Guiomatic says its white-label travel guides are supersizing OTA ...

Offering B2B solutions, Spanish startup?Guiomatic?sells a widget that any B2C travel company can add to a website to enable users to create customised, up-to-date travel guides.

The company pulls information from feeds from sources like Wikitravel, Yelp, Eventful,?plus static sources of data to?produce guides that cover more than 10,000 travel destinations, such as?Prague?and Shanghai,?in up to six languages.

Guiomatic white-labels the technology and the guidebooks and sells them to online travel companies, which can use the guide-generating widgets to either increase brand loyalty, raise brand awareness, or boost ancillary revenue.

Some clients offer the guidebook as an extra in online shopping carts, and, to date, an average of 20% of customers have bought the guides, says Guiomatic.

Some companies insert the guide-generating platform as a?widget (which consumers use to insert their names, dates of travel, and destination), connecting via an API and using their own format.

Other companies don?t use the widget and instead send the guide as a PDF or ePub attachment, without having the customer fill anything out.

Some use it to raise brand awareness on Facebook.

High conversion rates

So far, Guiomatic has created travel-guide-generating platforms for several travel companies.

Exhibit A:?Despegar,?Latin America?s top online travel agency (OTA).

In September 2011, Despegar began sending the guidebooks to customers who booked their newest vacation package to Canc?n.

Despegar sends each customer who books a flight, hotel, or package access to the travel guide generating platform. To date, nearly one out of three customers have downloaded a guidebook.

Enjoy Car Hire?has a?conversion ratio of 28%, with guides at a?typical selling cost of ?3.

A Facebook page branding tool, too

Online travel agency?eDreams?added a white-label Guiomatic Facebook tool its Facebook fan page?for creating edreams-themed guidebooks, which users can download for free in exchange for ?a like? of the page.

Of all the users who downloaded guides, 40% were already fans,?which means 60% were not fans and decided to become eDreams fans in order to gain access into the travel guide generating app.

After users download the guide, they are asked if they would like to search flights for the destination and dates they entered in the widget. If the user clicks, they are redirected to the eDreams website. About?15% of users end up clicking and get redirected

With the Guiomatic Facebook app, once a user likes your brand, the company get your username, email address,?where the user is interested in going, and on what dates of travel -?so they can later send the qualified leads targeted promotions.

So far, Guiomatic?s biggest account landed so was?car hire company?Dollar/Thrifty UK, which this summer?began to use its brand loyalty solution. But?now that Hertz has acquired Dollar/Thrifty, the contract is on hold.

Guiomatic Travel Technologies?is privately funded. Key support comes from two important Spanish seed investors, Andres Torrubia, founder of Trymedia and FixR, and Eduardo Manchon, founder of Panoramio (which was acquired by Google years ago).

The five-person start-up in Alicante?thinks of its customer base today as top travel agents, brokers and airlines.

You can demo its technology?here.

Q&A with CEO Jos? Luis Perez Gonzalez:

How is the way you are solving this problem more special or effective than previous attempts you or the market has seen before and how different do you have to be to succeed??

Guiomatic is the only digital travel-guide publisher whose sole focus is the B2B market. It?s also the only company that has been able to offer travel companies the opportunity to have their very own exclusive real-time, 100% white label travel guides at a low cost.

Most traditional guidebook publishers have B2C models, and selling their content to businesses for a low-cost would be cannibalise the core revenue streams for these companies.

Guiomatic also has a unique revenue model. It charges companies on?a cost-per-unique-user model. Companies only pay one fixed fee per customer, regardless of how many travel guides the customer may download.

Why should people or companies use your startup?

It?s a no-brainer. ?We are the only company that makes real-time white-label travel guides as a value added product specifically designed for travel companies.

We integrate and design travel guides with content and aesthetics exclusively tailored to their brands for free of charge.

We allow companies to add and eliminate any content they wish. ?They can later sell the guides in their shopping cart for extra revenue or give them away for free to increase brand loyalty or step-up brand awareness on social media.

Better yet, as a technology company we are able to gather business intelligence on each user that enters the travel guide generating platform and this intelligence can be used later for more targeted promotion and up-sell of travel company?s products.

What is your main competitor?

Traditional guidebook incumbents Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Frommers, and Fodor?s are now offering travel guides for download. However their main focus is a B2C model, meaning they?re focused on reaching consumers directly.

These brands do offer B2B white-label solutions, yet their B2B content is not real-time, is expensive, and is not well tailored to the needs of travel agencies and airlines.

Arrivalguides is a competitor that?offers low-cost travel guides to businesses.

But Arrivalguides? product is not like a traditional travel guide (fewer than 10 pages of short summaries of destinations), and its guides are not real-time (meaning not edited to provide information based on specific dates of travel), don?t offer event listings, and are not 100% white-label (meaning Guiomatic can?add any info the company wants? custom chapters, advertising, etc.)

Arrivalguides? product is weak and it does not offer much customisation for the brands it works with or personalisation for consumer end users. It also works on a flat fee and not per-use basis, which can hinder acceptance by travel companies.

Another flaw with Arrivalguides: A travel company could never sell their guides as exclusive, high-margin ancillary products as their guides are not of much quality and Arrivalguides gives the content away for free on its B2C site.

One more difference: Unlike Guiomatic, Arrivalguides;s content cannot be seen on every electronic device as they are not in the ePub format.

Other than going viral and receiving mountains of positive PR, what is the strategy for raising awareness and getting customers/users?

We are targeting travel companies via connections we had already established during our previous careers in the travel industry. ?We also have a presence at travel trade shows like WTM, ITB Berlin and FITUR Madrid. ?We make a lot of contacts by word of mouth and by using LinkedIn.

What other options have you considered for the business and the team if the original vision fails??

So far, our vision seems to be working well. We already work with big names like Decolar, Edreams, Enjoy Car Hire,?and?Dollar Thrifty.

In the near future we plan to launch Guiomatic Express, a plug and play option which will offer less customized and more express options for smaller companies who would like to use our services.

We are also starting to negotiate with e-book readers to offer the travel-guide generating platform which could be included free with purchase of their electronic device.

What mistakes have you made in the past in business and how have you learned from them?

Our founders were a couple of engineers working in a residential apartment, and they started working on the technology in 2009, showcasing the core technology at the?BBVA Open Talent Contest.

Our first thought was a direct-to-consumer offering. We spent a year with the travel guide generating platform available to the public for free on?our site.

We did not know how to make a business out of it, we just thought it would be cool for travellers to get all they needed to know in one trusty real-time guidebook.

In early 2011, we settled upon a B2B business model, In June 2011 our company became legal and began booking revenue with its first customer, Enjoy Car Hire

Once we identified the B2B model, we started the business, and we quickly closed the free guides on our consumer-direct site.

What is wrong with the travel, tourism and hospitality industry that requires another startup to help it out?

Helping travellers prepare their travellers trip after booking has been left up to the internet and to traditional guidebooks.

Taking an interest in helping customers prepare their trip has now proven to be a unique strategy to either capture new customers, keep current customers or increase ancillary revenue

Tnooz view:

Guiomatic?s focus on going where the money is through a B2B model seems astute.

It enables OTAs to differentiate themselves by offering something competitors don?t (travel guides).

OTAs can use the guidebook-generating platform to collect valuable business intelligence (to relpace irrelevant emailed newsletters with targeted offers for qualified leads for specific destinations and dates), and to increase brand awareness (such as by using the guides as a giveaway in exchange for a ?Facebook like.?

At this point, marketing and sales seem to be the weakest points. If all of their criticisms of rival company?Arrivalguides are true, then it is surprising how many big players have?incorporated Arrivalguides? products?into their websites and Facebook fan pages.

Sometimes, the best product doesn?t win, while the best-marketed one does. We haven?t compared the quality of Arrivalguides? product with Guiomatic?s, but in terms of strategy, the competitor is doing a better job at sales. [As Tnooz has reported, it recently signed?online content agreements with?British Airways?and?Ryanair].

Perhaps Guiomatic needs to make a key sales and marketing hire.

Snap poll:

?

?

NB: TLabs Showcase is part of the wider TLabs project from Tnooz.

Related posts:

1. Off Exploring rolls up mobile, SEO and social media benefits into white label travel app
2. White-label travel provider Switchfly attracts $15M in new funding
3. Reed Exhibitions to white-label iM@ mobile destination guide in Orlando

Source: http://www.tnooz.com/2012/10/23/tlabs/guiomatic-says-that-its-white-label-travel-guides-are-supersizing-ota-conversion-rates/

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Facebook says revenue from Zynga declining

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. Intraday data delayed per exchange requirements. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM) from Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real time last sale data provided by NASDAQ. More information on NASDAQ traded symbols and their current financial status. Intraday data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM) from Dow Jones & Company, Inc. SEHK intraday data is provided by SIX Financial Information and is at least 60-minutes delayed. All quotes are in local exchange time.

Source: http://feeds.marketwatch.com/~r/marketwatch/marketpulse/~3/nYVeZWJ3wYY/story.aspx

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Newest Cicilline TV ad hits back at GOP on his legal career

October 23rd, 2012 at 10:44 am by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site

The air war continues in Rhode Island?s 1st Congressional District.

Democratic Congressman David Cicilline debuted a new television commercial on Tuesday morning called ?Outrageous? that pushes back on charges his Republican challenger Brendan Doherty made in the tough ?No Surprises? spot that began running last week. Cicilline?s new ad was apparently finished in the last 24 hours: it quotes a Monday Roll Call article saying ?Republicans have gone nuclear on Rep. David Cicilline.?

?When it?s time to push that button, we?ve seen campaigns take one of two tactics: a testimonial from a sexual assault victim criticizing the opposition candidate, or, as in this case, both Republican and Democratic candidates have accused each other of harboring sympathies for pedophiles,? Roll Call?s Abby Livingston wrote in an analysis of Doherty?s latest ad.

A Republican source said Cicilline?s campaign is spending $162,000 on TV commercial time from Tuesday through Sunday. Cicilline?s spokeswoman declined to comment on the record. The new ad is a coordinated buy partly paid for by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

In an email to supporters Tuesday, Cicilline campaign manager Eric Hyers blasted the Republican attacks as ?vile.? He also said the company raised significantly more in recent days than the $40,000 goal set by Cicilline in an email appeal he sent supporters last week.

Doherty has reserved $202,000 in TV advertising time for the final two weeks of the race, but campaign manager Ian Prior said last week Doherty will increase that if the Republican beats his fundraising goals. Federal filings show the National Right to Life PAC spent $3,544 on a mailer backing Doherty.

A WPRI 12 poll last month showed Cicilline at 44%, followed by Doherty at 38% and independent David Vogel at 6%, with 10% of voters still undecided. Doherty had more than twice as much cash as Cicilline on Sept. 30. The candidates debated live for the first time a week ago on WPRI 12.

Tags: 1st Congressional District, brendan doherty, campaign 2012, campaign finance, david cicilline

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Source: http://blogs.wpri.com/2012/10/23/newest-cicilline-tv-ad-hits-back-at-gop-on-his-legal-career/

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Top 5 Strategies to Avoid Being Duped By Clever Fitness Marketers ...

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A Strategy Guide to Help You Avoid Being Tricked, Scammed, or Swindled By Clever Marketers and Be Able to Spot a Phony Fitness or Weight Loss Product From a Mile Away to Save You Time, Money, and Endless Frustration

Not too long ago, I had a FIRST in my career. I actually wrote and published a?negative product review online. And this wasn?t just any ?ol negative product review either. I literally tore this program to pieces, and there wasn?t much left of it when I was finally done. You might be thinking, ?big deal, there?s a ton of junk out there.? But here?s the thing. This program is currently a number ONE best-seller in the online health and fitness market, and has been a best-seller for years. This company does millions in sales each month ? millions.

If you?ve spent any time on the internet, you?ve probably seen the ads because they?re everywhere. And yet, after an extensive product review where I looked at everything, I only rated it at 2 out of 5 stars (and even that was a stretch). And if you?re one of my long-time readers, you know that my reviews are not just thorough, they?re brutally honest. I don?t beat around the bush, and I?always tell the truth.

So, how is it that a number one best-selling program that does millions in sales each month can turn out to be such a bunch of garbage?

The answer to that question is contained in just one word: marketing.

You see, the evolution of marketing has enabled even the companies that sell complete garbage to succeed. And the internet has made this oh-so-much harder for honest people to tell the good apples from the bad ones.

Case in point, when I first decided to review that particular product, I decided to do a little research first. I always do. This product was in the weight loss market, which is chock-full of outright scams. So, naturally, I?m accustomed (ie conditioned) to taking everything with a grain of salt and just accepting that most weight loss products/services will raise some red flags no matter what they are. It just comes with the territory. So, I wasn?t too offset by the larger-than-life claims and over-the-top promises ? that bordered on the outrageous ? that I found in the sales presentation.

Then I went online to check out what other people have said about this program. To my surprise, there was absolutely no negative criticism that I could find via a Google search. Quite the opposite, in fact. I found dozens of articles and videos that all spoke very highly of this particular program. In fact, most of them were praising it with gusto. So, after my interest was piqued and my expectations raised, I got the product for myself to take a look.

And what I found utterly shocked me. It wasn?t so much that this particular program was a downright scam. It was just that the product was so poorly put together, that I was almost embarrassed to even take a serious look at it.

It?s true. I, John Sifferman, who has written and published dozens of product reviews for a variety of fitness and weight loss products and services, had been officially duped.

Nevertheless, I had made a commitment beforehand that I would fully and completely review this product ? so help me God. And that?s just what I did. It was painful, yes. Truth be told, I didn?t even want to do it. But needless to say, I?ve learned a few things from this whole experience ? and from being a fitness product reviewer, in general ? that I wanted to pass on to you to (hopefully) help you avoid the same fate.

Top 5 Strategies to Avoid Being Duped By Clever Fitness Marketers

I think the first step to avoid being tricked or scammed in the first place is that we all need to remember that we?re on the internet. It?s a (mostly) free international market ? and most organizations, especially non-mainstream ones ? can get away with saying practically anything they want (at least for long enough to fool everybody ? but they never last). And this is where you run into the myths, half-truths, and lies that are so rampant in fitness marketing. These marketers have been doing this type of work for long enough that they know exactly how to push our buttons and influence our behavior, whether we realize it or not.

So, we need to be skeptical. This should be our default when buying anything online (or off), and especially anything health, fitness, or weight loss related. Denis Diderot was onto something when he said that ?skepticism is the first step toward truth,? and I think we all need to keep this in mind when evaluating any product online or off. So, make skepticism your status quo. Suspicion, your new norm. Which leads into the next point.

We need to look for the proof. And not just look for it, but demand proof. And not just proof that the product does what it claims (that should be a given), but proof that it works for people like you. And when no proof is available, simply look elsewhere. Seriously, if I had a nickel for every time I ran across a product/service online that presented absolutely zero proof that it could even fulfill what it claimed, I?d have a whole lotta nickels. It?s absolutely rampant in this industry!

In the same breath, if there are big claims, which is oh-so-common in the weight loss market (e.g. lose 30 lbs in 30 days), then there?d better be big proof. And if it?s a best-seller, then there?d better be lots of proof to be found ? and it shouldn?t be hard to find.

?Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.? ? Carl Sagan

We need to listen to our gut instincts. There?s no better indication of a problem than an uneasy feeling. If you?ve ?got a bad feeling about this,? then just hold off. You?ve got a gut for a reason (hopefully, not that kind of gut!). So, deny it at your peril. Speaking of holding off?

And when all else fails, we need to be patient. That?s another way of yelling ?WAIT!? If you?re looking to buy anything at all fitness or weight loss related, then don?t go out and buy something the first time you?ve heard of it. You NEED to do research, and check up on it ? even if it appears to be mainstream, is a best-seller, and especially if it sounds too good to be true. Do your own due diligence. Research the company and owners background.?Contact them with a question and see what kind of response you get (and response time). Seek out authentic reviews and testimonials.

The bottom line is that you need to find out if it?s legitimate and will work for you BEFORE you spend your money because once you?ve spent it ? even with a 100% money-back guarantee ? it?s usually much harder to get it back.

If you?re one of my long-time readers, then you know that I?ve reviewed a lot of products over the years. Combine that with a background in marketing and you?d think that I?d be impervious to all the scams and hoaxes out there, but that?s not entirely true. I still do get fooled from time to time. Suffice to say, something needs to be done about the all the deception that is overwhelming this industry. If you think about it, it really?is maddening, and I?m getting pretty sick of it. And that?s exactly why I went forward and published that negative review anyways ? even if it was for a number-one best-selling weight loss program that has received dozens, if not hundreds, of highly-positive, rave reviews already.

In fact, I wouldn?t be surprised if my critique is the only negative product review of this program online. I certainly couldn?t find another one. It feels a little funny being an outcast, in that regard, but I?m not going to lose sleep over it. So, if you?re a sucker for pain and want to witness the absolute destruction of a highly-acclaimed weight loss program, check out my Truth About Abs Review. That?s exactly the type of the hold-nothing-back ANARCHY that happens when John Sifferman becomes unplugged for too long, which fortunately doesn?t happen very often.

And if you click that link RIGHT NOW, you?ll be entered into a random drawing for an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii ? complete with a personal chef named Guido.

If you found this article helpful, please share it with your friends and tweeps:

CST Coach, CST-KS
Health-First Fitness Coach

P.S. If you liked this post, then please signup for the newsletter, or follow me on Facebook or Twitter for daily updates and other interesting info.

P.P.S. Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amrosario/

P.P.P.S. That last part about the free trip was a joke. I?m not really sending anyone to Hawaii. I know. You were really excited.

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Source: http://physicalliving.com/top-5-strategies-to-avoid-being-scammed-by-clever-fitness-marketers/

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How small businesses are using social media marketing - Leaders ...

Just over a month ago, Vocus and Duct Tape Marketing released a study titled ?Pathway to Influence: a Study of SMBs* and Social Media.? ?(embedded below)

What?s important about this study is that it benchmarks social media utilization and implementation on a smaller-scale. ?Too often people tout Ford, Coca-Cola or some other huge entity as benchmarks for social media marketing success, but the scale and budget that those companies enjoy make their tactics somewhat irrelevant to companies with a smaller-scale. ?That said, this study of small and medium businesses STARTED at $5+ million revenue, so this should be a wake-up (at least somewhat) to a very small business or ambitious?entrepreneur?who is spending as much or more on budget than a $5 million company.

What the ?Pathway to Influence? study did was sense small and medium sized businesses on a whole range of topics around their social media presence. ?In aggregate, the insights offer a pretty good ?state of social media? for smaller businesses, and I think Vocus and Duct Tape Marketing (specifically Frank Strong and the phenomenal John Jantsch) did a great job identifying the need for this data and then collecting and presenting it in such a digestible fashion.

*SMB = small and medium-sized businesses

Who is managing social media marketing?

One of the key?takeaways?from the study was that 73% of the businesses in the study made social media marketing an additional function of their marketing department. ?Assuming that a portion of the remaining 27% would use interns or some zero-cost mechanism, this indicates that small businesses aren?t spending more money on headcount to manage their social media presence. ?This may indicate that there is more opportunity for social media marketing trainers than there are for community managers for businesses this size.

Another takeaway was that the average business in this study has a social media marketing budget of $845 per month for social media tools (just over $10K per year). ?Many?respondents also?indicated?that they expect to increase budget in the near-term. ?This may present an opportunity for social media consultants who have a broad understanding of social media management tools to set-up a robust set of tools, save a company money and pay their bills. ?It also seems to indicate that this size of business may be susceptible to software pitches because they have budget and because social media marketing is oftentimes ancillary to the marketing function.

What are people measuring?

One of the more illuminating insights from the study was the data on how these businesses are measuring their social media marketing efforts. ?It appears that many companies are marrying their social media efforts to their website, presumably (hopefully?) as part of an inbound?marketing campaign.

The additional measurements such as follower size, follower demographics, hashtags, et cetera seem to indicate that businesses are focusing a lot on awareness metrics for the majority of their measurements. ?While this seems somewhat incongruent with the theory that their social media marketing is tied into an active inbound marketing effort, it shows that businesses are measuring their efforts and it?s important to realize that businesses are not freewheeling social media.

Scale.

One of the statistics that stuck out for me was that only half of sensed businesses saw scale in their social media efforts as important. ?Assuming all or most of the $5 mil businesses are not local brick and mortar businesses, this indicates some misunderstanding of the power of social media. ?Sales has always been about?numbers,?and social media marketing isn?t a practice that breaks all conventional sales wisdom. ?In fact, because of the low-barrier to entry for most social media, scale may be more important for social than many other top-of-the-funnel tactics.

This indicates to me that there are training opportunities for businesses of this size (the caveat being that they would open to them), and that businesses who aren?t currently utilizing social media don?t have as steep a path to catch-up to their competition as one might think.

What I think this means

This study is a pretty honest assessment of how smaller businesses are utilizing social media marketing, and it provides a more realistic benchmark for smaller businesses than most examples of social media prowess. ?It shows that smaller businesses are investing in social media marketing, that their understanding of the channels are growing, and that they are committed to grow the channels for the future.

What are your takeaways from this study? ?What is the state of social media marketing from your perspective? ?How effective are small and medium sized businesses participating right now? ?How well is social media marketing being measured?

Photo Credit

I see social media as a huge differentiator for small businesses and try to tailor my insights to support that view. I am the 12th most influential social media blogger according to Kred, and the single most influential person on the topic of David Hasselhoff according to Klout. Neither of those is probably true. Representing Cincinnati, Ohio and my hometown of Seattle, Washington.

Source: http://leaderswest.com/2012/10/21/small-business-social-media-marketing/

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The pros and cons of having a relationship at university ? Spark ...

By Shelley McGrath
@Shelley1105

When asked to write this article I thought it could go either two ways; it could turn into a soppy ?diary-entry style? moan at men or come across as extremely needy and have you wanting me to get a grip. I accepted the challenge as I have knowledge on this subject matter; it?s fair to say not all successful experiences, but experiences none-the-less.

There are cons of being in a relationship in general, but coming to uni does add that extra strain and pressure. I think when it comes to leaving your other half at home, paranoia is probably the main issue that causes arguments. Having done the long distance thing with a past-boyfriend when he went to uni I know of this strain. Things were pretty laid back, but there are those girls (not me I?d like to point out) who will constantly stalk their partner?s social network pages for dodgy photos from the night before. It was just unfortunate timing that in my case it just popped up on my news feed when I got in from college. Of course, there are those getting into relationships at uni, which kind of rules out the paranoia thing. A con I think in this situation is if you?re in the same friendship group, especially if you all live in the same halls. It can be great when you all get along, but not so great when there?s an argument; relationships within friendship groups can cause a divide!

Now that the bad stuff is out of the way, I can now move onto the things that aren?t so depressing, after all relationships aren?t all doom and gloom, if you pick a good?un of course. Nine times out of ten if you?re doing the long distance thing, you get a rather nice supply of flowers, chocolates, cards etc. Also when you meet up it?s that bit more special, after all living in each other?s pockets is extremely unhealthy. Obviously, this can be hard to avoid if you both are at uni together, so my advice would be to make time for your friends as well as each other, then all should be fine.

Not one of my friends at uni is with the same person they were with at the start of first year, but that?s not to say they don?t work. No relationship is plain sailing; they?re something you need to work at and they can be tough sometimes. University is a place that changes your life and is ever changing. So much can happen in the space of three years, you?ll wonder where the time went. The strongest of relationships can fall through at any time; all you can do is try and make it work, and if it?s meant to be, it will happen.

Source: http://www.sparksunderland.com/featured/2012/10/the-pros-and-cons-of-having-a-relationship-at-university/

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Messi! Messi! Messi!

Associated Press Sports

updated 7:51 p.m. ET Oct. 20, 2012

MADRID (AP) - Lionel Messi scored his first hat trick of the season and Cesc Fabregas set up three goals as Barcelona survived Javier Mascherano's ejection and won 5-4 at Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish league on Saturday.

Fabregas set up Jordi Alba's goal in the third minute, then passed to Cristian Tello for an eighth-minute goal and to Messi for a 3-0 lead in the 18th.

Luis Pizzi's penalty kick in the 26th and Alex Bergantinos' goal in the 37th pulled the hosts to 3-2, but Messi scored again in the 43rd.

Pizzi cut the gap to 4-3 in the 47th, and Mascherano received his second yellow card two minutes later for a foul on Riki. Messi hit the crossbar inthe 51st, dribbled through the defense to score in the 77th for his first hat trick this season and 21st for Barcelona. Two minutes later, Alba lobbed the ball over Victor Valdes for an own goal.

"It was a crazy game in every way," Fabregas said. "We are happy to get the three points after a long international week. We take away our good first half, but those four goals show we have room to improve."

Messi has 15 goals this season, including a league-leading 11. Barcelona (7-0-1) leads second-place Atletico Madrid (6-0-1) by three points and is eight points ahead of Real Madrid (4-2-2).

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LONDON (AP) - Chelsea maintained its strong Premier League start by winning 4-2 at Tottenham to preserve a four-point lead over Manchester United and Manchester City.

Juan Mata scored twice between goals by Gary Cahill and Daniel Sturridge as the Blues (7-0-1) overcame a 2-1 deficit and rallied against Spurs and American goalkeeper Brad Friedel. William Gallas and Jermain Defoe scored for Tottenham.

After putting Manchester United (6-2) behind with an 11th-minute own goal, Wayne Rooney scored twice in a 4-2 win over visiting Stoke. Rooney tied the score in the 27th minute and also scored United's final goal in the 65th, with Robin Van Persie and Danny Welbeck scoring in between, with Welbeck eluding American defender Geoff Cameron. Michael Kightly scored for Stoke.

Manchester City (5-0-3) rallied for a 2-1 win at West Bromwich Albion on goals by substitute Edin Dzeko in the 80th minute and the second minute of stoppage time. Shane Long scored in the 67th for West Brom, which had a man advantage after James Milner was given a red card by referee Mark Clattenburg for a foul on Long.

Arsenal lost 1-0 at Norwich, which gained its first win of the season on Grant Holt's 19th-minute goal.

Raheem Sterling scored in the 29th minute at Anfield in a 1-0 victory over Reading and at 17 years, 317 days became the club's second-youngest Premier League scorer behind Michael Owen.

West Ham routed Southampton 4-1, Swansea beat Wigan 2-1 and Fulham edged Aston Villa 1-0.

In the second-tier League Championship, American defender Tim Ream started in Bolton's 3-2 win at home over Bristol City, his first appearance since Sept. 1. Ream fouled Martyn Woolford, leading to Kevin Davies' penalty kick that put the visitors ahead 2-1 in the 21st.

American defender Jonathan Spector was ejected in Birmingham's 1-1 tie against Leicester, receiving his second yellow card in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

---

TURIN, Italy (AP) - Defending champion Juventus needed goals from substitutes Martin Caceres in the 80th minute and 19-year-old Paul Pogba in the 82nd for a 2-0 win over second-place Napoli that extended its Serie A unbeaten streak to 47 matches.

Juventus (7-0-1) opened a three-point lead over Napoli (6-1-1-).

Lazio (6-2) is four points off the lead in third following a 3-2 win over struggling AC Milan (2-5-1).

Hernanes put Lazio ahead in the 25th with a deflected shot, Antonio Candreva doubled the lead in the 41st with a long-range effort and Miroslav Klose added in the 49th with a volley from the edge of the penalty area.

Nigel de Jong redirected a free kick from Urby Emanuelson in the 61st and teenager Stephen El Shaarawy added his fifth of the season in the 79th.

---

BERLIN (AP) - Defending champion Borussia Dortmund slumped to a 2-1 loss at home to bitter rival Schalke in the 141st Ruhr derby, while Bayern Munich became the first team to start a Bundesliga season with eight straight wins.

Ibrahim Afellay opened the scoring in the 14th minute, when he crashed a low shot in off the left post, and Schalke (5-1-2) went 2-0 up in the 48th, when Marco Hoeger finished off a counterattack after a brilliant through ball from Lewis Holtby. American midfielder Jermaine Jones, coming off a foot injury that limited him to a second-half appearance in the World Cup qualifier at Antigua and Barbuda, entered in the 78th,

Robert Lewandowski pulled one back with a header from Marco Reus' free kick seven minutes later, but it wasn't enough to save Dortmund's 17-game unbeaten run at home or prevent the side falling 12 points behind Bayern.

Thomas Mueller scored twice in Bayern's 5-0 rout of Fortuna Duesseldorf, with Mario Mandzukic, Luiz Gustavo and Rafinha also getting goals for the visitors.

---

PARIS (AP) - Paris Saint-Germain (5-0-4) moved into the French league lead for the first time this season, winning 1-0 at home against Reims on Kevin Gameiro's goal in the 65th minute.

PSG is ahead on goal difference over Marseille (6-1-1), which can restore its three-point lead if it wins away at last-place Troyes on Sunday.

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

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Messi! Messi! Messi!

Roundup: Lionel Messi scored his first hat trick of the season and Cesc Fabregas set up three goals as Barcelona survived Javier Mascherano's ejection and won 5-4 at Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish league on Saturday.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44052311/ns/sports-soccer/

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Mars rover begins munching dirt, finds weird bright stuff

The soil has been successfully delivered to the rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, or CheMin, mission scientists announced Oct. 18.

By Mike Wall,?SPACE.com / October 19, 2012

This image shows part of the small pit or bite created when NASA's Mars rover Curiosity collected its second scoop of Martian soil at a sandy patch called 'Rocknest.' This image was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on Curiosity's arm during the 69th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Oct. 15, 2012).

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Enlarge

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has swallowed its first tiny bite of Martian soil, after standing down for a spell while scientists checked out some strange bright bits in the dirt.

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The $2.5 billion?Curiosity rover?ingested the minuscule sample ? which contains about as much material as a baby aspirin ? on Wednesday (Oct. 17). The soil has been successfully delivered to the rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument, or CheMin, mission scientists announced today (Oct. 18).

"We are crossing a significant threshold for this mission by using CheMin on its first sample," Curiosity lead scientist John Grotzinger, of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, said in a statement.

"This instrument gives us a more definitive mineral-identifying method than ever before used on Mars: X-ray diffraction," Grotzinger added. "Confidently identifying minerals is important because minerals record the environmental conditions under which they form." [Video: Curiosity's First Scoopful of Mars Dirt]

Bright stuff on Mars

The sample that found its way into CheMin came from the third scoop of soil Curiosity dug up at a site dubbed "Rocknest." The first scoop was discarded after being used to scrub out the rover's sampling system, to help ensure that no Earth-originating residues remained.

Work at Rocknest slowed after Curiosity dug its second scoop on Oct. 12, when researchers noticed?oddly bright flecks?at the bottom of the hole. The team dumped the scoop out, worried that it might contain debris that had flaked off Curiosity.

They already knew that some tiny rover pieces are littering the Martian ground, after?spotting a bright shred?of what appears to be plastic on Oct. 7. Team members have since identified five or six other such bits, which may have fallen off Curiosity's sky-crane descent stage during landing on Aug. 5.

"We went super-paranoid," Grotzinger told reporters today. The team determined that "if this stuff is man-made, we better make sure that we're not taking any of it in."

So Curiosity moved to a slightly different location, and then took lots of pictures to make sure that the surface was pristine before making scoop number three. If any bright flecks are indeed present in the sample, they're naturally occurring, the mission team reasons, since any rover pieces would be restricted to the surface.

All that being said, Curiosity scientists now believe the bright soil flecks are indeed indigenous to?Mars. They could be minerals that are part of the soil-forming process, Grotzinger said, or reflective surfaces created by the cleaving of ordinary dirt.

The team aims to fire its mineral-identifying laser, which is part of Curiosity's ChemCam instrument, at some of the pieces in the next few days to get a better idea of what they actually are.

Mars under the microscope

Curiosity carries 10 instruments to help it determine whether its?Gale Crater?landing site has ever been capable of supporting microbial life. But CheMin and another instrument on the 1-ton rover's body, known as Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM), are the rover's core scientific gear.

SAM is a chemistry laboratory that can identify organic compounds ? the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it. The instrument has been sniffing the Martian air already, but it has yet to analyze its first soil sample. That should change in a week or so, Grotzinger said, after further cleaning of the rover's sampling system.

Curiosity continues to be in good health, researchers said. After the six-wheeled robot finishes testing out its scooping and sampling systems at Rocknest, mission scientists will begin searching for a spot to break out the rover's rock-boring drill. The first drill activity will be a complicated affair that could take month or so all up, Grotzinger said.

Curiosity is currently checking out deposits near a site called "Glenelg," where three interesting types of Martian terrain come together. But its ultimate destination is the base of Mount Sharp, the 3.4-mile-high (5.5 kilometers) mountain rising from Gale Crater's center.

Mount Sharp's foothills show signs of long-ago exposure to liquid water. Curiosity could be ready to start rolling toward the mountain's interesting deposits ? which lie about 6 miles (10 km) away ? in a couple of months.

"I would hope we'd be on our way by the end of the year," Grotzinger said.

Follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter?@michaeldwall?or SPACE.com?@Spacedotcom. We're also onFacebook?and?Google+.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/C7Wv3Dz8QDQ/Mars-rover-begins-munching-dirt-finds-weird-bright-stuff

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OSHA sanctions SeaWorld after orca trainer death ? Business ...

OSHA has ordered Orlando?s SeaWorld marine park to change the ways in which trainers and orcas interact following the death of orca trainer Dawn Brancheau.

Brancheau drowned in February 2010 after a ?killer whale? named Tilikum pulled her under the water before dozens of horrified spectators. It took park workers 45 minutes to control Tilikum and recover Brancheau?s body from the pool.

Now instead of swimming with orcas, riding on their backs and being flung into the air off their noses, trainers must stay on dry land, separated from the whales by a glass barrier. Making the case for fewer restrictions on its popular orca shows, SeaWorld argued to OSHA that Brancheau?s death was unforeseeable because its orcas are so well trained and normally so well behaved.

However, OSHA investigators found that orcas have been involved in four deaths at North American marine parks?and that Tilikum had been present in three of those cases.

In addition to changing its orca show safety procedures, SeaWorld must pay a $12,000 fine. Meanwhile, the park is exploring ways to safely return trainers to the whale pool, including development of a pool floor that can be raised in an emergency to beach a rogue orca.

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Source: http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/32890/osha-sanctions-seaworld-after-orca-trainer-death

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Fall Food Inspiration: Pizza Panini (Nature's Pride Bread) | Love ...

This post brought to you by Nature?s Pride Bread. All opinions are 100% mine.

I?d like to get a new Panini press one of these days. This particular recipe from?Nature?s Pride Bread?sandwich called Pizza Panini, ispired me to get one and make it. This will only take less time to make it and easy to create lunch boxes for my husband to work, and ?lunch meals for my kids as they like pizza food. I also like the idea that it will use Nature?s Pride?s 12-Grain bread, which is easy to buy on our local store. It has No high fructose corn syrup, No trans fat, and No artificial preservatives in it. I support all natural and organic foods.

?

?

Here?s how to make this simple recipe:

The ingredients are:

?

8 slices?Nature?s Pride? 12-Grain bread

4 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

4 tablespoons pizza sauce

24 slices turkey pepperoni

8 slices Canadian bacon, optional

3/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Combine butter and garlic powder. Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter. Spread pizza sauce on the other side of bread. Arrange pepperoni over pizza sauce on four slices of bread, then top with Canadian bacon, if desired. Sprinkle each sandwich with about 3 tablespoons of shredded Mozzarella. Top with remaining slice of bread, butter-side out.

Preheat panini grill according to manufacturer?s directions. Grill until sandwich is toasted and cheese has melted.

Tip: if desired, heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Grill sandwich until golden and toasted, about two to three minutes on each side. Wrap a brick with aluminum foil or use a heavy or cast iron skillet to weight the top of the sandwich as it cooks to press in a ?panini-fashion.?

Isn?t this simple to do? And you are preparing healthy type of pizza too! How about you, do you have any other favorite Fall themed Nature?s Pride Bread recipe to try cooking? Could you share it with me too by leaving a comment below?

Have you heard about the Bread for No Bread contest at?Nature?s Pride on Facebook? Every Monday, they are choosing one winner who will?win FREE bread for a month! To Join, simply like Nature?s Pride Bread on Facebook and enter their contest page here: https://www.facebook.com/naturespridebreads/app_150794994973742 Good luck folks!

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3. RECIPES I TRIED: Maple-Pumpkin Cheese cake
4. RECIPES I TRIED: Delicious Carrot-Bacon Crescents, low cholesterol, low sodium
5. My Home baked Meat loaf

Source: http://www.lovehomegrowgarden.info/2012/10/19/fall-food-inspiration-pizza-panini-natures-pride-bread/

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Tyler Perry lumbering, lost in dismal 'Alex Cross'

Summit Entertainment

Tyler Perry as "Alex Cross."

By Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter

REVIEW: You almost feel sorry for Tyler Perry, stepping out of his own universe for the first time to try to expand his range and finding himself in something as thoroughly dismal as Alex Cross. An unpleasant film from the sadistic behavior of its loathsome villain to the grubbiness of its visual palette, this stands as a substandard attempt to bring novelist James Patterson's intuitive cop back to the big screen. All the same, it will be interesting to observe if much of Perry's generally loyal audience turns out to see him in a major change of pace, as well as if non-fans are curious to check him as a potential action hero. Whatever the opening is, legs are doubtful.

Among other things, Alex Cross features a mano-a-mano climax that is a strong contender for the title of worst major fight scene ever to grace a major motion picture. The lighting is dark, it's framed so tightly you can't tell who's hitting whom or what's going on, and the camera's intense jitters make it a virtual parody of filmmakers trying to make something exciting by shaking the camera. It's incredible one of the six producers didn't notice this and demand a retake.

Not directly based on any single one of Patterson's novels about the brilliant investigator and forensic psychologist but credited nonetheless as an adaptation of "Cross," the script by Mark Moss and Kerry Williamson takes the man back to his pre-Washington and FBI days, when he was a cop on the Detroit police force (though some might notice that, for financial reasons, the film was shot largely in Cleveland). This repositioning suits the fact that Perry is about 20 years younger than Morgan Freeman was when he played the role in "Kiss the Girls" in 1997 and "Along Came a Spider" four years later.

VIDEO: 'Alex Cross' trailer pits Tyler Perry against Matthew Fox

This is a nasty psycho-killer film plain and simple, centered on a wily and well-armed sicko who flat-out announces that, ?Inflicting pain is a crucial part of my true calling.? In order to look more cadaverously sinister, Matthew Fox (Lost) might have shed more weight for a role than anyone since Christian Bale went skeletal for "The Machinist." ?As is exhibited all too vividly at the outset, Picasso -- as he quickly becomes known for good reasons -- loves to torture, to feel his victims' pain, you might say, and it's up to Cross and his boyhood friend and partner Tommy Kane (Edward Burns) to track the maniac down.

Unfortunately, there's no preparation for the way Cross lays out how the first mass murder went down almost as soon as he arrives on the crime scene, apparently so accurately that his visions of what Picasso wrought are simultaneously presented as fact. He would seem to have an unnatural gift for sussing out a bad guy's M.O., but we never learn anything about this ability, other than that the FBI has noticed it and is paging him to D.C. The idea of moving doesn't sit too well with Cross' wife (Carmen Ejogo), who announces she's pregnant with their third child. But domestic decisions will have to wait until the maniac is brought down.

On precious little evidence, Cross thinks he has Picasso's intentions figured out -- he seems to be targeting the extravagantly rich -- but he and Tommy soon find the victims are too close to home. Picasso torments Cross with taunting phone calls and always seems a step or two ahead of his pursuer, for whom the hunt becomes a personal obsession.

Director Rob Cohen takes no time to set up scenes properly to build suspense or, as in the case of the climax and another action interlude involving a car crash, to even make them plausible. The camera shakes big time in another sequence when a major lead is discovered that might lead to the killer, and a coda set in Bali is preposterous in the way one of the characters spews out information he has no need to disclose.

Towering over the other actors (he's 6-foot-5), Perry lumbers around with a degree of charisma but a lack of emotional range or variety in line delivery. Although watchable and certainly different from the usual run of leading men, he's not really all that interesting in this character. Fox is plenty convincing as the cretin without the merest morsel of humanity, while the other actors just cash their paychecks, notably Jean Reno as a French industrialist with an unexplained penchant for turning the city of Detroit around.

Related content:

Source: http://entertainment.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/19/14554330-tyler-perry-lumbering-lost-in-confusing-dismal-alex-cross?lite

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Puush Automatically Uploads Screenshots or Files for Incredibly Quick Sharing [Sharing]

Mac/Windows: When you need to quickly upload a screenshot or file, you have plenty of different options to choose from. However, Puush might be the simplest one out there.

Every time you take a screenshot with a keyboard shortcut, Puush automatically uploads the file to the Puush servers, and you're given a quick link URL. The same goes for files. Drag a file to the Puush icon, and it's uploaded right away. You get 20mb per file, and 200mb total for the free service. If you find yourself sharing a lot of files, and don't feel like dealing with the likes of Dropbox or any of the photo sharing services, Puush is a dead simple way to instantly share a file.

Puush (free) | Puush via One Thing Well

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/k1HIXd44Zu4/puush-automatically-uploads-screenshots-or-files-for-incredibly-quick-sharing

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Attorneys To Release Confidential Boy Scouts Files On Alleged ...

(CNN) ? More than 20,000 confidential Boy Scout documents will be released Thursday identifying more than 1,000 leaders and volunteers banned from the group after being accused of sexual or inappropriate conduct with boys.

The public release of the Scouts? 1,247 ?ineligible volunteer files? from 1965 to 1985 will not contain the identities of the boy victims and witnesses. The national files are being distributed with the approval of the Oregon Supreme Court by a law firm that won an $18.5 million judgment in 2010 against the Boy Scouts in a case where a Scoutmaster sexually abused a boy.

Wayne Perry, president of Boy Scouts of America, said the group is deeply committed to youth protection, but he acknowledged that in some cases, the organization?s response to allegations of abuse by volunteers ?were plainly insufficient, inappropriate or wrong.?

?Where those involved in Scouting failed to protect, or worse, inflicted harm on children, we extend our deepest and sincere apologies to victims and their families,? Perry said in a statement issued Wednesday evening. ?While it is difficult to understand or explain individuals? actions from many decades ago, today Scouting is a leader among youth-serving organizations in preventing child abuse.?

The Boy Scouts opposed the release of the internal records and said their confidentiality has encouraged prompt reporting of questionable behavior and privacy for victimized boys and their families.

?While we respect the court, we are still concerned that the release of two decades? worth of confidential files into public view, even with the redactions indicated, may still negatively impact victims? privacy and have a chilling effect on the reporting of abuse,? the organization said.

The Scouts also released a September report from a University of Virginia psychiatry professor, Janet Warren, who concluded that the system ?has functioned well in keeping many unfit adults out of Scouting.?

But the attorneys representing victims in several lawsuits against the Scouts say the group hid evidence from the public and police and that the so-called ?perversion files? offer insight into what they deem a serious problem in the organization.

The secrecy protected more than 1,000 suspected child molesters, said the attorneys, who will publicly release the documents during a news conference in a downtown Portland hotel. The attorneys are also seeking the release of post-1985 files from the Boy Scouts.

The files will show that the expelled Scout leaders and volunteers ? all men ? ?are sociopathic geniuses,? said attorney Kelly Clark of Portland, who has reviewed the 20,000 pages and is among the attorneys releasing the papers Thursday.

?They fool everybody,? he said. ?And then they are able to coerce, convince or threaten these kids to stay silent. And you see that play out over and over again in the files.?

Clark said he represents more than 100 men who as children were in the Boy Scouts, and he estimates that more than 50% of his clients have drug or alcohol problems. At least three of them have committed suicide, he said.

Tim Kosnoff, an attorney in Seattle, said the abuse allegedly inflicted on the men as boys ?has a corrosive effect? in which trust, relationship and sexuality issues develop with adulthood.

One former Boy Scout represented by Kosnoff, Keith Early, joined the group at 12, recruited by an assistant Scoutmaster who was a married firefighter with three children and led Scout meetings in a church in Washington state.

Early, now 18, was sexually abused by the Scout leader while helping build a Boy Scout camp on his 42-acre ranch, he said in an interview with CNN. The assistant Scoutmaster was convicted of abusing Early and another boy and is now serving a prison sentence of 10 years to life.

?I felt like I was all alone,? Early said. ?Just thinking about it makes me angry ? because how could you do that to somebody? How could you bring yourself to do that to somebody who is so innocent and has done nothing wrong??

The number of files started each year ranged from 25 to 75 at a time when about 5 million Scouts and volunteers were active, according to Warren?s report. In most cases, ?police, courts and public were aware of the information in the files,? and 58% ?included information known to the public.?

There were ?a small number of files where an alleged offender was allowed back into Scouting after offending,? often after psychiatric treatment, ?those cases were extraordinarily rare,? wrote Warren, who was an expert witness for the Boy Scouts during the court case.

Tim Hale, a Santa Barbara, California, attorney who?s representing allegedly abused Scouts who are now adults, said the released documents could provide information about possible pedophiles.

?We?re talking about hundreds, if not thousands, of unidentified men who should be registered sex offenders who are roaming free in society, free to volunteer with other youth organizations, to work at schools and that sort of thing,? Hale said.

The Boy Scouts disputes that characterization of their files.

In a September 20 statement released by the Boy Scouts, Warren rebutted the characterization that the documents were ?secret files of hidden abuse? by pedophiles.

?The files show a significant amount of public knowledge of the offenders and their unlawful acts. For example, over 60% of the files being made available to the public include some kind of public information. These public domain sources included newspaper articles, police reports, criminal justice records, and records of civil litigation. The majority of men in the files were arrested at some point in their lives for a sex crime,? Warren wrote.

The files are also ?very limited in their ability to answer important research questions about sexual abuse,? she said.

?While some have attempted to categorize these files as a ?treasure trove? of information about pedophiles and their actions, that simply is not the case,? Warren said. ?These files tell us precisely what researchers already knew, and have known for many years: some small number of men will use a position of trust and access to young people to pursue illegal sexual gratification. This is a sad reality that has been with us throughout human history.?

The Boy Scouts say they have improved their youth protection policies the past decade and have initiated such practices as third-party, computerized background checks on all new adult volunteers. Also, at least two adults are present at all scouting activities, the group said.

The Scouts, founded by congressional charter in 1910, instituted character reference checks for Scoutmasters in 1911 and, by the 1920s, began using an ineligible volunteers list deemed not having ?the moral, emotional or character values for membership,? the group said.

In June, the Oregon Supreme Court upheld a lower-court decision to release the documents as requested by media outlets.

?The court had discretion to order, on good cause shown, the release of those documents subject to the redaction of names set out in the exhibits to protect victims of child sexual abuse and reporters of child sexual abuse from embarrassment, retaliation or other harm,? the state Supreme Court said in its order. ?The court in this case properly exercised that authority.?

The media companies seeking the release of the files were the Associated Press, The Oregonian newspaper in Portland, Oregon Public Broadcasting, KGW (a CNN affiliate), The New York Times and Courthouse News Service.

Those media outlets intervened in a 2010 lawsuit in Oregon that resulted in the largest judgment against the Scouts in a molestation case.

That year, an Oregon jury found the Boy Scouts liable for the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old boy more than 25 years earlier, returning a verdict of $18.5 million in punitive damages.

The plaintiff, Kerry Lewis, then 38, allowed his name to be used publicly during the trial, according to his attorneys. He was among six men suing the Boy Scouts over allegations of sexual abuse.

Lewis? attorney, Clark, produced documents during the six-week trial that he said were part of an archive of previously secret Boy Scout files chronicling decades of abuse of boys.

Clark said that when his clients were boys during the 1980s, the Boy Scouts knew that at least one of them had been abused by a former assistant Scoutmaster. At the time of the 2010 trial, that former assistant Scoutmaster was a 53-year-old convicted sex offender released from prison in 2005 and paroled until 2013.

Clark also alleged that though the Scout leader was removed, he was allowed to stay on as a volunteer and the abuse continued. In 1983, the assistant Scoutmaster told troop leaders he abused 17 Scouts, according to plaintiff?s attorneys.

In its verdict, the jury held the Boy Scouts of America 60% negligent; the Cascade Pacific Council, which oversees Scouting activities in the region, 15% negligent; and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 25% negligent.

The church has sponsored a number of Boy Scout troops, including the one to which the plaintiff belonged. A lawyer representing the church said then that the verdict had no impact on the church, because it settled the case out of court more than a year earlier.

? & ? 2012 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

Source: http://fox2now.com/2012/10/18/attorneys-to-release-confidential-boy-scouts-files-on-alleged-child-sex-abusers/

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Spectacular Mac and Cheese Recipe | Budget Savvy Diva

?

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Everyday at 1 pm PST/ 4pm EST Budget Savvy Diva posts a NEW RECIPE I might miss this time every now or then ? but I know you understand

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What To Do

3 tablespoon(s) panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon(s) paprika
1 package(s) (110-ounce) frozen spinach, thawed
1 3/4 cup(s) 2% milk
3 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
2 cup(s) grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon of Freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
8 ounce pasta ? round pasta ( any style you like)

What to Do

Preheat the oven to 450

Boil a large pot of water and cook pasta. Make sure not to completely cook and drain the pasta since it will continue to cook in the cheese sauce.

In a small bowl mix, breadcrumbs, oil, cayenne pepper, and paprika? and mix.

Cook spinach according to package directions ? press out excess water.

In a large saucepan ? heat 1.5 cups of milk. In a small bowl whisk 1/4 cup milk and flour in a small bowl. Add to the hot milk ? keep mixing till sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in cheddar till melted. Add cottage cheese, nutmeg, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Add pasta to cheese sauce. In a casserole dish add 1/2 pasta and cheese. Spoon spinach on top. Top with the remaining pasta and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Spectacular Mac and Cheese Recipe

Serves: 4 -6

• 3 tablespoon(s) panko breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) paprika
• 1 package(s) (110-ounce) frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 3/4 cup(s) 2% milk
• 3 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
• 2 cup(s) grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of Freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 8 ounce pasta ? round pasta ( any style you like)

1. Preheat the oven to 450
2. Boil a large pot of water and cook pasta. Make sure not to completely cook and drain the pasta since it will continue to cook in the cheese sauce.
3. In a small bowl mix, breadcrumbs, oil, cayenne pepper, and paprika and mix.
4. Cook spinach according to package directions ? press out excess water.
5. In a large saucepan ? heat 1.5 cups of milk. In a small bowl whisk 1/4 cup milk and flour in a small bowl. Add to the hot milk ? keep mixing till sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in cheddar till melted. Add cottage cheese, nutmeg, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
6. Add pasta to cheese sauce. In a casserole dish add 1/2 pasta and cheese. Spoon spinach on top. Top with the remaining pasta and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
7. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.
8. Enjoy!

2.2.8

Recipe is adapted from HERE

?

Other recipes you'll love:

Source: http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2012/10/spectacular-mac-cheese-recipe/

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High frequency trading killing the art of stock market investing | Fool ...

High frequency trading may have had its day in the sun, writes Mike King of The Motley Fool.

In what might be a scene from a science fiction movie, computers, directly connected to the ASX?s Stock Exchange, are firing off hundreds and thousands of trade orders every second, dominating our market, running roughshod over ?mum and dad? investors trying to trade shares to fund their retirement ? and end up causing a market crash.

Ok, it?s not quite that bad, but it?s obviously a nightmare scenario to many market participants, including heavyweights like UBS, which regularly handles more than 8% of the total volumes traded each day.

Controlled by programs (algorithms) developed by humans and based on stock trading patterns and human psychology, trades of normally unmarketable parcels of shares have flooded the market.

Who wants to buy 6 shares in Billabong International (ASX: BBG), for 84.5 cents each, or 9 shares at 80.5 cents? How about 16 shares in Ten Network Holdings (ASX: TEN) at 31.5 cents each? And it?s not just one trade order ? there?s four of them, all exactly the same.

UBS and other market heavyweights including Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT) and Australian Super, echoing the views of many retail investors, have called on the regulators to take more stringent action against High Frequency Trading (HFT), including slowing down the speed at which orders can be placed, and charging for every trade order that is placed.

Just today, several stocks including Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) and Aristocrat Leisure (ASX: ALL) spiked higher, when the ASX opened for trading. Speculation has placed the blame on a black-box trading system, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has said it was aware of the surging share prices and was investigating.

High frequency or algorithmic trading proponents claim that it provides liquidity, but that appears to be a dubious claim. The value of shares traded on the ASX has halved in recent months from around $6.5 billion a day to around $3 ? $3.5 billion. Much of the blame is being laid at the doorstep of HFT.

ASX Limited (ASX: ASX), the company that owns and runs the Stock Exchange, appears to be in a quandary. It wants HFT and believes in the benefits it brings to the market. On the other hand, the evidence points to HFT reducing trading volumes, and consequently the ASX?s revenues.

Foolish takeaway

HFT appears to be creating an unfair market, and changing the purpose of the stock exchange. After all, the Exchange?s main purpose is to allow companies to raise equity capital. How HFT trading fits into that, I have no idea.

If you only invest in one company this year, make it our ?Top Stock for 2012-13?. Operating in two hot markets ? one set to double by 2012, the other predicted to grow 5x over the next five years ? this stock is a solid growth play that also boasts strong recurring revenue, zero debt, and lots of cash. Get its name and full research case in this?brand-new FREE report.

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Motley Fool writer/analyst Mike King doesn?t own shares in any companies mentioned.?The Motley Fool?s?purpose is to help the world invest, better.?Take Stock?is The Motley Fool?s free?investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead.?Click here now?to request?your free subscription, whilst it?s still available.?This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

Source: http://www.fool.com.au/2012/10/investing/high-frequency-trading-killing-the-art-of-stock-market-investing/

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Hart resigns as Canada coach following WCup exit

Associated Press Sports

updated 4:52 p.m. ET Oct. 18, 2012

TORONTO (AP) -Stephen Hart has resigned as Canada soccer coach, two days after the team was eliminated from World Cup qualifying with an 8-1 loss at Honduras.

Canadian Soccer Association president Victor Montagliani announced Thursday that Hart had quit.

Canada needed a tie or win to advance to next year's six-nation finals in North and Central America and the Caribbean. The seven-goal loss was its largest margin since an 8-0 defeat at Mexico in 1993.

Hart was hired in December 2009. Including an interim stint in 2006-07, he managed Canada to a 20-15-10 record.

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

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More newsMike Ehrmann / Getty Images

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/49468426/ns/sports-soccer/

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Okla. gas prices fall nearly 10 cents per gallon

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Les Moonves Re-Ups With CBS Through 2017

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