The Innocent Cooking Mistake that Could Cause Cancer

By Ori Hofmekler

Experimental studies show that all thermolyzed (ultra-heated) proteins can promote colon cancer and so do thermolyzed carbohydrates and fried fat.

Thermolyzed casein in particular has shown to cause the growth of aberrant crypt foci (ACF tumors) and colon cancer.

Ultra-heating makes proteins less digestible as a consequence of cross-linking and racemization ? which involve formation of unnatural peptides and amino acids.

As a result of decreased digestibility, more proteins escape from the stomach to the large bowel, where they're fermented into tumor promoting waste products such as ammonia and a variety of toxic phenols.

The colonic protein fermentation could explain several known associations between diets rich in fried food, roasted meats or ultra-heated cheese and colon cancer.

There is growing evidence that conventional household cooking preparations of protein play a major role in the pathogenesis of colon cancer. Exposure of food to high cooking temperatures (over 180?C) such as with oven roasting or frying can lead to the formation of toxic carcinogenic compounds which include aromatic hydrocarbon, benzopyrene and heterocyclic amine.

Our society likes roasted and fried food. We like grilled meats, French fries and pizza. We like to caramelize or "brown" our food when we cook, particularly our proteins.

Colon Cancer Increases with Heated Protein Intake

Studies sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, Toronto, Canada, indicated that the number of colon cancers increase threefold in animals consuming a diet in which approximately one half of the protein has been heated to a golden brown color. Note that in the typical diet, most of animal flesh and marine protein foods are heated to a golden brown color. Scientists suggest that heat treatment of proteins can lead to isomerization, deamination and other modifications of amino acids. The most obvious cancer promoters are heterocyclic amines which could result from racemization of proteins into d-amino acids and cross linking of proteins into unnatural peptides such as lysinoalanine.

Technically, heated proteins get carcinogenic due to changes in their molecular integrity; reduced digestibility and increased nitrogen waste. The reduced digestibility of cooked proteins increase the load of nitrogenous waste material reaching the colon via fermentation to ammonia and phenols ? both of which are cancer promoters.

Note that colon cancer is the third deadliest cancer in the U.S. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 150,000 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer every year and 55,000 will die as a result of the disease during that time period.

Digestive Resistant Fiber Can Help Prevent Protein Fermentation and Related Cancer

The good news is that starches resistant to digestion (such as digestive-resistant maltodextrin) and other natural water soluble fibers serve as substrates to feed gut flora (friendly gut bacteria) and increase colonic carbohydrate fermentation. This then increases the level of energy reaching the friendly bacteria and thereby REDUCES the level of colonic protein fermentation along with the risk of colon cancer formation.

Conclusions

• Avoid eating roasted or fried proteins and melted cheese ? yes, this includes grilled meat or fish, fried chicken, roast beef, barbeque, and pizza. To be on the safe side, avoid all kinds of carmelized sugar, toasted starch and roasted nuts.
• If you still choose to eat grilled, roasted or fried food, try cutting off the burned or browned outer layer part.
• Time under heat is a crucial factor. Short pasteurization is safer than long pasteurization ? the longer a protein is heated the more degraded and toxic it gets.
• Make sure your protein product does not include thermolyzed casein ? which has shown to be the most carcinogenic among all other thermolyzed food.
• You can still enjoy eating most of your protein foods warm if you cook them in a broth. This will limit the cooking temperature to a 100? Celsius threshold, which has shown to be quite safe and presents minimum health risk. Cooking, stewing or poaching fish, meat or eggs in a broth can be your alternative to frying, grilling or roasting. But note that cheese must be eaten raw. Heating destroys fragile peptides and amino acids in cheese so to be on the safe side, avoid all kinds of pizzas and melted cheese treats.
• Avoid protein powders which are exposed to ultra heat or heat/acid treatment. These often include protein isolates such as casein and whey isolates as well as soy, hemp and rice protein isolates.
• Avoid whey proteins derived from ultra pasteurized milk. If the whey manufacturer fails to provide you with a certificate of conformity (CoC) which clearly declares that their whey is manufactured from raw milk, then most likely the product is ultra pasteurized.
• Increase your fiber consumption particularly in your protein meals. Note that protein supplements formulated with digestive resistant fiber are more digestible, and safer.

About the Author

Ori Hofmekler is the author of The Warrior Diet, The Anti-Estrogenic Diet, Maximum Muscle Minimum Fat, and Unlock Your Muscle Gene.

References

Source: http://blogs.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/12/31/heating-proteins-can-lead-to-cancer.aspx

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Will Chinese Baseball Make it to the Big Leagues? (Time.com)

The field took just four months to build amid the high-rise apartment blocks on the outskirts of Changzhou, an anonymous,second-tier city about 100 miles west of Shanghai in eastern China. Then, in this Chinese version of Field of Dreams, came the players, each with a nickname bestowed by their American coach, Rick Dell: V.B., or Volleyball Boy, a lanky 14-year-old from Jiangsu province whose mother was a volleyball player; Xiao (Little) Baby Ruth, the pudgy catcher and joker of the team; and Tony, who Dell says "looks like a little Italian guy" from far away.

If all goes according to plan, Xiao BabyRuth or Chinese Tony may one day be playing for the Red Sox or Yankees in Major League Baseball. It may sound far-fetched, but watching these middle- and high-school kids make running catches in the outfield and throw fastballs upwards of 82 mph, it's not totally inconceivable. The Changzhou development center, which opened in September, is MLB's second training school in China aiming to produce players who might one day have a shot at the Majors, or more realistically, China's national baseball league. But finding the Yao Ming of baseball isn't the only objective. MLB is also desperate to bring back a sport that was wiped out during the Cultural Revolution and make it as popular inChina today as it is in Japan and Korea. (Read about baseball dreams in the Dominican Republic.)

This may be difficult given that America's favorite pastime is still relatively unknown in China, with only about 4 million players compared to the estimated 300 million who play basketball. But MLB officials are optimistic, largely due to the success of the sport across Asia, particularly in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Baseball has a long history in China, too. The game was introduced to the country over a century ago by Chinese students returning home from Yale University. Mao Zedong banned it during the Cultural Revolution -- unlike his beloved basketball -- but it re-emerged after his death, eventually leading to the formation of the professional China Baseball League in 2002. In recent years, China has also made steady progress on the international stage, getting a hugely gratifying -- and high-profile -- victory over rival Chinese Taipei (also known as Taiwan) at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Jim Small, the Tokyo-based vice president of MLB Asia, believes baseball is well suited to Chinese culture. An official oncetold him that, were he around, Confucius himself might be a fan. "There's a lot of Confucian ideas in the game of baseball. It's the only real team sport where there's no clock. It's about sacrifice. It's one of the few times where you actually sacrifice yourself for the better of the team," he says. China also takes immense pride in excelling in sports it's not supposed to. Remember Li Na's victory at the French Open? "Ten years ago, people thought you're not going to have Chinese sprinters or Chinese swimmers and now they're the best of the world in those (sports), so why not baseball?" Small says.(See the 10 worst MLB stars.)

Still, MLB officials admit it will take time toincrease the visibility of a sport as nuanced as baseball. The long-term strategy has been a grassroots approach. MLB has introduced baseball to 120elementary schools in five cities through a program called Play Ball!, with an annual, nationwide tournament for the best schools in the spring. It's also started a traveling baseball theme park that toured 20 cities this year, attracting some 2.5 million visitors. And a Mandarin-language version of This Week in Baseball, a weekly MLB highlights show in the U.S., is now broadcast on eight regional Chinese networks.

But bolstering the sport's popularity mayultimately depend upon producing a Chinese star, says Leon Xie, managing director of MLB China. "It's called the Yao Ming effect," he says. "You get your superstar, then you get your fan base, and then that will get us closer to our ultimate goal, to get baseball back to the country." This is why the MLB training centers in Changzhou and nearby Wuxi, which was set up in 2009, are so important.

When MLB opened its Wuxi center, it recruited players locally and had to start with the basics. "The first time most kids had been on a baseball field was the first day we had practice," says Dell, who was head baseball coach at the College of New Jersey for 27 years before moving to China to oversee the development program. Two years later, officials were able to travel the country to scout talent for the Changzhou center, recruiting youngsters from as far away as Qinghai province in the west, where the game is popular among Tibetans, to Guangdong province in the south, to Beijing in the north. "There are independent pockets of baseball that are popping up ... that are being initiated by interested individuals who might be Korean or Chinese-Americans or Americans," Dell says. "What we've started to do is connect the dots."

The progress in Changzhou has been quick -- and the players' enthusiasm is palpable. After class on a recent weekday, the 20 boys in the program hit the field wearing bright blue and red jerseys, black Nike cleats, and caps from different MLB teams for their weekly in-house game. The red team strikes first, scoring two runs on an overthrown ball to first, but the blue team rallies in its final at-bat. After one batter safely reaches base -- prompting his teammate to yell "Safe!" in English -- Bama, a 14-year-old Tibetan player from Qinghai, steps to the plate. He cracks the ball to the outfield and sprints to first as his teammates go nuts in the dugout. The comeback is short-lived, though. The light is fading and Dell calls the game.

Bama, whose nickname sounds like his Tibetan name Huadan Banma, says afterward that he only started playing three years ago and his dream is to one day make it to MLB like his idol, Alex Rodriguez. "If I can succeed, I want to earn lots of money that I can use to help others," he says quietly. But even if there aren't any future Major Leaguers on the field today, Dell says, baseball is making inroads. "We've done things slowly and deliberately," he says. "We wanted to do real things. What you see here is a real thing."

See the top 10 sports moments of 2011.

See TIME's baseball covers.

View this article on Time.com

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/time/20111230/wl_time/08599210160900

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Italy raises $14 billion at much lower cost (AP)

ROME ? Strong demand for short-term Italian government debt on Wednesday pushed the country's borrowing costs lower and suggested investors have become less jittery about an imminent default by the eurozone's third-largest economy.

Italy raised euro10.7 billion ($14 billion) in a pair of auctions at sharply lower rates than those it was forced to pay just a month ago when investor concerns over the ability of the country to service its massive debts became particularly acute and effectively prompted a change in government.

The sharp decline in Italy's borrowing costs could be a signal that commercial banks from the 17 countries that use the euro diverted some of the money they tapped from emergency loans from the European Central Bank last week to buy the bonds of heavily indebted governments. It may also suggest rising investor confidence in Italy's recent efforts to reduce its long-term debt through a variety of austerity measures.

The Bank of Italy said the average yield on its euro9 billion ($11.8 billion) six-month bill offering was 3.251 percent, half the 6.504 percent rate it had to pay at the equivalent auction last month. And an auction of two-year bonds, which raised euro1.7 billion ($2.2 billion), also saw the yield fall to 4.853 percent from 7.814 percent last month.

"This is an encouraging development, suggesting that the Italian sovereign debt market has pulled back from the dangerous situation in late November," said Raj Badiani, a senior economist at IHS Global Insight.

"The calmer environment reflects the passing of additional austerity measures and some welcome progress on the structural reform agenda, coupled with the ECB's decision to provide additional cheap financing to Italian banks," Badiani added.

After initially cheering the auction results, sentiment in markets deteriorated sharply in risk-averse trading following a weaker than anticipated performance on Wall Street.

While Italy's FTSE MIB fell in line with other stock markets, the euro slid to $1.2938, its lowest level since Jan. 11 and the yield on Italy's benchmark ten-year bonds pushed back towards the 7 percent mark that is widely considered to be unsustainable in the long-run. Further insights into the level of demand for Italy's ten-year bonds will emerge in an auction Thursday.

Italy is the eurozone's third-largest economy and is considered too big to save under the eurozone's current bailout funds. Markets have grown fearful over the past few months that Italy will find it difficult to pay off its massive debts, which stand at around euro1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion). Next year alone, Italy has some euro330 billion ($431 billion) of debt to refinance.

Mario Monti, the country's new premier, got parliamentary approval last week for more spending cuts and tax increases intended to save the country from financial disaster. One of the most controversial aspects of the austerity package is reform of Italy's bloated pension system.

As well as possibly indicating increased confidence that Monti's efforts will keep the country's finances on a sustainable path, Wednesday's auctions could also have been supported as well by a large infusion of credit to eurozone banks last week from the European Central Bank. A week ago, 523 banks took the opportunity to swell their coffers by euro489 billion ($639 billion), the largest ECB loan operation in the 13-year history of the euro.

There has been speculation that the stronger banks might use the cheap, long-term loans ? on which the current interest rate is 1 percent ? to purchase government bonds that carry higher interest rates and profit from the difference.

That could support both government and bank finances. But it would run contrary to efforts by many banks to lower their exposure to bonds issued by heavily indebted governments.

While some banks may be using the money they got from the ECB to buy up government debt, many others appear to have opted for a much safer option ? depositing their new cash back with the central bank. Figures Wednesday showed eurozone banks parked a record euro452 billon ($591 billion) overnight at the bank Tuesday, surpassing the previous record of euro411.80 billion set only Monday.

___

AP Business Writer David McHugh contributed from Frankfurt, Germany.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_italy_financial_crisis

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The Greatest Electric Razor for Your Beautiful Face [Shaving]

At a time when robots vacuum our floors and make love to our wives, isn't it a bit backwards to drag razor blades across your face, aided by foamy lubricant and water? Electric razors are great—here's the best. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Y6ExUO49y8g/the-greatest-electric-razor-for-your-beautiful-face

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Fearing split, pastors urge GOP candidates to quit (AP)

DES MOINES, Iowa ? Two politically active pastors in Iowa's robust evangelical conservative movement said Wednesday that an effort has been under way to persuade either Rick Santorum or Michele Bachmann to consider quitting the Republican presidential race and endorsing the other to avoid splintering this influential voting bloc's influence in the state's caucuses.

"Otherwise, like-minded people will be divided and water down their impact," said Rev. Cary Gordon, a Sioux City minister. He said he asked Santorum several weeks ago to consider exiting the race but has since endorsed the former Pennsylvania senator, who is rising in polls.

Rev. Albert Calloway, a retired pastor from Indianola, said he asked Bachmann, a Minnesota congresswoman, several days ago to consider quitting the race.

A group of voters that united behind former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's winning caucus campaign in 2008 fear that this year's caucuses could be won by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney or Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. Neither track as closely to the religious right as Santorum, Bachmann or Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Santorum, long dismissed and short on campaign money, has diligently campaigned in Iowa for more than two years. A CNN poll of Iowa caucus-goers released Wednesday showed Santorum leaping into third place in Iowa, at 16 percentage points, behind Romney and Paul.

In recent weeks, Santorum has picked up the endorsements of key social conservatives, including former gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats, who led the successful effort last year to oust three Iowa Supreme Court judges who were part of the court's unanimous 2009 decision to allow gay marriage.

Bachmann too has rallied Iowa's influential conservative clergy. Many, like Jeff Mullen, pastor of one of the Des Moines area's mega churches, helped lead Bachmann's winning campaign for Iowa's Republican presidential straw poll last August. But since then, Bachmann has faded in polls, although Wednesday she planned to conclude an ambitious effort to campaign in all of Iowa's 99 counties.

The CNN poll showed Bachmann with support of 9 percent of likely GOP caucus-goers, up slightly from the last poll. Perry had 11 percent, also up slightly.

Bachmann told reporters on her campaign bus between stops in Iowa on Wednesday she wasn't quitting and planned to announce additional clergy who were supporting her candidacy.

"The pastors who have endorsed my campaign want to see me as the next president of the United States," Bachmann said.

Gordon, who helped lead the campaign against the judges, said the fear of a divided social conservative vote is widespread among the state's evangelical clergy. However, few have actually reached out to candidates, he said.

Brad Cranston, a pastor from Burlington, said he too is worried that social conservatives will split their vote and lose influence over the eventual GOP nominee, but he has not yet tried to contact any candidates.

"It's more and more obvious it needs to happen for either Bachmann or Santorum to move forward," said Cranston, who has endorsed Bachmann.

___

Associated Press writer Brian Bakst in Indianola, Iowa, contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_on_el_pr/us_iowa_caucuses_pastors

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Kudrin's 2 cents: Ex finance minister urges opposition-government ...

Former Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin addresses an authorized opposition rally "For Fair Election" on Sakharov Avenue, Moscow (AFP Photo / Alexander Vilf)

Erstwhile Russian finance minister Aleksey Kudrin has come up with his own program for overcoming the current political standoff and is ready to become a mediator between the protesters and the authorities.

Kudrin believes dialogue between the protesters and the power base is possible, he said in an interview with Vedomosti daily.

On Saturday, Kudrin made a surprise appearance at the biggest protest rally in Moscow in about 20 years. Tens of thousands of participants demanded fair elections, jeered the Kremlin, and chanted slogans against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Along with opposition leaders and other critics of the government, Kudrin addressed the crowd with a speech. He stressed that a broad political reform and amendments to the law on elections and registration of parties recently suggested by President Dmitry Medvedev should first be discussed with the opposition. Then, new parties should be created and an early State Duma vote should be held next year.

Kudrin agreed with protesters over the violations during the December 4 vote and that the head of the Central Election Commission Vladimir Churov should be dismissed. The protesters, however, were not terribly excited by the appeal and booed the former minister, who Putin recently called ?my long-standing friend.?

Explaining the reason behind his decision to turn up at the December 24 demonstration, Kudrin told Vedomosti that he is worried about the events in the country.

?I?ve analyzed them: everything that took place before and after the rally on Bolotnaya [Square], Putin?s live Q&A, Medvedev?s address [to the Federal Assembly,? he said.

?I realized that both sides ? the protesters? demands and Medvedev?s political initiatives ? have shortcomings. The rally demands the annulling of election results, but doesn?t consider how the country would live without a parliament. Medvedev, for his part, submitted his proposals without any public debate,? Kudrin pointed out.

The ex-minister stressed that instability must be prevented and ideas proposed by both sides should be discussed and adjusted.

Kudrin observed that completely different people ? from students and teachers to clerks and businessmen ? came to last Saturday?s meeting on Akademika Sakharova Boulevard. He noted that the members of rally?s organizing committee said that a dialogue with the authorities is possible. Kudrin urged the creation of a group of negotiators and drafting a list of demands to be put on the negotiating table.

Explaining his confidence over the leadership?s readiness to listen to protesters, Kudrin said he drew such conclusions after discussing the matter with Putin prior to the demonstration.

The ex finance chief stressed though that he himself made the decision to come to the rally and make an appeal, and underlined that Putin did not authorize him to become a negotiator. Kudrin noted that he is happy with his current independent position, would not want to lose it and if the sides manage to iron out differences without his help, he would only be glad.

Aleksey Kudrin noted that the main point of the rally was a demand for fair elections and even the protesters agree that whoever wins in a fair battle should rule the country.

?As I understood from the conversation with Putin, he is not afraid of the March 4 [presidential] vote and is ready to take all necessary measures in order to hold the elections fairly. I think this should be used in order to hold a model poll on March 4,? Kudrin concluded.

Source: http://rt.com/politics/kudrin-protesters-government-dialogue-717/

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Japan, China look to trade talks, debt buys (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? Japan and China agreed to start formal talks early next year on a free trade pact that would also include South Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Sunday after talks that showed the deepening bonds between Asia's two biggest economies.

Japan also said it was looking to buy Chinese treasury debt, and the two governments agreed to enhance financial cooperation.

"On a free trade agreement among Japan, China and South Korea, we've made a substantial progress for an early start of negotiations," Noda told reporters after his meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao.

China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, said on its website (www.pbc.gov.cn) that the two leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral financial market cooperation and "encourage the use of the renminbi and Japanese yen in international trade transactions between the two countries."

The renminbi is another name for China's yuan currency.

The trade talks announcement builds on an agreement between the three countries last month also to seek a trilateral investment treaty and finish studies on the proposed free trade agreement by the end of December so that they could start formal negotiations on the trade pact.

"China is willing to closely coordinate with Japan to promote our two countries' monetary and financial development, and to accelerate progress of the China-Japan-Republic of Korea free-trade zone and East Asian financial cooperation," Wen told Noda at the meeting, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry's official website (www.mfa.gov.cn).

But the regional trade negotiations could also compete for attention with Washington's push for a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), after Japan said last month it wants to join in the talks over the U.S. proposal.

CLOSER ECONOMIC TIES

Despite sometimes rancorous political ties between the two neighbors, Japan's economic fortunes are increasingly tied to China's economic growth and consumer demand.

China and Japan are also the world's first and second-biggest holders of foreign reserves. Wen told Noda that closer economic ties were in both countries' interests.

"The deep-seated consequences of the current international financial crisis continue to spread, and the complexity and severity of global and world developments have exceeded our expectations," Wen said.

"China and Japan both have the need and conditions to join hands more closely to respond to challenges and deepen mutually beneficial strategic relations."

China has been Japan's biggest trading partner since 2009.

In 2010, trade between the two nations grew by 22.3 percent compared to levels in 2009, reaching 26.5 trillion yen ($339.3 billion), according to the Japan External Trade Organization.

In a statement issued after the two leaders' meeting, the Japanese government said it would seek to buy Chinese government bonds -- a tentative step toward diversification of Tokyo's large foreign exchange reserves that are believed to be mostly held in dollars.

China central bank said the two governments agreed to support Japanese businesses issuing yuan bonds in Tokyo and other markets outside of China, and Japan Bank for International Cooperation would begin a pilot scheme for issuing yuan-denominated bonds in mainland China.

The People's Bank of China also said it will support Japan in using the yuan for direct investment in China.

But Japanese officials have stressed that Japan's trust in dollar assets remains unshaken, and the scale of the planned purchase of Chinese government bonds will be small.

Wen and Noda also agreed to set up a framework to discuss maritime issues after diplomatic ties deteriorated sharply last year following Japan's arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain near disputed isles in the East China Sea.

Bilateral meetings attended by vice ministers and senior officials from relevant ministries will be held periodically to exchange views, in an effort to prevent a similar row from happening.

"On maritime matters, we have successfully set up a channel to solve problems through multi-layered dialogue," Noda told reporters.

(Additional reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Writing by Chris Buckley; Editing by Yoko Nishikawa)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111225/bs_nm/us_china_japan_korea

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Tough choice looms on 9/11 health lawsuits

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2001 file photo, firefighters make their way over the ruins of the World Trade Center through clouds of dust and smoke at ground zero in New York. More than 1,600 people suing over their exposure to World Trade Center dust must decide by Jan. 2 whether to keep fighting in court, or drop their lawsuits and apply for benefits from a government fund. (AP Photo/Stan Honda, Pool, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2001 file photo, firefighters make their way over the ruins of the World Trade Center through clouds of dust and smoke at ground zero in New York. More than 1,600 people suing over their exposure to World Trade Center dust must decide by Jan. 2 whether to keep fighting in court, or drop their lawsuits and apply for benefits from a government fund. (AP Photo/Stan Honda, Pool, File)

FILE - In this March 19, 2010 file photo, New York City resident Lori Angelone holds a banner describing her husband Louis' ailments outside Manhattan Federal Court in New York. More than 1,600 people suing over their exposure to World Trade Center dust must decide by Jan. 2 whether to keep fighting in court, or drop their lawsuits and apply for benefits from a government fund. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? More than 1,600 people who filed lawsuits claiming that their health was ruined by dust and smoke from the collapsed World Trade Center must decide by Jan. 2 whether to keep fighting in court, or drop the litigation and apply for benefits from a government compensation fund.

For some, the choice is fraught with risk.

Federal lawmakers set aside $2.76 billion last winter for people who developed illnesses after spending time in the ash-choked disaster zone.

But to be considered for a share of the aid, all potential applicants must dismiss any pending lawsuits by the deadline and give up their right to sue forever over Sept. 11, 2001, health problems. Anyone with a lawsuit still pending on Jan. 3 is barred from the program for life.

The government program is attractive because it spares the sick from having to prove that their illness is related to Sept. 11, and that someone other than the terrorists put them in harm's way. But applicants won't know for months, or even years, how much money they might eventually receive from the program. That means some people may give up their lawsuits and find out later that they only qualify for a modest payment.

Others face a deeper problem. People exposed to trade center dust have blamed it for hundreds of illnesses, but currently the fund only covers a limited number of ailments, including asthma, scarred lungs and other respiratory system problems. That list does not currently include any type of cancer, which scientists have yet to link to trade center toxins.

But the very possibility that cancer could, someday, be covered has led some plaintiffs to drop their lawsuits anyway.

"In a sense, I've weighed my options and rolled the dice believing that the country I helped is not going to let me down," said former New York City police detective John Walcott, who retired after being diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia in 2003.

He decided a few days before Christmas to drop his case, saying he had come to believe he would never get anything out of the legal system.

"The court system was set up for attorneys to make a lot of money," he said. He added that at age 47, he is tired of a court fight that had no end in sight. "I'm done with 9/11. I can't go forward with my life and family and live in peace with this hanging over me."

The special master overseeing the compensation fund, Sheila Birnbaum, acknowledged that the deadline would put some people in a tight spot, especially if they have an illness that isn't currently covered by the fund.

"That is one of the dilemmas," she said.

Birnbaum noted, though, that the law gives her no wiggle room. Anyone who has a lawsuit active on Jan. 3 will be disqualified from consideration, she said, even if their illness is later deemed to be covered.

"It's a hard decision that they have to make," she said.

The lengthy application process for the fund began in October, and Birnbaum said she expected thousands to apply. She could not say how many might do so by the time the fund closes years from now.

Lawyers who represent people with pending cases said they have been going over the pros and cons with their clients for several months, to see which option might suit them better.

"It's a complicated analysis," said attorney Gregory Cannata, whose firm represents about 100 people, including laborers brought in to repair damaged buildings and cleaners who swept tons of dust from office suites.

Cannata said that for the most part, his clients have decided to stick with their lawsuits, in part because of the possibility of a larger payout than they might receive under the government program.

Police officers, firefighters and city contractors who cleared away the 9/11 rubble make up only a small slice of the people facing the dilemma. Most of the more than 5,000 city workers who filed lawsuits claiming that the city had failed to protect them from the dust settled their cases in 2010, before the compensation fund was created.

Walcott was one of a few who rejected the deal, worth more than $700 million. Under the law, people who settled previously will be allowed to apply for government benefits. Any award they receive will be reduced by whatever they got from the legal settlement.

The tough decisions won't end Jan. 2.

In addition to people with legal claims already pending, thousands more New Yorkers have become ill because of exposure to the dust. They will have to decide in the coming years whether to sue someone over their illness or try their luck in the government program.

If too many people apply for aid from the compensation fund ? including people with common illnesses that may, or may not, have anything to do with Sept. 11 toxins ? the nearly $2.8 billion set aside by Congress may get exhausted quickly. Adding just 1,000 people with cancer to the program could eat up $1 billion, said Noah Kushlefsky, an attorney with the firm Kreindler & Kreindler.

"The real question is, how many more cases are there out there?" Kushlefsky said.

Enough, it seems, to keep both the courts and the 9/11 fund administrators busy for some time yet.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-25-Sept%2011%20Victims%20Fund/id-7649ce9f7def4b97931944959557a2f4

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Pope laments Christmas consumerism, glitter (AP)

VATICAN CITY ? Pope Benedict XVI decried the increasing commercialization of Christmas as he celebrated Christmas Eve Mass on Saturday night, urging the faithful to look beyond the holiday's "superficial glitter" to discover its true meaning.

Benedict presided over the service in a packed St. Peter's Basilica, kicking off an intense two weeks of Christmas-related public appearances that will test the 84-year-old pontiff's stamina amid signs that fatigue is starting to slow him down.

The Christmas Eve Mass was moved up to 10 p.m. from midnight several years ago to spare the pope a late night that is followed by an important Christmas Day speech. In a new concession this year, Benedict processed down the basilica's central aisle on a moving platform to spare him the long walk.

Benedict appeared tired by the end of the Mass and a dry cough interrupted his homily.

In his homily, Benedict lamented that Christmas has become an increasingly commercial celebration that obscures the simplicity of the message of Christ's birth.

"Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light," he said.

It was the second time in as many days that Benedict has pointed to the need to rediscover faith to confront the problems facing the world today. In his end-of-year meeting with Vatican officials on Thursday, Benedict said Europe's financial crisis was largely "based on the ethical crisis looming over the Old Continent."

Benedict officially kicked off Christmas a few hours before the evening Mass, lighting a candle in his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square in a sign of peace, as crowds gathered to witness the unveiling of the Vatican's larger-than-life sized nativity scene.

Security was tight for the evening Mass, as it has been in recent years. There were no repeats of the 2008 and 2009 Christmas Eve security breaches, in which a woman with a history of psychiatric problems and wearing a telltale red sweat shirt jumped the wooden security barrier along the basilica's central aisle and lunged for the pope.

In 2008, the pope's security detail blocked her from getting to Benedict. But in 2009, she managed to grab Benedict's vestments and pulled him to the ground. The pope was unhurt and continued along with the service, but a French cardinal who was nearby fell and broke his hip.

On Sunday, Benedict will deliver his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" speech, Latin for "to the city and the world," from the central loggia of St. Peter's overlooking the piazza. Usually, the speech is a survey of sorts of the hardships and wars confronting humanity. He's also due to deliver Christmas greetings in dozens of languages.

Next weekend, he'll preside over a New Year's Eve vespers service, followed by a New Year's Day Mass. A few days later he'll celebrate Epiphany Mass followed by his traditional baptizing of babies in the Vatican's frescoed Sistine Chapel.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111224/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_christmas_eve

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Aloha, Steve Jobs

? Matthew Kluger Pleads Guilty on Insider Trading | Main | Happy Holidays ?

Aloha, Steve Jobs

I have just finished Walter Isaacson's compelling biography of Apple's Steve Jobs, one of the most fascinating portraits of a leader I have ever encountered.?

Dylan Baker reads the unabridged audio version, which is very, very long, but contains not one minute of excess. From start to 656-page finish, Isaacson creates a portrait of a brilliant, difficult, defiant, determined, passionate, mean-spirited, visionary, headstrong, OCD, insightful, etc., etc., etc., man.

I am still processing my reaction to the content, but I don't remember any biography that so inspired me. No doubt, part of the fascination is because of my San Francisco Bay Area roots ? I am just a few years older than Jobs and grew up about 15 minutes north of Palo Alto, and was at U.C. Santa Cruz for my undergrad years, so I resonated to many of his influences.

The book helped me better understand technology issues, including the two opposite philosophies behind Apple and Microsoft, and the turning point (in my opinion, the iPhone more than the iPod) where everything changed. Steve Jobs insisted on a "closed" system that was intuitive and user-friendly, where every device easily integrates with any other Apple device ? but users can't even change a battery. Bill Gates' model was creating software that could be licensed by just about anyone and used however they pleased.?The book chronicles the development of both companies, and how they competed, but also how they intersected and even cooperated from time to time.?

The dominant theme of the book is how Steve absolutely insisted on the marriage of art and techology ? to the point of almost absurdity. (He probably defines the term "micro-manage.") Jobs worshiped simplicity and minimalism, and intuitive operation of devices, and he pushed his teams to near breakdowns in his demands for absolute perfection in products. He was not afraid, even at the last stages of production, to insist on revisions. It had to be right. Period. Not every product was a success, indeed, some were dramatic flameouts. But he kept pushing.

One of my favorite things about Apple is the packaging, and the visual delight of opening the box ? another target of Jobs' compulsive, hands-on management. I also like the never-on-sale pricing that removes any concerns that you could have gotten a better deal at another store. (Ditto). And speaking of stores, they were another focus of Jobs' acute attention, all the way down to choosing the floor tiles and the quality of the glass used for the stairs.

And it all comes down to that wedding of art and technology.?

The biography also helped me better understand my own career path and how I run?Law Technology News?magazine. I don't have the talent, vision, or resources of Steve Jobs ? but the mix of art and technology has been, and will continue to be, a driving force in?Law Technology News magazine. With art director Shane DeLeers (also an Apple devot?e) we always push to integrate design and art with the words of the magazine.

The book also reinforced my passion (or as many would say, obsession) for clear, clean, accessible, jargon-free, gender-neutral language ? with positive, active words rather than passive. I believe fiercely in the anthropology of language ? that the words and images we choose create the perceptions and realities of the reader.?My goal with LTN?always has been to empower our readers (lawyers, judges, CIOs, IT, CFOs, GCs, paralegals, vendors, et. al) and help us understand that technology really can help us build better businesses, better communities, and better relationships.?

Ultimately, there are so many lessons in this book. Among them: That you don't have to be perfect to effect change. That failure is inevitable on the path to success. That conflicting technologies can co-exist. That you need to actually listen to your doctors. :( That OCD behavior has its benefits :)?

So here's to passionate, fearless, imperfect leaders who inspire us to do our best work. And here's to art and technology. Thank you, Steve Jobs, we miss you already.

Videos of Isaacson discussing the book (scroll down) here. ?

Image: Simon & Schuster

December 20, 2011 in Books, Commentary & Analysis | Permalink

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Hello Dear,-
Very Well spoken I fully agree,
Regards,
Flemming.

Posted by: Flemming | Dec 20, 2011 5:09:35 PM

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Fernando Nieves Mellark shared J.J Mellark's group on Twitter

Welcome, Welcome!. The time has come to select one courageous young man & woman for the honor of representing the 12 Districts of Panem in 74th Annual Hunger Games.
Ok here it is how this works I'll be selecting one boy and one girl randomly. In order for you to participate you will have to join this club. May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!

District 1 Reaping (December 3) Done!!!
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District 11 Reaping (December 19)

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Source: http://www.hungergamesarena.com/xn/detail/6370308%3AGroup%3A206880?xg_source=activity

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lidar_geek: BOEM's Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale Hits $337 Million http://t.co/huAhfa21 Less taxes #marine #Ocean #SDI

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Alec Baldwin rules out NYC mayoral run (Reuters)

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) ? Alec Baldwin says he won't run for New York City mayor -- because he isn't "horny" for the office like other candidates -- and suggested he may stay with "30 Rock," the show he had long been expected to leave after this season.

The announcement comes soon after a patch of bad publicity for Baldwin after a dispute on an American Airlines flight. He has previously described himself as "very, very interested" in running for office.

"I've lost my appetite," Baldwin said on his weekly WNYC podcast Wednesday, adding that the other candidates are "like a guy on a date that you can tell he just can't wait to get his hand up your blouse before even the lights go out in the theater."

He added: "They're all just so horny for it."

Baldwin's "30 Rock" contract ends after this season, and he said in October that he wanted to move on. But he also said at the time that he might do "a piece of the year" after this season.

On Wednesday, however, Baldwin suggested that sticking with "30 Rock" would be better than trying to run for mayor.

"Give this up for what?" he said. "I give up money and fame and position and success; I give up this wonderful life I have now in exchange for the chance to 'really change things?'... Yeah, I'm not quite sure you can anymore."

Baldwin was ejected from an American Airlines flight earlier this month after he refused to shut off his phone, which he was playing a game on.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111222/people_nm/us_alecbaldwin

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Former W.Va. asylum now a booming tourism business

WESTON, W.Va.?? Normally, Rebecca Jordan will take all the free TV exposure she can get for the psychiatric hospital that she's turned into a tourist attraction known as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.

SyFy's "Ghost Hunters." Travel Channel's "Ghost Adventures" and "Ghost Stories." Discovery's "Forgotten Planet." She even hosted an episode of CMT's "My Big Redneck Wedding" on the 307-acre grounds.

But she drew the line when producers for A&E's "Paranormal State" called. They didn't want to meet the ghosts behind the 2?-foot thick walls, she says. They wanted to get rid of them.

"And I was like, 'Well, maybe you're not the right fit for me. We do not want to get rid of our spirits! We want them to stay in the building!'

"Unless they want to go home," she adds with a laugh. "And then they can go home. I'm not trying to keep anybody here who doesn't want to be here."

Spirits, after all, make money. And the property that Jordan's father bought three years ago for $1.5 million is now generating enough revenue from overnight public ghost hunts at $100 a person and other types of tours to pay a staff of 33 and fund a never-ending list of maintenance and repair projects.

The main Gothic Revival building is one of the world's largest hand-cut sandstone structures and a National Historic Landmark. Virginia legislators authorized its construction in 1858, but it wasn't until 1864 that the first patients were admitted.

The hospital repeatedly changed hands during the Civil War, ending up with West Virginia when it became a separate state. Originally intended for 250 patients, it housed nearly 10 times that many during the 1950s.

Known in later years as Weston Hospital, it eventually closed in 1994, when the state moved patients to a more modern facility. Then it stood empty for nearly 15 years, inhabited only by rats, security guards and the occasional paintball-playing trespasser.

In 2008, Jordan's father Joe, a Morgantown asbestos abatement and demolition contractor, bought it at auction for $1.5 million. He's since sunk at least another $1 million into the place, hiring crew after crew to repair the showpiece clock tower, the disintegrating floors and the forever-leaking roofs.

Running the asylum is a family affair.

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Rebecca handles marketing and sales. Her historian husband applies for grants. Her brother handles advertising and maintains the website. Her 13-year-old daughter, Breonna Childress, is a full-time volunteer who hosts overnight birthday-party ghost hunts with her friends and talks about the day she'll inherit the business.

Mainly by capitalizing on public interest in the paranormal, the Jordans have lured more than 115,000 visitors to the property since they bought it.

Chris Richards, director of the Lewis County Convention and Visitors Bureau, calls the following "phenomenal," noting that people are traveling from all over the world to visit Weston.

The Jordans and local hotels co-sponsor each other, and the operators of gas stations, convenience stores and restaurants all tell Richards that business is up.

"We're all tickled to death that someone is in there and using the space and bringing its back to its heyday and letting it be all it can be," she says. "If you love architecture and you love history and you love the paranormal, you're going to love that building, and that's just all there is to it."

Not that there aren't critics. Some mental health advocates were outraged by the name change, and still are.

"I still think it is inappropriate to capitalize on the sad history of that place and to promote the stereotypes that are attached often to mental illness," says Ann McDaniel, executive director of the Statewide Independent Living Council. "There's enough fear out there about people who have mental illness. We don't have to make it scary.

"It sensationalizes," McDaniel says. "If they were just educating people, that would be good. But when you have haunted houses ... when you have trails called the 'Psycho Path,' that kind of thing is negative."

About once every six months, Rebecca Jordan gets a call from someone concerned about the name.

"And then they book!" she says. "So who cares?"

The Jordan family has experience with mental health issues, she says, and its exhibits educate people on treatments once considered state of the art and now considered horrifying ? electroshock therapy, lobotomies, cold-water baths and cage-like cribs that were hung from the ceiling, to name just a few.

The seven museum rooms also feature more than 120 pieces of artwork ? pottery, paintings, quilts ? that patients made in therapy. Disassembled for the winter, when the building is cold and damp, the displays include the superintendent's books, nurses' logs and more.

The asylum is working with West Virginia University to create an interactive exhibit featuring story boards, photos and recorded interviews with former patients and staff. And the museum is a popular stop with not only junior high and high school history classes, but also nursing and abnormal psychology students.

"Primarily, there were people here who were trying to make it better for the mentally ill," Jordan says. "But there were still people who believed in what they called 'thump therapy' ... and that's just the people who came in angry and would just beat the patients. Unfortunately, that did happen."

The key to the Jordans' success so far has been a diversity of offerings, from Civil War and hospital history tours, to "mud bogs" for four-wheelers and trucks, and a 25-band Moonstruck Music Festival. It hosts year-round paranormal tours and ghost hunts, even inviting TV celebrities to give seminars and lead special private hunts.

Jordan says the asylum is making about $600,000 or $700,000 a year now, but she still doesn't take a salary, and every dollar goes back into the business.

"And I'm fine with that," she says. "As long as we're able to keep the building open."

At the end of October, her payroll totaled about $161,000. But maintenance expenses were more than $295,000 ? and that was before the wintertime shutdown and the ramping-up of repairs.

And so she adds attractions, with an eye to running a year-round business in 2012.

In the spring, she'll open three new museum rooms, plus a Macabre Museum "with all the oddities, all the strange stories" in the basement. Jordan's also working with bus companies on a "Kooky Christmas" and dinner-theater tour that will keep people coming through next winter.

But she faces on expensive hurdle: The unheated building is frigid, colder inside on a rainy December day than it is outside.

Employee Eric Skinner leans over and fake-whispers in Jordan's ear.

"If you heat it," he tells her, "they will come."

___

If You Go...

TRANS-ALLEGHENY LUNATIC ASYLUM: http://www.trans-alleghenylunaticasylum.com/. Year-round offerings include overnight weekend ghost hunts, 9 p.m.-5 a.m., $100, and two-hour late-night paranormal tours, $40. Dates at http://www.trans-alleghenylunaticasylum.com/main/schedule.html. Daytime historic tours offered March 26-Oct. 31, Tuesday-Sunday, $10 or $30 depending on length. Private tours also available at 304-269-5070.

WESTON STATE HOSPITAL PHOTOS: http://www.preservationphoto.com/loc30.html

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45753761/ns/travel-destination_travel/

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Manning Defense Focuses on Female Alter-Ego, Erratic Behavior (ABC News)

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Facebook commits to privacy changes following Irish audit

On Wednesday, following an audit by the Irish Data Protection Commission, Facebook agreed to change its privacy settings and how it handles user data in Europe.

To avoid running afoul of European privacy laws, Facebook agreed to send additional notifications to allow users to opt out of its "Tag Suggest" facial recognition feature.?

The social network will change how it handles user data, including deleting some data more quickly. Facebook also agreed to work with the Irish agency to update how it explains its privacy policies to users.

?The commission will review Facebook's progress next July.?

"We are pleased that following three months of rigorous examination, the [Data Protection Commission] report demonstrates how Facebook adheres to European data protection principles and complies with Irish law," Richard Allan, Facebook's director of public policy in Europe, wrote.?

Facebook's European headquarters are in Ireland.

Facebook settled charges with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in November that it violated users? privacy and shared their personal information with advertisers.

The FTC settlement requires Facebook to implement a comprehensive privacy program, including outside privacy audits, for the next 20 years. Facebook is barred from misrepresenting its privacy practices in any way going forward and could face fines of $16,000 per violation, per day, if fails to comply with the order.

Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/200865-facebook-commits-to-privacy-changes-following-irish-audit

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Payroll tax bill faces uncertain House prospects (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Senate-approved bill temporarily preventing a Jan. 1 payroll tax increase and benefit cutoff for the long-term unemployed faces uncertain prospects in the House, where many rank-and-file GOP lawmakers have told their leaders they are ready to reject the measure.

House Speaker John Boehner is expected to be pressed about the next move for Republicans when he appears on NBC's "Meet the Press" show Sunday morning.

The House plans a Monday vote on the bill, which also forces a reluctant President Barack Obama to make an election-year choice between unions and environmentalists over whether to build an oil pipeline through the heart of the country and across ecologically sensitive aquifer that provides water to eight states.

The 89-10 Senate vote Saturday came after a bruising battle between Democrats and Republicans that produced the compromise two-month extension of the expiring tax breaks and jobless benefits and forestalled cuts in doctors' Medicare reimbursements.

House GOP leaders held a conference call Saturday with rank-and-file lawmakers in which participants said strong anger was expressed about the Senate bill, including its lack of House-approved cuts in last year's health care overhaul law and its failure to erase the reductions in doctors' payments for more than two months.

"You can't have an economic recovery with this," Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., said of the bill.

A House GOP aide said later, "Members are overwhelmingly disappointed in the Senate's decision to just `kick the can down the road' for two months."

The Senate vote capped a year of divided government marked by raucous partisan fights that tumbled to the brink of a first-ever U.S. default on its debts and three federal shutdowns, only to see eleventh-hour deals emerge. It also put the two sides on track to revisit the payroll tax cut early next year as battles for control of the White House and Congress heat up.

While Obama and Democrats used the fight to portray themselves as defenders of beleaguered middle- and lower-income Americans, Republicans used it to cast themselves as champions of job creation.

Democrats said when Congress revisits the issue of renewing the tax cuts and jobless benefits early next year, they would win the political battle because they would be viewed as protecting peoples' household budgets.

Republicans, though, said they would once again focus the fight on jobs, with some predicting they would try adding provisions to repeal pollution curbs and other government regulations that they say make it harder for companies to hire people.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111218/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_rdp

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Tea partyers not keen about GOP presidential field (The Arizona Republic)

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AP Newsbreak: 9 states to win early learning grant

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Nine states will share $500 million in grant money won in a high-profile competition intended to jump-start improvements in often-overlooked early childhood programs, The Associated Press has learned.

The winners to be announced Friday at the White House are California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the winners had not been officially announced.

The money to aid the nation's youngest learners is part of the Obama administration's cornerstone education initiative ? the "Race to the Top" grant competition ? which has states competing for federal dollars to create programs that make schools more effective. Last year, it handed out $4 billion in similar grants focused on K-12 education.

The goal of this competition is to get more children from birth to age 5 ready for kindergarten. Thirty-five states along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico applied for the chance to win between about $50 million to $100 million apiece in prize money. The winnings are to help build statewide systems that affect all early learning programs, including child care, Head Start centers and public or private preschools.

Billions are spent annually in America on early education programs, but the quality and availability of those programs varies greatly. Roughly half of all 3-year-olds and about a quarter of 4-year-olds do not attend preschool, said Steve Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.

Kids who attend quality early education programs have been shown to do better in school, be less likely to spend time in prison later and to make more money as adults. But children from low-income families who start kindergarten without any schooling are estimated to start school 18 months behind their peers, a gap that is extremely difficult to overcome.

To win, states were asked to demonstrate a commitment to making such programs more accessible, coordinated and more effective. Providing professional development for teachers and creating ways to assess the education level of kids entering kindergarten were among the areas states were asked to focus on in their application.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius were to announce the winners at the White House. The two agencies jointly administered the competition. HHS oversees the federal Head Start program, which provides early education to nearly 1 million low-income children.

Last month, Obama announced new rules that require lower-performing Head Start programs to compete for funding. The Education Department also has proposed creating a new office to oversee the grants and better coordinate early learning programs.

_____

Online: Education Department: http://www.ed.gov/

Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/

_____

Kimberly Hefling can be followed at http://twitter.com/khefling

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-16-Race%20to%20Top-Early%20Learning/id-549b776201034a8daa035ddc97588cfb

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Sofia Vergara Wardrobe Malfunction (Photo)

This is your one stop shopping place for the amazingly see-through, Sofia Vergara wardrobe malfunction during the Christmas shopping season. Oh my did she ever come out of her pantyhose — see the photo of the actress and tell us what you think in the comments. (use mouse to enlarge) So click the Sofia Vergara wardrobe malfunction above and you will see why we appropriately file this image in our celebrity fashion and style section. Yes it is clearly a see-through with a capital ST. The picture is safe for work but you probably do not want your wives and girlfriends catching you checking this out. I would call that a fetish and ridicule my naughty husband for weeks. The problem began when Ms. Vergara dressed herself in the morning. Going for some European Spandex look is very, oh shall we say, grunge. Grunge is cool in sort of a who cares kind of old world way. But after she put on that pantyhose look she forgot to check the mirror. I mean she forget to look over her shoulder in the mirror so that she could see her backside. What was plainly revealed to an army of photographers was [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/quVJ-hDDatY/

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Hunger stalks U.S. cities as poverty rises: study (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? A growing number of families in the United States are struggling to put food on the table as poverty rises in major cities, a new survey showed on Thursday.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors' 2011 hunger and homelessness survey found all but four of the 29 cities surveyed reported an increase in requests for emergency food assistance during the period between September 2010 and August 2011.

Half of those asking for emergency food assistance were people in families, while 26 percent were employed. The elderly accounted for 19 percent, with the homeless making up the remaining 11 percent.

This is the latest survey to underscore the magnitude of the damage inflicted by the 2007-09 recession.

Though the downturn ended 2-1/2 years ago, the recovery has been very slow by historical standards as households struggle to repair their balance sheets and unemployment is at an uncomfortably high 8.6 percent.

About 24.4 million Americans are either out of work or underemployed and employment remains 6.3 million jobs below its level in December 2007 when the recession started.

According to government data, a record 49.1 million Americans were living in poverty in 2010.

During that period, the number of households depending on food stamps - subsidies that help people cover the costs of groceries - soared 16 percent to 13.6 million.

The mayors' survey attributed unemployment, poverty, low wages and high housing costs as the main reasons behind the surge in demand for food assistance.

It found there was a 10 percent average increase in the amount of food being distributed by the cities and just over two-thirds of the cities reported a rise in the quantities they were handing out.

About 71 percent of cities said their total budget for emergency food purchases had gone up. Across the 29 cities, 27 percent of the people requiring emergency food assistance did not receive it, the survey found.

In 86 percent of the cities, food pantries and emergency kitchens had to reduce the quantities of food people could receive per visit or the amount of food offered per meal.

None of the cities expected demand for food assistance to decline over the next year. Many anticipated a drop in the resources to provide food assistance, citing cuts in government funding and declining food donations by the public.

The survey also found that homelessness increased by an average of six percent across the 29 cities.

(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/us_nm/us_usa_economy_hunger

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