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In this Nov. 9, 2011 file photo, shoppers walk past a clearance sign at the New York & Company outlet store at the Dolphin Mall, in Miami. Consumer spending was flat in December while incomes rose by the largest amount in nine months. But even with the December income surge, incomes for the whole year were up just half the amount of 2010, underscoring the challenge facing the economy. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

In this Nov. 9, 2011 file photo, a shopper carries purchases while shopping at Dolphin Mall, in Miami. Consumer spending was flat in December while incomes rose by the largest amount in nine months. But even with the December income surge, incomes for the whole year were up just half the amount of 2010, underscoring the challenge facing the economy. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Americans' income rose in December by the most in nine months, a hopeful sign for the economy after a year of weak wage gains. But consumers didn't spend any more than they had in November.

Americans ended up saving all their additional income.

Economists noted that income rose last month largely because of strong hiring. The economy added 200,000 jobs in December. More jobs mean more income available to spend.

The best hope for the economy is further job gains. On Friday, the government is expected to report another solid month of hiring for January.

Income rose 0.5 percent from November to December, the Commerce Department said Monday. It was the sharpest increase since a similar gain in March.

The flat spending in December followed scant gains of 0.1 percent in both October and November.

For all of 2011, income barely rose. And consumers tapped their savings to spend more.

But in December, Americans boosted their savings. If they continue to save any additional income rather than spend it, the economy could slow. And that could force employers to pull back on hiring.

Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity.

Many economists are holding out hope, though, that continued job gains will mean more spending across the economy.

"The pace of job growth in recent months, while still not satisfactory compared to most past cycles, at least seems sufficient to generate enough income growth to keep consumer spending moving ahead at a modest pace," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR, Inc.

After-tax income adjusted for inflation rose 0.3 percent in December. For the year, inflation-adjusted income rose 0.9 percent. That was just half the rise in 2010.

Inflation-adjusted consumer spending rose just 2.2 percent last year. It was slightly better than the increase in 2010.

The government said Friday that the economy grew at an annual rate of 1.7 percent last year ? roughly half the growth of 2010. It was the weakest showing since the economy contracted in 2009.

Unemployment stands at 8.5 percent ? its lowest level in nearly three years after a sixth straight month of solid hiring.

For the final three months of 2011, Americans spent more on vehicles, and companies restocked their supplies at a robust pace.

Still, overall growth last quarter ? and for all of last year ? was slowed by the sharpest cuts in annual government spending in four decades. And many people are reluctant to spend more or buy homes. Many employers remain hesitant to hire, even though job growth has strengthened.

The outlook for 2012 is slightly better. The Federal Reserve has estimated economic growth of roughly 2.5 percent for the year, despite abundant risk factors: federal spending cuts, weak pay increases, cautious consumers and the risk of a European recession.

In December, spending on both durable and nondurable goods fell. Spending on services, a category that accounts for two-thirds of consumer spending, rose 0.2 percent.

The savings rate increased to 4 percent of after-tax incomes in December, up from 3.5 percent in November.

For the year, the savings rate dipped to 4.4 percent from 5.3 percent in 2010. The savings rate had fallen to 1.5 percent in 2005, reflecting a housing boom that made people feel like spending more and saving less.

The December report showed that prices tied to consumer spending edged up 0.1 percent in December and were up 2.4 percent compared to a year ago. This is the preferred inflation measure for the Federal Reserve.

The Fed last week established an annual inflation target of 2 percent.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-30-Consumer%20Spending/id-55319a9857714fa5a726a0677e21405b

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"Purple Naked Ladies," The Internet (Odd Future)

The producer duo of Matt Martians and Syd Tha Kyd, of the group OFWGKTA, misses the mark with their new album "Purple Naked Ladies," a spacey foray into digital sounds that results in more confusion than clarity.

Since it was recorded on Odd Future's own label, the two artists, known together as The Internet, have obviously been given a wide berth to play around with sounds and schemes. And they do. To a fault. The digital soundscape quickly becomes muddy and the musical purpose lost.

Some songs like "Fastlane" offer a more traditional R&B approach. "Ode To A Dream" also promises something cohesive, with nice vocal features from Kilo Kish and Coco O. But the latter half of the song devolves into a swirl of reverse-played beats and tinny electronic drum hits. It's hard to image this as a radio staple, or even a playlist favorite.

On "Violet Nude Women," it often sounds like there are no fewer than six instrumental sounds vying for attention, each attempting to elbow the others out of the way and take prominence. The melody is light and playful, but it soon gets lost as disparate noises collide.

The Internet is essentially a proof of concept group. They are decent producers, but they'll need a star up front to truly shine.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: "She Dgaf," is the lone plausible track for repeated play, curse words aside. It's got a nice hook and some semblance of a beat, something most other tracks on this album lack.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_en_mu/us_music_review_the_internet

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New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady talks to a friend as he leaves a news conference on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in Indianapolis. The Patriots are scheduled to face the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

FILE - In this Jan. 19, 2012, file photo, New York Giants' Chris Canty (99), Osi Umenyiora (72), Jason Pierre-Paul (90) and Justin Tuck share a laugh during NFL football practice, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants play the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Four years after what many consider the best finish in Super Bowl history, the Giants and Patriots are facing off once more for the NFL championship. While there are no perfect records on the line this time, this matchup could be equally enticing.

It certainly looks that way heading into Sunday's big game. In 2008, with New England undefeated and having beaten New York in the regular-season finale, the Patriots were 12-point favorites. The spread now is 3, and the Giants beat them during the season.

Both teams are on quite a roll, too. The Patriots (15-3) have won 10 straight ? it was 18 in a row in '08 ? and the Giants (12-7) have five consecutive victories.

All of which matters not a bit, according to Bill Belichick, who will tie a record for head coaches with his fifth Super Bowl appearance.

"I've been asked about that game for several days now. All of the games in the past really don't mean that much at this point," said Belichick, 3-1 in NFL title games. "This game is about this team this year. There aren't really a lot of us coaches and players who were involved in that game, and very few players, in relative terms, between both teams. We are where we are now, and we're different than where we were earlier in the season. The Giants are where they are now, and I think they're different than where they were at different points of the season. To take it back years and years before that, I don't think it has too much bearing on anything."

The loss still reverberates for former Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin.

"It was like getting punched in the stomach," he said. "I still can't watch the highlights from that game because of the opportunity we missed out on was so grand

Having come this far before is immeasurably helpful, according to Justin Tuck, the leader of the Giants' defense whose return to health and form has keyed New York's resurgence. He says the experience of four years ago in the Arizona desert will benefit everyone.

"The only thing that I tell the younger guys is make football football," Tuck said. "Don't make this game bigger than it has to be. Everybody around you is going to make it bigger, but we have to concentrate on why we're going out there. There's going to be a lot of parties. There's going to be a lot of people pulling at your coattail. Listen, if you go out there and you handle your business and you win this game, you can party all you want to after that.

"For me, personally, the first time I went to a Super Bowl I approached it as such ? as a once in a lifetime thing."

For Tuck, it wasn't. And while the defense he leads to Indianapolis isn't quite as overwhelming as the unit that made life miserable for Tom Brady in '08, it has been reinvigorated as the Giants surged to the NFC championship. It also is just as deep as the group that sacked Brady five times, hit him nine more ? Osi Umenyiora claimed he had that many hits alone ? and unnerved the usually unflappable star.

Today, it's Tuck, Umenyiora, All-Pro Jason Pierre-Paul, Dave Tollefson and linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka, who compare favorably with Umenyiora, Tuck, Michael Strahan, Jay Alford and LB Antonio Pierce in 2008.

Other than head coaches Belichick and New York's Tom Coughlin, that is the most common element between the two Super Bowls.

"It's been a strength of their team for as long as I can remember," Brady said. "Michael Strahan, as great of a player as he was, I think we played them in 2003 and they were still harassing the quarterback. It seems like they always have guys who can rush the quarterback. Justin Tuck is as good as they come. Osi week in and week out, he's a player who can ruin a game for an offense. You look at the group they have now, and they have a ton of depth at the defensive line position."

Controversial receivers Randy Moss and Plaxico Burress have been replaced by skilled playmakers like tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez in New England, wideouts Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz in New York. Eli Manning no longer is a question as Giants quarterback, and has carried the offense much the way running backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw did in the past.

Lawrence Tynes kicked the Giants into the Super Bowl in overtime in '08 and ? incredibly ? this year, too. Wes Welker led the Patriots with 112 catches that season and had 122 in this one.

Sixteen Giants remain from the 17-14 Super Bowl victory, and only seven Patriots are still around.

Similarities and differences, all juicy elements for Giants-Patriots II.

Here we go again.

___

AP Sports Writers Tom Canavan and Mike Marot contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-30-Super%20Bowl-Here%20We%20Go%20Again/id-a3a3622cbf764b139e865b43949da72a

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Oceanographers have identified a series of ocean hotspots around the world generated by strengthening wind systems that have driven oceanic currents, including the East Australian Current, polewards beyond their known boundaries.

The hotspots have formed alongside ocean currents that wash the east coast of the major continents and their warming proceeds at a rate far exceeding the average rate of ocean surface warming, according to an international science team whose work is published in the journal Nature Climate Change today.

Paper co-author, CSIRO's Dr Wenju Cai, said that while the finding has local ecological implications in the region surrounding the hotspots, the major influence is upon the ocean's ability to take up heat and carbon from the atmosphere.

In Australia's case, scientists report intensifying east-west winds at high latitudes (45?-55?S) pushing southward and speeding up the gyre or swirl of currents circulating in the South Pacific, extending from South America to the Australian coast. The resulting changes in ocean circulation patterns have pushed the East Australian Current around 350 kilometres further south, with temperatures east of Tasmania as much as two degrees warmer than they were 60 years ago. "We would expect natural change in the oceans over decades or centuries but change with such elevated sea surface temperatures in a growing number of locations and in a synchronised manner was definitely not expected," said CSIRO's Dr Wenju Cai.

"Detecting these changes has been hindered by limited observations but with a combination of multi-national ocean watch systems and computer simulations we have been able to reconstruct an ocean history in which warming over the past century is 2-3 times faster than the global average ocean warming rate," says Dr Cai, a climate scientist at CSIRO's Wealth from Oceans Research Flagship.

The changes are characterised by a combination of currents pushing nearer to the polar regions and intensify with systematic changes of wind over both hemispheres, attributed to increasing greenhouse gases.

Dr Cai said the increase of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been the major driver of the surface warming of the Earth over the 20th century. This is projected to continue.

He said the research points to the need for a long-term monitoring network of the western boundary currents. In March next year, Australian scientists plan to deploy a series of moored ocean sensors across the East Australian Current to observe change season-to-season and year-to-year.

###

CSIRO Australia: http://www.csiro.au

Thanks to CSIRO Australia 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/117175/Warming_in_the_Tasman_Sea_a_global_warming_hot_spot

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BEIRUT ? Syrian forces heavily shelled the restive city of Homs on Monday and troops pushed back dissident troops from some suburbs on the outskirts of Damascus in an offensive trying to regain control of the capital's eastern doorstep, activists said.

President Bashar Assad's regime is intensifying its assault aimed at crushing army defectors and protesters, even as the West tries to overcome Russian opposition and win a new U.N. resolution demanding a halt to Syria's crackdown on the 10-month-old uprising. Activists reported at least 28 civilians killed on Monday.

With talks on the resolution due to begin Tuesday, a French official said at least 10 members of the Security Council backed the measure, which includes a U.N. demand that Assad carry out an Arab League peace plan. The plan requires Assad to hand his powers over to his vice president and allow the creation of a unity government within two months. Damascus has rejected the proposal.

A text needs support from nine nations on the 15-member U.N. Security Council to go to a vote. The French official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with departmental rules.

The British and French foreign ministers were heading to New York to push for backing of the measure in Tuesday's U.N. talks.

In London, British Prime Minister David Cameron's office urged Moscow to reconsider its opposition to the measure.

"Russia can no longer explain blocking the U.N. and providing cover for the regime's brutal repression," a spokeswoman for Cameron said, on customary condition of anonymity in line with policy.

Russia insists it won't support any resolution it believes could open the door to an eventual foreign military intervention in Syria, the way an Arab-backed U.N. resolution paved the way for NATO airstrikes in Libya. Instead, the Kremlin said Monday it was trying to put together negotiations in Moscow between Damascus and the opposition.

It said Assad's government has agreed to participate. The opposition has in the past rejected any negotiations unless violence stops, and there was no immediate word whether any of the multiple groups that make up the anti-Assad camp would attend.

The United Nations estimated several weeks ago that more than 5,400 people have been killed in Syria's crackdown since the uprising against Assad's rule began in March. The bloodshed has continued since ? with more than 190 killed in the past five days ? and the U.N. says it has been unable to update the figure.

Regime forces on Monday heavily shelled the central city of Homs, which has been one of the cities at the forefront of the uprising, activists said. Heavy machine gun fire hit the city's restive Baba Amr district.

The Syrian Human Rights Observatory reported that 14 were killed in the city on Monday. Another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees, put the number at 15. Both also reported the discovery of a family of six ? a couple and their four children ? who had been killed by gunfire several days earlier in the city's Karm el-Zeitoun district.

The past three days, pro-Assad forces have been fighting to take back a string of suburbs on the eastern approach to Damascus where army defectors who joined the opposition had seized control.

Government troops managed on Sunday evening to take control of two of the districts closest to Damascus, Ein Tarma and Kfar Batna, said Rami Abdul-Rahman, the London-based head of the Observatory.

On Monday, the regime forces were trying to take the next suburbs farther out, with heavy fighting in the districts of Saqba and Arbeen, he said.

At least five civilians were killed in the fighting near Damascus, the Observatory and LCC said. The Observatory also reported 10 army defectors and eight regime troops or security forces killed around the country.

The reports could not be independently confirmed. Syrian authorities keep tight control on the media and have banned many foreign journalists from entering the country.

The wide-scale offensive near the capital suggested the regime is worried that military defectors could close in on Damascus, which has remained relatively quiet while most other Syrian cities have slipped into chaos since the uprising began in March.

The violence has gradually approached the capital. In the past two weeks, army dissidents have become more visible, seizing several suburbs on the eastern edge of Damascus and setting up checkpoints where masked men wearing military attire and wielding assault rifles stop motorists and protect anti-regime protests.

Their presence so close to the capital is astonishing in tightly controlled Syria and suggests the Assad regime may either be losing control or setting up a trap for the fighters before going on the offensive.

State media reported that an "armed terrorist group" blew up a gas pipeline at dawn Monday. The pipeline carries gas from the central province of Homs to an area near the border with Lebanon. SANA news agency reported that the blast happened in Tal Hosh, which is about five miles (eight kilometers) from Talkalakh, along the border with Lebanon.

Further details were not immediately available.

There have been several pipeline attacks since the Syrian uprising began, but it is not clear who is behind them.

Assad's regime has blamed "terrorists" for driving the country's uprising, not protesters seeking democratic change.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_syria

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MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, seeking to renew his hold on power after unprecedented street protests, set out an economic agenda on Monday that puts state capitalism at the heart of a bid to boost Russia's global competitiveness.

In a 5,000-word newspaper article, the third in a series he has written ahead of a March 4 presidential election, Putin defended his record while acknowledging Russia needed to adapt in a period of "cardinal change" in the global economy.

"We are seeing how countries, whose position seemed invulnerable only yesterday, are yielding to those that not long ago were regarded with haughty disdain," he wrote in the Vedomosti financial daily.

"In such conditions it is important to secure the stable and gradual development of our economy, and as far as possible to protect our citizens from blows delivered by crises, while resolutely and quickly renewing all aspects of economic life."

Readers of Vedomosti's online edition were critical of Putin, who has run Russia for the past 12 years as two-term president and then premier.

"Dear Pu, we've had enough of your slogans. Twelve years of absolute power should be enough to show some results," wrote a person who signed in as AVTor, getting 109 'likes' from readers.

Putin said his government had been right to reassert control over the energy sector, an indirect reference to the breakup of Russia's largest oil firm, Yukos, whose assets were largely bought up by state-controlled Rosneft and whose owner, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was jailed for tax evasion and fraud.

The article, Putin's broadest discourse on how he would run the economy should he be elected for a six-year term, also identifies continuing dependency on natural resources and de-industrialization as Russia's greatest economic weaknesses.

But the steps he proposes to modernize the $1.5 trillion economy lack detail, are in part contradictory and make only a vague commitment to deliver on past privatization pledges.

Putin is the clear front-runner to win the presidential election, but the popular mood has shifted in Russia after tens of thousands of protesters turned out to protest alleged ballot fraud in a December parliamentary election.

Critics, who have branded Putin's ruling party a band of "crooks and thieves," plan to turn out again in force on February 4 to demand wide-ranging electoral reforms aimed at breaking the 59-year-old premier's de facto monopoly on power.

OPEN ECONOMY

In the 20 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has become "an organic part of the world economy," but is still exposed to commodity-price swings, reliant on imports of consumer goods and plagued by capital flight, Putin wrote.

Russia, as a member of the World Trade Organization, should open up to global competition and become a leader in sectors like pharmaceuticals, composite materials, aerospace and communications technology.

But Putin also defended his support for an active industrial policy, saying: "Private capital will not voluntarily enter new sectors as it does not want to bear elevated risks."

Bulking up state corporations active in high technology, infrastructure and nuclear power would presage their conversion into public firms that can be floated on stock markets.

"I consider it possible for the state, by 2016, to reduce its stakes in some resource companies and to complete its exit from large non-resource companies that are not tied to natural monopolies and the defense sector," Putin wrote.

The article said little about restructuring state-controlled gas export monopoly Gazprom, criticized by investors for high costs and inefficiency, beyond saying it should divest non-core assets such as its media holdings.

Economists say Putin will need to deliver on his promises to spur economic growth, which has slowed to a range of 4-5 percent since the 2008-09 global crisis from prior rates of 6-7 percent.

"As always, implementation will be key," said Ivan Tchakarov, chief economist at Renaissance Capital, who warned that, without reform, Russia could slide into 'twin' trade and budget deficits.

CORRUPTION CURSE

Putin's article mentioned corruption explicitly only once and said efforts by outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev had failed to eliminate pressure from officials on entrepreneurs.

"The main problem is insufficient transparency and accountability on the part of state officials," Putin wrote. "To call it by name, we are talking about systemic corruption."

"Clearing the way for business that is ready to win in fair competition is a fundamental, systemic task ... We need to change the state itself - executive and judicial power."

Putin said Russia, ranked 120th in a World Bank investment climate survey, should seek to catch up with neighboring Kazakhstan, which is in 47th spot.

He called for business cases to be moved from criminal to commercial courts to break a cycle of collusion between police, investigators and judges that all too often ends in convictions.

Putin said he would seek to shift the overall tax burden towards wealthy property owners and consumption of luxury goods but offered no specific concessions for small businesses.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine, Editing by Timothy Heritage/Ruth Pitchford)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/russia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/wl_nm/us_russia_putin_economy

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Kids born by Cesarean section are no more likely to become obese than if they are born vaginally, a new study concludes.

Past research from Brazil had found a link between excessive poundage and C-sections, leading some scientists to suggest that not being exposed to bacteria from the birth canal could make babies fatter. (See Reuters Health story of May 12, 2011.)

But according to the latest findings, that doesn't appear to be the case.

"We thought from the beginning that probably what happened with the previous study is that they didn't adjust for all of the confounders," said Fernando Barros of the Catholic University of Pelotas. "If a mother gives birth by C-section, she's different than a mother who has a vaginal birth."

For the new research, Barros and his colleagues used data on three groups of several thousand people born in Southern Brazil in 1982, 1993 or 2004.

Researchers contacted the kids at different ages until the oldest had turned 23. Those born by C-section were more likely to be heavy, with obesity rates between nine and 16 percent, compared to rates of seven to 10 percent among kids born vaginally.

However, that difference vanished once the researchers accounted for factors that could have influenced the results such as family income, birth weight, schooling and the mother's weight, height, age and smoking habits.

"When you factor in all of these other factors, the relationship between obesity and Cesarean sections disappears," said Barros, whose findings are published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The earlier Brazilian study left out many of those factors, including maternal height and weight, Barros' team writes in its report.

"The most simple explanation would be that more obese women require more Cesarean sections than lean women and it's really not the C-section itself," said Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Clinic at Children's Hospital Boston, who wasn't involved in the study.

The new research is of particular interest in Brazil, because in 2009 more than half of the babies there were born by C-section. In the U.S., the number has been on the rise for years and is now over 30 percent.

Some believe that C-section babies are different because they are not exposed to bacteria in the birth canal like babies born vaginally. The theory is part of the hygiene hypothesis, which suggests a person's immune system develops differently when they're not exposed to beneficial bacteria early in life.

"We're not saying this hypothesis is not interesting. It is. We're just saying, right now, without data, we cannot confirm the finding," said Barros.

He cautioned that people in his study had only been followed until early adulthood, so he cannot say if there is a potential association later in life.

Ludwig told Reuters Health that things like a pregnant woman's diet and smoking habits and whether or not she has diabetes might influence a developing fetus.

Both Ludwig and Barros said women should avoid medically unnecessary C-sections, even if they don't raise the chances of having obese kids, because they carry other risks.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online January 11, 2012.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/hl_nm/us_c_section

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In this photo taken Jan. 27, 2012, women shop for bikinis at a store in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A growing number of bikini manufacturers have woken up to Brazil's thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

In this photo taken Jan. 25, 2012, Elisangela Inez Soares rinses off at a shower in Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A growing number of bikini manufacturers have woken up to Brazil's thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines. According to Soares " not everyone is built like a model." (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

In this photo taken on Jan. 25, 2012, Elisangela Inez Soares rinses off at a shower in Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A growing number of bikini manufacturers have woken up to Brazil's thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines. According to Soares " not everyone is built like a model." (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

In this photo taken Jan. 27, 2012, people shop for bikinis at a store in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A growing number of bikini manufacturers have woken up to Brazil's thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

In this photo taken Jan. 24, 2012, people rinse off at the showers at Piscinao de Ramos, an artificial lake in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A growing number of bikini manufacturers have woken up to Brazil's thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) ? Tall and tan and young and ... chunky?

The Girl From Ipanema has put on a few pounds, and for many sunbathers on Brazil's beaches the country's iconic itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny bikini just doesn't suffice anymore.

A growing number of bikini manufacturers have woken up to Brazil's thickening waistline and are reaching out to the ever-expanding ranks of heavy women with new plus-size lines.

That's nothing short of a revolution in this most body-conscious of nations, where overweight ladies long had little choice but to hit the beach in comely ensembles of oversized T-shirts and biker shorts.

"It used to be bikinis were only in tiny sizes that only skinny girls could fit into. But not everyone is built like a model," said Elisangela Inez Soares as she sunbathed on Copacabana beach, her oiled-up curves packed into a black size 12 bikini.

"Finally, it seems like people are beginning to realize that we're not all Gisele," said the 38-year-old mother of four, referring to willowy Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

Clothing designer Clarice Rebelatto said her own swimwear-hunting travails prompted her to found Lehona, an exclusively plus-size beachwear line.

"Honestly, the problem went way beyond just bikinis. In Brazil, it used to be that if you were even a little chunky, finding any kind of clothes in the right size was a real problem," said Rebelatto, herself a size 10. "And I thought, 'I'm actually not even that big compared to a lot of women out there, so if I have problems, what are they doing?'"

Since its launch in 2010, the line has become a hit.

In brash leopard spots and flower prints not meant for wallflowers, the label's 14 bikini styles aren't what you'd normally associate with plus-size swimsuits. The necklines plunge dramatically. Straps are mere strings. And while the bottoms provide too much coverage to qualify for the famed "fio dental" or "dental floss" category of Brazilian string bikinis, they're significantly more audacious than the standard U.S. cut.

"We're working from the principle that bigger women are just like everyone else: They don't want to look like old ladies, wearing these very modest, very covering swimsuits in just black," said Luiz Rebelatto, Clarice's son and director of Lehona.

He said that recent publicity of the brand and several other new swimwear lines catering to plus sizes has triggered an overwhelming number of calls and e-mails from would-be customers.

"They're all excited and they say, 'I've been looking everywhere for a bikini like that. Where can I get one?'" said Rebelatto.

Lehona is currently sold exclusively at big and tall specialty stores throughout Brazil. Its bikinis retail for about 130 reais or $75 ? a relatively high price-point here, but Rebelatto said sales have grown at a galloping pace, though he did not provide any figures.

It's the same story at Acqua Rosa, a conventional swimwear label that added a plus-size line in 2008. Now, plus-size purchases account for more than 70 percent of the brand's total sales, said director Joao Macedo.

It makes sense.

For centuries, large swaths of Brazil were beset by malnutrition, and in 1970, nearly 10 percent of the population in the country's poor, rural northeast region was considered underweight, according to Brazil's national statistics institute.

But the phenomenal economic boom that has lifted tens of millions out of poverty and into the burgeoning middle class over the past decade has also changed the nation's once-svelte physique: A 2010 study by the statistics institute showed that 48 percent of adult women and 50 percent of men are now overweight. In 1985 those figures were 29 percent for women and 18 percent for men.

(Still, there's been no rash of plus-size male swimwear lines, as men here wear Speedo-style suits that don't impinge on big guts.)

Analysts attribute Brazil's rapidly widening girth to changes in nutrition, with chips, processed meats and sugary soft drinks replacing staples like rice, beans and vegetables.

And while the country's elite are widely known to be fitness freaks ? and also among the world's top consumers of cosmetic surgery ? those recently lifted out of poverty and manual labor are becoming increasingly sedentary. A 2008 study showed that barely 10 percent of Brazilian teens and adults exercise regularly.

Still, despite their growing numbers, not everyone is eager to embrace "gordinhas" ? or "little fatties," as chunky women are affectionately known here.

Many high-end bikini-makers have turned a seemingly deliberately blind eye to the burgeoning plus-size market. Rio-based upmarket brand Salinas, for example, offers five sizes, from extra-small through extra-large. But their sizing runs notoriously small and it's hard to imagine anyone over a size 6 actually managing to fit into any of the brand's minuscule two-pieces.

Luis Rebelatto of Lehona chalked it partially up to snobbery.

"Some brands, they don't want their image to be associated with chunky women," he said. "Only the thin, the rich and the chic."

While Brazilians' increasing heft is a public policy preoccupation for the government, growth in the ranks of the overweight population has given them increased visibility in Brazilian society. Extra-wide bucket seats for the obese have been installed in Sao Paulo's metro system, and on Sunday the city will host Brazil's first ever Miss Plus Size beauty contest.

"It used to be that people would stare at me," said Soares, the voluptuous sun-worshiper on Copacabana beach. "Now when I come to the beach I see women who are much bigger than me ? and lots of them are wearing bikinis ? so I'm not self conscious any more.

"God makes some people thin but he made me like this," she said, rubbing down the well-oiled bulge of her stomach and thighs. "So who am I to think that he was wrong?"

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-01-28-LT-Brazil-Bulging-Bikinis/id-afb5e6b51ea54ad78b962a9ab4d30967

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CHICAGO -- Dana White had to be smiling inside to see Chris Weidman make weight for his UFC on Fox 2 fight. Weidman, called just 11 days ago as a late replacement, had to drop from 217 pounds to make tomorrow's battle against Demian Maia an official middleweight fight.

It just two weeks ago that the promotion had to endure the embarrassment of watching Anthony Johnson missed weight badly at UFC 142.

Weidman was actually called with the offer while sitting at his dinner table. His wife was making some delicious Sloppy Joes. When Weidman committed to the fight, he had to go right to work.

"I just headed to the gym and ate a spoonful of peanut butter, and that was it," a glum Weidman told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The former Hofstra wrestler is trying to make a big step up the middleweight ladder with a victory over Maia. We'll find out tomorrow if the severe weight cut will affect him on fight night

Phil Davis went with the wrestling theme. Rashad Evans, a former Michigan State wrestler, tried to rip on Davis and his college wrestling career. It was a strange approach considering Davis was a four-time All-American and national champ in 2008. Davis, who's done a brilliant job of poking fun at Evans, pulled out his old Nittany Lions' garb for the fight today.

This from wrestling guru Maggie Hendricks:

So that singlet is Penn State's championship singlet, one that only gets broken out if a guy wrestles in the finals. Since Davis wrestled in the NCAA finals twice, he has at least one. Most schools have them, but PSU's is very recognizable because they don't have a ton of singlet options, like other schools. As a fellow Big 10er, Evans would know that. Wearing that one, and not Penn State's more traditional dark blue singlet, was a sly way of Davis saying, "Yes, I am the better wrestler."

A weigh-in wouldn't be complete with a dust up or some heat arising. Michael Bisping took care of that by angrily reacting to the booing crowd at the Chicago Theater. The Brit flipped off the fans.

UFC on Fox 2 weigh-in (Courtesy MMAjunkie):

MAIN CARD (FOX)

Phil Davis (205) vs. Rashad Evans (205)
Michael Bisping (185) vs. Chael Sonnen (185)
Demian Maia (186) vs. Chris Weidman (185)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV)

Evan Dunham (155) vs. Nik Lentz (155)
John-Olav Einemo (253) vs. Mike Russow (251)
George Roop (145) vs. Cub Swanson (145)
Charles Oliveira (144) vs. Eric Wisely (145)
Michael Johnson (156) vs. Shane Roller (156)
Joey Beltran (228) vs. Lavar Johnson (252)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

Chris Camozzi (185) vs. Dustin Jacoby (185)

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-fox-2-weigh-weidman-ditches-sloppy-joes-005539088.html

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Hannah Prescott-Eberle, corps member on the Newtown High School Microsoft team in Elmhurst, Queens, shared a story about her service: "Ruddy and I sit down in class every day to review his English and Math work to make sure everything is complete, and in the past few months his attendance and coursework have improved dramatically. "

Yesterday, at our Second Annual Investment Community Breakfast, we brought?together more than 100 professionals from the investment community for a morning of inspiration, and thanks to the investment from our?attendees and an?anonymous match, we were able to raise more that a quarter million dollars before 9am. This year?s breakfast featured two longtime friends and?industry insiders, Fred Poses, Chief Executive Officer of Ascend Performance Materials and Operating Partner of SK Capital Partners, and Louis A. Simpson, Chairman of SQ Advisors, LLC, for a discussion moderated by Gerry Fabrikant, former senior writer for the business section of the New York Times.

Charlotte Twaalfhoven, CYNY '11 Alumna, joined us for this special event. Today, she supports others in philanthropic giving.

We enjoyed their take on the state of the economy, world markets, and how the tax code is influencing growth. We also discussed education reforms and the role philanthropy can play. ?One of the big problems in the U.S., is that companies want to expand in the U.S. but they can?t find the workforce that is trained to do the jobs,? said Mr. Simpson, ?this is basically a fault of our education system in crucial areas.? Today Mr. Simpson pledged to join our Individual Team Sponsor Program and encouraged others to do the same, ?I hope all of you will join me because I think it?s [City Year] a great organization.?

?Lou wants to give money, whether it is an investment or through philanthropy, to people and organizations that are doing good things, and doing them as effectively as they could,? said Mr. Poses, as he praised Mr. Simpson for his pledge. Mr. Poses is working with a team at CYNY helping to determine the most effective way for us to grow our impact in schools. ?Philanthropy is not only about giving, but giving of your skills and tools? he said, ?some of our most rewarding moments are working with the people in nonprofits and seeing all that they can do to make themselves better.?

After some great discussions about education reform and the importance of giving with Louis A. Simpson and Fred Poses, Gerry Fabrikant (center) opened the floor up for professionals of the investment community to ask some of their own questions.

We would not be able to host an event like this without the dedication of our Investment Community Board (ICB). ICB member, Shreyas D Gupta?from Sandell Asset Management, spoke about his first introduction to City Year and how he found himself making it a priority in his life. ?If these young adults want to give one year of their life to helping the community it is incumbent on us to rise up to support them,? said Mr. Gupta. ?They represent a vast ocean of potential and that is very important to me.?

We would like to thank Barclays Capital and?CYNY Advisory Board Member Jeff Davis?for hosting this event.

And a final thank you to our Investment Community Board (listed below) and to all of our attendees for your investment in City Year.

2012 INVESTMENT COMMUNITY BOARD

REED CARROLL Butler Capital Investments, LLC

DREW CHIN Woodson Capital Management

TOM CLARK Apax Partners

BEN FARKAS Hellman & Friedman

JUSTIN FRANKEL Wavecrest Asset Management

SHREYAS GUPTA Sandell Asset Management

WILDER HARVARD Morgan Stanley | Prime Brokerage

TYLER HENRITZE The Blackstone Group

DAVID HOBBS Tiger Eye Capital

ROB PAHLAVAN Family Equity Partners, LLC

NICK RENWICK

DOUG ROSS Normandy Hill Capital, LP

See more pictures from the event here.

Learn about last year?s breakfast here.

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Source: http://cityyearnewyork.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/investing-in-education/
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KABUL, Afghanistan ? France's plans to withdraw its combat troops from Afghanistan a year early drew harsh words Saturday in the Afghan capital, with critics accusing French President Nicolas Sarkozy of putting domestic politics ahead of Afghans' safety.

A wider proposal by Sarkozy for NATO to hand over all security to Afghans by the end of next year also came under fire, with one Afghan lawmaker saying it would be "a big mistake" that would leave security forces unprepared to fight the Taliban insurgency and threaten a new descent into violence in the 10-year-old war.

Sarkozy's decision, which came a week after four French troops were shot dead by an Afghan army trainee suspected of being a Taliban infiltrator, raises new questions about the unity of the U.S.-led military coalition.

It also reopens the debate over whether setting a deadline for troop withdrawals will allow the Taliban to run out the clock and seize more territory once foreign forces are gone.

"Afghan forces are not self-sufficient yet. They still need more training, more equipment and they need to be stronger," said military analyst Abdul Hadi Khalid, Afghanistan's former interior minister.

Khalid said the decision by Sarkozy was clearly political. Sarkozy's conservative party faces a tough election this year, and the French public's already deep discontent with the Afghan war only intensified when unarmed French troops were gunned down by an Afghan trainee Jan. 20 at a joint base in the eastern province of Kapisa.

Sarkozy announced France's new timetable on Friday alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was in Paris for a previously planned visit. He also said Karzai had agreed with him to ask for all international forces to hand security over to the Afghan army and police in 2013, a plan he would present at a Feb. 2-3 meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

In what could be seen as a gentle rebuke to France, British Prime Minister David Cameron said in London on Saturday that withdrawals must depend on security conditions on the ground.

"The rate at which we can reduce our troops will depend on the transition to Afghan control in the different parts of Afghanistan and that should be the same for all of the members of NATO who are all contributing and helping to (build) a strong, stable and peaceful Afghanistan, which is in all our interests,'" he said after meeting with Karzai.

Afghan lawmaker Tahira Mujadedi said Afghan security forces will not be ready in time for any early NATO withdrawal, saying the current timetable already is rushing the training of national forces.

"That would be a big mistake by the Afghan government if they accept it," Mujadedi said of Sarkozy's plan. "In my view, they should extend 2014 by more years instead of cutting it short to 2013."

She said she sympathizes in the matter of the French soldiers' deaths, but argued that they present no logical reason for France to deviate from the U.S. timetable for NATO to hand over security by 2014.

"When military forces are present in a war zone, anything can happen," Mujadedi said. The French troops "are not here for a holiday."

France now has about 3,600 soldiers in the international force, which is mostly made up of American troops.

Afghan forces started taking the lead for security in certain areas of the country last year and the plan has been to add more areas, as Afghan police and soldiers were deemed ready to take over from foreign troops.

According to drawdown plans already announced by the U.S. and more than a dozen other nations, the foreign military footprint in Afghanistan will shrink by an estimated 40,000 troops at the close of this year. Washington is pulling out the most ? 33,000 by the end of the year. That's one-third of 101,000 U.S. troops that were in Afghanistan in June, the peak of the U.S. military presence in the war, Pentagon figures show.

Sarkozy also said France would hand over authority in the province of Kapisa, where the French troops were killed this month, by the end of March. Karzai's office confirmed that decision Saturday, saying it was made at the French president's request.

The NATO coalition has started to hand over security in several areas of Afghanistan, aiming to transfer about half of the country in the coming months. But Kapisa was not one of the provinces earmarked for handover, according to U.S. Navy Lt. James McCue, a coalition spokesman.

Mujadedi, a lawmaker who represents Kapisa, argued that Afghan forces in her province are not ready to go it alone in fighting the Taliban insurgency, which is especially strong in several of the province's districts. She warned that if NATO forces do pull back from Kapisa, it could also destabilize nearby Kabul.

"We have had so many attacks, ambushes and also suicide attacks in Kapisa," Mujadedi said. "Unfortunately, our national police and army, while present in Kapisa, are unable to provide good security for people."

France's early withdrawal announcement could step up pressure on other European governments like Britain, Italy and Germany, which also have important roles in Afghanistan.

Karzai, who praised the role of France and other NATO allies, didn't object at Friday's joint news conference when Sarkozy said the 2013 NATO withdrawal timetable was sought by both France and Afghanistan.

However, the Afghan leader appeared to suggest that it was a high-end target.

"We hope to finish the transition ... by the end of 2013 at the earliest ? or by the latest as has been agreed upon ? by the end of 2014," Karzai said.

Nick Witney, a senior policy fellow at the Paris-based European Council on Foreign Relations, said public support of the war in Europe started sliding fast after the coalition agreed to end the combat mission in 2014.

"It has become more and more difficult to justify every single casualty, since it's now clear that these are wasted lives," said Witney, a former head of the European Defense Agency.

"Most European policymakers realize that on a purely cost-benefit assessment, we would all leave Afghanistan tomorrow," Witney said.

___

Associated Press writers Slobodan Lekic in Brussels and Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan

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Rene and I are at Macworld 2012 and had the pleasure of talking to Penultimate developer Ben Zotto. You, the iMore nation, asked us to ask Ben his thoughts on styli for the iPad, so we did! Check out the video above for Ben's insights on the personal decision of choosing an iPad.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/nBylKkwzHmw/story01.htm

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In a letter obtained by The Daily Caller, House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Lamar Smith warned Attorney General Eric Holder not to?permit?the transfer of funds from a recent $335 million?Department of Justice settlement?to organizations associated with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, more commonly known as ACORN, or other advocacy groups allied with President Obama.

Smith is concerned that flimsy language in the settlement agreement with Countrywide Financial ? the mortgage arm of Bank of America ? could be politically motivated.

?I am concerned that the terms of the Justice Department?s recent settlement with Countrywide Financial Corporation and certain affiliates (collectively, ?Countrywide?) will allow the Department to give large sums of money to individuals and organizations with questionable backgrounds or close political ties to the White House without any guidelines or oversight,? Smith wrote.

?If that is to be the case, this sort of backdoor funding of the president?s political allies would be an abuse of the Department?s law enforcement authority.?

In December, Countrywide settled with the DOJ for $335 million over allegations that it had discriminated against approximately 200,000 African-Americans and Hispanics by charging them higher interest rates or by placing them in subprime loans.

In his letter to Holder, Smith said the settlement documents allow the DOJ to disburse parts of the $335 million settlement to ?each allegedly aggrieved person.? But there are no specific criteria for what qualifies someone as an ?aggrieved person.? ?The only criterion for status as an ?aggrieved person? is that the Department says so,? Smith wrote.

According to the settlement documents, whatever funds from that $335 million settlement that are ?not distributed to allegedly aggrieved persons,? as Smith points out, ?shall be distributed to qualified organization(s) that provide services including credit and housing counseling ? financial literacy, and other related programs targeted at African-American and Hispanic potential and former homeowners in communities where the Complaint alleges significant discrimination occurred against [those homeowners].?

Funding recipients ?may include non-profit community organizations that provide education, counseling and other assistance to low-income and minority borrowers,? the document continues.

Smith added that there are no specific criteria laid out for what organizations qualify for that money. ?Again, the only apparent criterion for a non-profit community organization?s receipt of a potentially substantial amount of money is that the Department says so,? Smith wrote.

?Without any criteria by which ?aggrieved person? or ?qualified organization? status is to be determined, I am concerned that the Settlement may provide a means by which money is doled out to heavily political organizations or to groups with close political ties to the White House,? Smith added.

The administration has continued funding organizations closely affiliated with ACORN, despite a 2010 law stipulating that no taxpayer funds could be awarded to ACORN ?or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or allied organizations.?

One such organization that received about $700,000 in taxpayer cash over the course of 2011 is the Affordable Housing Centers of America, or AHCOA. AHCOA formerly called itself ACORN Housing, but changed its name after the 2009 ACORN meltdown.

The Government Accountability Office and Obama?s Department of Housing and Urban Development both crafted a defense for legally funding AHCOA. But, a subsequently released internal audit report from NeighborWorks America ? a nonprofit group that doles out taxpayer funds ? shows AHCOA was far too closely affiliated with ACORN to legally grant the organization funding. NeighborWorks America decided against sending cash to AHCOA because of that audit report, but HUD continued to fund AHCOA on questionable legal grounds.

During their announcement of the Countrywide settlement, neither Holder nor DOJ Civil Rights Division head Thomas Perez mentioned the possibility that related funds could benefit the president?s political allies.

DOJ spokesperson Xochitl Hinojosa would not specify exactly what organizations will qualify and what organizations won?t when it comes time to divvy up remaining. But, Hinojosa said the DOJ plans to give funds to victims first and that no funding has been distributed as of this time. ?If any money remains in the settlement fund at the conclusion of exhaustive efforts to compensate the borrowers who were the victims of discrimination, the consent order requires the Defendants to distribute the money to qualified organizations that?provide financial education, housing and credit counseling and similar services to areas hardest hit by Countrywide?s discrimination,? Hinojosa said in an email. ?The Court must approve the proposed distribution after Defendants have consulted with the United States. The United States has no unilateral ability to distribute funds to organizations under the consent order.?

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