Actors & Artists Join Hands To Spread Awareness About Breast Cancer
A lot has been said and done about breast cancer awareness in the past. However, when a survivor speaks out about her battle with the disease, it makes a huge difference.
Art dealer Tarana Khubchandani fought against the disease and survived the battle. Now, she is going all out to spread awareness about it and also collect funds for treatment of cancer-affected patients through an NGO. Supporting her in this cause are Salman Khan, actor Shatrugan Sinha’s daughter Sonakshi, former beauty queen Diana Hayden, Suniel Shetty and his wife Mana and renowned artists like Akbar Padamsee, SH Raza, Ram Kumar and Paritosh Sen along with businesswoman Rajashree Birla.
Tarana says, “We have organised an art exhibition where works of the artists will be up for sale. The proceeds will go towards spreading awareness about breast cancer and its treatment. Every year we distribute chemotherapy drugs to government cancer hospitals and also identify people whose treatment we would sponsor.”
Sonakshi has posed for a calendar portraying the various roles that a woman plays — daughter, sister, mother, lover, friend etc. She says, “Each woman shares a sense of responsibility towards the other and by involving myself in this cause, I am fulfilling a part of that responsibility.” The calendars will be sold for Rs500 each.
Diana says, “The more awareness we spread, the better it is. The number of breast cancer cases is increasing and people should know how to detect and cure it.”
There are also diaries designed by artists Arzan Khambatta and Seema Kohli. Arzan says, “I wanted 12 sketches for the diary. I drew out the 12 signs of the zodiac. In the beginning of the diary there is information on breast cancer.” Akbar Padamsee says, “Signs of breast cancer can be self-detected and it is curable if detected earlier.”
Rajashree Birla says, “One in every 25 women in urban areas is cancer-afflicted. The rate may increase. It’s time to stop it.” By Riddhi Doshi, DNA India
Per-Cow Fee Would Hurt Cattlemen, Says Utah Farm Bureau Boss
The part of Utah’s economy that depends on agriculture would be hobbled if the government increases pressure on greenhouse-gas emissions, a panel warned Utah’s farmers and bankers.
Randy Parker, Utah Farm Bureau president, said a “cow tax” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing would cost Utah livestock managers $104 million a year. The government would assess a $175-per-cow fee to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
If the rule were in place, Utah ranchers and hog farmers would only have made $92 million in 2007.
“And that was a good year,” Parker said during the 2010 Ag Outlook conference sponsored by the Utah Bankers Association and Utah State University Extension Service.
“If you look at 2008-2009, it is a lot worse.”
Parker was joined by Department of Agriculture Commissioner Leonard Blackham; David Conine , U.S. Department of Agriculture Regional Rural Development Director; and Roberta Wheeler, an officer with the Farm Loan Service.
Parker said climate-change regulations, including the cap-and-trade bill that would limit carbon emissions, hits agriculture particularly hard since farmers work in an energy-intensive industry.
The regulation would drive up costs to produce and buy food, as well as affect the national food supply, Parker warned.
“Do we really want to rely on China, Mexico, India, Brazil and other nations
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to supply our basic needs?” Parker asked.
Conine said there is reason to be skeptical of global-warming claims, but farms cannot dismiss it either.
“If we don’t address [climate change], it will affect agriculture,” Conine said.
Blackham said that farming, and livestock in particular, already help Utah’s environment. Grazing cattle control sagebrush and spur grass growth where they feed, which in turn helps other wildlife.
“If you want to find the best wildlife, look for the livestock,” Blackham said.
Plus, farming is a major part of the Utah economy.
While farming alone only represents 3 percent of the state’s economy, Blackham said the number increases almost five times when related industries By Donald W. Meyers, The Salt Lake Tribune
A Romantic Getaway
Take the stress out of your adventure and enjoy the ride. Once you figure out where you want to go in Germany, plan your trip with daily itineraries. And just in case you’re not bringing your computer with you, you can print everything out for easy access to all your travel plans. Don’t bother going anywhere else for your travel needs; at Hotel Deutschland, you’ll have everything you need, everything you want, and everything you’re looking for.
Moreover, ease into your day, the world is waiting and there’s no need to rush. If a great hotel with a view is what you seek to set the stage for a romantic getaway, you may want to feel the amazing atmosphere at Hotel Munchen and enjoy a freshly prepared breakfast just for you, and when you’re ready to make a move, experience local life and all of its ingredients with unique local packages.
Furthermore, how about strolling into the bohemian nightlife in the former East Berlin which has never been more vibrant, and thousands of restaurants and stores and nightclubs from one end of Germany to the other awaits you, many of them just steps from the Hotel Berlin. So whatever your next move will be, it’s still much better to stay at the above mentioned and experience all the sights, sounds and flavors of this diverse central European country.
House Prices Set For Double-Digit Increase, Nationwide Predicts
House prices are on course for double-digit growth on an annual basis next month for the first time in three years, Britain’s biggest building society said.
The forecast by Nationwide came as the lender reported a higher than expected 1.2 per cent average price increase in January, taking the rise to 8.6 per cent since the same month last year. Reports due out on Monday are expected to reinforce the view that prices have strengthened and to show that economists have revised their forecasts upwards for this year, based on signs of better mortgage lending.
Martin Gahbauer, chief economist for Nationwide, said: “Unless there is a fall in property values in February, annual house price inflation is likely to move into double-digit territory next month.”
An annual double-digit rise next month would be the first for almost three years — the last time that Britain had year-on-year house price growth above 10 per cent was in May 2007. The average house price is now £163,481, up from a low of £147,746 in February last year but still some way off the October 2007 peak of £186,044, according to Nationwide.
Separate data from the Land Registry, based on all housing transactions in England and Wales and therefore lagging behind Nationwide’s index, which is based on its mortgage lending, showed that in December annual house prices rose for the first time since May 2008. Prices rose by 0.1 per cent over the month — the eighth consecutive monthly increase, according to the official measure. The Land Registry found big regional variations in growth. London had the highest annual change, with a 6.1 per cent rise over 2009, while Wales had the biggest fall, at 2.5 per cent.
Proof of a return to confidence in the capital came yesterday in the form of a return to mega-mansion development. Marcus Cooper, the North London developer, announced that it had gained planning consent for a £100 million home facing Regent’s Park, Central London. Camden council gave consent to build the 50,000 sq ft property, which will have ten bedrooms, vast entertaining spaces, two additional staff houses, a cinema, a gym, a pool, office facilities and a car park.
Marcus Cooper is noted for good timing. It made millions of pounds two years ago from redevelopment of the 40,000 sq ft Witanhurst House in Highgate — London’s second-biggest house after Buckingham Palace — which it bought for £32 million in 2007 and sold in July 2008 for more than £50 million, shortly before the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the property market crash.
The new project is an example of a trend among London property professionals in response to rising prices and soaring demand from foreign investors: the conversion back into residences of grand period homes turned into offices over the past 100 years. Some of the biggest developers in London, including Grosvenor, which owns much of Mayfair, and Covent Garden-based Shaftesbury, have been turning centrally located buildings back into dwellings.
Nationwide said yesterday that the housing market would remain relatively independent of other economic measures, such as unemployment and negative wage growth, but would be more dependent on whether the Bank of England raises interest rates this year.
Mr Gahbauer said: “With negative real earnings growth, the future path of interest rates becomes even more critical for the housing market, particularly with a growing proportion of the mortgage stock now on variable rate deals. The consensus view is that interest rates will remain unchanged until the final quarter of 2010. Inflation trends in 2009, however, are starting to call into question the validity of this view.”
Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, said: “A modest relapse in house prices is likely at some point in 2010 and they may well be essentially flat over the year as a whole.” By Rebecca O’Connor, Francesca Steele – The Times
Networking In Our Homes
Current progress in technology has made wireless networking in our homes more of a necessity than a convenience. We rely upon wireless connections to our laptops, cell phones, MP3 and DVD players, and even our blasted TVs. To utilize all of the features packed away in these gadgets, and to be connected we need to have Linksys router a device that sends data traffic from one network to another. Thus nearly every home in a residential block will be clogging airspace with perpetual transmissions from innumerable wireless devices.