BAGHDAD ? Insurgents bombed a house belonging to two policemen and their families in central Iraq early on Thursday, killing 10 people inside in the latest brazen attack since the U.S. troop withdrawal, officials said.
The house where the two policemen brothers lived was located in the Hamia area, about 31 miles (50 kilometers) south of Baghdad, a police officer said. It was leveled when insurgents detonated bombs they had planted around it at 1:00 a.m.
Both policemen, two children under one years of age and four women were among the dead, he added. A doctor at a nearby hospital confirmed the causality figure. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.
Also Thursday, a motorcycle bomb missed a passing police patrol in the northern city of Kirkuk, but killed two civilians and wounded five others, the city's police commander Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir said.
Many Iraqis fear Iraqi security forces will not be able to protect the country on their own after the American pullout, and that it risks descending into chaos resembling the years following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Since the U.S. completed its pullout last month, militant groups ? mainly al-Qaida in Iraq ? have stepped up attacks on the country's majority Shiites and American-backed government institutions. More than 170 people have been killed in violence since the beginning of the year.
In an audio message aired on Wednesday, a spokesman for al-Qaida's Islamic State of Iraq who identified himself as Abu Mohammed al-Adnani said that even as the U.S. troops left Iraq, "our army still exists and is increasing day after the other."
Al-Qaida was one of the main U.S. enemies in Iraq. It was behind some of the deadliest attacks on U.S. soldiers, Iraqi security forces and American-backed government institutions.
Al-Adnani claimed the U.S. pulled its troops out of Iraq because its economy is collapsing and it needed to save money. Meanwhile, he said his holy warriors, or the "mujahedeen have the lead " and can "attack and appear whenever we want to."
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Associated Press writer Yahya Barzanji in Sulaimaniyah contributed to this report.
Posted: 3:26 pm Mon, January 23, 2012 By Dan?Emerson Tags: Chuck Palm, Cuningham Group, David Williams, Eric Dueholm, Greiner Construction, Johnson Lewis, Kim Ess, LEED
A glass-walled conference room at Nilan Johnson Lewis, a Minneapolis law firm that developed an ecology-conscious space on two floors of the One Financial Plaza building. (Staff photo: Bill Klotz)
Interior design in law offices traditionally has featured pricey, imposing furniture, expensive paneling, carpeting and artwork, and other opulent touches. But the Minneapolis law firm of Nilan Johnson Lewis emphatically broke with that tradition when it developed its ecology-conscious space on two floors of the One Financial Plaza building.
The LEED-certified, 77,000-square-foot office, designed by Minneapolis-based Cuningham Group architects, offers a lengthy list of earth-friendly and energy-saving elements: sustainable hardwoods and other locally sourced materials, high-efficiency plumbing and light fixtures, and low VOC (volatile organic compound) paints and carpeting.
And, in the demolition process, Greiner Construction diverted at least 80 percent of the materials from landfills by repurposing or recycling.
Local contractors, architects and landlords say the green build-out trend is growing and can benefit even small space users with limited budgets. Along with sending a socially responsible message, green improvements also can yield significant financial benefits, said Kim Ess, the law firm?s chief operating officer.
After the firm moved into its new office in late 2009, a detailed study showed that the improvements reduced the space?s energy consumption by 35 percent. The daylight-filled space also conveys a welcoming message to clients and employees, Ess said.
Obviously, smaller office tenants do not typically have the same degree of control over their leased spaces as a large business that is leasing two whole floors. Smaller tenant-improvement budgets are one reason.
But they can apply some of the same eco-friendly and energy saving improvements, Ess said. ?Much of what we did involved lighting and power consumption.? Along with choosing energy-efficient office equipment, she said, ?you can use lamps and fixtures that not only consume less power but also generate less heat.?
Chuck Palm, vice president of engineering and sustainability for Bloomington-based Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq Real Estate Services, agrees that even small or mid-size office tenants can make choices that will lead to significant energy savings. Energy Star-rated PCs, copy machines and other office equipment are examples, he said.
Several national organizations have developed ?model? green leases for use by landlords and tenants, including the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA).
Beyond the usual legal stipulations, a green lease addresses key environmental issues such as indoor air quality, energy use, carbon credits, recycling, insurance, maintenance, operating costs, tenant improvements, green cleaning specs and building regulations.
Eric Dueholm, NAI Welsh?s vice president for corporate solutions, said he has not seen much demand for green leases in this market, ?although there is a lot of good information? available.
?What I have seen ? and what I think is most likely to continue ? is proactive efforts on the part of the landlord to ?green? their operations and more requests from tenants for green build-outs,? Dueholm said.
NAI Welsh has recently been making green upgrades to a number of its vacant office spaces to ?make them more sustainable and more marketable,? he said. ?In a lot of older spaces, it?s work that needs to be done anyway.?
David Williams, a building performance specialist and senior mechanical engineer with LHB Engineers and Architects in Minneapolis, points out that landlords and tenants can agree to split the cost of energy-saving improvements.
Williams suggests asking the landlord for data on how much energy has been used to heat, cool and light a space especially if it will be rehabbed ? ?to see if we can split potential savings by either operating the building better or improving something lessees have control over.?
Palm wishes more office tenants would take advantage of green tenant-improvement opportunities. ?I do quite a bit of auditing of commercial spaces, and it surprises me how na?ve people are about energy use,? he said. ?Even though there is a lot of opportunity to save money, we don?t get nearly as much demand as I would like to see. Most tenants are more concerned with having a nice-looking office space, not necessarily whether it is going to be energy-efficient.?
For example, ?there are opportunities missed in choosing light fixtures that look beautiful but may not be that efficient,? Palm said. ?Even with standard, 4-foot fluorescent bulbs, many people are not aware that there are multiple options available that could be 20 percent more efficient. I don?t think those are usually presented as options when architects are pulling together plans.?
Of course, some tenants, landlords and architects are greener than others. ?We?re always looking at energy efficiency and occupant health, from soup to nuts,? said Rick Carter, a principal with LHB Architects.
?In some cases, that means using less materials or salvaging materials from the build-out. Or you might not have (fixed) walls dividing up the space, which is also a green strategy,? said Carter, recently named one of the Green Building Certification Institute?s first 34 LEED Fellows, chosen for their leadership.
?Sometimes, it depends on a company?s culture,? said Andi Simon, senior director of project management for Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq Real Estate Services. ?Before they lease, some tenants want to know what the landlord is offering for sustainable practices.?
Simon said clients who opt for green features typically do so for altruistic reasons rather than focusing only on costs and payback. ?Some people feel it?s the right thing to do and that it supports their culture and business platform.?
This entry was posted on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 3:26 pm and is filed under Focus on Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
In the last few years, tuition for college has grown faster than inflation. As we struggle to be able to afford payments, we often overlook the possibility that the tuition paid to schools could be wasted if the student is forced to withdraw for medical reasons.
Tuition refund insurance exists to provide peace of mind in case this circumstance arises and can put tuition money back in the pocket of students and parents. This type of plan can be an alternative or supplement to student health insurance if the student if facing severe health problems.
Many colleges have their own refund policies and it is important to understand them before taking out tuition refund insurance. Some universities will limit the ability to get a tuition refund after a certain time has passed into the school year, such as 30 days. Others base their refund policy on if a student is receiving various kinds of financial aid.
Federal law governs the federal financial aid that students receive in the case that he or she withdraws from school. The R2T4 policy decrees that students must return any unearned federal financial aid back to the government. The percentage of earned financial aid is prorated based on how much of the school term the student has completed. A 60 percent term completion counts as 100 percent as far as federal student aid is concerned.
Tuition refund insurance is only recommended for students who have serious pre-existing health conditions or illnesses that would cause a student to withdraw during their studies. Common kinds of coverage include withdrawal from school due to illness or injury as well as death of the student or parent/guardian. Other coverage types include job loss, withdrawals due to mental health conditions, and expulsion or suspension on academic or disciplinary grounds.
Tuition Refund Insurance Vs. Student Health Insurance Keep in mind that tuition refund insurance is not equivalent to taking out health insurance plans. Most schools will still require you to buy health insurance for students or prove that the students are covered under a plan owned by a parent or guardian. These two plans are different and should not be confused with each other.
Student health insurance can ensure that health and medical costs that are incurred while at school are not prohibitive. Health insurance for students is a good bet for nearly every child who is in college or university. On the other hand, tuition refund insurance should only be purchased in the case that the probability of withdrawal is very high.
Tuition refund insurance will usually cost parents and students 1 to 5 percent of the coverage value, usually the cost of tuition. Premiums can be a good investment if the threat of withdrawal due to health reasons is serious and the family can recoup a significant portion of the school?s tuition cost.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Google's U.S. lobbying bill more than tripled to $3.76 million in the fourth quarter as the Internet search leader fought proposed changes to online piracy laws and sought to influence a wide range of other issues that could affect its fortunes.
The amount that Google Inc. spent making its political points from October through December is by far the company's highest lobbying tab for any three-month period since Google's Washington office opened in 2005. The total compared with a lobbying budget of $1.24 million during the final three months of 2010 and $2.38 million in the third quarter of 2011.
For all of 2011, Google spent $9.7 million on political persuasion, nearly doubling from $5.2 million in 2010.
The company disclosed its fourth-quarter lobbying figures in documents filed late Friday with the U.S. House clerk's office.
Google's lobbying expenses have been rising steadily against a backdrop of intensified U.S. government scrutiny of the company's acquisitions and business practices. The focus has been prompted by complaints alleging that Google is abusing its dominance of the lucrative Internet search market to stifle competition and muscle its way into other markets.
As a foil, Google last summer hired a dozen lobbing firms to supplement the team that it already employed in its Washington office. The bills coming in from those firms contributed to the sharp rise in Google's fourth-quarter lobbying expenses, according to the company.
Google's emphasis on lobbying mirrors what Microsoft Corp. did during the late 1990s while the U.S. Justice Department pursued an antitrust case asserting the software marker had unfairly bundled its dominant Windows operating system with key personal-computer applications. Microsoft eventually thwarted the government's attempt to break up the company, but not before years of legal wrangling that included a high-profile trial.
With that case behind it, Microsoft now spends far less on lobbying than Google. In the fourth quarter, Google's lobbying expenses doubled Microsoft's $1.88 million bill. For all of 2011, Microsoft's lobbying tab totaled $7.3 million.
Google's fourth-quarter lobbying agenda included a proposed antipiracy law, which inspired an Internet protest last week. While some popular websites such as Wikipedia went dark for 24 hours, Google stamped out its colorful logo to signal its objection to proposed changes to online piracy laws. The company says the changes would result in censorship and discourage Internet innovation. More than 7 people signed a protest petition posted by Google.
Movie and music studio backed the changes ? dubbed the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA ? as a more effective way to prevent rampant theft of their copyrighted material. Lawmakers postponed the legislation following the online protests.
Google's fourth-quarter lobbying push addressed online advertising, which accounts for most of the company's $38 billion in annual revenue.
Other topics covered by Google's lobbyists included: online security; personal privacy on the Internet; renewable energy; international tax reform; the treatment of corporate earnings outside the U.S.; the availability of wireless Internet access; free speech; and free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.
Besides Congress, agencies that Google lobbied in the fourth quarter included: the Federal Trade Commission, the White House; the Federal Communications Commission, the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative.
The outside firms working for Google are: Akin, Gump; Bingham; Capitol Legislative Strategies; Chesapeake Group; Crossroads Strategies; Gephardt Group; Holland & Knight; Normandy Group; Prime Policy; The First Group; The Madison Group; and the Raben Group.
Style and fashion guru Simon Doonan has been railing against what he calls ?porno chic? for some time.?? And it?s not because he?s a prude.? The author of Gay Men Don?t Get Fat tells Slate?s Jacob Weisberg why he has no patience for 6-inch heels, bleach blondes and spray tans.
SANTIAGO, Chile ? A magnitude-6.2 earthquake has struck just off the shore of south-central Chile, the area devastated by a massive temblor two years ago. There are no immediate reports of damage and authorities say it will not cause a tsunami.
Monday's quake was centered 31 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of Concepcion, and was relatively shallow at 12 miles (20 kilometers) under sea level. But Chile's navy announced that it wasn't the kind of quake to generate a deadly tsunami of the kind that ravaged nearby coastal cities when an magnitude-8.8 quake devastated Chile in 2010.
The U.S. Geological Service says the quake struck at 1:04 p.m. local time (1604 GMT). Chile's national emergency office says there are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Reuters) ? Decisively beaten in South Carolina, Republican Mitt Romney signaled a tougher approach to newly resurgent rival Newt Gingrich on Saturday to get his 2012 presidential campaign back on track.
Romney's loss punctured his aura of inevitability as the eventual Republican nominee to face Democratic President Barack Obama on November 6 that he had built up after a narrow loss in Iowa and a victory in New Hampshire earlier this month.
The pressure on Romney following his loss in the South Carolina primary is to right the ship for the January 31 contest in Florida. It is a state with a more diverse, moderate electorate that may play more to Romney's strengths, compared to South Carolina where many conservatives felt he lacked Gingrich's fighting spirit.
"In Florida it won't be a total consolidation of the conservative vote for Gingrich," said Republican strategist Charlie Black. "The next several states are good for Romney."
Romney conceded that the state-by-state battle for the Republican nomination will now be a long one.
Romney's challenge is to avoid the type of distractions that dogged him in South Carolina, where his campaign got caught up in a controversy over when and if he would release his personal tax records.
Romney, one of the richest men ever to seek the presidency, earlier in the week acknowledged that his income tax rate is "probably closer to 15 percent than anything," making it lower than the rate paid by most wage-earning Americans. Romney has an estimated net worth of $270 million.
The tax issue allowed his lead in the state's polls to disappear and Romney bowed to a surge of late support for Gingrich, who seemed to draw a better connection with South Carolina voters.
SETTLE THE TAX ISSUE
To try to put the tax return controversy behind him, the Romney campaign has a plan to settle the tax issue next week, a Republican official said.
This will allow Romney to concentrate on what he considers a stark choice between his executive experience outside of Washington and Gingrich's experience as a high-flying consultant who has made a fortune as a Washington insider. Romney is a former Massachusetts governor.
Romney, in his South Carolina concession speech, was sharply critical of Gingrich for attacking him over his leadership at Bain Capital, a private equity firm that bought and restructured companies, sometimes resulting in job losses.
Romney said Gingrich had assaulted the free enterprise system and demonized success and prosperity. Nominating him would make it hard for Republicans to topple Obama next November, said Romney.
"Our president has divided the nation, engaged in class warfare and attacked the free enterprise system that has made America the economic envy of the world. We cannot defeat that president with a candidate who has joined in that very assault on free enterprise," Romney said, a refrain that he is likely to repeat at the first of two Florida debates, on Monday in Tampa.
The campaign is also pushing Gingrich to reveal more about his ties with troubled mortgage giant Freddie Mac, which paid the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives $1.6 million for consulting work.
Romney aides said they knew South Carolina would be a hard fight for him given his fourth place finish in the primary in 2008 during his previous unsuccessful run for the White House.
"Nobody runs the table," said senior Romney adviser Stuart Stevens.
But Romney has now lost two of the first three states in the nominating process.
There was not a sense that the Romney campaign was about to undergo any major changes in his campaign, unlike what occurred in George W. Bush's operation when he suffered a surprise loss in New Hampshire to John McCain in 2000.
"You have to take the long view and say, yeah, it's disappointing that we didn't sweep South Carolina, but the truth is that was never really the expectation until a couple of weeks ago when expectations got out of hand," said one Romney adviser.
Campaign aides said they believed Romney is in good position to fight a lengthy, sustained campaign to outlast Gingrich, who they do not believe can built a strong organizational get-out-the-vote effort in many states.
"We have the organization built to compete and do well in every state. We have been able to get on every ballot and have a 50-state organization. Newt, for instance couldn't even get on the ballot in his home state of Virginia," a Romney aide said.
(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Will Dunham)
