Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Ryan Gosling surprises kids at school for deaf

Mike Cassese / REUTERS file

Ryan Gosling earlier this fall.

By Rebecca Macatee, E! Online

Hey girl, here's another reason to love Ryan Gosling.?Over the weekend the 31-year-old actor attended a charity event benefiting the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin. Those who organized the Spooky Skedaddle 5K and Festival didn't know beforehand that the "Notebook" hunk would be gracing them with his presence.?

"You should have told me Ryan Gosling would be there ;)," @FreeFunInAustin tweeted to the school. "Ha :)," the organization replied. "We didn't know either!"?

Even at 12 years old, Ryan Gosling was a little charmer

Anne Adams, the executive director of the Texas School for the Deaf, told E! News that Gosling (who is currently in Texas filming a Terrence Malick flick) was joined by a film crew and his costars Michael Fassbender and Rooney Mara.

"Ryan was extremely kind, allowing lots of photo ops with fans and when the director told him, 'Enough,' he said, 'No, one more,' and pulled a small deaf child out of the line for a picture. Ryan is a wonderful person and we were delighted that they came!"

Ghada Soufan, a local college student, posted a pic of Ryan surrounded by kids in costume at the event. After tweeting that "RYAN GOSLING JUST LOOKED AT ME," Ghada went for the gold and got a picture taken of herself and a pal with the plaid-clad hunk. (She hashtagged the pic #bestdayever. We'd have to agree on that one.)

From Mouseketeer to movie star: Check out some of Ryan Gosling's film credits!?

How do you say "swoon" in sign language?

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/10/31/14834967-ryan-gosling-makes-surprise-appearance-at-texas-school-for-the-deaf?lite

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Friday, 26 October 2012

Blog update: Challenge resonates at obesity conference ? Our ...

What does it take to ?move the needle? on childhood obesity in Louisiana? It takes a community, to steal a well worn phrase on child rearing. But BCBSLAF Executive Director Christy Reeves underscored that point today as she addressed attendants of the 2012 Childhood Obesity & Public Health Conference at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

?If you want to go fast, go alone,? Reeves said. ?If you want to go far, go together.?

And that?s the point, Reeves said, of the foundation?s Challenge Grant program, which offered millions in grant dollars to community groups with plans to spearhead healthy living programs in their neighborhoods, schools and parishes. Of course, they had to come up with matching funds to receive the grant dollars. And you know what? Twelve grant applicants lived up to that challenge, resulting in almost $27 million in combined funds now dedicated to health improvement initiatives across the state.

It?s a monumental effort to change childhood obesity rates in our state. Kid obesity rates in Louisiana have been dismal for several years. The 2012 Louisiana Report Card on Physical Activity & Health for Children & Youth, sponsored in part by BCBSLAF, tells a sobering story ? giving F?s and D?s across the board in areas of physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption and ?screen time? (the amount of hours your average adolescent spends in front of a computer or television).

?Whenever your i-thing is on,? as Reeves says she explains it to her kids. ?Your i-thing means you aren?t outside, being active.?

?The point is,? Reeves continued to tell the crowd, ?How are we going to change all that? How are we going to take our state from D?s on a report card to A?s? How are we going to be a leader in health across the country??

The Challenge Grant program, launched just a handful of weeks ago, is part of that plan, hoping to move not just select people, but an entire community ? an entire state ? thinking differently.

?I was here last year announcing our grant program, and it was probably the greatest moment of my career,? Reeves said.

And now, a year later, with the programs underway, Reeves has every reason to be impressed with the level of commitment from their Challenge Grant partners, who are using their dollars to improve parks, open fruits and vegetable markets, kick off fitness programs at elementary schools, build lighted walking paths, grow community gardens, teach nutrition classes, create biking paths and so, so much more? All projects have to be completed by 2015.

?We?ve never done anything of this size, with this level of community involvement. It?s a little scary. But it?s also very exciting,? she said.

Source: http://ourhomelouisiana.org/2012/10/24/blog-update-challenge-resonates-at-obesity-conference/

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Sudan blames Israel for military factory explosion

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) ? Sudan claimed Wednesday that Israeli airstrikes caused an explosion and fire at a military factory south of the capital, Khartoum, killing two people.

Minister of Information Ahmed Belal Osman told reporters that four aircraft hit the Yarmouk Complex, setting off a huge blast that rocked the capital before dawn.

"Four planes coming from the east bombed the Yarmouk industrial complex," Belal said. "They used sophisticated technology." He didn't elaborate further.

Belal referred to a 2009 attack on an arms convoy in the Red Sea province in eastern Sudan. The government then blamed the attack on Israel, which believes Sudan is a conduit for arms shipments through Egypt to Gaza's militant Hamas rulers. Israel does not comment officially on the issue.

"We are now certain that this flagrant attack was authorized by the same state of Israel. The main purpose is to frustrate our military capabilities and stop any development there and ultimately weaken our national sovereignty," Belal said.

Belal said the complex produces conventional weapons. He said his country has the right to respond.

In a letter to the U.N. Security Council, Sudan's representative called the attack a "blatant violation" of the U.N. charter and called for condemnation from the world body.

Belal also said a technical team is inspecting remains of the missiles used in the attack which he said suggest Israel is behind the bombing. He didn't provide any evidence.

Israeli officials did not respond to requests for comment on the latest allegation.

At the same news conference, military spokesman Sawarmy Khaled said two people were killed and another was seriously injured in the blast. Earlier, officials said some people suffered from smoke inhalation.

The powerful blast at the complex sent exploding ammunition flying through the air, causing panic among residents.

Abdelgadir Mohammed, 31, who lives near the factory, said a loud roar of what they believed was a plane got him and his brother out of their house around midnight to check it out.

"At first we thought it was more than one plane. Then we thought it was a plane crashing because of how sharp the sound was," Mohammed said. "Then we saw a flash of light, and after it came a really loud sound. It was an explosion."

He said he heard three distinct explosions.

Mohammed said the explosion caused panic among the residents of this heavily populated low-income neighborhood. Many fled to open spaces, fearing their homes were collapsing. He said ammunition was flying out of the factory into the air and falling inside homes.

"It was a double whammy, the explosion at the factory and then the ammunition flying into the neighborhood. The ground shook. Some homes were badly damaged," he said. "The walls of our home cracked, so we left our house to sleep elsewhere. When we came back this morning, our beds and furniture were covered in ashes."

Mohammed said an artillery shell fell into a neighbor's home, and a security team had to come to remove it.

Thick smoke blackened the sky over the complex, and firefighters fought the blaze for hours.

In New York, Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman called on the U.N. Security Council to condemn the attack, accusing Israel of meddling in its internal affairs and providing support to rebel groups.

"Four Israeli airplanes invaded our air space and perpetrated this heinous attack," Osman told a Council session on Darfur. "We reject such aggression and expect the Security Council to condemn this attack because it is a blatant violation of the concepts of peace and security and of the principles and purposes of the charter and United Nation and it jeopardizes peace and security in the entire region and not just in Sudan."

The Cairo-based Arab League said it is closely following the fallout from the attack. Deputy Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed bin Helli said Sudanese officials are in touch with the League and have provided initial reports about Israel's alleged involvement. "We are working to verify them," he said.

Sudanese activists on social media websites criticized the government for placing a factory with such large quantities of ammunition in a residential area.

Sudan has been engaged in various armed conflicts for many years.

Sudan's government has been at war with rebels in the western region of Darfur and with its neighbors in South Sudan, which broke away to become Africa's newest country in 2011. Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Sudan was a major hub for al-Qaida militants and remains a transit for weapon smugglers and African migrant traffickers.

In 2009, a convoy carrying weapons in northeastern Sudan was targeted from the air, killing dozens. It was widely believed that Israel carried out the attack, hitting a weapons shipment headed for Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Israel never confirmed or denied that. Sudanese parliamentarians denied that weapons were transported in the area.

Israel never confirmed or denied it was responsible for the attack.

The U.S. imposed economic, trade and financial sanctions against Sudan in 1997, citing the Sudanese government's support for terrorism, including its sheltering of al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden in Khartoum the mid-1990s.

In 1998, American cruise missiles bombed a Khartoum pharmaceutical factory suspected of links to al-Qaida. That followed the terror group's bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people.

The Yarmouk weapons complex was built in the 1996. Sudan prided itself in having a way to produce its own ammunition and weapons despite international sanctions.

Yarmouk is one of two known state-owned weapons manufacturing facilities in the Sudanese capital.

Jonah Leff of the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey told The Associated Press that the location of the two factories is "certainly a hazard" to Khartoum's population if the weapons inside are not properly maintained or secured.

A September report from the Small Arms Survey said there was evidence from weapons packaging found in Darfur and in South Kordofan that arms and ammunition from China are exported to Yarmouk and then transported to the two embattled regions.

Leff said that although the Small Arms Survey has documented Sudanese military stocks of Iranian weapons and ammunition, there is no evidence that Iranian weapons are being assembled or manufactured in the two Khartoum factories.

___

Associated Press writers Maggie Fick and Sarah El Deeb contributed from Cairo and Michael Astor from the United Nations.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sudan-blames-israel-military-factory-explosion-160922243.html

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Amy Seimetz Cast As Chris O'Dowd's Love Interest In HBO's Family ...

Fans of Christopher Guest will be delighted to know that the legendary This Is Spinal Tap helmer will be suiting up to write and direct a new series that's already been picked up by HBO. The series stars Bridesmaids leading man Chris O'Dowd as a man who's just lost his job and his girlfriend, and after inheriting a mysterious box of belongings from a relative that send him on a journey to discover who he is. And of course he meets a plethora of interesting characters along the way.

Already announced are the Christopher Guest regulars such as Fred Willard, Michael McKean, and Ed Begley Jr. Today the news breaks that Nina Conti, Tom Bennett, and Sundance "It Girl" Amy Seimetz have all joined the series as regulars. Seimetz will play a bookstore owner who is also an aspiring writer that O'Dowd's character meets in Los Angeles.

Amy Seimetz has been kicking around in the independent film world for what seems like forever now, very often playing strong but damaged women in everything from Adam Wingard's A Horrible Way to Die to Lena Dunham's Tiny Furniture. Last year she was singled out in The Hollywood Reporter as one of the breakouts of the Sundance film festival for her leading role in Megan Griffiths' The Off-Hours. She was featured opposite Brit Marling, Felicity Jones, and Elizabeth Olsen.

Seimetz is also a writer and a director. Her feature length directorial debut Sun Don't Shine won the grand jury prize at South By Southwest this year, and just this week was nominated for a Gotham Award.

Source: http://blogcritics.org/video/article/amy-seimetz-cast-as-chris-odowds/

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Thursday, 18 October 2012

TV's highest paid actor with $24 million is ...

By Dorothy Pomerantz, Forbes

Alex Gallardo / Reuters file

"Two and a Half Men" star Ashton Kutcher topped the list of Forbes' highest paid TV actors.

Charlie Sheen? Who?s?Charlie Sheen? The volatile actor topped our list of the?Highest-Paid TV Actors?last year with $40 million. This year he?s nowhere to be seen, while the actor who took over his lead role on the hit?CBS?sitcom "Two and A Half Men"?reigns in the No. 1 spot. We estimate that?Ashton Kutcher?earned $24 million between May 2011 and May 2012.

Kutcher has proven that he can hold his own on the show. "Two and a Half Men"?attracts an average of 12.4 million viewers per episode, making it one of the most-watched sitcom on TV. That?s given Kutcher plenty of money to invest in the Silicon Valley startups that have become his passion. Kutcher was an early investor in Skype, Spotify and Airbnb.

The two sides of his life, acting and tech investing, will come together in the upcoming film "Jobs," where Kutcher will play?Apple?co-founder?Steve Jobs.

Photos from Forbes: 2012 highest paid TV actresses

Sheen isn?t the only member of last year?s top 10 who?s dropped off (though Sheen might return in the future thanks to his great deal on the show "Anger Management"). Steve Carrell, who ranked third last year with $15 million in earnings, left the NBC sitcom "The Office"?in 2011, and the world of television, so now he?ll need to prove himself as a movie star. Small movies like "Hope Springs"?and "Seeking a Friend at the End of the World"?aren?t going to help him compete against the likes of?Tom Cruise?and?Will Smith?when it comes to paydays.

The numbers for the Highest-Paid TV Actor list come from our?Celebrity 100?research and reflect estimated earnings between May 2011 ?and May 2012. We do not deduct for manager and agent fees or the other costs of being a celebrity.

Ranking second on our list behind Kutcher are Hugh Laurie and Ray Romano, who both earned $18 million. This is likely the last year for Laurie on the list. His?Fox?show, "House," ended its eight-year run in May. Laurie will continue to earn from "House"?in syndication, but his earnings are set to suffer unless he gets another show or beefs up his movie career.

Photos from Forbes: Highest paid stars under age 30

Romano made a brief return to the small screen with "Men of a Certain Age." The?TNT?show was critically acclaimed but never attracted a very large audience.?TNT?canceled it last year after only two seasons. Romano still earns plenty though from reruns of his beloved show "Everybody Loves Raymond"?and the?"Ice Age"?franchise, in which he plays wooly mammoth Manny. The fourth "Ice Age"?movie earned $860 million at the global box office.

Alec Baldwin?and?Mark Harmon?tie for fourth place with $15 million each. For years Baldwin has been talking about ending his run on "30 Rock"?as the awesome executive?Jack Donaghy. Now he?ll get his chance to spread his wings. The ratings-challenged sitcom is in its final season. He?ll next voice a tough-talking Santa Claus in?DreamWorks Animation?s "Rise of the Guardians."

"NCIS"?might be one of the least hip shows on TV, but it?s still a ratings juggernaut for?CBS, attracting an average of 19.7 million viewers per show. Harmon, who got his start on the medical drama "St. Elsewhere," has been happy to stick to TV. He hasn?t appeared in a major movie since "NCIS"?debuted in 2003.

See the full list from Forbes.com.

More in The Clicker:

Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2012/10/17/14515293-ashton-kutcher-is-tvs-highest-paid-actor?lite

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Tigers close in on pennant with 2-1 win over Yanks

Detroit Tigers' Prince Fielder, left, and Miguel Cabrera celebrate after Game 3 of the American League championship series against the New York Yankees Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, in Detroit. The Tigers won 2-1. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Detroit Tigers' Prince Fielder, left, and Miguel Cabrera celebrate after Game 3 of the American League championship series against the New York Yankees Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, in Detroit. The Tigers won 2-1. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

New York Yankees' Raul Ibanez reacts after striking out ending the game as Detroit Tigers' Alex Avila leaves home plate at Game 3 of the American League championship series Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Fans applaud as Detroit Tigers' Justin Verlander is taken out of the game in the ninth inning during Game 3 of the American League championship series Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya )

(AP) ? Justin Verlander was done for the night, and for the first time all game, the New York Yankees looked threatening at the plate.

Mark Teixeira singled, then Robinson Cano followed suit for his first hit in 30 at-bats. Up stepped Raul Ibanez, who had already rescued New York a couple times this postseason with dramatic home runs in the late innings.

"Usually when I am out of the game like that, I head to the locker room and go through my normal routine, but obviously I wanted to stay for the last out there," Verlander said. "Made it a little nerve wracking, so I sprinted up to the locker room and went through my routine as fast as I possibly could. Obviously I am superstitious a little bit. So I watched the last out from up top on the TV."

Reliever Phil Coke struck out Ibanez and the Detroit Tigers held on for a tense 2-1 victory over the Yankees on Tuesday night, taking a 3-0 lead in the AL championship series. After halting New York's rally in the ninth inning, the Tigers are a win away from their second pennant in seven years.

Detroit is in this position because of a stellar starting rotation that hasn't needed much help from the bullpen or the offense.

"You see somebody go out there and have a good game, and you want to one-up that guy. He is your friend, I know, but it still gives you the urge to go out there and do better," Verlander said. "I think that's a great thing when you can get your entire rotation doing that, and I think we're starting to click at the right time."

Seeking their first World Series title since 1984, the Tigers were on a historic pitching run even before their ace took the mound Tuesday. With the exception of a four-run ninth inning against Detroit closer Jose Valverde in Game 1, New York had been shut out for the entire series.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi benched Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher for Game 3, but it was no use. Verlander allowed only a pair of singles by Ichiro Suzuki and a leadoff homer by Eduardo Nunez in the ninth. Delmon Young hit a solo home run for the Tigers, and Miguel Cabrera had an RBI double.

Nunez's homer snapped a scoreless streak by Detroit starters of 30 1-3 innings. That's a record for a single postseason, according to STATS LLC. The previous mark of 29 innings was set by Oakland in 1974.

"You don't want to be in this situation, but this is the game of baseball," Cano said. "All you can do is not put our head down and just prepare ourselves for (Wednesday). It's not over yet."

New York sends C.C. Sabathia (15-6) to the mound in Game 4 and Detroit counters with Max Scherzer (16-7).

Verlander fell just short of a second straight shutout after stopping the Athletics in the decisive fifth game of the division series. He struck out only three, but kept New York off the scoreboard until the homer to left field by Nunez, the first run allowed by the powerful right-hander since he gave up a leadoff homer to Coco Crisp in Game 1 of the ALDS.

Nunez was at shortstop because Derek Jeter broke his ankle in Game 1 and will miss the rest of the season.

"He put together a heck of an at-bat, was locked in," Verlander said. "Probably would have been a different result if I executed it better, but you never know with a guy up there that was battling like he was."

Verlander got Brett Gardner on a tapper before he was lifted after 132 pitches, one shy of the career high he set in Game 5 of last year's ALCS against Texas.

"Normally I guess you don't take Secretariat out in the final furlong, but that was pretty much it for him," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.

Coke came in and retired Suzuki before allowing two-out hits to Teixeira and Cano. Ibanez, who hit tying and winning homers in the same game in the ALDS against Baltimore and tied Game 1 of this series with a homer in the ninth, struck out swinging at a breaking ball to end it.

"Raul has come up in a lot of big situations," Girardi said. "You know, you go back to September 1 and he has come through for us, and I felt great about him up there."

Yankees starter Phil Hughes was lifted in the fourth because of a stiff back, but right now it's the Yankees' hitting that has them on the brink of elimination. New York is batting .182 for the series and .200 during the postseason.

Rodriguez also was benched for Game 5 against Baltimore after being pulled for pinch-hitters in the previous two games. A-Rod is 3 for 23 (.130) without an RBI or extra-base hit this postseason, his latest October flop. The numbers are especially ugly against right-handers: 0 for 18 with 12 strikeouts.

The three-time AL MVP was not available to reporters before or after the game.

Hughes matched Verlander in a scoreless duel until Young led off the Detroit fourth with a line drive over the wall in left field. It was his seventh homer in the last two postseasons ? he's already the Tigers' career leader in that department.

Andy Dirks followed with a walk, and Hughes was pulled with an 0-2 count on Jhonny Peralta. David Phelps came on and got out of the inning, but the Yankees now have a pitching injury to go along with all their hitting problems.

The Yankees kept it close, dodging several Detroit rallies. The Tigers added an unearned run in the fifth when Eric Chavez ? Rodriguez's replacement at third ? misplayed a grounder for an error. Cabrera, the AL Triple Crown winner, followed with an RBI double.

Cabrera has a 16-game hitting streak in LCS play, breaking a tie for that record with Manny Ramirez and Pete Rose, according to STATS.

NOTES: Cabrera moved from his usual third base spot to where the shortstop would normally play as part of a defensive shift against Teixeira in the fourth ? then had to run all the way back to catch a popup in foul ground. ... Nunez's homer snapped a streak of 37 innings by Detroit starters without allowing an earned run, the longest in a single postseason in the live-ball era. The starters for the 1905 New York Giants threw 44 straight innings without allowing an earned run for the postseason record, according to STATS.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-10-17-ALCS-Yankees-Tigers%20Folo/id-1fe26d60fa9741babc2afe10d7cf9a77

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New research aims to predict cancer risk | SmartPlanet

A new study by researchers at the University of Southampton will look for ways to better predict the risk of getting cancer.

The five-year $3.2 million study, funded by the UK?s National Institute for Health Research, will analyze blood samples and other clinical information of 20,000 patients who have had lung or colon cancer in order to better understand which symptoms are the most predictive of those who ultimately are diagnosed with cancer. The study will also conduct genetic testing to see what kinds of information?genetics?can provide in determining the risk of cancer beyond clinical information.

Researchers believe this study can make the cancer screening process more efficient and less stressful for patients.

?We need to improve both the early referral rates for cancer but, at the same time, we do not want to overload the system with lots of people who are at a low risk of having cancer and may have negative side-effects of being over-investigated,? said lead researcher Paul Little. ?Waiting for results and dealing with the possibility of having cancer can be a distressing and daunting time for patients and their families, our research aims to aid the patient pathway and help medical professionals, so every patient is dealt with in the most appropriate way and in a timely fashion.?

The ultimate goal, of course, is to be able diagnose patients with cancer as quickly as possible, because, with cancer especially, the earlier it is caught the better the prognosis for the patient.

[h/t Science Daily]

Image courtesy of University of Southampton

Source: http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/new-research-aims-to-predict-cancer-risk/2880

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Surgery delayed for Filipino dog that lost snout

In this August, 12, 2012 photo provided by the University of California - Davis, a Bunggal family member plays with Kabang the dog in the Philippines. The dog that lost its snout while saving two girls in the Philippines has been brought to the University of California, Davis, where veterinarians will try to fix its injuries. UC Davis surgeons say Kabang will need multiple surgeries, but they are confident they can improve its condition.(AP Photo/UC Davis, Anton Lim)

In this August, 12, 2012 photo provided by the University of California - Davis, a Bunggal family member plays with Kabang the dog in the Philippines. The dog that lost its snout while saving two girls in the Philippines has been brought to the University of California, Davis, where veterinarians will try to fix its injuries. UC Davis surgeons say Kabang will need multiple surgeries, but they are confident they can improve its condition.(AP Photo/UC Davis, Anton Lim)

(AP) ? A dog from the Philippines who became an international hero after she sacrificed her snout to save two young girls will have to wait a little longer for surgery to replace her missing muzzle.

The Sacramento Bee reports (http://sacb.ee/OFPzye ) that veterinarians at the University of California, Davis said Tuesday that Kabang needs treatment for heartworm and chemotherapy for a vaginal tumor before she can undergo facial reconstruction.

The mixed-breed dog ended up in Davis last week after a nurse from Buffalo, N.Y., spearheaded a fundraising campaign to bring her to the U.S. Veterinarians in the Philippines had been unable to treat her injuries.

Newspapers in the Philippines reported that Kabang had her snout and upper jaw sheared off when she jumped in front of a speeding motorcycle while she was walking with her owner's daughter and niece.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-10-16-Dog-Missing%20Snout/id-5301053c478c49d6ab06368293b804ae

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Blue Period on the Black Market

Claude Monet's Charing Cross Bridge, 1899, oil on canvas.

Claude Monet's Charing Cross Bridge, 1899, oil on canvas.

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza/Wikimedia Commons.

Thieves stole hundreds of millions of dollars? worth of paintings by Picasso, Monet, Gauguin, and Matisse from a museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on Tuesday morning. Since everyone knows the paintings are stolen, it?s impossible to sell them at auction. How do thieves profit from a high-profile art heist?

The black market. Most stolen art work goes underground. The thief sells his haul to an unscrupulous art dealer, who usually sells it on to a private collector who keeps it for a while. After several years and many subsequent underground transactions, relatively obscure pieces can be sold in the open, especially through small auction houses that don?t specialize in art. Even after a generation, however, it will be very difficult to bring a stolen Picasso or a Monet back to auction.

Thieves offer paintings by the masters at incredible discounts. According to Joshua Knelman?s book Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives Through the Secret World of Stolen Art, a stolen painting usually goes for around 10 percent of its legitimate auction value in the first sale between criminal and shady dealer. The price is low because both parties are at risk. The initial buyers usually know the works are stolen, especially since experienced black marketeers typically buy only from thieves they?re already familiar with. In subsequent sales, the price usually jumps substantially as the risk of punishment drops. In the United States, for example, buyers can be prosecuted under the National Stolen Property Act only if the government can prove that they knew the item was stolen. Once a painting changes hands two or three times, buyers can plausibly (and sometimes honestly) claim that they thought it was legitimate.

The London-based Art Loss Register allows owners and dealers to register their works of art, and urges buyers and sellers to conduct a title search before agreeing to a transaction. Many dealers, however, have resisted the process. Some don?t want to pay the $95 search fee, which is a pittance compared to the cost of a Picasso, but a non-negligible amount in smaller transactions. Others don?t like regulation and public scrutiny of their transactions.

Thieves who don?t know a black-market dealer have a couple of other options. They can try to sell the work as a knock-off of the original at an enormous discount. They can, alternatively, hold the painting for ransom from the rightful owner. In 1986, for example, an Irish criminal group stole paintings by Vermeer, Rubens, Gainsborough, and Goya owned by the National Gallery of Ireland and tried to extract a ransom from the government. The thieves made the mistake of threatening to kill an art expert who they asked to authenticate the paintings. The terrified dealer called Scotland Yard.

Got a question about today?s news? Ask the Explainer.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=ebc9040185b98a575a6e1aa499da20e9

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Tuesday, 16 October 2012

No Global Warming for 16 Years; California Inflicts Cap & Tax to Stop It

If you find yourself tempted to believe anything whatsoever that the liberal authorities tell you, just remember global warming. What, you?ve already forgotten it? That could be because despite steadily rising CO2 levels that ?the consensus? promised would turn the planet into an inferno, global warming ended half a generation ago:

The world stopped getting warmer almost 16 years ago, according to new data released last week.

The figures, which have triggered debate among climate scientists, reveal that from the beginning of 1997 until August 2012, there was no discernible rise in aggregate global temperatures.

This means that the ?plateau? or ?pause? in global warming has now lasted for about the same time as the previous period when temperatures rose, 1980 to 1996. Before that, temperatures had been stable or declining for about 40 years.

Again, despite a whole lot of CO2 put into the air. Obviously, Al Gore?s self-serving global warming theories are total bunk, no matter how they are hyped by the media.

Meanwhile, in the Land of Fruits and Nuts:

On Jan. 1, [California] will become the first state in the nation to charge industries across the economy for the greenhouse gases they emit. Under the system, known as ?cap and trade,? the state will set an overall ceiling on those emissions and assign allowable emission amounts for individual polluters. A portion of these so-called allowances will be allocated to utilities, manufacturers and others; the remainder will be auctioned off.

Over time, the number of allowances issued by the state will be reduced, which should force a reduction in emissions.

That is, you will have to buy allowances in order to engage in economically productive activity, and these allowances will be steadily reduced, correspondingly reducing wealth generation.

Don?t worry about the effect this insanity will have on California?s already staggering economy. The other 49 will be glad to bail it out so that it can continue wallowing in irresponsible moonbattery until the entire country collapses under the sheer weight of liberal asininity.

Global warming: nonexistent.

On tips from Just TheTip, Stormfax, Bob Roberts, Ghost of FA Hayek, K, and G. Fox.

Source: http://moonbattery.com/?p=19224

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New Gravis Florida poll gives Romney 1 point edge

The latest Florida poll from Winter Springs-based Gravis Marketing adds more data to the growing pool showing that Republican challenger Mitt Romney has caught President Barack Obama in Florida.

The Gravis poll of 617 likely voters, taken Oct. 14 and 15, gives Romney a 1 point edge in Florida, 49-48, with a 4 point margin of error.

Among other Gravis findings:

?President Obama has a 7-point net negative job performance rating in Florida. 43 percent approve and 50 percent do not approve of his performance.

?There is a strong gender gap as President Obama has a 4-point lead with women, while Governor Romney has a 9-point lead with men.

?Mitt Romney leads with independents by a 3-point margin, 47 to 44 percent.

?Romney leads among independent voters by a 3-point, 47 to 44 percent margin. Among Republicans, Romney leads 90 to 9 percent. Obama leads with Democrats, 86 percent to 13 percent.?

Source: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2012/10/new-gravis-florida-poll-gives-romney-1-point-edge.html

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Monday, 15 October 2012

Gemelli Pasta with Lamb Ragu adapted from Michael Mina


???????? For all its popularity, ordinary supermarkets carry surprisingly few pasta shapes.? Granted, they do have a good representation of the types of pasta the home cook needs. But they never come close to the staggering number of varieties you?ll find at a pasta emporium like New York?s Eataly which is just across the street from Madison Square Park at 23rd?and 5th?Avenue.? The picture at left shows just one aisle of the store?s enormous pasta section!? How I took this picture with virtually no one in that aisle is something of a miracle.? Eataly, featured in this post (http://www.chewingthefat.us.com/2010/11/visit-to-eataly-yields-delicious-veal.html), celebrated its second anniversary just last week.? And there was a lot to celebrate. The 58,000 square foot store was on track to net $85 million in one year, which works out to $1700 a square foot!? That?s a lot of pasta!? And Eataly would be a good place look for the Strozzapreti pasta that Chef Michael Mina called for in his original recipe.? We were nowhere near Eataly when we decided to cook this meat-y pasta dish with its spicy overlay of cumin and fennel and red pepper.? So we substituted Gemelli, which are easy to find almost anywhere. They?re also an approved substitute for Strozzapreti, which translates, from Italian into English as ?Priest Strangler?.? Gemelli means ?twins? in Italian, so much less violent than ?priest strangler? don?t you think?
???????? Whoever invented pasta must have had a fine time naming the various shapes.?? They must have looked at the shape of the pasta and thought that one looks like a little ear (Orichiette).? That one looks like a butterfly (Farfalle) and that one looks like a Bridegroom (Ziti and I refuse to speculate why). It?s easy to see why Gemelli, which are two side-by-side spirals, are so named. But when you get to Strozzapreti which is shaped like a rolled towel, you have to ask yourself ?Was this some sinister pasta out of The Borgias????
? ? ? ? ?At the end of the day, all pasta is chosen because it is the most appropriate being used. Spaghetti, still far and away the most popular, is best for light sauces.? When you heavy up on the meat, pasta with openings and ridges and bowls like Rigatoni, Penne and Orichiette are best.? Cream sauces are paired with ribbon like pastas like Fettucine and Pappardelle.? ?And both Strozzapreti and Gemelli have long ridges along their sides ?which helps pick up more of the sauce? according to Michael Mina whose recipe we used. ???????? Egyptian-born Chef Michael Mina is well known in his adopted hometown of San Francisco. And why wouldn?t he be? He was just 22 when he helped design and execute a restaurant from the ground up.? That restaurant, Aqua, opened in 1991 and Chef Mina?s reputation as a great innovator and chef was born. ?After 20 years and a staggering 19 restaurants later, the chef returned to the site of his original Aqua and opened Michael Mina (252 California St. San Francisco CA Tel: (415) 397-9222.).? You know you?ve made it when your own name is the draw.? In his recipe for Lamb Ragu which came from Food and Wine Magazine, there?s a great balance between the richness of the slowly cooked meat sauce combined with the freshness of the cherry tomatoes, scallions and mint leaves that are added at the end of the preparation. And not to be forgotten is the grated cheese that used to finish the dish.? It ties the whole dish together using sheep?s milk cheese. ?There?s not a lot of work here and the two hours and fifteen minutes it takes to make are mainly in the cooking time for the sauce.? Here?s the recipe: Recipe for Gemelli with Lamb Ragu adapted from Michael Mina in?
Food and Wine Magazine This is listed as being for 8 servings.? Make a batch and freeze it for later use if you?re serving fewer people.







???? 1 tablespoon fennel seeds ???? 1 tablespoon cumin seeds ???? 1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper or 1/2 ?tbsp. crushed red pepper ???? 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns ???? 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil ???? 2 pounds ground lamb ???? Freshly ground black pepper ???? 6 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped ???? 1 large onion, coarsely chopped ???? 1 large fennel bulb?halved, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice ???? 1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika ???? 2 tablespoons harissa ???? One 14-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped, liquid reserved ???? 2 cups chicken stock ???? 1 pound dried?strozzapretipasta ???? 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved ???? 6 scallions, chopped ???? 1/2 cup thinly sliced mint leaves ???? Freshly grated sheep milk cheese, or?pecorino to pass when serving

In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, combine the fennel, cumin, Aleppo pepper and peppercorns and cook over moderate heat until ??????? fragrant, 2 minutes. Let cool, then wrap in cheesecloth and tie into a ??????? bundle.

Add the oil to the casserole and heat. Add half of the lamb, season with salt and pepper and cook over high heat, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned, 3 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the?lamb to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining lamb.
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the casserole. Add the garlic, onion and fennel and cook over moderate heat until softened, 8?minutes. Stir in the spice bundle, paprika, harissa, tomatoes and their liquid and the stock. Return the lamb and accumulated juices to the ? casserole and bring to a simmer.
Cover the rag? and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes, stirring?occasionally. Uncover and simmer until thickened, about 50 minutes longer. Discard the spice bundle and season the rag? with salt and pepper.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and return to the pot. Add the rag? and stir. Fold in the cherry?tomatoes, scallions and half of the mint. Season with salt and pepper; transfer to a large bowl. Top with the remaining mint and serve,passing the cheese at the table.???

Source: http://www.chewingthefat.us.com/2012/10/gemelli-pasta-with-lamb-ragu-adapted.html

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Credit Union Massachusetts | Parenthetical Statement

The Workers? Credit Union is really a central, one-stop non-profit financial institution with regard to advantages registration, information as well as help. We provide worker loyalty when confronted with insurance companies, financial loans along with other advantages. Along with supplying immediate assistance to workers, the WCU accounts for most of Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire?s worker advantages administrative capabilities.

Location: Workers? Credit Union is based in North Central Massachusetts with 14 branch locations throughout Massachusetts. WCU also has shared branching with the ability to make deposits, withdrawals, and loan payments at over 1,300 credit unions throughout the United States. Workers? Credit Union also boasts surcharge-free ATMs, providing members with 24/7 account access to over 100 local Massachusetts ATMs.

Benefits and Services: Credit union Massachusetts offers savings accounts, checking accounts, CDs, IRAs, loans, and credit cards for individuals at competitive rates. WCU also has a Balance Financial Fitness Program that provides money management counseling, debt management, credit report review, and an online financial education center. Workers? Credit Union also offers financing solutions for homeowners, including mortgages, jumbo loans, short-term mortgage pay-off for individuals retiring, home equity line/loan, and CU realty rebate program. They also offer business savings accounts, checking accounts, business credit cards, commercial lending, business retirement planning services, and other financial services to help businesses succeed. In addition, Workers? Credit Union also offers pre and post retirement planning, education planning, estate conservation strategies, life insurance, and long-term care insurance. Member benefits include the Identity Secure service, payment protection, auto loans, online bill pay, and more.

from your own site.

Source: http://parentheticalstatement.com/personal-finance/credit-union-massachusetts/

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Stress Relief Techniques - My Phenom Fitness

It is well known that exercise is one of many great stress relief techniques that bring numerous advantages and improvements to one?s physical health. But are you aware that exercise also affect one?s mental function and is beneficial when dealing with anxiety? In particular, those who suffer from stress and anxiety may find that taking an active part in an exercise program can help them when dealing with anxiety and can be great for stress relief techniques. How is this possible?

Mental health experts believe that often times, anxiety not only brings excess tension to the body, but that anxiety also weighs on our emotions, adding to the stress experienced. As the body remains tensed, the mind also becomes cluttered and overwhelmed because of this.? One way to help clear this up is through regular exercise. Doing basic routines releases body chemicals and hormones that will help reduce stress and tension. The mind and body can then become relaxed, which can be very helpful when dealing with anxiety. Thus, this leads to a diminished feeling of anxiousness which is why exercise is one of many great stress relief techniques that you can implement in your life.

Below are just some of the exercises you can do as a form of stress relief techniques. These exercises will be great in dealing with anxiety that you may have.

Stress Relief Techniques #1: Cardio Boxing
One of many very effective stress relief techniques is to do cardio boxing.? Pounding and punching on the bags are helpful because it can release pent up emotions and frustrations and can, as a result, be very effective when dealing with anxiety. The actions work like this catharsis that opens up clogged thoughts and takes away all the tension in the body. As soon as you?re done with the routine, you will see that you will feel lighter and less anxious, and the stress felt will be reduced. This is one of many beneficial stress relief techniques that can aid you in dealing with anxiety.

Stress Relief Techniques #2: Walking
Whether you?re doing walking exercises on the treadmill or simply walking outside, walking can help with tension relief. We often tell people who are very angry and argumentative to take a walk to clear their mind because it frequently can help in the dealing with anxiety that they may have. This works in the same principle because the mind can focus on other things. Exercise does not need to be intense to have great benefits, and any physical activity, such as something as simple as this (walking) can deliver results and be of great help when dealing with anxiety in your life. It truly is amazing how simple stress relief techniques such as walking can help when dealing with anxiety.

Stress Relief Techniques #3: Yoga and Stretching
Yoga, stretching and similar stress relief techniques can provide anxiety relief, just as much as other forms of exercises. Even if these routines have low intensity, the mere fact that your body and mind puts focus on doing something, they can help take your mind off your worries and help in dealing with anxiety. Plus, these routines also offer a calming effect that withers away stress and tension. With yoga routines most especially, this method works behind the idea that the body and the mind should create a balance. If one is distracted or in pain, the person cannot function properly.

Other than our physical well-being, there are other aspects to health that one should take care of, such as our mental or emotional well-being and our dental health. Read up on tips and guides to maintaining good dental health at http://bracescostinfo.com.

Self Improvement from SelfGrowth.com- ? SelfGrowth.com is the most complete guide to information about Self Improvement on the Internet.

Source: http://www.myphenomfitness.com/stress-relief-techniques/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=stress-relief-techniques

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Sunday, 14 October 2012

Video game Arian Foster Jersey Much Better Than Your Competition ...

From your about three year old understanding Arian Foster Jersey the alphabet, to your soldier finding out how to protect his guidelines on the front side outlines, games genuinely have one thing for people all. You can find games to minimize your stomach-range, increase your IQ or just require clear of everything for some time. Read on to understand more about this fascinating world.

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Buy your online games employed. Video games are expensive. However, lots of people insist upon buying them new. The thinking behind this is certainly that applied video games will be broken or defective. Most retailers check out their employed video games prior to bringing them into their supply. Acquire used and keep your statements, in the event. The savings is definitely worth the minimal danger.

Look into the game out prior to deciding to permit your youngsters listen to it. Ensure it is ideal for what their age is by reading evaluations as well as other specifics about the overall game online. At times the Arian Foster Jersey rating isn?t adequate and it is best to have a look at what other folks have to say concerning the game and also the valuables in it.

If you are searching into developing a game playing collection but don?t have lots of money, you should begin considering personal computer gaming. There are numerous liberated to enjoy video games that may be really addicting on your computer. Start with installing water vapor, a person that works well just like the Itunes of video games.

An excellent game must have solid visuals with colors along with a well-defined picture top quality. It may be difficult to understand what a relevant video activity appears like without the need of taking part in it initially. It is then imperative that you consider the product?s box for assist. Browse the facts about the back of the game?s box to create a knowledgeable choice. Most video games possess a handful of small photos to assist you Arian Foster Jersey see what the impression good quality is a lot like.

Movie gaming has genuinely enter into their own, with some thing to offer you every person in virtually any move of daily life. They already have turn out to be so reasonable, it?s simple to get lost with your beloved imaginary world and tend to forget by pointing out horrible time you could have just possessed! Utilize these suggestions to take your video gaming to another level!

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Source: http://www.hugohosting.com/video-game-arian-foster-jersey-much-better-than-your-competition-by-using-these-ideas.html

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Fight or Flight -invite only/closed-

Tanja walked up to the house and stopped. She checked the address on her phone. It was correct. This wasn't the only house near by that was having a party. Everyone seemed to be wanting to go crazy now that midterms were done with and there was some time off. She continued her approach. Tanja remembered whose place this was. It was a few second-year students who lived here. She had only heard of one of them: Jason. He was extremely good with numbers and science, which were things that she, herself, struggled with greatly.

Tanja recalled once asking him for help on something, one time in chemistry, by passing Jason a note after deliberately sitting beside him. Jason grinned as he read the note. His reply not only answered her question, but also corrected her on a minor mistake she had made in her use of Jason's native tongue. It was well known to her that, in languages, sometimes the smallest thing could warp the meaning so much that the message desired did not ever come to light, and instead something silly or otherwise ridiculous was what actually was said. So much for showing off her linguistic prowess. At least the guy had been nice and good mannered about the whole thing. He never made her feel too bad about it; she took care of that part herself. Tanja loved language, and it was somewhat of a passion. Needless to say, Tanja never made that same error in German ever again. Chemistry was a different story.

After looking around to make sure she was still alone in the evening air, Tanja inspected herself to make sure that her sapphire tube-top and tight black pants were till looking good. After she did so, she joined the party.

Once inside Tanja instantly gave up on finding one of the hosts--Jason, the one she knew--and decided to join a card game. It was actually more of a drinking game. One of her friends, Sandra, was playing, and so Tanja joined in the game of Blow.

"Holy hell, woman," one of the guys, an American, said, "you do know that the point of the game is to try to not topple the pile of cards."

"You do know," Tanja mimiced, grinning, "that the point of the game is to drink!" She raised her bottle and Sandra instantly clinked her own against it and the two burst into laughter.

"Yeah, but..." the American boy looked about, "you've been drinking for... I don't even know! How many bottles is that for you?"

Tanja just shrugged.

"Well, that's enough for me," said a Spanish guy. His speech was mildly slurred.

"See," exclaimed the American. "It shouldn't be this difficult to out drink a couple of-"

"Of what?" Tanja put on a mask of intrigue, daring him to finish the sentence.

"Nothin'..." He stood up. "It was nice playing with you, ladies. I'll see you around." After steadying himself on the chair he'd used, he vanished into the party.

Tanja looked to Sandra, and they clashed bottles and laughed boisterously once more, celebrating their victory. Tanja then shuffled the cards absentmindedly, waiting with Sandra until any others decided to join in on their fun.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/41nT4rSww7o/viewtopic.php

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AP Impact: Feds muff kid jewelry cadmium crackdown

This Oct. 10, 2012, photo shows jewelry containing high levels of the toxic metal cadmium purchased by The Associated Press at small shops in Los Angeles during a 19-month period ending in March 2012. Federal regulators failed to pursue recalls after they found cadmium-tainted jewelry on store shelves, despite their vow to keep such toxic trinkets out of children's hands, an AP investigation shows. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

This Oct. 10, 2012, photo shows jewelry containing high levels of the toxic metal cadmium purchased by The Associated Press at small shops in Los Angeles during a 19-month period ending in March 2012. Federal regulators failed to pursue recalls after they found cadmium-tainted jewelry on store shelves, despite their vow to keep such toxic trinkets out of children's hands, an AP investigation shows. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010, file photo, Inez Moore Tenenbaum, chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, appears during a joint news conference following the second China-EU-US high-level Trilateral Summit on Product Safety in Shanghai, China. Federal regulators failed to pursue recalls after they found cadmium-tainted jewelry on store shelves, despite their vow to keep such toxic trinkets out of children's hands, an Associated Press investigation shows. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

This Oct. 10, 2012, photo shows jewelry containing high levels of the toxic metal cadmium purchased by The Associated Press at small shops in Los Angeles during a 19-month period ending in March 2012. Federal regulators failed to pursue recalls after they found cadmium-tainted jewelry on store shelves, despite their vow to keep such toxic trinkets out of children's hands, an AP investigation shows. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

(AP) ? Federal regulators failed to pursue recalls after they found cadmium-tainted jewelry on store shelves, despite their vow to keep the toxic trinkets out of children's hands, an Associated Press investigation shows.

Officials at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission also have not warned parents about the contaminated items already in their homes.

More than two years after the AP revealed that some Chinese factories were substituting cadmium for banned lead, the CPSC still hasn't determined the extent of the contamination.

Contaminated jewelry is surely less prevalent in the U.S. than before its widespread presence was first documented. However, rings, bracelets and pendants containing cadmium and marketed for preteen girls were purchased over the last year. The AP and representatives of two consumer groups were able to buy the items in Los Angeles, suburban San Francisco, central Ohio and upstate New York.

Despite touting its work as a model of proactive regulation, the agency tasked with protecting Americans from dangerous everyday products often has been reactive ? or inactive.

Take a "children's jewelry sweep" the CPSC conducted at stores nationwide. Testing showed that six different items on shelves ? including one referred to as a "baby bracelet" ? were hazardous by the agency's guidelines. Yet the agency neither pursued recalls nor warned the public about the items, records and interviews show.

In addition, the CPSC allowed Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Meijer, a smaller Midwest chain, to pull from shelves jewelry that flunked safety testing without telling parents who had previously purchased such items. And it did not follow through on evidence it developed that cadmium jewelry remains on sale in local shops.

Agency staffers have consistently sided with firms that argued their high-cadmium items shouldn't be recalled ? not because they were safe in the hands of kids, but because they were deemed not to meet the legal definition of a "children's product." Also, the CPSC trusted retailers and jewelry importers to self-police their inventories for cadmium, but did not check whether they had done so for at least a year.

In response to AP's reporting, the CPSC said it did all it could given limited resources. A spokesman credited the agency's focus on intercepting jewelry before it got onto shelves as the reason that cadmium did not become the widespread scourge that lead was several years ago.

To be sure, the CPSC does have challenges.

Though the agency's resources have been growing, by federal standards the CPSC is a minnow ? a $115 million budget supports just 545 full-time employees responsible for regulating thousands of products.

And, under agency rules, it is difficult to mandate that a firm recall an item.

While CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum has claimed credit for reducing the presence of cadmium in children's jewelry, in fact, faster and more forceful efforts have come from elsewhere.

For example, major retailers including Wal-Mart and Target Corp. began requiring safety testing ? not the CPSC.

And new laws in six states and national legal settlements ? not the CPSC ? created strict, binding limits on cadmium in jewelry.

There are no known injuries or deaths due to cadmium in children's jewelry, but contaminated jewelry can poison in two ways: slow and steady through habitual licking and biting, or acutely through swallowing. The CPSC estimates that several thousand kids are treated annually at U.S. emergency rooms for accidentally ingesting jewelry.

Once in the body, cadmium stays for decades. If enough accumulates, it can cripple kidneys and bones ? and cause cancer.

___

To examine the agency's performance on the cadmium issue, the AP conducted three rounds of testing, analyzed hundreds of agency test results and reviewed hundreds of pages of internal documents obtained under the federal Freedom of Information Act. Dozens of regulators, scientists, members of industry, or consumer advocates were interviewed.

National chain stores ? which closely manage their public images and invest in product testing ? appear to have cleaned up their inventories. Shops that sell discount jewelry are a different story.

The AP made three visits to a dozen small shops in Los Angeles' jewelry district during a 19-month period ending in March. A reporter bought bracelets, necklaces and charm bracelets that salespeople said would make a good gift for a kindergartner.

Twenty of 64 items purchased were at least 5 percent cadmium, and often much higher, according to tests using an Olympus Innov-X X-ray fluorescence gun that estimates what metals are in jewelry. Subsequent lab testing showed that several pendants were hazardous based on CPSC guidelines. One was 85 percent cadmium.

Additional proof that cadmium jewelry was being sold comes from testing by two advocacy groups, the California-based Center for Environmental Health and Michigan-based Ecology Center. Lab results indicated that trinkets bought at Halloween costume stores last fall in the San Francisco Bay area and discounters in New York and Ohio over the winter were between 20 and 30 percent cadmium.

While the items would appeal to kids, they weren't recalled, apparently because the CPSC did not consider them children's products. If jewelry isn't "primarily intended" for kids 12 and under, it's an adult product ? and adult products have no cadmium restrictions.

Results of the testing by AP and the advocacy groups reinforce ongoing reporting on the larger question ? whether the CPSC has kept its word on taking the strongest steps possible to clean up store shelves and children's jewelry boxes.

In fact, the CPSC has been aware that cadmium jewelry was being sold in some discount shops since at least September 2010. That's when the agency's lab reported hazardous readings from a children's pendant bought at a small shop in New York City. As with jewelry AP bought in Los Angeles, there were no manufacturer markings on the packaging ? and that made it difficult to track the pendant to its source.

The agency's investigator bought all the samples at the shop, but didn't look to see whether the pendant was sold elsewhere, CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said.

"We've got to make some tough decisions with our investigators in terms of when they stay on the trail," Wolfson said. "There needs to be a rationale for it."

___

In January 2010, Tenenbaum mobilized her agency in reaction to AP's initial investigation. She told parents to toss cheap metal trinkets and promised to investigate all high-cadmium jewelry the agency learned about.

While five jewelry recalls followed, none began at the agency's initiative. The first three covered products AP highlighted; the last two came after companies approached the CPSC. All the recalls were voluntary.

Then the recalls stopped, though not because the CPSC thought cadmium was gone from the marketplace.

Instead of clearing contaminated products from store shelves, the agency focused on a policy of restricting future flow. At first, that meant warning Asian manufacturers to stop substituting cadmium for lead. Later, the agency started scattered cargo checks at U.S. ports and pressed a private-sector group led by the jewelry industry to adopt voluntary cadmium limits.

It took nearly two years for those standards to be enacted. And while several cadmium jewelry shipments were intercepted, with just 19 inspectors at 15 ports, the agency touches a minuscule fraction of the billions of consumer goods that enter the U.S. each year.

At a product safety conference in March, Tenenbaum claimed victory: "The proactive steps we have taken in China, at the ports, and in the standards environment have stopped cadmium from being the next lead."

But it wasn't until early 2011, a full year after AP's original report, that the agency had began seriously checking children's jewelry on store shelves. Even then, the scale of sampling was not great enough to draw broad conclusions.

Tenenbaum said in an interview that inspectors didn't check store shelves earlier because agency scientists had not decided what cadmium levels would qualify a piece of jewelry as hazardous. And they haven't checked more since 2011 due to other priorities, particularly items that children have died using, such as faulty cribs and ATVs.

___

Before 2010, the consumer agency ignored scattered reports of cadmium-contaminated jewelry. Emails obtained under FOIA show an agency working in the days immediately following AP's initial report to turn revelations about past indifference into a success story. But a reconstruction of the ensuing events suggests an agency that started out strong soon began to back off.

Just six months in office in early 2010, Tenenbaum found in cadmium an opportunity to contrast herself with her predecessor, who was cast as weak and ineffective during the 2007-08 Chinese product scares.

"These are a priority for the Chairman, so they are to be given priority," a senior official in CPSC's compliance division emailed testing lab colleagues about samples of bracelet charms on Jan. 14, 2010.

Two weeks later, the agency announced the first-ever cadmium-related recall ? 55,000 "The Princess and The Frog" movie-themed pendants sold at Walmarts.

Almost immediately, Tenenbaum was shaping the narrative the agency would tell and retell ? that fast action allowed it to "get ahead" of the cadmium problem.

By early 2011, the CPSC had finally done a national "children's jewelry sweep" to gauge what was on store shelves. That February, CPSC chemists reported a troubling analysis of three jewelry samples bought by agency inspectors. Testing showed that hazardous amounts of cadmium would dissolve into the stomach acid of a child who swallowed the jewelry.

Over the next few weeks, three more items failed the test, including the baby bracelet.

While the number of jewelry pieces with hazardous readings was not great ? 711 samples were screened ? some of the six items had even more alarming cadmium readings than jewelry that had been recalled. One was 27 times higher than the agency's acceptable limit.

Yet the CPSC neither informed consumers nor initiated recall efforts. Instead, the agency asked a distributor where two of the items were found to destroy its inventory. For another item, the inspector only rounded up all samples in the store.

Spokesman Wolfson gave several reasons why the agency took no further action. Two of the items were discontinued in 2005, according to the distributor, which meant "a recall was not warranted" ? despite the 2011 purchase. One had packaging that didn't identify the manufacturer or distributor. And in the three other cases, field inspectors had picked up jewelry that they thought was for children but that agency headquarters decided was actually for adults.

"We firmly believe that we took the right action based upon the work we did and the information we gathered," Wolfson said.

Because there were no recalls, the agency can't reveal what the products were or where they were bought.

Aside from the jewelry sweep, in at least two cases the agency let major retailers avoid informing the public that they had pulled jewelry after their testing turned up cadmium.

In May 2010, Wal-Mart announced it had removed "the few products" that failed checks it started doing on children's jewelry; it did not identify the items. The retailing giant had started running a European Union safety test that was similar to the stomach-acid test the CPSC used.

Wal-Mart spokesman Lorenzo Lopez said that despite failing a safety test, the items were not dangerous. He would not share the results.

"We're talking about components within these items that just didn't rise to the level where it posed a safety risk," he said.

Because Wal-Mart unilaterally yanked the products, no public notification was required by CPSC ? and Wal-Mart gave none.

The agency never pressed for a recall of items that had already been sold.

A similar scenario occurred at the Midwest retailer Meijer.

The CPSC learned of jewelry with hazardous test readings but, despite a pledge to follow any leads about cadmium jewelry, didn't open an investigation until AP began asking about the items six months later.

The agency never pressed for a recall because it decided the jewelry was primarily intended for teens or adults, not children.

Yet on the sales receipt, the items were listed as "girls jewelry" and "girls accessories" and a Meijer spokesman described them as "children's jewelry." He said they were briefly removed from store shelves, then returned, then pulled again when AP began inquiring.

Nowhere were the agency's conclusions more curious than the biggest recall of 2010 ? 12 million drinking glasses sold by McDonald's to promote the animated movie "Shrek Forever After." Cadmium used in red decorations on the glass could rub onto a child's hand, and eventually get into the mouth.

Months after the recall, the agency said the glasses shouldn't have been pulled because they were not mainly for kids.

And then there was the agency's assessment of brightly colored bracelet charms shaped like flip flops. Sold exclusively by Wal-Mart, the charms were 90 percent cadmium.

"Before you decide for certain that you want to recall the Flip Flop Charms, take a look at the image of the product in the attached email," Wal-Mart's then-director of product safety and compliance, Kyle Holifield, wrote the CPSC in January 2010. "There just isn't anything about the product itself or its packaging to indicate that it was designed or intended primarily for use by children."

Holifield's email only included the front of the packaging. The back of the packaging says the charms are "For ages 3 and over."

According to guidelines drafted by Wal-Mart's own product safety staff and endorsed by the jewelry industry, such labeling statements make jewelry a children's product.

That should have made the charms subject to cadmium limits ? and eligible for a recall.

In a written statement, Wal-Mart said: "When CPSC asked us about this item, we considered it an adult jewelry item because it was displayed alongside other adult jewelry-making items, and not intended for use by children."

Even CPSC field investigators who collected items for sale during the "children's jewelry sweep" were confused by what qualifies as children's jewelry under agency guidelines. At headquarters, CPSC experts decided some of the products were not for children after all.

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Click on an interactive that allows readers to determine whether everyday items are considered "children's products" under U.S. law: http://hosted.ap.org/interactives/2012/cadmium/

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Associated Press researcher Julie Reed in Charlotte, N.C., contributed to this report.

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The Associated Press National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate(at)ap.org

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Contact Justin Pritchard at http://twitter.com/lalanewsman

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Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-10-14-Cadmium%20Jewelry-CPSC/id-6b4453abe799461492fcd6f0f84127cd

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