Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Court blocks Ind. defunding of Planned Parenthood - Nation & World ...

By CHARLES WILSON | Associated Press ? Published October 23, 2012 Modified October 23, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS ? Indiana stepped between women and their physicians when it enacted a law that blocked Medicaid funds for Planned Parenthood just because the organization provides abortions, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The ruling by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago effectively upheld decisions by a district judge and a Medicaid review panel that found the 2011 law denied patients the right to choose their own health care provider.

"This is not about an abortion case. This is a case about Medicaid services - non-abortion-related services - and the attempt by the state of Indiana to punish Planned Parenthood and its clients from receiving non-abortion health services merely because Planned Parenthood, without any sort of state or federal money or any Medicaid funds, also provides abortions," Ken Falk, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, said at a news conference in Indianapolis following Tuesday's decision. The ACLU argued the case on behalf of Planned Parenthood.

The ruling will likely have little impact on Planned Parenthood's operations in Indiana as funding to its clinics has been largely uninterrupted since Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a law attempting to cut the organization off in May 2011. Daniels' spokeswoman did not respond to phone requests for comment Tuesday.

The 2011 law made Indiana the first state to deny Planned Parenthood the Medicaid funds for general health services including cancer screenings. The family planning organization immediately challenged the law with help from the ACLU. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt blocked the state from enforcing the law in June 2011.

The state appealed that order, arguing that federal law says Medicaid cannot be used to cover abortions in most circumstances and that the program indirectly funds the procedures by providing money to Planned Parenthood.

On Tuesday, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld the core portion of Pratt's order, saying the Indiana law effectively intrudes on a person's right to choose their doctors.

"The defunding law excludes Planned Parenthood from Medicaid for a reason unrelated to its fitness to provide medical services, violating its patients' statutory right to obtain medical care from the qualified provider of their choice," the ruling said.

Bryan Corbin, a spokesman for the Indiana attorney general's office, said the state was reviewing the appeals court opinion. The state can either ask the full court to review the panel's ruling or appeal directly to the Supreme Court.

The Indiana law affected about $1 million in Medicaid funds out of Planned Parenthood's state budget of $15 million, said Betty Cockrum, the group's state president. The appeals court said Pratt also needed to modify other sections of her order that affected about $150,000 in revenue sources other than Medicaid. Cockrum and Falk said that federal grant for sexually transmitted disease testing in 22 counties was set to expire at the end of this year.

Tuesday's ruling sends the case back to Pratt's court, where she will decide whether to make the injunction blocking the law permanent. Indiana also is awaiting a final decision on a bureaucratic appeal by the agency that regulates Medicaid. A federal panel previously found the law violated Medicaid regulations.

A federal judge in Phoenix last week blocked Arizona from applying a similar law to Planned Parenthood. A similar law in Texas also is the focus of a court fight.

Source: http://www.theolympian.com/2012/10/23/2294890/court-blocks-ind-defunding-of.html

ryan leaf luke kuechly brad miller chandler jones peyton hillis fletcher cox charlotte bobcats

U.S. Department of State's American Music Abroad Program Now ...

U.S. Department of State?s American Music Abroad Program Now Accepting Applications

US Deparment of StateWASHINGTON, D.C. /Music Industry Newswire/ ? The U.S. Department of State?s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announced today that the American Music Abroad program, an international exchange program that uses music as a means to engage underserved audiences worldwide, is now accepting applications for American musicians for the 2013-2014 season. Candidates may apply at www.americanvoice.org/ama.

The American Music Abroad program consists of month-long, multi-country tours for approximately 10 American musical groups. The musicians will be chosen to conduct musical exchange tours abroad to foster cross-cultural engagement and understanding. Musicians from a variety of American musical genres are encouraged to apply. American Music Abroad ensembles will be selected on the basis of artistic quality and commitment to educational and cultural engagement.

The deadline for applicants is January 18, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. PST.

Through public concerts, interactive performances with local musicians, lecture demonstrations, workshops, and jam sessions, American Music Abroad builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton?s vision of ?smart power,? which embraces the full range of diplomatic tools, including music, to bring people together and create opportunities for greater understanding.

The U.S. Department of State partners with the Association of American voices to reach international audiences with little or no access to live American musical performances, especially underserved youth, in nearly 40 countries in every region of the world.

For more information, visit http://exchanges.state.gov/cultural/ama.html .

VIDEO:

About Christopher Laird Simmons

Christopher Simmons has been writing about music since 1984 when he sold his first feature to Polyphony (now Electronic Musician) magazine. He has composed music for two TV cable shows, is a member of ASCAP and PRSA, and is the managing editor for Music Industry Newswire(TM), as well as the CEO of Neotrope(R) Entertainment. His 80s music can be found on iTunes, Amazon, and CDBaby, among others. He played in several electronica bands in the '80s, and currently tries to find time to play with his studio gear. He is also an award winning graphic designer, photographer, author of one book "Fractopia," and has created digital art for numerous national magazines. ? Christopher Laird Simmons. More at: ChristopherSimmons.com .

Similar & Related Content

Related Topics: Events and Happenings, Industry Headlines, Story Index, Videos.

Tags: American Music Abroad Program, US Department of State

IMPORTANT NOTICE: for questions or clarification about any information in the above news item or article, contact the company(s) mentioned in the story and NOT this website. This online publication, Music Industry Newswire?, cannot assist you with information regarding any person, product, company or opinion expressed or mentioned in the above story. Some content is based on press releases issued by the "news source" when noted. All content on this site is covered by U.S. and international copyright laws, and is Copr. ? 2012 Neotrope?. Reproduction in whole or in part without express permission and/or for commercial purposes is a violation of our rights and the DMCA. ?|? 13 views

IMPORTANT NOTE: All feedback and comments are moderated and will not appear automatically. Any self-promotional or inappropriate remarks, and/or advertising URLs, will be removed and your entry will be submitted to Akismet for spam abuse tracking.

Source: http://musicindustrynewswire.com/u-s-department-of-states-american-music-abroad-program-now-accepting-applications/

gone

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

These Tiny Flash Drives Are Your Feeling-Pretty-Mini Deal of the Day

Let's not beat around the bush: if you're on Gizmodo today, you're interested in iPads. Mini iPads. Apple delivered the Mini you were looking for—plus an updated Mac Mini too. But the starter model of the iPad Mini only comes with 16GB of space. That's more space than some rumors indicated, but it's still a minuscule amount, especially since apps and media keep taking up more space. It's not like storage space is expensive—see this very "mini" flash drive, that features 16GB of space (the same amount as the iPad), for only $10 from Amazon today. It's incredibly small and light, so it can go everywhere with you, and it's an insanely good deal with Prime shipping and the lowest price on the internet. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/l1beW853vnA/these-tiny-flash-drives-are-your-feeling+pretty+mini-deal-of-the-day

whcd 2012 nfl draft kevin durant jazz fest zurich classic

Friday, October 19, 2012

Photos: Bomb explodes during Beirut rush hour

Lebanese rescue workers and civilians carry an injured girl from the scene of an explosion in the mostly Christian neighborhood of Achrafiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday Oct. 19, 2012. Lebanon's state news agency says a car bomb in east Beirut has killed at least six people and wounded scores in the worst blast the city has seen in years, coming at a time when Lebanon has seen a rise in tension and eruptions of clashes stemming from the civil war in... more?Lebanese rescue workers and civilians carry an injured girl from the scene of an explosion in the mostly Christian neighborhood of Achrafiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday Oct. 19, 2012. Lebanon's state news agency says a car bomb in east Beirut has killed at least six people and wounded scores in the worst blast the city has seen in years, coming at a time when Lebanon has seen a rise in tension and eruptions of clashes stemming from the civil war in neighboring Syria.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla) less?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/deadly-beirut-bomb-blast-slideshow/

Opening ceremony London 2012 Google Fiber Olympics Schedule 2012 Olympic Medal Count 2012 Olympics 2012

Did You Know Certain Foods Can Help Improve Your Mood ...

Whole chicken
Chicken from flickr by avlxyz

We all have days when for some unexplained reason we?re just in a bad mood.? I woke up this morning with a chip on my shoulder and I?m not exactly sure why.? It got me thinking about an episode of the ?Doctors? and a segment they did about how certain foods/beverages can boost your mood.? So I did a little research to see what I can eat or drink to feel happier today.

Drinking Tea can alter your mood for the better, caffeinated green or black tea an amino acid present in these teas that may work to improve attention and focus. It?s suggested that drinking 5 to 6 (8-ounce) cups of tea a day will do the trick.

Here?s one of always heard about but really can?t get behind because I?m not a big fan of dark chocolate, but it?s been said that dark chocolate is high in magnesium and minerals that ease muscles and help with anxiety.? It also contains tryptophan which helps with depression.? Ok, I may have to force myself to like dark chocolate.

Here?s a good one, Salmon is packed with omega-3 which helps balance your mood and is good for memory and focus.? I need to eat more salmon, and good thing here is I like it.

As Popeye always said, eats me spinach.? I actually like spinach and would prefer ordering a spinach salad over any other.? Spinach has lots of vitamin B that helps with mood and the antioxidants protect brain cells and balance low energy mood swings.? More spinach it is.

Chicken is also good on helping improve mood.? White meat especially contains B12, a vitamin helping boost energy.

See more foods that help boost mood.

Source: http://wyrk.com/did-you-know-certain-foods-can-help-improve-your-mood/

minnesota timberwolves jr martinez melasma jimmy rollins jimmy rollins

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Ice sheet retreat controlled by the landscape

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Ice-sheet retreat can halt temporarily during long phases of climate warming, according to scientists.

A UK team led by Durham University has found that the geometry of channels beneath the ice can be a strong control on ice behaviour, temporarily hiding the signals of retreat.

The findings, which provide the first simulation of past ice-sheet retreat and collapse over a ten thousand year period in Antarctica, shed new light on what makes ice stable or unstable and will help refine predictions of future ice extent and global sea-level rise, the researchers say.

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that one of the main challenges in predicting future sea-level rise is to quantify and model the interactions between evolving ice sheets, oceans, sea level and climate. Significant efforts have been made over the last decade to develop computer models and collect data in order to reduce uncertainties and understand the potential impacts under scenarios of future climate change.

The results of the new research from Durham University, the University of Sheffield, the University of Cambridge, and the British Antarctic Survey are published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Lead author Dr Stewart Jamieson, a glaciologist at the Department of Geography, Durham University, said: "Our research shows that the physical shape of the channels is a more important factor in controlling ice stability than was previously realised. Channel width can have a major effect on ice flow, and determines how fast retreat, and therefore sea-level rise, can happen.

Although climatic and oceanic changes are crucial drivers of ice loss, the research shows that the landscape below the ice strongly controls the speed of any retreat.

Dr Jamieson said: "Our results suggest that during an overall phase of retreat an ice stream can appear almost stable when in fact, in the longer-term, the opposite may be the case.

"Getting a clearer picture of the landscape beneath the ice is crucial if future predictions of change in the ice-sheets and sea level are to be improved."

Marine-based ice streams are the fast flowing arteries of ice sheets, draining approximately 90 per cent of the ice that reaches the sea. They flow through large channels where the ice can move thousands of metres in a year. According to the scientists, the unpredictable nature of ice streams makes forecasting ice-sheet retreat extremely difficult. If ice streams speed up they can cause sea level to rise.

Durham University co-author Dr Chris Stokes said: "Ice streams are like taps filling a bath, but the problem here is that we do not know if something is suddenly going to turn them up or even turn them down."

Satellite imagery from the last 20 years has led to advances in our knowledge of ice sheet stability and has shown that many ice streams are getting thinner and retreating because the ocean and climate are warming. The new research shows that ice behaviour over thousands of years can successfully be simulated in places where ice streams meet the sea.

The researchers looked at the landscape of the seafloor in Marguerite Bay, in the Antarctic Peninsula, and saw that during a rapid phase of recession 13,000 years ago, retreat paused many times. Using a computer model designed to work in situations of rapid change, they found they could reproduce the same pattern in a series of simulations. These showed that ice dragged on the sides of the channel more where it was narrow, causing retreat to slow and in places temporarily stop for decades to centuries before retreat continued.

Many ice streams are found in channels with beds that are below sea level and that deepen inland. Current theory suggests that ice loss can increase rapidly in deeper water, but the new findings show that channel width plays a crucial role and that narrow bottlenecks in the landscape beneath the ice can cause retreat to slow down.

Dr Andreas Vieli, Department of Geography, Durham University, said: "We can see from our simulations and from new maps of the ocean floor that these bottlenecks occur in the same place as pauses or slowdowns in past ice retreat. This means we should look more closely at the shape of the bed underneath Greenland and Antarctica to better understand how ice might retreat in the future."

The researchers say that understanding ice-stream behaviour and the rate of mass loss from ice sheets and glaciers is essential.

Dr Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, from the British Antarctic Survey, said: "Knowledge of the factors influencing stability and retreat of ice streams is of particular concern because significant portions of the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets are currently losing mass that contributes significantly to sea-level rise. Our model results help to explain the apparently time-transgressive retreat of ice streams around Antarctica following the last ice age."

###

Durham University: http://www.dur.ac.uk

Thanks to Durham University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 37 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/124560/Ice_sheet_retreat_controlled_by_the_landscape

tuskegee airmen mike james red tails red tails heidi klum heidi klum red tails trailer

ON SHELF WITH JUSTIN POULSEN | Mars' Hill Online

Book review of Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

1. Regardless of your major, you need to read this book.

2. It?s only 50 pages?a faster read than most Chinese take-out menus.

3. You REALLY need to read this book.

Letters to a Young Poet holds a col?lection of letters written by Rainer Maria Rilke, a 27 year-old writer, to Franz Xaver Kappus, a 19 year-old aspiring poet. While some of his advice is specific to creative writ?ing, most of it pertains to his phi?losophy on the life of a student: the benefits of solitude, the foolishness of young love, and the virtue of dif?ficult things. And it?s beautiful.

His comments on the stress of choosing a career path are whole?hearted, encouraging us to allow our passions and skills to dictate our future. We are intentionally created by God; therefore, we cannot fully trust God unless we trust ourselves, and the work that occurs through us. As Rilke commands, ?Take whatever comes, with great trust, and as long as it comes out of your will, out of some need of your innermost self, then take it upon yourself, and don?t hate anything.?

While he epitomizes the tortured artist, Rilke manages to make one feel as if sadness were a cozy sweater, a warm breeze, even a close friend. ?Bear your sadness with greater trust than your joys. For they are the moments when something new has entered you, something unknown?. We must trust in what is difficult; everything alive trusts in it.? Why are ?you so quick to shut out your pain when you have no idea what beauty it may be creating within you?

To be honest, his belief that one should ?be able to walk alone inside oneself and see no one for hours? fundamentally challenges my love of this campus? 24/7 community of hangouts. But the more I read of Rilke the more I found myself taking that walk and, even more strange, enjoying it.

Of course this review would not be complete (or not nearly as inter?esting) without including Rilke?s thoughts on love. He does not criti?cize the ignorance of young lovers so much as impress upon the reader its true nature?love is not the merging of two worlds, but one per?son?s decision to become the other?s world.

?Young people, who are begin?ners in everything, are not yet capa?ble of love,? not because they?re immature, but because ?it is something they must learn. But learning-time is always a long, secluded time, and therefore loving, for a long time ahead and far into life, is?: soli?tude, a heightened and deepened kind of loneliness for the person ?who loves.?

Indeed, much of his writing reminds one of a closing exhorta?tion in one of the Apostle Paul?s letters: ?Be patient and without bit?terness, and realize that the least we can do is to make [our] coming into existence no more difficult for Him than the earth does for spring when it wants to come.?

Above all else, Rilke fills his readers with a sense of anticipation, transforming the simplest walk to class into an epic journey of infinite possibilities.

He preaches the mystery of the Gospel and thus a gospel of mys?tery when he writes, ?This is in the end the only kind of courage that is required of us: the courage to face the strangest, most unusual, most inexplicable experiences that can meet us.? If we believe that Christ was raised from the dead, why should we not expect to be pre?sented with something as equally breathtaking on our way to class?

I fervently proclaim Letters to a Young Poet as the Trinity Western University Student Handbook. The foreword reflects my own thoughts, having ?never heard a voice speak ?out of such deep understanding, with such authority.? Rilke lived an entire century ago, but at the time of these letters he was the same age as us. And you can feel it; ?I felt, as many readers have felt, that the let?ters were written for me.? It is my hope that you go find this book in the library and feel it too, because maybe they were.

Source: http://www.marshillonline.com/academy/on-shelf-with-justin-poulsen/

zac brown band aubrey born to run pranks pregnancy test april fools day 2012 ja rule

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

UN Syria envoy calls on government to start truce

BEIRUT (AP) ? The international envoy to the Syrian conflict on Wednesday called on President Bashar Assad's regime to take the lead in implementing a cease-fire during a major Muslim holiday later this month.

Lakhdar Brahimi said rebel representatives have assured him they will also observe the truce if the government takes the first step.

"The Syrian people are burying hundreds of people each day, so if they bury fewer people during the days of the holiday, this could be the start of Syria's return from the dangerous situation that it ... is continuing to slip toward," he told reporters in Beirut.

Brahimi's push to get Assad and rebels seeking to topple him to stop fighting for the four-day Eid al-Adha feast set to begin Oct. 26 reflects how little progress international diplomacy has made in stopping 19 months of deadly violence in Syria.

Unlike his predecessor as joint U.N.-Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan, Brahimi has said he has no grand plan to end Syria's civil war. Instead, he presented the truce as a "microscopic" step that would alleviate Syrian sorrow temporarily and provide the basis for a longer truce.

Even a short-term cease-fire faced hurdles. Both sides in the past have verbally signed on to cease-fires only to then blatantly disregard them. And before Brahimi spoke, Syria's government dismissed the plan, saying the rebels lack a unified leadership to sign the truce.

"There is the state, represented by the government and the army on one front, but who is on the other front?" asked an editorial in the Al-Thawra daily.

The scores of rebel units fighting a brutal civil war against the regime have no single leader, and many don't communicate with each other.

Brahimi spoke following meetings with top Lebanese officials as part of a regional tour. He said all countries must work to stop the bloodshed by halting arms shipments so the conflict doesn't spread.

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are sympathetic to the rebels and are believed to be facilitating their acquisition of weapons or arming them directly. Iran and Russia are Assad's biggest supporters and provide the Syrian military with most of its advanced weapons.

"These countries need to realize, as we heard today in Lebanon, that it is not possible that this crisis will stay inside Syrian border forever," he said. "Either it has to be taken care of or it will spread and spill over and consume everything."

Rebel leaders were not immediately available for comment on the proposed truce.

Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdessi said the government was waiting for Brahimi to come to Damascus to brief officials there on the results of his tour.

The regime would welcome any "constructive initiative," Makdessi said in statement released Wednesday by the state news agency.

It was unclear if Brahimi would travel to Damascus from Beirut.

Activists say more than 33,000 have been killed since Syria's uprising started in March 2011.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutolgu said his country supports a holiday cease-fire but was skeptical that it would lead to a longer truce without an international force to make it "sustainable."

"A cease-fire can be declared but the international community would need to take certain measures for its sustainability," the state-run Anadolu agency quoted him as saying.

Fighting continued Wednesday, with activists reporting clashes in the northern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo as well as outside of the capital, Damascus.

Amateur videos posted online showed what rebels said was a helicopter shot down by rebel fire near the northern town of Maaret al-Numan. Clashes have been raging in the area since rebels took the town last week.

One video shows a white helicopter spiraling as it falls through the sky, leaving a trail of smoke behind before bursting into flame. Rebels on the ground can be heard chanting "God is great!"

An activist in the area who said he saw the explosions said the helicopter was likely hit with anti-aircraft guns rebels have captured from regime forces and sometimes mounted on the backs of trucks.

He said the regime has been bombing villages in the area for more than a week and had destroyed many homes.

"The planes are hitting us as revenge," said the activist, who gave his name as Qais al-Idlibi. "They can't make progress on the ground, so they are hitting us from the air."

He said the remaining civilians sleep outside in their fields for fear of airstrikes, and the shooting boosted their morale.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the helicopter downing, saying the debris fell in the village of Baseeda.

Activist claims and videos could not be independently verified.

Syria's civil war has displaced more than 1 million Syrians inside the country and sent hundreds of thousands more over the borders to see refuge with Syria's neighbors.

On Wednesday, U.N. humanitarian chief Deborah Amos said more than half of Syria's health facilities have been destroyed or damaged in the war and many children are not getting vaccinated or going to school.

She also expressed concern over those near Syria's borders who have not been allowed to leave the country.

___

Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed reporting.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/un-syria-envoy-calls-government-start-truce-115348101.html

miranda lambert reba mcentire acm awards luke bryan april fools global payments the killing

Save money with 'the fall clothes rotation'

Buy clothes based on off-season discounts, not based on need or want, Hamm writes.

By Trent Hamm,?Guest blogger / October 16, 2012

Barbara Cubbin, a school bus driver, shops at Savers. By rotating clothes throughout the seasons, Hamm writes that he simply does not spend very much on clothes.

Joanne Ciccarello/The Christian Science Monitor/File

Enlarge

Late last winter and early last spring, many local places put their fall and winter clothes on deep discount. Long sleeved shirts and long pants had to go to make room for the short sleeved shirts and shorter pants, after all.

Skip to next paragraph Trent Hamm

The Simple Dollar is a blog for those of us who need both cents and sense: people fighting debt and bad spending habits while building a financially secure future and still affording a latte or two. Our busy lives are crazy enough without having to compare five hundred mutual funds ? we just want simple ways to manage our finances and save a little money.

Recent posts

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

I actually went to one of these sales and picked up a couple of items on deep discount. I took those items home, opened up a box that I keep in the garage, and added the items to that box.

That box, of course, contained my fall and winter clothes.

Just a few days ago, I pulled out that box. When I opened the lid, I found a bunch of folded, clean clothes that were appropriate for the season.

Over the next few weeks, as I wash them and fold them, I?ll be adding most of my spring and summer clothes to that box. Soon, that box will find itself out in the garage, waiting on a shelf for April.

* * *

The fall (and spring) clothes rotation is such a simple move, but it saves me quite a lot of money.

Whenever I notice that an article of clothing is getting worn out, I just add it to the rag bag. I don?t worry about replacing it immediately.

Instead, at the end of the season, when clothes are on deep discount as the styles for the next season are rotating in, I might buy enough items to make up for the ones I had to get rid of (if I didn?t already find them elsewhere). Those items are almost always purchased at a very steep discount.

I put those discounted items away with my other seasonal clothes and open up the box of clothes I have stored for the coming season. On top of that box, I?ll find a few new items of clothing ? the ones I bought on sale several months ago when they were being rotated out ? and underneath it I have a full wardrobe of clothes for the coming season.

Thanks to this rotation,?I simply don?t spend much for clothes, yet I have nice, presentable, and seasonally appropriate clothes for every season.

* * *

Obviously, this type of clothes rotation works best where the late fall and winter weather is drastically different than the spring and summer weather. However, you can still approximate this advantage in other areas.

The real key to my clothes plan is to have a ?cap? on my wardrobe size.?I only have a certain number of winter clothes and a certain number of summer clothes. When a new item is added, it?s either there to take up a slot or it?s in waiting to take up a slot (and the latter only happens when I receive a clothes gift).

If you?re in a place that doesn?t have seasonal rotation, just have a single wardrobe with a ?cap? and then wait for sales in your area. Whenever those sales pop up ? sales tax holidays, inventory rotations for other purposes ? get on board and buy a few items, but don?t add them to your wardrobe until you?re directly replacing something else that?s worn out.

In other words,?buy clothes based on low prices, not based on need or want.

It?s a simple change from how I used to buy clothes, where I?d just add new stuff whenever it seemed appropriate. The financial difference, though, is immense.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on www.thesimpledollar.com.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/EAyjdPGgTf0/Save-money-with-the-fall-clothes-rotation

madison bumgarner wnba draft tax day april 17 boston marathon tu pac hologram shuttle

Cab hailing service Hailo launches in the U.S, with its arrival in Boston

Android Central

We're big fans of Hailo, the service that lets you hail and pay for a cab using your Android device. It helps make commuting through London less of a struggle, and we like that. Almost a year on from its first inception in the UK, Hailo has since branched out to Dublin and to Toronto. But, from today, the service finally arrives on U.S. shores beginning with Boston. 

While Chicago and New York City are both currently under active development, it's Boston that gets the nod as the first to experience the service. By partnering with licensed taxi drivers, Hailo offers not only an easy way to flag down a cab, but also offers a guarentee of safety to its users. 

The app itself is free to download, and if you're in Boston and decide to try this out, hit us up in the comments with your experience. 

Source: Hailo via TNW



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/VEcbmb8UJ1c/story01.htm

ted nugent veep los angeles kings earth day timothy leary jonathan frid pujols

Scientists Erase the Memories of Sleeping Mice [Science]

Researchers at Stanford claim they've figured out how to erase the traumatic memories of mice while they sleep bringing them one step closer to their goal of ending PTSD for humans. Apparently a prescription memory-eraser could even be on the way. Are we closer to an Eternal Sunshine moment than we think? More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/0jbZHWiiu7k/scientists-erase-the-memories-of-sleeping-mice

jay z and beyonce the big chill tony blankley charles barkley beyonce troy polamalu james harrison

Rookie QB rules no longer apply

RG3, Luck & Co. may force teams, pundits to re-think expectations for new signal callers

This season's starting rookie quarterbacks: Russell Wilson (Seahawks), Robert Griffin III (Redskins), Andrew Luck (Colts), Brandon Weeden (Browns) and Ryan Tannehill (Dolphins).

ANALYSIS

By Scott Kacsmar

NBCSports.com contributor

updated 12:03 a.m. ET Oct. 17, 2012

The 2012 NFL season will be remembered for many things, but one of the most interesting stories is the progression of the rookie quarterbacks.

This could be the year the book was rewritten on rookie expectations. The fearless five starters are still healthy and holding onto their jobs as we head into Week 7, an encouraging sign.

There has never been a season in the modern era (since 1950) where five rookie quarterbacks started in Week 1, but that was the case with Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill, Brandon Weeden, and Russell Wilson.

Only Wilson ? go figure, the only one who was a third-round pick ? has led his team to a winning record (4-2), but he has the best defense and plays in the league's most run-heavy offense. Part of what makes this group stand out historically is the way they have been relied upon so heavily and quickly in their careers.

When you look at all rookie quarterbacks since 1960 through their first six games, these five from 2012 are among the most prolific ever.

Rookie ranks since 1960 (games 1-6)

QuarterbackPass YardsRankPass TDRank
Andrew Luck*1,4883rd7T-2nd
Robert Griffin III1,3438th5T-17th
Ryan Tannehill1,4544th4T-35th
Brandon Weeden1,5192nd7T-2nd
Russell Wilson1,10813th81st

*Luck had a bye week and has only played in five games.

While Cam Newton had a record 1,847 passing yards at this point last season, there are three 2012 rookies who rank 2-4. Wilson may lack the yards, but he is the only rookie quarterback since 1960 with eight touchdown passes through six games.

Each rookie is managing a very different situation this season, and some have enjoyed more help than others so far.

Andrew Luck, Colts (2-3)
The most impressive part about Luck is his ability to take everything the coaches give him and effectively run the offense like a veteran. It is easy to see why he was such a highly-respected prospect out of Stanford.

Luck has been excellent in two-minute drills and running the hurry-up offense. The Colts ran a team-record 89 offensive snaps in their 30-27 comeback win from a 21-3 deficit against Green Bay.

He is very effective out of the shotgun, has been incredible at avoiding sacks and scrambling for first downs on key third downs, and had a three-game stretch where he led the team to a go-ahead score in the final 60 seconds of each game.

Luck has already thrown for over 300 yards in three of the five games; one more would tie Peyton Manning?s rookie record. He had 280 yards at the Jets in Week 6, though it was his worst game of the season.

The Colts run a lot of vertical routes and the running backs have just nine catches on the season. Luck is getting almost no yards after the catch from his receivers, as everything has been tightly contested and tackles are being made right as the Colts catch passes. Reggie Wayne has been a huge help and he is having a great season for Luck, but the young receivers are struggling to get open.

Concerns going forward are that the coaches ? that being interim coach Bruce Arians as Chuck Pagano battles leukemia ? may be putting too much responsibility on Luck. He is on pace for 803 drop backs this season, which would easily be a NFL record.

Some more screens, more play action (easier plays) could help Luck, as right now the running game has not been great and the offense is too fixated on wide receivers.

Playing with such an inexperienced team, the two road games have been the toughest (at Chicago and the Jets), and Luck has been pressing in each after getting behind early. Compared to the other rookies, Luck has faced the toughest set of defenses.

There will of course continue to be growing pains, but the future looks bright in Indianapolis.

Robert Griffin III, Redskins (3-3)
The quarterback known as RGIII is off to a hot start in what could be a historic season. It began with that big performance in New Orleans to start the season: 19-of-26 for 320 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, and a 139.9 passer rating.

Of course the Saints look like hot garbage on defense this season, but it was one of the all-time debut games. Griffin has only been intercepted twice on 161 pass attempts this season. He may only have five passing touchdowns, but has already rushed for six.

Cam Newton received a lot of buzz for his dual-threat ability last season, but so far Griffin has been a more efficient passer and even more effective runner.

Through just six games Griffin has rushed 55 times for 379 yards (6.89 yards per carry). Only Bobby Douglass (475 yards in 1972) and Michael Vick (441 yards in 2006) have had more yards rushing by a quarterback through six games.

QuarterbackYardsPassesBehind LOS (Pct.)Pct. 20+Pct.YAC
Brandon Weeden1,51923162 (26.8)26.8%2611.3%
Robert Griffin III1,34316147 (29.2)29.2%127.5%
Ryan Tannehill1,45419839 (19.7)19.7%189.1%
Andrew Luck1,48822132 (14.5)14.5%2611.8%
Russell Wilson1,10815225 (16.4)16.4%2214.5%
While Griffin has the skills to set some rushing records, he also is taking aim at Ben Roethlisberger?s rookie passer records for passer rating (98.1) and completion percentage (66.4 percent). Griffin is completing 70.2 percent of his passes and has a 100.5 passer rating.

Griffin had a late game-winning drive against Tampa Bay that was very impressive.

Mike Shanahan is showing he could still coach quarterbacks when not stuck with someone else?s trash. The Redskins have really tailored an offense to take advantage of Griffin?s unique skill set, and he has been put in the best situation to succeed individually among the rookie quarterbacks.

Calling lots of screens and short passes allows Griffin to get the ball out quickly to playmakers and get in a rhythm. Check the difference in how each rookie quarterback is throwing passes behind the line of scrimmage and deep (21+ yards) and the amount of yards after catch (YAC) received.

Luck and Wilson have aired it out more, while Weeden and Griffin have often thrown short. Tannehill is in between the two.

The big concern with Griffin is his running style, size and injuries. He already suffered one concussion and could not finish the game. Washington?s backup plan also being a rookie (fourth-round pick Kirk Cousins) makes it even more important he avoids such big hits. He is more Michael Vick than he is Newton, though Griffin is more developed as a passer than both at this point.

Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins (3-3)
When watching Hard Knocks on HBO, it did not seem Tannehill would have any weapons to throw to, but Brian Hartline has exploded with games of 111 and 253 yards this season.

The latter came in Arizona when Tannehill passed for 431 yards, which is one short of Newton?s rookie record set last year (432 yards).

It was a rough start for Tannehill to have to go to Houston in Week 1, and his three straight interceptions in the second quarter gave Miami no shot that day. Never mind that the Dolphins followed it up with a fumble and fourth straight giveaway. That was a 30-10 rout.

However, in the last four games we have seen a much better quarterback and a very competitive Miami team. Reggie Bush is running the ball well and Cameron Wake leads one of the better defenses in the AFC.

Tannehill has rarely been spectacular like some of the other rookies, but he has been solid and has a legitimate claim that he should have won his last four starts. Miami just had to make a game-winning field goal in overtime against the Jets, but Dan Carpenter missed. They had a 4th and 10 to stop Arizona, but Kevin Kolb converted for the touchdown.

Without those plays, Tannehill would be 4-1 with two comebacks and game-winning drives. Joe Philbin may only be a rookie coach, but he has an offensive background and has Tannehill and the Dolphins playing much better than expected at 3-3.

Brandon Weeden, Browns (1-5)
The Browns were the last team to register a win this season, but at least they ended their losing streak, and Weeden had his first comeback/game-winning drive on his 29th birthday.

It was easy to say Weeden stepped into the worst situation just because it is Cleveland, but he has good pieces on the offensive line and the team used premium draft picks on running back Trent Richardson and wide receiver Josh Gordon. Greg Little never makes any catch easy on himself, and Mohamed Massaquoi has continued to disappoint.

After that horrendous Week 1 debut versus Philadelphia (12-of-35 for 118 yards, 0 TD, 4 INT, 5.1 passer rating), it was not clear Weeden really belonged in this league, but there has been improvement ever since. His unusual age means he must develop faster than some of these other guys, but he is also not the same investment when being just the No. 22 pick.

Not to write Weeden off yet, but he seems much more system dependent than the rest of the rookies, and Pat Shurmur?s coaching staff (Brad Childress as offensive coordinator) may not be the long-term answer. Improvising on the fly, throwing under pressure, touch-passing, in all of these areas Weeden appears to be lagging behind in the 2012 class.

Russell Wilson, Seahawks (4-2)
While Weeden?s stock may have fallen because of his age, Wilson?s discrimination was more due to his height (5-11).

But such an interesting prospect because of his strong arm and athletic ability, the Seahawks only had to invest the 75th pick in the third round of the draft to give him a shot.

After such an impressive preseason, Wilson beat out Matt Flynn for the starting job and has lived up to the billing in the real games. His early career may be known best for Hail Mary passes ? losing on two of them in college at Wisconsin and winning against Green Bay on the Golden Tate play ? but a few more games like Sunday versus New England and those moments will be forgotten.

Wilson became the fourth rookie to take out the Bill Belichick-coached Patriots as he completed 16-of-27 passes for 293 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT and a 133.7 passer rating. Russell outplayed Tom Brady in the fourth quarter, throwing a 46-yard game-winning touchdown to Sidney Rice with 1:18 remaining in a 13-point comeback win.

Russell has had a chance late in four games this season, and converted twice in big fashion versus flagship teams like the Patriots and Packers. He will get another crack in prime time this Thursday in San Francisco in a battle for first place in the NFC West.

Though limited in his attempts, Wilson does already have eight touchdown passes and may be the best deep-ball passer in the 2012 class. Wilson is 10-of-22 on passes thrown more than 21 yards this season, and has five touchdowns.

Should Seattle start to open up the offense and give him more chances, Wilson could be a dark horse as the lone rookie quarterback to lead his team into the postseason this year.

Not bad for the little guy out of the third round.

Scott Kacsmar (@CaptainComeback) writes for Cold, Hard Football Facts, Bleacher Report, Colts Authority, and contributes data to Pro-Football-Reference.com and NFL Network.

? 2012 NBC Sports.com? Reprints

advertisement

More news
Rookie QB rules no longer apply

Kacsmar: This could be the year the book was rewritten on rookie expectations. When you look at all rookie quarterbacks since 1960 through their first six games, these five from 2012 are among the most prolific ever.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/49433625/ns/sports-nfl/

george lucas numerology the game new hampshire primary hue jackson coachella 2012 line up lsu

Santa Clara: Man shot while attending wedding reception

SANTA CLARA -- A 21-year-old man attending a wedding reception in Santa Clara on Sunday night was shot and taken to a hospital by other guests, according to police.

Just after 11 p.m. police responded to the 3900 block of Freedom Circle Drive following reports of a shooting, according to Lt. Matt Hogan. When officers arrived they located several of the wedding guests outside, who said the man had been shot and taken to a hospital, Hogan said.

The shooting happened outside, but police did not identify the exact location of the shooting.

The male victim remained hospitalized Monday morning with a wound that does not appear to be life threatening, Hogan said.

Santa Clara police did not have any suspect information related to the shooting. Police are not releasing any more details in connection with the shooting.

Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact Santa Clara police at 408-615-4800.

Contact Mark Gomez at 408-920-5869. Follow him on Twitter @MarkMgomez


Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_21777623/santa-clara-man-shot-while-attending-wedding-reception?source=rss

rpi dst friends with kids pacific standard time northern mariana islands summer time coolio

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Global Briefing | Brazil's Changing Fashion Calendar | BoF ? The ...

The scene at Alexandre Herchcovitch's Spring/Summer 2012 show at S?o Paulo Fashion Week | Source: Nowfashion

S?O PAULO, Brazil ? Effective this month, Luminosidade, the company that organizes S?o Paulo Fashion Week and Fashion Rio ? previously held, back-to-back, in January and May/June of each year ? is preponing its events, staging Autumn/Winter in October-November and Spring/Summer in March-April, not long after the close of the four main fashion weeks.

But this means that while many international buyers and journalists have just finished an exhausting month-long marathon of fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris, taking in hundreds of Spring/Summer 2013 collections, S?o Paulo Fashion Week is already set to kick off the Autumn/Winter 2013 season on October 29th.

Is this wise?

Brazil?s fashion industry has evolved dramatically since the birth of S?o Paulo Fashion Week, sixteen years ago. ?The first decade was for visibility ? showing the world that Brazil has fashion creativity. Now, it?s a moment to restructure,? Gra?a Cabral, chief of institutional relations and strategic partnerships at Luminosidade, told BoF.

Indeed, the changes to the timing of S?o Paulo Fashion Week and Fashion Rio reflect a structural need to adjust the country?s fashion cycle. ?For a long time, we have been discussing the need to extend the time between product development and distribution,? she explained. ?Unlike international fashion calendars, the Brazilian calendar only had two months between the shows and retail launch. The move is towards a positive change for the whole industry in Brazil, from the textile industry to buyers.?

The move may have unintended consequences for international attendence, however.

?For international press, our calendar adapts best [sic], as Brazil will close the global season,? said Monica Mendes, founder of the country?s leading lifestyle public relations firm and international PR for both events. But while the world?s four main fashion weeks have just presented Spring/Summer 2013 collections, Brazil will now be the first to present an entirely new season: Autumn/Winter 2013. ?In terms of seasons, maybe we were more aligned with the dates we had before,? Cabral admitted.

?We expect that the world will start looking to Brazil as the first to launch a new season,? said Evil?sio Miranda Costa, chief executive of the Brazilian Association of Fashion Designers (ABEST). ?But the new dates will make it harder to invite international buyers,? he acknowledged. ?While we show winter in October/November, buyers will still be confirming their summer orders made a few weeks prior in New York, London, Milan and Paris.?

Oskar Metsavaht, founder of Osklen, sees the changes to Brazil?s fashion calendar as an opportunity to assert the country?s creative leadership. ?The interesting thing is that, launching first, our collections are still in sync with global trends. We are not copying or waiting to see what is launched abroad as a reference for our collections. Our [new] calendar will make us more authorial and audacious,? he said.

Importantly, Brazil?s fashion weeks are increasingly targeting emerging markets like China and Russia, in addition to established fashion markets like the US and Europe. ?Our work is to position, to introduce,? said Cabral. ?For a long time, our designers bet mostly on the?USA?market and it?s still a focus, and the biggest global market, but we should make an effort for the emerging markets to consume our design and understand our brands,? she continued. ?We have brands that have strong appeal in Arabic cultures due to the exuberance of the pieces and materials, such as Lino Villaventura, or in the Asian market, such as Alexandre Herchcovitch.?

It?s Ms Cabral?s hope that greater globalisation and the rise of direct-to-consumer sales via the web will make up for any drop in the attendence of American and European buyers and press at Brazil?s fashion weeks. ?We used to think that a global communications plan for our fashion weeks would need to be aligned with [traditional] distribution, but this concept is changing because e-commerce is growing so fast,? said Cabral. Indeed, for the first time last season, pre-commerce site Moda Operandi sold looks straight from Brazil?s runways. ?For a very long time, we thought this wouldn?t work, but today it?s really changing the business.?

Jorge Grimberg is an associate contributor at The Business of Fashion.

?

Source: http://www.businessoffashion.com/2012/10/global-briefing-brazils-changing-fashion-calendar.html

dan marino passing record ipad 2 cases movie times serene branson matthew mcconaughey to catch a predator davenport

Husky - Lucille - Large - Adult - Female - Dog | Evergreen | eBay ...

Husky - Lucille - Large - Adult - Female - Dog

COURTESY LISTING - PLEASE DO NOT COMPLETE AN EAPL APPLICATION. PLEASE CONTACT Debbie cell 303-408-1778. Meet Lucille, she is an 8yo wonderful spirited dog. I rescued her from an abusive situation with a homeless man downtown who was a mean drunk and beat her when inebriated. I have worked with her owner and he finally gave her to me. I love Lucille, and would keep her if I could, but I already have 2 big dogs that are jealous and trained on Invisible Fence; I could not trust Lucille not break through in an effort to return to the only life she has known for 8 years. Lucille is up to date on her vaccines because I took her to get them completed; she is spayed and so anxious to learn a new way of love and life. Lucille would love to find an older couple with a fenced yard, no other pets or children since she has not been around these in her life. Can you give Lucille a new life?

CHARACTERISTICS:
Breed: Husky
Size: Large
Petfinder ID: 24304602

ADDITIONAL INFO:
Pet has been spayed/neutered

CONTACT:
Evergreen Animal Protective League | Evergreen, CO | 303-674-6442

For additional information, reply to this ad or see: http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=24304602

Brought to you by Petfinder.com

Source: http://denver.ebayclassifieds.com/dogs-puppies/evergreen/husky-lucille-large-adult-female-dog/?ad=23910593

indiana autoimmune disease westboro baptist church news channel 9 insanity workout mass effect 3 launch trailer yelp

Friday, October 12, 2012

Why People Choose To Manage The Stress

If you have been taking into tab the substance of stress management in your life, you are likely to benefit from this caring handbook. Stress management is a procedure that allows you the opportunity to gather how to effectively control the emotions that you experience on a day after day basis. When you are practicing stress management, you will draw together how to control your emotions so that broadcast won?t think of you as an over-reactor, but you will furthermore be able to control your mind to stay apparent. With a clear mind-set one task can be concluded and on time. Below I will list more tips for you.

When raising a stress management regime, it is valuable to stomach back and take a skilled look by how you react to fastidious situations in your life. You must take annotation of how you react emotionally to these things, as well as how you react physically. There are many things that you must be on the look made known pro. If you discover that you are inexorably depressed, are experiencing a all-purpose lack of hope, having suicidal tendencies, or physical complications such as breathing complications and akin issues, you should fit up an appointment with a doctor as soon as attainable.

It ?s not single in this area selection you develop ways to soubriquet the stress, but it furthermore will deposit you on a path. For that you need to fit and pursue goals that are meaningful. However, with goals, you could discover that you will became frustrated or upset as they aren?t met. That?s sanction, you will be able to fit extra goals and be thriving.

From the above we can find that stress management is important and can give many advantages to us, so you can learn the above methods. Or you can find a corporate training service company that can provide Certificate Diploma and Training Parramatta service to help you.

Source: http://jaucoandassociates.com/7493/why-people-choose-to-manage-the-stress/

miss universe canada don draper gallagher madmen james cameron liam hemsworth miss canada

Apple's 'quality-control crackdown' may be reason for iPhone 5 shortage

14 hrs.

Getting your hands on an iPhone 5 can be pretty tough right now. The Apple website offers estimated shipping dates which are a month out and many brick-and-mortar stores are low on stock. But high demand may not be the only cause of this apparent product?shortage, one report suggests.

According to?the folks at Bloomberg News, "a person familiar with the matter" claims that the "iPhone 5 supply shortfall is being exacerbated by a quality-control crackdown at Foxconn," where Apple many?gadgets are manufactured. This quality-control crackdown?is supposedly "designed to cut the number of devices shipped with nicks and scratches," according to the report.

Apple senior vice president of marketing Phil Schiller has previously commented on the propensity of the iPhone 5 paint job to scratch and chip in an email exchange with a customer.?"Any aluminum product may scratch or chip with use, exposing its natural silver color," he said. "That is normal."

Just like the iPhone 4 reception issues reported in the past, the cosmetic issues spotted since the iPhone 5?launch appear to?affect some users more than others.?NBC News tech?editor Wilson Rothman and I got the?iPhone 5 on the same day,?but while his was already showing wear after about five days of heavy use (and going in and out of jean pockets), mine didn't begin suffering from time spent?in a purse pocket along with other smartphones, loose change and my house keys until?after nearly three weeks.

We have reached out to Apple for comment on the reported quality-control crackdown as we wonder how it plays in with Schiller's remarks, which???as previously noted???reminded us?of the time?when late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs told a?customer?who complained about the iPhone 4 reception issues he experienced when his hand covered the device's antennas that he should "[j]ust avoid holding it that way."

Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/apples-quality-control-crackdown-may-be-reason-iphone-5-shortage-1C6389954

Empire State Building shooting Republican National Convention Karlie Redd guild wars 2 adrian gonzalez Jerry Nelson Foo

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Venezuela's Chavez names Maduro vice-president

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez named former bus driver and current Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro as his new vice president on Wednesday in the first cabinet change since his re-election on Sunday.

Maduro, 49, replaces Elias Jaua, who will run for the governorship of Miranda state against defeated opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles in the South American OPEC member's December gubernatorial elections.

Maduro, a union leader at Caracas' public bus service and foreign minister since 2006, has long been seen as a possible successor to Chavez along with several other senior allies.

He was frequently at his side in the most critical moments of Chavez's year of cancer treatment since mid-2011.

The possibility of a recurrence of the disease hangs over Chavez despite a surprisingly vigorous campaign before his convincing win by 11 percentage points on Sunday.

"I don't recommend anyone the vice president's job," Chavez joked, naming Maduro during the formal proclamation of his presidential win by Venezuela's election board.

"Putting up with me is not easy!"

The affable Maduro's working-class background gives him more appeal than other officials among Chavez's supporters. He was elected in 2000 to parliament, where his combative defense of Chavez's socialism turned him into a favored protege.

"He was a bus driver. How they mock him, the bourgeoisie," said Chavez, who depicts his socialist government as a protector of the masses against an evil capitalist elite.

Away from the government celebrations of Sunday's vote, losing presidential candidate Capriles has been seeking to rally Venezuela's crushed opposition for the December local elections.

"BACK ON MY FEET"

Capriles, the energetic Miranda state governor, said he had put Sunday's loss behind him and urged opposition supporters to keep faith and help hold back the ruling Socialist Party at local level in December's gubernatorial elections across the nation.

"On Sunday I felt really down, I'm one of those people who can't hide their feelings," said Capriles, who won 44 percent of the vote compared to 55 percent for Chavez.

"Now I'm back on my feet ... The tears have dried up," Capriles said at a three-hour news conference late on Tuesday.

A business-friendly lawyer and career politician widely seen as the opposition's best leader of the Chavez era, Capriles, 40, plans to run for re-election in Miranda.

Having beaten a heavyweight Chavez ally for that post in 2008, Capriles will now take on another senior loyalist, Jaua, in the highest-profile race of the December 16 elections. He will formally launch his candidacy on Friday, his office said.

Members of the opposition coalition control seven of 23 states, and they hope to increase that number in December.

But Chavez's candidates will gain momentum from his victory, especially as he won in all but two states.

"We've lost one game. But we're over it and now we Venezuelans have to think about the next one," added Capriles.

In the campaign, Chavez never referred to Capriles by name. He savaged his rival daily as a "pig," "loser," "sycophant," "fascist," "nothing" and "candidate of the ultra-right."

FRIENDLY CHAVEZ

Yet the president appeared impressed by Capriles' quick acknowledgement of defeat and telephoned him on Monday.

"I took the telephone and thought 'Gosh, let's see which of the nicknames he's going to use.' At last he called me by my surname," Capriles said with a smile.

"I told him 'Mr. President, with all due respect, I hope we are not going to continue hearing insults and derogatory terms' ... . He told me I had made a great effort, and that I should get some rest, and that I had pushed him hard."

Having won the most votes against Chavez of the last four presidential elections and galvanized the once-fractured opposition, Capriles looks like its obvious head right now.

But there is no guarantee he will retain that status.

Other ambitious opposition leaders of his 40-something generation, like Zulia Governor Pablo Perez or former Caracas District Mayor Leopoldo Lopez, may be sizing up their own chances at a 2018 presidential bid.

An opportunity could come sooner should Chavez's cancer reappear and force him out of office. That would trigger a new election if it happened in the first four years of his six-year term. Chavez, 58, has ruled Venezuela since 1999.

Capriles, who has avoided mentioning Chavez's recent battles with two cancerous tumors beyond wishing him good health and a long life, has dropped plenty of hints that he plans to remain the opposition's driving force.

"I am going to continue going around Venezuela. There are lots of places I was unable to visit," he said of his grueling campaign of hundreds of visits to villages, towns and cities.

"I left my heart on the road, and I'll do it again ... . No one is unbeatable."

(Additional reporting by Eyanir Chinea; Editing by Todd Benson, David Brunnstrom and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuelas-chavez-names-maduro-vice-president-003418538.html

Irish Daily Star seth macfarlane Black Mesa NFL.com matt ryan matt ryan att wireless

Asia stocks fall after Spain gets downgrade

(AP) ? Asian stock markets fell Thursday after Spain, the fourth-largest euro economy, was slapped with a two-notch credit downgrade and the U.S. earnings season opened with a whimper.

Standard & Poor's downgraded Spain's debt late Wednesday from BBB+ to BBB-, the lowest investment-grade level. S&P said the action was due to the country's recession, high unemployment and social unrest, which limit the government's options for reversing the country's financial crisis.

Meanwhile, aluminum giant Alcoa marked the unofficial start to U.S. corporate earnings season by beating earnings estimates but investors were disappointed that the company cut its demand forecast for the year, mostly due to a slowdown in China.

In another sign of a worsening global slowdown, South Korea's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate and lowered economic growth forecasts for this year and next.

The turbulence from abroad dragged Asian stocks lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.6 percent to 8,546.80. South Korea's Kospi shed 0.8 percent to 1,932.74. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost less than 0.1 percent to 4,490.50. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, however, rose 0.2 percent to 20,969.90.

On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund reduced its growth forecast for the world economy to 3.3 percent this year from 3.5 percent. Its forecast for growth in 2013 is 3.6 percent, down from 3.9 percent three months ago and 4.1 percent in April. Global growth concerns are weighing heavily on market sentiment.

"From here on in, it's going to be a matter of how much economic or corporate earnings growth there is. And the outlook for that is still pretty flat, as evidenced by what the IMF is saying," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.

Spain presented yet another deeply worrying problem. Last month, the European Central Bank agreed to buy unlimited amounts of the government bonds of struggling European countries such as Spain to help lower their borrowing costs. But the governments first need to apply for a bailout.

Spain has not applied for a bailout. Instead, the government has introduced a series of austerity and labor measures in a bid to bring down its budget deficit and convince investors it can manage its finances without outside help.

"The slow progress towards a sovereign bailout for Spain will have likely played a role in the (S&P) decision, a factor that is also weighing on general market sentiment," analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in a market commentary. "The debt downgrade may on the margin increase the pressure on the Spanish government to request a formal bailout."

Among individual stocks, Toyota Motor Corp. fell 1.6 percent after the company was forced to recall 7.4 million cars from around the world due to faulty power window switches.

Shares of Australia's Lynas Corp. plunged 14.5 percent after a Malaysian Court delayed the start of production at its rare earths processing plant to consider objections by environmentalists and other opponents of the project.

Chinese property shares rose on expectations of action by the government to spur growth by supporting infrastructure projects. Hong Kong-listed China Railway Construction Corp. jumped 4.7 percent. China Railway Group rose 3.8 percent.

Wall Street stocks dropped Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1 percent to 13,344.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 0.6 percent to 1,432.56. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 0.4 percent to 3,051.78.

The U.S. quarterly earnings season is expected to be the weakest in three years. Analysts project that companies in the S&P 500 will collectively report third-quarter earnings that are 1 percent lower compared with the same quarter of last year.

Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, has warned that slumping oil prices and production would cause earnings to be "substantially lower."

Benchmark crude for November delivery was up 37 cents to $91.62 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.14 to finish at $91.25 per barrel on the Nymex on Wednesday.

In currencies, the euro fell to $1.2863 from $1.2897 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar fell to 78.05 yen from 78.19 yen.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-10-11-World%20Markets/id-ce6ce8f575344306ab72b1089648f1ae

Eric Idle rory mcilroy

Report challenges beliefs on sexual attacks in war

(AP) ? A new report by Canadian researchers challenges the widespread belief that rape is increasingly being used as a "weapon of war."

The report released Wednesday by a research team from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver said there is no compelling evidence to support this belief or claims by senior U.N. officials, U.N. reports and others that sexual violence in wartime is increasing.

There is also no compelling evidence that the extreme level of sexual violence in a small number of war-affected countries including Congo, Liberia and Sudan is shared in other conflict zones, the report said.

But Sebastian Merz, associate director of the project that produced the 2012 Human Security Report report, told reporters at a news conference that there is evidence, which is largely overlooked, that the most common perpetrators of sexual violence in wartime are husbands, partners or other family members ? not combatants.

While the majority of perpetrators in wartime sexual violence are men and the vast majority of victims are women and girls, he said recent studies have shown that both male victims and female perpetrators may be more numerous than is generally believed, which is almost never mentioned.

The report said there is a minimal amount of data on wartime sexual violence despite the huge increase in international attention in the past two decades.

As a result, it said, "highly misleading assumptions about the scope and intensity of sexual violence in war-affected countries have become widely accepted in the media, in the U.N. and other international agencies, and in the advocacy community."

The researchers urged the international community to become more serious about collecting and using reliable data on sexual violence in conflicts.

Professor Andrew Mack, the project director, said it's astonishing that 12 years after the U.N. Security Council passed a landmark resolution calling for increased protection of women and girls during war and prosecution of perpetrators responsible for rape and other crimes against women "the U.N. has no idea of how widespread sexual violence is in today's wars ? nor whether it is increasing or decreasing."

Merz stressed that the report does not question the important of the issue or suggest that less attention or resources should be devoted to wartime sexual violence which he said "constitutes a very severe assault on human security and poses a grave threat to all those living in conflict-affected areas."

"But we need a better understanding of the nature and extent of wartime sexual violence," he said.

Nonetheless, Merz said, even the limited evidence available poses serious challenges to the widely accepted views on the problem.

While there is a huge amount of literature on the intentional use of rape as a weapon of war by governments and rebels to advance military and political goals, the report said, "no evidence has been produced to support assertions that it has increased."

On the contrary, it said, "some evidence suggests that its incidence is less prevalent than claimed, and that it may have declined in recent years."

The report cited the Serbian rape campaign in Bosnia in the early 1990s as "perhaps the most notorious recent case" but said overall "the evidence suggests that strategic rape is the exception rather than the rule in most conflicts."

In Congo, for example, the report said there have been frequent assertions by high-ranking U.N. officials and others that rape is being used as a weapon of war. But it cited a 2010 study by Sweden's Nordic Africa Institute where government soldiers and officers made clear that sexual violence wasn't part of any military strategy.

The report said that in Congo "a major part of the reason for the high levels of sexual violence appears to be that the military command system is too dysfunctional, disorganized, fragmented, and corrupt to prevent undisciplined, and often unpaid, troops from indulging in opportunistic looting and rape on a large scale."

The disproportionate attention on the small number of countries with high levels of sexual violence perpetrated by combatants has created the impression that these extraordinary high levels of rape are characteristic of all war-affected countries, but the report said they are not.

The majority of war-affected countries, with much lower levels of sexual violence, just aren't discussed, it said.

As for reports that sexual violence is increasing worldwide, the researchers said, "hardly any evidence has been produced to support the claim."

"However, some of the limited indirect evidence available suggests that the level of combatant-perpetrated sexual violence in war-affected countries has declined worldwide," it said. "But to the best of our knowledge, no U.N. report or senior official has ever hinted that this is even a possibility."

The report was funded by the governments of Britain, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland and the UBS Optimus Foundation.

___

On the Web:

Human Security Report 2012: http://www.hsrgroup.org/

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-10-UN-Sexual%20Violence/id-47db7ede97844a329662fd229c853c5e

the duchess spice mike starr ufc 141 fight card gli joseph gordon levitt katy perry russell brand