MM Data Hub

Ownership of the fence varies. In some parts of the country all boundaries are shared; in other parts of the country you may own the boundary on the left-hand or right-hand side, however, only the title deeds can be depended on to tell you which side is yours. (A 'T' symbol indicates who is the owner). It used to be normal for the cladding to be on the non-owners side (enabling access to the posts for the owner when repairs need doing), but increasingly this cannot be depended on.

Five foot high fences (over which many people can see and talk) are increasingly being superseded by six-foot fences giving the impression of complete privacy.

http://www.vikingfence.com/catalog/wrought-iron-garden-gates

WASHINGTON (Reuters) –
The couple who drew international attention by getting into a White House dinner without an invitation denied on Tuesday that they gate-crashed the high-security gala.

"We were invited, not crashers, and there isn't anyone that would have the audacity or the poor behavior to do that. The White House is 'the house' and no one would do that, certainly not us," said Michaele Salahi, who appeared with her husband Tareq on NBC's "Today" show.

The White House says the Salahis were not invited to President Barack Obama's first state dinner, held a week ago in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"If your names are not on a list and you show up, in my book that's called crashing," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told CNN.

The Salahis managed to penetrate a tight security cordon and have their photos taken with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other top White House officials.

The result was an embarrassing White House security lapse.

Asked on FOX News how irritated Obama was about the breach, Gibbs said "probably a seven or eight" on a scale of one to 10.

"If you didn't get an invite, which they didn't, you shouldn't be here at an event. That's for the safety and security of the president and his family, but also for the other guests," he said.

The U.S. Secret Service, charged with protecting Obama, his family and White House officials, is investigating what went wrong, and Gibbs said the White House was also evaluating its procedures. Congress scheduled a hearing on the breach this week.

The Salahis declined to tell NBC who invited them to the dinner, saying they had turned over documents including e-mails to Secret Service investigators and would respect the agency's needs and timelines.

The Salahis have been portrayed in the media as a pair of self-promoting social climbers intent on dominating the limelight and demanding money for interviews about their exploits.

"Unfortunately, we've been mischaracterized. Our lives have really been destroyed," Tareq Salahi said.

He also denied reports that he and his wife showed up uninvited for a Congressional Black Caucus dinner and had to be escorted out.

"We were invited," Tareq Salahi said. "Were we escorted out? Of course not. That's another gossip, rumor."

Much of the media focus has been on Michaele Salahi who was auditioning for an upcoming reality television show called "The Real Housewives of D.C." on the day of the dinner and had a camera crew in tow as she spent hours in a salon getting ready for the event.

The crew followed the Salahis to the White House but could not get into the dinner.

"Everything we've worked for," she told NBC, "for me -- 44 years -- destroyed."

(Reporting by David Morgan and Vicki Allen)

ROME – Two Tunisians who had been detained at Guantanamo arrived in Italy late Monday and will be tried on international terrorism charges for having allegedly recruited fighters for Afghanistan, officials said.
Adel Ben Mabrouk, 39, and Mohamed Ben Riadh Nasri, 43, are suspected of being members of a terror group with ties to al-Qaida. They were immediately taken into custody upon arrival in Milan and were being interrogated, a prosecutor told The Associated Press.
A third Guantanamo detainee was being relocated to France, and a fourth to Hungary, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the release.
Guantanamo prisoner Saber Lahmar arrived in Bordeaux, France, early Tuesday, his Boston-based lawyer Robert Kirsch confirmed.
"We are grateful for the courage and generosity of the French people and government," Kirsch said, adding that Lahmar will now have "a chance to rebuild his life in France."
Lahmar is one of six Algerians who were detained in Bosnia in 2001 on suspicion of plotting to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo, but a judge later cleared five of them, including Lahmar, for lack of evidence.
The identity of the detainee being transferred to Hungary was not immediately available. The Washington Post said he was a Palestinian.
In September, two Uzbeks were sent to Ireland, and recently two Syrians arrived in Portugal. But they were freed. In the case of the Tunisians, Italian magistrates had previously accused them of international terrorism stemming from crimes allegedly committed as far back as 1997 and they arrived in Italy already in detention.
Italy took in the Tunisians as a "concrete political sign" of Italy's commitment to help the U.S. close Guantanamo, Justice Minister Angelino Alfano said in a statement.
The Italian prosecutor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mabrouk and Nasri traveled from Italy to Afghanistan and, once there, maintained a "functional relationship inside the organization" of Tunisians here to recruit fighters for suicide missions.
Nasri was allegedly the head of the organization and was described by the U.S. military as a "dangerous" Tunisian operative when he appeared before a U.S. military review panel.
President Barack Obama confirmed last month that he would miss his January deadline to close the Guantanamo prison — partly because he cannot persuade other nations to take the detainees.
The U.S. administration says about 90 of the 211 men now held at the U.S. military base can be released or repatriated. But Washington still has to figure out where it will try 40 to 60 prisoners suspected of terrorism and where to relocate dozens more it wants to continue to holding without charge because it lacks the evidence to try them but fears their release.
The slow pace of transfers has disappointed human rights groups who had hoped Obama would follow through with his promise to close the prison.
Italy had indicated it would accept three Tunisians; the prosecutor said he didn't know if and when the third would arrive.
The U.S. alleged that Nasri traveled to Afghanistan, via Italy and Pakistan, and trained at an al-Qaida-linked camp. He fled from Jalalabad, Afghanistan, when it fell to the Northern Alliance and was injured in the U.S. bombing of the Tora Bora area, where he was captured and turned over to American forces.
Nasri also had alleged links to Muslim fighters in Bosnia as well as Algerian militants, officials said in documents released after he appeared at the military panel. He was also previously convicted in Italy for passing counterfeit money, and was convicted in Tunisia of being a member of a terrorist organization and sentenced to 10 years, the documents said.
He told the U.S. military that he did not belong to a Tunisian Islamist group, much less head one, and denies ever trying to overthrow the Tunisian government.

In Italy, Nasri, also known as Abou Doujana, is accused along with eight other people of criminal association, aiding illegal immigration and terrorism charges stemming from 1997-2001, the ANSA news agency reported.

Mabrouk had been held without charge at Guantanamo since February 2002.

He lived in Italy before traveling to Afghanistan in early 2001, according to the transcript of his hearing before the U.S. military panel that reviewed his case. U.S. authorities alleged he had links to al-Qaida and trained at one its camps. The U.S. also alleged he had previously associated with extremists in Bosnia and had been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Tunisia for being a member of a terrorist organization.

The ANSA news agency, citing the 2007 Italian arrest warrant against him, said Nasri was accused of organizing in Afghanistan the logistics for fighters coming from Italy to be trained in camps "where they were trained in the use of weapons and in preparation for suicide attacks." For those who survived, he oversaw financial arrangements to resettle them back in the West, the indictment said.

Nasri was described as the head of the Tunisians in Afghanistan "from where he maintained constant relations with the structures in Italy and Milan," the indictment read.

Mabrouk's 2005 arrest warrant in Italy accuses him of international terrorism, falsification of documents, aiding illegal immigration, theft and drug trafficking. He is alleged to have been part of a group affiliated with Milan's mosque that provided logistical and financial support for recruiting fighters for Iraq, ANSA reported.

The prosecutor said both men were members of the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, also known as al-Qaida of the Islamic Maghreb, since forging ties with Osama bin Laden's terror network.

Mabrouk was captured on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border by Pakistani forces and turned over to the U.S.

He told the U.S. military panel that he only went to Afghanistan as an immigrant and did receive some weapons training but denied ever being in Bosnia or knowing about any prison sentence in Tunisia, according to U.S. military documents.

Jon Fee, a Washington-based attorney who represented Mabrouk, declined to comment on his transfer to Italy.

___

Associated Press writer Ben Fox contributed to this report from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Devlin Barrett contributed from Washington.

Racing began soon after the construction of the first successful petrol-fueled autos; before that time people raced in other vehicles such as horse-drawn buggies. The first race ever organized, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède, Messieur Fossier, was on April 28 1887 and ran 2 kilometers from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne.

Many series follow the Group N regulation with a few exceptions. There are several different series that are run all over the world, most notably, Japan's Super Taikyu and IMSA's Firehawk Series which ran between the 1980s to 1990s all over the United States.

High Performance Driving

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The bonfire collapse at Texas A&M University killed Carolyn Adams' daughter, Miranda. A decade later, Adams said she's grateful her daughter and the 11 other Aggies killed haven't been forgotten.
"The Aggie family said they would never ever forget," she said. "That's been true. They haven't. They continue to honor their memory."
A&M commemorated the 10th anniversary of the bonfire collapse Tuesday and Wednesday.
About 10,000 Aggies and others were expected to fill the university's basketball arena Tuesday evening for a ceremony remembering the accident, in which the 59-foot tower of logs collapsed as it was being built early Nov. 18, 1999. Along with the dozen killed, 27 others were injured.
Bonfires on the eve of A&M's game with archrival University of Texas had been a long-standing tradition at the university.
Thousands of people are expected to gather for a candlelight vigil at the collapse site at 2:42 a.m. Wednesday, the exact time of the accident. A circular memorial now marks the spot.
Adams, a retired teacher from Santa Fe, Texas, said she and her family will attend the ceremony and candlelight vigil to remember 19-year-old Miranda.
"Miranda had a beautiful smile. Her smile reflected what was on the inside of her: her love of God, her love of family and friends and her love of A&M," said Adams, 57. "It makes me sad I don't have her here. But I know I will see her again."
The annual bonfire, started in 1909, was the ultimate tradition for many at A&M, where tradition is fervently respected. As many as 70,000 people would gather to watch it burn on the 5,200-acre campus 100 miles northwest of Houston.
No bonfires have been held at the university since the collapse. Many Aggies, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry, would like the tradition to resume. But others question whether such traditions, rooted in the school's military and rural roots, has a place at A&M, which has been working to develop a national reputation as a university that values diversity, research and academic achievement.
An off-campus bonfire not affiliated with A&M has been held each year since 2002.
A commission that investigated the collapse found students had been cutting corners in construction for years and school officials had failed to adequately supervise them. No one person or group was blamed for the accident.
Richard Frampton, 61, of Turlock, Calif., lost his 22-year-old son, Jeremy, in the collapse. He and his family plan on being at A&M for the remembrance.
"It will be a difficult time, but it will be a healing time," Frampton said.

EKG Machines

The heart is a muscular organ in all vertebrates responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions, or a similar structure in annelids, mollusks, and arthropods. The term cardiac (as in cardiology) means "related to the heart" and comes from the Greek καρδιά, kardia, for "heart."

In the human body, the heart is usually situated in the middle of the thorax with the largest part of the heart slightly offset to the left (although sometimes it is on the right, see dextrocardia), underneath the sternum. The heart is usually felt to be on the left side because the left heart (left ventricle) is stronger (it pumps to all body parts). The left lung is smaller than the right lung because the heart occupies more of the left hemithorax. The heart is fed by the coronary circulation and enclosed by a sac known as the pericardium and is surrounded by the lungs. The pericardium comprises two parts: the fibrous pericardium, made of dense fibrous connective tissue; and a double membrane structure (parietal and visceral pericardium) containing a serous fluid to reduce friction during heart contractions. The heart is located in the mediastinum, the central sub-division of the thoracic cavity. The mediastinum also contains other structures, such as the esophagus and trachea, and is flanked on either side by the right and left pulmonary cavities, which house the lungs.

NAIROBI (AFP) –
Climate change is the leading cause of new challenges for the humanitarian community, a survey of G20 governments commissioned by the Red Cross revealed Tuesday.

As the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement gathered in Nairobi for their first ever global meeting in Africa, the "Believe in Humanity" survey warned that the humanitarian landscape was changing fast.

"World powers expect humanitarian actors to face continuing or increasing humanitarian needs driven by climate change-related natural disasters," said the survey, released days ahead of key climate talks in Copenhagen.

The survey, conducted by research institutes, consulted the governments of the world's 20 leading economies as well as that of host country Kenya.

"Global powers... have identified climate change as an important element that affects humanitarian work," said Ibrahim Osman, deputy chairman of what is the world's largest humanitarian network, which claims to have tens of millions of volunteers.

The report also highlighted that the world's new economic powerhouses -- such as China, India and Brazil -- would play a growing role in international humanitarian action and bring with them a slightly different approach.

"Traditional powers see a growing political and financial role for emerging powers in the international humanitarian architecture. Some of the governments suggest that emerging powers have new and different roles to play in responding to international humanitarian crises," the survey said.

Hundreds of delegates from the Red Cross/Red Crescent's 186 national societies are gathered in Nairobi for a one-week meeting, which comes on the 60th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions and the 150th anniversary of the battle of Solferino, the movement's founding moment.

The 1859 Austro-Sardinian war that left tens of thousands of soldiers dead prompted travelling Swiss businessman Henry Dunant to devote the rest of his life to advocating voluntary relief organisations and eventually led to the creation of the Red Cross.

LONDON (Reuters Life!) –
A London-based translation firm is offering parents-to-be the chance to check the meaning of prospective baby names in other languages to avoid inadvertently causing their offspring future embarrassment.

Celebrity couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes might have thought twice about naming their daughter Suri if they'd known that it means "pickpocket" in Japanese, "turned sour" in French, and "horse mackerels" in Italian, suggest Today Translations.

For 1,000 pounds ($1,678), the company's linguists will carry out a "basic name translation audit" of names, checking their meaning in 100 languages, or more for an additional cost.

While open to everyone, the firm said it expects the service is likely to attract celebrity clients, who are known for giving their babies unusual names.

Other celebrity baby names it has checked include Kai Rooney, the newborn son of English soccer player Wayne Rooney, whose name means "probably" in Finnish, "pier" in Estonian, and "stop it" in the west African language of Yoruba.

And while musicians Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale may have known Zuma meant "peace" in Arabic when choosing their son's name, they may not have been aware it also translates as "Lord frowns in anger" in the Aztec language of Nahuatl.

Some unusual celebrity baby name choices are beyond easy translation however, the company admits, such as Jermajesty -- the son of Michael Jackson's brother Jermaine.

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Steve Addison)

When insurer AIA moved back into its gray stone colonial headquarters on Shanghai's waterfront Bund in 1998, it marked the return of foreign insurance companies to China after their ejection nearly five decades earlier. Since then the floodgates have opened as Cigna (NYSE:CI - News), AXA (NYSE:AXA - News), Allianz (Toronto:AZ.TO - News), and dozens more have set up shop on the mainland, aiming to tap a market of 1.3 billion people with few options for life insurance.
As it turns out, their optimism may have been overblown. While there's vast potential -- life insurance premiums represent just 2.2% of China's gross domestic product, vs. 13.6% in Taiwan and 9.9% in Hong Kong -- cracking the market has been tough. In June foreign companies took in only 4.7% of premiums paid in China. Their revenues have been on the rise, but that's a big step backwards in share: In 2007 foreigners had 8% of premiums, according to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.
The newcomers underestimated the strength of China's incumbents. China Life (NYSE:LFC - News), Ping An, and other domestic insurers enjoy tremendous name recognition. And they can have nationwide licenses, while foreigners need separate permission for every new city or province where they want to do business. "There is clearly an uneven playing field," says Gary Bennett, China chief for New York Life, which has a joint venture with Qingdao-based appliance maker Haier Group. "It's a fact that there is some level of protectionism." While Beijing doesn't explicitly acknowledge that, some mainlanders say domestic insurers need a leg up to survive. "There is a general sense that this industry is in its infant stage and needs to be protected," says Jin Feng, a former government official who now runs CNinsure (NasdaqGS:CISG - News), a Guangzhou insurance brokerage listed on Nasdaq.
Odd Pairings
Then there's the problem of joint ventures. Virtually all foreign insurers in China must work with local partners, and these often lack any experience in the industry. Canada's Manulife (MFC) Financial, for instance, is teamed up with state oil company Sinochem, while the U.K.'s Aviva is partnered with food conglomerate Cofco. Relations in joint ventures can be strained under any circumstances, and in insurance -- where it may take a decade or more before profits start flowing -- it's doubly difficult. "There are frictions between the partners when more cash is required for expansion," says UBS (UBS) analyst Kenneth Lo.

A further concern for the new entrants is the underdeveloped state of China's capital markets. The bond market is small and illiquid, and it often takes good connections to get in on primary issues. So the foreigners have a harder time than their domestic rivals in buying assets to assure the predictable income streams needed to meet payments on policies years from now. "It's an ongoing problem," says Simon Machell, Aviva's Asia chief, "of taking on liabilities of up to 25 years when the availability of long-dated assets in China is quite limited."

A diaper (in North America) or nappy (in the United Kingdom, many Commonwealth countries and Ireland) is an absorbent garment worn by individuals who are incapable of controlling their bladder or bowel movements, or are unable or unwilling to use a toilet.

Over the next few decades, the disposable diaper industry boomed and the competition between Procter & Gamble's Pampers and Kimberly Clark's Huggies resulted in lower prices and drastic changes to diaper design. Several improvements were made, such as the introduction of refastenable tapes, the "hourglass shape" so as to reduce bulk at the crotch area, and the invention of super-absorbent material from polymers known as sodium polyacrylate.

Adult Diapers

JERUSALEM – The Israeli army has punished a group of soldiers for protesting the forcible evacuation of settler homes in the West Bank.
The army says the troops refused to follow orders during the military's evacuation of settlers on Monday at an unauthorized outpost and hoisted a sign opposing settlement evacuations.
The protest followed a similar one by soldiers in the same unit last month. Such protests have increased tensions in the army, which tries to distance itself from Israel's political debates.
A military statement Tuesday said the political protest by uniformed troops was "fundamentally wrong."
It says four soldiers were sent to a military prison for up to a month, while two others were ordered confined to their base for a month.

THOMSON, Ill. – Some folks in this dying Mississippi River town would rather take their chances with suspected terrorists in their backyard than watch their neighbors continue to move away in despair over the lack of jobs.
News that the federal government may buy the nearly empty Thomson Correctional Center and use the maximum-security state prison to house Guantanamo Bay detainees has given people in Thomson hope that things might be about to turn around in this woeful town of 450.
"This town is slowly but surely dying off, and I mean that literally because the people that are retired are dying off and there's no young people coming back in to take their place. There's nothing here to draw them," said Richard Groharing, a 68-year-old retired Florida corrections officer who was born in Thomson, a farming community about 150 miles west of Chicago.
The prison was built in 2001 with the promise of thousands of jobs. But because of state budget problems, it has been largely vacant since its completion. It has 1,600 cells, but only about 200 minimum-security inmates are held there, and there are only 82 staff members, according to the state.
The Obama administration wants to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer some terrorism suspects to the U.S. for trial. On Monday, federal officials were at the Thomson prison to inspect it and meet with state and local authorities.
While Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Sen. Dick Durbin, both Democrats, welcomed the possibility of locking up Guantanamo detainees at Thomson, several other Illinois lawmakers objected, warning that it would make the Chicago area a terrorist target.
But some folks who live in the shadow of the prison don't buy that.
If Chicago is a target, they say, it's because it is a big city, not because detainees are held elsewhere in Illinois.
"They're always in jeopardy anyway for attacks," said Denny Percy, a retiree hanging out with his buddies at a bait shop down the road from the prison.
Bait shop owner Todd Baker said a federal takeover of the prison would be good for the town and surrounding Carroll County, where unemployment is 10.5 percent.
Baker said it could spur new housing, gas stations and other businesses that would create jobs and customers for his shop, which is stocked with fishing supplies and serves as a local hangout.
The Obama administration has also considered sending Guantanamo detainees to other locations in the U.S., including the maximum-security prison in Standish, Mich., where many residents also have welcomed the idea in the hope that it would spur jobs. Officials wouldn't say Monday when a selection will be made.
If Thomson is chosen, Bureau of Prisons director Harley Lappin said Monday the federal agency would hire 800 to 900 people including about 250 to 300 people from other facilities to get the system up and running quickly.
Quinn and others estimate a federal takeover would create as many as 3,000 jobs in all, counting the new businesses created.
"I got a feeling that it will wind up being a boon for this town," Groharing said.
However, no hiring preference will be given to locals, and new hires must be under 37 and will be required to be or become federal law enforcement officers. Lappin said the agency would want Illinois Department of Corrections workers on staff but they would have to compete for those jobs.
"We need this to help our community, our communities around us and us are hurting big," said Thomson Village President Jerry Hebeler after a private meeting with federal officials and community members.
But some in Thomson worry that locals who already work at the prison could lose their jobs.

Durbin accused lawmakers critical of the proposal of fearmongering and political posturing. He said that fewer than 100 of the inmates would be from Guantanamo Bay, and that the government would build an extra perimeter fence around the prison.

"This would be the most secure prison in the United States of America," the senator said.

And if any of the detainees or other inmates at the prison were to escape, some Thomson residents know how to protect themselves.

"I've got plenty of weapons and ammunition at my house," said Dave Lawton, a 62-year-old retiree.

___

Associated Press writers Sophia Tareen in Chicago and John Flesher in Traverse City, Mich., contributed to this report.

LOS ANGELES – A Southern California man who aimed a laser beam at two airliners as they approached an airport has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in federal prison for disrupting the flights.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles says Dana Christian Welch of Orange, who was sentenced Monday, was the first person in the nation to be convicted at trial of interfering with pilots by aiming lasers at their planes.
Authorities say the 37-year-old aimed a handheld laser at two Boeing jets as the passenger planes were about to land at John Wayne Airport on the night of May 21, 2008.
The laser beam struck one pilot in the eye, causing "flash blindness," and interfered with pilots' ability to land the other plane.

LONDON (Reuters) –
Children in British primary schools as young as nine are to receive advice via internet sites such as YouTube on their future career paths under a new scheme, the government said on Monday.

Under the program designed to help children of all socio-economic backgrounds realize their goals, students will be given mentors, have the chance to visit universities, and be given counseling on what subjects to study via social networking sites like Facebook.

A recent study showed that 75 percent of 11-year-olds wanted to attend university, the government said.

"Parents tell us they want to see an end to the old boys network that means only children from privileged backgrounds get their foot in the door," Ed Balls, schools secretary, said in a statement.

"It is often too late for children to start thinking about this at 14 when they are influenced from when they are seven, eight and nine," he said.

The program, which will be trialed in 38 schools is designed to encourage pupils to think about their work aspirations at a young age, the government said.

The pilot schools will be located in Bristol, Coventry, Gateshead, Manchester, Plymouth, Reading and York.

(Reporting by Catherine Bosley; Editing by Stefano Ambrogi and Paul Casciato)

An open park bench in al-Mahdi Park, Tehran. the bench seat is a traditional seat installed in automobiles, featuring a continuous pad running the full width of the cabin. a punishment bench is used to have a punishee lie (and often be tied) down on for the administration of a corporal punishment, after which it may be specifically named, e.g. caning bench.

Often benches are simply called after the place they are used, regardless whether this implies a specific design Garden benches are very similar to public park benches set outdoors, but the former offer usually only two or three -, the latter mostly up to five persons sitting places. Picnic tables, or catering buffet tables have long benches as well as a table. These tables may have table legs which are collapsible, in order to expedite transport and storage. Church pews inside places of worship are equipped with an additional kneeling bench.

Garden Chairs

THURSDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors should prescribe
oral phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibitor drugs, such as Viagra,
Cialis and Levitra, for men with erectile dysfunction, unless the patient
is on nitrate therapy, according to a clinical practice guideline issued
by the American College of Physicians.

The type of erectile dysfunction (ED) drug prescribed should be based
on the individual preferences of patients, including cost of medication,
ease of use and types of side effects, the authors noted.

"The evidence is insufficient to compare the effectiveness or adverse
effects of different PDE-5 inhibitors for the treatment of ED because
there were only a few head-to-head trials," guideline lead author Dr. Amir
Qaseem, senior medical associate with the ACP, said in a news release.

Qaseem and colleagues analyzed the findings of 130 studies that
evaluated PDE-5 inhibitors alone or combined. They found that treatment
with the drugs led to statistically significant and clinically relevant
improvements in sexual intercourse and erectile function in men with ED,
regardless of the cause (e.g., diabetes, depression, prostate cancer) or
ED severity at the start of the study.

Overall, PDE-5 inhibitors were relatively well-tolerated and associated
with only mild or moderate side effects, such as headaches, flushing,
upset stomach and runny nose, the authors found.

The guideline is published in the Oct. 20 issue of the journal
Annals of Internal Medicine.

Because there is no conclusive evidence about the effectiveness of
hormonal blood tests or treatment in patients with low testosterone
levels, the ACP doesn't recommend for or against routine use of the tests
in ED patients. The college says doctors should make decisions to measure
hormone levels based on an individual patient's clinical symptoms
(decreased libido, premature ejaculation, fatigue, etc.) and physical
signs (such as testicular or muscle atrophy) that suggest hormone
problems.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases has more about erectile dysfunction.

KABUL (Reuters) –
A U.N.-backed fraud watchdog said Friday it was close to a verdict in its probe of Afghanistan's presidential election, which could force incumbent Hamid Karzai into a run-off against his main rival.

Afghanistan has been gripped by uncertainty since the August 20 election, marred by allegations of widespread fraud.

The bitter process has sparked tension between Karzai and his Western backers and helped delay a U.S. decision on sending extra troops to Afghanistan at a time when the Taliban insurgency is at its fiercest.

The U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) watchdog has been sifting through piles of dubious ballots to determine if Karzai is the outright winner or faces a second vote against former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.

"We are still working today," said Nellika Little, an ECC spokeswoman, adding that the commission was looking to issue its ruling around Saturday.

"We don't want to rush it. There is a lot of work to do."

Karzai won 54.6 percent of the vote, according to preliminary figures.

If enough votes were disqualified to push his total below 50 percent he would face Abdullah in a second round -- barring possible legal steps to invalidate the decision or an Abdullah decision to withdraw.

The Washington Post cited officials familiar with the results as saying the investigation had already cut Karzai's vote tally to about 47 percent, a result that would trigger a runoff.

The ECC said it was investigating fraud complaints and it was too early to speak about any numbers before the process is over. "We are not coming up with any figures," said Little.

Once it is done with its work, the ECC will send its verdict to the Afghan election commission.

If mandated, the second presidential vote would then be due within two weeks but the onset of the bitter Afghan winter, which makes much of the country impassable, could undermine the effort. Afghanistan's ambassador in Washington, Said Jawad, has said a second round of voting was "likely."

In the United States, the controversy surrounding the vote has been a major factor in the Obama administration's review of its Afghanistan strategy.

General Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has recommended sending an additional 40,000 U.S. troops beyond the 68,000 due to be in place by the end of 2009.

Abdullah has signaled his openness to a possible compromise while calling for a second round.

"Should it go to the second round? My preference is going for the second round," he told reporters Thursday.

"We are ready and I have not dismantled the infrastructure for campaigning though the campaign will be different this time and (under) any circumstances I will pursue the agenda for change."

(Editing by Jerry Norton)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis has lost every one of the 38 victories it piled up in a basketball season that ended with John Calipari's Tigers just missing out on a national title.
The NCAA stripped Memphis of all its wins from 2007-08 Thursday, saying the Tigers used an ineligible player who is believed to be NBA star Derrick Rose.
The university isn't accepting the punishment, not yet.
Memphis president Shirley Raines said shortly after the NCAA's announcement that the school is appealing what she called an unfair penalty.
"We know the rules," Raines said. "We did our due diligence. We did everything we could to determine the student-athlete was eligible and that the rules were being followed."
The NCAA announcement came 16 months after the Tigers lost the national championship to Kansas in overtime at the end of the 2007-08 season. It marks the second time both Memphis and coach John Calipari had to vacate Final Four seasons. The Tigers were stripped of their 1985 appearance and Calipari's Massachusetts team lost its 1996 berth.
Now the basketball coach at Kentucky, Calipari said in a statement he was "very disappointed and disheartened by the NCAA's findings" and that he would not comment again until Memphis' appeal is concluded. Calipari said he's looking forward to coaching Kentucky this fall where officials are fully supporting him despite the Memphis scandal.
"I'm not worried about it because they have never said Coach Cal did anything wrong at all," said Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, who appeared with Calipari at the Kentucky State Fair on Thursday before the NCAA announcement. "I think he's a very upstanding guy. I think that's his reputation and I think that reputation will be with him here. I really don't foresee any problems."
Memphis finished 38-2 in 2007-08, setting the NCAA record for wins in a season.
The NCAA report did not identify the ineligible player by name, though descriptions of the athlete involved lead to the conclusion it could only be Rose. He was the only player who played just that season at Memphis — a fact noted by the governing body of college sports. Rose went on to be selected by the Chicago Bulls as the No. 1 pick in the 2008 draft and later won the NBA rookie of the year award.
The player was accused of having another person take his SAT exam in Detroit so he would be eligible as a freshman after failing the ACT three times in Chicago.
Memphis argued that the university did not have enough information to substantiate the allegations in November 2007 and cleared him to play. Memphis officials defended their investigation Thursday and said four people interviewed the player, with neither Calipari nor athletic director R.C. Johnson involved.
"That person responded that he took the test, and we believed him," university legal counsel Sheri Lipman said.
However, the SAT officials later conducted their own investigation and notified the player, the university and the NCAA's eligibility center that they were canceling his test in May 2008.
The agency said it sent letters to the player in March and April 2008; the second letter was sent three days after Rose and the Tigers lost to the Jayhawks. The player did not respond to either letter.
The infractions committee said it struck hard with its penalties because the ineligible player was used the entire season. Rose played in all 40 games, starting 39.
In a statement released by his attorney Thursday, Rose said "it is satisfying to see that the NCAA could find no wrongdoing on my part in their ruling.
"I think it is important for people to understand that I complied with everything that was asked of me while at the university, including my full participation in the university's investigation of this issue, and was ultimately cleared to play in the entire 2007-08 season by the NCAA clearinghouse and the university."

In addition to the lost season, Memphis also must return the money it received from the NCAA tournament to Conference USA and will be prevented from receiving future shares doled out in the conference's revenue-sharing program. If Memphis loses its appeal, Johnson said approximately $300,000 in bonus money Calipari earned from that season would be paid back.

The NCAA said the committee pressed Memphis officials during a hearing on the matter about why steps weren't taken in November 2007 to bench the ineligible player and avoid problems.

Part of Memphis' appeal will be the role, and possible flaws, in the NCAA clearinghouse. Officials declined to be specific but noted the eligibility center cleared the student twice — before being admitted and after the university pointed out a grade change in high school.

The committee also said the player's brother received free transportation on the team's charter plane and hotel lodging that season. Investigators said the total cost would have come to $1,713.85. Such an arrangement is considered an impermissible extra benefit.

"Neither the travel coordinator nor the business director had an explanation as to how the brother was permitted to board without having paid for the two flights," the NCAA report said.

Memphis officials called those honest mistakes that have been fixed.

The school's women's golf team also received three years probation and lost a scholarship for violations in its program.

___

AP Sports Writer Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report.

LATROBE, Pa. – Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger injured his right ankle or foot during the last half-hour of the team's final training camp practice. It was not immediately certain how badly he was hurt or how long he would be out.
Roethlisberger had an ice pack on the back of the ankle when he was carted off at the end of Thursday's workout, with offensive coordinator Bruce Arians accompanying him. Roethlisberger didn't talk to reporters, but he could be overheard saying, "Oh it just feels great. It feels like a car ran over it."
Coach Mike Tomlin declined to talk to reporters. Team spokesman Dave Lockett said only, "Someone stepped on his foot, and we don't have any updates other than that."
As the Steelers' starting offense practiced against the starting defense, left tackle Max Starks couldn't handle a rush from linebacker James Harrison, the 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Starks went down to one knee as he tripped Roethlisberger, who stayed on the turf for about 5 minutes.
After being treated by athletic trainer John Norwig, Roethlisberger spent the rest of practice sitting on a cooler, then left the field on a golf cart, a towel draped over his head.
Normally, any player seriously injured during a Steelers practice is removed from the field immediately and is taken to a hospital — an indication that Roethlisberger's injury may be no more serious than a sprain. Starks suggested such, saying, "My feet are fine. I don't have a sprained ankle."
Starks isn't certain exactly how the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback was hurt, but he didn't hear any popping or tearing noises as Roethlisberger went down, sounds that might signal a serious injury.
"James Harrison was bull rushing ... I'm not sure I knocked him into him (Roethlisberger) or what happened behind me. I was busy trying to block the defensive MVP," Starks said. "He got tripped up and fell down."
Roethlisberger didn't tell any teammates how he felt, though he could be heard saying, "I'll be all right."
"He didn't want to talk about it now, but I'm sure he'll address us upstairs," Starks said.
The injury was only the second major mishap of the Steelers' three-week-old camp — right guard Darnell Stapleton needed knee surgery less than a week into camp. It brought an abrupt end to what might have been the best of Roethlisberger's six NFL training camps.
He has shown a strong, accurate arm for several weeks after having some soreness for several days, causing Arians to say, "His arm's really alive."
Roethlisberger is certain not to play in the Steelers' exhibition game Saturday at Washington. The Super Bowl champion Steelers have two more exhibition games after that before opening the season Sept. 10 against Tennessee.
The last time the Steelers were coming off a Super Bowl-winning season, 2006, Roethlisberger sustained severe facial injuries during a motorcycle crash six weeks before camp began, then missed the opener after undergoing an appendectomy.
The Steelers stage most nearly all of the practices on one of Saint Vincent College's three grass fields, but their second and final practice Thursday was held on an artificial turf field because of rain earlier in the day. There was no indication the turf contributed to the injury.

WASHINGTON (AFP) –
President Barack Obama said Thursday that Libya should put cancer-stricken Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi under house arrest and rebuked Scotland for releasing him from jail.

Washington meanwhile warned Libya that its warming ties with the United States were on the line in its treatment of Megrahi, as furious relatives of victims of the 1988 disaster branded his compassionate release "appalling."

"We have been in contact with the Scottish government, indicating that we objected to this, and we thought it was a mistake," Obama said in an interview with a conservative radio host at the White House.

"We're now in contact with the Libyan government and want to make sure that if, in fact, this transfer has taken place, that he's not welcomed back in some way, but instead, should be under house arrest."

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said that Libya's treatment of Megrahi would have a significant diplomatic impact.

"We will be watching very carefully to see what they do upon his return and we have told them that this will be something that will potentially affect our future relations," Crowley said.

Crowley noted that Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, once considered a pariah, was now seeking better relations with Washington.

"If he wants to be seen as a responsible leader in the region and beyond, this will be an opportunity for him to prove it," he said.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said US diplomats in Tripoli had told the government there on Thursday that Megrahi should be under house arrest and treated as a "convicted mass murderer" who took part in terrorist activity.

The terminally ill Megrahi, the only person ever convicted over the bombing of a US Pan Am jetliner that killed 270 people, earlier headed home after the Scottish government decided he had only weeks to live.

The United States expressed anger and regret as Megrahi left jail.

"On this day, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families who live every day with the loss of their loved ones. We recognize the effects of such a loss weigh upon a family forever," said Gibbs.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who represented relatives of many young victims of the tragedy as a senator from New York, said Washington was "deeply disappointed" and said Megrahi should still be in jail in Scotland.

Attorney General Eric Holder issued a statement repudiating the legal grounding of Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill's decision to free Megrahi, who was serving a minimum of 27 years in jail.

"There is simply no justification for releasing this convicted terrorist whose actions took the lives of 270 individuals, including 189 Americans," he said.

"Megrahi did not show and has not shown compassion for innocent human life."

The release was a bitter blow to American relatives of Lockerbie victims, many of whom were students returning home from Europe for Christmas after student exchange visits.

Susan Cohen, who lost her daughter Theodora, said the Scottish government's decision was "appalling."

"You want to feel sorry for anyone, please feel sorry for me, feel sorry for my poor daughter, her body falling a mile through the air," Cohen told CNN.

"This is 270 people dead, this is a convicted mass murderer and terrorist. I have no doubt about his guilt," she said, arguing that Britain's zeal to exploit oil fields in rehabilitated Libya were at the root of the decision.

"Are we so devastatingly weak now? Have we lost all of our moral fiber that you can say that Megrahi can be released from prison for compassionate release?

"Where was his compassion for my daughter?"

Bert Ammerman, who lost his brother in the disaster, asked "where is the compassion for the victims and the families that have to live with this for the rest of our lives?" in an interview aired on Fox 5 television in New York.

MacAskill said Megrahi could return to Libya to die because Scots law required that "justice be served but mercy be shown."

The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie on December 21, 1988, was the worst terrorist attack committed in Britain.

Megrahi was convicted in 2001 after a trial held under Scottish jurisdiction at a special court in the Netherlands.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama football player Courtney Upshaw and a female student identified as his girlfriend are free on bond after being arrested on charges of domestic violence and harassment.
Upshaw and Kendall Lynn Gryzb were charged after an altercation about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. Both are 19 years old, and a school spokeswoman says both were arrested by university police in the parking lot of the campus recreation center.
Upshaw is a sophomore linebacker. He played in 13 games last season and is competing for the starting spot this year.

VIENNA – Fans have swamped the Web site offering tickets for next month's global Michael Jackson tribute in Vienna.
Some 85,000 passes for the Sept. 26 event in the Austrian capital are up for grabs on http://www.tribute2009.com. Prices range from about $85 to more than $712.
Event promoters say the Web site crashed more than half an hour before the sale was due to start at 11 a.m. EDT after a million people had accessed it.
Jackson's brother Jermaine is expected to name the performers in the next two weeks.
The tribute will take place at a 17th-century palace. Jermaine Jackson has said Vienna was chosen as the venue because his brother "loved castles."
Michael Jackson died June 25 at age 50.

LONDON – An ex-care worker at a former home for troubled children on the English Channel island of Jersey has been found guilty of indecently assaulting teenage children.
Gordon Wateridge was convicted Thursday on nine assault charges by a jury.
Jersey, a British territory off the coast of France, has been dogged by reports that staff at the island's Haut de la Garenne children's home beat and sexually abused children in their care in the 1960s and 1970s.
Investigators said the 78-year-old Wateridge is the first person prosecuted following a major inquiry into abuse allegations at the home.
Judge Christopher Pitchers said Wateridge is likely to be handed a jail term when he is sentenced at a hearing next month.

Health Insurance Quote

When insured parties experience a loss for a specified peril, the coverage entitles the policyholder to make a 'claim' against the insurer for the covered amount of loss as specified by the policy. The fee paid by the insured to the insurer for assuming the risk is called the 'premium'. Insurance premiums from many insureds are used to fund accounts reserved for later payment of claims—in theory for a relatively few claimants—and for overhead costs. So long as an insurer maintains adequate funds set aside for anticipated losses (i.e., reserves), the remaining margin is an insurer's profit.

In U.S., the tax on interest income on life insurance policies and annuities is generally deferred. However, in some cases the benefit derived from tax deferral may be offset by a low return. This depends upon the insuring company, the type of policy and other variables (mortality, market return, etc.). Moreover, other income tax saving vehicles (e.g., IRAs, 401(k) plans, Roth IRAs) may be better alternatives for value accumulation. A combination of low-cost term life insurance and a higher-return tax-efficient retirement account may achieve better investment return.

The Nation -- When Barack Obama assumed the presidency, there was talk that former Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean might be his Secretary of Health and Human Services.

That would have made Dean the administration's point person in the fight for healthcare reform.

It also would have increased the likelihood that reform would be real.

But Dean was rejected.

And, now, the prospect of real reform is fading fast.

Dean said last week at the "Netroots Nation" gathering in Pittsburgh that the only thing that made healthreform legislation proposed by House committees (and apparently backed by the administration) worth doing was the public option. In that legislation, the physician and former Vermont governor argued, "the last shred of reform is the public option."

Just days later, however, the administration appeared to be shredding that last shred of reform.

The Associated Press reports that, "President Barack Obama's administration signaled Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new health care system."

The woman who got the HHS job reform advocates had hoped would go to Dean certainly seemed Sunday to be jettisoning the idea of creating a government-organized alternative to private health insurance Sunday.

Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union" program, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius dismissed the public option as "not the essential element" of the administration's healthcare agenda.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said pretty much the same thing when he appeared Sunday on the CBS News program "Face the Nation."

"What the president has said is in order to inject choice and competition. . . people ought to be able to have some competition in that market," said Gibbs.

Pressed on whether the administration was abandoning the public option, Gibbs would only say that, "The president has thus far sided with the notion that that can best be done with a public option."

Startlingly, the clearest signal that the administration is preparing to jettison the public option came from Obama himself. Speaking at a town hall event in Colorado referred to the public plan as merely a "sliver" of his reform agenda and said: "The public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of healthcare reform."

On this, Obama is right.

The public option has already been so dumbed-down and neutered that it is little more than a sliver.

The problem is that it may be the only sliver of real reform in his program.

Even with a robust public option, the president's initiative looks a lot like a bailout for the insurance industry --in stark contrast to the a single-payer reform that would replace industry profiteering with a not-for-profit system like Medicare.

Without a public option, there is no real reform.

Dean argued in Pittsburgh that: "The public option is (incremental reform)... But there is no incrementalism without the public option."

In fact, without the public option, the Obama approach -- and that of compromise-prone Democrats in Congress -- looks increasingly like a step in the wrong direction.

That's because the "reforms" currently under consideration threaten to undermine Medicare and Medicaid -- with radical cost-cutting schemes -- while steering hundreds of billions in federal dollars into the accounts of for-profit insurers and the pharmaceutical industry.

This is not "change we can believe in."

This is change that serious reformers will find "very difficult" to support, as Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, said Sunday on CNN.

Johnson explained that progressives would have a tough time backing legislation that did not include a public option.

"The only way we can be sure that very low-income people and persons who work for companies that don't offer insurance have access to it, is through an option that would give the private insurance companies a little competition," explained Johnson, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus who once worked as the chief psychiatric nurse at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Dallas.

Johnson's right.

Without a robust public option, what the Obama administration and compromised Democrats in the House and Senate are talking about is not "healthcare reform."

It's "healthcare deform" that does not begin to address the crisis created by insurance industry profiteering -- and that could well make the "cure" worse than the disease.

Like this article? Try 4 issues of The Nation at home (and online) FREE.

In breeding circles, a male canine is referred to as a dog, while a female canine is called a bitch. The father of a litter is called the sire, and the mother of a litter is called the dam. Offspring are generally called pups or puppies until they are about a year old. A group of offspring is a litter. The process of birth is whelping. Many terms are used for dogs that are not purebred.

Mixed-breed dogs or Mongrels (also called "mutts") are dogs that do not belong to specific breeds, being mixtures more than two in variant percentages. Mixed breed dogs and purebred dogs are both suitable as companions, pets, working dogs, or competitors in dog sports. Sometimes different breed dogs are deliberately bred, to create cross-breeds such as the Cockapoo, a mixture of Cocker Spaniel and Miniature Poodle. Such deliberate crosses may display some degree of hybrid vigor and other desirable traits, but may or may not inherit any of the desired traits of their parents, such as temperament or a particular color or coat. Without genetic testing of the parents, the crosses can end up inheriting genetic defects that occur in both parental breeds.

Dog Tags

LONDON – Since swine flu first emerged in April, it has sparked panic, vaccine production and now, a video game.
In an effort to raise awareness, Dutch researchers have created a game that challenges players to control a new pandemic.
"It is actually what is happening now, what is happening in the real world," said Albert Osterhaus, head of virology at the Erasmus Medical Center, who designed "The Great Flu" game with colleagues.
The game can only be played online at http://www.thegreatflu.com and it is free. A World Health Organization spokesman said Monday the agency was not familiar with the game and had not had time to play it.
WHO has reported nearly 178,000 cases of swine flu including 1,462 deaths worldwide, though those numbers are believed to be a gross underestimate of the actual caseload, since hard-hit countries no longer test all cases with flu-like symptoms.
As the virus has spread worldwide, countries have tried different methods to slow it down and pharmaceutical companies are now racing to produce a swine flu vaccine.
The game begins with images of bedridden patients and graveyards from the 1918 Spanish flu. As the head of the fictitious "World Pandemic Control," players pick a flu strain, and then monitor that strain's spread around the world.
To fight the emerging outbreak, players use measures including setting up surveillance systems, stockpiling antivirals and vaccines, and closing schools and airports. Players also have a limited budget and are warned that "your actions to control the virus cost money, so keep an eye on it."
A running tally of the numbers of people infected and those who have died sit above the budget. Newspaper stories about the deadly virus and the global response to it — like riots breaking out worldwide — pop up to help players monitor the outbreak.
Messages from governments mirror the difficulties faced by international agencies like WHO. For instance, when players set up costly surveillance systems, the game often relays a message from governments that "we will comply with your directions...but we must inform you that the political support for this action is low in this region. Therefore, the effectiveness of the system may differ from your expectations."
Osterhaus said the video game's approximation of combating a pandemic, choosing between various interventions yet still watching the outbreak spread, gives people a sense of how difficult it is to make decisions in the public health world.
___
On the Net:
http://www.thegreatflu.com
http://www.who.int

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) –
For their one-and-only family getaway this year, the Billingtons checked in to an upscale San Diego resort on Sunday with many of the usual vacation accessories -- bathing suits, board games and golf clubs.

But they also brought flashlights, sleeping bags and an inflatable mattress because the pool-side room they booked for just $19 comes with a tent where the beds normally would be. They even had to pack their own toilet paper.

While many of Southern California's luxury hotels are battling a severe slump in business by offering extra services and more amenities, the Rancho Bernardo Inn is luring guests with the exact opposite -- no frills and barely any basics.

Called the "Survivor Package," the hotel's deeply discounted promotion lets patrons trim its standard $219-per-night rate on a sliding scale of deprivation, lowering charges with each amenity stripped from the room.

The most basic version: a room for $19 with no bed, toilet paper, towels, air-conditioning or "honor bar," and only a single light bulb in the bathroom for safety. The next level up adds in a bed -- sans sheets -- for $39 a night. For a bed plus toiletries and toilet paper, the rate is $59.

Maureen Carew, assistant general manager of the four-star inn, called the promotion "clever marketing in a downtime."

THRIFTY VACATIONS

Herman Billington, 39, a personal trainer who owns his own business, says it's the only vacation he, his wife and their two sons, aged 9 and 10, plan to take this year as they concentrate on "keeping it lean."

"The boys get to feel like they're camping, and I get to go to the spa," said their mother, Erica Billington, 37.

Luxury hotels and resorts have fallen on hard times during the recession, as corporate travel planners shy away from lavish spending and consumers plan thrifty, if any, vacations.

Across the industry, occupancy rates have dropped about 10 percent Carew said. The slump has pushed room rates down, with many of California's more luxurious properties throwing in a breakfast, a round of golf or extra night's stay for free.

The outlook for the rest of 2009 is bleak, according to Smith Travel Research, which predicts that U.S. hotel revenue per available room will fall 17 percent and demand will drop 5.5 percent by the end of the year.

Carew said Rancho Bernardo's promotion drew more than 420 reservations, including 240 bookings at the $19 rate and 116 at the $39 rate.

Like the Billingtons, mortgage banker Brian Sciutto, 36, is watching his pennies. His Sunday night stay at the hotel is his first getaway in two years, though he brought his iPhone and mail from home to keep busy.

"I feel like I'm on vacation but I'm not," Sciutto said as he enjoyed the cool breeze blowing in from the golf course outside. "I feel like I'm being spoiled for 19 bucks."

(Reporting by Laura Isensee, editing by Steve Gorman and Sandra Maler)

Lighting is the deliberate application of light to achieve some aesthetic or practical effect. Lighting includes use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and natural illumination of interiors from daylight. Daylighting (through windows, skylights, etc.) is often used as the main source of light during daytime in buildings given its low cost. Artificial lighting represents a major component of energy consumption, accounting for a significant part of all energy consumed worldwide.

Artificial lighting is most commonly provided today by electric lights, but gas lighting, candles, or oil lamps were used in the past, and still are used in certain situations. Proper lighting can enhance task performance or aesthetics, while there can be energy wastage and adverse health effects of lighting. Indoor lighting is a form of fixture or furnishing, and a key part of interior design. Lighting can also be an intrinsic component of landscaping.

Click Here

BANGALORE (Reuters) –
Lowe's (LOW.N) reported a 19 percent drop in quarterly net profit as bad weather in core markets and U.S. economic woes kept shoppers away, and the home improvement retailer's shares fell nearly 8 percent.

The second-largest home improvement retailer behind Home Depot (HD.N) said it had earned $759 million, or 51 cents a share, in the second quarter ended July 31, down from $938 million, or 63 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding a pretax charge of $48 million related mainly to projects Lowe's no longer plans to pursue, profit was 54 cents a share, in line with the analysts' average forecast, according to Reuters Estimates.

Sales at the company, whose products range from gardening supplies and plumbing equipment to appliances and furniture, fell 4.6 percent to $13.8 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year, an important retail measure, fell 9.5 percent.

Lowe's shares were down 7.6 percent at $21.10 in trading before the market opened.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan in Bangalore; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)