An Australian woman was awoken by her hissing cat early Sunday to find a python wrapped around her 2-year-old daughter. Tess Guthrie, a 22-year-old from Lismore, New South Wales, discovered the 6-foot python wrapped three times around her daughter's arm. "I thought I was having a nightmare," Guthrie told a local television news station. "It [...]
Does Auto Insurance coverage Come With My Vehicle Transport ...
Are you obtaining prepared to ship your automobile cross the country and are searching for more info about automobile transport insurance coverage? A huge quantity of automobile transport organizations insure your vehicle if theft or damages had been to occur.
If you want to shield your vehicle and oneself you should? Ask for a copy of your car shipping organizations current insurance coverage coverage. Decide if you automobile shipping carrier insurance is secondary or primary to your own vehicle coverage. In the rare likelihood of any damage in the course of car transport. Discover if theirs a harm deductible and if so how significantly is it? A lot of times when your car transport quote is giving to you, it contains insurance. Although the vehicle transport organization ought to cover any deductibles. Your threat will boost the larger the price of your deducible would be. You could want to get correct insurance coverage information from carriers. It is intelligent to see if the car transport company insurance policy in writing.
While in route your automobile insurance coverage carrier may cover your vehicle although its becoming transported. You might want to verify this information with your own automobile insurance coverage policy 1st. Your personnel things inside your automobile might not be covered by your auto insurance coverage carrier. However your home insurance coverage policy could cover these products. You can examine with your residence insurance coverage policy about this. Nonetheless it is very best not to contain any personnel items in your car. Many automobile transport businesses discourage or prohibit you from possessing personnel objects in your car. Because their insurance does not cover personnel issues and most are not license to ship household objects.
Also your automobile could bottom-out if its loaded to hefty with your personnel products in the car and these damages may not be integrated in your vehicle shipping insurance policy. This is why it may be a great concept just not to contain these products in your car.
NEW YORK (AP) ? A New York City musician used a combination of technology, seduction, a hammer and a bribe to reclaim his missing iPhone from a confused crook.
Jazz trombonist Nadav Nirenberg (nah-DAHV' NEE'-run-berg) says he left the phone in a livery cab on New Year's Eve. The next morning, the 27-year-old learned via email that someone was sending messages to women using a dating app on the phone.
Nirenberg logged on to the service and offered the man a date ? posing as a woman. He even posted a picture of a pretty girl.
When the culprit arrived at Nirenberg's Brooklyn apartment building with wine, the musician greeted him with a $20 bill while holding a hammer ? just in case.
The thief handed him the iPhone and left without a word.
2012 is the year the student loan bubble finally popped. While on one hand the relentlessly rising total Federal student debt crossed $956 billion as of September 30, and was growing at a pace that will have put it over $1 trillion by the end of 2012, the one data point confirming the size, severity and ultimately bursting of this latest debt bubble was the disclosure in late November by the Fed that the percentage of 90+ day delinquent loans soared from under 9% to 11% in one quarter.
Which is why we were not surprised to learn that the Federal government has now delivered yet another bailout program: this time focusing not on banks, or homeowners who bought McMansions and decided to not pay their mortgage, but on those millions of Americans, aged 18 to 80, that are drowning in student debt - debt, incidentally, which has been used to pay for drugs, motorcycles, games, tattoos, not to mention countless iProducts. Which also means that since there is no free lunch, all that will happen is that even more Federal Debt will be tacked on to replace discharged student debt loans, up to the total $1 trillion which will promptly soar far higher as more Americans take advantage of this latest government handout. But when the US will already have $22 trillion in debt this time in four years, who really is counting? After all, "it is only fair" that the taxpayer funded "free for all" bonanza must go on.
The latest debt bailout, not surprisingly is not titled "Yet another taxpayer funded bailout for those who bought things they can't afford on credit" as that would not be very politically prudent, especially for those politicians who still have taxpaying citizens as their voters. Instead, its name is the much more PC: "Pay as You Earn Repayment Plan." Alas, it really should be called the former, because what it does is it incentivizes Americans to borrow even more Federal student loans, well aware that there will now always be a cap on the associated monthly interest payment which will never leave a mark regardless what the full underlying loan notional is. It also provides for full debt discharge should the borrowers end up with cushy Federal jobs - because the one thing the US government needs afford is more debt-saddled government workers.
What is the "Pay as You Earn Repayment Plan"? The WSJ explains:
A new federal program should make it easier for some recent college graduates to keep their student-loan payments manageable.
The new option, known as the "Pay as You Earn Repayment Plan," lets eligible borrowers sharply lower their monthly loan payments and qualify for loan forgiveness quicker than they might otherwise.
"It's a very good safety net for students who borrow too much," says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of the financial-aid site FinAid.org. "If your debt exceeds your annual income, you will probably benefit."
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Pay as You Earn, which took effect on Dec. 21, "is designed to help offset the effects of the recession for student borrowers most likely to take a hit in this tough job market," says Lauren Asher, president of the Institute for College Access and Success, which has pushed for the creation of income-based repayment plans.
Which in the New Normal, means everyone with a student loan will benefit. It also means, that courtesy of knowing this safety net is there, more and more people will take advantage of the government's latest generosity with other taxpayer's money.
What are the terms of this new bailout?
The new program comes at a time when rising student-loan balances?amid a still shaky job market?have weighed heavily on many families.
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Typically, federal student loans must be repaid within 10 years. At current interest rates, that can work out to a monthly payment of roughly $300 for a borrower with $26,000 in debt.
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Pay as You Earn, by contrast, limits student-loan payments to 10% of "discretionary income" as defined by government formulas. Borrowers who make regular payments could have the remaining unpaid amounts forgiven after 20 years.
So much for student debt being non-dischargeable: borrow hundreds of thousands, but make your monthly payment of a hundred or so bucks, and in 20 years you will be debt free, courtesy of US taxpayers. Actually, scratch that: one doesn't even have to make a payment!
In some cases, borrowers with low incomes could be required to make a zero-dollar payment and would still be considered current on their loan. Monthly payments can increase or decrease each year based on the borrower's income and family size.
For those who think getting full debt forgiveness in 20 years is far too long, why there's a loophole for that too: just go "work" for Uncle Sam:
Borrowers with public-service jobs may qualify for loan forgiveness after just 10 years.
As for eligibility "constraints":
To be eligible for the program, borrowers must have taken out their first federal student loan after Sept. 30, 2007, and received at least one federal student loan after Sept. 30, 2011. Borrowers also must meet eligibility cutoffs based on the size of their debt, their discretionary income and family size.
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The U.S. Department of Education's Pay As You Earn calculator, available at studentaid.gov, can help you determine if you qualify. Borrowers can apply for the program online or by contacting the loan servicer that collects their payments on behalf of the federal government.
In other words, virtually all people who were responsible for the diagonal take off in the Federal student loan total in the current depression are now eligible for what will eventually be full debt discharge.
So let's get this straight:
go to some "everyone who applies is admitted" community college
take on the biggest Federal loan one can get
use the proceeds for everything besides the tuition (of course)
be unable to find a job after graduation (naturally)
plead poverty, accusing evil employers who don't hire those who majored in Foosball, and make "zero" payments while remaining in "compliance"
get a job working for the government, wait ten years, and have the entire loan magically disappear.
And there it is: incentives for the common, and very much broke, man in the New Normal.
If there is anyone out there who thinks this will not result in a "charge it" feeding frenzy and that the Federal student loan total will not go absolutely parabolic going forward, please raise your hand.
Of course, what is not discussed, is who is on the other side of all those forgiven loans. And the answer, dear taxpaying US readers, is starting at you in the mirror. Because all the Federal government will do is transfer the unfunded obligation, which has already been used to satisfy the purchase of goods and services, from one individual to the whole group.
But when one is dealing with the government of a country that is no longer even fit to be defined as "banana", what is adding one more trillion between already insolvent counterparties.
Finally, yes, this means the Fed just tacked on one more year of QE to its $1 trillion/year in US debt monetization, which also means the Fed's balance sheet will now also be used for to fund student loan forgiveness, among so many other things.
Great Self Help Advice That You Should Follow - Empower Network
A great way to better your lifestyle, is to improve your self through self improvement. This article includes some suggestions to help you begin a journey of self improvement, have you thinking differently, and improve your quality of life.
Read literature that is focused on personal development. Well written books on personal development will always spark new ideas and give suggestions on altering your life. Always check serious reviews of a book before you buy it because some books are very poorly written.
Make sure you are constantly seeking new ventures. These challenges can open new doors and develop better character and personality. You might learn new ideas and cultivate new skills. You may even want to achieve something that has never been done before. Try to find your own niche, instead of doing what everyone else is doing.
TIP! Do what it takes to create an emergency fund and add to it even if you can only add a few dollars at a time. It appears as though every time something unexpected happens, we charge more to our credit cards.
You need to be both modest and wise to get ahead. You can learn from the situations that you deal with on a daily basis. Ensure you can recognize what circumstances can?t be changed in your life. Modesty will help you work within your limits. Your past experiences, plus a bit of wisdom, means a brighter future.
Self discipline is the most important aspect in being able to work towards achieving your goals when it comes to self improvement. Use self-control over your body?s desires. Beat bad habits like gluttony, jealousy, lust or greed. Using self-control and restraining from these horrid vices can protect you from the negative effects they may have on your body and mind.
Shop to provide yourself with necessities, not as a form of entertainment. Rather than spending time increasing your bills, you should aim to take up a hobby instead. By doing this, you?ll discover that your bills won?t be so high, which will decrease your stress levels and the clutter in your home.
TIP! If you suffer from anxiety, try going to see a movie with a friend. This places you in a social situation, but you won?t have to extensively socialize with others.
You should always use your love or passion as fuel for your personal faith in yourself. Without love, it?s impossible to have faith. You cannot consider your faith satisfactory if you do nothing to express it. You can make your faith meaningful by doing positive things for peers and loving them.
While it is essential that you have people in your life, you should not depend on others for your happiness. Focus on making yourself happy. Think of yourself first, but don?t step on others just to get what you want. Whatever you do, make sure you follow your own values. The more you are a person who you like and respect, the happier you?ll be.
It can be difficult to reach goals that are too hard or vague, and this may discourage you on your path to self improvement. Find a goal you want to follow. These are the kinds of goals that will get definite results.
TIP! Find people you can relate to. This helps strengthen your resolve, reinforces positive thinking and keeps you away from toxic people that harm your dreams and goals.
Stay in top physical condition to maximize your personal development success. Exercise regularly, get adequate sleep every night and enjoy a healthy diet to help you continue your personal growth. A healthy body makes it easier to concentrate on self improvement, even though it may be a challenge.
Leadership is essential in your personal development. The key to being a leader is influence, according to most people. Reflect back on your leadership experiences. What are the specific incidences that made the biggest influence in your life? What were the root changes that occurred? When you work with a group, what attributes do you tend to rely on? You will know where your rightful position is in a team after you have answered these questions for yourself.
The health of your body has a direct effect on the health of your mind. Have healthy meals that are full of nutrients, and be sure to exercise as much as you can. Keep in mind that a healthy body and mind go well together.
TIP! When developing a plan for personal improvements, include the values that are most important in your life. Make reaching your goals one of the most important aspects of your life.
This article should have given you ideas that can help you change many parts of your character, personality and outlook on life, so that you can live a better lifestyle. By using these tips as your guideline, you can begin your personal development journey and place your best foot forward during your transition to a higher quality of life.
Blogging is a very good Personal empowerment tool ? such as a record of those undertaking. It?s so quick while using the Empower Network blogging platform. You might even decide you want to use it to take another compensation. Click this site to find out more in regards to the blogging system each travelers referring to:
iOS, Android, Google TV, XBox -- heck, Epix even has an app for the BlackBerry PlayPook. So, what's surprising is not that the premium movie channel is coming to the PS3 and Vita, but that it took so long for it to happen. Soon Sony's gaming faithful will be able to download the app from the PlayStation Store and start streaming the network's sizable catalog of movies and original content. Of course, you'll have to have actually subscribe to it through your cable provider first, but you knew that already, didn't you. For more check out the PR after the break.
How deadly skin cancer spreads into other parts of the body ...
After recently announcing success in eliminating melanoma metastasis in laboratory experiments, scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have made another important discovery in understanding the process by which the gene mda-9/syntenin contributes to metastasis in melanoma (the spread of skin cancer) and possibly a variety of other cancers. MDA-9/Syntenin and IGFBP-2 Promote Angiogenesis in Human Melanoma
Published in the journal?Cancer Research, the study demonstrated that mda-9/syntenin is a key regulator of angiogenesis, the process responsible for the formation of new blood vessels in tumors. Mda-9/syntenin was originally cloned in the laboratory of the study?s lead author Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D., Thelma Newmeyer Corman Endowed Chair in Cancer Research and program co-leader of Cancer Molecular Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center, chairman of VCU?s Department of Human and Molecular Genetics and director of the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine.
?Our research brings us one step closer to understanding precisely how metastatic melanoma, a highly aggressive and therapy-resistant cancer, spreads throughout the body,? says Fisher. ?Additionally, analysis of the human genome has indicated that mda-9/syntenin is elevated in the majority of cancers, which means novel drugs that target this gene could potentially be applicable to a broad spectrum of other deadly cancers.?
Fisher?s team discovered that mda-9/syntenin regulates the expression of several proteins responsible for promoting angiogenesis, including insulin growth factor binding protein-2 (IGFBP-2) and interleukin-8 (IL-8). The study is the first to provide proof of the pro-angiogenic functions of IGFBP-2 in human melanoma.
In in vivo and in vitro experiments, the scientists confirmed that mda-9/syntenin binds with the extracellular matrix (ECM) to start a series of biological processes that eventually cause endothelial cells to secrete IGFBP-2. The ECM is the substance that cells secrete and in which they are embedded. Endothelial cells are the cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels throughout the entire circulatory system. The secretion of IGFBP-2, in turn, caused the endothelial cells to produce and secrete vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), a protein that mediates the development of and formation of new blood vessels.
The researchers also noted that IGFBP-2 could potentially serve as a novel biomarker to monitor for disease progression in melanoma patients.
?This is a major breakthrough in understanding angiogenesis and its impact in melanoma metastasis,? says Fisher. ?We are now focusing on developing novel small molecules that specifically target mda-9/syntenin and IGFBP-2, which could be used as drugs to treat melanoma and potentially many other cancers.?
Excellent Advice For Someone Dealing With Bankruptcy - Finance ...
Though making the choice to file bankruptcy is never easy, it is often essential. This decision may not be easy, but it is comparatively easier when you know what the process entails and how to navigate it. Continue to read this article to learn what has helped others who have filed for bankruptcy.
Make sure to list all of the debts you are responsible for when you retain a lawyer to handle your bankruptcy case. It can be easy to forget debts you owe to friend and family members while getting all of your paperwork together, so be sure to mention it to your lawyer.
Think about getting a second job. Rather than going the bankruptcy route, discuss the situation with your debtors and explain to them everything you are doing to increase your income. If they are able to comply with your request, you may be able to avoid filing for personal bankruptcy.
Before you file for bankruptcy, carefully consider if it is the right option for you. You can also avail yourself of other options, such as consumer credit counseling. Be certain that bankruptcy is the only option you have before pursuing this course because bankruptcy is always evident on your financial and credit history.
After you have declared bankruptcy, you may have a hard time being approved for unsecured credit. If so, apply for a secured credit card. This will show people that you are serious about getting your credit record back in order. If you do well with a secured card and make strides to repair your credit, you will ultimately be able to receive an unsecured card.
When a bankruptcy is imminent, retain a lawyer immediately. It is difficult to make all of the necessary decisions yourself, and expert guidance will be helpful. Personal bankruptcy attorneys can help make sure everything is done properly.
Think carefully about your different options before filing for bankruptcy. For example, consumer credit counseling programs can help you by renegotiating your debts with your creditors into payments that you can afford. You may have luck negotiating lower payments by dealing directly with creditors, but be sure to document any get and new agreement terms in writing from each creditor.
Before making the decision to file for bankruptcy, be sure to do some research and learn all you can about the subject. There are many websites available that offer this information. The United States Justice Department, the ABI (American Bankruptcy Institute), as well as the NABCA (National Assoc. Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys) are excellent sources of information. Knowing as much as possible about bankruptcy gives you an advantage and will help you make the best decision possible.
Try to find a bankruptcy attorney who is personally recommended, rather than off the Internet, or out of the yellow pages. There are lawyers out there who will take advantage of your financial state and not deal honestly with you. Make sure your filing process goes as well as possible by finding a trustworthy lawyer.
Learn what you can about Chapter 13 bankruptcies. If you have a regular source of income and less than $250,000 in unsecured debt, you can file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. This allows you to keep possession of your real estate and property and repay your debt through a debt plan. The window for Chapter 13 repayments is typically 3-5 years. At the end of this time, any unsecured debt is discharged. Remember that you must make every payment. Missing even one could cause the court to dismiss your case.
Nobody wants to file for bankruptcy, but in some cases the situation becomes necessary. Now that you?ve come to the end of this piece, you have some ideas about how the process works. If you can understand the path that others have followed, your journey will be more successful.
Now that you know a bit more about nytimes, you will be able to put your nytimes-related plans into action. Keep the information from this article in the back of your mind, and you will do fine. You?ll become more successful in a very short time.
Pennsylvania suing NCAA over Penn State sanctions. Does it have a case?
Gov. Corbett says the NCAA sanctions against Penn State in the Sandusky case irreparably harm Pennsylvania. One hurdle for the lawsuit: The university did not challenge the punishment.
By Mark Guarino,?Staff writer / January 2, 2013
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett gestures while speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Jan. 2, in State College, Pa. The NCAA overstepped its authority by imposing hefty sanctions on Penn State University in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal, Corbett said in announcing a federal lawsuit against the college athletics governing body.
Ralph Wilson/AP
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The state of Pennsylvania announced Wednesday it is taking the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to federal court, saying it acted illegally in sanctions imposed against Penn State University following a child abuse scandal that devastated the school?s prestigious football program.
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Gov. Tom Corbett (R) said he wants the US District Court in Harrisburg, Pa., to throw out all sanctions the NCAA imposed against Penn State, accusing the organization of trying to illegally benefit from a $60 million fine it imposed against the university in July.
?These punishments threaten to have a devastating, long-lasting and irreparable effect on the state,? Governor Corbett said in a statement released Wednesday. ?The only logical conclusion is that the NCAA did it because they benefited from the penalties and because the leadership of the NCAA believed they could. And that?s wrong.?
In June, a jury convicted former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky of 45 counts related to the sexual molestation of 10 minors, all male, over a 15-year period. The scandal stretched far beyond Mr. Sandusky and forced both the resignations of several top university officials and the early retirement of Joe Paterno, the university?s beloved football coach, who has since passed away.
According to an independent investigative report conducted by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, Mr. Paterno was involved in concealing Sandusky?s abusive behavior from authorities. The university?s board of trustees hired Mr. Freeh to investigate the university?s handling of the Sandusky accusations.
The NCAA based its sanctions on the Freeh report. Besides the $60 million fine, the NCAA also imposed a four-year ban on bowl games and any post-season play, a reduction in the number of football scholarships from 25 to 15, and the forfeiture of all wins between 1998-2011.
In imposing the sanctions, the NCAA took the unusual step in bypassing its usual policy for investigating possible violations, which can take a year or more. When announcing the sanctions in July, NCAA President Mark Emmert said the Freeh report was ?vastly more involved and thorough than any investigation? his organization had ever conducted.
Mumbai's Civic Schools Likely Spend More On Rent, Less On ...
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Highlights
* BMC?s expenditure on primary education increased 45% from Rs 718 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 1,040 crore in 2011-12.
* Income, including grants from the centre, declined to Rs 1,016 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 748 crore in 2011-12.
* Administrative expenses hit the highest level in 2009-10 at Rs 692 crore; has declined 25% from Rs 564 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 421 crore in 2011-12.
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Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, India?s richest municipal body, provides free education to nearly 400,000 children enrolled in around 1,400 schools.? IndiaSpend had earlier reported that even though there has been a significant increase in the expenditure on education by the BMC, the corporation-run schools continue to see a reduction in students. The article looked at various aspects like the total number of students, student-teacher ratio and students enrolled in various language schools.
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IndiaSpend?s Prachi Salve takes a fresh look at the numbers based on a Right To Information petition filed with the BMC.
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The key takeaway is that there has been a 45% increase in expenditure on primary education between 2007-08 and 2011-12 but funding declined during the period under review. And though salaries and pensions account for most of BMC?s expenditure,?they?ve?been declining over the years.
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However, BMC has failed to provide details on breakup of salaries of the teaching and non-teaching staff.
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According to the RTI response from the Department of Education of the BMC, the total expenditure on primary education increased from Rs 717.80 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 1,040 crore in 2011-12 ? an increase of 45%.
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Primary education constitutes 73% of the total education spend by the BMC. Moreover, there are 11,487 teachers in BMC?s 1,400 primary schools.
? Figure 1
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Figure 1 show that the expenditure per student has increased from Rs 17, 072 in 2007-08 to Rs 26,989 in 2011-12. But this increase in expenditure is not due to the increase in number of teachers or on teaching but, as IndiaSpend reported earlier, largely due to the dwindling number of students in BMC-run schools.
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Let us now look at the annual income of the corporation from education. ?BMC generates revenue for education in the form of grants from state government and central government grants for programs like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). ?In 2007-08, income generated was Rs 732 crore, which increased to Rs 1,036 crore in 2010-11. However, it declined to Rs 1,016 crore in 2010-11 and dropped to Rs 748 crore in 2011-12.
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Figure 2
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Analysing Expenditure
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The expenditure of the corporation can be divided into 2 sub-sections, namely establishment expenses, which include salaries and pensions of teaching and non-teaching staff while administrative expenses include rent paid by BMC on school buildings (which are not owned by the BMC), utility bills, books and other stationary required by the students and teachers. Establishment expenses increased 53% between 2007-08 and 2011-12 but there has been a drop of 4.5% in 2011-12 as compared to 2010-11. Correspondingly, the number of teachers has been fluctuating during 2007-08 and 2011-12 between 11,000 and 12,000.
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Figure 3 (a)
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The following is the list of all the items under administrative expenses as per the RTI reply:
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1] Rent includes rent paid for the BMC building, the education department office buildings and school buildings.
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2] Utility bills like office electricity bills, water bills, other office expenses, property tax, telephone, cell phones, internet and broadband internet.
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3] Stationary and reading materials like newspapers, journals and reference books.
4] Travel by officials, which includes travel charges, India wide travels and travels within the city; and
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5] Other expenses like consultants? fees, housekeeping and fire extinguishers.
It?s quite likely that most of these heads will not be major cash guzzlers, particularly travel and consultant fees. So, it is possible that rent is the largest?
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Administrative expenses increased dramatically during the same period ? from Rs 9.31 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 421.18 crore in 2011-12.? Administrative expenses hit the highest level in 2009-10 at Rs 692 crore. But expenses have come down by 25% from Rs 564 crore during 2010-11 to Rs 421 crore in 2011-12.
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Figure 3 (b)
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So, BMC has been spending less on teachers? salaries as compared to administrative expenses, at least for primary education. ?And a further worrying aspect is that the increase in expenditure is not being matched by increasing income.
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The BMC spends around 8-9% of its total budget of Rs 26,000 crore on education. And we can see here clearly that the administrative expenditure in primary education has zoomed even though several municipal schools (mostly in regional languages) have been shut down due to dearth of students.
Remains of the Day: iOS 6's Do Not Disturb Feature Has a Slight Problem in 2013
iOS 6 suffers a New Year's Day bug, Amazon's Kindle Fire HD goes on sale, app pirates no longer need to jailbreak their iOS devices, and Polaroid wants to print your smartphone photos.
iOS 6: Do Not Disturb Mode Stays On After Scheduled Time Yesterday, iOS 6 users noticed a strange bug that caused the scheduling feature of Do Not Disturb mode to stop working. Apple has said that they are aware of the problem and that full functionality will return January 7th. Until then, you'll have to manually turn Do Not Disturb on or off. [Apple Support]
Amazon Slashes $50 Off Kindle Fire HD 8.9 Models During January, But Only for Students Amazon will be selling its Kindle Fire HD 8.9" for $50 all month long. The sale applies to all storage/connectivity configurations, but does come with a catch: it's for students only, and you need to be a Prime member. The first part is easy enough to get around, and so is the second if you haven't signed up for your free trial yet. [Engadget]
New Services Bypass Apple DRM to Allow Pirated iOS App Installs Without Jailbreaking on iPhone, iPad Services that allow for app piracy without jailbreaking iOS devices have dramatically risen in popularity ever since Installous?which enabled app piracy but required jailbroken iDevices to work?was shut down a few months ago. The leading services, Zeusmos and Kuaiyong, now allow for the installation of pirated apps on regular iPhones, no jailbreak required. We personally haven't tried either of these out yet, but it is possible that you could use them for more legitimate reasons like installing apps that are no longer on the App Store from their .ipa files. But that isn't necessarily a good idea, as such services aren't very secure and could leave your phone at risk. [The Next Web]
Polaroid to Launch Fotobar Stores Designed to Print Photos From Our Smartphones Next month, Polaroid will open its first retail location geared toward editing and printing photos that are on our smartphones. Called Fotobar, the first location will open next month in Delray Beach, Florida, with plans for stores in New York City, Las Vegas, and Boston. Customers will be able to upload photos from services like Facebook and Picasa and have them printed and framed however they like. [The Next Web]
Still Seeking Resolution to Search Competition Issues Microsoft issued a statement today claiming that Google is refusing to allow Microsoft developers access to YouTube metadata in order to release a YouTube app for Windows Phone. Google hasn't stymied Microsoft at every turn, however. This past August saw the release of a YouTube app for the Xbox 360. Later this afternoon, Google responded, saying that the HTML5-based mobile site is the definitive Windows phone experience. [Microsoft on the Issues]
Photo by photastic (Shutterstock), a2bb5s (Shutterstock), and Feng Yu (Shutterstock).
Hire a Home Improvement Contractor for Your Home ? ? Audio Video
Where does intelligence come from? Biologists look to organic structures. Psychologists study influences and experiences. Theologians look to the spiritual. All can agree that intelligence needs care and feeding. For that we have teachers to thank ? parents, an aunt or uncle who takes an interest in us, a religious guide or workplace mentor, a [...]
ST. LOUIS (Reuters) ? Police arrested 27 St. Louis demonstrators protesting economic issues at a downtown plaza early Saturday for curfew violations, authorities said. The anti-Wall Street protesters offered no resistance as officers slipped on plastic handcuffs and walked them into police vans amid chants of ?Our passion for freedom is stronger than your prison,? [...]
Jim Urquhart / REUTERS Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft Corp, topped the list for the 19th year in a row with $66 billion, up $7 billion from a year earlier. By Reuters The net worth of the richest Americans grew by 13 percent in the past year to $1.7 trillion, Forbes magazine said on [...]
Two weeks before making his Fox debut against Josh Koscheck, Johny Hendricks stopped by the track to check in with NASCAR?s finest. Here he is showing a beard that awesome cannot be contained in a helmet while talking to Tony Stewart. Do you think Stewart, a well-known problem child on the racing circuit, gave Hendricks [...]
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ? The Spartans were charging, and the Golden Gophers were coming unglued, rushing shots, turning the ball over and losing their focus in transition. It was a scene that has played out so many times before at Williams Arena, only this time something changed. Minnesota steeled itself against the Michigan State surge and [...]
Bestia Does It Best - Page 1 - Eat+Drink - Los Angeles - LA Weekly
See more of Anne Fishbein's photos of Bestia.
PHOTO BY ANNE FISHBEIN
Creme fraiche panna cotta with mixed winter citrus and Meyer lemon cookies
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Salumi, pasta and pizza: This is the holy trinity of the current trend toward rustic Italian dining, the three things that every new chef-driven, Italian-leaning restaurant must have. These three things represent hearty, everyday eating in Italy but also the chance for a chef to show off his skills. Because even though salumi, pizza and pasta are the foods of the people, conjuring modest country kitchens or bustling city pizzerias rather than hushed temples of fine dining, they're all very difficult to make from scratch.
At Bestia, the new Italian restaurant from restaurateur Bill Chait and husband-and-wife chef/pastry chef team Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis, the holy trinity is in full effect.
Located in an old industrial building now holding residential lofts, Bestia wears its brick and metal well. It's being marketed as part of the downtown arts district, but even if that's technically so, it's the outer edge ? the quiet, dark, slightly desolate edge.
Inside, Bestia is all industrial glamour. The aggressive aesthetic of meat-obsessed chef culture is on full display, with chandeliers made of meat hooks and cleavers-as-decoration hung in the recesses of iron-bearing posts.
The L-shaped room features a bar running down one length, a salumi bar with marble counter seating occupying the sharp elbow of the space, and an open kitchen anchoring the dining room. It's attractive, loud and jam-packed.
As with a few other Chait projects, hype for Bestia was stoked before the place opened by using the space for a series of Test Kitchen dinners, featuring Menashe and a host of other chefs from L.A. and beyond. If the Test Kitchen dinners were messy and disorganized ? and they were ? Bestia seems to be operating much more smoothly. Servers are friendly and spry. On many nights, you can see Chait himself acting as maitre d' or running food to tables.
While this is Menashe's first restaurant as owner and as executive chef, he's spent plenty of time in some high-caliber L.A. restaurants, including Angelini Osteria and Pizzeria Mozza.
At Bestia, he's presenting rustic Italian dining, often taken to its cheffy extremes. Instead of beef tartare, there's beef-heart tartare; rather than the trendy but now widely accepted saut?ed chicken livers, there are chicken gizzards. They're served with beets for a Halloween-worthy effect, a plate smeared with vegetable blood under a jumble of chicken guts ? sproingy, delicious chicken guts. (Menashe grew up partly in Israel, where tangy piles of chicken hearts are a common comfort and street food.)
It's in the antipasti section of the menu, though, that Menashe most flexes his creative muscles, with combinations like those iron-rich beets matched with iron-rich offal ? unexpected, slightly offbeat, more often aimed at ramping up flavors than with contrasting them. Tender grilled octopus comes with oily, crispy wild mushrooms one night, giving a subtle whisper of forest floor to the dish. Startlingly fresh scallop crudo comes sprinkled with squid ink bottarga, tiny bursts of fish-intense flavor on top of the sweet, silky fat slices of scallop. A dusting of breadcrumbs adds crunch; a drizzle of chili oil adds the slightest hint of piquancy.
And then there's the trinity. Menashe is curing meats and making charcuterie, with great results. Unlike some other chefs in town playing with this art form, Menashe understands fat, its mellowness and funk, well enough to know where one should begin and the other should end.
Pastas also are extremely well-executed. The cavatelli has just the right amount of bite and comes swaddled in the earthy funk of black truffle (real black truffle, not a hint of truffle oil); a plate of sweetbread ravioli is delicate and firm at the same time, salty and buttery and lavish.
Of the three holy menu items, it's the pizza that suffers. The toppings are just as good, and as bold, as the rest of the menu (there's a margherita, of course, but also house-made spicy sausage or anchovies with rapini). But the crust is a touch too doughy, and not quite tangy enough. The blistered surface has the requisite smattering of char, and the pizza's faults are minor structural issues. Yet the too floppy, too doughy pies are an anomaly on a menu where most everything else is spot-on.
If I were providing a road map to dining at Bestia, I'd probably have you stick around a while in the antipasti and pasta regions rather than use that precious stomach space on entr?es. But if larger plates are what you want, then that part of the menu certainly is worth a visit.
A grilled whole orata is stuffed with rapini and lemons, its delicate white flesh complemented by the slightly bitter vegetable. There's fantastic meaty fun in the cassoeula Milanese, a stewy jumble of braised pork and veal ribs, greens and cabbage with a soft, house-made pork sausage plopped in the middle of the plate. This is winter eating at its most generous.
As with most Chait restaurants, there's a very serious cocktail program, here created by bartender-extraordinaire Julian Cox. Most drinks start balanced and finish bitter, which primes your belly for what probably will be a heavy meal.
Adam Levin: Welcome to the Fiscal Blip. Demand More in 2013
In what Democrat pundits are trying to spin as white-flag politics today, it would appear a deal is imminent and each side will spin the merits, or lack thereof, for the purposes of the overblown shadow play that we've witnessed around the so-called "fiscal cliff." The difference between right and left isn't much when you consider the kind of money that people are making these days in the more rapacious sectors of our economy. The real problem here is that people are calling this a done deal.
Also: Why does something of this import have to go until the final minute of the final hour of the final day only to meet with a lack of time (read: will) of the House so it has to wait until after the deadline has passed and we "theoretically" fall off the cliff?
At least during the debates about the Credit Card Reform Act and Dodd-Frank, the opposing sides were the citizenry vs. the financial corporations. What we're dealing with here is harder to define. That's because the fiscal cliff is in no small way a histrionic and hysterical method of framing budgetary issues by way of bully non-choices: want a weakened military? higher taxes for the middle class? How about a double-dip recession? While we're at it, when did you stop beating your partner? The fiscal cliff is unsolvable by design.
The misguided (dys-principled?) compromise of 2011 that created it must be seen for the train wreck of congressional leadership that allowed it to happen. In no small measure, we're in this mess not just because of a "crisis" around debt or Medicare. We are in this mess because of an identity crisis. Too many lawmakers have gotten elected with too much corporate backing, and as a result a board room mentality has metastasized throughout a budget process that theoretically depends on the checks and balances of power that allegedly define the collective "process" that is our elected representation in Washington. So in one way, we're to blame by voting for the best corporate-sponsored marketing campaign.
The fiscal cliff is finally about banks, desperate to maintain the unsustainable profits created by the mortgage boom, selling mortgages to people who could not afford them. It's about balloon payments and adjustable interest rates, time bombs disguised as mortgages. It's as if Donald Trump secretly took over the banking industry -- and as a result a casino culture that is all flash and no substance prevails. The fiscal cliff is the bully's threat -- and the above financial FUBAR is what the bully is trying to protect. It is not about whether the middle class tops out at $250,000 a year or $450,000 since most members of the middle class would be euphoric to earn such income.
Citizens United is not the moment we placed corporations' rights over those of actual human beings. The Supreme Court's decision capped a decade-long process of corporate empowerment. Now, these same corporate interests (through their purchased representatives in Congress) have manufactured a bogus fiscal cliff in the cynical hope that they can foist even more of responsibility off their ledgers and onto the backs of America's non-rich.
The "cliff" is a metaphorical illusion -- a political construct. Forget the narrow confines of its binary problem (tax breaks for the rich vs. continuing insurance for the unemployed), a political problem allows for a creative, political solution. We should use this fake, ginned-up "crisis" to our advantage and solve the real problems faced by real Americans. We should demand that that happens.
It could be that the answer to what ails America economically is rewarding companies that operate with a healthy reality principle like the Triple Bottom Line system of accounting where decisions are predicated by the "Three P's:" Profit, People and Planet. Whatever we do, it's time for the country to age out of the fake value, paper-billionaire age and start looking for ways to create real value for investors, workers and the nation.
As the novelist Edward Abbey famously wrote, "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer cell." We've all spent too much time in the casino culture that created the fiscal cliff to simply walk away from it unscathed. It's the way of the house, which makes a bundle whether you lose money or not. The fiscal cliff is a scary way of framing the fact that we need a mid-course correction in this country with regard to the way we do business in Washington and everywhere else in the country.
One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. It seems sane to refuse to have the same corporations that caused this mess (or the lawmakers who represent them exclusively at the expense of taxpayers) dictate our options for solving it. It's time to call the bluff.
We did it on the Credit Card Reform Act and Dodd Frank. We elected Elizabeth Warren after she was unceremoniously driven out of Washington by anti-consumer interests. America has a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau despite the specific directives of the American Bankers' Association and the US Chamber of Commerce.
It can be done.
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Follow Adam Levin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Adam_K_Levin
Alan's Retreat In The Hills House Tour | Apartment Therapy
Name: Alan Yang Location: Hollywood Hills ? Los Angeles, CA Size: 2,000 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years ? own
Last Summer I had the awesome pleasure of working with interior designer Sally Breer of Commingle Home, where we photographed her client's home in the Hollywood Hills. Alan Yang, a screenwriter for Parks & Recreation, has been enjoying this incredible home for just over a year now. This sprawl boasts 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, an incredible office and a speakeasy. Yes, Sally turned a former storage room into a speakeasy-inspired hidden bar, trap door included. Though Alan's home has a wonderful nod to many design traditions and a fun aesthetic, I love that he himself has a reluctant attitude about it and doesn't take it too seriously.
In a rad house that has so many incredible elements like the awesome view, the cozy office with a fireplace and the newly remodeled kitchen, it'd be hard to name just one favorite element. Alan remarks, "I really like the porthole mirror in the living room. You can flip a switch on the side, make the mirror disappear and reveal a photograph. The photo is of my mom, my sister and me at my second birthday party. I told my designer to crop my mom and sister out and just leave me in the middle, looking really cute, but she refused. Now I'm glad she did, because it reminds me of how much I love my family."
This home has no shortage of nooks to crawl in and find a comfy cozy spot to take a nap. However that wasn't Alan's main goal at all. He hilariously admits, "I had one goal when designing and furnishing my new house: I wanted a place where I could comfortably sit and eat a burrito at four in the morning. I am proud to say that I have accomplished that goal, and eaten several burritos in the designated place."
Sally Breer was in charge of most of the home's design renovations and piecing together Alan's style in a way that worked for everyday living. Also with a home that truly implores the LA bachelor and lifestyle it's easy to imagine how much the city's influence may have had on the design itself. "L.A. has a unique mixture of electrifying, star-studded nightlife, breathtaking natural beauty, and quirky ethnic neighborhoods, and I think it's safe to say that soaking all of that in has made me the most important designer of the twenty-first century."
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My Style: Modern, warm, comfortable. Also, everyone says "eclectic," so I'm going to say "not eclectic." It's the opposite of eclectic. Everything in my house comes from one aisle in the Target on Santa Monica and La Brea. Check it out -- it's an awesome aisle.
Inspiration: Southern California. The Park Hyatt Shanghai. The Bowery Hotel in New York. The art of Ed Ruscha. The smell of freshly cut Kentucky bluegrass. The sensation of petting a dolphin. Voicemails. Tangerines. Austrian harpischords. What was the question?
Favorite Element: There's a little bar downstairs that's hidden behind a bookshelf that serves as a secret door. I also plan to use that bar as a panic room, so now I'm screwed if my future robber reads Apartment Therapy.
Biggest Challenge: Filling out this survey, when really I owe everything to my supremely talented designer, Sally Breer.
What Friends Say: They're just blown away that I no longer live in a house with five dudes.
Biggest Embarrassment: I do not deserve to live in a house this nice.
Proudest DIY: The living room fireplace used to be covered in a weird beige marble that made visitors vomit in disgust. Now it has a beautiful reclaimed wood facade that makes visitors vomit in appreciation and awe.
Biggest Indulgence: There are beautiful vintage apothecary bottles from Paris above the bar in the speakeasy room. And with the previous sentence, I've just won the award for "Most Down-to-Earth Man in America."
Best Advice: Hire a designer with impeccable taste. Also, put secret rooms everywhere in your house. They're the best. I have like fourteen secret rooms that I didn't even let you guys photograph. I park my car in a cave in Glendale that connects to my house somehow, I don't even know how.
Dream Sources: As I said, everything in the house, including all my food and clothes and stuff, comes from that one aisle in Target. So I guess "that aisle in Target"?
Resources of Note:
For the resource notes I asked Sally to talk about specific pieces and elements that stood out the most..
PAINT & COLORS
? All paint is Behr ? Living room is Fashion Gray ? Master bedroom is Burnished Clay
ENTRY
? Bar cart was a thrift store find- we had it painted white and added vintage hardware from liz's antique hardware. ? Mirror was a rosebowl score- I had to rewire it- which I did myself- it was an adventure! Haha the photo inside is of Alan as a little kid at his birthday party. (when the light is off it looks like a regular mirror- we loved that when it's turned on there's a more intimate & personal photograph hiding in there) ? The bench along the stairway- a vintage frame- we had the velvet cushion made for it.
LIVING ROOM
? Sofa is from Hd buttercup- we had it recovered in Herman miller fabric. I believe the color is "ashes". ? Rug is from Modern Rugs on La Cienega- he was liquidating his oriental rugs so we ended up getting it for a really great price!
DINING ROOM
? Dining table was custom built by a guy up in san Francisco area- he uses all reclaimed materials. ? Chairs, I'm afraid, are knock off molded eames - amazon! We needed something clean and modern but we splurged on the pendants so we had to be conservative on the chairs. ? The pendants are vintage Raak lights, originally from Amsterdam- purchased from Amsterdam Modern
KITCHEN
? I unfortunately don't know who did the kitchen- previous owners had it done. We, however, took out the wall between the kitchen and the living room to open up the living space. We also put up the wood on the fireplace facade ? The (colorful framed) prints are actually vintage teaching aids from Uncommon Objects in Austin Texas that we framed! They were so beautiful I thought- they're double sided which made me a little sad to have to lose a side!
BEDROOM
? Chairs are vintage- Rosebowl Flea Market- had them recovered. ? Pendant light was custom made by a local welder. We took out a big ceiling fan and replaced it with our light to create something that was architectural and that would be a bit more interesting than the usual thing.
OFFICE
? Desk was a Craigslist score ? I actually got the vintage pollock chair from my rug cleaner- it was sitting in his office and I spied it one day when I went to pick up rugs that had just been cleaned. It took some major finesse to convince him to sell it to me. It was a major find. ? The painting above the mantel-It's a quote from David Foster Wallace (one of Alan's favorite authors) I found the big piece at a thrift store and then just used letter decals from the hardware store to spell out the quote.
GUEST ROOM
? The headboard was actually a coffee table that I bought a while ago- the legs were ugly so i had planned to make a new base for it when I realized Alan needed a headboard! We were on a "guest room budget" (meaning, not the same amount as a master bedroom) so we needed to make the biggest impact with only a few pieces. The actual bedframe is just Ikea. ? The metal cabinet "credenza" is made of two metal cabinets I found at a flea market. They were used In a garage for tools and had weird paint all over them so we stripped the paint and then I had my welder make a base for them to raise them to normal credenza height and a piece of lacquered wood for the top to make it feel a bit more like one piece. By adding the legs and top we gave it a more modern and less industrial feel.
THE HIDDEN SPEAKEASY INSPIRED BAR
? Truthfully it was mainly inspired by Alan's coolness. And I mean that sincerely. He's a social butterfly and kind of the ultimate gentleman. So when I first saw the tiny weird "storage" room it seemed obvious that we made it into a speak easy. Also he was heavily influenced by his time at the Harvard lampoon and in one of our first meetings he was telling me about how magical and secret that building was. We couldn't really incorporate that intimate, dark vibe in the rest of the house because it's such a California house but this was our opportunity to give a nod to the lampoon. ? About the hidden door- When I was a little kid, we were staying at a family friend's chateau in the south of France and he had (what seemed like) endless secret passages. Hidden doors in the backs of closets that would open to entirely secret rooms. It left a MAJOR impression on my 8year old nerdy self. I'd probably put secret rooms in every house if I could. I don't think i'm alone on this one? Who hates secret doors and passages? No human I know. The original door was glass and for obvious reasons was all kinds of wrong for a secret bar so it was kind of a no-brainer. ? Lighting is a mix- Edison pendants from Big Daddy's Antiques, Sarafatti chandelier is from HD buttercup and then pendant over game table is vintage flea market. ? The chairs were all from a thrift store! We recovered in ombr? blue velvets. ? The barstools are vintage Saarinen- I was really jazzed about these! ? The mirrored shelving above the bar- custom made bar & shelving by Chris Lumpkin Furniture
Thanks, Alan! Also BIG THANK YOU to Sally Breer
(Images: Bethany Nauert)
? HOUSE TOUR ARCHIVE: Check out past house tours here. ? Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy? Contact the editors through our House Tour Submission Form. ? Are you a designer/architect/decorator interested in sharing a residential project with Apartment Therapy readers? Contact the editors through our Professional Submission Form.
Questions Tips Psychology Books for Internet Marketers
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Retail bankruptcies soar for third year amid weak ... - Business Matters
More retailers expected to go bust in new year after early signs show Christmas and new year sales boom has been short-lived
The number of retailers filing for bankruptcy has continued to mount over the past three years, rising 6% last year compared with 2011 and up 18% on 2010, reports The Guardian.
Thousands of shop workers lost their jobs last year as a series of high street names collapsed into administration, battered by a combination of weak demand and escalating costs. Comet, JJB Sports and Blacks were just a few of the 194 retail failures over the year.
More retailers are expected to go bust in the new year, when it becomes clear that Christmas trading failed to make up for a dreadful year. All eyes are on the next few weeks as businesses start to report on recent trading. Initial signs suggest people left their Christmas shopping later than ever in a hope to bag bargains, while the subsequent sales rush has been short-lived.
Lee Manning, restructuring services partner at Deloitte, said: ?Christmas trading appears to have been reasonable, though not spectacular and not enough to prevent insolvencies in the first quarter of 2013.?
With many households still struggling in the aftermath of the recession, Britons have become more cautious in their buying habits. Budgets were squeezed last year as pay increases failed to keep up with inflation. Even as inflation eased later in the year, many Britons chose to rebalance their household budgets rather than splash out on extravagant Christmas presents.
Manning said: ?Consumer confidence remains fragile and where we have seen some respite through lower inflation, this has not translated into increased spending with many consumers preferring to reduce debt or save.?
At the same time, retailers have watched their costs rise, as rent and utility bills have shot up.
The gloom has hit all kinds of shops, from lingerie group La Senza to video games retailer Game and greetings cards shop Clinton Cards.
Last year?s figure of 194 administrations was up on 183 the previous year and 165 in 2010. Retailers? problems were especially marked, coming in a year when the total for business collapses in all sectors fell 9%.
Retailers are among Britain?s biggest employers outside the public sector, and the wave of administrations has resulted in mass redundancies. The Centre for Retail Research estimates that more than 48,000 employees were affected by the 52 medium or large retail businesses that went bust last year.
Manning said retailers must adapt to a changing marketplace and cut down on their number of shops. ?There will always be a need for physical retail space but at present, too many retailers have too many stores and 2013 is likely to be marked by further closure programmes, both within and outside of formal insolvency processes.?
Customers increasingly want to mix and match shopping on the high street, on their computer at home, and their mobile while they are out and about. Manning said: ?As an increasing proportion of retail sales move to online and mobile, retailers need to consider how their stores support sales across all channels by offering flexible delivery or collection options, becoming a product showroom and developing brand engagement and loyalty.?
Retail was a black mark on an otherwise improving picture in terms of bankruptcies. Deloitte said almost all the sectors tracked in its analysis saw a decline in the number of business failures in 2012, including some of those most affected by the economic difficulties of the past five years.
The hospitality and leisure industry, for one, saw 21% fewer insolvencies in 2012, there were 9% fewer in manufacturing, and 7% fewer in property and construction. Apart from retail, only financial services and the mining and energy sectors saw notable increases. Across the board, the total number of administrations declined 9% in 2012 to 1,833.?
State Department made "grievous mistake" over Benghazi: Senate report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department made a "grievous mistake" in keeping the U.S. mission in Benghazi open despite inadequate security and increasingly alarming threat assessments in the weeks before a deadly attack by militants, a Senate committee said on Monday.
A report from the Senate Homeland Security Committee on the September 11 attacks on the U.S. mission and a nearby CIA annex, in which the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans died, faulted intelligence agencies for not focusing tightly enough on Libyan extremists.
It also faulted the State Department for waiting for specific warnings instead of improving security.
The committee's assessment, "Flashing Red: A Special Report On The Terrorist Attack At Benghazi," follows a scathing report by an independent State Department accountability review board that resulted in a top security official resigning and three others at the department being relieved of their duties.
Joseph Lieberman, an independent senator who chairs the committee, said that in thousands of documents it reviewed, there was no indication that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had personally denied a request for extra funding or security for the Benghazi mission. He said key decisions were made by "midlevel managers" who have since been held accountable.
Republican Senator Susan Collins said it was likely that others needed to be held accountable, but that decision was best made by the Secretary of State, who has the best understanding "of how far up the chain of command the request for additional security went."
The attacks and the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens put diplomatic security practices at posts in risky areas under scrutiny and raised questions about whether intelligence on militant activity in the region was adequate.
The Senate report said the lack of specific intelligence of an imminent threat in Benghazi "may reflect a failure" by intelligence agencies to focus closely enough on militant groups with weak or no operational ties to al Qaeda and its affiliates.
"With Osama bin Laden dead and core al Qaeda weakened, a new collection of violent Islamist extremist organizations and cells have emerged in the last two to three years," the report said. That trend has been seen in the "Arab Spring" countries undergoing political transition or military conflict, it said.
NEED FOR BETTER INTELLIGENCE
The report recommended that U.S. intelligence agencies "broaden and deepen their focus in Libya and beyond, on nascent violent Islamist extremist groups in the region that lack strong operational ties to core al Qaeda or its main affiliate groups."
Neither the Senate report nor the unclassified accountability review board report pinned blame for the Benghazi attack on a specific militant group. The FBI is investigating who was behind the assaults.
President Barack Obama, in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, said the United States had "very good leads" about who carried out the attacks. He did not provide details.
The Senate committee said the State Department should not have waited for specific warnings before acting on improving security in Benghazi.
It also said it was widely known that the post-revolution Libyan government was "incapable of performing its duty to protect U.S. diplomatic facilities and personnel," but the State Department failed to fill the security gap.
"Despite the inability of the Libyan government to fulfill its duties to secure the facility, the increasingly dangerous threat assessments, and a particularly vulnerable facility, the Department of State officials did not conclude the facility in Benghazi should be closed or temporarily shut down," the report said. "That was a grievous mistake."
The Senate panel reviewed changing comments made by the Obama administration after the attack, which led to a political firestorm in the run-up to the November presidential election and resulted in U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice withdrawing her name from consideration to replace Clinton, who is stepping down early next year.
Rice had said her initial comments that the attack grew out of a spontaneous protest over an anti-Islam film were based on talking points provided by intelligence agencies.
Lieberman said it was not the job of intelligence agencies to formulate unclassified talking points and they should decline such requests in the future.
The report said the original talking points included a line saying "we know" that individuals associated with al Qaeda or its affiliates participated in the attacks. But the final version had been changed to say: "There are indications that extremists participated," and the reference to al Qaeda and its affiliates was deleted.
The report said that while James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, had offered to provide the committee with a detailed chronology of how the talking points were written and evolved, this had still not been delivered to Capitol Hill because the administration had spent weeks "debating internally" whether or not it should turn over information considered "deliberative" to Congress.
. This is why it may be a great concept just not to contain these products in your car.
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iOS 6 suffers a New Year's Day bug, Amazon's Kindle Fire HD goes on sale, app pirates no longer need to jailbreak their iOS devices, and Polaroid wants to print your smartphone photos. 
