Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Questions and answers about Europe's debt crisis

(AP) ? The coordinated plan that the Federal Reserve and other central banks announced Wednesday is intended to ease financial strains that threaten Europe's common currency and could tip the global economy into recession.

The Fed, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the central banks of Canada, Japan and Switzerland said they would make it easier for banks to get dollars if they need them. Stocks soared in response.

The plan isn't a permanent fix for the debt crisis that began in Greece and is threatening to overwhelm much bigger economies in Spain, Italy and even France. But it helped boost confidence among investors and lenders and shows that the banks are able to take coordinated action to ease credit.

Earlier, markets had fallen after the finance ministers of the 17 countries that use the euro failed to reach an agreement on resolving the crisis. That means major disputes will now have to be addressed by European leaders, who will hold their own meeting in Brussels next week.

Here are some questions and answers about the crisis:

Q: Why the urgency now?

A: Earlier efforts, like bailouts of Greece, Portugal and Ireland, haven't convinced investors that European policymakers can or will resolve the crisis. Jittery investors are demanding that European governments pay ever-higher interest rates on their bonds. Yields on Italian bonds, for instance, top 7 percent. That's considered unsustainable. Even Germany, Europe's economic powerhouse, struggled to sell bonds last week.

Q: Why are higher interest rates such a problem?

A: They make it harder for governments to pay debts. And they slow growth. Tax revenue then falls. The cost of unemployment benefits and other social programs rise. Some countries might abandon the euro, plunging the continent and perhaps the world's economy into recession.

Q: Why would countries want to jettison the euro and go back to their own currencies?

A: To become more economically nimble. When they joined together 12 years ago, the 17 eurozone countries surrendered control of their interest-rate policies to a new European Central Bank. That meant they couldn't cut rates to boost their economies. Nor could they reduce the value of their currencies, to give their exporters an edge. (A lower currency makes exports cheaper for foreigners to buy.) Abandoning the euro would let them escape an economic trap.

Q: How did Europe get into this mess?

A: The euro made it easier to do business across Europe and made the continent a potent economic bloc. Yet the experiment was flawed. Countries were harnessed to one another despite different economies and cultures but still managed their own finances. As long as prosperity reigned, banks were happy to lend at low rates even to weaker countries like Greece. The euro meant lenders didn't have to worry about inflation in individual countries. Greece and others exploited the opening by borrowing heavily to finance their swelling budgets. But once the Great Recession hit hard, their debt proved crushing.

Q: Why is a solution so hard?

A: The ECB and Germany have resisted aggressive action. Many economists want the central bank to buy the debt of Italy and other struggling countries. That would push down interest rates and ease those countries' borrowing costs. The ECB has bought Italian and Spanish bonds. But it's loath to do so in a big way. The ECB says it must control inflation, not be a lender of last resort to governments. Germany opposes one idea ? creating joint bonds backed by the whole eurozone ? because it fears its own borrowing costs would surge if it had to borrow jointly with weaker countries.

Q: What options have European officials considered?

A: Things that would have been unthinkable just weeks ago. One option would be to have countries cede control of their budgets to a central authority. That authority would stop countries from spending beyond their means. There has also been talk of forming an elite group of euro nations to guarantee each other's loans. It would require fiscal discipline from any country that wants to join.

Q: What would happen if some countries left the eurozone?

A: It could be catastrophic. Depositors would pull money from banks in weak countries that dropped the euro. Savers wouldn't want their euros replaced with feeble national currencies. If countries tried to repay their euro debts with their own currencies, they'd be considered in default. They'd struggle to borrow. So would corporations. Economists at UBS estimate that a weak economy that left the eurozone would shrink 50 percent.

Q: Could a strong country like Germany leave the eurozone to avoid the damage?

A: Not necessarily. Germany's currency would likely shoot up if it did. Its exports would then become costlier for foreigners. UBS says that if Germany left the eurozone, its economy would decline 20 to 25 percent. And the pain would spread. The United States, Asia and others would suffer if worldwide credit froze and European economies sank into recession. U.S. companies have poured $2.2 trillion into long-term investments in Europe like factories and acquisitions. Companies from Whirlpool to Abercrombie & Fitch to General Motors have reported sagging sales in Europe.

Q: Can Europe's leaders solve this mess?

A: Their performance so far doesn't inspire confidence. Some investors are bracing for a crackup of the eurozone, which a few analysts say could happen within days, possibly by the time European leaders end their meeting next week.

The central banks' coordinated move is expected to ease pressure on the financial system in the short run. But a real resolution to the crisis involves getting up to 17 countries and the ECB to agree on a solution. "This is not just a crisis of Greece or this or that country," says Nicolas Veron, senior fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel. "It's a crisis of European institutions."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-30-Europe-Financial%20Crisis-QandA/id-ccee8851f3344efb9ef77a50d4a0226c

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NVIDIA announces special edition GTX 560 Ti with 448 CUDA cores, available now for $289

Now that we're officially in the throes of holiday shopping season, NVIDIA's rolling out a promotion of its own, though sadly it doesn't involve any steep discounts. The outfit just announced a special edition GPU: the GTX 560 Ti with 448 CUDA cores, running at 1.46GHz, a 732MHz graphics clock and 1.25GB of GDDR5 memory charging ahead at an effective rate of 3.8GHz. Other features include support for three-way SLI, DisplayPort, HDMI and DVI. Those specs place it snugly between the current GTX 560 Ti with 384 CUDA cores, and the higher-end GTX 570, which packs 480. If this seems like a puzzling move, it is indeed the first time NVIDIA's bothered with a limited holiday edition card, though in conversations with reporters the company made it clear its new hardware is meant to dovetail with the arrival of games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Battlefield 3 and Batman: Arkham City. If you're shopping for a gamer (or, you know, yourself), it's available now for $289 in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Russia and Nordic countries through companies like ASUS, MSI and Gigabyte, among others.

Update: Looks like the reviews are rolling in! We've linked a handful of 'em below.

NVIDIA announces special edition GTX 560 Ti with 448 CUDA cores, available now for $289 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Men's honest overconfidence may lead to male domination in the C-suite

Men's honest overconfidence may lead to male domination in the C-suite [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 28-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Sona Rai
sr2763@columbia.edu
212-854-5955
Columbia Business School

Study finds that gender differences in overconfidence concerning individual past performance explains a significant proportion of the lack of female leadership in organizations

NEW YORK November 28, 2011 A study conducted by Columbia Business School's Prof. Ernesto Reuben, Assistant Professor, Management, alongside Pedro Rey-Biel, Associate Professor, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Paola Sapienza, Associate Professor, Professor of Finance, Northwestern University, and Luigi Zingales, Robert C. McCormack Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, finds men's honest overconfidence not overt discrimination may play an important role in male domination of the C-suite. The research was recently featured in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization and Columbia Business School's Ideas at Work. While part of the persistent gender gap in leadership at firms can be attributed to discrimination, the researchers sought to determine if the underlying causes of such selection issues may go beyond simple conscious discrimination. The study discovers how the differences in the way men and women think of themselves and react to incentives may be creating gender differences that lead to leadership gaps, rather than the gap being caused solely by discrimination in the selection process. Specifically men's tendency to exhibit natural overconfidence in their past performances may attribute to the lack of greater female representation in upper management and executive positions.

The experimental design allowed the researchers to isolate the effect of gender differences on women leadership. The experiment consisted of two parts. The study first asked MBA students to complete a set of math problems; both men and women performed about the same. One year later, the researchers brought back the same students, asking them to recall their previous years' performance. The researchers found that when they compared actual with recalled performance, most participants overestimated their performance a tendency documented in different forms in different studies. The major difference was that men consistently rated their past performance about 30 percent higher than it really was. Women, on the other hand, consistently rated their past performance only about 15 percent higher than it actually was.

Next, the researchers asked participants to estimate their performance on a task if chosen to represent a group, and were then divided into groups to complete the same math problem. The group was split into 33 groups of two or four members. Each group had to choose a representative and would compete with the other groups, with a generous cash prize awarded to the highest-scoring team. It was, then, in the best interest of the group to choose the person who had performed best on the problem sets in the past. This time the researchers also added an incentive: for some (but not all) groups, the representatives got an additional payment of either $20 or $75. In groups where leaders get no additional cash prize, individual and group incentives were aligned: that is, if a group knew a woman was better, its best interest was to pick her or sacrifice its competitive edge and the financial reward. In the groups whose leaders received a payment simply for being chosen to lead, an individual could then be chosen as a rep if they lied about their performance, and the group would lose while the leader would gain.

The results revealed that, on average, both men and women were willing to lie about their performance. When participants had an incentive to lie, they lied more, and the incidence of lying increased as the monetary award for being chosen as leader increased. While women kept pace with men on how frequently they lied, women did not exaggerate their performance to the same degree. As a result, women were selected 1/3 less often than their abilities would otherwise indicate. In other words, while there is no gender differential when it comes to lying, there is a significant gender differential when it comes to "honest" overconfidence: the main difference in women not being selected as leaders appears to be attributable to men's overconfidence in their abilities.

The study suggests an important takeaway for firms: recruiters should consider overconfidence when considering male candidates' claims about past performance. Employers who are not aware of the tendency for men to unconsciously inflate their performance could mistake that overconfidence for true performance, and overlook better female candidates. Furthermore, the researchers find this aspect of gender difference is hard to correct. Columbia Business School Professor Ernesto Reuben explains, "It's not just a matter of telling men not to lie because they honestly believe their performance is 30 percent better than it really is. Similarly, it's not as if you can simply tell women they should inflate their own sense of overconfidence to be on par with that of men."

###

About Columbia Business School

Led by Dean Glenn Hubbard, the Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics, Columbia Business School is at the forefront of management education for a rapidly changing world. The school's cuttingedge curriculum bridges academic theory and practice, equipping students with an entrepreneurial mindset to recognize and capture opportunity in a competitive business environment. Beyond academic rigor and teaching excellence, the school offers programs that are designed to give students practical experience making decisions in realworld environments. The school offers MBA and Executive MBA (EMBA) degrees, as well as nondegree Executive Education programs. For more information, visit www.gsb.columbia.edu.


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Men's honest overconfidence may lead to male domination in the C-suite [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 28-Nov-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Sona Rai
sr2763@columbia.edu
212-854-5955
Columbia Business School

Study finds that gender differences in overconfidence concerning individual past performance explains a significant proportion of the lack of female leadership in organizations

NEW YORK November 28, 2011 A study conducted by Columbia Business School's Prof. Ernesto Reuben, Assistant Professor, Management, alongside Pedro Rey-Biel, Associate Professor, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Paola Sapienza, Associate Professor, Professor of Finance, Northwestern University, and Luigi Zingales, Robert C. McCormack Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, finds men's honest overconfidence not overt discrimination may play an important role in male domination of the C-suite. The research was recently featured in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization and Columbia Business School's Ideas at Work. While part of the persistent gender gap in leadership at firms can be attributed to discrimination, the researchers sought to determine if the underlying causes of such selection issues may go beyond simple conscious discrimination. The study discovers how the differences in the way men and women think of themselves and react to incentives may be creating gender differences that lead to leadership gaps, rather than the gap being caused solely by discrimination in the selection process. Specifically men's tendency to exhibit natural overconfidence in their past performances may attribute to the lack of greater female representation in upper management and executive positions.

The experimental design allowed the researchers to isolate the effect of gender differences on women leadership. The experiment consisted of two parts. The study first asked MBA students to complete a set of math problems; both men and women performed about the same. One year later, the researchers brought back the same students, asking them to recall their previous years' performance. The researchers found that when they compared actual with recalled performance, most participants overestimated their performance a tendency documented in different forms in different studies. The major difference was that men consistently rated their past performance about 30 percent higher than it really was. Women, on the other hand, consistently rated their past performance only about 15 percent higher than it actually was.

Next, the researchers asked participants to estimate their performance on a task if chosen to represent a group, and were then divided into groups to complete the same math problem. The group was split into 33 groups of two or four members. Each group had to choose a representative and would compete with the other groups, with a generous cash prize awarded to the highest-scoring team. It was, then, in the best interest of the group to choose the person who had performed best on the problem sets in the past. This time the researchers also added an incentive: for some (but not all) groups, the representatives got an additional payment of either $20 or $75. In groups where leaders get no additional cash prize, individual and group incentives were aligned: that is, if a group knew a woman was better, its best interest was to pick her or sacrifice its competitive edge and the financial reward. In the groups whose leaders received a payment simply for being chosen to lead, an individual could then be chosen as a rep if they lied about their performance, and the group would lose while the leader would gain.

The results revealed that, on average, both men and women were willing to lie about their performance. When participants had an incentive to lie, they lied more, and the incidence of lying increased as the monetary award for being chosen as leader increased. While women kept pace with men on how frequently they lied, women did not exaggerate their performance to the same degree. As a result, women were selected 1/3 less often than their abilities would otherwise indicate. In other words, while there is no gender differential when it comes to lying, there is a significant gender differential when it comes to "honest" overconfidence: the main difference in women not being selected as leaders appears to be attributable to men's overconfidence in their abilities.

The study suggests an important takeaway for firms: recruiters should consider overconfidence when considering male candidates' claims about past performance. Employers who are not aware of the tendency for men to unconsciously inflate their performance could mistake that overconfidence for true performance, and overlook better female candidates. Furthermore, the researchers find this aspect of gender difference is hard to correct. Columbia Business School Professor Ernesto Reuben explains, "It's not just a matter of telling men not to lie because they honestly believe their performance is 30 percent better than it really is. Similarly, it's not as if you can simply tell women they should inflate their own sense of overconfidence to be on par with that of men."

###

About Columbia Business School

Led by Dean Glenn Hubbard, the Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics, Columbia Business School is at the forefront of management education for a rapidly changing world. The school's cuttingedge curriculum bridges academic theory and practice, equipping students with an entrepreneurial mindset to recognize and capture opportunity in a competitive business environment. Beyond academic rigor and teaching excellence, the school offers programs that are designed to give students practical experience making decisions in realworld environments. The school offers MBA and Executive MBA (EMBA) degrees, as well as nondegree Executive Education programs. For more information, visit www.gsb.columbia.edu.


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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/2011-11/cbs-mho112811.php

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Pet Care Poll: Most Owners Took Animals To The Vet In Past Year

LOS ANGELES -- Eight in 10 pet owners have taken their animals to the vet in the past year, with an overall average expenditure of $505, according to a new AP-Petside.com poll.

Sixty percent of those who took their pets to the vet spent $300 or less, but the average expenditure was boosted higher by the one in eight pet owners (13 percent) who spent $1,000 or more.

About one in six pet owners say their pet faced a serious illness during the year, and those pet owners spent an average of $1,092 on vet care. One percent say they took their pets to the vet and spent no money.

Thomas Klamm, 76, of Boone, Iowa, says he and his wife Beverly spent $3,000 on their two Chihuahuas, sisters Kati and Keli, and he would have spent more if necessary, even though his annual income is under $50,000.

The biggest bills resulted from a spinal condition Kati had, but Klamm says he has a lot of confidence in the vets and senior students at Iowa State University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital in nearby Ames, where the little dogs have been going since they were pups.

According to the poll, most pet owners have faith in the treatment vets recommend. Overall, 52 percent say vets do not often recommend excessive treatment, 26 percent say that happens moderately often, 17 percent extremely or very often.

Those whose pets had been seriously ill in the past year were no more likely than others to say that vets suggest treatments that go beyond what is reasonable and necessary.

Among those who did not take their pets to the vet last year, 52 percent say they only take their pets to the vet "when they're really sick" and a third say they can't afford it at all.

Luis Calderon, 56, of El Monte, Calif., couldn't afford to take Buddy, his 3-year-old German shepherd, to the vet last year. Buddy was given to Calderon when the dog was 6 months old. "We have become best friends," he says.

Calderon, a self-employed handyman, has a wife and two kids and says work is scarce. If Buddy needed a vet, Calderon says he would have to go through public services or use credit. "We would have to get him help."

How much would be too much? It would depend on what was wrong and what the vet said, Calderon says. "At that point I would have to consider whether to keep him or let him go, put him to sleep," he says.

He hates the idea of putting limits on Buddy's health. "But we have to survive. At this point, my mortgage is No. 1. This month is really close to the edge," Calderon adds.

Fifty-eight percent of those who did not take their pets to a vet in the past year said they "have a type of pet that doesn't need much veterinary care." Among them, 52 percent have dogs, 52 percent cats, 10 percent fish, and 5 percent birds.

Not surprisingly, higher-income pet owners (household incomes over $50,000) were more apt to take their pets to the vet than those with incomes below $50,000 ? 90 percent versus 74 percent. Forty percent of those with household incomes below $50,000 who didn't take their pets to the vet say they can't really afford to do so.

Art Jones, 62, of Alameda, Calif., says two of his family's cats died in the last year. He estimates he spent $600 on vet bills ? half of that to euthanize one of the cats. The other cat died at home.

"But we are not so wealthy we can spend thousands on a house pet. That's unfortunate, but that's the truth," Jones says.

He says he has family friends whose dog is getting cancer treatment and the cost is nearing $10,000. "To me, that's insane," Jones says.

Over the past few years, Jim Salsman, 51, of Las Vegas, paid for several $500 trips to the vet for his neighbors' cat, Mau, after the declawed feline got in fights with other animals. Last year, the neighbors left and gave the cat to Salsman. He ended up paying another $400 in vet bills, but says he didn't mind because his neighbors were in foreclosure and struggling, and the cat became an important member of the family.

"He means everything to us," Salsman said.

According to the poll, dog owners were a bit more likely to take their pets to the vet than cat owners ? 85 percent of dog owners compared with 79 percent of cat owners. But dog owners spent a bit less ? an average of $537 ? than cat owners, who spent an average of $558.

The AP-Petside.com Poll was conducted Oct. 13-17, 2011, by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,118 pet owners. Results among pet owners have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

___

AP Global Director of Polling Trevor Tompson, Deputy Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta and News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

___

Online:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/pet-care-poll-most-owners_n_1118076.html

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Drug may slow spread of deadly eye cancer

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

A drug commonly used to treat seizures appears to make eye tumors less likely to grow if they spread to other parts of the body, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Their findings are available online in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

Uveal melanoma, the second most common form of melanoma, can be very aggressive and spread, or metastasize, from the eye to other organs, especially the liver.

"Melanoma in general, and uveal melanoma in particular, is notoriously difficult to treat once it has metastasized and grown in a distant organ," says principal investigator J. William Harbour, MD. "We previously identified an aggressive class 2 molecular type of uveal melanoma that, in most cases, already has metastasized by the time the eye cancer is diagnosed, even though imaging the body can't detect it yet. This microscopic amount of cancer can remain dormant in the liver and elsewhere for several years before it begins to grow and becomes lethal."

Once this happens, the prospects for survival are poor, according to Harbour, the Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and professor of cell biology and of molecular oncology. He also directs the Center for Ocular Oncology at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.

Harbour's new study shows that drugs known as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors alter the conformation of the DNA of the aggressive form of uveal melanoma, which changes the way key genes are expressed, rendering the tumor cells less aggressive.

"We looked at uveal melanoma cells in the laboratory and in an animal model, and we found that HDAC inhibitors can block the growth and proliferation of tumor cells," he says. "HDAC inhibitors appear to reverse the aggressive molecular signature that we had identified several years ago as a marker for metastatic death. When we look at aggressive melanoma cells under the microscope after treatment with HDAC inhibitors, they look more like normal cells and less like tumor cells."

Because HDAC inhibitors already are on the market, Harbour says he thinks it may be possible to quickly begin testing the drugs in patients with aggressive forms of uveal melanoma.

The drugs have relatively mild side effects that are not as severe as those seen in patients undergoing chemotherapy. One HDAC inhibitor, for example, is the anti-seizure drug valproic acid. Its most common side effect is drowsiness, which is typical of all HDAC inhibitors.

Clinical trials of HDAC inhibitors could begin in the next six to 12 months, Harbour says. Already, other researchers have applied for funding to begin testing an HDAC inhibitor called SAHA (suberoylanilide hydroxic acid) in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma.

"I think this is a reasonable place to start in the challenging effort to improve survival in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma," Harbour says. "I suspect that the best role for HDAC inhibitors will be to slow or prevent the growth of tumor cells that have spread out of the eye but cannot yet be detected. This might lengthen the time between the original eye treatment and the appearance of detectable cancer in the liver and elsewhere."

Like the chicken pox virus that lives for years in nerve cells without affecting health, Harbour says treatment with HDAC inhibitors may allow patients with aggressive melanomas to live for many years without any detectable spread of their disease.

Harbour and his colleagues previously developed a screening test to predict whether the cancer would be likely to spread to the liver and other parts of the body. The test is helpful because although less than 4 percent of patients with uveal melanoma have detectable metastatic disease, up to half will eventually die of metastasis even after successful treatment of the tumor with radiation, surgery, or, in the worst cases, removal of the eye.

Tumors that tend to remain contained within the eye are called class 1 uveal melanomas. With a needle biopsy, doctors can quickly determine whether a tumor is likely to be a class 1 cancer or whether it carries a molecular signature that identifies it as a high-risk, class 2 melanoma. Harbour's team developed a test to identify the class 2 molecular signature, and that test is now being used around the world to detect the aggressive form of uveal melanoma.

In addition, Harbour's team published a paper last year in the journal Science identifying a mutation in a gene called BAP-1 that helped further explain why some eye tumors develop the class 2 signature and acquire the ability to spread. Harbour explains that HDAC inhibitors appear to reverse some of the effects of BAP-1 mutations on the melanoma cell.

###

Washington University School of Medicine: http://www.medicine.wustl.edu

Thanks to Washington University School of Medicine for this article.

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

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/115530/Drug_may_slow_spread_of_deadly_eye_cancer

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Caps fire coach Boudreau; replaced by Dale Hunter

BC-HKN--Capitals-Boudreau Fired, 4th Ld-Writethru,1010Caps fire Boudreau, hire Hunter as coachAP Photo VAPM121, VAPM108, NY150, NY151, NY152, NY153, VAPM122, VAPM109, VAPM106, VAPM120Eds: New approach. Adds new photo links. With AP Photos. AP Video.By HOWARD FENDRICHAP Sports Writer

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) ? For all of Bruce Boudreau's success with Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals ? no coach in the modern NHL reached 200 victories as quickly ? he failed to take them far in the playoffs.

And now, suddenly, the regular season was becoming problematic, too. Players were tuning out the talkative coach nicknamed "Gabby," general manager George McPhee said, explaining why Boudreau was fired Monday and replaced by Dale Hunter, who never has been so much as an assistant in the NHL ? or even in the AHL, for that matter.

Hunter does have serious bona fides as a player, though, particularly in Washington, where he played from 1987-99 and was a captain.

He is one of only four Capitals whose jersey number is retired, which is why a 15-by-25-foot banner of Hunter wearing his red No. 32 was hanging on a wall behind one end of the ice while he led his former-and-now-current team through practice Monday.

"It won't be too hard to follow that guy," Capitals forward Brooks Laich said.

Hunter was greeted by applause and loud cheers from more than 100 fans when he skated onto the ice for Monday's session. He'll make his debut behind the bench Tuesday night against the visiting St. Louis Blues.

"I imagine I'll have some butterflies in my tummy," said the 51-year-old Hunter, who has a scar running across his chin.

He played 19 NHL seasons and is the only player in league history with 1,000 points and 3,000 penalty minutes. His career total of 3,563 penalty minutes ranks second in league history.

"He had talent and he was tough," McPhee said. "And he was downright mean sometimes."

Hunter has coached the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League for 11 seasons, going 451-189-23-24. Like Boudreau, who was promoted from Washington's minor league affiliate in the AHL to replace Glen Hanlon, Hunter is getting his first NHL coaching job from McPhee.

"Coaching's coaching, and he's been coaching at a good level and at a high level," McPhee said. "The same questions were asked of Bruce when he came here, and he had an outstanding record."

Promoted from the AHL's Hershey Bears four years ago on Thanksgiving Day, Boudreau went 201-88-40 in the regular season but 17-20 in the playoffs ? exiting in the first or second round each time. This season he tried a new approach, emphasizing accountability and a willingness to bench top players, team captain Ovechkin included.

The Capitals started 7-0 ? a franchise record for consecutive wins to begin a season ? but have struggled since. They have dropped six of their past eight games, including a 5-1 loss Saturday to a Buffalo Sabres team missing nine regulars.

"For whatever reason, as a team we weren't really responding well enough or as good as we should have been," defenseman Karl Alzner said. "And it's kind of, 'Where do you go from there?'"

Boudreau departs with the Capitals 12-9-1 and tied for eighth in the East, the same distance from 14th in the 15-team conference as second place ? five points.

"This was simply a case of the players were no longer responding to Bruce. When you see that, as much as you don't want to make a change, you have to make a change," McPhee said.

"Bruce came in here and emptied the tank. He gave it everything he could and did a really good job, but the tank was empty," McPhee added. "When that happens, you get a new coach, where the tank is full and see if it makes a difference."

Boudreau was one of two Southeast Division coaches let go Monday:

The last-place Carolina Hurricanes fired Paul Maurice and replaced him with former All-Star Kirk Muller. While Muller never has been a head coach in the NHL, he has worked as an assistant in the league and coached in the AHL.

Boudreau turned around a moribund franchise when he was hired in 2007, leading the Capitals to four consecutive division titles and one Presidents' Trophy, along with winning the league's coach of the year award in 2008.

He installed an offensive philosophy that meshed well with Ovechkin and the team's other go-go young players such as Alexander Semin and Mike Green, but he was never able to get Washington close to the Stanley Cup that everyone associated with the team declared as its goal.

"Before he got here, we were a last-place team," Laich said.

During a lengthy losing streak last season, Boudreau got his players to adopt more of a defensive mindset, but that didn't work in the spring. The Capitals were swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round, leading some to suggest it was time to part ways with Boudreau.

McPhee said he began talking to Hunter a week ago about the possibility of returning to the Capitals. On Monday morning at 6:15 a.m., McPhee met with Boudreau and delivered the news.

"Sometimes it's like having the same teacher for five years. How would you have liked to do that in high school? It's hard sometimes," McPhee said. "So you make the change and hope that a new voice and a new way of doing things and a new focus gets the best out of these players."

One player who hasn't been at his best last season or this: Ovechkin, a two-time league MVP who scored only 32 goals in 2010-11 ? less than half of his career-best 65 ? and who has only one goal in the past eight games.

"I don't think this has anything to do with Alex Ovechkin," said McPhee, noting that the team's highest-paid player will remain its captain. "I think it's got everything to do with this team not playing well."

Notes: Boudreau's assistant coaches ? Dean Evason, Bob Woods and Blaine Forsythe ? will remain in their posts under Hunter. ... Green skated for about a half-hour before Monday's practice. He's missed 14 of the past 15 games with a right groin injury.

___

AP Sports Writer Joseph White contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-28-Capitals-Boudreau%20Fired/id-3e233097b61d45f498dc2293f912eb38

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The worst iPhone games of 2011 (Appolicious)

When a game app isn?t bad because it?s unplayable or impossibly broken but because you can see its potential squandered right in front of your eyes, it can be hard to take. A game that?s broken is easily discarded, but a game that?s disappointingly incomplete keeps calling you back only to disappoint you repeatedly until you?ve finally had enough. Here are five games that did that to me in 2011.

I don?t even dislike DoubleDragon, really. It?s about as close as you can get to playing the original DoubleDragon on your iPhone, which I guess is cool if you?re not looking for even the slightest hint of a worthwhile gameplay addition. Sure, the environments got a little visual makeover, but so what?

DoubleDragon isn?t short enough to beat in a single sitting but isn?t long enough to last more than a couple of hours, which puts it in a strange position considering you can?t save your progress in the middle of the game. DoubleDragon is a retro app that doesn?t feel nostalgic, it just feels dated.

Playing Mazeus is like playing through a tech demo for a small part of a much larger, more interesting experience. Except the larger experience never comes and you?re left running a ball through a maze over a black background.

There are plenty of interesting Labyrinth style games on the iPhone, so it?s not exactly the lack of a story that feels like wasted potential, but rather it feels like there wasn?t even a hint of thought put into the game that wasn?t maze related. Even offering up a few varied backgrounds would make Mazeus feel more like a complete experience.

Let?s make a pact right now to not create any more games on the iPhone where a major gameplay element will involve your entire finger obstructing the screen. Unlike a Fruit Ninja style app where you?re constantly sliding your finger across the screen and therefore not limiting your view, Time Crisis 2nd Strike has you tapping over enemies in over to shoot them.

Great in theory, but tapping an enemy only to inadvertently touch another enemy who suddenly is firing away at you is beyond irritating. There?s simply no great way to recreate the sights in a light gun-oriented game on the iPhone. Plenty of people have criticized SEGA for not putting out a House of the Dead app but I think a quick look at Time Crisis 2nd Strike shows why it?s probably wise to stay away.

Remember when I just praised SEGA for staying away from a genre when they knew better? Well, in Virtua Fighter 2, they took a concept, iPhone fighting games, that could?ve (and has been) executed fairly well before, and essentially messed it up right out of the gate. It?s not a surprise they?d want to bring their storied fighting franchise to the mobile arena, but why Virtua Fighter 2? Why a 2-D SEGA Genesis version in 2011?

The iPhone can handle some pretty tricky visuals these days, and even if Sega would have had to dumb-down a SEGA Saturn version of Virtua Fighter slightly to work on the mobile platform, that would seem preferable to the ugly mess that is Virtua Fighter 2.

The Galaga 30th Collection commemorates an historic achievement in time for one of the most storied games in history not by offering up some cool literature on the making of the game, or some videos with the game?s original developers, or any other information at all. ?Instead, players get to play the original version of Galaxian, the true, original iteration of Galaga, for free. They can then purchase Galaga or its two subsequent sequels for nominal fees.

Setting aside the amazing bait-and-switch of calling your app Galaga but not actually offering up Galaga to play for free, Galaga 30th Collection doesn?t have the feel of a tribute or celebration at all. If someone in real life celebrated a 30th anniversary of anything else so carelessly, they?d never get to see a 31st anniversary.

Love iPhone games? Create a list of your favorites here.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/appolicious_rss/rss_appolicious_tc/http___www_appolicious_com_articles10306_the_worst_iphone_games_of_2011/43749700/SIG=12gvfr97q/*http%3A//www.appolicious.com/games/articles/10306-the-worst-iphone-games-of-2011

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96% Hugo

All Critics (120) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (115) | Rotten (5)

Thematic potency and cinematic virtuosity -- the production was designed by Dante Ferretti and photographed by Robert Richardson -- can't conceal a deadly inertness at the film's core.

For all the wizardry on display, Hugo often feels like a film about magic instead of a magical film...

I have seen the future of 3-D moviemaking, and it belongs to Martin Scorsese, unlikely as that may sound.

It's a fairy tale for mature viewers, but the airy exterior hides emotional depth.

One of the most magical viewing experiences of the decade so far.

Aside from being one of Scorsese's most personal films, it's also one of the least cynical films of this or any other year.

This love letter to the movies is something to cherish.

This is a great director's greatest love story.

Scorsese uses 3D to submerge viewers into a glittering storybook world, but all of Hugo's beauty can't make up for the sidetracking of the tale of the orphaned boy living in the train station in favor of a film preservation PSA.

If however, you are not a film scholar or a fan of the period, Scorsese will skillfully turn you into one without you even knowing it.

Scorcese does not mess around. This is a magnificent film.

The movie itself runs a bit long at 127 minutes, but "Hugo" is worth every minute for the visual feast it provides.

Hugo is a love affair -- palpable and personal -- between director Marty Scorsese and cinema. It sputters, floats, and soars.

An infectious ode to the early days of cinema. Scorsese's use of 3D is inspired, although it might be more interesting for parents than their children.

A powerful reminder of the magic of cinema and Martin Scorsese's astounding versatility...

"Hugo" is a movie that children will enjoy, adults will admire and film buffs will cheer. It is a movie that will surprise and delight you with its wonder and awe.

Exquisite - Definitely Oscar Worthy

... a phantasmagorical fusion of 'Oliver Twist' and 'Edward Scissorhands' ... but in the end it feels pedantic and, like M?li?s' robot, proves a wondrous contraption motorized by a spring-driven heart.

Hugo is a work steeped in cinema lore, drunk on the fumes of a bygone era yet canny enough to channel its nostalgia through modern innovations.

Please, please, please don't think you need to be a child to see this incredible movie. Indeed, "Hugo," a smart, classy film that deserves to be watched on the big screen in 3-D, will find a special place with grownups who love movie art and history.

A deeply felt, hugely personal, glorious and heart-swelling ode to the magic of cinema and stories: the way they bring us together, allow us to understand each other, allow us to see our dreams come true.

Probably the first kids film in history to double as a propaganda film for the cause of classic film preservation. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.

It has its sluggish moments, but Hugo is mostly a delightful tribute to the magic of early cinema, and boasts excellent use of 3-D.

Martin Scorsese's affecting, gorgeously rendered 3-D debut is one of the best films of this year and any other year.

More Critic Reviews

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hugo/

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Green Holiday: Gifts For An Eco-Friendly Season

The Green Toys EcoSaucer

Green Dad's always been a sucker for flying discs and frisbees, and this particular Green Toys saucer comes in a very nifty shade of lime. At a price you can't beat ($6.99 with free shipping, a low by $3) from aSavings via Buy.com, and made from 100% recycled plastic grocery bags, this model soars above the rest for its love of Mother Earth. It weighs about 130 grams, and it sure beats trying to make your own disc out of those pesky grocery bags.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/26/eco-friendly-toys-green-holiday_n_1110657.html

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Things Get Worse and Obama Keeps Playing Golf

It is an unseasonably warm 65 degrees in the Washington area, and President Obama has bolted out of the White House to go golfing.

It?s his 30th time golfing this year and the 88th golf outing of his presidency.

He?s at the Andrews Air Force base course with one of his usual crew, White House trip director Martin Nicholson, as well as Marvin?s brother Walter and Reggie Love.

Love, who is Obama?s personal assistant ? or ?body man? ? is not usually a golfing companion. So the outing may be a farewell gift to Reggie, who is leaving by the end of the year.

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This entry was posted in 2012, American Freedom and tagged Barack Obama, Comrad Obama, free speech, Freedom, Golf, Government Lies, Obama Golfs More than Governs. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://usconstitutionalfreepress.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/things-get-worse-and-obama-keeps-playing-golf/

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Beyonce "Dance for You" Music Video: Noir & Naughty!


Beyonce is at it again.

The mega star has released yet another music video off the album "4," this one in honor of "Dance for You," one of three bonus tracks featured on the deluxe version of the CD. Watch below, as Mrs. Jay Z slinks around on a desk and goes all noir for her fans. It's sexy stuff...


Beyonce "Dance for You" Video

Among other videos Beyonce has unveiled over the past few weeks. There has been:

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/11/beyonce-dance-for-you-music-video-noir-and-naughty/

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Analysis: Iran adopts "wait and see" policy on Syria's crisis (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Iran, its crucial anti-Israel alliance with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at risk from an uprising against his rule, has chosen a "wait and see" policy driven in part by concern not to alienate anyone who might succeed him, analysts say.

A downfall of Assad could deal a strategic blow to Shi'ite Muslim-dominated Iran, where confrontation toward Israel remains one of its overriding foreign policy principle.

Iran has used various regional cards, including fears it could unleash militant proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas against Israeli and U.S. interests, to deter foreign intervention in Syria, making it harder for protesters to overthrow Assad.

But analysts say the Iranian-Syrian axis now faces a serious dilemma: Should Iran stick with Assad -- whose family has ruled Syria for 41 years -- at any cost or should it jettison the Islamic Republic's most important Middle East ally?

"Iran's policy is to wait and see ... We need to be patient as the situation is very unclear and very sensitive in Syria. We hope for the best possible outcome for everyone," said an Iranian government official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"(But although) Assad helped Iran play a leading role in its fight against the Zionist regime (Israel) ... now it is unwise for Iran to take sides."

Iran will be hard-pressed to find Arab allies to replace Syria so it will be naturally keener to ensure Assad -- whose minority Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam -- can ultimately vanquish the revolt by majority Sunni Muslims.

"A weak Assad is no longer an effective regional ally for Iran ... But it is better to have a weak ally rather than a Sunni (Muslim) leader in power in Syria," said Iranian analyst Hamid Farahvashi.

WARY OF "BACKING THE WRONG HORSE"

However, Iranian leaders are also worried that siding too emphatically with Assad could undermine their chances of establishing a beneficial relationship with any new Syrian government, analysts say.

"Iranians do not want to back the wrong horse ... It is a very sensitive period and any wrong move could have negative consequences," said Farahvashi.

There are rumors in Tehran suggesting that Iranian officials have met members of the Syrian opposition in an effort to probe the possibility of forming future alliances.

"We do not want to be seen as betrayers of our ally ... but like all other countries, Iran's priority is to preserve the country's interests," said the Iranian official.

The Syrian crisis has added to pressures on Iran's clerical elite, ranging from tightening international sanctions imposed over Iran's disputed nuclear work, high inflation, long queues of jobless and investors keeping a tight hold on their purses.

Betraying frayed nerves about the possibility of government change in Syria, Tehran has called the unrest against Assad an "American-Zionist" conspiracy. Whether Tehran has contingency plans for any overthrow of Assad remains unclear.

"Everything will happen behind the scenes. Iran might get closer to Lebanon's Hezbollah or other Shi'ite militant groups in the region to preserve its influence in the region," said an Asian diplomat in Tehran, speaking on ground rules of anonymity.

The United States says Iran's policy toward the Syrian crisis has included financial and military aid. Iran denies any involvement in matters of the Syrian state.

Iranian officials still hope Assad will outlast the revolt. "Assad can bring millions of his supporters into the streets ... He enjoys support of his nation in big cities as we have seen in pro-government rallies in Syria," the government official said.

Iranian leaders hope international efforts to unseat Assad will ultimately be undone by concerns not to ignite broader sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims that could destabilize the wider region.

Saudi Arabia, which shares U.S. fears that Iran is covertly seeking nuclear arms, has long accused Tehran of trying stir up its Shi'ite minority. Analysts say Syria might become the focal point of an Iranian-Saudi battle for regional dominance.

"Syria might become a ground for America and Saudi Arabia to settle scores with Tehran ... Further pressure on Assad might cause sectarian violence in Lebanon, Iraq and many other parts of the region where Iran has influence," said political analyst Mansour Marvi.

IRAN EYES TURKEY IN SYRIAN CRISIS

With Turkey's condemnation of its erstwhile ally Assad over his military crackdown on protesters that has left thousands dead, Iran has become more cautious in its approach to Syria's crisis, condemning his use of violence and calling on his government and the opposition to reach an "understanding."

Turkey and Iran are competing for influence in the new Middle East and each presents a model -- one Islamic, the other secular and democratic -- for Arab revolutionaries.

Iranian leaders view Ankara as a key cog in what they see as a U.S. scheme backed by Gulf Arab states to contain Tehran's ambitions to be the Middle East's dominant power and undermine its Islamic Revolution.

Some diplomats and analysts disagree, however.

"More than having influence, Iran is wisely using regional conflicts, like the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, to its own benefit," said an Asian diplomat in Tehran. "Americans credit Iran for their mistakes in the Middle East."

Iran's hardline rulers were quick to put a positive spin on the Arab Spring uprisings against autocratic rulers, saying it will spell the end of U.S.-backed governments in the region.

While analysts abroad have said the Arab Spring has been largely secular in nature, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has dubbed it the "Islamic Awakening," saying it was inspired by Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution that replaced the U.S-backed Shah with a Muslim theocracy.

The government's Syria policy has angered President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's rivals, deepening a political rift within the conservative elite dating to the 2009 presidential election that the opposition says was rigged to secure his return to power.

Some politicians, including legislators, say Iran should side with the Syrian opposition and not "a figure (Assad)."

"Iran could have mediated and controlled the crisis in Syria if Ahmadinejad's government had a better position in the international community," moderate former deputy foreign minister Mohammad Sadr was quoted as saying by some pro-reform Iranian websites.

Iran's reformist opposition has watched with admiration as popular revolutions have toppled several Arab dictators.

But despite divisions within Tehran conservative ruling elite, opposition leaders looks incapable for now of resuming serious street protests quelled by Revolutionary Guards two years ago in the wake of Ahmadinejad's re-election.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/wl_nm/us_iran_syria_policy

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Monday, November 28, 2011

Putting humans on display ? Paris museum asks why

It's a queasy experience, viewing chained tribal dancers do a white man's bidding, or African women stripped and photographed to feed European curiosity.

Until just a few generations ago, this is how most white people learned about those with skin of a different shade. A new Paris exhibit examines how for centuries, colonizers plucked villagers from Africa, the Americas or the South Pacific and put them on display half a world away. The demeaning tradition shaped racist attitudes that linger today.

Curator Lilian Thuram, a former soccer star and now anti-racism advocate, hopes the exhibit at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris makes people question deep-held beliefs about the "other."

"You have to have the courage to say that each of us has prejudices, and these prejudices have a history," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Thuram is an ideal public face for this unusual exhibit. A pensive black man with a ready smile, he has suffered racist insults on and off the field.

It's a delicate undertaking for a museum: exhibiting offensive images without glorifying them, urging visitors to look closer and be repulsed.

Scientific curator Nanette Jacomijn Snoep said the exhibit isn't about blaming viewers of the past for their curiosity.

"For the visitors of this era, it was a way ... to see what was happening elsewhere in the world. Except that visitors weren't totally aware that was a spectacle, that it was a fabricated difference," fabricated to make the viewer feel superior, she said in an interview.

Many of the subjects of this colonial cruelty remain nameless, and forgotten to history. "Zulu Mealtime" one photo reads. "Bushmen." "Indian Chief." "Negro Head." An old film reel shows a Frenchman peppering commands at two dark-skinned dancers in headdress so cumbersome their faces are barely visible.

But some have been identified, including the great-grandparents of Thuram's 1998 World cup teammate Christian Karembeu, shipped to Paris from the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia and exhibited as "cannibals."

The Quai Branly exhibit includes a projected silhouette of South African Saartje Baartman, known to 19th-century viewers as the Hottentot Venus, and a naked, backside-only photograph of another African woman with similarly generous buttocks.

Just when you think the exhibit is all about the past, a familiar venue jumps out: New York's Coney Island features in an old "freak show" poster. Zulus were put on display at Buckingham Palace. Paris' Jardin d'Acclimatation, today one of the French capital's most popular amusement parks, once hosted human "zoos."

Such displays bolstered 19th-century scientists who sought to prove that different races were biologically distinct ? and whites biologically superior.

"There is only one species of homo sapiens," Thuram said, standing defiantly in front of a metallic contraption once used to measure skulls. It resembles a torture device or mutant sextant, and is accompanied by sculpted busts meant to illustrate racial distinctions.

"This 'scientific racism' was introduced to the population. Visitors of the time could come to the Jardin d'Acclimatation and see people from Asia, Africa, Oceania behind an enclosure, and they were presented as savages," Thuram said. "You can see that there is a history, and unfortunately today we have the consequences of this history."

Recent comments by the president of soccer's world governing body and an ex-caddy for Tiger Woods exposed outdated views toward racism that continue to pervade modern life. France itself struggles daily with racism toward immigrants from former colonies, stretching from stadium violence to the unfounded fear among some that Muslims intend to supplant French culture with Islamic traditions.

Like much at the Quai Branly Museum ? a spacious modern venue at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, former President Jacques Chirac's ode to colonized cultures ? this exhibit is under-lit. The somber atmosphere augments the feeling that this part of history was anything but enlightened.

It elicits questions about disability and disease and how entertainers profited from them, exhibiting families with overwhelming facial hair, humans exceptionally tall or exceptionally tiny. These questions remain largely unanswered by a show that focuses instead on the racist aspect of putting other humans on display.

An audioguide is strongly recommended to give the exhibit the necessary context. The guides are available in English and German, and there is an English translation of some explanatory panels but not of each item displayed.

A triptych of funhouse mirrors and a video projection at the end of the labyrinthine exhibit offer moments to reflect. How tolerant are you? How do you feel watching two men in the video kissing? A white woman and black woman holding hands? A Muslim man praying?

The exhibit opens Tuesday and runs through June 3.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45464705/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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NASA launches super-size rover to Mars: 'Go, Go!' (AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ? A rover of "monster truck" proportions zoomed toward Mars on an 8 1/2-month, 354 million-mile journey Saturday, the biggest, best equipped robot ever sent to explore another planet.

NASA's six-wheeled, one-armed wonder, Curiosity, will reach Mars next summer and use its jackhammer drill, rock-zapping laser machine and other devices to search for evidence that Earth's next-door neighbor might once have been home to the teeniest forms of life.

More than 13,000 invited guests jammed the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday morning to witness NASA's first launch to Mars in four years, and the first flight of a Martian rover in eight years.

Mars fever gripped the crowd.

NASA astrobiologist Pan Conrad, whose carbon compound-seeking instrument is on the rover, wore a bright blue, short-sleeve blouse emblazoned with rockets, planets and the words, "Next stop Mars!" She jumped, cheered and snapped pictures as the Atlas V rocket blasted off. So did Los Alamos National Laboratory's Roger Wiens, a planetary scientist in charge of Curiosity's laser blaster, called ChemCam.

Surrounded by 50 U.S. and French members of his team, Wiens shouted "Go, Go, Go!" as the rocket soared into a cloudy sky. "It was beautiful," he later observed, just as NASA declared the launch a full success.

A few miles away at the space center's visitor complex, Lego teamed up with NASA for a toy spacecraft-building event for children this Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The irresistible lure: 800,000 Lego bricks.

The 1-ton Curiosity ? 10 feet long, 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall at its mast ? is a mobile, nuclear-powered laboratory holding 10 science instruments that will sample Martian soil and rocks, and with unprecedented skill, analyze them right on the spot.

It's as big as a car. But NASA's Mars exploration program director calls it "the monster truck of Mars."

"It's an enormous mission. It's equivalent of three missions, frankly, and quite an undertaking," said the ecstatic program director, Doug McCuistion. "Science fiction is now science fact. We're flying to Mars. We'll get it on the ground and see what we find."

The primary goal of the $2.5 billion mission is to see whether cold, dry, barren Mars might have been hospitable for microbial life once upon a time ? or might even still be conducive to life now. No actual life detectors are on board; rather, the instruments will hunt for organic compounds.

Curiosity's 7-foot arm has a jackhammer on the end to drill into the Martian red rock, and the 7-foot mast on the rover is topped with high-definition and laser cameras.

With Mars the ultimate goal for astronauts, NASA will use Curiosity to measure radiation at the red planet. The rover also has a weather station on board that will provide temperature, wind and humidity readings; a computer software app with daily weather updates is planned.

No previous Martian rover has been so sophisticated.

The world has launched more than three dozen missions to the ever-alluring Mars, which is more like Earth than the other solar-system planets. Yet fewer than half those quests have succeeded.

Just two weeks ago, a Russian spacecraft ended up stuck in orbit around Earth, rather than en route to the Martian moon Phobos.

"Mars really is the Bermuda Triangle of the solar system," said NASA's Colleen Hartman, assistant associate administrator for science. "It's the death planet, and the United States of America is the only nation in the world that has ever landed and driven robotic explorers on the surface of Mars, and now we're set to do it again."

Curiosity's arrival next August will be particularly hair-raising.

In a spacecraft first, the rover will be lowered onto the Martian surface via a jet pack and tether system similar to the sky cranes used to lower heavy equipment into remote areas on Earth.

Curiosity is too heavy to use air bags like its much smaller predecessors, Spirit and Opportunity, did in 2004. Besides, this new way should provide for a more accurate landing.

Astronauts will need to make similarly precise landings on Mars one day.

Curiosity will spend a minimum of two years roaming around Gale Crater, chosen from among more than 50 potential landing sites because it's so rich in minerals. Scientists said if there is any place on Mars that might have been ripe for life, it may well be there.

The rover should go farther and work harder than any previous Mars explorer because of its power source: 10.6 pounds of radioactive plutonium. The nuclear generator was encased in several protective layers in case of a launch accident.

NASA expects to put at least 12 miles on the odometer, once the rover sets down on the Martian surface.

McCuistion anticipates being blown away by the never-before-seen vistas. "Those first images are going to just be stunning, I believe. It will be like sitting in the bottom of the Grand Canyon," he said at a post-launch news conference.

This is the third astronomical mission to be launched from Cape Canaveral by NASA since the retirement of the venerable space shuttle fleet this summer. The Juno probe is en route to Jupiter, and twin spacecraft named Grail will arrive at Earth's moon on New Year's Eve and Day.

Unlike Juno and Grail, Curiosity suffered development programs and came in two years late and nearly $1 billion over budget. Scientists involved in the project noted Saturday that the money is being spent on Earth, not Mars, and the mission is costing every American about the price of a movie.

"I'll leave you to judge for yourself whether or not that's a movie you'd like to see," said California Institute of Technology's John Grotzinger, the project scientist. "I know that's one I would."

___

Online:

NASA: http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/

Lego: http://legospace.com/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111127/ap_on_sc/us_sci_mars_rover

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Finance Small Business | Bankrate.com

Where do you find cash

Even when times were good, money was still hard to come by when a small business needed to ease a cash-flow crunch.

Now that times are tough, bank loans or lines of credit can be nearly impossible for an entrepreneur to secure.

"Right now, banks are being the Scrooge with their money," says Carol Roth, author of the book, "The Entrepreneur Equation." "Banks have plenty of money to lend, but they are incredibly skittish right now ... and they aren't risk takers."

So what's a small-business owner to do, particularly if he or she needs cash now to make payroll or purchase equipment? He or she can do what entrepreneurs do best: Get creative.

Here are some innovative sources of funding that could help your small business when money is tight.


Source: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/personal-finance/finance-small-business-1.aspx

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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Why is it Life Insurance?, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of ...

I claimed that if an event is very likely to happen, then it is not insurable. Some commenters responded that we have life insurance, and yet everybody dies.

The reason that we can have life insurance is that the timing of death is unknown. If you were known to have exactly two years to live, then you could not obtain life insurance.

If I am 50 years old and my family depends on my salary for its well-being, then I might buy life insurance. That way, in the unlikely even that I die before age 65, my family will be provided for. The insurable event is not my death per se. It is my death at an early age.

What that suggests is that life insurance policies should expire about the time that you quit work (you can do this with term life insurance). Beyond that, it just becomes a form of (tax-advantaged) saving that only benefits the purchaser to the extent that the tax savings make up for what the life insurance company chews up in administrative costs and profits. Given that there are other tax-advantaged long-term savings options available, I think that the case for buying life insurance that goes beyond the point of retirement is pretty flimsy.

Source: http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2011/11/why_is_it_life.html

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