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How to walk in heels. Course on women’s posture launched by orthotist Martin Bell.

Kathryn R. Bown
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How to walk in heels. Course on women’s posture launched by orthotist Martin Bell.

British clinician Martin Bell is so fed up with treating women for joint pain because of their high heels he has devised a course – to teach them to walk properly.

Martin Bell, 40, has been inundated with women complaining of back and knee pain because of their “wonky” posture on high heels.

The clinical orthotist has already helped hundreds of women by teaching them to stand and use their leg muscles properly and “fight” what their body has become used to.

He said that unless women walk in high heels correctly they could end up with chronic joint problems which could take years to resolve.

Martin Bell said: “I got fed up with so many girls coming through my clinic with back pain and numb feet and who suffer from wonky standing.

“I have to say I have an agenda against the Great British wobbly bottom, it’s that which means girls are unable to walk in heels.

“This is my venture to try and access these girls before they start coming to my clinic. We can do something now to change this and improve their posture.

“When I see girls who wear heels one of the most frequent problems related to them are weak knees and back pain.

“I work with them to look at their physical strength and muscle tightness, our legs are shock absorbers so if we aren’t walking properly they are going to hurt.”

Martin Bell’s unique course – called Perfectly Poised – takes place in his offices in the posh suburb of Clifton, Bristol, UK.

Martin Bell's course Perfectly Poised takes place in his offices in the posh suburb of Clifton
Martin Bell’s course Perfectly Poised takes place in his offices in the posh suburb of Clifton

It involves filming his client walking in her heels and then playing back the footage to analyze her walk.

He examines the way in which each girl uses their legs and back when walking, picking out subtle hints with their posture that could help alleviate their pain.

Martin Bell then gives them exercises to help strengthen any weak muscles and improve their walk.

He said his main clients stem from those who have never trained to improve their muscle control.

“The difficulty is if a girl has never done any running or never ever been to the gym or trained to improve their muscle control and suddenly jumps into a pair of heels,” Martin Bell said.

“The body cannot understand what has just happened and she thinks she can walk like she does in a pair of flip flops or ugg boots.

“She then runs the risk of going head over heels like a new born calf.

“The girls can end up standing like stalks too, with their knees entirely flexed and thus they get a lot of lower back pain.

“My other clientele stem from those middle-aged successful business women who suddenly realize there is a young girl in their office who can strut around with no problem in heels.

“They feel heels give them power so they are desperate to use them, but end up with crippling pain.”

Martin Bell added that he understands the need to wear heels, but feels that if women want to they should be properly equipped with the right knowledge of how to use them.

He said: “I’m not saying they are not fabulous things, they are, unfortunately, a necessary evil in working life.

“From asking the girls they have all said that heels can give extra height and confidence. They said it is head turning, dynamic and more powerful.

“It is also, of course, that girls tend to feel sexier in heels because it instantly makes every girl’s legs longer.

“They just need to know how to walk in them properly.”

Women can chose to attend either a group programme, or a one-to-one session to improve their walk and posture.

They are advised to wear comfortable clothing which shows off their curves so a better assessment can be made of their posture.

 

Formula predicts woman’s chances of pregnancy

Kathryn R. Bown
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Formula predicts woman’s chances of pregnancy

Scientists have devised a formula that predicts a woman’s chances of pregnancy.

The formula combines information about how fertility drops with age with the length of time a woman has been trying to start a family, to come up with their odds of conceiving.

For example, they have worked out that the average 25-year-old who has been trying to get pregnant for six months has a 15% chance of doing so in the following month.

By the age of 30, her odds are 13% and, at 35, they have dropped below 10%.

The speeding up of the biological clock mean the chances of pregnancy plummet after 35.

The average 40-year-old who has been trying for six months has just a 5% of getting pregnant in the next month – or odds of one in 20.

Scientists have devised a formula that predicts a woman’s chances of pregnancy
Scientists have devised a formula that predicts a woman’s chances of pregnancy

The calculations also show that when a woman is 25, it will take 13 months for her odds of conceiving quickly to fall below 10%.

But a 35-year-old woman has just six months before her chances are so slim.

The long-standing rule of thumb is that those trying for a family should wait a year before seeking help, although doctors are increasingly acknowledging the impact of age.

The researchers, from the University of Warwick and the London School of Economics in UK, say that more detailed information could make it easier for couples to discuss fertility issues with their GP.

Professor Geraldine Hartshorne said: “People feel embarrassed and upset and don’t want to go to the doctor. Men, in particular, can be a little bit reluctant.

“As time goes by and people have been trying for a while, they start to get stressed and upset and that can affect their chances of having sex and then becoming pregnant. Approaching a doctor about a personal matter is daunting, so knowing the right time to start investigations would be a useful step forward.”

Writing in the journal PLoS One, Prof. Geraldine Hartshorne also warns that taking too long to conceive could indicate that the resulting pregnancy might be risky.

The work could help doctors to decide whether to refer patients for costly and uncomfortable tests or advise them to keep trying for a baby a little longer.

The researchers have passed their work to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which formulates health guidelines. In future, it may be possible to create an online calculator that provides couples with a personalized prediction.

Prof. Geraldine Hartshorne added that factors such as smoking or being fat are “not the most important things” when it comes to conceiving. However, a healthy lifestyle will boost the odds of a healthy baby.

She said: “If your tubes are blocked, giving up smoking really isn’t going to make a difference, but things like smoking and obesity do have important effects when you do get pregnant and in that respect they should be addressed as soon as possible.”

 

Curiosity rover to scoop Martian soil

James J. Williams
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Curiosity rover to scoop Martian soil

NASA’s Curiosity rover is preparing to scoop its first sample of Martian soil.

The vehicle, which landed on the Red Planet in August, has driven up to a pile of sandy material that mission scientists have dubbed “Rocknest”.

This weekend, the robot will dig into the ground with its clamshell-shaped trowel, with the aim first of cleaning the mechanism of earthly contamination.

Later, it will repeat the task and deliver an aspirin-sized measure of sand to onboard labs for analysis.

NASA engineers have cautioned that the whole process will be long and drawn out. The machinery involved is complex and the team says it needs time to learn how best to operate it.

Curiosity, also known as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), will very likely be stationary at Rocknest for a couple of weeks while the scoop tests are carried out.

And, as with some of the earlier science experiments conducted by the rover, the scoop results – when they come – are expected to be fairly mundane. The sand is very probably just the product of weathered basalt, the ubiquitous volcanic rock on Mars’ surface.

The team is more concerned about getting its sample handling procedures right than making significant new discoveries.

A key objective of the first excavations will be to thoroughly clean the internal mechanisms of the robotic arm tool that does the digging.

It is called Chimra, or Collection and Handling for Interior Martian Rock Analysis.

Although assembled in ultra-sterile conditions at NASA, this tool will still have acquired an oily film deposit in Earth air that would contaminate the rover’s lab analysis results if left in place. By running several scoops through the handling system, Curiosity can scrub the film from Chimra.

“We effectively use it to rinse our mouth three times and then spit out,” explained Daniel Limonadi, the Curiosity surface sampling phase lead at the US space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

“We will take a scoop bite, we will vibrate that sand on all the different surfaces inside Chimra to effectively sand blast those surfaces, and then we dump all that material out; and we rinse and repeat three times to finish cleaning everything out.”

Once this procedure is complete, a tiny sample will be delivered to the onboard labs, Sam and CheMin, to run chemical and mineralogical analyses.

The sand will be severely shaken and sieved to make sure only fine-grained material, less than the width of a human hair in diameter, reaches the instruments.

The team will be mindful of the extreme difficulty a previous Mars mission, the Phoenix probe of 2008, had in getting material to go through its sample handling system.

“Phoenix had a relatively uncontrolled drop off capability; they had just the one scoop and that scoop had to do everything,” said Daniel Limonadi.

“We use gravity and vibration to get things into little parts of Chimra that make very controlled volumes of portions for us to drop off.”

The rover has now driven at total of 484 m (of about 1,590 ft) since its 6 August landing on the floor of Gale Crater, a huge depression on Mars’ equator.

It still has about 176 m to travel to get to a location dubbed Glenelg, a place satellite images have indicated is a junction between three different geological terrains.

It is at Glenelg where Curiosity will really get down to the business of investigating past environments in Gale.

Last week, scientists announced the robot had taken pictures of rocks that were clearly deposited in fast running water. The theory is that the rover is sitting at the head of an ancient alluvial fan where a network of streams cut across the crater floor billions of years ago.

 

Thierry Gillier apologizes for Chinese tourist remark

Lisa.Felice
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Thierry Gillier apologizes for Chinese tourist remark

French fashion designer Thierry Gillier has apologized for saying that Chinese holidaymakers will not be welcome at a luxury hotel he plans to open in Paris.

Thierry Gillier, founder of label Zadig and Voltaire, told the magazine Women’s Wear Daily that his hotel “won’t be open to Chinese tourists”.

The statement caused outrage in China where his comments went viral on social networking sites.

Thierry Gillier has said his comments were taken out of context.

“My remarks were doubtless clumsy… I understand they might have hurt my friends from China, France or elsewhere, and I am deeply sorry for that,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement added that Thierry Gillier wanted to underscore the exclusivity of the hotel and emphasize that it would not cater for the mass tourism market.

Thierry Gillier had urged the magazine to modify his quotation from “Chinese tourists” to “busloads of tourists”.

The Zadig hotel is due to open in 2014 on Paris’s chic Left Bank.

 

US jobless rate in surprise fall in September

Clyde K. Valle
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US jobless rate in surprise fall in September

The US unemployment rate fell in September to its lowest rate since January 2009, figures from the Department of Labor have shown, surprising analysts who had been expecting a small rise.

September’s rate came in at 7.8%, down from 8.1% in August.

The latest data also showed that the US economy added a further 114,000 jobs in September, slightly more than markets had expected.

The US jobs market is a key issue in the presidential election race.

When the unemployment rate was last this low, President Barack Obama was about to take office.

However, economist Sean Incremona of New York-based company 4Cast said the latest data showed that the US economy remained subdued.

“Generally, we are still seeing a mixed underlying picture that is neither too impressive nor terrible,” he said.

Fellow economist, Omer Esiner, of Rhode Island-based Commonwealth Foreign Exchange, was more upbeat.

“The headline of the day is clearly the drop in the unemployment rate, which was a big surprise,” he said.

“There is something in these numbers for everyone. The rise in the participation rate shows somewhat of a real improvement in the labour market.”

The latest official data showed that the construction sector added 5,000 jobs last month, while the number of people working in government jobs rose by 10,000.

However, the biggest gain was record in the healthcare sector, which added 44,000 jobs in September.

The Labor Department also used the release of the September data to revise up how many new jobs were created in both July and August. It said that 86,000 more jobs than first calculated were added across the two months.

Separate official figures released at the end of last month revised down by how much the US economy had grown between April and June.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter grew at an annualized rate of 1.3%, down from the previous estimate of 1.7%.

 

Hotel Transylvania Sweepstakes: Win a trip to Romania at Dracula’s Castle

Sonia Pantiss
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Hotel Transylvania Sweepstakes: Win a trip to Romania at Dracula’s Castle

Welcome to Hotel Transylvania, Dracula’s lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free to be the monsters they are without humans to bother them.

On one special weekend, Dracula has invited some of his best friends – Frankenstein and his wife, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, The Werewolf family, and more – to celebrate his beloved daughter Mavis’s 118th birthday. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem – but everything could change for the overprotective dad when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis.

STA Travel proudly sponsors Sony Picture’s Hotel Transylvania by giving you a chance to win a trip for two to tour Transylvania. Experience the best of Romania’s culture, history and beauty during an eight-day, guided tour throughout Transylvania and the Romanian countryside. A tour of Dracula’s Castle in Bran is only part of this incredible adventure! You’ll stay in simple guesthouses, savor delicious local fare and embark on guided tours and hikes daily. By the end of your adventure, you’ll have a truly authentic insight into this exciting corner of Europe!

Hotel Transylvania opened nationwide in US on September 28.

Sweepstakes Prize(s): One (1) Grand Prize: A trip for two to Romania from 06/15/2013 – 06/22/2013 only, including two round-trip, economy class airline tickets from/to the nearest major international airport to winner’s residence in the 48 contiguous United States to Brasov, Romania, on an airline to be determined by the Sponsor (there may be plane changes and stops); 8-days/7-nights of double-occupancy hotel (standard room; room and room tax only) or simple guest house accommodation of Sponsor’s choosing; a tour of parts of Romania including ground transportation once the tour begins including the presence of a Chief Experience Officer (CEO) throughout the entire tour; seven breakfasts and three dinners each for winner and companion; a tour guide for all day hikes; entrance admission and tour of Bran’s (Dracula’s) Castle; International trip insurance for two and S1,000 “spending money.” ARV: $5,750

Sweepstakes Expires: October 12th, 2012

Sweepstakes Minimum Age: 18 years and older (19 or Older where state law requires)

Sweepstakes Open To: Legal residents of the 48 Contiguous United States and D.C. (Void in Alaska and Hawaii)

See Official Rules on movietickets.com

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Skin stem cells become “grandparents”

Kathryn R. Bown
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Skin stem cells become “grandparents”

Stem cells made from skin have become “grandparents” after generations of life were created in experiments by scientists in Japan.

The cells were used to create eggs, which were fertilized to produce baby mice. These later had their own babies.

If the technique could be adapted for people, it could help infertile couples have children and even allow women to overcome the menopause.

But experts say many scientific and ethical hurdles must be overcome.

Stem cells are able to become any other type of cell in the body from blood to bone, nerves to skin.

Last year the team at Kyoto University managed to make viable sperm from stem cells. Now they have performed a similar feat with eggs.

They used stem cells from two sources: those collected from an embryo and skin-like cells which were reprogrammed into becoming stem cells.

The first step, reported in the journal Science, was to turn the stem cells into early versions of eggs.

A “reconstituted ovary” was then built by surrounding the early eggs with other types of supporting cells which are normally found in an ovary. This was transplanted into female mice.

Surrounding the eggs in this environment helped them to mature.

IVF techniques were used to collect the eggs, fertilize them with sperm from a male mouse and implant the fertilized egg into a surrogate mother.

Dr. Katsuhiko Hayashi, from Kyoto University, said: “They develop to be healthy and fertile offspring.”

Those babies then had babies of their own, whose “grandmother” was a cell in a laboratory dish.

The ultimate aim of the research is to help infertile couples have children. If the same methods could be used in people then cells in skin could be turned into an egg. Any resulting child would be genetically related to the mother.

However, Dr. Katsuhiko Hayashi said that was still a distant prospect: “I must say that it is impossible to adapt immediately this system to human stem cells, due to a number of not only scientific reasons, but also ethical reasons.”

He said that the level of understanding of human egg development was still too limited. There would also be questions about the long-term consequences on the health of any resulting child.

Prof. Robert Norman, from the University of Adelaide, said: “For many infertile couples, finding they have no sperm or eggs is a devastating blow.

“This paper offers light to those who want a child, who is genetically related to them, by using personalized stem cells to create eggs that can produce an offspring that appears to be healthy.

“It also offers the potential for women to have their own children well past menopause raising even more ethical issues.

“Application to humans is still a long way off, but for the first time the goal appears to be in sight.”

 

Blue honey sparks concern among beekeepers in France

Diane A. Wade
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Blue honey sparks concern among beekeepers in France

Beekeepers in northeastern France have been alarmed to find their bees producing honey in unnatural shades of green and blue.

The beekeepers believe the source of the problem is a biogas plant close to Ribeauville in Alsace.

It is thought the bees have been eating the sugary waste from M&Ms, small chocolates in brightly-colored shells.

The plant operator said it regretted the situation and had put in place a procedure to stop it happening again.

“We discovered the problem at the same time [the beekeepers] did. We quickly put in place a procedure to stop it,” Philippe Meinrad, a spokesman from Agrivalor, the company operating the biogas plant, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

The company, which deals with waste from a Mars chocolate factory, said it would clean out the containers, store all incoming waste in airtight containers and process it promptly, according to a company statement published in Le Monde newspaper.

Bee numbers have seen a rapid decline globally in recent years.

As for the blue honey, the beekeepers say it is unsellable.

 

Mitt Romney admits his remark that 47% of Americans are government dependent victims was wrong

Diane A. Wade
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Mitt Romney admits his remark that 47% of Americans are government dependent victims was wrong

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has admitted his remark that 47% of Americans are government dependent victims was “completely wrong”.

Mitt Romney told Fox News he was committed to “helping the 100%”.

His comments, secretly filmed at a fundraiser in September, were possibly his most damaging campaign moment.

Polls suggest he is back on track after a debate with President Barack Obama this week. Barack Obama has urged him to reveal the true cost of his policies.

Observers say the president is seeking to portray his rival as dishonest about how middle class families will be taxed, while Mitt Romney wants to distance himself from his earlier gaffe.

After the video emerged from the private donors dinner in September, Mitt Romney said his remarks were “inelegantly stated” but did not retract them.

However, Mitt Romey went further in his interview with Fox on Thursday.

“Clearly in a campaign with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question-and-answer sessions, now and then you are going to say something that doesn’t come out right,” he said.

“In this case I said something that’s just completely wrong. I absolutely believe, however, that my life has shown that I care about 100%… When I become president, it will be about helping the 100%.”

Most observers agree that Mitt Romney won the televised debate on Wednesday. A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Thursday suggested Mitt Romney had a net positive rating for the first time in the presidential campaign.

The poll said 51% of voters viewed him positively, with Barack Obama at 56%. The Republican moved ahead of his Democrat rival on which candidate voters trust to handle the economy, create jobs and manage the deficit.

Many of Barack Obama’s supporters are puzzled he chose not to bring up the 47% comments in the debate, although his campaign has used the remarks in a television advert.

At a rally in Denver on Thursday, Barack Obama urged his rival to tell the “truth” about his own policies.

“The real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow on stage last night said he didn’t know anything about that,” he said.

At a campaign rally in Virginia, Mitt Romney did not respond directly to the president’s criticism.

But he did argue that Barack Obama had failed during the debate to make his case for another term.

During Wednesday night’s head-to-head Mitt Romney repeatedly denied the $5 trillion claim.

Fact-checkers have said that Mitt Romney’s proposal to lower taxes by 20%, abolish estate tax and the alternative minimum tax would reduce revenue by $5tn over a decade.

The Republican has said he would help offset that by eliminating tax loopholes; the non-partisan Tax Policy Center says the sums do not add up.

The candidates went head to head for 90 minutes on jobs, taxes and healthcare.

Opinion polls agreed that Mitt Romney had the upper hand in the debate – the first of three between the White House rivals.

Various surveys gave Mitt Romney a 46-67% margin, with Barack Obama trailing on 22-25%.

The president was criticized for appearing hesitant and subdued, while the former governor – who has been lagging in the race – seemed animated and assertive.

Vice-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Paul Ryan will meet in Danville, Kentucky on 11 October, before the second presidential debate on 16 October.

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How to get the perfect top knot

Lisa.Felice
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How to get the perfect top knot

Topknots are the hair look of autumn.

Popular with Victoria Beckham and Katie Holmes, topknots pull the forehead taut giving wearers a “naturally” Botoxed appearance.

Here, celebrity hairdresser Amanda Clarke shows you how to the achieve the look.

Brush your hair back into a tight, high ponytail at the crown of your head and secure with a hairband. Spray hairspray on to your hand and smooth over your head.

Pull your ponytail upwards and plait it tightly to the end, securing it with another hairband. Spray a little hairspray on the plait to keep it sleek and together.

Pull the plait to the side and, holding the end and the base of it, wrap it around itself into a bun. Tuck the end into the centre of the bun so it’s hidden.

Spray the bun with hairspray and secure it tightly with pins. Smooth down any strands that may have escaped.

 

 

Chris Brown opens up about Rihanna romance

Lisa.Felice
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Chris Brown opens up about Rihanna romance

Chris Brown has opened up about his romance with Rihanna in a candid new video.

Chris Brown posted the footage, which he entitled The Real Chris Brown, after confirming his split from girlfriend Karrueche Tran.

And in the video, Chris Brown reveals his anguish over “loving two people at the same time”.

The singer says: “I’m stressed out… when you share history with somebody, then you tend to fall in love with somebody else, it’s kinda difficult.

“Is there such thing as loving two people? I don’t know if that’s possible, but for me, I feel like that.”

But after Chris Brown made his video public, Karreuche Tran was less than impressed with his admission.

She tweeted: “Wtf is going on? All I’m saying is.. You don’t mess with people’s genuine feelings. You just don’t! Life moves on.. So let’s all.”

Meanwhile Rihanna made a veiled reference to Chris Brown as she wrote on her Twitter: “Ain’t nobody bidness….. But mine and my baby!”

Chris Brown was yesterday seen jetting out of New York to Los Angeles following three consecutive nights of partying with Rihanna.

Revealing his split from Karreuche tran in a statement on Thursday, Chris Brown, whose assault of Rihanna in 2009 left her hospitalized, said: “I have decided to be single to focus on my career. I love Karrueche very much but I don’t want to see her hurt over my friendship with Rihanna.”

Chris Brown continued: “I’d rather be single allowing us to both be happy in our lives.”

Karrueche Tran then posted a tweet which read: “Bye baby.”

Chris Brown and Rihanna were spotted attending the Jay-Z concert at the Brooklyn Barclays Center on Wednesday, with a picture of the couple inside the event showing his with his arm around her as they sat in the VIP section watching the gig.

Prior to the concert, Rihanna was seen leaving the Gansevoort Park Hotel, followed just 10 minutes later by a slightly sheepish looking Chris Brown.

The concert date marked the third night Rihanna and Chris Brown have been seen out together in New York.

The pair was first seen together on Monday night, partying together at celebrity hotspot Griffin in New York’s Meatpacking district.

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World Smile Day 2012

Nancy Clayson
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World Smile Day 2012

As is well known by now throughout the world, Harvey Ball, a commercial artist from Worcester, Massachusetts, created the smiley face in 1963.

That image went on to become the most recognizable symbol of good will and good cheer on the planet.

As the years passed Harvey Ball became concerned about the over-commercialization of his symbol, and how its original meaning and intent had become lost in the constant repetition of the marketplace. Out of that concern came his idea for World Smile Day®. He thought that we, all of us, should devote one day each year to smiles and kind acts throughout the world. The smiley face knows no politics, no geography and no religion. Harvey Ball’s idea was that for at least one day each year, neither should we. He declared that the first Friday in October each year would henceforth be World Smile Day®.

Ever since that first World Smile Day® held in 1999, it has continued every year in Smiley’s hometown of Worcester, MA, and around the world.

After Harvey Ball died in 2001, the Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation was created to honour his name and memory. The Foundation continues as the official sponsor of World Smile Day® each year.

This website was created to provide information about World Smile Day®, Harvey Ball and Smiley.

Be sure to join the celebration this year on Friday, October 5th, and “Do an act of kindness. Help one person smile”!

 

Facebook admits it adds unclicked likes

Nancy Clayson
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Facebook admits it adds unclicked likes

Facebook “likes” are being added to webpages even if a user has not clicked a like button, or even visited the page in question, the company has admitted.

A US security researcher found that simply sending a web address to a friend using Facebook’s private messaging function would add two likes to that page.

Leaving a comment on a story within Facebook also adds to the tally.

The site said no private information had been exposed.

The revelations coincided with the news that the network has surpassed one billion monthly active monthly users.

“Many websites that use Facebook’s <<like>> or <<recommend>> buttons also carry a counter next to them,” the site explained.

“This counter reflects the number of times people have clicked those buttons and also the number of times people have shared that page’s link on Facebook.

“When the count is increased via page shares, no user information is exchanged.

“We did recently find a bug with our social plug-ins where at times the count for the Share or Like goes up by two, and we are working on fix to solve the issue now.”

The site explained that the figure represented how many times an item was shared – not how often users had clicked “like” on the page.

However, the number appears next to the word “like” and the site’s distinctive thumbs up icon.

The system means that users who may be sharing pages to highlight negative content – such as campaigners – are inadvertently making the page appear more popular.

In documentation relating to the function of the like button, Facebook details four criteria which cause the likes number to increase – only one of which involves clicking the like button.

Facebook stressed that the added likes were anonymous, and would not appear on the user’s timeline.

The site also said that its figure of 1.13 trillion likes – which was publicised as part of its announcement of having one billion active users – was not affected.

But researcher Ashkan Soltani, writing in the Wall Street Journal, argued that inflating the numbers in this way raises the prospect of “like fraud”.

He quoted an online commenter who pointed out that “if [you’re] visiting an online store and you see a lot of likes under the product then this might cloud your judgement”.

 

How Edwin Velez lost 100 lbs in four months by cutting out white food

Diane A. Wade
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How Edwin Velez lost 100 lbs in four months by cutting out white food

At five-foot-six, Edwin Velez weighed 300 pounds when he holidayed in the Bahamas last November.

When the 26-year-old from Albertville, Alabama, saw his holiday snaps, he said quickly realized his overweight body needed a drastic lifestyle change.

Making a vow that he would be in better shape for his next planned vacation the following March, Edwin Velez set himself the seemingly impossible task of losing 100 lbs in those four short months, a goal he not only reached, but exceeded.

“I woke up one morning and I was like: <<I’m going to do this. I’m going to do this now>>,” he told Good Morning America.

Cutting out white carbohydrates, Edwin Velez also changed his diet. He avoided sugar, anything carbonated, and all food which were colored white – including potatoes, white bread, pasta and rice; slowly introducing whole grain variations, instead.

“Being Hispanic made it extremely difficult because rice and beans and tortillas and breads and pastas are big part of our food,” he explained.

“Being the holidays, right around Christmas, I made my own meals and went and bought my own food, like grilled chicken and fish, so my family would have their food and I had my food.”

Of his rapid weight loss, he added that “drinking nothing but water was, like, the first 10 to 15 pounds and that came off probably within the first two to three weeks”.

“I would also go to the local track and start walking in the morning, and go that afternoon, every day,” he said.

“I went to the track because [I was too] self-conscious to go to the gym… so I just would go to the track by myself and I started there until I felt comfortable enough to go to the gym.”

Edwin Velez said he slowly began to jog as the pounds started dropping off and then, once was comfortable to enter the gym, added weightlifting to his workout.

“Adding the cardio to it – which, to me, unless you sweat, it’s not a workout – on a daily basis really helped with the weight loss, as well as watching what I ate.”

It has been six months since he reached his original goal, and now, Edwin Velez weighs 155 lbs, maintaining his healthy lifestyle.

“It’s not a diet, but it’s more of a lifestyle change,” he said.

“My body is used to eating healthy so I choose healthy choices.”

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Royal Apothic: the hand cream Victoria Beckham is obsessed with

Lisa.Felice
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Royal Apothic: the hand cream Victoria Beckham is obsessed with

Victoria Beckham regularly endorses her own merchandise, but yesterday she gave a little-known beauty brand her seal of approval.

She took to Twitter to tell friends and fans about her love for a hand cream she apparently picked up at Anthropologie.

Victoria Beckham posted a picture of the lotion, along with the caption: “Obsessed with this hand cream… Fragrance is amazing! X.”

The $20 beauty buy is manufactured by a Los Angeles-based fragrance company called Royal Apothic.

The website states that the cream is perfumed “to evoke one of your favorite urban courtyards”.

Victoria Beckham took to Twitter to tell friends and fans about her love for Royal Apothic hand cream she picked up at Anthropologie
Victoria Beckham took to Twitter to tell friends and fans about her love for Royal Apothic hand cream she picked up at Anthropologie

Although there are four different floral scents to choose from, Victoria Beckham appears to favor the Holland Park option.

Contained in a vintage-inspired tube the non-greasy lotion features notes of magnolia, jasmine and musk.

A spokesman for Anthroplogie, which stocks the product in the U.S. and the UK, said: “We’re thrilled that Victoria is a customer and extremely flattered that she would Tweet about one of our products!”

It isn’t the first time Victoria Beckham has endorsed a beauty product via Twitter.

Earlier this year she revealed Lancer Dermatology AM PM Nourishment Treatment as her favorite face cream, exclaiming: “Loving this face moisturizer!! Also mixes well with make up.”

 

Daryl Hannah arrested at Keystone XL pipeline protest

Diane A. Wade
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Daryl Hannah arrested at Keystone XL pipeline protest

Daryl Hannah was arrested in northeast Texas on Thursday, along with a 78-year-old landowner as the pair protested an oil pipeline designed to bring crude from Canada to the Gulf Coast.

Daryl Hannah and landowner Eleanor Fairchild were standing in front of heavy equipment in an attempt to halt construction of the Keystone XL pipeline on Fairchild’s farm in Winnsboro, a town about 100 miles east of Dallas.

They were arrested for criminal trespassing and taken to the Wood County Jail, said Paul Bassis, Daryl Hannah’s manager.

“They’ve arrested Daryl Hannah and a rural Texas great-grandmother,” he added.

Daryl Hannah has long opposed TransCanada’s construction of the $7 billion pipeline, which is designed to transport heavy tar-sands crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to Texas’ Gulf Coast refineries.

“It is unfortunate Ms. Hannah and other out-of-state activists have chosen to break the law by illegally trespassing on private property,” David Dodson, a spokesman for TransCanada, said in an email. He also said protesters were “putting their own safety and the safety of others at risk”.

Paul Bassis said he spoke to the actress on Thursday evening and that there was ‘a strong indication’ that both women would be kept overnight at the local jail.

“The streets of Winnsboro will be much safer tonight now that they’ve gotten that 78-year-old great grandmother off the streets,” Paul Bassis said.

Daryl Hannah – who has starred in dozens of movies, including Kill Bill, Thelma and Louise and Splash – also was arrested in August 2011 while protesting the pipeline in Washington. She was one of several hundred prominent scientists and activists arrested that month.

They argue the pipeline would be unsafe because it would be carrying heavy, acidic crude oil that could more easily corrode a metal pipe, which would lead to a spill. They also say refining the oil would further contaminate the air in a region that has long struggled with pollution.

TransCanada says its pipeline would be the safest ever built, and that the crude is no dirtier than oil currently arriving from Venezuela or parts of California.

The issue became politically charged when congressional Republicans gave President Barack Obama 60 days to decide whether TransCanada should be granted the necessary permit for the pipeline to cross an international border before snaking its way 1,700 miles south to the Texas coast.

Barack Obama, saying his administration did not have enough time to study the potential environmental impacts, denied the permit in January.

However, he encouraged TransCanada to reroute the northern portion of the pipeline to avoid an environmentally sensitive area of Nebraska. He also promised to expedite permitting of a southern portion of the pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma, to the Gulf Coast to relieve a bottleneck at the Cushing refinery.

TransCanada began construction of that portion of the pipeline this summer after receiving the necessary permits. Some Texas landowners, joined by activists from outside the state, have tried through various protests to stop or slow down construction.

 

Australia unveils ASKAP telescope

James J. Williams
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Australia unveils ASKAP telescope

Australia has launched one of the world’s fastest telescopes tasked with surveying outer space and probing the origins of stars and galaxies.

The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) in Western Australia’s outback has 36 antennas with a diametre of 12 m (40 ft) each.

The A$152 million ($155 million) telescope is expected to capture radio images, starting from Friday.

ASKAP forms part of the world’s biggest radio telescope project.

The telescope is located at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, 315 km (196 miles) north-east of Geraldton in the Western Australian desert.

Dr. John O’Sullivan, from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, says that while the telescope is not very big, “it is still a very, very powerful survey instrument to start to get a look [at] the origins of galaxies”.

“It is the beginning of a great new period, I think,” he said.

The ASKAP is part of the bigger Square Kilometre Array (SKA) that is set to begin construction in 2016.

SKA, set to become the world’s biggest radio telescope project based in both South Africa and Australia, aims to answer key questions about the Universe.

 

Recipe: Spicy tofu with ginger and peppers

Kathryn R. Bown
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Recipe: Spicy tofu with ginger and peppers

INGREDIENTS

• 1-2 tbsp sesame or sunflower oil

• 350 g (12 oz) pack firm tofu, cubed

• 4 tbsp light soy sauce

• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 250 g (9 oz) basmati rice

• 1 tsp wasabi (from supermarkets)

• 4 tbsp rice wine vinegar

• 2 cm (¾ in) piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks

• 100 g (3½oz) sugar snaps, cut into matchsticks

• 1 red or yellow pepper, finely sliced

• 4 spring onions, sliced

• 200 g (7 oz) soya beans, defrosted if frozen

• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

• A few sprigs of coriander

Spicy tofu with ginger and peppers
Spicy tofu with ginger and peppers

METHOD

Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan. Add the tofu and cook for 2-3 minutes until golden. Add the soy sauce and reduce, turning the tofu until browned.

Add the balsamic vinegar and reduce, again turning the tofu to coat. Remove to a plate.

Cook the rice according to packet instructions then drain. Mix the wasabi with a little rice wine vinegar and stir through the cooked rice.

Add a little more oil to the pan and sauté the ginger and garlic. Add the carrot, sugar snaps, peppers and spring onions and stir-fry over a high heat for 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the soya beans and a splash of soy if you like. Stir the veg through the rice and top with the tofu.

Scatter over the sesame seeds and coriander and serve with pickled ginger and wasabi, if liked.

 

Chris Brown dumps girlfriend Karrueche Tran after being pictured with Rihanna for the third night in a row

Lisa.Felice
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0

Chris Brown has publicly announced he has dumped his girlfriend Karrueche Tran after being pictured with ex Rihanna for the third night in a row.

Chris Brown, 23, admitted his close bond with Rihanna was the reason for the split, but stopped short of saying the exes had reconciled.

He said in a statement: “I have decided to be single to focus on my career. I love Karrueche very much but I don’t want to see her hurt over my friendship with Rihanna.”

The singer continued: “I’d rather be single allowing us to both be happy in our lives.”

Karrueche Tran, a 23-year-old model who has been dating the singer since earlier last year, posted a tweet last night which read: “Bye baby.”

Chris Brown and Rihanna were spotted attending the Jay-Z concert at the Brooklyn Barclays Center on Wednesday, with a picture of the couple inside the event showing his with his arm around her as they sat in the VIP section watching the gig.

Prior to the concert, Rihanna was seen leaving the Gansevoort Park Hotel, followed just 10 minutes later by a slightly sheepish looking Chris Brown.

Rihanna, 24, wore a sheer black blouse, Chanel belt and mini skirt that showed off her toned legs, while Chris Brown kept it casual in jeans and a printed T-shirt for the evening out.

The concert date marked the third night Rihanna and Chris Brown have been seen out together in New York.

The pair was first seen together on Monday night, partying together at celebrity hotspot Griffin in New York’s Meatpacking district.

An eyewitness said the two were “hugging and kissing, and they went to the back of the club alone together”.

Rihanna allegedly arrived just five minutes after Chris Brown and sat down two tables away from him.

Chris Brown is then alleged to have taken off his shirt and began “dancing on the table for Rihanna”, according to Celebuzz and continued “dancing together and being very smitten”.

After dancing and kissing, Rihanna and Chris Brown then went into a bathroom together, according to the New York Post.

When Rihanna emerged, a source told the paper: “She seemed a little ruffled.”

And on Tuesday night, Rihanna was seen leaving her hotel and heading to the recording studio after reportedly spending time with Chris Brown inside.

They were also seen planting a kiss on the lips and embracing inside the Staples Center at MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles last month.

Rihanna and Chris Brown’s recent racy antics come after Rihanna admitted to Oprah Winfrey that she still considers Chris to be the “love of her life”.

This is despite the fact Rihanna took a restraining order out against Chris Brown after he was charged with assault after hitting her at a pre-Grammy party in 2009.

 

Barack Obama accuses Mitt Romney of being dishonest after Denver debate

Diane A. Wade
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Barack Obama accuses Mitt Romney of being dishonest after Denver debate

President Barack Obama has accused Mitt Romney of being dishonest, after a televised debate that most observers agreed his Republican rival won.

Speaking in Denver, Colorado, Barack Obama urged his rival to tell the “truth” about his own policies.

An estimated 40 million people watched Wednesday’s debate, according to the Nielsen TV ratings service.

The Obama campaign has said there will be some “adjustments” in strategy before the election on 6 November.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Thursday suggested Mitt Romney had a net positive rating for the first time in the presidential campaign.

The poll said 51% of voters viewed him positively, with Barack Obama at 56%. The Republican moved ahead of the president on which candidate voters trust to handle the economy, create jobs and manage the deficit.

Barack Obama told a rally of some 12,000 supporters on Thursday: “When I got on to the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney.

“But it couldn’t have been Mitt Romney, because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow on stage last night said he didn’t know anything about that.”

Mitt Romney repeatedly denied the $5tn claim during Wednesday night’s head-to-head.

Fact-checkers have said that Mitt Romney’s proposal to lower taxes by 20%, abolish estate tax and the alternative minimum tax would reduce revenue by $5 trillion over a decade.

The Republican has said he would help offset that by eliminating tax loopholes; the non-partisan Tax Policy Center says the sums do not add up.

Barack Obama told Thursday’s rally: “So Governor Romney may dance around his positions. But if you want to be president, you owe the American people the truth.

“So here is the truth. Governor Romney cannot pay for his $5 trillion tax plan without blowing up the deficit or sticking it to the middle class. That’s the math. We can’t afford to go down that road again.”

The Democratic president also mocked Mitt Romney’s plan to cut government subsidies for the PBS television channel that produces Sesame Street.

Mitt Romney said during the debate: “I love Big Bird”, adding that would not stop him axing federal funding to the public broadcaster.

“Thank goodness somebody is finally getting tough on Big Bird,” Barack Obama told Thursday’s rally.

“It is about time. We didn’t know that Big Bird was driving the federal deficit.”

Mitt Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams dismissed the president’s attack.

“In full damage-control mode, President Obama today offered no defence of his record and no vision for the future,” he said.

Barack Obama strategist David Axelrod told reporters on a conference call that the campaign would now rethink its strategy.

“We are going to take a hard look at this,” he said.

“I’m sure we will make adjustments as to where to draw the line in these debates and how to use our time.”

Mitt Romney is also back on the campaign trail, appearing at a conservative fundraiser in Colorado on Thursday morning.

Amid sustained cheers, the Republican hopeful told supporters they would have to “go out and knock on doors, and get people who voted for President Barack Obama to see the light and come join our team”.

The candidates went head to head on Wednesday for 90 minutes on jobs, taxes and healthcare.

Opinion polls agreed that Mitt Romney had the upper hand in the debate – the first of three between the White House rivals.

Various surveys gave Mitt Romney a 46-67% margin, with Barack Obama trailing on 22-25%.

The president was criticized for appearing hesitant and subdued, while the former governor – who has been lagging in the race – seemed animated and assertive.

Vice-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Paul Ryan will meet in Danville, Kentucky on 11 October, before the second presidential debate on 16 October.

 

US cracks Russian hi-tech plot

Diane A. Wade
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Eight people have been arrested in Houston, Texas, on charges of illegally exporting hi-tech components to Russian security bodies.

Alexander Fishenko, who owns companies in Texas and Moscow, was charged with operating in the US as an unregistered agent of the Russian government.

The indictment names 11 suspects, all of whom are due in court in Houston except for three who are in Russia.

There was no immediate comment on the charges from those detained.

However, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman, Sergei Ryabkov, quoted US officials as saying the charges were “of a criminal nature”.

They bore “no relation whatsoever to any intelligence-gathering activities”, he told Russia’s Ria-Novosti news agency.

Alexander Fishenko, 46, a naturalized US citizen and owner of Houston-based company Arc Electronics Inc, was also charged with laundering money.

The US keeps strict controls on the export of cutting-edge microelectronics, which could be used in radar and surveillance systems, weapons guidance systems and detonation triggers.

A Houston FBI statement names six men and five women as suspects, ranging in age from 31 to 58.

Under US sentencing guidelines, Alexander Fishenko faces more than 12 years in prison if convicted on all of the charges.

Federal prosecutors, who laid their charges in a court in Brooklyn, New York, said Alexander Fishenko and his co-accused had “engaged in a surreptitious and systematic conspiracy” since October 2008 to obtain the technology from US manufacturers and export it to Russia.

The Associated Press news agency describes Alexander Fishenko as an “American success story… an immigrant from Kazakhstan who made millions off his Texas export firm”.

According to court papers, he graduated from a technical institute in the Russian city of St Petersburg before going to America in 1994.

He holds US and Russian passports and has frequently travelled overseas to do business, making tens of millions of dollars on exports, US officials say.

On its website, Arc Electronics describes itself as a “full-service electronics supplier, serving a diverse group of customers, including original equipment manufacturers of medical instruments, oil and gas equipment, and commercial products”.

Arc’s accounting records show a “striking similarity between fluctuations in Arc’s gross revenues and the Russian Federation’s defence spending over the last several years”, the court papers record.

Investigators say they also recovered a letter to Arc from a Russian domestic intelligence agency lab complaining that micro chips supplied by the company were defective.

Intercepted phone calls and emails also “constitute devastating evidence of Alexander Fishenko’s illegal procurement for the Russian government”.

Prosecutors said the evidence had revealed repeated attempts by Alexander Fishenko to cover his tracks.

In one instance in March, he “directed an employee of a Russian procurement firm to <<make sure that our guys don’t discuss extra information, such as this is for our military client>>”, the court papers say.

Documents and websites used by Arc and its partners were allegedly altered to remove military references.

For instance, according to the indictment, Arc employee Alexander Posobilov allegedly told a Russian procurement company to make sure the end use export certificate read “fishing boats, and not fishing/anti-submarine ones”.

“Then we’ll be able to start working,” Alexander Posobilov, who is among those charged, allegedly added.

About a dozen FBI agents in Houston searched Alexander Fishenko’s firm in an industrial area of south-west Houston on Wednesday, removing at least 18 cardboard boxes of materials.

AP reports that the name of Alexander Fishenko’s attorney was not immediately available. His wife, Viktoria, who was identified as a co-owner of her husband’s business but was not charged, declined to comment.

“I will speak when I know what’s going on,” she said.

Confirming that Russian citizens were among those arrested, the Russian foreign ministry said it had already been in contact with one of the detainees.

Stephen L Morris, head of the FBI office in Houston, commented that some countries were seeking to bypass export safeguards “to improve their defence capabilities and to modernize weapons systems at the expense of US taxpayers”.

 

Rain Room at London’s Barbican Centre gives visitors power to control the rain

James J. Williams
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Rain Room at London’s Barbican Centre gives visitors power to control the rain

Most of us have been caught in a torrential downpour and wished we could make it stop, but how would it feel to have the power to control the weather?

Rain Room, a new 3D exhibition at London’s Barbican Centre marries art, science and technology to do just that.

Despite standing in a space filled with drops of falling water, visitors remain dry, as the water halts above them.

Its creators have described it as “a social experiment” which “extracts behavioral experiences”.

“We wanted to give people the cocooning experience of being immersed in a 3D rain room and watch their reaction,” said Hannes Koch.

Hannes Koch met Florian Ortkrass and Briton Stuart Wood in 2005 while studying at the Royal College of Art in London and together they formed Random International.

As well as audience participation, science and technology play a big part in bringing their experimental exhibition to life.

With several 3D sensory cameras fixed to the ceiling of the Rain Room, every person who walks into the 100 square metre space is recognized.

As they move around “slowly”, the rain stops overhead.

“If you run around you’ll get wet because while the sensor picks up the movement, gravity limits the speed of the drops falling from the ceiling,” explained Hannes Koch.

The artists said he and collaborators hoped the experience would give people a sense of “playful empowerment”.

“By your sheer presence you can control the rain.”

The installation has been designed to create an intimate atmosphere of contemplation.

“There’s no distractive sound, you are very close [to the rain] and it is beautiful as it becomes hypnotic and the sound of the rain is extremely calming.

“It is very different to having an umbrella as you don’t have the sound of the rain battering on the umbrella,” said Hannes Koch.

This is not Random International’s first experiment with visitor participation.

It 2008 exhibition, Audience, used motorized mirrors to respond to the individual facing them with each viewer becoming the subject of the exhibition.

“It has been interesting and a lot of fun for us to watch people, as this kind of installation piece extracts behavioral experiences,” said Hannes Koch.

“In the Rain Room, shy people may wait to see others’ reaction and may act quite cautiously, while more excitable visitors will just rush in.”

If the Rain Room is filled with participants, the “collective power of the crowd stops the rain”, which Hannes Koch admits may limit the experience.

“We have recommended to our hosts that a little crowd control may be required to give people the full experience.”

Rain Room at The Curve runs until March next year.

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Is Jennifer Lopez engaged to Casper Smart?

Lisa.Felice
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Is Jennifer Lopez engaged to Casper Smart?

Jennifer Lopez has spent the last week with beau Casper Smart in Paris, believed by many to be the most romantic city in the world.

And while she has previously denied engagement rumors, Jennifer Lopez has once again prompted speculation regarding her relationship by sporting a very large rock on her ring finger.

Jennifer Lopez and her 25-year-old toyboy have been inseparable all week shopping, attending fashion shows and also a fundraiser for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.

But while she may be head over heels for her former back-up dancer, J Lo has insisted that her bling does not mean anything.

The popstar first sparked rumors that the pair was taking a big step forward in their relationship back in June when she was also photographed sporting a diamond sparkler on her ring finger.

But Jennifer Lopez was quick to deny the story on her website saying: “Rumors!!! Don’t be fooled by the rocks that I got,” quoting her 2002 hit, Jenny From the Block. “No engagement!”

But the couple may have been unable to resist the influence of the City of Romance and sources say Casper Smart is besotted with the 43-year-old: “He’s madly in love with her,” the insider told Us Weekly.

“It’s not just that she’s his lover, she’s also his best friend.”

Jennifer Lopez opened up about her new man to Vogue earlier this year saying: “He’s adorable. He really is [sweet]. He’s a good egg. I don’t want to talk about it too much. It’s my private thing.”

J Lo and Casper Smart first stepped out together in 2011, just a few months after her painful July split from crooner Marc Anthony.

Marc Anthony filed for divorce from Lopez, with whom she has four-year-old twins Max and Emme, in April after seven years of marriage.

Jennifer Lopez has been married three times, to Marc Anthony in 2004, Okani Noa in 1997 and Chris Judd in 2001.

 

World food prices rose 1.4% in September

Clyde K. Valle
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World food prices rose 1.4% in September

World food prices rose 1.4% in September, pushed up by higher meat, dairy and cereals prices, according to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

The rise followed two months where prices held steady, the FAO said.

There has been concern this year about possible food shortages as drought has hit grain crops in the US Midwest, Europe and central Asia.

The FAO also forecast a decline in global cereal production this year.

It now predicts 2.286 billion tons of cereal to be produced, slightly down from the 2.295 billion tons it estimated a month ago.

The current forecast would mean a 2.6% fall in cereal production from 2011’s record crop.

The FAO said this would result in a significant reduction in world cereal stocks by the end of 2013, but added that very early indications for wheat crops in 2013 were encouraging.

Abdolreza Abbassian, senior economist at the FAO, said that food prices were likely to remain high and volatility could increase.

“Prices are sustained. It is highly unlikely we will see a normalization of prices anytime soon,” he told Reuters.

“Volatility is not going to go away, if anything it may even intensify further in coming months,” he said.

The FAO’s Food Price Index rose 3 points to 216 in September, but this is still well below the record 238 reached in February 2011.

Cereal prices rose 1% from August, as gains in wheat and rice offset a decline in maize.

Meat prices were up 2.1%, with particularly strong gains in the “grain-intensive” pig and poultry sectors.

Dairy prices rose 7%, the sharpest monthly increase since January 2011.

“World demand for milk products remains firm which, combined with increasing feed costs, is underpinning world quotations,” the FAO said.

But sugar prices fell 4.2%, reflecting an improved sugarcane harvest in Brazil, the world’s largest sugar exporter.

Oil prices dipped 0.4%.

 

Facebook surpasses one billion users

Nancy Clayson
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Facebook surpasses one billion users

Facebook has now surpassed one billion people using it every month, the company has said.

The passing of the milestone was announced by founder Mark Zuckerberg on US television on Thursday.

The company said that those billion users were to date responsible for 1.13 trillion “likes”, 219 billion photos and 17 billion location check-ins.

The site, which was launched in 2004, is now looking towards emerging markets to build its user base further.

“If you’re reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honor of serving you,” Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a status update.

“Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life.”

Statistics released to coincide with the announcement revealed there were now 600 million users accessing the site via a mobile device – up 48 million from 552 million in June this year.

Since its early beginnings at Harvard University, Facebook users have befriended each other 140.3 billion times.

Sustained growth is seen as crucial if Facebook is to maintain its value – the company has seen its share price drop to about $22 from a starting price of $38.

Investors will expect the company to look at ways to make more from the users it already has as well as seeking to attract new users in areas of the world where it does not yet dominate.

“For Facebook the main challenge is not just to grow in terms of numbers, but more importantly to deepen and enrich engagements,” said Eden Zoller, principal analyst at tech research firm Ovum.

Although the service is by far the world’s biggest social network, there are key areas, such as China and Russia, where local competitors still remain the online networking tool of choice.

Last month, Mark Zuckerberg visited Moscow, where he made his first TV chat show appearance, as well as a highly publicized meeting with the Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev.

It was a public-relations exercise designed to unsettle VKontakte – a network that boasts in excess of 300 million members, compared with Facebook’s seven million, in the country.

In the same trip, Mark Zuckerberg made a “surprise” visit to one of the company’s arranged hack-a-thons to meet local developers.

Other trips include to China, where the company said it was busy “watching and learning” from other internet firms.

Google, which launched in China in 2005, faced fierce criticism when it agreed to allow censorship of search results. It later changed its stance, and now directs all of its traffic through its Hong Kong-based site.

Success for Facebook in China would mean unseating RenRen (more than 30 million users) and possibly the Twitter-like service Sina Weibo (more than 300 million users).

In Africa, Facebook has targeted the use of basic phones – known widely as “feature phones” – which are unable to display the full-featured site, but instead can use specially created variations of the network.

Specifically, a project called Facebook for Every Phone, which was launched following the company’s acquisition of feature-phone specialists Snaptu, is central to its growth strategy in the region.

“Facebook is doing very well in Africa,” said Erik Hersman, a Kenyan-based blogger.

“You even see people using it in the rural areas – often people will ask for a phone with Facebook on it, not caring/knowing about the internet at all.”

There are considerable monetization opportunities too. The continent has, at a pace far outstripping the west, adopted mobile payment systems in huge numbers – more than 15 million in Kenya alone.

In developed markets, one path to better engagement with users could be through new features that make use of Facebook’s vast quantities of personal data about each of its members.

In recent weeks, Facebook has been looking to monitor the real-world effects of advertising on the platform.

These efforts are key if the company is to convince businesses that investing in the platform is not a waste of money – recent admissions over “fake” users and have dented the site’s credibility.

It has enlisted the help of US market research firm Datalogix to try to produce evidence that seeing an advert on Facebook – without necessarily clicking on it – is enough of an engagement to get people buying products in shops.

However, this vast data bank is tricky to utilize, according to Ovum’s Eden Zoller.

“There’s no doubt that Facebook is sitting on a potential goldmine of customer data,” she said.

“But that goldmine can also be a minefield. We know that Facebook, despite its claims to the contrary, constantly pushes the boundaries of what’s seen as acceptable in regards to data privacy.”

This goldmine could swell further. In the UK, ministers are said to be considering using Facebook, among other services, to act as official identification for accessing public services online.

Such advancements are being noted by data regulators. In Europe in particular, Facebook has been faced with increased demands to tighten data privacy practices.

The company, which has based its European headquarters in Ireland, was last month told by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner, Billy Hawkes, that it must amend its Phototag feature – a tool powered by facial recognition software.

Following an extensive audit, the commission also sought extra assurances from Facebook over issues surrounding account deletion and targeted advertising.

As it continues to innovate and evolve, the company would need to get used to finding itself audited and investigated, said Eden Zoller.

“They’re so high-profile,” she said.

“They’re a bit of a poster boy, but they could be a whipping boy if they’re not careful.”

Facebook evolution

Facebook at one billion:

• Median user age: 22

• Top countries (alphabetical order): Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, United States

• Mobile users: 600 million

At 500 million (July 2010):

• Median user age: 23

• Top countries: Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, United States

• Users who joined the site at this point now have an average of 305 friends

At 100 million (August 2008):

• Median user age: 23

• Top countries: Chile, France, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

• Users who joined the site at this point now have an average of 334 friends

At 50 million (October 2007):

• Median user age: 26

• Top countries: Australia, Canada, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

• Users who joined the site at this point now have an average of 321 friends

At 25 million (January 2006):

• Median user age: 19

• Top countries: Australia, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, United States

• Users who joined the site at this point now have an average of 598 friends

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