Wall Street ends 2012 riding high on "cliff" deal optimism

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed out 2012 with their strongest day in more than a month, putting the S&P 500 up 13.4 percent for the year, as lawmakers in Washington closed in on a resolution to the "fiscal cliff" negotiations.

The S&P 500's gain for the year marks its best performance since 2009, as stocks navigated through debt crises in Europe and the United States that dominated the headlines. Still, with numerous issues involving budget talks unresolved, markets could still be open to a shock should the deal break down unexpectedly.

Fittingly, in the last session of the year, stocks bounced back and forth on the headlines out of Washington, as both President Barack Obama and Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell issued statements indicating a deal to avert the cliff was close.

"The worst news could have been the president coming out and saying, 'We don't have a deal and we've giving up,' and he didn't say that," said Ron Florance, managing director of investment strategy for Wells Fargo Private Bank, based in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"My personal skepticism, I don't trust anything out of Washington until it is signed, sealed and delivered, and it is not signed, sealed and delivered."

While a deal on the cliff is not yet official, investors may be ready to take on more risk next year in hopes of a greater reward.

McConnell said an agreement had been reached with Democrats on all of the tax issues in the potential deal, removing a large hurdle in the talks. An agreement is needed in order to avert a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts that many believe could push the U.S. economy into recession.

A source familiar with the matter said an emerging deal, if adopted by Congress and President Barack Obama, would raise $600 billion in revenue over the next 10 years by increasing tax rates for individuals making more than $400,000 and households earning above $450,000 annually.

Despite the uncertainty, the market encountered only occasional bouts of volatility this year. For the first time since 2006, the CBOE Volatility Index or VIX <.vix>, the market's favored indicator of anxiety, did not surpass the 30 level, a threshold that usually signals heightened worry among investors.

"Given all the threats in 2012, the VIX was relatively tranquil," said Bill Luby, the author of the VIX and More blog in San Francisco, citing the crises in Spain and Greece, along with constant intervention from the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 166.03 points, or 1.28 percent, to end at 13,104.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> gained 23.76 points, or 1.69 percent, to finish at 1,426.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> gained 59.20 points, or 2.00 percent, to close at 3,019.51.

Monday's gains enabled the S&P 500 to snap a five-day losing streak, its longest skid since September.

The S&P 500 closed out 2012 with a 13.4 percent gain for the year, compared with a flat performance in 2011. The Dow rose 7.3 percent in 2012 and the Nasdaq climbed 15.9 percent.

Financials <.gspf> were the strongest of the S&P's 10 industry sectors this year, gaining more than 26 percent, led by Bank of America , which more than doubled in 2012, and was the best performer of the Dow industrials.

Of the S&P's 10 sectors, only defensively oriented utilities <.gspu> ended the year lower, falling 2.9 percent.

Gains in Apple Inc , the most valuable U.S. company, helped lift the Nasdaq. The stock rose 4.4 percent to $532.17, lifting the S&P information technology sector index <.gspt> up 2.2 percent. For the year, Apple rose 31.4 percent, ending with a market value of about $501.4 billion.

Each of the Dow's 30 components finished the session in positive territory, led by a 3.2 percent climb in Caterpillar Inc to $89.58.

Volume was modest, with about 6.06 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, slightly below the daily average of 6.42 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a ratio of 6 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, four stocks rose for every one that fell.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-futures-edge-higher-cliff-talks-continue-004506710--sector.html

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Lake of the Ozarks Real Estate | Waterfront Commercial Property

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Opposed to same-sex marriage, company ends wedding business

An Annapolis, Md., company whose old-fashioned trolleys are iconic in the city's wedding scene has abandoned the nuptial industry rather than serve same-sex couples.

The owner of Discover Annapolis Tours said he decided to walk away from $50,000 in annual revenue instead of compromising his Christian convictions when same-sex marriages become legal in Maryland in less than a week. And he has urged prospective clients to lobby state lawmakers for a religious exemption for wedding vendors.

While many wedding businesses across the country have embraced the chance to serve same-sex couples, others have struggled to balance religious beliefs against business interests.

Wedding vendors elsewhere who refused to accommodate same-sex couples have faced discrimination lawsuits ? and lost. Legal experts said Discover Annapolis Tours sidesteps legal trouble by avoiding all weddings.

?If they're providing services to the public, they can't discriminate who they provide their services to,? said Glendora Hughes, general counsel for the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. The commission enforces public accommodation laws that prohibit businesses from discriminating on the basis of race, sexual orientation and other characteristics.

The trolley company's decision offers a snapshot of a local business navigating a new landscape in the wedding industry, and leaving it behind for a competitor to swoop in.

The head of the Maryland Wedding Professionals Association said the trolley company is the second vendor to refuse business over the state's same-sex marriage law, which voters upheld in November. The Maryland clergyman who led opposition to same-sex marriage called the trolley company's choice to abandon profits on principle ?gutsy? and predicted that more businesses would follow suit.

?That's a bold and noble statement,? said Derek McCoy, executive director of the Maryland Marriage Alliance. ?The other option would have been just to become a legal case.?

Frank Schubert, a political strategist who ran campaigns against same-sex marriage in Maryland and three other states this year, said opponents predicted collateral damage.

?This is exactly what happens,? Schubert said, adding that religious liberty is ?right in the cross hairs of this debate. The law doesn't protect people of faith. It simply doesn't.?

Schubert pointed to a handful of other examples publicized in news reports across the country of wedding vendors sued for refusing to accommodate a same-sex ceremony: a pair of Vermont innkeepers, a New Jersey church group and a New Mexico wedding photographer.

In Maryland, the gay-rights group Equality Maryland said the trolley company's decision appears to be an isolated case of a business owner exercising his rights.

?As long as he doesn't discriminate against other people, he's free to do whatever he wants to do, including withdrawing his business from the industry,? executive director Carrie Evans said.

Discover Annapolis Tours owner Matt Grubbs declined repeated requests to discuss the move, beyond acknowledging its economic impact to his business, which also operates historic tours.

Source: http://www.omaha.com/article/20121230/MONEY/712309924

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The Copyright Monopoly Is A Legal Featherweight Compared To ...

In our series of misconceptions about the copyright monopoly, some people defending the monopoly keep asserting that it carries the same legal weight as property rights. This is not so much misguided, as it is merely factually wrong from every angle.

When faced with the fact that the copyright monopoly is a limitation of property rights, some defenders of the monopoly claim that property rights and the copyright monopoly ?carry equal legal weight anyway?, in an attempt to downplay that argument?s importance in the debate about the copyright monopoly?s legitimacy. Their claim calls for fact checking and further scrutiny.

When comparing the copyright monopoly to the property rights that it limits, we can go to the constitution of many countries to compare their respective weights. Starting with the US Constitution, we can readily observe that property rights are a long-running tradition of the British Common Law, and find several passages that limit Congress? ability to curtail those property rights by law.

One of the most-quoted of these passages may be in the US Bill of Rights, in the Fifth Amendment: ??nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation?.

In contrast to safeguarding property rights, the US Constitution does not require the Congress to have any copyright monopoly at all on the law books, but merely grants Congress the power to enact such a monopoly (?exclusive rights?) if it finds that doing so promotes the development of culture and knowledge.

We find this passage in Chapter 8 of the US Constitution: ?[Congress has the right] ?to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.?

The right to create the monopoly ? but not the obligation.

So, property rights are constitutionally safeguarded, whereas the copyright monopoly may exist as a law or it may not, as Congress desires from day to day. That is obviously not the same legal weight. The copyright monopoly is a featherweight by comparison.

Other countries show the same pattern. Let?s look at Sweden, where property rights are similarly protected in the constitution.

In Sweden?s Regeringsformen constitution, chapter 2 para 15, we find that ??the property of everyone shall be safe against expropriation to public or private interests, except when needed to accommodate urgent public interests?, in which case full compensation blah blah. Pretty much a mirror image of the US Bill of Rights. And what do we find about the copyright monopoly? It is indeed in the constitution, in the very next paragraph:

Chapter 2, para 16: ?Authors, photographers, and artists have rights to their works that are determined by ordinary law? [as decided by Parliament].

Thus, we observe the same difference in legal weight here ? the property rights are heavily safeguarded in the constitution, with no rights for Parliament to jeopardize them, whereas the copyright monopoly can be abolished, changed radically, or turned into ice cream tomorrow if the Swedish Parliament so desires.

That is obviously not the same legal weight. The copyright monopoly is a featherweight by comparison.

You've read the whole article. Why not subscribe to the RSS flow using your favorite reader, or even have articles delivered by mail?

About The Author: Rick Falkvinge

Rick is the founder of the first Pirate Party and is a political evangelist, traveling around Europe and the world to talk and write about ideas of a sensible information policy. He has a tech entrepreneur background and loves whisky.

Source: http://falkvinge.net/2012/12/30/the-copyright-monopoly-is-a-legal-featherweight-compared-to-property-rights/

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Randy Press: Engaged to Brandy!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/randy-press-engaged-to-brandy/

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Gifts That Keep Giving (if Not Exploding)

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Today?s science kits lack the free-play style and sometimes dangerous materials of yore, but many argue that they can still spark a lifelong interest in inquiry.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/25/science/science-toys-gifts-that-keep-giving-if-not-exploding.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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flanker darleen: Tools & Home Improvement - Lawn Mowers - Typepad

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Netflix Crippled On Christmas Eve By AWS Outages

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even those in the lighthearted holiday fare you were planning to watch on Netflix, which has been down since 1pm PST for some customers. Netflix confirmed the outage with a tweet on its official channel, though Netflix Cloud Architect Adrian Cockcroft said on Twitter that the service is still working on some devices.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/t4KWJwEQmFo/

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U.K. Crown Prosecution Service Guidelines for Prosecuting Social ...

These guidelines set out the approach that prosecutors should take when making decisions in relation to cases where it is alleged that criminal offences have been committed by the sending of a communication via social media. The guidelines are designed to give clear advice to prosecutors who have been asked either for a charging decision or for early advice to the police, as well as in reviewing those cases which have been charged by the police. Adherence to these guidelines will ensure that there is a consistency of approach across the CPS.

The guidelines cover the offences that are likely to be most commonly committed by the sending of communications via social media. These guidelines equally apply to the resending (or retweeting) of communications and whenever they refer to the sending of a communication, the guidelines should also be read as applying to the resending of a communication. However, for the reasons set out below, the context in which any communication is sent will be highly material.

These guidelines are primarily concerned with offences that may be committed by reason of the nature or content of a communication sent via social media. Where social media is simply used to facilitate some other substantive offence, prosecutors should proceed under the substantive offence in question.

These guidelines are interim guidelines and they have immediate effect. At the end of the public consultation period, they will be reviewed in light of the responses received. Thereafter final guidelines will be published.

?

Initial assessment

12. Communications sent via social media are capable of amounting to criminal offences and prosecutors should make an initial assessment of the content of the communication and the course of conduct in question so as to distinguish between:

(1) Communications which may constitute credible threats of violence to the person or damage to property.

(2) Communications which specifically target an individual or individuals and which may constitute harassment or stalking within the meaning of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 or which may constitute other offences, such as blackmail.

(3) Communications which may amount to a breach of a court order. This can include offences under the Contempt of Court Act 1981 or section 5 of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992. All such cases should be referred to the Attorney General, and via the Principal Legal Advisor?s team where necessary.

(4) Communications which do not fall into any of the categories above and fall to be considered separately (see below): i.e. those which may be considered grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or false.

13. As a general approach, cases falling within paragraphs 12 (1), (2) or (3) should be prosecuted robustly where they satisfy the test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. Whereas cases which fall within paragraph 12(4) will be subject to a high threshold and in many cases a prosecution is unlikely to be in the public interest.

Source: http://publicintelligence.net/uk-cps-social-media-guidelines/

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Buy Me A Pie! Gets Bump Support ? iOS Users Can Now Bash Phones Together To Share Grocery Lists

Buy Me A Pie!, the cloud-powered grocery list maker for iOS, has released a nifty - and, potentially, relationship saving -- update for its app which adds support for Bump, so that users can now sync their shopping lists simply by bumping their iPhones together. The idea is to make it even easier for households to collaborate on and share grocery shopping duties.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/FI-LIQ2hhAg/

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Spaghetti Carbonara, Magic Ice Cream (5 Ways), Food Writers ...

15 Fresh, Simple Cocktails for Spring

What was popular in May 2012? Let's see: Pasta carbonara (an authentic recipe!), and 25 food writers' safety drinks to order at bad bars. Plus, flavor variations for magic banana ice cream and why recipe writers lie about caramelizing onions.

Top 10 Posts of May 2012

? 1 15 Fresh, Simple Cocktails for Spring
? 2 14 Simple, Delicious Recipes with Just 6 Ingredients (Plus Salt)
? 3 Sunday Cooking: 10 Meals That Will Last the Entire Week
? 4 What Drink Do You Order at a Bad Bar? - 25 Food Writers Share Their Safety Drinks
? 5 Feeling Hungry? Grab an Orange!
? 6 20 Scrumptious Brunch Recipes
? 7 Magic One-Ingredient Ice Cream 5 Ways: Peanut Butter, Nutella, and More
? 8 Chocolate, Strawberry, Banana & Beyond: 15 Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
? 9 Why Recipe Writers Lie About Caramelizing Onions
? 10 Authentic Spaghetti alla Carbonara

* * *

Welcome to The Kitchn's Best of 2012 roundup!
From December 17 through January 1 we are rounding up some of our favorite (and your favorite) posts from the past year.

(Images: See linked posts for full image credits)

Source: http://www.thekitchn.com/-the-kitchns-top-posts-of-may-2012-181739

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Land Teaching Jobs By Avoiding These Four Interview Mistakes

Training to become a teacher is not easy. You'll have to select a good school and course, get the right grades and then undergo additional teacher training to prepare you for the challenges ahead. It takes great effort to acquire teaching credentials that will get your resume noticed by schools; however, the hard work of securing a teaching job does not end with creating impressive resume. How you fare during an interview is just as important - perhaps even more so than creating good resume - and it is crucial for aspiring teachers to make a good impression within the short time they are given during this stage of the job hunt.

To help aspiring educators land teaching jobs, listed below are the four mistakes that you must avoid during a job interview:

Dressing up poorly. First impressions are said to last, and one of the powerful factors that can influence first impressions is your appearance. A teacher is a role model and is thus expected to be decent and respectable - after all, you may be handling children and teenagers in the classroom. As such, make sure to wear appropriate clothing, such as a blouse and skirt for women or a suit for men. Do not wear clothing that is revealing, stained or crumpled or shoes that are dirty or damaged.

Rambling or talking too little. Talking a lot to communicate your thoughts may be a sign that you don't know the answer to the interviewer's question, or that you have poor communication skills. In addition, you will run the risk of exposing undesirable qualities or revealing too much when you ramble, and you can either turn off the interviewer or bore him with your lengthy replies. Talking too little, on the other hand, makes you seem stiff and uninteresting. A lack of response may also mean that you don't know how to answer a particular question. Make sure to take this opportunity to sell yourself: share your experiences and achievements as a teacher and show the interviewer that you can be good at the job - without resorting to bragging, of course.

Poor attitude. Besides being role models, teachers are also responsible for influencing their wards. This means that how you act and handle situations will have an effect on the attitudes and perceptions of your students. Being highly critical of others and passing blame (for instance, regarding problems with your last job) as well as being unable to work well with a team will definitely get you eliminated from the race.

Lack of research or questions. Doing research on the school, its curriculum and its students as well as asking well-thought-out questions after the interview will show your enthusiasm and interest in the job offer. Those are the things that schools would like in their teachers.

Tradewind Recruitment is searching for qualified teachers for London teaching jobs. Click this link for more details http://www.twrecruitment.com/

Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/land-teaching-jobs-by-avoiding-these-four-interview-mistakes-308949

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JJ Birden ? Phoenix MLM Watchdogs Choose Xocai

Hi, welcome to my Phoenix Xocai healthy chocolate distributor blog.

Today I want to talk about my decision to join MXI corporation. When I was looking for a Mesa multi level marketing business with integrity, honesty, and a proven track record, I did my homework. You see, I don?t jump into a Tempe network marketing business (or any other internet home based business) without thorough research.

First, I consulted an MLM watchdog scam list of MLM companies. Unfortunately, there are many Surprise Xocai wannabes that are really just MLM marketing scams. I studied the mlm opportunities, compensation plans, history of network marketing, and marketing systems for multi level marketing companies in Tempe.

Xocai met all of my requirements and I gave it a clean bill in my MLM company review.

The Phoenix Xocai mlm is by far the smartest choice in network marketing opportunities. Many of my articles have addressed Xocai products. Choosing Xocai was a no-brainer from the product standpoint. However, there are other Mesa top MLM companies that have quality products. A Tempe MLM watchdog needs to look beyond top MLM products.

When I researched the history of Xocai founders Jeanette L. Brooks and Andrew Brooks, I began to get a sense of the Xocai MLM home business philosophy. Jeanette Brooks didn?t set out to be the NetWork Marketing MLM corporate leader. She wanted to create a MLM company that gave people the tools to prosper. Her previous company, Pure De-Lite, also had best-selling health products.

However, Pure De-Lite products were sold in Wal-Mart and other retailers. By switching to a business model that builds on a network of healthy chocolate distributors, Jeanette Brooks expanded Xocai?s influence. When you think about it, the Xocai MLM marketing model puts the profit in the hands of the healthy chocolate distributors, not Tempe big box retailers like Target, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Costco, and Wal-Mart. (Don?t you think your family could use an income boost more than your nearest Phoenix grocery store?)

The Tempe Xocai multilevel marketing system appeals to me. My Xocai meetings at The Fairfield Inn Conference Room are the best part of being a healthy chocolate distributor. I get to discuss healthy chocolate with my Xocai MLM prospects, coach my Xocai MLM downline, and share in TeamX88?s success. I also enjoy the online Xocai MLM marketing. Building online residual income frees up my time as my Xocai business grows. Life is better with a flexible Surprise multilevel company.

Thanks for visiting my Xocai healthy chocolate blog. Call me at 480.824.8318 for more information about Xocai.

Looking forward to hearing from you

Join TeamX88 today!

I am JJ Birden, and I am a Phoenix-based Xocai artisan chocolate distributor. I joined Xocai in February 2007. I sell the industry-leading Xocai Sipping Cocoa and Xocai Nuggets online and in Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert, and Surprise. Our valued Tempe customers recommend Xocai Nuggets because Xocai Nuggets chocolate will change your life!.

TeamX88 is also a fantastic Xocai Sipping Cocoa home-based business in the Tempe area. Arizona entrepreneurs can supplement their income by cashing in on a high-demand Arizona healthy artisan chocolate market. To learn more about TeamX88, visit http://www.jjbirden.com/.

Call me at 480.824.8318 to own your own Xocai Sipping Cocoa business in Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert, or Surprise.

Source: http://www.jjbirden.com/12/phoenix-mlm-watchdogs-choose-xocai/

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Child Gun Deaths Nationwide Number Nearly 6 Newtown Massacres

Police reports about the final moments of Demetrius Cruz?s life include the kind of information that is at once difficult to fathom and yet somehow part of the ordinary but tragic tapestry of life in the U.S.

Cruz was riding in a car with his cousin on a Denver street Saturday when the driver of a white car started bumping, following and then chasing the teens' car. Cruz called his aunt. He was scared. Someone in the white car fired several shots, striking and killing Cruz. He was just 15 years old. That same night in Kansas City, Mo., a bullet sliced through the body of 4-year-old Aydan Perea while he was sitting in a car with his dad. Police say Perea was the innocent and unsuspecting victim of a gang drive by. Days later, on Tuesday, Dalton Williams, 16, was killed in Pierre, S.D. with a shotgun wielded by a friend after a dispute over a paintball game.

In each case, local newspapers and television stations captured the shocking and sad details. But no national media camped outside the boys' homes, schools or places of worship. No satellite trucks were driven in to beam the faces of these human sacrifices to America?s gun violence problem abroad. The president did not call to offer his condolences. Nor did he come to town to give a speech. And no professional athletes sent their jerseys or spoke publicly about the boys' deaths.

Beyond their families and friends, the deaths of Cruz, Perea and Williams and the hundreds of others like them across the country this year went largely unnoticed. The mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. a week ago left 20 children and six adults dead, and millions of Americans distraught and, in some cases, interested anew in a conversation about gun control.

Cruz, Perea and Williams are just another string of child shooting victims whose deaths somehow seem not uncommon because they happened one at a time. Together though, child shooting fatalities in the U.S. last year alone amounted to more than two dozen Sandy Hook massacres -- and the country has scarcely reacted.

In 2011, guns were used to murder 8,583 people living in the U.S., according to the most recent FBI data available. Among those murdered by guns, there were 565 young people under the age of 18, and 119 children ages 12 or younger -- the latter number nearly equivalent to six Newtown mass shootings. And these figures include only homicides.

?It?s staggering,? said Lindsay Nichols, an attorney with the California-based pubic interest law firm and gun-control advocacy organization the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. ?We are all shocked by the news in Newtown, Conn., but when you think about it, it is equally tragic and equally horrific every day so many families suffer this loss and that every year there are so many funerals of children that family members have to attend.?

Just Tuesday, Paul Samplteton Sr. found the body of his 14-year-old son, Paul Sampleton Jr., bound and shot dead in the family?s Grayson, Ga. home. Police suspect the boy may have interrupted a robbery. The Sampleton family will mark a very different kind of Christmas this year, then bury their son next Friday.

Then there are the stories of children killed in gun accidents and suicides. In 2010, the most recent year for which detailed Centers for Disease Control data is available, 129 people between the ages of 1 and 19 died in gun accidents. Another 749 took their own lives using a firearm, most of which were owned by a parent.

This year, in the days leading up to the mass shooting in Newtown, 12-year-old Demetri Phillips was shot and killed by a friend while playing with a gun in their shared home on Dec. 6. Two days later, Craig Allen Loughrey, 7, died in a gun store parking lot. His father?s gun went off inside the family truck and struck the boy, strapped into a booster seat, in the chest.

The problem isn?t exactly new. In 1997, the Centers for Disease Control found that in the U.S. the rate of death among children 15 and under due to gunshot wounds was nearly 12 times higher than those in 15 other developed countries. Child deaths caused by guns have dropped since that time, along with other types of crime.

But the number of children and teens killed in 2008 and 2009 in the U.S. alone could fill 229 classroom with 25 students, according to a report released by the Children?s Defense Fund this year. In 2009, of all the people 18 and under that died due to a firearm injury of any kind, 43 percent were black and 20 percent were Latino, making gun violence a disproportionately common event among teens of color, according to the Children's Defense Fund report.

On Friday, National Rifle Association vice president Wayne LaPierre proposed a program that would put armed guards and perhaps other adults with guns in every school, saying ?good guys? with firearms were the surest way to protect the nation?s children.

Nichols, of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, described the NRA?s proposal as preposterous.

?I think it?s an absurd and dangerous idea,? Nichols said. ?But as with so many of their proposals I think its real aim is to encourage the sale of more firearms. The biggest donors to the NRA are firearms manufacturers. Besides, arming and equipping all these people he wants to put in schools, having guns where kids see them daily is a tool to market weapons to the next generation.?

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/21/child-gun-deaths-newtown_n_2347920.html

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Police detain 15 protesting at Russian bill to ban U.S. adoption

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Police detained 15 Russians protesting against a bill to ban U.S. adoptions of Russian orphans in retaliation for a U.S. law that punishes Russian human rights violators, activists said on Wednesday.

Despite criticism of the measure by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, pro-Kremlin lawmakers will hold a preliminary vote on the proposal and on another that would bar Russian non-profit groups from receiving funds from the United States.

Opposition activists said the protesters were detained outside Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma.

Another two dozen protesters stood in the freezing cold heckling deputies as they entered the building. One activist held up before-and-after pictures of a Russian child looking bruised, then happy with his new American parents.

"They (the deputies) are committing an awful act against our people," said Lev Kukhovyesky, 28, a historian who was among the protesters. "We would like to show that we are not indifferent."

The initiatives, which have upset civil rights groups, were added to a bill, approved in the first of three readings on Friday, which would bar entry to Americans who violate the rights of Russians abroad and freeze their assets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the original bill as an "adequate" response to the U.S. law, which he said had hurt ties with Moscow by ordering visas be denied to Russian human rights violators.

But Putin has signaled he wants to limit the damage to a "reset" in relations with President Barack Obama's administration. The Kremlin said the U.S. leader would visit Russia in the first half of next year.

Putin said the response to the so-called Magnitsky Act should not be "excessive" - a position echoed by his spokesman ahead of the vote on amendments to the bill.

"The tough, emotional reaction of Russian lawmakers is understandable. Of course, the position of the executive branch is more restrained," Dmitry Peskov told the state Itar-Tass agency.

The bill is likely to be put to a third and final vote on Friday. The upper house of parliament and Putin are expected to approve the bill, making it law by the end of the year.

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Lavrov said a ban on U.S. adoptions would be wrong and Education Minister Dmitry Livanov criticized the idea on his Twitter microblog.

Any ban on U.S. adoptions would go back on new rules agreed in July.

The U.S. Magnitsky Act was drawn up because of concern over the death in a Russian prison of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009. It has outraged Russian politicians and members of parliament.

In turn, the Duma's bill is named in honor of Dima Yakovlev - a Russian 2-year-old who died when his American adoptive father forgot that he had left him in a closed car in sweltering heat in 2008.

The man was acquitted in the United States, sparking public outraged in Russia and the stricter adoption rules.

(Reporting by Sonia Elks and Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-detain-15-protesting-russian-bill-ban-u-092357367.html

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Wendy Ford applies for vacancy on Wake County school board

A former longtime upstate New York school board member on Wednesday became the first person to apply for the upcoming vacancy on the Wake County school board.

Wendy Ford of Wake Forest says her 19 years on the school board of the Churchville-Chili Central School District will provide valuable experience in Wake. She?s hoping to fill the District 1 seat that covers Wake Forest, Rolesville and much of Eastern Wake. Chris Malone will vacate the post Dec. 31 to take the seat in the state House he won in November.

?I am a firm believer in the power of establishing meaningful relationships within the community and on the Board in order to accomplish great things together,? Ford says in her application. ?As a Board member, I would be visible in Eastern Wake?s schools, town halls and community institutions.?

All the applicants were asked to say how they?d help advance the school board?s strategic plan. Ford says she?d do these things:
* Advocating for all children in Wake County through a lens of fairness and equity.
* Remaining mindful that high-quality, well-supported teachers and staff members have positive effects on school cultures and student achievement.
* Working within budgetary constraints to provide the best access to instructional resources for students, including technology.
* Building upon common values in maintaining meaningful and respectful relationships with community stakeholders to advance the education of all children.
* Supporting a culture of high expectations among all Wake County residents and helping the board meet these expectations.
* Providing a fresh, objective, approach to the issues facing our community?s schools.

Ford was on the Churchville-Chili school board from 1978 to 1997. Located near Rochester, the district has about 4,250 students, compared to the nearly 150,000 in Wake.

Ford relocated to Wake County in 1997 when she accepted a transfer from her company, Moore Document Solutions. Ford says in her application that she recently left her career in sales so she?ll have the time to serve on the board.

Ford says that she has two grandchildren enrolled in Wake schools and that one son is an administrator.

Click here to view her application.

The board?s eight remaining members will interview applicants and vote on a successor to Malone. The board is officially non-partisan, but it?s led by a Democratic majority and elections records show that Ford is a registered Republican.

Democrats could create a 6-3 super majority that would allow it to waive board policies.

Malone?s replacement would finish out his term, which runs through November. The new board member could also run in 2013 for a full four-year term.

Wake is accepting applications for the vacancy through Jan. 4. Click here for how to apply.

Source: http://blogs.newsobserver.com/wakeed/wendy-ford-applies-for-vacancy-on-wake-county-school-board

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Auto Loan Deal of the Day: APL Credit Union at 2.39% APR

Rates on vehicles are at historical lows, and now is the best time to take advantage of them.?If you have been sitting on the sidelines and delaying the purchase of that new car or truck, the new auto loan rates at?APL Credit Union?may change your mind. Currently, APL is offering 2.39% APR on the purchase a new vehicle for up to 36 month auto loans.

Auto Loan Terms and Conditions

The?auto loan?rate?listed above is for members of APL Credit Union, and applies to terms up to 36 months. To qualify, applicants must meet credit worthiness and down payment guidelines. Visit APL Credit Union to apply for an auto loan.

APL Credit Union?is Howard County?s community credit union, serving members since 1954. As a full-service financial institution, it offers convenient, superior, innovative financial services delivered with a personal touch and designed to meet all of its members? financial needs.

APL Credit Union is open to anyone who lives, works (or regularly conducts business in), or attends school in Howard County, Maryland. Immediate family members of current credit union members are also eligible for membership ? even if they do not live or work in Howard County.

Other Terms and Conditions may apply. Additionally, interest rates are based on the institution?s online published rates and may have changed since this offer was posted. Please contact the financial institution for the most recent rate updates and to review the terms of the offer.

Source: http://www.gobankingrates.com/auto-loans/apl-credit-union-2-39-apr/

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Precautionary lockdown at elementary school in Newtown

(Reuters) - An elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, was put on lockdown on Tuesday, the first day back at school for most of the town's children since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults in a shooting rampage at another grade school in town.

As funerals continued for victims of last week's gun massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, local media reported that Head O'Meadow Elementary School was placed on lockdown for reasons that authorities declined to discuss.

"All I can tell you is we've taken precautionary measures for all persons involved," a Newtown Police dispatcher told Reuters.

The lockdown came as educators and officials across the country grappled with how to respond to the shooting and wondered if there was any way to keep a rampaging gunman from breaching school grounds.

Elsewhere, a phoned-in bomb threat forced the evacuation on Tuesday of more than 800 students and staff at a junior high school in the city of Idaho Falls in the eastern part of Idaho.

Idaho Falls police, using a bomb-sniffing dog, uncovered no explosives at Taylorview Middle School during a two-hour search, but school district officials canceled classes for 750 seventh and eighth grade students and 85 faculty and staff members.

"We're taking every incident involving schools very seriously and we plan to make any person who is threatening children accountable," police spokeswoman Joelyn Hansen said.

News of the apparent hoax came one day after police in Boise, Idaho, took a man into custody outside an elementary school after receiving a report that he was suicidal and on his way to his child's school.

And in Palm Springs, California, an 18-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday after allegedly posting a threat against Palm Springs High School using the Facebook account of a 15-year-old friend who attends the school, authorities said.

David Guadalupe Torres, 18, was charged with making criminal threats, a felony, for posting a message on Monday night that threatened to shoot students at the school, police said in a statement.

The threat was reported to police on Monday by the parents of the friend. When that student learned of the post and confronted Torres, he admitted writing it as a joke, police said.

Torres was being held on a $75,000 bond. A search of his home did not recover any firearms, police said.

Police say 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, Nancy, at her home on Friday before shooting his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and opening fire on students and teachers. He shot himself to death following the rampage, authorities say.

(Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg and Laura Zuckerman; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/precautionary-lockdown-elementary-school-newtown-004058221.html

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to donate $500 mn in stock

San Francisco: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he is donating nearly USD 500 million in stock to a Silicon Valley charity to focus on health and education issues.

The gift of 18 million Facebook shares is valued at USD 498.8 million based on their closing stock price yesterday, when Zuckerberg, 28, made the donation. The beneficiary is the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a nonprofit that works with donors to allocate their gifts.

This is Zuckerberg's largest donation to date. He pledged USD 100 million in Facebook stock to Newark, New Jersey, public schools in 2010, before his company went public earlier this year. Later in 2010, he joined Giving Pledge, an effort led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett to get the richest Americans to donate most of their wealth.

Source: http://financialexpress.com/news/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-to-donate-500-mn-in-stock/1047526/

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How To Get Effective Marketing Through The Internet - Maynas Eric

The Internet has exploded all across the world and it?s crossing over to many different mediums. For individuals deciding to open a web business, they find that the competition has never been quite so thick. If you aren?t sure how to go about this, use the information provided in this article. Use the following tips as part of your online business strategy.

To attract the right people to your site, know who you are aiming to reach out to, and what you will need to do that. When you figure out your target market, it will be simple to create content that keeps them coming back for more.

It?s common knowledge that power is highly respected in business. If you are the boss of your company, let people know! The first thing you want to do is name yourself as president or as the CEO of the business you?re running.

TIP! Understand that Internet marketing is not going to be an overnight success, and you should never rely strictly on one method. This is especially important when developing a new business.

When marketing your product, it is important that you have a FAQ. Given that you want to sell your products, you should aim to make them the right answers to the questions whenever possible. Make sure, however, that you do not try too hard to ?sell? your products, as this could turn off readers.

Open accounts on social networking sites, such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, and send out information about your business. Make sure to only send information to people who have opted in to your mailing list, since some social networking sites have been closing accounts or even suing people who send unwanted email.

TIP! An important tip regarding Internet marketing is to give rewards to those that either frequent your site often or purchase from you often. Your repeat visitors are one of your greatest assets, and you need to show them that you value them.

You should link your website everywhere you can. Include it at the bottom of every message board or forum posting, for example. Include your link in every business email you send out. This is a way to subtly advertise your website and could increase your ratings in search engines too. As well as the URL, include a short call-to-action phrase.

Tailor your banner ads to deviate from what people would expect a normal banner ad to look like. Make your banner stand out from the crowd, and potential buyers will be more likely to click it.

While a few bells and whistles can enhance your site, avoid making it too busy or distracting. You have a short time to engage a consumer online and you want your site to grab their attention immediately. If it takes a long time, the reader will go on to someone else?s site.

TIP! If your business has a successful marketing plan, you are probably aware of which specific products and services consistently generate the most profit. Now you need to build off of those most successful items to drive more sales.

Website marketing thrives on capitalizing on advancement in modern technology. Your prospective customers will move on if your company doesn?t stay current with the competition. Make sure that you are updated on new technologies, and your customers will respect your products and the decisions that you make.

Make your website interesting and beautifully designed. The website that you create is the very center of the affiliate marketing strategy you employ. The website should be designed well, be informative and interesting along with relevant. You need to design the site in a way that is visually interesting and keeps visitors sticking around and exploring for awhile.

Always think about different ways to advertise and market your website. Use search engine optimization techniques, social network media and blog posts for free Online marketing. These are some of the ways that you can increase your traffic to improve sales. Get creative!

TIP! Try taking advantage of searches using images. When a browser online searches some type of keyword, you will have a better chance of being found if you actually tag your images with the proper keywords.

For instance, if you provide home goods, consider joining forces with a business that sells baby products, and give their customers a price break. You can also let your partner provide discounts to customers on your products, and you both will receive extra revenue due to expanded audiences.

Utilize email as a way to keep your customers interested in what you have to offer. Send them messages that have quality content, including updates on products and sales you may have. They do not want to be spammed, so make sure your emails provide interesting and relevant content. With a newsletter, you can remain in touch with a customer for quite some time, and make him or her feel welcome to return to your website.

Show proof that your product works on your website. It is hard to believe that your product will work unless people have proof. Provide a video of yourself using your product on your website. Always try and use the products you sell so that you know what you?re talking about.

TIP! If you like to use e-mails as one of your primary modes of connecting with your customers, you should ensure that you mix up the information that you provide them with. It is all too easy for customers to no longer even see the links that become too familiar.

If you are interested in having others link to your website, create a link that is readily available to them on your site. Those who enjoy your site will be able to provide a link back to you by simply clicking that button you have provided. Then, anyone who visits their site will see your link and possibly decide to click on the link and visit your site. They might even decide to link back to your site themselves.

In order to have people get emotionally attached to your product, try using emotional descriptions. This will help you to build up your brand and make it easily recognizable to others. This emotional connection comes from words that describe the good results your product will have in vivid terms.

It can be intimidating at first but the world of web marketing is well worth the efforts that it takes to learn. Use what you learned from this article and look for more Website marketing tips before you launch your online business.

TIP! Reaching out to your customers is a way to personalize their experience, and show them you are paying attention. Invite customers to give you feedback once they have had some time to evaluate your product.

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www.facebook.com/maynaseric

Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/how-to-get-effective-marketing-through-the-internet

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Japan's LDP surges back to power, eyes two-thirds majority with ally

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) surged back to power in an election on Sunday just three years after a devastating defeat, giving ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a chance to push his hawkish security agenda and radical economic recipe.

An LDP win will usher in a government committed to a tough stance in a territorial row with China, a pro-nuclear energy policy despite last year's Fukushima disaster and a potentially risky prescription for hyper-easy monetary policy and big fiscal spending to beat deflation and tame a strong yen.

Exit polls by television broadcasters showed the LDP winning nearly 300 seats in parliament's powerful 480-member lower house, while its ally, the small New Komeito party, looked set to win about 30 seats.

That would give the two parties the two-thirds majority needed to over-rule parliament's upper house, where they lack a majority and which can block bills, which would help to break a policy deadlock that has plagued the world's third biggest economy since 2007.

"We need to overcome the crisis Japan is undergoing. We have promised to pull Japan out of deflation and correct a strong yen. The situation is severe, but we need to do this," Abe said on live TV. "The same goes for national security and diplomacy."

Parliament is expected to vote Abe in as prime minister on December 26.

Analysts said that while markets had already pushed the yen lower and share prices higher in anticipation of an LDP victory, stocks could rise further and the yen weaken if the "super majority" was confirmed.

Top executives of the LDP and the New Komeito confirmed that they would form a coalition. "The basis, of course, is a coalition between the LDP and the New Komeito. But if there's room to cooperate with Japan Restoration Party, we need to do so," said LDP Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba, referring to a new, right-leaning party that was set to pick up about 46 seats.

"I think there is room to do this in the area of national defense," he said, referring to cooperation with the Japan Restoration Party. The New Komeito is more moderate than the LDP on security issues.

DEMOCRATS' DEBACLE

Exit polls showed Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) winning only 65 seats, just over a fifth of its tally in 2009.

The DPJ, which swept to power in 2009 promising to pay more heed to consumers than companies and reduce bureaucrats' control over policymaking, was hit by defections just before the vote.

Party executive Kohei Otsuka told NHK that Noda would likely have to quit the party leadership over the defeat, in which several party heavyweights lost their seats.

Many voters had said the DPJ failed to meet election pledges as it struggled to govern and cope with last year's huge earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, and then pushed through an unpopular sales tax increase with LDP help.

Voter distaste for both major parties has spawned a clutch of new parties including the Japan Restoration Party, founded by popular Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto.

LDP leader Abe, 58, who quit as premier in 2007 citing ill health after a troubled year in office, has been talking tough in a row with China over uninhabited isles in the East China Sea, although some experts say he may temper his hard line with pragmatism once in office.

"The Senkaku islands are inherently Japanese territory," Abe said, referring to the islands that China calls the Diaoyu. "I want to show my strong determination to prevent this from changing."

But he also said he had no intention of worsening relations with China

The soft-spoken grandson of a prime minister, who would become Japan's seventh premier in six years, Abe also wants to loosen the limits of a 1947 pacifist constitution on the military, so Japan can play a bigger global security role.

China's official Xinhua news agency, noting the deterioration in relations with Japan, warned it not to continue its lurch to the right.

"An economically weak and politically angry Japan will not only hurt the country, but also hurt the region and the world at large," Xinhua said. "Japan, which brought great harm and devastation to other Asian countries in World War II, will raise further suspicions among its neighbors if the current political trend of turning right is not stopped in time."

"UNLIMITED" MONETARY EASING

The LDP, which promoted atomic energy during its decades-long reign, is expected to be friendly to nuclear utilities, although deep public safety concerns remain a barrier to business-as-usual for the industry.

Abe has called for "unlimited" monetary easing and big spending on public works to rescue the economy from its fourth recession since 2000. Such policies, a centerpiece of the LDP's platform for decades, have been criticized by many as wasteful pork-barrel politics.

"Quantitative easing by the BOJ will help correct a strong yen and push up stock prices," Abe said ."That will help boost investment and lead to rises in wages, jobs and household revenues. We'd like to shorten the time needed for this to happen."

Kyodo news agency said the new government could draft an extra budget for 2012/13 worth up to 10 trillion yen ($120 billion) and issue debt to pay for it.

Many economists say that prescription for "Abenomics" could create temporary growth and enable the government to go ahead with a planned initial sales tax rise in 2014 to help curb a public debt now twice the size of gross domestic product.

But it looks unlikely to cure deeper ills or bring sustainable growth, and risks triggering a market backlash if investors decide Japan has lost control of its finances.

"It's a pretty big win for the LDP. Abe's economic policies will be implemented so the economy will improve next year. The problem is what happens after that," said Koichi Haji, chief economist at NLI Research Institute.

"Japan can't spend on public works for ever and the Bank of Japan's monetary easing won't keep the yen weak for too long. The key is whether Abe can implement long-term structural reforms and growth strategies."

Japan's economy has been stuck in the doldrums for decades, its population ageing fast and big corporate brands faltering, making "Japan Inc" a synonym for decline.

Consumer electronics firms such as Sony Corp are struggling with competition from foreign rivals and burdened by a strong yen, which makes their products cost more overseas.

(Additional reporting by Chikafumi Hodo, Yoko Kubota, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Leika Kihara and Mari Saito in TOKYO, Yoshiyuki Osada in OSAKA and Sui-Lee Wee in BEIJING; Editing by Robert Birsel and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japan-votes-election-seen-returning-ldp-power-000943156.html

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10 Afghan girls collecting firewood killed in blast

A blast killed 10 Afghan girls who were collecting firewood in eastern Afghanistan, according to government officials. In a separate incident, two Afghans died in an attack in Kabul. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

By NBC News staff and wire reports

Updated at 9:50 a.m. ET: A blast killed 10 Afghan girls Monday as they were collecting firewood in eastern Afghanistan, government officials said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion in volatile Nangarhar province. It could have been a bomb planted by Taliban insurgents or a landmine left over from decades of conflict.

UN calls for Afghanistan to protect women from rape, forced marriage

The girls, between nine and 11 years old, were collecting wood in remote Chaparhar district, near the porous border with Pakistan, which is infested with some of the world's most dangerous militant groups.?

PhotoBlog: Prayers for girls killed as they collected firewood

"Unfortunately, 10 little girls were killed and two others wounded but we don't know whether it was planted by the Taliban," said Ahmadzia Abdulzai, provincial government spokesman.

Women and children are often the victims of the war between the Taliban and U.S.-led NATO and Afghan forces, now in its 11th year.

Noorullah Shirzada / AFP - Getty Images

Afghan volunteers carry the body of a girl killed when in an explosion as they were collecting firewood Monday.

Two killed in Kabul bombing
Meanwhile, a truck full of explosives blew up when it hit the offices of a U.S.-based company in the capital, Kabul, killing two Afghan civilians and wounding at least 15, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

The blast took place Monday at an office for the company Contrack, which sells and supplies generators in Afghanistan.

EXCLUSIVE: US, NATO behind 'insecurity' in Afghanistan, Karzai says

The Interior Ministry spokesman said that two foreigners were among the wounded, but no further details on their national identities were immediately available.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing.

"A suicide car bomber attacked an important American company which is involved in security," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement obtained by Reuters.

"The company was under our surveillance for a long time and today we succeeded," the statement said.

According to its website, Contrack is headquartered in McLean, Va., and has had an office in Kabul since 2003. It was acquired by Orascom in 2005.

Afghan tycoons fear banks help kidnap gangs

More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.

After Monday's blast in Kabul, Western men clutching weapons walked outside the company compound as ambulances sped by, Reuters reported. A NATO soldier walked by parts of a building that was torn apart by the blast, which left a large crater. A brick wall collapsed.

The Taliban have expanded their reach beyond their strongholds in southern and eastern Afghanistan to some areas in the north that were relatively peaceful for years. ?

NBC News? Akbar Shinwari and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/17/15960780-10-afghan-girls-collecting-firewood-killed-in-blast?lite

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Mexico's Mayas face Dec. 21 with ancestral calm

FILE - In this March 20, 2010 file photo, a man performs a ritual as he looks toward the descent of the Kukulkcan serpent, whose image is seen illuminated along the edge of the stairs of the Mayan Chichen Itza pyramid, during the Spring equinox in Chichen Itza, Mexico. A chorus of books and movies tried to link the Mayan calendar to rumors of impending disasters ranging from rogue black holes and sun-storms to the idea that the Earth's magnetic field could 'flip' on that date. Archaeologists says there is no evidence the Maya ever made any such prophesy. (AP Photo/Israel Leal, File)

FILE - In this March 20, 2010 file photo, a man performs a ritual as he looks toward the descent of the Kukulkcan serpent, whose image is seen illuminated along the edge of the stairs of the Mayan Chichen Itza pyramid, during the Spring equinox in Chichen Itza, Mexico. A chorus of books and movies tried to link the Mayan calendar to rumors of impending disasters ranging from rogue black holes and sun-storms to the idea that the Earth's magnetic field could 'flip' on that date. Archaeologists says there is no evidence the Maya ever made any such prophesy. (AP Photo/Israel Leal, File)

This Dec. 14, 2012 photo shows a detail of a replica of the Sixth Monument, which mentions the 13th Baktun, the end of a major 5,125-year cycle in the Mayan Long Count calendar, on display at the Mayan Museum in Cancun. Amid a worldwide frenzy of advertisers and new-agers preparing for a Maya apocalypse, one group is approaching Dec. 21 with calm and equanimity calm _ the people whose ancestors supposedly made the prediction in the first place. Mexico's 800,000 Mayas are not the sinister, secretive, apocalypse-obsessed race they've been made out to be. (AP Photo/Israel Leal)

Donaciana Cupul cooks in her home, a traditional stucture, in the Mayan community of Hidalgo in Yucatan state, Mexico Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. Mexico's 800,000 Mayas are not the sinister, secretive, apocalypse-obsessed race they've been made out to be. In their heartland on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, Mayas continue their daily lives. Many still live simply in thatched, oval, mud-and-stick houses designed mostly for natural air-conditioning against the oppressive heat of the Yucatan, where they plant corn, harvest oranges and raise pigs. (AP Photo/Israel Leal)

UH-MAY, Mexico (AP) ? Amid a worldwide frenzy of advertisers and new-agers preparing for a Maya apocalypse, one group is approaching Dec. 21 with calm and equanimity ? the people whose ancestors supposedly made the prediction in the first place.

Mexico's 800,000 Mayas are not the sinister, secretive, apocalypse-obsessed race they've been made out to be.

In their heartland on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, Mayas continue their daily lives, industriously pedaling three-wheeled bikes laden with family members and animal fodder down table-flat roads. They tell rhyming off-color jokes at dances, and pull chairs out onto the sidewalk in the evening to chat and enjoy the relative cool after a hot day.

Many still live simply in thatched, oval, mud-and-stick houses designed mostly for natural air conditioning against the oppressive heat of the Yucatan, where they plant corn, harvest oranges and raise pigs.

When asked about the end next week of a major cycle in the 5,125-year Mayan Long Count calendar, a period known as the 13th Baktun, many respond with a healthy dose of homespun Maya philosophy.

"We don't know if the world is going to end," said Liborio Yeh Kinil, a 62-year-old who can usually be found sitting on a chair outside his small grocery store at the corner of the grassy central square of the town of Uh-May in Quintana Roo state. "Remember 2006, and the '6-6-6' (June 6, 2006): A lot of people thought something was going to happen, and nothing happened after all."

Reflecting a world view with roots as old as the nearby Ceiba tree, or Yax-che, the tree of life for the ancient Maya, Yeh Kinil added: "Why get panicky? If something is going to happen, it's going to happen."

A chorus of books and movies has sought to link the Mayan calendar to rumors of impending disasters ranging from rogue black holes and solar storms to the idea that the Earth's magnetic field could 'flip' on that date.

Archaeologists say there is no evidence the Maya ever made any such prophesy. Indeed, average Mayas probably never used the Long Count calendar, neither today nor at the culture's peak between A.D. 300 and 600. The long count was reserved for priests and astronomers, while average Mayas measure time as farmers tend to do ? by planting seasons and monthly lunar cycles.

Mayan priests, or shamans, at the temple of the Talking Crosses in the town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto say they don't know when, or if, the world will end. The church was the focus and last bastion of the 1847-1901 Mayan uprising in Mexico and perhaps the most sacred site for average Mayas. Its name comes from the conspirators who hid behind the crosses and whispered instructions to incite the revolt.

Mayan priest and farmer Petronilo Acevedo Pena says God may punish humanity someday, because people have stopped going to church.

"When people planted their corn fields 50 years ago, everybody from all the towns around would pray" for good harvests, he said. "But when the government started giving out aid, seeds and fertilizer ... what do the people do now? They go to the government to ask for help."

"The world is going to end, but we don't know when it will end, nobody ever gave a date," said Acevedo Pena. "They said it would be in 2000, but nothing happened."

Still, advertisers are running wild with the doomsday theme.

One beer-company billboard near the resort of Tulum proclaims, "2012 isn't the end, it's just the beginning ? of the party!"

The Mexico subsidiary of Renault is running "end of the world" promotions with interest-free loans for car sales: "Given that the world is ending, we're ending interest rates!"

Oprah Winfrey's website got into the act by publishing a list of "Apocalypse Dinners." It says: "Whether the world is really ending or whether you're just having a busy week, these six make-ahead meals from cookbook author Lidia Bastianich freeze well and feed many."

The Caribbean coast resort of Xcaret issued "million-dollar reward" certificates for anybody who survives the end of the world. "In case the world ends on Dec. 21, 2012, the beneficiary must be in Xcaret the day after the cataclysmic event with a valid photo ID in order to request payment," the certificate reads. "In case the world comes to an end, the beneficiary will be fully responsible for repopulating the world."

Sandos Hotels and Resorts, a Spanish-owned all-inclusive resort chain, is promoting a "New Era" celebration at its Sandos Caracol hotel in Playa de Carmen, near Tulum. "We invite guests to celebrate a transition to the beginning of what we, and many Mayan leaders and scholars hope will evolve into a new era of environmental sustainability and cultural consciousness," the hotel's website says.

Expectations are also running high in New Age circles.

Shantal Carrillo helps her mother, The Venerable Mother Nah-Kin, run the Kinich-Ahau spiritual center in Merida, and hopes to lead hundreds of people in an energy-renewing ceremony at the "dawn of the new era" at the Mayan ruins of Uxmal. They hope Uxmal, whose rounded-edge pyramid is unique in the Maya world, will act as an "antenna" for cosmic energy.

"We have performed ceremonies for many years to reactivate the pyramid at Uxmal as an antenna, because it had been unused for many years," said Carrillo, who expects Dec. 21 "to give the world an injection of this energy" by having hundreds of people hold hands at the foot of the pyramid.

It's unclear whether archaeological authorities will allow such ceremonies.

Jose May, of the Merida tourism office, expects all of the city's hotel rooms to be full Dec. 21.

"I'm worried that there are going to be more people than (hotel) rooms," he said. "The people who are coming are basically spiritual, and that could be a problem as well, because those people like to form circles to receive energy, and there is no way to reserve space for that kind of thing at the ruin sites."

Moises Rozanes, who runs the run-down Hostal Zocalo in an old building on Merida's main square, says he once saw a flying saucer and spoke with an extraterrestrial who identified himself as Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec equivalent of the chief Maya god, Kukulkan, the bringer of wisdom.

He "told me the world was going to change, but he didn't say when," Rozanes said, recalling the 1997 encounter. He doesn't know what's going to happen Dec. 21, but is happy his hotel is getting business. "Everything's filling up" as far as bookings for the date, he said.

In all the fervor, Mayas rely on an ancestral calm built of good humor, calmness and the fact that it's too hot to get all worked up about things.

"A lot of people are reading things, and getting scared, about the world ending. But that's not going to happen," said Mayan priest Ildefonso Cahuich May. "God is not going to turn around so fast and say, 'I'm going to kill all my children.'"

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-15-Mexico-Mayan%20Calendar%202012/id-f844af79f3c64491ac7adad1b5733249

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