Afghan inside attack kills 2 Americans, 2 Afghans

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? An Afghan soldier turned his gun on American troops at a checkpoint in the country's east, killing two Americans and two fellow members of Afghanistan's army in a shooting that marked both the continuance of a disturbing trend of insider attacks and the 2,000th U.S. troop death in the long-running war, officials said Sunday.

The string of insider attacks is one of the greatest threats to NATO's mission in the country, endangering a partnership key to training up Afghan security forces and withdrawing international troops.

Saturday's shooting took place at an Afghan army checkpoint just outside a joint U.S.-Afghan base in Wardak province, said Shahidullah Shahid, a provincial government spokesman. At least two Afghan soldiers died, he said.

"Initial reports indicate that a misunderstanding happened between Afghan army soldiers and American soldiers," Shahid said. He said investigators had been sent to the site to try to figure out what happened. It was not clear if the assailant was killed.

The attack happened about 5 p.m. in Sayd Abad district, Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi said in an emailed statement. He did not provide further details.

NATO forces announced the assault early Sunday morning, saying only that it was "suspected insider attack" and that a NATO service member and civilian contractor were killed.

One U.S. official confirmed that the service member killed was American, while another confirmed that the civilian was also American. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the nationality of the dead had not yet been formally announced.

Afghan soldiers and policemen ? or militants in their uniforms ? have gunned down more than 50 foreign troops so far this year, eroding the trust between coalition forces and their Afghan partners. An equal number of Afghan policemen and soldiers also died in these attacks, giving them reason as well to be suspicious of possible infiltrators within their ranks.

The attacks are taking a toll on the partnership between international and Afghan forces, prompting the U.S. military to restrict operations with small-sized Afghan units earlier this month.

The close contact ? with coalition forces working side by side with Afghan troops as advisers, mentors and trainers ? is a key part of the U.S. strategy for preparing the Afghans to take the lead in security operations as the U.S. and other nations prepare to pull out their last combat troops at the end of 2014, just 27 months away.

The number of American military dead reflects an Associated Press count of those members of the armed services killed inside Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion on Oct. 7, 2001.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-inside-attack-kills-2-americans-2-afghans-081438393.html

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Factbox: Georgia's parliamentary election

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia holds a parliamentary election on Monday in which President Mikheil Saakashvili's ruling United National Movement (UNM) faces a challenge from billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream coalition.

Here are some key facts about Georgia and the election.

GEORGIA:

* Georgia is a nation of 4.5 million people in the South Caucasus. It has a shoreline on the Black Sea and borders Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey. It is mostly Orthodox Christian.

* Georgia is one of 15 former republics of the Soviet Union that gained independence when country the fell apart in 1991. The Soviet collapse ended nearly two centuries of almost continuous dominance of Georgia by Russia and the Soviet Union.

* Georgia has aligned itself with the West under President Mikheil Saakashvili, seeking closer integration with NATO and the European Union and maintaining strong ties with the United States. It has sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan.

* Tension with Russia erupted into a five-day war in August 2008, when Saakashvili's government launched an offensive on South Ossetia. Russian forces drove Georgian forces out of the region and penetrated deep into Georgia before withdrawing.

* Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another Moscow-backed breakaway region, as independent nations after the war. Both had broken from central government control in conflicts in the early 1990s.

* Georgia withdrew from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a group of 11 former Soviet republics seen as dominated by Moscow, after the 2008 war. It is the only non-Baltic former Soviet republic outside the group.

* Georgia is a route for pipelines that carry oil and gas from the energy-rich Caspian Sea area westward toward Europe via Turkey, bypassing Russia.

THE ELECTION:

* Sixteen political parties and blocs are contesting the parliamentary election. The main contenders are Saakashvili's United National Movement party (UNM) and Georgian Dream, an opposition coalition led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.

* Of the 150 seats in the single-chamber parliament, 77 will be filled through voting by party lists, in which the voter casts a ballot for a party which presents a list of candidates. The other 73 seats will be filled through voting for individual candidates in electoral districts.

In the party-list voting, a party needs to win at least 5 percent of the vote to gain representation in parliament, and a bloc needs to win at least 7 percent. In the individual races, the candidate with the most votes, and no less than 30 percent of total votes, wins a seat.

* UNM was founded by Saakashvili in 2001. The party won 119 of the 150 seats in the last election in 2008. Current parliament speaker David Bakradze heads the party list for the 2012 election.

The UNM campaign trumpets economic successes of the past eight years and pledges of more jobs and more investment in healthcare, education and agricultural sectors.

The party's foreign policy programme has a strong emphasis on integration with Western organizations such as the European Union and NATO.

* Georgian Dream is a coalition of six diverse parties with few connections in common aside from loyalty to Ivanishvili and opposition to Saakashvili. The coalition was named after a song by Ivanishvili's rapper son Bera.

Georgian Dream has built its campaign on vocal criticism of Saakashvili and his government.

* The Christian Democratic Party, led by former journalist Georgy Targamadze, also has a chance to win seats in the party-list voting. It is an opposition group in the current parliament and calls for a greater role for the Georgian Orthodox Church.

* Polls open at 8 a.m. (0400 GMT) and close at 8 p.m. (1600 GMT) at more than 3,600 polling stations across the country There are 3.6 million eligible voters.

* The election will be monitored by more than 1,600 international observers and more than 50,000 local observers. (Reporting by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Steve Gutterman and Sophie Hares)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-georgias-parliamentary-election-203426034.html

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Buffett's kids use dad's ideas to invest in giving

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) ? As they work to give away part of Warren Buffett's roughly $47 billion fortune, his three children have adopted an approach that looks remarkably similar to their father's technique for making all that money.

Like Buffett, each relies on tiny staffs. And just like their father invests only in businesses he understands, they restrict their giving to their targeted projects.

Warren Buffett doesn't direct how the foundations created by Susie, Howard and Peter Buffett spend the estimated $2.6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock they'll receive, but his children seem to have absorbed his philosophy.

"I think the only pressure I feel from him is making sure we're smart about how we spend the money," said Howard Buffett. "He's had no influence on where we give money, but he's had a big influence on how we go about it."

Buffett's children have focused on different topics, reflecting their divergent interests.

Howard Buffett is helping farmers in impoverished nations produce more to reduce world hunger. Susie Buffett is strengthening early childhood education and looking for ways to reduce teen pregnancy. And Peter Buffett wants to empower women and girls worldwide through education, collaboration and economic development to end violence against women.

"We're given this amazing opportunity to try and make change where we can," Peter Buffett said. "And being our father's children, we don't think small."

The Buffett children have all been running foundations their parents set up for them since the late 1990s, but they had to dramatically increase their giving after 2006 when Warren Buffett announced his overall giving plan and the children received their first annual gift of stock worth roughly $65 million to each of them.

They'll have to ramp up their giving again because Buffett's annual gifts of Berkshire Hathaway stock will increase to roughly $100 million to $125 million to each child next summer.

Although his children's foundations will each eventually receive stock worth about $2.6 billion, their charitable work is still overshadowed by their dad's main pledge to give the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation stock worth more than $44 billion.

Warren Buffett is also giving nearly $4.4 billion worth of stock to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for the investor's first wife, who died in 2004. That organization promotes women's reproductive health and tries to limit the spread of nuclear weapons.

All three younger Buffetts said they're glad their father encouraged them to take risks, so they wouldn't be afraid to tackle difficult issues.

The Buffett children also said they are glad their parents had the foresight to set up separate foundations for each of them, so they could all go their own way.

Howard Buffett regularly travels to poverty-stricken parts of the world to talk with farmers and check up on projects his foundation has funded, but the 57-year-old often doesn't tell his dad where he's going until after he returns to avoid worrying him about the dangers of destinations like the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Howard Buffett, who raises corn and soybeans in Illinois, likes to get a close look at the challenges those farmers he's trying to help face. He said when he's travelling he's reminded of how his mother would try to help anyone in need she encountered.

"It's very hard for me to walk into those circumstances and not try to do something," he said.

In his giving, Howard Buffett tries to focus on programs that can be continued after the initial grant ends, so he doesn't support introducing expensive hybrid seeds and irrigation in places where farmers can't afford them.

The elder Buffett manages one of the world's largest conglomerates with a tiny staff of two dozen at its Omaha headquarters, and Howard, Susie and Peter run their foundations with staffs less than half that size.

Peter Buffett, 54, said the three children also have applied their father's belief in limiting his investments to areas he understands.

"You want to be as focused on an end goal as you can be," Peter Buffett said. "In a very practical way, it helps you say no."

Peter Buffett, who is a musician and composer, is working on leveling the playing field for women and girls worldwide through a variety of programs. He hopes that if girls, particularly in impoverished areas, can get access to more resources and education they'll be ready to play a larger role in their communities and decision making.

Peter Buffett's NoVo Foundation also support programs to help U.S. schools teach kids social and emotional skills and sound decision-making.

Susie Buffett said she enjoys trying to tackle messy, human problems that aren't easy to solve, much like her mom did.

"That comes directly from my childhood. It is what I watched my mother do," said Susie Buffett, 59. "She had me in the car with her at a very early age in the housing projects and deep in the community. She was very involved personally. It was not a check-writing thing. It was her being there."

Susie Buffett was always interested in education, but she decided to focus her giving on early childhood education after asking Omaha's schools superintendent where she could make the biggest difference.

Because Susie Buffett is the only one of Warren's children living in Omaha, she also uses her Sherwood Foundation to support Omaha nonprofits that help make the city a better place and help low-income neighborhoods.

Warren Buffett's decision to increase the amount of money he is giving his children's foundations indicates he supports their work, and he praised their philanthropy.

"Everything has impressed me," Buffett said "They're each doing things they have a special interest in which they have some special abilities too. And they work very hard at it."

___

Follow Josh Funk online at www.twitter.com/funkwrite

___

Online:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com

Sherwood Foundation: http://www.sherwoodfoundation.org

Howard G. Buffett Foundation: http://www.thehowardgbuffettfoundation.org

NoVo Foundation: http://novofoundation.org

Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation: http://www.stbfoundation.org

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: http://www.gatesfoundation.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-09-29-US-Buffett's-Benevolence/id-fbf2ea7492e44add96c5725382bea612

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Ask Freud : Dating Woes | Gaysi

Hey doc!!

Hope you enjoying the lovely Summer

Ok. here?s the thing?

The other day I was reflecting at my dating history and found no pattern in my choice of partners. Yeah, except that they were all wrong choices, there are no similar traits between them. They were all different girls with different looks, cultures, background, temperament, interests. These girls have been as random as possible with respect to each other. Could randomness be a pattern?

I see many lesbians around me wanting a long term stable relationship, and yet everyone around me is breaking up!!! Are most of us only attracted to Ms Wrong? ?Miss P

Hi there,

That is an interesting question. When you said if randomness could be a pattern I thought that sounded like an antithesis? I think, however anything could be a pattern and even not being one is some sort of a pattern.

I guess you connect with people because of their personality and not only what they look like, what interests them or where they come from. That is a very open way of approaching people. Normally we judge individuals or have at least an opinion about them within the first 3 to 5 seconds but it seems that you give people a chance before making up your mind. That is a very positive quality you have and I wish more people were like you. Especially in the gay/lesbian world it seems that everything is about how you look, dress and behave. We are constantly on show and we want/need to look our best at all times to give off a good impression as we know that this world is very judgemental.

However, more deeply it sounds like you feel defeated after a few failed relationships. Perhaps you are looking at yourself closely, examining yourself to see what has gone wrong and what can be changed to prevent going down the same route. Not only are you looking at yourself but also looking around you and your community where you don?t seem to see many positive outcomes either.

Why people are breaking up around you is a good question. They might be going through change as well; they are becoming different people who don?t want to be together any longer. I guess you see this particularly within lesbian relationships around you but perhaps this is the circle you socialise in and therefore it would stand out to you more. There are lots of other couples breaking up as well of course but I guess this is not so much in your awareness. The world is changing and some couples don?t want to/can?t put the effort in a relationship anymore, they want to just leave and change partners. Maybe you and me have old fashioned beliefs and are looking for one partner to marry for life. I am not saying that having a different view is wrong, each to their own I say. But don?t let that doubt you in your own beliefs, thoughts and feelings.

Friends of mine had been together for 3 years and everybody thought that they would have a civil partnership very soon. They live together, have a cat and they are supported by both sides of the families. Nothing was particularly wrong when they decided to split up, they just grew apart as lovers and were more best friends than anything. They are still close friends and still living together but now just in separate bedrooms.

Sometimes things are the way they are and don?t need or can?t be explained. Sometimes individuals can get too hooked on finding somebody or trying to rationalise things and it is not till they relax or stop looking that it will actually happen. You seem to be driven to try hard and explain yourself and the actions you have taken. This all seems well planned and orchestrated. Think about the need for being in control and where that resonates from, perhaps you can see a pattern there that might help you ?relax? or not having the need to scrutinise yourself this hard. I might be way off here but if I?m right it?s worth exploring and can hopefully give you an insight.

Don?t be too hard on yourself, give yourself a break. Think back positively about the relationships you have had, what you have learnt from them and how this has made you the person you are today. They might not have been the right choice (in hindsight), as you put it, but I?m sure that they felt right at the time. The fact that you are reflecting now focusses you on what you are looking for and what feels right.

Pink Freud.

You can e-mail your questions to?p.freud@ymail.com?( or via Gaysi Contact Form) and he will respond to you via the Gaysi Family website.

Tags: AskFreud, confused, Featured, Relationships

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Source: http://gaysifamily.com/2012/09/27/ask-freud-dating-woes/

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Presidential Memorandum -- Aviation Insurance Coverage for ...

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

September 27, 2012

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION

SUBJECT: Provision of Aviation Insurance Coverage for Commercial Air Carrier Service in Domestic and International Operations

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including 49 U.S.C. 44301-44310, I hereby:

1. Determine that the continuation of U.S. air transportation is necessary in the interest of air commerce, national security, and the foreign policy of the United States.

2. Approve provision by the Secretary of Transportation of insurance or reinsurance to U.S.-certificated air carriers against loss or damage arising out of any risk from the operation of an aircraft, in the manner and to the extent provided in chapter 443 of title 49, U.S. Code, until September 30, 2013, if he determines that such insurance or reinsurance cannot be obtained on reasonable terms from any company authorized to conduct an insurance business in a State of the United States.

3. Delegate to the Secretary of Transportation the authority, vested in me by 49 U.S.C. 44306(c), to extend this approval and determination beyond September 30, 2013, to December 31, 2013, if he finds that the continued operation of aircraft to be insured or reinsured is necessary in the interest of air commerce or national security or to carry out the foreign policy of the United States Government, if he also determines that such insurance or reinsurance cannot be obtained on reasonable terms from any company authorized to conduct an insurance business in a State of the United States.

You are directed to bring this determination immediately to the attention of all air carriers, as defined in 49 U.S.C. 40102(a)(2), and to arrange for its publication in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/27/presidential-memorandum-aviation-insurance-coverage-commercial-air-carri

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WHO urges docs to watch for new SARS-like virus

LONDON (AP) ? Global health officials have alerted doctors to be on the lookout for a virus related to SARS but said there were no signs the disease was behaving like the respiratory syndrome that killed hundreds in 2003.

The World Health Organization announced this week that a new coronavirus had been found in a critically ill Qatari man who was being treated in London as well as in a Saudi Arabian man who died several months earlier. Genetic sequencing found the viruses in the two men to be nearly identical.

The two men might have been infected directly by animals, however, and there was no proof of human-to-human spread of the virus, WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said Thursday.

"This is not SARS, it is a new virus and very distinct from SARS," he said. "There are still a lot of unanswered questions, so we cannot predict what might happen."

Hartl said WHO could not elaborate on the men's cases until investigations by national authorities were finished.

The new coronavirus is from a family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as SARS, the severe acute respiratory syndrome that killed about 800 people, mostly in Asia in a 2003 epidemic.

SARS jumped to people from civet cats and then mutated into a form easily spread among humans.

Unlike SARS, the new virus also causes rapid kidney failure, a complication not usually seen in respiratory viruses. In London, the Qatari patient is in critical but stable condition and is being treated with an artificial lung machine.

Hartl said WHO is monitoring reports of suspect cases but none have so far been confirmed. Britain's Health Protection Agency said a small number of potential cases were being evaluated. On Wednesday, Danish authorities ruled out a handful of cases.

WHO also issued a case definition for the new virus to help doctors spot cases early. The agency advised them to investigate any patients hospitalized with acute respiratory syndrome not explained by other causes who had close contact with probable cases or had recently traveled to Saudi Arabia or Qatar.

Saudi officials said they were concerned that the next month's annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage ? which brings millions to Saudi Arabia from all around the world ? could allow the virus to spread. As a precautionary measure, they advised pilgrims to keep their hands clean and wear masks in crowded places.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-09-27-New%20SARS%20Virus/id-531f2c112d9b4c4ab4785d6438f55a44

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Pay TV Giants to Offer Video Games Via TV Sets, Challenge Console

?

A group of big pay TV operators is gearing up to challenge such video game consoles as Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3, Microsoft's XBox 360 and Nintendo's Wii by making games available via TV sets, Bloomberg News?reported.

?It said that cable giant Time Warner Cable, AT&T's U-verse and Verizon's FiOS TV are all planning to launch such cloud-based gaming services that would allow consumers to connect controllers to TV sets or set-top boxes. Comcast Corp. and Cox Communications are also in discussions to offer video game services, Bloomberg?said.

Trials are expected to start later this year, with wider deployments possible as early as 2013, the report said, citing sources familiar with the situation.

The services will go beyond social games from Zynga and casual games to include action games from big-name game makers such as Electronic Arts, according to Bloomberg.

Pay TV and telecom companies could offer the games services as part of their pay TV and/or broadband subscription packages.

The cloud-based games push could accelerate a consumer move away from consoles, which have been the gaming industry?s core money maker. The video game console business was worth $24.1 billion in the U.S. last year, according to research firm NPD Group.

?It makes perfect sense why they would want to go after this market,? Mitch Lasky, a partner at venture firm Benchmark Capital, told Bloomberg. But he also said that offering such games would require "a ton of bandwidth."

Frank Gibeau, president of Electronic Arts Labels, said games served up via Internet-enabled TV sets is a ?big opportunity? over time, but he didn't detail when it was likely to become a significant opportunity.

For game makers, the cloud approach has the benefit that they don't need to develop games for various console platforms.

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pay-tv-giants-offer-video-373868

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Help Marshawn Lynch Jerseys Oneself By Using This Great Self ...

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The Emerald Necklace: A Hidden Gem | The Daily Free Press

Hidden beside Boston University?s South Campus, The Emerald Necklace is an accessible and serene place where students seek peace from their busy college lives.

The Emerald Necklace has many greenways to explore, and visitors can find the place that they connect to the most and spend alone time in their special spot.

?The landscape architect of the park, Frederick Law Olmsted, designed the public park in a way that appeals to the greater good of society,? said Christina Luke, a BU professor who teaches a ?Green Design and Cultural Policy? class.

Hit the spots

Popular areas of the Emerald Necklace include Back Bay Fens, Arnold Arboretum, Franklin Park, the Riverway, Jamaica Pond and the Rose Garden.

The Back Bay Fens is adjacent to the Museum of Fine Arts and other educational institutions.

?[It] provides a variety of recreational opportunities, from gardening, to concerts, to sports,? according to the Emerald Necklace Parks Map and Guide.

The Arnold Arboretum is one of the world?s leading centers for the study of plants, according to the Map and Guide.

Sports are a prominent part of Franklin Park. ?The Emerald Necklace is a big playground,? said Susan Knight, Director of Development for the Emerald Necklace, in a phone interview. ?I see students out in the park every single day. I see them near Northeastern, playing basketball, doing reading and other schoolwork.?

The Riverway is a narrow park that is adjacent to the Muddy River. Students are seen running through it, along many beautiful bridges.

Jamaica Pond is a popular destination for runners. It is also home to the Boathouse, which offers sailing and row boating.

?I enjoy my experience [at the Emerald Necklace] very much!? said Britta Dosch, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. ?The parks are very well kept and always full of life and activity when I visit. They seem very well utilized by the public.?

Detailed designs

Olmstead?s design plans for the seven-mile stretch of swampy land included parks, ponds, bridges and benches.

?He specifically wanted the park to always be open to the public, to create an oasis for busy city dwellers,? Luke said.

These features attract people into the park from the surrounding neighborhoods and students from other colleges.

?The Emerald Necklace is an attraction to students because it is a linear park,? Knight said.

People in the park

The string of greenery allows students to see into the city, and hints at the potential for integrating nature with the demands of urban life.

Knight said that even today, the park serves its original purpose ? to bridge the gap between citizens and nature.

?The park is 1,100 acres. It runs through all the neighborhoods. Students can gather with friends in the park to get out of hubbub of everyday busy life,? Knight said. ?Research has shown that is critical to disconnect from everyday activities and work obligations.?

People of all ages are seen throughout the Emerald Necklace ? elderly couples sit on benches, basketball players shoot hoops and bikers zoom along the paths.

?It is also a way for students to commute to school,? Knight said. ?A lot of BU students live around the Back Bay Fens area.?

Student discoveries

Despite the lengthy stretch the Emerald Necklace extends, a number of students said they still do not know about its existence.

?I was surprised at the hidden gems, such as the Rose Garden, that are within walking distance from BU that I never knew about,? said Dosch.

Students who live in areas such as Brookline have easy access to the running trails that pass by Leverett Pond and Ward?s Pond and eventually leads to Jamaica Pond.

After Jamaica Pond, the trail turns into the Arborway, which rounds off at Franklin Park.

Students who intentionally visit the Emerald Necklace or stumble upon one of the green spaces in the immediate area said that they are transported to another state of mind.

Nature?s benefits

The Necklace is a place for Boston residents to take part in Olmstead?s vision to experience nature to become healthier and happier.

People are seen out walking their dogs and having picnics. The shade from trees cools down students and local Bostonians after a long run.

In addition to the health benefits provided by the numerous trees, the open greenery allows people to take a moment to step back from the constantly moving lifestyle of Boston and reflect.

The tall trees, walking routes and quiet rivers in the Necklace give students an opportunity to explore the city that they are a part of.

Source: http://dailyfreepress.com/2012/09/25/the-emerald-necklace-a-hidden-gem/

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Genetic findings may lead to new breast cancer treatments | The Salt ...

In findings that are fundamentally reshaping the scientific understanding of breast cancer, researchers have identified four genetically distinct types of the cancer. And within those types, they found hallmark genetic changes that are driving many cancers.

These discoveries are expected to lead to new treatments with drugs already approved for cancers in other parts of the body and new ideas for more precise treatments aimed at genetic aberrations that now have no known treatment.

The study, published online on Sunday in the journal Nature, is the first comprehensive genetic analysis of breast cancer, which kills more than 35,000 women a year in the United States. The new paper, and several smaller recent studies, are electrifying the field.

"This is the road map for how we might cure breast cancer in the future," said Dr. Matthew Ellis of Washington University, a researcher for the study.

Researchers and patient advocates caution that it will still take years to translate the new insights into transformative new treatments. Even within the four major types of breast cancer, individual tumors appear to be driven by their own sets of genetic changes. A wide variety of drugs will most likely need to be developed to tailor medicines to individual tumors.

"There are a lot of steps that turn basic science into clinically meaningful results," said Karuna Jaggar, executive director of Breast Cancer Action, an advocacy group. "It is the ?stay tuned? story."

The study is part of a large federal project, the Cancer Genome Atlas, to build maps of genetic changes in common cancers. Reports on similar studies of lung and colon cancer have been published recently. The breast cancer study was based on an analysis of tumors from 825 patients.

"There has never been a breast cancer genomics project on this scale," said the atlas? program director, Brad Ozenberger of the National Institutes of Health.

The investigators identified at least 40 genetic alterations that might be attacked by drugs. Many of them are already being developed for other types of cancer that have the same mutations. "We now have a good view of what goes wrong in breast cancer," said Joe Gray, a genetic expert at Oregon Health & Science University, who was not involved in the study. "We haven?t had that before."

The study focused on the most common types of breast cancer that are thought to arise in the milk duct. It concentrated on early breast cancers that had not yet spread to other parts of the body in order to find genetic changes that could be attacked, stopping a cancer before it metastasized.

story continues below

The study?s biggest surprise involved a particularly deadly breast cancer whose tumor cells resemble basal cells of the skin and sweat glands, which are present in the deepest layer of the skin. These breast cells form a scaffolding for milk duct cells.

This type of cancer is often called triple negative and accounts for a small percentage of breast cancer.

But researchers found that this cancer was entirely different from the other types of breast cancer and much more resembles ovarian cancer and a type of lung cancer.

"It?s incredible," said Dr. James Ingle of the Mayo Clinic, one of the study?s 348 authors, of the ovarian cancer connection. "It raises the possibility that there may be a common cause."

It raises the possibility that some women could be treated with less toxic drugs for ovarian cancer rather than with a type of drug, anthracyclines, which has harsh side effects.

Anthracyclines, Ellis said, "are the drugs most breast cancer patients dread because they are associated with heart damage and leukemia."

Such cancers are often called triple negative but the study researchers call them basal-like.

Next Page >

Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/54953826-68/cancer-breast-cancers-genetic.html.csp

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Pakistan disowns bounty on anti-Islam filmmaker

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? The Pakistani government on Monday distanced itself from an offer by one of its Cabinet ministers to pay $100,000 for anyone who kills the maker of an anti-Islam film, saying the offer does not represent official government policy.

The offer by Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour has drawn criticism in Pakistan even though anger against the film runs high in this predominantly Muslim country.

Bilour said Saturday that he would pay the reward money out of his own pocket. He also appealed to al-Qaida and Taliban militants to contribute to "a noble cause" of eliminating the filmmaker.

The film, made in the United States and entitled "Innocence of Muslims," has enraged many Muslims around the world for its portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a child molester. At least 51 people, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, have been killed in violence linked to protests over the film, which also has renewed debate over freedom of expression in the U.S. and in Europe.

In Islamabad, the Foreign Office said in a statement Monday that the bounty put on the filmmaker's head reflected Bilour's personal view and was not Pakistan's official policy.

The minister belongs to the secular Awami National Party, an ally in the government of President Asif Ali Zardari. The ANP is also the ruling party in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Bilour's comments appealing to al-Qaida and the Taliban also struck a nerve within his own party, which is considered anti-Taliban and has lost several leaders in the fight against the insurgency.

His colleague in parliament Bushra Gohar demanded the party force Bilour to explain himself. A party spokesman Haji Adeel said the statement was Bilour's personal view, and that the party had sought an explanation from him.

"We are a secular party," he said. "We consider al-Qaida and Taliban as our enemy."

On Friday, Pakistan observed a national holiday, which it termed the "Day of Love for the Prophet," and called on people to go out on the streets to protest against the anti-Islam film peacefully. But the protests turned violent, and at least 21 people were killed. Rioters set fire to government and public property including a church and several cinemas. A number of Pakistani militant groups that are officially banned took part in the demonstrations.

Analysts and columnists have criticized the Pakistani government's decision to call a national holiday, saying it was appeasing radical Islamists. Others have said by calling a national holiday the government managed to keep thousands of potential demonstrators outside of the capital since all businesses were closed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-disowns-bounty-anti-islam-filmmaker-075431265.html

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android trial licensing

I would like to give trial of the app for some time.on expiry of this time, the app shouldn't' start.

You can't stop it from starting, but you can close it immediately on it's start after checking.

If a user installs the trail version for the second time, the app should be able to detect it and refuse.

Store device details on a server, and check with the server if a trial was previously done on this device. Use IMEI or MAC addresses to distinguish devices. Remember to disclose to the user that you're taking those addresses from them.

The app should detect if the user tries to modify the dates inorder to extend the trial period.

Use encryption/checksums on your files. If you can't decrypt the data to an expected format, or the checksum fails, your files were modified.

On launch of the app, it should check whether it is installed from authorised source like googleplay.... or side loaded.

Use LVL.

Source: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12552527/android-trial-licensing

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20+ Essential Real Estate Website Templates, Best Practises And ...

In most cases, the online presentation of your real estate company, your products and your services is crucial to the number of customers and their confidence in your company. In this context, real estate website templates and inspiration from the best websites is an essential part of the design process.

When a family decides to get a new place to live, it is often a serious and economically heavy decision. We all know that it is quite expensive to buy or rent a place to live and that it has a significant impact on our private economy. The trend is, therefore, not surprising that property seekers often make extensive research online before they make a decision.

Not surprisingly, it is necessary to have a well thought out and well-functioning website if you are in the real estate industry. This area is, in fact, essential for the activity of your business and determines how much money you can earn.

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Disclosure: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links (at no extra cost to you). I recommend that you do your own independent research before purchasing any product or service. This article is not a guideline, a recommendation or endorsement of specific products.

To do it the right way, we need to think of real estate websites as a funnel, which has to attract and retain potential buyers in such a way that they take the actions, we want them to. This is not going to happen all by it selves. Therefore, I have decided to share some best practice guidelines, and real estate website templates to get you started.

First let?s have a look at the powerful templates that will make your life a whole lot easier building a perfect real estate website.

WP Pro Real Estate 3 Responsive WordPress Theme ? DEMO

WP Pro Real Estate 3 is a powerful responsive real estate theme built to showcase your listings. It is loaded with relevant features like the drop & drag homepage builder and slider, tons of short codes, custom widgets, page templates etc. It can be used for building awesome websites for real estate, vacation rentals, automotive sales and more.

ElegantEstate Real Estate WordPress Theme ? DEMO

ElegantEstate turns your WordPress blog into a full-feature real estate website. The theme makes browsing your listings easy and adds special integration features for property info, photos, Google Maps and more. With this theme, you can help increase sales by establishing an elegant and professional online presence today.

Openhouse Real Estate & Automotive car dealership ? DEMO

Openhouse and Automotive are some of the most advanced and full featured themes build for real estate websites. It is very popular and well supported. Have a look at all the advanced features and see if this is what you need.

WP Pro Real Estate 4 Responsive WordPress Theme ? DEMO

WP Pro Real Estate 4 is a new update version of WP Pro Real Estate 3. It has all the features you need, and it is responsive to look good on any mobile device.

WPestatico ? Powerful Real Estate WordPress Theme ? DEMO

WPestatico is a WP real estate theme. It embodies a powerful solution for real estate websites with lots of features and functionalities that perfectly fit an online real estate business. The theme has custom fields like title, description, image gallery, featured option, price, year built, living area, bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens number. Plus the address is connected to Google Maps and shows the property on a map.

HomeQuest ? Real Estate HTML Theme ? DEMO

This real estate HTML theme is built for real estate agencies, brokers and directories. HomeQuest HTML has a nice design and a bunch of features that will make your website user friendly.

Home Made: Real Estate Theme ? DEMO

Home Made is a modern type real estate template created with several options, layouts and more features bundled. It includes 20 background patterns, 10 fonts, 15 jquery effects, 12 PSD files, 32 HTML files and 1 PHP file. You can easily change background patterns, change header fonts, change layout from the right sidebar to the left sidebar and also includes full-width page.

WP Pro Real Estate 2 WordPress Theme ? DEMO

This theme uses WordPress 3.0?s Custom Post Types and Taxonomies offering unparalleled property listing management and search capabilities. The theme has all the relevant features like Google Maps integration, advanced search, custom user/agent profiles, easy image management and more! It is not responsive though.

Royal Estate Real Estate Theme ? DEMO

This site template for real estate websites has a unique design and a lot of features like the flex slider with thumbnails, a ?Quick Search Form? with switcher effects, custom carousel for listings, loan calculator (html only), Google Map and more.

Locality ? Real Estate WordPress Theme ? DEMO

Locality is an attractive and purpose oriented Real Estate WordPress Theme with all the features you need for your real estate website.

Real Estate 2 ? DEMO

Real Estate 2 is a good template choice for the niche real estate market with a focus on awesome back-end features while also providing clean looks and great usability. It is not responsive though.

Realtr ? DEMO

Use WordPress and Realtr to create the ultimate real estate website. The theme has good features and functionality. The completely widgetized homepage offers great flexibility, and it has built-in SEO.

Smooth Real Estate WordPress Theme ? DEMO

Smooth is a WordPress Real Estate theme, complete with Multi Category Search, Google Maps Integration, Agent Photo and Logo uploader that offers a professional and extremely affordable solution for Realtors and Agents to showcase their properties with ease. Add your listings with the easy and flexible Dynamic Real Estate Framework, edit-add-modify-delete all features, labels and values within the WordPress administration and upload unlimited photos to your galleries with latest WordPress features.

WP Real Estate Plugin ? DEMO

WP Real Estate is a full listing plugin for homes and commercial properties to use in WordPress powered websites. If your WordPress theme is not fully powered to run a real estate website a WordPress plugin like this can really be helpful.

Welocally Places Plugin ? DEMO

Many plugins let you map places to the standard Google Map pin look and feel, but Welocally Places Map Plugin lets you actually link those places back to your content and categories with maps that stand out and engage your visitors. With rich information such as website, phone number, and driving directions you can improve our site?s reputation as a local referrer.

Best Practise And Inspiration For?Real Estate Websits

1. Provide free, valuable information

You need to provide free and valuable information to get enough and relevant traffic to your website and become known as a brand that is an authority in the field, your website must contain the relevant information for home buyers. Example from home.yahoo.com.

2. Offer additional, relevant information and get contact information

It is crucial for your business to get contact information from interested customers. Once they are comfortable with your company and your website, they are more likely to sign up and exchange their contact information to find additional relevant information. You should provide a sign-up feature that save the homes found on your website and send new listings if visitors sign up.

You can also use reports and additional information to make visitors sign up. Remember, to get their attention aroused enough to have their mail address the topics has to? hits the spot and answer exactly the question that your segment of home buyers or sellers may have. Example from trulia.com.

3. Use contact info professionally

Be sure to send the promised information right away e.g. via an autoresponder. Also, be sure not to waste the website generated lead. The customer will go on quickly, and you need to make sure he does not forget about your company and the lovely homes shown.

Send relevant, ongoing? follow-up mails and consider whether it makes sense contacting? the possible customer and offer your advice or other services.

4. Follow real estate web design best practise

Overall, it should be very easy for website visitors to search and find items that meet their desires for a new home. It is important to have a good search function that makes it easy to narrow your search and find exactly the type of property that is relevant. Example from Realtor.com.

Most real estate websites use a web form with various input fields ? such as property type, property features, price range, zip code, etc. They also show listing on a map like this example from homes.yahoo.

Nice pictures of homes for sale are also quite essential to give interested visitors to good impression and create real interest to move forward in the process like this example from Realtor.com.

For more inspiration check out some of the leading real estate websites like Yahoo Real Estate, Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, MSN Real Estate and Homes.com.

I hope you find this information helpful. Please share it to friends and colleagues and remember to give us feedback in the comment section.

Author : Andy

Andy started writing on Tripwire back in 2010. He is into WordPress topics, Web design, Web-development and also interested in SEO and Online Marketing. He?s also writing for other blogs and he is a passionate blues musician and a family-man as well.

Tagged as: real estate website design, real estate website templates, real estate wordpress theme, real estate wordpress themes, wordpress real estate, wordpress real estate theme, wordpress real estate themes

Source: http://www.tripwiremagazine.com/2012/09/real-estate-website-templates.html

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Factual Place Rank Wants To Make Location Data More Relevant

Factual is a company that provides open data sets for developers, most notably its location data sets and APIs. The company just announced that it has added thousands of new locations to its U.S. point of interest sets, for a total of over 22 million places in the U.S and 62 million places around the world.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/5xWvOnJSbe0/

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Be A Better Blogger, Know How People Use The Internet

As far as I remember, the internet was primarily used for two things ? research and communication. Back then, people went online for information but were unable to voice out their opinions on articles and exchange thoughts with readers. Communication lines were also limited to email and chat rooms. Since the advent of the World Wide Web, the internet evolved into an online community where we get to have identities that are separate or closely knit to our personal lives.

The influx of internet users gave bloggers and other personalities an open window. For them it was a chance to make readers out of internet users and this holds true until today. If you want to follow their footsteps, one of the first things you should do is analyze how people use the internet. A deep understanding of these trends can help you be a better blogger since it allows you to address their needs.

How people use the internet

1. Communication. These days, people still use the internet for communication but its reach has extended well and beyond. People can now communicate through instant messaging (IM) services, social networks, forums, and blog comments in addition to email. Today, you can communicate through voice and video; not just in written words.

2. Social networking. People often use social networks to get in touch with family and friends but they can also be used to meet new individuals based on the same interests.

3. Sharing, transferring, downloading, and storing files. With the availability of high-speed options, file servers, cloud services, and torrents, more people are using the internet to download, share, transfer, and store files in a virtual pool.

4. Entertainment. People go online these days to play games, stream music and videos, and find other sources of entertainment.

5. Learn about the latest news. When people hear something from social networks for the first time, one of the first things they do is look it up at search engines.

6. Find information. Whether they need to troubleshoot something or simply want to learn more about a particular subject, the internet serves as an online library for people of all ages.

Being a better blogger

1. Be accessible. Since people use the internet to communicate, you want to be accessible to your readers. Set up a separate email and IM where readers can reach you if they need your expert advice. The same accounts leaves your doors open for advertising, sponsorship, and other business opportunities.

2. Sign up for social media. Readers can reach you more easily through social networks. More importantly though, social media can expose your blog to wider audiences and bring in traffic. Many bloggers use their social networks to share posts on their blogs. When you get enough followers, they can even help you land some money-making gigs.

3. Share useful links to download sources on your posts. Readers will appreciate your effort to make things easier for them. Make sure that the sources you link to are reliable and legal.

4. Make your content more interesting to readers by adding media to your site. Share a related video about your recent blog post or come up with video tutorials and podcasts. Don?t forget to sign up for accounts on YouTube and other related services to keep your media content organized. These accounts can help you establish your online identity and make it easier for people to find you.

5. Update your blog more frequently. You want to be one of the first sources of news and information.

6.Publish articles which readers will find useful. Rather than making everyone read your content, you want to target people who are interested in your topics.

About the Author:

Judene Macariola has been blogging for five years. He usually writes gadget reviews and technology but once in a while, he shares tips on blogging. Judene currently works at Broadband Expert, a company that helps home and business owners find the perfect internet providers for their needs.

Source: http://serveideas.com/blogger-people-internet-2/

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Important Advice For The Best Internet Marketing

The following information is easy to digest if you?re interested in learning Internet marketing techniques. We will lay out some really shrewd tips and guidelines in a way that you can quickly understand and put to work.

You will get more business if you offer a number of payment options. Although it seems fine to just offer the credit card payment option, it is much better to also offer options like bank accounts and systems of online payment, such as Paypal.

If you have an online business you must work hard to promote it. It is very rare to stumble upon a successful business that moved their way into the spotlight because of pure luck. Do you think Anheuser Busch just hit a stroke of luck when they developed their brands of beer? Of course they did not. It took quite a bit of skilled marketing to turn it into a best-seller.

Make sure the design of your website makes your links highly visible. If your website is too difficult to navigate, you risk losing potential visitors to frustration.

Don?t let your relationship with new customers end at the point of sale. After they have the product, ask the customer to take a survey or write a review.

Think about using simple terminology on your Internet site. Sometimes people can think that the products on your site are complicated, so when you add ?easy to use? people are more likely to buy these type of products. Keep things easy for your customers to retain their business.

Make yourself an expert in any topic on your site. This is important because not only will you gain credibility by providing a vast amount of correct and pertinent information, but it is extremely easy to lose credibility if people can see through your attempts to dishonestly claim to be an expert.

Offer a money back guarantee to your customers when you market your business online. This way, you will appear to be a legitimate business and your potential customers will feel like they are safe to trust you with their money. Trust is incredibly important with online businesses. The more trust a customer has in your product, the more likely they are to buy it. A guarantee goes a long way.

When requesting a reputable site to provide their readers with a link to your own site, offer a ready-made and appealing button for them to use. Anyone who likes your site will be more than happy to provide a link back to your site, just as long as you provide a link to their site, too.

You should include samples and coupons of your products in your boxes that you ship. Many consumers view coupons as a bonus, and will feel more compelled to become a repeat customer.

If you want to be successful at Internet marketing, you must have a very clear understanding of your competition. Find out what they are doing, and do it better. This is a key component in Internet marketing.

Now you should know more about Internet marketing. Hopefully, you?ve learned tips you can use toward your Internet marketing campaign. By using this helpful advice, you will be more knowledgeable and also increase your income

Eric Green

Skype ID: thedigitalgangster

P.S. If you are burnt out of trying to learn all the ?Guru? Marketing Strategies and Techniques they try to sell you on each and every week? Cut the B.S. and learn exactly what you need to know to generate a realistic 2-3k Residual Income in the next 60-90 days? Click Here

Related posts:

1. Important Advice For The Best Internet Marketing
2. Getting Advice About Internet Marketing That Will Help
3. Internet Marketing Advice That Is Easy To Understand
4. Internet Marketing Advice That Can Easily Work For You
5. Use This Advice For Better Internet Marketing

Source: http://thedigitalgangster.com/important-advice-for-the-best-internet-marketing-2/

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Dot Earth Blog: Glacier Retreat Prompts Vatican Approval of New Alpine Ice Prayer

5:30 p.m. | Updated with a tweet |Jack Cushman, a Times journalist with a longstanding interest in the environment, just sent me a recent National Geographic web feature on a Vatican decision, prompted by the warming climate, to approve a change in a centuries-old annual Catholic ritual and prayer in a couple of villages high in the Swiss Alps. The longstanding rite was aimed at stopping the rapid advance of nearby glaciers during a period now called the Little Ice Age. Now, with the glaciers rapidly retreating, the revised prayer speaks of the value of the ice.

Here?s a snippet:

?We prayed for the ice to recede, and our prayer worked?too well,? said Herbert Volken, mountain guide and mayor of Conches, the district that includes Fiesch.

In 2009 the local parish council petitioned the Vatican to allow a change in the wording of the prayer. A year later the Holy See agreed, and Volken hopes the new prayer will work as well as the last one.

The detailed piece brought back memories of my visit to the same region in 1993 to write a feature for Cond? Nast Traveler Magazine on how the vanishing of these great glaciers was challenging the identity of the Swiss. I reposted that feature in full here in 2008. Here?s the opening section, which hinted then at what has now been made official:

In 1818, the farmers who ranged cattle on the steep mountainsides above Brig, a small town in southern Switzerland, organized a religious procession to deter a looming catastrophe. They marched from the church up a steep valley to the Aletsch, the largest glacier in the Alps. The 16-mile-long river of ice, 3,000 feet deep at its center, was fed by the endless snows falling on the two-mile-high ramparts of the Aletschhorn, Jungfrau, Munch, and adjacent peaks. Through more than a century of unusually cold weather, glaciers throughout Europe had been advancing steadily, and now the great, grinding mass of the Aletsch was uprooting a forest and threatening to overwhelm the farmers? summer cottages and cow pastures. Priests led the way to the glacier?s gravel-encrusted snout. They prayed for divine intervention. A tall wooden cross was planted in the earth to turn back the ice.

The march to the glacier evolved into an annual rite. Finally, around 1865, the forces of nature complied. The cold spell, later dubbed the Little Ice Age, ended. The Aletsch began to retreat.

These days, in an ironic turnabout, some residents of Brig and surrounding alpine communities are quietly praying for the Aletsch to come back. Once the glacier began to withdraw, it never stopped. The ice has melted back more than a mile into the mountains from the spot where the cross was planted. It has lost more than 600 feet of thickness in places, and is still shrinking about 11 feet a year. The Aletsch is not alone. All told, the Swiss Alps have lost 50 percent of the mass of glacial ice that was there 130 years ago. And the melting continues. [Read the rest.]

You can get a nice look at the Aletsch glacier, the focus of my piece, here:

This Twitter comment is worth posting as an addendum:

Source: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/glacier-retreat-prompts-vatican-approval-of-new-alpine-ice-prayer/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Libyans march against militias after attack

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) ? More than 10,000 Libyans are marching through the eastern city of Benghazi, demanding the disbanding of powerful militias that run rampant in the city.

The giant march, which filled a major boulevard in the city of 1 million, is part of a new public backlash against militias sparked by last week's attack against the U.S. Consulate here that killed the ambassador and three other Americans. At least one militia is suspected of participating in the attack.

Multiple armed factions operate in Benghazi and other Libyan cities, boasting greater power than the weak government and security forces.

The crowd of men, women and children chanted, "No, no to militias" and carried signs and banners reading, "Where is the army? Where is the police?" and "Benghazi is in a trap."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/libyans-march-against-militias-attack-160626442.html

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White Sox fall, stay 2 ahead of Tigers

Associated Press Sports

updated 11:30 p.m. ET Sept. 20, 2012

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Chicago White Sox have no more games left against the Kansas City Royals, and that's a good thing for the AL Central leaders.

Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez threw out Alex Rios at the plate and picked off Alexei Ramirez at third base, and the White Sox kept missing chances Thursday night in a 4-3 loss to the Royals.

Eric Hosmer singled home the winning run on a 0-2 pitch with two outs in the ninth inning.

Chicago stayed two games ahead of Detroit, which lost in the afternoon to Oakland, with 13 games remaining. The White Sox went 6-12 against the Royals this year, including one stretch of six consecutive losses.

"We've played them tough all year," Hosmer said. "It's baseball. Certain teams match up well against other teams."

After going 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position in Wednesday's 3-0 loss to Kansas City, the White Sox went 1 for 8 in those situations and stranded seven runners. Chicago is hitting .190 with runners in scoring position over the past 19 games.

"If you keep shooting yourself in the foot it's going to come back to bite you," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "If you keep having opportunities and not taking advantage, a team like this will beat you."

Rios tried to score with one out in the third when Jeremy Guthrie's pitch rolled a few feet behind Perez. But Perez's toss to Guthrie cut down Rios at the plate.

"Alex thinks he can go, then he hesitates," Ventura said. "That one's an instinct play, you go or you stop. It's little things like that we have to stop doing."

Rios' out became more magnified when Kevin Youkilis singled to left two pitches later.

"If you hesitate and don't get a good read, bad stuff happens when you do that," Rios said. "You have to be aware of the situation, with one out I could have scored on a fly ball. It was a tough read, a bad angle. I hesitated. I've got to go without hesitating."

Perez nabbed Ramirez in the fourth for his fifth pickoff, most among major league catchers.

"I don't know if they've got quicksand around third, but we've been losing guys over there," Ventura said.

Chicago wasted an early 3-0 lead and lost to the sub-.500 Royals for the ninth time in their last 11 meetings.

Billy Butler led off the Royals ninth with a single against Jesse Crain (2-3). Pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson stole second with two down and Jeff Francoeur was walked intentionally. Matt Thornton relieved and Hosmer singled down the third-base line.

Greg Holland (7-4) worked a scoreless ninth for the victory.

Alejandro De Aza, Adam Dunn and A.J. Pierzynski singled in the first to put the White Sox in front 1-0.

Guthrie committed a throwing error in the second that led to two unearned runs. He walked Dan Johnson and gave up an infield single to Ramirez, then made a wild throw to first on Gordon Beckham's sacrifice that allowed a run to score. Dewayne Wise added an RBI grounder.

Guthrie allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings. The right-hander is 4-0 with a 1.75 ERA in his past nine starts, all of which the Royals have won.

"I didn't have great command or great stuff, but I relied on defensive plays," he said. "Sal made three great plays. I don't think I really settled in. Really each pitch seemed like a struggle, not many at-bats did I feel like I was in control. It was a real struggle. I didn't have a feel for much of what I was doing."

Francisco Liriano held the Royals to one hit in the first four innings, but gave up a two-run triple to Johnny Giavotella in the fifth.

"Gio's hit turned it around," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "We were doing absolutely nothing until then."

Billy Butler doubled in Alex Gordon in the sixth, tying it at 3. Butler has 99 RBIs, the most by a Royals player since Carlos Beltran's 100 in 2003.

NOTES: White Sox 1B Paul Konerko was held out of the lineup with a sore back. Rios replaced him in the cleanup slot. ... The White Sox continue their trip with a weekend series at Los Angeles. RHP Jake Peavy will start Friday night against the Angels. He is 0-2 with a 5.04 ERA in four career starts vs. the Angels. ... RHP Luis Mendoza, who had strep throat and was scratched from a Wednesday start, will start Friday for the Royals against Cleveland. ... Perez has picked off a franchise-record eight in 104 career games. Darrell Porter held the club record with seven in 492 Royals games from 1977-80.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Nationals secure playoff berth

The Washington Nationals brought postseason baseball back to the nation's capital for the first time since 1933, clinching a playoff spot Thursday night with a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/49113733/ns/sports-baseball/

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