell on Monday after media reports that motorcycle prices slid in June from the previous month and that car sales were expected to slow in the second half of the year.

Motorcycle sales fell by almost 3 percent to 550,468 units in June from 619,540 units in May, Antara news agency reported, citing Gunadi Sindhuwinata, chairman of the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association (AISI), in Jakarta on Monday.

Car sales are expected to reach 375,000 vehicles in the second half of the year, way below the 534,876 units sold in the first half of the year, according to a forecast by the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo) last week.

Low motorcycle sales, used as a gauge of economic activity, paint a bleak picture for car and motorcycle makers, analysts said. Shares of Astra International fell 2.9 percent to Rp 6,750 on Monday. Indomobil Sukses Internasional shed 4.5 percent to Rp 7,450.

Astra International is the biggest company by market capitalization on the stock market, accounting for Rp 273.3 trillion ($29 billion), or 7.3 percent of the value of all 447 companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.

?The increase in the down payment requirements hurt motorcycle sales,? AISI?s Gunadi said.

In a move to improve prudent banking practices and prevent excessive lending, the government tightened the rules for purchasing motorcycles. Since the middle of June, potential buyers have been required to make down payments of at least 25 percent of the total value of the bike.

Before the new rules, many buyers drove new motorcycles home with little or no money down.

Honda Motor, a unit of Astra International, sold 332,272 motorbikes in June, down from 362,127 in May but still good enough to be the sales leader for the month, according to AISI. Yamaha Motor Kencana Indonesia, the sole distributor of Yamahas in Indonesia, sold 167,661 motorcycles in June compared with more than 200,000 units per month in previous months.

Motorcycle sales at Suzuki Motor Indonesia fell to 36,532 units in June from 40,859 in May, according to AISI.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/automotive-shares-tumble-on-news-of-motorcycle-sales-dip/529608

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