Groupon suspends all gun-related daily deals

Courtesy Michael Cargill

Gun-store owner Michael Cargill, pictured here giving a gun safety speech in July 2012, is calling for a boycott of Groupon after the company canceled his concealed-handgun-license class promotion.

By Ben Popken, TODAY contributor

Groupon has suspended all gun-related deal promotions, the popular online daily deals company told TODAY on Tuesday.

"All scheduled and current gun-related deals featured on Groupon North America, including shooting ranges, conceal-and-carry and clay shooting, have been placed on hiatus while we review internal standards that shape the deal inventory we feature," Groupon spokesperson Julie Mossler told TODAY. "The category is under review following recent consumer and merchant feedback."

Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in December that rocked the nation, President Barack Obama has pushed for new gun-control legislation, including reinstating a ban on assault weapons, and tighter background checks. Last week, New York became the first state to enact new gun-control laws following the tragedy that claimed the lives of 20 schoolchildren and six staff.

But Groupon's move, first reported by AOL's DailyFinance, has Second Amendment rights proponents up in arms.?One Texas gun shop owner has taken to Twitter to call for a Groupon boycott, and others have taken up the cry, with numerous retweets, including ones by the Twitter feed for the NRA.

Central Texas Gun Works?owner?Michael Cargill, pictured above, called for the boycott after the daily deals company terminated his concealed-handgun-license training class promotion. That happened just days after Groupon had asked him to increase the number of class slots he was selling,?emails Cargill forwarded to TODAY.?The promotion was so?successful it was in danger of selling out.

The deal was $69 for an initial 10-hour concealed handgun license (CHL) course for one, normally $140, or $129 for two individuals. The course, a requirement before receiving a concealed-carry permit in Texas, covers gun safety and law, verbal incident de-escalation tactics, and shooting-range training. The promotion, started early last week, was set to end on Saturday or after 600 signups, whichever came first. The day after the promotion started, it already had several hundred signups, and Cargill's Groupon account rep contacted him about doubling the number of slots, as it was in danger of selling out. Cargill approved the increase.

Cargill said his Groupon rep told him that Groupon's CEO, Andrew Mason, had a change of heart. He said his rep told him Groupon was shutting the deal down "because of all the issues about gun control by Congress, the president and in the news." The gun-store owner's Groupon rep directed all questions to Groupon's press spokesperson. Mossler declined to comment beyond Groupon's initial statement.

Last year, Cargill ran the same promotion with Groupon. It sold out in four days.

Google Offers, LivingSocial, and DealFind couldn't be reached for comment. In the past Google Offers and Dealfind have promoted?concealed pistol license and weapon certification classes. LivingSocial has also marketed?deals like "AK47s, Rifles and Pistols Followed By 8 Drink Tastings" for $130.

Despite the national conversation about gun control, Cargill says he sees nothing wrong, or dangerous, about teaching more people how to use guns and giving them the training they need to legally carry a concealed handgun.

"If someone's going to commit a crime, they're not going to take the time to take a 10-hour class first," said Cargill.

Source: http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2013/01/22/16642066-groupon-suspends-all-gun-related-daily-deals?lite

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PFT: Romanowski stunned by Tim Brown's remarks

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Former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon does not agree with his old teammate Tim Brown about coach Bill Callahan sabotaging the team in their Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers.

Gannon said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that he believes Callahan coached to win in Super Bowl XXXVII, when the Bucs beat the Raiders 48-21.

?In terms of Bill Callahan, let me just say this: He was a good football coach, he was a good man,? Gannon said. ?We all wanted to win.?

Gannon made clear that he likes and respects Brown, but he doesn?t accept Brown?s version of events, which is that Callahan ?hated the Raiders so much that he would sabotage the Super Bowl.?

So why did the Raiders only run the ball 11 times while throwing 44 passes in that game? Brown says Callahan changed the game plan at the last minute, leaving the Raiders ill-prepared. But Gannon says the pass-heavy play calling happened mostly because the Raiders fell behind early and trailed 20-3 by halftime.

?I think what happened was that we came out and tried to run the football early in that game, we didn?t have a lot of success,? Gannon said. ?We fell behind in the game and at that point we started throwing the ball too much.?

Considering that the Raiders gained only 19 yards on their 11 runs, that theory seems more plausible than Brown?s bizarre belief that Callahan would put in all the work necessary to lead his team to the Super Bowl and then purposely sabotage his team by changing the game plan at the last minute.

?I don?t know that the game plan really changed,? Gannon said.

Where Gannon did acknowledge the Raiders? coaches screwed up was in not changing up the terminology they used for calls at the line of scrimmage. Jon Gruden had coached the Raiders for the four previous seasons before coaching against them in the Super Bowl, and Gannon says Callahan hadn?t changed any of the terminology the Raiders used on offense. As a result, Gruden had taught the Bucs the Raiders? calls, and the Bucs knew what was coming when Gannon barked out his signals at the line of scrimmage.

?So much of our verbiage and terminology was a carryover from what Jon Gruden had installed in terms of our run checks, and so we were calling certain plays and guys like Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks were calling out the runs,? Gannon said. ?So it kind of took us out of our no-huddle plan at the line of scrimmage.?

Failing to change the terminology so that the opposing coach wouldn?t know it was a huge gaffe by Callahan, and it?s completely reasonable to criticize him for that. But saying he made a stupid mistake in his preparation for the Super Bowl is a long way from saying he actually wanted to lose the Super Bowl.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/22/romanowski-flabbergasted-by-tim-browns-claims/related/

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Video: Sen. Schumer defends president?s gun violence measures

A Second Take on Meeting the Press: From an up-close look at Rachel Maddow's sneakers to an in-depth look at Jon Krakauer's latest book ? it's all fair game in our "Meet the Press: Take Two" web extra. Log on Sundays to see David Gregory's post-show conversations with leading newsmakers, authors and roundtable guests. Videos are available on-demand by 12 p.m. ET on Sundays.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/50525820#50525820

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Film Festival to Showcase 'Reel' Good Student Filmmakers - Malibu ...

Pepperdine University will host a student-run film festival this week in Malibu.

The fourth annual REELSTORIES Film Festival is set to begin at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25, with a VIP reception and party in Mullin Town Square followed by three screenings, according to organizers.

Attendees will pick up tickets for a film of their choice. Local food trucks and interactive art exhibits will also be available.

Three different feature-length documentaries and a series of short films from aspiring Pepperdine student filmmakers will be screened. The three feature length documentaries include Stacy Peralta?s ?Bones Brigade,? 2013 Oscar nominated ?Searching for Sugarman,? and ?Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry? by director, Alison Klayman.

For more information, visit http://www.reelstoriesfilmfestival.com/#.

Source: http://malibu.patch.com/articles/film-festival-to-showcase-reel-good-student-filmmakers-at-pepperdine-in-malibu

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Busted! 5 Fitness & Health Tips That May Make You Cry ? Let's Talk ...

Good morning and Happy Saturday! We actually saw the SUN yesterday! We are expecting to see it again today as soon as the heavy fog lifts. I wanted to show you these fabulous Oakley Commit SQ Mellow Yellow sunglasses I won from Angie?s blog. I wanted to show them to you, but my blog and/or internet is not cooperating. Ugh. I love them and can?t wait to wear them more often. Thankfully we are supposed to see the sun quite a bit this week. I will try to get a picture in them and show you. Thanks Angie!

Now, on to a fabulous guest post I think you will like. Five health and fitness tips ? BUSTED.

This article was authored by Sergeant Michael Volkin, best-selling author of military books and inventor of Strength Stack 52 bodyweight fitness cards.

Myth: The more ab exercises I do, the skinnier my waist will be.

BUSTED: Doing stomach exercises can strengthen your abdominal muscles, but it won?t burn body fat to give you that 6-pack you?re after. If you want your ab muscles to show, you need to either be naturally skinny or embrace a diet low in carbohydrates and high in proteins with a decent helping of healthy fats and fruits and vegetables.

Myth: My diet includes diet soda, it?s zero calories so it has to be good for me.

BUSTED: According to a recent University of Texas study, drinking just two or more cans a day accelerated waistline expansion by 500%. The artificial sweeteners disrupt the body?s ability to regulate calorie intake. In other words, your body is being tricked into thinking it?s ingesting sugar, so you crave more food and as a result, eat more food than you would have without drinking the soda.

Myth: By working out, I can convert fat into muscle.

BUSTED: You cannot convert fat into muscle as they are completely different. In fact, when working out it is best to focus on either losing fat or gaining muscle. In order to gain muscle, you have to eat more calories than you burn and, in order to lose body fat, you must burn more calories than you consume.

Myth: Cardio is more important for fat loss than weight lifting.

BUSTED: You will definitely burn calories completing a cardio workout, but to lose weight your primary concern should be muscle loss. Muscles make it easier for your body to prevent fat gain. Your body will burn more calories maintaining muscle than maintaining fat. In other words, the more muscle you build, the more calories your body will burn each day. The less muscle you have the lower your metabolism. A great weight loss program should focus on (in this order) your caloric intake, weight training and then cardio.

Myth: Stretching before a workout prevents injury and increased my performance.

BUSTED: I know, you grew up stretching before a workout or sporting event because your coach or parents told you it was beneficial. You were probably told that stretching prevents injury, when in fact, the opposite is true. Recent studies show that stretching before a workout will weaken the muscle by up to 30%. By elongating your muscles before strenuous exercise you actually may be increasing the risk of injury. Instead of stretching before a workout, get your blood flowing through your muscles with some low impact cardio for 5 to 10 minutes. Stretching after a workout is great and still proves to be beneficial.

With your new-found knowledge of health and fitness, grab yourself a deck of my new invention, Strength Stack 52 bodyweight fitness cards.

Any of these surprise you? What health and fitness tip would you care to share with everyone today?

Enjoy your day! I am off to the grocery store!

Tagged as: cardio, fitness, guest post, health, stretch

Source: http://letstalkandwalk.com/five-fitness-health-tips-busted/

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Asia stocks tentative as Bank of Japan meets

BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stock markets were mixed Monday amid uncertainty about the outcome of a central bank meeting in Japan and nervousness over whether U.S. political leaders will be able to reach a deal on the government's debt limit.

Congress must agree to raise the limit on how much debt the U.S. can have by the end of February otherwise the country risks default and could be slapped with damaging credit downgrades.

Even if the ceiling is raised, it would likely be at the cost of deep spending cuts demanded by Republicans in Washington.

"Markets remain optimistic, mainly because failure to forge a deal would be a disaster," analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in a report. "However, the more time that passes the more nervous markets should become."

Dickie Wong, executive director of research at Kingston Securities in Hong Kong, said he was optimistic that an agreement would be reached because of the high price tag attached to failing to do so.

"Both parties will find some kind of solution because they all know that the debt ceiling will have to be increased," Wong said. "At the very last minute they will sort it out."

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.9 percent to 10,81.60 ? off a 32-month closing high hit Friday ? as the yen gained some ground against the dollar and the Bank of Japan began a two-day policy meeting.

The central bank has been under pressure from Japan's new government to take more aggressive steps to fight the country's long deflationary slump. Some analysts say they expect the bank to expand its asset-purchasing program and set an inflation target.

South Korea's Kospi was nearly unchanged at 1,988.11. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.1 percent to 23,631.85. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1 percent to 4,775.10.

Benchmarks in mainland China, Singapore and New Zealand rose. Those in Taiwan and Indonesia fell.

Among stocks on the downturn were Japanese export shares, which shot up in recent sessions as the yen slid against other major currencies. Suzuki Motor Corp. fell 1.8 percent. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. shed 3.2 percent.

The National Australia Bank rose 1.8 percent amid speculation that Spanish banking giant Santander was considering a bid for its U.K. business.

Better earnings from General Electric and Morgan Stanley helped Wall Street inch higher Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.4 percent to 13,649.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.3 percent to 1,485.98. The Nasdaq composite index fell marginally to 3,134.70.

Benchmark oil for February delivery was down 35 cents to $95.2 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 7 cents to finish at $95.56 per barrel on the Nymex on Friday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3324 from $1.3320 late Friday in New York. The dollar fell to 89.56 yen from 90.03 yen.

___

Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asia-stocks-tentative-bank-japan-meets-030839292--finance.html

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Weight Loss Trick: Water (video) | Care2 Healthy Living

• Health Guru
• January 18, 2013
• 5:30 am
• 22 comments

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Curious as to how water can help you keep the weight off? Watch this for a quick tip! Related Link: 10 Reasons to Drink More Water (that you may not already know)

Read more: Diet & Nutrition, Videos

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Source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/weight-loss-trick-water-video.html

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