Huntsman on Iowa absence: 'They pick corn in Iowa' (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Former U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman is defending his refusal to compete in the leadoff Iowa Republican precinct caucuses, focusing instead on New Hampshire.

Huntsman tells CBS's "The Early Show" the formula, so far as he is concerned, is quite elementary. Says Huntsman: "They pick corn in Iowa. They actually pick presidents here in New Hampshire."

The former Utah governor has made little effort to win in Iowa, focusing mostly on New Hampshire in the early going. He has remained in the lower tier of candidates as others, including Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum ? and at one time, Herman Cain ? soared in the polls. He was ambassador to China for President Barack Obama, but says that shouldn't be used against him as he seeks the Republican presidential nomination.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_on_el_ge/us_huntsman_republicans_iowa

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Who will win Cowboys-Giants?

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It?s here.? The last week of the regular season.? And I have even worse of a chance to catch Rosenthal as the Jets do of making it to the playoffs.

But I can?t give up now.? With a two-game win in Week 16, the game is down to seven games.? We disagree on four this week.? With a sweep, the 11 postseason games could get interesting.

Last week, I finished 10-6.? Rosey was a pathetic 8-8.? For the year, he?s 159-81.? I?m 152-88.

Lions at Packers

Florio?s take:? The Lions should try to beat the Packers, in order to avoid having to go back to New Orleans for the first round of the playoffs.? The Packers should try to beat the Lions, in order to force them to return to the Superdome.? Green Bay remains the better team, as long as they go with their starters.

Florio?s pick:? Packers 34, Lions 24.

Rosenthal?s take: The Packers aren?t likely to play their starters four quarters.? That doesn?t mean this will be a cakewalk for Detroit.? Ask the 2004 Bills about playing a No. 1 seed?s backups.? Or the 2010 Patriots about facing Matt Flynn.? Still, Detroit wants to avoid a trip to New Orleans.? Their defensive line will make the difference.

Rosenthal?s pick: Lions 28, Packers 27.

Titans at Texans

Florio?s take:? Technically, it?s a meaningless game for the Texans.? But with two ugly losses in a row, the AFC South champs need to build some confidence and momentum before the postseason begins.? Though Tennessee still has a shot at the postseason, they?re not ready to beat a quality-yet-flawed team on the road.

Florio?s pick:? Texans 24, Titans 16.

Rosenthal?s take: I believe Gary Kubiak when he says he?ll play this game like any other. The Texans don?t want to hit the playoffs on a three-game losing streak.? T.J. Yates needs his defense and running game to carry him.? They will on Sunday.

Rosenthal?s pick: Texans 21, Titans 17.

Colts at Jaguars

Florio?s take:? If the Colts win, they lose.? If they lose, they win.? So they?ll lose.? And win.? The question, of course, is what they?ll lose.? And what they?ll win.

Florio?s pick:? Jaguars 10, Colts 6.

Rosenthal?s take: The Colts were in this spot in 1997.? They had a random two-game winning streak in late December to put the No. 1 overall pick in jeopardy.? They lost in Minnesota in the season finale, ensuring the top pick and Peyton Manning.? Expect history to repeat.? The Colts haven?t won on the road yet and the Jaguars aren?t lucky enough to lose.

Rosenthal?s pick:? Jaguars 16, Colts 13.

Jets at Dolphins

Florio?s take:? Of all the things that must happen for the Jets to make it to the playoffs, the hardest part could be the business to which the Jets must personally tend ? beating the Dolphins in Miami.? Once 0-7, the Dolphins have improved dramatically in the second half of the season.? But the Jets seem to be destined to swipe another playoff berth, which means that the Jets will have to find a way to punch their way out of a corner yet another time.

Florio?s pick:? Jets 20, Dolphins 17.

Rosenthal?s take: The Dolphins are playing well. The Jets are playing lousy, but I?m still convinced Rex Ryan?s lap band is made out of horseshoe particles. Don?t be surprised if the Jets still sneak in the playoffs.

Rosenthal?s pick: Jets 20, Dolphins 17.

Bears at Vikings

Florio?s take:? Last month, the Bears were 7-3 and poised to give the Packers a run for their money in the playoffs.? After injuries to Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, the Bears have lost five in a row.? Though the Vikings also have lost their starting tailback, they?re trying desperately to get a boost as they head into the offseason.? As long as Chris Kluwe doesn?t kick to Devin Hester, the Vikings should be able to give the Bears the boot.

Florio?s pick:? Vikings 27, Bears 20.

Rosenthal?s take: Josh McCown remains at quarterback for the Bears. Toby Gerhart and Kahil Bell will be the primary running backs. I used to think the 18-game season could work, but can you imagine two more weeks like this?

Rosenthal?s pick: Vikings 24, Bears 20.

Bills at Patriots

Florio?s take:? With a win, the Pats lock up the No. 1 seed.? With another huge passing performance, Tom Brady could leapfrog Drew Brees.? One will happen, and the other might.

Florio?s pick:? Patriots 35, Bills 17.

Rosenthal?s take: The way to beat New England:? Hit Tom Brady, keeping Brady guessing by changing up your looks, and play great man-to-man coverage against the Patriots receivers.? The Bills secondary can handle the last part of the equation, but Buffalo?s pass rush is non-existent.

Rosenthal?s pick: Patriots 37, Bills 21.

Panthers at Saints

Florio?s take:? The Saints plan to go ?full steam ahead,? and they?ll need every ounce of it to beat the up-and-coming Panthers.? Though it?ll take an epic upset by the Rams over the 49ers to help the Saints improve their playoff positioning, this one is as much about ensuring that Drew Brees will fend off Tom Brady for the all-time single-season passing yardage record.

Florio?s pick:? Saints 42, Panthers 31.

Rosenthal?s take: I first picked the Panthers in this game based on the logic that Sean Payton will pull his starters once he sees the 49ers take a big lead in St. Louis.? And then I remembered the Saints could score 30 in the first half.

Rosenthal?s pick: Saints 40, Panthers 38.

Redskins at Eagles

Florio?s take:? With four straight wins to finish the 2011 season, the Eagles will give themselves a significant boost heading into 2012.? Though neither team technically has anything to play for, the Eagles know the value of creating some doubt as to whether the best team will actually win the Super Bowl; there?s a chance that the best team as of right now won?t be in the playoff field at all.

Florio?s pick:? Eagles 34, Redskins 20.

Rosenthal?s take: The Eagles have saved some jobs with their effort the last three weeks. One more win, and they will finish in second place in the division because of a tiebreaker advantage over Dallas and New York. So that?s pretty exciting. The Redskins have clinched double digit losses for a third straight year.

Rosenthal?s pick: Eagles 26, Redskins 16.

49ers at Rams

Florio?s take:? If this were John Harbaugh?s team, we?d be worried about the Ravens playing down to the Rams? level.? Then again, the Ravens rolled the Rams in St. Louis earlier this year.? With the No. 2 seed hanging in the balance, the Niners will, too.

Florio?s pick:? 49ers 27, Rams 7.

Rosenthal?s take: The Rams aren?t competitive in a league where almost everyone is competitive. Only four of their losses were by less than a 12-point margin. Five losses were by more than 20 points. It?s almost impossible to survive a season like that when it comes in a coach?s third year.

Rosenthal?s pick: 49ers 24, Rams 3.

Seahawks at Cardinals

Florio?s take:? Before Week One, anyone would have assumed that a Week 17 battle between a pair of 7-8 NFC West teams would have involved a home playoff game for the winner.? But with the 49ers at 12-3, it?s one of Sunday?s few meaningless games, except as it relates to draft order.? With Kevin Kolb out, John Skelton has only one more chance to show what he can do.? Until Kolb gets injured again in 2012.

Florio?s pick:? Cardinals 23, Seahawks 20.

Rosenthal?s take: Both the Cardinals and Seahawks have reasons for optimism heading into 2011 after second-half runs that fell short of the playoffs.? Seattle?s success has a better foundation and is based less on lucky finishes.? The Seahawks defense is the best unit in this game.

Rosenthal?s pick: Seahawks 24, Cardinals 17.

Buccaneers at Falcons

Florio?s take:? The Buccaneers have played the Falcons tough in recent years.? But the Bucs currently are in a full-blown free-fall.? Even as they play for their coach?s job, the Bucs are struggling to simply remain competitive.? And if/when the Lions lose to the Packers, the Falcons will have an opportunity to avoid having to go back to New Orleans for the wild-card round.

Florio?s pick:? Falcons 35, Buccaneers 21.

Rosenthal?s take: If the Lions win in Green Bay early, the Falcons will be stuck in the No. 6 seed. That means Chris Redman could make an appearance in this game. And Chris Redman can throw on this Bucs defense.

Rosenthal?s pick: Falcons 30, Buccaneers 21.

Ravens at Bengals

Florio?s take:? The Bengals haven?t been able to take down the big boys in the AFC North.? But they lost by only seven points at Baltimore, and Sunday?s game has high stakes for both teams.? Still, since it?s essentially a playoff game for the Bengals and given that the Bengals are 0-2 in playoff games under Marvin Lewis, the Ravens? desire to secure the bye and a home game likely will prevail.

Florio?s pick:? Ravens 17, Bengals 16.

Rosenthal?s take: The Ravens can?t beat mediocre competition on the road (San Diego, Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Seattle.) The Bengals can?t seem to beat playoff teams. (They?re 0-5 against teams already in the playoffs.) Something has to give here. It?s more likely to include the team with the rookie quarterback.

Rosenthal?s pick: Ravens 21, Bengals 17.

Steelers at Browns

Florio?s take:? With or without Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers are the better team.? And with the Ravens-Bengals game possibly going down to the wire, any scoreboard-watching by the Steelers will point to maintaining the pedal to the proverbial metal.

Florio?s pick:? Steelers 20, Browns 10.

Rosenthal?s take: The combined record of the three teams that beat Pittsburgh this year: 33-12. The combined record of the Cleveland Browns: 4-11. The Steelers won?t need a lot from Ben Roethlisberger.

Rosenthal?s pick: Steelers 23, Browns 10.

Chiefs at Broncos

Florio?s take:? The Prodigal Son returns to Denver, with Kyle Orton looking to punish the Broncos for their good deed of giving him his freedom.? And if the Chiefs can topple the Broncos and knock them out of the playoffs, it?ll be a long offseason for anyone and everyone who was involved in the decision to let Orton walk away.? If Tim Tebow can save the front office from that fate, maybe he will end up with the starting job, for life.

Florio?s pick:? Broncos 14, Chiefs 13.

Rosenthal?s take: The Chiefs have the personnel to play man coverage on the outside and load up the box to stop Denver?s run game. They also have a quarterback competent enough to score on a suddenly vulnerable secondary. Tebow struggled last week, but it was also alarming to see the Bills offense score on four straight drives of at least 55 yards.

Rosenthal?s pick:? Chiefs 17, Broncos 14.

Chargers at Raiders

Florio?s take:? The Raiders have a shot at their first winning season since 2002, and with a little help a playoff berth.? The Chargers have no shot at saving the skin of Norv Turner.? Reeling after last weekend?s blowout in Detroit, the Chargers could be in for a similar fate in Oakland.

Florio?s pick:? Raiders 27, Chargers 10.

Rosenthal?s take:? San Diego?s no-show last week was the worst game by a team fighting for a playoff spot since . . . San Diego?s no-show in Cincinnati of Week 16 last season. The Raiders finally have their receivers healthy. Deion Sanders would call this a ?U-Haul? game for San Diego.? They are ready to go.

Rosenthal?s pick: Raiders 33, Chargers 30.

Cowboys at Giants

Florio?s take:? The 256th game of the 2011 regular season also will be the first game of the 2011 postseason.? Since I picked the Cowboys to win the division way back in September, I can?t abandon them now.? Even if logic and common sense points to the Giants finishing their unlikely late-season climb to the postseason.

Florio?s pick:? Cowboys 27, Giants 23.

Rosenthal?s take: They Giants are as dangerous as their pass rush allows. It was great last week, with Justin Tuck finally looking healthy. Osi Umenyiora returns this week. There is no figuring out this Giants team, but I took them to win the NFC East before the year and can?t give up now.

Rosenthal?s pick: Giants 24, Cowboys 21.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/29/pfts-week-17-picks/related/

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Four teenagers sitting in car robbed by men armed with baseball bat

Credit: Mandeville Police Department

Johnson

wwltv.com

Posted on December 22, 2011 at 1:32 PM

Updated Thursday, Dec 22 at 1:32 PM

Chelsea Gaudin / Eyewitness News

MANDEVILLE, La. - Four teenagers in Mandeville were robbed by men armed with a baseball bat while sitting in a parking lot on Lakeshore Drive Tuesday night, according to the Mandeville Police Department.

At 10:33 p.m., the victims, between 18 and 19-years-old, were in their car in the 2200 block of Lakeshore Dr. when the suspects yanked the door open and demanded money.

The victims gave the suspects approximately $87 before the thieves fled in a light colored sedan.

The victims caught part of the license plate as it turned on to Coffee Street and called the police.

Investigators were able to compile a list of possible suspects from the partial license plate, police said.

On Thursday, police arrested Fidell Johnson, 22, on an armed robbery charge.

A warrant based on an armed robbery charge has been issued for Austin Jenkins, 17.

Source: http://www.wwltv.com/news/northshore/Four-teenagers-sitting-in-car-robbed-by-men-armed-with-baseball-bat-136090228.html

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Avastin Disappoints Against Ovarian Cancer

Flickr user theseoduke

Avastin, the blockbuster drug that just lost approval for treating breast cancer, now looks disappointing against ovarian cancer, too.?

Two studies find that it does not improve survival for most ovarian cancer patients and keeps their disease from worsening for only a few months. And it has more side effects.
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European regulators approved Avastin for ovarian cancer last week. But the drug?s maker, Genentech, says the results of the studies do not make U.S. approval likely. Without that, insurers may not pay for treatment. Avastin can cost $100,000 a year.
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Avastin can still be sold for some colon, lung, kidney and brain cancers. The studies on ovarian cancer are in Thursday?s New England Journal of Medicine.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.? All Rights Reserved.)

Source: http://nj1015.com/avastin-disappoints-against-ovarian-cancer/

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Live from Magness Arena: No. 10 Union at No. 15 Denver

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Source: www.coveritlive.com --- Friday, December 30, 2011
Date:?Friday December 30, 2011 Time:?9:14PM?EST Click Here! ...

Source: http://www.unionathletics.com?altcast_code=d31722e1cf

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Romney, sensing opening, makes big push in Iowa (AP)

CLINTON, Iowa ? Mitt Romney has stepped into the center of a perfect storm in Iowa ? and he's going all in.

Sensing an opening to win next Tuesday's caucuses, an ever-more confident Romney is campaigning hard in a region of the state where he performed well in his failed 2008 race, with a bus tour and new crush of advertising intended to bolster his closing argument: that he's the most electable candidate against President Barack Obama.

It's thanks to a combination of luck and planning that Romney now finds himself in strong contention for an Iowa caucus victory that would give him a boost heading into the next contest, in New Hampshire, where the former Massachusetts governor's standing is strong.

Not that he's publicly entertaining the notion of back-to-back victories.

"I can't possibly allow myself to think in such optimistic terms. I just have to put my head down and battle as best I can," Romney said Wednesday. "But I can tell you: If the people here in Clinton are any example, or any indication, of what's going to happen in the process, I feel pretty good."

In a sign of his growing confidence that a victory may be at hand, Romney plans to spend caucus night in Iowa.

Advisers are redoubling efforts to try to capitalize on the slide in support for Newt Gingrich and skepticism of Ron Paul by making a concerted effort to increase turnout in areas where Romney did well four years ago. His campaign also added at least $100,000 in additional advertising for the final days ? and bought broadcast advertising for the first time in the Quad Cities market in eastern Iowa.

And, while Romney is largely shying away from criticizing his rivals, he jabbed at Paul, who has emerged as his chief rival in Iowa, on Wednesday ? another indication of Romney's efforts to triumph here.

"One of the people running for president thinks it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon," Romney said in Muscatine in response to a question from the audience. "I don't."

This is a far more aggressive strategy than the one Romney has employed all year after pouring $10 million into the state in 2008 only to lose it in a defeat that crippled his entire campaign. He couldn't allay concerns about his Mormon faith or his reversals on some social issues in a state where evangelical Republicans and other social conservatives dominate.

Romney approached Iowa more cautiously for this race, so much so that until recently aides worked out of an attic in Des Moines on a shoestring budget. He also had spent less than $200,000 on the state before the campaign started buying TV ads in December.

But even as advisers worked to play down expectations, they quietly stayed in contact with backers from his first campaign ? and Romney stood at the ready to try to take advantage of an opportunity in the race, should one present itself.

It looks like it has.

Social conservatives that united behind former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2008 remain splintered among a handful of candidates that include Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Gingrich, the former House speaker, was Romney's latest threat but he's taken a significant beating from an onslaught of advertisements by a super PAC run by Romney's allies. Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican, is a serious contender in Iowa but he has foreign policy views so outside the Republican mainstream that most Republicans believe he has little chance to win the GOP nomination.

On Wednesday, a new CNN/TIME poll in Iowa showed Romney leading with 25 percent support. Paul had 22 percent and Santorum drew 16 percent while Gingrich had fallen to 14 percent.

So Romney is trying to seize the moment. And it may be working.

Overflow crowds have been greeting Romney at every stop of his three-day, seven-city tour on a bus plastered with his campaign logo and "Conservative, Businessman, Leader" slogan on the side.

So many people showed up at a deli in Clinton that Romney's staff also sent the candidate to visit the restaurant across the street. Before sunrise, the line to see Romney at Elly's Coffee and Tea in Muscatine stretched out the door and down the block.

On Tuesday night, the campaign said that only 150 people had RSVPed to attend Romney's speech in Davenport. But more than 500 people showed up, shutting at least 200 people out of the Blackhawk Hotel ballroom. Many area voters were notified only that morning of Romney's visit.

People seem to like what they hear.

"He's probably the best chance to beat Obama," said Carol Hetzler, a medical secretary who backed Sen. John McCain's in 2008. She had also considered voting for Gingrich.

And Tim McCleary, who was waiting in line at Elly's before 7 a.m. to see Romney, said: "The only reason I'm supporting Romney is because he can win the election."

As Romney visits small towns in eastern Iowa, he's also doing countless interviews with the local media. He spent most of Wednesday morning talking to radio stations and small Iowa newspapers.

He's also relying on friends to help him make the sale.

Romney was dispatching surrogates from nearby states, including South Dakota Sen. John Thune, former Sens. Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Jim Talent of Missouri, to campaign in Iowa. Former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole was dialing influential activists Tuesday, including former state GOP chairman Steve Grubbs, who is a well-connected campaign operative in Davenport in the heart of Romney's eastern Iowa base.

"He made the argument that the candidate who has shown the ability to win by the effectiveness of the campaign he's run is Mitt Romney," said Grubbs, who worked on Dole's 1996 campaign. "At the end of the day, he was selling electability."

It's the case Romney will try to make in North Liberty, Waterloo and Ames on Thursday and in Des Moines on Friday.

Mindful not to ignore New Hampshire altogether, Romney planned events there Friday and Saturday. Four of his five sons will campaign in the state Thursday before heading to Iowa this weekend. His wife, Ann, will remain in Iowa all weekend, campaigning in the western part of the state. Romney returns to Iowa later Saturday.

__

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_on_el_pr/us_romney

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Consumer confidence index surges in December (AP)

NEW YORK ? Americans are gaining faith that the economy is on the upswing.

An improving job outlook helped the Consumer Confidence Index soar to the highest level since April and near a post-recession peak, according to a monthly survey by The Conference Board.

The second straight monthly surge coincided with a decent holiday shopping season for retailers, though stores had to heavily discount to attract shoppers.

The rise in confidence jibes with a better outlook for the overall economy. An Associated Press poll of three dozen private, corporate and academic economists projects U.S. economic growth will speed up in 2012, if it isn't derailed by upheavals in Europe.

But confidence is still far below where it is in a healthy economy. And Americans' mood could sour again if the debt crisis in Europe deepens and spreads to the U.S. Shoppers still face big obstacles ? higher costs on household basics and a still-slumping housing market.

"This is encouraging. It's good to be talking about improvement," said Mark Vitner, an economist at Wells Fargo. "But there is still a lot of room for trouble."

The Conference Board, a private research group, said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index rose almost 10 points to 64.5 in December, up from a revised 55.2 in November. Analysts had expected 59. The level is close to the post-recession high of 72, reached in February.

The December surge builds on a big increase in November, when the index rose almost 15 points from October. That month's reading was the lowest since March 2009, the depths of the recession.

One component of the index that measures how shoppers feel now about the economy rose to 46.7 from 38.3 in November. The other barometer, which measures how shoppers feel about the next six months, rose to 76.4 from 66.4.

In particular, shoppers' assessment of the job market improved, according to preliminary results of the survey conducted Dec. 1-14. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead increased to 13.3 percent from 12.4 percent while those anticipating fewer jobs declined to 20.2 percent from 23.8 percent.

Economists watch confidence numbers closely because consumer spending ? including items like health care ? accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

Americans have more reason to be optimistic. The economy has produced at least 100,000 new jobs for five months in a row, the longest such streak since 2006. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits has dropped to the lowest level since April 2008.

According to the AP poll of economists, conducted Dec. 14-20, the U.S. economy is expected to grow 2.4 percent next year. In 2011, it likely grew less than 2 percent.

"We're starting to make some progress," said Kathy St. Louis of Atlanta, who was picking up lunch Tuesday at CNN Center. "It could always be better, but we're trying to move in the right direction." She said she spent $700 on holiday presents, up from the $300 she spent last year, even though not much changed with her paralegal job.

Ahlum Beruk, 22, a Greenville, Miss., resident who was visiting Atlanta, was a student last year and worried about finding a job. This year she works for a hotel and spent about $100 on Christmas presents. She spent nothing on gifts last year.

"I do feel better because I have a job now, and I didn't before," she added.

Shoppers still face many hurdles. In fact, while the job market is steadily improving, the unemployment rate is still high at 8.6 percent. And housing remains wobbly. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of home prices, also released Tuesday, dropped in October in 19 of the 20 cities it tracks. It was a second straight declining month, further evidence of a bumpy housing recovery

Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, noted renewed fears about a second recession hurt confidence last summer.

"While consumers are ending the year in a somewhat more upbeat mood, it is too soon to tell if this is a rebound from earlier declines or a sustainable shift in attitudes," Franco said. "Have we rebounded from a summer lull or are we turning the corner?"

In fact, even with the increase in confidence, shoppers have been focused on deals this holiday season. Shoppers, enticed by expanded hours and bargains, packed stores for the start of the holiday season, resulting in discount-fueled record spending. But then they retreated for a few weeks to wait for better deals.

Based on the stronger-than expected start and rising optimism that more spending was to come in the finale, the National Retail Federation earlier this month upgraded its holiday sales growth forecast to 3.8 percent, from the original forecast of 2.8 percent made in September. More data will be released this week that will help quantify the last-minute sales surge.

Still unclear is how the discounting will affect stores' profit margins. It might not be all bad for retailers: Roxanne Meyer, a retail analyst at UBS Investment Research, says post-Christmas markdowns were not as deep as expected, with less than half of retailers she surveyed increasing promotions from last year.

_______

AP Retail Writer Mae Anderson in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111227/ap_on_bi_ge/us_consumer_confidence

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Key Importance Of Oil And Energy

As we leave 2011 it should be clear to almost everyone that oil has regained its perch as the most significant commodity (not that it ever really lost it). Clearly, oil by a wide margin is the most widely traded commodity in the world -- and also by a wide margin, arguably the most important.

But coming to the end of this year we find that despite the near record output by OPEC (some would characterize it as ?maximum output? by OPEC), and slowing world-wide growth, oil prices are once again up to 3-digit levels.

Oil and more generally energy have once again become critical issues. It seems very unlikely that our economy, even though there have been some signs of strengthening over the past month or so, is any position to survive a big upturn in oil prices. We?ve pointed out on many occasions that once the year-over-year change in the price of oil reaches 80% or more, the economy is under severe duress.

Everything else being equal, this kind of analysis is based on oil and its use as a feed-stock in so many materials and essentials of our economy. Probably nothing is more important in this respect as gasoline, and on this score it probably would not take an increase of 80% in oil prices to drive the economy into something of a tizzy. Indeed, with the recent closing of refineries on the East coast it is likely that, come this summer, gas is going to be considerably higher relative to oil prices than it has before. It?s even likely that $4 a gallon could end up being a bottom for gas prices rather than a top, and that would assume that oil is somewhere near where it is today. If oil continues to climb toward $130 or $140 a barrel, it?s not impossible to see $5 per gallon gasoline.

More broadly, this in just one reason why energy remains a very, very big deal. And hopes of nonconventional energy filling the gap are, to date, just that ? hopes. At best they may fill a very small portion of the gap.

There are many implications. Beyond the evident shortage of oil the one we must stress is the fundamental question of how are we going to solve the energy problem. Obviously, alternative energies, whether they involve non-conventional oil or renewable energies, or any other form of energy, will have to be tried. But in order to use renewable energies, so-called smart grids and many more power carrying cables are required -- not only in the U.S. but across the world.

This is a good point to segue to China for a moment. China no doubt ended the year on a soft note. But despite slowdowns in manufacturing and the real estate sector, that economy appears to be growing at a reasonable rate. The big rap against China, besides the supposed overbuilding of infrastructure, is the lack of consumer spending to sustain an economy that is moving into a consumer economy. Most of the pessimists cite that currently China only generates 35% of its economic activity from consumer spending.

But we think these numbers are dramatically understated. If you look at the import data from China, you?ll see that imports there have risen dramatically in recent years, even quicker than the exports. It?s almost impossible to rationalize such an import data increase with anything as low as the 35% figure for the consumer sector of the China?s economy.

Furthermore, if China is in such trouble, why aren?t they lowering interest rates? Why are they simply focusing on very targeted measures, including an increase in the value of the Yuan (which, incidentally, recently hit a 17-year high).

A rising Yuan, of course, will make all commodities ? and imports -- cheaper for China. This obviously will further boost the consumer sector, and make very dear commodities, such as oil, cheaper for Chinese consumers.

Looking at how China uses various commodities, what stands out is that while commodities such as steel and cement find most of their uses in infrastructure and in construction of houses and commercial buildings, one commodity stands apart. It?s the one commodity in China for which energy-related usages are by far the largest share of total usages: copper.

Nearly 40% of the copper China uses goes directly to the power sector. There?s a good reason for that: again we touch on the subject of smart grids, which is part of the whole process of extending electricity throughout China ? and perhaps more important, preparing for the next energy revolution in that country.

There?s no way that you?re going to have an economy that?s running on a wide mixture of different energy sources without having a smart grid, and without using massive amounts of copper. China has already begun this massive undertaking. Indeed a big chunk of their proposed $2.5 trillion investment over the next 5 years will probably be devoted to smart grids and other related energy projects. In this regard it?s interesting to note that despite the fact that many commodities have been relatively weak, even copper for that matter, other commodities, such as coal, at least in terms of price have held their own very well.

One of the predictions we would make for 2012, although we must admit that we might have to wait for 2013 to see it fulfilled, is that copper is going to become regarded as a very scarce commodity. There?s only so much of it in the world and, as most people know, copper grades have been declining steadily.

And all this is taking place in the context where most of the world remains stuck in a grid that just will not serve it in the 21st century. China is an exception, in that it has already begun to create its grid, but even China still has a long way to go in terms of grid development. In any event, the need for copper is going to accelerate markedly not only in China, but throughout the world.

China clearly has the edge on us: their mines in Afghanistan, and their mines and infrastructure in Africa virtually assure that any copper mined in those locations, whether by Barrick or by a Chinese company, is going to find its way to China.

Where could copper go in terms of its ultimate price? We can?t say. We can remind you that less than 15 years ago oil still traded in single digits. That is not a projection that copper could go to $100, but bear in mind that in today?s world things are a lot faster, and the amount of growth you can get is a lot stronger, even if growth is not accelerating as fast. One percent growth today takes a lot more copper than one percent growth took 50 years ago; one percent growth today takes a lot more copper than one percent growth took oil 50 years ago.

The line between sufficient copper and severe copper scarcity could be a very thin one indeed ? and we fear it?s likely by the time we wake up to this situation, and to the fact that China?s efforts to secure massive copper supplies (or as much copper as they can possibly acquire), it might even be too late for the U.S.

Clearly, if a scarcity that is so overt and so potentially serious in terms of rare earths has not moved our Congress to consider strategic stockpiles of those metals, it?s going to take a lot ? and likely, happen too late ? for us to consider building such stockpiles of copper.

You don?t have to take my word for it. Look at how Germany, for example, has started to stockpile strategic metals ? rare earths and others, which we think also includes copper.

We begin our non-precious metal commodity portfolio with copper at its core, and probably the highest weighted metal. Clearly one lesson of 2011, and a scary one, is that any portfolio has to include the hard metals as well as the miners; as miners become harder pressed to increase production, accessibility and ore grade decline and costs to mine, transport and deliver product, etc. are rising, which means ever declining margins.

But in the case of copper we think there are at least several miners who are extremely well-positioned. Our two favorites: Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX), which, along with Southern Copper Corp. (SCCO), are the two largest dedicated copper producers in the world. We prefer Freeport because it has demonstrated that its goal is to serve shareholders ? all its shareholders. Southern Copper is a different story; by most metrics it may actually be cheaper than Freeport, but it?s controlled by a Mexican conglomerate whose decisions sometimes appear to favor the controlling group rather than the shareholders at large. That?s why we?re sticking with Freeport as our core holding in this area.

A smaller holding is the stock of a Kazakhstan?s largest copper producer, Kazakhmys Plc (KAZAY.PK). By virtue of its geographic location in Kazakhstan it has dedicated supply routes to China, and also supplies power. The stock is dirt cheap, trading below book value, with a P/E in mid-single digits (which is also the case, incidentally, with Freeport). This is obviously a more speculative play, as, for example, what?s to stop China from executing a ?take under? (in deal parlance, a situation where a company is sold at less than its market value). Yet the company is simply too tasty to pass up in terms of its fundamentals and captive market.

Among larger companies that have stakes in copper, we would focus on Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX) which has announced plans to continue to acquire copper assets. Their large purchase earlier in the year in Africa should pay big dividends for them, again with China a captive audience. We particularly appreciate the courage its CEO showed on two occasions: when he removed the hedges on gold upon assuming his position at the company, a move that was subsequently rewarded, and also when he bought a copper mine at a time when copper was widely perceived as having far inferior long-term valuation metrics compared with gold. We don?t necessarily believe this is going to be the case.

Gold, too, is a very scarce commodity. But its industrial uses are not primary, so you could say that however much gold there is now, we can live with. But that?s not the case with copper.

The other company we would single out is Rio Tinto PLC (RIO). Why we would favor Rio over BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP) is because it mines more copper as a percentage of its total operations than BHP, and it also appears to have a larger stake in some of the precious metals, such as silver. (Silver as we have written before is also very scarce and likely to become even more so.)

Finally a few words on gold, which is clearly ending the year on an extremely sour note. We continue to view the action in gold as very much like that of a rubber band. Gold?s weakness now is simply a reflection of how strong it has been. It?s sort of last resort liquidity, especially for German and other European banks which have had a lot of trouble getting dollars.

Gold may continue to be weak into the New Year. As we have pointed out before, if the correction in gold is comparable to what we saw in 2008, the price could go as low as $1,330 ? 1,340. This will not reflect a better world (unfortunately), but a world desperate for liquidity.

As to whether the Fed will engage in a QE3: yes, we still view that as extremely likely, not only because of the weakness in Europe, but also because we expect the recent signs of strength in the U.S. to prove merely ephemeral.

Ironically, gold?s weakness will be more a sign of the need for QE3 than the end of a bull market in gold. And need we remind you, as in 2008, once the printing presses start running again gold?s uptrend is likely to be chaotically strong.

As far as gold goes, our message to our subscribers is that you may have to gut it out a while longer, but in the end, this last quarter of 2011 and perhaps the first quarter of 2012 or so will just be a small bump along a spectacular and very steep upward road.

Disclosure: Leeb Group, its officers, directors, shareholders, employees and affiliated entities and/or clients of such affiliated entities may currently maintain direct or indirect ownership positions in financial instruments (i.e., stocks, bonds, options, warrants, etc.) of companies or entities whose underlying exposure is in the companies mentioned in this article.

Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/316376-key-importance-of-oil-and-energy?source=feed

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2011 in Review: Steve Jobs

Forget the millions of iPods, iPads and iPhones sold around the world the past few years. For a true measure of Steve Jobs? life and legacy, consider this:

In a time when billionaires, businessmen, bankers and anyone else considered part of the 1% seemingly rank right behind terrorists in the American psyche, Jobs? death had mourners from all walks and income levels turning Apple storefronts from San Francisco to Sydney to Shanghai into sidewalk shrines to honor a billionaire businessman who was as ruthless and competitive as he was brilliant and innovative.

Though the cause of death was decidedly different, the mass outpouring of appreciation and affection for Apple?s co-founder, who died at 56 of pancreatic cancer, was eerily reminiscent of when John Lennon was killed.

Which is only fitting, considering Jobs wasn?t just a visionary entrepreneur behind the cutting-edge computers, music players, smartphones and tablets that changed the way the world works, plays and communicates.

He was a rock star in his own right, whose corporate events to announce The Next Big iThing were the business-world equivalent of a raucous concert ? complete with a devoted cult of groupies and fanboys.

He wasn?t a great statesman or philanthropist, nor was he a beloved entertainer or gifted, once-in-a-lifetime athlete. Yet Jobs was arguably the most influential person of the fledgling 21st century.

Don?t believe it? Take a look around your subway car, the street you?re on, your workplace, even your home. Chances are good you?ll see more than a few folks using one of Jobs? creations ? or using something a rival created to compete in vain with his handiwork. (Zune, anybody?)

Chances are even better that those folks couldn?t imagine life without one of Steve Jobs? hi-tech toys.

Source: http://feeds.nydailynews.com/~r/nydnrss/tech_guide/~3/B2XCuuX2m8w/2011-review-apple-genius-steve-jobs-february-24-1955-october-5-2011-article-1.995919

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Second rice shipment to Japan leaves central Taiwan

A shipment of Taiwanese rice bound for Tokyo departed central Taiwan yesterday, the second in a series of three deliveries of the biggest rice order received from Japan in eight years.

A ceremony was held in Changhua County?s Pitou Township (??), where the rice supplier, Union Rice Co, is based, to mark the shipment and the success of Changhua rice in entering Japan?s market.

The rice is being delivered to major Japanese rice importer Kitoku Shinryo Co, which ordered 360 tonnes earlier this year, the largest purchase of rice since exports to Japan were resumed in October 2004.

The rice will be distributed directly to Japanese retailers, the first time Taiwanese rice will be sold to Japanese consumers. In the past, it was mostly sold to wholesalers supplying restaurants or food processors.

Agriculture and Food Agency Director Li Tsang-lang (???) said rice exports have long been constrained by high costs of production, which make Taiwanese rice more expensive than that grown in the US, Thailand and Australia.

Kitoku Shinryo decided to place an order due to the high quality of Taiwan?s rice, he said.

?After the rice passed all tests, they placed an order with us. The success represents positive recognition of the quality of Taiwanese rice and the technology used to process it,? Li said.

The Council of Agriculture said rice exported to Japan must pass 591 pesticide residue tests before being given the green light.

Makoto Hirayama, president of Kitoku Shinryo Co, visited Taiwan last month to inspect paddy fields, barns and processing plants and tasted the rice himself before placing the order.

The order has been partly motivated by the food shortages faced in Japan recently. Radiation contamination of farms from the damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant and flooding in Niigata, a famous rice production district, have combined to limit Japan?s food output, the council said.

The council was confident that Japanese importers would continue to order rice from Taiwan even after the shortages pass because of the high quality of Taiwanese rice.

Yesterday?s shipment, like the first one, weighed 108 tonnes, with the rice packed in 30kg bags. Upon arrival in Tokyo it was to be repacked before being distributed.

Source: http://libertytimes.feedsportal.com/c/33098/f/535599/s/1b4ec0b0/l/0L0Staipeitimes0N0CNews0Ctaiwan0Carchives0C20A110C120C280C20A0A3521825/story01.htm

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T-shirt hui put islanders' Aloha for Japan on map

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Conn. house where 5 died in fire is torn down

Yellow tape stretches across the driveway, Monday, Dec. 26, 2011, at the house where a fire left five people dead Christmas Day, in Stamford, Conn. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)

Yellow tape stretches across the driveway, Monday, Dec. 26, 2011, at the house where a fire left five people dead Christmas Day, in Stamford, Conn. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)

Rubble left after the demolition of a house where a fire left five people dead Christmas Day lies on the ground, Monday, Dec. 26, 2011, in Stamford, Conn. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)

Firefighters are seen on the roof of a house where an early morning fire left five people dead Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011, in Stamford, Conn. Officials said the fire, which was reported shortly before 5 a.m., killed two adults and three children. Two others escaped. Their names have not been released. (AP Photo/Tina FIneberg)

Firefighters spray water on the roof of a house where an early morning fire left five people dead Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011, in Stamford, Conn. Officials said the fire, which was reported shortly before 5 a.m., killed two adults and three children. Two others escaped. Their names have not been released. (AP Photo/Tina FIneberg)

FILE - In this Aug. 25, 1998 file photo, Madonna Badger, president and creative director of what was then called Badger Worldwide Advertising, now Badger and Winters Group, poses in her New York office. Badger is the owner of a tony Connecticut home that burned in a blaze that killed five people on Christmas morning Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Jim Cooper, File)

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) ? A house severely damaged in a Christmas morning fire that killed three children and two grandparents, one of whom worked as Santa Claus at Saks Fifth Avenue, has been torn down.

The building department determined that the $1.7 million house was unsafe and ordered it razed, Stamford fire chief Antonio Conte said.

The home's owner, advertising executive Madonna Badger, and her male acquaintance escaped from the fire. But Badger's three daughters ? a 10-year-old and 7-year-old twins ? and her parents, who were visiting for the holiday, died, police said.

Neighbors said they awoke to the sound of screaming shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday and rushed outside to help, but could do nothing as flames devoured the large, turreted home.

Police said the male acquaintance who escaped the blaze with Badger was a contractor working on the home. He was also hospitalized but his condition was not released.

Interviews with them will be finished Monday, Conte said. He had no details on the investigation.

A spokeswoman for Saks Fifth Avenue confirmed in a statement that Badger's father, Lomer Johnson, had worked as a Santa this year at its flagship store in Manhattan.

"Mr. Johnson was Saks Fifth Avenue's beloved Santa, and we are heartbroken about this terrible tragedy," spokeswoman Julia Bently said.

Badger, an ad executive in the fashion industry, is the founder of New York City-based Badger & Winters Group. A supervisor at Stamford Hospital said she was treated and discharged by Sunday evening. Her whereabouts Monday was unknown.

Property records show Badger bought the five-bedroom, waterfront home for $1.7 million last year. The house was situated in Shippan Point, a wealthy neighborhood that juts into Long Island Sound.

The lot where the house once stood was covered with charred debris and cordoned off by police with tape on Monday. Passers-by left bouquets, stuffed animals and candles nearby.

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a former mayor of Stamford, offered his condolences to Badger and her family in a statement and said her loss "defies explanation."

The fire was Stamford's deadliest since a 1987 blaze that also killed five people, Conte said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-26-Fire-Five%20Dead/id-c08839727bdd49a2918399cefaeeb383

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albuquerqueone: Group sends Bibles to troops overseas http://t.co/kvwgGCwN

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Gaza's Hamas leader launches Muslim world trip (AP)

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip ? A deputy says Gaza's prime minister is leaving on his first official trip outside the territory since the militant Hamas movement overran the coastal strip in June 2007.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's deputy, Mohammed Awwad, said on Sunday the Gaza leader will visit Egypt, Sudan, Qatar, Bahrain, Tunisia and Turkey ? all countries that have been affected by the upheavals sweeping the Arab world.

Awwad says Haniyeh's objective is to discuss development projects. He didn't say how long the trip would last.

Haniyeh has been confined to Gaza, in part because of tensions with Egypt.

But Egypt's new rulers have warmed up to Hamas since longtime President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111225/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_gaza

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HIV study named '2011 breakthrough of the year' by Science

ScienceDaily (Dec. 23, 2011) ? The journal Science has chosen the HPTN 052 clinical trial, an international HIV prevention trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, as the 2011 Breakthrough of the Year. The study found that if HIV-infected heterosexual individuals begin taking antiretroviral medicines when their immune systems are relatively healthy as opposed to delaying therapy until the disease has advanced, they are 96 percent less likely to transmit the virus to their uninfected partners.

Findings from the trial, first announced in May, were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in August. The complete top 10 list of 2011 scientific breakthroughs appears in the Dec. 23, 2011, issue of Science.

"The HPTN 052 study convincingly demonstrated that antiretroviral medications can not only treat but also prevent the transmission of HIV infection among heterosexual individuals," said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "We are pleased that Science recognized the extraordinary public health significance of these study results. This recognition also is a credit to the hard work and dedication of the HPTN 052 researchers and the more than 3,000 study participants who selflessly gave their time and energy to make such a significant contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS."

Led by study chair Myron Cohen, M.D., director of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, HPTN 052 began in 2005 and enrolled 1,763 heterosexual couples in Botswana, Brazil, India, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Thailand, the United States and Zimbabwe. Each couple included one partner with HIV infection. The investigators randomly assigned each couple to either one of two study groups. In the first group, the HIV-infected partner immediately began taking a combination of three antiretroviral drugs. The participants infected with HIV were extensively counseled on the need to consistently take the medications as directed. Outstanding compliance resulted in the nearly complete suppression of HIV in the blood (viral load) of the treated study participants in group one.

In the second group (the deferred group), the HIV-infected partners began antiretroviral therapy when their CD4+ T-cell levels -- a key measure of immune system health -- fell below 250 cells per cubic millimeter or an AIDS-related event occurred. The HIV-infected participants also were counseled on the need to strictly adhere to the treatment regimen.

The study was slated to end in 2015, but an interim data review in May by an independent data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) found that of the total 28 cases of HIV infection among the previously uninfected partners, only one case occurred among those couples where the HIV-infected partner began immediate antiretroviral therapy. The DSMB, therefore, called for immediate public release of the study's findings.

The magnitude of protection against HIV infection demonstrated in HPTN 052 has made the successful strategy of the clinical trial a key component of public health policies recently discussed by federal officials and others saying that achieving an end to the HIV/AIDS pandemic is now feasible with additional research and implementation efforts.

"On its own, treatment as prevention is not going to solve the global HIV/AIDS problem," said Dr. Fauci. "Yet when used in combination with other HIV prevention methods -- such as knowing one's HIV status through routine testing, proper and consistent condom use, behavioral modification, needle and syringe exchange programs for injection drug users, voluntary, medically supervised adult male circumcision, preventing mother-to-child transmission, and, under some circumstances, antiretroviral use among HIV-negative individuals -- we now have a remarkable collection of public health tools that can make a significant impact on the HIV/AIDS pandemic."

"Scale-up of these proven prevention methods combined with continued research toward a preventive HIV vaccine and female-controlled HIV prevention tools places us on a path to achieving something previously unimaginable: an AIDS-free generation," Dr. Fauci added.

HPTN 052 was conducted by the HIV Prevention Trials Network, which is largely funded by NIAID with additional funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Mental Health, both part of the NIH.

For additional information about the HPTN 052 study, see the Questions and Answers (http://www.niaid.nih.gov/news/QA/Pages/HPTN052qa.aspx). Visit the NIAID HIV/AIDS Web portal (http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/HIVAIDS/Pages/default.aspx) for more information about NIAID's HIV/AIDS research.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

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

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Journal References:

1. J. Cohen. Breakthrough of the Year: HIV Treatment as Prevention. Science, 2011; 334 (6063): 1628 DOI: 10.1126/science.334.6063.1628
2. Myron S. Cohen, Ying Q. Chen, Marybeth McCauley, Theresa Gamble, Mina C. Hosseinipour, Nagalingeswaran Kumarasamy, James G. Hakim, Johnstone Kumwenda, Beatriz Grinsztejn, Jose H.S. Pilotto, Sheela V. Godbole, Sanjay Mehendale, Suwat Chariyalertsak, Breno R. Santos, Kenneth H. Mayer, Irving F. Hoffman, Susan H. Eshleman, Estelle Piwowar-Manning, Lei Wang, Joseph Makhema, Lisa A. Mills, Guy de Bruyn, Ian Sanne, Joseph Eron, Joel Gallant, Diane Havlir, Susan Swindells, Heather Ribaudo, Vanessa Elharrar, David Burns, Taha E. Taha, Karin Nielsen-Saines, David Celentano, Max Essex, Thomas R. Fleming. Prevention of HIV-1 Infection with Early Antiretroviral Therapy. New England Journal of Medicine, 2011; 365 (6): 493 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1105243

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/~3/X4yGydU8vxw/111223114126.htm

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What are emotion expressions for?

Friday, December 23, 2011

That cartoon scary face ? wide eyes, ready to run ? may have helped our primate ancestors survive in a dangerous wild, according to the authors of an article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The authors present a way that fear and other facial expressions might have evolved and then come to signal a person's feelings to the people around him.

The basic idea, according to Azim F. Shariff of the University of Oregon, is that the specific facial expressions associated with each particular emotion evolved for some reason. Shariff cowrote the paper with Jessica L. Tracy of the University of British Columbia. So fear helps respond to threat, and the squinched-up nose and mouth of disgust make it harder for you to inhale anything poisonous drifting on the breeze. The outthrust chest of pride increases both testosterone production and lung capacity so you're ready to take on anyone. Then, as social living became more important to the evolutionary success of certain species?most notably humans?the expressions evolved to serve a social role as well; so a happy face, for example, communicates a lack of threat and an ashamed face communicates your desire to appease.

The research is based in part on work from the last several decades showing that some emotional expressions are universal?even in remote areas with no exposure to Western media, people know what a scared face and a sad face look like, Shariff says. This type of evidence makes it unlikely that expressions were social constructs, invented in Western Europe, which then spread to the rest of the world.

And it's not just across cultures, but across species. "We seem to share a number of similar expressions, including pride, with chimpanzees and other apes," Shariff says. This suggests that the expressions appeared first in a common ancestor.

The theory that emotional facial expressions evolved as a physiological part of the response to a particular situation has been somewhat controversial in psychology; another article in the same issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science argues that the evidence on how emotions evolved is not conclusive.

Shariff and Tracy agree that more research is needed to support some of their claims, but that, "A lot of what we're proposing here would not be all that controversial to other biologists," Shariff says. "The specific concepts of 'exaptation' and 'ritualization' that we discuss are quite common when discussing the evolution of non-human animals." For example, some male birds bring a tiny morsel of food to a female bird as part of an elaborate courtship display. In that case, something that might once have been biologically relevant?sharing food with another bird?has evolved over time into a signal of his excellence as a potential mate. In the same way, Shariff says, facial expressions that started as part of the body's response to a situation may have evolved into a social signal.

###

Association for Psychological Science: http://www.psychologicalscience.org

Thanks to Association for Psychological Science for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116310/What_are_emotion_expressions_for_

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VanityFair: Around the World in Holiday Windows: http://t.co/sy3WjbMV

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Official OS 6.0.0.723 for the BlackBerry Bold 9780 from Partner Communications Israel

If you're looking to give your BlackBerry Bold 9780 some new OS love then you'll be pleased to know that Partner Communications Israel has OS 6.0.0.723 now available for the BlackBerry Bold 9780. At this point, not entirely too sure what the update may fix or what new app versions it may contain but if you're going to be giving it a go let us know what you find in the CrackBerry forums. As always, if Partner Communications Israel isn't your carrier -- just go ahead and remove the vendor.xml file and you'll be able to install this OS.

Download OS 6.0.0.723 for the BlackBerry Bold 9780 from Partner Communications
Discuss in the CrackBerry Forums

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/crackberry/qBTB/~3/2rMXOnS6Lqg/story01.htm

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SonyStore: Save $60 on a refurb Sony 55-200mm f4-5.6 Zoom Lens (SAL556200) w/code OUTLET55200, now only $110! excl tax & exp 12/24 http://t.co/0cTqcwMz

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Source: http://www.articlesolve.com/articledetail.php?artid=226882&catid=81

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Amid NKorea mourning, vows to support new leader (AP)

PYONGYANG, North Korea ? Even as millions of North Koreans mourned Kim Jong Il in towns, villages and cities across the country Friday, attention and allegiances clearly began shifting to his young, untested son and heir.

Kim Jong Un, hailed as the "great successor" in state media, visited his father's coffin again Friday, but dramatic scenes of mass mourning have been a daily occurrence in Pyongyang since Kim's death was announced on Monday. Thousands of North Koreans, including the country's top leaders, have poured into a funeral palace in the capital to view his body or bow before his portrait.

Mourning stations have been established in provincial, city and county seats and institutions. Small children braved bitter cold and wailed "at the top of their voices" over Kim Jong Il's death as they held fairy tale books that Kim had given them, state media reported, and citizens mourned "with burning blood."

North Korean television showed hours of footage Friday of people weeping at landmarks, some falling to the ground, others embracing as they cried; students in uniform called out "Father, father!" Soldiers were seen piling flowers beneath a portrait of a broadly smiling Kim and bowing deeply. In a stream of dispatches in the North's official Korean Central News Agency about the country's grief was this simple headline: "Koreans Miss Kim Jong Il."

"The sorrow at the loss of our leader is tremendous. But we would not stay in grief only," Sok Kil Nam, a 24-year-old worker at the Chollima Steel Complex in the city of Nampho, told The Associated Press. He added: "As long as we have great comrade Kim Jong Un, the cause of the respected General Kim Jong Il will go on, so we continue working, not leaving our work sites."

North Korea's official media have been quick to feature the younger Kim in coverage of the mourning ? a strong indication that the country's leadership is behind installing the 20-something son as Kim Jong Il's successor and the public face of the nation.

After initial jitters over possible instability, officials in Seoul and Washington are calling the transition so far a smooth one. There have been no outward signs of unrest on the streets or unusual troop movements along the borders.

"We continue to monitor and assess the situation and continue normal operations for stability and security in the region," said Cmdr. Ron Steiner, a spokesman for the U.S. 7th Fleet, which is based in Japan.

The North, however, remains highly sensitive to what it sees as outside threats.

One North Korean media outlet known for being particularly strident in its commentary slammed South Korea for putting its military on a heightened alert level after Kim's death, calling it an "insult" that derides the dignity of a nation in mourning.

The government-run website, Uriminzokkiri, also said the fate of relations between the two Koreas depends on how the South deals with requests from its civilians to visit the North to pay respects to Kim.

"We are watching the attitude of the South Korean government," it said.

It said Pyongyang will accept anyone from South Korea hoping to pay respects to Kim Jong Il and that routes by both air and land will be opened. North Korea has said through its other media that foreign delegations would not be allowed in to attend the official funeral for Kim on Dec. 28-29.

The Korean peninsula remains in a state of war because the three-year Korean War ended in 1953 in a truce, not a peace treaty. Tanks and troops still guard the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone dividing the two sides.

Keenly aware of the sensitivities, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has sought to assure Pyongyang that his country is "not hostile," despite putting its front-line troops on alert since Kim's death was announced. On Friday, the presidential Blue House announced it had lifted an emergency mode for all government workers except those involved in security and foreign affairs.

In a parliamentary hearing, South Korean Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik said Seoul is open to dialogue with the North, if that would be constructive.

"I hope the emergence of the new leader will lead North Korea to move in the right direction and enhance the livelihoods of the North Korean people," Yu said.

In a strong endorsement of the young Kim, the North's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun has urged the country to "rally, rally and rally behind great comrade Kim Jong Un and faithfully uphold his leadership."

It called him "the outstanding leader of our party, military and people and a great successor."

___

Reporting from Pyongyang by Associated Press Television News senior video journalist Rafael Wober and reporter Pak Won Il. AP writers Eric Talmadge, Foster Klug, Hyung-jin Kim, Sam Kim and Jiyoung Won in Seoul, South Korea, and Korea bureau chief Jean H. Lee contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/nkorea/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111223/ap_on_re_as/as_kim_jong_il

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Once-conjoined girls return to Dominican Republic (AP)

RICHMOND, Va. ? Once-conjoined toddler girls from the Dominican Republic have left Virginia and are heading home for Christmas.

Maria and Teresa Tapia and their mother, Lisandra Sanatis, and their aunt Mari Reynaldo flew out of Richmond early Tuesday.

The girls underwent nearly daylong surgery Nov. 7 at Children's Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University. The twins were conjoined at the chest, and a team led by university surgeon David Lanning divided the twins' liver, pancreas and other shared organ systems and reconstructed their abdominal walls.

The 20-month-old girls were the guests of honor Monday at a going-away party, where they wore matching dresses and ate hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and cake.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111220/ap_on_re_us/us_conjoined_twins

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Romney Challenges Obama Again (WSJ)

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