Angelina Jolie has reportedly chosen L’Wren Scott to create the dress for her wedding to Brad Pitt.
According to Grazia magazine, Angelina Jolie requested L’Wren Scott, who is best known for her chic and sophisticated red carpet designs, to fashion a custom-made gown for her wedding.
“She’s been courted by some of the hottest designers on the planet, but having a big name isn’t important to her… Of all the people she’s met with she feels L’Wren is the one that understands her body the most,” a source told the magazine.
The source added: “Angelina wanted someone who is not so obvious for designing wedding gowns. L’Wren is famed for designing clothes to suit taller, thin women like herself.”
Angelina Jolie, 37, has worn L’Wren Scott’s eponymous label on numerous occasions.
In 2008 Angelina Jolie wore a black dress to the premiere of Brad Pitt’s film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and in 2011 she opted for an unfussy red number for the Moneyball premiere.
Angelina Jolie has reportedly chosen L’Wren Scott to create the dress for her wedding to Brad Pitt
Angelina Jolie has been married twice before, to Jonny Lee Miller between 1996 and 1999 and then Billy Bob Thornton, from 2000 to 2003.
For her first wedding Angelina Jolie famously sported an unconventional ensemble consisting of black rubber trousers and a white T-shirt emblazoned the groom’s name written with her own blood.
Brad Pitt’s marriage to Jennifer Aniston lasted five years before they announced they were divorcing in early 2005 – which came after he had met Angelina Jolie on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Brangelina – as they became known – quickly became a Hollywood power couple, with a brood of six children; five-year-old Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne, aged 3, along with three adopted children Maddox, 10, Pax, 8, and Zahara, 7.
Although no further details of their nuptials, including the date, have emerged, it is thought that they will stage the event at their house in the South of France.
Former model L’Wren Scott, who has been in a relationship with Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger since 2002, has dressed Angelina Jolie many times for red carpet appearances, as well as the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz.
Fitting should also be easy to arrange as L’Wren lives in the house next door to the one Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt purchased in Richmond, Surrey, earlier this year.
A new study has found that the happiest time of a man’s life is around age 37 – when they have climbed the career ladder and started a family.
It is an age by which most men are settled in a happy relationship and have formed a close circle of friends with which to socialize.
The dreaded “mid-life crisis” is still a decade away and their troubled angst-ridden teens are a fading memory.
Becoming a father is a particularly rewarding experience with a beaming 43% of men say becoming a parent was one of the happiest days of their life.
The study, conducted by menswear brand Jacamo found that this was followed by getting married, with 35% rating it as one of their top three happiest moments in life, and seeing their favorite football team win the league (18%).
Other memorable happy moments include buying a house or car, proposing to a partner, and graduating from university.
Experts say these are all milestones many men are likely to have passed by the age of 37 and could explain why it is the “age of happiness”.
Phillip Hodson, fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, said men of 37 typically benefit from health and life experience.
He said: “It would be logical to think that men would be happier when they are younger, when they are fitter and healthier.
“As men get older they become more prone to illness and more feeble.
“At 37, you are young enough not to be disillusioned by life, which comes with the midlife crisis.
“But you are also old enough to have developed self-confidence, earned some respect and authority and to have a sense of achievement.”
Day to day, eating a favorite lunch is the one activity most likely to put a smile on a man’s face, the poll of 1,000 men revealed.
Splashing out on DVDs, clothes and gadget makes a gloomy day shine for 28% of men, and hanging out with friends is a boost for 27%.
A quarter, 26%, enjoy an innocent flirt, 22% a cup of tea or coffee and 20% a surprise dinner cooked by the woman in their life.
Others are happy when they find time to read the news, achieve a new top score on a computer game or simply receive a text message.
Romantic men are happiest when spending time with their partner, followed by their mates and children.
However, just 5% are happy when in the presence of workmates.
Lucy Dobson, from Jacamo, said: “It’s great to see that becoming a father and getting married is the key to men’s lasting happiness.
“And when it comes to day-to-day activities which bring happiness, nothing beats a decent lunch followed by a splurge on some new clothes.”
A new study has found that the happiest time of a man’s life is around age 37
Top moments in man’s life (men could chose three)
1. Becoming a parent (43%)
2. Getting married (35%)
3. Seeing his favorite sports team winning the league (18%)
4. Buying a new house (17%)
5. Seeing a country sports team win a significant title (14%)
6. Proposing to a partner (13%)
7. Graduating/finishing full time education (9%)
8. Buying a new car (7%)
Day-to-day things that put a smile on a man’s face
1. Eating a favorite lunch (29%)
2. Self gifting DVDs, clothes and technology (28%)
3. Hanging out with friends (27%)
4. An innocent flirt (26%)
5. A decent tea/coffee (22%)
6. A surprise dinner from a woman in his life (20%)
7. Having time to read the news (11%)
8. Getting a new top score on a computer game/app (8%)
9. Receiving a text (5%)
10. Catching up with friends via social media (3%)
Colonic irrigation’s benefits have long been endorsed by the likes of Madonna, Princess Diana and, of course, Gillian McKeith.
But because of the intimate – and some would say uncomfortable – procedure and hefty price tag, many people are put off by the idea of colonic irrigation.
So for those of us who want to detox without the dreaded hose, help could be at hand in the form of a simple capsule.
British company Transformulas have developed their Transdox Colonic Purifying nutraceuticals, a tablet which promises to regulate your digestive system, cleanse and regulate the colon, and even flatten your tummy without the awkward salon scenario.
Graphic diagrams show exactly where your food sits after you swallow, with meals from the entire week shown as clogging up the colon and intestine.
Before Transdox Colonic Purifying tabletAfter Transdox Colonic Purifying tablet
Following the course of tablets, it is said that your insides become much clearer, which in turn helps reduce sluggishness, gas and bloating, regulates bowel movements and aids a positive feeling of balance and well being.
Each capsule of Transdox Colonic Purifying contains a host of plant extracts including Plantago Ovata (psyllium), which is rich in fibre and helps absorb liquids and also Juglans Nigra (black walnut) which helps kill parasites and oxygenate the body.
It is believed that in just one year the average person breathes in almost 30 g of solid pollution and consumes 5.5 Kg of food additives.
A huge amount of nitrates and hormones are absorbed into our bodies from both water and food, along with prescription drugs such as tranquilizers and birth control pills remaining in our drinking water, even after going through the sanitization process.
Colonic irrigation tablets are designed to help alleviate the problems associated with this.
A two week supply is priced at £26.95 ($41) – a price tag much lower than just one session of colonic Irrigation, which can cost around £100 ($150).
Transformulas Transdox Colonic Purifying tablet promises to regulate your digestive system, cleanse and regulate the colon, and even flatten your tummy
What is colonic irrigation?
Colonic irrigation is a therapy primarily designed to cleanse and promote health in the large bowel.
Practitioners of colonic irrigation believe that the treatment can flush out impacted faeces, mucus and other elements that may impair healthy bowel function and also add to toxicity in the body.
It is thought that by helping to cleanse the colon and the system generally, colonic irrigation can help to promote health and vitality.
Many people start off with a course of six sessions. Some go for a one-off session every six months. Sessions last between 30 and 40 minutes.
Claimed as effective treatment for irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, bloating, skin conditions, headaches, circulation and depression. The procedure is not suitable for people with Crohn’s disease or any type of bowel inflammation.
Asian elephant Koshik has astounded scientists with his Korean language skills.
Researchers report that the mammal has learnt to imitate human speech and can say five words in Korean: “hello”, “no”, “sit down”, “lie down” and “good”.
The zoo animal places the tip of his trunk into his mouth to transform his natural low rumble into a convincing impression of a human voice.
The study is published in the journal Current Biology.
Koshik’s vocal abilities mean that elephants now join a growing list of animals that are able to mimic man, from parrots and mynah birds to more unusual animals such as sea lions or the recently reported case of a human-sounding beluga whale.
The study’s lead author Dr. Angela Stoeger, from the University of Vienna in Austria, said she first came across Koshik after videos of the elephant, who belongs to Everland Zoo in South Korea, were posted on YouTube.
After making contact with the zoo, she went to South Korea to record the animal so she could study its unusual vocal talent.
Dr. Angela Stoeger said: “We asked native Korean speakers, who had never experienced the elephant before, to write down what they understood when we played back recordings from Koshik.
“We found a high agreement of the overall meaning.”
Asian elephant Koshik has astounded scientists with his Korean language skills
Dr. Angela Stoeger and her colleagues found that Koshik’s calls correlated to five Korean words: “annyeong” (hello); “anja” (sit down); “aniya” (no); “nuwo” (lie down) and “choah” (good).
“Human speech has two important aspects, one is pitch (how high or low a sound is) and one is timbre (the musical quality of a voice), and Koshik is matching both of these aspects,” said Dr. Angela Stoeger.
Usually, elephants produce much deeper sounds, sometimes of such a low frequency that they are outside the range of human hearing, and these calls can boom many miles away.
While Koshik was capable of producing these more typical elephant noises, he needed the help of his trunk to morph these into something far more human. The researchers said this was behavior they had not seen before.
“He always puts his trunk tip into his mouth and then modulates the oral chamber,” explained Dr. Angela Stoeger.
“We don’t have X-rays, so we don’t really know what is going on inside his mouth, but he’s invented a new way of sound production to match his vocalizations with his human companions.”
She added: “If you consider the huge size of the elephant and the long vocal tract and other anatomic difference – for example he has a trunk instead of lips… and a huge larynx – and he is really matching the voice pitch of his trainers, this is really remarkable.”
But while Koshik sounds convincing, the researchers do not believe that he has any comprehension of the words that he is saying.
Instead, they think that the elephant took up talking as a way to bond with his human companions.
Between the ages of five and 12, Koshik was the only elephant at Everland Zoo, and the researchers said that this was a crucial period for elephant development.
Dr. Angela Stoeger explained: “Humans were his only social contact – and we believe Koshik is using these vocalizations as a function to strengthen the socials bonds with his companions, which are humans in this case.”
Professor Klaus Zuberbuehler from the school of psychology and neuroscience at the University of St Andrews said that the findings were “enlightening”.
He said: “What’s needed now, in my view, is field research with free-ranging animals to see if vocal imitation plays any role in the natural lives of elephants or if it’s just a byproduct of human enculturation and socially abnormal upbringing.”
Scientists say that understanding how and why some animals make sounds could help us to understand how speech evolved.
A limited but diverse number of species are capable of hearing a sound, copying it and then reproducing it. Understanding these vocal imitations could help to provide clues about the building blocks of language.
Prof. Klaus Zuberbuehler added: “Vocal imitation… may be driven largely by specific social forces, such as the desire to bond with a specific other individual.
“It also makes me think that the evolution of vocal imitation may be more successfully investigated by comparing how different animal species use vocal behavior to strengthen their social bonds, rather than by studying the anatomy and neurophysiology of vocal tracts.”
Khloe Kardashian has decided to chose a stunning bright blue Celine minidress for X Factor results show, and pared it with a pair of Tom Ford shoes and a matching cuff.
Kim Kardashian, 31, tweeted supportively: “Seriously my sister @KhloeKardashian looks so stunning on @XFactorUSA! love her hair, make up, that blue dress, everything!”
But then she tweeted a link to her blog entitled “Red leather love” which featured pictures of HER wearing the primary colored fabric in New York.
Khloe Kardashian, 28, will just have been pleased to avoid any wardrobe malfunction, after her embarrassing nipple flash last night.
There was no chance of that happening in the high necked number, which managed to be sublimely sexy but still safe to move about in on stage.
This meant the only thing blue about her performance, was the dress itself.
Khloe Kardashian has decided to chose a stunning bright blue Celine minidress for X Factor results show
Khloe Kardashian has been tweeting her excitement surrounding her very first time hosting duties on the X Factor USA on Wednesday night.
The star exposed her nipple in a sheer purple blouse as she took to the stage for the live family-friendly broadcast show.
Afterwards she joked about the incident on her Twitter account, saying: “I think I had a little nip action earlier. LOL.”
Nana Gouvea, a Brazilian glamour model, has been slammed for posing against the trail of destruction left by Hurricane Sandy.
Nana Gouvea, 30, who has reportedly graced the pages of Playboy, posted a series of images to her Facebook page showing her leaning against fallen trees and standing on top of wrecked cars in the streets of New York.
The photographs instantly sparked outcry, and Gawker mocked: “The turmoil following a devastating natural disaster is a great opportunity to get out there and try poses, angles, and wardrobe choices you normally wouldn’t.
“This is a time for introspection and re-examining your personal style. Also a great time to stomp all over cars and things.”
A Facebook page and tumblr account, both titled Nana Gouvêa in Disasters, also poke fun at the brunette model.
They show pictures of her superimposed onto a number of tragic scenes, including the sinking of the Titanic, the Hindenburg disaster and the death of Mufasa in The Lion King.
Brazilian glamour model Nana Gouvea has been slammed for posing against the trail of destruction left by Hurricane Sandy
Nana Gouvea’s husband, Carlos Keyes, was responsible for capturing the original images of her, which she proudly displayed on her Facebook account.
She told Spanish magazine EGO that the storm has bought them closer together and “we actually spent most of the time in bed”, adding that “today I will open a bottle of wine”.
According to the publication this is the second hurricane the duo have experienced, as they first met when Hurricane Irene hit the East Coast last August.
“It was my first trip to New York,” Nana Gouvea exclaimed.
“We were in his apartment, watching movies, cooking.”
More than 80 people are known to have died in the storm, thousands of homes are underwater and millions remain without power.
According to new research, drying laundry in the home poses a health risk to those prone to asthma, hay fever and other allergies.
A study carried out by the Mackintosh School of Architecture found that many homes had too much moisture indoors.
Up to a third of this moisture was attributed to drying laundry.
The researchers have called on housebuilders to build dedicated drying areas into new housing to address the health concerns.
A study of 100 homes by the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit in Glasgow, UK, found 87% dried their washing indoors in colder weather.
Researcher Rosalie Menon said people were not aware how much moisture this added to the air.
Rosalie Menon said: “Going into people’s homes, we found they were drying washing in their living rooms, in their bedrooms.
“Some were literally decorating the house with it, but from just one load of washing two litres of water will be emitted.”
Drying laundry in the home poses a health risk to those prone to asthma, hay fever and other allergies
A total of 75% of households, which were of mixed styles, had moisture levels which could lead to dust mite growth.
There was also a strong association between drying laundry and mould spores.
A particular mould spore known to cause lung infections in people with weakened immune systems was found in 25% of the homes sampled.
The research, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, was the first to track the implications of drying laundry passively inside the home.
All of the types of housing surveyed had a lack of suitable spaces for drying clothes.
The researchers want to see dedicated drying areas incorporated into new housing.
Rosalie Menon said: “These spaces should be independently heated and ventilated. It’s very much going back to the airing cupboards we saw in more historical types of housing.”
Apple’s new iPad Mini has gone on sale around the world.
While a few diehard fans queued for hours to be among the first to own the new smaller iPad, queues were tiny compared to previous launches.
In Hong Kong, reports even claim that staff outnumbered the customers when the store opened.
Experts say bad weather, Hurricane Sandy and increased competition from rivals such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft could be behind to lack of queues.
Experts believe the effects of Hurricane Sandy and the large number of online orders mean the queues were smaller.
Apple fans lined up in several Asian cities to get their hands on the iPad Mini on Friday, but the device, priced above rival gadgets from Google and Amazon.com, attracted smaller crowds than at the company’s previous global rollouts.
Apple Inc’s global gadget rollouts are typically high-energy affairs drawing droves of buyers who stand in line for hours.
But a proliferation of comparable rival devices may have sapped some interest.
About 50 people waited for the Apple store in Sydney, Australia, to open, where in the past the line had stretched for several blocks when the company debuted new iPhones.
At the head of Friday’s line was Patrick Li, who had been waiting since 4:30 a.m. and was keen to get his hands on the 7.9-inch slate.
“It’s light, easy to handle, and I’ll use it to read books. It’s better than the original iPad,” Patrick Li said.
There were queues of 100 or more outside Apple stores in Tokyo and Seoul when the device went on sale, but when the company’s flagship Hong Kong store opened staff appeared to outnumber those waiting in line.
The iPad Mini marks Apple’s first foray into the smaller-tablet segment, and the latest salvo in a global mobile-device war that has engulfed combatants from Internet search leader Google Inc to Web retailer Amazon.com Inc and software giant Microsoft Corp.
Apple’s new iPad Mini has gone on sale around the world
Microsoft’s 10-inch Surface tablet, powered by the just-launched Windows 8 software, went on sale in October, while Google and Amazon now dominate sales of smaller, 7-inch multimedia tablets.
Unveiled last week, the iPad Mini has won mostly positive reviews, with criticism centring on a screen considered inferior to rivals’ and a lofty price tag.
The new tablet essentially replicates most of the features of its full-sized sibling, but in a smaller package.
“Well, first of all it’s so thin and light and very cute – so cute!” said iPad Mini customer Ten Ebihara at the Apple store in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district.
Also on Friday, Apple rolled out its fourth-generation iPad, with the same 9.7-inch display as the previous version but with a faster A6X processor and better Wi-Fi. Both devices were going on sale in more than 30 countries.
Apple will likely sell between 1 million and 1.5 million iPad Minis in the first weekend, far short of the 3 million third-generation iPads sold last March in their first weekend, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
“The reason we expect fewer iPad Minis compared to the 3rd Gen is because of the lack of the wireless option and newness of the smaller form factor for consumers,” Gene Munster said in a note to clients.
“We believe that over time that will change.”
Reviewers have applauded Apple for squeezing most of the iPad’s features into a smaller package that can be comfortably manipulated with one hand.
James Vohradsky, a 20 year-old student who previously queued for 17 hours at the Sydney store to buy the iPhone 5, only stood in line for an hour and a half this time.
“I had an iPad 1 before, I kind of miss it because I sold it about a year ago.
“It’s just more practical to have the mini because I found it a bit too big. The image is really good and it’s got the fast A5 chip too,” James Vohradsky said.
The iPad was launched in 2010 by late Apple boss Steve Jobs and since then it has taken a big chunk out of PC sales, upending the industry and reinventing mobile computing with its apps-based ecosystem.
A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple’s compact portfolio under Cook, who took over from Steve Jobs just before his death a year ago. Analysts credit Google and Amazon for influencing the decision.
Some investors worry that Apple might have lost its chief visionary with Steve Jobs, and that new management might not be able to stay ahead of the pack as rivals innovate and encroach on its market share.
There were queues of 100 or more outside Apple stores in Tokyo and Seoul when the device went on sale, but when the company’s flagship Hong Kong store opened staff appeared to outnumber those waiting in line.
Fuel shortages and difficulties in restoring power are hampering efforts to restore normality to parts of the US north-east in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
Fights broke out at petrol stations in New York and New Jersey, and power suppliers warned some areas might not have electricity until November 11th.
Anger is also rising in New York’s Staten Island, with some residents saying they had been forgotten.
More than 90 deaths in the US have now been blamed on Hurricane Sandy.
The cost of the storm to the US is now put at about $50 billion.
Meanwhile, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has endorsed President Barack Obama for next week’s presidential election, saying Storm Sandy had highlighted climate change, and that only one candidate saw this as an “urgent problem”.
Residents and workers of areas affected by Storm Sandy will wake on Friday to continued problems of transportation, lack of electricity and a dearth of fuel.
At many petrol stations there have been long lines of cars and of people carrying jerry cans.
One owner of a fuel station in New Jersey told the New York Times he had been pumping petrol for 36 hours and had to call the police and turn off the pumps temporarily as tempers among customers rose.
There were reports of sharp price increases by some suppliers.
Fuel shortages and difficulties in restoring power are hampering efforts to restore normality to parts of the US north-east in the wake of Hurricane Sandy
Well over half of petrol stations in New Jersey and in New York City remain closed.
Power officials hope to restore electricity to all of Manhattan and more areas on Brooklyn by Saturday, with more underground lines opening.
Train fares remain free on Friday and a ban on cars with fewer than three people inside will stay in place in Manhattan on Friday.
But Consolidated Edison, the power company serving New York, warned that some areas of the city would be blacked out until 11 November.
Almost 45% of customers in New Jersey and some 15% in New York State remain without electricity.
New York West Village resident Rosemarie Zurlo told Associated Press she was abandoning her flat temporarily and heading to Brooklyn: “I’m leaving because I’m freezing. My apartment is ice cold. Everybody’s tired of it.”
Some 19 people are now known to have died in the south-western New York City borough of Staten Island.
The storm swamped the low-lying district with tidal surges, lifting whole houses off their foundations.
Anger is rising there at the delay in bringing aid, with litter piling up and residents poring through the debris of storm-ravaged homes.
James Molinaro, the borough’s president, complained the American Red Cross was “nowhere to be found”.
He said: “We have hundreds of people in shelters. Many of them, when the shelters close, have nowhere to go because their homes are destroyed. These are not homeless people. They’re homeless now.”
One resident, Theresa Connor, told Reuters her neighborhood had been “annihilated”.
“They forgot about us… And Bloomberg said New York is fine. The marathon is on.”
New York City councilman James Oddo said: “If they take one first responder from Staten Island to cover this marathon, I will scream.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and a senior Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official, Richard Serino, will visit the borough on Friday.
Michael Bloomberg defended the decision to hold the race, saying: “This city is a city where we have to go on.”
National Guardsmen and community groups are being deployed in New York and New Jersey amid mounting fears for elderly residents stranded in their homes.
Aid worker Monique George told AP: “In some cases, they hadn’t talked to folks in a few days. They haven’t even seen anybody because the neighbors evacuated.”
In Hoboken, New Jersey, some 20,000 people are still trapped in their homes as floodwaters slowly recede.
Officials warned residents not to walk in water polluted with sewage and chemicals.
Hurricane Sandy arrived on the US Atlantic coast on Monday night, bringing hurricane-strength winds, flooding and blackouts.
The number of dead in the US now exceeds the toll from the Caribbean, where 69 people were killed by Sandy.
Meanwhile, campaigning for Tuesday’s US presidential election – suspended earlier in the week – has fully resumed.
Barack Obama received a boost with the endorsement of Michael Bloomberg.
Of the two candidates, the New York mayor said, “one sees climate change as an urgent problem that threatens our planet; one does not”.
“I want our president to place scientific evidence and risk management above electoral politics.”
Both candidates are now awaiting the final key economic figures to be released before Tuesday’s election.
The US Labor Department will announce the latest job figures at 12:30 GMT, and they may play a key role in the final days of campaigning
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg – a political independent who has played a prominent role in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy – has delivered a big boost to President Barack Obama by endorsing him for re-election.
Michael Bloomberg, a Democrat who became a Republican to run for Big Apple mayor in 2001 and ran as an Independent for re-election in 2009, said that Hurricane Sandy had helped reshape his thinking about the presidential campaign.
He had been pointedly critical of both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, saying that both men had failed to address properly the problems afflicting the nation.
But Michael Bloomberg said in recent days he had decided that Barack Obama was the best candidate to tackle climate change, which the mayor cited as a contributory factor to the violent storm that took the lives of at least 38 New Yorkers and brought carnage costing billions of dollars.
“The devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to New York City and much of the Northeast – in lost lives, lost homes and lost business – brought the stakes of next Tuesday’s presidential election into sharp relief,” Michael Bloomberg wrote in an article for his own website Bloomberg View.
“Our climate is changing. And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it may be – given the devastation it is wreaking – should be enough to compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.”
NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg has delivered a big boost to Barack Obama by endorsing him for re-election
The timing of the endorsement is unexpected because Michael Bloomberg this week publicly called on Barack Obama to resist visiting New York this week because the city was too busy dealing with the disaster.
But his backing is the latest indication that Hurricane Sandy could be a big factor in Tuesday’s election.
Barack Obama has already used it to burnish his bipartisan credentials and a Washington Post/ABC poll found that 80 per cent of voters viewed his actions favorably.
Republicans dismissed the endorsement saying that Michael Bloomberg, as the epitome of the monied east coast elite, would hardly sway voters in the mid-West battleground states.
But there is little doubt that the Romney campaign would dearly have loved to have had the New York mayor’s backing.
Barack Obama said in a statement: “I am honored to have Mayor Bloomberg’s endorsement. I deeply respect him for his leadership in business, philanthropy and government, and appreciate the extraordinary job he’s doing right now, leading New York City through these difficult days.”
Cao Haibo, a Chinese internet cafe worker who posted pro-democracy articles online, has been sentenced to eight years in prison, his lawyer says.
A court in the south-western city of Kunming jailed 27-year-old Cao Haibo for “subversion of state power”, said his lawyer, Ma Xiaopeng.
Cao Haibo had set-up web chat groups on social issues, said a US-based rights group.
The case comes shortly before China’s once-a-decade power handover at this month’s Communist Party congress.
In the run-up to the opening of the congress on 8th of November, authorities have clamped down on the work of political activists and dissidents in China, analysts say.
Cao Haibo was detained at his home in Yancheng in October last year after he set up a website and online chat groups advocating democracy and constitutional government, said Human Rights in China.
His trial was held in secret in May because the Kunming Intermediate People’s Court said it involved state secrets, his wife, Zhang Nian, was quoted as saying.
Cao Haibo was detained at his home in Yancheng in October last year after he set up a website and online chat groups advocating democracy and constitutional government
Zhang Nian said the court had presented evidence that her husband had “created an online discussion group, and published articles on foreign websites”.
She added that the trial had not been held in open and told the Associated Press that she was urging him to appeal.
“All he did was express his opinions on the internet. I think it is excessive of the court to give him such a harsh sentence for that,” she said.
Kunming Intermediate Court has so far not commented on the case.
Millions of New Yorkers will still be without power for another 10 days as city’s power supplier ConEd continues to fix overhead power wires.
Electricity is expected to be restored to the main island of Manhattan by Saturday, however, since the area is largely run by an underground power network that is easier to fix than the downed electrical lines.
While utility company Consolidated Edison, commonly known as ConEd, are on track to uphold their original plan of returning power to all of Manhattan island on either Friday or Saturday, they said that the outer boroughs will have to wait until November 10th or 11th for their power.
The delay in reaching the outer boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx was attributed to the difficulties of fixing or replacing the downed overhead lines.
Throughout the week, the company has been gradually restoring power to portions of the city, and has reached at least 2,000 people in lower Manhattan so far.
While helpful, that is only a sliver of the 227,000 homes and businesses in Manhattan that went dark Monday.
In order to avoid permanent damage from rising sea waters, the company preemptively took two underground electrical networks out of service and the latest restored power areas were a result of those networks being reactivated.
While that reactivation was relatively easy, the bigger problems came from a massive explosion at one of the ConEd power plants in Manhattan’s East Village.
The explosion came after the plant was overwhelmed by floodwater.
Millions of New Yorkers will still be without power for another 10 days as city’s power supplier ConEd continues to fix overhead power wires
Regardless, the East and West Villages, Financial District, Chelsea, Chinatown and the Lower East Side will be up and running by the weekend, Con Edison said.
The island’s wiring system is largely underground so workers have been able to asses and repair it faster than above ground wiring of the outer boroughs.
Outages in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island were not expected to be repaired for another week, the power company said.
For New Yorkers living in the vertical city, a loss of power means much more than spoiled cold cuts and frozen dinners.
Electricity is needed to pump water to upper floors. Many New Yorkers prepared for the storm by stocking up on bottled water. But without power, there’s no way to flush the toilet.
For others, the outage had graver consequences.
“I have several hundred dollars’ worth of insulin in the refrigerator,” said Joan Moore of New York’s Staten Island, who is diabetic.
There were encouraging acts of kindness, gestures made by the lucky ones with electricity.
“I have power and hot water. If anyone needs a shower or to charge some gadgets or just wants to bask in the beauty of artificial light, hit me up,” Rob Hart, who also lives on Staten Island, wrote on Facebook.
In New York City and along the New Jersey and Connecticut coasts, flooding knocked out substations and switching yards, the vertebrae of the electric distribution system.
Hurricane Sandy blacked out some of the nation’s most densely populated cities and suburbs, instantly taking away modern conveniences from Virginia to Massachusetts and as far west as the Great Lakes.
For power companies, the scale of the destruction was unmatched – more widespread than any blizzard or ice storm and worse than the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
“It’s unprecedented: fallen trees, debris, the roads, water, snow. It’s a little bit of everything,” said Brian Wolff, senior vice president of the Edison Electric Institute, a group that lobbies for utilities.
Initially, about 60 million people were without power in 8.2 million homes and businesses. By Wednesday night, that number had fallen to roughly 44 million people in 6 million households and businesses.
Even as power slowly returned to some pockets, a new headache emerged: Backup batteries and generators running cellphone towers were running out of juice. One out of every five towers was down, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
New Yorker Vildia Samaniego traveled four miles uptown to a bar, the Blarney Stone, to watch the Boston Celtics play the Miami Heat.
“I really needed to watch the basketball game,” she laughed.
“The place was packed. It’s amazing how much you miss television.”
Greek journalist Costas Vaxevanis has been acquitted of breaching privacy for publishing the names of 2,000 suspected tax evaders.
Costas Vaxevanis published a list of Greeks with Swiss bank accounts, including a government minister and other prominent figures in public life.
Lawyers for Costas Vaxevanis, 46, argued that the charges were outrageous and said no-one on the list had actually complained of a breach of privacy.
After a one-day trial, a court in Athens found Costas Vaxevanis innocent.
He published the list in Hot Doc, the weekly magazine that he edits.
Greece is being urged by international lenders to crack down on tax evasion as part of far-reaching reforms demanded in exchange for billions of euros of bailout money.
Greek journalist Costas Vaxevanis has been acquitted of breaching privacy for publishing the names of 2,000 suspected tax evaders
The list of suspected evaders was reportedly leaked by an employee at the HSBC bank and passed to IMF chief Christine Lagarde when she was French finance minister in 2010.
Christine Lagarde apparently handed the list to the Greek authorities, but they took no action.
Two of Greece’s former finance ministers have acknowledged seeing copies of the list.
However, Yannis Stournaras, who took office in June, has told parliament he has not seen it.
Costas Vaxevanis said he had published the list because it was his job as a journalist to reveal the truth.
“The three last governments have lied and have made a mockery of the Greek people with this list,” he said.
“They were obliged to pass it to parliament or to the justice system. They didn’t do it, and they should be in prison for it.”
Prosecutors had accused him of publicly ridiculing people and delivering them “to a society that is thirsty for blood”.
“The solution to the problems that the country is facing is not cannibalism,” the prosecutor said.
But the court took little time in acquitting the journalist, and observers in the courtroom broke out in applause, according to the AFP news agency.
Q-Cancer, a groundbreaking device that can diagnose cancer in just 20 minutes, is being developed in the UK.
The world’s first tumor profiler, as it is known, will allow doctors, nurses and pharmacists to quickly identify all known types of cancer while the patient waits.
It is hoped the device, which will also gauge the correct drug to
prescribe cancer sufferers, will be used across the NHS within the next three years.
The device has been invented as part of a partnership between private firm QuantuMDx, Newcastle University and Sheffield University.
Scientists say the Q-Cancer device will have a dramatic impact on the rapid and accurate diagnosis of cancer.
Company officials said the device has the potential to prolong the lives of the 12 million newly diagnosed cancer sufferers around the world.
Q-Cancer will allow doctors, nurses and pharmacists to quickly identify all known types of cancer while the patient waits
It will enable surgeons to immediately remove most, if not all of the tumor, and allow cancer specialists to prescribe the correct treatment regime according to the type of cancer developed.
The device makes use of advanced nanotechnology, analyzing submicroscopic amounts of tissue to work out the type of cancer, its genetic make-up and how far it has developed.
Professor Sir John Burn, the Newcastle University academic who is also medical director of QuantuMDx, said: “We have a world leading position to deliver complex DNA tumour testing to the routine pathology lab or even to the operating theatre.
“A low-cost device requiring no technical expertise will extract, amplify and analyze tumor DNA to make sure the patient gets the right treatment first time and without delay.”
Chief executive Elaine Warburton said: “Currently tumor samples are sent away to a centralized sequencing laboratory, which can take several weeks to turnaround results, usually at a very high price which is not routinely affordable to many economies.
“As far as we are aware, QuantuMDx’s current underlying technologies, which can break up a sample and extract the DNA in under five minutes represents a world first for complex molecular diagnostics.”
Kourtney, Kim and Khloé Kardashian will be in the UK next week to celebrate the launch of their hotly anticipated clothing line Kardashian Kollection, available exclusively at Dorothy Perkins.
And the girls are hosting a glamorous VIP party on Thursday, November 8th, at a top London venue.
YOU magazine has teamed up with Dorothy Perkins to offer three lucky readers plus guest the chance to attend the event and meet the girls.
The competition includes return travel to London, an overnight stay in a boutique hotel and £100 ($150) of Dorothy Perkins vouchers. For your chance to win, complete the entry form online. From trend-led must-haves to fashionably tailored looks and handbags, the Kardashian Kollection includes more than 100 pieces.
To make sure you don’t miss out, register now to be the first to buy the Kollection on Sunday, November 4th – visit dorothyperkins.com for details.
The full range will go on sale online and in selected stores nationwide from Thursday, November 8th. For your chance to win, complete the entry form online at facebook.com/YOUMagSocial
Kourtney, Kim and Khloé Kardashian will be in the UK next week to celebrate the launch of their hotly anticipated clothing line Kardashian Kollection
Chris Brown picked a rather poor choice of costume as he got in the holiday spirit for Halloween, on Wednesday.
Chris Brown, 23, dressed himself up as a gun toting Arab man complete with ammunition and thawb.
It is unclear if Chris Brown was supposed to be a Sheik or some kind of terrorist, but his costume is sure to have raised some eyebrows.
Chris Brown posted the picture on his Twitter account with him and his friends all wearing similar outfits and holding up toy machine guns and pistols.
Their costumes, which included long fake beards, were seemingly an effort to look like stereotypical terrorists.
He captioned the picture: “Ain’t nobody F***ing wit my clique!!!! #ohb,” which is a line from Kanye West song Clique.
Chris Brown was dressed up to attend the party of his ex girlfriend Rihanna, which was being held at Greystone Manor Supperclub, in West Hollywood.
He was clearly in the mood to enjoy himself as he arrived over an hour earlier than the host, Rihanna.
Upon his arrival, Chris Brown was given a very warm welcome from one female admirer who showed off her legs in her ring master costume.
While Chris Brown and Rihanna, who was crowned the Queen of West Hollywood Halloween Parade, have put their tumultuous history behind them, Irish rap trio Original Rudeboys have not.
The group reportedly turned down an offer to perform with Chris Brown next month in Dublin, Ireland, because of his domestic abuse history with Rihanna.
During an interview with RTE, the boys said: “Even though it’s a huge opportunity to play in the O2 with a major hip-hop star, and a substantial fee was offered, we are completely against Chris Brown’s assault on Rihanna.”
Under the cover of bizarre transparent mask, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were spotted holding hands at a Halloween party on Wednesday night.
In an apparent sign they are growing closer following Kristen Stewart’s “indiscretion” with married director Rupert Sanders this summer, the couple were caught in a tactile moment while attending a bash at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
It was a fleeting glimpse of affection, however, as the pair spent most of the night avoiding being photographed together, with the couple stepping apart whenever a camera was in sight.
As for their Halloween costumes, R-Patz and Kristen Stewart didn’t exactly pull out all the stops.
True to form, they made understated appearances in casual clothing – with only their masks serving as an attempt to dress up.
Kristen Stewart, 22, wore wearing leggings and a green jacket, while R-Patz, 26, opted for his customary jeans and cap.
The couple – who appear to have reconciled in the wake of Kristen Stewart’s cheating scandal with Rupert Sanders earlier this year – were joined at the event by other VIPs, including Minka Kelly and Chris Evans and Katy Perry.
Rupert Sanders and wife Liberty Ross, meanwhile, made more of an effort with their costumes when they ventured out for a spot of trick or treating with their two children around their local neighborhood in Los Angeles.
The death toll from Hurricane Sandy keeps rising as swathes of the US East Coast battle to recover, three days after being smashed by the massive storm.
More than 80 people are now known to have died, 37 in New York City alone, and others remain missing.
About 4.6 million people are still without power, and there are fuel shortages across the region.
The National Guard is to deliver a million meals and bottled water to New Yorkers affected by the storm.
The number of dead in the US has exceeded the toll from the Caribbean, where 69 people were killed by Sandy.
The storm could cost the US $50 billion, according to forecasting firm Eqecat, doubling the previous estimate.
In New York, limited subway services returned on Thursday, though four of the seven train tunnels under the East river remained flooded.
Fares on commuter trains, subways and buses have been temporarily waived in a bid to entice commuters off the traffic-choked roads.
Many of the petrol stations in the city and the state of New Jersey remained closed, and fights broke out amid long queues on forecourts.
The city authorities are only permitting vehicles with three passengers or more to cross into Manhattan.
Amtrak plans to restart its East Coast service – the busiest train line in the US – on Friday.
The death toll from Hurricane Sandy keeps rising as swathes of the US East Coast battle to recover
In lower Manhattan, where Sandy brought a record 14 ft (4.2 m) tidal surge, subway services are still closed and hundreds of thousands of homes without power.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday ordered the National Guard to help deliver some 30 tractor trailers of supplies to one million residents.
He has told relief workers to prioritize the elderly and poor, especially those living in high-rise blocks.
The death toll rose overnight as the extent of destruction became clearer in the south-western New York City borough of Staten Island, where at least 15 bodies have been recovered.
The storm, one of the biggest to hit the US in decades, swamped the low-lying district with tidal surges, lifting whole houses off their foundations.
Many residents in that community ignored official evacuation warnings and stayed behind to guard their homes.
Two boys, aged two and four, are missing after they were torn from their mother’s arms by floodwaters, as they emerged from their vehicle.
Police searching the area found a body on Thursday morning, the New York Post reports.
An 89-year-old woman died after spending 12 hours in her deluged Staten Island home, reports the New York Daily News.
Her 65-year-old daughter was unable to save her. Helpless neighbors heard their screams for help but could not reach them.
Also on Staten Island, John Filipowicz, 51, and his 20-year-old son John were found dead under debris in the basement of their home.
Breezy Point, in New York City, where fire razed 111 homes, was described by one onlooker as resembling a war zone.
Emergency crews are working to reach the most badly hit areas.
In Hoboken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City, some 20,000 people were still trapped in their homes amid sewage-tainted floodwaters.
The National Guard is helping with evacuations and meal distributions.
One frustrated householder reportedly inflated an air mattress and floated to Hoboken city hall to find out why supplies had not yet arrived.
Jersey City has issued an overnight curfew as well as a driving ban.
On Wednesday, President Barack Obama took an aerial tour to inspect the damage to New Jersey’s shattered Atlantic coastline.
He put campaigning for next week’s US election on hold for three days to manage the disaster response.
The cyclone also caused havoc further inland.
The state of West Virginia has seen up to 5 ft of snow in some areas, after Hurricane Sandy collided with two winter weather fronts.
Dozens of militiamen have occupied Libya’s parliament to register their anger over the formation of the new government.
The gunmen are demanding some of the ministers be removed because they have links to the late Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.
At least a dozen trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns are lining the main road to the parliament.
Libya held a peaceful election in July and finally agreed the composition of a government on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Ali Zidan gained the support of the National Congress for his choice of ministers.
His list included liberal figures and Islamists in an attempt to forge a coalition acceptable to all parties.
But negotiations were disrupted by protests earlier this week.
And late on Wednesday gunmen broke through security and occupied the Congress building.
Some of the gunmen are dressed in scruffy army fatigues and others in civilian clothes.
Some are from the western city of Misrata and others are from Tripoli, and few are willing to talk to the media.
“Some of them have had long ties with Gaddafi, we don’t want them,” said a militiaman dressed in civilian clothes.
Presidential guards are stationed in the Congress complex and have been ordered not to fight with the men.
The militiamen are believed to be in talks with politicians to resolve the stand-off.
Despite largely peaceful elections in July, Libya’s transition continues to be affected by instability.
Reining in the different militia and trying to integrate them into a single national army will be one of the biggest challenges for any new government, analysts say.
The new government has representatives from the two most prominent blocs in Congress – the Alliance of National Forces led by liberal former Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, and the Muslim Brotherhood’s Justice and Construction Party.
Ali Zidan said he had tried to strike a balance between Libya’s different regions in making the appointments.
According to his list, the defence and interior ministries would be headed by ministers from the eastern city of Benghazi, considered to be the cradle of last year’s revolution that ended Gaddafi’s rule.
Two women are also among the ministers proposed by Ali Zidan.
Brazilian police are investigating the fatal haemorrhage suffered by Pamela Baris do Nascimento following claims that her liver could have been punctured during the procedure on October 19.
It was the third time the actress, who was also studying biomedicine, had undergone liposuction.
Concerns were also raised when it emerged that her death at the Green Hill Hospital in Sao Paulo was not registered until 10 days later.
Pamela Baris do Nascimento’s aunt reported the case to police in Ipiranga, in the city’s Zona Sul.
The lawyer acting for the family told Brazilian press he believed Pamela do Nascimento’s death may have been caused by medical malpractice.
He added Júlio César Yoshimura, the surgeon who carried out the operation, could face manslaughter charges.
Officers investigating the death will ask authorities to exhume her body for tests.
Pamela Baris do Nascimento dies after liposuction operation aged 27
Pamela Baris do Nascimento, 27, who was originally from Santa Catarina in southern Brazil, had been living in Sao Paulo. She was raised by her aunt after her mother died when she was six.
The presenter had appeared on TV programmes including Brazilian variety show O Melhor do Brasil.
Evandro Luiz de Melo Lemos, the officer responsible for the case, said: “Everything suggests that the procedure was correct. But normally, in the case of an accident, it should have been reported to the police.”
In a statement, the hospital said it had launched an internal inquiry.
It said Dr. Júlio César Yoshimuro was licensed to practice and had rented operating rooms at the private clinic.
“The hospital provided all the necessary resources for the adequate treatment of Pamela Baris Nascimento. However, it is with great sadness that this occurred,” the statement said.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West decided to take inspiration from The Dark Knight Rises and Batman Returns for their Halloween costumes on Wednesday evening.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West arrived at LIV at Fountainebleau Miami Beach to celebrate Kim’s Halloween birthday bash.
The reality star looked pretty amazing in her replica Catwoman suit as she copied the Michelle Pfeiffer incarnation rather than the more recent Anne Hathaway version.
The 32-year-old slipped her curves into the tight black PVC outfit and highlighted her pout with rouge lipstick.
Feeling fully in character, she clawed at the camera several times as she imitated a cat and struck some seductive feline poses.
With her leather boots on, Kim Kardashian arrived in style as she emerged from a gold Lamborghini with her rapper boyfriend dressed up as Batman.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West arrived at LIV at Fountainebleau Miami Beach to celebrate Kim’s Halloween birthday bash
Kanye West, 35,who designs his own fashion range, could not compete with his famous girlfriend as he wore a simple Batman mask over a balaclava to hide his face.
It wasn’t just Kim Kardashian and Kanye West who were part of the comic book theme as Scott Disick, Kourtney Kardashian and Jonathan Cheban got in on the act too.
Scott Disick was dressed as a less than convincing Robin, in the classic red and green suit, but he didn’t wear a mask and completed the outfit with red trainers.
His partner Kourtney Kardashian faired better as Batgirl as she showed off her post baby body in the black Lycra costume.
Kim Kardashian’s good friend Jonathan Cheban was the villain of the night as he dressed up as the Riddler and sprayed his hair red.
Other guests at the party included Hulk Hogan who wore a bright yellow and orange feathered boa, seemingly attending as himself.
Leukemia drug alemtuzumab appears to be the “most effective” treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), say British researchers.
During MS the body’s immune system turns on its own nerves causing debilitating muscle problems.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge say a cancer drug, which wipes out and resets the immune system, has better results than other options.
However, there is concern that a drugs company is about to increase the cost of the drug as a result.
Around 100,000 people in the UK have multiple sclerosis. When the condition is diagnosed most will have a form of the disease know as relapsing-remitting MS, in which the symptoms can almost disappear for a time, before suddenly returning.
The researchers tested a leukaemia drug, alemtuzumab, which had shown benefits for MS in small studies.
In leukaemia, a blood cancer, it controls the excess production of white blood cells. In MS patients, the dose eliminates the immune cells entirely, forcing a new immune system to be built from scratch which should not attack the nerves.
Two trials, published in the Lancet medical journal, compared the effectiveness of alemtuzumab with a first-choice drug, interferon beta-1a.
One compared the effectiveness in patients given the drug after being diagnosed, the other looked at patients given the drug after other treatments had failed.
Both showed the drug was around 50% more effective at preventing relapses and patients had less disability at the end of the study than when they started.
Leukemia drug alemtuzumab appears to be the “most effective” treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis
Dr. Alasdair Coles, from the University of Cambridge, said: “Although other MS drugs have emerged over the last year, which is certainly good news for patients, none has shown superior effects on disability when compared to interferon except alemtuzumab.
“No other treatment has led to improvements in disability.”
He said: “It is certainly the most effective MS drug, based on these clinical trials, but this is definitely not a cure.”
However, he warned there were side-effects such as the risk of infection from a depleted immune system which meant the drug would not be suitable for everyone.
Dr. Alasdair Coles said he thought the drug would be most useful for patients for whom standard treatment had failed and in a “minority” of patients as a first-choice drug.
Eventually relapsing-remitting MS can become progressive MS as the good spells become shorter and less frequent. The drug will have no effect on this form of the disease.
The drug has been withdrawn from the market in Europe and the US as the manufacturer, Genzyme, intends to have it licensed as a treatment for MS.
A Lancet editorial warns: “There is concern that with a licence for multiple sclerosis, the cost of alemtuzumab could rise and might become too expensive for many patients and health systems.
“Finding promising treatments such as alemtuzumab is important. But so is keeping alemtuzumab accessible and affordable.”
Dr. Doug Brown, head of biomedical research at the MS Society, said: “These results are great news for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
“Alemtuzumab has been found to be an effective treatment for people with MS – but it’s only useful to them if it’s available on the NHS.
“We urge Genzyme to price the treatment responsibly so that if it’s licensed, it’s deemed cost-effective on the NHS.”
Genzyme said it would not come up with a price for the drug “until it is approved by regulatory authorities” and that it would “engage constructively” with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which evaluates the cost-effectiveness of drugs for use in the NHS.
Ten of lesser-spotted things about American presidential politics and about 2012 campaign.
1. Why is Election Day always a Tuesday?
Even though America’s voter turnout is among the lowest in mature democracies and more than a quarter of people who do not vote claim they are too busy, efforts to move elections to weekends have failed.
The Tuesday after the first Monday in November was set as presidential Election Day in 1845.
In the mid-19th Century, the US was an agrarian nation and it simply took a lot of time for farmers to drive the horse and buggy to the nearest polling place.
Saturday was a workday on the farm, travel on Sunday was out, and Wednesday was a market day. That left Tuesday.
2. The sunglasses thing
Politicians are almost never photographed wearing sunglasses, especially during election campaigns and even at leisure.
Barack Obama plays golf with the sun glaring in his eyes, and this summer, Mitt Romney was photographed on the back of a jet ski on a lake in New Hampshire, bare-eyed though his wife Ann wore sunglasses.
If a person’s eyes are hidden, people trust them less, says Parker Geiger, an Atlanta executive image consultant.
“You just don’t get a sense of the individual,” he says.
“There’s no eye contact – that’s how you build trust. Sunglasses put a barrier between you and the other person. They say eyes are the windows of the soul, and if I can’t see your soul how can I trust you?”
3. In Nevada, you can vote for “none of the above”
The US state of Nevada allows voters to mark “None of these candidates” on the ballot.
The option has been on the ballot since 1976 and plenty of voters have used it.
In 2010 after a particularly brutish campaign for a US Senate seat, 2.25% of voters chose “None” rather than pick incumbent Democrat Harry Reid or Republican challenger Sharon Angle. Harry Reid won.
4. Thumb jab
Featured in the three presidential debates were Mitt Romney, Barack Obama and… Obama’s thumb.
At the debates, the president frequently jabbed his hand, with his thumb resting atop a loosely curled fist, to emphasize a point.
The gesture – which might appear unnatural in normal communication – was probably coached into Barack Obama to make him appear more forceful, says body language expert Patti Wood.
“It’s a symbolic weapon,” says Patti Wood, author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma.
“Speakers are coached to do it to look strong and mighty and to grab the attention of their audience, and in a political speech to emphasize strong points and to look like you are powerful.”
And on a subconscious level it’s phallic, she says. “It’s sexually male. Men put out their thumb and it says <<I am a man>>.”
Ten of lesser-spotted things about American presidential politics and about 2012 campaign
5. Job titles are for life
Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts for four years – and he left office almost six years ago. Yet he is still addressed as Governor Mitt Romney, as if that were a title of nobility rather than a political office.
The US has only one president at a time, but Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are always referred to as President Clinton and President Bush – even in the same sentence as Barack Obama.
And during the Republican primary campaign, Newt Gingrich was routinely referred to as Mr. Speaker – even though he was the Speaker of the House for four years and left that post nearly 14 years ago.
As odd as it sounds to hear “Presidents Clinton and Obama” from a news presenter’s mouth, the perma-title is acceptable, traditional and appropriate, says Daniel Post Senning, author and spokesman for etiquette arbiter Emily Post Institute.
“It really shows the esteem that we hold those offices in – that this is a democracy, and those are such important positions that it becomes like a professional title,” he says.
“I liken it to when a judge or a doctor retires. They’ve invested a lot in their professional identity and many retain the use of their professional title.”
6. Election loser can still win the White House
Four times in American history, the candidate with fewer votes has wound up with the presidency.
That is because the winner of the presidential election needs to capture a majority of electoral votes, which are apportioned to the states by population and for the most part awarded in winner-take-all state contests.
The national presidential election is effectively 51 separate contests (50 states and Washington DC), with the winner of 270 electoral votes taking the presidency.
Most recently, in 2000 George Bush won half a million votes less than Al Gore but took 271 electoral votes for the victory.
It is entirely conceivable that the person sworn into the White House in January will once again be the man with fewer votes.
One scenario envisioned by analysts – Barack Obama could piece together enough states to win the electoral college and hence the presidency, while Mitt Romney wins populous conservative states like Texas and Georgia by a wide enough margin to take the national popular vote.
7. It could be a dead-heat – with a President Mitt Romney and VP Joe Biden
American politics is at its most partisan and polarized in more than a century, many analysts say. But it could get much, much worse – Mitt Romney could be elected president and Joe Biden re-elected vice-president.
Under the US constitution, if the electoral college (the sum of delegates from each state – 270 and you’re president) ends in a tie – and there are several scenarios under which this could occur – the election is sent to the 435-member House of Representatives.
This is currently Republican-controlled and is unlikely to change hands, so they would choose Mitt Romney.
But under the same clause, the Democrat-led Senate would choose the vice-president – Joe Biden.
Joe Biden might then be tempted to undermine Mitt Romney at every turn.
“A historic tie, which would spur demonstrations that would make the healthcare battle look like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, seems a logical conclusion of the bitter partisan paralysis here and the bottom-feeding campaign,” wrote New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd on Tuesday.
8. Why the obsession with “folks”?
“Folks here in Iowa understand this – you cannot grow this economy from the top down”- Barack Obama, 17 October.
“I know that a lot of folks are struggling” – Mitt Romney, 10 October
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney use the word “folks” far more often than the word is typically heard from the lips of men with their socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
The word, which finds its origins in the Old English, is in the US historically associated with the South. That’s a stereotypically less-pretentious region that neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney are from.
The word used as such is roughly the same as “people”, but warmer and more inclusive, says Grant Barrett, editor of the Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang.
“American politics is a southerner’s game,” says Grant Barrett.
“It’s a talker’s game and Southerners are talkers. At the national level we have often been dominated by Southerners.”
9. Only a third of the US matters
On 6 November, the election will effectively be decided by less than a third of the US population.
Most of the states in America, including four of the five most populous, are so solid in their support for the Republicans or the Democrats that the candidates do not bother campaigning there.
Instead, each side chalks up those safe states in their tally and fights over the remaining handful of swing states on their path to 270 electoral votes.
The election is thus decided by the roughly 30% of the US population which lives in the swing states.
For the 70% of Americans who live in California, Texas, Georgia, New York, Illinois and the 35 other safe states, their votes count toward the electoral college total, but they cannot be said to be relevant in deciding the election.
10. In North Dakota, you can vote without registering to vote
The only state where it is not necessary to register in order to vote is North Dakota.
Although it was one of the first states to adopt voter registration in the 19th Century, it abolished it in 1951. The North Dakota State Government website says the move can be explained by the state’s close-knit, rural communities.
“North Dakota’s system of voting, and lack of voter registration, is rooted in its rural character by providing small precincts.
“Establishing relatively small precincts is intended to ensure that election boards know the voters who come to the polls to vote on Election Day and can easily detect those who should not be voting in the precinct.”
People coming to vote must be US citizens over the age of 18, who have lived in the precinct for at least 30 days, says Al Jaeger, the North Dakota Secretary of State. And people still need to produce identification, if they are not known to officials.
“I don’t see any difference with any other states, except that we don’t have voter registration, but it’s the same result. It might be an oddity but it has the same purpose. Our elections have a great deal of integrity.”
President Barack Obama is to resume election campaign which was suspended in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
Barack Obama visited areas of New Jersey struck by the storm on Wednesday.
His Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, has been holding rallies after halting his campaign earlier in the week.
Superstorm Sandy left at least 64 people dead in the US, cut power from millions of homes and paralyzed transport on much of the eastern US seaboard.
The hurricane made landfall on Monday night in New Jersey, where some 20,000 people remain trapped in their homes by sewage-contaminated floodwater.
In New York City, the storm brought a record tidal surge that swamped the subway system and caused widespread blackouts.
Earlier, it killed nearly 70 people in the Caribbean and caused extensive crop destruction in impoverished Haiti.
Barack Obama has planned campaign stops on Thursday in Nevada, Colorado and Wisconsin.
On Wednesday, he toured parts of New Jersey struck by the storm with Republican Governor Chris Christie.
“You guys are in my thoughts and prayers,” the president said during a visit to an emergency shelter in Atlantic City.
“We are going to be here for the long haul.”
Barack Obama toured parts of New Jersey struck by the storm with Republican Governor Chris Christie
Of more than six million homes and businesses across the north-east that still have no electricity, a third of them are in New Jersey.
In the New Jersey city of Hoboken, across the Hudson River from New York City, the National Guard has arrived to evacuate about 20,000 people and distribute meals.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, usually one of barack Obama’s fiercest critics, spoke of his “great working relationship” with the Democratic president.
“I cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern and compassion for the people of our state,” said Chris Christie.
Mitt Romney held two rallies in Florida on Wednesday, where his campaign said he tried to strike a “positive tone”.
Election Day is on 6 November, and polls suggest the candidates are running neck and neck.
Eight out of ten voters in a Washington Post/ABC poll gave Barack Obama an “excellent” or “good” rating for his handling of the emergency.
New York began a slow recovery from the storm on Wednesday.
The New York Stock Exchange reopened on generator power after two days of closure, along with the Nasdaq.
But New York City’s Bellevue Hospital had to order the evacuation of some 500 patients after back-up electricity failed.
A partial subway service is due to begin on Thursday. Many bus services are already back on the roads, and most of the city’s bridges have reopened.
The Holland Tunnel, connecting New Jersey and New York City, remains flooded.
Flights have now resumed at JFK and Newark Liberty airports, though the city’s LaGuardia airport remains closed. Nearly 20,000 flights were grounded by Sandy.
Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has admitted that Russia’s president is suffering from an injury, but denied media reports that it is affecting his work.
Dmitry Peskov said the president had “pulled a muscle”, adding that it was sports-related.
He dismissed claims that the injury had got worse after Vladimir Putin’s flight last month with Siberian cranes.
Vladimir Putin, 60, has recently postponed a series of foreign trips, and media reports suggested he had a back injury.
And in a recent TV documentary made for his birthday, the Russian leader was seen limping.
On Thursday, Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s Kommersant FM radio station that his boss indeed had “an old injury”.
“It’s a common sports injury – Vladimir Putin pulled a muscle,” the spokesman said, without adding any details about where the injury was.
Kremlin spokesman dismissed claims that Vladimir Putin’s back injury had got worse after his flight last month with Siberian cranes
The speculation in Russia’s media started last week after Vladimir Putin had put off a summit with other leaders of counties from the former Soviet Union. He has also postponed trips to Bulgaria and Turkey.
But Dmitry Peskov said that the dates for those visits “have not been fixed”.
Kremlin officials earlier denied that the real reason for the much-curtailed schedule is that the president is suffering from a bad back and may need an operation.
Dmitry Peskov also said the president had hardly left his country house outside Moscow in the past two weeks because he did not like his convoy causing traffic jams in central Moscow.
Vladimir Putin – a black belt in judo – has over the years portrayed himself as a macho man.
Russia’s state-run TV has shown videos of him tagging whales, swimming in freezing waters, horse-riding bare-chested and even saving a TV crew from a tiger.
