No. 2 UConn women rout No. 1 Stanford 61-35

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) ? Geno Auriemma insists long winning streaks do little to get him amped up, even after he traveled his Connecticut team across the country to face top-ranked Stanford and its daunting 82-game unbeaten run at Maples Pavilion.

The Huskies sure got a thrill from leaving with an unexpected rout and silencing a typically raucous crowd ? and likely stealing away the No. 1 spot in the polls along with it.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and second-ranked UConn played spoiler and streak-buster this time, snapping Stanford's nation-leading home winning streak with a surprisingly easy 61-35 victory Saturday.

It was the Huskies who saw the end of their NCAA record 90-game winning streak at Maples Pavilion with a 71-59 loss two years ago, almost to the day on Dec. 30.

"The last time we were here it was a big event for them and they treated it like it was a big event, and God bless them," Auriemma said. "But for us to win a game here in late December, it's no more than just a big game against a really good team. The other stuff, I didn't get all that excited about us winning 90, I'm not going to get that excited about us beating somebody who's won 82 in a row at home."

Mosqueda-Lewis scored 19 points as UConn (11-0) thoroughly outplayed Stanford (11-1) on both ends of the floor in this highly touted game featuring the country's top programs and Final Four regulars from opposite coasts.

Stanford got harassed right off the home floor that it ruled with perfection and dominant play for nearly six years ? and the Huskies surely took the Cardinal's No. 1 spot along with it.

The game was the 51st meeting between the top two teams in the poll. The No. 1 seed had won the previous nine matchups and holds a 31-20 lead.

Chiney Ogwumike had 18 points and 13 rebounds but struggled in the post as Stanford lost at home for the first time since March 2007.

"It was a bad day. Whatever we were trying to do, we really struggled with it," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "Connecticut came in here on a mission. Mission accomplished."

Stefanie Dolson had 10 points and 14 rebounds and flustered Ogwumike all afternoon, and Bria Hartley and Kelly Faris also scored 10 apiece for UConn.

Breanna Stewart scored seven straight points during a decisive 17-2 run in the first half as UConn built a 22-7 lead against the cold-shooting Cardinal and kept the pressure on the rest of the way.

Stanford trailed 31-13 at halftime in one of its worst 20 minutes in recent memory ? though the school had no record of when the Cardinal were last held to that few points in a half.

They had gone five full seasons with an unbeaten record on their home floor.

Mosqueda-Lewis, last season's Big East top freshman averaging 16.4 points and 5.0 rebounds, shot 7 for 13 as Connecticut shot 37.5 percent from the floor ? and that was plenty good enough against a Stanford team that wound up at a dismal 19.3 percent (11 for 57) in its lowest single-game shooting performance and fewest field goals made.

"I love the game, I think it's a great game for both teams, but for our game two years ago it was a national event ? I don't think tonight was a national event," Auriemma said. "We beat a really good Stanford team on their home court and they happened to have won a lot of games at home."

Stanford had four early possessions over the opening 4 1/2 minutes in which it faced a dwindling shot clock.

This wasn't the Cardinal's worst home loss ever ? that was a 96-51 defeat to Long Beach State on March 10, 1983 ? though UConn sure made it feel like it for an afternoon to silence a typically animated crowd.

Auriemma was booed by the crowd during pregame introductions, then again when the coach was whistled for a technical foul with his team ahead 19 points with 13:22 remaining.

UConn, which had trailed for only 48 seconds all season coming into the game and now just 2:21 in all, won for the first time at Stanford in four tries.

Ogwumike, Stanford's leading scorer and rebounder averaging 21.8 points and 12.8 boards, was held to 6-for-22 shooting.

"I don't think I've experienced anything like this," Ogwumike said. "That Connecticut team we played for 40 minutes is the standard. And the great thing is now we've experienced the standard."

UConn's 6-foot-5 Dolson made things tough all day for Ogwumike ? who stands 6-4 ? and gave her problems with a size advantage to deny Stanford's top player and keep her away from the basket. That led to some forced shots in the first half, when Ogwumike missed 8 of her first 9 attempts. She scored at the 7:25 mark of the first half to end a nearly 6-minute scoring drought since her previous basket on a putback at 13:19.

Stanford then went 4:58 without scoring before Ogwumike's three-point play 2:27 before halftime.

"Stefanie was going to guard Chiney until she proved that she couldn't," Auriemma said.

Dolson was whistled for her third foul with 17:42 left in the game, but Mikaela Ruef missed both free throws.

Walking off the court after this one "was complete opposite," Dolson said.

"Two years ago we lost and it ended our streak. It was just a horrible loss," she recalled.

Bonnie Samuelson's back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the second half, the Cardinal's first from behind the arc, gave them some life. But it was short-lived as the Huskies pulled away.

Stanford's 82-game home winning streak dated to a 68-61 loss to Florida State in the second round of the NCAA tournament on March 19, 2007.

This season's Cardinal stunned defending NCAA champion and then-top-ranked Baylor and Brittney Griner on Nov. 16 to become the nation's No. 1 team and avenge a loss in last spring's NCAA semifinals.

The Cardinal hardly looked like the best team Saturday against the dominant Huskies. They were held below 40 points for the first time since a 72-32 loss to Missouri on Jan. 2, 1984.

Stanford missed its initial 10 3-point tries and began the game 3 for 22 to fall behind 22-7, with UConn getting three quick 3s.

Ogwumike's big sister, Nnemkadi ? the 2012 No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick of the Los Angeles Sparks ? attended the game, along with other former Stanford players Rosalyn Gold-Onwude and Lindy La Rocque.

Stanford senior Joslyn Tinkle, the team's second-leading scorer, managed only two points while playing on her 22nd birthday.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/no-2-uconn-women-rout-no-1-stanford-230525515--spt.html

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GOP 'fiscal cliff' endgame: Let big government sting the middle class?

For some tea party Republicans, part of the political calculation ahead of the 2014 elections is whether going off the fiscal cliff would spell political disaster or instead be seen as a return to principled governance.

By Patrik Jonsson,?Staff writer / December 29, 2012

A police officer stands guard outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington Friday. President Barack Obama and congressional leaders agreed to make a final effort to prevent the United States from going over the "fiscal cliff," setting off intense bargaining over Americans' tax rates as a New Year's Eve deadline looms.

Mary Calvert/REUTERS

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If President Obama and Congressional leaders fail to avert the ?fiscal cliff? of scheduled tax increases and spending cuts by 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, America?s 114-millon-strong middle class will take it hard on the chin ? a $3,500 tax blow per family, on average.

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Politicians make careers out of protecting the middle class, which is why the President has focused his solution on raising taxes just for richer Americans ? those making $250,000 and more ? while warning Americans in his weekly Saturday address that, ?Every American?s paycheck will get a lot smaller? if the fiscal cliff isn?t averted, which specifically ?would hurt middle class families.?

Republican leadership, too, has been forced into a corner, in part by Obama as well as the party?s own right wing, as members have failed to come to agreement over agreeing to some tax concessions for the rich in order to stave off what amounts to a wholesale middle class tax hike.

For some intractable Republican House members, political experts say, part of the political calculation ahead of the 2014 mid-term elections is whether going off the fiscal cliff would spell political disaster or whether it may be seen more broadly as a return to what many see as principled governance.

2012 enters the record books. Were you paying attention? A news quiz.

As Wall Street indices got jittery on Friday, it began to look like some kind of piecemeal deal that would include a tax compromise and extension of unemployment benefits could be done by the drop-dead deadline, but it could be contingent on Republicans having to come back to fight for spending cuts at a later date.

That development puts the spotlight straight back on the kind of anti-tax, anti-spend tea party principles that helped to give the GOP the House in 2010, but which also left the party deeply fractured after Obama?s reelection this November.

To be sure, there may be a deeper logic than simple obstructionism at play within the GOP caucus, where some members, the theory goes, may be seeing an opportunity to avoid direct blame for a major middle class tax hike while making a deeper point about how America should be governed. How? By letting middle-class Americans start bearing the actual cost of electing a progressive president and a Democratic Senate, neither of which has seriously addressed entitlement spending.

?How can we expect people to care about the growth of government if it doesn?t cost them anything?? writes Marc Thiessen, a fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, in a Saturday Washington Post column. ?Big government is great if you don?t have to pay for it. Well, now it?s time to pay the bill. Maybe when the costs of the stimulus, Obamacare and exploding entitlements are finally deducted from their paychecks, Americans will rediscover the virtue of smaller government.?

Liberals point to a counter-logic that they contend will drive even tea party Republicans to strike a last-minute deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.

?If the deal is reached ? the Republicans have won: they have locked in a federal tax system that collects so little total federal revenue that government can afford almost nothing aside from the military, interest payments, retirement programs and health care,? writes Jeffrey Sachs, author of ?The Price of Civilization,? on the Huffington Post.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/zjGvZXBDY7I/GOP-fiscal-cliff-endgame-Let-big-government-sting-the-middle-class

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LeSports Launches Facebook and Twitter Campaigns

New Mills, United Kingdom, December 28, 2012 --( PR.com )-- LeSports, a leading golf specialist in the UK, announces the launch of two new social media campaigns. Customer satisfaction is a key focus at LeSports, as they are...

New Mills, United Kingdom, December 28, 2012 --(PR.com)-- LeSports, a leading golf specialist in the UK, announces the launch of two new social media campaigns.

Customer satisfaction is a key focus at LeSports, as they are dedicated to providing an unrivalled level of service on top of their high quality golf products. Therefore, they have launched two new social media campaigns in a bid to provide their customers with a forum to discuss their products, receive discount codes and to read more about their latest products or company news.

Customers can now follow LeSports on Facebook and Twitter to talk more about their experiences, contact the company directly or enter an online community to discuss golf and more. LeSports is also encouraging their customers to post what they?d like to see featured on their website in the future. The social media websites can also improve the brand?s online reputation and help them reach a wider consumer demographic.

A spokesperson for LeSports commented: ?We want to hear what our customers love and want to see more of on our website, and Facebook and Twitter will allow us to do this. The social media websites will allow us to get a little closer to our customers, as well as allowing them to communicate with each other to discuss our products and more. We?ll also be offering fantastic promotional codes through Facebook and Twitter from time to time.?

For more information on LeSports and their women?s golf clothing, visit their website http://www.lesports.co.uk

About:
LeSports is a leading provider of ladies? golf clothing in the UK and have been supplying their high quality products since 2009. Customers can choose from an array of competitively priced golfing products, including golf sweaters, women?s golf shoes, golf trousers and more.

Contact:
James Mclivenny
Lesports Ltd,
The Factory Unit,
1 Woodside Street,
New Mills,
High Peak,
SK22 3HF
Tel: 01663 746654
Email: James@lesports.co.uk

Contact Information:
LeSports
James Mclivenny
01663 746 654
Contact via Email
www.lesports.co.uk/
LeSports Ltd, The Factory Unit
1 Woodside Street, New Mills
High Peak, Derbyshire, UK
Zip: SK22 3HF

Click here to read the full story: LeSports Launches Facebook and Twitter Campaigns

Press Release Distributed by PR.com

Source: http://news.brothersoft.com/lesports-launches-facebook-and-twitter-campaigns-62848.html

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Nobel scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini dies in Rome

ROME (AP) ? Rita Levi-Montalcini, a biologist who conducted underground research in defiance of Fascist persecution and went on to win a Nobel Prize for helping unlock the mysteries of the cell, died at her home in Rome on Sunday. She was 103 and had worked well into her final years.

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno, announcing her death in a statement, called it a great loss "for all of humanity." He praised her as someone who represented "civic conscience, culture and the spirit of research of our time."

Italy's so-called "Lady of the Cells," a Jew who lived through anti-Semitic discrimination and the Nazi invasion, became one of her country's leading scientists and shared the Nobel medicine prize in 1986 with American biochemist Stanley Cohen for their groundbreaking research carried out in the United States. Her research increased the understanding of many conditions, including tumors, developmental malformations, and senile dementia.

Italy honored Levi-Montalcini in 2001 by making her a senator-for-life.

A petite woman with upswept white hair, she kept an intensive work schedule well into old age. "At 100, I have a mind that is superior ? thanks to experience ? than when I was 20," she said in 2009.

"A beacon of life is extinguished" with her death, said a niece, Piera Levi-Montalcini, who is a city councilwoman in Turin. She told the Turin daily newspaper La Stampa that her aunt passed away peacefully "as if sleeping" after lunch and that the scientist had kept up her research studies several hours a day "right up until the end."

Levi-Montalcini was born April 22, 1909, to a Jewish family in the northern city of Turin. At age 20 she overcame her father's objections that women should not study and obtained a degree in medicine and surgery from Turin University in 1936.

She studied under top anatomist Giuseppe Levi, whom she often credited for her own success and for that of two fellow students and close friends, Salvador Luria and Renato Dulbecco, who also became separate Nobel Prize winners. Levi and Levi-Montalcini were not related.

After graduating, Levi-Montalcini began working as a research assistant in neurobiology but lost her job in 1938 when Italy's Fascist regime passed laws barring Jews from universities and major professions.

Her family decided to stay in Italy and, as World War II neared, Levi-Montalcini created a makeshift lab in her bedroom where she began studying the development of chicken embryos, which would later lead to her major discovery of mechanisms that regulate growth of cells and organs.

With eggs becoming a rarity due to the war, the young scientist biked around the countryside to buy them from farmers. She was soon joined in her secret research by Levi, her university mentor, who was also Jewish and who became her assistant.

"She worked in primitive conditions," Italian astrophysicist Margherita Hack told Sky TG24 TV in a tribute to her fellow scientist. "She is really someone to be admired."

Italy's premier, Mario Monti, paid tribute to Levi-Montalcini's "charismatic and tenacious" character and for her lifelong battle to "defend the battles in which she believed."

Only a few months ago, she helped sponsor an appeal to the government for more attention of fund-strapped young scientists in Italy.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi praised Levi-Montalcini's civil and moral efforts, saying she was an "inspiring" example for Italy and the world, the ANSA news agency said.

An Italian scientist, who worked for some 40 years with Levi-Montalcini, including in the United States, said the work the Nobel laureate did on nerve growth factor was continuing. The protein assists portions of the central nervous system that have been damaged by disease or injury.

"Over the years, this field of investigation has become ever more important in the world of neuroscience," Pietro Calissano was quoted by ANSA as saying. Calissano began studying under Levi-Montalcini in 1965 and recalled her ability to relate to students on a very human level, with none of the elite airs that often characterize Italian professors.

"I remember we were in a closet with cell cultures when she offered me a fellowship," Calissano said. He added that research building on Levi-Montalcini's pioneering achievements continues. "We are working on a possible application in the treatment of Alzheimer's," he added.

The 1943 German invasion of Italy forced the Levi-Montalcini family to flee to Florence and live underground. After the Allies liberated the city, she worked as a doctor at a center for refugees.

In 1947 Levi-Montalcini was invited to the United States, where she remained for more than 20 years, which she called "the happiest and most productive" of her life. She held dual Italian-U.S. citizenship.

During her research at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, she discovered nerve growth factor, the first substance known to regulate the growth of cells. She showed that when tumors from mice were transplanted to chicken embryos they induced rapid growth of the embryonic nervous system. She concluded that the tumor released a nerve growth-promoting factor that affected certain types of cells.

The research increased the understanding of many conditions, including tumors, developmental malformations, and senile dementia. It also led to the discovery by Stanley Cohen of another substance, epidermal growth factor, which stimulates the proliferation of epithelial cells. The two shared the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1986.

Levi-Montalcini returned to Italy to become the director of the laboratory of cell biology of the National Council of Scientific Research in Rome in 1969.

After retiring in the late 1970s, she continued to work as a guest professor and wrote several books to popularize science. She created the Levi-Montalcini Foundation to grant scholarships and promote educational programs worldwide, particularly for women in Africa.

In 2001 Levi-Montalcini was made a senator for life, one of the country's highest honors.

She then became active in Parliament, especially between 2006 and 2008, when she and other life senators would cast their votes to back the thin majority of center-left Premier Romano Prodi.

Levi-Montalcini had no children and never married, fearing such ties would undercut her independence.

"I never had any hesitation or regrets in this sense," she said in a 2006 interview. "My life has been enriched by excellent human relations, work and interests. I have never felt lonely."

Italian mathematician Piergiorgio Odifreddi said he was always struck by the contrast of this "petite, frail woman and the power of her mind." He recalled comments that Levi-Montalcini made when she turned 100. She mentioned that she would sleep no more than two or three hours a night because "I have no time to lose," Odifreddi told Sky TG24.

There was no immediate announcement of funeral or memorial services.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nobel-scientist-rita-levi-montalcini-dies-rome-154440935.html

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India gang rape victim dies in Singapore hospital

India gang rape victim dies in Singapore hospital
US-INDIA-RAPE:India gang rape victim dies in Singapore hospital

By Kevin Lim

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The Indian gang rape victim whose assault in New Delhi triggered nationwide protests died in hospital on Saturday of injuries suffered in the attack, a Singapore hospital treating her said.

The death of the 23-year-old medical student could spawn new protests and possibly fresh confrontations with the police, especially in the Indian capital, which has been the focus of the demonstrations.

"We are very sad to report that the patient passed away peacefully at 4:45 a.m. on Dec 29, 2012 (15:45 a.m. ET Friday). Her family and officials from the High Commission of India were by her side," Mount Elizabeth Hospital Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Loh said in a statement.

The woman, who was severely beaten, raped and thrown out of a moving bus in New Delhi, was flown to Singapore by the Indian government on Wednesday for specialist treatment.

Most rapes and other sex crimes in India go unreported and offenders are rarely punished, women's rights activists say. But the brutality of the assault on December 16 triggered public outrage and demands for better policing and harsher punishment for rapists.

The case has received blanket coverage on cable television news channels. The woman has not been identified but some Indian media have called her "Amanat", an Urdu word meaning "treasure".

Earlier on Friday, the hospital had reported that the young woman's condition had taken a turn for the worse. It said that her family had been informed and were by her side.

T.C.A. Raghavan, the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, said after her death that the family has expressed a desire for her body to be flown back to India.

At a briefing earlier on Saturday, Raghavan declined to comment on reports in India accusing the government of sending her to Singapore to minimize the possible backlash in the event of her death.

Some Indian medical experts had questioned the decision to airlift the woman to Singapore, calling it a risky maneuver given the seriousness of her injuries. They had said she was already receiving the best possible care in India.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has been battling criticism that it was tone-deaf to the outcry and heavy-handed in its response to the protests in the Indian capital.

"It is deeply saddening and just beyond words. The police and government definitely have to do something more," said Sharanya Ramachandran, an Indian national who is working as an engineer in Singapore.

"They should bring in very severe punishment for such cases. They should start recognizing that it is a big crime."

"SIGNIFICANT BRAIN INJURY"

The Singapore hospital said earlier that the woman had suffered "significant brain injury" and was surviving against the odds. She had already undergone three abdominal operations before being flown to Singapore.

Demonstrations over the lack of safety for women erupted across India after the attack, culminating last weekend in pitched battles between police and protesters in the heart of New Delhi.

New Delhi has been on edge since the weekend clashes. Hundreds of policemen have been deployed on the streets of the capital and streets leading to the main protest site, the India Gate war memorial, have been shut for long periods, causing commuter chaos in the city of 16 million.

Political commentators and sociologists say the rape has tapped into a deep well of frustration that many Indians feel over what they see as weak governance and poor leadership on social and economic issues.

Many protesters have complained that Singh's government has done little to curb the abuse of women in the country of 1.2 billion. A global poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in June found that India was the worst place to be a woman because of high rates of infanticide, child marriage and slavery.

New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among India's major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures. Government data show the number of reported rape cases in the country rose by nearly 17 percent between 2007 and 2011.

(Reporting by Eveline Danubrata and Kevin Lim; Writing by Kevin Lim in Singapore and Ross Colvin in New Delhi; Editing by Michael Roddy)

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Megan Fox Gushes Over Brian Austin Green, Reveals Weight Loss Secret

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/megan-fox-gushes-over-brian-austin-green-reveals-weight-loss-sec/

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Steve Clare: Fans, Families and Banning the 'F-Bomb'

In my previous article, I looked at the possibility that supporter culture may be the next marketing tool for the men charged with growing soccer.

The banners and the singing present something not only organic but relatively rare in North American sport, audience inspired demonstrations of support.

That however brings a problem for administrators still rooted to the core mission of attracting a family audience -- we're vulgar and we're potty-mouthed.

Admittedly so are those who attend other sports but they are generally disbarred from any access to the television microphones placed at pitchside. They chant what they are told to.

Our sport's culture is different.

Support comes from the fans and has really done so anecdotally since Liverpool fans started singing Beatles' songs on the Kop for no apparent reason.

There have of course been many problems in Europe over the years with far right groups infiltrating Ultras in several countries, sectarian chanting in Scotland and tasteless references to the Munich and Hillsborough tragedies in England.

Compared to some of the stuff I have heard in my lifetime at matches in Glasgow and London, what happens in MLS is miniscule and harmless.

Despite that, there is one chant that really irks the league.

When a visiting goalkeeper takes a goalkick, the fans chant something naughty as he takes his run up. It's known as the YSA chant. I don't know if I can write it out on The Huffington Post so you'll have to use your imaginations or wait until somebody writes it out in full in the comments section.

In truth, the YSA chant is pretty moronic and organized supporters groups have recognized that.

Before joining MLS, the Portland front office asked the Timbers Army for their help in eradicating it. The TA agreed and succeeded.

In a skillfully calibrated statement, a Portland club spokesman described their general attitude to profanity thus:

The Portland Timbers do not condone witless profanity for profanity's sake chants, such as YSA and F*ck Seattle. We have chosen to work with the supporters in a constructive manner to eliminate these types of chants. The Timbers Army does not endorse these chants either and they have been successful over the years in eliminating them.

And yes, the Timbers spokesman put the asterisk in the word 'fuck' in his email. He must think I'm more easily offended than I actually am. He may have forgotten the full range of my compatriot John Spencer's vocabulary which often seemed to be solely composed of that word on a bad day.

The club spokesman would not confirm that they actually endorse witty profanity but the insinuation is that if there's a degree of originality and wit, stewards won't be hauling bodies out of the stadium. It's a nuanced, deft and clever attitude. Dare I say mature?

Even though Portland is in a region of America not prone to taking knee jerk fake offence at profanity or an insufficient kowtowing to political correctness, he was careful not to be seen to be endorsing any position that would give the impression that swearing is permitted.

Let's just say, in language more commonly reserved for marijuana legislation, that it is 'decriminalized' inside Jeld Wen Field unless you are being an idiot about it.

Like driving slightly over the limit on a Texas freeway or being obviously drunk in public within half a mile of a Scottish university.

In Seattle, the fans themselves decide to replace the last word in YSA, with the name of the goalkeeper who was actually taking the goal kick.

Lead capo and respected veteran of the supporter scene in Seattle, Sean McConnell was barely able to suppress his laughter on one occasion when Chicago Fire visited in 2011.

The Fire had a goal kick at the Royal Brougham End where the noisiest fans congregate. Sean Johnson was the visiting goalkeeper.

Judging by the width of his grin, McConnell had clearly worked out that by encouraging fans to dumb it down to "You Suck Johnson," he was keeping to the letter of the law and having a good laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole issue.

One man who saw the joke that day was Kevin Zelko who heads Gorilla FC, a Sounders Supporters Group. His members tend to be a little older on average than many SGs, with many of their active members in the 35-45 age group and board members stretching into their mid 60s.

Even he has no doubt that making the atmosphere child friendly is not the path forward:

I think our league history has shown which model works, looking at how teams are retooling their target fan bases like in Kansas City and Houston with the turnaround there. The old model was soccer moms. The new growing, working model shows build on supporters, and let the supporters build it.

Zelko is right about Kansas City. Their new stadium heralded an opportunity to start again, eschewing previous models of stadium atmosphere.

Sean Dane holds the quirky title of 'Hype Man' of the Cauldron, the main Sporting Kansas City Supporters Group, and has observed it at first hand.

He takes an admirably balance view on these matters:

It's a fine line to walk. Obviously the league has responsibilities to its television and advertising partners. Additionally there is a responsibility to those coming to games that expect a certain level of family friendly-ness. Supporters don't buy every ticket in the stadium, and there has to be some level of respect for those that want to sit and watch the game.

That being said, you cannot pick the parts of supporter culture that you like and use to promote your league while trying to ban the parts that you don't. I personally try not to lead chants with unnecessary foul language. That is not to say I am anti foul language. We killed YSA last year. Not because it says shit or asshole but because it's unoriginal and ineffective.

You can see the full interview with Sean Dane on Prost Amerika where he develops these points and provides a very good starting point for charting the path forward that I hope all sides can embrace.

Personally, I have one last cheeky and irreverent observation on the matter.

If clubs want to eradicate swearing at matches, then why not start with their employees rather than waving a big stick at their customers?

OK, that was kind of a low blow. I'll take a yellow card for dissent and walk away.

Prost Amerika on Facebook

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Follow Steve Clare on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ProstSoccer

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-clare/mls-supporters-groups-profanity_b_2371900.html

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25 Idioms About Bread and Dessert

by Mark Nichol

Wheat ? the staff of life ? and the baked products derived from it invite many idiomatic associations. Here are references to bread and other flour-based products in phrases and expressions.

1. ?Bread and butter? refers to the basics in life.
2. ?Bread and water? refers to the bare minimum of food and drink, based on the traditional punitive prison diet.
3. ?The greatest thing since sliced bread? is something considered revolutionary and indispensable.
4. ?Half a loaf is better than none? means that one shouldn?t complain about not having everything, because it is better to have something than nothing.
5. ?Half baked? means ?incomplete? or ?not thoroughly planned or conceived.?
6. To know ?which side (one?s) bread is buttered on? is to recognize what is advantageous.
7. To ?sell (something) like hotcakes? is to be very successful at selling something.
8. To ?separate the wheat from the chaff? is to distinguish what is useful or valuable from what is not.
9. Something that is ?as flat as a pancake? is extremely flat.
10. Something ?as warm as toast? is very warm and comforting.
11. To ?have your cake and eat it, too? is to have or accomplish something more than one way; the phrase often refers to an unrealistic expectation.
12. Something ?as easy as (apple) pie? is very simple to do or understand.
13?14. To ?have (one?s) finger in the pie? is to be involved, but to ?have (one?s) fingers in too many pies? is to be committed in too many endeavors, thus reducing one?s effectiveness.
15. ?Icing on the cake? is an additional benefit.
16. An activity that is ?like taking candy from a baby? is very easy.
17. Something that is ?pie in the sky? is unrealistic.
18. Something that is ?a piece of cake? is extraordinarily easy.
19. To get ?a piece of the pie? is to be among those who earn an advantage or reward.
20. To ?sugarcoat? something is to put it into a deceptively or inaccurately positive light.
21. Something that ?takes the cake? is significantly better or worse than other comparable things; the phrase often refers to an action or comment that is audaciously irritating.
22. ?That?s the way the cookie crumbles? means that what is referred to is an expected or typical outcome.
23. Someone or something ?as nutty as a fruitcake? is crazy or ridiculous.
24. Something ?as slow as molasses (in January)? is very slow.
25. Something ?as sweet as honey? is very appealing.

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Source: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/25-idioms-about-bread-and-dessert/

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Students' online and offline social networks can predict course grades

Dec. 27, 2012 ? Ben-Gurion University of the Negev's (BGU) Social Networks Security Research Group in its Department of Information Systems Engineering has developed a novel method to predict how well or badly a student will perform in an academic course.

The information can be used to determine which students need the most help, as well as which ones excel and might be guided to further study or careers in that subject area. The paper, "Predicting Student Exam Scores by Analyzing Social Network Data," was presented earlier this month at the Advanced Media Technology Conference in Macau, Hong Kong.

According to co-author and Ph.D. student Michael Fire, "While most papers about social network analysis deal solely with information gathered online, this study draws some of the information from the real world -- social interactions which were conducted off the grid."

The researchers analyzed data from a BGU course that included assignments submitted online and Web site logs (containing 10,759 entries) to construct social networks of explicit and implicit cooperation among the students. The implicit connections are used to model all the social interactions that happened "offline" among the students: e-mails with questions, conversations in the lab while preparing the assignments and even course forums.

"These connections were very important, as we sought to model the social interactions within the student body," Fire explains.

In addition to analyzing the online submissions of the students who had to work in pairs or in groups, they also tracked login time and computer usage. For instance, if two students submitted their assignments from the same computer, it was a likely indication that the two had worked together to complete the assignment. If two students submitted assignments from different computers, but one right after the other on more than one occasion, the authors gave a value to that data, as well.

"One explanation for what we discovered is that your friends influence your grade in the course, so, if you pick your friends well, then you will get a higher grade," Fire says. "Alternatively, social networks in courses offer conditions whereby good students will pair with other good students, and similarly weaker ones will pair with weaker students."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/NU5l1fQsQF4/121227142957.htm

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Consumer confidence falls to 4-month low

19 hrs.

Reuters

Consumer confidence fell to a four-month low in December as a looming budget crisis sapped what had been a growing sense of optimism about the economy, a private sector report released on Thursday showed.?

The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 65.1 from a downwardly revised 71.5 in November. Economists had expected a reading of 70.0, according to a Reuters poll.?

November's number was originally reported as 73.7.?

While the present situation index rose to 62.8 from an upwardly revised 57.4, its highest in more than four years, the overall survey suggested most consumers expect things to worsen.?

"Consumers' expectations retreated sharply in December resulting in a decline in the overall index," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in a statement. "The sudden turnaround was most likely caused by uncertainty surrounding the oncoming fiscal cliff."?

The fiscal cliff refers to $600 billion of automatic tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect in January unless Congress acts to stop them. President Barack Obama and Republican leaders have failed to agree to a long-term deficit reduction deal that would avert the situation.?

The expectations index fell to 66.5 from a downwardly revised 80.9. December's reading was the lowest in more than a year.?

Franco said a similar pullback in consumer expectations was seen in August 2011, when political bickering over raising the U.S. debt ceiling led to a sharp drop in the stock market.?

Consumers' labor market outlook also turned a bit more pessimistic. The "jobs hard to get" index fell to 35.6 percent from a revised 37.4 percent the month before, but the "jobs plentiful" index also fell to 10.3 percent from 11.0 percent.?

Consumers' expectations for inflation in the coming 12 months held steady this month at 5.6 percent.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/cliff-worries-push-consumer-confidence-4-month-low-1C7750594

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No ethics breaches found in Countrywide VIP loans

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The House Ethics Committee said Thursday it found no violations among House members whose mortgage loans went through the VIP section of the former Countrywide Financial Corp., the company whose subprime loans helped cause the foreclosure crisis.

The committee said nearly all the allegations of favored treatment involved loans that were granted so long ago that they fell outside the panel's jurisdiction. The committee added, however, that participation in the VIP program did not necessarily mean borrowers received the best loan deal available ? and most lawmakers were not even aware they were placed in a VIP unit.

The actions of unnamed House staff members were harshly criticized. Emails indicated they reached out to Countrywide lobbyists for assistance with their personal loans, but those actions also were too old to remain in the committee's jurisdiction. The panel said that if the incidents had been more recent, the staff members could have faced discipline.

Countrywide was taken over by Bank of America in 2008. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee reported in July that Countrywide made hundreds of discount loans to buy influence with members of Congress, congressional staff, top government officials and executives of troubled mortgage giant Fannie Mae.

The Oversight report named six current and former members of Congress who received what Countrywide referred to as discounts. All of their names had surfaced previously.

The committee has no jurisdiction over actions that occurred more than six years prior to the current Congress ? which began in January 2011.

But even if the statute of limitations had not run out, the committee said, inclusion in the VIP program was not by itself a violation of House rules or laws. The panel said it found that Countrywide's "discounts" applied to standard loan rates that were commercially available elsewhere.

"They are not the kind of 'gift' which would be, in and of itself, outside the realm of reasonable market rates for commercially available loans," said the statement issued by Ethics Committee Chairman Jo Bonner, R-Ala., and ranking Democrat Linda Sanchez of California.

Even so, the committee said, members must take steps to ensure they are being treated no differently than a member of the public who is similarly situated.

The committee statement added, "Of greatest concern...was email evidence regarding the specific conduct of some employees...who may have reached out to lobbyists or other government affairs officials at Countrywide for assistance with their personal loans."

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the Oversight Committee, which released the July report on Countrywide, said the finding of possible wrongdoing by congressional employees "clearly indicated that Countrywide's efforts were inconsistent with House rules."

"While short of formally determining a violation, this sends an unmistakable warning to any entity that might try to duplicate Countrywide's lobbying strategy," he said.

Issa added that his committee found that Countrywide employees viewed their VIP program as a tool to build relationships with those positioned to influence the company's business interests, including government officials.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-27-Ethics-Countrywide/id-3c622783d2f64375b13f785f382c57ab

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Fighting poverty, unrelated adults increasingly share housing

From just 2010 to 2011, the number of 'additional adults' in households grew by 1.9 million, the Census found. Poverty and the 2007-09 recession played key roles in people deciding to share houses and apartments.

By Reuters,?Reuters / December 26, 2012

Young adults have returned home to save money, contributing to an increase of 'additional adults' in households, the Census found.

John Overmyer

Enlarge

Many Americans are building bulwarks against poverty out of roommates, group houses and their parents' spare?rooms, with a Census report released on Nov. 28 finding the number of people considered "additional adults" in U.S. households grew between 2007 and 2011.

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In 2011, 17.9 percent of those 18 or older were considered "additional adults," compared to 2007, when 16 percent of legal adults fell within the?definition.

An additional adult is someone who is not the head of a household, and is living with someone other than a spouse or domestic partner. The Census also does not count college students.

From just 2010 to 2011, the number of "additional adults" in households grew by 1.9 million, the Census found.

Poverty and the 2007-09 recession played key roles in people deciding to share houses and apartments.

"We think that there is an economic reason for this," said Suzanne Macartney, one of the authors of the report. "We found that people who were living with others would have had a higher poverty rate than if they were living on their own."

The relationship is often symbiotic, with the additional adults improving the finances of the households where they live.

Ms. Macartney explained that "people who are more economically squeezed, economically vulnerable, are living in other people's households, and those who are more economically vulnerable are taking in other adults."

In 2011, the official poverty rate for the country was 13.9 percent. The rate for additional adults was higher at 15.8 percent, according to the Census. But the Census also found that householders who shared their homes with others had lower poverty rates than those who did not ? 13.5 percent compared to 14.9 percent for householders who did not take in another adult.

The youngest adults make up the largest section of those living in other people's homes, with 18- to 24-year-olds accounting for 35.3 percent, followed by those between the ages of 25 and 34, who represent 30.5 percent.

Young adults recently graduated from high school or college have fared poorly during the recovery from the recession. In October, the unemployment rate for those aged 20 to 24 was 13.2 percent. For those aged 25 to 34, it was much lower at 8.3 percent, according to the Labor Department. Still, those rates were higher than the national jobless rate of 7.9 percent.

Many young adults have returned home. According to the Census nearly half of all additional adults are the children of the heads of the households where they live. The second largest group is not related to the householder, making up 19.2 percent.

RELATED: Are you a 'Helicopter Parent?' take our QUIZ!

Geographically, at least 20 percent of people were considered?additional?adults in the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, New York and Nevada. ?

The number of additional adults increased in 40 states between 2007 and 2011, mostly in the south and west, which were badly hit when the housing bubble burst, the Census found.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/9Qa9MmJwq6w/Fighting-poverty-unrelated-adults-increasingly-share-housing

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Pebble smartwatch stops by FCC, tries to prove it's not vaporware

The Pebble smartwatch missed its original September target ship date. Then, it failed to ship in time to stuff stockings this holiday season. And, while we've seen them in person and the company claims a release is imminent, you'd be forgiven for being a bit skeptical. But there is reason to hope: the connected wristwear has officially received a thumbs up from the FCC. What's more, the e-paper timepiece gets the full teardown treatment and comes complete with an owners manual. There's no surprises here, but if you're the impatient type, there should be a few things to keep you occupied until the next delay.

Filed under: Wearables

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Source: FCC

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/KW5HD4O-8OQ/

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Top Three Mistakes In Web Design That Companies Need To Keep ...

Microsoft president and world-famous billionaire Bill Gates once said, ?If your company is not on the online world, then your business will be out of business.? His words have proven to be true, specially since a great number of are now using the web to aid them in shopping. However, it?s important for businesses to understand that merely creating an internet based storefront is not enough ? the design of an e-commerce website is also crucial and can have an effect on sales in many ways that will not seem obvious to a lot of people. To aid business owners generate a truly useful and highly prosperous e-commerce site, listed here are the top three issues in web design that organizations need to prevent:

1) Choosing a design which doesn?t mirror the company?s image. Business people must always understand that an e-commerce website isn?t just a simple online portal where they can display and then sell their wares. The website also represents the business, and thus, must reflect the group?s image and values. The website design that companies use must at least incorporate the company?s logo and corporate colors; additionally, an ?About? page needs to be included to describe who is behind the business together with the group?s goal or plans. Creating a strong brand impact is equally as important on the web as it is in real life.

2) Selecting a style that is too complicated or too plain. Anything in excess isn?t a good thing, and this rule also applies to web design. Using lots of illustrations or photos or perhaps a tricky navigation layout can simply turn off any website viewer and make them purchase goods somewhere else. But even though it may be simpler to use a site which is rather plain, this doesn?t show that bare websites will attract more consumers. Usability is indeed a concern in creating a small business website. However, don?t forget that the more effective designs interact with several senses-sight, hearing and emotions- simply because these could also contribute to users? total satisfaction with their shopping experience.

3) Using excessive written content or too little written content. In this modern age, time is a very significant commodity, and therefore, it?s imperative that you deliver your message clearly and proficiently in a short amount of time. Online customers will certainly not be captivated by long articles on products, nor will they be bothered to find facts that?s missing in your website. Copywriters and web designers that businesses hire should know the way to proficiently strike a balance among what is inadequate content and what is way too much.

The website design Auckland companies use must at least add the company?s logo and corporate colors; moreover, an ?About? page must also be included to explain who is behind the corporation and also the group?s goal or objectives. Building a strong brand impression is equally as important on the web as it is in the real world.

Source: http://blog.ifultech.com/?p=182

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Discouraged after making resolutions? Four steps to success.

After the initial enthusiasm of a new resolution fades, most people give up. Here's how to keep going.

By Trent Hamm,?Guest blogger / December 24, 2012

People walk and jog at Torrey Pines State Park in San Diego last month. There are ways to keep working toward your goals even after discouragement sets in.

Mike Blake/Reuters/File

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Whenever someone takes on a goal, they tend to go through a few phases.

Skip to next paragraph Trent Hamm

The Simple Dollar is a blog for those of us who need both cents and sense: people fighting debt and bad spending habits while building a financially secure future and still affording a latte or two. Our busy lives are crazy enough without having to compare five hundred mutual funds ? we just want simple ways to manage our finances and save a little money.

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At first, there?s the?honeymoon phase, where the person is enthusiastic about what they?re working on. They?ve got a clear goal, one that they?re sure is going to change their life. The steps to achieve that goal seem fresh and new, and they can often see real results from those steps. Even if those real results are small, they seem wonderful because?they?re moving in the right direction.

After the honeymoon phase comes what I call the?valley phase. The initial enthusiasm fades and the person begins to see how the small, real results are going to take a long time to add up to the big results that they want. The thrill of making good moves is gone, and the minor drawbacks of those good moves often come to the forefront.

Once you push through the valley, you often come to what I call the?ascent phase. The ascent phase comes when a person has truly incorporated most of the changes they need to make to achieve the goal into their lives and the positive progress toward that goal becomes a natural thing. Often, the goal begins to feel inevitable once you reach the ascent phase.

British Ministry of Defense ready to provide military support in case ...

"In the event of an apocalyptic incident (eg zombies), any plans to rebuild and return England to its pre-attack glory would be led by the Cabinet Office, and thus any pre-planning activity would also taken place there,? reveals the authorities? response to an inquiry about their readiness for a zombie attack.

?The Ministry of Defense's role in any such event would be to provide military support to the civil authorities, not take the lead. Consequently, the Ministry of Defense holds no information on this matter,? it continues.

Zombies appear quite often in inquiries from the UK public.

Last year, Bristol city council replied that in case of a ?zombie pandemic?, staff would be told to listen out for code words in radio and television broadcasts to warn them that an attack was under way, and given health and safety advice on the correct way to kill zombies.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 has created a public ?right of access? to information held by public authorities. At the same time, people who make such requests about zombies, wizards and vampires are criticized for ?being time-wasters who are costing the taxpayer money.?

Voice of Russia, The Telegraph

Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_12_26/British-Ministry-of-Defense-ready-to-provide-military-support-in-case-of-zombie-attack/

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Fees undermine fliers' ability to compare fares

WASHINGTON (AP) ? For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare.

But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early boarding to premium seating and baggage fees, the ability to comparison-shop for the lowest total fare is eroding.

Global distribution systems that supply flight and fare data to travel agents and online ticketing services like Orbitz and Expedia, accounting for half of all U.S. airline tickets, complain that airlines won't provide fee information in a way that lets them make it handy for consumers trying to find the best deal.

"What other industry can you think of where a person buying a product doesn't know how much it's going to cost even after he's done at the checkout counter?" said Simon Gros, chairman of the Travel Technology Association, which represents the global distribution services and online travel industries.

The harder airlines make it for consumers to compare, "the greater opportunity you have to get to higher prices," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, whose members include corporate travel managers.

Now the Obama administration is wading into the issue. The Department of Transportation is considering whether to require airlines to provide fee information to everyone with whom they have agreements to sell their tickets. A decision originally scheduled for next month has been postponed to May, as regulators struggle with a deluge of information from airlines opposed to regulating fee information, and from the travel industry and consumer groups that support such a requirement.

Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Air and Southwest Airlines ? with backing from industry trade associations ? are asking the Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling forcing them to include taxes in their advertised fares. The appeals court upheld a Transportation Department rule that went in effect nearly a year ago that ended airlines' leeway to advertise a base airfare and show the taxes separately, often in smaller print. Airlines say the regulations violate their free-speech rights.

At the heart of the debate is a desire by airlines to move to a new marketing model in which customers don't buy tickets based on price alone. Instead, following the well-worn path of other consumer companies, airlines want to mine personal data about customers in order to sell them tailored services. You like to sit on the aisle and to ski, so how would you like to fly to Aspen with an aisle seat and a movie, no extra baggage charge for your skis, and have a hotel room and a pair of lift tickets waiting for you, all for one price? You're a frequent business traveler. How about priority boarding, extra legroom, Internet access and a rental car when you arrive?

"Technology is changing rapidly. We are going to be part of the change," said Sharon Pinkerton, vice president of Airlines for America, which represents most U.S. carriers. "We want to be able to offer our customers a product that's useful to them, that's customized to meet their needs, and we don't think (the Transportation Department) needs to step in."

If airlines have their way, passengers looking for ticket prices may have to reveal a lot more information about themselves, such as their age, marital status, gender, nationality, travel history and whether they're flying for business or leisure. The International Air Transport Association, whose 240 member airlines cover 84 percent of global airline traffic, adopted standards at a meeting earlier this month in Geneva for such information gathering by airlines as well as by travel agents and ticketing services that would relay the data to airlines and receive customized fares in return.

"Airlines want, and expect, their (ticket) distribution partners to offer passengers helpful contextual information to make well-informed purchase decisions, reducing the number of reservations made based primarily or exclusively on price," said a study commissioned by the association.

Consumer advocates question how airlines would safeguard the personal information they gather, and they worry that comparison shopping for the cheapest air fares will no longer be feasible.

"It's like going to a supermarket where before you get the price, they ask you to swipe your driver's license that shows them you live in a rich zip code, you drive a BMW, et cetera," Mitchell said. "All this personal information on you is going out to all these carriers with no controls over what they do with it, who sees it and so on."

The airline association said consumers who choose not to supply personal information would still be able to see fares and purchase tickets, though consumer advocates said those fares would probably be at the "rack rate" ? the travel industry's term for full price, before any discounts.

It's up to individual airlines whether they price fares differently for travelers who don't provide personal information, said Perry Flint, a spokesman for the international airline association.

The stakes, of course, are enormous. Since 2000, U.S. airlines have lost money for more years than they've made profits. Fee revenue has made a big difference in their bottom lines. Globally, airlines raked in an estimated $36 billion this year in ancillary revenue, which includes baggage fees and other a la carte services as well as sales of frequent flyer points and commissions on hotel bookings, according to a study by Amadeus, a global distribution service, and the IdeaWorksCompany, a U.S. firm that helps airlines raise ancillary revenue. U.S. airlines reported collecting nearly $3.4 billion in baggage fees alone in 2011.

One expense airlines would like to eliminate is the $7 billion a year they pay global distribution systems to supply flight and fare information to travel agents and online booking agents like Expedia. Airlines want to deal more directly with online ticket sellers and travel agents, who dominate the lucrative business travel market. Justice Department officials have acknowledged an investigation is underway into possible anti-trust violations by distribution companies.

Airlines also have been cracking down on websites that help travelers manage their frequent flier accounts. The sites use travelers' frequent flier passwords to obtain balances and mileage expiration dates, and then display the information in a way that makes it easier for travelers to figure out when it makes more sense to buy a ticket or to use miles.

"What the airlines are trying to do right now is reinvent the wheel so they can hold all their information close to their chest," said Charles Leocha, founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance. "As we move forward in a world of IT, the ownership of passenger data is like gold to these people."

By withholding information like fee prices, he said, "we are forced to go see them, and then we are spoon-fed what they want to feed us."

___

Airlines for America http://www.airlines.org

Travel Technology Association http://www.traveltechnologyassociation.org

Business Travel Coalition http://businesstravelcoalition.com/

___

Follow Joan Lowy at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fees-undermine-fliers-ability-compare-fares-162700594.html

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Pay Day Loan: Advice From Loans Expert

Anyone who is struggling with financial disaster is desperate to look for an immediate fix. Although there are numerous financial solutions available, pay day loans is the most preferred by many. Such lenders are very helpful during crisis however; as a borrower, you should utilize this option with utmost care. Take the advice of loans expert to help you get out of the financial situation.

According to loans expert, after you obtain the pay day loan, you must start to plan your budget. Make some adjustments on your budget to repair your finances as soon as possible as the amount of money that you borrowed should be repaid. Do not ignore the costs in terms of paying off your pay day loan and you should make a plan for your budget in the future. It is crucial that you must be aware about all the figures associated to your pay day loan to avoid surprises later on. Take note that this kind of loan usually charge high interests. If you do not repay the money immediately before the deadline, chances are that you will pay more as the interest accumulates every month. That is why; the advice of a loans expert is to fix your budget immediately.

Another advice of loans expert is that you must provide all the necessary documents when applying for pay day loan. This is to ensure that the application process runs smoothly and any delay can be avoided. Regardless of your financial situation, do not piggy-back your loans. Obtaining multiple pay day loans is a big no for loans expert. Never place yourself in a difficult situation in which you can no longer repay the money that you borrowed regardless of the income that you make.

If you have a bad credit, you may not be allowed to make a loan or the lender can give you exorbitant terms if ever you will be accepted. Remember that no credit and bad credit are the different. Before applying for any pay day loan, loans expert recommends that you should consider how will your credit history affects your application. When the time comes that your lender will collect your payment, make sure that you have sufficient money in your account. Depending upon your circumstances, there is a possibility that you can miss your payment. When this happens, this can result to more penalties and fees. Loans expert says that although you can obtain pay day loan immediately, this can cause lead to more financial hardship. That is why, it is important that you understand how the process works.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Pay-Day-Loan--Advice-From-Loans-Expert/4344411

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BSE Tips - Indian Stocks NSE BSE Free Intraday Daytrading BTST ...

Hot Stocks from Tipz.in for 26th Dec 2012
Tata Motors Limited (TATAMOTORS), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (GLENMARK), Jk Lakshmi Cement Ltd (JKLAKSHMI), Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HINDPETRO), Godrej Industries Ltd (GODREJIND), Jk Cement Limited (JKCEMENT), Ipca Laboratories Ltd (IPCALAB), Gruh Finance Ltd. (GRUH), Tube Investments Of India (TUBEINVEST), Kaveri Seed Company Limited (KSCL), Elder Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ELDERPHARM), Pidilite Industries Ltd (PIDILITIND), Rushil Decor Limited (RUSHIL), Aegis Logistics Limited (AEGISCHEM), Agro Tech Foods Limited (ATFL), Torrent Pharmaceuticals L (TORNTPHARM), Carborundum Universal Ltd (CARBORUNIV), Zensar Technologies Ltd (ZENSARTECH), Britannia Industries Ltd (BRITANNIA), R Sys International Ltd (RSYSTEMS), Icra Limited (ICRA), Sagar Cements Limited (SAGCEM), Clariant Chemicals (india (CLNINDIA), Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited (KKCL), Bannari Amman Sugars Ltd (BANARISUG), Benchmark Bankbees (BANKBEES), Kothari Products Ltd (KOTHARIPRO).

Source: http://finance.tipz.in/2012/12/tata-motors-limited_25.html

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Video: Hollywood stars question movie violence

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/50285831/

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PFT: Ravens' championship window is closing

AP

Every week we?ll bring you all the inactives from the early games in one post, constantly updated with the latest information. So check back often to see the full list as it becomes available.

Raiders at Panthers

Raiders: DT Richard Seymour,?RB Jeremy Stewart, LB Rolando McClain, WR Juron Criner, T Willie Smith, OL Lucas Nix, DE Dave Tollefson

Panthers:?QB Jimmy Clausen, WR David Gettis, RB Jonathan Stewart, LB James Anderson, C/G Geoff Hangartner, G Hayworth Hicks, DT Sione Fua

Saints at Cowboys

Saints: FB Jed Collins, RB Chris?Ivory, LB Scott Shanle, G Ricky Henry, DT Tyrunn Walker, DE Turk McBride, WR Saalim Hakim

Cowboys: DT Jay Ratliff, LB Kyle?Wilber, C Kevin Kowalski, OL David Arkin, DT Rob Callaway, T Darrion Weems, G Ron Leary

Titans at Packers

Titans: C Kevin Matthews,?QB Rusty Smith, WR Kendall Wright, CB Ryan Mouton, LB Colin McCarthy, T Michael Otto, DE Scott Solomon

Packers: WR Jordy Nelson, S Charles Woodson, RB Alex Green, RB James Starks, TE Tom Crabtree, DE C.J. Wilson, DE Jerel Worthy

Vikings at Texans

Vikings:?QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson, WR Stephen Burton, CB Brandon Burton, LB Audie Cole, OL Troy Kropog, DE Brian Robison, DE D?Aundre Reed

Texans:?CB Alan Ball, OL Antoine Caldwell, OL Andrew Gardner, OL Cody White, NT Terrell McClain, S Quintin Demps, CB Stanford Routt

Patriots at Jaguars

Patriots: TE Rob Gronkowski, CB Alfonzo Dennard, LB Brandon Spikes,?FB James Develin, DE Jake Bequette, DL Ron Brace, OL Markus Zusevics

Jaguars: RB Maurice Jones-Drew, RB Rashad Jennings, CB?Antwaun Molden, LB Brandon Marshall, OL Eben Britton, DE Austen Lane, RB Jonathan Grimes

Colts at Chiefs

Colts: LB Kavell Conner, C Samson Satele, RB Delone Carter, S Tom Zbikowski, WR Nathan Palmer, T Winston Justice, DT Antonio Johnson

Chiefs: TE Tony Moeaki, WR Steve Breaston, QB Ricky Stanzi, DT Anthony Toribio, DB Abram Elam, G Russ Hochstein, FB Nate Eachus

Bills at Dolphins

Bills: WR Marcus Easley, DE Mark Anderson, LB Chris White,?QB Tarvaris Jackson, OL Keith Williams, DL Jay Ross, OL Chris Scott

Dolphins: WR Davone Bess, LB Koa Misi, QB Pat Devlin, CB Nolan Carroll, OT Patrick Brown, TE Kyle Miller, DT Keeston Randall

Chargers at Jets

Chargers: RB Edwin Baker, LB Jonas Mouton, LB Demorrio Williams, T Stephen Schilling, WR Mike Willie, DT Aubrayo Franklin, TE Ladarius Green

Jets:?WR Mardy Gilyard, CB Aaron Berry, CB Donnie Fletcher, LB Ricky Sapp, DL Damon Harrison, G Caleb Schlauderaff, TE Dustin Keller

Redskins at Eagles

Redskins:?QB Rex Grossman, WR Brandon Banks, WR Dezmon Briscoe, LB Roddrick Muckelroy, LB Vic So?oto, G Adam Gettis, T Tyler Polumbus

Eagles: RB Stanley Havili, QB Michael Vick, RB Chris?Polk, DE Darryl Tapp, G Danny Watkins, OL Matt Kopa, WR Greg Salas

Bengals at Steelers

Bengals: CB Dre Kirkpatrick, K Mike Nugent, RB Daniel Herron, TE Richard Quinn, S George Iloka, DT Brandon Thompson, DT Devon Still

Steelers: CB Ike Taylor,?QB Byron Leftwich, CB Justin King, LB Adrian Robinson, DE Al Woods, OT Mike Adams, WR Plaxico Burress.

Rams at Buccaneers

Rams:??QB Austin Davis, RB Terrance Ganaway, DT Matt Conrath, T Joe Barksdale, WR Steve Smith, TE Cory Harkey, LB Sammy Brown

Buccaneers:?CB LeQuan Lewis, RB Michael Smith, G Roger Allen, WR Chris Owusu, WR David Douglas, DT Corvey Irvin, DT Matthew Masifilo

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/23/ravens-are-slumping-now-but-their-window-might-be-closing/related/

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