Thursday, November 15, 2012

Agritourism Destinations: The Best Farm-Oriented Vacations

Agritourism Destinations: The Best Farm-Oriented Vacations

From Mother Nature Network's Josh Lew:

Agritourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the eco-tourism industry. There is nothing new about this form of travel, which involves staying on a farm or other agriculture-oriented property and perhaps even sampling the day-to-day lifestyle of the people who tend the crops or livestock there. Tourists have been staying at Italian vineyards and Rocky Mountain ranches for decades. The idea of relaxing in a beautiful setting (like the Tuscan farmhouse shown here) or sampling the adventurous Old West lifestyle is certainly still part of the attraction of agritourism. On some farms that welcome tourists, however, the goal is less about providing a unique vacation and more about fostering a deeper understanding of the farming process through education and hands-on experience.

Want to see what the agritourism buzz is all about? Try one of these amazing destinations on your next vacation.

List and captions courtesy of the Mother Nature Network

  • Taiwan

    Lush, rugged Taiwan has numerous ?<a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2011/11/18/country-living-with-frills-now-drawing-tourists/">leisure farms</a>? that offer tours of farm fields and facilities and, of course, plenty of chances to sample the crops. A couple of things make Taiwan an ideal spot for an in-depth agritourism vacation. Many smaller farms offer <a href="http://www.go2taiwan.net/monthly_selection.php?sqno=22">home-stay </a>accommodations, as opposed to hotel-like rooms. In addition, the food served and sold is grown locally, so green-minded travelers can easily support sustainable agriculture and lower their carbon footprint while traveling. Tea-lovers can embark on a specialized agricultural tour by focusing on the island's <a href="http://www.hualien-taiwanhotels.com/attractions/Wuhe_Tourist_Tea_Plantation.htm">tea plantations</a>, where some of the world's most prized leaves are cultivated.

  • Tuscany

    Tuscany was one of the first regions to become a popular farm-tourism destination, thanks to its atmospheric agriturismos. These farmhouses, which were converted into inns, gained notoriety because they offered an authentic and quaint Italian countryside experience to people who would otherwise have to see this region as part of a tour group. A few of the estates in Tuscany offer a more educational focus, but, for the most part, the attraction of staying in a farmhouse in this region has to do with the opportunity to simply hang around the property, relax and soak in the unparalleled atmosphere. Of course, part of agritourism is tasting local fare, and Tuscany (Italy as a whole, actually) is the perfect place for this because such a premium is placed on fresh, local food. Whether you want a wine-soaked stay in the Chianti area or a farmhouse with a restaurant that makes magic with local tomatoes, herbs and cheeses, Tuscany will prove to be one of Europe best agritourism destinations.

  • Mallorca

    On the popular Spanish island of Mallorca, farmhouse inns focus more on providing isolation and quietness than offering hands-on farming experiences. With millions of visitors descending on the beaches of Mallorca and the other Balearic Islands each summer, a little bit of isolation is a good thing for solitude-seeking travelers. Mainly located in the hills of inland Mallorca, these inns range from rustic century-old farmhouses to luxury bed-and-breakfasts with spas and swimming pools. Some of Mallorca's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/may/11/balearicislands.spain">best agriturismos</a> sit in the middle of orange or fig groves and offer fresh, local food to guests, often serving dishes made from ingredients grown on-site.

  • Brazil

    Brazil is a vast country with plenty of natural resources and a vibrant, diverse agricultural industry. From tropical flowers and fruit to beef cattle and sugarcane, Brazil has retained its farm-based economy despite growing in other sectors by leaps and bounds over the past few decades. Brazil might be a little remote for U.S.-based travelers, but flights from hubs like Miami and Houston put it within reach. People who are seriously interested in agricultural practices will want to put this vast nation on their to-visit list because of its <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/16886442">innovative and sustainable farming practices</a>, which other countries are scrambling to learn and imitate.

  • Hawaii

    People who don't want to dig out their passport but still want their farm adventure to have an exotic edge can head to the island of Hawaii. The 50th state boasts a well-developed farm tourism industry that can accommodate people with a diverse array of interests. The <a href="http://hiagtourism.org/">Hawaii Agritourism Association</a> offers resources for tourists who want to have a tropical farm experience or simply want to learn about and taste the state's best farm products. Agritourism options range from visiting <a href="http://www.gohawaii.com/big-island/guidebook/topics/coffee-plantations">coffee plantations</a> in the Big Island's Kona region to exploring the <a href="http://www.gohawaii.com/maui/plan-a-trip/activities/plantations-farms-and-gardens">plantations on Maui</a> to staying on organic farms on the easily reachable island of Oahu. There are enough farm tour options that people can enjoy a standard Hawaii beach or adventure vacation and include some agritourism activities on their itinerary without having to focus completely on farms.

  • Grenada

    Grenada is growing as a <a href="http://www.grenadagrenadines.com/">tourist destination</a>, but it is also a haven for agriculture. From cocoa plantations to spice farms, this small island nation boasts a wealth of agritourism attractions. Nutmeg, mace, cloves, cinnamon and turmeric are grown in higher quantities here than in almost anywhere else in the world (and certainly more than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere). One of the Caribbean's best agritourism resorts, the <a href="http://www.belmontestate.net/">Belmont Estates</a>, is located on Grenada. This three-century-old estate has a thriving nutmeg and cocoa business. Belmont features an organic farm and a restaurant that serves traditional Grenadian food made with ingredients grown on-site. Any tourist who appreciates flavor and spice and who wants to see exotic edibles at their source should definitely consider Grenada a top choice for a Caribbean-based farm experience.

  • California

    California is one of the best places in the U.S. to enjoy a farm-stay, thanks to the diversity of crops and farms. Many smaller family farms in this West Coast state rely on agritourism to supplement their income. Plenty of people know about staying in the wineries and vineyards of the Central Coast and Sonoma areas, but <a href="http://www.calagtour.org/">small family farms</a> and large ranches also offer a more hands-on approach to agritourism. Many of these places teach small scale farming techniques and even offer strategies for organic growing. The University of California system, one of the largest state-run higher education systems in the U.S., has a <a href="http://www.sfp.ucdavis.edu/agritourism/">small-farm program</a> that helps growers create education-oriented agritourism businesses.

  • Philippines

    With diverse conditions on different islands, the Philippines is an ideal place for visiting multiple agritourism sites or focusing on a niche product. Tourists can visit a huge <a href="http://www.markmaranga.com/camp-phillips-del-monte-pineapple-plantation-in-bukidnon/">pineapple plantation</a> for a taste of large scale agriculture, or they could focus on smaller operations, such as <a href="http://www.markmaranga.com/orchid-farm-in-davao/">orchid farms</a>, bee farms, and even small plantations that specialize in growing exotic tropical produce such as dragon fruit or papaya. The government of this beautiful Southeast Asian island nation is looking to <a href="http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/354543/developing-agritourism">actively bolster</a> what is already a successful niche for tour companies and farmers. It is also known for its accessibility because English is a widely spoken (almost universally spoken in many places) second language.

  • Also On The Huffington Post...

    Ready to take the reins on a Western vacation adventure? Brett Barker offers some Old West hospitality at his Scottsdale, Arizona ranch. From horse drawn wagons to cowboy campfires, visitors immerse themselves in a very different lifestyle.

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From Mother Nature Network's Josh Lew: Agritourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the eco-tourism industry. There is nothing new about this form of travel, which involves staying on a far...

From Mother Nature Network's Josh Lew: Agritourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the eco-tourism industry. There is nothing new about this form of travel, which involves staying on a far...

Read more from Huffington Post bloggers:

Erin Maynes: Top Eight Ingredients For a Thanksgiving Feast

Thanksgiving is the day when most (if not all) of your family comes together to eat. This year, why not deliver a truly pan-Canadian multicourse feast that's delicious and ready all at the same time. With only two weeks until the big day, now's the time to check out what's already in your pantry and create your master shopping list. Here are some of my top Canadian "buy now" ingredients to impress your guests on Thanksgiving Day.


Filed by Jessica Leader ?|?

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/14/agritourism-destinations-cities-countries-vacation_n_2130501.html

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Analyst ups rating, price target on Dow Chemical

NEW YORK (AP) ? Shares of The Dow Chemical Co. rose Tuesday after a Goldman Sachs analyst raised his rating on the chemical manufacturer on expectations of better demand in improving global economic conditions.

THE OPINION: Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Koort raised his rating on Dow Chemical to "Buy" from "Neutral" and his 12-month price target to $36 per share from $32.

Koort also increased his 2013 earnings per share estimate to $2.51 from $2.43. Analysts surveyed by FactSet, on average, predict 2013 earnings of $2.51 per share.

Dow Chemical has taken steps to cut costs as its business has been hurt in the slower global economy. It has restructured operations to eliminate jobs and facilities in an effort to make global operations more efficient.

In a research note to clients, Koort said he believes Dow Chemical "offers leverage to a global recovery" because its sales are spread across most geographic regions. The Midland, Mich., manufacturer also offers products for a wide range of industries, including housing, electronics, and automobile manufacturing.

THE STOCK: Shares of Dow Chemical rose 4 cents to end at $28.83 and added 8 cents in after-hours trading. The stock has ranged from $24.42 to $36.08 in the past 52 weeks.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analyst-ups-rating-price-target-dow-chemical-220015340--finance.html

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Friday, November 9, 2012

Cisco Unveils WebEx Social for Higher Education | Government News

By Marketwire .

Article Rating:

November 7, 2012 08:00 AM EST

Reads:

201

DENVER, CO -- (Marketwire) -- 11/07/12 -- EDUCAUSE Booth #1114 -- To help higher education institutions achieve breakthrough levels of learning and teaching, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced the Cisco WebEx? Social for Higher Education. This integrated, cloud-based solution, developed in concert with leading higher education institutions, including Duke University, North Carolina State University, Case Western Reserve and University of Chicago, goes beyond email, learning management systems and portals to connect people, capture the vast knowledge and expertise within the education ecosystem, and make those resources easily available to students and teachers anywhere.

The WebEx Social for Higher Education offer helps colleges and universities transform processes for increased productivity and innovation, while substantially reducing IT infrastructure cost and complexity. Users can quickly identify subject matter experts, gather group feedback, co-author documents, immediately with ready access to mentors, relevant communities based on their course of study, class syllabus, reading lists, and links to informational videos.

Key Highlights:

  • Cisco worked closely with academic leaders from Duke University, North Carolina State University, Case Western Reserve and University of Chicago on the development of the WebEx Social for Higher Education offer, to ensure its applicability and effectiveness in the education sector. All four institutions are currently piloting the solution, with Duke readying to extend it throughout its community -- students, staff, faculty and administration -- in the coming weeks.
  • The WebEx Social for Higher Education offer includes integrated WebEx Social, WebEx Meetings and WebEx Messenger for presence and instant messaging delivered through the Cisco WebEx Cloud. The Cisco WebEx Cloud is a highly available cloud platform with unmatched performance, integration flexibility and enterprise-grade security. Its global footprint is ideal for universities with satellite campuses and distant learning students worldwide.
  • WebEx Meetings and WebEx Messenger Integration let users easily move from social networking to real-time communications through click-to-start instant messaging and web conferencing directly from WebEx Social. The offer includes WebEx web conferencing for up to eight attendees via VOIP. (WebEx web conferencing for beyond eight attendees available at an additional cost).
  • The ability to address the university need to dynamically manage user access to the system for tens of thousands of faculty, students, staff and administration is supported through mainstream technologies, including Active Directory synchronization and Shibboleth authentication. These technologies are used in the majority of higher education institutions.
  • WebEx Social makes it easy for users to personalize their experience. Users can change layouts and customize page views by adding portlets and OpenSocial-compliant gadgets, RSS feeds, suggestions, and more. They can also view a consolidated activity stream of updates from their network, communities, and people they are following, as well as monitor their Watch List to keep up to date with important content that has been shared, manually added, or commented on. Users can also stay "connected" through WebEx Social's native support of multiple operating systems and devices, including the Apple iPhone and iPad.

Supporting Quotes:

Tracy Futhey, vice president for information technology and chief information officer, Duke University
"We're always looking for open, affordable and easily extensible collaboration tools that can help to bring our vibrant and diverse community together, even when they are separated by time or place. Cisco was willing to work closely with us to truly understand the needs f the Duke community, and to find ways to meet those needs through the WebEx Social for Higher Education offering. As a result, we're bringing something unique and powerful to Duke, and by extension to higher education more broadly."

Renee Patton, senior director of education, US Public Sector for Cisco
"Technology is changing our lives at an incredibly rapid pace, yet significant work remains in providing colleges and universities with the collaboration tools needed to drive greater levels of knowledge sharing and innovation. We developed WebEx Social for Higher Education in close cooperation with leading education institutions, as a people-centric cloud collaboration platform that unifies the education workspace and provides a connected learning experience. We're excited about the impact this solution can have on improving the quality and effectiveness of education worldwide."

Additional Resources:

Tags/Keywords: Cisco Collaboration, WebEx, Higher Education, Duke University, Case Western, University of Chicago, North Carolina State, OpenSocial

RSS Feed for Cisco: http://newsroom.cisco.com/rss-feeds

About Cisco Collaboration
From award-winning IP communications to mobility, customer care, Web conferencing, messaging, enterprise social software, and interoperable telepresence experiences, Cisco brings together network-based, integrated collaboration solutions based on open standards. These solutions offered across on-premise, cloud-based or virtualized platforms, as well as services from Cisco and our partners, are designed to help promote business growth, innovation and productivity. They are also designed to help accelerate team performance, protect investments, and simplify the process of finding the right people and information.

About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. iPad is a trademark of Apple, Inc. and Active Directory is a trademark of Microsoft, Inc.

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Source: http://gov.ulitzer.com/node/2434437

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Thursday, November 8, 2012

China's outgoing leader sees unprecedented opportunity, unknown risks

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's outgoing President Hu Jintao said the nation faced risk and opportunity in equal measure as he formally opened a congress of the ruling Communist Party that will usher in a once-in-a-decade leadership change.

More than 2,000 hand-picked delegates gathered at Beijing's cavernous Great Hall of the People for the start of the week-long session, being held against a backdrop of growing social unrest, public anger at corruption and a yawning gap between rich and poor.

"At present, as the global, national and our party's conditions continue to undergo profound changes, we are faced with unprecedented opportunities for development as well as risks and challenges unknown before," Hu said in the customary speech signaling the start of the meeting.

During the congress, Hu will give up his role as party chief to anointed successor Vice President Xi Jinping. Xi then takes over state duties at the annual meeting of parliament in March.

The government has tightened security in the run-up to the congress, even banning the flying of pigeons in the capital, and has either locked up or expelled dozens of dissidents it fears could spoil the party.

Security was especially tight on Thursday around the Great Hall and Tiananmen Square next door, the scene of pro-democracy protests in 1989 that were crushed by the military.

Police dragged away a screaming protester as the Chinese national flag was raised at dawn.

The party, which came to power in 1949 after a long and bloody civil war, has in recent years tied its legitimacy to economic growth and lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty.

But China experts say that unless the new leadership pushes through stalled reforms, the nation risks economic malaise, deepening unrest, and perhaps even a crisis that could shake the party's grip on power.

Advocates of reform are pressing Xi to cut back the privileges of state-owned firms, make it easier for rural migrants to settle permanently in cities, fix a fiscal system that encourages local governments to live off land expropriations and, above all, tether the powers of a state that they say risks suffocating growth and fanning discontent.

The congress may also see cautious efforts to answer calls for more political reform, although nobody seriously expects a move towards full democracy.

Party spokesman Cai Mingzhao said on Wednesday there would be greater efforts at promoting "inner-party democracy" - in other words, encouraging greater debate within the party - but that one-party rule was inviolate.

"The leading position of the Communist Party in China is a decision made by history and by the people," he said. "Political system reform must suit China's national reality. We have to unswervingly stick to the right path blazed by the party."

And that path includes control over what people can see and hear in the news and on the internet.

"My internet has been cut off, I can't receive telephone calls and three people follow me when I leave the house to walk my dog," Xinna, the wife of one of China's longest-serving political prisoners, Mongol rights activist Hada, told Reuters.

"All I want from this congress is my husband to be released and for our lives to get back to normal," she said from her home in the frigid northern Chinese city of Hohhot.

A Tibetan rights group reported that three teenaged Tibetan monks in the southwestern province of Sichuan set themselves on fire on Wednesday in protest against Chinese rule, bringing to almost 70 the number of self-immolations by Tibetans in 18 months.

China has branded the self-immolators "terrorists" and criminals and has blamed exiled Tibetans and the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, for inciting them.

(Editing by Nick Macfie and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-opens-party-congress-leadership-change-011151580--business.html

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Why quick thinking leads to bad decisions

When people make hasty decisions, they tend to make more mistakes. Now, a new study on monkeys explains why: Brain cells become hypersensitive to new information, even bad information, making us likelier to draw faulty conclusions.

"When we try to do things too quickly, we tend to make more errors and then when we slow down we tend to be more accurate," said study co-author Richard Heitz, a neuroscientist at Vanderbilt University. "Your brain sees things differently when you're placed into a situation where you have to make snap decisions."

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The findings, which are detailed in Wednesday's issue of the journal Neuron, could shed light on the faulty decision-making of people with schizophrenia or other mental disorders.

To explain the phenomenon, Heitz and his colleagues trained two macaque monkeys to play a game in which they had to pick out the letter L in a sea of Ts or vice versa.

Before each round, a colored circle flashed on the screen to indicate whether the macaques would be rewarded for speed or accuracy.

In the speed test, the monkeys only received a tasty squirt of juice if they found the right letter quickly. In the accuracy test, monkeys got a squirt of juice no matter how long it took for them to find the right letter, but had a "timeout" if they made a mistake.

The researchers then recorded the activity of neurons in the brain region responsible for higher reasoning, the prefrontal cortex.

When the monkeys learned the next trial would be a speed test, the electrical activity from those neurons increased even before starting the test, like cars revving their engines in preparation for a race. During the speed trials, the team found that neurons responsible for visual processing fired more strongly when the monkeys indicated they had found the right letter. The neurons were more sensitive, as if the objects on the screen actually appeared brighter to the brain when it had to make decisions quickly, Heitz told LiveScience.

That higher sensitivity may sound good, but "because they're amplified, you may react to them as if they're more important than they actually are," meaning even faulty answers could be seen as the correct ones, he said.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook? and Google+.

? 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49730123/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Bahrain arrests 4 in deadly blasts in capital

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Top-ranked Djokovic holds off Murray at ATP finals

LONDON (AP) ? In what is shaping up to be the new top rivalry in tennis, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray whacked the ball for three more grueling sets Wednesday at the ATP finals.

Advantage, Djokovic.

The top-ranked Serb got the big break when he needed it late in the third set and held off Murray 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 at the O2 Arena.

"I think both of us probably see each other's games pretty well. Especially this year, because we've played so much," said Murray, who beat Djokovic to win his first major title at the U.S. Open. "But the one thing I would say is, this year I think both of us probably have seen things in each other's games probably improve, and that's why there's a lot of long rallies, and the matches are incredibly tight."

Despite the win, Djokovic still hasn't advanced to the semifinals at the season-ending tournament for the top eight players in the world. But he can make it through if Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeats Tomas Berdych in the other Group B match later Wednesday.

Djokovic is now 4-3 against Murray in 2012, with his biggest win coming in a five-setter in the Australian Open semifinals. But Murray had won two of the previous three, including in the semifinals of the Olympics and in the U.S. Open final ? another five-setter.

Overall, Djokovic now leads the third-ranked Murray 10-7 in head-to-head meetings.

"I'd say our strengths are similar in terms of what we do well on the court," Murray said. "Our return game has been very strong for the last few years. Our movement, as well. That's why there's a lot of normally long rallies."

Murray looked unbeatable at the start Wednesday, breaking Djokovic in the first game and losing only three points on his serve in the first set.

But Djokovic was able to convert break chances in each of the next two sets, and then for a third time at 5-5 in the final set to serve out the match.

Djokovic still didn't have an easy time as Murray quickly earned two break points in the final game. But a forehand smash and a service winner erased the danger before a pair of errors from Murray ended the match.

"The last two minutes of the match probably is what decided it," Murray said. "He broke from 15-40, and then I had 15-40 next game and didn't break. So that was the moment that decided the match."

Murray has had a breakthrough season this year. He became the first British man since 1938 to reach the Wimbledon final, and soon after won the Olympic gold medal by beating Roger Federer on the same grass at the All England Club.

Murray's biggest win came in September when he became the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a major tennis title with the victory over Djokovic at the U.S. Open.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/top-ranked-djokovic-holds-off-murray-atp-finals-174708763--spt.html

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Man sentenced for stealing lobsters for drug habit

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Peace envoy fears Somalia fate for Syria

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The international envoy for Syria fears the country could turn into a new Somalia unless its crisis is resolved, warning of a scenario in which warlords and militia fill a void left by a collapsed state.

In an interview with the London-based al-Hayat newspaper, veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi played down the risk of sectarian and ethnic partition of Syria, but said: "What I am afraid of is worse ... the collapse of the state and that Syria turns into a new Somalia."

The Horn of Africa country has been without effective central government since the outbreak of civil war in 1991.

"People are talking about the risk of partition in Syria. I do not see partition," said Brahimi, who was appointed as U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria in August to replace former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

"I believe that if this issue is not dealt with correctly, the danger is 'Somalisation' and not partition: the collapse of the state and the emergence of warlords, militias and fighting groups."

Brahimi's job is complicated by international and regional differences on how the 19-month-old conflict should be resolved.

It began as a peaceful uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, inspired by revolts against leaders in other Arab states. But an armed struggle developed within months as Assad deployed military force to quell protests.

Asked how long the conflict could go on, Brahimi said: "Everyone must face a bitter, difficult and scary truth: that this type of crisis - if not dealt with correctly day by day - can go on for a year, two years and more."

"I hope that it doesn't go on for this period, and it might not if everyone inside and outside (Syria) does what he should."

Speaking in Cairo on Sunday, Brahimi called on world powers to adopt a U.N. Security Council resolution based on an understanding brokered by Annan in Geneva in June which called for the establishment of a transitional government in Syria.

Russia and China have blocked three previous draft U.N. Security Council resolutions that would have added to international pressure on Assad. The Geneva Declaration did not specify what role, if any Assad would play in a future Syria.

Brahimi said: "Yes, the Security Council is divided. What is required is that the Geneva agreement be translated into a resolution."

(Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/peace-envoy-fears-somalia-fate-syria-101211801.html

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US Crashes Out Of The Top 10 In World Prosperity Index - Business ...

The United States is no longer one of the world's ten most "prosperous" countries for the first time?according to the Legatum Institute.

The Legatum Prosperity Index assessed and ranked the prosperity of 142 countries based on eight sub-categories: economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity, health, governance, education, safety and security, personal freedom, and social capital.

America experienced an "unprecedented" fall to twelfth in the rankings, as it experienced "weakening performance across five of the Index?s eight sub-categories."

When referring to the U.S., the language of the report had a somewhat dire tone.?It claims that?"the American Dream is in jeopardy," and "the national ethos of the U.S. is under threat."?

The London-based public policy institute?pegged the U.S.' precipitous drop to a decline in consumer and voter confidence, along with a bleak economic and entrepreneurial outlook; four percent fewer citizens believe that "hard work gets you ahead," and business startup costs as a percentage of Gross National Income (GNI) have doubled in the past two years.?

In fact, the U.S. economy sub-score dropped to twentieth and its personal freedom score dropped four points to fourteenth, just above Uruguay.

?Despite performing relatively well in a few sub-indices," said?Jeffrey Gedmin, President and CEO of the Legatum Institute?"it is clear that the U.S. is struggling to overcome the barriers to prosperity. Good education alone will not keep prosperity afloat and whoever succeeds in the elections this week needs to address the factors that are holding the nation back from being truly prosperous.?

It appears that Legatume hopes the timing of the report's release ? which was made available to the public on October 30 ? will have electoral implications in the upcoming presidential race.

?As the US struggles to reclaim the building blocks of the American?Dream," Gedmin noted, "now is the time to consider who is best placed to lead the country back to?prosperity and compete with the more agile countries that have pushed the U.S. out of?the top ten."?

Additionally, these rankings represent a yet another shift away from using GDP as the sole metric for measuring prosperity. Gedmin adds:??GDP alone can never offer a complete view of prosperity, which is why, just days?away from the presidential elections, the U.S.?s fall in the Index has come at such a?pivotal time.?

Last month, the U.N. Settlements program released its own "City Prosperity Index," which ranked a handful of the world's cities according to its own metric determining which were the most prosperous.

Here are the top twenty countries:

  1. Norway
  2. Denmark
  3. Sweden
  4. Australia
  5. New Zealand
  6. Canada
  7. Finland
  8. Netherlands
  9. Switzerland
  10. Ireland
  11. Luxembourg
  12. United States
  13. United Kingdom
  14. Germany
  15. Iceland
  16. Austria
  17. Belgium
  18. Hong Kong
  19. Singapore
  20. Taiwan

SEE ALSO: Why the world's most prosperous cities are in Europe ?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/us-crashes-out-of-the-top-10-in-world-prosperity-index-2012-11

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

US service firms grow more slowly in October

(AP) ? U.S. service companies grew at a slightly slower pace in October than September because of a decline in new orders. But a measure of employment rose, indicating services firms hired more.

The Institute for Supply Management said Monday that its index of non-manufacturing activity fell to 54.2. That's down from a six-month high of 55.1 in September. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.

The report measures growth in a broad range of businesses from retail and construction companies to health care and financial services firms. The industries covered employ about 90 percent of the work force.

October's reading matches the 12-month average for the index. The industries reporting the fastest growth were agriculture, construction, management of companies, and finance and insurance.

The overall economy grew at an annual rate of 2 percent in the July-September quarter. That was up from 1.3 percent growth in the April-June period. Still, the growth is considered too slow to rapidly lower the unemployment rate.

Employers added 171,000 jobs in October and hiring was also stronger in August and September than first thought, the government said Friday. The unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent in September. The increase mainly reflected the fact that many more people began looking for work last month and not all of them found jobs.

Service companies have been a key source of job growth this year. They have created about 90 percent of the net jobs added since January. Still, many of the new service jobs have been low-paying retail and restaurant positions.

The unemployment report was the last major snapshot of the economy before Tuesday's elections.

President Barack Obama will face voters with the highest unemployment rate of any incumbent since Franklin Roosevelt. Republican challenger Mitt Romney has made high unemployment and the weak economy the major point in his effort to deny Obama a second term.

The ISM reported last week that manufacturing expanded for a second month in October. The group's index showed manufacturing had contracted from June through August. Factories had struggled over the summer with weak consumer demand in the United States and slower global growth, which depressed export sales.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-11-05-Economy-Services/id-5d747e326b1b458ab89d591766431d29

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Facebook Admits Too Much Facebook Probably Isn?t Healthy

Cakes Are Like FacebookI can't tell if this is a major social media gaffe by social media itself, or the most honest thing Facebook has ever said. Maybe it's both. Last night Facebook's official Facebook Page shared this: "Birthday cakes are made for people to be together. They give friends a place to gather and celebrate. But too much cake probably isn?t healthy. So birthday cake is a lot like Facebook." Wow.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Gqy7OzCHCkY/

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Path of huge 'Big Freeze' flood located

A giant flood of Arctic meltwater may have triggered an ancient 1,200-year-long chill nicknamed the "Big Freeze," the last major cold age on Earth, a new study finds.

These findings suggest that changes in the flow of water in the Arctic could suddenly alter the modern climate, study investigators added.

Starting about 12,900 years ago, the Northern Hemisphere was abruptly gripped by centuries of cold, an era technically known as the Younger Dryas. Scientists have suggested this chill helped wipe out most of the large mammals in North America as well as the so-called Clovis people. The Big Freeze was not a glacial period, which are colloquially often called ice ages ? it was a cold time in the relatively warm spans between glacial periods.

Although researchers have suggested a cosmic impact might have set off this Big Freeze, the prevailing theory for the cause of the Younger Dryas was a vast pulse of freshwater ? a greater volume than all of North America's Great Lakes combined ? that poured into the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The source of this flood was apparently the glacial Lake Agassiz, located along the southern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, which at its maximum 21,000 years ago was 6,500 to 9,800 feet (2,000 to 3,000 meters) thick and covered much of North America, from the Arctic Ocean south to Seattle and New York.

"The flood was likely caused by the sudden breaking of an ice dam," said researcher Alan Condron, a physical oceanographer at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. "Prior to the flood, meltwater is thought to have drained into the Gulf of Mexico, down the Mississippi River. After the dam broke, the water rapidly flowed into the ocean via a different river drainage system." [ 7 Ways the Earth Changes in the Blink of an Eye ]

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Altered circulation
This deluge would have diluted the circulation of saltwater in the North Atlantic, disrupting the ocean "conveyer belt" that cycles warm water up to the Arctic, where it cools and sinks and travels back south along the ocean floor. With less warm seawater moving poleward, temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere apparently plunged.

The waters from Lake Agassiz were originally suggested more than two decades ago to have poured through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Valley. However, scientists recently suggested this meltwater may have instead flooded into the Arctic Ocean via the Mackenzie Valley about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) northwest of the St. Lawrence outlet.

To see which flooded waterway might best explain the plummeting temperatures seen during the Younger Dryas, a group of scientists developed computer models that studied the impact meltwater from the two outlets had on the conveyer belt of currents known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.

The researchers found that meltwater flooding the St. Lawrence Valley would have weakened this current in this conveyer belt by 15 percent or less. In contrast, freshwater pouring into the Mackenzie Valley would have weakened this conveyer belt by 30 percent or more. This suggests the Mackenzie Valley was the likely route for the freezing seen during the Younger Dryas, not the more southern St. Lawrence Valley path.

"It is only by simulating the circulation of the ocean at 10 to 15 times the resolution previously achieved by modelers that we have been able to accurately capture the pathway that the meltwater would have taken in the ocean," Condron told OurAmazingPlanet.

Modern-day climate
The ocean apparently circulates in such a way that freshwater released farther northward near the Arctic can much more easily interrupt the sinking of surface waters in the Greenland and Labrador Sea that sets the pace of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.

"In contrast, when the meltwater enters the ocean from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, ocean currents cause it to be confined largely to the sub-tropical North Atlantic about 3,000 kilometers (1,800 miles) south of the Greenland and Labrador Seas," Condron said. "As a result, it has little impact on the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, and therefore on climate."

These findings hint that shifts in the flow of water in the Arctic could dramatically alter today's climate.

"However, in our modern-day climate, there are no sources of freshwater as large as the glacial lakes or Laurentide Ice Sheet readily available to suddenly flood into the ocean," Condron said. "As a result, we should be cautious using this study as an analog for what might trigger modern-day abrupt climate change."

The researchers are now using their high-resolution model "to understand the sensitivity of our modern-day climate to increases in the melting of the large ice sheet over Greenland and changes in the hydrological cycle, such as increased river runoff of the Arctic in the near-future," Condron said.

Condron and his colleague Peter Winsor detailed their findings online Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

? 2012 OurAmazingPlanet. All rights reserved. More from OurAmazingPlanet.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49698755/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Sunday, November 4, 2012

IRS not enforcing rules on churches and politics

NEW YORK (AP) ? For the past three years, the Internal Revenue Service hasn't been investigating complaints of partisan political activity by churches, leaving religious groups who make direct or thinly veiled endorsements of political candidates unchallenged.

The IRS monitors religious and other nonprofits on everything from salaries to spending, and that oversight continues. However, Russell Renwicks, a manager in the IRS Mid-Atlantic region, recently said the agency had suspended audits of churches suspected of breaching federal restrictions on political activity. A 2009 federal court ruling required the IRS to clarify which high-ranking official could authorize audits over the tax code's political rules. The IRS has yet to do so.

Dean Patterson, an IRS spokesman in Washington, said Renwicks, who examines large tax-exempt groups, "misspoke." Patterson would not provide any specifics beyond saying that "the IRS continues to run a balanced program that follows up on potential noncompliance."

However, attorneys who specialize in tax law for religious groups, as well as advocacy groups who monitor the cases, say they know of no IRS inquiries in the past three years into claims of partisanship by houses of worship. IRS church audits are confidential, but usually become public as the targeted religious groups fight to maintain their nonprofit status.

"The impression created is that no one is minding the store," said Melissa Rogers, a legal scholar and director of the Center for Religion and Public Affairs at Wake Forest University Divinity School in North Carolina. "When there's an impression the IRS is not enforcing the restriction ? that seems to embolden some to cross the line."

The issue is closely watched by a cadre of attorneys and former IRS officials who specialize in tax-exempt law, along with watchdog groups on competing sides of the church-state debate.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which seeks strict limits on religious involvement in politics, and the Alliance Defending Freedom, which considers the regulations unconstitutional government intrusion, scour the political landscape for any potential cases. While Americans United gathers evidence it hopes will prompt an IRS investigation, the Alliance Defending Freedom jumps in to provide a defense. Neither group knows of any IRS contact with houses of worship over political activity since the 2009 federal ruling.

Nicholas Cafardi, a Duquesne University Law School professor and Roman Catholic canon lawyer who specializes in tax-exempt law, said he has heard of no IRS inquiries over churches and politics in the last three years. Neither has Marcus Owens, a Washington attorney who spent a decade as head of the IRS tax-exempt division and is now in private practice.

Owens, who was with the IRS through 2000, said the agency had once initiated between 20 and 30 inquiries each year concerning political activity by churches or pastors. He said he knows of only two recent cases the IRS pursued against houses of worship or pastors, and neither involved complaints over partisan activity.

"What the IRS is desperate to do is to avoid signaling to churches and pastors that there is no administrative oversight," Owens said. "The IRS has been vigilant with regard to civil fraud and criminal cases, but those aren't all that common."

The tax code allows a wide range of political activity by houses of worship, including speaking out on social issues and organizing congregants to vote. But churches cannot endorse a candidate or engage in partisan advocacy. The presidential election has seen a series of statements by clergy that critics say amount to political endorsements. Religious leaders say they are speaking about public policies, not candidates, and have every right to do so.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has recently taken out full-page ads in major newspapers, featuring a photo of renowned evangelist Billy Graham, urging Americans to vote along biblical principles. Graham met last month with Mitt Romney and pledged to do "all I can" to help the Republican presidential nominee.

In a survey last week by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 40 percent of black Protestants who attend worship services regularly said their clergy have discussed a specific candidate in church ? and the candidate in every instance was President Barack Obama.

This Sunday, Roman Catholic Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Ill., ordered all the priests in his diocese to read a statement urging Catholics to vote and stating that, "Catholic politicians, bureaucrats, and their electoral supporters who callously enable the destruction of innocent human life in the womb also thereby reject Jesus as their Lord."

In Texas, a pastor of a small independent church posted a sign on the front of the building that read, "Vote for the Mormon, not the Muslim." Romney is the first Mormon nominee for president by a major party. Opponents of Obama, who is Christian, have spread false rumors that he is Muslim.

Renwicks made his comments Oct. 18, at a Washington seminar on tax-exempt organizations presented by the American Law Institute-Continuing Legal Education. Responding to a moderator's question about the status of church audits, Renwicks said, "we're basically holding any potential church audits ? they're basically in abeyance.

"I haven't done a church audit in quite some time," said Renwicks, according to a recording of the talk provided by the American Law Institute. "There were one or two ? what I'd call somewhat, maybe potentially egregious cases ? where I thought maybe, we need to go out there, but even those were put in abeyance until we get the signature issue resolved."

An IRS reorganization in 1998 put responsibility for authorizing the audits in the hands of lower-ranking IRS officials. A Minnesota pastor, who faced an audit over his 2007 endorsement from the pulpit of Rep. Michele Bachmann, argued the IRS was violating its own rules. In 2009, a federal judge agreed, prompting a formal IRS rule-making process that continues today.

Dean Zerbe, a former senior counsel to the Senate Finance Committee who specializes in tax fraud and abuse, said the audits are "an extremely hellish area for the IRS to deal with."

The agency has to balance enforcement with churches' First Amendment rights. Even when the federal agency finds an outright violation, the penalty for houses of worship is usually little more than a warning. The IRS has revoked nonprofit status in just a handful of these cases since the rules for religious groups were adopted in 1954.

Last month, more than 1,500 pastors, organized by the Alliance Defending Freedom, endorsed a candidate from the pulpit and then sent a record of their statement to the IRS, hoping their challenge would eventually end up in court. The Alliance has organized the event, called "Pulpit Freedom Sunday," since 2008. The IRS has never contacted a pastor involved in the protest.

"I think people are misled to think the IRS wakes up every morning wanting to knock on the door of a church or synagogue," said Zerbe. "Most senators blanch at the idea of having an IRS agent in the pews listening to what's going on from the pulpit. ... I think the IRS in some ways reflects that similar discomfort."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/irs-not-enforcing-rules-churches-politics-165145656.html

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NTSB: Police chopper hit pole, crashed; 2 killed

Law enforcement personnel embrace early Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, as others investigate the scene of an Atlanta Police Department helicopter crash that killed two officers aboard the aircraft when it crashed near a shopping center late Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/David Tulis)

Law enforcement personnel embrace early Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, as others investigate the scene of an Atlanta Police Department helicopter crash that killed two officers aboard the aircraft when it crashed near a shopping center late Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/David Tulis)

Law enforcement personnel investigate the scene of an Atlanta Police Department helicopter crash early Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, that killed two officers aboard the aircraft when it crashed near a shopping center late Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/David Tulis)

(AP) ? A low-flying police helicopter searching for a runaway boy hit a power line pole before it plummeted to the ground and exploded, killing both officers on board but leaving those on the ground unharmed.

Federal authorities were investigating what caused the chopper to crash into power lines along on a busy city street. Electricity was knocked out to nearby homes and businesses in an area filled with shopping plazas, fast-food restaurants and a gas station.

The 9-year-old boy was found wandering on a city street a couple of hours after the crash late Saturday night, Atlanta police spokesman Officer John Chafee said Sunday. He ran away after being scolded by his mother.

The two officers were identified Sunday as pilot Richard J. Halford, 48, of Lithia Springs, who had been with the department for 26 years, and Shawn A. Smiley, 40, of Lithonia, a tactical flight officer who joined the department two years ago.

Atlanta Police Chief George Turner praised the two officers as public servants who died honorably in the search for the missing boy. Both men were fathers. Smiley had three children under the age of 10.

"Every day, they provided air support for our officers, assisting in major events and searches for suspects and missing persons," Turner said in a news release. "Their value to our citizens and our officers on the street is incalculable."

The families have asked for privacy, and trust funds have been set up at Wells Fargo bank locations to help them, said Atlanta police spokesman Carlos Campos.

Their deaths shook not only the police force, but the entire city.

"It's sad. It's tragic ... for someone to lose their lives trying to find a kid, trying to keep another family together," Rodney Christian, 22, said as he and more than a dozen others looked at the scene in the early morning darkness Sunday. Christian lamented the tragedy and thought of his 1-month-old baby.

"It makes me want to rush home and get back to my kid."

The wreckage of the OH-6A helicopter had already been moved as investigators worked to piece together what happened, said Eric M. Weiss, a spokesman with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Part of the helicopter's landing gear had to be removed from the cables with the help of the power company.

The NTSB investigators were going over maintenance records and had talked to witnesses.

"They saw the aircraft, they heard the aircraft, and then they saw a flash of light when it hit the pole and then it crashed into the roadway," investigator Ralph Hicks said.

Records with the Federal Aviation Administration showed the helicopter was a Hughes OH-6A manufactured in 1967. The Hughes has historically been a military workhorse.

Atlanta police referred questions about what caused the crash to federal investigators.

Bystander Darryl James, 42, said he had gone with a companion to a check-cashing store Saturday night when he heard the helicopter flying overhead and thought it was rather low.

"The tail end went down and then there was an explosion," James said. He said he tried to get close to the wreckage. "As soon as I got close enough to it, poom! It exploded."

James said people are often waiting at a normally busy bus stop near the crash site, adding, "Thank God nobody was out there."

After the crash, fire trucks and police cars with lights flashing converged on the area, blocking surrounding roads. Police put up yellow crime scene tape and kept bystanders so far back they were unable to see the crash site behind a small rise.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said he was saddened by what he called a "terrible accident."

"We mourn these two brave men and offer our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones," Reed said in a statement.

___

Associated Press writers Norman Gomlak and Christina Almeida in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-11-04-Atlanta%20Helicopter%20Crash/id-5a5ef21121d143b387bd2e769229f086

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Robert Pattinson Would Love To Reshoot First-Ever 'Twilight' Kiss

Kristen Stewart and Edward Cullen actor tell 'MTV First' that the scene was 'very complex.'
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz


Robert Pattinson And Kristen Stewart during "MTV First: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1696703/robert-pattinson-twilight-first-kiss-redo.jhtml

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