One World Trade Center rises at terror's void at Ground Zero

By ANTHONY M. DESTEFANO

Photo credit: AP | 1 World Trade Center, left, the National September 11 Memorial, bottom left, and 4 World Trade Center, right, are bathed in light on the eleventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (Sept. 11, 2012)

Finally, 11 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the hole that terrorists blasted into the New York skyline has been filled in. On Tuesday's anniversary, the new One World Trade Center now reaches 1,368 feet into the sky. Though still unfinished, it dominates lower Manhattan, a shimmering guidepost, visible from miles away in every direction just as the iconic Twin Towers once were.

"The thrill is back," said Pat Harris, of Sayville, a charter boat captain who has been taking passengers to the North Cove Marina near the trade center for 22 years. Before 9/11, "seeing the [Twin Towers] after a sail in New York Harbor meant so much for everyone on board," Harris said. With the rising tower more than a quarter-mile high, "I'm feeling that New York drama again. At night it's unbelievable when it's all lit up."

'A beautiful tower' Anne Ielpi, whose firefighter son Jonathan, 29, was among the nearly 3,000 killed, said that each day she crosses the Saddle Rock Bridge in Great Neck, she sees "a beautiful tower" rising 15 miles to the southwest and takes a measure of satisfaction.

The loss of her son was "a wound that doesn't heal," she said. But the emerging skyscraper, popularly known as the Freedom Tower, "tells those animals [the terrorists] they haven't won, and that we have to go on every day." The tower, which will top out at 1,776 feet, is due to be completed by early 2014, the anchor of $15 billion in redevelopment at Ground Zero. "I feel very proud of it," said former Gov. George Pataki, a central player in the early years of redevelopment planning, as he gazed downtown out the window of his law office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. "We are going to have the iconic statement at Ground Zero I had hoped for."

Getting there is taking twice as long as it was supposed to. In 2003, Pataki unveiled a timeline that called for completing the main tower by 2007-2008. But the mega-project became mired in agonizing delays. Stakeholders sparred over finances. There were major revisions and redesigns of the plan to meet concerns for security against new terror attacks and to adjust to lowered forecasts for office-space demand. As One World Trade Center and a sister office structure, the 977-foot Tower Four rise up, changes are being made closer to the ground as well.

A 9/11 memorial, with its waterfalls and parapets inscribed with the names of the dead, opened a year ago and has attracted 4.5 million visitors. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum was stalled in a $156 million dispute between the Port Authority and museum's nonprofit foundation until Monday when a deal was reached. Many say the doubts from the early years that downtown could ever recover are gone. "It's hard to remember that a just a decade ago, many people were convinced that lower Manhattan was finished as a business district," said developer Larry Silverstein, who had just taken over as leaseholder of the Twin Towers from the Port Authority when they were attacked.

New center of downtown Clad in a dark, reflective glass skin that contrasts with the shiny metal exterior of the previous buildings, the new structures are revealing their own personality as they emerge as the new center of downtown.

The reconstruction of the site is creating an environment that reconnects Ground Zero to the city in a way the old trade center didn't. Streets that were once blocked by the old towers will now be open to pedestrians.

"It is not finished, but we have created a place that is much more like the rest of New York than the old World Trade Center -- much more pedestrian friendly," said Janno Lieber, the trade center project director for Silverstein Properties, which owns the office leases for much of the site.

"It is important that the entire area becomes rewoven into the fabric of New York. You are finally seeing it now," said David Emil, president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the public agency formed to rebuild the area.

One World Trade Center, at the northwest corner of Ground Zero, is 55 percent leased, with major tenants including publisher Condé Nast and the U.S. General Services Administration. When it and Tower Four are complete, more than 600 police officers will be assigned to a special World Trade Center command. The 11-story concrete base of One World Trade Center is windowless and hardened to protect against truck bombs. That security design was one cause of delay in the tower's construction. The larger problem was that so many agencies and powerful individuals were involved. Pataki created the LMDC to oversee the rebuilding in November 2001. But flexing their muscles were the Port Authority, which owned the site, as well as prime office leaseholder Silverstein. Ultimately, Silverstein agreed to exchange his right to the footprint area of the two downed towers for the right to build office towers surrounding the Memorial.

A vision for the site The overall vision for the project is that of designer and architect Daniel Libeskind, who in 2003 unveiled a concept containing five skyscrapers with angled rooftops all sloped downward in the direction of the memorial. He also planned four other buildings, a performance hall and a transportation terminal, as well as the restoration of Fulton and Greenwich streets through the site.

Silverstein then chose David M. Childs, who had designed the new Seven World Trade Center to replace the old structure that collapsed in the attack, as the primary architect for the Freedom Tower. Other architects were selected for the four other buildings, the transportation terminal, memorial and museum.

Economic reality soon set in. While One World Trade Center and Tower Four are rising high, Tower Two and Tower Three are not much more than stubs above ground as Silverstein and the Port Authority wait for the economy and demand for office space to change. Tower Five's site, owned by the LMDC, is serving as a temporary entry point to the memorial.

For all the changes, "It is something I am so proud of," Libeskind said of Ground Zero. "In the beginning, there was a hole, a kind of sadness. I see the change on people's faces. It is no longer a void. It has to be an inspiration, like the great piazzas of Italy. It will have millions of visitors."

Michael Keane, 49, manager of O'Hara's, a bar and restaurant on Cedar Street a block from Ground Zero, said the rebuilding signals hope.

"The tall buildings make you feel good," said Keane, who had to flee from the collapsing Twin Towers 11 years ago. "We had suffered for a long time." With Bart Jones and Maria Alvarez

Shawn Ryan, Kurt Sutter, ‘Last Resort,’ ‘Sons of Anarchy,’ and Hollywood’s Approach to Race and Casting

By Alyssa Rosenberg on Sep 11, 2012 at 4:02 pm I’m excited for Sons of Anarchy to return to FX tonight and for the debut of Lost Resort on ABC (it’s available online , but airs for the first time on September 27). They’re both ambitious shows with big ideas, Last Resort about nuclear weapons and the geopolitical stability, Sons of Anarchy about masculinity and fraternity. And they’re both shows with diverse casts, from creators with interesting, if contrasting, thoughts on the best way to get television to get more like the people watching it.

Both Ryan and Andre Braugher, who stars in Last Resort, were asked about Braugher’s status as the rare African-American lead on television at the Television Critics Association press tour earlier this summer. Ryan pointed out that this wasn’t the first time he’s had a black male lead in one of his shows—Dennis Haysbert came first in The Unit. But Ryan said he thought that a color-blind approach was the best way to get television functioning like a true meritocracy for people of color.

“I just never looked at it that way. I’ve wanted the best actor for the role. I try to be as color-blind as possible in most roles that I cast,” he said. “You know, when we put together a list for this role, there were various ethnicities involved, the same for Sam, you know, literally every role. You know, networks want people to watch their shows, and a lot goes into who the audience is. I just don’t concern myself with that. I concern myself with how good can the show be? And you’ve heard Andre speak here today. What writer wouldn’t want him saying their words? So things are changing. Thing are getting better, I think. I feel like I’m doing my part…And I actually do believe that Hollywood is the kind of place where merit can and is rewarded, and so I assume it will be nice when these questions don’t get asked anymore, when Andre can just be an actor playing Marcus Chaplin and portray him and get praise for his performance, but unfortunately, we are not to that point yet. But it feels like we are better off than we were 15, 20 years ago, and hopefully, 20 years from now, we won’t have to worry about it.”

When I spoke to Sutter a few days after the Last Resort panel, we chatted about the arc of Sons of Anarchy in terms of its approach to race, particularly given last season’s plot in which Juice, a younger member of SAMCRO, is blackmailed over his father’s race and lead to believe the fact that he is part African-American could lead to him being expelled from the motorcycle club.

“The interesting thing about MCs, or maybe interesting is the wrong word, but the fascinating thing about the racial component I always felt was the idea that we have a very grey areas. They’re not really defined,” he told me. “It was important for me to separate [the club the show focuses on] from white supremacists in the first couple of seasons, and I did want to acknowledge there is this antiquated bylaw in most of the larger clubs. How did that play out? In some clubs, it’s very rigid. What happened to Juice, he definitely would have been drummed out. Other clubs, not so much.”

In the course of talking about Juice’s plot arc the last season, Sutter pivoted to talking about race more generally, and offered something of a counterpoint to Ryan, with whom he worked on The Shield.

“I just like the reality of bringing in people of color in terms of the show,” he said. “I was just reading Shawn Ryan’s TCA [session] this morning about casting Andre Braugher as a lead of that show. And I think it’s important, and I think there’s a certain responsibility that we have to do that. I try to, even though I write a show about a bunch of white guys riding motorcycles, I probably have as many or more people of color employed on my show than most shows.”

The reality of it is that Hollywood probably needs both of these approaches. Shows and movies that aren’t explicitly about race won’t get more diverse unless the people writing casting notices truly mean it when they say they want people of all races and ethnicities to read for roles , and make that desire clear all the way down their chain of command. And it would help if more white creators were genuinely interested in race, and felt comfortable and confident creating characters of color while remaining aware of the dangers of racial ventriloquism. We need a lot of kinds of stories, and a lot of kinds of characters, and it’s going to take people with a lot of different visions to make them.

IT Jobs: A promising Future by: Irishnewjob

by: Irishnewjob

Information technology has entered almost in all sphere of our life. From electricity bill payment to shopping all are related and effected by IT in some way to other. Industries are automating their task to cut down manual labor cost. Home appliances, industrial machines, watch, automobiles are using software to enhance the quality of products. As a result demand of IT professionals is high in market.

IT jobs are promising, it offers hefty salary package with immense opportunity to grow and expand your career. If you are expert in your field and have good knowledge on your subject then you can easily get handsome salary package. All you need to have to build your career in It industry is right degree and skill, it is the only qualification you need to make your career in IT industry. If your are fresher and looking for primary level IT jobs then internet could help you in finding your avenue but for specialist level and higher standard IT jobs you have to rely on your professional contact as most of the organizations did not disclose higher level job opening at job portals.

You can start your IT career as a software engineer, web developer, database manager and IT Hardware professional. To accelerate your IT career it is important to update your skill from time to time. Learn industry level skill and enhance your capability. Course offered by SAP and Oracle are very promising though it is not easy to clear these exams but once you become SAP or Oracle certified professional you value will increase in the industry.

Searching IT Jobs is not a tough job there are various online portals and IT recruitment companies dealing in IT jobs. Job portals are more useful as there you can see different openings posted by numbers of IT companies. IT jobs are promising; it is one of the well-paid industries with fast growth rate. Start hunting for your dream IT job with online portals and give right shape to your career.

“Send your resume to online job portals for IT job and get hired by best IT companies.”

Ferrari 458 Italia Manettino, Launch Control and Interior

by: Passione Rossa

The 458 Italia is equipped with a racing manettino switch leading toward more sporting set ups and giving the driver a wider selection of electronic controls parameters. The ICE setting saw in the F430 has been removed, while the CT setting has been added in order to deactivate the traction control and at the same time maintain the stability control. There are five different manettino positions and conditions: Low Grip, Sport, Race, CT and CTS. Low Grip setting provides maximum grip under all driving conditions, and it is particularly suited for low grip surfaces.

The emphasis is on comfort and stability without compromising the handling. Sport is the best setting for day to day driving and guarantees great safety under good grip. Race is particularly suitable for track driving providing maximum performance and stability in optimal grip situations. CT helps the driver improving his driving skills in safety, by keeping active the stability control. It allows over-steer right to the edge of the car’s limits and guarantees enhanced driving pleasure and fun behind the wheel, particularly on the track. Under CTS setting, both stability and traction control systems are deactivated, giving the driver maximum freedom and control on the track. No electronic systems intervene on the vehicle stability with the exception of E-diff3 and ABS.

On the 458 Italia, the driver can decouple the suspension damping from the electronic configuration selected on the manettino. The suspension decoupling button offers improved “filtering” of uneven road surfaces in order to improve performance and handling on uneven broken surfaces, such as the ones at the Nürburgring race track.

The launch control button is instead designed to offer the best possible acceleration from standstill. It delivers the maximum possible torque to the ground and prevents wheel spin as the car accelerates away. Its activation is indicated in the instrument panel. To start using the Launch control, the manettino must be selected on race, CT or CTS setting. With the car still at standstill, the driver then needs to put the gearbox in manual, selects first gear, pushes the launch control, presses the accelerator pedal and then releases the brake pedal.

The stylistic interior choices developed by Ferrari Centro Stile reflect a functional, ergonomic cockpit design. The driver is set in the center of a streamlined and intuitive layout, which is very much in line with the marquee’s signature styling cues.

New Apple Ingredient Discovery Keeps Muscles Strong!

Natural Component of Apple Peels Found To Help Prevent Muscle Weakening

In search of an effective method to prevent muscle wasting that comes with illness and aging, researchers have located a natural compound that is very promising.

The findings reported in the June issue of Cell Metabolism (a Cell Press publication), identify a natural component of apple peels known as Ursolic Acid as a promising newnutritional therapy for the widespread and debilitating condition that affects nearly everyone at one time or another.

"Muscle wasting is a frequent companion of illness and aging," explained researchers from The University of Iowa, Iowa City. "It prolongs hospitalization, delays recoveries and in some cases prevents people going back home. It isn't well understood and there is no medicine for it.

The research team first looked at what happens to gene activity in muscles under conditions that promote weakening. Those studies turned up 63 genes that change in response to fasting in both people and mice and another 29 that shift their expression in the muscles of both people who are fasting and those with spinal cord injury. Comparison of those gene expression signatures to the signatures of cells treated with more than 1300 bio-active small molecules led them to ursolic acid as a compound with effects that might counteract those of atrophy.

"Ursolic Acid is an interesting natural compound," they said. "It's part of a normal diet as a component of apple peels. They always say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away..."

The researchers next gave Ursolic Acid to fasted laboratory subjects. Those experiments showed that ursolic acid could protect against muscle weakening as predicted. When ursolic acid was added to the food of normal subjects for a period of weeks, their muscles grew. Those effects were traced back to enhanced insulin signaling in muscle and to corrections in the gene signatures linked to atrophy.

The subjects given ursolic acid also became leaner and had lower blood levels of glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides. The findings therefore suggest that ursolic acid may be responsible for some of the overall benefits of healthy eating.

"We know if you eat a balanced diet like mom told us to eat you get this material," the researchers explained "People who eat junk food don't get this."

It is not yet clear whether the findings will translate to human patients, but the goal now is to "figure out if this can help people." If so, they don't yet know whether Ursolic Acid at levels that might be consumed as part of a normal diet might or might not be enough.

Journal Reference:

mRNA Expression Signatures of Human Skeletal Muscle Atrophy Identify a Natural Compound that Increases Muscle Mass. Cell Metabolism

10 Thing Sales People Need to Know About C-Level Decision Makers

by: Kelley Robertson Selling to high-level decision makers is challenging at the best of times. However, it can be easier if you understand a few business principles.

C-level decision makers are paid to improve their business results. Regardless of how the media portrays these executives, their primary concern is to improve their business. This includes increasing sales, market share, customer loyalty; reducing costs, errors, or employee turnover; improving productivity, employee engagement, customer service, etc.

How does your product, service or solution address one of these issues?

C-level decision makers deal with changing priorities. Improving customer engagement may be a top priority today but tomorrow that executive may be faced with cutting $250,000 in expenses. That means they sometimes go cold after expressing initial interest in your solution.

Do you have a strategy in place to keep your solution current?

C-level decision makersare extremely busy. The average executive arrives early in the morning and stays late into the evening. They get dozens of calls every day, receive too many emails, and attend too many meetings. This means that you need to maximize every minute you have when you connect with them. This applies to telephone conversations and face-to-face meetings. Do you know EXACTLY what to say when you connect with these individuals? C-level decision makersrely on others. Contrary to popular belief, these high-ranking big-wigs seldom make decisions on their own. They often defer to other people on their team and ask for feedback from peers and/or subordinates. This means you need to involve these people in your conversations and include them in the decision making process.

Do you have the ability to finesse this?

C-level decision makers don’t like to make mistakes. A major mistake can affect an executive’s reputation in their company. This affects the decision-making process which means you need to uncover their risk factor during your conversations.

How will you reduce your prospect’s risk factor?

C-level decision makers have big egos. Most executives have a healthy ego which is one of the things that helped them achieve their status in the company. This means that you need to be very confident in your own abilities when selling to these individuals. Don’t back down when you’re challenged. In fact, doing so could cost you the business because C-level execs want to deal with people who believe in what they do.

Are you confident enough to deal directly with C-level executives?

C-level decision makers spend the bulk of their day in meetings.The next time you’re in the office, watch an executive. Chances are you will see them dashing from meeting to meeting. Your prospects are in the same position. They aren’t sitting at their desk waiting for you to call them.

Are you persistent in your efforts to connect with these individuals?

C-level decision makers have at least 40 hours of work on their desk at any given time. Several executives I know have expressed these sentiment, “I will never get caught up” or “Just when I think I can’t get busier, I do” or “I never call a sales person back because I already have too much on my plate.” you need to give these individual’s an extremely good reason to meet with you or take your call.

Is your approach effective?

C-level decision makers receive upwards of 150 emails every day. Many sales people use email as their major form of correspondence and it can be ineffective because most C-level decision makers simply don’t have time to respond to every email. A Managing Director once told me that he prefers telephone correspondence because he simply can’t get to every email, even when he wants to.

Do you use a variety of strategies to connect with C-level decision makers?

C-level decision makers think big picture.Stop focusing on your product or your company and start looking at the big picture of your prospect’s business. Most C-level execs don’t get bogged down in the little details of their business—they pay others to take care of the details. I once met with the President of a $125 million company and made the mistake of asking her questions about front-line execution instead of top-level strategic issues.

Flip Charts - Successful Presentation Tools

by: Archie Coles Providing office products at your place are simply an effortless task these days hence, it appears to be cost-effective, time saving and very much convenient. Any company or business needs to be maintained by latest office supplies. Office products are the most important tools range from small pens to office furniture. These types of office products help your business or company grow in a better way. Clients always focus on what type of office supplies you use, how you carry them!

One of such office products is flip chart, an important tool mainly used in most of the business for presentation purpose. Flip chart is also used in elaborating your ideas and views. It can be availed in various styles, sizes, and shapes. Indeed a worthy investment, flip charts easily serve their purpose. Flip charts are the most usual tools seen in every office or in business.

Here are ten simple steps which will make your flip charts look quite professional.

- Make your flip chart pages in prior, so that your audience will not have to wait for what you have jotted things on the page.

- To give it more professional look, you should keep one page blank at least between each written page. In this way, extra information like comments of your audiences can be added.

- If you wish to draw diagram or chart, you can make light pencil outlines on the pages in prior; hence, this marks and lines can be seen by your audiences. Thus your charts and diagrams will look more professional.

- Ensure that, your conclusion page appears at the end of the flip charts, so that you can easily turn the pages.

- Each page should contain enough space for key points; some additional points can be added as you go through.

- Mainly you should use big letters but not the capital letters so that your audience can read your writing.

- Your text should be in dark colors something like, blue and black.

- If you wish to write on the flip chart while discussing with your audience, do stand one side, so that your audience can view what you have jotted down. - After your presentation gets over, go through the pages of flip charts; make some notes based on points. Give information to those people who were present with you.