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Source: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=weather&id=8829691&rss=rss-kabc-article-8829691
Man of the Match:?There are days when?Gareth Bale?looks like the best wide player in the world. He was almost at that level on Saturday, involved in all three Tottenham goals as Spurs got an early, defining victory for the Andr? Villas-Boas era.
In the second minute, Bale came back and showed for a pass he immediately played back to?Jan Vertonghen, the Belgian defender streaking on goal from 35 yards out before beating?Anders Lindegaard for the opener. In the 32nd minute, it was Bale?s turn to carry the ball through the final third, cutting across the defense from the middle of United?s half before beating Lindegaard far post from the right of the box. In the second half, Bale?s shot on goal led to the rebound that?Clint Dempsey converted for the game-winning goal.
Packaged for takeaway:?
Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/29/manchester-united-tottenham-final/related
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FILE - In a Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012 file photograph, the University of Tennessee Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house is seen in Knoxville, Tenn. The fraternity was the scene of an alcohol enema incident that sent one student to the hospital and brought unwanted attention to the university. (AP Photo/Knoxville News Sentinel, J. Miles Cary, File)
FILE - In a Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012 file photograph, the University of Tennessee Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house is seen in Knoxville, Tenn. The fraternity was the scene of an alcohol enema incident that sent one student to the hospital and brought unwanted attention to the university. (AP Photo/Knoxville News Sentinel, J. Miles Cary, File)
FILE-In a Jan. 17, 2007, photograph, the University of Tennessee Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house is seen in Knoxville, Tenn. University administrators indefinitely suspended the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and ordered the Zeta Chapter house to be vacated in nine days in the wake of the alcohol enema incident that sent one student to the hospital. (AP Photo/Knoxville (AP Photo/Amy Smotherman Burgess,File)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? Before an unruly Tennessee party ended with a student hospitalized for a dangerously high blood alcohol level, most people had probably never heard of alcohol enemas.
Thanks to the drunken exploits of a fraternity at the University of Tennessee, the bizarre way of getting drunk is giving parents, administrators and health care workers a new fear.
When Alexander "Xander" Broughton, 20, was delivered to the hospital after midnight on Sept. 22, his blood alcohol level was measured at 0.448 percent ? nearly six times the intoxication that defines drunken driving in the state. Injuries to his rectum led hospital officials to fear he had been sodomized.
Police documents show that when an officer interviewed a fellow fraternity member about what happened, the student said the injuries had been caused by an alcohol enema.
"It is believed that members of the fraternity were utilizing rubber tubing inserted into their rectums as a conduit for alcohol," according to a police report.
While Broughton told police he remembered participating in a drinking game with fellow members of the Pi Kappa Alpha chapter, he denied having an alcohol enema. Police concluded otherwise from evidence they found at the frat house, including boxes of Franzia Sunset Blush wine.
"He also had no recollection of losing control of his bowels and defecating on himself," according to a university police report that includes photos of the mess left behind in the fraternity house after the party.
Broughton did not respond to a cellphone message seeking comment on Friday.
The university responded with swift investigation and a decision Friday to shutter the fraternity until at least 2015. The national Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity organization also accepted the withdrawal of the campus charter.
Alcohol enemas have been the punch lines of YouTube videos, a stunt in a "Jackass" movie and a song by the punk band NOFX called "Party Enema." But Corey Slovis, chairman of department of emergency medicine and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said actually going through with the deed can have severe consequences.
"It's something that offers no advantages, while at the same time risking someone's life," he said.
The procedure bypasses the stomach, accelerating the absorption rate, Slovis said. Pouring the alcohol through a funnel can increase the amount of alcohol consumed because it's hard to gauge how much is going in.
"When you're dumping it into your rectum, often via a funnel, one or two ounces seems like such a minuscule amount," he said. Ingesting more can create unconsciousness quite quickly, he explained.
The effects have been fatal in at least one case. An autopsy performed after the death of a 58-year-old Texas man in 2004 showed he had been given an enema with enough sherry to have a blood alcohol level of 0.47 percent. Negligent homicide charges were later dropped against his wife, who said she gave him the enema.
Students walking across campus this week generally responded with sighs and eye rolls when asked about the allegations.
"It's like a big joke," said Erica Davis, a freshman from Hendersonville. "Because who does that?"
Gordon Ray, a senior from Morristown, said the details of the case caught him off guard, but not the fact that fraternity members would be overdoing it with alcohol.
"It is definitely over the top," said Ray. "But it doesn't surprise me, I don't guess."
The harm the news has done to the university's national reputation was on the mind of several students.
"If someone wants to be stupid, then they should do it where it won't affect anyone else," said Marlon Alessandra, freshman from Independence, Va.
James E. Lange, who coordinates alcohol and drug abuse prevention strategies at San Diego State University, said alcohol enemas aren't a common occurrence on campuses, though normal consumption still contributes to hundreds of student deaths annually. And many of those can be attributed to reckless attitudes about the consequences of heavy drinking, he said.
"It's not unusual to hear that students are drinking to get drunk," he said.
Lange said he hopes students don't draw the wrong lessons from the University of Tennessee incident.
"Students and people in general are pretty good at denying that they are at risk for whatever happened to someone else," he said. "So they can look at something like this and say 'I'm OK because I would never do that.'
"However, they may be drinking heavily, or doing things like mixing alcohol with prescription meds that is putting them at serious risk," he said.
To Tennessee freshman Cody Privett of Sevierville, there's nothing appealing about the incident on his campus.
"It's stupid, it's an unfortunate situation," said Privett, of Sevierville. "I mean there's partying, and then there's other things."
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Damaged buildings and streets in the northern city of Aleppo, Sept 28, 2012. Photo by AFP
Raging battles between Syrian government forces and rebels in the historic districts of central Aleppo have started a major fire that threatens to destroy the city's medieval souks, or markets, activists said Saturday.
The labyrinth of narrow alleys lined with shops was once a major tourist attraction, but has been the scene of near-daily firefights and shelling in recent weeks, after rebels who fought their way into the city two months ago pushed toward its center. Some activists described the overnight blaze as the worst blow yet to a district that helped make the heart of Aleppo, Syria's largest city and commercial hub, a UNESCO world heritage site.
The fire started late Friday amid heavy government shelling and was still burning Saturday morning, activists said. Video posted online showed a pall of smoke hanging over the city.
One Aleppo-based activist, Ahmad al-Halabi, estimated the fire destroyed a majority of the shops in the district. "It's a disaster. The fire is threatening to spread to remaining shops," said al-Halabi, speaking from the stricken area by telephone.
He claimed Syrian authorities cut the water supply off the city, making it more difficult to put out the fire. He said rebels and civilians were working together to control the fire with a limited number of fire extinguishers. "It is a very difficult and tragic situation there," he said.
Rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad launched Thursday what they said would be a "decisive battle" to drive his forces out of Aleppo and fighting has since spread to wide swaths of the city.
Since the rebel offensive began in August, each side has controlled about half of the city and has repeatedly tried - but failed - to capture the rest. Aleppo would be a major strategic prize, giving the victor new momentum. The souks (markets), a maze of vaulted passageways with shops that sell everything from foods, fabrics, perfumes, spices and artisan souvenirs, lie beneath Aleppo's towering citadel where activists say regime troops and snipers have taken up positions.
Many of the shops have wooden doors, and clothes, fabrics and leather inside helped spread the fire, activists said.
Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a wide network of activists on the ground, said it was not clear how the fire was started but also said a large part of the souks have been destroyed.
The claims could not be independently verified because of limitations on the work of journalists in Syria.
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A nation inured to wanton murder was nevertheless shocked by this one: In November 2010, a group of four young men milling about as a party ended attacked another teen, randomly picking him as the victim of their vicious assault. Bobby Tillman, 18, did nothing to provoke his assailants to knock him to the ground and kick and stomp him to death.The crime occurred outside a suburban Atlanta home after parents called a halt to a teen party that had gotten out of control. This was no beating by members of a rival gang, no attack set off by longstanding grudges or old misunderstandings. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/croatias-parliament-speaker-sprem-dies-cancer-084528985.html
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All Critics (48) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (4)
"Journeys" is simply a trip most need not take.
I'd say the movie does a fine job of completing the trilogy, but I wouldn't be surprised if Demme and Young have more in them yet.
Like Young, Demme often takes an iconoclastic route. This is in part a concert film, yes, but not a traditional one.
Forget Crosby, Stills and Nash and maybe even Crazy Horse. Jonathan Demme might be Neil Young's ultimate collaborator.
As a songwriter, Young can still deliver: one of the best tunes here is a lovely, piano-propelled number, "Leia," that he hasn't even released yet.
The wartsy antipode of Katy Perry: Part of Me, with an intimacy and intensity bordering on the overwhelming.
...just Young and his insinuating voice (which I'm inclined to credit more now than I was 40 years ago), various guitars, harmonica and piano, over which he displays a great and tender command.
Fans of folk rock legend Neil Young who are willing to accept that the guy is well past his prime will respond to the downbeat tone of Jonathan Demme's concert film.
The director is putting Young in the audience's lap, allowing the viewer to examine all the creases and crevices of his grizzled face as well as capturing the emotion the singer pours into his songs.
These two world-renowned and individualistic artists from the worlds of music and film clearly bask in each other's company. We, the audience, would be fools to respond otherwise.
Long may he run, sure, but 'Neil Young Journeys' has the feeling of a farewell.
"Journeys" is about looking back - not in sorrow or wistfulness, but in affection and, often, impassioned remembrance of times past and how they still resonate in the present.
A mesmerizing and intimate visit with a performer who is identified most closely with rock 'n' roll, but whose artistic curiosity has taken him in myriad directions musically throughout his 40-plus-year career.
Neil Young Journeys does for some of us what a rare film can do - it revives and renews our spirit. Neil Young and Jonathan Demme. Heart and soul. Wisdom and age. Fire and ashes. Lightning and thunder.
For fans, Journeys is like that box set of uneven rarities that they simply must own. For casual friends, it's 90 minutes in good company. For the rest - ho-hum.
An unusually fulsome tribute to the singer-songwriter from the director of The Silence of the Lambs.
On its own terms, "Neil Young Journeys" is an enjoyable concert film of a solo show in Toronto, interspersed with memories of his Canadian boyhood.
The concert camera work is sometimes a little tight for comfort (not really interested in Young's bridge work), though it adds to the intensity.
Movie fans probably don't need to hear him sing "Ohio" again, but "Neil Young Journeys" -- Jonathan Demme's second Young doc, if you're counting -- does have some new wrinkles.
In a sense, this film finishes a cycle that began with the homey and impressive "Neil Young: Heart of Gold" and continued with the raucous "Neil Young Trunk Show" of 2009.
"Look at Mother Nature on the run..."
More Critic ReviewsSource: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/neil_young_journeys/
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? Bill Clinton will be back on the campaign trail on behalf of President Barack Obama.
Obama's campaign says the former president will hold an event in New Hampshire on Wednesday, the day of the first presidential debate. Obama and Republican Mitt Romney debate two more times in October.
In 1992, Clinton became the first Democrat to carry New Hampshire in the general election since 1964.
Clinton has become a key surrogate for Obama, particularly on the economy. He delivered a well-regarded speech at the Democratic Party's convention earlier this month, then made a two-day campaign swing for the president in Florida.
The former president is expected to hold more events for Obama in the campaign's closing weeks.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bill-clinton-campaign-obama-nh-100405587--election.html
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ScienceDaily (Sep. 27, 2012) ? Researchers have discovered in fruit flies a key metabolic hormone thought to be the exclusive property of vertebrates. The hormone, leptin, is a nutrient sensor, regulating energy intake and output and ultimately controlling appetite. As such, it is of keen interest to researchers investigating obesity and diabetes on the molecular level. But until now, complex mammals such as mice have been the only models for investigating the mechanisms of this critical hormone. These new findings suggest that fruit flies can provide significant insights into the molecular underpinnings of fat sensing.
"Leptin is very complex," said Akhila Rajan, first author on the paper and a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Norbert Perrimon, James Stillman Professor of Developmental Biology at Harvard Medical School. "These types of hormones acquire more and more complex function as they evolve. Here in the fly we're seeing leptin in its most likely primitive form."
These findings will be published September 28 in Cell.
In order for an organism to function normally under varying conditions, its organ systems must learn to maintain a steady state, or "homeostasis." Coordinating food intake and nutrient stores with energy requirements is a key homeostatic mechanism referred to as energy homeostasis. Leptin regulates energy homeostasis by linking the organism's fat stores with caloric intake. It is the hormone that tells the brain, "You've had enough."
Researchers have known for the better part of a decade that molecules secreted by the fruit fly's fat tissue communicate such nutrition status reports throughout the fly's entire body. However, they have not known the identity of these molecules, or the nature of the signals they transmit. Rajan hypothesized that this signaling molecule most likely resembles the leptin hormone in humans, since flies and mammals share similar nutrient-sensing pathways.
Researchers had predicted that three molecules in flies were likely to be structurally similar to leptin. When Rajan knocked out one of them, a protein called Upd2, the flies behaved, on a metabolic level, as though they were starving -- despite consuming their normal caloric content.
"Since leptin is a nutrient sensor, this makes sense," said Rajan. "If you knock out the molecule that senses nutrients, the body thinks there are no nutrients. Blocking this molecule copied the phenotype of starvation."
Further tests showed that when flies were actually starving, levels of Upd2 went down, and when they received adequate nutrition, levels went up. This provided further evidence that, like leptin, Upd2 is a nutrient sensor.
Next, the researchers found that Upd2 uses a neural circuit similar to that of leptin to traffic nutrition information between the brain and fat tissue. When Upd2 reaches the brain, it regulates insulin secretion, in effect "telling" the fly to store nutrition and expend energy on growth.
Finally, Rajan and colleagues engineered a fly that lacked Upd2 altogether and inserted the human leptin gene in its place. The fly fully incorporated this mammalian molecule, and all normal nutrient-sensing functions resumed.
"The key significance here is that we can now take full advantage of the sophisticated genetic tool kit available in fly genetics to address profoundly complex questions pertaining to leptin biology," said Perrimon. "This is good news to scientists studying obesity at the molecular level."
Interestingly, the amino acid sequence of leptin diverges from that of Upd2. However, the proteins produced by each gene share many structural similarities. "There are very few examples of this in the literature," Perrimon said.
"Now that we've identified Upd2 as a fly's nutrient sensor and have begun to work out the brain circuitry, the next step is to go deep into the mechanisms," added Rajan.
This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, grants 5P01CA120964 and 5R01DK088718.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Harvard Medical School. The original article was written by David Cameron.
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/nKgbYFwjj3M/120927124200.htm
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The Redskins? defense will have plenty of motivation Sunday against the Buccaneers. The biggest, of course, is reproving itself after consecutive subpar performances in losses to the Rams and Bengals.
But they?ll draw from another source at Raymond James Stadium, as well. Nose tackle Barry Cofield said the unit also wants to get a win for secondary coach Raheem Morris.
Morris was fired in January after three seasons in Tampa, where he went 17-31. He led the Buccaneers to a 10-6 record in 2010, but that season was bookended by two woeful ones, including a 4-12 mark last season.
Morris was hired less than two weeks later by the Redskins and, in just nine months, he?s become one of the most popular coaches in Ashburn.
?That?s definitely part if it; I was able to get two last year and I know how that felt,? nose tackle Barry Cofield said of the Redskins? two wins over the Giants, Cofield?s former team. ?It felt great. I was so happy about the way my guys showed up.?
?We?re definitely going to try do the same thing for Raheem,? Cofield continued. ?We have a ton of things to play for. For our personal pride, do better for our offense, get a win for Raheem, [our] statistics. We got everything to play for this week. So if our defense doesn't show up flying around and playing our butts off, we got something wrong.?
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Notes:?? You will have 10 minutes after the lecture to warmup, so move with a purpose and mobilize your issues!
-10 minute time cap-
Notes:? These should be power clean and jerks.? Keep the weight light and move well!
?
???? We want to preamble tomorrow?s nutrition talks with the fact that each class will have different instructors, and depending on what class you go to, the message delivery might be slightly different but the message itself will be consistent:? Nutrition is the foundation of our fitness and health, and only your fitness and health can tell you whether what you are eating is right for you or not.? Put another way, just because Greg Glassman, Barry Sears, Robb Wolff, Mark Sisson, Whole 9, Loren Cordain, Diso, Me, G, McCoy, that new Paleo Book you?re reading, the Zone block chart you?re using, the food podcast you?re listening to, tells you to do something, does not automatically qualify them for your dogma diet status, nor does it invalidate the other approaches.
???? It is our goal to expose you to as many best practices as possible, nutrition and otherwise, because of the varying degrees of excellent results that come from these practices.? The differences between said practices are something to celebrate and experiment with, and are accessible to everyone.? If you ask the top ten athletes in our gym about their food, you will see a pattern that is very similar, but with 10 slightly different strategies to get there.? Diso?s nutritional guide is posted above, expect to see the rest of the staff?s in the future.? Here are my top ten meals, and experiences gathered:
1.? Instead of favorite meals, I?ve got a Protein/Carb/Fat template of food to choose from and mix and match;
Protein ? Beef (Skirt or Tri tip mostly), bison, lamb, goat, ground, salmon, cod, halibut. Grass fed, free range, and wild caught if possible.Carb ? kale, broccoli, sweet potato, strawberries, blueberries, lemon juice. Organic, farmer?s market if possible.Fat ? avocado, almonds, mac nuts, coconut oil, fish oil
2.? Brian?s Bowl of any sort. Caveman and chicken italiano are my favs.3.? Spring Mix Chicken salad from Rainbow Acres.4.? Mendocino Farms make your own salad: Pork belly, bacon, avocado, greens, beets, apple, almonds, vinaigrette on the side. (thank you Sean DeGuzman)5.? Make your own shake:? Blueberries, almond milk, peanut butter, whey protein. (thank you McCoy)6.? Steak salad from Pitfire Pizza.7.? Moroccan chicken salad from CPK.8.? Anything from the Venice Alehouse!? (thank you Jess)9.? Regular Pemmican bars from USWellness Meats, and OhMyBars, either Tan or XXX.? YUMMY!!10.? 3 x 2 Protein style, Animal style, no pickles, from In ?n Out Burger.
*****************************************
In March 2008, my blocks were 17P 17C 17F.
In August 2012, my blocks were 20P 12C 60F, approximately.
I take 6 to 10 grams of fish oil daily (1 to 2 tablespoons.)? Without a doubt, Fish Oil at high enough doses is integral to our training and performance.? Without it, I and a bunch of high level performers will not be able to perform as we do.
I have an SFH Post WOD shake with 4 parts water, 1 part coconut water after every workout.? Sometimes 2 to 3 a day.? Been on this for over a year.? It helps with soreness and I feel better, but I do not see it as more than a supplement to Paleo/Zone/Fish Oil.
Your performance over time is the ultimate arbiter of your nutritional needs.
No matter how many times and in how many ways I dance around this subject, no matter how many debates I?ve been in and refereed and watched and listened to, I can neither get simpler than nor stray far from:? Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds,? some fruit, little starch, no sugar.? Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.
Avoid nutritional homilies, Argumentum ad vercundiam fallacies, assertions made A priori, or anything method based absent data.?
Try everything and see what happens.
If you?ve been here for a while, we would love to hear your top 10 meals, lessons learned, and rules of your own.
?
Source: http://www.paradisocrossfit.com/2012/09/26/the-big-talk/
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Hong Kong had the highest turnout in memory for elections yesterday, underscoring its commitment to the 'two systems government' that Beijing agreed to in the 1997 handover.
Residents walk in front of campaign banners from various candidates for the Legislative Council election campaign in Hong Kong Sept. 9. Hong Kong residents voted for a new legislature on Sunday, a day after the territory's Beijing-backed leader backed down on a plan to introduce a compulsory Chinese school curriculum after tens of thousands of people took to the streets.
Bobby Yip/Reuters
EnlargeHong Kong?s highest election turnout in years yesterday showed a thriving democratic sentiment in a nation that otherwise doesn?t go to the polls.
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The heavy turnout hinged on tumult surrounding a ?patriotic? education plan for Hong Kong schools ? seen as a proxy for Beijing propaganda ? and voter desire to weigh in on the future of the pilot program, which was rejected by all but two of hundreds of schools on the island.
Yesterday?s vote showed political sophistication, analysts say, aided largely by youth, in a vote where bread-and-butter issues like housing and pay figured prominently as well.
Young Hong Kongers spurred a political protest ?movement bigger than anything I?ve seen in a long time,? says Michael DeGolyer, who has long studied city politics at Hong Kong Baptist University. ?You had 16-year-olds bringing their parents into politics, not the other way around.?
The patriotic education course was aimed at elementary-level students and got heavy criticism for teaching little or nothing about cataclysmic events like the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, or the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Critics branded it ?brainwashing.??
Hong Kong has long harbored a distrust of mainland Beijing?s heavy-handed efforts to ?make? Hong Kong a ?Chinese? city, even as Hong Kong?s history, civil service, education, and business acumen make it a financial services hub with international characteristics.
After the crippling SARS outbreak in 2003 and efforts by Beijing to institute a ?subversion? law that would throttle free expression, Hong Kong?s civic base has steadily mobilized, despite handicaps in the city governing structure, which favors Beijing.
For weeks ahead of the vote Sunday, ordinary people thronged the eastern business district.
In a rare move, pro-Chinese forces in Hong Kong backed down from plans to make the national education mandatory by 2015. At the 11th?hour on Saturday word came the plan would be voluntary, though many Hong Kongers were suspicious it could reappear later, an old tactic.
In the scale of problems faced by China this fall, though, Hong Kong may not be at the top of the list.
Beijing?s Politburo undergoes a once-in-a-decade leadership change this fall amid recriminations and turmoil over incidents like the disappearance of Bo Xilai. Its stellar growth rate is in some decline. China is also in the middle of tension-building territory disputes in the South China Sea.
Then there is the sense of disquiet and spiritual hunger among the rank and file, according to Gerard Lemos, who has studied ordinary Chinese people in the heartland since 2007. Any kind of unrest, including that in Hong Kong, tends to trouble China?s leaders, who have long said ?stability? is the chief virtue of statecraft.
The patriotic education issue appeared to push voter turnout high enough to give fractious pro-democracy forces enough seats in the legislature (27) to block pro-China forces in coming sessions.
Much credit goes to Hong Kong youth: ?I could not believe the organization, the discipline shown by these kids,? Mr. DeGolyer said by phone. ?They picked up after themselves, articulated what they wanted, and when they didn?t get everything, they didn?t escalate, which has been the problem in the past, but organized a different way forward. It was astonishing.?
He adds: ?If Hong Kong can handle its youth unrest well, then the unrest of youth in China, which we know is growing, may bring the PRC [People's Republic of China] to come here and ask, ?how are you doing this?? ?
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Since your outdoor space is an expansion of your abode you should think about the flow from your home into your outdoor space. The simplest way to aid this flow and make certain the move from the inside to outside is sleek you should put some thought into the windows and doors. Window shutters will help you bring the sunlight to your dwelling or supply solitude from your neighbours. Hunter Douglas Canada carries a great variety of designer door and window products that might help smooth transitions from the inside to outside. Patio doors are a critical thing to consider when preparing your outdoor area. Your patio door needs to be functional - straightforward to open while handling drinks or dishes in a single hand. Your sliding patio doors ought to be safeguarded since they are generally an exterior entry point for your home. You want to make sure your family members are safe with a secure patio door.In relation to safety and pools and also safety and hot tubs there are a few tips to adhere to. Any outdoor pool ought to have a fence around it. Surrounding your pool with a fence is supposed to reduce the number of accidental drownings of children and pets which happen in backyard pools every year. For your hot tub be sure you assemble the cover on it when you aren't utilizing it. These simple steps can help make your yard safe and soothing for your visitors and family.
Planning the right outdoor living space boils down to aesthetic attractiveness, sustainability, functionality and safety. This is how interlocking features will help. Interlocking is a great way to add beauty to your residence while lowering stumbling hazards and making certain an even surface for walking. Surrounding an in-ground pool using a slip resistant interlocking material is a great option to keep your loved ones, especially toddlers keep safe and don't injure them selves playing around and having fun.
If you are planning to install a new patio, hot tub, pool, patio furniture, sliding door or interlocking deck there's lots of features which can help to make your outdoor living space a great spot to hang out with people you care about.
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Right on cue, mobile game developer Rovio has released Bad Piggies, the swine-centric Angry Birds spin-off, on Google Play and other platforms. The game is available now as a free download from Google's app store, and comes in regular and HD (tablet-optimized) flavors.
Bad Piggies sees players take on the role of the mischievous green pigs from Angry Birds, building all manner of precarious vehicles in order to reach the end of the level, and steal some eggs along the way. The pig-focused gameplay has a lot in common with an earlier Rovio title, Amazing Alex. Players build contraptions, out of parts in a 2D grid, before taking them for a spin in the game world.
Our early impressions are that it's a fun little game, and with two zones consisting of 45 levels each, in addition to an unlockable sandbox mode, there should be plenty of content to keep you entertained. We'll have a full review of Bad Piggies up before long, so stay tuned. In the meantime, you can grab the game from the Google Play link above.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/nY2VKEnhWjc/story01.htm
President Barack Obama pauses during his speech at the Clinton Global Initiative, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
President Barack Obama pauses during his speech at the Clinton Global Initiative, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, right, talks with his vice presidential running mate Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on his campaign bus after a rally on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012 in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? For the past year, as the presidential election unfolded, President Barack Obama confronted a dizzying swell of economic news ? hiring up, hiring down, a euro crisis abroad, seesawing gasoline prices at the pump, foreclosures dragging down home values.
Six weeks before the election, those highs and lows are merging into a straighter line which, while below optimum performance, is moving in a positive direction for the country and for the president in his contest with Republican rival Mitt Romney.
Consumer confidence is at its highest level since February. Home values are up and, more important in the election season, housing prices in 20 major cities, many of them in battleground states, rose in July. Despite recent declines, the stock market has been on an upswing, adding value to Americans' 401(k) retirement plans.
Improving consumer confidence is certainly a positive sign for Obama, who has faced a slow economic recovery and a stubbornly high unemployment rate that has remained above 8 percent since virtually the start of his presidency. The consumer confidence index, as measured by The Conference Board, jumped from 61.3 for August to 70.3 for September, though it remains well below 90, the level that is thought to signify a healthy economy.
The numbers track with recent public opinion polls showing that while a majority of Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction, an increasing number say the country is on the right path. The rising optimism also coincides with polls showing Obama opening leads in some crucial swing states, including all-important Ohio.
If Obama's advantage holds through Election Day, September may be remembered as a pivotal month when political and economic attitudes began to gel.
A weak recovery still makes the economy vulnerable, and public opinion can still change during the critical month of October. Three debates next month between Obama and Romney have the potential of shaking up the race. And the stock market showed its fickleness Tuesday with its worst sell-off since June after a Federal Reserve official cast doubt on the effectiveness of the central bank's recent economy-boosting measures.
But with early voting already under way in some states and with a shrinking number of persuadable voters, Obama aides see a favorable political landscape despite Romney's focus on sluggish growth.
Obama advisers have long argued that despite the economy's weak performance, Obama's re-election hopes rested on a positive trend line. Indeed, Obama has been running an ad since the Democratic convention earlier this month that points to private sector job growth even as it acknowledges "we're not there yet."
"The economy is perceived in relative rather than absolute terms," said St. Louis University political scientist and pollster Ken Warren.
Romney aides argue that their bottom-line argument ? that the country cannot afford another four years of Obama ? remains a winning message that can still resonate with undecided voters.
While the confidence accrues to the president's benefit, consumer attitudes are more a reflection of their economic perceptions than they are of presidential approval. What's more, studies of the relationship between politics and consumer confidence show that falling confidence hurts a president's approval rating more than rising confidence helps.
If the president can benefit, pollsters say Democrats and Republicans seeking re-election in tough contests might also profit from improving economic indicators.
"It would help all incumbents because people are less angry," Warren said.
The rise in confidence comes as the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index showed that national home prices rose 1.2 percent in July compared with a year ago, increasing home equity and, by extension, the perception of personal wealth.
"People pick up on that very quickly," said Rob Shapiro, an economist and former adviser to President Bill Clinton. "They're no longer getting poor every month. So people think, 'OK, we are on a better path, even if we're proceeding on it a lot more slowly than I expected or hoped.'"
Significantly, prices are rising in many large cities in swing states such as Florida, Colorado, Michigan and North Carolina. Prices have risen 3.6 percent in Tampa, Fla., in the past year, for example. And they're up 5.4 percent in Denver, 6.2 percent in Detroit and 2.2 percent in Charlotte, N.C.
Still, Obama is bucking trends. Unemployment stands at 8.1 percent, and no president has been re-elected with unemployment above 8 percent since the Great Depression. Despite improving public attitudes, an Associated Press-GfK poll this month found 52 percent of likely voters said the country was moving in the wrong direction.
"Going from absolutely horrible to really, really bad is not exactly an endorsement of an incumbent president's record," Republican pollster Whit Ayres said. "We're a long way from measures that show the American people have confidence in the direction of the economy."
Shapiro concedes that the politics are confounding. A Washington Post poll out Tuesday showed Obama leading Romney among likely voters in Ohio, 52 to 44 percent. The president also had a slight edge in Florida, 51 to 47 percent among those most likely to vote.
"We have a president who is leading in a very convincing way despite economic numbers that suggest that he should either be losing or just hanging on, and he's not just hanging on," Shapiro said.
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