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YEONGAM, South Korea ugg classic (AP)—Renault’s Robert Kubica set the fastest time in Saturday’s final practice for the Korean Grand Prix, upstaging the Formula One title contenders. Kubica’s time of 1 minute, 37.354 seconds was less than a tenth of a second better than McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and F1 championship leader Mark Webber. Webber’s Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel was down in 16th on the timesheets after a mistake on his final flying lap. Fine conditions were forecast for qualifying later Saturday, ahead of overnight rain that will clear before Sunday’s race.

In the first major discount ugg boot nonpartisan survey since a series of statewide televised debates and revelations of Whitman's hiring and firing of an undocumented Mexican immigrant maid, Brown has 44 percent of likely voters to 36 percent for Whitman, with 16 percent undecided and other candidates drawing 4 percent, the poll showed. That marks a significant shift in the race after months of being virtually tied. The last poll by the organization, in September, showed Whitman leading Brown 38-37 percent. The new poll of 2,002 adults, was taken Oct. 10-17, a period that included the candidates' third debate. The overall margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Mark Baldassare, president and CEO of the Public Policy Institute of California, said the poll might reflect some recent controversies, public events and strategic changes in the gubernatorial campaign. "Brown began campaigning in earnest," he said, "and there has certainly been a number of opportunities (in debates) for the voters to hear from the two candidates, to compare and contrast." In California, where Democrats have a 2.3 million-voter advantage over Republicans, Baldassare said it appears that "the core voters that have supported Democratic candidates seem to have coalesced around Brown," including Latinos, liberals and women. Among one key Democratic group - Latino voters - Attorney General Brown has more than a 2-1 lead over Whitman, while 43 percent of likely voters believe he would be better on the issue of immigration, compared with 37 percent for the former eBay CEO, the poll found. In a key development, Brown has UGG Bailey Button Boots drawn ahead of Whitman in the Central Valley, a Latino stronghold, erasing her 15-point lead there in September. With voters casting ballots by mail and heading to the polls on Nov. 2, the latest poll underscores billionaire Whitman's continued difficulties gaining traction in the race despite two years of campaigning and spending $141.5 million of her own money. The poll also found that only 38 percent of likely Republican voters describe themselves as "satisfied" by their party's candidate for governor, a 10-point drop since last month. By contrast, 50 percent of Democrats said they are satisfied with Brown - and 11 percent of GOP voters say they will vote for Brown, compared with 7 percent of Democrats who say they will vote for Whitman, the poll showed. "There have been two Meg Whitmans in this campaign," said Larry Berman, professor of political science at UC Davis. "In the primary, she was so much more to the right, particularly on immigration. So a lot of Republicans are scratching their heads and wondering: 'Where did she go? " Baldassare added that while Whitman maintains strong support from Republicans, "the group that she needs to see movement among is the independents - and they are closely divided." Whitman's 8-point lead over Brown among independent voters in September has been virtually erased. She now holds a 37-36 percent lead among independents - a key group that represent 1 in 5 California voters. Among women voters Among women voters, Brown has boosted his standing despite controversy after one of his campaign staffer's used a sexist slur to describe Whitman in a private conversation that was inadvertently recorded on voicemail. He leads Whitman among women voters by 47-32 percent, the poll found, up from September, when he had 35 percent of their vote. Among male voters and whites, the two candidates remain in UGG Coquette Slipper a dead heat, the poll showed. Brown leads Whitman in every geographic region of the state with the exception of Southern California outside of Los Angeles, the poll showed. In the Bay Area, the poll found that Brown has boosted his support by 5 percentage points since September to lead Whitman here by 55-29 percent. In Los Angeles, Brown has increased his lead by 19 points since September, holding a 54-28 percent lead there. On issues, the poll showed Brown leads Whitman on the issue of education by 47-37 percent. On the environment, Brown leads by more than 2-1 - and leads in all regions and demographic groups over Whitman, who has said she would suspend the state's landmark climate change law for a year if elected. But California's likely voters believe Whitman would do a better job than Brown on the state budget and taxes by 48-40 percent, and that Whitman would do better on jobs and the economy by 47-39 percent, the poll showed.

BURBANK, Calif. -- The Walt Nike Air Max Disney Co. said Monday it will pay Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures $115 million to take over the marketing and distribution of "The Avengers" and "Iron Man 3," a move that will better integrate Disney's acquisition of Marvel Entertainment. The $115 million, to be paid on the theatrical release dates, equals the minimum distribution fee Paramount was guaranteed and allows Disney to capture more profits if the films do well. The deal also lets Disney take over merchandising and licensing for the films. Before Disney purchased Marvel last year for $4.2 billion in cash and stock, Marvel had cut a movie distribution deal with Paramount. The newest deal does not cover distribution of upcoming Marvel releases "Thor," set for release in May, and "Captain America: The First Avenger," set for release in July, because Paramount had already done significant work preparing to promote and distribute both films. Rich Ross, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, said in a statement that Disney's marketing will "leverage these two highly-anticipated films across the multiple global platforms of The Walt Disney Co." The arrangement allows Paramount to UGG Handbags earn revenue from the films without having to promote and distribute them. The studio also will continue to earn home video revenue from the first two "Iron Man" movies as well as "Thor" and "Captain America." "The Avengers," planned for release in May 2012, will also be played on Epix, the pay TV channel that Paramount co-owns with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Shares of Disney rose 2 cents to $34.77 in after-hours trading after closing down 13 cents at $34.75. Viacom's widely traded Class B shares rose 4 cents to $37.68 after hours, following a drop of 23 cents to $37.64 in the regular session.

Jamie McMurray cleared air max Shoes Kyle Busch off Turn 2 after a restart on Lap 314 and pulled away from Busch to win Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of McMurray’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in 2002. Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup leader Jimmie Johnson and second-place Denny Hamlin, however, both found trouble but rallied to finish third and fourth, respectively, to set up a showdown Oct. 24 at Martinsville, a short track the two drivers have dominated the past four years. Together, Johnson and Hamlin have won the past eight races at the .526-mile speedway, Hamlin the last two. Hamlin enters the sixth race in the Chase 41 points behind the four-time defending series champion. McMurray won for the third time this season, the second time at Charlotte and the sixth time in his career, completing unfinished business from the Coca-Cola 600 in May, when he ran second to Kurt Busch. Greg Biffle finished fifth, and Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, David Reutimann and David Ragan completed the top 10. “You just drive your heart out, and if you have the car, then you are able to make those passes, and if you don’t, you don’t make the passes,” said McMurray, who earlier this season won the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400. “We had a better car than Kyle at the end. He was better at certain stages during the race but at the end of the race, we had the best car.” McMurray finished 1.866 seconds ahead of Busch, who led 165 of the 334 laps. McMurray led 44 laps. Fighting a loose handling condition, Johnson looped his No. 48 Chevrolet off Turn 4 on Lap 34. On Lap 38, he restarted 37th but gradually moved to the front. Ultimately, Johnson UGG Classic Crochet Boots regained track position when he stayed out under caution on Lap 128—while most of the lead-lap cars came to the pits. Johnson restarted fifth on Lap 132 and worked his way up to third during a long cycle of green-flag pit stops that ended on Lap 179. A caution for Marcos Ambrose’s spin off Turn 4 put all the lead-lap cars back on the same pit sequence and solidified Johnson’s position in the top five. Johnson relishes the prospect of racing Hamlin head-to-head over the next five races. “Martinsville is such a fun racetrack,” Johnson said. “He’s good at Martinsville, (and) we are. Talladega is a crapshoot. Texas, I think he finished first there and I was second in the spring. “Go to Phoenix—it’s a great track for both of us. Go to Homestead, I think he won there last year. We ran really strong all night long and then came home (fifth). “So I think both teams are going to have speed, and I think it’s going to boil down to mistakes at this point. Those guys are doing a great job, solid on pit road, solid on equipment, and so on. I think it’s going to boil down to mistakes.” Hamlin dodged a Lap 2 wreck but brought his No. 11 Toyota to the pits with flat-spotted tires. Like Johnson, Hamlin restarted from the back of the field and patiently worked his way forward. “It was a battle,” Hamlin said. “We were stuck from like third to fifth all day and just couldn’t get quite right. There was some stuff we put in our car that we just needed to fine-tune a little bit—we didn’t have enough time to work on it during practice. “But I think we have a good direction from here on out. We kept (Johnson) in our sights, but that’s all we could do. We were a little bit off today, but it’s important that we UGG Classic Mini Boots get solid top-five finishes like this.” Chase driver Kurt Busch wasn’t as fortunate as Johnson or Hamlin. Busch brought out the second caution on Lap 23 when he spun and grazed the wall in Turn 4. From that point on, the No. 2 Dodge was never right. On Lap 193, Johnson passed the Blue Deuce to bury Busch two laps down. Busch finished 30th. Polesitter Jeff Gordon likewise had his share of trouble. On Lap 191, one of Gordon’s batteries failed, and he lost a lap while switching to a second battery. Gordon got a free pass back to the lead lap after caution flew for Ambrose’s spin, but the No. 24 Chevy struggled the rest of the way. A subsequent pit-road speeding penalty dropped Gordon to 23rd at the finish and left him to 156 points behind Johnson. Tony Stewart, last Sunday’s winner in California, sustained damage on Lap 2 when he checked up in Turn 4 after Ryan Newman, his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, spun in Turn 3. David Gilliland’s Ford nosed into the rear of Stewart’s Chevrolet, and Stewart fought the handling of his car the rest of the night. Stewart came home 21st and lost touch with the championship battle. He and Kyle Busch are tied for fifth in the standings, 177 points behind Johnson.

The Obama administration has ugg outlet appealed a federal judge's ruling overturning the "don't ask, don't tell" law and asked the judge for a stay that would let the military resume discharges of openly gay and lesbian soldiers. In separate actions on Thursday, Justice Department lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips of Riverside to suspend her ruling - saying it "threatens to disrupt ongoing military operations" during wartime - and challenged the ruling in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The department said it will ask the appeals court for a stay if Phillips does not act by noon Monday. The Log Cabin Republicans, the 19,000-member gay rights organization that sued to overturn the law in 2004, said it would fight the administration's request. "Brave, patriotic gays and lesbians are serving in our armed forces to fight for all of our constitutional rights while the government is denying them theirs," said Dan Woods, the group's attorney. He said the Justice Department's action "repeats the broken promises and empty words from President Obama," who has called for the policy to be repealed but has also directed government lawyers to defend it. "Don't ask, don't tell," enacted in 1993, prohibits the military from asking service members about their sexual orientation but requires those who disclose that they are gay or lesbian to be discharged. Phillips presided over a nonjury trial in July, where witnesses included service members discharged under the policy and researchers who said other nations have successfully allowed gays and lesbians to serve openly. The judge ruled Sept. 9 that the law intrudes needlessly on service members' private lives and harms military effectiveness by excluding skilled personnel, aggravating troop shortages UGG Coquette Slipper and lowering recruitment standards. Phillips ordered an immediate halt Tuesday to all discharges and investigations under the policy, rejecting the administration's request to wait until Congress acted. The House passed legislation supported by Obama in January that would repeal the law, but a Republican filibuster has stalled the bill in the Senate. The repeal would take effect only after the Defense Department completes a study of how the change would affect the armed forces and how it could be implemented. That review was the focus of the administration's arguments Thursday. "A precipitous change in policy could harm compelling public interests in military readiness, combat effectiveness, unit cohesion, morale, good order, discipline, and recruiting and retention," government lawyers told Phillips. The study, due Dec. 1, will include a survey of the opinions of hundreds of thousands of troops, some of whom have already expressed opposition to allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly, Clifford Stanley, an adviser to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, said in a court declaration. An immediate repeal would tell service members that "their views, concerns and perspectives do not matter," Stanley said. Phillips' injunction also puts gays and lesbians "in a position of grave uncertainty," Stanley said, because they might face discharge if they reveal their sexual orientation and a higher court UGG Elsey wedge Boots reinstates the law. A stay during appeal would eliminate that dilemma, he said.

Cheap Air Max Health officials in China are seeking to vaccinate nearly 100 million children for measles in a 10-day push that concludes on Monday. The vaccination effort is among the largest ever conducted in the country's history. While most Chinese residents recognize the need for the vaccine, some initial public skepticism had overshadowed the start of the government's program. China's government agencies in recent years have been slow or even withheld health information about the spread of SARS, bird flu and an outbreak of cholera last month. The moves have fostered a sense of public mistrust. Now the general public has openly questioned the voluntary vaccination of more than 95 million children for measles. Dr. Robin Nandy is the Senior Health Advisor for Emergencies at UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund). "It really brings to the forefront a very important thing that we are seeing now in China, but we have seen in other places as well, is how important it is for good transparent communication from the side of the government and implementing partners to the population," said Dr. Nandy. Dr. Nandy said the general public has more sources of information, which can be good or bad when it comes to health care. "There are a lot of options now open globally for people to get information from different sources, from the internet, from news media. But this is also a double-edged sword because there are also a lot more opportunities for the spread of misinformation UGG Classic Argyle Knit Boots 5879." Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, says the Chinese government has been slow to improve communication, which has led to public questioning of the safety of the measles campaign. "This case essentially reveals basically the tension between the government incentive to provide more public goods and services to the people. But the problem here is they still stick to the traditional method of implementation of this policy," he said. Andrea Gay is the Executive Director of Children's Health at the U.N. Foundation and has lived in China. She finds the current public reaction to the measles campaign to be positive. "I do not think it was as negative as was portrayed in the press. It is perfectly reasonable that people should be questioning and it is just again evidence of more openness on the part of the Chinese government. And also that people feel more confident and secure in asking questions. So I do not think any of that is very negative. No child is being vaccinated where the parents have not signed a permission slip. So it is totally voluntary," she said. China has reduced the outbreak of measles within the country by 94 percent in over more than 40 years of administering the vaccine. Dr. Nandy says while the trend is impressive, the goal is total elimination of measles transmission. "China has made a lot of progress in measles control over the last few years. But despite this progress, in 2009 China still reported more than 50,000 cases of measles. Given the fact that China and the entire Western Pacific region have a measles elimination goal to stop measles transmissions by 2012, it was thought necessary to embark on this campaign style supplementary immunization activities nationwide in China," he said UGG Bailey Button Boots. Worldwide, an estimated 164,000 people died from measles in 2008. Most were children under the age of five. The number of measles cases in China last year was not high compared to the total population. Resulting deaths were fewer than caused by rabies, which Yanzhong Huang says helped to fuel public questions of the current measles campaign. "Each year in China there are more than 2,000 human deaths from rabies. China is second only to India on that. But people would naturally ask this question - how come you (the Chinese government) did not commit resources to fighting rabies? Instead you commit all those resources on fighting a disease which led to only 39 deaths in the country (last year)," he said. China has a program of routine vaccination for children, including measles. But Huang says a more comprehensive approach is likely needed by the government to be completely effective. "It would be useful like the liking of vaccination with admission to kindergarten and schools which we use here (in the United States). But China easily will say 'we are not going to do that. We are not going to force children (to get) vaccinations. I think some of the methods they should indeed learn from the United States," he said. The vaccination campaign in China is being conducted by several parties. Half of the current measles vaccination program is funded by China, with the other half coming from global donors through international health agencies. Dr. Robin Nandy says outside organizations and governments need to be in harmony to ensure success UGG Coquette Slipper. "It is difficult for one agency or two agencies. And I think it is very important that everybody joins hands and works as a team. The campaign in China is led by the government and is supported by UNICEF and the World Health Organization and other partners," he said. Regardless of the reasons for public skepticism about China's measles campaign, Andrea Gay of the U.N. Foundation says early fears seem to have evaporated and the program is so far successful. "The test of all of this is whether people bring their children. At this time, the campaign has been going very, very well. They are ahead of their target for the first five days. So it sounds like at least the population is bringing their children to be vaccinated," she said. After the measles vaccination program ends Monday, an accounting of doses administered will be finalized and surveys will be conducted to help assess the effort's effectiveness. Dr. Nandy says there is one final measure of success. "If you are confident that the disease surveillance is good and you do not see cases, that is probably the best way to know that our program has performed well," he said. Measles is still common in many developing countries, especially in parts of Africa and Asia. More than 20 million people are affected by measles each year. The hope is to completely halt transmission of the disease globally by 2020. Continued funding for vaccination efforts remains perhaps the biggest obstacle UGG Elsey wedge Boots.