More than 110 missing from Papua New Guinea ferry (AP)

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea ? More than 110 people were missing Friday after a ferry sank off Papua New Guinea's east coast, and rescuers feared many had been trapped inside.

Searchers found only one survivor on Friday, a day after rescuing 246 people from the MV Rabaul Queen, Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said.

The ferry sank Thursday morning in rough seas. O'Neill said bad weather forced rescuers to abandon their search early Friday, but it would resume Saturday. He refused to say whether any bodies had been recovered.

Capt. Nurur Rahman, rescue coordinator for the National Maritime Safety Authority, said he had not given up hope of finding more survivors.

"I do not presume them to be dead yet," Rahman told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Rony Naigu, a National Maritime Safety Authority official, told ABC that about 100 people are thought to have been trapped inside when the ship was hit by three large waves and sank.

"The sea was really rough, windy, big waves. The boat tilted once, then twice, then three times and it went over," said Alice Kakamara, who was recovering in a hospital Friday after inhaling toxins during the sinking.

"There was oil everywhere," she said.

Kakamara said she might not have survived had she not been with her 11-year-old nephew, who urged her not to give up. They found a lifeboat, but it too was sinking. She said she put the boy on another boat and later heard from relatives that he is OK.

The ferry's owners, Papua New Guinea-based Rabaul Shipping Co., said there had been 350 passengers and 12 crew aboard the 22-year-old Japanese-built ferry when it went down while traveling from Kimbe on the island of New Britain to the coastal city of Lae on the main island. A police official said most of those aboard were students.

"We are stunned and utterly devastated by what has happened," managing director Peter Sharp said in a statement.

The company said the cause of the disaster remained unclear, but National Weather Service chief Sam Maiha told Papua New Guinea's Post-Courier newspaper that shipping agencies had been warned to keep ships moored this week because of strong winds.

By nightfall Thursday, 246 survivors had been rescued by merchant ships battling 16-foot (5-meter) swells and 45 mph (75 kph) winds at the disaster scene, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said.

Capt. Rahman said the sea temperature was above 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) ? warm enough for people to survive for an extended period.

He said most of those rescued had been wearing life jackets.

He said the 155-foot (47-meter) ferry sank in 3,300-foot (one-kilometer) deep water, making it difficult to determine whether bodies were trapped inside.

The survivors were delivered to Lae, the South Pacific country's second-largest city, by five ships early Friday, said the AMSA, which is assisting Papua New Guinea authorities with the rescue.

"None of them had sustained any real injuries. They were pretty cold and miserable," Lae Chamber of Commerce President Alan McLay told Sky News television.

An angry crowd threw stones at the Kimbe office of the shipping company on Thursday night, outraged at a lack of information, police said.

"There were a lot of people crying and then they wanted to know the fate of their loved ones, the people actually who were on board," Kimbe Police Inspector Samson Siguyaru told ABC.

The company said the ferry's captain had made routine radio contact with another vessel before the sinking and gave no indication anything was wrong.

O'Neill, the prime minister, said the cause of the accident was unknown, but acknowledged that safety in the shipping industry was lax.

"We need to bring some safety measures back into this industry," O'Neill told reporters.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120203/ap_on_re_as/as_papua_new_guinea_ferry_sinking

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Executive Insight: The Role of Management and the Board in ...

Carlo V. di Florio, director of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) led with some tough words on executive and board responsibility for high standards of compliance and ethics at a one day conference at the SEC Headquarters in Washington, D.C. this week:

??Strong risk management controls, including a solid compliance program, are a key responsibility of everyone in a regulated entity, but the right culture and tone at the top are especially the responsibility of senior management and the board. A (Chief Compliance Officer) who does not have the full support and engagement of senior management and the board is not going to be effective, and there is nothing that we (the SEC) want more than to help CCOs (Chief Compliance Officers) to be effective. (The SEC) will focus most intently on firms where we sense that senior management and the board are not setting the appropriate tone and are failing to support key risk and control functions with adequate resources, independence, standing and authority.

Whether we are talking about compliance and ethics or other key risk and control functions, such as risk management, financial control, or internal audit, it is important to clarify fundamental roles and responsibilities across the organization. An effective risk governance framework includes three critical lines of defense, which are in turn supported by senior management and the board.

The business is the first line of defense responsible for taking, managing and supervising risk effectively and in accordance with laws, regulations and the risk appetite set by the board and senior management of the whole organization.

Key support functions, such as compliance and ethics or risk management, are the second line of defense. They need to have adequate resources, independence, standing and authority to implement effective programs and objectively monitor and escalate risk issues.

Internal Audit is the third line of defense and is responsible for providing independent verification and assurance that controls are in place and operating effectively.

Senior management supports each of these levels by reinforcing the tone at the top, driving a culture of compliance and ethics and ensuring effective implementation of risk management in key business processes, including strategic planning, capital allocation, performance management and compensation incentives. The board of directors is ultimately responsible for setting the tone and the top and ensuring an effective culture of risk management across the organization.

The financial crisis revealed among many other things the need for better oversight of risk at the board and senior management levels, and the need for stronger independence, standing and authority among a firm?s internal risk management, control and compliance functions. As a result, in our examinations we are seeking to engage senior management and the board on critical business, risk and regulatory issues. By doing so we hope achieve two benefits: (i) to reinforce the importance of a robust compliance, ethics and risk management program; and (ii) to assess the culture and tone and the top of the organization.?

Read the remainder of the speech

Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Source: http://executiveinsight.typepad.com/executive_insight/2012/02/the-role-of-management-and-the-board-in-compliance-and-ethics.html

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CompleteTax Premium Online (2011)

Ever since I began reviewing CompleteTax's online tax preparation services a few years ago, I've come to expect excellence in two areas in particular: tax expertise and guidance. I've never been disappointed and CompleteTax for tax year 2011 was no exception. That's not surprising: The site was developed by CCH, which has been analyzing income tax law and publishing related materials since 1913, the year the tax code was created. The company currently has roughly 700 publications in print and electronic formats.

There aren't a lot of changes to report since last year, though CCH has changed CompleteTax's pricing structure a bit, breaking out the costs of the federal forms from the state. So the site's aesthetics and navigation still lag behind those of its competitors, though it's as comprehensive as anyone in terms of its actual support for forms and schedules, and it's capable of completing both simple and complex returns.

Complete Tax's final review ? the automated process that combs your completed return looking for errors and omissions that could get you in trouble with the IRS?is also not as polished and refined as those of TaxACT Online Ultimate Bundle ($17.95, 4 stars) or TurboTax Premier Online ($66.77 - $89.99, 4.5 stars). While CompleteTax's score was lower than that of its main competitors, some interface remodeling, better navigational tools and improved integration would pull it to within reach of its competition.

A Trio of Options
There are three different versions of CompleteTax; each has increased complexity as you move up to a higher level. All include a free federal e-file. The options are:

• CompleteTax Basic. Unlike TurboTax and H&R Block At Home[link], the entry-level CompleteTax lets you import W-2 and 1099 data from financial institutions. It lets you enter information about some types of income and credits and includes step-by-step instructions and tax guidance. Free; state version, $29.95.
• CompleteTax Deluxe. Supports more income and credit types and lets you itemize deductions. You can enter investment data, retirement distributions, dependents ?and check your eligibility for the Alternative Minimum Tax. Federal, $29.95; state, $29.95.
• CompleteTax Premium. Designed for the self-employed and small business owner, this top-of-the-line version ? which you must purchase to report self-employment -- incorporates more sophisticated tax data processing, including the Schedule C and self-employment tax. You can enter information about profit and loss, depreciation and amortization, and sale of business property. Federal, $39.95; state, $29.95. (This is the version reviewed here.)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/hTBu_n2-f6w/0,2817,2376886,00.asp

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Diet Soda and Vascular Events Study Seriously Flawed | How many ...

ATLANTA (Feb. 1, 2012) ? ?Findings presented ?n a n?w study titled ?Diet Soft Drink Consumption ?? Associated w?th ?n Increased Risk ?f Vascular Events ?n th? Northern Manhattan Study? examining a doable link between diet soft drink consumption ?nd risk ?f vascular events ?? critically flawed. ?

Th? Calorie Control Assembly cites th? following ?? h?n??t limitations ?f th? study:

• Th?? study w?? observational, ?? ?t w?? designed t? ?h?w ?n association, n?t prove cause ?nd effect.
• Th? study w?? conducted ?n a specific urban population w?th ?n average age ?f 69.? Those participants m?? suffer fr?m ?n increased vascular risk due t? age; thus th? study findings ?r? unlikely t? b? relevant t? th? general population.? Th? National Heart Lung ?nd Blood Institute ?f th? National Institutes ?f Shape notes th?t one ?f th? risk factors f?r heart disease ?nd stroke ?? being 55 years ?nd older f?r men ?nd 65 years ?r older f?r women.
• Subjects wh? frequently consumed diet soft drinks w?r? ?l?? more liable t? h??? high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, increased triglycerides, l?rg?r waist size ?? well ?? a higher body weight t? height ratio, ?nd previous cardiac ?nd vascular disease initially, wh??h m?? h??? b??n th? reason th?? w?r? drinking diet soda.?
• Although researchers tried t? control f?r many variables, ?t ?? entirely doable th?t ?th?r factors n?t control f?r th?t m?? h??? influenced results.? Th? authors admitted, ???m? residual confounding? m?? b? present.??
• Even even ?f th? authors noted a link between daily diet soda consumption (?t l???t one drink a day) ?nd th? rate ?f vascular events, statistically, th?t association w?? very weak.? Curiously, th?r? w?? n? link between ?light? diet soda consumption (f?r example, 6 drinks per week) ?nd vascular events.

Low-calorie sweeteners ?r? ??m? ?f th? m??t thoroughly studied food ingredients ?n th? food supply.?Th? safety ?f low-calorie sweeteners h?? b??n reaffirmed time ?nd again b? chief shape ?nd regulatory groups worldwide.?F?r more information ?b??t low-calorie sweeteners, visit: www.caloriecontrol.org. F?r more expert opinions discussing th?? study, click here.

?

Press Name:?

Beth Hubrich, MS, RD

Theresa Hedrick, MS, RD, LD

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at 8:00 am and is filed under Calorie Counting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Source: http://howmanycaloriesshouldieatadaytoloseweight.org/4932/diet-soda-and-vascular-events-study-seriously-flawed/

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Pythons hunt Florida mammals to brink of extinction

Florida's ecologists can be forgiven one pet hate: Burmese pythons discarded by their owners have eaten many Everglades mammals practically to extinction.

"This is the first documentation of impacts on animal populations, and they are dramatic, with 99 per cent declines in some cases," says Michael Dorcas of Davidson College in North Carolina.

Dorcas and his colleagues scoured 57,000 kilometres of roads in the Everglades between 2003 and 2011, recording all the animals they saw, dead or alive. For comparison, they had data from Everglades park staff recording roadkills between 1993 and 1999. Burmese pythons were recognised as an established species in the region in 2000.

The analysis showed that since 2000, observations of raccoons have crashed by 99.3 per cent, opossums by 98.9 per cent and bobcats by 87.5 per cent. Rabbits have vanished completely.

Significantly, the declines were not so sharp in areas yet to be fully colonised by the pythons, and there were no declines at all in python-free areas.

"The places where the prey mammals have declined most are where the pythons are most numerous," says Dorcas. Case reports describe finding the remains of declining species in pythons' stomachs, adding to the evidence that the snakes are responsible for the slaughter.

A further problem, says Dorcas, is that the prey species are unfamiliar with large snakes as predators, and so don't take steps to avoid them. "It has been millions of years since there was a large snake predator in Florida, so the animals are naive to detecting or recognising snakes as large predators," he says.

The bad news is that there are probably tens of thousands of the pythons at large in a remote wilderness area covering thousands of square kilometres, and despite their size they are extremely difficult to find and kill.

Last week, the US Fish and Wildlife Service banned imports and interstate transportation of the Burmese python ? but reversing the invasion will be problematic, says Dorcas.

Dorcas strongly discourages pet owners from releasing pythons in the wild. He says that in Florida, there are "amnesties" where owners can hand in unwanted snakes for euthanising. "They are cool animals, but now they are a real problem," he says.

Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1115226109.

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Networked Politics ? Blog Archive ? How Much Does Insurance Cost

When it comes to finding the answer to the question a href=?http://www.monthtomonthinsurance.com/insurancecost.html?how much does insurance cost/a a person must understand that there is it?s unlikely that any right response to this question. The industry that provides insurance protection has made it a point to create tailored and customised coverage solutions simply because know that their client-base is very diverse. In this article, we?re going to talk about some of the things that you should consider when trying to figure out your premiums.

Home Insurance

When it comes to figuring out ?how much does home insurance cost? you must think about a few things. Insurance companies use several formulas and factors to determine the answer to this. First of all, where your home is located leads to how much you could wind up paying for coverage. Insurers have detailed statistics about factors which could affect your rates including median home values, weather conditions and risks, and in many cases crime. These things usually are aspects that you cannot change in relation to getting a good deal on coverage.

Several of the things that you can exchange signal of help get you a much better rate on insurance protection is the place where you protect your own home in the form of smoke, co, and security alarms. By adding these features, you are almost certainly going to qualify for a discount on your own policy. Also, the way your house is built, including the roof composition, is very important in determining property insurance costs as well.

Car insurance policy

When it comes to finding out ?how much does automobile insurance cost?, insurers like to take a look at things like your age, record, and even your credit history. Money because they are trying to get an obvious gauge of your identiity to determine your level of risk. Several areas that may contribute to the costs of your car insurance include having a car loans attached to your vehicle, adding after-market aesthetic features to your car, and having a ride that is considered high-performance.

Some easy methods to lower your auto insurance rate include bundling, adding a security alarm and recovery system in your ride, and paying down your auto loan and that means you won?t have to carry full coverage.

Health and Life Insurance

On the subject of figuring out ?how much does health care insurance cost? and ?how much dose lfe insurance cost?, it is important is your current health. Better initial health will often garner better rates. Eventhough it is possible to get covered even though you have bad health, you ought to be prepared to pay more to be covered.

In Conclusion- Get a Free Quote and Understand the Answer Today

Because insurance industry changes, the same is true the answer to the question ?how much does insurance cost?. For this reason it is best to go ahead a have a free insurance quote today because you can receive rates that are specific to your needs and not a generic quote designed to cover everyone.

For more information about a href=?http://www.monthtomonthinsurance.com/insurancecost.html?how much does insurance cost/a visit our website.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 at 2:25 pm and is filed under Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.networked-politics.info/?p=48684

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Will GOP Primary Leave Permanent Scars? (ABC News)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/193383902?client_source=feed&format=rss

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