Israel seizes pro-Palestinian activist ship off Gaza

AFP - Getty Images

The SV Estelle welcomes on board Greek pro-Palestinian activist Vassilis Pissias and a Greek left coalition Syriza party deputy on Tuesday bringing water supplies and compact lifeboats during an operation off the southern Greek island of Gavdos, south of Crete. Israeli naval vessels thwarted the advance of the boat on Saturday.

By NBC News wire services

JERUSALEM - The Israeli navy seized an international pro-Palestinian activist ship in the Mediterranean sea on Saturday to prevent it breaching its blockade of the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip, a military spokeswoman said.?

The ships diverted the Estelle,?a three-mast schooner,?to the nearby port of Ashdod after passengers refused to steer the vessel off its course, the military said in a statement.?

"A short while ago, Israeli naval soldiers boarded the Estelle en route to the Gaza Strip attempting to break the maritime security blockade," the statement said.?


The Estelle was carrying 30 activists from Europe, Canada and Israel, humanitarian cargo such as cement, and goodwill items such as children's books, a mission spokesman said earlier on Saturday.?

US, Israel ready for huge joint drill in Iran's shadow

Shipboard activists could not immediately be reached for comment.?

Citing a need to stem arms smuggling to Hamas and other Palestinian militants, Israel maintains a tight naval blockade of Gaza. Israel and neighboring Egypt also limit overland traffic to and from the territory.?

Israeli forces strike Gaza targets after rocket salvo

Palestinians describe the curbs as collective punishment for Gaza's 1.6 million residents and their supporters abroad have mounted several attempts to break the blockade by sea. Most were stopped by Israel, and in one May 2010 incident its marines killed nine Turkish activists in clashes aboard their ship.?

An inquiry into that incident commissioned by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon found that Israel's Gaza blockade was legal but faulted the navy for excessive force.?

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/20/14575915-israel-seizes-pro-palestinian-activist-ship-off-gaza?lite

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Matthew Rutherford '01 Is Assistant Secretary in U.S. Department of ...

By Carrie Havranek

Matthrew Rutherford '01

Matthew Rutherford ?01

An early interest in economics was a harbinger of destiny for Matthew Rutherford ?01. He nearly sprinted from advanced placement micro- and macroeconomics in high school to the White House 11 years later, within steps of President Barack Obama. Appointed assistant secretary for financial markets under Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in May, he was confirmed by the Senate in early August.

Rutherford advises Geithner on broad matters of domestic finance, financial markets, federal, state, and local finance, and federal government lending policies. He is responsible for the Treasury?s management of the public debt. He previously served as deputy assistant secretary for federal finance, overseeing the Office of Debt Management.

?Most people think that the treasury has an army of resources, but we are a limited group with a big assignment,? he says. The most significant aspect is that the conclusions he and his staff come to, the advice he provides, and the decisions he makes can change the direction of the country.

?What we?re doing is what you read about on the front page of the newspaper,? he says. ?It?s all relevant, and it?s right there in the Wall Street Journal.?

Rutherford says Lafayette prepared him well for the complex and weighty responsibilities of his job. He conducted EXCEL Scholars research with Harold M. Hochman, Simon Professor of Political Economy Emeritus, a leading authority on public sector economics and urban public finance.

?We examined how addicts make decisions, looking to see if they make decisions differently from those who aren?t addicts,? he says. This behavioral approach to economics helped shape his thinking and piqued his interest in public policy.

Rutherford considered working in the public sector, and was fascinated by Hochman?s experience doing the same?he, too, had worked in the Treasury Department. ?He encouraged me to apply to graduate school for public policy,? which was a rising field at the time. ?He didn?t want to see his students go the traditional route, banking and Wall Street and all that.?

Rutherford says his economics classes were ?helpful from a policy perspective,? whether thinking about costs and benefits, incentives, or increasingly, the behavioral side of the equation. ?Public policy is about making decisions after assessing numerous competing objectives, quantitative considerations, and the facts,? he says.

But, it was more than numbers that hooked him. Public policy touches on topics from politics and labor laws to environment and religion. It requires the ability to see the big picture, consider the context, think critically, and make difficult decisions after evaluating reams of data. That?s where the value of his history minor applies.

?I recall classes with Professor Andy Fix especially,? he says. ?Those lectures based on the Socratic method stay with me to this day. We go back and forth all day in our office, discussing issues.?

Rutherford visited campus this fall and led discussions with Investment Club, Professor Michael Kelly?s investment class, and the Fed Challenge team. He also talked informally with members of the economics faculty and honors students.

Rutherford, who holds a master?s in public policy from University of Chicago, previously worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in various roles, including debt management adviser and Treasury market analyst, and served as a Presidential Management Fellow.

Source: http://www.lafayette.edu/about/news/2012/10/19/matthew-rutherford-01-is-assistant-secretary-in-u-s-department-of-the-treasury/

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How to Respond to Legal Threats with Cute Animals

How to Respond to Legal Threats with Cute AnimalsI registered designskunkworks.com, thinking it would be a good name for an Internet product company, not realizing that Skunkworks was a real, trademarked facility run by Lockheed Martin?or that you can now threaten to sue people just for registering a domain name.

I've long been a fan of David Thorne's hilarious email exchanges on 27b/6 and wondered if the technique could be put to use in a real word scenario. Big companies don't do surreal. So when I received a nasty takedown letter from Lockheed Martin's lawyers, I sent them a picture of a kitten.

Dear *****,

I'm happy to transfer this domain, since for ethical reasons I do not wish to be associated with Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of cluster bombs and weapons of mass destruction, or any of the people such as yourselves who represent them in such a harassing manner.

The domain was bought in good faith that it was not a trademark violation, since skunkworks is a commonly used term. I do not host this domain and any monies being made from it are by the domain registrar, whom you can contact separately. Since I have no idea how to assign a domain please send detailed instructions.

Here is a picture of an 8 week old kitten taken by Sasan Geranmehr to take your mind off things How to Respond to Legal Threats with Cute Animals

Regards
David

__________________________________

Dear Mr. Galbraith:

Thank you for your cooperation. In order to transfer the domain name to Lockheed Martin, we will need you to do the following:

(1) Contact your registrar, Domain.com, and request that the domain name be unlocked;

(2) Also request that Domain.com provide you with an authorization code to transfer the domain name (this may not be available for 60 days following the registration of the domain name);

(3) Once you obtain the authorization code, please forward it to my e-mail address as well as to **************@******.com;

(4) As the administrative contact for the domain name, you will then receive an e-mail from Corporation Service Company (i.e., ****************@*******.com) asking that you approve the transfer of the domain name to Lockheed Martin Corporation. Please reply to that e-mail stating "I agree" to the domain name transfer.

We look forward to receiving the transfer authorization code.

Sincerely,

**********

__________________________________

Hi *****,

I was a bit disappointed that you didn't thank me for the nice picture of the kitten I sent you.

I thought it was a kind gesture since, after having registered a domain that I quite reasonably believed was merely a concatenation of commonly used English words, I was wrongly, distressingly and somewhat unbelievably accused of attempting to harm the business and reputation of a colossal arms manufacturer. I was also incorrectly accused of attempting to make money from this, when simple due diligence would have shown this to be false.

I'm further distressed since having done a Google search for Lockheed Martin to see if you were in fact acting for them or this was just some kind of weird practical joke, there were some really gruesome images of people with no eyes and disfiguring wounds under the title ?Lockheed Martin Cluster Bomb victim'. I need to see some pleasant and reassuring pictures of cute animals to remove these horrible images which have permeated my subconscious.

So here's the deal. I'm out of pocket $9.99 for the domain you want me to give to you and doing this transfer to gift it to you is a considerable hassle vs letting the domain lapse, as is, without me ever using it (I have cancelled automatic annual renewals and will never host any website there), which I agree to do unconditionally. I also doubt I would win a fight against someone with nuclear weapons with my Swiss Army Knife.

If you send me a link to a picture of a really cute puppy, I'll transfer the domain to you.

Best Regards

David

__________________________________

Dear Mr. Galbraith:

We appreciate your cooperation. Our client is willing to reimburse your costs for registration of the domain name if you can provide us with proof of same (e.g., receipt, invoice, etc.). We will also need you to complete the attached W9 form to process any reimbursement costs. Thank you.

Sincerely,

************

__________________________________

Hi *****,

Sorry for the delay, I was in London, which would have been nice had it not rained cats and dogs.

Speaking of which, since the costs of me providing you with what you need to process the $9.99 reimbursement you offer would exceed the amount offered, and since, without doubt, the costs for your client to process this would also exceed the amount. Further, since the costs for yourself to organize this reimbursement would also certainly exceed this, it would be both a waste of money for all parties concerned and merely a symbolic gesture.

I am sure we agree on not wasting money and I am happy that you are interested in a symbolic gesture. The picture of a puppy will be much cheaper and fill me with the joy that money simply cannot buy. It will more that recompense for the tedium of following the steps your client would like, beyond merely not doing anything with the domain DesignSkunkworks.com

I look forward to receiving a wonderful picture of a puppy (as long as it isn't a Chihuahua, or any other dog that is smaller than a domestic cat when fully grown) after which I will gladly go through the detailed instructions your client would ideally like.

Best Regards

David

__________________________________

Hi *****,

I didn't receive a response from my last email of July 24th, with the
suggestion of a settlement using puppy pictures rather than cash. I
thought I might, since your first letter contained all sorts of
terrifying crypto-intimidatory legalese like I imagine you get when
you haven't returned a library book for 36 years in a Kafka novel,
demanding "steps" and "written assurances" etc. with a deadline of
"August 6th, 2012?.

It's now September and I've received less than one puppy image.

I understand that puppy picture payment must be a more demanding
logistical problem, due to its unorthodox nature, for a corporation
like Lockheed Martin in comparison with Byzantine legal procedure or,
indeed, the manufacture of thermonuclear devices. I can comprehend
that, it's no doubt a serious business and gravitas is important

Gravitas, isn't important to me, however. I genuinely believe the
world would be a better place if eminently solvable legal disputes
were resolved by the ludicrous ritual exchange of somewhat cloyingly
saccharine pictures that nevertheless made people whose personality
has been subsumed by institutional groupthink melt like grannies
huddled round a new born.

I've invented a new term for this, Skunk Puppying.

Accordingly, if I haven't heard from you by September 17th 2012, I'll
assume that you are taking this matter no further and I'll have to get
a copyright free or Creative Commons (CC BY-SA) puppy pic, elsewhere.

All the best

David

I thought it would be good to to a Skunkpuppy logo for other people to use when skunkpuppying. If you want to reward people who send you nasty letters with pictures of cute animals, you would be free to use this under a Creative Commons license.

I was thinking something along the lines of a cartoon dog wearing a superhero outfit with his fist in the air.

David Galbraith is a designer and co-founder of several Internet companies including Yelp. He used to be an architect, working for Norman Foster. He's designed of all sorts of things from skyscrapers to software applications, but specializes in designing the obvious. He created the visual bookmark concept behind Pinterest, the one-line bios used by Twitter and Facebook, and co-created RSS.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5953224/how-to-respond-to-legal-threats-with-cute-animals

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Rwanda wins non-permanent seat on UN Security Council - African ...

Rwanda?s win of a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council has met with some controversy.

The country along with Argentina and Australia received enough votes from among the 193 member states to secure a non-permanent seat.

Each year the 15-member council, the UN?s most powerful committee, renews five of its 10 non-permanent seats, assigning them on a regional basis.

Each needed at least 129 votes and Rwanda received 148, while Australia took 140 and Argentina 182.

However, Rwanda won the seat despite a leaked UN report accusing the country of fuelling a rebellion in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rwanda?s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo has denied the accusations made in the UN report and thanked the Assembly for voting it onto the council for the first time since the genocide in the country.

Mushikiwabo said: ?The contrast could not be sharper between that previous tenure ? when a genocidal government occupied a prized? Security Council seat as its agents waged genocide back home ? and the Rwanda of today: a nation of peace, unity, progess and optimism."

MORE from African Business Review

The two remaining seats were being fought between the Asia-Pacific region, where it was between South Korea, Bhutan and Cambodia, while for the so-called Western European and Others Group, Finland and Luxembourg were vying for the last seat.

The five holders of new seats take them up in January for a two-year stint. The permanent members, wielding veto power, are the United States, China, France, Britain and Russia.

Source: http://www.africanbusinessreview.co.za/business_leaders/rwanda-wins-non-permanent-seat-on-un-security-council

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To reduce use, educate teens on the risks of marijuana and ...

According to a study published this week in the Journal of Adolescent Health, non-medical use of prescription medications like Vicodin and Adderall is rising among teens. Marijuana is also on the rise among adolescents, with the National Institute on Drug Abuse reporting 22 percent?of 12th?graders using?it in the past month. Otherwise illicit drug use among teenagers has not increased in the last decade, and teen cigarette smokers have actually decreased, with fewer teens now smoking cigarettes than marijuana.

One potential explanation for the rise in prescription medication and marijuana misuse and abuse among teens, in contrast to other substances of abuse like tobacco, is the fact that prescription drugs and marijuana are viewed in contemporary medical and lay culture as having ?medicinal? properties. Both Vicodin and Adderall have FDA-approved indications, the former for pain and the latter for attention deficit disorder. Although marijuana is a Schedule I drug at the federal level, meaning it has not been approved for any medical use, marijuana is readily available for chronic pain, anorexia, intractable nausea,?and other ailments?in many states through dispensaries.

Teens may be using? because they have embraced the idea that these substances are good for them, or at least not necessarily bad for them

Teens may be using Vicodin, Adderall, and marijuana in increasing numbers and with increasing frequency because they have embraced the idea that these substances are good for them, or at least not necessarily bad for them. For teens who have received a diagnosis of chronic pain or attention deficit disorder, they may justify ongoing abuse as necessary to ?treat? their disorder, even in the face of obvious addiction. Furthermore, withdrawal from substances of abuse is almost universally characterized by anxiety, depression, insomnia, and attention problems. Adolescents as well as adults may misconstrue symptoms of withdrawal as indicative of an underlying physical or psychiatric disorder, which in turn perpetuates use.

What is needed to combat this alarming trend in illicit drug use among teens is to launch state and national campaigns alerting adolescents to the true dangers inherent in misuse and abuse of prescription medications and marijuana, as perceptions among teens of potential harmfulness correlates with decreased use. Such a campaign would also seek to re-stigmatize use of these substances, just as national anti-smoking campaigns stigmatized cigarette smoking to the point where prevalence rates decreased by 20-30 percent?in just a couple of generations, and smoking cigarettes has been banned from almost all public venues.

Cultural narratives, in other words, around specific substances of abuse, are central to influencing behavior, especially among teens who may be more susceptible than adults to the stories we tell.

Previously: How to prevent prescription-drug misuse among teens, Do people really get addicted to marijuana??and NIH podcast reveals prescription drug abuse more prevalent in teenage girls than boys
Photo in featured entry box by RambergMediaImages

Anna Lembke, MD, is an assistant?professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford.

Source: http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2012/10/18/to-reduce-use-educate-teens-on-the-risks-of-marijuana-and-prescription-drugs/

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WTO hands Obama victory in U.S.-China steel case

GENEVA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization barred China on Thursday from imposing duties on certain U.S. steel exports, siding with U.S. President Barack Obama in a dispute with Beijing over a type of steel made in two election battleground states.

The case involved duties imposed by China on "grain-oriented electrical steel," which is used in the cores of high-efficiency transformers, electric motors and generators. The steel is made by AK Steel Corp of Ohio and ATI Allegheny Ludlum of Pennsylvania.

Although the specialty steel case is tiny compared with other trade disputes with Beijing, the WTO ruling gave Obama a timely win as he defends himself against accusations by his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, that he is soft on China.

"Today we are again plainly stating that we will continue to take every step necessary to ensure that China plays by the rules and does not unfairly restrict exports of U.S. products," Obama administration trade representative Ron Kirk said in a statement.

China's Commerce Ministry said in a statement on its website that it will "handle this case according to WTO regulations".

But ministry spokesman Shen Danyang criticized "politicization" of trade issues during the U.S. presidential campaign.

"A few American politicians have been gossiping about China-U.S. economic relations. We oppose this kind of politicization of economic and trade relations," Shen told a news conference, adding that China had "some worries" that campaign rhetoric could affect broader ties.

When the Obama administration filed the case, the volume of specialty steel trade with China was in the range of $250 million. That pales in comparison with the auto and auto-parts trade at issue in the most recent case Washington filed against China in September. The volume of auto parts trade alone amounted to about $12 billion in 2011, according to the Alliance for American Manufacturing.

Derek Scissors, a research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said Thursday's ruling was "a small benefit for the Obama campaign because it can advertise 'beating China' in Ohio, but it's not a benchmark for anything."

Obama has won WTO victories against Beijing in areas ranging from intellectual property rights to financial services to raw materials trade and has launched several other challenges, such as a case against Chinese export restrictions on rare earth materials.

He has also created an interagency trade enforcement unit to devote more resources to ensuring China and other countries abide by global trade rules.

The Romney campaign repeated on Thursday that China was stealing U.S. jobs and that Obama was not standing up to Beijing.

LONG ROAD AHEAD

The United States brought the steel case in September 2010 after China accused U.S. exporters of "dumping" - or selling at unfairly low prices - on the Chinese market and levied punitive duties on the steel imports.

The tariffs, which AK Steel said amounted to about 19.5 percent on its products, potentially affected hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of the grain-oriented electrical steel.

China imposed the duties after state-owned steel firms Baosteel Group and Wuhan Iron and Steel Group complained about imports from the United States and Russia, which was not a WTO member at the time and was not involved in the case.

The Chinese steel companies were unhappy about the "Buy America" provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and state government procurement laws.

On Thursday, the WTO appeals judges upheld the original ruling published in June and disagreed with China's claims that the three-person panel of adjudicators who judged the case then had misinterpreted the WTO rules.

"This is very good news for American producers of this product," said David Hartquist, a partner with the law firm Kelley Drye who represents ATI.

However, Hartquist said there was still a "long road ahead" as the case had to go through the WTO's dispute settlement body and China had to comply with the ruling.

Calls to AK Steel's lawyer were not immediately returned.

The decision of the original panel, which was chaired by New Zealand WTO Ambassador John Adank, received one of the most ringing endorsements by the appellate body in recent years.

(Reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva and Rachelle Younglai in Washington; Additional reporting by Michael Martina in Beijing; Editing by Stephanie Nebehay, Dan Grebler, Tim Dobbyn, Tim Ahmann and Andre Grenon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wto-hands-obama-victory-u-china-steel-case-041953928--finance.html

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Scientists identify mutation that causes skin hyperproliferation

Friday, October 19, 2012

Scientists have identified a mutation in a gene that causes patches of very thick skin to appear on the palms and soles of affected people. This skin disorder is related, albeit in a much milder form, to that of the Indonesian 'Tree Man', Dede Koswara . These thick rough skin patches on hands and feet steadily increase in number as a person ages and often coalesce to form larger lesions. In severe cases, these lesions can be painful and debilitating.

The team of scientists from A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB), in collaboration with hospitals and research centres from the UK, Japan and Tunisia, found that this skin disorder, called punctate palmoplantar keratoderma (punctate PPK), is caused by mutations in the AAGAB gene. Punctate PPK is a rare subtype of palmoplantar keratoderma (PPK), which appears in subtly different forms and seems to have several possible causes. Several families in Singapore are afflicted by different types of PPKs and scientists at A*STAR have also been working with doctors at the National Skin Centre to understand the different forms of this skin disorder.

The identification of the gene mutation will help scientists to better understand the molecular basis of this disease and potentially lead to a suitable treatment. This discovery will improve the classification and diagnosis of PPKs as well as open the door to novel approaches to treatment of skin disorders. These findings were published in the recent advanced online issue of Nature Genetics on 14th October.

The scientists analyzed DNA samples collected from 18 families from Scotland, Ireland, Japan and Tunisia who had punctate PPK. They showed that the AAGAB gene, which encodes the protein p34, was expressed in skin and had a role in the control of cell division. The depletion in AAGAB led to a deficiency in p34, which resulted in increased cell proliferation in the outer layers of skin, the epidermis, because of an increased growth signal coming through the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The disruption of EGFR signalling is a feature of abnormal cell proliferation and the discovery suggests that PPK may be a benign form of hyperproliferation.

Dr Bruno Reversade, Senior Principal Investigator at IMB, who is a member of the team said, "The study of rare genetic disorders can often provide unexpected links; the phenotype seen in punctate PPK patients bears striking resemblance to common warts, and it is tempting to speculate that HPV could also hijack the same pathways to induce skin hyperproliferation. This discovery also demonstrates that EGFR, a hallmark of skin cancer, is part of the molecular explanation of the overproliferation of lesions in PKK patients."

"Every time we find a new genetic mutation that causes a skin disorder, it helps patients and their families to demystify their condition," said Prof Birgitte Lane, Executive Director of IMB. "With scientists and doctors working towards common goals like this, we find better treatments for more and more of these rare conditions."

###

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore: http://www.a-star.edu.sg

Thanks to Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 20 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/124622/Scientists_identify_mutation_that_causes_skin_hyperproliferation

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13 Vital Steps to Insure HNW Clients' Retirement Wealth

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The tendency of wealthy individuals and families approaching or in retirement to keep personal insurance policies largely untouched for years on end exposes them to the threat of lifestyle-changing losses and unnecessarily high annual expenses, according to ACE Private Risk Services.

A white paper released this week by ACE Group?s high-net-worth personal insurance business says that the most serious threats to retirees? or near-retirees? net worth come from exposure to big liability lawsuits and significant property loss at home. As well, many people overlook savings opportunities in their personal insurance plans.

The paper includes a guide to build and maintain a personal insurance plan into retirement.

?Financially successful couples and individuals in or near retirement face some of the most complex decisions about insurance at any time in their lives,? Robert Courtemanche, division president of ACE Private Risk Services, said in a statement.

?Retirees and pre-retirees should craft a personal insurance program with sufficient umbrella liability coverage to match their at-risk assets, ensure their home is covered to its full replacement cost instead of its market value, as well as seek savings through higher deductibles and bundled insurance policies.?

The white paper?s 13 recommendations for wealth protection and strategic expense management in retirement planning:

1. Purchase umbrella liability insurance to match at-risk assets.

Wealth tends to attract lawsuits. A jury award or settlement in a case involving an accident that resulted in serious injury could approach tens of millions of dollars. ACE research has found that more than 40% of wealthy households have less than $5 million in umbrella liability coverage, including 21% that have none at all.

2. Seek full replacement cost coverage for your home.

Most homes in the U.S.?a significant, if not the largest, component of net worth for people near retirement?are underinsured. The best insurance policies will provide full replacement cost coverage for the home structure, including rebuilding with similar quality materials, even if that cost exceeds the coverage limit in their policy.

(Photo: AP)3. Increase homeowner and auto deductibles.

Increasing these deductibles can save hundreds, even thousands, of dollars per year in insurance premiums. An increased deductible on a million-dollar home from $500 to $2,500 could save $900 a year, according to ACE.

4. Name trusts and limited liability companies on insurance policies.

Wealthy families and their advisors must remember to name trusts and LLCs?set up to shield homes, valuable collections and financial assets and maximize wealth transfer?on the appropriate insurance policies, or risk leaving themselves or the trust unprotected against liability lawsuits. ?

5. Attend to liability risks from hobbies turned into small businesses.

Turning a longtime hobby, such as a vineyard, farm or horse stable, into a small business can create substantial liability risks.

?

6. Make sure the homeowners policy includes ample coverage for loss assessments if the residence is part of a property association.

Have your insurance agent review the association?s bylaws and insurance program to understand your responsibility for loss assessments, which can sometimes amount to tens of thousands of dollars.

?

7. Take inventory of home contents and make sure the coverage limit for personal property matches its replacement cost.

An ACE analysis of 400 homes valued between $2 million and $7 million found that homes owned by people born before 1940 were more than twice as likely (66%) as those owned by people born after 1970 (30%) to be underinsured for contents. Overall, nearly half were underinsured for contents, and the average amount of underinsurance was $600,000.

8. Ensure that the homeowner policy includes coverage for building code upgrades.

Retirees who have lived in their homes for decades are particularly at risk if their insurance does not adequately cover the cost of bringing a damaged residence into compliance with the latest ordinances and laws.

9. Use the added protection of a valuables policy for jewelry, art and wine collections.

According to an ACE study, 94% of all wealthy households have valuable collections, and nearly 40% do not have all of their precious collections protected by a valuables policy. Instead, they rely solely on their homeowners policy, possibly not realizing that these policies restrict the amount of coverage for fine collectibles and breakage of fragile items.

10. Address the need for director?s and officer?s liability coverage if volunteering as a charity?s board member or trustee.

Volunteer board members and trustees can be sued personally for the actions or inactions of the charitable organization, most commonly wrongful employment practices. These types of suits are not covered by a basic umbrella liability policy. Although the organization usually carries insurance to protect itself, coverage limits may be inadequate to cover some of the worst cases.

Home security system11. Get credits for loss prevention systems and upgraded plumbing, electrical and heating systems.

Most insurers offer premium credits for safety and security systems installed in homes and automobiles, but many people fail to take advantage of them. Either they do not tell their agent about the presence of the systems, or the agent fails to ask them about the systems.

12. Bundle different policies with the same carrier.

Using different carriers for auto insurance and homeowners insurance because they promise savings forgoes the opportunity to earn package discounts that can be 10% or higher, according to ACE. In the best cases, the policies can be written as part of one package with common term dates and one consolidated bill, saving the retiree time as well as money.

1950s Chevy13. Insure classic cars with a classic car policy, not a standard auto policy.

People in or near retirement who own classic cars may not realize they can insure these vehicles with a classic car policy, which typically costs much less than a standard auto policy. Classic car policies cost less because insurance companies know the cars are driven only rarely and usually very carefully.

---------

Check out other AdvisorOne stories on Risk Management, including:

Source: http://www.advisorone.com/2012/10/19/13-vital-steps-to-insure-hnw-clients-retirement-we

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Good Old Games now supports Mac, kicks off with approximately 50 games

Good Old Games now supports Mac, kicks off with approximately 50 games

Everyone's favorite DRM-free digital games distributor, Good Old Games, is now offering support for just over 50 games on Mac OS-based machines. That means that classics like Syndicate and the Wing Commander series are now offered through the service, not to mention new classics like Botanicula and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. To kick off the launch, GOG's offering a variety of discounts (including 50 percent off of SimCity 2000 -- a no brainer if you ask us), as well as an Apple-flavored commercial that we've dropped below the break. If you haven't already headed over to GOG and started madly purchasing things, we'd suggest watching the tongue-in-cheek trailer, for the chuckles alone.

Continue reading Good Old Games now supports Mac, kicks off with approximately 50 games

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