Belief in hell, according to international data, is associated with reduced crime

ScienceDaily (June 19, 2012) ? Religions are thought to serve as bulwarks against unethical behaviors. However, when it comes to predicting criminal behavior, the specific religious beliefs one holds is the determining factor, says a University of Oregon psychologist.

The study, appearing in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE, found that criminal activity is higher in societies where people's religious beliefs contain a strong punitive component than in places where religious beliefs are more benevolent. A country where many more people believe in heaven than in hell, for example, is likely to have a much higher crime rate than one where these beliefs are about equal. The finding surfaced from a comprehensive analysis of 26 years of data involving 143,197 people in 67 countries.

"The key finding is that, controlling for each other, a nation's rate of belief in hell predicts lower crime rates, but the nation's rate of belief in heaven predicts higher crime rates, and these are strong effects," said Azim F. Shariff, professor of psychology and director of the Culture and Morality Lab at the UO. "I think it's an important clue about the differential effects of supernatural punishment and supernatural benevolence. The finding is consistent with controlled research we've done in the lab, but here shows a powerful 'real world' effect on something that really affects people -- crime."

Last year, in the International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, Shariff reported that undergraduate students were more likely to cheat when they believe in a forgiving God than a punishing God.

Religious belief generally has been viewed as "a monolithic construct," Shariff said. "Once you split religion into different constructs, you begin to see different relationships. In this study, we found two differences that go in opposite directions. If you look at overall religious belief, these separate directions are washed out and you don't see anything. There's no hint of a relationship."

The new findings, he added, fit into a growing body of evidence that supernatural punishment had emerged as a very effective cultural innovation to get people to act more ethically with each other. In 2003, he said, Harvard University researchers Robert J. Barro and Rachel M. McCleary had found that gross domestic product was higher in developed countries when people believed in hell more than they did in heaven.

"Supernatural punishment across nations seems to predict lower crime rates," Shariff said. "At this stage, we can only speculate about mechanisms, but it's possible that people who don't believe in the possibility of punishment in the afterlife feel like they can get away with unethical behavior. There is less of a divine deterrent."

He added, however, that these are correlational data, and so caution should be taken with the conclusions. Though Shariff and study co-author Mijke Rhemtulla of the Center for Research Methods and Data Analysis at the University of Kansas tried to account for obvious alternative explanations, more research is needed to explore other interpretations for the findings.

"This research provides new insights into the potential influences of cultural and religious beliefs on key outcomes at a societal level," said Kimberly Andrews Espy, vice president for research and innovation. "Although these findings may be controversial, dissecting the associations between specific belief systems and epidemiologic behaviors is an important first step for social scientists to disentangle the complex web of factors that motivate human behavior."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Oregon.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Azim F. Shariff, Mijke Rhemtulla. Divergent Effects of Beliefs in Heaven and Hell on National Crime Rates. PLoS ONE, 2012; 7 (6): e39048 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039048

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Sonos Sub review

Sonos Sub review

Every audio product Sonos has delivered so far has worked on the assumption that you would never need anything else after you bought it, whether it's linking to a sound system you already owned or an all-in-one system that Sonos built itself, like the Play:3 or Play:5 (born as the S5). The newly released Sub, by its nature, is entirely dependent on having one of the two Play speakers, and shows the company is becoming more of a traditional audio brand with a full ecosystem. A primary Sonos component can now be just the first step in a growing collection that improves as you expand it -- much as you'd buy a basic stereo, then better speakers, then more at a high-end audio shop. The Sub's $699 price certainly catapults any Sonos system into high-end territory, however, and sets some decidedly lofty expectations for how it will perform. We'll find out after the break if the sheer power and a few clever tricks are enough for the Sub to be an essential ingredient of a wireless home audio setup.

Continue reading Sonos Sub review

Sonos Sub review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jun 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: State pension shortfall ballooned in 2010

(AP) ? As the recession took its toll many states diverted scarce money away from pension plans to pay for more immediate concerns, and the amount of new costs states will owe the public retirement funds in the decades ahead ballooned to $757 billion, according to a study released Monday.

According to the Pew Center on the States, 34 states failed to maintain safe levels of money in the pension funds, which most experts agree is about 80 percent of long-term obligations. Four states ? Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky and Rhode Island ? didn't even have 55 percent of the money they'll need in the long run.

The total gap between the money states had available and what they'll have to pay out in the decades ahead reached $757 billion in 2010, the most recent year for which figures are available. That was up 9 percent from the year before, according to the study entitled "The Widening Gap Update."

The Pew Center found most states were trying to address the funding gap, either through cutting benefits for future employees or requiring workers to pay more of their own money into their retirement funds. Some went after benefits for current employees, triggering court battles. States also adopted more conservative estimates for what they'll earn on investments down the road.

Pensions aren't the only retirement problem. States also faced a $627 billion shortfall in health care services for retirees. Essentially, for every $1 they'll eventually have to pay out in health care, states had set aside only 5 cents.

"So why should Americans care about these funding gaps? Because the larger they are the higher the cost to taxpayers today and for many years to come," said David Draine, a senior researcher for the Pew Center on the States.

Nationwide, some 22.5 million public workers fall under a state pension plan. When states fall behind in their retirement contributions, they'll have to come up with even more money later to make up the difference. In addition, pension and retiree health costs are growing, driving up state expenses even more. That leaves states less and less each year to spend on education, public safety and other government services.

While the new report looks at figures from 2010, pension expert Robert Rich, said there's no reason to think the situation has improved significantly.

Rich, executive director at the University of Illinois' Institute of Government and Public Affairs, stressed that the recession was not the chief cause of the pension problem, although it contributed by eating away at the value of investments. For years, states failed to pay their full share of pension costs, he said, so the problem won't be wiped away if the economy improves.

"It took us a long time to get into this hole, and it's going to take a long time to get out of it," Rich said.

The Pew Center said that from 2009 to 2011, 43 states cut benefits for future employees, required them to pay more or did both. And six states took similar action in 2012.

Some states also cut benefits for people who have retired already. However, public-employee unions argue that amounts to breaking a contract, and some state constitutions impose tough restrictions on cutting benefits. So going after benefits for current employees and current retirees can result in legal challenges.

Staff at the Pew Center said Rhode Island has been most aggressive in overhauling its pension systems to cut costs. The state, whose systems were only 49 percent funded in 2010, decided to cut retirement benefits for current employees as well as those hired in the future. Officials limited cost-of-living increases, raised the retirement age from 62 to 67 and changed the formula for calculating benefits.

They also put workers in a new hybrid retirement system that combines elements of the traditional system where retirees are guaranteed a certain level of benefits and new 401(k)-style systems were money is invested on behalf of the retiree.

Rich, from the University of Illinois, questioned the emphasis on cutting benefits when much of the pension problem was created by states failing to contribute their share to retirement systems. States also should be promising to put more money into retirement systems over the long run, he said.

"It's neither shared sacrifice nor fairness if it's only employees who are paying for the problem," Rich said.

___

Online: http://www.pewstates.org

___

Follow Christopher Wills at https://twitter.com/chrisbwills

Associated Press

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China offers $43 billion for IMF crisis war chest

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Greeks vote in critical election

ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? Greeks voted Sunday for the second time in six weeks in what was arguably their country's most critical election in 40 years, with the country's treasured place within the European Union's joint currency in the balance.

The political turmoil sparked by a two-year financial crisis has roiled markets across the world, with fears that victory by parties that have vowed to cancel the country's international bailout agreements and accompanying austerity measures could see Greece forced out of the euro.

That in turn would likely drag down other financially troubled countries and rip apart the euro itself.

The last opinion polls published before a two-week pre-election ban showed the radical left Syriza party of Alexis Tsipras running neck-and-neck with the conservative New Democracy party of Antonis Samaras. But no party is likely to win enough votes to form a government on its own, meaning a coalition will have to be formed to avoid yet another election.

The results of exit surveys were expected at the close of polling stations at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) Sunday, and the first official projections were expected at around 9:30 p.m. (1830 GMT). Strong winds in the Greek archipelago forced the cancellation of some ferry routes, raising doubts about whether some voters would be able to get to islands with polling stations in time.

Inconclusive elections on May 6 resulted in no party winning enough votes to form a government, and coalition talks collapsed after 10 days. The vote, which also sent the formerly governing socialist PASOK party plunging to historic lows, sent a very clear message that Greeks have lost patience with the deep austerity imposed in return for the country receiving billions of euros (dollars) in rescue loans from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.

"I'd like to see something change for the country in general, including regarding the bailout," said Vassilis Stergiou, an early-morning voter at an Athens polling station. "But at least for us to get organized and at the very least do something."

Tsipras, a 37-year-old former student activist, has vowed to rip up Greece's bailout agreements and repeal the austerity measures, which have included deep spending cuts on everything from health care to education and infrastructure, as well as tax hikes and reductions of salaries and pensions.

But his pledges, which include canceling planned privatizations, nationalizing banks and rolling back cuts to minimum wages and pensions, have horrified European leaders, as well as many Greeks. Tsipras' opponents argue that the inexperienced young politician is out of touch with reality, and that his policies will force the country out of the euro and lead to poverty for years to come.

Virtually unknown outside of Greece four months ago, Tsipras' pledges and his party's strong showing in the May 6 elections, where he came a surprise second place and quadrupled his support since the 2009 election, has put him in the international spotlight.

Scores of journalists and television news crews from across the world jostled for space to cover Tsipras casting his ballot in an Athens polling center.

"We have beaten fear. Today we open a road to hope," he said after voting, adding that he was confident of victory.

"Today we open a road to a better tomorrow, with our people united, dignified and proud. In a Greece of social justice and prosperity, an equal member of a Europe that is changing. A Europe of the peoples and of solidarity."

The young left-wing leader has accused his rivals of attempting to terrorize the population by casting him as the man who will ruin the country, and insists he will keep Greece within the euro ? something that repeated opinion polls have shown about 80 percent of Greeks want.

Greece has been dependent on the rescue loans since May 2010, after sky-high borrowing rates left it locked out of the international markets following years of profligate spending and falsifying financial data.

The spending cuts made in return have left the country mired in a fifth year of recession, with unemployment spiraling to above 22 percent and tens of thousands of businesses shutting down.

For his part, Samaras has cast Sunday's choice as one between the euro and returning to the country's old currency, the drachma. Although he voted against Greece's first bailout in 2010, when his party was in opposition, he backed the second bailout agreed on late last year. He has vowed to renegotiate some of the terms of the accompanying austerity, but insists the top priority is for the country to remain in Europe's joint currency.

"The main thing we will decide on is the dilemma, euro or drachma," he said during his final pre-election rally in central Athens on Friday.

European leaders have cautioned that Greece could be left outside the 17-nation eurozone if it pulls out of its bailout commitments.

Newly elected French President Francois Hollande warned in a Greek television interview earlier this week that "if the impression is given that the Greeks want to move away from the commitments that were taken and abandon all prospects of revival, then there will be countries in the Eurozone that will want to end the presence of Greece in the eurozone."

Nearly 10 million people are eligible to vote in the country of about 11 million people. Polls close at 7pm (1600 GMT), with official results expected a few hours later.

"Today the Greek people speak. Tomorrow a new era for Greece begins," Samaras said after casting his ballot in a small town in southern Greece, the first of the main politicians to do so.

As Greeks went to the polls, more than 250 firefighters and soldiers battled a fire raging south of the Greek capital since Saturday afternoon. Local authorities said several houses were burned. Gale-force winds were hampering the efforts to extinguish the blaze, and Greece asked for help in water-dropping planes from Italy, France and Croatia.

Three firefighters suffered burns on Saturday, while four people were arrested for allegedly starting the fire by accident during welding work at a construction site.

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Mexican poll shows support for Pena Nieto stable at 42 percent

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Fire rages for 2nd day near Greek capital

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire near the town of Palea Fokaia, south of Athens, Saturday, June 16, 2012. A fire aided by strong winds has burned grassland and threatened houses near the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens. The fire started in the early Saturday afternoon on dried grass, apparently as the result of an accident and has been spreading fast, threatening to engulf isolated houses on the outskirts of the towns of Keratea and Palea Fokaia. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire near the town of Palea Fokaia, south of Athens, Saturday, June 16, 2012. A fire aided by strong winds has burned grassland and threatened houses near the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens. The fire started in the early Saturday afternoon on dried grass, apparently as the result of an accident and has been spreading fast, threatening to engulf isolated houses on the outskirts of the towns of Keratea and Palea Fokaia. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

Visitors stand next to the ruins of the 5th century B.C. Temple of Poseidon as smoke from a fire rises over the Saronic Gulf at Cape Sounion, south of Athens, Saturday, June 16, 2012. A fire aided by strong winds has burned grassland and threatened houses near the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens. The fire started in the early Saturday afternoon on dried grass, apparently as the result of an accident and has been spreading fast, threatening to engulf isolated houses on the outskirts of the towns of Keratea and Palea Fokaia. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

A firefighter walks through smoke during a fire near the town of Palea Fokaia, south of Athens, Saturday, June 16, 2012. A fire aided by strong winds has burned grassland and threatened houses near the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens. The fire started in the early Saturday afternoon on dried grass, apparently as the result of an accident and has been spreading fast, threatening to engulf isolated houses on the outskirts of the towns of Keratea and Palea Fokaia. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

A fire-fighting helicopter loads water from the Saronic gulf, as seen from Palea Fokaia, Greece, Saturday, June 16 2012. A fire aided by strong winds has burned grassland and threatened houses near the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens. The fire started in the early Saturday afternoon on dried grass, apparently as the result of an accident and has been spreading fast, threatening to engulf isolated houses on the outskirts of the towns of Keratea and Palea Fokaia. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

A fire fighting airplane drops water over a fire near the town of Palea Fokaia, south of Athens, Saturday, June 16, 2012. A fire aided by strong winds has burned grassland and threatened houses near the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens. The fire started in the early Saturday afternoon on dried grass, apparently as the result of an accident and has been spreading fast, threatening to engulf isolated houses on the outskirts of the towns of Keratea and Palea Fokaia. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

(AP) ? A major fire south of the Greek capital raged for the second day Sunday, as gale-force winds were rekindling the flames and three new fronts broke out.

Local officials said several homes had been burned, while three firefighters were injured in the blaze Saturday.

More than 250 firefighters and soldiers using more than 60 vehicles were battling the flames in a sparsely populated area south of Athens, along with four water-dropping planes and a helicopter, the fire department said. Another 45 firefighters and 15 vehicles were being sent from other areas.

Greece appealed to the European Union for help. Italy was sending another two water-dropping planes Sunday morning, Citizens' Protection Minister Eleftherios Economou said. Athens was also awaiting a response from France and Croatia.

Four people were to appear in court later Sunday after being arrested for allegedly accidentally causing the blaze while carrying out welding work at a construction site.

By Saturday night, the fire was raging on a 12-kilometer (7.5-mile) front to the west and south of the town of Keratea, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Athens.

Fire department chief Panagiotis Bonatsos told state NET TV that three new fronts had broken out within the space of half an hour Sunday morning, and appealed to the public to avoid carrying out any outdoor work that could spark fires.

Power was cut to the area to facilitate water-dropping planes, authorities said. Strong north winds were fanning the flames and hampering efforts to control the blaze, which was burning near sparsely populated areas.

Economou said more than 30 fires had broken out across the country on Saturday, but most were brought under control. The risk of new fires was considered high, after several days of hot temperatures followed by strong winds across most of Greece.

The blazes were being fought as Greeks voted in a national election that could determine whether their indebted nation stays in the euro.

Forest and brush fires are common in the hot, dry summer months in Greece. In the deadliest outbreak in decades, more than 60 people were killed when forest fires raged across southern Greece in 2007.

Associated Press

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Police: Canada suspect had $330k in cash

The man wanted in an armored car heist at a Canadian university that left three armed guards dead was carrying $330,000 in cash and no passport when he was arrested by U.S. border officials, police said Sunday.

Travis Baumgartner was stopped Saturday near a border crossing in Lynden, Washington, southwest of Abbotsford, British Columbia.

He was driving a Ford F-150 truck with the Alberta license plate that police had been seeking, Police Supt. Bob Hassel said at a news conference. Hassel said the suspect tried to get through the border with his driver's license. He had the cash in a backpack.

Thomas Schreiber of U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the suspect didn't have a gun and was arrested without incident.

Baumgartner, 21, had been on the run since Friday when four armed guards were gunned down, three of them fatally. He faces three counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Hassel said the injured guard remains in critical condition.

Baumgartner was the fifth member of a G4S Cash Solutions crew that was re-loading bank machines at a University of Alberta mall and residence where the shooting happened, police said. The armored truck was found abandoned but running not far from the security company's offices. Dead at the scene were Michelle Shegelski, 26; Eddie Rejano, 39; and Brian Ilesic, 35.

Police had launched an international manhunt to find Baumgartner. Hassel said Baumgartner is currently being held at a police detachment in Langley, British Columbia, and is expected to be transferred back to Edmonton sometime in the next week.

G4S Cash Solutions spokeswoman Robin Steinberg said the company would conduct its own investigation into the shooting. Baumgartner had only been on the job for three months.

"We applaud the dedication of the Edmonton Police Service, and other law enforcement agencies in apprehending Travis Baumgartner today," Steinberg said in a statement. "Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of the victims and also with the Baumgartner family."

Guard in fatal armored-car heist caught in US
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Baumgartner's mother issued a statement Friday pleading for her son to surrender and apologizing for an argument they had.

Such shootings are rare in Canada, where residents are nervous about anything that might indicate they are moving closer to U.S. levels of gun violence. The oil boom town of Fort McMurray, Alberta, however, often has drug-related shootings, and Vancouver often has gang shootings. Gunfire at Toronto's most prominent mall this month left two dead and several injured and a shooting at an Edmonton club in 2006 left three dead.

Steven Munz, a close friend of Baumgartner, had said that Baumgartner had been on the job for only three months and wanted to eventually become a police officer, but said Baumgartner didn't believe he had what it took. Munz said he had noticed a change in his personality in the last year, and that he had been irrational at times.

In a profile on the dating website Plenty of Fish, Baumgartner bills himself as an armored car guard interested in video gaming. A photo shows him shirtless holding a cell phone. He says he has a laid back personality and a "10" physique.

"I'm a great guy. We don't come around often," he writes.

But his Facebook page is much darker, quoting the character of the anarchist Joker from the movie "Dark Knight" and musing about "popping people off."

Baumgartner lived with his mother and step-sister in Sherwood Park, a bedroom community just east of Edmonton.

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Grumpy Old Bookman: Daphne before She Died

Coming soon to an Amazon web site near you: Daphne before She Died, a new novel by Michael Allen.

Well, actually it's newish. I wrote this book about twelve years ago, and published it as a trade paperback. In those days it had a different title, and I used a female pen-name. It sold about as well as you would expect, i. about 100 copies, mostly to libraries, and it washed its face financially. I took it out of print a while back because it had stopped selling. Since then I have revised it somewhat, and given it a new title and a new cover. I am using my own name this time.

Here's what Kirkus Reviews had to say about this book, first time around:

This account of two reckless love affairs in the early 1960s is primarily concerned with the emotional fallout of these obsessive relationships and their effect on the people involved in them.

?

Robert Duval, son of a French father and English mother, has been approached by Daphne, his old housemaster's wife. She is dying and wants a record of the momentous year when she became passionately involved with one of the boys in her husband's House.

But hers was not the only torrid affair that year - Robert himself was initiated into the delights of the flesh by a nubile 18-year-old French girl, and Daphne's request stirs up memories of his own youthful infatuation.

Public schools [i.e. boys boarding schools in England] operated according to their own codes of morality - a little discreet homosexuality was acceptable, but striking up a physical relationship with a woman was considered unacceptable. Yet the couples seemed fearless in the pursuit of their desires, almost as if the strength of their feelings rendered them immune to discovery.

?

The novel dissects issues of secrecy and truth in sexual relationships. Both Daphne's husband, Ben, and Robert's mother knew about the affairs, yet they kept that knowledge to themselves. Ben knew that Daphne's loyalties would always lie with him, and that the end of the school year would mark the end of the affair. Robert's mother knew that once Suzanne returned to France the passion would burn itself out. Yet years later, even though both affairs are long over, the memories of that obsession are as strong as ever for both Robert and Daphne.
This is a fascinating account of the consuming power of??sexual passion, and a remarkable insight into the claustrophobic world of traditional public-school life.
?That's a pretty good review really, isn't it? Perhaps I'm justified in seeing it as one of my better efforts.

Anyway, the new improved version is coming out again within a week or two. In the meantime, if it sounds like the sort of thing that you might enjoy reading, after which you are encouraged to write a review on Amazon (as it's an Amazon only book), please drop me a line -- address in profile -- and I will get you a free copy for your Kindle. This offer holds good for the first ten applicants or till the end of July, whichever comes first.

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New law to keep booze flowing for Dem convention

(AP) ? Adding a twist to blue laws in an increasingly red state, North Carolina's Republican-led legislature is toasting a measure intended to keep the booze flowing at the Democratic National Convention.

President Barack Obama and other Democratic Party headliners are set to be in Charlotte for the nominating soir?e held every four years, which kicks off with a Labor Day party at a stock car track. The state's government-run liquor stores are closed Sundays and for the Monday holiday, presenting a potential problem for bars, restaurants and hotels needing to replenish depleted alcohol stocks.

The convention is expected to draw tens of thousands of people who will spend millions on food and libations.

To the rescue is a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Raleigh sponsoring a bill to keep the Alcoholic Beverage Control stores in Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte, open for Labor Day 2012. Co-sponsored by Republicans and Democrats from the Charlotte area, the measure flowed through the state House last week on a voice vote and is awaiting approval in the Senate.

Rep. Bill Brawley, a Mecklenburg Republican, said helping Charlotte be fully prepared to quench the thirsts of the arriving politicos and media horde is just good manners.

"The political party of the people attending is not material," said Brawley, one of the bill's primary sponsors. "Our state will treat them the way we would want our own people to be treated when they visit other states."

Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue, who has frequently clashed with the Republicans who took control of the General Assembly two years ago, said she would sign the bill into law.

"This legislation helps North Carolina be a good host," said Perdue, who is co-chair of the Charlotte in 2012 Convention Host Committee.

With the exception of Sunday mornings, beer and wine can be bought from retail stores and wholesalers. But distilled spirits such as whiskey, gin and vodka are available only at ABC stores or warehouses operated by local governments and regulated by the state. The system is a holdover from the repeal of Prohibition, when Bible-quoting teetotalers were appointed to county control boards to keep rosters of local alcoholics and deny them access to liquor.

Paul Stroup, the chief executive officer of Mecklenburg County ABC, said he lobbied a local Republican lawmaker to change the law this year so the stores could be open on the holiday. The measure will help small businesses capitalize on an important opportunity for an economic boost.

"For us, it's strictly a customer service issue," Stroup said. "Many places don't have a lot of secure storage capacity for additional spirits if we were closed for two consecutive days."

Suzi Emmerling, a spokeswoman for Charlotte in 2012, said organizers expect about 35,000 people to attend the convention, with about 1,000 events scheduled over four days. While it's hard to predict the economic impact, she said, the 2008 Democratic convention in Denver reported bringing in more than $150 million.

And that doesn't count the spillover from the event, with thousands more people expected to be filling the streets around the convention venues. Protesting the excess of Wall Street under the hot Carolina sun could be a parching endeavor.

The owners and managers of Charlotte's uptown watering holes are certainly expecting a boost in business, though some doubted that having the liquor stores open an extra day will really make much of a difference.

Jaclyn Winquist is the manager of a speakeasy-themed saloon called Prohibition about a block from the convention venue. She said she usually buys her spirits a week in advance, tripling the order if she knows a big event is coming.

Still, Winquist applauded the new legislation.

"It's always a good thing when you can have access to liquor," she said.

___

Follow AP writer Michael Biesecker at http://twitter.com/mbieseck

Associated Press

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