Right now I am joining in the first Mamavation Facebook party.? This and the fact that?a bunch of Mamavation Mom graduates are once again competing, have gotten me motivated to get moving!? It has been a long time since I have even exercised.? I have had lots of excuses like having a baby/toddler in the house and going back to work to get me out of it....but I need to quit with the excuses and get going.?
I have a goal to be back to where I was before I was pregnant with Lauren by my 40th birthday....and well that is creeping up on me very quickly.? I can't believe that it has been over two years since I was being so good, and had been smaller than I had been since high school.? A lot has been going on in those two years....which means I have to start over and start new routines.?
One thing that helped was when I was busy, scheduling my workouts.? So after all this tonight, I am going to look at my schedule and pencil in some workouts.? I think if I start working out more, I will put the fork down more too.? I know how to eat healthy....I just have to put it into practice.?
So good luck to the teams of Mamavation Moms competing again, and to any others that might be starting over like me!?
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) ? Two public hearings will be held this week on a proposed new gaming compact between the state and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate for the tribe?s two casinos in northeast South Dakota.
The hearings will be held Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the Roberts County Courthouse in Sisseton and at 2 p.m. in the Watertown Event Center.
The proposed compact would allow the tribe to operate a total of 750 slot machines at its Dakota Sioux Casino near Watertown and its Dakota Connection Casino near Sisseton. The current compact allows only 250 machines.
The bet limit at the casinos also would be increased to $1,000 to match the new limit allowed in Deadwood casinos.
In the proposed compact, the tribe would contribute more money to Roberts and Codington counties.
More South Dakota News
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Material may not be redistributed.
While prefacing a question for Mitt Romney about Pakistan during Monday's presidential debate on foreign policy, moderator Bob Schieffer had an unfortunate slip of the tongue, referring to Osama bin Laden as "Obama bin Laden."
"We know that Pakistan has helped us arrest the doctor that helped us catch Obama-uh-bin Laden," Schieffer said, seeming to realize his mistake immediately.
The host of CBS' "Face The Nation" quickly recovered: "It still provides safe haven for terrorists, yet we continue to give Pakistan millions of dollars. Is it time for us to divorce Pakistan?"
Schieffer's flub was notable because of the stage--a presidential debate--but certainly not novel.
During coverage of the al Qaeda leader's death in 2011, many members of the media made the same mistake. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Norah O'Donnell, CBS' Mark Knoller, Fox News' Geraldo Rivera and local Fox affiliates were among those who fell victim to the Osama-Obama curse in the immediate aftermath of the bin Laden's killing:
ABC News ran a scroll on its website declaring "Obama Bin Laden Dead." Diane Sawyer's "World News" blog reported that "OBAMA WILL BE BURIED AT SEA."
Geraldo Rivera said "Obama is dead" on Fox News before correcting himself.
An anchor for Fox's Sacramento affiliate declared on air: "President Obama speaking from the East Room of the White House, telling the nation and the world President Obama is, in fact, dead."
After mocking Fox for that error, Keith Olbermann tweeted, "Mr. Bush personally de-prioritized the hunt for Obama."
Critics of a year-old law shifting responsibility for thousands of convicted felons to the counties have seized on the brutal beating of a San Joaquin County woman?-- allegedly by a man released from jail just days before the attack?-- as evidence that the law is eroding public safety.?? But criminal justice experts say that understanding the law's effects will take more time and more information than a few headline-grabbing cases can provide.
Parolee Raoul Leyva allegedly beat Brandy Marie Arreola, then 20, into a coma in April. Shortly before the attack, Leyva had been sentenced to jail for 100 days for violating the conditions of his parole.?
He was released after two days because of overcrowding in the jail.? Before the passage last year of the criminal justice reform law?-- AB109?-- he would have been subject to prison time, rather than jail, for the parole violation.? Critics of prison realignment, as AB109 is commonly known, say crime rates are surging because fewer people such as Leyva are going to prison, and some may be getting out of jail early because of overcrowding.
Leyva's last prison term was for motor vehicle theft, a nonviolent offense.? Crimes classified as nonviolent are now met with jail or community supervision instead of prison. Violations of parole by nonviolent offenders also mean jail time rather than prison for the offender.
The law's enactment followed a court order to reduce the state's prison population. ?The prisons were at double their capacity at the time of the order.? Since then, the prison population has dropped by more than 26,000 inmates.
"It's diminishing public safety," said Lynne Brown, director of Advocates for Public Safety, a group that represents law enforcement officers who want to repeal AB109.?? Republican legislators agree, and they have called for a special session of the Legislature to change or kill the law.? They say that crime has increased in Sacramento, Stockton, Oakland and Los Angeles, according to preliminary numbers from police departments.
But police data actually show a mixed picture.? In Sacramento, Part I crimes, those that are reported to the FBI and eventually become the uniform crime rate for a city, are up by 8.1 percent this year compared with the same period in 2011. Homicides, however, decreased by 18.5 percent, according to Sacramento Police Department crime data.
Violent crime is currently down in Los Angeles by 7 percent and property crime is the same year-to-date.? In Oakland, Part I crimes have increased by 20 percent, according to the Oakland Police Department.? Some increases?-- like those for rape (up 21 percent) and robbery (up 20 percent)?-- are striking.? Part II crimes?-- including minor assault, drug possession, vandalism and fraud ? have decreased by 10 percent....
But determining the effect of a single policy on crime rates is difficult, said Joan Petersilia, professor of law at Stanford University and co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center. "That is one of the hardest questions to answer in crime," Petersilia said. Factors that influence crime rates range from the economy and the unemployment rate to family life, Petersilia said.
Shrinking police forces in cities struggling with tight budgets might also have an effect, noted Barry Krisberg, director of Research and Policy at the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at UC Berkeley....
Counties have responded to the law in different ways, from sending people back into the community with ankle bracelets to putting people who once would have gone to prison in jail.? Realignment in Los Angeles, which is increasing its jail population, is different from realignment in San Francisco, where the focus is on rehabilitation and reducing the jail population.? "Realignment isn't one thing," Krisberg said. ?"It's 58 things."
The law did not include any method for assessing the impact of the policy change. Counties that have accepted technical assistance from the state are required to report on their realigned population, but there are no set standards for what specific data counties must report.
Researchers, including Petersilia, are working on studies funded by foundations. "The state is not collecting data on this," Krisberg said. ?"I think it is scandalous."? Nuanced analysis is essential to understanding the effects of realignment, Petersilia said. ?"We do a great disservice when we ask if it is working and only look at one measure."
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While customer service automation does indeed provide the opportunity to do more with less human involvement, organizations shouldn?t look at it that way. Customer service automation and making processes more efficient through the use of technology should be seen as an opportunity to enhance the human element of customer service, rather than diminish it.
Customer service automation makes time-consuming, involved processes more efficient. Self-service tools such as customer service knowledgebases provide the ability for those who want or need a quick answer to get it without having to contact a service or support representative. This self-service convenience reduces the volume of customers and customer service interactions that require or would be enhanced by a human response.
For organizations that view or are working toward exceptional customer service and the customer experience as a differentiator, this reduction in customer service interactions through self-service technologies provides the means for an organization and its CSRs and support agents to better focus on and improve the personal experiences of those customers who do require or desire human interaction, whether its via phone, email, live chat, social media or another channel where the presence or absence of care, kindness, empathy and an exceptional human effort can make or break an organization?s service and brand reputation. When CSRs are less stressed by time-consuming processes and customer volume, they have more time and desire to provide better, more personal attention to every customer.
It?s not just the speed or ease; it?s the good in customer service that people remember. Don?t forget the importance and the potential of the man behind the machine in your customer service processes.
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If you want to change but don?t know how, you?ve come to the right place. With a positive outlook and a little research on your part, you can become prepared to create and embark upon your own self improvement plan, tailored just for your needs.
Seek out other like-minded individuals. Not only will this strengthen your resolve and reinforce positive attitudes in yourself, but it will also allow you a break from people who are toxic that badmouth your goals and dreams at every turn.
TIP! You need to decide what type of lifestyle would suit you best, then you can set goals that can realistically be attained. If you work on your weaknesses, you can better yourself.
In your self improvement journey, there is one thing that you must do. Choose to take real action, everyday, towards your goals and dreams, instead of just watching others from the sidelines. Active participation in everyday matters is the only way to be alive in the world.
The goals that you have set in your personal development plan should be clearly defined to show the steps toward achievement of success. If there are specific goals present, it will be easier to figure out the path that you should take to meet them. This will make it simpler to overcome obstacles and you will be able to enjoy success.
Learn things that people that are successful are doing; use them in your own life. Begin with some basic, easy habits, and remember to practice them until it becomes second nature. It is said that any new habit can be achieved in 21 days, so keep at it.
TIP! A great personal development tip is to always use love to fuel your faith. You can not have faith without love.
Your body?s health affects your mind?s health. Eat right, avoiding high fat foods and sugar, and get plenty of exercise. If you have a strong body, you will have a strong mind.
Are you causing yourself unnecessary stress? Learn how to deal with your stress, and always analyze a situation carefully. It?s always possible to fix any mistake you have made, or manage a way to deal with it. When you start feeling anxious about a situation, focus on the positive things, not the negative ones.
If you want to make progress in the area of personal development, you need to declare lowliness. Realizing your place in the big scheme of things is freeing. You will begin to understand that there are many ways to improve. Once you adopt this mindset, you will be more open-minded and receptive to new knowledge, which will lead to self-improvement.
TIP! Stress can be the opposite of happiness a lot of the time. Stress causes both physical and mental damage that increases in severity the longer we experience it.
A good self improvement plan has a physical health component. A healthy lifestyle includes working out and watching what kind of food you eat, and you must be able to acquire the characteristic of being able to remain motivated to do it. Good health is necessary for you to be able to focus on other things.
Self discipline is a requirement for successful self improvement. Learn to develop a strong sense of self control. Learn to resist the desires to overindulge yourself in food, drink, and other physical desires. By having restraint and self-control, you?ll have the ability to prevent these harmful habits from harming your body and mind.
Sexual capital is a new thing that is being learned about, and it is very crucial to start developing yourself. This doesn?t mean people use sex explicitly to get what they want; it means using personal charm instead. Not everyone has good social skills, but these can help you go farther in all aspects of your life.
TIP! Eliminate unnecessary stress from your daily life. Simply over-reacting when things go wrong only causes more stress.
Therapy is a good way to work through serious issues. Books can be very helpful to help you understand your problems, but they tend to lack the insight and knowledge which a therapist can give you. Sometimes, the drive to succeed can be stimulated by something as simple as a frank, honest discussion and some helpful advice. Books can?t talk back like a trained professional, after all.
Instead of endlessly gloating about your own achievements, why not ask another person to share a story of personal victory? Respectful listening to the successes of others can help you to gain insight into your own inner life as well as allowing you to connect with others in a meaningful way.
Pick a single key aspect of your life that needs changing, and work on it. You may want to improve multiple aspects of yourself, but keeping a narrow focus makes it easier to define and achieve your goals. Such a process also facilitates lasting improvements to your attitude, because habits that are acquired gradually and deliberately are more likely to be permanent.
TIP! See what is in the way between your success and you. For a lot of people, this is very hard to do.
Pick out what you wish to do in life and go do it. You?ll never have the life you want if all you do is sit around in your armchair and dream about it. Do something about your dreams and you will see them come true.
Your personal development goals will often include improving and incorporating new healthy habits into your life. It?s a well-known fact that a healthy body is a happy body. You can think more clearly, and even save time and money, by not having to go to the doctor on a regular basis. In other words, better health is one of the most gratifying goals you can achieve.
People who are looking for personal development methods often make the mistake of setting goals that are too vague or too hard to target. Create a specific goal for yourself. Having a specific goal will help you to get better results.
TIP! Anytime and anywhere, be ready for when your ideas strike. Carry paper and a pen around with you.
Be on the lookout for new challenges all the time. New challenges open new possibilities for you. You can pick up some new skills during the learning process. You might even make yourself a role model for others. Unique challenges can help to yield more satisfaction down the road.
Use your time efficiently so you can get more done in a shorter amount of time. One effective way to work more efficiently is to schedule more regular break times. Taking breaks is not a waste of time. It will help you stay relaxed and focused on what you need to accomplish.
Is it hard for you to meet that special someone? Think about searching online. Almost half of all couples meet online. Like those cheesy eHarmony commercials say, the love of your life could be just a click away. Both websites have positives and negatives.
TIP! Personal development begins when you identify what you value the most. Therefore, it is extremely important that this is a priority in your life.
You should now have a better idea how to maintain an optimistic outlook and plan. Apply this information to your life and stay willing to learn new things as they come along; this is the key to a lifetime of personal growth.
Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, Calif., took 38 years to build and includes twisting and turning hallways, dead ends and secret panels.
By Erika Riggs, Zillow
Creaking floors, inexplicable cold drafts and eerie sounds usually don't top the list of dream house features.
Unless, of course, we're talking about dream haunted house features.
It's October, and we're forgoing the usual roundup of eye candy in favor of some cobweb-draped places most people wouldn't dare put a down payment on.
Tales of horror, glimpses of ghosts and a bevy of cobweb decor ? it's all here.
Winchester House San Jose, Calif. It's as if original owner Sarah Winchester wanted her home to be haunted. The eccentric widow of William Winchester, founder of Winchester rifles, held nightly seances to gain guidance from spirits and her dead husband for the home?s design. The end result? A maze-like structure that took 38 years to build and includes twisting and turning hallways, dead ends, secret panels, a window built into a floor, staircases leading to nowhere, doors that open to walls, upside-down columns and rooms built, then intentionally closed off? ? all to ward off and confuse evil spirits.
Gardette-LaPrete House 716 Dauphine St, New Orleans This Greek revival home was the site of the one of the grisliest murders in New Orleans' history. A Turkish merchant, renting the home, was buried alive in the backyard and his harem entourage murdered. Years later, the French Quarter home is still said to be the site of the merchant's wanderings, and on certain nights, exotic music and incense from ancient parties waft from the home.
Hampton Lillibridge 507 E Saint Julian St, Savannah, Ga. This historic home was moved to its current location in Savannah?by a local restoration expert. As work began on the house, workers reported odd noises and a male presence. Early on, they discovered a crypt on the building site half filled with water and covered it.
Despite the rumors of hauntings, the home was finished and was last on the market for $2.2 million in 2011. Although it's off the market now, there's no word of a buyer.
LaLaurie House 1140 Royal St, New Orleans The LaLaurie House, like many haunted homes, has a pretty horrific back story. Owned by socialite Madame Delphine LaLaurie and her husband, Dr. Louis LaLaurie, the house was the reported setting for vicious cruelty against the couple's slaves. Reportedly the slaves were subjected to torturous medical experiments that went on unbeknownst to the New Orleans community until a fire broke out and? neighbors rushing to rescue discovered the gruesome scenes. The LaLauries fled the country due to the backlash, and the home passed through several owners, each who claimed to hear mysterious screams and see apparitions of the tortured slaves.
At one point actor Nicolas Cage owned the home, and while he said he never saw any ghosts, he wasn't immune to the home's sinister vibes; he lost the property to foreclosure in 2009.
Joe Mabel
Whaley House San Diego In 1857, an entrepreneurial Thomas Whaley took advantage of a deeply discounted property in San Diego's Old Town neighborhood that once held the area's hangings. He tore down the gallows and proceeded to build his Greek Revival brick home. However, soon after Whaley and his family moved in, they reported hearing heavy footsteps moving about the house. Even after the Whaleys moved out, various tenants reported seeing ghosts and hearing the footsteps.
Today the historic home is a museum and is open daily for tourists to see if they, too, hear and see the ghostly apparitions.
FranklinCastleClub.com
Franklin Castle 4308 Franklin Blvd, Cleveland Franklin Castle has both a creepy history as well as a creepy exterior. Home to Hannes Tiedemann, the house was reportedly the site of many vicious murders. Built in 1864, the home has all the makings of a haunted mansion: stone tower and turrets, gargoyles and wrought-iron fencing, not to mention sounds of babies crying, doors slamming and footsteps.
According to the property history, the home was last sold for $260,000 in August 2011. No word yet, if the homeowners are having any eerie experiences.
McPike Mansion Alton, IL Haunted houses?? how about a whole haunted city? Alton claims to be the one of the most haunted areas in America and is home to McPike Mansion, which is host to a number of active ghosts.
There's no specific backstory to the ghostly going-ons, but visitors and residents of the brick manse have claimed to be hugged by an unseen woman, hear the laughter of children and see mysterious mists and orbs of light. As far as hauntings go, not too sinister.
Borden House 240 2nd St, Fall River, Mass. This home was the site of one of the most infamous crimes of all time: the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden, reportedly at the hands of Andrew's daughter Lizzie. As the nursery rhyme goes, Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave both her father and step-mother whacks. However, Lizzie was acquitted and moved out of the home.
The home of the murder still stands in Fall River and operates as a bed-and-breakfast, where guests report seeing Andrew and Abby wandering about.
Myrtles Plantation Saint Francisville, La. An antebellum home in a voodoo-rich area of Louisiana is the likely place for a haunted home. Built in?1796, Myrtles Plantation was taken over in 1808 by Clark Woodruff, his wife, Sara, and their three children. According to legend, Woodruff had a relationship with one of his slaves, Chloe, who was jealous of Woodruff's wife. Story goes that Chloe baked a birthday cake for Sara and the kids, including poisonous oleander leaves in the treat. Sara and two of their children died. Chloe confessed, but fellow slaves retaliated, hanging Chloe and dumping her body in the Mississippi.
Chloe isn't the only ghost said to haunt Myrtles Plantation. A Civil War solider was murdered on the steps of the home, and an ancient Native American burial ground is said to beneath the house. All this adds up to a home rich in creepy incidences.
Chambers Mansion 2220 Sacramento St, San Francisco, Calif. Like most haunted homes, there's a bit of confusion surrounding the true story behind Chambers Mansion. Built in 1887, the home was named after its first owner, silver mine tycoon Richard Chambers, who lived in the home with two nieces who reportedly hated each other.
When Chambers died in 1901, the nieces inherited the mansion. One reportedly bought the house next door and moved in while the other sister, Claudia, stayed. Claudia was discovered cut in half in the mansion one day, due to a "farm implementation" accident. However, a ghost expert has claimed that Claudia was in fact murdered, and still haunts the Pacific Heights home today.
Back when I first started my graduate work at Princeton, the town had a coffee shop problem. We desperately needed one, and coffee shops kept opening up and then going right out of business a few months later. They tended to be all the wrong kind - a bit too elegant for the student crowd, trying to appeal to townies as well as students, and, well, they all quickly went under. Meanwhile we seemed to be the only town in the nation without a Starbucks. Then one day in late 1993 a different sort of coffee shop opened up. It was low-key and had a great vibe. It was big enough that you could usually find a table, but only barely, and it was a great place to study and write as well as drink coffee. The coffee was excellent, too, and soon the place was packed round the clock. Professors bored of their offices would make appointments to meet their students there, where they were joined by grad students escaping from their roommates. And just a few weeks after it became clear that this new coffee shop was not going to go bankrupt, Starbucks moved to town and opened up a franchise a quarter of a block closer to campus. And I vowed never to set foot in the place: I saw this Starbucks as not only d?class? and corporate but repulsively opportunistic if not predatory. Enough people agreed with me that Princeton's own local coffee shop, Small World, continues to thrive.
Just the same way that I will still patronize a Starbucks only if there really is no other alternative for blocks in any direction, I will buy a book from Amazon only if I am unable to?procure it locally. Amazon has transformed the book industry in ways that are bad for readers and publishers alike. It has driven much of its competition out of business. I was never a big fan of Borders, but still?was?sad to see it fold, along with who-knows-how-many actually independent bookstores across the country that have bit the dust since the advent of the behemoth. Basically Amazon has done what any big corporation does: its mission is to make money at all costs, sometimes pushing existing laws to the breaking point in the process. I've read highly plausible accounts of Amazon bullying publishers into giving them a larger discount than the industry standard provided to other booksellers - sometimes disguised as "advertising fees." I've also heard that Amazon sometimes sells books below cost as part of the grand project of cornering the market. When some day there's no competition left at all, they'll be able to charge anything they like for a book. Just one more reason to practice solidarity with a brick-and-mortar bookstore near you, or to patronize the IndieBound website.
Like many other big corporations, Amazon has a corporate giving wing, and some of the giving they've been doing over the past few years has been in support of literary translation. On the list of beneficiaries are many organizations I know and love.?No doubt part of the idea of this artfully curated patronage is to "clean up" Amazon's image in the book world. That's fine, but just keep in mind that Amazon is like any other large corporate entity with a charitable-giving wing. Philanthropic giving is part of what corporations do,?if only for tax reasons. Of course, by giving to parts of an industry that has suffered as a result of its corporate practices, Amazon is killing two birds with one stone; it's a brilliant public-relations move. But just keep in mind that these are two completely separate transactions: the giving and the taking. I'd really really like to see all the corporations in this country better regulated, but that's a failure of our government, which is a direct result of the failure of our campaign finance law, which is why we Occupy, and also why you should all be donating to Common Cause?and/or Move to Amend right now. Meanwhile, it makes sense that Amazon and all the other big profit machines around us will continue to do what they were designed to do: turn a profit, a big one.
Two years ago when it was announced that Amazon would be underwriting the Best Translated Book Award (giving $5000 each for the author and translator of each winning book), the indie press Melville House, which publishes a lot of translations, announced that it would stop submitting its books for the award. ?The reasons were clear: the head of Melville House had long been feuding with Amazon about the discounts Amazon was demanding from publishers (see a follow-up post on the Melville House blog here). I completely understand and agree with Melville House's position on Amazon's business practices. On the other hand, by pulling out of the prize, Melville House hurt the translators who work for Melville, probably for not much pay, depriving them of the chance to taking home a $5000 bonus if they win the prize, but also of the career boost it would mean for some of them if they wind up shortlisted. As far as I know, Melville House still does not submit its books for the prize (if I'm wrong about that, someone let me know and I'll add a correction), and I think that is a damn shame.?Just for the record, I have never heard anything even remotely suggesting that Amazon has attempted to influence the BTBA jury's decisions in any way.
A few days ago, BTBA founder Chad Post noted on his blog, Three Percent, that an additional publisher specializing in translations has now pulled out of the prize. What he writes is relatively discreet, but based on contextual clues, I am going to hazard a guess that the press in question is Dalkey Archive. (If I'm wrong, someone let me know and I'll add a correction.) Assuming my guess is right, I am disgusted and horrified, considering that the vast majority of the books published by Dalkey are works in translation, many of which are heavily funded by cultural agencies such as, for example, Pro Helvetia, which is underwriting the entire series of Swiss books that Dalkey has been publishing over the last couple of years. I am particularly displeased that the reason given for pulling out of the award is that it supposedly?costs the press too much to submit copies of the books for the jury. Don't publishing houses routinely send around dozens of copies of each book they publish as part of a normal marketing campaign? If they don't, the books don't get reviewed and no one knows they exist, which means publishing a book into a vacuum. I wouldn't want my books to be published like that. And I also wouldn't want a publisher I translated my heart out?for?(probably for not much money) to refuse to help give me a chance to receive recognition and actual remuneration for my work.
The press-I-think-must-be-Dalkey also mentions, as a supplementary reason for pulling out of the award, that they "haven't won yet." Neither have I. But at least I, unlike the poor souls translating for the two presses discussed above, still have a chance to.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Locked in a tense race with time running out, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney took time off to exchange light-hearted jabs and make fun of each other on Thursday in a joint appearance at a high-profile charity dinner.
Two days after a brutal debate in which they exchanged verbal blows and stalked each other on stage, Obama and Romney greeted each other warmly, dressed formally in white tie and tails.
But the combativeness of the campaign trail was ever-present as the two foes gave back-to-back speeches at the 67th annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner.
Romney, speaking first, said Obama, who wants to increase taxes on the wealthy to help fund government programs, must have had some thoughts as he looked out at the crowd of wealthy people at the dinner.
"You have to wonder what he's thinking: So little time, so much to redistribute," he said.
Obama, when it was his turn, made fun of Romney's vast wealth.
"Earlier I went shopping at some stores in Midtown. I understand Governor Romney went shopping for some stores in Midtown," he said.
The Al Smith dinner is a glittering affair at the Waldcrf-Astoria hotel where New York's high society dined on poached lobster and rack of lamb and contributed $5 million for various children's charities.
Obama and Romney, facing a third and final debate Monday in Florida, sat close to each other at the dinner, separated only by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York who spoke at both the Republican and Democratic conventions in late August and early September.
The event is an annual speaking opportunity for presidents or president aspirants to test their comic skills with self-deprecating jokes usually written up by clever speechwriters.
Obama made light of his much-panned performance at his first debate with Romney on October 3. He said at the second debate, where he was judged the winner, he had been well-rested because of the "nice long nap I had at the first debate."
BIDEN A TARGET OF BOTH
Romney also was self-deprecating, noting that the way he prepared for the debate was to "refrain from alcohol for 65 years." As a practicing Mormon, the former Massachusetts governor abstains from alcohol.
Obama, who frequently credits himself with ordering the mission that led to the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, noted that the last debate is about foreign policy.
"Spoiler alert: We got bin Laden!" he said.
Romney tweaked Obama on the high jobless rate, saying its recent small decline meant only one thing: "You're better off now than you were four weeks ago."
Obama said he and Romney have some things in common, like their unusual middle names. Romney's is Mitt. "I wish I could use my middle name," said Obama, whose middle name is Hussein.
If there was one thing they had in common, it was their ability to make fun of Vice President Joe Biden, Obama's gaffe-prone No. 2.
Obama said he sometimes hears that he is getting old and has lost a step and when he does, he says, "Settle down, Joe, I'm trying to run a Cabinet meeting."
Romney said when Biden speaks, it usually is to Romney's benefit, so much so that whenever his remarks are on TV it should be accompanied by a recorded message like those used in campaign ads: "I'm Mitt Romney, and I approve this message."
Obama got in a jab at the Republicans' use of Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood at Romney's convention. Eastwood was panned for talking to an empty chair on stage as if Obama was sitting in it.
"Please take your seats," Obama told the crowd, "or else Clint Eastwood will yell at them."
The tone of the evening was set with introductory remarks by Al Smith IV, who could not resist teasing Romney for saying at the debate that he sorted through "binders full of women" in trying to put together a diverse cabinet as governor of Massachusetts.
"I want to say a special welcome to all of the accomplished women here tonight. It's good to see you made it out of those binders," Smith said to laughter.
The dinner started in 1945 in tribute to a former Democratic New York governor Smith, who lost the 1928 presidential election to Republican Herbert Hoover in a landslide.
Among the 1,600 guests were representatives from two of New York's major industries - media and Wall Street money. Spotted in the crowd were ABC television talk show host Katie Couric and Fox News executive Roger Ailes, as well as Steve Schwartzman, chief executive of private equity firm Blackstone Group, and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan.
By Kat Wolcott KPIC NewsPublished: Oct 19, 2012 at 9:01 AM PDTLast Updated: Oct 19, 2012 at 9:47 AM PDT
ROSEBURG, Ore. -- County Commissioners voted Thursday, on a new Health Insurance program for county workers.
For the most part, officials say things won't change too drastically.
But, they say that premiums went up a big amount this year, so some sacrifices had to be made. Michael Kurtz, the County Human Resources Director, said, "Some shared sacrifice, both from the county's standpoint, but also a shared sacrifice by the employees."
Kurtz says they started looking at insurance back in July, and have been trying to work on something that would make all parties happy.
While the county has to pay a little more for contributions, workers are also paying a little more in and getting slightly less coverage.
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SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A Texas high school cheerleading team may continue using religious scriptures on banners at football games for now, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, saying the students had a constitutional right to express their faith on school property.
The ruling over the so-called "Bible Banners" at the school in the east Texas town of Kountze marked the latest twist in a broader national clash over the separation of religion from public schools.
Hardin County State District Judge Steve Thomas, in allowing the banners pending a trial set for June, effectively lets the cheerleaders continue their tradition through the rest of the current high school football season.
Thomas said his ruling would allow the cheerleaders to exercise "their constitutional and statutory rights at all football games and other school sporting events."
The ruling came after a group of cheerleaders and their parents sued the district for barring the banners after a Wisconsin-based group argued that they amounted to an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by the public school.
"This is a great decision confirming that students do have a First Amendment right to express their religious beliefs in school," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott told Reuters.
"The Constitution does not command religious silence at school. It just prevents the school from dictating religious belief. This was the students doing it on their own, and they have every right to do so," he said.
The case began last month when the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent what it called a "strongly worded letter" to the Kountze school superintendent, telling him that the tradition was illegal because of the banners' religious nature.
Superintendent Kevin Weldon immediately ordered the practice stopped, saying that the district must follow the law, even if it conflicted with the personal beliefs of school administrators and board members.
CHURCH-STATE CONCERNS
Abbott filed a petition urging the judge to support the cheerleaders in their quest to paint the banners with Bible verses like "Thanks be to God who gives us victory through Lord Jesus Christ."
Andrew Seidel, an attorney with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said he was bothered by what he described as political winds in Texas that were "blowing quite hard in one direction, while the law is dictating the other direction."
"We have actually had calls from a lot of our members who are addressing church-state concerns in their schools and they are really afraid of reprisals due to conditions that the governor and the attorney general are creating," Seidel said.
The foundation is not a party to the case but Seidel said it would be willing to take the case to federal court if it could find a plaintiff to go on record opposing the practice.
He said the Kountze banners were a clear violation of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2000 that said school-led prayers in another Texas school district violated the constitutional separation of church and state.
Mike Johnson, senior counsel for the Liberty Institute that filed the lawsuit on behalf of the cheerleaders, said that case was substantially different from the Kountze case because it was about prayer at a graduation service arranged by the school.
"Here you have the opposite. You have cheerleaders who do this on their own," he said. "They buy their own supplies. The cheerleaders even buy their own uniforms. It is a quintessential example of student led expression, and for that reason, it is clearly protected by the First Amendment."
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In Self DefenseIn Self Defense is inspired by the true-life story of a martial arts legend who died at the hand of his own son. After fighting in the jungles of the South Pacific in World War II, Willy Wetzel and his family migrated from Indonesia to America in 1956. Willy opened one of the first martial arts schools in the United States in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. He was a pioneer and became known worldwide for his mastery of many martial arts forms. The finest pupil Willy ever taught, was his second son, Roy Wetzel. The Wetzels all had their battle scars, some more visible than others. When Roy returned from Viet Nam with a Purple Heart, he hoped for a peaceful life at home. Instead Roy found himself in a fight with his father.One fateful night, their strained relationship finally came to a head. As Roy's young daughter lay asleep in the next room, a weapon-filled brutal fight between father and son ensued. The aftermath of Willy's last skirmish would leave Roy bloody and beaten and charged by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with Murder. This led to a controversial trial and the original court transcripts contained in the second half of this non-fiction novel give a compelling account of the prolonged legal contest that stirred up many debates. Following the lives of the Wetzels in intricate detail, In Self Defense will keep you turning the page till the very end.
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JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An ultra-Orthodox party has brought back a popular former leader after a 13-year absence that included jail time, a move that could draw votes away from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel's January election.
The religious Shas party announced late on Wednesday that Aryeh Deri, 53, had joined its new triple-headed leadership for the January 22 national ballot that opinion polls predict will give Netanyahu a new governing mandate.
But Shas and Netanyahu's right-wing Likud both draw support from religious Jews of Middle Eastern descent, and Deri's return could steer votes away from the prime minister's party.
Known in Israel for his quick wit and charm, the soft-spoken Deri had a meteoric rise in Israeli politics. He was appointed interior minister in 1988, becoming Israel's youngest ever cabinet member at the age of 29.
Deri joined Yitzhak Rabin's government in 1992 and his party gave crucial backing to the late Labor leader when he sought parliamentary approval for the Oslo peace accord Israel signed with the Palestinians in 1993.
But Deri's downfall began soon after, when the Supreme Court ordered him to resign from the cabinet in 1993 over corruption charges. He stayed on as Shas leader until 1999 when he was sentenced to three years in prison for taking bribes.
Shas, which controls 11 of parliament's 120 seats, receives guidance from a 92-year-old sage, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who gave his blessing to the leadership deal that forces Interior Minister Eli Yishai to share power with the more dovish Deri.
VOTE MAGNET?
A poll published by Israel's left-wing Haaretz newspaper on Thursday showed that Shas, if headed by Deri, would gain three more parliamentary seats in the snap election Netanyahu called after his government failed to agree on the 2013 state budget.
"(Deri) takes those votes from the Likud," Tel Aviv University's Camil Fuchs, who conducted the survey, told Army Radio.
A 2005 survey in top Israeli news website, YNet, named Deri the 58th "greatest Israeli" of all time in a list of 200 names, three places above Ehud Barak, the current defense minister.
Thursday's Haaretz poll said that if former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided to enter the race and formed an alliance with centrist parties, their new bloc would win 25 seats in the legislature compared with 24 for Likud.
But it also found that even if Likud came in second in the voting, Netanyahu would be able to put together a government with nationalist and religious parties, including Shas.
That equation could change if Shas, under Deri's co-leadership, moved toward the centre. In the past, Shas joined governments headed by right, left and centre parties in return for benefits for its core supporters, lower-income Israelis.
Olmert resigned as prime minister in 2008 over corruption allegations. Three months ago, he was acquitted of the most serious of the charges, opening the way for a comeback. Aides said he is considering running in the election, and he is widely expected to make his intentions known within days.
In Deri's case, the corruption allegations were ballot box gold for Shas, whose followers said he was a victim of discrimination by an "Ashkenazi elite", or Jews of European descent who had long dominated Israeli politics.
Shas won 17 parliamentary seats - its best showing ever - in the 1999 election that followed Deri's conviction.
Deri had largely stayed out of the spotlight since his release from prison on parole in 2002. Colleagues said he has been focusing on religious studies and charitable work, while maintaining close ties with leading secular politicians.
Last year, he announced he intended to run for office, saying he felt he could bring hope to Israelis.
Yishai said on Israel Radio on Thursday that "with God's help, Netanyahu will win". But Yishai did not rule out shifting Shas's alliances if the ballot ends differently.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 17, 2012) ? An international team of researchers has found that female Komodo Dragons live half as long as males on average, seemingly due to their physically demanding 'housework' such as building huge nests and guarding eggs for up to six months.
The results provide important information on the endangered lizards' growth rate, lifestyle and population differences, which may help plan conservation efforts.
The Komodo dragon is the world's largest lizard. Their formidable body size enables them to serve as top predators killing water buffalo, deer and wild boar and they have also been known to kill humans.
A research team which included scientists from the University of Melbourne, Australia, Indonesia and Italy studied 400 individual Komodo Dragons for 10 years in eastern Indonesia, their only native habitat. The team then produced a model of the Dragon's growth rate, with results published in the current issue of international journal PLoS ONE.
Males live to around 60 years of age, reaching an average 160 cm in snout-vent length (not including tail) and 65 kg at adulthood. However their female counterparts were estimated to live an average of 32 years and reach only 120 cm in snout-vent length, and 22 kg.
Dr Tim Jessop from the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne was a co-author on the study and said that the team were surprised by the significantly shorter lifespan of the female Komodo Dragon.
"The sex-based difference in size appears to be linked to the enormous amounts of energy females invest in producing eggs, building and guarding their nests. The process can take up to six months during which they essentially fast, losing a lot of weight and body condition, he said.
"Males and females start off at the same size until they reach sexual maturity at around seven years of age. From then on females grow slower, shorter and die younger."
The research team was keen to understand the growth rate of the Komodo Dragons as this critical process can indicate how the species prioritises its energy use in lifestyle and reproductive strategies. The results suggest that females have high energy 'costs' for reproduction resulting in their smaller size, whereas to reproduce successfully, males must keep increasing in size.
The results could have dramatic consequences for the endangered species as early female deaths may be exacerbating competition between males over the remaining females, possibly explaining why males are the world's largest lizards.
"These results may seem odd to humans when the life span between Australian men and women differ by five years. But each species has different strategies to pass on their genes. For example humans invest a lot of energy in few children as raising them is very energy intensive, whereas insects will have hundreds of offspring with no input into their rearing."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Melbourne, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Rebecca J. Laver, Deni Purwandana, Achmad Ariefiandy, Jeri Imansyah, David Forsyth, Claudio Ciofi, Tim S. Jessop. Life-History and Spatial Determinants of Somatic Growth Dynamics in Komodo Dragon Populations. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (9): e45398 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045398
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
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Carnegie Institution and UMass Medical School granted broad US Patent related to RNA interferencePublic release date: 16-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Tina McDowell tmcdowell@carnegiescience.edu 202-929-1120 Carnegie Institution
Research by RNA leaders provides powerful gene-silencing technique
Washington, D.C.The Carnegie Institution for Science and the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) have been granted United States Patent 8,283,329, entitled, "Genetic inhibition of double-stranded RNA." The patent, issued on October 9, 2012, is broadly directed to the use of RNA interference (RNAi) to inhibit expression of a target gene in animal cells, including mammalian cells.
The process by which RNA, the cellular material responsible for the transmission of genetic information, can silence a targeted gene within a living cell was discovered in 1998 by Carnegie's Andrew Fire, (now a professor at Stanford University) and Craig C. Mello, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine and distinguished professor of molecular medicine and cell & developmental biology at UMass Medical School. The duo received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology and/or Medicine for this work.
Already a powerful research tool used to isolate and identify genes and their function in the laboratory, RNAi holds the promise of shutting down disease-causing genes in humans and has broad implications for the development of new treatments and drugs for a range of diseases, including cancer. Researchers around the globeincluding UMass Medical School and the Carnegie Institutionare investigating novel methods for synthesizing and delivering RNAi molecules able to turn off disease-causing genes to human cells. According to the patent, the double-stranded RNA (ds-RNA) responsible for the RNAi process may be either synthesized by the animal cell, or otherwise provided to the cell, in an amount sufficient to inhibit expression of the target gene.
The single-stranded RNA molecule is commonly known for its role in shuttling the genetic code contained in DNA from the cell's nucleus to its ribosomes where proteins are made, and for making sure that the proteins are correctly constructed to perform their functions in living organisms. In RNAi, the first strand of double-stranded RNA molecule has the ribonucleotide sequence that matches the nucleotide sequence in the targeted gene (also called sense); the second strand of RNA has a complementary sequence to that in the target gene (called antisense). When introduced to an organism, the double stranded RNA degrades a specific messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule, which disrupts the message-carrying process and inactivates the gene, essentially halting the progression of an invading viral infection or, for example, tumor growth.
"We are very pleased that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued this broad patent for the groundbreaking work of Dr. Mello and Dr. Fire," said James P. McNamara, Executive Director of the Office of Technology Management of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. "RNA interference is a tremendously promising tool with enormous potential for treating disease. Our hope is to see the further advancement of the RNAi field toward novel therapies in the public interest."
"We are very pleased that the patent office has granted a patent of the present scope for such a fundamental advance," said Richard A. Meserve, president of the Carnegie Institution. "The research exemplifies what Andrew Carnegie sought to accomplishto benefit humankind."
The current patent is the most recent of several patents resulting from this work.
###
The Carnegie Institution for Science is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with six research departments throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.
The University of Massachusetts Medical School has built a reputation as a world-class research institution, consistently producing noteworthy advances in clinical and basic research. The Medical School attracts more than $250 million in research funding annually, 80 percent of which comes from federal funding sources. The work of UMMS researcher Craig Mello, PhD, an investigator of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and his colleague Andrew Fire, PhD, then of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, toward the discovery of RNA interference was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and has spawned a new and promising field of research, the global impact of which may prove astounding. UMMS is the academic partner of UMass Memorial Health Care, the largest health care provider in Central Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.umassmed.edu.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Carnegie Institution and UMass Medical School granted broad US Patent related to RNA interferencePublic release date: 16-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Tina McDowell tmcdowell@carnegiescience.edu 202-929-1120 Carnegie Institution
Research by RNA leaders provides powerful gene-silencing technique
Washington, D.C.The Carnegie Institution for Science and the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) have been granted United States Patent 8,283,329, entitled, "Genetic inhibition of double-stranded RNA." The patent, issued on October 9, 2012, is broadly directed to the use of RNA interference (RNAi) to inhibit expression of a target gene in animal cells, including mammalian cells.
The process by which RNA, the cellular material responsible for the transmission of genetic information, can silence a targeted gene within a living cell was discovered in 1998 by Carnegie's Andrew Fire, (now a professor at Stanford University) and Craig C. Mello, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine and distinguished professor of molecular medicine and cell & developmental biology at UMass Medical School. The duo received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology and/or Medicine for this work.
Already a powerful research tool used to isolate and identify genes and their function in the laboratory, RNAi holds the promise of shutting down disease-causing genes in humans and has broad implications for the development of new treatments and drugs for a range of diseases, including cancer. Researchers around the globeincluding UMass Medical School and the Carnegie Institutionare investigating novel methods for synthesizing and delivering RNAi molecules able to turn off disease-causing genes to human cells. According to the patent, the double-stranded RNA (ds-RNA) responsible for the RNAi process may be either synthesized by the animal cell, or otherwise provided to the cell, in an amount sufficient to inhibit expression of the target gene.
The single-stranded RNA molecule is commonly known for its role in shuttling the genetic code contained in DNA from the cell's nucleus to its ribosomes where proteins are made, and for making sure that the proteins are correctly constructed to perform their functions in living organisms. In RNAi, the first strand of double-stranded RNA molecule has the ribonucleotide sequence that matches the nucleotide sequence in the targeted gene (also called sense); the second strand of RNA has a complementary sequence to that in the target gene (called antisense). When introduced to an organism, the double stranded RNA degrades a specific messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule, which disrupts the message-carrying process and inactivates the gene, essentially halting the progression of an invading viral infection or, for example, tumor growth.
"We are very pleased that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued this broad patent for the groundbreaking work of Dr. Mello and Dr. Fire," said James P. McNamara, Executive Director of the Office of Technology Management of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. "RNA interference is a tremendously promising tool with enormous potential for treating disease. Our hope is to see the further advancement of the RNAi field toward novel therapies in the public interest."
"We are very pleased that the patent office has granted a patent of the present scope for such a fundamental advance," said Richard A. Meserve, president of the Carnegie Institution. "The research exemplifies what Andrew Carnegie sought to accomplishto benefit humankind."
The current patent is the most recent of several patents resulting from this work.
###
The Carnegie Institution for Science is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with six research departments throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.
The University of Massachusetts Medical School has built a reputation as a world-class research institution, consistently producing noteworthy advances in clinical and basic research. The Medical School attracts more than $250 million in research funding annually, 80 percent of which comes from federal funding sources. The work of UMMS researcher Craig Mello, PhD, an investigator of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and his colleague Andrew Fire, PhD, then of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, toward the discovery of RNA interference was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and has spawned a new and promising field of research, the global impact of which may prove astounding. UMMS is the academic partner of UMass Memorial Health Care, the largest health care provider in Central Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.umassmed.edu.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) ? Two public hearings will be held this week on a proposed new gaming compact between the state and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate for the tribe?s two casinos in northeast South Dakota.
While customer service automation does indeed provide the opportunity to do more with less human involvement, organizations shouldn?t look at it that way. Customer service automation and making processes more efficient through the use of technology should be seen as an opportunity to enhance the human element of customer service, rather than diminish it.
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Public release date: 16-Oct-2012
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