Get Discount Perfumes

As newer computers stopped using dedicated synthesis chips and began to primarily use sample-based synthesis, more realistic timbres could be recreated, but often at the expense of file size (as with MODs) and potentially without the personality imbued by the limitations of the older sound chips.

Demoscene intros came to feature their own particular style of chiptune music. Although chiptune could historically refer to any style of music, the term is mostly used today to refer to the style of music used in these intros, since other styles of music have moved on to more sophisticated technology.

Sound Chips

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT – Adm. Mike Mullen is applauding a military strike in Yemen against suspected members of the al-Qaida terrorist group.
The top U.S. military officer said Sunday he has been concerned for some time that Yemen could become "another safe haven" for terrorism. He applauded the effort to go after an al-Qaida cell which he said has grown significantly over the last couple of years.
Mullen said the United States will continue to help Yemen develop its ability to fight terrorism, but he refused to discuss whether the United States played an active role in the recent operation.
The New York Times reported the U.S. provided firepower and other aid to Yemen for the strike this past week against suspected al-Qaida hide-outs and training sites within its borders.

CQ Transcriptswire

SPEAKERS: BOB SCHIEFFER, HOST

SEN. OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, R-MAINE

SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER, R-TENN.

SEN. SHERROD BROWN, D-OHIO

SEN. MARY L. LANDRIEU, D-LA.

[*] SCHIEFFER: Today on FACE THE NATION, the weather outside is frightful but Democrats found yesterday delightful as they claimed victory in the debate on health care reform. But as they claimed the 60 votes need to pass health care reform in the Senate, Democrats called it an historic moment for America. Republicans said it was worse than the weather.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, R-KY.: This bill is a legislative train wreck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHIEFFER: We'll go through what's actually in the proposal and get all sides from Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Lamar Alexander and Democratic Senators Mary Landrieu and Sherrod Brown. Then I'll have a final thought on Washington's big snow job.

But first, health care reform. A real cure or just bitter medicine on FACE THE NATION?

And good morning again from snow-bound Washington where we got nearly two feet of snow yesterday. As the Senate Democratic leaders were claiming that they finally had the vote of Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and that gave them the 60 votes they need to pass health care reform in the Senate. Final vote now scheduled to come at 7:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

The bill is massive, more than 2,000 pages. Basically it extends insurance coverage to 31 million Americans who are not now covered. It creates nonprofit insurance exchanges where people can purchase insurance. It does not include the so-called public option that is a government-run plan similar to Medicare.

The cost, an estimated $871 billion over the next decade. This bill also tightens restrictions on funding for abortion. It has many other provisions, including barring insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. It will be paid for by new taxes on employers who provide health care by various fees on medical services and procedures, and taxes on some high-cost plans themselves.

All our guests are in the studio with us this morning. We begin with Republican senator and appropriately enough Senator Olympia Snowe who is with us this morning. She was believed to be the most likely Republican to vote for this bill. In the end, senator, you decided not to vote for it. Thank you for joining us this morning.

SNOWE: Thank you, Bob.

SCHIEFFER: Why in the end did you decide you couldn't do it?

SNOWE: Well Bob, at this point anyways, I deeply regret that because I frankly I have been fully immersed in this process for a better part of the year, both my staff and myself because I'm committed to health care reform.

I believe that the current situation is unacceptable and unconscionable when you think about rising health care costs. That's why the only Republican on the Finance Committee, I voted for legislation. I did have some problems with that particular legislation. But at the time the credibility of the process going forward would determine the credibility of the outcome.

So here we are today with a bill that's dramatically different, more expansive than the Finance Committee. In fact it's 1,200 pages more than the Finance Committee legislation. It was placed on the floor just short of three weeks ago. Four hundred amendments and two dozen have been considered voted upon.

As 400 members are not unusual since each of the committees that considered the legislation have had more than 500 amendments. Then less than 24 hours yesterday, we get a 400-page amendment that was filed by the Senate majority leader. We are scheduled to vote on that major amendment 15 hours from now at 1:00 in the morning with no opportunity to amend it. All to get done the entire bill with no opportunity to amend it, to change it by Christmas, so that we can adjourn for a three-week recess for a bill that doesn't become implemented until 2014.

SCHIEFFER: What was the tipping point for you? What was it that happened that made you say I just can't do it?

SNOWE: Well it was a number of issues. I have been in countless meetings, meetings and telephone calls, meetings with the president, meetings with the majority leader, a number of people across the aisle without question. The problem is the bill became bigger. It has the class act which is a whole new entitlement that frankly will turn in the red five years after the benefits begin.

SCHIEFFER: What is that?

SNOWE: It's a long-term care insurance. And it's a whole new entitlement. In fact, half of those revenues that will be set aside for a vesting period will be used to calculate the deficit reduction over the next 10 years. That's where they derive half of their deficit reduction. Then you have a whole new layer of taxes. The Medicare payroll tax. We have good tax subsidies. And I applaud Senator Landrieu that you'll be hearing from in a moment on those tax subsidies for small businesses.

SNOWE: But on the other hand, you have a 1 percent Medicare payroll tax on small businesses, affecting them disproportionately at a time we're depending on them to create jobs to lead us out of this recession.

It is not indexed for inflation. It's a 62 percent increase. So this will be devastating for small business as well.

I had submitted a CBO letter on December 3rd with substantial questions on what is the premium cost for every American who will be participating in the exchange? What can they expect?

As they're sitting around their kitchen table, they expect certain answers to certain questions. We don't have those answers to those questions. And that's why I indicated to hold off. I said to the president and I said to the Senate majority leader and others, please, give us the time; come back after the new year; get together. This is a generational issue that has substantial effects with -- in fact, I would say sweeping effects because you're recalculating one- sixth of our economy.

And, frankly, we're treating it as if it's the legislative appropriations at the end of the year. It's like the last train leaving the station; we're going to dump everything in there.

SCHIEFFER: Let me ask you this. It's my understanding that, even after Leader Reid announced that he had the 60th vote, the 60 votes he needs, you met again with President Obama. What was -- what was that about?

SNOWE: Correct. The president, you know, and I have -- have worked together on this issue. And I applaud him for, you know, his knowledge, his grasp of the issue. It's his major and highest domestic initiative, on this issue, and he wants to get it done this year, and encouraging me to support the legislation.

And as I indicated to him, I'll continue to work through, our House and Senate conference, but the legislation that is pending -- this process denies us the ability to thoroughly and carefully and deliberately evaluate what is at stake. I mean, we're talking about reordering $33 trillion over the next 10 years.

SCHIEFFER: Well, do you -- was the reason for this meeting -- was he asking you to vote for this thing when it comes out of conference? Is that what it was?

SNOWE: No, it was the pending legislation.

SCHIEFFER: But you told him you couldn't?

SNOWE: That I had -- yes, that I had problems, because the process is denying me and others, for that matter, the opportunity to amend it, on a big bill.

Why Christmas? There's no magic deadline. This "beat the clock" is really overruling legislative sanity.

SCHIEFFER: Let me ask you -- let me ask you about the abortion language in here. Senator Nelson insisted that the abortion language be tightened on what money could be spent on abortions in these insurance policies.

But now he's satisfied, but now the right-to-life folks, the anti-abortion people say they're not satisfied with it. But the people who favor abortion say they're not satisfied with it, either. Are you...

(LAUGHTER)

... how do you feel about that part of it?

SNOWE: Well, I helped to -- to work on the underlying legislation and the provision that basically, you know, embraced the status quo, making sure that we're not using any federal funds to finance abortion, using a precedent that already exists in domestic family programs and in national family planning programs, as well as Medicaid.

And I think there's 17 states that separate their funds. They're not commingled. That is a process that's worked time and again.

And I think it's regrettable that it's reached this point with respect to this issue because, clearly, what is in the current legislation should have satisfied those concerns. It was every attempt to write it as it is in existing law that would not use any federal funds to finance abortion.

SCHIEFFER: All right. Senator, so thank you very much for coming in on a very snowy day here in Washington.

SNOWE: Thank you.

SCHIEFFER: We'll be right back.

SNOWE: Thank you, Bob.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHIEFFER: And we're back now with Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu from Louisiana, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and Republican Lamar Alexander from Tennessee. Well, you heard Senator Snowe. She was one of those, Senator Brown, who was very much -- almost really wanted to vote for something here and in the end just couldn't bring herself to do it. You were one of those who very much wanted a lot more than what's in this bill. In a sense you wanted a public option. You said you're going to vote for it. But are you happy with it?

BROWN: I'm disappointed. I think it could be a better bill. But we're making major progress in this bill. First of all, for those people who have insurance in this country, right now you're paying $100 a month more than $1,000 a year of hidden tax for basically for care for people who don't have insurance that go to emergency rooms and all that.

This bill has got good insurance reform. It says that no more pre-existing condition. No more exclusions for that. No more discrimination. Women paying more for health insurance than men. It strengthens Medicare. It provides free screenings for Medicare, for every Medicare beneficiary. It lengthens the life expectancy of Medicare. And it gives tax breaks for small business. And those start immediately so small companies can begin to ensure their employees.

Most companies in Cincinnati and Cleveland and Columbus that I talk to want to insure their employees. They simply can't afford it. If they have 20 employees and one of them gets cancer, it makes their premiums unaffordable. So this bill moves absolutely in the right direction.

SCHIEFFER: Are you convinced people are going to pay less, that this is going to reduce costs? I keep hearing people saying it's going to cost a lot more.

BROWN: This bill -- if we do nothing, insurance premiums are going to double. You know, I'm amazed as I hear Republican after Republican take to the Senate floor and defend the insurance companies, practices worthy of Ebenezer Scrooge. And the way they'd have it is that the insurance companies would cancel Tiny Tim for pre- existing condition. I mean it's clearly not sustainable what we're doing now. We clearly need to go on a different path.

SCHIEFFER: So Senator Alexander, as a Republican, I take it you don't quite agree with that. Let me ask you this. Republicans have done everything they can and openly. They're not making any secret of it to slow this process down as much as they can. Is it now done or will you continue to try to slow this vote down?

ALEXANDER: Well no, it's never done in the Senate until it's done. And I thought Senator Snowe pretty eloquently explained why we want to know more about the bill. There's a reason why we're voting on it in the middle of the night. We just learned about it yesterday. They're trying to push it through before Christmas. There's a lot of explaining to do.

I mean, how are you going to help Medicare by taking a trillion dollars out of Medicare over a 10-year period at a time when Medicare is going broke in five years according to its trustees?

How will taxes help create new jobs when we've got 10 percent unemployment? How are governors going to pay for the Medicaid expansion? Almost all of them are saying they'll have to raise state taxes. They'll have to raise college tuitions. Then what about the $16 million Americans low-income, who are getting dumped into Medicare, Medicaid, excuse me, the program for low-income Americans, where 50 percent of the doctors won't even see new Medicaid patients? There's a lot of explaining to do.

SCHIEFFER: Let me get back to the question I asked you. Are you going to continue to try to slow this process down or are you going to let it come to a vote?

ALEXANDER: Well, we want to take the time to let the American people know what it costs, what it is, how it affects them because we believe when they find out, they won't like it any better than they do now and they won't allow Congress to pass it.

SCHIEFFER: Do you believe it is possible to keep this from coming to a vote before Christmas?

ALEXANDER: I'm not sure. We'll have to see. But it is outrageous in the middle of a snowstorm to give us a 2,700-page bill yesterday, start voting in the literally in the middle of the night and say let's pass it before we go home for Christmas.

SCHIEFFER: Senator Landrieu, you were one of those like Senator Snowe who was very much on the fence but then somehow in what people are calling the Louisiana purchase, $300 million in Medicaid help for your state came your way and you suddenly were able to vote for that.

LANDRIEU: Bob, let me be very clear. Nothing could make me vote for a bill if I didn't think it was the right thing to do for my state and for the nation. Nothing, no amount of money.

That was one of about 12 things that I fought very hard for. And I'm pleased to say in the final bill, many of them have presented themselves. One, Sherrod mentioned tax credits for small businesses. I'm the chair of the Small Business Committee. I was not going to support a bill that didn't have robust help for small business. I was not going to support a bill that had a small business mandate. So there were a number of things. That was just one.

LANDRIEU: And it was a very worthy request in the sense that, after Katrina, our calculation for Medicaid put us in the same category as Connecticut. People know that Connecticut is a much richer state than Louisiana.

But having said that, I'd like to answer the question you asked Lamar. There's only one reason we're going to be here until Christmas, and that's Senator Tom Coburn. We don't have to vote in the middle of the night. But he's the one making us do it, not Harry Reid, not the Democrats. It is a Republican obstructionist that is making us vote in the middle of the night.

Number two, we've been discussing this issue for 40 years, not four months, not four weeks, 40 years we've debated this. And since last March, this discussion has been public. So this business about they don't know what's in the bill, it has been widely, widely distributed. The language has been on the Internet. We are going to get this done before Christmas.

And it's extraordinary that Democrats, Sherrod, who started out for a robust public option, I was not necessarily for that much government involvement, have come together to write what we think is a great, very good, great bill for the American people.

(CROSSTALK)

ALEXANDER: The assistant Democratic leader, Dick Durbin, said on the floor last week he didn't know what was in the bill. We got a 400-page amendment yesterday. The reason they're rushing it is because they don't want people to know about the Medicare cuts, the tax increases, and the chief actuary...

LANDRIEU: That is not true.

ALEXANDER: ... of government has said that rather than decreasing costs, it will raise costs over the next 20 years. That's the chief actuary of government in the Obama administration said that.

LANDRIEU: That is not true.

BROWN: Let me put a human face on this. In Toledo, in Dayton, in Piqua, Ohio, 390 people every single day are losing their health insurance, 390 people a day. Across this country, a thousand people a week die because they don't have health insurance.

A woman with breast cancer is 40 percent more likely to die if she doesn't have insurance than if she does have insurance, 40 percent more likely. So this kind of obstruction -- I mean, this "gang of six" started meeting in -- formally in June, but much before that as they started negotiating this bill.

Everybody knows the great majority of what's in this. Everybody has debated it. Everybody is -- and it is just a question of delay. I mean, and in the end -- and you know, I like Lamar and I like most of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, but it's so much what the insurance industry wants.

The insurance industry stands to lose a lot. CEO of Aetna made $24 million last year. Under this bill, because we've got a provision in this bill that no more than 15 or 20 percent of every premium dollar can go to the insurance companies, the rest have to go to hospitals and doctors in Knoxville and in Baton Rouge and in Columbus. And so that...

ALEXANDER: The fact of the matter is...

BROWN: That means that insurance companies are going to come to the table and going to have to give a little bit up.

ALEXANDER: I would like to hear Sherrod Brown or any other person explain to me how you're going to take a trillion dollars out of the Medicare program on which 40 million seniors depend, which is precisely the amount when the program is fully implemented, and not spend it on Medicare, not spend it on grandma, but spend it on somebody else.

(CROSSTALK)

ALEXANDER: ... at a time when the program is going broke in five years.

LANDRIEU: First of all, we don't take a trillion dollars out of Medicare. We take a couple of hundred million by streamlining the program.

ALEXANDER: Now, Mary...

LANDRIEU: We streamline the program.

ALEXANDER: ... if the CBO said it's a trillion dollars...

LANDRIEU: It's...

ALEXANDER: ... over 10 years when fully implemented.

LANDRIEU: It is not a trillion dollars over time. And Republicans like John McCain and Lamar Alexander have supported many of those same ways to streamline Medicare in the past. John McCain actually ran on some of this. So to claim that we're doing something that Republicans and Democrats haven't tried to do for Medicare, we're strengthening Medicare. That's the bottom line.

Seven years expanding that trust fund. And we're taking some of that money and providing tax cuts and tax credits to small business. And for the first time in America, Americans will have an opportunity to have the same kind of insurance that federal employees have, including members of Congress. That's a promise the president made. And we're keeping it.

BROWN: And the AARP and the American Medical Association wouldn't be supporting this bill if it were substantially cutting Medicare. Most of the cuts, the reason -- you know, when you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that howls is the one you hit. And most of the people, the reason that the Republicans are howling on the Medicare, quote-unquote, "cuts" is because we're cutting insurance company subsidies that have gone to Medicare.

So you take those subsidies out, of course they're unhappy with that because the insurance companies are their biggest supporters in election after election.

ALEXANDER: This is exactly why we shouldn't be voting in the middle of the night and passing at Christmas. They are saying that tax cuts -- that tax increases aren't tax increases. They're saying that a trillion-dollar cut in Medicare spent on a new program isn't a $1 trillion cut in Medicare.

They're ignoring the fact that they're dumping on states new expenses for Medicaid that, in my state, our Democratic governor has said is the mother of all unfunded mandates, will cause tax increases and increases in college tuitions, and they're dumping $16 million low-income Americans into a Medicaid program which 50 percent of the doctors won't -- in which they won't see new patients.

LANDRIEU: Bob, let me just add this. They're going to -- 94 percent of all Americans are now going to have health care. This is being done through a private-public partnership, not a government takeover but reform of the insurance industry that people even who have insurance are desperate for.

And it is not being done, you know, in a -- in a very quick way. As I said, we've been debating this all year. So we're ready to come to this great compromise that we believe -- that brought the Democratic Party together.

We wish the Republicans would have joined us. But it's easy to be unified when the only word in your vocabulary is no. That's all they've been able to say to the American people. It's time to say yes to them and get on with the job of governing.

BROWN: Let me tell you why this is no longer business as usual.

SCHIEFFER: We have about 10 seconds.

BROWN: OK. OK, in 2003, when the insurance companies and the drug companies and President Bush pushed through the Medicare privatization bill, they had no -- they were not paying for it in any way. We are paying for this bill. The Congressional Budget Office says it will over -- in the next 20 years, it will be a $1.4 trillion paydown of the national debt. LANDRIEU: Savings.

BROWN: This is the Congressional Budget Office saying that.

SCHIEFFER: All right. One -- 10 seconds, Senator Alexander?

ALEXANDER: Medicare cuts, tax increases, big new taxes on states and dumping low-income Americans into a Medicaid program where half the doctors won't see new patients.

SCHIEFFER: We will continue this conversation...

(LAUGHTER)

... but we're out of time. Back with some closing thoughts in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHIEFFER: Finally today, Washington woke up a different place yesterday. No, I don't mean elected officials suddenly put aside partisan games. No, Washington was, depending on how you looked at it, the victim of or blessed by the ultimate cover-up. We were covered up by a huge snow.

From the Capitol, where the Senate was locked in nasty debate to the White House, Washington was transformed into a winter wonderland.

That's the thing about snow. The cliches come tumbling down with the first flakes. We can't help ourselves. But even the torrent of words and descriptions we've heard a million times before can't beat the scenes that a snowfall paints.

There's an old Washington truth, another cliche to be sure, that where we stand depends on where we sit. A snow just underlines that.

Adults dread snow because it means school closings, snow drifts, detours, and blocked sidewalks. Children, on the other hand, love snow for exactly the same reasons: school closings, snow drifts, detours, and blocked sidewalks.

Is that then a thought for the holiday season, that, when we allow the inconveniences of modern life to overwhelm us, we miss what every child knows but can't really explain, that a change in the weather, the first snow, a sign of spring, a summer sunset, can make us smile and help us to find peace and contentment?

Are there miracles? I believe snow can be a miracle, but only if we allow it to be. Back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCHIEFFER: And from all of us here, happy holidays.

BOSTON – The baby boy keeping New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen awake at night has a name: Benjamin.
The baby was born Dec. 8. But the day after the birth, Brady said he and Bundchen hadn't chosen a name. Word finally came out Friday when Bundchen posted a holiday message on her Web site.
Bundchen revealed the baby's name when she wrote, "Benjamin is a blessing and I could not be happier."
Brady and Bundchen were married in February. Benjamin is Bundchen's first child. Brady also has a 2-year-old son, Jack, with actress Bridget Moynahan.
Brady had joked earlier in the week about how hard it was to sleep with a new baby in the house, saying it was "a little tough early." He added, "It's coming."

TUESDAY, Dec. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Among teenagers, being
overweight or obese increases the risk of obstructive sleep apnea, but the
same does not appear to be true for younger children, Australian
researchers have found.

In sleep tests conducted on 234 white children, aged 2 to 18, who were
referred for evaluation of snoring and possible obstructive sleep apnea,
the researchers found that among those aged 12 and older the risk of
obstructive sleep apnea increased 3.5-fold with each standard-deviation
increase in body-mass index (BMI) score. But, increasing BMI did not
significantly increase the risk of obstructive sleep apnea in younger
children.

The increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea in overweight and obese
teens may be linked to developmental changes, such as anatomic changes and
reductions in upper airway tone, the study authors noted in the Dec. 15
issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

"These results were a little surprising to us initially, as obesity is
generally considered to increase the risk of sleep apnea amongst all
children. Previous results have been inconsistent, however, and appear to
be confounded by using mixed ethnic populations and different ages of
children," principal investigator Mark Kohler, research fellow at the
Children's Research Center at the University of Adelaide, said in a news
release from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

He and his colleagues said developmental changes in the association
between obesity and obstructive sleep apnea may occur at different ages in
children of other races and ethnicities. They noted that black American
children appear to be at higher risk for obstructive sleep apnea
independent of obesity and they may begin puberty earlier than white
children.

Tonsil size may be another factor that interacts with obesity to affect
the risk of obstructive sleep apnea, they added.

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about children and sleep apnea.

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) –
Malaysian wildlife authorities said they have rescued 130 pangolins and arrested two men attempting to smuggle the protected species, destined to be sold to restaurants and medicine shops.

Officials from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks said the two men were detained at a cemetery in central Pahang state, national news agency Bernama said late Saturday.

"The cemetery is believed to be the transit point before the animals are taken to (southern state) Johor and illegally exported to China, Japan and Hong Kong," state department head Khairiah Mohamad Shariff told Bernama.

He added the 130 pangolins seized were worth 40,000 ringgit (11,500 dollars).

Malaysian marine police on Thursday rescued 62 pangolins.

Pangolins are indigenous to the jungles of Indonesia, parts of Malaysia and areas of southern Thailand. The animal's meat is considered a delicacy in China, but it is classified as a protected species under the UN's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

BOSTON (Reuters) –
Bone marrow transplants, already used to treat some children with sickle cell disease, also may cure some adults with this deadly genetic defect that causes red blood cells to contort, U.S. scientists said on Wednesday.

Nine of 10 adult patients given an experimental bone marrow transplant treatment were cured of sickle cell disease, researchers at the U.S. government's National Institutes of Health reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

If the early results hold, the treatment "could be ideal for patients with severe sickle cell disease," Dr. Miguel Abboud of American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon said in an editorial accompanying the study.

Such transplants already are used to cure children with the disease who have a compatible donor who provides bone marrow. Bone marrow gives rise to blood cells.

Destroying a patient's bone marrow and replacing it with healthy marrow from a donor, often a sibling, is considered too risky for adults.

In conventional bone marrow transplants, doctors try to destroy all of a patient's own bone marrow. Using the new technique, adults are given a lower dose of radiation, only partially destroying the patient's bone marrow.

This approach leaves enough space inside the patient's bones for the donated marrow to find a home and produce enough healthy red blood cells to compensate for the defective ones.

In sickle cell disease, an inherited disorder, blood cells become stiff and sickle-shaped, causing them to block blood vessels and starve tissues of oxygen.

It had been thought that by the time people with sickle cell disease become adults, they had have suffered too much kidney, lung and liver damage to allow for a safe transplant.

ESSENTIAL ORGANS

"All of these organs are essential for getting through a bone marrow transplant," Dr. John Tisdale of the NIH's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.

Tisdale and his team used about one quarter of the conventional dose of radiation, which was enough to wipe out part of the marrow. They also eliminated chemotherapy normally given to suppress the immune system.

As a result, each patient's bone marrow was a mix of cells from the patient and the donor.

But that was enough to cure nine out of the 10 patients who underwent a transplant and keep them well for an average of 2-1/2 years. The ages of the patients in the study ranged from 16 to 45 at the time of their transplants.

The healthy disc-shaped red blood cells produced by the donated marrow overwhelmed the diseased sickle-shaped cells generated by the patient's remaining marrow.

"Because sickle red blood cells only live about six or seven days and normal red blood cells live 120 days, if you can get a little bit of the donor cells in there, the donor cells take over," Tisdale said.

Abboud cautioned that the technique's applicability is still limited by the small number of available siblings of patients with matching bone marrow types. Only 24 of the 112 eligible patients in this study had a compatible donor.

Tisdale estimated that of the 70,000 sickle cell patients in the United States, about 10 percent would be adults with a compatible donor and thus be eligible for the treatment.

(Editing by Will Dunham)

GENEVA – The world's largest atom smasher has recorded its first high-energy collisions of protons, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Physicists hope those collisions will help them understand suspected phenomena such as dark matter, antimatter and ultimately the creation of the universe billions of years ago, which many theorize occurred as a massive explosion known as the Big Bang.
The collisions occurred Tuesday evening as the Large Haldron Collider underwent test runs in preparation for operations next year, said Christine Sutton of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN.
Two beams of circulating particles traveling in opposite directions at 1.18 trillion electron volts produced the collisions, she said. The Atlas "experiment," one of four major detectors in cathedral-sized rooms in the collider's underground tunnel at Geneva, had part of its equipment turned on and could register collisions.
"They recorded a handful of collisions, and one of them looks quite nice, so it's on their Web site," she said.
Sutton said the collisions occurred when the machine was ramped up briefly to 1.18 TeV. That same level set a world record for proton acceleration in November, when Geneva's particle beams traveled with 20 percent more power than Fermilab near Chicago, which previously held the record.
The operators plan many more collisions at lower energies so the experiments can calibrate their equipment and prepare for more advances ahead.
CERN then plans more collisions at 1.18 TeV to give all experiments the opportunity to record data at that level, but new scientific discoveries are not expected before next year when the beams are ramped up still higher, to 3.5 TeV.
That will be 3.5 times more energy that has been reached at Fermilab, previously the most powerful collider.
______
On the Net:
Atlas experiment:
atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/public/EVTDISPLAY/JiveXML_142065_116969-RZ-LegoPlot-YX-2009-12-08-22-52-41-web.png

A new NASA spacecraft is ready to tackle a grueling nine-month photo shoot
of cosmic proportions to seek out more than just the stars.

Instead of observing just one particular object, NASA's new Wide-field
Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) will scan the entire sky 1 1/2 times during its
mission to spot the coolest stars, dark asteroids and blazing galaxies that
shine bright in the infrared. The spacecraft is set to launch Friday from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and head for an orbit circling the
Earth's poles. 

The $320 million infrared-vision
spacecraft is designed to observe the sky at levels hundreds of times more
sensitive than infrared sky surveys of the past.

WISE may not represent the most sensitive infrared instrument when compared
to NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope or the European Herschel Space Observatory. But
its all-sky view casts the widest possible net to gather a wealth of scientific
observations — not to mention find future telescope targets for Spitzer and
Herschel. Its wide gaze may also uncover exotic, rare objects in the universe
that most telescopes would never find in the sea of stars.

"The wide-angle approach used by WISE is essential when looking for
rare or unique objects, such as the most luminous galaxies in the Universe or the
closest stars to the sun," said Ned Wright, WISE principal investigator at
the University of California in Los Angeles.

Unlike the naked human eye, WISE can
see infrared light at longer wavelengths that may reveal cold, dusty or
distant objects which might otherwise not show up in an optical survey.

A wide cosmic net

Doing a fast and efficient survey of the sky requires special stargazing
skills. The Spitzer
Space Telescope and the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope can detect
fainter objects than WISE, because of larger mirrors that focus on one patch of
sky to collect incoming light for long periods of time. But each of the pointed
telescopes cannot cover more than 1 percent or so of the sky.

WISE uses a scan mirror that slowly tracks the same patch of sky for 8.8
seconds, even as the spacecraft orbits the Earth. The mirror then quickly snaps
back to its starting position in 2.2 seconds, so that WISE can take still shots
of the infrared sky every 11 seconds.

"WISE will look at everything, but will not detect
everything," Wright told SPACE.com.

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) and Cosmic Background
Explorer (COBE) conducted similar all-sky surveys in the 1980s, but with less
sensitive detectors — IRAS used just 62 pixels to cover four infrared bands,
and COBE had just one pixel per band.

By contrast, WISE has so-called "megapixel eyes" that can
cover a million pixels, so that it can spot more of the sky per picture. It
also covers four of the same infrared bands surveyed by IRAS and COBA, with one
megapixel per band.

"WISE will have hundreds of times the sensitivity of IRAS, and
hundreds of thousands of times better sensitivity than COBE, in the overlapping
bands," said Peter Eisenhardt, WISE project scientist at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.

Discovering the infrared universe

The infrared eyes of WISE should reveal hundreds of near-Earth objects
(NEOs), such as asteroids and comets, during the mission's sweep of the sky.

"We're not optimized for a NEO search, but we're pretty good at
it," said William Irace, WISE project manager at JPL. "The way to
look at WISE is that it's a nice proof of concept mission for a comprehensive
NEO survey."

Farther out, WISE may find very cool brown
dwarfs at temperatures of -94 degrees F (200 K). Such failed stars appear within
the WISE detection range as far out as the nearest star, Proxima Centauri,
about four light years distant from Earth.

"We may find the brown dwarfs which are the centers of the nearest
extrasolar planetary systems, the first place beyond the solar system that
humanity may visit," Eisenhardt said.

A more unlikely find could involve the Oort cloud, or the large
spherical cluster of comets which sits almost a light year out from our sun. If
WISE happens to spot a large gas planet the size of Neptune or Jupiter far off
in the Oort cloud, such a discovery could once again throw the definition
of a planet into disarray.

WISE can also detect ultraluminous infrared galaxies that radiate with
the light of up to a trillion suns, Eisenhardt explained. Those galaxies may
show up as far as 10 billion light-years away, or back in the time when the
universe was three to four times younger and galaxy formation had kicked into
high gear.

Similarly, Wright wants to see how the distribution of galaxies stacks
up against the cosmic
microwave background, which represents leftover radiation from the time of
the Big Bang.

Above and beyond

The WISE mission's survey will eventually end when an onboard supply of
solid hydrogen, called cryogen, runs out after about 10 months. The cryogen
helps WISE prevent its own infrared signature from interfering with its
detectors, by keeping the infrared telescope and instruments at -429 degrees F
(17 degrees K).

But the WISE team hopes for a possible three-month extension even after
the cryogen is exhausted, because the shorter infrared bands may still uncover
useful data. Perhaps NASA might consider the extension as a reward for a job
well done — especially given that both NASA and its subcontractors have kept
the WISE mission on schedule during the run-up to launch, according to Irace.

Past all-sky surveys have also provided a smorgasbord of data for
scientists to examine long after the original mission ended. For instance,
hundreds of papers still refer to the IRAS survey that took place more than a
decade ago.

"This is why we like to say that the legacy of all-sky surveys
endures for decades," Eisenhardt said.

Video
- A New Closest Star? - Getting WISE to Brown Dwarfs
Images
- Spitzer Telescope Sees Universe in Infrared
A
List of the Major Space Telescopes
Original Story: New Space Telescope to Map Infrared Sky Better Than EverSPACE.com offers rich and compelling content about space science, travel and exploration as well as astronomy, technology, business news and more. The site boasts a variety of popular features including our space image of the day and other space pictures,space videos, Top 10s, Trivia, podcasts and Amazing Images submitted by our users. Join our community, sign up for our free newsletters and register for our RSS Feeds today!

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Salons are in various business forms from sole traders, branches of salons or large franchise owned salon chains. Some larger chains offer their own brand of salon products.
[edit] Spa salon

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MCLEAN, Va. — On the eve of the unveiling of the nation’s new Afghanistan policy, former Vice President Dick Cheney slammed President Barack Obama for projecting “weakness” to adversaries and warned that more workaday Afghans will side with the Taliban if they think the United States is heading for the exits.
In a 90-minute interview at his suburban Washington house, Cheney said the president’s “agonizing” about Afghanistan strategy “has consequences for your forces in the field.”
“I begin to get nervous when I see the commander in chief making decisions apparently for what I would describe as small ‘p’ political reasons, where he’s trying to balance off different competing groups in society,” Cheney said.
“Every time he delays, defers, debates, changes his position, it begins to raise questions: Is the commander in chief really behind what they’ve been asked to do?”
Obama administration officials have complained ever since taking office that they face a series of unpalatable — if not impossible — national security decisions in Afghanistan and Pakistan because of the Bush administration’s unwavering insistence on focusing on Iraq.
But Cheney rejected any suggestion that Obama had to decide on a new strategy for Afghanistan because the one employed by the previous administration failed.
Cheney was asked if he thinks the Bush administration bears any responsibility for the disintegration of Afghanistan because of the attention and resources that were diverted to Iraq. “I basically don’t,” he replied without elaborating.
Obama will announce a troop buildup in Afghanistan in a speech Tuesday at West Point, and he’s expected to send at least 30,000 more U.S. troops to the country. The White House also has said that Obama will outline a general time frame for the United States to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan.
But Cheney said the average Afghan citizen “sees talk about exit strategies and how soon we can get out, instead of talk about how we win.
“Those folks ... begin to look for ways to accommodate their enemies,” Cheney said. “They’re worried the United States isn’t going to be there much longer and the bad guys are.”
During the interview, Cheney laced his concerns with a broader critique of Obama’s foreign and national security policy, saying Obama’s nuanced and at times cerebral approach projects “weakness” and that the president is looking “far more radical than I expected.”
“Here’s a guy without much experience, who campaigned against much of what we put in place ... and who now travels around the world apologizing,” Cheney said. “I think our adversaries — especially when that’s preceded by a deep bow ... — see that as a sign of weakness.”
Specifically, Cheney said the Justice Department decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, in New York City is “great” for Al Qaeda.
“One of their top people will be given the opportunity — courtesy of the United States government and the Obama administration — to have a platform from which they can espouse this hateful ideology that they adhere to,” he said. “I think it’s likely to give encouragement — aid and comfort — to the enemy.”
The former vice president is splitting his time among his houses in Virginia, in Wyoming and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, with a place at each for working on his memoir, to be published in the spring of 2011. His eldest daughter, former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Liz Cheney, is collaborating on the writing and overseeing research.
During the campaign, Cheney recalled, he saw Obama as “sort of a mainline, traditional Democrat — liberal, from the liberal wing of the party.” But Cheney said he is increasingly persuaded by the notion that Obama “doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism — the idea that the United States is a special nation, that we are the greatest, freest nation mankind has ever known.”
“When I see the way he operates, I am increasingly convinced that he’s not as committed to or as wedded to that concept as most of the presidents I’ve known, Republican or Democrat,” he said. “I am worried. And I find as I get out around the country, a lot of other people are worried, too.”
Cheney said his worries extend to Obama’s domestic agenda: “He obviously has a very robust agenda of change — health care system, cap and trade, redistribution of wealth. I rarely hear him talk about the private sector.”

Cheney charged that Obama’s plans for Afghanistan are based on political calculations by “a guy who campaigned from one end of the country to the other, saying Afghanistan was the good war ... so that he could come across as somebody who’s not against all wars.”

“Now, things have changed. Iraq’s going significantly better because of the decisions we made in the Bush administration — the surge and so forth,” the former vice president added. “And he’s having to deal, sort of up close and personal, with the Afghanistan situation. And it’s tough — it’s hard. ... Sometimes I have the feeling that they’re just figuring that out.”

Looking ahead to 2012, Cheney said the likely midterm congressional losses for Democrats next year “point in the direction of a very competitive situation in 2012 — a very respectable shot for the Republicans of taking back the presidency.”

“There’s a lot of churning and a lot of ferment out there in the party today, and that’s basically a healthy thing,” he said. “Our adversaries — our Democratic adversaries — like to be able to portray the Republican Party as a bunch of wingnuts — narrow based, always have some agenda that’s not attractive to the public. ... That’s easier for them, and more fun, than dealing with their own problems. And I think their problems are significant.”

Cheney said “it’s far too soon to be handicapping” his party’s presidential nominee. “We’ve got a lot of folks, I’m sure, who will want to pursue it. I haven’t committed and don’t expect to anytime soon,” he said. “I think we’ve got a lot of interesting people in the Republican Party.”

Cheney at first declined to make any comment about Sarah Palin, but finally said: “I like her, personally. ... She’s charming, engaging. She’s got as much right to be out there as anybody else. Will she be a candidate at some point? How would she do as a candidate? Those are all questions that only time will tell.”

And what does he think about the movement to draft him to seek the top job himself?

Cheney says he sees no such scenario. “Why would I want to do that?” he replied. “It’s been a hell of a tour. I’ve loved it. I have no aspirations for further office.”

Join the debate on this story in The Arena.

Read More Stories from POLITICODems 'nervous' about Afghan planCLICK: Salahis: 'Truth will come out'GOP establishment scorns purity testParty crashers called to testifySharp tones kick off Senate debate

Atlanta Power Window Repair

This sash window is the traditional style of window in the USA, and many other places that were formerly colonized by the UK, with two parts (sashes) that overlap slightly and slide up and down inside the frame. The two parts are not necessarily the same size. Nowadays, most new double-hung sash windows use spring balances to support the sashes, but traditionally, counterweights held in boxes either side of the window were used. These were and are attached to the sashes using pulleys of either braided cord or, later, purpose-made chain. Double-hung sash windows were traditionally often fitted with shutters. Sash windows may be fitted with simplex hinges which allow the window to be locked into hinges on one side, while the rope on the other side is detached, allowing the window to be opened for escape or cleaning.

In insulated glass production, the term "lite" refers to a glass pane, several of which may be used to construct the final window product. For example, a sash unit, consisting of at least one sliding glass component, is typically composed of two lites, while a fixed window is composed of one lite. The terms "single-light", "double-light" etc refer to the number of these glass panes in a window.

WASHINGTON (AFP) –
Barack Obama on Tuesday makes a globally awaited address on his new Afghan war plan and big troop surge strategy, shouldering the most perilous burden yet of a presidency defined by crises.

Huge military and diplomatic stakes, a grave warning by the US commander that the war could be lost, and his own increasingly vulnerable political position demand a bravura Obama performance after months of deliberations.

In the televised address at 8:00 pm (0100 GMT Wednesday), Obama is expected to announce deployments of up to 35,000 more troops to battle the resurgent Taliban, Al-Qaeda and to secure Afghan cities, along with more civilian aid.

Obama must rebrand the eight-year war for a divided nation dismayed by rising US combat deaths and robbed of its swagger by double-digit unemployment, tight family budgets and soaring fiscal deficits.

He needs to convince skeptics fearing a Vietnam-style quagmire, that a plan to boost troop numbers to 100,000 can fashion a victory of sorts and a path home for US forces sent to war after the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Opinion polls show sliding public support for the war, with more than 900 American soldiers killed in Afghanistan and October the deadliest month yet with 74 US combat deaths. Many more foreign troops and Afghans have died.

Obama has spent months wrestling with a decision some backers fear could sink the promise of a reforming presidency. Aides say he will never forget a wrenching trip to a Delaware air base to honor the return of fallen soldiers.

Tuesday's speech at the US Military Academy at West Point, which will also freshen US strategy of Pakistan, and will be closely watched by foreign governments weighing US intent.

Obama is also likely to warn often skeptical NATO allies the fight is theirs too, and request more foreign troops.

Top advisors said Obama will tell Afghanistan and Pakistan that the United States cannot stay for ever, but also offer an almost contradictory assurance that Washington will abandon them.

"This is not an open-ended commitment," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

"We are there to partner with the Afghans, to train the Afghan national security forces, the army and the police, so that they can provide security for their country and wage a battle against an unpopular insurgency."

In a first sign of increased allied help, NATO ally Britain said Monday it would this month send 500 more soldiers to boost its Afghan contingent to 9,500 men and women.

French newspaper Le Monde reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had asked France for 1,500 more soldiers, ahead of a mission to NATO headquarters in Brussels this week seen as a bid to drum up more resources.

France could provide more army and police training as well as reconstruction aid but is unlikely to send more troops, said French Defence Minister Herve Morin.

With about 3,300 soldiers in Afghanistan, France is the fourth-largest contributor to the NATO-led coalition battling the Taliban and training Afghan security forces.

Obama's policy review came to the boil after Afghan commander General Stanley McChrystal reported on the war to the Pentagon in August.

The Washington Post then revealed that the general had warned the war "will likely result in failure" without more troops to crush the insurgency.

Amid a flurry of leaks on possible strategy, Obama's task was further complicated by the corruption-tainted Afghan election, which fanned deep doubts about President Hamid Karzai.

Some administration officials, notably Vice President Joseph Biden, support a more limited effort to pursue Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Obama first spoke out on the war during his 2008 White House run, apparently seeking to bolster his leadership credentials after opposing the war in Iraq.

He announced a first fresh Afghan strategy in March. In August, he said: "this is not a war of choice. This is a war of necessity."

While he will reveal his hand to Americans on Tuesday, Obama signed orders implementing the strategy on Sunday.

He then spoke directly by secure video-link to McChrystal and US ambassador to Kabul Karl Eikenberry.

Obama called French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to detail the plan on Monday, and talked to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown by video link.

Obama and Karzai discussed the new military strategy in an hour-long video conference, the Afghan leader's office said Tuesday.

Obama also spoke briefly with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Indian leader's office said. Singh was in Washington recently for talks with Obama.

Anticipating the troop increase, several anti-war groups said that protests are scheduled Tuesday at the main entrance to the West Point academy, and Wednesday at federal buildings in several US cities.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Serbia argued to the World Court on Tuesday that Kosovo's declaration of independence was an unlawful challenge to the international legal order that tore at the very fabric of Serb national identity.
Serbia's ambassador to France, Dusan Batakovic, said the February 2008 independence declaration challenged his country's sovereignty and undermined international law by breaching U.N. Security Council resolutions that set up a U.N.-backed provisional administration in Kosovo.
Batakovic was speaking on the first morning of nine days of hearings on the legality of Kosovo's independence.
Kosovo is expected to argue later Tuesday it was never part of Serbia, but Batakovic cast the ethnic Albanian-dominated region as Serb heartland.
The 15 judges are being asked to render their legal opinion on the validity of Pristina's declaration, which has been recognized by 63 countries but not by the Security Council. The opinion has no binding effect, but other countries with potential breakaway regions, like the Basque district of Spain, are closely watching the outcome.
Another of Serbia's lawyers, Malcolm Shaw, said recognition by other nations was irrelevant.
"What is illegal cannot subsequently be rendered legal by the action of third parties," he told the judges.
He warned that if the court's opinion is seen as weakening the principle of a state's right to territorial integrity, it "would be a source of considerable apprehension" for other countries facing secessionist movements.
The court, formally known as the International Court of Justice, likely will take months to reach its decision.
"The question before you is vital to my country," Batakovic told the court, the U.N's highest judicial body. "Kosovo is the historical cradle of Serbia and constitutes one of the essential pillars of its identity."
NATO bombed Serbia for 78 days in 1999 to end a brutal crackdown by the forces of then-President Slobodan Milosevic against separatist Kosovo Albanians. Some 10,000 Albanians were killed and close to a million forced out of their homes. Hundreds of Serbs were also killed in retaliatory attacks by Kosovo separatists.
Batakovic said Serbia "condemns and severely regrets" the violence unleashed by the Milosevic's former administration, but said Serbs are still being targeted today in Kosovo.
The United States and most European Union states are among those that have recognized Kosovo's independence. Serbia, backed by Russia in the U.N. Security Council, and a majority of world's states are against the recognition.
Batakovic said that Kosovo's declaration "is a challenge to the international legal order, based as it is on the principles of state sovereignty and territorial integrity."
After Serbia and Kosovo's presentations Tuesday, 29 other countries including the United States, Russia, France and Britain will each get 45 minutes to present arguments in hearings that will wrap up Dec. 11.
The last advisory opinion the court gave was in 2004 when it ruled that Israel's planned 425-mile (684-kilometer) security barrier in the West Bank violates international law and urged the United Nations to take action to stop its construction. Israel rejected the opinion.

This story was updated at 2:30 a.m. EST.

A Canadian, a Russian and a Belgian astronaut left the
International Space Station and landed on the icy steppes of Kazakhstan Tuesday
aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Belgian astronaut Frank
DeWinne, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko and Canadian astronaut Bob
Thirsk touched down in their Soyuz TMA-15 crew capsule at 2:17 a.m. EST (0717
GMT) after heavy parachutes slowed the craft's descent.

The landing went smoothly, though the subzero temperatures
in Kazakhstan prevented helicopters from flying to retrieve the crew as usual.
Instead, the Russian Federal Space Agency sent teams in all-terrain vehicles to
recover the spaceflyers.

The three crewmembers are finishing a six-month tour of duty
on the
orbiting laboratory. When their spacecraft left the outpost their
Expedition 21 mission officially ended and the new Expedition 22 began.

DeWinne served as the first station commander representing
the European Space Agency.

"As the first European commander, it has been a great
honor to be able to fulfill this role, and I could have only done this thanks
to the help of my colleagues," DeWinne said during a change-of-command
ceremony Nov. 24, when he handed over control of the station to NASA
astronaut Jeff Williams.

The station is now down to a barebones
crew of two — Williams and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev — for a period of
about three weeks.

The departing crewmembers said they were eager to be back on
the ground.

"I miss my family most of all, of course," Thirsk
said during an in-flight news conference last week. "I am already dreaming
of those first hugs when I see my family in Moscow. After that is nature. I miss
the wind; I miss the sunlight, the smell of flowers, and freshly cut grass."

The spaceflyers said they became close during the long
months living and working together in close quarters.

"I really appreciate my friends," Romanenko said
of his crewmates. "We had a very good time together, we had a very good experience
during our six-month flight."

Romanenko is the son of veteran cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko,
who commanded three space missions in the 1970s and 1980s.

During their 186 days on the station, DeWinne, Romanenko and
Thirsk saw the addition of a new science porch on the station's Japanese Kibo
laboratory, the arrival of the first Japanese unmanned cargo ship, called HTV,
and the addition of the new Russian Poisk module to the station.

During their tenure three space shuttle flights visited the
station to deliver new parts and equipment, and at one point a record three
Soyuz spacecraft were simultaneously docked at the outpost.

Thirsk said a highlight was the HTV
mission to deliver food, computers and other supplies. The flight represented
the first flight of the untried vehicle.

"The most exciting moment was the arrival of the HTV
Japanese cargo vehicle," Thirsk said. "That went off perfectly."

 Video
- Challenging Command: Belgian Astronaut Leads Crew of Six
Video - Astronauts Celebrate Thanksgiving in Space
SPACE.com
Video Show - Inside the International Space Station
 

 

 

Original Story: Space Station Crew Lands In KazakhstanSPACE.com offers rich and compelling content about space science, travel and exploration as well as astronomy, technology, business news and more. The site boasts a variety of popular features including our space image of the day and other space pictures,space videos, Top 10s, Trivia, podcasts and Amazing Images submitted by our users. Join our community, sign up for our free newsletters and register for our RSS Feeds today!

Cap Cana is located in the Eastern region of the Dominican Republic known as Juanillo. The site was founded as a new and more ambitious touristic site with contributions from international investors and strategic partners such as Ritz-Carlton, Sotogrande, Donald Trump and many others. The site has a Marina, Large resorts, beaches, and many others. Primarily founded as a site to attract international visitors. The Cap Cana Championship, a Champions Tour golf tournament, is held at Punta Espada Golf Club in Cap Cana, a course designed by Jack Nicklaus.

Cap Cana's area includes more than one-hundred and twenty millon square meters of land, of which twenty-five million will be developed in its first phase. It also includes 8 kilometers of beach and coasts, 5 of which are considered to be among the most spectacular in the Caribbean, locally considered to be neck-in-neck to the beaches of Bahia de Las Aguilas (literally, Bay of the Eagles) located in the southwestern municipality of Perdernales- often referred by past visitors as some of the most beautiful in the world.

Dominican Republic Villa

Celtic Rings

Since its revival in the 1850s, the Celtic cross has been used extensively as grave markers. This was a departure from medieval and Celtic revival times, when the symbol was more typically used for a public monument. The Celtic cross now appears in jewelry, T-shirts, tattoos, coffee cups and other retail items. Both the Gaelic Athletic Association and the Northern Ireland national football team use versions of the Celtic cross in their logos and advertising.

In Germany, the Celtic cross was adopted by a prohibited neo-Nazi party (VSBD/PdA), so the government banned its public display. Legislation prohibiting political activities and public displays of certain symbols is meant to forestall any revival of Nazism.