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BAGHDAD, ? Iraqi officials say seven people have been killed in two blasts in central Iraq.
Police officials said two bombs were planted early Saturday in a spot where day laborers gather in the mostly Sunni village of al-Zaidan, near the town of Abu Ghraib west of Baghdad.
The officials say the bombs, which exploded minutes apart, wounded 11 other laborers.
A health official at Abu Ghraib general hospital confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release the information.
Violence has ebbed across Iraq, but deadly bombings and shootings still occur almost daily as U.S. troops prepare to leave by the end of the year.
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TOKYO (Reuters) ? Asian shares and the euro both hovered near seven-week lows on Friday as European officials failed to soothe investor fears that the euro zone's debt crisis could trigger a credit crunch if funding costs run out of control.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 0.4 percent on Friday, hovering near a seven-week low hit the day before. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) opened down 0.3 percent on Friday, hitting a fresh two-and-a-half-year low, but was later trading flat.
European shares fell for the sixth consecutive session in low volume on Thursday while Wall Street was shut for the Thanksgiving holiday.
With European policymakers struggling to break out of the deadlock and no convincing progress in sight over the euro zone debt crisis, investors were shunning riskier assets and selling assets normally perceived as safe to raise cash or cover losses.
France and Germany agreed on Thursday to stop bickering openly over whether the European Central Bank should do more to rescue the euro zone from a deepening sovereign debt crisis, while expressing their backing for Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in his task of overcoming the country's massive debt burden.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy also said Paris and Berlin would circulate joint proposals before a December 9 European Union summit for treaty amendments to entrench tougher budget discipline in the 17-nation euro area.
But with market seeking actions rather than rhetoric, sentiment remained highly risk-averse as Germany stood firmly opposed to the creation of joint euro zone bonds or boosting the ECB's role in solving the fiscal problems of individual euro zone members.
"Disappointment that officials continue to tinker with the trivial rather than consider the bold pushed risk appetites lower and increased the downside risks to the outlook for the European sovereign debt crisis," said Besa Deda, chief economist at St. George Bank in Sydney.
Funding stresses for European banks escalated, with the cost of swapping euros into dollars in the currency swap market rising to fresh three-year highs of 148 basis points on Thursday.
The ECB is looking at extending the term of loans it offers banks to 2 or even 3 years to try to prevent the euro zone crisis precipitating a credit crunch that chokes the bloc's economy, people familiar with the matter say.
The euro hovered near a seven-week low against the dollar on Friday, trading at $1.3329, not far from Thursday's low of $1.3316.
Commodity currencies, a gauge of risk-taking, struggled, with the Australian dollar down 0.2 percent to $0.9705 and not far from a seven-week low of $0.9664 set earlier in the week.
A day after weak demand for a German bond auction shocked global markets and fueled fears the crisis may be hurting Europe's economic powerhouse, the closely-watched German Ifo business climate index on Thursday bucked expectations and showed a rise for November for the first time since June.
German government borrowing costs stayed elevated, with 10-year German government bond yields rising as high as 2.14 percent on Thursday to their highest in nearly a month.
The premium investors demand to hold Portuguese government bonds over German Bunds rose on Thursday after Fitch downgraded Portugal's rating to junk status.
Sentiment was cautious in Asian credit markets, with spreads on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment grade index little changed on Friday.
Japanese government bonds fell, with the benchmark 10-year yield rising 2 basis points to 1 percent. Spot gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,692.20 an ounce, after falling to a one-month low of $1,665.88 earlier this week.
(Additional reporting by Ian Chua in Sydney)
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FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 file image from Egyptian state television, three American students are displayed to the camera by Egyptian authorities following their arrest during protests in Cairo, where an Egyptian official said they were throwing firebombs at security forces. A spokeswoman for the American University in Cairo identified the students as Luke Gates, a 21-year-old Indiana University student from Bloomington, Ind.; Derrik Sweeney, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Mo.; and Gregory Porter, a 19 year-old Drexel University student from Glenside, Pa. An official says an Egyptian court has ordered release of 3 US students arrested during Cairo unrest.(AP Photo/ Egyptian TV, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 file image from Egyptian state television, three American students are displayed to the camera by Egyptian authorities following their arrest during protests in Cairo, where an Egyptian official said they were throwing firebombs at security forces. A spokeswoman for the American University in Cairo identified the students as Luke Gates, a 21-year-old Indiana University student from Bloomington, Ind.; Derrik Sweeney, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Mo.; and Gregory Porter, a 19 year-old Drexel University student from Glenside, Pa. An official says an Egyptian court has ordered release of 3 US students arrested during Cairo unrest.(AP Photo/ Egyptian TV, File)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? A court in Egypt has ordered the release of three American students arrested during a protest in Cairo, a lawyer in Philadelphia confirmed Thursday.
Derrik Sweeney, Luke Gates and Gregory Porter, who attend the American University in Cairo, were arrested on the roof of a university building near Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square on Sunday. Officials accused them of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.
Attorney Theodore Simon, who represents Porter, a 19-year-old student at Drexel University in Philadelphia, said his client remained in custody at a police station as of Thursday afternoon Eastern time.
But Simon said he was able to speak by phone with Porter, describing the student's demeanor as "calm and measured, demonstrating a maturity well beyond his 19 years."
"He was extremely thankful and appreciative for our efforts and the unconditional support of his mother and father," Simon said.
Porter is from a suburb of Philadelphia.
Sweeney's mother, Joy Sweeney, said she is "absolutely elated" at the news of her 19-year-old son's release.
"I can't wait to give him a huge hug and tell him how much I love him," she said, adding that the news of the court order was the best Thanksgiving gift.
The 21-year-old Gates is a student of Indiana University.
The State Department released a statement saying it was trying to independently confirm the reports of the students' release.
Earlier Thursday, Egypt officials said the Abdeen Court in Cairo had ordered their release. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media. They did not say when the students would be released.
In Bloomington, Ind., a spokesman for Indiana University, said he could not confirm that Gates and the other has already been freed. Mark Land earlier said he had spoken to Gates' parents and that they had been told by the State Department that their son has been released.
Joy Sweeney said she wasn't sure when her son, a student at Georgetown University, would be returning to their home in Missouri.
"If he can find his passport (then he'll leave) tomorrow, if not, it won't be until Monday," she said.
She said the U.S. consul general in Egypt, Roberto Powers, recommended that her son leave Egypt as soon as possible.
"He also conveyed that that was what Derrik had conveyed to him that he wanted to do. He was enjoying his experience but (was) ready to be done with it," Sweeney said.
Derrik Sweeney interned for U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer earlier this year. Luetkemeyer's spokesman Paul Sloca, said the congressman is "extremely pleased that he's safe and coming home, especially on Thanksgiving."
Sweeney said she had not prepared for a Thanksgiving celebration, although a friend had taken her some food. She said the idea of a Thanksgiving feast had seemed "absolutely irrelevant" before the news of her son's pending freedom.
Asked what she thought her son would take away from his arrest, Sweeney said she thought he would make something useful of it.
"I'm sure that he'll put a life-lesson learning experience into a positive story," Sweeney said. "He's a writer, he will write about this experience."
___
Associated Press reporter Ed Donahue in Washington contributed to this report. Maggie Michael reported from Cairo.
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PARIS ? European voters are in a "throw the bums out" mood, ejecting nine governments since the debt crisis began, but no matter how down they feel about their leaders and economies, one thing they don't reject is the euro itself.
The existence of the nearly 13-year-old euro, used by over 330 million people in 17 countries, has come into doubt recently as European governments failed to prevent the financial crisis from widening from Greece to Italy and even France. The French and German leaders' shock admission this month that Greece might leave the euro only added to those concerns.
But ordinary Europeans, skeptical of the shared currency back in 1999, now profess widespread allegiance to the banknotes and coins whose designs vary from country to country but whose value doesn't.
Their attachment stems partly from an appreciation for the economic benefits it has brought, and partly from fear of what would unfold were the eurozone to break up.
Business owner Franck Choisne, a distiller in the Loire Valley, says he wouldn't want to go back to using the French franc even if Europe's financial crisis continues to worsen.
He had expanded foreign sales of his high-end liqueurs from his century-old distillery in sleepy Saumur, France since the euro came into use in 1999. He credits some of this success to the way the common currency has made life easier for entrepreneurs like himself.
"I remember how hard it was to invoice in different currencies" before the euro, Choisne said. "It's much easier now to deal with other European countries."
Beyond small businesses, the euro has made travel easier, eliminating the need to change marks, lira or drachmas. It has also boosted cross-border shopping, with more Europeans able to hop over frontiers to make purchases and save money. The euro has also provided European spenders and savers an increased sense of stability in their money, compared to the days when the value of their francs, schillings and escudos swung wildly.
Madrid salesman Francisco Gabanes, 42, summed up the majority Spanish view: "The euro has been good for Spain and I don't know of anyone that yearns to go back to how things were before its introduction."
Surveys show the strongest support for the euro in the very countries whose fiscal mismanagement or borrowing binges have led to the current crisis, and whose people are suffering the harshest austerity measures as a result.
In Greece, where spending cuts have been among the most painful and strikes and protests have become a near daily occurrence, two public opinion polls published this month estimated support for the euro at 78 and 81.1 percent.
In Ireland, which also had to be bailed out by its European neighbors and has had to slash pensions and salaries, 84 percent agree that having the euro has been good for Europe, according a recent EU survey. That's a higher percentage than in any other eurozone country.
And in struggling Italy, an AP-GfK poll conducted last week found that 76 percent of respondents want to stay in the eurozone even though the European Union is demanding tough economic reforms to boost confidence in the currency and the region.
Appreciation for the euro is matched by fear of the unknown effects that a splitting of the eurozone would have. When economic uncertainty is already rife, many Europeans understandably want to stick with what they know.
"I would be very frightened to leave the euro," said Lola Sanchez, an antique dealer in Madrid. "It would be like going backward and I don't think we can afford to do that."
If Greece or another eurozone member chose to abandon the euro or was ejected by its partners, the impact could be disastrous. Economists fear savers would rush to pull money out of their accounts, causing bank runs that could destabilize the entire banking system. Investors could start wagering on what country would be next to fall out of the eurozone, spreading the financial contagion in a domino effect spreading across the continent and sending shockwaves around the globe.
In the eurozone's core countries, France and Germany in particular, attitudes toward the euro are more nuanced but still positive overall.
A survey this month by French polling agency BVA showed 77 percent in favor of keeping the euro, compared to 21 percent against. Another poll this month by the Ifop public opinion takers showed 67 percent of the French want to keep the euro. That still leaves a perhaps surprisingly large 32 percent who'd like to go back to the franc.
Power plant technician Mikael Perniceni said he "wasn't sure" if the euro had made things better or worse for him. Perniceni, 31, lives near Thionville in northeastern France, near the border with both Luxembourg and Germany.
"If I had to choose I'd say I'm better off because I often cross the border to go shopping in Luxembourg, and not having to change money helps," Perniceni said.
The convenience of the euro is offset by pessimism over the currency's prospects, however. One of the polls that showed most French want to keep the euro also showed that more than half believe that European leaders' latest attempts to save the euro will fail.
Germans are more ambivalent still, with nearly half of respondents in a recent poll for television channel ARD saying Germany should not have introduced the euro. That is in line with data from an annual survey by Mannheim-based polling agency Forschungsgruppe Wahlen, which has consistently shown that more Germans think the euro's introduction has been "not good" than "good" and a steadily decreasing number of Germans who think the euro will be successful in the long run.
The EU's own surveys show that while a majority of Europeans think the euro has been good for Europe, few agree that the common currency has succeeded in one of its creators' most important goals: forging a common European identity by imposing a single currency on everyone from Helsinki to Seville.
Three-fourths of Europeans say the euro has had "no effect" on their identity, compared to only a fifth who say they feel "more European" because of the euro.
Euro optimists can point to EU surveys that have long shown solid majority of Europeans agree that the common currency has been good for Europe.
Whether they think it has been good for their own country, though, is another question. When an EU survey asked that question in its 2007 survey, less than half of Europeans agreed, and those who thought it had been bad for their country were in the majority in Italy, Portugal, Germany and Greece.
After that, the EU stopped asking the question.
In the eurozone's newest member, Estonia, voters remain satisfied overall with their government's decision to adopt the common currency this year.
There, too, though voters' approval of the euro is mixed with stoicism about the future.
Marju Koppel, 55, a clothes seller in the center of the Estonian capital Tallinn, noted that she'd seen three different currencies come and go in her lifetime ? the Soviet ruble, the Estonian kroon, and now the euro.
"Currencies come and go," Koppel said: "One just has to adjust."
___
On the web: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/
http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com http://www.bva.fr/fr/sondages/barometre_de_l_economie_-_novembre_2011.html
http://www.ifop.com/media/poll/1659-1-study_file.pdf
___
Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Harold Heckle in Madrid and Jari Tanner in Tallinn contributed to this report.
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Public release date: 22-Nov-2011
Share ] Contact: Gina DiGravio
gina.digravio@bmc.org
617-638-8480
Boston University Medical Center
Boston In what is believed to be the first study of its kind to examine the relationship between pre-existing depression (with and without anxiety) and the amount of time to diagnostically resolve an abnormal mammogram and/or Pap test, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found suffering from depression was not associated with a prolonged time to diagnostic resolution in a vulnerable population of urban women. These findings currently appear in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Delays in care after abnormal cancer screenings contribute to disparities in cancer out- comes. Women with psychiatric disorders are less likely to receive cancer screening and may also have delays in diagnostic resolution after an abnormal screening test. Vulnerable populations of women, as defined by low income or with racial/ethnic minority status, are less likely to receive standard preventive health care, which contributes to worse breast and cervical cancer outcomes. Depression is prevalent in these populations, and may lead to worse healthcare outcomes.
The BUSM researchers conducted a retrospective chart review of electronic medical records to identify women who had a diagnosis of depression or anxiety in the year prior to the abnormal mammogram or Pap test. They used time-to-event analysis to analyze the outcome of time to resolution after abnormal cancer screening.
Of the women with abnormal mammogram and Pap tests, the researchers found 19 percent and 16 percent, respectively, suffered with depression. The median time to resolution was 27 days for women with abnormal mammograms and 85 days for women with abnormal Pap tests. However, there was no difference in time to diagnostic resolution between depressed and not-depressed women for those with abnormal mammograms or Pap tests.
The researchers believe that documented mood disorders are not an additional barrier to resolution after an abnormal cancer screening test in this vulnerable population of women who already had barriers to receiving healthcare. "Although we found delays in diagnostic resolution after abnormal cancer screening, women with a depression diagnosis did not have increased delays compared to those who were not depressed," explained lead author Andrea Kronman, MD, MSc, assistant professor of medicine at BUSM.
"Pre-screening the electronic medical records of women for mood disorders may not be the most reliable approach to identify a group of patients at higher risk of delayed diagnostic resolution of abnormal cancer screening tests in a vulnerable population," added Kronman.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 22-Nov-2011 Share ] Contact: Gina DiGravio
gina.digravio@bmc.org
617-638-8480
Boston University Medical Center
Boston In what is believed to be the first study of its kind to examine the relationship between pre-existing depression (with and without anxiety) and the amount of time to diagnostically resolve an abnormal mammogram and/or Pap test, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found suffering from depression was not associated with a prolonged time to diagnostic resolution in a vulnerable population of urban women. These findings currently appear in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Delays in care after abnormal cancer screenings contribute to disparities in cancer out- comes. Women with psychiatric disorders are less likely to receive cancer screening and may also have delays in diagnostic resolution after an abnormal screening test. Vulnerable populations of women, as defined by low income or with racial/ethnic minority status, are less likely to receive standard preventive health care, which contributes to worse breast and cervical cancer outcomes. Depression is prevalent in these populations, and may lead to worse healthcare outcomes.
The BUSM researchers conducted a retrospective chart review of electronic medical records to identify women who had a diagnosis of depression or anxiety in the year prior to the abnormal mammogram or Pap test. They used time-to-event analysis to analyze the outcome of time to resolution after abnormal cancer screening.
Of the women with abnormal mammogram and Pap tests, the researchers found 19 percent and 16 percent, respectively, suffered with depression. The median time to resolution was 27 days for women with abnormal mammograms and 85 days for women with abnormal Pap tests. However, there was no difference in time to diagnostic resolution between depressed and not-depressed women for those with abnormal mammograms or Pap tests.
The researchers believe that documented mood disorders are not an additional barrier to resolution after an abnormal cancer screening test in this vulnerable population of women who already had barriers to receiving healthcare. "Although we found delays in diagnostic resolution after abnormal cancer screening, women with a depression diagnosis did not have increased delays compared to those who were not depressed," explained lead author Andrea Kronman, MD, MSc, assistant professor of medicine at BUSM.
"Pre-screening the electronic medical records of women for mood disorders may not be the most reliable approach to identify a group of patients at higher risk of delayed diagnostic resolution of abnormal cancer screening tests in a vulnerable population," added Kronman.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/bumc-daa112211.php
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OAKLAND, Calif. ? In his first statement since being seriously injured during a clash between Oakland police and Occupy demonstrators, Scott Olsen says he is feeling a lot better.
Olsen's plight has become a rallying cry for the Occupy Wall Street movement, with shrines set up in his honor throughout the nation.
The 24-year-old Marine Corps veteran posted a statement on his Google+ account, which was verified by his roommate Keith Shannon.
Olsen, who was struck in the head on Oct. 25, said his speech is coming back but he has a lot of work to do with rehab. He was released from the hospital over the weekend.
Olsen told supporters they would hear more from him and he would see them soon in the streets.
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WASHINGTON ? Congress is fighting to keep pizza and french fries on school lunch lines, picking apart an Obama administration proposal to make school lunches healthier.
A spending bill released late Monday would unravel school lunch standards proposed by the Agriculture Department earlier this year, forcing USDA to pull back an attempt to limit potatoes on the lunch line, delaying limits on sodium and delaying a requirement to boost whole grains.
The spending bill also would allow tomato paste on pizzas to be counted as a vegetable, as it is now. The department's proposed guidelines would have attempted to prevent that.
The changes had been requested by food companies that produce frozen pizzas, the salt industry and potato growers. Some conservatives in Congress have called the push for healthier foods an overreach, saying the government shouldn't be telling children what to eat.
In a bill summary released Monday, Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee said the changes would "prevent overly burdensome and costly regulations and ... provide greater flexibility for local school districts to improve the nutritional quality of meals."
House Republicans had urged USDA to completely rewrite the standards in their version of the bill passed in June. The Senate last month voted to block the potato limits in their version. Neither version included the language on tomato paste, sodium or whole grains, which was added by House-Senate negotiators on the bill.
School districts had also objected to some of the requirements, saying they go too far. Schools have long taken broad instructions from the government on what they can serve in federally subsidized meals that are served free or at reduced price to low-income children. But some schools have balked at government attempts to tell them exactly what foods they can't serve.
The school lunch proposal was based on 2009 recommendations by the Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences. When the guidelines were proposed in January, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the effort was necessary to stem the tide of childhood obesity and reduce future health care costs.
Nutrition advocate Margo Wootan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest said the changes proposed by Congress will prevent schools from serving a wider array of vegetables. Children already get enough pizza and potatoes, she says. It would also slow efforts to make pizzas ? a longtime standby on school lunch lines ? healthier, with whole grain crusts and lower levels of sodium.
"They are making sure that two of the biggest problems in the school lunch program, pizza and french fries, are untouched," she said.
A group of retired generals advocating for healthier school lunches also criticized the spending bill. Mission: Readiness has called poor nutrition in school lunches a national security issue because obesity is the leading medical disqualifier for military service.
"We are outraged that Congress is seriously considering language that would effectively categorize pizza as a vegetable in the school lunch program," Amy Dawson Taggart, the director of the group, said in a letter to members of Congress before the final plan was released. "It doesn't take an advanced degree in nutrition to call this a national disgrace."
The school lunch provisions are part of a final House-Senate compromise on a $182 billion measure would fund the day-to-day operations of the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. Both the House and the Senate are expected to vote on the bill this week and send it to President Barack Obama.
___
Find Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MCJalonick
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STATE COLLEGE (Reuters) ? Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State University assistant football coach charged with child sex abuse, said on Monday he is not a pedophile, but admitted he showered with young boys.
In a full-court media press across two television networks, Sandusky and his attorney, Joe Amendola, said they have answers for all 40 charges that Pennsylvania prosecutors have leveled.
"I am innocent of those charges," Sandusky told NBC's Bob Costas in a telephone interview with the television network on Monday.
The former coach and founder of The Second Mile charity for disadvantaged youth acknowledged that after workouts he has showered with boys.
"I have hugged them and I have touched their leg without intent of sexual contact," Sandusky told Costas.
He admitted, "I shouldn't have showered with those kids," and stressed, "I am not sexually attracted to young boys."
The allegations of sex crimes and their cover-up have rocked the university. The fallout ended the career of legendary head football coach Joe Paterno, who along with the university's president was fired on November 9 by the board of trustees.
Sandusky, once considered a likely successor to Paterno, is accused of sexually assaulting eight boys over more than a decade. The New York Times reported late Monday that ten more suspected victims have come forward and police were working to confirm the allegations.
The 67-year-old Sandusky is just a "big overgrown kid," his lawyer told CNN in a separate interview on Monday night.
For each charge, "We have an answer," Amendola said.
He painted a sympathetic picture of his client, saying he is worried for Sandusky's health.
Amendola said he had advised Sandusky and his wife to leave State College, Pennsylvania, to relax, but Sandusky told him he would be recognizable anywhere.
In addition, the defense team is having trouble finding some of the alleged victims mentioned in a grand jury report that was released November 4, Amendola said.
INFORMATION ON LOCKER-ROOM INCIDENT
Sandusky retired from Penn State in 1999. The grand jury alleged, among other charges, that Sandusky had sexually assaulted a boy in a Penn State football locker room in 2002 and university officials failed to report the incident.
Penn State assistant football coach Mike McQueary, who witnessed the alleged incident while a graduate assistant, is on paid administrative leave from the university.
Amendola said he believes he has identified the child involved in the alleged incident.
"What McQueary said he saw, we have information that that child says that never happened," Amendola said.
The intertwined relationship between Penn State, its football program and The Second Mile charity continues to be a focus of the developing scandal.
The charity said on Monday it has accepted the resignation of Jack Raykovitz, its chief executive for 28 years, and that it had opened an internal investigation.
According to a grand jury report, the charity learned almost a decade ago that Sandusky had showered with a young boy. Like Penn State officials, it did not inform police.
Meanwhile, a New York-based charity for disadvantaged kids -- The Fresh Air Fund -- said it was checking on whether any of its members might have spent time at the home of Sandusky.
The Big Ten athletic conference said on Monday it will remove Paterno's name from the trophy that will be given to the winner of its first-ever championship game, scheduled to be played in Indianapolis in December.
"The trophy and its namesake are intended to be celebratory and aspirational, not controversial," Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement.
(Additional reporting by Edith Honan and Kristina Cooke; Writing by Ernest Scheyder and Ros Krasny; Editing by Jackie Frank)
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For the first time, I received an email from a recruiter seeking a social strategist with 10 years business experience (not just social) an MBA and ability to manage a team of 10 for a total comp of $350-400k. That?s a far stretch above the normal, which I hear is at director level. Let?s see what happens as this space continues to heat up when you see a shortage of talent, frequent poaching, and potential job hopping.
The hires in the social business space continue to heat up, in fact the?market research data (read the report) shows that hiring is the top spend in 2011. Expect there to be more hires over coming quarters.Both the submissions on this job announcement board, as well as?available social media positions at corporations continue to pour in. In this continued digest of job changes, I like to salute those that continue to join the industry in roles focused on social media,?see the archives, which I?ve been tracking since Q4, 2007.
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LONDON?? Scientists are cooking up new ways of satisfying the world's ever-growing hunger for meat.
"Cultured meat" ? burgers or sausages grown in laboratory Petri dishes rather than made from slaughtered livestock ? could be the answer that feeds the world, saves the environment and spares the lives of millions of animals, they say.
Granted, it may take a while to catch on. And it won't be cheap.
The first lab-grown hamburger will cost around 250,000 euros ($345,000) to produce, according to Mark Post, a vascular biologist at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, who hopes to unveil such a delicacy soon.
Experts say the meat's potential for saving animals' lives, land, water, energy and the planet itself could be enormous.
"The first one will be a proof of concept, just to show it's possible," Post told Reuters in a telephone interview from his Maastricht lab. "I believe I can do this in the coming year."
It may sound and look like some kind of imitation, but in-vitro or cultured meat is a real animal flesh product, just one that has never been part of a complete, living animal ? quite different from imitation meat or meat substitutes aimed at vegetarians and made from vegetable proteins like soy.
Made using stem cells
Using stem cells harvested from leftover animal material from slaughterhouses, Post nurtures them with a feed concocted of sugars, amino acids, lipids, minerals and all other nutrients they need to grow in the right way.
So far he has produced whitish pale musclelike strips, each of them around 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) long, less than a centimeter wide and so thin as to be almost see-through.
Pack enough of these together ? probably around 3,000 of them in layers ? throw in a few strips of lab-grown fat, and you have the world's first "cultured meat" burger, he says.
"This first one will be grown in an academic lab, by highly trained academic staff," he said. "It's handmade and it's time- and labor-intensive. That's why it's so expensive to produce."
Not to mention a little unappetizing. Since Post's in-vitro meat contains no blood, it lacks color. At the moment, it looks a bit like the flesh of scallops, he says.
Like all muscle, these lab-grown strips also need to be exercised so they can grow and strengthen rather than waste away. To do this, Post exploits the muscles' natural tendency to contract and stretches them between Velcro tabs in the Petri dish to provide resistance and help them build up strength.
Supporters of the idea of human-made meat, such as Stellan Welin, a bioethicist at Linkoping University in Sweden, say this is no less appealing than mass-producing livestock in factory farms where growth hormones and antibiotics are commonly used to boost yields and profits.
And conventional meat production is also notoriously inefficient. For every 15 grams (half-ounce) of edible meat, you need to feed the animals around 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of vegetable protein, an increasingly unsustainable equation.
More science news from MSNBC Tech & Science
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All this means finding new ways of producing meat is essential if we are to feed the enormous and ever-growing demand for it across the world, Welin told Reuters in an interview.
Not sustainable
"Of course you could do it by being vegetarian or eating less meat," he said. "But the trends don't seem to be going that way. With cultured meat we can be more conservative ? people can still eat meat, but without causing so much damage."
According to the World Health Organization, annual meat production is projected to increase from 218 million metric tons in 1997-1999 to 376 million tons by 2030, and demand from a growing world population is seen rising further beyond that.
"Current livestock meat production is just not sustainable," says Post. "Not from an ecological point of view, and neither from a volume point of view. Right now we are using more than 50 percent of all our agricultural land for livestock.
"It's simple maths. We have to come up with alternatives."
According to a 2006 report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, industrialized agriculture contributes on a "massive scale" to climate change, air pollution, land degradation, energy use, deforestation and biodiversity decline.
The report, titled "Livestock's Long Shadow," said the meat industry contributes about 18 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, and this proportion is expected to grow as consumers in fast-developing countries such as China and India eat more meat.
Hanna Tuomisto, who conducted a study into the relative environmental impacts of various types of meat, including lamb, pork, beef and cultured meat, said the lab-grown stuff has by far the least impact on the environment.
Her analysis, published in the Environmental Science and Technology journal earlier this year, found that growing our favorite meats in-vitro would use 35 to 60 percent less energy, emit 80 to 95 percent less greenhouse gas and use around 98 percent less land than conventionally produced animal meat.
"We are not saying that we could, or would necessarily want to, replace conventional meat with its cultured counterpart right now," Tuomisto, who led the research at Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, said in a telephone interview.
But she said cultured meat "could be part of the solution to feeding the world's growing population and at the same time cutting emissions and saving both energy and water."
But is it tasty?
Although experts in the field agree that within several years, it may be possible to produce in-vitro meat in a processed form ? like sausages or chicken nuggets ? producing more animal-like products such as pork chops or steaks could be a lot more complex and may take many more years to develop.
Post, who is financed by an anonymous private funder keen to see the Dutch scientist succeed, hopes to hand the world its first human-made hamburger by August or September next year, but for the moment he admits what he has grown is a long way from a mouth-watering meal.
He hasn't yet sampled his own creation, but reviews from others are not great. A Russian TV reporter who came to his lab tried one of the strips and was unimpressed.
"It's not very tasty yet," Post said. "That's not a trivial thing, and it needs to be worked on."
But with the right amounts and right types of fat, perhaps a little lab-grown blood to give it color and iron, Post is confident he can make his petri-dish meat look and taste as good as the real thing.
He also hopes the ability to tweak and change things will mean scientists will ultimately be able to make meat healthier ? with less saturated and more polyunsaturated fat, for example, or more nutrients.
"The idea is that since we are now producing it in the lab, we can play with all these variables and we can eventually hopefully turn it in a way that produces healthier meat," he said. "Whereas in a cow or a pig, you have very limited variables to play with."
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45257771/ns/technology_and_science-science/
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Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain addresses the media Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Cain said Tuesday that he would not drop his bid for the Republicans? presidential nomination in the face of decade-old allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain addresses the media Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011, in Scottsdale, Ariz. Cain said Tuesday that he would not drop his bid for the Republicans? presidential nomination in the face of decade-old allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior. (AP Photo/Matt York)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain says his campaign problems stem from a political machine that's working relentlessly "to keep a businessman out of the White House."
That may be so. But Republican voters have denied the presidential nomination to businessmen for 70 years. And Americans haven't elected a president with Cain's background ? that is, no prior experience in elected office or war heroism ? since 1928.
It's certainly possible that voter attitudes are changing and Cain might surprise pundits. To do so, however, the Georgia businessman will have to overcome more than the sex harassment claims dogging his campaign. He will have to defy decades of political history.
So would four other GOP contenders, for similar reasons.
Not since Republicans chose corporate lawyer Wendell Willkie in 1940 has a major party nominated someone who had never held elected office or been a top military officer. Herbert Hoover, a mining engineer and Commerce secretary, was the last such person to be elected president, in 1928.
Three other current GOP candidates, with U.S. House backgrounds, also face tough historical odds. Americans haven't elected a president directly from the House since 1880, when James Garfield was the choice.
The past doesn't dictate the future, of course. Cain or Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota might ride into history on a wave of intense public anger at government, which spawned the tea party movement in 2009. And not so long ago, the political establishment saw little chance of a black man being elected president.
But U.S. voters have followed some consistent patterns since the Great Depression. Fairly or not, these patterns help explain why many political strategists, analysts and journalists discounted Cain's chances from the start, along with those of Bachmann, who also thrived in Republican polls for a while.
And the patterns help explain why many political pros still feel the person best-positioned to challenge former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination is Texas Gov. Rick Perry, even though he trails Cain and others in various polls.
If trends from the last seven or eight decades continue, only three current contenders have realistic shots at the nomination: Romney, Perry and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman.
Current and former governors head the list of four types of candidates who have been elected president in the 20 elections since Hoover's time. The other categories are senators; current or former vice presidents; and one military leader, Dwight Eisenhower.
All Democratic and Republican nominees since Willkie's time also came from those categories.
Garfield was the last sitting House member elected president, and few nominees have had House-only backgrounds. That doesn't bode well for Bachmann, Texas Rep. Ron Paul or former Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia. And Rick Santorum, the Pennsylvanian who lost his last Senate re-election bid in 2006, also doesn't fit the historic trends.
Governors have been especially successful in the past 100 years. Of the seven presidents who won multiple elections in that period, five started as governors: George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Franklin Roosevelt (elected four times) and Woodrow Wilson.
As a rule, some Americans will applaud Ross Perot's deficit-cutting plan, Steve Forbes' flat tax, or Cain's "9-9-9" tax plan. But they haven't elected a non-politician as president in generations
Romney's catchphrase is that he knows how to create jobs because of his private-sector experience. But voters seem to value his four years as governor, and his presidential try in 2007-08.
"There is a reason why non-politicians fail to win the White House," said political scientist John J. Pitney Jr. of Claremont McKenna College in California. "Running for office is like any other complex task: It takes practice to do it well, and one is likely to make big mistakes on the first try."
Most successful politicians make early mistakes in low-profile races, and are more polished when they reach a large audience, Pitney said.
"But nonprofessional presidential candidates make their mistakes on the national stage, where everybody notices," he said. He cited Perot's surprisingly strong showing as a third-party candidate in 1992 until he began making odd comments, such as claiming that Republican operatives wanted to disrupt his daughter's wedding.
Pitney said Cain "utterly botched the first rule of crisis management: Get your story straight before going public."
At a news conference Tuesday, Cain denied allegations from four women who say he sexually harassed them in the 1990s. As for their possible motivations, he said, "the machine to keep a businessman out of the White House is going to be relentless."
He vowed to keep campaigning.
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North Carolina and Michigan State tip off the first half of the Carrier Classic NCAA college basketball game on the flight deck aboard the USS Carl Vinson, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, in Coronado, Calif. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Petty Officer 2nd Class James R. Evans)
North Carolina and Michigan State tip off the first half of the Carrier Classic NCAA college basketball game on the flight deck aboard the USS Carl Vinson, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, in Coronado, Calif. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Petty Officer 2nd Class James R. Evans)
North Carolina forward John Henson (31) dunks during the first half of the Carrier Classic NCAA college basketball game against Michigan State aboard the USS Carl Vinson, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, in Coronado, Calif. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
President Barack Obama watches the first half of the Carrier Classic NCAA college basketball game between Michigan State and North Carolina with Medal of Honor recipient John Baca aboard the USS Carl Vinson, Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, in Coronado, Calif. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
CORONADO, Calif. (AP) ? With President Barack Obama watching from midcourt, No. 1 North Carolina beat Michigan State 67-55 on Friday night in the Carrier Classic on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson.
Harrison Barnes scored 17 points and John Henson had 12 points and a career-high nine blocked shots as the Tar Heels put their size advantage to good use. Michigan State's Draymond Green had 18 rebounds.
Fitting with the Veterans Day theme, the Tar Heels and Spartans had U.S.A. rather than their names on the back of their jerseys, which had a camouflage design. At dusk, the game was paused for the lowering of the American flag. The players gave their jerseys to servicemen after the game.
Obama watched intently, chatted with wife Michelle and service members seated near him, and at one point appeared to check his BlackBerry. When the game ended, he applauded and then shook hands with coaches Roy Williams and Tom Izzo.
North Carolina has beaten Michigan State six straight times, including in the 2009 national championship game.
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"In his forum called 'Designing a Media Relations Strategy To Overcome Concerns Surrounding Hydraulic Fracturing,'? Range Resources communications director?Matt Pitzarella explains how to 'overcome stakeholder concerns' surrounding fracking.
'We have several former psy ops folks that work for us at Range because they?re very comfortable in dealing with localized issues and local governments,' Pitzarella said. 'Really all they do is spend most of their time helping folks develop local ordinances and things like that. But very much having that understanding of psy ops in the Army and in the Middle East has applied very helpfully here for us in Pennsylvania.'
It was during Anadarko Petroleum's manager of external affairs, Matt Carmichael's, session on 'Understanding How Unconventional Oil & Gas Operators are Developing a Comprehensive Media Relations Strategy to Engage Stakeholders and Educate the Public' that he suggested his colleagues:
'Download the U.S. Army-slash-Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Manual, because we are dealing with an insurgency,' Carmichael said. 'There?s a lot of good lessons in there and coming from a military background, I found the insight in that extremely remarkable.'
' ... insurgency has been a common approach used by the weak to combat the strong. At the beginning of a conflict, insurgents have the strategic initiative ... the insurgents generally initiate the war. They may strive to disguise their intentions, and the potential counter-insurgent will be at a great disadvantage until [corporate] leaders recognize that an insurgency exists and are able to determine its makeup and characteristics to facilitate a coordinated reaction.?
While the [corporation] prepares to respond, the insurgent is gaining strength and creating increasing disruptions throughout the state. The existing [corporation] normally has an initial advantage in resources, but that edge is counterbalanced by the requirement to maintain order. The insurgent succeeds by sowing chaos and disorder anywhere; the [corporation] fails unless it maintains order everywhere.'..."
Doing business, even small business, requires mystification. Business is unfair. Always. Doing business means separating a person from the product of her labor, to her repeated disadvantage. Grocery chains, gas stations, restaurants, amusement companies, counseling practices, engineering firms - they all develop media relations departments once they pass a critical mass of wealth, market presence and accumulation.
Once a business is capable of moving the market, it reinforces this capability.
It begins to understand consumers -? or, patients and clients -? as potential traitors. As persons in need of loyalty and brand reinforcement.
This is, not incidentally, how the corporate press sees the rest of us as well. If you do not respond to their product as would a loyal consumer, you are treated as an insurgent, or potentially so. The larger portion of news output depends upon the treatment of the listener, viewer or reader as a person who might otherwise be hostile should the narrative fail
You, who are probably a producer of commodities or commoditized services, must act like a commodity yourself. As an item on shelf, dependable in its branding. That is the how the producers of news segments, ad campaigns and state propaganda understand you, us, the whole lot of competing captive populations. We are energy and wealth producing possessions with enough of a smattering of will to potentially resist, or to seek new conditions.
Considerable treasure and loot is budgeted towards getting us to "internalize" a consumptive form of obedience, to better prevent resistance which works.
You've learned about how Gandhi was a great man, no doubt. How his non-violence was like a kind of solar magic which enervated a nation. How India emerged from his spectral man-womb, perfectly formed from pure and noble protest, from the holy reception of British violence. That Gandhi gets taught in school. Gandhi the child fondler, the racist, the man who ordered his wife's death by refusing her medicine, the guy who nearly starved himself to death to stop Congress Party from giving rights to the Untouchables - he doesn't make it into the hagiographies, the history books, the school texts or the PBS retrospectives. The Real Gandhi makes Permissible Gandhi look like, um, propaganda*.
And like most of us who were fed this pig's swill of educational and moral self-betrayal, you might not even be aware of the thousands and tens of thousands of Indians who sabotaged train tracks, burned out British and local police stations, assassinated officers and engaged in what is now commonly referred to as hateful, evil, immoral "terrorism." They probably even vandalized park benches, broke windows and burned out collaborating businesses.
The real Gandhi, and the historical India are continuously elided, in favor of the non-violent Saint and his loyal millions of lightworking do-gooders.
"Gandhi-ji" good, actually hurting those with all the power and guns, bad. Bosses with smiles on their faces because the rube proles are waving placards and playing with poppets, good. Banks empty of customers because the lobby, designed to look like the interior of a temple, is on fire, bad.
Kind of like: Martin good, Malcolm bad.
Or: Obama cool and articulate, McKinney nappy haired craaaay-zee.
This "internalization" of self-defeating, action-limiting beliefs operates from within and without. Those people who fancy their selves as members of a resistance, but who have incorporated the over-class's obeisances, mental obstructions, consensus mentality and rule making hierarchies into their memories operate from within a movement, constantly (if most likely, unconsciously) reinforcing the imposition of the masters' rules and restrictions on conduct, reinforcing those pressures which are routinely applied from without. Those within a resistance, especially those most prone to propertarian convictions, will often attempt to assume ownership over the messaging, "optics" and moral fiber of that resistance, movement or protest. They will insist on decorum. They will demand a respect (a fetish, actually, but who's nitpicking?) for property and its sacral functions, its usefulness, its value. It is important to them that the correct owners of the resistance be established. That it have the right brand. They are branded by the corporate and educational cultures which generally tend to produce them, and their pursuit of brand awareness, brand placement and brand protection reflects these facts.
They do the work of the ruling class, of course.
They are not alone in performing this task.
Huffington, Yahoo, MSNBC, CNN, the networks and FOX have run daily pieces on the precipitous state of Iran's "nuclear ambitions" for the last week or so. We are being prepped for the possibility of one more expansion of the endless war to keep global, Western capitalism - managed from London, New York, Washington, Berlin, Paris and Rome - afloat atop a rising tide of manufactured Emergency and storyboarded crisis.
Emergency is the answer to insurgency. Crisis is the reaction to criticism.
This is now business as usual. Same as it ever was.
h/t Xymphora
* - because Permissible Gandhi is fucking propaganda. Seriously, this fuck was a child fondling defender of forced chastity, female servitude, racial superiority and the hatefulgodsbedamned caste system. Also, it's no hard task to draw a line of causation from Gandhi to Nehru to Gandhi to nuclear India.
Source: http://the-crows-eye.blogspot.com/2011/11/business.html
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Michele Bachmann defended her plan to extend federal income tax to everyone, even if they pay as little as $10 per year.
She said the current system, under which 47 percent of people pay federal income taxes, is unfair because even those who do not pay federal income taxes benefit from the government. The 47 percent figure applies only to federal income taxes, not state income taxes, payroll taxes, sales taxes and other local taxes.
"Even if it means paying the price of two Happy Meals a year, $10, everyone can afford to pay at least that," she said.
Bachmann said the current tax code will not help to create jobs, adding a jab at Obama's political adviser David Axelrod.
"President Obama's plan for job creation has absolutely nothing to do with the true people who know how to create jobs," she said. "He should really be going to job creators if he wants to know how to create jobs. Instead, he continues to go to General Axelrod in Chicago to look for his orders on how to deal with the economy."
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FILE - In this March 25, 2011 file photo, Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt watches practice for an NCAA women's college basketball tournament regional semifinal, in Dayton, Ohio. The women's basketball season begins Friday for 14 of the preseason Top 25. Tennessee is the sentimental choice this season, but Pat Summitt wants her 38th year with the Lady Vols to be about her team, not her public battle with dementia. (AP Photo/Al Behrman, File)
FILE - In this March 25, 2011 file photo, Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt watches practice for an NCAA women's college basketball tournament regional semifinal, in Dayton, Ohio. The women's basketball season begins Friday for 14 of the preseason Top 25. Tennessee is the sentimental choice this season, but Pat Summitt wants her 38th year with the Lady Vols to be about her team, not her public battle with dementia. (AP Photo/Al Behrman, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2011 file photo, Baylor center Brittney Griner is shown during an exhibition NCAA basketball game against St. Edward's, in Waco, Texas. The women's basketball season begins Friday for 14 of the preseason Top 25, including No. 1 Baylor and Griner. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
FILE - In this March 27, 2011 file photo, Baylor's Brittney Griner (42) reaches for a pass as Wisconsin-Green Bay's Sarah Eichler (43) looks on during the second half of an NCAA women's college basketball tournament regional semifinal, in Dallas. The women's basketball season begins Friday for 14 of the preseason Top 25, including No. 1 Baylor and Griner. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
Pat Summitt wants her 38th season at Tennessee to be all about the Lady Vols and not her public battle with dementia.
Considering what the Hall of Fame coach means to so many, it may be difficult for her to fully get her wish.
"That's what I want to talk about, basketball, not dementia," Summitt said. "I don't want a pity party, because it is what it is."
Summitt is sure to get rousing ovations of support when the Lady Vols are on the road, not to mention when they play at home beginning with Sunday's opener against Pepperdine.
The women's basketball season starts Friday for 14 of the preseason Top 25, including No. 1 Baylor and Brittney Griner. It ends in Denver ? the first time the Final Four will be held in the Mountain time zone.
Tennessee is clearly the sentimental choice to make it there and her Lady Vols players seem focused to win a ninth national championship for their coach.
"She's taking care of me as far as making me become a better person, a better athlete," Tennessee sophomore Meighan Simmons said. "I feel like now it's our turn to return a favor to her."
To reach Denver, the Lady Vols will have to end a three-year Final Four drought ? long by Rocky Top standards. This talented group of seniors, led by preseason All-America Shekinna Stricklen, is trying to avoid being the first Tennessee class to not make the Final Four in their careers.
The class of 1995 came the closest, as they didn't reach it until their senior season when they fell to Connecticut ? the first of Geno Auriemma's seven titles.
UConn's group this year is still a major contender despite the graduation of four-time All-America Maya Moore. Auriemma is happy to head into a season and not have to talk about streaks any more after the Huskies' NCAA record 90-game run came to an end last season.
"Could you imagine if they had kept that thing going?" Auriemma said. "It would have been so unfair to this new group to have to worry about that. Now we can just focus on basketball."
Auriemma has a talented freshmen class to complement the four returning starters, and a fifth straight trip to the Final Four isn't out of the question. He feels, for the first time in a few years, there's no obvious favorite to win it all.
"Clearly Baylor, Tennessee, and Notre Dame all have a lot of talent back," Auriemma said. "But everyone has some question marks. It will make the regular season more interesting and exciting."
It's already the first time in five years that neither UConn or Tennessee sits atop the preseason Top 25 poll. That honor falls on Baylor. The Lady Bears are led by junior phenom Griner. The 6-foot-8 star worked hard in the offseason to improve her game, spending 12 days with the U.S. women's national team, which is coached by Auriemma.
"She is definitely a unique talent," he said. "She's so hard to guard in so many ways, and she's just beginning to tap her ability."
Baylor has a tough schedule early with a potential matchup against No. 2 Notre Dame in the Preseason WNIT final in mid-November. The Lady Bears also play the Lady Vols and Huskies before the New Year. With Griner, coach Kim Mulkey feels her squad is ready.
"If you have a team capable of playing them, go play them," Mulkey said. "This schedule's extremely tough ? the toughest since I've been at Baylor."
One team that Mulkey won't play after this season is Texas A&M. The defending national champions are the biggest name in women's basketball to change conferences, with the Aggies heading to the SEC next season.
Mulkey said at the Big 12 media day that she won't play them anymore. That's unfortunate given the two rivals had four riveting games last season, including a NCAA regional final game that drew more than 11,500 fans.
The Pac-10 has undergone a major change this season, growing to the Pac-12 with the addition of Colorado and Utah. The new conference name probably won't effect the standings much as Stanford is the favorite to win its 12th straight league title.
Stanford will be looking to tie Connecticut and LSU with a fifth straight trip to the Final Four. The Cardinal have made it to the title game twice and lost in the semis twice.
While Stanford has been a Final Four mainstain the last few years, the Big Ten has been absent. No team from the conference has made the national semifinals since Michigan State lost to Baylor in the 2005 title game. It's the longest drought of any of the six major conferences.
Notre Dame fell just short of winning its second national championship last season, losing to Texas A&M in the title game. The Irish became the first team to beat both Tennessee and UConn in the same NCAA tournament.
Sensational junior guard Skylar Diggins became a fresh face for the sport during the Irish's tournament run, gaining nearly 100,000 followers on Twitter.
With Diggins return along with stars Devereaux Peters and Natalie Novosel, Notre Dame was picked to win the Big East for the first time in a decade.
The Fighting Irish have bigger goals in mind.
"It definitely still hurts," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "I think that when we look at the last game, we decided then that we had to get ready for next year. We've got some unfinished business is the way we're looking at it. It's a different type of chip on our shoulder."
___
Follow Doug Feinberg at http://twitter.com/dougfeinberg.
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