Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Got the blues? Try these healthy good mood foods | Vegan

Does that bag of chips or pint of dairy-free ice cream really make you feel better once the taste has left your palate and the over-1,000 calories has taken residence in your body? Naturally, comfort food feels amazingly good when we eat it but the lift in spirits is only temporary and can even pack on the stress when you realize you?re packing on weight. When you?re feeling the blues or want to nosh your tension away, consider these healthy good mood foods.

Oranges

As soon as you pull off the peel of an orange, the zing of zesty citrus oils instantly perks you up. Oranges are a low-calorie, high-flavor fruit loaded with vitamins that can help lift your spirits.

Kale

Dark leafy greens are a superfood mood booster, rich in vitamins, minerals, and health-promoting phytonutrients. High in folic acid, eating an extra serving or two of kale or any dark leafy can lift you out of the doldrums.

Whole grain bread

If you crave carbs when your mood starts edging towards an all new low, satisfy your crave with whole grains, such as a slice of whole wheat bread, toasted, and slathered with nut butter. The whole wheat bread will give you complex? carbohydrates, which are high in fiber, and can stabilize your blood sugar and boost your energy. Whole grains are also high in B vitamins, which are helpful in boosting moods. (The nut butter is also a good mood food.)

Nuts

Nuts can help you crunch away tension while delivering a tasty bevy of vitamins and minerals, protein, and fiber. Have a handful of raw nuts or partner up nut butter with? whole grain toast. If your yen is for something savory, puree nuts or nut butter with soy sauce, coconut milk, and curry and toss with a modest serving of whole wheat pasta or heaping plate of low-calorie, nutrient-dense veggies.

More vegan diet tips!

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Source: http://vegan.sheknows.com/2012/10/30/got-the-blues-try-these-healthy-good-mood-foods/

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Mammoth storm Sandy plunges NYC into darkness

NEW YORK (AP) ? Much of New York was plunged into darkness Monday by a superstorm that overflowed the city's historic waterfront, flooded the financial district and subway tunnels and cut power to hundreds of thousands of people.

The city had shut its mass transit system, schools, the stock exchange and Broadway and ordered hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers to leave home to get out of the way of the superstorm Sandy as it zeroed in on the nation's largest city.

Residents spent much of the day trying to salvage normal routines, jogging and snapping pictures of the water while officials warned the worst of the storm had not hit.

By evening, a record 13-foot storm surge was threatening Manhattan's southern tip, howling winds had left a crane hanging from a high-rise, and utilities deliberately darkened part of downtown Manhattan to avoid storm damage.

"It's really a complete ghost town now," said Stephen Weisbrot, from a powerless 10th-floor apartment in lower Manhattan.

Water lapped over the seawall in Battery Park City, flooding rail yards, subway tracks, tunnels and roads. Rescue workers floated bright orange rafts down flooded downtown streets, while police officers rolled slowly down the street with loudspeakers telling people to go home.

"Now it's really turning into something," said Brian Damianakes, taking shelter in an ATM vestibule and watching a trash can blow down the street in Battery Park before the storm surge.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday night that the surge was expected to recede by midnight, after exceeding an original expectation of 11 feet.

We knew that this was going to be a very dangerous storm and the storm has met our expectations," he said. "This is a once-in-a-long-time storm."

Shortly after the massive storm made landfall in southern New Jersey, Consolidated Edison cut power deliberately to about 6,500 customers in downtown Manhattan to avert further damage. Then, huge swaths of the city went dark, losing power to 250,000 customers in Manhattan, Con Ed spokesman Chris Olert said.

New York University's hospital lost backup power, Bloomberg said. Late Monday, a bright orange explosion lit up the night sky on the east side of lower Manhattan, near a Con Ed substation.

"It sounded like the Fourth of July," said Weisbrot.

Another 1 million customers lost power earlier Monday in New York City, the northern suburbs and coastal Long Island, where floodwaters swamped cars, downed trees and put neighborhoods under water.

The storm had only killed one New York City resident by Monday night, a man who died when a tree fell on his home in the Flushing section of Queens.

The rains and howling winds, some believed to reach more than 95 mph, left a crane hanging off a luxury high-rise in midtown Manhattan, causing the evacuation of hundreds from a posh hotel and other buildings. Inspectors were climbing 74 flights of stairs to examine the crane hanging from the $1.5 billion.

The facade of a four-story Manhattan building in the Chelsea neighborhood crumbled and collapsed suddenly, leaving the lights, couches, cabinets and desks inside visible from the street. No one was hurt, although some of the falling debris hit a car.

On coastal Long Island, floodwaters swamped cars, downed trees and put neighborhoods under water as beachfronts and fishing villages bore the brunt of the storm. A police car was lost rescuing 14 people from the popular resort Fire Island.

The city shut all three of its airports, its subways, schools, stock exchanges, Broadway theaters and closed several bridges and tunnels throughout the day as the weather worsened.

Earlier, some New Yorkers defiantly soldiered on, trying to salvage normal routines and refusing to evacuate, as the mayor ordered 375,000 in low-lying areas to do.

Tanja Stewart and her 7-year-old son, Finn, came from their home in Manhattan's TriBeCa neighborhood to admire the white caps on the Hudson, Finn wearing a pair of binoculars around his neck. "I really wanted to see some big waves," he said.

Keith Reilly posed in an Irish soccer jersey for a picture above the rising waters of New York Harbor with the Statue of Liberty in the background.

"This is not so bad right now," said the 25-year-old Reilly.

On Long Island, floodwaters had begun to deluge some low-lying towns and nearly 150,000 customers had lost power. Cars floated along the streets of Long Beach and flooding consumed several blocks south of the bay, residents said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, holding a news conference on Long Island where the lights flickered and his mike went in and out, said most of the National Guards deployed to the New York City area would go to Long Island.

Anoush Vargas drove with her husband, Michael to the famed Jones Beach Monday morning, only to find it covered by water.

"We have no more beach. It's gone," she said, shaking her head as she watched the waves go under the boardwalk.

___

Associated Press writers Karen Matthews, Colleen Long and Deepti Hajela in New York, Larry Neumeister, Frank Eltman and Meghan Barr on Long Island, and Seth Borenstein in Kensington, Md., contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mammoth-storm-sandy-plunges-nyc-darkness-014428580.html

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Oliver Stone: Sandy is punishment

Handout / Reuters

By Josh Grossberg, E! Online

If there's one thing Oliver Stone wishes would come out of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, it's the hope that President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, pull a U-turn on climate change.?

But he's not counting on it.

In an interview with HuffPost Live on Tuesday, the 66-year-old filmmaker expressed dismay that neither presidential candidate has been willing to talk about the impact of global warming, especially after an unprecedented superstorm savaged the East Coast earlier this week with a catastrophic intensity some scientific experts have attributed to warming seas and melting of polar ice.

Salma Hayek's assets distract Oliver Stone at Savages photo call

"I was a little disappointed at the third debate when neither of them talked about climate control and the nature of the situation on earth," Stone said. "I think there's a kind of a weird statement coming right after it. This is a punishment. Mother Nature cannot be ignored."

The Born on the Fourth of July helmer predicted that the increasing climate crisis will continue to rear its ugly head well beyond the current election.

He added: "That's all I thought about. The storm will pass. The campaign will pass. But unfortunately the nature of this present world situation will not."

Check out our gallery of stars getting political?

Stone, by the way, also revealed that he voted early and cast his ballot for Obama, despite bashing the president for continuing some of the Bush administration's policies in a new book he co-authored called "The Untold History of the United States" that hit stores yesterday.

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/10/31/14831832-oliver-stone-sandy-is-punishment-for-obama-and-romney-ignoring-climate-change?lite

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Citigroup prepared for trading after power outages

(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc said it was ready for markets to re-open on Wednesday despite power outages in the waterside neighborhood where it is located and flood damage in a building where its investment bankers work.

"We are prepared for the re-opening of the markets, and will utilize our back-up locations to ensure continuity of operations until our staff can return to our Lower Manhattan offices," the company said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.

Earlier in the day, the company said that its building with trading floors at 390 Greenwich Street, which is a short distance north of the World Trade Center site, was running on power from a generator and was expected to be accessible in the next two days.

An adjacent skyscraper, where investment bankers work, sustained minor flooding from Hurricane Sandy and had no power, according to a Tuesday memo to employees that was seen by Reuters. That building is also expected to be accessible in the next two days, the memo said. It is also used by Citigroup's transaction services unit, which caters to corporations and governments around the world.

The memo said damage assessments were continuing.

A building at 111 Wall Street, which is the bank's third major facility in downtown Manhattan and is used by some of the company's back-office processing and human resources staff, had severe flooding and will be out of commission for several weeks, according to another staff memo sent later on Tuesday.

Citigroup has a back-up trading floor in New Jersey that it planned to use as of Sunday, two sources at the bank said on Sunday.

Global investment banks generally have large trading desks in Europe and Asia that can help carry workloads for one another.

Bank branches were still closed in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware, according to the memo. The bank said it was trying to open branches in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts on Tuesday afternoon.

(Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/citigroup-prepared-trading-power-outages-233846424--sector.html

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Friday, October 26, 2012

Giveway: $50 Gift Certificate for Kitchen Supplies!

My friend Barbara owns and runs a kitchen supply store called The Kitchen Outlet.

?Today we?re teaming up to give one lucky reader a $50 gift certificate to buy anything you like from her kitchen supplies store.?

How perfect for the holidays coming up!

?_____________________________________________

Based out of California, Barbara sells?anything and everything?you need and want in your kitchen.??We?re talking baking tools, kitchen gadgets, party supplies, adorable aprons, fun gifts, and much much more.

?

?The Kitchen Outlet is a one-stop-kitchen supply-shop!

They sell Silpats! We all know I cannot bake a single cookie, a batch of granola, roast a veggie or broil fish without my beloved nonstick silicone mat.

?

Silpats help my cookies spread less, allowing them to bake up thicker and more evenly. No need for buttering the pan or using parchment paper. They are also dishwasher friendly. LOVE.

Many have asked you where I bought mine.? Buy them here!

I couldn?t have baked my Death by Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies without my Silpat!

A?Silpat non-stick baking mat also made?my Cookie Dough Truffle Pops easier to handle!

__________________________________________

Also?catching my eye?at The Kitchen Outlet is the collection of Lolita glassware.

I personally have a few of these glasses already ? they make perfect gifts- birthday, holiday, valentine?s day, bridal shower, etc. They are glasses (wine, margarita, martini, mugs) with a bit more flair ? dressed up with a fun painted pattern and a drink recipe card attached. I?m buying some as Christmas presents for my friends.

The Kitchen Outlet has the best prices that I?ve seen for Lolita glassware!

?

For your new cocktail glasses, why not accessorize them with a catchy cocktail napkin as well?

?

?____________________________________________

I also have my eye on this Vac U Vin Pineapple Easy Slicer (only $10.99). Have you ever manually cut a pineapple before? It is NOT fun.

Pineapple is one of my favorite fruits, so I?m excited to save time and a lot of work!

?

?Oh, and how adorable is this?heart-shaped bamboo cheese board?

Probably the cutest cutting board you?ll ever find. Only $7.99! :)

Perfectly sized?heart shaped cookie cutters,?anyone?

It would be hard to make Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondie Hearts without them!

______________________________________________

?

I?m going nuts over here, filling my online shopping cart with all sorts of gifts and goodies for my own kitchen. :)

To show you my appreciation for all?the love and readership, I?d like to give you the chance to win a $50 gift certificate to my favorite one-stop-kitchen-shop.

?

?

Comment below and have a chance to win?1 (one)??$50 gift certificate to The Kitchen Outlet! ?

*US residents only.

?

1) For an entry, tell me what your favorite kitchen gadget or baking tool is -the one thing you can?t live without.

2) For additional entries (leave a separate comment for each):

Like Sally?s Baking Addiction on Facebook

Follow SallysBakeBlog on Twitter

Facebook Like The Kitchen Outlet

Share this giveaway on facebook, twitter, or your own blog

?

Giveaway ends Monday October 29th. Good luck! :D

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Source: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/10/25/giveway-50-gift-certificate-for-kitchen-supplies/

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Thursday, October 25, 2012

Tough decisions: vote makes my head hurt ? Sports Journalists ...

Home > #SJA2012 > Tough decisions: voting?s making my head hurt

In this greatest year in the history of British sport, the choice of who should win our coveted SJA Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year titles ? the Daddy and the Mummy of sporting awards ? has never been more challenging.

It?s given NORMAN GILLER quite a headache

Bradley Wiggins: the Tour de France winner pays keen attention to what the papers say, even French ones

When Bradley Wiggins became the first Brit to win the Tour de France ? followed almost immediately by an Olympic gold medal ? the men?s award at this year?s SJA British Sports Awards seemed nailed on for him.

But, innocent as I am sure he is, how saddled is he with the fall-out from the shaming of dope pedaller Lance Armstrong? The strain is bound to tell on Wiggins: yesterday?s launch announcement in Paris for the 2013 centenary Tour was dominated by questions about Armstrong, who earlier this week was stripped of his seven Tour de France victories.

Cycling is in crisis to the point where double decathlon Olympic gold medallist Daley Thompson is calling for the sport to be thrown out of the Games.

It is as bonkers as Boris Johnson dangling on a zip wire over the Olympic Park. Track and field has been heaving with athletes taking the steroid to paradise for years.

Discussing this with another Express expat, Randall Northam ? publisher, SJA Treasurer and athletics writer ? he summed it up perfectly. ?It is an entirely ridiculous, stones-and-glasshouses suggestion coming from someone from a sport that has given the world Ben Johnson, Marion Jones and Linford Christie,? he said. ?If you are going to ban cycling from the Olympics because of drug cheats, then athletics, weightlifting and swimming would be next in line. Where would you stop??

Kicking cycling out of the Olympics is not the answer. No, cleaning up the sport is the only way, with zero tolerance and instant life-long disqualification for anybody caught cheating.

Thanks to the cycling charlatan Armstrong, it seems to me that Bradley Wiggins has as much chance of becoming Sportsman of the Year as Victoria Pendleton of winning Strictly Come Dancing. That means it is not out of the question, but he is certainly not, as seemed likely, going to waltz to the title.

In any other year Andy Murray?s triple whammy of Wimbledon final, Olympic gold medal and then US Grand Slam would have assured him the award. But there?s the Olympic double of Mo-Mo Farah to consider, the plain sailing of Ben Ainslie, the velodrome victories of Sir Chris Hoy and the whizzing wheelchair deeds of David Weir.

Olympic boxing gold medal-winner Nicola Adams is one of a number of outstanding candidates for the SJA?s Sportswoman of the Year title

The women?s race is nearly as tight, with heptathlete Jessica Ennis a hot favourite but under pressure from smiling assassin Nicola Adams, clean cyclists Victorian Pendleton. Laura Trott and Sarah Storey, and coming up on the outside incredible Paralympian swimming sensation Ellie Simmonds.

And why do I refer to the SJA?s British Sports Awards as the Mummy and Daddy of sporting awards? A quick history lesson to show why the BBC?s Sports Personality of the Year award will always be playing catch-up?

The first Sportsman of the Year award was introduced by my old paper the Daily Express, and it was a cyclist who was the inaugural winner back in the London Olympic year of 1948. Reg Harris, silver medallist in the sprint, pedalled to first place.

The Sports Writers? Association (now the SJA) followed with their award in 1949, but lacked the publicity, muscle and money of an Express then selling 4.2 million copies a day.

BBC sports boss Paul Fox decided the Beeb should get in on the act in 1954, and to avoid being seen as a complete rip-off from the Express or the SWA, they called their award the ?Sports Personality of the Year?. It was first featured in their midweek flagship Sportsview programme.

In a postcard poll, Chris Chataway pulled in 14,517 votes to beat Roger Bannister into second place. This was a complete nonsense in the year that Roger not only became the first man to break the four-minute mile barrier but also won the Empire mile title ? in the ?Race of the Century? against Aussie John Landy ? and the European 1,500m gold medal.

It demonstrated, even then, the power of television: Chataway benefited from beating Vladimir Kuts in an electrifying 5,000m race, shown live on TV from London?s White City just two months before the award was announced. With all the new technology and progress in presentations, nobody has been able to beat the way Chataway and Kuts were picked out in a spotlight as they raced neck and neck on the final lap in their floodlit thriller.

The Daily Express and the Sports Writers? Association got it right that year, and awarded their trophies to Roger Bannister, who should have been a mile ahead in the BBC poll. The judgement of our fellow members, the sports journalists, have been as reliable ever since.

The awards project used to be the biggest thing on the Express budget when I was in the sports team in the 1960s and ?70s. Sir Max Aitken, son of Lord Beaverbrook, was sports mad, and encouraged a glittering ceremony at which he used to make the main presentation. First man to hand over the BBC?s trophy to Chris Chataway was their own presenter, Peter Dimmock.

Roger Bannister en route to the first sub-four-minute mile: not good enough for the BBC award in 1954, he was the sportswriters? Sportsman of the Year

Now the BBC awards show has grown so big they use our TV licence money to hire a major indoor arena for an evening of back-slapping (and some back-stabbing), while the Express does not even manage a whisper. This year?s SPOTY is coming live from the Excel Arena on December 16 ? 10 days after our awards ? in front of an audience of 15,000, and a spectacular show will be anchored by Gary Lineker, Sue Barker and the unstoppable Clare Balding.

The SJA ceremony, into its 63rd year, has settled down into a much-acclaimed lunch event, with the Sportsman, Sportswoman and Team of the Year winners chosen by members? votes. Our distinguished President Sir Michael Parkinson will make the main presentations this year at the Tower of London in front of an audience of around 500 media colleagues, as well as many leading sports figures and other celebrities.

We have been recognising the exploits of our sportswomen with an individual award since back in 1959, when long jumper Mary Bignal was the winner. She won it again five years later as Olympic champion Mary Rand.

To their everlasting embarrassment, the BBC last year managed to have a shortlist without a single (or married) woman on it. They blamed it on ?Fleet Street?, because it was the all-male sports editors who proposed the runners and riders.

No chance of a repeat this year. The shortlist for viewers to choose from has been increased from 10 to 12, and this time it will be decided by a mix of a dozen experts under the supervision of director of BBC Sport Barbara Slater, daughter of ex-Wolves and England footballer Bill Slater.

Joining Slater on the panel are Paralympic luminary Baroness Grey-Thompson, Olympic heptathlon gold medallist Denise Lewis, broadcaster Eleanor Oldroyd, sports journalist Sue Mott and UK Sport chair Baroness Campbell.

They will be joined in their deliberations by Sir Steve Redgrave, BBC?s head of sport Philip Bernie, programme editor Carl Doran (between them, the two men responsible for delivering SPOTY), and trio of newspaper sports editors Mike Dunn (The Sun), Matthew Hancock (The Observer) and Lee Clayton (Daily Mail). You will notice no female sports editor. That, chaps, should be an appointment waiting to happen anytime soon.

Now excuse me, I have a voting form to fill out. Pass the aspirin.


UPCOMING SJA EVENTS

Thu Dec 6: 2012 SJA British Sports Awards. An Olympic year extravaganza at the Tower of London. Click here for more details, news of members? discounts and a booking form.

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Source: http://www.sportsjournalists.co.uk/the-giller-memorandum/decisions-decisions-votes-making-my-head-hurt/

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Are You Even Listening to Me? ? AARP

Home & Family | Relationships Print

Q: Why is it that when a couple is trying to communicate, the conversation can get lost when one spouse gets upset before the problem is resolved? The conversation then becomes about arguing and isn?t productive. How does one fix this?

Dr. Pepper Schwartz: It?s a great question. Not everyone says what they mean or means what they say ?and it costs a lot of extra heartache.? There is a style of communicating that you may want to look to for help. Perfected by the psychologist Harville Hendrix, it requires that, essentially, you slow down communication. One person holds a scarf or something that indicates he or she has ?the floor? and it is his or her time to talk. While that person is holding the object, the other person cannot voice an opinion.

Here?s what a typical conversation might sound like:

The person with ?the floor:? ?I am unhappy about the way the house looks when I can?t keep up with the mess, and it upsets me that you don?t help me clean.?

The other person then interprets what the first person said and repeats it back to the person in his or her own words: ?So, I heard you say the house is dirty and you want me to help pick up after you.?

That might not be what Person 1 wanted to get across. So he or she might say:

?No, what I said is that the house is messy, and I can?t keep it clean all by myself, so I need your help.?

Then, Person 1 passes ?the floor? over to the other person.

Person 2 says: ? OK, now I get it. The house is getting away from you and you want me to help you clean it.?

Then, if Person 1 agrees with the response, he or she gets back ?the floor? and says:

?Yes, that?s right. And I?d particularly like it if you made the beds in the morning while I make breakfast.?

You can see how it goes. You go back and forth ?making sure you are understood until that point is handled. However, the other person may want to chime in occasionally. Repeat your point, but try to come to a compromise, such as designating a day where you both clean.

In any case, it?s a beginning. Slow down, make sure you understand each other, and offer concrete suggestions about how to move forward. It should help!

Dr. Schwartz?answers questions?every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.?Submit your question here.?Read more of Pepper?s?columns here.?And be sure to follow Pepper on Twitter?@pepperschwartz.

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Source: http://blog.aarp.org/2012/10/24/pepper-schwartz-communicating-effectively/

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Chewing betel quid exposes half a billion people to direct carcinogens

ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2012) ? Chewing betel quid -- the fourth most popular psychoactive substance in the world after tobacco, alcohol and caffeine -- exposes its 600 million users to substances that act as direct carcinogens in the mouth, scientists are reporting in a new study. It appears in ACS' journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.

Mu-Rong Chao and Chiung-Wen Hu explain that betel quid (BQ) consists of nuts from the arcea tree, sometimes combined with spices, such as cardamom or saffron, and other ingredients. Available in commercial forms, BQ is popular among people in China, India and other Asian countries, and people of Asian heritage living in the U.S. and other countries. Scientists have known for decades that chewing BQ can lead to oral cancer, and showed recently that the substances in BQ could be changed into carcinogens in the body. The authors of this study explored whether there were any substances in the arcea nut that can cause cancer directly, without any need for the body to change or "activate" them.

They discovered that compounds in the arcea nut can "alkylate" the genetic material DNA, causing changes that increase the risk of cancer, and they are present in betel quid in amounts high enough to do so. "Our study showed that these alkylating agents are present at levels sufficient to cause DNA damage and could potentially have adverse implications to human health, particularly in the case of the development of oral cancer for BQ chewers," they say.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Science Council, Taiwan.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Chemical Society.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Chiung-Wen Hu, Mu-Rong Chao. Direct-Acting DNA Alkylating Agents Present in Aqueous Extracts of Areca Nut and Its Products. Chemical Research in Toxicology, 2012; : 121016135728008 DOI: 10.1021/tx300252r

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/i6xbFm5xpUA/121024124851.htm

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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Now it's the Google Grand Canyon

Internet giant Google has taken its all-seeing eyes - mounted for the first time on a backpack -into the Grand Canyon, to show the US attraction's most popular hiking trails.

The move is the latest evolution in mapping technology for the company, which has photographed thousands of cities in dozens of countries for its Street View feature. With a click of the mouse, internet users are transported virtually for a 360-degree view of locales they may have read about only in tourist books and seen in flat, 2-D images.

"Any of these sort of iconic, cultural, historical locations that are not accessible by road is where we want to go," said Ryan Falor, product manager at Google.

Google announced the trekker earlier this year but made its first official collection of data this week at the Grand Canyon.

The backpacks are not ready for volunteer use, but Google has said it wants to deploy them at national forests, to the narrow streets of Venice, Mount Everest and to ancient ruins and castles.

The move to capture the Grand Canyon comes after Apple chose to drop Google Maps from its mobile operating systems and use its own mapping program that was derided for, among other things, poor directions and missing towns.

Google launched its Street View feature in 2007 and has expanded from five US cities to more than 3,000 in 43 countries.

The trekker technology captures images every 2.5 seconds with 15 cameras that are 5 megapixels each. The GPS data is limited, so Google must compensate with sensors that record temperature, vibrations and the orientation of the device as it changes, before it stitches the images together and makes them available to users in a few months.

Hikers that were on the trail when the data was gathered will have their faces blurred - an attempt by Google to ensure privacy. Street View has run into problems in places like Europe and Australia for scooping up information transmitted over unsecured wireless networks.

Source: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/now-its-the-google-grand-canyon-16228996.html?r=RSS

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Beyond Structured Settlements: NASP 2012 Annual Conference - 3

The National Association of Settlement Purchasers (NASP) hosted its 8th annual educational conference October 16-19, 2012 in New Orleans with a record number of attendees consisting of transfer company executives and staff, in-house and outside legal counsel, investors, service providers and, for the first time, primary market participants.

NASP President Matthew Bracy set the conference theme by challenging speakers and attendees to continue to improve the structured settlement secondary market: "We have some of the brightest minds in the country assembled here to discuss the status of this industry and how to improve what we do. And, as is our habit, we have invited people who might have critical things to say about how we are doing and what we can do better. Improvement can only come from the honest and sometimes harsh assessment of outside critics."

One of those critics was keynote speaker Jan Schlictmann who called out "cash now" advertizing as a "primitive denomination". Schlichtmann's broader message echoed Bracy's theme of bettering oneself through self-criticism and the need for higher industry goals. "It is not just who we serve that matters, but how we serve", Schlictmann stated. Schlictmann reviewed his client experience with structured settlements and acknowledged a personal paradigm shift resulting from recent industry developments including low interest rates and the ELNY liquidation.

The Judges Panel has become a regular and popular feature of NASP educational conferences. Moderator Earl Nesbitt encouraged this year's panel members, Judge Patricia Wise, Chancery Court Judge, Hinds County, Mississippi and Judge Dean Lum, Superior Court for King County, Washington, to share their concerns about structured settlement transfers and their advice for transfer company representatives and attorneys. Selected highlights:

  • Judge Wise: "We (Mississippi judges) have a good relationship with transfer attorneys. I don't look at transfers as inherently good or bad. I don't have any preconceived notion whether to approve or disapprove."
  • Judge Lum: "It is not my job to talk someone into or out of a transfer. Judges, however, think about the worst case scenario - a recipient who has just turned 18. The closer to this worst case scenario, the more scrutiny a person receives."
  • Judge Wise: "What judges are looking for is credibility and what structured settlement payees say they will do with the funds. We do focus on whether prior transfers have occurred. Also, the older the payee, the more likely they have the ability to make a good decision."
  • Judge Lum: "Attorneys should prepare the structured settlement payee for his or her court appearance - how to dress and behave; how the best interest test applies; what the impact will be on dependents."
  • Judge Lum: "We have a saying in King County: 'there is no party like ex parte'. In unopposed cases, people try to run things by you. Its kind of like the wild west. In unopposed cases, it is important for attorneys to go the extra mile. Your reputation matters. There are two degrees of separation in the legal profession."

Another regular and popular feature of NASP educational conferences are the small group break out sessions. The individual breakout sessions S2KM attended addressed participants' state-specific experience with:

  • Court Approval Issues - judicial negotiation of discount rates; the meaning of full disclosure; statutory history of the "best interest" test; independent professional advisor qualifications and fees; transfer application exhibits; and the importance of judicial education.
  • Underwriting Issues - annuity provider transfer requirements; "applicable state laws" requirements; judgment creditor issues including bankruptcy and child support; annuity provider administrative fees; and problems related to incompetent payees, identity theft and relatives or friends coercing payees.

The NASP conference doubled down on underwriting issues with an informative presentation about "Life Contingent Transactions" by NASP President-elect Patricia LaBorde. LaBorde, who also served as Chairperson for the 2012 NASP conference and was credited with upgrading the NASP website, discussed the two paths for funding life contingent transactions:

  • Purchasing a life insurance policy to hedge against the risk of an early annuitant death; or
  • Evaluating the risk and pricing the risk into the transaction.

Jack Kelly, a federal lobbyist who assisted NASP in securing enactment of IRC 5891 in 2002, provided a Legislative Update. Kelly summarized NASP's 2012 involvement with legislative proposals in Vermont, Minnesota and New Hampshire. Vermont, in 2012, became the 48th state to enact a structured settlement protection statute. The new Vermont statute is generally based upon the NCOIL Model Act with some variations related to independent professional advisors, notice requirements for certain state agencies and the required court appearance by the structured settlement payee.

Earl Nesbitt, NASP's Executive Director and General Counsel, presented the 2012 Litigation Update. Among several important court decisions, Nesbitt highlighted the Stone Street v. McClendon case which he characterized as an "important victory" for NASP and the structured settlement industry in general. In McClendon, a Louisiana state court found that Travelers Insurance and MetLife had no grounds for withholding payments following a valid transfer of payment rights pursuant to the Louisiana structured settlement protection statute. The court ordered MetLife to pay interest from the date the payments were originally due. Note: S2KM will publish a more detailed review of the McClendon case in a subsequent blog post.

Attorney Joseph Feltes' 2012 NASP presentation titled "Privacy Issues in Structured Settlement Transactions (Part 2)" supplemented his 2011 NASP presentation on the use and disclosure of confidential information by transfer companies. This year, Feltes discussed privacy issues related to electronic and digital communications, especially Internet-based communications. Among other issues, Feltes highlighted: cyber-bullying; the increase in defamation cases; the blurred boundaries between public and private communications; FTC blog rules requiring disclosures of paid endorsements; social media policy and practices; limits on constitutional rights; cloud technology issues; and the importance of company Internet policies.

In his "Primary Market Update", Mark Wahlstrom emphasized why the primary and secondary structured settlement markets are part of the same business. He called the primary market "the secondary market's best friend" despite the primary market's criticism of, and "needless obstacles" for, the secondary market. As one example of "needless obstacles", Wahlstrom mentioned Chartis for aggressively promoting an anti-factoring pledge among its structured settlement brokers.

Wahlstrom described 2012 as "another bad year for the primary market". He characterized declines in primary market annuity premium as a "negative trend that will eventually impact the secondary market" and identified the following causes:

  • The structured settlement is an insular, closed community with aging leadership and a shrinking sales force.
  • Structured settlement annuity providers, and most brokers, lack marketing and innovation skills.
  • Primary market participants are intimidated by the Internet.
  • Instead of offering customer solutions, the primary market continues to sell a single product.
  • With historically low interest rates, that product produces a zero return when you consider inflation.
  • The primary market has not responded strategically to tort reform and increasing competition from other professionals.
  • By continuing their "factoring wars", the primary market has missed opportunities to cooperate with the secondary market.
  • The ELNY liquidation means the primary market can no longer claim all structured settlement recipients have received 100% of their payments.

Kira Brereton, an attorney who specializes in asset-backed securitizations, provided a comprehensive introduction to "Financing Structured Settlements". Her presentation: reviewed a typical transaction structure; provided a market overview including legal and regulatory developments; summarized rating agency considerations; discussed split payment issues; addressed the creditworthiness of insurers backing the collateral pools; considered bankruptcy and receivership issues; and highlighted relevant securities laws and regulations including the Investment Company Act of 1940, private placements, Dodd-Frank and Regulation AB 2.0.

Elizabeth Yingling, a securities law expert, discussed "Implications of Federal and States Securities Laws on Structured Settlements". She addressed fundamental issues such as: What statutes govern securities? What is a "security"? What is an "investment contract"? and How do promotional materials impact the analysis? In addition, Yingling offered a detailed analysis of the "Howey test" and provided practical tips.

Alexander Hamilton Award

NASP also named S2KM blog author, Patrick Hindert, as the 2012 recipient of its Alexander Hamilton Award. NASP has bestowed this award five times "to distinguished individuals who have supported and defended the right to free alienability of property rights. This right is the corner stone of NASP and the foundation of the structured settlement factoring business." Previous Alexander Hamilton Award recipients:

  • State Senator Alan Sanborn of Michigan.
  • U.S. Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia.
  • State Representative Van Tran of California.
  • Earl S. Nesbitt, Esq., of Texas.

In announcing the 2012 award, NASP President Matt Bracy stated: "Hindert was chosen to receive this award based upon his longstanding support of the factoring business and option. In particular, his position as a founder and leader in the primary structured settlement business, who early on recognized the legitimacy and value of the secondary market, led to this honor."

For complete S2KM reporting on NASP conferences plus other structured settlement and settlement planning conferences, see the structured settlement wiki.

Source: http://s2kmblog.typepad.com/rethinking_structured_set/2012/10/nasp-2012-annual-conference-3.html

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RESERVOIR DOGS And PULP FICTION Return To ... - Forces of Geek



RESERVOIR DOGS AND PULP FICTION RETURN TO CINEMAS THIS DECEMBER ? A TARANTINO XX EVENT

Miramax, NCM? Fathom Events and IGN Host Two Nights of

Quentin Tarantino?s Most Iconic Films in Select Theaters Nationwide

Celebrating Quentin Tarantino?s filmmaking career spanning two decades, Miramax, NCM? Fathom and IGN present two of his most acclaimed works ?Reservoir Dogs? and ?Pulp Fiction,? each in theaters for only one night this December. ?Tarantino XX: ?Reservoir Dogs? 20th Anniversary Event? will hit select movie theaters nationwide on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 7:00 p.m. local time, and ?Tarantino XX: ?Pulp Fiction? Event? will follow two days later on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 7:00 p.m. local time, with matinees in select markets. Each cinema event will include a special feature showcasing Tarantino?s 20-year career and a selection of hand-picked movie trailers from films that inspired him as a filmmaker.Tickets for ?TARANTINO XX: ?Reservoir Dogs? and ?Pulp Fiction?? are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com or www.tarantinoxx.com. The events will be presented using new digital cinema projection systems in more than 625 movie theaters across the country. For a complete list of theater locations and prices visit the NCM Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

Audiences across the country will be exhilarated by these gritty and innovative films that launched Tarantino?s iconic career, in which he has received the industry?s top honors including an Academy Award?, a Golden Globe Award?, as well as nominations for both an Emmy? and a Grammy? award.

?There is no doubt that Quentin Tarantino?s writing and directorial style has reinvented filmmaking as we know it,? said Shelly Maxwell, executive vice president of NCM Fathom Events. ?Join Vincent, Jules, Marsellus Wallace, Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, Mr. Blonde and the rest of his infamous characters as they return to the big screen in this special two-night Fathom event.?

Released on Oct. 23, 1992, and named the ?Greatest Independent Film Ever Made? by ?Empire Magazine,? Tarantino?s directorial debut assembles four perfect strangers to pull off the perfect crime. But when their botched robbery reveals a police informant among them, their simple robbery explodes into a bloody ambush. Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival (1992) and awarded the International Critics Award at the Toronto International Film Festival (1992), ?Reservoir Dogs? is raw, violent and unforgettable.

Two years after his groundbreaking debut, Tarantino released ?Pulp Fiction? ? hailed by critics and audiences worldwide as a film that redefined cinema.? Recognized as one of AFI?s ?Top 100 Films of the Last 100 Years,? ?Pulp Fiction,? set in the basking sun of L.A., follows a burger-loving hit man (John Travolta), his philosophical partner (Samuel L. Jackson), a drug-addled gangster's moll (Uma Thurman) and a washed-up boxer (Bruce Willis), as their four tales converge in a story of violence and redemption. Honored with an Academy Award? for Best Original Screenplay (1994) and earning seven total nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, ?Pulp Fiction? has been listed as one of the best films of all-time by Time and Entertainment Weekly.

Miramax and Lionsgate Home Entertainment will release the ?Tarantino XX: 8-Film Collection,? on Blu-ray? Nov. 20. The set contains eight films personally selected by Tarantino to illustrate the first 20 years of his career, plus two extra discs packed with over seven hours of exclusive, never-before-seen interviews and special features. The set also features striking, original artwork designed and illustrated by MONDO (www.mondotees.com). Tarantino?s newest film, ?Django Unchained,? will be released in theaters on Dec. 25.?

About Miramax
Miramax is a leading worldwide film and television studio with a library of more than 700 motion pictures.? Miramax sells directly and licenses its titles globally through strategic partnerships including: Lionsgate, Netflix, Facebook, Hulu and StudioCanal.? The Miramax library holds some of the world?s most original and acclaimed independent films including?Pulp Fiction,?Shakespeare in Love,?Chicago,?Good Will Hunting,?The English Patient,?No Country for Old Men,?Kill Bill Volumes I and II,?Life is Beautiful,?Reservoir Dogs,?Sex, Lies and Videotape,?Cinema Paradiso?and?My Left Foot?? as well as scores of commercially successful films such as?Bridget Jones?s Diary,?Bad Santa, and the?Scream,?Hellraiser,?Scary Movie?and?Spy Kids?franchises. ?In 2011, Miramax released three new films including the critically acclaimed film?The Debt, starring Helen Mirren and Jessica Chastain, directed by John Madden. Collectively, the Miramax library has received 284 Academy Award nominations and 68 Oscars, including four Best Picture awards.

About National CineMedia (NCM)

NCM operates NCM Media Networks, a leading integrated media company reaching U.S. consumers in movie theaters, online and through mobile technology.? The NCM Cinema Network and NCM Fathom present cinema advertising and events across the nation?s largest digital in-theater network, comprised of theaters owned by AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) and other leading regional theater circuits. NCM?s theater advertising network covers 181 Designated Market Areas? (49 of the top 50) and includes over 19,000 screens (approximately 18,100 digital). During 2011, approximately 680 million patrons (on an annualized basis) attended movies shown in theaters in which NCM currently has exclusive, cinema advertising agreements in place.? The NCM Fathom Events live digital broadcast network (?DBN?) is comprised of over 700 locations in 170 Designated Market Areas? (including all of the top 50). The NCM Interactive Network offers 360-degree integrated marketing opportunities in combination with cinema, encompassing 42 entertainment-related websites, online widgets and mobile applications.? National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCMI) owns a 48.6% interest in and is the managing member of National CineMedia LLC. For more information, visit www.ncm.com or www.FathomEvents.com.

About IGN Entertainment

IGN Entertainment is the leading Internet media and services provider focused on the video game and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reach more than 57 million unique users worldwide, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore.? IGN's network of video game-related properties (IGN.com, 1UP.com, GameSpy and others) is the Web's #1 video game information destination.? IGN also owns the world's largest men's lifestyle website, AskMen.com, and men's entertainment site UGO.com.? IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices across North America, Europe and Australia.

Academy Awards? and Oscar? are both registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Source: http://www.forcesofgeek.com/2012/10/reservoir-dogs-and-pulp-fiction-return.html

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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Top Ten Reasons Why iPhone Screen Replacement London is Best ...

Top Ten Reasons Why iPhone Screen Replacement London
is Best

Nevertheless , as nice because iPhones are they perform run into issues frequently. It can be
good to be aware of what the most common issues are which you may encounter in case you
have a new iPhone. It is . good to be aware of how to restoration these issues as fast as
possible after they appear.

Needed shattered your iPhone prior to know that obtaining a quality and cost-effective
service is what issues most. Sometimes a good and affordable service is not easy to
discover. They are some rules that you can take into account when searching for an apple
iphone repair service.

The very first rule is you should always browse the the iPhone repair enterprise have a good
send your iPhone into these. By investigating these people you should lookup they're Better
Business Bureau information on-line. Make certain that the business has a strong business
rating with out complaints within the recent upcoming. Ensure that you look past the Better
Business Department and at places online like theReport to make sure that the business
enterprise has no grievances. Also you can input the company and type in your message
scam and or fraud after or before the name of the organization.

You can also get websites this rate iPhone repair businesses. You can visit some internet
sites and see what scores other consumers have given these businesses.

Finding an iPhone repair company to send your own iPhone into gps device the price of the
vehicle repairs. It is always good to shop around and get a good idea of the actual price
needs to be for the restore. The most frequent iPhone maintenance is that the monitor needs
to be exchanged. When researching online keep in mind that the cheaper service is not really
always the best. Once you pay for an iPhone screen replacement or any other iPhone repair
remember you might be also buying human eye work which is being done on the iPhone.
You'll want to choose neither the cheapest or most expensive services, but something that is
in the middle in the road price wise.

There are several quality iPhone repair services on the market that charge considerable
prices. Still you do ought to be careful because there are also hoax artiest in the apple
iphone repair industry likewise. When choosing who to send your iPhone to be fixed be sure
that you do your research and you ought to end up receiving good results all in all.

The most typical iPhone concern that will came up is the screen may break and need to get
replaced. There are many things that you can do in order to avoid your screen via breaking.
You can aquire an iPhone screen protector that you can place over your screen that will
protect it from getting scratched. Often the screen protector will also protect it in case you
ever fall your iPhone for a hard provider. A screen guard might not save your iPhone from


breaking if dropped for a hard services, but then again it may save this well based on how
hard it can be dropped on the hard service. It is also advisable which you buy the iphone
case to protect your iPhone in case it is ever previously dropped on a tricky services.

Another most common matter that will have to be replaced in the iPhone may be the
iPhone's power supply. One of the biggest issues with the newest iPhone is that it has a very
short battery life. If you are using the web on your iphone 3gs a lot this will likely wear the
battery pack down pretty rapid. These are the most frequent issues with the iPhone. IPhone
fix does not have to be a big deal. So as to locate the iphone technician you can do so
through either browsing the internet or looking inside your local yp. When you begin your
online you'll want to search on iPhone repair with your favorite internet search engine.
iBroken? iPhone Repairs London Helps You Get it Back, iPhone Screen Replacement From
iCorrect, Top Ten Reasons Why iPhone Screen Replacement London is Best


Source: http://pdfcast.org/pdf/top-ten-reasons-why-iphone-screen-replacement-london-is-best-2

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InstaSale: Chirpify Takes Its In-Stream Commerce Service To Instagram As Its Twitter Service Continues To Fly

chirpify logoChirpify, the social commerce platform that launched six months ago as the only in-stream way to make purchases on Twitter, is now starting to spread its wings: today the company is announcing that it has integrated with Instagram, the photo sharing service owned by Facebook. The move means that people who have signed up to Chirpify's service, and entered their PayPal and shipping details, can go to any items that are being sold via Instagram -- tagged with #instasale -- and enter the word "buy" in the comments for an instant transaction to take place.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/fQhJzi0mR3I/

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Redskins QB RG3 doesn't have 'rookie mindset'

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) leaves the field after an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants won 27-23. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) leaves the field after an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants won 27-23. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) avoids a tackle by New York Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara (20) during the first half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012 in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

(AP) ? Robert Griffin III says he doesn't hold himself to a "rookie type of mindset."

The Washington Redskins quarterback told The Associated Press on Tuesday that it's not in his plans to take his time to help make the team into a winner.

Griffin says there "are guys on this team that don't have three, four years to wait for me to develop, and continue to use the excuse that I'm a young quarterback."

The rookie is living up to his word. He leads the NFL in completion percentage and has rushed for 468 yards seven games into his pro career.

Griffin took a break from football Tuesday to indulge in two of his passions. He's pushing the Rock the Vote campaign in connection with the Assassin's Creed III video game.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-10-23-Redskins-RG3/id-ec58fbe6e1cb4211a7c0fed448aa5751

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Responsible Pet Ownership ? Dogs | The Lost Dogs' Home

?Responsible Pet Ownership ? Dogs

Kevin and Kate // Pets-A-Loud

Each year The Lost Dogs? Home?s North Melbourne Shelter receives around 25,000 dogs and cats and a good portion of them arrive at the home as a result of irresponsible pet owners.

Off the back of the thought provoking BBC reality TV series ?Don?t Blame The Dog?, currently airing on ABC 2, we look at key aspects of being a responsible dog owner.

Read more about the TV program and the second episode of ?Don?t Blame the Dog? that was filmed at The Lost Dogs? Home.

?Listen to the audio?Listen to the JOYcast now

For more information on how to look after your dog, check out The Lost Dogs? Home guide, ?Looking after your dog?.

Segments:

The Lost Dogs Home News Wrap

Q & A with Dr Alan Bolton

Dr. Alan Bolton // Pets-A-Loud

  • Earlier in the program, Alan revisits a question we received from a listener who is interested in getting a new dog however, is concerned her anxiety may have a negative impact on her pet.
  • John from St Kilda emailed in to say that he took his 11-year-old Border Collie to the vet for her annual vaccinations and the vet suggested a blood test to check that everything was ok. Is this really necessary?

If you have a question for our resident vet, please email?lostdogs@joy.org.au

Pet of the Week

Penny - Animal ID 922341

Name: Penny??????

ID: 922341

Age: 10-years-old

Breed: Terrier mix

?

?

?

Dog Dates (current)

October 27

  • The Lost Dogs? Home Pet Portraits?? in studio sessions The Lost Dogs? Home Thelma Hoult Training and Education Centre @ 13 Gracie Street, North Melbourne between 9am ? 5pm. Bookings are essential [link]

Coming up next week?

?

We continue to discuss responsible pet ownership and shift the focus to our other best friend, cats.

Source: http://dogshome.com/responsible-pet-ownership-dogs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=responsible-pet-ownership-dogs

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Wyoming Democrat wages lonely congressional fight

In this Wednesday Sept. 26, 2012 photo Chris Henrichsen, Democratic candidate for Wyoming's sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, goes door-to-door in Casper to deliver campaign materials. Henrichsen, a large man with perpetually rumpled clothes, has logged 5,000 miles in his Suburban, occasionally sleeping in it, to meet with anyone in any corner of Wyoming willing to listen to him. He has no money for staff and travels the highways alone or with his wife and their three young children. But he won?t quit. (AP Photo/Ben Neary)

In this Wednesday Sept. 26, 2012 photo Chris Henrichsen, Democratic candidate for Wyoming's sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, goes door-to-door in Casper to deliver campaign materials. Henrichsen, a large man with perpetually rumpled clothes, has logged 5,000 miles in his Suburban, occasionally sleeping in it, to meet with anyone in any corner of Wyoming willing to listen to him. He has no money for staff and travels the highways alone or with his wife and their three young children. But he won?t quit. (AP Photo/Ben Neary)

In this Wednesday Sept. 26, 2012 photo, Chris Henrichsen, Democratic candidate for Wyoming's sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, addresses a meeting of the Albany County Democratic Party in Laramie. Henrichsen is a political unknown who has virtually no chance of stopping Republican U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis from keeping Republican Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat. He has no money for staff and travels the highways alone or with his wife and their three young children. But he won?t quit. (AP Photo/Ben Neary)

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) ? Chris Henrichsen's hopeful knocking on doors only disturbed the afternoon naps of dogs in a previously quiet Casper neighborhood. Then he finally hit pay dirt: Someone actually answered.

Standing behind a security door, the woman let Henrichsen blurt out a few words, then cut him off. "Running for Congress?" she said. "What party?"

Democrat, Henrichsen replied.

"Wrong house. I'm sorry," she said, slamming the door.

There have been many days like this for the Henrichsen, a political unknown who has virtually no chance of stopping Republican U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis from keeping Republican Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat.

Henrichsen, a large man with perpetually rumpled clothes, has logged 5,000 miles in his Suburban, sleeping occasionally in it, to meet with anyone in any corner of Wyoming willing to listen to him. He has no money for staff and travels the highways alone or with his wife and their three young children. But he won't quit.

"I also know that if I stop doing anything today, stop talking to reporters, if I stop knocking on the doors that I can, it goes from slim to zero," explained the 35-year-old Casper College political science instructor.

It's not unheard of for Democrats to win in Wyoming: Three of the last five governors were Democrats. It is, however, difficult, with Republican voters outnumbering Democrats better than 3-to-1.

"I've been there. It's a lonely place," said Democrat Mike Sullivan, the governor from 1987 to 1995. "I know what it's like when there's just the two of you, or maybe even one of you, out on the trail."

The task is even more challenging for Henrichsen, a political newcomer, against Lummis, a well-connected, former state treasurer and state legislator who holds the seat once held by former Vice President Dick Cheney.

In federal financial reports filed in August, Lummis, who's seeking her third term and is state chair of Mitt Romney's campaign, reported raising more than $500,000. Henrichsen was below the $5,000 level needed even to submit a report.

Henrichsen is hardly a typical Democrat. He's a self-described "pro-life" candidate who opposes increased gun control in a state that is among the highest in per-capita gun ownership and where hunting is a proud tradition.

In the political vacuum that is Wyoming Democratic Party politics, Henrichsen faced no opposition in this summer's primary election. He's getting no money from the national or state parties. The national party has larger concerns, and the state party is in apparent free fall, increasingly unable to muster many candidates.

Henrichsen criticized the state party in August, saying it was content to raise money for out-of-state races while neglecting homegrown candidates. Since then, he's tried to convince Wyoming voters that he won't be beholden to Nancy Pelosi when he gets elected.

Henrichsen also said he's received some Democrat backlash about his Mormon faith and his church's opposition to same-sex marriage. "People don't like it," he said.

Robin Van Ausdall, executive director of the Wyoming Democratic Party, said the party is putting its efforts into state legislative races.

"He's not out in the wilderness," she insisted, noting that individual Democrats support him. Rather, she said, it's tough for any Democratic candidate running down-ticket in a presidential election year in Wyoming. In 2008, John McCain defeated Barack Obama here by 65-33 percent.

Henrichsen said Democrats here suffer from popular suspicion that they are would-be gun-grabbers. Too many, he added, are liberal activists who have "gotten comfortable sort of being proud that they're in the minority on those (social) issues, but they're not the issues that are going to build connections with other people" in Wyoming.

If elected, Henrichsen said, he'll work to reduce the deficit, hewing closely to the recommendations laid out by the commission headed by former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson and ex-White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles.

"Right now, we have an approach where one side says, 'this is off the table,' and the other side says 'this is off the table,' and there's nothing left on the table," Henrichsen said.

One recent evening, Henrichsen loaded his daughter Geneva, 7, into the family's Suburban for a 300-mile roundtrip run from Casper to Laramie, home to the University of Wyoming and a Democratic oasis, to speak at a library.

About two dozen party faithful showed. They munched free cookies as Henrichsen told them there are so few Democrats on Wyoming ballots that he almost feels almost like he's Obama's state running mate.

Then, he went home.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-10-22-Wyoming%20Candidate's%20Quest/id-e6c7fe566b9f424ea78aa4f0b58a717f

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Monday, October 22, 2012

Hasbro 3rd-qtr profit falls 4 pct, revenue drops

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2011, file photo, toys by Hasbro are displayed in New York. Hasbro Inc. announced Monday, Oct. 22, 2012 that its third-quarter net income was down by 4 percent. But the Pawtucket, R.I.-based company remains confident heading into the critical holiday season, which is when toy makers can earn up to 40 percent of annual revenue. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2011, file photo, toys by Hasbro are displayed in New York. Hasbro Inc. announced Monday, Oct. 22, 2012 that its third-quarter net income was down by 4 percent. But the Pawtucket, R.I.-based company remains confident heading into the critical holiday season, which is when toy makers can earn up to 40 percent of annual revenue. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

(AP) ? Weakness in its boys and preschool categories globally and the stronger dollar pushed toy maker Hasbro Inc.'s third-quarter net income down by 4 percent.

But the Pawtucket, R.I.-based company's adjusted results topped Wall Street's forecasts on Monday, and it remains confident heading into the critical holiday season, which is when toy makers can earn up to 40 percent of annual revenue.

Chief Financial Officer Deborah Thomas said Hasbro was entering the holiday season with hot toys including its Marvel line and said the company plans to boost toy sales "with a significant increase in marketing support in an environment of significantly lower U.S. retail inventory." Retailers have been cautious on over-ordering toys this year and are also buying toys closer to when they are needed.

The report followed larger rival Mattel Inc.'s more upbeat third-quarter results last week. The company said its net income rose 22 percent, helped by strong sales of its Monster High Dolls and Fisher Price toys.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, Hasbro Inc. earned $164.9 million, or $1.24 per share. That compares with $171 million, or $1.27 per share, a year earlier.

Removing the impact of the stronger dollar, earnings were $1.28 per share. A reduction in the number of outstanding shares through repurchases helped boost earnings per share by about 2 cents.

Analysts, on average, expected profit of $1.20 per share, according to FactSet.

Revenue slipped 2 percent to $1.35 billion from $1.38 billion. Revenue totaled $1.39 billion excluding unfavorable foreign exchange rates. Wall Street forecast $1.38 billion, on average.

Revenue in the U.S. and Canada edged up 1 percent, helped by solid sales of girls' products and games. This was somewhat offset by weaker sales of preschool toys and boys' products. Overseas revenue fell 7 percent, hurt by the stronger dollar. When the dollar is strong, international sales translate into fewer dollars back at home.

Revenue for the entertainment and licensing segment declined 7 percent, dragged down by lower movie-related revenue.

The strongest product category for the quarter was girls' products, with revenue up 17 percent. Sales were helped by the launches of the latest Furby robotic pets and One Direction boy band dolls. New products available for the holiday season ? including interactive doll Baby Alive Baby Wanna Walk, animatronic animals Furreal Friends Baby Butterscotch and Bouncy My Happy to See Me Pup also posted strong results in the period. Well-known brands including My Little Pony and Easy-Bake also did well.

The softest category was boys, which was hurt by expected drop-offs in sales of Transformers and Beyblade, a spinning top game.

Sales in Hasbro's games category were flat. The company, which owns well known games such as Scrabble and Monopoly, has been working to turn around results in this category as more people turn to electronic games. It is launching board games based on smartphone games such as Angry Birds and Farmville, in an effort to improve results.

Hasbro said that it still expects its full-year earnings per share and revenue to climb, when stripping out the impact of foreign exchange rates.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-10-22-Earns-Hasbro/id-2143fe13110a49fb9dff5fa8f6a6a223

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Sunday, October 21, 2012