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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Why Windows 8 Tablets Will Surprise Everyone
Gadget Lab has seen a Windows 8 tablet in action, and the experience opened our eyes to just how useful -- and, yes, even fun -- a Windows 8 tablet might be. But will Windows 8 tablets actually be successful? We give you four reasons that say, yes, Windows 8 tablets might be a big surprise.
Friday, December 30, 2011
InsideHoops: Thunder are now 4-0. Read roundup of Thursday's #NBA game results: http://t.co/WIrxLfUr
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Thunder are now 4-0. Read roundup of Thursday's #NBA game results: insidehoops.com/daily.shtml 
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Study: Indoor Tanning Linked With Early Onset of Skin Cancer (Time.com)
Given that indoor tanning beds were officially classified as a human carcinogen in 2009 -- up there with cigarettes and asbestos -- it should be fairly obvious that frequent tanning-booth exposure would increase your risk of skin cancer.
Indeed, the evidence linking indoor tanning with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma, one of the more common forms of the disease, is "convincing," according to the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer. But the research concerning tanning beds and basal cell carcinoma, the third and most frequent major type of skin cancer -- which accounts for some 80% of all skin cancer cases in the U.S. -- has thus far been inconsistent. (See pictures of a photographer's intimate account of her mother's cancer ordeal.)
Basal cell carcinoma, a slow-growing cancer, has traditionally been a disease of middle age. But it's been appearing with increasing frequency in people under 40, especially in women -- a demographic that also happens to like indoor tanning -- suggesting a link. So researchers at the Yale School of Public Health sought to study the association.
The study included 376 people under 40, who had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma between 2006 and 2010. They were matched with a control group of 390 dermatology patients who were diagnosed with minor skin conditions like cysts and warts. All participants had skin biopsies, and all were drawn from a Yale University database.
The researchers interviewed each participant about their UV exposure -- both in tanning beds and outdoors. They also asked about their history of sunburns, sunscreen use, family history of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, and their self-reported eye, skin and hair color.
The conclusion: people who had ever used a tanning booth were 69% more likely to develop early-onset basal cell carcinoma than never tanners. Those who used tanning booths more regularly -- for at least six years -- were more than twice a likely to develop basal cell carcinoma, compared with never tanners.
The study found that women were far more devoted than men to indoor tanning, which might help explain why 70% of all early onset basal cell carcinomas occur in females. The authors concluded that about 27% of cases of early onset disease -- including 43% of cases in women -- could be prevented if people simply stopped using tanning booths.
That's a tall order, considering that some 30 million Americans use indoor tanning beds each year. Policy changes, such as the recent California ban on teen tanning, may help, the authors suggest. So would behavioral interventions aimed at women -- at least one study in 2010 found that the best way to get young women to tan less was to warn them about the skin-wrinkling effects of tanning-bed exposure, not the risk of skin cancer.
"Importantly, indoor tanning is a behavior that individuals can change. In conjunction with the findings on melanoma, our results for [basal cell carcinoma] indicate that reducing indoor tanning could translate to a meaningful reduction in the incidence of these two types of skin cancer," said Leah M. Ferrucci, first author of the paper and a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale School of Public Health, in a statement.
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
AbduSays: RT @GsmArena: 1 million Samsung Galaxy Notes shipped worldwide http://t.co/yRc8J2uh
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Small Business Energy Savings Kit- CO, MN, NM
Xcel Energy is a major U.S. electricity and natural gas company that provides a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to 3.4 million electricity customers and 1.9 million natural gas customers through its regulated operating companies in eight Western and Midwestern states. Company headquarters are located in Minneapolis.
Their company thrives on doing what they do best -- and growing by finding ways to do it even better. They are committed to operational excellence and providing their customers reliable energy at a great value. They are dedicated to improving the environment and providing the leadership to make a difference in the communities they serve.
If your business is in Colorado, Minnesota or New Mexico, sign up to receive a complimentary Small Business Energy Savings Kit.
This offer is only valid for residents of:
Source: http://www.topsavings.com/index.asp?ID=46948&ref=rss
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HEINEKEN USA Appoints Jeffrey Colbert as Region Vice President Sales, Central Region
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
occpal: Despite AIPAC taking even Hollywood actors to visit Israel on a trip when hasbara machine kicks into high gear http://t.co/exm2rORj
Despite AIPAC taking even Hollywood actors to visit Israel on a trip when hasbara machine kicks into high gear Source: http://twitter.com/occpal/statuses/151286994931159040
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
MOTOACTV Rooted, Becomes Watch-sized Android Tablet
Ever wondered what Honeycomb might look like on a 1.6-inch display? Thanks to one hacked MOTOACTV we now have the answer. The wristwatch-sized device is one of the more interesting items we have seen emerge from the Android ecosystem, though out of the box it is rather limited in functionality. Factor in the 600MHz TI OMAP 3630 and 256MB of RAM and there isn?t much to work with. Chris Wade saw the small size and smaller feature set as a challenge and went about hacking the stock Honeycomb launcher onto the MOTOACTV?s Gingerbread base and even managed to shoehorn in Android Market access. This of course means one of the smallest games of Angry Birds we have ever seen. Useful as a micro-tablet? Maybe not so much. A darn cool hack? We think so.
[via Engadget]
Read more @ Android Phone Fans
Post Published: 26 December 2011Author: admin
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Source: http://www.theandroider.com/2011/12/26/motoactv-rooted-becomes-watch-sized-android-tablet/
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Ga. towns aims to fuel trucks with cooking oil mix
ATLANTA -- The Atlanta suburb of Smyrna plans to fuel some of its city trucks with a mix that includes biodiesel, which is repurposed cooking oil the city plans to collect from dozens of restaurants that fry food.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (http://bit.ly/sZWyAM) that Smyrna joins at least two other Georgia cities - Roswell and Tybee Island - in using Department of Energy federal stimulus funds to start and run biodiesel programs for their fleets.
Ann Kirk, executive director of Keep Smyrna Beautiful, said her city's program will begin in January. It was modeled on a program in Hoover, Ala.
Kirk said it will be phased in as supplemental fuel for the city's fleet, with the idea that eventually some of the city's trucks will run entirely on the repurposed cooking oil.
Source: http://www.macon.com/2011/12/26/1839109/ga-towns-aims-to-fuel-trucks-with.html
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Monday, December 26, 2011
Neiman Marcus Christmas Book: Luxury Gifts for the Rich (Time.com)
For Christmas this year, I want a $75,000 life-size genie bottle. O.K., technically it's a yurt ? a round, tentlike structure invented centuries ago by nomads in Central Asia ? decorated with hand-embroidered tapestries, a crystal chandelier and all sorts of accessories specifically designed to look like the inside of Barbara Eden's genie bottle from I Dream of Jeannie. Barring that, I'd also accept a $395,000 limited-edition Ferrari or a $1 million set of choreographable "dancing" fountains installed on the grounds of my estate. (That reminds me: I need an estate.)
These gifts ? along with many more, including a custom-built library, a mahogany speedboat and a $45,000 Ping-Pong table ? are available to purchase from Neiman Marcus' 2011 Christmas book. The upscale Texas-based department store has been producing the catalog since 1926, but it didn't start selling ostentatious "fantasy gifts" until the 1950s, when then president Stanley Marcus offered a Steiff plush tiger decorated with jewels for $1 million. (Adjusted for inflation, that's about $8.4 million now.) These are the gifts that even the one-percenters pine for. (See "TIME's Luxury Gift Guide: A Lineup of Lavish Presents.")
I've always wondered if anyone actually buys these presents. If you're the sort of person with the means to buy a limited-edition Ferrari, are you really going to order it from a catalog? "Absolutely," says Ginger Reeder, Neiman Marcus' vice president of corporate communications and the brains behind the Christmas book. "We sell out of the cars every single year." According to Reeder, Neiman Marcus sells a few big-ticket fantasy gifts each holiday season, and not always to the type of person you might expect.
"One year we were offering a custom-made suit of armor," she says. "I had this idea that it would make a great gift for someone like Donald Trump ? I had this vision of his staff chipping in money and getting him his own suit of armor ? but actually, a couple bought it for their grown son, who traveled around the country to medieval fairs." Yes, that's right: somewhere out there, a young man is wearing a $20,000 suit of replica 15th century armor while he munches on a funnel cake.
Reeder is a wealth of interesting gift stories: she says a man once purchased a "Become a Rockette for a Day" package for his wife, who had always wanted to be a professional dancer. Another person once contacted Neiman Marcus and offered to let the company sell his collection of 18,400 records; he owned a 45-r.p.m. vinyl record of every single song that had been listed on the Billboard Hot 100 charts from 1955 to 1990. Even more surprising? For $275,000, someone actually bought it. "And of course there was the very first [matching] his-and-hers gift set we sold in 1960 ? a set of Beechcraft airplanes," Reeder says. "I didn't work here at the time, of course, but the way the story is told to employees, a gentleman called and wanted to know if we'd break the set." He said he didn't need both airplanes, just one, because " 'The little lady has a hankerin' for one of her own.' " Neiman Marcus agreed to it; the airplane went for $27,000 (the equivalent of $206,300 today). (See "TIME Gift Guides: Cheap Chic Presents That Come in Pretty Packages.")
What else has Neiman Marcus offered over the years? Let's take a look:
His-and-hers ancient Egyptian sarcophagi
Year: 1971
Original price: $16,000
Perfect for: A very elderly relative.
Fun fact: The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, Calif., purchased the sarcophagi. Unexpectedly, one of them contained a mummy.
A camel
Year: 1967
Original price: Unknown
Perfect for: An overzealous Aladdin fan, or someone organizing an upcoming Truth.com antismoking campaign
A bag of uncut diamonds
Year: 1972
Original price: $250,000
Perfect for: An evil villain, or someone who's into really expensive craft projects
An edible gingerbread playhouse
Year: 2010
Original price: $15,000
Perfect for: Your hungry niece.
Satellite television with 48 channels
Year: 1979
Original price: $36,500
Perfect for: No one anymore.
Cupcake car
Year: 2009
Original price: $25,000
Perfect for: Katy Perry's next music video.
Thoroughbred racing horse farm with 12-15 horses
Year: 2008
Price: $10 million
Perfect for: A very short man who owns lots of brightly colored silk outfits but has nowhere to wear them.
Fun fact: No one purchased this item, according to Reeder ? probably because it entails running a business and caring for animals. You know, actual work.
A zeppelin
Year: 2004
Original price: $10 million
Perfect for: Someone who already owns a blimp. (The two are different. Look it up.)
10,000 gallons of Aramis cologne
Year: 1969
Original price: $5 million
Perfect for: Your smelly grandfather.
A Cracker Jack box that contains a ruby, emerald or sapphire on an 18-karat gold ring as the "prize"
Year: 1998
Price: $950
Perfect for: Kate Hudson, assuming you are her fictional boyfriend in a romantic comedy and you must do something zany yet adorable to win her over.
London taxi designed by Burberry
Year: 2002
Original price: $58,900
Perfect for: Your favorite servant.
Fun fact: A Dallas woman purchased it, only to resell it on Craigslist in 2007.
Mr. Potato Head covered in Swarovski crystals
Year: 2004
Price: $8,000
Perfect for: I don't know who would want this. Maybe Bj?rk.
Naturally, not everyone can give or receive a Neiman Marcus fantasy gift. Even if we had endless amounts of money, the items are either one of a kind or limited editions; there simply aren't enough of them to go around. The department store often offers distillery and vineyard tours and says they, along with the cars, almost always sell out. And let's face it: sometimes nobody's willing to buy something that expensive. (If I traveled around to medieval fairs, I don't think my parents would even buy me an armor-themed sweatshirt.) "That's why we call them fantasy gifts," says Reeder. "They're attention getters. It's fun to imagine what they'd be like, but no one really expects to get one." Neiman Marcus definitely doesn't base its business model on the sale of a camel or an airplane. "No," Reeder says, "our real bread and butter is jewelry and cashmere." Wait, people actually get jewelry and cashmere for Christmas? I need to have a serious talk with Santa.
See "TIME's Gift Guides: A Dozen Do-Gooder Presents."
See photos of the holiday shopping season.
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Al Qaeda leaders leaving Pakistan, moving to Africa: Report
London:? The Al Qaeda leadership, which has been weakened in Pakistan following the killing of many of its senior members -- including Osama bin Laden -- in drone strikes, is now suspected to be shifting to north Africa, a media report said on Monday.
British officials believe that a "last push" in 2012 may destroy Al Qaeda's remaining senior leadership in Pakistan, The Guardian reported.
Many senior Al Qaeda members have been killed in air strikes by unmanned drones and "only a handful of the key players" remain alive, said an official.
Al Qaeda's top leader Osama bin Laden was gunned down in Pakistan's Abbottabad town May 2 by US commandos who launched a daring operation using stealth helicopters.
Sources said that at least two relatively senior Al Qaeda leaders have made their way to Libya, with others intercepted en route. This has caused fears that north Africa could become a new "theatre of jihad".
"A group of very experienced figures from north Africa left camps in Afghanistan's (northeastern) Kunar province where they have been based for several years and travelled back across the Middle East," a source said, adding: "Some got stopped but a few got through."
The media report said it was not clear whether the move from Afghanistan-Pakistan to north Africa was prompted by a desire for greater security that may be unlikely as coalition forces begin to withdraw from Afghanistan or part of a strategic attempt to exploit the aftermath of the Arab spring.
A smaller flow of volunteers reaching makeshift bases in Pakistan's tribal areas has complicated matters for Al Qaeda.
"I think they are really very much weakened," an official was quoted as saying.
"You can't say they don't pose a threat -- they do -- but it's a much lesser one," he said.
Intelligence sources told The Guardian they estimate that there are less than 100 "Al Qaeda or Al Qaeda-affiliated" militants in Afghanistan.
On the Haqqani network, an official said there was evidence it had been acting as intermediaries between the Pakistani secret services and militant groups.
"To move against the Haqqanis is a no-win option for the Pakistani military. If they suffer heavy casualties and fail to eliminate the group, they lose their authority and a key interlocutor. If they succeed, they lose a key asset," the official said.
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
ceejayoz: Samsung shits on Galaxy S owners - won't get ICS because their skin uses too many resources. http://t.co/gvBgBLrT
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Samsung shits on Galaxy S owners - won't get ICS because their skin uses too many resources. msnbc.msn.com/id/45779746/ns? 
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Japan en China willen vrije handel
Ook zouden er afspraken gemaakt kunnen worden over meer investeringen over en weer. Japans zou overwegen om Chinese staatsobligaties te kopen. De twee landen zijn belangrijke handelspartners van elkaar. De handel tussen de twee is vorig jaar met bijna 23 procent gegroeid.
Source: http://www.powned.tv/nieuws/buitenland/2011/12/japan_en_china_willen_vrije_ha.html
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feedreadnews: #fnserv50 German Court Unlikely to Award Apple Injunction ? ? Mac Rumors http://t.co/8tnPwQT8 #freedomnews
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?Twas The Night Before Christmas (Revisited)
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not an ultrabook was whirring, not a touchpad nor mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, With hopes they were stuffed with Thunderbolt MacBook Airs. The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of Galaxy Tabs danced in their heads. And ma in her ?kerchief, and I with my apps, Had just settled our texting thumbs for a long winter?s nap.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/fMbUqXLL8B8/
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Saturday, December 24, 2011
Jeremy Haynes, Lorenzo Cain teach lessons in baseball, giving
One of Jeremy Haynes' goals Wednesday was to squeeze in as much baseball and fun as possible during his annual Jerald Haynes Game For Gifts Camp.
That was easy to accomplish, especially with former Madison County High School teammate and Kansas City Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain helping provide instruction to the 24 campers (ages 7 to 13) who participated in the six-hour camp at Madison County's recreation fields.
Another important aspect of the camp also was accomplished ? more than $1,000 was raised to purchase toys for children in Tallahassee Memorial Hospital's Pediatric Unit who won't be home for Christmas on Sunday. Haynes and Cain will play Santa Claus and pass out the toys to the hospitalized children Christmas Eve.
"I don't even know how to put in words when you are passing out the toys and see the kids' smiles, it's such a great feeling," said Haynes, a pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization who was selected in the 2005 major-league draft out of Tallahassee Community College.
"We go room to room and it's so much fun to watch them open their gifts. I always wanted to do something to be able to help kids and give back."
Haynes, with help from Cain and Jonathan Jones, an athletic trainer at TCC, came up with the camp's unique concept three years ago.
Haynes doesn't charge campers a registration fee ? it's donation only. The community and local businesses such as Madison County Community Bank and Madison Sporting Goods also have rallied behind Haynes' camp.
TMH provides Haynes the names of children who won't be home for Christmas. Haynes and company then schedule a shopping spree at Wal-Mart followed by a gift-wrap session.
One change this year is Haynes has named the camp in honor of his father, Jeremy, who died in September following a heart attack.
"We had a great relationship; we were probably more like brothers and best friends," said Haynes, who has a career record of 18-18 with 334 strikeouts (387.2 innings) in six minor-league seasons. "I want to pass on what he taught me to our campers, that we respect each other and treat everyone the same."
Cain, who is expected to contend for the Royals' starting center-field job in spring training, embraces the opportunity to help his good friend. Other instructors who helped Wednesday included Madison County baseball coach Terry Barrs and Aucilla Christian baseball coach Drew Sherrod.
"It's always a good feeling to give back to the community where I grew up," said Cain, who still resides in Madison during the offseason. "It's a lot of fun working with the kids during the camp and help make a difference. It's also a great experience to pass out the toys at the hospital and see the children's faces light up. I really enjoy it, and it's something I look forward to."
Source: http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20111223/SPORTS/112230334/1002/RSS01
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Journal retracts paper on chronic fatigue syndrome
Reporting from Chicago?
A scientific paper embraced by many chronic fatigue syndrome patients as a ray of hope is being retracted by the journal that published it after a tumultuous year that included allegations of data manipulation and the arrest of the study's lead researcher on a felony charge of possessing stolen property.
In the paper, published in 2009 by the journal Science, researchers reported they had found evidence of a retrovirus called XMRV in the blood of patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome much more frequently than in the blood of healthy peers. The paper caused a stir and led other scientists to try to confirm the findings.
Patients rejoiced at the possibility of an explanation for their illness, which has long confounded researchers. Some patients even began taking antiretroviral drugs designed to treat a different retrovirus, HIV.
At the same time, the paper's lead researcher, Judy Mikovits, then employed at the Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease in Reno, began linking XMRV to other frustrating disorders, including autism and Gulf War syndrome, without publishing data to support her statements.
Soon, independent teams of scientists began reporting they could not find evidence of the retrovirus in the blood of chronic fatigue patients or anyone else. Researchers hypothesized that lab contamination could have caused the original findings. Mikovits denied it.
Then, several authors on the original paper reported their data were flawed, resulting in a partial retraction. Science's staff attempted to get the paper's authors ? including Mikovits ? to agree to a full retraction, but the group could not agree on the wording, Science executive editor Monica Bradford said in an interview.
In particular, Mikovits and others wanted to include a statement that they had confidence in their larger conclusions about the presence of the virus, Bradford said. But some of the authors were uncomfortable with that, as was Science, she said.
On Thursday, Science's editor in chief, Bruce Alberts, said the journal would take the unusual step of retracting the paper itself.
Alberts listed several reasons: the partial retraction of data earlier in the year, the failure of multiple labs to reliably find evidence of XMRV in chronic fatigue patients' blood, poor quality control in some of the experiments and the acknowledgment by the paper's authors that they had left out some important information.
"Science has lost confidence in the report and the validity of its conclusions," Alberts wrote. "We regret the time and resources that the scientific community has devoted to unsuccessful attempts to replicate these results."
In an interview, Alberts said the episode was an unfortunate waste of time and resources for scientists and for patients. "I think this whole thing has been a tragedy for science," he said. "It is very sad that the patients got tied up and confused by it."
Attempts to contact Mikovits were unsuccessful.
Annette Whittemore, president of the Whittemore Peterson Institute, said in a statement that the institute would carry on with research on the illness. "It is not the end of the story," she wrote. "Rather it is the beginning of our renewed efforts."
At the center of the controversy is Mikovits, the scientist hired to be director of research by the institute, which was founded by the parents of a woman with chronic fatigue syndrome.
After the Science paper was published, some patients showered adulation on Mikovits. They wrote to her, crowded her at conferences and set up a defense fund when she ran into legal trouble. One patient signed message board postings: "In Judy We Trust."
Mikovits was controversial. Shortly after the paper came out, she spoke at the Autism One conference in Chicago, joining a lineup of speakers that included disgraced autism researcher Andrew Wakefield, who had lost the right to practice medicine in Britain for professional misconduct. There she linked XMRV to autism, a baseless assertion that has since been picked up by some in the autism community.
Earlier this year, the Chicago Tribune reported that Science was investigating whether data in the original paper had been manipulated after an Oklahoma graduate student, Abbie Smith, pointed out that Mikovits had presented the same figure twice ? once in the Science paper and once at a conference ? but with different labeling.
Science's executive editor, Bradford, said Mikovits explained the problem as an "honest error."
In September, the Whittemore Peterson Institute fired Mikovits and later filed a civil lawsuit alleging that she possessed key lab notebooks and other property belonging to the institute. An employee filed affidavits alleging Mikovits had instructed him to take the notebooks from the institute and hand them over to her.
Just before Thanksgiving, Mikovits was arrested in California and spent five days in jail. An arrest warrant issued by University of Nevada at Reno police listed two felony charges: possession of stolen property and unlawful taking of computer data, equipment, supplies or other computer-related property.
A spokeswoman for the institute said that Mikovits returned some but not all of the lab notebooks and that when she returned one computer, its hard drive had been wiped clean. Another computer is in police custody, the spokeswoman said.
On Monday, a Nevada judge granted a default judgment in the civil lawsuit in favor of the institute, and ordered Mikovits to pay attorney's fees.
ttsouderos@tribune.com
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Friday, December 23, 2011
Transistor pioneer Norman Krim dies at 98
A man who helped make our world smaller died last week. As noted in the New York Times obituary linked below, Norman Krim didn't invent the transistor, but he was a driving force behind its use, having persuaded his employer, Raytheon, to manufacture them on a large scale. They were designed for use in hearings aids initially but, as IEEE Spectrum's Harry Goldstein explains, some later batches proved too "noisy" for that purpose and wound up in the hands of hobbyists instead, who used them in a variety of electronic projects. Krim was also intent on making things smaller even before the transistor, and led a team at Raytheon in the late 1930s that developed miniaturized vacuum tubes for use in battery-powered radios. Later in his career, he was also involved the early days of the Radio Shack chain, buying two stores in Boston then expanding to seven before selling the business to the Tandy Corporation. He was 98.Transistor pioneer Norman Krim dies at 98 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Grinchiest MMA Christmas wish list ever
This is the time of year we think about gifting and re-gifting for those closest to us. That includes our favorites characters in the world of mixed martial arts.
We choose to re-gift. Bleacher Report's Brian Hiergesell did a dynamite job of coming up with great gift ideas, but with an absolutely snarky tone.
Our favorites were:
12. Michael McDonald - A Time Machine
At this point in his career, Michael McDonald has enough talent and an awesome gift of raw power to win the UFC bantamweight title. The only problem?? He's 20 years old.Unbelievable, right?
McDonald is one of the only guys at 135 lbs. that can knock out his opponents at such a small weight.? If he had his chance at using a time machine, he'd be able to bypass the useless fights over the next year and wormhole his way to a title shot against Dominick Cruz.
11. Roy Nelson - A KFC Bucket
Roy Nelson probably eats so much food on Christmas Day, it's ridiculous.
I'm talking roast beef, steak, potatoes, yams, corn, the whole nine.? But can you blame him?
It clearly doesn't affect his Octagon skills.? Nelson would be just as good, and he is, if he weighed 180 lbs. compared to his usual 265. No matter what the critics say, the belly is here to stay.
5. Jon Jones - A Weakness
I don't think so.? A victory over Overeem would launch Lesnar back into title contention in the heavyweight division and dispel any concerns people have about his recovery from diverticulitis. I realize their fight comes on the eve of New Year's Eve, but how great would it be to see Lesnar step into the Octagon, land a couple of rights, and put Overeem to sleep?
I'm thinking somebody needs to get Jon Jones a weakness for Christmas.? The guy is too good.
3. Brock Lesnar - An Alistair Overeem nap
Is there a more perfect gift for Brock Lesnar this Christmas than an Alistair Overeem snooze?
Apparently Brian isn't a big fan of Overeem, but that's the joy of prepping for UFC 141. Lesnar is the most polarizing guy in the sport and there are plenty of Overeem critics. So pick your poison. It's a win-win for the fans and a helluva late Christmas gift from the UFC.
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Thursday, December 22, 2011
Kardashians Konsider Lawsuit to Kombat Kontemptible Sweatshop Klaims
Star Magazine has pulled off the impossible: coverage of the Kardashians than actually turns off this attention-crazed family.
The latest issue of the tabloid quotes Charles Kernaghan - the head of the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights - as saying the Kris Jenner-led clan employs youths in China to manufacture Kardashian merchandize in unsanitary warehouses.
An investigation has been launched into these "slave labor" like conditions - that reportedly include long work hours, meager wages and uncomfortable temperatures - but there's a problem:
Kernaghan says he was misquoted and tells TMZ there's no proof that the Kardashians are involved in any kind of sweatshop scandal. He's never even been to any of the factories in question.
In light of this admission, along with the magazine cover above, sources say the family is set to move forward with a libel lawsuit against Star. Lawyers believe the tabloid should have to pay for damage caused to the Kardashian brand's reputation and, trust us, we hate to agree with anything this family says or does.
But they may have a point here.
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Monday, December 19, 2011
Iran state TV airs "confession" of detained CIA spy (Reuters)
TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Iranian state television on Sunday aired what it described as the confession of an Iranian man detained for spying for the CIA.
State television broadcast a taped interview with Amir Mirza Hekmati, in which he said he had received training by the U.S. intelligence services. The channel said he had been sent to Iran to provide misinformation to Iranian intelligence.
Iran's Intelligence Ministry said Saturday it had captured a CIA spy of Iranian origin who had received training in the U.S. Army's intelligence units and spent time at U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.
State television showed Hekmati seated, wearing an open-necked shirt.
"They (U.S. agents) told me, 'If you are successful at this mission we can train you further, we can give you other missions ... This mission requires that you travel to Iran,'" he said, appearing calm.
In a video with a voice-over in the channel's main news bulletin, pictures of Hekmati were shown in what seemed to be U.S. military bases.
"I was in a spying center in Bagram (a major U.S. base in Afghanistan) ... I went to Dubai and then ... I flew to Tehran," Hekmati said, without mentioning the date.
"They told me, 'You will become a source of military and intelligence information for the Iranians for three weeks and we will give you money for this and then you will return.'"
Iran's state television has in the past broadcast confessions from those accused of threatening state security.
In May, Tehran announced the arrest of a network of 30 CIA-backed spies involved in sabotage and espionage.
Tuesday 15 people were indicted for spying for Washington and Israel. Under Iran's Islamic law, espionage can be punishable by death.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Peter Graff)
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Legal dispute between Megaupload and Universal Music Group ...
As previously reported, Megaupload uploaded a promo video on YouTube a week ago featuring a raft of high profile artists and was quickly removed after Universal Music Group (UMG) complained. After Megaupload sued UMG on Monday in return and asked the court to bar UMG from blocking the distribution or display of the video, the clip was back online. Its reappearance results from UMG's failing to assert valid ownership rights. In a somewhat interesting turn, the company now states that never claimed copyright ownership, despite using YouTube's automated tools for copyright owners to request takedowns. However, UMG says that it does have other rights which imply that the company is authorized to request the video removal because of a certain written agreement with YouTub. Details on what the agreement covers and why it applies have not been revealed. UMG's lawyers turned in a filing on Friday night urging the court to reject Megaupload's request for a temporary restraining order and submitted a copy of a letter UMG attorney Kelly Klaus sent to YouTube on Wednesday that refers to a specific agreement.
"What actually transpired was UMG's use of YouTube's Content Management System, which UMG is contractually authorized to use pursuant to its written agreement with YouTube. That is a matter of contract between two private companies--UMG and YouTube--not a notice sent pursuant to the DMCA.
Your letter could be read to suggest that UMG's rights to use the YouTube 'Content Management System' with respect to certain user-posted videos are limited to instances in which UMG asserts a claim that a user-posted video contains material that infringes a UMG copyright," Klaus wrote. "As you know, UMG's rights in this regard are not limited to copyright infringement, as set forth more completely in the March 31, 2009 Video License Agreement for UGC Video Service Providers, including without limitation Paragraphs 1(b) and 1(g) thereof."
A YouTube representative declined to comment on the matter beyond providing following statement:
"Our partners do not have the right to take down videos from YouTube unless they own the rights to them or they are live performances controlled through exclusive agreements with their artists, which is why we reinstated it."
Thus, it is likely that the mystery agreement covers artists under contract with UMG who have a live performance that appears in a video on YouTube. Regardless, YouTube apparently doesn't think UMG's takedown request was valid. Obviously, Megaupload attorney Ira Rothken has a certain opinion on UMG's latest move:
"UMG is now claiming that it has a private, automated censorship right--supported by a secret process that can take down any YouTube video with immunity from the DMCA--and there is nothing that this Court could do about it. UMG's actions and their continuing harm implicate important speech suppression issues, warranting immediate and narrow discovery to test the integrity of UMG's argument, and the extent of its continued interference with the full and fair display of the video, in preparation for the preliminary injunction hearing."
Share your thougts on this delicate matter below.
Source: CNET
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Smoking Linked to Skin Cancer in Women (HealthDay)
THURSDAY, Dec. 15 (HealthDay News) -- If you're a woman who smokes and you are looking for another reason to quit, consider this: A new study has found a link between tobacco use and skin cancer.
The study found that women who had squamous cell skin cancer were more likely to have smoked than those who were free from the disease. And those who smoked at least 20 years were twice as likely to develop squamous cell skin cancer, a less aggressive form of skin cancer than melanoma.
Men who smoked had a modest risk for the two types of non-melanoma skin cancer -- basal cell and squamous cell cancer -- but the results weren't statistically significant, the study authors noted.
"We don't know why," said study lead author Dana Rollison, referring to the difference between women's and men's risk. Both men and women get a lot of exposure to the sun, the main risk factor for skin cancer, she noted.
But lung cancer research may offer a clue, said Rollison, an associate member in the Moffitt Cancer Center department of cancer epidemiology, in Tampa, Fla. Hormonal differences affecting the metabolization of nicotine and the body's ability to repair damage to lung DNA caused by smoking have been noted before, suggesting that the female hormone estrogen may play a role, she said.
The study, published online in the journal Cancer Causes Control, was done at the Moffitt Cancer Center and the University of South Florida, also in Tampa.
For the study, 383 patients with skin cancer were compared to 315 people without the disease. The participants were asked how much they smoked, when they picked up the habit and the total number of years they'd smoked. A total of 355 men and 343 women were included in the study. All were white, the group most at risk for skin cancer. Risks for both types of non-melanoma skin cancer were analyzed separately, compensating for the presence of other risk factors.
The researchers found that the more people smoked, the more likely they were to have skin cancer, Rollison said. Men who had basal cell skin cancer were significantly more likely to have smoked for at least 20 years than men with no cancer, the study authors noted.
While the study found an association between smoking and skin cancer risk, it did not prove a cause and effect.
Despite the elevated smoking-related risk among women, men overall are more likely to get skin cancer, Rollison noted. She said that "it is possible men's skin is more sensitive to sun exposure than women's."
But another skin cancer expert suggested that men may be less inclined to use sunscreen or other protection when outdoors.
"Although it could just be a genetic difference (between men and women), men tend to have more unprotected sun exposure in their lives," said Dr. Jeffrey Dover, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University Medical School.
Dover said the study findings weren't surprising because "we know cigarette smoke contains carcinogens" and smokers are "blowing the smoke and ash around their faces all day."
The study is important, he added, because "although we have done well, we can do even better" at eliminating smoking as a cause of disease. "This adds more fuel to the idea that smoking has no place in our society."
Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, where about 2 million cases are treated annually, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Squamous cell cancer occurs in the epidermis, the top layer of skin, and can spread to other organs. Basal cell skin cancer occurs in the dermis, the skin layer beneath the epidermis. While it does not spread to other organs, it is far more common than squamous cell cancer, according to the government agency.
More information
To learn more about skin cancer, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
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Saturday, December 17, 2011
PFT: Giants' Boley accused of child abuse
Getty ImagesWe handle the big injury stories Friday in the rumor mill.
The rest goes right here, in America?s most enticing weekly segment about the injury report.
1. Here are the players were updated during the day on the rumor mill: Kevin Smith, Andre Johnson, Colt McCoy, Justin Tuck, and?Kyle Orton.
2. The Eagles are ready to go, except for defensive end Darryl Tapp who is doubtful with a broken rib.
3. The Jets get running back Joe McKnight and defensive lineman Mike Devito back in the lineup for their game against Philly.
4. The Packers are short a number of key players once again: Linebacker Desmond?Bishop (calf), Chad Clifton (hamstring), wideout Greg Jennings (knee), and defensive tackle Ryan Pickett (concussion) are all out. Running back Brandon Saine (concussion), James Starks (ankle), and guard Josh Sitton (knee) are questionable. Starks says he?ll play.
5. The Dolphins list quarterback?Matt Moore (head/neck), tackle Jake Long (back), and tight end Anthony Fasano (ribs) as questionable. They all practiced on a limited basis and look likely to face the Bills. ?Linebacker Koa Misi (shoulder) is out.
6. Mark Ingram is out again for the Saints because of his toe injury.
7. The Bills will be without Peter King?s favorite tight end Scott Chandler, who is out with an ankle injury.
8. The Bucs will be without receiver?Arrelious Benn on Saturday night against the Cowboys.?Defensive end Michael Bennett (toe), defensive tackle Brian Price (ankle) and wideout Sammie Stroughter (knee) are all questionable. Bennett is the longest shot of the questionables.
9. Dallas has a number of questionable starters: cornerback?Michael Jenkins (shoulder), center Phil Costa (concussion), and linebacker DeMarcus Ware (neck). Costa has been cleared, but still may sit.?Ware is a safe bet to play.
10. Three Broncos secondary members are questionable: David Bruton (achilles), Brian Dawkins (neck), and cornerback Andre? Goodman (concussion). Only Bruton missed practice all week.
11. ?The Patriots listed safety Patrick Chung and tackle Sebastian Vollmer as doubtful. That way they can downgrade them to out on Saturday and then I can get a cheap post out of it while trying to cram my ?family time? in for the week.
12. Devin Hester (ankle) is questionable for the Bears. Jay Cutler (thumb), Matt Forte (knee), and Sam Hurd (5-10 kilos) are all out.
13. The Panthers list tackle Jordan Gross (ankle) as questionable for Sunday?s game. They really missed him last week, but he returned for a limited practice Friday.
14. Kyle Orton is officially probable (thumb) for the Chiefs. He?ll start on Sunday against the Packers.
15. The Bengals will likely be without running back Brian Leonard, who is doubtful with a knee injury. The Bengals get Carlos Dunlap back. Tackle Andre Smith (ankle) is questionable after not practicing Friday.
16. The Raiders will be without wideout?Jacoby Ford (foot) and running back Darren McFadden (foot) yet again. Cornerback Chris Johnson is away from the team following the death of his sister. He?s out.
The team could get Denarius Moore (foot) back. He?s questionable. Also questionable:?safety Michael Huff (hamstring) and running back Taiwan Jones (hamstring). They didn?t practice all week. Oakland is very banged up.
17. Half of the Ravens team is questionable: Linebacker Ray?Lewis (toe), cornerback Lardarius Webb (toe), kicker Billy Cundiff (calf), ?guard Ben Grubbs (toe), defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (back), defensive tackle Cory Redding (ankle) and cornerback Chris Carr (back). Lewis is expected to return to the lineup Sunday night.
18. Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb (head) is officially questionable. He was limited in practice during the week, but the Cardinals? beat writers think John Skelton will get the start.
19. The Titans list quarterback?Matt Hasselbeck (calf) as questionable. He?s expected to start. Look for wideout Nate Washington (ankle) to play despite being questionable. He?s been playing in pain for weeks.
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Christopher Hitchens was militant pundit and humanist
He was a most engaged, prolific and public intellectual who wrote numerous books, was a frequent television commentator and a contributor to Vanity Fair, Slate and other publications. He became a popular author in 2007 thanks to 'God is Not Great,' a manifesto for atheists.
Christopher Hitchens, a Washington, D.C.-based author, essayist and polemicist who waged verbal and occasional physical battle on behalf of causes left and right, died Thursday night at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston of complications from a long illness, according to a statement from Vanity Fair magazine.
Skip to next paragraph"There will never be another like Christopher. A man of ferocious intellect, who was as vibrant on the page as he was at the bar," said Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. "Those who read him felt they knew him, and those who knew him were profoundly fortunate souls."
He had enjoyed his drink (enough to "to kill or stun the average mule") and cigarettes, until he announced in June 2010 that he was being treated for cancer.
"I love the imagery of struggle," he wrote about his illness in an August 2010 essay in Vanity Fair. "I sometimes wish I were suffering in a good cause, or risking my life for the good of others, instead of just being a gravely endangered patient."
He was a most engaged, prolific and public intellectual who wrote numerous books, was a frequent television commentator and a contributor to Vanity Fair, Slate and other publications. He became a popular author in 2007 thanks to "God is Not Great," a manifesto for atheists.
"Christopher?Hitchens?was everything a great essayist should be: infuriating, brilliant, highly provocative and yet intensely serious," said Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. "I worked as an intern for him years ago. My job was to fact check his articles. Since he had a photographic memory and an encyclopedic mind it was the easiest job I've ever done."
Long after his diagnosis, his columns and essays appeared regularly, savaging the royal family, reveling in the death of Osama bin Laden, or pondering the letters of poet Philip Larkin. He was intolerant of nonsense, including about his own health. In a piece which appeared in the January 2012 issue of Vanity Fair, he dismissed the old saying that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
"So far, I have decided to take whatever my disease can throw at me, and to stay combative even while taking the measure of my inevitable decline. I repeat, this is no more than what a healthy person has to do in slower motion," he wrote. "It is our common fate. In either case, though, one can dispense with facile maxims that don't live up to their apparent billing."
Eloquent and intemperate, bawdy and urbane,?Hitchens?was an acknowledged contrarian and contradiction ? half-Christian, half-Jewish and fully non-believing; a native of England who settled in America; a former Trotskyite who backed the Iraq war and supported George W. Bush. But his passions remained constant and targets of his youth, from Henry Kissinger to Mother Teresa, remained hated.
He was a militant humanist who believed in pluralism and racial justice and freedom of speech, big cities and fine art and the willingness to stand the consequences. He was smacked in the rear by then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and beaten up in Beirut. He once submitted to waterboarding to prove that it was indeed torture.
Hitchens?was a committed sensualist who abstained from clean living as if it were just another kind of church. In 2005, he would recall a trip to Aspen, Colo., and a brief encounter after stepping off a ski lift.
"I was met by immaculate specimens of young American womanhood, holding silver trays and flashing perfect dentition," he wrote. "What would I like? I thought a gin and tonic would meet the case. 'Sir, that would be inappropriate.' In what respect? 'At this altitude gin would be very much more toxic than at ground level.' In that case, I said, make it a double."
An emphatic ally and inspired foe, he stood by friends in trouble ("Satanic Verses" novelist Salman Rushdie) and against enemies in power (Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini). His heroes included George Orwell, Thomas Paine and Gore Vidal (pre-Sept. 11). Among those on the?Hitchens?list of shame: Michael Moore, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Il, Sarah Palin, Gore Vidal (post Sept. 11) and Prince Charles.
"We have known for a long time that Prince Charles' empty sails are so rigged as to be swelled by any passing waft or breeze of crankiness and cant,"?Hitchens?wrote in Slate in 2010 after the heir to the British throne gave a speech criticizing Galileo for the scientist's focus on "the material aspect of reality."
"He fell for the fake anthropologist Laurens van der Post. He was bowled over by the charms of homeopathic medicine. He has been believably reported as saying that plants do better if you talk to them in a soothing and encouraging way. But this latest departure promotes him from an advocate of harmless nonsense to positively sinister nonsense."
Hitchens?was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1949. His father, Eric, was a "purse-lipped" Navy veteran known as "The Commander"; his mother, Yvonne, a romantic who later killed herself during an extra-marital rendezvous in Greece. Young Christopher would have rather read a book. He was "a mere weed and weakling and kick-bag" who discovered that "words could function as weapons" and so stockpiled them.
In college, Oxford, he made such longtime friends as authors Martin Amis and Ian McEwan and claimed to be nearby when visiting Rhodes scholar Bill Clinton did or did not inhale marijuana. Radicalized by the 1960s,Hitchens?was often arrested at political rallies, was kicked out of Britain's Labour Party over his opposition to the Vietnam War and became a correspondent for the radical magazine International Socialiam. His reputation broadened in the 1970s through his writings for the New Statesman.
Wavy-haired and brooding and aflame with wit and righteous anger, he was a star of the left on paper and on camera, a popular television guest and a columnist for one of the world's oldest liberal publications, The Nation. In friendlier times, Vidal was quoted as citing?Hitchens?as a worthy heir to his satirical throne.
But?Hitchens?never could simply nod his head. He feuded with fellow Nation columnist Alexander Cockburn, broke with Vidal and angered freedom of choice supporters by stating that the child's life begins at conception. An essay for Vanity Fair was titled "Why Women Aren't Funny," and?Hitchens?wasn't kidding.
He had long been unhappy with the left's reluctance to confront enemies or friends. He would note his strong disappointment that Arthur Miller and other leading liberals shied from making public appearances on behalf of Rushdie after the Ayatollah Khomeini called for his death. He advocated intervention in Bosnia and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
Rushdie posted on his Twitter page early Friday: "Goodbye, my beloved friend. A great voice falls silent. A great heart stops."
No Democrat angered him more than Clinton, whose presidency led to the bitter end of?Hitchens' friendship with White House aide Sidney Blumenthal and other Clinton backers. As?Hitchens?wrote in his memoir, he found Clinton "hateful in his behavior to women, pathological as a liar, and deeply suspect when it came to money in politics."
He wrote the anti-Clinton book, "No One Left to Lie To," at a time when most liberals were supporting the president as he faced impeachment over his affair with Monica Lewinsky.?Hitchens?also loathed Hillary Rodham Clinton and switched his affiliation from independent to Democrat in 2008 just so he could vote against her in the presidential primary.
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, completed his exit. He fought with Vidal, Noam Chomsky and others who either suggested that U.S. foreign policy had helped cause the tragedy or that the Bush administration had advanced knowledge. He supported the Iraq war, quit The Nation, backed Bush for re-election in 2004 and repeatedly chastised those whom he believed worried unduly about the feelings of Muslims.
"It's not enough that faith claims to be the solution to all problems," he wrote in Slate in 2009 after a Danish newspaper apologized for publishing cartoons of the prophet Muhammad that led Muslim organizations to threaten legal action. "It is now demanded that such a preposterous claim be made immune from any inquiry, any critique, and any ridicule."
His essays were compiled in such books as "For the Sake of Argument" and "Prepared for the Worst." He also wrote short biographies/appreciations of Paine and Thomas Jefferson, a tribute to Orwell and "Letters to a Young Contrarian (Art of Mentoring)," in which he advised that "Only an open conflict of ideas and principles can produce any clarity." A collection of essays, "Arguably," came out in September 2011 and he was planning a "book-length meditation on malady and mortality." He appeared in a 2010 documentary about the topical singer Phil Ochs.
Survived by his second wife, author Carol Blue, and by his three children (Alexander, Sophia and Antonia),Hitchens?had quotable ideas about posterity, clarified years ago when he saw himself referred to as "the late" Christopher?Hitchens?in print. For the May 2010 issue of Vanity Fair, before his illness,?Hitchens?submitted answers for the Proust Questionnaire, a probing and personal survey for which the famous have revealed everything from their favorite color to their greatest fear.
His vision of earthly bliss: "To be vindicated in my own lifetime."
His ideal way to die: "Fully conscious, and either fighting or reciting (or fooling around)."
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Anonymous donors pay strangers' layaway accounts (AP)
OMAHA, Neb. ? After a Good Samaritan helped her pay off the layaway bill she'd accumulated to buy Christmas gifts for her grandchildren, Lori Stearnes planned to collect her paycheck Friday and head to Kmart anyway.
Her new plan: Pay the stranger's kindness forward by using the money she'd budgeted to instead support somebody else.
"It just gives you a warm feeling," said Stearnes, 53, of Omaha. "... With all the things going on the world, just to have someone do that is so, I don't know, it's hard to put into words."
At Kmart stores across the country, Santa seems to be getting some help: Anonymous donors are paying off strangers' layaway accounts, buying the Christmas gifts other families couldn't afford, especially toys and children's clothes set aside by impoverished parents.
Stearnes said at first she thought it was a joke when someone from the Omaha store called to say someone had paid off most of her layaway bill for toys and outfits she bought for the youngest four of her seven grandchildren.
The total bill was about $250, but after the stranger helped, she only had a $58 balance, she said. Stearns, who cleans medical instruments at a hospital, said she and her husband, Lloyd, live paycheck to paycheck and that layaway often helps spread out the costs of Christmas.
A similar random act of kindness happened at a Kmart in Indianapolis, where a young father wearing dirty clothes and worn-out boots, stood in line at a layaway counter alongside three small children.
He asked to pay something on his bill because he knew he wouldn't be able to afford it all before Christmas. Then a mysterious woman stepped up to the counter.
"She told him, `No, I'm paying for it,'" recalled Edna Deppe, assistant manager at the store in Indianapolis. "He just stood there and looked at her and then looked at me and asked if it was a joke. I told him it wasn't, and that she was going to pay for him. And he just busted out in tears."
Before she left the store Tuesday evening, the Indianapolis woman in her mid-40s had paid the layaway orders for as many as 50 people. On the way out, she handed out $50 bills and paid for two carts of toys for a woman in line at the cash register.
"She was doing it in the memory of her husband who had just died, and she said she wasn't going to be able to spend it and wanted to make people happy with it," Deppe said. The woman did not identify herself and only asked people to "remember Ben," an apparent reference to her husband.
Deppe, who said she has worked in retail for 40 years, had never seen anything like it.
"It was like an angel fell out of the sky and appeared in our store," she said.
Most of the donors have done their giving secretly.
Dona Bremser, an Omaha nurse, was at work when a Kmart employee called to tell her that someone had paid off the $70 balance of her layaway account, which held nearly $200 in toys for her 4-year-old son.
"I was speechless," Bremser said. "It made me believe in Christmas again."
Dozens of other customers have received similar calls in Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana and Montana.
The benefactors generally ask to help families who are squirreling away items for young children. They often pay a portion of the balance, usually all but a few dollars or cents so the layaway order stays in the store's system.
The phenomenon seems to have begun in Michigan before spreading, Kmart executives said.
"It is honestly being driven by people wanting to do a good deed at this time of the year," said Salima Yala, Kmart's division vice president for layaway.
The good Samaritans seem to be visiting mainly Kmart stores, though a Wal-Mart spokesman said a few of his stores in Joplin, Mo., and Chicago have also seen some layaway accounts paid off.
Kmart representatives say they did nothing to instigate the secret Santas or spread word of the generosity. But it's happening as the company struggles to compete with chains such as Wal-Mart and Target.
Kmart may be the focus of layaway generosity, Yala said, because it is one of the few large discount stores that has offered layaway year-round for about four decades. Under the program, customers can make purchases but let the store hold onto their merchandise as they pay it off slowly over several weeks.
Karl Graff, assistant manager of the Omaha store, said at least one good Samaritan paid off the accounts of five people. One woman broke into tears when he called to tell her about the help.
"She wasn't sure she was going to be able to pay off their layaway and was afraid their kids weren't going to have anything for Christmas," Graff said. "You know, 50 bucks may not sound like a lot, but I tell you what, at the right time, it may as well be a million dollars for some people."
In Missoula, Mont., a man spent more than $1,200 to pay down the balances of six customers whose layaway orders were about to be returned to a Kmart store's inventory because of late payments.
Store employees reached one beneficiary on her cellphone at Seattle Children's Hospital, where her son was being treated for an undisclosed illness.
"She was yelling at the nurses, `We're going to have Christmas after all!'" store manager Josine Murrin said.
A Kmart in Plainfield Township, Mich., called Roberta Carter last week to let her know a man had paid all but 40 cents of her $60 layaway.
Carter, a mother of eight from Grand Rapids, Mich., said she cried upon hearing the news. She and her family have been struggling as she seeks a full-time job.
"My kids will have clothes for Christmas," she said.
Angie Torres, a stay-at-home mother of four children under the age of 8, was in the Indianapolis Kmart on Tuesday to make a payment on her layaway bill when she learned the woman next to her was paying off her account.
"I started to cry. I couldn't believe it," said Torres, who doubted she would have been able to pay off the balance. "I was in disbelief. I hugged her and gave her a kiss."
___
Associated Press writers Michael J. Crumb in Des Moines, Iowa; Matt Volz, in Helena, Mont.; and Jeff Karoub in Detroit contributed to this report.
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