Brazil's ex-president Lula has throat cancer (Reuters)

SAO PAULO (Reuters) ? Brazil's popular former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was diagnosed with throat cancer on Saturday, casting doubt on his political future in Latin America's largest economy.

Lula, as he is universally known, is a former metalworker and union leader who rose from poverty to become Brazil's first working-class president. He led the country between 2003 and 2010, a period of robust economic growth in which more than 20 million Brazilians were lifted out of poverty and joined the middle class.

Speculation has swirled that Lula -- who remains immensely popular in Brazil -- could run for the presidency again in 2014 if President Dilma Rousseff, his political protegee, were to decide not to seek re-election.

Lula, who turned 66 this week, was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in the larynx and will start chemotherapy in the coming days, according to Sao Paulo's Sirio Libanes Hospital. Rousseff herself was treated for cancer at the same medical center before taking office in January.

Dr. Artur Katz, an oncologist on Lula's medical team, told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo that the tumor was "not very big" and that "the odds of a cure are excellent."

Chemotherapy was chosen over surgery to preserve the functions of Lula's larynx, or voice box, he said.

Dr. Paulo Hoff, another oncologist on the team treating Lula, told local news Web site ig.com.br that the tumor was localized and had not spread through the neck or to his lymph nodes. He said Lula would also undergo radiation therapy.

"He's a fighter," Finance Minister Guido Mantega said after visiting Lula in hospital. "There's no metastasis. Nothing has spread to other organs and everything was detected.

Lula left the hospital in the early evening and is expected to return for outpatient treatment starting on Monday.

POLITICAL ROLE

Lula, who left office with a sky-high approval rating of 87 percent, could play a vital role in next year's municipal elections, helping stump for candidates from his left-leaning Workers' Party, known as the PT.

But it is in the next presidential election in 2014 that Lula's role could be key -- whatever that role ultimately is.

"The presence of Lula is an extremely important ace in the hole for the Workers' Party," said Latin America analyst Christopher Garman of the Eurasia consultancy in Washington.

Whether Lula campaigns for Rousseff or, should she falter, runs himself, Garman said, his participation "guarantees the opposition have a hard time reaching office in 2014."

More recently, Lula's presence has been a boost for Rousseff because it "means that allies were never going to abandon ship," Garman said. "He's an extremely important political hedge for this administration."

Since leaving office Lula has done little to lower his profile, founding a public policy institute and traveling the world speaking on democracy.

He's also kept a hand in domestic politics, privately advising Rousseff on a series of corruption scandals that have rocked her government. Six ministers have so far left her administration this year, five of them over ethics breaches.

Brazilians flooded the social media site Twitter with well-wishes, prayers and more. "We'll keep an eye out for you in 2018," one tweeter said.

CIGAR SMOKER

A folksy leader who has suffered occasional health problems over the years, Lula is a smoker with a weakness for cigarillos, or baby cigars. He was also known as a drinker, which contributed to his image as a man of the people.

Both drinking and smoking boost the chances of throat cancer, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

Dozens of reporters and TV crews gathered outside the hospital to try to get a glimpse of Lula. The news dominated Brazil's television and radio programs, with one commentator calling the diagnosis a "bombshell."

Rousseff issued a statement wishing her predecessor a speedy recovery, calling him a "symbol and an example" for all Brazilians. An aide said Rousseff, who was plucked from relative obscurity by Lula and groomed to succeed him, planned to visit the former president on Monday.

Lula is particularly known for his trademark beard and gruff voice, whose roughness seemed to mirror his own unpolished edges. But he recently had noticed more gruffness in his voice as well as some discomfort, according to local radio and television reports.

A politician with a Midas touch among voters -- particularly among the lower-income classes that make up the PT's base -- Lula helped bolster Brazil's influence on the world stage during his eight years in office.

(Additional reporting by Juliana Schincariol in Rio de Janeiro, Roberto Samora in Sao Paulo and Jefferson Ribeiro in Brasilia; Editing by Todd Benson and Anthony Boadle)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111029/hl_nm/us_brazil_lula

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PFT: Benson's one-game suspension upheld

AP

Last week, rookie DeMarco Murray had the best single day for any Cowboys running back in franchise history.? But with Tashard Choice suddenly gone and Felix Jones out with an ankle injury, the Cowboys are taking a significant risk by making Murray the lead dog.

Murray had more than his share of injuries during four years at Oklahoma, and the inability of a tailback to show durability at the college level usually translates to an inability to stay healthy at the NFL level, given that he?s being hit by much bigger and stronger and faster grown men in the pro game.

In his redshirt freshman year of 2007, Murray suffered a dislocated kneecap late in the season, missed the rest of the campaign, and also was unavailable for spring practice.? In 2008, he suffered a hamstring injury during the opening kickoff of the Big 12 championship and missed the BCS title game a month later.? Even last year, when he started 14 games, there were questions about his availability for the Big 12 championship game due to a knee injury.? That could be one of the reasons why Murray, who rushed for 1,214 yards last season, was on the board in round three of the April draft.

?People always want to mention the injuries, but I missed four games in four years and that was in the beginning of my career, and I had no [serious] problems after that,? Murray said in April, via Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News.

Still, when Murray showed up for work after the lockout, he started his career on the non-football injury list with a hamstring problem.

Though it doesn?t mean Murray will shatter or otherwise break tonight against the Eagles, it means that he?s likely not destined to become the next Emmitt Smith, whose best attribute wasn?t blazing speed or uncanny elusiveness but an ability to suit up and play ? and play hard ? every Sunday for years and years.

And if Murray goes down tonight against the Eagles, the only other option will be undrafted Phillip Tanner, who as Peter King pointed out during Saturday?s Notre Dame halftime update never rushed for more than 1,000 yards in four seasons at Middle Tennessee State.

King also pointed out that the decision to dump Choice was fueled by the fact that he doesn?t play special teams ? and by a perception that he was moping this week after Murray?s 253-yard breakout performance against the Rams.

Cowboys fans will be moping if/when Murray?s breakout is followed by a breakdown of his body.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/29/cedric-benson-non-injury-grievance-rejected-suspension-stands/related/

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LA Galaxy to play game in Philippines

Rams pull off stunning first win, stop Saints

Steven Jackson scored two touchdowns and had his first 100-yard rushing game in three seasons as the St. Louis Rams upset the New Orleans Saints 31-21 for their first win on Sunday.

Eli rallies Giants past winless Dolphins

Eli Manning threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz with 5:58 to play and the New York Giants barely avoided a post-bye letdown, keeping Miami winless with a 20-17 victory that might put more pressure on embattled Dolphins coach Tony Sparano.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45084042/ns/sports-soccer/

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Repurpose Plastic Zipper Storage Bags into Packing Material [Repurposing]

If you're moving or just need to ship your latest eBay item you'll quickly find yourself in need of bubble wrap, foam peanuts, or other packing material. To safely pack items on the cheap Real Simple magazine suggests that you may want to consider inflating plastic zipper storage bags (Ziplocks) with a straw as a packing bubble.

I've used this tip in the past to send eBay items and can vouch for how well it works. You'll definitely want to use the straw, though, as otherwise you'll only be able to get it half full of air.

Zippered Plastic Bag as Packing Material | Real Simple

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/mpqHRlNYf6E/repurpose-plastic-zipper-storage-bags-into-packing-material

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Bachmann Cuts Brakeline on the Crazy Train -- Hezbollah Missiles in Cuba (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | There is good reason to believe the reason campaign manager Ed Rollins stepped aside to a distant supervisory position and his assistant David Polyansky stepped away altogether from the Michele Bachmann presidential campaign was that the grade-A steel brakes they were attempting to apply to Bachmann's jawbones were nowhere near strong enough to slow, never mind stop, the Minnesota congresswoman from making crazy comments and ill-advised assertions.

There is little doubt Rollins and Polyansky advised her to dial back on her domestic energy rhetoric after she alienated voters in Florida by stating she would consider "responsible" drilling for oil and natural gas in the Florida Everglades. She didn't. Rollins then said her vaccine remarks were a "mistake."

But now that the two advisers have distanced themselves, Bachmann has reverted to type, making outlandish statements without substantiation. Case in point: She is now saying America should be wary of Hezbollah, the Middle Eastern pro-Iranian terrorist organization, placing missiles in Cuba.

Esquire has reported Bachmann, while on the campaign trail, took exception to normalizing relations with Cuba. She told an audience, "Why would you normalize trading with a country that sponsors terror? There's reports that have come out that Cuba has been working with another terrorist organization called Hezbollah. And Hezbollah is potentially looking at wanting to be part of missile sites in Iran and, of course, when you're 90 miles offshore from Florida, you don't want to entertain the prospect of hosting bases or sites where Hezbollah could have training camps or perhaps have missile sites or weapons sites in Cuba. This would be foolish."

Has Rep. Bachmann started watching Glenn Beck's again, perhaps going online and subscribing to his new two-hour Internet show? Where in the world would she get such an idea that Hezbollah might be operating camps and/or missile sites in Cuba?

As a matter of fact, she most likely got her information from the website, The Blaze , which reported earlier in the month, citing Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera, that Hezbollah members had made their way to Cuba to set up operations. The Blaze also noted reports that a House of Representatives committee mentioned Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had had several meetings and that Hezbollah was known to be operating in Latin America.

Still, missiles were not mentioned in the Italian newspaper account.

The Blaze, incidentally, is owned by Glenn Beck.

Does this mean the U.S. and other nations should ignore the reports of the Hezbollah presence? Hardly. But it also does not mean a Minnesota congresswoman should be extrapolating the Second Cuban Missile Crisis (just 11 more months until the 50th anniversary of the first one) from the alleged presence of a group of terrorists on the island.

And it would appear intelligence organizations are tracking the group's movements rather well if a House committee has discussed their presence in Latin America. If not, perhaps reading an Italian newspaper would get them caught up on Hezbollah's daily movements.

But weren't Italian reporters those that broke the story of an informant named "Curveball?" Wasn't he the guy that freely divulged information about there being Weapons of Massive Destruction in Iraq?

Perhaps that is a false correlation, considering that Bachmann simply derived her missiles (read: WMDs) from nothing.

But, then, so did "Curveball." All he needed was an audience.

One day Rollins and Polyansky will admit the actual reasons they stepped away from the Bachmann presidential campaign, and it is likely because they couldn't attach brakes to an unstoppable off-the-rails locomotive.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111027/pl_ac/9455079_bachmann_cuts_brakeline_on_the_crazy_train__hezbollah_missiles_in_cuba

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Poorer countries, those spending less on health care have more strokes, deaths

ScienceDaily (Oct. 27, 2011) ? Poorer countries and those that spend proportionately less money on health care have more stroke and stroke deaths than wealthier nations and those that allocate more to health care, according to new research in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Poorer countries also had a greater incidence of hemorrhagic stroke -- caused by a burst blood vessel bleeding in or near the brain -- and had more frequent onset at younger ages.

Regardless of overall wealth, countries that spend less money proportionately on health care also had higher incidences of all four outcomes.

"Not only is the economic wellness of a country important, but also significant is what proportion of their gross domestic product is expended on health," said Luciano A. Sposato, M.D., M.B.A., study lead author and director of the neurology department at the Vascular Research Institute at INECO Foundation in Buenos Aires, Argentina. "This is very important for developing healthcare strategies to prevent stroke and other cardiovascular diseases."

In the large-scale literature review, researchers took a unique approach to identify stroke risk by correlating it to nationwide socioeconomic status.

Previous research tended to focus on the link between stroke and individual or family financial standing, said Sposato, also director of the Stroke Center at the Institute of Neurosciences, University Hospital Favaloro Foundation.

The study linked lower gross domestic product to:

• 32 percent higher risk of strokes;
• 43 percent increase of post-stroke deaths at 30 days;
• 43 percent increase in hemorrhagic stroke; and
• 47 percent higher incidence of younger-age-onset stroke.

Similarly, a lower percentage of health spending correlated to a comparable increase in the 30-day death rate and:

• 26 percent higher risk of strokes;
• 45 percent increase of post-stroke deaths at 30 days;
• 32 percent increase in hemorrhagic stroke;
• 36 percent higher incidence of younger-age-onset stroke.

Investigators analyzed 30 population-based studies conducted between 1998 and 2008 in 22 countries. They used statistical methods to link stroke risk, 30-day death rate, hemorrhagic stroke incidence and age at disease onset to three internationally accepted economic indicators. The indicators included gross domestic product, health expenditure per capita and unemployment rate. Unlike the other two indicators, unemployment rate didn't affect stroke or other outcomes.

"It is important to further discuss the health priorities for different countries," said Gustavo Saposnik, M.D., M.Sc., study co-author and director of stroke outcomes research at St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada. "This will provide the necessary background to help countries make the changes in how different resources and money are allocated."

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and a major cause of long-term disability. Worldwide, stroke is the second leading killer.

Dr. Sposato's participation was funded in part by the INECO Foundation.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Heart Association.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Luciano A. Sposato, Gustavo Saposnik. Gross Domestic Product and Health Expenditure Associated With Incidence, 30-Day Fatality, and Age at Stroke Onset: A Systematic Review. Stroke, 2011; DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.632158

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/8i1h1r3fel8/111027163109.htm

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CSN: Al Davis reportedly died of heart failure

?

October 28, 2011, 11:12 am

Former Raiders owner Al Davis died of of an abnormal heart rhythm, congestive heart failure and heart muscle disease, according to his death certificate.

The document was obtained by the website TMZ.com and was made public Friday morning.

Davis, 82, passed away at 2:45 a.m. on Oct. 8, according to the County of Alameda certificate of death.

The document also indicated that Davis suffered from a form of skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma. It also revealed that the legendary NFL figure underwent a surgical procedure on his throat three days before his passing, as well as a heart procedure in 1996.

The medical term for the throat surgery is crico pharyngeal myotomy. The heart procedure in 1996 was termed mitral valve repair.

Source: http://www.csnbayarea.com/football-oakland-raiders/news/Report-Davis-died-of-heart-failure?blockID=584382&feedID=2539

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MIND Reviews: Harnessed: How Language and Music Mimicked Nature and Transformed Ape to Man

Image:

Harnessed: How Language and Music Mimicked Nature and Transformed Ape to Man
by Mark Changizi. BenBella Books, 2011

Once upon a time, humans could not hold conversations or sing songs together. Now we chatter incessantly, not only with speech but also through text messages, tweets and status updates. How we transformed into the highly social species we are today remains the subject of many theories.

Two competing hypotheses center on whether our capacity for language is an innate skill that grew stronger through natural selection or whether we lacked any such ability and instead trained our brains to collect new information using objects and sounds in our environment. In his new book Harnessed, Mark Changizi stakes out the middle ground: cultural?not natural?selection explains our language ability.

Generating controversial theories is not new to this evolutionary neurobiologist. In his previous book, The Vision Revolution, he argued that writing evolved from the shapes our ancestors saw in nature. In Harnessed he extends that logic to claim that the most common sounds we hear in nature?of objects making contact or sliding across one another, such as the patter of footsteps or the hiss of a hunted animal dragged across the ground by a predator?occur more frequently and consistently in human language than chance would allow. People evolved auditory systems that process natural noises efficiently, although we are capable of producing a range of sounds broader than those found in nature. Changizi proposes that our culture?that is, language and music, among other artifacts?evolved around, or ?harnessed,? the sounds we already process best.

The tricky part, however, is that Changizi?s theory is almost impossible to test. The bulk of his evidence consists of correlations he observes between sounds in nature and those in language, and he devotes much of the book to acoustical analyses of the two. But the examples he cites are just that?correlations, not causes. In addition, Changizi never explains why other apes, which heard the same sounds as early humans, did not develop language.

Nevertheless, the idea of culture as an actor in the evolutionary process, rather than its by-product, provides an interesting way to frame the question of how we learned to communicate through language.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=185cdb37b7ca2c5f2788255364a03428

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How An ERP System Can Benefit The Automotive Industry - articles ...

The automotive industry works the same as any other business. Everything from local garages to car dealers know that making a customer feel welcome while getting the best service builds relationships that will last. If the dealership or the garage does not have professionalism when it comes to treating their customers, the customer will go somewhere else. One of the biggest objectives is making a personal connection with customers so they feel like they have somebody in their court when it comes to auto repair or automotive sales. One of the best ways to boost the morale of the automotive industry is to integrate an ERP system.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a software package that integrates internal and external management data for an organization. This allows business to have information at their fingertips when problems or promotions arise. An ERP system can be used with accounting, manufacturing, customer relations, and sales. Not only does an ERP system benefit a business, this type of software can pay off for the customer as well.

Promotions are a tried and true way of generating business. Whether your dealer is offering a 0% financing deal on a specific car or your garage is offering a free oil change, this type of promotion can?t bring in business if the consumer does not know about it. Wouldn?t it be nice if you had a software program that could automatically give you a list of all of your customers from the last six months? This is essentially one feature of having an ERP system in place.

Accounting is the backbone of any business. Making sure that your books are in order and you have all of your invoices in place can give stockholders and employees confidence in the company. An ERP system will allow a flow of data between your finance department and the accounting firm that you are dealing with. If you have an in-house accountant, they will have access to all of the accounts and payments made to the company. Say that your company is planning on expanding. An ERP system will be able to list all of your fixed assets, receivables and budgeting when the time comes to apply for an expansion loan.

The human resources department in your garage or dealership keeps files on every employee in the company. An ERP system will give them an organized way of handling payroll and training issues that may arise. This software package can also give them up to the second answers for any questions regarding benefits, 401k, or diversity management within the business.

The automotive industry requires special orders and parts management for specialty products needed for repairs. An ERP system can also help with inventory of your items, order entry, supply chain planning or purchasing. Organization to the different cars that need specific parts will not only save you time in completing the job, it will also keep you in good standing with your customers.

The automotive industry is like any other industry; it needs customers and business to survive. The implementation of an ERP system into the company will allow quick execution of promotions, accounting disparities, customer information, and HR concerns. The days of a ledger and a pencil are over. Help you and your customers by using an ERP system in your garage or car dealership.

Click here to find out more about ERP

Source: http://articles.whatismycomputerip.com/18458/how-an-erp-system-can-benefit-the-automotive-industry.html

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Questions and answers about the European debt fix (AP)

NEW YORK ? After 14 summit meetings, stock market turmoil and even a fistfight between Italian lawmakers, European leaders have finally agreed on a rescue package that will stop the debt crisis there from dragging the world into recession.

That's the hope, at least.

A bailout fund for the continent will be beefed up, and banks will take a 50 percent loss on their holdings of Greek government bonds. The banks will also put more money aside to cushion the blow from future losses.

Investors are cheering. The Dow Jones industrial average surged almost 340 points Thursday, the euro rose, and even the stocks of battered European banks gained ground.

But dangers lurk. The bank losses and the new cushion might not prove enough. The plan could exact big pain in the short term, hobbling a weak European economy. The region could still fall into recession, and drag the U.S. economy down with it.

Here are some questions and answers about what happened and what it means.

___

Q: What was the original problem?

A: The Greek government spent too much, didn't collect enough in taxes and had to sell bonds to make up the difference. It ran up budget deficits well beyond limits set by the European Union, a group of 27 nations that allow goods and workers to cross their borders freely.

When Greece fell into recession two years ago, bondholders worried they wouldn't get their money back. To make sure they did, the EU started lending money to Greece, essentially allowing it to use new debt to pay off old debt.

Greece shares a currency, the euro, with 16 countries, so its problems are Italy's problems, and Spain's, and Germany's, too. And many other European countries have debt problems of their own.

The challenge was to figure out a way to fix the problem so Greece didn't have to come back for bailout after bailout.

___

Q: Is the risk from Europe gone?

A: No. Even if the rescue package keeps Greece and the European banks afloat, the crisis has already damaged the European economy. Some manufacturers have slashed production and hoarded cash. Banks are demanding higher rates for loans, if they're lending at all.

On Monday, an important economic indicator suggested business activity in the zone of nations that use the euro currency shrank in October for the first time in three years.

The European Union accounts for 20 percent of world's economic output. It is a big trading partner for many countries. A recession there could push other economies into recession.

___

Q: How vulnerable is the U.S.?

Some good news out Thursday suggests the U.S. is in better shape to weather any blow. The economy grew almost twice as fast over the summer as it did in the spring. But it's still dangerously weak.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress earlier this month that the economic recovery was "close to faltering." And the co-founder of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, a forecasting firm that predicted the last three downturns, said a recession was all but inevitable. Consumer confidence is the lowest in two and a half years.

"It almost looks like the world is worrying itself into another recession," Klaus Kleinfeld, the CEO of Alcoa, said Oct. 11.

One danger from Europe is that it could buy fewer U.S. goods. Europe buys 20 percent of U.S. exports.

___

Q: Will the bailout plan be enough to keep the debt crisis from spreading?

A: Maybe. There are a lot of unknowns.

Because the banks are accepting losses on Greek bonds, Greece won't owe as much as it did before. That helps. But it still has too much debt and needs its economy to grow if it hopes to pay it back.

The new plan sees Greek debt falling to 120 percent of the country's economic output by 2020 ? a level believed to be sufficient to ease investors' fears. Its debt had been expected to grow to 180 percent. But it's uncertain whether Greece can dig itself out of recession amid riots, strikes and despair.

Problems lurk at the European banks, too. The plan calls for banks to raise 106 billion euros, or about $150 billion, as a cushion against future losses. But that might not be enough to protect against losses on holdings of Greek, Italian and other countries' bonds. Before the summit meeting, the International Monetary Fund estimated banks needed 200 billion euros more to protect themselves.

What's more, even that lower cushion might do a lot of harm. It could force banks to cut back on lending even more, hurting companies and slowing economic growth.

___

Q: What about U.S. banks?

Unlike their European counterparts, U.S. banks do not hold a lot of European government bonds. But they may be exposed in other ways.

U.S. banks and other financial institutions have sold investors a type of insurance policy known as credit default swaps. They require the banks to pay billions of dollars if Greece and other indebted European countries default, or stop paying back their debt.

Even though Greece won't have to pay the face value on its bonds, European leaders structured the deal so that the banks wouldn't have to pay the credit default swaps. Because Greek bonds holders agreed to the plan, Greece isn't technically in default.

Good news, right? Sebastian Mallaby, a director at the Council on Foreign Relations, fears that some European banks taking losses on Greek bonds were also investors in credit default swaps ? meaning they lose both ways.

The upshot: In a complex and interconnected financial system, it's difficult to know whether savings for one financial institution will actually trigger deep losses elsewhere. That uncertainty tends to spread fear and freeze lending.

"The chances of contagion are not awful," Mallaby says. "It's the unknown dangers. And fear itself can spook markets."

___

Q: If there are so many questions, why did U.S. stocks jump?

Actually, they've been moving up for a while. Stocks have risen in five of the last six trading days through Thursday, and are up 14 percent this month.

Credit a bit of good timing. Anxiety over this latest summit was rising just as U.S. companies were reporting surprisingly good third quarter profits. They are expected to be up 14 percent for companies in the Standard & Poor's 500, the eighth quarter in a row of at least 10 percent gains. Record profits are expected for the full year.

Despite the rising prices, many financial analysts note that stocks have been trading as if Europe were about to explode or the U.S. about to slip into recession ? or both. On Thursday, stocks were trading at 12 times the annual per-share profits. They typically trade at 15, meaning prices should be higher.

___

Q: Will fear continue to recede from the stock market?

It depends partly on the U.S. economy. Many analysts and economists think the recovery will eventually pick up speed. But if Europe does push the U.S. into recession, you can forget about those impressive corporate profits, and surging stock prices.

Before the last recession, companies in the S&P 500 stock index were reporting record profits, too. Within a year, those profits turned into losses. Stocks eventually lost half their value.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_on_re_us/us_europe_financial_crisis_q_a

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Economy grew 2.5 pct. in Q3 as consumers rebound (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The U.S. economy grew modestly over the summer after nearly stalling in the first six months of the year, lifted by stronger consumer spending and greater business investment.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that the economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter. That's nearly double the 1.3 percent growth in the April-June quarter, and a vast improvement over the anemic 0.9 percent growth for the entire first half of the year.

While 2.5 percent growth is enough to ease recession fears, it's far below what's needed to lower painfully high unemployment. Analysts project similar growth for the October-December quarter.

Consumers spent at an annual rate of 2.4 percent ? more than triple the rate in the spring. They bought more cars and furniture, spent more on clothing and health care, and ran the air conditioner longer to help combat an unseasonably hot summer.

The report measures gross domestic product, or GDP, which is the country's total output of goods and services. It covers everything from bicycles to battleships, as well as services such as haircuts and doctor's visits.

In August, many thought the economy was headed for another recession after the government said GDP fell to less than 1 percent for the first six months of the year. High gas prices, the growing debt crisis in Europe and wild fluctuations in the stock market also contributed to those fears, which have receded in recent weeks after reports showed improvements in hiring and consumer spending.

Economists expect growth in the range of 2.5 percent to 3 percent in the October-December quarter and for all of next year ? just enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising.

For the 14 million people who are out of work and want jobs, that's discouraging news. And it's an ominous sign for President Barack Obama, who will be facing voters next fall.

"We are looking at very disappointing growth over the next year. It will be far short of what is needed to get businesses to hire more aggressively," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

There have been some encouraging signs.

A measure of business investment plans rose in September for the second straight month and by the most in six months, according to a government report Wednesday on orders for longer-lasting manufactured goods.

And consumers stepped up their spending on retail goods in both July and September. The main reason for the September gain was more people bought new cars, a purchase people typically make when they are confident in their finances.

Economists warned that even their modest assessment of growth of around 2.7 percent for next year will fall short if the European debt situation does not get resolved. And the outlook could dim further if U.S. lawmakers allow a Social Security tax cut and extended unemployment benefits to expire at the end of this year.

"How the economy performs next year will depend heavily on what policymakers here and in Europe do in coming weeks," Zandi said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_on_re_us/us_economy

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Rangers on brink of title after Game 5 win

Texas rallies past Cardinals late, gets winning run on Napoli double

By BEN WALKER

updated 11:40 p.m. ET Oct. 24, 2011

ARLINGTON, Texas - Call it lucky, weird or just plain goofy. Whatever, Mike Napoli and the Texas Rangers are suddenly one win away from their first World Series championship.

And the St. Louis Cardinals? Perhaps next time they should try texting the bullpen.

In a Game 5 that took several odd twists at the end, Texas turned a grounder that got away and a telephone mix-up into its biggest victory ever. Napoli delivered the latest clutch hit of his charmed season, lining a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning that sent the Rangers past St. Louis 4-2 on Monday night for a 3-2 edge.

Next up for Texas, a trip to St. Louis and a chance to capture that elusive crown.

"We certainly won't be out there thinking about we've just got to win one game," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "I've been there before, and that doesn't work."

Napoli's go-ahead stroke came off Marc Rzepczynski, right after a potential double-play ball slipped away from the St. Louis reliever. More bruising, at least to the Cardinals: Rzepczynski wasn't even supposed to face Napoli.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said he called down to the bullpen earlier in the inning and wanted Rzepczynski and closer Jason Motte to get ready. Instead, bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist heard only Rzepczynski at first. La Russa called again to ask for Motte and this time Lilliquist heard "Lynn," as in reliever Lance Lynn.

"I was more frustrated the double-play ball went off the glove and the fact we had numerous chances to add runs. That's probably more frustrating," La Russa said.

"The other part just happens. I mean, it's loud down there, and sometimes you call down there and you have to wait until the crowd and a guy gets up late. I mean, this is not unusual," he said.

Said Lilliquist: "You get a bunch of people, and it's loud."

"He wanted Motte going easy to back Zep up and I thought I heard Lynn. It transpired from there," he said. "It's basically miscommunication. It was loud. A lot of places are like that. The phone is as good as any phone anywhere."

The right-handed Napoli, meanwhile, was dialed in to face the left-handed Rzepczynski with the bases loaded, one out and the score 2-all.

"I didn't really see anybody warming up in the bullpen, so I kind of figured I was going to face him," Napoli said.

"Just trying to get something to the outfield, you know, get a sac fly, get that run across the board," he said. "I was trying to stay short and I got a pitch I could handle over the middle of the plate and put it in the gap."

Texas will try to wrap it up in Game 6 on Wednesday night in St. Louis, with Colby Lewis facing Jaime Garcia. The weather forecast for Busch Stadium is daunting, calling for rain and temperatures around 50.

After Napoli put Texas ahead, the slugging catcher capped off his night of double duty by throwing out a would-be base stealer in the ninth as Albert Pujols struck out.

"Pujols is going to put it in play, he's a good contact hitter," Napoli said, "and they were just starting the runner, 3-2. As soon as I got it, I just got rid of it and put it on the bag."

In the seventh, Napoli threw out Allen Craig at second with Pujols at the plate. Apparently, Pujols put on his own hit-and-run, then didn't swing.

If the Rangers eventually do win it all, the Texas fans who stood and chanted Napoli's name may forever remember his two-run hit.

If the Cardinals lose, there's no doubt which play will stick with La Russa for a long, long time.

It was tied when Texas put runners on first and second with one out in the eighth, and Rzepczynski was summoned. David Murphy followed with a bouncer back to the mound, a possible inning-ending double play in the making.

But the ball appeared to glance off Rzepczynski's hand and trickled harmlessly away for a single that loaded the bases. In the dugout, La Russa immediately threw his hands to his head, a true "Oh, no!" moment.

Napoli, who came close to a three-run homer in his previous at-bat and hit a big homer in a Game 4 win, sent a drive up the alley against the pitcher with the nickname "Scrabble." The double off Rzepczynski sure spelled good things for Texas, with the excitable Washington waving the runners around from the dugout.

Darren Oliver earned the win and Neftali Feliz closed for his second save of the Series and sixth of the postseason.

Adrian Beltre and Mitch Moreland hit solo home runs off Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter, helping Texas come back from an early 2-0 deficit.

Later, it became a battle of the bullpens and Texas prevailed.

Octavio Dotel gave up a leadoff double to Young in the eighth, struck out Beltre and intentionally walked Nelson Cruz. That left it up to Rzepczynski, and the game quickly slipped away.

La Russa appeared stunned by the turnaround. Later in the eighth, because of the mix-up, he brought in Lynn and had him issue an intentional walk to the only batter he faced. Motte eventually ended the inning, but it was too late.

Fittingly, Napoli had a role in the final play. Lance Berkman struck out and the ball hit Napoli's shin guard and trickled up the first base line, where the catcher picked it up and tossed to first base to end the game.

Pujols drew three intentional walks, including a pass with two outs and none on in the seventh. The St. Louis slugger then nearly used his legs to put his team ahead.

Pujols was running hard on a 3-2 pitch that Matt Holliday hit for a single to left-center. Pujols chugged around the bags and third base coach Jose Oquendo initially waved him home, only to put up a late stop sign.

Would Pujols have been safe on shortstop Elvis Andrus' wide throw to the plate? Maybe. But it became moot when Berkman was intentionally walked to load the bases and David Freese flied out against Alexi Ogando.

Beltre's homer made it 2-all with two outs in the sixth. He dropped to one knee after following through on a meaty cut. He connected on a big curve from Carpenter, who had easily handled Josh Hamilton and Young to start the inning.

Beltre's other homers this October came in a bunch. He hit three in a first-round playoff game at Tampa Bay.

Napoli almost gave Texas a cushion later in the inning. With the crowd standing and chanting his name as "Nap-Oh-Lee" flashed on the scoreboard, the catcher's bid for a three-run homer was caught on the warning track in right-center field, just shy of the 407-foot mark.

The homer let Texas ace C.J. Wilson avoid becoming the first pitcher to lose four times in a single postseason. The eccentric lefty who alternates red and blue gloves between starts had another uneven outing, working around five walks.

Wilson walked six while losing Game 1 to Carpenter and the Cardinals.

Moreland atoned for some glove woes with a home run in the third, hitting a drive halfway up the second deck in right field.

The Cardinals scored twice in the second, cashing in two leadoff walks sandwiched around a wild pitch.

Yadier Molina notched his fifth RBI of the Series with a single that left fielder Murphy overran and fumbled for an error. Skip Schumaker followed with an RBI grounder to first that Moreland boxed around, preventing any chance at a double play.

NOTES: Playing on his 34th birthday, Rafael Furcal led off the game with a liner that 3B Beltre backhanded. Furcal started Game 4 the same way. ... Wilson matched the postseason record for walks - 19 - set by Cleveland's Jaret Wright in 1997. Wilson's 11 walks in the World Series are the most since Allie Reynolds in 1951. ... Pujols flied out on a 3-0 pitch to end the first. He swung at 15 of 37 pitches on 3-0 counts this season, going 4 for 8 on the balls he put in play. ... Cardinals reliever Arthur Rhodes turned 42. He's the oldest player to celebrate a birthday while playing in the Series. Jim Palmer was 38 in 1983.

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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This one's on La Russa

DeMarco: Cardinals manager Tony La Russa will be in the Hall of Fame some day. But Monday's loss to the Rangers in Game 5 of the World Series was hardly his finest hour, not with a stunning miscommunication with the bullpen and a handful of other questionable decisions.

Tom Pennington / Getty Images

Rangers on brink of title after Game 5 win

Mike Napoli hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning against Marc Rzepczynski, and the Texas Rangers rallied from a two-run deficit to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 on Monday night and take a 3-2 World Series lead.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45025730/ns/sports-baseball/

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Bose OE2i

Bose has slowly built a reputation for innovative audio products, from tiny speakers that get extremely loud, to standard-setting noise cancellation technology that many competitors have since mimicked. So when the company releases a simple pair of headphones, it's almost surprising. The Bose OE2i, at $179.95 (direct), offers solid performance and iPhone controls built into the cable. Aside from that, there's not much else to note. The audio quality is quite good, but there are other options in this price range, of both earphone and headphone varieties, that offer more impressive sound performance.

Design
Offered in all black or all white (our test unit was black), the OE2i looks similar to the popular QuietComfort 3 ($349.95, 4 stars).?It's also?a supra-aural headphone pair, which means the cups sit on the ear instead of encircling and enclosing it. The?"OE" in the product name stands for "on ear," and as you might have guessed, there's also a Bose IE2 ($99.95, 4 stars).? The supra-aural design is great for comfort, but not so great for audio leakage?unless you're in a noisy environment, your coworkers or anyone nearby is likely to hear a bit of your music, too.

The headband has ample padding for the top of your head, with metallic adjusting bands that extend or retract on either side. The earcups measure 2.3 by 2 inches, creating a roughly ear-sized oval shape in black plastic with the Bose logo branded across the middle in metallic paint. The insides are lushly padded black leather, just like the QuietComfort 3, with a small mesh opening in the center for sound to pass through. The cable is removable?and thus replaceable, which is a big plus?and connects to the left earcup.

In what's fast becoming a standard, perhaps at Apple's behest, the iPhone controls are located very close to the top of the cable, near your mouth. That's also where the mic is, which makes for clearer voice quality. And indeed, calls sound about as clear as one might expect on the iPhone, which isn't celebrated for its call clarity. However, it makes controlling the iPhone a blind task. You'll have to memorize which buttons are for Volume up or down, Track forward or backward, and so forth. It's fairly easy to accidentally press the wrong button, though Bose takes a little of the guesswork out of it by making the larger middle button, which answers or ends calls (and controls Play/Pause functions), slightly indented compared to the Volume/Tracking buttons.

A carrying pouch, which the headphones collapse and fold flat into for easy toting, is included with the pair. Bose also offers a less expensive model, the $149.95 (direct) OE2, which lacks the iPhone controls but is otherwise identical.

Performance
Not a subtle pair of earphones, the OE2i has boosted high frequencies and a full bass response, which makes it sound particularly good on pop and rock music. At maximum volume on tracks with deep bass, something peculiar happens: The drivers don't distort, even on challenging tracks like The Knife's "Silent Shout," which has a thunderous low end beat. However, the bass response seems too much for the actual earcup enclosures, as they can vibrate and audibly rattle a bit. Simply placing my fingers on the earcups muted the rattling. Once the rattling was gone, it was easy to enjoy clear, strong bass performance.

At more moderate listening levels, the bass sounded quite full and the rattling was never an issue. At times, however, it can sound like the midrange frequencies have been dampened a bit in favor of boosting the bass and, even more so, the high frequencies. This makes for what some might call an overly bright sound on some types of music. That can enhance clarity, and indeed the vocals on most songs stand out a bit more on the OE2i than on other headphone pairs. At times, however, the stringed instruments on John Adams' "The Chairman Dances" sounded a bit brighter and crisper than they needed to. On tracks like this, where bass response is more subtle, the low end seems to disappear a bit. There is no mistaking, however, that this is a headphone pair with a seriously sculpted frequency response?audiophiles seeking flat response, or bass fiends seeking headphones to blast at high volumes, for that matter, should look elsewhere.

The OE2i can't quite match the sonic performance of some similarly priced earphones and headphones. The Bowers & Wilkins C5 In-Ear Headphones ($179.95, 4.5 stars), a recent Editors' Choice, offer a slightly deeper bass response and the most secure fit you'll find in a pair of earphones. Bowers & Wilkins also makes an on-ear, supra-aural headphone pair, the P5 Mobile Hi-Fi Headphones ($299.95, 4.5 stars) which sound better than either the C5 or the OE2i?but cost significantly more. The Denon AH-D1100 ($199.99,? 4.5 stars) is a circumaural (around-the-ear) headphone option, and, for just $20 more, it offers a significant upgrade in audio performance over the OE2i. If the OE2i and C5 are bit out of your price range, the in-ear Shure SE215 ($119, 4 stars) is another recent Editors' Choice with excellent overall sound performance. Still, Bose, like Apple, is a brand that breeds loyalty. For those customers who do choose to purchase the OE2i, they aren't likely to be disappointed, even if the OE2i can't quite keep up with the stars of the Denon and B&W lineups.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/adMHgdiOf1g/0,2817,2395111,00.asp

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'The Rum Diary': Johnny Depp's Hunter S. Thompson Tribute

LOS ANGELES ? Johnny Depp vividly recalls the first time he met Hunter S. Thompson, sparks flying as the author parted a bar crowd with a cattle prod and a Taser.

Seventeen years later, Depp is making good on one of his close friend's last wishes, producing and starring in a film adaptation of Thompson's "The Rum Diary," written in the early 1960s but not published until Depp stumbled on the manuscript a quarter-century after.

Depp and Thompson, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2005, bonded instantly at that first meeting in 1994, when the actor was spending Christmas in Aspen, Colo., near the author's home. A fan of Thompson's since reading the gonzo journalist's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" in his late teens, Depp jumped at the chance when a mutual friend asked if he wanted to meet him.

Depp was told to turn up at the tavern at midnight. Soon after, Thompson entered brandishing his cattle prod and Taser.

"People were hurling their bodies, leaping out of the way to try and save themselves from this maniac," Depp said in an interview. "Then he made his way to me. The sparks had died down, he just walked right up to me and put his hand out and said, `How do you do? My name is Hunter.'"

Thompson and Depp quickly discovered they both were born in Kentucky and shared many literary heroes, among them Ernest Hemingway and Nathaniel West. Around 2:30 that morning, they were at Thompson's house, where Depp admired a nickel-plated shotgun on the wall.

"'Would you like to fire it?'" Depp recalled Thompson saying. "I said, `Yeah. Great, man.' He says, `All right, great. We must build bombs.' So we built bombs in his sink out of propane tanks and nitroglycerin. Then we took them out back and he said, `All right, you get first crack.' So I leveled that 12-gauge and I blew it up ? 80-foot fireball.

"I think that was my kind of rite of passage with Hunter. I think that was my test that I was OK."

Depp went on to play Thompson's alter ego in the 1998 movie adaptation of "Fear and Loathing." While preparing for that role, Depp spent time in the basement of Thompson's home, sorting through boxes of "Fear and Loathing" artifacts ? "cherry stems and cocktail napkins and all these weird notations, and photographs of monkeys. Who knew what was in there?" Depp recalled.

Then he opened another box and found a manuscript titled "The Rum Diary" in red letters. He figured Thompson had not looked at it since writing it decades earlier, the story based on the author's experiences as a young reporter in Puerto Rico.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Depp and Thompson passed pages back and forth. Within about half an hour, Depp had persuaded Thompson to publish the novel. In return, Thompson insisted they should do a film version.

They developed the project together for years, and Depp became even more committed to bringing the story to the screen after Thompson killed himself amid assorted maladies and declining health.

"There's nothing more delightful than to see an actor play a role that he puts everything into," said Graham King, a producer on "The Rum Diary."

"I'm not saying he doesn't put everything into every movie, but this was different. This was something that was so close to his heart. It wasn't a gig. It wasn't a job for him."

"Johnny is Hunter in many ways. Hunter set out to do something that no one else had done before, and I feel like Johnny does that in many things," said co-star Amber Heard. "He's doing exactly what he wants to do, and I think it's wonderful and important to fight to make projects that he feels have artistic integrity."

A box-office risk early in his career for oddball films that rarely made money, Depp has been able to call his own shots in the years since he became a Hollywood breadwinner with hits such as the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

Still, it was a challenge to find backers for "The Rum Diary," which stars Depp as Paul Kemp, a Thompson alter ego in his formative years, arriving in San Juan as an aimless tenderfoot who encounters corrupt developers despoiling an island paradise and discovers his purpose ? to take on "the bastards" wherever he finds them.

Aaron Eckhart co-stars as a slimy public relations man whose girlfriend (Heard) becomes Kemp's object of lust. The cast also includes Giovanni Ribisi, Richard Jenkins and Michael Rispoli.

To write the screenplay and direct, Depp and Thompson enlisted Bruce Robinson ("Withnail & I"), a filmmaker who recognized himself and Thompson as kindred spirits.

"We were writing in the same vernacular, a voice of comedic rage," Robinson said. "What are you going to have, a hand grenade or a word? Hunter chose the word."

Though Thompson was gone, Depp made him a spectral producer from beyond, insisting there be a chair with Thompson's name on the set, beside it an ashtray, a packet of Dunhill cigarettes, a bottle of Chivas Regal and a highball glass.

Each morning, Depp and Robinson would pour a drink for Thompson.

"Everybody was there for Johnny, and Johnny was there for the love of the man," Eckhart said. "That was palpable on the set, between Hunter's chair and their sacrament to him each day."

If Thompson were around to review his performance, Depp figures he would "come up with some unbelievably witty, clever remark that would just sort of chop me off at the ankles. ... And then seconds later, he would have praised it, I believe.

"When I called him for `Fear and Loathing,' I was scared that was the end of our friendship, because I had played him, I think, pretty close to the bone," Depp said. "I told him early on, `If I do this right, you might hate me forever.' He said, `Well it's a chance you've got to take, isn't it?' So I did it, but after `Fear and Loathing,' I called him and I said, `All right, you saw it? Do you hate me?'

"And I think by me saying, `Do you hate me?' he knew I was in pain. He couldn't stand the idea of (messing) with me, and he said, `No, no, man. It was like an eerie trumpet call over a lost battlefield.' I mean, that just came out of his mouth on the telephone. ... It doesn't get better."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/25/the-rum-diary-johnny-depp-hunter-s-thompson_n_1030117.html

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'This Week' Transcript: Hillary Clinton (ABC News)

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Calif. officer shooting suspect dies in custody

SACRAMENTO, Calif.?? A man suspected of shooting and wounding a northern California police officer died in the custody of Sacramento police, following a foot chase, authorities said Sunday night.

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Tyrone Smith, 32, was unresponsive in the back of a patrol car after being caught late Saturday night some seven hours after the shooting of the Twin Rivers police officer, Sacramento police said in a statement.

Paramedics were called who took Smith to a hospital, where he was declared dead, the statement said.

Police said the cause of death had not been determined, but a preliminary investigation showed no indication it was a result of police actions.

Smith ran from officers and jumped over fences after he was found, then refused to comply when they caught up with him and had to be forced to the ground and handcuffed, the statement said.

He again tried to flee and fell to the ground before he was put in the patrol car, police said.

The Twin Rivers officer, whose name has not been released, was in critical condition after being hit with several bullets, but is expected to have a full recovery after surgery Sunday.

"Doctors are very optimistic," Twin Rivers police spokesman William Cho told the Sacramento Bee.

The shooting occurred when the officer tried to pull over the suspect's vehicle Saturday afternoon, the Sacramento police statement said.

The suspect refused to stop, then after a short car chase got out of his vehicle and fled on foot. As the officer chased him, the suspect fired and hit the officer several times, the statement said.

Detectives believe the suspect got back in his vehicle and fled.

Paramedics who happened to be in the area quickly reached the officer and took him to the hospital, the statement said.

Police did not say why the officer tried to pull over the suspect when the incident began.

Several units of the Sacramento Police Department along with the city's Office of Public Safety and Accountability and the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office are investigating the two shootings.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45004594/ns/us_news/

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Bombings, beheadings? Stats show a peaceful world (AP)

WASHINGTON ? It seems as if violence is everywhere, but it's really on the run.

Yes, thousands of people have died in bloody unrest from Africa to Pakistan, while terrorists plot bombings and kidnappings. Wars drag on in Iraq and Afghanistan. In peaceful Norway, a man massacred 69 youths in July. In Mexico, headless bodies turn up, victims of drug cartels. This month eight people died in a shooting in a California hair salon.

Yet, historically, we've never had it this peaceful.

That's the thesis of three new books, including one by prominent Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker. Statistics reveal dramatic reductions in war deaths, family violence, racism, rape, murder and all sorts of mayhem.

In his book, Pinker writes: "The decline of violence may be the most significant and least appreciated development in the history of our species."

And it runs counter to what the mass media is reporting and essentially what we feel in our guts.

Pinker and other experts say the reality is not painted in bloody anecdotes, but demonstrated in the black and white of spreadsheets and historical documents. They tell a story of a world moving away from violence.

In his new book, "The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined," Pinker makes the case that a smarter, more educated world is becoming more peaceful in several statistically significant ways. His findings are based on peer-reviewed studies published by other academics using examinations of graveyards, surveys and historical records:

? The number of people killed in battle ? calculated per 100,000 population ? has dropped by 1,000-fold over the centuries as civilizations evolved. Before there were organized countries, battles killed on average more than 500 out of every 100,000 people. In 19th century France, it was 70. In the 20th century with two world wars and a few genocides, it was 60. Now battlefield deaths are down to three-tenths of a person per 100,000.

? The rate of genocide deaths per world population was 1,400 times higher in 1942 than in 2008.

? There were fewer than 20 democracies in 1946. Now there are close to 100. Meanwhile, the number of authoritarian countries has dropped from a high of almost 90 in 1976 to about 25 now.

Pinker says one of the main reasons for the drop in violence is that we are smarter. IQ tests show that the average teenager is smarter with each generation. The tests are constantly adjusted to keep average at 100, and a teenager who now would score a 100 would have scored a 118 in 1950 and a 130 in 1910. So this year's average kid would have been a near-genius a century ago. And that increase in intelligence translates into a kinder, gentler world, Pinker says.

"As we get smarter, we try to think up better ways of getting everyone to turn their swords into plowshares at the same time," Pinker said in an interview. "Human life has become more precious than it used to be."

Pinker argued his case in a commentary this past week in the scientific journal Nature. He has plenty of charts and graphs to back up his claims, including evidence beyond wartime deaths ? evidence that our everyday lives are also less violent:

? Murder in European countries has steadily fallen from near 100 per 100,000 people in the 14th and 15th centuries to about 1 per 100,000 people now.

? Murder within families. The U.S. rate of husbands being killed by their wives has dropped from 1.2 per 100,000 in 1976 to just 0.2. For wives killed by their husbands, the rate has slipped from 1.4 to 0.8 over the same time period.

? Rape in the United States is down 80 percent since 1973. Lynchings, which used to occur at a rate of 150 a year, have disappeared.

? Discrimination against blacks and gays is down, as is capital punishment, the spanking of children, and child abuse.

But if numbers are too inaccessible, Pinker is more than happy to provide the gory stories illustrating our past violence. "It is easy to forget how dangerous life used to be, how deeply brutality was once woven into the fabric of daily existence," Pinker writes in his book.

He examines body counts, rapes, sacrifice and slavery in the Bible, using an estimate of 1.2 million deaths detailed in the Old Testament. He describes forms of torture used in the Middle Ages and even notes the nastiness behind early day fairy tales, such as the evil queen's four gruesome methods for killing Snow White along with a desire to eat her lungs and liver.

Even when you add in terrorism, the world is still far less violent, Pinker says.

"Terrorism doesn't account for many deaths. Sept. 11 was just off the scale. There was never a terrorist attack before or after that had as many deaths. What it does is generate fear," he said.

It's hard for many people to buy the decline in violence. Even those who deal in peace for a living at first couldn't believe it when the first academics started counting up battle deaths and recognized the trends.

In 1998, Andrew Mack, then head of strategic planning for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, said a look at the statistics showed the world was becoming less violent. The reaction from his professional peacekeeping colleagues?

"Pffft, it's not true," they told Mack, arguing that the 1990s had to be the worst decade in U.N. history. It wasn't even close.

Joshua Goldstein, a professor of international relations at American University and author of "Winning the War on War," has also been telling the same story as Pinker, but from a foreign policy point of view. At each speech he gives, people bring up America's lengthy wars in the Middle East. "It's been a hard message to get through," he acknowledged.

"We see the atrocities and they are atrocious," Goldstein said. "The blood is going to be just as red on the television screens."

Mack, who's now with Simon Fraser University in Canada, credits the messy, inefficient and heavily political peacekeeping process at the U.N., the World Bank and thousands of non-governmental organizations for helping curb violence.

The "Human Security Report 2009/2010," a project led by Mack and funded by several governments, is a worldwide examination of war and violence and has been published as a book. It cites jarringly low numbers. While the number of wars has increased by 25 percent, they've been minor ones.

The average annual battle death toll has dropped from nearly 10,000 per conflict in the 1950s to less than 1,000 in the 21st century. And the number of deadliest wars ? those that kill at least 1,000 people a year ? has fallen by 78 percent since 1988.

Mack and Goldstein emphasize how hard society and peacekeepers have worked to reduce wars, focusing on action taken to tamp down violence, while Pinker focuses on cultural and thought changes that make violence less likely. But all three say those elements are interconnected.

Even the academics who disagree with Pinker, Goldstein and Mack, say the declining violence numbers are real.

"The facts are not in dispute here; the question is what is going on," John Mearsheimer, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago and author of "The Tragedy of Great Power Politics."

"It's been 21 years since the Cold War ended and the United States has been at war for 14 out of those 21 years," Mearsheimer said. "If war has been burned out of the system, why do we have NATO and why has NATO been pushed eastward...? Why are we spending more money on defense than all other countries in the world put together?"

What's happening is that the U.S. is acting as a "pacifier" keeping the peace all over the world, Mearsheimer said. He said like-minded thinkers, who call themselves "realists" believe "that power matters because the best way to survive is to be really powerful." And he worries that a strengthening China is about to upset the world power picture and may make the planet bloodier again.

And Goldstein points out that even though a nuclear attack hasn't occurred in 66 years ? one nuclear bomb could change this trend in an instant.

Pinker said looking at the statistics and how violent our past was and how it is less so now, "makes me appreciate things like democracy, the United Nations, like literacy."

He and Goldstein believe it's possible that an even greater drop in violence could occur in the future.

Goldstein says there's a turn on a cliche that is apt: "We're actually going from the fire to the frying pan. And that's progress. It's not as bad as the fire."

___

Researcher Julie Reed Bell contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Steven Pinker's web site: http://stevenpinker.com/

A lecture by Pinker with his statistics and graphics on a "history of violence:" http://bit.ly/rupVbk

Joshua Goldstein's book website: http://winningthewaronwar.com/

The Human Security Report Project: http://www.hsrgroup.org/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111022/ap_on_sc/us_peaceful_world

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Turkey: Iran must cooperate over plot allegations (AP)

ANKARA, Turkey ? Turkey's foreign minister on Friday urged Iran to cooperate with the U.S. over an alleged conspiracy to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington.

Ahmet Davutoglu told the state-run Anatolia news agency hours after a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, that the allegations against Iran are "serious" and that the country should take note of the evidence.

"Our advice to our neighbor Iran is to take notice of the evidence that the United States has and to help the legal process in a totally transparent manner," the agency quoted Davutoglu as saying. "That's the message I gave the Iranian foreign minister."

Two men, including an alleged member of Iran's special foreign actions unit known as the Quds Force, have been charged in New York with conspiring to kill the Saudi diplomat.

Last week, U.S. officials traveled to Turkey to brief the country on evidence they have in the alleged plot, according to Turkish media reports.

"Allegations that a country would engage in an assassination attempt in another country against a third country's ambassador are extremely serious and the issue needs to be treated with the necessary care and seriousness," Davutoglu said.

Earlier, Davutoglu held a joint news conference with Salehi, during which he urged both Iran and the U.S. to share what information they have and avoid escalating tensions.

"We do not believe that Iran, with its state traditions, would display such an act," Davutoglu told journalists. "But the United States says it has evidence and Saudi Arabia has also made certain statements."

Salehi, who was in Ankara to discuss cooperation with Turkey in the fight against autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels, rejected the U.S. allegations as "weak, baseless and empty."

"Talking about them is a waste of time," he told reporters.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111021/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_iran_us_ambassador_plot

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Dog bowls led Philadelphia landlord to basement dungeon (Reuters)

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) ? The rescue of four starving, mentally handicapped people held captive in the filthy basement of a Philadelphia building began with a landlord's suspicions about a pair of dog bowls.

Turgut Gozleveli, a retired electrical contractor who cares for the building, told Reuters on Thursday how on a routine inspection a week ago, he noticed missing lightbulbs in the basement and dog bowls under a workbench table.

His discoveries ultimately led to the arrest of four people on kidnapping charges and the rescue of three men and a woman from the cramped basement dungeon in the working class Tacony neighborhood.

Authorities said the captors held the mentally handicapped adults to steal their Social Security checks, and investigators were pursuing the possibility as many as 50 people were victimized in a fraud scheme across several states.

Gozleveli, 71, who speaks with a Turkish accent, said he assumed a tenant had stolen the bulbs but was mystified by the bowls in the no-pets-allowed apartment building.

"I knocked on the doors and said, 'Is anyone feeding a pet?'" he recalled. All of the tenants he spoke to in the seven-unit building, once a small neighborhood movie theater, said no.

On Friday, he looked again and the bowls were still there.

On Saturday, he ventured down a few steps leading to a subbasement housing water heaters and another smaller room holding an out-of-use furnace.

Flashlight in hand, he saw a chain wrapped around the handle of the metal door to the old furnace room. He unwrapped the chain and opened the door to find two small barking dogs and piles of blankets on wooden platforms on the dirt floor.

He pulled back the edge of a dirty quilt to find a man and a woman huddled underneath. There seemed to be little else in the room except a urine-filled bucket that served as a toilet.

"I said, 'Get the hell out of here,'" he said, before calling police. "I thought they were squatters."

Inside the small room, police found two more men -- one in a ragged sleeping bag and one chained to the rusty furnace.

When they emerged into the daylight, "they were kind of beat up, walking like they were drunk, unsteady," the landlord recalled. Police said the victims were mentally challenged with the intellectual capacities of 10-year-olds.

Further search turned up yet another dog, a larger one penned inside a wooden enclosure that Gozleveli knew tenant Jean McIntosh used for storage.

McIntosh, 32, has been charged in the case, as has her mother, Linda Ann Weston, 51, who is suspected of being ringleader of the scheme. Weston has already served prison time for starving a man to death in her North Philadelphia apartment some 30 years ago.

Also under arrest are Gregory Thomas, 47, of North Philadelphia, and Eddie Wright, 50, said to be homeless.

"One of the people said 'Linda brought us here,'" Gozleveli said, an apparent reference to Weston.

Within a short time of his discovery, Gozleveli said the apartment building was swarming with dozens of police officers.

Gozleveli believed he found the victims in the nick of time, and said he was thankful he had not waited another day to start poking around the dark basement.

"They would have been dead," he said.

Once discovered, the victims were taken to area hospitals and placed in custodial care, officials said.

(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111020/us_nm/us_captives_philadelphia

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