Beer and curry is Flintoff's F1 diet for India (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Andrew Flintoff's advice to Formula One teams visiting India for the country's first grand prix next week is to fuel themselves on beer and curry.

Virgin Racing team boss John Booth bumped into the colourful ex-England, Lancashire and Chennai Super Kings cricketer at Silverstone in July and picked his brains about health and safety.

"I knew he'd been to the Subcontinent on a number of occasions and he said he'd never ever had a problem, just eat lots of curry and drink lots of beer," Yorkshireman Booth told Reuters at last weekend's Korean Grand Prix.

"Bottled beer and street curry. Sounds like a perfect recipe for me. That's like an Englishman's dream that, isn't it?".

Behind the light-hearted banter, and unsurprising advice from a man whose passion for beer and curry was well-documented as a player, there are some serious issues to be addressed as teams venture into what is, for most in the globetrotting glamour sport, unknown territory.

What the drivers and mechanics eat, how they get safely to and from the circuit and general security measures in a country always on alert for terror attacks must all be considered.

"On a personal level you wouldn't even think about it but when you're responsible for 70 people then suddenly it's a whole new level," said Booth.

SAFETY CONCERNS

Rumours that some teams were bringing all their food with them from Europe, or flying in reserve staff as backup in case of an outbreak of 'Delhi Belly', appear wide of the mark.

"I think the only reason people would take their own food is to guard against the hyped cost of food when you get there," said Booth, citing some of the charges listed by official providers.

Security is another matter, and there the cricket connection again comes into play.

"I believe the people who give security to the England cricket team have given some advice to Mercedes and ourselves and maybe some other teams as well," McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh told Reuters.

He and the others were reluctant to give details.

"What we don't want to do is make the story, frankly, that we are all worried about going to India. We've got to be respectful," said Whitmarsh.

"India is our host and for us to denigrate or suggest that we've got extra concerns (would be wrong). We have them wherever. Nowadays any modern company has a big duty of care to all of its staff and we've got to look after them."

The teams are no strangers to special measures, hiring security guards in Brazil where even drivers have been held up by armed robbers at traffic lights and where luxury hotels are never far from teeming slums and sewers.

There is also Bahrain, whose grand prix remains on the calendar for next season despite this year's violent unrest.

"Terrorism can happen anywhere, it can happen on a tube in London or anywhere. so we have got to be aware of that," said Whitmarsh, whose team have their own doctor. "We've tried to take some precautions, we've sought some advice.

"The staff will be chaperoned ... and the drivers, myself and every member of the team and catering are all staying in the same hotel. That's because we don't know the scene so well.

"That's an unusual thing to do but we're doing that to try and make sure we can then get people to travel together and manage the situation," said the McLaren boss.

Sauber's Dehradun-born Chief Executive Monisha Kaltenborn suggested most of the worries were down to unfamiliarity.

"You look at what happens in Brazil which can be dangerous to your life, when people come and point a gun at you. And that's not made such a big issue of," she told Reuters.

"Half the people haven't been to India and they just hear something and then they panic over it."

(Editing by Peter Rutherford; For Reuters sports blog Left Field go to: http://blogs.reuters.com/sport)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111018/india_nm/india599581

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China economic growth slows ? to 9.1%

By Joe McDonald, The Associated Press

China's rapid growth eased last quarter to a still-robust 9.1 percent ? enough to ease concerns of an abrupt slowdown in the world's second-largest economy but too little to buoy the troubled West.

Growth in the three months through September was down from the previous quarter's 9.5 percent and the lowest level in two years, data showed Tuesday. The government said that was in line with plans to steer growth that hit 10.3 percent last year to a more sustainable level and cool politically dangerous inflation.

AP

Sales promoters talk to visitors at a housing fair in Nanjing in eastern China's Jiangsu province this week. China's rapid economic growth eased in the latest quarter as the government tried to prevent overheating.

The moderation amid Europe's debt crisis and high U.S. unemployment might reduce China's contribution to global growth, though analysts say its expansion cannot shore up a slumping world economy on its own.

"This means China itself is still growing well and will continue to generate demand for commodities and exports," said Darius Kowalczyk, senior economist for Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong. Still, he said, "I don't think they are going to save the world."

Beijing has repeatedly hiked interest rates and imposed curbs on construction and other investment to prevent runaway growth and cool inflation that surged to a 37-month high of 6.5 percent in July. It has promised to ease some bank lending curbs to help struggling small businesses but analysts expect it to maintain most of its controls.

A government spokesman said the latest data, which also showed strong retail sales and factory production, was evidence Beijing's strategy was working and the economy was on the right track.

"There is quite a strong possibility for China's economy to maintain steady and relatively fast growth," said a spokesman for the National Statistics Bureau, Sheng Laiyun, at a news conference.

Sheng warned China faces "rising risks" due to weakness in key U.S. and European export markets. But he said it is unlikely to suffer a "double dip," or relapse into an economic slump.

China is forecast to account for about one-third of global growth this year. But analysts caution that its consumption and investment are too small to offset lower U.S. and European demand. Its multibillion-dollar trade surplus also limits benefits for its trading partners.

Deutsche Bank economist Ma Jun has estimated China would have to grow by 18 percent this year to make up for a 3 percentage point drop in U.S. and European growth.

The International Monetary Fund is forecasting China's growth this year at 9.5 percent, compared with just 1.5 percent for the United States and a 0.5 percent contraction for Japan ? East Asia's other economic giant.

The latest Chinese growth was the slowest since an 8.9 percent expansion in the third quarter of 2009.

China's retail sales rose 17 percent in September, slightly ahead of the growth rate for the first half of the year, data showed. Factory production rose 14.2 percent over a year earlier for the quarter.

China's exporters have been hurt by weak global demand that saw September export growth tumble to 17.1 percent from August's 24.5 percent. But Sheng said retail sales and other indicators showed the communist government's efforts to reduce reliance on trade by boosting domestic consumption were gaining traction.

Premier Wen Jiabao promised last weekend to help exporters by maintaining a "stable exchange rate," a move that might fuel tensions with Washington over Beijing's currency controls.

China's inflation eased to 6.1 percent in September, though food price inflation held steady at August's level of 13.4 percent. Analysts expect inflation to ease further as the autumn harvest comes in.

China's demand for iron ore, industrial components and other foreign goods already has eased as the government clamped down on a construction boom. Export-driven manufacturers that account for half of the country's imports have reacted to lower orders by cutting purchases of supplies.

Imports of polyester fell 21.7 percent in September from a year earlier while imports of unrefined aluminum declined 7.9 percent, according to customs data. Growth in oil imports declined from last year's double-digit rates to 4 percent.

Weaker Chinese demand is likely to hit other Asian economies that supply its factories industrial components, as well as Australia, Chile and other exporters of minerals such as iron ore and copper.

"China will contribute a significant portion of global growth," said Mark Williams of Capital Economics in London. "But it's a separate issue whether China contributes to growth in the world outside China, and that really depends on whether it can bring its trade surplus down."

Also Tuesday, the government said growth in housing prices and new construction eased in September, another sign efforts to cool the economy are taking hold.

A survey of 70 cities found prices declined in 17 of them from August to September, rose in only one and held steady in the rest, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The number of housing starts rose 8.9 percent over a year earlier, down from a 25 percent gain in the first eight months of the year.

"September probably marked the beginning of a correction, but the central government wouldn't want to stop tightening just yet," said Societe General economist Wei Yao in a report.

Stocks turn positive after falling earlier on a slower than expected growth out of China and mixed earnings news. Insight on whether the slowdown in China is something to be concerned about, with David Donabedian, Atlantic Trust and Mike Holland, Holla...

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/18/8381969-china-economic-growth-slows-to-91

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Susan M. Love: Wishful Thinking and Breast Cancer

All too often, when it comes to breast cancer, we seem to get caught up in wishful thinking and forget about science.

We use wishful thinking when it comes to breast cancer screening guidelines. We get angry at the experts who tell us studies show that mammography is less beneficial for women in their 40s. We focus on the idea that if only every woman had regular mammograms every cancer would be found early and cured.

This ignores the biology of breast cancer, which tells us that there are at least five or six different kinds of breast cancer that grow at different rates. Some are slow enough to be found early by mammography, but others are too fast growing or fast spreading to be "caught" at the exact right time. Instead of arguing about screening guidelines, we need to face the science squarely and focus on prevention, so that we can learn how to avoid cancer in the first place.

We use wishful thinking all the time when making treatment decisions. When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer her first reaction -- understandably since she is scared to death -- is to do anything she can to insure that she is cured and make the fear go away. This fear (accompanied by wishful thinking) often leads people to do things that are not supported by the science.

One example of this is the studies that show that the number of mastectomies for breast cancer has been increasing in the U.S. each year. This is not happening because doctors are finding bigger tumors, or because mastectomy is a better treatment. It is the result of wishful thinking: "If I offer my breast or breasts to the gods, I will surely get my life back in exchange. If I have no breast tissue, I never have to go through this again."

In reality, a mastectomy never removes all of the breast tissue. (I am a breast surgeon, so I should know.) The breast tissue does not come neatly packaged so that it be easily removed, which is why there always is some breast tissue left behind in the skin, around the muscle and at the edges. In reality, the local recurrence rate after mastectomy is 5 to 10 percent, and the local recurrence rate after lumpectomy and radiation is 5 to 10 percent. It is exactly the same. And the cure rates are the same as well.

The critical issue is getting the tumor out with a rim of normal tissue and dealing with any cells that might have escaped -- which is what radiation, chemotherapy and hormone therapy are for. It seems like the more radical the surgery, the better the results should be ... but that is really just wishful thinking.

Finally, there is the wishful thinking about diet. The headlines scream that if you eat blueberries or drink red wine or don't drink red wine you will not get breast cancer. We all want to believe this magic.

In reality, these findings come from observational studies, which show you a correlation but cannot prove cause and effect. If you knew that all drug addicts drank milk as babies, would you really think that drinking milk as a baby could make you a drug addict? Of course not. That's a correlation. It's not cause and effect. Exercise and maintaining a healthy weight have been shown to reduce risk, but what you eat seems less critical.

This October, let's make an effort to move away from wishful thinking and demand good science to direct our actions. And lets all promise that when we are scared to death because we have just learned that we or someone that we know has cancer, we will help each other to take a deep breath. The diagnosis of breast cancer is not necessarily an emergency. You have time to consider all the options and not rush into wishful thinking.

?

Follow Susan M. Love on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrSusanLove

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-m-love/breast-cancer-awareness-month_b_1006197.html

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GOP showcasing Hispanic stars (AP)

ALBUQUERQUE, NM ? New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and Florida Sen. Marc Rubio are popular, relative political newcomers in presidential battleground states.

The rising GOP stars are also Hispanics, something the Republican Party makes no secret of hoping to capitalize on in the upcoming national elections.

National Republicans are inviting them on international fact finding trips, courting them for high-profile public appearances and whispering their names as possibilities for vice presidential nominations.

"They represent the American Dream," said Fred Malek, founder of the conservative American Action Network and its spinoff, the Hispanic Leadership Network, whose mission is to bring Hispanics into the party. "They represent what America is all about how to succeed. How to pull yourself up by the bootstraps, reach success and show leadership. They all share that."

But wooing the Hispanic vote takes more than floating candidates with Latino names, as was obvious last month when the Hispanic Leadership Network held a conference here. Martinez, after delivering the keynote dinner speech, was heckled by a group of some 50 young Latinos upset by her aggressive attempts to repeal a law that lets illegal immigrants get state driver's licenses.

"Stop the Hate," the protesters yelled while a table of conference attendees stood up and began chanting "USA, USA."

The scene underscores the complexities both political parties face as they set their sights on the nation's biggest and fastest growing but traditionally Democratic-leaning minority group ? which is as diverse as Martinez, Sandoval and Rubio and the swing states they represent. Rubio is the son of Cuban exiles, a group that tends to have widely different views on immigration than Mexican-Americans in the Southwest and border-state Hispanics who trace their roots to early Spanish settlers.

"It's just as dangerous to stereotype a Latino or a Latina voter as it is to assume that all white voters think and act the same way," said Dan Schnur, a former GOP strategist who now teaches at University of Southern California.

While having a Hispanic on a Republican ballot will never sway hard core Democrats and many traditionally liberal leaning groups, Schnur says it may cause some voters to give the GOP a second look.

And the Republican Party sees an opportunity to lure more moderate and conservative Hispanics with pro-family, pro-jobs, strong work ethic themes that appeal to immigrants.

"Here is the new frontier of immigrants," Malek said. "The people who came to this country for the same reason my grandparents came to this country at the turn of the last century -- to make their way and build their future."

Martinez is the granddaughter of illegal Mexican immigrants and a long-time southern New Mexico prosecutor who has alienated immigrant rights groups with her stance on the driver's license issue. She represents a state that is nearly 50 percent Hispanic, and one that tends to be more tolerant of Mexican immigrants ? legal or illegal ? than neighbors like Arizona. And while Martinez is the nation's first Latina governor, Hispanic politicians are far from a novelty here.

Sandoval, a former state attorney general and federal judge who took office the same time as Martinez, has focused less on his heritage and has largely avoided hot-button issues like immigration. He has also been more welcoming of the national spotlight.

He traveled at the invitation of the Pentagon to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, and met with governors in Utah, California, Tennessee and Kentucky to discuss foreign, environmental and economic policy.

Sandoval will be introduced to conservative voters outside Nevada next week when he'll help open a GOP presidential debate and political summit in Las Vegas.

"I want to lead by example and show the people of the party that it's important to me as well as to the state to elect Republican candidates," Sandoval told The Associated Press.

But when it comes to Hispanics, Marco Rauda, a Hispanic Democratic organizer in Las Vegas, said many Latinos in Nevada don't know what to make of Sandoval. He hasn't appointed Hispanics to his administration in notable numbers and his interactions with the community have largely been limited to formal galas and luncheons with Hispanic businessmen.

Rubio, 40, became the youngest Floridian to serve as State House Speaker in 1996. He speaks rapidly and without notes, easily bringing tears to his audiences' eyes with recollections of his immigrant parents' struggles and his appreciation for the country that took them in.

"My dad was 30-something when he came to this country and had to start his life brand new. So my generation in many ways inherited a lot of dreams and hopes," he has said.

Rubio says he is not interested in the vice presidential nomination, though his name topped Michigan's straw poll last month for the post. Fueling further speculation about his ambitions are the numerous Rubio staffers ? including his chief of staff and communications director ? who worked for Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign

Despite his roots, he has largely dodged taking a public stand on tough immigration issues, refusing recently to be interviewed about immigration by the nation's largest Spanish-language network, Univision, whose audience tends to strongly support immigration reform,

While Republicans are frank about their hope these three can bring more Hispanics into the GOP fold, the real benefits go way beyond the upcoming presidential elections, Schnur said

Democrats are skeptical that Latino voters will be swayed.

"Latinos do not vote surnames," Democratic strategist Maria Cardona said, noting that neither Martinez nor Sandoval won the majority Hispanic vote in their own states. "They vote according to policies and they know very well that Sandoval, Martinez and Rubio do not represent the best interests of the overall Latino population in terms of giving them the tools to prosper in this tough economy."

___

Associated Press writers Cristina Silva in Las Vegas and Laura Wides-Munoz in Miami contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111016/ap_on_el_ge/us_gop_rising_stars

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New iPhone launch turns into remembrance for Jobs

Customers are welcomed by Apple employees outside the Apple Store in Covent Garden, as they arrive to buy the new iPhone 4S, which went on sale in London, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Customers are welcomed by Apple employees outside the Apple Store in Covent Garden, as they arrive to buy the new iPhone 4S, which went on sale in London, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

A customer jumps into the arms of an Apple employee outside the Apple Store in Covent Garden, to celebrate his purchase of the new iPhone 4S, which went on sale in London, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak holds up his new Apple iPhone 4S at the Apple store in Los Gatos, Calif., Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. Woziak waited 20 hours in line to be the first Apple customer at the Los Gatos Apple store to buy the new iPhone 4S. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

People wait in line buy the new iPhone 4S outside the Apple store, on New York's Upper West Side, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. A faster iPhone with better software and an improved camera went on sale in seven countries on Friday as hundreds of buyers camped out for hours to be among the first to get one.(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Employees of the Apple Store greet those who wait in line to purchase the new iPhone 4S in Omaha, Neb., Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

NEW YORK (AP) ? It wasn't just the latest iPhone that drew people to Apple stores Friday.

Many consumers waited in lines for hours ? sometimes enduring chilly temperatures and overnight thunderstorms ? to remember Steve Jobs, Apple's visionary who died last week.

The company's first iPhone release since Jobs' death turned into another tribute. Some customers even joked that the new model 4S stood "for Steve."

Tony Medina, a student from Manhattan, stood outside Apple's flagship store on New York's Fifth Avenue for nine hours, waiting through rain. He had originally planned to order the phone online but decided to join a crowd of about 200 people to honor Jobs.

"For loyalty, I felt I had to do the line," he said. "I had to say thank you."

The new phone, which went on sale Friday in seven countries, is faster than the previous model and comes with better software and an improved camera. Yet the unveiling comes at a time when Apple is finding it difficult to maintain the excitement of previous iPhone introductions.

For starters, the phone is more widely available than in the past. In addition to Apple stores, it's also sold by three wireless carriers: AT&T Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless. Some Best Buy, Target and Walmart stores also carry the phones, as do authorized resellers.

Buyers were also able to preorder the phone on Apple's website and have it shipped to their homes or offices.

Many die-hard Apple fans and investors were disappointed that Apple did not launch a more radically redesigned new model ? an iPhone 5. It's been more than a year since Apple's previous model was released.

That also may have contributed to smaller gatherings at some Apple locations.

"People are not as excited about this version as they might have been" if an iPhone 5 came out," said Charles Prosser, a retired teacher and computer technician from Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Even so, hundreds of buyers camped out in front of stores for hours to be among the first to get an iPhone 4S.

Steve Wozniak, who created Apple with Jobs in a Silicon Valley garage in 1976, was first in line at a store in Los Gatos, Calif., having arrived on his Segway the afternoon before.

Wozniak, who typically waits in line for new Apple products, said he barely slept Thursday night as he was busy chatting with Apple fans, taking photos and giving autographs. Wozniak pre-ordered two new iPhones. He bought two more Friday.

"I just want to be part of an important event, so I feel it more deeply," he said.

Many said the event resembled a remembrance to Jobs, who died a day after Apple Inc. announced the new phone.

Emily Smith, a Web designer, checked in to the line in New York on the location-centric social network Foursquare. She got a virtual Steve Jobs badge that read: "Here's to the crazy ones. ThankYouSteve."

In Chicago, Nicole Pacheco dragged her brother and a friend out to buy Apple's latest gadget.

"I wanted to see how it was, to come out here for once," she said as she looked at the line that stretched past her. "We're kind of a memory for Steve Jobs. It's one of his last inventions. It kind of motivated me to get the next one."

Apple and phone companies started taking orders for the iPhone 4S last Friday. Apple said Monday that more than 1 million orders came in, breaking the record set by last year's model, which was available in fewer countries and on fewer carriers.

And a representative for AT&T said Friday that as of 4:30 EDT, it had activated a record number of iPhones and was on track to double its previous single-day record for activations.

Jobs' death could be helping sales. Marketing experts say products designed by widely admired figures such as Jobs usually see an upsurge in sales after their death.

The base model of the iPhone 4S costs $199 in the U.S. with a two-year contract. It comes with 16 gigabytes of storage. Customers can get 32 gigabytes for $299 and 64 gigabytes for $399. The phones come in white or black.

The phones also debuted Friday in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Britain. They are coming to 22 more countries by the end of the month.

Besides a better processor and camera, the new phone has a new operating system that allows users to sync content without needing a computer. It also includes a futuristic, voice-activated service that responds to spoken commands and questions such as "Do I need an umbrella today?"

The new features appealed to Dina Nguyen, who came to the Apple store in Palo Alto, Calif., the same location where Jobs was known to show up on sale days. She and her brother, Kennedy, picked up four iPhones for their family.

The siblings said it was a bit sentimental to get the phones now, right after Jobs' death.

"He left a good legacy. He had a good life. He wanted to make people happy," Kennedy Nguyen said. "It's good to support that."

___

Associated Press writers Barbara Rodriguez in Chicago, Brooke Donald in Palo Alto, Calif., and Rachel Metz in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2011-10-14-Apple-New%20iPhone/id-8844a77770d34443a47aa846d7422e63

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Uchimura runs away with 3rd world gym title in row

Japan's Kohei Uchimura poses with the gold medal during the awarding ceremony for the men's individual all-round final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Japan's Kohei Uchimura poses with the gold medal during the awarding ceremony for the men's individual all-round final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Japan's Kohei Uchimura poses with the gold medal during the awarding ceremony for the men's individual all-round final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Japan's Kohei Uchimura, left, poses with bronze medalist and compatriot Koji Yamamuro after winning the gold medal during the men's individual all-round final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Japan's Kohei Uchimura celebrates during the awarding ceremony, after winning the gold medal for the men's individual all-round final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Japan's Kohei Uchimura poses with the gold medal during the awarding ceremony for the men's individual all-round final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

(AP) ? Kohei Uchimura of Japan lifted the medal off his chest, holding it high so first one side of the arena and then the other could see.

He had hoped to give his battered host country the team title at the world gymnastics championships.

Instead, a piece of history in the individual category will do just fine.

Uchimura became the first man to win three world titles Friday night with a performance so dominant it raises the question of whether he is not only the greatest gymnast of his generation, but of all time.

"That's what everyone (else) will talk about," Uchimura said. "But I don't think about that."

Svetlana Khorkina of Russia is the only other gymnast to win three world titles, but hers came over a span of four championships. Uchimura has won three straight, and like every other time he's taken the floor since winning the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics, no one came close to catching him.

He finished more than three points ahead of Germany's Philipp Boy, his largest margin of victory, and had the highest scores on four of the six events. With the title essentially wrapped up after two events, Uchimura turned high bar, his last routine, into something of a victory party. Fans roared with each release move, gasping when he somersaulted high above the bar, and they were on their feet before Uchimura's hit the landing mat.

As he threw his arms into the air, the arena exploded in joy.

"Honestly, I'm very glad," Uchimura said through a translator. "Of course I'm happy, but I was more focused on the team competition."

Uchimura finished with 93.631 points. Boy won the silver for a second straight year, and Koji Yamamuro, Uchimura's training partner, won the bronze medal. John Orozco was the top American, rallying to finish fifth after a series of form errors on his first three events. U.S. champ Danell Leyva was last, taking a 6.466 after a scary crash on high bar.

Gymnastics has a proud tradition in Japan, and Uchimura knew what success at worlds could mean for his country. It's been seven months since the earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeast Japan, and the country still bears the physical and emotional scars. Gymnasts all wore patches with a heart and the word "Tohoku," the area where the quake occurred, as a reminder of the ongoing relief efforts.

By doing well, Uchimura said last week, he hoped he could provide some inspiration and hope.

Japan came up short in the team competition, finishing with silver after some uncharacteristic mistakes by Uchimura. But with the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium full of flag-waving, thunder stick-clapping fans Friday night, he did not disappoint.

"It was almost like a show," said Orozco, who had a front-row seat for it, competing in the same rotation with Uchimura. "Incredible. Amazing. I can't even find the words to describe him."

Andrianov, Bilozerchev, Tsukahara, Scherbo, Ivankov, Nemov, Hamm, Yang ? there is no shortage of names on the list of greatest male gymnasts. To put his name at the very top, Uchimura likely will need to win a team title and an Olympic gold medal. But after his performance Friday, upgrading his silver to a gold at next summer's London Games seems like a given.

And, at just 22, he still has a long career ahead of him.

"I haven't thought that far ahead," Uchimura said.

What makes Uchimura so special is that he doesn't seem to have any flaws. When Yang Wei was running roughshod over the competition in the last Olympic cycle, winning a pair of world titles and the gold medal in Beijing, he did it through pure, brute strength, bulking up his routines with so much difficulty he started most meets two or three points ahead.

But there's an "art" in artistic gymnastics, and Yang didn't have it. He managed to win one of his world titles despite taking such a big fall on high bar that he rolled all the way off the mat to the edge of the podium.

Uchimura, on the other hand, has gorgeous style to go with his difficult skills. He and Romania's Ana Porgras won the Longines Prize for Elegance on Friday, given to the male and female gymnasts who demonstrated "remarkable elegance." Uchimura was particularly pleased because the award comes with a watch, and he collects them.

"He's a very special gymnast," Boy said. "Everything what he's doing, it looks beautiful. And he makes no mistakes. He's really kind of a machine. It's amazing."

His tumbling passes on floor had the kind of height usually reserved for skateboard parks, yet he landed each so securely not even a toe budged. Art classes looking for a model might want to consider his strength poses. He's so smooth on pommel horse he's almost hypnotic, and his line and perfectly pointed toes would put ballet dancers to shame.

On still rings, he opened by hanging upside down, batlike, for what seemed like a minute. Rings is perhaps the toughest event in men's gymnastics, upper body strength the only thing keeping a gymnast suspended 9 feet above the ground, and few can do the tough skills without making the cables shake just a little bit. Not Uchimura. He did three straight somersaults and then came to a dead stop, the cables perfectly still.

He was so far in front of the pack that he was atop the standings after just two events ? ahead of the guys who'd gone on vault, which artificially inflates scores.

"He performed quite good today from the first to the end," said Hiroyuki Tomita, the 2005 world champion who is helping coach the Japanese men. "Looking at that performance, I think he's the best in the world."

There isn't much argument about that.

"Three times in a row, this is history. Congratulations," Boy said, shaking his head in wonder. "I can't say anything more about it."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-10-14-GYM-World-Championships/id-1bbbc2032a174aa7914ce7b1e9fccbff

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Cain's 'impossible dream' resonates with voters

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain speaks to a crowd at Bob's House of Honda as part of his bus tour, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011 in Jackson, Tenn. (AP Photo/The Jackson Sun, Kenneth Cummings) NO SALES

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain speaks to a crowd at Bob's House of Honda as part of his bus tour, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011 in Jackson, Tenn. (AP Photo/The Jackson Sun, Kenneth Cummings) NO SALES

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain speaks to a crowd at Bob's House of Honda as part of his bus tour, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011 in Jackson, Tenn. (AP Photo/The Jackson Sun, Kenneth Cummings) NO SALES

Herman Cain buttons for sale during the GOP presidential candidate's rally Friday, October 14, 2011 at Freeman Park in Bartlett. Tenn. (AP Photo/The Commercial Appeal, Karen Pulfer Focht) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; TV OUT; ONLINE OUT; MEMPHIS OUT

A crowd cheers Herman Cain following his speech in Bartlett, Tenn. on Friday, October 14, 2011. The GOP presidential candidate held a rally at Freeman Park at Bartlett. (AP Photo/The Commercial Appeal, Karen Pulfer Focht) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; TV OUT; ONLINE OUT; MEMPHIS OUT

Herman Cain hugs his half sister Myrlean Taylor of Eads after giving a speech in Bartlett, Tenn. Friday, October 14, 2011. The two visited briefly before he hit the road to do more campaigning. The GOP presidential candidate held a rally Friday morning at Freeman Park at Bartlett. (AP Photo/The Commercial Appeal, Karen Pulfer Focht) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; TV OUT; ONLINE OUT; MEMPHIS OUT

(AP) ? Herman Cain is firing up the crowd at a tea party rally in this West Tennessee town when the generator powering his sound system shudders to a halt.

Cain stands awkwardly for a few moments then suddenly begins to sing. Slowly at first but gaining in speed, he belts out "Impossible Dream" in the rich baritone he's honed in church choir.

"You know, when it's your rally, you can do what you want to do!" Cain says as he finishes with a raucous laugh. The 500 or so supporters who have jammed the strip mall parking lot to hear the Republican Party's newest star speak roar their approval.

Momentum restored, Cain launches into a pitch for his signature 9-9-9 tax plan, and the crowd is right there with him, chanting 9-9-9 along with the Georgia businessman.

The 65-year-old's improbable campaign for the presidency is all about momentum right now. How does he maintain the wave he's riding in recent polls that have catapulted him from an also-ran in the GOP race to the elite top tier?

There are many reasons his bid could fade as quickly as it rose. He acknowledged Friday that he will trail former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry significantly in fundraising. Cain has never held elected office and could wilt under the rigors of the campaign trail and the withering scrutiny coming his way.

But Cain's moment is right now, and the former Godfather's pizza chief executive is marketing himself with practiced skill, banking on his charisma and the notion that the messenger is as important as the message.

His everyman image is resonating.

"In the field right now, he's the most like me," said Jimmy Hoppers, a 60-year-old physician from Jackson, who was hoping to meet Cain so he could hand deliver a $1,000 donation to his campaign. "He's run a business and paid the bills. He's authentic."

On Friday night Cain, who is African-American, drew about 2,000 people ? some in workshirts and overalls and nearly all white ? to a feed barn in rural Waverly, Tenn.

This is a socially conservative country and Cain ? ever the salesman ? knows his audience. He closes by invoking God and singing the hymn "He Looked Beyond My Faults."

"I love him," gushed truck driver James Bland after Cain spoke. "He doesn't talk down to you. I think he gets the working man."

"And it makes me so happy that he's put God back into things," chimed in Bland's wife, Karen.

In a year of anti-government fervor, Cain is casting himself as the anti-politician Main Street candidate who would bring common-sense business know-how to the bureaucratic thick of Washington. The former conservative radio show host is brash and straight-talking, saying that "stupid people are ruining America." He mimics liberals with a high-pitched whiny voice.

"Well, he doesn't have foreign policy experience," he says to laughs. "And the guy we have in there now does?"

Cain doesn't ignore the race issue, saying that some critics have called him "a racist" and an "Oreo" for leaving the "Democrat plantation."

"I have grown up telling it like it is and I am going to continue to tell it like it is," he said at a campaign rally in a suburb of Memphis, where he was born. "I don't talk politician."

Voters are responding

He drew large and enthusiastic crowds Friday as he kicked off a two-day bus tour in Tennessee, hopscotching to a trio of tea party events across the state.

Tea party activists make up the backbone of Cain's support and he speaks their language fluently. "My fellow patriots," he begins some sentences. References to freedom and liberty pepper his remarks.

He dives into an anecdote about the Constitution and takes a jab at President Barack Obama.

"You know what? I kinda like my guns and my Bible," he says.

And at every turn, he stresses his business background, noting that at a recent debate fellow Republican candidates dismissed his 9-9-9 tax plan as politically dead on arrival.

"Politicians put together things that will pass. Businessmen put together plans that solve the problems," he said.

Indeed, Cain's 9-9-9 plan seems to have put him on the map.

Following the rally in Jackson, Cain bolted off the stage and shook hands with onlookers, including Linda Fowler-Cole, who had wandered over after a shopping trip to Lowe's and was wearing a T-shirt with an oversized picture of Obama

"I heard the 9-9-9 guy was here and I came to take a look," the Democrat said. "I like Obama, but that 9-9-9 is catchy."

In Bartlett, Tenn., Cain drew a number of black supporters who were excited at the prospect of a conservative African-American of his stature.

"To me he represents what Martin Luther King was talking about when he talked about his dream," Reginald Tooley, a 49-year-old physical therapist from Memphis, said. "With hard work and self-reliance you can do anything you want."

Cain says he has been buoyed by support from regular folks.

"You just don't know how much this encourages me, the fact that you all came out tonight," he said in Waverly.

"You see, this is what the folks in D.C. don't get because they don't come out here to meet with you."

___

Follow Shannon McCaffrey at www.twitter.com/smccaffrey13

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-15-Cain%20On%20the%20Trail/id-ee71ba5a10624bf4aef2e150124a8e73

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CDC Funds Childhood Obesity Studies (ContributorNetwork)

The CDC has awarded $6 million in grant money to San Diego State University to study childhood obesity. The Massachusetts DHS also received $1.7 million to explore treatment options for overweight kids in New Bedford, Mass., and Fitchburg, Mass. Here is a Q-and-A about juvenile obesity and how those grants will be used.

How many children are obese or overweight?

Worldwide, one-third of children are overweight or obese. In 2010, 43 million children younger than 5 were overweight. Obesity and overweight rates have doubled for children ages 2-5 and teenagers. For children ages 6-11, the rate has tripled. 23 million children age 6-11 are overweight and 9 million are obese.

How does the U.S. compare, for childhood obesity?

The U.S. ranks number one for fattest country in the world and also for largest percentage of obese or overweight children. In the U.S., 35.9 percent of girls are overweight or obese and 35 percent of boys. 17 percent of children ages 2-19 are obese. 30 states have childhood obesity or overweight rates at or over 30 percent. According to the International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO) all of North America has juvenile obesity rates over 24 percent.

How is juvenile obesity determined?

A BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a calculation based on height to weight ratio; it's used to categorize people into weight categories: obese (fattest), overweight, normal and underweight. The BMI calculator used for children is slightly different than an adult BMI calculator. The juvenile BMI calculator is designed to account for changes in developmental needs based on age and gender. It is calibrated to reflect not only birth date, but also age at which the BMI is taken. Parents should use the juvenile BMI calculator for children ages 2-20 years old.

What does the BMI mean for kids?

Instead of definite numbers that determine obesity and overweight, juvenile BMI calculations are compared to growth charts. When individual data about a child is given, the resulting figures are plotted on a graph and the child is assigned a percentile. For example: a girl who is 13 years and 6 months old, who is 5'6" and weighs 120 pounds, has a BMI of 19.4, is in the 54th percentile, or normal weight range. A BMI at or above the 85th percentile are considered overweight. Children over the 95th percentile are considered obese.

Why were SDSU and Massachusetts DHS chosen to research childhood obesity?

The Massachusetts DHS is focusing on two communities, New Bedford and Fitchburg. Both of these areas have high incidences of childhood obesity and low-income families. SDSU plans to use children in Imperial County, Calf., as a field laboratory. Imperial has a 39-percent childhood obesity rate, along with high poverty and unemployment. Low-income and childhood obesity are linked. One out of seven children in low-income families is overweight.

How will SDSU use the $6 million grant?

Program director Guadalupe Ayala says the study takes a "holistic approach." SDSU researchers will work with parents, children, school and even grocery stores to develop obesity awareness and intervention programs. They will focus on clinical treatment, school nutrition programs and adding more public drinking fountains.

How will the Massachusetts DHS use their grant money?

The New Bedford DHS will partner with health care providers, fitness and nutrition experts and schools in an initiative called "Mass in Motion." They are also implementing a nutrition improvement program with local restaurants called "Healthy Dining New Bedford."

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes from 23 years parenting four children and 25 years teaching K-8, special needs, adult education and homeschool.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weightloss/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111013/hl_ac/10196681_cdc_funds_childhood_obesity_studies

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'World War Z' prop guns confiscated, able to fire live ammunition

Brad Pitt's 'World War Z' movie had nearly 100 guns confiscated by police, Tuesday. The prop guns were found to be real, and easily able to fire live rounds.

Nearly 100 weapons to be used in Brad Pitt's "World War Z" film were confiscated in Hungary because they had not been properly deactivated, authorities said Tuesday. The weapons included machine guns, rifles and pistols.

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The weapons arrived from London to Budapest's Ferenc Liszt Airport on Saturday and were discovered at a nearby duty free zone, Janos Hajdu, head of Hungary's Counterterrorism Center, said. He said he could not confirm they were meant for the film.

"It's possible that all the weapons were brought in for the film, but this would not be allowed by Hungarian law," as the weapons had not been fully deactivated and could easily be used to fire live ammunition, Hajdu said on Neo FM radio. "This is a very complicated case."

Hajdu explained that in Hungary weapons were considered to be deactivated only if the process "was irreversible," while the weapons seized could still be fired even though screws had been used to fill the end of the barrels.

Bela Gajdos, a weapons supervisor for "World War Z," said Mafilm, a Hungarian film company based near Budapest which had the guns brought to Hungary, had the necessary permits, including a detailed list of the weapons in question, issued by local police authorities.

"We had all the permits in order for the weapons to be brought in," Gajdos told The Associated Press by phone. "They were brought in only for this film and are owned by a company in England."

In accordance with British regulations, the weapons were prepared to be used with blank ammunition, Gajdos said, while in Hungary the guns were considered to be "not suitably modified."

Gajdos said he had been questioned by government investigators and that his home in Budapest had been thoroughly searched by security forces before dawn Monday who also confiscated the permits.

Gajdos added that he had not been able to inspect the weapons before the police seized them, but that they would have been checked by him and a Hungarian forensic weapons expert before allowing their use in the film.

Adam Goodman, whose company is providing production services for "World War Z," said he had been advised not to comment on links between the seized weapons and the film.

"We are preparing as planned. We are not changing our schedule," Goodman told the AP. He added that media reports claiming the film set had been raided by police to confiscate the weapons were "not true."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/KmfhYdbe3Tc/World-War-Z-prop-guns-confiscated-able-to-fire-live-ammunition

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