Born Twice: My Adoption Story | Mike Morrell

October 30th ? it?s my birthday today. I turn 33. So it?s only appropriate that I delve into something that I?ve never said here before: I?m adopted. I was adopted from birth. And nearly two years ago, I connected with my biological parents for the first time.

I recently sat down with my friend (and parenting blogger) Jeremy Uriz to discuss what it was like to grow up as an adopted kid, and what impact this has on me now. Jeremy has a vested interest in knowing: as of earlier this year, Jeremy and his wife Jennifer became the proud adoptive parents of a toddler from China, Penelope. Let me tell you, she is a cutie, and ridiculously smart, to boot. Jeremy has been chronicling her life, and their life as parents, at Belonging Together. It?s a treasure trove of information and wisdom on parenting, adoption, cross-cultural parenting/adoption, et al.

In our two-part interview ? which you can read as a transcript or listen to as a podcast ? we discuss adoption and parenting from all sides. If you want, you can jump right now to part one and part two ? otherwise, here are some?excerpts?

Jeremy: Recently?you had a unique experience among some adoptive people. We?ll discuss that in a little bit. Let me?just?start out and ask you how sensitive a topic is adoption now?versus?10 or 20 years ago?

Mike: Do you mean how sensitive do I think it is in the culture at large?

J: Yes.

M: I?would say in most corners it?s way more open now than it used to be. My impression is, and what I?ve gathered, is there used to be a culture of almost shame and secrecy around adoption and now people are far more commonly talking about adoption, either if it?s their children that they have adopted or if they are kids or adult children who were adopted it seems more common now. It?s more out in the open.

J: When did you find out you were adopted?

M: I found out I was adopted when I was, I want to say, 4 or 5 years old. I kept pestering my mom about ?birds and the bees? type questions and think I point blank asked her at one point if I grew in her belly. My mom is of the ?I will not tell a direct lie? school of ethics, and though it was an?uncomfortable?topic for her, she decided to give it to me straight. She told me then that I was adopted and that they chose me, my mom and dad chose me, and that they loved me very much because they especially chose me.

J: What were your feelings at the time?

M: ?to hear my feelings, go here for the continuation of Part One.

Jeremy: That brings me to another question. Did you feel there was a piece of you that was in a sense ?filled in? by this connection or did you know it was there, did you not know it was there and you only discovered it when you began speaking to [your birth mother]?

Mike: That?s such?interesting?question. Connecting with both her, and shortly thereafter my?birth father, I did see some aspects in common in terms of they?were?both very opinionated people, they are both?entrepreneurial, and creative. And so?there?were some cool resonances there but it actually wasn?t as?intensely??Oh I found this missing piece of myself? as I think I may have built it up in my mind. I think?there?s?a bit of?allure?that?develops?around adoption that makes you feel like there?s this sort of ache or primal wound or something that once you find?these?people you?re going to have a missing piece of yourself.

I was very fortunate to have a wonderful reunion?experience?with both of my?birth?parents. I know in some cases?the?birth parents?don?t want to be in touch, or they?turn?out to be co-dependent, or?addicts, or there?s all kind of horror stories out there. I?m really?grateful?that none of that was the case with me.

At?the?same time I think that?what it?confirmed that there are some ways in which I am simply unique. So in the ways in which I felt like maybe I didn?t fit in when I was growing up among my parents, my adoptive parents, that maybe if I ever imagined ?well I don?t fit in with them but it?s because?I?m?more like my?birth parents? in some ways I?ve discovered that?I?m?just a unique person on my own two feet. It?s great as an adult to be in a relationship with the parents I?ve always had as well as my birth parents.But I?m relating to all of them really as an adult.

Yeah, its an?interesting?process. It?s not over yet by any means so I?m still along for the journey in this regard.

J: So in some respects it offers you a larger?palate?to work from than other people.

M: Sure.

J: Not necessarily the way people would choose but it?s the hand you were dealt.

M: Yeah, it is the hand I was dealt. [I would add that this is not as grim as it sounds! By and large, I like the upbringing I had, though it's not without its challenges. I am grateful for how things unfolded, and continue to be grateful for how they unfold today with my big, diverse, interesting family...] And I think increasingly in this day and age there are a lot of adopted children, and lots of blended families,?people?who have step parents of one sort?or another, ?I think a lot of us are getting to play with larger palates these days as?we?re?discovering why we?ve?developed?in the way we have and what?s formed our?identity.

J: Now this particular question is going to be important for me and anyone reading, or for a lot of people reading this. What do you feel adoptive parents should know about their adopted children? Is there something about the experience? For Jennifer and I we can?t relate in some respects to?the?experience Penelope has. What is it that parents should know in this circumstance?

M: ?to hear my life-changing advice for adoptive parents, continue on over to Part Two.

?

?How about you? Have you adopted children? ARE you adopted? What?s your story? I?d like to hear, here

Source: http://www.mikemorrell.org/2012/10/born-twice-my-adoption-story/

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US could soon overtake Saudi Arabia as world's biggest oil producer; output is booming

NEW YORK, N.Y. - U.S. oil output is surging so fast that the United States could soon overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest producer.

Driven by high prices and new drilling methods, U.S. production of crude and other liquid hydrocarbons is on track to rise 7 per cent this year to an average of 10.9 million barrels per day. This will be the fourth straight year of crude increases and the biggest single-year gain since 1951.

The boom has surprised even the experts.

"Five years ago, if I or anyone had predicted today's production growth, people would have thought we were crazy," says Jim Burkhard, head of oil markets research at IHS CERA, an energy consulting firm.

The Energy Department forecasts that U.S. production of crude and other liquid hydrocarbons, which includes biofuels, will average 11.4 million barrels per day next year. That would be a record for the U.S. and just below Saudi Arabia's output of 11.6 million barrels. Citibank forecasts U.S. production could reach 13 million to 15 million barrels per day by 2020, helping to make North America "the new Middle East."

The last year the U.S. was the world's largest producer was 2002, after the Saudis drastically cut production because of low oil prices in the aftermath of 9-11. Since then, the Saudis and the Russians have been the world leaders.

The United States will still need to import lots of oil in the years ahead. Americans use 18.7 million barrels per day. But thanks to the growth in domestic production and the improving fuel efficiency of the nation's cars and trucks, imports could fall by half by the end of the decade.

The increase in production hasn't translated to cheaper gasoline at the pump, and prices are expected to stay relatively high for the next few years because of growing demand for oil in developing nations and political instability in the Middle East and North Africa.

Still, producing more oil domestically, and importing less, gives the economy a significant boost.

The companies profiting range from independent drillers to large international oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, which increasingly see the U.S. as one of the most promising places to drill. ExxonMobil agreed last month to spend $1.6 billion to increase its U.S. oil holdings.

Increased drilling is driving economic growth in states such as North Dakota, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Montana and Texas, all of which have unemployment rates far below the national average of 7.8 per cent. North Dakota is at 3 per cent; Oklahoma, 5.2.

Businesses that serve the oil industry, such as steel companies that supply drilling pipe and railroads that transport oil, aren't the only ones benefiting. Homebuilders, auto dealers and retailers in energy-producing states are also getting a lift.

IHS says the oil and gas drilling boom, which already supports 1.7 million jobs, will lead to the creation of 1.3 million jobs across the U.S. economy by the end of the decade.

"It's the most important change to the economy since the advent of personal computers pushed up productivity in the 1990s," says economist Philip Verleger, a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics.

The major factor driving domestic production higher is a newfound ability to squeeze oil out of rock once thought too difficult and expensive to tap. Drillers have learned to drill horizontally into long, thin seams of shale and other rock that holds oil, instead of searching for rare underground pools of hydrocarbons that have accumulated over millions of years.

To free the oil and gas from the rock, drillers crack it open by pumping water, sand and chemicals into the ground at high pressure, a process is known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking."

While expanded use of the method has unlocked enormous reserves of oil and gas, it has also raised concerns that contaminated water produced in the process could leak into drinking water.

The surge in oil production has other roots, as well:

? A long period of high oil prices has given drillers the cash and the motivation to spend the large sums required to develop new techniques and search new places for oil. Over the past decade, oil has averaged $69 a barrel. During the previous decade, it averaged $21.

? Production in the Gulf of Mexico, which slowed after BP's 2010 well disaster and oil spill, has begun to climb again. Huge recent finds there are expected to help growth continue.

? A natural gas glut forced drillers to dramatically slow natural gas exploration beginning about a year ago. Drillers suddenly had plenty of equipment and workers to shift to oil.

The most prolific of the new shale formations are in North Dakota and Texas. Activity is also rising in Oklahoma, Colorado, Ohio and other states.

Production from shale formations is expected to grow from 1.6 million barrels per day this year to 4.2 million barrels per day by 2020, according to Wood Mackenzie, an energy consulting firm. That means these new formations will yield more oil by 2020 than major oil suppliers such as Iran and Canada produce today.

U.S. oil and liquids production reached a peak of 11.2 million barrels per day in 1985, when Alaskan fields were producing enormous amounts of crude, then began a long decline. From 1986 through 2008, crude production fell every year but one, dropping by 44 per cent over that period. The United States imported nearly 60 per cent of the oil it burned in 2006.

By the end of this year, U.S. crude output will be at its highest level since 1998 and oil imports will be lower than at any time since 1992, at 41 per cent of consumption.

"It's a stunning turnaround," Burkhard says.

Whether the U.S. supplants Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest producer will depend on the price of oil and Saudi production in the years ahead. Saudi Arabia sits on the world's largest reserves of oil, and it raises and lowers production to try to keep oil prices steady. Saudi output is expected to remain about flat between now and 2017, according to the International Energy Agency.

But Saudi oil is cheap to tap, while the methods needed to tap U.S. oil are very expensive. If the price of oil falls below $75 per barrel, drillers in the U.S. will almost certainly begin to cut back.

The International Energy Agency forecasts that global oil prices, which have averaged $107 per barrel this year, will slip to an average of $89 over the next five years ? not a big enough drop to lead companies to cut back on exploration deeply.

Nor are they expected to fall enough to bring back the days of cheap gasoline. Still, more of the money that Americans spend at filling stations will flow to domestic drillers, which are then more likely to buy equipment here and hire more U.S. workers.

"Drivers will have to pay high prices, sure, but at least they'll have a job," Verleger says.

___

Follow Jonathan Fahey on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JonathanFahey

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-could-soon-overtake-saudi-arabia-worlds-biggest-211015790.html

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Cleveland Co. football field damaged by herd of goats

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LAWNDALE, N.C. -- A Cleveland County high school football field will be off limits for at least another week, after a prank involving a herd of goats raised health concerns.

Burns High School head football coach Matt Beam found the goats, from the school's FFA program Friday morning. The goats didn't damage the actual field, but created a big mess outside the end zone and on the track.

?You can just imagine twelve goats, staying out here five or six hours, what kind of mess you're going to get," said Beam.

The team had to move its final home game of the regular season that night after health officials urged the school to shut down the stadium. The precaution comes in wake of the deadly E. coli outbreak linked to animals at the Cleveland County Fair earlier this month.

Crews are busy disinfecting the area while the school waits on tests to see if their goats are infected.

"You hope students didn't have all this in mind when they did it, but obviously this is a good example of unintended consequences that have ripple effects," said Principal Aaron Allen.

Wednesday's soccer game and Thursday's JV conference championship game have already been moved to other schools. Coach beam hopes this will all be resolved by Nov. 2 in time for the team's first play-off game.

"We've worked endlessly all year long to get to this point and we don't want to have to move our game because of a senseless prank," said Beam.

Principal Allen said he has a good idea of who's responsible. The school used social media to track those leads. They'll work with county officials to determine how they will we punished.

Source: http://charlotte.news14.com/content/local_news/charlotte/666845/cleveland-co--football-field-damaged-by-herd-of-goats

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Troy Figure Skater Qualifies for Sectional Championships - Troy, MI ...

Two figure skaters from the Onyx-Suburban Skating Academy in Rochester Hills qualified for the Midwestern Sectional Championships. ?They will take place in Nov. 9-13 in Strongsville, OH.?Sectionals are the qualifier for the U.S. National Championships.?

Jessica Pierce, age 13 and a student at Shelby Jr. High, won the Regional competition in the Juvenile level.

Michelle Chen, also 13, won the bronze medal in the Novice level. She attends Larson Middle School.

Both Pierce and Chen have been skating since age six.?

"This is a huge accomplishment for the Rochester club, which sent the largest number of skaters to the regional championship in the country," coach Lindsey Weber said.

Source: http://troy.patch.com/articles/troy-figure-skater-qualifies-for-sectional-championships

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Tips For Buying Real Estate In A Challenging Market | Eric Chua - First

You just need to know the best ways to be a buyer in the market, whether you are an investor or a first time home buyer. Read the advice provided in the article below if you are looking to simplify your process of purchasing real estate.

If you wish to buy real estate for an investment, find a broker or real estate agent to help. You will have access to more resources through these people. Most commonly, real estate brokers use software designed for quickly searching MLS listings so that they can help you find prospective properties much more easily than you can do on your own. These tools can help you find what you need without having to look through the MLS yourself, and you may find better deals.

Try asking the seller to aid you in closing costs or giving financial incentives. It is common to ask the seller to ?buy down? the interest rate for a year or two. A seller is less likely to negotiate over the sale price if financial incentives are attached to an offer.

TIP! You can get a precise price range for how much you should spend on your investment thanks to an online calculator. The debt to income calculator will take your current income and your debts and then calculate the payment that you can afford.

Look for parking areas near the home you are considering buying. Especially for walk-ups and other homes that don?t have a driveway, you will need street parking. Without a good amount of parking near your house, you might have to park far away, and this can be troublesome in a number of situations.

If you want to buy a portion of a building, or perhaps the entire building, to open your own business, be sure that the building is in a nice, safe neighborhood. If you have a bad location, you will have a smaller customer base. Talk to a professional to find the best locations.

A house that is close to a busy road should be avoided if possible. These properties are a bit cheaper than surrounding properties, but once you listen for a bit, it should be obvious why. You will eventually have to sell the property at a bargain price.

TIP! When picking an agent for your home search, see how long they lived in that area. For those unfamiliar with the area, advice about the roads or neighborhood itself will be sparse.

So you want to find a place to purchase, but firstly you have to have a real estate agent who?s qualified. You need one you can trust. You want an agent that can show a great track record of helping people find homes they want for good prices. Be certain to study up on him or her, and find someone that will always keep you in mind.

If you are serious about buying a house, measure it first. You need to make sure public records for square footage match the listing. If the discrepancy between the numbers is more than a hundred square feet, think twice about making an offer on this listing or start investigating why the discrepancy exists.

Be aware of developments in the pre-foreclosure market. If you can allow the time required to find investment properties, properties which are in pre-foreclosure may be an excellent investment choice for you. A pre-foreclosure home is one with owners who have been late on their loan payments, putting them at the risk of losing their house. Lenders will give you lists of homes that are about to enter foreclosure. Another strategy you can use is advertising that you are paying cash for houses. Whichever method you use, when you?re talking with the person who currently owns the property, you need to discover how much he or she owes, and offer this person potentially several thousand dollars over that amount. This is often a steal, because most home owners don?t owe the bank what the home is worth.

TIP! It is essential to hire a trustworthy real estate agent. The Better Business Bureau is a great resource, along with a number of other Internet resources.

Buying insurance for your home should be your very first step, before actually moving anything into the house. If you put this off your insurance will not cover anything that happens, disaster can happen at any time!

Before you buy any real estate, make sure you do your research. Lots of people are too eager to get into the real estate market and end up making bad purchasing which causes them to lose a great deal of time and money. There are many questions that you?ll want to find answers to before buying, such as the character of the neighborhood, the area?s crime rate, zoning, the age of any buildings, and tax rate.

TIP! You should be pre-qualified for a mortgage before you even start to look for a home. You don?t want to discover the home you love without being able to pay for it.

If a seller doesn?t accept your offer on the home, don?t be surprised if they still manage to make the home affordable for you. The seller might take care of a portion of your closing costs, or make some other improvements to the house for you.

A period of uncertain employment is really not the best time for you to look at purchasing a home. After you sign all the mortgage documents, you are responsible to make that payment each month, no matter what. If your work future is in jeopardy, ensure you can make your monthly payments for a few months without this income in case you?re laid off.

To be successful in your endeavors, you need to know how to correctly get into the market. The best way you can gain success is by being knowledgeable in the subject. This article has provided you with helpful information, so use it! You can now deal with the rest of the story!

TIP! You will need to have a good down payment for your mortgage company. If you do not, you may be stuck paying more through PMI, or Private Mortgage Insurance.

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Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/tips-for-buying-real-estate-in-a-challenging-market

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89% Robot & Frank

All Critics (80) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (71) | Rotten (9)

"Robot & Frank" hits all the right notes - romantic, fantastic, tragic and sweet.

There's a warm and poignant interplay between the co-stars.

Langella ... is tremendous.

It may not seem like an even playing field pitting an actor as powerfully intense as Frank Langella opposite a robot, but that's the game plan behind the waywardly endearing, slightly futuristic fantasy Robot & Frank.

Much of Robot & Frank is (frankly) resistible, including the climactic narrative twist, but there is also a likeable oddness that transcends the sentimental contrivance.

An endearing movie about a human and his mechanical new buddy.

Deserves credit for bringing comic fantasy close to sensitive reality

If Miranda July tackled an episode of Tales of the Unexpected the results might be something close to what's on offer here.

Langella provides a formidable central presence, both stubborn and endearing, while Sarsgaard injects warmth and humanity into Robot.

An hysterically funny, breathlessly paced and moving meditation on old age and existence, topped by an award-worthy turn from Frank Langella. One of the year's best.

Jake Schreier and scriptwriter Christopher Ford go well beyond the initial fun of the robot conceit to craft a thoughtful film musing on both the ageing process and our relationship with technology.

A little gem of a movie about aging and obsolescence that is also a very modest sci-fi cautionary tale.

... a marvel of the highest order. Robot and Frank manages to seamlessly blend comedy, science fiction and drama into a film that is hilarious, truly original and utterly heartfelt

This blend of sentiment and genre fancy is not unlike something Ray Bradbury might have contrived for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

Robot & Frank is an airy, engaging flight of fancy. It's also part caper film, part character study, and part allegory about aging. Robot & Frank shouldn't work, but it does.

..never hits the easy and obvious beats of a buddy comedy; there's no sentimental bonding between man and mecha man. Similarly, though it feints toward romance, the relationship ... resolves in an unexpectedly bittersweet way.

"Robot & Frank" is a study of a man who lives with his past mistakes but can't shake how truly alive they made him feel when he was making them, regardless of what they cost him.

Hodgepodge of moods built around an unlikely story of friendship between a man and his service robot, the film carries itself confidently, with occasional moments of significant emotion.

They get the robot right, with fluid movement (by dancer Rachael Ma) and canned warmth in its user-friendly voice (performed by Peter Sarsgaard).

What a weird, winning little movie is Robot & Frank.

The chief spectacle here -- and it's a good one -- is Langella in gruff, curdled mode, an underappreciated master actor slipping seamlessly into a bespoke role.

"Robot & Frank" is so endearing it's easy to forget it's science fiction.

The movie is sweet and agreeably unambitious, derailed only by an egregious third-act twist.

More Critic Reviews

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/robot_and_frank/

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Greens Attack Inland Revenue IT System Outsourcing... | Stuff.co.nz

The Greens are questioning Inland Revenue's multi-million dollar IT contract with a French company specialising in outsourcing work to Asia.

But Revenue Minister Peter Dunne has accused the party of "negative political opportunism", saying the Greens have criticised the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) for building an IT system internally while attacking his department for using a reputable international company.

The IRD is using the Australian-based division of France's Capgemini for the first phase of its transformation project, paying the company $10.6 million in the last financial year.

In a briefing to Dunne last year, it estimated the overall project to upgrade its IT systems could cost up to $1.5 billion over ten years.

Capgemini's Australian division employs almost 1000 staff, 500 of whom are based in India.

Its Sydney-based chief executive Paul Thorley has said the company favours using 30/70 onshore/offshore staff ratio for software testing. For the life of an IT application, that ratio was about 40 per cent onshore and 60 per cent offshore.

"Free markets usually operate for a reason, they operate that way because it's the best answer for shareholders," he told Computer World magazine this month.

Greens co-leader Russel Norman said the Inland Revenue had failed to create a level playing field for New Zealand IT companies bidding for work.

"The whole approach of IRD has been to make it very difficult for the New Zealand IT industry to participate and get the contract.

"If we give a bit of support to the IT industry here now, they can become major export players and in the long term become an important part of the economy but we need to help them a little bit at the beginning."

Using an overseas company meant all profits from the contract went offshore, he said.

The IRD handled sensitive data and revelations this week about security flaws at the MSD showed the Government needed to take extra care with IT systems, Norman said.

Dunne said Inland Revenue was "absolutely confident" it was using the right company.

"One of the key criteria we had was contracting an organisation with experience in guiding a large public sector organisation through a major business transformation. That is what we have done."

Taxpayers expected the Government to get the "best deal possible in every sense", Dunne said.

"I find it extraordinary the Greens were slamming MSD for having built its IT system internally and blaming that for a very serious privacy issue now being faced, and in virtually the same breath they come in from the other extreme against Inland Revenue.

"I think the two extremes clearly demonstrate what is going on here - harping, negative political opportunism."

However, Norman said MSD could have used a New Zealand company rather than cut costs by developing software internally.

Dunne said Capgemini would be considered for the next phase of the IRD's project if it submitted a tender.

- ? Fairfax NZ News

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Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/7826774/Inland-Revenue-IT-outsourcing-questioned

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Sports in brief: Canby boys soccer, North Marion girls soccer and more

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Source: http://canbyherald.com/news/2012/October/15/Sports_Briefs/sports.in.brief.canby.boys.soccer.north.marion.girls.soccer.and.more/news.aspx

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Martin Scorsese, Leo DiCaprio Head to Paramount with 'Wolf of Wall Street'

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Spain, Germany stumble in World Cup qualifying

By ROB HARRIS

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 6:14 p.m. ET Oct. 16, 2012

Spain's 24-game winning streak in qualifiers ended Tuesday night when Olivier Giroud scored in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time, giving Spain a 1-1 tie in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.

Sergio Ramos scored on a 25th-minute header for Spain, the defending World and European champion. Cesc Fabregas failed to convert a 43rd-minute penalty kick at Madrid, and Giroud scored off a cross from Franck Ribery after second-half substitute Juanfran Torres turned the ball over in midfield.

At Berlin, Germany wasted a four-goal lead at home in a 4-4 draw with Sweden. The hosts surged ahead as Miroslav Klose scored in the eighth and 15th minutes, and Per Mertesacker (39th) and Mesut Oezil (55th) added goals.

Germany's 13-game winning streak in qualifying ended as Sweden got goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 62nd minute, Mikael Lustig in the 64th, Johan Elmander in the 76th and Rasmus Elm in the third minute of stoppage time.

England's qualifier against Poland was postponed until Wednesday because of heavy rain in Warsaw.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Germany, Spain shocked

PST: Sweden pulls off a rally that will have the Germans shaking their heads, while France manages to take pint off Spain for first time in 24 matches.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/49439354/ns/sports-soccer/

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Pakistan sends girl shot by Taliban to UK for care

A supporter of Pakistani political party Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), reacts while holding a poster of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot last Tuesday by the Taliban for speaking out in support of education for women, during a rally to condemn the attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012. Tens of thousands rallied in Pakistan's largest city Sunday in support of a 14-year-old girl who was shot and critically wounded by the Taliban for promoting girls' education and criticizing the militant group. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

A supporter of Pakistani political party Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), reacts while holding a poster of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot last Tuesday by the Taliban for speaking out in support of education for women, during a rally to condemn the attack in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012. Tens of thousands rallied in Pakistan's largest city Sunday in support of a 14-year-old girl who was shot and critically wounded by the Taliban for promoting girls' education and criticizing the militant group. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, right, reacts to the killing of several policemen at the site of an attack by militants, in the small town of Matni, near Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 15, 2012. A Pakistani official says over 100 militants attacked a police station in the northwest late on Sunday night, killing several policemen and beheading two of them. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

Pakistani paramilitary soldiers check the site of an attack by militants, in the small town of Matni, near Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 15, 2012. A Pakistani official says over 100 militants attacked a police station in the northwest late on Sunday night, killing several policemen and beheading two of them. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

Pakistani police officers and officials pray next to the bodies of policemen who were killed by militants, during their funeral in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 15, 2012. A Pakistani official says over 100 militants attacked a police station in the small town of Matni, near Peshawar, late on Sunday night, killing several policemen and beheading two of them. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

Pakistani police officers carry the bodies of fellow officers, who were killed by militants, during their funeral procession, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 15, 2012. A Pakistani official says over 100 militants attacked a police station in the northwest late on Sunday night, killing several policemen and beheading two of them. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? Pakistan airlifted a wounded teenage activist shot by the Taliban to the United Kingdom on Monday for more specialized medical care and to protect her from follow-up attacks threatened by the militants.

The attack on 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai as she was returning home from school in Pakistan's northwest a week ago has horrified people across the country and abroad. It has also sparked hope the government would respond by intensifying its fight against the Taliban and their allies.

Malala was targeted by the Taliban for promoting girls' education and criticizing the militant group's behavior when they took over the scenic Swat Valley where she lived. Two of her classmates were also wounded in the attack and are receiving treatment in Pakistan.

The Taliban have threatened to target Malala again until she is killed because she promotes "Western thinking."

Malala was flown out of Pakistan on Monday morning in a specially equipped air ambulance provided by the United Arab Emirates, said the Pakistani military, which has been treating the young girl at one of its hospitals.

Video footage handed out by the military showed Malala being wheeled out of the hospital on a stretcher, covered in a white sheet and surrounded by uniformed army officers. She was placed in the back of an ambulance and driven to the airport, where she was put on a plane.

A panel of doctors recommended that Malala be shifted to a center in the United Kingdom that has the ability to provide "integrated" care to children who have sustained severe injuries, said a military statement.

"It was agreed by the panel of Pakistani doctors and international experts that Malala will require prolonged care to fully recover from the physical and psychological effects of trauma that she has received," the military said.

The plane stopped for several hours in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi on the way to the United Kingdom, said the Pakistani Ambassador to the UAE Jamil Ahmed Khan. The ambassador visited Malala during the stop and said she appeared to be in stable condition. Her parents were not on the plane with her, he said.

Malala will be treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham in central England, a center which has specialized in the treatment of troops wounded in Afghanistan, said British Prime Minister David Cameron's office.

"The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism," said British Foreign Secretary William Hague in a statement sent to reporters. "Malala's bravery in standing up for the right of all young girls in Pakistan to an education is an example to us all."

Pakistani doctors at a military hospital earlier removed a bullet from Malala's body that entered her head and headed toward her spine. The military has described her recovery as satisfactory and said she was able to move her legs and hands several days ago when her sedatives were reduced. They have not said whether she suffered any brain damage or other permanent damage.

On Monday, the military said damaged bones in Malala's skull will need to be repaired or replaced, and she will need "intensive neuro rehabilitation." The decision to send the girl abroad was taken in consultation with her family, and the Pakistani government will pay for her treatment.

Pakistanis have held rallies for Malala throughout the country, but most have only numbered a few hundred people. The largest show of support by far occurred Sunday when tens of thousands of people held a demonstration in the southern party city of Karachi organized by the most powerful political party in the city, the Muttahida Quami Movement.

Late Sunday night, over 100 Taliban militants attacked a police station in the small town of Matni, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the main northwest city of Peshawar. The heavily armed militants killed six policemen, including two who were beheaded, said police officer Ishrat Yar.

The police engaged the militants in a gunbattle that lasted for several hours, but the insurgents escaped after burning the police station and four police vehicles, said Yar.

One of the policemen who was beheaded was a senior official who commanded several police stations in the area and was leading reinforcements against the attack, said Yar. Another 12 policemen received gunshot wounds.

A Pakistani Taliban spokesman, Mohammad Afridi, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the police were targeted because they had killed several militants.

The Taliban have carried out hundreds of attacks throughout Pakistan but the attacks rarely include such a high number of militants as in the assault on the police station in Matni.

____

Khan reported from Peshawar, Pakistan. Associated Press writers Asif Shahzad in Islamabad, Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, and David Stringer in London contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-10-15-Pakistan/id-2c1883e4d366400ea12701f478ef45ac

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Report claims Swiss bank UBS to cut 2,000 jobs

(MENAFN - Arab News) A Swiss newspaper is reporting that UBS, the country's largest bank, is set to cut some 2,000 jobs in its IT-department as part of a major cost-cutting drive.

A UBS AG spokesman on Sunday declined to comment on the report, but referred to an internal e-mail to employees by chief executive Sergio Ermotti saying the bank is still examining all its divisions and therefore "no final decisions have been made."

Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, citing internal documents, reported the bank plans to lay off almost a quarter of its 8,200 staffers in the IT department. It says that is likely to be followed by wider cuts, possibly affecting a fifth of the company's global workforce of some 12,700 employees.

Earlier this week Swiss private bank Julius Baer said it plans to cut about 1,000 jobs.

Source: http://www.menafn.com/menafn/1093569536/Report-claims-Swiss-bank-UBS-to-cut-2000-jobs?src=RSS

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Carlie Coulter, Santa Clarita's Sixth Heroin Overdose Death This Year

The day after a Southern Californian 22-year-old died of a heroin overdose, her family joined other families who have lost a son or daughter to heroin to plead for an end to the epidemic.

Carlie Coulter, who had been struggling with addiction since she was 18, died of an apparent heroin overdose Wednesday, NBC reports. At an emotional press conference Thursday, her mother said, "It's such a wasted beautiful life. She was my best friend. My heart is so broken right now."

Coulter is the sixth Santa Clarita young adult to die this year from a heroin overdose, according to the Santa Clarita Valley News.

?I have been in this field for 30 years, and, in the last two years, what has gone on with this drug heroin is by no other words disgusting. Enough?s enough," Cary Quashen, founder of Action Family Counseling and Action Parent-Teen Support Group, said Thursday. "We are burying way too many kids here in Santa Clarita.?

And it's not just Santa Clarita, which is about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Heroin use by young people has become an epidemic in middle and upper-income neighborhoods in Orange County and across Southern California, as California Watch first reported.

Many of these young users start with prescription pills, such as Oxycontin or Xanax, and then switch to heroin because the high is stronger for a fraction of the cost, according to the Orange County Register.

And the problem is made worse by the fact that more young people are smoking heroin rather than injecting it. Smoking heroin used to be rare because it didn't provide much of a high, but now more potent forms of the drug make it more popular to smoke, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports. Without the stigma and evidence of track marks, heroin in a smokeable form is showing up at parties where it wouldn't before.

Carlie's brother commented to the Tribune Thursday after his sister's death that he thinks there is some denial about the prevalence of heroin addiction in Santa Clarita, partially because the city has a median household income of more than $80,000 -- nearly 50 percent above the county's.

Coulter would have turned 23 years old on Nov. 7.

Related on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/12/carlie-coulter-santa-clarita-heroin-overdose_n_1961931.html

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Influential Israeli rabbi suspected of bribery

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Chimps attack people after habitat loss

Evidence of violent attacks by chimpanzees on humans in the war-torn eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) may reflect pressures caused by habitat loss.

According to officials at Virunga National Park, located on the border between the DRC, Uganda and Rwanda, at least one person ? a child ? has been killed in recent months, in a chimpanzee attack just south of the park in the area around the city of Goma.

A woman attempted to scare the chimp away to protect the child, says Alison Mollon of the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) in Germany, which works in partnership with the park. Unfortunately, the chimp reacted aggressively. "It generally seems that where people react aggressively, the result is aggressive behaviour in return," she says.

Mistrust of chimpanzees has been heightened by local media reports, which suggest that as many as 10 people have been killed and 17 injured by chimps, in acts of apparent revenge for people encroaching on their territory.

Such reports highlight the urgent need to defuse the situation ? both by educating locals in behaviours that will minimise the chances of violent confrontations, and by habituating chimps to humans. But efforts are being thwarted by the armed conflict between M23 rebels and the DRC government, which began in April.

"As soon as we can return, we will distribute information flyers in Swahili and French," Mollon says. But putting out clear, useful information becomes more difficult once rumours of violence have spread.

Mistrust and antagonism

Klaus Zuberbuhler, a psychologist at the University of St Andrews in Fife, UK, and scientific director of the Budongo Conservation Field Station in Uganda, says restricting the chimps' habitat can certainly affect their behaviour, though it is debatable whether the chimps' aggression towards humans is a form of revenge. "It may be a more general sign of mistrust and antagonism, which is regularly seen in chimp sanctuaries and other captive facilities," he says.

Reports of the scale and number of attacks are probably exaggerated, says Richard Wrangham of Harvard University, but he concedes that there has been an increase in tension between humans and chimps in that corner of the DRC ? although only in areas where chimp habitat has been lost.

"Human-wildlife conflict is an extremely serious issue in Virunga, as it is across Africa and elsewhere," says Emmanuel de Merode, chief warden at Virunga. There is an ongoing surge in human population in the area, he says, and wherever the park's land is illegally used for farming, park authorities are obliged to uphold laws to protect it.

Even if the chimp attacks subside, they may well erupt again in future because of the ongoing pressure from humans. Vernon Reynolds, a biological anthropologist at the University of Oxford, and author of The Chimpanzees of Budongo Forest, says he is aware of a few past incidents around Kasowka Forest in Uganda in which chimps have attacked humans after losing much of their food supply to farming.

"There is undoubtedly a lot of exaggeration, and stories abound," he says. "But the reality is bad enough."

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26 testify against Lance Armstrong in doping case

Lance Armstrong said he wanted to see the names of his accusers. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency gave him 26, including 11 former teammates.

The world's most famous cyclist said he wanted to see the hard evidence that he was a doper. The agency gave him that, too: About 200 pages filled with vivid details ? from the hotel rooms riders transformed into makeshift blood-transfusion centers to the way Armstrong's former wife rolled cortisone pills into foil and handed them out to all the cyclists.

In all, a USADA report released Wednesday gives the most detailed, unflinching portrayal yet of Armstrong as a man who, day after day, week after week, year after year, spared no expense ? financially, emotionally or physically ? to win the seven Tour de France titles that the anti-doping agency has ordered taken away.

It presents as matter-of-fact reality that winning and doping went hand-in-hand in cycling and that Armstrong was the focal point of a big operation, running teams that were the best at getting it done without getting caught. Armstrong won the Tour as leader of the U.S. Postal Service team from 1999-2004 and again in 2005 with the Discovery Channel as the primary sponsor.

USADA said the path Armstrong chose to pursue his goals "ran far outside the rules."

It accuses him of depending on performance-enhancing drugs to fuel his victories and "more ruthlessly, to expect and to require that his teammates" do the same. Among the 11 former teammates who testified against Armstrong are George Hincapie, Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis.

USADA Chief Executive Travis Tygart said the cyclists were part of "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

Armstrong did not fight the USADA charges, but insists he never cheated.

His attorney, Tim Herman, called the report "a one-sided hatchet job ? a taxpayer funded tabloid piece rehashing old, disproved, unreliable allegations based largely on axe-grinders, serial perjurers, coerced testimony, sweetheart deals and threat-induced stories."

Aware of the criticism his agency has faced from Armstrong and his legion of followers, Tygart insisted his group handled this case under the same rules as any other. Armstrong was given the chance to take his case to arbitration and declined, choosing in August to accept the sanctions instead, he noted.

"We focused solely on finding the truth without being influenced by celebrity or non-celebrity, threats, personal attacks or political pressure because that is what clean athletes deserve and demand," Tygart said.

The report called the evidence "as strong or stronger than any case brought in USADA's 12 years of existence."

In a letter sent to USADA attorneys Tuesday, Herman dismissed any evidence provided by Landis and Hamilton, saying the riders are "serial perjurers and have told diametrically contradictory stories under oath."

The testimony of Hincapie, one of Armstrong's closest and most loyal teammates through the years, was one of the report's new revelations.

"I would have been much more comfortable talking only about myself, but understood that I was obligated to tell the truth about everything I knew. So that is what I did," Hincapie said of his testimony to federal investigators and USADA.

His two-page statement did not mention Armstrong by name. Neither did statements from three other teammates-turned-witnesses, all of whom said this was a difficult-but-necessary process.

"I have failed and I have succeeded in one of the most humbling sports in the world," Christian Vande Velde said. "And today is the most humbling moment of my life."

Tygart said evidence from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the U.S. Postal Service team's doping activities, provided material for the report. The agency also interviewed Frankie Andreu, Michael Barry, Tom Danielson, Levi Leipheimer, Stephen Swart, Jonathan Vaughters and David Zabriskie. Andreu's wife, Betsy, was another key witness. She has been one of Armstrong's most consistent and unapologetic critics.

"It took tremendous courage for the riders on the USPS Team and others to come forward and speak truthfully," Tygart said.

In some ways, the USADA report simply pulls together and amplifies allegations that have followed Armstrong ever since he beat cancer and won the Tour for the first time. At various times and in different forums, Landis, Hamilton and others have said that Armstrong encouraged doping on his team and used banned substances himself.

Written in a more conversational style than a typical legal document, the report lays out in chronological order, starting in 1998 and running through 2009:

? Multiple examples of Armstrong using multiple drugs, including the blood-boosting hormone EPO, citing the "clear finding" of EPO in six blood samples from the 1999 Tour de France that were retested. UCI concluded those samples were mishandled and couldn't be used to prove anything. In bringing up the samples, USADA said it considers them corroborating evidence that isn't even necessary given the testimony of its witnesses.

? Testimony from Hamilton, Landis and Hincapie, all of whom say they received EPO from Armstrong.

? Evidence of the pressure Armstrong put on the riders to go along with the doping program.

"The conversation left me with no question that I was in the doghouse and that the only way forward with Armstrong's team was to get fully on Dr. Ferrari's doping program," Vande Velde testified.

? What Vaughters called "an outstanding early warning system regarding drug tests." One example came in 2000, when Hincapie found out there were drug testers at the hotel where Armstrong's team was staying. Aware Armstrong had taken testosterone before the race, Hincapie alerted him and Armstrong dropped out of the race to avoid being tested, the report said.

Though she didn't testify, Armstrong's ex-wife, Kristin, is mentioned 30 times in the report.

In one episode, Armstrong asks her to wrap banned cortisone pills in foil to hand out to his teammates.

"Kristin obliged Armstrong's request by wrapping the pills and handing them to the riders. One of the riders remarked, 'Lance's wife is rolling joints,'" the report read. Attempts to reach Kristin Armstrong were unsuccessful.

While the arguments about Armstrong will continue among sports fans ? and there is still a question of whether USADA or the International Cycling Union (UCI) has the ultimate authority to take away his Tour titles ? the new report puts a cap on a long round of official investigations. Armstrong was cleared of criminal charges in February after a federal grand jury probe that lasted about two years.

USADA sought evidence from federal investigators, but in its report, the agency said none was ever turned over to its offices, based in Colorado Springs, Colo.

UCI confirmed receiving the report and said it would respond to it soon, "not to delay matters any longer than necessary." It has 21 days to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The head of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Doug Ulman, lauded Armstrong's work as a cancer fighter. Armstrong won all his titles after overcoming testicular cancer.

"Our longstanding concerns about the impartiality and fairness of USADA's proceeding are compounded today," Ulman said. "As a federal judge pointed out, USADA appears motivated more by publicity rather than fulfilling its mission."

Some of the newest information ? never spelled out in detail before Wednesday ? includes a depiction of Armstrong's continuing relationship with physician and training guru Michele Ferrari. Like Armstrong, Ferrari has received a lifetime ban from USADA.

Long thought of as the mastermind of Armstrong's alleged doping plan, Ferrari was investigated in Italy and Armstrong claimed he had cut ties with the doctor after a 2004 conviction. The conviction was later overturned but was nonetheless the reason Armstrong cut ties with him. USADA cites financial records that show payments of at least $210,000 in the two years after that. It also cited emails from 2009 showing Armstrong asking Ferrari's son if he could make a $25,000 cash payment the next time they saw each other.

"The repeated efforts by Armstrong and his representatives to mischaracterize and minimize Armstrong's relationship with Ferrari are indicative of the true nature of that relationship," the report states. "If there is not something to hide, there is no need to hide it and certainly no need to repeatedly lie about it."

In addition to Armstrong and Ferrari, another player in the Postal team circle, Dr. Luis Garcia del Moral, also received a lifetime ban as part of the case.

Three other members of the USPS team will take their cases to arbitration. They are team director Johan Bruyneel, team doctor Pedro Celaya and team trainer Jose "Pepe" Marti.

Armstrong chose not to pursue the case and instead accepted the sanction, though he has consistently argued that the USADA system was rigged against him, calling the agency's effort a "witch hunt" that used special rules it doesn't follow in all its other cases.

Sworn affidavits from Hincapie and several others, included in the agency's report, were dated after Aug. 23, when Armstrong announced he would not fight the charges. The affidavits were dated as such because lawyers originally thought those witnesses would present their testimony live at an arbitration hearing.

The report also went to the World Anti-Doping Agency, which also has the right to appeal, but so far has supported USADA's position in the Armstrong case.

"We would like to commend USADA for having the courage and the resolve to keep focused in working on this difficult case for the sake of clean athletes and the integrity of sport," WADA President John Fahey said.

ASO, the company that runs the Tour de France and could have a say in where Armstrong's titles eventually go, said it has "no particular comment to make on this subject."

___

AP Sports Writers John Leicester in Paris, Steven Wilson in London, Graham Dunbar in Geneva, Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas and Dave Skretta in Kansas City, Mo., contributed to this report.

___

On the web: cyclinginvestigation.usada.org

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/26-testify-against-lance-armstrong-doping-case-225754238--spt.html

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Integrative Coping Skills Group - DukeHealth.org

Date

Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012
Click here for a list of other dates

Time

4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

Organization

Duke Psychosocial Treatment Clinic

Description

12 Weekly Sessions include:

• Integration of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and mindfulness and yoga-based principles to learn anxiety management and general coping skills
• Relaxation techniques that include breathing exercises, body poses, guided imagery and music

Program Details:

• Children 8-12 years old
• Thursdays from 4 - 5:15 PM
• September 27 - December 20
• A maximum of 8 children per group

Contact

Call 919-681-0040 or contact Taryn Allen at taryn.allen@duke.edu or Anava Wren at anavanessa.wren@duke.edu

Registration status

Registration open

Registration Requirements

Maximum of 8 children

Location

Pavilion East at Lakeview
2608 Erwin Road
Suite 300
Durham, NC 27705

About This Page

Updated: Sept. 17, 2012
URL: http://www.dukehealth.org/events/integrative-coping-skills-group/20121011

Source: http://www.dukehealth.org/events/integrative-coping-skills-group/20121011?utm_source=dukehealth.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS_events

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When promoting or supplying a service, be sure you include specific key phrases and words that ensure quick satisfaction. For example, tell them of methods fast they are able to obtain an item, how speedily the product will attain them, or how in the near future the item will give them results. This means configuring your website for quicker downloading, optimizing your have a look at method for your the very least volume of clicks although maintaning higher safety, and sending fast e mail obtain confirmations to customers.

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Your advertisement must incorporate the word ?constrained.? Customers turn to the internet since they look for items outside of just what the shops they may actually check out may offer them. They need to buy something that is unique and different. If one thing is a limited edition, people will recognize that it?s gonna market out easier and that they are most likely not proceeding in order to locate anything very similar in other places.

To become productive Internet entrepreneur, don?t make the error of copying other people. Filter systems are discovering copied content faster than in the past. Creativity is extremely important.

Here?s a tip for the online marketing endeavours. Make sure your potential customers have confidence inside your internet site! Placed a site-broad hyperlink to your privacy policy towards the top appropriate spot of your own site. Doing so can provide visitors self-confidence that you simply carry out business inside a safe approach. Make sure that your people are simply being protected against id theft when they are using your services.

You should always use e-mail marketing for an marketing approach. Assembled engaging e-zine that will participate your clients although delivering these with helpful info. You have to be sure the client knows you happen to be providing them with pertinent information, instead of spam. These email messages will enable your potential customers recognize that you enjoy their organization.

As is uncovered previous, website marketing is surely an amazing strategy to get in touch with buyers and to bring awareness of your organization and products. The options are limitless and also the rewards are immense. By making use of the details inside the report, it is possible to develop your client base and convey new reputation in your organization.

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