বুধবার, ৩০ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

'DWTS' champ Martinez invited to Pentagon

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta invited soldier-turned-actor J.R. Martinez, winner of this season's "Dancing with the Stars" competition, to meet him at the Pentagon, a spokesman said Friday.

During a 10-minute telephone call Friday, Panetta told the dance champion he demonstrated the strength and resilience of wounded veterans, Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby said.

Story: J.R. Martinez wins 'Dancing's' ballroom battle

Martinez credited his military training for his performance on the ABC show, Kirby said. Martinez and professional partner Karina Smirnoff bested fellow finalists Rob Kardashian and Ricki Lake in the finale broadcast Tuesday.

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    2. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Tom Cruise!
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Martinez, 28, was severely burned over more than 40 percent of his body when the Humvee he was driving for the U.S. Army in Iraq struck a land mine in 2003. After dozens of operations during a nearly three-year recovery, Martinez became a motivational speaker and in 2008 won a role on the now-retired ABC soap opera "All My Children."

Story: Source: 'Dancing' crew is 'livid' with pro Maks Chmerkovskiy

Details of Panetta's meeting with Martinez are being worked out.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45461297/ns/today-entertainment/

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Missouri state regulators to insurance companies: Joplin ...

November 28, 2011

Missouri state regulators to insurance companies: Joplin homeowners need more time to rebuild

Department of Insurance says denying full benefits could violate Missouri law

Jefferson City, Mo. - The Missouri Department of Insurance says some insurance companies are putting unreasonable timelines on Joplin homeowners trying to rebuild after the May 22 tornado. Six months after the storm, the department issued a bulletin to the industry saying many home and business owners can't be expected to rebuild within the time limits required by some homeowners and commercial insurance policies.

In the bulletin, John M. Huff, director of the Department of Insurance, cites the unprecedented scale of the Joplin tornado, which delayed many consumers from accessing their property and led to a temporary building moratorium. He also describes the widespread devastation that has left the Joplin area with a shortage of contractors and materials. Huff says this has made it impossible for many property owners to rebuild within six months, which some insurance policies require before paying full benefits.

Bulletin 11-06 says that while some insurance companies have already extended their time limitations, others have not. And the application of some policies' shorter time limitations could result in an unfair settlement, which is illegal under Missouri law. The bulletin issued by Huff on Tuesday says insurance companies attempting to enforce deadlines of less than one year may face legal action by the department.

"The insurance industry has done a commendable job responding to the tornado, having paid more than a billion dollars in claims so far," said Huff. "At the same time, Missouri law requires insurers to provide prompt, fair and equitable settlements to their policyholders, and rigid deadlines may violate that law."

Insurance companies have paid more than $1.1 billion in homeowners, auto and commercial property claims related to the Joplin tornado. Huff expects that number to approach $2 billion by the time all claims are settled. Policyholders have filed nearly 18,000 insurance claims.

Consumers or insurers with questions can call the Department of Insurance Consumer Hotline at 800-726-7390 or contact the department online at insurance.mo.gov.?

About the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration

The Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration (DIFP) is responsible for consumer protection through the regulation of financial industries and professionals. The department's seven divisions work to enforce state regulations both efficiently and effectively while encouraging a competitive environment for industries and professions to ensure consumers have access to quality products.

###

Source: http://difp.mo.gov/news/2011/Missouri_state_regulators_to_insurance_companies_Joplin_homeowners_need_more_time_to_rebuild

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Video: Revolutionary approach cures ?silent killer?

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3041426/vp/45461490#45461490

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Motorola prepping another 'project,' this time for the Xoom

Motorola Xoom

Looks like Motorola has another one of its "projects" in the works (the Droid Bionic is in the middle of one), and this time the Xoom tablet is the intended target. The following e-mail's making the rounds:

Hi,

Thanks for joining the Motorola Feedback Network. We are preparing a project for owners of the Motorola Xoom on Verizon, and would like to invite you to participate. Click this link to take a short enrollment survey for this project. Please note that you must be a member in good standing of the Motorola Owners' Forums to take part.

This is a confidential project under the terms of the Motorola Feedback Network. Do not post any details or information about this project on any public sites.
Thanks -- please understand that project start times are always fluid. We ask for your patience if you register but don't hear from us right away.

- Matt
Motorola Owners' Forums
Motorola Feedback Network

We can only hope that this is Ice Cream Sandwich in the works, and not yet another maintenance update. Stay tuned.

Thanks, anon!



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/hhbfG4_kw2s/story01.htm

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Official: Jackson's doctor to serve about 2 years (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? The doctor convicted in the overdose death of Michael Jackson was sentenced to the maximum four years behind bars Tuesday by a judge who denounced him as a reckless physician whose actions were a "disgrace to the medical profession."

Dr. Conrad Murray sat stoically with his hands crossed as Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor repeatedly chastised him for what he called a "horrific violation of trust" while caring for Jackson.

However, Pastor conceded his sentence was constrained by a recent change in California law that requires Murray to serve his sentence in county jail rather than state prison.

Sheriff's officials later said Murray will serve a little less than two years behind bars while housed in a one-man cell and kept away from other prisoners.

"This is going to be a real test of our criminal justice system to see if it's meaningful at all," District Attorney Steve Cooley said.

Cooley said he was considering asking the judge to modify the sentence to classify the crime as a serious felony warranting incarceration in state prison.

The judge was relentless in his bashing of the 58-year-old Murray, saying he lied repeatedly and had not shown remorse for his actions in the treatment of Jackson. Pastor also said Murray's heavy use of the powerful anesthetic propofol to help Jackson battle insomnia violated his sworn obligation.

"It should be made very clear that experimental medicine is not going to be tolerated, and Mr. Jackson was an experiment," Pastor said. "Dr. Murray was intrigued by the prospect and he engaged in this money for medicine madness that is simply not going to be tolerated by me."

Pastor also said Murray has "absolutely no sense of fault, and is and remains dangerous" to the community.

The judge said.one of the most disturbing aspects of Murray's case was a slurred recording of Jackson recovered from the doctor's cell phone.

"That tape recording was Dr. Murray's insurance policy," Pastor said. "It was designed to record his patient surreptitiously at that patient's most vulnerable point."

Defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan said after the sentencing that he was surprised the judge focused on the recording. The lawyer also contended that nothing said during the hearing would have changed the judge's mind about the sentence.

Michael Jackson's family told Pastor in a statement read earlier that they were not seeking revenge but wanted Murray to receive a stiff sentence that served as a warning to opportunistic doctors.

It included elements from Jackson's parents, siblings and his three children.

"As his brothers and sisters, we will never be able to hold, laugh or perform again with our brother Michael," the statement said. "And as his children, we will grow up without a father, our best friend, our playmate and our dad."

The family told The Associated Press after the sentencing that they were pleased with the results.

"We're going to be a family. We're going to move forward. We're going to tour, play the music and miss him," brother Jermaine Jackson said.

Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a six-week trial that presented the most detailed account yet of Jackson's final hours but left many questions about Murray's treatment of the superstar with propofol.

The jury heard the recording of Jackson during the trial but defense attorneys never explained in court why he recorded the impaired singer six weeks before his death.

"We have to be phenomenal," he was heard saying about his "This Is It" comeback concerts in London. "When people leave this show, when people leave my show, I want them to say, `I've never seen nothing like this in my life. Go. Go. I've never seen nothing like this. Go. It's amazing. He's the greatest entertainer in the world.'"

Before sentencing, lead defense attorney Ed Chernoff attacked Jackson, as he and his team frequently did during the doctor's trial. "Michael Jackson was a drug seeker," he said.

Murray did not directly address the court. After sentencing, he mouthed the words "I love you" to his mother and girlfriend in the courtroom.

Murray's mother, Milta Rush, sat alone on a bench in the courthouse hallway after the sentencing.

"My son is not what they charged him to be," she said quietly. "He was a gentle child from the time he was small. "

Of her son's future, she said, "God is in charge."

Jackson's death in June 2009 stunned the world, as did the ensuing investigation that led to Murray being charged in February 2010.

Murray told detectives he had been giving the singer nightly doses of propofol to help him sleep as he prepared for the series of comeback concerts.

Propofol is supposed to be used in hospital settings and has never been approved for sleep treatments, yet Murray acknowledged giving it to Jackson then leaving the room on the day the singer died.

Murray declined to testify during his trial but did opt to participate in a documentary in which he said he didn't consider himself guilty of any crime and blamed Jackson for entrapping him into administering the propofol doses. His attorneys contended throughout the case that Jackson must have given himself the fatal dose when Murray left the singer's bedside.

In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors cited Murray's statements to advocate for the maximum term. They also want him to pay restitution to the singer's three children ? Prince, Paris and Blanket.

The exact amount Murray has to pay will be determined at a hearing in January.

"Anything over a couple of dollars, he's not going to be able to pay anyway," Flanagan said.

Murray was deeply in debt when he agreed to serve as Jackson's personal physician for $150,000 a month, and the singer died before Murray received any money.

Prosecutors said the relationship of Jackson and Murray was corrupted by greed. Murray left his practices to serve as Jackson's doctor and look out for his well-being, but instead acted as an employee catering to the singer's desire to receive propofol to put him to sleep, prosecutors said.

Murray's attorneys relied largely on 34 letters from relatives, friends and former patients to portray Murray in a softer light and win a lighter sentence. The letters and defense filings described Murray's compassion as a doctor, including accepting lower payments from his mostly poor patients.

"There is no question that the death of his patient, Mr. Jackson, was unintentional and an enormous tragedy for everyone affected," defense attorneys wrote in their sentencing memo.

___

AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch and writer Jeff Wilson contributed to this report.

Follow Anthony McCartney at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111129/ap_en_mu/us_michael_jackson_doctor

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A Dangerous Method (2011) DVD ENG DVDRip HQ 1 Link NO RAR

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/lern2play/~3/Y-e2WrP0iP8/124797-a-dangerous-method-2011-dvd-eng-dvdrip-hq-1-link-no-rar.html

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মঙ্গলবার, ২৯ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

Ask and Answer Questions About Caring for Your Christmas Tree [Help Yourself]

Ask and Answer Questions About Caring for Your Christmas TreeEvery day we're on the lookout for ways to make your work easier and your life better, but Lifehacker readers are smart, insightful folks with all kinds of expertise to share, and we want to give everyone regular access to that exceptional hive mind. Help Yourself is a daily thread where readers can ask and answer questions about tech, productivity, life hacks, and whatever else you need help with.

If you celebrate Christmas, you have either already set up your Christmas tree, or it is something you will be doing within the next few weeks. We have discussed in the past how to care for a live tree so you can enjoy it for many years. If getting a new tree each year was your thing, we showed you how to pick out a tree and keep it green for the holidays, including making your own tree watering system. There are surely other methods for choosing and caring for your tree of choice during the holidays. Ask and answer questions about Christmas trees in the comments.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/7VUf-PujiLY/ask-and-answer-questions-about-caring-for-your-christmas-tree

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California's Excellent Automotive Tech Schools | Divine Writers

Automotive tech schools offer students with the guidance they require to become successful business professionals in the auto industry. Delivering professional accreditations in anything from automotive and motorcycle technology to crash repair, these common tech schools teach a mix of maintenance, engineering, and metallurgy skills. Classwork is enhanced with hours and hours of personalized training with extremely accomplished teachers, to ensure that each trainee develops the skills essential to secure employment.

Automotive Trade Programs in California

California has a pair of the top auto tech schools in the nation in WyoTech and UEI College, and more than twenty terrific online vocational school programs. This provides an outstanding chance for anyone who has thought of starting a career as a service technician, repairer or automotive mechanic. A analysis of the previously mentioned automotive tech schools appears below.

WyoTech (Sacramento, Fremont and Long Beach)

One of the big names in auto technology certification, WyoTech features three locations in California: Sacramento, Fremont and Long Beach. Each is furnished with the top, state-of-the-art technology, highly-trained trainers, and top-level facilities intended to make sure every student receives the very best training. All three offer associate degrees in Advanced Diagnostics, Applied Service Management and Electrical Technology, in addition to degrees and diplomas in 15 specialized fields.

Course availability may differ from one campus to the next, but many classes can be taken part-time in the evening by people who are fully employed or carry other commitments. Financial assistance and work placement programs are also part of WyoTech .

UEI College (Gardena Campus)

The Automotive Technician training course provided by UEI College is truly unparalleled. The sole downside for California inhabitants is that it is actually available only at the Gardena campus. For everyone who lives in Southern California, however, this is very good news since the program provides accreditations in a number of skilled fields in very high demand in local automotive shops.

The school?s courses in onboard computerized engine control, fuel injections, and emissions are usually as technologically advanced as any on the market. Students who earn qualifications in just one of these career fields are certain to find employment quickly ? and at a fair wage.

Online Programs

If your choice is to pursue a qualification via an online technical school course, you?ll not have any problem locating a good one. Recognized vocational colleges like Ashworth College, Stratford Career Institute and Lincoln Technical Institute all furnish students with fantastic, self-paced training in a online learning setting.

How Much Do Auto Trade Schools Cost?

The conventional automotive trade school may be finished in one year or less, however that doesn?t imply it?s cheap. Education is expensive, and automotive technology education is no exception to this rule with tuitions running between $25,000 and $30,000. Needless to say, high-caliber automotive tech colleges like WyoTech and UEI College supply substantial financial aid plans along with other forms of assistance to make sure that college students have the ability to graduate quick and start their careers.

Are you ready to enroll at one of the automotive mechanic schools mentioned in this article? Then visit the author?s site on trade schools in California to find out how!

Source: http://www.divinewriters.com/2011/11/californias-excellent-automotive-tech-schools/

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Tiffany sales growth shows signs of slowing (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Concerns about slowing sales momentum took some of the luster off Tiffany & Co's (TIF.N) stock amid signs that European and U.S. economic distress are weighing on luxury consumers, and shares fell 9 percent.

The upscale jeweler, a stock market darling for how fast its international business has grown, reported third-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates but gave a holiday-quarter profit and sales outlook that missed Wall Street expectations.

Chief Executive Michael Kowalski said in a statement there had been "recent sales weaknesses in Europe and in the eastern part of the U.S."

And the company said there is reason to be cautious.

Chief Financial Officer Pat McGuiness told analysts on a conference call that Tiffany is "cognizant of the challenging economic conditions and uncertainties in a number of markets."

Globally, Tiffany's sales in the third quarter were up 17 percent in the third quarter, excluding the impact of currency translation.

But that is below the 19 percent pace of the first three quarters combined. The slowdown was limited to the Americas and Europe, which together make up nearly 60 percent of Tiffany's business. In Japan, its second biggest market, and elsewhere in Asia, the pace picked up.

(For a graph showing U.S. jewelry spending and stock market volatility, please see: http://link.reuters.com/zuq35s)

Tiffany's shares traded late Monday at a forward earnings-price ratio of 23.31, above the 16.95 for the retail sector as a whole, according to Thomson Reuters.

That set up Tiffany's shares for a fall at any sign of trouble, said Morningstar analyst Paul Swinand, calling them "richly" valued.

Another concern is that gross margin, a measure of profitability on jewelry sold, slipped, Swinand said.

Tiffany's gross margin edged down 0.6 point to 57.9 percent in the third quarter, largely because it sold more pricey jewelry, which the company said has lower margins. The markup of very-high-end jewelry is typically lower, analysts said.

CLOUD ON LUXURY'S HORIZON

The mentions of trouble in Europe and the United States are the latest sign that months of stock market volatility and fears about global economic growth might finally be taking a toll on luxury consumers' confidence.

In October, Saks Inc (SKS.N) and Nordstrom Inc (JWN.N) reported sales that disappointed Wall Street, and earlier this month Saks CEO Steve Sadove said the stock market's gyrations gave the department store chain reason to plan "cautiously."

Tiffany shares were down 9.03 percent to $66.98 and brought down other luxury chain's shares. Saks was down 3.6 percent, Coach Inc (COH.N) 2.2 percent and Ralph Lauren Corp (RL.N) 2.7 percent. The Standard & Poor's Retail Index (.RLX) was up 0.4 percent.

Still, Saks, Neiman Marcus Group Inc (NMRCUS.UL) and Nordstrom Inc (JWN.N) all recently reported big sales gains for the most recent quarter. And on Monday, Neiman CEO Karen Katz said: "The most affluent luxury customer is spending with confidence."

Tiffany expects sales to rise at a low-teens percentage rate for the holiday quarter. In the third quarter, sales at stores open at least a year, excluding the effect of currency translations, rose 16 percent.

Tiffany said it expects fourth quarter earnings per share of $1.48 to $1.58, below the $1.63 Wall Street analysts were expecting, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Tiffany reported net income of $89.7 million, or 70 cents per share, for the third quarter ended October 31, up from $55.1 million, or 43 cents per share, a year earlier and above the 61 cents a share that analysts were expecting, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Dave Zimmerman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111129/bs_nm/us_tiffany

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Researchers develop a vaccine prototype stronger than traditional vaccines

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) researchers have created a vaccine that is more potent than traditional vaccines available today. The glycoconjugate vaccine prototype is 100 times more effective than traditional glycoconjugate vaccines. Their work is published in the December 2011 issue of Nature Medicine.

A glycoconjugate vaccine is comprised of covalently bound carbohydrate and protein molecules, and is the standard design for many vaccines used to protect against common diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis.

Researchers designed the vaccine prototype after discovering that immune cells, called T-cells, can recognize a vaccine's carbohydrates, and from that recognition elicit an immune response. This discovery challenges popular assumptions that immune cells only recognize the protein portion of glycoconjugate vaccines.

Proof that T-cells recognize carbohydrates came when researchers immunized mice with different types of glycoconjugate vaccines against the bacteria, group B Streptococcus. One group was immunized with vaccines containing different proteins. Another group was immunized with vaccines with the same proteins. For both groups, the carbohydrate chain in the vaccines was the same.

Researchers saw that mice given the vaccines with different proteins had just as good an immune response as those given vaccines with the same proteins?the variability in proteins did not change immune response. This told researchers that T-cells were recognizing carbohydrates to generate a consistent immune response. They further investigated the mechanisms responsible for how carbohydrate-containing glycoconjugate vaccines activate protective immunity to a bacterial infection.

"One thing that is tremendously novel here is that we were able to find T-cells within a mouse after immunization with a glycoconjugate [vaccine] that just recognized carbohydrates," said Dennis L. Kasper, MD, director of BWH's Channing Laboratory. "So these may be the first true carbohydrate-specific T-cells found."

The understanding that it was not only proteins, but also carbohydrates that were being recognized by cells led researchers to design a vaccine that yielded many carbohydrate particles when processed by the immune system?in turn creating a vaccine that generated a stronger immune response. Researchers believe that the more effective vaccine prototype they designed may one day assist in protecting high-risk populations susceptible of disease.

"For example, pneumococcal conjugate vaccines are good in children, but are not effective in protecting the elderly," explained Kasper. So we are hopeful that by designing vaccines like this, you'll make better vaccines that will be effective in all the at-risk populations."

Fikri Avci, PhD, lead study author and instructor in the Department of Medicine at BWH and Harvard Medical School adds that the findings on how the body's immune cells interact with carbohydrates will also lead to more effective vaccines in the future.

"Carbohydrates are among the most abundant and structurally diverse molecules in nature," said Avci. "They are extremely important in many biological functions. A better understanding of carbohydrate interaction is crucial. We are hoping that our findings will provide a framework for production of new-generation therapeutics and preventive medicines not only against bacterial infections, but also for cancer and viral diseases."

###

Brigham and Women's Hospital: http://www.brighamandwomens.org

Thanks to Brigham and Women's Hospital for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 20 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/115510/Researchers_develop_a_vaccine_prototype_stronger_than_traditional_vaccines

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Voters? Trust In Republicans Holding Firm (Powerlineblog)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/166955536?client_source=feed&format=rss

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সোমবার, ২৮ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

NATO now blames Pakistan for starting fight (Americablog)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Canada won the War of 1812, U.S. historian admits

Nov 27, 2011 ? 3:22 PM ET | Last Updated: Nov 27, 2011 3:23 PM ET

By Randy Boswell

In a relatively rare admission for an American scholar, a leading U.S. historian who authored a provocative new tome about North American military conflicts states bluntly that Canada won the War of 1812.

Johns Hopkins University professor Eliot Cohen, a senior adviser to former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, writes in his just-published book Conquered Into Liberty that, ?ultimately, Canada and Canadians won the War of 1812.?

And Cohen acknowledges that, ?Americans at the time, and, by and large, since, did not see matters that way.?

The book also echoes a key message trumpeted by the federal Conservative government in recent weeks as it unveiled ambitious plans to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812 over the next three years: that the successful fight by British, English- and French-Canadian and First Nations allies to resist would-be American conquerors ? at battles such as Queenston Heights in Upper Canada and Chateauguay in Lower Canada ? set the stage for the creation of a unified and independent Canada a half-century later.

?If the conquest of (Canada) had not been an American objective when the war began, it surely had become such shortly after it opened,? Cohen argues in the book. ?Not only did the colony remain intact: It had acquired heroes, British and French, and a narrative of plucky defense against foreign invasion, that helped carry it to nationhood.?

In an interview with Postmedia News, Cohen observed that, ?all countries have to have these myths ? not in the sense of falsehoods, but really compelling stories that are, in fact, rooted in some kind of truth, even if they?re not the complete truth.

?And the War of 1812 gives Canada that,? he continued. ?It gives you some foundation myths. It gives you Laura Secord. It gives you heroes.?

Cohen, who advised the Bush Administration on geopolitical strategy from 2007 to 2009, said the War of 1812 ?was the last point at which the United States thought really seriously about trying to take Canada by force of arms.?

It?s clear, he added, that ?there were a lot of senior American leaders who thought the outcome of the war would be the forcible annexation of Canada ? thinking, not entirely without reason, that there would be some segment of the (Canadian) population that would welcome that.?

There were, in fact, deep roots for such thinking in the U.S. Rebel forces during the American War of Independence had launched a northward invasion ? ultimately unsuccessful ? nearly four decades before the War of 1812.

In 1775, a rebel pamphlet distributed among Canadians in present-day Quebec warned that they would be ?conquered into liberty? by the invading revolutionaries from the South, an oxymoronic appeal to join in the revolt against British rule, and which Cohen captured in the title of his book as a sentiment which still echoes in contemporary U.S. foreign policy.

Subtitled ?Two Centuries of Battles Along the Great Warpath that Made the American Way of War,? the 400-page survey of North American history from 1690 to 1871 contends that the national mindsets of the U.S. and Canada were profoundly and enduringly shaped by struggles over the land and water routes between Montreal and New York City, principally Lake Champlain, Lake George and the Hudson River.

And while Cohen?s book highlights the fact that the U.S. won the principal War of 1812 clash in that crucial corridor ? the Battle of Plattsburgh in September 1814 ? he concludes that ?the nominal causes for which (the Americans) had fought the war had advanced not an iota? by the time a peace treaty had been signed and hostilities ended in early 1815.

U.S. forces ?had failed in their objective of conquering Canada,? Cohen writes. ?They had suffered humiliating defeats at the hands of numerically inferior enemies; the Royal Navy had driven American commerce from the seas; and American national finance had suffered severely.?

But like Canada, which emerged victorious from the War of 1812 and more aware of itself as a potential nation, the U.S. salvaged a solid ? even strengthened ? sense of national identity, Cohen argues.

?Some of this has to do with myth, understood as powerful stories that frame a deeper conception of one?s history,? he writes. ?They clung to the victorious naval duels of the USS Constitution, the ?bombs bursting in air? over Fort McHenry, the fleet action on Lake Erie, the Battle of New Orleans ? and ? very much ? Plattsburgh.?

Even as late as the U.S. Civil War in the 1860s, Cohen said in the interview, a ?substantial body of opinion? persisted among American political leaders ?that sooner or later, Canadians will decide that they want to join the United States.?

But, added Cohen, even the most ardent annexationists in the U.S. had come to believe by then that the absorption of the Canadian colonies by the United States would only happen ?on the initiative of Canadians.?

Source: http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/27/canada-won-the-war-of-1812-u-s-historian-admits/

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রবিবার, ২৭ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

Officials: NATO choppers kill Pakistani troops

NATO aircraft attacked a military checkpoint in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing up to 28 troops and prompting Pakistan to shut the vital supply route for NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan, Pakistani officials said.

In a statement sent to reporters, the Pakistan military blamed NATO for Friday's attack in the Mohmand tribal area, saying helicopters "carried out unprovoked and indiscriminate firing."

The attack comes as relations between the United States and Pakistan ? its ally in the war on militancy ? are already badly strained following the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden by U.S. special forces in a secret raid on the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad in May.

"Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has condemned in the strongest terms the NATO/ISAF attack on the Pakistani post," Pakistan foreign ministry spokeswoman Tehmina Janjua said in a statement.

"On his direction, the matter is being taken (up) by the foreign ministry in the strongest terms with NATO and the U.S.," the spokesman said.

NBC News reported that Gilani cut short a visit to the southern Pakistani city of Multan and returned to the capital Islamabad Saturday and summoned the cabinet's Defense Committee "to formulate a response of the government" following the attack, according to a statement issued by his office.

'Cannot be tolerated'
The powerful Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, said in a statement issued by the Pakistani military that "all necessary steps be under taken for an effective response to this irresponsible act."

Masood Kasur, the governor of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, said the raid was "an attack on Pakistan's territorial sovereignty."

"Such cross-border attacks cannot be tolerated any more. The government will take up this matter at the highest level and it will be investigated," he said.

Two military officials told Reuters that up to 28 troops had been killed and 11 wounded in the attack on the Salala checkpoint, about 1.5 miles from the Afghan border in the Baizai area of Mohmand, where Pakistani troops are fighting Taliban militants.

However, a Pakistan Army statement put the death toll at 24 with 13 injured. It said that Pakistan troops had "responded immediately in self defense to NATO/ISAF's aggression with all available weapons."

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The army statement said NATO helicopters and fighter aircraft were involved in the attack, which took place around 2 a.m. Saturday local time (4 p.m. Friday ET).

The commander of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, General John R. Allen, said he had offered his condolences to the family of any Pakistani soldiers who "may have been killed or injured" during an "incident" on the border.

A spokesman for the force declined further comment on the nature of the "incident" and said an investigation was proceeding. It was not yet clear, he said, whether there had been deaths or injuries.

U.S. regret
The U.S. embassy in Islamabad also offered condolences. "I regret the loss of life of any Pakistani servicemen, and pledge that the United States will work closely with Pakistan to investigate this incident," ambassador Cameron Munter said in a statement.

Colonel Gary Kolb, spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, said the aircraft were taking part in a strike that was a coordinated effort with ISAF, Pakistani military and the Pakistani border authorities, NBC News reported.

He said they had responded to small arms fire, according to NBC News. Asked to confirm that it was retaliatory, he said yes.

ISAF was still determining the exact circumstances. "This has the highest priority to ensure that we get all the facts straight," Kolb said, NBC News reported.

He noted that even if some of supply routes through Pakistan were closed, there were "contingencies built into the system" to deal with these types of disruptions.

About 40 Pakistani army troops were stationed at the outpost, military sources said. Two officers were reported among the dead.

A senior Pakistani military officer said efforts were under way to bring the bodies of the slain soldiers to Ghalanai, the headquarters of Mohmand tribal region.

"The latest attack by NATO forces on our post will have serious repercussions as they without any reasons attacked on our post and killed soldiers asleep," he said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

40 trucks halted
NATO supply trucks and fuel tankers bound for Afghanistan were stopped at Jamrud town in the Khyber tribal region near the city of Peshawar hours after the raid, officials said.

"We have halted the supplies and some 40 tankers and trucks have been returned from the check post in Jamrud," Mutahir Zeb, a senior government official, told Reuters.

Another official said the supplies had been stopped for security reasons.

"There is possibility of attacks on NATO supplies passing through the volatile Khyber tribal region, therefore we sent them back towards Peshawar to remain safe," he said.

Much of the violence in Afghanistan against Afghan, NATO and U.S. troops is carried out by insurgents that are based just across the border in Pakistan.

Coalition forces are not allowed to cross the frontier to attack the militants, which sometimes fire artillery and rockets across the line.

American officials have repeatedly accused Pakistani forces of supporting ? or turning a blind eye ? to militants using its territory for cross-border attacks.

The Afghanistan-Pakistan border is often poorly marked, and differs between maps by up to five miles in some places.

Pakistan is a vital land route for 49 percent of NATO's supplies to its troops in Afghanistan, a NATO spokesman said.

This raid is the largest and most serious incident of its kind. A similar incident on Sept 30, 2009, which killed two Pakistani troops, led to the closure of one of NATO's supply routes through Pakistan for 10 days.

NATO apologized for that incident, which it said happened when NATO gunships mistook warning shots by the Pakistani forces for a militant attack.

The attack is expected to further worsen U.S.-Pakistan relations, already at one of their lowest points in history, following a tumultuous year that saw the bin Laden raid, the jailing of a CIA contractor, and U.S. accusations that Pakistan backed a militant attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

An increase in U.S. drone strikes on militants in the last few years has also irritated Islamabad, which says the campaign kills more Pakistani civilians in the border area than activists. Washington disputes that, but declines to discuss the drone campaign in detail.

NBC News' Atia Abawi in Kabul, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45442885/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

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Video: Chevy Volt under scrutiny



>>> we have late news tonight about the chevy volt which has been praised, as you may know, as a big step forward for chevy and general motors . federal officials tonight say they are investigating the safety of the lithium ion battery in the chevy volt . the national highway traffic safety administration said the battery caught fire after recent crash tests. gm said it supports the investigation and it's cooperating but the company notes the fires happened after extreme situations and there are no reports of similar incidents by owners. a lot of fire departments across the country have been training members in how to fight car fires that involve these batteries.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45440237/

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Parker J. Palmer: A Christian Gives Thanks That America Is Not a Christian Nation (Huffington post)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/166095349?client_source=feed&format=rss

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NASA's Next Mission: Deep Space

It won't be budget cuts, but the lack of political will. If SOME politician in charge would just give NASA a well-defined mission such as "10 years for a working moon base" or "15 years to land humans on Mars" they would find a way to pull it off, even without budget increases -- provided that the next guy doesn't just change or the mission. But this takes guts, and the willingness to stand up to the inevitable chorus of of naysayers and space-hating dullards who will keep yammering about budget deficits, etc.

So instead, they end up spending a considerable amount of money on ENDLESS reorganizations and PowerPoint presentations while they lose engineers who are tired of the Sisyphean nature of working on projects that are prone to the whims of yearly budget cycles.

Sometimes I feel like the politicians are AFRAID of letting NASA accomplish something grand, lest they attract the (unwarranted) attention of the aforementioned naysayers.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/HXncGstK-vY/nasas-next-mission-deep-space

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Black Friday pepper spray suspect surrenders in LA

(AP) ? A woman suspected of showering Black Friday shoppers with pepper spray surrendered to authorities but was released pending further investigation after she refused to discuss the incident, police said Saturday.

The woman, whose name was not released, is suspected of firing pepper spray into a crowd in order to clear a path to a crate of Xbox video game players that were being unwrapped late Thanksgiving night at a Walmart in the upscale Porter Ranch section of the San Fernando Valley.

The suspect got away in the confusion, and it was not known if she bought one of the Xboxes. Ten people suffered minor injuries from the spray and 10 others sustained cuts and bruises in the ensuing chaos.

"Last night at 8:30 the suspect involved in the pepper spray incident at the Porter Ranch Walmart turned herself in," police Sgt. Jose Valle said Saturday. She immediately invoked her right against self-incrimination, however, and refused to discuss the incident further.

Police released her pending further investigation.

Valle said investigators still have nearly a dozen witnesses to interview, including several spraying victims. He added it would likely be at least two days before an arrest in the case could be made.

If the woman who surrendered is indeed the person who sprayed the crowd she could face battery charges.

The attack took place about 10:30 p.m., shortly after the Walmart opened its doors for the traditional Black Friday sales that kick off the Christmas shopping season. A crowd of people had gathered to wait for store employees to unwrap the crate of discounted Xboxes.

The incident was one of several across the nation that marred this year's Black Friday.

In the most serious case, a robber shot a shopper who refused to give up his purchases outside a Walmart in the San Francisco suburb of San Leandro. The victim was hospitalized in critical but stable condition.

San Leandro police said the victim and his family were walking to their car around 1:45 a.m. Friday when they were confronted by a group of men who demanded their shopping items. When the family refused, a fight broke out, and one of the robbers pulled a gun and shot the man, said Sgt. Mike Sobek.

___

Associated Press Writer Terry Tang contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-11-26-Black%20Friday-Pepper%20Spray/id-582a322d5fa048c8acc93a5b7b471d41

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Occupy movement targets Black Friday; 10 arrested

KHNL-TV

Occupy Honolulu protesters demonstrate at a Wal-Mart store in Honolulu early Friday,

By msnbc.com staff

Updated 2:57 p.m. ET: The Occupy Wall Street movement is taking its anti-corporate directly to Black Friday shoppers.

Ten Occupy Oklahoma City protesters were arrested Friday morning after a protest at a Wal-Mart store in Del City, Okla., The Oklahoman reported.?

Del City police Capt. Jody Suit told the newspaper that officers working off-duty security jobs at the store called for assistance about 2 a.m. because the protesters were causing disturbances in the back of the store.

One of those arrested, Mark Faulk, 55, of Oklahoma City told the newspaper that he was filming the group's "mike check" ? in which one member of the group shouts something and then the others in the group repeat what the speaker said ? when??Del City police ran and started tackling people from behind.?


Police Lt. Steve Robinson told The Associated Press that no excessive force was used.

Occupy protests targeted other retailers across the country.

More than a dozen Occupy Honolulu protesters demonstrated in front of a Wal-Mart store in Honolulu, Hawaii, in the predawn hours, NBC station KHNL of Honolulu reported.

They accused Wal-Mart of supporting child labor and suppressing its work force.

"Sweat shops in China and around the world produce these products," said Alala Zusman, one of the protesters. "People are paying low prices at Wal-Mart, and when Wal-Mart came in here, this neighborhood lost a lot of mom-and-pop stores."

Meanwhile, Occupy Eugene protesters were moving from store to store in Eugene, Ore., urging shoppers to spend less money on what they call "Buy Nothing Day," NBC station KMTR of Springfield reported.

Shoppers at Valley River Center said they wished the demonstrators, who chanted and sing reworded Christmas carols, would just go away.

"I think it's a waste of time," one shopper said. "People are still buying."

Story: Crazed weekend launches crucial retail season

Occupy Seattle planned to hold a rally from noon to 5 p.m. local time at Westlake Park in the downtown retail core, The Associated Press reported. The Seattle group said it was promoting homemade gifts and local businesses as an alternative to what it called "rampant consumerism that plagues society, destroys the environment and supports the 1 percent."

Occupy Atlanta planned to go even further, setting up its own "really, really free market" downtown as an alternative to Black Friday shopping.

PhotoBlog: Black Friday shopping starts Thursday

Organizer Tim Franzen told the AP that the market, which was scheduled to open in Woodruff Park at 3 p.m. ET, would feature free food, clothing and other items.

He said demonstrators want to focus on the people who are struggling to make ends meet while banks and corporations bring in millions during Friday's shopping tradition.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/25/9018571-occupy-movement-targets-black-friday

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Black Friday Shooting: Shopper Shot At San Leandro Walmart During Attempted Robbery

San Leandro Patch:

A 20-year-old Oakland man was named as one of several suspects in a shooting that happened during a Black Friday robbery in a Walmart store parking lot in San Leandro.

Police arrived at the scene at 15555 Hesperian Boulevard at around 1:50 a.m. and found a man had been shot, and his family members had detained a suspect, who police identified Friday afternoon as Tony Phillips of Oakland.

Read the whole story: San Leandro Patch

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/25/black-friday-shooting_n_1113651.html

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শুক্রবার, ২৫ নভেম্বর, ২০১১

Truce quiets Cairo streets, army says no delay to vote (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? A truce between Egyptian riot police and protesters succeeded on Thursday in calming violence that has killed 39 people in five days, and the army said there would be no delay to a parliamentary vote scheduled for next week.

Demonstrations by thousands of Egyptians furious at the slow transfer of power by military leadership to civilian rule have led to violent clashes with police, in scenes similar to the popular uprising that toppled leader Hosni Mubarak in February.

The demonstrators have vowed not to leave Cairo's central Tahrir Square, which once again has become the cradle of public protest in the most populous Arab country.

Egypt's ruling military council, which has promised to start parliamentary elections as scheduled on Monday, said it was doing all it could to prevent the repetition of violence.

In a statement, it apologized, offered condolences and compensation to families of the dead, and promised a swift investigation into who was behind the unrest.

A ruling council member, General Mamdouh Shaheen, told a news conference there would be no delay to the parliamentary vote, scheduled for Monday.

"We will not delay elections. This is the final word," he said.

Another member of the ruling council, General Mokhtar al-Mullah, took a swipe at the demonstrators.

"If we look at those in Tahrir, regardless of their number, they do not represent the Egyptian people, but we must respect their opinion," he told a news conference about the election.

He said the army hoped to form a new government before Monday to replace Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's cabinet, which resigned during this week's violence without giving a reason.

Abdel Moez Ibrahim, head of the parliamentary election committee, told the news conference: "As for the circumstances we are ready to conduct the election under any conditions."

TRUCE HOLDS

Demonstrators in Tahrir said the truce had taken hold from midnight. At midday, tear gas still lingered in the air, but there were no clashes. A crane was hauling a huge concrete barrier across the main street leading from the square to the Interior Ministry, flashpoint for much of the recent violence.

"Since about midnight or 1 a.m. there were no more clashes. We are standing here to ensure no one goes inside the cordon," said Mohamed Mustafa, 50, among a group barring a street nearby.

They were guarding a barricade made of a broken metal fence, a telephone booth laid on its side and part of a lamp post.

At the other end of the street, littered with shattered glass, lumps of concrete and heaps of rubbish, at least two army armored personnel carriers blocked the route. Mustafa's group said police were on the front line, and behind them the army.

Lines of Tahrir protesters manned similar barriers to block access to Mohamed Mahmoud Street, scene of repeated fighting.

"We have created a space separating us from the police. We are standing here to make sure no one violates it," said Mahmoud Adly, 42, part of a human cordon four ranks deep.

The sustained protests in Cairo and some other cities pose the gravest challenge to Egypt's army rulers since the council led by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi took over from Mubarak, overthrown on February 11.

The demonstrations appear to have polarized Egyptians, many of whom worry that unrest will prolong economic stagnation that has deepened the poverty of millions.

In a new blow to confidence, Standard & Poor's cut Egypt's long-term foreign- and local-currency sovereign credit ratings to B+ from BB-, with a negative outlook. It said Egypt's "weak political and economic profile" had deteriorated further.

The thousands who thronged Tahrir Square were undeterred in their determination to rid Egypt of army rule. "He goes, we won't," declared a banner referring to Tantawi.

The United States and European nations, alarmed at the violence of the past few days, have urged Egypt to proceed with what has been billed as its first free vote in decades.

LACK OF TRUST

The army and the Muslim Brotherhood, which expects to do well in the polls, say it must go ahead, but many protesters do not trust the military to oversee a clean vote. Some scorn the Brotherhood for its focus on gaining seats in parliament.

The military council originally promised to return to barracks within six months, but then set a timetable for elections and drawing up a new constitution that would have left it in power until late next year or early 2013.

Tantawi pledged this week to hold a presidential vote in June that could pave the way for a transfer to civilian rule, but the demonstrators, angered by army attempts to shield itself legally from future civilian control, are unconvinced.

"The military council must leave and hand power to civilians. They don't want to leave so that their corruption isn't exposed," said 23-year-old student Ahmed Essam.

For now, the front lines near the Interior Ministry, a symbol of Mubarak's hated security police, have fallen quiet.

"We want to stop these clashes, people are dying," said 30-year-old protester Osama Abu Seree.

Before the truce took hold, riot police fired barrages of tear gas at hardcore protesters, amid bursts of gunfire. Scores of young men, coughing and gasping for air, stumbled into dark side streets off Tahrir Square to escape the acrid smoke.

At a makeshift clinic near Tahrir, doctor Tareq Salem said four people had died there on Wednesday, two from bullet wounds and two from asphyxiation. He said three volunteer doctors had been killed since the violence began.

"They were fresh graduates," he said, splashing his face with saline fluid to counter the effects of the latest barrage of gas. One died of suffocation, the other two of bullet wounds sustained while assessing injuries outside, he said.

Interior Minister Mansour el-Essawy told state television that security forces had only fired tear gas, but said unidentified people had been shooting from rooftops near Tahrir.

(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair, Tom Perry and Tamim Elyan; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111124/wl_nm/us_egypt_protests

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Thanksgiving travel up despite higher prices

By msnbc.com staff and wires

The rough economy and high fuel prices have forced airlines to cut back on the number of crews and planes in service at any given time, and that means packed flights for Thanksgiving travelers. NBC's Tom Costello reports.

Millions of Americans have taken to the skies and roads for Thanksgiving this year despite higher gas prices and costlier airfares.

About 42.5 million people are expected to drive, fly or ride trains to their Thanksgiving destinations, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). That's the highest number since the start of the recession, showing that Americans are willing to travel to their families even while household budgets are tight.

"Sacrifice to see the ones you love, that's what we do," said John Mahoney, who was driving 20 hours with his girlfriend from his home in New Hampshire to visit his mother and sister in St. Louis. "Americans will still do what Americans do. We travel the roads."

Related: Gooey tar paralyzes more than 150 vehicles in Pa.

Mahoney, 44, acknowledged the economy has changed the way he travels ? which is why the couple slept in the car instead of getting a motel room when a heavy, wet snowstorm flared up along the New York State Thruway.

Despite the comeback in Thanksgiving travel, costs are up. This year:

  • drivers are paying almost 20 percent more for gas, which has reached an average of $3.42 a gallon;
  • the average round-trip airfare for the top 40 U.S. routes is $212, up 20 percent from last year. Earlier this month, Priceline.com said Thanksgiving fares averaged $407, up 6 percent from the already high fares of 2010;
  • rail tickets on most one-way Amtrak trips have climbed 2 to 5 percent.

Related: Flying over Thanksgiving? Here's what to expect

A wintry storm socked New England states with a mix of heavy snow and freezing rain on Wednesday, sparking power outages and delaying some flights for Thanksgiving on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Roughly 17,000 customers from Maine to New York were without electricity by midafternoon after heavy snow toppled trees, limbs and power lines in some places.

Rain eased up in the Mid-Atlantic after downpours overnight, but as much as 10 inches of snow was forecast across the higher elevations of upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine by afternoon, when the storm was expected to end, the National Weather Service said.

"High-impact winter storm will adversely affect holiday travel early this morning and into this afternoon," NWS said in a winter storm warning.

"People should plan their travel accordingly and be prepared to allow plenty of extra time to reach their destination."

Airlines are cautioning passengers from New York to Philadelphia, Hartford and Boston, to expect significant delays on this busiest travel day of the year. LaGuardia Airport is urging travelers to arrive at least two hours before?their scheduled departure time to allow for increased holiday traffic.

Higher food prices will affect the?wallets?of those who aren't traveling. A 16-pound turkey and all the trimmings will cost an average of $49.20, a 13 percent jump from last year, or about $5.73 more, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, which says grocers have raised prices to keep pace with higher-priced commodities.

Related: Take a trip down the memory lane of holiday travel

Among those staying home is Damian Buchwald of Buffalo, N.Y., who picked up a second job earlier this year. His new work schedule has helped pay the bills but leaves him without time to travel to Connecticut to spend the holiday with his wife's family.

This year, the couple and their teenage son, Raven, will celebrate Thanksgiving at home with his mother, neighbors and friends in town. "When you can't travel and people can't travel to you, you gather your closest friends. And that way nobody has to pay an arm and a leg, and everyone can eat well," Buchwald said.

But having relatives over for dinner is becoming more expensive, too, and not everyone can afford to splurge on a feast.

In Pawtucket, R.I., Jackie Galinis was among those looking for help to put a proper meal on the table. She stopped at a community center this week seeking a donated food basket. But by the time she arrived, all 300 turkeys had been claimed.

So Galinis, an unemployed retail worker, will make do with what's in her apartment. "We'll have to eat whatever I've got, so I'm thinking chicken," she said.

Then her eyes lit up. "Actually, I think I've got red meat in the freezer, some corned beef. We could do a boiled dinner."

Americans are still taking to the skies but in smaller numbers. Earlier this month, the Airline Transport Association of America (ATA), the trade group for the U.S. airline industry, forecasted that 23.2 million people would fly over the 12-day period between Friday, Nov. 18, and Tuesday, Nov. 29. That represents a 2 percent decline from last year and a 12 percent drop from the peak of 26.2 million set in 2006.

?We?re projecting full flights this Thanksgiving despite a 2 percent decline year over year in the number of passengers traveling on U.S. airlines,? said John Heimlich, ATA?s chief economist.

The busiest days, says ATA, will be Sunday, Nov. 27 (2.3 million); Friday, Nov. 18 (2.2 million); and Monday, Nov. 28 (2.2 million). Not surprisingly, the least-busy day will be Thanksgiving, when 1.5 million people are expected to fly.

More on holiday travel:

Msnbc.com contributor Rob Lovitt, Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/23/8975146-thanksgiving-travel-rises-despite-higher-prices-muted-celebrations

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