Wine Country, in the City | Taste | Food & Drink | Oakland, Berkeley ...

When Steve Shaffer decided to get out of the tech world and fulfill a long-held dream of owning his own winery, he and his wife, Marilee, figured they'd have to relocate to one of the usual suspects: Napa, Sonoma, the Sierra foothills ? one of those places where the vineyards seem to roll on forever, the air always smells like grapes, and everyone else in town is also in the wine business. But they'd lived in the country before, and the more they thought about it, Shaffer said, "the more we realized, it's beautiful, it's bucolic ? but it's boring." The two ended up founding their winery, Urban Legend, in a nondescript brick warehouse on a quiet stretch of Fourth Street in Oakland's Jack London district, and they've never looked back.

"It just makes so much more sense to put a winery out here than in the country," Shaffer said. "In terms of your carbon footprint, in terms of the variety of grapes you're getting, it's just a good idea." Here, the Shaffers are closer to their client base, closer to their home, closer to the people who can repair their machinery. They get to know their customers and their customers get to know them ? even if a lot of those customers find them by accident. "I think a lot of people are surprised to find a winery here," he said. "And they're even more surprised when I say there are about a dozen in town."

According to Kevin Brown, co-owner of Alameda's R&B Cellars and president of the East Bay Vintner's Alliance, there are at least 25 wineries in the urban East Bay. In fact, though comprehensive statistics are mutable and hard to come by, we're in the middle of what's often said to be the densest urban commercial winemaking environment in the country. And with the exception of some early adopters like Alameda's Rosenblum Cellars, which was founded in 1978, the vast majority of these have sprung up in recent years.

They're part of a long history: For about forty years starting in the 1880s, the Bay Area was home to some of the biggest winemakers in the nation ? first in downtown San Francisco, before the 1906 earthquake, and then in Point Richmond, which was, between the earthquake and Prohibition, home to the largest winery in the world, Winehaven.

It wasn't until the Seventies that the California winemaking industry came to be so rooted in Napa and Sonoma, and that was mostly for reasons of a back-to-the-land philosophy than because of any practical competitive advantage, said Brendan Eliason, owner of Oakland's Periscope Cellars and, as it turns out, a bit of a wine-history buff. In fact, he said, in many ways, rural areas are poorly suited to industrial wine production.

"Those are great areas to grow grapes in, but the truth is, they're awful to make wine in," he said. And he would know; he spent ten years working as a winemaker in northern Sonoma County before opening Periscope. "They are small, rural towns. The electricity sucks. The access to water sucks. The wastewater management sucks. The size of the roads for trucks sucks. You're out in the middle of nowhere with no easy access to supplies or anything else like that. If you look at the current political battles in Napa and Sonoma especially, but really Mendocino and Paso Robles and any major wine region in California, it's a tale of minimal resources. ... You have hundreds of wineries fighting over these meager resources and they're really only meager because you're in the wrong spot."

There's a reason wineries have historically set up shop in cities, Eliason argued, and there's a reason they're coming back. "If you really want good infrastructure for making wine, we're sitting in it," he said. "A lot of people have only just started to realize it, but there are so many benefits to making wine here."

Economics, for one. "It's a lot cheaper," Bob Rawson of Urbano Cellars said, laughing, when I asked him why he decided to found his winery in Berkeley.

The electricity, access to water, and other infrastructure Eliason mentioned cost money, after all ? and according to Shaffer, the cost (not to mention the carbon footprint) of trucking fully prepared and packaged bottles of wine is significantly greater than the cost of shipping the raw grapes and bottling the wine closer to consumers.

"Glass is much heavier than people realize," Eliason noted.

In Berkeley, Rawson, said, "Basically, all we need is a warehouse space that either has or can put in a minimal amount of infrastructure."

Even as the wine industry has continued to be hit hard by the recession and its aftershocks, property values in Sonoma and Napa counties have, by and large, continued to rise precipitously, to the degree that it's all but impossible for a small-scale entrepreneur ? a Shaffer or an Eliason or a Rawson ? to even get in the game. The city, on the other hand, has far fewer barriers to entry ? and those savings often get passed onto the consumer. "There is the romance of the vineyards and the oak-paneled tasting room and the guest cottage and all that," he said. "But at an urban winery, the money you're spending is being [put] toward what's in the bottle. It's going to the steak and not to the sizzle."

That's not necessarily to say that the East Bay's urban wines are always cheaper: According to David Sharp of Temescal wine shop The Wine Mine, in terms of economies of scale, sometimes low overhead can get canceled out by a tiny yield. But they do offer a particular bang for one's buck. Because small, urban wineries don't own the land on which the grapes they use are grown, opting to contract out with vineyards (some on a short-term basis, others for seasons at a time, and with varying degrees of control and input over the harvesting process) they usually have a bit more control over their wines. And because the Bay Area is located where it is, the East Bay's urban vintners have access to grapes from both Northern and Central California.

"Being small like we are avoids the bigger wineries' problems of making everything grow well on a single plot of land," said Adam Love of Two Mile Wines. That means Two Mile gets its grapes wherever they grow best ? Sangiovese from Dry Creek, Petite Syrah from Livermore, Viogner from the Central Coast ? and is freer to experiment with certain regions, grapes, and types of wine. "You do find a little bit more variety, since they aren't growing the grapes themselves," Sharp added. There's certainly a range, he noted, but "they can make some very, very good wines."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Brown, of the East Bay Vintner's Alliance agrees: "These are some world-class wineries," he said, referring to the alliance's membership. "It's not just some funky offshoot. You're talking very high-caliber producers."

Customers, by the way, seem to agree. Though margins in the wine industry have always been slim, all the winemakers I spoke to said business was good. In many ways, that should come as no surprise: The urban winemaking movement fits in well with both the artisan and locavore movements, two larger trends that hit around the same time as urban winemaking and have lodged themselves firmly into the East Bay's eating and drinking culture. As people ? especially people around here ? continue to think of grocery shopping as a political act, to question the value of food that's mass-produced and shipped in from afar, and to be interested in who, not what, is making what they're eating, it makes sense that they'd also begin doing that with their wine.

"If you drink a bottle of my wine, you probably bought it from me," Eliason said. "I like that, and my customers like that." Further, he said, as the wine industry grows up, wine-drinkers in general are becoming more open to vintners and labels that don't necessarily fit a preconceived notion of what a winery is or should be. "American wine culture is still very young," he said. "Many people still just associate a big fancy chateau with good wine, but I really think that's changing. We will continue to grow." And in the meantime, he's very happy where he is.

Source: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/wine-country-in-the-city/Content?oid=3346864

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10 Things to Know for Wednesday

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad listens during an exclusive interview with Associated Press editorial staff during his visit for the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad listens during an exclusive interview with Associated Press editorial staff during his visit for the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

FILE - In this Sept. 14, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns in the rain at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio. Ohio is the presidential race's undisputed epicenter, and it's tilting toward Barack Obama. The revival of the local economy and the popularity of Obama's auto industry bailout are hampering Mitt Romney's call for Ohioans to return to the GOP-leaning ways that were crucial to George W. Bush. (AP Photo/David Richard, File)

In this photo taken Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, prostitute Faduma Ali, who longs for the days when her pirate customers had money, smokes from a tobacco water pipe at a house in the once-bustling pirate town of Galkayo, Somalia. The empty whisky bottles and overturned, sand-filled skiffs that litter this shoreline are signs that the heyday of Somali piracy may be over - most of the prostitutes are gone, the luxury cars repossessed, and pirates talk more about catching lobsters than seizing cargo ships. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Wednesday:

1. IRANIAN LEADER PUSHES NEW WORLD ORDER

Ahmadinejad, no friend to the U.S., tells the AP in a wide-ranging interview that it's time to end American "bullying" and domination.

2. WHY OHIO'S SO KEY FOR OBAMA, ROMNEY

The state has 18 electoral votes, seventh-most in the nation, and no Republican has won the White House without carrying it.

3. SOMALI PIRACY HEYDAY MAY BE OVER

AP reporters find pirates who once owned vast villas now living in unfurnished rooms, after dramatic drop in the number of vessels they seize.

4. FEAR OF FLYING: MORE FEES, LESS CHOICE IN THE SKIES

Transportation Department report finds the airline industry still in transition, with little good news for consumers.

5. SCORE-SETTLING SEEN IN LIBYA

A young rebel credited with helping capture Gadhafi dies after being kidnapped, beaten and slashed.

6. STARTLING NUMBERS BEHIND NYC SCHOOLS' MORNING-AFTER PILL PROGRAM

More than 7,000 New York City girls ages 15 to 17 get pregnant each year ? and more than two-thirds of those pregnancies end in abortions.

7. AN UNUSUAL USE OF EGYPT'S BLASPHEMY LAWS

Facing trial: A radical Islamist who tore up an English copy of the Bible during a protest.

8. TREND-SETTING CALIFORNIA GETS SET FOR THE DRIVERLESS CAR

Gov. Jerry Brown signs a bill establishing safety and other rules for autonomous vehicles on the state's highways.

9. WHERE OBAMA, ROMNEY ARE FINDING RARE COMMON GROUND

Following disputed call that cost the Packers a win, both say it's time to bring the "real refs" back to the NFL.

10. PFFFT! AIR GOES OUT OF THE NOTRE DAME-MICHIGAN PIGSKIN

Irish end contract with the Wolverines, meaning last scheduled game between college football's winningest programs will take place in 2014.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-25-10-Things-to-Know-Wednesday/id-6e3abffc38684b7095d3365d271c2d99

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Gender-Bending Small Businesses That Break Stereotypes ...

Penny Pompei was left seething last year when on a trip to Capitol Hill, she bumped into a male senator. Pompei introduced herself as the executive director of Women Construction Owners & Executives, a trade group that represents women in the construction industry, and attempted to start a conversation when the senator cut her off abruptly.

?He looked at me strangely and said, ?Wow, women own construction companies? Who knew!?? she remembers. ?I was immediately frustrated. I mean, c?mon, it?s 2012.?

WCOE is celebrating its 29th anniversary. The association boasts a membership of more than 1,600 women-owned construction companies, many of which report revenues of around $50 million per year.?
?

It's a Man's World. Or Is It?

According to Pompei?s calculations, there are more than 700,000 construction companies in the U.S., 70,000 of which are female owned. That number is growing says Melissa Schneider, founder of Athena Construction Group in Dumfries, Va.

?I am definitely seeing more women enter this industry,? she says, adding she and her business partner, Amber Peebles, are both general contractors. ?You don?t see as many general contractors but you do see more women starting dry wall companies, flooring companies and the like.?

Another industry that is seeing an uptick in women owners, and women customers, is the automotive industry.

Five years ago Rami Derhy, owner of Signal Garage Auto Care with two locations in metro St. Paul, noticed an increase in female customers. When several women exhibited anxiety entering his store, Derhy instituted employee training on how to treat female customers.

?I tell my guys to be patient and make sure the customer understands everything,? he says. ?This is an industry where women have been taken advantage of; I don?t want them to feel that way in my shop.?

In addition to employee training, Derhy offers free, yearly clinics for women on basic car maintenance. Attendees love the clinics, he says, because he doesn?t focus on selling and the information provided makes participants feel empowered and informed.

Signal Garage is spotlessly clean, a nod to its focus on female clientele. A chandelier hangs in the bathroom and high-end sofas are artfully placed around the waiting area, making the room reminiscent of a beautiful home. Thanks to his efforts, Derhy now says his customer base consists of 80 percent women.

Barry Soltz thinks Derhy is on the right track and wishes other garages would follow suit. As president of the Automotive Maintenance and Repair Association, he says more than 60 percent of car repair business customers are women and numbers are growing. Several major companies in the space offer what Soltz calls ?sensitivity training? on proper ways to speak with women.

?You can?t just talk down to them and think you'll get their business,? he says.

It's Not Just Women Pushing Boundaries

Two blocks off Madison Avenue in Manhattan?s Midtown East neighborhood, sits Spiff for Men, a salon designed exclusively for men that offers everything from haircuts and manicures to pedicures and massages. Owner Danny Kerr opened his shop in 2008 and says business is going well.

?We do 20 to 30 manicures per day and around eight pedicures per day, but our core business is haircuts,? he says. ?My clients are men 35 to 45 years old; guys who care about taking care of their skin and hair. I think men are more educated about that these days.?

Male-focused salons may be popular in major metro areas, but, according to Brad Masterson, spokesperson for The Professional Beauty Association, it is more common to see female salons add services for men.

?Within the last five years, salons have been creating male-specific services and it is opening up another revenue stream for businesses that beforehand were ignoring 49 percent of the population,? he says.

Chris Pegula is also pushing business stereotypes. Back in 1999, Pegula?s then-pregnant wife came home with a newly purchased diaper bag. It was decorated with pink flowers.

?I looked at it and said there was no way in hell I was going to wear one of those,? he remembers. Four years later he launched Diaper Dude, a company that sells manly-looking (think camouflage and dark colors) diaper bags that, well, don?t look like diaper bags. At first business was slow, but picked up after a friend of a friend landed his product on The Wayne Brady Show.

Today, Pegula is a father of three and has six employees based in a downtown Los Angeles office. More than 90 percent of his business is wholesale; the rest is online.

What?s been the response to a man creating a stereotypically female product?

?Women are super happy about it because it shows that men want to be more involved in their kids' lives,? he says. ?I think some men judge it, but I also think that is a product of my own insecurity. No one has ever said anything negative to me about it.?

Athena Construction?s Peebles offers a few words of wisdom for people trying to break into an industry dominated by the opposite sex: ?My advice is the same as it would be for starting any business: Do what you love, be positive and never quit.?

Read more OPEN feature stories.

photos from top: Library of Congress; Courtesy of?Cathi Chamberlain; Courtesy of Spiff Spa for Men; Courtesy of Diaper Dudes

?

Source: http://www.openforum.com/articles/gender-bending-small-businesses-that-break-stereotypes

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Can castration really prolong a man's life?

Analysis of records of court eunuchs in Korea suggest that castration prolongs life. Does it really, or are there other explanations?

What did the analysis find?
Documents detailing the lives of 81 eunuchs who lived in Korea between the mid-16th and mid-19th centuries showed that, on average, they lived 14 to 19 years longer than their non-castrated peers. "It provides some of the most compelling evidence yet that the male sex hormone, testosterone, reduces male lifespan," says Kyung Jin Min of Inha University in Incheon, South Korea. The conclusion supports the theory that testosterone-fuelled reproduction comes at a price, increasing the risk of heart disease and cancer, and reducing the strength of the immune system.

Steady on. Isn't it a bit much to claim that castration is the key to long life?
Yes. Min says that many earlier studies show that castration prolongs the life of animals, from 24 to 27 months in rats, for example. But previous studies were equivocal, showing life extension in castrated mental patients but not castrati musicians, for example.

How reliable were the sources?
How reliable are any ancient documents? Min and his colleagues relied on the Yang-Se-Gye-Bo, a record of eunuchs who served in courts of the ancient Korean Chosun Dynasty. They also used genaeological records of thousands of members of three Korean family lines ? the Mok, the Shin and the Seo. Min says three of the 81 eunuchs were centenarians compared with the current incidence of one per 3500 in Japan and one per 4400 in the US.

What do other experts in ageing say?
"When testosterone is lacking, the demand for amino acids to support cell proliferation and muscle-building is decreased, and it's thought that the body then shifts the use of these basic building blocks towards cellular defence and stress resistance," says Holly Brown-Borg, who studies ageing at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. She guesses that the eunuchs were smaller and less muscular, with lower levels of cancer and heart disease.

What would happen if I were to get castrated now?
It depends how old you are. Any increase in lifespan may only occur if men are castrated as boys. "It's possible that testosterone reduction therapy extends male lifespan, but Korean eunuchs were usually castrated before adolescence, so we don't know the effects of castration on lifespan in older men," says Min.

What other explanations could there be?
Eunuchs probably avoided life-shortening sexually transmitted infections, but there's no way of knowing. Min tried to control for the eunuchs' high social status by comparing their life expectancies with those of the kings and other males in royal households, which turned out to be just 47 and 45 respectively. He suggests looking at eunuchs in the Chinese and Ottoman empires.

Journal reference: Current Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.01.012

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Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/23cf3403/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Carticle0Cdn2230A20Ecan0Ecastration0Ereally0Eprolong0Ea0Emans0Elife0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

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What Should You Bring on a Business Trip? | Business Networking ...

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This week I am in Bangkok and Hong Kong speaking to business professionals about networking.? When you travel (especially internationally) it is easy to forget something you really need while you are in meetings or speaking to groups of people.? Last month,? I did an interview with an international magazine on this very topic.? The reporter asked me ?what should business people think about taking with them on business trips that they might not normally think about??

First, I had to give the things that may be obvious but that you don?t want to ever forget.? Things like:

  1. Plenty of business cards.? It is never a good idea to run out of business cards while traveling.? Tuck extras in your suit pockets, wallet/purse, briefcase, luggage, etc.? I put stacks in many places to ensure I always have extra.
  2. A badge.? If you do any networking while traveling on business, have your own professional badge.? Don?t rely on the hosting organization to do your badge and do it right.
  3. Extra pens.? Make sure you have a pen with you while you are doing meetings.? I always find that I need to write some reminders down while I?m talking to people.? It?s troublesome to track down a pen while you are networking.

Somewhat less obvious things

  1. The contact information (or business cards) of all your referral partners.? I sometimes find that having that information at my fingertips allows me to give referrals to people while I?m out networking.
  2. Hand sanitizer.? I know, I?m sounding a little bit like ?Mr. Monk? the germ-a-phobe title character of a television series.? However, I have found that since I?ve started using hand sanitizer after shaking many, many hands, that I have been getting far less colds than I used to get.? Just be tactful about the way you use it.? Don?t desperately spray your hands every time you shake someone?s hands or else you will be acting like Monk.
  3. Breath mints.? As obvious as it may sound ? I can assure you from experience that many people have no idea they need them!
  4. A memory stick.? Many times I have either needed to get a copy of something OR give a copy of a file or presentation to people while out networking.? Having a memory stick handy has been very helpful on several occasions.
  5. A camera and/or video.? A camera is great if you want to memorialize some occasion or a meeting with someone important to you.? A video is important for anyone that blogs.? It gives you a chance to interview someone during your travels.? I do this almost every time I travel.
  6. Tools for your business.? For me, that includes many copies of my bio for introductions whenever I speak.? Despite the fact that my team sends the bio in advance, there are many times when I arrive and they don?t have the bio handy.? Another tool for me is a PowerPoint remote clicker.? This is really important for me because I don?t want to rely on someone else to move the slides forward as a I present.? Also, that memory stick I mentioned earlier.? I have copies of my talk(s) on there just in case the group I?m speaking to has misplaced my presentation material.

There?s more, but this is a pretty good list.? What do you think is important to bring along with you on business trips?? Share it with us here in the comments section.

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Source: http://businessnetworking.com/what-should-you-bring-on-a-business-trip/

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Disabled children in school, too many difficulties. Why? - West

Why is integration of disabled people at school still an objective to be achieved in Italy, where there is one of the most advanced laws in Europe on disabilities?

This flop is even more surprising if you think that the number of pupils with disabilities in Italian schools has increased by 56 percent over the last 10 years. In the school year 2011/2012, they were about 200 thousand, mainly ? about 75 thousand ? in primary schools and the others divided between nursery, middle and high schools.

Yet, in practice, something seems to have gone wrong. After that special institutes closed down a few decades ago, no complete alternative has been provided and attempts to integrate handicapped people into schools, especially in the most serious cases, has often failed.

For three reasons, at least:

Firstly, shortage and poor specialization of the so-called special education teachers. Often, this particular category of students is followed by teachers who lack specific education.

Secondly, it is important not to underestimate the fact that most schools in Italy are not equipped with technological services and devices for this category of students. Not to mention that today, architectural barriers are still the grim reality in 1 out of 10 schools.

Thirdly, and finally, as the OECD recently reported, in Italy, the amount of total investments in education is the lowest across Europe: 4.7 percent of the GDP against a EU average of 5.8. These figures, however, must be read cum grano salis since the feeling on this front is that the real problem does not reside in the quantity of resources particularly destined to young disabled people, as in their quality: that is, how they are used.

The truth is that handicapped students integration requires individual educational programs and a connection between disabled pupils, classmates and teachers, as well as between school and family that only a special education teacher and the support given by classmates can guarantee. These latter, among other things, will be able to take advantage from the relationship with disabled mates, starting from a higher awareness of diversity.

Source: http://www.west-info.eu/disabled-children-in-school-too-many-difficulties-why/

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New LRS iPad App Revolutionizes the Electronic Wait List Industry

Aquarius

You're really starting to feel the urge to go exploring, and before you know it you could be buying a guide book to a country you've always wanted to visit or buying an airline ticket. Alternatively, you might be inspired to enroll in a class or course that will increase your education and also your understanding of the world.

Source: http://www.topix.com/tech/ipad/2012/09/1209236EEP20?fromrss=1

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Romney says his campaign doesn?t need turnaround

(David Becker/Getty Images)Mitt Romney insisted his campaign is not in need of a "turnaround" in spite of polls showing President Barack Obama expanding his lead in battleground states.

In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," the Republican presidential nominee rejected criticism from conservative pundits who have called his campaign incompetent.

"It doesn't need a turnaround," Romney insisted, pointing to national polls that have him "tied" with Obama. "I've got a very effective campaign. It's doing a very good job."

Asked about GOP worries over a hidden video that caught him dismissing Obama supporters?which he estimated to be 47 percent of the country?as having a victim mentality and being too dependent on the government, Romney said he was responsible for those comments, not his campaign.

"That's not the campaign," Romney said. "That was me, right?"

Asked about criticism that he's changed his positions on issues like abortion and gay marriage for political reasons, Romney insisted he's still following "the principals I've had from the beginning of my political life."

"But have I learned? Have I found that some things I thought would be effective turned out not to be effective? Absolutely," Romney said. "If you don't learn from experience, you don't learn from your mistakes, why, you know, you ought to be fired."

The former Massachusetts governor also defended his campaign from criticism that he hasn't been specific enough about what policies he would implement as president. Among other things, he talked about how he would handle Social Security, telling CBS's Scott Pelley that he would implement a means testing for future retirees, which would allow lower income Americans to receive more benefits than those with higher incomes.

"Higher income people won't get as much as lower income people," Romney told CBS. "By virtue of doing that, you're able to save these programs on a permanent basis."

And contrary to Obama's claims, Romney insisted he would not lower taxes for high income Americans, but rather would focus on lowering taxes for the middle class.

"There should be no tax reduction for high-income people," Romney said. "What I would like to do is to get a tax reduction for middle-income families by eliminating the tax for middle-income families on interest, dividends and capital gains."

Pelley asked Romney what "big idea" he would pursue as president, pointing to agendas like putting a man on the Moon and the creation of Social Security. Romney pivoted back to a line from his stump speech, insisting his big idea would be to "restore" freedom.

"I want to restore the kind of freedom that has always driven America's economy. And that's allowed us to be the shining city on the hill. The kind of freedom that has brought people here from all over the world," Romney replied. "I want people to come here, legally, to want to be here. I want the best and brightest to say America's the place of opportunity, because of the freedom there to pursue your dreams. So my message is restore the kind of freedom that allows America to lead the world."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/romney-says-campaign-doesn-t-turnaround-233736212--election.html

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Cuba?s prenatal program improves low birth weights

ScienceDaily (Sep. 24, 2012) ? Comprehensive prenatal care can decrease the rate of low birth weights, according to a study led by Dr. Yasmin Neggers, a University of Alabama researcher and professor of human nutrition and hospitality management.

Neggers and her colleague, Dr. Kristi Crowe, UA assistant professor of nutrition, traveled to Havana, Cuba during February 2012 to conduct research on the relationship between comprehensive prenatal care and rate of low birth weight in this developing country.

Low birth weight, or LBW, -- less than five and a half pounds at birth -- is a significant factor affecting neonatal mortality and predictor of newborn health.

Neggers, whose main research focus is nutrition during pregnancy, was intrigued by Cuba's low rate of LBW.

"Cuba, being a third-world, developing country, has a LBW rate that is half that of Alabama. It was kind of surprising."

She and Crowe, assistant professor of nutrition, looked at the factors that are usually linked to low birth weight such as smoking, gaining weight during pregnancy and alcohol intake.

All of those factors were not in Cuba's favor.

"All the typical risk factors that cause low birth rate are better in the United States and Alabama," Neggers said. "So, we looked at prenatal care, the care before and during pregnancy, and there was the difference. Prenatal care in Cuba is so much better than typical U.S. care, especially compared to Alabama."

Pregnant women in Cuba are provided free prenatal visits to their doctors very frequently, get adequate and regular screenings and health checks, including vitamin and mineral supplements, and get the proper remedies if something is amiss.

"Here, especially in poor and rural counties, prenatal care is often infrequent, and only half of the women get adequate prenatal care. Some just go to the emergency room to have the baby -- they never have any prenatal care."

Working with faculty at the University of Havana and the Cuban Institute of Nutrition and Hygiene, Neggers and Crowe are developing a proposal for further research.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/nutrition/~3/tZVj8jhUH6c/120924174958.htm

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2 Marines charged for allegedly urinating on corpses

NBC's Jim Miklaszewski on the ramifications of the video that allegedly shows Marines urinating on corpses.

By NBC News staff and wire services

Two Marines are facing criminal charges for allegedly urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters last year in Afghanistan and posing for unofficial photos with casualties, Marine officials announced on Monday.

The criminal charges are the first levied on anyone over the incident, which was recorded on video and circulated on YouTube.

The video, which showed Marines in full combat gear urinating on the bodies of three dead men, triggered widespread anger in Afghanistan early this year, with Afghan President Hamid Karzai calling the Marines' actions "inhuman."?Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he feared that the video could set back efforts to begin reconciliation talks with the Taliban.


The charged Marines, Staff Sergeants Joseph W. Chamblin and Edward W. Deptola, who were referred to trial by court martial, also face charges for failing to properly supervise junior Marines and failing to stop and report misconduct of junior Marines.?

Related:?Military punishes soldiers for Quran burning, Marines for urinating on Taliban corpses

The Marine Corps investigation showed that although the video was only circulated on the Internet in January, the incident actually took place on or around July 27, 2011, during a counter-insurgency operation in Afghanistan's Helmand province.?

The Marine Corps said on August 27 that three Marines pleaded guilty to charges over the video. But their punishment fell short of criminal prosecution.

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Chamblin and Deptola, on the other hand, also face a series charges for failing to supervise junior Marines.

This includes simple things like failing to require them to wear protective equipment to more serious breaches, like failing to report the "negligent discharge" of a grenade launcher. Deptola is also charged with failing to stop the unnecessary damaging of Afghan compounds, the Marines said.

The Marines said there were other pending cases in the video investigation. They declined to elaborate on the incident in which the negligent actions took place.

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After a lengthy investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Services,?Lt. Gen. Richard Mills, commanding general of Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Va., made the decision to refer the cases to court martial, the Marine Corps Times reported.

Both Marines are from the Third Battalion, Second Marine Regiment at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina. ?No date has been set for their court martial.

NBC News Chief Pentagon Correspondent Jim Miklaszewski, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/24/14072753-2-marines-face-criminal-charges-for-allegedly-urinating-on-taliban-corpses?lite

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