Special Olympics CT Holiday Sports Classic Nov. 17-18 - Darien Patch

Good sportsmanship, teamwork and proud moments of accomplishment will be exhibited by athletes of all abilities at the Special Olympics Connecticut 2012 Holiday Sports Classic, presented by Pitney Bowes, on Nov. 17^{and 18.? This annual event?one of more than 70 sporting events Special Olympics Connecticut hosts each year?will bring athletes from across the state together to compete.}

Sports and venues include:?

Unified Sports Volleyball - Floyd Little Athletic Center, 480 Sherman Parkway, New Haven and James Hillhouse High School, 480 Sherman Parkway, New Haven

Unified Sports & Traditional Powerlifting - James Hillhouse High School, 480 Sherman Parkway, New Haven

Unified Sports Basketball - Quinnipiac University, 275 Mount Carmel Avenue, Hamden

Unified Sports & Traditional Bowling - AMF Lanes, 1717 Boston Post Road, Milford and 525 Main Street, East Haven

Volleyball, basketball and bowling events will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Powerlifting will be held on Saturday only.

All are welcome to come out and cheer for the athletes. There are also opportunities to volunteer. To find out more, visit www.soct.org, email specialolympicsct@soct.org or call 203-230-1201. Also, follow Special Olympics Connecticut on Facebook and Twitter for updates, announcements and photos.

In addition to Pitney Bowes, event sponsors include the Connecticut Elks Association, IBM and LAZ Parking Charitable Foundation. ?Clear Channel Community Access Radio and the New Haven Register are Media Sponsors.

?

About Special Olympics Connecticut

Special Olympics Connecticut provides year-round sports training and competitions for more than 13,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities and Unified Partners (their teammates without disabilities). Through a myriad of initiatives throughout the state and the world, Special Olympics is a movement that?s changing attitudes and changing lives by inspiring inclusion, understanding and respect for people of all abilities, in all aspects of life. (www.soct.org)

Editor's note: This announcement originally was posted on Friday. The time stamp has been changed for layout purposes on the Home page of Darien Patch.

Source: http://darien.patch.com/announcements/athletes-from-across-connecticut-to-compete-in-special-olympics-holiday-sports-classic-november-17th-18th-d0ab2afb

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RUN FASTER MOMMY!: Sports Supplementation 101? Protein ...

Let?s talk supplements.? Walk into any vitamin or health food store and you will feel absolutely overwhelmed. I know I sometimes still do.? There seems to be a supplement for every ailment and every physical goal you could possibly think of. ??The supplement world is highly unregulated, and therefore, tends to give people the ?snake oil? feeling of wasting their money on fancy pills with false hopes, and rightfully so.? Many claims are unsupported, some supplements even dangerous. However, there are some that have been scientifically proven safe and beneficial when it comes to exercise performance and recovery.?


Lately, I?ve had a lot of people ask me why I take the supplements I do.? Most assume it?s because of the blog/PR work I?ve done with GNC and that it?s just an advertising front, but that is simply not true. ?I?ll be the first to admit that I have some vices that borderline possible unhealthy (caffeine! ) but when it comes to my sports supplements, I have done my research and have made the informed decision to take a few supplements based on my needs.? So I wanted to share why* I* take what I take, and maybe give a little insight to some who have been wondering what some of these supplements do.? (This is not a sponsored post, just something I wanted to share.)? This, of course, is going to come with a little bit of anatomy and exercise physiology lesson. But don?t worry; I?ll break it down as simply as I possibly can. But before we begin, first let?s preface this with the following:? I am an ACSM certified Health Fitness Specialist.? I did spend years slaving away towards a bachelor?s degree in exercise and sport science.? HOWEVER, I am *not* a registered dietician or nutritionist.? Therefore, I can tell you why I eat/take the supplements/follow the nutrition guidelines I choose to, however, I am not suggesting you do the same.? ?For specific suggestions catered towards you, your goals, and your diet, please consult a registered dietician and/or your physician.? (And, with all of that said, if a ?personal trainer? who is NOT a registered dietician ever tries to give you a specific diet plan: run. Run far away.? It is out of our scope of practice and actually against the law. A personal trainer laying down the fundamentals of nutrition?like, apple good, potato chip bad: OK. Specific diet or meal plans for you to follow: big no no.? And that?s your fitness PSA/soap box?spiel for the day).? I hate that I have to preface this post with an entire paragraph (long one at that) dedicated to a disclaimer, but unfortunately in the fitness world, ?experts? ( I use that term loosely and with sarcasm) are a dime a dozen.? There is A LOT of misinformation out there (you should hear me yell at my computer screen with some of the things I read in health and fitness blogs/online articles), and frankly, we ALL need to protect ourselves, health seekers and professionals alike. ?Do your own research, and make your own informed decisions.

*whew*

Now, while it may seem like another disclaimer, it?s just a simple statement of the truth: not everyone needs supplements. This goes for vitamins, minerals, protein, you name it.? In theory, the average person gets exactly what they need to meet their RDA?s (recommended daily allowance) from both a well-balanced diet and the body?s ability to produce what is needed. ??And, since I mentioned GNC earlier, I would love to share with you one of the most impressive and influential moments I?ve *ever* had while dealing with a company that I?ve done promotional work with.? While at dinner with some of GNC?s employees at the CrossFit games this summer, one of the PR guys flat out said ?we believe that not everyone needs nor should take our products. It?s designed for those who are looking for or need a little extra?.? I?m paraphrasing, of course, because that was in July and it?s now almost November, and I?m hard pressed to remember what I even had for lunch yesterday, but you get the idea.? I completely respect that sentiment, especially coming from someone who essentially profits from selling these products.? And I whole heartedly agree.?? To reiterate: Not everyone needs supplements.

But some do.

So, let?s finally get on with the ex-phys lesson: (has anyone followed me thus far?). Again, there is a ton of detail I?m going to leave out, as I?m sure you didn?t come here for a lecture on fascinating topics such as cellular homeostasis and my all-time favorite, the Krebs cycle, so we will only cover what is necessary from an exercise ?why am I taking this?? point of view.?

PROTEIN:

Protein is vital for building and maintaining muscle.? Protein can be used as a form of energy during exercise, but is not a primary source, and ranks far behind carbohydrates and fats as far as efficiency.? So let?s just focus on the fact that protein is necessary for muscle synthesis and repair.
Now, the way I explain resistance training to all of my clients is this: when you lift to fatigue, you are essentially creating teeny tiny tears in your muscle fibers.? When you are done exercising, your body goes to work on repairing those microscopic tears.? Except each time you do this, the body not only repairs the muscle, but makes it a little stronger and bigger.? So you lift again, and in theory have to work a little harder to fatigue since your muscle is now ?reinforced?.? Tear down, build up bigger. Tear down harder, build up even bigger. ??You get the idea.? This is how you achieve muscle growth, or hypertrophy.

?So, as established earlier, protein is what the body uses to repair and build those muscles. ?If you break down protein into its smallest form, you get what are called ?Amino Acids? (which are often referred to the ?building blocks of protein?). ?Twenty amino acids have been identified as necessary for human growth and metabolism.? Twelve of these are called ?Non-essential amino acids?, and can be formed within the body.? The other eight are called ?essential amino acids? and cannot be formed within the body, which is why we must obtain them through food or supplementation.

Foods high in essential amino acids include meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and milk.? Protein obtained from vegetables and grains are typically incomplete in all of the essential amino acids.

Now, how much protein does one need per day?? Probably not nearly as much as you may have thought or heard.? According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Dietetic Association, and Dieticians of Canada, the average person needs about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day (NOT pound.? To determine your weight in kg: take your weight in lbs and divide by 2.2).? Strength training individuals require 2.1 times the RDA, or about 1.6 to 1.7 g protein per KILOGRAM of body weight per day.? Endurance training (hello marathoners!) ?individuals need 1.2 to 1.4 g protein per kilogram of body weight per day. _*2

So, now you may understand why some people choose to supplement extra protein into their general diet, especially those of us who do not eat the chickens or cows or fish (etc.).

?But what about that post workout protein boost you?ve most certainly heard, well, almost everyone in the gym talk about?? What is with those protein shakes?? Studies have shown that the elevation of plasma amino acids (i.e. broken down protein in your blood stream) during recovery stimulates muscle protein synthesis _{*1 ?}?Simply put: protein post workout = faster recovery.

Ta da!?

Now let?s get a little more in depth.?
BCAA?s.

? OK so we?ve mentioned already that the smallest form of broken down protein is called amino acids.? Branched Chain amino acids (BCAA) include leucine, isoleucine, and valine, which are all essential amino acids(remember, meaning we need them and our body cannot produce them). ?When combined with L-tryptophan (another essential AA), are thought to delay fatigue.? There is convincing evidence that exercise induced increases in the plasma free tryptophan/BCAA ration are associated with increased brain serotonin and the onset of fatigue during prolonged exercise. _*3 ??While studies, scientists, and athletes go back and forth about the conclusiveness of BCAA?s in prolonging exercise or enhancing sports performance, let?s remember what we said above about elevated plasma amino acids helping to stimulate recovery.? ?Personally, with a lack of animal proteins in my diet, I find supplementing with BCAA?s during and post exercise helps with my recovery as well as insuring I am obtaining more essential amino acids that my particular diet lacks. And speaking of recovery:? there is strong evidence that supplementation with a metabolite of the amino acid leucine (?-hydroxy-?-methylbutyrate, or HMB) does increase fat-free mass and strength.? It acts by decreasing the breakdown of protein that occurs with resistance training.? There appears to be little risk associated with HMB supplementation, and in fact it has been reported to decrease total cholesterol, LDL-C, and systolic blood pressure._*4??

?

CREATINE.?

?I do not take creatine.? However, I am going to cover it in this blog post because a) I?ve had numerous people ask me about it, b) it is one of the few scientifically proven ergogenic aids, and c) Geoff takes it, so it?s in our house.?? This is sort of a tricky one to get into without getting too technical.? But basically, creatine is naturally occurring in your body as phosphocreatine (PCr).? Phosphocreatine does a few things, namely it is the very first energy source your body uses (and very, very briefly) before taping into the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) system.?? Supplementing with creatine is thought to increase muscle phosphocreatine (the natural stuff) levels, thus enhancing the ATP-PCr system by better maintaining muscle ATP levels._*5 ??Back in 2000, ACSM published a consensus statement that concluded that when it comes to creatine supplementation, exercise performance in short periods of intense, high power output can be enhanced, particularly with repeated bouts, consistent with the role of PCr in this type of activity.

In super easy terms: In theory, creatine allows you an extra burst of energy before fatigue in short bouts of exercise: one more repetition before failure, another 10 yards of a sprint before failure, etc.
While creatine supplementation appears to have little risk, it doesn?t appear to work for everyone, and has a common side effect of weight gain (typically water weight, but weight none the less).?

Caffeine/pre workouts/thermogenics.
?

When it comes to pre-workouts and thermogenics (products that increase core body temperature and typically temporarily affect the metabolism), you really do have to be careful. Caffeine alone can cause nervousness, restlessness, insomnia, and tremors.? Other stimulants found in many of the pre workouts can have adverse effects on not only the central nervous system but the cardiovascular system with both blood pressure and heart rates.? ?Every brand and product is different, so if you choose to take a pre-workout, read your ingredients/content labels, and as always, do your research and make informed decisions.

Obviously, there are countless other sport specific supplements on the market.? The few I have targeted here are some of the most common ones. If you have any specific questions about other supplements, I?d be happy to address them to the best of my knowledge in a future post. Just let me know in a comment below.? I hope this post was helpful!

*While I am an ACSM certified Health Fitness Specialist, all opinions expressed in this post about my experience with these products are my own, and are not a recommendation or endorsement. ?PLEASE consult a physician before beginning any supplementation program of your own.

1 - Wolfe, R.R. (2006). Skeletal muscle protein metabolism and resistance exercise.? Journal of Nutrition, 136, 525S-528S.
2 - ACSM & ADA (2000) joint position statement ? Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 32, 2130-2145.
3- Davis, J.M. (1995).? Carbohydrates, branched-chain amino acids, and endurance: The central fatigue hypothesis.? International Journal of Sport Nutrition, 5, S29-S38.
4 -Nissen, S.L. & Sharp, R.L. (2003). Effect of dietary supplements on lean mass and strength gains with resistance exercise: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Physiology, 94, 651-659.

5-Costill, D.L., Kenney, W.L. & Wilmore, J.H. (2008).? Physiology of Sport and Exercise. 377-378.?

Source: http://www.runfastermommy.com/2012/10/sports-supplementation-101-protein.html

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Writing A Novel: ?You Mean, I Need to Edit?? | The Creative Penn

I?ve just finished the second major edit of my novel Exodus, #3 in the ARKANE series. I?m now going through again, editing it on the Kindle before releasing it to beta readers.

Some of my own editing

It?s true that writing the novel is only the start of the adventure, for it?s the editing stage that can make or break the success of your book. Guest blogger Nick Thacker has some tips.?

I just finished writing a book.

Part of me is elated; ?bouncing-off-the-walls?-excited.

The other part of me knows it?s a lie?I am, after all, a pretty ?na?ve? writer?

While I?ve ?finished? writing a book (a thriller novel, to be specific), I also know that I?m nowhere near finished with the actual process of ?book writing.?

To be clear, the words are all there. The cover?s even complete, and I?ve got some Lulu-printed hardcovers and paperbacks on the way, and the Kindle version is ready-to-go on Amazon.

And I didn?t have to ?sell my soul? to get it done.

But I?m writing this post for two reasons: to talk about the next step for myself (and you, if you?re in a similar boat), and to prolong the actual taking of the next step?

What?s the next step?

To put it bluntly, it?s the rewriting process: the editing, cutting, rehashing, rewording, etc?everything that we don?t think about when we begin the rewarding and awesome journey of book writing.

Sure, I have a pretty decent vocabulary, which I think I?m able to wield with relative ease. I also pride myself at my editing/proofreading abilities?I love to spot those incorrect there, they?re, or theirs in other peoples? work.

But when I finish an article, chapter, or larger work, when that last word is placed so perfectly on the page (or screen) in front of me?I?m done. I absolutely abhor the idea of starting again. I don?t want to revisit my characters?some have died horrible, nightmarish deaths?and scenes. I don?t want to find the typos, mistakes, and misnomers that I?ve somehow let slide the first time around?not to mention the strange wording here, the odd anachronism there. I just want to upload my Kindle file and start building my blog?s readership to sell more books.

Writing, I?ve come to find out, is maybe one part actual writing?putting words on the paper?and one part (or more!) redoing everything.

Umm, we know?

Maybe I?m just too new to this art form. Maybe I just wasn?t properly forewarned. Maybe I?m actually on to something no one?s ever thought of before.

Most likely, the importance and headache of editing down, improving, and finalizing a manuscript is something I?ve just ignored since?obviously?I need to have a manuscript written first before I?m able to really edit and rework it.

Either way, I?m now starting to realize a few key points that may be of use to others looking to push through their first novel. Here are a few items that I?ve found, after penning 110,000 words, that would have helped me enormously prior to and during my writing experience:

Planning

I can?t stress this enough. Some writers are able to ?flow? in a linear way, bouncing from chapter to chapter in a seemingly effortless way. I started writing as I began the research, and I wish I?d spent 2-3 months solely researching, planning, and studying?my characters, my settings, and my ideas.

Equipment

While I?m sure it?s not impossible to write long documents in Microsoft Word, who would want to? I used a piece of software called Storyist for a brief period, mainly for its full-screen mode, until I stumbled across Scrivener (which soon released a full-screen mode as well anyway!), which made my writing experience and compilation process not only easy, but also enjoyable. To round out my equipment set up, I used Evernote for the research and planning process and always have my MacBook Pro at my side (or on my lap).

Reading material

Usually the last thing on my mind during the writing process was reading more. I was constantly working on the manuscript, reading a few similar genre thrillers, and maintaining my non-fiction reading for work. But about three days after I hit ?Compile? and prepared my book for its first print-run, I came across Dwight Swain. If you haven?t heard of him, Google his work right now. I have a copy of Techniques for the Selling Writer in front of me now, highlighted and ready for a second read-through. Honestly, it?s not just one of the best ?how to write? books out there?it may very well be one of the most outstanding ?how-to? books on the market. His timeless advice is extremely practical, easy-to-digest, and specifically geared toward fiction writers interested in commercial viability.

I?m not going to stand on a soapbox and preach the ?one true way? for writing?as with most art forms, there?s never only one route to the destination. I?m just hoping to start a dialogue with both the seasoned writers out there and the younglings like myself who are eager and willing to learn.

The secret?

What I?ve found after writing one novel, starting a second, and completing numerous nonfiction manuscripts, is that this ?last step? should actually come first.

Obviously it?s impossible to rewrite what we haven?t written yet, but what I mean is this:

Plan ahead for the rewriting process:

• Plan ahead by outlining and layout out your novel well the first time.
• Plan ahead for the extra time it will take between going back and forth with an agent, editor, or publisher.
• Plan ahead for the marketing steps you?ll immediately want to take after you write ?The End.?
• Plan ahead for the balance between starting to promote and finishing up your WIP manuscript.

Most new writers know they?re ?supposed? to rewrite at least once or twice. I was one of these ?in-the-know? people, but yet I somehow thought that my writing was above this, and I didn?t need to rewrite.

Thankfully, I had absolutely no momentum built when I finished the first draft, so there was no eager tempting to send my masterpiece out into the world, uncut and unfinished. I threw it in a drawer and then started researching the marketing and promotional aspects of my upcoming book launch?eventually to realize that a couple rewrites were more than necessary!

What do you think?

My experience and takeaways might help someone structure, plan, and execute the writing of their own masterpiece, but for now I?m happy enough to post this, hear your thoughts, and join in the discussion!

Have you done a full rewrite, or is your planning process such that you don?t feel you need to rewrite at all? Let us know in the comments below.

About the Author

Nick Thacker is a writer from Texas, and he writes to help writers, bloggers, and pretty much anyone who wants to hack their life! Check him out on his website, where he talks about?how to write, and be sure to grab his new book, Welcome Home: The Author?s Guide to Building A Marketing Home Base. Also, be sure to grab the newsletter!

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Source: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/10/25/novel-editing/

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Shot Pakistani girl's father happy for 'miracle'

LONDON (AP) ? The father of a 15-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban described his daughter's survival and ongoing recovery as miraculous Friday, and said her shooting was a turning point for Pakistan.

Malala Yousufzai is recovering at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where she was flown for treatment and protection from Taliban threats after she was shot on Oct. 9 in northwestern Pakistan.

The Islamist militants say they're targeting Malala, who had gained international recognition for advocating for girls' education, because she promoted so-called Western thinking and secularism.

Her father, Ziauddin, along with her mother and two brothers were reunited with her Thursday night after flying to the U.K.

A picture issued by the hospital showed the wounded teen, her head covered in a light blue scarf, reclining in her hospital bed with her family gathered by her side.

Ziauddin Yousufzai said he initially feared he would need to prepare for his daughter's funeral and that her status now is "a miracle for us."

"She is recovering at an encouraging speed and we are very happy," he told reporters in Birmingham.

He expressed gratitude for prayers and well-wishes that have poured in from all over the world, noting that the attack on his daughter had united left and right-wing forces in Pakistan in condemnation.

"When she fell, the world stood. She will rise again, she will stand again. She can stand now," Ziauddin Yousufzai said.

A Taliban gunman shot Malala as she was in a school bus on her way home from school in the Swat Valley city of Mingora. Two other girls were injured in the attack.

The Pakistani Taliban once controlled much of the Swat Valley, where they destroyed numerous schools, many of them for girls, and campaigned against allowing girls to go to school.

Malala was one of the most prominent voices in Swat to speak out against the Taliban, who were largely ? though not entirely ? driven out of the valley by a Pakistani army offensive in 2009.

Malala was airlifted to a hospital in Britain on Oct. 15. The Taliban have vowed to kill her, raising questions about whether it would be safe for her to return to Pakistan, but her father has rejected reports the family might seek asylum abroad.

"I love her, and last night when we met her there were tears in our eyes out of happiness," Ziauddin Yousufzai said Friday. "We all cried a little bit."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/shot-pakistani-girls-father-happy-miracle-152601353.html

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Not-So-Special Education | Perspective Magazine

By Theresa Gebert

There are more students with learning difficulties in public schools in the United States than ever before. Whereas parents who sought a decent education for their children with special needs used to be limited to expensive private schools or homeschooling, all public schools are now required to provide personalized or special education for students with qualifying disabilities. Yet even though the proper legislation is finally in place, the education itself rarely meets these standards, and public schools still struggle to adequately educate those students that do not fit into the standard education norm.

My brother, who has Down syndrome, attended a public high school that boasts a 13:1 student to teacher ratio, has one of the highest SAT score averages in the state, and spends more than $17,000 per student every year. What my family soon learned ? the hard way ? was that statistics such as these do not guarantee that a school will have a strong special education program. My brother was one of a dozen students with learning difficulties in his class, which included those with educable mental disabilities, but also emotional and behavioral disturbances. An average 13:1 student to teacher ratio may be a luxury for students without these difficulties, but it is certainly inadequate for students with such diverse yet also specialized educational needs.

Following the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), enacted in 1975, my brother?s high school did offer individualized education, but there was only one manager in charge of over two- dozen students? Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Even with extremely proactive and highly involved parents, my brother?s IEP consistently faced obstacles in fitting his particular needs. For example, he required special attention in English and writing, but was exceling in math, so we wanted him to move up a level in that class; however, his IEP remained inflexible due to limited staff.

My brother is lucky; he left that school this past year to attend a pricy private school in Connecticut (my family lives in New Jersey). He is extremely happy and is on track to living on his own and maintaining a steady job. Students with special needs who lack such financial or parental support generally must bide their time at schools that continue to fail to educate them or prepare them to live and work independently.

Of course, the point is not merely that my brother?s high school has a poor special education program, but that special education in public schools in the United States at large is not so special after all. The U.S. government must have come to a similar conclusion, because at the beginning of this month, nearly two-dozen states (including Massachusetts) will receive millions to fund improved recruitment, training, and retention of special educators. Though I am certainly glad to see the issue of special education receiving such attention, all I can now hope for is that the intended beneficiaries of these well-intended laws, regulations, and funds will eventually receive the truly special education they deserve.

Source: http://www.perspy.com/?p=1139

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GoldCore's Mark O'Byrne Discusses Implications of Fake Gold ...

Welcome to Capital Account. Gold hit an 11 month high today, supposedly bolstered by signs that the ECB will keep borrowing costs low and the notion that the central bank stands ready to buy bonds in the secondary market. As long as central banks continue to print and maintain negative real interest rates, should investors consider owning gold? A recent PIMCO report stated the following:

?We believe investors should consider allocating gold and other precious metals to a diversified investment portfolio?.? Could this mean investing in gold will become mainstream? We speak to GoldCore?s Mark O?Byrne about the impact of PIMCO?s report. We discuss both the supply side, as well as the demand side of the gold bull run. Are people using gold to hedge, not against moderate inflation, but against the potential for dislocating deflation or runaway inflation and hyperinflation?

Also last month a gold dealer in Manhattan discovered a certified gold bar was in fact made up of more than 75 percent Tungsten. Does fake gold really represent a tail risk for buying physical gold or is this a one-off thing? We discuss the role of gold and the potential for fraud.

Check out these similar articles:

1. Jim Rickards Co-hosts Capital Account with Lauren Lyster on Looming Debt Crisis & Fiscal Abyss!
2. Peter Tchir With Lauren Lyster on the Dangers and Pitfalls of a World Reaching for Holy Grail Yield!
3. Lauren Lyster Talks Facebook IPO & JPM?s $100 Billion in Risky Bond Trades
4. Gerald Celente With Lauren Lyster on the Presidential Reality Show and Lessons from the JFK Assassination
5. Reggie Middleton With Lauren Lyster on Apple?s ?iBubble,? and the JP Morgan/Bear Sterns Lawsuit

Source: http://www.silverdoctors.com/goldcores-mark-obyrne-discusses-implications-of-fake-gold-scandal-with-lauren-lyster/

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Ken Kwapis Acquires The Care and Feeding of Exotic Pets | United ...

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Page Not Found - Yahoo!

Please check the URL for proper spelling and capitalization. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Yahoo!, try visiting the Yahoo! homepage or look through a list of Yahoo!'s online services.

Please try Yahoo Help Central if you need more assistance.

Source: http://rss.news.yahoo.com/rss/weightloss

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New York City Eye: The Politics Behind NBC's Education Nation ...

THE POLITICAL BACKDROP TO NBC'S EDUCATION NATION 2012 What's better company for Michelle Rhee/Philip Anschutz's Won't Back Down ideological screed of a film-promo-tour tie-in than an NBC sponsored love fest of education reformers/deformers? A CRACK IN THE TEACHER BASHING MANTRA As a New Jersey pro-public school parent and blogger noted, in her blog Mother Crusader blog, cross posting "We?re the real parents, and we won?t back down!" from WHYY's News Works, MSNBC's Alex Wagner slid in a reference to a Stanford study deflating the glories of charter schools.

The WHYY/NewsWorks piece further said,

The protest did not go unnoticed. Inside the premiere NBC News President Steve Capus made note of the "noisy welcome" attendees received, and claimed that he wants the discussion. Then why was NBC's parent engagement panel bereft of actual public school parents who don't want their children's schools closed or turned into a charter?
To date the research has not shown that closing a public school and reopening it as a charter will provide parents with the change they seek. One bright spot at the panel discussion was when the moderator, MSNBC's Alex Wagner, quoted from a Stanford University study that showed that only 17 percent of charters fair better than comparable public schools, while 37 percent actually fair worse and the remaining charters have similar outcomes.

CHOOSY MEDIA GUESTS, RIGGED PANELS
Education Nation was an unfortunate affair, with its banning of Rockaway Wave correspondent Norm Scott and with stacking of panels with pro-charter school zealots.
Why the slant? The corporate outlets that NBC proudly allows as guests, in their "cross-network" geniality. These outlets assert professional neutrality. But a critical mind recognizes the reality that much of their "coverage" of education topics amounts to subtle propaganda for education deform / corporate privatization of education.
This banning of non-major outlet journalists is an outrage worthy of a big stink.
DESPERATE FIRST LADY PHOTO PLACEMENT ALERT
While we're on the topic of exploiting images and messages, at the blogLil Kid Things, check out the face on giant placard placed on the stage of Won't Back Down event.

Looks a lot like First Lady Michelle Obama. Are the Won't Back Down backers trying to imply that the first lady endorses parent triggers or charter schools?

We can bet that the Michelle Obama picture's getting plenty of use on Rhee's cross-country parent trigger / Won't Back Down promo tour.
Here's one parent's post on the above article about the film. She discusses her town's fight-back against a charter school invasion and its planned stripping parents of the democratic rights of any input in school governance.

Please understand that this film is part of a very well-funded movement right now to privatize public education. The ?parent trigger? laws that the film promotes have never been successfully implemented, because they are a legal quagmire, involving a small number of parents at one school appropriating something that is owned by the taxpayers as a whole and giving management of it to a private organization. This isn?t a parent takeover, but a private takeover. The laws aren?t designed to give parents more power in the end, in fact, in Adelanto CA (where the first parent trigger may actually take place after a protracted legal battle) parents tried to rescind their signatures from the trigger petition but a judge ruled that they couldn?t.
There are tremendous corporate interests behind this movement.
My state PTA board recently voted to oppose a charter school ballot measure, because it would strip local, citizen, and parental control away from public schools.
When my children weren?t yet in school, I worried about our local public schools. Now that they are in 6th and 4th grade, I can look back and see that the vast majority of the teachers are trying incredibly hard, often with children who have tremendous challenges at home. If you are an involved parent and you bring your children to school prepared to learn, most of the time they will do very well.

EDUCATING MAGGIE AND MAGGIE LECTURING THE TEACHERS UNIONS
New Yorkers for Great Public Schools, a parents' group has released a great video, ?Educating Maggie.? (Video uploaded at right.) Maggie, herself, has a word or two of instruction for public teachers and their unions. She now is posturing as a self-proclaimed leftist, chiding labor unions:

In the interview, Gyllenhaal said she comes from a family of proud leftists, and that she herself is staunchly pro-union. However, she also suggested that the quickness with which critics have come out to blast ?Won?t Back Down? as a crack against the labor movement shows intolerance among the pro-union camp. ?Can we not even take a look at ways that the teachers union isn't functioning without being called anti-union?? she said. ?

Gyllenhaal's line falls in line with some conservative pundits who have tried to claim to be pro-teacher and to play up imaginary divisions in unions, over divisions between teachers that favor the test and punish mantra and those questioning the shifts in educational policy.

Potential viewers might not care either way. Since the film?s opening on Friday, reviews of ?Won?t Back Down? have been mostly brutal. USA Today said it is ?repeatedly focused on a superficial depiction of the powerful teachers union,? while the Washington Post called it ?so didactic that viewers are likely to feel less uplifted than lectured.?

LESS STREET CRED THAN KLEIN, MORE LIKE BLACK
But who is Maggie Gyllenhaal to lecture teachers about conditions of public schools or the experience of learning or teaching in public schools. When we look at her biography we see that her parents are a film director and a film producer. Her father hails from Swedish nobility. Her school experience? Her secondary school years were at the Harvard-Westlake School, a prep school of the exclusive international G 20 classification of top ?independent schools? --euphemism for super-elite prep schools.
Let's go back in time to 2010, when Cathie Black, Duchess of Bridgewater, Connecticut succeeded mere citizen Joel Klein. Much was made of how she had never any prior contact with an institution of public education. Compare Gyllenhaal and Black with Joel Klein, who at least attended public schools before he entered college.
Harvard-Westlake School, 2011-2012 tuition of 30,350 ? what kind of test scores do you think Maggie's school has had? ?In 2010, 566 Harvard-Westlake students took 1,736 Advanced Placement tests in 30 different subjects, and 90% scored 3 or higher.? --Wikipedia Harvard-Westlake School, whose ?class of 2011 had 90 students out of approximately 280 receive National Merit recognition, with 28 students receiving consideration as National Merit Semifinalists.? --Wikipedia Gee, I wonder what kinds of student-teacher ratios her school had.

WON'T BACK DOWN'S FALLING STOCK
Professional critics at Rotten Tomatoes.com generally pan the film; an aggregate of 33% give positive reviews of Won't Back Down.
David Rooney at Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film is a "pedestrian and insultingly tendentious drama."
Initially, the film sufficiently pulled at the heartstrings of the audience and produced a 79% vote on the audience meter (as of Thursday), today the film has sunk to 58% on the audience.
Per Internet Movie Database, the film is floundering with an out-right poor rating of 4.9, a rating seldom scored by the better half of top Hollywood directors and actors. At metacritic.com ?Won't Back Down? is bombing at 43 on a 100 scale, down there with ?Hotel Transylvania,? and well below ?Trouble with the Curve.? GYLLENHAAL'S UNCOMFORTABLE THANKSGIVING DINNER
The New York Observer reports that the film's stars "don't back down from the film's politics"

?You don?t want a movie to feel like it?s an issue thing. You want it to feel like a human drama. I mean Oscar Isaac?s character, his whole narrative is about someone who?s a big union believer and is struggling with that in the course of the movie.?

The film?s stars, wearing grave political faces in addition to red carpet gowns, were ardent about education reform but wary of appearing anti-union. Ms. Gyllenhall said that she came from ?the most progressive left. I wouldn?t be allowed to go home for Thanksgiving if I made an anti-union movie.?

Well, we can feel sorry for Gyllenhaal's upcoming Thanksgiving. Maggie, your film is a tool for teacher bashing, for pulling public resource from public school and for enabling the further privatization of public schools. I just feel so sorry for you. Your progressive family will wax about how great Karen Lewis has been for the nation's teachers, and you will say ...?

MORE NICE RESOURCES ON WON'T BACK DOWN AND ITS ISSUES:
Liza Featherstone at Dissent, ""Empowerment" Against Democracy: Tinseltown and the Teachers' Unions", September 26, 2012 An excerpt:

Jamie crows to a throng of cheering parents?but democracy is the enemy. Getting rid of representative government and calling in a private entity to handle things, in our current Opposite Day political moment, represents a glorious triumph of people power. The ?parent trigger? invites parents to use their vote to give up their vote?that is, to be enormously powerful for one short moment of direct democracy, which they will use to dispose, in the long run, with the ?public? part of public school, and thus with any actual power over their children?s education.----Liza Featherstone, a real, not fictional, NYC public school parent, as linked at EdNotes.

Source: http://nycityeye.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-politics-behind-nbcs-education.html

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