Travel to Atacama Desert with its interesting Facts

When planning a trip to Chile and talking with an agent about the plans, this individual will ask questions about specific aspects of the trip to ensure that they can guide the person in the right direction. He or she will need to gather some information about the following: group size and type, where in Chile they would like to spend their time, interests in outdoor activities, and budget. When it comes to the details about the group, first the advisor will need to know who will be traveling in the group. They will need to get a feel for exactly how many travelers there would be as well as their age range. They may also be interested in knowing if the group members are from a church group, traveling as a family, a couple on their Honeymoon, school students on spring break, or a group of friends that are seasoned travelers. The next thing to think about is where in Chile they would like to spend their time.

Some of the locations include Chilean Altiplano, top-notch Ski Areas, Valparaiso, Wine Route, the capital Santiago, and Easter Island. It is also very common for agents to give information about Atacama travel, and Atacama Desert facts. The reason that people often want information about Atacama travel, and want to get a handle on some more Atacama Desert facts is that this desert is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country. It is considered to be the driest desert in the world and people come from all over to relish in its unique beauty. Even though Atacama travel is quite popular, not all tourists are interested in this. Therefore, travel advisors will make sure they know the likes and dislikes of the traveler before planning anything specific.

?

?To get a feel for what the daily itinerary should look like, the agent may ask questions about the travelers? interests in outdoor activities. They will need to also keep in mind the health and physical capabilities of the people making the trip. Chile is known for having quite the plethora of things to do including: flora and fauna observation, skiing and other winter sports, lakes, rivers, woods, volcanoes horseback riding, archeology, mountain climbing, glacier sailing, and exploration of vineyards. Others merely like to eat and drink the best of the best. Sometimes people within a group do not fully agree on the way they would like to spend their time. The trip advisors can help the group coordinate so that they are split into multiple groups doing what it is that they most enjoy. The entire group does not need to feel stuck doing the same thing all day if their interests do not line up. The budget is also a factor to be considered. The amount of money that people have to spend on things like activities, entertainment, food, accommodations, transportation, etc. truly varies from person to person. Making sure that a traveler does not go overboard is key to providing a stress free experience both during and after the South American extravaganza.

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Flipboard for Android to break free from the Galaxy S III officially

Love it or hate it, Flipboard coming to Android is big news. We first took a look at it back at Earls Court in London during the Samsung Galaxy S III launch event. Initially at least, Flipboard is exclusive to the Galaxy S III, but as is often the way this didn't last very long at all. Unofficial versions were 'ported' from the Galaxy S III and hosted on the interwebs for all the world to download and use at their leisure. Word from Flipboard now though, is that the application will soon be available on all Android devices. 

The story goes that in concentrating on one device, with one screen size and resolution, Flipboard could ensure that their massively popular iOS offering wouldn't suck when it arrived on Android. That, and quite possibly the bazillion number of units Samsung were likely to -- and eventually will be -- shipping of the Galaxy S III. As far as a test bed goes, a device that ended up with 9 million pre-orders probably wasn't a bad choice. As it turns out, Flipboard is pretty close to having a beta version of the app ready for the rest of the Android world. 

The developers are planning to release it to a small amount of users initially under a strict beta tag, to help test it out, submit bug reports, and generally make sure that the app is as polished as it needs to be. Makes sense, after all, Flipboard is all about the visual, and a janky experience would be the quickest way to put users off. 

There is no mention of the magic date that Flipboard may start to make it into eager beta testers hands, but by all accounts it sounds like it's pretty close. Could it even appear before the Pebble Blue Galaxy S III perhaps? 

Source: Engadget

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Less couch time equals fewer cookies

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Simply ejecting your rear from the couch means your hand will spend less time digging into a bag of chocolate chip cookies.

That is the simple but profound finding of a new Northwestern Medicine study, which reports simply changing one bad habit has a domino effect on others. Knock down your sedentary leisure time and you'll reduce junk food and saturated fats because you're no longer glued to the TV and noshing. It's a two-for-one benefit because the behaviors are closely related.

The study also found the most effective way to rehab a delinquent lifestyle requires two key behavior changes: cutting time spent in front of a TV or computer screen and eating more fruits and vegetables.

"Just making two lifestyle changes has a big overall effect and people don't get overwhelmed," said Bonnie Spring, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and lead author of the study published in Archives of Internal Medicine.

"Americans have all these unhealthy behaviors that put them at high risk for heart disease and cancer, but it is hard for them and their doctors to know where to begin to change those unhealthy habits," Spring said. "This approach simplifies it."

With this simplified strategy, people are capable of making big lifestyle changes in a short period of time and maintaining them, according to the study.

Spring wanted to figure out the most effective way to spur people to change common bad health habits: eating too much saturated fat and not enough fruits and vegetables, spending too much sedentary leisure time and not getting enough physical activity.

She and colleagues randomly assigned 204 adult patients, ages 21 to 60 years old, with all those unhealthy habits into one of four treatments. The treatments were: increase fruit/vegetable intake and physical activity, decrease fat and sedentary leisure, decrease fat and increase physical activity, and increase fruit/vegetable intake and decrease sedentary leisure.

During the three weeks of treatment, patients entered their daily data into a personal digital assistant and uploaded it to a coach who communicated as needed by telephone or email.

Participants could earn $175 for meeting goals during the three-week treatment phase. But when that phase was completed, patients no longer had to maintain the lifestyle changes in order to be paid. They were simply asked to send data three days a month for six months and received $30 to $80 per month.

"We said we hope you'll continue to keep up these healthy changes, but you no longer have to keep them up to be compensated," Spring said.

The results over the next six months amazed Spring. "We thought they'd do it while we were paying them, but the minute we stopped they'd go back to their bad habits," she said. "But they continued to maintain a large improvement in their health behaviors."

From baseline to the end of treatment to the end of the six-month follow-up, the average servings of fruit/vegetables changed from 1.2 to 5.5 to 2.9; average minutes per day of sedentary leisure went from 219.2 to 89.3 to 125.7 and daily calories from saturated fat from 12 percent to 9.4 percent to 9.9 percent.

About 86 percent of participants said once they made the change, they tried to maintain it. There was something about increasing fruits and vegetables that made them feel like they were capable of any of these changes," Spring said. "It really enhanced their confidence."

"We found people can make very large changes in a very short amount of time and maintain them pretty darn well," Spring said. "It's a lot more feasible than we thought."

###

Northwestern University: http://www.northwestern.edu

Thanks to Northwestern University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Green Business Innovation : Offices can now print on a E-paper and ...

Architects typically work with large-format drawings on 24 by 36-inch or larger paper. Most architectural firms have their own large-format printers or plotters to print and copy computer-generated drawings. Architects and construction houses waste a lot of paper. Even when they design a LEED building. Because the way most of them work is not sustainable at all, this I covered in my earlier article, Green Buildings ? How most of them are really made, the inside story.

The reason for this is simple. The corporates which run these architectural houses are mostly developers who have become so callused by the ?system? which runs India, that they have lost the perspective of good and bad. For most of them Sustainability is another ?task? and ?Green norms? are an impediment which they need to give a lip service too. Thus one would see, even for a small correction or revision, entire design sheets are printed, minimum 3 prints of size A -Zero.

Since trees come in all different sizes, it is difficult to estimate how much paper comes from one tree, however according to one paper manufacturer, a cord of wood measuring 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet produces nearly 90,000 sheets paper. Taking the last census report, India?s total population was around 1,20,00,00,000. If every Indian save one sheet of paper a day approximately 15,000 Trees can be saved. If 15,000 Trees can be saved just by not wasting one sheet of paper a day, imagine of how many trees can be saved if we become more? prudent in our approach.

Let us consider some interesting facts which I have gathered from various sources -

1. Consider this: according to the state government of Australia, over 600,000 tonnes of paper and cardboard are sent to landfill in NSW every year. Australians as a whole use 210,000 tonnes of office paper each year ? and much of this is not from recycled sources but from virgin forests.

2. In the USA The average student uses about 11 sheets of paper per day. The school year goes on average 180 days so this would equal to 23,760 sheets for 12 years.

3. A Seattle based study found that businesses typically throw away about half of all documents within 24 hours of printing. In fact, about 170 tons of paper is sent to Seattle?s landfills each day from Seattle businesses.

For every dollar spent on printing documents, companies typically incur $6 in handling and distribution costs, according to a Xerox study.

Over the course of a year Seattle paper waste contributes about 9,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the same as the emissions from consuming 972,000 gallons of gasoline.?

This is a study by Xerox of one American city, in India and rest of the developing world we do not have such studies done or reports published. Simply because we do not think this as a problem which needs urgent and immediate attention.

But such problems can not be defined locally any more. The devastation in Japan? a year back has come to haunt the American West coast in form of? Billion ton of debris. Similarly the decimation of rain forests for pulp & paper industry would lead to unprecedented challenges more severe than what we have experienced till date and it would not be their locally. This is known to all, yet we fail to arrest easily achievable targets, such as reduction on dependence on Paper. We all know by now that it is somewhere between difficult and impossible to have a paperless office/school . But how much paper do we consume unnecessarily? It is no more possible to contain the problem by raising ones personal bar as to when one needs a paper copy of something from the computer. Strong legislation are required which would make it near mandatory that unless you?re printing something super important,(which can be defined and refined on a weekly/monthly basis by each corporation) one must? save ink and paper by tracking changes in electronic documents.

To make this legislation work, one must however understand the fundamental barrier. We still like to hold up a piece of paper in our hand and look at it from time to time, jot notes directly at the margins, rather than type for every little corrections. Moreover, for architects and other engineering professionals, physically scanning the page from top to bottom, is more sure-fire way to spot? an error than scrolling a large drawing and zooming in and out of it. It simply does not work ! I know that from personal experience. So how does one adhere to reduction of paper use and not face the cumbersome process of electronic tracking on a small computer screen ?

The answer lies in using something with is instantly portable, transferable, editable and yet not a traditional paper. E-Paper ! Yes, something which was born in the 1970?s has matured enough to be taken seriously. The first flexible EPD for consumers could be available in Europe in 2012 itself.

This is one of the spectacular proof that, it is the Business and Industry which will finally be the torch bearers of abatement to Climate Change and Global Warming. And innovation should get support from all quarters to survive the vagaries of market forces. And ones which are as important as Saving forest and whole eco-system the Governments should support it. But before we put some thought as to how we can support and grow such ideas let us understand what it is -

filedesc Made by User:Run! on February 18, 2006 for article Electronic ink (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Electronic paper, e-paper and electronic ink are display technologies which are designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Unlike conventional backlit flat panel displays which emit light, electronic paper displays reflect light like ordinary paper. Many of the technologies can hold static text and images indefinitely without using electricity, while allowing images to be changed later. Flexible electronic paper uses plastic substrates and plastic electronics for the display backplane.
Electronic paper display (EPD) is often considered to be more comfortable to read than conventional displays.This is due to the stable image, which has no need to be refreshed constantly and has a wider viewing angle. An ideal e-paper display can be read in direct sunlight without the image appearing to fade. The contrast ratio in available displays as of 2008 might be described as similar to that of newspaper, though newly-developed displays are slightly better.There is ongoing competition among manufacturers to provide full-color ability.
Applications of electronic visual displays include electronic pricing labels in retail shops, and digital signage,time tables at bus stations,electronic billboards, mobile phone displays, and e-readers able to display digital versions of books and e-paper magazines. Electronic paper should not be confused with digital paper, which is a pad to create handwritten digital documents with a digital pen.

What an innovation. A genius of the human brain which can bring about sea change in the way we work. Tied to a e-book reader, a tablet, a computer and a smart phone, this was perhaps the penultimate tool, which can eliminate maximum use of paper; before we can adopt interactive projections in thin air in front of us, as shown in Sci-fi cinemas and is? some more time in becoming a reality for common persons to have.

So what could be the immediate uses, other than being another TV or a display kiosk? To my mind it can be used for printing architectural drawings, and each of these sheet can be reused till the final design to be produced is readied. And only those need be printed. Sure there would be trials and errors but human always find methods if there is a will. It could also act as submission sheets during class tests which are held with regularity in schools to prepare children for their annual and mid-term exams. The data can always be transferred into flash -drives for storage, thus refreshing the sheets for reuse, while still retaining record of previous data. Perhaps News corporations could devise ways where one could download the ?News Paper view? form e-papers which already exist in the web and in fact they can rent out the flex-sheets, and charge as they would for the subscription. It is common knowledge that? amount of pulp that required daily to publish news papers are humongous.

But, as with Renewable Energy, such high technology would come at a price which would not be within reach of the common person. And here the Governments, guided by the UNEP and other responsible organisations like the World Bank, World Resources Institute, Climate Action International, Green Peace, Carbon Disclosure Project etc should come together to focus in finding the right financial instruments which would help scale it and make it affordable. In fact small amounts from those that are pledged under various programs to arrest deforestation and abate climate change could be pooled to make such innovations; I?m sure many more equally important are around the corner; a success.

In fact if the news paper readers from world over could just contribute $1 the amount would be huge, and in the bargain the Earth would gain.

Courtesy: howstuffworks.com, articlecity.com, bloglines.com, ask.com, click4carbon.com, wikipedia

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Topaz Horizon: Looking for health insurance for my family (because ...

Posted this over at Twitter recently:

Yep, I'm still looking for health insurance! If you've been reading my blog long enough, I started looking for a private health plan for my family when the TMC disaster happened. By private, I mean it's a service that we pay for and not provided by the company I work for. Almost all of the recommendations I get from blog commenters and Twitter followers are the health plan providers that their company works with. The company I work for has health benefits, of course, but I'm looking for something more comprehensive and one that would cover all the members of my family, not just me.

So I've been researching?and I've narrowed down my choices. I won't say what those are yet since I'll still give them a call and check them out. They might not look as good on paper, you know. What I'm really looking for is the kind of health plan my family got when my Mama was employed at Meralco. It's almost as good, if not better, than health plans in the US before the current health crisis.?As a child, I was sick constantly. Like, I'd be confined at a hospital maybe 3-4 times a year. Not once did Mama have to take out her wallet to pay for my bills. Our dental needs were also completely covered, unlike today when only cleaning and temporary fillings are covered. Back then, we were assured that we can have everything from a filling to a root canal and not worry about the cost. Even cosmetic treatments (braces, bleaching, etc) were covered up to 25%. Absolutely frikkin' awesome. That's the kind of plan I want for my family!

Of course, that means I've been apprehensive about the cost of personal health plans, thinking that there's a reason why companies subsidize them.?But I am happy to report that we actually have cheap health insurance here. My research shows that for just P10,000 a year, a family of four can get good coverage--private hospital room, good accredited hospitals, annual physical exams, dental check-ups. If you add another 5K-10K to that amount and you get absolutely fantastic coverage, the type that asks no questions, just pays your medical bill.

That plan, even if it may be P20,000 a year, I like very much. It's really not a lot of money. Just divide 20K by 4 (that's me and my three adorable boys!), and that's just 5K a family member for an entire year. That covers dental work, annual medical checks, and should someone get sick, great medical service and treatment. For peace of mind, 20K is nothing!

Someone told me, however, that the best health insurance is money in the bank. She doesn't believe in insurance, you see, thinking that it's all a scam. She said, "How many times does one get sick anyway? Once, twice? As long as you live a healthy lifestyle, you'll be fine. And for those times you do get sick, nothing beats cash." I do agree with her somewhat, especially since when I gave birth, both times were completely paid for by cold hard cash. There's a certain sense of pride knowing we were able to save up for a hospital like St. Luke's Global.

Still, if there's cheap health insurance available here anyway, I don't see why we shouldn't avail of it. What do you think? Should I or shouldn't I? Do you have personal health plans or is yours provided by your company?

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Match-fixing claim rejected by volleyball world body

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User:Sales training Courses - ISMP website

From ISMP website

Sales Management Training and Sales Courses - Easiest Way to enhance Your Business Each year, almost all kind of companies around the globe spend a lot of money in advertisements, but are they spending enough in sales training courses? Sales management training is a vital aspect of a business, particularly if it's a big 1. Those who maintain sales team training every year definitely get it's added benefits and its effect on product sales results. Sales training courses are essential just because every business requires an effective sales force to sell its products or services. Remember that the performance of whole salesforce is vital to the success of company . Without an effective company system including a competent staff, the business will fail to accomplish its short term or long term anticipated goals. The Benefit of Investing in Sales Training Courses: The main advantage of investing in sales management training is associated with the opportunity to focus every person's minds on important facets of the sales procedure. This involves communication skills, inter-personal skill, how to offer deals, how you can close offers and various other significant aspects of the sales procedure. Of course, each business has its own strategy of getting customers. Therefore, it's important to train employees on how to cope with their particular target market. Furthermore this is crucial for the reason that each organization has different types of customers. The issue now includes choosing the ultimate kind of sales consultancy for your employees. Firstly, the sales courses should be suitable for your business including your target audience. Scientific study has recognized that approximately 25 percent of the whole salesforce contributes to about 90?% of the total number of sales. In this case, it is generally viewed as that most of those that from the sales force are not experienced enough to achieve the considering tasks. It may also be identified that about Seventy five percent of these have to be trained more or they might have selected the incorrect career. On the other hand, value of sales training courses can be determined from the previously mentioned illustration. For organizations who want to increase their sales results, it is necessary to conduct research upon which business management courses they have to get. The ultimate way to determine this would be to study the ways their top competitors are applying. Even when your sales workforce have years of sales experience, it is still essential to analysis latest methods and strategies that really work. Understand that promoting methods also develop along with modern technology. Using the well-known as well as fast growing use of the Internet, social networking sites and cell phones, companies will likely fail to get along with the competition when they don't realize the effectiveness of these new promoting media. A large number of sales training courses cope with how to use technology in the form of medium for the purpose of selling. Sales team are just like technicians who need to develop their expertise. Without proper as well as satisfactory sales management training, your output is going to be less likely to improve. Hence, don't see sales training courses as an additional expense, rather a good investment. Sales reps and administrators as well need sales consultancy to boost their knowledge as well as skills in selling, even when they boast many years of experience in any industry. In order to tactically improve your company, investing in Sales training courses will give you the very best return on your investment. To see the entire selection of benefits from our sales management training, sales courses as well as Sales Training UK, click on www.BigRockhq.com

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Brent crude rises above $107; Greece, Iran eyed

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Interview with Roberta Medina, vice-president of Rock in Rio

Young, educated and well- traveled, Roberta Medina, is president of Dream Factory and responsible for the organization of the Rock in Rio in Europe music event.

Living in Portugal for nine years, this outgoing Carioca (native from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) told us about how Brazilians perceive Portugal (and how telenovelas, or soap operas are changing that), how it is good to live in Lisbon and what we can do to promote our city in the land of Sun and Samba.?

What made you land in Lisbon to do the Rock in Rio (RinR) event?
When my dad, Roberto Medina, decided that he wanted to repeat RinR, ten years after the second edition (which took place in Rio in 1991, while the first edition was in 1985), he had a dream to use the event as a way of mobilization for a better world ? and he wanted to do it worldwide. A fellow Brazilian who lived here insisted that there should be a RinR in Lisbon: ?Roberto, you have to do it.? But RinR in Rio de Janeiro was already something with such a complexity, that the dream stayed grounded. After having finished the year 2000 edition, we started to work on 2002?s edition, sponsored by America Online-AOL. Then came the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and everything came to a halt. We were forced to look for alternatives. Roberto told this guy: -?if you can land an interview with the mayor, in which basic structures and services such as cleaning and security can be assured, I?ll fly to Lisbon.?

We thought that this meeting would never happen, but two weeks later it got scheduled.

And things went well ?
Roberto arrived here, some initial meetings took place with the Town Hall which started a straightforward process. After a protocol of intent was agreed, we all came to Portugal to seek sponsorships. The event was based on three pillars: a)with local governments, where infrastructure and basic services of the city function in an exchange basis, because the RinR is a tool to promote the city; b) with media partners, in which we deliver content and they brand and promote the event; c) sponsors who deliver the sponsorship and use the contents and the event to give visibility to their products. Once we gained critical mass, I came in with the production team, and together we began the preparation phase including the booking of artists.?

At that time, did Roberta know Lisbon?
No. Brazilians are very US-centered, they grow up looking to Los Angeles, New York and Disneyland. We study the history of Portugal until 1500, until the age of eleven, but then we lose the focus on Portugal. When we started talking about coming to Portugal, it was like: ?what is it? Is it in Europe?? Europe was not in our lives. My paternal grandfather was Portuguese and he left to Brazil at a young age, not having any European-Portuguese accent. He died and I don?t have this memory of him as Portuguese. My family on the maternal side was also Portuguese, but I had never acknowledged this fact. It was only when I traveled to Portugal that everything came in as an avalanche. I realized that there are a lot of things in the lives of Brazilians that are related to Portugal, but we don?t realize it. When I arrived here I had this typical misconception that Brazilians have of the country: Portugal is something very old, frozen in time, around the year 1500, with old ladies wearing head scarves and mustaches.?

You got it wrong?
My first minutes in Lisbon, on the way out of the airport were on the Gago Coutinho Avenue and soon I felt how my thoughts had been misguided. I was expecting to come to a place with ??old houses, and now here I was, in a normal avenue discovering a modern Lisbon. I later found a lot of things culturally similar to those in Brazil and vice versa. Because your people arrived there and left us everything they brought. But then came the physical distance between populations and we forgot about Portugal. On the other way around, quite the opposite happened: the soap operas started to show up here and people got to know all about Brazil.?

And now you spend more time in Lisbon than in Brazil ?
I have been living here for nine years. In 2005 I still divided my time between Lisbon and Brazil and in October, when I returned to Portugal, I realized that I had moved here by choice. Until then I hadn?t thought about it, I was coming here to do my job with RinR, not knowing for how long I would stay. I ended up making the event ?The Largest Christmas Tree?, then another RinR, and later another ?tree?? by this time it had become clear my identification with this place, feeling good about living in Lisbon, the well-being, the relationships built here, many of them solid and happy. I was living fine so I settled here.?

Has it not happened to you like with some Brazilians who, upon returning to Brazil after a long stay here, are said to have a European Portuguese accent?
Definitely. Even in the form of writing. When I got here I realized that a letter or e-mail ended with ?our best wishes? (os nossos melhores cumprimentos): ?I found this to be out of this world. Now, when I write to Brazil, I don?t know how to end a letter. The way that is used there, ?sincerely,? is horrible, I strongly dislike it. In order not to leave anyone baffled, I created another way. These are situations in which you move towards a??

Gray zone?
Exactly. The strangeness, the feeling of being nowhere and everywhere, all at the same time. Last year, I was in Brazil because of RinR there. Then it all came back. And not so much because of the different accent. There are expressions and words that you use differently, the rhythm, the intonation, these are things that take people by surprise. I know a producer there with that typical ?Carioca? accent. When I went to talk to her, I thought she was joking around. I then realized: My God! Do we talk like that? There, I?m Portuguese and here? well, I?m from Rio!?

Is it very different to promote a Rock in Rio event in Lisbon or elsewhere, such as Madrid?
It sure is. Everything is different. When we arrive at some place to do the RinR and begin to talk, there is always someone who says, ?but this here is not Brazil.? It happened with the first international event, in Lisbon, and it continues to happen wherever we land. You arrive armed with all your international experience, confident, only to hear someone saying that things in that place don?t work like that. It is always a super-intense process. In Poland, you arrive and your hear, ?this is not Brazil or Portugal!?; then getting? to Madrid: ?this is not Brazil, or Portugal, neither Poland.? There is always a different process, which is purely local, cultural and behavioral. Then there is the public. The Portuguese public is very polite, very gentle. It is very easy to work in Lisbon. The event goes incident free with all the madness that it has. Here things work smoothly, without issues.?

What do you really like in Lisbon?
Lisbon, like the rest of Portugal and Europe, has this matured civilization that Brazil doesn?t have. It produces a healthy balance between the time you devote to your professional activity and that which is devoted to your personal life. Coming from a reality where you have to drive with your doors locked, and fearful when a barefoot child approaches you, this has a devastating effect on a human standpoint and only works if you?re cold hearted or insensitive. In Brazil, people live on a 24-hour-alert-mode. Here, a person does not have to be afraid to be out on the streets. This quality of life is absolutely unbeatable.?

It is admirable the way you live in society. And Lisbon has it all: with a rich cultural offer, (greater than that offered in Rio de Janeiro), plenty of nightlife, restaurants, night clubs, and bars. The difference is that in Rio you?re on the beach, while here you go to the beach. In a society with so much inequality like in Brazil, that?s a good thing, it is democratic because on the beach, wearing a bathing suit or a bikini, everyone is equal.?

Don?t you miss the sun of Rio during these long Lisbon winters?
Not really. When I came here to stay, it was in January, thus coming from the Brazilian summer and the change was complicated. The solution was to put on a ton of clothing, looking like Bibendum, the Michelin man. I came to realize that I was wearing the wrong type of clothes. I then adapted. The changing of the seasons brings a process rich in sensations.?

What has changed in the way Brazilians see Lisbon?
Still not as much as I?d like, but it is changing. The fact that Lisbon has a RinR made Brazilians curious. It was a provocative thing to bring something young and modern to Lisbon, which keeps Brazilians asking: ?What is the RinR event doing there?? Then there was the Brazilian soccer coach Luiz Felipe Scolari (aka Felip?o) who led Portugal brilliantly to the UEFA Euro cup finals. When Brazil was eliminated in the 2006 FIFA World cup, Brazilians started to rally around the Portuguese football team . You could see Portuguese flags all over the place, this was the most successful campaign ever seen. Since then, everything has been changing: we have an agreement with the Municipality of Lisbon for the city to be featured in a soap opera. It was the first action of international merchandising done by TV Globo. That stuck a sympathetic ?chord for Brazilians. It was supposed to be five minutes of scenes from Lisbon in the novel and it ended up with 36 minutes. Until then, the character who would have said that he was going to a business meeting in New York now says that he was heading to a business meeting in Lisbon. In Brazil the main communication media are the novels which dictate opinion, fashion and trends, besides influencing and determining behavior. If the main character wanders around with a hat and cowboy boots in a hot blazing summer, everyone will do the same.?

I remember the presentation of this campaign and also some skepticism on the part of Brazilians: ?Lisbon, an ancient city and destiny of characters in the novels??. ?Apparently, it did work.
It all depends on how you package it. Portuguese like to present Lisbon through its history and through Fado. Surely this is important since it belongs to the city?s identity, but you cannot leave behind other things. People today also want to have fun, go out to eat, have a walk, and Portugal has all of this: you drive across the country in a few hours and you have a whole lot of things to see. For some time we didn?t show the modern Lisbon. It?s not enough just going after churches and historic events; we must show how people have fun. In this novel, the characters were young and trendy and went on evening outings.?

Before, Brazilian tourists would arrive completely unknowing. Today they already know beforehand many things about Lisbon.
We must acknowledge the merit of the teams that have been promoting a modern Lisbon. Also, the culture of Brazilian tourists has risen. They are not traveling anymore just for the sake of traveling and clinging on to old stereotypes about the Portuguese.

The greatest writer of Brazilian soap operas, Aguinaldo Silva ? a lover of Lisbon, lives here half of the time ? he wrote a novel whose main character (the actress Lidia Cabral) is a Portuguese who left at an early age to Brazil and interacts with another character ( the portuguese actor, Paulo Rocha), who owns a bakery, the typical ?portuga? with a European Portuguese accent, humorous, very handsome, blue-eyed, young, healthy looking and everything that was assumed that the Portuguese are not. This novel, which is now passing in Brazil, is a public service to the image of Portugal. The characters make a toast with Portuguese champagne. Awesome.?

Best place for a late afternoon in Lisbon?
Hmm, so many good things ? Perhaps the terrace of the Hotel Bairro Alto.?

Best place to spend a night out?
A nice dinner in a restaurant already makes my night. But there is that spectacular place, the Restaurant Guilty. But there are so many more places that I loved ??

For someone who has only a few available hours in Lisbon before hopping on a plane to another destination, what would you advise not to miss?
I would suggest a tour that goes along the Avenida da Liberdade, the Baixa downtown and Bel?m, which has a garden that is the most beautiful of all and has that truly stunning Monastery which is the Mosteiro dos Jer?nimos.

?Article written by Lu?s Miguel Carneiro with images from Ag?ncia Zero and DMC-archives, which was originally featured in the ?Revista Lisboa?, a magazine published by the Municipality of Lisbon, first edition / April 2012 (pages 27-30) and translated under permission by BestInPortugal.?

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2 Chainz Arrives in Washington DC Without His Brass Knuckles

2 Chainz Arrives in Washington DC Without His Brass Knuckles
Posted by George H. Sirois?on 05.26.2012

After his arrest in NYC on Tuesday?

TMZ reports that rapper 2 Chainz arrived at the airport in Washington, DC on Friday and chose not to flaunt his trademark brass-knuckles.

The rapper was arrested for misdemeanor criminal possession at La Guardia Airport in New York City last Tuesday, after security noticed his four-finger metallic ring in his carry-on bag and deemed it as a weapon.

2 Chainz is known for his brass-knuckles / ring, which says "DOPE" across the front.

Post Comment ?|? Email George H. Sirois ?|? View George H. Sirois's 411 Profile

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The High-Speed Amphibious All-Terrain Vehicle That Would Make Even Master Chief Jealous [Video]

The Warthog might be Master Chief's vehicle of choice in the Halo games, but once he sees the amphibious Scamander, we suspect he'll be putting in an official requisition for a new ride. More »

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New Support for Consumer-driven Non-profit Health Plan in Nevada ...

? CMS awards loan to Hospitality Health Co-Op ?

The Affordable Care Act creates a new type of nonprofit health insurer, called a Consumer Oriented and Operated Plan, or ?CO-OP.?? CO-OPs are directed by their customers and designed to offer individuals and small businesses more affordable, consumer-friendly and high quality health insurance options.?

Starting January 1, 2014, CO-OPs, will be able to offer health plans through the new, competitive health care marketplaces in each state, called the Affordable Insurance Exchanges.? In addition to offering health plans through an Exchange, CO-OPs may also offer health plans outside of an Exchange.

CO-OP loans are only made to private, non-profit entities that demonstrate a high probability of financial viability. All CO-OPs receiving loans were selected by CMS on a competitive basis based on external independent review by a multi-disciplinary team. Only when CO-OPs meet or exceed developmental milestones are funds allowed to be incrementally drawn down.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently awarded a loan to Hospitality Health CO-OP in Nevada to launch a new private non-profit, consumer-governed health insurance company, called a Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP).

Hospitality Health CO-OP
Service Area: Nevada
Award Amount: $65,925,396
Award Date: May 18, 2012

Hospitality Health CO-OP is sponsored by the Culinary Health Fund, its national parent Unite HERE Health, and the Health Services Coalition. Hospitality Health CO-OP will operate for everyone in the Exchanges and the individual and small group markets. Hospitality Health CO-OP plans to provide health insurance coverage statewide.

Created by the Affordable Care Act, the CO-OP Program encourages eligible groups to create new, innovative and consumer-responsive health insurance companies to increase competition in the individual and small business markets.?

?CO-OPs will promote competition and give consumers more health insurance choices,? said Marilyn Tavenner, CMS acting administrator.? ?These new private non-profit insurers will be run by consumers and are designed to offer individuals and small businesses more affordable consumer-friendly and high quality health insurance plans.?

In addition to giving consumers more choices and improving competition in their states, as consumer-run insurers, CO-OPs will operate differently from traditional insurance companies.? More than half of the Board of Directors must be the customers or members of the CO-OP, and all directors must be elected by a majority vote of the members, improving accountability and transparency.? Under the Affordable Care Act, profits gained by a CO-OP must go directly back to their enrollees, to be used to lower premiums, expand benefits, or improve quality.

To ensure CO-OPs are truly new entities, the health care reform law prohibits any state-licensed health insurance company that existed on July 16, 2009, from qualifying for the CO-OP program.

CMS will closely monitor CO-OPs to ensure they are meeting program goals.? To ensure strong financial management, CO-OPs are required to submit quarterly financial statements, including cash flow and enrollment data, receive site visits and undergo annual external audits.? This monitoring is concurrent with the financial and operational oversight by state insurance regulators.? The CO-OPs are required to meet state and federal standards for qualified health plans to sell coverage through the Exchanges and the State?s Small Business Health Option Programs.

The CO-OP program offers low-interest loans to eligible nonprofit groups to help set up and maintain these issuers.? To date, a total of 12 non-profits offering coverage in 12 states have been awarded $982,472,104.

For more information on the CO-OP program and recent awardees, please visit http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/2012/02/coops02212012a.html. For more information on CO-OPs, including what federal loans are available, who can apply and licensing requirements, please visit:? http://cciio.cms.gov/resources/factsheets/coop_final_rule.html

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Giant NM fire nears historic mining town

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.?? A massive, uncontrolled wildfire has neared to within two miles of a historic New Mexico mining town, leading to a mandatory evacuation Saturday of the dozen or so people there.

Crews suspect the wildfire saw a "substantial increase" overnight but were unable to send up a plane to confirm that, incident spokeswoman Iris Estes told msnbc.com.

The evacuation order is for Mogollon, a historic mining and ghost town that also has several summer homes around it. Estes said 15-16 people were thought to still be in the area.

Gusts up to 50 mph were expected Saturday, she added, making it again impossible for fire crews to deploy retardant-dumping aircraft.

The fire in southwestern New Mexico has destroyed a dozen cabins and spread smoke across the state as well as Arizona, prompting holiday weekend air-quality warnings.

The fire is burning through remote and rugged terrain around the Gila Wilderness and the last official estimate was that it had scorched 85,000 acres or more than 130 square miles.

The heavy smoke apparently disoriented six hikers Friday, prompting the New Mexico National Guard to carry out a rescue.

Col. Michael Montoya said one of them had an injured knee and had to be taken to safety by ambulance. The others were able to walk to a secure area.

More than 500 firefighters are battling the blaze that resulted from the merger earlier this week of two lightning-sparked fires. Fire officials say nearly all of the growth has come in recent days due to relentless winds.

The blaze has destroyed 12 cabins and seven small outbuildings, and the privately owned ghost town of Mogollon was placed under a voluntary evacuation order.

Story: Michigan wildfire grows to more than 21,000 acres

The strong winds pushed ash from the blaze 35 to 40 miles away, while smoke from the giant fire spread across the state and into Arizona. The haze blocked views of the Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque, and a smell of smoke permeated the air throughout northern New Mexico.

Health officials as far away as Albuquerque and Santa Fe issued alerts for the holiday weekend, advising people to limit outdoor activities, keep windows closed.

They said the effects on most people would be minor but noted mild throat and eye irritation or allergy-like symptoms could be expected. Officials warned people with heart and lung conditions to be especially diligent in minimizing their exposure to the smoky air.

Fires have been testing crews elsewhere as well over the last week:

• In Colorado, officials said heavy air tankers and thousands of firefighters were on standby Friday as fire managers kept a close watch on high winds and hot temperatures at the start of Memorial Day weekend. Fire danger remains high in the southern Colorado foothills and the South Park area. Two heavy air tankers have been taken to Grand Junction in western Colorado, where the fire danger is highest. The National Weather Service said wind gusts could reach 70 mph Saturday in some western Colorado valleys.
• In Southern California, firefighters worked to corral a wildfire that has chewed through 3,100 acres of tinder-dry grass and light brush east of Julian. On Friday, the fire forced about 50 people to evacuate an RV park in San Diego County. It earlier prompted the evacuation of about 100 homes in the Shelter Valley area, but residents were allowed to return late Thursday. The fire was 20 percent contained. No injuries or damage to structures were reported.
• In Arizona, residents of the historic mining town of Crown King were allowed to return home after being evacuated because of a wildfire about 85 miles north of Phoenix. The fire started May 13 and has burned more than 16,000 acres. It is 35 percent contained, fire officials said.
• In Nevada, questions were being raised over fire crews' initial response to a backyard burn that rekindled two days later, destroying two homes in a rural community and scorching 7,500 acres. A 911 recording obtained by The Associated Press showed a resident called Sunday to report that a neighbor's permitted burn in the Topaz Ranch Estates was out of control. Volunteer firefighters with the East Fork Fire Protection District arrived at the scene and then left, apparently without extinguishing the blaze. Gusty winds rekindled the fire Tuesday. District Fire Chief Tod Carlini did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Rainier View Construction & Roofing, LLC Wins 2012 Talk of the ...

PRLog (Press Release) - May 25, 2012 -
With a 4-star rating for providing excellent customer service, Rainier View Construction & Roofing, LLC has won the prestigious CMUS Talk of the Town Customer Satisfaction Award in the Home Improvement & Remodeling category.

The Talk of the Town Awards, presented by Talk of the Town News, Customer Care News magazine and Celebration Media U.S. (CMUS), honors companies and professionals that provide excellent customer service as reported by their customers through no-cost, user-review websites, blogs, social networks, business rating services, and other honors and accolades. This data is analyzed by a team of researchers who calculate a company?s CMUS Power Rating?. Only those that receive a 4-star to 5-star rating receive the CMUS Talk of the Town Customer Satisfaction Award.

Rainier View Construction & Roofing opened in 2011, but owners Tracey and Don Prociw have nearly two decades of experience in the industry, previously owning Prociw Construction & Roofing. ?It?s important to know who you are dealing with, especially when you are allowing someone to enter your home and do construction work. And, at Rainier View Construction & Roofing, we want to be your trusted partner,? says Tracey Prociw.

With its corporate office in downtown Enumclaw and an Eastern Washington satellite office in Richland, Rainier View Construction & Roofing serves communities throughout the state of Washington, offering roofing, siding, windows, solar installations, additions, remodels and custom decking.

?Because we started small, Rainier View Construction & Roofing can offer all the services of the big contractors, but with the hometown value and economical prices our customers deserve,? says Prociw.

Rainier View Construction & Roofing focuses on using sustainable materials in its contracting services. Additionally, it is the exclusive dealer and installer of Isaiah Industries Classic aluminum roofing products and Kassel & Irons steel roofing for the entire state of Washington. The company is also the exclusive dealer and installer for Rare steel roofing in Southwest and Eastern Washington; is GAF certified to offer the Weather Stopper System plus lifetime warranties for their products; and is IB certified.

Excellent customer service is a way of life at Rainier View Construction & Roofing, as shown by winning the Talk of the Town Award. ?It is important that internally our employees provide customer service to one another ? at every level,? says Prociw. ?In addition, as a company we provide customer service to our employees in the form of ongoing training to help them do their jobs better. This culture spills over then easily to our clients. We utilize a client program that tracks activities with that client from the day we meet them until we are finished with the job and then beyond. We protect our clients? information and respond quickly if there is ever a problem.?

Prociw notes that follow-up with clients is as important as the initial job. ?We have a great after-project plan, which includes the warranty, a thank you gift, a survey, a paid referral program, and a social media program as well. We spare no time or expense when it comes to our clients.?

Rainier View Construction & Roofing?s corporate headquarters is located at 1174 Myrtle Ave., Stes. 105-106 in Enumclaw, Wash. Its satellite office is located at 719 Jadwin in Richland, Wash. For more information, call 800-965-7740 or go online to www.rainier-view.com.

About the Award and Sponsors:
This is the fourth year CMUS, Talk of the Town News and Customer Care News have honored companies for achieving high levels of customer satisfaction with the Talk of the Town Awards. Businesses eligible to receive the award include, but are not limited to, beauty salons, spas, restaurants, bakeries, dentists, auto repair facilities, veterinarians, home repair and improvement contractors, florists, hospitals, and physicians.

For more information about the award or its sponsors, please contact CMUS and Talk of the Town News at 877-498-6405 or go online to www.talkofthetownnews.com.

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Real Estate Shopping Tips For All Buyers | Boca Highend Real Estate

When you are buying property, always have a cash reserve for unexpected expenses. Buyers will often calculate the final closing costs by combining the amount for the down payment, any points that go to the bank, as well as any prorated taxes for real estate. Most of the time, closing costs also include improvement bonds, school taxes and other considerations.

If you have found a home that you are considering buying, be sure to get online and research the registry for local sex offenders. You can do this quickly and easily, and it could keep your whole family safer in your new home. The information is publicly available and free to obtain. It is highly unlikely that any real estate agent would have knowledge of the sex offender status within a neighborhood, and if they do, you won?t find out about it. Google up the registry yourself!

So you want to find a place to purchase, but firstly you have to have a real estate agent who?s qualified. It?s important to find an agent you can really trust. An agent that has achieved success in the past will be a great choice. Always conduct sufficient research to identify those agents most dedicated to customer service.

If you want a great investment in buying property, you should think about repairing and remodeling it. As you work on the home, the property value will increase and therefore, you will see the benefits of your investment immediately. Sometimes it will rise more than you have invested.

Have your minimum down payment that?s required by your mortgage company. The alternative to a proper down payment is PMI, or private mortgage insurance. This can add quite a bit of extra money that you would have to pay on a monthly basis to show the bank that you are able to make payments on your mortgage.

Being organized is helpful when purchasing real estate. You should have a notebook full of the information you get from newspapers, friends, online, and also from your agent. If you use this method, you will have all of your findings in one place if you need to refer to it.

If you are considering starting a business, select real estate that is in an acceptable neighborhood. Starting a new business in an area of high crime and dilapidated buildings will not win you many customers. Talk to a real estate professional to find out what locations are ideal for starting up a new business.

It really is a buyer?s market when it comes to real estate. Now that the housing market has crashed, property values have gone very low. This makes it a perfect time to move from that apartment into a home of your own. The downward trend is an aberration when you look at house prices over the long term. Therefore, you will probably make money on your investment after ten years.

When buying a home, if you own a vehicle it is important to find out if there is good parking around the place. This is especially important if a home has no driveway or garage. Otherwise, you may have to take quite a hike at the end of each and every day due to being unable to find a close parking spot.

If you haven?t bought your dream home, it may be time to start looking. The conventional wisdom is that since the housing bubble has popped, selling and buying a bigger home is not economical, but some experts disagree with this thinking. You might want to buy your dream home now, housing prices will probably go up from here.

When you are trying to work out a deal, you should first make a priority list on your goals. You need to be able to identify anything that you have an issue with and relay how you expect each issue to be handled. Establish your priorities and let those be your guide in negotiations. Remember to approach the negotiation process with a flexible mindset. You can?t get everything on your list so concentrate on the true priorities.

Have a professional inspector look at the home you are interested in. Otherwise, you could find yourself in a home that needs complete renovation from the ground up when you weren?t expecting it. Not only will this cost a lot, you might need to change your living situation until it?s fixed.

If a new potential rental property has a garden, make sure you ask your landlord about it. Landlords differ on this; some leave it to you to maintain the yard or the garden. Other properties have it recorded in the lease that this is part of the rental money which is paid.

If a home has made your short list, have the home inspector get the home?s dimensions. Ascertain by checking public records that the owner has correctly listed the square footage of the home. These numbers should be fairly close to each other, to a tolerance of about 100 sq ft. If they don?t match, find out more about the property and any changes that were made.

Research rental properties. If you are thinking about buying rental property, hold off on purchasing it until all records have been reviewed for at minimum the past 24 months. You need to find out if the person who is selling it to you is giving you the right info about what income it can generate. Your lender will probably want to view verification of income prior to issuing the property?s purchase loan.

By implementing the preceding advice, the process of purchasing a home should be simpler and should go more smoothly. Having an understanding of what you can expect is only half of this battle.

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JB Williams ? Reform ? Making Illegal Immigration Legal ? CITIZEN ...

Governments have never been known to reform themselves and the current debate over immigration reform is no different than the notion that government will cut spending and clip its own wings. By reform, D.C. politicians mean, to make that which is currently illegal, legal.

Lawmakers have been stopped from passing amnesty for millions of illegal aliens living in America. But they have not been forced to enforce our immigration and naturalization laws and even when Border States attempt to enforce those laws, the federal government sues the state on behalf of illegal immigrants.

In a current piece issued by the Census Bureau, titled Minorities now surpass whites in US births, Bureau racial statistics chief Roderick Harrison states ? ?This is an important landmark.? ? ?This generation is growing up much more accustomed to diversity than its elders.?

Of course, most of those ?minorities? are in the United States illegally. This is of no great concern to Harrison. But what does concern Harrison is this ? ?We remain in a dangerous period where those appealing to anti-immigration elements are fueling a divisiveness and hostility that might take decades to overcome,? Harrison said.

For several years now, Americans have been wrongly accused of being ?anti-immigration? just because they want their immigration and naturalization laws to be enforced. But calling someone anti-immigration because they oppose illegal immigration is akin to calling them anti-banking because they oppose bank robbery.

Like many sniveling liberals today, Harrison completely ignores the fact that we are talking about criminals here, people who have broken into our country illegally and make a career out of flouting our laws and undermining American sovereignty and security. Harrison is not at all concerned with these facts, he is instead worried about Americans ?hostility? towards illegal invaders, as if Americans oppose immigration altogether.

America is an immigrant nation. But we are also a civilized society of laws. Under the false claim that Americas immigration and naturalization laws are just too stringent and unfair, progressives like Harrison spread false notions to support their call for immigration reform, otherwise known as blanket amnesty for all illegals and the end to American sovereignty and security.

Which unfair immigration and naturalization requirements should we get rid of???

EXCERPT

via JB Williams ? Reform ? Making Illegal Immigration Legal.

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Plane crash at southern Utah airport kills 4

Emergency officials respond to a fatal plane crash near the St. George Municipal Airport on Saturday, May 26, 2012, in St. George, Utah. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Association are investigating the reported Cessna 172 single-engine fixed-wing airplane, which crashed about 300 feet south of the airport's runway. Officials confirmed four passengers were killed in the crash. (AP Photo/The Spectrum, Samantha Clemens)

Emergency officials respond to a fatal plane crash near the St. George Municipal Airport on Saturday, May 26, 2012, in St. George, Utah. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Association are investigating the reported Cessna 172 single-engine fixed-wing airplane, which crashed about 300 feet south of the airport's runway. Officials confirmed four passengers were killed in the crash. (AP Photo/The Spectrum, Samantha Clemens)

ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) ? A small plane that crashed early Saturday at a municipal airport in southern Utah killed all four people on board, authorities said.

The downed single-engine Cessna 172 was found at about 6 a.m. some 400 feet from the runway, said Marc Mortensen, assistant to the St. George city manager. It's uncertain whether the crash occurred shortly after takeoff or during a landing attempt, he said.

The plane crashed under "unknown circumstances," Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.

Although the area saw windy conditions on Friday and later Saturday, there was no severe weather at the airport during the early morning hours on Saturday, National Weather Service meteorologist Monica Traphagan told The Spectrum of St. George.

The airport has been in operation at its current site for about 1? years. It does not have a radio tower and pilots use an automated system to communicate with one another when landing or taking off, Mortensen said.

The wreckage was found by an airport crew making a routine safety check of the property. The city will likely release the victim's names either late Saturday or Sunday, Mortensen said.

Federal authorities were investigating the cause. It normally takes the National Transportation Safety Board months to come up with a probable cause for crashes.

Associated Press

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American Airlines passenger detained after flight disruption

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