Savile sex scandal spurs British soul searching

FILE- The hearse bearing the coffin of Sir Jimmy Savile moves slowly as crowds of fans look on, in Leeds, England, in this file photo dated Wednesday Nov. 9, 2011. The TV personality and broadcaster widely known for his charitable works is being revealed by police as a sexual predator. Relevations about Savile as a sex offender have shaken the British public and questions are being asked in the media about whether the society that gave him fame and fortune, also helped keep his crimes from coming out. (AP Photo/Jon Super, file)

FILE- The hearse bearing the coffin of Sir Jimmy Savile moves slowly as crowds of fans look on, in Leeds, England, in this file photo dated Wednesday Nov. 9, 2011. The TV personality and broadcaster widely known for his charitable works is being revealed by police as a sexual predator. Relevations about Savile as a sex offender have shaken the British public and questions are being asked in the media about whether the society that gave him fame and fortune, also helped keep his crimes from coming out. (AP Photo/Jon Super, file)

LONDON (AP) ? Jimmy Savile was one of Britain's biggest stars ? and, allegedly, one of its worst sexual predators. Now the nation is asking whether there was a link between one and the other.

Was this abuser at the heart of the nation's popular culture a product of the permissive 1960s and '70s, or do the conditions that let him get away with the abuse still exist, even as awareness of child sex abuse is more widespread?

"We're kidding ourselves if we think it is all hunky dory now, but obviously it was more lax," said Sarah Nelson, a child abuse expert at Edinburgh University. "The culture among disc jockeys at the time allowed a license you wouldn't get now."

Savile, who died a year ago at age 84, came to fame in an era of social transformation. He started out as a dance hall DJ in the early days of rock 'n' roll before breaking into television in the early '60s as host of the music program "Top of the Pops." Later he hosted "Jim'll Fix It," a TV show in which he made young viewers' wishes come true.

The rules of social and sexual behavior in Britain were changing in the '60s and '70s. Along with new freedoms came opportunities for abusers like Savile, whose career in the exploding world of popular entertainment gave him access to legions of star-struck young people.

"It was all opening up ? the pop stars, the glamour ? and he was able to take advantage of it because of course he became famous and he could introduce them to famous people, get them on 'Top of the Pops' and all that," said Max Clifford, Britain's best-known celebrity publicist.

Savile was further shielded from scrutiny by the notion that celebrities are larger-than-life figures who exist outside normal social constraints. With his brightly colored tracksuits, big cigars and aggressively jocular screen persona he appeared, to many, a harmless oddball ? one in a long roster of British eccentrics.

"The public made Jimmy Savile. It loved him. It knighted him," argued writer Andrew O'Hagan in the London Review of Books.

"A whole entertainment structure was built to house him and make him feel secure. That's no one's fault: Entertainment, like literature, thrives on weirdoes, and Savile entered a culture made not only to tolerate his oddness but to find it refreshing."

Savile's celebrity became a shield. So did his charity work, which brought him into contact with young people who were vulnerable ? students at a school for troubled girls, patients at a psychiatric hospital and a spinal injuries unit.

"He had a lot of power and influence, which is something you find with a lot of pedophiles who get away with it for a long time," Nelson said.

And, she added, "he was manipulative ? picking victims that either would not be believed or were discredited or were physically disabled and literally could not get away from him."

Since allegations about Savile were broadcast in a TV documentary in October, scores of women have come forward to allege that as underage girls they were abused by the late entertainer ? in his Rolls-Royce, in BBC dressing rooms, in the schools and hospitals he visited. Police say they have identified 300 potential victims of Savile and associates stretching back almost half a century.

Savile's behavior had spawned whispers and speculation. One former member of the BBC's board of governors said by the late 1990s Savile was regarded as a "creepy sort of character" and barred from the broadcaster's Children in Need charity telethons. But his behavior was never formally investigated by the BBC.

Youngsters made several complaints to police over the years, none of which led to charges. The chief of London's Metropolitan Police, Bernard Hogan-Howe, has apologized, saying police failed to piece together Savile's "pattern of behavior" from the disparate complaints.

British police vow that the Savile case will be a watershed moment in combating child abuse, and child protection authorities have stressed that awareness has increased enormously in recent years.

Scandals within several large institutions ? from the Roman Catholic Church to the Scouts ? have led to soul-searching and stronger rules to protect children, such as criminal record checks on those who work with young people.

Social attitudes have changed, too. Some of the sexualized depictions of young people produced 30 or 40 years ago make uncomfortable viewing now ? think of the child prostitutes played by the preteen Brooke Shields in "Pretty Baby" and Jodie Foster in "Taxi Driver."

But in popular culture, children and teenagers continue to be sexualized. Famous teens and their private lives remain tabloid fodder.

Among the British celebrities who received damages from Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World tabloid in the phone hacking scandal was singer Charlotte Church, who told a public inquiry that newspapers ran stories about her private affairs and sex life from the time she turned 16. Even earlier, one website set up a "countdown clock" to count the days and hours until she would reach the age of consent.

"That sense that we have sexualized youth is a much broader phenomenon than Jimmy Savile," said David Wilson, professor of criminology at Birmingham City University. "Why are there padded bras for 13-year-olds? Why are there pressures on boys to have six packs?

"We have taken comfort in the idea that we can blame him."

Child welfare groups hope the belated revelation of Savile's crimes will be a catalyst, encouraging more victims to report their abusers. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children says the scandal has triggered a surge in reports of abuse ? both from the past and from the present.

But, say some, authorities still too often fail to listen to youngsters who report abuse.

Nelson, the child abuse expert, said the danger was that the Savile case "creates a storm for a few weeks" but changes little.

"In Britain, the child protection system is very bureaucratic," she said. "It relies on children to tell ? and most children don't tell. It relies on a criminal justice system that can be very aggressive to victims.

"It shouldn't take something like this to make people able to come forward to say this has happened to me, or this has happened in my family."

___

Jill Lawless can be reached at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-10-31-Britain-Jimmy%20Savile/id-b396287787ed4ceeae471fabfc3b50db

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How Hurricane Sandy became a snowstorm

Sandy just won't quit. The hurricane-turned-post-tropical-cyclone blew through the Caribbean last week, killing at least 69 people, most of them in Haiti and Cuba. Sandy then churned up the U.S. East Coast, making landfall Monday night in New Jersey and bringing massive floods to Atlantic City, Manhattan and other coastal areas.

And now Sandy is a snowstorm.

Thanks to a collision with cold air flowing from the Arctic, the post-tropical storm (so called because it has moved out of tropical latitudes), has so far dumped 26 inches (66 centimeters) of snow on Redhouse, Md., 24 inches (61 cm) in Alpine Lake, W.Va., and 18 inches (46 cm) in Newfound Gap, Tenn., according to The Weather Channel's Mike Bettes.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued blizzard warnings for high-elevation areas of the central Appalachians, and a swath of lower elevation areas from western Maryland southwest into eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina are under winter storm warnings and advisories. Sandy's remnants could drop up to 3 feet (0.9 meters) of snow in parts of West Virginia and up to 2 feet (0.6 m) in southwestern Virginia and eastern Kentucky before moving into Canada on Wednesday, according to the NWS. [ On the Ground: Hurricane Sandy in Images ]

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The transformation of Sandy from rainstorm to snowstorm is a consequence of a blast of Arctic air that has fed the storm even as it has moved out of tropical waters. Normally, a tropical storm like Sandy would weaken as it moves northward into cooler waters. But a dip in the polar jet stream has fueled the storm, prompting some to call it a "nor'eastercane," a combination of hurricane and nor'easter. Nor'easters are storms driven by frigid polar air. (The moniker "Frankenstorm" also stems from this weather mash-up.)

This polar air on Sandy's western side is turning rain to snow ? a situation that's not entirely unprecedented.

According to the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang, a "snowicane" hit upstate New York and New England in 1804, and 1962's Hurricane Ginny dumped snow in Maine. In 2005, the Category 5 storm Wilma fed into a nor'easter that dropped up to 20 inches (50 cm) of snow in West Virginia and New England.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappasor LiveScience @livescience. We're also on Facebook and Google+.

? 2012 OurAmazingPlanet. All rights reserved. More from OurAmazingPlanet.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49612218/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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'Hurricane Sandy's Worst Online Troll' - Business Insider

An influential netizen came under angry scrutiny Tuesday after dramatic information he announced on his widely-followed Twitter account at the peak of deadly superstorm Sandy was found to be false.

Some of his claims -- which included a report the New York Stock Exchange trading platform was seriously flooded -- went viral as Sandy battered the US east coast late Monday, forcing authorities to issue rapid-fire denials.

@ComfortablySmug's tweets were just some of the rumors and false information that circulated widely on Twitter during the storm -- all of which had been discounted by fact-checkers or authorities by Tuesday.

"There are a lot of bad people out there, but it takes a special chutzpah to tweet false information during a disaster. cc @comfortablysmug," @byelin said on Twitter, one of many angry netizens.

Another netizen called @ComfortablySmug -- who counts the digital director of Barack Obama's campaign as one of his 6,164 followers -- "Hurricane Sandy's worst online troll."

The netizen's claim about the NYSE trading floor being under three feet of water was soon refuted by the stock exchange, but it was still retweeted 642 times. The rumor also found its way onto national television.

Another "breaking" tweet that Con Edison was shutting down all power in New York City earned him an almost immediate rebuke on Twitter from the electricity firm, which said his information was "wrong."

Aside from @ComfortablySmug, other pieces of misinformation also spread like widlfire on Twitter, from reports that people were stuck in a building to pictures of a shark swimming in floodwaters.

One man called Tom Phillips posted some of these photos on a page on blogging platform Tumblr -- titled "Is Twitter Wrong?" -- and fact-checked them.

One dramatic picture of a threatening cloud mass over New York that was retweeted thousands of times, for instance, was found to be more than a year old.

Amy Mitchell, deputy director of the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, said the spread of false information was one of the consequences of the advent of the Internet and its thirst for instant news.

"Even when the piece of information has been corrected, there is a good chance it's got to individuals that won't ever see the correction," she said.

"There's more of an onus placed on the news consumer to be able to check for themselves, knowing which sources are those they can trust."

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-sandys-worst-online-troll-2012-10

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Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner Bring 'Breaking Dawn' Clip To MTV!

'Twilight' trio will sit down for an interview Thursday at 8 p.m. — and MTV has plenty more treats around the 'Part 2' premiere.
By Kara Warner

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 2"
Photo: Summit Entertainment

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1696462/kristen-stewart-robert-pattinson-taylor-lautner-breaking-dawn-mtv-first.jhtml

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Automation Tips From an Online Retailer : The World ... - OPEN Forum

?Sudden growth is great for any small-business owner?as long as you have the processes, resources and support you need to keep up with it.?

But what happens when success takes a business by surprise? You have to learn as quickly as you can to stop doing everything yourself. That?s exactly where automation and electronic shipping solutions come in.

Here are four tips for smart electronic shipping solutions that you can apply to your business, courtesy of Ozbo, a Pennsylvania-based online retail startup that recently wrestled with sudden success.

1. Consult experts; they?re closer than you think. As Ozbo started growing rapidly (sales quadrupled in one year), the most critical barrier to keeping up became filling orders on time. Founder Joshua Wood called on experts in the form of FedEx shipping engineers. They immediately equipped him with better scales and high-speed label printers.

By integrating automated shipping capabilities into his third-party software, Wood could quickly and easily create labels and track package status. He even took the engineers? advice on how to organize the shipping lines in his warehouse and redesign and pack his boxes more efficiently. Most recently, Wood added a scanning system that enables his employees to move shipments faster than ever.?

2. Treat automation as a customer service weapon. Ozbo handles an average of 1,600 orders per day, and Wood expects that number to increase to between 5,000 and 6,000 during the holiday season. Electronic shipping solutions and automation are among the most critical aspects of Wood?s e-commerce business, and they have to be done right.?

?If all we do is take orders all day long, but we don?t get the packages to the customers in a timely fashion, they?ll never shop with us again,? Wood?says.

3. Invest in space that can pay returns in efficiency. Ozbo traded in its original, 6,200-square-foot headquarters for a 65,000-square-foot warehouse with five dock doors. ?We are constantly under pressure to get our products to our customers faster,? Wood?says. With the increased space and electronic shipping improvements, Woods added more people and boosted efficiency.

4. Ask peers for automation advice. Wood aims to create $1 billion in annual revenue within the next five years to rival other e-commerce giants. To accomplish this he connects regularly with industry leaders for guidance. ?Every e-commerce company experiences the same kinds of problems, the same growing pains,? Wood says.

In a mere three years, Ozbo has grown from a tiny startup to the 501st largest e-commerce business, according to Internet Retailer. Equipped with automated processes, a spacious facility, trusted advisors and a passion for providing excellent customer service, Ozbo is ready to climb even higher.

Read more about Ozbo and find other successful e-commerce business success stories at the FedEx Online Retail Solutions website.

Small Business Grant Opportunity

What would you do with $25,000 for your business? Tell us, and you could win a $25,000 small- business grant from FedEx. Don?t miss out?submit your story before Nov. 17! Get all the details now.

Ellen Shaffer is a Minneapolis-based writer.?

Note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of FedEx.

American Express OPEN and FedEx have teamed up to provide discounts and a comprehensive resource for shipping, business and print services. To learn more, go to?fedex.com/opensavings.

OPEN Savings^?: Payment must be made with an American Express^? Business Card at the time of purchase; savings will be credited to your account. Other restrictions and limitations may apply. Subject to offer terms and conditions located at?opensavings.com. Merchant participation and offers are subject to change without notice.

?Photo: Thinkstock

Source: http://www.openforum.com/articles/automation-tips-from-an-online-retailer

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The Science Behind Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy is swinging in toward the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S., packing winds of more than 75 miles per hour, heavy rains and storm surges that could reach 11 feet. Steve Inskeep speaks with NPR's Jon Hamilton about the science behind the storm.

Copyright ? 2012 National Public Radio. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.

Half a million people have been ordered to evacuate from low-lying areas in the path of Hurricane Sandy. Many of them are in New York City, where a storm surge may squeeze into the harbor and beyond. More than 7,000 flights have already been canceled. Amtrak has shut service in the northeast corridor. And we are hearing from different coastal spots throughout the program as people prepare. NPR's science correspondent Jon Hamilton is following the science of this storm.

Jon, good morning.

JON HAMILTON, BYLINE: Good morning.

INSKEEP: And one thing that calls for an explanation is why this is such a big deal. Category one hurricane, 85 mile per hour winds, yes, a big storm, but you've seen worse. So why is this a big deal?

HAMILTON: Yeah, exactly. There are two major reasons. The first one is that even though this isn't the most powerful storm we've seen, it is one of the largest storms ever to hit the East Coast. All right? So it's enormous. You know, we talked earlier this morning about how...

INSKEEP: In sheer size, you're talking about.

HAMILTON: The sheer size. You know, we talked about how it's going to cut this swath across the country maybe 1,000 miles wide. That makes it a really huge storm.

There's a second reason, though. And that is that this storm is expected to slow down a lot as it approaches land. So any given place in its path is going to have a much longer period of high winds and heavy rains. So that means more wind damage, more flooding. You know, in some places people could have two full days of really, really rough weather and see up to a foot of rain.

INSKEEP: Is this because you've got these winter storms coming the opposite direction and the storms basically collide and that slows down the hurricane?

HAMILTON: It's a combination of factors. I mean, what's happening is that this storm is going north. And usually, as we know, hurricanes go north and they turn right out to sea. OK? This storm is going to encounter something called a blocking system. It's a high pressure ridge up in Canada. And when that happens it's going to turn it the opposite direction that you usually have the winds going. So it's going to turn left and it's going to head west. Then, of course, it's going to run into - eventually run into the prevailing winds and sort of stall and stop and eventually turn north and dissipate.

INSKEEP: So you have this possibility of a slow moving storm, it dumps tons of rain. You've got the possibility of a large storm surge in some areas. What about the moon and the tides? Do they also have an affect here?

HAMILTON: Yeah. You talk about things coming together. So tonight I believe is the full moon. And when you get full moon you also get extra high tides. So what you're going to get is the storm surge produced by Sandy will be in addition to a tide that is already high. And so that can turn - if say it's a four or five foot storm surge, it could look like, you know, six or eight foot because of that.

Also, because the storm's moving so slowly, the surge is probably going to coincide with two or three different high tide cycles. And that could be really a bummer if you're in somewhere like New York City.

INSKEEP: Which is one of the reasons I suppose that people have used the phrase perfect storm. Is this going to be a perfect storm?

HAMILTON: People have compared this storm to the perfect storm - the so-called perfect storm of 1991. What happened there is that a hurricane - a much smaller hurricane called Grace - was headed north. And, like this storm, ran into a huge winter storm system and became this kind of hybrid, where it's not really a tropical storm anymore. It has the characteristics of a big rotating winter storm. And that, of course, produced a huge amount of damage in New England, which is one of the reasons people are so worried now.

INSKEEP: OK. And very briefly, if people are in the northeastern United States - you said it's a slow moving storm - if people are not yet prepared, how much time is left?

HAMILTON: Very, very little. And that's because this storm is so big that landfall is when the center of the storm meets the land. And you could have 10 or 12 hours before then the highest winds and heavy rains already onshore.

INSKEEP: Hours beforehand, you could have...

HAMILTON: Many hours beforehand.

INSKEEP: ...serious, serious conditions?

HAMILTON: Yes.

INSKEEP: OK. Jon, thanks very much.

HAMILTON: You're welcome.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's Jon Hamilton. We'll continue hearing from him throughout the program, as well as from reporters up and down the East Coast of the United States.

Copyright ? 2012 National Public Radio. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/10/29/163845762/the-science-behind-hurricane-sandy?ft=1&f=1007

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Increased risk for breast cancer death among black women greatest ...

SAN DIEGO ? Non-Hispanic black women diagnosed with breast cancer, specifically those with estrogen receptor-positive tumors, are at a significantly increased risk for breast cancer death compared with non-Hispanic white women.

"This difference was greatest in the first three years after diagnosis," said Erica Warner, M.P.H., Sc.D., a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Mass., who presented the data at the Fifth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held here Oct. 27-30, 2012.

Prior research has shown that non-Hispanic black women have lower breast cancer survival rates relative to other racial/ethnic groups.

Warner and colleagues conducted a study of 19,480 women who presented to National Comprehensive Cancer Network centers with stage 1 to stage 3 breast cancer between January 2000 and December 2007. They compared breast cancer-specific mortality among 634 Asian women, 1,291 Hispanic women, 1,500 non-Hispanic black women and 16,055 non-Hispanic white women.

After a median follow-up of 6.9 years, the researchers found that non-Hispanic black women had a 48 percent higher risk for breast cancer death in the first three years after diagnosis compared with non-Hispanic white women. After three years, non-Hispanic black women had a 34 percent increased risk for breast cancer-specific mortality.

"The higher risk for early death among black women was more striking among women with estrogen receptor-positive tumors," Warner said.

Non-Hispanic black women with estrogen receptor-positive tumors were more than twice as likely to die from breast cancer within the first three years of diagnosis compared with non-Hispanic white women. This risk was also increased in non-Hispanic black women with luminal A and luminal B breast cancer subtypes.

"This finding is important because these are the types of tumors that we traditionally think of as more treatable," Warner said.

No difference in breast cancer mortality between non-Hispanic black and white women was found for estrogen receptor-negative, basal or HER2-overexpressing tumor subtypes.

Warner and colleagues also evaluated breast cancer survival among Asian and Hispanic women. Compared with non-Hispanic white women, data indicated that Asian women had a 40 percent lower risk for breast cancer death. The researchers observed this decreased risk in all breast cancers and in estrogen receptor-negative, luminal A and HER2-overexpressing tumors. They found no significant differences between non-Hispanic white women and Hispanic women for breast cancer mortality.

"The results of this study emphasize that clinical management and follow-up for patients with breast cancer, particularly black women, is important in the first few years after diagnosis," Warner said. "Although the difference between blacks and whites was highest for this time period, the risk for death was highest in the first few years after diagnosis for all groups."

Source: http://www.sciencecodex.com/increased_risk_for_breast_cancer_death_among_black_women_greatest_during_first_3_years_postdiagnosis-101043

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What it exactly means to ?fold?, ?beat?, ?whisk?, ?layer? and ?cream?

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Ways to decorate the same cake in different ways ? so people think it?s an entirely new and unique cake! (one of my favorite tricks)

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Source: http://www.womenfavor.com/baking/cake-making-course.html

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Forstall, Browett leaving Apple next year

CNBC's Jon Fortt reports on significant management departures at Apple, including the head of iPhone software and the boss of the company's retail operation.

By Joy Jernigan, NBC News

Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iPhone Software at Apple, is out.

Stephen Lam / Reuters

Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iOS Software at Apple Inc., demonstrates turn-by-turn navigation in iOS6 using Siri on June 11 during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2012 in San Francisco.

Forstall was one?of the original architects of the Mac operating system and head of its smartphone software. He gave a demo of Siri's voice recognition software at a special Apple event last year and most recently?headed up?Apple's recent maps disaster, which prompted a public apology from CEO Tim Cook. Forstall will leave Apple next year but will?continue to serve as an adviser to Cook in the interim, the company announced on Monday.

Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet software and services,?will take on responsibility for Siri and Maps, placing all of online services in one group. Those two products, formerly overseen by Forstall, have received mixed reviews and customer complaints in recent months.?

?We are in one of the most prolific periods of innovation and new products in Apple?s history,? said Cook in a press release. ?The amazing products that we?ve introduced in September and October, iPhone 5, iOS 6, iPad mini, iPad, iMac, MacBook Pro, iPod touch, iPod nano and many of our applications, could only have been created at Apple and are the direct result of our relentless focus on tightly integrating world-class hardware, software and services.??

Despite Apple's recent iPad mini reveal, the company?reported quarterly earnings that missed Wall Street's?forecasts on Thursday and an outlook that fell shy of estimates.

Forstall's departure was among?executive management changes?announced by Apple.?John Browett, Apple's senior vice president of retail,?is also leaving after just?six months on the job.

Information from Reuters and the Associated Press was included in this report.

More business news:

Follow NBCNews.com business on Twitter and Facebook

Source: http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/29/14785299-forstall-browett-leaving-apple-next-year?lite

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LinkedIn And The Mutable Rules Of Social Networking

When I started using LinkedIn (in 2008) the service put a lot of emphasis on only connecting with people you had indubitably ?done business with?. Which made it pretty straightforward to decide when to click ?accept? and when not to. But in recent years I?ve been getting increasing numbers of LinkedIn requests from strangers. So the old rules of interaction aren't working anymore.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/41079tV1UNo/

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What I Learned This Week in ActiveRain-October 21 to 27, 2012

I Learn Something New at ActiveRain Every Day and It's Time I Showed You. ?October 21 to October 27, 2012.

I learn something new every day at ActiveRain! ?With this series I try to highlight one post per day that gave me that ?lightbulb? moment. ?It could be something techie, about Real Estate, about a place or person!

October 21: Dwayne Fonville ?How to Photograph an Interior Window (Without Close Encounters)
If you?ve spent any time here at ActiveRain then you know that we have an amazing group of photographers, like Roy Kelley, William Johnson, Kristine Ginsberg and Steve Bachman. ?And, you also know how important MLS pictures are. ?If you take your own photos or just want to improve your own skills read how to handle window.

October 22: Gabrielle Kamahele Rhind ???Tucson?s One and Only Shipping Container Home
I don?t know if I?m ready for shipping container homes but take a lookCan you imagine being inside during a hail storm.?

October 23: ?Stephen Fells ?????The Worst Elevator Prank Ever!
Take a look at this and tell me you wouldn?t have let out a scream you could hear across the country! Some said the whole thing was a set up by LG but who cares.. it's still scary.

October 24: ?Fernando Herboso ??My Outrageous Story: All My Pics Inside My Blog Deleted
I think even though we live in the digital world with our items stored in the clouds, we still worry about just how safe it is. ?Take a lesson.

Melissa Marro ?What Do You Mean That Pinterest is a No- Follow Website?
I love Pinterest but did not realize that it was a no-follow site. ?It?s not a reason to give up on it but it?s good to know. ?I love it because it?s visual and that seems to be what so many people want now. ?

October 25: ??Cheryl Thomson ???Military Families in Deciding Where to Live and What?s ?Important.. I got you!
We all know how many times military families have to relocate and thankfully there are programs to assist them. ?If you are working with military families make sure you know what?s available.

October 26: ?Chuck Ward ?Arlington National Cemetery -Mobile App
I believe that every American should have the opportunity to go to DC and see all of our wonderful monuments, museums, and other historic sites not the least of which is Arlington National Cemetery. ?We were very lucky to have gone on a Memorial Day and saw the President speak as well as sit behind a Medal of Honor winner. ?

October 27: Wanda Kabut- Nerdin ?????You Will Be Remembered For Your Service to Others.
I think it?s only natural for us ?old folks? to wonder about our youth and the future of our country but reading Wanda?s letter from her son Sebastian brought a big smile to my face and a big sense of pride.

Thank you for letting me do what I love to do each day... learn something new!

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Source: http://activerain.com/blogsview/3494166/what-i-learned-this-week-in-activerain-october-21-to-27-2012

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Lilian Garcia hospitalized after being struck by car in Los Angeles

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2012 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2012 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/lilian-garcia-car-accident

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Senad Hadzic: An Inspirational Walk to ... - Morocco World News

By Houda El Mouatassim

Morocco World News

Marrakech, October 27, 2012

Annually, particularly during the twelfth month of the Islamic year, Millions of Muslims from every social status, color, ethnicity and culture make pilgrimage to Mecca as it is one of the five pillars of Islam. Hajj is one of the most important gatherings in Islam where Muslims get together in the same place, wearing the same clothes, performing the same rituals that will bring them closer to God and purifies their bodies from their earlier sins.

In order to reach Mecca, Muslims from every corner of the world take different means of transportation varying from planes to auto cars to even boats depending on how close or how far their countries are from Mecca.

However, what is new this year is that a Bosnian named Senad Hadzic chose to reach Mecca using no means of transportation other than his two feet. The 47 year old man started his journey from his hometown Banovici in northeastern Bosnia back on December 10^th 2011 setting his mind on reaching Mecca during the following year?s season of Hajj which was due to commence this October.

Senad attained Mecca on October 18^th after crossing 5700km on foot and facing many difficulties along the way amongst which are bearing -35 ?C in Bulgaria and 55 ?C in Jordan, waiting for permission to walk across the Bosphorous Bridge connecting Europe to Asia for 20 days since it is only allowed for vehicles, trekking through war-zones in the Syrian terrain, and being held up on the Saudi Arabian border for two months. ?I?m not afraid of a tank or a bullet, only God. And then when I get to Mecca I will say a prayer for all of us.? said Senad Hadzic in his interview with NPR?s The World.

Senad said that he decided to travel on foot after dreaming about it. He started his journey with a very insignificant sum of money, some maps, the Quran, and added to these belongings the flags of all seven countries he crossed before reaching his holy destination. He endured staying the night in mosques or in the street when he had nowhere else to go, but most of the time, he was welcomed to stay in the homes of different people from different religious beliefs and ethnicities who admire his faith, devotion and sense of adventure. ?An old Turkish wise man appeared and when he saw that I came from Bosnia to Istanbul on two feet, he offered me the money to sit on an airplane and go directly to Mecca for the Hajj, but I rejected this.? Senad said.

Unlike many people who find excuses for not going to Hajj such as having too much business to tend to, being too old or too young to do it, Senad decided to fulfill the fifth pillar of Islam and chose to take the longest and hardest way to go to Mecca. By walking there, he proved that everything he endured was for the love of God and hopes to be an inspiration to everyone who hears about his exceptional act of faith.

Prophet Mohamed peace be upon him taught us that Muslims are rewarded for every step they take to reach a Mosque in order to do their prayers, thus comes Senad?s unprecedented choice in such a journey. Walking for 314 days, devoting it to thinking about God and about a new way to worship Him and be closer to Him is an act of courage and piety worthy of our respect and admiration.

? Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed

Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/10/62521/senad-hadzic-an-inspirational-walk-to-pilgrimage/

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GLHFCasting ? What is Car Insurance?

Auto Insurance 85085 Each year, more cars and drivers travel the highways. With countless cars on the road, crashes will happen. Automobile insurance can be the difference between a minor setback and a large trial. So how do you know what insurance you need and how much to buy? Liability: Liability pays for damages due to bodily injury and property damage to others for which you are responsible. Bodily injury damages include medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering. Property damage includes damaged property and loss of use of property. If you are sued, it also pays your defense and court costs. State laws usually mandate minimum amounts, but higher amounts are available and usually recommended. Personal injury protection: This is required in some states and is optional in others. It pays you or your passengers for medical treatment resulting from a crash, regardless of who may have been at fault, and is often called no-fault coverage. It may also cover lost earnings, replacement of services and funeral expenses. State law usually sets minimum amounts. Medical payments: This coverage is available in non-no-fault states; it pays regardless of who may have been at fault. It pays for an insured person?s reasonable and necessary medical and funeral expenses for bodily injury from an accident. Collision: This pays for damage to your car caused by an accident. Comprehensive: This applies if your car is stolen or damaged by causes other than collision, including fire, wind, hail, flood or vandalism. Uninsured motorist: This pays for damages when an insured person is injured in a crash caused by another person who does not have liability insurance or by a person who cannot be identified (usually a hit-and-run driver). Under-insured motorist: This pays for damages when an insured person is injured in a crash caused by another person who does not have enough liability insurance to cover the full amount of the damages. Other coverages, like car rental and emergency road service, are also available.What you pay for auto insurance varies by company and will depend on several factors, including: *Your selected coverage *Your vehicle?s make and model * Your driving record * Your age, gender and marital status and * Where you live Some have come to think of auto insurance as a necessary evil, but it can truly rescue your economic health Evaluate your needs, do your research and with the help of your insurance agent make the decision that best suits you.

Source: http://www.glhfcasting.com/what-is-car-insurance-19/

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Sharapova beats Stosur at WTA Championships

Maria Sharapova of Russia returns a shot to Sara Errani of Italy during their tennis match at the WTA championship in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. (AP Photo)

Maria Sharapova of Russia returns a shot to Sara Errani of Italy during their tennis match at the WTA championship in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. (AP Photo)

Samantha Stosur of Australia reacts after her tennis match against Sara Errani of Italy on the third day of the WTA championship in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. (AP Photo)

ISTANBUL (AP) ? Maria Sharapova swept past Sam Stosur 6-0, 6-3 at the WTA Championships on Friday to retain a small chance of finishing the year as the No. 1-ranked player.

But if Victoria Azarenka beats Li Na in the final match of the day, Azarenka will be assured of staying at No. 1.

Sharapova has already qualified for the semifinals of the elite, eight-woman event.

The Russian rolled through the first set, allowing Stosur only five points. Stosur was an alternate who replaced defending champion Petra Kvitova, who withdrew because of illness.

Stosur put up more of a fight in the second set, but Sharapova ended it with a smash.

Sharapova won the French Open this year and briefly held the No. 1 ranking.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-10-26-TEN-WTA-Championships/id-f7011ed89ae74a4da9e6eea046afcefe

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Video shows teacher slapping kindergarteners

By Ed Flanagan, NBC News

BEIJING ? Parents across China this week were shocked when two separate stories of gross physical abuse against kindergarten-aged children made national headlines.

On Tuesday, police in the city of Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi, detained a teacher at the Sky Montessori kindergarten after parents complained about alleged physical abuse there.

Closed-circuit TV video from inside the classroom -- released to the media soon after the scandal broke -- confirmed what parents had already inferred from their children's bruises and stories: that their teacher, Li Zhuqing, was slapping, kicking, hitting and verbally abusing them.

A video from a local Shanxi provincial news program (report in Chinese; footage starts around 34 seconds in) shows Li repeatedly slapping and shoving around the children over a 10 minute period. Two girls are shown being repeatedly slapped in the face while a boy is seen being slapped and then shoved into another student.

The father of one of the girls said he reported the abuse to the police after his daughter came home with a bruised eye and cheek, and explained to the news program why his daughter was singled out.

Complete Asia-Pacific coverage on NBCNews.com

"The teacher [Li] did it because she couldn't answer 10 plus one correctly," said the father, surnamed Han. He noted that his daughter could do simple single-digit addition, but could not understand Li's explanation of how to solve higher sums.

According to Han, his daughter was slapped in the face around 70 times and kicked twice, while three other children in the class were reportedly hit 43, 10 and 27 times respectively.

"She is not a teacher. She should not be a teacher. To put it plainly, she is not a human being," said Han.

The story quickly went viral and drew hundreds of thousands of comments on China's Twitter-like service Weibo.

"How can the world have people like this? Her parents should be ashamed of having a daughter like that!" wrote one user.?"Watching this video made me cry ... Children should never be treated like this," added another.

Li was detained under a 15-day "administrative detention," common when Chinese police are waiting to charge someone, Chinese state media reported.?The Montessori school,?which reportedly was unlicensed and therefore operating illegally, was also shut down indefinitely.?Taiyuan city authorities pledged a month-long investigation of other municipal schools to ensure there were no other cases of abuse.?

Boy held up by ears
But there was more outrage to come: Another school abuse scandal broke the next day after a picture taken?at the Blue Peacock kindergarten in?Wenling, Zhejiang province, circulated online.

The photo showed a teacher holding up a child by his ears -- the boy obviously in pain and the teacher grinning widely.

The teacher, Yan Yanhong, 20, was detained and police opened an investigation. Authorities revealed that she had been working without a license and that the school had been applying to certify her while she worked.

News of the abuse quickly spread around the Web, where it garnered more than 4 million posts and became a trending topic on Weibo by Thursday.

"This person is seriously sick!" wrote a disgusted Weibo user. "My child starts school next year, how frightening!" said another.

Teng Linhua, Vice-director of the Wenling Education Bureau, told the China Daily newspaper that "all teachers at private and public schools must have?qualifications before being hired."

Teng said only?40 percent of kindergarten teachers in Wenling were properly qualified.

NBC News' Le Li and Johanna Armstrong contributed to this report.

Source: http://behindthewall.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/25/14695861-outrage-after-video-shows-china-teacher-abusing-kindergarteners?lite

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NCAA grad rates improving in football, basketball

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? More men's basketball players are taking advantage of the biggest shot of their life and earning a college diploma.

The latest results from the NCAA's annual Graduation Success Rate showed a record 74 percent of Division I basketball players from the 2005-06 freshmen class left school with a degree, a 6-percentage point increase over the one-year measurement from the class of 2004-05.

It's a stunning turnaround for a sport that has traditionally lagged others in the closely watched report.

"I'm pretty confident it's a reflection of the seriousness of the athletes and the coaching staffs to keep students in school and focused on their classes," NCAA President Mark Emmert said during a conference call. "They've really been stepping up. We look at that and we're extremely pleased by it."

Football Bowl Subdivision players also improved their scores by 1 percentage point in the one-year snapshot, hitting 70 percent for the first time.

The overall four-year graduation rate, covering freshman classes from 2002-03 through 2005-06, was 80 percent, matching last year's record high. Using that measure, men's basketball and FBS players both came in at 68 percent, with both sports showing modest gains (1-percentage point increase in FBS and 2 percentage points in basketball).

NCAA officials believe the improvement in its two biggest money-making sports indicates that the more stringent requirements for incoming freshmen, tougher standards to maintain eligibility first passed in 2003, and the focus on the GSR and Academic Progress Rate reports are making an impact.

Last year, Emmert upped the ante by pushing for ? and getting ? the board of directors to impose harsher sanctions including postseason bans for teams that fall below the mandated APR cutline of 900. That report is released in the spring. Connecticut's men's basketball team is the first major school in one of the two big sports to miss the cutline and will be ineligible for this year's NCAA tournament.

This week's report showed UConn had a four-year graduation rate of 11 percent.

"Ideally, we'd like every student-athlete who enters college graduate. That's why they go there," said University of Hartford President Walt Harrison, the longtime chairman of the Division I Committee on Academic Performance. "That's what college is all about, and we think we're helping to enable them to achieve their dreams."

Some contend the NCAA's numbers are flawed because they're calculated differently than the federal statistics, which critics say may portray a more accurate picture of what's actually happening in classrooms across America.

While both the NCAA and the feds evaluate students over a six-year span, the NCAA's numbers include transfer students who leave school in good academic standing and earn a degree somewhere else. The feds do not count anyone who leaves their first school, regardless of whether the student or athlete actually earns a degree.

A year ago, the government reported a record 65 percent of student-athletes had earned degrees, compared with 63 percent of all students. This year's one-year numbers were the same. The NCAA does not calculate figures for the overall student body.

David Ridpath, past president of the NCAA watchdog The Drake Group, pointed out the federal numbers include part-time students and that can skew the stats, too.

"I don't think any measurement is perfect," said Ridpath, a professor at Ohio University. "But I think with the APR and everything else, the question is are they academically prepared when they get to college, and if they are, are they taking a major that is going to benefit them for the next 50 years of their life."

Others argue athletes should graduate at a higher rate than the overall student population because they receive benefits such as tutoring and academic counseling that most students cannot afford and do not receive.

Emmert said he agreed that athletes should outdo their peers and cited two familiar football names ? Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III ? as examples of what can be achieved both in the classroom and on the field. Luck and Griffin both have diplomas and went 1-2 in April's NFL draft.

"We think they (athletes) should be graduating at higher rates and they do graduate at higher rates," Emmert said. "But I would also tell people to pay attention to what it takes to be a competitive athlete in college. It's an enormous task and these young men and women are pretty amazing when you look at the demands placed on them."

Not all of the numbers were impressive.

The one-year measurement for all college athletes dropped from 82 percent in 2004-05 to 81 percent in 2005-06.

And though the government numbers showed athletes in every sub-group but one graduating at a higher rate than their peers, white male athletes now trail the white male students, 64 percent to 63 percent.

Of the 36 men's and women's sports included in the four-year numbers, nine held steady and five incurred slight declines. The grad rate in men's rifle, men's skiing and women's water polo each had 1-percentage point decreases, while men's lacrosse incurred a 2-percentage point drop. Men's water polo, women's bowling and women's ice hockey each had 3-percentage point increases and women's fencing improved by 5 percentage points.

Each of the other sports showed modest gains of 1 or 2 percentage points.

But the solid improvement in football and basketball was notable.

In the 11 years the NCAA has collected data, men's basketball players have had an 18-percentage point increase and black men's players have seen a jump of 21 percentage points in earing degrees. FBS players have seen their number improve by 7 percentage points over the same span.

Emmert couldn't quibble with those stats, though he hopes to see them continue to increase.

"We don't think of getting your degree as Plan B, we think of that as Plan A and those were almost the same words Robert Griffin III used last year," Emmert said. "We are certainly going to continue moving forward with this expectation of continuing progress. For right now, we're delighted to be able to report greater success."

___

Online: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/newmedia/public/rates/index.html

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ncaa-grad-rates-improving-football-basketball-184248994--spt.html

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Canon PowerShot S110

The Canon PowerShot S110 ($449.99 direct) is the follow-up to last year's Editors' Choice Canon PowerShot S100 , a point-and-shoot that was, at the time, the best pocket?camera?on the market. In the time between camera releases other manufacturers have pushed the envelope with design?the Samsung EX2F and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 have f/1.4 lenses that capture twice the light as the S110's f/2 optic, and our current Editors' Choice, the Sony DSC-RX100 , has a big 1-inch image sensor inside its tiny frame. The S110 does add one feature lacking from the S100?Wi-Fi connectivity?but it does so by eliminating GPS. Overall, the S110 is a very solid camera, but its feature set doesn't match its asking price.

Design and Features
Impressively small when you consider its imaging capabilities, the S110, available in black or white, measures just 2.3 by 3.9 by 1.1 inches (HWD) and weighs 7 ounces. The Leica D-Lux 5 , a similarly designed point-and-shoot that adds a hot shoe and accessory port, is a bit larger and heftier at 2.6 by 4.3 by 1.7 inches and 9.5 ounces. The RX100, which omits a hot shoe, is 2.4 by 4 by 1.4 inches in size, slightly larger than the S110.

The 5x zoom lens covers a 24-120mm (35mm equivalent) range. It starts at f/2 on the wide end, but its aperture narrows to f/5.9 by the time you zoom all the way in. This lags behind the 24-80mm f/1.4-2.7 lens packed into the Samsung EX2F in terms of speed, but does better it in telephoto reach. There's a programmable control ring around the lens, just like on the S100. You can choose what function it modifies from a list that includes Aperture, EV Compensation, ISO, and other common shooting settings.

There's a Mode Dial up top, next to the shutter release and zoom control. The rear of the camera houses the button that controls the functionality of the front control ring, a Record button for movies, the Macro button, and the flash control. When not in use, the pop-up flash hides away at the top of the camera, automatically rising when it's needed.

The rear LCD is 3 inches in size, the de facto standard for point-and-shoot cameras. Its resolution is a modest 460k dots, although it is bright enough to use on a sunny afternoon. This is another area where the Sony RX100 leads the pack?its 1,229k-dot LCD gains resolution by adding a layer of white pixels, which makes it even better for use outdoors. The display does support touch input, and is as responsive as a good smartphone when scrolling through images. You can flick your finger to move from photo to photo, and pinch to zoom to see more detail. I found the touch input to be less useful when shooting?you're better off using the physical controls to modify settings.

Wi-Fi and Setup
The Wi-Fi implementation isn't the best we've seen?that's found in the latest generation of Samsung cameras, including the NX1000 ?interchangeable lens camera. Using the Canon to push photos to social networks is harder than it should be.

Rather than simply supporting it out of the box, you'll first need to install the CameraWindow application on your Windows or Mac computer and register the camera with the Canon Image Gateway service. Only then will you be able to share photos and videos from the camera via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or email. With Samsung's Wi-Fi implementation you simply set these services up in camera, eliminating the need to connect the camera to your PC or to sign up for a special service. Samsung also offers a remote viewfinder app, which makes it possible to control the NX1000 via your smartphone.

Even though you can't control it with your phone, the S110 lets you transfer files to your iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android Tablet using the free Canon CameraWindow app. It works well, regardless of whether the phone and camera are on the same Wi-Fi network or if the camera is set to create its own hotspot. You can browse and transfer images?and, if you are really dedicated to geotagging, it's possible to keep the app running in your pocket and later add GPS location to your photos. It's nowhere near as slick as an in-camera GPS, and requires you to remember to turn CameraWindow's location log on prior to shooting. You can also share photos with another Canon Wi-Fi camera directly, which is a feature that seems limited in use.

The S110 promises to let you transfer photos wirelessly to your Windows 7 PC or Mac with OS X Lion or later. Setting up the Windows sharing is a frustrating experience that requires you to dive into two separate areas of control panel?the network settings and the Windows Firewall?to enable and disable sharing features. And the printed manual doesn't do you any favors in regard to setup instructions. S110 owners with Windows would be best served to follow the instructions in?this document?on Canon's support site?they are laid out in a linear, step-by-step manner.

While it's neat that the camera can do it, the Wi-Fi transfer is impractically slow?it took about eight minutes to transfer 20 files from the camera to my PC, and the Wi-Fi puts an excessive strain on the S110's battery. It's fine to beam an image or two from camera to computer, but you're still better off using a memory card reader to download images when possible. The least useful Wi-Fi feature, at least in my eyes, is the ability to print a photo wirelessly from the camera. I've never printed a photo without at least a bit of cropping, and more often some color correction and retouching.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/ZWlEfY8_fF8/0,2817,2411206,00.asp

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Berlusconi confirms will not run in 2013 Italy election

ROME (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi confirmed on Wednesday he would not lead his People of Freedom (PDL) party in next year's election, ending months of speculation about his political future.

The 76-year-old media magnate said this month he might not stand if withdrawing his candidacy could help centrist and center-right parties come together to form a "moderate" bloc.

But his statement on Wednesday went further, suggesting that a career in frontline politics that began in 1994 may be coming to an end.

"I will not stand for premier again but I remain at the side of younger people who can play and score goals," said the owner of AC Milan football club, who quit as prime minister in November last year during a mounting financial crisis.

"I still have good muscles and some good sense but my role will be to give advice."

The flamboyant Berlusconi, whose reported "bunga bunga" parties won worldwide notoriety, has taken a largely backseat role in politics since he was forced to step down, but he remains the dominant figure within the PDL.

However, his standing with the general public has fallen sharply after an array of sexual and political scandals and an opinion poll last month gave him just 18 percent support, well behind Angelino Alfano, the PDL's party secretary.

The former justice minister, who celebrates his 42nd birthday next week, is the favorite to take the center-right into the election, which must be held no later than April.

However Daniela Santanche, a Berlusconi loyalist from the right wing of the party, said she would also run in a primary ballot to select the candidate for prime minister, which Berlusconi suggested could be held on December 16.

Alfano, considered a moderate, has struggled to contain vicious factional infighting in the party. He faces an early test on Sunday with local elections in his home region of Sicily, which has flirted with bankruptcy this year.

His job has been complicated by corruption scandals which have hit center-right governments in the northern region of Lombardy and in the Lazio region around Rome and further damaged the already dismal image of Italy's political class.

"PLEASE RELAX"

Given Berlusconi's long record of surprises and turnarounds, his statement may still not be the final word, but it was widely welcomed by senior figures in the PDL.

"This move to stand down permits the Italian system as a whole, the government and the political parties, to move forward," former Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said after the statement.

Berlusconi's departure may also make it easier for the PDL to form an alliance with centrist forces which have been deeply suspicious of the former premier as well as others such as its estranged former partners in the pro-devolution Northern League.

The financial crisis facing Italy has eased in recent weeks but markets have been watching closely for signs of what government might emerge after technocrat Prime Minister Mario Monti stands down.

The political situation remains exceptionally confused, with the main parties unable to agree even on an electoral law that will govern next year's ballot, but opinion polls suggest the center-right will struggle.

A survey from the SWG institute last week put PDL support at 14.3 percent, behind the center-left Democratic Party (PD) on 25.9 and the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement of comic Beppe Grillo on 21.

Monti, a former European Commissioner often seen as a potential President of the Republic, sought to ease fears of instability after the election, saying Italy's partners should "please relax".

He said whichever government came after his own would have to respect the commitments Italy had made to the European Union.

Outside Italy Monti is widely perceived to have done a good job since taking over from Berlusconi, but the country remains in deep recession with the economy expected to contract 2.4 percent this year.

(Reporting By James Mackenzie; Editing by Robert Woodward and Andrew Osborn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/italys-berlusconi-confirms-not-run-2013-election-161649594.html

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GOP's Mourdock stands by rape, abortion remark

Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock gestures during a news in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012, to explain the comment he made during last night Senate debate. Mourdock said that when a woman becomes pregnant during a rape, "that's something God intended." Mourdock has been locked in a close contest with Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock gestures during a news in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012, to explain the comment he made during last night Senate debate. Mourdock said that when a woman becomes pregnant during a rape, "that's something God intended." Mourdock has been locked in a close contest with Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Republican Richard Mourdock, candidate for Indiana's U.S. Senate seat, participates in a debate with Democrat Joe Donnelly and Libertarian Andrew Horning in a debate in New Albany, Ind., Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. Mourdock said Tuesday when a woman is impregnated during a rape, "it's something God intended." He was asked during the final minutes of the debate whether abortion should be allowed in cases of rape or incest. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Candidates for Indiana's U.S. Senate seat Democrat Joe Donnelly, left, Libertarian Andrew Horning, center, and Republican Richard Mourdock participate in a debate in New Albany, Ind., Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Candidate for Indiana's U.S. Senate seat Republican Richard Mourdock, right, pivots the discussion towards the Affordable Healthcare Act after answering a question on abortion, as fellow candidates Democrat Joe Donnelly, left, and Libertarian Andrew Horning listen during a in a debate in New Albany, Ind., Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Republican Richard Mourdock, candidate for Indiana's U.S. Senate seat, participates in a debate with Democrat Joe Donnelly and Libertarian Andrew Horning in a debate in New Albany, Ind., Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Indiana Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock refused to apologize Wednesday for saying that rape resulting in pregnancy is "something God intended."

State Republicans and a few congressional leaders defended Mourdock, whose prospects of winning the seat long held by the GOP are unclear.

But with female voters critical in the tight presidential race and other stalemated contests two weeks before Election Day, many in the party distanced themselves with varying levels of abruptness and clarity, underscoring the difficult nature of the uproar even among other anti-abortion Republicans.

Indiana gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence sought an apology from Murdock. Indiana House candidate Jackie Walorski, meanwhile, issued three statements Wednesday: two disagreeing with Mourdock and one suggesting that Republicans get back to talking about President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

That didn't happen Wednesday as the issue ricocheted around the nation's political landscape, from the presidential contest on down.

Mourdock, meanwhile, dove into damage control Wednesday, explaining that he abhors violence of any kind and regrets that some may have misconstrued and "twisted" his comments. But he stood behind the original remark in Tuesday night's debate.

"I spoke from my heart. And speaking from my heart, speaking from the deepest level of my faith, I would not apologize. I would be less than faithful if I said anything other than life is precious, I believe it's a gift from God," Mourdock said at a news conference Wednesday.

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's campaign quickly said he disagrees with Mourdock's initial remarks, but Romney did not cancel a television ad in which he endorses the Senate candidate. New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte canceled an event scheduled for Wednesday with Mourdock.

But Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Texas Sen. John Cornyn issued statements of support, acutely aware that Mourdock's fortunes in Indiana could hold the key to winning control of the Senate. Republicans must gain four seats if President Barack Obama is re-elected, three if Romney prevails.

In Indiana, it wasn't supposed to be this way. Mourdock's upset of veteran Republican Sen. Richard Lugar in the May primary created an opening for Democrats looking to fight for what would have otherwise been a safe GOP seat. The surprisingly close race between Mourdock and Democrat Joe Donnelly has spurred national Republicans to send more money and national stars to Indiana recently in an attempt to hold the seat.

Although Ayotte cancelled plans to headline a fundraiser for Mourdock in Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Republican Women Club pushed on with the fundraiser. Speaking inside the closed-door event, Indiana Republican Party Chairman Eric Holcomb declined to comment on Mourdock's explanation Wednesday and said the loss of Ayotte from the trail Wednesday would not slow their efforts to elect Mourdock.

"I think we're moving full steam ahead," he said.

Mourdock's rape comment seemed to fall a few steps short of Republican U.S. Rep. Todd Akin's comment earlier this summer that a woman's body would block against pregnancy in cases of "legitimate rape," both in terms of the comment itself and its potential impact in the race.

National Republican and conservative groups, including Crossroads GPS, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Club for Growth, continued their on-air assault against Donnelly. A Democratic source tracking ad buys nationally said Wednesday there was no effort from Mourdock supporters to pull out of the state, as there was in Missouri, following Akin's comments.

Democrats capitalized on the remarks Wednesday, holding press calls and press conferences and cutting Web ads tying Romney to Mourdock. Donnelly appeared in downtown Indianapolis in front of the Julian Center, which counsels victims of rape, sex trafficking and abuse.

"It is hurtful to women, to survivors of rape and to their families," Donnelly said. "His words were extreme, but more important, hurtful to victims of sexual abuse."

Mourdock refashioned himself at the end of the summer, moving away from the tea party rhetoric that carried him to victory over Lugar and attempting to refocus the race on Donnelly's vote in support of the federal health care law.

Throughout a political career that dates back to the 1980s, Mourdock always has maintained that he opposes abortion except in cases where the life of the mother is at risk.

Donnelly opposes abortion but supports exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. However, the Democrat was among more than 200 lawmakers, most of them Republicans, who backed legislation last year that would have cut off federal aid for abortion services, even in cases of rape and incest. A spokeswoman later said the congressman didn't realize the bill would go that far.

It was still unclear Wednesday whether Mourdock's comments would hurt his chances in Indiana, a state that has increasingly become dominated by social conservatives over the last few election cycles. A federal appeals court blocked the Indiana General Assembly's effort to defund Planned Parenthood earlier Tuesday and state lawmakers will likely consider legislation next year to allow the teaching of Creationism.

Downtown Indianapolis workers taking their lunch break in the warm October sunshine for the most part said they didn't think Mourdock meant his remark the way it sounded, but they hadn't intended to vote for him anyway. Most said they hadn't watched the debate but had heard the buzz about what Mourdock said.

"It came across as that's God's will for that woman to be raped," said Judy Stratom, a 50-year-old administrative worker. "I don't think that's what he meant, but that's the way the world took it."

"I honestly don't think he meant to say that rape was a gift from God," said office worker Saundra Taylor, 48, who was relaxing on a bench on the steps of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. "I think he could have worded it better."

___

Associated Press writer Charles D. Wilson in Indianapolis contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-10-24-Indiana%20Senate-Abortion/id-95eb6a120eb84883a6950bd14505133a

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