Was Hitler bisexual and sadomasochistic?

Although he ordered the killing of thousands of homosexuals in the concentration camps, Adolf Hitler was sadomasochistic and bisexual and had a relationship that "embroidered the sexual" with his secretary, the powerful Rudolf Hess, affirms a profile of the Nazi leader elaborated during the Second World War. World by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor of the CIA.

The recently declassified report was prepared by anthropologist Henry Field, who collaborated in the Special Intelligence Unit of the White House in the time of US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The document, about 70 pages, analyzes several aspects of the Nazi boss's life, from his daily routine, his diet to his musical tastes and his sexuality.

On page 28 of the report, Field says that when Hitler was imprisoned in Landsberg after his failed coup attempt, he maintained a "sexual-embracing" relationship with his right-hand man, Hess.

"After the murder of Roehm (the minister in Hitler's cabinet) I knew that Hess's nickname among the homosexual community was" Fraeulein Ana ", since it was known that she attended dances dressed as a woman (...) It was then that my suspicions about certain discrete characteristics in Hitler's personality began to get my attention, "Field wrote.

"After the murder of Rohem, small pieces of information were arriving until they forced me to consider Hitler as a sadomasochistic man with the possibility of a certain homosexual trait in him," Field wrote.

According to the investigation, when he was a young artist in Vienna, Hitler visited a men's residence, the "Mannerheim Brigittenau", known as a meeting point between older men who were looking for "young men for homosexual pleasures".

The report also assures that the Nazi leader sought as a loving ideal a couple that is "half mother and half girlfriend" and that "he obtained aesthetic satisfaction by seeing adolescents, boys or girls".

"His sexual life is as dual as his political vision, he is at the same time homosexual and heterosexual, socialist and a fervent nationalist, man and woman, although it is true that Adolf Hitler avoids being diagnosed, there are certain facts that prove that her sexual situation is unsustainable and, even, desperate, "concluded Field.

The symbol of evil hidden in La Pieta, by Michelangelo

It is said that the cardinal Gascon Jean Bilhères de Villiers (1435-1499), the ambassador of the French monarch in the Holy See, commissioned the artist Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) La Piedad, one of the most important works of Renaissance sculpture.

The Pieta represents a very young Virgin Mary holding the dead Christ. According to the contract signed by both parties, the sculptor would charge four hundred and fifty gold ducats as long as he delivered the work within one year. The Florentine genius completed his sculpture when two days were left to complete the year.

The sculpture is well known by everyone and does not need presentations. Perhaps what is not so popular is that the mouth of Christ has three incisors in the upper arch, instead of two, which is usual. In other words, it has a supernumerary tooth.

The connection with evil

It is known as supernumerary teeth those that exceed the usual dental formula: 20 "milk" or deciduous and 32 permanent teeth. The causes that motivate its appearance are unknown, although the existence of a hereditary pattern has been discovered.

Although supernumerary teeth can appear in any location, the most frequent is in the central area of the maxillary arch, they are called mesiodens.

The depth of the Tuscan's thought can be intuited through his prolific artistic creation, in which theological, philosophical and anatomical conceptions can be guessed. It is known that he had vast knowledge of the human body, not in vain appears on the cover of some treatises of the Belgian physician Andreas Vesalio (1514-1564) participating in a dissection.

If it was not an anatomical error, what did the mesiodens symbolize? We must start from the premise that artists are often the notaries of their time and in the Renaissance the deformities of the body and anatomical anomalies were interpreted by some scholars -like Savoranola- as a figuration of evil. The fifth incisor was a metaphor for evil and sin.

Jesus and the burden of the sins of men

If we look closely at the Sistine Chapel we can discover that in hell there is more than one character with the fifth incisor. A symbolic nod that the Renaissance liked very much, as it represented for five decades, the time between La Piedad (1497-1499) and the Crucifixion of San Pedro in the Pasolina Chapel in Rome (1545-1550).

Now, how can we explain that the sculpture of Christ has a fifth incisor, according to this theological conception? The only possible explanation is that the Son of God has borne all the sins of men and with his blood has liberated Humanity from original sin.

It seems that when La Piedad by Michelangelo was exposed many critical voices questioned whether that genius could be the work of a Florentine -enemies found by the Romans- of 24 years.

The Florentine decided to settle the matter one night. In an attack of anger, of which he was quite accustomed to his contemporaries, he entered the Vatican and secretly chiselled on the ribbon of the Virgin's breast the following message: "Michel Agelus Bonarotus Florent Facieba" (Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, did). In this way, La Piedad became the only work signed by the famous sculptor.

By the way, Miguel Ángel was not the only one to represent these dental malformations, we can also find them in La Piedad by Lorenzo Salimbeni (1568-1613) and in the Illustrations by Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) for the Divine Comedy.

How much electricity does the internet use?

The use of the internet devours much more energy than we imagine. The network of networks can be considered responsible for around a tenth of the consumption of direct electricity in the entire planet, according to Jonathan Koomey, a researcher at Stanford University. However, this figure must be taken with caution, because many of the computers that contribute to its magnitude are used for all kinds of tasks, not just data communication. This is especially true in the case of home computers or our phones. They are part of the internet, but we do not think of them as elements of the infrastructure that support our communications.

Despite being very high, the figure masks another reality: that our servers and computers are increasingly efficient from the energy point of view. In this way, a linear increase in its electricity consumption since 2000 has allowed an exponential increase in the amount of information circulating through the Network.

The large data centers that serve the content that we consume on a daily basis generate an important demand. So much so, that companies such as Google, Facebook or Apple must often build huge power plants with them to ensure their operation twenty-four hours a day. According to a study by Northwestern University (USA), only these centers are responsible for 3% of the energy consumed in the entire planet. Keep this in mind the next time you want to send the animated GIF of some kittens.

They discover accidentally a medicine to eat everything without getting fat

The team of scientists at Yale University has made a discovery that can revolutionize the world of science by accidentally finding a way to block certain "lymphatic portals" so as not to gain weight if overeating. The finding, coordinated and directed by Anne Eichmann and Feng Zang, took place thanks to a group of mice with morbid obesity after modifying the genes that seemed to protect them from weight gain, despite consuming a high-fat diet, according to ABC.

During the first weeks, the mice continued to maintain their initial weight. For that reason, they decided to pause the experiment until they discovered that there were two genes that had undergone a change in the intestine of rodents: certain "capillary lymphatic portals" or "lacteal" had been crushed.

The lacteals, according to the journal Nature, act as an entry for fatty acids, which allow them to pass into the bloodstream to provide energy or be stored as fat.

This discovery can not be applied in humans, but, instead of modifying the genes, a way could be devised to inhibit certain receptors to produce the same effect in the lacteals. In addition, when applying it in humans, the "ethical reasons" to carry it out come into play.

Nevertheless, experts have found a substitute for this drug that already exists and that has the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration to treat glaucoma, the main cause of blindness.

This is the brain of a person who sees pornography

Pornography remains a controversial issue. Previous experiments have confirmed the impact that the stimulation of the pleasure center causes in the brain through the excess of explicit sexual contents. Now, several studies go deeper into this topic: what exactly does it do in our brain?

The high consumption of pornography can alter the structure and functioning of our brain causing addiction or addictive behavior to arise. Both having sex and watching them leads to the release in the brain of a substance called dopamine (a brain neurotransmitter related to motor functions, emotions and feelings of pleasure).

The difference with regard to practicing sex is that porn produces a kind of "flood" of dopamine. The excessive discharge of this hormone can produce cardiovascular, renal, stomach or endocrine disorders, among others. But also, when this discharge occurs, the body needs to re-produce them again, so they promote the repetition of this behavior and can lead to a vicious circle that leads the individual to lose the ability to govern their own body.

The brain, meanwhile, reduces its activity in the reward centers. The more pornography you see, the less activity, according to a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. This causes the brain to need more dopamine to feel the same effect. It offers us a compelling reason to see more pornography again.

"Brains respond to chemical change. When dopamine is released and there is a sense of pleasure, the primitive brain sends the message of repeating the behavior of the desired sensation, "explains Joe Schrank, specialist in addictions.

Thus the mind of a person with dependence on pornography is presented with a constant need to feel a strong stimulation. That is why the brain of a high consumer of explicit sexual content is compared with that of a person with alcohol dependence or a drug dependent person. Without going any further, a study published in the journal PloS One and carried out by the University of Cambridge (England) revealed that the striatum or striatum - which plays an important role in the reward center of the brain - was also illuminated when it was about people with alcohol dependence as well as pornography when showing them images of their object of desire.

The scientists discovered that three specific regions of the brain were much more active in people addicted to these sexual contents: the striatum, the anterior cingulate cortex (executive control, emotional control) and the amygdala (sentinel of emotions). In addition, seeing too much pornography also modifies the size of our brain. In another study carried out by the Max Planck Institute (Germany) in 2014, the researchers discovered that the volume of the striatum of the brain decreased the more they saw pornography.

"We found an important negative link between the act of viewing pornography several hours a week and the volume of gray matter in the right lobe of the brain, as well as the activity of the prefrontal cortex," explained the authors of the study.

Gadgets at the service of health

In a world that is increasingly accelerated, with long working hours, intense traffic, growing urbanization and prolonged sedentary lifestyle, health is put a little aside. Thus, not only exercise is forgotten, but even basic issues such as walking or drinking water are played down.

Digitization and gadgets have had a controversial existence, receiving accusations of reducing social dynamics or chaining the user to a screen, but we must not forget its positive side. Since digitalization, electronic devices have been developed that seek to combat major urban problems, such as stress, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet and lack of sleep.

According to WHO, physical inactivity is a global public health problem. Among its statistics we find that at least 60% of the world's population does not perform the physical activity necessary to obtain health benefits. In addition to the prevention of diseases such as cardiovascular diseases or diabetes, physical movement helps combat the disease, one of the main ailments of today; Last year the WHO revealed that work stress causes 25% of heart attacks.

Do not confuse lack of exercise with physical inactivity. The latter is defined as having made less than 150 minutes accumulated in the week of moderate or vigorous physical activity. Also, sedentary lifestyle is considered when more than 28 hours per week are spent sitting, and more than 20% of the population is in This status.

Improving the quality of life is the goal of this type of gadgets, such as those developed by Fitbit. Faced with health problems that spread across the globe, the Californian brand developed portable technology focused on health and the fitness industry. This one opened its doors in 2007 and it was with a fast growth, since in the period between 2010 and 2015 the profits of Fitbit increased of 5 million dollars more than 1,800 million dollars (Statista). For 2014, 14 million devices were sold and in 2016 almost 40 million were sold. This shows that gadgets created to improve health is one of the most promising segments in the technology industry.

How does it work?

There are several types, from basic physical activity bracelets to smartwatches. But one of the most complete, without falling into the smart watch, is the Fitbit Alta HR. It is a thin bracelet that also has a watch on its digital screen. This is communicated through an application with the Smartphone in order to have more accurate statistics and achieve the objectives with greater efficiency.

When using the bracelet during the day it measures the steps, the heart rate, the distance traveled in kilometers, the calories burned and the time of physical exercise. In the application, the objectives are defined, for example, 8,000 steps per day, which is recommended to get out of a sedentary lifestyle, and in this way the device calculates the necessary steps per hour to reach the goal. With this, every so often it measures how many steps are missing and vibrates gently to invite the user to take a short walk or to complete a certain number of steps. This type of silent notification allows people to be more aware of their level of activity and motivates them to make a small effort.

Heart rate monitoring is very useful to achieve goals of increasing physical condition and calculate calorie burn both at rest and during an activity. This is very efficient when carrying out a weight loss plan. To complement, in the application there is a section in which you can manually enter what foods are consumed and count the calories consumed. Likewise, there is another section to record the number of glasses of water that are drunk and to become aware of the importance of consuming this vital liquid.

Sleep monitoring is one of its new functions. To measure it, it is necessary to sleep with the device on the wrist so that it can perceive the duration and constancy of sleep. In addition, thanks to the fact that it measures the heart rate, it manages to record the time spent in each of the sleep phases and then graphs them in the App, from which it is possible to compare with the phases of the standard sleep according to gender and age. This not only measures the sleeping time, but also the quality of it. As an additional help, from the phone you define the time in which you want to go to bed so that a vibration notifies you that it is time to rest and when it is time you wake up in the same way.

Something that is important is that this type of devices do not force you to follow a certain pre-established pattern of health, but are created to customize habits according to the type of life and personal goals. Although it has suggestions, such as the number of recommended steps, for example, everything goes according to an organic and comfortable improvement for the user. At the end of the day it is up to everyone to improve their quality of life and this type of gadgets make their lives easier.

How do you use Facebook according to your age

Tell us how you use Facebook and we will tell you how old you are, or at least, we can make an estimate, thanks to a new study published by researchers at the University of North Dakota.

Older adults are attracted to Facebook to see photos and updates from family and friends, but tend to resist using this social network because they are concerned about who can see its content, according to new research.

"The biggest concern of seniors is privacy and not to reveal too much, but because they believe that there are too many people out there who could use your information at will," says the co-director of Penn's Media Research Lab State, S. Shyam Sundar. "Privacy has to do with the degree of control you feel you have about how your information is shared or distributed."

The researchers interviewed 46 participants who were between 65 and 95 years old. The group included 17 male participants and 29 female participants, all of them with a university degree. All claimed to use a computer daily.

The participants argued to keep in touch, to be aware of the updates of their contacts and to share photos as main reasons to use Facebook. However, the older adults in the study mentioned privacy, as well as the triviality of some posts, as reasons why they stayed away from the site.

According to this, Facebook would need to implement clearer privacy control tools to promote its use in older adults. What indicates, on the other hand, that young people are increasingly concerned about their privacy and, in general, do not consider it a factor to take into account when using a social network.

However, this does not mean that older adults do not enjoy the Facebook experience. While senior users are concerned about who is looking at their publications, at the same time they enjoy using the site to look at photos and read messages from friends and family, according to the researchers.

The study revealed that young people post more; instead, older people prefer to watch what their contacts do.

"I have not posted anything in years, I do not need to say: 'I'm eating!' I do not understand that type of communication", said one participant to the researchers.

The researchers, who report their findings in the journal Telematics and Informatics, warned Facebook developers that they should focus on setting up privacy to take advantage of the market for older people.

The researchers suggest that Facebook is helping to serve as a communication bridge between generations and that young people are encouraging older family members to join the site. In particular, unlike young people, most older adults were encouraged by younger family members to join Facebook so they can communicate.

Maintaining older users could be a significant resource to help drive the growth of Facebook and other social networks.

Inn in the sea

The Polish company Deep Ocean Technology completes the design of a spectacular semi-aquatic leisure and tourism center called Hotel Water Discus. It is a complex composed of different circular structures connected by a central cylinder, some located several meters above the water and another anchored on the seabed.

In the submerged zone, which would lie about 10 meters deep, there would be room for 21 double rooms equipped with large windows. In this way, the residents would have from them a unique view of the marine flora and fauna. In addition, the resort would have its own heliport, a hangar for tourist submersibles, spa, etc ..

Is Einstein also worth outside the Solar System?

An international team of astronomers has combined information obtained with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) to test Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity at the scale of the entire Milky Way, confirming that, indeed, gravity behaves as predicted by the historical scientist.

It is the most accurate severity test outside of the Solar System, and has been carried out by a research group led by Dr. Thomas Collett of the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth. The corresponding report has been published in the journal Science.

Collet himself explains that "general relativity predicts that massive objects deform space-time, this means that when light passes near another galaxy, the path of light is diverted".

"If two galaxies are aligned along our line of sight," the astronomer continues, "this can lead to a phenomenon called a strong gravitational lens, where we see multiple images of the background galaxy."

Collet concludes his explanation by stating that if the mass of the galaxy is known in the foreground, then the amount of separation between the multiple images reveals whether General Relativity is the correct theory of gravity in galactic scales.

The general theory of relativity, proposed in 1915, gave an explanation to the behavior of gravity that has since resisted a series of high precision tests within the Solar System. However, never before have precise tests been carried out on this theory at a galactic or large-scale astronomical level.

Nobody wants a Versailles in New York

An exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum recreates from the middle of last month the experience of visiting the palace of Versailles at its best, since Louis XIV moved the court there in 1682 until the monarchy was expelled with the French Revolution of 1789. Paintings , sculptures, tapestries, lamps and porcelain bring back the lavish atmosphere of the palace, which is visited by New Yorkers and tourists today.

Versallesque passion, however, does not reach the great pockets of New York. Or, at least, not to put a stack of millions for a mansion inspired by the pompous style of the French Bourbon. The number 163 East 64th Street, which has been described as the "Versailles in Manhattan," has been 15 years without finding a buyer.

Its exterior appearance is elegant, in red brick and limestone, neo-Georgian style. Inside, it evolves to a more overloaded and baroque character. It has an original English pine wood bookcase, a Louis XIV style drawing room with ten large canvases inspired by one of the most famous rooms of the Frick Collection - a New York museum in which it was the mansion of one of the richest families of the city- and bedrooms with grandiose headboards and drapes.

It is very possible that the style of the house does not convince everyone. The big drawback, however, seems its price. Its owner, Kenneth Laub, took it out for sale in 2003. In December 2007, he asked for 35 million dollars for it. It was a time of skyrocketing real estate prices, there were still months to go before the toxic mortgage crisis erupted. But that seemed too much for a house that has other shortcomings: it's not as close to Central Park as the billionaires on the Upper East Side like and it does not have much outside space (instead of the usual garden for these mansions, it has a terrace in the rooftop).

Since then, the mansion has passed from hand to hand from luxury real estate agencies. None of his most seasoned agents was able to find a buyer. And that its price has fallen off: in July 2011, it dropped to 29.95 million; in June 2013, at 27.5; in 2015 it had two falls: they asked for 25 and 23.9 million.

Laub, a 79-year-old commercial real estate millionaire, is perhaps aware that he is asking too much for the mansion. He bought it for $ 4 million in 1986 and at one point it seemed he did not mind keeping it if he did not do a big business. Did your emotional connection make you believe that its price is greater than what the market can afford? "If I put it too expensive, I do not care. If someone thinks it is worth what I believe, they will buy it. If not, they will not. And it is not the end of the world in any of the cases, "he said in an interview with" Observer "in 2009, when the label still said" 35 million. " Now, it seems that Laub changes his mind, and for the first time is in the market for less than 20 million: 19.75 million dollars.

Perhaps this last reduction will change the fate of a mansion that, in the New York real estate circle, is considered cursed.

Family Therapy

Family Therapy is a therapeutic discipline that addresses intervention and treatment of the family as a whole. From the systemic point of view, the term is often used marital and family therapy, as it is understood that the object of intervention are family systems and subsystems. Family therapy can be developed from different fields, such as psychotherapy (supervised only by psychologists and psychiatrists), the psychoeducational or educational therapy, based on behavioral change through values education and improvement of relationship skills (exercised both by psychologists and social workers, mediators, social workers, etc..) or experiential coaching.

There are different streams within systemic family therapy, such as the School of Milan, School of Palo Alto, or the Argentine psychiatrist Salvador Minuchin, who developed the structuralist approaches work with families (roles, communication , etc..), and that is one of the currents applied to social work with families with low incomes.

Brayton Purcell Fighting Against Unfair Asbestos Legislation

Four clients of the Brayton Purcell law firm will travel to the capitol to fight against proposed asbestos legislation (S. 852). Three have developed cancers due to asbestos exposure; the fourth is a widow whose husband died from asbestos-related cancer.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) January 27, 2006

Four clients of the Brayton Purcell law firm will travel to our nation’s capitol next week to make their voices heard against S. 852. This unfair asbestos legislation would deny access to the courts for asbestos victims, who instead would be required to pursue their claims through an asbestos trust fund. Congressional analysts and other government experts predict that the trust fund would run out of money well before all asbestos victims could be compensated. Medical experts question the criteria that the bill uses to identify and classify the diseases related to asbestos.

A Father Suffering From Mesothelioma

One client, David Bakkie, was exposed to asbestos when he worked as an assembler, a lineman and a line construction supervisor. He is 50 years old and has two teenage sons, Christopher and Charles.

Last September, Mr. Bakkie was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer that first attacks the membranes surrounding the lungs. The disease is caused by asbestos exposure.

A Ship Rigger’s Exposure to Asbestos

Ron Dutton is married and 51 years old. He has two daughters and a granddaughter. For many years, Mr. Dutton worked as a rigger on ships, a job that exposed him to asbestos. Like most other workers, he did not know about the danger to his health and was given no protection. Now he has asbestos–related colon cancer and asbestosis. Asbestosis is a progressive scarring of the lungs that is only caused by exposure to asbestos.

Mr. Dutton says that he is going to Washington to let the Senators know that workers who were exposed to asbestos have real illnesses and have the right to be compensated. He poses this question: “The government didn’t get in the way when asbestos manufacturers made huge profits, so why should it make it hard for people like me to be compensated when they become sick from asbestos products?”

An Asbestos Victim’s Widow

Joan Nettler Kiss became a widow last year when her husband, John, died of metastatic colon cancer. An insulator for 35 years, John Kiss was an active member of the Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers Local 16 in San Francisco. He had worked in power plants, shipyards, and industrial and commercial sites throughout Northern California. He contracted asbestosis and colon cancer due to his exposure to asbestos at these jobs

After he retired as an insulator, Mr. Kiss began a second career as an investigator at Brayton Purcell because he wanted to help other asbestos victims. He was very proud of this job. His co–workers came to rely on his extensive knowledge of asbestos products and his ability to put clients at ease. Mr. Kiss eventually became the manager of the firm’s Investigations Department.

John Kiss had three children of his own and also helped raise two of Joan’s children. He was a proud grandfather to his eight grandchildren. He is sorely missed by his family, friends and co–workers.

A Machinist With Asbestos Lung Cancer

Mr. George Goodyard is married with four daughters. For 34 years, he worked as a machinist in naval and private shipyards. He now has asbestosis and lung cancer as the result of his on–the–job exposure to asbestos. He has had part of his lung removed, and visits his doctor every three months for a check–up and X–rays. He receives a CAT scan every six months, and hopes that his condition does not deteriorate further.

“They knew about asbestos in 1970, but didn’t tell us anything about it,” Mr. Goodyard said. “We didn't know about the risks we were taking.” He also points out that even today, the insulation used in ships may be 30 to 40 years old and contain asbestos. The asbestos can be easily disturbed and become airborne, allowing workers to breathe in asbestos fibers.

Mr. Goodyard has a court date set for later this year. However, if S. 852 becomes law, his asbestos case could be thrown out, and he would have to apply to the asbestos trust fund program instead. The delay would be a hardship for Mr. Goodyard and his family. The asbestos trust fund will not be up and running immediately, and S. 852 creates an unwieldy bureaucracy that may not be efficient or effective.

Protest Against S. 852

S. 852 is extremely bad legislation that will help asbestos–related companies, but harm people with asbestos diseases. Please call or write to your Senators and urge them to vote NO on S. 852. The bill may come before the Senate in early February, so it is important to do this right away. You can find your Senators’ names, e–mails, and telephone numbers on the U. S. Senate web site at http://www. senate. gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm. cfm (http://www. senate. gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm. cfm)

List of Client Cases

The four clients are involved in these cases:

David Bakkie: David Bakkie vs. Asbestos Defendants, San Francisco Superior Court, No. 491129

Ron Dutton: Ronald Dutton and Terri Dutton vs. Asbestos Defendants, San Francisco Superior Court, No. 420971

Joan Nettler: Joan Nettler, et al vs. Asbestos Defendants, San Francisco Superior Court, No. 413663

George Goodyard: George Goodyard vs. Asbestos Defendants, San Francisco Superior Court, No. 434978

About Brayton Purcell

For over 20 years, Brayton Purcell has helped clients protect their legal rights in the face of devastating losses such as illness, injuries, and harm to family members. The law firm enjoys a national reputation for the high quality of its personal injury and product liability work, particularly in the area of asbestos litigation. For more information, call 415-898-1555 or visit the firm web site at http://www. braytonlaw. com (http://www. braytonlaw. com).

For information about asbestos and asbestos-related diseases, see the firm’s web sites, Mesothelioma Network, http://www. mesotheliomasite. com (http://www. mesotheliomasite. com) and Asbestos Network, http://www. asbestosnetwork. com (http://www. asbestosnetwork. com).

Viator. com Goes Green With Carbonfund. org

Viator to offset company travel and educate travelers in minimizing climate footprint.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) April 3, 2007

Viator. com, the leading online resource for researching and booking activities in 75 countries worldwide, has formed a partnership with Carbonfund. org to offset its company-related carbon emissions and help educate travelers about minimizing their carbon footprint on the environment.

Through its partnership with Carbonfund, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting climate change education, carbon offsets and green power, Viator is targeting a 100 percent carbon-neutral corporate environment. As part of its roadmap to reach its goal, Viator will offset its corporate travel - estimated at 1.2 million miles in 2007 - with renewable energy credits, and minimize business-related CO2 emissions through conservation practices and more conscientious technology purchases. As an e-commerce business, Viator's operations are virtually paper-free and involve limited shipping, often associated with high CO2 emissions.

Viator will also serve as an information source for travelers who want to learn more about carbon offsetting and environmental sustainability. As Viator's customers research and book destination activities, they will also have the opportunity to link to Carbonfund. org to offset their travel-related emissions, and any CO2 emissions related to their annual household carbon footprint.

"At Viator we are passionate about travel, but also sensitive to the effects many types of travel can have on our environment," said Rod Cuthbert, CEO and founder of Viator. com. "As a global travel company, we have an important responsibility to neutralize our impact on the environment while also helping our customers around the world minimize theirs. Carbonfund. org is an ideal partner and we're excited to join with them to work toward a solution to this very complex problem."

"Carbonfund. org is thrilled to partner with Viator in the fight against climate change," said Carbonfund. org Executive Director Eric Carlson. "Climate change affects every one of us, we are all responsible for it and we all must be part of the solution. Viator's leadership is further proof that protecting our climate is good for the environment and business."

Many of the products in Viator's range of more than 5,000 destination activities have low-to-no impact on the environment they explore. Walking and hiking tours, bicycle tours and Segway excursions (battery operated) are all increasingly popular (and aerobic) ways to explore a destination that help to minimize any environmental impact.

About Viator

Viator is the world's leading online resource for travel experiences - the things you do when you get there - providing access to more than 5,000 sightseeing tours, attractions and activities in 450-plus destinations in more than 75 countries, as well as customer reviews, star ratings and the Viator Travel Blog. Viator -- the Latin word for traveler -- offers online consumers a one-stop shop to plan, research and book trip activities that meet a variety of tastes and preferences, including sightseeing tours, theater tickets, soft adventure trips, attraction passes, wine and culinary excursions, and many "well kept secrets" off the beaten path. Viator's in-house travel experts help take the guess work out of planning by hand-picking respected and trusted local operators to ensure a quality experience, value and service. Viator, founded in 1995, sells its products directly to consumers at www. viator. com and through its growing global network of more than 4,000 affiliates that include major hotel and airline companies, online travel agencies, city-specific sites and more. Viator is headquartered in San Francisco with regional offices in Sydney, London and Las Vegas.

About Carbonfund. org

Carbonfund. org is the country's leading carbon reduction and offset organization. Carbonfund. org educates the public about the dangers of climate change and makes it easy and affordable for individuals, businesses and organizations to reduce their climate impact. Carbonfund. org is reducing the threat of climate change by promoting cost-effective carbon reductions and supporting renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects globally that reduce and offset carbon dioxide emissions. Carbonfund. org works with over 100 corporate and non-profit partners including the National Wildlife Federation, Dell, IMD, Ovation Travel Group and Working Assets.

St. Charles Consulting Group Launches Virtual Classroom Service for U. S. Accounting Firms, Delivers High-Impact, Cost-Effective Continuing Professional Education (CPE)

Accountants experience the interactive benefits of live CPE training via a shared web-browser window, while eliminating travel, reducing opportunity costs, and minimizing program expense.

Saint Charles, IL (PRWEB) July 28, 2010

The St. Charles Consulting Group brings its proven CPE expertise to live classroom training on the web, delivering key benefits to clients:

Up to 75% savings over traditional classroom training
Accelerated content delivery and expanded reach
Reduced professional time away from clients
Employees engaged in timely, relevant learning
Opportunities for networking and knowledge sharing
On-demand learning through program rebroadcasts

St. Charles virtual classroom programs bring learners together online in a shared web-browser window, running audio and video along with presentation slides. When well designed, virtual classroom programs (also called webcasts and webinars) provide an interactive experience where learners can electronically “raise their hands,” react to surveys and polls, post online questions for presenters, and access handouts and other learning resources. The programs are designed to meet all CPE standards.

St. Charles partners with client firms to create virtual classroom programs with the latest content, instructional approaches, and webcast technology. “We complement what the client brings to the table,” according to St. Charles’ managing partner, Phil Davis. “As in most things related to training, one size does not fit all, and it is important to customize the solution to the specific needs of each firm.” Davis noted that, if an accounting firm does not already have a webcast delivery platform, St. Charles can deploy a state-of-the-art tool that has been endorsed by NASBA to meet all CPE requirements.

“In the current business environment,” in Davis’ view, “accounting firms can’t afford to sacrifice the quality of training. But, at the same time, they also can’t afford to train in the resource-intensive ways of the past. Virtual classrooms offer the best of both worlds – quality training at a manageable cost.”

St. Charles assigns top industry talent with skill sets as needed to steer accounting firm clients through any and all aspects of virtual classroom program design, development, and delivery.

About the St. Charles Consulting Group

The St. Charles Consulting Group is known for its expertise in providing innovative and highly effective learning solutions. The firm, based in St. Charles, Illinois, is rooted in Arthur Andersen’s “gold standard” training organization. It was founded in 2002 by two former Arthur Andersen partners who held global leadership roles.

St. Charles operates out of 3 locations – St. Charles, Dallas, and San Francisco. It currently has 4 partners, 35 fulltime personnel, and a network of over 200 consultants and 250 executive coaches. Over half of its consultants are experts in the field of learning, including learning strategy, curriculum development, instructional design, eLearning production, and program delivery. St. Charles is also deeply skilled in organization development, knowledge services, and workforce planning.

Dream Team Can Take Your Company to Profitable Competitive Leadership

If your company was highly profitable and the undisputed leader in your competitive fieldÂ…that would solve a lot of problems, wouldnÂ’t it? Getting you to that place is the one and only goal of a remarkable consulting company called Visionary Oasis, Inc. headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.

(PRWEB) June 25, 2003

If your company was highly profitable and the undisputed leader in your competitive fieldÂ…that would solve a lot of problems, wouldnÂ’t it?

Getting you to that place is the one and only goal of a remarkable consulting company called Visionary Oasis, Inc. headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. TheyÂ’re small and they like it that way, having seven partners spread across the country. Think of them as a "Dream Team" of world-class experts in the vital aspects of what it takes to achieve and then sustain profitable competitive supremacy.

They are competitive advisors to small and mid-size companies who see huge potential in front of them but need independent and expert help in fulfilling that potential. Â“What we donÂ’t want our clients to do,Â” says co-founder Doug Hatfield, Â“is follow the lead of the big corporations we keep hearing about who have tried to lie and cheat their way to profitability and competitive leadership.Â” Adds partner Odoch Hawkins, Â“Once youÂ’ve sold your corporate soul, youÂ’ve lost everything that has value. We show them a much better way where you keep your integrity, do wonderful things for your customers and make money too.Â”

The biggest mistake companies are making, according to the Visionary Oasis team, is that they try to Â“duct tapeÂ” their way to success. Â“They spend a fortune on the latest technology but have to cut back on marketing to pay for it. Many times they are sold the wrong technology so it causes more problems than it solves. Then when sales drop, they run over and try to fix the sales arm. Then they restructure everything to try and cut costs further and end up annoying what customers they do have and discouraging their people. All this craziness without an overall competitive plan.Â”

The key, this Â‘Dream TeamÂ’ insists, is integration and alignment. Hatfield explains: Â“What we do first in laying out a step-by-step competitive strategy, is get a crystal clear picture of where the company stands in relationship to its competitors, the potential of its market, and how efficiently it is organized internally. We look at everything from the spirit of the people who work there to the capabilities of their systems.Â”

This is part of what separates them from other consulting companies who tend to look at single pieces of the puzzle. If you donÂ’t get every dimension of your business in alignment you literally end up working against yourself. Â“Failure is usually a self-inflicted wound,Â” says Ian Percy one of the co-founders and an Organizational Psychologist.

They then work with the companyÂ’s leadership to fashion a comprehensive competitive strategy with each step justified by a factual and measurable Return On Investment analysis. Â“It is unforutnate that so many companies spend huge amounts of money, time and energy with absolutely no idea if it will actually pay off.Â” adds Arnie Kennedy a partner based in California.

So what can they do for you? You might be surprised to learn that they will commit to only one company in any competitive field. If they are already working with one of your competitors, youÂ’re out of luck. That too is different from most consulting companies.

What our clients appreciate most, Hatfield explains, is that they get all of us. We develop long-term relationships based on mutual trust and the clients are not passed down to junior staff Â– which is a good thing because they donÂ’t have any. They work on a fixed fee basis and at times have substantially reduced their fee in exchange for an equity position in the company. Â“We have absolute confidence in our ability,Â” they assert, Â“and we are prepared to share the risk with the client. We travel the road to profitable competitive leadership together.Â”

The scope of their expertise is impressive to say the least. Dave Linnen is one of the best supply chain specialists in the world. George Droll focuses on market driven strategy and technology assessment. Odoch Hawkins knows complex technology like the back of his hand and is a crisis management expert. Arnie Kennedy is renowned in manufacturing circles and the incoming President of APICS the global authority on manufacturing and operations management. Howard Hohnadel is an e-business phenomenon. Doug Hatfield is unmatched in strategic planning, project management and competitive intelligence. And Ian Percy is a master change agent, vision expert and an internationally acclaimed business speaker and author.

One thing they all agree on; Â“When you have purpose and passion in what you do, the profit will be there too Â– to say nothing of the fun!Â” You can contact Visionary Oasis through www. VisionaryOasis. com or call 1-866-502-0030.

One Thousand Origami Cranes, Without the Paper

The peace crane is a familiar origami form. What makes the work of award-winning polymer clay artist Judy Dunn different is that her cranes are folded from polymer clay rather than paper. On October 23, 2006, Dunn folded her 1000th crane from polymer clay. The cranes are a symbol of peace, prosperity, fidelity and long life, and Japanese legend has it that by folding 1000 cranes, a wish will be granted by the gods.

Acton, MA (PRWEB) October 25, 2006

Origami is the ancient Japanese art of folding a sheet of paper into various forms. Polymer clay artist Judy Dunn of Acton, Massachusetts has put a new twist into this ancient art form. On October 23, 2006 she folded her one thousandth crane, but not from paper. This crane was the 1000th crane Dunn had folded from polymer clay.

About six years ago Dunn began an attempt to fold 1000 cranes the traditional way, from paper. She had learned of the legend that folding 1000 cranes would grant the folder a wish from the gods. Dunn also learned of the the story of Sudako. Sadako was a little girl in Japan who contracted leukemia from exposure to the radiation of the atomic bomb. She attempted to fold 1000 cranes to be granted a wish of healing. Although Sadako was not able to fold 1000 cranes before her death, a peace memorial resides in Hiroshima in Sudako's honor, and for all children who died as a result of the atomic bomb. People from around the world send 1000 cranes to the memorial each year, with the wish for world peace. All these ideas were in Dunn's mind as she folded the cranes. Over time she had folded several hundred cranes.

But in the spring of 2003, Dunn started working with polymer clay. Her fascination with the material became immediate. The versatility of the medium, and wide palette of colors appealed to her artistic sense. Yet almost from the beginning Dunn was asking, "Can I fold a crane?" After some experimenting, Dunn figured out how to do what seemed impossible. Fold a crane from clay, and cure it. Creating a durable, sculptural crane, using the same folds she used to create a paper crane.

"Part of the enjoyment of making cranes from clay is doing all the decorative work on the surface of the clay, prior to folding the crane," says Dunn. "Each crane ends up being unique because of this process."

The other thing that keeps Dunn folding cranes is the stories and people's connections to the cranes. There was the pair of gold cranes purchased for a parent's fiftieth wedding anniversary. Or the crane that traveled to China as a gift to the foster mother for a newly adopted daughter. Or the connection that was made with a family in Indiana who lost a son/nephew/husband to the war in Iraq. He loved origami and folded cranes to hand out to the kids in Iraq. The crane has become a symbol to memorialize his spirit for this family. "It is a gift to be able to create something that I love doing that also has so many rich emotional connections for people. It is what keeps me folding cranes," says Dunn.

Dunn is an award-winning polymer clay artist who also creates one of a kind jewelry and sculptural vessels from polymer clay and metal clay. Her work has appeared in several national publications. Dunn's work can be found in galleries and shops across the country, and at the several fine art and craft shows she does each year. Her work can be seen on her website, www. judydunn. net.

Remote Desktop Support Virtually Eliminates On-Site Visits

Remote Support Simplified for Australian Mortgage Broker Market Leader

Ridgeland, MS (PRWEB) April 17, 2007

IT personnel at Australian Financial Group (AFG), the largest third-party wholesaler of mortgages in Australia, are responsible for everything from software support for their customers to network and server administration for their primary and satellite offices. With customers and employees throughout Australia, AFG support reps could not travel on-site every time support was needed. After searching for a suitable remote support tool, AFG chose the BomgarTM (http://www. bomgar. com/?utm_source=E+PR&utm_medium=041107AFG) (formerly NetworkStreaming) remote desktop support (http://www. bomgar. com/remotedesktopaccess/solutions. htm? utm_source=E+PR&utm_medium=041107AFG) appliance and has now virtually eliminated on-site support visits.

Before purchasing BomgarTM, AFG's support reps often had to walk end-users through complex tasks over the phone. "It was very hard to navigate customers through various PC tasks," said Jon Craik, AFG helpdesk representative. "We relied on screen shots emailed to us from members to view errors, and this was time-consuming. Most of our customers were outside our domain, and it made it very difficult to connect to their PCs."

AFG used trials of several remote control support products, including WebEx™ Support Center and Symantec pcAnywhere™, but these options did not fill AFG's needs. "We found these alternatives under-performed," said Craik. "Our customers and support reps found it difficult to connect to each other, and they seemed to run slower when connected."

The Bomgar BoxTM, Bomgar's remote desktop support tool, known as the SupportDesk™ appliance prior to the company's name change, with its ease of use, simple setup, and ability to push remote control sessions to unattended systems within AFG's company LAN, was the ideal fit for AFG's support needs.

Since deployment of Bomgar's remote desktop support appliance, AFG has increased first-call resolution rates by 50 percent, reduced call resolution times by 30 percent, and increased call-handling capacity by 20 percent.

According to Paul Blackman, AFG IT Infrastructure Manager, visits to customer sites and AFG satellite locations for the purpose of technical support have been completely eliminated, significantly decreasing downtime and travel costs, and increasing customer satisfaction and retention. "We are able to connect to 99% of our customers quickly and hassle free," said Blackman. "Our customers feel confident that when we connect and take control of their PCs, we will be able to solve their problem the first time."

For more information on appliance-based remote desktop support (http://www. bomgar. com/remotedesktopaccess/solutions. htm? utm_source=E+PR&utm_medium=041107AFG) appliance, visit the Bomgar website (http://www. bomgar. com/?utm_source=E+PR&utm_medium=041107AFG).

Doubletree Hotels Encourages Travelers to Help Save Endangered Animals One Room at a Time

Doubletree Hotels announce that for every online reservation booking through Doubletree. com for any date in the future, made before 15th December, Doubletree will donate to the World Wildlife Fund

Beverly Hills, CA (PRWEB) December 29, 2006

Booking travel plans online for the holidays has never felt so good … let alone helped to save thousands of endangered and threatened animals worldwide. As part of an exclusive promotion between Doubletree Hotels and World Wildlife Fund, the hotel brand has developed a unique, online travel promotion that benefits the protection and survival of threatened and endangered animals.

For every reservation made on www. doubletree. com at any one of more than 180 hotels and resorts across the U. S. and Canada between the dates of November 15 and December 15, 2006, Doubletree will donate $1.00 to World Wildlife Fund to help protect threatened and endangered animals and support the organization's conservation efforts around the globe*.

"At Doubletree (http://doubletree1.hilton. com/dt/index. do (http://doubletree1.hilton. com/dt/index. do)), our communities and the world we live in are just as important to take care of as our guests," said Ronnie Kaiser, vice president - marketing for Doubletree Hotels (http://doubletree1.hilton. com/dt/index. do (http://doubletree1.hilton. com/dt/index. do)). "We hope that business and leisure travelers will celebrate this vision with us during the next month by simply booking reservations on Doubletree. com as part of their future travel plans, and we'll do our part to by supporting World Wildlife Fund to help preserve our planet for future generations."

World Wildlife Fund is one of the largest conservation organizations in the world. For 45 years, WWF has worked to save endangered species, protect endangered habitats, and address global threats such as deforestation, overfishing, and climate change. The funds donated by Doubletree as a result of online hotel reservations made between November 15 and December 15 will benefit the more than 2,000 conservation programs World Wildlife Fund supports in more than 100 countries.

As part of the hotel brand's award-winning Teaching Kids to CARE (http://doubletree. hilton. com/en/dt/promotions/teach/index. jhtml (http://doubletree. hilton. com/en/dt/promotions/teach/index. jhtml); ) community program, Doubletree Hotels - with help from World Wildlife Fund - has developed an appropriately themed "Wild for Wildlife" initiative to help educate children about the importance of wildlife preservation. This fall, approximately 10,000 children at elementary schools and youth organizations will work with Doubletree hotel teams to learn about threatened and endangered species worldwide and how kids they show they care through environmental awareness and protection.

Teaching Kids to CARE, a community-based outreach program developed by Doubletree Hotels, is dedicated to educate and encourage children to start making conscious decisions at an early age to show they care about their communities and the world in which they live. From its humble beginnings as a grass-roots initiative to the social responsibility projects it encourages today, the Teaching Kids to CARE program has grown to become a widely recognized and honored community service program. Celebrating its fifth year, Doubletree employees have inspired and educated nearly 100,000 elementary school students across the U. S. and Canada, empowering them to make a difference in their local community, state, country and even the world. Teaching Kids to CARE is a semi-annual community outreach initiative occurring in 150 communities across the U. S. and Canada.

For more information on the Doubletree online reservation promotion to benefit World Wildlife Fund, visit the special promotional Doubletree (http://www. doubletree. com/tkc/wwf/ (http://www. doubletree. com/tkc/wwf/)) website. To find out more about wildlife preservation visit the World Wildlife Fund (http://www. worldwildlife. org/ (http://www. worldwildlife. org/)).

Note:

Donations will not be made for reservations made by residents of Alabama and Maine.

More Red Rain Droplets

I have looked at the blog and I may have time later to respond more fully. For now I have only this comment: I too noticed the similarity with red blood cells, but the red-rain particles are smaller, IIRC. Thanks.

(Naturally, I think my own URL is relevant.)

Best regards.

Brig Ryce with the Astobiology Research Trust throws in his two cents on the Red Rain mystery. He also maintains an

excellent site on all things panspermia which also includes a robust what's new blog. If you want round the clock Panspermia coverage Brig's your man.

A Taste of things to come...

Google now has a Mars map available in Elevation, Visible and Infrared flavours...very sexy, and just think how it'll look in a couple of years once the hi-res data from the Mars Recconaisance Orbiter starts to come in. I'm off to start planning the route for my Olympus Mons expedition...

Blog Therapy