Is Your Relationship Meant to be? This is One Way to Find Out Fast ...

Thinking of taking your first vacation away with your boyfriend (or girlfriend!)? While you?re probably excited and thinking of all that hot vacation sex you?re going to have, take a minute to prepare yourself for the fact that it could be a huge test in your relationship. I?m serious!

Yes, I?m still in vacation mode. I went to Aruba with my parents, sister, cousin and J over New Year?s and had a blast ringing in 2013 with the people I love. All I can think about this week back at work is being back there on the beach and how much fun I had with J and my family, which normally could have been a stressful situation (family + close quarters = drama).

It?s also got me thinking back to a not so great vacation I went on back in college with my ex. We spent a week at Disney World and I can still remember this huge fight we had during one of those Main Street parades at Magic Kingdom. I should have realized that if we couldn?t make it work at ?the happiest place on earth? we probably couldn?t make it work, period. Think about it: a vacation is when you should feel most at ease and let loose. If you?re fighting or not enjoying your time with your partner while away from the stresses of everyday life, there might be a bigger issue in your relationship worth exploring. I wish I had taken a closer look at the trip with my ex sooner and realized we weren?t meant to be so that the relationship wouldn?t have dragggged out another year (with many fights after and a pretty intense end after he was finally the one to pull the plug).

Fast-forward to 2010 and I?m back in Disney with J at a couple of the parks before setting sail on a cruise from Florida. This time, this guy, everything was right. It even rained for two full days while we were there. We were forced to wear those weird plastic poncho things while walking around and you know what? It didn?t matter. We had a blast feeling like kids again. It was exciting just to be away together, regardless of what we were doing.

Funny how going to the same place and doing the same things with two people can feel so drastically different, right? Going away with your significant other can be a serious test for your relationship. If you?re not already living together, it?s a preview of what cohabiting could be like. And if you are already together all the time, it?s magnified because you?re together even more while on a trip; there are only so many places to go when you?re at a tropical resort and sharing a room!

Tell me: has a vacation ever tested your relationship? Have you ever gone away with a boyfriend only to realize you weren?t meant to be? Or did you go away and realize you should move in together? Tell me your good, bad, and crazy vacation stories! J and I have managed to survive two solo trips, multiple getaways with friends, and 3+ family vacations so I feel like we?ve passed the test. Wedding planning? Now that?s a test all on it?s own?

Photo: Thinkstock

Source: http://www.glamour.com/sex-love-life/blogs/smitten/2013/01/is-your-relationship-meant-to.html

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Lawmakers release documents on Wal-Mart bribery

NEW YORK (AP) ? Lawmakers are making public emails that show that Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s CEO found out in 2005 that the retailer was handing out bribes in Mexico.

Democratic Congressmen Elijah E. Cummings and Henry A. Waxman, who are investigating bribery charges at Wal-Mart's Mexico division, on Thursday released emails that indicate that Mike Duke and other senior Wal-Mart officials were informed multiple times starting in 2005 about bribes being made in the country. U.S. law forbids American companies from bribing foreign officials.

The emails, which the lawmakers obtained from a confidential source, contradict claims by Wal-Mart senior executives that they had no knowledge of bribes being made by the company in Mexico.

The lawmakers shared the documents with Wal-Mart on Wednesday, and sent a letter to Duke asking for a meeting to discuss them.

"It would be a serious matter if the CEO of one of our nation's largest companies failed to address allegations of a bribery scheme," according to the letter written by Waxman and Cummings to Duke.

Allegations first surfaced in April that Wal-Mart failed to notify law enforcement that company officials authorized millions of dollars in bribes in Mexico to speed up getting building permits and gain other favors. Wal-Mart has been working with government officials in the U.S. and Mexico on that investigation.

Wal-Mart has conducted an internal investigation into the matter. And last November, the retailer said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was looking into potential U.S. bribery law violations in Brazil, China and India.

Brooke Buchanan, a Wal-Mart's spokeswoman, issued a statement on Thursday saying that there was no new information in the letter and that it has been providing information to the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the documents that were released by lawmakers on Thursday. The world's largest retailer also said that it is exploring other ways to make additional information available

"We are committed to having a strong and effective global anti-corruption program everywhere we operate and taking appropriate action for any instance of non-compliance," Brooke said.

The bribery allegations were first reported by the New York Times. Last month, the paper published another story focusing on how Wal-Mart's Mexico division offered large payoffs to get things that the law prohibited.

The documents released Thursday by lawmakers include an email from November 2005 from Maritza Munich, then General Counsel of Wal-Mart International to Duke and other senior Wal-Mart executives. The email informed them of charges related to bribes paid to obtain permits for a store in Mexico.

The email contained a forwarded summary of an interview with Sergio Cicero Zapata, the former in-house counsel for Wal-Mart de Mexico who oversaw obtaining building through permits throughout Mexico.

The lawmakers also made public another email that Wal-Mart General Counsel Thomas Mars sent on Oct. 15, 2005 to Duke and Tom Hyde, the executive vice president of Wal-Mart. That email referenced to bribes paid to obtain permits for the Teotihuacan site.

"You'll want to read this. I'm available to discuss next steps," Mars wrote in the email.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawmakers-release-documents-wal-mart-bribery-164603468--finance.html

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LG Ultra HD Touch Display hands-on (video)

We bet you're yawning at the mention of 4K TVs by now, but here's a slight twist on that high-res concept. LG is showing off the so-called Ultra HD Touch display at its CES booth. It's pretty much what it sounds like: a 4K TV with five-point multitouch. LG isn't demoing this product as a TV -- though technically it could work as your standard set; instead it has the Ultra HD Touch running an interactive program created by the French company Intuiface. We could tap to select and enlarge information on different periods of art history, and we could rotate and perform pinch-to-zoom with individual elements on-screen. We could also dive into a drawing app, which included different pen options for doodling directly on the display.

Obviously, this sort of educational setup would be perfectly suited for a museum, though LG hasn't committed to any particular application of this display. Essentially, the idea is to demonstrate that touch technology on a giant 4K TV is quite possible -- and pretty neat, if you ask us -- rather than to debut a new high-brow product. But we have a feeling there will be more of such setups to come. For now, at least, you can check out our hands-on video past the break.

Continue reading LG Ultra HD Touch Display hands-on (video)

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, LG

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Fa3Ig47NHL0/

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Top 5 Health Retreats: Cleanse, Detox and Invigorate your Body ...

Just about everyone I know is making themselves a promise to be healthier this year. Just like they did last year, and the year before that.

For me, it?s not something I can ignore. It?s necessary to make lifestyle changes now to help manage my CFS and Fibro, but I?m trying not to look at it as a hardship?more as a positive life choice. I mean, if eating better, trying different therapies and cleansing my body and mind help me feel better and live longer, I can?t see the negative?can you?

I?ve been doing a lot of research into alternative therapies and the benefits of a natural food diet and will be writing a few posts about what I?ve learned, and how you too can implement the changes into your everyday life without feeling any hardship at all. But, if little changes aren?t enough for you right now, and you feel like you need a real kick up the bum to motivate you to give up the junk food, cut down (a little) on the booze and perhaps throw away the ciggies, a retreat may be for you.

Here is my list of the top 5 retreats I would love to visit?and why.

Grand Park Hotel, Austria

The Grand Park hotel is a gorgeous resort in?the southern region of Salzburger in Austria. The hotel focuses on health and has a variety of packages available, tailored to you and your needs; along with some ?out of the box? options that are designed to give you a real lift. Personally, I?d opt for the Grand Park Health Revival, which combines daily spa treatments with healthy food and your choice of activities. The more able could choose hiking, skiing or cycling, while those looking for a more gentle break can choose yoga, pilates or ?Tai Chi. A 4-night stay costs from ?1060 which includes flights, accommodation, transfers, treatments and full board. (The Healing Caves break also looks fantastic. From ?1690)

Ananda in the Himalyas

Ananda is perfect for those looking for a spiritual break that will enhance both body and mind.?Once the residence of Maharaja of Tehri-Garhwal, this beautiful resort is located in the swirling mists of the Himalayas. Entirely holistic, Ananda aims to help us all?understand the balance of nature, the ways of the Universe and how the elements affected not just our physical health, but our mental well-being. The list of packages is extensive but if I were to travel this far, I?d like to recharge with my partner, so would choose the 5 night Couples Connect package. It?s definitely not cheap at ?600 per night, which includes full board, all treatments and transfers. The Stress Management course also looks fantastic, at ?220 for 7 nights)

Penninghame House, Scotland

A little closer to home, Penninghame House offers a variety of programmes to both help you feel better, and to help you help others feel better too. The options here are great, with courses to improve self esteem, leave your past behind and live a macrobiotic lifestyle. Personally, I?d choose the Ultimate Health Experience, which is a one week residential retreat in?the regal 19th century manor house. The day starts with morning exercise (Chi Ball or Yoga), followed by a full healthy breakfast. The afternoon session sees lectures from guest speakers, followed by cooking classes that will inspire you to change your diet for good. The evenings include screenings, Q&A sessions and the options for personal counselling sessions or alternative activities. They claim to be able to help with many long term health issues, including diabetes and chronid fatigue syndrome. What I love about this programme is the variety and flexibility; I imagine you?d leave feeling fresh, motivated, cleansed and with a new set of skills for living a cleaner and more nutritious lifestyle. Prices for the Ultimate Health Experience start at ?995.

SHA Wellness Clinic, Alicante, Spain

SHA is a world leading medical hotel/wellness clinic, set in a?beautiful area of Spain,?focused on improving and notably lengthening people?s health and well-being. The staff includes a number of medical Doctors with varying specialities, who aim to improve health as a whole, not just treat a specific illness. The architecturally designed, award winning hotel is the height of luxury and sits in the hillside, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea at Albir Beach. They have three main packages, Essence, Discovery and Feeling, plus many other tailored options. I think here I?d opt for a gorgeous 2 night stay on the SHA Feeling programme, which helps you quickly?evaluate?diet, de-stress and relax with the beautiful facilities and treatments. The cost is 500euros for 2 nights- not bad for some relaxation and luxury.

Aguas de Ibiza Lifestyle & Spa, Ibiza

Most people know of my love of Ibiza. It?s not about the clubbing and craziness for me; it?s about the spirituality and beauty of the island in it?s natural form. Of course, you can have a great time in the super-clubs, but there is so much more to the White Isle than that. The 38? North courses are primarily focused about fitness, but I would personally book the Detox Retreat (?1580 for 6 night accommodation, flights, transfers, treatments and activities). The course includes 2 wellness and 2 nutritional consultations (start and end), a variety of treatments and daily activity classes. All this is great, but you also get to stay in the amazing Aguas de Ibiza Hotel in Santa Eularia ? one of my favourite places on the island.

Honorable?mentions:

F*&K It Retreats

Unfortunately, I never got to experience The Hill that Breathes, a completely radical retreat in the hills of Italy. However, I spread the word to anyone who would listen, as it looked incredible. The Hill that Breathes won ?Europes Best Retreat? in 2011, but John & Gaia decided to close the doors for a while and have now taken their infamous ?F**k It? programme mobile. Take a look at the calendar of events here; I have all?the?F**k It books and love the philosophy. You probably will too.

Yeotown, Devon

Yeotown opened it?s doors in 2010 and has already been voted ?Best Spa Retreat UK? by Conde Naste Traveller readers. This gorgeous farmhouse offers inspiring programmes for health and fitness, in what they call?a ?stylishly comfortable, rustic haven of health?. This would be the ideal break for those of you looking to lose weight, get fitter and cleanse at the same time.

The?Scarlet?Hotel, Cornwall

I?ve been looking into visiting the Scarlet Hotel in Cornwall for a long time now, and it?s creeping higher up my to do list by the day. This Boutique Eco-Spa-Hotel offers a range of spa break options that are tailored to your individual needs, set in the beautiful surroundings of the Cornish coast.

Have you visited any of these retreats? Please do let us know your thoughts if you have?or of course, recommend any others you may have been to in the comment box below x

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A little bit quirky, easily bored and obsessively interested in knowing everything there is to know (if I don?t know?I?ll Google it). Part Italian, part Austrian, raised in London and very happy about it. I was in a hit and run accident 8+ years ago. I?m still a little broken but completely OK about it?most days. I love fashion, food, simplicity, photographs, being barefoot, observing stillness, The Rolling Stones and finding beauty in unexpected places.

Source: http://thislittlelady.co.uk/2013/01/top-5-health-retreats-cleanse-detox-and-invigorate-your-body-and-mind/

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Nikon J3 and S1 hands-on (video)

Nikon's 1 series of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras may not be the first choice among professional photographers, but they're apparently selling like hotcakes, and they're a big hit at CES, too. Front and center in Nikon's booth, there's a pair of professional dancers practicing their craft on continuous shifts, surrounded by a ring of J3 and S1 bodies and a variety of colorful lenses. Both cameras look and feel very similar to Nikon's first model in this series, the J1.

There's a handful of new colors available, and the internals have gotten a bit of a boost, but all in all, the cameras would feel mighty familiar to any 1 series user. The 14.2-megapixel J3 is Nikon's premium model, if you can call it that, while the 10.1-megapixel S1 is the entry-level variant, with kit prices set at $600 and $500, respectively. Both cameras are set to ship next month -- catch all the specs at our announcement post, and jump past the break for a closer look in our hands-on.

Gallery: Nikon J3 and S1 hands-on

Continue reading Nikon J3 and S1 hands-on (video)

Filed under: Cameras, Nikon

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/nikon-j3-s1-hands-on/

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Syria's deepening humanitarian crisis: By the numbers

Between the civil war, winter weather, and global indifference, Syria is rapidly sliding toward disaster

Nobody, it seems, was impressed with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's speech on Sunday laying out his plan to end the bloody 22-month conflict pitting Assad's government against armed rebels trying to topple him. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon dismissed Assad's proposal as a thinly veiled effort to stay in power, and the U.S. State Department said the speech shows that Assad is "detached from reality." But the unpalatable reality, says Simon Tisdall at Britain's The Guardian, is that "Assad is still in power, shows no sign of heeding demands to quit, and is far from beaten," and the Syrians are paying the price. That price, according to the U.N., is a huge and growing humanitarian crisis, exacerbated by fuel shortages and a lack of aid organizations able to work in the country. A look at Syria's deepening disaster, by the numbers:

60,000
Estimated Syrians killed since Assad started cracking down on protesters in March 2011

SEE MORE: How American inaction is killing Syrians

2,727
Average deaths a months?

1.5 million
Hunger-plagued Syrians being fed by the U.N.'s World Food Program and its partners

SEE MORE: Why Bashar al-Assad unplugged the internet in Syria

1 million
Hunger-plagued Syrians in need of food aid that the WFP and its partners are unable to reach

$1.5 billion
Amount the U.N. is requesting to tackle Syria's growing humanitarian crisis

SEE MORE: NATO missiles on the Turkey-Syria border: A big blow to Assad?

$519 million
Share of that money earmarked for people inside Syria in need of urgent humanitarian aid

4 million
Syrians inside the country who need urgent humanitarian aid

SEE MORE: Is Bashar al-Assad nearly finished?

2 million
Share of those Syrians who have been displaced from their homes

$1 billion
Share of that money for Syrian refugees in Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, and Egypt

SEE MORE: Has Bashar al-Assad lost control of Syria?

597,240
Number of Syrian refugees in those countries as of Jan. 6

509,559
Number of Syrian refugees in those countries on Dec. 11, 2012

SEE MORE: Syria's PR campaign failed ? and so did America's policy

54,000
Syrians in Jordan's Zaatari refugee camp, where violence broke out this week after winter storms blew away tents and flooded parts of the camp

9,000
Refugees entering the Zaatari camp in the past week

$16 (25,000 Lebanese pounds)
Amount Lebanon is reportedly charging each Syrian Palestinian for a 14-day visa

$3.50 (250 Syrian pounds)
Cost of 2.2 pounds of bread in Aleppo, 50 percent higher than other parts of Syria and six times the price before the civil war started

0.27
Estimated percentage of Syria's population killed in the civil war so far

0.58
Estimated percentage of Yugoslavian population killed in the bloody 1991-99 civil war (140,000 deaths)

2.01
Estimated percentage of Spanish population killed in the 1936-39 civil war (500,000 deaths)

1.97
Estimated percentage of U.S. population killed in the 1861-65 American Civil War (618,222 deaths)

Sources: CNN, Fox News, The Guardian?(2),?The New York Times, Scoop, VOA News

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrias-deepening-humanitarian-crisis-numbers-071800176.html

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Crane collapses at NY City construction site, seven hurt

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 170-foot tall crane collapsed on Wednesday at a construction site in the New York City borough of Queens, injuring at least seven people, three seriously, authorities said.

The mobile crane was being used at the site of a new 25-story residential building under construction when it fell over about 2:30 p.m., the New York City Police Department said.

Among the seven injured, three were in serious condition and another four suffered minor injuries, the New York Fire Department said. None of the injuries was considered life threatening.

Police and fire crews as well as officials from the city's buildings department responded to the accident. The cause of the collapse was under investigation.

The crane is owned by New York Crane, among the biggest crane operators in New York. The company's owner, James Lomma, was acquitted last year of manslaughter charges for a crane collapse that killed two workers in May, 2008 and raised fears about high-level building projects in New York.

In that case, the nearly 200-foot-tall crane that snapped in half and crashed onto a building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. That incident came two months after another crane operated by Lomma's company in Manhattan collapsed and killed seven people.

A representative from New York Crane was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Paul Thomasch; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/crane-collapses-construction-york-city-202157883.html

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