Study finds media messages describing paranormal investigators as 'scientific' makes people more likely to 'believe'

Study finds media messages describing paranormal investigators as 'scientific' makes people more likely to 'believe'

Thursday, October 25, 2012

The fourth installment of the Paranormal Activity films topped the box office last week. Television channel SyFy's hit show Ghost Hunters scares up big ratings, and has spawned copycat series on networks ranging from Biography to Animal Planet.

The omnipresence of paranormal entertainment piqued the interest of Paul Brewer, professor of communication, who wondered what makes viewers believe?or disbelieve? what they see on the screen.

His resulting study, recently published in the journal Science Communication, examines the influence of media messages about paranormal investigators on how people perceive the investigators' credibility. Brewer conducted an experiment asking participants to read one of four versions of a newspaper article. After reading the selected article participants filled out a questionnaire.

"It wasn't just any story about paranormal investigators that made people believe in ghosts and haunted houses," Brewer said, "it was a story about how they were scientific."

One version of the article described a paranormal investigator's "scientific" approach to his work, including his use of various instruments, items Brewer describes as "trappings of science." One specifically mentioned in the article is an electromagnetic field (EMF) detector, used to locate sources of electricity. Members of the group who read this article were much more likely to call the investigators scientific and credible, as well as to believe in the paranormal. Brewer said the findings could trouble paranormal skeptics.

"They might look at this and say, well. all it takes is to sprinkle some acronyms in there and wave around cool looking things that beep and suddenly people believe in ghosts and haunted houses."

Still, his findings do offer some solace to skeptics. Another version of the article in the study was identical to the "scientific" version until the end, where an extra paragraph was added. It quoted a professor debunking the investigators' expertise. That article's group was swayed by the opposing viewpoint and rated the investigators' credibility at levels below the first group.

"What the media can do, the media can take away," Brewer said.

###

University of Delaware: http://www.udel.edu

Thanks to University of Delaware for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/124801/Study_finds_media_messages_describing_paranormal_investigators_as__scientific__makes_people_more_likely_to__believe_

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Razor-clam dig approved for Oct. 27-30 | Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

The second razor-clam dig of the fall season will get under way on evening tides at four ocean beaches Saturday (Oct. 27).

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) approved the dig after marine toxin tests on all four beaches confirmed the clams are safe to eat.

Twin Harbors beach will open for digging after noon on four consecutive days, Oct. 27-30. Three other beaches ? Long Beach, Copalis and Mocrocks ? will open for digging Oct. 27-28 after noon each day.

Digging days and evening low tides for beaches scheduled to open are:

?

• Oct. 27, Saturday, 5:57 p.m., +0.2 ft., Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks
• Oct. 28, Sunday, 6:36 p.m., -0.1 ft., Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks
• Oct. 29, Monday, 7:12 p.m., -0.3, Twin Harbors
• Oct. 30,?Tuesday, 7:46 p.m., -0.4, Twin Harbors

?

Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager,?recommends that diggers carry a lantern or strong flashlight during night digs. He also?said diggers heading to Copalis and Mocrocks should be aware of a traffic revision on eastbound U.S. Highway 101 in Hoquiam due to emergency work on the Simpson Avenue Bridge.

?This is the only route to those beaches, so people should allow extra travel time to make sure they arrive on time,? Ayres said. He advises diggers to check the Washington Department of Transportation website for more information at?http://goo.gl/hzoM1.

Ayres also reminds diggers that the limit for razor clams is 15 per day, and that diggers are required to keep the first 15 clams they dig. Each digger's clams must be kept in a separate container.

?Diggers caught returning clams can be cited for wastage,? Ayres said.

All diggers age 15 or older must have an applicable 2012-13 fishing license to harvest razor clams on any beach. Licenses, ranging from a three-day razor clam license to an annual combination fishing license, are available on WDFW?s website at?https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov and from license vendors around the state.

Information about beach locations and additional digs proposed in the months ahead is available on WDFW?s website at?http://goo.gl/ooxEO.

?

?

Source: http://feeds.soundpublishing.com/~r/echnews/~3/RHbCK7PxdVA/175427471.html

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How the major stock indexes fared Thursday

Stocks closed modestly higher Thursday after a handful of decent corporate earnings reports were enough to break a weeklong slump in the market.

Procter & Gamble was the biggest gainer in the Dow after the consumer products company, whose products include Tide, Gillette and Charmin, reported earnings that beat analysts' expectations.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 26.34 points, or 0.2 percent, to 13,103.68

The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 4.22 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,412.97.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 4.42 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,986.12.

For the week:

The Dow is down 239.83 points, or 1.8 percent.

The S&P 500 is down 20.22 points, or 1.4 percent.

The Nasdaq is down 19.50 points, or 0.7 percent.

For the year:

The Dow is up 886.12 points, or 7.3 percent.

The S&P 500 is up 155.37 points, or 12.4 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 380.97 points, or 14.6 percent.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/major-stock-indexes-fared-thursday-213139365.html

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Pocket?s Mac App Brings All That Saved Content To The Best Place To Use It

Pocket (formerly ReadItLater) delivered a new native Mac OS X app today, allowing you to save and access content for later reading from around the web. Pocket's rebrand was all about going beyond just being an article-saving tool and becoming a catch-all scrapbook for anyone's digital life, and the new Mac app is a good complement to that mission.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/HZan-hXfZrU/

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Expectations low for any major Fed moves this week

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Six weeks after rolling out a bold plan to boost the U.S. economy, the central bank is meeting again amid low expectations for further help.

Private economists believe the Fed will send a simple message after its two-day meeting that it wants to give its previous actions time to work before doing more.

"They have done enough right now. There is no reason to do any more at the moment," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. She said she expects the Fed to deliver further help to the economy but not until the last meeting of the year on Dec. 11-12.

The Fed's meeting will conclude with a brief announcement at mid-afternoon Wednesday. But there will be no news conference by Federal Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The Fed announcement is expected to affirm officials' plan to keep buying $40 billion per month in mortgage bonds as long as necessary to make home buying more affordable. The Fed is also expected to reaffirm its intention to keep short-term interest rates at record lows through mid-2015 and hold out the prospect of further action if hiring doesn't pick up.

Those policies are intended to support an economy that's shown flashes of strength but isn't growing fast enough to create many jobs or to increase Americans' income. The economy grew at a meager 1.3 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter.

Economists think it grew slightly faster in the July-September quarter, a figure that will not be announced by the government until Friday.

Still, many employers remain wary of hiring, in part because of tax increases and spending cuts set to kick in next year and in part because of a slowing global economy.

The bond purchases the Fed launched last month are designed to lower interest rates and cause stock and home prices to rise, creating a "wealth effect." When consumers feel wealthier, they're typically more willing to spend, thereby boosting the economy.

Fed officials made clear in September that they would likely hold rates low even after the economic recovery has strengthened. That was a signal that it will keep intervening until the economy grows fast enough to reduce unemployment sharply.

The Fed's moves last month were approved on an 11-1 vote, with Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank, dissenting. He and some of other regional Fed presidents who do not have a policy vote this year have expressed discomfort over the aggressive moves.

The critics note that interest rates have already been at or near all-time lows. They worry that the Fed's injection of steadily more money into the financial system will eventually ignite inflation or create dangerous bubbles in the prices of stocks or other assets.

Since the 2008 financial crisis erupted, the Fed has bought more than $2 trillion in Treasurys and mortgage bonds to try to drive down long-term borrowing rates and accelerate the economy. Its portfolio of investments stands at $2.85 trillion ? more than three times its size before the crisis.

Since the Fed unveiled its latest plans last month, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has touched 3.36 percent ? the lowest since mortgage buyer Freddie Mac began keeping records in 1971. Cheap loans have helped lift home sales, prices and construction ? key pillars of the housing market's gradual but steady comeback.

One part of the Fed's drive to keep long-term borrowing rates down has been a program it began a year ago to sell short-term securities and use the proceeds to buy $45 billion in longer-term securities each month. This program is called "Operation Twist."

When Operation Twist is combined with the mortgage bond purchases the Fed launched in September, the central bank is buying $85 billion in long-term bonds each month.

Operation Twist is to expire at year's end, when the Fed will run out of short-term securities to sell.

Many analysts think the Fed may announce at its next policy meeting in mid-December that it will replace Twist with some other bond-purchase program. Fed officials could decide to start buying enough new Treasurys to keep their total long-term-bond purchases at around $85 billion each month.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/expectations-low-major-fed-moves-week-041611097--finance.html

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Iraq: Attacks kill 4 in security forces, 1 child

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Iraqi insurgents launched a new wave of attacks across the country targeting security forces and a local politician on Wednesday morning, killing four members of the security forces and one child, police and health officials said.

Militants in a speeding car attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint, opening fire from pistols fitted with silencers in Baghdad's western Mansour neighborhood, a police officer said. Two soldiers died in that attack.

The officer added that a roadside bomb exploded shortly afterward as a police patrol was heading to the scene of the Mansour attack, killing one policeman and wounding six people.

Shortly before dawn, a sniper shot at a police patrol on foot in the capital's eastern Mashtal neighborhood, killing one policeman, another police officer said.

In the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, a parked motorcycle packed with explosives went off near the passing convoy of a local politician, killing a 7-year old child and wounding four other people, a police officer said. Politician Ali al-Hashemi, a Turkoman, escaped unharmed, he added.

Kirkuk, about 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, is home to mix of Arabs, Kurds and Turkomen, who all are competing to control the city.

Health officials in nearby hospitals confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

The attacks came a day after insurgents attacked Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad by car bombs and mortar rounds, killing nine people and wounding 26.

Civilians, security forces and officials are the favorite targets for insurgents seeking to undermine public confidence in government efforts to restore security.

Meanwhile, authorities summoned some employees of the Central Bank of to give their testimonies following allegations of financial wrongdoing, a judicial spokesman said.

Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar of the Supreme Judicial Council said two groups of bank employees have been brought so far before the judges in the past two days, but he gave no specific numbers. None of the employees has been arrested.

Arrest warrants have been issued for 16 bank officials over corruption allegations raised by a special parliamentary committee formed to probe the bank. They include longtime governor Sinan al-Shabibi, a politically independent economist who has led the institution since 2003. He is out of the country.

____

Associated Press writer Yahya Barzanji in Sulaimaniyah contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-24-ML-Iraq/id-3f58799002ed4ac8bf6ab56043b387e2

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Key senator says he thinks U.S. will avoid "fiscal cliff" cuts

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A senator pushing to find a solution to automatic, across-the-board government spending cuts at the beginning of next year said on Tuesday he believes the so-called "sequestration" will ultimately be avoided.

"I do believe that we will avoid sequestration," said Mark Warner, a Democratic senator from Virginia.

He and Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss are leading the "Gang of Eight" talks aimed at avoiding the spending cuts embedded in the so-called fiscal cliff on January 1. The cliff, which lawmakers have little time to avoid, includes big spending cuts and tax increases that in combination are expected to push the United States into recession.

The pair were speaking at a financial markets conference in New York a day after President Barack Obama caught Capitol Hill by surprise when he said that automatic spending cuts "will not happen," in his third and final debate with Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

"This was certainly news to us," Chambliss said of Obama's comment. "I can tell you it sent waves around Washington."

The chances of a comprehensive legislative solution to the cliff problem before January 1 are considered slight and members of Congress have been looking for some temporary fix to buy time once a new Congress and a new or re-elected president are sworn in in January.

The Gang of Eight senators want to put Congress in a position to deal with sequestration in the 30 days or so that it will have between the November 6 election and the end of the year, Chambliss told the conference hosted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

"I wish we could walk in here and tell you that we have a silver bullet," he said. "But it is going to be a very tough political slugfest in that period of time."

The spending cuts and tax hikes could take an estimated $600 billion out of the U.S. economy and push it into recession next year, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

The spending cuts were mandated by Congress as part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling for federal borrowing last year. At the time, the assumption was that they would be replaced in a more deliberative way by a super-committee, which failed in its efforts.

Warner and Chambliss have been working on a bipartisan solution for more than two years. In recent months, the uncertainty has spooked financial markets.

"This is a challenge ... that is going to require both sides," Warner said. "It's going to require extra revenues, it's going to require entitlement (cuts)."

Simply putting off the hard decisions on spending would be a mistake, he added. "I think a complete punt would be awful."

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senator-says-believes-u-avoid-fiscal-cliff-spending-203538381.html

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Marissa Mayer Pledges to Take Yahoo Back to Its Roots

Marissa Mayer outlined her plans for Yahoo's future in her first earnings call as CEO of the beleaguered digital media enterprise. The company's third-quarter earnings were better than expected: Earnings-per-share were 35 cents on revenue of $1.09 billion, compared to analysts' estimates of 26 cents per share on revenue of $1.08 billion.

[More from Mashable: Is Yahoo Looking to Scoop Up OpenTable?]

Mayer began the call by talking about recent changes to Yahoo's culture, which has a new commitment to "open dialogue" and "transparency." Employees' quarterly individual goals have been mapped to company goals. They have also been given free phones and free food in an effort to make Yahoo "the absolute best place to work."

Mayer identified Yahoo's "core products" as search, mail, ads, mobile, news and the homepage -- in that order. She emphasized that Yahoo would not change direction dramatically; rather, "[we're] going back to our roots as a consumer Internet company focused on consumer experience," she said.

[More from Mashable: Yahoo Poaches Top Google Exec to be New COO]

"I don?t think there?s a giant pivot... I think this is about improved execution," she added.

Mobile came up repeatedly during the call. "Some point in the future Yahoo will have to be a predominantly mobile company," Mayer acknowledged, adding that Yahoo needed more mobile engineers. She noted that the company recently deployed a redesigned mobile search page across 23 pages, "resulting in increased usage," and that an update to Flickr for Android received "rave reviews."

One analyst asked Mayer whether Yahoo would go after more of the local ad market. "Local ... is very hard to do well," she said, and as the former head of local services at Google, she would know. "I think our local offerings are good at the moment [and] I think it's hard to take that next step to provide even deeper functionality ... [It's] probably not an area where we're going to invest moving forward," she said.

Mayer and new CFO Ken Goldman both suggested that Yahoo's search partnership with Microsoft has been less than satisfactory, but did not elaborate on their plans to address it.

Goldman did not issue fourth-quarter guidance, saying he had not been with the company long enough. (His first day was today.)

Many had expected Mayer to announce some acquisitions -- namely, that of restaurant reservation service OpenTable, and possibly advertising tool PubMatic and mobile ad company Millennial Media. Mayer said Yahoo does not "have particular acquisitions in mind today" and that any future acquisitions would be "less than $100 million."

Image courtesy of Flickr, jolieodell

Get Your Tickets to Mashable Media Summit

The Mashable Media Summit 2012 will explore the impact that technology is having on media, and how digital media is affecting our lives and changing the world. This one-day conference will bring together the brightest minds in media, including content creators, technology leaders, entrepreneurs, social media executives and journalists.

Date: Friday, Nov. 2, 2012

Time: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Location: The TimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street, New York, NY 10036

Tickets: Purchase early bird tickets on Eventbrite.

A Look Back at Last Year's Mashable Media Summit

Media Summit 2011

The Mashable Media Summit on Nov. 4 at the Times Center in New York City attracted professionals in digital, tech, advertising, sales, marketing, mobile and publishing from all over the world.

Click here to view this gallery.

Supporting Sponsor

Sponsorship Opportunities

A limited number of sponsor opportunities are available for the Mashable Media Summit. This is an excellent opportunity to get in front of Mashable?s passionate and influential audience. Contact sponsorships@mashable.com for opportunities.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/marissa-mayer-pledges-yahoo-back-roots-184356880.html

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Raw Food Not Enough to Feed Big Brains

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/124677/Raw_Food_Not_Enough_to_Feed_Big_Brains

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Debate Round 4: Horses, Bayonets, and Cheap Chinese Tires

The third and final presidential debate followed the same format as the first: six 15-minute segments each marked by and launched with a new question from the moderator. Unlike the meandering festival of time drift presided over by Jim Lehrer two weeks ago, Bob Schieffer ran this one with well-oiled precision, starting each segment right on time and quietly herding the candidates into exchanges that yielded roughly equal time. Schieffer?s followup questions were few but useful, and you never had the feeling that he had lost control or left the building. Clear win for the moderator.

And how did the other two guys do? In the spirit of the debate?s hexagonal structure, I?ll recap with snap (and perhaps occasionally snappy) judgments of each of the 15-minute block segments.

8:00 pm (pregame): Wolf Blitzer at CNN, just before throwing it over to the debate hall, sets the mood by telling viewers that "one misstatement could cause international ramifications." Way to raise false hopes, WB. If no international incident comes out of this we?re going to be very disappointed.

8:00-8:15. First up was Libya, and with his first tepid answer it was quickly apparent that Mitt Romney came to play it safe, avoid conflict, show off memorized factoids (he mentioned Mali twice in the first ten minutes, for crying out loud), and generally focus on the ?appear presidential? thing. Obama made it just as quickly obvious that he wasn?t playing the same game, telling Romney that ?every time you?ve offered an opinion you?ve been wrong.? Romney shot back that ?attacking me is not an agenda,? which quickly trended bigtime in the right wing Twittersphere, even if attacking him actually is a quite effective agenda, in a debate anyway. Obama wrapped up the segment lecturing Romney to ?listen up, punk? (?Here?s one thing I?ve learned as Commander in Chief? was the exact phrase) on the need to be clear to allies and foes "about where you stand and what you mean." Romney?s face: not happy. Advantage Obama.

8:15-8:30. Second segment was on Syria, and here we started to see just how prepared Romney was to reinvent himself on foreign policy to make his approach look more or less exactly like Obama?s. Obama tried to slam Romney with the charge that ?he doesn?t have different ideas,? but it comes off inevitably as a pretty benign critique when the worst thing you can say about your opponent is that he agrees with you. Obama is vulnerable on Syria, given how hard it is to defend a pretty minimalist policy in the face of atrocity, although Romney didn?t capitalize. For the segment, slight advantage Romney despite some rambling, if only because he seemed able to articulate Obama?s position on Syria at least as well as Obama did.

8:30-8:45. This was the domestic issues part of the foreign policy debate, disguised as a question about America?s role in the world. It turns out America?s role in the world is to argue about its own unemployment rate and energy policy. Obama landed punches connecting Romney?s "wrong and reckless policies" at home and abroad directly to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Romney responded with his economic stump speech (five-point plan, 12 million jobs, etc.), and somehow the exchange devolved into an exchange on education policy in Massachusetts. Granted, many Romney supporters do see things that happen in Massachusetts as foreign policy, but it still felt like we had strayed just a wee bit. Schieffer pulled the train back on the track with a followup asking Romney where he?ll find the money for more military spending. This led Romney into his "smallest Navy since 1917" schtick, onto which Obama pounced with his observation that Romney needs to learn more about changing times because "we also have fewer horses and bayonets." Did you have "bayonets" on your debate drinking game list? I know I did. Advantage Obama for articulating a position on military spending grounded in strategy rather than just red-meat bluster.

8:45-9:00. With a question on Iran this was the who-can-stroke-Israel?s-penis-with-greater-devotion-and-tenderness part of the evening. Romney again spent more time agreeing with Obama than differing, saying of the sanctions imposed on Iran that ?they do work?You?re seeing it right now in the economy.? It turned nastier when Romney played one of his moldiest oldies ? the "Obama apology tour" card, which the CNN dial group did not go for at all, and which Obama dismissed as "just about the biggest whopper" of the campaign. Romney offered up the painfully simplistic but rhetorically effective observation that "We?re four years closer to a nuclear Iran" coupled with a scolding of Obama for skipping Israel on that 2008 "apology tour" (drink); Obama comes back at him with a narrative travelogue of his visit to Israel in 2008 as a candidate. Romney asserts our influence around the world is receding "because of the failure of the president to deal with our economic challenges at home" (pivot!). Obama thanks Romney for supporting his policies, and wraps up the segment with an emotional ground zero story. A draw on Iran and Israel (both quite tender and devoted); slight advantage Obama for leaving Romney with a look on his face that says "now where did I put that bayonet?"

9:00-9:15. Afghanistan. There is very little daylight between their approaches here, and it showed. Both plan to be out by the end of 2014, both think Pakistan is a scary place, both like drones and killing bad guys. The exchange does show that on at least this one issue U.S. policy is basically unified and bipartisan. That might be a good thing, except that as a result nobody is having a serious moral conversation about the use of drones for indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians, about presidential kill lists, about the limits of executive power in the age of terror. Advantage: mindless violence and endless war.

9:15-9:30. China! If you had "cheap chinese tires" on your drinking game list this was the segment for you. Obama accuses Romney of poor judgment on trade involving said tires, then pivots back to domestic issues ? education, technology, and the evils of Romney?s budget. Romney replies that the greatest threat the world faces is nuclear Iran (just to make sure we all get that), and then launches his China currency manipulation bit, which always kills. Schieffer asks if Romney is planning to start a trade war, Romney reveals his recent discovery that there are counterfeit products out there (valves of some sort), and before you know it Obama is telling us that if we listen to Romney "we?d be buying cars from China instead of selling cars to China." Obama neglects to say if those cars would have cheap Chinese tires on them. (drink anyway!) The China-trade segment is more or less a draw until Romney lets Obama bait him on the auto bailout into a defensive rant (an attempt to "airbrush history," Obama declares). Cue an Obama stump speechlet on domestic policy, followed by a Romney stumplet, culminating in a gratuitious assertion that "I love teachers." You mean like you love Israel?

9:30ish. Closing statements. Both candidates hop another fast train to boilerplate city. Nothing compelling although Romney did assert that he wants "to see growing peace in this country." I have no idea what that means but candidates don?t talk about peace enough in my book, so slight advantage Romney on the closing statements.

Who won? The instant polls said Obama, ranging from margins of 8 points in CNN?s survey of debate watchers to a whopping 30 points in a CBS poll of only undecided voters. And as well they should: We can concede that Romney accomplished his modest goal of looking reasonable and qualified, and we can debate whether the all important wilted-flower voting segment finds verbal assertiveness off-putting. But the bottom line is that we saw the incumbent deliver an adept, knowledgeable, forceful performance that generally over-matched the well meaning foreign policy amateur sitting next to him. It won?t move the polls as debate #1 did, but it does amply reinforce the current narrative: a very thin Obama lead nationally, with a bit of a wider margin in the electoral college ? leads that are barely there, but more likely to expand (though not much) than contract.

But wait ?

10:48 pm: Hannity on Fox points out that horses are ridden by soldiers in Afghanistan. Anderson Cooper on CNN mentions that Marines still use bayonets. Obama gaffe city, baby! Cue the 24/7 cable spin cycle! Game, set match! Call the election! It?s over!

A version of this post also appears at BruceBarry.net.

Source: http://www.nashvillescene.com/pitw/archives/2012/10/23/debate-round-4-horses-bayonets-and-cheap-chinese-tires

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Linda the Bra Lady: On Bra Sizes, Bra Fitting ... - The Lingerie Addict

A couple of weeks ago, Linda Becker (a.k.a. ?Linda the Bra Lady) had an interview on Good Morning America where she said, among other things, said bra brands were guilty of using ?vanity sizing? to make their customers feel like they had smaller backs and larger chests. Unsurprisingly, this point of view caused a lot of ripples in the lingerie community, most of them negative.

I reached out to Linda almost immediately after the piece aired and asked if she?d be willing to do a follow-up interview on The Lingerie Addict. Not only did she strike a nerve worth exploring, I also know how hard it can be to explain any point in a 2 minute soundbite or 140 character tweet.

Though I briefly considered not publishing our interview ( after all, this is ?old news? by internet standards now), I decided to keep it because I believe it pulls together several different conversations that have been happening a lot in lingerie blogosphere lately, especially among full-bust bloggers. Namely, it brings up the stigma attached to large breasts, bra sizing information/misinformation, the war on plus four, inconsistent sizing between brands, vanity sizing, and who gets to call themselves a bra expert. The vanity sizing issue in particular stuck out to me because it illuminated how much emotion is attached to those numbers inside the tag. I was also very interested on what some of my readers (especially readers who?ve been wearing bras for longer than I have) had to say regarding their personal experiences with any changes in bra sizing.

As for me, my position on bras and bra sizing hasn?t changed. I don?t believe every woman has to wear a bra; no matter your size, it?s an individual choice. I don?t subscribe to any one, true method of bra fitting because every woman?s body is different and there is no formula that will work for 100% of women, 100% of the time. And I don?t unreservedly recommend visiting a bra boutique, department store, or lingerie retailer to get fitted. Aside from the fact that it?s not a realistic option for every woman, I also know from personal experience that professional bra fitters don?t get it right all of the time.

Instead, my perspective is the same as it?s ever been. Learn the 3 ways to tell if your bra is fitting correctly. Calculators, bra fitters, trial-and-error?whatever you choose, the most important thing is to get familiar with how a properly fitting bra feels on your body. Because once you know that, it doesn?t matter what the number on the tag reads, what bra calculator you use, what boutique you visit, or what an expert says?you will always know what fits.

Just in case you?re new to this story, here?s a timeline of everything that?s happened so far:

Original Linda the Bra Lady Interview:
Video
Text

Response from the Media:
SheFinds

Responses from Lingerie Bloggers:
Hourglassy
Sweet Nothings NYC
Fussy Busty
Butterfly Collection

Linda?s Follow-up Reply:
Linda?s Blog (Note: There are a number of similarities between her response here and on my blog. Both pieces were completed at the same time, however mine is being published later.)

Responses to Linda?s Follow-up Reply:
Butterfly Collection

Excellent articles on Vanity Sizing in the Fashion Industry from Fashion Incubator:
The Myth of Vanity Sizing (scroll to the bottom of the article to see all her posts on the subject)

And now on to my interview with Linda. As always, I?d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

1) Hi Linda! Thanks so much for agreeing to do a follow-up interview here on The Lingerie Addict. I appreciate you sparing some time for me and my readers. I know you?re a busy lady, so let?s jump right into it. After your interview on Good Morning America last week, several bloggers took offense to your use of the phrase ?vanity sizing.? I know how hard it is to convey a point in a 2 minute news clip (or a 140 character soundbite), so why don?t you tell us more about what you meant by that ? both for people who are familiar with the news piece and who haven?t seen it.

About 10 years ago, as I was fitting women day in and day out, I started noticing that a few bras were fitting looser in the back than before. As time went on, I continued to see the trend. A woman who would fit perfectly into a 36 band bra suddenly needed a 32 to get the same fit. In fact, this happened to me! When I moved to New York about eight years ago, I fit into a 36D perfectly. But since bra sizes have changed, I now fit into a 32G in the same brand? and (I?m not afraid to say it) I weigh about ten pounds more now! I?m using the same ?good fit criteria? and brands as before. Bra sizes just changed. I think companies did it so that women could feel like they suddenly have a smaller back. It?s the same with clothing!

Vanity sizing or not, bra sizes changed. But let?s be real. I think it?s naive to think that vanity sizing only exists in clothing and not in bras. I?m also not the first to mention this, as this NY Times article pointed out: ?Women Are Shocked by Their New Bra Size.?

2) I know for a fact that several people were bothered by the headline, ?Bra Sizes are a Scam!? I didn?t watch the live newsclip, but did you ever actually say scam? If so, why that particular word? And, if not, how do you feel about that word being used to describe your view on vanity sizing?

Scam was not my word. Sorry to disappoint! I think the media chose that word to amp up the ?gasp? factor. It?s a bit negative, but I don?t really mind it. It makes women take notice. And what I really want to do is help these women out. Those that have been wearing bras for more than 10 years now deserve to know that sizes have changed, that it?s not just their imagination. I don?t think that announcing that bras sizes have changed is terrible, a ?scam?, or ?calling out? vendors. Industry standards change. It happens. I just think women deserve to know about it. What?s most important to me is helping women find the best fitting bra ? that?s what I?ve been doing since I started more than 25 years ago!

3) Now I haven?t worn a bra for the last 10 years, so I can?t personally speak to if my size has changed lately, but how did you arrive at the conclusion that bras are vanity sized now? Did you compare any bras from the past to bras today? Did you reach out to any lingerie companies? Or is this based on your experience as a bra fitter? And if it based on your personal experience, how would you respond to claims that that?s not a valid way of measuring changes in size?

Thank you for admitting that you haven?t been wearing a bra for more than 10 years. I think a lot of the people trying to stir the pot do not have the same years of experience that I have. I have been fitting bras for over 25 years. I?m not just the namesake of my company. I actually fit women all day long. I have fit literally thousands and thousands of women in bras. Again, my ?good fit? criteria is pretty strict, and has not changed over the years ? including the importance of a snug bra band. After fitting women every single day for 25 years in the same brands? it was impossible not to notice the difference in sizing.

My response to the claims from other fitters saying that experience is not a valid way of measuring changing sizes: really?! I would love to sit down and measure every bra from every company dated from every year for the past ten years? but there?s no need. I?ve been fitting the same bras, the same way, on thousands of women. They?ve changed.

I have been working closely with lingerie and bra manufacturers for years, and they didn?t actually come out and say that their sizes changed to boost sales and egos. It?s my educated guess that bra companies saw the tiny women with full busts on TV and adjusted their bra sizes to help reflect this. Don?t tell me women aren?t vain about their band size. I have women jump for joy when they find out that a 30 or 32 bra fits them better than a 36 or 38. Who doesn?t want to have a slimmer, smaller back?! We?re only human, after all.

4) Have you heard from any bra brands in reply to your interview on Good Morning America? If so, can you share what they had to say?

No. They know I?m right. Bra companies call me up frequently to discuss the way their new styles are fitting, get feedback etc. They know what?s going on. In the end, it?s my job as a bra fitter to adjust to what?s going on in the industry. Also, I never called out anyone in particular. This was an industry change.

5) There have been a lot of new lingerie companies on the scene lately. Do you think the vanity sizing issue applies to all brands and all sizes or is concentrated in certain areas like full bust sizing or European bras or high-end brands or something different? Are there any companies in particular that you believe are now using vanity sizes?

Please remember that I can only comment on brands that I?ve been carrying at my stores. Here?s a list. The brands that have been around for many years are the brands I?m talking about. Although a very few have not changed, the vast majority have. New brands just followed the new standard in the industry, which is a bigger band.

Every brand fits differently, and so does every style within a brand. And no, I won?t start naming ?vanity? brands. HA! I don?t intend to place blame on any bra companies here. I just want to enlighten women to the adjustments that the bra world has made to bra sizes.

6) On a related note, one of the things that comes up a lot around bra sizing is the lack of standardization across brands. And several people have used the GMA piece as an opportunity to reiterate their issues with the plus four size method. Do you think vanity sizing is at all related to either of those things?

Oh, believe me, I wish there was a standardization of bra sizes across the globe, but that?s unlikely to happen. Even if there was a strict set standard that every company followed, different fabrics would fit differently, and each woman?s unique shape would still require a slightly different bra. Until there?s a standard in the shape and size of a woman, I don?t think we can every truly have standard sizing. This is why only a trained fitter is really qualified to fit someone for a bra. But, since not everyone can make it in to a shop, these DIY measuring methods are meant to help them find a place to start and enlighten them to the possibility that they could be a whole new size.

That being said, I?ve supported the War On Plus Four in theory (you and I have tweeted much about this), and I?m glad that women are updating their measuring methods, but there?s also not one standard for measuring either.

For example, my bra fitters go through months of Bra School before they are certified to fit. I used to teach a ?plus 5? method (adding about 5 inches to the underbust measurement) more than ten years ago as a general starting point. When my NYC shop opened about 8 years ago, I started teaching a ?plus 3-5? method. I did this to accommodate some of the changes that bra companies were making to their bra bands. Now, eight years later, I?ve migrated to a ?plus 0 to 3? for certain women. And, my goodness, sometimes my fitters and I even have to subtract inches for women with certain shapes! Some people think that adding four inches to an underbust measurement is never OK for a good bra fit. For most of my customers, this is true. But that?s because I help a lot of very full busted women. Let?s be clear: every bra band needs to be snug to fit properly. But the bigger the bust, the snugger the band needs to be. It?s working harder! A bra size is dependent on the way the bra runs, the material, the brand, and the woman?s size, age and comfort. And there ARE women who need to add more than zero inches to get a good fit.

Good fitters know, and I know, that measuring the underbust and adding inches (or not) is just basic a guideline for a bra size starting point, and that there is no one-method-fits-all way to do it. As fitters, we take into account a million more factors than just this one measurement.

7) Another conversation that?s coming up a lot now is how bra sizes are getting bigger. Several newspapers in the UK just published a piece saying the average British woman?s bra size has gone up from a 34B to a 34DD. Do you think that?s because of vanity sizing or are women?s breasts actually getting larger? Or are the two things even related at all?

I think both things could be happening. For one (and remember, I live in the USA where the average dress size has also gone up), breasts are getting bigger, and girls are getting breasts at a younger age. I?m not a doctor, so I won?t even try to tell you why (though I have several opinions on the matter), but it is happening. Also, I think larger cup sizes are more popular because back sizes fit larger. For a woman who could fit perfectly into a 36D ten years ago, she would now need a 32DDD/F just to get the same cup size in the new back size. I think the vanity sizing was really based more on the notion of a slimmer back and the fuller cup size is a result of that.

I don?t think bra companies thought about what this would do to women who already had small bands and full busts. Suddenly, someone who was a 34DD 10 years ago would now need about a 30G or H. I?m very happy that these D+ sizes exist ? women really needed them before, and they especially need them now. But most women are not used to such high letters. In fact, it?s been a real mission of mine to help women understand that a G cup or up is totally common, now! It?s taken years of ?braducation?, instruction, and care to help women get over the stigma of D+ bras and just wear what fits and supports them best. These letters and numbers mean something to women and their ego, so they are reluctant to pick out a new size themselves. It takes going to a bra shop like mine and being professionally fit to finally get it. But besides great fit, I want these women to understand that bra sizes are different now, and not to feel strange picking out a brand new size.

8) Now that you?ve had a little time since the interview, how are you feeling about it? Anything you wish you could have said differently? Would you say the same thing again? Have you had a spike in visitors to the store? Tell us the fall-out?good and bad!

No regrets!

Of course I wish there was more time in the interview to explain all of the factors that go in to a good fit, or what criteria would cause a woman to have to add inches or not to her underbust measurement, etc. But, I?m aware that a short spot on TV is not the place to try to squeeze in all of the Bra School training. They hit some good points about changing sizes, proper care, etc. I do wish they had shown the before and after fittings and the braducation I taught those young women. Phew! One woman went from a 40DD to a 30K!

Sure we?ve had a few more visits to our online shop and store, but I?m happier to help spread the word about the benefits of a good bra. It?s always nice to have a new outlet to get the word out.

I was a bit surprised about the backlash and misunderstanding from others in the field. I think some people thought that I was saying modern bra sizes aren?t necessary. Not so! I carry those sizes! I think most just don?t have the right frame of reference since they haven?t even been in business for 10 years, which is when things really started changing. Regardless, my stance on proper bra fitting and my passion for helping women has always been very clear, and they should have known that. Regardless of what these other experts think, it?s more important to me that women realize that bra sizes have changed, rather than why.

I think bra sizes have changed. And I think vanity sizing played a part in why it happened. I said it and I?m not taking it back! Vanity sizing or not, it doesn?t matter to me. It?s more important to me that women wear the bra that fits and supports them best, regardless of the size. And it?s extremely important to me to help women navigate the tricky world of bra fitting.

Thanks again for taking the time to talk with TLA readers, Linda! You?ve given us all a lot to think about.

Source: http://www.thelingerieaddict.com/2012/10/linda-the-bra-lady-on-bra-sizes-bra-fitting-and-vanity-sizing.html

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Spooky! NASA Hunts Gravitational Waves on the Atomic Level

Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves that ripple outward from moving celestial objects such as stars or black holes ? but such waves are so weak by the time they reach Earth that the planet quivers by less than an atom's width in response. NASA wants to harness the spooky quantum behavior of atoms to help detect the gravitational waves.

The U.S. space agency has funded the possible solution, called atom interferometry, so that it might someday enable a mission consisting of three identical spacecraft flying in a triangle formation between 310 miles (500 kilometers) and 3,107 miles (5,000 kilometers). If a gravitational wave swept through the area, the spacecraft interferometers would sense the tiny disturbances.

"The NASA funding is basically for a preliminary design study for what a gravitational wave detector would look like," said Mark Kasevich, a physicist at Stanford University.

The technology would enable scientists to detect gravitational waves related to events such as a black hole or two stars merging in a distant star system. It could also lead to more sensitive sensors for steering U.S. military submarines or aircraft ? Kasevich's Stanford lab has been working on gyroscopes, gravimeters, accelerometers and gravity gradiometers for the U.S. Department of Defense.

But for NASA, a gravitational wave detector is "probably a decade away," Kasevich told TechNewsDaily. An actual space mission would probably take even longer to launch.

Normal interferometry ? a 200-year-old technique ? gets accurate measurements by comparing light that has been split into two equal halves by a beam splitter. Scientists shine one of the beams through something they want to measure, and compare it to the other untouched beam by bouncing both off mirrors to reflect back onto a detector or camera. [Space Quantum Experiment Has First Balloon Flight]

The atomic interferometry funded by NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts program takes advantage of quantum mechanics, the physics theory that describes how matter behaves at the tiniest scales. That effort is led by researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; Stanford University in California; and AOSense Inc., in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Researchers would first fire a laser to slow and cool the atoms down to a frigid temperature near absolute zero (minus 273.15 degrees Celsius), so that the atoms behave like waves rather than particles. Then they would fire more laser pulses that put the atoms into a "superposition of states," which allows them to exist in multiple states simultaneously.

The superposition means a single atom can split into different states that exist independently and go flying off on different trajectories like separate particles, before they recombine at a detector. If an atom's path is altered even a bit by a passing gravitational wave, the atom interferometer can detect the difference.

NASA's funding does not cover the full spacecraft mission just yet. First, the researchers plan to test the atomic interferometer at a 33-foot drop tower in the basement of a Stanford University physics laboratory ? firing lasers at a cloud of falling rubidium atoms to cool them and then put them into their "spooky" quantum states. Successful testing could establish the foundation for making the space version of the technology.

This story was provided by TechNewsDaily, sister site to SPACE.com. You can follow TechNewsDaily Senior Writer Jeremy Hsu on Twitter @jeremyhsu. Follow TechNewsDaily on Twitter @TechNewsDaily, or on Facebook.

Copyright 2012 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/spooky-nasa-hunts-gravitational-waves-atomic-level-153304213.html

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The Long Road to Freedom, Page 5 - The Humane Society of the ...

October?23,?2012

On release day, animals embrace freedom with eagerness and reluctance

All Animals magazine, November/December 2012

by Karen E. Lange

On the morning of the rehabilitated animals? release back into the wild, Tatiana Ter?n is excited but a little sad: ?I should not get attached,? says the veterinarian. ?But it?s hard when animals come in as babies.?

To ensure the animals returning to the wild don?t end up right back in the trade, they will be trucked to a cattle ranch that is heavily guarded against rustlers, one of five carefully selected private properties where the rescue center releases animals because Nicaragua?s ?protected? areas are overrun with poachers. ?We look for places that have safety above all,? says Sacasa.

Their journey ends in a wetland drained for cattle pasture, not far from the Honduras border. Across a water-filled ditch stands a patch of forest, part of a wildlife corridor. By the time the rescue center truck arrives, it?s midday and hot, but the trees offer shade and relative cool. After so many months of preparation, animals are released in rapid succession.

The chocoyos immediately fly into the trees and begin to call to each other, chattering in a noisy group, already at home in the wild. The white-faced capuchins rush out of their cage as soon as the door is opened and run off, like athletes taking the field. Several armadillos taught at the rescue center to root out worms leave their crates and within a few steps are sniffing the dirt for food, digging into the soil with their feet.

A scarlet macaw is so sought after by poachers that they can only be released in one place: an island with no bridges to the mainland.

Other animals are slower. The two yellow-naped parrots also confiscated in the 2010 raid and two toucans seized by police at an intersection barely make it into the trees. These birds are active in the early morning, not the middle of the day, and one parrot spends about an hour maybe 10 feet off the ground, unmoving even when Sacasa shakes the branches. Sleepy owls complain angrily and must be persuaded from their cages. Several caracaras rescued from roadside sellers stand dazed until Sacasa stamps his boots and they take flight. One of the two kinkajous stubbornly refuses to exit his crate, despite the calls of a second, who has climbed slowly but steadily up a tree. ?Campa?ero, campa?ero (partner, buddy),? Sacasa says, waving his hat to encourage the reluctant kinkajou to make his move. The animal sniffs at some leaves. Finally, he moves out and up and into the wild.

It isn?t ideal, but logistics?the distance from the capital, the cost of each trip?have dictated the nature of the release. And it works, for most all the animals. The hope is that there will come a day when mass releases are no longer necessary, when Nicaragua?s animals won?t be taken from the wild in the first place.

The chocoyos alight in a raucous flock and fly into some palms, giddy, exuberant in their freedom. The air thickens with humidity. The sky grows a deeper and deeper blue, a gray blue. Lightning flashes and rain pours down, cooling the forest, refreshing the just-released animals, running off the now empty cages.

Go to page: 1 | 2 | 3?|?4 | 5

Read more from this issue ?

Subscribe to All Animals ?

Source: http://www.humanesociety.org/news/magazines/2012/11-12/the_long_road_to_freedom_5.html

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Luxembourg royals tie knot in religious ceremony

Luxembourg's Prince Guillaume and Countess Stephanie kiss on the balcony of the Royal Palace after their wedding in Luxembourg, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Luxembourg's Prince Guillaume and Countess Stephanie kiss on the balcony of the Royal Palace after their wedding in Luxembourg, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Luxembourg's Prince Guillaume and Countess Stephanie wave from the balcony of the Royal Palace after their wedding in Luxembourg, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Geert vanden Wijngaert)

Luxembourg's Prince Guillaume and Countess Stephanie wave from the balcony of the Royal Palace after their wedding in Luxembourg, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Geert vanden Wijngaert)

Britain's Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex arrive at Luxembourg's Prince Guillaume and Countess Stephanie's wedding in Luxembourg, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Geert vanden Wijngaert)

Soldiers stand guard near the Palace during the royal wedding in Luxembourg, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012. Royalty from Europe, the Middle East and Japan have arrived in the tiny country to celebrate the wedding ceremonies of the heir to the throne Prince Guillaume to Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

LUXEMBOURG (AP) ? Under a canopy of soldiers' drawn swords as church bells tolled, Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg and Belgian Countess Stephanie de Lannoy emerged smiling Saturday from the tiny duchy's Notre Dame Cathedral after wrapping up a two-day wedding gala with a religious ceremony.

Onlookers and well-wishers lined the super-scrubbed streets near the cathedral and roared with joy as the newlyweds looked down from a red velvet-covered palace balcony, and haltingly ? but deeply ? kissed for the crowd.

The church wedding of Prince Guillaume ? the 30-year-old heir to the throne and Luxembourg's grand duke-to-be ? and the Belgian countess drew top-drawer guest list. It came a day after a civil ceremony at Luxembourg City Hall.

The bearded groom and his 28-year-old blonde bride were trailed by a procession of well-known royals, including Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden, Prince Naruhito of Japan, and Britain's Prince Edward ? Queen Elizabeth's youngest child ? and his wife, Sophie.

Stephanie plans to renounce her Belgian citizenship in order to ? one day ? become Luxembourg's grand duchess. The tiny country wedged between France, Belgium and Germany is an important financial center and continues to prosper despite Europe's economic trouble.

Stephanie wore a lace Elie Saab dress with a 5-meter-long wedding train during the ceremony, which was conducted in a mixture of French, German and Luxembourgish. It began with a minute's silence to honor her late mother, Countess Alix de Lannoy.

For the wedding banquet attended by 800 people, Bocuse d'Or-winning chef Lea Linster ? herself from Luxembourg ? whipped up a buffet medley including Riesling-marinated pork and veal pate, lobster in gelee consomme, and sea bass in salted crust and thyme stuffing; dessert included Madeleine cakes, choux a la creme pastries, and creme brulee.

Later in the evening, the royal couple walked through town, shaking hands with well-wishers before a fireworks show. Afterward, they drove off in a limousine with a sign on the back that read "Just Married" in Luxembourgish.

The nuptials gave tiny Luxembourg ? a founding member of the predecessor of the European Union ? a rare moment in the international media spotlight. With a population of just over 500,000, the trilingual duchy punches above its weight: Besides being an important financial center, it's home to the world's largest steel manufacturer and it boasts the second-highest gross domestic product per capita in the world, more than $80,000.

Luxembourg began as a Roman fortress. It has, at one time or another, fallen under the control of Spain, France and Austria. In 1839, it gained its independence from the Netherlands, but lost more than half its territory to Belgium. Germany overran Luxembourg twice in the 20th century despite its protests of neutrality.

The current grand duke, Henri, who is 57, is popular. People can greet him on the street without bowing down before him. His 31-year marriage to Grand Duchess Maria Teresa appears to be very happy.

The newlyweds seem to be happy too: In public appearances, including at the London Olympics, they have appeared besotted with each other.

After watching the ceremony on a big-screen on a public square near the cathedral, royal-gazing fans sensed the joy and historical importance.

"It was a really big moment ? a really beautiful moment," said Claudine Als, clutching a glass of Champagne, seemingly awaiting a toast. "It is a historic day for Luxembourg, the country shines throughout the world."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-10-20-Luxembourg-Royal%20Wedding/id-ee854f1960394403ac44cc9efe9264ea

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