Friday, August 31, 2012

Easy Tips Planning A New Coat Of House Paint | Olger Fallas ...

When you plan well for your house painting, you will get good results and will be pleased with the efforts put in. When you doubt what constitutes a good plan, take heed of the following instructions and tips, which come from various home improvement researches.

  1. Include all associated expenses and risks as part of your budget

To keep your expenses low, you must avoid extra costs arising due to the improvement exercise. For example, there are costs associated with moving furniture from the house and back, unless you are relying on volunteers. Costs can also accrue from broken furniture. Breakages happen when you move furniture around the house, or when you are working outdoors and have to dismantle structures like gazebos and patios.

Use insurance to cover these items during the exercise. While the cost of a policy may seem prohibitive for such a temporary job, the cost of not doing it is equally fatal. A solution is to ask that all your contractors, including painters, must have insurance covers. That way, if they destroy your precious items, their cover pays.

  1. Find a great professional painter for your house

There are some houses that are very appealing to passers-by, making them ask themselves for the person who did the paint job. Well, finding out who does a great painting job is quite easy. A good service sells itself. The best option is to take a walk around your neighbourhood or drive around if you intend to cover a larger area. However, walking is better because it is friendlier to strangers, other than driving around their houses like a stalker! Here?s a more detailed procedure to do this:

Step 1

When you see an attractive job, approach the homeowner and ask about the painting and for the details of the painter. You can then follow up the details to the painter and ask to see more of their portfolio. Often, if they have done a good job, the house owners will be glad to give you the information.

Step 2

Ask the homeowners about the customer service component of the painter. If you are already checking more than one painter?s job, the answers to your queries will give you assurance of what to expect.

On the other hand, you could already have used a reputable painter in one of your previous houses. Since you are already satisfied with their job, this exercise will just be a formality so that in case you need a replacement or have an urgent job when your painter is unavailable.

A good way to tell a great painting job is to ask how long it has passed since the wall was last painted. Next, you must look at how the painter clears up the mess after finishing the job because this is part of customer service. Professional painters may work as independent contractors or as a company.

  1. Find out what complements a good paint job

Many homes lose their appeal because of disorganization. Even when you have the right furniture and you redo your walls, having messy arrangements is a complete put off. The emotions of colour and lighting cannot penetrate the murkiness of haphazard placement of both household and other home items.

Have a proper arrangement of things to leave a sense of order and space. When done correctly, focal points will be visible and this can be your repainted walls, thus ensuring that your efforts do not go down the drain.

Check your storage areas and get rid of many extras that you will not use in future. Storage areas in your home are for items or tools that you will use in the near future. The storage area should be well constructed or arranged so that your items do not break or lose their beauty when stored. You will need them in perfect condition when you are doing your next home improvement assignment.

The task of improving your home should not be a nightmare experience for your family. You should make adequate arrangements that ensure you and your loved ones are able to keep on living. The painting job can occur in a systematic manner. You achieve this by creating a flow map of your house and begin at the furthest point from the access way. The work can then proceed as it decreases your inconveniences.

Out of five homeowners, four would say that they would not think of repainting while they lived in the same house because their painters have done a messy job. So, remember to conduct a due diligence of your preferred painter?s quality of service to avoid a shoddy job later ? you can still net the last 1 good painter out of those 5!

The author of this guest post, Mr. Kevin Gere, is an avid home improvement blogger from Mitchelton, Queensland. He recommends Brisbane Painters for quality craftsmanship and reliable service at reasonable prices.

Source: http://olgerfallaspainting.com/easy-tips-planning-new-coat-house-paint/

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Source: http://jcshelton.typepad.com/blog/2012/08/easy-tips-planning-a-new-coat-of-house-paint-olger-fallas-painting.html

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healthy vegan friday #6 | the veggie nook

Happy Friday my awesome plant-based enthusiasts! I?m super busy getting packed up and ready to go, so today?s post is going to be quick. But I just couldn?t deprive you all of another week of Healthy Vegan Fridays. Because what would we do without all this awesome vegan inspiration all compiled in one handy place?

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For those of you who don?t know, Healthy Vegan Fridays is a new weekly blog hop hosted by myself, Shelby @ Everyday Vegan Girl and Carrie @ Carrie on Vegan. It is a place to share your healthy vegan recipes that make use of whole ingredients and minimize the use of processed and refined foods. The recipes shared on this link up are intended to emphasis the beauty, creativity and benefits of a healthy, plant-based diet!

Last week was another awesome party, thanks so much guys! Here?s the recap:

Most Popular Submissions

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How I Lost 56 Pounds With the Green Smoothie Diet from Katherine @ Green Thickies

Read her amazing story if you haven?t already and witness the power of whole plant foods!

Creamy Avocado Chickpea Pasta from Sarina @ Earth Given

I loved this dish from the first moment I saw it. This looks filling and delicious!

Cherry Ripe Bites from NutriDude

Cherries and chocolate- do you even have to ask?

My Top Picks

Favourite Main Event: Enchiladas with Avocado Cream Sauce by Made to Create

I love Mexican flavours and this just looks perfect with that Avocado cream sauce!

Favourite Sensible Snack: Orange Coconut Larabars?by Sarah @ This is What I Eat

Who doesn?t love recreating their favourite store-bought products. And this flavour sounds amazing! Great for a grab-and-go snack.

Favourite Indulgence: Low Fat Raw Vegan Chocolate Silk Pie by Tandi @ The Peaceful Kitchen

This raw pie uses irish moss as the main filling ingredient making it so much lighter than many raw desserts. So cool!

Now it?s time for Healthy Vegan Friday #6!

My submission for the week:

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Avocado & Jalapeno Potato Salad

Continuing the salad theme from last week, I?m sharing another delicious salad recipe that would be an awesome addition to any long weekend barbeque! Getting it?s creaminess form avocado instead of mayonnaise, this is a recreation of one of my favourite salads from an Irish vegetarian restaurant.

So, if you have a healthy vegan recipe (or 2) to share, please add it to the list below! If not, feel free to browse the submissions and get inspired! You can also check out our Facebook page and Pinterest Board and feel free to tweet about it using the hashtag #VeganFridays. Feel free to grab our button (code is on the sidebar) to help promote this even and show your vegan pride.

You don?t have to be vegan to submit, just needs to be a vegan recipe. So share that creativity of yours!

Thanks, and have a great weekend :)


Submission Guidelines

  • You do not have to be a vegan food blogger to link up, but all recipes must be 100% vegan.

  • All recipe submissions should focus on the most whole, unprocessed and unrefined ingredients as much as possible, although we will still accept recipes that make use of some processed/refined ingredients.

  • You may submit current or past recipes, just make sure they are not ones that you have shared previously on this blog hop.

  • Besides recipes, feel free to submit informative posts that are aimed at promoting vegan, plant-based diets.

  • You must provide a link back to this blog party on your submitted post. You can either grab our badge to display or a clickable link back somewhere on the post you are submitting.

  • When linking up, please make sure to link back to the post you are submitting, not the homepage of your blog

Legal Disclaimer

By linking up to Healthy Vegan Fridays, you guarantee that the pictures and posts are your own and not that of someone else. You also agree to give permission to all hostesses (Shelby, Gabby and Carrie) to make use of your pictures and posts on our own Healthy Vegan Friday posts, as well as giving us permission to re-post them on Pinterest, Twitter and/or Facebook.

Source: http://veggienook.com/2012/08/31/healthy-vegan-friday-6/

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Merkel urges Israel not to strike Iran: report

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to order a military strike against Iranian nuclear sites, the newspaper Haaretz reported on Friday.

The article, citing an Israeli official on condition of anonymity, said Merkel had called Netanyahu 10 days ago amid a wave of reports of an imminent Israeli attack, to give a "clear message as to her opposition" to such action.

Merkel urged Netanyahu to "give more time for sanctions and diplomacy to work," and warned of the consequences of such an attack for security in the Middle East.

A spokesman for Netanyahu refused to comment on the report or to confirm the conversation had taken place.

Israel and its main ally the United States accuse Iran of seeking to develop an atomic arsenal, but Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only.

Netanyahu told a visiting US congressman last Friday that Iran was speeding up its quest for nuclear weapons in defiance of international sanctions.

The Haaretz article described the phone call as "exceptional" given the "almost complete disconnect" for two months between Merkel and Netanyahu after a sharp disagreement over Israeli settlements and the Palestinian issue.

Deputy government spokesman Georg Streiter told a Berlin news conference he could "not confirm (the information in) this article," reminding that Berlin did not believe in a military solution to the Iran nuclear issue.

Merkel also said an Israeli attack would have severe consequences for the European Union and that international sanctions, which were taking their toll on Iran, should be strengthened and given time to work, Haaretz wrote.

Iran has doubled its capacity to produce enriched uranium at its underground Fordo plant, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report released late on Thursday.

The IAEA also accuses Iran of frustrating UN inspection of its Parchin plant, where it suspects tests of explosives that could be used in a nuclear warhead were carried out, by scrubbing it clean.

Netanyahu said on Thursday he would present to the UN the "truth about the terror regime of Iran" at his General Assembly address in late September.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/merkel-urges-israel-not-strike-iran-report-002009976.html

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Thursday, August 30, 2012

5 myths about the Emergency Contraceptive Pill, busted - Healthy ...

Emergency contraception pills (ECPs) are the subject of more rumors and misunderstandings than any celebrity I can name?despite the fact that the medical community has been studying them for over 50 years. Part of the confusion is due to outdated information included in package labeling, and part is due to political interference with science.If the condom broke, you forgot a pill, or things went further than you planned, having a Plan B?pun intended?can make a big difference. So if you ever had, have, or might have sex, it?s important to separate the fact from the fiction where ECPs are concerned?starting with the realities behind these 5 common myths.

Myth 1: There?s only one ECP option?and it?s hard to get.

There are more than two dozen types of ECPs in the U.S. The most common is the levonorgestrel-only pill?the best known brands of it are Plan B One-Step and Next Choice. Anyone age 17 or over can get it at a pharmacy without a prescription by showing proof of age like a driver?s license or other ID. For those under 17, a doctor must write a prescription. Most clinics accept walk-in patients who need emergency contraception (EC) in a hurry. A newer ECP called ella contains ulipristal acetate and requires a prescription regardless of age. You can consult with a doctor and get a prescription for ella online. Side effects are low with either method, but some women have nausea, abdominal cramps, or changes in their next period.

There?s also the Yuzpe method, where plain old birth control pills taken in higher amounts can be used as EC. This table shows the needed amounts for different types of pills. This method may be convenient, especially if birth control pills are already on hand, but it?s associated with more nausea and vomiting compared to other options.

Getting ECPs as quickly as possible after unprotected sex is important since their effectiveness decreases over time. The ideal is to take them immediately after sex, but they can help prevent a pregnancy when taken up to five days after. Bedsider has an EC search with locations providing EC if you?re not sure where to get it in your area.

Myth 2: ECPs cause abortion.

Some people confuse ECPs with medication abortion pills, but they are not the same thing. (At all.) Levonorgestrel, the progestin hormone in Plan B One-Step and Next Choice, has no effect on an established pregnancy. All ECPs prevent pregnancy by delaying ovulation, so the egg and sperm never meet up. Studies show that ECPs are not effective if a woman has already ovulated.

Little-known fact: After sex, sperm hang around in the fallopian tubes for days waiting for an egg to appear. If an egg doesn?t show up, the sperm eventually give up. That?s why ECPs only work for up to 5 days after sex, and why it?s important to take them as soon as you can.

Myth 3: I partied last night, so taking ECPs now is dangerous.

Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs don?t change the effectiveness of ECPs. Partying may affect how likely you are to hook up, but there?s no reason for it to affect your decision to take EC the next day. In general, the benefits of taking ECPs far outweigh the risks?especially since not taking it can mean dealing with the risks that come with pregnancy. It makes sense if you think about it like this:

  • EC is a one-time dose of a higher level of a hormone your body makes naturally.
  • Pregnancy is a nine-month dose of those same hormones, but at even higher levels.

Myth 4: If I take ECPs today, I?m covered if we have unprotected sex again tomorrow.

ECPs are only good to protect against one act of unprotected sex. They work by blocking ovulation, but only for a few days, so if you take them and have unprotected sex again afterwards, you?re significantly increasing your risk of a pregnancy. If you have unprotected sex again within a few days of taking the pills, there will be more sperm waiting in the fallopian tubes when the egg is eventually released.

Myth 5: ECPs will mess up your fertility if you take them too many times.

There is zero evidence that taking ECPs multiple times affects future fertility. Probably the biggest risk of taking ECPs multiple times is an eventual unintended pregnancy. ECPs prevent about 7 out of 8 pregnancies that would otherwise occur, meaning it?s less effective than other types of birth control like the pill, patch, and ring. It?s way less effective than the IUD or implant. Also, depending on your health insurance, it may be expensive.

If you find you?re taking ECPs regularly, it?s probably more affordable?not to mention more effective?to talk to your health care provider about which non-emergency method of birth control could be right for you. But if you ever have an emergency situation, don?t believe the rumors?ECPs are a safe and effective second chance to prevent an accidental pregnancy.

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7 in 10 pregnancies among single women in their 20s are unplanned. Bedsider has set out to reduce that number by making birth control easier. Bedsider.org (Bedsider) is an online birth control support network for women 18-29 operated by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a private non-profit organization. Bedsider serves up authoritative contraception information in a sexy, friendly, and funny way that women? find informative and entertaining. Bedsider is a HealthyYouNow.com partner.

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Source: http://healthyyounow.com/home/2012/08/5-myths-about-the-emergency-contraceptive-pill-busted/

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Isaac nears New Orleans on Katrina date

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? Hurricane Isaac knocked out power, flooded Gulf-front roads and pushed water over the top of an 18-mile section of a rural Louisiana levee before dawn Wednesday as it began a slow, wet slog across the state with a newly fortified New Orleans in its path.

Wind gusts and sheets of rain pelted the nearly empty streets of New Orleans, where people watched the incoming Isaac from behind levees that were strengthened after the much stronger Hurricane Katrina hit seven years ago to the day.

Water pushed by the large and powerful storm flooded over an 18-mile stretch of one levee in Plaquemines Parish south of New Orleans, flooding some homes in a thinly populated area. No injuries were reported.

Parish President Billy Nungesser said a portion of the roof of his home had blown off. He described wind-driven rain coming into his home as "like standing in a light socket with a fire hose turned on."

Isaac was packing 80 mph winds, making it a Category 1 hurricane. It came ashore at 7:45 p.m. EDT Tuesday near the mouth of the Mississippi River, driving a wall of water nearly 11 feet high inland and soaking a neck of land that stretches into the Gulf of Mexico. Its next major target was New Orleans, 70 miles to the northwest, where forecasters said the city's skyscrapers could feel gusts up to 100 mph.

Isaac's winds and sheets of rain were whipping through nearly empty streets in New Orleans while in neighboring Mississippi the storm pushed Gulf water over sections of the main beachfront highway that runs the length of the state's shore.

Ryan Bernie, a spokesman for the city of New Orleans, said the storm had caused only some minor street flooding before dawn and felled trees but had left roughly 125,000 customers in the city without power.

In Mississippi, the main beachfront highway, U.S. 90, was closed in sections by storm surge flooding. At one spot in Biloxi, a foot of water covered the in-town highway for a couple of blocks and it looked like more was coming in. High tide around 9:30 a.m. was likely to bring up more water.

In largely abandoned Plaquemines Parish, storm surge was piling up against levees between the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River along the boot of Louisiana. A levee on the parish's evacuated east bank had been overtopped.

Plaquemines emergency management spokesman Caitlin Campbell said an 18-mile stretch along the thinly populated east bank was being overtopped by surge. Sheriff's deputies were going house-to-house getting residents who'd remained after an earlier evacuation to move to higher ground. Campbell said no injuries were reported and streets were passable.

Hundreds of thousands of people were without power across the state's southern parishes, including more than 250,000 in New Orleans and its suburbs, power provider Entergy reported.

Tens of thousands of people had been told ahead of Isaac to leave low-lying areas of Mississippi and Louisiana, including 700 patients of Louisiana nursing homes. Mississippi shut down the state's 12 shorefront casinos.

The hurricane promised to lend even more solemnity to commemoration ceremonies Wednesday for Katrina's 1,800 dead in Louisiana and Mississippi, including the tolling of the bells at St. Louis Cathedral overlooking New Orleans' Jackson Square.

As Isaac neared the city, there was little fear or panic.

"Isaac is the son of Abraham," said Margaret Thomas, who was trapped for a week in her home in New Orleans' Broadmoor neighborhood by Katrina's floodwaters, yet chose to stay put this time. "It's a special name. That means God will protect us."

Still, the storm drew intense scrutiny because of its timing __ coinciding with Katrina and the first major speeches of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., already delayed and tempered by the storm.

Gulf Coast officials warned of the dangers of the powerful storm but decided not to call for mass evacuations like those that preceded Katrina, which packed 135 mph winds in 2005.

"We don't expect a Katrina-like event, but remember there are things about a Category 1 storm that can kill you," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said, urging people to use common sense and to stay off any streets that may flood.

Tracy Smith, 26, a New Orleans resident who decided that she and her family would be safer at La Quinta hotel near the quarter than at home, ducked outside shortly after midnight to gauge the storm's severity. Farrell yelled over to her to watch out for a restaurant sign that had become partially detached from a building and threatened to fly off.

Smith, a former deputy sheriff, was trapped for several days with about 100 inmates in a New Orleans jail during Hurricane Katrina, up to her waist in floodwaters. She is still haunted by the experience.

"That's why I was panicked for this storm," she said.

Isaac promises to test a New Orleans levee system bolstered by $14 billion in federal repairs and improvements after the catastrophic failures during Hurricane Katrina. But in a city that has already weathered Hurricane Gustav in 2008, many had faith.

"I feel safe," said Pamela Young, who was riding out the storm in the Lower 9th Ward with her dog Princess in a new, two-story home built to replace the one destroyed by Katrina.

"If the wind isn't too rough, I can stay right here," she said, tapping on her wooden living room coffee table. "If the water comes up, I can go upstairs."

Isaac posed political challenges with echoes of those that followed Katrina, a reminder of how the storm seven years ago became a symbol of government ignorance and ineptitude.

President Barack Obama sought to demonstrate his ability to guide the nation through a natural disaster and Republicans reassured residents they were prepared Tuesday as they formally nominated the former Massachusetts governor as the Republican Party's presidential candidate.

It was unclear what further effects the storm might have on the festivities in Tampa, where, after a day of delays, Ann Romney gave a sweeping speech aimed at showcasing her husband's personal side, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie issued a broad indictment of Democrats as "disciples of yesterday's politics" who "whistle a happy tune" while taking the country off a fiscal cliff.

There was already simmering political fallout from the storm. Louisiana's Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, who canceled his trip to the convention in Tampa, said the Obama administration's disaster declaration fell short of the federal help he had requested. Jindal said he wanted a promise from the federal government to be reimbursed for storm preparation costs.

"We learned from past experiences, you can't just wait. You've got to push the federal bureaucracy," Jindal said.

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said such requests would be addressed after the storm.

Obama promised that Americans will help each other recover, "no matter what this storm brings."

"When disaster strikes, we're not Democrats or Republicans first, we are Americans first," Obama said at a campaign rally at Iowa State University. "We're one family. We help our neighbors in need."

Along the Gulf coast east of New Orleans, veterans of past hurricanes made sure to take precautions.

Bonnie Chortler, 54, of Waveland, Miss., lost her home during Hurricane Katrina. After hearing forecasts that Isaac could get stronger and stall, she decided to evacuate to her father's home in Red Level, Ala.

"A slow storm can cause a lot more havoc, a lot more long-term power outage, 'cause it can knock down just virtually everything if it just hovers forever," she said.

Those concerns were reinforced by local officials, who imposed curfews in three Mississippi counties.

"This storm is big and it's tightening up and it sat out there for 12 hours south of us and it's pushing that wave action in and there's nowhere for that water to go until it dissipates," said Harrison County Emergency Operations Director Rupert Lacy.

All along U.S. 90, families stood at the edge of the waves to gawk. The Mississippi Sound, protected by barrier islands, is often as still as a lake, but Isaac began stirring breakers before dawn, as it pumped a storm tide toward the coast. Police struggled to clear public piers where water was lapping at the boards, and resorted to bullhorns to try to get sightseers to leave the beach.

In Theodore, Ala., 148 people had taken refuge Tuesday in an emergency shelter set up at the town's high school.

Charlotte McCrary, 41, spent the night along with her husband Bryan and their two sons, 3-year-old Tristan and 1-year-old Gabriel. She spent a year living in a FEMA trailer after Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed her home, and said she still hasn't gotten back to the same place where she was seven years ago.

"I think what it is," Bryan McCrary said, "is it brings back a lot of bad memories."

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Cain Burdeau in New Orleans; Kevin McGill in Houma, La.; Holbrook Mohr in Waveland and Pass Christian, Miss.; Jeff Amy in Biloxi and Gulfport, Miss.; Jay Reeves in Gulf Shores, Ala.; Jessica Gresko in Codon, Ala.; and Curt Anderson at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/isaac-nears-orleans-katrina-date-102319848.html

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Republican convention looks like a tea party gathering

Most tea party Republicans have come to accept Mitt Romney as one of their own. But it's really Paul Ryan that they're enthusiastic about, and many of their champions are key speakers.

By Brad Knickerbocker,?Staff writer / August 28, 2012

Republican vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R) of Wisconsin and his wife Janna, arrive at Tampa International Airport, in Tampa, Fla., Tuesday.

Mary Altaffer/AP

Enlarge

The tea party movement, which exploded on the political scene not long after Barack Obama?s inauguration as president and was a huge force in changing the face of the US Congress two years later, is a strong presence at the Republican convention.

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Tea party values are reflected in the party platform, and tea party favorites are included among the major speakers ? including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, slated to give the keynote address Tuesday night; Ted Cruz, favored to win the US Senate race in Texas; and Sen. Rand Paul, a founding member of the Tea Party Caucus in Congress. Others include US Sen. Marco Rubio, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

US Senate candidate and rancher Deb Fischer from Nebraska, a state senator who calls herself a ?citizen-legislator,? got her three minutes in the spotlight Tuesday when she was one of the early afternoon speakers, one of several lesser-known tea party favorites sprinkled throughout the three-day convention?s program.

Then there?s Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney?s vice presidential pick.

For the most part, tea partyers now support Mr. Romney, but many are even more enthusiastic about Mr. Ryan ? particularly for the budget plan he crafted in the US House of Representatives, which challenged some of the traditional thinking about government spending among his party?s leadership.

Tea Party Express Chairwoman Amy Kremer was asked this week whether she trusted Romney.

?Um, yeah,? she told CNN. ?I think it showed he understands the problems we?re facing when he picked Paul Ryan as his VP. That was very courageous. It was risky, it was courageous, and I actually think it was a brilliant move.?

Others in the movement are more wholehearted in their support of Romney, or at least they accepted the inevitable once the other tea party darlings ? Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Michele Bachmann ? fell away, climbing onboard the Romney bandwagon in order to maintain their influence.

FreedomWorks president Matt Kibbe says, ?The Republicans have taken an important and significant step toward once again carrying the mantle of true fiscal conservatism.? He was speaking of the party platform approved here in Tampa, Fla., but its fiscal essence is much of the Ryan plan ? which has largely?become the Romney-Ryan plan. FreedomWorks is a conservative nonprofit that?s provided major funding for tea party activities.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/hlZ6ghoASC0/Republican-convention-looks-like-a-tea-party-gathering

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? ?three Skiing Safety Ideas To avoid Injury On The Slopes and ...

Once in a while you come across a topic, like ? ?yurtd? ??? turlar? for instance, and it will be instrumental for you to realize there are related areas that it would be very good for you to explore. We are all under various amounts of information overload, and you and others may not slow down enough to think that there is more to the story. There is a more than good chance that what may be useful to you in your situation is a little beyond the immediate scope of what is normally found online or anywhere else. There is no doubt in our minds, at least, that a full grasp or at least familiarity will allow you to catch things you may otherwise have missed. While some information can look a little intimidating at first, depending on what you bring to the table, you are of course more than capable of understanding the issues involved.

Even if you don?t ski, you probably know someone that does. There are plenty of people who absolutely can?t get enough of skiing for whatever reasons. Hardly many things can beat the excitement of going down the slopes and experiencing the wind in your face. For loads of people, the ability to remain on the skis while going down the slope is a huge endeavor. This is why it is essential that good skiing safety tips are in existence. This article provides 3 skiing safety tips that you can utilize so that you can ski and return and return safely from the slopes.

The type of equipment used for the sport is typically the leading cause of accidents no matter what the activity. As a general rule this is true of all sports, recreational activity and even skiing. Using proper ski equipment is important. Borrowing equipment is not a great idea. You can also rent any kind of ski equipment you may need from a professional ski shop at the location where you?ll be vacationing. You may have the opportunity to rent from a local shop close to home and then carry the equipment to your destination. If this is your first ski trip it?s a good idea to go for a professional fitting to get the proper equipment. Relax if you have to. Take a break if you?re feeling a bit tired. You probably are not an Olympic hopeful. So don?t make it harder than what it should be when you should be having fun on the slopes. If you jet down to the lodge (recommended), then you should take advantage of it and have a small bit to eat and drink to warm up and give you energy. You would be surprised at how much energy you expend on the slopes. If you are not accustomed to physical exertion, then you must be careful and not over do it. The next day when you wake-up, your muscles will have their turn to let you know how they feel about what you?ve done. Just don?t exert yourself so much that you get strained or sore muscles. You don?t want to tear muscles or strain a ligament or tendon.

If you are one who loves to pack up and go skiing every weekend you know how packed these places can be on a weekend. Those are the times when you need to be extra vigilant on the trails.

Sure, we?ve seen skiers who are quite rude toward others, and you do need to keep a special eye on their behavior, unfortunately. Abide by the responsibility code of skiers etiquette which has a simple goal of providing safety and security of all who ski. It can be challenging to hit the more narrow trails when the mountain is crowded. In times like these stay alert, give to the right of way, be courteous and above all else be alert at all time. There were some debates on our end about what all to include about ? ?yurtd? ??? turlar? .

We are not sure if our other material will be out when this reaches you, so be sure to check our site for more information.

We recommend that you perform research at applicable authority sites that are known for being reputable and credible.

That will always be a great idea, and you will find that it will be extremely useful.

The only way you will be in a the best position to decide what course to follow is through timely information.

It is more than possible to have a total blast on the slopes in just about all conditions. Keeping in mind important skiing safety tips and implementing proper methods for safety is what makes it all possible. Yes, skiing is fun but it?s a unique sport and recreation simply due to the inherent possibilities for injury to self and others. So keep it clean and play it safe so you can again come and play on the slopes of your favorite ski resort.

You have read through this article and have a better appreciation about ? ?yurtd? ??? turlar? , hopefully. That is why you just never know where things will end up depending on the peculiarities. That is what usually can cause certain issues to come into play. So it is definitely in your best interest to implement further attempts to broaden your knowledge. Still, that should not be any kind of problem considering the vast expanse of the web. But exercise this with responsibility so you only get the best information. Do not always be so quick to accept what you read on the net, and by this time perhaps most people realize that.

~John

Source: http://www.xc-action.com/2012/08/28/three-skiing-safety-ideas-to-avoid-injury-on-the-slopes-and-trails-and-kate-upton/

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In Arctic, Greenpeace picks new fight with old foe

Greenpeace activists including Executive Director of Greenpeace International, Kumi Naidoo, board energy giant Gazprom's Arctic oil platform Prirazlomnaya off the North-eastern coast of Russia in the Pechora Sea on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. Greenpeace activists have stormed a floating oil rig in Russia?s Pechora Sea to protest oil drilling in the Arctic, the environmental organization said on Friday. (AP Photo/ Denis Sinyakov, Greenpeace)

Greenpeace activists including Executive Director of Greenpeace International, Kumi Naidoo, board energy giant Gazprom's Arctic oil platform Prirazlomnaya off the North-eastern coast of Russia in the Pechora Sea on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. Greenpeace activists have stormed a floating oil rig in Russia?s Pechora Sea to protest oil drilling in the Arctic, the environmental organization said on Friday. (AP Photo/ Denis Sinyakov, Greenpeace)

Greenpeace activists are in a boat in front of energy giant Gazprom's Arctic oil platform Prirazlomnaya in the Pechora Sea on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. Greenpeace activists have stormed a floating oil rig in Russia's Pechora Sea, hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the nearest port, to protest oil drilling in the Arctic, the environmental organization said Friday. (AP Photo/Denis Sinyakov, Greenpeace)

This image made available by environmental organization Greenpeace shows Greenpeace activists chained to the anchor chain of the Anna Akhmatova, the vessel which was carrying Gazprom's workers to the Prirazlomnaya platform, in the Pechora Sea about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the nearest port, Murmansk, a city on the extreme northwestern edge of the Russian mainland, Monday Aug. 27, 2012. Gazprom is pioneering Russia's oil drilling in the Arctic. The state-owned company installed the platform there last year and is preparing to drill the first well. Environmentalists have warned that drilling in the Russian Arctic could have disastrous consequences because of a lack of technology to deal with a possible spill in this remote region. (AP Photo/Denis Sinyakov/Greenpeace, HO)

STOCKHOLM (AP) ? Global warming has ignited a rush to exploit Arctic resources ? and Greenpeace is determined to thwart that stampede.

Employing the same daredevil tactics it has used against nuclear testing or commercial whaling, the environmental group is now dead-set on preventing oil companies from profiting from global warming by drilling for oil near the Arctic's shrinking ice cap.

The campaign took off in May 2010, when oil was still gushing from a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico. At the time, Greenpeace was startled by reports that a small Scottish energy firm was proceeding with plans to drill for oil and gas in iceberg-laden waters off western Greenland.

"It felt slightly surreal," recalled Ben Ayliffe, now the head of Greenpeace's campaign against oil drilling the Arctic. "After what happened in the Gulf of Mexico, how can anyone respond to that by going to drill in similar depths in a place called Iceberg Alley?"

Greenpeace quickly arranged to get a ship to Greenland, where four activists attached themselves to a drilling rig for two days until a storm forced them to abandon the protest.

That stunt, a similar one in 2011 off Greenland and protests this month at an oil rig off northwest Russia are at the core of what Greenpeace calls "one of the defining environmental battles of our age."

"Polar work feels like it's going back to the early campaigns: simple message, people get it and the lines are very clearly drawn," Ayliffe said.

From a publicity standpoint, the campaign has been successful: Greenpeace officials say since June, 1.6 million people have signed the group's online petition urging world leaders to declare the Arctic a global sanctuary, off limits to oil exploration and industrial fishing. Dozens of celebrities, including Robert Redford, Paul McCartney and Penelope Cruz have announced their support, according to Greenpeace activist Sarah North.

"I have never experienced engaging famous people at this kind of rate and with such ease in a campaign issue," said North, a 15-year veteran at Greenpeace.

The impact on the oil industry, however, is unclear. The Arctic is believed to hold up to a quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves. Despite difficult operating conditions and high costs, the payback for Shell, Gazprom, Statoil and other companies searching for commercial quantities of hydrocarbons could be huge.

"It probably sounds a bit cynical, but if they invest billions of dollars it's not likely they will give it up just because somebody is attacking their oil rig," said Mikhail Babenko, an oil and gas expert at the World Wildlife Fund's Global Arctic Program.

Unlike Greenpeace, WWF isn't seeking a complete ban on drilling in the Arctic but wants to make sure the most vulnerable areas are protected.

"We want to be part of this discussion," Babenko said. "We don't want to stimulate oil and gas development, but if we follow (Greenpeace's) approach we will be simply out of the game."

Greenpeace and other environmental groups say an oil spill in the Arctic could cause irreparable damage to wildlife and marine ecosystems.

Fears that the oil industry is ill-prepared to operate in the hostile conditions of the high north were reinforced last December when a floating oil rig capsized off eastern Russia, killing more than 50 workers. While that accident happened outside the Arctic region, it underscored the challenges of drilling further north, where ice ridges are meters (yards) deep and storms are frequent.

Oil industry officials say they are taking the necessary precautions to conduct safe operations in the Arctic.

Cairn Energy, the Scottish company whose platforms off Greenland were targeted by Greenpeace protests in 2010 and 2011, isn't drilling there this year. By all accounts, that has nothing to do with Greenpeace but to the fact that the initial drilling was unsuccessful.

Asked what, if any, impact the Greenpeace actions had on the company's future plans for Greenland, Cairn spokeswoman Linda Bain referred to its second-quarter report, which doesn't say anything about Greenpeace.

Shell, which has also come into Greenpeace's cross-hairs for plans to drill off Alaska, also refused to discuss the group. Still, there's no doubt that Shell takes Greenpeace's Arctic campaign seriously.

In March, Shell won an injunction by a U.S. judge ordering Greenpeace to stay 1 kilometer (.6 miles) away from its drilling rigs in U.S. territorial waters.

A month earlier, New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless of the TV series "Xena: Warrior Princess" and six other Greenpeace activists had climbed aboard one of the drilling rigs before it left for Alaska. They later pleaded guilty to trespass charges and are awaiting sentencing.

Greenpeace activists also climbed aboard icebreakers contracted by Shell as they left the Baltic Sea. And the Greenpeace ship "Esperanza" is now shadowing Shell's drilling vessels as they head north to bore exploratory wells in Alaska's Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.

"We will follow the oil industry into the Arctic," Ayliffe said. "This is such an important campaign. We're not going to let them off the hook that easily."

Founded in 1971, Greenpeace initially focused on nuclear testing. Its first Rainbow Warrior ship was sunk in New Zealand's Auckland harbor before it set out to protest French nuclear testing at Muroroa Atoll. Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira drowned.

The group claims its actions helped bring about the nuclear test ban treaty as well as a ban on dumping toxic chemicals into the ocean. It also takes credit for forcing Apple and other major companies to become more ecologically responsible.

In the 1990s, Greenpeace campaigned for years to persuade oil companies to bring disused offshore installations to land for recycling, instead of dumping them in the ocean.

The Arctic campaign is part of the group's overarching focus on climate change.

On Friday, six Greenpeace activists, including executive director Kumi Naidoo, spent several hours hanging off the side of the Prirazlomnaya platform in Russia's Pechora Sea, attached to the rig's mooring lines. Three days later, more than a dozen activists intercepted a ship carrying Russian oil workers to the platform and chained themselves to its anchor.

While Greenpeace is sometimes accused of being "alarmist," environment and climate activists in general applaud the group for calling attention to global warming issues. Their activities don't always resonate well, however, with some of the indigenous communities in the Arctic.

The Inuit seal hunters of Greenland, for example, blame Greenpeace campaigns against seal hunting for nearly wiping out the demand for seal skins, a key part of their income.

Ove Karl Berthelsen, Greenland's minister for oil and minerals, said he was skeptical of Greenpeace's claims to be acting in defense of indigenous communities.

"People here see through it," Berthelsen said. "Their star is not very high up here."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-08-29-Greenpeace-Arctic%20Battlefield/id-158c00d8b6364969aee67c91d892718d

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New 'traffic light' test could save lives with earlier diagnosis of liver disease

New 'traffic light' test could save lives with earlier diagnosis of liver disease [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 29-Aug-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Becky Attwood
r.attwood@soton.ac.uk
44-023-805-95457
University of Southampton

A new 'traffic light' test devised by Dr Nick Sheron and colleagues at University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital could be used in primary care to diagnose liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in high risk populations more easily than at present.

Liver disease develops silently without symptoms, and many people have no idea they have liver failure until it is too late one-third of people admitted to hospital with end-stage liver disease die within the first few months. A simple test available in primary care could diagnose disease much earlier, enabling those at risk to change their behaviour and save lives.

The Southampton Traffic Light (STL) test, details of which are published in the September 2012 issue of the British Journal of General Practice (BJGP), combines several different tests and clinical markers which are given a score that indicates the patient's likelihood of developing liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis.*

The result comes in three colours: red means that the patient has liver scarring (fibrosis) and may even have cirrhosis, green means that there is no cirrhosis and the patient is highly unlikely to die from liver disease over the next five years. Amber means there is at least a 50:50 chance of scarring with a significant possibility of death within five years, and patients are advised to stop drinking to avoid further disease and death.

The test was given to over 1,000 patients, and their progress was carefully followed and monitored afterwards, in some cases over several years, to assess the accuracy of the test in predicting whether they developed liver fibrosis or cirrhosis.

The test proved to be accurate in severe liver disease, and while not a substitute for clinical judgement or other liver function tests, can provide GPs with an objective means to accurately assess the potential severity of liver fibrosis in high-risk patients for example, heavy drinkers, those with type II diabetes, or obese people.

Dr Nick Sheron, lead author and Head of Clinical Hepatology at the University of Southampton, and consultant hepatologist at Southampton General Hospital, said: "We are reliant on general practitioners detecting liver disease in the community so they can intervene to prevent serious liver problems developing, but so far we haven't been able to give them the tools they need to do this. We hope that this type of test for liver scarring may start to change this because the earlier we can detect liver disease, the more liver deaths we should be able to prevent."

Study co-author and GP Dr Michael Moore said: "In primary care, minor abnormalities of existing liver tests are quite common but we struggle to know how best to investigate these further and who warrants specialist intervention. The traffic light test has the advantage of highlighting those at highest risk who should be investigated further and those in whom the risk is much lower where a watchful approach is more appropriate. This is not a universal screening test but if targeted at those in whom there is a suspicion of liver disease should result in a more rational approach to further investigation."

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance added: "One of the challenges of liver disease, which is rising dramatically in this country, is the silent nature of the condition until it is often too late to reverse the damage. However, minor changes in standard liver blood tests are so common that it is difficult for GPs to know when to refer for specialist advice. This large study from Dr Sheron and colleagues in Southampton may prove really useful for guiding the right patients towards specialist care in a timely way."

###



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


New 'traffic light' test could save lives with earlier diagnosis of liver disease [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 29-Aug-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Becky Attwood
r.attwood@soton.ac.uk
44-023-805-95457
University of Southampton

A new 'traffic light' test devised by Dr Nick Sheron and colleagues at University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital could be used in primary care to diagnose liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in high risk populations more easily than at present.

Liver disease develops silently without symptoms, and many people have no idea they have liver failure until it is too late one-third of people admitted to hospital with end-stage liver disease die within the first few months. A simple test available in primary care could diagnose disease much earlier, enabling those at risk to change their behaviour and save lives.

The Southampton Traffic Light (STL) test, details of which are published in the September 2012 issue of the British Journal of General Practice (BJGP), combines several different tests and clinical markers which are given a score that indicates the patient's likelihood of developing liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis.*

The result comes in three colours: red means that the patient has liver scarring (fibrosis) and may even have cirrhosis, green means that there is no cirrhosis and the patient is highly unlikely to die from liver disease over the next five years. Amber means there is at least a 50:50 chance of scarring with a significant possibility of death within five years, and patients are advised to stop drinking to avoid further disease and death.

The test was given to over 1,000 patients, and their progress was carefully followed and monitored afterwards, in some cases over several years, to assess the accuracy of the test in predicting whether they developed liver fibrosis or cirrhosis.

The test proved to be accurate in severe liver disease, and while not a substitute for clinical judgement or other liver function tests, can provide GPs with an objective means to accurately assess the potential severity of liver fibrosis in high-risk patients for example, heavy drinkers, those with type II diabetes, or obese people.

Dr Nick Sheron, lead author and Head of Clinical Hepatology at the University of Southampton, and consultant hepatologist at Southampton General Hospital, said: "We are reliant on general practitioners detecting liver disease in the community so they can intervene to prevent serious liver problems developing, but so far we haven't been able to give them the tools they need to do this. We hope that this type of test for liver scarring may start to change this because the earlier we can detect liver disease, the more liver deaths we should be able to prevent."

Study co-author and GP Dr Michael Moore said: "In primary care, minor abnormalities of existing liver tests are quite common but we struggle to know how best to investigate these further and who warrants specialist intervention. The traffic light test has the advantage of highlighting those at highest risk who should be investigated further and those in whom the risk is much lower where a watchful approach is more appropriate. This is not a universal screening test but if targeted at those in whom there is a suspicion of liver disease should result in a more rational approach to further investigation."

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance added: "One of the challenges of liver disease, which is rising dramatically in this country, is the silent nature of the condition until it is often too late to reverse the damage. However, minor changes in standard liver blood tests are so common that it is difficult for GPs to know when to refer for specialist advice. This large study from Dr Sheron and colleagues in Southampton may prove really useful for guiding the right patients towards specialist care in a timely way."

###



[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-08/uos-nl082912.php

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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Man's talk of jihad was just bravado, defense tells court

By Kari Huus, NBC News

A man accused of joining a training network to wage?jihad against the United States pleaded guilty in a Florida court Tuesday to?tax fraud and lying to federal agents, but his defense team said?that he never intended to carry out the violent plans he shared with an FBI informant.

Federal prosecutors allege Jonathan Paul Jimenez moved to Central Florida from New York in late 2010 to train "in the skills necessary to participate in violent jihad overseas," including martial arts,?use of firearms and knives, reading the Quran and Arabic, according to a court document summarizing FBI findings. ??

Authorities say that in July 2011, co-defendant Marcus Dwayne Robertson, also known as Abu Taubah, and others helped Jimenez travel to New York where he was to get a visa? to?travel overseas.

Jimenez was arrested on March 19, 2012, court documents show.?

On his 2010 tax return, Jimenez claimed as dependents three children who were not his own, but those of Robertson, according to the indictment.?


On Tuesday, Jimenez admitted to tax fraud.?

He?also admitted that he had lied to federal agents when they confronted him about planned terrorist acts that he had shared earlier in recorded conversations with an informant. According to the indictment, Jimenez told the?agents?"that he had never told anyone that he had been thinking about asking Allah to die as a martyr or a shaheed in jihad, that he never told anyone that he did not want to just be in the battle but that he wanted to also die on the battlefield."

"I'm willing to accept full responsibility for my actions, sir," Jimenez told U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory J. Kelly at Tuesday's hearing, the Orlando Sentinel? reported.

But defense attorney W. Drew Sorrell said Jimenez never planned to carry out the attacks he shared with the informant, the Sentinel said.

Instead, according to the attorney, Jimenez ? described by the Sentinel as a 28-year-old with a ninth-grade education ? made the statements as a form of "chest bumping" in order to impress the informant. ?

"I feel ashamed of my behavior," Jimenez said, the Sentinel reported. "I never intended to do that but want to accept full responsibility for my actions."

Jimenez faces up to 18 years in prison.

Robertson is slated for trial in October, court documents said.

More content from NBCNews.com:

Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/28/13532105-mans-talk-of-jihad-was-just-bravado-defense-tells-court?lite

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Sony A99 rumored specs leak: 24.3 megapixels, 921k-dot LCD and 14 bit RAW output

Sony A99 specs leak 243megapixels of fullframed, translucent mirrored camera

Sony's not unleashed a full frame camera for some time, so when a purported spec-sheet for the upcoming Alpha A99 breaks cover, we're elbowing our way to the front to see it. According to Sony Alpha Rumors, it'll be a 24.3-megapixel CMOS Exmor sensor with an ISO range of 100-25,600, 14 bit RAW output and a 1/8000 maximum shutter speed. Other nuggets of interest include a 102 point AF system, full 1080p HD video recording (at 60fps) and a 921k dot LCD (like that seen on the A77 pictured). When might we see this come to market? According to the rumor-mill, sometime in October, with an official unveiling in early September. Along with everything else, it seems. Head on down to the source for the full spread.

Filed under:

Sony A99 rumored specs leak: 24.3 megapixels, 921k-dot LCD and 14 bit RAW output originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 05:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/28/sony-a99-rumored-specs-leak/

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Obama, Romney out of gas on energy (CNN)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/243942654?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Watney's dismal year turns on a win at Barclays

Nick Watney celebrates after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole of the fourth round to win the The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Nick Watney celebrates after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole of the fourth round to win the The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Nick Watney poses with his trophy after winning The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek)

Nick Watney celebrates with his caddie Chad Reynolds after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole of the fourth round to win The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Sergio Garcia, of Spain, chips out of the rough on the second hole of the fourth round of The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Sergio Garcia, of Spain, chips onto the green on the fourth hole of the fourth round of The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y., Sunday, Aug. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

(AP) ? Nick Watney always felt the first playoff event for the FedEx Cup was the most important. A good performance in The Barclays could set up a player to reach the Tour Championship, have a mathematical chance at the $10 million bonus and qualify for all the majors next year.

This turned out even better.

Watney now has more than just 10 million reasons to be excited.

Not only did his three-shot victory in The Barclays on Sunday put him atop the FedEx Cup standings and assure that he'll have a good shot at golf's largest payoff, Watney suddenly is in the conversation to play in an event that doesn't pay anything at all ? the Ryder Cup.

U.S. captain Davis Love III makes his four wild-card selections after next week's Deutsche Bank Championship outside Boston. Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk are likely to be two of the picks. Based on what happened over four days at Bethpage Black, the other two now are up in the air.

"I don't want to be lobbying. It's his decision," Watney said. "The best way to enter the conversation is to play your way into the conversation."

That's just what he did.

Watney was two shots behind Sergio Garcia when the final round began. He was two shots behind through six holes after he three-putted for bogey from 40 feet. And just like the outlook on his year, it all changed so quickly.

Watney had a two-putt birdie on the par-5 seventh. On the par-3 eighth, with a dangerous pin at the front of the green with a shaved bank toward the water, he took a little off a 7-iron to play it safe and rolled in a bending, 30-foot birdie putt. Garcia tried to hammer an 8-iron, turned it too much into a bunker and had to scramble for bogey. That gave Watney the lead, and he stretched it to three shots on the 10th hole with a gorgeous approach into 4 feet as Garcia three-putted for bogey.

No one got closer than two shots the rest of the way. Watney hit 8-iron to 10 feet for birdie on the 14th, and he added a birdie on the 18th that didn't matter except for the score. He closed with a 2-under 69 and finished on 10-under 278.

"It's been not quite the year I wanted," Watney said. "But this really makes it all forgotten. Winning a tournament is hard, but winning out here and against this field was very, very difficult. I'm kind of still on a high right now."

Love isn't thinking about only Watney, however.

Brandt Snedeker, a winner at Torrey Pines and a contender at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, battled to the end and finished with two big putts for a 70 that put him alone in second place. Garcia, who bogeyed the last hole for a 75, tied for third with Dustin Johnson, who had a 68.

"Ryder Cup is definitely on my mind," Snedeker said. "But I'm not letting it affect the way I play. Try to win every golf tournament. It gives me more motivation to do it, and if I do that, I know I will make the decision easy for them.

"Davis has an extremely difficult choice with a bunch of guys who did not play well enough over the last two years to be on the team. You can't go wrong with any of them. I think that it's certainly helped everybody who played well this week."

The top three names on the leaderboard: Watney, Snedeker, Johnson. All of them are being considered as a Ryder Cup pick. Watney is the newcomer to the list based on his win at The Barclays, the strongest full field of the year except for the majors.

"I'm thinking much more now than I was coming in," he said. "Coming in here, I didn't deserve to be in the conversation because I had not played my way in. Someone told me that Davis said he wanted a hot player, and we still have a week to go. But like I said, I'd love to be on the team. But I'm not really concerned with it just because it's out of my control."

Tiger Woods, six shots behind at the start of the day, never made a move. He alternated between bogeys and birdies until the sixth hole, and his round imploded on the back nine with a three-putt double bogey on the 12th, a poor wedge that led to bogey on the par-5 13th, and a tee shot on the par-3 14th that sailed over the green and one-hopped against the gallery. He closed with a 76 and tied for 38th.

Garcia already wrapped up his spot in the Ryder Cup for Europe based on his win last week in North Carolina, his first on the PGA Tour in four years. He was going after his second straight win, but he showed signs of a struggle early. He missed back-to-back birdie chances from around 8 feet and missed greens from the fairway.

Watney, meanwhile, didn't miss a green until the 16th hole when he had a three-shot lead.

"I hit a couple bad shots at the wrong moments," Garcia said. "And unfortunately, I just wasn't feeling comfortable."

He had one issue with the New York fans on the 17th, a tough par 3 where club selection was difficult, and Garcia heard it from them when he took his time picking a club. That didn't bother him, and he was pleased about his two strong weeks that signal a good trend in his game.

And he enjoyed watching Watney, a pleasant Californian known as "Rube," after the character in "Major League 2" for being so respectful to his elders.

"At the end of the round on 18, I did obviously congratulate him and wish that he made the team," Garcia said.

None of this would have been possible if Watney had not changed his attitude, to quit getting down on himself when his score wasn't what he thought it should be. And his longtime friend Sam Reeves ? the same friend who introduced Watney to Butch Harmon ? arranged for Watney to meet with Darrell Kestner, the head pro at Deepdale, for a putting lesson. Watney was sitting back to far on his heels, and they worked on the setup.

"It paid off," Watney said, adding that he made more putts at Bethpage than he had all year.

While it was effectively a two-man race for much of the day, there was plenty at stake in the FedEx Cup.

Only the top 100 players advance to the Deutsche Bank for the second of four playoff events. The biggest move belonged to Graham DeLaet of Canada, who started the week at No. 106 and was right on the bubble going into the final round. After back-to-back bogeys early in the round, he rallied for a Sunday-best 65, including a 9-iron he holed for eagle on the 15th. DeLaet moved up to No. 44.

"I guess a lot of people think there's too much volatility in it, but it was in my favor," DeLaet said. "If you can have one really good event, you can catapult yourself up. And now I feel I have a chance to get into the Tour Championship, where this morning I was just hoping to play next week."

It was a good day for another Canadian ? David Hearn. Playing with Woods, he closed with a 71 and moved from No. 108 to No. 67. The other three from outside the top 100 who moved in were Jonas Blixt, Tommy Gainey and Jason Day, who closed with a 66.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-08-27-GLF-Barclays/id-b397ee7b5b444a839916bbcc01538c71

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