China military accepting bigger recruits, tattoos (AP)

BEIJING ? China's military is accepting recruits who are heavier and have more visible tattoos, conceding to rising prosperity and individuality among the nation's young.

In keeping with a drive for better educated recruits, the military also will pay an additional 6,000 yuan ($944) annually to university students who take time off to serve and their university places will be reserved for them.

The changes announced by the Defense Ministry on Wednesday took effect during the military's winter recruitment drive. The People's Liberation Army is the world's largest with 2.3 million people in uniform.

The ministry said would-be recruits will no longer be failed for having face or neck tattoos as long as the body art doesn't exceed 3/4 of an inch (2 centimeters).

The changes also allow for body weight up to 25 percent greater or 15 percent lower than the military's standard, in contrast to the former limits of 20 percent greater and 10 percent lower.

China's educated youth are becoming increasingly selective about jobs at the same time as the military rapidly modernizes.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/china/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111102/ap_on_re_as/as_china_military_recruits

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HBT: Did Yankees lowball Sabathia?

The Associated Press?said yesterday that?the Yankees have made Sabathia a new?offer?in an attempt to get him to forgo opting out of his deal. Yet, he appears to be opting out.?Today Buster Olney speculates that they may have lowballed him, at least in terms of years:

Let?s say that the New York Yankees? extension offer to?CC Sabathia?had been for two years at his current salary, $23 million a year ? In that case, there almost certainly wouldn?t have been any deliberation, no reason to pause ??But if the Yankees? offer was for only one additional year, on top of the four years and $92 million that is already owed, that takes him into a gray area ? which is where he seems to be today, in deciding whether to take what the Yankees are dangling or whether to opt out of his contract and test the free-agent market again.

Possible, I suppose. It?s also possible that he got that two-year offer and he?s just trying to sweeten it a bit anyway. It?s not like there?s a big downside to that. The Yankees aren?t so pitching rich right now that they can play the ?the offer goes down by $2 million every day you wait, big guy!? game. ?It?s all fun to wonder about.

Also fun to wonder about is what inspire Sabathia to actually take another team?s offer rather than go back to the Yankees. ?Buster throws many idea out there ? ones that would keep him in New York and ones that would make him leave. This one was fun:

If Sabathia goes to the National League, he could hit, something he loves to do.

To be fair to Buster, that wasn?t a major reason listed, but that reason makes me laugh anyway. ?It seems every time there?s a big free agent pitcher that someone notes that they like to hit so watch out for the NL teams.

Has that ever really been a reason for a pitcher signing someplace? Sure, some people on Twitter said ?Micah Owings? when I observed it a few minutes ago, but for a top flight guy? ?Cliff Lee said something about liking to hit next year, but honestly, that can?t be in the top 15 reasons a pitcher signs someplace can it? ?I think Buster is way more on point when he talks about the easier opposition and weaker offenses in the NL than a pitcher hitting.

As always, we know nothing until we know something.

?

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/31/did-the-yankees-lowball-sabathia/related/

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UFC 137?s Three Stars: Diaz, Nelson and Cerrone

UFC 137 was bizarre weeks before the card even started, with no-shows at press conferences, rearranging bouts, and a weighin that featured one fighter who didn't make weight and another one who learned the value of a good headbutt. But who stood out once the actual fights began?

No. 1 star -- Nick Diaz: Heading into UFC 137, Diaz promised that he always shows up for a fight. He came through, beating up on B.J. Penn so badly that Penn said that he would walk away from his 10-year MMA career. Then, Diaz launched into a string of expletives to call out Georges St. Pierre. It was not as smooth as Chael Sonnen's heel act, but it was more effective. Diaz will fight GSP on Super Bowl weekend.

No. 2 star -- Roy Nelson: Showing off an improved physique, he withstood the best that Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic had, and then took out the MMA legend in the third round. The win halted a two-fight losing skid.

No. 3 star -- Donald Cerrone: Speaking of streaks, Cerrone extended his winning streak to six with submission of Dennis Siver. He used his kickboxing prowess to knock Siver down, then smartly slapped on a rear naked choke to finish the fight. Next, he'll fight Nate Diaz at UFC 141, giving Cerrone his fifth fight in a year.

Those are Cagewriter's Three Stars. Who are yours? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-137-s-Three-Stars-Diaz-Nelson-and-Cerrone?urn=mma-wp8828

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Job: Communications Manager ? Asian Media Information and ...

Location : Washington DC, USA

As part of the Policy and Advocacy team, Communications is a critical driver for advocacy to a diverse set of audiences ? from global, regional, national policy makers, the private sector, donors, media and the general public.?GAIN is looking for a strategic, innovative and experienced Manager of Communications to provide vision, leadership and direction for GAIN?s communications activities both internally and externally. Through developing and guiding the implementation of GAIN?s strategic communications, the Manager will lead GAIN?s engagement with technical groups and county programs within the organization and through media, web development, publications, events ?and corporate communications externally, to enhance the impact of GAIN?s programs.

Description

Leadership

• Provides inspirational leadership and management to a small team comprised of communications, press and media and external relations
• Provides strategic planning and execution of?global and national level communications strategies
• Leads the profile elevation of nutrition and nutrition interventions across a diverse set of audiences
• Disseminate knowledge, messages, policy and programmatic impact both within GAN and to external stakeholders
• Promotes GAIN as a credible institution to effectively achieve its goals
• Strategic oversight of communications projects including events planning and speech writing

Media

• Strategically develops GAIN?s media outreach programme, reflecting the changing media landscape and including traditional and new media, globally.
• Develops and educates GAIN?s media contacts in order to raise the profile of under nutrition and ensure accurate information is delivered
• Identifies and develops media partnerships that reflect innovative and transformative approaches to content development, distribution, engagement.
• Strategically review and develop GAIN?s website and all new media channels, to maximise content and impact

Communications

• Works closely with the Senior Manager, Global and National Advocacy to ensure increased awareness of under nutrition and the education of key policy makers
• Utilises national and regional champions to build constituencies for public and political will and increase funds on a national level
• Collaborates with all program areas to ensure close coordination between communications and program strategies
• Enhances private sector participation to improve nutritional content of foods
• Overseas the develop evidence based policy briefs, case studies and working papers

Key Organizational Relationships

• Reports to the Director, Policy and Advocacy
• Executive Management Committee and program leads
• Policy and Advocacy and Communications team

Job Requirements

Skills & Attributes:

• Ability to both think and plan strategically, communicate those strategies, as well as execute them
• Excellent leadership and people management skills, including remote team management
• Knowledge of communications strategies globally including in developing countries
• Ability to operate within the corporate and public sectors to effectively liaise with the media, private companies, development agencies, and governments in different cultures.
• Ability to use initiative, prioritize, multi-task, and work well under pressure to meet deadlines.
• Clear and systematic thinking that demonstrates good judgment, expert problem solving, and creativity.
• Strong communication skills in multicultural, multi-lingual environments.
• Highly flexible, with the ability to work effectively as part of a multicultural team.
• Excellent analytical skills.

Experience:

• Significant experience of motivating, building and leading a highly effective team
• Significant experience of developing communications in a ?multi-cultural environment, preferably at international level in the private sector, food industry, government or international organizations.
• Experience in public health is highly desirable but not essential
• Excellent project management abilities and experience of working with external consultants
• Excellent written and verbal skills in English
• Familiarity with events planning
• Proven ability to work effectively in a team environment and matrix structure is critical

Education:

• Bachelors or Masters (preferred) degree in in advertising, communications, public relations or related field
• 12+ years of professional experience at progressively senior levels in the field of communications, with an emphasis on media relations. The candidate will preferably have a good understanding of key nutrition constituencies ?in the US and abroad and the potential implications of various advocacy/communications approaches to reach them.

Other Requirements

• Fluency in English.
• Fluency in a second or third language is highly desirable but not essential
• A strong track record of positioning an organization to achieve tangible outcomes in a competitive
• communications environment
• Ability to coach and support senior leaders as spokespersons
• Experience in the countries on which GAIN focuses will be considered an asset.
• Demonstrated excellence in research, writing, and analytic ability.
• Comfort with working under pressure/tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to multitask and prioritize.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team.

Applications will be closed at 10am (EST) on Tuesday 8th November. All applications will be considered immediately with interviews scheduled to be held on 11th, 14th and 15th November.

Click here to apply.

Source: http://amic.org.sg/blog/2011/10/31/job-communications-manager/

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Stewart wins at Martinsville; closes in on Edwards

BC-CAR--NASCAR-Martinsville, 3rd Ld-Writethru,896Stewart wins at Martinsville; closes in on EdwardsAP Photo VASH129, VASH127, VASH125, VASH118, VASH126, VASH112, VASH111, VASH110, VASH106, VASH107Eds: New approach. With AP Photos.By HANK KURZ Jr.AP Sports Writer

MARTINSVILLE, Virginia (AP) ? Tony Stewart hadn't won a race all season and didn't list himself as a championship contender when asked to handicap the field before NASCAR's 10-race playoffs got going.

Now, his third championship is there for the taking.

"We've had one of those up-and-down years and we're having a run in this Chase and now we're hungry," Stewart said after his third victory in the first seven Chase races moved him within eight points of leader Carl Edwards. "We're hungry for this. I feel like our mindset into these next three weeks, we've been nice all year to a lot of guys, given guys a lot of breaks.

"We're cashing tickets in these next three weeks."

Stewart won this one by passing Jimmie Johnson on a restart with three laps to go Sunday.

Stewart then playfully called out Edwards.

"He better be worried. That's all I've got to say," Stewart said in Victory Lane, a broad smile spreading across his face. "He's not going to sleep for the next three weeks."

Stewart moved from 19 points behind leader Edwards and in fourth place to just eight points behind in second as several contenders got caught up in a season-high 18 caution flags.

Even Stewart had trouble, at one point having to apologize to race leader Denny Hamlin for racing him hard to stay on the lead lap. And that was with less than 200 laps to go.

"I was pretty mad all day, but I was the only guy who didn't get in a wreck with somebody, so I was kind of proud of that," Stewart said, adding that crew chief Darian Grubber, his spotter and several team members told him before the race to stop being so nice on the track.

The winning pass, to Johnson's outside, surprised even him.

"I don't think anybody has ever passed Jimmie Johnson on the outside," he said, crediting Grubb for making the right calls and adjustments all race long. "I don't think we had the best race car today, by any means, but we had the most determined pit crew."

Johnson, for much of the day, looked like he might be the one making a huge gain in the points race, especially as Edwards floundered in the mid-20s and wasn't getting any better.

The cautions, which slowed things for 108 laps, also a season high, allowed Johnson to weather a call by crew chief Chad Knaus to stay out when all the leaders behind him pitted for fresh tires with just over 40 laps to go. But he couldn't hold on with Stewart pressing him at the end.

"I just could not get away from him on the restart," he said, adding that he tried to be cognizant of Stewart's better position in the championship battle. "I thought about going in there and leaning on him, move him up, but that is just not the right thing to do."

Stewart last won the championship in 2005.

Edwards laughed when told about Stewart's challenge.

"He's wound up. He won the race. We'll see what happens at Texas," Edwards said. "I told you guys I thought he was one of the guys that could win this race and be a guy that you'd have to beat for the championship and I think he's proving that right now. But yeah, we'll have fun.

"We'll go race hard. They're going to have to race us, too. I'm excited about the next three races."

Edwards struggled all day, twice needing the get a free pass as the first car a lap down. He made it pay off the second time, adjusting his car and rallying to finish an unlikely ninth.

"That's just a gift," he said. "We did not deserve to finish ninth."

Given his history at Martinsville, where he has struggled, Edwards felt like he'd won.

"I had become OK with the fact that we were probably going to finish 20th or 25th," he said. "I was thinking already about Texas and how we were going to have to go there and everything we were going to do, but my guys stuck with it and we got very, very fortunate."

Others deserved much better than what they got, namely Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski. They started the day second and third in points, and both were running near the front all day until getting caught up in late accidents. Kenseth finished 31st and Keselowski wound up 17th.

It seemed especially harsh for Kenseth, who was doing uncharacteristically well for him on the 0.526-mile oval until tangling with Kyle Busch on lap 464. Kenseth wound up in the garage.

"That ruined my day, along with his and whoever else got unfortunately collected in that mess," Kenseth said about Busch, who also ran up front all day but limped home in 27th place.

Kenseth was running eighth when he crashed. Keselowski also was running eighth.

Jeff Gordon finished third, and saw plenty of mayhem all race long.

"That was crazy. The racing was crazy," he said.

Kevin Harvick finished fourth and moved into third in the points race, 21 behind Edwards. Hamlin was fourth, followed by Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr.

Johnson, who started the day seventh in points, moved into sixth with his second-place run, but is still 43 points off the lead in search of his sixth consecutive championship.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-10-30-NASCAR-Martinsville/id-531855595abd439aaace1c680e921ecb

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HBT: Rays pick up options on Shields, Farnsworth

The Rays reached decisions on their three option calls Monday afternoon, exercising the $7.5 million option on James Shields? contract and the $3.3 million option on Kyle Farnsworth?s deal.

Declined was Kelly Shoppach?s $3.2 million option. He?ll get a $300,000 buyout.

Shields? option was a no-brainer.?The Rays also hold options on his services for 2013 ($9 million) and 2014 ($12 million). Shields went 16-12 with a 2.82 ERA last season. He led the majors with 11 complete games and he was second in the AL in innings (249 1/3) and third in ERA.

Farnsworth?s option was also a pretty easy call after he finished with a 2.18 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 57 2/3 innings as the team?s closer. It?s doubtful that he?ll be so good again, but for $3.3 million, it?s well worth bringing him back. Plus, the Rays would have had to pay him $650,000 anyway had they declined the option.

Shoppach gets let go despite a late surge that saw him hit four homers in 29 at-bats during September and two more against the Rangers in the ALDS. Shoppach, though, was pretty brutal overall during his two years in Tampa Bay, hitting .185 in 379 at-bats. That did come with 16 homers, but even so, he drove in just 39 runs.

A solid defensive catcher, Shoppach shouldn?t have much difficulty finding work, but he?s probably looking at a paycut to the $1.5 million-$2 million range. The Rays figure to seek a catcher upgrade this winter, though they could re-sign Shoppach if nothing else comes to fruition.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/31/rays-pick-up-options-on-james-shields-kyle-farnsworth/related

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Boeing brings space taxi jobs to Florida (Reuters)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) ? Boeing Co will bring hundreds of jobs to Florida by basing a program to develop passenger spaceships at the Kennedy Space Center, first for NASA and later for commercial use, officials said on Monday.

Boeing's plans will ease some of the pain over thousands of job losses in the so-called Space Coast region of central Florida from the end of NASA's space shuttle program earlier this year.

Boeing will ramp up its workforce to about 550 by 2015 to make, test and operate the seven-passenger spaceships, called CST-100s, said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager of commercial programs for Boeing Space Exploration.

"Florida's selection made sense because of the skilled local workforce, the outstanding facilities and the proximity of our NASA customer," he said at a ceremony at the former space shuttle processing hangar where the new venture will be based.

The company currently employs about 200 people on the CST-100 program nationwide, including 30 in Florida.

Space Florida, a state-backed agency working to expand space-related businesses, is a partner in the project, serving as Boeing's landlord.

"If anyone had any doubts that Kennedy Space Center would remain open for business, this agreement allowing Space Florida to lay the groundwork for a world-class commercial space industry here should put that notion to rest," said NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver.

The Obama administration is requesting $850 million for the fiscal year that began October 1 to invest in commercial passenger spaceships.

With the shuttle fleet's retirement, the United States is dependent on Russia to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, a $100 billion project of 16 nations that orbits 240 miles above Earth.

"The next era of space exploration won't wait, and so we can't wait for Congress to do its job and give our space program the funding it needs," President Barack Obama said in a statement.

SPACE LEADERSHIP

"That's why my administration will be pressing forward, in partnership with Space Florida and the private sector, to create jobs and make sure America continues to lead the world in exploration and discovery."

Under the agreement, Space Florida will take over maintenance and operations of the Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 from NASA. The shuttle hangars are among dozens of specialized shuttle facilities at the Kennedy Space Center that the U.S. government no longer needs.

Space Florida, which is structured to partner with a wide range of entities including federal and local agencies, research institutes and commercial companies, plans to invest up to about $50 million in the Boeing project, agency President Frank DiBello said.

"There could well be access to financing beyond that, depending on the nature of the work to be done," DiBello told reporters. "We are making these capital investments in return for job creation, which is an economic benefit to the state."

Boeing's project, however, is dependent on congressional support of NASA's Commercial Crew program, which is partly funding the CST-100 work, and on winning an upcoming NASA contract to continue the spaceship's development.

Boeing is one of four firms receiving NASA funds to develop space taxis. The others are:

* Space Exploration Technologies, a privately owned company founded and overseen by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk;

* Sierra Nevada Corp, which is working on a winged space plane that resembles the shuttle;

* Blue Origin, a startup company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Turning over transportation to and from the space station to private firms is designed to free up NASA money for a heavy-lift rocket and deep-space capsule that can travel to asteroids, the moon and other destinations beyond the station.

Russia currently charges NASA about $350 million a year for space flight services.

(Editing by Tom Brown)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111101/sc_nm/us_space_boeing_florida

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