Gorgeous and Green, the annual fundraiser for Global Green, takes place at the Bently Reserve on December 11, 2012.

Faconnable recently opened its doors for supporters of Children of Shelters. Their annual fundraiser “Jingle & Mingle” takes place December 6, 2012.

Located at 2724 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, this beautiful 1894 Queen Anne mansion has gone on the market with an asking price of $30 million.

San Francisco Parks Alliance and the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department recently hosted Party for the Parks at the Anglers Lodge in Golden Gate Park.

Lucas Cross-Back End Table, Black

The classic X-base design adds an airiness to this end table that’s especially welcome in smaller rooms. Launched in 1914 …

Laragh Rug, Red/Natural

With rich, luscious detailing and a vibrant feel, this rug enlivens any space. Hand-tufted of pure wool with strong cotton backing, the traditional …

Laragh Rug, Red/Natural

With rich, luscious detailing and a vibrant feel, this rug enlivens any space. Hand-tufted of pure wool with strong cotton backing, the traditional …

Laragh Rug, Red/Natural

With rich, luscious detailing and a vibrant feel, this rug enlivens any space. Hand-tufted of pure wool with strong cotton backing, the traditional …

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images Matt Damon is a man of many talents. The Oscar winner not only stars in his upcoming movie Promised Land, but he also wrote it with John Krasinski. STORY: Matt Damon and John Krasinski Dish on Their Writing Partnership at ‘Promised Land’ Premiere But Damon also does a decent President Clinton impersonation, which he demonstrated in an appearance on Monday’s The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. He relayed a story about the first time he met the president, during a screening of 1997′s Good Will Hunting — Damon’s breakout film, for which he won a original screenplay Oscar alongside Ben Affleck — at Camp David. But at the event, a producer made an awkward comment about John Travolta’s less-than-flattering Clinton portrayal in Primary Colors. Watch the clip below to see Clinton’s response, as impersonated by Damon

HSBC Holdings Plc is expected to become the first bank to admit to both money-laundering lapses and U.S. sanctions violations on Tuesday as part of a settlement of around $1.8 billion with law enforcement agencies, according to people familiar with the situation. The settlement, which will be in the form of a deferred-prosecution agreement, is the largest by far that a U.S. or European bank has agreed to amid a crackdown in the United States. Reuters reported last week that London-based HSBC would be forced to pay the $1.8 billion and that criminal charges would be deferred. In November, HSBC said the total penalty could exceed $1.5 billion. Details about the settlement could come around midday on Tuesday (12 noon EST) in a presentation by the U.S.

Above photo is Daniel Craig starring as 007. AFP Tuesday, Dec 11, 2012 LOS ANGELES – James Bond blockbuster “Skyfall” climbed back on top of North America’s box office a month after opening at number one, edging out “Rise of the Guardians” in second, weekend data showed Monday. “Skyfall,” the 23rd episode of the spy thriller series, now starring Daniel Craig as 007, earned US$10.8 million (S$13.2 million) in its fifth weekend in theatres, said industry tracker Exhibitor Relations. The widely-praised Bond movie opened in top spot last month, but had been kept in the runner-up spot for the last three weeks by the last film in the “Twilight” franchise. Second place, with US$10.4 million, went to “Rise of the Guardians,” the latest animated offering from DreamWorks featuring Jack Frost and a band of fairytale characters ganging up to save the world from the Boogeyman. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2,” the fifth and final instalment of the wildly popular vampire series, was bumped down to third, taking in US$9.2 million. “Lincoln” – starring Daniel Day-Lewis as 16th US president Abraham Lincoln – came a close fourth with US$8.9 million

A Facebook competition organised by Hooroo, Qantas ‘ online accommodation Web site, has discovered resource-rich nation Australia has more to offer than just metals and minerals. Aussies from all over the country participated in the survey which called for the country’s best kept tourist spots, and they came down with 40.  The 40 must-go to tourist destinations include, listed per state:   Western Australia Bremer Bay Little Beach, Albany Pentecost River, Home Valley Station, Kimberley Lighthouse Keeper’s House remains, Albany Jurien Bay Sea Lions, Jurien Bay   South Australia Waterfall Gully Tumby Bay Woodside Andamooka Mintaro Maze, Mintaro Whispering Wall, near Williamstown Barossa Valley Northern Flinders Ranges The Great Wall of China , Central Flinders Ranges BlueSeas Beach House, Kangaroo Island   Queensland Mickey Creek Gorge, Carnarvon Gorge National Park Moreton Island Starlight’s look out, 40 minutes from Longreach Undara Volcanic National Park, Cairns On the Inlet, Port Douglas Champagne Bay, Thomas Island, The Whitsundays Ross River   Tasmania Secret Falls, Hobart  Bay of Fires Donaldson River, Corinna   Victoria Aireys Inlet – Great Ocean Road The bottle of milk, Lorne Shizuka Ryokan Japanese country spa and wellness retreat Hepburn Springs   New South Wales Beaufort House, Adelong Wattamolla Beach, Sydney Royal National Park Milk Beach, Vaucluse Mungo Brush, Myall Lakes National Park Tumbarumba Rodeo, Tumbarumba The Rock Pool, Tuncurry Lake Liddell, Muswellbrook Caves Beach, Central Coast Protesters Falls, The Channon Fish Rock Cave, South West Rocks Menindee Lakes, Menindee Kosciuszko huts, Snowy Mountains   Northern Territory Gunlom Falls, top pool, Kakadu National Park Mickey Creek Gorge in Carnavon Gorge National Park supposedly has “towering walls of rock covered in moss with some sections becoming so narrow you can touch the walls of both sides with your hands and feet.” In Sydney, there is Wattamolla Beach, a beach and freshwater lagoon combination, that can be reached less than an hour from Sydney’s CBD. Gunlom Falls in the Northern Territory, meanwhile, has been likened to an infinity pool. Hooroo solicited the help of three lifestyle experts, namely Dr Chris Brown from Bondi Vet and host of a travel segment on the  Living Room  TV show on Channel 10, as well as columnist Paula Joy and Lija Wilson from Hooroo, to narrow down the suggestions given by its participants. They are now holding a new search to pick the top five from among the 40 shortlisted tourist spots. To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail: To contact the editor, e-mail:

[unable to retrieve full-text content] MTV, the CW and PBS will join existing content partners like HBO, ESPN and Netflix. read more

India ’s Sensex is expected to remain range bound on Tuesday as investors are likely to remain cautious ahead of the meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve ‘s Open Market Committee. Investors are expecting the Federal Reserve to announce the extension of the $85 billion purchase of securities each month when Operation Twist, its maturity extension programme, ends on Dec 31. On Monday, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.29 percent, or 27.46 points, to 9506.29.

Russia n conglomerate Sistema ( SSAq.L ) ( AFKS.MM ) has warned India that a lack of progress in a dispute over telecoms licenses is putting bilateral relations at risk ahead of a visit by President Vladimir Putin later this month. The dispute is already an issue in Moscow’s dealings with India , a key ally since the Cold War and a major client for Russia ‘s weapons systems. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin raised the case when he visited India in October. The delayed delivery of an aircraft carrier to India is another point of tension between the traditional allies.

JEFF WISE Late last month, editor in chief of Vice magazine Rocco Castoro joined by a photographer, Robert King, managed to secure a plum exclusive: an invite to travel along with the fugitive tech millionaire John McAfee. With reports that he was a “person of interest” in the death of a neighbour, McAfee went on the lam. Last Monday, after several days of surreptitious travel, Castoro and King posted their first ‘private’ dispatch. The gloating was short-lived, however. Within minutes, a reader noticed that the photo posted with the story still contained GPS location data embedded by the iPhone 4S that took it, and said on Twitter: “Check the metadata in the photo. Oops …” Vice quickly replaced the image, but it was too late.