Two former hedge fund managers found guilty of insider trading

In the aftermath of Friday's Newtown school shooting, we've heard tales mostly horrifying and occasionally heroic, from surviving witnesses and mourning citizens alike, but this one lies somewhere in between, all the more unshakeable. One six-year-old Sandy Hook student played dead in her first-grade classroom, her family pastor said late Sunday, with the kind of quick thinking that ended up saving her life but now leaves her with the unshakeable memories of watching all her classmates being shot and killed. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/two-former-hedge-fund-managers-found-guilty-insider-222804195--sector.html

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Ex-chancellor Schroeder's wife entering German politics

BERLIN (Reuters) - Former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's wife said she is entering German politics and wants to win a regional state assembly seat next month to fight for pay equality but insisted she has no higher political aspirations.

Coming out of the shadows of her husband, who was chancellor from 1998 to 2005, Doris Schroeder-Koepf told Der Spiegel news magazine that she also wanted to focus on improving the integration of foreigners in her state of Lower Saxony.

"One chancellor in the family is enough," Schroeder-Koepf, 49, said in the interview published on Sunday when asked if U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton served as a role model.

The wife of former President Bill Clinton was first elected as a senator from New York state in 2000, just before he left the White House at the end of his second and final term.

"I do know what it means to be chancellor," said Schroeder-Koepf, who was a journalist before marrying Schroeder in 1997.

"From a physical point of view I just couldn't do it. You need to be more robust than I am. These marathon meetings through the night, never getting enough sleep, the trips across so many time zones. I'm just not built for that."

Schroeder-Koepf, a soft-spoken woman who largely avoided the public spotlight until now while raising their children, is a state assembly candidate for the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) in the January 20 election in Lower Saxony.

She said the SPD candidate for state premier, Hanover Mayor Stephan Weil, had asked her to run for a state assembly seat. She also said her husband, 68, was taking over more of the parenting duties now.

Schroeder-Koepf said she wants to fight for gender equality.

"There can't be a pay gap between men and women anymore," she said. "It's absurd that there's a 25 percent pay gap. That must be changed in wage talks and by political leaders. Equal pay for equal work. It's so obvious and needs to happen."

Schroeder-Koepf, who worked for Bild newspaper and Focus magazine before becoming Schroeder's fourth wife, also confirmed a rumor that she advised Schroeder to shorten the title of his economic reform program to "Agenda 2010", a series of measures credited with boosting Germany's competitiveness from 2003.

"I read it in advance, like a lot of his speeches," she said. "It had a very complicated title that went on for a couple of lines, very bureaucratic. I urged Gerd and his team to use a snappier title. It ended up that I had to come up with a title."

(Reporting By Erik Kirschbaum; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ex-chancellor-schroeders-wife-entering-german-politics-151936785.html

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Homeland, Season 2

Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin in Homeland

Photograph by Kent Smith/Showtime.

In Slate?s Homeland TV Club, June Thomas will IM each week with a different partner?policy experts, intelligence researchers, critics, and even Slate commenters. This week she chats with David Haglund, the editor of Slate?s culture blog, Brow Beat.

June Thomas: David, this time last year we were discussing the Season 1 finale. This time around, after a season that was less favorably received (though I still loved it), the capper felt less satisfying to me. On the good side of the ledger, many threads were tied up; on the bad, even though it was a big reset (no more Abu Nazir, no more David Estes, no more Big Bad Bill Walden), I feel like I know the broad strokes of next season: Carrie fighting for Brody's reputation or perhaps to keep him alive, and Saul struggling to keep Mira near without neglecting his agency duties. Am I crazy to think I know the minds of the hyperactive Homeland writing team?

David Haglund: Oh, June. I suspect you are right about where the show is going, but you are drastically understating the badness of this episode. It wasn't just unsatisfying; it was preposterous. The autumn-cabin romance scenes, complete with fireplace; Quinn's unbelievable change of heart, followed by his ridiculous threat in David Estes' bedroom; the horrendous parenting of Nicholas and Jessica Brody. I could go on and on (and will!). People have been floating some crazy theories about what devilish, unsuspected plot twists the season finale would reveal. A lot of those theories hinged on the idea that the Carrie/Brody love story was a feint, that it was all leading to some wild plot twist that no one could see coming. Wishful thinking. The writers have been trying to get us to take that romance seriously this whole time, never more so than tonight. And they have failed in disastrous fashion.

Thomas: OK, for perhaps the first time in 12 weeks I'm not going to argue about the plot holes and the writers' attempt to make us suspend disbelief in everything except the power of lurve. It failed my ultimate test of being dramatically credible. That said, the moments between Brody and Carrie were incredibly tense. At several points in that episode I wondered if one of them was going to kill the other. This held right to the end. When Carrie pulled off the road before their final parting, and Brody pointed out that they were back in the woods, I flashed on the murderous scene with the tailor before I thought of Brody and Carrie?s happy cabin times in the woods. And when they put their hands on each other?s throats, I wondered which one would tighten their grip first.

Haglund: If only. Am I wrong that one of the main reasons this episode was unsatisfying is that, not to put too fine a point on it, Brody didn't bite it in the end? Even in the one moment where it looked like Carrie might finally put him and us out of our misery, after the bomb went off in his car outside the Walden memorial service, I didn't ever think that she would really pull the trigger. And he can't kill her: Claire Danes is and will forever be the star of this show. Which also undercut some of the suspense in the love vs. work conundrum. It had to be work, finally; the only question was how the show got there.

Thomas: You're probably right. I didn't think Brody would survive the season finale. Even leaving aside the question of whether his walk into the woods was credible (and what the hell he's going to do when he gets to Lake Selby?Junes are super-nice, but who in their right mind would help a stranger who the news is saying killed more than 200 people who were serving their country?), leaving him alive but out of the picture just creates another off-stage presence looming in the shadows. That's the last thing this show needs.

Update Dec. 17 at 12:56 a.m.

Haglund: Here's the thing: I don't doubt that a show with Saul as a new director rebuilding the CIA, and Carrie as his most brilliant but also most unstable analyst could, in theory, make for pretty good television. But do I trust these writers anymore to make good television? I do not. When we talked about the finale of Season 1, I told you that my main concern was that I thought the show was fundamentally unserious. Well, that concern was confirmed in spades throughout Season 2, and never more so than with this finale. (What kind of mother makes her children watch their terrorist father's confession on the evening news?) And the dialogue has deteriorated, too. ("Not sad, the opposite"?) So why should I tune in next year?

Thomas: Oh, David, how I wish I could be a good opinion slinger and vigorously defend the greatness of the show. But deep down I know you're right. I care very little for plot holes and credibility gaps (even in this episode, when we were supposed to believe that the death of Abu Nazir has made people so relaxed about security that at a memorial packed with high-ranking officials of the clandestine agencies, two attendees can just leave and wander about? CIA headquarters, even though they're both just visitors?), but you're right, the romance between Brody and Carrie was ultimately not enough to justify all the nonsense the writers served up. The show's? greatest?at this point perhaps its only?asset is its amazing cast. For Season 3, I am guessing that more viewers will be hate-watching or snark-watching, but I don't think the audience will disappear. Still, the writers have definitely failed this season. They've left me disappointed.

Haglund: Yes, the cast is always the saving grace. I still love Mandy Patinkin as Saul. And Claire Danes, too, though not so much as Carrie Mathison: That character just hasn't been served well enough by the writers, and Danes can only do so much. As for other viewers: Perhaps some people will enjoy the drama of that massive explosion, but for me, it just illuminated the smallness of the series. A giant blast kills 200 people, and the only victims anyone wants to talk about are Carrie and Brody? What about, I don't know, the director of the CIA? Wasn't he in there, too? For that matter, who is the director of the CIA? Have we ever met him? And, since Brody did not plant the bomb (that's what I believe, anyway, along with Carrie), and Abu Nazir is dead, what terrorists did make that happen? No one we've met, right? Rather than filling out the world with lesser players who could rise to these occasions, we've spent the last 12 episodes worrying about, e.g., a teenage hit-and-run. A gritty procedural about counterterrorism could be really exciting, even if there were occasional howlers. But Homeland has not been that show, and I don't have faith they'll that they'll turn it into that show next year.

Thomas: At times I've enjoyed the way Homeland narrows our focus?it has worked well as a way of saying, "Look, if these few dedicated, hard-working, supersmart individuals can't make this intelligence business work, what hope is there for the massive bureaucracies that do it in the real world?" But you're absolutely right about the Langley bombing showing the other side of that microfocus?the dead are just nameless, faceless bodies. (I felt a little guilty associating the sight of all the bodies that Saul was saying kaddish over with Gone With the Wind.) We've never met the CIA director, but from a TV business point of view, that doesn't surprise me. Shows don't cast people until they have something significant for them to do?otherwise they'd have to pay to keep them available for the show. The best we can say for what happened tonight was that we know a little bit more than we knew before: We know that the Waldens won't be a plot device anymore. We know that Estes wasn't the mole. We know that there really is a mole at the CIA?otherwise, how did the car get moved to such a sure-kill spot? We know that Carrie will get to return to the CIA for real. And we know that when one major terrorist is killed, there are always more in the wings ready to step up. Some of this seems like a positive step for Season 3?I was tired of Estes and the Waldens and Abu Nazir. Like Carrie and Brody, I'm excited and a bit apprehensive having a clean slate.

Haglund: We also know that Quinn is a guy who kills bad guys. And Dana and Chris Brody know some things, too: Their dad's a terrorist, and their mother has very poor judgment about what they should and shouldn't watch on television. Dana also knows that her dad is now, in a major twist, an over-sharer. But do we know the mole, do you think? That is, have we met that traitor already? (If so, who is it?) And is Damian Lewis still going to get second billing next season? I fear that the answers to those questions are 1) no and 2) yes, but I hope the answers are reversed.

Thomas: Regretfully, I'd give the same answers to your final question, and with the same hope. We also know that Carrie Mathison had a mother. Oddly, in this clunker of an episode, that felt like the clumsiest info dump?not only did Carrie tell Brody (and us) about her mom's long walk to the CVS, she also invoked her planning advice when she took Brody to her super-secret-stash storage locker. I'd say the odds of meeting mom next season are pretty good.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=0cbecb4513db421729bc1c24154dbb67

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Hard-to-treat Myc-driven cancers may be susceptible to drug already used in clinic

Hard-to-treat Myc-driven cancers may be susceptible to drug already used in clinic

Monday, December 17, 2012

Drugs that are used in the clinic to treat some forms of breast and kidney cancer and that work by inhibiting the signaling molecule mTORC1 might have utility in treating some of the more than 15 percent of human cancers driven by alterations in the Myc gene, according to data from a preclinical study published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"More than 1 million people diagnosed with cancer each year have a tumor driven by alterations in the Myc gene," said Grant A. McArthur, M.D., Ph.D., professor of translational research at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia. "However, it has proven impossible to develop drugs that effectively target Myc.

"One of Myc's functions is to regulate cell growth. Because mTORC1 is also a regulator of cell growth, we hypothesized that inhibiting mTORC1 with the drug everolimus might suppress Myc-driven tumor initiation and growth."

McArthur and his colleagues tested their hypothesis in a mouse model of Myc-driven lymphoma and found that treatment with everolimus provided strong protection against disease: only four of 33 mice treated with everolimus developed lymphoma, while 22 of 34 mice treated with placebo developed the disease.

In addition, treatment with everolimus led to tumor regression and significantly improved survival compared with placebo in mice with established lymphomas. However, all of these mice eventually relapsed as a result of the growth of lymphoma cells resistant to the effects of everolimus.

"These data confirmed our hypothesis that mTORC1 inhibition could suppress Myc-driven tumor initiation and growth," said McArthur. "The surprise was found in how mTORC1 inhibition led to tumor regression. We had expected that it would trigger cancer cells to die by a cellular process known as apoptosis, but we found that this was not the case."

Detailed analysis of the tumors indicated that everolimus caused tumor regression by inducing cellular senescence.

According to McArthur, normal cells protect themselves when cancer-driving genes are switched on is by entering a state called senescence. When cancers develop, they have found ways to overcome this safeguard. "Our data indicate that one way in which cancers bypass senescence, in particular senescence induced by Myc, is through a signaling pathway involving mTORC1," he said.

Resistance to everolimus treatment in mice with established lymphomas was associated with loss of the function of p53, a protein known to help suppress tumor formation and growth.

"The loss of effectiveness of everolimus therapy against lymphoma cells deficient in p53 function has important clinical implications," said McArthur. "Everolimus could be a useful new string to the bow for clinicians treating patients with Myc-driven cancers, in particular B cell lymphomas, but that it would be helpful only to those patients with functional p53."

###

American Association for Cancer Research: http://www.aacr.org

Thanks to American Association for Cancer Research 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/125945/Hard_to_treat_Myc_driven_cancers_may_be_susceptible_to_drug_already_used_in_clinic

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Protesters to march on Michigan capitol over "right-to-work" vote

LANSING, Michigan (Reuters) - As many as 10,000 labor union workers from throughout Michigan and the U.S. Midwest are expected to march on the Michigan Capitol building in freezing temperatures on Tuesday to protest likely passage of a "right-to-work" law.

The Republican-controlled Michigan House of Representatives will consider two and perhaps three bills on Tuesday that would prohibit unions from compelling private sector workers and government employees to pay union dues.

The right-to-work movement has been growing in the country since Wisconsin fought a similar battle with unions over two years ago.

Michigan would become the 24th state to enact right-to-work provisions and passage of the legislation would deal a stunning blow to the power of organized labor in the United States.

Michigan is home of the heavily unionized U.S. auto industry, with some 700 manufacturing plants in the state. It is also the birthplace of the United Auto Workers, the richest U.S. labor union.

While the new laws are not expected to have much immediate impact because existing union contracts would be preserved, they could, over time, further weaken the UAW, which has already seen its influence wane in negotiating with the major automakers.

Right-to-work laws typically allow workers to hold a job without being forced to join a union or pay union dues.

Last Thursday, when the senate passed two bills and the House also considered right-to-work legislation, protesters converged on Lansing. Several people were arrested and officials sealed the Capitol from the public.

"We support people exercising their constitutional rights to protest," said Inspector Gene Adamczyk of the Michigan State Police. "But we need them to do it in an orderly manner."

President Barack Obama waded into the debate during a visit to the Daimler Detroit Diesel plant in Redford, Michigan on Monday, criticizing the Republican right-to-work effort.

"What they're really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money," Obama said.

School teachers are among those expected to march on the Capitol on Tuesday. Several school districts will not hold classes on Tuesday due to teacher and staff absences, Detroit newspapers and television stations reported.

Labor leaders such as UAW President Bob King say they were blindsided by Republican Governor Rick Snyder, who last Thursday announced he was supporting right-to-work after nearly two years of saying the issue was too divisive.

King was unsuccessful in more than a week of talks with Snyder and his staff in staving off the right-to-work push by the Republicans, who will lose several seats when newly elected members take their seats in the state house and senate in January.

Michigan has the fifth highest percentage of unionized workers in the United States at 17.5 percent and the Detroit area is headquarters for General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler, which is majority owned by Fiat SpA.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Greg McCune and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/protesters-march-michigan-capitol-over-vote-054656984.html

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Carotenoids In Fruits And Vegetables May Lower Breast Cancer ...

Micronutrients found in brightly colored produce could play a part in protecting you from cancer, a new review of studies suggests.

Researchers from Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that women who have higher levels of carotenoids circulating in their bloodstreams also seem to have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, particularly estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer types.

Specifically, the decreased breast cancer risk was tied to high blood levels of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin, as well as overall levels of total carotenoids, the researchers found. Their findings are published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers speculated that carotenoids may have anti-cancer effects because alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin in particular because those compounds metabolize into retinol, the naturally occurring form of vitamin A in the blood, which in turn regulates the growth, development and death of cells. It does this by affecting gene expression, explained the researchers. Additionally, the compounds may improve communication between cells, cell defense and repair, they continued:

"Carotenoids also may be directly anticarcinogenic by several other mechanisms, including improved gap junction communication, enhanced immune system functioning, or antioxidant scavenging of reactive oxygen species; this may inhibit cellular dysregulation or DNA damage," they wrote.

The findings are based on the analysis of eight studies, which included a total of 3,055 people with breast cancer and 3,956 controls. TIME pointed out that produce like carrots, spinach and kale are particularly high in carotenoids.

This is certainly not the first time fruits and vegetables have been suggested to make a positive difference on breast cancer risk. Reuters reported on a 2008 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, showing that breast cancer recurrence risk goes down by going above and beyond with eating produce.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/10/carotenoids-breast-cancer-risk-fruits-vegetables-micronutrients_n_2252815.html

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1966 Ford F100 - Charlotte NC

This 1966 Ford F100 is a cool mix of basic truck goodness and very slick custom. The bodywork is amazingly good, done to a much higher standard than the typical truck restoration, and the thundering 427 cubic inch dual-quad engine under the hood suggests something very special is going on with this one. Go try to find an F100 as nice as this; they simply don\'t exist. Before trucks were cool, these were used up and thrown away, but somehow, somewhere, these guys found an awfully nice one and gave it a show-quality facelift. Look how well that character line traces from the hood, through the doors, then down along the bed sides. It\'s as straight as a ruler. Note how flush the doors fit, and how nicely the bed tucks up behind the cab. That doesn\'t just happen, that\'s the result of hours of tedious hand work. Then put on a correct Rangoon Red finish that looks totally perfect for the mid-60s, and hit the road in style with chrome bed rails. Try to find a straight bumper or a perfect grille for one of these, too-talk about scarce! Although finished several years ago, this one has been meticulously maintained since complete - mostly driven to the local car shows and cruise-ins. Of course, they didn\'t forget that this was still a truck, so while the bed is as nicely finished as the body, it\'s still ready, willing, and able to work. Just on first glance, this truck is a slam-dunk. That vibe extends inside where it has been artfully updated to create a comfortable and stylish driving environment. The original bench seat has been recontoured so you fit better behind the wheel, and then covered in black velvet that\'s actually quite comfortable. The original door panels have been finished to match, and the original dash was painted to match the body, then wrapped in black vinyl to match the seat sides. A modern HVAC system was fitted under the dash in a way that makes it look like a period-correct dealer-installed accessory, and with R134a refrigerant it blows cold and will be easy to service in the future. There\'s also the original AM radio, which is a nice piece of nostalgia in the old truck, and with tinted windows, it looks cool and stays cool on hot days. Ford\'s workhorse 352 cubic inch V8 engine is long gone, but you won\'t miss it once you see the monstrous 427 they stuffed in there instead. Combined with a C6 automatic transmission and a 9-inch axle out back, it\'s a rugged powertrain that will always get you where you need to go. Topped with dual quads, it looks like a Thunderbolt engine found its way under the hood. Power steering and power brakes mean you can cruise without breaking a sweat, and there\'s just no sign of rust or neglect anywhere on this truck. The chassis is relatively stock, making this one heck of a sleeper, although the rumbling dual exhaust system might give you away at stop lights. 15-inch aluminum wheels look good but don\'t show off, so your secret is safe unless they notice the 427 badges on the flanks. Oh, and those fat 275/60/15 Goodyears definitely help hook it up. This is a very cool truck that you won\'t see at every show. Nicely finished with a metric ton of performance, it proves that good taste never goes out of style. Call today! This vehicle is located in our Atlanta showroom. For more information, please call (678) 279-1609 or toll free (877) 367-1835.

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With election over, less attention to jobs report

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Reaction to the monthly jobs numbers isn't what it used to be.

The first unemployment report since President Barack Obama's re-election barely got a mention from the White House and Republicans after Friday's release. Gone was the frenzy of political posturing that followed every release throughout the presidential campaign.

Obama would try to cast each economic snapshot as a sign of slow but steady recovery, while Republican rival Mitt Romney bemoaned the unemployment rate as a sign that the country needed fresh economic leadership.

But there's a new postelection, political reality in Washington: Obama is sticking around for four more years no matter what the unemployment rate is.

Economic drivers are also behind Washington's muted response Friday. While economists project a continued drop in unemployment and an uptick in economic growth through next year, that could all be at risk if Obama and congressional Republicans can't reach a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff"- a series of automatic tax increases and spending cuts due to take effect at the end of the year.

Perhaps with that in mind, the White House made no plans for the president to comment publicly on the news that the unemployment rate fell to a nearly four-year low of 7.7 percent in November. Instead, Obama spent the day in private meetings with his advisers - including some on the fiscal cliff. He left his administration's response to top White House economist Alan Krueger.

"Today's employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression," Krueger said in a statement.

Vice President Joe Biden also chimed in briefly during an event Friday afternoon, saying: "I think we have turned the corner."

Even before his re-election campaign kicked into high-gear, Obama made a point of addressing the jobless rate most months, regardless of whether it had climbed or dropped.

He'd speak from the White House, at small businesses in the Washington area or, often this year, at the start of campaign rallies in political swing states. He used his remarks to reassure the public and financial markets, or press Republicans to pass his proposals for jumpstarting the economy.

Congressional Republicans, and eventually Romney, would respond with vigor and cast the unemployment rate - which peaked at 10 percent during Obama's first year in office - as a sign that the president was leading the economy down a dangerous road and needed to be replaced.

With that opportunity gone following the Nov. 6 presidential election, and the unemployment picture improving, Republicans barely mentioned the jobless rate Friday. Instead, they used the monthly report to criticize Obama's willingness to go over the fiscal cliff unless Republicans drop their opposition to higher tax rates for the top 2 percent of income earners.

"The Democrats' plan to slow-walk our economy to the edge of the fiscal cliff instead of engaging in serious talks is a threat to our economy," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Friday.

Fiscal cliff negotiations between the White House and Republicans are at an impasse. Despite Obama's warning that he's willing to go over the cliff unless Republicans come around on taxes, the GOP is holding firm in its opposition to higher tax rates on the wealthy.

---

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_JOBS_REPORT?SITE=TXCOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Dragon Age: Inception

A currently private rp between Madmoiselle and Carlos_Joaquin.

---

Dragon Age: Inception

E u r e o s:

A fertile land in Thedas, located between Rivain and Antiva. Lush green jungles cover most of the country, with tempatures averaging 80 degrees, and enough rain to fill a Chantry. A country of warriors known for their fierce strength and shrewd minds; a most unwelcoming place to those who are non Eurosians.

Those with no purpose will find themselves thrown into a conflict none would ever expect, and positions of power they could only dream of. Neither human, elf, or dwarf involved in this tale is a hero just yet, but with a bit of luck, skill, and time, all of Thedas will soon know their names.

Will these mortals survive the tasks put before them, or will they perish before the adventure has even begun?

C H A R A C T E R S:

Rowan Hail- //Rouge

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/ZF-y_HXJrrA/viewtopic.php

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La Scala inaugurates season with 'Lohengrin'

MILAN (AP) ? The famed La Scala opera house inaugurates its 2012-13 season Friday with the Teutonic classic "Lohengrin" as it launches dual bicentennial celebrations of its own Giuseppe Verdi and German icon Richard Wagner.

Daniel Barenboim, La Scala's music director and a Wagner aficionado, conducts the gala season opener, one of the premier events on the European cultural calendar.

German bass Rene Pape appears as King Heinrich and tenor Jonas Kaufmann as Lohengrin. Evelyn Herlitzius plays Ortrud and German soprano Annette Dasch will sing the role of Elsa after headliner Anja Harteros was forced to cancel due to the flu.

Dasch, who has sung the role at Bayreuth since 2010, was brought in after Harteros' understudy, who sang Tuesday in a preview performance for the under-30 crowd, also caught the flu, the opera house said in a statement.

The performance on Tuesday was strongly applauded. German director Claus Guth's nontraditional staging sets the tale in the Victorian era.

The opener will be broadcast live in 600 cinemas around the world, as well as on Italian state television and radio. Large screens have also been placed in the nearby Galleria to allow Milanese to participate in the gala event.

Opera house management has dismissed criticism by Italian media over the decision to launch the season honoring Verdi, who called La Scala home, with a Wagner opera.

Even President Giorgio Napolitano was drawn into the fray after media speculated that he would miss the opening as a personal protest over the Wagner staging. Napolitano denied any snub, calling the polemics "futile" and "pathetic." He said he had state business to attend in Rome.

Both composers were born in 1813, and La Scala has included seven Verdi productions and six by Wagner in its program this year to honor their shared anniversary.

Verdi gets his season premiere on Jan. 15 with "Falstaff." Perhaps anticipating the Wagner hostility, La Scala has already announced its 2013-14 gala premiere to be Verdi's "La Traviata" conducted by Daniele Gatti.

Despite Napolitano's absence, the government will be well-represented Friday. Premier Mario Monti, a La Scala regular, is due to take a break from the grueling job of reforming Italy's economy and after Thursday's criticism of his government by the Silvio Berlusconi's center-right party. Five ministers also are expected.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/la-scala-inaugurates-season-lohengrin-104911047.html

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Obamacore: The substitution of propaganda for great literatiure in our schools (Powerlineblog)

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Urban Outfitters Buys Yard Sale Clothes - Business Insider

Urban Outfitters buys clothes in bulk at yard sales and flea markets and then sells them in stores as "vintage."?

The retailer has done this for years, usually selling the used goods as promotions for about two weeks.?

But an incredulous shopper recently posted a picture on Reddit of a?tag attached to one of the items. It reads "this unique found item was hand-selected for you from a yard sale or flea market. Any tears, holes, paint stains or other 'defects' we consider a virtue and not a flaw. Wear it well."?

Some used items at Urban are sold under the "Urban Renewal" brand, which includes garments hand-crafted from "from vintage, deadstock and surplus materials sourced from around the world," according to the retailer.?

Current promotions include $44 ripped Levi's denim shorts and a $69 Christmas dress. Urban notes that you can find "one-of-a-kind vintage items in select stores."

On Reddit, the post garnered thousands of comments. The general sentiment was that it's dumb to pay a huge mark-up for something a shopper could get at a Goodwill or Salvation Army store for under $5.?

"Urban Outfitters putting on some crazy markup and charging $50 for a shirt you could've gotten for $5," one commenter noted. "They're basically selling old clothes to people for a new clothes price, and calling it vintage."?

Hipsters aren't just lining up to buy items curated from yard sales.?

We interviewed a "vintage seller" at the Artists & Fleas market in Williamsburg, Brooklyn about how he got his merchandise.?

He was selling vintage Lacoste and Polo sweaters for $45.?

"Basically I just go to Texas once a year, go to the Goodwill store in a nice suburban neighborhood, and load up on stuff that just costs a few dollars," he said. "Then I come here and people go crazy for it."

Thus, the sweater of a banker dad in the suburbs of Texas can end up being worn by a Brooklyn millennial.

DON'T MISS: The Fabulous Life Of Amancio Ortega, The Billionaire Founder Behind 'Zara' >

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/urban-outfitters-buys-yard-sale-clothes-2012-12

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Capitalism and socialism wed as words of the year

The word malarkey, from the 11th edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, is shown in this photograph, in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. Thanks to the election, socialism and capitalism are forever wed as Merriam-Webster's most looked-up words of 2012. Democracy, globalization, marriage, meme, malarkey and bigot also made the Top 10. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The word malarkey, from the 11th edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, is shown in this photograph, in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. Thanks to the election, socialism and capitalism are forever wed as Merriam-Webster's most looked-up words of 2012. Democracy, globalization, marriage, meme, malarkey and bigot also made the Top 10. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The word bigot, from the 11th edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, is shown in this photograph, in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. Thanks to the election, socialism and capitalism are forever wed as Merriam-Webster's most looked-up words of 2012. Democracy, globalization, marriage and bigot also made the Top 10. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The word capitalism, from the 11th edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, is shown in this photograph, in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. Thanks to the election, socialism and capitalism are forever wed as Merriam-Webster's most looked-up words of 2012. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The word meme, from the 11th edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, is shown in this photograph, in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. Thanks to the election, socialism and capitalism are forever wed as Merriam-Webster's most looked-up words of 2012. Democracy, globalization, marriage, meme, malarkey and bigot also made the Top 10. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The word socialism, from the 11th edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, is shown in this photograph, in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012. Thanks to the election, socialism and capitalism are forever wed as Merriam-Webster's most looked-up words of 2012. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Thanks to the election, socialism and capitalism are forever wed as Merriam-Webster's most looked-up words of 2012.

Traffic for the unlikely pair on the company's website about doubled this year from the year before as the health care debate heated up and discussion intensified over "American capitalism" versus "European socialism," said the editor at large, Peter Sokolowski.

The choice revealed Wednesday was "kind of a no-brainer," he said. The side-by-side interest among political candidates and around kitchen tables prompted the dictionary folk to settle on two words of the year rather than one for the first time since the accolade began in 2003.

"They're words that sort of encapsulate the zeitgeist. They're words that are in the national conversation," said Sokolowski from company headquarters in Springfield, Mass. "The thing about an election year is it generates a huge amount of very specific interest."

Democracy, globalization, marriage and bigot ? all touched by politics ? made the Top 10, in no particular order. The latter two were driven in part by the fight for same-sex marriage acceptance.

Last year's word of the year was austerity. Before that, it was pragmatic. Other words in the leading dictionary maker's Top 10 for 2012 were also politically motivated.

Harken back to Oct. 11, when Vice President Joe Biden tangled with Mitt Romney running mate Paul Ryan in a televised debate focused on foreign policy ? terror attacks, defense spending and war, to be specific.

"With all due respect, that's a bunch of MALARKEY," declared Biden during a particularly tough row with Ryan. The mention sent look-ups of malarkey soaring on Merriam-webster.com, Sokolowski said, adding: "Clearly a one-week wonder, but what a week!"

Actually, it was more like what a day. Look-ups of malarkey represented the largest spike of a single word on the website by percentage, at 3,000 percent, in a single 24-hour period this year. The company won't release the number of page views per word but said the site gets about 1.2 billion overall each year.

Malarkey, with the alternative spelling of "y'' at the end, is of unknown origin, but Merriam-Webster surmises it's more Irish-American than Irish, tracing it to newspaper references as far back as 1929.

Beyond "nonsense," malarkey can mean "insincere or pretentious talk or writing designed to impress one and usually to distract attention from ulterior motives or actual conditions," noted Sokolowski.

"That's exactly what Joe Biden was saying. Very precise," especially in conversation with another Irish-American, Sokolowski said. "He chose a word that resonated with the public, I think in part because it really resonated with him. It made perfect sense for this man to use this word in this moment."

An interesting election-related phenom, to be sure, but malarkey is no dead Big Bird or "binders full of women" ? two Romneyisms from the defeated candidate's televised matchups with Obama that evoked another of Merriam-Webster's Top 10 ? meme.

While malarkey's history is shaded, meme's roots are easily traced to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, a Brit who coined the term for a unit of cultural inheritance, not unlike genes and DNA. The retired professor at the University of Oxford made up the word in 1976 for "The Selfish Gene," a book he published light years before the Internet and social media's capacity to take memes viral.

Sokolowski said traffic for the word meme more than doubled this year over 2011, with dramatic spikes pegged to political-related subjects that included Romney's Big Bird and binders remarks, social media shares of images pegged to Hillary Rodham Clinton texting and Obama's "horses and bayonets" debate rebuke of Romney in an exchange over the size of the Navy.

Dawkins, reached at home in Oxford, was tickled by the dictionary shoutout.

"I'm very pleased that it's one of the 10 words that got picked out," he said. "I'm delighted. I hope it may bring more people to understand something about evolution."

The book in which he used meme for the first time is mostly about the gene as the primary unit of natural selection, or the Darwinian idea that only the strongest survive. In the last chapter, he said, he wanted to describe some sort of cultural replicator.

And he wanted a word that sounded like "gene," so he took a twist on the Greek mimeme, which is the origin of "mime" and "mimesis," a scientific term meaning imitation.

"It's a very clever coinage," lauded the lexicographer Sokolowski.

Other words in Merriam-Webster's Top 10 for 2012:

? Touche, thanks in part to "Survivor" contestant Kat Edorsson misusing the word to mean "tough luck" rather than "point well made," before she was voted off the island in May. Look-ups at Merriam-webster.com were up sevenfold this year over 2011.

? Schadenfreude, made up of the German words for "damage" and "joy," meaning taking pleasure in the misery of others, was used broadly in the media after the election. Look-ups increased 75 percent. The word in English dates to 1895.

? Professionalism, up 12 percent this year over last. Sokolowski suspects the bump might have been due to the bad economy and more job seekers, or a knowing "glimpse into what qualities people value."

___

Online: http://www.merriam-webster.com/

___

Follow Leanne Italie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/litalie

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-12-05-Words%20of%20the%20Year/id-6820315d39274cc3b84032989793f409

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Clinton revisits family legacy in riot-torn Belfast

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets Friday with Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson, right, and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, left, at Stormont Castle in Belfast on Friday.

By Reuters

BELFAST -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled Friday to Northern Ireland to lend her support to the British province's fragile peace, the frailty of which was underlined by overnight rioting on the eve of her visit and the seizure of a bomb.

Making one of her last foreign trips in her current job, she visits a province transformed by the 1998 peace agreement that her husband helped bring about in what was regarded as one of the greatest successes of his presidency.

But Northern Ireland remains riven by sectarian tensions and Clinton arrives in a week that has seen three riots, the appropriation of a bomb over 62 miles outside Belfast, and the arrest of four militant nationalists.

The latest riot erupted Thursday night when a policeman was injured after protesters hurled missiles to vent their anger against nationalist councilors who voted to remove the British flag atop Belfast City Hall.

'It pains me': Clinton decries plight of women in male-dominated countries

Two people were arrested and four vehicles damaged. Militant nationalists also shot dead a prison officer last month.

Important for 2016?
However, Clinton's visit, during which politicians from both sides of the political divide will brief her on the peace process, will be a reminder of the huge popularity of her family in Ireland, a potential asset in attracting the Irish-American vote if Clinton decided to run for the U.S. presidency in 2016.

The province has suffered one of the world's worst property market crashes and its leaders are hoping for the kind of U.S. foreign investment that has transformed the rest of Ireland.

"Our need is more economic now than political," said Reg Empey, Chairman of the Ulster Unionist Party, who was a senior figure in the peace process.

Cops hurt as British unionist protesters try to storm Belfast City Hall in flag spat

"But we also have to be aware that there is still a degree of volatility ... and in those circumstances I think we should make sure we keep the relationship going," he said.

Peace process
Hillary Clinton traveled to Northern Ireland several times in the mid-1990s while her husband helped broker the 1998 Good Friday peace accord. His hands-on approach was widely recognized as crucial at moments when the agreement looked like crumbling.

Bill Clinton's work helped win over the Irish vote during his re-election campaign in 1996 and his popularity among Irish-Americans could rub off on his wife if she needed it.

Clinton on Thursday told journalists in Dublin she was "too focused on what I'm doing" to think about a run for the presidency and declined to comment on U.S. newspaper reports that her husband may be appointed as Washington's next ambassador to the Republic of Ireland.

Complete World coverage on NBCNews.com

Personal ties
As first lady, Clinton lent support to pro-peace women's groups in Northern Ireland and visited people wounded in the 1998 Omagh bombing, the deadliest attack in three decades of violence commonly known as the "Troubles."

At least 3,600 people were killed during that time as Catholic nationalists seeking union with Ireland fought British security forces and mainly Protestant Loyalists determined to remain part of the United Kingdom.

"The lessons learned here in Ireland about how to build peace could be of great use to other peoples and nations," Clinton said Thursday in a speech in Dublin in which she recalled a meeting between Catholic and Protestant women in Belfast in the 1990s.

"There are so many more ties that bind us than divide us, and that is what has motivated me over many years now," she said.

More world stories from NBC News:

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Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/07/15749806-clinton-revisits-family-legacy-in-trip-to-riot-torn-belfast?lite

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Neanderthals 'harvested feathers'

17 September 2012 Last updated at 17:21 ET By Paul Rincon Science editor, BBC News website

Our evolutionary cousins the Neanderthals were harvesting feathers from birds in order to use them as personal ornaments, a study suggests.

The authors say the result provides yet more evidence that Neanderthal thinking ability was similar to our own.

The analysis even suggests they had a preference for dark feathers, which they selected from birds of prey and corvids - such as ravens and rooks.

Details of the research appear in Plos One journal.

Numerous tribal peoples from history have also adorned themselves with feathers, and the authors stress that they are not suggesting we learned the practice from Neanderthals.

Feather ornamentation could in fact go back even further, to a common ancestor of modern humans and Neanderthals.

Clive Finlayson and Kimberly Brown from the Gibraltar Museum, along with colleagues from Spain, Canada and Belgium, examined a database of 1,699 ancient sites across Eurasia, comparing data on birds at locations used by humans with those that were not.

They found a clear association between raptor and corvid remains and sites that had been occupied by humans.

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

I think this is the tip of the iceberg... It is showing that Neanderthals simply expressed themselves in media other than cave walls?

End Quote Clive Finlayson Director, Gibraltar Museum

They then looked more closely at bird bones found at Neanderthal sites in Gibraltar, including Gorham's and Vanguard cave, near the base of the rock: "The Neanderthals had cut through and marked the bones. But what were they cutting? We realised a lot of it was wing bones, particularly those holding large primary feathers," Prof Finlayson told BBC News.

Co-author Jordi Rosell, from Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona, Spain, said: "We saw the cut-marks on bird bones at one cave, and then started seeing them in others. I think it's a common aspect to the caves in this rock."

Juan Jose Negro, director of the Donana Biological Station in Seville, Spain, who is another co-author, said: "The wings make up less than 20% of the weight of the body of those birds," adding, "there is no meat in the wings - they were not consuming these animals.

"The only explanation left is the use of those long feathers."

Not only this, but the ancient humans appeared to have a preference for birds with dark or black plumage. Species represented at the sites include ravens, crows, rooks, magpies, jackdaws, various types of eagle and vulture, red and black kites, kestrels and falcons.

Image correction

Speaking to me at this year's Calpe conference in Gibraltar, Prof Finlayson explained: "What all this suggests to us is that Neanderthals had the cognitive abilities to think in symbolic terms. The feathers were almost certainly being used for ornamental purposes, and this is a quite unbelievable thing to find."

For much of the last century, Neanderthals were portrayed as knuckle-dragging brutes, whose extinction some 30,000 years ago was the natural outcome of competing with a more intelligent, creative and resourceful human species - Homo sapiens.

In recent years, the Neanderthals - who lived across Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia in Pleistocene times - have come to be rehabilitated amid mounting evidence that their abilities had been underestimated.

"I think this is the tip of the iceberg," said Prof Finlayson: "It is showing that Neanderthals simply expressed themselves in media other than cave walls. The last bastion of defence in favour of our superiority was cognition."

Neanderthals, he said, may have been "different", but "their processes of thinking were obviously very similar".

Dr Negro cautioned that there was no way to tell how the feathers were put to use. But he observed: "Current uses of feathers typically involve the same species. If you think of the Plains Indians in North America, they put those feathers in headdresses and they are signalling. They are signalling power and status. Perhaps the Neanderthals were using feathers in the same way."

Asked how the ancient humans might have caught the birds, Clive Finlayson speculated: "It's possible that these birds were nesting near the caves. Some may have fallen, but there's too much of it to be a random collection of dead animals.

"It's possible the Neanderthals were climbing up the cliffs and collecting birds from nests. But a large proportion of these birds are scavengers.

"An intelligent hominid, aware of this - and who may have used vultures as an indication of food sources - could easily have found ways of ambushing vultures and eagles when they came down to carcasses."

Other evidence of symbolic behaviour in Neanderthals includes the discovery of ochre - used to paint their bodies - at archaeological sites in Europe and the Levant. Earlier this year, another team published evidence of the possible symbolic use of eagle claws by Neanderthals, although they might also have been using the items as tools.

Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19623929#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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Risk of developing diabetes higher in neighborhoods that aren't walk-friendly

ScienceDaily (Sep. 17, 2012) ? Whether your neighbourhood is conducive to walking could determine your risk for developing diabetes, according to a new study by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.

Researchers found this risk was particularly high for new immigrants living in low-income neighbourhoods. A new immigrant living in a less walkable neighbourhood -- fewer destinations within a 10-minute walk, lower residential density, poorly connected streets -- was about 50 per cent more likely to develop diabetes when compared to long-term residents living in the most walkable areas, regardless of neighbourhood income.

"Although diabetes can be prevented through physical activity, healthy eating and weight loss, we found the environment in which one lives is also an important indicator for determining risk," said Dr. Gillian Booth, an endocrinologist and researcher at St. Michael's and lead author of the study published online in the journal Diabetes Care September 17.

For new immigrants, environment is an especially important factor as past research has shown an accelerated risk of obesity-related conditions including diabetes within the first 10 years of arrival to Canada, said Dr. Booth, who is also an adjunct scientist at ICES.

While diabetes is on the rise in Canada, the same trends are occurring globally, even in less industrialized countries. This is due in part to the move from rural to urban living in developing countries -- often associated with increased exposure to unhealthy foods, fewer opportunities for physical activity and a heightened risk of becoming obese and developing diabetes.

The study looked at data from the entire population of Toronto aged 30-64 -- more than 1 million people -- and identified those who didn't have diabetes. It then followed them for five years to see if their risk of developing diabetes increased based on where they live.

To determine which neighbourhoods were more conducive to walking, researchers developed an index looking at factors such as population density, street connectivity and the availability of walkable destinations such as retail stores and service within a 10-minute walk.

Dr. Booth said neighbourhoods that were the least walkable were often newly developed areas -- characterized by urban sprawl -- in part because of the reliance on cars caused by suburban design.

"Previous studies have looked at how walkable neighbourhoods affect health behaviour, but this is the first to look at the risk of developing a disease," said Dr. Booth.

Dr. Booth said the results emphasize the importance of neighbourhood design in influencing the health of urban populations.

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/ovHQPanBkl8/120917152105.htm

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How much product information do consumers want?

ScienceDaily (Sep. 18, 2012) ? A study published online in the Journal of Consumer Research finds that people can differ widely on the level of detail makes them feel they understand something. In experiments, the very same explanations that some subjects required before they would pay top dollar seemed to drive down what others were willing to pay. The natural trick for a marketer would be to figure out which customers are which. The study does that, too.

"The fact is that people differ," said Steven Sloman, professor of cognitive, linguistic, and psychological sciences at Brown University and an author on the paper. "Your advertising, your marketing, and your understanding of people has to be guided by an appreciation of who you are talking to."

The particular difference that lead author Philip Fernbach, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Colorado-Boulder's Leeds School of Business, and Sloman focused on in a series of experiments was the inclination of people to consider details of how products work. Thoughtful "explanation fiends" became more motivated the more the product was explained. More intuitive "explanation foes" felt confident in their understanding when the explanation was superficial but deeper detail eroded that understanding and ultimately their willingness to pay for the product.

In an essential respect these different groups of consumers are actually the same, said Fernbach. Both kinds of consumers want to feel like they understand how a product works before it will gain their trust.

"The more they feel like they understand, the more they will be willing to pay for the product," he said. But the consumers differ sharply on the level of detail that makes them feel informed.

Testing the test

Each of the study's four experiments measured the subjects' tendency to deliberate before responding to a question with a simple, standard quiz called the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT). The test asks three questions that have intuitive, but wrong, answers. The correct answer requires a little more thought. Fernbach and Sloman thought it might predict each subject's inclination to consider detail. Sure enough, in each experiment the CRT accurately predicted whether the subject would be an explanation fiend or foe.

The first experiment assessed how 127 people who were recruited online rated their understanding of four products as they read four different levels of detail about how the products worked, presented in random order. Then they took the CRT. A low score indicated an intuition-oriented person while a high score indicates someone who thinks deeply.

The result? CRT low-scorers rated their understanding as higher when presented with less detail. High scorers on the CRT said they understood best when they read the greatest level of detail.

"The effect of mechanistic detail on judged understanding was moderated by cognitive reflection," wrote the authors of the study, which began when Fernbach was a postdoctoral researcher in Sloman's group at Brown. In addition to Fernbach and Sloman, the study's other authors are Brown undergraduates Robert St. Louis and Julia Shube.

The second experiment assessed what level of detail would motivate 223 new online volunteers to pay for a premium product with a special feature, compared to a less expensive generic competitor without that feature. The level of explanatory detail for the premium feature varied.

Low CRT scorers were most motivated to buy the premium product when given superficial detail, while high scorers showed an increasing degree of preference for the premium product as the level of detail increased.

The third experiment confirmed that only details explaining how a product works are pertinent to the dichotomy between explanation fiends (CRT high scorers) and explanation foes (CRT low scorers).

The money experiment

For marketers of consumer products, including funders of the research at Unilever, the big question is whether any of this psychology matters to what people will pay. The last experiment found that it can make a big difference and helped explain why.

The researchers again presented subjects with products and explanations of how they worked, but this time they broke them into two groups. Some were shown only a shallow explanation of each of four products and then rated their understanding. Then they indicated what they'd be willing to pay.

The researchers asked the other group to do extra work. After showing the volunteers explanations of two products, they asked them to generate their own explanation, to re-evaluate their level of understanding, and then to say how much they'd be willing to pay. By asking those subjects to explicitly explain the products, the authors forced them to confront whether they really understood or only felt they did.

The idea that people often feel they understand things better than they really do is called "the illusion of explanatory depth." Fernbach and Sloman's hypothesis was that explanation foes are especially prone to this illusion, even after encountering only a superficial explanation. Forcing them to confront their lack of understanding would dispel it, ultimately undermining what they'd be willing to pay.

That's exactly what happened.

"Low CRT participants began with a high feeling of understanding, which was subsequently shattered when they attempted to explain," the authors wrote. "High CRT participants were more conservative initially [about their level of understanding] and their judgments did not change after explanation."

What did change was how much fiends and foes of explanation were willing to pay before and after they were asked to explain how the products worked. Averaged over the two products, foes dropped their prices from $8 to less than $6 after their illusions were shattered. Explanation fiends, however, raised what they were willing to pay to about $8.50 from less than $6 after being asked to explain the products.

Sloman said he was struck by how strongly explanation foes harbor illusions about their understanding.

"We were actually shocked by how powerfully the data came out, that the effect really is almost entirely carried by the low CRT scorers," he said. "The people who do think before they respond don't seem to suffer from this illusion."

Fernbach said the lesson from the study for marketers -- how to vary the level of detail for different customers -- is particularly important for companies seeking to introduce novel products.

Getting it right could make a real difference in what customers are willing to pay.

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Journal Reference:

1. Philip M. Fernbach, Steven A. Sloman, Robert St. Louis, Julia N. Shube. Explanation Fiends and Foes: How Mechanistic Detail Determines Understanding and Preference. Journal of Consumer Research, 2012; [link]

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/b-YeWDjSCwA/120918113425.htm

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Video: Romney fundraiser video stirs controversy

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/49066551/

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Grim factory sales darken Canada outlook

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian manufacturing sales dropped sharply in July on weakness across most industries, data showed on Friday in a troubling omen that analysts say may result in the economy failing to grow in that month.

Factory sales fell 1.5 percent in July from June versus market expectations of a 0.4 percent gain, dragged down mainly by a drop in sales of aerospace products, motor vehicles, and machinery, Statistics Canada said.

In volume terms, sales fell 2 percent in July.

"The decline in volumes will weigh on monthly industry gross domestic product. Though we require additional data to make a more accurate estimate, GDP may be hard-pressed to register growth," Mazen Issa, macro strategist at TD Securities, wrote in a note to clients.

"With weak foreign demand and a sub-trend rate of domestic economic growth expected to persist over the balance of the year, manufacturing activity will likely be subdued," he said.

Canada's economy recovered from the 2008-09 recession more quickly than that of the United States but the manufacturing sector remains weaker than its pre-recession peak because of slow demand from the sluggish U.S. economy and a strong currency.

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney has been hinting that he'll hike interest rates if the economy continues to absorb excess slack, but the manufacturing and other data indicate the economy may not be strong enough to warrant such a move.

Overall 11 of 21 industries, representing 60 percent of total manufacturing, reported lower sales in July.

"A look at the details is even more discouraging," said Emanuella Enenajor, economist at CIBC World Markets, referring to declines in bellwether sectors such as autos, primary metals and machinery.

She said third-quarter growth could track below the Bank of Canada's estimate of an annualized 2 percent unless lost ground is made up in the rest of the quarter.

After four months of gains, the transportation sector contributed most to the July weakness with a 6.4 percent drop in sales. The aerospace product and parts sector was mainly to blame, registering a 22.1 percent slide in sales, while motor vehicles fell 3.2 percent.

Machinery sales also sank 2.4 percent.

The petroleum and coal products industry, among the largest in the survey by sales, reported flat sales in July.

Inventories bounced back from a dip in June, gaining 1 percent and the inventory-to-sales ratio -- a measure of how many months it would take to exhaust inventories at the current pace of sales -- rose to 1.36 from 1.32.

New orders for factory goods tumbled 5.6 percent, due largely to weak demand for aerospace products, which can swing dramatically from month to month, and unfilled orders decreased 1.2 percent.

(Reporting by Louise Egan and Alex Paterson,; Editing by Dave Zimmerman; and Peter Galloway)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/canada-july-factory-sales-slide-aerospace-vehicles-123825032--business.html

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Portland Approves Adding Fluoride to Water by ?14

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Social and health policy melded as residents and elected officials debated whether adding fluoride to the city?s water reflected the liberal social goals that the city had become famous for.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/us/portland-approves-adding-fluoride-to-water-by-14.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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