astrophysics observed: October 2012

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Gold To Rally Strongly In November After Expected October - 24hGold

Today?s AM fix was USD 1,704.00, EUR 1,316.44, and GBP 1,057.01 per ounce.
Yesterday?s AM fix was USD 1,715.00, EUR 1,317.71, and GBP 1,063.24 per ounce.

Silver is trading at $31.76/oz, ?24.72/oz and ?19.80/oz. Platinum is trading at $1,552.80/oz, palladium at $594.20/oz and rhodium at $1,045/oz.

Gold climbed $11.80 or 0.69% in New York yesterday and closed at $1,712.70. Silver surged to a high of $32.232 and finished with a gain of 1.36%.

Gold in USD (2 Year) With Support At 100 and 200 Day Moving Averages - (Bloomberg)

Gold edged down early Friday, on track for its third week of declines as the US dollar strengthened and momentum traders continued to exit positions or go short.

Investors and dealers await the US CFTC commitment of traders figures due at 1930 GMT, after last week's data showed hedge funds and other big speculators decreased their long positions in gold to their lowest since the end of August. This is bullish from a contrarian perspective and shows that much of the short term speculative froth has been removed from the market.

Gold in USD, 5 Day ? (Bloomberg)

The US GDP figures are released later today and they are expected at 1.9%. A weaker than expected number would benefit safe haven gold.

Gold corrected in October as we anticipated and has fallen by 5.5% (in USD terms) from over $1,795.55/oz to a low of $1,699.65/oz It is too early to tell yet if the October correction is over. There would appear to be strong support at $1,700/oz and Asian physical demand is very robust down at these levels.

The physical bullion market was subdued in Asia overnight although there was some buying out of Japan. Trade was muted because of a public holiday in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, but Reuters noted that dealers saw gold buying from Thailand.

Importantly, Chinese buying of gold, official and public, on dips is likely to be continuing.

Physical demand for gold bullion coins and bars in western markets remains subdued but smart money buyers continue to add to allocations. Gold and silver 1oz bullion coins from the Australian Lunar ? 2013 Year of the Snake Coin Series are officially sold out at The Perth Mint. The sell out of the full mintages of 300,000 pure silver 1oz coins and 30,000 pure gold 1oz coins was achieved in just two months, ranking this release as one of the fastest selling behind the phenomenally successful Year of Dragon coins in 2012.

With gold having pierced slightly below $1,700/oz there is a risk that gold could fall to test the 200 and 100 day moving averages which are now at $1,663.30/oz and $1,664/oz respectively (see chart above).

Cross Currency Table ? (Bloomberg)

A rise of over 1% today (from the current price of $1,705/oz) would result in a higher close this week, above $1,721.75/oz. This would be a good indicator that the recent dip is over and it is time to get into position for November, which is one of gold?s strongest months and the November to March rally which is one of gold's strongest periods. A lower close this week could see further falls next week and in early November.

As ever it will be nigh impossible to pinpoint the exact price lows.

The low of $1,699.65/oz seen two days ago on Wednesday may mark the intermediate low however gold could continue falling until October 31st (next Wednesday) as month ends often mark intermediate lows or could even continue falling until the US election or soon after.

There are now 6 trading days left until the US Presidential election on November 6th. The US election has many investors on the sidelines.

Gold will be supported by and likely see gains into yearend due to the coming uncertainty surrounding the US ?fiscal cliff.? Tax increases and spending cuts are expected which would sink the US economy into a deep recession or Depression. If US Congress cannot agree on a deal by the end of the year it could have deleterious effects on the dollar and on capital markets.

The US elections themselves are unlikely to have a significant impact on currencies and wider markets in the short term but we expect the recent calm may recede and the stormy volatility of recent years may again be seen soon after the election when the reality of the appalling US fiscal and monetary situation is realised.

November is traditionally one of gold's strongest months (see gold seasonal charts).

Given the extremely bullish fundamentals due to negative fiscal outlooks, ultra loose monetary policies, negative real interest rates and global currency debasement, we expect this November and year end to be very positive for gold and particularly still undervalued silver.

Prudent buyers should now be buying this dip by cost averaging or getting into a position to do so. While gold may correct by another 2% or 3% from here, there is a greater likelihood of gold beginning to rise sharply and quickly recovering the 5.5% loss seen this month in November.

For breaking news and commentary on financial markets and gold, follow us on Twitter.

NEWSWIRE
(Bloomberg) -- Eclectica?s Hendry Says Owning Gold Stocks Almost ?Insanity?
Hugh Hendry, founder of London-based hedge fund Eclectica Asset Management LLP, said buying shares of gold-mining companies is ?as close as you get to insanity.?

Hendry said he owns gold and also has a short position on gold-mining stocks, meaning that he?s sold shares he?s borrowed with the expectation of buying them back at a lower price. Mining stocks are likely to fall because the companies are at greater risk as the price of gold rises, he said.

?More precarious societies across the world are more envious of your gold assets at $3,000 than at $300? an ounce, Hendry said today at the Economist magazine?s annual Buttonwood Gathering in New York. ?There is no valuation argument that protects you against the risk of Confiscation.?

The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index has risen about 0.6 percent this year, including reinvested dividends, while bullion climbed 9.2 percent.

?There is no rationale for owning a gold-mining equity,? Hendry said. ?Think about it, if you were bullish on gold why didn?t you just buy a gold ETF, gold futures or gold bullion??

Hendry started Eclectica in 2005 and the firm has $1.1 billion under management, according to its website.

(Bloomberg) -- LBMA Says Gold Trading Surged 26% in September as Silver Rose
Gold trading jumped 26 percent to an average of 22.4 million ounces a day in September compared with a month earlier, the London Bullion Market Association said today in an e-mailed report.

That was the highest average since August 2011, the LBMA said. Silver trading rose 4 percent to a daily average of 124.3 million ounces, the LBMA said.

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NEWS
"Time to get into position for November" ... "One of gold?s strongest months" - MarketWatch

Gold Traders More Bullish as ETP Hoard Sets Record - Bloomberg

Gold above $1,700; heads for third week of decline - Reuters

Bundesbank Says NY Fed to Help Meet Gold Audit Request - Bloomberg

Brazil?s Gold Reserves Rise For First Time Since 2008 - Bloomberg

COMMENTARY
"A Large Allocation To Gold Still Seems Like A Very Good Idea" ? Zero Hedge

The Entire German Gold Hoard Is Gone ? King World News

Gold and Silver are the Strategic High Ground in the Currency War ? Jesse's Caf? Am?ricain

Keiser, Stacy and Frisby on German Gold Reserve Audit Controversy ? RT

Source: http://www.24hgold.com/english/news-gold-silver-gold-to-rally-strongly-in-november-after-expected-october-correction.aspx?article=4104250326G10020&redirect=false&contributor=Mark+O'Byrne

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Toys are Tools -Thoughtful Toy Reviews: Saturday MindFeed: A ...

Today is October 27, 2012. ?Where was this website one year ago? ?Basically, it had not been "born" yet. ?But in a few days, Toys are Tools will celebrate its one-year birthday! ? I have a big story planned for that day. ?It's something you'll want to have in your family for generations!

First, please let me thank you from the bottom of my heart. ?The fact that anyone is interested in what I have to say still amazes me. ? (You should see how ignored I am in my own home!) ?But seriously, with the one year anniversary of Toys are Tools coming, I thought it might be nice to share with you what I've learned.

The toy world is full of companies run by people who are passionate about toys and learning through play. ? This corner of the world has the lion's share of very creative inventors, designers, & small business owners.???Some of the toys you've seen on this site are actually the result of someone's second job!. ?I am so privileged to know them.
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I still won't write negative reviews. ?You can call me a chicken, that's okay. ?I've been chicken my whole life and it is true that?once in a while my testers and I have encountered a toy that made us say as Tom Hanks said in Big, "I don't get it." ? Why don't I tell you about those? ?I believe that your time is limited and that you are here to find out what to buy. ?Finding out what NOT to buy doesn't expand your choices. ?I would only write a negative review of something if I thought everyone in the world would be standing on line at 2 AM to buy it but I don't believe that the readers here shop that way.

We Made All Kinds of Things?from?david wells?on?Vimeo. ?(Thank you to David Wells and all the experts who have NEVER BEEN PAID by anyone but have talked to me so that Toys are Tools readers can make the most of out of their toy purchases - and most importantly.... have fun!)
Toys are Tools Readers are VERY VERY SPECIAL.??Some of you are moms of toddlers and you're still here even though I don't write about toddler toys! ?Some of you are therapists and teachers who love the toys like the way a sushi chef loves his thousand-dollar knife. ? Some of you are seriously?really savvy parents. ?Your tips and ideas?blow me away.
Blog Reviews: Things that Make You Go HMMMM??? I love writing reviews but I don't think I quite get this blogging business. ?I have encountered blogs "whose opinions are their own" but then they also say "Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts.." ?Uh, okay.... well maybe that could be true but...?What I've even found is that some "reviewers" may even charge companies by the number of hyperlinks and even photos that they publish in their "review" and yet still that apparently qualifies as "words are my own."? ? hmmmmm.....

Obama Cancels Campaign Events As Hurricane Sandy Looms

CUBA-HURRICANE SANDY

A man walks amid the destruction caused by hurricane Sandy in Cueto, Bayamo, 750 km east of Havana, on October 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy claimed 11 lives as it tore across Cuba Thursday, leaving a path of destruction in the eastern part of the island, officials in Havana said. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Fallen palm trees lie on a road after the hurricane Sandy in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, Thursday Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy blasted across eastern Cuba on Thursday as a potent Category 2 storm and headed for the Bahamas after causing at least two deaths in the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers cover subway ventilation grates with plywood to help prevent flooding at South Ferry, Friday, Oct. 26, 2012 in New York. People on the Eastern Seaboard are bracing for a rare megastorm that experts said would cause much greater havoc than Hurricane Irene. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

A restaurant worker piles sand bags at the entrance of the business as Hurricane Sandy approaches the Atlantic Coast, in Ocean City, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Senior hurricane specialist Dan Brown, right, points to a satellite image of Sandy to James Franklin, chief hurricane specialist, in preparation of the 11:00 EDT advisory at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012. Early Saturday, the storm was about 335 miles southeast of Charleston, S.C. Tropical storm warnings were issued for parts of Florida's East Coast, along with parts of coastal North and South Carolina and the Bahamas. Tropical storm watches were issued for coastal Georgia and parts of South Carolina, along with parts of Florida and Bermuda. Sandy is projected to hit the Atlantic Coast early Tuesday. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

A beach goer holds on to her hat as she walks along a breezy Coligny Beach Park on Hilton Head Island, S.C., watching the waves generated by Hurricane Sandy near the time of high tide on Saturday morning, Oct. 27, 2012. Hurricane Sandy _ upgraded again Saturday just hours after forecasters said it had weakened to a tropical storm _ was barreling north from the Caribbean and was expected to make landfall early Tuesday near the Delaware coast, then hit two winter weather systems as it moves inland, creating a hybrid monster storm. (AP Photo/The Island Packet, Jay Karr)

Scott Buck

Another boat waits its turn, as manager Scott Buck watches as a 50-ton lift raises a fishing boat out of the Maurice River at Yank Marine Services marina Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012, in Dorchester, N.J., in preparation for Hurricane Sandy. From the lowest lying areas of the Jersey Shore, where residents were already being encouraged to leave, to the state's northern highlands, where sandbags were being filled and cars moved into parking lots on high ground, New Jersey began preparing in earnest for Sandy. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Workers Shannon Alexander, left, and Don Bruce board up the windows of an apartment building as Hurricane Sandy approaches the Atlantic Coast, in Ocean City, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Resident Brian Dougherty looks at the waves from the beach in Ocean City, Md., as Hurricane Sandy approaches the Atlantic Coast, on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

ADDS NAME OF STORE MANAGER - Store manager L.P. Cyburt, right, gets help boarding up the windows of the business as Hurricane Sandy approaches the Atlantic Coast, in Ocean City, Md., on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A resident of Leogane, Haiti makes her way to her home as the water level continues to rise Friday, Oct. 26, 2012. Residents of Leogane have had five consecutive days of rain in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which caused serious flooding and claimed at least 26 lives in the impoverished country. (AP Photo/The Miami Herald, Carl Juste) MAGS OUT

Residents wade through a flooded street caused by heavy rains from Hurricane Sandy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy rumbled across mountainous eastern Cuba and headed toward the Bahamas on Thursday as a Category 2 storm, bringing heavy rains and blistering winds. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

CUBA-HURRICANE SANDY

A man walks amid the destruction caused by hurricane Sandy in Mayari, Holguin, 750 km east of Havana, on October 26, 2012. Hurricane Sandy claimed 11 lives as it tore across Cuba Thursday, leaving a path of destruction in the eastern part of the island, officials in Havana said. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

CUBA-HURRICANE SANDY

Men walk amid the destruction caused by hurricane Sandy in Mayari, Holguin, 750 km east of Havana, on October 26, 2012. Hurricane Sandy claimed 11 lives as it tore across Cuba Thursday, leaving a path of destruction in the eastern part of the island, officials in Havana said. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

CUBA-HURRICANE SANDY

A man removes mud from his tap tap with flood water caused by heavy rains from Hurricane Sandy, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012 in La Plaine, Haiti, as residents of the Port-au-Prince neighbor tried to recover from the aftermath of the storm, which claimed three lives. Hurricane Sandy roared across Cuba overnight, making landfall as a powerful 115-mph storm. Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince is still feeling the ripple effects, with gusty rain continuing as the Sandy makes its way towards the Bahamas. (AP Photo/The Miami Herald, Carl Juste) MAGS OUT

Locals walk across the flooded streets of La Plaine, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012, after Hurricane Sandy caused flooding and claimed three lives. Hurricane Sandy roared across Cuba overnight, making landfall as a powerful 115-mph storm. Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince is still feeling the ripple effects, with gusty continuing rain as the Sandy makes its way towards the Bahamas. (AP Photo/The Miami Herald, Carl Juste) MAGS OUT

A map indicates Hurricane Sandy's position moving through the Bahamas off the east coast of Florida on Friday, Oct. 26, 2012, at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Hurricane Sandy left 21 people dead as it moved through the Caribbean, following a path that could see it blend with a winter storm and reach the U.S. East Coast as a super-storm next week. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

In this image taken by NOAA's GOES East at 2:45 GMT on Friday, Oct. 26, 2012, Hurricane Sandy is seen in the center bottom. The hurricane has killed at least 20 people in the Caribbean, and just left the Bahamas. It is expected to move north, just off the Eastern Seaboard. When Hurricane Sandy becomes a hybrid weather monster some call "Frankenstorm" it will smack the East Coast harder and wider than last year's damaging Irene, forecasters said Friday. (AP Photo/NOAA)

A UN Peacekeeper stands watch near a bridge washed away by heavy rains from Hurricane Sandy October 25, 2012 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Hurricane Sandy barreled toward the Bahamas Thursday as a powerful category two storm, after battering Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba and claiming three lives so far. The US-based National Hurricane Center said the storm was packing winds of up to 105 miles (165 kilometers) per hour as it moved north, near the top of the category two range on the five-rung Saffir-Simpson wind scale. Forecasters predicted the storm would weaken somewhat over the next 48 hours. But Sandy will remain a hurricane as it passes over the Bahamas, according to the NHC's 1500 GMT advisory. THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP/Getty Images

Many sweeps the muddy water from his small business in La Plaine, Haiti, as residents try to recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy roared across Cuba overnight, making landfall as a powerful 115-mph storm. Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince is still feeling the ripple effects, with gusty rain continuing as the Sandy makes its way towards the Bahamas. (AP Photo/The Miami Herald, Carl Juste) MAGS OUT

A woman stands at the entrance of her house in front of a fallen palm tree after the passing of Hurricane Sandy in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, Thursday Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy blasted across eastern Cuba on Thursday as a potent Category 2 storm and headed for the Bahamas after causing at least two deaths in the Caribbean.

Fallen trees lie on the street after the passing of Hurricane Sandy in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, Thursday Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy blasted across eastern Cuba on Thursday as a potent Category 2 storm and headed for the Bahamas after causing at least two deaths in the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

A fallen placard lies on the ground after the passing of Hurricane Sandy in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, Thursday Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy blasted across eastern Cuba on Thursday as a potent Category 2 storm and headed for the Bahamas after causing at least two deaths in the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

A woman washes her clothes in front of her damaged house after the passing of Hurricane Sandy in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, Thursday Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy blasted across eastern Cuba on Thursday as a potent Category 2 storm and headed for the Bahamas after causing at least two deaths in the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

Resident Antonio Garces tries to recover his belongings from his house destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in Aguacate, Cuba, Thursday Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy blasted across eastern Cuba on Thursday as a potent Category 2 storm and headed for the Bahamas after causing at least two deaths in the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

NOAA CARIBBEAN

This NOAA satellite image taken Friday, Oct. 26, 2012 at 01:45 AM EDT shows Hurricane Sandy moving NNW through the northern Bahamas with a broad cloud shield covering the southeastern Atlantic Basin into the northern Caribbean.(AP Photo/Weather Underground)

NOAA CLOUDS

This NOAA satellite image taken Friday, Oct. 26, 2012 at 01:45 AM EDT shows Hurricane Sandy over northern Bahamas with cloudiness across Florida and the southeastern Atlantic Basin into the northern Caribbean. A well defined frontal boundary over the central Great Lakes extending southwest to Texas with rain showers and a few embedded thunderstorms(AP Photo/Weather Underground)

Cubans clear of debris their house, partially demolished by Hurricane Sandy, on October 25, 2012 in Guantanamo, Cuba. SOLER COSTAFREDA/AFP/Getty Images

A man walks amid ruins of a home destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in Gibara, Cuba, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy blasted across eastern Cuba on Thursday as a potent Category 2 storm and headed for the Bahamas after causing at least two deaths in the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

A man rides his bicycle under the arc made by a tree knocked down by Hurricane Sandy in Gibara, Cuba, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy blasted across eastern Cuba on Thursday as a potent Category 2 storm and headed for the Bahamas after causing at least two deaths in the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

Residents wade through a street flooded by heavy rains from Hurricane Sandy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy rumbled across mountainous eastern Cuba and headed toward the Bahamas on Thursday as a Category 2 storm, bringing heavy rains and blistering winds. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Big waves caused by hurricane Sandy along the south coast of Santo Domingo on October 24, 2012. ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images

The sea wall and a road is partially damaged after the passing of Hurricane Sandy in Gibara, Cuba, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy blasted across eastern Cuba on Thursday as a potent Category 2 storm and headed for the Bahamas after causing at least two deaths in the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

Residents evacuate their home as waves crash in the Caribbean Terrace neighborhood of eastern Kingston, Jamaica, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Hurricane Sandy pounded Jamaica with heavy rain as it headed for landfall near the country's most populous city on a track that would carry it across the Caribbean island to Cuba, and a possible threat to Florida. (AP Photo/Collin Reid)

Waves, brought by Hurricane Sandy, crash on a house in the Caribbean Terrace neighborhood in eastern Kingston, Jamaica, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Hurricane Sandy pounded Jamaica with heavy rain as it headed for landfall near the country's most populous city on a track that would carry it across the Caribbean island to Cuba, and a possible threat to Florida. (AP Photo/Collin Reid)

Big waves caused by hurricane Sandy along the south coast of Santo Domingo on October 24, 2012. ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images

An overflowed river near Bayamo, 740 km east of Havana, on October 24, 2012 as the residents of eastern Cuba prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane conditions were expected in eastern Cuba in the evening, with the storm set to pass over the Bahamas Thursday and Friday, according to the NHC, which warned that conditions were 'deteriorating' in Jamaica. STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Dominican school children walk in the flooded streets of Santo Domingo before the arrival of Hurricane Sandy on October 24, 2012. The category one hurricane on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale was forecast to dump up to 12 inches of rain across Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and eastern Cuba. ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images

Locals ride a motorbike in a flooded street of Santo Domingo before the arrival of Hurricane Sandy on October 24, 2012. The category one hurricane on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale was forecast to dump up to 12 inches of rain across Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and eastern Cuba. ERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images

The seaside road leading to the international airport is empty as Hurricane Sandy approaches Kingston, Jamaica, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Hurricane Sandy pounded Jamaica with heavy rain as it headed for landfall near the country's most populous city on a track that would carry it across the Caribbean island to Cuba, and a possible threat to Florida. (AP Photo/Collin Reid)

The main terminal of the Kingston international airport sits empty as Hurricane Sandy approaches Jamaica, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Hurricane Sandy pounded Jamaica with heavy rain as it headed for landfall near the country's most populous city on a track that would carry it across the Caribbean island to Cuba, and a possible threat to Florida. (AP Photo/Collin Reid)

Hurricane Sandy's Winds Hit Florida Coast

MIAMI BEACH, FL - OCTOBER 25: (L-R) William Rath, Julie Rath, Laura Rath and Weera Rath, on vacation from the Netherlands, walk to the beach as they are buffeted by high winds of the outer bands of Hurricane Sandy on October 25, 2012 in Miami Beach, Florida. After passing over Jamaica Hurricane Sandy is expected to hit eastern Cuba and head into the Bahamas today and tomorrow. There is a tropical storm warning in place for coastal Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties and the Atlantic waters off southeast Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

People remove a boat from the water ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Sandy in Manzanillo, Cuba, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Hurricane Sandy pounded Jamaica with heavy rain as it headed for landfall near the country's most populous city on a track that would carry it across the Caribbean island to Cuba, and a possible threat to Florida. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

A man balances a child and umbrella on his bike as it rains during the approach of Hurricane Sandy in Manzanillo, Cuba, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Hurricane Sandy pounded Jamaica with heavy rain as it headed for landfall near the country's most populous city on a track that would carry it across the Caribbean island to Cuba, and a possible threat to Florida. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

Hurricane Sandy's Winds Hit Florida Coast

MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 24: Stephanie Bilyeu walks along the ocean as blustery winds blow through the palm trees as the outerbands of Hurricane Sandy are felt on October 24, 2012 in Miami, Florida. After passing over Jamaica, Sandy is expected to hit eastern Cuba on Wednesday night and into the Bahamas Thursday and Friday, a tropcial storm warning was issued for east coast of Florida from Ocean Reef to Sebasian Inlet and a tropical storm watch was extended along the east coast to Flagler Beach. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A woman wades through flood water brought by Hurricane Sandy as she evacuates her home in the Caribbean Terrace neighborhood of eastern Kingston, Jamaica, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. Hurricane Sandy pounded Jamaica with heavy rain as it headed for landfall near the country's most populous city on a track that would carry it across the Caribbean island to Cuba, and a possible threat to Florida. (AP Photo/Collin Reid)

Citizens of Bayamo, 740 km east of Havana, move to safer places on October 24, 2012 as the residents of eastern Cuba prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane conditions were expected in eastern Cuba in the evening, with the storm set to pass over the Bahamas Thursday and Friday, according to the NHC, which warned that conditions were 'deteriorating' in Jamaica. STR/AFP/Getty Images

Hurricane Sandy's Winds Hit Florida Coast

MIAMI BEACH, FL - OCTOBER 25: (L-R) William Rath, Julie Rath, Weera Rath and Laura Rath, on vacation from the Netherlands, walk on the beach as they are buffeted by high winds of the outer bands of Hurricane Sandy on October 25, 2012 in Miami Beach, Florida. After passing over Jamaica Hurricane Sandy is expected to hit eastern Cuba and head into the Bahamas today and tomorrow. There is a tropical storm warning in place for coastal Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties and the Atlantic waters off southeast Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Men try to free an electrical wire wire from debris, which was turned off last night, after the passing of Hurricane Sandy in Gibara, Cuba, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy blasted across eastern Cuba on Thursday as a potent Category 2 storm and headed for the Bahamas after causing at least two deaths in the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

Residents inspect damage after the passing of Hurricane Sandy in Gibara, Cuba, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012. Hurricane Sandy blasted across eastern Cuba on Thursday as a potent Category 2 storm and headed for the Bahamas after causing at least two deaths in the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/27/obama-cancels-campaign-events-hurricane-sandy_n_2032318.html

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Saturday, October 27, 2012

Bayer cancels diabetes device unit sale: paper

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bayer-cancels-diabetes-device-unit-sale-paper-055407532--finance.htmlthe patriot nick diaz vs carlos condit hall of fame occupy dc ufc 143 fight card my fair lady conversion disorder

Transportation Tips: How To Get Around Canada

If you already have all of the necessary travel documents including your visa and other requirements like letters of consent (if there are underage kids unaccompanied by their parents who are touring Canada with you) and Super Visa insurance papers (if there are parents/grandparents in the group who are entering the country on Super Visa), it is very easy to get into Canada. All that you have to do is to board a plane bound for the country, or drive to a border crossing if you are in the US.

Those who drive across the border into Canada are better prepared for their trip though because they already have a means of transport. All they need are maps and accurate instructions on how to reach whatever destination they have in mind. On the other hand, visitors who arrive by air will normally use public transport.

By Train or Bus

If you paid for a spot in a group tour, your transportation will be provided for by the travel agency. You will most likely travel from one tourist hotspot to another aboard the companys bus. Sometimes the tours will include passage on a train to see areas best viewed by rail.

The advantage of trains is that you often have a better view of the scenery as the tracks weave through cities, hills, and scenic areas. Since you can get up and move around in trains, you also have a better opportunity to meet other people. Finally, as each stop is clearly indicated, there is less chance that you will get lost, unless you take a taxi ride to the wrong place after your train trip.

By Taxi

This is obviously the most convenient way to get around a city, especially if you are not familiar with the area. Most taxi drivers can be trusted to deliver you to the right place. However, you have to watch out for drivers who might take a longer route to your destination and charge you more than you should pay. Do not make it too obvious that you are new to the city and do not know anything about where you are going. Appear confident and totally in control. This is of course the standard operating procedure for tourists in any foreign country.

By Boat

There are many islands in Canada that you may want to explore. You can often take a ferry to reach those islands. In some areas, there is also the option of taking a cruise. Since there will be multiple stops in several coastal towns and cities, you will still be able to explore the seaside towns and, if time permits, visit other popular sights close by.

By Bicycle

If you are starting to become familiar with the streets in the town or city where you are staying, you also have the option of renting a bike. It is a great way to get around urban areas, especially if there are plenty of parks nearby. In fact, many capital cities, like Ottawa, have plenty of bike paths. This is the next best thing to walking, which is of course the best way to fully experience a foreign country and immerse oneself in its culture. However, you can get a closer look at everything and cover more ground by bike.

About the Author:
Edward Edland writes for Best Quote Travel Insurance, a Canadian company that offers instant travel insurance quotes for various travel insurance types, including the Canada super visa, expats and backpackers or students. To learn more about Best Quote Travel Insurance please visit our site http://www.bestquotetravelinsurance.ca

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Transportation-Tips--How-To-Get-Around-Canada/4236563

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Brane Space: Are Online Colleges the Solution? Arguably, NO!

Left: First year Philosophy students at Loyola Universtiy, ca. 1965. There is no way they could have received the quality education they did from any "online" or secondary educational outlet

In a recent TIME article, 'Reinventing College', online?colleges-universities, including in the form of?offering 'MOOCs' (massive open online courses)?or as scaled-down for-profits offering outright credits (such as Udacity) have been bandied about as a solution to two major problems inherent in U.S. tertiary education:

1) The massive college debt accrued by graduates, now estimated at over $900 billion and which undermines their economic viability in a nation with few high paying decent jobs, and

2) The fact the U.S.?now lags behind major competitors in terms of numbers of people in the workforce with college degrees. (The U.S. has currently 54 million compared to 127 million in India and 161 million in the OECD nations.

Another sobering fact takeaway from the piece: despite all the massive college debt "three semesters of college have produced a barely noticeable impact on critical thinking, complex reasoning? and writing skills" - according to a 2011 book, 'Academically Adrift'.

This is very serious indeed, because in today's multi-faceted economic and scientific?world - where many complex issues bear on the electorate, from Keynesian?stimulus advantage, to supply side nonsense, to the concept of 'aggregate demand', not to mention global warming-climate change and the consumption of fossil fuels beyond the practical EROEI?(energy returned on energy invested) limit, we absolutely must have intelligent and well educated people to be able to process the information and make informed decisions.?This often requires not only critical thinking and complex reasoning abilities but the knowledge by which to parse and sort out the competing claims.?One therefore must be practiced in the application of critical thinking and complex reasoning to actual scientific and economic questions.

I maintain, despite all the hoopla about?college "options" (i.e. replacing the formal college degree with one from an online venue) that there is no substitute for partaking in the actual, physical college environment. ??Now, this is not to say some benefit can't arrive via Moocs, e.g. such as at MIT:

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/audio-video-courses/

and Yale University:

http://oyc.yale.edu/

However, ?intensive education toward a degree must be necessarily bound up with brick and mortar institutions. Why? Let me priovide several reasons:

1) Accreditation:

This is the sine qua non indicator for quality assurance. Given thousands of schools, universities, colleges, there must be some way - some standard - by which they can be judged, at least at the minimal level. Accreditation provides this. Hence, any degree-offering online substitute must at least be accredited by an outside entity of value itself. Else, its degree means nothing and won't to any prospective employer either.

What official body has accredited the institution of higher learning? There are six major accrediting bodies in the United States. In the case of the Southern U.S. (and for Loyola) the accrediting body is the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

2) Advantage of learning one-to-one (tutorials):

This is critical and maybe one of the most crucial components but may not be present (for obvious reasons) in distant learning. For example, this means when a student encounters a difficult impasse, as he or she surely will, he can meet one-to-one with a professor and hash out the difficulty. At Loyola, for example, professors were always available and also conducted tutorials (weekly meetings with only a few students for problem solving or question resolution purposes. )

When I taught? Space Physics (including labs)?at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, I always set aside office hours to meet one- on- one with students having difficulties. I did the same when I taught at Harrison College (physics, math) in Barbados. Students often told me after the semester that these sessions meant more than the regular classroom contacts because they were more directly challenged to show their ability at more fundamental, as well as critical thinking levels.

Those office hours often meant the difference between a student doing well on a class project, or not. Or more critically, passing the course, or failing it. A student- I don't care how diligent he is, simply can't obtain the same measure of mastery without that intense contact which is directed to the sole purpose of resolving the difficulty. It simply isn't the same as staring at a passive computer monitor - or even an online tutorial or physics class when you can't get answers to questions or immediate feedback at that instant. (From the TIME author's piece, you can at Udacity, but it is kind of a 'cut and paste' homogeneous operation. For example, one of Udacity's general physics instructors - an Andy Brown - while he can toss out assorted questions every few minutes (the average college student's attention span is said to be 9-12 mins. before drifting), he cannot give you assorted lab materials and have you design your own experiment to measure the acceleration of gravity, g, on the spot!)

3) Development of Writing Skills:

Back in the 'day' - before the arrival of the egregious 'teacher evaluation forms' and hence the blackmail of profs to get unearned high grades, in-depth writing was part of nearly all courses, from physics to philosophy. Today, because of time constraints or whatever...that's almost entirely vanished. Very few college students are asked to write comprehensive (e.g. for homework) ?essays such as we were at Loyola (in philosophy, English?and theology) or engage in displaying the sort of complex reasoning, say in physics, as I've regularly?demanded of?my students in physics, or space physics. 'Writing' then, is regarded as mostly a marginal or side issue today, when in fact it is the core demonstration of thought, including advanced thought. If a student can't write, one can make the claim he can't think - or at least cogently and clearly express his thoughts, which amounts to the same thing.

Most college students today, according to assorted surveys, claim an average of 15 minutes of writing per nightly homework, compared to nearly 2?? hours back in the 1960s. However, and this is important, not even that 15 minute threshold is met by the online for profit outfits like Udacity - which seem to prefer short form answer, on-the-spot questions, responses. (The TIME writer never mentioned any advanced writing exercises, say in Andy Brown's Udacity physics class, along the lines of comparing Newtonian gravitational theory with Einsteinian general relativity, or how Newton's law of gravitation helped to refine Kepler's laws of planetary motion).

4) Socialization aspect and learning interactively as a group:

In?the Loyola first year?philosophy class (see image shown) we actually learned from each other. Using the "Socratic Method" (made famous by the character known as "Professor Kingsfield" in the series Paper Chase) our prof, Fr.Hecker , would press and probe students one by one to elicit the optimum answers and insights in exploring whatever aspect came up. Thus, as one student answered the question (and thereby introduced a new question for another) we referenced our own resolution by way of his or her answer. As the process continued, each new question?pursued more deeply by?Fr. Hecker , we assimilated it for?further study, reference. This dynamic interplay is not possible when a single student tries to master a difficult subject via long distance access only. One way I could describe it is the class experience is three dimensional but the distance learner's is at most two dimensional.

Sure there are many advantages to distance learning, such as saving gas and time, as well as not having to expose oneself to thousands of people with different ideas (that you may not like) but the total college experience is to me, what makes it unique - and which one can't just obtain from online learning.

Lastly, there is the key issue of what is college for? As I've intimated many times before, I do not believe one can adopt a strictly utilitarian stance and absolutely expect you will land a high profile job, no matter how many tens of thousands you've shelled out. I am not alone in this!? In his own perceptive take ('The Myth of Higher Education') Dr. Stephen Mason in an issue of Integra the journal of Intertel,?argued cogently?that a huge error of American education is orientating it explicitly for the utilitarian purpose of making money or getting a job.

?As he points out, this is terribly short-sighted, and what if after enormous expense no remunerative job is forthcoming? (A serious possibility in today's world where even high tech computer and engineering jobs are being dispatched to India thanks to GE and Cisco). It therefore is extremely parlous and presumptive for a person to expend an enormous amount on either a standard 'brick and mortar' university education or an online -distant learning one, if the sole objective is to earn a living based on one's degree. In Mason's take(op. cit.):

?"the bottom line regarding a well -rounded education is that it has nothing to do with any kind of bottom line. Its value (non-monetary) is to be found in the quality it adds to one's life. It allows one to better appreciate music, art, history and literature. It contributes to a better understanding of language and culture, nature and philosophy. It expands rather than limits horizons and replaces faith and belief with reason and logic."

Mason adds that it "teaches a person to live - not to earn a living" and that living encompasses an impetus for further learning just for its own sake. If a fantastic, well-paying job also comes with it, that's icing on the cake. Fortunately, when I attended Loyola University (1964-67), the whole thrust was about two things: 1) critical thinking (now tested regularly on the Graduate Record Exam which must normally be taken before one undertakes post-graduate education) and 2) open inquiry that motivates further learning.

I have found both of these immensely crucial and useful in parsing today's complex political environment, which is why I also blog so often about poltical issues with complex?subtexts?- in the interests of sharing. I only wish more of our citizens would or could possess these same advantages in the interests of making fewer parlous electoral errors - which in the long run exact a terrible cost on our nation.

As for the online courses offered, such as those at Yale and MIT, I believe most would agree with me that they are best used for 'continuing education' of already degreed citizens. Learning in this sense ought not cease with a piece of paper or parchment but be continuous until one ceases to breathe .....or loses cognitive functions. If more Americans also agreed with this, we might see a much more intelligent, informed electorate .....as opposed to voters (according to a UCLA political sci. prof on Chris Hayes' 'UP' this morning) who identify with Mitt Romney and his "values" whether he acts as the savage Rightist Plutocrat, or the phoney baloney "moderate".

Source: http://brane-space.blogspot.com/2012/10/are-online-colleges-solution-arguably-no.html

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Call for Artists: WIN a Solo Exhibition in Venice (Italy) | Digital meets ...

Video art / Photography / Computer graphics / Installation / Performing art

Call for Artists: ID / Identities?- Istanbul (Turkey)

November 22?- December 23, 2012

International ArtExpo is selecting artworks to include in the next 2012 event:?ID / Identities?- International Art Festival at?Koza Visual Culture and Arts Association?(November 22?- December 02, 2012) and at?Avantgarde Hotel?(November 23?- December 23, 2012), Istanbul (Turkey)

Prizes:

a Solo Exhibition in Venice
1 Year of participation to International Art Festivals organized by International ArtExpo
1 Week of luxury accommodation in an exclusive Art Residence in Italy

Organizer: International ArtExpo

Curators: Ramuntcho Robles Quevedo & Marta Stella (Spain)

Venues:

Koza Visual Culture and Arts Association, Istiklal Str. No: 116 Danisman Gecidi Han Cikmazi Str. No: 1 F:3, Beyoglu, Istanbul (Turkey)
Avantgarde Hotel, B?y?kdere Cad. 161, Zincirlikuyu-Levent, Istanbul (Turkey)

The deadline for applications is November 05, 2012

Submit your works now!!!?click here?

The selections will be based on the main concept of ?Identities? and on all its reflections on cities, bodies, society and cultures, mixing borders between them. Everyday we deal with a multitude of different identities and roles: we face the public life creating and adapting our social identities; our body and aesthetic tastes modify and are modified by our physical and sexual identities; our whole being evolves as well as contemporary cultures and modern cities do. People, environments, societies, progress and all their inputs shape and regenerate our individualities; they shift and overlap with our selves creating a new stimulating world.

The event is open to video art, photography, computer graphics, installations and performances. For more details click here
International ArtExpo is a not for profit organization that provides a significant forum for cultural dialogue between all artists from different cultures and countries. ArtExpo is grateful to all of the institutions, corporations, and individuals who support our artistic projects. We work with a number of national and international galleries as well as publishers, museums, curators and critics from all over the world. We help artists through solo and group exhibitions, gallery representation, magazine reviews and advertisements, press releases, internet promotion, as well as various curatorial projects.

International ArtExpo
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 33
70122 Bari (Italy)
+39.0805234018
+39.3387574098
lucacurci@lucacurci.com
www.lucacurci.com/artexpo

Source: http://www.digitalmeetsculture.net/article/call-for-artists-win-a-solo-exhibition-in-venice-italy/

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Friday, October 26, 2012

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Police detain 4, seek motive in LA family shooting - Spokesman.com ...

October 25, 2012 in Nation/World

Greg Risling Associated Press

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DOWNEY, Calif. (AP) ? Police detained four people for questioning Thursday in the search for a gunman who killed three people and critically wounded two others at a family-owned fire extinguisher business and a relative?s nearby home in suburban Los?Angeles.

The development came a little more than 24 hours after the shootings that left friends and neighbors grappling for answers as authorities remained mum about a?motive.

The four people ? three men and a woman ?were detained Thursday afternoon, though no arrests were made, said Downey police Lt. Leslie?Murray.

The gunman doesn?t appear to be a former employee, friend or family member, Lt. Dean Milligan said. Police, however, say they don?t believe the killings were a random act of?violence.

Authorities were still looking for a stolen black Camaro, which they say the suspect used to get away after the?shootings.

Police have not identified the five victims, but a portrait began to emerge of a tight-knit family who threw large parties and ran a successful?company.

Prayer candles and flowers were left at the home and nearby business where the shootings took place. A sign decorated with pink hearts and flowers was left outside the house, reading ?RIP Susana, to a great?mother.?

Workers returned to the industrial strip where the first shots were fired at the small family-owned fire extinguisher?company.

?This is absolutely heartbreaking,? said Dean Wright, who owns the septic supply business next door. ?The guy who did this had to be absolutely?crazy.?

Richard Mercado, 36, a family friend, said he grew up with the two brothers who ran United States Fire Protection Services Inc., which sells professional firefighting gear and?equipment.

Property records show the business is owned by Robert Salinas, 35, and the house is owned by Antonio Salinas, 34. Attempts to reach anyone at either location were unsuccessful and others associated with the family refused to talk when reached by?phone.

Mercado said the siblings made a lot of money with the business and that they also liked to buy and sell motorcycles and?cars.

?If they saw money to be made they would invest in it,? Mercado said. ?They always had extra?money.?

Police said the deadly encounter began around midday Wednesday and that someone called from the business to reporting a?shooting.

A few minutes after police arrived, a 13-year-old boy called dispatchers from the family house just down the street, authorities said, where the second shooting?happened.

The gunman fled in a 2010 black Camaro that is registered to Maria Fuentes, the mother of the business owners. Wright said she was shot in the face at the business and survived. The other survivor is the teenage boy, Wright said. Authorities said the two survivors of the shooting are in critical?condition.

A female secretary and a male employee were killed at the business, according to Wright. At the family?s home, the shooter killed the wife of one of the brothers, he?said.

The woman and teenager were originally at the business, but somehow got to the home in the Camaro before being shot, according to police. Police don?t know whether they drove themselves or were kidnapped by the?suspect.

There was no sign of forced entry at either location and police believe the suspect spoke with the victims at both locations before the shooting began. The teen victim, however, did not recognize the gunman, Milligan has?said.

The house is a duplex facing foreclosure in a process that began last December, according to real estate records. The property was scheduled to be auctioned Nov. 26 with an asking price of about?$837,000.

Lizzy Bonilla, who recently moved in across the street, said she was at home at the time of the shooting and didn?t hear any gunfire or commotion until police?arrived.

Bonilla, 19, said the family had large parties, most of the time during the day, which was accompanied by Mexican?music.

?They had party buses leaving from their property,? she said. ?They were a big family, and they looked like they were always having?fun.?

Mercado, the family friend, said he?s been trying to reach one of the brothers who had been in Mexico this week but has been unsuccessful. He questioned why trouble would find its way to his?friends.

?They ran their business like everyone else,? he said. ?But maybe they did something wrong and it caught up with?them.?

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press video journalist Raquel Maria Dillon in Downey; and staff writers Robert Jablon, Gillian Flaccus, Brian Melley and Shaya Tayefe Mohajer in Los?Angeles.

Source: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/oct/25/police-detain-4-seek-motive-in-la-family-shooting/

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NYPD busts potential cannibal cop

NEW YORK (AP) ? A city police officer was charged Thursday with leading a ghoulish double life by using a law enforcement database and fetish chat rooms to dream up a plot to torture women and then cook and eat their body parts.

Gilberto Valle left a trail of emails, instant messages and computer files detailing the bizarre cannibalism scheme, according to a criminal complaint, which identified two women as Victim 1 and Victim 2.

He catalogued at least 100 women on his computer, federal investigators said, but there was no information that anyone was harmed.

One document found on his computer was titled "Abducting and Cooking (Victim 1): A Blueprint," according to the complaint. The file also had the woman's birth date and other personal information and a list of "materials needed" ? a car, chloroform and rope.

"I was thinking of tying her body onto some kind of apparatus ... cook her over low heat, keep her alive as long as possible," Valle allegedly wrote in one exchange in July, the complaint says.

In other online conversations, investigators said, Valle talked about the mechanics of fitting the woman's body into an oven (her legs would have to be bent), said he could make chloroform at home to knock a woman out and discussed how "tasty" one woman looked.

"Her days are numbered," he wrote, according to the complaint.

The woman told the FBI she knew Valle and met him for lunch in July, but that's as far as it went.

The officer's estranged wife had alerted New York authorities to his chilling online activity, triggering the investigation that led to his arrest by the FBI on Wednesday, a law enforcement official said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing case and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Valle, 28, was to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday afternoon to face charges of kidnapping conspiracy and unauthorized use of law enforcement records. The name of his attorney was not immediately available, and no one answered the door to his home in a quiet, middle-class Queens neighborhood.

A search of Valle's computer found he had created records of at least 100 women with their names, addresses and photos, the complaint says. Some of the information came from his unauthorized use of a law enforcement database, authorities said. He claimed, according to the complaint, that he knew many of them.

"The allegations in the complaint really need no description from us," said Mary E. Galligan, acting head of the FBI's New York office. "They speak for themselves. It would be an understatement merely to say Valle's own words and actions were shocking."

There was no immediate response to a message left with the NYPD on Thursday.

The complaint alleges that in February, Valle negotiated to kidnap another woman ? Victim 2 ? for someone else, writing, "$5,000 and she's all yours."

He told the buyer he was aspiring to be a professional kidnapper, authorities said.

"I think I would rather not get involved in the rape," according to the complaint. "You paid for her. She is all yours, and I don't want to be tempted the next time I abduct a girl."

It says he added: "I will really get off on knocking her out, tying up her hands and bare feet and gagging her. Then she will be stuffed into a large piece of luggage and wheeled out to my van."

Cellphone data revealed that Valle made calls on the block where the woman lives, the complaint says. An FBI agent interviewed the woman, who told them that she didn't know him well and was never in her home.

Valle had been assigned to a Manhattan precinct before his suspension on Wednesday.

His Facebook page cultivated the image of a very different man. Postings were filled with photos of a smiling wife, a baby girl and an English bulldog puppy named Dudley. A Yankees fan, Valle had more than 600 Facebook friends, including dozens of young women.

Valle respected his colleagues on the force, took the sergeant's exam and spoke out against Occupy Wall Street, cop killers and others who broke the law, according to the page. His current photo was a blue line, a sign of mourning for when an officer is killed, and expressed condolences for the family of a Nassau County officer who was shot to death this week.

"Keep Nassau County police in your prayers what a brutal week," he wrote earlier this week.

The page was taken down Thursday afternoon.

Valle lived in a six-story apartment building with white pillars on a quiet residential street in Queens with a playground on the corner. No one answered his door Thursday.

Raphael Castillo, the superintendent of the building, said he was surprised by the arrest.

"I think it's a normal person and a very good person," he said. "When I talk to him, I never see nothing wrong. I don't think this is the person that I know."

___

Associated Press writer Meghan Barr in New York and researcher Barbara Sambriski contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nyc-officer-arrested-ghoulish-kidnap-plot-152522278.html

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John Birch Society protests Belfast's environmental affiliation ...

BELFAST, Maine ? The lunchtime crowd walking downtown on Wednesday may have wondered what ICLEI is and why it needed to be kicked out of town, as banners held on all four corners of the intersection of Main and High streets urged be done.

Protesters from the John Birch Society, a conservative group formed in 1958 to push for limited government and personal freedoms, said that the city was a member of the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives. That group advocates for municipal policies that reduce energy consumption and mitigate climate change.

The John Birch Society protesters ? about a dozen in all ? also drew a connection between ICLEI and the United Nations? Agenda 21, a land-use planning initiative.

But it turns out the city is not a member of ICLEI.

A city committee, the Belfast Climate and Energy Committee, joined ICLEI and paid the $600 annual dues a few years ago to get information about how to reduce energy consumption in municipal buildings and promote similar strategies for residences and businesses, Belfast Assistant Planner James Francomano said Wednesday.

Roger Lee, a three-term city councilor seeking a fourth term, was a member of that committee and said Wednesday it is essentially defunct. The city stopped paying dues to ICLEI in 2010, but the organization?s website still lists Belfast as a member.

Hal Shurtleff of Boston, a regional field director of the John Birch Society who was among the protesters, said he concluded that Belfast was a member by reviewing ICLEI?s website. Wednesday?s protest was still valid, he said after the banners were taken down, because ICLEI is part of a larger effort to limit personal freedom.

?ICLEI is one tentacle? of other, larger efforts to impose limits on personal freedom, he said.

Two women holding the banners joined Shurtleff in denouncing ICLEI, saying the organization wanted to prevent people from purchasing certain kinds of vehicles and ending single residences because of their impact on climate change. Shurtleff said climate change was a myth.

Shurtleff is scheduled to present information about Agenda 21 at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, at the Belfast Free Library.

City officials contacted ICLEI Wednesday to ask that Belfast be removed from the list of members.

Lee expressed dismay that ICLEI was cast as a villain.

?They?re a perfectly fine organization. They?re assisting municipalities all over the world,? he said.

Membership allowed the committee to receive software to estimate how energy use might be cut in municipal buildings. Committee members also were able to attend regional meetings to learn what other towns and cities were doing on the energy-efficiency front, Lee said.

?It?s pretty small-scale stuff,? he said. ICLEI does have ?a particular regimen they want you to follow. Our committee never did that.?

The city has improved energy efficiency at City Hall, and plans to do the same at the police station, the Belfast Free Library and the Boat House, Lee said.

A handout given to pedestrians on Wednesday featuring Shurtleff?s photo and biography noted that ? Agenda 21 will require a profound reorientation of all human society, unlike anything the world has ever experienced.?

During the protest, Shurtleff said planning and environmental initiatives conflicted with the personal liberty protections of the U.S. Constitution.

Lee remained perplexed.

?It?s hard to even understand [the protesters?] position,? Lee said. ?Apparently there?s something wrong with trying to live sustainably.?

Source: http://bangordailynews.com/2012/10/24/news/midcoast/john-birch-society-protests-belfasts-environmental-affiliation/

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