Scientists warn US solons of cancer risk for cell phone use

WASHINGTON ( Agence France-Presse) -- Scientists on Thursday warned US legislators of the risks of brain cancer from cell phone use, highlighting the potential risk for children who use mobile phones.

"We urgently need more research," said David Carpenter, director of the Institute of Health and Environment at the University of Albany, in testimony before the House Subcommittee on Domestic Policy.

"We must not repeat the situation we had with the relationship between smoking and lung cancer," Carpenter said.

Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, said that most studies "claiming that there is no link between cell phones and brain tumors are outdated, had methodological concerns and did not include sufficient numbers of long-term cell phone users."

Many studies denying a link "defined regular cell phones as 'once a week,'" added Herberman.

"I cannot tell this committee that cell phones are definitely dangerous. But, I certainly cannot tell you that they are safe," he said.

Carpenter and Herberman both told the committee the brain cancer risk from cell phone use is far greater for children than for adults.

Herberman held up a model for lawmakers showing how radiation from a cell phone penetrates far deeper into the brain of a 5-year-old than that of an adult.

"Every child is using cell phones all of the time, and there are three billion cell phone users in the world," said Herberman.

He added that, like the messages that warn of health risks on cigarette packs, cell phones "need a precautionary message."

Noting that numerous US studies have not found a definitive cancer-phone link, Carpenter asked: "Are we at the same place we were with smoking and lung cancer 30 years ago?"

The committee were shown several European studies, particularly surveys from Scandinavia -- where the cell phone was first developed -- which show that the radiation emitted by cell phones have definite biological consequences.

For example, a 2008 study by Swedish cancer specialist Lennart Hardell found that frequent cell phone users are twice as likely to develop a benign tumor on the auditory nerves of the ear most used with the handset, compared to the other ear.

In addition, a paper published this month by the Royal Society in London found that adolescents who start using cell phones before the age of 20 were five times more likely to develop brain cancer at the age of 29 than those who didn't use a cell phone.

Teach Your Children the Value of Money

Your Child Could Become a Millionaire
This chart shows the growth, compounded at 8% monthly, of an investment of P100 per month beginning at age 4 and ending at age 18, assuming that the investment remains untouched until age 62. This example is hypothetical and does not represent the performance of any actual investment. note: the sign dollar above means peso

counterintuitive options to save money

Spend Money - just limit unnecessary purchases

Don't Stay Home in Front of the TV - take the initiative, go out build network

Don't Spend Time Learning How to Invest - put your investing on autopilot

Don't Leave Your Investments to Experts - make the final decision for your circumstances

Don't Let Salary Determine Job Choice - you're engaged and motivated.

Don't Buy What Is Cheapest - "Cheap" rarely means "the best value."

Don't Buy Things That Are on Sale - , things that are on sale are rarely the best value

Copyrighted, TheStreet.Com. All rights reserved.

problem

do we need to worry about our problem?

fact:

1. there are problem that can be solved , right?

so why worry?

2. there are problem that can't be solved, right?

so why worry?

just move on..

5 fatal behaviors

1. criticizing

2. complaining

3. comparing

4. competing

5. contending

Megalink joins Asian ATM card network

By this time next year, Filipinos traveling for business or pleasure to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia will no longer need to bring dollars that they have to exchange for the local currency in order to pay for their food or purchases.

Similarly, Filipinos living and working in these countries need not line up at remittance centers in order to send their wages to families back home.

The Megalink ATM network has been admitted into the Asian Payment Network (APN), which counts ATM networks in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia as members.

Membership in the APN, explained Megalink President and Chief Executive Benjamin P. Castillo, means linkage between Megalink and the ATM networks in these four countries to allow the depositors of Megalink-member banks to use their ATM cards, whether in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia, to withdraw cash, transfer cash or inquire about their balance or use their ATM cards as debit cards to pay for their purchases.

Conversely, nationals of these countries who are depositors of network-member banks can undertake the same transactions in the Philippines as they do back home.

The other members of APN are Network for Electronic Transfers in Singapore, Malaysian Electronic Payment System in Malaysia, National Interbank Transaction Management Exchange in Thailand, and Alto, Artajasa Pembayaran Elektronis and Rintis Sejahtera in Indonesia.

"Filipino businessmen or travelers can withdraw ringgit from an ATM in Malaysia, for debit against their peso accounts in the Philippines," Mr. Castillo said, to illustrate the the benefits of the interconnection.

Or an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) can deposit in any APN-member bank in the country where he works, for easy withdrawal by his family members back in the Philippines.

APN has decided on a "virtual private network" to interconnect among themselves, Mr. Castillo said, and Megalink will come on board early next year.

Linkages are already up and running between Malaysia and Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, while arrangements are being made for a link between Malaysia and Thailand.

APN can be an alternative to the Cirrus worldwide interbank network. APN gives access to over 20,000 ATMs, while Cirrus card holders have access to over a million ATMs in over 200 countries worldwide.

For a bank to be a member of the Cirrus network, however, it must also be a member of the Mastercard network.

Use of APN will come with a fee, said Bernadette C. Arguelles-Ramos, head of Megalink’s products and services group, but how much has not yet been decided upon.

Services that will be offered to network users will "initially" consist of balance inquiry and withdrawals but this will be expanded eventually to bills payments and money transfers.

Mr. Castillo said Bancnet and Expresslink, with which Megalink has interconnected, can also apply for membership in the APN through Megalink as their sponsor.

"This is what we hope to do in the next meeting in 2009," he said. "Alternatively, Bancnet and Expressnet may opt not to become members of APN but depositors of Bancnet- or Expressnet-member banks can still use the APN network because we are interconnected."

Megalink’s members are: AIG-Philam Savings Bank, Maybank Philippines, Asia Trust Bank, One Network Bank, Bank of Commerce, Pacific Ace Savings Bank, Development Bank of the Philippines, Philippine National Bank, Encash, Philippine Veterans Bank, Planters Development Bank, Equitable Savings Bank, Premiere Development Bank, GE Money Bank, Queen City Development Bank, GSIS Family Bank, Robinsons Savings Bank, LBC Bank, Union Bank of the Philippines, MASS-SPECC, United Coconut Planters Bank and — once its integration with Equitable PCI Bank is complete — Banco de Oro Unibank.

Bancnet, on the other hand, consists of 31 member banks, including market leader Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., while Expressnet counts the Bank of the Philippine Islands and its subsidiaries, Land Bank of the Philippines and HSBC as members. - Judy T. Gulane, BusinessWorld

AIG, JPMorgan expand BPO operations in RP despite crisis

The local outsourcing operations of troubled US insurance firm American International Group (AIG) and financial giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. will continue expanding here despite mounting concerns of a slump in the world’s largest economy.

AIG-Business Processing Services, Inc. (BPSI), which has operations in the Philippines handling all customer service requirements of its parent, said it does not expect demand to slow down. The company is hiring 1,700 more workers for a third business process outsourcing (BPO) site.

"Despite the downturn, there is still a huge opportunity since AIG is still the largest insurance company in the world," AIG-BPSI Chief Executive Officer Chris Duncan-Webb told executives at the Asia CEO Forum in Makati.

In a separate briefing, JPMorgan said it was expanding its BPO operations here to serve its American credit card clientele.

Chase, the New York-based financial giant’s brand for its credit card services, Tuesday opened its 14,050-seat call center facility, which will be housed at the New Quad Building in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

The launch marks the first phase of JPMorgan’s expansion plans in the country, five years after it tapped the Philippines for its offshore backroom operations. JPMorgan has been housed at the Philamlife Tower in Makati City since 2003.

Last week, the US Federal Reserve extended a lifeline worth $85 billion in loans — designed to help AIG meet its obligations and prevent its collapse — in exchange for an 80% stake in the company.

Fed officials said they had to act because of AIG’s extensive involvement in financial markets. Through its insurance, risk and asset management businesses, AIG has dealings with thousands of companies all over the world, so a bankruptcy would have had huge global repercussions.

As a result of the US home loan mortgage crisis, AIG has lost more than $18 billion since the year started. Its share price has fallen by more than 90%.

On the other hand, JPMorgan did not sustain as much damage from the US subprime mortgage mess by avoiding bad mortgage investments and focusing instead on its commercial and retail banking businesses.

AIG’s Mr. Duncan-Webb said the company had set up its third BPO site in Muntinlupa City, which is expected to more than double the company’s employees.

BPSI, which has 1,200 workers now, is planning to add 1,700 more employees when the site opens in December.

He said the company had prepared the site "ahead of the need," in anticipation of higher demand from its parent in the next few years.

Mr. Duncan-Webb said the Philippines "has an incredible future ahead of it, even with its small operations" in the global BPO sector.

He said the country is a good investment site for the long term. The company, he added, is confident that demand for its services from AIG would not slow down.

He also said outsourcing services have evolved into knowledge-based services from regular call center operations.

Mr. Duncan-Webb said AIG would find it hard to bring the outsourced services back to the US, where labor costs are higher.

The insurance firm is a Fortune 500 company that has over a trillion dollars in assets and around 74 million clients in 130 countries.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan said its expansion attests to its increased optimism in the Philippine eco-nomy.

"Over the years, JP Morgan will be a top employer here. This marks only the first phase of our expansion in the Philippines. The best is yet to come," Barry E. Marshall, JPMorgan senior country operations officer, said at Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"Our investment in this facility showed that we’ve done well," said Michael J. Looney, JP Morgan card service operations executive.

JPMorgan plans to grow its call center manpower to 24,000 in the long term, starting off with 2,000 by yearend. It now has 1,300 workers.

"It depends on where customer demand is," Mr. Looney said in an interview. "We will need more staff as we grow the business," he added.

The credit card arm of JPMorgan has around 50 million customers in the US. While admitting that it has been a more challenging year — with more Americans defaulting in their loan payments and the widening credit squeeze in the US dampening consumer demand — Mr. Looney was bullish about growing their credit card portfolio.

"We’re not immune to [defaults]. But we’re well positioned to weather the crisis," he said.

JP Morgan has veered away from subprime mortgage-related investments, shielding it from the financial crisis that had led to the collapse of America’s financial market pillars like Lehman Brothers.

The Philippines wants to corner a 10% share of the projected $130-billion BPO market by 2010. Business process outsourcing was a $3.3-billion industry as of 2007, with 120 companies employing at least 200,000 workers.

source:

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/122428/AIG-JPMorgan-expand-BPO-operations-in-RP-despite-crisis

Fiesta sa COGTONG Pics

Monetizing of your blog with AdSense

Why should I monetize my website?

The more success you have with your blog / website, the more time and money you're going to invest to update it and host it properly.

At some point you may think: wouldn't it just be nice to have my site pay for itself?

Well, that is actually easier to achieve than it sounds! A decent hosting plan should cost you no more than $6.95/month. However, that's quite a low figure here and most people make many many times more than that in ad revenue...

By properly monetizing your blog site it is actually possible to have it pay, not only for the hosting, but also for the time you spend working on it.

Why AdSense?

First, because AdSense is a very simple and proven solution that already pays for hundreds of thousands of blogs/websites accross the world!

Also, AdSense is provided to you by Google which not only makes it reliable but also trustworthy. Once you have earned money from Google, you can actually trust them to pay it to you!

Finally, because the ads will be contexual, i-e they will be relevant to the content of your blog/site. This way, your visitors will not be offended for seeing the ads on your site.

How do I get started?

It's as simple as that:

1. Sign up with Google AdSense. (It's totally free!) Then follow the provided instructions to put a little javascript snippet onto your blog skin or any web page you like.
   
2. When visitors view your site they see contextual text ads that automatically adjust to the contents of each page / blog post so that they are always relevant. No flashing images, just relevant text links! :)
3. When a visitor clicks on an ad link, Google records the click and you get paid for it. Get ready for a monthly check from Google ;)

Will it ruin my blog design?

You can choose the exact position and colors of the text ad blocks you place on your site.

Below are two examples of blogs that incorporate text ads and successfully pay for themselves. Judge for yourself:

• Example 1: Ad links at the end of the blog post.
• Example 2: Ad links at the top of the page.
  Note: as you can see, AdSense is not limited to English!

a word from mother teresa of calcuta

people are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered

forgive them anyway.

if your kind, people may accuse you of selfish

ulterior motives; be kind anyway

if you are successful, you will win some false friends and

some true friends ; succeed anyway

if you are honest and frank, people may cheat you

be honest anyway and frank anyway

what you spend years building,

someone could destroy evernight; build anyway

the good you do today, people will often forget tommorrow;

do good anyway

give the world your best anyway

you see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;

it was never between you and them anyway

conscience and ego

conscience is the still little voice inside/within, quiet and peaceful. ego is despotic and dictatorial and its load and even louder as you can imagine.

ego

- go for ones own survival and luxury and enhancement with the motive of excluding others

- threatened by negative feedback and interprets data for self preservation

- interpret all of life through its own agenda

conscience

- sees life as service and contribution

- open to feedback for enhancement

- teaches us that ends and means are inseparable

so ask yourself now are living with your ego or your conscience?

Life is Fair

almost all people I've talk told to me that life is unfair, life is difficult, and almost all of them are complaining about life. All of us complaining about life is unfair and difficult so THEREFORE IF ALL US ARE EXPERIENCING THIS SO LIFE IS FAIR.

to overcome this is to find inspiration - and please remember that we are not immortal life is too short, ask yourself now: will you wait for until time is up? or be inspire now and tell your self now.. why me? but Try me?

Enjoy life... enjoy yourself; it is later than you think..