Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/180345179?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Saturday, December 31, 2011
Terra Noctis leads iPhone Games of the Week (Appolicious)
The holiday week has seen a freeze on adding new games to the iTunes App Store, but there are still plenty of great ones floating around. Leading this week?s charge is Terra Noctis, a side-scrolling platforming game that will remind players of the greats in the genre. Check it out, and four other quality titles, below.
A retro platformer with a great art style, Terra Noctis looks great and will remind you of the 2-D side-scrolling platformers of years past. The game?s touch controls are pretty solid on iOS, and there?s plenty of content to go around including hours of gameplay and massive boss fights. Terra Noctis does an admirable job of invoking classic games in the genre while adding a little something new to the equation. It looks and sounds great and includes support for achievements and leaderboards from Open Feint, as well as support for iCade.
Space is filled with valuable fuels, but powerful gravity wells created by huge asteroids make it impossible for spaceships to retrieve them. That?s where you and your remote-controlled probes come in. You?ll need to control your probe by firing its thrusters and using the gravity of asteroids to navigate each level. It?s your goal to grab the crystals and get out as fast as you can and with as little maneuvering as you can manage. The faster you go and the less fuel you use, the higher your score. It?s a pretty difficult game, but Gravity Rocks also requires some serious skills, which will appeal to players with a penchant for punishment.
A 3-D platformer, Crazy Hedgy looks a lot like console classics Crash Bandicoot or Sonic the Hedgehog, with a similar playing style. The main character is even a hedgehog himself, but instead of running around, Hedgy the Hedgehog chooses to roll, and you control him using your iOS device?s internal gyroscope. Tilting your device directs Hedgy around the screen, where you?ll need to snag gems to upgrade your abilities and fight off enemies. The game looks great, it?s optimized for newer iOS devices and its developers say Crazy Hedgy includes 10 or more hours of gameplay.
Great graphics and a challenging style mark Wind Up Robots, a base-defense strategy game that bucks the usual setup. The game?s controls are pretty simplistic. You choose which robots will be in your defense force at the beginning of each level, and then you deploy them as necessary. The idea is to defend your charge: a sleeping boy assaulted by nightmares. The nightmares fly across the level towards the boy with your robots standing in between, and you control them by tapping them and giving them orders on where to go. The robots do the rest, but the real strategy of the game is in choosing your forces, directing them in anticipation of enemies, and changing them out with other robots to keep them alive. Wind Up Robots looks good and offers plenty of challenge.
The latest of Telltale Games? licensed point-and-click adventure games takes on the iconic police/prosecutor drama, putting players in a story that includes appearances by tons of cast members from Law & Order. The first episode is a little straightforward, but it?s hard to argue with the quality of Telltale?s titles or with the production values found in this game. You?ll need to purchase future episodes through in-app purchases as they come out each month, but if you?re a fan of the Law & Order TV show, this is a fun way to get into the action in a new and different way.
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Friday, December 30, 2011
With 2012, state laws kick in on everything from immigration to shark fins
State legislatures passed close to 40,000 new laws in 2011, and a number of those measures take effect on Jan. 1. On some issues, like immigration, state laws are taking markedly different stands.
2012 will be a more highly regulated year since all 50 state legislatures passed close to 40,000 new laws in 2011. A number of those measures will take effect Jan. 1.
Skip to next paragraphA compilation prepared by the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) highlights laws taking effect on New Year's Day in at least 21 states. State legislators have been especially active on issues pertaining to immigration, government costs, and the care of young people. But Americans will face new state laws on a wide variety of areas ranging from abortion to the distribution of shark fins, the NCSL report shows. ?
NCSL did not provide a breakdown on which states produced the most new laws, but its report on laws taking effect on Jan. 1 was heavy with legislation from California.
In some cases, states are taking markedly different stands on issues, with immigration being a key example. Laws requiring businesses to enroll in the federal E-Verify program to determine the eligibility of workers to be employed in the United States will go into effect in Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia. But a law taking effect Jan. 1 in California takes almost the opposite approach: It prohibits any state or local government?from requiring a private employer to use the E-Verify program unless required to do so by federal law or as a condition of receiving federal funds.
On the cost-control front, state employees will feel the pinch. A Delaware law requires new state employees who become members of the Delaware pension fund to make larger contributions than earlier members. It also will require those new members to be older or to work longer than current members to earn a pension benefit.
In North Dakota, state workers' pension contributions also increase. An Oklahoma law increases the retirement age for judges who start work after Jan. 1.
State lawmakers also passed numerous laws in 2011 to protect children and improve their education. In Illinois, those 18 and under will be required to wear seat belts when using taxis to travel to school functions. A law in Oregon requires state universities and community colleges to waive tuition and fees for current and former foster children under age 25. And California passed a law to prohibit the use of ultraviolet tanning devices by those under age 18.
Several measures regulating abortion take effect on New Year?s Day. In New Hampshire, girls seeking an abortion will be required to first tell their parents or a judge. It was passed over the governor?s veto. Meanwhile, a law takes effect in Arkansas aimed at Planned Parenthood facilities that provided an abortion pill. It requires facilities that perform 10 or more nonsurgical abortions a month be subject to the same kind of state Health Department inspections as facilities offering surgical abortions.
Many states passed laws aimed at restricting texting or the use of cellphones when driving. A Nevada law prohibits drivers from text messaging and using hand-held phone devices. North Dakota passed one law that bans drivers younger than 18 from using cellphones and another that bars all drivers from text messaging. Oregon adjusted its laws on the subject, adding an exception for drivers operating a tow vehicle, roadside assistance vehicle, or a vehicle owned by a utility.
While most of the laws that take effect in 2012 are aimed at protecting people, some focus on the animal kingdom. Two coastal states, California and Oregon, passed measures prohibiting the possession, sale, or distribution of shark fins. The fins are used in soup and are considered a delicacy in some Asian cultures.? Animal-rights advocates argued it was cruel to cut off a shark?s fin and then dump the fish back in the ocean.?
? Material from the Associated Press was used in compiling this report.
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Abortion, immigration changes among new 2012 laws (AP)
Girls seeking abortions in New Hampshire must first tell their parents or a judge, some employers in Alabama must verify new workers' U.S. residency, and California students will be the first in the country to receive mandatory lessons about the contributions of gays and lesbians under state laws set to take effect at the start of 2012.
Many laws reflect the nation's concerns over immigration, the cost of government and the best way to protect and benefit young people, including regulations on sports concussions.
Alabama, with the country's toughest immigration law, is enacting a key provision requiring all employers who do business with any government entity to use a federal system known as E-Verify to check that all new employees are in the country legally.
Georgia is putting a similar law into effect requiring any business with 500 or more employees to use E-Verify to check the employment eligibility of new hires. The requirement is being phased in, with all employers with more than 10 employees to be included by July 2013.
Supporters said they wanted to deter illegal immigrants from coming to Georgia by making it tougher for them to work. Critics said that changes to immigration law should come at the federal level and that portions of the law already in effect are already hurting Georgia.
"It is destroying Georgia's economy and it is destroying the fabric of our social network in South Georgia," Paul Bridges, mayor of the onion-farming town of Uvalda, said in November. He is part of a lawsuit challenging the new law.
Tennessee will also require businesses to ensure employees are legally authorized to work in the U.S. but exempts employers with five or fewer workers and allows them to keep a copy of the new hire's driver's license instead of using E-Verify.
A South Carolina law would allow officials to yank the operating licenses of businesses that don't check new hires' legal status through E-verify. A federal judge last week blocked parts of the law that would have required police to check the immigration status of criminal suspects or people stopped for traffic violations they think might be in the country illegally, and that would have made it a crime for illegal immigrants to transport or house themselves.
California is also addressing illegal immigration, but with a bill that allows students who entered the country illegally to receive private financial aid at public colleges.
Many laws aim to protect young people. In Colorado, coaches will be required to bench players as young as 11 when they're believed to have suffered a head injury. The young athletes will also need medical clearance to return to play.
The law also requires coaches in public and private schools and even volunteer Little League and Pop Warner football coaches to take free annual online training to recognize the symptoms of a concussion. At least a dozen other states have enacted similar laws with the support of the National Football League.
People 18 and under in Illinois will have to wear seat belts while riding in taxis for school-related purposes, and Illinois school boards can now suspend or expel students who make explicit threats on websites against other students or school employees.
Florida will take control of lunch and other school food programs from the federal government, allowing the state to put more Florida-grown fresh fruit and vegetables on school menus. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam says the change will help children eat healthier.
A California law will add gays and lesbians and people with disabilities to the list of social and ethnic groups whose contributions must be taught in history lessons in public schools. The law also bans teaching materials that reflect poorly on gays or particular religions.
Opponents have filed five potential initiatives to repeal the requirement outright or let parents remove their children while gays' contributions are being taught.
In New Hampshire, a law requiring girls seeking abortions to tell their parents or a judge first was reinstated by conservative Republicans over a gubernatorial veto. The state enacted a similar law eight years ago, but it was never enforced following a series of lawsuits.
In Arkansas, facilities that perform 10 or more nonsurgical abortions a month must be licensed by the state Health Department and be subject to inspections by the department, the same requirements faced by facilities that offer surgical abortions in the state.
It affects two Planned Parenthood facilities that offer the abortion pill, though they're not singled out in the statute.
Among federal laws, a measure Congress passed last week to extend Social Security tax cuts and federal unemployment benefit programs raises insurance fees on new mortgages and refinancings backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration by 0.1 percent beginning Jan. 1.
That covers about 90 percent of them and effectively makes a borrower's monthly payment on a new $200,000 mortgage or refinancing about $17 a month more than it would have been if obtained before the first of the year.
Nevada's 3-month old ban on texting while driving will get tougher, with tickets replacing the warnings that police have issued since the ban took effect Oct. 1. In Pennsylvania, police are preparing to enforce that state's recently enacted ban on texting, scheduled to take effect by spring.
Election law changes in Rhode Island and Tennessee will require voters to present photo ID, a measure that supporters say prevents fraud and that opponents say will make it harder for minorities and the elderly to cast ballots.
In Ohio, a measure that creates one primary in March, instead of two that would have cost the state an extra $15 million, goes into effect later in January.
Ohio is also one of eight states with automatic increases in the minimum wage taking effect Jan. 1. The others, with increases between 28 and 37 cents, are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
A few laws try to address budget woes. In Delaware, new state employees will have to contribute more to their pensions, while state workers hired after Jan. 1 in Nevada will have to pony up for their own health care costs in retirement.
Jan. 1 is the effective date in many states for laws passed during this year's legislative sessions. In others, laws take effect July 1, or 90 days after passage.
___
Welsh-Huggins reported from Columbus, Ohio, and can be reached at http://twitter.com/awhcolumbus.
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
Why Windows 8 Tablets Might Surprise Everyone
Gadget Lab has seen a Windows 8 tablet in action, and the experience opened our eyes to just how useful -- and, yes, even fun -- a Windows 8 tablet might be. But will Windows 8 tablets actually be successful? We give you four reasons that say, yes, Windows 8 tablets might be a big surprise.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/xJmwPPrMxhc/
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Spirit of joy and togetherness celebrated in Oil for the Lamps
I?ll be the first to admit, before last Wednesday?s performance of Oil for the Lamps, I knew very little about the Jewish faith and its associated traditions, and even less about the eight-day celebration of Chanukah.
But sitting snug in the ArtSpring theatre amongst a sold-out crowd, I received one heck of a crash course and went home feeling educated, enlightened and highly entertained.
A co-production between ArtSpring and Active P.A.S.S., Oil for the Lamps staged its world premiere last week to two very large and receptive crowds. Composed by Joi Freed-Garrod and co-directed by Rachel Jacobson and Sue Newman, this self-described folk opera revealed its story through eight dramatized song and dance numbers (with some interspersed narration), performed mainly by Salt Spring youngsters.
Quick to draw a laugh, Sid Filkow (reprising his role of Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof) led the audience through time as the story?s narrator ? all the way from 1906 to 2011. Providing slightly expository history lessons, Tevye watched from afar as his daughter Hodl (Jekka Mack) and her family and descendants celebrated Chanukah throughout the decades.
Although there were times I was unsure of the ?plot,? it certainly didn?t detract from the beautiful music, lively performances and overall spirit of joy and togetherness that the production brought about.
The music, performed live by talented local musicians Tami dos Santos, Carolyn Hatch, Michael Menard, Wendy Milton, Gail Sjuberg and Martin Thorn, and conducted by Freed-Garrod herself, was an absolute delight and included a m?lange of traditional-sounding melodies that moved from slow and haunting to lively and rousing.
I particularly enjoyed The Magic of 25, which educated the audience on the relevance of December 25th in various cultures, and The Latke Song was a definite crowd pleaser. What with hilarious oversized latke-making props and the audience being encouraged to shout out their favourite way to eat latkes (the great sour cream or applesauce debate), this number was a highlight of the production. In the Fullness of Light was my absolute favourite; more textured than the other numbers, it featured beautiful harmonies, more subtle lyrics and wove a rich tapestry of sound and voices.
The talented young cast was incredibly invested in the production and the hundreds of hours of rehearsal were evident in both their commitment and their ability to stay in character throughout the opera.
The dance numbers, choreographed by Sue Newman, were superbly executed, a perfect blend of beautiful movement, humour and joyful enthusiasm (and even included one hip-hop number featuring bongos, breakdancing and beatboxing!). I was also highly impressed by some of the young, female vocalists whose voices were both sweet and pure, controlled and confident.
A charming addition was the adorable (and astoundingly mellow) baby Ryan Krayenhoff, who was passed on and off stage throughout the show, stealing scenes whenever he appeared. I would also be remiss if I didn?t mention a certain little blonde guitar player (Elizabeth Woodley), who stole a few scenes herself with her beaming smile and infectious enthusiasm.
The costumes and props, which spanned various decades, were superb and I loved all the thoughtful (and oftentimes hilarious) little touches, such as when the smallest children were dressed up as dreydls and spun around on the floor.
I was surprised at how few children were in the audience, but the adult crowd was appreciative nonetheless, providing the cast and crew with a heartfelt standing ovation. There is nothing quite so enjoyable as witnessing and subsequently participating in live theatre and music-making and as per usual I find my favourite moments are usually the unscripted ones . . . in this production when one of the smallest children, dressed as a cow, got his foot caught in his costume and had to slip and slide offstage with only three working ?hooves.? As adorable as it was, I must give props to the little actor for not allowing the unplanned glitch to faze him.
Mazel tov to the entire cast and crew, most especially to Freed-Garrod, Jacobson and Lynda Jensen (costume and set design) for bringing something exciting, educational and entertaining to our little island, and for providing us with insight into a faith and holiday that some of us knew so little about.
Oil for the Lamps DVDs will be available by contacting Joi Freed-Garrod at jfreed@tru.ca or by calling 250-537-1673.
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Source: http://www.gulfislandsdriftwood.com/entertainment/135967613.html
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The Best of the Lifehacker Show [Video]
In 2011, Lifehacker took to video in the form of our weekly web series. We've produced a lot of awesome video, learned a lot, and had a lot of fun in the process. Here's a look back at the best of the Lifehacker show from this year.
This is the final episode of Lifehacker in 2011. Our best segments from this year include:
- How to open a wine bottle with a shoe from episode one: Urban Survival
- How to make a DIY car dock for your smartphone using a binder clip, from episode six.
- How to hack your Apple TV from episode 30.
- How to fix your video card with a little time in the oven from episode 35?our gaming episode.
- How to optimize your trick or treating from episode 32?our Halloween episode.
- How to crack a padlock from episode five?our first evil episode.
- How to make a DIY four-pronged campfire toaster, also known as "Whitson learns an important lesson in knife safety", from episode 24.
- A simple trick to skip the advertisements on DVDs from episode 13, our home theater episode.
We've had a blast doing the show this year, and we hope you've enjoyed it as well. If you're hungry for a little more, you can check out all the episodes from our the show here?you can simply run through them all, one by one, in the sidebar.
Grab it in any format you like: If you don't want to watch it in your browser right now, you can catch the show wherever you want, and in nearly whatever format you like. Visit the episode page on Revision3 to download HD or phone-friendly versions of the show in MP4 or WMV. You can also subscribe in iTunes or via RSS, watch it on YouTube and subscribe to our channel there.
The Best of the Lifehacker Show | Revision3
Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/NoJzd17R6bY/the-best-of-the-lifehacker-show
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
lbc973: RT @Philkitradio: Got Tottenham assistant coach Kevin Bond live on @lbc973 in the next 5 minutes...
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Nigerian blasts mar pope's Christmas peace appeal (AP)
VATICAN CITY ? Pope Benedict XVI issued pleas for peace to reign across the world during his traditional Christmas address Sunday, a call marred by Muslim extremists who bombed a Catholic church in Nigeria, striking after worshippers celebrated Mass.
The assault on the Catholic church left 35 dead in Madalla, near the Nigerian capital. A failed bombing also occurred near a church in the city of Jos, followed by a shooting that killed a police officer. The blast came a year after a series of Christmas Eve bombs in Jos claimed by Islamist militants killed 32.
Benedict didn't refer explicitly to the Nigerian bombings in his "Urbi et Orbi" speech, Latin for "to the city and to the world" in which he raises alarm about world hotspots. But in a statement, the Vatican called the attacks a sign of "cruelty and absurd, blind hatred" that shows no respect for human life.
Elsewhere, Christmas was celebrated with the typical joy of the season: In Cuba, Catholics had plenty to cheer as they prepared for Benedict's March arrival, the first visit by a pontiff to the Communist-run island since John Paul II's historic tour nearly 14 years ago.
"We have faith in God that we will be allowed to have this treat," said Rogelio Montes de Oca, 72, as he stood outside the Cathedral in Old Havana. "Not every country will have the chance to see him physically and receive his blessing."
And in the Holy Land, pilgrims and locals alike flocked to Jesus' traditional birthplace in numbers not seen since before the Palestinian uprising over a decade ago, despite lashing rains and wind.
"We wanted to be part of the action," said Don Moore, 41, a psychology professor from Berkeley, California, who came to Bethlehem with his family. "This is the place, this is where it all started. It doesn't get any more special than that."
The holy town of Bethlehem is no stranger to violence. Like the rest of the West Bank, it fell on hard times after the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation broke out in late 2000.
But as the violence has subsided, tourists have returned in large numbers. On Saturday, turnout for Christmas Eve festivities in Bethlehem was at its highest since the uprising began driving tourists away. An estimated 100,000 visitors streamed into Manger Square on Christmas Eve, up from 70,000 the previous year, according to the Israeli military's count.
The Holy Land and the entire Mideast were very much on Benedict's mind as he delivered his Christmas speech from the the sun-drenched loggia of St. Peter's Basilica. The 84-year-old pontiff appeared in fine form, just hours after celebrating a two-hour long Christmas Eve Mass that ended around midnight.
"May the Lord come to the aid of our world torn by so many conflicts which even today stain the earth with blood," Benedict said.
He said he hoped that the birth of Jesus, which Christmas celebrates, would send a message to all who need to be saved from hardships: that Israelis and the Palestinians would resume peace talks and that there would be an "end to the violence in Syria, where so much blood has already been shed."
He called for international assistance for refugees from the Horn of Africa and flood victims in Thailand, among others, and urged greater political dialogue in Myanmar, and stability in Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa's Great Lakes region, which includes Congo, Uganda and Rwanda.
After his speech, Benedict delivered Christmas greetings in 65 different languages, from Mongolian to Maori, Aramaic to Albanian, Tamil to Thai. He finished the list with Guarani and Latin, as the bells tolled from St. Peter's enormous bell towers.
In the piazza below, thousands of jubilant tourists and pilgrims, and hundreds of colorful Swiss Guards and Italian military bands mingled around the Vatican's giant Christmas tree and larger-than-life sized nativity scene.
In the U.K., the leader of the world's Anglicans, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said the summer riots in Britain and the financial crisis had abused trust in British society.
In his Christmas Day sermon, Rowan Williams appealed to those congregated at Canterbury Cathedral to learn lessons about "mutual obligation" from the events of the past year. He said Sunday that "the most pressing question" now facing Britain is "who and where we are as a society."
"Bonds have been broken, trust abused and lost," he said.
Britain's royal family, meanwhile, celebrated Christmas with one notable absence. Queen Elizabeth II's husband Prince Philip remained hospitalized after having a coronary stent put in after doctors determined the heart pains that sent him to the hospital on Friday were caused by a blocked artery.
Elizabeth's annual Christmas message dealt with the theme of family. The message was recorded Dec. 9, before Philip went into the hospital.
Wearing a festive red dress, the Queen said that the importance of family was driven home by the marriages of two of her grandchildren this year. Elizabeth spoke of the strength family can provide during times of hardship and how friendships are often formed in difficult times.
She pointed to the Commonwealth nations as an example that family "does not necessarily mean blood relatives but often a description of a community."
And in the United States, members of the loose-knit hacking movement known as "Anonymous" claimed to have stolen a raft of e-mails and credit card data from U.S. security think tank Stratfor, promising a weeklong Christmas-inspired assault on targets including the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, Goldman Sachs and MF Global.
The group has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on companies such as Visa, MasterCard and PayPal, as well as others in the music industry and the Church of Scientology.
___
Jon Gambrell in Lagos, Nigeria, Dalia Nammari in Bethlehem, Paul Haven in Havana and Cassandra Vinograd in London contributed.
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WaTcH Detroit Pistons vs Indiana Pacers Live Stream FREE online NBA HD broadcast 26 DEC
Watch Detroit Pistons vs Indiana Pacers Live Free Online on Monday, December 26, 2011 at 7:00 PM . Both teams played with good records and standings in their last season. Both teams currently play in the same market. But outcomes for each team have been quite different. Please Don?t miss to watch this exciting Match between Detroit Pistons vs Indiana Pacers at the home court of Indiana Pacers. Catch up on games between Detroit Pistons vs Indiana Pacers free live streaming and get the latest updates and match schedules on the games between the two teams, please watch it here at nba live streaming FREE. Watch out on Free Live Streaming, who will be declared winner in Detroit vs Indiana after this game. Viewers around the world looking for this match up Detroit vs Indiana , check out the Highlights and Results. If you do not have enough time to visit the stadium and watch the game live free.
These Detroit vs Indiana will be available on online NBA tv channels and we will provide the links summary to NBA online. Watch NBA Detroit vs Indiana NBA live on Sky Sports 4, CBS HD4, Fox Network... Otherwise, you welcome live watch join this all NBA Tournaments, live Score, Fixtures, Results, photos, live telecast, 100% HD Quality On Your PC Feed TV Link Here. Just kick off TV link and get the site. So, don?t miss to watch this live free NBA match.
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Monday, December 26, 2011
Three U.S. citizens killed in Mexico attacks (Reuters)
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) ? Three U.S. citizens were among those killed when gunmen attacked buses in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, said a U.S. State Department official said on Saturday.
The three were traveling for the holidays when they and several other passengers on the bus were killed by gunmen on Thursday, according to the U.S. official and local media.
The incident was one of several that day in which gunmen attacked busses in the eastern state, a major oil export hub that has lately become a flashpoint for drug gang violence.
On Friday, the tortured bodies of 10 people were found in northern Veracruz, local media reported, as attacks in the region intensify between the Zetas gang and Gulf drug cartels.
In September, 35 bodies were dumped along a downtown highway in the Veracruz city of Boca del Rio.
More than 45,000 people have been killed in cartel-related violence since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006.
(Reporting by Patrick Rucker)
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Texas men trade same Christmas card for decades
WHITEHOUSE, Texas (AP) ? A Christmas card that crisscrossed the country as part of an old joke between two Texas men will rest this holiday for the first time in 61 years.
Acker Hanks mailed the card to his former neighbor Lee Kelley in 1950. Kelley, a prankster, mailed it back a year later.
The two continued sending the card back and forth, and when Kelley died, his widow mailed the tattered message for over a decade. Last year, it returned to Hanks unread. He believes Kelley's widow moved to a nursing home.
A list of dates and places in the worn card documents its journey. Hanks plans to frame it.
"I always looked forward to getting the card," he told the Tyler Morning Telegraph (http://bit.ly/vbaPyB). "I don't think it'll ever leave me now."
___
Information from: Tyler Morning Telegraph, http://www.tylerpaper.com
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
Italian man enraged over laundromat fumes kills 3 (AP)
ROME ? An elderly man has shot and killed three members of a family who owned a laundromat in southern Italy, apparently incensed by a years-long battle over the smoke and fumes emitted by the washing machines.
The ANSA news agency reports that the suspect used an automatic weapon to shoot and kill the mother in front of the laundromat and two adult children as they tried to flee. He also seriously wounded the father, who was at home, in a Christmas Eve massacre Saturday in the tiny town of Genzano Di Lucania, near Potenza and southeast of Naples, ANSA says.
The suspect, Ettore Bruscella, 77, was immediately taken into custody.
ANSA reports that Bruscella and the Menchise family had a long-running legal feud over the laundromat's chimney.
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Canada?s abysmal showing in Durban
Canada?s actions continue to create roadblocks and it?s hard to take its words with any more than a grain of salt
December 7, 2011
CALGARY, AB, Dec. 7, 2011/ Troy Media/ ? The second and final week of the UN climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa is now underway. Canada?s priorities in the talks are captured pretty well by the following quote from Minister Kent:
Our fixation, our commitment is on Copenhagen and the Cancun agreement. We believe that ultimately a new agreement that includes all of the world?s major emitters in both the developing and the developed world is the only way to materially reduce annual megatonnage to the point that we can work to prevent global warming hitting or exceeding two . . . degrees.
On the surface, this sounds like a pretty reasonable fixation to have. We should all want a global agreement that gets us on track to avoiding the worst-case climate change scenarios. But to what extent do Canada?s actions actually contribute to meeting this goal? In our view, a wealthy country such as Canada that is serious about reaching such an agreement, would be doing three things:
1) Taking action at home to ensure the country is on track to meet its own climate commitments;
2) Helping to make progress on the financing needed to support climate action in developing countries;
3) Seeking solutions to close the ambition gap between the nation-by-nation pledges and the agreed upon objective of avoiding 2?C or more of warming.
Let?s take a look at where Canada stands on these points. Based on comments from representatives of other countries (including delegates from South Africa and other African nations, it?s clear that many leaders don?t see Canada as stacking up very well. A new global climate performance assessment released yesterday, ranking Canada in 54th place out of 61 spots internationally, suggests not all of the criticism leveled at Canada is overblown.
Credible actions to reduce emissions at home
In order to have credibility in any negotiation, others must believe that you will actually keep your word. The climate talks are no different: countries expect to see evidence that we stand behind the commitments we have made. Canada?s complete disregard for our Kyoto commitments means that the credibility gap we face on our current commitments is understandably wider than for most.
Regrettably, we don?t seem to have learned from the lessons Kyoto is offering us. Two years after committing to our current target in Copenhagen, Environment Canada?s projections show that Canada?s current federal and provincial policies will achieve only a quarter of the reductions needed by 2020 ? leaving 75 per cent of the work as a question mark is not exactly a big trust-builder!
Financing to support developing countries
In Cancun, developed countries affirmed two main commitments related to climate financing that were initially agreed to in Copenhagen:
- An amount ?approaching? US$30 billion in ?new and additional resources? from 2010 to 2012, ?with a balanced allocation between adaptation and mitigation.?
- A goal of ?mobilizing jointly US$100 billion dollars a year by 2020,? with the funding coming from a variety of sources (including ?alternative? sources).
These commitments are important because, without them, developing countries will not have the resources needed to reduce their emissions or adapt to the climate-related changes that are already happening.
Canada has committed to provide $1.2 billion over 2010 to 2012, which reflects a fair share of the $30 billion total. A June 2010 announcement followed through on the first $400 million and, while there was certainly room for improving the ways in which that money was being provided, it was generally seen as a positive step. The government has reiterated its commitment to the $1.2 billion over three years but has not provided the details that would be needed to assess the contribution in 2011 and 2012. ?
Canada could also be playing a leadership role on longer-term financing. Specifically, by pushing for a prompt start to the Green Climate Fund and supporting continued climate finance contributions beyond 2012, scaling up to meet the $100 billion goal by 2020. Instead, Canada has joined the U.S. in flagging concerns about the Green Climate Fund, which could delay its launch in Durban, and has not put forward or supported any constructive proposals for scaling up climate finance after 2012.?
Solutions to close the ambition gap
Many organizations, including the International Energy Agency, the OECD, and the UN Environment Program, have warned recently that there is a major gap between the 2?C goal and the pathway set by current pledges under the Copenhagen/Cancun agreements. Existing commitments (assuming they?re all met) deliver only half of the reductions needed to get on a 2?C pathway by 2020, and risk locking us into a dangerously warmer world well beyond the limit.
Strong supporters of the Copenhagen/Cancun agreements, like Canada, must demonstrate how countries can collectively increase their ambitions to the levels needed to meet the 2?C goal. But instead of setting a stronger target or laying out a plan to meet our current one and take bolder steps afterwards, Canada has adopted a take-it-or-leave-it approach. We have not offered to take more ambitious action if others do the same. Nor has Canada proposed any means by which parties can work together to scale up their ambition or close loopholes to bring us closer to the maintaining the 2?C goal.?
Is Canada?s ?fixation? on a new global climate deal just talk?
Central to bridging differences and bringing countries together into a new agreement is the need for flexibility and creativity. It?s no coincidence that the countries bringing these attributes to the talks are the ones finding the compromises necessary to move forward. Canada?s hard and inflexible positions (such as on the extension of the Kyoto Protocol and elsewhere) have made little contribution to this effort in Durban, leaving our country watching from the sidelines. The positive steps on short-term financing do not make up these weaknesses in our negotiating positions, or for the lack of progress on actions in Canada.
Saying we?re fixated on a global agreement that will limit warming to 2?C or less is a good end-point to be striving towards. But if Canada?s actions continue to create roadblocks towards our professed objective, it?s hard to take those words with any more than a grain of salt.
Let?s hope that with some extra flexibility, and a whole lot more ambition, Canada can make a positive contribution this week.
P.J. Partington is a Technical & Policy Analyst, Climate Change with the Pembina Institute.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Secrets Of The Accidental Entrepreneur
I was in a meeting with Uri Geller. You know who he is. He?s the psychic that bends spoons. He?s been doing it since he was a kid. Marvel Comics even did an issue once where Uri Geller was helping out Daredevil. The cover has Daredevil wearing an extremely tight uniform where you could see the outline of his genitalia (putting it delicately for SOPA Nazis). Daredvil?was swinging around punching people while Uri Geller ("the Most Shocking Guest Star of All" according to the cover) was melting tanks. So now Uri Geller was sitting right in front of me pitching a business. That?s the way I roll.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/bzkxBozFNGk/
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Janelle Lynch: Los Jardines de Mexico
Created by calendar on 10/19/11 at 11:38am
Modified by dkeefe on 12/12/11 at 3:50pm
| Summary | Janelle Lynch: Los Jardines de Mexico |
|---|---|
| Description | Janelle Lynch's exhibition at the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University is based on her book, Los Jardines de Mexico, published by Radius Books in 2011. The exhibit is comprised of color images made with a large format camera of various gardens in Mexico City. Janelle Lynch has garnered international recognition over the last decade for her large format photographs of the urban and rural landscape. Widely exhibited, her work is in several public and private collections including the George Eastman House Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Newark Museum, the Fundacion Vila Casas, Barcelona, and the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Salta, Argentina. Artist's Talk: Thursday, December 1, 5:30 pm Reception: Thursday, December 1, 6:30 pm PRC Gallery, 832 Commonwealth Ave., Boston Gallery Hours Tuesday through Friday: 10 am - 5 pm Saturday: noon - 4 pm Sunday & Monday: Closed |
| URL | http://www.prcboston.org/exhibit_lynch.htm |
| Starts | 10:00am on Tuesday, November 29th 2011 |
| End Time | 5:00pm |
| Recurs | on every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday each week until Sat Jan. 28th, 2012 |
Source: http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/calendar/event.php?id=117994&cid=17&oid=16
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Friday, December 23, 2011
FOR KIDS: Genes tell old story
Ancient cells hold evidence of a massive die-off of Native Americans
Web edition : Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
When European settlers arrived in North America, they brought their diseases with them. Shortly thereafter, large numbers of Native Americans began dying from smallpox infection. Five-hundred-year-old documents record this tale, but now scientists say they?ve found additional evidence for this?buried deep inside human cells.
Visit the new?Science News for Kids?
Found in: Science News For Kids
Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/337061/title/FOR_KIDS_Genes_tell_old_story
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eFax (for Android)
One would think that e-mail, FTP, instant messaging, and other methods of transferring files would have killed the fax machine, but the antiquated tool is still alive and kicking, especially in the business sector. Fortunately, you no longer need a dedicated fax machine (and the associated phone line and ink) to send and receive paperwork. eFax (Various prices 4 stars), an Internet-based fax service available in over 3,500 cities and 46 countries worldwide, gives you a real fax number that you can use to send and receive faxes?using your smartphone. The electronic faxing service's new Android app keeps most of the desktop version's functionality by letting the business-minded send messages from their Google-powered smartphones. ?You may not be able to apply digital signatures as you can with the desktop version, but it's a competent and capable business-friendly mobile app.
Simple Setup
eFax' Android app has a simple set up process for those who are new to the service. You simply input your name, email address, area code, phone number, check the Customer Agreement box, and tap Start Faxing. I inputted it into the app so that I could log in after receiving the fax number and pin in an email. I then arrived at the home screen that featured four main sections: "View Inbox," "View Folders," "Search Faxes," and "Send A Fax." Each section's function is self-explanatory. Naturally, existing eFax users can simply log in with their credentials.
Cost
There are three different types of eFax accounts: Free, Plus, and Pro. The free account lets you receive (not send) just 10 faxes per month, so it's a good match for those who very rarely fax. Next up the ladder is eFax Plus ($16.95 per month), which includes 130 pages of incoming faxes, and a 15-cent per page coverage fee (there's also a $10 one-time set up charge). eFax also offers a Pro model ($19.95 per month, $220 per year) designed for large businesses and individuals with heavy faxing needs. There's a $19.95 one-time set up fee, but with the higher cost comes 200 pages of incoming faxes and a cool voicemail feature that sends left messages to your inbox. There's also a 10-cent per page overage charge, which is five cents cheaper than the basic plan.
The Plus and Pro accounts are relatively expensive compared to Send2Fax' Home Office and Small Business plans which are $8.95 per month and $12.95 per month, respectively. MyFax has three plans, one of which starts of $10 per month for 100 faxes sent and 200 received.
The eFax Experience
Firing off a fax required that I tap "Send A Fax," key a phone number into the address field, and optionally fill in cover letter information. At the moment, eFax for Android only allows you to send photos snapped with the phone's camera or stored within the image gallery?no other file types. So, if you want to send a document, you'd have to shoot it with your phone's camera and then send it (which is what I did to test the service). You can, however, use eFax' email-to-fax capabilities (outside of the mobile app) to send files of any type.
The recipient contacted me stating that he received the fax five minutes after it was sent. When he responded with a fax of his own, it arrived in my inbox seven minutes later?not bad considering the money I saved on a dedicated machine, ink, and paper. Faxes can be tagged and archived, or forwarded as faxes or email messages, but you can?t add digital signatures as you can with the desktop version. Note: Fax quality may vary depending on your phone's camera.
Should You Subscribe to eFax?
eFax for Android works because it makes the fax process simple?you don't need to own a machine or visit Kinkos. All that's needed is a Web connection, which means you can fax from nearly any location. eFax for Android may only let you fax photos , and it doesn't support digital signatures, but there's an extremely high convenience factor. All in all, eFax is a solid companion for the for business customers who want to save on paper and ink.
More Android Apps Reviews:
??? eFax (for Android)
??? McAfee Family Protection Android Edition
??? OnLive (for Android)
??? LogMeIn Ignition (for Android)
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/ciuNnaHSAiQ/0,2817,2397975,00.asp
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Thursday, December 22, 2011
Rome meeting analyses Iran oil embargo (Reuters)
ROME (Reuters) ? Diplomats from a so-called "group of like-minded nations" met in Rome on Tuesday to discuss further sanctions against Iran, diplomatic sources said.
The closed-door meeting is taking place under the auspices of the Italian foreign ministry and participants considered it a "technical meeting," an Italian diplomatic source said.
Diplomats said it would consider the arguments around a possible EU oil embargo against Iran. A decision may be made when EU foreign ministers next meet in January.
No decisions are expected to emerge from Tuesday's meeting.
Participants are countries that have imposed bilateral sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program that go beyond U.N. Security Council sanctions.
The group includes the United States, the European Union and several European nations, Australia, Japan, South Korea and other countries but it was not clear if all of them were represented. The United States is attending.
The small informal group has been meeting for two years and its goal is to share information and discuss the next steps in the sanctions process.
The United States has long banned Iranian crude imports and last week Congress voted through restrictions on dealing with the Iranian central bank. The White House must decide whether or not to grant waivers to major Iranian oil importers like China, India and South Korea that need to deal with the bank to pay for Iran's crude.
(Reporting By Philip Pullella, additional reporting by Roberto Landucci in Rome)
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Monday, December 19, 2011
Talks about forgiving Greek debt proving difficult (AP)
BRUSSELS ? Private creditors are balking in talks about forgiving euro100 billion ($130 billion) in Greek debts, European officials warned Friday, just as negotiations heated up on the debt restructuring that aims to save Athens from bankruptcy.
European and Greek negotiators met with representatives from banks and investment funds Friday in Paris, after holding talks earlier this week in Athens.
They were trying to work out the terms under which private creditors are willing to exchange their existing Greek bonds for new ones with a lower face value.
The swap, which was meant to go ahead in early 2012, is supposed to reduce Greece's debt to 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2020. Without a restructuring, Greece's debt load would reach almost 200 percent of GDP by the end of 2012.
The concept behind the debt forgiveness is that getting back half of one's investment is better than the much bigger losses bondholders would likely face if Greece defaults. A deal with private creditors to share the burden of digging Greece out of its financial hole is key to a second, euro130 billion ($169 billion) bailout for Greece from the International Monetary Fund and other eurozone countries.
But some investors had taken out insurance on their Greek bond holdings, and if they voluntarily agree to the swap, they will not receive the insurance payments they would have if Greece had just defaulted. Others, who may have bought the bonds at already depressed prices, may be willing to take a gamble in the negotiations and try for a bigger payout.
"They are not making it easy, to say the least. It will take time," said one European official. "They are trying to reopen things" that were already considered decided, the official added, without providing details.
A second European official confirmed that a final deal on the debt relief was still elusive. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are going on behind closed doors.
The cautioning words from the two officials came as Greek Finance Minister Venizelos told the Greek parliament he was confident the debt writedown would go ahead.
"I believe we will achieve that because I have positive signs from the consultations and the course of the discussions," Venizelos said Friday. "That would offer the Greek people ... a return for its sacrifices and a prospect for younger generations."
The 17 nations that use the euro and bank representatives reached a deal to reduce Greece's debts in late October after determining that the struggling country would not be able to repay them in full.
However, the Institute for International Finance, which has been leading the negotiations, has insisted that actual losses for investors have to be kept as low as possible for them to agree to participate voluntarily.
To keep overall losses under control, private creditors are pushing for higher interest rates from Greece and expensive collateral to secure the new bonds. That, in turn, could eliminate much of the benefits to Greece of a cut in the bonds' face value. Of the euro130 billion in the second bailout for Greece, euro30 billion ($39 billion) is meant to provide collateral for the bond swap.
In a statement following Friday's talks, the IIF said "the private sector welcomed the willingness of the authorities to work on means to enhance the quality of the exchanged debt" ? shorthand for the collateral provisions.
It said the talks had made progress "and both sides agreed to continue their effort to find a voluntary solution that would help put Greece on a path of debt sustainability and economic recovery."
__
Nicholas Paphitis in Athens contributed to this story.
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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Shutup, Twitter Isn't Censoring Your Dumb Trends [Twitter]
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Senate passes two-month extension of Social Security tax cut, additional unemployment benefits (Star Tribune)
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Childhood cancer drugs cure now, may cause problems later, research shows
ScienceDaily (Dec. 16, 2011) ? Will a drug used to treat childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and other pediatric cancers cause heart problems later in life?
UB associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, Javier G. Blanco, PhD, who sees his work as a bridge between research and clinical practice, has focused recent efforts on trying to answer this question.
Blanco and colleagues' recent study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology looked for the underlying genetic answers to why some childhood cancer survivors who were treated with anthracylines -- powerful antibiotics like Adriamycin and Daunomycin -- developed cardiomyopathy, such as congestive heart failure, later in life.
"Anthracyclines are effective drugs used to treat a variety of pediatric cancers, they are also used to treat breast cancer and other malignancies in adults," Blanco says. "After cancer, survivors can develop cardiac toxicity anywhere from one year to more than 15 years after the initial chemotherapy with anthracyclines. The window separating the effectiveness of these drugs from their toxicity is narrow. The dosage has to be precise to achieve a therapeutic effect without toxicity."
Blanco explains that the key to individualizing any drug treatment comes down to understanding the way an individual is genetically coded to respond to the drug once it enters the body, and then adjusting the dose accordingly.
Working closely with Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH, chair of the Department of Population Sciences at City of Hope National Medical Center in California and senior author of the study, Blanco and a team of researchers decided to look at how the drug was broken down by enzymes encoded by specific genes.
The study, which began seven years ago, compared DNA genotypes of 170 childhood cancer survivors diagnosed with anthracycline-related cardiomyopathy to a control group of 317 survivors without heart disease.
Using the candidate gene approach, Blanco and his team were able to identify a tiny gene variant related to the risk of cardiotoxicity.
"We pinpointed the genetic difference or polymorphism that makes an enzyme work faster or slower in patients," said Blanco, "slower is better."
They zeroed-in on carbonyl reductases (CBR1 and CBR3) -- two enzymes that break down anthracyclines into cardiotoxic alcohol metabolites. Blanco notes that in mouse models, higher levels of CBRs or faster enzymes dictate higher levels of these metabolites -- and more cardio toxicity.
The research showed that the risk of cardiomyopathy was significantly increased among individuals with two copies of the "G" version of the CBR3 polymorphism when exposed to low-to-moderate doses of anthracycline.
Blanco says that while the results of the study validated the findings of an earlier study in a totally independent cohort of cancer survivors, further study is required.
"We have to be careful," says Blanco. "So far, we are showing an association, not yet causation. Our next step will be to conduct a prospective study -- where we don't study individuals who were exposed to anthracyclines in the past but follow them in real time as they are receiving the drug and after."
What does this mean for children who are taking or have taken anthracyclines?
"If we stop using anthracyclines we will not be able to cure up to 90 percent of the children who suffer from acute lymphoblastic leukemia." Blanco says. "Parents must continue to have their children's health monitored long after the cancer is cured to identify cardiac problems if they develop."
Blanco's research is primarily funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, among many others.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University at Buffalo.
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Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111216175244.htm
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