earldom micawber: November 2012

Monday, November 5, 2012

MTV to air fundraiser for devastated Jersey shore

FILE - This Oct. 24, 2012 photo shows "Jersey Shore" cast members, from left, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, Jenni "JWoww" Farley, Paul "Pauly D" Delvecchio, Deena Cortese, Vinny Guadagnino, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi at a panel entitled "Love, Loss, (Gym, Tan) and Laundry: A Farewell to the Jersey Shore" in New York. MTV, home of the "Jersey Shore" reality show, plans to air a fundraising special to help rebuild New Jersey's devastated shoreline. The one-hour program will air Nov. 15 from MTV's Times Square studio in New York City. It will feature the cast of "Jersey Shore" along with other guests. The network said Monday the program will solicit contributions for the rebuilding of Seaside Heights, the heart of the Jersey shore and the principal setting for the "Jersey Shore" series. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, file)

NEW YORK (AP) ? MTV, home of the "Jersey Shore" reality show, plans to air a fundraising special to help rebuild New Jersey's devastated shoreline.

The one-hour program will air Nov. 15 from MTV's Times Square studio in New York City. It will feature the cast of "Jersey Shore" along with other guests.

The network said Monday the program will solicit contributions for the rebuilding of Seaside Heights, the heart of the Jersey shore and the principal setting for the "Jersey Shore" series.

For this effort, MTV will be partnering with Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that provides design and construction services to communities in need.

Seaside Heights was among numerous coastal areas devastated by Sandy last week.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-11-05-TV-Jersey%20Shore%20Benefit/id-5b90dd6f21294985b8351cfb081f7cc8

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Societe Generale Reiterates Hold on Cairn Energy (CNE)

Societe Generale reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Cairn Energy (LON: CNE) in a report issued on Monday. They currently have a $4.65 (290 GBX) target price on the stock.

A number of other firms have also recently commented on CNE. Analysts at Jefferies Group reiterated a buy rating on shares of Cairn Energy in a research note to investors on Monday, October 8th. They now have a $6.21 price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Canaccord Genuity reiterated a buy rating on shares of Cairn Energy in a research note to investors on Thursday, October 4th. They now have a $6.03 price target on the stock.

Cairn Energy opened at 287.40 on Monday. Cairn Energy has a 1-year low of GBX 245.20 and a 1-year high of GBX 364.90. The company?s market cap is ?2.034 billion.

Cairn Energy PLC (Cairn) is an independent oil and gas exploration and development company. It is organized into two business units: Cairn Energy Group and Cairn India Group.

Stay ahead of the market with our daily email update that provides a summary of analysts' upgrades, downgrades and new coverage. Click here to register now.

Source: http://www.jagsreport.com/2012/11/societe-generale-reiterates-hold-on-cairn-energy-cne-2/

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PROMISES, PROMISES: Hours to go, promises to keep

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Mitt Romney has a ton of promises to keep if he becomes president, and that's on his first day alone, never mind the other 1,460 days. Barack Obama was similarly full of beans in his first presidential campaign, racking up will-do's by the hundreds, big and small.

He's more restrained now. That's typical of an incumbent who's built a record, suffered rope burns from the tug of war with Congress and seeks to be judged on leadership that the country has already seen, instead of a list that may get lost in the wind.

The election is about economic revival on both sides, and that means a lot of nuts and bolts along with competing visions of how to achieve it.

So there are promises of training programs here, a Department of Business there, tax cuts galore, a powered-up armed forces, energy initiatives at every turn and more, all improbably paired up with pledges from both men to tackle the national debt.

Almost everything they promise hinges on the makeup of Congress after the election, their skill at twisting arms in those halls and postelection judgments about whether some things are really worth the fight. Romney's promised repeal of "Obamacare" can't happen without enough like-minded lawmakers, just as Obama's promised steps on climate change didn't happen ? and that was with fellow Democrats in control.

Obama achieved the big health care law against tough odds, but an immigration overhaul eluded him and those George W. Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy that he swore he'd end are still around, for him to go after again. That's why, despite the shortage of new promises from him in this campaign, he's got plenty outstanding.

A glimpse at a dozen promises from each candidate, with some handicapping:

OBAMA:

1. Roll back Bush tax cuts for upper-income people. He compromised with the GOP and went along with renewing the expiring across-the-board tax cuts begun by his Republican predecessor, even though he wanted to revert to higher rates for couples making over $250,000 and individuals making over $200,000. Obama is still promising to raise those rates and more ? and pretty much needs to, because much of his agenda depends on getting more tax revenue from wealthier people.

2. Put government on a path to cutting deficits by $4 trillion over 10 years. A tall order, and his performance on it over the next four years would help shape his legacy for better or worse. He failed in his first-term promise to cut deficits by half, instead running trillion-dollar deficits for four straight years due largely to the recession he inherited, a halting comeback and big spending to spur the recovery.

3. Cut imports of foreign oil by half by 2020. For generations, presidents have fruitlessly held out the dream of making the U.S. self-sufficient in energy. But the boom in domestic production may at last be nudging the nation toward that goal.

4. End subsidies to the oil industry. A leftover promise that went nowhere in the last four years.

5. Prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The U.S. has imposed painful oil and financial penalties on Iran to persuade it to cease uranium enrichment activity, so far without apparent success. Obama has left open the possibility of military action if that's what it takes to stop Iranian nuclear development.

6. "Take away tax breaks for companies shipping jobs overseas" as part of a plan to invigorate domestic manufacturing. A tougher slog than it might sound. U.S. corporations don't pay U.S. taxes on overseas profits unless they bring that cash back to the United States. Obama says this encourages outsourcing. Republicans say taxing such profits would make U.S. companies move headquarters overseas, not just production.

7. "I want to make sure that we get comprehensive immigration reform that gives young people who've been raised here a chance to live out their own American dream." This failed before. Obama would try again, and counts it as the first thing he would do next year after a deficit-cutting deal. Without needing congressional action, he decided on a temporary measure in June letting up to 1.7 million young illegal immigrants stay and work for up to two years.

8. Make higher education affordable for everyone, in part by halving the growth in college tuition over 10 years. Ensure by the end of the decade that the U.S. has more people with college degrees than any other country, recruit 100,000 math and science teachers in 10 years, help 2 million workers attend community college.

9. "My plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet? because climate change is not a hoax. More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke." From his convention speech, this was a rare reference to climate change from a president who pledged strong action in a first term, then fell mostly silent about it after promised legislation to cap emissions failed. Even so, Obama has come at the issue in other ways, treating carbon dioxide as a pollutant under the law and steering billions of dollars into cleaner energy.

10. Strengthen Medicare by reducing the cost of health care. Steps already taken under the health care law improve benefits while cutting payments to hospitals and other providers by more than $700 billion over a decade ? cuts used to help working-age Americans get insurance.

11. "We can help big factories and small businesses double their exports, and if we choose this path, we can create a million new manufacturing jobs in the next four years. You can make that happen. You can choose that future." In October, manufacturers added 13,000 jobs after shedding 27,000 the previous two months ? not the makings of a renaissance. Obama has set an ambitious target, considering that manufacturing jobs have been steadily declining for nearly two decades.

12. Consolidate a "whole bunch" of federal agencies dealing with business issues into one new department led by a secretary of business.

___

ROMNEY:

1. Create 12 million jobs in four years. Romney sets a modest bar with this oft-heard pledge; economists think about that many jobs or more will be created regardless of the outcome Tuesday. To add 12 million, the workforce would have to grow by an average of 250,000 a month, a reasonable prospect when there is no recession. Since July, the economy has created an average of 173,000 jobs a month.

2. "I'm not going to raise taxes on anyone," a pledge also rendered as, "I will not raise taxes on the middle class." Romney promises not only to keep the Bush tax cuts for all but to bring down rates a further 20 percent. He'd also eliminate the capital gains tax for families making below $200,000 and cut the corporate tax to 25 percent from 35 percent. Although the promised cuts are clear enough, just how he would pay for them is a mystery. He's talked about reducing some deductions and exemptions in the tax code but won't say which.

3. Repeal Obama's health care law, his clarion call since the GOP primaries. Rolling back the massive overhaul, now that it has had more than two years to sprout roots, could be a massive undertaking of its own. Some of his promises in this area are showmanship, such as his pledge to issue waivers from the law to all 50 states on the first day of his presidency. Many states don't want out of the law, and it can't be dismantled with the mere stroke of his pen anyway. In any event, the law's repeal is one big promise he will be judged on, especially by the tea party activists who were suspicious early on about his conservative credentials.

4. Balance the budget by 2020. Vital specifics are lacking from this pledge, such as which big federal programs he'd cut and how else he would save money when also wants to cut taxes, increase military spending and restore more than $700 billion in Medicare cuts over 10 years.

5. "We will achieve North American energy independence by 2020." By that, he means the U.S. would have its energy needs completely met by its own resources and those of Canada and Mexico. As with Obama's pledge to cut oil imports by half, Romney's promise has become conceivable ? if still a steep climb ? thanks to technology and market forces that have brought vast reserves of natural gas, along with other energy sources, within reach.

6. Quickly approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, delayed by Obama because of environmental concerns, as part of the push for more energy supply.

7. Label China a currency manipulator. Central to Romney's pledge to get tougher with unfair trade practices. The move would set the stage for broad trade penalties and could lead to a trade war between the two huge economies.

8. Overhaul immigration laws. The features of Romney's plan are foggier than Obama's, but he favors a strengthened system of tracking illegal immigrants through their U.S. employers, supports completion of the U.S.-Mexico border fence and opposes any broad-based move to establish a path to citizenship except for those who served in the armed forces. He promises to achieve this overhaul before the two-year work permits granted by Obama expire, and he would honor those in the meantime. Promises those who study legally in the U.S. that "if you get an advanced degree here, we want you to stay here? so we will staple a green card to your diploma."

9. Protect Medicare for those in or near retirement, change it for future retirees. Starting in 2022, retirees could choose to buy their own health insurance, with voucher-like payments from the government, or stay with traditional Medicare. Questions persist about whether the payments would be sufficient and whether traditional Medicare would remain as comprehensive as now.

10. Turn Medicaid over to the states with block grants, a huge change to a major program. Sure to cause a donnybrook in Congress ? and an important step for conservatives who want states overall to gain more authority and flexibility from Washington.

11. Seek freer trade with Latin America and other parts of the world, a leading element of Romney's job-creation pledge.

12. Day One alone: "Start the process of repealing Obamacare" with waivers, cut off federal money for Planned Parenthood and the U.N. Population Fund, reinstate the policy banning federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information, designate China a currency manipulator, "reverse every single Obama regulation that attacks our religious liberty and threatens innocent life," take "bold action" to create jobs, and ? perhaps after lunch?? "do everything in my power to end these days of drift and disappointment."

EDITOR'S NOTE _ An occasional look at promises of the presidential candidates

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/promises-promises-hours-promises-keep-125405539--election.html

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Sunday, November 4, 2012

The auto industry bailout ? a classic case of crony capitalism (Powerlineblog)

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Space Shuttle Atlantis, NASA's Last Orbiter, Completes Journey to Museum

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ??NASA's space shuttle Atlantis has again reached its "final stop," and this time, it's for good.

On Friday (Nov 2.), the space agency's last shuttle to fly in space became the last to be delivered to a museum as Atlantis arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to begin its new life as the dramatically displayed centerpiece of a $100 million exhibit scheduled to open in July 2013.

The 9.8-mile (15.8 kilometers) trip, which began at dawn at Kennedy Space Center's 52-story tall Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and ended at dusk at the visitor complex's five-story exhibit building, signaled an end to the epilogue of NASA's 30-year space shuttle program, which came to its close last year.

"Now Atlantis will continue its life," said former astronaut Chris Ferguson, who commanded Atlantis on its 33rd and final mission in July 2011, remarking then that its landing was the orbiter's ? and the shuttle program's ? "final stop."

"Its life of exploration is complete and it will go on in what I consider to be an incredibly fitting facility," he continued, addressing shuttle program workers on Friday. "Its life of education will pick up at this point forward."

Atlantis completed its last move with NASA officials and thousands of visitor complex guests looking on. A parade of more than 30 former astronauts joined the orbiter for the final leg of the trip before it parked in front of the remaining open wall of the 90,000-square-foot exhibit building that has been under construction since January. [Gallery: Atlantis on its Final Journey]

A fireworks display above and behind the shuttle heralded Atlantis' arrival, before the orbiter rolled into its new home.

Raising Atlantis

When Atlantis' still-to-be-named facility opens its doors to the public next summer, guests will have the opportunity to see the shuttle as only astronauts like Ferguson were able to do so. The orbiter will be exhibited as it looked when in Earth orbit, having just departed the International Space Station (ISS), with its payload bay doors open and its Canadarm robotic arm deployed.

"We think visitors to [the] visitor complex will be awed and inspired by how they will see and experience Atlantis," Bill Moore, chief operating officer of the complex, said.

To achieve the appearance of flying in space, Atlantis will be raised 36 feet into the air and rotated 43.21 degrees to one side. The complex operation, which will employ steel beams and jacks from below the space shuttle rather than cranes from above, is slated to be finished by the middle of November.

Concurrently, work will also get underway to seal Atlantis inside, as crews work to erect the building's fourth wall by mid-December.

To protect Atlantis from dust and debris as its building is completed around it, it will be shrink-wrapped in plastic as part of the process of raising it off the ground. The wrap will be removed next spring, to allow the work needed to open Atlantis' two 60-foot (18 meters) payload bay doors and to install the replica robotic arm.

Atlantis' display will also include numerous related exhibits to educate visitors about the shuttle's achievements.

"Complementing Atlantis will be more than 60 interactive, immersive exhibits about the entire space shuttle program including its key role with the International Space Station and the Hubble Telescope, and how it paved the way for today's new space programs," said Moore.

Even the building's exterior has been designed to immerse visitors in the shuttle's story.

Featuring two sweeping architectural elements, or "wings" representing the shuttle's launch to and return from space, the outer layer of the building, which is being cloaked in iridescent hues of orange and gold, evokes the fiery-glow of re-entry. The taller, internal wing of the building is being covered in a shimmering tile pattern in varying gray tones designed to mimic the tiled underside of the orbiter.

At the entrance to the exhibit, guests will be greeted by a full-size, upright, replica external tank and two solid rocket boosters, expected to be installed in the coming months. On the opposite side of the tank and booster assembly, a silhouette of the orbiter will be attached to show guests its exact size and placement.

The 184-foot-tall shuttle stack will give visitors a sense of the massive size and power used to thrust the shuttle into low-Earth orbit, before they get up close to the real thing ? Atlantis.

Sneak-a-Peek

Beginning Saturday (Nov. 3) and continuing through Nov. 11, visitors to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will have a limited opportunity to "Sneak-a-Peek" and see Atlantis inside its new home before it is sealed inside.

Construction of the building will pause on weekends and weekday afternoons to enable guests to have an up-close look at Atlantis. Tour guides will escort the public through the construction zone, provide details about the orbiter's new exhibit, and allow visitors to take photos and pose in the secured area.

"We are excited to offer this rare opportunity for Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex patrons," said Moore in a statement. "We know they'll cherish seeing Atlantis in this unique setting before construction is completed and the exhibit is unveiled to the world next July."

The "Sneak-a-Peek" tour of Atlantis in its new building will be offered:

??? Nov. 3 to 4: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT

??? Nov. 5 to 9: 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. EDT

??? Nov. 10 to 11: 2 p.m. to 5.p.m. EDT

See collectSPACE.com for a gallery of more than 70 photos from space shuttle Atlantis? delivery to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

See shuttles.collectspace.com for continuing coverage of the delivery and display of NASA's retired space shuttles.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/space-shuttle-atlantis-nasas-last-orbiter-completes-journey-225515333.html

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College editorial boards stand staunchly with Obama

If an exhaustive poll of student newspapers around the country is a reliable predictor of Tuesday?s presidential election results, Mitt Romney is headed for a disaster of Mondale-esque proportions.

Over the weekend, The Daily Caller hunted down the endorsements of 25 independent, student-run newspapers at colleges and universities in 25 states. All but two of those 25 papers have endorsed Barack Obama for a second term. That?s an approval rate of 92%.

For the editorial staffs at many college papers, staying the course Obama has charted on the economy is vital.

?The Obama economic program presents a logical and responsible solution for sustaining the new-and-improved American economy,? said the staff of the University of Alabama?s Crimson and White. ?Changing our direction midstream now would not only be irresponsible, it could be catastrophic for our recovering economy.?

The staff of the University of Missouri?s Maneater similarly charges that the country cannot afford to change economic direction.

?Expecting Obama to fix the economy in four years is absurd,? The Maneater said. ?Any president would need at least eight years to climb out of the economic hole Obama?s presidency was born in.?

The Maneater also pitches higher taxes on the rich in the name of fairness as a reason to pull the lever for Obama.

The budding scribes at Yale focus much of their argument for Obama on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

?We want our gay friends to be able to marry, and we recognize that women have the right to choose,? said the Yale Daily News. ?President Obama was the first president to vocalize his support for marriage equality. He appointed judges to the Supreme Court who would uphold the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade.?

Among other things, the Daily Orange staff at Syracuse sings the praises of Obamacare.

?Young adults can stay on their parents? health care up until age 26,? The Daily Orange said. ?This directly affects and benefits college students. Having universal health care will also increase the quality of life and well-being for Americans across the country.?

Obamacare is not the same thing as universal health care, of course, but never mind such trifling details.

At the Daily Californian, Cal Berkeley?s student rag, the editorial staff admits that the economy is sickly and unemployment is too high. Staffers also note that accumulated student loan debt has surpassed $1 trillion. And they are also concerned that polluters have continued to pollute throughout Obama?s administration.

Still, the Daily Cal?s cub reporters can?t bring themselves to abandon the Democratic ticket.

?At the end of the day, Obama is the all-around better candidate,? they said. ?He?s better for education, better for the economy and better for the American people.?

TheDC searched high and low for editorial staffs at major campus newspapers or, for that matter, any campus newspapers that are bucking the conventional wisdom of their fellow college journalists, but found only two.

The renegade editorial board at Georgetown University?s weekly student newsmagazine The Voice has endorsed Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate. (The Voice is not to be confused with The Hoya, Georgetown?s oldest and largest independent student publication.)

Stein, who currently polls at less than 1% nationally according to the Pew Research Center, supports massive military spending cuts, debt forgiveness for existing student loans and a Green New Deal that would create 25 million green jobs.

She has been arrested three times in the last three months, most recently in Texas for attempting to deliver food and Halloween candy to demonstrators camping out in trees to block the expansion of the Keystone Pipeline.

A lone voice ? perhaps the lone voice ? among college newspapers in support of President Mitt Romney for president comes from The Daily Campus, the student-run paper at Southern Methodist University. The staff there hammers away at the economy and Obama?s failure to fix it.

?Deficits have been upward of $1 trillion every year he?s been in office, and show no sign of improvement in the near future,? The Daily Campus contends. ?The economy hasn?t recovered to nearly the degree it needs to, and the labor force participation rate is at a 30 year low.?

?Romney appears at his core to be a man who cares almost exclusively about the economy, and the level of focus that he?ll have on this issue alone is one of the main reasons we can support him.?

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Source: http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/04/college-editorial-boards-stand-staunchly-with-obama/

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Some First Principles ? essential for understanding money ...

When teaching about ?money? and our history of Capitalism, there are core principles that do not change over time. Realities do not change but people can choose to live with illusions as their reality if they desire. These ?illusions? work for a short time period?but then the fundamental realities emerge to squash the illusion. Today, we live with an ?illusion? of objectivity within our economic system as mathematical?numbers give us this illusion of objectivity. In reality, however, mathematical numbers are subjective phenomena and these ?numbers? can be manipulated and massaged to create deception and gimmickry. Let?s review some of the basic realities of money that do not change over time.

1. What is ?money? in reality?? This question is fundamental to understanding money and its role in the marketplace. We need to understand that ?money? is invented by man and is not some item that is universal within nature or our physical universe. Money starts out as an ?idea? of one?s mind or consciousness. This ?idea? then becomes a spoken word (i.e., money)?to designate or refer to some thing which traders desire and which is perceived as having??value?. Money (the designated item chosen)?then emerges as a proxy for the valuation of goods in the marketplace. In past missives we have covered all the different items which traders have chosen for ?money?. Items like:?sheep, camels, deerskins, beaver skins, wampum, tobacco, copper, silver, gold, etc.

2. What is the purpose of money?? The basic role for money is to serve as a ?standard of value?. The concept of a ?standard? emerged from a barter economy where goods are exchanged from trader to trader. Trade is much more viable and efficient with an acceptable ?standard? for value. Value in exchange is why we desire some acceptable measuring rod (a reference item)?that everyone can agree upon (within a given marketplace). The best ?standard? throughout history has been silver (gold was usually more desired as a metal but less desired as the ?standard? of value).

3. How did the calculation of ?value? emerge?? The logic of calculating ?value? is best done with mathematical numbers. This is why currency units emerged. Our ?dollar? is a currency unit as well as a ?name?. We can also represent the concept of a ?dollar? with a symbol and number:? $1.00. If we then define this currency unit (name, symbol, and number) in terms of some ?standard? (say units of silver), we can then ?calculate? value with logic that appears objective. Since ?silver? is an item from nature that most people perceive as having ?value? we can then define our currency unit (say dollar) as a specific number of grains of silver. This definition process gives the calculation of ?value? some objectivity as traders exchange their goods for this currency unit. Note that trading and exchange is based on an exchange of ?value? and for ?value?.

So let?s think about the above evolution of money. Money, in reality, does not exist within spacetime nor is there any universal item within nature that is ?money?. Rather, money emerges from the mind of man. The ?idea? called money is really a subjective unit of our consciousness. We then speak this word as we find some item of value that everyone desires as a substitute or standard of value. Since we desire to improve the objectivity of value calculation, we develop a currency unit. This currency unit solves the logic of calculation of value. We can now ?value? all goods within a marketplace via this currency unit (say $1.00). In time ?prices? emerge for all goods?as exchanges and trading continues?in a marketplace.

4. What happens when a currency unit is separated from some underlying item that was used as our definition of value? What happens is that our currency unit initially becomes a paper note (as our dollar did in 1934). This paper note is perceived as being mostly valueless by the marketplace. The paper note works, however, to ?price? other goods and services for a time period. And if a government forces or mandates this note as legal tender (for all goods public and private), then everyone must use it to ?price? exchanges and trades. The logic of a ?standard? of value becomes less relevant and new subjectivity is introduced into the marketplace. Prices become more volatile and unstable with fiat paper notes?which can be created in unlimited amounts.

As the paper note is later completely divorced from any physical commodity?as was done in 1971 with the closing of the gold window?prices become even more subjective and volatile. Then when the paper note is abandoned for the logic and efficiency of computer digits, prices become even more subjective and volatile (1980?s to 2012). Today, our currency units are mostly ?digits? within our computer screen. These digits are traded with high-speed computers at near the speed of light. All this trading is now done mostly in real-time?and the ?click? of a computer mouse executes the trade. This new logic and efficiency creates ?prices? for our goods and services, but it also creates extreme volatility and subjectivity within the trading process.

What we now experience within our financial markets are currency units which are created ?out of nothing? by our Central Banks and then typed into a high-speed computer for distribution to select entities. This entire operation is extremely subjective and also subject to easy manipulation by authorities and hedge funds with their HFT (high frequency trading) activities. What we now experience for ?money? are imaginary (virtual)?units emerging from the consciousness of key policymakers (such as Bernanke in the USA). Money units are now really ?units of consciousness? which then get typed into a virtual machine for distribution. Central planners then manipulate the markets to accomplish their?policy goals.

We no longer have a ?standard? of value for our currency unit (the dollar) and valuation has become totally subjective and short-term. Prices are now denominated in a currency unit which has NO stability and no substance. Our ?dollar? is now a ?mental abstraction??also called a unit of consciousness! We now have Central Bankers ?counterfeiting? these virtual units via polices called QE to further manipulate and distort all ?prices? within our global marketplace. What has emerged over the years (mostly since the closing of the gold window in 1971) is a centrally controlled currency operation which is mostly fraudulent, unconstitutional, and subjective. This operation produces mal-investments, distortions in value and prices, and extreme volatility and instability within all markets. Eventually, this operation will lead to a complete collapse of the entire global financial system.

What we now need to recognize is that there is NO Solution to our current non-system and the excessive DEBT which has been accumulated. The system is totally bankrupt and dysfunctional as a viable trading operation. The historical system of free trade and decentralized markets (Classical Capitalism)?has been replaced with a CENTRAL planning operation that can do nothing more than manipulate, rig, and distort the trading markets. We now need a NEW SYSTEM for our growing global economy of some 7 billion people. The transition to this NEW SYSTEM will be difficult and will take time?as a collapse of our existing system is required. Those who are aware of all these factors, however, can provide a positive framework of education during this transition. Education of the masses is what is now needed. Pass the word on! I AM: http://kingdomecon.wordpress.com.

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Source: http://kingdomecon.wordpress.com/2012/11/03/some-first-principles-essential-for-understanding-money/

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George Smith Joins S-F Rental Experiment | Commercial Property ...

November 2, 2012

By Anna Spiewak, News Editor

The concept of pooled single-family rental housing has been slow to catch on in the months since the government launched its official program for distressed assets, yet real estate companies and financiers are increasingly finding ways to get involved with the housing. In September, George Smith Partners announced it had arranged financing for several pools purchased by an entity known as 29th Street Capital in the Sacramento area. The properties that are being acquired were foreclosed on and then purchased through trustee sale auctions.

?We see this market as one that will likely grow for the next few years, and it will be interesting to see if this becomes a greater trend, where you have?neighborhoods built with single-family homes all managed professionally,? said Malcolm Davies, senior vice president at George Smith Partners, a national real estate investment banking firm based in Los Angeles.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency launched its REO to Rental program in February, with an initial focus on real-estate owned property in the hardest-hit metropolitan areas. In April, the Federal Reserve issued a policy statement offering guidance for banks interested in renting foreclosed-on properties, further extending the possibilities.
In one recent deal, private distressed real estate buyer The Cogsville Group L.L.C. snapped up 94 single-family homes in the Chicago area that were part of Fannie Mae?s pilot sale out of the FHFA REO initiative.

So far, single-family rental properties are offering returns that are 200 to 500 basis points higher than those on traditional apartments, generating a more generous investment yield, according to Davies. And with demand for rentals growing as people favor them over owning their own properties in the continued volatile economy, demand seems likely to grow. According to the National Multi Housing Council, 34 percent of U.S. households are renter occupied.
The biggest challenge for owners of what George Smith is terming ?horizontal apartments? is the management and maintenance, especially since they are likely to be spread out across disparate locations. Residents of these properties usually demand large square footage, yards and neighborhoods that are different from the usual apartment living environment, noted Davies, and the property pools require a very sophisticated strategy involving anywhere from 30 to 100 people managing hundreds of thousands of homes.

The concept can also be a nightmare for lenders because of the number of individual properties under one blanket loan. Many, if not most, are uncomfortable with the concept for two reasons: Placing security interests (deeds of trust, titles) on each home purchased in a portfolio of hundreds could present a logistical hardship for the lender. And applying securities individually would disqualify many of the properties in the pool, because several of these properties would not traditionally meet the lender?s requirements on their own.

?Purchasing single-family residences to rent in very large pools like this is a relatively new concept in the real estate world, and often a foreign concept to lenders,? Davies observed.

George Smith Partners decided to take on the challenge as a third party, helping arrange $10 million in financing on behalf of owner/operator 29th Street Capital. ?We met this need by creating the terms of the loan agreement organically, working from the ground up to construct a loan that was comfortable for all parties involved,? explained Davies.

The company created an individualized loan tailored to the specific needs of the client. Then it educated and negotiated extensively with lenders, which helped successfully secure financing for the properties on behalf of its client. The loan was divvied up into three periods: an accumulation period; a fixed-rate, interest-only period; and a floating-rate, fully amortizing loan period. According to Davies, the three periods give the client greater flexibility in achieving its debt-service coverage ratio as the properties are stabilized.

The client first purchases these single-family properties as a pool, Davies explained, then transfers them into a long-term holding pool upon stabilization. (By transferring the property over to the holding pool, the client frees capital to acquire more properties in the acquisitions pool.) Each lender then secures its interests in the properties through a blanket deed of trust, which allows the individual assets to remain free of any liens.
In the end, though, management remains the biggest complication. ?The key to this industry are the groups that have mobilized the execution of a solid management team to accomplish the unique nature of this marketplace,? Davies concluded.

Source: http://www.cpexecutive.com/in-print/george-smith-joins-s-f-rental-experiment/

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Saturday, November 3, 2012

Taylor Lautner Recalls Robert Pattinson 'Copping A Feel' In 'Eclipse'

'Twilight' stars reminisce over the series' most iconic moments during 'MTV First: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2.'
By Amy Wilkinson, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner during "MTV First: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2"
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1696626/breaking-dawn-robert-pattinson-taylor-lautner-memories-mtv-first.jhtml

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Thought this was a good article on many step family issues... http ...

THE DYNAMICS OF STEP
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BY JEANNETTE LOFAS
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1. THE STEPFAMILY CANNOT AND WILL NOT FUNCTION AS DOES AN INTACT FAMILY:
It has its own special set of dynamics and behaviors.? Once learned, these behaviors can become predictable and positive.? The tendency of many is to overlay the expectations and dynamics of the intact, or natural family onto the stepfamily.? Others simply deny there is a problem.
We are mother and fathers who want to love and nurture our children.? Often, we put these children before ourselves. ?In a biologically connected family the children are an extension of their parents.? Parents naturally want to devote time, energy, and money to their children.? Conversely, the stepparent may not want the children to exist at all.

Very often, the fairy tales are true.? Without wanting to, we can become wicked stepchildren, cruel stepmothers, and critical or withdrawn stepfathers.? Most people in step relationships travel along an unpredictable and uncharted course.?
***? The Stepfamily Foundation serves to provide workable models and new maps of the territory of step.
?
2. REJECTION OF NON-SELF TISSUE:
The stepfamily initially might be considered analogous, psychologically to what physically occurs in organ transplants.? In medical terms, the greatest cause of failure in transplants is ?immunilogical rejection of non-self tissue.?? The body responds protectively and rejects foreign tissue.? This natural protective mechanism may result in pathology and the failure of the transplant.? Medically, measures are taken to combat this occurrence.? Psychologically, the danger of similar pathology exists in the merged family situation.? However, often the problem is unrecognized and the remedies are unavailable or unsought.
?
3. ?CONFLICTING PULLS OF SEXUAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENERGIES:
In the intact family, the couple come together and have a child.? The child is part of
BOTH parents and generally both parents pull together for the well-being of the child.? Most tend to dote over any and all of the child?s accomplishments.? In step, blood and sexual ties can polarize the relationship in the opposite directions and energies.? The natural parent is often torn between child and spouse.? Additionally, the biological parent is denied the cohesive rewards and joys of caring for the child given by the now absent biological parent (often divorced).? Furthermore, stepparents don?t dote and often feel jealous and resentful of the natural parent?s devotion and doting.?

The sexual partner traditionally expects to come first in the spouse?s life.? This is automatic in the first marriage.? In the second marriage, despite the fact that we know the partner comes with children, we still expect to feel like the most important person in our spouse?s life.? The children, in turn, in fact have often come first when their parent was single.? They can feel that the new step person is not entitled to the same degree of attention.? Not only are they accustomed to this attention, but also, they may feel the parent?s new partner is unjustly usurping their parent?s time, energy, and money.
?
4.? THE CONFLICT OF LOYALTIES:
This issue must be recognized as particular to step.? Every person in step is affected.? The child, just as he begins to have caring feelings toward a stepparent will often negatively act out.? It goes something like this, ?If I love you, I don?t love my real parent.?? The child often feels the need to bring up ?Mommy? in Daddy?s house and ?Daddy? in Mommy?s house.? That same conflict of loyalties also exists for the adults? my child call me ? my spouse calls me, who do I answer first?? The mother wonders is her young son should eat alone while she and her new husband have a romantic dinner.? The father feels guilty on visitation when his child wants to be alone with him and not with his new wife.? The emotional and time demands of step can be conflicting and overwhelming.? In the intact family, the conflicts seldom reach these ?no-win? levels of confusion.
***? In step, we lose if we do not recognize, prioritize, and organize these multiply conflicts of loyalties.
?
5.???THE MYTH OF INSTANT LOVE:
?If you love me, you will love my child.?? ?If I love you, I will love your child.?? So many who remarry are burdened with the myth of instant love.? Often in the courtship, the children behave well and adoringly.? Things can change drastically after marriage.? Sometimes the more you try to love the stepchildren, the more they act out or pull away.? Love can and does happen, but expecting the myth of instant love could have the very opposite effect in step.
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6.???THE HOPE OF BECOMING ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY:
This too is a myth.? When it does not occur, the couple blames each other and each other?s children.? We so hope to be like the television series, ?The Brady Bunch.?? In twenty four minutes, the Brady Bunch solves all of the children?s problems and the couple is not affected by any of the dynamics of step.? Many children will watch ?The Brady Bunch? hoping their family will interact as they do.? It is unrealistic and can be destructive to expect a ?Brady Bunch? situation.? We cannot blend the Smiths and Jones into one BIG HAPPY FAMILY.
?
7.?? BLAMING OF OTHERS AND SELF INSTEAD OF THE STEP SITUATION:
Hundreds of times, we have seen people blame themselves, their spouses, and the children for behaviors that are endemic to step.? The dynamics of step are often nameless negatives.? We need to look to the situation of step and its particular and classic way of functioning before we blame any of those involved.
?
8.??THE CHILDREN ARE PULLING THIS RELATIONSHIP APART:
The major presenting problem for those we counsel at the Stepfamily Foundation sounds something like this, ?We love each other but our reactions to one another?s children are endangering our relationship.?? This dynamic is seldom experienced in the biologically connected or intact family.? It is a primary cause for the extraordinarily high failure rate in step relationships.? The exact percentages may vary.? However, one major study designates that failure rate to be 67%.? Other studies indicate failure rates as high as 75% for steps who are either married, living together, or seriously dating.? Without a doubt step relationships are one of the most endangered forms of relationships, impacting not only adults but also millions of children.
?
9.???THE PRIOR SPOUSE:
Somehow the prior spouse often turns into a black character in the step situation.? The tarnished and often bitter former wife herself becomes a dynamic in step.? She is the mother of the children and often felt by those who live in step not to be a very good mother and a negative element in the new partnership.? Within the new step family, the absent father may also suffer from bad press.? Some of the issues revolve around bad mouthing, visitation, controlling through the children, and of course, money.? Common complaints about the father center around lack of financial support and interest.? However, for the prior spouse who is involved, his compliant is frequently that he pays the bills and gets none of the benefits.? In addition, he may bemoan the capital losses he suffered by the divorce itself.
***? Ideally, it is important for former spouses to heal their hurts, reconcile their differences, and agree to disagree on issues that they cannot resolve.? For the sake of the children, they must learn to deal with each other in a respectful manner.? Their communications should only concern the children?s well-being, not their relationship.? The dynamic inherent in step is that former spouses rarely achieve this.?
?
10.? THERE ARE NO EX-PARENTS? ONLY EX-SPOUSES:
We can never become an ex-parent.? When we divorce we must be aware of something we label as the ?separation triangle.?? We no longer relate as husband and wife;? however, we continue to relate as mother and father, discussing ideas and events and making decisions that are important to guiding and parenting our children.
**** In this culture, it became fashionable in the 1960?s to ?do your own thing.?? In the 1970?s it was believed that divorce was freeing, fulfilling, and fun.? In the 1980?s we are seeing chaotic care taking, spiraling materialism, and heavy doses of narcissism.? We take note of studies which indicate a lack of interest in children and parenting.? And, paradoxically observe a resurgence of motherhood and marriage.? This, despite the fact that the predicted divorce rate will be two out of three and the indication of the severe impact divorce has on the children involved.
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11.? THERE IS NO REPLACING THE BIOLOGICAL PARENT:
We cannot reconstitute the family.? There are no replacement mothers or fathers.? Mother and father are hallowed words.? They are also psychologically ?holy? places.? Most stepmothers and stepfathers wonder at a child?s ability to almost worship the biological parent no matter what that parent has, or has not, done.? It is instinctive and natural.?
?
12.? UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS BEGET REJECTIONS AND RESENTMENTS:
One of the most common fallacies of those who live in step is unrealistic expectations.? Whether it be the child expecting the new stepparent to be awful or wonderful;? the stepfather stating, ?Now I?m the father around this house and we can start running things properly,?? the stepmother feeling that caring and working hard will cure everything or that she can be uninvolved with his kids with impunity, etc..? Realistically or unrealistically, everyone mysteriously feels short- changed.? The good news in step is that you get more people, the bad news is that you get less of the ones you like and more of the one?s you dislike.
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13.? SUPERSTEPPARENTING DOES NOT WORK:
We see this most with the stepmother.? She comes into the situation with caring- trying to please.? Superwoman would be hard pressed to compete with this gal- she works, she?s a homemaker, and a stepmother as well.? The super stepfather can come on too fast and too soon.? He is often concerned with issues of discipline.? He wants to teach the children what he feels they have missed.? Both stepmother and stepfather can endeavor to buy the child?s affection with gifts and events.? Biological parents are not exempt from this practice.?
?
14.? JOB DESCRIPTIONS:
Most couples in step do not establish clear job descriptions neither for themselves nor for the children involved.? This lack of step management can result in upsetting consequences.? Most who live in step are not clear with each other regarding the contributions and responsibilities that they expect.? Often the notion of the contributions and responsibilities are based upon that of the intact family.? Even more often, expectations are undelineated.?
***? Some of the work we do at the Stepfamily Foundation is defining exactly what the job descriptions are for each member of the household and each child whether visiting or permanent.? For example, how living spaces are kept, how meals and cleanup are handled.? Household etiquette should be defined, e.g. in this house we say ?hello,?? ?goodbye,?? ?please,? and ?thank you,?? etc..? It is the role of the male and female head of the household to draw up job descriptions, agree, and then to present them in a positive way with room for feedback for children.
?
15.? DISCIPLINE:
Discipline is one of the most important issues in step.? Discipline does not just mean punishment.? Discipline is also guidance and direction.? All of us were raised with different styles of discipline.? In an intact family, the couple has had time to decide on the modes and methods of discipline.? In step, we must quickly and consciously decide and define how we will order our households.? Discipline and structure equal caring and love.?
?
16.? VISITATION:
Visitation is something that is generally upsetting to everyone in a nuclear and extended stepfamily.? Each time the child goes between homes, the feelings related to the trauma and upset of the divorce can reoccur.? The grownups involved often do not recognize that the difficulties and uncertainties of visitation can negatively impact all.?
***? Visitation is best when clearly defined, planned, and anticipated both coming and going.?
?
17.? FEAR OF LOSS OF TERRITORY AND POSITION:
Step is borne of loss.? Step comes into being out of death, the death of the intact family and a failed marriage.? Each person in the nuclear and extended stepfamily may have suffered a loss of position and territory.? Many who live in step feel that their position is constantly threatened.? Just as you have found your seat in the stepfamily someone else is sitting in it.? Wanting to come first and vying for position reverberates throughout step? be it that of a wife, husband, Daddy?s girl, Mommy?s boy, first born, or baby.? The urgency to establish position and turf pulls heavily.? The single parent who focused only on the children must now divide her time between the children and her new partner.? ?Whose questions do I answer first??? ?Who would be attended to first in a lifeboat situation??? The intact family did not prepare us for this.? Each asks the question, where do I fit in?? Where do I rank?
***? As adults we must establish this order or we will create a problem which we label as ?Position Hunger.??
?
18.? INTRUSION AND FEELING LIKE AN OUTSIDER:
In step, everyone feels like an outsider.? The insiders become outsiders and the outsiders become insiders.? Everyone can feel intruded upon.? The man works all week and wants to be alone with his wife.? Her children are there and his children will be visiting.? She feels as though she has no relationship with her husband when his kids come over.? Sometimes she may even resent her own children.? The children see the new spouse as an intruder and outsider and taking away from the relationship with their parent.
?
19.? GUILT:
In general, the absent biological father suffers the greatest degree of guilt.? He may feel that he never sees his child enough to make a difference.? He failed at the marriage.? His payments are never enough.? His child is being raised by a woman he no longer can influence nor cares for.? HE frequently feels he only gets the bills and not the blessings.? He feels the mother, his former spouse, may be poisoning the child against him.? He suffers under the dreaded fear of losing his children.? The truth is that a great percentage of absent biological parents actually do, for all intents and purposes, lose their relationship with their children.? His fear have substance.? In addition, his present wife blames him for being controlled by the former wife.? She complains that he turns into a wimp every time his ?ex? calls.?

The woman can feel guilty about giving her attentions to the new man in her life and away from her children.? Now, a new form of guilty female abounds in the land.? She works- she is successful, she has little time to have easy, loving, unstructured, caring, female time with her children.? She never does enough at her job, for her children, or for her man.
?
20.? MONEY:
Money equals love in this culture.? Money equals who you are and who you are not.? We all too often relate our worth to the allocation of money.? No matter how much money there is in the step situation, it repeatedly becomes an issue.? Financially, many second wives believe they have become second best.? She wonders why he must give the children money, in excess of the agreement? they haven?t had a vacation in years.? The first wife and the children may also think they are not getting enough.? He may feel he is not only supporting his children, but his wife?s children as well.? Everyone wants more and thinks that they deserve more.? She works hard and part of her money supplants the money he doesn?t have to put into their relationship due to alimony and child support payments.? She pays for his kids and then feels like the maid (which they cannot afford) when his kids visit.? The children perceive that Mom does not have enough money and that Dad and his new wife have more.? The children can be resentful that Dad?s new family is taking away money that is rightfully theirs.? Wills and insurance policies can become major weapons of war in step.? Everyone can be wronged.? Monetarily, adults may no t know what is the ?right thing? in a step situation.? Due to this complexity and confusion, money matters often end up being handled through avoidance or lack of disclosure.? Generally, should the relationship break up, the law does not compensate stepparents for what could be years of service.? It seems as though no matter what you do vis a vis? money in step, somebody gets hurt.
***? As difficult as it may be, it is important for step couples, prior to marriage, to carefully discuss and plan financial obligations and allocations.? Prenuptial agreements are in order.? In fact, we advocate the delineation of a postnuptial agreement concerning disbursements of time, energy, and money.?
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21.? OVERINDULGENCE? THE NEED TO PLAY CATCH UP BY THE ABSENT BIOLOGICAL PARENT:
The complaint of many women in step is that he overindulges his children on visitation.? The issue here is a difficult one for many women to understand.? The custodial mother has the notion that her children will always be close.? She seldom thinks of losing them.? Somehow her biological bonding allows her little understanding of the fears of the absent male biological parent.? His children, on a daily basis, are being raised by someone, of whom he may no longer approve.? He often feels the need to ?play catch up? regarding love, influence, education, etc..? Should he discipline them?? Reprimand them?? Even see their negative behaviors???? If he does, he unconsciously may fear that they won?t want to come back.? He is also concerned that his prior spouse will prompt the children and embellish any negativity- past, present, or future.?

We are now seeing more and more women giving up custody or sharing custody with their husbands.? All of the above fears, overindulgences, and compensating behaviors now hold true for these women as well as men.? Absent biological parents can and do lose touch with their children.? Their concerns are well founded.? When custody is shared, children are now offered the opportunity to play both parents against each other, further heightening the tendency to overindulge.? The overindulged child can later have difficulties in a society which expects duties, contributions, and responsibilities.? There are those who say that the whole crisis concerning the productive worker relates directly to the lack of parenting, loving discipline, and structure in the home.? The increasing divorce rate, coupled with guilt about working compounds the overindulgence factor with children.

Overindulgence is not just a mistake made by absent biological parents.? Today we see numerous single parents who are working hard and do not see their children often enough.? Many tend to fall short of on the basics of disciplining.? Beds do not have to be made, clothes do not have to be hung up.? The children do not have to help with the meals but watch television instead while Mother does all the work.
?
22.? STRESS AND STEP:
We live in a stressful world.? The resources to cope which were available in the 1950?s and the 1960?s are gone.? An extended family, household help, the wife at home, even an affordable home, for many families are no longer possible.? The new stresses currently placed on individuals are enormous:? Male/female issues, high divorce rate, decline of buying power and the ever increasing demands of the work place- difficult in the intact family- are compounded in step.? Many men must support two families- help their new wives with the household and additionally act as mother and father to their own children on weekends.

Financially and domestically, the woman must carry her workload.? Studies show that women still perform a far greater percentage of the housework.? Children are impacted by the unrecognized stresses of visitation.? They are further stressed by the lack of structure and the uncertain expectations of adults.? Many children feel as though they are ?Citizens of Nowhere.?? For much of the time no one is home for them.? Television is their constant companion.? In addition, children are often asked to assume the responsibility of becoming the parent?s confidante regarding issues of money, dating, and personal problems.? We often unthinkingly load up the child with the negatives of our lives.? What a child needs most is a sense of security, belonging, and positivity.? The child of today does not have enough caring human resources upon which he or she can rely.
?
23.? SEX AND STEP:
Again and again spouses complain that, ?when the children are here? our sex life isn?t.?? Many adults become nervous and concerned when their children visit.? There can be a tendency to focus their attentions on the children and withdraw their interest from their sexual partner.? For the woman upset can occur when she perceives that he has been unfair to her children.? This may cause her to pull away from him sexually.? Sexuality can be a problem for the single parent.? Long term relationships may be accepted by children.? However, when long term relationships break up, the children once again suffer a loss.? Casual encounters, the arrivals and departures of a variety of sexual partners may be detrimental to children, according to a number of studies.

The child?s sexual development can become confused in step situations.? The Oedipal desires, i.e. the son wanting to have a Mommy all to himself and the daughter wanting all of Daddy?s attentions can take place in a divorce and become further conflicted in step situations.? The boy may become Mommy?s little man.? The girl may become Daddy?s little girl.? When a stepparent is involved even the normal adolescent plying up to Daddy or protecting Mommy can become a cause for major upset in step.
The family incest taboo must be addressed in step- not only between parent and child but also between step siblings as well.
?
24.? THE RELUCTANT STEPPARENT PERSON:
We are seeing a growing number of people both males and females who no longer ?wish to be involved.?? This has increased over the last decade.? The causes are numerous.? People have become involved in step and failed, draining their energies, emotions, and taxing their career.? More women are working and devoting their time to the market place as opposed to the parent place.? Should the relationship end in divorce, the adults involved are frequently reluctant to commit to any relationship involving children.? We are seeing a greater number of people abstaining from serious involvements, having casual relationships, and sometimes no relationships at all.

We are also seeing a growing number of women who have never parented, who have been or are involved in relationships where there are children, deciding never to have a baby because of their negative experience of step. The ultimate stepparent is an ex-stepmother or an ex-stepfather. So often they are dissolved from their prior stepchildren's lives after years of involvement and caring.
?
25.? THE POSITIVE DYNAMICS:
The above dynamics are generally negative and classic to step.? They must be seen and dealt with.? Not to be forgotten are the many ?good news? stories in step.? The well functioning stepfamily provides the child with many more people resources.? The children are exposed to a variety of lifestyles, points of view, and experiences.? Adults gain the love, admiration, and respect of another child.? History is filled with great men and women who have had stepmothers and stepfathers who became powerful and positive influences upon them.

Source: http://www.steptalk.org/node/86315

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Video: Romney Supporters Respond to Climate Change by Yelling "USA! USA! USA!" (Little green footballs)

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| Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/260248689?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Childhood Obesity Help From Innovative CompaniesYour Health ...

From Forbes?..

A new study from Sweden shows overweight and obese children under 10 were much more likely to slow their weight gain than were adolescents getting similar behavioral treatments. I wondered if there were any small companies creating apps or toys or games to help kids slow weight gain. I found a bunch.

One of the best one-stop-shops for apps is found at The Apps for Healthy Kids competition, which is part of First Lady Michelle Obama?s Let?s Move! campaign to end childhood obesity within a generation. My favorite winner is one called PapayaHead, a meal planning tool.

Ingredient is a new magazine for kids curious about food.

Get Kids Moving is a set of exercise cards to teachers and children. In addition to some simple products, they provide a wide range of resources to help you cook healthy and exercise more.

My absolute favorite is WOD Toys, shown in the fun video above, which offers kid-based exercise equipment including kettle bells and other gear.

Movable is a wrist-worn activity band to monitor exercise, but it includes an app that lets you set challenges for your family or group.

Growums believes that if you can get your child involved in growing the food, the vegetables and fruits, he or she will be more likely to eat them. I love the idea and while the concept didn?t work with my child (I didn?t know about Growums back then), I have heard it works with many kids.

All of these companies are relatively new and small businesses focused on solving the obesity epidemic facing the USA and the world. If you know of more, share them in the comments.

To read the full story?..Click here

Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/?p=6111

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Hello World: Power and Communications is Back On in My Area of ...

Hello World: Power and Communications is Back On in My Area of the Lehigh Valley?PA

Crimson King Plum Tree in my front yard blown completely down by Hurricane Sandy. The roots are snapped off and this one cannot be reliably saved. I will chain saw it up over the weekend and feed it into my wood chipper for use as mulch.

Tree in my back yard that was blown partly over but the roots were not snapped. I was able to winch it back up and hopefully it will be OK. I had two other trees that I had to pull/winch back to a plumb position due to the heavy rain, saturated and soggy soil, and high winds.

# # # #

Also, read more about Obama?s ID crimes and his constitutional ineligibility here:? http://www.scribd.com/protectourliberty/collections/

When will we return to the rule of law and enforce our identity theft protection laws and U.S. Constitution in regards to the Identity-Fraud-in-Chief residing in the White House?

CDR Charles Kerchner (Ret)
Lehigh Valley PA USA
http://cdrkerchner.wordpress.com/
http://www.protectourliberty.org/
http://www.scribd.com/protectourliberty/collections/

?The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the veil of indifference to their necessity to continually be ?on watch? and at times to stand up and protect our U.S. Constitution from usurpation by progressive/marxist/radical politicians operating in relative secrecy protected by an enabling press and major media ? thinking and saying it?s the job of someone else ? and living their lives in general apathy about what the national government is up to, they will allow the adoption of every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation without knowing how it happened.? CDR Kerchner (Ret)?s alert and paraphrasing earlier warnings about the socialist/progressives? long-term stealth agenda to transform the USA from a constitutional republic into a top-down, central controlled, fascist-socialist form of government.

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Source: http://cdrkerchner.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/hello-world-power-is-back-on-in-my-area-of-the-lehigh-valley-pa/

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Source: http://merozone.com/articles/2012/11/top-spam-appliance/

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Friday, November 2, 2012

Wall Street jumps on strong consumer and jobs data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 scored its best day in seven weeks on Thursday as bullish consumer confidence and private-sector jobs data gave investors reason to cheer following superstorm Sandy's devastating sweep through the U.S. Northeast.

Technology and materials sector shares led the advance in a day of mostly average volume. About 6.7 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and NYSE MKT, compared with the average daily closing volume of 6.5 billion for the year to date. The S&P 500 technology index <.gspt> rose 1.8 percent, while the PHLX semiconductor index <.sox> surged 3.3 percent. The S&P materials index <.gspm> shot up 2 percent.

Volume had been expected to jump after Sandy forced a historic two-day weather-related market closure earlier in the week but traders said participation remained light to normal.

Data from payrolls processor ADP showed U.S. companies added 158,000 workers in October - the fastest pace in eight months. In another encouraging sign, U.S. consumer confidence jumped in October to its highest in more than four years, the Conference Board said.

The numbers showed a slightly more positive picture of the U.S. economy a day ahead of Friday's nonfarm payrolls report, the most widely watched U.S. economic indicator.

"In all, it bodes well for the bull side, and finally gave some investors a catalyst to buy," said Alan Lancz, president of Alan B. Lancz & Associates, an investment advisory firm in Toledo, Ohio.

"Tomorrow will be more of a trump card and can take it all away."

Employers are expected to have added 125,000 jobs to payrolls in October, up from 114,000 in September, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The unemployment rate is forecast to have inched up to 7.9 percent after a dramatic drop of 0.3 percentage point in September.

Pfizer Inc , which delayed the release of its quarterly results because of the storm, posted revenue that fell far short of expectations, pushing its stock down 1.3 percent to $24.55.

Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp , which like Pfizer is a Dow component, gained 0.5 percent to $91.60 after the world's largest publicly traded oil company reported a quarterly profit that slipped from a year ago, although it still topped expectations. Exxon's oil and gas output, however, declined more than expected.

Northeast residents and workers were still recovering from the aftermath of Sandy, which killed scores of people in North America and the Caribbean, and wreaked havoc up and down the U.S. eastern seaboard.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 136.16 points, or 1.04 percent, to 13,232.62 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> shot up 15.43 points, or 1.09 percent, to finish at 1,427.59. This was the S&P 500's biggest daily percentage gain since September 13, when the Federal Reserve unveiled its plan for a third round of stimulus or quantitative easing, also known as "QE3."

The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> jumped 42.83 points, or 1.44 percent, to close at 3,020.06.

After the bell, shares of Starbucks rose 6.2 percent to $49.50 after it reported a higher quarterly profit and raised its full-year forecast. The stock closed the day at $46.62.

During the regular session, official and private-sector factory surveys in China that showed the world's second-biggest economy regaining some traction added to support for stocks.

Shares of JDA Software Group , a maker of supply-chain management software, soared 17.3 percent to $44.76 after the company agreed to be bought by privately held rival RedPrairie Corp for about $1.9 billion in cash.

Advancers outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of slightly more than 3 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about two stocks rose for every one that fell.

(Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wall-street-ends-flat-tech-shares-dip-sandy-042840406--finance.html

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'Pure mayhem' as New York City tries to get back to work

NBC's Kerry Sanders reports from Yonkers, N.Y,, where an aerial view of the New York City region shows a traffic nightmare as officials set up checkpoints to make sure every vehicle has at least three passengers before they are allowed into the city.

By Miguel Llanos, NBC News

The promise of limited restoration of transit services lured hundreds of thousands back into the nation's largest city Thursday, but the commute was nightmarish even by New York City's standards: Seemingly endless lines at bus stops, backups at the city's bridges and tunnels stretched for miles, and many people simply gave up after an hour or two of frustration.

Seth Wenig / AP

Commuters wait in a line in Brooklyn, N.Y., to board buses into Manhattan on Thursday.

The scene was "pure mayhem," Lanisha Harris, who was trying to get to work in Manhattan from?Canarsie, Brooklyn, told NBCNewYork.com?in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

The order?that all vehicles entering Manhattan must have at least three occupants appeared to cut down on traffic in the city, but enforcement of the directive caused problems elsewhere.?

At the approach to the Lincoln Tunnel, traffic from New Jersey was restricted to a single lane and cars with fewer than three people were being diverted, causing a backup that jammed the state's northern highways.

"Safety is our paramount concern, not convenience," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday in defending his order.

In downtown Brooklyn,?"easily a thousand people, possibly more" were in line at the Barclay's Center Thursday morning waiting for public buses, NBC 4 New York reporter Kai Simonsen said from his helicopter viewpoint.

That led some people to try to hitchhike their way into Manhattan, with drivers eager to pick them up to make the three-person-per-car quota.

"Some folks offered me a ride,"?said Melanie Bower, 30, who lives in Fort Greene. "I was touched by their kindness at first. But then I realized they just needed me so they could have three in their car.??

Bower walked into Manhattan instead, and then caught a bus uptown.

Related:?Photoblog of the commuter chaos

Wednesday evening's commute out of the city was bad as well,?leading Gov. Andrew Cuomo to declare that?subway, bus and commuter rail services would be free Thursday and Friday.?

TODAY's Natalie Morales reports from Hoboken, N.J., where chilling new images capture communities utterly destroyed; meanwhile, thousands still remain trapped in the region without water, power or heat.

After suffering the worst disaster in its 108-year-old history, subway services resumed at 6 a.m. ET Thursday on more than a dozen lines, supplemented by three bus shuttles.

?There will be no subway service between 34th St. in Midtown and Downtown Brooklyn,? the MTA website said.?

Across the city, the scene remained chaotic:

LaGuardia Airport was re-opening but several hundred flights at the region's airports?were canceled Thursday.
Taxis started pulling vehicles off the road as the fuel crunch deepened, with the vast majority of storm-hit gas stations in the greater New York area now out of gasoline or power. Open stations have lines with several hundred cars as well as individuals toting jugs to refuel generators.
Liberty and Ellis islands sustained serious damage, a source at the National Park Service?told NBCNewYork.com.?"The infrastructure is shot," the source said, adding that the docks and grounds were in "bad shape." While the Statue of Liberty and the museum at its base were OK, the source said, it would likely be "quite a while" before the islands reopen.
Downtown Manhattan was still mostly an urban landscape of shuttered bodegas and boarded-up restaurants, where people roamed in search of food, power and a hot shower.
The Staten Island Railway service was still suspended due to ?extensive damage? there.

In Jersey City, across the Hudson River from New York, drivers negotiated intersections without the aid of traffic lights. Lines formed outside pharmacies, while people piled sodden mattresses and furniture on sidewalks. The city has issued a curfew on people as well as a driving ban from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Power was still out to 4.5 million homes and businesses in 14 states -- and 3.2 million of those were in New Jersey and New York.

Five massive U.S. military C-5s and 12 C-17s were flying 61 electrical repair vehicles from California to New York on Thursday to help stressed line crews.

The remnants of?Sandy, meanwhile, dissipated over Canada.?But the storm system, which killed at least 63 people in the U.S., could still dump yet more snow in the Appalachians.

?The last of its effects are winding down along the Appalachian Mountains,? the National Weather Service said, adding that several more inches of snow were possible in some areas of West Virginia and Maryland. ?The cleanup can begin.?

In the wake of the superstorm, people are banding together across New York City and New Jersey, offering power, food and even Halloween fun to their neighbors who have been devastated by wind and floods. NBC's Jenna Bush Hager reports.

Sandy by the numbers

On New York's Long Island, bulldozers scooped sand off streets and tow trucks hauled away destroyed cars, while residents tried to find a way to their homes to restart their lives.

Joanne and Richard Kalb used a rowboat to reach their home in Mastic Beach, filled with 3 feet of water. Her husband, exasperated by the futility of their effort, posted a sign on a telephone pole, asking drivers to slow down: "Slow please no wake."?

In New Jersey, President Barack Obama joined Republican Gov. Chris Christie ?on Wednesday to tour the ravaged coast and promised to get the cleanup moving.

"We are here for you," Obama said in Brigantine, N.J. "We are not going to tolerate red tape. We are not going to tolerate bureaucracy."

The president resumed campaigning Thursday after a three-day hiatus due to the storm.

Most of Sandy's flood waters on New York City's streets have receded, but much of the water beneath the streets remains trapped. TODAY's Savannah Guthrie met with Roger Less of the Army Corps of Engineers to talk about the task of drying out the underground.

Full coverage of Sandy from NBC News

Signs of the good life that had defined wealthy shorefront enclaves like Bayhead and Mantoloking lay scattered and broken: $3,000 barbecue grills buried beneath the sand and hot tubs cracked and filled with seawater, the Associated Press reported.

Nearly all the homes were seriously damaged, and many had entirely disappeared.

"This," said Harry Typaldos, who owns the Grenville Inn in Mantoloking, "I just can't comprehend."

Most of New Jersey's mass transit systems remained shut down, leaving hundreds of thousands of commuters braving clogged highways and quarter-mile lines at gas stations.

Superstorm Sandy made landfall Monday evening on a destructive and deadly path across the Northeast.

Atlantic City's casinos remained closed.

Christie postponed Halloween until Monday, saying trick-or-treating wasn't safe in towns with flooded and darkened streets, fallen trees and downed power lines.

Farther north in Hoboken, just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, nearly 20,000 residents remained stranded in their homes, amid accusations that officials have been slow to deliver food and water.

One man blew up an air mattress and floated to City Hall, demanding to know why supplies hadn't gotten out, the Associated Press reported.

At least one-fourth of the city's residents are flooded and 90 percent are without power.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/01/14854036-pure-mayhem-as-new-york-city-tries-to-get-back-to-work?lite

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