Major banks close to big settlement on home loans

(Reuters) - U.S. regulators are close to securing another multibillion-dollar settlement with the largest banks to resolve allegations that they unlawfully cut corners when foreclosing on delinquent borrowers, a source familiar with the talks said.

The settlement with five big banks would be part of a larger deal that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency hopes will include 14 banks and total about $10 billion, the source said.

Such a settlement would address an outstanding issue that was left unsettled after the $25 billion deal that the banks reached in February with the Justice Department, housing authorities, and state attorneys general.

In 2011, the OCC had separately required the big banks to "look back" and compensate borrowers wrongfully foreclosed upon in 2009 and 2010. It appears that the case-by-case analysis is proving too cumbersome, and the banks are instead opting for a lump-sum settlement.

The top five mortgage lenders -- Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc and Ally Financial Inc -- may reach a deal in the coming days, the source said.

The largest banks would pay the majority of the $10 billion target. That money would be paid out to a group of borrowers foreclosed upon during the period of time covered by the review, said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The OCC and the banks are still negotiating how to calculate individual payouts, the source said, adding that regulators will give the banks credit for compensation they have already given borrowers as part of ongoing foreclosure reviews.

The New York Times first reported the pending deal.

"The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is committed to ensuring the Independent Foreclosure Review proceeds efficiently and to ensuring harmed borrowers are compensated as quickly as possible," the OCC said in a statement.

Ally, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citigroup declined to comment.

(Reporting by Aruna Viswanatha, with additional reporting by Sakthi Prasad, Rick Rothacker and Douwe Miedema; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/major-banks-close-big-settlement-home-loans-170709980--sector.html

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Markets calm despite looming fiscal cliff

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, walks to a closed-door GOP caucus as Congress meets to negotiate a legislative path to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax increases and deep spending cuts that could kick in Jan. 1., at the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, walks to a closed-door GOP caucus as Congress meets to negotiate a legislative path to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" of automatic tax increases and deep spending cuts that could kick in Jan. 1., at the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

LONDON (AP) ? Markets appeared Monday to be taking in stride the ongoing failure of U.S. politicians to agree a budget deal in time to avoid automatic tax increases and spending cuts that many economists think could tilt the world's largest economy back into recession.

With just hours to go before the U.S. falls off the so-called "fiscal cliff," Republicans and Democrats remained divided over tax and spend, raising the prospect that markets will start 2013 without a clear idea of America's budget policy. The main sticking point appears to be what level of taxes are imposed on higher incomes.

Discussions in the Senate broke off Sunday night without agreement. Senators are due to reconvene at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) try to hammer out a deal before the deadline.

"With precisely zero headway made on the fiscal front resulting from the early weekend return by Congressional lawmakers, hopes are fast-fading of any sort of compromise before the end of 2012," said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co.

However, it's not the first time that budget discussions in the U.S. have gone down to the wire only for a deal to be eventually reached.

Many investors remain confident that some sort of deal will be struck in time following positive noises coming out from late Sunday discussions between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, and Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

Even if a deal is not reached in time, many investors think that the possible damage wrought by the potential $671 billion package of higher taxes and spending cuts will be limited. A backup proposal that would address only a few issues is expected to be presented by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, if a bipartisan deal is not reached.

"It is likely that many of the fiscal cliff measures allow a certain amount of room within which the government can introduce measures to refrain from any tax increases," said Joshua Mahony, an analyst at Alpari.

The prospect of counter-measures to offset the "fiscal cliff" impact helps explain why markets were fairly calm in Europe and Asia, and Wall Street was poised to open higher on the last day of a year that's seen many indexes post strong gains, partly through rising hopes over Europe's 3-year debt crisis.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 0.5 percent at 5,897.81. For the year as a whole, the FTSE ended 5.8 percent higher.

The CAC-40 in France closed 0.6 percent higher on the day at 3,641.07. In 2012, it rose 15.2 percent.

Those European indexes that were open only traded for half the day. Others, including Germany's DAX, were closed. The DAX was one of the world's best-performers in 2012 with its annual rise of 29.1 percent.

U.S. stocks were poised for gains at the open despite the "fiscal cliff" uncertainty, with both Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.2 percent.

Despite the recent worries, U.S. stocks have had a strong 2012, with the Dow up around 6 percent so far and the S&P 11.5 percent higher.

Developments over the U.S. budget will likely be one of the big issues in financial markets in 2013, especially in the early part, alongside Europe's ongoing efforts to contain its debt crisis and the state of the Chinese economy, now the world's second biggest.

Clearly, the full imposition of the "fiscal cliff" measures would hobble the U.S. economy that has shown some signs of late of a more sustainable economic recovery. Waning U.S. economic growth would have an impact worldwide.

Some economists predict the effects of the "fiscal cliff" could eventually throw the U.S. economy back into recession ? although if the deadline passes, politicians still have a few weeks to keep the tax hikes and spending cuts at bay by repealing them retroactively once a deal is reached.

Still, the failure to adhere to the deadline following weeks of squabbling and procrastination could be view negatively by the major credit rating agencies and weigh on investor confidence going into 2013.

"I think the market reaction to that will be very negative. This means the U.S. will never be able to bring its house in order. And the deficit will continue to accumulate," said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong. "No meaningful reform and no solution in sight. You can throw confidence out of the window."

Earlier in Asia, the picture was fairly subdued in those markets that were open ? among others, markets in Japan, were closed for the New Year's holidays. After a stellar performance in December, Japan's Nikkei ended the year almost 23 percent higher.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng, trading for a half-day, closed marginally lower at 22,656.92, to also end the year nearly 23 percent higher.

Mainland Chinese stocks rose Monday after a private survey showed the country's manufacturing growth at its strongest level in 18 months in December. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5 percent to close at 4,648.90.

There was also a fairly calm atmosphere in other financial markets, with the euro down just 0.2 percent at $1.3190. Despite the endless debate over its future, the euro has actually ended the year modestly higher against the dollar.

____

Sampson contributed from Bangkok.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-31-World%20Markets/id-c2d91ab16d4145fc8f1f627cbba56192

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South Texas police target gangs with checkpoints

Associated Press

Posted on December 30, 2012 at 3:20 PM

Updated today at 8:02 PM

SAN JUAN, Texas (AP) ? Police in a South Texas town are targeting gang members with roadside checkpoints, raising questions of profiling and unreasonable searches.

San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez tells The McAllen Monitor (http://bit.ly/TzFD9l ) that the periodic checkpoints are "non-conventional," but says they are part of a larger effort to curtail gang activity.

Vehicles are stopped at the checkpoints and checked for violations regarding insurance, seatbelts and driver's licenses. Gonzalez says nearly all gang members are willing to announce their gang affiliation. They are asked to voluntarily allow officers to photograph their gang tattoos and their information is added to a state gang database.

Joseph Martin, a lawyer with the South Texas Civil Rights Project, says the checkpoints raise constitutional questions about unreasonable searches and seizures.

___

Information from: The Monitor, http://www.themonitor.com

Source: http://www.kens5.com/news/185219202.html

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Beckham eyeing money-spinning Chinese challenge

Britain News.Net Sunday 30th December, 2012

According to the Daily Mirror, a contract with Chinese Super League team Shanghai Shenhua would earn Beckham 250,000 pound a week and 20 million pounds in merchandising deals.

This would take Brand Beckham, which is already worth 190 million pounds, to world domination, the paper said.

TV's Pop Idol mogul Simon Fuller, a close pal and business associate of the Beckhams, is personally masterminding the move, the paper further added.

Shanghai Shenhua owner Zhu Jun has already lured former Chelsea strikers Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka to his club.

The deal would also give Beckham and wife Victoria a chance to sell their brands in a nation of nearly one-and-a-half billion people.

A source close to Beckham said he has cracked Europe and America, and he now has the chance to become huge in China and the Far East, saying it would be a huge decision for the former Real Madrid star.

The source further said that while Beckham wants one final challenge in football, a move to China is about more than that, as it will push Brand Beckham to a whole new level. (ANI)

Source: http://www.britainnews.net/index.php/sid/211667614/scat/fad6c6ce3bc72160

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Proud to be a Buckeye: A Look at Fanaticism in Ohio State Football

Photo: Jay LaPrete, Associated Press / SF

On this hour, we'll talk about the tradition and fanaticism of Ohio State football.

11:00

Buckeye football fans are proud, that we all know. But what?s behind the fanaticism and historic traditions of The Ohio State University? On this hour, we?ll talk about Ohio State football just in time for the school?s 100th Homecoming Game this Saturday.

Guests

• Bob Hunter (author and sports columnist for the Columbus Dispatch)

Learn More

Click here for more information on Bob Hunter?s new book Saint Woody: The History and Fanaticism of Ohio State Football.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AllSidesWithAnnFisher/~3/MAPITVoawvo/

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How To Choose The Perfect Internet Hosting Provider For Your ...

Posted on December 30, 2012 by dufttuey508 in Internet

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Source: http://www.veritasindia.com/how-to-choose-the-perfect-internet-hosting-provider-for-your-online-business-website

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Health And Fitness - Weight Loss Forum

Health and fitness is understood to be a situation to be wholesome that prepares your body for that bodily essentials associated with everyday life. To become much more exact, health and fitness offers power, versatility as well as endurance for that correct working from the entire body. It?s a complete answer for any ideal, fine-tuned existence. The actual 5 primary aspects of health and fitness tend to be cardiovascular stamina, muscle power, muscle stamina, as well as versatility as well as entire body make up. The actual appropriate bodily as well as psychological workouts as well as correct consumption associated with healthy meals would be the elements which bring about health and fitness. The well-balanced diet plan not just can make 1 match, however offers just about all required nutrition for that entire body. Psychological health and fitness, required for the actual mental well-being of the individual, can also be a vital element in preserving a proper condition.

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For more info and FREE Tips : DietanHealth Group

Source: http://www.weight-loss-forums.buddyslim.com/fitness-challenge/8561-health-fitness.html

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Road trip on tap for NASA's Mars rover in new year

FILE - This Dec. 12, 2012 file image provided by NASA shows the Mars rover Curiosity at a pit stop, a shallow depression called "Yellowknife Bay." It took the image on the 125th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Dec. 12, 2012), just after finishing that sol's drive. The Sol 125 drive entered Yellowknife Bay and covered about 86 feet (26.1 meters). The descent into the basin crossed a step about 2 feet (half a meter) high, visible in the upper half of this image. Curiosity will now head for Mount Sharp in mid-February after it drills into its first rock. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech, File)

FILE - This Dec. 12, 2012 file image provided by NASA shows the Mars rover Curiosity at a pit stop, a shallow depression called "Yellowknife Bay." It took the image on the 125th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Dec. 12, 2012), just after finishing that sol's drive. The Sol 125 drive entered Yellowknife Bay and covered about 86 feet (26.1 meters). The descent into the basin crossed a step about 2 feet (half a meter) high, visible in the upper half of this image. Curiosity will now head for Mount Sharp in mid-February after it drills into its first rock. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech, File)

FILE - This file image provided by NASA shows the base of Mount Sharp on Mars. The Curiosity rover is set to drive toward the mountain in mid-February after drilling into a rock. The image was taken by Curiosity's 100-millimeter Mast Camera on Aug. 23, 2012. Scientists enhanced the color in one version to show the Martian scene under the lighting conditions we have on Earth, which helps in analyzing the terrain. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, File)

FILE - This file image provided by NASA shows a color self-portrait of the Mars rover Curiosity. It is set to drive toward a Martian mountain in mid-February after drilling into a rock. On the 84th and 85th Martian days of the NASA Mars rover Curiosity's mission on Mars (Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2012), NASA's Curiosity rover used the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) to capture dozens of high-resolution images to be combined into self-portrait images of the rover. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, File)

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) ? Since captivating the world with its acrobatic landing, the Mars rover Curiosity has fallen into a rhythm: Drive, snap pictures, zap at boulders, scoop up dirt. Repeat.

Topping its to-do list in the new year: Set off toward a Martian mountain ? a trek that will take up a good chunk of the year.

The original itinerary called for starting the drive before the Times Square ball drop, but Curiosity lingered longer than planned at a pit stop, delaying the trip.

Curiosity will now head for Mount Sharp in mid-February after it drills into its first rock.

"We'll probably be ready to hit the pedal to the metal and give the keys back to the rover drivers," mission chief scientist John Grotzinger said in a recent interview at his office on the sprawling NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory campus 15 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

The road trip comes amid great expectations. After all, it's the reason the $2.5 billion mission targeted Gale Crater near the Martian equator. Soaring from the center of the ancient crater is a 3-mile-high peak with intriguing layers of rocks.

Curiosity's job is to figure out whether the landing site ever had the right environmental conditions to support microbes. Scientists already know water flowed in the past thanks to the rover's discovery of an old streambed. Besides water, life as we know it also needs energy, the sun.

What's missing are the chemical building blocks of life: complex carbon-based molecules. If they're preserved on Mars, scientists figure the best place to hunt for them is at the base of Mount Sharp where images from space reveal hints of interesting geology.

It's a six-month journey if Curiosity drives nonstop. But since scientists will want to command the six-wheel rover to rest and examine rocky outcrops along the way, it'll turn into a nine-month odyssey.

Before Curiosity can tackle a mountain, there's unfinished business to tend to. After spending the holiday taking measurements of the Martian atmosphere, Curiosity gears up for the first task of the new year: Finding the perfect rock to bore into.

The exercise ? from picking a rock to drilling to deciphering its chemical makeup ? is expected to last more than a month.

"We have promised everybody that we're going to go slowly," said Grotzinger, a geologist at the California Institute of Technology.

Curiosity's low-key adventures thus far are in contrast to the drama-filled touchdown that entranced the world in August. Since the car-size rover was too heavy to land using a parachute and airbags, engineers invented a daring new way that involved lowering it to the surface by cables. The risky arrival proved so successful and popular that NASA is planning an encore in 2020.

Curiosity joined another NASA rover, Opportunity, which has been exploring the Martian southern hemisphere since 2004. Opportunity's twin, Spirit, stopped communicating in 2010.

After nailing the landing, Curiosity fell into a routine. The first month was dominated by health checkups ? a tedious but essential prerequisite before driving. A chemistry laboratory on wheels, it's the most high-tech spacecraft to land on another planet so extra care was taken to ensure its tools, including its rock-zapping laser and robotic arm, worked.

Once it got the green light, it trundled to a waypoint that's home to three unique types of terrain to perform science experiments. Every time Curiosity roves, it leaves Morse code tracks in the soil, providing a visual signal between drives. The message spells out JPL, short for Jet Propulsion Lab, which built the rover.

So far, its odometer has logged less than a mile. Despite the slow going, scientists have been smitten with the postcards it beamed home, including a stylish self-portrait and tantalizing glimpses of Mount Sharp.

Huge expectations weigh on the mission with NASA balancing the need to feed the public's appetite while pursuing discoveries at its own pace. Last month, the space agency quashed Internet speculation that Curiosity had detected complex carbon compounds in a pinch of Martian soil by issuing a statement ahead of a science meeting where the team was due to present the latest findings.

American University space policy professor Howard McCurdy said Curiosity is currently in a transition, caught between the viral landing and the scientific payoff expected at Mount Sharp.

"It is interesting, but slow," he said in an email. "I expect public interest will rise as the rover gets closer to its destination."

Curiosity's prime mission lasts two years, but NASA expects the plutonium-powered rover to live far longer. A priority for its human handlers is to learn to operate it more efficiently so that it becomes second nature. Before heading to Mount Sharp, engineers plan a software update to Curiosity's computers to fix remaining bugs.

"We'll need to be pretty careful," project manager Richard Cook said of the upcoming drive. "We may find terrain that we're not comfortable driving in and we'll have to spend time driving around stuff."

___

Follow Alicia Chang at http://twitter.com/SciWriAlicia

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-29-Mars%20Curiosity/id-b6ca6fc0cb924506b9ffe1ba1093c348

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Venezuelans obsess: Will Chavez live or die?

A snapshot of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is surrounded by a trio of religious prayer cards and a sign that reads in Spanish; "Merry Christmas" on a red background hanging at a state-run market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A snapshot of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is surrounded by a trio of religious prayer cards and a sign that reads in Spanish; "Merry Christmas" on a red background hanging at a state-run market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A vendor wearing a T-shirt with an image of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez sells vegetable at a state-run market in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Iconic T-shirts styled with images of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez are displayed for sale next to a T-shirt of Venezuelan musician Ali Primera, in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Portraits of Venezuela's independence hero Simon Bolivar, left, and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez are exhibited for sale on folding easels in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The obsessive, circular conversations about Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) ? He's getting better. He's getting worse. He's already dead. The whole thing is a conspiracy and he was never sick in the first place.

The obsessive, circular conversations about President Hugo Chavez's health dominate family dinners, plaza chit-chats and social media sites in this country on edge since its larger-than-life leader went to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery more than two weeks ago. The man whose booming voice once dominated the airwaves for hours at a time has not been seen or heard from since.

His lieutenants have consistently assured Venezuelans over the last week that Chavez is slowly on the mend and will be back at the helm of the country he has dominated for 14 years. But when will he be back? Will he be well enough to govern? What type of cancer does he have? Is it terminal? If so, how long does he have to live?

Government officials have not answered any of those questions, leaving Venezuelans to their own speculations. The wildest conspiracy theories run the gamut from those who say there is no proof Chavez is even still alive to those who believe his illness is a made-up play for sympathy.

"Everything has been a mystery. Everyone believes what they want about the status of his health," said Ismael Garcia, a leftist lawmaker who belonged to the Chavez movement until a falling-out a few years ago.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro read out a New Year message from Chavez to Venezuelan troops on Friday, but for the fourth day in a row offered no updates on the president's health. Maduro had announced Monday night that Chavez was walking and doing some exercises.

The uncertainty comes with a sense of urgency because Chavez is scheduled to be sworn in for a new six-year term Jan. 10. The government and opposition disagree on what should happen if Chavez can't show up, raising the threat of a destabilizing legal fight. Beyond that, nobody knows if Chavez's deputies, who have long worked under his formidable shadow, can hold the country together if he dies.

Like everything else in this fiercely divided country, what people believe usually depends on where their political loyalty lies. Chavez opponents are mostly convinced that the president has terminal cancer, has known it for a long time and should not have sought re-election in October. His most fervent supporters refuse to believe "El Comandante" will die.

"Chavez is going to live on. He is a very important man. He has transformed the world with his ideology," said Victor Coba, a 48-year-old construction worker standing outside a Caracas church as government officials held a Mass to pray for the leader. "Anyone of us will die first before Chavez."

Coba scurried off to a street corner where officials were handing out a book of photographs of Chavez's recent presidential campaign. The comandante's grinning face looked out from the cover, alongside the slogan "Chavez, the heart of my country."

The same image looms from billboards erected all over Caracas, from freeway medians to the low-income apartment towers being built with Venezuelan oil wealth. Such services for the poor have helped Chavez maintain a core of followers despite high inflation, rampant gun violence, trash-strewn cities and other problems he has failed to fix.

For many, the attachment to Chavez borders on religious reverence. His supporters wish each other "Feliz Chavidad" rather than "Feliz Navidad," or Merry Christmas. Government officials have started talking about Chavez like an omnipresent deity.

"Chavez is this cable car. Chavez is this great mission. The children are Chavez. The women are Chavez. The men are Chavez. We are all Chavez," Maduro said recently while inaugurating a cable car to bring people down from one of the vast slums that creep up Caracas' hillsides. "Comandante, take care of yourself, get better and we will be waiting for you here."

Crowds of red-clad supporters roar their approval each time Maduro reassures them. But on the streets, confusion reigns.

"People say he's going to get better," said Alibexi Birriel, an office manager eating at a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Day.

Her husband Richard Hernandez shook his head. "No. Most people say Chavez is going to die and that Nicolas Maduro is going to take power."

Birriel paused, chiming in, "Well, some think this whole thing is theater and that there's nothing wrong with him."

Hernandez, who described himself as a Chavez supporter but "not a fanatic," shrugged. "The opposition thinks that if Chavez died they are going to win the elections. That is not going to happen."

There have been some official details. Chavez, 58, first underwent surgery for an unspecified type of pelvic cancer in Cuba in June 2011 and went back this month after tests had found a return of malignant cells in the same area where tumors had already been twice removed. Venezuelan officials said that following a six-hour surgery Dec. 11, Chavez suffered internal bleeding that was stanched and a respiratory infection that was being treated.

Just five months earlier, Chavez had announced he was free of cancer. But he acknowledged the seriousness of his illness earlier before flying to Cuba this month by designating Maduro as his successor and telling his supporters to vote for the vice president should new elections be necessary. Outside doctors have said that judging from the information Chavez has provided, his cancer is likely terminal, though the government has never confirmed that.

On Christmas Eve, Maduro surprised Venezuelans by saying he had spoken to Chavez by telephone and that the president was up and walking. With no other details, that only set off another round of furious speculation.

"I don't think he can be standing up walking," said Dr. Gustavo Medrano, a lung specialist at the Centro Medico hospital in Caracas. "Unless ... there are a lot of lies in this and the surgery was not six hours ... but something else much simpler, much simpler, maybe a half-hour operation, or two hours, something like that and that he is now recovering. That is possible."

Chavez supporters tweeted their relief and joy. Opponents tweeted incredulity. They traded insults in the comment sections of newspaper websites. Some posters demanded to know where the proof was that the president was even still alive. Others wondered if he had ever been sick in the first place. Chavez supporters shot back that the rumor-mongering should stop.

One Chavez foe finally posted on the Ultimas Noticias newspaper website, "Bla, bla, bla ... He's getting better, he's dying, he has nothing, he's strong as a bull, he can't get of bed, all the hypotheses are valid because there is no proof of anything."

Amid the raging rumors, Chavez's daughter, Maria Gabriela Chavez, sent out a Twitter message from Havana last week pleading for it all to stop.

"Respect for my family and especially respect for my people. Enough lies! We are with papa. ALIVE, fighting and recovering. WITH GOD," she wrote.

Teresa Maniglia, a press officer at the presidential palace, has kept up a steady stream of cheerleading tweets.

"CHAVEZ all the time."

That's for sure.

______

Follow Alexandra Olson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/alexolson99

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-28-LT-Venezuela-In-The-Dark/id-2b7a4f4ce2ba4c949cc52917160e4c27

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On Being Sexual - Sex, Love, & Relationships | Straight Up Love

Dec
2012 28

In 2009, I was in the second floor of a country and western bar in Hermosa Beach California.? I was part of a weekend workshop (called a bootcamp) by a company that teaches men how to pick up women.

After the first day of approaching as many women as I could, I wasn?t impressed.? I didn?t see any value in what we were doing and I wasn?t that uncomfortable.? I knew from my experience in self-development that I wasn?t learning if I wasn?t out of my comfort zone.? On the second night we were in Hermosa Beach, and I had approached several women that night, still not getting any insights.? I said to one of the coaches,

?This seems too easy, I want to get more uncomfortable.?? What if I just walked up to some girls and asked if they wanted to make out with me??

?Sure, do that.?? They said.

I thought to myself? Shit.? Did I really just say that?? Oh well, here it goes.

I approached two good looking women standing by a fire exit, looked them in the eyes and?

Blank.

Nothing came out.? I was literally speechless.

The girls looked at me with a confused look on their face and I just said ?sorry? as I started to smile and turned back toward the group of coaches who were stalking me across the bar.

?I did it!? I figured out what I needed to learn!!!?

That night, I woke up to what I?ve been missing my whole life with women.

I wasn?t sexual.? I was used to asking bland questions like ?where do you work?? and ?how long have you lived here??? As soon as I tried to express myself sexually I saw how I had been blocked from doing this my whole life. ?In that moment, everything changed.? Everything came tumbling down like a house of cards. ?I saw how my relationship to sex was always one of guilt, shame and beliefs that weren?t my own.? I saw how the subject of sex was avoided like the plague during my childhood.

I saw how the community that I grew up in built a habit of hiding their sexuality.

I saw how many of the beliefs I held about women were formed by fear.? I saw how I had been lied to, and misled about how women wanted to be treated.? I saw how me hiding my sexuality was not only having women not want to be with me, but it was causing them to not trust me.? I saw how my actions were causing me not to trust myself.

This is a situation that?s all too common for men growing up today.

When we repress our sexuality it?s like pulling the plug on the source of our energy.? It?s hiding the most raw, powerful part of ourselves because we were told it would be dangerous if we let it out.? Even getting an erection in public is considered a crime.? Why?? What are we really supposed to be ashamed of.

When we repress our sexuality we start a war with ourselves and instead of spending energy on the things we want to create in the world, we spend it fighting against our urges, our desires and our natural sexuality.

How is this affecting your life??

How would your life be different if you didn?t have to hide any of your sexual desires?

?

Category: Having Sex with Dave Booda, Relationships, Sex, Slider
Tags: male sexuality, sex advice for men

Source: http://www.straightuplove.com/on-being-sexual/

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New Toshiba camera sensor lets you refocus after the shot, plans 2013 launch in smartphones and tablets

Hoping for some after-the-fact focusing in your next smartphone camera? Well, you'll have to wait around a year, but Toshiba's planning exactly that with a new module that houses an array of 500,000 tiny lenses. Within a 1cm-thick unit, these lenses are layered in front of the camera sensor, which can capture slightly different images from each lens arrangement. Those picture can then be combined in a "complete" picture using Toshiba's own software. Apparently, the camera will also be able to measure the distance between objects in the shot -- similar to how 3D images are captured -- with the user then able to shift focus between close and distant detail, or even create images that are in-focus throughout. Toshiba says the module will also be able to capture video with a similar degree of focus management -- something that Lytro hasn't got around to just yet. The sensor is still a work in progress, but the manufacturer plans to commercialize the module before the end of 2013. Toshiba is looking to ally itself with multiple smartphone (and tablet) makers -- and here's hoping that it finds its way into a device outside of Japan.

[Thanks Franck]

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Comments

Source: Asahi Shinbun (Japanese), (English)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/TeS58SHAm68/

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Ouya developer kits are shipping, $99 Android game console ...

The makers of the Ouya video game console have started shipping developer kits to folks who paid $699 or more during the team?s successful Kickstarter campaign. The company plans to start shipping Ouya units to customers early in 2013, with the video game console selling for about $99 plus shipping.

SlashGear reports the first units should begin arriving this week.

The Ouya game console is a small box with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, WiFi, Bluetooth, a USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, and HDMI ports.

It runs Google Android software, but it?s not a phone or a tablet. Instead the Ouya console is designed to be plugged into your television so you can play games on the big screen. It also includes a wireless game controller, a game store, and more.

The developer consoles come with two controllers ? but their main appeal is that they?re shipping a few months ahead of the final units, which should give game developers (or serious enthusiasts) a chance to try out the device before it?s available to the general public, and adapt games to run on the platform.

While there?s no shortage of video game consoles for the living room, the developers of the Ouya project want to lower the barriers to entry for independent game developers. Basically, if you can create a game that runs on Android, it can run on Ouya ? you don?t need to go through the hassle of signing with a game publisher, packaging the title on a disc and distributing it to game stores.

On the other hand, the Ouya is expected to ship to regular customers in early 2013 with hardware that was state of the art in early 2012. While you can still write some pretty nifty games for the Tegra 3 processor, Samsung and Qualcomm are already offering mobile processors with significantly more graphics power, and NVIDIA is expected to launch a Tegra 4 chip soon.

Will the Ouya feel dated by the time it finally arrives? Then again? with a $99 price tag, does it really matter?

via SlashGear and Ouya Forum

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• key specs
• reviews ? 0
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• Game formatDownloadable
• Drive capacity8 GB
• Controller typeWireless
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• Announced07/10/2012

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Source: http://liliputing.com/2012/12/ouya-developer-kits-are-shipping-99-android-game-console-coming-in-2013.html

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Florida is a vacation paradise for dogs

FORT DE SOTO PARK, Fla. (AP) ? Picture this: You're sitting on a white sand beach, warm sun on your skin. Coconut-scented sunscreen wafts through the air. A splashing noise comes from the blue Gulf of Mexico. It's your dog, happily retrieving his favorite ball from the water.

This could be your vacation, with a bit of planning.

With miles of sandy beaches, endless winter sunshine and a laid-back vibe, there's no reason to leave your four-legged friend behind when you vacation in Florida. From lodging that offers special pet beds, to beaches with off-leash play, to theme parks with nearby kennels, many places around the state accommodate visitors with pets. Many Florida state parks also allow leashed dogs.

Lodging with your dog can be as rustic as a campground or as ritzy as, well, the Ritz Carlton. In places like Key West or Sanibel Island ? where all beaches are open to leashed dogs ? unique and funky pet-friendly accommodations are easy to find in various price ranges.

Most counties have their own tourism boards and many have specific pages on their websites about pet-friendly activities, restaurants and hotels. Visit Florida has lots of information at http://www.visitflorida.com/Pet_Friendly_Florida.

Jeannette Scott, a fashion blogger from Orlando, took her shih tzu-Yorkie mix named Bella on a three-day trip in June. Together, they drove three hours to Fort Myers, boarded a ferry to Key West, stayed at a Sheraton that offered a doggie bed for Bella, and posed for photos in front of a frozen yogurt stand that carried Yoghund, a froyo for doggies.

"She thought it was really fun to get away and go on adventure instead of staying at home," said Scott.

If your dog might enjoy the same, here are some dog-friendly destinations around Florida, along with lodging advice and general tips for traveling here with pets.

DESTINATIONS

?Dog Beach and Paw Playground at Fort De Soto State Park. In 2010, Southern Living magazine named this spot in Pinellas County on Florida's West Coast one of the top five dog beaches in the South. You only need to set one paw onto the sugary sand to know why: It's a gorgeous and peaceful place. The Gulf of Mexico is usually warm and calm, and dogs of all sizes love to play in the soft surf. Dogs can run on the beach and swim off-leash, then enjoy a large, adjacent fenced-in grassy dog park area. There are water fountains, waste bags and a place to wash salt out of dog fur. Admission to the park area is $5.

?Dinosaur World in Plant City. Who loves dinosaurs? Dogs, that's who. Located halfway between Tampa and Disney, Dinosaur World is a park featuring 150 giant dinosaur statues and trails winding through the lush Florida landscape. Leashed dogs are welcome on the trails and it's a great opportunity to snap a photo of your pooch with a giant Stegosaurus (some intrepid bloggers have gotten shots of their dogs posing inside a dinosaur's mouth). Tickets are $14.95, dogs are free; open daily.

?Dog Wood Park, Jacksonville. This 25-acre, privately owned park is heaven for dogs. It's all off-leash and entirely fenced in, from the pond to the grassy knoll to the trails. A separate small area nearby has chairs where owners can sip coffee and chat. There are two ponds, Lake Bow Wow for the big dogs and Lake Fifi for little ones, plus doggie sand piles, shady areas and tires for dogs to climb on. Day visits are $11, including tax. Additional services, like use of the park's indoor dog wash area, are extra.

?The Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine. Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles discovered this spring in 1565 and the Timucua Indians lived here for 4,000 years before that. You and your dog can sniff around and drink from the fountain. Tickets are $12.

?Downtown Naples. A great place to stroll with your pet while embracing tropical Florida, downtown Naples has lots of outdoor cafes, bars and restaurants where you can dine al fresco with your dog. Several stores ? Diva Doghouse, For Footed Friends, Pucci & Catana and Fergie's Closet Doggie Boutique ? specialize in upscale pet accessories, clothing and food.

?Lincoln Road, Miami. Located on South Beach, this pedestrian-friendly shopping area is the place to watch all of the beautiful people and their designer dogs. Outdoor restaurants and tropical drinks abound.

?Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Hobe Sound. This sprawling park on Florida's East Coast, north of tony Palm Beach, offers miles of trails that showcase how Florida looked before development. Dogs must be leashed. Admission is $6 per vehicle.

?Panama City Beach dog playground. This Florida Panhandle spring break favorite offers 400 feet of beachfront for leashed dogs and the new Panama City Beach Conservation Park with 12 trails (dogs must be leashed there).

?Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway, Tallahassee. This park in the state's capitol is popular with local dog owners because of its beautiful trails and secluded grassy areas.

LODGING

?Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort, Lake Buena Vista. Located on 750 acres near the theme parks, this campground allows RVs with full hookups and tent camping. Some spaces allow pets, but those spaces are limited and should be reserved well in advance. Leashed dogs are allowed on some trails near the campground. There is also an off-leash dog park, Waggin' Tails Dog Park, within the campground.

?Best Friends Pet Resort, Lake Buena Vista. Best Friends provides day and overnight care for pets (not just dogs) in the Orlando area. Discounts are available for Disney World Resort guests, but anyone can use the service, which starts at $27 for doggie daycare.

?Loews hotels at Universal Orlando Resort. All three are pet-friendly.

?La Quinta. This ubiquitous and affordable chain, found throughout Florida, is probably the best-known pet-friendly chain, with free stays for dogs.

?Aloft Hotels. This Starwood boutique hotel chain offers hip decor and sophisticated style and it's also pet-friendly. Aloft offers two locations in Jacksonville (one not far from Dog Wood Park), one in Tallahassee and several opening in Miami and Orlando in the coming year. A recent weekday room rate in Jacksonville was $69, not including taxes. Aloft policies vary regarding weight restrictions for dogs, fees and deposits.

?Luxury hotels. Pampered people have pampered pooches. For small dogs who need luxury (under 25 pounds) try Ritz Carlton hotels in Sarasota, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Miami Beach. Non-refundable pet fees vary, but hover in the $250 range. The Mandarin Oriental in Miami ? a swanky hotel frequented by celebrities like Jennifer Anniston ? also accepts pets up to 25 pounds. The Mandarin sells dog T-shirts bedazzled with Swarovski crystals in its gift shop and the concierge can book doggie boot camp appointments and dog massages.

GENERAL TIPS

While it might seem like you are in a remote area as you hike through jungle-like trails or play on deserted beaches with your dog, you're actually never far from civilization in Florida. There's usually a veterinarian, big-box pet store and pet-friendly hotel within a short drive. A quick Google search or sites like http://www.bringfido.com or http://www.dogfriendly.com can help locate them.

Larger theme parks such as Busch Gardens in Tampa offer kennel services; make sure to bring your pet's vaccination record along.

Other essentials for a Florida vacation with your dog: Drinking water, heartworm medicine and even sunscreen. With temperatures in the 70s and 80s in many Florida locations during the winter, dogs (and people) can easily become dehydrated. Specially-formulated sunscreen for dogs isn't a bad idea, especially if your furry friend has a short, fair coat and pink skin.

Take shady breaks, put ice cubes in the water dish and let dogs sprawl on cool tiles. Never, ever, leave your dog in a car in Florida, even for a few minutes. Temperatures inside cars can heat up to 120 degrees and kill animals quickly.

Heartworm, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes, is endemic to Florida. Plan to visit a vet before your trip to get a heartworm test and pills to prevent infection.

Many beaches in Florida allow leashed dogs on the sand, but check first. In some places, you can receive a heavy fine. Dogs are welcome in many places at outdoor cafes and along pedestrian malls.

___

Follow Tamara Lush on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tamaralush

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/florida-vacation-paradise-dogs-161241812.html

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I have a tremendous amount of love and support in my life - MetaFilter

Okay, that was actually awesome. It had plenty of judgement going on, but it wasn't out-and-out attack, and took the answers given at face value rather than arguing against them.

I'm surprised and pleased to see something like this. Thanks for posting!
posted by hippybear at 9:18 AM on December 26

Not my cup of tea. That said, I had known couples like that many many years ago. It worked for them and so good for them. If it works for you, god bless. Why judge others?
posted by Postroad at 10:10 AM on December 26 [2 favorites] Really nice little report, thanks for posting it. The reactions of the kids were especially interesting, and reassuring. But they didn't raise two questions which, for me at least, help to understand much better how polyamorous relationships work: 1. Does your partner have to be aware of the liaisons you have with others? 2. Do you sometimes start up relationships with people who are not polyamorous themselves?

I think for most polyamorous couples the answers are yes, and no, respectively. And when I understood that from my polyamorous friends, I got it.
posted by creeky at 10:23 AM on December 26 [1 favorite]

Once upon a time, I was in a poly relationship. My gf and I had started out monogamous, and I was happy with that, but she had done the poly thing before and preferred it... and after about a year of us being together, she voiced a desire to have an open relationship. I was not interested and held my ground against it for a long time, but after about a year I decided she wasn't going to leave me for anyone else (and if she did... well, I rationalized a lot). I relented. She started seeing someone else. There were many bumps, but it was fine for several years. It was several years before I started seeing someone else, too. When we split... well, we wanted very different things out of life well apart from the open relationship issue, and I'd rate polyamory very low on the list of reasons why we broke up.

The thing you have to consider, going into an open relationship, is that sooner or later events will turn so that both partners really, genuinely need you and you cannot be in two places at once. It sucks. It really does.

Open relationships work out until they don't. Just like monogamous relationships. I have no interest at all in going back to the "open" status--I'm very happy with the monogamous relationship I have now, thank you--but it does indeed work out for some.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 10:42 AM on December 26 [4 favorites]

And when I understood that from my polyamorous friends, I got it.

not sure why those particular answers helped you get it. while many couples feel on some level that their relationship has to fit in to some broader definition to be considered legitimate, once a couple is open to polyamory they're more likely to realize that the terms of the relationship are entirely customizable for those involved. so the particular answers seem less relevant than the point that the couples get to negotiate them entirely at their own discretion.
posted by fallacy of the beard at 10:45 AM on December 26 [1 favorite]

From my experience in and around open relationships, the ONLY factor that I would consider essential for any relationship, polyamorous or otherwise to be "legitimate" is that the partners communicate clearly to each other what their expectations are. Sadly, I see so many relationships, open or otherwise, where I hear one partner say, "Well, I ASSUME that this is okay. We haven't really talked about it at all. I don't want to rock the boat by bringing it up."
posted by WaylandSmith at 11:27 AM on December 26 [3 favorites] "Well, I ASSUME that this is okay. We haven't really talked about it at all. I don't want to rock the boat by bringing it up."

Also known as, "I was afraid he/she would say no if I asked, so I did it anyway."
posted by scaryblackdeath at 12:49 PM on December 26 [6 favorites]

This is a comment on the ethics of the interview itself, not on polyamoury:

As a child, I was a very private person. I would've hated to have my family life made the subject of media attention, no matter what the context. Inviting a journalist and camera crew into the family kitchen, to ask me sensitive questions about my family? Yuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

It raises some interesting questions of what constitutes consent on the part of kids when their parents expose them to this sort of public scrutiny. Generally speaking, kids want to please their parents, so if Mommy and Daddy ask the child if s/he is OK with talking about their "special friends" and such to the (kinda scary, IMO) Lady from TV, the kid will probably sense that the correct answer is "yes," and go along.

And that child's "yes" is given without the child having the scope of life experience to understand that this information is "on record" and doesn't go away. Future repercussions are unknown.

This holds true no matter what the focus of the interview is, but I would suggest there is an extra layer of delicacy and consideration for the kids' privacy that should come into play when the subject is (in part) Mommy and Daddy's sex life.

Dunno. Rubs my fur the wrong way.
posted by nacho fries at 6:09 PM on December 26 [2 favorites]

At the end of the day, it's the people in the relationship that should decide whether the relationship is a good idea. I hope this sort of thing becomes seen as normal.

I get the impression that the people in this interview are far more comfortable and open about their attitudes to sex and love than most people.
posted by absolutelynot at 2:29 AM on December 27

I think it might also be helpful to differentiate between the terms "open relationship" and "polyamory".

There are plenty of open relationship couples who are NOT polyamorous. That is, they are not seeking to develop long lasting love relationships with others outside their primary couple bond. They may play around on the side, but often the line is drawn at "those other things are never allowed to get serious".

Polyamorous people do seek to form multiple couple-bonds for themselves, sometimes private and separate from their main pair-bond, sometimes forming tangles of bond-pairs like the ones featured in this video.

I don't really have a point other than saying that while all actively polyamorous couples have open relationships, not all open relationships involve polyamory.
posted by hippybear at 6:30 AM on December 27

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Source: http://www.metafilter.com/123235/I-have-a-tremendous-amount-of-love-and-support-in-my-life

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Fluctuating environment may have driven human evolution

Dec. 24, 2012 ? A series of rapid environmental changes in East Africa roughly 2 million years ago may be responsible for driving human evolution, according to researchers at Penn State and Rutgers University.

"The landscape early humans were inhabiting transitioned rapidly back and forth between a closed woodland and an open grassland about five to six times during a period of 200,000 years," said Clayton Magill, graduate student in geosciences at Penn State. "These changes happened very abruptly, with each transition occurring over hundreds to just a few thousand years."

According to Katherine Freeman, professor of geosciences, Penn State, the current leading hypothesis suggests that evolutionary changes among humans during the period the team investigated were related to a long, steady environmental change or even one big change in climate.

"There is a view this time in Africa was the 'Great Drying,' when the environment slowly dried out over 3 million years," she said. "But our data show that it was not a grand progression towards dry; the environment was highly variable."

According to Magill, many anthropologists believe that variability of experience can trigger cognitive development.

"Early humans went from having trees available to having only grasses available in just 10 to 100 generations, and their diets would have had to change in response," he said. "Changes in food availability, food type, or the way you get food can trigger evolutionary mechanisms to deal with those changes. The result can be increased brain size and cognition, changes in locomotion and even social changes -- how you interact with others in a group. Our data are consistent with these hypotheses. We show that the environment changed dramatically over a short time, and this variability coincides with an important period in our human evolution when the genus Homo was first established and when there was first evidence of tool use."

The researchers -- including Gail Ashley, professor of earth and planetary sciences, Rutgers University -- examined lake sediments from Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania. They removed the organic matter that had either washed or was blown into the lake from the surrounding vegetation, microbes and other organisms 2 million years ago from the sediments. In particular, they looked at biomarkers -- fossil molecules from ancient organisms -- from the waxy coating on plant leaves.

"We looked at leaf waxes because they're tough, they survive well in the sediment," said Freeman.

The team used gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to determine the relative abundances of different leaf waxes and the abundance of carbon isotopes for different leaf waxes. The data enabled them to reconstruct the types of vegetation present in the Olduvai Gorge area at very specific time intervals.

The results showed that the environment transitioned rapidly back and forth between a closed woodland and an open grassland.

To find out what caused this rapid transitioning, the researchers used statistical and mathematical models to correlate the changes they saw in the environment with other things that may have been happening at the time, including changes in the Earth's movement and changes in sea-surface temperatures.

"The orbit of the Earth around the sun slowly changes with time," said Freeman. "These changes were tied to the local climate at Olduvai Gorge through changes in the monsoon system in Africa. Slight changes in the amount of sunshine changed the intensity of atmospheric circulation and the supply of water. The rain patterns that drive the plant patterns follow this monsoon circulation. We found a correlation between changes in the environment and planetary movement."

The team also found a correlation between changes in the environment and sea-surface temperature in the tropics.

"We find complementary forcing mechanisms: one is the way Earth orbits, and the other is variation in ocean temperatures surrounding Africa," Freeman said. The researchers recently published their results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences along with another paper in the same issue that builds on these findings. The second paper shows that rainfall was greater when there were trees around and less when there was a grassland.

"The research points to the importance of water in an arid landscape like Africa," said Magill. "The plants are so intimately tied to the water that if you have water shortages, they usually lead to food insecurity.

"Together, these two papers shine light on human evolution because we now have an adaptive perspective. We understand, at least to a first approximation, what kinds of conditions were prevalent in that area and we show that changes in food and water were linked to major evolutionary changes."

The National Science Foundation funded this research.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Penn State, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. C. R. Magill, G. M. Ashley, K. H. Freeman. Feature Article: Water, plants, and early human habitats in eastern Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1209405109

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/QZT6tyeO2w4/121226080906.htm

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Education & Reference 2016: Petal the Owl Colours | iealb55

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://iealb55.blogspot.com/2012/12/education-reference-2016-petal-owl.html

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Transform Your Article Marketing Success With These Top Tips ...

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When it comes to article marketing, you must write quality content. Fluff and nonsense is not acceptable and will only hurt you. If something needs further explanation, don?t be afraid of devoting the extra space; however be brutal when it comes time to trim away the excess. Don?t forget to proofread! Look for irrelevant sentences, spelling errors and other potential pitfalls in your writing.

Any article you write to advertise your site should be entertaining to the reader. Always write in an informal style that?s friendly and warm. Introduce your technical information so everyone can understand if you want your complex articles to remain friendly. Avoid alienating readers by being boring.

Take full advantage of the opportunities of social media. Take advantage of your Facebook account or your Twitter account; they can be very good ways to attract new readers. All you need to do is post updates after each new article you write. You can also ask your followers to share your articles with their friends for an even higher boost in traffic.

There are many marketing ideas that are new and many that are standard practice. Take what you have learned here, and you will be an ?expert? in no time!

To your financial liberty,

Kyle Haycock

Article promotion Skilled

S.Azines. Be sure to check out my free home page http://KyleHaycock.com for more information on the best way to dominate the world wide web!

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1. Transform Your Article Marketing Success With These Top Tips
2. Article Marketing Success Can Be Yours With These Top Tips
3. Tips For Success With Your Article Marketing Plan
4. Several Tips To Make Article Marketing A Success
5. Article Marketing Success Can Be Yours With These Top Tips

About Kyle Haycock

Hello, I'm Kyle Haycock. I'm a former Staff Sergeant in the US Marines. I've married to my wonderful wife for almost 11 years and have two beautiful daughters (8 and 10 years old). I've been in business for myself for over six years and have been network marketing for two years. I am semi-retired now, but my dream is to make enough money for myself and for others that I can become a full-time philanthropist like Bill Gates. My true passion is teaching and believe that if we can teach youngsters properly while they're young that they can become productive and successful members of society (as they define it). With me making more money and inspiring others to do the same, I can gather a whole legion of people fighting for the same cause.

Source: http://articlemarketing2day.com/tips/transform-your-article-marketing-success-with-these-top-tips-2/

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Learn How To Build Muscle Fast and Build Body Definition

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Health & Beauty

Written by liy0 jat ??

Tuesday, 25 December 2012 00:49

How to build muscle fast has come up in every young boy?s mind since the beginning of time. Men also find themselves looking for a way to build muscle and muscle mass. In the present era of toned and muscular fashion models as ell as fitness models, everybody wants to appear stunning and handsome by having a masculine defined body. Different people utilize different types of exercises in order to achieve a toned and lean body. Some of the methods include daily exercise, going to the gym, and eating a healthy diet. These have been proven beneficial for many people when done properly Nowadays, there are numerous online websites available that specialize in giving you excellent tips, tactics, fitness advice, and information on how to build muscle safely and effectively. They can also tell you the best and fastest way to build muscle using both an effective and proven approach. One of the best ways to build muscle is to use supplements. They can improve both your diet and give your body the key nutrients it needs when it needs them the most. Protein powder is considered one of the best supplements to build muscle and is used both by bodybuilders and those who want to gain muscle and build body definition. There are plenty of websites online that have experts who can help you further learn about proper supplements to use for building muscle mass. Men are not the only ones wanting to build muscle. Women who are conscious about their increasing weight and who are looking for effective ways to lose their excess weight and get a younger looking and toned body can also find expert advice online. You can involve exercise in your routine to burn your fat and lose inches that will make you look gorgeous. By getting a beautiful body you will be able to wear amazing and fabulous designer clothes and dresses that you may be dreaming to wear. It is also very important for every woman to have toned body with the right weight for her height because excess weight and fat can be a significant cause of serious illnesses and diseases. You may ask yourself, ?So what is the best weight loss plan for women? ? To get that great body and to lose weight, follow the advice offered by professionals online. You will get the tips and strategies that will give you the knowledge to help you to lose weight. ? Article Tags : How to build muscle fast

Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 December 2012 09:21

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Source: http://www.workoninternet.com/business/reviews/health-beauty/221832-learn-how-to-build-muscle-fast-and-build-body-definition.html

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