Saturday, October 29, 2011

Is General Mills Going Through the Grinder? (The Motley Fool)

General Mills' (NYSE: GIS - News) solid first-quarter results beat estimates despite a difficult economic environment. However, rising costs took away some of the shine from its strong sales.

A quick look at the quarter...
General Mills' first-quarter net sales grew 9% to $3.85 billion based on this quarter last year. However, the cost of sales was up by almost 20%. This was likely the result of high ingredient and energy costs. This led to a fall in operating profit and the bottom line by 16% and 14% to $638.9 million and $405.6 million, respectively.

Sales growth was largely affected by increased product prices and the revenue contributed by Yoplait. The company acquired Yoplait in July for $1.15 billion from a French investment firm and a dairy group. General Mills said the Yoplait deal added one-third of the 9% revenue growth.

Sales across most of General Mills' segments surged largely because of new product introductions. Cereal sales increased with contributions from brands such as Chex and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. New products, including Cinnamon Burst Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs Brownie Crunch, and Fiber One 80-calorie cereal, also contributed to results. Snacks sales surged 17% driven by Nature Valley and Fiber One snack bars sales. Sales for the baking products division increased 5%, with Pillsbury sales gaining 4%.

The meal segment, however, showcased disappointing sales with a decline of 4% due to lower shipment volumes for dinner mixes, canned vegetables, and soup. Sales overseas posted strong numbers with revenue up 30% to $856 million. This included Yoplait international results.

Bitter hurdles
General Mills, like its competitors ConAgra (NYSE: CAG - News) , Hain Celestial (Nasdaq: HAIN - News), and Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT - News), has raised prices to offset higher input costs. However, in the backdrop of an uncertain economy bringing down consumer spending, the company needs to weigh in its price hikes. Consumer spending on nondurables was down 5.5% in June. So growth in the U.S. market could be a challenge for the food majors.

Major companies have been milking emerging markets for greater profits. Net sales for General Mills' consolidated international businesses surged 30% to $856 million, with 15% growth in the Asia-Pacific region. So this is one lucrative growth option, though only 20% of General Mills revenue comes from abroad, so if they want to capitalize on this growth they'll have to revamp their focus overseas to see meaningful change.

To attract more and more customers, the company has also increased its advertising and media expenses by 6% and 9% in U.S. and international markets, respectively.

Foolish bottom line
Rise in input costs is the dominant reason behind the decrease in profit. General Mills' top line has grown, and it is rightly putting extra focus on advertising both domestically and abroad at this critical time.

To stay up to speed on the latest news on General Mills, click here to add it to your watchlist.

Abantika Chatterjee does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned in this article. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/fool/20111028/bs_fool_fool/rx158446

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Thursday, October 27, 2011

[OOC] Farelt Manor Arena

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?The Manor?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
Rules

Posts Must Be 5 Lines In Length
Replying posts to Roleplay Battles should be at least 5 lines of text in length, anything less does very little to describe your attack.
So please keep this in mind when posting.

Use the OOC: When Talking Out Of Character
Please place the "OOC:" (out of character reply) before any text in your post that is separate from the battle. It prevents confusion.

No God Modding

    You are not allowed to 'God Mod' this means:
    * You are not allowed to make yourself invincible or immune to defeat.
    * Moves that make your attack unblock able are not allowed.
    * No guns unless you have permission.
    * You cannot control your opponents character.
    * You cannot state that the attack you made 'hit' your opponent. It is up to your opponent how he/she deals with the attack. You may make attempts with your attacks but in the end, your opponent dictates the damage that is done by them.

    No Healing Items
    *Demons with this ability may only heal themselves up to five times during an entire battle.
    *For mass healing spells you may not use it more than once and an individual spell more than the amount of party members you have.

    Time and Status Effects Magic
    Some characters may choose to have Time or Status Effect magic and/or items.
    For example: haste, slow, poison.
    Guidelines when using these:
    The effects that these spells have may only last the one-four turns that you are using them depending on how strong the spell is.
    You cannot permanently keep you, or your opponents status in that effect.
    *Note: Stop or Paralyse or any magic that leaves the opponent incapacitated and unable to react, cannot be used. This is considered God Modding.

    No Summoning Magic
    * Summon magic may be used on the condition that weaker summons last two-four turns and stronger summons last four-six turns.
    * Summons can be canceled by a fatal wound or by negating magic.


General Rules:
    Roleplay and Roleplaying Battle Rules are not the same.
    Guns are not allowed in here unless permission is granted.
    No Double Posting
    This also means, that you may not have '2 turns' you must wait till your opponent replies to your last move before you can post again. If you need to say something more about your move, edit your last post. If you need to say something to your opponent, PM them or post an 'OOC:' (out of character reply) in your thread.
    No Spam
    Anything posted that is irrelevant to the Arena needs to be posted in the original OOC.

Defining A Win, Draw and Loss
    Win:
    Your opponent withdraws from the battle or admits defeat. Which constitutes a win for the member still standing. If you challenge a member and they decline your request to battle - you cannot consider this as a win.
    Win by Default:
    In a Tournament situation, you post into the battle but your opponent does not post within the time frame given and therefore it is considered a win by default.

    Draw:
    When you and your opponent both decide to withdraw from the battle at the same time or both admit defeat and walk away. Under these circumstances, there are no winners or losers and therefore, it becomes a draw by default.
    Draw by Default:
    In a Tournament, a draw by default is when neither you nor your opponent post into the battle within the time frame given. And therefore it becomes a draw.

    Loss:
    When you are engaged in battle and you decide to withdraw or admit defeat. This constitutes a loss for you and a win for your opponent.
    Loss by Default:
    In a tournament situation, a loss by default happens when your opponent posts in the battle but you do not reply within the given time and therefore it is considered a loss to you by default.
    * Note: I or the designated Third Party will tell you the given time to post.


Tips!
    Be creative with your responses! Don't just say "I swing my weapon at you" try and make it more interesting by adding more detail. Describe your characters response: how you move, evade and counter attack. Be imaginative. It makes it easier for the reader to visualise. Just like a good book.

    Use some tactic. Create your characters so that they are strong but also look at what features you can add to them that will give you skill in your battle, not just power.

    Most importantly, never give up easily! Give a good fight.

    Thats it! Now go clash those fists and claws! Look out for the rules but most of all have fun! Thanks for taking the time to familiarise yourself with the rules. Any questions can be forwarded onto me through PM or posted on the original thread. Rock on!


Other
Before you begin posting in this topic I require you to fill out this form suitably. This will help keep track of all details concerning powers and such about your character. Thank you for reading over this. Also by the way, I do require permission for powers because I want to make sure everyone gets a fair chance. Sorry! I know it's tedious to get it approved but in the long run it's great!
Code: Select all
Full Name:
Alias:
Species:
Weapons on Hand: (Humans only, Must have permission. Be simplistic. You guys aren't ninjas!)
Powers/Abilities: (Demons only, Be specific. You have to get permission too. Don't overpower or under power yourself. Be reasonable.)

"Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian."

User avatar
Akantha
Member for 1 years



Full Name: Zalenetsu
Alias: Zale
Species: Mischief Demon
Powers/Abilities: Each different 'form' of includes the abilities of each of the lesser forms.

Normal Form

  • Enhanced Dexterity- Zale can react quite rapidly to most actions. Not to say that he dodge or evade every attack but he is more acrobatic say to speak than most. The best example I can think of is the x-men Nightcrawler. (If you switch Nightcrawlers' teleporting skill with leaping instead. Does that make sense? xP) Ex: Jumping higher, running quicker, flipping, ect.
  • Demonic Strength - Zale has the surprising ability to deal a powerful blow. Despite his small, almost lanky proportions he could for example punch a small; slightly larger than his fist; crater into, say...cement. In terms of humans; enough to break bones.

Demon Form
  • Blue Fire - Zale has the ability to produce flames or energy in a sense that can either be propelled towards someone/come in contact with them via physical contact/ or there are occasional circumstances he can't control to well, objects or a person can be temporarily consumed by the fire. It is relatively blinding and absolutely hot. It takes a lot of his energy and or will power to conjure this fire and it can't be done very often without completely exhausting him.
  • Demonic Regeneration - Zale's body naturally heals major or fatal wounds to his body and ignores most everyday scratches(though those still heal more rapidly than normal). It can take up to a half hour to completely heal a major wound and it obviously inhibits his functioning.

Out of Control
  • Demonic Endurance - Zale can take more of a hit than normal. Major and Fatal wounds that would significantly interfere with his movements are more easily ignored as if he's sort of numb or perhaps to stubborn to let it effect him.
  • Raging Fire - The blue fire that he already has consumed his entire body and the conjuring of it becomes more wild, combusting and thus more dangerous. When ever this fit ends, he is most likely drained of energy and blacks out.

Hope this makes enough sense, let me know if anything needs to be editing or restricted. Also, I don't exactly plan for him to get out of control every other post or anything, just so you know. :)
User avatar
Artik
Member for 1 years



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Nokia Launches Two Windows Phones in Android Race (NewsFactor)

Nokia World is well under way in Europe, and the handset maker is rolling out a diverse lineup of new phones, including the Nokia Lumia 800 and 710. The Lumia devices are the first in Nokia's portfolio to use the Windows Phone 7 operating system.

The Lumia 800 aims to bring content to life with its design, imaging capabilities and new experiences while the Lumia 710 is a more-affordable option that competes with mid-tier Android devices.

"Since Nokia's major strategic shift only eight months ago, the company has found a new energy," said Pete Cunningham, principal analyst at Canalys. "It has provided substantial improvements to Symbian, managed to differentiate on Windows Phone and it continues to build on its strong portfolio in mobile phones. Nokia is delivering on its pledges, and is clearly demonstrating its path to future success."

Illuminating Windows Phone

With the Nokia phones, Microsoft has plenty at stake. The Lumia 800 is billed as a social phone with strong Internet performance. The phone offers one-touch social-network access, contact grouping, integrated communication threads and Internet Explorer 9.

The Lumia 800 has a 3.7-inch AMOLED ClearBlack curved display blending into the reduced body design, and a 1.4 GHz processor. The hardware includes an instant-share camera based on leading Carl Zeiss optics, HD video playback, 16GB of internal user memory and 25GB of free SkyDrive storage for storing images and music. The Nokia Lumia 800 will sell for about 420 euros.

"A lot of attention is going to be given to the high-end phone, the Lumia 800, which offers a spectacular design but otherwise provides basically a stock Windows Phone experience," said Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis, from Nokia World.

"The challenge is going to be to get people to consider a Windows Phone over Android and iPhone. But in Europe, Nokia's brand is still strong and the design of the phone is strong. I would expect they will have some success with it."

The Lumia 710 can be personalized with exchangeable back covers and thousands of apps. Nokia designed the Lumia 710 for instant social and image sharing. The Lumia 710 offers the same 1.4 GHz processor, hardware acceleration and graphics processor as the 800, but sells for only 270 euros.

"The 710 doesn't look nearly as nice as the 800 but offers a better user experience for the price," Greengart said. "At 270 euros, Nokia is competing with a lot of mid-tier Android phones, some of which are rather poor. The 710's price point and the performance beat some of the low-end Android phones that it's going to sit next to."

Nokia Gets Musical

Both Lumia smartphones include signature Nokia experiences optimized for Windows Phone, including Nokia Drive, which delivers a full-fledged personal navigation device with free, turn-by-turn navigation and dedicated in-car user interface. The phones also sport Nokia Music with MixRadio, a free, global music-streaming application with hundreds of channels.

In an update delivered later this year, Nokia Lumia users also will be able to create personalized channels from a global catalog of millions of tracks. Also integrated in Nokia Music is Gigfinder, which offers the ability to search for live local music for a complete end-to-end music experience, as well as the ability to share discoveries on social networks and buy concert tickets also coming in the Nokia Music software update delivered later this year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/software/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20111026/tc_nf/80759

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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

[OOC] Alaga?sia

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Alagaesia?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

Welcome, Peachyme123. I've gone ahead and made this one. You like it?

Last edited by Yashie on Mon Oct 24, 2011 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total. If no mistake have you made, yet losing you are ... a different game you should play.
User avatar
Yashie
Member for 0 years



So are we both dragon riders?

I know you have done so much for me but since I don't know alot of what my char has to be could you make character sheet on ooc to guide me? thx

And I LOVE it you did a great job!

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peachyme123
Member for 0 years



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EU to resist US pressure on airline emissions

BRUSSELS (AP) ? The European Union insisted Tuesday it will enforce a new law that imposes an emissions cap-and-trade program on airlines flying to and from Europe, despite angry opposition from the U.S. Congress.

"We do not intend to modify our adopted legislation (but) the commission is of course open to discuss other partners' concerns on how we will implement our legislation," said Isaac Valero-Ladron, spokesman for the EU's climate agency.

Starting Jan. 1, the EU plans to include all airlines flying to and from its 27 member countries in its cap-and-trade program ? a move that will eventually force the carriers to pay for their emissions of carbon dioxide, a so-called greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. The restrictions are designed to encourage airlines to switch to cleaner fuels or economize on fuel consumption.

The move is opposed by airlines from the United States, China, Russia, Japan, Brazil and elsewhere. They have argued that the EU cannot impose its rules on flights that originate outside its territory.

And the International Air Transport Association has called for the U.N. aviation agency to step in and provide a global program.

Earlier this month, Europe's top court rejected a complaint by U.S. and Canadian airlines that the legislation breaches international law.

On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to exclude U.S. airlines from participating in the EU program. The measure directs the transportation secretary to prohibit U.S. carriers flying to and from Europe from participating in the program if it is unilaterally imposed. It also tells other federal agencies to take steps necessary to ensure that U.S. carriers are not penalized by the emissions control scheme.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where there is currently no companion legislation.

American lawmakers described the program as a "tax grab" because it includes all carbon dioxide emissions from the airliner's point of departure or arrival ? including over the Western Hemisphere and the Atlantic Ocean ? rather than just those in European airspace.

Connie Hedegaard, the 27-nation bloc's climate action commissioner, said she expected the United States to respect EU law, "just like the EU always respects U.S. law."

"Why else would U.S. airlines have brought the issue to court?" she said.

Meanwhile, the Air Transport Association of America, which represents the big U.S. airlines, urged the EU to back down so that international airlines don't have to be put in a position of not to complying with the law.

"We think the Europeans should think hard and withdraw the scheme," said Nancy Young, the association's vice president of environmental affairs.

___

Follow Slobodan Lekic on Twitter at http://twitter.com/slekich

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-10-25-EU-Airline-Emissions/id-0fd34d6139864ae8babcb0721dd1298d

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Monday, October 24, 2011

Arab strongman: With Gadhafi death, an era passes (AP)

CAIRO ? He often looked like a comical buffoon, standing before audiences, bedecked in colorful robes, spouting words that most of the world considered nonsense.

Yet the death of Moammar Gadhafi was a milestone in modern Arab history, in some ways more significant than the overthrow of lesser autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt.

Gadhafi was the last of the old-style Arab strongmen ? the charismatic, nationalist revolutionaries who rose to power in the 1950s and 1960s, promising to liberate the masses from the shackles of European colonialism and the stultifying rule of the Arab elite that the foreigners left behind after World War II.

He was swept aside by a new brand of revolutionary ? the leaderless crowds organized by social media, fed up with the oppressive past, keenly aware that the rest of the world has left them behind and convinced that they can build a better society even if at the moment, they aren't sure how.

Gadhafi was the last of a generation of Arab leaders such as Gamal Abdel-Nasser of Egypt, Hafez Assad of Syria and Saddam Hussein of Iraq who emerged from poverty, rising to the pinnacle of power either through the ranks of the military or the disciplined, conspiratorial world of underground political organizations.

None of the latter crop of Arab autocrats, including Assad's son Bashar, Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh and even Egypt's colorless, ousted president Hosni Mubarak, could rival them in their heyday in terms of charisma, flair, stature and power.

Their model was Nasser, the towering champion of Arab unity who ousted Western-backed King Farouk in 1952 and inspired Arab peoples with fiery speeches broadcast by Egyptian radio from Iraq to Mauritania.

But Nasser's dreams of Arab unity and social revival crumbled in defeat in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, when Israel seized East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Golan Heights from Syria and the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt. Nasser died three years later, and the fellow strongmen left behind led their countries instead into a political swamp of corruption, cronyism and dictatorship now challenged by the Arab Spring.

The hallmark of the Arab strongman was unquestioned power, the use of state media to promote a larger than life image and a ruthless security network that stifled even a whiff of dissent. That worked in an age before the Internet and global satellite television which opened the eyes of the strongman's followers to a world without secret police and economic systems run by the leader's family and cronies.

The Arab political transformation is far from complete. Autocratic rulers are facing challenges from their own people in Yemen and Syria. Bahrain's Shiite majority is pressing the Sunni monarchy for reform. Rulers in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states are maneuvering to contain the Arab Spring.

Iraq is struggling to build a democracy eight years after American-led arms brought down Saddam's rule.

With Gadhafi's passing, however, a milestone has been passed. The future belongs to a different style of ruler, whoever it may be.

It may be difficult to imagine that the Gadhafi of his final years ? with his flamboyant robes, dark and curly wigs and sagging, surgically altered face ? was a trim, handsome, vigorous 27-year-old when he came to power as a strong and vigorous leader. Over the years he had become a caricature figure associated with grandiose dreams such as a "United States of Africa" or seizing all of Israel and sending Jews "back to Europe."

Even when he was younger, eccentricity was the mark of Gadhafi's public persona.

A generation ago, President Ronald Reagan described him as the "mad dog of the Middle East," and his fellow Arab leaders such as Egyptian President Anwar Sadat considered him a dangerous megalomaniac.

Journalists covered his speeches and international visits primarily for amusement.

Images of Gadhafi's final moments ? toupee gone, terrified, confused, powerless in the grip of men who may be about to kill him ? make the ousted tyrant appear more pitiable than powerful.

All that was far from his image when he and his comrades toppled a Western-backed monarchy in 1969 in a bloodless coup, promising to transform his poor, backwater country into a modern state.

Promising a new era for his people, Gadhafi closed a U.S. air base, forced international oil companies to hand over most of their profits from Libyan oil to the Libyan state and shook the world with his unabashed support for terrorist or insurgent movements in Northern Ireland, Palestine, Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Oil gave him a reach beyond his sparsely populated desert land and enabled him to pursue his revolutionary dreams.

In the 1980s, the lobbies of Tripoli's few hotels were populated by representatives of what the West considered the most dangerous groups on Earth ? stiff North Koreans wearing lapel buttons of their leader Kim Il-Sung, Palestinian extremists huddled over cups of sweet tea, European anarchists and revolutionaries ? all come to town to seek the oil-fueled largesse of the "Brother Leader."

While insisting that Libya was the freest nation on Earth, Gadhafi ruthlessly suppressed dissent, dispatched agents to assassinate his opponents abroad and drove thousands of Libyans into exile.

It all came crashing down in the final battle in his hometown of Sirte. A man who came to power as an Arab revolutionary and self-styled leader of the oppressed and downtrodden died a brutal and inglorious death at the hands of the people he purported to lead.

___

Eds: Robert H. Reid is Middle East regional editor for The Associated Press and has reported from the Middle East since 1978.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111022/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_mideast_an_era_ends

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Scientist: Satellite must have crashed into Asia (AP)

BERLIN ? A defunct German research satellite crashed into the Earth somewhere in Southeast Asia on Sunday, a U.S. scientist said ? but no one is still quite sure where.

Most parts of the minivan-sized ROSAT research satellite were expected to burn up as they hit the atmosphere at speeds up to 280 mph (450 kph), but up to 30 fragments weighing a total of 1.87 tons (1.7 metric tons) could have crashed, the German Aerospace Center said.

Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said the satellite appears to have gone down over Southeast Asia. He said two Chinese cities with millions of inhabitants each, Chongqing and Chengdu, had been in the satellite's projected path during its re-entry time.

"But if it had come down over a populated area there probably would be reports by now," the astrophysicist, who tracks man-made space objects, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Calculations based on U.S. military data indicate that satellite debris must have crashed somewhere east of Sri Lanka over the Indian Ocean, or over the Andaman Sea off the coast of Myanmar, or further inland in Myanmar or as far inland as China, he said.

The satellite entered the atmosphere between 0145 GMT to 0215 GMT Sunday (9:45 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. Saturday EDT) and would have taken 15 minutes or less to hit the ground, the German Aerospace Center said. Hours before the re-entry, the center said the satellite was not expected to land in Europe, Africa or Australia.

There were no immediate reports from Asian governments or space agencies about the fallen satellite.

The satellite used to circle the planet in about 90 minutes, and it may have traveled several thousand kilometers (miles) during its re-entry, rendering exact predictions of where it crashed difficult.

German space agency spokesman Andreas Schuetz said a falling satellite also can change its flight pattern or even its direction once it sinks to within 90 miles (150 kilometers) above the Earth.

Schuetz said the agency was waiting for data from scientific partners around the globe. He noted it took the U.S. space agency NASA several days to establish where one of its satellites had hit last month.

The 2.69-ton (2.4 metric ton) scientific ROSAT satellite was launched in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 1990 and retired in 1999 after being used for research on black holes and neutron stars and performing the first all-sky survey of X-ray sources with an imaging telescope.

ROSAT's largest single fragment that could have hit is the telescope's heavy heat-resistant mirror.

"The impact would be similar to, say, an airliner having dropped an engine," said McDowell. "It would damage whatever it fell on, but it wouldn't have widespread consequences."

A dead NASA satellite fell into the southern Pacific Ocean last month, causing no damage but spreading debris over a 500-mile (800-kilometer) area.

Since 1991, space agencies have adopted new procedures to lessen space junk and having satellites falling back to Earth. NASA says it has no more large satellites that will fall back to Earth uncontrolled in the next 25 years.

___

Online:

The German space agency on ROSAT: http://bit.ly/papMAA

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111023/ap_on_hi_te/falling_satellite

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Longtime CBS correspondent Robert Pierpoint dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? CBS News correspondent Robert C. Pierpoint ? who covered six presidents, the Korean War, the Kennedy assassination and the Iranian hostage crisis in a career that spanned more than four decades ? died Saturday in California, his daughter said. He was 86.

Pierpoint, who retired in 1990, died of complications from surgery at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Marta Pierpoint told The Associated Press. He had broken his hip Oct. 12 at the Santa Barbara Retirement Community where he lived with his wife Patricia.

After making his name covering the Korean War ? a role he reprised when he provided his radio voice for the widely watched final episode of "MASH" in 1983 ? Pierpoint became a White House correspondent during the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration, a position he would hold through the Jimmy Carter administration.

"He lived quite an amazing life," said Marta Pierpoint. She said her father was most proud of his coverage of the Korean War, Watergate and most of all the Kennedy assassination, an event that would still bring him to tears in an interview with his hometown paper three weeks before his death.

"I didn't like what the priest said about a time to live and a time to die," Robert Pierpoint told the Santa Barbara News-Press in an Oct. 2 story. "It was not Kennedy's time to die."

Pierpoint said his "one bad mistake" the day of the assassination was not revealing that Jacqueline Kennedy had blood on her pink suit when she walked out of her husband's hospital room.

"I didn't describe the blood, and I should have," he said. "I was in shock."

Pierpoint said of the six administrations he covered, Kennedy's was the most fun.

"He was not afraid of the press," Pierpoint told the News-Press. "He had been a reporter. He knew everyone in the White House press corps by name and reputation and joked with us. He was comfortable in his own skin."

Pierpoint said his first White House assignment, the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration starting in 1957, was not as easy. He said Eisenhower was "a relatively good president, but he wasn't a good communicator. I didn't feel that I did a good job, but they kept me on."

CBS certainly did keep Pierpoint on at the White House, for 23 years, a period he chronicled in his 1981 memoir, "At the White House."

He moved to covering the State Department in 1980, and ended his career on the show "Sunday Morning" with Charles Kuralt.

Born May 16, 1925, in Redondo Beach, Calif., Pierpoint joined the Navy in 1943 but didn't see action. He graduated from the University of Redlands, where his papers and archives are now kept, in 1948.

While a graduate student at the University of Stockholm he began work as a stringer for CBS, and found his calling. His coverage of an attempted Communist coup in Finland won him attention, and he was sent to Tokyo as a full-time correspondent, which led to his coverage of the entire Korean War.

Pierpoint shifted as the news business did from radio to television, and appeared on the first episode of Edward R. Murrow's "See It Now" in 1951, eventually becoming one of the close Murrow associates known as "Murrow's Boys."

Before his career was over he had won two Emmys with other reporters, including one for his work on a 1989 banking scandal just before his retirement.

During retirement he was a frequent speaker and frequently went fishing in Montana.

He also didn't hesitate to give his opinion on the directions the White House went after he left, saying recently that he was not impressed with President Obama.

"He's not a fighter. He surrenders to Congress before it's necessary," Pierpoint told the News-Press. "Lyndon Johnson was a fighter. He fought for what he believed in. He was wrong on Vietnam, but right on civil rights."

In addition to Patricia, he is survived by four children, including actor Eric Pierpoint, who has appeared in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," and "Liar, Liar" with Jim Carrey.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-23-Obit-Robert%20Pierpoint/id-a8837003d6da4614a5d53043f18ac59a

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Sunday, October 23, 2011

Selena Gomez Goes Gangster In MTV EMA Promo

'People know who the eff I is,' the show's host raps in a video for next month's MTV Europe Music Awards.
By James Montgomery


Selena Gomez

When Selena Gomez served as MTV News' special correspondent at the Video Music Awards Pre-Show in August, she was polite, professional and, as far as we can tell, did not utter a single profanity (she did get kissed by her boyfriend, Justin Bieber, though).

But in preparation for her hosting duties at next month's MTV EMA, she's decided to change things up a bit, ditching that good-girl image and going hard. At least judging by a brand-new promo for the show, that is.

Gomez ties on a bandana and throws on a flannel (only top button buttoned, of course) in the new spot, which spoofs her squeaky-clean image and features the demure actress/singer spitting some (sorta-profane) rhymes. It opens with her in full-blown princess regalia, sitting before a vanity and proclaiming to her reflection "Finally, I get to host the EMAs ... wow!"

All of sudden, her thugged-out alter ego appears on the other side of the mirror, tells Selena to "shut her face," and then launches into a few bars, rapping, "Who else better than me to be hosting the show/ People know who the eff I is/ I'm a pro/ The right time and place for me to be/ Yeah, I'll say it/ Congratulations to me!"

Gangster Gomez (or, as she puts it, "The S-E-L-E-N-A to the Gomez"), then gets all Kanye confessional on the mic, rapping that "Sh--'s crazy growing up in this industry/ I was still a baby when I hustled up into the scene" and then drops what sounds very much like a solid F-bomb too. Like we said, she goes hard.

Of course, the whole thing is a joke -- according to a message at the beginning of the spot, "Some of the Selenas in this video are fictional. Any similarities to the actual Selena are purely coincidental" -- but, as MTV's Buzzworthy blog points out, her hip-hop makeover does present a rather unique opportunity for Gomez: Now, perhaps she can drop a mixtape with Shawty Mane, a.k.a. Bieber's rapping alter ego. We'd totally cop that.

The MTV EMA will premiere on Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más at 6 p.m. ET on November 6 and noon on mtvU on November 7. American and Canadian audiences can vote for the North American nominee for the Worldwide Act award, who will represent the continent at the EMA against contenders from across the globe.

For a complete list of nominees and to vote for your favorite artists, check out the MTV EMA website. Stick with MTV News as we roll out more information on performers and presenters.

Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1672943/selena-gomez-ema-promo.jhtml

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Made in America: Where ordinary people can feel like world leaders (Washington Bureau)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/151271642?client_source=feed&format=rss

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After Accidentally Public Rant, Google Engineer Follows Up With A Homage To Jeff Bezos

bezosRemember Google engineer Steve Yegge's long rant about his past experiences at Amazon and his current employer's own issues with creating platforms on Google+ (which he dubbed a "knee-jerk reaction" and a "pathetic afterthought"? If you haven't read it yet, it's well worth your time. Yegge has now followed up on his it-was-meant-to-be-an-internal-memo diatribe, saying nothing bad happened to him at Google after his rant went viral. He did get laughed at a lot, he adds, by everyone all the way up to the top (Google co-founder Sergey Brin publicly said he didn't read all of it because it was too long but sometimes used it as a "night-time aid"). Then he goes on to sing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' praises. And then some.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/WkLwYnwEqLE/

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Saturday, October 22, 2011

Romney defends Florida Sen. Rubio, who's fighting allegations he embellished family history (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/151969200?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Who Should Exit 2012 Republican Presidential Race? (ContributorNetwork)

ANALYSIS | With only a few months to go before the first votes of the 2012 GOP primary will be cast, only a handful of the current field of Republican candidates still have a decent shot at winning the nomination. The remaining candidates are either polling below the statistical error or having significant financial troubles. Here are some of the Republican candidates most likely to drop out in the coming months.

1. Gary Johnson

The former New Mexico governor is the invisible man in the 2012 GOP race. Johnson's campaign has received very little media coverage. Most voters either don't know who he is or are unfamiliar with his campaign platforms. The North Dakota native has only been invited to two of the eight televised debates. His performances in these two debates were rather forgettable, though he did attract some attention for a funny line about "shovel-ready" jobs. It was revealed later that he might have borrowed the line from Rush Limbaugh.

In addition to barely registering in national polls, Johnson has also been excluded from most major straw polls due to insufficient support. It is inconceivable that Johnson would be able to obtain enough signatures to get on the ballot in key primary states.

2. Rick Santorum

For the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania to have success in the Republican primary, he will need to win the social conservative vote. Unfortunately, competition for this key GOP voting bloc is rather stiff with several other candidates including Rick Perry, Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann also vying for the big prize. It is doubtful that Santorum has the resources to compete against these three leading candidates in states like Iowa and South Carolina. Santorum's campaign should last at least until the Iowa caucuses, but is unlikely to progress beyond that.

3. Jon Huntsman

The former Utah governor has hoped that his strong appeal to moderate Republicans and independents will help carry him to the nomination. Unfortunately, Mitt Romney has managed to upstage him in winning over these two critical voting blocs. The latest Insider Advantage poll shows Romney beating Huntsman by a whopping 34 percent in independent-rich New Hampshire. Huntsman is tied for fourth behind Herman Cain and Ron Paul. The Utah native has his reasons to stay in the race through the New Hampshire primary, but his campaign is likely to end there.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111020/pl_ac/10252285_who_should_exit_2012_republican_presidential_race

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Summary Box: Philip Morris Int'l 3Q profit grows (AP)

THE RESULTS: Philip Morris International Inc., which sells Marlboro and other cigarette brands overseas, said its third-quarter net income grew 31 percent to $2.38 billion. It sold more cigarettes at higher prices.

ASIAN LEADS: Cigarettes shipped in Asia rose 13 percent, pushing the number of cigarettes the company sold up 4.5 percent to 239.5 billion. Shipments fell in the European Union, and Latin America and Canada, but grew 5 percent in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

CIGARETTE MARKET: The company has raised prices and cut costs to compensate for fewer smokers in Western Europe, Latin America and Canada.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111020/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_philip_morris_int_l_summary_box

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Friday, October 21, 2011

Amanda Seyfried Steps Out In Short Shorts (PHOTOS)

Celebuzz:

Looking good Amanda Seyfried!

Read the whole story: Celebuzz

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/20/amanda-seyfried-steps-out_n_1021505.html

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Why do some athletes choke under pressure?

Why do some athletes choke under pressure? [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 21-Oct-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Divya Menon
dmenon@psychologicalscience.org
202-293-9300
Association for Psychological Science

Athletes know they should just do their thing on the 18th hole, or during the penalty shootout, or when they're taking a 3-point shot in the last moments of the game. But when that shot could mean winning or losing, it's easy to choke. A new article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, looks at why paying too much attention to what you're doing can ruin performance.

"We think when you're under pressure, that your attention goes inward naturally. Suddenly it means so much, you want to make sure everything's working properly," says Rob Gray, of the University of Birmingham, the author of the new article. And that is exactly when things go wrong. Something about paying attention to what you're doing makes it not work right.

Of course, athletes know that they should just relax and do their usual thing, but it's not very helpful to tell someone to just relax. The goal for psychological scientists, Gray says, is to figure out what actually happens when someone starts paying too much attention to their body. "Focusing on what you're doing makes you mess up, but why? How do your movements change? How can we focus on correcting those issues instead of telling you to stop trying so hard?"

Gray has found that baseball players that are under pressure have fewer hits because their swing varies more under pressure than at normal times. Other researchers have found that climbers move less fluidly when they're higher up on a wall than when they're near the ground, which suggests that their joints move less freely when they're more anxious.

The research shows that there are particular things that go wrong when someone is under pressure -- changing the angle of the club head when putting or throwing with more force. If those things can be identified, a coach could work on the particular problems.

One way to do it might be with analogies, Gray says. For example, a golfer who grips the club too tight when she's nervous might benefit from an instruction like "imagine you have an open tube of toothpaste between your hands and the contents must not be pushed out." This would both address the problem and get her attention away from how well she's doing.

###

For more information about this study, please contact: Rob Gray at r.gray.2@bham.ac.uk.

Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, publishes concise reviews on the latest advances in theory and research spanning all of scientific psychology and its applications. For a copy of "Links Between Attention, Performance Pressure, and Movement in Skilled Motor Action" and access to other Current Directions in Psychological Science research findings, please contact Divya Menon at 202-293-9300 or dmenon@psychologicalscience.org.



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Why do some athletes choke under pressure? [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 21-Oct-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Divya Menon
dmenon@psychologicalscience.org
202-293-9300
Association for Psychological Science

Athletes know they should just do their thing on the 18th hole, or during the penalty shootout, or when they're taking a 3-point shot in the last moments of the game. But when that shot could mean winning or losing, it's easy to choke. A new article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, looks at why paying too much attention to what you're doing can ruin performance.

"We think when you're under pressure, that your attention goes inward naturally. Suddenly it means so much, you want to make sure everything's working properly," says Rob Gray, of the University of Birmingham, the author of the new article. And that is exactly when things go wrong. Something about paying attention to what you're doing makes it not work right.

Of course, athletes know that they should just relax and do their usual thing, but it's not very helpful to tell someone to just relax. The goal for psychological scientists, Gray says, is to figure out what actually happens when someone starts paying too much attention to their body. "Focusing on what you're doing makes you mess up, but why? How do your movements change? How can we focus on correcting those issues instead of telling you to stop trying so hard?"

Gray has found that baseball players that are under pressure have fewer hits because their swing varies more under pressure than at normal times. Other researchers have found that climbers move less fluidly when they're higher up on a wall than when they're near the ground, which suggests that their joints move less freely when they're more anxious.

The research shows that there are particular things that go wrong when someone is under pressure -- changing the angle of the club head when putting or throwing with more force. If those things can be identified, a coach could work on the particular problems.

One way to do it might be with analogies, Gray says. For example, a golfer who grips the club too tight when she's nervous might benefit from an instruction like "imagine you have an open tube of toothpaste between your hands and the contents must not be pushed out." This would both address the problem and get her attention away from how well she's doing.

###

For more information about this study, please contact: Rob Gray at r.gray.2@bham.ac.uk.

Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, publishes concise reviews on the latest advances in theory and research spanning all of scientific psychology and its applications. For a copy of "Links Between Attention, Performance Pressure, and Movement in Skilled Motor Action" and access to other Current Directions in Psychological Science research findings, please contact Divya Menon at 202-293-9300 or dmenon@psychologicalscience.org.



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/afps-wds102111.php

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New book says 'Sybil' was made up

"Sybil" was one terrifying television miniseries, and the 1976 program not only won Sally Field an Emmy, but introduced America to the concept of one person having multiple personalities. But was it all fiction?

Field played a woman whose childhood of abuse caused her to develop 13 different personalities. The personalities were disturbing, sure, but worse was the creepy depiction of the abuse by Sybil's mother. Let's just say an entire generation associates enemas with lengthy Dvorak musical compositions because of this movie, and also that entire generation probably has to go to the bathroom really badly just reading this.

In a new book, "Sybil Exposed: The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case," author Debbie Nathan dives into the facts behind the original case, as is told in a 1973 best-selling book. She uses letters between the woman dubbed Sybil (real name: Shirley Mason), her analyst, Cornelia Wilbur (played by Joanne Woodward in the miniseries), and "Sybil" author Flora Schreiber to expose the book as a fake.

According to the New York Times, the book shows that Wilbur wasn't so much helping "Sybil" as planting the idea for the multiple personalities in her brain. The New York Post quotes a letter mentioned in the book in which Mason confesses "I do not have any multiple personalities ... I have essentially been lying. ... Got me a lot of attention."

And perhaps sparked plenty of imitators and unnecessary pain. And pretty much ruined a previously perfectly acceptable girl's name. "Sybil," like "Damien" after "The Omen" came out, earned a disturbing reputation it has yet to shake.

Do you remember the Sally Field miniseries? Do you think multiple personalities are real? Tell us on Facebook.

? 2011 MSNBC Interactive.? Reprints

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44960290/ns/today-entertainment/

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