Texas lawyer pleads not guilty to aiding cartel

Marco Antonio Delgado is escorted out of the El Paso County Jail, Monday, Nov. 5, 2012 in El Paso, Texas. Delgado was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering according to jail records. (AP Photo/Juan Carlos Llorca)

Marco Antonio Delgado is escorted out of the El Paso County Jail, Monday, Nov. 5, 2012 in El Paso, Texas. Delgado was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering according to jail records. (AP Photo/Juan Carlos Llorca)

Marco Antonio Delgado is placed into a car outside of the El Paso County Jail, Monday, Nov. 5, 2012 in El Paso, Texas. Delgado was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering according to jail records. (AP Photo/Juan Carlos Llorca)

Marco Antonio Delgado sits inside a car outside of the El Paso County Jail, Monday, Nov. 5, 2012 in El Paso, Texas. Delgado was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering according to jail records. (AP Photo/Juan Carlos Llorca)

EL PASO, Texas (AP) ? In public, Marco Antonio Delgado was a philanthropist, a prominent El Paso businessman and a trustee at Carnegie Mellon University. But secretly, investigators say, he was trying to launder more than half a billion dollars for a Mexican drug cartel.

Delgado pleaded not guilty Thursday in El Paso to federal charges that accuse him of conspiring to launder $600 million of a cartel's drug profits from July 2007 through December 2008. Homeland Security Investigations said he was linked to a cartel based in Guadalajara, Mexico.

If convicted, the married father faces up to 20 years in prison.

A recently unsealed indictment doesn't provide details on how Delgado planned to carry out the scheme, though details could be revealed during a bond hearing Wednesday, when prosecutors try to convince a judge to keep Delgado in jail.

His wife and son declined comment after Thursday's hearing, as did his attorneys. Delgado was arrested last week.

Records show that Delgado was an active philanthropist in the El Paso area, donating to the Symphony Orchestra, and was a member of the boards of educational charities.

Delgado also gave Carnegie Mellon, his alma mater, $250,000 to establish a fellowship in 2003. He later became a trustee of the prestigious university in Pittsburgh, a post that allowed him to rub elbows with top executives of large companies such as GM, USB Wealth Management and Oracle.

University spokesman Ken Walters confirmed that Delgado was a trustee from 2006 through mid-2012, saying: "I wish it was someone else."

By his own account, Delgado even dabbled in Mexican politics. A biography recently pulled from the university's website said Delgado took leave from his professional activities to join Mexican President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto's campaign in early 2012, and that he was currently part of his transition team.

Eduardo Sanchez, a spokesman for the transition team, said they had never heard of Delgado and pointed to the group's website, which doesn't list Delgado as a member. Such teams are tasked by the president-elect to meet with current officials and gather information to assure a smooth transition between administrations.

"Clearly this person is not part of the team. We don't know him," Sanchez said.

Sanchez also ruled out the possibility that Delgado could have served as an adviser to Pena Nieto, or worked on or raised funds for his campaign.

As to why Delgado would provide such information to the university, Sanchez speculated that "criminals normally say things that are not true."

Delgado received a master's degree in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon's Heinz College in 1990. He gave the school the $250,000 to establish the Marco Delgado Fellowship for the Advancement of Hispanics in Public Policy and Management in 2003. In a news release at the time, he credited the school's "outstanding faculty, strong links to the private sector and overall dedication to producing problem-solvers."

Walters, the university spokesman, said Delgado had provided the biographical information that had been on the school's website, including his claimed links to Mexico's president-elect.

He declined comment on whether the endowment funding could be linked to drug money or if they have looked into the claims made by Delgado in his biography.

"Right now we have no knowledge of the matter and are reserving comment until the authorities investigate," Walters said.

Robert Strauss, a professor at Heinz College, told the Pittsburg Tribune-Review that he was shocked to learn of Delgado's indictment.

"I've known Marco Delgado for some considerable number of years," Strauss said. He added that Delgado had never been one of his students, but that he "always was interested in our Hispanic students, and he has been generous."

___

Associated Press writers Kevin Begos in Pittsburgh and Adriana Gomez Licon in Mexico City contributed to this report.

___

Follow Juan Carlos Llorca on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jcllorca.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-11-09-Attorney-Drug%20Cartel/id-feeec9c917af4e5b8b7cf0fbf5eca97c

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Franchises ? Good and Bad ? Careers | Raw Business Law

Even though franchising per se is a sound business concept, there are good and bad franchises ? and a prospective franchisee needs to discern the difference between the two.

Since choosing a franchise is a major decision, a prospect has to consider many factors before taking the final plunge. Initially, however, he should first list down his preferences, personality traits, and management style. He should go into a business that matches who he is, and how he runs things. He must also study the existing franchises in his area so he could decide if he wants to put up an additional outlet of a company that already has several franchises there or venture into a new one. Finally, he can start to consider the terms of each franchise.

It is necessary for any prospect to conduct a research on existing franchises of the brands he is considering to enquire about their problems, financial viability, and level of satisfaction with the franchise. The feedback that he will get will get can serve as a major gauge on the viability of the business.

A good franchise offers a total package that ranges from start-up assistance to post-opening support for a reasonable fee. There are several points to look for in a good franchise. The brand must be known to the prospect and must be have the potential to expand further. The track record of the franchisor must be good and the franchise fee is reasonable. The projected level of profitability must be supported by facts i.e. the net income of existing franchises, to have an assurance that the investment will be recouped within a reasonable period. Because the investment is lower than a non-franchise business, the Return on Investment should be significantly higher.

The franchisor must be seriously committed to the success of their franchises. The franchisor-franchisee relations should be strong. The existing franchisees should be satisfied with their business and the marketing programs that the central management implements. The organization must be structured in such a way that the roles of each unit are clear and well delineated. A highly organized company maintains an efficient system that maximizes the use of time, energy, and human resources to save money and thus boost profits. In a structured company, the problems in day-to-day operations are greatly reduced because everything is expected to run like clockwork.

The market research must be extensive enough to maintain and continuously strive to improve the profitability of all the franchises. Good franchisors are always on the lookout for potential opportunities to further improve existing strengths and address the problem areas strategically. They know how to respond to market changes quickly in order to stay ahead of other businesses.

The performance of each franchise is studied from time to time. The training that the franchisor provides must be sufficient for start-up operations and running the business, and projected for the long-term stay of employees. In addition, the support of the central management should be adequate to assist the franchisees in handling the problems that may be encountered in running their outlet. This shows that the franchisor is dedicated to maintaining the integrity of its brand in all aspects of the business. Continuous support from the franchisor also lessens the possibility of any of the franchises ruining the reputation of the brand.

Lastly, a good franchisor strictly adheres to all the terms of the franchise agreement. The products and services that are offered through the franchisor must be of high quality and are delivered promptly. This strengthens the relationship between the franchisor and its franchisees.

On the other hand, bad franchises are generally short on training, support, and expertise. More often, these are the lesser-known brands that have little to lose in the event the franchise is unsuccessful. They do not have an established track record to speak of and may therefore fall short on experience and expertise to help run a successful franchise. They may demand an unreasonably large amount as franchise fee to give the impression that they are as good as the more popular franchises and provide the same intensive training and support. Prospects need to be aware of unscrupulous people who may only be after making an instant profit easily by deceiving a prospect with promises of projected profits. Some companies may draw up a franchise agreement that is as good as that of bigger, more successful companies but due to their meagre resources and little or non-existent expertise, they may not be able to implement the agreed terms to the satisfaction of the franchisee. This is the very reason why conducting a research on existing franchises is very important.

A bad franchise promotes products and services that are seasonal. Prospects also have to stay clear of companies selling fake products such as those that manufacture and market imitations and pass these on as, for example, Class B originals. This is punishable by law.

Some companies, aware of the popularity of franchising, may take advantage of its attractiveness and offer franchises left and right, without regard for viability, and concerned only with selling as many franchises as possible.

In case a company is just starting out to franchise their brand, prospects need to be wary and take more time before committing. It may not necessarily be a bad franchise but nobody wants to be part of a test run.

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Source: http://rawbusinesslaw.com/2012/11/10/franchises-good-and-bad-careers/

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A scientific explanation to why people perform better after receiving a compliment

Public release date: 9-Nov-2012
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Contact: Norihiro Sadato
sadato@nips.ac.jp
81-564-557-842
National Institute for Physiological Sciences

A team of Japanese scientists have found scientific proof that people doing exercises appear to perform better when another person compliments them. The research was carried out by a group lead by National Institute for Physiological Sciences Professor Norihiro Sadato, Graduate University for Advanced Studies graduate student Sho Sugawara, Nagoya Institute of Technology Tenure-Track Associate Professor Satoshi Tanaka, and in collaboration with Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology Associate Professor Katsumi Watanabe. The team had previously discovered that the same area of the brain, the striatum, is activated when a person is rewarded a compliment or cash. Their latest research could suggest that when the striatum is activated, it seems to encourage the person to perform better during exercises. The paper is published online in PLOS ONE (November 7, 2012, edition).

Forty-eight adults recruited for the study were asked to learn and perform a specific finger pattern (pushing keys on a keyboard in a particular sequence as fast as possible in 30 seconds). Once participants had learned the finger exercise, they were separated into three groups. One group included an evaluator who would compliment participants individually, another group involved individuals who would watch another participant receive a compliment, and the third group involved individuals who evaluated their own performance on a graph. When the participants were asked to repeat the finger exercise the next day, the group of participants who received direct compliments from an evaluator performed better than participants from the other groups. It indicates that receiving a compliment after exercising stimulates the individual to perform better afterwards.

According to Professor Sadato, "To the brain, receiving a compliment is as much a social reward as being rewarded money. We've been able to find scientific proof that a person performs better when they receive a social reward after completing an exercise. There seems to be scientific validity behind the message 'praise to encourage improvement'. Complimenting someone could become an easy and effective strategy to use in the classroom and during rehabilitation."

This research was funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Sciences Research Grant (KAKENHI).

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 9-Nov-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Norihiro Sadato
sadato@nips.ac.jp
81-564-557-842
National Institute for Physiological Sciences

A team of Japanese scientists have found scientific proof that people doing exercises appear to perform better when another person compliments them. The research was carried out by a group lead by National Institute for Physiological Sciences Professor Norihiro Sadato, Graduate University for Advanced Studies graduate student Sho Sugawara, Nagoya Institute of Technology Tenure-Track Associate Professor Satoshi Tanaka, and in collaboration with Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology Associate Professor Katsumi Watanabe. The team had previously discovered that the same area of the brain, the striatum, is activated when a person is rewarded a compliment or cash. Their latest research could suggest that when the striatum is activated, it seems to encourage the person to perform better during exercises. The paper is published online in PLOS ONE (November 7, 2012, edition).

Forty-eight adults recruited for the study were asked to learn and perform a specific finger pattern (pushing keys on a keyboard in a particular sequence as fast as possible in 30 seconds). Once participants had learned the finger exercise, they were separated into three groups. One group included an evaluator who would compliment participants individually, another group involved individuals who would watch another participant receive a compliment, and the third group involved individuals who evaluated their own performance on a graph. When the participants were asked to repeat the finger exercise the next day, the group of participants who received direct compliments from an evaluator performed better than participants from the other groups. It indicates that receiving a compliment after exercising stimulates the individual to perform better afterwards.

According to Professor Sadato, "To the brain, receiving a compliment is as much a social reward as being rewarded money. We've been able to find scientific proof that a person performs better when they receive a social reward after completing an exercise. There seems to be scientific validity behind the message 'praise to encourage improvement'. Complimenting someone could become an easy and effective strategy to use in the classroom and during rehabilitation."

This research was funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Sciences Research Grant (KAKENHI).

###

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/nifp-ase110912.php

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The Power of a Woman with a Meme - HBR Blog Network - Harvard ...

by Morra Aarons-Mele??|?? 3:56 PM November 8, 2012

If the Republican Party learned one thing this election cycle, it's that women with opinions are a force to be reckoned with. But do brands understand that?

Women dominate nearly every major social media network. Weekly, 67.5 million women are logged on to social media sites. They drive 62% of daily Facebook activity, and 68% of traffic on Pinterest. They comprise 53% of Twitter users and tweet more frequently than men. Women who are active on social media also tend to be active across many social platforms.

This election cycle was filled with derisive remarks about rape, birth control, and pay equity. The internet, through social media, provided a safe space for women to act on, create communities around, and have conversations about these issues ? and generate gaffe-specific memes that went viral. For Democratic candidates up and down the ticket, this spelled victory.

And yet, with the exception of consumer products companies reaching out to the large and influential community of mom-bloggers, many organizations don't seem to understand the organizing power of women connected online. And it boggles my mind that in this day and age, rather than listening to what women really care about, communicators simply often "pinkwash" products in an attempt to gain women's support ? from the ill-fated "Bic for Her" pen to Ann Romney's "I Love Women" RNC Convention speech to the new pink Honda Fit.

The people who comprise women's social networks are more than just strangers on the internet ? women trust their online friends and followers. Seventy-seven percent of women active on social media now turn to blogs for information. Women are influencing each other's decisions through non-stop conversations on social media. In the 2012 elections, these conversations helped organize women against Republican candidates like Todd Akin, Richard Mourdock, and Mitt Romney.

Strong online networks build strong social capital, which study after study has shown increases civic participation. While some have cast doubt on social media's ability to spur action, as opposed to discussion, the case of Todd Akin is instructive. Social media erupted within hours of the TV interview in which he stated that in the case of "legitimate rape," women's bodies have a way of shutting "that whole thing [pregnancy] down." My Facebook page lit up with frantic fact-checking and ideas about how we could mobilize support for Akin's Democratic opponent for Senate, Claire McCaskill. Darkly hilarious animated gifs, Tumblrs, and memes exploded. But it wasn't just talk: When the third quarter fundraising numbers were announced, Akin had raised $1.6 million, less than a third of McCaskill's $5.8 million.

In election cycles past, one gaffe may have died quickly in the rapidly moving 24-hour news cycle, long forgotten come Election Day. This year, social media created a continuous story arc of Republican candidates' remarks, highlighting the condescension and disrespect many members of the GOP showed toward women. These stories were disseminated across networks in a way that spoke to women.

What blogger Ananda Leeke calls the #digitalsisterhood spans geography, ethnicity, social class, and even party identification. My online influencer network, The Mission List, created #blogforobama, a network that quickly disseminated political content across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others to provide a safe space for women bloggers to share political opinions, questions and fast-breaking news. This is a magic combination. When a powerful meme meets a network of digitally connected women, the result is change.

Social media marketing ? whether for a political campaign or a brand ? must be multi-pronged and personal. In my networks of women online, it was our personal stories that resonated most with our audiences. From Instagramming our photos of voting with kids in tow to writing moving personal "endorsement" blog posts, or even doing silly things like "Baking for Obama," we shared our political journeys in the social graph. And this meant, when news happened, it spread like wildfire.

The results are in the numbers: Barack Obama was re-elected, and 55% of women who voted supported him. In swing states, the gender gap was even wider. There are now a record number of women in the U.S. Senate, and all the candidates whose "rape" gaffes went viral were defeated.

From selling diapers to selling a President, women's opinions make the difference. Social media offers marketers an opportunity to really listen to what women want (earth friendly diapers that really absorb!! A president who believes women can make their own healthcare decisions!) and to connect with these women in a meaningful way. It's not good enough anymore to patronize our femaleness (Binders Full of Women, anyone?) or simply launch a pretty product wrapped in pink. Ask our opinions, respect our authority, hang out where we live: in social media. Your brand will win in the end.

Source: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/11/the_power_of_a_woman_with_a_me.html

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U.S. capital escapes brunt of storm Sandy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The nation's capital appeared to have escaped the worst of monster storm Sandy on Tuesday, although concerns remained about the potential for severe flooding along the Potomac River.

Washington suffered high winds and rains that brought down trees on some homes and flooded a few roads. But the area got off relatively lightly compared to New Jersey, where Sandy came ashore on Monday night, and battered New York City.

As of 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT) Tuesday, more than 4 inches of rain had fallen over the course of the storm in Washington, the National Weather Service said late Tuesday morning.

Although Sandy has moved on from the area, weather officials said flooding could still be a concern.

"Flood and flash flood watches and warnings are in effect over portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states," the weather service said in its 11 a.m. update.

On Monday, the weather service warned that the storm was expected to cause the worst floods in 16 years along the Potomac River starting on Tuesday night. This could affect the historic Georgetown neighborhood along the river as well as parts of the National Mall.

So far, the river's waters had swelled, reaching docks and some parkland but had not yet caused more extensive problems, media reported.

Washington's Canal Road near the river was closed on Tuesday because of flooding, radio station WTOP said.

Power outages in the region appeared to be limited. Just over 139,000 people were without power Tuesday afternoon because of the severe weather, according to a Washington Post website tracking blackouts.

The vast majority of these outages were in the suburbs of northern Virginia. In the District of Colombia itself a mere 2,999 customers were without power, the Post said.

Federal workers stayed home from work for a second day on Tuesday, and there was no immediate word about whether they would be expected to return on Wednesday. Washington city schools were also closed.

But the Washington transit authority announced it was resuming limited rail service on the Metro on Tuesday afternoon, and normal service would resume on Wednesday.

Another sign that life was returning to normal: the DC Taxicab Commission said the surcharge it had authorized drivers to levy during the storm -- $15 -- expired at noon.

There were some reports of storm damage around town. In Washington's small Chinatown, a small metal piece of an ornate arch over the main street came loose and dangled precariously, causing police to block one lane of traffic below.

The White House announced President Barack Obama would eschew campaigning for re-election and stay in town another day, Wednesday to oversee the hurricane response.

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell and Susan Heavey; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-capital-escapes-brunt-storm-sandy-172909350.html

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Oxidative stress and altered gene expression occurs in a metabolic liver disease model

ScienceDaily (Oct. 29, 2012) ? A team of researchers under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Teckman in the Department of Pediatrics at St. Louis University, have demonstrated that oxidative stress occurs in a genetic model of alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency. This is the most common genetic liver disorder in children and can lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in adults. Some cases may require liver transplantation.

The report, published in the October 2012 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine, suggests that treatment with antioxidants might be of therapeutic benefit for some individuals.

"We have evidence of oxidative stress in livers from an animal model that expresses the classical Z variant form of alpha-1-antitrypsin. The animal model recapitulates the human liver disease, in which the livers accumulate polymers of alpha-1-antitrypsin mutant Z protein, developing fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma with age," says Dr. Marcus. Potentially, non-invasive treatment involving long-term regulation of antioxidant levels could ameliorate the oxidative stress and retard the advancement of disease.

"This is an exciting new report which may help us understand the extreme variability between different patients with this same, single gene, metabolic liver disease. These findings may inform the pathophysiology of other liver diseases as well," says Dr. Teckman. In clinical studies, liver disease from alpha-1-antitrypsin mutant Z protein has shown considerable variability in severity and progression, suggesting that as yet undescribed genetic modifiers may influence disease development. Based on this study, certain antioxidant enzymes involved in oxidative stress defense could be useful targets for further examination. Using microarray technology, the investigators have identified a number of potential alterations in gene expression pathways that could modify the development of liver pathologies. This information could be useful in defining genetic variants that may influence individual susceptibility and in facilitating the design of appropriate treatments.

Steven R. Goodman, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology and Medicine said, "Teckman and colleagues have demonstrated that oxidative stress occurs in an animal model of Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency. This suggests that antioxidant treatment may be beneficial in this most common genetic liver disorder in children."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. N. Y. Marcus, K. Blomenkamp, M. Ahmad, J. H. Teckman. Oxidative stress contributes to liver damage in a murine model of alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency. Experimental Biology and Medicine, 2012; DOI: 10.1258/ebm.2012.012106

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/aG8p31SCRz8/121030062609.htm

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