Tori Spelling Dresses Baby Hattie as a Thanksgiving Turkey (omg!)

Tori Spelling Dresses Baby Hattie as a Thanksgiving Turkey

Tori Spelling is really, really into Thanksgiving.

Case in point: the 38-year-old mother-of-three dressed up her six-week-old daughter Hattie Margaret as a roast turkey to celebrate the holiday.

PHOTOS: Tori Spelling's family album

"If you have a baby at home, here's a fun Thanksgiving craft project you can make for what will be very memorable holiday photos," Spelling explained on her official website. "Your older kids will love helping to make this for their baby bro or sis -- Stella loved gluing the faux veggies on the faux platter."

Realizing that the pictures might one day embarrass her little girl, the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum offered a preemptive apology.

PHOTOS: Beverly Hills, 90210 stars, then and now

"Sorry to future 18 year-old Hattie. It was too cute an idea to pass up," Spelling wrote. "If it's any solace, you wore turkey well!"

Spelling may have had an easier time creating the costume than she did preparing the actual turkey. "Anyone else need a vacation after Thanksgiving?" she tweeted Friday. "Thanksgiving dinner prep is like hardcore culinary boot camp."

PHOTOS: Tori and Dean renew their vows

The actress -- who wed Dean McDermott in May 2006 -- is also mother to son Liam, 4, and daughter Stella, 3. The new season of Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood premieres November 29 on Oxygen.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_tori_spelling_dresses_baby_hattie_thanksgiving_turkey210356503/43721783/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/tori-spelling-dresses-baby-hattie-thanksgiving-turkey-210356503.html

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Republicans to reconfigure budget cuts: lawmaker (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Republicans will try to spare defense programs by reconfiguring the $1.2 trillion in spending cuts that are to be triggered starting in 2013 by the collapse of a congressional deficit-cutting committee, a leading Republican senator said on Sunday.

"I think there's a broad consensus that too much of the cuts are weighted on our defense's capabilities and would really, really cut in deeply into our ability to defend this nation," said Senator Pat Toomey, a member of the "super committee" that failed last week to reach a deal to reduce the huge U.S. debt.

"And so, I think it's important that we change the configuration," Toomey said on ABC's "This Week."

Also on the Sunday news programs, Senator Charles Schumer said Democrats will be willing to look at other ways to cover costs of extending a payroll tax cut if their plan to pay for it with a surtax on millionaires fails on the Senate floor this week.

President Barack Obama threatened last week to veto any efforts to undo the $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts over 10 years. The cuts are divided between domestic and military programs and are to be triggered following the failure of the super committee to strike a deficit-reduction deal.

The 12-member committee floundered with Republicans saying Democrats were unwilling to overhaul government health programs that could swamp the economy, and Democrats blaming Republicans for refusing to allow tax increases on the very wealthy to help bridge the deficit gap.

Toomey said the Democratic president was "suggesting that he would veto any attempt to eliminate portions" of the cuts. "I don't recall him having a categorical veto threat on any change in the configuration," he said.

But Schumer, appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," said the threatened cuts must be borne equally by defense and domestic programs to give Republicans and Democrats an incentive to keep striving to reach a broader deficit-reduction plan before the severe cuts take effect in 2013.

'HUGE MISTAKE'

Tinkering with the cuts "would be a huge mistake," Schumer said. "If you take one of those knives away" of pending cuts to Republican-favored defense programs or Democratic-favored domestic programs, there is no incentive to negotiate, he said.

Schumer also said Democrats would be open to other ideas to offset costs of extending a payroll tax cut if their bill on the Senate floor this week does not pass. It is to be paid for with a surtax on incomes over $1 million, expected to be a non-starter with Republicans opposed to tax increases.

Toomey, asked about extending payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits, said, "Some package of that with other features might very well pass."

But Senator Jon Kyl, the Senate's No. 2 Republican, did not say he would agree to extend the payroll tax and unemployment benefits.

"The payroll tax holiday has not stimulated job creation. We don't think that is a good way to do it. Before the end of the year, we will have discussions about what we're going to do on all these different programs," Kyl said on "Fox News Sunday."

Schumer and Toomey also said that despite the super committee's collapse, they have not given up hope lawmakers could strike a broad deficit reduction deal next year.

The stage could be set for such a deal, Schumer said, with the scheduled expiration of the George W. Bush tax cuts in 2013, the "knives" of looming massive cuts to defense and domestic spending triggered by the super committee's collapse, and the end of the Republican presidential nomination process which should prompt the nominee to try to gain support from moderates.

"I believe ... that we have a good chance of actually getting the big package, big deficit reduction, in 2012," Schumer said.

Toomey also said he was "cautiously optimistic" for a big deficit reduction compromise if Republicans could strike a deal with moderate Democrats who thought the spending cut plan Republicans offered was "very constructive, was reasonable."

(Editing by Bill Trott)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111127/pl_nm/us_usa_debt

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'Down with America': Pakistanis protest deadly strike

Thousands gathered outside the American Consulate in Karachi on Sunday to protest against a NATO cross-border air attack that killed 24 Pakistani troops and is threatening a strategic alliance between the countries.

A Reuters reporter at the scene said the angry crowd shouted "Down with America". One young man climbed on the wall surrounding the heavily fortified compound and attached a Pakistani flag to barbed wire.

The NATO attack was the latest perceived provocation by the United States, which infuriated Pakistan's powerful military with a unilateral U.S. special forces raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in May.

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NATO helicopters and fighter jets based in Afghanistan attacked two Pakistan military outposts on Saturday , killing the soldiers in what Pakistan said was an unprovoked assault.

However, Reuters reported Sunday that Afghan and NATO forces had come under cross-border fire prior to the airstrike. It cited a Western official as well as a senior Afghan security official.

Pakistan also ordered the U.S. to vacate an air base that is used by American drones to target al-Qaida and Taliban militants in the country's tribal region along the Afghan border. The U.S. has relied heavily on drone strikes in the past few years, partly out of frustration with Pakistan's refusal to target militants using its territory to stage attacks against American and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

"America is attacking our borders. The government should immediately break ties with it," said Naseema Baluch, a housewife attending the Karachi demonstration. "America wants to occupy our country but we will not let it do that."

U.S. and NATO officials are trying to defuse tensions but the soldiers' deaths are testing a bad marriage of convenience between Washington and Islamabad.

"This was a tragic unintended incident," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement, adding that he fully supported a NATO investigation that was under way. We will determine what happened, and draw the right lessons."

Video: White House treads lightly around Pakistan situation (on this page)

That is unlikely to cool tempers. Many Pakistanis believe their army is fighting a war against militants that only serves Western interests and hurts their country.

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"U.S. stabs Pakistan in the back, again," said a headline in the Daily Times, reflecting fury over the attack in Pakistan, a regional power seen as critical to U.S. efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistan on Sunday buried the troops killed in the attack.

'Deep sense of rage'
Television stations showed the coffins draped in green and white Pakistani flags in a prayer ceremony at the headquarters of the regional command in Peshawar attended by army chief General Ashfaq Kayani.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar spoke with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by telephone early on Sunday to convey "the deep sense of rage felt across Pakistan".

"This negates the progress made by the two countries on improving relations and forces Pakistan to revisit the terms of engagement," a Foreign Ministry statement quoted Khar as telling her U.S. counterpart.

Video: Pakistan blaming NATO for soldiers' deaths (on this page)

Pakistan shut down NATO supply routes into Afghanistan ? used for sending in nearly half of the alliance's land shipments ? in retaliation for the worst such attack since Islamabad uneasily allied itself with Washington following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Tensions could rise further if militants unleash attacks against the stranded trucks.

Suspected militants destroyed around 150 trucks and injured drivers and police a year ago after Pakistan closed one of its Afghan border crossings to NATO supplies for about 10 days in retaliation for a U.S. helicopter attack that accidentally killed two Pakistani soldiers.

The situation could be more dire this time because Pakistan, outraged at the alleged NATO attack before dawn Saturday, has closed both its crossings. Nearly 300 trucks carrying coalition supplies are now backed up at Torkham in the northwest Khyber tribal area and Chaman in southwestern Baluchistan province. Last year, Pakistan only closed Torkham.

"We are worried," said driver Saeed Khan, speaking by telephone from the border terminal in Torkham. "This area is always vulnerable to attacks. Sometimes rockets are lobbed at us. Sometimes we are targeted by bombs."

NATO ships nearly 50 percent of its non-lethal supplies to its troops in Afghanistan through Pakistan.

Meanwhile, about 500 members of Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's most influential religious party, staged a protest in Mohmand tribal area, where the NATO attack took place.

"Jihad is the only answer to America", they yelled.

Pakistan is reviewing whether it will go ahead with plans to attend a major international conference in Bonn next month on the future of Afghanistan in light of the NATO attack.

Around 40 troops were stationed at the outposts at the time of the attack, military sources said.

"They without any reasons attacked on our post and killed soldiers asleep," a senior Pakistani officer told Reuters.

Slideshow: Pakistan: A nation in turmoil (on this page)

Pakistan responded with unusually strong condemnations and said it reserved the right to retaliate.

U.S. ties with Pakistan have suffered several big setbacks starting with the unilateral U.S. special forces raid in May that killed bin Laden in a Pakistani town where he had apparently been living for years.

Pakistan condemned the secret operation as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty, while suspicions arose in Washington that members of Pakistan's military intelligence had harbored the al-Qaida leader.

Unreliable ally?
The military came under unprecedented criticism from both Pakistanis who said it failed to protect the country and American officials who said bin Laden's presence was proof the country was an unreliable ally in the war on militancy.

Slideshow: After the raid: Inside bin Laden's compound (on this page)

Pakistan's army, one of the world's largest, may see the NATO incursion from Afghanistan as a chance to reassert itself, especially since the deaths of the soldiers are likely to unite generals and politicians, whose ties are normally uneasy.

Pakistan's jailing of a CIA contractor, Raymond Davis, and U.S. accusations that Pakistan backed a militant attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul have added to the tensions.

"From Raymond Davis and his gun slinging in the streets of Lahore to the Osama bin Laden incident, and now to the firing on Pakistani soldiers on the volatile Pakistan-Afghan border, things hardly seem able to get any worse," said the Daily Times.

Story: Woman named Pakistan envoy to United States

Islamabad depends on billions in U.S. aid and Washington believes Pakistan can help it bring about peace in Afghanistan ahead of a combat troop withdrawal at the end of 2014.

But it is constantly battling Anti-American sentiment over everything from U.S. drone aircraft strikes to Washington's calls for economic reforms.

"We should end our friendship with America. It's better to have animosity with America than friendship. It's nobody's friend," said laborer Sameer Baluch.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45452110/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

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Ravens beat 49ers 16-6 in duel of Harbaughs

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, left, reacts after throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Dennis Pitta in the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Baltimore on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, left, reacts after throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Dennis Pitta in the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Baltimore on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore (21) is tackled by Baltimore Ravens defenders in the first half of an NFL football game in Baltimore on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith (11) is sacked by Baltimore Ravens defenders Jameel McClain (53) and Terrell Suggs in the first half of an NFL football game in Baltimore on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Baltimore Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff reacts after kicking a field goal in the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Baltimore on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith (11) tries to escape the grasp of Baltimore Ravens defensive end Haloti Ngata, right, in the first half of an NFL football game in Baltimore on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

(AP) ? John Harbaugh could have gloated. He could have bragged.

Instead, the Baltimore Ravens coach played the role of gracious big brother after he bested Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers 16-6 Thursday night in the first NFL game featuring brothers as opposing head coaches.

The Ravens (8-3) tied a franchise record with nine sacks to end San Francisco's eight-game winning streak.

"To the 49ers and to my brother, I can't tell you enough how proud I am of him and the job he's done building that football team," John said of Jim, a rookie NFL coach. "That's a football team. The way they're built, it's pretty hard to figure out a way to beat them."

John, 49, and Jim, 47, grew up dueling each other in all sorts of games. This, however, was the first time their sibling rivalry was displayed on a national stage.

During the final minute, John got a Gatorade bath from his players ? twice. After the game ended, the brothers hugged at midfield.

"There's a saying that says, 'As iron sharpens iron, so does one man sharpen another,'" Jim said. "And I have to say my brother John is the sharpest iron I've ever encountered in my life."

The Ravens chased, hindered and battered 49ers quarterback Alex Smith for much of the night despite playing without middle linebacker Ray Lewis, the team's leading tackler and spiritual leader. Lewis was inactive for a second straight game with a foot injury.

Smith completed 15 of 24 passes for 140 yards and an interception, and San Francisco (9-2) was held without a touchdown for the first time this season. Smith never could get into a rhythm against an aggressive defense that rarely let him set up in the pocket.

"It's tough to get ready for a defense like that in a short week. They do so many things," he said. "They're a great front. At home with the crowd noise, they were teeing off."

Terrell Suggs had three sacks for first-place Baltimore, which moved a half-game ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North.

"That's always the game plan, to get after the quarterback, but I think the No. 1 game plan was to win the Harbaugh Bowl," Suggs said. "Coach tried to downplay it ? act like it's not me against my brother, this is the Ravens vs. the 49ers and let's get win No. 8 and make sure our destiny is in our own hands ? but it was really important to him. We as a team went out there and really wanted to win for him."

Baltimore broke a 6-6 tie with a 76-yard, 16-play drive that lasted more than 7? minutes and ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to tight end Dennis Pitta with 14:56 left. Flacco went 4 for 4 for 34 yards and a touchdown on third down during the drive.

"When you have that kind of game plan ? your line being so efficient on third downs ? you have to come through," Flacco said.

Billy Cundiff wrapped up the scoring with his third field goal, a 39-yarder with 4:16 remaining.

In a game dominated by both defenses, Flacco finished 15 for 23 for 161 yards and Ray Rice ran for 59 yards on 21 carries.

The 49ers began the third quarter with a 13-play drive that lasted 7? minutes and produced a 52-yard field goal by David Akers for a 6-6 tie. The key play was an 18-yard completion from Smith to Michael Crabtree on a third-and-17 from the San Francisco 26.

The Ravens responded with their lone touchdown drive of the game.

Baltimore sacked Smith four times in the first half and picked off a pass in taking a 6-3 lead.

The Ravens took the opening kickoff and moved 55 yards ? 38 of them on a pair of Flacco-to-Anquan Boldin completions ? before Cundiff kicked a 39-yard field goal.

Late in the first quarter, a 20-yard completion from Smith to tight end Vernon Davis set up a 45-yard field goal by Akers.

The 49ers blew a chance to take the lead when Frank Gore was penalized for a chop block on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Ted Ginn, who got behind Cary Williams deep down the middle.

Neither team had much luck moving the ball until San Francisco's Tarell Brown was called for pass interference on a long pass to Torrey Smith. The 50-yard penalty put the ball at the 15, and although the Ravens turned it into a first-and-goal at the 4, they had to settle for a 23-yard field goal with 2:51 left in the half.

NOTES: Baltimore has won all six home games this season and 15 of 16. ... Gore finished with 39 yards on 14 carries. ... Although the Ravens had a first-and-goal at the 4 in second quarter, the 49ers held and kept intact their distinction of not allowing a TD rushing all season. ... Lee Evans had a catch for the Ravens, his first reception since Week 2 after missing seven games with an ankle injury.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-11-25-49ers-Ravens/id-d833daa72fa34d5089ea3d23571730b7

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LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer

The LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer ($99.99 list) is the new personalized learning tablet just for kids! A built-in camera/video recorder, a library of over 100 cartridge games and activities and innovative creativity and reading apps offer limitless learning and endless ways to play.

The LeapPad measures 1 by 5.1 by 7 inches (HWD) and takes four AA batteries. Its green and white chassis is rugged enough to handle the rough-and-tumble play of children. The LeapPad has a built-in Webcam that can take both photos and videos. The high-resolution touch screen measures five inches and can be used both horizontally and vertically. LeapPad works with all Leapster Explorer and LeapFrog Explorer cartridge games and downloadable apps?more than 100 learning adventures available on LeapFrog's site. Touch the screen with a finger, tap it with the stylus or turn, twist and shake the tablet for exciting motion-based play.

Reinforce school skills like reading and mathematics, and build skills like art, music, language, health and hygiene. Skill levels adjust automatically for each child?keeping the challenge just right and remembering progress so the learning and fun keep moving forward.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/62q9JrXKtN8/0,2817,2396653,00.asp

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Report: Bee Gee singer fighting liver cancer

Following a couple of health scares this year, Robin Gibb is in the fight of his life.

The Bee Gees star has reportedly been diagnosed with liver cancer, according to the Daily Mail ? a condition he became aware of several months ago.

MORE: Bee Gee Robin Gibb Back Home After Health Scare

The 61-year-old "Stayin' Alive" singer, who has become noticeably thinner in recent months, has had to cancel several appearances recently due to issues with severe abdominal pain.

Most recently, Gibb was rushed to the hospital Tuesday, following an emergency call from his home. He was released later that day.

News of Gibb's diagnosis comes on the heels of another hospitalization in October, due to severe abdominal pain.

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And sadly, the ailing musician's health issues are nothing new.

MORE: Bee Gee Robin Gibb Hospitalized in England

Back in August 2010, Gibb had emergency gastro-intestinal surgery. Then in April, he was hospitalized again after falling ill with severe abdominal pain, causing him to cancel a scheduled tour of Brazil.

PHOTOS: British Invasion ? 2011 Edition!

After Gibb pulled out of several appearances recently, Bee Gee fans originally feared he was suffering from the same condition that caused the untimely death of his twin brother and former band mate, Maurice, who died of a heart attack in 2003 during surgery for a twisted intestine.

No official statement has been released yet regarding Gibb's current health condition on his website, but we will keep you posted.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45384093/ns/today-entertainment/

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Christopher Meeks: The Gravity of Success

I tell my writing students to avoid the abstract by not using strings of big words with broad meanings, words such as "happiness, "freedom" and "contentment." There's no imagery there. "Curdled milk," "scratched leather shoes," and "scruffle-haired terrier" bring more to mind.

That said, I've been butting up against "success" lately.

It's not that my books have suddenly taken off, though I'm delighted as more readers are leaving reviews on Amazon for my new novel, Love At Absolute Zero. Rather, as my son Zach struggles with studying in college -- calculus and intermediate Russian are huge challenges -- I find myself considering his success as well as my students'.

As a father I've asked myself, what guidance can I give Zach? I've noted what some students do with me. They appear like helicopters during my office hours to ask for extra help or ask what they might do better. With 85 students among four classes, I simply don't get to know everyone personally, so the half-dozen that use the office hours during the semester I come to know better.

I learn their needs as they get extra help. I'm also reminded that not everyone learns the same way, so I constantly look for fresh approaches to a given topic.

Last month, I started poetry in my Introduction to Literature class. Poetry always begins with around twenty faces out of twenty-five masked with dread, wariness or doubt. "I don't like poetry," a few might say, and I feel like a gunslinger at the OK Corral. I hold my ground and reply, "That's like exclaiming you don't like oxygen. Poetry can brim with life, and just because you hate some poems, you might not hate all poems."

That's where I found myself talking last month about hearing the Eminem song, "Lose Yourself," the first time. I was in the car and had to pull off the road to listen to it more fully. It simply grabbed onto my shoulders. Here are three lines about how he felt before a rap battle:

There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready to drop bombs,
but he keeps on forgetting what he wrote down.

I pointed out how amazing his rhyming is -- not exact rhymes but near ones. "Already," "spaghetti" and "forgetting" go together as do "nervous" and "surface." "Drop bombs" has a one-two punch in sound. The most impressive thing about the song is the passion and meaning. It's about driving toward success. The song runs a marathon as a sprint.

I saw the class perk up and, with the classroom fitted with a computer, the Internet and a projector, I went to YouTube and played the song. The energy rose in the classroom, and a few weeks later when I had them write a poem, they excelled: new Marshall Mathers' in the making. In essence, they'd been given permission to write about things important to themselves. With passion can come insight and meaning.

One student later sent me a link to a 60 Minutes interview with Eminem (click here for it). If you zip to minute 5:01, you will see an example of how he rhymes, making something special of "orange." If you watch the whole thing, you'll also get an idea about what he experienced growing up fatherless, poor, moving a lot, and always being the new kid who gets beat up.

He was a guy NOT primed for success. He could have ended up a thug, and it would have been easy to blame his mother, the city of Detroit, his schools and a whole lot more. Still, he was in his head a lot -- which turned out to be a good thing. His love of words -- even reading a dictionary to get more -- became something that pulled him away from poverty. Focus, or lack thereof, is something my less successful students struggle with. Eninem had focus.

I went to the Internet with the idea I'd bring up the TED conferences and see if the website had anything on poetry or success. TED started in 1984 as a nonprofit conference bringing together leaders from three fields: Technology, Entertainment and Design. I found what I was hoping for, a video, this video, by leadership expert Simon Sinek on why success touches certain leaders, people as diverse as Steve Jobs and Martin Luther King. It's basically that certain people have an inner core that others recognize as having gravity. Leaders draw people to ideas that make sense. Call it having an inner "why."

This can be dramatically seen in the following clip at a 1997 conference when Steve Jobs was asked, in essence, to defend the way he worked. (Click here.) He explains that it's not about the technology first (the "what") but the "why" create something in the first place? It was about the customer's experience.

I translated that to writers. My favorite fiction writers are people more than just great at crafting clever stories. They have a core that draws me in. Margaret Atwood, no matter what she writes, reveals absurdities that I find true. She has gravity. So does Kurt Vonnegut, John Irving, Joan Didion and Nick Hornby, among others in my eclectic group. They have something at their core to reveal about our life. They are thinking about the reader. They are also passionate.

This goes back to my blog of last week, my letter to my son. It's about following your curiosity. You may find success. You also might become a leader.

2011-11-18-ScruffleSurfing2.jpg
Daughter Ellen leading her scruffle-haired dog, Scruffle

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Follow Christopher Meeks on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MeeksChris

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-meeks/the-gravity-of-success_b_1100631.html

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Returns on R&D tumble at world's top drugmakers (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Investment returns from researching new drugs have fallen nearly 30 percent in the past year at the world's 12 top pharmaceutical companies, highlighting the productivity dilemma facing the sector, according to a report on Monday.

The average internal rate of return (IRR) from research and development dropped to 8.4 percent from 11.8 percent a year ago in the latest study by Deloitte and Thomson Reuters.

The world's top drugmakers face a range of threats from patent expiries to pricing pressure, but the lack of investor confidence in R&D spending is arguably their biggest challenge.

It means little or no value is being ascribed to drug pipelines by stock markets, with the result that shares in large drugmakers are now trading at a discount to sectors such as fast-moving consumer goods.

Julian Remnant, head of Deloitte's European R&D advisory practice, said the decline in R&D returns reflected the very real productivity challenges confronting CEOs -- but he noted it belied some underlying success stories.

Although 10 out of the 12 companies saw a decline in returns in the past year, two-thirds still succeeded in realizing more value from commercialization of late-stage products than was lost from late-stage product failures.

The industry as a whole, however, is barely keeping its head above water, given an estimated weighted average cost of capital of around 7 percent.

"It's still positive but less positive than last year and part of that is due to the fact that the number of late-stage assets has come down around 20 percent," Remnant said in an interview.

"There's some evidence now that the industry is starting to invest more in the quality of the late-stage pipeline by taking a fine-tooth comb to the portfolio and being much more judicious about what gets progressed into Phase III."

High regulatory hurdles and increasingly stringent internal reviews means pipelines are being pruned across the industry, with the average number of compounds in late-stage Phase III development down to 18 from 23 on average per company.

At just $1.05 billion, it now costs more than 25 percent more to develop a new medicine on average compared with last year, with much of the increased cost reflecting the high rate of failures. Yet the commercial value of these assets is no greater than it was in 2010, according to the study.

The study calculated IRRs by estimating the future value of sales from products in final-stage Phase III clinical trials, or those submitted for regulatory approval, using standard industry benchmarks for success rates.

LET'S GET TOGETHER

Remnant believes the tough times facing the industry are likely to stimulate greater collaboration in R&D, as well as an exploration of ways to share capabilities in pre-competitive areas.

Both trends are, in fact, already evident in a series of actual or planned alliances.

The industry as whole is also reining back the total amount of money it throws at R&D, with aggregate expenditure falling for the first time last year by nearly 3 percent to an estimated $68 billion, according to a recent analysis.

Increasing questions from shareholders about the wisdom of spending billions of dollars on the hunt for new drugs is also causing some companies to reveal more in-house data about rates of return.

GlaxoSmithKline has so far gone the furthest by setting itself a clear target to increase returns on R&D to 14 percent from approximately 11 percent at the start of 2011. Others could come under pressure to follow suit.

The companies analyzed in the study were Pfizer, Roche, Novartis, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Merck & Co, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Takeda and Amgen.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/meds/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111121/hl_nm/us_pharmaceuticals_rd

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