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Troubled by reports of the practice of employers asking for Facebook passwords during job interviews, Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York, left, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said they are calling on the Department of Justice and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to launch investigations. The senators are sending letters to the heads of the agencies their offices announced Sunday March 25, 2012. (AP Photo)

Troubled by reports of the practice of employers asking for Facebook passwords during job interviews, Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York, left, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said they are calling on the Department of Justice and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to launch investigations. The senators are sending letters to the heads of the agencies their offices announced Sunday March 25, 2012. (AP Photo)

SEATTLE (AP) ? Two U.S. senators are asking Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether employers asking for Facebook passwords during job interviews are violating federal law, their offices announced Sunday.

Troubled by reports of the practice, Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said they are calling on the Department of Justice and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to launch investigations. The senators are sending letters to the heads of the agencies.

The Associated Press reported last week that some private and public agencies around the country are asking job seekers for their social media credentials. The practice has alarmed privacy advocates, but the legality of it remains murky.

On Friday, Facebook warned employers not to ask job applicants for their passwords to the site so they can poke around on their profiles. The company threatened legal action against applications that violate its long-standing policy against sharing passwords.

A Facebook executive cautioned that if an employer discovers that a job applicant is a member of a protected group, the employer may be vulnerable to claims of discrimination if it doesn’t hire that person.

Personal information such as gender, race, religion and age are often displayed on a Facebook profile ? all details that are protected by federal employment law.

“We don’t think employers should be asking prospective employees to provide their passwords because we don’t think it’s the right thing to do. While we do not have any immediate plans to take legal action against any specific employers, we look forward to engaging with policy makers and other stakeholders, to help better safeguard the privacy of our users,” Facebook said in a statement.

Not sharing passwords is a basic tenet of online conduct. Aside from the privacy concerns, Facebook considers the practice a security risk.

“In an age where more and more of our personal information ? and our private social interactions ? are online, it is vital that all individuals be allowed to determine for themselves what personal information they want to make public and protect personal information from their would-be employers. This is especially important during the job-seeking process, when all the power is on one side of the fence,” Schumer said in a statement.

Specifically, the senators want to know if this practice violates the Stored Communications Act or the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Those two acts, respectively, prohibit intentional access to electronic information without authorization and intentional access to a computer without authorization to obtain information.

The senators also want to know whether two court cases relating to supervisors asking current employees for social media credentials could be applied to job applicants.

“I think it’s going to take some years for courts to decide whether Americans in the digital age have the same privacy rights” as previous generations, American Civil Liberties Union attorney Catherine Crump said in a previous interview with the AP.

The senators also said they are drafting a bill to fill in any gaps that current laws don’t cover.

Maryland and Illinois are considering bills that would bar public agencies for asking for this information.

In California, Democratic Sen. Leland Yee introduced a bill that would prohibit employers from asking current employees or job applicants for their social media user names or passwords. That state measure also would bar employers from requiring access to employees’ and applicants’ social media content, to prevent employers from requiring logins or printouts of that content for their review.

___

Manuel Valdes can be reached at https://twitter.com/ByManuelValdes.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-03-25-Jobs%20Applications-Facebook/id-653c5c67a67d4536b47f83940e31c707

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TOKYO?? The possibility of a nuclear power-free summer in Japan draws closer when one of two remaining reactors shuts down for on Monday for maintenance, raising concerns about a power crunch if none of those taken off-line after the Fukushima crisis is restarted.

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Anti-nuclear activists may applaud the prospect that the reactors that supplied nearly 30 percent of Japan’s electricity before the March 2011 disaster will be shut down. But experts say firms will have to bear a costly burden and that mandatory limits on power use may be necessary to avoid blackouts.

Tokyo Electric Power Co, the operator of the Fukushima plant, will shut down its last running reactor, the No. 6 unit at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant, leaving online just one of Japan’s 54 reactors.

The one remaining reactor, Hokkaido Electric’s Tomari No.3, is scheduled to go off line on May 5 for maintenance, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Sunday.

Safety worries have kept reactors that underwent regular maintenance from going back on stream after the Fukushima disaster, triggered by a huge tsunami last March. Tens of thousands evacuated their homes.

The government is keen to get some running again, but must first persuade wary locals that the plants are safe.

Most mayors and governors whose communities host nuclear plants want fresh safety assurances beyond the government-imposed stress tests conducted in recent months before agreeing to the restart of reactors, a Reuters poll showed.

Utilities have pressed into service old fossil fuel plants to boost power supply. But analysts said these ageing facilities could suffer breakdowns, while companies and vulnerable consumer groups would also have to bear the pain of adjustments.

“It’s tough…We may see a big impact on industrial activities this year,” said Osamu Fujisawa, an independent energy economist. “It’s likely for two or three reactors to come back online, but that is a drop in the bucket.”

The government has estimated that Japan could face a power shortage of 9.2 percent this summer, or 16.6 million kilowatts, if all nuclear reactors are down and no measures are taken.

But it also said most of that gap could be filled if steps such as increasing power supply from fossil fuel plants and solar power as well as conserving energy are taken.

RISKS, COSTLY STEPS

Last summer, the government imposed power restrictions on some large corporate users, ordering them to cut usage by 15 percent.

To deal with the shortage, manufacturers operated plants at night and on the weekends to avoid peak hour power consumption. Companies used in-house generators while cutting down on the use of air conditioners and lights.

Such steps, while effective, came with costs.

A poll by business lobby Keidanren in October showed most of 53 manufacturers surveyed said it was hard to operate plants at non-peak hours due to high costs and the burden on employees. Only one manufacturer was willing to take such steps again.

“Many companies, especially manufacturers, are saying that if such a situation continues for two or three more years, then they would have to go abroad,” Keidanren official Masami Hasegawa told Reuters.

Installing in-house generators is expensive.

“The worst scenario for companies would be to install in-house generators at a high cost and taking a very long time for investment payback,” said Hirofumi Kawachi, a senior analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities.

Trade Minister Yukio Edano, who oversees energy policy, said on Friday that Japan might manage to get through this summer without mandatory power use restrictions.

But Fujisawa, the independent energy economist, warned that the region served by Kansai Electric, which includes the huge western metropolitan area of Osaka, may face mandatory limits because of Kansai’s greater reliance on nuclear power compared to other utilities.

“Edano has said that he wants to avoid a mandatory restriction on power, but he has not shown how to make this feasible,” he said.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42195038/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

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Exposure to arsenic in soil and mine waste may have contributed to a slight increase in past cancer risk in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas in the Goldfields region of Victoria, Australia, according to new research. (Credit: Image of “girl holding dirt” via Shutterstock)

U. MELBOURNE (AUS) ? A new study based in Australia finds slightly higher rates of some cancers in areas with higher arsenic levels.

Dora Pearce, a researcher at the University of Melbourne?formerly of the University of Ballarat, where the study was based?explored how soil arsenic levels and cancer rates varied across central Victoria.

By using 20 years of data from the Victorian Cancer Registry and a measure of soil arsenic derived from geochemical data provided by the University of Ballarat and GeoScience Victoria, Pearce concludes that ongoing recorded monitoring of environmental sources of arsenic is needed.

The findings are reported in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.

?Arsenic is naturally occurring around gold mineralization and is even used as an indicator in gold exploration, so it can be concentrated in soil and mine waste dumps that are still scattered across our landscape,? says Pearce.

In the Goldfields region, many residential communities have grown up around historical gold mining areas.

?Our previous research detected small traces of arsenic in toenail clippings from children living in this region, showing that exposure to arsenic in soil could be an ongoing problem and that we should not be too complacent.

?We hope that by raising community awareness of this issue, childhood exposures to arsenic in soil, and future cancer risk, will be reduced in the Goldfields region of Victoria,? says Pearce.

More news from the University of Melbourne: http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/

Source: http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/arsenic-in-soil-raises-cancer-concerns/

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22 Mar

Posted March 22, 2012 by jwharwell in Outdoor Entertaining, Portable Fun. Tagged: camping, Camping Games, Hammocks, Murbles, Outdoor Games, Outdoor Grills, Portable Grills, Portable Hammock, Tabletop Grill, The Murbles Game. Leave a Comment

Camping is a great way to get your family out of the house for some fresh air, relaxation, and bonding. Whether you are in a tent or Airstream, staying in the great outdoors will provide a rejuvenation to mind your body. It?s a great way to get in touch with nature, but you don?t have to miss out on the little luxuries of life while camping. Portable grills allow you to cook gourmet meals on any type of outdoor excursion. With gas and charcoal models available, you can be sure that you?ll find exactly what you are looking for. Portable hammocks make luxurious relaxation possible. With a portable hammock, you don?t need trees or hardware. Everything you need is wrapped up in one portable package. They are cozy, comfy, and easy to take on all your camping excursions. Another great item to take with you on camping trips is family games. You or your children may miss your everyday electronic devices, such as video games and computers, but that doesn?t mean that you can?t have a great time. The Murbles Game is a great source of family entertainment for camping trips. It is easy to play with no setup. The Murbles set is color customizable and easy to take along. With great food, a relaxing environment, and family entertainment, your next camping trip will be a home away from home that allows you to get in touch with nature in the most comfortable way possible.

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Source: http://backyardcity.wordpress.com/2012/03/22/comfortable-camping-means-family-fun/

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While essential U.S. automakers are focusing aboard mongrel and fuel cell conveyances Volvo took a revise path disclosing a amusements car powered completely with lithium-ion batteries. Volvo?s 3CC concept car won ?Best Design? and five Gold Standards by the recent Michelin Challenge Bibendum environmental competition within Shanghai,mulberry tillie, China.The unique aerodynamic styling of Volvo?s 3CC concept automobile allows suite as a third seat in after Volvo says the 3CC can travel 180 miles on one charge under ideal driving conditionsThe Volvo three CC?s safety features include Volvo Safety Ride Down Concept,mulberry purse sale, a distinctive solution with a seat system that shakes before a morsel like a sled,beats by dr dre review,in the meantime as the front is deformed. The outcome namely the Volvo 3CC,nike air force, a sporty and good-looking exceedingly aerodynamic and compact car equipped with one energy-efficient cordless motor.
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Source: http://asics.manablog.jp/archives/13036

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From ‘Vogue’ to ‘Human Nature,’ MTV News points out the many nods to the Queen of Pop’s legendary music videos.
By John Mitchell

Madonna in her “Girl Gone Wild” video
Photo: Interscope

The video for Madonna’s latest MDNA single, “Girl Gone Wild,” dropped Tuesday night, and it is overflowing with winks and nods to many of the Queen of Pop’s biggest videos.

The clip was directed by fashion photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, who have shot Madonna for Interview magazine and lensed the album artwork for MDNA, which is due Monday. Unlike her video for “Give Me All Your Luvin,” “GGW” is not plot-driven, but rather an assemblage of striking images that recall the dark, sexed-up era she ushered in with her “Vogue” video and which reached its apex with the release of her “Sex” book and Erotica album.

Madonna makes references to her iconic past throughout the video, meshing vintage M with her current self seamlessly. Below are the five key references we noticed in the “Girl Gone Wild” clip:

“Erotica”
From Madonna’s big, diva-like bleach-blond hair to those chains and leather-briefs-wearing men, the dark, sexy vibe here is pure “Erotica”-era Madge. The clip for “Erotica” was markedly grittier, employing camera filters and sleazy locations (and, you know, bridles and whips) to give off an S&M vibe. If “Girl” isn’t as gritty in its approach to sex, it’s also far less off-putting. The sex stuff in the “Erotica” video is more of an artful expression of fetishism than a series of “wow, that’s hot” moments, like those featured in “GGW.” But as usual, M delivers plenty of edgy eye candy.

“Vogue”
Those moves! Those angular, cutting arm, leg and body movements. Check. A bunch of scantily clad male dancers posing in formation. Check. In addition to being shot entirely in black-and-white, the dancing in “Girl Gone Wild” is a direct callback to the sharp moves from “Vogue.” A few times in the video (check 1:10), Madonna and her dancers are definitely “vogueing” — or at least as close to it as she’s gotten since she struck her most famous pose in 1990. There’s also something to be said for the gay culture references in both videos. Madonna made vogueing mainstream in 1990 with her hit, but the highly stylized form of dance was actually born in the late-’80s Harlem gay ballroom scene (see the amazing documentary “Paris Is Burning” if you want to know where vogueing really came from). She embraced the connection then and appears to be doing the same here. In “GGW,” we have two male models gnawing on the same apple, dancers in heels (and little else) and many, many suggestive close-ups celebrating the male form.

“Human Nature” The “Human Nature” video is most remembered for Madonna’s black latex bodysuit, and she resurrects the look for “GGW.” Beyond the suit itself, the “Nature” video also cast Madonna and her dancers in all black and set them against an all-white background, a style choice she uses frequently throughout “Girl.” Like the “GGW” clip, the vid for “Nature” was directed by a well-known fashion photographer, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, who also helmed Madonna’s controversial video for “Justify My Love.”

“Justify My Love”
Speaking of which, Her Madgesty is getting awfully handsy with her sexy dancers here, and late in the video, we find Madonna and her dancers really going for it, writhing in a pile and feeling each other up. The “Love” video was, of course, banned from MTV in 1990 for its depictions of sex acts. Set in a voyeuristic hotel, the “Love” clip includes what we can only refer to as an orgy sequence, and she recalls that a bit here, albeit in a tamer fashion. The scene in “GGW” is less explicit because it’s not as direct about its subject matter — being sexy is part of the “GGW” narrative, while making a grand observation about full-on sex was at least part of the point of “Justify My Love.”

“Like a Prayer”
Madonna wouldn’t be Madonna without a direct reference to religious iconography. Here, we get a dancer wearing a crown of thorns. Her video for “Like a Prayer” famously featured Catholic symbols, including stigmata and burning crosses, and a dream about making love to a saint on an altar. Madonna herself has even donned a crown of thorns onstage. During her performance of “Live to Tell” on her Confessions Tour, Madonna sang from a massive mirrored cross while sporting the crown.

What did we miss? Share the old-school Madonna references you noticed in the “Girl Gone Wild” video!

Related Artists

• Madonna

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1681501/madonna-girl-gone-wild.jhtml

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Are you looking for new coverage for your Small Maritime Program for Workers Compensation? Are you currently paying more money than you can afford for incidental coverage for your employees? If this is you, then SeaBright Insurance Company can most likely assist you with all of your insurance needs and get you what you need for Workers Compensation. Continue reading here to find out more and what you need to know about your coverage.
SeaBright Insurance Company can assist you with finding the right program for your Small Maritime Program and help you to understand your plan and how you and your business will be covered. They can also assist you with a plan that you can afford for your organization as high risk companies tend to pay more for their premiums due to the business that you run. In addition to your insurance coverage for your company, they can also assist with workers compensation coverage to make sure that your employees are always covered. You will most likely want to always have your Workers Compensation up to date. If you do not and have an incident with an employee during working hours, you will pay for all necessary medical bills out of your pocket which could leave you closing your doors.
Here you have read the importance of having good insurance for your Small Maritime Program. Let SeaBright Insurance Company help you will all of the insurance services you need to get you back on your boat.

Source: http://softwarelibreparati.com/a-word-from-our-sponsor-on-workers-compensation-for-your-small-maritime-program/

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) ? British billionaire Richard Branson said Monday his venture to launch paying tourists into space has netted its 500th customer, and it’s none other than Ashton Kutcher.

Branson made the announcement on his blog, saying he gave the actor a quick call to congratulate him.

“He is as thrilled as we are at the prospect of being among the first to cross the final frontier (and back!) with us and to experience the magic of space for himself,” Branson wrote.

A representative for Kutcher did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Kutcher is among dozens of Hollywood types, international entrepreneurs, scientists, space buffs and others who have made deposits to be among the first to reach the edge of the Earth on Branson’s Virgin Galactic space line.

Branson has said the aim is to one day make traveling to space safe and affordable for the masses, not just those who can afford the current $200,000 ticket price.

Virgin Galactic is in the final stages of its test flight program. The company will launch its spacecraft from Spaceport America, a specially designed terminal and runway built in a remote stretch of desert in southern New Mexico.

The company plans to begin commercial operations next year. Branson said he and his children plan to be on the first commercial flight.

Christine Anderson, executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority, congratulated Virgin Galactic on Monday for selling its 500th ticket. She said she’s looking forward to “the beginning of the commercial passenger space line industry.”

Virgin Galactic customers will ride in a six-seat spacecraft that looks like a small plane, with wings near the rear that sweep upward. Once the craft and its mother ship reach a certain altitude, the smaller craft is released and its rockets are fired, pushing passengers back into their seats for the trip to suborbital space.

The spaceship features two large windows for each passenger, one on the side and one overhead, and small thrusters that allow the two pilots to maneuver the ship once in space.

Customers will get a 2 1/2-hour flight with about five minutes of weightlessness and views of Earth that until now only astronauts have been able to experience.

“I still sometimes have to pinch myself that it’s for real,” Branson said of the venture. “Ashton is joining a fast expanding group of true pioneers who are on their way to a life changing experience and a place in the history books.”

___

Follow Susan Montoya Bryan on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/susanmbryanNM .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/branson-says-kutcher-space-lines-500th-client-010115895.html

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As of September 2011, Facebook has more than 800 million active users that also encompass a strong real estate social network. According to facebook.com, of those active users, over 50% log in to Facebook on any given day. And, the average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events, and creates an average of 90 pieces of content each month. It?s clear that Facebook is one of the most influential and viral communication engines of our time, providing a real estate social network that every real estate agent can leverage to drive their business.

In the real estate industry, targeted and consistent communication makes the difference between market leaders and those who work too hard, yet achieve less-than-desirable results. Let Facebook?s real estate social network be an additional tool in your toolkit of online real estate marketing helping your communication with clients past, present and future.

Creating a great Facebook page

Just like your real estate website, you want your Facebook page to be visually appealing, clean and uncluttered, easy to navigate, and full of information so that visitors want to stay a while and look around. Consider these tips:

1. Take control of your Timeline Cover Photo. With the rollout of the new Facebook Timeline, this will be the most eye-catching component of your real estate marketing on this page. 850 pixels by 315 pixels are the most ideal size for your photo. Your photo should avoid promotions and text-based pictures, but staying relevant with how you appear in your real estate social network.

2. Use your entire profile picture space. The ideal dimensions for your profile picture are 180 pixels by 180 pixels. Most businesses are using this space for their business logo to appear.

3. Create customized tabs. Figure out the two most relevant tabs that you would like to share on your homepage. The new Facebook Timeline feature allows for more tabs, but only two will be shown without clicking to see more. Also, be sure that the display picture for your apps is the picture you would like with sizing of 810 pixels.

4. Address your milestones. Another perk to the new Facebook layout is the milestone feature which allows you to physically ?go back in time? on your profile and add large events or moments. Great examples of this are your founding date, goals that were hit, new employees, etc.

Pinning. Pinning isn?t just for Pinterest anymore. Another great feature to your new Facebook profile is the ability to keep an announcement or important story at the top of your timeline for up to a week.

5. Be interactive. Visitors in your real estate social network will keep coming back to your page if you create a dialogue and provide useful information. Create a conversation with past clients, current clients, and prospects. Answer any and all questions, comments, or complaints efficiently and professionally.

6. Ask for ?Likes?. It?s crucial that visitors to your page click the ?Like? button so that your content shows up in their news feed. Don?t be shy about pointing them in the right direction.

Optimize your Facebook profile

Creating a great Facebook page is just the beginning in building your real estate social network. Next, you?ll want to optimize your page, find the right tools to increase your real estate web traffic, and create a real estate social network that works for you. Then, start watching the leads roll in!

Most agents understandably focus on driving traffic to their real estate website. But what about driving traffic to your Facebook page? Sure, Facebook does a pretty good job of that on its own by giving users the ability to post just about anything, any time. Your friends can repost, friends of friends can view it?the possibilities are endless. But how can you maximize Google to drive traffic to your Facebook page?

Can your agent or brokerage Facebook fan page be indexed in Google? Sure! Over 3.5 trillion Facebook pages are currently indexed on Google simply by unlocking all privacy controls. That?s the easy part. Getting your fan page to rank in Google? That?s trickier. The same basic search engine optimization (SEO) principles apply, but the question to ask is this: how does Google weigh user experience on Facebook pages?

Let?s look at the SEO elements for a Facebook page:

1. What is the name of your Facebook profile? Be sure to pick a hyperlocal focus to your Facebook name and page. You might cover an entire city, but choosing one hyperlocal area you know really well is a better bet to getting organic search traffic. Competition for hyperlocal main phrases and tail phrases (very specific searches) is much lower than city, state, or metro real estate keyword phrases. For example, www.facebook.com/SeattleQueenAnneHill is an example of a hyperlocal real estate Facebook page that would likely rank well in Google.

2. What is the URL of your Facebook page? Be sure that your URL is succinct and contains the hyperlocal area you are targeting. Covering a bunch of different cities, suburbs, or neighborhoods will dilute the focus of the page and likeliness of your Facebook page to show up in search engine result pages.

3. Number of overall Facebook ?Shares.? One of SEO?s most important metrics is the raw number of ?Shares? that any given posting on your page garners. Ensure that your Facebook friends are re-posting or ?Sharing? your posts by making sure they are interesting, timely, and relevant.

4. Include photo albums on your Facebook page. Not only do clients engage with great photos, but Facebook ranks engaging with photos higher than engaging with text. The more engagement your page has, the more your posts become visible to Facebook users who liked your page. Make sure to include descriptive captions that contain your hyperlocal keyword phrases and update regularly. Posting or even just sharing very unique photos is a great way to increase engagement on your Facebook page.

5. Don?t forget the ?About? section. Be sure to completely fill out each section of your profile. Once again, use your hyperlocal keyword phrases. This area is also your chance to tell about the full area your cover, in addition to being the local expert in the hyperlocal area you chose for your Facebook page. Tell visitors exactly what they can do on your Facebook page, and why they should ?like? your page and engage with your page.

Building your real estate social network and increasing your real estate website traffic and sales can be even easier when you use the right tools. Whether you are currently using Market Leader?s sales tools, or you are a broker or agent exploring social media marketing on your own, Facebook is a powerful, convenient, and economical choice for generating leads, expanding your brand, and ensuring success. For additional tips, watch our webinar on generating real estate leads using Facebook.

Stay ahead of your real estate business by connecting with Market Leader!

Source: http://www.marketleader.com/blog/2012/03/20/tapping-into-the-real-estate-social-network-of-facebook/

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