Mercedes, BMW, and the once-despised Detroit ... - Automotive News

JAMES B. TREECE

October 30, 2012 - 2:26 pm ET

A report in today's USA Today says automakers are using new technologies to reduce the number of gas guzzlers on the road.

In case you've forgotten, "gas guzzler" is not just a generic slap at cars that get lousy mileage. It's very nearly a legal term.

The phrase refers to cars (trucks are exempt) with mpg numbers that are so egregiously bad that their makers have to pay a fine: the so-called federal gas-guzzler tax.

The tax, enacted as part of the Energy Tax Act of 1978, entails fines that escalate depending on a car's fuel economy. A car that is rated at a combined city/highway 22.5 mpg or better pays nothing; one rated at less than 12.5 mpg pay $7,700.

Most American and Japanese automakers built cars that, with a few exceptions, easily avoided the gas-guzzler tag and tax. Part of that was due to their desire to sell a good number of small cars so that, under the corporate average fuel economy rules, they then could sell more-profitable large cars.

But those companies also viewed the prospect of being labeled makers of gas guzzlers as only a few steps above having a "spouse abuser" sign posted on their front lawns. It wasn't the public image they wanted.

German and other luxury brands, though, took a different approach. With few small cars in their stables (until recently), they basically viewed the gas-guzzler tax as a cost of doing business. Rather than improve their cars' behavior in the fuel-economy realm to comply with CAFE, they simply shrugged at the potential negative implications for their image, paid the fine and passed the cost along to their customers.

In that sense, they were similar to the Detroit Pistons professional basketball team of the late 1980s.

Most hoops teams treat fouls as something to avoid: a player whistled for six fouls is out of the game, so the ideal is to commit four or fewer and stay out of foul trouble.

The Pistons saw that six-foul per player rule not as a limit, but as a quota. And if each player didn't use his full quota every game, the team wasn't getting its money's worth out of that player.

The Pistons played a particularly, uh, physical game. Outside of Detroit, it was reviled as a nasty, sometimes dirty team. But the team of Bill Laimbeer, Isiah Thomas, John Salley, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn et al. didn't care. They embraced their nickname, the Bad Boys, figuring it intimidated opponents.

Now, says USA Today, the number of automotive Bad Boys is dropping. Mercedes-Benz will have only eight nameplates that have to pay the gas-guzzler tax in 2013, down from 17 in the 2010 model year, the newspaper reports. Killing Maybach helped.

BMW and Audi have trimmed their gas-guzzler ranks, too, sometimes by replacing a thirsty V-8 with a turbocharged V-6, or adding an eight-speed transmission, or tapping some other technology.

If this keeps up, the term "gas guzzler" may become as dated as "Bad Boys."

You can reach James B. Treece at jtreece@crain.com.

Source: http://www.autonews.com/article/20121030/BLOG06/121039982/mercedes-bmw-and-the-once-despised-detroit-pistons

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Hulk Hogan settles sex tape lawsuit with DJ

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) ? Former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan has settled a lawsuit with a disc jockey over a sex tape involving Hogan and the DJ's wife.

A statement by Hogan's publicist Monday says the terms of the settlement are confidential.

Hogan said in a lawsuit earlier this month that he had consensual sex with his best friend's wife, Heather Clem, six years ago in the Clems' home, but he didn't know he was being videotaped.

The disc jockey, Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, apologized to Hogan on Monday. Clem also said that he's convinced Hogan was unaware he was being filmed.

A lawsuit is still pending against the gossip website Gawker, which put excerpts of the video on its site.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-10-29-Hulk%20Hogan%20Sex%20Tape/id-41ae2578395f492fa7f367c0cb7c4d1c

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Migraine in children may affect school performance

ScienceDaily (Oct. 29, 2012) ? Children with migraine are more likely to have below average school performance than kids who do not have headaches, according to new research published in the October 30, 2012, print issue of Neurology?, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study of 5,671 Brazilian children ages 5 to 12 found that those with migraine were 30 percent more likely to have below average school performance than those with no headaches.

"Studies have looked at the burden of migraine for adolescents, but less work has been done to determine the effect of migraine on younger children," said study author Marcelo E. Bigal, MD, PhD, of Merck & Co. in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

For the study, the students' teachers provided information on students' performance that was the same information provided to educational boards. Teachers also completed a validated questionnaire screening for emotional and behavioral problems and interviewed parents with a questionnaire covering medical history, headaches and other information.

The study found that 0.6 percent of the children had chronic migraine, or migraine on 15 or more days per month, 9 percent had episodic migraine, and 17.6 percent had probable migraine, which meant they met all but one of the criteria for migraine and did not meet the full criteria for any other type of headache syndrome.

The link between migraine and poor performance in school was even stronger for children with migraines that were more severe, lasted longer, or for children with chronic migraine, as well as for those who also had emotional or behavioral problems.

"With approximately one-fourth of school-age children having headaches with migraine features, this is a serious problem, especially for those with frequent, severe attacks that do not subside quickly," Bigal said. "Parents and teachers need to take these headaches seriously and make sure children get appropriate medical attention and treatment."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Academy of Neurology (AAN).

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. Marco A. Arruda and Marcelo E. Bigal. Migraine and migraine subtypes in preadolescent children Association with school performance. Neurology, 2012 DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e318271f812

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/top_news/~3/bQrq3RBYSVA/121029170810.htm

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Master Your Money in 1 Hour Per Month | Credit Karma Blog

October 29th, 2012

| | |

Ramit Sethi is the New York Times best-selling author of the book I Will Teach You to Be Rich. In this three-part blog series, Ramit will teach us how to optimize our finances. This week: How to Master Your Money in 1 Hour Per Month.

How many experts have you heard tell you to ?keep a budget?? Why don?t they ever acknowledge that almost nobody keeps a budget consistently?

After all, why would we? Keeping a budget makes us feel bad about our purchases. Even worse, it?s backwards-looking, which means we simply look at our spending, shrug, and say, ?I guess I spent that much.?

?Keep a budget? is the kind of advice personal-finance writers love to write?but few people actually follow.

On my blog, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, I spent years developing a system and testing it with hundreds of thousands of readers.

Today, I?ll show you the actual system, which will help you automate your money so it goes where it needs to go ? to savings, investment, and even guilt-free spending. You?ll be in total control, but using this system, you can spend less than 1 hour/month on your finances.

Why automate?

How many times have you said, ?If I just try harder, I could save $100/month?? (Or similarly, ?if I just try harder, I should be able to lose those last 10 lbs??)

What psychologists know is that willpower is a limited, finite resource. While our culture celebrates ?trying harder,? using systems to make up for our limited willpower is one key to true behavioral change.

As Scott Adams says, ?Losers have goals. Winners have systems.?

Imagine you come home from work, tired. Are you really going to want to enter in your purchases from last week? Or if you feel guilty about overspending on a new coat or a weekend trip, what?s the natural thing to do? ?Yeah, I probably shouldn?t have done that?ugh?ok, I?ll be better next month.?

The truth is, an automatic system can make this a thing of the past. When you set up an ?automatic money flow,? you will?

• Set your money to automatically fill up your savings account and investment accounts without doing any additional work.
• Give yourself guilt-free spending money, so if you want to buy a $200 pair of shoes (and you can afford it), you can do it ? guilt-free!
• Let yourself focus on the things that really matter ? family, friends, your career, or whatever you want ? instead of using our limited willpower on paying bills.

You?ll still have total control ? but this system will just work?automatically.

Here?s how to set it up.

How to set up your ?automatic money flow?

Let?s pretend you make $100/month (for easy math). If I asked you where your next $100 paycheck would go, would you know?

Most people shrug and say, ?I dunno?to my checking account, I guess.?

By the end of this post, you?ll know exactly where it will go ? and it will happen, automatically.

Here?s the basic automation money flow, which lets your money fill up your savings account, investment account, pay off bills, leaving you with guilt-free spending money.

I put together a video to demonstrate how it works. Check it out:

Step 1: Link all of your accounts

This describes the details in the video. Get the accounts on the left to ?feed? the accounts on the right so your money flow is working. It?s like laying down the pipes for a new house.

Step 2: Get all your bills to come due on same date. This is important but few people do it. It?s easy: Just call your credit card and any billers and ask them to change the billing date, ideally to the first of the month.

Step 3: Set up automatic transfers. Now, automate it. Use this guideline.

Step 4: How to monitor your new system on 1 hour a month. People sometimes worry that automating their money will make them lose control. ?I like to see all my bills!? they say. Don?t worry. With this system, you?ll still see all your bills?they?ll just pay themselves automatically.

I like to do a review of my bills on the 5th of the month to make sure my bills are being paid correctly. It takes less than 5 minutes.

This is the basic system. Once you have this set up, you can spend less than an hour per month on your finances?and still ensure that you?re hitting your savings goals, investment goals, and have money left over for guilt-free spending.

Tweaking the system for you.

There are lots of additional tweaks you can make. For example, if you make irregular income (e.g., as a salesperson on commission), you can slightly alter this system to work for you. This system also works great for people who want make extra money on the side. All your freelance income goes right into your automated money flow. You can also protect against unexpected expenses. I cover these tweaks in my book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Ramit Sethi is the author of the New York Times bestseller, I Will Teach You To Be Rich. To get free word-for-word negotiation scripts and techniques to beat your credit cards, sign up for free at iwillteachyoutoberich.com.

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Source: http://blog.creditkarma.com/personal-finance/frugality-and-budgeting/master-your-money-in-one-hour-per-month/

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Google cameras map popular Grand Canyon trails

10 hrs.

Felicia Fonseca , The Associated Press

Google and its street-view cameras already have taken users to narrow cobblestone alleys in Spain using a tricycle, inside?the Smithsonian with a push?cart and to British Columbia's snow-covered slopes by snowmobile.

The search giant now has brought its all-seeing eyes ? mounted for the first time on a backpack ? down into the Grand Canyon, showcasing the attraction's most popular hiking trails on the South Rim and other walkways.

It's the latest evolution in mapping technology for the Mountain View, Calif., company, which has used a rosette of cameras to photograph thousands of cities and towns in dozens of countries for its Street View feature. With a click of the mouse, Internet users are transported virtually for a 360-degree view of locales they may have read about only in tourist books and seen in flat, 2-D images.

"Any of these sort of iconic, cultural, historical locations that are not accessible by road is where we want to go," said Ryan Falor, product manager at Google.

Google announced the trekker earlier this year but made its first official collection of data this week at the Grand Canyon.

The backpacks aren't ready for volunteer use, but Google has said it wants to deploy them at national forests, to the narrow streets of Venice, Mount Everest and to ancient ruins and castles.

The move to capture the Grand Canyon comes after Apple chose to drop Google Maps from its mobile operating systems and opted to use its own mapping program that was derided for, among other things, poor directions and missing towns.

Steve Silverman, operations manager for Google didn't directly address the competition in saying: "Just trying to document a trail, it's going to be hard to beat this."

Google launched its Street View feature in 2007 and has expanded from five U.S. cities to more than 3,000 in 43 countries. Google teams and volunteers have covered more than 5 million miles with the Street View vehicles on a scale that other companies haven't approached, said Mike Dobson, president of Telemapics, a company that monitors mapping efforts.

"You could safely say that it's a standout, well-used application and they don't really have any competition," he said.

As the sun rose Monday, Luc Vincent, Google engineering director, strapped on one of the 40-pound backpacks and set down the Bright Angel Trail to the Colorado River ? a nearly 10-mile hike that goes from 6,900 feet in elevation to 2,400 feet. He hiked back up from Phantom Ranch, which can be 30 degrees warmer than at the rim, through the South Kaibab Trail and also gathered data on other trails.

The so-called trekker captures images every 2.5 seconds with 15 cameras that are 5 megapixels each from the rest areas, the steep switchbacks, the change from juniper trees to scrub brush and the traffic that moves aside as a courtesy to mule riders.

The GPS data is limited, so Google must compensate with sensors that record temperature, vibrations and the orientation of the device as it changes, before it?stitches?the images together and makes them available to users in a few months, Falor said.

Hikers that were on the trail when the data was gathered will have their faces blurred ? an attempt by Google to ensure privacy. Street View has run into problems in places like Europe and Australia for scooping up information transmitted over unsecured wireless networks.

A removable hard drive on the trekker stores the data gathered at the Grand Canyon. Tourists looked at the trekker strangely this week, as if it was something from outer space.

Sharon Kerfoot, a first-time visitor from Alberta said being able to view the terrain ahead of time, gauge the difficulty of the hike and know just how wide the path is would benefit those considering a trip to the Grand Canyon. She and a group of friends headed down the same path as Vincent but on mules, not foot.

"I think it's an excellent idea to give people a broader perspective on what they're getting into," she said.

What the images won't tell visitors is how much water they should carry down the trails, how to prepare for temperature changes, what type of food to bring and how much, and how best to protect the natural resources, park spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge said.

"Stitched together with other information out there, the technology could be valuable," she said.

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

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/travelkit/google-cameras-map-popular-grand-canyon-trails-1C6643654

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U.S. spending more on Pakistan flood relief than Pakistan

The US government has pledged more money toward this year's flood relief efforts in Pakistan than the country's own government, according to a report this month from the Congressional Research Service.

Floods have devastated swathes of the Pakistani countryside this year. And once again the US is contributing substantial funds despite strained ties between the two governments and large anti-American street protests.

According to a little noticed detail in a report titled ?Pakistan: US Foreign Assistance,? the country's central government has pledged $91 million toward flood relief, 32 percent less than the $134.6 million promised by the US State Department and USAID as of the end of September 2012.

Think you know Asia? Take our geography quiz.

But instead of helping repair US-Pakistan relations, the flood aid looks more likely to harden the existing pattern where Americans tire of financially supporting a country where elites are barely taxed and the majority of citizens dislike the US. Pakistan, meanwhile, points out US pledges are often much greater than the aid actually delivered ? and what aid does come is spent in a self-interested manner.

"These aid figures are on paper and never really materialize into anything. The foreign aid pledge is always about - this will come, that will happen, but it never does," says Irshad Bhatti, spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), an autonomous government body that looks after disaster relief in Pakistan.

Mr. Bhatti stressed that the Pakistani government with the help of NDMA distributed 45,000 tents and 100,000 rations this year to the flood affected areas. He also says a total of around 25 billion rupees (approx. $261.78 million) were kept aside for natural disaster like floods this year in the federal and provincial budgets.

"As far as I know, we did everything ourselves this year. We did not get any direct funding from US or any other government,? Bhatti says, and complained that foreign aid comes with too many conditions. ?I do not believe it is for our help but to serve their [donor country?s] own interests,? Bhatti replied, when asked to comment on the US report claiming the American government aid pledge being more than that of Pakistan.

The US Embassy in Pakistan said that for floods this year USAID has disbursed around $100,000 so far. Since 2009, the US government has spent over a billion dollars in humanitarian assistance.

The floods in Pakistan this year have killed more than 400 people over the past five weeks and affected over five million people, according to NDMA data. However, the past two years' floods have not been as bad as it was in 2010 when Pakistan suffered the worst floods in its history that killed almost 1,800 people and affected around 21 million in the country.

Think you know Asia? Take our geography quiz.

Commenting on the extent of disaster, Bhatti also says that Pakistan's management of floods and other natural disaster needs to improve to minimize their fallout. ?We need to plan better to avoid the catastrophic impact of floods and people are not learning from their past. Why will the international community help us if we do not help ourselves??

US FRUSTRATION

In the aftermath of the 2010 crisis, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pushed Pakistan ? a country with one of the lowest tax compliance rates in the world ? to get the country?s elites to pony up.

?It?s absolutely unacceptable for those with means in Pakistan not to be doing their fair share to help their own people while taxpayers in Europe, the US and other contributing countries are all chipping in,? Ms. Clinton said just over two years ago.

Since then, Pakistan has made promises to its lenders at the International Monetary Fund to expand its tax net, but has consistently failed to do so. .

?Essentially, I think it is outrageous that the American taxpayer is continuing to bail out Pakistan when the elite there continue to not pay taxes,? says Christine Fair, a Pakistan expert at Georgetown University in Washington. ?What?s even more outrageous, the Pakistanis have consistently made commitments to the IMF to expand their tax net in exchange for getting very lucrative bailouts knowing full well they will never implement those commitments.?

Part of the problem, says Ms. Fair, is that Pakistani officials know that the US will pressure the IMF to keep providing money to the government, even when it fails to implement promised reforms.

PAKISTANI DONATIONS PLAY ROLE

The spokesperson for NDMA stressed, however, that funding from charity and donations from Pakistani individuals is significant, giving the agency revenues unmatched by any international assistance. The importance of Pakistani philanthropy is a view seconded by many welfare organizations working in Pakistan for relief assistance in flood affected areas.

?If the US government is doing more, then it?s a positive step but Pakistani government should have the leading role. Sadly they do not care much about their own people and lack planning. However, local organizations were at the forefront of helping flood-affected population this year,? says Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer, head of an Islamic welfare organization in Lahore.

Like the NDMA official, Mr. Zaheer does not trust the claims of the American government.

?The US can easily be lying about it because they are always exaggerating about aid to Pakistan. And even if they are giving more than the Pakistani government, it is only compensating the destruction and loss American drones are causing in the country,? he added.

* Ben Arnoldy contributed to this report from Boston.

Think you know Asia? Take our geography quiz.

Related stories

Read this story at csmonitor.com

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-outspends-islamabad-flood-relief-pakistan-133504083.html

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Buy Franklin Sports Recreational Badminton/Volleyball Set Online ...

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4 Tempered steel rackets with Hy-sheep string and a pair of yellow shuttlecocks. The Franklin Sports Recreational Volleyball/Badminton Combo set is a will need to have for each outdoor. This set embodys the complete thing you want for a domestic volleyball game or a 2 on 2 badminton sport. The pole set adjusts to 61? assembled peak. Carry/storage bag included..

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The Franklin Sports Recreational Volleyball/Badminton Combo set is a must have for each outside. This set embodys the entire lot you need for a household volleyball game or a 2 on 2 badminton recreation. The pole set adjusts to 61? assembled height. Carry/storage bag included.

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Brit Insurance to end England deal - ESPN Cricinfo

	Brit Insurance have decided not to renew their sponsorship of the England team ? Getty Images Enlarge

The ECB have lost a second major sponsor in three months after Brit Insurance decided not to renew its deal as the England team sponsor. In August, Friends Life, sponsors of domestic cricket for six years, also decided against continuing their backing of the t20 competition.

Brit Insurance will bring to an end their nine-year association with cricket after "fundamental, structural and strategic change in its business interests." Earlier this year, the company axed its marketing and communications team and their new direction steers them away from the four-year deal with the ECB which began in 2009 and saw them succeed Vodafone. Brit had previously been the principal sponsor of Surrey, with The Oval rebranded under their name from 2004 to 2010.

Brit's sponsorship of England, reportedly worth up to ?18 million, has coincided with one of the most successful periods in the team's history. The men's team won the 2010 World T20, regained the Ashes in Australia with a first away series win for 24 years in 2011 and reached No. 1 in the world Test rankings in the same year. The women's team retained their status as the No. 1 ODI side and reached the final of the 2012 Women's World T20.

"We are very proud to have partnered with the ECB and supported them in what has been a fantastic period in English cricket," Mark Cloutier, the Brit Group CEO, said. "But as Brit's business has re-shaped and developed into something very different to the business it was a few years ago, it's right that we step back and allow another sponsor to come forward and build on this brilliant partnership opportunity."

Brit's deal extends until April 2014, to include the next Ashes series in Australia but the ECB are looking to agree a new deal for a minimum of three years and have an arrangement that could see a new sponsor take over before Brit's contract expires.

"The ECB thanks Brit for what has been an important and successful partnership for both parties," the ECB commercial director, John Perera said. "Brit has benefited from significant exposure as both the men's and women's teams have achieved extraordinary levels of success since the partnership began. Our search for a new sponsor will begin immediately and we anticipate significant interest from potential partners who wish to be associated with the England cricket teams."

Perera will ensure a new sponsor is apposite for English cricket, "The brand has to have stature commensurate with the England team," he told Marketing Magazine. "Some of the football deals wouldn't be appropriate."

Brands that sit comfortably alongside English cricket include investment bank Investec, who added to their sponsorship of the Derby, Tottenham Hotspur and England Women's hockey with a 10-year deal for the title rights to Test matches, worth a reported ?50 million, signed in November 2011 and earlier that year, Buxton Water renewed their sponsorship until the end of 2013.

Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/story/587645.html

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Has Romney moved to the center on immigration? ? Peace and ...

Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama spar at the second presidential debate. (Shannon Stapleton/AP)

By?Liz Goodwin, Yahoo! News?|?The Ticket

As Mitt Romney continues to climb in the polls, some campaign watchers are crediting his momentum to a shift to the center on key issues. Former President Bill Clinton even joked about the supposed move last week at a Democratic rally for President Barack Obama in Las Vegas.

?I thought, ?Wow, here?s old Moderate Mitt,?? Clinton said, referencing Romney?s performance in the first presidential debate, where the former governor of Massachusetts said he was against tax cuts for the wealthy. ??Where ya been, boy???

On Thursday, two days after the second presidential debate, the Associated Press chimed in, writing that?Romney has moved to the center?on a range of issues in a bid to win over on-the-fence voters in swing states. (Just last February, while battling through a hard-fought Republican primary, Romney described himself as a ?severely conservative? politician.) And it noted the same areas in which other media outlets and pundits have said the shift is taking place: taxes, women?s issues?and immigration.

But there?s a hole in the argument: Immigration stakeholders on both the right and left say they have yet to see ?Moderate Mitt? appear on this particular issue. In fact, Romney?s immigration policies are regarded as some of the most conservative of the last half-dozen presidential cycles.

?If you?re someone who favors robust enforcement of U.S. immigration laws, Romney is the best presidential candidate that you?ve had in decades,? Steve Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies told Yahoo News. (The center is a conservative think tank that advocates for reduced legal immigration and an end to illegal immigration.) ?I would say that he has generally not etch-a-sketched [on the issue],? Camarota added.

Frank Sharry, the executive director of the liberal immigrant advocacy group America?s Voice, tweeted after the second debate that Romney is ?the most anti-immigrant candidate ever.?

While Romney has shifted slightly away from the days of the primary?when he touted the endorsement of Kris Kobach, who drafted Arizona?s law targeting illegal immigrants, and recalled firing ?illegals? who had worked in his yard, through a contractor, in Belmont, Mass.?his comments on immigration during the town hall debate differed more in tone than substance.

On Tuesday night, Americans heard the candidates discuss their visions for the country?s immigration system for the first time when an undecided voter asked what Romney would do ?with immigrants without their green cards that are currently living here as productive members of society.?

Romney first responded by slamming President Obama for failing to keep his promise to pass his version of immigration reform, which would have included a path to citizenship for many of the nation?s 11 million illegal immigrants. The governor also praised America as a ?nation of immigrants? and said he wants to increase high-skilled legal immigration.

But Romney went on to espouse views seen as anathema to earlier Republican presidential candidates, who were eager not to alienate Hispanic voters by seeming unwilling to even consider a path to citizenship.

?There are 4 million people who are waiting in line to get here legally. Those who?ve come here illegally take their place. So I will not grant amnesty to those who have come here illegally,? Romney said, a position he also held in the primary.

The GOP challenger also defended his ?self-deportation? policy that he introduced in the primary. It proposes that many of the nation?s illegal immigrants will voluntarily leave the country if employers are forced to check immigration status, making mass deportations unnecessary. (At the debate, Obama characterized Romney?s self-deportation policy as ?making life so miserable on folks that they?ll leave.?)

The sole point that Romney appeared to drift center-ward on immigration turned out to be a case of misinterpreted wording. Romney said that military service should be ?one way? for young illegal immigrants who were brought to the country by their parents to gain legal residency. This suggested that Romney was open to creating more routes to legal residency for these young people, such as attending college.

Such a position would put Romney closer in line with the Democrat-backed Dream Act, which would give citizenship to people under 30 who join the military or attend college, and which Romney has vowed to veto.

But a Romney aide told Yahoo News that the candidate still thinks military service should be the only route to permanent residency.

Romney?s decision to stay the course on immigration is an interesting one, as top Republicans?including Romney?have warned that the party is ?doomed? if it cannot attract the fast-growing demographic of Hispanic voters, who will make up 9 percent of the electorate this year.

[Political junkie? Sign up for the Yahoo! News Daily Ticket newsletter today]

The Romney campaign is betting, then, that his economic message will be more important to this block of voters than its immigration one. Hispanic voters are by no means a homogenous or single-issue group, and polls show that, like most voters, they care most about the economy and jobs, with immigration trailing behind.

But Republican strategists stress that a hostile-sounding tone on immigration issues can alienate many Latino voters, no matter the candidate?s economic platform. And a Latino Decisions poll shows that more than half of all Hispanic voters know at least one person who is undocumented, meaning the issue is personal.

The most recent?Pew Hispanic Center poll?has Romney picking up just 21 percent of the Hispanic vote, compared with 69 percent for Obama. (Romney is polling?much better among Latinos in the swing state of Florida, however, where a strong Cuban-American presence tends to boost Republican candidates.)

George W. Bush picked up more than 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004, while John McCain slipped to 31 percent in 2008. The downward trend is not good news for the GOP. But some conservatives argue that embracing legalization measures will not necessarily help Republicans reverse the downward slide. The New York Times? Ross Douthat?writes that ?a party?s overall brand matters more than its stance on a single issue?, and that embracing restrictionist policies doesn?t mean forfeiting the Hispanic vote.

Romney seems willing to break from tradition. Republican President Ronald Reagan signed the first immigration reform bill in 1986, offering legalization to nearly 3 million people in the country. George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and John McCain?as well as their Democratic rivals?all supported legalization measures to some degree either while running for president or in office. Bob Dole, however, ran on a platform in 1996 that?would have allowed public schools to deny entrance to children?who couldn?t prove their citizenship. (Dole voted for Reagan?s legalization 10 years earlier.)

Matt Barreto, a pollster with Latino Decisions and a political science professor at the University of Washington, said he thinks Romney?s performance in the debate is unlikely to gain him any ground with Latino voters.

Read more and see the video:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/romney-move
d-center-immigration-122025670?election.html

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Tags: "nation of immigrants", campaign 2012, Cuban-American, economy, election 2012, fast-growing demographic of Hispanic voters, health care, Hispanics, Hispanics are 9 percent of the electorate, immigrants, immigration, jobs, Latino Decisions poll, latinos, News, Obama, Pew Hispanic Center poll, politics, Romney, schools

This entry was posted on October 19, 2012 at 4:26 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://johnib.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/has-romney-moved-to-the-center-on-immigration/

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Royal wedding gives Luxembourg turn in spotlight

LUXEMBOURG (AP) ? The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg doesn't get a lot of turns in the spotlight.

It's an independent country tinier than Rhode Island, the smallest U.S. state, and it would fit inside Germany, its neighbor to the east, 138 times with room to spare. It won no medals at the 2012 London Olympics ? in fact it hasn't won a medal at the summer Games since 1952.

But this week is Luxembourg's turn to shine. Prince Guillaume, the heir to the throne ? the grand duke-to-be ? will marry Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy. It will be a two-day affair, including fireworks, concerts, a gala dinner at the grand ducal palace, and two marriages between the betrothed ? a civil wedding Friday afternoon and a religious ceremony Saturday morning.

A glittering array of European royalty has been invited. The guest list for the religious ceremony includes kings, queens, princes and princesses from European countries including, among others, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Lichtenstein, Denmark, the Netherlands, Romania and Britain, which is sending Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth's youngest child, and his wife, Sophie.

Non-European royalty will be attending, as well, from Morocco, Japan and Jordan and elsewhere.

With all those royals coming to Luxembourg, can international attention be far behind?

"It's good for Luxembourg," said Nadine Chenet, a 46-year-old street cleaner who was picking up cigarette butts with pincers in front of the grand ducal palace. "Many people will come now."

Besides, she just plain likes the royal family, she said: They give a good impression of the country.

That's a sentiment common in Luxembourg. To all appearances, the bride and groom are a lovely couple. He is 30, with dark hair and an immaculate beard. She is 28, blonde and smiling. In public appearances, including at the London Olympics, they have appeared besotted with each other.

According to biographies distributed by the royal court, each has an array of interests befitting those who are to the manner born.

Guillaume speaks four languages, has studied international politics, is a lieutenant colonel in the Luxembourg army (a force of 900 soldiers), and has been engaged in humanitarian work in other countries, including Nepal. The duchess-to-be has studied the influence of German romanticism on Russian romanticism, plays piano and violin, swims, skis, and says she reads three books at a time.

In the language department, she already speaks French and German ? two of Luxembourg's three official languages ? and, perhaps more importantly, is studying the third, which is called Luxembourgish. She plans to renounce her Belgian citizenship in order to become, eventually, Luxembourg's grand duchess.

Luxembourg is a linguistically complicated country, a reflection of its complicated past. It began as a Roman fortress. It has, at one time or another, fallen under the control of Spain, France and Austria. In 1839, it gained its independence from the Netherlands, but lost more than half its territory to Belgium, which now has a province of the same name. In the 20th century, Germany swept through Luxembourg twice despite its protestations of neutrality.

Luxembourgish is related to German, but it is primarily a spoken language. In the country's schools, elementary students take all their classes in German. When students reach their teens, gradually all classes are converted to French. And English is studied the entire time.

But the language dearest to their hearts is Luxembourgish. As 71-year-old retired engineer Rene Ries ? a typical Luxembourger, with a French first name and a German last name ? said, Luxembourgish is generally spoken in the home. When there is a complaint, the police file their reports in German. Then the lawyers litigate the case in French.

Asked in which language he felt most comfortable, Ries replied without hesitation that it was Luxembourgish. But he admitted he had trouble writing it. Under duress, he could write his daughter a postcard, he said, but the language is most commonly spoken, not written.

Luxembourg, an important financial center and home to the world's largest steel manufacturer, continues to prosper despite Europe's economic trouble. The country has the second-highest gross domestic product per capita in the world, more than $80,000 ? though its population of about 510,000 people is still smarting from having lost the No. 1 spot to Qatar. The capital city has 80,000 inhabitants and 120,000 jobs.

For that reason, more than 43 percent of the people in Luxembourg are foreign nationals, compared to a European Union average of 6.4 percent. When he greets people in the public square, Ries speaks not German, not French, not English, but Luxembourgish. It is not to shame the others. It is to show he is a genuine Luxembourger.

Natives of the Grand Duchy, heavily influenced by Catholicism, are very proper and can be dour.

"When we say, 'It's not too bad,'" Ries said, "we mean it's good."

But above all, they are proud. Proud of their multilingualism. Proud of their grand duchy. And proud of their royal family. The current grand duke, Henri, who is 57, is popular. People can greet him on the street without bowing down before him. His 31-year marriage to Grand Duchess Maria Teresa appears to be very happy. Showcasing the royal family, as the country will do this week, allows Luxembourg to put its best foot forward.

For, as Ries emphasized more than once, the Luxembourgish royals ? in contrast to some others ? do not sunbathe topless. And for him, that is a source of pride, one he is happy to share with the rest of the world.

"It is a good family," he said.

___

Don Melvin can be reached at ?http://twitter.com/Don_Melvin.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/royal-wedding-gives-luxembourg-turn-spotlight-050257312.html

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Myths About Working Moms | Toddler Times

It took me a long time and a shiny new job, but I have to say that I L-O-V-E being a working mom these days.

I love the challenge in the office but I love that my new job is fewer hours, meaning more time with Harrison.? I love how much my kid loves his school but I also love my paycheck.

Last week, my post on why daycare rocks a box of unicorn sprinkles was syndicated on Yahoo! Shine and of course the comments came flooding in.? Mostly about how I shouldn?t have children if I can?t be with them and how selfish women like me are what is wrong with the world.? Not like it?s 2012 with women?s liberation and education and a crashing economy that requires many of us to go back to work after having babies.? That?s just the crazy in me talking, I suppose.

In response, I thought I would try and debunk some of the ?myths? surrounding women that work outside of the home:

• 

  We only work for money

  There's a lot of reasons that women choose to return to work - finances, health care benefits, certifications, or just because she loves to work.

  /toddler-times/2012/10/18/11-myths-about-mothers-who-work-outside-of-the-home/#we-only-work-for-money

• 

  We don't nurse our babies

  On the contrary, many of my working momma friends were able to establish good breastfeeding skills before returning to work.

  /toddler-times/2012/10/18/11-myths-about-mothers-who-work-outside-of-the-home/#we-dont-nurse-our-babies

• 

  We don't pay attention to our children

  Personally, I don't get work emails on my phone. We have family dinner & we go to the park regularly. I save lunch hours to attend daycare functions, like his fall party next week. I try to not let my office life effect things that Harry wants to do.

  /toddler-times/2012/10/18/11-myths-about-mothers-who-work-outside-of-the-home/#we-dont-pay-attention-to-our-children

• 

  We get to pee alone

  If by "alone" you mean a mere foot from a coworker I barely know, trying not to laugh as she farts or praying someone doesn't come in after I've had Chilli 4Evah for lunch, then yes! I pee alone every day.

  /toddler-times/2012/10/18/11-myths-about-mothers-who-work-outside-of-the-home/#we-get-to-pee-alone

• 

  We let someone else raise our babies

  Yes, his daycare teachers have a big role in his learning, but they were selected by me for being the best. And I do believe I'm still the one answering the 3am wake-up calls, not the daycare center.

  /toddler-times/2012/10/18/11-myths-about-mothers-who-work-outside-of-the-home/#we-let-someone-else-raise-our-babies

• 

  We're not nurturing

  Because only trolls could walk away from a crying toddler every day, right? It takes a lot of pep talks and tearful calls to my husband after drop-off, but I remember that I have to put on my game face before I step in the office. But not a moment goes by that I don't think of my little man.

  /toddler-times/2012/10/18/11-myths-about-mothers-who-work-outside-of-the-home/#were-not-nurturing

• 

  We have housekeepers

  Sure, some do! But not all of us are able to afford it, which means that I'm scrubbing floors in the evenings or on the weekends.

  /toddler-times/2012/10/18/11-myths-about-mothers-who-work-outside-of-the-home/#we-have-housekeepers

• 

  We're miserable in our choice

  There are hard days. There are days I miss my child horribly. But there is also great personal fulfillment in employment that cannot be denied.

  /toddler-times/2012/10/18/11-myths-about-mothers-who-work-outside-of-the-home/#were-miserable-in-our-choice

• 

  We work because we're spoiled and want fancy clothes

  A lot of us work to afford basic necessities, like a roof over our heads and food on the table.

  /toddler-times/2012/10/18/11-myths-about-mothers-who-work-outside-of-the-home/#we-work-because-were-spoiled-and-want-fancy-clothes

• 

  We should have married better men with better jobs

  And your momma should have taught you better manners. I like my man just fine, thank you.

  /toddler-times/2012/10/18/11-myths-about-mothers-who-work-outside-of-the-home/#we-should-have-married-better-men-with-better-jobs

• 

  We are stressed to the max

  Okay, this one is pretty true just because I am juggling work, motherhood, romance, house, etc. But I can still carve out time for friends and relaxation if you let me know far enough in advance!

  /toddler-times/2012/10/18/11-myths-about-mothers-who-work-outside-of-the-home/#we-are-stressed-to-the-max

More from BA:

Stay at home versus work at home versus working.

What I?m struggling with as a mom these days.

How I?m trying to deal with it.

Symptoms of pneumonia in toddlers.

Symptoms of Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease

The food allergy debate.

Beth Anne writes words & takes pictures at Okay, BA! You can also find her on theTwitters & Facebook.

Source: http://blogs.babble.com/toddler-times/2012/10/18/11-myths-about-mothers-who-work-outside-of-the-home/

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Source: http://workathomeandmakemoney.org/borrow-money-online-instantly/

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The Last Blade 2 (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo) Review - Nintendo ...

Last Blade Part Deux

When the original Last Blade title was released it took weapons-based fighting in 2D to new heights with its fluid play controls and intense fighting action. Not wanting to rest on its laurels, SNK soon put together a sequel that didn't try to really overhaul anything, but rather stuck to tweaking a few minor aspects of the first title. The result was yet another one-on-one fighting release that continued the tradition of Last Blade without moving too far away from what made the first release so appealing to fighting game fans.

For the most part, The Last Blade 2 feels more like a minor update than a full-blown sequel. Sure, there are a wealth of new areas and some nice new graphical and gameplay twists, but the developers decided not to reinvent the wheel on this one, so don't expect anything radical in terms of changes to gameplay or thematic traits.

The Last Blade 2 doesn't stray too far from the trademark gameplay that made the original release such a hit with fans. The majority of the characters make a return with three new fighters tossed into the mix to spice things up a bit. The POWER and SPEED system returns, but this time an EX mode is introduced to give players a choice of a little bit of both speed and power. Once you see this mode in action you'll see how effective it can be in terms of your approach to the fighting, especially if you choose the right character. Having said that, there are some purists that do feel that this combination does give the game a slightly unbalanced feel at times, and debate continues to rage as to which of the two games offers the best overall experience. This is worth bearing in mind if you're already perfectly happy with the original release.

The re-balancing of many of the characters might end up making a particularly effective character from the original Last Blade release not quite as intimidating, but the smooth play controls and combo system still makes pretty much any character effective if in the right hands. Much of the skill involved in the game carries over from the first release and still places a nice emphasis on multiple hit attacks and using the Repel button at just the right times.

Although the backdrops are new, they just don't seem to have quite the flare of the original Last Blade. There's still plenty of oriental themes to go around, but they just don't seem quite as dynamic. But by contrast, the musical score, while still very Japanese in style, is better than ever. It's easily one of the best fighting game soundtracks the developers at SNK ever put together and does a brilliant job of conveying the theme and regional touches of the areas portrayed throughout the fighting experience.

The endless debate over whether The Last Blade or its sequel is the better fighter continues to this day. Some will tell you that the silky smooth gameplay of the original will always win out, but there are those who feel the additions and higher quality audio in the sequel give it the edge. Regardless of this seemingly endless argument, the truth is that you can't go wrong with either game as the Last Blade series is one of the best fighting franchises available for any system. Suffice it to say, if you enjoyed The Last Blade, you're going to find a lot of entertainment in this sequel - even if you ultimately decide that you prefer the original.

Source: http://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/vc/last_blade_2_neogeo

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"The Devils": Why Ken Russell's crazy, sexy, heretical shocker is a "Masterpiece"

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - With its heady mixture of sex and religion, Ken Russell's "The Devils" was one of the most controversial films ever produced.

It inspired waves of protests across the world when it opened in 1971 and ignited fierce critical debates about whether the British enfant terrible was a visionary or a shameless provocateur - or both.

However, the film, which was ruthlessly edited by Warner Bros. in a futile attempt to stifle the backlash, is all but forgotten today. The original cut, which includes an orgiastic dream sequence involving nuns and an effigy of Jesus Christ, is no longer available, and the studio has never released "The Devils" on DVD domestically.

"They killed the key scene in the movie . . . it was glorious stuff," Russell said.

In an attempt to rescue the film from the cinematic graveyard, film critic Richard Crouse has written "Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of ?The Devils'"(ECW Press).

Drawing on interviews with the film's cast and crew, the book chronicles the troubled production and release, as well as the turbulent lives and working styles of Russell and star Oliver Reed.

At the core of Crouse's account, however, is a compelling case that the film strives for and achieves masterpiece status.

"It still resonates with audiences," Crouse said. "It's a complicated film about the struggle between church and state and that's always timely. We still have religion and politics intertwined today. 'The Devils' is a cautionary story about the dangers of that relationship becoming too cozy."

Based partly on Aldous Huxley's novel "The Devils of Loudun" and a subsequent stage adaptation by John Whiting, Russell's film recounts the story of a radical Catholic priest (Reed) in 17th century France who is accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. It also mixes in a group of sexually hysteric nuns, Vanessa Redgrave receiving a grotesque enema and complicated political intrigues involving King Louis XIII. Oh, and there's a grand inquisitor wearing a pair of John Lennon glasses.

Amazingly, and in part because the early '70s were a decade when envelope-pushing entertainment like "The French Connection" and "A Clockwork Orange" were connecting with audiences, Warner Bros. not only greenlit the film, it allowed Russell to realize his vision on a massive scale. The director built the biggest film set since the Elizabeth Taylor historical epic "Cleopatra" (1963) and the budget soared to the equivalent of roughly $70 million today.

"This was a huge film," Crouse said. "It was an anomaly, because it had a big budget, but it was challenging, uncomfortable and fascinating. Those kind of films don't get released today."

Alas, the best didn't pay off. At the time the film was released, the critical consensus was that Russell's cautionary tale was a garish provocation without much substance.

"It's a see-through movie composed of a lot of clanking, silly, melodramatic effects that, like rib-tickling, exhaust you without providing particular pleasure, to say nothing of enlightenment," Vincent Canby wrote in The New York Times.

Pauline Kael, the New Yorker's acidic critic, was even more savage, writing, "Ken Russell doesn't report hysteria, he markets it."

The film bombed at the box office, and Warner Bros., hoping to tamp down the controversy, kept insisting on additional cuts to the film even as it was in release.

"Short of burning the entire film I had no choice," Russell said.

Not helping matters was the fact that Russell, who at one point in his native United Kingdom was listed as being more influential than the prime minister, was unable to get jobs in studio films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, causing him to fall into semi-obscurity.

Given the fact that he was nominated for an Oscar for "Women in Love," directed "The Who's Tommy" and helped launch the career of actress Glenda Jackson, his death in 2011 generated surprisingly modest attention.

But among a small, but fervent group of directors like Guillermo Del Toro and Joe Dante, Russell and "The Devils" have continued to grow in stature.

"Guillermo loves the movie," Crouse said. "He told me he watched the movie, or at least part of it, at least once a month and he credits Russell as one of his favorite filmmakers."

"David Cronenberg, John Landis, Terry Gilliam are also fans," he added. "I think what they admire is his strength of vision. You can't watch five minutes without telling its a Russell film. This guy was a real storyteller with incredible visual flare."

Yet many of them have not seen the original cut of the film as Russell intended it to be shown, and even Crouse is uncertain whether Warner Bros. will take the risk of releasing a complete edition of the film on DVD or Blu-ray.

In particular, he doubts the studio is interested in restoring the "rape of Christ" sequence, which features a sexual encounter between Redgrave and Reed, wearing Christ's crown of thrones and being taken off a cross.

"Forty one years later, that scene will still snap your head back," Crouse said. "Because it mixes sexuality with violence and religion, that's the reason the ban has lasted 40 years. Loads of movies have violent components or sexual or religious, but Russell wove them together. I'm not sure there would be protests in the street, but if they released it in its complete form there would be problems."

Instead it endures in mangled form, its disturbing pleasures available to those who seek it out online or on videotape, until the next revolution in filmmaking emerges to make Russell and his fellow hell-raisers seem tame by comparison.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/devils-why-ken-russells-crazy-sexy-heretical-shocker-233217682.html

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FREEKey Makes Adding and Removing Keys From Your Key Ring Super Easy [Stuff We Like]

Key rings get exceptionally frustrating when you have difficult keys that don't want to come off. (I'm looking at you, car keys!) A smarter ring, called FREEKey, makes key removal a whole lot easier.

Rather than digging your fingernails into the ring, FREEKey has a little button you push on the top of the ring to open it up. This frees your keys from the killer grip of the ring. At $6.74 you're paying a lot for a tiny little ring, but that may be a small price to pay for peace of mind.

FREEKey Easy OPen Key Chain ($6.74) | Amazon via Uncrate

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ZpNZoNcYqvs/freekey-makes-adding-and-removing-keys-from-your-key-ring-super-easy

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MV Commercial Construction Receives Associated Builders and ...

MV Commercial Construction Receives Associated Builders and Contractors Diamond Award For Safety

Oct 15, 2012

COLUMBIA, SC - October 15, 2012 - MV Commercial Construction has been recognized as a Diamond Award recipient for 2012 by the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC) as part of its Safety Training Evaluation Process (STEP). STEP provides ABC member companies with the opportunity to measure safety program progress, indentify ways in which safety on jobsites can be improved and benchmark safety performance with industry peers.?

Diamond recognition is the highest possible recognition level awarded by ABC for its members. Qualifying STEP participants must demonstrate safety excellence through meeting stringent guidelines for safety by demonstrating below average Jobsite Incidence Rates, Workers Compensation Loss Rates and Experience Modification Rates (EMRs). The end goal is creating jobsites with zero-incidents, thereby creating a safe working environment for all workers in an industry where jobsite hazards are typically all too common.

?We are excited to receive the Diamond Award, ABC?s highest STEP recognition level. This award is recognition for all of the planning, hard work and commitment to safety that is practiced every day by our Partners, Associates, Subcontractors and Vendors,? said Brooks Williams, Senior Project Manager/Safety Co-ordinator. ?Miller-Valentine will continue to work as a leader in construction jobsite safety with the goal of zero incidents.?

MV Commercial Construction was formally recognized as a Diamond Award recipient by ABC at their Annual Safety Conference last week in Charlotte, NC.

About Miller-Valentine Group
Miller-Valentine Group is a full-service real estate company that offers expert services in the areas of development, construction, and property management.? Miller-Valentine has developed and constructed more than 50 million square feet in a variety of industries including more than 11,000 multi-family residential housing units. Founded in 1963, Miller-Valentine Group?s commitment to provide its customers quality, value and service is reflected in its wide range of products such as industrial, medical office and surgery centers, Class ?A? office, retail, and multi-family. Today, Miller-Valentine Group is a multi-award winning contractor and developer; most recently being named the first Certified Green Contractor in the Carolinas by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).? For more information regarding Miller-Valentine Group, visit www.mvg.com.

Source: http://www.midlandsbiz.com/articles/12289/

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Bottom of the Veg Drawer Soup - Free recipes | food magazine ...

Towards the end of the week the vegetable compartment of my fridge resembles the trodden remnants and sweepings which litter a market stall at day?s end.? Stalks of limp celery, soft carrots, forgotten bits of onion which almost made it into a weekday dish co-mingle wait for their coup de grace.? Broccoli is there too of course: bought because it looked crisp, green and virtuous, it lingers sits developing a malevolent appearance, mocking with its slowly decaying presence all week.? Thankfully, there is a dignified way out for all these once proud bits of veg, what I call my Bottom of the Veg Drawer Soup.

Loosely based on a minestrone or Ribolllita, there is no precise recipe for this: it is just a basic method which can be adapted to include whatever you have to hand. It consists of dragging all the past it vegetables out of the fridge, plonking them down onto your kitchen bench, and surgically amputating the bits that are really too far gone to provide any nourishment.? They are then ready to be magically transformed into something which is not only fit for human consumption, but actually rather delicious.? This transformation could be called serendipity: I call it good cooking and good economy.

Bottom of the veg drawer soup

Ingredients:

• as much sad and lonely scraps of veg you have available, plus whatever fresh and green stuff you want to add too (mine usually consists of some or all of: onions, carrots, leek, celery, broccoli, green beans, courgettes, pumpkin, kumara, silverbeet, spinach)
• garlic ? as much as you like, but at least 2 cloves, roughly chopped
• tinned chopped Italian tomatoes, plain please not flavoured (I use roughly 1 tin per kilo of vegetables)
• veg stock or water
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• small bunch fresh thyme (I keep it on the stalk ? removing stalks from the soup adds to its rustic quality, but feel free to pick the leaves if you so wish)
• your choice of tinned white beans, chick peas, tiny pasta or pieces of broken spaghetti
• salt and pepper
• chopped parsley (Italian preferably)
• 3-4 tbsp. vegetable oil for cooking
• good extra virgin olive oil for finishing
• Parmesan cheese

Method:

• prepare the mirepoix vegetables first (i.e. onions, carrots, celery and leek) by peeling, cleaning and roughly dicing: a ? cm dice will do.
• heat the vegetable oil in a heavy based saucepan over a medium heat.? When the oil is hot, toss in the bay leaf and the thyme, but be careful as they have a tendency to spit a little.? Fry gently for 2 minutes to release the natural aromas into the oil, which will then perfume the remaining ingredients.
• add your chopped mirepoix vegetables and garlic and cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally until well softened.? The idea here is to almost melt the vegetables without browning them, releasing their flavour and sweetness into the soup.? This may take 10 minutes or longer, but it is the heart of the dish and worth the wait.
• while this is happening, prepare all the remaining vegetables.? Again, peel where necessary, removing the bad bits and cutting the rest into evenly-sized pieces.? This is a rustic dish, so size and appearance is really up to you, but try to keep pieces roughly the same size so they cook at the same rate.? Keep aside.
• prepare any leafy vegetables ? wash and trim and roughly shred (silver beet, spinach, kale, cabbage etc.)? Keep aside.
• add the tomatoes, salt and black pepper and increase the heat.? Cook gently for a few minutes, until the tomatoes are starting to thicken and cling to the vegetables.
• add all other vegetables you have (except spinach ? add this at the end) and cover with vegetable stock or water.? Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until all the vegetables are thoroughly cooked and tender.? Top up with water as necessary if it is getting too thick ? it is a soup, not a stew.
• add your beans or chick peas or pasta and continue to simmer for another 10 or so minutes, until pasta (if using) is cooked.
• check the seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as necessary.
• stir through the chopped parsley and spinach (if using) and remove from the heat.
• either serve immediately or cool and refrigerate: the soup will sit happily in the fridge for up to several days, and will actually improve in flavour.? It can also be frozen at this point.
• to serve, heat through and ladle into big soup bowls.? Trickle over a generous splash of extra virgin olive oil, grate over some Parmesan cheese and serve with crusty sourdough or French bread.
• eat with a self-satisfied grin, knowing you have given those scraps of vegetables a dignified reprieve from the compost heap.

Author:
Stephen Long
Auckland-based chef, passionate foodie and dad.
slong@ihug.co.nz

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Source: http://www.nourishmagazine.co.nz/15/bottom-of-the-veg-drawer-soup/

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