Instagram Has A Sharp Drop In Users On Christmas Day - Business ...

Instagram had a sharp drop in users on Christmas day, and it hasn't recovered, according to AppData, a site that tracks application usage.

AppData only tracks users who are logged into Instagram through Facebook.?You don't have to log in through Facebook to use Instagram. As a result, the AppData results are only a portion of Instagram's overall usage. Therefore, the absolute numbers AppData reports are meaningless. However, the trends are interesting.

And as you can see, there was strange drop on Christmas day.

The New York Post is blaming Instagram's change in terms of service for the drop. That doesn't make sense since the terms of service flap started on December 17, and ended three days later. AppData updates its stats on a daily basis.

But, AppData tells the Post, "[We are] pretty sure the decline in Instagram users was due to the terms of service announcement."

We've emailed Facebook, which owns Instagram, and AppData for comment. If we get anything back from them, we'll update this post.

We have no explanation for the drop. (Personally, I was using Instagram more around Christmas, and so were my friends.)

Don't Miss: The Most Popular Place In The World To Use Instagram

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-users-2012-12

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Shrewsbury Massachusetts real estate market continues to rebound

SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts ? Regular readers of the Shrewsbury Lantern will recall that I?ve talked several times over the last few months about the huge uptick in real estate sales and prices that we have seen in the past few months. Inventory continues to be very, very low, which has caused spikes in pricing across the board. I expect this trend will peak this winter, which is why I have been encouraging folks to forget about the snow as much as possible, and realize that, with few exceptions, you see higher pricing in the winter when inventory is low, than in the spring when there are twice as many Buyers, but 4 times as many listings. The latest report came out this week, and shows that this has been a statewide event, but Shrewsbury has fared particularly well. If you are thinking of a move, ping me an email this week while it?s relatively quiet and perhaps we can chat. My email is steve@shrewsbury.net or of course you can always call me at 508 845-HOME

Here is an excerpt from the MAR Press release on the topic.

The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS? reports that median sales prices for single-family homes were up for the second straight month in November. The number of homes and condominiums sold were also up again compared to the same time last year.

?The combination of buyer activity and decreasing inventory has pushed median sales prices up in November,? said 2012 MAR President Trisha McCarthy, broker at Keller Williams Realty in Newburyport. ?If the number of homes put under agreement in November is any indication of what the future holds; it looks like sales and prices will continue to increase into 2013.?

There were 4,061 detached single-family homes sold this November, a 29.2 percent increase from the 3,143 homes sold the same time last year. This is the 17th straight month of year-over-year increases. This is also the first November where home sales topped the 4,000-mark since November 2004 when there were 4,029 homes sold. On a month-to-month basis, home sales were up 7.9 percent from 3,764 homes sold this past October.

The median selling price for single-family home in November was $295,000 which was UP 3.5 percent from $285,000 in November 2011. This is the second straight monthly year-over-year increase. On a month-to-month basis, the November median selling price was also up 3.5 percent from $285,000 in October 2012. This is the first month-to-month increase in four months.

There were 1,500 condominiums sold this November, a 35.9 percent increase from the 1,112 condos sold the same time last year. This is the 11th straight month of year-over-year increases. On a month-to-month basis, condominium sales were up 2.6 percent from 1,462 homes sold this past October.

The median selling price for condominium in November was $290,000 which was UP 12.6 percent from $257,500 in November 2011. This is the ninth straight monthly year-over-year increase. On a month-to-month basis, the November median selling price was up 9.4 percent from $265,000 in October 2012.

Keeping the Mortgage Interest Deduction Unchanged:
The real estate market in Massachusetts and the United States is on its way to recovery, but the recovery is not complete. Making any changes to the mortgage interest deduction now or in the future could place the housing market and the broader economy under stress.

?Massachusetts is a high cost state and because of the cost of housing here, many homeowners count on the mortgage interest deduction to help them afford their homes,? said McCarthy. ?REALTORS? here in the Bay State and across the country are urging Congress to ?Do No Harm? to housing by leaving the mortgage interest deduction unchanged. We believe any changes to this deduction could impact the economy?s recovery.?

The mortgage interest deduction is a very effective tool that facilitates homeownership. While only about 30% ? 35% of all taxpayers in any given year itemize their deductions, more than three quarters of homeowners use the deduction over the period they own their home. According to the National Association of REALTORS?, eliminating the mortgage interest deduction would cause a 15% decline in the value of homes across the nation and impair the fragile housing recovery. In high cost areas, like Massachusetts, that impact would be greater.

Inventory and Days on Market:
The inventory of single-family homes as of November 2012 decreased 25.9 percent from November 2011 (29,330 listings in 2011 to 21,729 listings in 2012) which translates into 5.7 months of supply in November 2012. This is down from 9.2 months of supply last year and also down from 6.9 months in October 2012. Inventory has gone down 11 of the last 13 months. Similar to last month, November was the largest single month year-over-year decrease since MAR has been tracking this data.

The inventory of condominiums on the market in November was down 34.4 percent compared to the year before (9,975 listings in 2011 to 6,545 listings in 2012), which translates into 4.4 months of supply, which is down from 8.1 months in November 2011 and down from 5.3 months in October.

Detached single-family homes stayed on the market an average of 106 days in November 2012, which was down from 117 days in November 2011. Condos stayed on the market an average of 99 days, which was down from 118 days in November 2011. On a month-to-month basis, days on market for single-family homes were up from 102 days in October while condos were down from 102 days.

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Source: http://shrewsbury.net/?p=19674

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Drug May Help Women Who Quit Smoking Avoid ... - Health.com

By Carina Storrs
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Dec. 27 (HealthDay News) ? Taking a pill called naltrexone (ReVia) when they stop smoking could help women keep dreaded weight gain at bay, according to new research.

Researchers analyzed two earlier studies that compared the quit rates and weight gain among heavy smokers who received either naltrexone ? a drug used to treat addiction ? or an inactive placebo, along with a nicotine patch and weekly counseling while trying to quit smoking.

Although the groups taking naltrexone had higher quit rates at the end of four- and six-week treatment courses, participants who took the drug were no more likely to remain abstinent after 12 months.

But women who took naltrexone gained significantly less weight six and 12 months after they quit smoking than women who received the placebo, according to the study, published in the December issue of Biological Psychiatry. However, this difference was not observed for men.

?Weight gain is a crucial issue for people, especially women who have societal pressure and can be more discontented with their bodies,? said Andrea King, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago and lead author of the current study.

?Even if naltrexone doesn?t help quit rates, if we could break down that barrier, it could have an impact,? King added.

More than 80 percent of people who quit smoking gain weight, and the average weight gain is between five and 10 pounds, according to the study. However, as many as one-quarter of quitters gain more than 15 pounds.

Weight gain during smoking cessation is usually modest and not a serious health problem compared to the health benefit of quitting smoking, said Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association.

?[But] people, especially young women, would be more likely to get involved in smoking cessation programs if there were some way to control their weight gain so in terms of that, I think [naltrexone] is important,? Edelman said.

People who want to quit smoking and are worried about gaining weight should talk with their doctor about naltrexone, he suggested.

Both issues can be deadly. Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States, and obesity is second, the study authors noted.

King pointed out that naltrexone would probably not take the place of the first-line treatments for quitting smoking, which are the antidepressant bupropion (Zyban), in some cases together with a nicotine patch such as Nicoderm or the drug varenicline (Chantix).

However, naltrexone, along with a nicotine patch and counseling, could be an option for those who did not have success with these treatments or who have serious concerns about weight gain, King said.

The side effects associated with naltrexone are generally mild and rare, King said. Nausea, dizziness and fatigue are most common, and often overcome by taking the once-a-day medication with food or at bedtime, she added.

For the current study, King and her colleagues analyzed the results of studies done at the University of Chicago and Yale University in New Haven, Conn.

The Chicago study involved more than 300 adults who smoked between 10 and 40 cigarettes a day for at least the past two years. During the four-week treatment, participants took either naltrexone or the placebo, used Nicoderm and received behavioral and cognitive counseling.

The Yale study had nearly 400 adults who smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day for at least the past year. It was similar to the Chicago study, except the researchers tested a six-week treatment course and three doses of naltrexone along with placebo.

Women who took naltrexone gained an average of about 7.3 pounds and 13 pounds six and 12 months after treatment, respectively, whereas the women who received placebo gained an average of about 12.1 and 16.3 pounds, respectively, the researchers found.

In addition, a slightly smaller proportion of women taking naltrexone increased their body weight by 7 percent or more, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers clinically significant weight gain.

The men in the study gained less weight on average than women, and these gains were a smaller percentage of their original body weight, which could have made it more difficult to detect lower weight gain among men taking naltrexone, King said. More research is needed on this group, she added.

It is not clear why women seem to be more prone to weight gain when they quit smoking than men.

?I think of women smoking more for emotional regulation and management, and potentially without that crutch, they may turn to high sweet and fat foods more than men,? King said.

Naltrexone is thought to block the effects of opioids in the body, which could reduce cravings for sweet and fatty foods, King noted.

In addition, giving up cigarettes leads to drops in metabolism that can cause quitters to put on pounds no matter what they eat, King pointed out.

King encourages people trying to quit to eat sensibly and exercise, which can help reduce the stress of quitting, but not to diet, which can make quitting even more difficult.

?If there are times when you?re going to have a candy bar or a cigarette, a candy bar is better, and don?t beat yourself up about it,? King said.

Naltrexone is not approved by the FDA for smoking cessation and is instead used off-label for this indication. It is approved to help people overcome alcohol and drug addictions.

More information

For help quitting smoking, visit the American Lung Association.

Source: http://news.health.com/2012/12/27/drug-may-help-women-who-quit-smoking-avoid-weight-gain/

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UN envoy to Syria to visit Russia this weekend

MOSCOW (AP) ? The international envoy on Syria will visit Moscow this weekend for talks on the crisis, a senior Russian diplomat said Wednesday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi will arrive in Moscow on one-day visit Saturday, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.

Brahimi met Monday in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar Assad, but didn't signal any progress toward a negotiated solution for the civil war. Brahimi told reporters after the talks that he and Assad exchanged views on the crisis and discussed possible steps forward, which he did not disclose.

Preceding Brahimi's trip, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and Assistant Foreign Minister Ahmad Arnous flew early Wednesday to Moscow, according to airport officials in Beirut. The Russian Foreign Ministry made no immediate comment about their mission.

Russia has used its veto right alongside China at the U.N. Security Council to protect its old ally from international sanctions over a civil war that has killed more than 40,000, but it has increasingly sought to distance itself from Assad.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week that Moscow would welcome any country's offer of a safe haven to Assad, but has no intention of giving him shelter if he steps down.

At the same time, Moscow has given no indication that it could end its firm opposition to international sanctions against Assad and calls for him to step down.

Lavrov reaffirmed Russia's call for the fulfillment of a peace plan brokered by Brahimi's predecessor, Kofi Annan, that was approved at an international conference in Geneva. On Russia's insistence, the plan left the door open for Assad being part of the transition process and has been rejected by the opposition.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/un-envoy-syria-visit-russia-weekend-135622567.html

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andazmarka: johir.khan: Self-Improvement Affirmations with Self ...

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Source: http://williamsjohn273.typepad.com/blog/2012/12/johirkhan-self-improvement-affirmations-with-self-hypnosis-audios.html

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New Year's food traditions around the world | Gulf Coast Cooking ...

New Year's celebrations around the world center on a special feast.

This holiday not only celebrates the coming year, and gives us time to ponder the old, but most importantly we prepare special foods that many hope will insure good luck in the coming year. The festivities differ country by country but almost everywhere there is a special food and drink that is traditionally served.

In many places the drink of preference is Champagne, the bubbly, sparkling wine that is almost exclusively associated with celebration, and that's a pity.

The economist John Maynard Keynes' reported last words were, "I wish I had drunk more Champagne," and perhaps this is a warning we should all heed.

A good glass of Champagne is indeed a marvel, and we shouldn't wait for a special occasion to enjoy one. Certainly a top-of-the-line champagne is costly, a bottle of Veuve Clicquot will set you back at least $50 and the ever-popular and vastly overpriced Don Perignon three times that at least, but there are other options.

Try an Italian Prosecco, there are dozens to choose from and there are some that are quite good. Strictly speaking it is not a champagne, as it does not come from the Champagne region of France, but it is a widely regarded sparkling wine.

In Spain and Mexico, New Year's Eve is celebrated by eating a grape at each chime of the midnight clock and making a wish with each. In Italy, the celebrants eat cotechino con lenticchie or sausages and green lentils, while in France the feast might include foie gras, oysters and, of course, really good Champagne.

In the American South, and in many other places, the food served symbolizes hoped for riches: black-eyed peas for coins and greens for folding money. This is humble fare to be sure, but with special care these simple foods can be made delicious. Always remember presentation: present it poorly and it will be poorly received.

BLACK-EYED PEAS

A dear friend, Lyle Bong?, used to say that to make peas or beans really good only required more garlic and ham than you might think

possible. Perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration, dear Lyle was inclined to the dramatic, but it is at heart true. If you want to make your black-eyed peas from scratch, please do, but if you are in a bit of a hurry feel free to use canned peas, but just be sure to rinse them thoroughly to remove the excessive salt.

3 cups prepared black-eyed peas

1 cup cubed ham

2/3 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 chopped jalapeno pepper (seeds removed)

4-6 chopped garlic toes

2 cups chicken stock

Black pepper, red pepper flakes

Saut? the ham until well-browned, add the onion, celery, jalapeno and bell pepper and saut? for 10 minutes, remember to season as you go. Add the garlic and cook until soft. Add the stock and bring to a simmer, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes. Add more stock if necessary. Next add the black-eyed peas (if you put them in at first they would be over-cooked) and simmer for 10 more minutes.

A trick to make this dish something special is to plate it as if it were something special. Try using a wine glass or anther ornate container and a silver spoon. Garnish with croutons and make them with cornbread if you want to keep it a bit more traditional. An additional green garnish, perhaps a few julienned basil leaves will add a nice touch.

BLACK-EYED PEA JAMBALAYA

1 cup cubed ham

1 cup sliced smoked sausage

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

6 toes chopped garlic

Small sprig thyme

Chicken stock to cover

1 pound black-eyed peas

1 pound large peeled shrimp

1 cup jasmine rice

1 bay leaf

Black pepper, red pepper flakes, cayenne

Olive oil as necessary

Green onions for garnish

Steam the rice, preferable in a rice steamer. Saut? the ham and sausage in a little oil until well browned, add the onion, bell pepper and thyme, bay leaf and saut? until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Remember to season as you go, taste and season again as necessary. Add the dried black eyed peas (if you are using canned add the peas 10 minutes before it is done), cover with chicken stock and simmer until the peas are tender (about 1 hour). Separately, season the shrimp and saut? over a hot flame, just until they take on a little color, not more than 1 minute. Combine the peas, rice and shrimp, stir well and simmer just 5-10 minutes more. Garnish with the green onions.

BLACK-EYED PEAS AND GREENS SOUP

Black-eyed pea recipe above

1 quart chicken stock (homemade is best)

1 bunch collard greens (kale, turnip greens or spinach all work as well)

3-4 chopped toes of garlic

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 cups water

Make the black-eyed pea recipe above. Remove the tough stems from the greens and rinse well. Saut? the garlic in the oil, then add the greens a hand full at a time, stirring until they begin to wilt, add the water and steam until tender. Remove the greens, add to the peas along with the stock and simmer until well incorporated. Serve piping hot.

Source: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/12/26/4328673/new-years-food-traditions-around.html

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Source: http://forums.ferra.ru/index.php?showtopic=53694

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New Year party DJ's in Chennai | Entertainment | Know your city

DJ Kunal Bajaj talks to Sandhya Ramachandran about how commercial music rules the dance floor.

If there is one person that has seen Chennai dance to Daler Mehandi and questioned, ?Why this Kolaveri di?? it is DJ Kunal Bajaj. Spinning the discs for the last fifteen years across the city, Kunal is easily the Bollywood Badshah, The Kollywood Kalakkal (entertainer par excellence) or better yet- the Commercial King of the city.

Beginning as a freelancer for corporate parties, round table events and moving on to discotheques, Kunal started with Retro music, until the day Daler Mehndi became popular. Kunal began at a time when Chennai nightlife meant dancing until the wee hours of the morning. ?It used to be fun then, and surprisingly people even managed to drive home safely,? he says with a laugh.

Kunal juggles many genres effortlessly. He?s played at gigs catering to commercial, house, funky house and Bollywood music from every possible era. ?We were curious about how he manages to keep the music-sound and easily bored Chennai crowd dancing to his tunes? He explains, ?Whether it is rock, retro, Tamil or Punjabi music, all that matters getting the mix right. What to mix when, how and where, is all part of the winning formula.?

With a tough crowd, it?s only wise to keep a few tricks up your sleeve and DJ Kunal knows this better than most. ?I always keep multiple versions of a song for repeat requests. That way the crowd gets something new all the time. In Chennai especially, if you don?t please the crowd, they turn around and walk away,? he laughs.

His one wish for the New Year ? ?Party hard but get home safe. We want to see you next year too,? he says with a smile.

Source: http://know.burrp.com/arts-entertainment/commercial-king/47780

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Cloud Computing, More Than Just Hype

C. J. Mackey is a working mother of three, balancing a full time career while taking an active role in her children's lives. She has an advanced degree in engineering and over twenty years making technology decisions for fortune 500 companies. For further details visit http://cjmackeypress.com/

View all articles by C. J Mackey \As head of Operations and Technology at my current company, I have personally seen the explosion of the term "Cloud" from every vendor who contacts me. But like any other clever marketing term, you have to look behind the hype to see what exactly is being offered and what value it has to you as a business.

Cloud Computing refers to the hosted offering of infrastructure and development platforms , made possible by the Internet, or "Cloud." It is not a new concept, as Software as a Service (SaaS) providers like Salesforce, have offered Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software in the cloud for the past decade. But it grew in popularity as virtualization technology improved to the point that vendors could easily spin up, and support virtual servers, at a cost effective model for themselves and their customers.

Cloud Computing can be divided into three major categories being provided by vendors: Infrastructure , Platform and Software. Infrastructure is the provisioning of virtual servers, firewalls, load balancers and network switches. It is in this area that most executives and business stakeholders have taken notice. Because of the delays and costs associated with getting physical or virtual servers setup internally in the organization, the prospect of be able to create a virtual server from a provider in a manner of minutes is incredibly attractive. Add to that the concept of "pay what you use" where you only pay for server processing time, and which allows you to grow and shrink environments at will, and you've gotten senior leadership's attention. We had a development project where the estimated internal infrastructure costs were around $500,000. Instead we chose to use Amazon Cloud at the cost of $4,500 per month.

Platform offerings go further to offer application, database and web tiers on top of the infrastructure. Some

platform offerings like Microsoft Azure are proprietary. Others are open platforms that allow you to develop in the language you are comfortable in. Many providers make the offering especially attractive by providing services like high availability, or deployment tools and processes, so you as the customer don't have to worry about having that internal expertise.

Software offerings like Salesforce or Zuora allow you to purchase licenses for total solutions that can be customized for you, and integrated to your environment through a documented API. So you don't as a business have to worry about developing commodity software like CRM or Billing platforms, you can instead focus on developing software around your own intellectual property. We migrated from an internal Siebel implementation to a cloud based Salesforce one three years ago and saw our system availability increase tenfold.

Cloud Computing has certainly sparked the interest of business and technology people alike. But it isn't a magic bullet. Many providers are new to the concept and are still establishing all the costing models, stability and processes needed to be successful. Each provider also has its own constraints that you have to be aware of, such as bandwidth or storage limitations. It is certainly worth it for organizations to evaluate and selectively move components of their environments there. But be cautious before jumping in full tilt.

C. J. Mackey is a working mother of three, balancing a full time career while taking an active role in her children's lives. She has an advanced degree in engineering and over twenty years making technology decisions for fortune 500 companies. For further details visit http://cjmackeypress.com/

C. J. Mackey is a working mother of three, balancing a full time career while taking an active role in her children's lives. She has an advanced degree in engineering and over twenty years making technology decisions for fortune 500 companies. For further details visit http://cjmackeypress.com/

Source: http://www.articlesbd.com/articles/302709/1/Cloud-Computing-More-Than-Just-Hype/Page1.html

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The Ins and Outs Of Real Estate Law | Notice Me

For more information about real estate law you are looking for? If so, you?ve come to the right place. Throughout this article, we will be able to do that you have a real estate lawyer, real estate law and what to talk about.

Real estate law is to limit our discussion to begin. The real estate and property for any legal issues surrounding the federal and state laws, and common law, and that the two covers a very broad legal area. The Act covers housing rights, renters, tenants, property rights and interests, buying and selling property, and the owner and rental property in some areas. Real estate law is the law is very complex and vary from state to state.

If you buy or sell a home that is so important in your search for a lawyer. A realtor can help you find the right buyer at home or in your house, when, as a lawyer to ensure that your rights are protected and your duty to review any concessions and contracts to be clearly outlined and defined the.

If you are buying a new house, how can a lawyer help? When you buy a new house with a lawyer to make sure that you are comfortable with all the hints to help you understand your contract. They all legal documents, if one tries to own it can take more time to prepare and serve a mission. A lawyer can help you with your mortgage terms to help clarify and your bank loan. They also read all of the documents for insurance protection, and you are sure to have a perfect record.

Only a lawyer can help you purchase a new home, they will help you sell your home. When selling your home, you are a real estate sales contract lawyer, the lawyer will prepare a paper and energy. They listen to the final documents for the security deposit transfers, and insurance certificates will organize. Most importantly, they need a real estate lawyer to deal with any problems selling your home will help you during the process.

Source: http://dinogy.com/2012/12/24/the-ins-and-outs-of-real-estate-law/

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Cozy Up to an 8-bit Yule Log

During the holidays, there's nothing better than curling up by a roaring fire next to the Christmas tree. But seriously, what do you think I am, Scrooge McDuck? I don't have a fireplace, so this 8-bit version is the next best thing. Queue this up as your cooking your Christmas goose, and imagine yourself as an 80s video game character about to celebrate the holiday with your 8-bit family. [NowThisNews] More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/OcpXjjuRHbc/cozy-up-to-an-8+bit-yule-log

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the villa adopted claret and blue for the first time | bess10656 ...

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Their lucrative deal will allow one of their most successful tracks ?fire? to be used in the title sequences of every match over the next three years. If this was only a deal for the UK, it would still be incredibly valuable but the league plans to use the song on every game it shows in the 200 countries it broadcasts..

You know how the word-association game goes: Someone says a word, and you blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. If a friend said ?fantasy sports,? you probably answer, ?football.? So, you might be surprised to learn that fantasy sports actually started with baseball back in the early 1980s.

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How deadly would chemical weapons in Syria be?

Concerns that the Syrian regime would use chemical weapons are putting the spotlight on these weapons of mass destruction.

By Tom A. Peter,?Correspondent / December 6, 2012

A view of damages on an empty street in the Aleppo district of Salaheddine, Syria, Dec. 5. Serious concerns have been raised about the Syrian regime using chemical weapons.

Aref Hretani/Reuters

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Serious concerns have been raised about chemical weapons in Syria as unnamed US officials on Wednesday told NBC News that Syrian forces have loaded sarin, a deadly nerve gas, into bombs that can be dropped by planes.

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The officials said the bombs had not been loaded onto planes and there was not yet a decision from Syria's leader to use them.

President Obama has said the use of chemical weapons in Syria is a ?red line? that would draw the US into the war. Embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has denied that he?s planning to use them, unless international forces intervene. And Syrian officials have called recent accusations a ?pretext for intervention.?

The international community is now debating if and how to respond to this latest development.

As the situation unfolds, for many unfamiliar with sarin gas there may be some question as to what it is and just how deadly it can be. Though it?s classified as a weapon of mass destruction and is extremely lethal, it is not in the same league as nuclear weapons.

?Chemical weapons are not nuclear weapons. In order to produce a lot of damage they have to be distributed very efficiently. The problem with them is that they can be very deadly and efficient if used in population centers and their effects are indiscriminate,? says Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association.

?The explosion of a single chemical shell would not necessarily be a catastrophe if it went off accidentally at one of these storage sites, but the deliberate use of one chemical shell in a population center could be very deadly,? adds Mr. Kimball.

Sarin is a colorless and odorless nerve agent that can be attached to missiles and artillery rounds and is primarily lethal when inhaled but can also penetrate skin and clothing.

It evaporates quickly, though under the right conditions it can linger for up to five days. As a result, a sarin attack requires little clean up and areas affected by sarin can be quickly reoccupied, making it a desirable weapon for military units looking to advance without destroying infrastructure and equipment.

It was first developed in Germany in 1938, but there was no known use of it as a weapon, until 1988 when Iraq used it against the Kurdish town of Halabja. The Iraqi military is also believed to have used sarin against Iran during the war between the two countries that spanned from 1980 to 1988.

Most recently, it was used by the Japanese group Aum Shinrikyo which manufactured their own form of impure sarin gas and released it on the Tokyo subway in 1995. The attack killed 12 and injured at least 5,500 people.

It?s unclear exactly how much damage would be caused were Syrian jets to drop bombs filled with sarin gas on an apartment block or populated area, but experts say the attack would likely be lethal and devastating, creating a major impact.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/ou5UFQmwEXQ/How-deadly-would-chemical-weapons-in-Syria-be

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Muslim scholars and clerics: suicide bombings are un-Islamic.

A conference of religious leaders is set to meet in January in Afghanistan specifically to publicize the fact that suicide bombing violence is not in the Quran.

By Scott Peterson,?Staff writer / December 24, 2012

Suicide bombers in Afghanistan have shown little restraint: Wedding parties and even mosques and children have witnessed gruesome targeting by the Taliban against civilians.

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But as attacks soared in the summer and fall, killing scores of civilians every week ??including at least 40 Muslim devotees at a mosque in late October ?public revulsion has turned into unprecedented condemnation.

For the first time in late January, Muslim scholars and clerics from around the world will come to Kabul specifically to condemn suicide bombings as un-Islamic. The conference will be the first to focus on suicide bombing, and its framers hope the result will reverberate beyond Afghanistan.

"Many times, scholars in Pakistan and Afghanistan have made statements but had no influence," says Mufti Shamsur Rahman Firotan, a religious scholar in Kabul. "This one will have influence, and will give the idea to the people that suicide attacks are forbidden. The message is for all: in Iraq, in Pakistan, all these [militant jihadist] groups."

Senior United Nations officials have challenged religious officials to speak more loudly against attacks carried out in the name of Islam, while Afghan religious scholars have long decried suicide attacks, with little response by the ultra-conservative Taliban. An official gathering this summer resolved that suicide attacks "have no legitimate foundation in Islam."?

It had little effect at the time. But those declarations have now been further bolstered. Saudi Arabia?s Grand Mufti, the highest religious authority in the birthplace of Islam and respected by the Taliban, explicitly condemned suicide bombing.

Yet since Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al al-Sheikh issued such a high-profile public statement in late October, Taliban suicide attacks have continued, some with multiple bombers. But Afghan religious scholars say momentum is building against them.

One reason is because Mr. Abdulaziz ?does have influence on the Taliban," says Mr. Firotan, who is a member of Afghanistan's Ulema Council of Islamic scholars, which has long campaigned against civilian deaths.

"The Taliban think we are their enemies, so they don't respect our declarations," says Mr. Firotan. "But Mufti Aziz is respected by them, and all around the Islamic world?. It has influence."

Invoking Muhammed?

The newsletter of Afghanistan?s religious scholars, called Al-Islam, publicized the Grand Mufti?s high-profile pronouncement against suicide bombing.?

Invoking the Muslim prophet Mohammed, Abdulaziz noted that killing innocents has been forbidden?for 14 centuries. He said justifying suicide attacks in the name of religion was a "misuse" of Islam.

"Attacks, suicide attacks, and killing of the innocent have no place in Islam, and whoever conducts these are not just deprived of Paradise, but they will go to hell," Abdulaziz said according to?Al-Islam. "There is jihad in Islam, but it is very different from killing of the innocent and suicide attacks [which does] not benefit the people and humanity."

The Taliban claims it has not "officially" received Abdulaziz's fatwa (or religious decree), says Firotan, but only heard about it.

'This is not the way'

The Quran makes clear that self-defense is acceptable, says Firotan, providing "there is no other way to live, but that is not the situation now."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/OS03PwJHgIs/Muslim-scholars-and-clerics-suicide-bombings-are-un-Islamic.

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PFT: Cowboys-Redskins flexed to SNF in Week 17

AP

Jets quarterback Tim Tebow has acknowledged that he was upset when he learned last week that he had been bypassed on the depth chart by Greg McElroy. Now Tebow says his goal now is to become a good quarterback ? somewhere ? in 2013.

Tebow told ESPN?s Adam Schefter he is ?more determined than ever to dedicate my entire off-season to becoming the best quarterback I can be next season.?

Regarding the ESPNNewYork.com report that Tebow told Jets coach Rex Ryan he didn?t want to play in the Wildcat after he was informed that McElroy would start in place of the benched Mark Sanchez, Tebow admitted that he was upset, and he expressed his displeasure to Ryan. Schefter?s report does not specify, however, whether Tebow flat-out refused to play in the Wildcat when he found out on Tuesday that McElroy was starting, or whether Tebow merely said he was unhappy that he wasn?t getting the opportunity to start.

Whatever transpired between Tebow and Ryan, Tebow did tell Schefter that on Friday he told Ryan that he was willing to do whatever it took to help the team win. By that time, the Jets had been planning to use receiver Jeremy Kerley in the Wildcat role, and that?s what they did in Sunday?s game against the Chargers.

The fact that Tebow even had to express to Ryan that he was willing to do anything to help the team win is telling. If a player is conducting himself the right way, it should go without saying that he is willing to do whatever he has to do to help his team win. If the Jets? coaches needed to be reassured that Tebow was willing to do whatever he had to do to help the team win, that strongly suggests that Tebow isn?t quite the humble, hard-working player that he tries to portray himself as. The job of a football player is to play football the way his coaches tell him to play. It doesn?t matter if Tebow thinks he deserves to start ahead of McElroy. The Jets? coaches decided that McElroy was the starter for Sunday?s game, and Tebow?s job was to support the team in whatever role the coaches told him to play.

If Tebow ever expressed anything other than a firm commitment to doing whatever the coaches asked him to do, then he?s no better than Santonio Holmes, who was widely ripped last year for being a destructive force in the Jets? locker room. Holmes was pilloried all offseason for the way he acted at the end of the Jets? season in 2011. If Tebow is acting the same way at the end of the Jets? season in 2012, he deserves the same scorn.

As for Tebow?s ambitions of being a starter next year, well, good luck with that. There is exactly one NFL team that might be willing to give Tebow a shot, and that team ? Jacksonville ? would be willing to give him a shot for business reasons, not for football reasons. Tebow is desired in Jacksonville because he?s viewed as a good guy, not a good football player. And the news of the last 24 hours suggests that he?s actually not that good a guy.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/23/cowboys-redskins-flexed-to-sunday-night-football-in-week-17/related/

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Amazon's Culling Its Reviews, Mostly The Fake Ones

When you're trying to pick the right product to buy on Amazon, official descriptions and personal taste factor in, sure, but the deal-maker—or breaker—is often that review score, especially with books. The problem is, how do you know if they're legitimate or not? Well Amazon is trying to help you out with that by getting rid of the bogus ones, or at least the ones it thinks are bogus. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/esn2M7fn7G8/amazons-culling-its-reviews-mostly-the-fake-ones

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Deal of the Day ? 14? Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch Core i5 900p Ultrabook with 128GB SSD

Sunday’s LogicBUY Deal is the 14″ Lenovo?ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch Ultrabook, with prices starting at?$1,499. ?Features: Core i5-3427U up to 2.8GHz Dual-core CPU 4GB RAM 128GB SSD Carbon fiber construction 14″ 1600 X 900 display with 10-point multitouch capacitive screen HD webcam USB 3.0 and Mini DisplayPort Dolby Home Theater v4 audio 4-in-1 card reader [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/12/23/deal-of-the-day-14-lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon-touch-core-i5-900p-ultrabook-with-128gb-ssd/

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Iron Butterfly ? In A Gadda Da Vida (Americablog)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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Just Friends? Turning a Good Friendship into a Successful ...

Your breath. Cat food. Cough, cough.

If turning a good friendship into a relationship is the Holy Grail of many a best friend too afraid of losing a companion to speak out and say what they feel, making a success of it is the Atlantis: legendary and hard to find. Does it even exist?

Beyond friendship

When someone falls for a friend, things can get really awkward. Raising the possibility of dating after knowing one another for a long time is incredibly difficult. But does it really need to be said? Try treating her like she?s already your girlfriend and not so much like another of your friends.

Picking up small gifts for her and complimenting her eyes or her laugh, putting your jacket or your cap on her. When you get a coffee or a meal together, sit beside her rather than across from her and express affection through physicality: playful pushes, squeezing her shoulder, putting your arm around her. Women respond emotionally to touch.

Assuming that you do get together, romance with a previous friend isn?t as easy-going and laid-back as it might seem. The pressures can be considerably higher than a normal relationship and both parties might still be scared of losing a friend. You have to keep the golden rule:

Never forget where you came from.

Avoiding a shipwreck

The romance in your relationship is an addition to your friendship, it doesn?t substitute or replace it. This means its important to keep nurturing your friendship together too by continuing having fun with another and doing things based on mutual interests just like you did when you were ?only friends?.

You got together because you felt comfortable with and trusted one another, recognised that you held genuine affection and cared for each other. It?s important, obviously, that none of this changes but the crucial one is trust and honesty. The open and sincere communication you had as friends has to last throughout your romance, or your relationship won?t. It is your foundation and only a fool would jeopardise it.

Don?t play with each other?s heads and you?ll probably remain friends even if you do break up. It?s important not to get too bewitched by the socially-defined roles of what boyfriends and girlfriends are. Forge your own path and be ready to define your relationship in your own mutual terms rather than what conventions tell you to be.

Which leads onto the final point: don?t change too much for the other. Remember that you liked her and she liked you when you were just friends, there shouldn?t be any need to change yourselves to fit roles ? or to please the other. If you were the more outspoken before you were a couple, don?t suddenly become submissive and compliant just because you are in a relationship. Remind yourself to be yourself; it?s the foundation of why she loves you.

A romantic relationship that blooms from friendship can be a rocky road. But if you keep its humble origins in mind and never compromise on what made you good together before you were together then you?ll have a better chance at making a success of it and remaining friends even if it doesn?t work out.

?

Barry Cooke

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Asian toad stowaway gets new home in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? They say cats have nine lives. Now a Chinese toad has joined that club of wily survivors.

South Africans are marveling at the endurance of a toad that got trapped in a cargo shipment from China to Cape Town after jumping into a porcelain candlestick that was made there. South African officials reportedly planned to put down the creature, fearing it would cause harm as an invasive species if it were let go in the wild.

But the toad got a last-minute reprieve. Mango Airlines, a South African airline, transported the toad on Friday to Johannesburg for delivery to an animal sanctuary after officials decided to find a way to let the globe-trotting toad live. The two-hour flight was a breeze compared to the trip from China, an odyssey of many weeks and thousands of kilometers (miles) across the Indian Ocean.

Airline spokesman Hein Kaiser said the toad got "first-class treatment," sitting in the cockpit in a transparent plastic container with escort Brett Glasby, an animal welfare inspector. There was even a mock ceremony in which the toad's boarding pass was handed to Glasby.

"He was the star of the show on the flight," Kaiser said of the amphibious passenger. "I think every passenger stopped to have a look."

On landing in Johannesburg, the toad, dubbed Jack B Nimble, was brought out of his container for a celebrity-style photo call.

Observers said the mottled brown toad seemed like a cool customer. "Pretty chilled," as Kaiser put it.

It belongs to the Asian Gold Toad species, which breeds during monsoon season. It is believed to have survived the trip from China by hardening its skin to prevent it drying out and also slowing its breathing and heart rate, methods that help the species survive in times of drought.

"We've had snakes in the imported timber, scorpions in fruit. We were called because it was right inside the candlestick and we had to break it to get it out," Glasby, the inspector, told The Star, a South African newspaper. "It was manufactured in China and the box was not opened between China and the store here, so we can deduce it has come all the way from China."

A startled customer at a store spotted a toad leg sticking out of the candle holder, according to the Cape Town region's animal protection agency, the SPCA.

Conservationists fed the toad worms and crickets after its rescue. By all accounts, the toad ate like a horse.

Its new home is the Montecasino entertainment complex in Johannesburg. The toad will be in quarantine for a couple of weeks and is slated for display next month.

The toad's adventures got rave reviews on the SPCA's Facebook site.

"What a special Christmas story!!" one posting said. Said another: "Most famous Toad in the world."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-toad-stowaway-gets-home-south-africa-122028287.html

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Many causes for learning lags in tumor disorder

Dec. 21, 2012 ? The causes of learning problems associated with an inherited brain tumor disorder are much more complex than scientists had anticipated, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report.

The disorder, neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1), is among the most common inherited pediatric brain cancer syndromes. Children born with NF1 can develop low-grade brain tumors, but their most common problems are learning and attention difficulties.

"While one of our top priorities is halting tumor growth, it's also important to ensure that these children don't have the added challenges of living with learning and behavioral problems," says senior author David H. Gutmann, MD, PhD, the Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor of Neurology. "Our results suggest that learning problems in these patients can be caused by more than one factor. Successful treatment depends on identifying the biological reasons underlying the problems seen in individual patients with NF1."

The study appears online in Annals of Neurology.

According to Gutmann, who is director of the Washington University Neurofibromatosis Center, scientists are divided when considering the basis for NF1-associated learning abnormalities and attention deficits.

Mutations in the Nf1 gene can disrupt normal regulation of an important protein called RAS in the hippocampus, a brain region critical for learning. Initial work from other investigators had shown that increased RAS activity due to defective Nf1 gene function impairs memory and attention in some Nf1 mouse models.

However, earlier studies by Gutmann and collaborator David F. Wozniak, PhD, research professor in psychiatry, showed that a mutation in the Nf1 gene lowers levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in attention. In this Nf1 mouse model, Gutmann and his colleagues found that the branches of dopamine-producing nerve cells were unusually short, limiting their ability to make and distribute dopamine and leading to reduced attention in those mice.

The new research suggests that both sides may be right.

In the latest study, postdoctoral fellow Kelly Diggs-Andrews, PhD, found that the branches of dopamine-producing nerve cells that normally extend into the hippocampus are shorter in Nf1 mice. As a result, dopamine levels are lower in that part of the brain.

Charles F. Zorumski, MD, the Samuel B. Guze Professor and head of the Department of Psychiatry, showed that the low dopamine levels disrupts the ability of nerve cells in the hippocampus to modulate the way they communicate with each other. These communication adjustments are a primary way the brain creates memories.

Researchers then found that giving Nf1 mice L-DOPA, which increases dopamine levels, restored their nerve cell branch lengths to normal and corrected the hippocampal communication defect. L-DOPA also eliminated the memory and learning deficits in these mice.

"These results and the earlier findings suggest that there are a variety of ways that NF1 may cause cognitive dysfunction in people," Gutmann says. "Some may have problems caused only by increased RAS function, others may be having problems attributable to reduced dopamine, and a third group may be having difficulties caused by both RAS and dopamine abnormalities."

To customize patient therapy, Gutmann and his colleagues are now working to develop ways to quantify the contributions of dopamine and RAS to NF1-related learning disorders.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Washington University in St. Louis. The original article was written by Michael C. Purdy.

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. Kelly A. Diggs-Andrews, Kazuhiro Tokuda, Yukitoshi Izumi, Charles F. Zorumski, David F. Wozniak, David H. Gutmann. Dopamine deficiency underlies learning deficits in neurofibromatosis-1 mice. Annals of Neurology, 2012; DOI: 10.1002/ana.23793

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/S1n0gGyMlIg/121221233122.htm

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Turn your iPad into a games console with Joypad Games Console and Controller

If you yearn for the days when you had a console plugged into your TV and a gamepad to play it with then this particular app combo may be for you. The guys at Joypad have released two apps that work hand in hand to deliver a console like experience to iPad and iPhone or iPod touch users. You install the Joypad Game Console on your iPad and the Joypad Game Controller on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Joypad Game Console is your dashboard for all Joypad Enabled games. Joypad Enabled games can be played on your iPad using your iPhone as the game controller. Install this app on your iPad, then install "Joypad Game Controller" on your iPhone. The two applications will find each other over WiFi and sync up. A controller will appear on your phone, which you can use to navigate the dashboard. When you launch a game, a controller specifically built for that game will appear. Plug your iPad into a TV for an even better experience.

• Free - Joypad Game Console ? Download Now
• Free - Joypad Controller ? Download Now

Once you have the two free apps installed you can scroll through a number of games using your iPhone and then you will have to buy them within the app if you want to play them. The list isn?t too bad at launch with a good selection of playable games. The developers of the Joypad app combo have also released an SDK to allow game other developers to offer support for the Joypad Game Console and Joypad Game Controller. This is where the success of the apps will be determined; if there is a good take up and other developers support the apps then this could be an excellent solution.

Can you see yourself using a system like this? If you try it out, let us know what you think!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/Su6ycFBf6PM/story01.htm

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Stuck in traffic? Get select 1 percent of drivers to stay home, says study

1 day

John Roach , NBC News

If just one percent of drivers from commuter-heavy neighborhoods stayed off the road during rush hour, traffic congestion for everyone else would drop up to 18 percent, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis of cellphone data.

The finding provides a?convincing incentive for ?people in specific neighborhoods to take the bus, carpool or work from home, according to research leader Marta Gonzalez, a civil and environmental engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.?

Simply asking people in general?to take public transit or work remotely is ineffective,?Gonzalez told?NBC News. The study shows that it's best to convince a small number of drivers from a carefully?selected segment of the population to stay off the road during rush hour.

Going forward, the team aims to validate the findings on traffic simulators and then?work with city planners to carry out the one-percent plan ? that is, convince a small number of specific?people to stay home from time to time.

The breakthrough comes thanks to the team's access to cellphone data. Previously, studies like this relied on travel diary surveys, which limited the data to a?tiny fraction of commuters and a single day.?The cellphone data, by contrast, allowed the researchers to analyze trips taken by 100,000 people over the course of several weeks.

?That gives us very good statistics of the flows and, more importantly, if you see a congested street you can have a good estimate of where the drivers are coming from and that connection is what allowed us to design the strategy,? Gonzalez said.

She and colleagues analyzed three-weeks-worth of anonymous cellphone data from Boston and San Francisco to obtain information about drivers? routes, traffic volume, and speed on those routes. They were also able to determine the drivers? neighborhoods.

All of this data was combined with information on population density and the location and capacity of roads in the two cities. This allowed them to determine which neighborhoods are the largest sources of drivers on each road segment, and which roads these drivers use.

By cancelling one percent of trips by select drivers in a handful of neighborhoods in Boston would reduce traffic in the region by 18 percent. In San Francisco, the effect was a 14 percent reduction in congestion.

The data itself was made available to the researchers from mobile carriers, who collect the?information for billing and planning purposes. For example, knowing where most of their users travel in a day helps carriers decide where to build more cellphone towers, Gonzalez explained.

Her team's use of the data was subject approval of a review board that assured?the study did?not invade the privacy of individual users. ?We are not allowed to make a study that can follow individuals,? she noted.

Since the methodology of the study requires only access to anonymous cellphone data, information on population density and a road map, it can be easily replicated around the world, which the researchers are now doing with an aim to reduce traffic in?fast-growing cities.

The findings are reported today in the journal Scientific Reports.?

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/stuck-traffic-get-select-1-percent-drivers-stay-home-says-1C7657737

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We want your UFC 155 picks

UFC 155 is just over a week away, so it's time to start making your picks. Do you want your picks to show up on Cagewriter? Cool. We want the same. Here's how it works:

1. Check out the UFC 155 main card:
Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez - for heavyweight title
Joe Lauzon vs. Jim Miller
Tim Boetsch vs. Constantinos Philippou
Alan Belcher vs. Yushin Okami
Derek Brunson vs. Chris Leben
Leonard Garcia vs. Max Holloway

2. Pick a fight, and head to Cagewriter's Facebook page.

3. Tell us who will win, how they'll win it, and why. The why is important. Don't forget it.

We'll pick a few predictions per fight, and run them here with picks from Kevin Iole and me. It will be a yabba-dabba do good time.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/want-ufc-155-picks-173949904--mma.html

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Two Women Sue Texas Troopers for Illegal Roadside Body Cavity Search

A federal lawsuit filed by two Irving women claims that Texas State Troopers humiliated them by performing illegal cavity searches on the side of the road after a cigarette butt was thrown out of their car window.

State Trooper David Farrell called in a female trooper to perform cavity searches of Angel Dobbs, 38, and her 24-year-old niece, Ashley Dobbs, because he said that he smelled marijuana and the women were "acting weird," attorney Scott Palmer told KTVT on Tuesday.

Angel Dobbs recalled that the female trooper, Kelley Helleson, asked for her permission to perform the search and then told her to "shut up and just listen."

Dashcam video shows Helleson searching the anuses and vaginas of both women with the same latex gloves in full view of other passing cars.

"At this point, I?m in clear shock. I can?t even believe this is happening," Angel Dobbs explained. Turns me around goes down into the front of my pants into my inner thigh and at which point she goes up with two fingers. I just look at her and say ?oh my God, I?ve just been violated.??

And then the trooper performed the same procedure on Ashley Dobbs without changing her gloves.

"She went down, then turned me around, and went down my front and then she actually dug," Ashley Dobbs said. "I didn?t know what I could say, what I could do. I felt hopeless."

After the body cavity searches turned up nothing, Angel Dobbs was given a sobriety test, which she passed. The women were then given a ticket for littering and allowed to leave.

"It?s because someone?s a daily smoker in that car, you can attribute it to that," the trooper can be heard telling Angel Dobbs in the dashcam video.

"I was molested, I was violated. I was humiliated," Angel Dobbs insisted to reporters, adding that the trooper also took a bottle of Vicodin that had been legally prescribed to her.

When the women filed a complaint with the Texas Department of Public Safety, they said they were told that they would be charged with lying if they filed an affidavit.

For its part, the Texas Department of Public Safety claimed it had "conducted an inquiry surrounding the events" and then provided the findings to the Dallas County DA?s office.

Source: http://crooksandliars.com/david/two-women-sue-texas-troopers-illegal-roadsid

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