Shawn Johnson: Derek is smartest 'DWTS' pro

By Michael Maloney, TODAY contributor

Todd Wawrychuk / ABC

"Dancing" pro Derek Hough is the brightest in the ballroom when it comes to strategy, according to all-star Shawn Johnson.

Each week, Olympian and season eight "Dancing With the Stars" champ Shawn Johnson will be sharing her experiences on "All-Stars" with The Clicker! Look for Q&As, exclusive photos and more from the gold medalist throughout the season as she competes to win her second mirror ball trophy, this time alongside pro Derek Hough.

You can follow us on Twitter?@TODAY_Clicker to get all the latest updates on Shawn's quest for ballroom glory. Shawn is also on Twitter @ShawnJohnson.

The Clicker: How?s your injured knee?
Shawn: It?s okay. I?m doing therapy each day trying to make it a little better.

The Clicker: It looked so scary when we saw it all swollen. Has the swelling gone down?
Shawn: Yeah. I?ve dealt with injuries for the last two years on and off. I?ve been through it all. I think I was more emotionally distraught than physically. I felt better once I got the pass from the doctor that it was just a sprain and I needed therapy.

The Clicker: How does it feel to be in fourth place with 84.5 points? Do you feel safe going into tonight?
Shawn: I know that I was happy with the dance. I think that for a ?country cha cha? we did pretty well. Derek was struggling with his neck today. I was struggling with my knee. I was happy we got through.

The Clicker: Derek said he was going to do next week?s dance especially for judge Len Goodman instead of tailoring it to what the viewers might like to see, but that?s also the week there are no fan votes! The judges? feelings will be even more vital.
Shawn: Yes, but I think any couple would do that.

The Clicker: Oh, yes. It?s a very smart, strategic move.
Shawn: Yes, strategically, Derek?s the smartest one out there.

The Clicker: Len doesn?t care for all the extras, but when your song has the word ?tractor? in the title ? well, you bring a tractor! ?
Shawn: Yes, I thought bringing a tractor suited our dance (on Monday). It?s country week. The song is ?She Thinks My Tractor?s Sexy.? If we?d gone for just a traditional cha cha I don?t think that it would have gone over well. We had to spice it up and have fun?and we did!

The Clicker: The video segments featuring the dancers and the stars have been less about doing activities and more about just showing you guys talk. Which do you prefer?
Shawn: They packages capture the genuine moments we have during conversations where we just talk about things. It?s more real than if something is staged, but we are still going places. This week, we?re going to the CMAs. I?m presenting the award to best vocal group of the year. It?s a dream come true!

Catch more from Shawn on Tuesday night's "Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars" results show at 8 p.m. on ABC. And see her at the CMA Awards Thursday night at 8p.m. on the same network.

Join us on Tuesday at 3:30 ET to chat about who you think might be going home on "Dancing"!

Related content:

More in The Clicker:

Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2012/10/30/14803318-shawn-johnson-strategically-dereks-the-smartest-pro-on-dancing-with-the-stars?lite

Phyllis Diller Darla Moore newsweek Tony Scott UFC 151 empire state building Todd Akin

Supreme Court to hear arguments over government spying

'},"otherParams":{"t_e":1,".intl":"US"},"events":{"fetch":{lv:2,"sp":"2022398630","ps":"LREC,MON","npv":true,"bg":"#FFFFFF","em":escape('{"site-attribute":"_id=\'88dc313f-87fe-3978-97db-2839d9f99b8a\' sensitivity=\'0\' rs=\'lmsid:a0770000002GZ5iAAG\' ctype=\'fn_news;News\' ctopid=\'2053500;1842000;1550000;1844500;1055500;1044500;1542500;3989;2054000;1816000;1047000;2063500;9158489\' can_suppress_ugc=\'1\' content=\'no_expandable;ajax_cert_expandable;\' ADSSA"}'),"em_orig":escape('{"site-attribute":"_id=\'88dc313f-87fe-3978-97db-2839d9f99b8a\' sensitivity=\'0\' rs=\'lmsid:a0770000002GZ5iAAG\' ctype=\'fn_news;News\' ctopid=\'2053500;1842000;1550000;1844500;1055500;1044500;1542500;3989;2054000;1816000;1047000;2063500;9158489\' can_suppress_ugc=\'1\' content=\'no_expandable;ajax_cert_expandable;\' ADSSA"}')}}};var _createNodes=function(){var nIds=_conf.nodeIds;for(var i in nIds){var nId=nIds[i];var dId=_conf.destinationMap[nIds[i].replace("yom-","")];n=Y.one("#"+nId);if(n)var center=n.one("center");var node=Y.one("#"+dId);var nodeHTML;if(center && !node){nodeHTML=_conf.nodes[nId];center.insert(nodeHTML);};};};var _prepareNodes=function(){var nIds=_conf.nodeIds;for(var i in nIds){var nId=nIds[i];var dId=_conf.destinationMap[nIds[i].replace("yom-ad-","")];n=Y.one("#"+nId);if(n)var center=n.one("center");var node=Y.one("#"+dId);if(center && node){center.set("innerHTML","");center.insert(node);node.setStyle("display","block");};};};var _darla;var _config=function(){if(YAHOO.ads.darla){_darla = YAHOO.ads.darla;_createNodes();};};var _fetch=function(spaceid,adssa,ps){ if (typeof(ps)!='undefined') _conf.events.fetch.ps = ps;if(typeof spaceid != "undefined") _conf.events.fetch.sp=spaceid;adssa = (typeof adssa != "undefined" && adssa != null) ? escape(adssa.replace(/\"/g, "'")) : "";_conf.events.fetch.em=_conf.events.fetch.em_orig.replace("ADSSA", adssa);if(_darla){_prepareNodes();_darla.setConfig(_conf);_darla.event("fetch");};};Y.on("domready", function(){_config();});;var that={"fetch":_fetch,"getNodes":_conf.nodes,"getConf":_conf};return that;}();/* Backwards compatibility - Assigning the latest instance to the main fetch function */YUI.PhotoAdsDarla.fetch=YUI.PhotoAdsDarla.photoslightboxdarla.fetch; }); Y.later(10, this, function() {YAHOO.namespace('Media.Social').Lightbox = {}; }); Y.later(10, this, function() {Y.Media.Article.init(); }); Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.AuthorBadge(); }); Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.Branding(); }); Y.later(10, this, function() {Y.on("load", function () { YUI.namespace("Media.SocialButtons"); var instances = YUI.Media.SocialButtons.instances || [], globalConf = YAHOO.Media.SocialButtons.conf || {}, vplContainers = []; Y.all(".ymsb").each(function (node) { var id = node.get("id"), conf = YAHOO.Media.SocialButtons.configs[id], instance; if (conf) { instance = new Y.SocialButtons({ srcNode: node, config: Y.merge(globalConf, conf.config || {}), contentMetadata: conf.content || {}, tracking: conf.tracking || {} }); vplContainers.push( { selector: "#" + id, callback: function(node) { instance.render(); instance = conf = id = null; } }); if (conf.config && conf.config.dynamic) { instances.push(instance); } } }); Y.Global.Media.ViewportLoader.addContainers(vplContainers); YUI.Media.SocialButtons.instances = instances; }); }); Y.later(10, this, function() {if (!Y.Media) { return; } Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_targets = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_targets || {}; Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_configs = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_configs || {}; Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_dataset = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_dataset || {}; Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_whitelist = Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_whitelist || {}; Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_dataset['97473e1b0f857574abdc2851d6a30c0e'] = []; Y.Media.boba_lightbox_module_configs['97473e1b0f857574abdc2851d6a30c0e'] = {"spaceid":"2022398630","ult_pt":"story-lightbox","darla_id":"","images_total":0,"xhr_url":"\/_xhr\/related-article\/lightbox\/?id=88dc313f-87fe-3978-97db-2839d9f99b8a","xhr_count":20,"autoplay_if_first_item_is_video":true}; }); Y.later(10, this, function() {new Y.Media.RelatedArticle({count:"2",start:"1", mod_total:"10", total:"0", content_id:"88dc313f-87fe-3978-97db-2839d9f99b8a", spaceid:"2022398630", related_count:"-1" }); }); Y.later(10, this, function() {(function(d){ d.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(d.createElement('script')).src='http://d.yimg.com/oq/js/csc_news-en-US-core.js'; })(document); }); Y.later(10, this, function() { if(!("Media" in YAHOO)){YAHOO.Media = {};} if(!("ugcrate" in YAHOO.Media)){YAHOO.Media.ugcrate = {};} if(!("Media" in Y)){Y.namespace("Media");} YAHOO.Media.ugcrate.ratings_7763544834970b276be6c379b722a74f = new Y.Media.UgcRate({"context_id":"1b1f38ea-85f3-4829-9e56-8f8a5d659d43","sCrumb":"","containerId":"yom-sentimentrate-7763544834970b276be6c379b722a74f","rateDimensions":"d1","appLang":"en-US","sUltSId":"2022398630","sUltProperty":"news-en-US","sUltCampaign":"","sUltPlatform":"ugcwidgets","sUltIntl":"US","sUltLang":"en-US","selfPageUrl":"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/u-top-court-hear-arguments-over-government-spying-050252225--sector.html?_esi=0","artContentId":"88dc313f-87fe-3978-97db-2839d9f99b8a","sUltQstnTxt":"Who do you think won the second debate?","artContentTitle":"Supreme Court to hear arguments over government spying","artContentDesc":"(Reuters) - A debate over how freely the government can eavesdrop on international communications reaches a climax on Monday in the country\\'s highest court. At issue is a law passed by Congress in 2008 allowing the government to monitor the overseas communications of individuals without obtaining a warrant for each target. The government has said it needs flexible surveillance power to help prevent strikes by foreign militants such as the attacks of September 11, 2001. ...","sUltBucketId":"test1","sUltSection":"sentirating","sUltBeaconUrl":"","sUltRecordPageviews":"1","sUltBeaconEnable":"1","serviceUrl":"\/_xhr","publisherContextId":"","propertyId":"2fcd79b5-b3a3-333e-b98e-722536a6698f","configurationId":"435db9ee-c55e-3766-b20d-c8ad3ff889d1","graphId":"","labelLeft":"Barack Obama","labelRight":"Mitt Romney","labelMiddle":"","itemimg":"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/a\/i\/ww\/met\/yahoo_logo_us_061509.png","selfURI":"","aggregateRatingCount":"711013","aggregateReviewCount":"0","leftBlocksNum":"433039","rightBlocksNum":"277989","leftBlocksPerCent":"61","rightBlocksPerCent":"39","ugcrate_apihost":"api01-us.ugcl.yahoo.com:4080","publisher_id":"news-en-US","yca_cert":"yahoo.ugccloud.app.trusted_proxies","timeout_write":"5000","through_proxy":"false","optionStats":"{\"s1\":374714,\"s2\":12964,\"s3\":13322,\"s4\":18990,\"s5\":13049,\"s6\":277989,\"s7\":0,\"s8\":0,\"s9\":0,\"s10\":0}","l10N":"{\"FIRST_TO_READ\":\"You are first to read this. Share your feelings and start a conversation.\",\"SHARE_YOUR_FEELINGS\":\"You too can share your feelings and start a conversation!\",\"HOW_YOUR_FRIENDS_THINK\":\"Thank you for sharing your feeling on this article!\",\"PRE_SHARE_MSG\":\"Your Facebook friends on Yahoo! can see how you responded to this question. To share your response on Facebook, click on the Facebook share option.\",\"START_THE_CONVERSATION\":\"Start the Conversation\",\"THANKS_FOR_SHARING\":\"Sure, that's how you feel... But what do your friends think?\",\"POLL_HEADER\":\"SOCIAL SENTIMENT\",\"SERVER_ERROR\":\"Oops there seems to be some error, please try again later\",\"LOADING\":\"Loading...\",\"SHARE_AFTER_COMMENT\":\"Your response has been shared on Facebook.\",\"UNDO\":\"Undo\",\"UNIT_PEOPLE\":\"People\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_DISAGREE\":\"disagree with your opinion.\",\"READ_MORE_TEXT\":\"Read what they have to say.\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_BEFORE_VOTING\":\"WHAT DO YOU THINK?\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_VERB_BEFORE_VOTING\":\"DRAG\",\"SLIDER_THUMB_WORDING_THANKS_VOTING\":\"Thanks for voting\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_ANSWERED\":\" 711,013 people have responded to this question\",\"ONE_PERSON_ANSWERED\":\" 1 person has responded to this question. Your response will be seen by your Facebook friends on Yahoo!\",\"TWO_PEOPLE_ANSWERED\":\" 2 people have responded to this question. Your response will be seen by your Facebook friends on Yahoo!\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_ANSWERED_AND_SHARED\":\" 711,013 people have responded to this question. Your response will be seen by your Facebook friends on Yahoo!\",\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s1\":374714,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s2\":12964,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s3\":13322,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s4\":18990,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s5\":13049,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s6\":277989,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s7\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s8\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s9\":0,\"NUM_PEOPLE_RATED__s10\":0}","fbconfig":"{\"message\":\"undefined\",\"name\":\"undefined\",\"link\":\"\",\"source\":\"\",\"picture\":\"http:\\\/\\\/l.yimg.com\\\/a\\\/i\\\/ww\\\/news\\\/2011\\\/09\\\/27\\\/yahoo-tc.jpg\",\"description\":\"\",\"captionLeft\":\"undefined\",\"captionRight\":\"undefined\",\"app_id\":\"196660913708276\",\"redirect_uri\":\"\\\/_xhr\\\/ugcratefbredirect\\\/\"}","template_id":"LONG_SLIDER_SOUTH","obj_id":"ratings_7763544834970b276be6c379b722a74f","opt_count":"6","opt_color1":"","opt_color2":"","template_html":"

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-top-court-hear-arguments-over-government-spying-050252225--sector.html

usssa baseball alex o loughlin the godfather cape breton bowling green marysville tornados

Iranian dissidents win 2012 Sakharov prize

STRASBOURG, France (AP) ? Two Iranian dissidents ? a lawyer and a film director ? were awarded the 2012 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

The European Parliament awarded the prize Friday to Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi. Martin Schulz, the president of the parliament, said it was "a message of solidarity and recognition to a woman and a man who have not been bowed by fear and intimidation."

Sotoudeh, a lawyer who represented imprisoned Iranian opposition activists following the disputed June 2009 presidential elections, is now in prison herself. Panahi's films are known for their humanist perspective on life in Iran, often focusing on the hardships of children, the poor and women. He won the Camera d'Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.

The other finalists for the prize were Ales Bialiatski, a human rights activist in prison in Belarus, and Pussy Riot, the punk rock group that has criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin. Two of the band's members are in prison.

Yekaterina Samutsevich, a member of Pussy Riot, said she was pleased that Panahi won the prize.

"It's very important for us that it went to someone who is in jail for their feminist views," she said. "That's essentially the same as what happened to us."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iranian-dissidents-win-2012-sakharov-prize-132350838.html

aurora borealis gcb mary j blige rush limbaugh rush limbaugh dionne warwick patricia heaton

Advertisement:

We were unable to forward you to the advertisement you clicked on.

The likely cause for this is that your browser, feed reader, or email application is configured to not accept cookies, or your reader may launch an external browser to view links without sharing cookies.

• If you're using Internet Explorer, make sure your privacy setting is at medium or below.
  • Select 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu in your browser window
  • Click the Privacy tab
  • Adjust your privacy setting if necessary
    ?
• If you're using a reader that embeds Internet Explorer (examples: Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Feed Demon), you'll also need to select Internet Explorer as your default web browser.
  • Open Internet Explorer
  • Select 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu in your browser window
  • Click the 'Programs' tab and check the box for Internet Explorer to check if it is the default browser and save your change
  • Close your browser, re-open it, and when prompted, select Internet Explorer as your default
  • You can then click on an ad in your newsletter and visit the site you wish to view

Source: http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=9c9aa07ed649d06b94ef1c383e9a7aa8&p=4

jason campbell doobie brothers jennie garth peter facinelli marques colston golden state warriors free agents nfl 2012 milwaukee bucks

E-voting could affect accuracy of vote counts in four states

Touch-screen electronic voting machines in at least four states pose a risk to the integrity of the 2012 presidential election, according to a Monitor analysis.

In four key battleground states ? Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, and Colorado ? glitches in e-voting machines could produce incorrect or incomplete tallies that would be difficult to detect and all but impossible to correct because the machines have no paper record for officials to go back and check.

While many state officials laud the accuracy of e-voting machines, mechanical and software failures are not a new problem. What makes the risk more serious this year is that polls project a close election, and e-voting problems in any of the four states in question could affect who wins the presidency.

[RECOMMENDED: 3 views on whether US states should require voter ID]

"No matter how unlikely it seems now, there's a chance that this election will be so close that it could be flipped by a single voting machine problem in a single place in any one of those states," says Edward Felten, a professor at Princeton University in New Jersey who has analyzed e-voting machine weaknesses. "To avoid that, it's key to have a record of what the voter saw ? and that means having a paper ballot or other paper record."

Paper verification of votes has proved to be a vital backstop to ensure that voting-machine software is not corrupt and that programming errors did not affect the accuracy of electronic vote tallies. Voting machines have at times "lost" thousands of votes or even "flipped" votes from one candidate to another, and total breakdowns are not unheard of.

For example:

• In 2006, some 18,000 votes were electronically "lost" by e-vote systems in a single Florida congressional race with no paper backup or ballots available to review.
• In May 2011, voters in Pennsylvania?s Venango County complained that paperless electronic touch-screen machines were "flipping their choices from one party to another," according to a report by Verified Voting, a nonprofit group in Carlsbad, Calif., that tracks voting machine use nationwide. After an inconclusive audit of election results, the county simply decided to use paper ballots counted by optical scanners in future elections.
• In March, an e-voting system in Florida?s Palm Beach County experienced a "synchronization? problem in a municipal election. The election software attributed votes to the wrong contest and the wrong candidates won. Thankfully, paper ballots existed. After a court-ordered recount, results were changed and two losing candidates were declared winners.

More than 1,800 voting machine problems were reported to election protection hotlines during the 2008 general election, according to Verified Voting. Such election failures mattered far less in 2008 because Barack Obama won by a landslide. But this year, the loser might be likely to demand a recount if the winning margin is small. In states that still use Direct Recording Equipment (DRE) ? touch-screen voting equipment that lacks any paper verification ? that could be a problem.

"Without a paper trail there's no opportunity to check, so then you just have to rely on faith that the software is functioning properly and capturing votes properly," says Pamela Smith, president of Verified Voting. "Maybe the machine is working OK right now. But if there is a bug or glitch, there's nothing to go back to."

After the controversy over "hanging chads" in Florida in the 2000 election, touch-screen e-voting machines proliferated nationwide as the Help America Vote Act of 2002 helped states pay for new equipment. Most states have since replaced e-systems that lack paper verification with paper ballots counted by optical scanners. While scanners can also fail, the paper ballots are there to be recounted.

But 17 states still use paperless DREs, according to Verified Voting. Among those, four are expected to see election results close enough to potentially demand a recount.

"Most of the country has gone to some sort of paper-based optical or electronic system," says Peter Lichtenheld, vice president of operations for Austin-based Hart InterCivic, one of four major voting machine companies in the US. "In counties that have decided to stay with older direct response equipment [DREs], they've put in people and procedures to make them more secure."

For example, most states now run preelection software tests on the machines to verify that they are counting correctly. The machines are "sealed" against tampering and, increasingly, they are monitored by surveillance cameras even in off-use periods. Memory cards in the machines should retain votes, even in a power failure, but have not always done so.

To critics, however, reliance on electronic methods alone as a backup means that the machines are, in essence, checking themselves. Only a paper document checked by the voter ensures that the vote was recorded correctly and is immune to system failures or even cyberattack.

• In Pennsylvania, 50 of 68 counties have paperless equipment as their standard voting system, Verified Voting data show. Those machines serve some 7 million of about 8.5 million registered voters statewide.
• In Virginia, 127 of 135 counties use paperless DREs, accounting for 3.7 million of the state?s 5 million registered voters, according to Verified Voting.
• Colorado is shifting to mail-in paper ballots, but the transition isn't complete. Jefferson County, the state?s fourth most populous, is using paperless DREs as well as mailed ballots. So many of its 320,000-plus "active" registered voters will vote on the machines ? more than enough to tip a tight race, says Ms. Smith of Verified Voting.
• In Florida, all counties are required by law to have paper backups for their voting machines by 2014. Even so, a small but potentially significant number of disabled voters statewide still will use paperless touch-screen machines this year. Although only a few thousand votes may be cast on those "accessibility" machines, it could still be enough to throw the race if the state's vote tally were to end up as close as it was in the 2000 presidential election, when George W. Bush controversially won by 537 votes.

State officials stand by the machines.

"These DREs have been one of the more reliable pieces of equipment we've had," says Donald Palmer, secretary of Virginia's Board of Elections, the state's most senior election official. "We haven't had any major problems with them."

In fact, Colorado?s Jefferson County recently had to conduct a recount in a congressional race, in which votes cast on paperless DREs were included. Significantly, both candidates accepted the result although there was no paper to confirm that the machines had recorded the votes correctly.

"We think we have the right processes in place to make sure everyone is able to vote and that their votes count," says Andrew Cole, a spokesman for the Colorado Secretary of State's office.

Still, Princeton?s Professor Felten has put all four states on his top 10 states ?at risk? of an e-voting meltdown. Among the factors going into the the list is the effectiveness of a state?s vote-audit laws.

California, for example, is lauded because its post-election audits draw statistical comparison between paper totals and voting machine tallies to ensure the machines are accurate. In contrast, Virginia has no post-election audit and limited provisions for a recount in state law in case machine vote-count problems are detected. Similarly, Florida state laws are such that a recount may not be permitted even if a machine is known to have malfunctioned.

"Florida's post-election audit law is absolutely atrocious and does not afford the voters any certainty that their votes have been accurately counted," says Ion Sancho, supervisor of elections in Florida?s Leon County. "Because our laws only allow erroneous totals to be corrected on the basis of fraud, a machine could break down, but if there's no fraud, our laws would still not allow us to correct those erroneous totals."

The small number of voters who will use paperless DREs in the state limit the chances of an e-voting meltdown there, he acknowledges. But it is a concern. He notes that the blatant mistake made by e-voting machines in Palm Beach might have never been corrected had that been a statewide election, since there was no obvious fraud. "State law doesn't require it," he says.

"I'm hopeful," he adds, "that we can get through to 2014 without an election disaster like 2000 and finally get rid of all these [paperless] machines once and for all."

COMING NEXT: Are electronic voting machines vulnerable to hackers?

Related stories

Read this story at csmonitor.com

Become a part of the Monitor community

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-e-voting-puts-vote-accuracy-risk-four-183125308.html

texas relays meniscus the colony kids choice awards ncaa final four 2012 texas chainsaw massacre uk vs louisville

Germany orders recall of some Novartis flu shots

BERLIN (AP) ? German authorities ordered a recall Thursday of some batches of Novartis flu vaccine as a precautionary measure after the company reported the appearance of small particles in the manufacturing process.

The Paul Ehrlich Institute, which is part of the country's Ministry of Health, said there had been no reports of particle formation in Germany or of any serious side effects during the current flu season.

"However, in the interest of risk prevention and consumer safety it is necessary to cancel the approval for certain vaccines, since the formation of particles in the vaccine and therefore the risk of serious side effects cannot be ruled out," Institute President Prof. Klaus Cichutek said in a statement.

The decision affects four batches of the influenza vaccine Begripal and one batch of Fluad. It does not affect the seasonal vaccine Optaflu.

Italy's health ministry banned the sale of four Novartis flu drugs on Wednesday. These included Fluad and Begripal ? sold as Aggripal in Italy ? as well as two others: Influpozzi Adiuvato and Influpozzi Subunita.

Switzerland's regulator Swissmedic also suspended deliveries of flu vaccines from Novartis as a preventive measure.

Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said there was no evidence yet to pull the vaccines off the market but added it was gathering further information on the Novartis vaccines.

The Swiss pharmaceutical company said Thursday it was cooperating with the Ministry of Health in Italy, where the vaccines are produced, and was committed to providing vaccines to patients for the current flu season. There had been no adverse effects reported so far from more than 1 million doses of Agrippal/Begripal and Fluad administered, the Basel-based company said.

"Novartis confirms that these particles can occur in the vaccine manufacturing process and is confident that there is no impact on the safety or efficacy of the vaccine," it said in a statement.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/germany-orders-recall-novartis-flu-shots-142502789--finance.html

bby zimmerman website miami marlins marlins marlins facebook buys instagram kevin systrom

Kids' mountain bike program likely the first of many in Old Town ...

Ten children in Old Town learned the joys of mountain biking during a monthlong program for grades 4-8 that ran mid-September through mid-October.

The program was made possible by a first-of-its-kind collaboration of three Maine-based organizations: Old Town Recreation, Maine Winter Sports Center and the Bicycle Coalition of Maine.

?They were very excited to just go out and experience the outdoors,? said Kevin McPhee, director of Old Town Recreation, which hosted the program. ?We have a river trail here in the Old Town-Orono area that goes along the Stillwater River. It?s just a beautiful bike trial, and they were able to experience that on a couple of occasions.?

Biking in the mud was their favorite part.

?They usually came back and had mud up their backs and huge smiles,? McPhee said. ?Their parents would come to pick them up and just shake their heads and smile.?

Healthy Hometowns, the community development program of the Maine Winter Sports Center, provided mountain bikes and helmets for participants, as well as training and curriculum for leaders.

?The focus of this program was on experiencing the lifelong, active outdoor pursuit of mountain biking,? said Central Maine Healthy Hometowns coach Lauren Jacobs. ?Kids had a blast exploring the trails, getting muddy and becoming skilled bikers.?

In April, L.L.Bean announced a $1 million donation to Healthy Hometowns to expand the program into a year-round, statewide effort. This donation coincides with L.L.Bean?s mission to get more children outdoors during their 100th anniversary year and beyond.

?In the past, Healthy Hometowns has been primarily cross-country ski-oriented and mostly in the County, up in Aroostook,? Jacobs said. ?With the funding in April, we can go statewide and year-round. This is the first time we?ve had equipment to use in other regions.?

The funding is providing staff, training and resources for Healthy Hometowns expand its focus to outdoor activities such as paddling, hiking, mountain biking, orienteering and camping.

So far, the donation enabled Healthy Hometowns to purchase 20 mountain bikes, three boat trailers of kayaks, and expand their ski collection to approximately 1,500 sets of skis. The program ?coaches? have started spreading out across the state, and the equipment supply will continue to grow over the next three years, Jacobs said.

The 10 children who participated in the Old Town mountain bike program gained skills and confidence through riding on local trails and fields and engaging in a variety of games and activities used to teach bike handling, shifting, braking, safety and navigating obstacles.

The Bicycle Coalition of Maine, a statewide cycling advocacy group, supported the initiative with a safety program for participants and program leadership by a coalition employee.

?Participants markedly improved their biking skills while getting great exercise and getting the opportunity to experience the great Maine outdoors as it was meant to be enjoyed,? McPhee said.

During the summer, Healthy Hometowns and Old Town Recreation worked together to provide kayaking and biking opportunities to summer camp participants. And this winter, the two organizations will work together for the third year to offer a youth cross-country ski program in conjunction with the Penobscot Valley Ski Club.

?This will be an ongoing effort,? McPhee said. ?We look forward to doing this spring, summer, fall and winter. We look forward to partnering with them each season to provide a different activity.?

Healthy Hometowns trailers filled with cross-country skis and snowshoes will travel throughout the state all winter to give children the chance to experience winter sports. Several schools in the Bangor area have booked the equipment, including schools in Winterport, Hampden, Bangor and Dover-Foxcroft.

?We are really focused on winter right now, planning winter sports, getting out calendars filled up and getting ready to do our ski weeks,? Jacobs said. ?But it won?t be long before we start thinking about spring and getting programming lined up. We already have a couple of requests ? Milo has already scheduled the mountain bikes for their outing club members for some time in May.?

For information about Healthy Hometowns, including equipment rental and outdoor programs, visit www.mainewsc.org; the Old Town Recreation Department at www.oldtownrec.com; and the Bicycle Coalition of Maine at www.bikemaine.org.

Source: http://bangordailynews.com/2012/10/24/outdoors/kids-mountain-bike-program-likely-the-first-of-many-in-old-town/

matt forte jeremy shockey new orleans saints ireland bracket vangogh yield

New Relic Connect ? A Way To See The Data Behind All Those Apps

New Relic has added the capability to monitor data across multiple applications and systems for deeper, more detailed views -- another sign that the new era of Internet models is taking the enterprise by storm.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/3O1BBhMioNE/

mlb trade rumors Misty May And Kerri Walsh Jake Dalton London 2012 field hockey Missy Franklin Hunter Pence NBCOlympics

How Do Weight?Loss Medications Work? - Fitness workouts

Obesity is now a world-wide issue that worries all the health and fitness experts. Everywhere you go, you will hear different weight-related problems. So why is this actually a big deal? Obesity is not just about having high body fat percentage. It is quite important to know that obesity is a medical condition that increases the risks of diabetes and high blood pressure.

?A Remedy for Obesity

As mentioned earlier, the said condition could bring a lot of harm to the body. With this being said, it is a good thing that there are available medications now that may be a remedy for obesity. However, these medications are actually prescription drugs. A doctor must supervise the whole weight-loss program to ensure the safety of the patient. Not everyone is entitled for these prescribed weight-loss drugs. This is actually an option only given to those people with a body mass index of more than 27 and has health problems.

?Different Kinds of Weight Loss Medications

There are different types of prescribed weight-loss medications nowadays. One of the most popular options is the appetite suppressant. It usually comes in extended-release capsules. It works by increasing the serotonin levels in the body. This way, you can easily decrease hunger pangs and avoid unwanted cravings. Phentermine is the number one appetite suppressant being prescribed by doctors. However, this medication is only intended for 60 to 90 days of use.

Well, another type of drug that is being prescribed nowadays is the fat inhibitor. Fat inhibitors ensure that your body will not absorb the fat content in the meal that you have just eaten. The fat content are degraded efficiently and excreted in the bowel movement. When using a fat inhibitor, it is important to observe a low-fat diet since regular fat absorption can be really messy. The most popular fat inhibitor is Xenical. It over-the-counter part is Alli. Unlike appetite suppressants, fat inhibitors have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for longer term of use.

?The Inevitable Risks of Prescription Weight-loss Medications

Though weight-loss medications are effective, most of the available options are actually controlled by the FDA. Believe it or not, these medications may bring some risky effect in the body such as addiction, developed tolerance, and of course, the side effects. The finest example is Phentermine. Since it has similar properties with amphetamines, there are neurological side-effects that may develop once it is abused. As for the side-effects, some of it could range from mild to severe. Some of the noted side-effects for Phentermine are increased heart rate, depression, anxiety, increased heart rate, insomnia, constipation, severe headache, dehydration, and excessive sweating. Meanwhile, for Xenical, the effects are abdominal cramps, steatorrhea, inability to control bowel movements, and stomach gas. And once you eat fatty food, everything gets worse.

These are just some of the things that you have to know about weight-loss medications. Always remember that it is not a cure-all drug. Once your doctor prescribes you this, it is also important to change your lifestyle so as to maximize the efficacy of the weight-loss drugs.

Jenny is a free lancer writer of many websites in health niches. She spends her entire day in local internet browsing of DietPillRating.

Source: http://fitnessmember.com/fitness-articles/how-do-weight-loss-medications-work/

collateral dick cheney heart umf peter frampton elite eight stephon marbury the lion king

UBS May Cut Thousands of IT Jobs, Says Report

UBS AG (UBS) is planning further cost cutting measures which could threaten thousands of jobs worldwide, particularly in its information technology operation, the TagesAnzeiger reported Saturday.

Switzerland's largest bank, as measured by market cap, is planning to reduce costs at its information technology division from around 3.6 billion Swiss francs ($3.8 billion) per year now to CHF2.4 billion by 2015, it reported, citing people familiar with the plans.

"In principle we don't comment on such speculation, and we haven't yet concluded our business plans for 2013 and the following years," UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti said in a statement Saturday. "Only when the final decisions have been made, and the next steps decided on, will we make them public," Mr. Ermotti said.

UBS currently employs around 8,200 information technology specialists, including 3,200 in Switzerland, and the job cuts will come as business volumes are reduced, it reports. The planned cost cuts are in addition to the measures announced by UBS in August 2011, when it said it will have to eliminate about 3,500 jobs worldwide, TagesAnzeiger said.

The report comes as banks worldwide have announced thousands of layoffs over the past year as a weak trading and deal making climate, together with more stringent regulations, have whittled away at profits and dragged on revenue growth.

Swiss private bank Julius Baer Group AG (BAER.VX) Tuesday said it will cut about 1,000 jobs globally as it integrates the wealth management unit it acquired from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Credit Suisse Group (CS) said earlier this month it will lay off 78 staff in the New York region as part of the plan outlined last year to pare its global headcount by 7%, or about 3,500 jobs. The firm, which has 48,200 employees, according to its website, previously said it had completed 2,000 of those layoffs by the end of March.

Newspaper website: www.tagesanzeiger.ch

Write to Neil MacLucas@dowjones.com

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

Copyright ? 2012 Dow Jones Newswires

Source: http://feeds.foxbusiness.com/~r/foxbusiness/markets/~3/WeTTr5uJqYM/

detroit red wings jose canseco zimmerman derek fisher lyrid meteor shower hippocrates andrew breitbart

Colt Ford performs Sunday evening at the Georgia Throwdown

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151240272841273&set=a.10151236860981273.499197.115211831272&type=1

matt forte jeremy shockey new orleans saints ireland bracket vangogh yield

Child uninterested in family visits - Adoption.com Forums

Our foster daughter complained to us one day when we were getting her ready for her family visit. She didn't want to go.

Me: "Why?"

Her: "It's boring! I won't have any kids to play with"

Me: "Well, it's for spending time with your parents."

Then she sort of shut up. And I had to coax her a little more.

Her: "Because all they do is sit there."

She confides in me that they just sit and watch tv. They're not interacting with her. She's just bored. I asked her to tell them so they knew it bothered her but she doesn't want to hurt their feelings. Then I suggested she tell the family member that's authorized to supervise the visits and she doesn't want to tell her because she'll just tell her parents.

Honoring that (cause usually i would have just told the family member) I shared this information with our caseworker. She brought it up and said that it basically fell on deaf ears at their last meeting. They confirmed, however, that this is pretty much how visits go.

I kind of want them to interact with her more. She is CRAVING it. She is disappointed and bored at visits. This is a kid that does require constant stimulation and can get overly needy as she tries to get attention in anyway possible.

Any way we can help her either accept that this is "family time" or help her try to encourage them to participate in activities? She constantly perceives that nothing ever goes right for her. We want to reinforce that she has some control over how things go (i.e. looking on the bright side of life) etc. I don't think this is the right place for that lesson... just frustrated with her having to go to these visits when they just aren't being fully taken advantage of.

Source: http://forums.adoption.com/foster-parent-support/408804-child-uninterested-family-visits.html

kevin durant jazz fest zurich classic selena lamichael james lamichael james derrick rose

SFI Marketing Group - Income Business Reviews

Skip Our Review, Click Here For Our TOP rated Opportunity

SFI Marketing Group offers a work at home business opportunity that may work for you.

Updated: We received an e-mail correspondence from a SFI member suggesting our review was in error.

The following lists their current information. We thank the SFI member who contacted us as again our goal is to offer as accurate information as is available on many opportunities as possible.

Hearing direct from those active in these programs is often the best information we can get and is much appreciated.

This is a nice reflection on SFI and what it offers and is summarized below:

SFI Marketing Group, or Six Figure Income, is a marketing company owned by Gerry Carson. It is an
affiliate based company with direct marketing; you can also recruit others to earn money on their efforts like many online programs offer.

Once you sign up as an affiliate, you can sell their products.They have nearly a million products. This can be a
problem as you are competing with so many other suppliers; it is often better to have your own unique product.

Being an affiliate, you get access to their program information,many materials to assist you in your business, and also a website. The website is ?replicated? which means it is identical to many others that are affiliates in SFI.

There are draw backs to this kind of website including your site is not unique and it often isn?t something that will get found on search engines.

There are other concerns which are outlined in the marketing I have learned. Send me an e-mail and I will offer you some additional things you might want to be aware of regarding these type of web sites.

The levels of involvement are Affiliate, Executive Affiliate, and Team Leader.

You can make higher commissions and other bonuses by becoming an Executive Affiliate (EA) which you can become after
making a certain number of sales- this via your own purchases, retail sales or from your downline.

New members are encouraged to purchase a membership to the International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs (IAHBE) for $29 monthly. This is the simplest way to achieve the EA status, but this is not in any way a requirement or the only way to obtain this status.

The key to most any online program is how easy you can make your sales. Most leads sources do not work, or you need to cold call them to close sales so ask that of your SFI sponsor before you join?.get specific details!

SFI Marketing Group offers an opportunity to participate in the exciting world of internet marketing.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Source: http://income.businessreviews4you.com/sfi-marketing-group/

Mens Gymnastics Allison Schmitt Olympic Schedule Kyla Ross Ryan Lochte Montenegro Olympic Games

Latest Issue - Men's Fitness

Arnie?s back, James Bond returns and Dredd is reaping judgment in our bonus action movie muscle special.
?
Arnold Schwarzenegger ? older, beardier but as tough as ever ? is returning to his roots in action films. We caught up with the bodybuilding icon to find out why he thinks we should all include Boris biking in our fitness routine. Really.
?
Along with Karl Urban?s Dredd, further action hero body secrets are gleaned from Tom Hardy, Jason Statham and Jeremy Renner and with Skyfall?s imminent release we?ll teach you how to fight, drink, seduce and even smell like 007 (SPOILER: even Lazenby gets a mention).
?
If you can tear your eyes away from the stars of the big screen you?ll also learn from the king of sprinting, Usain Bolt. We find out whether born talent, chicken nuggets or hard work have been most instrumental in making him an Olympic legend.
?
We?ve also got nuggets of wisdom provided by the top boxing coach Enzo Calzaghe, world champion Carl Froch and Team Sky?s head coach Shane Sutton.

Staying on the cycling tip we?ve reviewed the best road bikes around and taken one for a spin on a stage of the 2012 Tour of Britain so you can learn how to condition your body for a 200km cycle.
?
Elsewhere we provide a comprehensive supplement guide to the pills, powders and potions that will help you get stronger, more ripped and recover better.
?
For all this plus our ultimate bench press guide, grab our latest issue at your corner shop. Alternatively you can subscribe here or download the digital version here.

Source: http://www.mensfitness.co.uk/interactive/latest-issue/8698/latest_issue.html

andy murray Samsung Galaxy S3 linkedin linkedin usps ups bachelor pad

Financial Planning for a family with a special child | Firstpost

Firstpost has been running a series on financial planning for specific needs for a couple of months now. And we emphasise again, although the basic financial principles remains the same, we have to weight them differently based on your specific needs. We have covered planning for? Twenty Somethings, Dinks, Nuclear Family and Suddenly Single, to name a few. Today, we bring you financial planning for families who have children with special needs.

Your life: You have a small happy family of your own, and that?s your world. You are a couple with one or two kids, out of which one kid is a special child. Life is pretty good, but the special child needs special attention, and hence your world revolves around her. Your bundle of joy makes you smile and you want to give her the best. And you know as long as you both (spouses) are around, all will be taken care of. But, you also know you live with a fear: what will happen to your special child (by then an adult, yet not financially independent), when both of you are no longer around. But as, American journalist Ellen Goodman once said, ?The central struggle of parenthood is to let our hopes for our children outweigh our fears.? We attempt to offer direction to your money life and address this fear.

Your Money

Contingency Funds: The three to six months of monthly expenses amount kept aside as emergency funds won?t work for you. Mumbai-based Pankaj Mathpal, a Certified Financial Planer, says: ?You will need to keep aside a much higher amount as emergency funds. And also ensure that these funds have liquidity and there is a regular cash flow.? We suggest at least 12 months? monthly expenses for emergencies should be kept aside.

Representational image. Reuters

Life Insurance: Here again a term life insurance policy with a cover equal to 12-15 times your annual expenses, or 8-10 times your annual income plus debt obligations, won?t work. Mathpal says, ?Children are financial dependents for around a maximum of 25 years on their parents. But with special children, more often then not, they may be financially dependent for years to come, even after their parents are not around. Hence, your life-cover needs to take into account this need too.? How many times your annual income do you need as life cover? We won?t give you a firm answer. We strongly recommend you take the assistance of a CFP, who would be able to give you the exact amount needed, based on your financial and social circumstances.

Medical Insurance: Ideally your family floater medical insurance policy should allow you to include the child with special needs. Surya Bhatia, Delhi-based CFP, says, ?We have seen instances when the insurers have refused to cover a special child under medical insurance. For such a family, it?s going to be a fight to get the much-needed medical insurance.? We recommend you buy a family floater policy of at least Rs 10 lakh.? And also build a separate corpus for the child?s medical and other needs too. Your child might need regular medical assessments, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and like.

Investments and retirement: There is no doubt that you will need to build a larger corpus via your investments and for your retirement. So, stay away from investing in direct stocks, and take the mutual funds route, apart from a mix of FD, bonds, gold and like. Retirement regulars like EPF, PPF and NPS should work well. Keep your asset allocation and risk profile in mind while investing. Let?s be honest, if you are super rich, things will be easier for you. But of you are a regular middle-to upper middle- income family, you will need to let go of a few finer things in life to ensure a big enough corpus for your future as well as your child?s. Which means, every penny you save will take to one step closer towards your financial goal.

Take tax benefits you are entitled to: Sudhir Kuashik, Chartered Accountant and co-founder Taxspanner.com, says, ?There is nothing wrong in taking tax benefits which you are entitled to. Section 80DD gives tax breaks when you spend for maintenance, including medical treatment, for dependents with disabilities and Section 80 DDB applies to deductions for medical treatment of dependents.? The CA also observed that not many take such benefits, due to lack of awareness.

Estate Planning: Mathpal says ?Estate planning is the most important part of the financial plan for you. Instead of making a will, make a non-revocable trust in your child?s name. So that no other nominees or dependents contest the money once you are gone.? Ensure that you choose the guardian of the trust very, very wisely. He can then take your place once you both are not around. Bhatia says, ?Getting the right person to take care of the trust is very difficult. Ideally it should be someone who will outlive you as well as the child.? If the child has a sibling, he could be that person. Your own brothers or sisters may not outlive the child. If you have another child before or after your special one, your financial plan will change, since you will need to accommodate his financial needs too.

Today, many special children are able to live a fairly independent life, at times even independent financial lives. This varies from case to case, but for this story we have assumed a special child may be a financial dependent all her life. Your financial plan will vary depending up on the degree of dependency of your special child. While we have always recommended consulting a financial planner, in your case, we recommend it with all our conviction. That way, you will be able to live a good life with your special someone ? and also give her the same after you?ve gone.

Source: http://www.firstpost.com/investing/financial-planning-for-a-family-with-a-special-child-489571.html

patsy cline pierre thomas beyonce gives birth portlandia kelly clarkson playoffs empty nest

Geithner: Work remains despite US fiscal progress

TOKYO (AP) ? Despite making progress on getting its fiscal house in order, the United States still has much work to do, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told fellow financial leaders Saturday. The comment came just hours after the U.S. government announced that the budget deficit had topped $1 trillion for a fourth straight year despite a modest improvement thanks to stronger economic growth.

"It is important that we in the U.S. enact a balanced framework to bring down our fiscal deficit and debt over several years, while continuing to provide support for jobs and growth in the short term," Geithner told a meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee during the annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank, which is being held in Tokyo.

The Treasury Department said Friday that the deficit for the 2012 budget year totaled $1.1 trillion, though a 6.4 percent increase in tax revenues thanks to stronger growth helped contain the deficit.

The risk of the U.S. running into a "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and deep spending cuts next year unless the Obama administration and Congress resolve a deadlock over the budget has overshadowed the gathering of top financial officials. Such a prospect would deal a heavy blow to the economy, eroding progress made since the 2008 global crisis.

The overwhelming emphasis of the Tokyo gathering has been on coddling fragile growth around the globe.

At Saturday's meeting of the IMFC, which advises the IMF and monitors the world financial system, officials from developing and emerging economies urged the U.S. and European nations to prevent malaise in their regions from slowing global growth.

"Advanced countries should rethink their macroeconomic strategies and avoid simultaneous fiscal contractions and the consequent overburdening of monetary policies," Guido Mantega, Brazil's finance minister, told the committee.

"In many advanced economies, fiscal and structural policies are severely hampered by political paralysis," Mantega said. He urged that spending be focused on areas that can have a maximum impact and on social safety nets to protect the poor.

He and other finance ministers expressed concern over monetary easing in the U.S. and other countries that is meant to encourage more bank lending, but that some worry could destabilize markets while failing to stave off recession.

During the meetings in Japan, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde has been urging countries to not sacrifice growth for the sake of austerity, saying they should temper spending cuts to help create jobs and support future growth.

Balancing those sometimes competing priorities is the central puzzle facing policymakers as the world economy slows further, even in dynamic Asia.

Growth has slowed in Asia and is sapping the potential in the poorest countries, many of which depend on exports of minerals, oil and other commodities to the industrial countries.

"We should all be committed in our resolve to avoid a worst case scenario where strains in the euro area deepen, fiscal cliff and debt ceiling problems in the U.S. are not resolved, and growth in emerging market economies continues to decline," Pravin J. Gordhan, South Africa's finance minister, told the meeting on Saturday.

While there seems to be a wide consensus on long-term strategies for reform, there is less agreement on how painful such policies should be in the near term given the persistent risk of recession and surging unemployment.

Greece, Spain and other European countries laboring under massive debts have slashed spending and raised taxes, seeking to restore confidence in their public finances and qualify for emergency financing. The economies of financially healthier European countries, such as Germany and Finland, face a potential blow to growth if those troubled economies fail to get their financial houses in order. At the same time, the recovery of the 17-nation grouping that uses the euro could founder if tax increases and spending cuts bite too deeply.

The IMF has scaled back its global growth forecast for 2012 to 3.3 percent from 3.5 percent, and has warned that even its dimmer outlook might prove too optimistic if Europe and the United States fail to resolve their crises.

On Friday, the IMF said economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region slowed to 5.5 percent in January-June. That is well above the global average, but the lowest for the region since the financial crisis in 2008. The slowdown is largely because of sluggishness in Europe and the U.S. It also noted weakness in China and India, whose dynamism had helped counter weakness elsewhere.

The IMF's outlook for the African region was "broadly positive" with growth forecast at over 5 percent in 2013, supported by strong domestic demand. However, it warned of risks for food security due to surging grain prices and the spillover of weaker growth in Europe.

In Japan, both Lagarde and Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, have stressed that without greater equity and equality, growth will be unsustainable.

The IMF's mission is threefold ? economic surveillance, advice and providing temporary funding ? while the World Bank's mission is to fight poverty. The bank uses funds from donor members and proceeds from bond sales to provide low-interest loans to developing countries.

During the meetings, Kim has spoken often about the need to ensure food security for the poor at a time when spikes in prices have become routine.

To fortify a "safety net" for crises while supporting improvements to make farming more efficient and sustainable, ministers pledged new funds for the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, a trust fund set up in 2010.

Japan and South Korea each promised $30 million in new funding, while the U.S. pledged to contribute an extra $1 for every $2 contributed by other donors, up to a total amount of $475 million. Including those new funds, the fund has financial support of $1.3 billion.

___

Associated Press writer Malcolm Foster contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/geithner-remains-despite-us-fiscal-progress-030158217--finance.html

randy moss randy moss hunger games premiere the bachelor good morning america red meat bachelor ben

'Walking Dead' Season Three: The Road To Woodbury

The Governor, Michonne and gladiator-zombies are just a few of the elements 'Walking Dead' fans have to look forward to in season three.
By Josh Wigler

David Morrissey as The Governor in "The Walking Dead"
Photo: AMC

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1695391/walking-dead-season-three-woodbury.jhtml

jason whitlock beach boys tony bennett joe walsh the civil wars paul mccartney duggar miscarriage

Shuttle Endeavour Towed by Toyota Truck Over L.A. Freeway

LOS ANGELES ? Why did the space shuttle cross the road? To get to the other side ? of the 405.

Or at least, that was the case for the shuttle Endeavour, which overnight Friday (Oct. 12) was towed by a Toyota Tundra truck over the Los Angeles freeway to complete its first day on its trip to the California Science Center (CSC) for display.

Endeavour, which flew 25 times to space between 1992 and 2011, has launched on the CSC's "Mission 26," a two day, 12 mile (19 kilometer) journey through the city streets of L.A. and Inglewood. Endeavour is expected to arrive at the science center on Saturday night.

Leaving Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) almost 12 hours earlier, the shuttle Endeavour spent nearly 15 hours idling in a shopping center parking lot and then outside a donut shop waiting for crews to raise power lines, clearing its route to reach the Manchester Boulevard Bridge by midnight.

Much of the day's trip was made with the shuttle riding on a modified NASA overland transporter driven by four self-propelled, computer-controlled vehicles. To cross the 405 freeway however, the 155,000-pound (70,300-kilogram) Endeavour needed a tow. [Gallery: On the Road with Endeavour]

Enter the Tundra

Who do you recruit to drive a space shuttle across an L.A. bridge in a scene made for TV? A professional stuntman and an astronaut, of course!

Seated behind the 2012 Tundra's steering wheel was Matt McBride, a precision driver whose credits include Toyota commercials as well as Hollywood blockbusters, such as last year's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

Seated to McBride's right was astronaut Garrett Reisman, who launched aboard Endeavour for his first spaceflight in 2008.

"I do not know how many times I have drove through this intersection going back and forth to LAX," Reisman told collectSPACE.com before the tow. "If you told me one day that Endeavour would be sitting here next to Randy's Donuts, I'd say you were crazy, but here she is."

"It's weird, very, very weird, but also really, really cool," he said.

Though Toyota's cameras were rolling, the tow was more than just an excuse to shoot an advertisement. To better distribute the space shuttle's weight and to meet with road restrictions, Endeavour's custom transport was moved out and wheeled dollies took the place of the four vehicles.

A silver Toyota Tundra CrewMax half-ton pickup provided the horsepower to tug the orbiter over the freeway. Toyota said the truck was not modified or enhanced in any way to accomplish the tow.

Tow and tweet

Toyota's participation towing the space shuttle was in support of an existing partnership between Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc., and the California Science Center to provide support the education of the public through exhibits and programs.

Toyota currently has a Tundra truck on display at the science center in an exhibit demonstrating the physics of leverage. The Tundra that was used to tow Endeavour Friday will replace the Tundra now on exhibit and will be on display after the shuttle's pavilion opens on Oct. 30.

To further support the move, Toyota developed a website to provide behind the scenes videos, photos, activities for children, and details about the Tundra Endeavour project.

Visitors to the website can share the content, subscribe to email alerts and use Twitter to the spread word about the Toyota Tundra's role in Endeavour's delivery.

For the first 10,000 "re-tweets" sent through the website, Toyota will donate $50 to the California Science Center to support building the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, the permanent home for the space shuttle Endeavour.

See shuttles.collectspace.com for continuing coverage of the delivery and display of NASA's retired space shuttles.

Follow collectSPACE on Facebook and Twitter @collectSPACE and editor Robert Pearlman @robertpearlman. Copyright 2012?collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2012 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/shuttle-endeavour-towed-toyota-truck-over-l-freeway-090056937.html

si swimsuit 2012 westminster dog show abe lincoln vampire hunter xi jinping matt bomer westminster kennel club dog show jeremy lin game winner

What Kids in 1977 Thought the Year 2000 Would Look Like [Past Perfect]

On February 26, 1977 in Steubenville, Ohio, the Herald Star asked people to make their predictions of the year 2000. Most of the letters predicting the future came from 10-12 year old kids still in middle school. What's amazing is how right some of them actually were. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/oDK3BzlC4sI/what-kids-in-1977-thought-the-year-2000-would-look-like

john kerry prince fielder state of the union address 2012 obama state of the union 2012 2012 state of the union address jorge posada maurice sendak

Europe accuses U.S. of failing to cut Boeing aid

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union accused the United States on Thursday of ignoring a World Trade Organisation instruction to stop subsidizing planemaker Boeing and asked the WTO to investigate, prolonging the world's biggest trade dispute.

The United States said last month it had complied with an order to withdraw subsidies to Boeing after the WTO found in March that the U.S. planemaker had received billions of dollars in unfair aid.

But the European Commission, the EU's executive, said Washington had shown no proof that it had complied.

"It is now clear for the European Union that the United States has not only failed to properly implement the decision of the WTO but it has even provided new subsidies to Boeing," the Commission said in a statement.

The Commission said U.S. subsidies were costing European aerospace companies billions of euros in lost revenue. Recent U.S.-EU talks failed to resolve this dispute, the Commission said.

"The U.S. claimed to have removed (the subsidies), but provided no detailed evidence to support its claims," it said.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office said the United States had met a deadline to comply with the WTO's findings. The case, brought by the European Union, was a response to a claim launched by the United States more than seven years ago.

Brussels says Boeing is unfairly assisted by government research deals and other federal and local measures.

The WTO has also ruled against European support to Airbus, which is owned by EADS , in which the French government has a stake and the German government has influence via a holding owned by Daimler .

The United States and the European Union disagree over the ruling against subsidies to Airbus, which the United States says far outstrip any U.S. government support for Boeing.

"Instead of bringing into compliance the massive illegal subsidies that Boeing has received in the past and continues to receive from U.S. federal and state governments ... Boeing has neither paid back nor eliminated the illegal subsidies," said a spokeswoman for Airbus.

The United States has also accused the European Union of ignoring WTO decisions and is threatening up to $10 billion in sanctions.

However, most observers expect the two sides eventually to negotiate a settlement.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/europe-accuses-u-failing-cut-boeing-aid-185257733--finance.html

greg oden st patricks day st. bonaventure ira glass march madness swain match day

Video: Matthews: Dirt is not a reason to vote for, against someone

NYT: After meningitis death, family members ask why

??Diana Reed tried massage and acupuncture, but neither eased her neck pain. She may have injured herself while helping her husband, Wayne, who has Lou Gehrig's disease.? Finally, she decided to try a series of steroid injections. Less than a week after her last one, she died of fungal meningitis.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/49380550#49380550

BLK Water ESPYs daniel tosh kate upton Jason Kidd All Star Game 2012 directv

criminology in public: University of the Third Age - some founding ...

This blog is called Public Criminology because of my desire to bring criminology to the public.? Partly this stems from my interest in the widest dispersion of knowledge beyond the ivory bunker of academe but also from my father, Brian also an academic and author of Television and the People.? I teach at a conventional University but was an Open University student.? He was involved in the formation of the University of the Air as it was nearly called.

Another open way of learning is the University of the Third Age and Brian was involved with the foundation of this too as he writes below.? This is the full version of a shorter article in Third Age Matters a sort of educational Saga magazine.? I have added some links. ?And offer you some reverse nepotism.

2012 marks the 30^th anniversary of the University of the Third Age. Thirty years ago there were two U3As, one in Cambridge, the other in London. The U3A in London is now the only British U3A that is actually 30 years old. In all, there are now 859 U3As in the Britain, with nearly 900,000 members. (Cambridge left a few years later when it rejected a national conference decision).?

I felt honoured to be the speaker at the recent London celebratory event. I was asked to tell members a brief version of how I came to be involved in setting up this pioneering organisation (brief because there were other items in that festive afternoon!). About 150 people came to the celebrations, so the atrium at their headquarters (the former Hampstead Town Hall), was packed. When it was my turn to reminisce I told four short stories about key people in the history - Mary Wane (an unfamiliar name), the late Michael Young and Eric Midwinter (familiar names but not to all the members there), and one of their own members, the late Sidney Jones. In this article I?ll say more about other people and their backgrounds.?

Mary Wane, a member of a U3A in the Lake District, used to be the British Council?s rep. In France. In 1978 she invited me to give lectures about British adult education to three universities in different parts of France. They had all recently set up Universites du Troisieme Age (UTA), and they were already very popular. I was accompanied by Cynthia Wyld, administrator with the influential Beth Johnson Foundation.

In the mid-1970s, there was increasing interest in Britain in expanding educational opportunities for older people. I was the Director of Extra Mural Studies at London University and I belonged to an informal group which included people from charities such as Help the Aged and Age Concern, as well as adult education specialists from several organisations, including universities and local authorities. I reported to them what I?d seen In Nanterre (Paris X University), Grenoble and Lyon. The British adult education organisations had older people who were active students, but the French reckoned that it was worth setting up departments which specialised in providing older people with formally recognised study opportunities. My department and Keele Universiity organised summer schools with Lyon and Grenoble UTA

How then could I turn interesting and useful discussions into effective action?

There was a real limit to what I could do, however. London?s Extra-Mural Department then worked all over the London area. Moreover, not only were my staff and I busy, but there was academic disapproval for backing a rival organisation! One of my staff supporters was even formally chastised by his professional trade union.?

Michael Young came to the rescue. He was already a remarkable innovator, inventing useful organisations which would then run themselves, In 1980 I told him about the U3A over sandwiches at his Bethnal Green office (now the HQ of the Young Foundation). He based his radical approach on medieval universities, which had studied for the sake of studying, without reference to degrees.?

He welcomed the opportunity and started planning the U3A as we know it with the sympathetic academic Peter Laslett at Cambridge University and the socially versatile Eric Midwinter (now well known as a speaker at U3A national conferences and elsewhere). In the Autumn, Unesco, the British Council and the Government Department of Education and Science backed my Extra Mural Department to hold an Anglo-French conference on Learning, Education and Later Life at Wye College. I drafted a resulting statement about principles and policies. It was published in Adult Education by the National Institute of Adult Education (now known as the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education) Professor Michel Philibert (Grenoble) prepared a French translation for the journal Gerontologie.

In July 1981, Philibert was asked to speak at an exploratory meeting at Cambridge when it was decided to start a U3A in the UK. Supporting grants were made by the Nuffield Foundation (credited to Midwinter at the Centre for Policy on Ageing) and to me at London Extra Mural by the Christian and Voluntary Service .?

Later that month, they were ready. Eric Midwinter talked about the new project on the BBC?s weekly radio programme, You and Yours, inviting interested listeners to make contact. About 400 people replied - far more than expected, and seriously curious. Eric arranged for all the London names to be sent to me.?

I urgently needed help. My contacts all over Greater London included Sidney Jones, on the staff of what was then the North London Polytechnic. He was in charge of teacher training, but he?d been an active participant in those informal discussions about older learners We decided to establish ourselves formally as FREE (the Forum for the Right of Elders to Education), to be co-ordinated by Dianne Norton from Age Concern and Jones hosted the first FREE meeting at his Poly. He?d started their course on Learning in Later Life. Would he become an active ally and colleague??

Sid gladly agreed. He was keen and practical. He found several places to start - the Working Men?s College, for example. We brought together several of his students and some of the people who?d contacted the BBC, so we were well supported and active from the very beginning. I chaired the group that started planning our activities, and later, at a packed meeting at the Polytechnic of Central London (then in Regent Street), I was later formally elected Chairman. By the end of the year we had 887 members.?

These French and British initiatives, very different though they are, led to both countries co-operating in the International Association of U3As. Stanley Miller was recently the first British chairman. His successor is Prof. Francois Vellas, son of Pierre Vellas, who started the very first such department at Toulouse University.?

Brian Groombridge, U3A Founder Member Emeritus

Source: http://criminologyinpublic.blogspot.com/2012/10/university-of-third-age-some-founding.html

MLB Playoff Schedule arizona cardinals politico Big Bird Adam Greenberg msnbc Fall Leaves

HTC waves the white flag in U.S. tablet market

{ttle}

{cptn}","template_name":"ss_thmb_play_ttle","i18n":{"end_of_gallery_header":"End of Gallery","end_of_gallery_next":"View Again"},"metadata":{"pagination":"{firstVisible} - {lastVisible} of {numItems}","ult":{"spaceid":"7665149","sec":""}}},{"id": "hcm-carousel-1635470671", "dataManager": C.dmgr, "mediator": C.mdtr, "group_name":"hcm-carousel-1635470671", "track_item_selected":1,"tracking":{ "spaceid" : "7665149", "events" : { "click" : { "any" : { "yui-carousel-prev" : { "node" : "a", "data" : {"sec":"HCMOL on article right rail","slk":"prev","itc":"1" }, "bubbles" : true, "test": function(params){ var carousel = params.obj.getCarousel(); var pages = carousel._pages; // if same page, don't beacon if(("_ult_current_page" in carousel) && carousel._ult_current_page==pages.cur) return false; // keep track of current position within this closure carousel._ult_current_page = pages.cur; return true; } }, "yui-carousel-next" : { "node" : "a", "data" : {"sec":"HCMOL on article right rail","slk":"next","itc":"1" }, "bubbles" : true, "test": function(params){ var carousel = params.obj.getCarousel(); var pages = carousel._pages; // no more pages, don't beacon again // if same page, don't beacon if(("_ult_current_page" in carousel) && carousel._ult_current_page==pages.cur) return false; // keep track of current position within this closure carousel._ult_current_page = pages.cur; return true; } } } } } } })); }); Y.later(10, this, function() {(function() { try{ if (Math.floor(Math.random()*10) == 1) { var loc = window.location, decoded = decodeURI(loc.pathname), encoded = encodeURI(decoded), uri = loc.protocol + "//" + loc.host + encoded + ((loc.search.length > 0) ? loc.search + '&' : '?') + "_cacheable=1", xmlhttp; if (window.XMLHttpRequest) xmlhttp = new XMLHttpRequest(); else xmlhttp = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP"); xmlhttp.open("GET",uri,true); xmlhttp.send(); } }catch(e){} })(); }); Y.later(10, this, function() {Y.namespace("Media").ywaSettings = '"projectId": "10001256862979", "documentName": "", "documentGroup": "", "ywaColo" : "vscale3", "spaceId" : "7665149" ,"customFields" : { "12" : "classic", "13" : "story" }'; Y.Media.YWA.init(Y.namespace("Media").ywaSettings); }); Y.later(10, this, function() {if(document.onclick===YAHOO.Media.PreventDefaultHandler.newClick){document.onclick=YAHOO.Media.PreventDefaultHandler.oldClick;} }); }); });