Thursday, December 27, 2012

Twitter Is Already Winning The Social TV War, But It Will Soon Do More

twitter tvTwitter is reaching out to TV producers and showrunners to find out ways that it can further integrate with the TV experience. That could mean Twitter-based voting, in the case of some competitive reality shows. It could also mean introducing interactive elements in scripted shows that viewers could use to unlock new content or web experiences.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Oca_one4pRs/

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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

facebook-target-gets-a-boost-and-3-social-media-stocks-seeing-action

Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) price target has been increased by Needham & Co. from $25 to $33, 27 percent higher than current trading levels. According to Monday?s research note, the analysts decided to increase their 2013 revenue estimate to $6.5 billion from $6.27 billion and their earnings-per-share estimate has been raised to 65 cents a share from 59 cents. The firm cited expectations for strong mobile revenue growth along with an upside coming from Facebook?s global platform.

LinkedIn Corporation (NYSE:LNKD): Staples Inc., which is the second largest internet retailer, decided to team together with LinkedIn, which is the most prominent professional network globally, to launch SUCCEED: Small Business Network.?The online forum is expected to act as a platform for networking, advice, and content that is intended mainly for small business professionals, according to LinkedIn.?In SUCCEED, Staples and LinkedIn are creating an online community that enables small businesses to connect and collaborate. The group has provided small business professionals with the opportunity to network and discuss important issues, along with sharing success stories and professional hurdles via an online forum that has been created especially for them.

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Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) acquired CommerceInterface as it attempted to improve the manner in which its e-commerce business operates as attempts to expand globally. CommerceInterface provides a Web-based platform has been designed as a way to help manufacturers, distributors, and retailers facilitate online sales, interact with vendors, and manage their operations. Shares recently traded at $4.82 premarket, which is the same as Friday?s market close.

Zynga, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA) launched landing pages which are precursors to real money online gambling in the United Kingdom. Zynga introduced its social online gambling web site with the tag lines like ?Casino For The People? and ?Poker For The People.? This has been launched as marketing efforts and will be viewable in America, but when the sites go live they will only be accessible to those those who are eighteen years old and over and resident in the United Kingdom.

Don?t Miss: Facebook Pulls a Fast One.

To contact the reporter on this story: staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: editors@wallstcheatsheet.com

Source: http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/facebook-target-gets-a-boost-and-3-social-media-stocks-seeing-action.html/

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PFT: 'Fail Mary' still looms over the postseason

TebowGetty Images

Lost in the reports and debates regarding Tim Tebow?s Wildcat tap out is the fact that the situation sparked the latest case of ESPN-on-ESPN crime.

Actually, it was more like an ESPN Battle Royal.

It started when Rich Cimini and Jane McManus of ESPNNewYork.com jointly reported on Sunday that Tebow asked to be omitted from the Wildcat package in Week 16 because the coaching staff had skipped over him when benching Mark Sanchez.? (You know, the same way the Broncos skipped over Brady Quinn when benching Kyle Orton in 2011.)

In an effort to control the damage, Tebow provided his version of the events to Adam Schefter of ESPN.? In exchange for the exclusive scoop, Schefter obviously had no choice but to pass along Tebow?s tale as he told it, without scrutiny or skepticism or cynicism.

And Tebow didn?t say that he had asked out of the Wildcat package, necessarily putting the spirit if not the letter of the two ESPN reports at odds.

But the conflict didn?t become obvious until Schefter, Merril Hoge, and Ron Jaworski appeared on the air to discuss the situation, via USAToday.com.? Schefter started by dutifully repeated what he had reported, without comment or opinion or editorial.

Enter Jaworski and Hoge, both of whom pressed Schefter for clarity as to the notion that Tebow told coach Rex Ryan that he didn?t want to play in the Wildcat package.? Schefter reiterated the guts of his report, skipping over the most important piece of information, apparently because either Schefter didn?t ask or Tebow didn?t tell.

?To me, it smells like three-day-old fish, OK?? Hoge said of Tebow?s story, which came only from Schefter?s report.? ?I think he?s phony as a three-dollar bill.? Because at the end of the day, what have I heard?? That he will do anything at any time.? You ask me to do it, I?ll do it.? And all of a sudden now that?s unacceptable?? That?s all of a sudden, ?Now I want to play quarterback or I?m not gonna play Wildcat?? . . . ? Tim Tebow, being the teammate he says he is, accepts that.? Because he says I?ll do anything for the team.? That?s all I?ve ever heard about him.? Well I think this sound shows really what he?s about.?

Jaworski then tried to suggest that Tebow never said he wouldn?t play Wildcat quarterback, citing derisively (and with air quotes) that it?s merely been ?reported? via ?sources.?? And in so doing, jumping off the top rope and landing on the work of Cimini and McManus.

Enter Schefter, who then explained that it was a ?culmination of a full season of frustration and disappointment,? and that ?somehow it?s morphed into ?I?m taking myself out.??

Hoge then made an observation that Schefter and Jaworski arguably ignored when subtly pile-driving the reporting of their colleagues, Cimini and McManus.? ?If you are for the team and that is what you do care about,? Hoge said, ?then guess what?? Whatever that coach makes, that decision, sure you can be upset, but you still do what you can for the team.? You don?t make a rift, you don?t sit there and argue.?

Next, Jaworski revisited the question of whether Tebow said what Cimini and McManus claim he said.? ?I want Tim Tebow, if this was said, to say on Tuesday, ?I told Rex Ryan I don?t want to take the Wildcat snaps,?? Jaworski said.? ?We?ve got a lot of hearsay here.?

And in that one swing, Jaworski again questioned the veracity of his colleagues? original report and indirectly chided Schefter for not asking the obvious follow-up questions when talking to Tebow.

Either way, it should be no surprise that the implosion of Tebow?s 2012 season created chaos at the network that was devoted to covering it.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/24/fail-mary-still-looms-over-the-postseason/related/

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No new vote in Venezuela if Chavez sworn in late: official

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela will not call fresh elections if Hugo Chavez's cancer prevents him from taking office by January 10, the head of Congress said on Saturday, despite a constitutional mandate that the swearing-in take place on that date.

Chavez is recovering in Cuba from a six-hour cancer operation that followed his October re-election. The socialist leader has not been heard from for nearly two weeks, raising doubts as to whether he will be fit to continue governing.

Opposition leaders may pounce on the issue of the swearing-in date to demand that authorities call fresh elections because of Chavez's apparently critical state of health due to an undisclosed type of cancer in the pelvic region.

A constitutional dispute over succession could lead to a messy transition toward a post-Chavez era in the South American nation with the world's largest oil reserves.

"Since Chavez might not be here in on January 10, (the opposition) hopes the National Assembly will call elections within 30 days. They're wrong. Dead wrong," said Diosdado Cabello, the National Assembly's president and one of Chavez's closest allies, during a ceremony to swear in a recently elected governor.

"That's not going to happen because our president is named Hugo Chavez, he was reelected and is in the hearts of all Venezuelans."

He suggested Chavez may need more time to recover from his surgery. Officials in recent weeks have recognized his condition was serious, and the garrulous leader's unusual silence has built up alarm even among supporters.

The constitution says "the elected candidate will assume the Presidency of the Republic on January 10th of the first year of their constitutional term, via swearing-in by the National Assembly."

It says new elections are to be called if the National Assembly determines a "complete absence" of the president because of death, physical or mental impairment or abandoning the job.

The opposition believes it would have a better shot against Chavez's anointed successor, Vice President Nicolas Maduro, than against the charismatic former soldier who for 14 years has been nearly invincible at the ballot box.

Chavez allies want to avoid a public debate over the president's health because his cancer has been treated as a state secret. His treatment in communist Cuba has helped keep his condition under wraps, and the Venezuelan government has given only terse and cryptic statements about his post-operation recovery.

Constitutional lawyer Jose Vicente Haro said he expects the Supreme Court, which is controlled by Chavez allies, will rule that Chavez may extend his existing term without having to be sworn in with the expectation that he will eventually recover.

"What they are doing is taking the debate over succession from the National Assembly, which is where it belongs, and moving it to the Supreme Court where behind closed doors they can decide the next steps are," said Haro, a Chavez critic and constitutional law professor as the Universidad Catholic Andres Bellow.

Chavez has vastly expanded presidential powers and built a near-cult following among millions of poor Venezuelans, who love his feisty language and oil-financed social welfare projects.

Opposition leaders are smarting from this month's governors elections in which Chavez allies won 20 of 23 states. They are trying to keep attention focused on day-to-day problems from rampant crime to power outages.

(This December 22 story has been corrected to change name in paragraphs 12 and 13 to Jose Vicente Haro from Jose Vice Harold)

(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth; Editing by Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/no-vote-venezuela-chavez-sworn-official-145604692.html

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Monday, December 24, 2012

In-Home Therapy Master's Level Clinician | Child & Family ...

HYANNIS, MA-Child & Family Services is hiring a Full-Time Master?s Level Clinician for our In-Home Therapy Program at the Hyannis site.

?Job Code: HYIHT1

Summary:

In-Home Therapy is a structured, consistent, strengths-based therapeutic relationship between a licensed clinician and the youth and family for the purpose of meeting the youth?s behavioral health needs, including improving the family?s ability to provide effective support for the youth to promote his/her healthy functioning within the family. Interventions are designed to enhance the family?s capacity to improve the youth?s functioning in the home and community and may prevent the need for the youth?s admission to an inpatient hospital, residential treatment facility or other treatment setting.

Qualifications

Masters Degree in Psychology, Social Work or a related field from an accredited educational institution. Experience/interest in child/adolescent/family and intensive home-based family interventions. Able to provide clinical care and support toward effort to prevent hospitalization and maintain youth safely in community.

?Responsibilities

The following responsibilities are not meant to be all inclusive and may be adjusted to meet the agency?s needs.

  • ?Provide direct diagnostic, crisis intervention and treatment services including behavioral strategies within a therapeutic relationship to assist persons to achieve stabilization with the family.
  • Advocacy
  • Utilize diagnostic skills involving practical knowledge of the DSM-IV and family assessment tools.
  • Aggression outreach, tracking and follow-up.
  • Maintain production expectations and record keeping requirements.
  • Behavioral management training.
  • Provide diagnostic and treatment consultation to other agency programs and community agencies.
  • Provide Family therapy.
  • Participate in appropriate clinical and administrative staff meetings.
  • Participate in independent education and training opportunities.
  • Training assistance in decision-making, vocational guidance, skill building, problem solving, and support in both crisis and non-crisis situations.

?View Available Benefits

Apply

?

-->

Source: http://child-familyservices.org/2012/12/in-home-therapy-masters-level-clinician/

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Source: http://tryveply.posterous.com/in-home-therapy-master39s-level-clinician-chi

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Juicing Counseling That Will Increase Your ? ? Critical Care 2011 ...

If you want to really give your diet plan a wholesome boost, try generating your own personal good tasty juices back at home. It is spend each of the fruits and vegetables that you just love and switch them into tasty, nourishing tasty juices. If you?re not sure how to start, this short article will show you how.When starting to juice it?s best to start slow. Use only flavours you know you already like, and don?t try new things until finally you know you are ready. Begin by combining consumers new flavours, like wheatgrass, into fruit you?ve already been boozing. In no time possible proceed to positive quality recipes!

When presenting new produce in your juicing routine, try and include only one new organic at a time. When you don?t handle a specific ingredient properly, you will be aware what induced it.

Website

Drinking good fruit and veggies is among the most effective actions you can take to improve your wellbeing and health related. When starting to incorporate juicing in to your way of life it is important that you investigation the health rewards derived from several types of fruits and vegetables to enable you to make the most efficient tasty juices to get your certain health and fitness wants and needs. This article has a variety of great juicing guidelines.

Ginger is undoubtedly an amazing food items which will help relieve gastrointestinal upset. Making juices with ginger is the best way to boost your wellness, in addition provide a kick of taste. Since ginger will help minimize swelling, it?s helpful for dealing with acid reflux, in addition to ulcers and upset stomachs.

Understand that all fruit have different qualities and act in a different way when being juiced. You may need a specific equipment to extract juice from citrus berry, such as oranges and grapefruits. Use attention when juicing melons melon juice usually likes bad when juiced with some other fruit.

Website

Receive the ripest apples you can get if you want to make apple juice. When bruised apples also deliver good juice, you must still minimize aside the bruised places. A number of types of apples, such as the ones that are sweeter in taste, usually make the richest, most flavorful juices. These apples include Gala, Fuji, Red Delightful, and Rome apples.

Geared up your greens regarding for juicing. Definitely is necessary should you have a hectic living. Geared up your greens in the morning or the previous night for each day?s juice whilst keeping them inside the fridge. That way, when you spare the time to make your juice, the greens are ready to go.

Masticating juicers are a wonderful kind of juicer so long as you are trying to find out what type of juicer is the ideal choice. Masticating juicers are mild and make juice with no eliminating or removing practical nutrients inside fruits and vegetables. This too aids to the juice preserve good much longer.

New juice may possibly taste somewhat bitter, but this could be masked by having in wonderful fruits and veggies. Oranges, strawberries and carrots impart wonderful and unique variants. Probably the most well-known quality recipes calls for cherries and a combination of unique berries. Build your own batch of juice tailored to suit your own likes.

You should juice your greens if you?re not the greatest of cooks. Juicing greens will help you to get the nutrients from them without needing to do any substantial to have. Juicing is a straightforward, fast and efficient method to get each of the practical nutrients that greens have to offer with no suffering from the hassle of truly cooking them.

Website

To get a a lot more flavorful organic juice, consider including a little bit of ginger. Ginger gives an exclusive taste to juices and may even cover in the strong taste of some produce. Ginger provides many health and fitness benefits, such as stopping atherosclerosis and decreasing blood pressure levels.

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Source: http://www.criticalcare2011.org/juicing-counseling-that-will-increase-your-daily-routine

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Source: http://frigga-dormer.blogspot.com/2012/12/juicing-counseling-that-will-increase.html

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Source: http://feruvaledir.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/juicing-counseling-that-will-increase-your-critical-care-2011/

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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Tips That Can Get You The Auto Insurance That You Need | Jim ...

Mistakes Are Costing You! Learn To Stop?Making ALL 189 Of Them!

Struggling With WordPress? 100+ Step-By-Step Videos Now Available!

Posted by Administrator on Dec 21, 2012 in Uncategorized | Comments Off

The price of insurance is based on several factors, some of which can be changed, and some which cannot. You can lower your monthly cost of insurance by accepting higher deductibles. This article will assist you in getting the most coverage in your auto insurance policy for the least amount of money.

Requesting payment receipts from your insurance company is a really smart idea. Not only do you need it to carry in your car for proof that you do have insurance, it could also come in handy if there is ever a dispute with your insurance coverage regarding premiums being paid.

If you are a member of certain professional organizations you are eligible for some discounts on your insurance premiums. These partnerships include national organizations like the AARP, as well as local ones, such as credit unions.

TIP! If you really want to know which insurance companies are cool and which ones are not so good, hit up local car repair shops. People who work as car mechanics speak with insurance adjusters all the time.

Insurance companies are all different. If you receive a quote you feel dissatisfied with, there are many other companies to shop around at.

Determining the amount of insurance compensation you need can be overwhelming for some. If you have large amounts of money saved up, liability insurance is a safe bet. An insurance agent should be able to help you ensure you do not under-insure your vehicle. Making sure that you are properly covered is the best way to protect yourself.

Reduce your annual mileage for your vehicle. Sometimes it is easier to purchase an inexpensive, fuel efficient car as a secondary vehicle than it is to cut your mileage on your primary car. It may be much cheaper to insure two low mileage vehicles than it is to insure a vehicle that has high mileage.

TIP! If you find other companies offering the same coverage for lower rates, forward confirmation or proof to your agent. They will probably cut you a deal so that you continue giving them your business.

If you have a teen driver you should request two separate quotes, one with your child on your policy and one with your child on a stand-alone policy. In some cases, you may want to insure your teenager separately.

Be sure to shop around prior to buying an insurance policy. Every company offers different rates depending on many different factors. Shopping around to different companies can result in large savings, as you?ll be able to find yourself the best deal.

Comparing the costs of your yearly premiums is a minuscule portion of the necessary analysis when looking at different quotes for your auto insurance policy. Know the details of your policy; including, the deductibles, limits and the amount of coverage that is provided.

TIP! Research before getting a warranty on parts from your insurer. Most manufacturers replace defective parts, and most garages guarantee their repair work, parts included.

Trade in your flashy sports car for a cheaper, less noticeable vehicle. It is more expensive to get car insurance for sports cars. Low-profile cars are the better option. Vehicles with larger engines are more expensive to insure. Sports cars are more expensive to insure since they are stolen frequently.

If you have any outstanding traffic or parking tickets, be sure to pay them before switching auto insurers. Before issuing a policy, an auto insurance company will look at your driving history and record, so make sure that you pay all of the fines that you owe. Unresolved traffic issues lead to higher insurance premiums.

TIP! Even though your insurance company should send someone to record damage from an accident, you must also document what happened. You can use your cell phone to record the time and place of any collision and the damage resulting from it.

If you don?t drive much, then you are likely eligible for a discounted premium. Generally, you have to drive under 7,500 miles a year to qualify for this discount. You may also get a commuter discount if you use public transit.

Maintaining a good driving record is key to getting the best insurance premiums possible. Getting in a cat accident will cause your premiums to increase right away. When driving, be aware of your limitations and weaknesses and avoid any risky situations you can. For example, if you have a hard time seeing the road late at night, avoid driving during this time.

By now, you should realize that there are a number of ways to reduce how much you spend on auto insurance. The location of your residence, your driving record and the amount of driving you do are factors that are controllable. Educating yourself is the key factor in selecting the right insurance coverage for you, at the best rate possible.

TIP! Before you buy a car, you should research the insurance rates on the vehicle you are considering. Insurance company agents can give you a list of cars which have the most economical rates.

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Source: http://leucabiz.com/blog/tips-that-can-get-you-the-auto-insurance-that-you-need-3/

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A small, local, healthy gift. | Eastside Fitness

Last Updated on Thursday, 20 December 2012 10:09 By Darnelle Thursday, 20 December 2012

A small, local and healthy gift.

Yoga and fitness classes for all levels and goals. ?Our studio is friendly and fun but we take fitness and health seriously.

1) Give the gift of health and fitness to yourself or a friend.

2) Support local, small businesses to keep resources in our community.

3) Don?t break the bank ? our prices make financial sense.

4) Be environmentally friendly with no shipping or plastic packaging.

5) Be socially responsible ? taking care of health is our responsibility as Canadians.

Purchase online or in the studio.

Nicely printed gift certificates are available at the studio, please email or ask!


Source: http://www.eastsidefitness.ca/2012/12/a-small-local-and-healthy-gift-idea/

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Mommy and food bloggers critical to food health and safety info ...

You might have noticed my ?growing? interest in food related issues. Partly a result of having some clients in agriculture, partly having some fairly strong opinions about the scare tactics activists and the media are using around food safety for their benefit?and to the potential harm of others. Partly probably because two years ago I moved onto a small farm and am greatly enjoying my own foods from great beef to fresh eggs to a garden loaded with more than we can eat.

The food industry is in crisis. The crisis occasionally erupts into full-blown, high profile battles like pink slime and the GMO name calling attack on Cheerios. I?m bothered by these kinds of events because the profit-motivated fear mongering behind them is causing so many to irrationally fear the food they eat. But attitudes toward food are seriously shifting and that is the essence of the crisis. Whether this is caused by the fear-mongering, or the fear-mongering is profitable because of the shifting attitudes, who can say? It?s a chicken and egg question. (Farm analogies come easy to me these days.)

Fleishmann-Hillard and themotherhood.com?have published a study called Cart to Kitchen 2013. The study focuses on mothers? attitude toward food choices and what influences them. This study is very helpful for those interested in the food crisis and points to some important ways to deal with it if you are in agriculture, food processing or manufacturing and retailing.

Some key points from the study:

What changes will mom?s make in food choices in 2013?
- 78% said save more money
- 68% said buy healthier food
- 49% said buy less processed food

There?s more but these are the critical ones. There is a potential contradiction here in buying cheaper and healthier foods, but the trend toward healthier choices is undeniable. 56% of moms say they occasionally buy organic now and nearly 30% say they will buy organic more often in 2013.

What are moms concerned about in their food?
- sugar substitutes 56%
- calories ?45%
- additives and preservatives ?40%
- fats ?39%

Having just read the Economist?s special section on obesity, it seems food consumers are very right to be concerned particularly about calories. My concern here is that fears over sugar substitutes keep people from buying lower calorie foods?particularly drinks. Those activists and media seriously concerned about health issues may want to treat any new stories about the dangers from sugar substitutes with extra caution.

I think one of the most interesting things about this study is who most influences mom?s decisions about food safety, nutrition, health, etc. 78% said food program on TV but after that, almost everything is online. 77% said food media website, 72% said food brand email, 65% said facebook for food brands and food companies, 53% said mobile app, 52% said a food brand twitter account, 50% said food magazine, 46% said food brand blog, 43% said celebrity or expert blog, and so on.

This is interesting compared to some other data which says that on issues of major safety and health concerns, such as GMOs, artificial flavors and colors, pesticides and food sources, moms most trust food and mom blogs. On the subject of GMOs, they trust blogs 39% compared to just 15% for physicians and 18% for nutritionists.

This has great significance for those in the food business from farmers to retailers to engage with bloggers. Mommy bloggers and food bloggers look to be the primary influencers on issues of food safety, health benefits, etc.

Education is critical in this industry, as is transparency. But it essential that those in this business feeding the world with healthy, safe food get the word out to mommy and food bloggers right away.

?

?

Source: http://ww2.crisisblogger.com/2012/12/healthy-food-is-on-the-table-for-2013/

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Mommy and food bloggers critical to food health and safety info ...

You might have noticed my ?growing? interest in food related issues. Partly a result of having some clients in agriculture, partly having some fairly strong opinions about the scare tactics activists and the media are using around food safety for their benefit?and to the potential harm of others. Partly probably because two years ago I moved onto a small farm and am greatly enjoying my own foods from great beef to fresh eggs to a garden loaded with more than we can eat.

The food industry is in crisis. The crisis occasionally erupts into full-blown, high profile battles like pink slime and the GMO name calling attack on Cheerios. I?m bothered by these kinds of events because the profit-motivated fear mongering behind them is causing so many to irrationally fear the food they eat. But attitudes toward food are seriously shifting and that is the essence of the crisis. Whether this is caused by the fear-mongering, or the fear-mongering is profitable because of the shifting attitudes, who can say? It?s a chicken and egg question. (Farm analogies come easy to me these days.)

Fleishmann-Hillard and themotherhood.com?have published a study called Cart to Kitchen 2013. The study focuses on mothers? attitude toward food choices and what influences them. This study is very helpful for those interested in the food crisis and points to some important ways to deal with it if you are in agriculture, food processing or manufacturing and retailing.

Some key points from the study:

What changes will mom?s make in food choices in 2013?
- 78% said save more money
- 68% said buy healthier food
- 49% said buy less processed food

There?s more but these are the critical ones. There is a potential contradiction here in buying cheaper and healthier foods, but the trend toward healthier choices is undeniable. 56% of moms say they occasionally buy organic now and nearly 30% say they will buy organic more often in 2013.

What are moms concerned about in their food?
- sugar substitutes 56%
- calories ?45%
- additives and preservatives ?40%
- fats ?39%

Having just read the Economist?s special section on obesity, it seems food consumers are very right to be concerned particularly about calories. My concern here is that fears over sugar substitutes keep people from buying lower calorie foods?particularly drinks. Those activists and media seriously concerned about health issues may want to treat any new stories about the dangers from sugar substitutes with extra caution.

I think one of the most interesting things about this study is who most influences mom?s decisions about food safety, nutrition, health, etc. 78% said food program on TV but after that, almost everything is online. 77% said food media website, 72% said food brand email, 65% said facebook for food brands and food companies, 53% said mobile app, 52% said a food brand twitter account, 50% said food magazine, 46% said food brand blog, 43% said celebrity or expert blog, and so on.

This is interesting compared to some other data which says that on issues of major safety and health concerns, such as GMOs, artificial flavors and colors, pesticides and food sources, moms most trust food and mom blogs. On the subject of GMOs, they trust blogs 39% compared to just 15% for physicians and 18% for nutritionists.

This has great significance for those in the food business from farmers to retailers to engage with bloggers. Mommy bloggers and food bloggers look to be the primary influencers on issues of food safety, health benefits, etc.

Education is critical in this industry, as is transparency. But it essential that those in this business feeding the world with healthy, safe food get the word out to mommy and food bloggers right away.

?

?

Source: http://ww2.crisisblogger.com/2012/12/healthy-food-is-on-the-table-for-2013/

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Friday, December 21, 2012

Minor rant : Goggle Plus, Facebook, Twitter, these Forums..etc...

/minor rant on

When I post in these forums, am I missing out on discussions in other places?

When people post in other places, are they missing out on discussions in this forum?

I miss the days of centralized topical messaging (i.e. newsgroups). Everyone is so busy trying to get eyeballs to their particular site to sell advertising it waters down the exposure we all have to each other, allows more control over what we say, makes each type of communication unnecessarily complicated with a zillion unique, special, and usually unwanted options, etc.

I just want one big (subcategorized) forum.

Thanks for letting me vent.

/minor rant off

Source: http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=402445&goto=newpost

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Thursday, December 20, 2012

Genetic manipulation of urate alters neurodegeneration in mouse model of Parkinson's disease

Genetic manipulation of urate alters neurodegeneration in mouse model of Parkinson's disease

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

A study by Massachusetts General Hospital researchers adds further support to the possibility that increasing levels of the antioxidant urate may protect against Parkinson's disease. In their report published in PNAS Early Edition, the investigators report that mice with a genetic mutation increasing urate levels were protected against the kind of neurodegeneration that underlies Parkinson's disease, while the damage was worse in animals with abnormally low urate.

"These results strengthen the rationale for investigating whether elevating urate in people with Parkinson's can slow progression of the disease," says Xiqun Chen, MD, PhD, of the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases (MGH-MIND) and lead author of the PNAS report. "Our study is the first demonstration in an animal model that genetic elevation of urate can protect dopamine neurons from degeneration and that lowering urate can conversely exacerbate neurodegeneration."

Characterized by tremors, rigidity, difficulty walking and other symptoms, Parkinson's disease is caused by destruction of brain cells that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine. Healthy people whose urate levels are at the high end of the normal range have been found to be at reduced risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Studies led by Michael Schwarzschild, MD, PhD, director of Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory at MGH-MIND, showed that, among Parkinson's patients, symptoms appear to progress more slowly in those with higher urate levels. These observations led Schwarzschild and his colleagues to develop the SURE-PD (Safety of URate Elevation in Parkinson's Disease) clinical trial, conducted at sites across the country through the support of the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Expected in early 2013, the results of SURE-PD will determine whether a medication that elevates urate levels should be tested further for its ability to slow the progression of disability in Parkinson's disease.

The current study by Schwarzschild's team was designed to improve understanding of how urate protects against neurodegeneration. As in most animals, mice normally have very low levels of the antioxidant because it is broken down by the enzyme urate oxidase or uricase. The higher urate levels seen in humans and great apes were caused by inactivation of the uricase gene during primate evolution. The MGH-MIND team used two strains of genetically altered mice. In one, the gene for uricase is knocked out as it is in humans, increasing urate levels in the blood and brain; in the other strain, the gene is overexpressed, reducing urate levels even lower than usual for mice. Animals from both strains were used in a standard Parkinson's modeling procedure in which a neurotoxin is injected into the dopamine-producing brain cells on one side of the brain.

As expected, the brains of animals with genetically elevated urate levels showed significantly less damage from the neurotoxin injection than did the brains of genetically normal mice. The damage was increased even more in the mice with genetically reduced urate levels, which also exhibited reduced dopamine production and worsened movement abnormalities. The researchers confirmed that genetically altering uricase expression did not affect levels of other molecules in the metabolic pathway that includes urate, supporting attribution of the protective role to urate alone.

"The biology of urate in the brain is largely unexplored," says Schwarzschild, an associate professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. "Understanding both urate's mechanisms of protection and the way its levels are regulated in the body will help us determine how to better harness its protective effects, if they are substantiated. We now are searching for the mediators of urate's neuroprotection and beginning to explore how it is generated and transported in different brain cells."

###

Massachusetts General Hospital: http://www.mgh.harvard.edu

Thanks to Massachusetts General Hospital for this article.

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

This press release has been viewed 38 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125982/Genetic_manipulation_of_urate_alters_neurodegeneration_in_mouse_model_of_Parkinson_s_disease

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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

A loaded issue (Unqualified Offerings)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/271729719?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Nate Phelps Condemns Westboro Baptist Church Plan To Picket Newtown Funerals

(RNS) The estranged son of a Kansas pastor famous for protesting the funerals of soldiers and AIDS victims has condemned his family's plans to picket the funerals of the 26 people -- including 20 children -- who were killed when a gunman stormed a Connecticut elementary school.

In the wake of Friday's massacre in Newtown, Conn., members of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., posted Twitter messages saying they would picket outside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. The messages provided no information on the time of the planned picketing.

"Westboro 'God hates Fags' Baptist Church is planning to picket at Sandy Hook, to praise God's judgment,'" was posted by Margie Phelps, the daughter of Westboro leader Fred Phelps Sr. Her sister, Shirley Phelps-Roper, tweeted Saturday that the group would "sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment."

Church members also released a video titled "God Sent the Shooter," in which members state that the shootings were God's retribution for gay marriage.

In response, Nate Phelps, the sixth of pastor Fred Phelps' 13 children, condemned the protest plans but says local leaders should allow the protests to continue by "calling their bluff" and exposing the group to public anger.

"My sincere hope is that the Sandy Hook community is able to grieve and mourn privately, and with whatever peace can be had in knowing the rest of the world mourns with you," Phelps said in a statement.

Nate Phelps, 56, left his father's church at age 18. He is now executive director of the Center for Inquiry Canada and is on the board of directors of the group Recovering from Religion. He is also an activist for gay rights.

Westboro members have protested the funerals of shooting victims before. In January 2011, they planned to picket outside the funeral of Christina Green, the 9-year-old killed in the Tucson shooting outside a shopping center. The group canceled those plans in exchange for radio air time.

In his statement, Nate Phelps asked local leaders to "let them show up" to protest the Newtown funerals. He said his father's church is "running out of money," its reach is "limited," and providing it with free media only helps the group.

"By allowing them this luxury, they get free publicity with no effort or expense on their part, while potentially traumatizing a much wider audience than those strong enough to stand against them in silent but effective counter-protest," he said.

The hackers group Anonymous also reacted to Westboro's proposed protest by posting the names, addresses and telephone numbers of Westboro members -- of which there are less than 100 -- online.

Anonymous also launched a petition on the White House webpage to have the group officially recognized as a hate group. As of Monday afternoon, the petition had more than 118,000 signatures.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/nate-phelps-condemns-westboro-baptist-church-picket-newtown-funerals_n_2318916.html

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Love Bytes: Dating As A Former Prostitute | YourTango

Dating As A Former Prostitute
Wow, are you sure you haven't done this before?

Plus, the scientifically perfect amount to spend on a Christmas gift.

Aw jeez. Given its illicit nature in 49 of 50 states, sex work (re: prostitution) is still a wee bit taboo to Americans. How does a practitioner of the world's oldest profession re-enter 'polite company'? When and how much does she (or he) have to tell his next partner? (The Daily Beast)

More from YourTango: Men & Women Responded To The Newtown Tragedy Differently

I'm still sorting out my feelings about this but it looks like reality TV's greatest rednecks have inspired a thing called "hillbilly porn." (Huffington Post)

Could you date someone who started a Facebook group about menstruation humor? (TruTV)

If the song "Somebody That I Used To Know" is not relatable, you have either the happiest or saddest love life of all time. (TheBerry)

For our money, getting engaged on Twitter is slightly less romantic than using a jumbotron. (HowAboutWe)

3 major turn-offs for men. (eHarmony)

7 helpful tips for remembering to take your birth control. (Gurl)

The scientifically perfect amount to spend on a Christmas gift. (LearnVest)

Ladies, if you want to meet men, do NOT roll deep to the club. If you want to rumble with the Baseball Furies on the other hand... (Madame Noire)

More from YourTango: 5 Love Lessons TV Taught Us In 2012

Are gay men causing women to have body issues? (Good Men Project)

More juicy content from YourTango:

Source: http://www.yourtango.com/2012168266/love-bytes-dating-former-prostitute

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Monday, December 17, 2012

Deal of the Day ? 14? HP ENVY TouchSmart 4t-1100 Core i3 Ultrabook

Saturday’s LogicBUY Deal is the customizable 14.1″?HP ENVY TouchSmart 4t-1100 Ultrabook, starting at $649.99. ?Features: ?Core i3-3217U 1.8GHz Dual-core 500GB hard drive and 32GB mSSD, 4GB RAM, 14″ 1366 X 768 LED-backlit LCD screen, Intel HD 4000 graphics, HD webcam, Wireless N and Bluetooth, WiDi, 4-cell Lithium-ion battery, 15-month subscription to NIS, Windows 8. $799.99 [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/12/15/deal-of-the-day-14-hp-envy-touchsmart-4t-1100-core-i3-ultrabook/

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cabdriver reidar: Secret star family town house treasure - The more ...

Wang Gang and Zhang Tielin go to Shanghai antique shop, spent 1,500 yuan
to buy a bowl.Another time, Wang Gang go to Z & Antique City, a
door is the piano desk attract a price of 2 million yuan lacquer carving
Lanting Gagaku.Immediately put it down.Gang prefer porcelain
collection, has been in possession of more than 100 various ancient
porcelain.Wang Gang, both holding what purpose involved in the antiques
market, hobbies Hao investment or have played a guardian of the purpose
of the national heritage, to spend their own money on the
objective.Panjiayuan flea market along the stall, Antique City Gang
acting apart from wandering around the treasure, he even privately to
ourselves, then play midsummer and midwinter of three or four months a
year, in order to devote more time to . Secret star family town house
treasure, they believe in feng shui.Evonne town house treasure
Vipers.Evonne Hsu is a singer of Snow White, the ceramic dolls difficult
to commensurate with the appearance of her Vipers hobby.Evonne
professional in the United States to study psychology, she grew up to
live in their own world, insecure character she became a super pet
fans.The Evonne raising a lot of pets, some pet names, a lot of people
have never heard of: the mini-pigs, ferrets, chameleons, snakes,
lizards, turtles, mantis, parrots, and became a star, she raised two
turtles and a only sugar glider.Sugar glider and kangaroo bags, little
girls like to walk around it is kept in a cell phone pocket, or debris
bag hanging on the body in the front of the abdomen.In order to raise
the mini pig, Evonne has also ran the farm saw the mother of that pig,
the length does not determine the mother pig to one meter, Evonne
immediate green light to set the other end pig. Best at home, pig and
parrot relations, they are every day, eat together, sleep together, with
flying around.The parrot will ride on the pig's back, the two of them
often whispering, do not know to say what. Evonne Talia called strange
combination. Dead pig, I'm sad to death three months did not eat pork.
New conference to be held in Beijing, Evonne receive a pet snake, so she
was flattered.Speaking of these girls timid extreme pet, Evonne says
with a laugh these animals are very nice ring, and she had a pet store
pythons ran out, scared everyone back, Prada Handbags uk.but I am very easy to put it on hold back to the cage, it is also very obedient. Although these poisons right gentlest, Evonne Hsu also said, If the pet is hungry, or not to approach, in order to avoid danger. Secret star family town house treasure, they believe in feng shui.S Barbie town house treasure 300 pairs of shoes.The Taiwanese actress s Barbie is an absolute luxury admirer her many Chanel dress suit.Big s home nearly 300 pairs of shoes, with a total value of more than 10 million!Of more than 10 million Taiwan dollars, in accordance with the exchange rate of the NT dollar and RMB, the equivalent of more than two million yuan on the mainland.Beijing high prices as a benchmark, which also can buy two sets of more than one hundred square meters of housing.In order to capture the large s in the name of the collection of shoes around the house, brought the studio debut her house nearly 300 pairs of shoes, worth more than 10 million, you can buy a house, Xu mother laugh at her centipede reincarnation, where so much feet shoes, big s were roughly her a pair of shoes money enough to buy a big house, money can buy a suite she bought Fortunately, Xu mother secretly bought two rooms of big s or her to buy down , after the old if not married, may have to take refuge in a small s.S with small s often being used from the debut compared to the small s usually do not buy brand-name, but now it was admitted to the Depo soul mate, big s systemic brand name, but no end result, with Xu mother mother and daughter lived in the Eastern self-deprecating s: my princess appearance servant life, small s servant appearance princess life. Addicted s shoes, such as life, love to buy shoes madness began, from the 6th grade, when she used to save money bought shoes, a few years ago, in Chanel, she saw a pair of beautiful, with the clerk asked, did not she the size, because they can not buy her beloved shoes from her daily nightmares, her nightmare did not stop until you buy a pair of similar shoes. Secret star family town house treasure, they believe in feng shui.Jeff Chang treasure antique town house.Jeff Chang been collecting antiques for 20 years, to embark on such old articles of no return, is originated in the courtyard of a Chinese-style building.Due housing changed to seminary, lighting, stained glass facing the fate of being thrown away, The aci feel Unfortunately, it is the same as from the garbage picked up and moved back home and began collecting antiques career.His love of antiques into addiction, for old products all comers.Familiar with his friends met him happy event, are also sending antiques, match up.For him, the antique does not mean those small objects, also including his obsessed with ancient buildings, because there is no way to get their hands on, so he played a talent of painting, draw down of these antique buildings used to store and have it.The aci biggest wish is to open an antique museum, to share the joy with everyone. Secret star family town house treasure, they believe in feng shui.Nicholas Tse town house treasure guitar.Nicholas Tse, as the guitar, such as life, the family is the most precious countless guitar.Weekdays, he will be heart guitar one a carefully placed in the cabinet, when he unveiled the baby, his face completely to like Xianbao innocent child, sometimes bombs and one bomb, and sometimes touch, threw himself into his and the guitar world.Nicholas Tse acknowledged that because of his family background, he can easily buy the others have saved a lot more money may not be purchased guitar, his first to an expensive guitar together to send the mother and some aunts.Excellent guitar are available in Japan, New York and even Taiwan, Nicholas Tse, especially black blue lightning streaks like guitar purchased in Taiwan, Nicholas Tse love a plus, he hopes to open two years later a guitar, so that more people together to share the guitar world.

Source: http://nikeskonorge.blogspot.com/2012/12/secret-star-family-town-house-treasure.html

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Source: http://cabdriver-reidar.blogspot.com/2012/12/secret-star-family-town-house-treasure.html

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Source: http://petecarver.typepad.com/blog/2012/12/cabdriver-reidar-secret-star-family-town-house-treasure-the-more.html

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Saturday, December 15, 2012

Your Pet's Head Position Explains More Than You'd Think ? Dr ...

This article originally appeared on my ongoing series of articles for?Flexcin International, Inc?as?Your Pet?s Head Position Explains More Than You?d Think

Photo Credit: Michael Brian

The way your pet holds its neck and head can indicate if a problem is present.?Signs such as the head being carried at the same height as or below the shoulders, a gaze pointing to the ground, or vocalization (crying) when the head or neck move indicate attempts to minimize pain. The neck also works in conjunction with the shoulders, so neck problems often end up affecting the shoulders (and vice versa). Your pet may exhibit front limb lameness (limping), difficulty or reluctance to move down from elevated surfaces, refusal to move, and other signs.

There are many potential causes of neck problems, but collar-based trauma is the most common in dogs. Ironically, it is also entirely preventable. Unfortunately, most dogs do not walk while heeling at their owner?s side. Instead, they pull against the collar and put mild to severe pressure on their neck.

For the sake of the health and comfort of your dog?s neck and head, don?t yank on your dog?s collar (or let them do so) or engage in a vigorous game of tug o? war. Instead try obedience training and utilize harness-style leads that do not put stress on the neck and head of your canine. These body parts are complex in their structure and function.

The neck is composed of many parts that work together for normal carriage and function to occur. A central column of backbones (vertebrae) protects the spinal cord and provides the neck?s basic support structure. A series of intervertebral discs provides cushion for the vertebrae and spinal cord. Additionally, small joints called facets help keep the whole backbone stable.

Besides the backbone, the neck contains other structures essential for the body?s normal functioning including the esophagus, trachea (windpipe), blood and lymphatic vessels, nerves, and muscles.?A problem with any one of these parts can cause your dog to show abnormal neck position, reduced range of motion, pain to the touch, or behavioral changes.

One of the most common diseases I see in the neck is?intervertebral disc disease?(IVDD), which is an abnormality in the disc?s ability to absorb shock and protect the spinal cord. IVDD often coincides with arthritis in the spine?s facets, which makes for a doubly uncomfortable experience for your cat or dog.

Symptoms of head and neck pain should be evaluated by your veterinarian. The appropriate diagnostic tests (X-rays, etc.) can determine the nature of the problem in order to develop an adequate treatment plan. Additionally, starting your dog on a daily dose of?FlexPet?can help improve joint health so that less medication is needed to maintain a comfortable state.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at?vetadvice@flexcin.com.

?

Thank you for reading this article. ?Your questions and comments are completely welcome (I?ll respond).

Please feel free to communicate with me through Twitter (@PatrickMahaney) and follow my adventures in veterinary medicine by liking?Patrick Mahaney: Veterinarian Acupuncture Pain Management for Your Pets?on Facebook.

Copyright of this article (2012) is owned by Dr Patrick Mahaney, Veterinarian and Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist. Republishing any portion of this article must first be authorized by Dr Patrick Mahaney. Requests for republishing must be approved by Dr Patrick Mahaney and received in written format.

Source: http://www.patrickmahaney.com/animal-treatment/your-pets-head-position-explains-more-than-youd-think/

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Thursday, December 13, 2012

Middle East has the most politically vocal social networkers

9 hrs.

The old rule that says "Don't talk about politics and religion" doesn't apply to the people in the Middle East who have discovered?Facebook and Twitter. In fact, according to a new report, social networking in that region has become a vital tool precisely for sharing views on?politics, community issues and religion ? much more so than anywhere else in the world.

In Egypt and Tunisia, "two nations at the heart of the Arab Spring, more than six-in-ten social networkers share their views about?politics online," says?the Pew Research Center in its Global Attitudes Project?report.

In contrast with the other nations surveyed, "a median of only 34 percent post their political opinions."

"Of all the countries we surveyed, it?s the Arab nations that are most interested in discussing politics online," Richard Wike, Pew Research Center associate director, told NBC News. "In Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan and Lebanon, solid majorities of people who use social networking sites say they share their views about politics on these sites. That?s a much higher rate than in other nations."

In those four countries, more than 70?percent?use social networks to?share their?views on community issues, compared with a "cross-national median of just 46 percent"?worldwide.

Italy and Turkey are?the only other countries surveyed by Pew where the majority of those who use social networking have expressed views about community issues (64 percent and 63 percent, respectively).

In the United States, 47 percent of social network users talk about community issues;?37 percent talk politics; and 32 percent discuss religion.

"Many people still don?t have access to the Internet in Arab nations,"?Wike said. In fact, fewer than half of Pew's survey respondents in Middle East countries used the Internet at all.?"But those who do?tend to get involved in social networking, and those who go on social networking sites tend to share their views about politics."

Pew?and researchers worldwide interviewed more than 20,000 people total in 21 countries last spring: Brazil, Britain, China, the Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey and the U.S.

A majority of social networking users in Tunisia (63 percent), Egypt (63 percent) and Jordan (62 percent) are "also more likely than those in other countries to say they have posted about religion," much?higher than other nations,?Pew said.

"In 14 countries, only about a third or less have posted on this topic."

Pew's findings come at a time when the the idea of the Arab Spring may have become a nostalgic notion of the past, at least online.

Syria recently shut off, then reinstated, Internet access. And in the past year or so,?Internet access has been on and?off for other countries, including Pakistan, Bahrain and Ethiopia, according to the?U.S. watchdog group Freedom on the Net.

Jillian C. York, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's director for international freedom of expression, recently?observed Dec. 10 as "Human Rights Day," as created by the United Nations, writing that "while the spread of the Internet has created an environment in which???in theory???anyone can be a writer, a photographer, a filmmaker or a pundit, the reality is such that nearly half of the world's citizens access a fractured, fragmented Internet, and the threat of persecution for speaking out causes even more to censor their online speech."

It's important for everyone to remember that "the right to?free expression must be guaranteed whether we're shouting from the rooftops or from our Facebook walls," she wrote.

Check out Technology, GadgetBox, Digital?Life and InGame on?Facebook,?and on?Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/middle-east-has-most-politically-vocal-social-networkers-says-pew-1C7559554

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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Congress, dreading automatic cuts, eyes yet another trigger

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Of the many distasteful elements to the year-end "fiscal cliff" that Washington is desperately trying to avoid, few are more loathed than the automatic, indiscriminate spending cuts scheduled to begin on January 2.

Yet a repeat of this agonizing drama could play out next summer.

That is because Congress, as part of deal to avert the year-end fiscal cliff of steep tax increases and across-the-board budget cuts, is likely to enact another forcing mechanism, or trigger, to make sure it keeps its latest round of deficit-reduction promises.

Lawmakers say automatic cuts and tax changes will be needed later because there is too little time now to get specific, with Congress racing to undo the damage it did in 2011.

At best, President Barack Obama and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner will agree on broad targets for increased tax revenues, cuts to federal healthcare and retirement programs and other savings.

"We are going to need an enforcement mechanism," said Representative James Lankford, a Republican on the House Budget Committee from Oklahoma. "I've only been here two years but the one thing I've learned is Congress won't do anything until they have to. Until we create a have-to moment, it'll never occur."

The so-called automatic "sequester" cuts - split evenly between the military and domestic programs - were dictated by the last deficit reduction deal in August 2011, which settled a bruising fight over raising the U.S. debt limit.

Those cuts were meant to be so painful that Congress would have no choice but to find $1.2 trillion in 10-year savings elsewhere by the end of 2012.

This does not mean that Congress will use the same meat-ax approach. Instead, lawmakers and policy analysts are recommending a rebranded version that is more targeted with a new name to replace the discredited term "sequester."

Among the possible substitutes under consideration are "fallback," "failsafe" and "backstop."

Democratic Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota, the retiring chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said the only way to get a deal by the end of the year is to agree on a "down payment" of some revenue increases, such as tax rises for the wealthy, and spending cuts.

The two sides would set forth a "framework" outlining targets for tax reform revenues and healthcare savings next year, he said, with the failsafe available in the event Congress fails to act.

"It's very important that the failsafe actually be good policy, because the failsafe may actually become the default position," said Conrad.

NO ROADMAP IN SEQUESTER

Most agree that the sequester was bad budget policy, leaving little flexibility in its implementation. Even Obama's latest public offer proposes to turn it off.

Because it targeted only discretionary spending on government programs, agencies and defense, it did not encourage lawmakers to make any progress on the biggest sources of potential savings - increased tax revenues and cuts to federal benefit programs known as entitlements.

"The current sequester doesn't do anything to tell you where the deal should be," said Marc Goldwein, senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a deficit- reduction group.

Essentially, more targeted trigger cuts and tax rises would be better than reductions to largely unrelated to programs that have already taken big cuts this year. But they would still pale in comparison with the full and specific savings that Congress aims to achieve next year, when it fills in the details of targets set out in any year-end deal.

For example, if lawmakers cannot agree on specific program cuts to achieve a certain level of savings to the Medicare healthcare program for the elderly, the trigger could automatically increase premiums charged to seniors or reduce reimbursement payments to healthcare providers.

Similarly, if revenue targets are not met through tax reform, across-the-board tax increases or caps on deductions could be imposed, analysts say.

"We don't want a trigger ever to be easy to live with. We want it to be related to the agreements that are reached," said Democratic Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland.

But skeptics say that any new, gentler trigger is unlikely to work any better than the sequester.

"They are looking for the 'Goldilocks' trigger - not so harsh that it would hurt to be implemented, but harsh enough that it will get them to act," said William Gale, a tax policy expert at the Brookings Institution.

"But there is no such thing, since they can always abolish triggers that they set earlier, as the deadline approaches. If the fiscal cliff is not a big enough of a trigger to get them to act, what would be?"

Some lawmakers, notably conservative budget hawks who want to cut military budgets as well as domestic spending, say the sequester is doing its job - forcing Congress to act.

"There has to be cuts to the budget. If the sequesters are the only way we can get them, so be it." said Representative Justin Amash, a Republican and libertarian maverick from Michigan.

(Additional reporting by Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Fred Barbash and Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/congress-dreading-automatic-cuts-eyes-yet-another-trigger-223420707--business.html

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Man given boots by NYPD officer: Street life ?my choice?

A New York City police officer giving boots to a homeless man on Nov. 14 (NYPD/Facebook)

First he was spotted barefoot in Times Square by a police officer who bought him a pair of boots--a moment captured in a heartwarming photo taken by a tourist, posted on Facebook and shared by hundreds of thousands of people.

Then he was spotted barefoot again on the Upper West Side by the New York Times. ("Those shoes are hidden," he said. "They are worth a lot of money?I could lose my life.")

Then the Daily News reported the man people assumed was homeless wasn't homeless at all--and has a Bronx apartment paid for via a combination of rent vouchers, Social Security and military veteran benefits.

Now Jeffrey Tillman--the 54-year-old man at the center of this ongoing, made-for-a-slow-news-day story--says that despite access to a federally subsidized apartment, it's his choice to wander the streets.

"I guess you could say I am hard-headed," Tillman told the Daily News for a front-page story published on Sunday.

The South Plainfield, N.J.-native and estranged father of two confirmed what the man's brother, Kirk Hillman, and others said last week: Family and various city organizations have tried for years to help him, but he's turned them all down.

"We love our brother very much," Kirk Hillman said. "Our door is always open to him, but this is a lifestyle he's chosen."

Jeffrey Hillman, who told the tabloid he was diagnosed as bipolar and schizophrenic, came to New York in 2000.

"It was my choice," he said. "Being on the street since then was my choice, too. When I was in the Army, I could have said I was homeless, too. Same thing to me."

Hillman, who was wearing the boots when he spoke to the Daily News, said he's grateful NYPD's Lawrence DePrimo gift.

"A police officer on duty was willing to take his time to help me," Hillman said. "It blew my mind."

And despite reports to the contrary, Hillman claims he does use his apartment--to sleep.

"I'm just out here doing what I'm doing because that's how I know how to do it," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/homeless-man-boots-nypd-apartment-155517489.html

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Monday, December 10, 2012

"Where sex is work, sex may just work differently" & "the WEIRDest ...

When sex means reproduction, certain proclivities may simply not be part of cultural models of sexuality: "Barry and Bonnie Hewlett had been studying the Aka and Ngandu people of central Africa for many years before they began to specifically study the groups' sexuality... [T]he Hewletts conclude, "Homosexuality and masturbation are rare or nonexistent [in these two cultures], not because they are frowned upon or punished, but because they are not part of the cultural models of sexuality in either ethnic group.""
Is the strong cultural focus on sex as a reproductive tool the reason masturbation and homosexual practices seem to be virtually unknown among the Aka and Ngandu? That isn't clear. But the Hewletts did find that their informants -- whom they knew well from years of field work -- "were not aware of these practices, did not have terms for them," and, in the case of the Aka, had a hard time even understanding about what the researchers were asking when they asked about homosexual behaviors. The Ngandu "were familiar with the concept" of homosexual behavior, "but no word existed for it and they said they did not know of any such relationships in or around the village. Men who had traveled to the capital, Bangui, said it existed in the city and was called 'PD' (French for par derriere or from behind)."

... The finding with regard to homosexuality is perhaps not that surprising. As the Hewletts note, other researchers have documented cultures where homosexuality appears not to exist. If homosexual orientation has a genetic component to it -- and there is increasing evidence that it does, in many cases -- then it would not be surprising that this complex human trait (one that involves non-procreative efforts) would be found in some populations but not others.

Moreoever, sexual behavior -- whether homosexual, heterosexual, or any other type -- is never simply genetically determined in humans. Humans are born with sexual potentials that will manifest differently in different cultural settings. So, about heterosexuality, the Hewletts note that Western cultures' valuing of sleeping through the night probably limits Western heterosexual couples' interest in having sex multiple times between dusk and dawn. In our culture, the work we have to do by day may overtake "the work of the night."

It's also worth noting that Western science specifically distinguishes between three components of sexuality: desire, behavior, and identity. While the Hewletts' research suggests that homosexual behavior and identity are foreign to the Aka and Ngandu, it's entirely possible that homosexual desire does exist in these groups, at least for some of their members (so to speak). A culture that recognizes such desires -- and especially a culture that does not condemn them -- and especially one that involves large groups where homosexually-inclined people can find each other -- is the type where such desires will become openly apparent.

Jesse Bering covers similar ground (with different details) in Slate - Does homosexuality exist in every human society?

Sex and Searching For Children Among Aka Foragers and Ngandu Farmers of Central Africa (PDF, 19 pages) - "[Barry Hewlett] has conducted research with these groups of Aka and Ngandu for over 35 years, and [Bonnie Hewlett] has conducted research with them for over 10 years."

*wikipedia - Aka people
*The Guardian: Are the men of the African Aka tribe the best fathers in the world?

Both the Atlantic piece and the Slate piece reference "a much-discussed 2010 Behavioral and Brain Sciences paper called "The WEIRDest people in the world?" in which the authors argued that far too many sweeping claims about "human nature" are drawn exclusively from samples of Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) societies."

The Weirdest People In The World? (PDF, 68 pages)

Short abstract: Broad claims about human psychology and behavior based on narrow samples from Western societies are regularly published in leading journals. Are such species?generalizing claims justified? This review suggests not only that substantial variability in experimental results emerges across populations in basic domains, but that standard subjects are in fact rather unusual compared with the rest of the species?frequent outliers. The domains reviewed include visual perception, fairness, categorization, spatial cognition, memory, moral reasoning and self?concepts. This review (1) indicates caution in addressing questions of human nature based on this thin slice of humanity, and (2) suggests that understanding human psychology will require tapping broader subject pools. We close by proposing ways to address these challenges.
*Toronto Star - Why we're the weirdest people in the world
*NYT - A Weird Way of Thinking Has Prevailed Worldwide
*Big Think - The Weirdest People in the World?
*Public Library of Science - Reflections on the WEIRD Evolution of Human Psychology

Source: http://www.metafilter.com/122692/Where-sex-is-work-sex-may-just-work-differently-and-the-WEIRDest-people-in-the-world

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