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Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco: America's Best Club Floor

We've never met a luxury hotel we didn't like. In fact, it's our business to stay at luxury hotels. So it's always a pleasure to actually experience unparalleled luxury -- to find a hotel where the experience is so terrific, and so downright sybaritic that we hate to leave.

We weren't surprised -- the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco is the city's only Mobil Five-Star, AAA Five-Diamond hotel, and the service, and everything else, was superb. Built in 1909, this year the building is celebrating its 100th birthday. It has aged gracefully -- and elegantly. We have always been unabashed fans of Ritz-Carlton, where Ladies and gentlemen serve ladies and gentleman, and this trip only underscored our high esteem for the brand.

Join The Club
Superlative is the word for our recent experience at the Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, located near the city's Financial district, Chinatown and Union Square. The nine-story hotel, set on Nob Hill's eastern slope, is one of the city's best examples of neo-classical architecture. Our visit was marked by our stay on the Club Floor, which Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report recently named Best in America. This home-within-a-hotel cradles you in the lap of luxury, starting with daily food presentations: Breakfast, Light Snack, Hors d'oeuvres; and Evening Desserts -- not to mention French-press coffee and made-to-order espressos.

We always thrill to an outstanding Club Floor, and by all means, this is one of them. Is it being able to have a simple turkey sandwich in lavish surroundings, right around the corner from your room? Is it enjoying a delicious breakfast and fresh berries while you sit in your robe? It is knowing that you can have a yummy cup of coffee anytime? It is the convenience of having free access to 24-hour wireless Internet? Well, it's all that and then some -- including a selection of gourmet fresh-baked cookies, and fresh fruit, which are always available.

It's like being at home -- only much, much better. And if you simply must have, say, Reese's Pieces, or soy milk, just say the word and your preferences will be noted for this and future trips. (Travel writer Peter Greenberg, in a recent story in USA Today, also noted that of ALL the Club Floors he's traveled to in the world, this one, at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco, is his absolute favorite!) There's even unlimited garment pressing. In our room, we also noted that there was a bath menu featuring three types of indulgences, if you wanted to experience good, clean -- and luxurious -- fun.

Rooms At The Top
The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco features 336 guest rooms including 60 suites and two Presidential suites. Guest rooms include a wealth of amenities including electronic in-room laptop safes, Kohler rain showerheads, Bulgari White Tea bath essentials, bathroom scale, feather beds with 400-thread-count Egyptian-cotton and Frette linens, deluxe in-room coffee and tea presentations in a wooden display box, fully stocked honor bar, plush bathrobes, and much more.

The property even features a Technology Butler to solve any of your computer and technological problems, a successful concept that was a hit immediately after launched at the Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur in 1998. Club Deluxe rooms range from $449-$759 depending on the season.

Suite 919, is the presidential Ritz-Carlton suite -- a 2,000 sq.-foot opulent area featuring a grand piano, parquet floors, dining room, kitchenette with personal wine cellar and espresso machine, and walk-in separate shower. Prices range from $5,000-$9,000 per night, depending on season.

Traveling with Fido? It's always a dog day afternoon at this property, which has unleashed a pooch policy. It starts with a VIP (Very Important Pooch) greeting at the front door, in-room cozy framed dog bed, and other features including an in-room dining menu such as chopped beef tenderloin with sliced baby carrots -- all for a $125 non-refundable pet fee. Guided walks are available for an additional charge.

If you're a hotel guest who says a minimum of four nights per month, the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco also offers luggage-less travel, which means that the hotel will check your clothing and personal items, so that you obviate the need for a suitcase. For an additional charge, your clothing will be laundered, dry-cleaned and pressed, and personal toiletries will be replenished. Then, when you return to the hotel (without your Travelpro Rollaboard bag, for example), your clothing and personal items will be delivered to you. The only fee for this service is for hotel laundry/valet charges.

Follow The Scent
Debbi did just that -- she could smell the mango/tangerine aroma of the spa, and was treated to a Signature Facial at Spa-De-Vie. In fact, this facial is the best-selling treatment at the 7,000-sq.ft spa, which includes a fitness center with cardio theater, and a huge pool. All guests are also treated to a glass of Monavie juice, which is actually used in some of the treatments, as it's such as strong antioxidant. Debbi's facial, expertly administered by facialist Masha, included masque; face, foot and leg massage; heated mitts; warm towel on the back; extraction; cleanser, all using Pevonia's Myoxy caviar products.

This treatment costs $195. Other treatments in this Spa-de-Vie concession include a large selection of body treatments including one with mango and passion fruit; gentlemen's facial; numerous women's facials; and several massages include hot stone, reflexology and aromatherapy. One great advantage is that the spa is open 365 days a year, so you can pamper yourself anytime, and even schedule a massage in your guest room.

Wedding parties also take advantage of the spa -- for example, brides and their bridesmaids frequently treat themselves, as a group, to manicures, massages and updos, even including a delicious lunch from the restaurant. To schedule a spa treatment, call (415) 364-3460.

Democrats scramble on health reforms post-Kennedy

Members of the public walk past the casket of Senator Edward Kennedy as the senator lies in repose at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, August 27, 2009. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Members of the public walk past the casket of Senator Edward Kennedy as the senator lies in repose at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, August 27, 2009. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Democrats scrambled on Thursday to quickly fill the seat of Senator Edward Kennedy, to shore up President Barack Obama's faltering effort to rally Congress behind an overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system.

Members of America's most storied political dynasty said a private farewell to the Kennedy patriarch at a Mass in their Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, compound before accompanying his body to Boston for public tributes on Friday at the John F. Kennedy presidential library and for the funeral on Saturday.

Apart from depriving Congress of its most effective champion of healthcare reform, Kennedy's death on Tuesday cost his Democratic party its essential 60th vote in the Senate, the number needed to beat Republican tactical blocking maneuvers.

Massachusetts law would leave the seat open for five months at which time a special election could be held. But, as he was dying, Kennedy asked state lawmakers to allow Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to name a temporary replacement.

Following Kennedy's death, Patrick and Senator John Kerry called on state legislators to act quickly on that request.

It's a particularly timely request at a time when there are such profoundly important proposals pending in the Congress right now, Patrick told reporters.

Without Kennedy's vote and leadership, Democrats face the choice of trying to push through his vision of overhauling the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system or finding a compromise that will appeal to Republicans and conservative Democrats.

FRACTIOUS PUBLIC DEBATE

Kennedy had said providing health insurance to all Americans was the cause of my life and his absence as he battled brain cancer may have contributed to the fractious nature of public debate on healthcare in August.

Republican Senator Orrin Hatch has often expressed regret about Kennedy's absence, saying he would have been able to hammer out a bipartisan healthcare deal.

Congress will return in September to work on a healthcare overhaul plan criticized by many for being too costly, for cutting Medicare for the elderly, and for what some see as pushing the U.S. into government-run healthcare.

I think there is going to be a real rallying among Democrats 'to do this one for Teddy.' This was his life work, said Jim Kessler, vice president for policy at the Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank, on health care reform.

At the same time there is nobody in the caucus who would have been better at solving our internal disagreements.

John Rother of AARP, an influential group representing older Americans, said: It probably will result in the Democrats being rededicated, but who knows what the impact will be on the public and Republicans.

The drive to name an interim senator faces criticism from state Republicans, who note that Democrats in 2004 changed the law to head off a chance for then-Governor Mitt Romney to name a Republican to succeed Kerry, who was running for president. 

FAMILY GATHERS IN BOSTON

At the seaside family compound in Hyannis Port, the senator's wife Victoria, grandchildren and Kennedy cousins including Caroline Kennedy and Maria Shriver watched as a military honor guard wheeled out the flag-draped casket and placed it in a black hearse.

Crowds lined the route of a motorcade carrying 85 family members as it looped through Boston on its way to the John F. Kennedy Library, where the body now lies in repose.

Members of the Kennedy family greeted some of the thousands of people waiting in line outside the library to pay their respects. The whole family is touched by this demonstration, said Robert Kennedy, son of Bobby Kennedy.

Many were in tears as they passed the casket. I just hope the healthcare legislation passes soon because that will be the Senator's living legacy, said Toby Cohen Kaminkow, who helped work on Kennedy campaigns, as she blinked back tears.

Attorney Maria Krokidas, 60, recalled being an intern in Kennedy's office as a college student in 1969. He's the guy who has always been there for every client and individual, no matter how small, she said.

Obama will give a eulogy at the funeral at a basilica in Boston on Saturday. Three of the four living ex-U.S. presidents -- Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush -- were expected to attend, but a spokesman for George H.W. Bush, 85, said he would not be going. Because of his age it was a little tough for him to travel, although he had spoken by telephone with Kennedy's widow, spokesman Jim Appleby said.

Kennedy will be buried later that day at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington near his brothers President John Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy.

Hopelessness raises stroke risks for women: study

For women, feelings of hopelessness are not just unfortunate, they are a stroke risk, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

They said otherwise healthy women who are chronically hopeless are more likely to have a buildup of plaque in their neck arteries that can trigger a stroke.

These findings suggest that women who experience feelings of hopelessness may have greater risk for future heart disease and stroke, said Susan Everson-Rose of the University of Minnesota Medical School, whose study appears in the journal Stroke.

Many studies have linked depression with heart disease, and recent studies have suggested that optimism may protect women from heart disease.

Everson-Rose's study is the first to show that hopelessness may directly affect a healthy woman's risk for stroke.

Researchers looked at 559 women with an average age of 50 who had no clinical signs of heart disease, such as elevated blood pressure.

To measure hopelessness, they asked questions about the future and personal goals. They also measured symptoms of depression using a 20-item assessment scale.

And they took ultrasound images of the women to measure the thickness of their neck arteries.

What we found is, those women who reported feeling hopeless about the future or their personal goals had more thickening in the neck arteries -- more atherosclerosis -- which is a predictor of stroke and subsequent heart attack, Everson-Rose said in a telephone interview.

The difference was measurable.

Women who scored high on the hopelessness scale had neck arteries that were 0.0008 of an inch (0.02 mm) thicker than their more hopeful counterparts.

The difference was significant even after adjusting for other heart risk factors including age, race, income, heart disease risk factors, and even depression.

Everson-Rose said the team looked specifically for differences between women who where hopeless and those who were depressed -- a more global disorder that affects things like sleep, appetite and overall mood.

What we find is this thickening in the neck arteries is a specific feature to hopelessness, she said.

Everson-Rose said studies are needed to understand what physiological changes specifically occur in women who are chronically hopeless. The study did not track levels of cortisol, a known stress hormone, for example.

Nevertheless, women should be aware that feelings of hopelessness may have physical consequences.

If women do have these strong feelings, it is potentially a predictor of cardiovascular disease and they should seek help, she said.

Scientists find three new gene links to Alzheimer's

An unidentified man suffering from Alzheimer's disease and who refused to eat sleeps peacefully the day before passing away in a nursing home in the Netherlands. REUTERS/Michael Kooren

Scientists have found three new major genetic links to Alzheimer's, affecting up to 20 percent of people with the brain-wasting disease, and said on Sunday it was the most significant such discovery in 15 years.

Two large studies found that the three new genes join the better-known APOE4 gene as significant risk factors for the most common cause of dementia.

If we were able to remove the detrimental effects of these genes through treatments, we could reduce the proportion of people developing Alzheimer's by 20 percent, Julie Williams, a professor of Neuropsychological Genetics at Britain's Cardiff University, told a news conference in London.

Alzheimer's disease affects more than 26 million people globally, has no cure and no good treatment. The need for effective remedies is pressing, with the number of cases forecast to go beyond 100 million by 2050.

Current drugs can only delay the symptoms endured by patients, who lose their memories, the ability to find their way around and to care for themselves.

Williams, who led one of the two studies published in Nature Genetics, said that in Britain alone, eradicating the effects of the three new genes would mean almost 100,000 people could avoid the disease.

She said the findings were the most significant genetic discoveries for Alzheimer's in the 15 years since APOE4 was found to be linked, and said drug companies had shown a keen interest in their research.

MORE GENES OUT THERE TO CATCH

Williams and colleagues at Cardiff's Medical Research Council Center for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics carried out a genome-wide association study -- a scan of the entire genetic map -- involving more than 16,000 people from eight countries. They identified two new genes -- called Clusterin and PICALM -- that increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's.

A second genome-wide study conducted by Philippe Amouyel and colleagues at the Institut Pasteur de Lille in France, studied more than 6,000 people with Alzheimer's and nearly 9,000 healthy people in France, Belgium, Finland, Italy and Spain. They identified Clusterin and a third gene called CR1.

Amouyel said the disease risks associated with each gene were difficult to quantify, and said all three genes were relatively common. The scientists also stressed that an as yet unknown combination of many genetic and other environmental factors cause Alzheimer's.

The researchers said Clusterin may explain 10 percent of Alzheimer's cases, PICALM around 9 percent and CR1 4 percent. By comparison, 20 to 25 percent of Alzheimer's cases are linked to APOE.

Three gene variations have also been associated with rare, early-onset forms of Alzheimer's that run in families. Identifying the genes can help researchers understand the underlying causes of a disease and design drugs to fight them.

Michael Owen, director of the Cardiff center, said their study also found evidence that other genes could play a role in the risk of developing Alzheimer's.

It's a bit like we have been fishing with a fishing net and we've pulled out some fish. We know there are more fish there, and with a finer mesh net we can catch them, he said.

The Cardiff team now plans a further study involving 60,000 participants to look deeper into genetic causes of Alzheimer's.

Ethiopians offered free AIDS tests by text message

Ethiopia is sending text messages to mobile phone users offering free HIV/AIDS tests ahead of New Year celebrations, in a drive to have more people checked in sub-Saharan Africa's second most populous nation.

New Year! New Life! Test for HIV, test with your partner, get your children tested and brighten the future of your family! Free testing. Happy New Year! says an SMS message which is being sent in batches ahead of this week's celebrations.

Ethiopia follows a calendar long abandoned by the West that squeezes 13 months into every year and entered the 21st century in 2007. It will become 2002 in Ethiopia on September 11.

The text messages are being sent to all of Ethiopia's 2.5 million mobile users and have been hitting handsets for the last week in the capital Addis Ababa and most of the country's major towns. There is also a billboard campaign offering free checks.

About half a million a year used to be tested, Meskele Lera, deputy director of Ethiopia's Federal HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Office told Reuters.

But that has been increasing every year and, with the help of the publicity campaign we started with our Millennium, we tested 5.8 million last year, he said.

An estimated 1.1 million people in Ethiopia are infected with HIV, according to the government. The United Nations children's fund (UNICEF) estimates that more than 900,000 Ethiopian children have been orphaned by AIDS.

The Horn of Africa country, which has a population of some 80 million, normally heavily subsidizes HIV/AIDS testing as well as offering free testing in some public hospitals.

About 33 million people globally are infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS, and most of them live in Africa and other developing countries.

Kinan Spa at Maroma

Kinan is the Mayan word for the healing energy of the sun. Similar to the Asian concept of Chi, Kinan is also used to refer to an individual's energy. The mission is to help you transform and unlock your inner energy and spirit.

Each building, spa treatment room and waterfall has been aligned to the stars to ensure positive energy flow so the body, mind and spirit are in harmony.

The treatment rooms point directly east to west representing the balance of the day and night. The massage beds are placed so guests' heads are at the west looking towards the east - representing new beginnings; and the relaxation room is pointing north - representing earth and grounding.

Many of the treatments offered at Kinan are based on ancient Mayan healing. Some of the services will not be found any where else in this world.

Enter, explore and experience the Mayan Spa sanctuary on the glorious Riviera Maya.

Schoolyard bullies, victims have problems later on

School children who bully or are victims of bullying may face higher risks of anxiety, depression and other psychological disorders later in life, a new study finds.

The study, which followed more than 5,000 children in Finland, found that boys and girls who were frequently bullied were at greater risk than their peers of needing psychiatric treatment in their teens or early 20s.

The same was true of boys who were perpetrators of the bullying -- with the highest risks of mental health problems seen among boys who were both perpetrators and victims.

The findings, reported in the Archives of General Psychiatry, add to evidence that schoolyard bullying can have substantial psychological consequences -- and that, at least among boys, those who are both bullies and victims are the most troubled of all.

Parents and teachers should be aware that frequent school bullying should not be considered normal behavior, but has potentially serious consequences, lead researcher Dr. Andre Sourander, of the University of Turku in Finland, told Reuters Health in an email.

The study included 5,038 children who were followed from the age of 8 until age 24. At the outset, just over 6 percent of boys and almost 4 percent of girls were being frequently bullied, based on reports from the children, their parents and teachers.

Of boys, 6 percent routinely bullied other kids, while almost 3 percent were both bullies and victims. Among girls, less than one percent were either bullies or bully-victims.

The researchers used Finland's system of national registers to follow the study group's rate of psychiatric hospital admissions and prescriptions for antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs and anti- psychotics.

Overall, one-third of boys who had been both bullies and victims ended up taking a psychiatric medication at some point between the ages of 13 and 24, while 17 percent were admitted to a psychiatric hospital. That compared with rates of 12 percent and 5 percent, respectively, among boys who had not been involved in bullying.

Among girls, 32 percent of those who had been frequently bullied were eventually prescribed a psychiatric medication, compared with 16 percent of girls who had not been bullied. Meanwhile, 12 percent of victims were hospitalized for psychiatric treatment, versus 4 percent of other girls.

When the researchers considered the children's emotional health and behavior at the start of the study, only boys who were already showing problems were at increased risk of later psychiatric conditions.

But with girls, those who were bullied were at heightened risk of later problems even if they initially showed no emotional or behavioral difficulties.

It's not clear why this gender difference exists, according to Sourander's team, but it's possible that different forms of bullying have different long-term effects, they note. With boys, bullying is often overt and physical, while for girls, it is more likely to come in the subtle form of teasing, gossip and exclusion.

One of the main messages from the findings, Sourander noted, is that schools need to keep bullying incidents from escalating.

The education systems are of central importance (in) early detection, he said. Failure of the school system to take preventive action should be considered a failure to discharge the school authority's duty of care.

SOURCE: Archives of General Psychiatry, September 2009.

Will Taxpayers Have to Bail Out FHA?

The Federal Housing Administration stepped up to guarantee low-down-payment mortgages for riskier buyers after the mortgage market crashed. Now with many of them in default, the FHA's losses have mounted, and it's possible that its reserves will fall below the 2 percent level required by law. If that happens, taxpayers may have to bail out FHA.

Some housing analysts believe that this will lead to tighter restrictions on FHA mortgages. It absolutely changes the political dynamic once you have to ask taxpayers for money, says Lisa Marquis Jackson, vice president for John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

The 10 states with the most FHA-insured mortgages are:

1. Texas
2. California
3. Florida
4. Georgia
5. Ohio
6. Illinois
7. Pennsylvania
8. Michigan
9. Virginia
10. North Carolina

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Nick Timiraos (09/05/2009)

Dartmouth University (Tuck) Essay Analysis, 2009-2010

After connecting with the Tuck admissions office, we can confirm that their essays will not change this year. Our essay analysis follows... 

1. Why is an MBA a critical next step toward your short- and long-term career goals? Why is Tuck the best MBA program for you? (If you are applying for a joint or dual degree, please explain how the additional degree will contribute to those goals.)

Because Personal Statements are similar from one application to the next, we have produced the MBA Mission Personal Statement Guide. We offer this guide to candidates free of charge, via our online store.  Please feel free to download your copy today. 

For additional information on the Tuck experience, please consult the MBA Mission Insider's Guide series.

2. Tuck defines leadership as inspiring others to strive and enabling them to accomplish great things. We believe great things and great leadership can be accomplished in pursuit of business and societal goals. Describe a time when you exercised such leadership. Discuss the challenges you faced and the results you achieved. What characteristics helped you to be effective, and what areas do you feel you need to develop in order to be a better leader?

Tuck puts its own spin on leadership in that it asks for a time when you not only led, but inspired. Further, Tuck adds to this question, which in essence appeared last year, by asking you to identify an example where you had broader business and societal goals in mind.  So, you may be concerned that you need to discuss a very specific experience, but you should keep in mind that virtually any successful leadership experience satisfies these demands.

Inspiration need not be found only in rousing speeches. It is entirely possible to inspire others through action, creative thought, persistence, etc. So, as long as you were leading others and they were motivated to follow, you have inspired. What is most important is that you capture how you inspired others and show evidence that they were indeed inspired.

With respect to business and societal goals, most accomplishments have broad implications. If you helped a firm sustain itself or grow, then it serves both the firm and society. Candidates need not be concerned that they must address a social issue directly; your actions can have indirect benefits - benefits that will require creativity to express.

3. Discuss the most difficult constructive criticism or feedback you have received. How did you address it? What have you learned from it?

As you consider the criticism that you have received, you should be cautious and ensure that you are not inadvertently displaying behavior that is inconsistent with Tuck's values. An embellished example of what not to do follows: My boss criticized my laziness.... By displaying laziness, you are undermining your candidacy, because Tuck tries to recruit highly motivated students. Another misguided approach would be to offer a false critique - a negative that is actually a positive: My boss told me that I work too hard and need to relax and take a vacation; it was hard to hear that... These answers are transparent and only annoy the Admissions Committees.

When dealing with a critique of your abilities or character, it is important to approach the matter at hand in a straightforward way. The emphasis should be on accepting and remedying the problem. Clearly, with the word constructive in the question, you are asked to identify a time when someone took care and sought to help you improve; you need to show that you responded with the effort and thought necessary to correct the problem.

4. Tuck seeks candidates of various backgrounds who can bring new perspectives to our community. How will your unique personal history, values, and/or life experiences contribute to the culture at Tuck?

Essay four is quite broad; within personal history, values, and/or life experiences, there is a great deal of range. So, it is permissible for you to develop one or two significant themes, drawing from your life experiences, and then relate them back to the Tuck experience. This is an opportunity for you not only to display your unique attributes but also to thoughtfully and subtly imply just how well you know the school. By showing true awareness of your connection with Tuck, you will complete the essay portion of your application on a very compelling note.