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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/46131165/
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Friday, January 27, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Vegas casinos relying more on baccarat
Baccarat dealer Ramiro Nepomuceno, right, shuffles cards as floor supervisor Sam Insyxiengmay looks on while preparing a table for play at the MGM Hotel and Casino, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Las Vegas. There are generally more Asian gamblers in Vegas because of the Chinese New Year, and it means increased traffic at high limit baccarat tables. Though not widely known, baccarat is actually the most profitable table game for casinos which try to court Asian gamblers who tie luck and good fortune to the start of the Lunar Year. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Baccarat dealer Ramiro Nepomuceno, right, shuffles cards as floor supervisor Sam Insyxiengmay looks on while preparing a table for play at the MGM Hotel and Casino, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Las Vegas. There are generally more Asian gamblers in Vegas because of the Chinese New Year, and it means increased traffic at high limit baccarat tables. Though not widely known, baccarat is actually the most profitable table game for casinos which try to court Asian gamblers who tie luck and good fortune to the start of the Lunar Year. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Baccarat dealer Ramiro Nepomuceno, right, shuffles cards while preparing a table for play at the MGM Hotel and Casino, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Las Vegas. There are generally more Asian gamblers in Vegas because of the Chinese New Year, and it means increased traffic at high limit baccarat tables. Though not widely known, baccarat is actually the most profitable table game for casinos which try to court Asian gamblers who tie luck and good fortune to the start of the Lunar Year. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
A couple looks over the Chinese New Year display inside the Conservatory at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Las Vegas. There are generally more Asian gamblers in Vegas because of the Chinese New Year, and it means increased traffic at high limit baccarat tables. Though not widely known, baccarat is actually the most profitable table game for casinos which try to court Asian gamblers who tie luck and good fortune to the start of the Lunar Year. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Members of the Lohan School of Shaolin parade up and down Fremont Street while doing a dragon dance during Chinese New Years festivities, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Las Vegas. There are generally more Asian gamblers in Vegas because of the Chinese New Year, and it means increased traffic at high limit baccarat tables. Though not widely known, baccarat is actually the most profitable table game for casinos which try to court Asian gamblers who tie luck and good fortune to the start of the Lunar Year. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Members of the Lohan School of Shaolin parade up and down Fremont Street while doing a dragon and lion dance during Chinese New Years festivities, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, in Las Vegas. There are generally more Asian gamblers in Vegas because of the Chinese New Year, and it means increased traffic at high limit baccarat tables. Though not widely known, baccarat is actually the most profitable table game for casinos which try to court Asian gamblers who tie luck and good fortune to the start of the Lunar Year. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
LAS VEGAS (AP) ? In the days before the Chinese New Year celebration began this week, six high rollers sat down at the private baccarat tables one day at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and began throwing down wagers of $100,000 to $200,000 a hand. It was a scene hardly out of place these days in Sin City.
Big-time gamblers, primarily from Asia, are flocking to Las Vegas to play baccarat and providing a big lift to the overall bottom line of the city's casinos.
Baccarat has easily surpassed blackjack in terms of casino revenue in Las Vegas and now represents nearly 60 percent of the MGM Grand's table games revenue over the past year. It's especially popular this week with tens of thousands of tourists from Asia in town to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
"For us to make money in gaming today without baccarat is almost impossible," said Debra Nutton, senior vice president of casino operations at the MGM Grand hotel-casino. "We need the big whales to make money."
In Las Vegas parlance, a "whale" is a big-time gambler who easily wagers more in one night at the tables than most American families make in a year. Casinos cater to them with plush, secluded gambling salons inside the top casinos ? with baccarat games that often start out at a minimum $10,000 per hand.
The whales typically favor baccarat ? a game romanticized in James Bond flicks and highly popular in Macau and Singapore.
The game is built on a simple premise: Who will end up with a better hand, the player or the banker? Gamblers are dealt two cards and predict whether they will beat the banker, typically a position that rotates among the players at the table. Smaller tables, known as midi-baccarat, start at $100 limits and look more like large blackjack tables, skipping the rotating banker and leaving that role to the dealer. Even smaller-limit tables are called mini-baccarat.
Nevada figures show that during the 12 months ending Nov. 30, casinos statewide won $1.27 billion from baccarat players, with the game offered at 258 total tables in 24 casinos. Blackjack, meanwhile, pulled in just $1.03 billion ? even though it was offered across 2,810 tables in 151 casinos.
While casinos hope to pocket 12 percent of the money wagered on baccarat, the large amounts played in fewer bets mean big swings in revenue quarter to quarter, depending on how lucky the gamblers are.
Slots are still the most popular and lucrative form of gambling in Nevada, with nearly 165,000 machines over 330 locations including supermarket, gas stations and airports.
Baccarat has been the most lucrative table game since 2009, and has been increasing its share since then, according to an analysis of gambling revenues by Dave Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
That's even though the game isn't widely offered, he said.
"The real high-end play is happening in maybe six or seven casinos," Schwartz said.
As Americans struggled during the Great Recession, Las Vegas casinos have worked harder to increase tourism from wealthy international visitors, especially Asians. Their game of choice, casinos say, is baccarat.
The MGM Grand is among those Strip casinos counting on their highest of high rollers coming to town this weekend for the Chinese New Year. Nutton said her casino could double the number of baccarat tables during the Chinese New Year and still be busy.
In addition to private flights and luxury accommodations, Nutton said casinos around Las Vegas attract baccarat play year-round by offering high-roller tournaments with million-dollar prize pools.
One three-day tournament held at the MGM Grand's mansion casino in early October cost $5,000 to enter and offered the winner $750,000, seven others at least $10,000 each, all participants a brand new tablet computer and a drawing among finalists for a 2012 BMW convertible.
Similar tournaments run several times a year around Sin City, Nutton said, in hopes that entrants will also play on their own and come back to each particular casino again.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Las Vegas Sands Corp., which run two casinos each on the Las Vegas Strip, derive the majority of their revenue from Asia, where baccarat is the undisputed king of games.
Caesars Entertainment Corp., which owns or manages 52 casinos in 12 U.S. states and seven countries, reported $6.66 billion in revenue from baccarat during the first 9 months of 2011. Over the same time, Sands ? with four casino-resorts in baccarat-heavy Asia and three in the United States ? beat that with $6.87 billion.
The casinos are fiercely competing for a relatively small number of players who can afford five- or six-figure bets, Nutton said.
"There's only that select universe," she said.
Schwartz said that if casinos become more dependent on baccarat's bottom line, they're in for less predictable results. From 2004 to 2010, baccarat showed to have the biggest variance among casino games in its hold percentage, the amount of money casinos keep from the amount wagered.
Hold is generally governed by complex math, designed so gamblers slowly lose money and the house always wins overall.
Between 2004 and 2010, the average hold for baccarat was 11.7 percent, but casinos statewide saw monthly hold for the game as high as 19.5 percent or as low as 3.6 percent.
If a player gets lucky one day and quickly wins several million dollars, casinos are reminded of it when they report their quarterly results, Schwartz said.
"A lot of the more business-oriented folks don't like this kind of volatility in the company," he said. "It's lucrative, but it's also risky."
Steve Rosen, chief marketing officer at Santo Gaming , which runs the Plaza Las Vegas casino in downtown Las Vegas, said he still expects baccarat to become more popular as more people learn to play, casinos add more tables designed for smaller limits and companies keep pushing to attract Asian customers.
"I think a lot of casinos are trying to, they just don't understand how yet. You're going to see more and more baccarat and you're going to see baccarat become more mainstream," Rosen said. "You can't have 91 percent of revenues across the world coming from one game and not have people here paying attention to it."
Tim Fong, co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program, said several cultural factors among Asians combine to encourage gambling, especially during the holiday.
Generations of Chinese citizens, for example, accept gambling in society and also strongly value notions of luck and predetermined destiny, Fong said. Many lived as farmers or peasants before China liberalized its economy, and looked forward to the new year in part because it was the only time they could take a genuine break from work.
"It's much more driven by (the idea that) things are predetermined. It's kind of, well, this is our opportunity to almost test the fates, test our luck as to what's in store for us for the next coming year," Fong said. "There's a lot of value placed on if you do and win really well ... then you're going to have a great year.
"It's kind of like a little litmus test, if you will," he said.
___
Oskar Garcia can be reached at http://twitter.com/oskargarcia
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
American Automotive Artists | Great news from Folklori!
Posted by Jacob on January 25, 2012
Considering the fact that automotive pattern is basically an artistic endeavor, art has always been a part of automotive life. In spite of this, for a lot of many years automotive art was the item of pattern research, pattern departments of automobile producers, or aligned with automotive promotion. Automotive good art did not exist as a separate art genre. In spite of this there have been a few auto lovers who transpired for being artists and enjoyed painting vehicles basically simply because they cherished the topic matter. But for an artist for being victorious, there must be a markets. And there have been automotive lovers who had been intrigued in investing in art.
So in 1983, a group of 6 artists received invites to exhibit their performs in the Meadowbrook Concours in Detroit. Throughout this exhibition, these artists decided to sort an alliance dedicated to exchanging options and maintaining latest on trends in automotive art and and so the Automotive Very good Arts Culture was born. The artist credited with founding this society is Ken Eberts who has been its president as that time. Ken is regarded as one of the several world?s leading site automotive good artists. He initially worked inside the pattern department at Ford Motor Company. Then in 1968 he embarked on a second vocation in automotive good art. Considering the fact that then, his performs have appeared in magazines, on Christmas cards, posters, and book handles. Ken also has an curiosity in architecture and many of his automotive performs include things like an automobile set versus the backdrop of an engaging building.
He is a two-time winner of the Peter Helck Award and therefore the Richard Teague Award for that ?body of work that finest exemplifies the spirit of the automobile.?
Invoice Neale is also a member of the Auto Very good Arts Culture. Moreover to vehicles, Invoice paints the most people related considering the field for instance drivers and owners. Invoice has an aviation qualifications and both vehicles and airplanes are sometimes highlighted in his compositions. Bill?s work has appeared in each of the prestigious automotive magazines for instance Road & Track, Car & Driver, and Auto Magazine. He has done posters for a lot of Auto Concours d?Elegance and other automobile events for instance the Monterey Historic Races, Houston Classi-Chassis and Carroll Shelby Nationals. He is the poster artist for that Colorado Grand Rally. He is also the recipient of numerous awards from Europe, the United States and South America including the prestigious Peter Helck and Athena awards.
Jim Dietz is another contemporary artist who paints vehicles. In spite of this, Jim is a historical artist who specializes in aviation and military subjects as well as vehicles. Jim is a graduate of the Art Center College of Style and design. He began his vocation in art as an illustrator doing automotive ads, movie posters and book handles. But in 1978 he changed from commercial illustration to historical art. In 1997, Dietz won the Stanley Wanlass Award for ?excellence in strength of pattern and composition echoing the spirit of the automobile? in the Meadow Brook Concours d?Elegance. He also won a Peter Helck Award in 1999 and 2,000 in the Pebble Beach Concours? d?Elegance. Moreover, he has received numerous other awards for his site aviation and blog military art. Like Neale and Eberts, he represents the finest of a new genre in art.
Source: http://folkloricarts.com/?p=103
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Seal & Heidi Klum Head to Splitsville (omg!)
Another Hollywood power couple bites the dust.?The Insider?has confirmed that Seal and Heidi Klum are ending their six-year marriage.
The couple released a joint statement reading, "While we have enjoyed seven very loving, loyal and happy years of marriage, after much soul-searching we have decided to separate. We have had the deepest respect for one another throughout our relationship and continue to love each other very much, but we have grown apart. This is an amicable process and protecting the well-being of our children remains our top priority, especially during this time of transition. We thank our family, friends, and fans for their kind words of support. And for our children?s sake, we appreciate you respecting our privacy."
Five Things You Don't Know About Heidi Klum
Heidi, 38, and Seal, 48, were last seen together on December 26, when the Project Runway star tweeted a picture of herself with her Grammy winning husband vacationing in Aspen.
Heidi Klum Fashion Time Warp
Heidi, an avid tweeter, hasn't posted any personal messages to her account since the Golden Globe Awards, which she attended without her husband.
On January 20, Seal took to his Twitter account, writing, "The End" along with a picture of a tattoo.
The couple, who wed in Mexico on May 10, 2005, has four children together including Heidi's seven-year-old daughter from a previous relationship whom Seal adopted.
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Mutant bird flu research halted
20 January 2012
Last updated at 18:40 ET
Scientists who created a potentially more deadly bird flu strain have temporarily stopped their research amid fears it could be used by terrorists.
In a letter published in Science and Nature, the teams call for an "international forum" to debate the risks and value of the studies.
US authorities last month asked the authors of the research to redact key details in forthcoming publications.
A government advisory panel suggested the data could be used by terrorists.
Biosecurity experts fear an altered, more contagious form of the virus could spark a pandemic deadlier than the 1918-19 Spanish flu outbreak that killed up to 40 million people.
'Right step'The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) recommended key details be omitted from publication of the research, which sparked international furore.
"I would have preferred if this hadn't caused so much controversy, but it has happened and we can't change that," Ron Fouchier, a researcher from Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, told Science Insider.
"So I think it's the right step to make."
While the H5N1 strain of bird flu is extremely deadly when caught by humans, its impact has so far been limited because it is not easily transmissible between humans.
But the latest joint research, by Erasmus University in the Netherlands and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US, altered the strain and found it was much more easily passed between ferrets.
A senior US health official says "not everyone needs to know how to make a lethal virus"
Two scientific journals now want to publish the research - albeit in redacted form - and are trying to work out with the US government how to make the data accessible to "responsible scientists".
The World Health Organization said in a December statement that limiting access to the research would harm an agreement between its members.
The NSABB is made up of scientists and public health experts, 23 from outside the government, and 18 from within.
'Flatly false'It cannot stop publication but makes recommendations to researchers.
The scientists' letter published on Friday argues that knowledge of more infectious strains before they mutate in nature is valuable for public health.
"More research is needed to determine how influenza viruses in nature become human pandemic threats," the statement says, "so that they can be contained before they acquire the ability to transmit from human to human, or so that appropriate countermeasures can be deployed if adaptation to humans occurs."
But some said the 60-day pause on research was not enough.
One critic of the studies, Richard Ebright, a biologist at Rutgers University, told Science Insider that the letter "includes flatly false statements" making assurances about the safety of H1N1 research labs.
Reports say that a meeting debating the research and steps forward could come during a World Health Organization meeting in February.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-us-canada-16662346
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
PSU trustees: No timetable for internal probe (AP)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? The Penn State trustee overseeing the school's internal investigation into child sexual abuse allegations against a former assistant coach says there's no timetable for results of the probe.
Ken Frazier had said last month he hoped to have the results by May. But he told trustees at a meeting Friday that results may not come now until next fall.
Frazier then added there was no "artificial timetable" ? he wants to give investigators ample time for thorough questioning.
Trustees are meeting for the first time since the chaotic week in November after dozens of child sex abuse charges were filed against Jerry Sandusky.
Trustees have tabbed former FBI director Louis Freeh as their lead investigator.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Penn State President Rodney Erickson is trying to address the perception that the university isn't being as open and honest as it could be in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
Erickson said in remarks Friday to the university's Board of Trustees that he's continuing to reach out to alumni, students and other groups and working to be more accountable.
The trustees are meeting for the first time since the chaotic week in November after dozens of child sex abuse charges were brought against Sandusky, a retired assistant football coach who had been highly regarded for his charity work with children.
Some alumni are calling for wholesale changes in the board's makeup and more transparency from the board and administration.
"I also believe openness and communication are the best way to move Penn State forward," Erickson said.
He called the last two months an "extraordinarily trying time" for the school, and said the university is cooperating with several ongoing investigations related to the Sandusky case.
The meeting, in the ballroom of a campus hotel, drew a larger-than-normal crowd of at least 200 people, including a couple of candidates hoping to win election to the board this spring. Former Penn State running back Franco Harris, a vocal critic of the administration and supporter of ousted coach Joe Paterno, also attended.
Some alumni and former players, Harris among them, have been critical of the 32-member board for how they handled Paterno's dismissal four days after Sandusky was charged on Nov. 5.
After remaining mostly silent the last two months, trustees this week began to divulge the reasons behind their actions, hoping to sway skeptics and critics seeking change.
Leadership positions were up for election at Friday's meeting. In the morning, the board also heard a very broad presentation on the school's athletic programs.
"We have lots of things that we need to do in terms of the board and how it operates, and I think you'll see some positive things come out of that," trustee Mark Dambly said Thursday.
The handling of the Sandusky scandal has sparked unprecedented interest among potential candidates for three alumni-elected seats on the board that are up for a vote this spring.
Typically, about six to 12 candidates step forward. But the group Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship alone has received 30 applications seeking an endorsement. The group started in mid-November, growing out of what a spokeswoman said was a common frustration among members over a lack of due process at the school for Paterno.
Comments this week by the trustees about why the board ousted Paterno on Nov. 9 failed to convince the alumni group.
Trustees interviewed Thursday by The Associated Press said they decided to force Paterno out in part because he didn't meet a moral obligation to do more to alert authorities about a child sex abuse allegation against Sandusky.
The trustees also cited statements from Paterno in the days and hours leading to his dismissal ? after nearly a half-century of leading the Nittany Lions ? that they felt challenged the trustees' authority. Board members saw that as inappropriate, particularly at a time of intense scrutiny over the Sandusky case.
The head coach had testified before a state grand jury about a 2002 allegation against Sandusky that was passed on to him by a graduate assistant. A day after that graduate assistant, Mike McQueary, came to see him, Paterno relayed the accusations to his superiors, one of whom oversaw campus police. Board members didn't think that was enough.
"There's an obligation, a moral responsibility, for all adults to watch out for children, either your own or someone else," Dambly said. "It was in our opinion that Joe Paterno did not meet his moral obligation and for that reason ? me, personally for that reason, I felt he could no longer lead the university and it was unanimous."
But Dambly and three other trustees interviewed Thursday on the Penn State campus said they still intended to honor Paterno's accomplishments and contributions to the school. He won a Division I record 409 games over 46 seasons and the Paterno family has donated millions of dollars to the school.
"Obviously Joe Paterno is a worldwide icon and has done a tremendous amount for the university," trustee Joel Myers said. "We have sorrow and all kinds of emotions, empathy, sympathy for what has occurred. That's universal.
"But the university, this institution is greater than one person."
An attorney for Paterno called the board's comments self-serving and unsupported by the facts. Paterno fully reported what he knew to the people responsible for campus investigations, lawyer Wick Sollers said.
"He did what he thought was right with the information he had at the time," Sollers said.
In a separate statement, Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship said the board's comments have "done nothing but raise additional questions."
Dambly insisted Paterno was not fired, although he never appeared as coach again. He remains a tenured faculty member.
On Friday, Erickson also outlined his goals for the coming year which he said could be challenging because of tightening budget strings. He said the school needed to focus on its "core business" of academics.
Erickson, who plans to step down in 2014, also said the university "must always be mindful of the need for institutional humility, integrity and resolve ... Let us seek balance in our words and deeds."
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Lack of sleep makes your brain hungry
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 18-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Christian Benedict
Christian.Benedict@neuro.uu.se
46-073-614-5328
Uppsala University
New research from Uppsala University, Sweden, shows that a specific brain region that contributes to a person's appetite sensation is more activated in response to food images after one night of sleep loss than after one night of normal sleep. Poor sleep habits can therefore affect people's risk of becoming overweight in the long run. The findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Researchers Christian Benedict and Helgi Schith, of the Department of Neuroscience at Uppsala University, showed in an earlier article, published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, that a single night of total sleep loss in young normal weight men curbed the energy expenditure the next morning. This research also showed that subjects had increased levels of hunger, which indicates that an acute lack of sleep may affect human's food perception.
In a new study, Christian Benedict, together with Samantha Brooks, Helgi Schith and Elna-Marie Larsson from Uppsala University and researchers from other European universities, have now systematically examined which regions in the brain, involved in appetite sensation, are influenced by acute sleep loss. By means of magnetic imaging (fMRI) the researchers studied the brains of 12 normal-weight males while they viewed images of foods. The researchers compared the results after a night with normal sleep with those obtained after one night without sleep.
Christian Benedict explains:
"After a night of total sleep loss, these males showed a high level of activation in an area of the brain that is involved in a desire to eat. Bearing in mind that insufficient sleep is a growing problem in modern society, our results may explain why poor sleep habits can affect people's risk to gain weight in the long run. It may therefore be important to sleep about eight hours every night to maintain a stable and healthy body weight."
###
For more information, please contact Christian Benedict, researcher at the Department of Neuroscience, mobile: 46-73-6145328, e-mail: Christian.Benedict@neuro.uu.se or Cecilia Yates, information officer at the Department of Neuroscience, mobile: 46-704-334801, e-mail: cecilia.yates@neuro.uu.se
Benedict C, Brooks S J, O'Daly O G, Almn M S, Morell A, berg K, Gingnell M, Schultes B, Hallschmid M, Broman J-E, Larsson E-M, and Schith H B. Acute sleep deprivation enhances the brain's response to hedonic food stimuli: an fMRI study. Journal of Clinical Endocrinol Metab, in press.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 18-Jan-2012[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Christian Benedict
Christian.Benedict@neuro.uu.se
46-073-614-5328
Uppsala University
New research from Uppsala University, Sweden, shows that a specific brain region that contributes to a person's appetite sensation is more activated in response to food images after one night of sleep loss than after one night of normal sleep. Poor sleep habits can therefore affect people's risk of becoming overweight in the long run. The findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Researchers Christian Benedict and Helgi Schith, of the Department of Neuroscience at Uppsala University, showed in an earlier article, published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, that a single night of total sleep loss in young normal weight men curbed the energy expenditure the next morning. This research also showed that subjects had increased levels of hunger, which indicates that an acute lack of sleep may affect human's food perception.
In a new study, Christian Benedict, together with Samantha Brooks, Helgi Schith and Elna-Marie Larsson from Uppsala University and researchers from other European universities, have now systematically examined which regions in the brain, involved in appetite sensation, are influenced by acute sleep loss. By means of magnetic imaging (fMRI) the researchers studied the brains of 12 normal-weight males while they viewed images of foods. The researchers compared the results after a night with normal sleep with those obtained after one night without sleep.
Christian Benedict explains:
"After a night of total sleep loss, these males showed a high level of activation in an area of the brain that is involved in a desire to eat. Bearing in mind that insufficient sleep is a growing problem in modern society, our results may explain why poor sleep habits can affect people's risk to gain weight in the long run. It may therefore be important to sleep about eight hours every night to maintain a stable and healthy body weight."
###
For more information, please contact Christian Benedict, researcher at the Department of Neuroscience, mobile: 46-73-6145328, e-mail: Christian.Benedict@neuro.uu.se or Cecilia Yates, information officer at the Department of Neuroscience, mobile: 46-704-334801, e-mail: cecilia.yates@neuro.uu.se
Benedict C, Brooks S J, O'Daly O G, Almn M S, Morell A, berg K, Gingnell M, Schultes B, Hallschmid M, Broman J-E, Larsson E-M, and Schith H B. Acute sleep deprivation enhances the brain's response to hedonic food stimuli: an fMRI study. Journal of Clinical Endocrinol Metab, in press.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/uu-los011812.php
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Samsung says not interested in buying RIM (Reuters)
SEOUL (Reuters) ? Samsung Electronics Co said on Wednesday it was not interested in taking over Research In Motion after shares of the BlackBerry smartphone maker jumped more than 10 percent following a tech blog report that it was seeking to sell itself to the South Korean firm.
"We haven't considered acquiring the firm and are not interested in (buying RIM)," Samsung spokesman James Chung said.
Chung also said Samsung had not been approached by the Canadian firm for a takeover.
The Boy Genius Report website cited an unidentified source as saying that RIM co-chief executive Jim Balsillie was meeting with companies interested in either licensing its software or buying a part or all or RIM, with Samsung leading the pack.
(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120117/bs_nm/us_rim
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Sarkozy unveils $550 million jobs plan before vote
PARIS -- President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a euro430 million ($550 million) plan to drive down unemployment and restart growth Wednesday, a move criticized as an attempt to boost his popularity three months before France's presidential election.
With the unemployment rate pushing 10 percent and the recent downgrade of France's credit rating by Standard & Poor's, Socialist candidate Francois Hollande is hitting the president hard, saying the financial crisis reflects Sarkozy's failed economic stewardship.
Sarkozy, who is trailing Hollande in polls, has countered that the crisis is Europe-wide and that French people who are suffering need help now. To that end, he met with business and labor leaders on Wednesday to formulate a plan to create more jobs and ease the pressure on those looking for work.
It's unclear whether Sarkozy's government can put the jobs plan in place before the presidential elections, held in two rounds in April and May.
"The current economic situation in France as in Europe is very perilous. It's urgent," Sarkozy said in the opening remarks of the closed-door session, according to a transcript made public by his office.
In a clear rebuttal to his critics, Sarkozy told reporters after the meeting: "Regardless of the political calendar, the crisis, unemployment, the suffering of our compatriots don't give any of us the right to stay immobilized, inactive."
He said he'd proposed a euro430 million ($550 million) jobs plan in the meeting - a relatively minor package compared to France's euro1.9 trillon GDP.
The measures include increasing aid to those forced to take unpaid leave, training for the unemployed and incentives to hire young people. He also suggested creating a state-funded body to invest in industry.
But he gave little detail on his main plan to increase France's competitivity and spur hiring: reducing the amount companies contribute to the social benefits system, and raising the sales tax to make up for the shortfall.
After Wednesday's meeting, Bernard Thibault, head of the CGT labor union, said he didn't think the measures outlined would "have a real impact on the current employment situation."
Thibault and representatives of other hard-charging unions said they wanted more details on Sarkozy's main plan, which they've resisted because it would shift some of the burden of paying for generous social benefits from businesses to all consumers - including workers.
"We refuse to see household budgets diminished," said Philippe Louis, head of the CFTC union.
In his speech to the meeting, he compared France, at times unfavorably, with "our main competitor ... Germany" - the bellwether of economic success in Europe. Germany retained its triple-A rating from S&P when France lost it last week.
Sarkozy said French labor costs have risen 20 percent between 2000 and 2009, compared to 7 percent in Germany. He said the relative cost to employers for a worker who earns a gross monthly salary of euro2,500 ($3,200) was twice as high in France than in Germany.
Sarkozy's gamble is that reducing those costs will spark a hiring spree.
But labor unions insist workers shouldn't have to pay the cost of the financial crisis at a time when many French companies are still making profits, and accuse Sarkozy of putting together a slapdash solution ahead of elections.
Associated Press writer Sarah DiLorenzo contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/18/2595267/sarkozy-unveils-550-million-jobs.html
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Family to meet with DA over Union City police shooting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Relatives of Ariston Waiters, killed by Union City police in December, plan to meet with Fulton District Attorney Paul Howard Wednesday to contest police statements released last week that Waiters was shot after a struggle for the officer's weapon.
Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com Freda Waiters, the mother of Ariston Waiters, speaks to a crowd of more than 100 protesters below a sign of her son during the city council meeting at City Hall in Union City on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012.Tuesday night's city council meeting became heated when councilwoman Angelette Mealing intervened as Union City Mayor Ralph Moore said that the DA's office had completed its investigation into the shooting, Channel 2 Action News reported.
She addressed the Waiters family, saying, "The truth is they don't want me to tell you that I'm sorry. They don't want me to say we should've offered our condolences," Channel 2 said. She also called for an internal investigation of the entire police department.
An autopsy showed Waiters died of two gunshots to the back. He was fleeing police during a fight in a Union City subdivision after somebody had fired a shot into the air. No gun was found on Waiters.
Marcus Coleman, founder National Action Network Atlanta Chapter, said Howard planned to meet with the Waiters family Wednesday and he predicted it would be difficult for the prosecutor to find that the officer acted in self-defense as police contend.
?I would like to see them recreate how struggling for a weapon, you get shot in the back twice," he said. " I don?t know if the creative artist is creative enough."
About 70 people showed up at Union City City Hall prior to Tuesday's council meeting to protest the shooting and the investigation into it. Civil rights groups are demanding that Howard indict the Union City officer who killed Waiters, 19, the second young African American to be shot in the back by police in Fulton County since October.
Both shootings are being investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and by Howard's public integrity unit. Rally organizers promised to target Howard and Union City officials in elections if the officer isn't indicted and reforms aren't made in the police department.
?We intend to press this thing to the limit. We?ll wait for Paul Howard but we?re not waiting exclusively for him," said organizer Derrick Boazman before the rally. "This is a violation of this young man?s civil rights. We?ll go to the justice department.?
Howard received the GBI's findings on Friday. A day later, Union City police released a statement alleging for the first time that Ariston Waiters "grabbed the officer's service weapon" as he was being handcuffed.
"During the struggle, our officer discharged his service weapon mortally wounding Waiters," Union City police said in the statement.
In their latest statement, Union City police said witnesses claimed Waiters had fired shots into the air during a fight in the Hickory Park subdivision.
Howard's office released a statement Tuesday saying the case was still under investigation. Howard's office is also investigating the October shooting Joetavius Stafford, 19, by at MARTA police officer.
Howard has shown a willingness to seek indictments against police officers if he determined there was wrong doing.
Boazman also argued that the case was about police misconduct as much as a questionable shooting. He noted Union City police have admitted that the officer who shot Waiters attended the police interviews with the witnesses, a break in standard investigative procedure.
Officials also denied allegations of witness intimidation, saying the GBI was informed immediately and had agents in Union City that same evening. An investigator from the Fulton D.A.'s office was also present, police say.
Mawuli Davis, the lawyer for the Waiters family, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he has not seen the GBI report, which was not made available to the media.
--Staff writer Christian Boone and dispatch editor Angel K. Brooks contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/family-to-meet-with-1306380.html?cxtype=rss_atlanta
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Wednesday, January 18, 2012
HBT: Crawford undergoes surgery on left wrist
This isn?t anything as bad as the Victor Martinez news, but another big name is going to miss some time: Carl Crawford had arthroscopic surgery on his left wrist today to repair?cartilage.
It?s being described as routine, and he is expected to be recovered and ? in the words of GM Ben Cherington ? will be ?hitting at some point in spring training.?
And if he is hitting in spring training, it would mark the first time he hit since he left the Tampa Bay Rays.
Sorry.
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Mount Rainier park official: Snowshoer found alive
SEATTLE (AP) ? A 66-year-old snowshoer who had been missing on Mount Rainier since Saturday was found alive Monday by a team of three rescuers, a national park spokeswoman said.
Yong Chun Kim, of Tacoma, Wash., was alert, conscious and cold but otherwise stable when the team reached him at about 1:40 p.m., park spokeswoman Lee Taylor said. Weather conditions prevented a helicopter from landing in the area, and rescuers were bringing in a Sno-Cat snow vehicle to help carry him out to a paved road ? hopefully by about 10 p.m., she said.
Kim, who has been snowshoeing for a decade, was well equipped for a day of snowshoeing but didn't have overnight gear.
Temperatures dropped into the teens and eight inches of new snow fell in some areas since Saturday. With winds whipping on the mountain, some areas saw as much as 30 inches of snow. More snow is expected over the next few days.
"As soon as we heard he was alive, my sister, his wife, praised God and said 'Hallelujah,'" Kim's sister-in-law, Sang Soon Tomyn told The Associated Press after learning from relatives that Kim had been found. "We were so worried. We prayed every day."
She said her brother-in-law was a strong hiker, had food in his backpack and knew the area very well, so they prayed he would be all right.
"He's a very strong person," she said.
Snowshoers use specialized footgear that allows them to spread their weight over a larger area, which keeps them from sinking into deep snow and makes it possible to hike into snowy areas that would otherwise be inaccessible.
Kim was leading a group of 16 members in the Paradise area, a popular high-elevation destination on the mountain's southwest flank, about a 100-mile drive south from Seattle.
He became separated from his party after sliding down a slope. Kim radioed to the group twice to say he was OK, but he failed to meet up with them in the parking lot. A search was launched Saturday afternoon.
Teams of park rangers, search dogs and volunteers combed a snowy area of Mount Rainier on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Because Kim was the leader of his group, other snowshoers weren't able to accurately describe where he had slipped, Taylor said.
It wasn't until Sunday afternoon that a group member could better pinpoint where Kim had fallen. Searchers had initially believed Kim fell in a different area, based on descriptions from the group, Taylor said.
"We're so thankful for the community and for everyone who was willing to volunteer to help find him," Tomyn said. "It's dangerous rescue work. But we really appreciate it."
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
[OOC] Pokemon: New generation
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Minn. couple missing after Italian ship capsized
This undated photo provided Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 by the St. Piux X Catholic Church directory in White Bear Lake, Minn. shows Jerry and Barbara Heil. The Heils are among those still missing after a cruise ship capsized off the west coast of Italy late Friday, Jan. 13. (AP Photo/St. Pius X Church Directory Photo, Olan Mills Studios)
This undated photo provided Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 by the St. Piux X Catholic Church directory in White Bear Lake, Minn. shows Jerry and Barbara Heil. The Heils are among those still missing after a cruise ship capsized off the west coast of Italy late Friday, Jan. 13. (AP Photo/St. Pius X Church Directory Photo, Olan Mills Studios)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ? A Minnesota couple missing after a cruise ship capsized off the west coast of Italy are devout Catholics who spend part of almost every day at church, where he teaches religious classes and she hands out baked goods and other sweet treats to parishioners.
Church members described the kindness and good deeds of Jerry and Barbara Heil on Monday as a search continued along the Italian coast. The Heils are among more than two dozen people still missing after the Costa Concordia hit a reef and ran aground near Tuscany on Friday night.
Six people have been confirmed dead, and prosecutors are investigating the ship's captain for manslaughter, abandoning ship and causing a shipwreck. The ship's owner said the captain, Francesco Schettino, caused the crash by deviating from the authorized course.
Diane Vorland, who is confined to a wheelchair, told The Associated Press that Jerry Heil, 69, came to her house every Thursday for the past three years to administer her communion and recite the rosary. The trip, she said, "was a big deal for them."
"On the Thursday before he left, he said, 'The next time you see me I'll have been to Rome,'" Vorland said.
Other members of Church of St. Pius X in White Bear Lake described the Heils as quiet, kind people deeply involved in the congregation. They joined the church in 1973, and their four children attended its elementary and middle school, said Larry Erickson, the parish administrator.
Jerry Heil taught religious education classes for everyone from children to senior citizens. Dennis Hardy, who attended one of his classes, said Barbara Heil, 70, often accompanied her husband, bringing baked goods she gave to class members.
"Both of them are at the church, I'd say, pretty much every day," Erickson said.
The Heils live in White Bear Lake, a suburb of about 25,000 people 15 miles outside St. Paul. The community sits between two large lakes, White Bear and Bald Eagle, which are encircled by opulent homes and historic cottages dating to the early 1900s when the area was a weekend destination for wealthy St. Paul residents. Today, the city retains vestiges of a resort aura but also is home to middle- and working-class neighborhoods.
Jerry Heil retired from a job at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. While reserved, he possesses a dry sense of humor, Vorland said. After communion and prayers, she said, he would engage her in deep and thoughtful conversations about history or church teachings.
"Every Christmas he and his wife would come and give me some fudge," she said. "They're just solid people."
Jerry Heil also is a longtime member of the congregation's Knights of Columbus chapter. Duane Jabas, a former grand knight, called him a jack-of-all-trades who helped plan and run nearly every chapter function for years. "You always knew every detail would be covered if Jerry was involved," Jabas said.
Shawn Gutoski, who works at St. Pius X, said the Heils were the type of people every church needs to function. "They're not people that want to draw attention to themselves, but you knew if they were involved that it would get done," Gutowski said.
The church's music director announced before Sunday Mass that the Heils were missing after the shipwreck.
"A lot of people gasped," said Hardy, who was in attendance. "I know there are a lot of prayers going over to Italy right now."
Hardy, who recently lost his driver's license, said Jerry Heil offered to drive him around on errands.
Several family members did not respond to phone calls from the AP on Sunday and Monday. A family friend outside the home of the couple's son, Aaron Heil, gave the AP a statement from the family.
"We are waiting patiently for the rescuers to safely try to find our parents," it said. "Our prayers and thoughts are with our parents; those others that are still missing and their families; and the brave rescuers. We are working closely with the U.S. Embassy in Italy and are confident that everything is being done to find our parents."
Sarah Heil, their daughter, told WBBM radio in Chicago that her parents had been looking forward to their 16-day vacation.
"They raised four kids and sent them all to private school, elementary to college, so they never had any money," Sarah Heil said. "So when they retired, they went traveling. And this was to be a big deal ? a 16-day trip. They were really excited about it."
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Monday, January 16, 2012
Joe. My. God.: Pets For Newt Gingrich
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Source: http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2012/01/pets-for-newt-gingrich.html
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Romney rivals seek SC theme, champion to stop him (AP)
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? With a week left to halt Mitt Romney from sweeping to a third straight victory, his GOP rivals are struggling in South Carolina for a theme, momentum and most crucially, one strong challenger to consolidate conservatives' misgivings about the front-runner.
The dynamics that lifted Romney to wins in Iowa and New Hampshire seem to be working for him here, even though South Carolina is often described as too evangelical and culturally southern for his background.
In some ways, the former Massachusetts governor is lucky, benefitting from a fractured opposition that has divided the anti-Romney vote for months. In other ways he is benefiting from shrewd and well-organized supporters. He uses TV ads to shore up his weaknesses and to batter the rivals he sees as most threatening.
In Iowa, the target was former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who plummeted under the barrage. In South Carolina, it's former Sen. Rick Santorum, a longtime champion of home-schooling, anti-abortion efforts and other social conservative causes.
Santorum nearly won the Iowa caucus, and some consider him the best bet for unifying the anti-Romney vote.
But a private group that supports Romney is pounding Santorum in South Carolina with TV ads and mailings. So is Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning candidate who helped attack Gingrich in Iowa.
Paul's ads are especially harsh. They vilify Santorum for pushing pork-barrel projects as a Pennsylvania senator, and they portray him as an insincere conservative.
A group of social conservative leaders meeting in Texas voted Saturday to recommend Santorum as the Romney alternative. But a portion of them preferred Gingrich, who denied Santorum a two-thirds majority on their first head-to-head ballot, said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.
Perkins said the group's actions did not constitute an endorsement, adding that some participants will remain Gingrich supporters. He declined to say how he voted.
"Santorum was the preferred candidate by a significant majority," former presidential candidate Gary Bauer told The Associated Press by telephone from Texas. "They were all looking for the best Reagan conservative," he said. "It came down to things like, who do you most trust."
The Texas vote is obviously good news for Santorum. But it's unclear how much impact it will have in South Carolina's primary on Saturday.
The state is known for campaign surprises, and there's still time for twists and turns. Undercurrents of anti-Romney sentiment, perhaps fueled by his Mormonism, could be stronger than they seem.
But on the surface, at least, Romney is well-positioned with a week to go. If he wins South Carolina, only a seismic change in the campaign will keep him from becoming the nominee.
The next primary, on Jan. 31, is in Florida, a sprawling and expensive state where Romney's superior money and organization could essentially put the matter to rest, kicking off the general election against President Barack Obama.
"Romney is in good shape now, but the race is tightening," said LaDonna Ryggs, Spartanburg County GOP chairwoman.
There is little evidence that a barrage of ads depicting Romney as a heartless corporate raider is having much effect. He is airing a counter-ad defending his record at Bain Capital, which sometimes created jobs, and sometimes reduced them, when it restructured dozens of companies in the 1980s and `90s.
"That's what his job was, and he did it well," said Carleen Coffey, 51, who defended Romney even as she attended an event for Texas Gov. Rick Perry in Charleston.
The anti-Romney ad, aired by a group supporting Gingrich, has generated much comment in political and media circles. Many conservative leaders have condemned it, and Gingrich later back-pedaled, questioning the accuracy of the anti-Romney documentary film behind it.
For ordinary South Carolina Republicans, however, the ad risks being lost in an avalanche of TV commercials, which many voters say they ignore. Romney's campaign events run like clockwork, while his opponents often suffer glitches and modest crowds. Gingrich, in particular, has left people scratching their heads.
He spoke at a home-ownership rally Thursday in Columbia that appeared to be dominated by Democratic speakers and attendees. Gingrich got a big introduction at a GOP barbecue Friday in Duncan, but he inexplicably didn't show up for many minutes. Santorum jumped into the void, working the room and getting valuable one-on-one time with voters.
Then on Saturday, Gingrich's scheduled telephone conference with voters never took place. The dial-in number was invalid.
Perry has faded. Once seen having a good chance to beat Romney in South Carolina, the drawling Texan is drawing small crowds at cafes and restaurants. Saturday morning in Mount Pleasant, about half the people at Page's Okra Grill didn't bother to stop eating or talking while Perry spoke in a corner.
The TV attack ads in South Carolina skip Perry. It's a sign of his perceived insignificance, although he could benefit if the others slice each other up.
Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is getting even less attention.
Some people think Santorum is rising, but the attack ads might slow him. Santorum's boyish looks have always boosted his image as a principled crusader for unborn children and other causes. But the ads being aired by Paul's campaign and the pro-Romney group depict him as a conniving, old-fashioned politician who grabbed federal money for his state whenever possible.
"Some people are going to be swayed," said Alexia Newman, a South Carolina GOP activist and Santorum supporter. "If you know about his records, you know the ads are false," she said. But that requires Santorum to break through the noise and clutter of political commercials flooding the airwaves.
The pro-Romney PAC, Restore Our Future, is running $1 million in ads in the state this week, and more than $800,000 next week. Not all of them target Santorum, however. Santorum's campaign and a PAC that backs him are running pro-Santorum ads.
No single issue is dominating the primary. That makes it harder for any one Romney opponent to catch fire.
Religion and the military play bigger roles here than in Iowa, and especially New Hampshire. Romney has worked hard to address both.
He has built several events around military service, starting with his Veterans' Day trip to South Carolina last November. He has been campaigning lately with Sen. John McCain, the 2008 presidential nominee and Vietnam War hero.
As for religion, Romney has tried to portray himself as a moral and faithful man, without going into details of Mormonism. On Friday, a woman in Hilton Head asked him, "Do you believe in the divine saving grace of Jesus Christ?"
"Yes, I do," Romney replied, adding: "Our nation was founded on the principle...of religious tolerance and liberty in this land, and so we welcome people of other faiths."
Romney's campaign has produced a Web ad in which an anti-abortion activist endorses him. Romney supported abortion rights as Massachusetts governor.
Romney's main worries might involve currents he can't see. South Carolina has a reputation for dirty campaign tricks, although many Republicans here say it's mostly a thing of the past.
Whatever the case, an anonymous group has sent a text message purporting to be a Romney campaign item. But callers hear Romney being criticized on abortion.
___
Associated Press writers Julie Pace, Jim Davenport, Kasie Hunt and Philip Elliott contributed to this report.
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