Grace College offering online MBA degree

Source: The Journal Gazette

Grace College of Winona Lake said today it is offering a two-year, fully online Master of Business Administration degree.

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The program, offered through Grace's School of Adult and Community Education, is designed to enable business professionals to study from a biblical perspective without interrupting their current careers, the college said in a statement.

The degree has been approved for accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the statement said.

For more information, go to www.grace.edu/mba, write mba@grace.edu or call 877-607-0012.

The new federal rule for telemarketers: "Do not track list"

Modeled after the Do Not Call List that prevents telemarketers from reaching out to those who have joined, a new Do Not Track List proposed in a privacy report released today by the Federal Trade Commission would stop online marketers from following your every move. Currently, your Web browsing habits are being tracked by various sites and companies that hope to learn more about you and make it so you're more likely to be influenced by the advertising they present. (The Atlantic)

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Opinion: High minimum wage means high teen unemployment

By Michael Saltsman

Special to the Mercury News
Posted: 12/01/2010 12:01:00 AM PST

It was a pretty miserable summer for California teenagers, and not just because of having to drive annoying younger siblings around. The real problem was a sky-high unemployment rate that deprived teens of the chance to earn some spending money and, more important, kept them from learning essential life skills.

Now the holidays are upon us, and the teen employment crisis remains. Teens looking for some extra cash during their school break will have a very hard time finding an opportunity.

Across the country, more than one in four teens who are looking for work can't find it. In California, the situation is much worse: Teen unemployment was averaging 35 percent as of September.

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Why are so few teens employed? A variety of factors are in play. The poor economy hasn't done anyone any favors. Total employment fell by more than 700,000 in the Golden State between January 2009 and January 2010, and the labor market hasn't seen much improvement since then. The state's teens have undoubtedly felt the consequences.

But California legislators self-inflicted an avoidable wound by raising the state's minimum wage to $8 an hour in 2008 -- still one of the highest in the country.

Economists have long understood that a higher minimum wage prices less-experienced teens out of the work force. A recent national survey of labor economists found almost three-quarters in agreement that a higher minimum wage means fewer entry-level jobs.

New research from Walter Wessels (North Carolina State University) and Nicole Coomer (Workers Compensation Research Institute), sponsored by the Employment Policies Institute, finds that employment losses in response to a minimum-wage increase are particularly large for teens working jobs that pay the minimum wage.

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The researchers looked at 15 years of employment data and found that a 10 percent increase in the binding minimum wage reduces employment for 16- to 19-year-olds in jobs paying the minimum by as much as 11.1 percent.

Here's where things get interesting: Teen job losses can be mitigated by businesses that aren't covered by the wage law. For instance, many small and medium-sized establishments aren't covered by the federal minimum wage statute and can still pay inexperienced teenagers a wage commensurate to their skill level. They absorb some of the less-skilled workers let go when the minimum wage is increased.

Wessels and Coomer found that the existence of these businesses helps limit total teen job loss to a more moderate 2.3 percent. But this safety valve is not available in states that have mandated a minimum wage higher than the federal level, including California.

Teens are vulnerable to increases in the minimum wage because they have so few skills. When the cost of their labor goes up, employers with tiny profit margins in competitive industries like restaurants and grocery stores turn to increased self-service. Why do you think you bus your own trays at Burger King and have started to bag your own groceries at some supermarkets?

When young people can't find work, they lose out on skills in the so-called "invisible curriculum," little things like learning the importance of showing up to work on time, taking direction from supervisors or learning to deal with co-workers. Studies have shown that teens who fail to develop these skills early risk lower future earnings and an increased likelihood for extended bouts of unemployment.

California legislators can't undo federal policy, but Wessels and Coomer have shown that they can help cushion the damage done to teen job prospects. They should keep this in mind the next time a colleague or a special interest group proposes a statewide minimum wage increase.


MICHAEL SALTSMAN is the research fellow at the Employment Policies Institute, a nonprofit studying public policy issues surrounding......read more on mercurynews.com

Ryan Seacrest new deal: $60 million over 3 years to save radio

Ryan Seacrest Paid $60 Million to Save Radio
By Matt Kiebus Wednesday, December 01, 2010
The hardest working douchebag in Hollywood has recently signed a three year $60 million contract extension with Clear Channel radio. Which begs the question: what is this thing called “radio,” and just how desperate are they?

Remember life before the iPod and car adapters? A time without the “next” or “shuffle” buttons, when long car rides were likened to purgatory on four wheels without air conditioning? Remember when driving through small towns meant suffering through commercial-free Christian Rock?

It was a terrible time, and thank god it’s over — almost. Clear Channel isn’t quite ready to give up on lame morning talk radio and Top 40 pop hits, and they have pegged Ryan Seacrest as the savior of basic radio. Over the course of the next three years radio frequencies will be polluted with even more Seacrest, and he’ll be handsomely rewarded, to the tune of $20 million per year.

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Is Seacrest that important to radio, that he commands a salary higher than Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter? Is his radio presence really powerful enough to sway listeners from using their iPod or buying satellite? Of course not.

Now imagine his combined salary from “American Idol” and “E! News” on top of his new Clear Channel contract. It’s enough to make any American disgustingly envious.

Seriously—how hard is it to be friends with really famous people and then make a living talking about them all day?

AM/FM radio has become rather obsolete with the rise in popularity of satellite radio and Steve Jobs’ world takeover plans. The general public enjoys having the option to listen to music without commercials or uninteresting banter.

Problem with viewing this video? Let us know at: mbadegreusablog@gmail.com


Like the newspaper industry, AM/FM radio is quickly running out of time, and barring a miracle or time machine, it’s not likely to change. Ryan Seacrest is not that miracle.

But I’m sure Seacrest thanks Clear Channel for the $60 million check. It’s like a......read more on dt death + taxes

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange WANTED by Interpol

Arrest warrant for WikiLeaks chief as chaos spreads

PARIS (AFP) - Interpol called Wednesday for the arrest of WikiLeaks' shadowy founder as the site's release of secret US cables laid bare international concerns over the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

France-based Interpol said it had alerted all member states to arrest Julian Assange, who is wanted in Sweden for "probable cause of suspected rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion".

Assange's mother said she did not want her son, who has denied the charges, "hunted down".

Meanwhile Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called in US ambassador Cameron Munter for talks on Wednesday as WikiLeaks' steady release of 250,000 US cables sent shockwaves around the diplomatic community.

Islamabad reacted angrily to suggestions by US diplomats that its nuclear weapons could fall into terrorist hands.

International fears over the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal "are misplaced and doubtless fall in the realm of condescension," foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit told AFP.

"There has not been a single incident involving our fissile material, which clearly reflects how strong our controls and mechanisms are."

The anger stems from a 2009 cable in which then US ambassador Anne Patterson reportedly wrote that the possibility that someone working in government nuclear facilities "could gradually smuggle enough material out to eventually make a weapon" was a "major concern".

A 2008 cable reportedly warned: "Pakistan is producing nuclear weapons at a faster rate than any other country in the world."

The cables cited serious British concerns and also quoted the Russians as saying: "There are 120,000-130,000 people directly involved in Pakistan's nuclear and missile programmes... There is no way to guarantee that all are 100 percent loyal and reliable."

Meanwhile, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was furious Wednesday at suggestions by US dipomats that he had secret accounts in Swiss banks and was involved in fraud, adding that aides were seeking to prosecute the authors of the offending cable.

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"I do not have one penny in Swiss banks," Erdogan said in an angry speech at a public ceremony in Ankara.

He urged Washington "to call to account" its diplomats for "slander derived from lies and inaccurate opinions," adding that his aides were looking into ways of legal action against the cable authors.

"We have heard from two contacts that Erdogan has eight accounts in Swiss banks," the cable said.

"His explanations that his wealth comes from the wedding presents guests gave his son and that a Turkish businessman is paying the educational expenses of all four Erdogan children in the US purely altruistically are lame."

The hunt for Assange sparked by the Interpol request would likely focus on Sweden and Britain, where the elusive former computer hacker spends much of his time.

Assange is said to rarely sleep in the same place twice. Ecuador's left-leaning government initially offered Assange residency, but President Rafael Correa backtracked Tuesday.

Assange, whose current location is unclear, contested the warrant in a Swedish appeals court, but his first bid to get it thrown out was rejected last week and he has lodged a second appeal.

Christine Assange told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that she was feeling "as any mother would be, very distressed" that authorities were looking for her son.

"He's my son and I love him and obviously I don't want him hunted down and jailed," she said from her home in Queensland.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates tried to play down the mass leak, telling reporters that some reactions have been "significantly overwrought."

"Is this embarrassing? Yes. Is it awkward? Yes. Consequences for US foreign policy, I think fairly modest," said Gates, a former CIA director and intelligence analyst.

But Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate who is popular with many US conservatives, denounced what she called the Obama administration's "incompetence."

"Did we use all the cyber tools at our disposal to permanently dismantle WikiLeaks?" she wrote on Facebook, asking if the United States had requested that NATO and the European Union disrupt the website.

Palin called for the United States to treat WikiLeaks like a terrorist organization by freezing the assets of people working for it.

What impact this latest US weapon will have on the Afghan war?

It looks and acts like something best left in the hands of Sylvester Stallone's "Rambo," but this latest dream weapon is real -- and the US Army sees it becoming the Taliban's worst nightmare.

The Pentagon has rolled out prototypes of its first-ever programmable "smart" grenade launcher, a shoulder-fired weapon that uses microchipped ammunition to target and kill the enemy, even when the enemy is hidden behind walls or other cover.

After years of development, the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, about the size of a regular rifle, has now been deployed to US units on the battlefields of Afghanistan, where the Army expects it to be a "game-changer" in its counterinsurgency operations.

"For well over a week, it's been actively on patrols, and in various combat outposts in areas that are hot," said Lieutenant Colonel Chris Lehner, program manager for the XM25.

The gun's stats are formidable: it fires 25mm air-bursting shells up to 2,300 feet (700 meters), well past the range of most rifles used by today's soldiers, and programs them to explode at a precise distance, allowing troops to neutralize insurgents hiding behind walls, rocks or trenches or inside buildings.

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"This is the first time we're putting smart technology into the hands of the individual soldier," Lehner told AFP in a telephone interview.

"It's giving them the edge," he said, in the harsh Afghan landscape where Islamist extremists have vexed US troops using centuries-old techniques of popping up from behind cover to engage.

"You get behind something when someone is shooting at you, and that sort of cover has protected people for thousands of years," Lehner said.

"Now we're taking that away from the enemy forever."

PEO Soldier says studies show the XM25 is 300 percent more effective than current weapons at the squad level.

The revolutionary advance involves an array of sights, sensors and lasers that reads the distance to the target, assesses elements such as air pressure, temperature, and ballistics and then sends that data to the microchip embedded in the XM25 shell before it is launched.

Previous grenade launchers needed to arc their shells over cover and land near the target to be effective.

"It takes out a lot of the variables that soldiers have to contemplate and even guess at," Lehner said.

If, for example, an enemy combatant pops up from behind a wall to fire at US troops and then ducks behind it, an XM25 gunner can aim the laser range finder at the top of the wall, then program the shell to detonate one meter beyond it, showering lethal fragmentation where the insurgent is seeking cover.

Use of the XM25 can slash civilian deaths and damage, the Army argues, because its pinpointed firepower offers far less risk than larger mortars or air strikes.

The result, the Army says, is "very limited collateral damage."

The Pentagon plans to purchase at least 12,500 of the guns -- at a price tag of 25,000 to 30,000 dollars each -- beginning next year, enough for one in each Infantry squad and Special Forces team.

Lehner said the XM25 was special in that it requires comparatively little training, because the high-powered technology does so much of the work.

"This system is turning soldiers with average shooting skills into those with phenomenal shooting skills," he said.

Study finds that more vitamin D may not be better for you

Source: Shine
by Lylah Alphonse
When it comes to vitamin D, a new report says that you need more than you used to, but less than you think you do.

Taking into account more than 1,000 health studies, a report released by the Institute of Medicine today recommended higher dietary intake levels for vitamin D, but also concluded that people living in North America get enough calcium and vitamin D from their diet. Megadoses of vitamin D—thought by some to combat health problems including depression, cancer, asthma, and even autism—may not do much good after all. A panel of experts insists that the only thing vitamin D and calcium have been proven to help with is avoiding rickets and maintaining strong bones.

"For bone health, those numbers stand up very well and will cover the vast majority of the populations," Dr. Steven Clinton of Ohio University, one of the experts involved in the Institute of Medicine study, said in a press conference today. "Because we don't have good data for vitamin D or calcium for the other outcomes, we can't draw a recommendation."

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Though they tripled their recommended intake for vitamin D—from 200 International Units (IUs) to 600 IUs for average folks—the committee discouraged people from taking more than 4,000 international units of vitamin D a day. And its recommendation for calcium intake remains much the same: 700 mg for children age 1 to 3, 1,000 mg for kids age 4 to 8, 1,300 mg for adolescents age 9 to 18, and 1,000 mg for adults over the age of 19. Breastfed infants may still need a little extra vitamin D, but the only age group at risk for a calcium deficiency is the same one that's always had problems consuming enough calcium: adolescent girls. Post-menopausal women who take calcium supplements may, in fact, be taking too much.

According to another member of the panel, Dr. Glenville Jones, professor of biochemistry and medicine at Queens University in Ontario, extra doses of calcium and vitamin D may be of no help at all: "There seems to be little benefit to taking additional supplements," he explained.

Other experts, however, disagree with today's findings. In 2007, the D-Action Consortium, a group of 41 vitamin D researchers, organized by GrassrootsHealth, called for a minimal daily vitamin D intake of 2,000 IUs (10 times the recommended amount set in 1997 ) to reduce incidents of heart attack, bacterial infections like the flu, and certain types of cancer. Dr. Michael Holick, professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University, says that recommending an increase in vitamin D intake "is a step in the right direction," but disagrees with the panel's definition of vitamin D deficiency, saying that children need 1,000 IU and adults need 2,000 to 3,000 IU daily in order to maximize bone health. And bone health, he says, is not the only benefit.

"There is a mountain of evidence linking vitamin D deficiency with many serious chronic diseases including autoimmune diseases, deadly cancers, and heart disease," he points out. "I believe that vitamin D does have important health benefits beyond bone health."

So, do we need to actively seek out more vitamin D? Yes and no. According to the Institute of Medicine study, many of our staple foods— including bread, milk, and other dairy products—are fortified with calcium and vitamin D before they even hit our tables. Also, our bodies synthesize vitamin D after exposure to sunlight. But, in order to avoid increasing skin cancer rates by advocating that people spend more time in the sun without protection, the panel based their recommendations on the assumption that people spend only the bare minimum of time out in the sun. Which means that while people are ingesting less than the minimum requirement, the level of vitamin D in their bloodstreams are just fine.
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Dr. Holick, who was the first person to identify the major circulating form of vitamin D in human blood and to determine how vitamin D is synthesized in the skin, disagrees. "You cannot obtain enough vitamin D from your diet," he says. "The three-step strategy that I recommend to maintain a healthy vitamin D status is to ingest foods that naturally contain or are fortified with vitamin D along with.....read more on shine