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Lifestyle,nightlifeNo More Child left behind at 2022States that want out of specific No Child Left Behind provisions must adapt four reforms that mirror the administration's legislative priorities, President Barack Obama will announce Friday morning."To help states, districts and schools that are ready to move forward with education reform, our administration will provide flexibility from the law in exchange for a real commitment to undertake change," Obama said in a statement released by the White House Thursday. "The purpose is not to give states and districts a reprieve from accountability, but rather to unleash energy to improve our schools at the local level."On Thursday, the White House circulated materials explaining that the administration will offer a "flexibility package."The No Child Left Behind law, passed by Congress a decade ago during the George W. Bush administration, requires regular standardized testing and the disaggregation of educational data by subgroup. It also states that just about 100 percent of students must reach proficiency in math and reading by 2014. As the deadline has approached, an increasing number of schools in each state have been labeled as "failing" under No Child Left Behind, in part because the reporting model focuses on raw scores, not improvement in scores. "Failing" schools face escalating consequences. States such as Montana and Idaho have resisted the ever-increasing performance targets, saying the law strains their capacities and leads to an overly broad portrayal of schools as underperforming.In light of those concerns, a White House fact sheet stated, the administration will allow states to request "flexibility through waivers of specific provisions" of No Child Left Behind, including the timeline for proficiency; "flexibility regarding school improvement and accountability requirements," which will allow states to set their own consequences for so-called failing schools; and "flexibility related to the use of federal education funds." Rural districts will have more freedom.A state that requests these waivers, the fact sheet said, will have to show that: It has already "adopted college- and career-ready standards in reading/language arts and mathematics" and administer "tests aligned" with these standards. The fact sheet does not detail what exactly such standards would entail, although U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has previously said states that haven't adapted the Common Core State Standards will not be barred from requesting waivers. It has set systems "of differentiated recognition, accountability and support," which includes turnaround plans targeted at the lowest 5 percent of the states' schools. It is "evaluating and supporting teacher and principal effectiveness" with a process that includes educator input. A senior administration official said on a conference call that this process must consider test scores.Beyond that, few details are available about the plan, such as the amount of funding over which states will have more discretion and the turnaround models that failing schools will have to use.No Child Left Behind has been up for renewal since 2007, and the administration released its own blueprint for the law in March 2010. But congressional gridlock has prevented formal reauthorization so far. Both Republicans and Democrats have introduced small components of a reauthorization -- with one measure involving charter schools passing last week -- but few have gained traction.In August, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said Obama had approved plans to, in effect, reform the law without going through Congress: The secretary would waive specific provisions of the law in exchange for states agreeing to adopt favored reforms.Under No Child Left Behind, the Secretary of Education may waive provisions of the law for states in need, but he has no explicit authority to ask states to adopt reforms in exchangeRead More on

Lifestyle,nightlife‘Person Of Interest’ Series Premiere Review & Discussion OnlineCBS’ new action-thriller has a lot of buzz going for it, with stars James Caviezel and Michael Emerson, not to mention ‘Dark Knight’ writer Jonathan Nolan. But does the premiere deliver on the good guy/Big Brother premise?Person of Interest Premiere ReviewOne of CBS’ highest-profile new projects for the 2011 premiere season is Person of Interest, a thriller with some very familiar names on both sides of the camera. Does it live up to months of lofty expectations? Read on to find out.Person of Interest starts in a surprisingly tender way, with the first of a series of flashbacks between mystery man John Reese (James Caviezel, The Passion of the Christ) and his wife. Fast-forward to modern day New York City, where the same man sits on an empty subway car, cradling a bottle of rot-gut and desperately needing a friend and a shave. When a group of uppity gangsters give him the business, Reese dispatches all four instantly, gaining the attention of the police and a shadowy figure.New, Free Google ToolbarBlock Popups & Share Favorite Sites Download Today & Find Things Fastertoolbar.google.comAds by GoogleEnter Mr. Finch, (Michael Emerson, Lost) a mysterious, eccentric billionaire who offers Reese a job and a mission. Finch has access to the U.S. government’s most powerful data collection tool, a supercomputer that can not only analyze crime but predict it.Finch steals information on low-profile victims-to-be before they become targets, on the basis that the higher-ups don’t care about anything that isn’t a 9-11 sized threat. Finch assigns Reese to observe and protect their first citizen, a young ADA (Natalie Zea​, Justified) who may soon be the target of an assassination .A scruffy James Caviezel and Michal Emerson in PErson of InterestThroughout the pilot we’re given clues to the backstory of both Reese and Finch. The former is an ex-CIA agent who became dead to the world after the death of his wife. Finch helped build the (mostly) fictional surveillance network made possible by the Patriot Act after the September 11th attacks. The tragedy gave Finch a purpose for spending his billions for the common good, and he saw an opportunity when the more typical crimes being predicted by his machine were being ignored. He’s determined to be a more benevolent version of Big Brother. Both of them are presumed dead.The action quickly ramps up as Reese tails his assignment and her would-be assignments. Reese tackles underground weapons dealers, mobsters and dirty cops -and all that’s before the twist. Along the way the audience is treated to monologues on the all-pervasive nature of modern surveillance and the morality of using it. Detectives Carter (Taraji P. Henson, I Can Do Bad All By Myself) and Fusco (Kevin Chapman, Rescue Me) have their own reasons for investigating Reese.The first thing that most viewers will notice about Person of Interest is its undeniable and certainly deliberate similarity to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Everything points to the inspiration: characters, themes, atmosphere, even the music. It comes by it honestly – producer Jonathan Nolan worked with big brother Christopher writing for Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight and The Dark Night Rises. Other big names in the producer chairs are frequent partners J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk.Reese in a gangster standoff on Person of InterestAll that said, the new show feels like it’s taking the best bits out of Batman and using them to tell a more realistic action story, instead of simply repackaging the essential parts of the Nolan films. The central idea of predictive crime analysis is no longer the stuff of Minority Report sci-fi, and something similar may enter the world of law enforcement very soon. Person of Interest dodges the privacy debate by putting it in the hands of invisible vigilantes (again, see The Dark Knight) who are more of a somber A-Team than an Orwellian threat.Caviezel hasn’t been seen in a regular TV role since The Prisoner two years ago. He returns on a high note, painting Reese as a broken, conflicted man with both an intense desire for justice and a hesitancy to use his lethal skills. The combination makes for a calm, calculated fighter who still comes off as sympathetic. His zen-like fighting (and wonderfully sparse dialogue) is at least as good as any B-action flick you’ve seen in the last year.Emerson provides the counterpoint as a cold, calculating mastermind. His mysterious connections allow him an enormous amount of digital power that he feels a responsibility to use for good. The audience doesn’t know too much about Finch, and his past work with the government will likely be a major plot point in the first season. Emerson is admirably restrained, but those looking for a repeat of his energetic performances on Lost may feel a little let down.Fans wanting no-holds-barred action will not be left wanting. Stunts and fight scenes in Person of Interest approach and at times surpass 24 in the realm of mostly-real action sequences, and the results are absolutely satisfying. It’ll be interesting to see if the writers and producers can keep up this level of intensity for more than a few episodes – they’ll certainly be worth a watch to find out.Reese (James Caviezel) investigates a leadThe pilot features some genuinely surprising twists (much appreciated from a jaded TV reviewer) that will keep you guessing up to the last few minutes. The creepy themes of distrust and complacency make for an excitingly different mood, which are accentuated by the regular use of CCTV angles and “bugged” audio.Person of Interest is one of the most exciting new shows on broadcast TV this year. If you’re looking for a thought-provoking thriller with solid action and storytelling, look no further – especially if you’re a fan of Nolan’s flavor of caped vigilante.Read more

can’t possibly say enough positive things about Jessica-Jane Clement. Especially when she poses for pictures wearing sexy lingerie that appears to be about two sizes too small for her. I also can’t possibly say enough positive things about Nuts magazine. Especially when they have Jessica-Jane Clement pose for pictures wearing sexy lingerie that appears to be about two sizes too small for her. Have a glorious Memorial Day Weekend, my peeps. Out.

Lifestyle,nightlifeChick-Fil-A Are America's Favorite Fast Food and good choice menu
Yet another poll, this one from consumer market researcher Market Force, confirms what we all already suspected: everyone loves Five Guys. The burger chain, which has grown rapidly since its founding in 1986, was rated America's favorite fast food chain, after adjusting for the number of stores. By this measure, In-N-Out came in second and Chick fil-A came in third.The poll asked 4500 Americans to pick their favorite chain from among the 55 highest-grossing quick-service eateries in the country. The raw data indicated that America's favorite chain was Chick fil-A, which garnered 10.4% of the total vote; Panera came in second. But Market Force then adjusted the vote to account for disparities in the total number of outposts for each brand. The relative scarcity of In-N-Out and Five Guys propelled them to the top of the list, while Panera fell to fourthRead more about Chick-Fil-A Are America's Favorite Fast Food and good choice menu
Related Post: Chick Fil a good choice menu In All Religion Pride Month

As America tries to recover from its housing bubble burst, China's housing bubble is blowing up. The latest: Chinese couples are faking divorce so they can borrow more money to buy more second and third homes, trying to seize upon rising prices.

(Photo: Creative Common)
China is in the midst of a housing bubble, and the government has initiated policies to try and slow growth of second and third home buying. But many couples are getting around the new policies by faking divorce, so they can borrow more money.

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(Photo: Creative Common)
China is in the midst of a housing bubble, and the government has initiated policies to try and slow growth of second and third home buying. But many couples are getting around the new policies by faking divorce, so they can borrow more money.

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In the effort to curb the growing housing bubble, the Chinese government has tried to initiate actions to make getting second mortgages harder. The government raised the down payment for second mortgages to make them harder to obtain, and about 40 Chinese cities have begun to limit apartment purchases to two per family, according to a story from Bloomberg.

The government, the story says, has also asked commercial banks to quit giving loans to third-time home buyers.

Chinese citizens are behaving just like Americans did when the housing bubble blew up here -- seeing housing buys as fast-appreciating assets. They want second homes, and even third homes as prices rise. And they aren't interested in the government's actions to slow their efforts.

Lifestyle,nightlife
Crude Oil Price forecast all over the world lampoenk
Oil prices are falling, as traders dial back their expectation for the global demand for oil. But drivers are still waiting for the price of gasoline to drop as well.

The price of oil closed on August 9 at about $79 a barrel – the lowest since last September.

Crude oil prices were on the rise in the beginning of the year. Unrest in the Middle East put pressure on supplies, and traders had a more optimistic outlook about the demand for oil, explains Richard Soultanian, an oil industry analyst with NUS Consulting Group.

“If the economy’s going to grow and there’s lots of money around, that means people are going to use more of everything — more copper, more silver, more oil, more gasoline. So [traders] started to bid the price of all that up,” Soultanian says.

Those initial forecasts for growing economic activity eventually fell apart. The price of crude started to dip in late spring, but it plummeted in recent days. According to Soultanian, slower-than-expected growth in the U.S. economy and an unstable stock market after the degrading of the federal government’s credit rating have been a stark reality check for oil traders.


“The economy is much weaker than people expected,” Soultanian says. “The global markets are very concerned about the possibility of another financial crisis.”

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged to an 11-month low as investors were squeezed between fears of further contagion among European banks and the Federal Reserve’s gloomy economic outlook.

[0810trader]Associated Press

Specialist Stephen Steinthal works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Aug. 10.

The blue-chip Dow fell 519.83 points, or 4.62%, to 10719.94 on Wednesday, more than reversing the previous day’s exuberant gains. The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index slid 51.77 points, or 4.42%, to 1120.76 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 101.47 points, or 4.09%, to 2381.05.

The major indexes’ declines off their Apr. 29 highs now exceed the magnitude of the losses during the summer of 2010. The SP 500 has fallen 18%, more than the SP fell 16% between late April and early July 2010.

On Wednesday, all 30 of the Dow components and all 10 of the SP 500 sectors were in negative territory, with just 11 of the SP 500 components finishing in positive territory. In a reflection of investor concern, the CBOE Market Volatility Index, the “fear gauge” known as the VIX, surged 23%.

“The market can go from euphoria to depression at the flick of a switch,” says Chris Brown, portfolio manager of the Pax World Balanced Fund, with $2 billion in assets under management. “People are concerned about France’s ratings, and the banks are under an extreme amount of pressure.”

Leading the declines were financial stocks, with Citigroup falling $3.33, or 10%, to $28.49; Bank of America off 83 cents, or 11%, to 6.77; J.P. Morgan Chase down 2.03, or 5.6%, to 34.37; and American Express shedding 3.30, or 7.2%, to 42.80.

Walt Disney was the steepest decliner among the Dow components for most of the day, tumbling 3.16, or 9.1%, to 31.54 after the blue-chip media and entertainment conglomerate reported results that topped analyst expectations, but raised analyst concerns about decelerating advertising rate growth.

“This is a market run on emotions and headlines, and the price moves are exacerbated by high frequency traders,” said Sal Arnuk, co-head of equity trading at Chatham, N.J., brokerage Themis Trading. “It’s definitely not for those with a weak stomach—all those clichés stand.”

“We just have not built any confidence,” said Jeffrey Friedman, senior market strategist at MF Global. “The Fed came out yesterday and tried to appease everyone and say we’re on top of this, we’ll give you a date, we’ll keep interest rates low for two years. But that means nothing. People have lost confidence in Washington, D.C. This is a rejection of that Bernanke statement.”

In Europe, stocks fell broadly as worries continued to surround Italian and Spanish government bonds, as well as some banks on the Continent.

The European Central Bank bought Italian and Spanish government bonds for a second day in a row, stabilizing borrowing costs for both countries and easing concerns for the moment that Europe’s debt crisis will spread to its larger countries.

In Italy, a number of stocks were halted as its FTSE MIB tumbled 6.7% to lead the major market declines in Europe. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 3.8% while France’s CAC-40 index fell 5.5% and Germany’s DAX fell 5.1%. For France’s CAC, the decline was the 12th in 13 sessions and was the largest one-day decline since Dec. 2008.

The declines came after French President Nicolas Sarkozy interrupted his summer holiday to meet his cabinet, pledging to consider fresh tax rises, spending cuts and other budget measures to ensure the country doesn’t deviate from a challenging deficit-reduction trajectory.


French-listed shares of Société Générale SA tumbled 15% leading declines across a broad swath of lenders in Italy, Spain and France. Crédit Agricole SA shed 12% and BNP Paribas SA lost 9.5% in Paris, while Intesa Sanpaolo SPA dropped 14% and Banco Popolare SC fell 9.4% in Milan. In Madrid, Banco Santander SA finished down 8.3%.


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Lifestyle,nightlife
Gold Gyms Lampoenk Nyocarono

The first Gold's Gym opened in fall 1965 in Venice Beach, California.[2] Dubbed "the Mecca of bodybuilding", it was frequented by Arnold Schwarzenegger[3] and featured in the 1977 movie Pumping Iron. The movie brought attention not only to the gym itself, but also to the world of bodybuilding and physique in general. Jim Morrison of The Doors was also a frequent visitor to the Gold's Gym in Venice.[citation needed] To this day, it is considered a landmark in the bodybuilding subculture[4] and has even achieved cult status[5] In 1970, Joe Gold sold the chain.
Gold's Gym in Laredo, Texas.

Today, Gold's Gym claims to be the largest chain of co-ed gyms in the world, with more than 650 locations in 42 states and 30 countries.[6] Gold's Gym has a membership of more than three and a half million, split almost equally between male and female patrons.[citation needed] Gold's Gym locations are equipped with cardiovascular and strength training equipment and offer group exercise classes such as group cycling, pilates, Latin dance, yoga[7] and stretching through the company GGX (Gold's Group Exercise) program. Many gyms also offer basketball, swimming pools and boxing studios.[citation needed]

The company also licenses its name to products such as fitness equipment and clothing. The famous original Gold’s Gym logo, a bald-headed weightlifter holding a barbell, was designed in 1973 by Ric Drasin, who was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s training partner for four years.[8] Gold's Gym's membership had included such celebrities as Jodie Foster, Morgan Freeman, The Rock, Hilary Swank, Keanu Reeves, Tiger Woods and Jessica Alba. [9] To this day, the original Gold's Gym in Venice is considered a sports landmark and is recognized by ESPN.com on its list of the 100 most important sports venues.[10]
[edit] Corporate information

Gold's Gym is privately owned. It was acquired from its previous owner, private equity firm Brockway Moran & Partners, by Robert Rowling's TRT Holdings in 2004 for approximately $158 million. Brockway Moran had acquired the company in 1999.[11] The current chief corporate officers include President and CEO Jim Snow,[12] David Fowler as senior divisional vice president, and Aaron Watkins as senior vice president of finance and accounting.[13] Corporate headquarters are in Irving, Texas which is in the Dallas metropolitan area.

Since Gold's Gym opened its first international location in Canada in 1985, the company has expanded its global franchising program to include nearly 180 international gyms including operations in Russia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Egypt,Saudi Arabia, Mexico, India and Peru.[9] In 2009, the company opened its first locations in Spain, Poland and Venezuela.

In 2004, the company introduced the Gold's Gym Fitness Institute to serve as a think tank on critical health and fitness issues. The Gold's Gym Fitness Institute's members includes Dr. Belisa Vranich, Robert Rheames, Mike Ryan and Eric Plasker, among others.[14]

Gold's Gym operates a national corporate wellness program. Clients include Whole Foods, the U.S. House of Representatives, American Airlines and Exxon Mobil.[15]

In 2004, Gold's Gym became a national fitness sponsor of the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure. In 2006 the company became a National Strategic Partner of the American Diabetes, the ADA's highest designation for a corporate partner. Since their relationship began, Gold's Gym has raised more than $2.5 million to benefit diabetes research, education and awareness.[16]

In 2009, Gold's Gym partnered with video game manufacturer Ubisoft to create the "Gold's Gym Cardio Workout" video game for the Wii. The game received positive reviews.[17]

Gold's is one of two official health clubs of the AARP, where it offers month-to-month memberships, and is the official health club of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Gold's has begun offering online enrollment.
Golds Gym in Orlando has just purchased them for their gyms, and you can see the testimonial here.
Posted in nyocarono - Tagg

Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day (24 hours), or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive, limiting particular foods or substance. The fast may also be intermittent in nature (see: Intermittent fasting). Fasting practices may preclude sexual and other activities as well as food.
In a physiological context, fasting may refer to (1) the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight, and (2) to the metabolic state achieved after complete digestion and absorption of a meal. Several metabolic adjustments occur during fasting, and some diagnostic tests are used to determine a fasting state. For example, a person is assumed to be fasting after 8–12 hours. Metabolic changes toward the fasting state begin after absorption of a meal (typically 3–5 hours after a meal); "post-absorptive state" is synonymous with this usage, in contrast to the "post-prandial" state of ongoing digestion. A diagnostic fast refers to prolonged fasting (from 8–72 hours depending on age) conducted under observation for investigation of a problem, usually hypoglycemia. Finally, extended fasting has been recommended as therapy for various conditions by health professionals of most cultures, throughout history, from ancient to modern. About Fasting

In Ramadan muslim had a different Nighlife with many activity such as Suhoor, sahur before fasting
Suhoor (Arabic: سحور lit. of the dawn‎), also called Sehur, Sehri, Sahari and Sahur in other languages, is an Islamic term referring to the meal consumed early in the morning by Muslims before fasting, sawm, in daylight hours during the Islamic month of Ramadan. The meal is eaten before fajr, or dawn.[1] Suhoor as the morning meal is matched by Iftar as the evening meal, during Ramadan, replacing the traditional three meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner),[2] although in some places dinner is also consumed after Iftar later during the night. Being the only meal eaten by Muslims from dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan, Suhoor typically tends to be heavy and is highly regarded by Islamic traditions to benefit of the blessings and avoid crankiness or weakness caused by the fast. Suhoor ends, and the fast starts when it is time for fajr prayer.many different types of tricks are used to avoid hunger or thirst during the day. many people choose to eat a spoon full of yogurt to reduce thirst. sehri has a very magical feel to it and is a very important part of Islamic culture.

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