Mayor-elect Kirk Caldwell announces key 'historical' appointments

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

Mayor-elect Kirk Caldwell, who will be sworn into office on January 2, 2013, announced Saturday his appointments in the Mayor's Office, Managing Director's Office, and for the directorships of city agencies.

Ember Shinn has been named Managing Director, marking the first time in Honolulu history that a woman has been appointed to this key city management post.? The transition team received over 400 applications for employment with the new administration.

"I'm excited about the team we're building to manage the city," said Caldwell.?? "I'm proud of the fact that Ember will be the first woman Managing Director, and that we will have top people in my administration who are so dedicated to public service.?? What was striking in the interviews was that people chose to work for government because they want to accomplish something for the community and they feel they can make a difference."

The Mayor-elect's cabinet appointments are as follows:

Mayor's Office and Managing Director's Office

Ember Shinn ? Managing Director.? Shinn served as the executive assistant to Acting Mayor Caldwell in 2010.? She has over twenty years of experience practicing law in California where she represented public and private entities in public law and employment litigation.? She served as General Counsel for Oakland Unified School District and the Peralta Community College District.? Shinn returned home to Hawaii in 2001, retired from the practice of law, and worked for the State House of Representatives as staff attorney for the Judiciary Committee and as special assistant and Chief of Staff for the Speaker of the House.

Georgette Deemer ? Deputy Managing Director.? Deemer served as the Director of Communications for the House of Representatives, where she worked with Caldwell when he was the House Majority Leader.? She served for 15 years as the State of Hawaii Film Commissioner under the Ariyoshi, Waihee and Cayetano administrations where she developed working relationships with city, state and federal agencies for film permitting for local, national and international production.? She oversaw the design, construction and management of the Hawaii Film Studio at Diamond Head.? In addition to her duties as Deputy Managing Director, she will oversee and unify the City's broad communications efforts across all agencies, elevating the importance of communications in the Caldwell administration.

Jesse Broder Van Dyke ? Director of Communications.? Broder Van Dyke served as the Director of Communications for U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka until the Senator's recent retirement.?? He has extensive experience in media relations, writing, social media management, and has served as a news producer and assignment editor for KHON ?TV.

?Cabinet Directors (in alphabetical order)

Michael D. Formby ? Director of Transportation Services.? Formby served as the Interim Director of Transportation under the Lingle administration, where he oversaw the management of the Airports, Harbors and Highways Divisions.? Prior to that, he was the Deputy Director of the Harbors Division.? At the DOT state level, he worked extensively on project planning and implementation, and with the state's environmental assessment and environmental impact statement process.? Formby is an attorney; he has been a litigator for the past 20 years, and has taught at the William S. Richardson School of Law and Hawaii Pacific University.? He supports Mayor Caldwell's vision for rail and other transportation issues.

Lori Kahikina ? Director of Environmental Services.?? Kahikina served as the Director of Design and Construction in the Carlisle administration, where she oversaw and maintained the capital improvement project budgets for various city agencies, and directed the planning, engineering, design, construction and improvements of public buildings, streets, roads, bridges, wastewater facilities, and transportation systems.? She has also worked in the Department of Environmental Services in the Division of Collection System Maintenance where she has extensive experience related to the city's wastewater system.? Kahikina is a Civil Engineer.

Sheri Kajiwara ? Director of Customer Services. ?Kajiwara is the former Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Prudential Advantage Realty, a local, award winning, real estate firm.? She rejoins the city with over 12 years of experience in the Mayor & Managing Director's Office handling community concerns.? Kajiwara also voluntarily coordinated Honolulu City Lights for over a decade.?

Carolee C. Kubo ? Director of Human Resources.? Kubo has over 22 years of experience in the human resources and labor relations arena.?? She served as the Human Resources Manager/Labor Relations for the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, as a Field Officer for the Hawaii Government Employees Association, and as an Unemployment Insurance Specialist for the State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.? She is knowledgeable on personnel management and administration, private and public sector collective bargaining laws, and workplace issues.

Pamela Witty Oakland ? Director of Community Services.?? Witty Oakland served as Vice President of Asset Management for the St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii.? In that position, she managed leasing and property management teams for a $78 million real estate portfolio, developed and implemented a resident service coordination program for fixed income seniors, and directed the financing, development and construction of the Franciscan Vistas Ewa project which was financed with low-income housing tax credits and tax-exempt bonds.? Prior to the work at St. Francis, she was a legislative researcher for the Senate President and an executive assistant to the City Council Chair.

?Mark Knapp Rigg ? Director of Emergency Services.? Rigg has served with the Emergency Services Department for 30 years.? He started as a paramedic in 1982 and worked his way up as a unit supervisor and field operations supervisor.? He most recently served as the Deputy Director, responsible for budget preparation and management, administration of collective bargaining agreements, personnel management and external relations.? He is a licensed Emergency Medical Technician ? Paramedic, and a Mobile Intensive Care Technician/Mobile Emergency Care.

?Ross S. Sasamura ? Director of Facility Maintenance.?? Sasamura returns to the Department of Facility Maintenance as Director after a decade of working in the private sector.? He recently served as Senior Account Executive and Senior Vice President and COO of Heide & Cook, where he managed, supervised and had oversight of the company's construction projects involving mechanical systems, such as air conditioning, ventilation, fire sprinkler and plumbing systems.? He also had oversight of company facilities, equipment and materials.? Sasamura is a licensed professional engineer (mechanical).

Chris T. Takashige ? Director of Design and Construction.? Takashige becomes the Director of Design and Construction after serving as its Deputy since 2011.? He assisted the director in managing the general operations and supervising employees.? He was responsible for overseeing the management of capital improvement projects for city departments, with the total number of projects at any given time ranging from 600-800.? Examples include road repair and reconstruction, wastewater collection and plant systems, street and parking lot lighting, police and fire stations, community parks structures, pedestrian and vehicular bridges, and flood control and storm drainage systems.

The director positions of the following departments are yet to be filled.? Until that time, the current deputy or other senior manager will assume the responsibilities and duties of the director.

Corporation Counsel

Budget and Fiscal Services

Enterprise Services

Information Technology

Medical Examiner

Parks and Recreation

Planning and Permitting

The directors of the Board of Water Supply, Emergency Management, HART, and Chiefs of the Fire Police Departments are not appointed by the Mayor.

Copyright 2012 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/20465630/mayor-elect-kirk-caldwell-announces-key-historical-appointments

words with friends words with friends phlebotomy dog show best in show bret michaels bret michaels

UConn beats Washington 61-53

by Associated Press

KING5.com

Posted on December 29, 2012 at 10:46 PM

HARTFORD, Conn.? -- Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie signed a long-term contract Saturday, then walked onto the court to a standing ovation and watched his team improve to 10-2 with a fourth straight win.

"It was a good day in my life," said Ollie.

Shabazz Napier scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help Connecticut over Washington 61-53 on Saturday in the final nonconference game of the year for both teams.

Omar Calhoun led UConn with 14 points and Ryan Boatright added 12 to help the Huskies to their fourth consecutive win.

Scott Suggs had 15 to lead Washington (8-5), which lost for the first time in five games.

UConn's win came hours after Ollie agreed to a new 5 1/2-year contract worth just under $7 million. Ollie had been coaching under a one-season deal that he signed after taking over from Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun in September.

"We got excited for him, and we wanted to give him his first career win as UConn's new long-term head coach," said Napier.

Ollie said his legs were shaking during the standing ovation as the student section chanted his name.

"I was excited for the moment," he said. "I just never thought it could happen for a guy out of South Central Los Angeles, to be up here at UConn and be a head basketball coach.?

UConn held Washington star C.J. Wilcox to just five points on 2-of-12 shooting. Wilcox, who came in scoring more than 19 points per game, had scored 20 or more in three straight games and seven of the Huskies' last eight.? He had scored in double figures in every game this season.

"C.J. had some looks that he normally doesn't miss," said Washington coach Lorenzo Romar. "A lot of his shots were contested early, then after that he had some wide open looks that he couldn't get to go down. But that wasn't just C.J.? It seemed like it was the story of our team tonight.?

Connecticut held Washington to season lows in points and field goal percentage at 29.7 percent (19 of 64). Washington hit just 4 of 17 3-pointers.

UConn also outrebounded Washington 40-36. Connecticut had been outrebounded in 10 of their first 11 games by an average of over six rebounds per game.

"We were just trying to hit first," said Enosch Wolf, who finished with nine boards. "I was just trying to get every ball that I could. That was my mindset going in.?

Connecticut stretched a five-point halftime lead by scoring the first seven points of the second half to go up 38-26. Its 15-2 run was capped by a 3-point shot by Napier from the corner.

UConn pushed that lead to 14 on Omar Calhoun's layup with 15 minutes to play.

But Shawn Kemp Jr. had a layup, a dunk and a blocked shot to help close that gap to 48-44 and force a UConn timeout with 8:15 to play.

Washington stayed within five before jumpers by Boatright and Omar Calhoun stretched it back to nine with just over 3 minutes left and put an exclamation point on the game with an ally-oop dunk from Omar Calhoun to the 7-foot-1 Wolf.

A layup by Wilcox cut the lead to six with 32 seconds left, but Omar Calhoun hit two free throws on the other end to seal it.

"We worked hard the whole year just for (Ollie) to get this bonus deal," Omar Calhoun said. "He definitely deserved the extension, so I'm happy for him.?

Washington had jumped to an early 16-10 lead as UConn missed some early free throws, including four on one play.

Those were shot after Aziz N'Diaye picked up a technical foul for kicking Omar Calhoun after fouling him on a drive to the basket.

Despite the missed free throws, UConn went on an 11-0 run, highlighted by a steal and double-clutch layup from Napier, to take a 21-16 lead.

But Connecticut missed all seven of its first-half attempts from 3-point range and Washington stayed in the game despite having both N'Diaye and Abdul Gaddy in foul trouble. Gaddy picked up his third foul with just under 4 minutes left in the half and ended up fouling out.

Washington trailed Connecticut 31-26 at halftime.

Washington fell to 1-2 in Connecticut this season. They beat Seton Hall and lost to Ohio State in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament in nearby Uncasville in November.

They dropped to 2-13 in games played in the Eastern Time Zone under coach Lorenzo Romar.

UConn visits Marquette for its Big East Opener on New Year's Day, while Washington opens the Pac-12 season at Washington State on Jan. 5.

The game was played in front of a crowd thinned by a storm that was expected to dump more than eight inches of snow on Hartford Saturday evening.

Jim Calhoun, who retired in September, missed his first game this season, vacationing in Florida. Ollie said he tried to reach his mentor by telephone on Saturday to tell him about his new deal.

"I think he's on the 14th hole in Miami," Ollie said. "But wherever he is at, I know he's got a great big smile on his face.?

?

Source: http://www.king5.com/sports/UConn-beats-Washington-61-53-185190632.html

project x the lorax lorax fisker karma super tuesday states shepard fairey is snooki pregnant

Makers of $99 Android-Powered Game Console Ship First 1,200 'Ouyas'

Like Nintendo's Wii U game console, the Ouya (that's "OOH-yuh") has an unusual name and even more unusual hardware. The console is roughly the size of a Rubik's cube, and is powered by Android, Google's open-source operating system that's normally found on smartphones and tablets.

Ouya's makers, who are preparing the console for its commercial launch, encourage interested gamers to pop the case open and use it in electronics projects ... or even to write their own games for it. Especially if they're among the 1,200 who are about to receive their own clear plastic Ouya developer consoles.

Not exactly a finished product

The limited-edition consoles, which have been shipped out to developers already, are not designed for playing games on. They don't even come with any.

Rather, the point of these consoles is so that interested Android developers can write games for the Ouya, which will then be released to gamers when the console launches to the public. Fans who pledged at least $1,337 to Ouya's record-breaking Kickstarter project will get one, and while they're not quite suited for playing games on -- "we know the D-pad and triggers on the controller still need work," Ouya's makers say -- the clear plastic developer consoles serve as a preview of what the finished product will look like, and a reminder of Ouya's "openness."

You keep using that word ...

In the food and drug industries, terms like "organic" and "all-natural" are regulated so that only products which meet the criteria can have them on their labels. In the tech world, however, anyone can claim that their product is "open," for whatever definition of "open" they like.

The term was popularized by the world's rapid adoption of open-source software, like Android itself, where you're legally entitled to a copy of the programming code and can normally use it in your own projects (like Ouya's makers did). But when tech companies say that something is "open," they don't necessarily mean that the code or the hardware schematics use an open-source license.

How Ouya is "open"

Ouya's makers have released their ODK, or developer kit, under the same open-source license as Android itself. This allows aspiring game developers to practice their skills even without a developer console, and to improve the kit however they want. The hardware itself is currently a "closed" design, however, despite the clear plastic case. The makers have expressed enthusiasm for the idea of hardware hackers using it in projects, and have said, "We'll even publish the hardware design if people want it," but so far they haven't done so.

What about the games?

The most relevant aspect of "openness" to normal gamers is that Ouya's makers say "any developer can publish a game." This model is unusual for the console world, where only select studios are allowed to publish their wares on (for instance) the PlayStation Network, but is more familiar to fans of the anything-goes Google Play store for Android. Several big-name Android developers -- including console game titan Square-Enix -- have already signed up to have their wares on the Ouya.

Preordered Ouya game consoles (the normal ones, not the developer edition) will ship in April. They will cost $99 once sales are opened to the general public.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/makers-99-android-powered-game-console-ship-first-225900829.html

eric holder eric holder carole king crystal renn matilda cab calloway melissa gilbert

Here's to happy travelling 2013! - Travel insurance for pre-existing ...

The travel trade will be hoping for a better start to the New Year than they got this year.? 2012 had barely started when we were all shocked by the awful Costa Concordia disaster.? On the 13^th of January the cruise ship, with 4,252 passengers and crew on board, ran aground off Italy.? The rocks tore a huge gash in the ship?s hull causing it to take on water and start to sink; this resulted in the deaths of 32 people.? The disaster happening a couple of months before the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic did not help with cruise holiday makers confidence. ?

As 2012 is drawing to a close there is more worry for the cruise industry with the reported breakout of the Norovirus on a few cruise ships turning dreams holidays into disasters.? When these viruses strike they can spread very quickly in a confined space such as a cruise ship, people with symptoms are generally confined to cabins. This means that although they are on holiday all they are able to look at is the four walls of their cabin, they are not allowed up on deck for fresh air, and even in ports they are still asked to remain in cabin to try and holt the spread, which could also mean missing excursions etc., they have already paid for.

Becoming ill on holiday is normally just down to bad luck, but if you have the correct travel insurance policy in place, this can soften the financial blow.? For example if any of our medical conditions travel insurance customers are going on a cruise holiday we would always recommend that they take out a specific cruise travel insurance policy, which will pay you a daily amount for the days you are confined to cabin if you are taken ill and will also reimburse you for any excursions you are unable to go on due to being confined to cabin.

So here is to happy and healthy travelling in 2013, but remember to buy the travel insurance policy best suitable for your needs and the holiday you are going on.? Then if the worst does happen you have a back up.

Source: http://blog.insurancewith.com/2012/12/heres-to-happy-travelling-2013.html

Dedication 4 labor day college football scores khan academy Espn College Football Eddie Murphy died Suzanne Barr

2014 Honda Plug-in Hybrid Accord First To Meet California's ...

California?s Air Resources Board has approved the 2014 Honda Plug-In Hybrid Accord as the first car for sale in California to meet ARB?s SULEV20 standard.

The 2014 Honda Plug-In Hybrid Accord produces 20 milligrams of combined smog-forming emissions per mile. This makes it the first gasoline-powered car in California to meet what is known as the SULEV20 standard, the most stringent in the nation and one-third cleaner (in terms of smog-forming pollution) than the previous lowest state standard.

In addition, the ARB says this Honda model has lower greenhouse gas emissions than the fleet average standard required by all cars in 2025, the equivalent of a 50-percent reduction from current required levels.

?Once again, Honda is the first to comply with ARB?s most stringent standard,? said Tom Cackette, ARB?s Deputy Executive Officer and head of the mobile source program. ?Honda has demonstrated that a dedicated commitment to the environment and advanced engineering at every level of the company can deliver the cleanest cars well ahead of schedule.?

ARB stated that Honda has a history of being the first manufacturer to comply with California?s strict emission standards. In 1995, the 1996 Civic was the first certified Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) gasoline vehicle. In 1997, the 1998 Accord was the first certified ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV) gasoline vehicle. The following year, in 1999, the 2000 Accord was the first certified Super Ultra-low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) gasoline vehicle. In 2001, the 2001 Civic GX powered by compressed natural gas was the first certified Advanced Technology Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle (AT PZEV). And in 2002, the 2003 Civic Hybrid was the first certified Advanced Technology Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle (AT PZEV) hybrid vehicle.

The Executive Order allowing Honda to sell the newly certified ultra-clean cars in California was signed on December 21, following a detailed examination of emissions and performance test results. Honda began production of the car that same day.

As a result of the technology in its design, the full-size sedan model achieves 124 MPGe city / 105 MPGe highway in hybrid mode, and 47 MPG city / 46 MPG highway in standard (gas only) mode.

The ARB stated that the low emissions standards that this Honda model meets are part of California?s Advanced Clean Cars package of regulations, adopted in January 2012, that will ensure increasingly cleaner cars for sale in the state, and provide for increased choices of zero-emission vehicles.

The ARB believes that when fully in force in 2025, the new set of standards will reduce smog-causing pollutants from low-emission vehicles 75 percent from current levels, and greenhouse gases by 34 percent. This will result in less overall vehicle emissions and cleaner air, along with more efficient cars that will ultimately require less fossil fuel to operate.

The new requirements will save California drivers $5 billion in operating costs in 2025, and $10 billion by 2030 when more advanced cars are on the road, according to the ARB.

Source: http://www.hybridcars.com/2014-honda-plug-in-hybrid-accord-first-to-meet-californias-sulev20/

andrej pejic steve jobs fbi safehouse brown recluse brown recluse front door alyssa bustamante

ballsam ? Antiques: Auction Lots, Including Frank Family Letters, to ...

? A 1960s concrete map of the Gettysburg battlefield, studded with light bulbs that flashed to show troop movements, had been chopped up when the government auctioned it in September. The 12-ton topographical piece had been removed from a battlefield visitor center and stashed in trailers, but after preservationists set up a protest Web site, savetheelectricmap.com, the General Services Administration offered it in an online auction, illustrated with a few grainy photos.

Scott Roland, a developer in nearby Hanover, Pa., paid about $14,000 for it, bidding against an unidentified rival. The segments have been hoisted by crane and reassembled at a 1950s brick bank in Hanover, which is being converted into a conference and visitor center. Mr. Roland?s team plans to reactivate the map by next summer, in time for Hanover?s 250th anniversary and the 150th anniversary of Civil War battles in the region. The mechanisms will be rebuilt from scratch. ?The wiring is all cut and ruined,? Mr. Roland said in a phone interview.

? In March furniture historians were surprised to learn that the Centennial Museum at the University of Texas at El Paso had pairs of 1880s gilded chairs from a Vanderbilt home lingering in storage since the 1960s. A luxury-cabinetmaking team in Manhattan, the German-born half-brothers Christian and Gustave Herter, had produced the armchairs, studded with mother-of-pearl, and leafy side chairs for William H. Vanderbilt?s town house on Fifth Avenue.

The museum sold the four for a total of about $363,000 through Charlton Hall Auctioneers in South Carolina. Margot Johnson, a Manhattan dealer specializing in Herter material, acquired them for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (She kept one armchair for her inventory.) The Met is planning conservation work on the gilding and fringed velvety red upholstery and an exhibition about Herter achievements under Vanderbilt patronage.

? In the 1950s the Austrian-born actor Joseph Schildkraut played Anne Frank?s father, Otto, on screen, and he amassed research files of Frank family letters dating to the 1930s. ?His widow consigned the material to a Doyle New York auction, slated for November, with an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000.

The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam persuaded the family to cancel the auction, and it raised an undisclosed sum in the estimate range to acquire the lot, which also includes movie memorabilia. The paperwork documents that Otto Frank desperately feared Nazism before the war and tried to emigrate through contacts in Britain and the United States.

?It?s an important part of the history of the Frank family,? Teresien da Silva, the head of collections at the Anne Frank House, said in a phone interview. The museum is sorting the archive for Web site postings and exhibitions about the family?s prewar life and movie versions of their story.

? Bradford Edwards, an artist and art collector long based in Vietnam, focused on 1960s Zippo cigarette lighters that belonged to American soldiers. The metal sheaths are engraved with longings for sex, marijuana, enemies? violent deaths, peace and home. Mr. Edwards consigned 282 of them to a June sale at Cowan?s Auctions in Cincinnati (estimated at $30,000 to $50,000 for the group).

When they did not sell, the auction house owner, Wes Cowan, persuaded the Manhattan collector John R. Monsky to spend $35,250 for the lot, so that it would not be broken up. Mr. Cowan said, in effect, ?This is your patriotic duty,? Mr. Monsky said during a recent tour of the collection, which was laid out in neat rows on his dining table, like a military cemetery. ?Each one of them is like a little emotion,? he said, while hunting for a favorite, marked with a peace sign and ?WHY ME.?

He plans to have them mounted for traveling exhibitions, with searchable databases of engravings and owners? biographies.

? Rumors among ?Star Trek? fans had persisted for decades that a huge 1960s prop from the television series had survived. The model for the show?s Galileo shuttlecraft, about 24 feet long, was used for scenes of crews and visitors in transit; assorted villains destroyed it in episode after episode.

The actual wood and metal box ended up left outdoors in Ohio and was badly eroded when it came up for sale in June at Kiki Auctions in Canton, Ohio. Adam Schneider, a management consultant in New York, paid about $70,000 for it, and Master Shipwrights in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., is now restoring it. (Mr. Schneider collects spaceship models from ?Star Trek? sets and displays them at home, complete with reactivated lights glowing in the windows.)

Galileo?s metal frame and landing gear are salvageable, but the shell and trapezoidal sliding doors will have to be largely replaced. Mr. Schneider is researching every detail, down to the paint used on the original exterior lettering, he said during a recent tour of the shipwrights? workshop. He plans to donate the vehicle to a museum. ?It?s a fabulous children?s exhibit, in the right hands,? he said.

? No one is sure who made a little blue glass creamer now on view at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, N.Y. But it was probably produced in Philadelphia and definitely after 1794, the date on an American penny rattling around in the creamer?s hollow base. In August it sold for $82,600 at Northeast Auctions in Manchester, N.H. The consignor?s family had acquired it in the 1860s, and the penny?s date may have commemorated an original owner?s birthday or anniversary.

Corning owns other glass vessels with coins sealed inside, but American pieces are extraordinarily rare. The museum also invested in another major blue glass object this year: a profile of Akhenaten molded around 1340 B.C. (it cost about $332,000 at Christie?s in London in April), now on view with a glass head, most likely of his forebear Amenhotep II.

Source: http://ballsam.com/?p=938

real housewives of beverly hills Pink Floyd 12 12 12 Concert miley cyrus miley cyrus amazing race Cam Cameron

Job Market Insight: The Best Careers For Women in 2013 | Madame ...

Shutterstock.com

Planning on looking for a new job in 2013? You are not alone. According to recent surveys, more than over 80 percent of workers said they planned to look for a new job in the New Year, reports Forbes. And 60 percent said they wanted to change career paths.?And it appears more women will be making career shifts. ?For the last few years, more women than men have pursued MBAs in order to make a mid-career switch,? states the magazine.

So what fields should you look into? Forbes has the answer. They just released the ?The 10 Best Jobs For Women In 2013? list. The magazine based the ranking on jobs satisfaction, salary, projected growth as well as annual openings. The data was analyzed by jobs expert Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., author of Best Jobs For The 21st Century.

Topping the list were jobs in health care, which is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. economy and dominated by women. What was surprising, writes Forbes is that most of the jobs on the roundup ?are high-level professional jobs requiring a major education and time commitment. For example, lawyers and judges and top-level managers and executives ? jobs known for long hours and a lot of stress ? have some of the highest satisfaction levels among women.?

Also, some of the best jobs for women are ones where women are in the minority of workers, such as actuaries (only 29 percent are women) and petroleum engineers (five percent).

There are more women in the professional ranks these days; they now earn the majority of professional and doctoral degrees, up from just 10 percent in 1961, writes Forbes. ?The number of women in law school too has increased from four percent in 1963 to 44 percent today. Women in medical school jumped from six percent to 49 percent. But as Forbes points out, women still face significant leadership and wage gaps, earning just 82 percent of what their male counterparts earn with?just one year out of college.

Here are the top five best jobs for women in 2013:

No. 1: Diagnosing Doctors (e.g. Dentists, Optometrists, Physicians)

Percentage reporting high satisfaction levels: 60%
Median salary: $121,000
Forecasted growth through 2020: 27%
Average annual openings: 79,000

No. 2: Health Professionals (e.g. Registered Nurses, Pharmacists, Dieticians)

Percentage reporting high satisfaction levels: 52%
Median salary: $70,000
Forecasted growth through 2020: 26%
Average annual openings: 141,000

No. 3: Medical Scientists*

Percentage reporting high satisfaction levels: 56%
Median salary: $76,000
Forecasted growth through 2020: 36%
Average annual openings: 4,000
*Excluding practitioners

No. 4: Lawyers and Judges

Percentage reporting high satisfaction levels: 55%
Median salary: $112,000
Forecasted growth through 2020: 10%
Average annual openings: 23,000

No. 5: Actuaries

Percentage reporting high satisfaction levels: 56%
Median salary: $91,000
Forecasted growth through 2020: 27%
Average annual openings: 2,000

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { s += 'Ads by Google
' for(i = 0; i Ads by Google
' + google_ads[i].line1 + ' ' + google_ads[i].visible_url + ' ' + google_ads[i].line2 + '?' + google_ads[i].line3 + '
'; } } if (google_ads[0].bidtype == "CPC") { /* insert this snippet for each ad call */ google_adnum = google_adnum + google_ads.length; } document.write(s); return; } google_ad_client = 'ca-pub-1940594850564020'; /* substitute your client_id (pub-#) */ google_ad_channel = '4715519412'; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_ad_type = 'text'; //google_image_size = '728x90'; google_targeting = "content"; google_feedback = 'on'; google_skip = google_adnum; /* to skip for multiple units, insert this snippet for each ad call */ // -->

Source: http://madamenoire.com/249410/job-market-insight-the-best-careers-for-women-in-2013/

associated press foster friess new orleans hornets ghost rider spirit of vengeance hornets prince johan friso windows 8 logo

Police deaths down 23 percent this year in US

Mario Tama / Getty Images

Police officers were among those injured during a confrontation with a gunman outside the Empire State Building in New York in August.

By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

The number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty fell sharply in 2012, the first full year that two Obama administration police safety programs were in effect, according to preliminary figures released Thursday.

With four days left in the year, 127 federal, state and local officers have died on the job so far, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund reported ? 23 percent fewer than the 165 who were killed last year.

The nonprofit organization keeps a comprehensive tally of all law enforcement officers who die in the line of duty, honoring them each year at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington.

Craig W. Floyd, the organization's chief executive, credited close cooperation among federal, state and local authorities in bringing a new focus on officer safety. The decline follows two years of what he called "alarming" increases.

---

"The law enforcement community has banded together with laser-like focus on peace officer safety," Floyd said in a statement.

The decline also comes during the first full year under two Obama administration police safety programs, one run by the Justice Department and one by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Law Enforcement Safety Initiative, which Attorney General Eric Holder rolled out in March 2011 after meeting with police chiefs from major U.S. cities, created an Officer Safety and Wellness unit at the Justice Department, boosted training and technical assistance for local officers and invested $25 million in 96,000 bullet-resistant vests that were distributed this year among more than 4,000 local agencies.

Read the full report (.pdf)

Firearms-related deaths fell to 49 this year, the memorial fund reported ? down a third from 72 last year and even below the 10-year average of 57 from 2001 to 2010.

Traffic-related incidents remained the biggest hazard, however, as they have been nearly every year since the late 1990s. But they, too, fell significantly, from 60 last year to 50 this year.

The NHTSA and the memorial fund launched their own Officer Safety Initiative in August 2011, funding research and public information campaigns around police safety in traffic-related incidents.?

A breakdown for 2012 wasn't reported, but the campaign noted that 42 percent of officers killed in auto crashes over the last 30 years weren't wearing safety belts. It said nearly all those deaths were preventable.

Other targets of the initiative include:

• Reducing distracted driving ? mainly officers' use of their cellphones instead of their radios, a practice many agencies prohibit that ? which the fund said was responsible for about a quarter of all police traffic deaths.
• Encouraging agencies to invest in high-visibility apparel so officers are easier to see during traffic stops at night.

Watch US News crime videos on NBCNews.com

Shootings and traffic incidents were by far the leading hazards. Third was work-related illnesses, at 14, many of them heart attacks.

Overall, the statistics indicate that, despite its dangerous image, police work isn't among the most hazardous jobs in the U.S. The death totals work out to about 1.56 per every 100,000 sworn federal, state and local officers across the country ? less than half the rate of 3.5 per 100,000 for U.S. workers in all jobs in 2011, the last year for which complete figures were available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

More content from NBCNews.com:

Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/27/16196680-police-deaths-down-23-percent-this-year-across-us?lite

ncaa basketball oikos kentucky wildcats oakland school shooting nike nfl jerseys katie couric barista

chill rhizome: johir.khan: Self-Improvement Affirmations with Self ...

Self-Improvement Affirmations with Self-Hypnosis Audios Deal! | Self ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://selfhelphypnosis.co.uk/self-improvement-affirmations-with-self-hypnosis-audios-deal

Snooki Baby terrell owens terrell owens neil armstrong little league world series us open tennis us open tennis

?? ?????? ????? ??? johir.khan ?? ???? ?:?? am ??? ???? ??????? ???? ????!Twitter-? ??? ????Facebook-? ??? ????

Source: http://johirkhan72.blogspot.com/2012/12/self-improvement-affirmations-with-self.html

tourettes gonzaga rosie o donnell soda bread recipe vanderbilt evan mathis staff sgt. robert bales

Source: http://chill-rhizome.blogspot.com/2012/12/johirkhan-self-improvement-affirmations.html

voting hours election results Doug Martin Barack Obama & Joe Biden Am I registered to vote Voter registration Election

Source: http://carleton0.posterous.com/chill-rhizome-johirkhan-self-improvement-affi

Amendment 64 marijuana huffington post elizabeth warren puerto rico diane sawyer Cnn.com

Source: http://briannaayers22.posterous.com/chill-rhizome-johirkhan-self-improvement-affi

the misfits hook troy miracle andy whitfield kennedy demi moore

Delays litter long road to vehicle rearview rules

In this Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012 photo, Judy Neiman holds a photo of her daugher, Sydnee, in front of her 2006 Cadillac Escalade at her home in West Richland, Wash. Sydnee died in late 2011 after Neiman accidentally backed over her with the SUV. Although there is a law in place that calls for new manufacturing requirements to improve the visibility behind passenger vehicles, the standards have yet to be mandated because of delays by the U.S. Department of Transportation. (AP Photo/Kai-Huei Yau)

In this Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012 photo, Judy Neiman holds a photo of her daugher, Sydnee, in front of her 2006 Cadillac Escalade at her home in West Richland, Wash. Sydnee died in late 2011 after Neiman accidentally backed over her with the SUV. Although there is a law in place that calls for new manufacturing requirements to improve the visibility behind passenger vehicles, the standards have yet to be mandated because of delays by the U.S. Department of Transportation. (AP Photo/Kai-Huei Yau)

In this Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012 photo, Paul and Judy Neiman hold a photo of their daughter, Sydnee, in her bedroom at their home in West Richland, Wash. Sydnee died in late 2011 after Judy accidentally backed over her with her SUV. Although there is a law in place that calls for new manufacturing requirements to improve the visibility behind passenger vehicles, the standards have yet to be mandated because of delays by the U.S. Department of Transportation. (AP Photo/Kai-Huei Yau)

In this Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012 photo, Judy Neiman holds a photo of her daugher, Sydnee, in front of her 2006 Cadillac Escalade at her home in West Richland, Wash. Sydnee died in late 2011 after Neiman accidentally backed over her with the SUV. Although there is a law in place that calls for new manufacturing requirements to improve the visibility behind passenger vehicles, the standards have yet to be mandated because of delays by the U.S. Department of Transportation. (AP Photo/Kai-Huei Yau)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011 file photo, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood speaks about the Toyota recalls at the Transportation Department in Washington. A 2008 law calls for new manufacturing requirements to improve the visibility behind passenger vehicles to help prevent fatal backing crashes, which the government estimates kill some 228 people every year _ 110 of them children age 10 and under - and injures another 17,000. But almost five years later, the standards have yet to be mandated because of delays by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which faced a Feb. 28, 2011, deadline to issue the new guidelines for car manufacturers. LaHood has pushed back that deadline three times - promising in February that the rules would be issued by year?s end. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

In this Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012 photo, Judy and Paul Neiman pose for a photo as she holds a photo of their daughter, Sydnee, next to a garden dedicated to her in West Richland, Wash. Sydnee died in late 2011 after Judy accidentally backed over her with her SUV. Although there is a law in place that calls for new manufacturing requirements to improve the visibility behind passenger vehicles, the standards have yet to be mandated because of delays by the U.S. Department of Transportation. (AP Photo/Kai-Huei Yau)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? In the private hell of a mother's grief, the sounds come back to Judy Neiman. The SUV door slamming. The slight bump as she backed up in the bank parking lot. The emergency room doctor's sobs as he said her 9-year-old daughter Sydnee, who previously had survived four open heart surgeries, would not make it this time.

Her own cries of: How could I have missed seeing her?

The 53-year-old woman has sentenced herself to go on living in the awful stillness of her West Richland, Wash., home, where she makes a plea for what she wants since she can't have Sydnee back: More steps taken by the government and automakers to help prevent parents from accidentally killing their children, as she did a year ago this month.

"They have to do something, because I've read about it happening to other people. I read about it and I said, 'I would die if it happens to me,'" Neiman says. "Then it did happen to me."

There is, in fact, a law in place that calls for new manufacturing requirements to improve the visibility behind passenger vehicles to help prevent such fatal backing crashes, which the government estimates kill some 228 people every year ? 110 of them children age 10 and under ? and injures another 17,000.

Congress passed the measure with strong bipartisan backing, and Republican President George W. Bush signed it in 2008.

But almost five years later, the standards have yet to be mandated because of delays by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which faced a Feb. 28, 2011, deadline to issue the new guidelines for car manufacturers. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has pushed back that deadline three times ? promising in February that the rules would be issued by year's end.

With still no action, safety advocates and anguished parents such as Neiman are asking: What's taking so long to remedy a problem recognized by government regulators and automakers for decades now?

"In a way, it's a death sentence, and for no good reason," said former Public Citizen president Joan Claybrook, who once directed the federal agency responsible for developing the rules.

The proposed regulations call for expanding the field of view for cars, vans, SUVs and pickup trucks so that drivers can see directly behind their vehicles when in reverse ? requiring, in most cases, rearview cameras and video displays as standard equipment.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, charged with completing the new standards, declined requests to discuss the delays. Spokeswoman Karen Aldana said the agency would not comment while the rulemaking process was ongoing but was on track to meet LaHood's latest cutoff date. In a letter to lawmakers in February, LaHood said his agency needed more time for "research and data analysis" to "ensure that the final rule is appropriate and the underlying analysis is robust."

Others insist the issue is money, and reluctance to put any additional financial burdens on an industry crippled by the economic crisis. Development of the new safety standards came even as the Obama administration was pumping billions of dollars into the industry as part of its bailout package.

"They don't want to look at anything that will cost more money for the automobile industry," said Packy Campbell, a former Republican state lawmaker from New Hampshire who lobbied for the law.

NHTSA has estimated that making rear cameras standard on every car would add $58 to $88 to the price of vehicles already equipped with dashboard display screens and $159 to $203 for those without them.

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a lobbying group that represents automakers, puts the total cost to the industry at about $2 billion a year. Last December, the group met with White House budget officials to propose a less expensive alternative: reserving cameras for vehicles with extra-large blind zones and outfitting the rest with curved, wide-angle exterior mirrors.

The alliance declined comment, but earlier this year the group's vice president, Gloria Bergquist, told The Associated Press that it urged the government to explore more options as a way to reduce the costs passed on to consumers.

"There are a variety of tools that could be used," she said, adding that automakers also were concerned that the cumulative effect of federal safety regulations is driving up the average price of a new car, now about $25,000.

Industry analysts also question whether cameras are needed on smaller, entry-level class cars with better rearview visibility.

"It may just be a couple hundred dollars, but it can grow pretty significantly if you are talking about ... an inexpensive car that was not originally conceived to have all these electronics and was only going to have a simple car stereo," said Roger Lanctot, an automotive technology specialist.

Before the delays, all new passenger vehicles were to carry cameras and video displays by September 2014. The industry has now asked for two more years after the final rules are published to reach full compliance.

Despite its resistance, the industry on its own has been installing rearview cameras, a feature first popularized two decades ago in Japan and standard on nearly 70 percent of new cars produced there this year. In the United States, 44 percent of 2012 models came with rear cameras standard, and 27 percent had them as options, according to the automotive research firm Edmunds.

Nine in 10 new cars had console screens available, according to market research firm iSuppli, which would put the price of adding a camera on the low end of the NHTSA's estimates.

These backing crashes are hardly a new phenomenon. Emergency room doctors, the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the NHTSA have produced dozens of papers on the problem since the 1980s.

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, started looking into the issue in the 1990s after noticing toddlers showing up in hospital databases of injured child pedestrians. They found that many of those children had been killed or hurt by vehicles backing out of home driveways.

In 1993, the NHTSA sponsored several studies that noted the disproportionate effect of backup accidents on child victims. One report explored sensors and cameras as possible solutions, noting the accidents "involve slow closing speeds and, thus, may be preventable." Still another 1993 report estimated that 100 to 200 pedestrians are killed each year from backing crashes, most of them children.

Three years later, Dee Norton, a reporter at The Seattle Times, petitioned the NHTSA to require improved mirrors on smaller commercial trucks and vans after his 3-year-old grandson was killed by a diaper delivery truck that backed over him.

The NHTSA started looking into technology as a solution, but in one proposal ? issued in November 2000 ? it noted that sensors, cameras and monitors were still expensive and promised to later reevaluate the feasibility of such emerging technologies.

Adding to the scrutiny were studies by Consumer Reports magazine, which started measuring "blind zones" to determine how far away a toddler-sized traffic cone had to be before a driver looking though the rear window could see it. The research found an overall trend of worsening rear visibility ? due in part to designs favoring small windows and high trunk lines, said Tom Mutchler, the magazine's automotive engineer.

"Cameras are basically the only technology that is going to let you see something right behind the bumper," he said.

With a growing body of research, better statistics and inaction by regulators, advocates such as Janette Fennell, president of a safety group called Kids and Cars, and Sally Greenberg, then with Consumers Union, turned to Congress for a solution.

In 2003, U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-New York, introduced the Cameron Gulbransen Kids and Cars Safety Act, named for a 2-year-old Long Island boy whose pediatrician father backed over him in their driveway. Five years later, it finally became law.

While no one doubts that cameras could help reduce deaths, they aren't regarded as a perfect solution either.

One recent study by a researcher at Oregon State University found that only one in five drivers used a rearview camera when it was available, but 88 percent of those who did avoided striking a child-sized decoy.

In its proposed rule, the NHTSA estimated that rearview video systems could substantially reduce fatal backing crashes ? by at least 95 a year ? and result in at least 7,000 fewer injuries.

Judy Neiman's 2006 Cadillac Escalade didn't have any cameras installed. They weren't added as an optional package until the following model year. Instead, her vehicle was equipped with a "rear parking assist system" ? bumper sensors, an alarm and lights that are supposed to go off within five feet of objects or people.

Neither Neiman nor the 10-year-old neighbor boy who had accompanied her and her daughter to the bank on Dec. 8, 2011, would recall hearing any alert, according to a police report.

Sydnee was carrying her purple plastic piggy bank and account book, so she could deposit $5 from her weekly allowance. After the transaction, Neiman slid behind the wheel and waited for the children. She heard the door slam, then saw the boy sitting on the right side of the back seat as she put the car into reverse.

She figured Sydnee was seated behind the driver's seat. Instead, the boy had gotten in first, telling Sydnee to go around and get in from the left side. He would later tell a police investigator that the girl had dropped her piggy bank on her way around the SUV.

Even if she were upright, at 4-feet-3-inches tall, Sydnee would have been practically invisible through the rear window, the bottom edge of which was a few inches taller than she was.

As the first anniversary of her daughter's death passed, Neiman hoped that sharing her story might spare other parents from enduring the pain she feels every day.

She tortures herself by replaying a conversation she had with Sydnee the summer before she died. Her daughter always had taken her heart condition, a congenital defect, in stride. She never complained or showed fear, despite her many surgeries.

Then one night Sydnee started crying, and she wouldn't tell her mother what was troubling her until the next morning.

"She said, 'I don't want to die, Mom,' and when she died, that's all I could think about. She didn't want to die," Neiman says. "She survived four open heart surgeries. If God had taken her at that time, I could accept it. But who could take her with her being hit by my car? And my hitting her?"

___

Associated Press writer Joan Lowy in Washington, D.C., contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-12-26-Rearview%20Rules/id-03e60ed67466450d8a96c7c2fd4c88f5

jeff carter chomp national enquirer kate gosselin helicopter crash matt jones whitney houston in casket photo

Kazakhstan military plane crashes, killing 27

MOSCOW (AP) ? Kazakhstan's acting border service chief was among 27 people killed in a military plane crash Tuesday near a southern city, another blow to the agency after he was appointed in June to deal with the aftermath of a mass killing involving a conscript.

The Russian-made An-72 crashed at 1255 GMT (7:55 a.m. EST) about 20 kilometers (12 miles) away from the city of Shymkent near the border with Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan's Committee for National Security said in a statement.

The fatalities included a crew of seven and 20 border guards, including the acting head of the ex-Soviet nation's border protection service, Col. Turganbek Stambekov, the statement said.

Without specifying further details, authorities said an investigation was opened into the crash. No cause was given, but southern Kazakhstan over recent weeks has been buffeted by winds, heavy snows and low temperatures, causing widespread flight delays.

Stambekov was appointed acting head of the border service in June, after a mass killing of 14 frontier troops in a remote Kazakh outpost near China the month before. Vladislav Chelakh, a 20-year-old conscript, was sentenced earlier this month to life in prison after being found solely responsible for the killings.

The border service has come under close scrutiny in Kazakhstan since the killings, which many argued showed the lack of readiness and professionalism among serving troops. Legislation approved Thursday by the upper house of parliament and supported by Stambekov was designed to improve the process for selecting conscripts for the service.

The Kazakh-Uzbek border stretches 2,200 kilometers (1,350 miles) of Central Asian steppes and deserts.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kazakhstan-military-plane-crashes-killing-27-155634042.html

Gus Malzahn hyperemesis gravidarum miranda kerr lindsay lohan Ronda Rousey BCS Bowls palestine

SCRAPBOOKING AND CHRISTMAS ? A MATCH MADE IN ...

By Administrator on Dec 24, 2012 in Home and Family

Handmade cards are always extra special ? so why not show off your scrapbooking skills this Christmas with some beautiful and unique creations for friends and family?

Giving a handmade card is a wonderful way of expressing your personal thoughts and demonstrating to people how much they mean to you.? Card making is rewarding in more ways than one?you can save money too.

And you don?t have to be a scrapbooking expert either when it comes to card making.? ??There are thousands and thousands of websites with a huge range of ideas and illustrations for paper crafts and Christmas ideas, from the craft supplies stores to scrapbooking blogs ? and many of these also have really easy-to-follow tutorials demonstrating how to make cards etc.

Many of the craft store websites and scrapbooking blogs will also have templates for card-making to get you started.

For those who already do scrapbooking, making Christmas cards is a wonderful way of using up all those bits and pieces that you?ve accumulated during the year.? Don?t just think about patterned paper?you can use just about anything for card making and crafting?.lace, ribbon, felt, magazine cuttings, cotton wool, ice cream sticks, fabric scraps, stencils, glitter, marker pens, aluminium foil?the only limit is your imagination.

But don?t forget to match your card to an envelope before you get creative!

Card making can also be a fun way of entertaining kids after all the hullabaloo of Christmas is over?they can make their own ?thank you? cards from your craft supply box in appreciation of their gifts

So, with Christmas around the corner, don?t cut corners when it comes to spreading festive cheer and goodwill?jump online to the craft supply websites and start making your own personalised cards for friends and family to treasure.

Source: http://www.mylife-coach.net/6625/scrapbooking-and-christmas-a-match-made-in-heaven/

ron paul maine safe house jay z and beyonce baby cpac powell the last lecture kim jong un

Source: http://fseneiuni.posterous.com/scrapbooking-and-christmas-a-match-made-in

adastra holocaust remembrance day chesapeake energy dick clark death yom hashoah yolo liquidmetal

Women's Health USA ? January/February 2013 - Release BB

Women?s Health is the must-read magazine for women who want to live life to its fullest. Every issue of the magazine is a manual to better, healthier living in two key respects?physically and emotionally. Women?s Health magazine is your source of information on fitness, nutrition, sex and relationships, style, beauty and more. With success strategies, fitness tips and fashion and career advice, the magazine encourages readers to take charge and conquer all aspects of life. Each issue has something different to offer, such as healthy, delicious recipes and fun weekend activity ideas. Edited for a well-rounded readership, Women?s Health focuses on providing realistic goals and covering the issues most relevant to today?s modern woman.

Women?s Health USA ? January/February 2013
English | 164 Pages | PDF | 75 MB
Torrent Search ? NETLOAD ? UPLOADED ? RAPiDGATOR

none Women?s Health USA ? January/February 2013 Full Download

Women?s Health USA ? January/February 2013 is available on a new fast direct download service with over 2,210,000 Files to choose from.Download anything with more then 1000+ Kb/s downloading speed.Signup process takes just 10 sec to go.Signup today and enjoy the speed !

Source: http://www.rlsbb.com/womens-health-usa-januaryfebruary-2013/

Zeek Rewards elvis presley elvis presley vanessa bryant vanessa bryant Prince Harry naked Prince Harry Vegas

NKorea rocket launch shows young leader as gambler

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) ? A triumphant North Korea staged a mass rally of soldiers and civilians Friday to glorify the country's young ruler, who took a big gamble this week in sending a satellite into orbit in defiance of international warnings.

Wednesday's rocket launch came just eight months after a similar attempt ended in an embarrassing public failure, and just under a year after Kim Jong Un inherited power following the death of his father.

The surprising success of the launch may have earned Kim global condemnation, but at home, the gamble paid off, at least in the short term. To his people, it made the 20-something Kim appear powerful, capable and determined in the face of foreign adversaries.

Workers' Party Secretary Kim Ki Nam told the crowd, bundled up against a winter chill in the heart of the capital, that "hostile forces" had dubbed the launch a missile test. He denied the claim and called on North Koreans to stand their ground against the "cunning" critics.

In response, the tens of thousands of North Koreans who packed snowy Kim Il Sung Square clenched their fists in a unified show of resolve as a military band tooted horns and pounded on drums.

Huge red banners positioned in the square called on North Koreans to defend Kim Jong Un with their lives. They also paid homage to Kim Jong Un's father, Kim Jong Il, and his grandfather, North Korean founder Kim Il Sung.

Pyongyang says the rocket put a crop and weather monitoring satellite into orbit. Much of the rest of the world sees it as a thinly disguised test of banned long-range missile technology. It could bring a fresh round of U.N. sanctions that would increase his country's international isolation. At the same time, the success of the launch could strengthen North Korea's military, the only entity that poses a potential threat to Kim's rule.

To his people, the launch's success, 14 years after North Korea's first attempt, shows more than a little of the gambling spirit in the third Kim to rule North Korea since it became a country in 1948.

"North Korean officials will long be touting Kim Jong Un as a gutsy leader" who commanded the rocket launch despite being new to the job and young, said Kim Byung-ro, a North Korea specialist at Seoul National University in South Korea.

The propaganda machinery churned into action early Friday, with state media detailing how Kim Jong Un issued the order to fire off the rocket just days after scientists fretted over technical issues, ignoring the chorus of warnings from Washington to Moscow against a move likely to invite more sanctions.

Top officials followed Kim's suit in defiantly shrugging off the international condemnation of the launch.

Workers' Party Secretary Kim Ki Nam told the crowd Friday that "hostile forces" had dubbed the launch a missile test. He rejected the claim, and rallied North Koreans to stand their ground against the "cunning" critics.

North Korea called the satellite a gift to Kim Jong Un's late father, Kim Jong Il, who is said to have set the lofty goal of getting a satellite into space and then tapped his son to see it into fruition. The satellite, which North Korean scientists say is designed to send back data about crops and weather, was named Kwangmyongsong, or "Lode Star" ? the nickname legendarily given to the elder Kim at birth.

Kim Jong Il died on Dec. 17, 2011, making the successful launch a fitting mourning tribute. State TV have been replaying video of the launch to "Song of Gen. Kim Jong Il."

But it is the son who will bask in the glory of the accomplishment, as well as face the international censure that may follow.

Even while he was being groomed to succeed his father, Kim Jong Un had been portrayed as championing science and technology as a way to lift North Korea out of decades of economic hardship.

"It makes me happy that our satellite is flying in space," Pyongyang citizen Jong Sun Hui said as Friday's ceremony came to a close and tens of thousands rushed into the streets, many linking arms as they went.

"The satellite launch demonstrated our strong power and the might of our science and technology once again," she told The Associated Press. "And it also clearly testifies that a thriving nation in our near future."

Aside from winning him support from the people, the success of the launch helps his image as he works to consolidate power over a government crammed with elderly, old-school lieutenants of his father and grandfather, foreign analysts said.

Experts say that what is unclear, however, is whether Kim will continue to smoothly solidify power, steering clear of friction with the powerful military while dealing with the strong possibility of more crushing sanctions against a country with what the United Nations calls a serious hunger problem.

"Certainly in the short run, this is an enormous boost to his prestige," according to Marcus Noland, a North Korea analyst at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

Noland, however, also mentioned the "Machiavellian argument" that this could cause future problems for Kim by significantly boosting the power of the military ? "the only real threat to his rule."

Successfully firing a rocket was so politically crucial for Kim at the onset of his rule that he allowed an April launch to go through even though it resulted in the collapse of a nascent food-aid-for-nuclear-freeze deal with the United States, said North Korea analyst Kim Yeon-su of Korea National Defense University in Seoul.

The launch success consolidates his image as inheritor of his father's legacy. But it could end up deepening North Korea's political and economic isolation, he said.

On Friday, the section at the rally reserved for foreign diplomats was noticeably sparse as U.N. officials and some European envoys stayed away from the celebration, as they did in April after the last launch.

Despite the success, experts say North Korea is years from even having a shot at developing reliable missiles that could bombard the American mainland and other distant targets.

North Korea will need larger and more dependable missiles, and more advanced nuclear weapons, to threaten U.S. shores, though it already poses a shorter-range missile threat to its neighbors.

The next big question is how the outside world will punish Pyongyang ? and try to steer North Korea from what could come next: a nuclear test. In 2009, a rocket launch was followed up just weeks later by an atomic explosion.

North Korea's nuclear ambitions should inspire the U.S. , China, South Korea and Japan to put aside their issues and focus on dealing with Pyongyang, Scott Snyder, a Korea specialist for the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote recently.

If there is a common threat that should galvanize regional cooperation "it most certainly should be the prospect of a 30-year-old leader of a terrorized population with his finger on a nuclear trigger," Snyder said.

____

Jon Chol Jin in Pyongyang, and Foster Klug and Sam Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report. Follow Jean H. Lee on Twitter: (at)newsjean.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nkorea-rocket-launch-shows-young-leader-gambler-062131194.html

mta schedule PECO chris christie Hurricane Sandy update weather channel mta ellen degeneres