What Do You Do With Tech-Obsessed Kids When the Lights Go Out?

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Beth Blecherman is founder of TechMamas.com, a site that curates information on family technology. Her new book ?My Parent Plan? applies her years of technology project management to helping parents make their own plans. Follow her at @TechMama.

As a West Coast resident, my heart goes out to all the people who lost power and property during Hurricane Sandy. I can only imagine what it must have been like waiting, as the temperature dropped each day, for the power and the heat to be restored. During the height of Sandy?s devastation, I, like many others, used Facebook to check on how family and friends were doing ? and learn where to donate.

While the safety and well being of those affected were the first priority, many parents also used online social networks to share ideas on how to keep their kids occupied. Without electricity, this meant activities that didn?t require technology. And with schools closed and gasoline in short supply, it also meant extended time at home ? ?unplugged.?

In our house, with three tech-obsessed boys, no power and no technology is cause for shrieks of terror with children walking zombie-like through the house, thumbs twitching in a mad search for a game controller. Or, as MommyShorts put it, ?Spending time with a toddler in a power outage is 76% ?how many times do I have to tell you the TV does not work?!??

Several of my East Coast friends were very resourceful during and after the storm, finding non-electric family activities to productively pass the time. Melissa Chapman of Staten Island ?played a lot of cards? including Spit, War and Go Fish. Her son, along with completing a collection of drawings, also spent time perfecting his ?break dancing? moves. Maria Colaco, a New York Mom and her family played cards, made leaf prints from the yard, and did a ton of craft projects together, noting that ?glitter always saves the day.? They also enjoyed playing Legos by candlelight.

Cristie Ritz King noted that her tech-obsessed son was OK during the day because he acted out the video game ?Zelda.? However, ?when it got dark (at night) he got the shakes itching for his gadgets.? I know without power my boys would be twitching with the urge to play Minecraft, so I?ll likely add a box of unopened Minecraft Legos to my emergency prep kit.

SEE ALSO: Powerless New Yorkers Find Creative Ways to Charge Gadgets [PICS]

For my family, the moment of truth would be when the power comes back on but the kids are still out of school. When we?ve been faced with that situation in the past, we did tend to bend the screen time rules and let our kids (and us) satisfy their tech itch. Our rules are in place so the kids know the screen time limits for their regular daily routines. But parents agree sometimes screen time rules were made to be broken, especially when external forces come into play.

Some families, like Chapman, let kids Facetime with friends using an iPad. However, whether the kids liked it or not, ?the piano worked so piano practice was still a requirement.? King?s family finally moved to her sister?s house temporarily, and found they all (parents included) spent much of the first day in front of some type of screen (computer, TV, iPad) because they were without it for so long.

Sometimes I wonder if we should just make it official and impose a ?no power? night at home, spending quality non-tech uninterrupted time together. We could then designate an ?extended screen time day of fun? for select occasions. Maybe that would help my kids learn that screen time is a special privilege and not just a regular event. A parent can only hope.

If your family has had power outages, what activities did you do to entertain the kids? What would you do with a ?no power? night at home every once in a while? Let us know in the comments.

This post is part of a series on the digital dilemmas of raising digital kids. We?d like to hear some of the parenting issues technology has raised for you. Please let us know in the comments, or on our Mashable Lifestyle Facebook page. You can also follow and tweet us @mashlifestyle.

Image courtesy of Flickr, fivehanks

Source: http://mashable.com/2012/11/09/kids-power-outage/

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J.C. Penney reports hefty 3Q loss

NEW YORK (AP) ? J.C. Penney Co. is hoping it has finally hit rock bottom.

The bad news keeps getting worse or the struggling department-store chain that on Friday reported a wider third-quarter loss than Wall Street expected on a nearly 27-percent drop in revenue. That marks the third consecutive quarter of big losses and sales declines as customers continue to show that they're unhappy with Penney's decision this year to ditch hundreds of coupons and annual sales in favor of everyday low pricing.

The poor results underscore the challenges facing Penney's CEO Ron Johnson, the former Apple Inc. executive who was brought in a year ago to turnaround the struggling retailer. Since then Johnson, who masterminded Apple's popular retail stores, has been working to change everything at Penney's, from its stores to its merchandise.

Penney is starting to see some positive results from its makeover of stores with sectioned-off shops that feature different designers. The company said the reception has been warm to the 10 mini-shops that it rolled out this fall, and it plans to bring in Martha Stewart, Michael Graves and others this spring. But the continuing negative response to the company's everyday low pricing strategy has more than offset the boost.

During the third quarter, for instance, revenue at stores opened at least a year plummeted 26.1 percent. That's higher than the 17.6-percent drop analysts had been expecting for the figure, which is considered a key measure of a retailer's health because it excludes the impact from stores opened and closed during the year.

"I expected horrific but this was worse than expected," said Brian Sozzi, a chief equities analyst for research firm NBG Productions.

Johnson has acknowledged for months that the plan has been more challenging than he expected. During an investor meeting, held on Friday in New York following the release of the third-quarter results, Johnson said he's still confident that the plan will work. However, he said he'd continue to make tweaks in order to ensure it will be successful.

"Job No. 1 is to return to growth next year. Let's make no mistake about it. This is a year where we said we are willing to let the sales drop to establish a new base for the new JCP," he said Friday. "We have to return to growth."

That's the same tone Johnson has maintained since he rolled out his ambitious plan to change the way people shop. On Feb. 1, Johnson's launched the new pricing that was designed to wean customers off the markdowns they'd become accustomed to, but that ultimately eat into profits.

He got rid of the nearly 600 sales Penney offered at various times throughout the year for a three-tiered strategy that permanently lowered prices on all items in the store by 40 percent, offered monthlong discounts on select items and periodic clearance events throughout the year. He also got rid of the word "sales" from the company's marketing and rolled out colorful ads that featured dogs and children.

But as Penney's coupons and sales disappeared, so did its customers. The company recorded a big quarterly loss on a 20-percent drop in revenue. That was seen as a referendum on how customers felt about the new pricing, and Johnson decided to make some changes to his plan.

Six months after he rolled out Penney's plan, Johnson tweaked pricing again. On Aug. 1 ? just days before Penney posted another big loss on a second straight quarter of disappointing revenue ? Johnson eliminated one tier of the pricing plan, the monthlong sales.

He also brought back the word "clearance" to Penney's sales events and tweaked ads to better communicate the company's pricing. Rather than whimsical TV commercials with kids and pets, for instance, the new spots have focused more on the merchandise Penney has to offer.

Johnson on Friday said one big factor that dragged down the latest quarter's sales was the elimination of its monthlong discounts, which he says confused shoppers who like to compare prices. Johnson said Penney lost $20 million a week in sales associated with getting rid of the monthlong discounts for a total sales loss of $260 million for the quarter.

So Johnson said on Friday that he'll tweak again. Penney won't be bringing back the monthlong sales, but it now will begin displaying on price tags the "suggested" price from clothing and other manufacturers along with Penney's "everyday" price.

Johnson also said that company will have a big sale on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday ? the traditional start of the holiday shopping season and a time when retailers can make up to 40 percent of their annual revenue. The company declined to comment further, but said it expects to release details on Monday.

"Each quarter, we learn a lot. We adapt. We try to move forward," Johnson told investors on Friday.

Johnson also spent time on Friday touting that the 10 shops that Penney has rolled out this fall have been well received. The company said so far that it has converted about 11 percent of the floor space. That area has generated $269 per square foot ? or more than double the revenue generated in the rest of the store.

The company plans to add 100 shops inside 700 of its 1,100 stores by 2015. The remaining 400 stores are in small towns and won't feature the full makeover. Surrounding those shops will be extra-wide aisles that Johnson calls "streets." Along those pathways will be ice cream and coffee bars and wood tables with built-in iPad tablet computers shoppers can use. In the middle of it all, a Town Square will offer activities like Pilates.

Ultimately, analysts say that the success of Penney will depend on whether the company can make its stores fun places to shop. But the retailer still has a long way to go toward revamping its business.

Penney, based in Plano, Texas, said it lost 56 cents per share, or $123 million in the quarter ended Oct. 27. That compares with a loss of $143 million, or 67 cents per share, in the year ago period when results were dragged down by costs related to the management transition and a voluntary retirement program. Revenue dropped 26.6 percent to $2.93 billion in the quarter. Analysts had expected a 15 cent loss on revenue of $3.27 billion.

On the news, Penney shares fell 5 percent, or $1.05, to close at $20.64. Investors, who initially sent Penney shares soaring 24 percent to about $43 after the company announced the pricing plan in late January, have pushed them down nearly 40 percent since the beginning of the year.

Sozzi, the analyst at NBG Productions, said even it investors ? and Penney's board ? are worried, they'll likely give Johnson more time to see if his strategy will work because the company is beginning to see some results.

"The parts of the store that he has touched are working," he said. "There still hope priced in the stock."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/j-c-penney-reports-hefty-3q-loss-122910822--finance.html

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Mike Mularkey Throws Headset, Playbook: Jags Coach Loses It After Andrew Luck Touchdown (GIF)

Mike Mularkey and the Jacksonville Jaguars didn't throw in the towel (although it would be hard to tell if they did) after falling behind the Indianapolis Colts in the first half. But the coach of the woeful Jags did throw a few other things.

As the coach of the cellar-dwelling Jags, Mularkey hasn't had much to happy about this season but he was particularly perturbed in the second quarter on Thursday night when Andrew Luck was given credit for a rushing touchdown on a play when it was unclear that he reached end zone. The Colts' rookie quarterback rushed for two touchdowns of five and one yard, respectively, in the first half. On the second touchdown, Luck ran a quarterback sneak and barely crossed the plane behind his offensive line. It took some time for the referees to determine whether it was a touchdown or not. When it became official, the headset and playbook went flying.

The tantrum was quickly immortalized in GIF form.

(H/T to Big Lead and @cfbsection for GIFs)

With a paucity of good news to report, the team's official Twitter account even mentioned the toss.

The game went from bad to worse for Mularkey in the second half as Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert left the game in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury. The Colts went on to win 27-10 and for the fifth time this season, Jaguars fans were sent home with a bad taste in their mouths... the few that seemed to be there at least.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/09/mike-mularkey-headset-tantrum-colts-jaguars-luck_n_2097468.html

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Use These Tips to Get Rid of Snoring | Article Collection

If you have ever been unable to sleep due to your own snoring or that of someone else, you know just how annoying snoring can be. Fortunately, there are some easy remedies that can help you get a better night's sleep.

Read on to learn more about these effective techniques.

Not eating a large meal close to bedtime is one of the best ways to prevent snoring. When your stomach is too full, it can makes it's way up to your diaphragm, thus, limiting your breathing and causing snoring. Stick with big meals at dinnertime and have a light snack instead before bed.

Do research on health issues that cause snoring to verify that it's not something more serious such as sleep apnea. People who have this may also stop breathing temporarily during their sleep as well as a snore which can cause lots of other issues in how they breathe. If you have this problem, then they have special devices called CPAP machines that will help you continue breathing and finally prevent the snoring that is caused by the lack of breathing.

If you are having issues with snoring at night, then alcohol consumption, sleeping aids that include tranquilizers, and antihistamines need to be avoided right before bedtime. The reason for this is because they cause your muscles to go into relaxation mode, and this can can your airways to be limited.

You may want to look into magnetic therapy in order to end snoring. With this method, a plastic ring with two magnetic ends attach to your nose when you go to sleep. The ring helps to stimulate the sensors that open the nasal passages, thus, preventing a person from snoring.

One way to prevent snoring that is caused by congestion is to take a hot shower or bath before going to bed. The steam will clear the nasal passages and allow the mucus to thin out and drain or be coughed up. Follow up with a teaspoon of honey to coat the throat and you should find that you don't snore.

Sleep in an elevated position to help reduce your snoring. Sleeping in a horizontal position can put more pressure on your airway causing it to close. By elevating your whole upper body and not just your head, you can relieve this extra pressure. Try propping your whole torso up on pillows or putting some blocks beneath your bedposts at the head of your bed.

If you wish to stop snoring then you need to stop smoking. This habit causes your air passageways to narrow which makes the tissues in your throat and nose expand causing air to have trouble getting through. It's common knowledge that most smokers also suffer from consistent snoring problems.

If all other snoring remedies have failed you, it might be time to consider getting surgery to help alleviate your snoring. These days surgery on the nose and throat has been shown to cure snoring in over 70% of patients with most of them never snoring again. However, this should be a last resort.

While it may take a little time, losing any excess weight can be extremely beneficial to snorers. Being overweight puts extra pressure on many places in your body, including the throat, which can lead to snoring. Since your neck is one of the first places you lose weight from, even just a few pounds can help calm snoring down.

As previously stated, snoring is something we've all heard and it's annoying sounds are unmistakable. They can really ruin your sleep, whether it's coming from you or from someone else. Using the tips in the article above can help you find the causes of the snoring so that everyone can rest better.

I trust this has been useful for information on best snoring remedies.

Source: http://www.webarticlecollection.com/use-these-tips-to-get-rid-of-snoring/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=use-these-tips-to-get-rid-of-snoring

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Kirkland boy battling leukemia named Leukemia and Lymphoma ...

By RAECHEL DAWSON
Kirkland Reporter Reporter
November 9, 2012 ? Updated 9:51 AM?

Not many children study how computer games are made, with hopes to become a game developer. Not many are named honorees of major organizations like 7-year-old Jacob Schaub was. But then again, not many children have had to go through nearly two years of battling leukemia as Schaub currently is.

Two weeks ago, Jacob was deemed Honoree of the 7th annual Winter Pineapple Classic 5k fun run by Wilma Comenat of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS).

Jacob?s mother Sofia said he?s excited to be able to hold the pineapple this weekend as others run an obstacle course in an effort to raise $500,000. LLS has raised $2 million over the last six years.

?We currently have just over 2,200 participants but we?d love to see 3,000,? said Comenat.

Last year, Sofia ran in the fun run but Jacob had to sit out. He was still in the midst of fighting his leukemia.

After complaining of stomach pain for some time and after his parents noticed a change in his energy, they took him to the emergency room of Seattle Children?s Hospital last winter. Doctors took his parents aside, handed them tissues and delivered the hard news: his blood was full of sick white cells and the pain in his stomach was caused by a cancerous mass the size of an orange.

Jacob was admitted to Children?s for two weeks of intensive chemotherapy. And the entire year was made up of hospital visits two-to-three times a week, the occasional infection, a lot of commuting and plenty of homeschooling.

Jacob was diagnosed with leukemia Feb. 3, 2011 - just two weeks after his sixth birthday but 10 days after his kindergarten teacher Rosemary Allan-Humphreys had signed up to do her fourth event with LLS. Her uncle had passed away from leukemia in 2000.

?It was very strange to have a student going through this since raising money for research has been a passion of mine for such a long time,? said Allan-Humphreys, who is now Jacob?s brother?s kindergarten teacher at Carl Sandburg Elementary. ?I felt sad for Jacob; the pain he was going through, the long stays at the hospital, missing school and playing outside and around groups of other children.?

Jacob missed nearly his entire first grade because his immune system was very weak.

?I remember when we went to school during first grade, he?d say ?I don?t like when they look at me,?? Sofia recalls when her son lost his hair from chemotherapy.

Allan-Humphreys would engage him by playing games and having him write about the computer games he loves to play. A favorite is Minecraft.

?Jacob is a very bright boy, so academically I knew he?d be okay,? she said.

He has recently started back at school for second grade and while he enjoys math and P.E., Allan-Humphreys does acknowledge he missed a lot of school over the past two years and that being back is a big adjustment for him. She says he misses his mom and he does get tired but whenever she sees him with his family, he?s ?very happy, smiling, excited to show me the latest additions to his Minecraft world.?

?It?s been a little hard for him to get back,? Sofia said. ?After not being there and then following the routines and now there are 20 kids in his classroom, but he?s doing well and he?s happy when he gets home.?

Although Jacob?s chemotherapy will be done June 2014, he frequents the hospital much less - about once a month for steroids. Sofia says his cancerous cells are gone but now they are in the maintenance phase. He is very comfortable with his doctor and familiar with the hospital.

?He doesn?t think about his illness all the time,? Sofia said. ?Sometimes he has questions and talks with his brother about hating cancer, but for me and my husband, it?s emotionally hard to know that your child is really sick. Even if he?s doing well right now, we always know we have a sick child.?

But Sofia says her family stays close and they continue to move forward.

?I hate cancer. To have cancer feels different,? said Jacob. ?Cancer makes you feel you can die, but I say no to the cancer.?

The Winter Pineapple Classic will be at Mountain Meadows Farm in North Bend, Wash. on Saturday, Nov. 10.

To donate toward the Schaub's fun run team, visit their website.

Below: Jacob Schaub, photo by SolaceArts.com

Jacob Schaub

Contact Kirkland Reporter Reporter Raechel Dawson at rdawson@kirklandreporter.com or 425-822-9166 X5050.

Source: http://www.kirklandreporter.com/news/177947091.html

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Election Day bears fruit? Boehner, Reid talk of compromise on 'fiscal cliff.' ( video)

Senate majority leader Harry Reid claims a mandate from Election 2012 to let tax cuts expire for the 'richest of the rich.' House Speaker John Boehner says the mandate is for members of Congress to work together.

By David Grant,?Staff writer / November 7, 2012

Senate majority leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner hit a note of compromise not often heard in the last Congress as they weighed in Wednesday on how to deal with the "fiscal cliff" in Congress's upcoming lame-duck session.

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But their conciliatory tones, in separate briefings on Capitol Hill, belied sharply different views on how to handle the looming fiscal crisis ? and how Tuesday's election should impact lawmaking in Congress.

?If there is a mandate in yesterday?s results, it is a mandate for us to find a way to work together on solutions to the challenges we face together as a nation,? Speaker Boehner said in a briefing with reporters. ?My message today is not one of confrontation, but of conviction."

Senator Reid, a former boxer, concurred.

?I know how to fight. I know how to dance. I don't dance as well as I fight, but I'd much rather dance any time,? he said, in a separate briefing. ?It's better to dance than to fight.?

But whether Congress tangos or tussles, congressional action is needed before the American economy goes off the fiscal cliff on Jan. 1. That?s when expiring fiscal policy amounting to more than $600 billion in higher taxes and new mandated spending cuts goes into effect. Economists say that could put the economy into a recession in the first half of 2013.

Reid said Congress should deal with the cliff as part of what others have called a ?grand bargain,? a wide-ranging debt and deficit reduction deal. And Congress should grapple with that big-picture problem as soon as possible.

?I'm not for kicking the can down the road,? the majority leader said. ?I think we've done that far too much.... We know what the issue is. We need to solve that issue. Waiting for a month, six weeks, six months, that's not going to solve the problem. We know what needs to be done. And so I think that we should just roll up our sleeves and get it done.?

Boehner explicitly ruled out such a move in his own statement to the press.

?We won't solve the problem of our fiscal imbalance overnight, in the midst of a lame duck session of Congress,? he said. ?And we certainly won't solve it by simply raising tax rates or taking a plunge off the fiscal cliff.?

Instead, Boehner set out a goal of achieving a ?down payment? on the nation?s long-term financial solvency that would be a ?catalyst? for ?major solutions, enacted in 2013.?

Reid swore that neither he nor the speaker would ?draw any lines in the sand? on the policy measures needed to avert a fiscal disaster ? before both men did everything except say the words, ?I have drawn a line in the sand.?

However, he did see Tuesday's election ? President Obama?s electoral thrashing of Mitt Romney, a larger Democratic majority in the Senate, and gains for Democrats in the House ? as a mandate from voters to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire for households with income over $250,000.

?The mandate was, look at all the exit polls, look at all the polling,? Reid said. ?The vast majority of the American people ? rich, poor, everybody ? agrees that the rich, [the] richest of the rich, have to help a little bit.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/TrUdfIkSV2M/Election-Day-bears-fruit-Boehner-Reid-talk-of-compromise-on-fiscal-cliff.-video

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Carroll: Sanchez left too early? |? Tebow frustrated

Calvin JohnsonAP

With Lions receiver Calvin Johnson previously claiming he suffered a concussion during a September 30 game against the Vikings, with the Lions denying it, and with Johnson now claiming he also suffered nerve damage, the question becomes whether the Lions could be the fifth team fined $20,000 this year for not being fully candid on the injury report.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello tells PFT that the league looked into the claim that Calvin suffered a concussion.? To date, however, the NFL hasn?t explored whether Johnson had undisclosed nerve damage.

?We looked into it,? Aiello said via email regarding the claim by Johnson that he suffered a concussion.? ?Johnson had a complete sideline neuro evaluation by the team physician and passed. He was examined post game and was fine, and looked at Monday and again was fine.?? (Aiello sent the same email to Anwar Richardson of Mlive.com.)

In other words, the NFL agreed with the Lions that Johnson didn?t have a concussion ? even though Johnson has said on multiple occasions that he did.

As to the newly-raised issue of nerve damage, the league has yet to investigate.? ?Check with the Lions on that,? Aiello said.? ?If he hasn?t reported it to the team and isn?t being treated for it, they have no basis for putting him on the injury report.?

It?s hard to imagine Johnson not getting treatment for a condition that is affecting his grip on the ball, and it?s even harder to believe that Johnson didn?t mention the condition to the team.

Though it?s unclear whether the league will take further action, the teams already fined $20,000 each for violating the injury-reporting rules should be taking a page from the Drew Brees playbook, and asking for an explanation.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/11/08/pete-carroll-sticks-to-assessment-sanchez-left-college-too-early/related/

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Court: FMLA may cover not-yet-eligible employees ? Business ...

A federal court has rejected Hersha Hospitality Management?s request to toss out an FMLA interference lawsuit filed by an employee who had only worked for the Harrisburg company for 10 months when she was fired.

Employees qualify for FMLA leave if they have worked for their employer for a total of 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months.

According to the woman?s lawsuit, she told her supervisor she was pregnant and would need FMLA leave in six months, after she became eligible for it. Two weeks later, the employee alleges, her supervisor advised her to find other work or take a lesser position in the company. Six days later, Hersha fired her, citing poor performance.

That?s when she sued for FMLA interference and violations of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

Hersha moved to have the FMLA charges dismissed because the employee wasn?t eligible for FMLA leave when she was terminated.

The court disagreed, noting that ?pre-eligible employees are entitled to covered rights and attempts to exercise such rights? under the FMLA.

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UK pedophile scandal risks becoming gay witch-hunt: David Cameron

LONDON (Reuters) - Speculation about the identity of a senior Conservative party member accused of child sex abuse could descend into a "witch-hunt" of homosexuals, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday.

Cameron ordered an investigation this week after a child abuse victim said a prominent member of the prime minister's party had abused him during the 1970s, prompting Internet speculation over who the politician might be.

The claims, which follow the unmasking of late BBC star presenter Jimmy Savile as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders, have stoked concern that a powerful pedophile ring may have operated in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s.

"I have heard all sorts of names bandied around and what then tends to happen is of course that everyone then sits around and speculates about people, some of whom are alive, some of whom are dead," Cameron said during an ITV television interview.

"It is very important that anyone who has got any information about any pedophile no matter how high up in the country go to the police," he said.

Britain's interior minister warned lawmakers this week that if they named suspected child abusers in parliament they risked jeopardizing future trials.

MPs benefit from "parliamentary privilege" - meaning they can speak inside parliament freely without fear of legal action on sensitive issues that might otherwise attract lawsuits.

"TRIAL BY TWITTER"

The allegations could prove damaging to Cameron's party - which rules in an uneasy coalition with centrists - and tarnish the image of the era of Margaret Thatcher, prime minister from 1979 to 1990.

When the ITV interviewer passed Cameron a piece of paper with the names of people identified on the Internet as being alleged child abusers, Cameron said: "There is a danger, if we are not careful, that this could turn into a sort of witch-hunt, particularly against people who are gay."

"I am worried about the sort of thing you are doing right now - giving me a list of names you have taken off the Internet," Cameron said.

Steven Messham, one of hundreds of victims of sexual abuse at children's care homes in Wales over two decades, said in a TV program last week that he had been sexually abused by a prominent Conservative political figure.

However, the BBC reporter said he could not publicly identify the accused person as there was "simply not enough evidence to name names".

A host of Conservative politicians have been named as alleged child abusers on blogs and social media, often without evidence.

"There are lots of accusations flying around on the Internet, lots of names on the Internet. We need to be very careful," Cameron's spokesman told reporters.

"We should not have people just throwing accusations around and trial by Twitter."

Meanwhile, police said they had arrested two men in northern England, including Savile's former housemate Ray Teret, on suspicion of rape, following allegations of sexual abuse many years ago.

Officers in London are looking into claims made by hundreds of victims that Savile and accomplices abused them. They have already questioned former glam rock singer Gary Glitter and comedian Freddie Starr as part of their investigation.

Both men have been released on bail.

(Additional reporting by Michael Holden; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Robin Pomeroy)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-pm-warns-witch-hunt-against-gays-pedophile-125112870.html

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NHL, union hold labor talks a 3rd straight day

NEW YORK (AP) ? The NHL and the players' association returned to the bargaining table Thursday, the third straight day the sides have met in an effort to end the lockout.

The work stoppage reached its 54th day, and this week is considered critical for the hockey season to be saved. The lockout is threatening to force the second cancellation of an NHL season in seven years.

Even if an agreement is reached soon, it isn't clear if any of this season's games that have been called off through Nov. 30 can be rescheduled. The NHL has already said a full 82-game season won't be played.

Owners and players had bargained for many hours over two days this week at an undisclosed site in New York. Little information about the talks has been disclosed by either side.

Thursday's discussions marked the fourth time in six days that face-to-face negotiations have taken place after both sides rejected proposals Oct. 18. The lockout, which began Sept. 16 after the collective bargaining agreement expired, has forced the cancellation of 327 regular-season games, including the New Year's Day Winter Classic in Michigan.

During a second consecutive day of marathon negotiations Wednesday, the players' association made an offer on revenue sharing, in which richer teams would help out poorer organizations, and another proposal regarding the "make-whole" provision that would guarantee full payment of all existing multiyear player contracts.

The NHL was expected to respond to both offers during talks Thursday.

Both issues are major hurdles in the way of making a deal. On Wednesday, the sides spent more than five hours dealing with the most contentious areas. Coupled with the more than seven hours they spent negotiating Tuesday, owners and players have been together about 13 hours this week.

"We do not intend to comment on the substance or subject matter," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement Wednesday night.

NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr said the parties met to "discuss many of the key issues," but didn't elaborate Wednesday.

There is clearly still much to be done to work out the differences to reach a deal that will allow the already delayed and shortened season to begin.

Along with a handful of team owners, eight players attended Wednesday's talks, five fewer than Tuesday. Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and others left New York to try to avoid the impending snowstorm that hit the area, the union said.

On Thursday, seven players were in attendance, according to the NHLPA.

In October, the players' association responded to an NHL offer with three of its own, but all of those were quickly dismissed by the league. That led to nearly three weeks without face-to-face discussions, although the parties kept in regular contact by phone.

Both sides have made proposals that included a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenues. The NHL has moved toward the players' side in the "make-whole" provision and whose share of the economic pie that money will come from.

Along with the split of hockey-related revenue and other core economic issues, contract lengths, arbitration and free agency also must be agreed upon.

The union accepted a salary cap in the previous labor pact, which wasn't reached until after the entire 2004-05 season was canceled because of a lockout. The union doesn't want to absorb the majority of concessions this time after the NHL had record revenue that exceeded $3 billion last season.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nhl-union-hold-labor-talks-3rd-straight-day-174441282--nhl.html

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