Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012 hot pictures Part 2

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px;">The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show took place Nov. 7 in New York. The show will be broadcast on Dec. 4 on CBS.From: </span><a href="http://www.latimes.com/">http://www.latimes.com</a><br /><img alt="Singer Justin Bieber performs." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdba8/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006810578-20121107/600" /><br /><br /><h1 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012</h1><div class="subheadline" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 3px;"></div><span class="credit" style="background-color: white; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12px; padding-bottom: 3px;">(<span class="photographer"> Evan Agostini / Associated Press </span>/ November 7, 2012 )</span><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">Singer Justin Bieber performs.</div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><img alt="Model Doutzen Kroes walks the runway." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdbda/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006810591-20121107/600" /></div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">Model Doutzen Kroes walks the runway.</div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><img alt="Model Lindsey Ellington." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdc9c/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006810604-20121107/600" /></div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">Model Lindsey Ellington.</div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><img alt="Rihanna." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdc9a/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006810547-20121107/600" /></div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">Rihanna.</div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><img alt="Brazilian model Adriana Lima." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdd12/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006810562-20121107/600" /></div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">Brazilian model Adriana Lima.</div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><img alt="Singer Justin Bieber performs." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdd14/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006810565-20121107/600" /></div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">Singer Justin Bieber performs.</div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><img alt="Models walk the runway." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdd16/turbine/lat-vsfs-two-wre0006810244-20121107/600" /></div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">Models walk the runway.</div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><img alt="Model Behati Prinsloo." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdd89/turbine/lat-vsfs-two-wre0006810254-20121107/600" /></div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">Model Behati Prinsloo.</div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><img alt="Model Barbara Palvin in a Christmas-themed outfit." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdd15/turbine/lat-vsfs-two-wre0006810241-20121107/600" /></div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">Model Barbara Palvin in a Christmas-themed outfit.</div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><img alt="Model Joan Smalls." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdd15/turbine/lat-vsfs-two-wre0006810064-20121107/600" /></div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">Model Joan Smalls.</div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><img alt="Model Ieva Laguna." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdd16/turbine/lat-vsfs-two-wre0006810245-20121107/600" /></div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">Model Ieva Laguna.</div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><br /></div></div>

girls hot Justin Bieber performs Model pictures Sexy Victoria's Secret Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012 hot pictures Part 2

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show took place Nov. 7 in New York. The show will be broadcast on Dec. 4 on CBS.From:  http://www.latimes....

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Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012 hot pictures Part 1

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px;">The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show took place Nov. 7 in New York. The show will be broadcast on Dec. 4 on CBS. From: </span><a href="http://www.latimes.com/">http://www.latimes.com</a><br /><img alt="Models Adriana Lima, left, Doutzen Kroes and Candice Swanepoel lead the final runway walk during the 2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdc98/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006810593-20121107/600" /><br /><br /><img alt="Singers Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Bruno Mars celebrate during the finale." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdb2f/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006814317-20121107/600" /><br /><br /><img alt="Models, from left, Izabel Goulart, Lindsay Ellingson, Miranda Kerr, Adriana Lima, Doutzen Kroes and Candice Swanepoel." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdb33/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006814306-20121107/600" /><br /><img alt="Singer Justin Bieber performs." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdb30/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006814304-20121107/600" /><br /><img alt="Brazilian model Alessandra Ambrosio walks the runway wearing the 2012 VS fantasy bra, worth $2.5 million. The bra, made by London Jewelers and encrusted with more than 5,000 sapphires, rubies, diamonds and other stones, features a 20-carat diamond as a centerpiece." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdb33/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006810617-20121107/600" /><br /><img alt="Singer Bruno Mars, center, performs while a model walks the runway." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdb32/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006810612-20121107/600" /><br /><img alt="Models Adriana Lima (wearing red, left), Doutzen Kroes and Candice Swanepoel, right, lead the final runway walk during the 2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Wednesday." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdb33/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006810614-20121107/600" /><br /><img alt="Model Lily Aldridge wears a patriotic creation during a rehearsal for the 2012 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdb34/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006813916-20121107/600" /><br /><img alt="Model Doutzen Kroes." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdb34/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006813976-20121107/600" /><br /><br /><h1 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012</h1><div class="subheadline" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 3px;"></div><span class="credit" style="background-color: white; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12px; padding-bottom: 3px;">(<span class="photographer"> Evan Agostini / Associated Press </span>/ November 7, 2012 )</span><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">Model Doutzen Kroes.</div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><img alt=""Diamonds" singer Rihanna." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdba7/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006810569-20121107/600" /></div><div id="pgCaption" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><h1 style="font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012</h1><div class="subheadline" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 3px;"></div><span class="credit" style="display: block; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; padding-bottom: 3px;">(<span class="photographer"> Evan Agostini / Associated Press </span>/ November 7, 2012 )</span><div id="pgCaption" style="margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">"Diamonds" singer Rihanna.</div><div id="pgCaption" style="margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;"><img alt="Model Hilary Rhoda." src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-509bdba7/turbine/lat-vsfs-one-wre0006810567-20121107/600" /></div><h1 style="font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012</h1><div class="subheadline" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 3px;"></div><span class="credit" style="display: block; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; padding-bottom: 3px;">(<span class="photographer"> Evan Agostini / Associated Press </span>/ November 7, 2012 )</span><div id="pgCaption" style="margin: 6px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 10px 3px 0px;">Model Hilary Rhoda.</div></div></div>

girls hot pictures Sexy Victoria's Secret Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2012 hot pictures Part 1

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show took place Nov. 7 in New York. The show will be broadcast on Dec. 4 on CBS. From:  http://www.latimes...

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Kate Upton's sexy car commercial ruffles some feathers [Video]

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="byline" style="background-color: white; color: #292727; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px;">By Christie D'Zurilla From: <a href="http://www.latimes.com/" style="background-color: transparent;">http://www.latimes.com</a></span><br /><div class="date" style="background-color: white; color: #930000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;"><span class="dateString" style="display: inline;">January 23, 2013</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator" style="border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: -1px; margin-left: 6px;">, </span><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;">3:13 p.m.</span></div><div class="date" style="background-color: white; color: #930000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;"><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;"><br /></span></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uPq7jVGPs3g?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">It's been a while since we had any clearly gratuitous beefcake or cheesecake here at the Ministry of Gossip, but thanks to Kate Upton and Mercedes-Benz, it's time for a little taste.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;"><span class="watch-title long-title yt-uix-expander-head" dir="ltr" title="Kate Upton Washes the All-New Mercedes-Benz CLA in Slow Motion">The lovely and talented Ms. Upton stars in a new commercial for the car company, tantalizingly and rather obviously titled, "Kate Upton Washes the All-New Mercedes-Benz CLA in Slow Motion." What's not to love about <em>that</em>, right? </span></div><div class="articlerail" style="background-color: white; clear: both; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 234px; z-index: 4;"><div class="articleRelates module" style="border: 1px solid rgb(231, 231, 231); margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 10px 10px 0px;"><ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li class="newRelatedItem" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-aretha-jlo-defend-beyonces-inaugural-backing-tracks-20130123,0,389242.story" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target=""><img alt="Aretha, J-Lo defend Beyonce's inaugural backing tracks" height="105" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-5100278f/turbine/la-et-ms-aretha-jlo-defend-beyonces-inaugural-backing-tracks-20130123-thumbnail/187/16x9" style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-right: 5px; padding-right: 8px;" title="Aretha, J-Lo defend Beyonce's inaugural backing tracks" width="187" /></a><a href="http://hotnewsof.blogspot.com/2013/01/aretha-j-lo-defend-beyonces-inaugural.html" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target="">Aretha, J-Lo defend Beyonce's inaugural backing tracks</a></li><li class="newRelatedItem" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-mg-justin-bieber-lady-gaga-twitter-20130122,0,1985344.story" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target=""><img alt="Justin Bieber tops Lady Gaga as Twitter's most-followed user" height="105" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-50ff08a4/turbine/la-et-mg-justin-bieber-lady-gaga-twitter-20130122/187/16x9" style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-right: 5px; padding-right: 8px;" title="Justin Bieber tops Lady Gaga as Twitter's most-followed user" width="186" /></a><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-mg-justin-bieber-lady-gaga-twitter-20130122,0,1985344.story" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target="">Justin Bieber tops Lady Gaga as Twitter's most-followed user</a></li><li class="newRelatedItem" style="clear: both; list-style: none outside none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-mg-shakira-baby-milan-gerard-pique-20130122,0,5565657.story" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target=""><img alt="Shakira, boyfriend Gerard Piqu&eacute; welcome a baby boy " height="105" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-50ff2a94/turbine/la-et-mg-shakira-baby-milan-gerard-pique-20130122-thumbnail/187/16x9" style="border: 0px; display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-right: 5px; padding-right: 8px;" title="Shakira, boyfriend Gerard Piqu&eacute; welcome a baby boy " width="186" /></a><a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-mg-shakira-baby-milan-gerard-pique-20130122,0,5565657.story" style="clear: both; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important; display: block; text-decoration: none; width: 212px;" target="">Shakira, boyfriend Gerard Piqué welcome a baby boy</a></li></ul></div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;"><span class="watch-title long-title yt-uix-expander-head" dir="ltr" title="Kate Upton Washes the All-New Mercedes-Benz CLA in Slow Motion">"This ad [reinforces] for millions of wives, daughters and sisters across the country that you use your sex appeal to get what you want," a spokeswoman for the group told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2267207/Is-Kate-Upton-Super-Bowl-commercial-racy-TV-Family-group-denounces-90-second-spot---BUT-viewers-disappointed-model-doesnt-skin.html" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Daily Mail</a>. "If anything, this ad proves that we’ve regressed rather than progressed over the last several years."Well, the Parents Television Council doesn't seem to be head over heels about it.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;"><span class="watch-title long-title yt-uix-expander-head" dir="ltr" title="Kate Upton Washes the All-New Mercedes-Benz CLA in Slow Motion">(Using sex appeal to market cars? Who'd'a thunk it?)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;"><span class="watch-title long-title yt-uix-expander-head" dir="ltr" title="Kate Upton Washes the All-New Mercedes-Benz CLA in Slow Motion">Alas, the ad's twist is a cruel one, for those of us expecting a bit of skin. Despite the title, and despite our watching the video through to the end at least four or nine times just to make sure we didn't miss one slo-mo bit, at no point in the spot does Upton actually engage in washing the car.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;"><span class="watch-title long-title yt-uix-expander-head" dir="ltr" title="Kate Upton Washes the All-New Mercedes-Benz CLA in Slow Motion">That, it seems, is a job better left to a bunch of cute-but-not-too-cute young men in football jerseys -- who may represent the "new, hip, and preferably younger buyers" that <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccalindland/2013/01/17/mercedes-benz-unveils-sleek-sexy-2014-cla-class/" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Forbes</a>says the brand hopes to attract with the CLA.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;"><span class="watch-title long-title yt-uix-expander-head" dir="ltr" title="Kate Upton Washes the All-New Mercedes-Benz CLA in Slow Motion">Many commenters on Mercedes' <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPq7jVGPs3g&feature=youtu.be" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/MercedesBenz/posts/592571310768785" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Facebook</a>pages seem to be unimpressed, calling the ad low-brow or dumb or even porn, while others seemed to get a kick out of it or wonder what the fuss was all about.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;"><span class="watch-title long-title yt-uix-expander-head" dir="ltr" title="Kate Upton Washes the All-New Mercedes-Benz CLA in Slow Motion">Our fave comment? The one woman who called for an equal-opportunity version of the ad in which <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/movies/jake-gyllenhaal-PECLB005326.topic" id="PECLB005326" style="color: #666666; text-decoration: none;" title="Jake Gyllenhaal">Jake Gyllenhaal</a> was the one washing the car.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div></div>

car Kate Upton Sexy Kate Upton's sexy car commercial ruffles some feathers [Video]

By Christie D'Zurilla From:  http://www.latimes.com January 23, 2013 ,  3:13 p.m. It's been a while since we had any clearly gratuit...

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Apple (AAPL) Announces it Sold 47.8 Million iPhones But Investors Disappointed

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img alt="PHOTO: Advertisements for the iPhone 5 are displayed at an Apple store, Jan. 14, 2013 in New York." src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/Business/gty_apple_sales_iphone_lpl_130122_wg.jpg" /><br /><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">Advertisements for the iPhone 5 are displayed at an Apple store, Jan. 14, 2013 in New York. </span><span class="caption_credit" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #888888; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">(Getty Images)</span><br /><span class="caption_credit" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #888888; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span><br /><div class="byline" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">By <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/author/susanna_kim" rel="author" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">SUSANNA KIM</a> (<a href="http://twitter.com/skimm" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@skimm</a>)</div><div class="date" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 4px 0px 0px;">Jan. 23, 2013 From: <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/" style="background-color: transparent;">http://abcnews.go.com</a></div><div class="date" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 4px 0px 0px;"><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/topics/business/companies/apple-computer.htm" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Apple</a> stock took a hit after its first-quarter earnings were released on Wednesday afternoon, topping profit forecasts but with lower than expected iPhone sales.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) fell more than 5 percent in after-hours trading. Apple stock was up 1.86 percent to $514.17 at the close of trading in New York.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">"No technology company has ever reported these kinds of results," <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/12/apple-ceo-tim-cook-intense-interest-in-improving-tv/" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Tim Cook, CEO of Apple</a>, said on the earnings call.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">The company reported that it sold 47.8 million <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/09/iphone-5-1-day-sales-hit-2-million/" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">iPhones</a> in the quarter, compared with 37 million in the same quarter a year ago. Many investors had hoped that the company would sell 50 million iPhones, which drives Apple's earnings.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Investors eagerly awaited Apple to report its earnings, seeking clarity after a number of rumors about iPhone parts and sales.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Earlier this week there were reports about the next iPhone being released in June.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">"Certainly a new product line is in the works," said Brian Colello, Morningstar senior equity analyst. "It remains to be seen what Apple will ultimately come out with and when. Those are certainly factors to keep an eye on."</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Last week, a <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2013/01/apple-stock-aapl-closes-near-500/" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">report that Apple had decreased its order for iPhone parts</a>may have contributed to a decrease in its stock price to near $500.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">"It will be interesting to see if Apple is really pushing the envelope in terms of innovation and shortening the product cycle," Colello said.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Colello said Apple is facing growing competition from Samsung. Last summer, when Apple released the iPhone 4S, <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/samsung-galaxy-android-smartphone-review/story?id=16607381" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Samsung also released its Galaxy S 3</a>, which saw strong sales.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">On Wednesday, Apple Inc., based in Cupertino, Calif., said it sold a "record" 22.9 million iPads in the quarter, compared to 15.4 million a year ago. The company also sold 4.1 million Mac computers, compared to 5.2 million in the same quarter last year.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">On Apple's earnings call CFO Peter Oppenheimer attributed the Mac slide to the refreshed Mac products not being released until December. Its <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/apple-imac-2012-review-reason-desktop/story?id=17847986" style="color: #336699; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">new iMac desktops</a> were not sold until early December.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">"We believe our Mac sales would have been much higher without those constraints," Oppenhimer said on the call.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Colello said the iPhone unit sales were "a bit of a disappointment."</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">And despite a record number of iPad sales, he said they were still lighter than Wall Street's expectations.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">The company failed to beat Wall Street's expectations about revenue, but it did beat forecasts for profit. Apple's own forecast was $52 billion in revenue.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">"We're thrilled with record revenue of over $54 billion and sales of over 75 million iOS devices in a single quarter," said Cook in a statement. "We're very confident in our product pipeline as we continue to focus on innovation and making the best products in the world."</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">In light of the company's "fairly weak" quarterly earnings, Colello said Apple's forecast for $41 billion to $43 billion in future revenue was also "light."</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">The company still can boast about the amount of cash it has hoarded: $137 billion.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">On Tuesday, some investors had their hopes up after Verizon reported a stronger than expected number of new iPhone subscribers during its conference call.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Colello cautioned that Verizon's iPhone sales were strong but they also sold a large number of older iPhone models.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">"Obviously the iPhone is the biggest driver, but there are a couple factors in there, such as the types of units and at what prices," Colello said. "Was it the Phone 5 or 4S?"</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;">Apple does not break out the type of iPhones sold.</div><div style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 150px;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Joanna Stern contributed to this report.</em></div></div></div>

AAPL Apple iphone Apple (AAPL) Announces it Sold 47.8 Million iPhones But Investors Disappointed

Advertisements for the iPhone 5 are displayed at an Apple store, Jan. 14, 2013 in New York.  (Getty Images) By  SUSANNA KIM  ( @skimm ) Jan....

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Merlot & me

<p>Watched a crazy programme the other night.  Called 'Merlot & me' it was all about Irish housewives and their drinking habits. Presented by Maia Dunphy, it was quite an eye opening watch.</p><p>A few of the ladies interviewed on the show revealed that they don't eat all day so as to save their calories for wine in the evening time.  OMG, what the heck!! What is this?! Alcorexia??!!</p><p>Another few ladies talked about going off to the bathroom to have a "vom" to empty their stomach so they could drink some more.  Mad! Booze-elimia!</p><p>I think some of these ladies need to take a serious look at their drinking habits!</p>

Merlot & me

Watched a crazy programme the other night.  Called 'Merlot & me' it was all about Irish housewives and their drinking habits. Pr...

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THE BALKANS – ORGANIZED CRIME AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION PART 1

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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14yW51w-dzRaMarKYLQA16A35K8ltyJ5DG_W9MMmbVoPSWs8gcv9Ds8OH1eKnNHTVJgsruL2KrMZSXjaAC5NunwBE58_bpp5qzB23LAiHyOnPDh_MY97-DVMcsCs_0waTviv3CVg_avYK/s1600/genetic_makeup_of_the_balkans_map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj14yW51w-dzRaMarKYLQA16A35K8ltyJ5DG_W9MMmbVoPSWs8gcv9Ds8OH1eKnNHTVJgsruL2KrMZSXjaAC5NunwBE58_bpp5qzB23LAiHyOnPDh_MY97-DVMcsCs_0waTviv3CVg_avYK/s640/genetic_makeup_of_the_balkans_map.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SOUTHEASTERN EUROPEAN ORGANIZED CRIME, EXTREMISM & GEOPOLITICS</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: 153.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Adapted by Geopolitical Analysis and Monitoring from Ioannis Michaletos </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: 153.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ORGANIZED CRIME (OC) SYNDICATES EMERGING IN THE BALKANS</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The main threat to the BALKANS nowadays is the existence of well organized criminal groups that to an extent are an integral part of the world wide “Crime Syndicates” that for the most part control the narcotics trade as well as human trafficking in our époque. The infamous BALKAN drugs route is the main path by which narcotics and specifically heroin; are smuggled to EUROPEAN countries. It is actually a network of contrabands, corrupted public officials and war lords that make sure that the heroin produced in AFGHANISTAN is smoothly transferred to the EUROPE.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ORGANIZED CRIME SYNDICATES (OC) CONSTANTLY INCREASE THEIR RICHES AND THUS POLITICAL INFLUENCE</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">According to the Council of Foreign affairs, AFGHANISTAN has almost tripled its heroin production and in 2005 32,000 acres were reserved for poppy cultivation, out of 12,000 acres in 2004. This fact shows first of all failure by the International Community (IC) in that country to create the necessary framework for the reconstruction process. As far as the ramifications for the BALKANS are concerned, the increased profits by Organized Crime syndicates (OC) have boasted them with tremendous riches and political influence.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">There are mainly two organized ethnic groups that deal most of the arrangements concerning the OC in the Balkans. The so-called ALBANIAN mafia and the TURKISH crime syndicates. The ALBANIAN OC is very active since the collapse of the Communist rule in this country that opened the way for various indigenous gangs to spread their wings further and take part in one of the most profitable commerce of all times, namely drugs and human trafficking. A leading FRENCH criminologist Xavier Raufer has extensively dealt with the issue of the ALBANIAN mafia. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">He considers the ALBANIANS as the only true “Mafia” in the BALKANS due to the peculiar social structure of their society in the Northern parts of the country “The land of the Genghis”.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">An isolated society with very firm beliefs in issues of honor and manhood pride coupled with severe social problems and a culture of vendetta; has been transformed into a huge international crime network. Various reports indicate that roughly 70-80% of the heroin distributed in EUROPEAN is under ALBANIAN control, a really impressive percentage for a nation of just 6 million people. Moreover in the BALKAN route –In reality three distinct routes-, the ALBANIAN mafia plays a vital role in safeguarding the interests of the world drugs trade by having its “Soldiers” and “Capos” along the way and protecting shipments from police and official interruption.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN FROM ALBANIA IS ONE OF THE MAIN WAYS TO ESTABLISH A “WAR CHEST” FOR OC</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Furthermore ALBANIA as a country is a major producer of Cannabis, which is mainly exported to neighboring GREECE and ITALY. The narcotic traded is placed along the trafficking and human trafficking operations that have seen the ALBANIANS gaining the fame as the most powerful and dangerous criminal group in SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE. In GREECE alone the revenues from prostitution run at around 7.5 billion USD, a large portion of that being controlled by ALBANIAN criminal groups. Trafficking of women from ALBANIA is one of the main ways to establish a “War chest” for OC, in order to invest its wealth in the drugs trade.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In essence the first stage for every respectable OC unit, is to establish a prostitution ring, make easily large amounts of cash, and then invest them for the drugs trade by constructing the expensive logistics bases, fake companies, pay corrupted officials and so on. Therefore when looking into the different aspects of organized criminal activity, one should note that all forms of that activity are interconnected and that each one leads to the other. That actually is one of the differences of organized crime from the other forms of criminality.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN OC AND TERRORISM</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Back to the activities of the ALBANIAN criminal groups, the recent history illustrates the existence of a hybrid criminal form, meaning the interconnection between criminal activities and terrorism. The ALBANIAN groups that are mostly active in the North of the country have been associated with the preparations of the U.C.K guerilla forces in the late 90’s, as well as, with their arming and training. The troubling 90’s in SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE saw the convergence of the drugs trade along with the formation of radical Islamic groups and the pervasion of corruption in the upper echelons on the countries involved. In the ALBANIAN case the past decade it is assumed that the country is facing a virtual takeover of its institution by the OC that in its turn has been linked with international terrorism, with Al Qaeda withstanding.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The main role of the ALBANIAN Mafia in the narcotics trade is the one of wholesale distributor of AFGHAN heroine. Along the BALKAN route and especially the one passing through SOUTHERN BULGARIA, FYROM; the ALBANIANS import heroin and then dispense it to ITALY, or BOSNIA- CROATIA to AUSTRIA and CENTRAL EUROPE. After 1999 and the consequent ALBANIAN dominance in KOSOVO, Pristina has become the unquestionable narcotics capital of EUROPE. A traditionally provisional city in the midst of the BALKANS is nowadays the epicenter of all drugs deal of an area encompassing CENTRAL EUROPE, BALKANS, and MIDDLE EAST.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">KEY ELEMENT IN BALKANS OC: KOSOVO-ALBANIAN DIASPORA</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The lack of law coupled with the existence of a society reluctant to pursue OC, has created a “black hole” in the centre of the BALKANS that primarily lives on criminal activities and the remittances of the KOSOVO-ALBANIAN Diaspora. The latter is strategically located in countries such as SWITZERLAND, AUSTRIA, GERMANY and DENMARK and dominates the EUROPEAN heroin trade. Despite the fact that ALBANIANS are relatively newcomers to the EUROPEAN organized crime scene-Like the old-timers Sicilians, Corsicans – they have already taken over the entire EUROPEAN heroin market and make large advances in the sectors of trafficking, racketeering, arms smuggling, illegal gambling and human trafficking.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKISH CRIME SYNDICATES ARE THE <span style="font-size: large;">UNDISPUTED</span> PARTNER OF THE ALBANIANS</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The infamous ALBANIAN mafia is a formidable criminal network, but the existence of another one, influential as well, should be added in order to examine the whole spectrum of drugs trade in the BALKANS. The TURKISH crime syndicates are the undisputable partner of the ALBANIANS. It would not be possible for the ALBANIANS to become distributors in the first place if the weren’t able to acquire their goods from the East, and that is where the role of the TURKS begins.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY is a country strategically located between the EAST and the WEST. Apart from its importance in political and military level, it is also an integral part of the international narcotics smuggling. It would just be very hard for heroin to travel from CENTRAL ASIA to EUROPE without being able to trespass TURKEY, the only ASIAN country bordering with EUROPE. TURKEY traditionally is producing Opium, for pharmaceutical purposes. In the early 70’s international pressure –Mostly from Nixon administration in the USA- obliged TURKEY to enforce stricter rules for Opium production in 1974. Up until then heroin was produced in TURKEY as an Opium derivative and quantities were sold to the West with the assistance of the Sicilian and Corsican mafias.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKISH NARCOTIC PRODUCTION BASES ESTABLISHED IN AFGHANISTAN AND NORTHERN PAKISTAN</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The heroin to be sold was transported with ships to Sicily, and then to Marseilles were the Corsicans had created labs for the fabrication of the commercial product. From then onwards it was transferred to New York and other USA ports where the AMERICAN-ITALIAN mafia would assure its allocation in the end-users, the heroin addicts. The forceful USA administration at that time declared a war against narcotics and obliged the TURKS to seek other sources of the lucrative opium. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Soon enough TURKISH operational production bases were established in AFGHANISTAN and NORTHERN PAKISTAN. The war in the former during the 80’s, as well as, the resurge of the KURDISH guerilla fighting after 1984 and the IRAQ-IRANIAN war the same period; created a convergence of political, criminal and military operations based in heroin trade.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Events such as the IRAN-Contra scandal illuminate how far the <b>heroin trade has penetrated the higher echelons of the world’s decision-making process and how it interacts with the international affairs.</b> See: <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system.html</a>and <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system_7.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/crime-corruption-and-political-system_7.html</a> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Moreover the effective destruction of Beirut during the 80’s collapsed the cities ubiquitous reputation as the prime port for narcotics trade and this role was taken over by Istanbul. The situation after the end of the Cold War in 1989, found the TURKS financially strong from their trade in the previous decades and also ready enough to pursue stronger ties with the countries of Central ASIA.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">TURKEY, A KEY PLAYER IN DRUG TRAFFICKING?</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Furthermore the appearance of the ALBANIANS and the civil wars in former YUGOSLAVIA, provided ample of human resources in the BALKANS, eager in getting involved in the drugs trade so as to survive financially or gain capital to achieve their political aims. EUROPE now already hosted considerable TURKISH minorities-Especially GERMANY – and individuals from those TURKISH communities were used to act as local retail agents for the heroin distribution in EUROPE.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In 1996 the Susurluk accident(</span> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susurluk_scandal">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susurluk_scandal</a>) revealed to TURKEY the extent where the Drug –Lords have penetrated the upper crust of the society and they were able to conduct their businesses untouched by the law. Even the spouse of the then TURKISH Prime Minister Tancu Tsiller was accused by the local media for close interactions with notable underworld figures. Furthermore the accusations that the TURKISH security forces were conducting drugs trade in South Eastern TURKE, were in relation to the civil strife in that region because of the KURDISH fight and that presents once more that politics and criminal groups seem to go hand in hand.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveE5Ekdx93pmeJM_1OTsg5banAE-UbpTwhAi_-1qJK_epdupMu45i8_77iwbBG1UfuACSPl0mMcwlX5hyphenhyphenzqAWvj-rEzBj4Nk44CP36HS9NUfS0ATDdbpNvZE5lPKtlBk_yn8hgEWUuTjL/s1600/balkan_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveE5Ekdx93pmeJM_1OTsg5banAE-UbpTwhAi_-1qJK_epdupMu45i8_77iwbBG1UfuACSPl0mMcwlX5hyphenhyphenzqAWvj-rEzBj4Nk44CP36HS9NUfS0ATDdbpNvZE5lPKtlBk_yn8hgEWUuTjL/s400/balkan_map.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The modus opperandi of the TURKISH organized crime in drugs trade follows the role of the coordinator and distributor. Large amounts of heroin shipments enter TURKEY each month and then delivered through the BALKAN route mostly, to all over EUROPE. It has to be noted that the country with the largest TURKISH community-GERMANY- is being used also as a redistribution centre. That means that when heroin reaches GERMANY, it is being handed out from there to the other major EUROPEAN markets, especially UK and SCANDINAVIA. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Moreover some of the strongest “Capo” of the TURKISH syndicates resided in GERMANY and generally speaking this country has become the centre of gravity for the TURKISH drug barons, as far as, their posture in the EUROPEAN narcotics scene is concerned. Furthermore the impact of the TURKISH drug lords has alarmed EUROPEAN security agencies due to the importance of their overall contribution in the narcotics market on the Continent. For instances since the 1970s, TURKEY has accounted for between 75 and 90 per cent of all heroin in the UK. The key traffickers are TURKS or criminals who operate along that route using TURKISH contacts.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The alliance of TURKISH and ALBANIAN crime groups can be explained at first glance by the cultural, religious and ethnic links –A large percentage of TURKS in Western TURKEY have ALBANIAN ancestry. Also, the tradition of the ALBANIANS to join and serve larger ethnic groups with whom they feel to have a kind of affinity might have its explanation. The same was the case in USA and New York especially where for decades the ALBANIAN crime syndicates tended to operate under the aegis and influence of the much stronger AMERICAN-SICILIAN crime corporations.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: large;">See also </span>Part 2 to 6 on this Blog<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </span></span></div>

THE BALKANS – ORGANIZED CRIME AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION PART 1

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPEAN ORGANIZED CRIME, EXTREMISM & GEOPOLITICS Adapted by Geopolitical Analysis and Monitoring from Ioannis Michaletos ...

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Today's archidose #645

Here is a photo of the "<a href="http://www.stadt-koeln.de/5/stadtbibliothek/foerderaktionen/06339/">Minibib</a>" in Stadtgarten, Köln, Germany, by <span class="text">Sonja Zimmermann </span>(2009). Photographs are by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthijs_borghgraef/">Matthijs Borghgraef</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthijs_borghgraef/8407989929/" title="Stadtgarten Köln by kwikzilver, on Flickr"><img alt="Stadtgarten Köln" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8518/8407989929_f5e28a3f24_z.jpg" width="640"></a><br /><br />To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:<br /><blockquote>:: Join and add photos to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/archi-dose/">archidose pool</a>, and/or<br />:: Tag your photos <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/archidose/">archidose</a></span></blockquote>

Today's archidose #645

Here is a photo of the " Minibib " in Stadtgarten, Köln, Germany, by Sonja Zimmermann (2009). Photographs are by Matthijs Borghgra...

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The dorm from hell - Penn Gazette

As I emerged from yet another restless night, I made a vow to myself. If I didn't get some real sleep soon, I was going to kill someone. Then I turned over on my narrow hospital bed and was startled to see a woman I knew as Jeanstanding over me, smiling benevolently.<br /><br><br /><br>I looked back at her, wondering what she could possibly want so early in the morning. A nurse came in and shooed her out. It dawned on me that Jean didn't work at the nursing home. I later learned she was a fellow patient who happened to be a former nurse, and sometimes reverted to caregiver mode.<br /><br><br /><br>Ironically, many residents at this Bucks County nursing, convalescent, and rehab facility thought I was a staff member, because, at age 46, I was mobile and relatively young compared to the rest of the population. Some employees assumed I was a visitor, a misconception that served me well the night I escaped. <br /><br><br /><br>It wasn't my proudest moment, but my frustration with the place had peaked early. What would I do if I had to live there the rest of my life, returned to a state of dependency and set adrift in a new social order of octogenarians and their overlords?<br /><br><br /><br>It all started with what neurologists call a "thunderclap headache." <br /><br><br /><br>I had always been a fairly headache-y person. Stress, hunger, and changes in weather all brought various levels of discomfort. But this new pain struck so suddenly and intensely that I asked the contractor who happened to be doing work on my home that day to drive me to the local emergency room. The diagnosis was a ruptured cerebral aneurysm. I was shipped to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia for emergency surgery the next day. <br /><br><br /><br>As brain traumas go, I was extremely fortunate. I experienced no lasting impairment and recovered rapidly from the operation. But in addition to a rather unfortunate haircut, I was left with holes in my short-term memory that you could drive a truck through.<br /><br><br /><br>This memory deficit, while protecting me from whatever unpleasantness I went through pre- and post-surgery, made me question why I was in a nursing home. I'm sure people explained it to me, but the four-lane highway route through my synapses muddled things. <br /><br><br /><br>To an outside observer the reason would have been quite clear. In the three weeks or so following aneurysm surgery, anything can happen. Seizures, a stroke, and other scary stuff were real possibilities at any given time. So I was out of the hospital but not out of the woods, not by a long shot. I still required 24-hour supervision, hence my transfer to this nursing/rehab home. <br /><br><br /><br>And yet in terms of rehab there wasn't much for me to do. I quickly proved that the odds of my falling down or walking into a wall were pretty low. I also mastered sequencing exercises to show I wasn't going to burn the house down while scrambling an egg once I got home. After that, the rehab was more or less over. I spent a lot of time watching daytime TV and napping. <br /><br><br /><br>I also people-watched. There was one fellow resident who had a particular claim on my attention. Monkey Woman, as I came to think of her, had the rather disconcerting habit of throwing back her head and screaming like a chimpanzee. She did this to express displeasure, intimidate people, or just to show that she could. Even when she wasn't screeching, her mood was foul since her family had decreed she had to quit smoking. Watching other residents crowd into the outdoor common area every day to light up had to be maddening for her. <br /><br><br /><br>My 80-something roommate Julia was cordial enough, but wary of a new person in her space. I didn't see her that much because the staff whisked her away to activities all day, every day. At night, Julia went to bed early—but not before carrying on like a small child begging the nurses not to hurt her as they transferred her from her wheelchair to the bed.<br /><br><br /><br>A cadaverous man was routinely parked at the nurse's station just across from my room for hours on end. I never found out why he was left there, nor did I manage to decode what he kept shouting every 15 minutes or so. <br /><br>One night Julia had enough of him. <br /><br><br /><br>"Joseph, you shut up!" she yelled from her bed. She began muttering loudly about Joseph's shortcomings.<br /><br><br /><br>Feeling mischievous, I couldn't help asking: "Julia, are you two dating?"<br /><br><br /><br>"No!" Julia snapped. "But he does owe me money!"<br /><br><br /><br>It all seemed vaguely familiar. I suddenly flashed back to dorm life. That was it! Except, I was stuck in the Dorm from Hell, forcibly returned by age and circumstance to the days of communal living – with the rules, the craziness, and the bingo, but none of the freedom and fun. <br /><br><br /><br>Unlike all but a handful of people there, at least I knew I was going home. But I couldn't get a straight answer about when that might be. So after nearly a week, I decided I couldn't just sit around waiting anymore. <br /><br><br /><br>One night, after listening to Julia plead with the staff as they settled her into bed, I slipped out of the room and down the hall to the security door for the main lobby. A code opened the door after business hours, which I obtained by asking a random person passing by. It was ridiculously easy. Looking like a visitor did have its advantages.<br /><br><br /><br>Elated, I crossed the lobby and went outside to the parking lot. Freedom! Now, what to do with it?<br /><br><br /><br>I looked around, picked a direction, and started walking along the highway in the warm night air until I came to a Shell gas station. Standing in the orange and yellow glow, I realized I had no plan whatsoever. So I called my sister. <br /><br><br /><br>She was not thrilled to hear that I had become a fugitive, and informed me that she was not going to abet my attempt at life on the lam. She ordered me to stay put until she came to pick me up. <br /><br><br /><br>Some time later she did—and, along with two nurse's aides who had been quietly following me, returned me to the nursing home. I was promptly fitted for an electronic monitoring bracelet that sounded an alarm if I got too near to an exit. Back in my room, my sister promised she would negotiate a few rule changes for me, like being able to take a shower every day. <br /><br><br /><br>Partly as a show of good faith and partly to be a smart ass, I demonstrated that I could slide the bracelet off and on. <br /><br><br /><br>As I let a nurse secure the bracelet more snugly, it occurred to me that Monkey Woman and I were not so different. Sooner or later, I was going to get my life back, but for now she and I had very little say about what was best for us. Neither of us was happy about it. <br /><br><br /><br>I was allowed to go home not too long after my escape attempt. My progress since then has been steady; some say miraculous. My experiences in the nursing home and the people I met there had a profound effect on me, particularly my brushes with Monkey Woman.<br /><br><br /><br>I like to think that if she wasn't confined to a wheelchair, she might have hung out at the Shell station to smoke when she got the chance. I would have gladly given her the door code.<br /><br>Samantha Drake CGS'06 lives in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania.<br /><br><br /><br><a href="http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0113/voices.html">http://www.upenn.edu/gazette/0113/voices.html</a>

The dorm from hell - Penn Gazette

As I emerged from yet another restless night, I made a vow to myself. If I didn't get some real sleep soon, I was going to kill someone....

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Part Time Library Assistant - Wolcott Public Library

<strong>Part Time Library Assistant -</strong> <strong><span style="color: #48286d;">Wolcott Public Library</span></strong> has an opening for a library assistant, 15-20 hours per week. Hours include days, evenings, and rotating weekends. Duties include a variety of library and clerical tasks, basic support services, and services to patrons. Responsible for routine circulation functions (checking books in and out, registering patrons, etc. using an automated circulation system, shelf maintenance), answering telephones, assisting patrons with library resources and computers, ready reference and various clerical tasks. Qualifications: High school diploma, excellent customer service and computer skills. Library experience a plus. Please send resume and letter of application to Candace Barth, Wolcott Public Library, 469 Bound Line Road, Wolcott, CT 06716 or email (preferred) same to <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:cbarth@biblio.org" href="mailto:cbarth@biblio.org">cbarth@biblio.org</a>. Applications accepted until <span style="color: red;">February 15, 2013</span>.

Part Time Library Assistant - Wolcott Public Library

Part Time Library Assistant - Wolcott Public Library has an opening for a library assistant, 15-20 hours per week. Hours include days, e...

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Facing Cancer, a Stark Choice - NYTimes.com

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">In the 1970s, women's health advocates were highly suspicious of mastectomies. They argued that surgeons - in those days, pretty much an all-male club - were far too quick to remove a breast after a diagnosis of <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/cancer/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">cancer</a>, with disfiguring results.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">But today, the pendulum has swung the other way. A new generation of women want doctors to take a more aggressive approach, and more and more are asking that even healthy breasts be removed to ward off cancer before it can strike.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Researchers estimate that as many as 15 percent of women with <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/breast-cancer/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">breast cancer</a> - 30,000 a year - opt to have both breasts removed, up from less than 3 percent in the late 1990s. Notably, it appears that the vast majority of these women have never received genetic testing or counseling and are basing the decision on exaggerated fears about their risk of recurrence.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">In addition, doctors say an increasing number of women who have never had a cancer diagnosis are demanding mastectomies based on genetic risk. (Cancer databases don't track these women, so their numbers are unknown.)</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">"We are confronting almost an epidemic of prophylactic <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/surgery/mastectomy/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">mastectomy</a>," said Dr. Isabelle Bedrosian, a surgical oncologist at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. "I think the medical community has taken notice. We don't have data that say oncologically this is a necessity, so why are women making this choice?"</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">One reason may be the never-ending awareness campaigns that have left many women in perpetual fear of the disease. Improvements in breast reconstruction may also be driving the trend, along with celebrities who go public with their decision to undergo preventive mastectomy.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">This month Allyn Rose, a 24-year-old Miss America contestant from Washington, D.C., made headlines when she announced plans to have both her healthy breasts removed after the pageant; both her mother and her grandmother died from breast cancer. The television personality Giuliana Rancic, 37, and the actress Christina Applegate, 41, also talked publicly about having double mastectomies after diagnoses of early-stage breast cancer.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">"You're not going to find other organs that people cut out of their bodies because they're worried about disease," said the medical historian <a href="http://asp.cumc.columbia.edu/facdb/profile_list.asp?uni=bh15&DepAffil=HSS" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">Dr. Barron H. Lerner</a>, author of "<a href="http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryOther/HistoryofMedicine/?view=usa&ci=9780195161069" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">The Breast Cancer Wars</a>" (2001). "Because breast cancer is a disease that is so emotionally charged and gets so much attention, I think at times women feel almost obligated to be as proactive as possible - that's the culture of breast cancer."</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Most of the data on prophylactic mastectomy come from the University of Minnesota, where researchers tracked contralateral mastectomy trends (removing a healthy breast alongside one with cancer) from 1998 to 2006. Dr. Todd M. Tuttle, chief of surgical oncology, said double mastectomy rates more than doubled during that period and the rise showed no signs of slowing.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">From those trends as well as anecdotal reports, Dr. Tuttle estimates that at least 15 percent of women who receive a breast cancer diagnosis will have the second, healthy breast removed. "It's younger women who are doing it," he said.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">The risk that a woman with breast cancer will develop cancer in the other breast is about 5 percent over 10 years, Dr. Tuttle said. Yet a <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21947590" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">University of Minnesota study</a> found that women estimated their risk to be more than 30 percent.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">"I think there are women who markedly overestimate their risk of getting cancer," he said.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Most experts agree that double mastectomy is a reasonable option for women who have a strong genetic risk and have tested positive for a breast cancer gene. That was the case with Allison Gilbert, 42, a writer in Westchester County who discovered her genetic risk after her grandmother died of breast cancer and her mother died of <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/ovarian-cancer/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">ovarian cancer</a>.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Even so, she delayed the decision to get prophylactic mastectomy until her aunt died from an aggressive breast cancer. In August, she had a double mastectomy. (She had her ovaries removed earlier.)</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">"I feel the women in my family didn't have a way to avoid their fate," said Ms. Gilbert, author of the 2011 book "<a href="http://www.allisongilbert.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=10" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">Parentless Parents</a>," about how losing a parent influences one's own style of parenting. "Here I was given an incredible opportunity to know what I have and to do something about it and, God willing, be around for my kids longer."</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Even so, she said her decisions were not made lightly. The double mastectomy and reconstruction required an initial 11 1/2-hour surgery and an "intense" recovery. She got genetic counseling, joined support groups and researched her options.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">But doctors say many women are not making such informed decisions. Last month, <a href="http://www.asco.org/ASCOv2/Meetings/Abstracts?&vmview=abst_detail_view&confID=126&abstractID=104375" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); text-decoration: none; ">University of Michigan researchers reported</a> on a study of more than 1,446 women who had breast cancer. Four years after their diagnosis, 35 percent were considering removing their healthy breast and 7 percent had already done so.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Notably, most of the women who had a double mastectomy were not at high risk for a cancer recurrence. In fact, studies suggest that most women who have double mastectomies never seek genetic testing or counseling.</div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: medium; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.375em; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; ">"Breast cancer becomes very emotional for people, and they view a breast differently than an arm or a required body part that you use every day," said Sarah T. Hawley, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan. "Women feel like it's a body part over which they totally have a choice, and they say, 'I want to put this behind me - I don't want to worry about it anymore.' "</div></div><a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/facing-cancer-a-stark-choice/?pagewanted=print">http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/facing-cancer-a-stark-choice/?pagewanted=print</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Facing Cancer, a Stark Choice - NYTimes.com

In the 1970s, women's health advocates were highly suspicious of mastectomies. They argued that surgeons - in those days, pretty much an...

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