Deal reached for stopping spike in milk prices

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The top leaders in both parties on the House and Senate Agriculture committees have agreed to a one-year extension of the 2008 farm bill that expired in October, a move that could head off a possible doubling of milk prices next month.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., indicated the House could vote on the bill soon, though House leaders have not yet agreed to put the bill on the floor. In addition to the one-year extension that has the backing of the committees, the House GOP is also considering two other extension bills: a one-month extension and an even smaller bill that would merely extend dairy policy that expires Jan. 1.

Expiration of those dairy programs could mean higher prices at the grocery store within a few weeks. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Americans face the prospect of paying $7 for a gallon of milk if the current dairy program lapsed and the government returned to a 1948 formula for calculating milk price supports.

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday that Republican leaders had not decided how they would proceed on the farm extension, though a vote could come as soon as Monday. Boehner has pushed back on passage of a new five-year farm bill for months, saying there were not enough votes to bring it to the House floor after the House Agriculture Committee approved it in July. The Senate passed its version of a farm bill in June.

The prospect of higher milk prices has motivated some action. The bipartisan extension also includes disaster assistance to farmers affected by a lingering drought this year, along with extensions to other farm programs that expired in October.

Instead of just extending current dairy policy, the extension bill includes an overhaul of dairy programs that was included in both the Senate and House committee bills. The new dairy programs include a new, voluntary insurance program for dairy producers. Those who choose that new program also would have to participate in a market stabilization program that could dictate production cuts when oversupply drives down prices ? an idea that hasn't gone over well with Boehner.

In July, he called the current dairy program "Soviet-style" and said the new program would make it even worse. Large food companies that process and use dairy products have backed Boehner, saying the program could limit milk supplies and increase their costs.

Stabenow blamed Boehner for getting to the point where an extension is the only option. "The lack of action by the House Republican leadership has put us in a situation where we risk serious damage to our economy unless we pass a temporary extension," she said.

One of the reasons Boehner has balked at bringing up a farm bill is disagreement within his caucus over how much money should be cut from food stamps, which make up roughly 80 percent of the half-trillion-dollar bill's cost over five years. House Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., has unsuccessfully pushed his leadership for months to move on the legislation despite the disagreement over food aid.

On Sunday, Lucas said he hoped the extension would pass both chambers quickly as GOP leadership mulled their options.

"It is not perfect ? no compromise ever is ? but it is my sincere hope that it will pass the House and Senate and be signed by the president by Jan. 1," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/deal-reached-stopping-spike-milk-prices-195347513.html

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China court orders Apple to pay in rights dispute

A Chinese court has ordered Apple to pay 1.03 million yuan (US$165,000) to eight Chinese writers and two companies who say unlicensed copies of their work were distributed through Apple's online store.

The Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court ruled Thursday that Apple violated the writers' copyrights by allowing applications containing their work to be distributed through its App Store, according to an official who answered the phone at the court and said he was the judge in the case. He refused to give his name, as is common among Chinese officials.

The award was less than the 12 million yuan ($1.9 million) sought by the authors. The case grouped together eight lawsuits filed by them and their publishers.

An Apple spokeswoman, Carolyn Wu, said the company's managers "take copyright infringement complaints very seriously". She declined to say whether the company would appeal.

Unlicensed copying of books, music, software and other products is widespread in China despite repeated government promises to stamp out violations.

Apple's agreement with application developers requires them to confirm they have obtained rights to material distributed through the company's App Store.

"We're always updating our service to better assist content owners in protecting their rights," Wu said.

The Chinese writers said they saw applications containing unlicensed versions of their books last year.

In November, a court ordered Apple to pay 520,000 yuan ($84,000) to the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House for copyright infringement in a separate case. Apple is appealing, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

In the latest case, the Beijing court awarded 605,000 yuan ($97,500) to one company and 21,500 yuan ($3,450) to the second, according to the court official.

The biggest individual judgment went to writer Han Ailian, who was awarded 186,000 yuan ($30,000).

AP

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/co/HCaY/~3/T174dn-wR3M/Default.aspx

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Electrical Construction Association Validates Fiscal Cliff Fears ...

The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) recently surveyed its members to assess how the ?fiscal cliff? will affect the electrical construction industry. The results of the survey clearly indicate that NECA members are being negatively affected by the fiscal cliff and that they are preparing for the worst, should the 2001 and 2003 tax breaks expire on January 1, 2013.

The survey netted nearly 400 responses, and all were in unanimity about their concerns over the effect the fiscal cliff. The looming threat of more taxes and less investment continues to hamper growth for electrical contractors nationwide. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents said that their company is organized as an S-Corporation ? ?flow-through? businesses whereby their business income flows through to the shareholder or owner, who then pays taxes on that income at the individual tax rates. Owing to this tax classification of their business, proposals to raise taxes on upper-income Americans will affect most NECA members nationwide. The survey results also confirmed that 80 percent of NECA contractors are small businesses.

According to survey responses, if a deal is not reached to avert the fiscal cliff:

?67% will reduce their workforce
?67% will postpone hiring
?73% will postpone or cancel purchasing new equipment
When asked to compare their business from 2011 to 2012:
?42% of respondents reported that their company had seen an increase in business in 2012 when compared to 2011.
?39% reported having less work in 2012.
?65% do not expect business to increase in 2013 due to increasing tax burden, uncertainty in the tax code, and sluggish demand for construction.

?The results are clear. This survey reaffirms what we have heard from business owners all year long ? that until real solutions are finalized by Congress and the President, they are going to hold back on everything, from expenses to hiring,? explained Marco Giamberardino, NECA executive director, government affairs.

?Construction was disproportionately hurt during the recession, and contractors have struggled to make up more ground than other industries in the recovery,? Giamberardino said. ?Contractors can be prolific job creators and economic investors when potentially devastating tax increases are on the horizon.?

Concerning the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, NECA members rated their top tax issues for their companies:

?41% support changes in individual tax rates
?28% demand a permanent reduction in the estate tax rate
?22% called for changes in other investments affecting capital gains and dividend tax rates
?14% advocated for Energy Efficiency Incentives

During the recession, NECA contractors began to grow their business model beyond the typical electrical construction work. As the industry continues to evolve, more contractors are leading the charge into new energy-efficiency markets and streamlined their operations with services like pre-fabrication, which ultimately benefits their customers.

?There is new demand for energy solutions that electrical contractors can provide, especially with high energy costs,? Giamberardino said. Many credit their company?s survival during the recession with the ability to expand their scope of work in these growth areas.

The survey also gave NECA contractors the opportunity to voice their recommendation on how to address the fiscal cliff:

?47% think the time for entitlement reform is now.
?43% believe reducing and prioritizing spending is the best solution.
Additional responses included the following:
?Permanently extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts;
?Increasing federal investment in infrastructure;
?Having both political parties work together to create a bipartisan solution;
?Reviewing and reprioritizing federal spending based on actual needs; and
?Preventing increases in taxes for small businesses so they can afford to hire more employees and help the economy grow.

Businesses continue to yearn for a sense of certainty and permanency from Congress or they will not be able to keep up with the always changing, costly administrative burden. The average annual cost for NECA contractors to comply with yearly changes to the tax code is $51,991. The costs range from $500 to $1 million, depending on the size of the firm. ?Our members believe the work is there ? but they are limited from pursuing it until they know where their company stands in terms of the tax code,? Giamberardino said.

NECA has repeatedly urged Members of Congress and President Obama to work together to avoid the fiscal cliff and resolve the complex fiscal policy questions hurting electrical contractors. More about NECA?s positions on the estate tax, energy efficiency, and the association?s wide portfolio of issues can be viewed online.

For more information, visit www.necanet.org.

• Electrical Construction Association Validates Fiscal Cliff Fears; Survey Results Included

Source: http://www.electricalnews.com/electrical-construction-association-validates-fiscal-cliff-fears-survey-results-included/

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Misbah-ul-Haq showing faith on Younis Khan ? Cricket News ...

Misbah-ul-Haq showing faith on Younis Khan ? Cricket News Update

Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has immense faith in the abilities of Younis Khan and is confident that the seasoned campaigner will deliver the goods in the on-going One Day International (ODI) series against India.

After a poor series in Sri Lanka earlier this year, where the cricketer from Mardan managed merely 10 runs in three innings, Younis was dropped from the ODI squad for the series against Australia in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The former Pakistan captain however, has been recalled to the squad for the series against the Men in Blue, as the Green Shirts visit the neighbouring country for a bilateral series after five years.

Misbah is of the opinion that there is enormous pressure in the Indo-Pak matches and Younis has the capability of holding his nerves and performing well against the arch-rival. Apart from his batting skills, the Pakistan captain feels that the 35-year-old cricketer?s presence in the dressing room will help the relatively inexperienced players.

?India-Pakistan are high pressure games and Younis Khan is someone who has done well against India over the years. He knows exactly what the demands are when you?re playing against India in India,? said the Pakistan captian. ?The younger players can benefit from his experience and guidance. Not only is his contribution crucial with the bat, but also when it comes to giving advice to the youngsters.??

Younis has so far represented his country in 245 ODIs, having scored almost seven thousand runs with the help of six centuries and 47 fifties. The top-order batsman will have to do well consistently in the series against India in order to justify his selection after a run of poor performances in the limited-over sport.

While speaking about the resumption of Indo-Pak cricketing ties, the cricketer from Mianwali said that the neighbouring nations should regularly play against each other. Misbah also claimed that the matches between the traditional rivals are more sought-after than the Ashes.

?These two countries should play against each other regularly. Everyone knows that India-Pakistan is always a big series, the followers of this series are more than those of the Ashes,? Misbah mentioned.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Misbah-ul-Haq-showing-faith-on-Younis-Khan-Cricket-News-Update-a211964

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Members of a local church are doing their best to provide for kids after a car a...

Members of a local church are doing their best to provide for kids after a car accident killed their mother and grandmother. They believe it's the best way to remember a woman who loved her three children.

Police said a drunken driver hit an SUV on Wednesday with Jennifer Hunt, her mother Marie Crook, and Hunt's two young daughters inside. Crook and Hunt died. The children are expected to be OK.

Read the full story: http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/church-members-help-kids-after-mother-killed-car-a/nThSQ/

Source: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=460846620618700&set=a.116581068378592.7728.114787771891255&type=1

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can't open on iPad or iPhone

Not sure if it's related or not - but seems to be the same.

That being said, here's an update now that worship is over:? The other staff member's ipad ended up having the same behavior as mine.? We tried both our wifi network and over 3G.? So, I proceeded to use my backup plan by reading the sermon notes from the Pages app.? At 11:00, right as worship started, I decided to check my iPad one more time.? It loaded, and I was able to use it as intended.? Later I talked to the staff member, who said that his started working right around that time too.? So, it worked out this time.

Source: http://community.logos.com/forums/thread/446464.aspx

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Russian FM says Assad won't go

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and U.N. envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi meet in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and U.N. envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi meet in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and U.N. envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi shake hands during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, welcomes U.N. envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and U.N. envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi talk during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, and U.N. envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi meet in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

MOSCOW (AP) ? Russia's foreign minister said Saturday that Syrian President Bashar Assad has no intention of stepping down and it would be impossible to try to persuade him otherwise.

After a meeting with Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.'s envoy for the Syrian crisis, Lavrov also said that the Syrian opposition risks sacrificing many more lives if it continues to insist on Assad leaving office as a precondition for holding talks on Syria's future.

Assad "has repeatedly said publicly and privately, including in his meeting with Lakhdar Brahimi in Damascus not long ago, that he does not intend to leave for anywhere, that he will stay to the end in his post, that he will, as he expressed it, defend the Syrian people, Syrian sovereignty and so forth," Lavrov said. "There's no possibility to change this position."

Brahimi warned that the country's civil war could plunge the entire region into chaos by sending hundreds of thousands of refugees into neighboring nations, but his talks in Moscow produced no sign of progress toward settling the crisis.

Brahimi and Lavrov both said after their meeting that the 21-month-old Syrian conflict can only be settled through talks, while admitting that the parties in the conflict have shown no desire for compromise. Neither official hinted at a possible solution that would persuade the Syrian government and the opposition to agree to a ceasefire and sit down for talks about a political transition.

Brahimi, who arrived in Moscow on a one-day trip following his talks in Damascus with Assad this week, voiced concern about the escalation of the conflict, which he said is becoming "more and more sectarian."

The envoy warned that "if you have a panic in Damascus and if you have 1 million people leaving Damascus in a panic, they can go to only two places ? Lebanon and Jordan," and those countries may not be able to endure half a million refugees each.

Brahimi said that "if the only alternative is really hell or a political process, then we have got all of us to work ceaselessly for a political process."

Russia has been the main supporter of Assad's regime since the uprising began in March 2011, using its veto at the U.N. Security Council along with China to shield its last Mideast ally from international sanctions.

Lavrov said Russia would continue to oppose any U.N. resolution that would call for international sanctions against Assad and open the way for a foreign intervention in Syria. And while he again emphasized that Russia "isn't holding onto Bashar Assad," he added that Moscow continues to believe the opposition demand for his resignation as a precondition for peace talks is "counterproductive."

"The price for that precondition will be the loss of more Syrian lives," Lavrov said.

Both Brahimi and Lavrov insisted that efforts to end the civil war must be based on a peace plan that was approved at an international conference in Geneva in June.

The Geneva plan calls for an open-ended cease-fire, a transitional government to run the country until elections, and the drafting of a new constitution. But it was a non-starter with the opposition because of Russia's insistence that the plan leave the door open for Assad being part of the transition process and the fact that it didn't mention possible U.N. sanctions.

Brahimi said that while some "little adjustments" could be made to the original plan, "it's a valued basis for reasonable political process."

With the opposition offensive gaining momentum in Syria, there is little hope that the initiative would have any more chance of success than it had when it was approved.

Lavrov has said that Moscow is ready to talk to the main Syrian opposition group, even though it had earlier criticized the United States and other Western nations for recognizing the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

On Friday, coalition leader Mouaz al-Khatib rejected the Russian invitation for talks and urged Moscow to support the opposition's call for Assad's ouster. Lavrov said Saturday that al-Khatib's statement was surprising after his earlier contacts with Russian diplomats in Egypt during which the opposition tentatively agreed on a meeting in a third country.

Lavrov said the coalition leader should "realize it would be in his own interests to hear our analysis directly from us."

Lavrov rejected the opposition claim that Russia's continuing weapons supplies to Assad's regime make it responsible for mass killings in Syria, saying that Moscow bears no responsibility for the Soviet-era weapons in Syrian arsenals. He said that defensive weapons such as anti-aircraft missiles that Russia has continued to supply to Damascus couldn't be used in the civil war.

"We aren't providing the Syrian regime with any offensive weapons or weapons that could be used in a civil war," Lavrov said. "And we have no leverage over what the regime has got since the Soviet times."

Georgy Mirsky, a leading Mideast expert with the Institute for World Economy and International Relations, a top foreign policy think tank, said President Vladimir Putin's stand on Syria is rooted in fear that joining international calls for Assad's resignation would make him look weak at home.

"It would look like an inadmissible concession to America, a virtual surrender. The Kremlin would lose its face, look like a loser," said Mirsky.

He wrote in his blog that Putin is resigned to Assad's eventual collapse and the loss of any Russian influence in a future Syria, but firmly opposes international sanctions. That stand allows Putin to tell his domestic audience that Russia has defended its ally until the end against overwhelming odds, said Mirsky.

__

Jim Heintz contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-29-Russia-Syria/id-f589ab2d0e81416fb27cc4d7b41c48b1

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Video: What's the 'Cliff' Fix?

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50315646/

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France repeals 75% tax on high income ? RT

AFP Photo / Patrick Kovarik

France's Constitutional Council has annulled a 75% tax rate on income above 1mn euros due to be introduced in 2013, which has already forced a number of wealthy residents to leave the country.

?Significant tax hikes including those on capital gains and on income above 1mn euros were a center piece of President Francois Hollande?s budget plan to cut the country?s 33bln euro budget shortfall next year. With tax increases Hollande?s Government expected to bring in up to ?20bn extra. The government's 2013 budget was approved by parliament in September.

Facing harsh criticism from the French business community over the tax rises, the Government said it was considering easing the tax burden on small business earlier this year.

Last year 16 executives and wealthy investors signed a petition calling for a higher tax on the rich in a symbolic gesture to help the French economy, but they didn?t expect the tax rate could be as high as 75%. Many of them, including L?Oreal CEO Jean-Paul Agon criticized the rise.

The 75% rate for high earners was seen as largely symbolic since it would have only applied to some 1,500 people for a temporary period of two years.

Meanwhile, many of the wealthiest French have left the country to avoid tax. London, Brussels, and Luxemburg have become a popular destination among the French rich, including famous actor Gerard Depardieu. Depardieu announced his plans to renounce his French citizenship and to move to Belgium. It was also announced that Depardieu is due to sell his historic Paris mansion. Reports say the property is listed at $65 million.

Bernard Arnault, the boss of luxury goods group LVMH which includes Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton confirmed earlier in 2012 he had applied for Belgian citizenship.

The Belgian Foreign Minister said Brussels welcomed anyone planning to move to Belgium in an attempt to escape higher French taxes.
?If other French people want to come to Belgium, I'm not at all opposed,? Didier Reynders said in an interview with Le Figaro.

He emphasized that France shouldn't be blaming Belgium if some residents are leaving the country due to tax planning. ??It is totally fallacious to believe that we Belgians would do everything to attract the French. No! It turns out that for years, France has freely chosen a tax system that carries consequences and led the French to leave the country,? he added.

London saw the demand from wealthy French for luxury real estate soar as many top executives moved to the UK. Bruno Ladri?re, a managing director at Paris-based private equity firm Axa Private Equity, and Bertrand Meunier, a managing director at CVC Capital Partners both relocated to London this year.

Source: http://rt.com/business/news/france-rich-tax-repeal-060/

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China requires real names for internet and phone sign-ups, handovers for illegal posts

It's no secret that China keeps a tight lid on internet freedoms, and it's not about to lighten up today. The government has passed regulations requiring that locals use their real names whenever they sign up for internet- and phone-based services; while those were already common practices, there's now the real threat of punishment behind them. Anyone who clears those hurdles also has to be more mindful of what they write. If a page or post is deemed "illegal information," service hosts now have to delete its public presence, archive it and pass the content along to authorities. The state unsurprisingly argues that those who already stay on the sunny side of the law have nothing to fear from the new measures (where have we heard that before?), but the reassurances won't be much help to privacy advocates or those challenging corruption.

Filed under: Internet

Comments

Source: Bloomberg, Reuters

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/28/china-clears-rules-requiring-real-names-for-internet-sign-ups/

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Embodied Cognition: Our Inner Imaginings of the World Around Us Make Us Who We Are [Excerpt]

From LOUDER THAN WORDS: The New Science of How the Mind Makes Meaning by Benjamin K. Bergen. Image: Available from Basic Books, a member of The Perseus Books Group. Copyright ? 2012

Editor's note: This excerpt of a chapter from Louder Than Words: The New Science of How the Mind Makes Meaning by Benjamin K. Bergen (Basic Books, 2012)? relates that our brain?s capacity to both perceive a pig and then imagine what the animal is like, even one that flies, points to an essential cognitive skill that makes humans different from all other species.

Excerpted from Louder Than Words: The New Science of How the Mind Makes Meaning?by Benjamin K. Bergen. Available from Basic Books, a member of The Perseus Books Group.? Copyright ? 2012.

Starting as early as the 1970s, some cognitive psychologists, philosophers, and linguists began to wonder whether meaning wasn?t something totally different from a language of thought [Call it Mentalese, whichtranslates words into actual concepts: a polar bear or speed limit, for instance]. They suggested that?instead of abstract symbols?meaning might really be something much more closely intertwined with our real experiences in the world, with the bodies that we have. As a self-conscious movement started to take form, it took on a name, embodiment, which started to stand for the idea that meaning might be something that isn?t distilled away from our bodily experiences but is instead tightly bound by them. For you, the word dog might have a deep and rich meaning that involves the ways you physically interact with dogs?how they look and smell and feel. But the meaning of polar bear will be totally different, because you likely don?t have those same experiences of direct interaction.

??? If meaning is based on our experiences in our particular bodies in the particular situations we?ve dragged them through, then meaning could be quite personal. This in turn would make it variable across people and across cultures. As embodiment developed into a truly interdisciplinary enterprise, it found footholds by the end of the twentieth century in linguistics, especially in the work of U.C. Berkeley linguist George Lakoff and others; in philosophy, especially in work by University of Oregon philosopher Mark Johnson, among others; and in cognitive psychology, where U.C. Berkeley psychologist Eleanor Rosch?s early work led the way.

???? The embodiment idea was appealing. But at the same time, it was missing something. Specifically, a mechanism. Mentalese is a specific claim about the machinery people might use for meaning. Embodiment was more of an idea, a principle. It might have been right in a general sense, but it was hard to tell because it didn?t necessarily translate into specific claims about exactly how meaning works in real people in real time. So it idled, and it didn?t supplant the language of thought hypothesis [Mentalese] as the leading idea in the cognitive science of meaning.

???? And then someone had an idea.
???? It?s not clear who had it first, but in the mid-1990s at least three groups converged upon the same thought. One was a cognitive psychologist, Larry Barsalou, and his students at Emory University, in Georgia. The second was a group of neuroscientists in Parma, Italy. And the third was a group of cognitive scientists at the International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley, where I happened to be working as a graduate student. ?There was clearly something in the water, a zeitgeist. The idea was the embodied simulation hypothesis, a proposal that would make the idea of embodiment concrete enough to compete with Mentalese. Put simply:

• Maybe we understand language by simulating in our minds what it would be like to experience the things that the language describes.

???? Let?s unpack this idea a little bit?what it means to simulate something in your mind. We actually simulate all the time. You do it when you imagine your parents? faces, or fixate in your mind?s eye on that misplayed poker hand. You?re simulating when you imagine sounds in your head without any sound waves hitting your ears, whether it?s the bass line of the White Stripes? Seven Nation Army or the sound of screeching tires. And you can probably conjure up simulations of what strawberries taste like when covered with whipped cream or what fresh lavender smells like. You can also simulate actions. Think about the direction you turn the doorknob of your front door. You probably visually simulate what your hand would look like, but if you?re like most people, you do more than this. You are able to virtually feel what it?s like to move your hand in the appropriate way?to grasp the handle (with enough force to cause the friction required for it to move with your hand) and rotate your hand (clockwise, perhaps?) at the wrist. Or if you?re a skier, you can imagine not only what it looks like to go down a run, but also what it feels like to shift your weight back and forth as you link turns.

???? Now, in all these examples, you?re consciously and intentionally conjuring up simulations. That?s called mental imagery. The idea of simulation is something that goes much deeper. Simulation is an iceberg. By consciously reflecting, as you just have been doing, you can see the tip?the intentional, conscious imagery. But many of the same brain processes are engaged, invisibly and unbeknownst to you, beneath the surface during much of your waking and sleeping life.? Simulation is the creation of mental experiences of perception and action in the absence of their external manifestation. That is, it?s having the experience of seeing without the sights actually being there or having the experience of performing an action without actually moving.

???? When we?re consciously aware of them, these simulation experiences feel qualitatively like actual perception; colors appear as they appear when directly perceived, and actions feel like they feel when we perform them. The theory proposes that embodied simulation makes use of the same parts of the brain that are dedicated to directly interacting with the world. When we simulate seeing, we use the parts of the brain that allow us to see the world; when we simulate performing actions, the parts of the brain that direct physical action light up. The idea is that simulation creates echoes in our brains of previous experiences, attenuated resonances of brain patterns that were active during previous perceptual and motor experiences. We use our brains to simulate percepts and actions without actually perceiving or acting.

??? Outside of the study of language, people use simulation when they perform lots of different tasks, from remembering facts to listing properties of objects to choreographing a dance. These behaviors make use of embodied simulation for good reason. It?s easier to remember where we left our keys when we imagine the last place we saw them. It?s easier to determine what side of the car the gas tank is on by imagining filling it up. It?s easier to create a new series of movements by first imagining performing them ourselves. Using embodied simulation for rehearsal even helps people improve at repetitive tasks, like shooting free throws and bowling strikes. People are simulating constantly.

??? In this context, the embodied simulation hypothesis doesn?t seem like too much of a leap. It hypothesizes that language is like these other cognitive functions in that it, too, depends on embodied simulation. While we listen to or read sentences, we simulate seeing the scenes and performing the actions that are described. We do so using our motor and perceptual systems, and possibly other brain systems, like those dedicated to emotion. For example, consider what you might have simulated when you read the following sentence... :

• When hunting on land, the polar bear will often stalk its prey almost like a cat would, scooting along its belly to get right up close, and then pounce, claws first, jaws agape.

???To understand what this means, according to the embodied simulation hypothesis, you actually activate the vision system in your brain to create a virtual visual experience of what a hunting polar bear would look like. You could use your auditory system to virtually hear what it would be like for a polar bear to slide along ice and snow. And you might even use your brain?s motor system, which controls action, to simulate what it would feel like to scoot, pounce, extend your arms, and drop your jaw. The idea is that you make meaning by creating experiences for yourself that?if you?re successful?reflect the experiences that the speaker, or in this case the writer, intended to describe. Meaning, according to the embodied simulation hypothesis, isn?t just abstract mental symbols; it?s a creative process, in which people construct virtual experiences?embodied simulations?in their mind?s eye.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=18ad24f45b774dd1f7add1ac31a25990

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How To Improve Your Success In Internet Marketing To Make Money

How to make money online.

It?s really not much of a secret that not everyone out there who starts up a business on the web is going to be successful, but one fact you can bank on is that there is enough opportunity for everyone to be successful. And with some great tips like the ones below, there is no reason that you cannot achieve success.

A very simple tip to remember for Web marketing is to set goals. You should have some idea what your website intends to accomplish and how you plan to go about accomplishing it. You should also devise a system to keep track of the goals you have created and track your accomplishments for future reference.

Make Money

One of the best ways in order to make money marketing your products on the internet is by holding $1 specials for potential customers. People will be encouraged to buy your products for a dollar and may buy other products as well. You can sell a certain e-book for $1 but have an ad next to it that sells another e-book for $20.

Online marketing is the absolute best way to make money and the best way to do that is with popular, established search engines. Simply because of popularity and because they store every search and pop up ads based on demographics, it is the easiest to use and most efficient way of sending ads.

Make Money Online

?Increase traffic? is the one high commandment of internet promotion, but maybe it shouldn?t be. Traffic is good, and more traffic is better, but never forget that satisfying customers is how you actually make money online. Do what you can to increase your website?s traffic without losing sight of the customers that actually pay for your bottom line.

When setting prices for the products you are selling, be sure to keep customer demographics in mind. For example, if you are selling guides for college students to make money online while they are in school, selling those guides for $100 would be foolish, since many college students don?t have that kind of money to burn.

How To Make Money

To network and improve the visibility of your brand, go to real-world web marketing events. There are several such events every year, such as PubCon, where internet marketers can interact with their virtual colleagues and share ideas on how to make money. If you?re lucky, you can even find a business partner.

Two similar businesses on the same street may cause one to fail, but two million similar businesses online and there?s still room for two million more to compete. It?s all about who markets the best to their particular niche. There is literally room for everyone. And that?s why it?s important to use what you?ve learned above. The competition will run you over if you?re not applying these tips.

Tagged as: how to make money, make money, make money on the internet, make money online, making money

Make money

Make money online,how to make money online,making money online,earn money online,make money on the internet.

Source: http://www.makemoneyonlineweblog.com/how-to-improve-your-success-in-internet-marketing-to-make-money.html

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Toshiba preps 20MP, backside-lit sensor for point-and-shoot cameras

When smartphones are encroaching on compact cameras' turf, how does a company try to stay relevant making sensors for those cameras? By upping the resolution, of course. Toshiba has given a peek at the TCM5115CL, a 1/2.3-inch, backside-illuminated CMOS sensor that hits 20 megapixels -- a big jump from the 16-megapixel sensors in many point-and-shoots and some smartphones. To combat the noise and sensitivity problems that usually come with a denser design, the electronics giant is using pixels that can absorb 15 percent more of a charge, and therefore more light. Toshiba has primed the sensor for high-speed shooting and video as well, with the potential for 1080p video at 60FPS and 30FPS burst shooting at full resolution, provided the processor can keep up. We're not bracing ourselves for an imminent renaissance among dedicated cameras, however. Mass production doesn't start until August, which suggests we're unlikely to have 20-megapixel shooters in our pockets during summer vacation.

Continue reading Toshiba preps 20MP, backside-lit sensor for point-and-shoot cameras

Filed under: Cameras

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Via: Gizmodo

Source: Toshiba

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/26/toshiba-preps-20mp-backside-lit-sensor-for-point-and-shoots/

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Column: Set your DVR for Pro Bowl. Now. Seriously

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell warned players a while back that he was prepared to drop the Pro Bowl if they didn't pick up the level of play. Next thing you know, he'll be threatening to hold his breath.

Instead of calling his bluff, which is what anyone who doesn't get the consolation prize of a week's vacation in Hawaii should have done, they promised to try harder. At the time, it sounded like one of those things kids say just to get their parents off their backs. That seemed even more true this week, when cellar-dwelling Kansas City somehow managed to get five players selected to the AFC squad. That's three more than the number of wins the Chiefs have posted so far this season ? when they were supposed to be trying ? which raises the question: Will anyone who tunes into the Pro Bowl on Jan. 27 be able to tell the difference?

That's the problem facing every pro sport that stages an all-star game these days: It's tough to tell whether anyone's heart is in it anymore. Most veterans would rather take the days off than whatever cash or exposure it provides, and nearly all of them can afford it. More than two dozen passed on an opportunity to show up for last year's 59-41, do-no-harm win by the AFC over the NFC. By the end of that one, defenders were waving ballcarriers by with the kind of flourishes usually reserved for bullfights. Even a solid company man like Goodell had to admit it was an embarrassment.

"If we cannot accomplish that kind of standard," the commissioner said during a radio interview in October, referring to the league's high-intensity regular season, "I am inclined to not play it. It is really tough to force competition, and after a long season, to ask those guys to go out and play at the same level they played is really tough."

Impossible, though, is more like it.

Because the Super Bowl is played at a neutral site, Goodell can't follow the lead of baseball boss Bud Selig and try to coax players into caring about the outcome by awarding home-field advantage to the winning side. There's nothing to be borrowed from the NBA's version, either, because basketball ? unlike football ? can be entertaining without anyone actually playing defense, as fans of the Charlotte Bobcats can attest. And there's no reason to even mention the NHL in this context, because nothing that Commissioner Gary Bettman has come up with during his tenure is likely to be worth stealing.

So what should Goodell do?

Exactly what he's doing now: Pretend to be concerned, and leave it at that.

Despite a few head-scratching decisions this year ? sticking too long with replacement referees; trying to punish the New Orleans Saints more than Bountygate warranted ? Goodell hasn't lost his touch. He's not about to cancel the Pro Bowl. The one lesson that's been reinforced time and again since he took the job five years ago is that there's no such thing as too much NFL ? on the tube, online and even when most of the players are on vacation.

Nearly five million people tuned into the league's scouting combine at some point this spring to watch players who hadn't even made the cut lift weights and run around in shorts and T-shirts. And last year's Pro Bowl game, bad as it was, still pulled in better numbers than any of its rivals ? an average of 12.5 million viewers, even if most of them were asleep by the end.

So Goodell knew exactly what he was doing when he suggested the NFL might skip the game and instead honor the players selected to the Pro Bowls rosters during a ceremony. All-Star games are popularity contests after all, and the NFL's participants are chosen according to a vote among the league's players, coaches and fans, with each group given equal weight in the process.

But if you've followed the arguments about who was left out, you'll find very little griping between the first two groups ? with the possible exception of players who promised the family a week in Hawaii. Instead, it's coming from the same fans who will doze off during the game, but can't for the moment imagine how the Cowboys' Dez Bryant didn't get picked, or how overrated but still popular Green Bay center Jeff Saturday got the nod over linemate Josh Sitton, or why all those Chiefs are hanging around.

So consider this your wake-up call, fans, even if it came a month early.

___

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and follow him at Twitter.com/JimLitke

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/column-set-dvr-pro-bowl-now-seriously-233851716--nfl.html

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Building Your Dream Home in Mexico ? Permits and Early Steps Part 1

By: AndyWelbourne
27Dec

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In chess, it is said that in the ?opening game,? i.e. the first moves, a player either gives himself a good set up which will give them an advantage for the remainder of the game, or they will make blunders that may not be immediately obvious, but will create difficulties later in the game that are difficult to overcome.? The construction process for?building a home in Mexico is in a way similar (except that there is no personal opponent trying to foil the property owner!)

Once a budget, a design and approximate finish date have been established, the first important step is to make a detailed plan and timeline, which outlines which contractors are needed for which steps, and what each one has to accomplish.? If the owner has chosen to work with a professional coordinator, they will draw such a plan and discuss it with the owner

?

One is that a design needs to be found that is not only visually appealing, but also suits the needs of the property owners, and is suitable for the?Mexico land for sale which is being considered or has already been bought and area in question.

?

At this point, there are some crucial items which will need to be addressed at the beginning, including:

• usage zoning (this should be investigated before buying the lot!)
• building permit
• environmental studies and permits ? especially if the property is directly on the beachfront in markets like Playa del Carmen real estate, or where there is a good deal of designated ecological areas, such as Cozumel real estate or Tulum real estate
• terrain types
• when the property owner?s funds will be available (if there are limits or X number of dollars every month, etc.)

?Tomorrow we will take a closer look at the permits.

Andy Welbourne, from London, Ontario, has been living in Playa del Carmen and working as a part of the team with Thomas Lloyd for 7 years. He has worked with many Canadians and Americans to assist in finding their dream home in the Mexican Caribbean; many of these clients have turned into great friendships. Contact Andy at (512) 879-6546.

The TOP Mexico Real Estate Network; ?Mexico?s Leading Network of Specialists for Finding and Purchasing Mexican Properties Safely!?

Tagged as: Building your home in Mexico, Mexico Land for sale, Mexico Permits, Playa del Carmen Real Estate, Tulum Real Estate

Source: http://www.topmexicorealestate.com/blog/2012/12/27/building-your-dream-home-in-mexico-permits-and-early-steps-part-1/

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Tigers roar back: Great news for big cats in key areas

Dec. 26, 2012 ? The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has announced significant progress for tigers in three key landscapes across the big cat's range due to better law enforcement, protection of additional habitat, and strong government partnerships.

The successes are much-needed good news as tiger numbers worldwide continue to hover at all-time lows due to the combined threat of poaching, loss of prey, and habitat destruction. WCS estimates that only 3,200 tigers exist in the wild.

The news begins in southwestern India where WCS research and conservation efforts that began 25 years ago now show a major rebound of tigers in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka State. Over 600 individuals have been identified to date from camera trap photos during the last decade in this mountainous landscape. In Nagarahole and Bandipur National Parks, tigers have actually reached saturation levels, with surplus young tigers spilling out into forest-reserves and dispersing using secured forest corridors through a landscape that holds over a million human beings. The combination of strict government-led anti-poaching patrols, voluntary relocation of villages away from tiger habitats, and the vigilant local presence of WCS conservation partners watching over tigers has led to the rebound of big-cat populations and their prey. In newer tiger reserves including Bhadra and Kudremukh, numbers have increased by as much as 50 percent after years of neglect and chronic poaching were tackled.

In Thailand, WCS conservationists report a tiger comeback in Huai Kha Khaeng (HKK) Wildlife Sanctuary -- a 2,700 square kilometer (1,042 square mile) protected area in the vast Western Forest Complex. WCS has worked closely with Thai authorities to beef up enforcement and anti-poaching patrols in the region. Last year, a notorious poaching ring was busted, and this year the gang leaders were given prison sentences of up to five years -- the most severe punishments for wildlife poaching in Thailand's history. Since their capture, there have been no known tiger or elephant poaching incidents in the park. Tiger numbers have been rising steadily in the park since 2007, with a record 50-plus tigers counted last year.

Meanwhile in Russia, government officials are drafting a new law that will make transport, sales, and possession of endangered animals a criminal offense rather than just a civil crime. This will close a loophole that currently allows poachers to claim they found endangered species like tigers already dead and thus avoid stiffer criminal penalties for poaching.

Russia is making progress in creating additional protected areas for tigers, too, declaring a new corridor called Central Ussuri Wildlife Refuge on October 18. The new refuge acts as a linkage between the Sikhote-Alin tiger population in Russia, which is the main population of Amur tigers, and some of the best tiger habitat in China's Heilongjiang Province in the Wandashan Mountains. The creation of the new refuge ensures that tigers have the capacity to move across the international border between Russian and China in this region. WCS first identified this key corridor in 1999 after conducting joint wildlife surveys with Chinese and Russian scientists there. WCS President and CEO Cristi?n Samper said: "Tigers are clearly fighting for their very existence, but it's important to know that there is hope. Victories like these give us the resolve to continue to battle for these magnificent big cats. While the news about tigers has been bleak, these recent developments clearly show how smart strategies and strong partnerships are ensuring tigers are saved for centuries to come."

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/R4fMvR8-z6Q/121226153034.htm

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Internet Marketing 2013 | Mike Henry - Online Marketing Specialist

Internet Marketing is what that can make or break a website. Doing it in the right direction can make it a successful online business while steps in the wrong direction may only waste time and money and no one will like to waste his time and money in useless trials so before taking any marketing decision, it is important to know what actually is internet marketing. Internet Marketing is actually a broad term that includes many small terms in it so let?s start discussing the most popular terms and understand the depth of internet marketing.

SEO

SEO is an abbreviated form of the complete term Search Engine Optimization. Search Engine Optimization is a technique used by the SEO experts to bring a site in the top rank of major search engines. If you want to see the traffic coming to your sites from the search engines then you need to do the search engine optimization of your site and for this you need a good SEO expert. The series of activities that are performed by the SEO experts are keyword research, writing the quality guest posts for good ranking sites, writing quality PR and submitting to the high ranking PR submission sites, writing news for the best news sites. Keyword research is done to make the content keyword rich and the site can be ranked higher in the search engines with the keyword.

SEO techniques can be broadly classified into Black Hat and White Hat. A site can have good ranking in the search engines in short time by using the black hat techniques while white hat requires time, hard work and knowledge to rank a site. Although results can be seen quickly by using the black hat techniques but still white hat is preferred over black hat because the results obtained from black hat are not reliable. A webmaster should go with white hat techniques if he or she wants to get quality and long term traffic to a website.

Affiliate Marketing

You may have heard of commission agents in your local market and this form of marketing also works similarly. The business of affiliate marketing involves two parties, seller and the affiliate marketer. A seller that has a product to sell registers on a marketplace of affiliate marketers explains the details of his products or services and allows the interested affiliates to start the job. The interested affiliates can pick a product or service, study the details and write some quality articles and include the affiliate link anywhere in the article. After finishing the writing process, the affiliates can then submit their articles to high ranking sites that allow publishing articles with affiliate links. All sites do not allow affiliate links so before starting the process, make a list of sites that will allow the articles with affiliate links.

What is an affiliate link? Affiliate links are the links that helps the sellers to identify the identity of a marketer. If a product sells up then the profit earned can be shared by the seller and affiliate marketer. The distribution of income can be 50:50 or 75:50. Mostly affiliate marketers earn more than the sellers because they are actually responsible for the entire selling process and they can also adopt any strategy of selling they think to fit best in the situation. If a webmaster is going for affiliate marketing then he or she should promote their online business in a good source where good affiliates can be found. Clickbank and Commission Junction is the hub of affiliate marketing business.

A good internet marketing expert will always advise to start with SEO and move to affiliate marketing later if SEO alone does not bring sufficient success to your site.

Article source: http://www.trafficplusseo.com/internet-marketing.html

Tags: Affiliate Marketing, Internet Marketing, marketing, SEO

Source: http://askmikehenry.com/internet-marketing-2013

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Worst Cads Of 2012: From Kristen Stewart To Rush Limbaugh.

Slate:

2012 was a banner year for scumbags and skanks, making our task of curating the most deplorable for our annual round-up of bad behavior a breeze. So come all ye readers, and delight in our slideshow of meticulously selected cads.

This year we have golden boys that fell from grace, the ever-present lying, cheating politicians, and Internet louts, not to mention the disgraced and humiliated in the wide world of sports. May this refresher serve you well as you cozy up to your family this holiday season and think how truly blessed you are that some mistress isn't stalking you and that your cousin isn't Violentacrez (whew). Oh, and if we missed anyone, please let us know in the comments. Some years, there are just too many cads to keep track!

Read the whole story at Slate

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/26/worst-cads-of-2012-from-k_n_2365137.html

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Eric Sprott: Why Are Investors Buying 50 Times More Physical Silver ...

By Eric Sprott

Why are (Smart) Investors Buying 50 Times More Physical Silver than Gold?

As long-time students of precious metals investing, there are certain things we understand. One is that, historically, the availability ratio of silver to gold has had a direct influence on the price of the metals. The current availability ratio of physical silver to gold for investment purposes is approximately 3:1. So, why is it that investors are allocating their dollars to silver at a much higher ratio? What is it that these ?smart? investors understand? Let?s have a look at the numbers and see if it?s time for investors to do as a wise man once said and ?follow the money.?

Average annual gold mine production is approximately 80 million ounces, which together with an estimated average 50?million ounces of annual recycled gold, totals around 130 million ounces available per year. In comparison, annual mined silver production has averaged around 750 million ounces, while recycled silver is estimated at 250?million ounces per year, which adds up to approximately 1 billion ounces. Using this data, there is roughly 8?times more silver available to buy than there is gold. However, not all gold and silver is available for investment purposes, due to their use in industrial applications. It is estimated that for investment purposes (jewelry, bars and coins), the annual availability of gold is roughly 120 million ounces, and of silver it is 350 million ounces. Therefore, the ratio of physical silver availability to gold availability is 350/120, or ~3:1.¹

Now, let?s examine how investors are allocating their investments between gold and silver. The data below is from the US Mint showing gold and silver sales in ounces:

Source: US Mint (www.usmint.gov)

As you can see, investors are choosing to buy silver at a ratio to gold that is well above what is available. This uptrend doesn?t show any signs of slowing either. The ratio of the physical silver to gold is both rising and extraordinarily above the availability ratio of 3:1.

We can also use other data such as the most recent issues of the Sprott Physical Gold and Silver Trusts. The last Gold Trust issue in September 2012 raised US$393 million and the last Silver Trust issue raised US$310 million. On the basis of prices for each metal at the time of issue, we could purchase ~213 thousand ounces of gold and ~9.1 million ounces of silver. This represents a purchase ratio of 43:1.

If we examine ETF holdings in both gold and silver, we note that in the period from 2007 to 2012, the increase in silver holdings amounted to 12,000 tonnes, compared to 1,200 tonnes of gold ? meaning, investors purchased ten times more silver than gold.

These are only three factual data points to consider, but there are other indications that silver investment demand is way out of line with availability. Our favourite question to the bullion dealers we meet, is to ask the ratio of their dollar sales in gold versus silver. The answer is that dollar sales are equal, which means that physical silver sales relative to gold are greater than 50:1.

A recent news headline on Mineweb read, ?Silver Sales to Outshine Gold in India.²? It went on to quote a bullion dealer that ?investors and jewelry lovers prefer silver jewelry these days.? As the largest importer of gold in the world, it would be impossible for India to purchase an equivalent amount of silver, as it would require more than one billion ounces, essentially more than the current annual mine production.

While these last two confirmations of silver demand are anecdotal, the statistics from the US Mint, the ETFs, and our Physical Trust issues, are factual.

For the time being, the silver price is essentially set in the paper market where the daily average trade on the Comex is approximately 300 million ounces. An outrageous number when you compare it to the daily mine production of about 2 million ounces. As Bart Chilton, Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission stated on October 26, 2010, ?I believe there have been repeated attempts to influence prices in silver markets. There have been fraudulent efforts to persuade and deviously control that price. Based on what I have been told and reviewed in publicly available documents, I believe violations to the Commodity Exchange Act have taken place in the silver market and any such violation of the law in this regard should be prosecuted.?³

Which brings us back to the phrase ?Follow the money.? In our view, it is almost inconceivable that investors would allocate as many dollars to silver as they would to gold, but that is what the data shows.

The silver investment market is very small. While the dollar value of gold in the world approaches $9 trillion, the value of silver in the forms of jewelry, coins, bars and silverware is estimated at around $150 billion (5 billion ounces at $30 per ounce). This is a ratio of 60:1 in dollar terms.⁴

How long can investors continue to buy silver at the current ratios when the availability for investment is only 3:1? We are surprised that the price of silver has remained at such a depressed level compared to gold. Historically, the price ratio between gold and silver has been 16:1, when both were currencies. Today the ratio is 55:1, so what are the numbers telling us? We believe this is one of those times when smart investors will be well rewarded to ?Follow the money.?

On behalf of all of us at Sprott, I wish you safe and happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year.

P.S. ? US Mint Sold Out of Silver Eagle Bullion Coins Until January 7, 2013
The Mint recently informed authorized purchasers that all remaining inventories of 2012-dated Silver Eagle bullion coins had sold out and no additional coins would be struck. Since the 2013-dated coins will not be available to order until January 7, 2013, this leaves a three week void for the Mint?s most popular bullion offering.

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Source: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-12-24/eric-sprott-why-are-investors-buying-50-times-more-physical-silver-gold

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Lost, blind dog finds way back to Alaska owners

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) ? Blind and alone in Alaska winter temperatures that dipped 40 degrees below zero, a lost 8-year-old Fairbanks dog wasn't given much of a chance to make it home.

But after walking 10 miles to the edge of a local musher's dog yard, Abby the brown-and-white mixed breed was found and returned to her owners, a family that includes two boys and one girl under the age of 10.

The dog that the family raised from an animal-shelter puppy went missing during a snowstorm on Dec. 13, and the family never expected to see her again, The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported (http://bit.ly/VhceSZ ).

"It's a miracle, there's no other words to describe it," said McKenzie Grapengeter, emotion choking her voice and tears coming to her eyes. "We never expected to have her to be returned safe and alive."

Musher and veterinarian Mark May said he came across the dog while running his team on Dec. 19, but didn't stop to pick her up.

"It ran with us for about a mile on the way home before she fell off the pace, but I had a big dog team so I couldn't grab it," he said. "I said, 'boy I hope it finds somebody's house.'"

The next day, the dog turned up at May's house.

"Everybody just assumed it was some kind of scaredy-cat, but there it was in front of the door in our dog lot and it was blind," May said. "It was sitting there, all the way from 14 mile on the winter trail down into this neighborhood, I guess by just sniffing, so I picked it up and brought it in."

To May's surprise, the dog had no signs of frostbite.

"No frozen ears, no frozen toes, she'll probably go back home and it'll (be) business as usual. She's no worse for wear but quite an adventure," he said.

The Grapengeter family hadn't tagged or put a microchip in the dog, but the community used social media to track down Abby's owners.

"We're so, so grateful for all (the community's) hard work," McKenzie Grapengeter said. "They've given us the most amazing Christmas gift we could ever ask for."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lost-blind-dog-finds-way-back-alaska-owners-203656548.html

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Family: Sunday shooting victim in intensive care, condition ...

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. ? A young Clearlake man shot in the face during a Sunday confrontation remains hospitalized and in intensive care due to his injuries, with family saying his condition has worsened.

Steven Farnan, 20, was shot in the face following a physical fight that occurred at around 1 p.m. Sunday in the Clear Lake Riviera, as Lake County News has reported.

He fought with a subject at a residence in the 10000 block of Fairway Drive near Sierra Drive before another male shot him, according to witnesses.

Reports from the scene indicated the suspects fled the area in a blue hatchback.

As of early Tuesday, no arrests in the case had been made, according to jail booking records.

Farnan, now at an out-of-county hospital for treatment, suffered a shattered jaw from the gunshot, with the bullet going down his neck and hitting an artery. Early on, doctors had struggled to stop the bleeding before finally stabilizing him, his family reported.

However, early Tuesday his aunt, Kimberly Cochran of Montana, told Lake County News that Farnan had taken a turn for the worse.

She said he was in intensive care and that doctors could not do surgery to remove the bullet from his neck.

Cochran added that doctors are not sure if Farnan will survive his injury.

Farnan?s family asked anyone who has information about the suspect in his shooting to call the Lake County Sheriff?s Office.

The sheriff?s office can be reached through Central Dispatch at 707-263-2690 on the holiday or at 707-262-4200 during main business hours.

Email Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.com . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

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Source: http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28737:family-sunday-shooting-suspect-in-intensive-care-condition-deteriorates&catid=1:latest&Itemid=197

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Kris Humphries: Benched by the Nets!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/kris-humphries-benched-by-the-nets/

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Good Reads: Mexico?s rise, Lincoln?s precedence, and tomorrow?s truth

A round-up of this week's long-form good reads include a look at Mexico's competitive growth, the virtues of compromise in multiple administrations, and how facts 'decay.'

By Marshall Ingwerson,?Managing editor / December 14, 2012

Shipping trucks in Veracruz, Mexico, a major port city on the Gulf of Mexico.

Alfredo Sosa/Staff/File

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Which country produces the biggest share of America?s flat-screen TVs? You know it can?t be China, or we wouldn?t bother asking.

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Three years ago, a Pentagon report warned that Mexico was on the brink of becoming a failed state, notes a special report in The Economist. Instead, Mexico?s economic growth has overtaken and surpassed that of Brazil. And as Chinese wages have quintupled in the past 10 years, Mexico?s competitiveness is rising to match its great field position next door to the US Sun Belt. The flat-screen TVs are the least of it. What?s amazing to The Economist is how little Americans know about the progress of their southern neighbor. It estimates that nearly a tenth of current US residents, or their children, are Mexican citizens. But as the Monitor has noted, net migration from Mexico has dropped to zero or lower as opportunities there have expanded.

Many Americans have heard, if vaguely, of Mayan calendars that seem to predict the end of the world coming in a few weeks. But few have heard that recent translations revise that apocalypse into something more like a renewal or fresh start. And that, the magazine argues, looks to be where Mexico is heading.

Lincoln?s example for today?s mess

In these times of winter winds whipping across the ?fiscal cliff? at Americans? feet, compromise is suddenly in again. What was scorned in the tea party upswell of 2010 as caving in to bad Washington habits, is lauded in late 2012 as adult behavior and getting something done.

History, of course, stands on both sides of the compromise question. Abraham Lincoln may have been the self-effacing pragmatist who could hold together a diverse ?team of rivals.? But he was not about compromise. This is something the new Steven Spielberg film on Lincoln gets right, says The New Yorker?s Adam Gopnik. The United States had been straddling various compromises over slavery for years, he says, and there are still arguments over whether Lincoln could have avoided the unprecedented human suffering of the war. But Lincoln instead stood at the end of the line for compromise. His position was absolute, both on union and on slavery.

?Lincoln was an uncompromising man who sponsored violence on a hitherto unimaginable scale; that he paid the highest price himself for the noble but hugely costly morality in which he believed is one of the things that makes his story still so fateful and, in its way, uncompromised.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/t5BGfdRTR9k/Good-Reads-Mexico-s-rise-Lincoln-s-precedence-and-tomorrow-s-truth

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