Senator: Prostitution scandal wider than believed

FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2009 file photo, Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Sullivan will testify for the first time Wednesday about the humiliating prostitution scandal in Colombia that tarnished his agency's image. But don't expect Congress to demand his walking papers. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2009 file photo, Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Sullivan will testify for the first time Wednesday about the humiliating prostitution scandal in Colombia that tarnished his agency's image. But don't expect Congress to demand his walking papers. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Several small groups of Secret Service employees separately visited clubs, bars and brothels in Colombia prior to a visit by President Barack Obama last month and engaged in reckless, "morally repugnant" behavior, Sen. Susan Collins says.

She says the employees' actions during the stunning prostitution scandal could have provided a foreign intelligence service, drug cartels or other criminals with opportunities for blackmail or coercion that could have threatened the president's safety.

In remarks prepared for the first congressional hearing on the matter Wednesday, Collins, R-Maine, also challenged early assurances that the scandal in Colombia appeared to be an isolated incident. She noted that two participants were Secret Service supervisors ? one with 21 years of service and the other with 22 years ? and both were married. Their involvement "surely sends a message to the rank and file that this kind of activity is tolerated on the road," Collins said.

"This was not a one-time event," said Collins, the senior Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "The circumstances unfortunately suggest an issue of culture."

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the committee's chairman, said, "I want to hear what the Secret Service is doing to encourage people to report egregious behavior when they see it."

Wednesday's hearing was expected to expose new details in the scandal, which became public after a dispute over payment between a Secret Service agent and a prostitute at a Cartagena hotel on April 12. The Secret Service was in the coastal resort for a Latin American summit before Obama's arrival. Collins said several small groups of agency employees from two hotels went out separately to clubs, bars and brothels and they "all ended up in similar circumstances."

"Contrary to the conventional story line, this was not simply a single, organized group that went out for a night on the town together," Collins said.

Senators were expected to focus on whether the Secret Service permitted a culture in which such behavior was tolerated. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has testified previously that she would be surprised if there were other examples, but senators have been skeptical.

In his own prepared remarks, Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan told senators the behavior in Colombia wasn't representative of the agency's nearly 7,000 employees.

"I can understand how the question could be asked," Sullivan said, calling his employees "among the most dedicated, hardest working, self-sacrificing employees within the federal government."

Sullivan also assured senators that Obama's security was never at risk. The officers implicated in the prostitution scandal could not have inadvertently disclosed sensitive security details because their confidential briefing about Obama's trip had not taken place.

"At the time the misconduct occurred, none of the individuals involved in the misconduct had received any specific protective information, sensitive security documents, firearms, radios or other security-related equipment in their hotel rooms," Sullivan said.

Sullivan has survived professionally so far based on his openness about what happened. Senators were not expected to ask for his resignation, and the acting inspector general for the Homeland Security Department, Charles K. Edwards, gave Sullivan high marks for integrity. Edwards, who estimated that the early stages of his own investigation would be finished before July 2, said the Secret Service "has been completely transparent and cooperative."

"The Secret Service's efforts to date in investigating its own employees should not be discounted," Edwards told senators. "It has done credible job of uncovering the facts and, where appropriate, it has taken swift and decisive action."

The White House on Tuesday reasserted its confidence in Sullivan. Obama "has great faith in the Secret Service, believes the director has done an excellent job," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "The director moved very quickly to have this matter investigated and took action very quickly as a result of that investigation."

A dozen Secret Service officers and supervisors and 12 other U.S. military personnel were implicated. Eight Secret Service employees, including the two supervisors, have lost their jobs. The Secret Service is moving to permanently revoke the security clearance for one other employee, and three others have been cleared of serious wrongdoing.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that four of the Secret Service employees have decided to fight their dismissals.

Prostitution is legal in Colombia, but Sullivan quickly issued new guidelines that made it clear that agents on assignment overseas are subject to U.S. laws.

Sullivan said he directed Secret Service inspectors to investigate reports of similar misconduct in San Salvador. After 28 interviews with hotel employees and managers, State Department officials and others, "no evidence was found to substantiate the allegations," Sullivan said.

This week the Drug Enforcement Administration said the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General was investigating possible misconduct by two or more agents in Colombia. Collins revealed that the case involved at least two DEA employees who entertained female masseuses in the Cartagena apartment of one of the DEA agents. The investigation is unrelated to the Secret Service scandal but is based on information provided to the DEA by the Secret Service.

Associated Press

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Healthy Memphis: Get handle on high blood ... - Health and Fitness

What you should know

High blood pressure is often a silent killer that leads to heart and vascular disease. Adults in Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama are more likely to have high blood pressure (hypertension) than those in other states.

Hypertension is often not felt. Many people don?t know when their blood pressure is high. Hypertension can lead to heart attacks and strokes, major causes of death in the Mid-South. Hypertension can also destroy kidneys and lead to birth defects in newborns.

Surprisingly, many children in the Mid-South develop hypertension in their youth. Excess calorie intake and weight increase their health risks. Daily stress from poor living conditions also contributes to their risk of hypertension. If a kid develops high blood pressure, it?s likely the child will continue to have high blood pressure as an adult.

Your blood pressure is measured by two numbers ? when you heart is beating (the systolic pressure or top measure) and when your heart is at rest between beats (the diastolic pressure or bottom number.) For most adults, a blood pressure below 120 over 80 (120/80) is the ideal blood pressure.

Many people with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes have hypertension, high triglycerides, and high cholesterol. They are in danger of developing severe cardiovascular and kidney disease. Intensively treating hypertension in people with kidney disease can greatly decrease the number who lose kidney function and require dialysis.

Medicines for hypertension have saved many lives. Diuretics, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors are often prescribed.

Natural ways to prevent and reduce hypertension can be as important as medication. Natural treatments include improvements in diet (reduction of salt, saturated fats and excess sugars), increased exercise, and reduction in stress.

A team approach is important for treating hypertension. The team should include you, your primary care provider, your pharmacist, a dietitian, and perhaps a social worker, church health ministry worker, or community health worker.

If you are like many people in the Mid-South, heart and vascular disease are in your future. Heart problems, strokes, and hardened arteries are too common in states along the Mississippi. For maps, see cdc.gov/dhdsp/ and cardiologist.org/heart-disease-in-the-united-states-map.

What you should do

Don?t give wellness lip service. Sincerely commit to improving your daily lifestyle.

Establish solid ways to protect your health. Don?t smoke! Exercise. Eat mainly fresh fruits and vegetables. Avoid fatty red meats. Get enough calcium, vitamin D, and folic acid in your diet. Cut down salt, alcohol, sugar and overeating. Learn to enhance flavor with herbs, lemon and salt-free seasonings.

Maintain a regular relationship with the same primary care doctor or nurse and get annual checkups.

Talk to your primary care provider about ways to monitor your blood pressure when you are not in the clinic. You can check it at home, in some stores and churches, and at health fairs.

Take your prescribed medicine to control hypertension, high cholesterol, depression and other health problems. Ask your care provider if you should be taking daily low-dose aspirin.

Get the recommended amount of sleep. Sleeplessness can increase stress and blood pressure.

Consider natural, safe ways to reduce stress. Daily exercise is a key step. Learn meditation. Quiet your life by turning off loud music, constant chatter on the TV, and negative news programs.

Be aware that drugs for managing high blood pressure can have side effects. Most side effects are mild. Keep up your potassium; bananas, yogurt, and spinach are good sources. Talk to your care provider about potential side effects if you are pregnant, take insulin, or have impotency problems.

If you keep getting pressure measures over 120/80, don?t ignore them. Promptly tackle hypertension before it gets worse. Get help for prediabetes symptoms like hypertension, fast weight gain or loss, thirstiness, and high blood sugar.

Prevent hypertension and heart risks at their root ? in childhood. Eating and exercise habits are often established when we are kids. Use a family approach to build healthy habits.

For more information

See cdc.gov/bloodpressure. Also, many local providers help heart and diabetes patients manage their blood pressure and health risks. For recent local ratings of these medical offices and hospitals, visit healthcarequalitymatters.org.

Better Health: Take Charge! is provided by the Healthy Memphis Common Table: healthymemphis.org. This article supports the care and advice of your doctor.

Article source: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/may/21/get-handle-on-high-blood-pressure-to-avoid/

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CareCrunch Answers ? Answers Archive ? Does Your spouse Snore ...

A very important factor that can undoubtedly come between you and your sound sleep can be your partner?s snoring habit. You love your lover a lot and do not want to pin point on small things , nor want to continually nag him in regards to the way his snoring disturbs your sleep. But let me show you, snoring is not merely an issue for you as you can not get sound sleep in the event the person next to you in bed snores; it can also become a major concern for the health of the person that snores. Snoring is some sort of disease in how the snorer suffers and also the people around him during the night.

What causes snoring?

Snoring results in the vibration of respiratory system structures which actually occurs in the event the passage of airway for breathing gets narrower. This may happen as a result of several reasons. The cause connected with snoring varies from one individual to another and you must carefully examine the actual reason of why the individual snores.

The common reason for snoring is being overweight. If you possess a modern lifestyle and depend on junk food lots, there is a high chance you obesity. The fat tissues from the neck area can certainly block the airway to lead to snoring. Other common leads to for snoring are alcohol consumption, smoking and medications. Some medications might cause relaxation of this muscles which make it possible for air to access the body resulting in snoring.

The way a person sleep or the sleeping posture can also be a reason with regard to snoring. Generally if your spouse lies on his back he might snore a lot. Apart from the most popular causes of snoring there can be other serious good reasons like breathing or even sinus problems. Don?t neglect these individuals. Snoring can turn into a major health problem therefore it is good if you consult a health care professional and find the particular reason of the snoring habit.

Why should you take snoring really?

You must be thinking that snoring is this type of common thing for everybody and it scarcely makes any difference to the one who snores because he or she is actually sound sleeping while snoring!

You may possibly be right in convinced that snoring is an incredibly common problem and you are wrong when you think that it won?t affect the one who snores. Because actually the one who snores is by far the most vulnerable victim and also the snoring greatly affects his or her lifestyle as effectively.

What is the commonest thing you noticed in your partner and can not find the true reason for it? That thing, my friend, is fatigue. Snoring makes the person feel drowsy daily. It might be your partner is developing a serious breathing problem if you are just ignoring it thinking about it as snoring so because of this, being a small issue. Sleep apnea is really a threatening breathing problem of course, if the snoring is usually too loud or too an excellent extent, a doctor ought to be consulted at the initial.

How to confront your companion about his snoring?

You love your companion a lot and also he loves people. But no issue how deep and lovely a marriage is, a snoring practice can annoy anyone and might bring about a modest amount of bitterness in the connection. But don?t get worried, you can handle the condition in an easy manner and don?t let snoring come between the both of you.

Be sweet along with playful. Don?t just bash on your partner because he snores a lot. After all it isn?t really in his management. Tell him sweetly that his snoring interferes with your sleep and may be affecting the heath too. Be a little playful while showing him so. You need to help convince him which he needs to solve this medical condition and convince which you totally support him in accomplishing this.

Avoid the bitter edge within your tone. Don?t taunt people partner on the snoring habit. It may go bad your relationship. Keep in mind he is not doing the item intentionally. You can use several methods to minimize snoring and also there are numerous snoring aids offered.

How to manage snoring?

Snoring can become a major bottleneck in any romantic relationship but there?s no need lose hope because there are numerous ways by which you deal with snoring. Here are some of the most common cures.

Eat healthy along with stay fit ? Fitness is usually a must for every one of us in the current life. An unhealthy lifestyle and sedentary work habits can bring about being overweight, reverting in increased issues. The body becomes beyond shape and junk tissues gather everywhere in the body. And the fatty tissues across the neck make you snore when you sleep. So the first approach to stop snoring is reduce your weight and have a vibrant diet.

Clear nasal passages ? Ensure you have a clear nose as a stuffy nose can bring about problems in breathing while breathing. A vacuum receives created in throat which leads to the snoring appear.

Stop smoking ? Smoking increases the chances of snoring as your smoke irritates the particular throat membranes caused into snoring. Even passive using tobacco may become the real reason for your snoring. So make sure you won?t inhale the air in the vicinity of a person that?s smoking because it can be harmful to you at the same time. If you or your spouse smokes, it should be stopped as soon as possible.

Get regular sound sleep ? Will not just sleep anytime you sense like it. You have an attractive mind and an incredible body; you should provide them with proper rest. Have a preset routine for sleep and sleep for at the least eight hours. Healthy and regular sleep have been proved to reduced snoring.

Use a humidifier ? Never let the air with your room get dried out. Dry air causes irritation in your own nose and neck membranes. Use humidifiers to maintain the air wet. Variety of these people is easily you can buy.

Avoid pillow ? Do not use a pillow as you sleep. It will decrease snoring.

What are additional snoring cures?

Your eating behavior and lifestyle greatly affect your health. There are a number of products whose intake increases the chances of snoring. Research has shown that those who avoid these foods have succeeded throughout minimizing snoring and also getting sound sleep. So what if you ever avoid as a way to cure snoring?

* Large dinners
* Dairy products
* Soymilk
* Alcohol
* Sleeping pills and also other relaxants
* Antihistamines
* Caffeine

Snoring aids are generally helpful

Apart from selected do and don?ts that you could adopt in obtain to cure snoring, several medical snoring aids may also be available. Here is an index of some of them which will let you in curing snoring habit.

* Chin strap-It?s a form of a band which covers jaw in order that the mouth remains closed while sleeping and so that the person will not snore.

* CPAP-Continuous Constructive Array Pressure. It?s a type of small oxygen mask that keeps pumping oxygen into your mouth in order to prevent the neck from collapsing.

* Snoring aid pillow-It?s a pillow specially designed to help minimize snoring. It is cheap as compared with other snoring assists.

* Sprays-Sprays effectively clean the sinus and throat passages thereby prevent any blockages that may cause snoring.

* Surgery-When the many cures and products fail, the last option should be to resort to medical procedures. Generally a physician would advice surgery when there is no other way to stop the snoring along with the person has serious breathing problem.

Snoring can be a major health issue to the snorer or it may just be caused due with a disorder in asleep patterns. You need to be able to carefully examine to discover the actual reason of snoring and better to consult a doctor. It?s not any matter of shame in the event you snore a good deal; it?s just some sort of health disorder that?s not in the hand. After all no person wants to disturb the sleep of their partner.

Snoring doesn?t mean the tip of your lovely romantic nights plus it should also not bring any bitterness inside your relationship. Try and understand your lover and help him or her cure snoring. Firstly talk in order to him nicely and tell him about his snoring dilemma. Ask him to try out different solutions pertaining to his snoring dilemma. Keep trying and give up. Most importantly don?t ignore the snoring habit.

There are numerous snoring aids also available for sale. No snoring aid can guarantee an entire solution to snoring although can surely lower snoring into a great extent. There are several cures for snoring so do not worry and do not make snoring a huge issue in your relationship. Don?t let this come between you along with your partner?s love.

Does Your lover Snore a good deal? ? It?s Time for you to Cure Snoring.

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Index Restaurant Supply Sign - Business & Industry Photos - analog ...

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Video: Is umpire suspension warranted?

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Video Marketing Goldmine ? A Comprehensive Review | Job ...

What Does it Do? Internet marketing has become very popular lately, and there are always new and innovative ways to do things, but some online marketers are still bewildered as to what they should do. Video Marketing Goldmine uses today?s video technology to help businesses expand by creating videos that help to promote any product or service. This review will help to point out how Video Marketing Goldmine can help to expand any Internet business through video marketing.

How Does It Work? There is no shortage of Internet marketing products that promise to make you money very quickly, but they don?t hold up once you purchase them. You won?t find that when you buy Video Marketing Goldmine, however, as you will soon see that it lives up to its promises. The program is undoubtedly massive, but anyone can follow it as it?s written in very plain language. If you follow the tactics the course teaches, you will find the success you want even if you are new, which means it?s perfect for novices as well as expert Internet marketers. Everything in Video Marketing Goldmine has been tested and approved by Sean Donahoe, who created it, and that?s one of the best aspects of the whole course. This program will definitely help anyone with an online business and that?s because video marketing is one of the best ways to get targeted traffic to flood to your site.

Sean Donahoe is a name that is well known in the Internet marketing industry as an author, consultant, and a motivational speaker. His knowledge and reputation are the very reason he enjoys the major success he enjoys now. Sean teaches real world tactics that are easily applied by you.

Sean started out as a regular poster on the Warrior Forum but soon branched out and created a membership site known as Sean Donahoe?s Inner Circle for Internet Marketers. He is one of the few who knows a ton about video marketing, which is what helped him create Video Assassin, which is how so many Internet marketers created videos that helped them take their businesses to the next level. Video Marketing Goldmine comes from this same expertise, and it will help any online business owner take his business to the next step using video marketing.

Conclusion: In short, you should now see how Video Marketing Goldmine can help any online business owner get to the next level. Let?s face it; the next gen web content is going to be about videos and more videos; so it just makes sense to invest in this timely course and earn long term profits.

We have only provided an introduction along with several solid applications utilizing the principles of Exit Plan Profits review.

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If You Wish To Succeed On The Web Choose The Best Domain Name

One of the greatest things you can do when starting up an online business is to make certain you get the very best domain name possible. Should you be unaware, the domain name for an Internet site is what you'll be keying into your browser when you want to go to that web page. When you decide to build a website or have a website developed for you it is imperative that you select the best domain name for what ever specific niche market you will be entering. Something that you are going to find out is that a good domain name can decide if you are going to be prosperous or if you are setting yourself up for failure.

The first thing you have to know is that there are many different extensions with regard to domain names. For people who don't know exactly what an extension is, it's the part of the domain name that comes after the dot, as an example .com and .net. The most professional looking domain extension will be the .com, even so there's also other reasons that you want to get a .com domain name. You are almost certainly one of the people who normally just automatically enter .com after the site name that you enter. Allow me to try and explain exactly why this is critical, if you own healthissues.net, there is a good possibility that somebody that types your domain name in their Internet browser, they will probably type in healthissues.com and you lose a visitor to your site. Because of this one of the most significant things when choosing a domain name is making certain you get a .com.

You now can get started thinking about the actual domain name that you are going to choose for your Internet site. For this example we will be working with the widget niche. A domain name such as wehavegreatwidgetsatgreatprices.com is not a good choice as it is way too long and individuals will not want to enter this into their Internet browser. An excellent domain name for a widget website would be something like buywidgets.com. A domain name that will be short like this is something that people will enter into their web browsers and it is in addition something that folks will remember. At this point I think you can understand why picking a short, unique name is so essential.

Something else that is important to bear in mind is that you want your domain name to focus on your niche. To clarify this a little better, and adhering with the widget niche, you'll want to locate a domain name that has widget or maybe widgets in it. Also do a little keyword research to see if there are a lot of folks in search of "cheap widgets". As soon as you do your research, and if it turns out that there are truly a lot of people in search of that phrase you need to then check to see if the domain "cheapwidgets.com" is a domain name that is available. This will wind up helping you to get ranking for that keyword phrase, so when folks are searching for that they will have a better chance of finding your site.

Some men and women know that they ought to try to get a keyword specific domain name, however they will still end up picking a different domain name merely because it may sound cooler. If you think about that for a minute, if you are advertising and offering widgets, a domain name like redrockcanyon.com will not be a very good domain name. Because of this it is essential that you match your domain name to your niche market.

I am certain by now you understand how significant it is to select the right domain name for your Internet business. The recommendations above were designed to help you get targeted visitors from the search engines and if you don't stick to them you might find that getting top search engine positions may be hard.

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