Sunday, October 28, 2012

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Citi fined $2 million over Facebook IPO, fires two analysts

BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Citigroup fired its top Internet analyst, Mark Mahaney, and paid a $2 million fine to a Massachusetts regulator to settle charges that the bank improperly disclosed research on Facebook IPO and information on other tech companies.

It was the first formal charge involving an underwriter's disclosure of sensitive financial information ahead of the social media company's $16 billion initial public offering in May. Lead underwriter Morgan Stanley has come under criticism for revealing revised Facebook Inc earnings and revenue forecasts to select clients on conference calls ahead of the IPO, leaving the rest of the investing public in the dark.

In the Citi case, a junior analyst working for Mahaney emailed some research to journalists at the Techcrunch news website, who published some of the information in a blog post, according to the Massachusetts complaint released on Friday.

The state's top securities regulator, William Galvin, charged Citigroup Global Markets Inc with breaking Massachusetts securities laws that prohibit analysts at underwriting firms from sending "written research or other written content" until 40 days after Facebook's IPO.

He would not say how close his office might be to charging any other firms, or what kind of evidence they may have. Gavin said the Citi case was completed first because his office was able to obtain emails showing how the analysts broke the rules.

Some market participants questioned whether the Citi analysts' actions were that bad. They noted that Mahaney has consistently received high marks in surveys of institutional investors.

Citi fired Mahaney and the junior analyst, and said it was pleased that the matter with Massachusetts has been resolved.

Galvin told Reuters he is still probing the other underwriters involved in Facebook's IPO, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.

"Unfortunately, the message from this is that analysts should give less information to cover their behinds. But the smooth functioning of markets requires the exact opposite of this," said Max Wolff, chief economist and senior analyst at research firm GreenCrest Capital.

"This is a move in the wrong direction," he added.

Legal experts say it is unclear whether industry rules specifically prohibit brokerages from giving information to select groups of clients in a phone call, as Morgan Stanley did. So far, there has been no regulatory action against Morgan Stanley or any of its analysts.

STAR ANALYST MISCONDUCT

According to the Massachusetts complaint, an unidentified junior analyst sent some of Citi's confidential views on investment risks and revenue estimates for Facebook to two employees at TechCrunch.com, which is owned by AOL Inc, three weeks before Facebook went public on May 18.

Mahaney failed to supervise this junior analyst, according to the Massachusetts complaint.

One of the most respected Internet analysts on Wall Street, Mahaney had already been in trouble with his bosses for sharing information with journalists.

On April 11, Citi's director of research for the Americas sent Mahaney a "letter of education," noting that he had broken the bank's rules when he spoke to journalists at Bloomberg and the New York Times without first obtaining legal approval, according to the complaint.

Only weeks after receiving that letter, Mahaney again broke Citi's rules when he passed unpublished views about Google Inc's YouTube revenue estimates and profitability to a reporter at Capital Magazine, a French publication, the civil complaint said.

Mahaney came to Citi in 2005 from Galleon Group, the hedge fund led by Raj Rajaratnam, who was later convicted in one of the biggest insider trading crack-downs in U.S. history.

FACEBOOK DEBACLE

After Facebook's debut, smaller investors were outraged to learn about the Morgan Stanley's conference calls that they felt gave an edge to its big clients.

The head of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Wall Street's self-regulator, said not long after the May 18 Facebook debut that allegations surrounding Morgan Stanley's conference calls were a matter of "regulatory concern." FINRA declined to comment further on Friday.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro also said at the time that there are "issues we need to look at specifically with respect to Facebook." An SEC spokesman said there has been no public action since.

"The knives have been out looking for someone to blame for Facebook's IPO and it looks like this analyst has been caught in the middle," said Jill Fisch, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School who focuses on securities regulation and capital markets.

"All these rules are designed to stop misuse of information for trading. This does not raise market regulation issues."

With various regulators looking at the Facebook listing, Galvin is the first to come out with a fine, albeit a small one.

Gavin has long had a reputation of being an aggressive regulator who has filed suit against Wall Street's top banks for securities law violations. But some have criticized him because he often settling high-profile cases for small sums.

"This is a recurring theme," Gavin said on Friday. "The banks promise there is a firewall between research and marketing, that they will observe the quiet period, but that is clearly not the case.

He added, "This is about not having two sets of rules one for preferred clients and one for everyone else," Galvin said.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Alistair Barr; Additional reporting by Suzanne Barlyn and David Henry in New York; Writing by Matthew Goldstein and Jennifer Merritt; Editing by Dan Grebler, David Gregorio and Tiffany Wu)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/citi-fined-2-million-massachusetts-over-facebook-ipo-134720267--finance.html

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Saturday, October 27, 2012

AP poll: Majority harbor prejudice against blacks (The Arizona Republic)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/258657299?client_source=feed&format=rss

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What You Ought To James Harrison Jersey Learn About Internet ...

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Source: http://cannabismrsacure.letstalkaboutpot.com/what-you-ought-to-james-harrison-jersey-learn-about-internet-hosting/

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SeaTweetup II Social Media Cruise Recap | CruiseSource


SeaTweetup Sailaway PhotosOver?the last 4 years, I?ve had the fortune to help?plan and co-host?a social media cruise each fall.

Cruising with 100s of other social media marketers, speakers, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs over the years has made a huge difference in my success as a social media marketer.

I now have a network of friends who openly give each other feedback, share information, and provide support because we shared life experience together.

Compared to the previous 3 social media cruises I?ve co-hosted, the VIP treatment on SeaTweetup II for our group of social media enthusiasts was unmatched.?? This special treatment was thanks to our awesome planning committee & Sponsors: Bacardi, Miller/Coors, Visit the Bahamas, MTN Communications, Norwegian Cruise Line, MDG Advertising, & CruiseDeals.com.

All of the social media cruises have been successful thanks to the fact that they attract fun, smart individuals who form relationships that last long after the cruise.

SeaTweetup II Recap

I arrived in Miami on Thursday the day before SeaTweetup II.? The EPIC Hotel in Miami hosted the #Seatweetup Bon Voyage Party.?? I got a room at the EPIC Hotel Miami and had a hard time leaving my luxurious room to head over to the Norwegian Sky.

Bon Voyage Party at #EpicHotel

Bon Voyage Party via @SoulofMiami

SeaTweetup Day 1:?

The minute we arrived on board the Norwegian Sky, the onboard staff and Miller/Coors roped us off an area near the pool loaded with food and beer!? Yep, VIP.

SocialBuzzTV and SoulofMiami Photo

This was the first time I met many of our #SeaTweetup cruisers face to face.? ?While enjoying a few beverages and grilled shrimp, I learned the family story behind @ShipMateApp from Mike [ Biz Dev].

The Miller/Coors food pairing was also when I?realized that we had Twitter celebrities with our group.? @Abuznego and @Boris305 were on?#SeaTweetup representing the @Marlins social & marketing team.

After a couple of hours of free beers and conversation with new friends, it was time for the Muster Drill.

After the Muster Drill, we met up on the upper aft deck for the sailaway tweetup.? We witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets as we got in our last tweets and Facebook updates.

Heavenly Sunset as we sailaway from Miami

Soon after, we had our 1st Cocktail Mixer sponsored by CruiseDeals.com.? ?Everyone received a SeaTweetup T-Shirt with space to have new friends write their Twitter handles.? With the free cocktails, a great way to quickly meet everyone!

We ate dinner each night as a group? rotating spots to get to know as many in our group as possible.?? After dinner, we headed to the karaoke bar to watch the other passengers on board the Norwegian Sky show off their skills [or lack of].

SeaTweetup Day 2:

Day 2 was the day I was looking most forward too.?? We were schedule to go to Norwegian?s Private Island, Great Stirrup Cay.? Norwegian Cruise Line has recently invested $20 million in enhancing the island and our plans was to experience all it has to offer.

Thanks to our sponsors, our plans were to have 2 private cabanas stocked with Miller/Coors products, a private bbq, and to swim with the stingrays.?? Thanks to a tropical depression, the waves were to big to tender.? So we had to stay at sea on Day 2.

While a disappointment, we did not let it get us down.? We were still able to discuss the future of social media marketing poolside while enjoying complimentary Miller/Coors beverages.?? We also worked in a few games of Ping Pong, Blackjack & Craps.

Ping Pong Photo Norwegian Sky

Later on day 2, we had our 1st social media marketing session.? @IamJeffCohen @SocialBuzzTV @jackiej04 @AlcantaraMedia @AubreySwanson & @RichTucker [that?s me] presented on Search engine optimization, ?growing focus on images in social media, Facebook Promoted Post tips, and much more.

Social Media Cruise Sessions

After a fast paced social media session?of course there was another 1 hour open cocktail party sponsored by Bacardi!

SeaTweetup Day 3:

Nassau, Bahamas.? @VisittheBahamas picked us up in private motorcoaches to take us to The Retreat Bahamas National Trust for a traditional Bahamian breakfast.

We were blown away with the amazing welcome we received from the Travel Bahamas team.? The breakfast of conch stew, grits, and fruit was delicious.

SeaTweetup VisittheBahamas

Instagram photo by pkk002

After breakfast, we toured the gardens and learned more about the Out Islands of the Bahamas [see video below].

From there, we toured 3 local museums/art studios.? I?ve been to Nassau 10 times and this was the first time that I did not go to Atlantis or shopping nearby the ship.?? It was nice to finally see more of what Nassau has to offer.

Bahamas Art Tour Photo

Here is a group of us enjoying Coconut Milk with Bahamian Artist Antonius Roberts in front of his studio:

Group Photo with Coconut Milk

After the tour of Nassau, our friends at Senor Frogs had section reserved for the #SeaTweetup crew.

Pic at Senor Frogs

?

After setting sail, we joined up again for a combo cocktail party and social media roundtable discussions.? @SociallyBrenda kicked things off with social media B2B presentation followed by a Q&A with @FashionWeekNYC.?? The open discussion finally turned to the future of Google+ and the ROI on Facebook ads.

What could be better?? Cruising with a group of people are as equally as passionate about social media as I am.?? No matter what your passion, cruising with a group of people who share it is one of the best experiences in the world.

Email me if you have an idea for a group cruise: rtucker [at] cruisedeals.com

Special Thanks to @K_mcglinchey and @MarisaScime from the @CruiseNorwegian Social Media and PR team for joining us and participating so actively on the planning committee.

Special Thanks to the #SeaTweetup?planning committee for your efforts and for allowing me to be part of the team!

SeaTweetup planning committee: @SoulofMiami @ThePumaGirl ?@IamJeffCohen @roriffc @SocialbuzzTV @AubreySwanson!

Some more of my favorite SeaTweetup II Photos:

@LavishSM gets engaged on SeaTweetup!!

Engagement Photo

We gave away a cabin through a Facebook sweepstakes and @businessbragger was the winner.? I?ve given away close 15 cruises over the last few years and this was the first time I got to cruise with the winner:

@BusinessBragger

Cocktail Photo

Cocktail Party Photos

Free Beer Pic

Travel Bahamas Out Island Video:

We watched this video during our visit with the @visitthebahamas social media team?. it made me want to go, so I figure I would share it with you!

Related posts:

  1. #SeaTweetup II loaded with VIP treatment for social media enthusiasts
  2. 2010 Recap ? Social Media and Cruising Mixed
  3. #SeaTweetup picks up steam with global media coverage
  4. 1st ever SeaTweetup is in the books? and all over the internet
  5. SoFresh Social Media Cruise

Source: http://cruisesource.us/2012/10/seatweetup-ii-social-media-cruise-recap/

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Design Concerns Raised Over Plan For Philly's Second Casino ...

Philadelphia | 10/25/2012 4:17pm |
Ryan Briggs | Next American City

The project will build off the former Inquirer building, at right, and include landscape improvements for a nearby highway ramp.

At an exclusive ?casino party? last night, Philadelphia-based developer Bart Blatstein unveiled renderings for an enormous $700 million casino concept that could completely reshape North Broad Street, the city?s largest thoroughfare. Speaking at a banquet hall near the headquarters of Tower Investments, Inc., Blatstein?s development firm, he called the project ?an entertainment resort? that would be ?a game-changing development for Philadelphia.?

Philadelphia has only built one of the two casinos allowed by the state after Pennsylvania legalized gambling in 2004. Issuance of a second gaming permit is now being considered by state officials, and has generated substantial interest in spite of a $75 million price tag.

Blatstein is the latest high-profile developer to throw his hat into the ring, with the 120,000-square-foot ?Provence Casino? plan that would transform the former Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News complex. The former offices would house a 125-room hotel and table games, while former loading docks and a parking area would be expanded into additional casino space and a massive commercial area, topped with an extravagant French-themed rooftop ?village? and indoor botanical garden. According to Tower, the project will create 5,300 permanent positions for casino workers, in addition to thousands of temporary construction jobs.

The plan has already raised ire from traditional opponents, like Casino-Free Philadelphia, who say Provence will result in increased gambling addiction and crime. But local architectural advocates and surrounding neighborhood organizations are also studying the impact of early plans from a design standpoint.

The Design Advocacy Group, a coalition of architects that lobbies for higher architectural and planning standards across the city, is concerned that the furor over social consequences of gambling will distract from the very real impacts this development could have on Philadelphia?s urban landscape. Kiki Bolender, chair of the DAG, said that while her group had not taken an official position on the project, she was already concerned with such an unusually large parcel falling under the domain of a single entity.

?It?s a huge amount of property under the control of one owner, for one group?s profit. It?s a very unusual thing in the city,? she said, noting that Blatstein also owns a nearby 300,000-square-foot former office building. That building, a former state office complex, along with the proposed casino site, bookends the city?s sprawling School District headquarters. With district reforms shrinking administrative staff down to only a few hundred, it is not outside the realm of possibility that school officials would seek to offload their outsized offices, giving Blatstein the opportunity to take control of the entire block.

Bolender worried that ?some things of positive civic value would get thrown under the bus? during to the push to develop a singular plan for the megablock. She said that Philadelphia has a poor history of handling mega-developments like Provence, often ending up with designs that look good on paper but feel out of human scale in reality.

Bolender specifically cited street frontage as her primary concern, noting the city block-sized Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the downtown ?Gallery? shopping mall, both billed as giant ?silver bullet? revitalization projects, had scarred surrounding blocks with blank walls and loading docks.

It appears from early renderings that retail would be concentrated on the rooftop-shopping village. Though Bolender dismissed the concept as an attention-grabbing feature that would probably never materialize, she said that similar internalization of retail, a common practice for many casinos, would ultimately harm street life.

?Is [Blatstein] really trying to create a quaint French village that?s within it?s own enclosure? Although he would never admit it? that would mean turning away from Broad Street,? said Bolender.

Others said the proposal, which is at the very least dense and ambitious, reflected the knowledge Blatstein had gained from his past developments. The developer is well known in Philadelphia for his immense ?Piazza at Schmidt?s? development in Northern Liberties. The project originated as a proposal for suburban-style shopping plaza, but was transformed into a dense, mixed-use neighborhood center after intense community opposition forced Blatstein to modify his plans. Ultimately, he and his design team came up with the final iteration that satisfied many residents and is largely credited with cementing the position of Northern Liberties as one of the city?s most desirable neighborhoods.

Matt Ruben, president of the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association, played a key role in presenting community input to Tower Investments during that development phase of the Piazza. He called the new casino plan ?intriguing,? although he questioned how a French theme would mesh with the surrounding neighborhood.

?If you try to do something that is a revival of any style or tries to look old with new materials, I wonder, ?is that going to look right??? he said.

However, Ruben said that overall, he thinks that Blatstein had learned from his experiences in Northern Liberties.

?The starting point for this project, in terms of design, is way ahead of the Piazza,? he said. ?It?s obvious that he has retained architectural talent and he?s learned from his recent years of doing development.?

Ultimately, of course, the project is based around gambling. Although sanguine on the design elements, Ruben personally opposes casinos and figured prominently in public resistance to Sugarhouse, Philadelphia?s first casino. While he now says that the negative impacts of that casino have been relatively minor, he still called casinos ?the lowest common denominator in taxation,? and said he didn?t think the casino model of economic development was appropriate anywhere.

He recommended that the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, which covers the area where Provence will be located, start organizing.

?From what I understand there is already a coalition forming in that part of town. I think the first thing you have to do is join forces. You have to have a coalition and speak with one voice,? said Ruben, adding he was ?cautiously optimistic? that Mayor Michael Nutter?s administration would play a more involved role in shaping the development in as equitable a way possible.

The Logan Square Neighborhood Association has not taken a position on the Blatstein development at this time.

Tags: philadelphia, economic development, philadelphia inquirer, casinos, northern liberties, bart blatstein, north broad street, philadelphia daily news, piazza at schmidt?s, design advocacy group

Source: http://americancity.org/daily/entry/design-concerns-raised-over-plan-for-phillys-second-casino

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Friday, October 26, 2012

No Tour de France winner for 1999-2005, cycling union says

BERNE (Reuters) - Seven successive Tour de France races from 1999-2005 were officially declared without winners on Friday after the International Cycling Union (UCI) decided nobody would replace the disgraced Lance Armstrong as champion.

The decision, supported by Tour organizers, was widely expected given that so many riders finishing behind Armstrong, who was stripped of his titles and banned from the sport for life on Monday, have also been associated with doping offences.

The sport's governing body also called on the American and other disgraced riders to return prize money they had received and said it would set up a "fully independent external commission" to investigate allegations made against it over the Armstrong affair.

Armstrong was formally stripped of his seven titles on Monday when the UCI ratified the United States Anti-Doping Agency's decision to ban the 41-year-old Texan for life and nullify his results from August 1998 onward.

"The management committee decided not to award victories to any other rider or upgrade other placings in any of the affected events," the UCI said in a statement following a meeting at a Geneva hotel.

"The committee also called on Armstrong and all other affected riders to return the prize money they had received," the statement added.

ULLRICH INDIFFERENT

Germany's Jan Ullrich finished runner-up to Armstrong three times in the Tour de France but said two months ago he was indifferent as to whether he was handed the titles.

"I've ended my career and I have always said that I'm proud of my second places," Ullrich, second in 2000, 2001 and 2003, said in August. "It doesn't really bother me that much."

Ullrich, Tour champion in 1997, was himself found guilty of doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in February, in relation to the Operation Puerto blood-doping scandal that engulfed cycling six years ago.

CAS annulled his results from 2005 until his retirement two years later.

The other riders to finish second to Armstrong were Alex Zuelle of Switzerland (1999), Joseba Beloki of Spain (2002), German Andreas Kloeden (2004) and Italian Ivan Basso (2005).

Zuelle was part of the Festina team thrown out of the 1998 Tour de France after team manager Bruno Roussel confessed the existence of "an organized doping system."

Basso was banned for two years in 2007 for his involvement in Spain's Operation Puerto scandal.

DARK PERIOD

In its statement, the UCI said it "acknowledged that a cloud of suspicion would remain hanging over this dark period - but that while this might appear harsh for those who rode clean, they would understand there was little honor to be gained in reallocating places."

It added that part of the new commission's remit would be to find ways to ensure anyone caught doping would no longer be able to take part in the sport, even as a non-rider in a team.

The UCI will announce on November 5 which independent sports body would nominate the members of the commission, with the appointments to follow as soon as possible. It wanted recommendations published by June 1 next year.

The UCI also announced it was suspending legal action against journalist Paul Kimmage pending the findings of the commission.

Former professional rider Kimmage had alleged the UCI covered up a suspicious Armstrong test, something the governing body denies.

USADA published a report into Armstrong on October 10 which said he had been involved in the "most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen".

Armstrong, who has always denied doping, had previously declined to contest the charges, prompting USADA to propose his punishment pending confirmation from the UCI which came on Monday.

Former Armstrong team mates at his U.S. Postal and Discovery Channel outfits, where he won his Tour titles, testified against him and themselves and were given reduced bans by the American authorities.

"UCI is determined to turn around this painful episode in the history of our sport. We will take whatever actions are deemed necessary by the independent commission and we will put cycling back on track," said UCI President Pat McQuaid.

"Today, cycling is a completely different sport from what it was in the period 1998-2005. Riders are now subject to the most innovative and effective anti-doping procedures and regulations in sport.

"Nevertheless, we have listened to the world's reaction to the Lance Armstrong affair and have taken these additional decisive steps in response to the grave concerns raised."

(Additional reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Mark Meadows and Alison Wildey)

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/no-tour-france-winner-1999-2005-says-uci-150923976--spt.html

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Top 10 Female Artists Who Were Institutionalized

In a society dominated by men, it took a long time before women could be heard or even seen. And it is neither a secret nor a surprise to say that many women?s voices remained closely guarded inside the walls of psychiatric hospitals. Few women that were institutionalized had a powerful enough voice or talent that enabled their works to resonate outside of those walls. The few that did are still echoing in society today.

9782721000408Fs

Emma Santos might be the least popular on this list but I think her voice and her writing are so powerful that she deserves to be here. In the 1970s, she was frequently passing in and out of psychiatric hospitals. Her doctor, Roger Gentis, asked her to write about her life, which she did. One book after the other (she published 8 books) document her experience inside the walls of the asylum ? walls which never ceased to haunt her.

9

Valerie Valere

1961-1982

Valere

Valerie Valere was hospitalized in an asylum at 13 years of age for anorexia. Her treatment lasted a few months, which was long enough to traumatize her deeply. A few years after she left the hospital, she wrote a biography about her experiences (Le Pavillon des infants fous). Writing about her traumatic and involuntary imprisonment allowed her to finally talk about things she had locked away; she was one of the lucky ones who had a chance to be heard for the first time. When her book was published she became very popular in France (she is still quite popular today). For the first time, someone was listening to her voice. She published a few other books before dying at the age of 21. The causes of her death is still unknown today (though there are rumors of medication overdose).

Janet Frame is a New Zealand writer. Her childhood was marred by the drowning of her two sisters. In 1945, at the end of her teens, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and interned in an asylum. Inside its walls, she received hundred of electroshocks. It is also during this period that she started writing. This writing saved her from a lobotomy because she received a literature price just prior to the surgery. In 1961, her novel about her experiences in the asylum, ?Faces in the Water,? was published ? making her very popular. She continued to write all her life. She died in 2004 of leukemia. She is one of New Zealand?s most prized writers and there is even a movie about her ?An Angel at my Table? by much lauded director Jane Campion.

Obit1

Mary Barnes was a British painter who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She voluntary admitted herself to Kinsley Hall in London, which was an experimental and anti-psychiatry community created by Ronal Laing. The object of this community was to cure patients without the use of psychiatry. She eventually recovered completely from her schizophrenia and became a successful painter. She became popular after the publication of her book about her experiences in Kinsley Hall that was written in collaboration with her psychiatrist at that time, Joseph Berke.

175Px-Unica Zurn-1

Unica Zurn was a German writer. She came from a rich family but was emotionally very unstable. She met the artist Hans Bellmer and he introduced her to the surrealist artistic movement that was popular at the time. She created anagrams and drawings and she was talented enough to be published in Berlin?s gallery, Springer. A few years later, she met Henri Michaux, the surrealist writer, and her new friendship with him had a profound effect on her emotional well-being. She wrote ?Der Mann I?m Jasmin,? a beautiful, poetic and profound book about the man that she loved. Soon after, she would be hospitalized in a psychiatric clinic because of depression and psychosis. She tried to kill herself. It was to be the first of multiple stays in psychiatric clinic ? in Berlin and France. She killed herself in 1970.




5

Camille Claudel

1864-1943

Camille Claudel

Camille Claudel was a French sculptor. She is known for her tumultuous relationship with Auguste Rodin. At first, he was her teacher, but quickly, as he became aware of her talent, he began to consult her for every piece of art he was making. They started to create sculptures together but Anguste Rodin got all the media attention and Camille Claudel was still seen only as his student. Eventually, she took off on her own but didn?t get the recognition she deserved. In 1913, she was interned in a psychiatric hospital in France and stayed there for the rest of her life. She was miserable there and stopped sculpting ? receiving only a few visit from her brother (the other members of her family just ignored her). In 1943, she died of malnutrition, alone and depressed in the hospital.

4

Aloize Corbaz

1888-1964

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Aloize was a Swiss artist. She was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital during the first World War for schizophrenia. It was only after 1920 that she started drawing and painting. When Jean Dubuffet, the theorist that created the concept of Art Brut, included her work in his collection, she became a major representative of the movement.

3

Zelda Fitzgerald

1900-1948

220Px-Zelda Fitzgerald Portrait

Zelda Fitzgerald was married to the famous writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald in 1920. They were both regular members of the most prestigious literary clubs in the USA and in Europe. Their glamorous life where champagne was easily accessible had a perverse effect on the couple: Scott slowly became a paralyzed alcoholic and Zelda?s emotional instability led her to multiple psychiatric hospitalizations. In 1930, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. In 1932, in Towson psychiatric clinic, she wrote ?Save Me the Waltz,? an autobiographic novel about her life with her husband. In 1948 she died in a huge fire in the psychiatric hospital where she was staying (Highland Mental Hospital).

Susanna Kaysen-1

Suzanna Kaysen wrote ?Girl, Interrupted? in 1993. It is a memoir of her hospitalization in MacLean Psychiatric Hospital in 1967. She stayed there for eighteen months for depression and borderline personality. In 1999, James Mangold created a cinematic adaptation of her book in which she is portrayed by Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie interprets brilliantly another patient.

Sylvia Plath was a writer and American poet who was married to the poet laureate Ted Hughes. Soon, her talent as a writer was uncovered. She published her first poem at the age of eight years-old and she never stopped publishing. In her life, she published a dozen books (all but one were poetry); her only novel was The Bell Jar (1963). Her life was a dark and heavy struggle against her bipolar disorder that she lost when she killed herself in 1963 at the age of 30. In the clip above Plath reads her own incredible poem ?Daddy.?

Source: http://listverse.com/2012/10/25/top-10-female-artists-who-were-institutionalized/

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Admiralty Arch sold for 60 million pounds

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Baseball-Tigers determined to forget Game One nightmare

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Minutes after the San Francisco Giants concluded their 8-3 rout of the Detroit Tigers in the opening game of the World Series, Austin Jackson began thinking about Round Two on Thursday.

"It's been that way the whole season," the Tigers centerfielder told reporters after Wednesday's clubbing. "And now it's no different. It's not the time to hang your head on one game.

"We still have to come out and play so you have to have a short memory and forget about it."

Doug Fister, who grew up near San Francisco and used to be a Giants fan, received the call for the Tigers in Game Two. The right-hander has pitched 13-and-a-third innings this postseason and given up two runs while striking out 13.

The Giants will go with southpaw Madison Bumgarner, who has struggled down the stretch. In Game Four of the National League Championship Series against St. Louis, Bumgarner pitched three-and-two-third innings and gave up six runs.

"We were going through some mechanical issues, just some small things that might have affected my arm and made it more difficult to throw, and that's really all it was," Bumgarner told reporters.

"I think we've got it fixed. There's no way to tell 100 percent until you get out there and get going game speed. But hopefully that's all it was.

"But regardless, whether the velocity is up tomorrow or down or whatever, I've still got to find a way to make pitches and compete, keep us in the game."

Bumgarner was yanked from the starting rotation after two poor playoff starts but Giants manager Bruce Bochy said "we're confident in Madison."

"These guys are human, sometimes they're going to have their hiccups," Bochy told reporters. "He's worked on some things in the bullpen, and he needs to back off a little bit and just not try to do too much out there.

"So the time that he's had to work on some things should help him. We forget how young he is at 23. But he's been working to get back in sync and get his delivery back."

The Giants used three homers by Pablo Sandoval and battered Tigers starter Justin Verlander, widely considered the game's best pitcher, to take the opening game of the series.

San Francisco won three straight in the National League Division Series to beat Cincinnati, and overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat St. Louis in the NLCS. They now have a rare 1-0 lead.

Despite the opening-night whipping, Detroit's locker room was anything but morgue-like.

"In baseball, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose," said Tigers slugger Prince Fielder. "The great thing is that we get to play tomorrow."

Tigers manager Jim Leyland believes Wednesday's loss will have no bearing on Thursday's outcome.

"I'm a guy that doesn't believe in momentum in baseball," he said. "I think momentum is your next day's pitcher." (Editing by Patrick Johnston)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/baseball-tigers-determined-forget-game-one-nightmare-090500314--mlb.html

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GDP Beats Forecasts and Climbs By 2%

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No comments - John Vespasian

At the beginning of the 16th century, life expectancy in Europe was much shorter that nowadays. Typhus and tuberculosis were fairly common. Influenza and common colds were lethal for undernourished peasants plagued by vermin and lice. Large numbers of deaths took place every winter.

The knowledge from ancient Greece and Rome

?Medicine at that time was evolving from mysticism into science. Renaissance physicians took over the knowledge from ancient Greece and Rome, developed their own ideas, and began to experiment with new treatments. The sale of curative herbs and potions was a booming business, although few of those remedies actually proved beneficial to patients.

When wealthy merchants became sick, they had the means to pay for the services of the best physicians, from which there were only a few in each city. Since Universities produced small numbers of graduates, tending to the sick was a lucrative and prestigious occupation.

New ideas generate both opportunity and risk

The discovery of new medical knowledge generated opportunity and risk. On the one hand, innovative cures benefited patients and created the basis for further research. On the other hand, new remedies disrupted the established business of physicians and pharmacists.

Medical practitioners had little incentive to abandon useless treatments for which they could charge hefty fees. The discovery of inexpensive natural remedies undermined their incomes and reputations.

Why did ignorance and prejudice persist?

Historical distance allows us to contemplate the 16th century with a feeling of superiority. When we read about the beliefs that people upheld five hundred years ago, we react with amusement. Why did knowledge evolve so slowly? Why did ignorance and prejudice persist for so long?

The best minds of the 16th century asked the same questions. Paracelsus (1493-1541) offers a striking example in the field of medicine. His real name was Theophrastus von Hohenheim, which he changed himself to Paracelsus. The philosophical lesson to be learned from his life goes far beyond the scope of medical techniques.

We know little of Paracelsus' infancy. Like many middle-class youths of his time, he must have picked up the rudiments of Latin through private lessons. A knowledge of Latin was the only formal requirement to study at European Universities. The choice of subjects was mostly limited to theology, medicine, and law.

While Paracelsus completed his medical studies in Ferrara (Italy), the pest broke out and began to decimate the population. Those who could afford it left Ferrara for the countryside in order to avoid contagion. The poor remained in town and the epidemic wiped out complete families.

He realized that the old solutions did not work

The municipality hired men to remove the sick from their houses and transport them to a closed camp outside the city wall, where they would be abandoned to die. Paracelsus, who was still a medical student, soon understood that medieval treatments, such as bleeding patients, were ineffective against the pest.

This realization led him to experiment with alternative methods. When the pest receded and normal life returned to Ferrara, Paracelsus presented his new ideas at the University. To his surprise, his views were met with scepticism and hostility. The professors in Ferrara did not welcome suggestions that contradicted inherited knowledge.

After graduation, Paracelsus travelled extensively throughout Europe. Sometimes, he would settle down in a city to practice medicine for a year; on other occasions, he would take up a position as surgeon in one of the armies involved in the wars that ravaged the Renaissance.

Travelling allowed him to learn new skills

As his medical knowledge and expertise grew, so did his irritation with the incompetence of fellow physicians. Thanks to his wide travelling, Paracelsus had accumulated impressive surgical skills and long experience in the use of herbs and minerals for curative purposes. In contrast, the average medic in the 16th century possessed only the little knowledge that he had acquired at the University.

Paracelsus' effectiveness increased his fame, but his criticism of ignorant doctors made him many enemies. His conflicts with colleagues became extreme after he was appointed to teach medicine at the University of Basel (Switzerland).

With the perspective of five centuries, we can clearly see how unrealistic Paracelsus' expectations were. It was undeniable that he had acquired more knowledge than other physicians; nevertheless, it was chimerical for him to expect his colleagues to make way for truth when innovation undermined their livelihoods and reputations.

Why his attempts failed even if he was right

Is it not unfair that Paracelsus had to face such a strong resistance? Was his indignation at his ignorant colleagues not well justified? My point is that these questions are irrelevant because they are based on incorrect assumptions.

Unrealistic expectations are hard to discard because they are based on delusions of entitlement. Paracelsus felt wrongly entitled to reshape the world according to truth and innovation, even though the great majority of his contemporaries had vested interests in clinging to the past.

As a result, Paracelsus was forced to quit his position at the University of Basel a year later and return to his itinerant life. Although he was one of the best physicians of his time, he died in poverty before his 48th birthday.

A major philosophical lesson

The fact is that knowledge, expertise, or desire do not grant magical powers to anyone. Unrealistic expectations lead to waste and decay. A workable plan is worth a million debates. Let go of chimerical projects and focus on what can be reasonably accomplished. Stay away from grandiose undertakings and concentrate on entrepreneurship, which is the practical way to achievement.

For more information about rational living and personal development, I refer you to my book about how to be rational? "The 10 Principles of Rational Living"

[Text: http://johnvespasian.blogspot.com]

[Image by faul under Creative Commons Attribution License. See the license terms under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us]

Source: http://johnvespasian.blogspot.com/2012/10/paracelsus-great-teaching-and-massive.html

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The Silent Story of Male Breast Cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time we typically associate with women, mothers, and pink ribbons. But what many of us don't realize is that men can also be victims of this deadly disease.

Harvey Singer, a breast cancer survivor and the creator of HISBreastCancer.org, joined hosts Jacob Soboroff and Janet Varney on HuffPost Live to discuss his experience as a man with breast cancer.

?The medical community was not set up to handle guys with this disease,? Singer shared. ?That?s when things really started spinning for me. I started looking at alternatives and what I was going to do for surgery. You have to be your own personal advocate for this disease.?

Because the cause of his breast cancer was hormonally driven, Singer was given the same types of treatments women receive despite differences in the levels and types of hormones he was producing. ?They don?t know how to segregate that from a male and a female, so they just treat you with the common things they would treat a woman with. That was the most disturbing part to me.?

Dr. Richard Clapp, founder and former director of MA Cancer Registry and Epidemiologist/Professor Emeritus at Boston University Dept of Environmental Health and Mike Partain, born at Camp Lejeune during what has become known as one of the worst contaminated drinking water tragedies in American history, discussed this topic with Soboroff, Varney, and Singer.

Watch the full segment on HuffPost Live.

Related on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/24/the-silent-story-of-male-_n_2010276.html

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Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Twitter Buys Vine, Plans Video Feature | Small Business Trends

For some time, experts have extolled the virtue of both online video and social media for business marketing and communications. Recent news suggests that one of the most popular social media channels will soon offer video as part of its service. What remains to be seen is how the new feature will change the way businesses use social media and video to market, communicate, and network.

Seeing is Believing

Tweet this video. Of course, Twitter users have long been able to share video, usually by posting it to YouTube, Vimeo Twitvid, or another third party host, but news that Twitter has just bought Vine, a tiny video-sharing startup, suggests the company?s ambitions may go much farther than simply supporting these third party options. Business Insider

Twitvid beware. The new plan could be bad news for Twitvid and a handful of other third party video hosts like yFrog, Mobypicture, and Vodpod. Up until now, Twitter has nurtured such third party developers that give its platform an additional video dimension, but now seems intent upon bringing video features in-house, possibly for the opportunity to sell advertising on video content. Venture Beat

The Medium is the Message.

Speaking their language. If you haven?t started using video for your online business yet, Paul Farrell of Frederick Digital Media can give you some idea of what you could be missing out on. Customers like this medium with Web video increasing the likelihood of purchase by 145 percent and decreasing the likelihood of product returns by 45 percent. Wood Street Inc.

Choosing what to say. Once you?ve decided to use video for your business, the next decision becomes choosing the message you will communicate. Laura Jennings, a marketing professional with Fountain Partnership in the U.K., has some suggestions for the most effective messages to use with video content. They include testimonials, instructional videos, and more. Have a look at the full post. True to Business

Staying Connected

The ties that bind. While contemplating how you could use video in social media, it might be a good idea to review what constitutes the most effective social networking. Small business and marketing blogger Daniel Kehrer offers these tips on how to make your connections count. BizBest

Power user status. There are, of course, other social media channels besides Twitter, and each platform comes with its own features and standards for helping you connect with others both in your niche and beyond. No matter what overall message you are trying to communicate, be sure to become knowledgeable about the differences between these networks. Here Cendrine Marrouat gives us tips for LinkedIn best practices. Creative Ramblings

Tarnishing your brand. Using social media poorly, whether sharing video or some other content, may have its consequences too. Just look at the results of a recent study shared by blogger Kimberly Crossland showing what might cause people to unlike your brand on Facebook. Bad behavior on all social media platforms, as during live networking events, can cause censure and damage to your brand. Make sure your efforts don?t hurt your business. The Savvy Copywriter

Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/10/twitter-plans-video-feature.html

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Equifax to Forfeit Money Made by Allegedly Improperly Selling ...

One of the largest U.S. consumer reporting agencies, Equifax Information Services LLC, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it improperly sold lists of consumers who were late on their mortgage payments.? In two separate actions, both Equifax and the companies that allegedly bought and resold the information from it will pay a total of nearly $1.6 million to resolve charges that they violated the FTC Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

The two settlements are part of the FTC?s ongoing efforts to protect consumers in financial distress and to protect consumer privacy.? Equifax will pay $393,000 to resolve allegations that its inadequate procedures led to the sale of lists of consumer information to firms that should not have received them.? According to the FTC, Equifax sold more than 17,000 prescreened lists of consumers to companies including Direct Lending Source, Inc., which subsequently resold some lists to third parties, who used their data to pitch loan modification and debt relief services to people in financial distress.

As part of a separate settlement, Direct Lending Source will pay a $1.2 million civil penalty,and will be barred from using or selling prescreened lists without a permissible purpose, or in connection with solicitations for debt relief or mortgage assistance relief products or services.

The FTC?s Complaints

The FTC alleged that between January 2008 and early 2010, Equifax sold Direct Lending and its affiliates lists of people who met selected criteria ? known as prescreened lists.? According to the agency?s complaint, the lists contained information about millions of consumers, including sensitive information such as credit scores and whether they were 30, 60, or 90 days late on their mortgage payments.

According to the FTC, neither Direct Lending nor its affiliates, Bailey & Associates Advertising, Inc. and Virtual Lending Source, LLC, had a legally permissible purpose to obtain the prescreened lists.? Under the FCRA, the only permissible purpose for obtaining a prescreened list is to make ?firm offers of credit or insurance? ? which are offers that will be honored if consumers meet pre-selected criteria.? Using a prescreened list for general marketing purposes is not allowed.? The FTC charged that Direct Lending sold the information to third parties that then used it to market products to consumers in financial distress, including companies that have been the subject of law enforcement investigations.

The FTC alleged that, in addition to providing the lists to entities without a permissible purpose and having inadequate procedures to prevent this from happening, Equifax failed to properly investigate when it learned Direct Lending was violating Equifax?s internal policies on prescreening.? The FTC also alleged that Equifax knew or should have known that in many cases Direct Lending resold the lists without telling Equifax who would end up using the information.? Despite these failures, the FTC alleged Equifax continued selling prescreened lists to Direct Lending.? The FTC alleged that Equifax?s failure to employ appropriate measures to control access to sensitive consumer information was unfair, in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act.

Direct Lending and its affiliates and principals allegedly violated the FTC Act and the FCRA by:? 1) obtaining prescreened lists without having a permissible purpose; 2) reselling the reports without disclosing to the consumer reporting agency that provided them who the end users would be; 3) failing to maintain reasonable procedures to ensure that prospective users had a permissible purpose to get them; 4) to the extent that firm offers of credit were made, failing to maintain a record of the criteria used to select consumers for these offers; and 5) failing to employ appropriate measures to control access to sensitive consumer financial information.

The Proposed Equifax Settlement

In addition to requiring the payment of $393,000, the proposed settlement with Equifax prohibits the company from:

  • furnishing prescreened lists to anyone that it does not have reason to believe has a permissible purpose to receive them;
  • failing to maintain reasonable procedures to limit the furnishing of prescreened lists to anyone except those who have a permissible purpose to receive them; and
  • selling prescreened lists in connection with offers for debt relief products or services and mortgage assistance relief products and services, when advance fees are charged, with limited exceptions.

The Direct Lending Settlement

The court order settling the FTC?s charges against the Direct Lending defendants imposes a $1.2 million civil penalty and prohibits them from:

  • using or obtaining consumer reports without a permissible purpose;
  • using or selling consumer reports in connection with solicitations for debt relief or mortgage assistance relief products or services offered by entities that charge advance fees;
  • failing to disclose to the consumer reporting agency that originally furnishes the report the identity of the end user of the report, and each permissible purpose for which the report is being provided to an end user; and
  • failing to establish and comply with reasonable procedures designed to ensure that a report is resold only for a purpose for which it has been furnished.

The Commission vote to approve the consent agreement package containing the proposed settlement order with Equifax was 5-0.? The FTC will publish a description of the consent agreement package in the Federal Register shortly.? The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days, until November 9, 2012, after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final.

Interested parties can submit written comments on the proposed Equifax settlement order electronically or in paper form by following the instructions in the ?Invitation To Comment? part of the ?Supplementary Information? section.

Comments can be submitted electronically by clicking here. ? Comments in paper form should be mailed or delivered to:? Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.? The FTC is requesting that any comment filed in paper form near the end of the public comment period be sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security precautions.

The Commission vote to approve the settlement order against the Direct Lending defendants and refer the case to the Department of Justice for filing was 5-0.? The complaint was filed by Department of Justice on October 9, 2012, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.? The settlement will become final when signed by the judge, and is not subject to public comment.

The Direct Lending defendants include Direct Lending Source, Inc.; Bailey & Associates Advertising, Inc.; Virtual Lending Source, LLC; Robert M. Bailey, Jr., individually and as an officer of the corporate defendants; and Linda Giordano, individually and as an officer of the corporate defendants.

Information for Consumers

For information about debt relief, tax relief, and mortgage assistance relief services, see Money Matters:? Debt Relief Services, Mortgage Assistance Relief Scams:? Another Potential Stress for Homeowners in Distress, and Tax Relief Companies ? More Pain Than Gain?

NOTE:? The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has ?reason to believe? that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest.? The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the respondent has actually violated the law.? A consent agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by the respondent that the law has been violated.? When the Commission issues a consent order on a final basis, it carries the force of law with respect to future actions.? Each violation of such an order may result in a civil penalty of up to $16,000.

NOTE: ?The Commission authorizes the filing of a complaint when it has ?reason to believe? that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest.? The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendant has actually violated the law.? This consent judgment is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by the defendant of a law violation.? Consent judgments have the force of law when signed by the District Court judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC?s online Complaint Assistant or call
1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC?s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.? Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

Similar Posts:

Source: http://ctwatchdog.com/finance/equifax-to-forfeit-money-made-by-allegedly-improperly-selling-information-about-millions-of-consumers-who-were-late-on-their-mortgages

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splendor heliport: 3 Easy Billiards Tips That Will Make A Difference ...

Reading about the tips and tricks of the pro billiard players can boost your game. There are many challenges your mind will face on a billiard table, knowing what to expect can help you be prepared. The unfamiliar shots that can show up suddenly pose challenges in any billiards game. But the more you study and practice, then you will be that much more confident about what you can do. When you have more confidence, then you will be more relaxed and able to make more shots. This article offers three powerful billiards tips that will give your game a better edge. Like so many other individual performance sports, we have our good days and others that are not as good as we wished. That is totally normal in all sports. Nevertheless the people who take the opportunity are able to stay at peace, acknowledge what is taking place, scrutinize the events, and make the correct alterations.

So if you happen to be having an off-day or game, then be responsiveness. What you can do is transform your principal method, or shift it, to one that is more old-fashioned. If you are already an old school player, then just play things a tad more harmless than you generally would. It?s often said that affecting follow of the cue by hitting it above center is best. There are of course other methods to handling follow through. Develop a refined follow by striking the cue ball with a motion that comes across fluid. At the same time use the short impact and strike above center as always. Your accuracy and control will improve if you are not above center and your hand and arm are relaxed and follow through is smooth. Line up straight with the cue during your aim and setup. You only have two options for cue movement, straight forward and straight backwards both in a linear movement or line of travel. While aiming your shot you will want a straight line of site to address the target ball where you want the cue ball to strike it. It?s not a great idea to go for any effect that concerns power or the degree of force used to strike the cue ball. You will only set yourself up for failure if you use too much power and miss the shot all together. Occasionally, you will see and read dissimilar and ostensibly incompatible billiards clues for the same thing. Or, there are small differentiations as far as clues go for playing in a distinctive manner or making a move. If you aren?t certain, or speculate, about what is optimal, then all you need to do is try some things out. Yes, test out your own experiments and find out which recommendations bode well for you. We all have differences, and there could be a piece of one recommendation that goes well with your style better than the other. Please refer to this website for information on employment and paralegal salary expectations.

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Source: http://hotnews.blogspages.com/2012/10/09/3-easy-billiards-tips-that-will-make-a-difference-3/

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Source: http://splendor-heliport.blogspot.com/2012/10/3-easy-billiards-tips-that-will-make.html

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