robloweyx: February 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

A Dangerous Cup of Morning Coffee

But probably not, right? Do you have that friend or family member in your life that you feel should really have a royal taster like they had back in the day? You know, testing all their food and drink to make sure it wasn?t poisoned? This glass might be a good gift for the person in your life who is a little paranoid about their food being tampered with. And when we say good, it will be good for a laugh for you and not so good for the mental health of the person you give this cheeky mug.

[Extra points the the first person who...er...spies what TV show this mug is from!]

Source: http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2013/02/a-dangerous-cup-of-morning-coffee-crime-hq-just-for-fun-plain-strange-food-fatale

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Amicus Curious

Lori Campbell (L) and Maja Roble, who are engaged, kiss at a celebration rally for Tuesday's ruling on Proposition 8 in West Hollywood, California February 7, 2012.

Many legal scholars believe that?Ken Mehlman?s brief will have minimal impact on the case

Photo by Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters

Former George W. Bush aide and GOP operative Ken Mehlman has convinced more than 100 prominent Republicans to sign a brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn California?s ban on gay marriage. These so-called amicus curiae, or ?friend of the court,? briefs tend to garner heavy media attention, but do they influence the justices?

It depends on the amicus. Amicus curiae briefs are submissions to the court on behalf of people or organizations that are not parties to the case. It?s difficult to measure their effectiveness because, these days, both sides of most cases receive amicus briefs. At the beginning of the 20^th century, amicus briefs were filed in only 10 percent of cases. Amici now participate in 85 percent of high-court cases. Some patterns have emerged, however. Some amici are better than others. The solicitor general, who represents the United States government before the Supreme Court, is by far the most influential amicus a litigant can have before the court. When the administration submits an amicus curiae brief, the government?s side wins 75 percent of the time, and the solicitor general?s winning percentage seems to be increasing. Other experienced organizations, such as the ACLU and the AFL-CIO, are also statistically likely to have their side succeed. If you can?t get a big-shot amicus on your side, hire an experienced attorney. High-profile Supreme Court litigators seem to have more success with amicus briefs than other attorneys do. The most notable example of this came last year, when a number of military leaders signed a brief supporting affirmative action in Fisher v. University of Texas. Although the case is still pending, and the court may well oppose affirmative action, the amicus brief made an obvious impression on the court. During oral argument, the justices pressed the opposing attorney to address ?the Carter Phillips brief,? a reference to the experienced Supreme Court advocate who helped draft it.

What does that mean for Ken Mehlman?s brief in the gay-marriage case? The opinion of many legal scholars is that the brief will have minimal impact, if any, on the outcome of the case, and the statistical evidence seems to support this view. While the list of signatories includes an array of GOP big-wigs, the group doesn?t have the institutional sway of the solicitor general, the broad base of the AFL-CIO, or the historical pedigree of the ACLU. The brief was prepared by Seth Waxman, who is one of the most successful litigators in the country, but high-profile attorneys are somewhat weak indicators of amicus brief success.*

The majority position among legal scholars is that amici can be helpful, especially in complex cases. They may offer arguments that the parties do not make themselves or provide technical expertise. Opponents of amicus briefs agree that they influence the justices, but not always in a good way. In the 1996 case Jaffee v. Redmond, for example, the Supreme Court had to decide whether a patient?s conversation with his psychotherapist could be excluded from evidence, as a type of privacy similar to the doctor-patient privilege. The court received 14 amicus curiae briefs from groups favoring the new privilege, including psychiatrist and patient-advocacy organizations, and not a single brief opposing it. The problem, as Justice Scalia argued in his dissent, is that some issues or positions don?t have a ?self-interested organization? able and willing to lobby the Supreme Court. That doesn?t mean the viewpoint is legally unsound. Scalia?s concern is that amicus briefs turn the Supreme Court from a legal institution into a second Congress, where interest groups tussle for dominance.

Got a question about today?s news? Ask the Explainer

Correction, Feb. 28, 2013: This article misstated that the amicus brief was drafted by Ted Olsen and David Boies, the attorneys for one of the parties to the case. It was drafted by Seth Waxman. (Return to the corrected sentence.)

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=a53a887272861d64d930b723f5e70f26

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DHS releasing illegal immigrants before sequester

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A week before mandatory budget cuts go into effect across the government, the Department of Homeland Security has started releasing illegal immigrants being held in immigration jails across the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday.

Gillian Christensen, an ICE spokeswoman, said ICE has reviewed "several hundred cases" of immigrants being held in jails around the country and released them in the last week. They have been "placed on an appropriate, more cost-effective form of supervised release," she said.

Christensen said the agency's "priority for detention remains on serious criminal offenders and other individuals who pose a significant threat to public safety." She did not say how released immigrants were selected or what jails they were released from.

Tuesday's announcement of jail releases is the first tangible impact of the looming budget cuts for DHS.

The Obama administration has been issuing dire warnings about the impact of the sequestration and DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters at the White House Monday that across-the-board cuts would impact the department's core operations, including border security and airport screening operations.

She also warned that DHS might not be able to afford to keep the 34,000 immigration jail beds mandated by Congress. On average last week, there were 30,773 people being held in ICE jails.

"I don't think we can maintain the same level of security at all places around the country with sequester as without sequester," said Napolitano, adding that the impact would be "'like a rolling ball. It will keep growing."

According to the National Immigration Forum, it costs the government about $164 a day to keep an illegal immigrant facing deportation jailed. In a report on immigration detention costs last year the advocacy group said costs for supervised release can range from about 30 cents to $14 a day.

Republicans lawmakers decried the releases Tuesday.

"It's abhorrent that President (Barack) Obama is releasing criminals into our communities to promote his political agenda on sequestration," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte. "By releasing criminal immigrants onto the streets, the Administration is needlessly endangering American lives. It also undermines our efforts to come together with the Administration and reform our nation's immigration laws."

The administration asked for about $1.96 billion for immigration jail operations in the last budget. It amounts to about $5.4 million a day, according to the National Immigration Forum's report.

Christensen said Tuesday that released immigrants will still face deportation proceedings.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-26-US-Immigrants-Released/id-de45764ea43a4d87b263e41a5f04aa93

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

naturalization characteristic: Writing and Speaking: Article Marketing

Article marketing is arguably one of the best ways of building links to your site. Now I'm almost sure I don't need to explain the importance of link building to you, or do I? Having links to your site is like humans having air to breathe. Yes, it's that important. Every SEO strategy you employ is basically for the sole purpose of getting links to your site, to increase your ranking in the search engines, to get more traffic, to generate more sales, to have a profitable online business, so you can achieve your goals.
Article marketing is basically using articles to expose your website. You can do this by submitting articles to various directories such as EzineArticles, GoArticles, ArticlesBase etc. Once your article has been approved and published, you'll receive a link to your site. You not only get a link from the directory but if other website owners find your article useful they can publish it on their site. If they leave your resource box intact, which is the ethical thing for them to do; you get another link to your site from the website that published your article. So the better your articles the better chance you stand of getting more links.
Article marketing requires you to be patient and consistent. You can't use this method for only a few weeks and expect to get to the top of the search engine page just like that. Decide how many directories you're submitting to, you want to choose only from the top ten. Then be consistent with your submissions. This can be a challenge if you don't consider yourself a good writer or if you don't have the money to outsource this function. But if you submit even one article per week, be consistent.
When done properly and with time, article marketing can get you great results by building strong links. These are natural links that the search engines love. Links from article directories are permanent and they are considered to be links from authoritative sites, at least the tops anyway. While website owners can remove your link from their websites, the only person that can remove your link from the directories is you. So your link from the directory will remain for as long as your article remains there.
Link building is imperative to your online success and though it's a slow process, article marketing is still one of the best ways to build quality links. Like I said before, be patient and consistent. You can reap the rewards of your labor for years to come.

Source: http://writing-asadeszw.blogspot.com/2013/02/article-marketing.html

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Source: http://naturalization-characteristic.blogspot.com/2013/02/writing-and-speaking-article-marketing.html

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Review: 'Lucid Nightmares' aims to keep viewers up at night | The ...

Under a full moon, it could have been Halloween Feb. 25 at the Harold Acting Studio. Cotton cobwebs, a fake skull and a buzzing black and white television decorated the front steps. A hunched Frankenstein-like greeter grasping a three-tier candleholder led each individual or group in and directed them to a seat. This simple introduction confirmed the horror to come later in the play: ?Lucid Nightmares? was not going to be an ordinary scare.

Four female seniors in the current Theatre Studies class ? Sarah Beese, Elizabeth Floyd, Jayme Mantos and Ashley Meeks ? wrote the play for class. It is the first fully developed play the group has ever produced.

The women found inspiration in Edgar Allan Poe?s work as they started writing the play. This deceased writer feasted on gothic horror and wrote some of the most disturbing pieces in American literature.

Monday night was a full house. Audience members walked quickly inside the theater to find a seat in the middle ? a seat on the end of a row would surely mean interacting with the horrors up close and personal. The room was foggy with dim lighting until the start of the play, when it went almost completely black.

Beese, clothed in black and holding a small candle, entered the stage first. Before exiting the stage, she warned the audience to guard their souls.

?Lucid Nightmares? was split into three parts, each performance challenging the insanity of its characters. The title of the play itself questioned the reality of each scene. While some sections appeared realistic, others seemed more dreamlike.

The playwrights seemed to know when the audience would feel calm because as soon as the tension started to die down, something would happen ? a suffocation, a confession or a fantastical change ? and viewers would be gripping their seats again.

The women also knew how to include precise and intriguing details to disturb the audience, such as an old woman?s obsession with a dead youth?s teeth. The playwrights were also aware of how to successfully portray two different scenes at the same time and have their viewers understand what had happened.

The second section of the play started after a somewhat unorganized and lengthy blackout, and the Harold Studio presented other difficulties for the cast and crew. The platforms the performers walked across were exceptionally squeaky, which was sometimes favorable since the effect created additional anxiety. But when it became difficult to hear the performers speak, it was easy to lose track of what was happening.

Aside from minor technical flaws like microphone static and fog machines? sputters, ?Lucid Nightmares? was a remarkably well-done play in an industry where horror is rarely experimented with or attempted at all.

Edgar Allen Poe, Elon, Harold Acting Studio, Lucid Nightmares, Theater

About Stephanie Butzer

Stephanie Butzer is a print journalism major, with two minors in creative writing and art with an emphasis in photography. She loves environmental and entertainment journalism. In her free time, if any, Stephanie likes distance running, outdoor exploration and relaxing with friends. View all posts by Stephanie Butzer ?

Connect with The Pendulum, no matter where you are.

Source: http://www.elonpendulum.com/2013/02/review-lucid-nightmares-aims-to-keep-viewers-up-at-night/

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Scientists link extreme weather to giant atmospheric waves

A new study links extreme weather events to interference in global air-flow patterns.

By Tanya Lewis,?LiveScience Staff Writer / February 25, 2013

The sun rises Saturday over grain bins and a corn crop struggling from drought in Ashland, Ill.

Seth Perlman/AP

Enlarge

Extreme weather events have been on the rise in the last few decades, and man-made climate change may be causing them by interfering with global air-flow patterns, according to new research.

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The Northern Hemisphere has taken a beating from?extreme weather?in recent years ? the 2003 European heat wave, the 2010 Pakistan flood and the 2011 heat wave in the United States, for example. These events, in a general sense, are the result of the?global movement of air.

Giant waves of air in the atmosphere normally even out the climate, by bringing warm air north from the tropics and cold air south from the Arctic. But a new study suggests these colossal waves have gotten stuck in place during extreme weather events.

"What we found is that during several recent extreme weather events these planetary waves almost freeze in their tracks for weeks,"?lead author Vladimir Petoukhov, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany, said in a statement. "So instead of bringing in cool air after having brought warm air in before, the heat just stays."

How long these weather extremes last is critical, the researchers say. While two or three days of 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) pose little threat, 20 days or more can lead to extreme heat stress, which can trigger deaths, forest fires and lost harvests. [The World's 10 Weirdest Weather Events]

Monster Waves

The researchers created equations to model the motion of the massive air waves, determining what it takes to make the waves plough to a stop and build up. The team then used these models to crunch daily weather data from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

During extreme weather events, the waves were indeed trapped and amplified, the scientists found. They also saw a significant increase in the occurrence of these trapped waves.

Here's how the waves may be getting trapped: The burning of fossil fuels causes?more warming in the Arctic?than in other latitudes, because the loss of snow and ice means heat gets absorbed by the darker ground, not reflected (as it would by the white snow). This warming lessens the temperature difference between the Arctic and northern latitudes like Europe. Since these differences drive air flow, a smaller difference means less air movement. Also, land areas warm and cool more easily than oceans. The result is an unnatural pattern of air flow that prevents the air waves from circulating over land.

The study's results help explain the spike in summer weather extremes. Previous research had shown a link between?climate change and extreme weather, but did not identify the mechanism.

"This is quite a breakthrough, even though things are not at all simple ? the suggested physical process increases the probability of weather extremes, but additional factors certainly play a role as well, including natural variability," study co-author Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, also of PIK, said in a statement.

The 32-year period studied provides a good explanation of past extreme weather events, the researchers say, but is too short to make predictions about how often such events may occur in the future.

The findings were reported online today (Feb. 25) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter?@livescience. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/j-wyAF1tLBg/Scientists-link-extreme-weather-to-giant-atmospheric-waves

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

20 NYC schools starting Software Engineering Pilot program next year

Back in our day, software engineering training in junior high and high school meant a couple of Apple IIs and a game of Snake on our graphing calculators (if we were lucky). These days, it's becoming something of a necessity for students, and New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, is looking to get out in front of the curve, with the launch of the city's new Software Engineering Pilot program, a curriculum set to kick off at the beginning of the next school year. The program, which will serve 1,000 students (that number jumping to 3,500 in 2016), was designed to help kids prepare for higher education and jobs in the tech sector. We've got to admit, we're feeling a bit jealous of the list of topics, which includes not only things like programming and web design, but also embedded electronics, robotics, animation and 3D printing. The full list of schools can be found in the press release after the break.

Filed under: Software

Comments

Source: City of New York

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/26/nyc-school-software/

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Internet of Things - Environmental Leader

Home????Internet of Things? Can Cut Emissions 19%, Report Finds

February 26, 2013

?Internet of Things? Can Cut Emissions 19%, Report Finds

Machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies could help reduce global GHG emissions by 9.1 billion metric tons by 2020, equivalent to 18.6 percent of global GHG emissions in 2011, according to a report by AT&T and the Carbon War Room.

?M2M? refers to technologies that facilitate connectivity of physical infrastructure and devices ? the so-called industrial internet, or internet of things. This will reduce the amount of energy and fuel required to perform tasks, thus lowering GHG emissions without restricting production or economic growth, the report explains.

Machine-to-Machine Technologies: Unlocking the Potential of a $1 Trillion Industry says global M2M device adoption will skyrocket between now and 2020, from 1.3 billion to 12.5 billion devices, and says larger enterprises are adopting M2M at a greater rate than small and medium businesses (see chart).

These technologies will also make society more efficient, which the report says is a ?money-making endeavor.? The report predicts connected machines will generate cost savings and new revenues that could add $10-$15 trillion to global GDP.

By 2020, M2M applications look most promising and profitable in four sectors, according to the report. These are:

Energy: M2M such as smart-grid technologies could save more than 2 billion metric tons of CO2e in the energy sector. M2M can also facilitate the switch to renewable energy, thus further reducing emissions.
Transportation: M2M could save about 1.9 billion metric tons of CO2e by making planes, trains, trucks and ships more efficient.
The built environment: This sector could use M2M to save 1.6 billion metric tons of CO2e, by increasing energy efficiency of heating, cooling and ventilation, lighting, electronics, appliances and security systems.
Agriculture: M2M could save 1.6 billion metric tons of CO2e by reducing deforestation, and increasing efficiency of planting, seeding, harvesting, fertilizer use and water use.

But a lack of universal standards for M2M applications and hardware and a lack of performance data, in addition to marketing challenges and a long sales cycle, present barriers to scaling M2M technologies, the report found.

To overcome these barriers, the report suggests convening experts to work on universal standards. It also recommends that companies offering M2M technologies build data collection and analytics into their offerings, and create new business models and sales strategies.

In a report published in late 2012, GE said the industrial internet could boost energy efficiency and account for more than $82 trillion in economic activity by 2025, Energy Manager Today reports.

Stay Up-to-Date On Environmental Management, Energy & Sustainability News with EL's Free Daily Newsletter

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Source: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2013/02/26/internet-of-things-can-cut-emissions-19-report-finds/

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The great illusion of the self

(Image: Darren Hopes)

As you wake up each morning, hazy and disoriented, you gradually become aware of the rustling of the sheets, sense their texture and squint at the light. One aspect of your self has reassembled: the first-person observer of reality, inhabiting a human body.

As wakefulness grows, so does your sense of having a past, a personality and motivations. Your self is complete, as both witness of the world and bearer of your consciousness and identity. You.

This intuitive sense of self is an effortless and fundamental human experience. But it is nothing more than an elaborate illusion. Under scrutiny, many common-sense beliefs about selfhood begin to unravel. Some thinkers even go as far as claiming that there is no such thing as the self.

In these articles, discover why "you" aren?t the person you thought you were.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/28f0a5a5/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cspecial0Cself0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

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Monday, February 25, 2013

Anne Hathaway's Nipples And The Oscars' Biggest Social Trends

Jennifer Lawrence's tumble and Bond girls past and present had Twitter buzzing.
By Sarah Karp Ward

Anne Hathaway at the 2013 Oscars
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702536/anne-hathaway-nipples-oscars-2013.jhtml

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All condemn pending budget cuts, spread blame

Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour leaves a Health and Homeland Security Committee meeting titled "Protecting Our Nation: States and Cybersecurity" during the National Governors Association 2013 Winter Meeting in Washington on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013. Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore is at left. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

In this Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, photo, provided by CBS News, Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland speaks on CBS's "Face the Nation" in Washington. O'Malley joined with with Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia to call for Congress to prevent impending defense cuts that would hit their states hard. (AP Photo/CBS News, Chris Usher)

FILE ? In this Feb. 19, 2013 file photo President Barack Obama pauses while talking about sequestration in the Eisenhower Executive Office building on the White House complex in Washington. Lawmakers and the president on the brink of yet another compromise-or-else deadline Friday, March 1, 2013. (AP ?Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The White House and Republicans kept up the unrelenting mudslinging Sunday over who's to blame for roundly condemned budget cuts set to take effect at week's end, with the administration detailing the potential fallout in each state and governors worrying about the mess.

But as leaders rushed past each other to decry the potentially devastating and seemingly inevitable cuts, they also criticized their counterparts for their roles in introducing, implementing and obstructing the $85 billion budget mechanism that could affect everything from commercial flights to classrooms to meat inspections. The GOP's leading line of criticism hinged on blaming President Barack Obama's aides for introducing the budget trigger in the first place, while the administration's allies were determined to illustrate the consequences of the cuts as the product of Republican stubbornness.

Former Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour, aware the political outcome may be predicated on who is to blame, half-jokingly said Sunday, "Well, if it was a bad idea, it was the president's idea."

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said there was little hope to dodge the cuts "unless the Republicans are willing to compromise and do a balanced approach."

No so fast, Republicans interjected.

"I think the American people are tired of the blame game," said Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.

Yet just a moment before, she was blaming Obama for putting the country on the brink of massive spending cuts that were initially designed to be so unacceptable that Congress would strike a grand bargain to avoid them.

Obama nodded to the squabble during his weekly radio and Internet address.

"Unfortunately, it appears that Republicans in Congress have decided that instead of compromising ? instead of asking anything of the wealthiest Americans ? they would rather let these cuts fall squarely on the middle class," Obama said Saturday, in his last weekly address before the deadline.

"We just need Republicans in Washington to come around," Obama added. "Because we need their help to finish the job of reducing our deficit in a smart way that doesn't hurt our economy or our people."

With Friday's deadline nearing, few in the nation's capital were optimistic that a realistic alternative could be found and all sought to cast the political process itself as the culprit. If Congress does not step in, a top-to-bottom series of cuts will be spread across domestic and defense agencies in a way that would fundamentally change how government serves its people.

Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer told reporters the GOP is "so focused on not giving the president another win" that they will cost thousands of jobs. To back up their point, the White House released state-by-state tallies for how many dollars and jobs the budget cuts would mean to each state.

"The Republicans are making a policy choice that these cuts are better than eliminating loopholes," Pfeiffer said.

And, yes, those cuts will hurt. They would slash from domestic and defense spending alike, leading to furloughs for hundreds of thousands of government workers and contractors.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the cuts would harm the readiness of U.S. fighting forces. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said travelers could see delayed flights. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said 70,000 fewer children from low-income families would have access to Head Start programs. And furloughed meat inspectors could leave plants idled.

In Virginia, for instance, 90,000 Defense Department civilian employees could be furloughed, including nurses at Army hospitals, said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. He also said ship-repair contractors could lay off 300 of their 450 employees.

"There is no reason that this has to happen. We just need to find a balanced approach," Kaine said.

White House officials also pointed to Ohio as another state that would be hit hard: $25.1 million in education spending and another $22 million for students with disabilities. Some 2,500 children from low-income families would also be removed from Head Start programs.

Officials said their analysis showed Kentucky would lose $93,000 in federal funding for a domestic abuse program, meaning 400 fewer victims being served in Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's home state. Georgia, meanwhile, would face a $286,000 budget cut to its children's health programs, meaning almost 4,200 fewer children would receive vaccinations against measles and whooping cough.

White House officials said Nevada would face military furloughs totaling $12.1 million in reduced pay, a $424,000 cut to pay for meals for seniors and an almost $2 million reduction for clean air and water programs.

The White House compiled the state-by-state reports from federal agencies and its own budget office. The numbers reflect the impact of the cuts this year. Unless Congress acts by Friday, $85 billion in cuts are set to take effect from March to September.

As to whether states could move money around to cover shortfalls, the White House said that depends on state budget structures and the specific programs. The White House did not have a list of which states or programs might have flexibility.

Republican leaders were not impressed by the reports for the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

"The White House needs to spend less time explaining to the press how bad the sequester will be and more time actually working to stop it," said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio.

Some governors said the impasse was just the latest crisis in Washington that is keeping businesses from hiring and undermining the ability of state leaders to develop their own spending plans.

"It's senseless and it doesn't need to happen," said Gov. Martin O'Malley, D-Md., during the annual meeting of the National Governors Association over the weekend.

"And it's a damn shame, because we've actually had the fastest rate of jobs recovery of any state in our region. And this really threatens to hurt a lot of families in our state and kind of flat-line our job growth for the next several months," O'Malley said.

Obama did not mention the budget cuts in remarks before his dinner with the governors Sunday evening at the White House; he is expected to address the issue in a speech Monday morning to the same group. But time is running out and hope is waning.

Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy said it is past time for both sides to sit down to help dodge cuts that will hurt all states' budgets.

"Come to the table, everyone. Everybody. Let's work this thing out. Let's be adults," said Malloy, a Democrat.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called the defense cuts "unconscionable" and urged Obama to call lawmakers to the White House or the presidential retreat of Camp David for a last-minute budget summit.

"I won't put all the blame all on the president of the United States. But the president leads. The president should be calling us over somewhere ? Camp David, the White House, somewhere ? and us sitting down and trying to avert these cuts," McCain said.

LaHood, who served as a Republican representing Illinois in the U.S. House, urged his colleagues to watch Steven Spielberg's film about President Abraham Lincoln's political skills.

"Everybody around here ought to go take a look at the 'Lincoln' movie, where they did very hard things by working together, talking together and compromising," said LaHood. "That's what's needed here."

LaHood and Duncan were the only representatives from the administration to appear on Sunday shows. The White House did not book any of its senior aides.

Barbour, Malloy and McCain appeared on CNN's "State of the Union." McCaskill was interviewed on "Fox News Sunday." Ayotte, Duncan and Kaine spoke with CBS' "Face the Nation." LaHood appeared on both CNN and NBC.

___

Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: https://twitter.com/philip_elliott

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-24-Budget%20Battle/id-c72d453e9cbf4145bd961eadb1769d95

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Apple Releases Patent For Flexible iWatch

Apple?s newest patent application could offer a look at the company?s rumored iWatch. It details a wearable accessory device that includes a flexible display coupled to a bi-stable spring.

The accessory is like a digital version of the classic slap bracelet from the ?80s, as it has a flat state and a curled state in which the flexible device wraps around the user?s wrist. The patent describes this in more detail:

Bi-stable springs have two equilibrium positions. This allows a device with a bi-stable spring to assume two distinct configurations. The most recent widespread use of such a device was the slap bracelet, also called the slap wrap. The slap bracelet consists of layered flexible steel bands sealed within a fabric cover. Typical slap bracelets are roughly one inch in width by nine inches in length. In a first equilibrium position they can be flat. The second equilibrium is typically reached by slapping the flat embodiment across the wrist, at which point the bracelet curls around the wrist and stays relatively secure in a roughly circular position.

Apple Releases Patent For Flexible iWatch

The patent application also describes a user interface in the form of a touch-sensitive sensor overlaid on the flexible display, and power supplied to the bracelet that is partially provided by ambient light energy collectors disposed across a portion of it?s surface.

USPA

Source: http://flippies.com/adflipoff/archives/37675

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A Juicy Hands-On With The Facebook Omni-Gift Card

"Uh Facebook Gift Card?", the Jamba Juice cashier said with a twang. "I don't even know what that is." But that didn't stop her from ringing up my purchase with Facebook's big move into brick-and-mortar commerce. Facebook announced the card last month, and today I was one of the first to try it out. Here's how it felt to swipe Facebook's hopeful disruptor of the $100 billion US gift card market.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/OuiHfUM7_Rs/

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Edward Gorey: The original Tim Burton (+video)

Edward Gorey is celebrated on Google's homepage with a playful doodle for what would have been his 88th birthday today.?

By Alicia Pflaumer / February 22, 2013

Artist Edward Gorey's 88th birthday is celebrated today on Google's home page.

Google

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Edward Gorey was an American writer and illustrator known for his unique style, love of cats, and the playful, Victorian-style characters in his work. He was born on February 22, 1925 and would have celebrated his 88th birthday on Friday. Google is celebrating the artist with a collection of Gorey drawings gracing the search engines homepage today.

Skip to next paragraph Alicia Pflaumer

Web Producer

Alicia is editor of the Monitor home page and writes about what's trending.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

The Abnormal ?Normative? (Powerlineblog)

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Monster goldfish found in Lake Tahoe probably dumped from aquarium

Monster goldfish found: A?nearly 18-inch, 4.2-pound goldfish discovered in the depths of Lake Tahoe is not a native species, say scientists.

By Tanya Lewis,?LiveScience / February 21, 2013

Gigantic goldfish, like this one held by University of Nevada, Reno, researcher Christine Ngai, have been found in the waters of Lake Tahoe.

Heather Segale

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A new kind of lake monster has been found, in the depths of Lake Tahoe: gigantic goldfish. Researchers trawling the lake for invasive fish species scooped up a goldfish that was nearly 1.5 feet long and 4.2 pounds.

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"During these surveys, we've found a nice corner where there's about 15 other goldfish," environmental scientist Sudeep Chandra of the University of Nevada, Reno, told LiveScience. "It's an indication that they were schooling and spawning." The arrival of the fish, which were probably dumped there by aquarium owners, has Chandra worried ? goldfish are aninvasive species?that could interfere with Lake Tahoe's ecosystem.

It's unclear whether the giant fish were introduced as fully grown adults, or while they were still small, Chandra said. But even a small creature can have a big impact, if there are enough of them.

The goldfish are just one of several species of invasive warm-water fishes in?Lake Tahoe. "The invasion is resulting in the consumption of native species," Chandra said. What's more, the invasive fish excrete nutrients that cause algal blooms, which threaten to muddy Tahoe's clear waters. [Photos: Giant Goldfish & Other Freaky Fish]

Fish out of water

Aquarium dumping has become a common practice in the United States and elsewhere, and it's taking a toll on native wildlife. A recent reporton?California's aquarium trade?found that fish owners and importers are introducing hardy, nonnative aquatic species to California waters. "Globally, the aquarium trade has contributed a third of the?world's worst aquatic and invasive species," Williams, who was lead author of the report, told OurAmazingPlanet, a sister site of LiveScience, in January.

While the exact number of aquarium owners dumping fish is unknown, scientists know the practice is occurring because these species could not have ended up in these waters naturally. Between 20 percent and 69 percent of fish keepers surveyed in Texas admitted to dumping, according to Williams.

Other ways that invasive species find their way into natural ecosystems include aquaculture, live seafood, live bait, and fishing and recreation vessels. More than 11 million nonnative marine organisms representing at least 102 species arrive at ports in San Francisco and Los Angeles alone, Williams has found.

The invaders include tropical fish, seaweed and snails. One of the nastiest is a deadly type of seaweed known asCaulerpa. A type of?algae that produces toxic compounds?that kill off fish,?Caulerpa?was eradicated in 2000 (at great expense) from lagoons in Southern California.

Aquarium owners should be more careful when disposing of unwanted fish and other animals, Williams cautioned. "It's pretty simple: Don't dump your fish," she said. Instead, she suggests calling the pet shop that sold the fish or your state department of fish and wildlife. (Euthanasia is another option, but simply flushing fish down the toilet can be problematic ? for the fish and for your plumbing.)

So why do people dump fish? Studies of dumping have shown that size and aggressiveness of the fish are two main factors, Williams said.

The?largest pet goldfish, according to the BBC, was a fish named Goldie that was 15 inches (38 cm) long and weighed more than 2 pounds (0.9 kg).

Follow LiveScience on Twitter?@livescience. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/x-LZ3iaRnqQ/Monster-goldfish-found-in-Lake-Tahoe-probably-dumped-from-aquarium

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Alaska lawmaker wants $100 bounty on sea otters

Sea otter bounty: An Alaska state senator says sea otters are a growing threat to shellfish, including crabs. On Wednesday, he introduced legislation that would have the state pay $100 for each sea otter lawfully killed under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.

By Becky Bohrer,?Associated Press / February 21, 2013

A sea otter in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Alaska state senator Bert Stedman, (R) of Sitka, is proposing a $100 bounty on sea otters.

(AP Photo/Laura Rauch, File)

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An Alaska state senator is proposing a bounty on sea otters, the cute little marine mammals often seen by tourists swimming on their backs between cruise ships, sometimes munching on a fresh crab or clams.

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Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, sees the furry-faced critters as a growing threat to shellfish beds, particularly in southeast Alaska, where he is from. On Wednesday, he introduced legislation that would have the state pay $100 for each sea otter lawfully killed under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.

"We're not talking eradication. We're talking slowing the population growth," he said. "In my opinion, we're not going to get any help from the federal government."

Even if the bill were to pass, it would be unenforceable under the federal law, said Bruce Woods, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. States cannot enforce laws or regulations related to the taking of any marine mammal under the law unless the Interior secretary transfers conservation and management authority to that state. That hasn't happened.

Stedman said part of what he is trying to do is begin a discussion on the issue and send a message to the feds that something needs to be done. "Clearly, it's a problem," he said, "and it's going to get worse."

There are three sea otter populations in Alaska, in southwest, south-central and southeast Alaska, whose numbers total an estimated 98,000. The number for the southwest population, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, is the largest, at 55,000, but the latest estimate is more than 10 years old and the population is thought to be in decline, Woods said. Population estimates for the other regions are from 2010-2011. Both those populations are growing, he said.

Since their reintroduction to southeast Alaska by the state in the 1960s, after being virtually wiped out during the fur trade era, the number of sea otters in that region has grown to about 25,000, Woods said. The Marine Mammal Protection Act transferred management authority to Fish and Wildlife in 1972.

Under the federal law, only Alaska Natives can hunt sea otters in Alaska; there is no hunting season and no bag limit, but there are prohibitions on wasteful take ? that is, killing sea otters for the sake of killing them, Woods said. At least 840 sea otters were taken for subsistence reasons last year, the highest since 1993, and not surprising given the growing size of the population, wildlife biologist Verena Gill with Fish and Wildlife said.

Fisherman Ladd Norheim of the southeast Alaska community of Petersburg said the sea otters are "decimating" Dungeness crab stocks and would like to see some kind of management. He said half the area he used to fish for Dungeness in southeast Alaska is gone. Three years ago, he said there were 21 Dungeness boats over by Kake. Last year, he said there were two, and one left.

"What strikes me funny: I'm fishing crab right now, and if a crab stock gets low or something or ... any fishery, they shut us off or close us down to protect a crab or a fish. Yet when a sea otter comes in and absolutely decimates an area, they don't do anything about it," he said Thursday. "They just say, 'Oh, they're warm and fuzzy and cute.' Well, I'm pretty warm and fuzzy and cute, too, but I don't totally wipe anything out.

"I mean, crab have rights. Clams have rights. Where do sea otters come out being so holy?" he said.

Woods said he understands the frustrations.

"But our management has to be driven by science," he said. And questions remain about where the population is in terms of its establishment and carrying capacity, and what exact impacts it is having on prey species, like crabs or clams, he said. The agency is working with the University of Alaska Fairbanks to study those issues.

___

Follow Becky Bohrer on Twitter at http://twitter.com/beckybohrerap .

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/2G2Xv0-LA4U/Alaska-lawmaker-wants-100-bounty-on-sea-otters

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Friday, February 22, 2013

Tebow cancels talk at controversial Dallas church

DALLAS (AP) ? New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow has backed out of an appearance at a Baptist mega church in Dallas run by a pastor who has created controversy with his remarks about gays and other faiths.

Tebow tweeted Thursday that he canceled a scheduled April 28 appearance at First Baptist Church due to "new information that has been brought to my attention."

"I will continue to use the platform God has blessed me with to bring Faith, Hope and Love to all those needing a brighter day," Tebow wrote.

The Rev. Robert Jeffress, First Baptist's pastor, confirmed in a phone interview that Tebow called him Wednesday night to cancel.

Jeffress said Tebow told him he would like to speak at First Baptist at some point, but "he needed to avoid controversy right now for personal and professional reasons."

Jeffress has preached that gay sex is sinful, Mormonism is a cult and Islam promotes violence and pedophilia. He said Thursday that First Baptist was being mischaracterized as a "hate church," and that the church's teachings were consistent with historic Christian beliefs.

Tebow wasn't going to speak about anything controversial, Jeffress said.

"We had planned for him to speak very positively about the difference Jesus Christ had made in his life," Jeffress said.

Tebow won two BCS championships and the Heisman Trophy at Florida, but he has struggled to make it in the NFL. He barely played last season after the Jets traded for him from the Denver Broncos, where he started much of the season in 2011 and won a playoff game.

Tebow is a devout Christian who has built a large following through his faith. He has addressed church audiences before. Last year, he spoke to about 15,000 people gathered at an outdoor Easter service north of Austin.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-02-21-FBN-Tebow-Dallas-Church/id-882365a0e71447c9a39c9f17c2a83c6e

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Short Celebrities: How Do They Measure Up?

Jada Pinkett-Smith is very petite It’s really difficult to tell a star’s height by watching them on television or in the movies. without seeing them in person. Many male and female celebrities are much shorter than they appear and some are pretty surprising. Let’s see how your favorite celebrities measure up! Let’s take a look at the female shorties first! ...

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Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/02/short-celebrities-how-do-they-measure-up/

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22/02/2013 - #NewWriting - New Writing from UEA & WCN

Three UEA writers have won prizes in the 2012 Caf? Writers Open Poetry Competition, judged by acclaimed poet Ian Duhig.? Jane Monson (pictured) was awarded second prize in the competition for her prose poem ?Beam of Light?.? Jane graduated from the UEA MA in Creative Writing (Poetry) in 2000 and subsequently gained a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing from the University of Cardiff. Her first collection ?Speaking Without Tongues? was published by Cinnamon Press in 2010.? Colette Sensier won third prize for her poem ?I Have My Mother?s Eyes?. Colette is currently studying for her MA in Creative Writing (Prose Fiction) at UEA.? She published her debut collection of poetry ?How Many Camels Is Too Many?? last year, and was one of five young writers selected for the Flight 2012 mentoring scheme organized by Spread the Word and run in partnership with the Poetry School.? Tim Clare was awarded the prize for Funniest Poem for ?Mango?. Tim graduated from the Creative Writing (Prose) MA in 2004 and is the author of the memoir ?We Can?t All Be Astronauts?, which won the Biography category of the 2009 East Anglian Book Awards, and the collection ?Pub Stuntman?, published last year by Nasty Little Press.? He is a member of the poetry collective Aisle16, and is a regular performer of stand-up poetry at both literary and music festivals.

Source: http://www.newwriting.net/2013/02/jane-monson-colette-sensier-and-tim-clare-succeed-in-cafe-writers-open-poetry-competition/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jane-monson-colette-sensier-and-tim-clare-succeed-in-cafe-writers-open-poetry-competition

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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Bulgaria government falls amid power price riots

Vassil Donev / EPA

Demonstrators throw stones at riot police during a protest in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Tuesday. Eleven people were hospitalized and 11 arrested. The protest, spurred by anger over high gas prices and austerity measures in the impoverished country, appeared to be the last straw for Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, who announced Wednesday that he and his rightist party would resign.

By Sam Cage and Tsvetelia Tsolova, Reuters

SOFIA, Bulgaria -- Bulgaria's government resigned Wednesday after violent nationwide protests against high power prices, joining a long list of European administrations felled by austerity during Europe's debt crisis.

Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, a former bodyguard who swept to power in 2009 on pledges to root out corruption and raise living standards in the European Union's poorest nation, now faces a tough task to prop up eroding support ahead of a probable early election.

Wage and pension freezes and tax hikes have bitten deeply in a country where living standards are less than half the EU average. Tens of thousands of Bulgarians have rallied in protests that have turned violent, chanting "Mafia" and "resign."

AFP - Getty Images

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, right, leaves the parliament building in Sofia on Wednesday after announcing his government's resignation.

On Tuesday, 11 people were hospitalized and 11 arrested after protesters threw flares at police, who fought demonstrators with shields and truncheons.

"I will not participate in a government under which police are beating people," Borisov, who began his career guarding the Black Sea state's communist dictator Todor Zhivkov, said as he announced his resignation on Wednesday.

Parliament was expected to accept the resignation later in the day.

The spark for the protests was high electricity bills, after the government raised prices by 13 percent last July. But it quickly spilled over into wider frustration with Borisov's domineering manner and unpredictable decision-making.

The prime minister made sacrifices in an attempt to cling on, firing his finance minister, cutting power prices and risking a diplomatic feud with the Czech Republic by punishing foreign-owned companies, a move that conflicted with EU norms on protection of investors and due process.

Borisov's rightist party, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, or GERB, is the dominant faction in parliament but will not take part in talks to form a new government, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said, indicating that an election planned for July will now be held early.

"He made my day," student Borislav Hadzhiev, 21, in central Sofia said, said about Borisov's resignation. "The truth is that we're living in an extremely poor country."

GERB's popularity has held up well and it still leads, barely, in the polls, largely because budget cutbacks have been relatively mild compared with those in many other European countries. Salaries and pensions were frozen rather than cut.

But the last opinion poll, taken before protests grew last weekend, showed the opposition socialists were nearly tied with the ruling party, and analysts said the protests had boosted the socialists' chances.

Unemployment in the country of 7.3 million is far from the highs hit in the decade after the end of communist rule but remains at 11.9 percent, and average salaries are stuck at around $550 a month.

Millions have emigrated in search of a better life, leaving large parts of the country depopulated and little hope for those who remain.

Related:

UK prime minister pledges to hold referendum on quitting EU

Violence breaks out amid austerity protests in Europe

Extreme right strengthens as Greek economy sinks

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/20/17030053-bulgarian-government-resigns-after-power-prices-cause-riots?lite

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Russia, Arab League push for Syria conflict talks

MOSCOW (AP) ? Russia and the Arab League offered Wednesday to broker talks between the Syrian government and the opposition to end the country's two-year civil war.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia and the Arab League are attempting to establish direct contact between the two sides of the conflict, which the U.N. says has killed at least 70,000 people. He spoke as he hosted Arab League officials and the foreign ministers of Egypt, Lebanon and other countries in Moscow.

Lavrov said Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and the opposition need to "sit down at the negotiating table," which he said was the only possible way of ending the conflict without irreparably damaging Syria.

"Neither side can allow itself to rely on a military solution to the conflict, because it's a road to nowhere, a road to mutual destruction of the people," Lavrov told reporters.

Both Lavrov and Arab League General Secretary Nabil Elaraby said their main priority was creating a transitional government in Syria to navigate a way out of the conflict.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem will lead a delegation to Moscow on Monday, and Russia is expecting a visit in March from the Syrian National Coalition leader, Mouaz al-Khatib.

No conditions for the Syrian negotiations have been set. Lavrov said both sides' readiness to begin talks was "the most important thing."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russia-arab-league-push-syria-conflict-talks-102737513.html

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Investor offers to buy Wausau's Legion golf course

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Huawei Ascend W1 hits the FCC, may give Net10 a taste of Windows Phone 8

Huawei Ascend W1 hits the FCC, may give TracFone a taste of Windows Phone 8

Let's face it: neither TracFone nor its Net10 badge are known for adventurous phone selections, let alone dipping into Windows Phone 8 devices. Color us surprised when Huawei's Ascend W1 not only surfaces at the FCC -- the phone maker said it planned a US launch -- but is explicitly labeled as coming to a TracFone brand, most likely the smartphone-friendly Net10. There's no shocks at support for the budget carrier's HSPA frequencies, then. While FCC filings don't clue us in as to prices or ship dates, the choice of network suggests the Ascend W1 won't cost much off-contract when it crosses the ocean.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/20/huawei-ascend-w1-hits-fcc-may-give-net10-windows-phone-8/

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