News for today's 2018

Appalachian sunset

6:24 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlYvsC6aWjL7iTpSXl3tvIn7QMykUjzNOvAcguzagflzxLcwMBKywqx-qttyBi6mRkYTz6qz8BSbaXOuNObZQYN9kU0ixo8reUSn0QwDfVkY0przLhaEo2rmOz8qtK9ZFgKDbj_THUeqkM/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlYvsC6aWjL7iTpSXl3tvIn7QMykUjzNOvAcguzagflzxLcwMBKywqx-qttyBi6mRkYTz6qz8BSbaXOuNObZQYN9kU0ixo8reUSn0QwDfVkY0przLhaEo2rmOz8qtK9ZFgKDbj_THUeqkM/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sunset over the Appalachians Tuesday evening at Buffalo Gap.</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwNl7IFlXazph7GogLbF8r2E1_KTmy-9I3WFSDKfTAjoy6afy3RCdWSJHwhqqjbn3VQMSc5kAUGOyC9jPAKWn1P2-R0QQDQKxboaKIkI-HFclMcDRZfYgxD60ZACgrQUoLL7J1hhCd0MPp/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwNl7IFlXazph7GogLbF8r2E1_KTmy-9I3WFSDKfTAjoy6afy3RCdWSJHwhqqjbn3VQMSc5kAUGOyC9jPAKWn1P2-R0QQDQKxboaKIkI-HFclMcDRZfYgxD60ZACgrQUoLL7J1hhCd0MPp/s400/6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell November 12, 2013

Sunset over the Appalachians Tuesday evening at Buffalo Gap. Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell November 12, 2013

Bradford pears display last of colorful autumn leaves

6:20 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQOGi1n6qjCysGaLXmNKi4ISrLYGRxK6F-IQUMrR5-wJOyar63VLBXELN_w7QvkjtLNKQFizVAU_XtScmFn39H6WCTdQQ1a_elXsasNVMg0eWyB_o_jS4VBB3V2KVUTl_gUwKsn7yHM8bc/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQOGi1n6qjCysGaLXmNKi4ISrLYGRxK6F-IQUMrR5-wJOyar63VLBXELN_w7QvkjtLNKQFizVAU_XtScmFn39H6WCTdQQ1a_elXsasNVMg0eWyB_o_jS4VBB3V2KVUTl_gUwKsn7yHM8bc/s640/3.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">As cold wintry winds blew through the Shenandoah Valley Tuesday, I bundled up and took a stroll around the yard. Autumn leaves that have fallen and are covering the ground beckoned for us to grab rakes and get to work. Not just yet, however, because the Bradford pear leaves are just now turning. With bare trees around them, the Bradfords with their perfect shapes have the autumn palate all to themselves before shedding the last leaves of the season and then we can start raking.</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNJ73l5lu_MpewrCXwfl31xFusi1VVXalmPLKpDtw78aXOEfVKJR8uqpx8aCjpNxRt3bBHi4n3kvfCUbJntjMM1NIZCaGjumlC4T1NTxn_r_w-zNE6F8Mf0L3An85JGchUhoP4yGUcycC/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNJ73l5lu_MpewrCXwfl31xFusi1VVXalmPLKpDtw78aXOEfVKJR8uqpx8aCjpNxRt3bBHi4n3kvfCUbJntjMM1NIZCaGjumlC4T1NTxn_r_w-zNE6F8Mf0L3An85JGchUhoP4yGUcycC/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Tuesday's overcast, gray, blustery day was the Valley's first taste of winter weather as temperatures fell from the 40s at sunrise into the 20s by evening. While other areas of Virginia saw snow squalls throughout the day, none were spied in our corner of Augusta County. It's late fall in the Shenandoah Valley.</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell November 12, 2013

Bradford pears display last of colorful autumn leaves

Augusta County autumn in Shenandoah Valley autumn leaf season Bradford pears Virginia Is For Lovers Bradford pears display last of colorful autumn leaves

As cold wintry winds blew through the Shenandoah Valley Tuesday, I bundled up and took a stroll around the yard. Autumn leaves that have fal...

BarChick.com: a website for finding good bars around the world [ BeritaTerkini ]

6:12 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div id="main-content-picture"> <img alt="Milk, Barcelona" height="276" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Travel/Pix/pictures/2013/11/13/1384344886788/Milk-Barcelona-008.jpg" width="460">Milk: one of BarChick’s picks in Barcelona </div> <div id="article-body-blocks"> Who is BarChick? A glamorous bikini model from the 1940s is what the logo seems to imply. For an old-school pin-up, she seems to have a finger on the pulse of the modern bar scene. BarChick.com launched in 2010 to cover the London bar scene, but soon expanded to cover a range of other cities (it now covers 56 destinations in all), including Berlin, Sydney, Ho Chi Minh and Rio de Janeiro. Other UK cities have also been added: Oxford, Bath, Birmingham, Worcester, Manchester and more. The site stands out for putting in the plenty of groundwork, picking its choices well and keeping content up to date through a team of on-the-ground reviewers. As a dedicated follower of bar fashions, it may not appeal to those who put emphasis on, say, ale and a comfy chair, but you can search under categories that appeal to you, such as “killer cocktails”, “roof terrace”, “people watching” etc. You can also search based on places you’d want to take your mates/client/date/mum. Some of the destination overviews are a bit dubious (On Beirut: “The women are H-O-T and dress slutty”) and some cities are better covered than others, but you come for the insider tips rather than reviews packed with clever similes. This week BarChick launches its new and improved app, which works on iPhones and, for the first time, Android. Its handiest tool is the “Near here” function, which not only tells you which bars are in your vicinity but now also gives you realtime updates on whether the venue is open or closed. There’s also a “What to order” button for house specialities, and a deals section that lists happy hours. If you’ve ever travelled somewhere based on what you’ve heard about its nightlife, only to leave disappointed, then this could stop you falling into the same trap again. It’s also handy for use in your own backyard, if you happen to live in one of the destinations it covers. Further expansion is set to follow. SpottedbyLocals.com: This site covers all aspects of travel, not just bars, and is written by a team of specially selected resident experts, who all speak the local language. It started by covering a few choice European cities, but, since its 2008 inception, has expanded to cover 54 cities destinations, all across the continent, and has recently launched in North America. There is also a Spotted by Locals app (iPhone and Android), which works offline to save those dreaded roaming bills. </div> //

BarChick.com: a website for finding good bars around the world [ BeritaTerkini ]

Milk: one of BarChick’s picks in Barcelona Who is BarChick? A glamorous bikini model from the 1940s is what the logo seems to imply....

13-Nov-2013 14:54

5:54 AM Tukiyooo 0

China's mysterious Third Plenum - BBC News :: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24919043">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24919043</a> Soldier's Killing Stirs Outrage in Israel - New York Times :: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/world/middleeast/soldiers-killing-stirs-outrage-in-israel.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/world/middleeast/soldiers-killing-stirs-outrage-in-israel.html</a> Watch the Francis Bacon triptych £89.3 million auction sale - <a href="http://Telegraph.co.uk">Telegraph.co.uk</a> :: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturevideo/artvideo/10446502/Watch-the-Francis-Bacon-triptych-89.3-million-auction-sale.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturevideo/artvideo/10446502/Watch-the-Francis-Bacon-triptych-89.3-million-auction-sale.html</a> Victims' Relatives to Speak at Bulger Sentencing - ABC News :: <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/victims-relatives-speak-bulger-sentencing-20872162">http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/victims-relatives-speak-bulger-sentencing-20872162</a> Police: 4 dead in Phoenix shooting - USA TODAY :: <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/13/four-dead-phoenix-shooting/3514053/">http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/13/four-dead-phoenix-shooting/3514053/</a> Will seek balance in approach to serve interests of justice: Ranjit Sinha, CBI chief - Economic Times :: <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/will-seek-balance-in-approach-to-serve-interests-of-justice-ranjit-sinha-cbi-chief/articleshow/25708809.cms">http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/will-seek-balance-in-approach-to-serve-interests-of-justice-ranjit-sinha-cbi-chief/articleshow/25708809.cms</a> Hawaii governor set to sign gay marriage bill into law - Reuters :: <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/13/us-usa-gaymarriage-hawaii-idUSBRE9AB0MF20131113">http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/13/us-usa-gaymarriage-hawaii-idUSBRE9AB0MF20131113</a> Ryan Ferguson: "I need to build my life back" - CBS News :: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57612093/ryan-ferguson-i-need-to-build-my-life-back/">http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57612093/ryan-ferguson-i-need-to-build-my-life-back/</a> New heart health guidelines focus on statins - USA TODAY :: <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/health/2013/11/13/3511349/">http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/health/2013/11/13/3511349/</a> Obama hits low mark in another poll - USA TODAY :: <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/11/13/obama-quinnipiac-university-poll-health-care/3514103/">http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/11/13/obama-quinnipiac-university-poll-health-care/3514103/</a>

13-Nov-2013 14:54

China's mysterious Third Plenum - BBC News :: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24919043 Soldier's Killing Stirs Outrage in Israel...

Pro athletes recover faster than amateurs partly because they get superior medical care - The Washington Post

5:37 AM Tukiyooo 0

It's a mystery: When we twist our ankle playing tennis, it can take weeks to heal, but when a pro athlete does it, he often misses barely a beat.Take an NBA game last season between the L.A. Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks. Kobe Bryant was pushed in midair, and he landed with a thud on the court. He clutched his ankle and writhed in pain. A few hours later — after X-rays found no broken bones — his coaches announced he was out indefinitely with a bad sprain.Bryant sent out a tweet about his recuperation and how he was going to spend his time watching movies and sleeping: "Compression. Ice. Django. Zero Dark Thirty. This is Forty and 1 hour of sleep."Yet 36 hours later, Bryant was back on the court.Did he have a miraculous recovery? Not necessarily. While professional athletes are in terrific shape, which helps when they get injured, they also have advantages rarely available to the weekend warrior: an instant medical response and a physical therapy regimen that kicks in quickly, that operates practically around the clock and that continues even after the athlete is back in the game."Most of the time, the pros get a prompt assessment and treatment by experienced trainers, and what may take a recreational athlete weeks to recover [from] may take a pro only a matter of days," said Benjamin Shaffer, an orthopedic surgeon in Bethesda who is head team physician for the Washington Capitals and assistant team physician for the Washington Wizards.Granted, some professional athletes speed their return to competition by<a href="http://m.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/pain-and-pain-management-in-nfl-spawn-a-culture-of-prescription-drug-use-and-abuse/2013/04/13/3b36f4de-a1e9-11e2-bd52-614156372695_story.html" data-click-evented="true" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">overusing painkillers, anti-inflammatories</a> and other prescription drugs and by succumbing to pressure from teams to play through injuries, as The Washington Post reported in a <a href="http://m.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/nfl-medical-standards-practices-are-different-than-almost-anywhere-else/2013/03/16/b8c170bc-8be8-11e2-9f54-f3fdd70acad2_story.html" data-click-evented="true" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">series of stories</a> last spring.But for many pros, it is the hours of intensive daily attention from highly experienced physical therapists, along with specialized rehabilitation equipment and exercises, that make their rehab and yours quite different.A cadre of professionals uses electric stimulation, compression sleeves, anti-gravity treadmills and individually tailored exercises to speed the repair of the body. These techniques and devices can mean the difference between an early return or weeks on the bench, Shaffer said.While physicians and trainers involved with professional teams avoid talking about injuries to specific players, here's a look at what they do to get an athlete up and running again.Fast careThe advantage starts as soon as a player goes down. Trainers and physicians rush in with immediate care. "When our guys hurt themselves, moments after, we are treating them," said Greg Smith, the head trainer for the Capitals. "The body's natural reaction [to an injury] is to swell. We are able to control the swelling through compression and ice right away."Smith often assesses an injury by manipulating deep into tissues with his thumb and pinpointing exactly where a player hurts. Once he figures out what's going on, he will suggest a remedy. "I am able to find problems," he said. "I can tell what is sore and what is not."In addition to applying ice and compression, Smith said, trainers and physicians decide whether to bring the staff massage therapist into the locker room or to quickly conduct X-ray and MRI exams.Time is of the essence when treating an injury, doctors and trainers say. In contrast to the pros' quick-response teams, you get stuck scrounging for an appointment with an orthopedist or waiting to schedule an MRI.Amateur athletes go home, wrap some ice on the injury, elevate, take two ibuprofen and call the doctor in a few days if things haven't improved, said Jason Craig, an associate professor of physical therapy at Marymount University in Arlington, who has worked with Irish Olympic athletes.By the time an armchair athlete sees a doctor, not only may an ankle sprain still be very painful, but the delay — and what people do during that time — may also have made the injury worse."We use the acronym RICE — rest, ice, compression and elevation — no matter what or who is injured," said Kala Flagg, a physical therapist and certified athletic trainer who has worked with NFL players and other elite athletes. "If someone ignores the signs and symptoms, continues to stress it by walking or running, or he doesn't get a proper diagnosis, a Grade 1 sprain becomes a Grade 3 or a fracture."Sports as day jobProfessionals also have all the time they need to devote to rehabilitation. "It's their job, unlike the rest of us," Shaffer said. "Their goal is to get back to playing at their previous level of activity" as quickly as possible. For regular people, "our recovery is an avocation. We do it between picking up kids and doing our day job."An injured pro may go to physical therapy as much as three times a day, according to Flagg. "These athletes also may have a setup at home with hot tubs and cold tubs and icing machines. They have massage therapists and one-on-one yoga instructors. Their bodies are important. They aren't afraid to invest in them," she said.Some teams even fine players if they miss a treatment session, she said."Pro athletes spend the majority of the day getting themselves in tiptop shape," Flagg said. "Their eating habits and training habits are different [from the average person's]. They are lifting, running or practicing in addition to sitting in a hot tub or cold tub. They are training their bodies to prevent injury from the beginning."Conditioning to prevent injuryTrainers continually monitor the health and biomechanics of their athletes. Smith, of the Capitals, studies his players in games, at practice and while they are training in the gym. What he sees influences the kinds of workouts he gives the players to keep them injury-free.For example, hockey players engage their chest muscles over and over to shove opponents out of the way and to control the puck. As a result, their shoulders may rotate forward a lot, Smith says. This continual misalignment can make them vulnerable to injury. "It can happen to anybody, even someone working at a desk," Smith said. "When shoulders anatomically are not where they should be, that can cause an injury, or pinching on the vertebrae. We have to work hard to combat these kind of forces."Smith helps players balance their back and chest muscles by having them do 30 strokes on a rowing machine for every 10 bench presses. This, he said, helps the shoulders to stay where they belong.Those extra strokes are not a big time commitment, but they are the kind of exercise a weekend hockey player might not realize he or she should do to prevent an injury. Similarly, if a player comes to Smith with lower back pain, he checks to see if his hip flexors are to blame because they are too tight. If that is the case, he recommends specific exercise to increase flexibility."We are always checking guys out," Smith said. "We are looking at them. They are also attuned to their bodies. If [they say] their lower backs are tight, it could be their hip flexors."During the NHL season, he said, the Capitals exercise in the gym daily for only 15 to 20 minutes and practice on the ice for about an hour, with one day off each week for complete rest. On game days, players don't go to the gym. They practice for about an hour, then nap for two to three hours before the game."You can't make them tired," Smith said. "They have to have proper rest. They sleep eight to 10 hours a day. The better rest [a pro athlete gets], the better they recover."Moreover, fit and rested muscles don't get as fatigued during rehabilitation sessions. That's because oxygen and blood flow more efficiently through the body when muscles are fit and strong, said Howard Osterman, a Washington podiatrist and staff physician for the Wizards. Fatigue "is a real deterrent to rehab for the weekend athlete or average patient," he said.Zero-gravity treadmillsFitness and rehab equipment that trainers use with professional athletes aren't available from many physical therapists who treat ordinary people.One example is a Game Ready device that is part ice pack and part compression sleeve. Trainers at professional games use <a href="http://www.gameready.com/provider-locator" data-click-evented="true" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Game Ready</a>sleeves that slip right over an injured foot, shoulder or knee. The sleeve contracts while circulating icy water to reduce swelling.Another example is the <a href="http://www.alterg.com/products/anti-gravity-treadmills/m320-f320/health-wellness#content" data-click-evented="true" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">AlterG treadmill. Designed for astronauts, it </a>lets athletes get back to running without allowing gravity to do further damage to injured limbs.An air bag is strapped around a patient's waist. When inflated, the bag lifts the patient, allowing him to run without putting his full weight — or even any weight — on his legs. "This allows a patient to maintain some cardiovascular exercise without having to overstress fractures, strains and sprains," Osterman said.Only a few physical therapy clinics offer the AlterG for recreational athletes. "It is still more the exception than the rule due to cost and reimbursement issues," Flagg said.Still, there are times when pros and amateurs face the same issues.Both kinds of athletes benefit from surgical advances: Where it once could take years to heal from an operation to fix a damaged anterior cruciate ligament, athletes now can often be back within six months to a year.And being a pro doesn't protect you from post-surgical infection, as New England Patriots quarterback <a href="http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2008/11/11/infection_slows_bradys_rehab/?page=full" data-click-evented="true" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Tom Brady found in 2008</a>."Tom Brady got the same infection Joe Public can get, even though he is a star quarterback" in great shape and with a great health and fitness team, Marymount's Craig said. "A lot of people think that if you are a pro athlete you will heal faster. It doesn't always happen."And then there's the case of Kobe Bryant. Only a few weeks after he seemed to heal so quickly from that ankle sprain, Bryant tore his Achilles tendon, requiring surgery and six to nine months of rest, just like anyone else. He's in rehab now, having graduated recently from <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/kobe-bryant-running-anti-gravity-treadmill-probably-means-235709183.html" data-click-evented="true" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">running on an anti-gravity treadmill </a>and hoping to play soon.<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/pro-athletes-recover-faster-than-amateurs-partly-because-they-get-superior-medical-care/2013/11/11/9da3385c-d291-11e2-8cbe-1bcbee06f8f8_story.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/pro-athletes-recover-faster-than-amateurs-partly-because-they-get-superior-medical-care/2013/11/11/9da3385c-d291-11e2-8cbe-1bcbee06f8f8_story.html</a>

Pro athletes recover faster than amateurs partly because they get superior medical care - The Washington Post

It's a mystery: When we twist our ankle playing tennis, it can take weeks to heal, but when a pro athlete does it, he often misses barel...

Stock futures drop amid mixed Fed signals on stimulus

5:34 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20131112&t=2&i=811318754&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=580&pl=378&r=CBRE9AB1J8000" width="600"/> Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid 1 of 2. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, November 12, 2013. Fed officials offered diverging views, adding to the uncertainty about the outlook for the Fed's easy-money policies. The day's decline followed two days of record high closes for the Dow Jones industrial average. Tuesday's retreat was led by the S&P 500's financial, energy and utility sectors. A 2.2 percent drop in U.S. oil futures prices hurt energy names like Chevron (CVX.N), which slid 0.9 percent to $120. Driving the market 'has been worries over the timing of the taper,' said Quincy Krosby, market strategist with Prudential Financial, which is based in Newark, New Jersey. She said investors are watching 10-year U.S. Treasury note yields, which have moved higher as speculation increases that the Fed could move sooner rather than later. 'You have had various Federal Reserve officials speaking, and the message seems to be the discussion of the taper has begun.' During the session, bond yields hit their highest level since mid-September, though that level is still lower than a month ago. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slipped 32.43 points, or 0.21 percent, to end at 15,750.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX dropped 4.20 points, or 0.24 percent, to finish at 1,767.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC eked out a tiny gain of just 0.13 of a point to close at 3,919.92. Volume was lighter than usual for a second day, totaling about 5.8 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, below the five-day average closing volume of about 6.4 billion, according to BATS exchange data. Some market watchers have begun to speculate that the Fed could begin to scale back on stimulus as early as December after the Labor Department said on Friday that the U.S. economy created 204,000 jobs in October. On Tuesday, Minneapolis Fed Bank President Narayana Kocherlakota and Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said monetary policy should remain accommodative. Neither is a voting member of the Fed's policy-setting committee. In contrast, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told CNBC that the Fed's program of buying $85 billion in bonds every month to stimulate the economy cannot continue forever. But the key Fed comments this week may come during a Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing for Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen, who has been nominated to succeed Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman. Yellen has been a big supporter of the Fed's current policies. Among the day's more volatile stocks, US Airways Group Inc. (LCC.N) gained 1.1. percent to close at $23.52, reversing earlier losses. The company and American Airlines AAMRQA.UL agreed to give up landing spots and gates to low-cost carriers at several U.S. airports to win U.S. antitrust approval for their proposed merger. Stocks of several low-cost carriers rose. JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU.O) jumped 6.1 percent to $8.16 and Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) rose 1.2 percent to $18.03. Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT.O) was one of the day's biggest losers, plunging 64 percent to $13.16 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the company's drug to treat a rare muscle disorder needed further testing. It was one of the Nasdaq's most active stocks. In the utility sector, shares of NRG Energy (NRG.N) fell 3.5 percent to $27.06 and ranked among the S&P 500's biggest percentage decliners after the power company reported results and adjusted its earnings outlook. Dish Network Corp (DISH.O) posted quarterly results that beat Wall Street's estimates. The company said it added 35,000 pay-TV subscribers, far exceeding expectations. The stock rose 6 percent to $50.35. Among other results, shares of homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI.N) jumped 4.7 percent to $18.91, making the stock the S&P 500's biggest percentage gainer, after the company said home sales picked up in October. <ID:L4N0IX3N2> Shares of News Corp (NWSA.O) fell 1.5 percent to $17.15, a day after it reported a steeper-than-expected decline of 3 percent in revenue. Macy's (M.N) shares slid 1.6 percent to $46.33 while shares of Cisco Systems (CSCO.O) gained 1.2 percent to $23.73. Both are scheduled to report results on Wednesday, with Macy's numbers due before the opening bell and Cisco's earnings expected after the close. Shares of Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) slid after the bell, declining 1.4 percent to $79.50. The company said late Tuesday that an arbitrator has concluded that it must pay Kraft Foods Group Inc (KRFT.O) $2.23 billion in damages after the coffee chain's early termination of the companies' grocery deal. Shares of Kraft gained 0.6 percent to $52.25 after the bell. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a ratio of 19 to 11, while on the Nasdaq, 14 stocks fell for every 11 that rose. (Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch, Additional reporting by Luke Swiderski; Editing by Kenneth Barry and Jan Paschal) </div>

Business Stock futures drop amid mixed Fed signals on stimulus

Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid 1 of 2. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, November 12, 2013. Fed officials offered ...

Mortgage applications dip in latest week

5:18 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2013/07/31/100929121-175053876.240x160.jpg?v=1375297037" width="600"/> Applications for U.S. home loans slipped in the latest week, although a drop in the previous week was revised to a smaller fall than previously reported, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 1.8 percent in the week ended Nov. 8. The index fell a revised 2.8 percent in the previous week. That drop had previously been reported at 7 percent. The figures came against continued uncertainty over when the U.S. Federal Reserve will begin to slow its stimulus program. The Fed is currently buying $85 billion per month in Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, and recent comments from the central bank raised concerns that policymakers could taper those purchases this year. Surprisingly strong nonfarm payrolls data on Friday reinforced those concerns. Previously, it was expected that those accommodative monetary policies would last into 2014. MBA data showed 30-year mortgage rates edged up 12 basis points to 4.44 percent. The refinancing index fell 2.3 percent in the latest week, and was revised to a decline of 3.9 percent in the Nov. 1 week from a previously reported fall of 7.9 percent. The purchase index, a leading indicator of home sales, dipped 0.5 percent. That was revised to a drop of 0.7 percent in the Nov. 1 week from a previously reported fall of 5.2 percent. The mortgage survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA. </div>

Business Mortgage applications dip in latest week

Applications for U.S. home loans slipped in the latest week, although a drop in the previous week was revised to a smaller fall than previou...

How your company is watching your waistline [ BeritaTerkini ]

5:12 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div id="yom-ad-LREC" class="yom-ad yom-ad-LREC"> <center> <div id="yom-ad-LREC-iframe" class="yom-ad"></div> </center> </div> By Kathleen Kingsbury <div class="body-slot-mod"> <div class="yom-remote"> <div class="yom-loading" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"></div> </div> </div> (Reuters) – Employers tried the carrot, then a small stick. Now they are turning to bigger cudgels. For years they encouraged workers to improve their health and productivity with free screenings, discounted gym memberships and gift cards to lose weight. More recently, a small number charged smokers slightly higher premiums to get them to quit. Results for these plans were lackluster, and healthcare costs continued to soar. So companies are taking advantage of new rules under President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul in 2014 to punish smokers and overweight workers. Some will even force employees to meet weight goals, quit smoking and provide very personal information or pay up to thousands more annually for healthcare. That could disproportionately affect the poor, who are more likely to smoke and can’t afford the higher fees. Nearly 40 percent of large U.S. companies will use surcharges in 2014, such as higher insurance premiums or deductibles for individuals who do not complete company-set health goals, according to a survey of 892 employers released in September by human resources consultancy Towers Watson and National Business Group on Health, which represents large employers. That is almost twice as many as the last time they did the survey in 2011, when only 19 percent of companies had such penalties. The number is expected to climb to two-thirds of employers by 2015. Employers are getting much more aggressive about punishing workers who are overweight or have high cholesterol. A study released on Wednesday by the Obesity Action Coalition, an advocacy group, covered workers at more than 5,000 companies who must participate in their employer wellness programs to receive full health benefits. Sixty-seven percent also had to meet a weight-related health goal such as a certain body mass index. Almost 60 percent of these workers received no coverage that paid for fitness training, dietitian counseling, obesity drugs or bariatric surgery to help achieve a body mass index under 25, which is considered healthy. “Weight requirements are an effective way to make it harder for people with obesity to qualify for full health coverage,” said Ted Kyle, the study’s lead author and founder of Conscienhealth, a Pittsburgh-based company that advises other companies on obesity programs. “Some programs can verge on discrimination,” he said. PENALTIES HIT SMOKERS HARDEST Next year many more companies plan to penalize workers who use nicotine because of their much higher healthcare costs. Proctor & Gamble Co, the Cincinnati-based household-product giant, will begin charging such employees an additional $ 25 per month in 2014 until they have completed a company-paid cessation program. Under similar provisions, state employees in Wisconsin and Washington State will pay as much as $ 600 more per year, while nonunion smokers at United Parcel Service Inc will pay as much as $ 1,800. “We found that while less than 10 percent of workers at large employers smoke, their impact to healthcare costs is disproportionately huge,” said LuAnn Heinen, vice president for the National Business Group on Health. “Helping them quit — however you do that — has the most obvious near-term payoff in terms of savings and productivity gains.” A recent Ohio State University study found that businesses pay nearly $ 6,000 more annually per employee who smokes compared with a nonsmoker. Other research suggests that less than 16 percent of employees participate in voluntary smoking cessation programs, Heinen added. A.H. Belo, owner of the Dallas Morning News, Providence Journal and other publications, told staff in September that for 2014 it would require employees and their spouses to complete a biometric health screening or face a $ 100 annual surcharge. In 2015, employees will be asked not only to undergo the screening but to meet three out of five as yet unspecified health goals to avoid the additional fee. COSTLY PUNISHMENTS Under Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which takes effect in January, companies can offer a reward of up to 30 percent of healthcare costs paid by the employee to those who complete voluntary programs like smoking cessation, a risk assessment or biometric tests like waist measurement. The financial incentives could add up to about $ 1,620 annually per worker. But if wellness programs don’t end up saving costs, companies can raise premiums across the board or slap them on workers who don’t get with the programs. In some states, tobacco users who sign up for insurance through the new state health exchanges could be charged 50 percent higher premiums than nonsmokers. Research suggests savings may be harder to achieve when programs are voluntary than has often been thought. A report released in May by the RAND Corp found workers who participated in a wellness program had healthcare costs averaging $ 2.38 less per month than nonparticipants in the first year of the program and $ 3.46 less in the fifth year. Some health and labor experts are concerned that penalties may be unduly harsh, especially for low-wage workers and those who have health conditions beyond their control. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 percent of adults with incomes below the federal poverty level smoke, compared with 18 percent of those above the poverty level. Mark Rothstein, a lawyer and bioethics professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, chooses to pay a higher annual premium rather than complete a health questionnaire for his employer, calling it a “privacy tax.” Lower-paid colleagues, he said, “don’t have the same luxury to opt out.” Fierce resistance forced Pennsylvania State University in September to abandon a plan to charge employees $ 100 per month if they did not participate in various health screenings and fill out a detailed health questionnaire administered by WebMD, which asked among other things whether a worker had recently driven after drinking too much, whether female employees planned to become pregnant in the next year and how frequently male workers performed testicular self-exams. This led to an outcry over privacy concerns and the potential for hacking of computer databases. “These were just things no employer has the right to ask,” says Brian Curran, a professor of art history at Penn State who started an online petition to protest the questionnaire. University officials had argued the penalty was needed to tamp down healthcare costs and avoid tuition hikes. In January it still plans to implement a $ 100-a-month surcharge for spouses and a $ 75-a-month penalty on tobacco users. Courts so far have shown little resistance to such programs. The 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) prohibits workers who are in a group health insurance plan from being discriminated against on the basis of health, and Obamacare extends that right to individuals. But neither bans penalties outright. The law does specify that wellness programs must be voluntary, but Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute, a legal advocacy organization, says that can be a slippery slope. Most employees don’t feel like they have a choice, Maltby says. “In today’s job market, any reasonable request by one’s employer is essentially read as a demand.” (Reporting by Kathleen Kingsbury; Editing by Jilian Mincer and Prudence Crowther) <ul id="topics" class="hidden"> <li>Health</li> <li>President Barack Obama</li> </ul> //

How your company is watching your waistline [ BeritaTerkini ]

By Kathleen Kingsbury (Reuters) – Employers tried the carrot, then a small stick. Now they are turning to bigger cud...

13-Nov-2013 13:53

4:53 AM Tukiyooo 0

Hawaii Governor to Sign State's Gay Marriage Bill - ABC News :: <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/hawaii-governor-sign-states-gay-marriage-bill-20872476">http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/hawaii-governor-sign-states-gay-marriage-bill-20872476</a> Francis Bacon triptych smashes art auction record - <a href="http://Telegraph.co.uk">Telegraph.co.uk</a> :: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/10445612/Francis-Bacon-triptych-smashes-art-auction-record.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/10445612/Francis-Bacon-triptych-smashes-art-auction-record.html</a> Attacks in Iraq around religious ritual kill 21 - Businessweek :: <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-11-13/triple-bombing-kills-8-shiites-in-eastern-iraq">http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-11-13/triple-bombing-kills-8-shiites-in-eastern-iraq</a> Boston mobster 'Whitey' Bulger to face likely life sentence - Reuters :: <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/13/us-usa-crime-bulger-idUSBRE9AC0IF20131113">http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/13/us-usa-crime-bulger-idUSBRE9AC0IF20131113</a> US doctors urge wider use of cholesterol drugs - Fox News :: <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/11/13/us-doctors-urge-wider-use-cholesterol-drugs/">http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/11/13/us-doctors-urge-wider-use-cholesterol-drugs/</a> Ryan Ferguson reunites with girlfriend, enjoys beer hours after release from prison - New York Daily News :: <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/missouri-attorney-won-re-try-overturned-murder-conviction-editor-death-article-1.1514356">http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/missouri-attorney-won-re-try-overturned-murder-conviction-editor-death-article-1.1514356</a> Soldier's Killing Stirs Outrage in Israel - New York Times :: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/world/middleeast/soldiers-killing-stirs-outrage-in-israel.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/world/middleeast/soldiers-killing-stirs-outrage-in-israel.html</a> Presidents recite Gettysburg Address for Burns' video - USA TODAY :: <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/11/12/obama-bush-carter-clinton-ken-burns-gettysburg-address-film/3504735/">http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/11/12/obama-bush-carter-clinton-ken-burns-gettysburg-address-film/3504735/</a> MI6 spy Gareth Williams 'probably an accident', police say - BBC News :: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24927078">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24927078</a> Obama hits low mark in another poll - USA TODAY :: <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/11/13/obama-quinnipiac-university-poll-health-care/3514103/">http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/11/13/obama-quinnipiac-university-poll-health-care/3514103/</a>

13-Nov-2013 13:53

Hawaii Governor to Sign State's Gay Marriage Bill - ABC News :: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/hawaii-governor-sign-states-gay-marr...

Five questions for Janet Yellen

4:48 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/131108143529-janet-yellen-hearing-620xa.jpg" width="600"/>It's the interview that will determine the course of the U.S. economy for the next four years: Janet Yellen will face the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, as lawmakers weigh her nomination to head the Federal Reserve. The leadership transition could not come at a more pivotal moment for the central bank. After stimulating the economy for five straight years following the financial crisis, the Fed now needs an endgame for gently weaning the economy off easy money, and with the perfect timing. CNNMoney surveyed economists for the top questions Yellen will need to face: 1. What is the lowest unemployment rate we can reasonably aim for? The Fed is tasked with two goals: First, keep the economy growing at a point where as many Americans are employed as possible, and second, do so without sending prices rising rapidly. Zero unemployment is considered impossible, but what then, is the 'normal' unemployment rate? In the booming times of the late 1990s and mid 2000s, it wasn't uncommon for the unemployment rate to hover around 4% to 5%. Now it's been above 7% for five straight years, and economists are questioning whether it's even possible to get back to 5%. As of October, about 4 million people were counted as unemployed for six months or more. Meanwhile, about 37% of Americans over age 16 have decided not to participate in the job market at all. That's the highest rate since 1978. Yellen has often said that the job market is her top concern, and she's particularly worried about the long-term unemployed. The longer people remain out of work, the more likely they are to lose job skills and face major setbacks in their earning potential. They even risk becoming permanently unemployed. 2. What's your Plan B, if Fed stimulus fails to get us there? After we know Yellen's target, we need to know why she believes the Federal Reserve has failed to get us there so far, and what she plans to do about it. The Fed has already pumped about $3 trillion into the U.S. economy since 2008 by buying Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. Even with this effort and record-low interest rates in place, unemployment remains at 7.3% and the U.S. economy is struggling to grow at even a meager 3% a year. Might the Fed have to throw up its hands and admit there's nothing else it can do? 'How can you tell when monetary policy is not the right instrument for the job?,' asks Robert Brusca, chief economist of FAO Economics and a former economist for the New York Fed. 'How would you tell that you've gone too far? What signs would you look for?' 3. How will you wean the economy off stimulus, without thwarting the housing recovery? Federal Reserve officials are discussing when they should start reducing -- or 'tapering' -- their current bond-buying program, down from $85 billion each month. Just talking about tapering temporarily drove interest rates up over the summer. The concern is that higher mortgage rates could sap some of the momentum out of the housing recovery -- which has been one of the few bright spots in the economy this year. 'How can you be confident that the Fed will ever deem the economy strong enough to withstand tapering?,' asks Ellen Zentner, senior U.S. economist for Morgan Stanley. Independent economists have put suggestions out there, on how the Fed could taper and still support the housing recovery. But what would Yellen do? Boom-bust cycles are nothing new, but the Fed has a terrible record of predicting them. Unlike her colleagues who didn't see the housing crash coming, Yellen was ringing early alarm bells about the real estate market. Does Yellen see any signs of new bubbles forming now? The obvious answer is no -- otherwise the Fed wouldn't be buying more bonds. That said, how do we know the Fed isn't missing another bubble this time? 'Do you believe the Fed, and some other central banks, are running the risk of inflating an asset bubble by keeping interest rates low for so long?' asks Sal Guatieri, senior economist for BMO Capital Markets. <img src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/131009162433-n-janet-yellen-federal-reserve-nomination-00005629-620x348.jpg" width="600"/> The Fed has been pumping trillions of dollars into the banking system, yet much of it is not making its way to Main Street. Instead, it sits in bank reserves. What happens if the economy eventually does pick up, and banks start lending that money out? 'Given the extraordinary measures taken that have produced enormous amounts of liquidity in the system, how worried are you over inflation and the problems that could arise down the road?' asks Wells Fargo economist Sam Bullard. What signals will the Fed watch to make sure it's not 'behind the curve' on inflation, asks Jim Smith, chief economist for Parsec Financial and a former Fed economist. But inflation is low lately, and some other economists think a little more inflation could be a good thing, if it means the economy is picking up. Yellen is probably in that camp, but just how much inflation would she be willing to tolerate? <img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/images/bug.gif" width="600"/> First Published: November 13, 2013: 4:03 AM ET </div>

Business Five questions for Janet Yellen

It's the interview that will determine the course of the U.S. economy for the next four years: Janet Yellen will face the Senate Banking...

Smithsonian in 3D printing drive [ BeritaTerkini ]

4:12 AM Tukiyooo 0

<cite class="byline vcard">Press Association – </cite> <div class="yom-mod yom-art-content" id="mediaarticlebody"> <div class="bd"> With most of its 137 million objects kept behind the scenes or in a faraway museum, the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum complex, is launching a new 3D scanning and printing initiative to make more of its massive collection accessible to schools, researchers and the public worldwide. A small team has begun creating 3D models of some key objects that represent the breadth of the collection at the Smithsonian. Some of the first 3D scans include the Wright brothers’ first airplane, Amelia Earhart’s flight suit, and casts of President Abraham Lincoln’s face during the Civil War. Less familiar objects include a former slave’s horn, a missionary’s gun from the 1800s and a woolly mammoth fossil from the Ice Age. They are pieces of history some people may hear about but rarely see or touch. The museum is launching a new 3D viewer online to give people a closer look at artifacts in their own homes. The data can also be downloaded, recreated with a 3D printer and used to help illustrate lessons in history, art and science in schools. While some schools might acquire 3D printers for about 1,000 US dollars (£630), other users may examine the models on their computers. Smithsonian digitisation director Gunter Waibel said museums are working to redefine their relationship with audiences to become more interactive. “Historically, museums have just tried to push data out. It’s been a one-way street,” he said. “Now museums are really rethinking their relationship with their audience, and they’re trying to empower their audiences to help them along whatever learning journey they’re on.” With the cost of 3D scanning and printing equipment declining in recent years, Mr Waibel said there’s a new opportunity for museums to transform how they collect, curate and conserve artifacts and also how they educate. Three-dimensional models can help tell stories and create more engaging lessons, he said. Smithsonian educators are building interactive tours to view 3D models online. On the Wright Flyer aircraft from 1903, they have created hotspots to help explain its engine and wing design, and the user can rotate the object in all directions for a closer look. With the Lincoln masks, the 3D viewer allows the user to adjust lighting levels to see the aging of the president’s face over the course of the war. And a 3D scan of a Chinese Buddha statue allows the user to examine and unravel a story carved in its surface. So far, the Smithsonian is devoting about 350,000 US dollars (£220,000) annually to 3D digitization, with companies also donating equipment. But museum officials are working to raise 15 million US dollars (£9.5 million) going forward to move the 3D lab from a suburban warehouse in Maryland to a new innovation centre planned for the National Mall. There, the public could see some of the latest 3D technology and even make their own 3D prints of museum objects in a “maker lab.”.Within minutes, a 3D printer can create a plastic replica of an object by reproducing the digital model layer by layer. It is not clear how long it will take to create a large 3D collection. The pace will depend on funding and scaling up techniques the 3D lab has just begun creating, officials said. For other digitization efforts, the Smithsonian has engaged private partners and may even recruit volunteers to help. </div> </div> //

Smithsonian in 3D printing drive [ BeritaTerkini ]

Press Association – With most of its 137 million objects kept behind the scenes or in a faraway museum, the Smithsonian Institution,...

Today's Teamster News 11.13.13

4:11 AM Tukiyooo 0

<a href="http://www.dclabor.org/ht/display/ArticleDetails/i/112655" rel="nofollow">D.C.Taxi Drivers File Lawsuit, Demand Apology</a>  dclabor.org   ...The Teamster-affiliated Washington, D.C. Taxi Operators Association last week filed a lawsuit demanding that the District stop towing and impounding taxis and issuing fines to drivers who have been unable to install new dome lights or credit card machines... <a href="http://thetyee.ca/News/2013/11/08/Global-Labour-Richmond-Ikea/" rel="nofollow">Global Labour Leaders Vow Action In Richmond Ikea Fight</a>  The Tyee   ...After listening to a wealth of emotional testimony from embittered IKEA employees during a hearing in Vancouver, international trade union representatives are pledging overseas action on behalf of the Richmond store workers, if the prolonged conflict continues... <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/12/wal-mart-to-give-employees-turkey-dinner-for-working-thanksgiving-but-analyst-says-company-can-afford-to-give-raises/" rel="nofollow">Wal-Mart to give employees turkey dinner for working Thanksgiving, but analyst says company can afford to give raises</a>  Raw Story   ...Wal-Mart is making some of its employees work on Thanksgiving, but the retailer is hoping to make up for intruding on the family holiday by feeding workers a traditional turkey dinner, giving them an extra day’s pay and offering them 25 percent off a future shipping trip... <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/11/12/key-union-strategygoesbeforesupremecourt.html" rel="nofollow">Key union strategy goes before U.S. Supreme Court</a>  Aljazeera America   ...Decision on "€œneutrality agreements" in the Mulhall case could set course for future labor organizing... <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maria-smith/the-transpacific-partnership_b_4254882.html" rel="nofollow">The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Threat to Global Public Health</a>  Huffington Post   ...Delivering yet another blow to this country's Democratic process, President Obama is expected to buck Congressional authority in order to push through a trade agreement with devastating consequences for millions of people... <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/eu-consumer-groups-wary-trade-accord-us" rel="nofollow">EU consumer groups wary of trade deal with us</a>  Associated Press   ...European consumer groups are worried about the effects of a proposed trade deal with the U.S., fearing a flood of risky or unsafe foodstuffs, medicines and other imports from America... <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/news-summary-workers-hurt-bangladesh-protest" rel="nofollow">Workers hurt in Bangladesh protest</a>  Associated Press   ...Riot police fired tear gas to battle thousands of garment workers who rampaged through two Bangladesh towns during a protest over wages that closed at least 200 factories and left dozens of people injured... <a href="http://prospect.org/article/40-year-slump" rel="nofollow">The 40-Year Slump</a>  American Prospect   ...1974 would mark a fundamental breakpoint in American economic history. In the years since, the tide has continued to rise, but a growing number of boats have been chained to the bottom. Productivity has increased by 80 percent, but median compensation (that’s wages plus benefits) has risen by just 11 percent during that time... <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2501593/The-rise-paid-friends-How-wealthy-New-Yorkers-socializing-hired-staff-real-companions--theyre-easier-control.html" rel="nofollow">The rise of paid friends: How wealthy New Yorkers are socializing with hired staff over 'real' companions – because they’re easier 'to control'</a>  Daily Mail   ...‘Once you’ve had paid friends who don’t argue with you, it’s actually quite hard to go back to real friends...’ <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-13/central-banks-risk-asset-bubbles-in-battle-with-deflation-danger.html" rel="nofollow">Central Banks Risk Asset Bubbles in Battle With Deflation Danger </a> Bloomberg   ...While declining costs for everything from gasoline to coffee can be good news for consumers, disinflation makes it harder for borrowers to pay off debts and businesses to boost profits... <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/12/elizabeth-warren-too-big-to-fail_n_4260871.html" rel="nofollow">Elizabeth Warren: 'Too Big To Fail' Is Worse Than Before Financial Crisis</a>  Huffington Post   ...Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) warned in a speech Tuesday that the problem of banks considered "too big to fail" has only gotten worse since the 2008 financial crisis, potentially sowing the seeds of a future crisis... <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/11/12/washington-just-awarded-the-largest-state-tax-subsidy-in-u-s-history/" rel="nofollow">Washington just awarded the largest state tax subsidy in U.S. history</a>  Washington Post   ...With the stroke of a pen, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on Monday signed into law the largest corporate tax break any state has ever given to a single company... <a href="http://www.alternet.org/economy/4-creeping-ways-capitalism-killing-us" rel="nofollow">4 Creeping Ways Capitalism Is Killing Us</a>  AlterNet   ...The profit motives of this system offer little incentive to feed the hungry, treat the sick, secure us in retirement or provide job opportunities... <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/11/08/2916741/fed-banks-law/" rel="nofollow">Fed Official: Wall Street Still Thinks It Is Above The Law</a>  ThinkProgress   ...As long as Wall Street banks believe they are above the law, it will be very difficult to prevent the financial industry from blowing up the world economy again, according to Federal Reserve Board of New York head William Dudley... <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/us/wisconsin-supreme-court-hears-arguments-on-collective-bargaining-law.html?_r=0" rel="nofollow">Wisconsin Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Collective Bargaining Law</a>  New York Times   ...The  Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments on the constitutionality of a 2011 law that all but eliminated collective bargaining for most public employees... <a href="http://newsitem.com/news/union-rallies-to-protest-right-to-work-1.1583058" rel="nofollow">Union rallies to protest right-to-work</a>  The News Item   ...Taking a stand against a right-to-work law in Pennsylvania, more than 400 labor union representatives marched in Pottsville on Saturday and gave speeches outside the Schuylkill County Courthouse... <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-giant-safeway-contract-20131111,0,4081726.story" rel="nofollow">Giant and Safeway workers may consider labor contract Wednesday</a>  Baltimore Sun   ...28,000 workers for Giant Food and Safeway supermarkets in the Baltimore-Washington area could vote on a new labor contract as early as Wednesday...

Today's Teamster News 11.13.13

D.C.Taxi Drivers File Lawsuit, Demand Apology dclabor.org ...The Teamster-affiliated Washington, D.C. Taxi Operators Association last we...

13-Nov-2013 12:52

3:52 AM Tukiyooo 0

Guilty plea in Miss Teen USA extortion case - Online Athens :: <a href="http://onlineathens.com/national-news/2013-11-12/guilty-plea-miss-teen-usa-extortion-case">http://onlineathens.com/national-news/2013-11-12/guilty-plea-miss-teen-usa-extortion-case</a> Bulger sentencing begins today - Boston.com :: <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/11/13/victims-relatives-speak-bulger-sentencing/gxGARVjh2mMSUMKSuRKmsL/story.html">http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/11/13/victims-relatives-speak-bulger-sentencing/gxGARVjh2mMSUMKSuRKmsL/story.html</a> Ryan Ferguson Walks Out of Prison, a Free Man - OzarksFirst.com :: <a href="http://www.ozarksfirst.com/story/ryan-ferguson-walks-out-of-prison-a-free-man/d/story/ActoURCzM0yqe2fr7r5SUg">http://www.ozarksfirst.com/story/ryan-ferguson-walks-out-of-prison-a-free-man/d/story/ActoURCzM0yqe2fr7r5SUg</a> Hawaii Senate votes to legalise same-sex marriage - BBC News :: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24921752">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24921752</a> Not on cholesterol meds? New guidelines may change that - CNN :: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/12/health/cholesterol-guidelines/">http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/12/health/cholesterol-guidelines/</a> Israeli PM orders rethink on settlement construction plans - BBC News :: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24919030">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24919030</a> Francis Bacon painting sells for record $142.4M at auction - Fox News :: <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/11/13/francis-bacon-painting-sells-for-record-1424m-at-auction/">http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/11/13/francis-bacon-painting-sells-for-record-1424m-at-auction/</a> Attacks in Iraq ahead of religious ritual kill 21 - Businessweek :: <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-11-13/triple-bombing-kills-8-shiites-in-eastern-iraq">http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-11-13/triple-bombing-kills-8-shiites-in-eastern-iraq</a> India official Ranjit Sinha regrets 'rape' remark - BBC News :: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-24922280">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-24922280</a> MI6 spy Gareth Williams 'probably an accident', police say - BBC News :: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24927078">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24927078</a>

13-Nov-2013 12:52

Guilty plea in Miss Teen USA extortion case - Online Athens :: http://onlineathens.com/national-news/2013-11-12/guilty-plea-miss-teen-usa-e...

IE11 bumped to version 11.0.1 afte...

3:52 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://www.reddit.com/static/spreddit1.gif" width="600"/> <img src="http://www.neowin.net/images/uploaded/1_snag-0022.jpg" width="600"/><img src="http://www.neowin.net/images/uploaded/7_snag-0001.jpg" width="600"/> Before and after the update. Internet Explorer 11 has seen its first major post-RTM update, bumping it up from version 11.0 to 11.0.1 with the installation of 'MS13-088: Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer'. The update, which was delivered along with the Patch Tuesday offerings, included 17 bug fixes as well as separate general security updates, such as a patch for Adobe Flash Player. Just a few of the changes include an 'Update that disables Enhanced Protected Mode by default in Internet Explorer 11' which we covered yesterday, and 'Internet Explorer loses HTTP connections when you close a webpage before you receive an XHR response' which is clearly a bug fix and not a security update. The full list can be seen here which also includes bug fixes for IE10 as well. The update applies to the Windows 7 version as well as the Windows 8.1 Preview - which can still be used - and of course the shipped versions of Windows 8.1, and Windows Server variants where IE11 can be installed. Thanks for the tip SHoTTa35! </div>

Technology IE11 bumped to version 11.0.1 afte...

Before and after the update. Internet Explorer 11 has seen its first major post-RTM update, bumping it up from version 11.0 to 11.0.1 with ...

Sony opens PSN game sales to Amazon, other etailers said to be joining up

3:37 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://cdn3.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/games/PS3/Amazon_PlayStation_Network_Store-578-80.jpg" width="600"/>PS3, Vita digital games come to Amazon As the fourth-generation PlayStation's launch looms, Sony is making sure that its console and portable gamers will have the freedom of choice to shop around for virtual products to play on their hardware. Word out today is that US residents can now purchase digital versions of their favorite PlayStation-branded games from etailers other than Sony. The place to launch the new service is Amazon's PlayStation Network Store, which is now open for business and stocked with titles for both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. PlayStation 4 titles are a no-show at the moment, but will presumably make their way to Amazon's digital storefront soon enough, given that the console arrives this Friday in the US before making its way to Europe on November 29. Five for free As a little extra incentive for buying digital versions, Amazon is offering a $5 credit for a limited time, good toward a future PSN purchase through the end of 2014. The only catch is prospective buyers will only have 10 PS3 titles to choose from, thought it includes favorites such as Assassin's Creed, Batman: Arkham Origins and Battlefield 4. Amazon reportedly won't be the only etailer offering digital games for the PlayStation Network, although no others have popped up on the radar at this writing. Amazon's PlayStation Network Store offers a glimmer of hope that Sony gamers will be able to shop around for the best virtual deal, thus eliminating one key advantage once held by packaged software. Via Engadget </div>

Technology Sony opens PSN game sales to Amazon, other etailers said to be joining up

PS3, Vita digital games come to Amazon As the fourth-generation PlayStation's launch looms, Sony is making sure that its console and por...

Moto G mistakenly posted to Amazon UK, swiftly taken down

3:37 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>The device's listing on the e-retail site indicated that the smartphone would launch on November 14 -- just a day after its expected unveiling. <img src="http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2011/10/13/headshots_Don_Reisinger_140x100_60x43.jpg" width="600"/> <img src="http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim2/2013/11/11/MotoG_610x749_441x541.jpg" width="600"/> The Moto G may have been given an early public showing in the UK. Eagle-eyed observers on Monday discovered that the Amazon UK site had listed the Moto G on preorder and available for delivery on November 14. The listing, which has since been removed, didn't mention the Moto G by name, but does show the model number that's believed to correspond to the Moto G. The listing was first discovered by Pocket-lint. Motorola, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Google, announced last week that it will host an event on November 13 to show off the Moto G. The device is rumored to be a low-cost version of the Moto X -- a device that so far, has only sold in modest quantities. The Moto G will come in at a price of 159.99 pounds ($255), according to the Amazon UK page. It will feature 16GB of RAM, a 4.5-inch HD display, and a quad-core processor. <img src="http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/html/news/clear.gif" width="600"/> </div>

Technology Moto G mistakenly posted to Amazon UK, swiftly taken down

The device's listing on the e-retail site indicated that the smartphone would launch on November 14 -- just a day after its expected unv...

What was missing in China's reform plan

3:33 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/131113020606-china-economic-620xa.jpg" width="600"/>This week's four-day meeting of China's top Communist officials was regarded as a make-or-break moment for economic reform but may have raised more questions than it answered. After decades of rapid expansion, the world's second-largest economy is entering a period of slower growth, and Beijing is under growing pressure to address issues that threaten further economic development and social stability. This meeting was President Xi Jinping's first big opportunity to pursue a reform agenda aggressively -- with major implications for the global economy. But the blueprint that the conference produced was heavy on party jargon and light on details. Related: China pledges greater role for markets While the communique called for opening up China's markets, accelerating social security programs and a commitment to fiscal reform, it failed to address a number of major issues. More details are expected to be released in coming days, but for now, here's a look at three things the government didn't say. 1. Reforming China's state-owned enterprises State-owned enterprises in China have long enjoyed preferential treatment in key industries including finance, oil and infrastructure. Beijing has historically relied on these companies to help boost economic growth, but some of the state-backed businesses are now bloated, inefficient and heavy with debt. In September, the top dog at China's state-owned assets regulatory commission was ousted, raising hopes that Beijing was getting serious on reforming the sector. But the government remained silent on the subject on Tuesday, instead repeating the party line about the SOEs maintaining an important, dominant role, said RBS economists Louis Kuijs and Tiffany Qiu. And the wording seems at odds with the goal of giving markets a greater role in China. Liberalizing markets and relaxing foreign investment rules could bring more players into China, potentially creating greater competition for SOEs. Related story: China ousts top regulator as anti-corruption drive widens 2. Changing the residence-based registration system Every Chinese citizen has a 'hukou,' a document that allows them to reside in a certain place, often their hometown, and classifies them as city or rural residents. This affects just about everything, including employment, education, health and other social programs -- and benefits can vary widely. Some critics have called for the system to be abolished because it poses an obstacle to balanced social and economic development across the country. While there was no specific mention of reforming the system this time around, the government did say it plans to distribute public resources more equally between the urban and rural populations. In other words, don't despair yet. This could pave the way for more in-depth hukou reform, said Bernstein analysts Kenneth Tsang and Vanessa Lau. Related story: The economics of China's one-child policy 3. Fixing China's local government debt problem China is struggling to contain growing local government debt, the result of easy credit and round after round of stimulus. Nobody knows the exact scale of the problem, but economists surveyed by CNNMoney estimate debt levels reached 14.1 trillion yuan to 19.7 trillion yuan ($3.1 trillion) by the end of last year, or roughly one-third of the country's gross domestic product. Those estimates put local debt at nearly double what it was three years ago, when China last conducted a nationwide debt audit. The result of a new debt audit launched a few months ago was expected to be released before the meeting, but nothing was announced. And although the Beijing meeting wasn't expected to tackle how to handle local government debt, it doesn't seem to have even been addressed in the conference. Ballooning debt remains a problem and could undermine Beijing's broader plans. <img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/images/bug.gif" width="600"/> First Published: November 13, 2013: 3:58 AM ET </div>

Business What was missing in China's reform plan

This week's four-day meeting of China's top Communist officials was regarded as a make-or-break moment for economic reform but may h...

David Tennant And Matt Smith On The Two Doctors: "They're Slightly Competitive"

3:32 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPOvkHbAgWgToLeHQr3P7kC5VCxxkMYkHYeHf0RSdeUc1FQyeJ7ENxcHkmyauYu_d6brY3GQh6iAKfcw4jy4S6rrdQyoklEj-trSchatKb54xQ7h7SebkSlQ9yqDhlAadMtnC1kaswRI1/s1600/DW50-31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiPOvkHbAgWgToLeHQr3P7kC5VCxxkMYkHYeHf0RSdeUc1FQyeJ7ENxcHkmyauYu_d6brY3GQh6iAKfcw4jy4S6rrdQyoklEj-trSchatKb54xQ7h7SebkSlQ9yqDhlAadMtnC1kaswRI1/s640/DW50-31.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> Earlier this year, Den Of Geek were lucky enough to be part of an interview session with David Tennant and Matt Smith on the set of Doctor Who: The Day Of The Doctor. There has been a long tradition in Doctor Who of multi-Doctor shows and fans have always enjoyed the interactions between different facets of the Time Lord's personality. Once the big news broke that David Tennant and Billie Piper would be returning to play the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler in the 50th Anniversary special, one of the big questions was, of course, how would the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors interact. <div class="MsoNormal">“They're slightly competitive,” says David Tennant. “But I think they quite enjoy being in each other's presence as well.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">“They get on, and then they don't get on,” Matt Smith expands. “And then they get on. It's like two brothers who are evenly matched, fencing a lot...”</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">“... or a conversation with your own conscious,” David chips in “You swing from being quite pleased with yourself to being infuriated with your own inadequacies, so I guess that's kind of writ large!</div><div class="MsoNormal">“I think that's been quite interesting, to find the moments when our two Doctors intersect, and then when they do things rather differently. I think the fun is in the gap between the two. We've been finding joy in recognising the same thing, or having the same thought… And they switch between praising each other's ingenuity, to try to undermine each other at every possibility. They bicker a little, yes. But they quite like each other!...And then get surprised at how little they like each other!”  </div><div class="MsoNormal">“There are moments, yeah. And I think our Doctors quite like each other. On occasion,” adds Matt “But they're sort of more evenly matched than buddy cops as well. But there's a bit of that. And also there's a great big alien plot in the middle of it.”  </div><div class="MsoNormal">“And it slips in and out of the epic, effortlessly. So you have those brief, fun enjoyable moments, when they're bickering, or working together. And then it'll go somewhere much bigger, and grander and scarier,” says David.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">To read what David and Matt had to say about David’s return, working with Billie Piper, Jenna Coleman and John Hurt, squeezable Zygons and life after Doctor Who <a href="http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who/28149/david-tennant-and-matt-smith-interview-doctor-who">visit the Den Of Geek website</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div>

David Tennant And Matt Smith On The Two Doctors: "They're Slightly Competitive"

David Tennant Doctor Who Doctor Who 50th Anniversary interview Matt Smith The Day Of The Doctor David Tennant And Matt Smith On The Two Doctors: "They're Slightly Competitive"

Earlier this year, Den Of Geek were lucky enough to be part of an interview session with David Tennant and Matt Smith on the set of Doctor W...

Twitter launches timelines feature [ BeritaTerkini ]

3:28 AM Tukiyooo 0

<cite class="byline vcard">Press Association – </cite> <div class="yom-mod yom-art-content" id="mediaarticlebody"> <div class="bd"> Social networking site Twitter is allowing users to create their own custom timelines, saying it will reshape the way people share news. Twitter project manager Brian Ellis said the new feature, which draws on Twitter’s strength of sharing real-time events, makes it easier to control how tweets are organised and delivered on the multimedia platform. “Custom timelines are an entirely new type of timeline – one that you create,” Mr Ellis posted to a Twitter blog. “You name it, and choose the Tweets you want to add to it, either by hand or programmatically. “This means that when the conversation around an event or topic takes off on Twitter, you have the opportunity to create a timeline that surfaces what you believe to be the most noteworthy, relevant Tweets.” Mr Ellis said the custom timelines would have their own webpages, meaning they are easier to share with others. They can also be embedded on individual websites, he said. The new platform has already been used to complement the live component of US reality talent show, The Voice. It is also being used by political groups and news organisations for Q&A sessions between journalists and readers on current affairs topics. “Whether you want to collect the best Tweets about a TV show or help people find the latest information about fast-moving real-time situations, custom timelines let you give everyone a place to follow along,” he said. Mr Ellis said Twitter has also introduced a new programming tool to help create custom timelines. Users can start composing the timelines in TweetDeck. The new tool comes just days after Twitter floated on the New York stock market last Thursday. After an initial price of 26 dollars (£16.33) a share, they soared by 73%, before settling to around 42 dollars (£26.37) since then. </div> </div> //

Twitter launches timelines feature [ BeritaTerkini ]

Press Association – Social networking site Twitter is allowing users to create their own custom timelines, saying it will reshape th...

Michael Rosenberg: Jabari Parker, Julius Randle or Andrew Wiggins? All three ...

3:19 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/si/dam/assets/131113024423-jabari-parker-rosenberg-single-image-cut.jpg" width="600"/> CHICAGO -- There are so many ways to sum up Jabari Parker's amazing night here. He outplayed Kansas's Andrew Wiggins, the most hyped freshman in many years. He outshined Kentucky's Julius Randle, a contender for the No. 1 pick in the next NBA draft. His Duke coach, Mike Krzyzewski, said Parker was 'sensational,' and LeBron James (presumably watching both Wiggins and Parker) tweeted 'GM's wish the draft was tomorrow,' and ... well, it was incredible on so many levels, but the best summary of Parker's night came from Parker himself. I asked him: How would you grade your performance? He said: 'C-minus.' C-minus! Parker had just scored 27 points on just 18 shots in a variety of ridiculous ways, grabbed nine rebounds, added two steals and a block, and only committed two turnovers. It was the second game of his career, in his hometown, against one of the top five teams in the country. Parker was unfazed. And if you want to understand how difficult it is to choose one guy as the No. 1 prospect in college basketball, start there, with Jabari Parker's grade for his marvelous performance: C-minus. * * * Andrew Wiggins. Julius Randle. Jabari Parker. You can't go wrong with any of them ... except that, when you pick one, you pass on the other two. And they each showed, in their own way Tuesday night, that they will be stars in the pros. Randle, the Kentucky power forward, went first. He may have had the most difficult assignment of the three freshmen, because he had to face a veteran team, Michigan State, that is probably the best in the country at muscle-on-muscle defense. He was also the only one who was being held back by his own coach. I don't think John Calipari wanted to lose the game, but he was more OK with a loss than Tom Izzo, Bill Self or Krzyzewski. I doubt Calipari will ever admit this, unless he decides to write it in his next book, or one of the four books after that. But he needs his players to understand that playing together matters. Experience, toughness, listening to your coach ... all of that matters. And he can't prove to his freshmen simply by saying it in film sessions. Before the game, Calipari said it was 'not fair' for his freshmen to play a team as experienced and great as Michigan State. This was funny, because nobody made Calipari recruit a new team every year -- he chooses to do it -- and because a few weeks ago, Calipari declared, 'We don't just play college basketball. We are college basketball.' But the man knew what he was doing. He jacked up the expectations as high as he could ('we ARE college basketball!') then warned everybody that his players they weren't ready for those expectations, and now he has a loss to prove it. This will help Kentucky this season. There will be no more undefeated talk, no more No. 1 ranking for a while. The thing is, Kentucky almost beat Michigan State anyway, for one reason: Randle. He is a beast. Michigan State's Branden Dawson, who did an admirable job on Randle at times, said afterward, 'I'm sore all around ... He's strong. I didn't really think he was that strong. He is just tough.' Randle is so strong that his high-fives frighten me. Michigan State assistant Dwayne Stephens said Randle reminds him of a more athletic Zach Randolph. Randle has an array of left-handed post moves, a juggler's hands, and great touch around the rim. You rarely see that kind of talent, and when you do, the guy who has it usually doesn't know what to do with it. Think of all the freaks at the top of drafts in the last 20 years who just turned out to be good or very good NBA players. Randle is different. 'He is relentless to score,' Dawson said. 'He demands the ball. You really don't see that too much, a freshman coming in that hungry to score. But he wants to score on every possession.' Izzo called him 'ornery and nasty,' and Randle didn't even really flash the perimeter game that wowed people when he was in high school. He needs to learn a few basketball lessons: Establish position closer to the basket, don't needlessly bring the ball down where it can get stripped, that sort of thing. He finished with eight turnovers, more than the whole Michigan State team. Still, the talent and desire are undeniable. The last classic post player to win the NBA's MVP award was Tim Duncan in 2003. In 2020 or so, Randle could be the next one. How could you pass up a guy like Randle? In one game -- in one half --- Parker showed us. He sank three-pointers. He slashed through the lane and hit an off-balance floater. Parker is not supposed to be an elite athlete, yet he went way, way up for an alley-oop. He also seems to see the game unfold before anybody else does. That kind of court vision and sense is reminiscent of the best player Krzyzewski ever coached at Duke, Grant Hill. At times, Parker scored so easily, he looked a little like Kevin Durant. His quick jab-step and ability to lift and score from everywhere looked like Paul Pierce. Yes, I know: These are some heady comparisons. What can I say? Against Kansas, Parker looked like the Frank Caliendo of basketball, doing impressions of anybody he wanted. Still, that C-minus is what stands out. Kansas beat Duke, 94-83, and it was killing Parker. He even said, 'There's no excuses not to show up for our family.' I mean, 27 points and nine rebounds against a top-five team in his second college game ... I think his family can forgive him. But that is Parker. He blamed himself for defensive lapses, and said he should have grabbed more rebounds, even though he spent a lot of offensive time on the perimeter and grabbed more defensive rebounds than anybody else in the game. You see why Izzo, who recruited him like a madman and lost him anyway, still raves about him. As teammate Quinn Cook said: 'He wants to be great. If it's a scrimmage, a practice, a free-throw competition, he wants to be great. He is a workhorse.' Parker insisted: 'I didn't play that well ... Offense is always going to be there. You're going to get shots, no matter what. You're going to get looks. The most important thing is defense. Defense wins championships.' Then, as if he was tired of all the NBA talk and the Wiggins talk and even the talk about him, he said, with a startling level of intensity: 'I want to win. Forget everything else. That's all I'm looking for is winning. That's all that matters to me.' Is that all that matters to Wiggins? He is the toughest nut to crack in the group, even though he has gotten the most hype. He was famously quiet during recruiting; he didn't even talk to the people recruiting him very much. For most of the first half against Duke, Wiggins looked like just another athletic freshman. His outside shot is still developing. He picked up two quick fouls and sat. He drifted a bit. But in the second half, Wiggins showed something we could not have anticipated, and that bodes well for the rest of his basketball career. With another freshman clearly outplaying him, Wiggins did not force shots or complain constantly to the refs. He did not get frustrated. He did not panic or make the game about him. As Kansas coach Bill Self said afterward, 'He's so mild-mannered and non-demonstrative in his actions. Things look easy to him. But he is competitive. That dude wanted ... he came to me, the whole deal: 'Let me guard Jabari. I want to guard Jabari.' ' Who does that? What kind of freshman is that oblivious to expectations that he just wants to defend? Wiggins defended Parker extremely well and finished with 22 points and eight rebounds in just 25 minutes. His facial expression never really changed until the very end, when the win was his, and he let out a big smile and hugged his teammates. We knew he was a terrific player. But he really looked like a winning player. So: No. 1 pick, who would you take? There is a long way to go. Right now, my short answer is Parker, Randle, Wiggins, in that order. My shorter answer: Any one, please. </div>

SPORTS Michael Rosenberg: Jabari Parker, Julius Randle or Andrew Wiggins? All three ...

CHICAGO -- There are so many ways to sum up Jabari Parker's amazing night here. He outplayed Kansas's Andrew Wiggins, the most hyped...