Putin says he will sign anti-US adoptions bill

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he will sign a controversial bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children, while the Kremlin's children's rights advocate recommended extending the ban to the rest of the world. The bill is part of the country's increasingly confrontational stance with the West and has angered some Russians who argue it victimizes children to make a political point. The law would block dozens of Russian children now in the process of being adopted by American families from leaving the country and cut off a major route out of often-dismal orphanages. The U.S. is the biggest destination for adopted Russian children — more than 60,000 of them have been taken in by Americans over the past two decades. "I still don't see any reasons why I should not sign it," Putin said at a televised meeting. He went on to say that he "intends" to do so. UNICEF estimates that there are about 740,000 children not in parental custody in Russia, while only 18,000 Russians are now waiting to adopt a child. Russian officials say they want to encourage more Russians to adopt Russian orphans. Children's rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov on Thursday petitioned the president to extend the ban to other countries. "There is huge money and questionable people involved in the semi-legal schemes of exporting children," he tweeted. Kremlin critics say Astakhov is trying to extend the ban only to get more publicity and win more favors with Putin. A graduate of the KGB law school and a celebrity lawyer, Astakhov was a pro-Putin activist before becoming children's rights ombudsman and is now seen as the Kremlin's voice on adoption issues. "This is cynicism beyond limits," opposition leader Ilya Yashin tweeted. "The children rights ombudsman is depriving children of a future." The bill is retaliation for an American law that calls for sanctions against Russian officials deemed to be human rights violators. The U.S. law, called the Magnitsky Act, stems from the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in jail after being arrested by police officers whom he accused of a $230 million tax fraud. The law prohibits officials allegedly involved in his death from entering the U.S. Kremlin critics say that means Russian officials who own property in the West and send their children to Western schools would lose access to their assets and families. Putin said U.S. authorities routinely let Americans suspected of violence toward Russian adoptees go unpunished — a clear reference to Dima Yakovlev, a Russian toddler for whom the adoption bill is named. The child was adopted by Americans and then died in 2008 after his father left him in a car in broiling heat for hours. The father was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The U.S. State Department says it regrets the Russian Parliament's decision to pass the bill, saying it would prevent many children from growing up in families. Astakhov said Wednesday that 46 children who were about to be adopted in the U.S. would remain in Russia if the bill comes into effect. The passage of the bill follows weeks of a hysterical media campaign on Kremlin-controlled television that lambasts American adoptive parents and adoption agencies that allegedly bribe their way into getting Russian children. A few lawmakers claimed that some Russian children were adopted by Americans only to be used for organ transplants and become sex toys or cannon fodder for the U.S. Army. A spokesman with Russia's dominant Orthodox Church said that the children adopted by foreigners and raised outside the church will not "enter God's kingdom." Critics of the bill have left dozens of stuffed toys and candles outside the parliament's lower and upper houses to express solidarity with Russian orphans.

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In 2013, possibilities for stability from Somalia to South China Sea

The international news of any year is a disparate affair, a global chronicle of courage, calamity, and close calls. The interconnectedness of events is not always clear. But looking ahead to 2013, whether in Syria, South America, or the South China Sea, policymakers have a common New Year's wish: for unity to usher in and consolidate political and economic stability. EUROPE TURNS TOWARD INTEGRATION After another year in the depths of a debt crisis that has tested the viability of the European Union, leaders made a major step forward at the end of the year: agreeing to give the European Central Bank oversight of the biggest banks in the Union. Recommended: How well do you know global Christmas traditions? Take the quiz Skeptics dismiss the agreement as a watered-down initiative of common-denominator compromises and delays. But it paves the way for an eventual banking union, and caps off a year of expressed commitments to deeper integration. "The decision of European heads of state to create a banking union and a fiscal union still needs to be implemented. But that was a genuine game changer in a sense," says Jan Techau, director of Carnegie Europe at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Brussels. "It is by no means perfect and is not seen in action yet; but if this comes, that will create momentum for more political integration." IN AFRICA, A NEW DAWN FOR SOMALIA? In Somalia, Al Qaeda was on the run in 2012 after four years in control of the country's south, pushed out of all of its major urban strongholds by African Union military offensives. Get our FREE 2013 Global Security Forecast now Somalia's Western allies – also its financiers – have begun proclaiming a new dawn. International commercial flights now land regularly at Mogadishu's refurbished airport. Investors from the large Somali diaspora are returning home. Aid workers have ever-greater access to the millions of people still in grave need. But analysts are wary. A large number of rank-and-file fighters may have deserted Al Shabab, but hard-line commanders remain. Many of them, trained in Pakistan with Al Qaeda, are regrouping in Somalia's north. "The Somali government is going to need very quickly to show that it brings dividends, health, education, road repairs, to the population, or they may well turn back to supporting Shabab," one Western diplomat focused on Somalia says in an e-mail. "There is a very narrow window to prove the government is the better option. Probably less than nine months. The early part of 2013 will be crucial." Meanwhile, across the continent in Mali, events moved in the opposite direction in 2012. An ethnic Taureg rebellion spiraled into a takeover of the north by Islamist militants, while the army ousted Mali’s democratically elected president. Malians hope that in 2013 their country can reunite and that democracy will be restored. If not, Western and African leaders fear Mali could become a failed state. Some Malians say only force can dislodge the Islamists, while others place hope in dialogue. Meanwhile, worry is growing that ethnic grudges might transform a possible intervention into a tragedy of unintended consequences. “Families affected by crisis may seek vengeance,” says Mohamed Ag Ossad, the director of Tumast, a Tuareg cultural center in Bamako. “The state should take things in hand before there’s an ethnic war.” This month soldiers loyal to coup leader Captain Amadou Sanogo removed Mali’s interim prime minister – a brazen show of force that the US said endangered national dialogue and delayed a government recapture of the north, according to a statement on Dec. 11. Members of the security forces are also accused of beating, detaining, and killing critics of the army, as well as Tuareg and Arab men, said a December 20 report by Human Rights Watch. For Moussa Mara, an accountant and district mayor in Bamako, such problems underline the need to reestablish democratic rule by holding presidential elections that were derailed by this year’s coup. “Crisis can be an opportunity for our country,” he says. “If we’re intelligent.” MIDDLE EAST: TO THE VICTORS, MORE DIVISIONS? As pressure has mounted against Syria's embattled president, Bashar al-Assad, many are starting to ask what will come of the opposition Free Syrian Army should the regime fall. A number of Syria experts warn that without a plan to disarm opposition groups, they risk destabilizing the country. "What do you do with the men with guns? The men who don't have jobs.... We've seen this in Libya, and we also saw it in Iraq," says Aram Nerguizian, a Syria expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The vast majority of Free Syrian Army units in Syria say they will put down their weapons and let democracy determine their future after Mr. Assad. Still, a number of observers worry that there is a possibility armed groups may want an undue stake in Syria's government, and the challenge for 2013 will be to incorporate them into civilian life. Recommended: How well do you know global Christmas traditions? Take the quiz In Israel and the Palestinian territories, positions on both sides hardened as the window for a two-state solution rapidly closed. Israel moved further to the right heading into January elections, while Palestinians became more assertive with a perceived victory against Israel in the November Gaza conflict and an overwhelming vote recognizing Palestine as a state at the United Nations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly invited the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table without preconditions at any time and indicated that the Palestinians’ failure to do so shows they are not serious about peace. But Palestinians say they cannot afford to negotiate while Israel steadily expands settlements in the West Bank. Nearly 10 percent of Israeli Jews now live over the 1967 borders, which the recent UN resolution recognized as the basis for a future Palestinian state. In 2013, Palestinians want to see an end to settlement expansion before it is too late to implement a two-state solution. “We are witnessing today a very crucial moment … a moment of irreversibility,” says Mustapha Barghouthi, a former Palestinian presidential candidate and democracy activist. Israelis, for their part, seek Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, as well as assurances that a peace deal will mark the end to the conflict and not merely a stepping stone to regaining all of historic Palestine. EAST ASIA'S SYMBIOTIC TIES In a year when China made several neighbors nervous over its territorial claims, Beijing's most alarming spat was with Japan over a handful of uninhabited islands known in China as the Diaoyu and in Japan as the Senkaku. Although a war over the issue is highly unlikely, it has come to be seen as not altogether impossible, as tensions have risen in recent months. But it is the economic fallout already under way that analysts say the two must address immediately. "China is Japan's biggest market, and Japan is a very important source for China to learn new science and technology," says Zhou Weihong, a Japan expert at Beijing Foreign Studies University. If the second-largest economy in the world [China] and the third-largest [Japan] are not getting along, "that is bad news for the rest of the world," Professor Zhou says. "There are big enough motives for both sides to want to improve their relationship." THE REACH OF CHáVEZ The biggest story of 2012 in Venezuela was the reelection of President Hugo Chávez in October, despite significant gains made by the opposition. But now, facing illness, Mr. Chávez might not be able to stand for his Jan. 10 inauguration – and may have to step down. Venezuela is holding its breath – as is the region that sees Chávez as a beacon of the left, some of whose members, like Cuba, depend heavily on his largess. Within the oil-rich country, political tensions will flare in 2013 until a new leader is selected, while daily problems such as crime and inflation mount, says Caracas-based political analyst Jose Vicente Carrasquero. "Over time, we will adjust under a new government," he says, "and surely after this process of transition we will discover a new way of doing politics in Venezuela, something that we need."

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Cabinet resignations deal setback for Egypt's Mursi

An Islamist minister quit Egypt's government on Thursday, the second cabinet resignation this week, as President Mohamed Mursi tries to shore up his authority and gather support for unpopular austerity measures. An economic crisis and a battle over a new constitution have underlined bitter divisions between Islamist-backed Mursi and his liberal opponents and delayed a return to stability almost two years since a popular uprising. Rivals accuse Mursi, who won Egypt's first freely contested leadership election in June, of polarizing society by foisting a divisive, Islamist-leaning constitution on the country and using the autocratic ways of his deposed predecessor Hosni Mubarak. Deadly violence preceded a referendum on the basic law, dealing a blow to a struggling economy. Mursi's political rivals refused to accept the result - the text won about 64 percent in the vote - and they reject his call for national unity talks. In a move that may pre-empt a planned reshuffle, parliamentary affairs minister Mohamed Mahsoub announced he was quitting because he disagreed with the slow pace of reform. "I have reached a clear conclusion that a lot of the policies and efforts contradict my personal beliefs and I don't see them as representative of our people's aspirations," he said in his resignation letter, which has yet to be accepted by the prime minister. Communications Minister Hany Mahmoud quit earlier this week, citing his inability to adapt to the government's "working culture". Neither were major figures in the cabinet but their decision to criticize the substance and style of Mursi's administration suggests his decisions are unnerving not just opponents but also some allies. Earlier on Thursday, a Christian member of Egypt's upper house of parliament, Nadia Henry, quit a day after the Islamist-dominated chamber took over legislative authority under the new constitution. The charter crafted by an Islamist-dominated assembly is meant to be the cornerstone of a democratic and economically stable Egypt after decades of authoritarian rule. The opposition says it does nothing to protect minorities. Mursi says the constitution and an upcoming vote to re-elect the lower house of parliament will help end squabbling among feuding politicians. He and his Muslim Brotherhood allies say ordinary people are fed up with street protests that often turn violent and want the government to focus on urgent bread-and-butter issues. The strife has cast doubt on the government's ability to push through the spending cuts and tax hikes needed to secure a vital $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan. The Egyptian pound tumbled to its weakest in almost eight years against the dollar this week as people rushed to withdraw savings from banks. Egypt's defense chief said the army - which dominated Egypt for decades and has wide ranging business interests - was ready to step in to help the economy. "The Egyptian economy is going through a very difficult stage," Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was quoted as saying by state news agency MENA. "The armed forces are keen to participate in development and service projects in all parts of Egypt as part of its promise to serve the great people." CRISIS MODE The resignations come ahead of a promised cabinet reshuffle. Cabinet sources told Reuters as many as eight cabinet members from second-tier ministries might go next week. Mursi is also promising incentives aimed at making Egypt - once a darling of emerging market investors - an attractive place to do business again. The 270-seat upper house, or Shura Council, holds legislative authority until a new parliament is elected in early 2013. Opposition figures say they fear the Council could issue laws curbing freedoms. Henry represents Anglican Christians in Egypt. In a letter published by state media, she said minority groups were not represented properly in the chamber. Her resignation underscores fears by Egypt's Christians, who make up about a tenth of its 83 million population, about the gains by Islamists since Mubarak was ousted in 2011. Mubarak, who was sentenced to life in prison in June, was moved to an army hospital on Thursday following a fall that raised concerns about his fragile health. Under pressure to acknowledge Egypt's diversity, Mursi appointed 90 members including Christians, liberals and women to the Council - alongside figures from the Muslim Brotherhood and ultra-conservative Salafis - last week. Two-thirds of the upper house were already elected in a vote this year. "We stress again that the nation should achieve internal reconciliation and forget its differences," the Muslim Brotherhood's supreme guide, Mohamed Badei, told Egyptians in his weekly message. "Let's work seriously to end the reciprocal wars of attrition. We urgently need to unify ranks and group together and focus our capabilities and assets for the general benefit.

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Syria envoy calls for political change to end conflict

The international envoy seeking a negotiated solution to Syria's 21-month-old conflict said on Thursday political change was needed to end the violence which has killed 44,000 people. Speaking in Damascus at the end of a five-day trip during which he met President Bashar al-Assad, Lakhdar Brahimi called for a transitional government to rule until elections and said only substantial change would meet demands of ordinary Syrians. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov added to the envoy's call for a peaceful solution when he told a senior Syrian diplomat that only a "broad inter-Syria dialogue and political process" could end the crisis. Brahimi's push for a transitional government suggested he was trying to build on an international agreement in Geneva six months ago which said a provisional body - which might include members of Assad's government as well as the opposition - should lead the country into a new election. But the mainly Sunni Muslim Syrian rebels have seized the military initiative since the Geneva meeting in June and the political opposition has ruled out any transitional government in which Assad, from Syria's Alawite minority, plays a role. Rebel fighters resumed attacks on Thursday against the military base of Wadi Deif, which lies next to Syria's main north-south highway linking Aleppo with Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based opposition group which monitors the violence, said rebels also clashed with Assad's forces inside the Minakh air base in Aleppo province after several days of fighting outside its perimeter, although the army still controlled the base itself. Around the capital, Assad has used artillery and air strikes for weeks to try to dislodge rebels from suburbs which ring the east and south of the city. "Certainly it was clear in Geneva, and it's even clearer now that the change which is needed is not cosmetic or superficial," Brahimi told a news conference in Damascus before leaving Syria. "I believe the Syrian people need, want and aspire to genuine change and everyone knows what this means," he said. "A government must be created ... with all the powers of the state," Brahimi added. He said it should hold power for a transitional period until elections - either for a new president or a new parliament - are held. "This transitional process must not lead to the ... collapse of state institutions. All Syrians, and those who support them, must cooperate to preserve those institutions and strengthen them," he said. Radwan Ziadeh of the opposition Syrian National Council dismissed Brahimi's proposal as "unrealistic and fanciful" and said a transitional government could not be built on the same "security and intelligence structure as the existing regime". TOO SOON FOR COMPLETE PLAN Russia's Lavrov met Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Makdad in Moscow on Thursday. Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying the chances of forging a solution based on the Geneva agreement were decreasing, but it was necessary to keep seeking a peaceful solution because the alternative is "bloody chaos". "The longer it continues, the broader its scale and the worse (it will be) for everyone," it quoted Lavrov as saying. Syrian and Lebanese sources said Makdad had been sent to Moscow to discuss details of a peace plan proposed by Brahimi. Brahimi is due in Moscow on Saturday and said he also expected to have a third joint meeting with U.S. and Russian officials soon following two rounds of talks earlier this month. But he denied the existence of a U.S.-Russian plan to end the crisis and said it was too soon to present a "complete plan". "What is preferred is that we don't present such a plan until we feel that all sides have agreed to it. That way, implementing it is easy. If that doesn't happen, the other solution could be to go to the (United Nations) Security Council to issue a binding resolution for everyone," he said. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman also denied any joint initiative between Moscow and Washington. World powers remain divided over what has become an increasingly sectarian struggle, with Sunni Muslim states such as Turkey and the Gulf Arab countries supporting the rebels while Shi'ite Iran and Hezbollah have backed Assad, whose Alawite community has its roots in Shi'ite Islam. Syria's struggle "has taken a vicious form of sectarian confrontation", Brahimi said. "Syrian officials foremost, as well as the international community, must not let Syria slide down this very dangerous path which threatens the future of Syria." Deep differences between Western powers opposed to Assad - led by the United States - and Russia and China which have supported his government, have left the U.N. Security Council paralyzed and largely sidelined throughout the conflict. The political stalemate has helped transform a once-peaceful uprising into a civil war in which rebels have grown in military strength and taken control of swathes of territory in the north, leaving Assad increasingly reliant on air power to curb them. Activists in the central province of Hama, where rebels launched an offensive last week to extend their control southwards towards the capital, reported on Thursday that rebels shot down a MiG fighter near the town of Morek. The Syrian Observatory said air force fighters launched three raids on rebel forces around Wadi Deif. The British-based group also reported fierce clashes in the area. The violence has been accompanied by an escalation in apparently sectarian attacks between the Sunni Muslim majority and minorities such as Assad's Alawite sect, which has largely supported the president. Activists in Hama uploaded a video of what appeared to be Assad soldiers and shabbiha militia members stabbing the body of a dead man and setting it on fire. The man looked as if he had been beaten to death. "This is a terrorist, a brother of a whore, one of those trying to destroy the country," one of the men shouted. Two men in camouflage uniforms and army helmets stood by watching. Samer al-Hamawi, an activist from Hama, said rebels in his area found the video on the phone of a soldier they captured this week. The video emerged a day after Islamist rebel units released footage showing the bodies of dozens of Assad's fighters along a highway near an Alawite town in Hama.

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Benazir Bhutto's son takes up the family trade in Pakistan

Five years after the assassination of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, her son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari made his first major speech today aimed at galvanizing supporters of the Bhutto family-led Pakistan Peoples Party. The speech, delivered in the family’s hometown of Garhi Khuda Bux in Pakistan’s Sindh Province, was attended by thousands of party supporters gathered to mark the anniversary of Benazir Bhutto’s death. Days after her 2007 assassination, the then 19-year-old Bilawal was elected as the party’s chairperson, though his role has been largely symbolic until now. As Mr. Bhutto Zardari takes a more active role in his party, it is a reminder that Pakistani politics have long been dominated by influential families and that one's position in government is often determined by family ties. While many of the Pakistan Peoples Party's voters, particularly in rural areas, are happy that the party is led by Benazir's son, nepotism in politics and government has increasingly become a sore point for urban, middle class voters who are less supportive of the PPP. Of late, most political scandals in Pakistan have involved family members of leading politicians, including the Chief Justice's son, who is accused of taking money from a prominent businessman. “If you look at any mainstream political party in Pakistan, it is seen as a family business at every level, passed down from father to son – and occasionally daughter – to grandson,” says Cyril Almeida, an assistant editor at Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn. “It is the nature of politics out here. Society puts a premium on personality rather than performance; and so last names matter.” Recommended: Think you know Asia? Take our geography quiz. The Pakistan Peoples Party was founded in 1967 by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a charismatic yet controversial leader, who was deposed in a military coup and executed on charges of abetting murder. After he was imprisoned, his widow Nusrat Bhutto led the party, followed by his daughter Benazir, who chaired the party until her death. Though grandson Bilawal was elected to lead the Pakistan Peoples Party, his father Asif Ali Zardari was also elected co-chairperson before he became president of Pakistan in 2008, and has largely run party affairs. The trend of family-dominated politics is prevalent across the subcontinent. In India, members of the Gandhi/Nehru dynasty have led the Congress Party and the country as prime ministers for decades. Sheikh Hasina, the twice-elected prime minister of Bangladesh, is the daughter of the country’s founder, and her leading rival Khaleda Zia is the widow of a former president. The other leading political party in Pakistan, the Pakistan Muslim League, features a number of members of the Sharif family in prominent positions, and many major politicians in Pakistan have a similarly strong lineage. Get our FREE 2013 Global Security Forecast now Mr. Almeida points out that in the case of Sindh Province, where the Pakistan Peoples Party has long held sway, there is a “cult of personality and a client-patron relationship in politics,” and Bilawal leading the party was a “a connection to the original person who energized political support.” In some way, he says, the parties are just trying to capture that original energy the name still garners to affect political change. In his speech, Bhutto Zardari did mention his bloodline, but also reaffirmed the party’s vision, including providing basic needs to every citizen and opposition to terrorist groups. He recalled the assassinations of prominent party leaders such as Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, who were killed in 2011 for their opposition to misuse of the country’s controversial blasphemy laws. Still, says journalist Sohail Warraich, the author of an extensive tome on the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and who was on stage as Bhutto Zardari spoke on Thursday, “You have to know how to handle people. Both Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto made their way [in] politics” by proving they had what it took to govern, he says. Mr. Warraich acknowledges there are many challenges ahead for the aspiring politician, despite his name and because of his name: He still has to answer for the PPP-led government’s failures in governance. “Even abroad, you see the Kennedy family etc, people do have these feelings of attachment toward them [family names]. But the real test is in politics. Benazir, after 1988 [when she became prime minister], was assessed on how she conducted politics, not just because of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,” he says. “Bilawal will also be tested on the same.

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Bee Bee Enterprises Launches Website and Blog Featuring Quality Lighting Products

Founders of Bee Bee Enterprises, Linda and Dewayne Walker are excited to announce the launch of their new website venture, BestTiffanyLighting.com, a website featuring Tiffany lamps, chandeliers, floor lamps, billiard and table lighting, as well as plenty other products to light and decorate the home. For more information, visit the website’s blog at TiffanyLightingReview.com.

Long Beach, CA (PRWEB) December 26, 2012
Linda and Dewayne Walker are proud to announce the creation and launch of their new website venture, http://www.BestTiffanyLighting.com. The website carries many excellent decorative and lighting-related products such as Tiffany lamps, chandeliers, floor lamps, wall sconces, billiard lighting, table lighting, fireplace screens, and stained glass windows. The Walkers have done much research to ensure that they have the best product lines possible ready for purchase on their website.
The Walkers have a dedication to making a great deal of quality products available on BestTiffanyLighting.com at reasonable and affordable prices. Customer service is something that is very important to the Walkers and thusly, they want every transaction made on their website to be pleasant and efficient for every customer. The website also has some connections with profiles on eBay, Amazon, and Pinterest.
Eventually, the Walkers would like to expand the website’s merchandise and perhaps add some furniture as well as a number of other products to BestTiffanyLighting.com. In addition to adding new lines of products, the Walkers also intend to periodically expand the existing lines of products that are already available on the website, so that there are always fresh and new items that will keep customers coming back to the website for more. This is part of the customer satisfaction that the Walkers intend to pay close attention to with their website.
To complement the main website, the Walkers are also launching a blog located at http://www.TiffanyLightingReview.com. The blog will feature a number of topics related to the products that are available in the online store; the Walkers intend to write blog posts that are related to interesting lamps that are part of the website’s merchandise with anecdotes and information about these high quality products.

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PolyU Researchers Develop Novel Treatment for People with Hemiplegic Arms

Researchers of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)'s Department of Rehabilitation Sciences have developed a novel treatment for people with hemiplegic arms because of stroke or unilateral cerebral palsy in order to speed up their recovery. Coined "Remind to move," the treatment requires the patients to wear a specially made sensory cueing wristwatch (SCW-V2), which is designed to provide pertinent sensory signals at a fixed interval.

(PRWEB) December 26, 2012
Researchers of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)'s Department of Rehabilitation Sciences have developed a novel treatment for people with hemiplegic arms because of stroke or unilateral cerebral palsy in order to speed up their recovery. Coined "Remind to move," the treatment requires the patients to wear a specially made sensory cueing wristwatch (SCW-V2), which is designed to provide pertinent sensory signals at a fixed interval.
The research was led by Dr Kenneth N. K. Fong, Associate Professor of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, who indicated that one of the common problems with arm recovery after stroke or in children with cerebral palsy is the "learned non-use." With learned non-use, a portion of motor impairment of the patient is not resulted from the brain cell damage but from the learned suppression of the movement, and that makes an individual unable to move or develop the arm further.
Dr Kenneth Fong therefore developed a sensory cueing wristwatch to promote the attention and overcome "non-use" of hemiplegic arm through sensory cueing (e.g. vibration) emitted by a portable ambulatory wristwatch device tied to the upper limb, thereby reminding the subject to move his/her arm as instructed by the therapist.
Three initial clinical trials have been completed in hospitals and in the community settings over the past few years. Not only have the research team published their results in top international rehabilitation journals, but also obtained patents for the device in the United States and on the Chinese mainland.
The results of a randomized controlled trial done in the hospitals supported the proposition that sensory cueing using a cueing device was better than using a placebo device in improving arm functions for patients with stroke and unilateral neglect. In the community settings, participants with chronic stroke were asked to wear a ambulatory sensory cueing device on their affected arms for three hours a day and engage in repetitive task practice for two weeks; while school children with unilateral cerebral palsy were asked to wear a sensory cueing wristwatch device for five hours a day over a three-week period to remind them to perform a set of pre-determined arm exercises to enhance their arm functions. All subjects ended up with significant improvement in using their hemiplegic arms.
The device is now being used in the occupational therapy departments of five hospitals under the Hospital Authority. As the device is small, light, user-friendly and cost effective, the treatment can be carried out at home and even in the absence of therapists' supervision. This allows patients to practise more using the hemiplegic arms in real life.
More recently, PolyU researchers have been awarded research funding from the Research Grants Council to support the further development of this novel treatment. The research team will also look for business and industry partners to further develop the wristwatch device with better design and a new monitoring system.

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Home Business Owners Data Now Available on ConsumerBase

B2B files contain email, telephone, postal and firmographic data for these entrepreneurs.

Evanston, IL (PRWEB) December 26, 2012
ConsumerBase LLC, a multi-channel mailing list provider located in Evanston, IL, is updating its home business owner data on its website. Business-to-business direct marketers seeking consumers with entrepreneurial interests and burgeoning businesses are able to access firmographic, geographic and contact information data through these comprehensive files.
“ConsumerBase home business data mailing lists provide our clients with high quality data for their business-to-business marketing needs,” says Larry Organ, CEO of ConsumerBase. “Our continuous data cleansing techniques ensure we always have accurate and up-to-date data available.”
ConsumerBase home business owner mailing lists include, but are not limited to:
Direct Response Home Office and Home Business Opportunity Seekers Mailing List

Home Business Owners Mailing List

Money from Home- Home Business Owners Mailing List
ConsumerBase mailing lists contain up-to-date email, telephone, postal, demographic, and firmographic data. Daily list additions to all categories and monthly updates on existing lists ensure that the resulting high data quality gives direct marketers the advantage in a competitive marketplace.
ConsumerBase

ConsumerBase provides multi-channel direct marketing services with a specialty in postal, email, and telephone solutions. Encompassing the entire lifecycle of customer information, ConsumerBase services focus on acquiring and retaining customers, validating, cleaning, and enhancing customer data, and improving the overall performance of marketing communications.
ConsumerBase is an Evanston-based multi-channel mailing list company. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Evanston, Illinois. ConsumerBase operates as a subsidiary of Organ Worldwide LLC.

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Online Shopping Mall and Blog Launches New Info Site to Help Shoppers Choose Best Printer for Photos

MyReviewsNow.net, a leading online shopping mall, blog, reviews and information hub, has launched a new website designed to help people choose the right photo printer when they shop online. There is no cost to access the new website, and no membership or registration is required.

Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) December 26, 2012

For parents to students to professionals and everyone in between trying to shop online and choose the best printer for photos can be a challenge – especially when many products look the same, and trying to separate apples from oranges is easier said than done. Fortunately, online shopping mall and blog MyReviewsNow.net has a helpful solution with the launch of their new, no-cost information website.

The new website, located at bestprinterforphotos.com, provides simple, jargon-free information and tips on how to choose the best printer for photos. In particular, the website reminds shoppers that new, portable and lightweight battery-operated photo printers are available that rival many larger options in terms of print quality, speed and performance – yet at a fraction of the size.

“At the end of the day, there is no single best printer for photos,” commented a Spokesperson from MyReviewsNow.net. “Ultimately, it all comes down to finding the right mix of features and specifications, and of course, ensuring that it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and makes it cost-effective over the long term to print photos at home or the office, instead of visiting a professional print shop. Our website provides helpful information that people – from homemakers to a small business owner – can trust to choose the right solution that works for them and their needs.”

People who want to learn more about choosing the best printer for photos can access MyReviewsNow.net’s new information website now. There is no cost, and no membership or registration is required.

People are also encouraged to visit MyReviewsNow.net’s giant shopping mall, and browse for a variety of products and services from the convenience of their home, office, or wherever their busy lifestyle takes them. Shoppers can also read hundreds of helpful reviews, leave their own feedback and ratings, explore the informative shopping blog, sign-up for the e-newsletter, and more.

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The Hong Kong Polytechnic University promotes knowledge enterprises through MAKE Award

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)'s Knowledge Management and Innovation Research Centre (KMIRC) has successfully run the Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise (MAKE) Award in Hong Kong for five years. This Award has encouraged more Hong Kong enterprises to keep abreast of best practices in knowledge management (KM) and provided a platform for local enterprises to benchmark their KM performance for further improvement.

(PRWEB) December 26, 2012
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)'s Knowledge Management and Innovation Research Centre (KMIRC) has successfully run the Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise (MAKE) Award in Hong Kong for five years. This Award has encouraged more Hong Kong enterprises to keep abreast of best practices in knowledge management (KM) and provided a platform for local enterprises to benchmark their KM performance for further improvement.
This year's MAKE Award Presentation Ceremony was held at Cyberport on 18 December, followed by a sharing forum jointly organized by KMIRC and Cyberport. The event has won support of government officials, educational and business leaders. Officiating at the ceremony were Mr Kim Salkeld, Head of the HKSAR Government's Efficient Unit; Ir Professor Choy Kin-kuen, President of Hong Kong Institution of Engineers; Mr Herman Lam, Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Ltd; and Mr Nicholas W. Yang, Executive Vice President of PolyU. Mr Stephen Selby, Former Chair of the APEC Intellectual Property Experts' Group also delivered a speech on behalf of the judging panel.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Nicholas Yang said, "To compete in the knowledge-based economy nowadays, enterprises should adopt a new business model, i.e. to effectively manage the intangible assets and intellectual capital for enhancing the competitive advantage and the innovation capability which are the key factors to productivity, competitiveness and sustainability."
All winning enterprises have exhibited outstanding knowledge management achievements with mature and humanistic KM strategy. This year's top prize went to Hong Kong Productivity Council. Other winning enterprises included Arup; Ernst & Young, Hong Kong; Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited; MTR Corporation Limited; and Pfizer Corporation Hong Kong Limited.
A sharing forum was organized after the ceremony during which Mr Neil Salton of Woods Bagot, winner of Asian MAKE Award, Mr Jiejia Lin of Kingdee Software (China) Co. Ltd., winner of MAKE Award (Chinese mainland) and Mrs Agnes Mak of Hong Kong Productivity Council (Top winner of Hong Kong MAKE Award) shared their KM experiences with the audience. In the panel discussion session, local winners also shared their successful experience in KM implementation.
The Global MAKE award is an international benchmark of best practice knowledge management. It was launched in 1998 by KNOW Network, an international web-based professional knowledge sharing network and Teleos, a research firm specializing in knowledge management. Since 2008, the MAKE Award has been introduced in Hong Kong and Chinese mainland by the PolyU Knowledge Management and Innovation Research Centre.

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