This week at Best Buy Canada sees the Back To School Gaming Sale go into full effect with sales on the biggest Nintendo 3DS games and some very good games that release earlier this year on the other systems.
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Free copy of Modern Warfare 3 with the Xbox 360 Summer Value Bundle ? $249.99 (save $50)
$10 credit with Madden NFL 13 purchase
Trade 2 games from this list, get Guild Wars 2 or Madden NFL 13 free
Kinect Sensor ? $109.99 (was $149.99)
Free $50 gift card with PlayStation Vita Madden 13 Bundle ? $249.99
Xbox Live 12 Month Gold Card ? $39.99 (save $20)
Xbox 360 320GB HDD ? $99.99 (save $50)
Turtle Beach X12, P11 ? $39.99 (save $20) each
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Back To School Gaming Sale
$19.99
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary ? save $20
Dead Island GOTY ? save $10
Assassin?s Creed: Revelations ? save $20
Just Dance 3 ? save $10
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (PSV, Wii, 3DS) ? save $10 ? $20
More and more organizations see the importance of sustainable business practices. They have recognized that there are very substantial financial benefits to be obtained by integrating sustainability thinking and practices into all their business processes. Once you take into account the wider, longer-term, and often hidden costs, the financial benefits of good, practical, sustainable, working practices are enormous.
Moreover, studies indicate the valuation differential between the most and least eco-efficient companies? increases over time. It is therefore important to note: poor environmental performance could suggest a sign of operational inefficiency. And, with ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) being increasingly integrated into investment portfolio management, professional investment managers begin to view embedded sustainability as a proxy for how effectively a business is managed.
With this in mind, support needs to be garnered from CFOs and their teams, who have a unique vantage of operations, seeing it from a purely financial paradigm. This makes the process of tracking interdependent environmental, social and economic costs and benefits across the organization and value chain easier, reducing risk to the balance sheet ? not to mention risk mitigation against the failure to disclose environmental and social risk, which could lead to protection against reputation damage, poor peer rankings in investor research and hobbled future value.
And, as CFOs become more engaged with sustainability, they must connect with energy management and sustainability teams, touching all critical business functions, to deliver assurance of current and future energy and resource project savings claims. Indeed, with ?green? technology being looked upon as a key to eco-efficiency, to optimize use, the procurement of such technologies must be coupled to the sustainability strategy, linking organizational processes and behaviors to these new technologies, since eco-efficiency spans energy intensity and energy efficiency, as well as the durability and recyclability of a product life cycle.
This can be illustrated through life cycle analysis. This allows companies to include all energy and material input to the life cycle of a product or service to create a meaningful metric for the footprint and materiality of that product and service. And, by performing regular benchmarks to determine which factors render least impact, companies develop a sensitive understanding of where material can be reused and recycled back into another life cycle process, creating new revenue streams. Indeed, the Ellen McArthur Foundation has estimated $380bn is the net potential material cost saving opportunity in the EU from the adoption of such circular business practices.
Furthermore, for CEOs, the passport of sustainability delivers clear environmental, social and economic governance and, as such, assists in the protection against economic vulnerability through the momentum of changing market forces and mandatory reporting. Not that the mere fact of environmental compliance allows a company to distinguish itself from its competitors, since most intra-industry peers are affected by compliance in a similar way. In point of fact, real benefits to organizations will come from more rigorous forms of environmental and social performance. As such, decision makers must take themselves on the illuminating journey of sustainability, creating experiences which help them instinctively grasp the mismatches that may exist between what the new strategy requires and the actions and behavior that have brought success up to this point.
And, by connecting the board, senior managers and employees, there is a support base for all influencers to feel connected to the strategy and create a positive halo for the brand amongst staff. Developing the right experience, chemistry and attitudes. It creates the right spirit with which customers are engaged. Additionally, a framework of robust and contextualized reporting can be used to refine sustainability messages supporting brand and reputation to meet with the new customer and wider stakeholder demands and expectations. In fact, with reputation being viewed as a strategic asset, leveraged correctly, sustainability will aid gaining competitive advantage. After all, is it not the firm?s responsibility for the image projected to customers, suppliers, investors and other societal stakeholders? To engender trust. And, society does render legitimacy for the organization to exist.
Similarly, experience is showing, as highly qualified eco-boomers come to the work market from university, they are choosing whom to work for with more consideration as to the values of the employer, making sustainability a major factor in decision-making. In response, business has to adapt to the changing requirements and needs of the workforce and its ability to attract best talent as people revise their goals, priorities and expectations as they look to make efficiencies in how and where to live and work. Moreover, with such talent there is a natural progression toward evolving products and services to reduce customer impact and building further the bonds of trust and legitimacy to operate, delivering long-term, sustained, cost reduction and value creation.
Furthermore, sustainability helps protect against the vulnerability of employee instability. For example: unequal and disengaged employees foster discontent. And would this not be expected to have a negative affect on productivity? Therefore, sustainability requires focus on economic performance, employee development and cohesion, ensuring that goods, services, labor, resource productivity and financial capital are allocated in the most productive manner in order to deliver technological readiness, business sophistication, and innovation ? representing both short and long-term drivers for competitiveness.
In conclusion, repeated evidence suggests a positive relationship between sustainability performance and higher value. As a strategy, it?s about optimizing the allocation and use of resource and exposing hidden costs and risks. Additionally, an excellent reputation gives an organization character, which is a strategic asset. Leveraged properly, it delivers competitive advantage. And, a company driving eco-efficient products and services lowers the negative impact and burden on its customers, the environment and society, making it more attractive to do business with ? to reap positional advantage in a highly charged, cost-conscious, highly competitive market place.
Christopher Gleadle is author of Sustainable Growth Through Sustainable Business and founder & CEO of the sustainability performance agency? The CMG Consultancy.
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The United States is rapidly becoming a fatherless society. Dan Davenport reported, ?In 1960, 5.8 million American kids lived in single-parent families. Today, that number has more than tripled, to an astonishing 18 million. Another figure is equally startling: nearly 40 percent of our children do not live in the same home as their biological father? (Better Homes and Gardens [June 1996], 46).
David Blankenhorn re-ported, ?About one-third of all childbirths in the nation now occur outside of marriage. In most of these cases, the place for the father?s name on the birth certificate is simply left blank. In at least two or every three cases of unwed parenthood, father is never legally identified? (Fatherless America 10). Another wrote that ?27.1 percent of all American children are born into single-parent homes, a number that is on the rise. In the black community, that figure is an astounding 68 percent? (Critical Issues [I:2], ?Family Values,? Web address: http://www.leaderu.com/critical/family.html).
When Dan Quayle called our attention to this issue by commenting on the Murphy Brown sitcom in which the leading character decided to bear a child outside of wedlock, he was soundly attacked by Hollywood. The New York Daily News headline that reported on Quayle?s Murphy Brown speech was titled ?Quayle to Murphy Brown: You Tramp!? However, more and more sociologists are reaching the same conclusion Dan Quayle was right!
The Impact of Fatherless Homes
Enough time has elapsed since the social revolution of the 1960s that sociologists are able to critically analyze the impact of the breakdown of fatherhood on the lives of the children. Here are some of their findings:
Poverty. ?Over half of all children living with a single mother are living in poverty: a rate five to six times that of kids living with two parents.?
General Health Problems: ?An Australian study of over 2,100 adolescents found that teens from disrupted families had more general health problems, were more likely to display signs of emotional problems, and were more like to be sexually active than kids from intact families.?
Child Abuse: ?Child abuse is significantly more likely to occur in single parent homes than in intact families. In a study of 156 victims of child sexual abuse by the U.S. Department of Justice, the majority of the children were found to come from disrupted or single-parent homes. Only 31 percent of the children lived with both natural parents.?
Crime: ?Children from single parent homes are more likely to get involved in crime than those growing up in traditional homes. Robert Rector, a policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation, has found that across the economic spectrum, children from single-parent households are more involved in crimes and drug than kids form two-parent homes. `The most accurate indicator of future delinquency in children is whether they are reared in one or two parent homes? (Critical Issues [I:2], ?Family Values,? Web ad-dress: http://www.leaderu.com/critical/family.html).
These conclusions concur with those of Blankenhorn in his book Fatherless America.
Violence: ?. . . fatherlessness is a primary generator of violence among young men? Surveys of child well-being repeatedly show that children living apart from their fathers are far more likely than other children to be expelled or suspended from school, to display emotional and behavioral problems, to have difficulty getting along with their peers, and to get in trouble with the police? (31). ?Boys raised by traditionally masculine fathers generally do not commit crimes. Fatherless boys commit crimes? (30).
Poverty: ?In married-couple homes in the United States in 1992, about 13 percent of all children under the age of six lived in poverty; in single-mother families, about 66 percent of young children lived in poverty a ratio of 5 to 1? (42).
Domestic Violence Against Women: ?Of all violent crimes against women committed by intimates during this period, about 65 percent were committed by either boy-friends or ex-husbands, compared with 9 percent by husbands? (35). The situation of a divorced woman con-trolling the husband?s right to see his children, a live-in boyfriend (or husband), resentment for the divorce and child support payments, feeling powerless to change it all of these created a combustible atmosphere that frequently results in violence against women.
Child Sexual Abuse: ?A number of studies have shown that girls living with non-natal fathers [boyfriends and stepfathers] are at higher risk for sexual abuse than girls living with natal fathers? (41). ?. . . a young child left alone with mother?s boyfriend experiences substantially elevated risks of abuse? (Idem.).
Adolescent Child Bearing: Garfinkel and McLanahan?s study of fatherless homes reported that ?daughters of single parents are 53 percent more likely to marry as teenagers, 111 percent more likely to have children as teenagers, 164 percent more likely to have a premarital birth, and 92 percent more like to dissolve their own marriages? (46).
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Messages We Are Sending About Fatherhood
Our culture is sending distinct messages about father-hood in a number of ways. Television portrays fatherhood in a number of ways. Consider the role of fathers as portrayed in the following programs:
*Murphy Brown: The man is only necessary for sperm to conceive a child. After the child has been conceived, the man is not needed or wanted in the life of the mother.
*The Cosby Show: The man is portrayed as a ?Father Knows Worst? type of guy, with the brains for knowing how to run the family clearly residing in the mother.
*Archie Bunker: The man is portrayed as an ignorant, prejudiced tyrant over the family.
We are sending the message to our children that divorce is a normal part of life. In divorce, the mother gets the custody of the children, the father sends child support payments and visits on every other week-end, and the divorced mother and father go on happily in their lives. Parents who divorce with hostility are encouraged to learn how to have a happy divorce. Not ever is the message being sent that divorce is not the solution to family problems. Even in the best divorces, both parents remarry and go their separate ways. The father is consumed with the responsibilities of his new family and his children see less and less of him. Within a couple of years, his children will rarely see him.
Restoring the Role of Fatherhood
In the darkness created by the deterioration in the home, Christians have a wonderful opportunity to display the light of the gospel, both in word and by example.
The word of the gospel is that God ordained that children be raised in the home of their natural mother and father. When God created the world, he created the home. Children were to be raised by Adam and Eve, not some state agency, a day-care center, a grandparent or close friend, but by the biological parents who conceived them (Gen. 2:18-25). The home is not a temporary arrangement for sexual gratification that is cast aside when the ?new? wears off. Rather, the gospel announces that marriage is a life-time commitment between a man and woman (Rom. 7:1-6). It is to last ?until death do us part.? This stable home is the best environment in which to rear children. Christians need to be preaching at every opportunity what God reveals about the home. The darkness of the world around us with reference to the family should cause each of us to preach what God reveals on the home to our friends and neighbors.
We can display the light of the gospel in our own homes. When father and mother love each other, accept their respective roles of husband/father and wife/mother in the home, and bring up God-fearing children, their home will be a refreshing oasis in the midst of troubled homes. Their children will not be troublemakers at school; they will show respect for their teachers and principals. They will learn their lessons and move on into higher education or specialized job training so that they can assume the roles of parents in their own homes. In contrast to the children of broken homes, this family will be an exemplary role model for others. Non-Christians will see the family of Christians and be drawn toward the God of the gospel who revealed how to have Christian homes.
Other messages about manhood emphasize that father-hood is being respectfully discharged so long as the child support payments are paid in a timely fashion and occasionally the father makes time to visit his children. The father is especially good if he is a ?Disney World Father,? one who takes his child to an amusement park on week-ends or otherwise buys the children things the mother cannot afford. Can the role of ?fatherhood? be satisfied by a man who visits for a few hours every other weekend?
Tired of the same-old DJ equipment or chiptune gear? Then may want to consider this new and unique piece of kit from Toronto-based Portmanteau Devices. Dubbed the Pianocade, it's a synthesizer and MIDI controller that, as you can see, is disguised as an arcade authentic joystick (albeit one with quite a few extra buttons). Naturally, it's also designed to be fully hackable and customizable (both the hardware and software are open source), and it even includes some strap mounts so you can wear it like a keytar. Sadly, the one thing it can't be used for at the moment is an actual USB joystick, although Portmanteau hopes to add that feature before it ships, or roll out a firmware upgrade later failing that. Those interested can get their pre-orders in now for $250 or $325 Canadian for the one and two octave models, respectively, with shipments are expected to go out 8-12 weeks after the end of the pre-order period on September 14th. An electronics only package is also available for $100 if you'd prefer to build your own. Head on past the break to check it out in action.
As much as I like travel, I dislike most travel writing. Publishing is easy these days, and that allows a lot of hacks to get their voices heard. You get lots of overwritten descriptions and ludicrous praise, all leaning on the same old?clich?s.
Many decent writers have compiled lists of travel writing clich?s. They?re poked fun at them, skewered them, begged other writers to just please stop. But new ones abound! These are some of the latest I?ve spotted floating in the travel writing toilet.
Staycation ? The first time I saw this, it was a clever commentary on an American economy that made it hard for many people to travel. Now it?s just a tool for hospitality-industry marketing stooges to entice people in a given city to take advantage of some sort of deal at their properties. Take Phoenix: It has no leisure travel during the summer, so hotels chirp about discounted ?staycations? to put swimsuit-clad butts into their pools. And now the travel writing industry is continues to ride it hard.
Bucket list ? A movie starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson inflicted this morbid phrase on us. Now it?s ubiquitous as ?My Big Fat Greek (Whatever). Not only is it a sign of a creatively bankrupt writer, but it?s also a great excuse to procrastinate. Instead of a bucket list, make yourself a ?next trip? list. It?s far more motivating. And you won?t sound like another wooly voice bleating about your bucket list.
Explore ? I shudder everytime a travel article exhorts me to ?explore? a destination. Look, I don?t care how remote or off the beaten path you travel: If it has signs posted or a travel article about it, someone else discovered, explored, mapped and catalogued it. Not you. ?Explore? is a slab of self-aggrandizement marinated in ego. You?re not Admiral Byrd or Sir Edmund Hillary. Get over it.
Top/Best/Most Lists ? I?m guilty of making lists. And I?ll own up to using Top/Best/Most/Whatever. But then I realized something: There is no legit way to quantify the best of anything. You might be able to get away with most popular, best attended ? or something like that if you have the data. Otherwise, just tell me about 10 great glacier hikes or your 5 favorite themed hotel or 7 overnight hikes I shouldn?t miss.
Savvy traveler ? Google this term. You?ll get 217,000 results. ?Savvy? means you?re in your comfort zone. Put me anywhere in Asia, and I am not savvy. I?ll get by. But I?ll stumble and bumble and gain some humility. You can?t earn that perspective when you?re in a place that allows you to be ?savvy.? And another thing: No travel article can make you savvy ? only going somewhere, getting lost, digging your way out and connecting with the place will make you have a clue.
Guilty pleasures ? I hate the idea that anyone should conceal what makes them happy for fear of being judged. That defines a guilty pleasure: ?If my hipster fans find out I?d rather listen to old Warrant ballads than The Antlers, they won?t think I?m smart and cool.? Bollocks to them, then. If you love going to Las Vegas or going on cruises ? well, you and I probably won?t be travel buddies. But that?s OK ? there are all sorts of destinations and activities for all kinds of people. Go have fun and don?t worry about what I or anyone else thinks about it. Well, unless you?re making your bucket list and checking it twice ?
After decades of controversy, the all-male Augusta National Golf Club has admitted its first female members, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and business executive Darla Moore.
The prestigious Augusta National Golf Club is best known for hosting the Masters Tournament and the exclusivity surrounding the green jacket club.
Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne called the selection of the two new members "a joyous occasion" and a "significant and positive time in our club's history."
"These accomplished women share our passion for the game of golf and both are well known and respected by our membership," Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne said in a statement. "It will be a proud moment when we present Condoleezza and Darla their green jackets when the club opens this fall."
Rice, who served as secretary of state under President George W. Bush, said in a statement released by the club, "I have visited Augusta National on several occasions and look forward to playing golf, renewing friendships and forming new ones through this very special opportunity."
Rice's statement did not mention her ground breaking role or the club's long refusal to admit women members.
"I have long admired the important role Augusta National has played in the traditions and history of golf. I also have an immense respect for the Masters Tournament and its commitment to grow the game of golf, particularly with youth, here in the United States and throughout the world," she said.
Moore is the vice president of private investment company Rainwater, Inc. and founder and chair of nonprofit think tank, the Palmetto Institute.
"I am fortunate to have many friends who are members at Augusta National, so to be asked to join them as a member represents a very happy and important occasion in my life," Moore said in a statement. "Above all, Augusta National and the Masters Tournaments have always stood for excellence, and that is what is so important to me."
Since its inception in 1932, Augusta National has been embroiled in several heated debates for not allowing female club members.
The debate heightened in 2002 when Martha Burk of the National Council of Women's Organizations pressured the club to admit female members. The club's chairman at the time, William "Hootie" Johnson resisted, saying famously that women may one day be admitted to Augusta National, "but not at the point of a bayonet." The statement represented both the resolve of the club not to crumble under pressure.
The issue surfaced again in April when Virginia Rometty was appointed chief executive of IBM, a corporate sponsor of Augusta National. The CEO of IBM was traditionally admitted as a member of the club, but Rometty was not granted membership.
Another of Augusta National's club sponsors, AT&T commented on the historic admission.
"As a sponsor of The Masters, we applaud today's historic announcement by Augusta National and warmly welcome Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore as members of Augusta National," said AT&T's CEO Randall Stephenson.
Two Russian cosmonauts merged orbital construction with zero gravity sports in a spacewalk Monday (Aug. 20), when they moved a space station crane and ? with a mighty throw ? tossed a big steel ball into orbit.
Veteran spacewalkers Gennady Padalka and Yuri Malenchenko spent nearly six hours working outside the International Space Station to upgrade the orbiting lab during Monday's spacewalk, which began at 11:37 a.m. EDT (1337 GMT).
The spacewalk's main goal was to move the space station's Strela-2 crane from a Russian-built Pirs docking port to the station's Zarya control module. To move the Strela-2, Padalka rode at the end of different crane, and took time to enjoy a fabulous view of the Earth far below.
"It's light now ? beautiful," said Padalka, the station commander, in Russian, which was translated in a NASA broadcast. "Wow, what a beautiful view." Video from Padalka's helmet camera showed a bright blue Earth lined with white clouds below the space station. [More photos from today's spacewalk]
The Strela-2 crane works like an oversized, hand-operated telescoping pole used to move cargo outside the station. The crane needed to be moved because it was attached to the station's Pirs docking module, a module that will be jettisoned next year to make way for a new Russian space laboratory module, NASA officials said.
Padalka and Malenchenko got off to a late start on the job due to a leaky valve on the space station's Russian side, but swiftly made up for lost time by skipping rest breaks. By the end, the veteran spacewalkers were more than an hour ahead of schedule.
After moving the Strela-2 crane, Padalka tossed the 20-pound (9-kilogram) Spherical Satellite into orbit as part of a Russian space tracking experiment.
The small 21-inch-wide (53-centimeter) ball is essentially a target in space that Russian scientists will use to test space tracking techniques for monitoring space junk and how it re-enters Earth's atmosphere. The ball is expected to stay in orbit for about three months before falling back to Earth, NASA officials said.
Cameras mounted to the hull of the station beamed back amazing views of Padalka's throw, which was aimed to send the satellite below and behind the station so it won't threaten to hit the orbiting lab in the future.
"Beautiful! Do you see it?" Padalka exclaimed as the shiny satellite floated away. "And you can see the sun as it reflected ? it is absolutely gorgeous."
Padalka and Malenchenko also completed a long list of other tasks outside the station. They attached new debris shields to the hull of the station's Russian segment, added support struts to an airlock ladder and retrieved a biological sample canister. The cosmonauts were unable to collect a material exposure experiment from the station exterior due to a stuck hinge that prevented it from folding close, NASA officials said.
While Padalka and Malenchenko worked outside, four other members of the space station's Expedition 32 crew remained inside the orbiting lab. The station's current crew is made up of three Russians (Padalka, Malenchenko and Sergei Revin), American astronauts Joe Acaba and Sunita Williams, and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.
Monday's spacewalk was the first of two excursions by the station's crew this month. William and Hoshide will venture outside the station on Aug. 30 to perform the second spacewalk.
The spacewalk was also the 163rd spacewalk dedicated to space station construction or maintenance since construction of the outpost began in 1998. It marked the ninth spacewalk for Padalka and the fifth for Malenchenko. The cosmonauts made sure to take time to snap extra photos of each other before wrapping up their work in space.
You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter?@tariqjmalik?and?SPACE.com on Twitter?@Spacedotcom. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.?
Copyright 2012 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Ancient seal may add substance to the legend of SamsonPublic release date: 13-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: George Hunka ghunka@aftau.org 212-742-9070 American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University researchers uncover a 12th century BCE seal depicting a man and lion in battle
Tel Aviv University researchers recently uncovered a seal, measuring 15 millimetres (about a half-inch) in diameter, which depicts a human figure next to a lion at the archaeological site of Beth Shemesh, located between the Biblical cities of Zorah and Eshtaol, where Samson was born, flourished, and finally buried, according to the book of Judges. The scene engraved on the seal, the time period, and the location of the discovery all point to a probable reference to the story of Samson, the legendary heroic figure whose adventures famously included a victory in hand-to-paw combat with a lion.
While the seal does not reveal when the stories about Samson were originally written, or clarify whether Samson was a historical or legendary figure, the finding does help to "anchor the story in an archaeological setting," says Prof. Shlomo Bunimovitz of TAU's Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations. Prof. Bunimovitz co-directs the Beth Shemesh dig along with Dr. Zvi Lederman.
"If we are right and what we see on the seal is a representation of a man meeting a lion, it shows that the Samson legend already existed around the area of Beth Shemesh during that time period. We can date it quite precisely," Prof. Bunimovitz adds.
The right place, the right time
The seal was discovered with other finds on the floor of an excavated house, dated by the archaeologists to the 12th century BCE.
Geographically, politically, and culturally, the legends surrounding Samson are set in this time period, also known as the period of the Judges, prior to the establishment of kingship in ancient Israel. The area of Beth Shemesh was a cultural meeting point where Philistines, Canaanites, and Israelites lived in close proximity, maintaining separate identities and cultures. Samson's stories skip across these cultural borders, Dr. Lederman says. Although he was from the Israelite tribe of Dan, Samson is frequently depicted stepping out into the world of the Philistines even searching for a Philistine wife, much to the chagrin of his parents.
Although Samson did have some positive interactions with the Philistines his infamous lion brawl took place on the way to his bachelor party with a group of Philistine men prior to his marriage to his first Philistine wife in Timnah he is also reputed to have fought against the Philistines. In one tale, this ancient superman is said to have killed 1,000 Philistines with a single donkey's jaw bone.
"Samson has a very legendary aura," explains Dr. Lederman, calling the Samson stories "border sagas." On one hand, Samsom could cross the border and interact with the Philistines, but on the other, he met with danger and various challenges when he did stray out of his home territory. "When you cross the border, you have to fight the enemy and you encounter dangerous animals," Dr. Lederman says. "You meet bad things. These are stories of contact and conflict, of a border that is more cultural than political."
Cultural connections and conflicts
The Philistines were immigrants, one of a number of so-called "sea peoples", originating from the Aegean region. They settled along the southern coastal plain and the lowlands of present-day Israel, including Ashdod, Ashkelon Gaza, Gath, and Ekron. Here they created their own cultural and political enclave and were always seeking to expand their own territory. "The flourishing Canaanite village of Beth Shemesh, despite frequent destruction caused by their aggressive neighbors, was not abandoned or won by the Philistines and retained its original culture and identity", Dr. Lederman adds.
The border disputes and the Canaanite resistance to growing Philistine pressure and cultural influence created some identity changes, Prof. Bunimovitz believes. This period of contact and strife may have been the "meat" of the Samson legend incorporated in the Book of Judges, the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible that tells the stories of figures who champion the Israelite cause and fight against oppression through this historical period.
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Ancient seal may add substance to the legend of SamsonPublic release date: 13-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: George Hunka ghunka@aftau.org 212-742-9070 American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University researchers uncover a 12th century BCE seal depicting a man and lion in battle
Tel Aviv University researchers recently uncovered a seal, measuring 15 millimetres (about a half-inch) in diameter, which depicts a human figure next to a lion at the archaeological site of Beth Shemesh, located between the Biblical cities of Zorah and Eshtaol, where Samson was born, flourished, and finally buried, according to the book of Judges. The scene engraved on the seal, the time period, and the location of the discovery all point to a probable reference to the story of Samson, the legendary heroic figure whose adventures famously included a victory in hand-to-paw combat with a lion.
While the seal does not reveal when the stories about Samson were originally written, or clarify whether Samson was a historical or legendary figure, the finding does help to "anchor the story in an archaeological setting," says Prof. Shlomo Bunimovitz of TAU's Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations. Prof. Bunimovitz co-directs the Beth Shemesh dig along with Dr. Zvi Lederman.
"If we are right and what we see on the seal is a representation of a man meeting a lion, it shows that the Samson legend already existed around the area of Beth Shemesh during that time period. We can date it quite precisely," Prof. Bunimovitz adds.
The right place, the right time
The seal was discovered with other finds on the floor of an excavated house, dated by the archaeologists to the 12th century BCE.
Geographically, politically, and culturally, the legends surrounding Samson are set in this time period, also known as the period of the Judges, prior to the establishment of kingship in ancient Israel. The area of Beth Shemesh was a cultural meeting point where Philistines, Canaanites, and Israelites lived in close proximity, maintaining separate identities and cultures. Samson's stories skip across these cultural borders, Dr. Lederman says. Although he was from the Israelite tribe of Dan, Samson is frequently depicted stepping out into the world of the Philistines even searching for a Philistine wife, much to the chagrin of his parents.
Although Samson did have some positive interactions with the Philistines his infamous lion brawl took place on the way to his bachelor party with a group of Philistine men prior to his marriage to his first Philistine wife in Timnah he is also reputed to have fought against the Philistines. In one tale, this ancient superman is said to have killed 1,000 Philistines with a single donkey's jaw bone.
"Samson has a very legendary aura," explains Dr. Lederman, calling the Samson stories "border sagas." On one hand, Samsom could cross the border and interact with the Philistines, but on the other, he met with danger and various challenges when he did stray out of his home territory. "When you cross the border, you have to fight the enemy and you encounter dangerous animals," Dr. Lederman says. "You meet bad things. These are stories of contact and conflict, of a border that is more cultural than political."
Cultural connections and conflicts
The Philistines were immigrants, one of a number of so-called "sea peoples", originating from the Aegean region. They settled along the southern coastal plain and the lowlands of present-day Israel, including Ashdod, Ashkelon Gaza, Gath, and Ekron. Here they created their own cultural and political enclave and were always seeking to expand their own territory. "The flourishing Canaanite village of Beth Shemesh, despite frequent destruction caused by their aggressive neighbors, was not abandoned or won by the Philistines and retained its original culture and identity", Dr. Lederman adds.
The border disputes and the Canaanite resistance to growing Philistine pressure and cultural influence created some identity changes, Prof. Bunimovitz believes. This period of contact and strife may have been the "meat" of the Samson legend incorporated in the Book of Judges, the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible that tells the stories of figures who champion the Israelite cause and fight against oppression through this historical period.
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August is a great month for celebrating human stupidity.
On Aug. 6, 1945, we all but disappeared Hiroshima with a single atomic bomb, and then did it again, three days later, at Nagasaki. And now we barely seem to care.
The sad truth is, we are incapable of understanding exactly what these seemingly ancient events mean ? right now, for all of us, today. The August anniversaries are a stark reminder that the brains we inherited from our ancestors simply may not be up to dealing with much of the modern world we've (they've) created ? especially the most dangerous parts.
Few people today know firsthand what an atomic bomb can do to human beings. One American airman riding in the plane that dropped the Hiroshima bomb described what he saw as "a pot of boiling black oil." In an instant, people were reduced to charred cinders; survivors hobbled around with their skin hanging from their bodies like rags.
The carnage created widespread hope that such terrible weapons might mean no more war. We know how well that worked.
Today, the world has thousands of nuclear bomb-bearing missiles on "hair-trigger alert." They are thousands of times more destructive than the 1945 models, which were a thousand times more destructive than conventional weapons.
So why have humans done so little to neutralize the threat? To even recognize that these are tools of our own destruction?
For one thing, our brains don't really "grok" factors of a thousand. Imagine throwing a dinner party for four, and suddenly 4,000 show up; or your salary of $100,000 getting reduced to $100. The difference between a million, a billion and a trillion are also factors of a thousand, which is why we don't do so well comparing domestic budgets, say, with military ones, or the wealth of the truly wealthy with the poverty of the extremely poor.
A little number sense, and also stories that convey the information in ways our brains can perceive it, could go a long way toward helping us be less stupid. But that's merely a start.
The brain has other problems with the modern world. Take speed. Research pioneered at the lab of USC neuroscientist Antonio Damasio revealed that it can take up to six seconds for the brain to process complex emotions such as empathy or admiration. That can be a long time in today's multitasking multiverse. What do we miss?
In fact, most of what we do (or think) is based on "thinking" that takes no time (or thought) at all.
In effect, we have at least two brains working together, more or less. The ancient "reptilian" brain is fast, bossy, sure of itself and never shuts up. The modern brain, primarily the cortex, is reflective, slow, conflicted and often defers to its elder. In the time it takes the reflective brain to give you a long-winded lecture on the perils of sweet greasy food, the reptile has you on your second jelly doughnut.
The ancient brain is what gets us through life on a daily basis. It can act in a flash to scoot you out of harm's way, tell friend from foe, get food, find a mate, win a fight. But it was a lot better suited to a time when humans had to wolf down every scrap of sugar and fat they could find to survive ? and fought each other with sticks and stones.
These interacting brains have created some curious strategies for getting along. Consider "confirmation bias," now known to be behind some of the dumbest human decisions ever.
A simple example: Your reptilian brain gets you to flirt with that sexy lout, even though the rational brain knows better; rather than admit your mistake, you cherry-pick reasons to justify your acts and ignore all contradictory evidence. He did take you to that nice restaurant ? even though he was two hours late, and "forgot" his wallet.
If we believe something is true (or simply trust the person who's saying it), we believe any argument that "supports" it, even when that argument is obviously false.
Don't get me wrong: Our brains are multilayered marvels. They landed an SUV-sized spacecraft on Mars with the grace of a ballerina; they gave us quantum mechanics (and with it, all of our electronic gadgets), relativity (thank it for your GPS); they gave us birth control, democracy, "The Daily Show," Bach, agriculture, baseball, banks.
The problem is that we let the brain get ahead of itself. We build weapons we can't or won't control, for example, and trade stocks faster than our neurons can fire. We generally allow the lizard brain too much say over complex issues only the cortex can really handle: the death penalty, intolerance, war, climate change
In short, the human species is uniquely equipped to shoot itself in the foot (and much worse). I mean, even dogs don't poop in their beds, and yet we foul the air we breathe and fiddle while the Corn Belt burns. We drive and chatter on the phone, even though we know it's more dangerous than drinking and driving. Our gluttony makes too many of us too fat to serve in the military. And how smart is it to stop vaccinating children or fluoridating water, proven lifesavers?
Is there hope? You bet. Our modern brains can teach the older brain new tricks. We've learned to wash hands before surgery, click seat belts, even stop smoking. None came naturally.
But before we can figure out how to change (a slow brain function), we have to stop letting the fast brain do dumb things. Now.
The best way to put on the brakes may well be to enlist the old brain's prime assets: emotion and speed. Luckily, the modern brain has given us some tools: Twitter. Instagram. YouTube. All work fast, and with feeling.
Of course, these tools are also (perhaps primarily) known for spreading hostility, lies and, well, stupidity. But they can also turn a train station of strangers into performance art, touching the common humanity in everyone. Some would say they brought down Arab dictators.
For real, long-term solutions, we could learn from the Mars rover Curiosity. All the momentum that was put into the spacecraft at launch had to be dissipated in a complex choreography of steps before it could safely touch down. That's also true of unraveling the idiocy in the elaborate and too often dangerous military, corporate, civic and personal structures we've erected. That will take time, and thought.
But August would certainly be a great time to start trying to tweet ourselves back to sanity.
K.C. Cole's biography of Frank Oppenheimer, who founded the Exploratorium in San Francisco to promote human awareness, is now available in paperback and ebook. She is a professor of journalism at USC.
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1 - How rare is it for an athlete to win a gold medal eight years apart with an identical time? That?s what Puerto Rico?s Felix Sanchez did in winning the men?s 400-meter hurdles as he did in the 2004 Athens Games in 47.63 seconds.?
Football folly
2 ? Can National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell really be serious about trying to get football on the Olympic program? The sport has never seriously established itself outside of North America. Plus, how can you hold a tournament during the Olympic fortnight when games are traditionally played a week apart?
Bare-skin billboard
3 ? What happens if an Olympic swimmer shows up some year with a personal sponsor?s name or logo ?not that of an official Olympic sponsor - tattooed on his or her body? Will officials insist it be covered by a wetsuit?
Track pioneer
4 ? Now that South African double-amputee Oscar Pistorius has run the 400 meters in the Olympics on J-shaped Cheetah blades, will other disabled athletes soon follow his breakthrough or will he remain a lonely crossover athlete?
Remember L.A.
5 ? Didn?t anybody concerned about congestion in London during the Games remember what happened in Los Angeles in 1984? The California freeways were as quiet as they may have ever been as many residents headed out of town. Certainly the apocalyptic forecasts for nightmarish traffic never materialized.?
Airtime regulars
6 ? Have two Olympic athletes ever received more network airtime than American beach volleyball players Kerri Walsh Jennings and Misty May-Treanor? Their matches are much longer than races in swimming and track, so the time devoted to their matches could probably fill a cable channel.
Lights worth a look
7 ? London?s Olympic Stadium may not be that architecturally distinctive, but has any main Olympic venue ever had cooler looking lighting than those triangular light banks rising from the rim of London?s stadium?
Fast finish
8 ? Would Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen?s breakout gold medals have raised nearly as many suspicions if in her 400-meter individual medley win she hadn?t swum the last 50 meters so fast? Her time was even better than the men?s champion, Ryan Lochte, in the same event.
Champion denied
9 ? What was so wrong with Larisa Latynina?s request that Olympic officials wouldn?t let her present Michael Phelps with his record-breaking 19th Olympic medal? Latynina, the Russian gymnast who held the record, traveled to London to be pass the ?torch? to her successor.
The name of the Hendersonville mother allegedly killed by her son has been released. The Sumner County Sheriff's Department confirms 46 year old Melanie Davis died this morning in her home on Gannett Road.
From earlier: A Hendersonville teen is under arrest in connection with the death of his mother. The Sumner County Sheriff's Department says the mom, believed to be in her late 40's, was found beaten to death in her Gannett Street home just after midnight. Officials were called to the house in the Creekside subdivision for a fire call. They say the victim's other son called after waking up to the smell of smoke. The Sheriff's Department says the 15-year-old son accused in the death was not home, but was tracked through his cell phone. He is charged with criminal homicide and is scheduled to appear before a judge Tuesday. Police say the teens father passed away a few years ago. Stay with Fox 17 News for continuing coverage. Look for updates on Fox17.com and on Fox 17 News at 9 pm.Update! Hendersonville Teen Accused of Killing Mom
Saturday, August 11 2012, 05:59 PM CDT
15-year-old charged with killing his mother August 12, 2012 16:11 GMT
%reldate(2012-08-12T16:04:21
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Police say a 15-year-old Hendersonville boy is facing murder charges after confessing to killing his mother.
According to WTVF-TV (http://bit.ly/Np3WoQ), the suspect's 16-year-old brother woke up to a smoke alarm and fire at the family's home early Saturday morning and found his mother dead. The woman, Melanie Davis, had apparently been beaten to death.
Sheriff Sonny Weatherford said authorities arrested the 15-year-old nearby and he later confessed to killing Davis.
Investigators have not released a motive. But they said the 15-year-old has been charged with criminal homicide, and more charges could be forthcoming. Authorities believe he started the fire, which did not significantly damage the home.
Weatherford said Davis was from Austria and didn't have any family in the United States. Her husband died years earlier.
Information from: WTVF-TV, http://www.newschannel5.com
Robyn Young was born in Oxford and grew up in the Midlands and Devon. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Sussex and lives and writes in Brighton. Her first novel, BRETHREN, was the bestselling hardback debut novel of 2006. CRUSADE and REQUIEM, completed the trilogy, which has sold over a million copies and been translated into nineteen languages. The inspiration for Robyn's new trilogy, which began with INSURRECTION and continues in RENEGADE, grew out of an earlier research trip to Scotland and is based on the life of Robert Bruce.
A very warm welcome to you Robyn, and can I thank you, for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to us today.
Thank you for inviting me!
For the benefit of our International readers can you tell us a bit about the part of the world that you are currently resident in and why do you like living there?
I live in Brighton, on the south coast of England. It?s a buzzing, cosmopolitan city, with a vibrant art and music scene. I hitchhiked here from Devon when I was nineteen and have been here ever since.I don?t think I?d live anywhere else in Britain. I have the sea on one side and beautiful Sussex countryside on the other, and London is only a train hop away. Can I ask what sort of books did you like reading as a child?
My dad taught me to read when I was three and once I?d grown out of Ladybird books I devoured pretty much anything. Enid Blyton was a staple, followed by Judy Blume and Susan Cooper.Later, in my early teens, Steven King and Clive Barker introduced me to darker literary worlds. I also loved poetry, both reading and writing it. My favourites though were classics, such as C.S. Lewis?s The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Do you think the books that you read as a child have influenced your writing in any way?
I think the act of reading itself influenced me ? the love of escaping into worlds others had created just seemed to naturally translate into a desire to create those worlds myself.
Do you have a set routine when you are working on a novel? It depends on what stage I?m at in the process.Research and plotting times tend to be more fluid, as I?m usually reading or travelling. When I?m in the thick of writing I work best first thing in the morning or late at night. I find afternoons are fairly dead times creatively. I try to do a full morning?s work, then do admin or research after lunch, before going back to writing in the evening if I need to push on. It can get quite intensive towards the end of a book, when aiming for a deadline.
Where do you do your writing best? My study. I bought my house based on this room. It?s quiet, has a lovely atmosphere and plenty of space for books. What else apart from your obvious interest in history helped you decide to actually write historical fiction novels?
It all came as rather a surprise. After writing poetry and short stories at school, and two fantasy novels in my early twenties, my path as a writer seemed fairly set. But I didn?t imagine I?d be penning history. It wasn?t a subject I did well in at school, or indeed of any real interest to me until I read a book on the Knights Templar, by historian Malcolm Barber. I?d listened to a conversation between two friends about these so-called warrior monks and my curiosity had been piqued enough for me to pick up this text when I saw it in a bookstore. Barber?s book, a harrowing account of the knights? downfall, brought the human element to history, which had been missing at school. The moment I finished reading, I knew I wanted to tell this story.
What made you decide to focus your stories within the history of the Middle Ages?Initially, the inspiration came from Barber?s book on the downfall of the Knights Templar, but once I was immersed in this world I realised what a gold mine it was in terms of stories. It?s a time of discovery and great upheaval, and a rich source for a writer. That said, I?m probably going to be moving on to other periods after this trilogy is finished.I?ve been working on a WWII screenplay with two writers this past year, which has been quite a galvanising shift.I think it?s good to keep stretching and challenging yourself as a writer; to keep stepping into new worlds. When you are writing a novel, how do you place yourself into the time period that you are actually writing about? It?s all in the research. I begin by reading as many books as possible on the period, during which time I write an enormous amount of notes, trying to piece this historical world together. First, I?ll read a selection of texts that cover the broad era, then biographies of my main characters, then I?ll start getting into the finer details, researching what people ate, what they wore, what they believed in, what their homes were like. It?s about building up a picture. Even if you don?t use half the things you research, it will come across in your writing as confidence and authenticity. Web-based research is getting better, but I still only use the Internet when I have a good enough grounding myself to know which sites are good, and which aren?t. After the first bulk of reading is done, I try to visit as many of the locations as possible. I speak to historians and re-enactors about specific events or equipment and I like to try my hand at the various physical aspects of my novels. For Insurrection, I was taught to ride by a skill-at-arms tutor. I?ve tried sword fighting, worn armour, used crossbows, done extensive work with birds of prey, all of which have, I believe, added colour beyond the book-based details. How do you go about imagining, developing and give real lives and personalities to the characters that we read about within in your books? Many of my characters, particularly in the Insurrection Trilogy, are real people from history, so again, research is key to understanding them, although I do have to give them personalities and bring them to life on the page, often from scattered and disparate facts. The fictional ones sometimes take lots of work, other times they simply introduce themselves. In the early stages, I?ll do detailed character biographies and outlines, working out who they are, what they look like, personality traits etc... Sometimes, in the writing, they turn out as I expect. Other times they surprise me.
Did you find it easy to get your first book accepted and published?
It was a fairly long slog, but not as long as other novelists. We all have different stories of how we got there in the end. It took me two years and thirteen rejections to find an agent for my first novel, Brethren. Then, it took us another two years to find a publisher. But when it did go, it went with a bang? two publishers bid for it in an auction, which turned out to be two of the most terrifying and exciting weeks of my life!What is your favourite book and why?
I can never answer that question, because it?s constantly changing. I?ve had different favourites at different times in my life. But some of my best reads have included Iain Pears?s An Instance of the Fingerpost, Matthew Pearl?s The Dante Club and Donna Tartt?s The Secret History.
Are you currently reading a book at the moment, and if so what is it?
I?ve had a bit of a reading drought recently ? not from lack of choice, but time. I?m going away this weekend and it?s going to be tough to pick a book out of the huge pile that has built up. I think I might go for Michael Connolly?s The Overlook, which a fellow author recommended to me recently.
Do you have any other hobbies or interests that you enjoy in order to give you a break from your normal routine and your writing? Since I spend most of my days hunched over a computer using my brain, I like to do physical things, such as running, ice-skating, hiking and swimming. I also love cooking, going to the theatre, listening to music and watching films, and seeing friends whenever I can is an important distraction from work. Can you tell us a bit about your latest book ?Renegade??In this, the second book of the Insurrection Trilogy, King Edward of England marches on Scotland, his campaign to unite the British Isles under one crown inspired by an Arthurian prophecy. He has already crushed Wales; now he needs only find the Staff of St Malachy, symbol of Irish nationhood, to achieve his implacable desire.Leaving his war-torn home, Robert Bruce sails to Ireland, determined to find the Staff and keep it out of Edward's hands. His veins run with the blood of kings and his destiny to fulfill his family's claim to the throne of Scotland burns in his mind. But on the run through the wild country, hunted by a relentless assassin, Robert seems a long way from achieving his ambition. And there are other eyes on Scotland?s crown, old enemies gathering against him.Can you give us a hint about any other books that you may have in the making?
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I?m getting ready to write the third book in the Insurrection Trilogy, the title of which is proving elusive at the moment. The novel follows Robert Bruce after he becomes king, through civil war in Scotland and turmoil in England, leading up to the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
Robyn, I have been absolutely delighted and very honoured that you agreed to be interviewed for my literary site. I would also like to thank-you again for taking the time to speak to us today. It?s been a pleasure.If you would like to find out more about Robyn and her writing, the link to her website is given below:
Robyn's latest book scheduled for release in the UK on 30th August 2012:
Two Australian starfish species diverged only 6,000 years ago, offering a glimpse of evolutionary history in the making
By Marissa Fessenden
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August 10, 2012?|
Cryptasterina hysteraImage: by Jonathan Puritz
Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...
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Two sea star species thrive beneath waves off the coast of Australia. Upon cursory examination, they are very similar. Both are cushion stars?a group of slightly plump sea stars?and both are colored light green with hints of slate blue. In fact, they are sister species, a term that means the same in evolutionary biology as it does in genealogy: they share a parent. But a closer look at their genes reveals that these two stars separated just a few thousand years ago?an incredibly short period of time.
One twist makes this evolutionary eye-blink even more interesting. The two species, Cryptasterina pentagona and C. hystera, enjoy dramatically different sex lives. The first reproduces in a fairly typical starfish way: males and females spurt sperm and eggs into the water. The gametes meet, fertilize and grow into larvae that drift in the current before finding a place to settle as adults. The second, C. hystera, is a hermaphrodite that self-fertilizes and keeps the young inside its body until they are ready to venture forth as tiny fully-formed stars.
Tracing this rapid divergence is one example of how biologists use closely related species to decipher evolutionary history. The story of any speciation event?the point when a species branches into two?can reveal the importance of genetic changes and how they relate to functional changes in biochemistry or behavior. It can also tell researchers how changes over time led to the biodiversity that fills the world today.
To understand the sea stars' example, a team of researchers in Australia, Canada and the U.S. analyzed genes in the two species' nuclear and mitochondrial DNA to discover how recently the sea stars diverged. They estimate that the split occurred around 6,000 years ago, with some uncertainty due to mutation rates that gives a range of as recent as 1,000 years ago or as distant as 20,000 years ago. "Even 20,000 years is still stupidly fast" for the extensive change in life history, says Richard K. Grosberg, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Davis, and a co-leader of the work. The group's findings were published online in July in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
The two sea stars' common ancestor was likely a broadcast fertilizer like C. pentagona, Grosberg says. He imagines that after fertilization, some larvae drifted south along the Queensland coast with the current. Low population density in the new area meant gametes looking to encounter partners would have been out of luck. A rare few larvae might have been hermaphrodites through accidental mutation and that gender quirk started the species. "It is better to fertilize yourself than not fertilize at all," Grosberg says. A fluctuating current may have isolated the population and colder waters of the south favored smaller body size and internal fertilization. C. hystera has incredibly low genetic diversity from individual to individual, a telltale sign that the whole species descended from one or just a few migrants.
Finding out exactly which changes led to this speciation event is tricky. The researchers haven't yet pinpointed which genes are most important for gender determination and reproduction in starfish, which is relatively unstudied, Grosberg says. The changes that distinguish C. pentagona from C. hystera may be just a handful of genes?or thousands. Understanding the divergence between species is not just a matter of counting the differences in their genes, however, but also a matter of unraveling how those genes interact with one another.
Still, the study offers a fascinating look at the varying rate of evolution. "I'm amazed that quite a change occurred in such a short period of time," says Jerry Coyne, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago who was not involved in the study.
FILE -- In a July 31, 2012 file photo trader Richard Cohen, left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks dawdled between small gains and losses Thursday Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
FILE -- In a July 31, 2012 file photo trader Richard Cohen, left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks dawdled between small gains and losses Thursday Aug. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
NEW YORK (AP) ? The market had a wishy-washy Friday, capping an equally directionless week.
Stocks inched down for most of the day. Then, with 45 minutes of trading left, the Dow Jones industrial average turned positive. The Standard & Poor's 500 and the Nasdaq composite soon followed. All ended the day slightly higher.
In a week with no major developments in Europe's debt crisis, and no surprising reports on the U.S. economy, the market struggled to figure out which way to go. The three indexes rose incrementally on Monday and Tuesday and were mixed on Wednesday and Thursday. In this quiet week, the biggest move came on Tuesday, when the Dow gained just 51 points.
With many money managers on vacation, trading volume was low. "The sound of silence" is how Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Ethan Harris labeled a note to clients Friday.
Sure, there were piecemeal signs about the world economy for anyone who was looking. But they were less than the decisive.
The second-quarter earnings season continued to wind down calmly, with most companies coming in ahead of profit predictions. But China reported a troubling slowdown in its export growth. And the end of earnings season means not that investors can relax but that the so-called fiscal cliff of 2013, when government spending cuts and higher taxes kick in, looms larger now and with less to distract investors away from it.
"There are three big elephants in the room," said Marty Leclerc, chief investment officer of Barrack Yard Advisors in Bryn Mawr, Penn. "A slowdown in Asia growth, the European crisis ... and the U.S. 'fiscal cliff.' "
To be sure, stocks have risen fairly steadily since a year ago, when a downgrade of the U.S. debt rating rocked the markets. Compared to a year ago, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 23 percent.
Friday, the Dow ended up 42.76 points at 13,207.95. The S&P 500 rose 3.07 to 1,405.87. The Nasdaq composite rose 2.22 to 3,020.86.
But the stock market's relative good cheer doesn't necessarily mean the underlying economy is improving. The market gains are more a sign that central banks like the Federal Reserve are still willing to artificially prop up the economy, said Bill Strazzullo, chief market strategist at Bell Curve Trading outside Boston.
"You've got every central bank out there saying, 'We're going to print as much money as it takes, we're going to buy as many bonds as it takes,' " Strazzullo said.
Europe, the cause of so much market consternation for so many months, was quiet. Benchmark indexes fell slightly in France, Germany and Spain. Italy's long-term borrowing costs jumped, a sign that investors are nervous about its ability to pay its debts.
Manchester United, the white-hot British soccer club, had a lethargic debut as a public company. The stock closed exactly where it opened, at $14, likely a sign that investors are worried about its heavy debts.
A few stocks did make big moves. J.C. Penney jumped 6 percent, rising $1.30 to $23.40, after CEO Ron Johnson laid out more of his vision for turning around the struggling department store company. Lions Gate, the movie and TV studio, gained 21 cents to $13.46, after reporting a revenue surge thanks to "The Hunger Games."
Chesapeake Energy fell 3 percent, slipping 63 cents to $19.68, after reporting that the government is investigating possible antitrust violations surrounding its purchase of oil and gas land in Michigan. Yahoo fell 5 percent, losing 86 cents to $15.15, after revealing that shareholders might not get a payout that the company had previously planned.
China reported that its export growth slumped to 1 percent in July from more than 11 percent in June, as debt-burdened Europe pulled back on buying Chinese goods.
Dan Heckman, senior vice president at U.S. Bank wealth management in Kansas City, wondered if China's next exports report would show exports shrinking, rather than just growing more slowly.
"You don't have far to go from 1 to zero, or from 1 to negative," he said mid-afternoon, when shares the stock indexes were trading lower. "Frankly, we're a little surprised that the stock market isn't down more."
China is the world's second-largest economy and a major player among world markets. Throughout the recession and its aftermath, as other countries struggled, China kept growing and helped prop up everyone else.
Friday's data was just the latest sign of cracks in the country's armor. Thursday, China said that growth had also slowed in its auto sales and factory output.
Those who are just starting their own online businesses face a dilemma: Do they create their own products, or do they sell someone else?s. Both of those approaches have pros and cons; but, in this article, I?d like to share with you five reasons why you ought to create them yourself.
1. You get to keep all of your income.
Although you carry all of the responsibility for making the products, you also get to reap all of the rewards. Affiliate programs are designed to generate large lists for those who created the products. That means that while you may get a 100% commission, chances are that the product itself won?t be worth more than a few hundred dollars. You?ll never get the chance to sell the most successful high-ticket items.
Not only that, but the most successful
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Public release date: 13-Aug-2012
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