NEWPORT BEACH, CA, Apr 24, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — Beauty Research, a beauty blogging web site, recently discussed the popularity of natural products and the demand for green skin care options in the beauty industry, citing the skin care brands …
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The rules exist for a reason. They establish order and discourage anarchy. They set limits and codify consequences. They fill in blanks otherwise open to interpretation and ambiguity, and they give our games structure.
In Roger Goodell’s stern sanctions of the new Orleans Saints, in the National Hockey League’s 25-game suspension of Phoenix Coyotes’ thug Raffi Torres and in the penalties that surely await the Los Angeles Lakers’ Metta World Peace (a.k.a. Ron Artest), disciplinary deterrence is designed as a double-edged sword.
The obvious goal is intimidation: to persuade perpetrators that their crimes will be punished and that repeated offenses will result in escalating sanctions. the slightly hidden agenda is to appear sufficiently vigilant to keep prosecutors in their place; to handle problems in-house rather than risk the caprices of a courtroom; to adopt the accident-scene conceit: “Nothing to see here, folks; keep moving.”
The last thing any enterprise wants is for some government snoop to start minding its business — issuing subpoenas, taking depositions, filing charges, driving up costs. on the theory that the best offense is a good defense, modern sports moguls have taken pains to dispense swift, pre-emptive justice as a means of maintaining jurisdiction. yet several recent cases should cause district attorneys to weigh weighing in on in-game violence, perhaps in the form of indictments.
The National Football League Players Association has already warned Saints players of the potential for criminal charges as a result of the bounty program that paid players for injuring specified opponents, and the union has also provided those players with outside counsel in anticipation of pointed questions. more recently, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, an eyewitness to Torres’ devastating hit on Blackhawks’ star Marian Hossa last Tuesday, called it “borderline criminal conduct” in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times.
Along those sinister lines, the unprovoked elbow “World Peace” delivered to the head of Oklahoma City guard James Harden Sunday afternoon at Staples Center could also exceed the generous latitude accorded athletes in the “heat of the moment.”
There’s a general understanding that athletes accept a level of contact in the course of competition that could be construed as assault and battery if it took place on the street. Absent that understanding, football could not exist in its present form and other contact sports would be largely emasculated and slightly ridiculous. Still, there’s a point at which physicality becomes brutality, and another point at which brutality is encouraged by cash payments.
“A spirit of aggressiveness and competitiveness is an integral part of many sporting contests,” says Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. “But bribing players to intentionally hurt their opponents cannot be tolerated. We have to put an end to this.”
Durbin announced last month that the Senate Judiciary Committee will be holding hearings on the NFL bounties. And while the Saints’ pay-for-pain plan certainly warrants scrutiny, there are also broader behavioral questions that ought to be asked.
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images file
Consumer Reports says it’s clear the auto repair industry needs to do a better job.
By Herb Weisbaum, the ConsumerMan
No one likes to take their car to the repair shop. It’s costly and inconvenient. But a new survey by Consumer Reports finds that many customers have some other serious gripes.
The magazine contacted 5,400 subscribers to learn what upsets them. About three-quarters said they were “completely satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the repair work on their vehicle.
Of those who were not happy, 38 percent cited high prices. This was a more common complaint for dealerships than for independent shops.
Consumer Reports calls it “troubling” that more than a quarter (28 percent) of the unsatisfied group said their car’s problem was not properly fixed. and for this one, it didn’t matter where the repair was done. the gripe was reported at the same rate for dealers and independent shops.
Jim Travers, an associate editor with Consumer Reports Autos, says it’s important to check the car before you drive away.
“make an issue of it right there,” he advises. “Don’t leave before you’re comfortable that you’ve been taken care of properly. if you leave, you start to diminish any chance that you’re going to get recourse.”
Other top gripesTwenty-one percent of those who were less than satisfied said they were not happy that it took longer than expected to complete the work. Eighteen percent said they had to bring the car back because the repair did not “hold up.” For both of these gripes dealers and independents shared the blame almost evenly.
Consumer Reports says it’s clear the auto repair industry needs to do a better job.
“They’ve got some pretty dissatisfied customers out there,” Travers says.
And unhappy customers often take their business elsewhere. Almost a quarter of customers contacted by Consumer Reports said they’d switched shops in the past five years because of service problems. Almost half of that group said the negative experience was at a dealership, a third said it was an independent shop, and a fifth named a franchise chain similar to Midas or Sears.
Repair shops might also want to pay special attention to how they treat their female customers. thirty percent of the women who switched to another shop said they felt the staff tried to take advantage of them because of their gender.
“if you do find a mechanic that you’re comfortable with hang on to them,” Travers says, “because you’ve got a real find there.”
Consumer Reports tips for getting a repair performed properly:
More information: High prices and poor repairs lead top car service gripes
Despite a few problems off the field, Edwards’ time as a Jet was pretty smooth. Braylon was a favorite deep-threat target for Sanchez and had a reputation as a hard worker.
In Cleveland, he had a reputation for dropping passes and a bad attitude. this changed when he came to new York. Edwards was a quiet leader and consistently had the fewest drops of the Jets’ starting receivers.
With Edwards in the starting lineup, Sanchez would have a receiver he could trust to make important catches and would relieve some of the Tebow-induced stress that will inevitably catch up to him this season.
Braylon would also take some defensive attention away from fellow wide receiver Santonio Holmes.
With offensive threats on the ground in Tebow, Greene and McKnight, and targets for Sanchez including Holmes, Edwards, Keller and Kerley, the Jets could have one of the more dangerous offenses in the NFL.
Wherein, in motherhood, lies “the conflict”?
On and off this week, amid the usual flow of posts on the intersection of family and culture, policy and news, the Motherlode blog is going to focus on exactly that: our own “conflicts,” as mothers, and the book of the same name: “The Conflict” by the French philosopher and feminist Elisabeth Badinter.
I’ve asked women at different stages of their family and career lives to respond to “The Conflict” by describing how reading it has affected their views or plans for work and motherhood — women approaching motherhood, women for whom work is not a choice, women who’ve chosen to stay home, women who are returning to work and women watching the stability of their marriages falter. I proposed we start from here: no judgment. There’s value in staying home, and there’s value in working outside the home, but how do we, as individual women, decide for ourselves, and how does society push us in different directions?
Between the book’s covers, “The Conflict” pits what Ms. Badinter sees as the insidious forces of natural mothering — the breast-feeding, the cloth diapering, the constant attentive enrichment of the child — against feminist good sense, which leaves room for mothers to work outside the home and allows fathers in as full and equal partners in the tasks of parenthood.
But after just over 10 years of motherhood, I find that to be a simplistic interpretation of a “conflict” I’ve come to realize I shouldn’t even expect to resolve: the one between myself as a mother, and my previous incarnations; and between my expectations of myself as an adult and as a mother, and the reality that I’ve cobbled together, which falls far short of my own ideals.
We don’t, as a society, make it easy for parents of either sex to balance the financial demands of raising children with the physical and emotional demands of being there for them as they grow up. for women on one side of the income divide, the societal pressure is to get to work as soon as possible, and the only way to “balance” a job and parenting in many fields is to quit when family needs become too intense and find a new job when the pressures have eased.
The “conflict” we’re talking about here comes mostly on the other side, in families where one partner’s job (or some other income) is enough to provide the basics of food and shelter, and so what comes next is a matter of priorities. This is where choice comes in, and we can be pretty defensive of our choices — which means that mothers at different stages of work and parenting life appear to judge one another, and harshly.
We may inflict those judgments on one another, but we’re really judging ourselves. every accusation is a self-defense, and every defense a self-justification — because no matter how we make our choices (or have life circumstances choose on our behalf) there is no perfect way to balance all of what we want when we want it. that is the biggest “conflict” of them all. to hang every choice of home over work on the pressure to mother in a certain way seems to me to be missing the pressures that would remain even in the absence of the “natural” parenting movement.
Return formula to prominence, subsidize and perfect child care, make the disposable diaper eco-friendly and even create one that changes itself, and we will still struggle with how often it’s appropriate to take Friday afternoon off to watch a soccer game. Not because we believe soccer will get our children into top colleges, or because all the other parents will be there, or because we have an inflated idea of how important our presence is to our child, but because we (even we feminists) like to be around our kids (and feel guilty when we’re not).
The desire to be as present as possible in a child’s daily life is “natural” for parents of both sexes. It’s how we interpret and act on that desire, not the desire itself, that creates the “conflict,” along with the circumstances of life — illness, kindergarten, divorce, autism, middle school — that change the pressures. those issues often still affect women disproportionately, but there’s a whole lot more than breast-feeding at the root of that, and the real solutions are best found in societal and corporate structures that make it easier for men and women both to have more flexibility within work, and more off- and on-ramps in their careers. As for the impact of the minutiae of “natural” parenting? There’s a whole lot of a family’s life to be lived after the last diaper — cloth or not— has been changed.
Is your “conflict” as much internal as external? or is Ms. Badinter right that, as Molly Guiness put it in the Wall Street Journal this weekend, “modern mothers have a serious problem on their hands, and it’s other mothers?” Speaking from a moment when my own personal and work lives have struck a good — if probably temporary — balance, and yet I still find myself working at midnight on Sunday night, and I’m often still conflicted, but I admit that my biggest problem is usually myself. you?
Some other famous kids of the ’80s and ’90s want you to know that gays rule and Kirk Cameron drools.
A faux organization has been created by former child stars to humorously challenge the recent homophobic statements made by another former child star, Kirk Cameron. this organization is called Child Celebrities Opposing Kirk Cameron (or “CCOKC”, which is pronounced “cock”) and they have released a PSA on funny or Die.
I’m a CCOKC and Kirk, you’re just a dick.
Starring Brice Beckham (Mr. Belvedere), Keith Coogan (Adventures In Babysitting), Josie Davis (Charles In Charge), Maureen Flannigan (Out of this World), Christine Lakin (Step By Step), Jeremy Licht (The Hogan Family) and Kenn Michael (The Parent ‘Hood).
image via Kirk Cameron
During a time where artists are continuously reinventing themselves, Brian McKnight took it a step further when he debuted a song he’s working on.
The R&B singer who’s known for his romantic ballads chose a more “adult” theme geared towards the ladies.
OH NO HE DIDN’T!!! Did he go too far?
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @DABXBLOGGER & @JayBoogieBX
Teens gather for facials, acne treatments, microdermabrasions and lessons on taking care of their skin to look better, feel better and boost confidence.
Manhattan/Woodbury/Southampton, NY (PRWEB) April 16, 2012
Board certified cosmetic plastic surgeon, and radio show talk host, Dr. Stephen T. Greenberg, recently launched an exciting new program for acne treatment. This program has been attracting teens (male and female) who want to improve the look of their skin, at Glisten Skin & Injection Spa in Woodbury, NY. Teens are often concerned about their appearance including clothes, skin, styles and more. to boost their self confidence, improving the look of their skin can be most important. Teens, as well as their parents have been coming to Dr. Greenberg for facials, acne treatments, microdermabrasions and skin care analysis.
These new teen parties at the spa allows for comfort and fun with their friends while having treatments, learning about the importance of daily regimen of cleanliness to maintain healthy skin including diet and a lifestyle changes. The atmosphere is fun, relaxing and they leave looking and feeling better.
Dr. Greenberg uses laser treatments that are safe and effective and can reduce acne breakouts. These teens can see an immediate improvement with their skin looking smoother and clearer.
One of the mothers said the program is “Inexpensive, effective and worth every penny of it. The renewed confidence in my son is priceless!”
About Dr. Stephen T. Greenberg Stephen T. Greenberg, MD is a nationally renowned Cosmetic Plastic Surgeon based in Manhattan and Woodbury, Long Island, new York. Dr. Greenberg is well-known for his expertise in the field of cosmetic plastic surgery and is frequently interviewed for his knowledge on the latest cosmetic surgery techniques. Dr. Greenberg is the Author of A little Nip, A little Tuck and is currently working on a second book, due to be released later this year. he is often a featured speaker for women’s groups, spas, and health and skin care institutes, and regularly appears on many local and national television and radio shows. he is also the creator of the Cosmetic Surgeon in a Jar skin care line. Dr. Greenberg has been voted best Cosmetic Surgeon on Long Island for 2012 by the LI Press.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/4/prweb9402176.htm
Everyone wants to know how much money they need to save for retirement. When planning, don't forget to account for inflation and fluctuations in investment returns, Hamm says. by Trent Hamm, Guest blogger / April 23, 2012 Birds fly by with a view of …
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Christian Science Monitor
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –In this age of economic uncertainty, where more and more Americans are beginning to question how they will provide for their own retirement, it is unsurprising that financial advice would come from a wide range of sources. even ABC News has recently offered investment tips, in a report on the importance of “slow and steady” investing. The report has drawn attention from renowned economists like Sharath Sury, who responded to ABC’s investment advice in a statement to the press.
The ABC report itself takes its “slow and steady” verbiage from the famed Aesop fable about the tortoise and the hare; the article claims that, as in the fable, so it is in investment, where the slow and steady investment technique tends to outperform the “hare” investment. ABC defines the hares as investors who “try to sprint to the finish line of a comfortable retirement without girding their portfolios against the perils of volatility.” The smart, slow-and-steady investors, meanwhile, are marked by taking precautions against market volatility, and as a result, their portfolios are frequently more successful.
Sharath Sury has long spoken and written about the importance of risk management as it relates to portfolio construction. he responds to the ABC report with analytic commentary.
“Steady portfolios need not necessarily be built by only investing in ‘low return’ strategies,” observes Sury. “Indeed, some of the most efficient portfolios are designed by assembling strategies that have opportunities for growth; but ensuring that those strategies are not well correlated to each other. one of the most important concepts in investment management is that of diversification.”
on the topic of diversification, Sharath Sury offers nuanced advice to investors. “While many investors know that they should diversify, they often do not carefully analyze how diversified they truly are,” he says. “Assets or strategies that appear to be diversified when the markets are doing well may tend to lose their diversification benefits when the market starts to experience stress.”
The bottom line for investors, Sharath Sury says, is that it “is crucially important to carefully and consistently monitor how assets and strategies behave during different regimes. For example, stocks and bonds move together sometimes and apart other times. The same is true of stocks and commodities.” Concludes Sury, “Understanding how asset classes or strategies correlate under different market scenarios is the key to ensuring that you have intelligently diversified your portfolio.”
Sury’s insight is largely affirmed by the ABC article, which ultimately favors discerning investment strategies over “the halting progress of hares.”
Sharath Sury is an internationally renowned expert in economics and finance. An award-winning educator and sought-after lecturer, he currently serves as the Chairman of the Sury Institute for Financial Innovation and Risk Management (SIFIRM) and an adjunct professor of financial economics at the University of California. SIFIRM’s diverse panel of economic experts, whose initiatives have included Boards with Nobel Laureates, pioneering academics, and leading investment CEOs, seeks to bring increased innovation and devise new tools and techniques for addressing the world’s financial issues. Additionally, Sharath Sury has been quoted for his expert opinion in Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Reuters, Fund Strategy, and other noteworthy publications.
SOURCE Sharath Sury
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