Liberty Newspost April-20-2012

Curated News Edition
- 20/04/12
http://www.LibertyNewspost.com
Obama focuses on youth vote next week

(USATODAY.com Feed)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 9:21:00 AM
President Obama spends next week tending to a key part of his constituency -- the young -- while visiting college towns in three swing states. The stops: The University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the University of Iowa in Iowa City. The issue: student loans. "More than 7.4 million students with federal student loans will see their interest rates double on July 1 unless Congress steps in to keep them low," said a White House announcement. Four years ago, the Obama campaign cranked out record numbers of young voters to help produce a relatively easy win over John McCain. Now, with the economy
struggling, there are signs that youthful enthusiasm for Obama has cooled. Obama is seeking to rekindle interest with the student loan issue. In 2008, the president carried all three of the states he visits next week: North Carolina, Colorado and Iowa. Each is considered a close call this year in a prospective match-up with Republican Mitt Romney. More from the White House: For each year Congress allows the rate to double, the average student with these loans racks up an additional $1,000 in debt. At a time when Americans owe more on student loans than credit cards, President Obama believes we must reward hard work and responsibility by keeping interest rates on student loans low so more Americans get a fair shot at an affordable college education, the content]
skills they need to find a good job, and a clear path to middle class. ... The White House will also kick off a social media effort using Twitter, Facebook, and Google+, centered around the hashtag #DontDoubleMyRate. The President's student loan interest rate efforts will continue throughout the spring and early summer until Congress passes legislation to keep interest rates low and continue to give students the chance to get the college education they need for the jobs of today and tomorrow. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Moscow Ahoy! Sailing season kicks off

RT (News RSS : Today)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:33:30 PM
Wish to escape crowds and traffic? Join RT on a leisurely boat trip along the Moskva River to enjoy the capital, as Moscow's 79th Navigation season finally takes off. -With the weather finally improving, now is a great time to get out and about and discover new and exciting river routes around the Russian capital. Those who hurried to take part in the boating seasons opening enjoyed a lavish ceremony and parade combined with the presentation of Moscows river fleet. If you missed the festivities, do not lose heart. For a mere 400 rubles ($15), a river tour from content]
Gorky Park pier will give you an unusual view of Moscows usual sights as the Kremlin, Christ the Savior Cathedral, Peter the Great monument, Luzhniki Stadium and Novodevichy Convent. Moscow authorities are also planning to launch a system of river taxis. Officials hope that 11 million people will use the new means of transport. The first river taxi will connect Pechatniki district, Kitai-gorod, and Gorky Park. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Headline/
Some neighborhoods dangerously contaminated by lead fallout

(USATODAY.com Feed)
should not be playing in it. Yet they are. Hazardous levels of lead were Kathleen Marshall used to think found in the dirt under a tricycle the fenced backyard of her in Minneapolis; in the dusty Philadelphia home was a safe d o o r w a y o f a l i t t l e g i r l ' s place for her five children to play. playhouse in Hammond, Ind.; Not anymore. near a dropped baseball bat in a By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY suburban Milwaukee yard; in the Kathleen Marshall reads with outfield of a baseball diamond in toddler Kevin at their home in New York City. Philadelphia, where soil tests The soil tests, part of an ongoing showed elevated levels of lead. USA TODAY investigation, revealed potentially dangerous By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY lead levels in parts of all 21 Kathleen Marshall reads with neighborhoods examined across toddler Kevin at their home in 13 states. Although results varied Philadelphia, where soil tests house to house, the majority of showed elevated levels of lead. the yards tested in several Sponsored Links neighborhoods had high lead Marshall was horrified to learn levels in some cases, five to 10 that a long-forgotten factory once times higher than what the melted lead just across the street Environmental Protection Agency and that soil tests by USA considers hazardous to kids. TODAY indicate her yard is Children who play regularly in contaminated with hazardous lead-contaminated soil, just by levels of the toxic metal. putting dust-covered hands or toys "You're living here and you have in their mouths, are exposed to a no idea of what's really in your poison studies show lowers ground, what's in your backyard," intelligence and reduces academic Marshall says now. "It's just kind achievement, delays puberty and of scary to think that you're causes other health problems. sending your kids out to play in In response to the newspaper's an area that's hazardous." soil test results, regulators in Hundreds of soil tests by USA Kentucky, New Jersey, New TODAY in neighborhoods near York, Oregon and Wisconsin former lead factories show already are taking actions at five numerous areas where the dirt is old factory sites. so contaminated that children At the national level, EPA
Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:35:27 AM
smelters near Marshall's home a decade ago but never warned people living nearby and still has not done the soil tests recommended by its own contractors in February 2007. USA TODAY's tests throughout Marshall's neighborhood found potentially dangerous levels of assistant administrator Mathy lead in multiple locations Stanislaus said in a statement the including the small backyard agency will "review USA Today's where her children play. The EPA says there is no information to determine what immediate threat in Marshall's steps can be taken to ensure Americans are not being exposed neighborhood and that it will begin another round of assessing to dangerous levels of lead." The federal government had been the safety of the area late this year warned a decade ago about the or early next year. poison likely left behind by more "EPA does not notify residents of t h a n 4 0 0 c o m p a n i e s . T h e potential contamination based factories, often referred to as solely on the possibility that past "smelters," had operated mainly industrial activities may have from the 1930s to 1960s, but occurred. This type of approach federal and state officials did little w o u l d u n n e c e s s a r i l y a l a r m to find many of the sites, alert r e s i d e n t s a n d c o m m u n i t y residents or test the soil nearby, m e m b e r s , " t h e a g e n c y ' s USA TODAY reported Thursday. Philadelphia regional office said Parents were shocked to learn in a written response to USA that factories closed decades TODAY's questions. The EPA noted it is not before their kids were born could uncommon to find high levels of pose a danger. They didn't know that the fallout of lead particles lead in soil in large urban areas from factories that melted lead because of decades of pollution batteries or processed lead in from sources including flaking furnaces for pipes and other lead-based paint and dust from p r o d u c t s c o u l d r e m a i n f o r vehicles burning leaded gasoline, hundreds of years in the top few as well as by lead smelters and other factories. The EPA is inches of soil. T h e E P A k n e w a b o u t t h e authorized to clean up soil only if
it can prove the lead came from a specific industrial release. The lead found by USA TODAY's testing likely comes from a mixture of these sources, though old lead factories have proven to be significant polluters. Regardless of where the lead in soil came from, the human body treats it as poison, particularly if you're a kid. The soil tests and the hazards they revealed USA TODAY reporters spent two months testing soil in multiple spots in yards, with the permission of residents. The reporters also tested soil at public parks, schools, athletic fields as well as street-side strips of public land within a mile of the sites. Air -blown lead particles often drop in the immediate vicinity of factories, but the toxic dust can travel for miles. The sites tested came from a list of more than 400 potential lead smelters believed to be unknown to federal regulators because they operated before the creation of the EPA. The list was developed by environmental scientist William Eckel, who published a 2001 article in the American Journal of Public Health warning that the forgotten factories might have contaminated surrounding SOME page 3
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properties. Because most of the old smelters had operated for decades without any regulatory oversight and are now gone, little was known about the size of each factory, where they were located, how much lead they processed and how much pollution they left behind. USA TODAY focused its testing on 21 neighborhoods, a mix of locations that varied from the urban cores of big cities to a small Midwestern town. The reporters were trained to use $41,000 handheld devices called XRF analyzers to test more than 800 samples of surface soil the top layer that children's hands are most likely to touch. The devices shoot X-rays into the soil, which causes the chemicals present to give off a unique fluorescence like a flash that is measured by the device. The XRF analyzer is a widely accepted method of testing soil. Elizabeth Southerland, director of the EPA's assessment and remediation division in its headquarters Superfund program, said the agency will take a close look at the newspaper's test results. To further confirm the validity of the XRF readings, reporters collected nearly 200 soil samples and shipped them to a lab run by soil sampling expert Howard Mielke at Tulane University for a different type of chemical analysis, with the expense covered by USA TODAY. Under natural conditions, lead is found only in very small amounts
in soil. The average in U.S. surface soils is just 19 parts per million (ppm), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The soil samples tested using the XRF devices showed several neighborhoods had lead levels greater than 2,000 ppm, topping 3,400 ppm in Cleveland, Portland, Ore., and Carteret, N.J. Mielke's lab often found higher levels in samples than what the devices showed in the field. The EPA considers soil a potential hazard in children's play areas at levels above 400 ppm. Soil below the EPA threshold isn't necessarily safe: California has set a much lower standard, 80 ppm, using computer models to find a level they say is more protective of children. Of the 21 smelter neighborhoods, 80% had median soil lead levels above California's benchmark in the XRF tests. The EPA is aware of the changing science around lowlevel lead exposures and is awaiting guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before any change would be considered to the federal soil hazard level, Southerland said. Lead levels in the soil samples collected by USA TODAY were generally highest in places like Chicago, Cleveland and Philadelphia where old innercity neighborhoods mingled with industrial sites. In addition to lead from old smelters, these densely populated cities would have had far more cars burning leaded gasoline than smaller cities.
In some smelter neighborhoods, the tests found few spots with high lead levels. In St. Paul, the smelter site was near the Mississippi River flood plain, where lead particles may have long ago washed away or been buried by flood-control efforts. Lead levels in tested samples were also generally low around sites in Jacksonville and suburban Tampa. The addition or removal of dirt in any area, especially through construction or landscaping, can affect how much lead remains at the surface where people especially children are most likely to be exposed. The danger posed to kids What blood tests show A blood test can measure a child's lead exposure, which at low levels produces no obvious symptoms. Whether children are routinely tested can depend on where they live and on perceptions about their risk for lead poisoning. Many children who should be tested aren't. Even when tested, parents may not be alerted to early signs of danger. What you can do Insist on results: When your child receives a blood-lead test, make sure the health care provider gives you specific results. Too many providers tell parents a lead test is "negative"or "normal" -- when the result shows a low, but potentially worrisome level of lead. Parents need "to obtain the exact number of their blood-lead value," said John Rosen, professor of pediatrics at the Children's
Hospital at Montefiore in New York City. Beware of old standards: Many parents aren't alerted if a bloodlead level is below 10, a standard set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1991. In January, scientific advisers to the CDC recommended reducing that standard to 5. Lead poisoning researcher Bruce Lanphear says children should have a blood-lead level of 1 or less, but those living in older homes with deteriorating paint or in areas with contaminated soil will have more difficulty avoiding exposure. Know the new science: A recent review of studies by the National Toxicology Program, a federal health agency, found "sufficient" evidence that exposure by children to small amounts of lead -- in some cases less than half the CDC's 20-year-old action level -is associated with decreased intelligence and academic achievement, and an increased incidence of ADHD, behavioral problems and other health issues. "The evidence in this report is that the elimination of all lead exposure in our environment is our best course of action," said Andrew Rooney, a senior health scientist at the program. Prevent exposure: Don't wait for a blood test to show that your child has been exposed before taking simple actions to look for lead hazards and make your home and yard safe. "Waiting for them to hit a number, whatever number, is too late," said Mary Jean Brown, chief of the CDC's lead
poisoning prevention branch. Keep children away from bare soil by planting grass or covering it with a thick layer of mulch; make sure their hands and toys are washed frequently; inspect homes for flaking lead-based paint; and wet-mop floors and windowsills regularly to reduce contaminated house dust. By Alison Young Even trace amounts of lead particles so tiny they're barely visible are enough to cause irreversible health problems in kids who ingest or inhale them. Swallowing just 6 micrograms of lead particles a day over about three months can raise a child's blood-lead level by up to 1 point which in turn can result in the loss of up to 1 IQ point, according to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. That's why the state lowered its soil standard to just 80 ppm. To visualize how little lead that is, picture a packet of artificial sweetener, which contains 1 gram of powder. A microgram is onemillionth of a gram. "Just touching the surface (of the soil), you get enough to make a difference in exposure," Mielke said. A study Mielke published several years ago found children's hands picked up high levels of lead up to 30 micrograms during a play session outdoors in soil at day care centers in inner-city New Orleans. SOME page 4
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Children 6 and younger are at greatest risk because they routinely put things in their mouths. Their growing brains are also the most susceptible. "They absorb much more (lead) than an adult probably because it mimics calcium and iron," said Bruce Lanphear a leading researcher on lead poisoning at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. That's why parents in neighborhoods in and around historical smelter sites in places like Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., and West Allis, Wis., have reason to be concerned. In Philadelphia, a worried mom's story By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY Clayton Marshall, 6, Angelina Marshall, 8, and Kayla Marshall, 4, play in Philadelphia, just up the street from two former factories. Kathleen Marshall's row house is among dozens in the potential fallout zone of two old lead factories that operated for decades along Hedley Street near the Delaware River. USA TODAY's tests of soil in the area showed dangerous levels of lead contamination. Across the street from her house, the Thos. F. Lukens Metal Co. made lead pipe, solder and a type of mixed metal called babbitt, from at least 1940 through 1956, and was a battery lead smelter from about 1960-63, according to the Standard Metal Directory. Less than a quarter-mile away was an even larger factory complex: White Brothers
Smelting Co., according to a historical Sanborn fire insurance map. The sprawling complex was listed in the directories as a manufacturer of babbitt and solder, metals that often included lead. To look at the area today, residents would never know that either factory existed. The land where White Brothers once stood is largely vacant; a couple of small businesses sit atop the Lukens site. USA TODAY tested 35 samples of soil around homes in a twoblock stretch of Hedley Street. Twenty-seven of the samples contained elevated amounts of lead, ranging up to more than 2,000 ppm. "Something's got to be done. It's got to be fixed," said Joseph Gallagher, whose 4-year-old son, Brady, used to play in the bare dirt of their home's small backyard. USA TODAY tested three spots in his yard, which showed 476 ppm to 771 ppm of lead. Marshall and her family live less than a block away. Tests of four soil samples in their small backyard strewn with toys and bicycles had lead levels of 501 ppm to 842 ppm. "They're always digging in it the baby, too," she said. Marshall's baby, Kevin, had his blood tested Aug. 6, at 19 months old. It showed his blood-lead level was 7.5. That level of lead exposure is associated with decreased IQ and an increased incidence of ADHD and other
issues, medical studies show. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where the tests were done, didn't call Marshall to let her know. She learned the results from USA TODAY, which got them with Marshall's permission from information the hospital filed with the state health department. Children's Hospital doesn't routinely notify parents unless a child's blood-lead level is a 10 or higher, said Lisa Biggs, the hospital's medical director of primary care. That's because the CDC set 10 as the level of concern back in 1991 before more recent studies showed significant harms at lower levels. In January, CDC scientific advisers recommended lowering the blood-lead action level for children from 10 to 5. "The whole thing is crazy," Marshall said. "I think if there's any lead in their system you should be notified." By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY Joseph Gallagher supervises son Brady in front of their home on Hedley Street in Philadelphia, not far from the old sites of Thos. F. Lukens Metal Co. and White Brothers Smelting. Contractors for the EPA went looking for the White Brothers factory in 2005, federal records show. The agency produced no records showing it looked for the nearby Lukens Metal factory. The 2007 contractor's report erroneously placed White Brothers about a quarter-mile northeast of where it was. The contractors fingered what was
actually the former site of a different manufacturing plant, historical maps show. They recommended the EPA do soil sampling in the nearby neighborhood. In a written response to questions, the agency acknowledged the sampling never happened and said it plans to reassess the site later this year or early next year. In the meantime, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health is taking a closer look at lead poisoning around smelter sites featured in USA TODAY's investigation, said Nan Feyler, the department's chief of staff. The city's health department has traditionally focused on deteriorating lead-based paint, which it considers the primary risk to residents. "We do take seriously, desperately seriously, the risk of lead poisoning of Philadelphia's children," Feyler said. The smell Fred Kuolt will never forget By Alison Young, USA TODAY Fred Kuolt: "Sulfuric acid" fumes made breathing hard for his wife and forced him to shut the windows in his suburban Milwaukee home. Fred Kuolt remembers horrible smells that wafted from Allied Smelting through his suburban Milwaukee neighborhood in the 1950s and 1960s, making it difficult for his wife, Lorraine, to breathe. "When the wind was blowing from the north or northwest, you would get that odor of sulfuric
acid," said Kuolt, 94. "We had to close our windows in the summertime." Allied Smelting recycled lead and lead-acid batteries, and performed lead smelting and other kinds of metal smelting from about 1950 through 1975. Another firm, Grey Iron Foundry, was at the property from about 1946 to 1950, according to state and historical records. Today, the property is occupied by a window replacement company. Private soil tests on the former smelter property in 1996 found lead levels as high as 210,000 ppm, according to results filed with regulators at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. A tree-lined neighborhood of tidy homes, including Kuolt's, is just across West Lincoln Avenue, to the south of the site. In 2005, state regulators told representatives for the former smelter property's owners that they needed to do more tests for soil and groundwater contamination in the area, state records show. The testing was never done and for years regulators never followed up, according to department records. USA TODAY tested soil in the neighborhood and found potentially dangerous levels of lead in the yards of nearby homes, particularly just south of the smelter in the 2300 block of South 52nd Street. Eight of 14 samples from the yards of two homes had SOME page 5
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lead levels above the EPA's hazard standard for children's play areas. People living at the homes tested said they had no idea a smelter used to operate nearby or that their yards might be contaminated. Kuolt said many of his younger neighbors moved in after the smelter closed. "These people today would not even know that that existed," Kuolt said. Even back then, residents weren't worried about lead they were focused on the acid smell, he said. City building inspection records show that in the 1960s neighborhood residents complained to the city about particulate emissions from the plant, sulfuric acid fumes, noise and other issues. Following USA TODAY's inquiries, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in December notified the owner of the former smelter property that soil should be tested in the neighborhood and specifically along South 52nd Street, where USA TODAY found elevated lead levels, records show. The property owner's environmental consultant has told state regulators it isn't his client's responsibility to do off-site testing for a smelter he didn't operate, records show. The property owner did not respond to interview requests, including by certified letter. Paul Biedrzycki, environmental health director for the City of Milwaukee Health Department,
said the levels of lead USA TODAY found near the former smelter aren't surprising and that health officials have long known of the potential for lead to be in urban soils from a variety of sources. The levels above 400 ppm, especially if children are playing in bare soil, do raise concerns, he said. Yet with limited resources, Milwaukee's health department, like others around the country, focuses its efforts on lead-based paint, Biedrzycki said. "The cumulative effect of many of these secondary sources may be the next challenge for public health," he said. "But I'd say there's still quite a bit of work to do on addressing lead-based paint as the primary source for high levels in children." Lead in a Brooklyn baseball field By Todd Plitt, USA TODAY Baseball fields in Brooklyn's Red Hook Park, built atop a historical lead-smelter site, have been temporarily closed while New York City officials inspect and take steps to minimize the risk of lead exposure. For decades, children had poured onto the baseball fields at Red Hook Park in Brooklyn after school, running the base paths and shagging fly balls. There had been no hint of the potential danger that lies just beneath that grass, where the soil is laced with lead. It's been more than 60 years since Columbia Smelting and Refining Works ran its eight furnaces where the fields now sit. Today, lead concentrations in the soil are
up to five times greater than the EPA's hazard level for play areas. There's also lead in the nearby grass courtyards of the Red Hook Houses, Brooklyn's oldest and largest public housing complex, which sits across the street. The sprawling neighborhood of unpainted brick high-rises was built in the 1930s when the smelter still operated and today is home to about 6,000 people. In March, New York City officials closed four ball fields in Red Hook Park after learning from USA TODAY the area was a former smelter site where the newspaper had found elevated levels of lead. The city could have learned a decade earlier that a smelter once occupied the property both the U.S. EPA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation knew about it, but city officials said they weren't told. In 2002, the EPA sent an inspector to look at Columbia Smelting's former location as part of an effort to examine hundreds of suspected smelting sites that had come to its attention. However, the inspector was tasked only with determining whether Columbia was still operating and in need of a waste permit. "HQ smelter initiative, nothing at site," the inspector wrote in his report on the visit to Red Hook Park. That marked the beginning and end of any federal effort to determine whether there were lingering effects from the
smelting operation. "The purpose of these visits was to determine if lead smelters were present at these locations and, if so, if these facilities were in compliance" with waste disposal laws, said John Martin, a spokesman in EPA's Region 2 office in Lower Manhattan, which did the visits. He said the site visits were "not about going out and doing sampling or doing a risk assessment." The EPA did share its list of suspected smelter sites, including the Red Hook Park location, with the New York DEC. But the department said it had no records of investigating or visiting the Red Hook Park site. USA TODAY tested soil in the park and found elevated levels of lead in six of eight samples taken from the ball fields stretching across the site where the smelter was located. Four of those soil samples, all taken just beneath the ball fields' outfield grass, showed lead concentrations above 2,000 ppm five times the EPA's hazard level for children's play areas. Elsewhere in the park, levels were generally lower. Across the street, in grassy areas of the Red Hook Houses, six of 16 soil samples tested from throughout the public housing complex had lead levels above 400 ppm. New York City officials said they were unaware a lead-smelting business had once occupied a portion of the park. The city did its own soil tests and confirmed USA TODAY's findings,
identifying lead concentrations as high as 2,000 ppm at the ball fields. The fields will be closed for six to eight weeks while the city puts clay and new grass over exposed dirt as interim steps to minimize lead exposure risks, said Deputy Parks and Recreation Commissioner Liam Kavanagh. Ultimately, "we're looking for a more permanent solution, which will probably involve reconstructing the fields so you would eliminate any elevated lead readings." In response to public records requests from USA TODAY, neither the EPA nor the DEC produced documents indicating that information gathered in 2002 about former smelting sites was shared with local officials in New York City or other communities. "If we had known that there was a potential for some soil contamination as a result of a prior use of the site, I'd like to think that we would have taken the actions we're taking now," Kavanagh said. A 30-year veteran of the city parks department, he said he was "surprised" to learn about the smelter and soil contamination at Red Hook Park from USA TODAY. The risk of significant lead exposure to children playing in the area is low, because the ball fields don't tend to be used by toddlers, who are likely to handle the dirt or put toys and fingers in SOME page 6
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their mouths, said Daniel Kass, deputy commissioner at the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Risks are similarly low in the residential development across the street, he said, because children's play areas are paved and young children don't dig in the grassy courtyards where USA TODAY found elevated lead levels. Kass also noted that lead poisoning rates for children in the neighborhood have been lower than many other parts of the city and no cases have been traced to contaminated soil. Still, he added, city officials "would have liked to have known" about the old smelter site when state and federal officials first became aware of it 10 years ago. "We take all potential sources of exposure seriously," Kass said. He noted that the parks department's immediate closing of the contaminated ball fields was appropriate and the city would have "responded quite similarly" if it had learned of the problem in 2002. "It's always better to have the information," Kass said. In Carteret, N.J., the dust 'was everywhere' Alex Marciniak's grandmother used to complain about the dust that spewed from the smelting plant across the street from her home in Carteret, N.J. When the wind blew towardsthe modest row houses in their working-class neighborhood, the dust would foul laundry hanging in the yard. It coated people's cars, blew into
their houses. It was everywhere. "We'd have to close all the windows in the house because it was hard to breathe," Marciniak, 43, recalled of his childhood. The smelting operation for 80 years "spewed forth enormous amounts of contaminating materials," a federal judge concluded in a June 2009 ruling on a lawsuit over the impact of the plant's historical operation on parts of the site it once occupied. "Even after (pollution) controls were put in place, the controls were inadequate, defective, and often non-functional." At the height of its operations, more than 500,000 tons of scrap metal were fed into its smelters each year, state records and court documents show. "Observed heavy emissions (100% opacity) from the smelter building," an inspector from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection reported after a 1982 inspection. "The observations were not unusual. I have been observing and reporting these problems for at least three years now." Local regulators found similar problems. In 1984 alone, the Middlesex County (N.J.) Department of Health cited U.S. Metals for 134 violations of airquality standards due to excessive emissions from smelter smokestacks. In 1988, U.S. Metals signed a legal agreement to clean up the smelter site; subsequent soil tests on the property showed lead levels as high as 90,000 ppm.
Tons of contaminated soil were removed from the factory property. But regulators never checked to see whether the yards of homes across the street or down the block were contaminated. Unlike most of the smelter sites on Eckel's list, U.S. Metals continued operating until 1986 long enough to hit the radar of regulatory agencies. USA TODAY tested 41 soil samples from eight yards and public rights-of-way in and around the Chrome neighborhood, which begins across the street from the U.S. Metals site. Twenty -one of those tests showed lead concentrations of 400 ppm to nearly 1,000 ppm. In response to USA TODAY's findings, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has ordered soil testing in the neighborhood later this year. The work will be done by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., which became the corporate parent of U.S. Metals more than 20 years after the smelting plant was shut down. "We reached out to the responsible party as a result of USA TODAY's inquiry," said Lawrence Hajna, a department spokesman. Freeport-McMoRan said in a statement that it is cooperating with the state DEP and expects to take several months to set up a testing program. It noted that lead found by USA TODAY could be from other industries, lead-based paint from older houses or long-
ago emissions from vehicles using leaded gasoline. In the meantime, Alex Marciniak worries about his daughter, still in elementary school. Waving toward the vacant lot, green and inviting, behind his house, he said: "I wouldn't let her play back there." Hilda Rosa Burgos, a nurse with a 6-year-old son, echoed his concerns after being informed about elevated lead levels in her yard. "My son used to go out and play in the dirt, play back in the corner of the yard, and now we can't do that. I'm confused, I don't feel safe." Test results prompt Kentucky to investigate The blockish two-story brick building next to a row of homes along West 12th Street in Newport, Ky., does little to call attention to itself. Nearly all of the windows are covered with plywood, painted gray to match the brick. A sign is tacked above a boardedup doorway: "L&H Tool & Die Co." In 1910, however, it was the Newport Foundry Co., historical fire insurance maps show. From at least 1949 to 1954, industry directories show the site was home to Certified Metals Mfg. Co., which made babbitt and solder, mixed metals that often contained lead. Soil tests in nearby residential yards showed lead levels that could be hazardous to children. Of 30 samples taken at five homes within about two blocks of the
former foundry, 19 topped 400 ppm on the XRF analyzer and reached as high as 1,084 ppm. The soil was wet from days of rain at the time USA TODAY did its XRF sampling, and water in soil can cause the device to undercount lead. Six samples collected from the same area and sent to Tulane University showed even higher levels, up to 2,485 ppm, in all but one case. People who live near the old factory said they never knew it once made lead products and are now concerned about the lead in nearby yards. "If it's a problem, I want it taken care of," said Debra Winkle, who lives a few doors down. Although no children currently play in her yard, she hopes someday to have grandchildren who will. "I want them to be safe," she said. Environmental regulators at the Kentucky Division of Waste Management said they were unaware of the former foundry site until they were contacted by USA TODAY despite it being on Eckel's list. After hearing about the soil test results, the state has opened an investigation of the site and potential sources of lead contamination in Newport, said Tim Hubbard, the division's assistant director. "Looking at the data overall, the results are not too surprising for what you might expect to see in lead levels in an urban area," Hubbard said. "Obviously some SOME page 7
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were higher than one would like to see in any kind of setting." One of the difficulties of the investigation, Hubbard said, is that the lead found by USA TODAY's tests could have come from a variety of sources. A scrap metal firm is also nearby. Hubbard said his department could be put in a difficult spot if it finds dangerous levels of lead in residential yards and if no obvious polluter can be definitively held responsible for a cleanup. Kentucky has only about $400,000 a year to spend on statefunded cleanups. "If we determine there are levels out there that need to be addressed and it is not safe to leave them where they are then something will be done. That's the bottom line," he said. L&H Tool and Die is a division of a Cincinnati metalworking firm, Seilkop Industries. Dave Seilkop said his company bought L&H Tool and Die, which produces aluminum stampings, in 1998, and was unaware of the Newport property's previous uses. State health department reports show the area where the foundry once operated has been considered a high-risk area for lead poisoning. Local health officials said they think the biggest problem in the area is lead -based paint, which was widely used until the 1950s and banned from residential use in 1978. Newport, which is across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, was founded in 1792. "If it's in the soil an obvious
primary factor is paint coming from the house structure," said Steve Divine, environmental health director for the Northern Kentucky Health Department. When investigating cases of leadpoisoned children, the department doesn't always test the soil, Divine said. Sometimes there is no yard, or the yard has a good cover of grass over the soil, he said. Since 2001, the department has investigated cases of leadpoisoned children at 27 homes in Newport's 41071 ZIP code, where the former smelter is located. Of those, 13 homes had their soil tested by the inspectors, and 10 yards had lead levels above the 400 ppm hazard standard. Still, Divine said: "Our experience is the primary culprit has been the lead paint in the structure." Hazards in a suburban Portland neighborhood By Thomas Patterson, (Salem, Ore.) Statesman Journal Barbee Williams has lived next door to a former smelter site in Portland, Ore., for 22 years. Three soil tests showed lead levels over 1,000 ppm in her yard. The lawns on and around the site of the old Multnomah Metal Works in Portland, Ore., are green and well tended, rolling out from homes that can fetch $250,000 or more. There's no sign of the smelter that operated in the neighborhood for 65 years. The old smelter building was demolished in 1975; the next year, a duplex home was built there, state records show. Regulators
from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) discovered there had been a smelter at the site in 2002, while investigating another Multnomah Metal Co. address that turned out to be an office and storage yard. Inspectors took four soil samples on the site in 2003 and all were above the EPA's residential hazard standard for children's play areas including one spot that showed 5,120 ppm. "Given the consistently high lead concentrations across the site, I consider the soil unacceptable for industrial/ commercial or residential use," DEQ toxicologist Mike Poulsen wrote to agency officials in a 2003 e-mail. "Further characterization of onsite and possibly offsite soils is warranted." In a separate memo, Christopher Blakeman, a DEQ project manager, noted that "children may be exposed to potentially threatening levels of lead in soils and/or dirt transferred into the home. Pregnant women may also face similar exposure threats." The state did no further testing. It never told the neighbors about the contamination or forced a cleanup, the DEQ acknowledged in response to USA TODAY's questions. The department's only follow-up action was to list the site on its public registry of contaminated properties. The DEQ can issue a legal order requiring a site on the registry be cleaned up, and it generally would be the property owner's
responsibility, said Chuck Harman, a DEQ remedial-project manager who helps supervise properties on the list. The department has taken no legal action on the Flower Street property. USA TODAY's testing at the former smelter property and in nearby yards found high levels of lead. Tests in the yard of the duplex that sits atop the former smelter site found lead levels that peaked above 7,400 ppm. All 14 soil samples tested from the property showed lead levels above 400 ppm. At two nearby homes, 11 of 17 samples showed lead levels ranging from 400 ppm to above 1,100 ppm. In response to USA TODAY's test results, the DEQ has reopened discussions with the owner of the former smelter site about addressing the lead contamination, Harman said this month. It is unclear whether the state will sample any soil on neighboring properties, he said. The results of the state's initial soil tests in 2003 "are not really acceptable (lead) numbers," Harman added. "I'm not sure why back then we didn't make that decision to pursue that (site) more strongly." The site's owner did not respond to interview requests or a certified letter. Brian Morgan, a medical student who lives with his wife in one side of the duplex on the smelter property, said he was unaware of the site's history. "We don't have kids so I'm not too worried, "
he said. Neighbors were concerned, especially that the state didn't tell them about the 2003 test results. "Nobody ever has mentioned anything to me about it, I've never gotten a letter, nothing," said Barbee Williams, who has owned a home next to the smelter site for 22 years. Three tests showed lead levels over 1,000 ppm in the soil of her yard. Williams wonders about the berries, grapes, apples and plums she has grown in soil that might be contaminated. "I wouldn't have planted a lot of things to eat if I had known that," she said. "My grandchildren played out there my grandson was a little boy with trucks, so he played in the dirt quite a bit." The DEQ posts its registry of contaminated properties on the Internet and people can search by ZIP code to see whether a polluted site is nearby. Notices generally aren't sent to neighbors. "There's not in state law a public notification process for informing neighbors at the time a site is listed," Harman said. If the state determines that neighboring properties are contaminated, officials typically would inform the owners, Harman added. But because the state did no off-site sampling around the old smelter, there was no evidence of a problem. Now Portland residents like Williams understand there is a problem an awareness she SOME page 9
Headline/ Economy/
South Sudan to pull out of oil town, easing crisis

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Submitted at 4/20/2012 8:59:44 AM
from the U.N., U.S. and Britain and the threat of sanctions. The offensive sent Sudanese troops fleeing, and Sudan's By Adriane Ohanesian, AFP/ p r e s i d e n t g r e a t l y i n c r e a s e d G e t t y I m a g e s S o u t h S u d a n threatening war rhetoric toward People's Liberation Army vehicles the south in the last few days. drive on the road from Bentiu to South Sudan broke away from Heglig, on April 17. Sudan last year after an independence vote, the By Adriane Ohanesian, AFP/ culmination of a 2005 peace Getty Images treaty that ended decades of war. South Sudan People's Liberation Despite the treaty, violence Army vehicles drive on the road between the two countries has from Bentiu to Heglig, on April been on the rise, in part because 17. the sides never agreed on the JUBA, South Sudan(AP) where the border lies, nor how to Responding to international share oil revenues from the border pressure, South Sudan announced region. Friday it will withdraw its troops In the presidential statement he from the disputed oil town its read, South Sudan government forces took over last week, pulling s p o k e s m a n B a r n a b a M a r i a l back from offensive military Benjamin referred to Heglig by action that pushed the south closer the name the south calls it to all-out war with its northern Panthou. Military spokesman Col. neighbor, Sudan. Philip Aguer said the withdrawal T h e a n n o u n c e m e n t f r o m would be completed within three President Salva Kiir said the south days. still believes that the town of " I t d o e s n ' t m e a n w e a r e Heglig is a part of South Sudan. abandoning the area. If our Kiir said he expects its final status territory is being occupied we will to be determined by international not wait for the international arbitration. community," Aguer said. The South Sudanese troops moved southern military, known as the into and took over Heglig last SPLA, "will be there to react to week, sparking condemnation any incursions and react of [unable to retrieve full-text content]
and withdraw its forces from disputed territories including Abyei. South Sudan's announcement on Friday comes only days after a visit to South Sudan's capital by Princeton Lyman, the U.S. special envoy to Sudan and South Sudan. Lyman underscored in a meeting with Kiir and other southern bombardment doesn't stop." Military aircraft from Sudan have l e a d e r s w h a t h e c a l l e d t h e been bombing the border area and " u n a n i m o u s " i n t e r n a t i o n a l into territory that is clearly South reaction to South Sudan's push into Heglig. Sudan's. The increased hostilities between Lyman said the world community two regions that fought decades' w a s d i s c u s s i n g i m p o s i n g worth of civil war has world sanctions in response to the leaders concerned about a return military maneuver. The meeting to war. The Arab League on in Juba between Lyman and Kiir T h u r s d a y a n n o u n c e d a n was attended by Britain's emergency session next week to representative to South Sudan, discuss the crisis, while U.N. Alastair McPhail. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "We hope that the withdrawal will urged the sides to step back from be orderly and both sides will the brink of war and return to the refrain from further military action and return to the negotiating table. Ban on Thursday called on South negotiating table and pursue Sudan to immediately withdraw t e r r i t o r i a l c l a i m s a t t h e from Heglig area, calling the negotiation," McPhail said. invasion "an infringement on the Last year troops from Sudan sovereignty of Sudan and a moved into the disputed area of clearly illegal act." He called on Abyei and forced southern troops the government of Sudan to out of it. The south though, still immediately stop shelling and believes Abyei is its territory. bombing South Sudanese territory Benjamin said that the withdrawal from Heglig is similar: South
Sudan believes it owns the land but is still withdrawing, a move that de-escalates tensions. For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com. USA TODAY is now using Facebook Comments on our stories and blog posts to provide an enhanced user experience. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then "Add" your comment. To report spam or abuse, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box. To find out more, read the FAQ and Conversation Guidelines. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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shares with Kathleen Marshall of Philadelphia, Debra Winkle of Newport, Ky., and Fred Kuolt of West Allis, Wis., each of whom was unaware, until now, of the poison in the ground. Contributing: Paul Monies and Brad Heath This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is
your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Night Vision Quiz

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Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:00:56 PM
content] With the Night Vision Quiz, test your knowledge of the technology behind night vision.
La fusione fredda sbarca al Politecnico di Torino GreenStyle

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Submitted at 4/20/2012 8:42:30 AM
McMorris Rodgers stands by bill to revoke U.S. funding for IMF

(The Front Page)
the IMF chief in December to discuss problems lawmakers had with the financial titan. Although the managing director But, the vice chairman of the of the International Monetary House Republican Conference Fund publicly praised her and told Human Events, I will s p o k e o f t h e F u n d ' s o w n continue to advocate for my bill responsibility to show efficiency because its not only in the best in its financial dealings, Rep. interest of American taxpayers, Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R- but it will help motivate our Wash.) insisted she would stand European allies to make the tough by her legislation to rescind the decisions to get their fiscal house $100 billion Congress voted to in order. give the IMF in 2009. There cannot be a true global Director [Christine] LaGarde has economic recovery until spending t a k e n t h e I M F i n a b e t t e r and borrowing come down in direction, and I appreciate her Europe, America, and throughout efforts to make the IMF more the world. The IMF can best serve open and transparent to Congress its members by helping them and the American public, said achieve fiscal discipline. The U.S. McMorris Rodgers, who met with Congress can play a role too.
Submitted at 4/20/2012 4:57:00 AM
McMorris Rodgers's remarks came hours after LaGarde told Human Events that no country has ever lost money on the IMF and that it is important that the leading economic power in the world has to have a leadership role in the Fund during the current times of economic turmoil. Speaking to us at the regular IMF/World Bank meeting in Washington, LaGarde also agreed that I dont think the excellent, productive meeting I have had with Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who understands the issues very well, is sufficient to withdraw her proposed bill. Officially H.R. 2313, McMorrisRodgerss legislation so far has 93 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of
Representatives. McMorris Rodgers also said she looks forward to continuing to work with Director LaGarde on how we can make the IMF and the Congress more effective in bolstering the global economy. John Gizzi is Political Editor of HUMAN EVENTS. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Dottor Tecnologia La fusione fredda sbarca al Politecnico di Torino GreenStyle Le avventure di Andrea Rossi e del suo E-Cat, che catalizzano l'attenzione mediatica ormai da pi di un anno, dopo aver riportato in auge lo stesso termine fusione fredda, hanno riacceso l'interesse verso quei settori della fisica nucleare con pi... E-Cat: stabilimento in Italia e nuovo concorrente per Rossi Dottor Tecnologia E-Cat: nella fusione fredda il n greenMe.it E-cat: cos' e come funziona questa potenziale bufala [VIDEO] Ecoo Yeslife- il DemocraticoNanoPress all 12 news articles
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Colorado university cracks down on pot rally - USA TODAY

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Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:43:08 PM
references to marijuana, other drugs or to 4/20. The measures pit Colorado's DENVER (AP) The pungent flagship university, which has smell of pot that blankets a tired of its reputation as a top p o p u l a r q u a d r a n g l e a t t h e party school, against thousands University of Colorado-Boulder who have assembled, flash mobevery April 20 is being replaced style, each year to demand by the stench of fish-based marijuana's legalization or simply fertilizer Friday as administrators to have a good time. try to stamp out one of the With more than 30,000 students, nation's largest annual campus Colorado was named the nation's celebrations of marijuana. top party school in 2011 by By John Moore, Getty Images Playboy magazine. The campus A woman passes a joint at a pro- also repeatedly ranks among the marijuana "4/20" celebration in top schools for marijuana use, front of the state capitol building according to a "Reefer Madness" April 20, 2010, in Denver. list conducted by The Princeton Review. By John Moore, Getty Images "We don't consider this a protest. A woman passes a joint at a pro- We consider this people smoking marijuana "4/20" celebration in p o t i n t h e s u n s h i n e , " s a i d front of the state capitol building university spokesman Bronson April 20, 2010, in Denver. Hilliard. "This is a gathering of After more than 10,000 people people engaging in an illegal students and non-students activity." attended last year's marijuana "I do not see any justification for rally on Norlin Quadrangle, the university shutting it down," university officials decided this said student organizer Daniel Ellis year to apply the stinky fertilizer Schwartz, who contends the to the quad to deter pot-smokers. m e a s u r e s i n f r i n g e o n F i r s t They're also closing the campus Amendment rights to protest. Friday to all unauthorized visitors Schwartz, a physics major, and and offering a free campus other supporters of the 4/20 concert by Haitian-born hip-hop smoke out plan to move it to a s t a r W y c l e f J e a n t i m e d t o nearby park off-campus. He coincide with the traditional 4:20 suggests there also will be some p.m. pot gathering. His contract form of off-campus protest bars him from making any direct against the measures.
about his marijuana use, was expected to help unveil an 8-foot statue of himself in downtown Austin at 4:20 p.m. local time on Friday. The number 420 has been associated with marijuana use for decades, though its origins are murky. Its use as code for "We do have to play a game of m a r i j u a n a s p r e a d a m o n g chess with the authorities," California pot users in the 1960s and spread nationwide among Schwartz said. Cynthia Hardey, who works in followers of the Grateful Dead. the library on the quad, thinks the Like most counterculture slang, university is overreacting and said theories abound on its origin. the event would go by largely Some say it was once police code u n n o t i c e d i f n o t f o r t h e in Southern California to denote marijuana use (probably an urban crackdown. "You know, I go home, they got legend). It was a title number for a the pot in the air, big deal. Next 2003 California bill about medical day everything is forgotten. But m a r i j u a n a , a n i r o n y f u l l y now they're making a big thing i n t e n d e d . about it, and this is going down in Others trace it to a group of history. So we're having police California teenagers who would state tactics here for what? meet at 4:20 p.m. to search for Because a couple of people want weed (a theory as elusive as the to protest the laws, these pot outdoor cannabis crop they were laws? I don't get it," said Hardey, seeking). Yet the code stuck for obvious reasons: Authorities and a library technician. Many students at the University nosy parents didn't know what it of Colorado and other campuses meant. In Colorado, recent 4/20 across the country have long observed 4/20. The counterculture observations have blossomed o b s e r v a t i o n i s s h a r e d b y alongside the state's medical m a r i j u a n a u s e r s f r o m S a n marijuana industry. Approved by Francisco's Golden Gate Park to Colorado voters in 2000, medical New York's Greenwich Village. marijuana boomed after federal In Austin, Texas, country music authorities signaled in 2009 they legend Willie Nelson, who's open would pursue higher-level drug
crimes. All marijuana is illegal under federal law, though Colorado voters this November will consider a ballot measure to legalize it for recreational use by adults over 21. A larger rally is planned for Denver near the state capitol on Friday and Saturday. Police have suggested they'll be taking a hands-off approach to the gathering, which could draw tens of thousands of people, said chief organizer Miguel Lopez. Others are rebelling against the gatherings. In Colorado, several high schools across the state are hosting drugfree events on Friday. The University of Colorado's student government supports the university's anti-4/20 actions this year. And other Colorado students created a Facebook campaign urging their colleagues to wear formal clothing to school on Friday to repudiate the partyschool reputation. Campus police officers will be stationed at school entrances, allowing in only those with university IDs or permission. Anyone on campus without proper ID could be ticketed for trespassing, which carries a maximum $750 fine and up to six months in jail, said campus police COLORADO page 15
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11
George Zimmerman sorry for Trayvon Martin death as bail set at $150000 - The Guardian
Brian Braiker in New York (Top Stories - Google News)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:21:56 PM
George Zimmerman said in court: 'I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of their son. I did not know if he was armed or not.' Photograph: Getty Images George Zimmerman, the neighbourhood watch volunteer charged with the murder of Trayvon Martin, unexpectedly took the stand at a bail hearing on Friday and apologised to the teenager's family. "I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of their son. I did not know how old he was I thought he was a little bit younger than I am. And I did not know if he was armed or not," Zimmerman said. Zimmerman's attorneys were seeking a bond to have him released before trial. He was granted bail of $150,000 by Judge Kenneth Lester, but will not be immediately released. The terms of the bond include electronic monitoring and GPS, no contact with Martin's family, regular meetings with officers, and no access to firearms. Speaking at length publicly for the first time since shooting the unarmed 17-year-old in February,
Zimmerman said he had asked police and his attorneys to tell Martin's family that he was sorry. Martin's parents were in the courthouse, face-to-face with their son's killer for the first time. Zimmerman, soft-spoken and non -confrontational, made a point of letting them hear that he was sorry. On Thursday night, Zimmerman had asked to speak to them, but they rejected that
request, according to the family's attorney, Benjamin Crump. That Zimmerman would testify at a bond hearing and make such a statement is highly unusual, and reflective of the intense national attention the racially polarising case has drawn. After the hearing, the lawyer for Martin's parents, Benjamin Crump, said: "They are devastated, completely
devastated, that after nine days from the killer of their son being arrested, they learned today that he will be released. They have to accept the court's decision. They pray that his freedom is only temporary, because the pain that he has caused this family is going to be permanent. "Zimmerman makes this selfserving apology in court, 50 days later. The real George
Zimmerman website never once said: 'I'm sorry'. Why today?" Standing outside the court, Crump added: "This family, they were so so torn, so hurt, that they couldn't even bring themselves to come here and stand, after they learned what they learned here in court. "It has been a tough day." Martin was armed only with a bag of Skittles and an iced tea when he was killed on February 26, by Zimmerman, a volunteer neighborhood watch patrolman in a gated Florida community. The 28-year-old claims the shot was fired in self-defence. Martin had been staying at his father's girlfriend's home. Testifying at the hearing on Friday, Zimmerman's mother Gladys said she had concerns for her son's safety. "We have received a lot of threats," she said. As part of the bond agreement, Zimmerman will be held and monitored at a secret location, possibly out of state. His father, Robert, testified by phone that his son is an honest man and that he had seen scars on Zimmerman's head following the encounter with Martin. GEORGE page 14
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Utoya massacre step-by step: Breivik dehumanized to survive own terror

forced to take a break once the weight of emotion had overcome all those present at the Self-confessed mass murderer p r o c e e d i n g s . and right-wing extremist Anders Breivik himself seemed to have Behring Breivik (L) speaks to his s t r u g g l e d w i t h d e t a c h i n g defence lawyer Vibeke Hein simulated violence from the real Baera (R) in the central court in thing as he described hunting Oslo on April 20, 2012 (AFP down and shooting teenagers at Photo / Sannum Lauten) point-blank range. Likening himself to a banzai Some of them are completely warrior, seeking satori to paralyzed. They cannot run. They harden his heart, Anders Breivik s t a n d t o t a l l y s t i l l . T h i s i s lauded Al-Qaeda for embracing something they never show on TV martyrdom. But the self-confessed It was very strange,'' he said. mass-killer feared he would When asked if he could feel "break down mentally" if he faced sadness, he said yes, claiming he the horror he had unleashed. had undergone a process of self-Before describing the graphic d e h u m a n i z a t i o n t o p r e p a r e details of his murderous rampage h i m s e l f t o k i l l . that left 69 dead at a youth camp On Thursday, Breivik described on Utoya Island last July, the 33- year-long video game binges year old far-right extremist asked during which his dream of massthose present in the courtroom if murder was slowly nurtured. they would like to leave before he He also described to psychiatrists began. None of them did so, how he used meditation to numb though they might have wished the full spectrum of human they had. emotion "happiness to sorrow, A s B r e i v i k e n u m e r a t e d despair, hopelessness, and fear" chronologically one murder after and was still using it behind bars. another with a detached air, the He described his aloof manner of judge presiding over the trial was r e c o u n t i n g h i s s e l f Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:30:00 PM
describedgruesome, barbaric acts as a defense mechanism:I can choose to remove the mental shield, but I am choosing not to do it because I would not survive. Chastising feminized Norwegian menfor cooking food and showing emotions, he saw himself as akin to a Japanese banzai warrior during the Second World War. He had previously described Japan as being an ideal state for its rejection ofmulticulturalism and Marxism in the 1970s." When asked why he had wept during the showing of his propaganda video, Breivik admits to being caught off guard. I wasn't prepared for that film,'' he said.It's a film that represents the fight and everything I love.'' For Breivik, the trial is a battle for his sanity. To him, being declared insane would undermine the political lynchpin which he has used to justify his wanton killing spree. So far though, experts have come to opposing conclusions on Breiviks mental state.
- Killers inspiration In preparation for the attack, Breivik admitted to reading more than 600 bomb-making guides on the Internet. He also paid particular attention to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. He studied terrorist and insurgency movements from around the world, and ironically found inspiration in Al-Qaeda, which he touted asthe most successful revolutionary movement in the world. Breivik described the decision toembrace martyrdom" as thekey to the successful resistance fight". In another bizarre turn which seemingly defies logic, Breivik claimed he had not intended to murder civilians when bombing the government headquarters in Oslo, killing eight. The Oslo bombing was also intended to be the apex of the attack. However, when the building failed to collapse, the Labor Party youth camp became his primary target. On the previous day, Breivik had described how his goal had been
to kill them all some 500 people in total by driving the predominantly teenaged camp participants on Utoya Island into the water to drown. Breivik had previously written off his victims as traitors for supporting immigration and multiculturalism. In another Al-Qaeda-inspired moment, Brevik had planned on beheading the former prime minister on camera. His trial is expected to last ten weeks. If he is found to be sane, Breivik faces a maximum sentence of 21 years in prison. If declared insane, a fate Breivik describes as worse than death, he would be remanded in a psychiatric institute for as long as is deemed necessary. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Exclusive: Disney film studio chief Ross steps down

(Reuters: Top News)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:56:39 AM
[unable to retrieve full-text content] LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rich Ross stepped
down as chairman of Walt Disney Co's movie studio after a less than three-year run that included the
release of "John Carter," one of the biggest flops in recent Hollywood history.
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13
More than 120 feared dead in Pakistan jet crash - CBS News
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Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:01:46 PM
Pakistani rescue workers and local residents search the site of a plane crash in Rawalpindi on April 20, 2012. (AAMIR QURESHI/Getty) (CBS/AP) ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani passenger jet with 127 people on board crashed into wheat fields Friday as it was trying to land in a thunder storm at an airport near the capital Islamabad, officials said. Sobbing relatives of those on the flight flocked to the airport as a government minister expressed little hope of finding survivors. The country's Civil Aviation Authority confirmed 112 deaths. Emergency workers used flashlights to search among smoldering wreckage and body parts for any sign of life at the crash site, which was just a few miles from the Benazir Bhutto International Airport. One rescue official asked villagers to bring him sheets to cover the dead. The aircraft was a Boeing 737200 operated by Bhoja Air, a domestic carrier that has just four planes and only resumed operations last month after suspending them in 2001 due to financial difficulties. The flight was traveling from the country's largest city of Karachi to the
Pakistani capital, officials said. It was the airline's first evening flight from Karachi, a Bhoja Air official said. Pakistani rescue workers and local residents search the site of a plane crash in Rawalpindi on April 20, 2012.(Credit: Getty Images) Relatives of those on the flight thronged the airline's counters at Karachi and Islamabad airports, crying. One man said on television that
two of the passengers, Sajjad Rizvi and Sania Abbas, were newlyweds flying to Islamabad for their honeymoon. Civil aviation officials had reported it was unlikely anybody had survived, said Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar. It was unclear whether any people on the ground were killed, but the crash happened in what appeared to be a relatively unpopulated rural area. A violent
rain, wind and thunder storm was lashing the capital at the time of the crash, which occurred about 6:40 p.m. local time. "It was really bad weather for a flight," said Navy captain Arshad Mahmood, who lives near the crash site. "The pilot was forced to move down to avoid clouds that were generating the lightening and thunder." Several farmers threshing wheat saw the craft burst into flames when it hit the ground.
"The flames leapt up like they were touching the sky," said Mohammad Zubair. The army declared an emergency and cordoned off the crash site TV footage showed wreckage of the plane, including parts of what looked like its engine and wing, up against the wall of a small building. Rescue officials were working in the dark, with many using flashlights as they combed MORE page 14
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"His face was swollen quite a bit. He had a protective cover over his nose. His lips were swollen and cut. And there were two vertical gashes on the back of his head," Robert Zimmerman said. Also testifying by phone, Zimmerman's wife Shelley said she did not believe that her husband would be a threat to the community if he were released. "No concern whatsoever," she said. Earlier in the hearing, Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, challenged lines in the affidavit such as "Zimmerman confronted Martin". State investigator Dale Gilbreath admitted he could have used a different word. The debate points to potential
difficulty in pinning down details of what happened in the moments leading up to the fatal gunshot. The exchange also led assistant state attorney Bernie de la Rionda to quip: "I'm sorry, I didn't know we were going to be trying the case today." De la Rionda asked Gilbreath about details of the night in question, running through the dramatic moments leading up to the shooting. Gilbreath pointed out that a 911 operator had advised Zimmerman not to pursue Martin, who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and who Zimmerman claimed was acting suspiciously. "He was told not to follow him, he continued on for a period of time I would say less than a
minute before he hung up, which is prior to the encounter between the two," Gilbreath said. When asked by the prosecuting attorney whether there was any evidence that suggests Zimmerman's original statement to police was not true, Gilbreith replied, simply: "Yes." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
the area. The last major plane crash in the country and Pakistan's worst ever occurred in July 2010 when an Airbus A321 aircraft operated by Airblue crashed in the hills overlooking Islamabad, killing all 152 people on board. A government investigation blamed the pilot for veering off course amid stormy weather. The impact of the crash was devastating, scorching a wide swath of the hillside and scattering wreckage over a kilometer (half-mile) stretch. Most bodies were so badly damaged that identification required DNA testing.
Bhoja Air started domestic operations in Pakistan in 1993 and eventually expanded to international flights to the United Arab Emirates in 1998. The company suspended operations in 2001 due to financial difficulties but resumed them in 2012. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Swedish charity sponsors Siberian parkour festival

Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:37:35 PM
Swedish charity sponsors Siberian parkour festival (RIA Novosti / Alexey Danichev)(9.1Mb) embed video Four Russian entrepreneurs have won grants from a Swedish charity-fund called "Playing for Change." -Their projects were selected by a special committee that came to Russia. The winners will enjoy
financial, organizational and media support. All the projects are aimed at improving the lives of Russian children and teenagers. They include a festival of safe parkour for teenagers in Siberia, a travelling library for kids, and entertainment shows in children's hospitals. -Parkour is a physical discipline focusing on efficient movement around obstacles. It was developed in France by David
Belle. The main purpose is to move through an environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping. This is the first time "Playing for Change" has held a competition in Russia. Previously, it has worked with social activists in Sweden and Ghana. Our aim is to unite the best from the commercial world and the best people from the social sector, Sara Damber, CEO of Playing for Change, told RT.After that, some
magic happens. I believe through this we can do some really effective change. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Computer-Inspired Perfumes - The De Facto Standard Fragrance Smells Like a New Macbook (TrendHunter.com)
(TREND HUNTER - The Latest Trends)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 8:17:03 AM
( TrendHunter.com) The De Facto Standard fragrance is made for the Apple fanatic. Inspired by a person's love for their Apple products, it emulates the smell of a brand new Macbook. A nostalgic scent, this...
Top News/ Food/
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COLORADO
spokesman Ryan Huff. Anyone caught smoking on campus will be ticketed, just as they would any other day, Huff said. That includes anyone with a medical marijuana card, which requires that consumption be in private. As ground crews applied the fertilizer early Friday, numbers were put up on light poles around the quad to help police keep track of potential problems. Signs were also posted warning trespassers they will be prosecuted. Philosophy major Julian Hirschbaum said it smelled like "somebody cut up a bunch of fish" and watered it. "It's pretty gross," he said. Off campus, Boulder police could also issue tickets for people smoking pot, and the Colorado State Patrol will be watching for any motorists under the influence, Huff said.
"This is not about the war on drugs. It isn't even about marijuana per se," insisted Hilliard, the university spokesman. "Ten thousand to 12,000 (people) doing anything in the academic heart of the campus would be a problem." Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Chinese billionaire's death sentence overturned - Los Angeles Times

(china - Google News)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:17:11 AM
Wall Street Journal Chinese billionaire's death sentence overturned Los Angeles Times BEUING -- China's highest court overturned a death sentence for Wu Ying, a 31-year-old billionaire convicted of fundraising fraud, China's official newswire reported on Friday. Wu's case has triggered a
high-profile controversy in China over the use... China Court Overturns Death Penalty for Tycoon in Fraud Case New York Times China Rejects Millionaire's Death Sentence Wall Street Journal China's supreme court rejects extycoon's death sentence in case that sparked... Washington Post San Francisco Chronicle- Reuters all 62 news articles
Hackers cripple Chinese website that covered political scandal Fox News
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:09:10 PM
Agni-V: China tries to provoke Agni-V fear, says it can hit Europe - Times of India
Submitted at 4/20/2012 9:01:04 AM
CTV.ca Hackers cripple Chinese website that covered political scandal Fox News AP BEIJING A massive hacker attack has crippled an overseas website that has reported extensively on China's biggest political turmoil in years, underscoring the pivotal role the Internet has played in the unfolding scandal. China Steps In to Steady Bo's City Wall Street Journal Hacker attack underlines Web role in China scandal The Associated Press all 828 news articles
Superfast Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs

(Cooking Light: Editor's Picks)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 3:00:00 AM
BBC News Agni-V: China tries to provoke Agni-V fear, says it can hit Europe
Times of India BEIJING: China's strategic experts and the official media are trying to provoke western countries saying the Agni-V missile has a longer range than India would admit, and it can hit
cities in Europe. In comments that are obviously authorized by the... Will India's missile test trigger arms race with China? BBC News Beijing responds calmly to India missile test Christian Science Monitor
Chinese envoy speaks peace a day after Agni-V test Daily News & Analysis AFP all 74 news articles
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Watch Allison Fishman make family-friendly spaghetti and meatballs in a fraction of the time.
16
Business/ Technology/
Hey Goldman Bankers, This Craigslist 'Missed Connection' Might Be About One Of You
Lisa Du (Business Insider)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:45:00 PM
To those of you alpha dogs reading at 200 West Streetwere you by chance walking out of the building at 3:30 pm this Wednesday? Did you see a young woman check you out? Did you check her out back? For longer than she checked you out? Well, she noticed, and now this 23 year old woman is taking her search to the Craigslist personals to look for her mysterious and handsome Goldman banker. ( h/t Dealbreaker) She posted the following ad on Craigslist: I was entering the building for the interview and you were leaving the building... around 3 30pm...and we looked at each other for a while... I looked back and you also looked
back.....actually I think you did longer. I thought you are cute to be a banker.... my interviewer was a female so no way to compare the cuteness of employees of the firm but I am pretty sure you are in the top tranche........ If you consider yourself among the "top tranche" of Goldman
lookers, please think about helping this anonymous lovestruck individual out. Answer her Craigslist ad > Please follow Clusterstock on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story
Here's Why Roger Clemens And Curt Schilling Blew Off The Big Fenway Park Celebration Today
Cork Gaines (Business Insider)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:48:00 PM
Donate to World Vision

Your gift to provide seeds, tools, and training will be multiplied 4
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Schilling wrote a letter addressed to "Red Sox Nation" ( via NESN.com), in which he Today is the 100th birthday for explained that he cannot attend Fenway Park and there will be a because "business at 38 Studios celebration that will include many has made my participation in the of the greatest players to ever 100th anniversary of Fenway Park wear a Boston Red Sox uniform. impossible." However, two of most important Of course, in addition to both players of the last 30 years, Roger having played important rolls in Clemens and Curt Schilling, the recent history of the Red Sox, turned down invitations to join the both have also had a love-hate party. relationship with the fans. So their According to USAToday.com, absence will be a bit more Clemens regrets not being able to conspicuous than that of others. attend "Big-time," but that his 17- Please follow Sports Page on year old son will be playing in a Twitter and Facebook. baseball tournament this weekend Join the conversation about this that Clemens does not want to story miss.
Business/ News Wire/ Food/
17
Why Housing Inventories Jobs Beat Foreclosures Are Falling - Wall Street as Housing-Market Journal (blog) Guide - Bloomberg
(housing - Google News)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:04:01 AM
CBS News Why Housing Inventories Are Falling Wall Street Journal (blog) With prices down by one-third from their peak (and by much more in the hardest hit housing markets), who wants to sell a house right now if they don't have to? That's especially true for the roughly 15% of homeowners who
are underwater on their... Why the housing recovery remains a long way off CBS News Florida's housing market shows positive trends in March 2012 Destin Log Housing struggles continue CNNMoney MarketWatch (press release)- Los Angeles Times- Washington Post all 445 news articles

Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:24:09 AM
Bloomberg Jobs Beat Foreclosures as Housing-Market Guide Bloomberg Employment levels may affect local US housing markets more
than the number of foreclosed homes, according to Shawn Snyder, a Citigroup Inc. economist. The CHART OF THE DAY shows the performance of the National Association of Home Builders/First... and more
This Chart Of Apple Vs. The S&P 500 Is Just Too Painful To Look At
Joe Weisenthal (Business Insider)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:45:06 PM
Tualatin rental-housing boom will make room for nearly 1000 residents - OregonLive.com
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:52:08 PM
Epoch Times | National, World, China, Sports, Entertainment News
Tualatin rental- housing boom will make room for nearly 1000 residents OregonLive.com TUALATIN -- Brace yourself,
city slickers -- a southwest suburb may be the next big thing in the Portland area's rental housing market. Tualatin is in talks for three major developments, city officials say. Two are expected to start building as soon as...
Online Features - May 2012

Submitted at 4/20/2012 3:00:00 AM
content] What's new in May at CookingLight.com
This is just getting too painful! Apple down over 1%, while the S&P is solidly positive. Apple shareholders, avert your eyes. Please follow Money Game on (Epoch Times | National, World, to the surface. China, Sports, Entertainment Google is once again on the hot Twitter and Facebook. News) seat for collecting user data Join the conversation about this through its Street View system. story Top Stories The United Nations Security Political combat continues to roil Council is mulling imposing the Chinese Communist Party, economic sanctions on both with widely publicized reports Sudan and South Sudan, after the that the top security official is African Unions peace mediator now under investigation, and that urged it to do something [...] an essay [...] This entry passed through the For the last 18 months, opinion Full-Text RSS service if this is p o l l s i n F r a n c e h a v e b e e n your content and you're reading it indicating that President Nicholas on someone else's site, please read Sarkozy will likely fail in his bid the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentfor re-election this year. only/faq.php#publishers. Five After Bo Xilai's fall from grace, Filters recommends: Donate to scandals about his past, and his Wikileaks. deserted wife and son, have come
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News Wire/
Secret Service Agent Joked About 'Checking Out' Palin

(FOXNews.com)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:00:09 PM
Ex-Secret Service agent offers insight on scandal Palin on GSA and government gone wild WASHINGTON One of the Secret Service supervisors ousted in the agency's ongoing prostitution scandal joked on Facebook that he was checking out former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as he protected her during the 2008 campaign. David Chaney, one of two supervisors forced out of the agency this week, wrote: "I was really checking her out, if you know what i (sic) mean?" after a friend commented on the picture posted in January 2009. In an interview with Fox News Thursday, Palin said the joke is on Chaney. "Well, check this out, buddy you're fired!" Palin said. Chaney posted at least two pictures of him with Palin, along with another in which a woman in a revealing bikini top stood in the background, looking at Chaney. The photo was captioned: "not in
front of my son." Details of the photos and comments were first reported Thursday by The Washington Post. Palin said the scandal is "a symptom of government run amok." "It's like, who's minding the store
around here?" Palin told Fox. "The president, for one, he better be wary, there, of when Secret Service is accompanying his family on vacation. They may be checking out the first lady instead of guarding her." Earlier Thursday, he White House had expressed renewed
confidence in the director of the Secret Service in the midst of the sordid scandal, which threatens to become a serious political distraction in an election year. A key lawmaker who oversees the Secret Service predicted more firings there soon. President Barack Obama's chief
spokesman, Jay Carney, noted that some Secret Service employees involved have already lost their jobs, just days into the government's formal investigation of the incident last weekend in Colombia, where Obama was to SECRET page 19
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attend a summit meeting. Carney also said the president's security in Cartagena was never compromised, and he asked for patience as official investigations continue. "Perhaps it would be in the interests of a complete and thorough and fair investigation not to make determinations about the conclusions of an investigation before they've even been reached," Carney said. "That's the president's position." The scandal arose ahead of the Summit of the Americas when at least some of 11 Secret Service employees brought prostitutes back to their Cartagena hotel. The agency has moved quickly to try to quell the embarrassing episode, forcing out three employees so far, including two supervisors. The supervisors were in the agency's uniformed division; one is a sergeant, according to a person familiar with Secret Service operations who refused to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the matter. Lawrence Berger, general counsel for the Federal Law Enforcement Officials Association, confirmed Thursday he is representing the supervisors, Chaney and Greg Stokes, but said he could not discuss details of the investigation. "I cannot comment because I have an obligation of confidentiality with my clients and I have to maintain that," Berger said. A third employee has resigned. The employees under investigation include members of
the agency's "jump teams," which are sent to sites to set up security in advance of the president's arrival. Others are on counterassault and counter-sniper teams. The majority of the group is believed to be based in the Washington area. Eight men remain suspended and have had their top-secret security clearances lifted. The scandal also involves about 10 military personnel and as many as 20 Colombian women. Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican and chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Thursday that more firings could be imminent. "I wouldn't be surprised if you saw more dismissals and more being forced out sooner rather than later," said King, who is being updated on the investigation by Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan. "You may see a few more today or tomorrow." Sen. Chuck Grassley, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he thought more people would be fired within "just a few days." "'I expect there will be more, but that's what the investigation is all about." Three U.S. military officials have said the military personnel include five Army Green Berets, two Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal technicians, two Marine dog handlers and an Air Force airman. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still under way.
An Air Force colonel and a military lawyer have gone to Colombia as part of the military investigation. The Secret Service probe has included interviews with the employees and hotel staff. King said investigators in Colombia have not been able to interview the women. A 24-year-old prostitute told The New York Times this week that the scandal became public after she fought over payment with one of the Secret Service employees, and it spilled out into the hallway of the Hotel Caribe on April 12. Jose Pena, a Cartagena taxi driver, told The Associated Press that he picked up the woman after the dispute. She said she left the hotel, where other members of the security detail and the White House press corps were staying, after she was paid $225. In Cartagena this week, sex workers and hotel staff were reluctant to speak about the incident, which has become an election year embarrassment in the U.S. Prostitution is legal in Colombia, and Cartagena thrives on the sex tourism industry, Mayor Campo Elias readily acknowledged, with hundreds of prostitutes available on any given night throughout the colonial walled city. In Washington, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who said she had not been briefed, called the incident "disgusting." "There has to be an investigation to see how this could have
happened, and those responsible should have to pay a price," Pelosi said. "But as with all these things, there are many people in the Secret Service who do their job responsibly, and we can't paint everyone with the same brush. But nonetheless, those people who were responsible have brought disgrace and it's disgusting." Rep. Randy Forbes, a Virginia Republican, called for leadership changes at the Secret Service. "I mentioned before, and I can't get a better analogy than baseball. You get three strikes," Forbes said. "They went over their budgets, they couldn't control their budget. They couldn't control who got in the White House. And now we're talking about just absolutely a fundamental principle of security planning you don't let the prostitutes in." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada suggested the problem lies with the judgment of those involved. "Understand this, there is not a committee hearing that's going to take the place or stop people from being stupid. There is not a bill we can pass to cause people to have common sense," Reid said. "Think about this. People that are here to protect the president, they go to Colombia and have a fight with a prostitute over how much she should be paid. That's either very stupid or a total lack of common sense." Another Republican lawmaker said Thursday that the Secret
Service incident raised questions about whether Obama was capably leading the government. "I don't sense that this president has shown that kind of managerial leadership," said Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama. During his daily briefing, Carney shot back: "That sounds very much like a lawmaker attempting to politicize something that is not at all political." ___ Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman, Jim Abrams, Julie Pace, Larry Margasak, Ken Thomas and Eileen Sullivan in Washington, Brian Witte in Annapolis, Md., Denise Lavoie in Boston and Frank Bajak in Cartagena, Colombia, contributed to this report. Print Email Share Comments Recommend Tweet Share This Article Newsletter Signup Sign up for free e-mail news alerts from FoxNews.com and FoxBusiness.com. Newsletter Signup This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks. SECRET page 21
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News Wire/
IMF to secure at least $400 billion in crisis funds

(Reuters: Top News)
confident we will reach this objective," EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner (From L-R) Brazil's President Olli Rehn told Reuters. D i l m a R o u s s e f f , R u s s i a n A G20 official, familiar with a President Dmitry Medvedev, draft of the communiqu the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan group of advanced and emerging Singh, Chinese President Hu countries was preparing for J i n t a o a n d S o u t h A f r i c a n release on Friday, said there President Jacob Zuma join their would be "firm commitments to hands together during a group increase resources available over photo for the BRICS Summit in $400 billion." New Delhi March 29, 2012. Worries about the euro zone's Credit: Reuters/B Mathur debt crisis have dominated talks By Jan Strupczewski and Sven a m o n g f i n a n c e o f f i c i a l s i n Egenter Washington this week for the WASHINGTON| Fri Apr 20, semiannual meetings of the IMF 2012 12:41pm EDT and World Bank. In a reminder of (Reuters) - The Group of 20 the financial stress, 10-year nations on Friday were poised to government bond yields in Spain commit at least $400 billion to topped 6 percent for the third time b u l k u p t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l this week. Monetary Fund's war chest to Enlarging the IMF's coffers could fight any widening of Europe's offer solace to nervous investors debt crisis. that any widening of the crisis The IMF has been aiming to raise could be contained. at least $400 billion, which would At a G20 dinner meeting on double its lending capacity, to Thursday there was "very heavy ensure it could come to the aid of EU bashing," and Spain drew countries facing economic and particular scrutiny, according to a financial fallout. G20 source. Brazil said emerging IMF chief Christine Lagarde said markets were pushing for more the fund had won pledges of at IMF voting power in return for least $357 billion, but a final cash, while Canada pressed the figure appeared likely to go much G 2 0 t o c o n s i d e r l e s s e n i n g higher. Europe's hold on the IMF's purse "We have been aiming at around strings. $400 billion or beyond, and I am Lagarde said earlier this week
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:41:04 AM
that the global lender had already secured about $320 billion from Europe, Japan and some unnamed countries. On Friday she added $15 billion from both Britain and South Korea to the list, $7 billion from Australia, and $4 billion from Singapore, while Russia said it would contribute $10 billion, bringing total pledges to $371 billion. Support from Russia, China and Brazil has been seen as crucial to doubling the IMF's war chest. An international diplomat said that in all, emerging nations have lined up at least $100 billion. The IMF has warned the euro zone's debt crisis presents the gravest risk to the global economic expansion, and financial markets worry that Spain and Italy may require bailouts, following Greece, Ireland and Portugal. EMERGING MARKET FRUSTRATIONS Brazil said emerging nations want fresh pledges of more IMF voting power written into the G20 communiqu to recognize their growing clout on the international financial stage. These countries are frustrated over delays particularly in the United States in implementing an agreement to lessen Europe's sway at the fund and lift China into the No. 3
voting slot. "What we want and demand in every meeting is that this commitment be reaffirmed," Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Thursday after a meeting of officials from the socalled BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Mantega drove the point even more forcefully in a speech prepared for delivery on Saturday to the IMF's steering committee, saying it was no longer enough to simply repeat that voting reforms are crucial for the effectiveness of the IMF. "Progress on this front has been limited and slow," he said in the text. Canada, meanwhile, was pushing against Europe's dominance on the IMF's 24-member board when dealing with the rescue funds. It proposed European board members decide how to use Europe's share of the financing, and if the amount pledged by nonEuropeans was also needed, then non-European members should be allowed to set the loan conditionality on that portion of the aid. This drive reflects growing concern among non-European countries over the fairness in the global lender's dealings with
Europe. The region has the largest single bloc on the IMF board and the fund is headed by a French woman. The international diplomat said China could contribute $60 billion, matching Japan's pledge. Saudi Arabia would chip in a little less than China, while Brazil was likely to contribute between $10 billion and $20 billion, the diplomat said. This would easily vault the funding drive over Lagarde's minimum goal of $400 billion. The firewall would complement the $1 trillion in emergency funds for Europe agreed upon by the EU leaders last month, which was another precondition for countries bolstering the IMF resources. (Writing by Stella Dawson and Tim Ahmann; additional reporting by Walter Brandimarte and Leika Kihara; Editing by Neil Stempleman) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
News Wire/ Featured/
21
Feminist Group Declares War On ... Lego?

(FOXNews.com)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:00:09 PM
The new Lego Friends line rolled out in December features LadyFigs, curvier takeoffs on the traditional boxy figurines that live in a place called Heartlake City. Shown above is a set depicting "Stephanie's Outdoor Bakery." (LEGO.com) A feminist group has identified the enemy, and it is ... LEGOs? The Danish company behind the interlocking plastic building blocks loved by children since 1949 has a meeting set for Friday with a Brooklyn group ticked off with LEGOs product line designed to appeal to girls. The new LEGO Friends rolled out in December featuring LadyFigs, curvier takeoffs on the traditional boxy LEGO men. Construction sets include a hot tub, a splash pool, a beauty parlor, an outdoor bakery and a cool convertible," as well as an inventor's workshop. But the SPARK Movement objects to the "LadyFigs," the female version of the little figures who man the spaceships, trucks and forts children create. "Ladyfigs" are somewhat
anatomically correct, which hypersexualizes girls, according to the group. "They have little breasts and they have fancy hair," the organization's executive director, Dana Edell, told FoxNews.com. "And it just disturbs us that this is the image that they want girls to see." Edell also objects to what she calls stereotyping of preferred pastimes for girls. "What it's doing is telling girls that this is what's important to you," Edell said of the beauty parlor and hot tub sets. "Girls aren't building space shuttles, they're getting their nails done." But not everyone thinks LEGOs for girls should have parents ready to snap. "They have little breasts and they have fancy hair ... it just disturbs us that this is the image that they want girls to see." - Dana Edell, SPARK Movement Dr. Leonard Sax, author of "Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex Differences," said gender differences are natural, and that while some girls may prefer traditional LEGOs, there is nothing wrong with the company offering what it sees as a girl-
friendly version. According to Sax, even animals in the wild show differences along gender lines from the earliest ages. "These particular women's groups are disconnected from reality in their desire to promote the idea that these gender differences are taught by the patriarchy or through socialization," Sax, who also authored "Boys Adrift" and "Girls on the Edge," told FoxNews.com. "The sexualization of children is indeed an important issue, but this is not a part of that." Edell's group has gotten 55,000 signatures as of Thursday decrying the gender-specific LEGO sets. That was enough to leverage a meeting with top LEGO executives in Manhattan at 10:30 a.m. Friday. "We agreed to a private meeting with the organization upon their request to hear their feedback on our new product line," LEGO Systems Brand Relations Director Michael McNally told FoxNews.com. "We value external perspectives -- critical or complimentary -- as inspiration for exploring development of the LEGO brand." But the company may listen more closely to customers than critics.
McNally said the girl-targeted line is selling well, and generating positive feedback from parents. Others told FoxNews.com they were puzzled why some oppose the toymaker's decision to provide a more diverse product line. "I understand that they're offended by the limited, oldfashioned way in which LEGO has feminized the new line -- with traditional feminine characters and colors -- but they should embrace the fact that LEGO is providing new choices for families and children," said Nicole Ciandella, whose blog, Free-MarketFeminism.com, regularly takes on issues like gender, politics and economics. "SPARK seems to oppose any expression of traditional, oldfashioned femininity, but why? Shouldn't parents have the option of purchasing toys that express traditional masculinity, traditional femininity, and everything in between?" LEGO isn't suggesting that girls be limited to playing with traditionally-feminine toys, but is instead giving parents options, Ciandella said. "The beauty of the free market is that it enables consumers to make their own choices about the environments they wish to create
in their own homes." Edell, meanwhile, said she's looking forward to telling LEGO executives to better focus their efforts to producing toys that expands the "mind and creativity" of girls and boys alike. "Our world has become more and more sexualized," Edell said. "And the toy industry has become that way as well." Print Email Share Comments Recommend Tweet Related Opinion Let kids and parents, not Change.org, decide on LEGO Friends dolls Are toys that foster gender identity inappropriate? Share This Article Newsletter Signup Sign up for free e-mail news alerts from FoxNews.com and FoxBusiness.com. Newsletter Signup This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
SECRET
Cotton Closes Gap in Arkansas House Primary

Michael Warren (The Weekly Standard)
It's been a good week for Republican House candidate Tom Cotton.
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News Wire/
Federal Warrant IssuedFor 1980s 'Mountain Man'

(FOXNews.com)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:00:09 PM
This undated photo provided by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office shows Dan Nichols, one of the infamous Mountain Men who gained notoriety in the early 1980s for kidnapping an Olympic athlete and holding her hostage. AP This Dec. 18, 1984 file photo shows Don Nichols, right, standing with his son, Dan Nichols, left, as they pled not guilty in court in Virginia City, Mont. Standing with them is attorney, Steve Ungar. AP Next Slide Previous Slide HELENA, Mont. One of the infamous "mountain men" who in the 1980s eluded authorities for five months by living in the wilderness is on the run from the law again -- and considered "armed and dangerous." The U.S. attorney's office in Montana has filed federal drug and weapons charges against Dan Nichols, who with his father was convicted in kidnapping a world class athlete in 1984, killing a would-be rescuer and hiding in the remote mountains northwest of Yellowstone National Park. An indictment unsealed Wednesday alleges Nichols and
two other men were involved in a statewide marijuana distribution ring that netted nearly $1.8 million. The news comes as his 81 -year-old father, Don, comes up for a parole hearing next week. Federal marshals said they are now looking for the younger Nichols, who was previously wanted in state court for not
appearing earlier this year on relatively minor drug charges filed after his arrest at a rock concert. The new federal charges allege a much larger conspiracy. "He should definitely be considered armed and dangerous," said Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal for Montana, Rod Ostermiller. "He is obviously someone who
hasn't been compliant with law enforcement in the past." Ostermiller wouldn't say whether authorities believe Nichols has taken to the woods again. But he warned the public to be wary of the 5-foot-11, 150-pound Nichols. "I think there is some definite safety issues involved regarding this individual," the marshal said.
"That is just one thing we can't stress enough." The original, bizarre crime gripped the state and the nation when the father and son abducted world-class biathlete Kari Swenson in 1984 while she was on a training run in the mountains FEDERAL page 24
News Wire/ World News/
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Zimmerman gets bail, apologizes to Martin family

(Reuters: Top News)
release, suggested bail of $1 million. Trayvon Martin's parents, who By Barbara Liston and Chris divorced in 1999, left the court Francescani stone-faced and with arms locked, SANFORD, Florida| Fri Apr 20, declining to answer questions 2012 12:21pm EDT from reporters. (Reuters) - George Zimmerman "They are devastated" by the bail, apologized to the family of the family attorney Benjamin Crump black Florida teenager he shot told reporters, adding that Tracy dead in a surprise witness stand Martin had tears in his eyes a p p e a r a n c e o n F r i d a y a n d throughout the hearing. moments later a judge agreed he "And it was devastating that he could be released on $150,000 got to give a self-serving apology bail in the racially charged case to help him get a bond," Crump that has captivated the United said. "They (the parents) were States. very outraged at that." "I wanted to say I am sorry for the The judge set a number of loss of your son," Zimmerman, conditions including electronic dressed in a suit but still shackled monitoring that he said would around the waist and wrists, told prevent Zimmerman from being t h e p a r e n t s o f 1 7 - y e a r - o l d released on Friday. Trayvon Martin, Tracy Martin His release would be a "several and Sybrina Fulton, who were in day process," defense attorney the Sanford, Florida, court. Mark O'Mara said. "I did not know how old he was. I Earlier in the hearing, thought he was a little bit younger Zimmerman's wife and father told than I am. And I did not know if the court Zimmerman was a nonhe was armed or not," said violent person and they would Zimmerman, 28, the son of a help ensure he does not flee white father and a Peruvian should he be released on bail for a mother. second-degree murder charge in Moments later, Circuit Judge Martin's death. Kenneth Lester Jr. set bail of "I've never known him to be $150,000. Zimmerman's defense violent at all, unless he was lawyer had requested bail of no provoked, and then he would turn m o r e t h a n $ 1 5 , 0 0 0 a n d the other cheek," father Robert prosecutors, who had opposed his Z i m m e r m a n t e s t i f i e d u n d e r
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:21:40 AM
defense questioning. 'STAND YOUR GROUND' Zimmerman shot and killed the unarmed Martin in what he said was self-defense following a confrontation in a gated community in the central Florida city of Sanford on February 26. Police initially declined to arrest Zimmerman, citing Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force when they believe they are in danger of getting killed or suffering great bodily harm. But a special prosecutor later assigned to the case charged Zimmerman with second-degree murder and he turned himself in on April 12 when he was booked into the Seminole County Jail. Zimmerman had been in hiding for more than six weeks between the shooting and turning himself in. Thousands of people had demonstrated in rallies in Sanford and around the nation to demand Zimmerman's arrest and criticize the police. Civil rights activists say racial prejudice played a role in Zimmerman's decision to view Martin with suspicion and in the police decision not to make an arrest. Zimmerman's relatives and supporters deny he is racist and say has been unfairly vilified.
They say he feared for his life during his altercation with Martin and was justified in using deadly force. According to 911 recordings, Zimmerman called police on the night of February 26 to report what he called "a real suspicious guy," then followed Martin against the advice of a police operator. Zimmerman told police he was walking back to his truck when Martin attacked him, flooring him with one punch to the nose. Martin then repeatedly slammed Zimmerman's head against a concrete walkway, Zimmerman's brother and father have said. Zimmerman then pulled out a 9mm handgun he was licensed to carry and shot Martin once in the chest. (Reporting by Tom Brown, Barbara Liston and Chris Francescani; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Vicki Allen) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
BJP claims Centre is in coma after Basu speaks of policy paralysis IBNLive.com
(Nation - Google News)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:19:25 PM
IBNLive.com BJP claims Centre is in coma after Basu speaks of policy paralysis IBNLive.com New Delhi: India's Chief Economic Advisor Dr Kaushik Basu's statements on policy paralysis led to the BJP accusing the government of being in a coma and the government blaming the Opposition for the situation. Boardroom corners, industry chambers,... Major allies no more with UPA on reforms: BJP Hindustan Times Govt will work to instill confidence among investors, says Montek Deccan Herald Kaushik Basu's remark on reforms triggers political slugfest Times of India Outlook- Economic Times- India Today all 226 news articles
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World News/
FEDERAL
above the resort town of Big Sky. The elder Nichols was reportedly looking for a wife for his then 19year-old son. The so-called mountain men had been living continuously in the woods for a year prior to the abduction, growing hidden makeshift gardens, poaching game and generally staying out of sight. The scheme quickly fell apart when would-be rescuers stumbled upon the camp. In the melee, Dan Nichols accidentally shot Swenson. An armed standoff ensued, and the elder Nichols gunned down Alan Goldstein. The Nichols evaded capture by living in the Madison Range, until they surrendered when a Madison County sheriff caught up with them. Swenson, despite diminished lung capacity from the gunshot wound, went on to win a bronze medal in the world biathlon championships. The new charges against Nichols include allegations the felon illegally amassed dozens of rifles, assault weapons, pistols, and
shotguns while engaged in drug crimes. Christopher Wayne Williams and Christopher Lindsey, two of the five cofounders of the now-shuttered Montana Cannabis statewide medical marijuana operation, are also charged, but they are not on the run. Drug Enforcement Agency agent Wesley Smith said Thursday at a sentencing of Richard Flor, another Montana Cannabis cofounder, that Nichols worked for Williams at the operation's Helena marijuana nursery overseeing the care of hundreds of pot plants. Federal agents raided the nursery as part of a crackdown on medical marijuana operations last year, and Smith said agents found a handgun in the camper that Nichols had been living in next to the nursery. Federal authorities say the trio was involved in an operation that grew and sold marijuana in several Montana cities from 2006 until 2011. This came at a time when many in the state thought they were legally running medical marijuana businesses under a state
law. All of the Montana Cannabis coowners, who also ran the Montana Caregivers Association, have been indicted or pleaded guilty to federal drug charges. Print Email Share Comments Recommend Tweet Share This Article Newsletter Signup Sign up for free e-mail news alerts from FoxNews.com and FoxBusiness.com. Newsletter Signup This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
The Realist Prism: To Reset Latin America Policy, U.S. Must Think Big
(World Politics Review: Articles)
thing, compounded by how the administration organizes the U.S. Submitted at 4/20/2012 5:36:00 AM foreign policy apparatus. The U.S. policy toward the Western president had an initial opening at Hemisphere has suffered a series his first Summit of the Americas of setbacks over the past month. in Trinidad, in 2009, to reset what The first, the Washington summit had become a very problematic earlier this month between relationship between the United Presidents Barack Obama and States and most of the rest of the Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, was hemisphere during the George W. simply lackluster. The second, last B u s h a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . M o s t w e e k e n d s S u m m i t o f t h e regional leaders also made it clear A m e r i c a s i n C a r t a g e n a , they understood that, given the Colombia, was an outright fiasco. global financial crisis and the Instead of laying out a common challenges of winding down agenda for the hemisphere and Americas involvement in two rebuilding Americas leadership Middle Eastern wars, Obama role in the region, the U.S. found could not immediately pivot U.S. itself isolated in a diplomatic foreign policy to the region. ... corner over Cuba, to say nothing This entry passed through the of the Secret Service prostitution Full-Text RSS service if this is scandal that soon overshadowed your content and you're reading it the proceedings. on someone else's site, please read More generally, Obamas Latin the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentAmerica policy is suffering from only/faq.php#publishers. Five a lack of what George H.W. Bush Filters recommends: Donate to famously called the vision Wikileaks.
Test by fire - Indian Express

Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:38:13 PM
AFP Test by fire Indian Express
If Thursday's test of the longrange ballistic missile Agni V is a technical triumph for the Defence Research and Development Organisation, the muted world reaction to it marks a major
s u c c e s s f o r I n d i a ' s r e c e n t club' Rediff diplomacy. The missing link, No cap on Agni missile projects, however,... says India Daily News & Analysis HT's most read stories Hindustan All India Radio- Times of India Times all 74 news articles 'Agni-5 has put India in the elite
World News/ Technology/
25
Ballistic Missile Defense an Essential Element of India's Strategic Calculus

(World Politics Review: Articles)
Three cars involved in concerted plan, Birmingham riot deaths trial told - The Guardian
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:13:44 PM
development of defensive missile platforms, such as the Akash Submitted at 4/20/2012 5:41:00 AM surface-to-air missile system. As Since 2006, India has embarked currently conceived, the Indian on a robust ballistic missile missile shield revolves around the defense (BMD) program aimed at Prithvi and Akash missiles, with a two-tier defense. In that time, the Prithvi designed to intercept t h e D e f e n s e R e s e a r c h a n d incoming missiles at 30-50 miles D e v e l o p m e n t O r g a n i z a t i o n (exo-atmospheric interception) (DRDO) has conducted a number and the Akash designed to operate of successful missile-interception at a range of 10-20 miles (endotests, with the latest coming in atmospheric interception). ... February. Indias plan for missile This entry passed through the defense, however, dates back to Full-Text RSS service if this is the early 1980s, when it started its your content and you're reading it Integrated Missile Development on someone else's site, please read Program (IGDMP). the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentIGDMP envisaged an array of only/faq.php#publishers. Five offensive missile platforms, such Filters recommends: Donate to as the Prithvi and Agni ballistic Wikileaks. missiles, as well as the
The Guardian Three cars involved in concerted plan, Birmingham riot deaths trial told The Guardian Three men who were run over and killed during last summer's riots were murdered by eight men in a "concerted plan" involving a trio of cars, each with a role to perform, a court heard on Friday. Haroon Jahan, 20, Shazad Ali, 30,
and his brother Abdul... Three Asians 'murdered during riots were lured to their deaths by killers... Daily Mail 'Concerted plan' led to riot deaths Belfast Telegraph Chariot of death: Shocking footage of car mowing down three men shown in court... Mirror.co.uk BBC News- The Press Association all 522 news articles
Retro Rebel Eyewear Ads (UPDATE) - The Ray-Ban Never Hide Ad Campaign Has Nostalgic Attitude (TrendHunter.com)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 8:33:02 AM
( TrendHunter.com) The latest Ray-Ban Never Hide ad campaign concentrates on the timeless appeal this eyewear brand has appropriated since its inception in 1937. Known for its classic frames, Ray-Ban continues to hold...
Phone hacking scandal: Wayne Rooney among 46 new claimants to sue Murdoch's ... - Daily Mail
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:45:41 AM
Daily Mail Phone hacking scandal: Wayne Rooney among 46 new claimants
to sue Murdoch's... Daily Mail By Emily Allen Wayne Rooney is among the celebrities to issue damages claims in the latest round of phone-hacking litigation. The
footballer's action is one of 46 cases, many formally launched in the last few days, which are due to be tried at London's... Wayne Rooney and Matt Dawson launch phone hacking claims
Metro Emma Noble among 46 suing News of the World over phone hack claims Evening Standard Rooney launches phone-hacking claim The Guardian
all 378 news articles
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World News/
BSP slams Akhilesh`s Judge declares Christian first month in office - radio ad "political" Telegraph.co.uk Zee News
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:31:08 PM
The Hindu BSP slams Akhilesh`s first month in office Zee News Lucknow: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Friday attacked the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) government in Uttar Pradesh, accusing it of protecting lumpen elements and of failing to
check spiralling crime in the state. State president of the BSP... Lucknow to host industry conclave in May Business Standard Akhilesh trying to become people's CM Times of India Akhilesh, 12 others declared elected unopposed to council Hindustan Times The Hindu- Indian Express all 50 news articles
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:55:38 AM
Telegraph.co.uk Judge declares Christian radio ad "political" Telegraph.co.uk The proposed 30-second advert for Premier Christian Radio called on listeners to report their experiences as part of a campaign for "a fairer society". By Victoria Ward It was blocked by the Radio
Advertising Clearance Centre (RACC), because it was... Christian radio station loses advert High Court bid BBC News Christian radio loses ad challenge The Press Association Christian radio station loses appeal over banned advert The Guardian ChristianToday all 199 news articles
PNG leader pledges to make most of resources - Moree Champion

Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:26:35 PM
Defence failed wounded diggers: review - Ninemsn

Court documents allege Peter Slipper made advances towards James Ashby at the ... - The Daily Telegraph
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:12:15 AM
to normal life and compensation for soldiers wounded in... Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:53:57 AM Women warriors fight a conflict Sydney Morning Herald of fear - female soldiers on the Defence failed wounded diggers: frontline NEWS.com.au review Forgotten Diggers' lone battle Ninemsn Sydney Morning Herald Australian veterans wounded in Defence failed Diggers Brisbane wars over the past decade have Times not been adequately supported by The Canberra Times the Defence system, a review has all 70 news articles claimed. Defence failed when it came to rehabilitation, transition
NEWS.com.au Court documents allege Peter Slipper made advances towards James Ashby at the... The Daily Telegraph James Ashby has lodged a sexual harassment complaint against Peter Slipper. Picture: Megan Slade Source: The Daily Telegraph IT started at Peter
Slipper's comfortable Sunshine Coast home, court documents allege. James Ashby, 33, had been invited to the... Speaker denies sexual misconduct claims Ninemsn Speaker denies sex scandal claims Herald Sun Peter Slipper to defend claims of sexual advances Perth Now all 30 news articles
The Age PNG leader pledges to make most of resources Moree Champion THE Papua New Guinean Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill, launched his election campaign last night, promising to use the country's multiplying natural resource wealth to improve education and health services, roads and provide greater protection against... PNG leader moves to sack electoral commissioner ABC Online Gillard phones PNG's leader over election Ninemsn PNG government may sack elections chief SBS Radio Australia News all 49 news articles
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27
Kaazing Launches WebSocket Platform in Amazon's EC2 Cloud

Scott M. Fulton (ReadWriteWeb)
need to communicate with their servers. But to do it on the Web, you have to retrofit it - and that's Submitted at 4/20/2012 3:30:00 AM what Kaazing is known for doing. It's the stateful communications "HTTP protocol was originally protocol that HTTP lacked from designed in the 1990s as a way to the very beginning, and now it's a exchange documents. Because of key component of the latest i t s d e s i g n , i t ' s a s t a t e l e s s , versions of Internet Explorer, sessionless, bidirectional, halfC h r o m e a n d F i r e f o x . T h e duplex [protocol]. Meaning, it's a H T M L 5 d e b a t e h a s c a s t walkie-talkie model," explains WebSocket as a future component Yuan Weigel, Kaazing's vice of every Web browser and every president of marketing, in an real-time Web app. Now its interview with ReadWriteWeb. "I principal architects at Kaazing are talk, you wait; you talk, I wait. c h a n g i n g t h e b a l l g a m e f o r And it's a request/response, d e v e l o p e r s , l a u n c h i n g t h i s meaning unless the client makes a morning its Kaazing Gateway request for you to talk, you cannot HTML5 Edition on Amazon EC2. come talk to me, the server. That's S u d d e n l y t h e m a k e r s o f just the way the Web was MMORPG games, stock trading d e s i g n e d . " apps and workforce management The seed for Kaazing as a tools won't need to run their company grew from its founders sessions with on-premise servers original response to HTML5 and middleware. caretaker Ian Hickson's call for a You've already seen Kaazing two-way, bidirectional protocol push live data to running apps that eliminated the need to open over the Web. That doesn't seem up separate HTTP connections for like a new technology on the e a c h a n d e v e r y e x c h a n g e d surface, and in fact, it's not. It's element of data. First, this deflates actually a much older technology the bandwidth consumed by Web - s e s s i o n - b a s e d , s e n d i n g apps by more than 90% - a characters from hosts to terminals. deflation which is absolutely It's what real-world applications necessary if an "Internet of
system all the way to the browser. There's no translator that needs to sit in the middle. Imagine you're at a United Nations meeting, and you can both speak the same language!" If you're a Web app developer, you may already know all this. Today's news of the deployment of Kaazing's HTML5 WebSocket Platform on Amazon EC2 ups the ante for any serious player looking to capture the future Things" is ever to take shape. market of inter-device Second, it eliminates the need for communication. By putting applications servers and much of Kaazing on DevPay, a broader the back-end middleware (or is it base of small developers can "middle-end backware?") that's e x p e r i m e n t w i t h r e a l - t i m e needed to facilitate messaging communication for the first time, b e t w e e n c o n v e n t i o n a l on a pay-as-you-go basis. applications. That's not the best Weigel tells us Kaazing has news for IBM, which foresees the added some enterprise features to entire IoT as a middleware the platform as well, such as application. single sign-on, load balancing, "Today, as you know, app servers failover and disaster recovery. It sit between the back end and the also adds something called browser," Weigel explains, "and WebSocket emulation support, the browser only speaks HTTP. which enables the cloud to work The back end speaks whatever s o m e s e r i o u s m a g i c . Q u i t e TCP protocol - JMS, AMQP, literally, this feature presents whatever. So by having Kaazing WebSocket-like functionality to sitting in the middle, it actually ancient browsers that are not, and allows you to extend data that's will never become, HTML5-ready flowing, let's say, within a JMS - browsers like IE6. "It's so close
that our customers cannot detect a difference between what's emulated and what's native," says Weigel. "So when our enterprise customers choose to deploy a WebSocket-based application, they don't have to worry about whether this is going to work. They can just code to the standard WebSocket API and not have to worry about the browser at the other end." "In the past, developers spend 75% of their time on glue code. How do you communicate from the browser to the application server? What do you send back and forth? And all these things are not the things that make the application or the user experience compelling," she continues. "It's simply things that you have to do to make it work in a Web environment. Whereas with WebSocket, because you don't have to worry about the communication layer, you can now focus on developing really compelling user experiences - the stuff that makes the customer loyal. It really shifts how your company invests in development time."
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Technology/ Sports/
With Backing of Donors and Facebook, Don't Expect a Big CISPA Fight
Dave Copeland (ReadWriteWeb)
Umenow.com and Collegiate Nation. "Facebook in particular is not well positioned to make any Submitted at 4/20/2012 3:59:49 AM promises regarding its role in Joel Kaplan, Facebook's vice protecting privacy. Let's not president of U.S. public policy, forget that this is the same wrote in a blog post last week that company with a long history of the company has "no intention" of playing fast and loose with sharing "sensitive personal people's privacy settings, information with the government including allowing third-party in the name of protecting apps and games to extract cybersecurity," explaining why personal information and photos the company is supporting CISPA without consent." but did not support SOPA, which The Cyber Intelligence Sharing would have required such sharing. and Protection Act of 2011 is a T h e q u e s t i o n f o r p r i v a c y bigger, badder version of the Stop advocates is whether or not Online Piracy Act that was Facebook can be trusted."CISPA defeated earlier this year. One of w o u l d e r o d e e x i s t i n g l e g a l the biggest differences this time protections and leave the door around, however, is that some of wide open for the government to the big tech companies that obligate companies to hand over threatened to go dark if SOPA sensitive personal information moved forward are jumping to without a subpoena or warrant." - s u p p o r t C I S P A . P r i v a c y Evelyn Castillo-Bach, the founder Advocates Want Clearer Rules of two private social networks. On Monday, ReadWriteWeb's "A company's promise that it will D a n R o w i n s k i w r o t e a b o u t not abuse its authority to disclose everything you need to know user information is not legal a b o u t C I S P A , b u t f o r o u r protection for the public," said purposes, the biggest difference is Evelyn Castillo-Bach, the founder that the tech companies would of the private social networks voluntarily share information with
will maintain their standards of safeguarding and protecting private data." The problem is that the language of the bill is vague and leaves lots of issues unresolved or illdefined. Castillo-Bach says she believes smaller social networks and social networks that put a premium on user privacy - such as the ones she runs - may be particularly vulnerable under certain interpretations of CISPA. the government. The government "CISPA would erode existing also promises to warn tech legal protections and leave the companies about pending cyber d o o r w i d e o p e n f o r t h e attacks, which is the obvious government to obligate companies incentive for companies like to hand over sensitive personal Facebook to support it. information without a subpoena or "Facebook's main gripe with warrant, with no rights accorded SOPA - that it stifled innovation to the individual to sue the and openness on the internet and company for wrongfully targeting forced companies like itself to them for interception, and no right provide the government with to know that one has been more access to private data of intercepted," she said. "This users - is apparently not an issue w o u l d u n d e r m i n e , i f n o t with CISPA," said Kate Brodock, altogether destroy, the ability of Executive Director of Digital & new startups with privacy-focused S o c i a l M e d i a a t S y r a c u s e brands to exist or compete with University. "With no requirements the giant social networks, or other to share data with the government, tech companies - that are adthey are able to suggest that they based, use tracking as a core
feature of their business model, and don't have a strong commitment to genuine privacy protection, anonymity or total control of one's personal data and communication." Don't Brace For the Big Fight The anti-SOPA backlash was so strong that the bill, and its Senate counterpart, the Protect IP Act, were withdrawn in January. But with big tech - and big money supporting CISPA, the opposition has more of a grassroots feel to it. Sopatrack, which monitored contributions and positions of lawmakers on SOPA and PIPA, has been reconfigured to track CISPA positions and related campaign contributions. A new feature also tracks the percentage of time individual lawmakers vote "with the money." According to Sopatrack, groups supporting CISPA have donated $31.6 million to lawmakers, as opposed to $2.4 million from groups opposing CISPA. On average, Congress votes "with the money" 73% of the time. Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
Bahrain protesters rally ahead of F1 weekend

(Sports News Headlines Yahoo! News)
Tens of thousands of antigovernment protesters on Friday flooded a major highway in
Bahrain demanding a halt to the Formula One race on its first day of practice runs, as the Gulf
kingdom's crown prince vowed the country's premier prestige sporting event would go ahead.
Technology/
29
As Bahrain F1 Protests Continue, Tech Sponsors Go Along For The Ride

Mike Butcher (TechCrunch)
movement, in the very city the F1 action is taking place. Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:08:20 PM Meanwhile, the cuddly image of As the newer crop of Internet and a Rovio Angry Birds character is mobile technology companies currently doing laps on the g r a d u a l l y b e c o m e t h e b i g Bahrain circuit and a major tech industries of tomorrow, they are VC is sponsoring one of the slowly entering the world of teams. corporate sponsorship, previously Now, no-one is out to call anyone the province of older giants like names here, but lets review: IBM and Cisco. Its an area not when South Africa still touted for the faint-hearted. Weve Apartheid in the 1970s/80s sports already seen IBM come under fire p e o p l e a n d s p o n s o r s w e r e for backing the US Masters, run encouraged to avoid the country. by a golf club that refused But apparently its OK for membership to IBMs CEO based companies associated with the simply on her body parts, when tech industry to associate with a people with other kinds of parts sporting event in Bahrain, even as normally get let in. Interesting the free press is banned from the choice there guys. country and activists are beaten Now we have a new issue on the street and tear gassed. altogether. The Formula One Finnish Formula 1 driver and circus is staging a Grand Prix in ( a p p a r e n t l y ) A n g r y B i r d s Bahrain right now, a nation not enthusiast Heikki Kovalainen normally associated with the most recently agreed a sponsorship and fabulous human rights record, co-branding deal with the gaming exactly. Admittedly there are few company (see images). Heikki s u c h t h i n g s a s u n t a r n i s h e d and Rovio are also planning to countries, but right now as we sell related merchandise around you read this in fact citizens in the theme of racing. B a h r a i n a r e a c t i v e l y All good clean fun though the d e m o n s t r a t i n g f o r g r e a t e r question remains, is Rovio happy democratic reforms, along the with its cuddly birds being l i n e s o f t h e A r a b S p r i n g associated with an event that
seems utterly tone deaf to the violent suppression of prodemocracy protests going on nearby? We reached out to Rovios Peter Vesterbacka for comment and he responded thus: Interesting. Meanwhile, an unfortunate third party to be literally dragged along for the F1 ride is Mangrove Capital, long time backer of some home-run tech companies like Skype, Nimbuzz, Jamendo, Seatwave and others. Mangroves green splash logo appears on the side of Renaults F1 car, thus: How, you ask? Well, Gerard Lopez, co-founder and managing partner of Mangrove Capital Partners, acquired a majority stake in the Renault F1 Team back in 2009 via his other company, Genii Capital, a Luxembourg-based investment firm. Indeed, he helped secure the teams future as that year Renault was about to drop out of Formula 1 entirely after 35 years in the sport. We havent had any official comment from Mangrove but privately we hear at least a few of
the guys there are, how can we put this, pretty damn uncomfortable with the whole situation. Perhaps its to be hoped that Rovio and Mangrove consider their continuing involvement in F1 quite carefully, given that organisations continuing disinterest in the plight of ordinary people in their host nation. Dont get me wrong. Im not here to pick on these guys merely to point out that the newer tech industry is now playing at the level where these kinds of conflicts are inevitably going to arise and where there needs to be plenty of thought about who you get into bed with when you sponsor something. Is it too late for them to pull out their sponsorship? Thats up to them. But it would be an interesting question for Nelson Mandela, or perhaps Abraham Lincoln. Indeed, lets ask! Mr Lincoln, what do you think of slavery? It is was it is. Nelson Mandela was not available for comment.
Second Perth, Australia store set to open

Kelly Hodgkins (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:15:00 PM
Apple is preparing to open another retail store in Perth, Australia, according to a PertNow report. A recent job advertisement for the store invited potential employees to "be part of an exciting team with one of the world's most admired retailers." The positions are for a store in South Perth, and PerthNow believes the store will make its home in Booragoon's Garden City. There's no date for the grand opening, but sources suggest the store may open in the second half of the year. [Via MacStories] Second Perth, Australia store set to open originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Source| Permalink| Email this| Comments
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Technology/
Cadillac driverless tests underway

Chris Burns (SlashGear)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:53:27 PM
There are some real live Cadillacmade semi-automaticdriverless cars being tested this week using technology they call Super Cruise. This mode of driving allows for fully automatic steering, lane-centering, and braking in highway driving conditions but theyve got to be optimal or it does not work. Detroits test runs this week are said by Cadillac to possibly be ready for real-world use by the middle of the decade were looking at a boss here, folks, no hands! The two optimal conditions (if you can call them that) Cadillac is addressing here are bumper-tobumper traffic and extremely long road trips. These conditions will be aided by ultrasonic sensors, GPS map data, and radar all fused together. As Don Butler, Vice President of Cadillac Marketing noted this week: Super Cruise has the potential to improve driver performance and enjoyment. Our goal with advanced technologies, like this and our CUE system, is to lead in delivering an intuitive user experience. Butler CUE stands for Cadillac User Experience and in this iteration
includes such amenities as a touch -screen center radio panel, in-car GPS, and integrated digital displays in and around the drivers speed and gas gauges. The Super Cruise feature is made up of a bunch of features already existing in Cadillacs on the market. Cadillacs Driver Assist Package contains many of these features, currently listed under crash risk detection as well: Rear Automatic Braking Full-Speed Range Adaptive
Cruise Control Intelligent Brake Assist Forward Collision Alert Safety Alert Seat Automatic Collision Preparation Lane Departure Warning Side Blind Zone Alert Rear Cross Traffic Alert Adaptive Forward Lighting Rear Vision Camera With Dynamic Guidelines Head Up Display This new system which will be essentially driving the car for the
paired with advanced safety systems could help eliminate the crash altogether by interceding on behalf of drivers before theyre even aware of a hazardous situation. More than ever, consumers will be able to trust their car to do the right thing. Capp Are you ready to allow your car to drive for you? Google is attempting to create something to this effect as well watch out for robots and Men in Black! Story Timeline No designated driver needed with the Chevy Tahoe self-driving vehicle Google's Self-Driving Cars get aggressive [Video] Nevada Legislation allows Google driverless cars to cruise state roads driver will be first and foremost Google gets patent on driverless developed as a safe system. car tech W o u l d n t w a n t s o m e t h i n g California introduces bill to awesome to be in place just to legalize driverless cars have it be a danger in the end, That's not a flying car would they? As General Motors director of Global Active Safety [ via GM] Cadillac driverless tests Electronics and Innovation John underway is written by Chris Capp notes: The primary goal of GMs Burns& originally posted on a u t o n o m o u s a n d s e m i - SlashGear. autonomous vehicle development 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All is safety. In the coming years, right reserved. autonomous driving systems
Technology/
31
WeVideo Raises $19.1M For Cloud -Based Collaborative Video Editing Model suggests Platform earlier response
Sarah Perez (TechCrunch)
education-focused, movie editor to a quarter million students Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:56:23 AM across Europe. WeVideo has just secured $19.1 In addition, videographers can million for its cloud-based collaborate on projects together, c o l l a b o r a t i v e v i d e o e d i t i n g where all project members can platform, in a round led by Crest share their video clips via a single Capital Ventures of Houston, i n t e r f a c e . ( T h i s f e a t u r e i s Texas. The company says it plans available to paid users only). to use the funding to further ramp WeVideos free version offers 1 up its B2B focused development GB of workspace and scales up to team. offerings that range from $6.99 to Unlike desktop editing software, $79.99 per month for 10 to 100 which is restricted by computer GB of workspace, as well as hardware limitations, WeVideos varying export qualities and online video editing solution can additional features. An enterprise scale up processing speeds on version is offered, too, with demand, based on an end users pricing on request. needs. As users move up through The company is notable for the companys paid tiers, speeds having formed a partnership with increase, as does the available YouTube in October which saw it s t o r a g e s p a c e a n d v i d e o integrated directly on YouTubes resolution. website at YouTube.com/create. For those unfamiliar with WeVideo also recently celebrated WeVideo, the Sunnyvale, Calif.- its commercial product launch, a based startup first launched in fall partnership with Qatar Foundation 2011, and is a spinoff from a International (www.qfi.org), European venture called Creaza, adoption by Startup Idol and the which offers a similar, but TechZulu news organization, the
launch of a power video editing app for Android tablets and more. So yep, theyve been busy over there at WeVideo. CEO Jostein Svendsen previously estimated the service would amass over a million users by year-end 2012. (They had over 125,000 in January). The company isnt disclosing how many users it has now, however. The company also said in January it saw 1,000 video projects per day using the online platform. Svendsen says that number is much higher now, but was not able to provide specifics. He mentioned that, next week, the startup will be announcing several new B2B partnerships involving very large global companies that will supercharge its growth in terms of adding thousands and even millions of users to its platform. Some of these might be business customers of ours, says Svendsen of the new partnerships, but ultimately, the end users are
consumers. But were also expanding heavily into business usersbut thats not next week. Next week is B2C a n n o u n c e m e n t s . Again, Svendsen declined to provide details, this time due to the embargoes the partners had placed on their end for the release of their news. WeVideos team of a dozen is set to expand rapidly over the next few days, due to the new funding and the impact of forthcoming announcements. They will also be opening new offices in Europe, Asia and even the U.S. Svendsen says we can also soon expect new product offerings at new price points, some of which have a B2B focus, others which are consumer-facing. These, too, will be announced sometime in the near future, possibly related to the planned announcements in the upcoming week.
could have shortened London riots

Duncan Geere
Submitted at 4/20/2012 9:57:00 AM
A team of spatial interaction researchers at the Centre for Applied Spatial Analysis at UCL has come up with a model of the 2011 London Riots that attempts to answer the question of how they could have been stopped quicker. "This research is very experimental," said Alan Wilson, the principal investigator of the ENFOLDing project. "We are within sight of being able to model this kind of event, and optimal police response." Between 6 and 10 August, 2011, London and other cities around the UK erupted in a storm of violence, looting and unrest, which culminated in more than 4,000 crimes, 16 injuries and five fatalities. By: Duncan Geere, Edited by: Nate Lanxon Continue reading...
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Technology/
LG Optimus Elite hands-on: Super green but far from premium

Brian Bennett (CNET News)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:01:57 PM
I was able to spend some handson time with the LG Optimus Elite at the recent EcoFocus event in New York, a press event where vendors showcase their greenest gadgets. Expected to hit Sprint stores in time for Earth Day 2012 (Sunday, April 22), LG proudly trumpets the Optimus Elite's ultraenvironmental pedigree, which the company says meets the tough UL Environment Platinum standard. First, the phone is crafted from 50 percent recycled plastic. Second the handset apparently doesn't rely on parts that use hazardous or carcinogenic materials such as halogens, PVC plastics, phthalates, and Mercury. Lastly, the Optimus Elite is powered by a more efficient AC adapter that automatically shuts itself off when not actively charging. This sure sounds great but in person the phone itself is pretty underwhelming. Let's just say it's a good thing the new LG Optimus Elite comes with a rock bottom $29.99 sticker price. Despite its premium name and vaunted environmentally conscious construction, the Elite looks and operates like a budget handset. Available in two hues, white and
black, at 0.39 inch thick the handset by no means thin. Still, at 4.6 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide, the Optimus Elite is compact enough to fit comfortably in hand. Measuring 0.39 inch thick, no one will ever call the compact LG Optimus Elite svelte. The trade-off for the phone's small stature is its miniature 3.5inch display, which unfortunately renders a low HVGA (480 by 320 pixels) resolution. Compared with the sharp qHD (960 by 540 pixels) and HD (1,280 by 720 pixels) pixel counts today's modern smartphones ship with
(such as the HTC One S and Samsung Galaxy Nexus), the Elite's screen looks bland and blocky. Encased in rounded edges and curved corners, I thought the Optimus Elite's design does have a bit of swagger, especially the white-hued model. Of course I prefer metal not plastic phones and the device looks suspiciously like an old iPhone 3G except for the Elite's textured back plate. Located here is the phone's 5MP camera and LED flash, which likely won't wow anyone with its image quality.
On back of the LG Optimus Elite is its 5MP camera and LED flash. Also a letdown is the LG Optimus Elite's archaic 800MHz single-core processor and 1GB of internal memory. The handset does have a micoSD card slot for extra expansion though. Flipping through the phone's Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, the handset felt responsive enough but definitely not nimble. I'm sure that things will bog down further after filling the device up with lots of apps too. The Elite's slow 3G data connection won't help improve performance either.
So in a nutshell, after playing briefly with the LG Optimus Elite I'm left wondering who would purchase a smartphone like this? I'm sorry but being green for green's sake isn't enough to drive mass appeal. Certainly Android fans on Sprint will pass this one over for perhaps an LG Viper, which costs $99 but promises fast 4G LTE, and Ice Cream Sandwich in the future. Another option is to save up for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which is just days away from shipping. OPTIMUS page 34
Technology/
33
Will you be a better driver with Big Brother watching you?

Liane Yvkoff (CNET News)
tests and identify malfunctioning parts. Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:01:48 PM Those little black boxes were Pretty soon, car accidents will no crucial to the Department of longer be one person's word Transportation finding Toyota not against another's -- a new bill will responsible for the so-called require " black boxes" that record " u n i n t e n d e d a c c e l e r a t i o n " vehicle data to be a standard accidents in 2009. They're also feature of new cars. used in telematics systems, such The recently passed Senate Bill a s G M ' s O n S t a r , t o a l e r t 1 8 1 3 ( k n o w n a s M A P - 2 1 ) emergency response operators in mandates that auto manufactures the event the vehicle sensors install Event Data Records (EDR) detect a crash or an airbag in all new vehicles starting in deployment. 2015. The bill is expected to be The new legislation will approved by the House. The standardize which events the EDRs are similar to the black black boxes record and require boxes used to determine what their installation in all new went wrong in an airplane crash, vehicles sold in 2015. While the and record data such as speed, new change offers considerable brake force, and electrical systems safety benefits, it does open the monitoring. door to privacy concerns. T h e N a t i o n a l H i g h w a y The time of day, how fast you T r a n s p o r t a t i o n a n d S a f e t y were driving, how hard you were Administration has been studying braking--or not braking--will be a n d m u l l i n g o v e r E D R s i n easily determined if the police or vehicles for several years, but has insurance company gets a hold of s t o p p e d s h o r t o f r e q u i r i n g that information. Of course, these manufacturers to implement them. organizations will first need to H o w e v e r , m a n y a u t o subpoena the EDRs. If granted, manufacturers already use these this data could be used to recreate devices to help engineers and accidents, dispute driver claims, mechanics perform diagnostics prove fault, or innocence.
Current NHTSA regulations require manufacturers to disclose to car buyers if the vehicle contains an EDR. Recently, some insurance companies, such as Progressive and State Farm, offered similar technology that lets drivers share driving behavior or mileage information with them in exchange for potential premium discounts. The safer the driver you are and the less you drive, the cheaper your premiums will be. However, if the EDRs report late braking, hard turning, late night drives, or mileage over your yearly estimate, your premiums may actually increase. Yet, with Big Brother always watching you as you drive, you may have another reason to be a safer and slower driver. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
No Comment: MacBook perfume project smells like new unboxing

Erica Sadun (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)
along with its packaging to create a virtual MacBook scent out of an array of natural products: leather Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:00:00 PM and lily flower, plastic film and It may just be an art installation cold metal, and of course, musk. and not a commercial product, but "Musk. It's not the first thing that what Apple fan wouldn't want to comes to mind when you think buy a bottle of scent offering the 'MacBook,'", Mark Wilson writes, essences of, ink, paper, foam, "But maybe these secretions of a sticky tape, and a hint of glue? mature male deer have been in For the enthusiast who has Apple's secret potion all along." everything, who has ransacked the To that, we say No Comment. Mothership store for wardrobe, No Comment: MacBook perfume the local store for computing, and project smells like new unboxing whose basement is filled with originally appeared on TUAW artsy Ebay-sourced Performa and The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Centris nostalgia, all that's Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:00:00 EST. possibly left to internalize the Please see our terms for use of product is to become the product. feeds. Enter Air Aroma. According to Source| Permalink| Email this| the Co.DESIGN write-up, their Comments lab "smell-analyzed" a MacBook
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Technology/
Samsung GSIII event will bring a Tab too

Chris Burns (SlashGear)
here to have a dual-core processor, or it could be simply a release date affirmation for, again, At the launch of the Samsung something we already know Galaxy S III in London coming up about. It could very well be the extremely quickly its been tipped Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 aka the Galaxy that yet another Galaxy tablet Tab 10.1N once again shown with might make an appearance as another brand new name for the well. At this point it might make UK, or, least likely of all, it could more sense for us to report the be a brand new tablet altogether. days that theres not a tip, rumor, Samsung Galaxy S III still taken o r a c t u a l c o n f i r m e d from hands-on video leaked announcement of a Samsung today. tablet, would you say? This report No official word has come from comes from Aloysius Low from Samsung, but I assure you, we CNET where they say theyve got will give you the full blast when a source familiar with the matter were there LIVE at the event pointing towards another 10.1- itself. This London event is set to inch Android slate. take place on May the 3rd and This tablet will likely either be a well be covering it right as it re-introduction to a tablet we happens here on SlashGear as already know, as its been said w e l l a s o v e r o n A n d r o i d
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:27:32 PM
delayed for quad-core upgrade [UPDATE: Samsung denies] Samsung Galaxy S III caught in the wild Samsung Galaxy S III tipped for quad-core processor Samsung Galaxy S III caught on video? Will Samsung follow Apple with its "Galaxy S3" proto plans? Apple jabs new Samsung Tab in Germany [ via CNET] Samsung GSIII event will bring a Tab too is written by Chris Burns& originally posted on SlashGear. 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Community. Youll be able to catch all the Galaxy S III action as well as any news related to this mysterious tablet as quick as a bunny! Story Timeline Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 launch
re-set for end of April Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 Review Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 for the USA brings the $400 tablet to Samsung Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1
Padcaster iPad shooter frame debuts at NAB

Michael Rose (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:30:00 PM
The Padcaster, which we told you about in March, showed off this week in its public debut at the NAB show in Las Vegas. As expected, the rigid mounting frame for the iPad makes it easy to use Apple's tablet on a tripod or
with other film accessories like lights, microphones or 35mm lenses. An interchangeable insert in the frame will permit the use of iPhones or other tablets as well. Proud Padcaster papa Josh Apter of NYC's Manhattan Edit Workshop shows off the device in a video on the Padcaster page, and also showcases a "padumentary" short film shot with the iPad and
the Padcaster. While it may seem like a lot of effort for a tripod
mounting solution (and a good bit of money; pre-ordered units will ship for $199), the ability to shoot and screen in high-def with a firm mount -- then to edit and upload from the same device -- may give some would-be iPad filmmakers a few new ideas. The gang at The Verge did a nice hands-on video with the Padcaster; check it out below.
Padcaster iPad shooter frame debuts at NAB originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Source| Permalink| Email this| Comments
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Technology/
35
Trashcam Project: Dumpsters shoot great photos

Timothy Fernandez (CNET News)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:14:42 PM
Hans-Dieter Braatz, a member of the Trashcam Project, moves the shutter of the pinhole camera. Great, now we have no excuse for taking horrible pictures on our aging digital cameras. Just take a look at some of the images shot by garbage collectors in Germany with dumpsters that have been converted into giant pinhole cameras. The Katharinenfleet in Hamburg
photographed by garbagemen Werner Benning, Christoph Blaschke, and Mirko Derpmann. Pictures for the Trashcam Project are created by hanging large sheets of Ilford photo paper (not film) inside a closed dumpster with a few holes drilled into the front. To create the eerie photographs you see here, the pinhole photographers line the "camera" up with their subjects and secure it in place -- by locking the wheels of the trash bins, we're guessing. Then they wait, for up to an hour, until an
image is formed. While the process does sound more than a little tedious, the results can be breathtaking, with water appearing incredibly silky
and the aggressive pinhole vignette effect lending a wonderfully artistic feel. Werner Benning, Christoph Blaschke, and Mirko Derpmann
also shot this picture of the ship Rickmer Rickmers in Hamburg. (Source: Crave Asia via PetaPixel) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Qi wireless charging range extended to 40mm

Rue Liu (SlashGear)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:30:24 PM
The Qi wireless charging standard has been updated to allow for a longer distance between device and charging platform. This will make it easier for the platform to be integrated into various surfaces, including tabletops, furniture, and cars. The Wireless Power Consortium announced the updated Qi standard today, which now allows for a distance of 40mm, up from
the previous 5mm. Qi is the global standard for wireless power and charging and is an open and flexible platform. Any device that is Qi-enabled can be charged on any Qi charging surface, regardless of manufacturer. The standard is currently supported by more than 100 industry-leading companies and has been increasingly integrated into mobile phones in the US, Japan, China, and Europe. The Wireless Power Consortium updates the Qi standard when
improvements are proposed by its members and this time its a new transmitter design using magnetic resonance technology that allows
devices up to 5 Watts to be charged 40mm away from the charging surface. The new standard also allows for more
transmitter designs, which offers more freedom for manufacturers, including options in device placement, magnetic and nonmagnetic device alignment, and different power options, such as USB. [ via MarketWatch] Qi wireless charging range extended to 40mm is written by Rue Liu& originally posted on SlashGear. 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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Technology/
Read/Write Daily: Cosmic Puzzles

Jon Mitchell (ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 6:00:46 AM
CloudFlare Wants to Make Your Site Look Like A Billion Bucks With Instaflare
Frederic Lardinois (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:10:31 PM
Today's theme is cosmic puzzles. The technology that fires our imaginations here at RWW wouldn't be possible if we didn't understand fundamental physical laws. But how well do we really understand them? Joselle at Mathematics Rising wonders whether all the matter and energy in the universe really just boils down to abstraction. Are we living in a mathematical object? How could that be? It might help if Edward Witten, "the most intelligent human alive," explained String Theory to you. In order to make sense of space itself, scientists have searched high and low for the Higgs boson. Need a super-simple primer on what the Higgs boson is? Here's a blog-style slideshow. On a slightly bigger scale, dark
matter is another theoretical placeholder in our model of the universe. Why is there so little of it in our solar system? Meanwhile, cosmic rays pass through us all the time, but we don't know where they come from. The many weird experimental results this week suggest to Sean Carroll that the"big news might be creeping up on us." It might frustrate the humans, but "the universe loves puzzles."
When Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion earlier this month, quite a few pundits were left wondering if Facebook hadnt overpaid for the photosharing service. Another company that is currently rumored to be raising funding at a $1 billion valuation is CloudFlare. The service, which promises to protect websites from security threats and helps speed up loading times in the process, launched a little riff on the rumors around its valuation today and is making some fun of Instagram in the process by launching Instaflare. With Instaflare, website owners on the
CloudFlare network can apply five Instagram-like filters to the images on their sites with just one click and make their photos look like a billion bucks. The Instagram joke here and the riff on the companys $1 billion valuation, is pretty obvious. There is more to Instaflare than that, though. As CloudFlares CEO Matthew Prince told TechCrunch alumn Paul Carr, what CloudFlare really wanted to show here was that it could add a simple feature like this in less than a day. For the most part, then, Instaflare is really just a way to advertise the companys new developer platform, which it is launching today.
Wall-Mountable Tablet Docks This Moloko Perfect iPad Stand Will be Useful Anywhere (TrendHunter.com)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 8:02:02 AM
( TrendHunter.com) Tablets are becoming as popular as the smartphone in the personal device market, therefore the Moloko perfeck iPad Stand shall thrive. The iPad can be used while it is mounted for portrait view or...
Christian World Adoption

Christian World Adoption is one of the largest international adoption agencies in the United States. Since 1991, Christian World Adoption has placed thousands of children from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. These children now enjoy the love and security of a forever family. Christian World Adoption currently offers
adoption programs in Bulgaria, ready, call our friendly adoption China, Ethiopia, Guatemala, c o u n s e l o r , t o l l f r e e , a t Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia 1 . 8 8 8 . 9 7 A D O P T . and Ukraine. Explore our website to learn more about international adoption. Then, when youre
Technology/ Economy/
37
One Of The Best Economic Indicators There Is Is Rapidly Turning South

Joe Weisenthal (Money Game)
Wired.co.uk Podcast 72: Mappiness app finds coasts are the Ikea TVs, MintChip,W3C mystery space firm, most pleasing places
Nate Lanxon Duncan Geere
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:00:05 AM
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:35:55 PM
specifically collected by people," he says. After installing the app, you're A massive, crowdsourced survey asked to confirm a few bits of of happiness has shown that a demographic information and person's mood is strongly then rate your happiness, associated with the type of terrain relaxation level, and sleepiness around them. on a trio of sliding scales. George MacKerron has been R e s p o n s e s a r e tied to a s k i n g p e o p l e a b o u t t h e i r geolocation, and so MacKerron happiness levels a few times a can work out the surroundings in day for several years now. Using which the responses are given in. an iPhone app called Mappiness, By: Duncan Geere, Edited by: he's built a citizen-science Nate Lanxon Continue reading... experiment where people are the sensors. "The data I'm using is
Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:14:00 AM
If you're like us you largely associate Ikea with furniture and delicious meatballs, but the Swedish retailer has its eyes set on an entirely new market category; a Dutch physicist has managed to avoid a traffic fine by using the geekiest excuse in the
whole of history; and what is the mysterious space exploration firm Planetary Resources up to? Google's behind it, and so's James Cameron. All that and more will be thickening this week's plot of Wired news. By: Nate Lanxon, Continue reading...
Good catch from Cullen Roche at Pragmatic Capitalism: Rail data, which is some of the most reliable economic data there is, is rapidly turning south. Now just 12 of the 20 categories of goods that get shipped by rail are positive year on year. From the AAR: "Twelve of the 20 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2011, with petroleum products, up 39 percent; metallic ores, up 16.7 percent, and motor vehicles and equipment, up 15.3 percent. The groups showing a significant decrease in weekly traffic included farm products excluding grain, down 28.1 percent; coal, down 18.2 percent, and grain, down 16.3 percent." Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story
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Policy/
Tear Gas at the Dairy Queen - By Geoff Ziezulewicz

GEOFF ZIEZULEWICZ (Foreign Policy)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:08:17 AM
U.S. service members stationed in Bahrain are struggling to adjust to the new normal as the country enters the second year of its uprising. BY GEOFF ZIEZULEWICZ| APRIL 20, 2012 JUFFAIR, Bahrain The U.S. naval base in Bahrain looks like any of the other fenced-in little Americas that denote an overseas military community. Inside a mall complex known as the "Freedom Souq," a food court features Taco Bell and an A&W American Grill. The Navy Exchange -- basically a Target for overseas military communities -sells American flat-screen TVs, Nike sneakers, Dawn dish soap, pleated Dockers and Right Guard deodorant. Like every other base, vendors hawk the kind of local tchotchkes found in any airport, everything from hookah pipes to carved wooden camels, belly dancing costumes, and genie lamps. But despite all the reassuring touches of Americana, the Arab Spring often erupts just down the road. The confrontation between Bahrain's Sunni ruling family and the predominantly Shiite protest Formula One authorities to go movement seems, if anything, to forward with the popular Grand be getting worse. The decision by Prix race on the island this weekend has sparked a renewed
bout of protests against the decision -- and despite the Formula One chief's remarks that Bahrain is "quiet and peaceful,"
policemen were recently injured t w o H u m a n R i g h t s W a t c h by homemade explosives thrown officials on April 15 for observing at them by protesters. Meanwhile, TEAR page 39 Bahraini security forces detained
39
TEAR
a protest against the Grand Prix decision. Some newly arrived sailors, civilians, and family members are nervous about being stationed in a far-flung locale like Bahrain, nestled in a region not known for its hospitality toward Americans. But when members of this 6,200strong community pass the double layer of security at the gates of Naval Support Activity Bahrain and head out into "the economy," military-speak for a host nation, the comforts of home are not far away. Hook your first left, past the taxi stand, and you are strolling along American Alley, a strip in the upscale Juffair neighborhood, a 10-minute drive east of Manama, that is replete with a Macaroni Grill, Starbucks, and Burger King. "They get here and are a little frightened," one Navy wife told me. "Then they look and see there's a Dairy Queen. It does help." But these days, community members don't go past the Mega Mart grocery store at the end of American Alley after 8 p.m. They are officially banned from doing so by Navy leadership. Clashes are a regular part of the evenings, as Shia youth engage the Bahraini police a few blocks away. And while Americans stationed here might not witness the violence firsthand, a night's battle is often felt. It's not for nothing that the country has come to be called " The Kingdom of Tear Gas": Sailors working late on base, a family stopping at
TCBY for dessert, or single guys heading to JJ's Irish Bar or Club Buffalo are subject to the indiscriminate sting of the Bahraini police's weapon of choice for crowd dispersal, delivered via big-barreled guns that pop canisters into the night sky, blazing orange before they hit the ground and engulf everything, spreading with the wind. As the tiny island enters year two of its uprising, this is the new normal for Americans stationed in Bahrain: a slightly askew existence, with plenty of Western comforts, occasionally punctured by the tumult simmering around them. The base here, headquarters of the Navy's 5th Fleet, is the cornerstone of the U.S.-Bahrain relationship -- a critical facility that spearheads the Navy's power projection across the Persian Gulf as it attempts to curb the ambitions of Iran, whose port city of Bushehr -- home to the country's first nuclear power plant -- sits roughly 190 miles away. The physical manifestation of America's awkward courtship with the kingdom's rulers, military life here generally means a series of inconveniences: heading inside if the tear gas wafts into your neighborhood, and sticking towels under the door to prevent it from seeping into homes. The Internet slows down when the largest clashes are underway. Drives are planned to avoid demonstrations, and trips to the mall sometimes mean passing burning tire piles.
Base and State Department officials do what they can, sending emails and text messages warning Americans about the latest protests to avoid. A typical message sent out last month by the Navy warns to avoid the Sharakkaan area from 2:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. due to a funeral procession. "Spontaneous demonstrations may occur any time," a message from the base's force protection officer reads. "Use caution as you drive and plan additional time to arrive at your destination. Always keep current With (sic) media coverage of local events and be aware of your surroundings. If you encounter a large public gather or demonstration, stay calm and depart the vicinity." It also urges continued caution about traveling to the area west of American Alley and around the site of the now-demolished Pearl Roundabout. Politely show identification to officials, but never hand over an ID to someone not in uniform. If you come across any other demonstrations, "see something, say something!" Primarily concerned with the latest tit-for-tat with Iran, Navy leadership conscientiously avoids saying anything controversial about the political unrest on the island. But the quality of the relationship between Bahrain and the Navy is something repeatedly parroted by the base's public affairs officers. "We have a longstanding relationship with the Kingdom of Bahrain and they are an important
partner in the region," base spokeswoman Jennifer Stride wrote in an email when I requested an interview with the base commander. (Perhaps she was cutting and pasting from a template: "It is important to note that we have a long-standing relationship with Bahrain," 5th Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Rebecca Rebarich wrote in an email about a separate story earlier this year. "They are an important partner in the region.") The U.S. Embassy in Manama did not respond to numerous requests for an interview. Capt. Colin S. Walsh, the base's commanding officer, was unavailable for an interview due to "a scheduled regional exercise and extensive engagements with distinguished visitors," Stride said in an email. Americans affiliated with the Navy in Bahrain are also prohibited from photographing or taking part in demonstrations, according to the base security emails and community members. The knowledge of the average American military community member living in Bahrain about the political upheaval around them varies. Many are more than content to live in the bubble of normalcy -- or something close to it -- that the Navy provides them. "The average housewife out and seeing things going on, if they don't know the politics ... it's a bunch of thugs running around fighting the police," the Navy wife, who asked not to be identified because the command
warns community members not to speak with the media, said. "When they're affected, they complain about it. Not to sound cold, but they're concerned with their family, their home, their school." After arriving in Bahrain, her family settled in an expat compound near the Pearl Roundabout in a predominantly Shia neighborhood, where they bore witness to last year's chaos. She recalls walking to the roundabout after the protests began on Feb. 14, 2011, and seeing a peacefully assembled sea of people. Soon after, the government crackdown started, the neighbors chanted from the rooftops all night long, and the gas seeped into their home for months on end, leaving them with burning faces. One day during last year's upheaval, her husband and a neighbor went for a walk to check out the roundabout. Suddenly, gunfire rang out. She tried to call her husband's cell phone, but there was no service. Soon he came sprinting back to the compound, a wave of panicked protesters not far behind. The family requested to be moved, but the command denied the request, saying they were not in danger because the protests were not directed at Americans. U.S. officials would eventually warm up to the risks American personnel faced in Bahrain. At the height of last year's unrest in TEAR page 44
40
Policy/
This Week at War: The General's Dystopia By Robert Haddick

ROBERT HADDICK (Foreign Policy)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:20:56 AM
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff paints a grim picture of the future of military power. Will the Pentagon be ready for it? BY ROBERT HADDICK| APRIL 20, 2012 On April 12, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed what he called the " security paradox" at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. The good news in the world today, according to Dempsey, is that interstate conflict is currently minimal, human violence is at an all-time low, and the United States faces "no obvious existential threat." Yet Dempsey insisted that "I'm chairman at a time that seems less dangerous but it's actually more dangerous." Why? Although geopolitical trends are ushering in greater levels of peace and stability worldwide, destructive technologies are available to a wider and more disparate pool of adversaries.... What truly concerns me as chairman is that these lethal and destructive technologies are proliferating in two directions. They're proliferating proliferating vertically, down to horizontally across advanced non-state actors, especially militaries in the world, and they're insurgents, terrorist groups and even transnational organized
crime. As a result, more people have the ability to harm us or deny us the ability to act than at any point in my life. And that's
the security paradox. As examples, Dempsey noted that dozens of "middleweight militaries" now possess the kind
of precision-guided missiles and bombs that were the monopoly of THIS page 41
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THIS
the United States and a few of its allies a decade or so ago. Adversaries now have easy access to the components needed to assemble electronic warfare systems that can confuse U.S. sensors and weapons. Cyberattacks, mounted by both states and lone actors, routinely penetrate supposedly secure networks and could potentially cripple government and private sector command and control systems. "As a result," Dempsey concluded, "anyone with the motivation and the money can design, assemble and field highly advanced, sophisticated weapon systems." With this ominous report, Dempsey defended the Obama administration's new defense strategy, which, he explained, will create a military force "that can deter and defeat threats at every point along the spectrum of conflict, from lone individuals or terrorist groups to middleweight militaries packing a new punch, and all the way up to near-peer competitors." While Dempsey's diagnosis of the current threat environment feels both accurate and insightful, the strategy he's touting seems deficient in both vision and scale in the face of the threats he described. Dempsey is certainly correct when he implies that military power has never been more disconnected from population size or available manpower. In the industrial and pre-industrial eras, military power was highly correlated with the ability to
mobilize large armies and the resources necessary to sustain them. Nation-states -- the larger, the better -- had a monopoly on this capability. In a post-industrial era, the correlation between population and military power is sharply reduced. Examples of this transformation abound. Very small countries like Israel and Singapore field military forces far more powerful than their populations would suggest and provide security for themselves in regions with far larger neighbors. Last summer, Special Forces soldiers from the tiny nation of Qatar led the boots-on-the-ground unconventional warfare campaign inside comparatively massive Libya that brought down Muammar al-Qaddafi. Among non-state actors, Hezbollah in southern Lebanon has the military organization and enough sophisticated weapons to rival many states in the region. Mexico's Sinaloa and Los Zetas drug cartels have the resources and structure to merit consideration as small but troublesome quasi-military organizations. The falling costs and increased dispersion of militarily useful technology has lowered the barriers for organizations, be they nation-states or non-state actors, to become dangerous military threats. For such potential military powers, acquiring warehouses of small arms, munitions, and equipment is merely an afterthought. Anti-aircraft and anti
-ship guided missiles, once only for major military powers, are now available for sale or fabrication from commercial components. The dispersion and cheap access to technology applies not only to munitions but also to supporting components such as optics, night vision sensors, communications and navigation devices, and electronic warfare equipment -- areas where the Pentagon has invested enormous sums over past decades. The advantages U.S. forces formerly gained from those investments are now fleeting, a consequence of the falling costs and increased dispersion of such technology. But it is hard to square Dempsey's description of a world with sharply lower barriers to military power with his defense of the administration's strategic guidance and budget. Even as he describes a world that he believes is "more dangerous" and one where "more people have the ability to harm us or deny us the ability to act than at any point in my life," he also defends a defense budget that cuts the budget by at least $487 billion over the next ten years and cuts not just ground troops but also schedules an early retirement for a long list of Navy ships and Air Force squadrons. Dempsey and other military leaders will note that U.S. forces have benefited greatly from the Pentagon's investment in research that has allowed U.S. forces to substitute technology for
manpower. For example, a few U.S. Army artillery cannons, firing a small number of precise satellite-guided shells, can produce battlefield effects formerly requiring an entire artillery battalion. A single jet fighter with laser-guided bombs now does what a squadron was assigned to do 25 years ago. And the Undersecretary of the Navy, Robert Work, has asserted that the 300-ship Navy he plans for later this decade will be more powerful and as present in as many places as the 600-ship navy of the 1980s. This is the administration's reasoning for why it can shrink the military while still fulfilling all of the required missions. However, policymakers have also committed the U.S. military to obligations spanning the globe. The United States has taken on responsibility for patrolling the "global commons," such as international waterways and airspace vital to global commerce. These duties require the Pentagon to invest in expensive expeditionary capabilities, and in sufficient quantities to maintain a meaningful presence at important places in the global commons such as the South China Sea. The dispersion of military technology that Dempsey described will allow a greater number of potential adversaries adjacent to the global commons (most of whom will not have to spend money on globe-spanning expeditionary capabilities) to narrow the technological gap versus the U.S. forces, negating
what Pentagon planners assumed was an enduring U.S. advantage. American quality might no longer be an efficient substitute for quantity. More worrisome is the disparity between the rapidly evolving nature of the security environment described by Dempsey and the plodding, status quo nature of the Pentagon's Future Years Defense Plan(FYDP). The imminent end of the war in Afghanistan has provided the Defense Department with the opportunity to make a bolder adjustment for the future world Dempsey described. The FYDP, by contrast, continues long -established weapons programs (albeit at reduced funding), makes few notable changes to the structure or organization of U.S. forces, and largely ignores the question of whether the legacy organization and procurement priorities it maintains are wellsuited to the distributed military threats that Dempsey described. The inevitable result will be U.S. military forces tasked to do much more with less. Dempsey boasted of a force capable of defeating "threats at every point along the spectrum of conflict." But under his assumptions, there will very likely be many more of these threats at several points along the spectrum as the cost of acquiring entry and mid-level military power continues to decline. There is a gap between the world Dempsey has described and the forces and doctrines that will be THIS page 44
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Policy/
The LWOT: Anders Behring Breivik on trial in Norway - by Jennifer Rowland

JENNIFER ROWLAND (Foreign Policy)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:55:08 AM
Foreign Policy and the New America Foundation bring you a weekly brief on the legal war on terror. You can read it on foreignpolicy.com or get it delivered directly to your inbox -just sign up here. BY JENNIFER ROWLAND| APRIL 20, 2012 Anders Behring Breivik on trial in Norway The trial of Anders Behring Breivik began in Oslo on April 16 with the defendant pleading not guilty to criminal charges, but freely admitting the murder of 77 people last July in a bomb attack in the Norwegian capital and in a shooting spree on the island of Utoya, where a liberal political youth camp was taking place ( NYT, Tel, CNN, BBC). Breivik said he acted in self-defense, and rejected the court's authority because it was empowered by "political parties which support multiculturalism." Breivik also said he had been planning the attacks for years, and had wanted to capture former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, who was speaking at the camp, and film himself beheading her ( NYT, Guardian, Tel, AP, CNN). Breivik, has repeatedly defended his actions as "cruel but
necessary" measures to punish those allowing immigrants to "Islamize" Europe, and said he regretted not killing more people (
NYT, Tel, BBC). Scoffing at Norway's 21-year maximum prison sentence, Breivik told the court on April 18 that the only
"legitimate outcomes" of the case along with a Serb war criminal he are acquittal or death ( AFP, AP, founded a right-wing extremist BBC, Guardian). And he told LWOT: page 43 prosecutors on the same day that
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LWOT:
group in 2002 called the Knights Templar that now has members across Europe, though investigators doubt the existence of both the organization and the Serb ( NYT, Tel). Despite his opposition to what he sees as the increasing multiculturalism of Europe, Breivik said on April 20 that to prepare for his bomb-andshooting rampage he studied attacks by al-Qaeda, which he calls "the most successful revolutionary movement in the world," as well as Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh ( AP, CNN, WSJ). He told the court he had subjected himself to a "dehumanization" program in 2006 in preparation for the attacks, and honed his shooting skills by playing video game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" ( BBC, AP, Reuters, AFP). Abu Qatada rearrested in United Kingdom British authorities on April 17 rearrested Palestinian-Jordanian Muslim cleric Abu Qatada, who was released from prison in February when the European Court of Human Rights ruled that he could not be deported to Jordan on terrorism charges ( NYT). Home Secretary Theresa May told British legislators the same day that the United Kingdom has received pledges from Jordan that should address the European court's concerns, and clear the
way for Abu Qatada's deportation ( AP). And on April 19, authorities in London arrested three men as they arrived at Heathrow International Airport from Oman, on suspicion of "possessing articles and documents with intent to use them for terrorist purposes overseas" ( NYT, Guardian, Tel, BBC). A court in Kazakhstan on April 19 sentenced 47 people to up to 15 years in prison on terrorismrelated charges ( AP). And a court in neighboring Tajikistan on the same day convicted and sentenced 34 people to prison terms of eight to 28 years on charges that they had links to the al-Qaeda affiliated Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan ( AP). Five Danish men were charged with attempted acts of terrorism for allegedly trying to burn down police stations, a bank, and an embassy in the capital city of Copenhagen in 2010 and 2011 ( AP). The suspects' names have not been released and it is unclear what they intend to plea. Alleged NYC subway bomb plot accomplice on trial The trial of Adis Medunjanin, the alleged accomplice of Zarein Ahmedzay and Najibullah Zazi in a plot to bomb the New York City subway, began on April 16 with Ahmedzay testifying that the three men drove around New York City in early 2009, casing potential targets including Grand Central
Station and the New York Stock Exchange ( AP, AFP). Terrorism experts and human rights advocates are watching the case closely, as the rare open trial provides them an in-depth look at the United States' prosecution of homegrown terrorists ( NYT). On April 18, Zazi testified that the men's al-Qaeda trainers in Pakistan had taught them a "very simple" method of making explosives for suicide vests out of everyday chemicals found in substances like nail polish remover ( AP). And on April 19, Saajid Badat, who has been convicted in Britain in for plotting with Richard Reid to blow up a passenger plane in the December 2001 shoe-bomb attempt, testified for the prosecution via video deposition about the leadership and training methods of al-Qaeda ( AP). The AP's Malin Rising reported on April 19 that officers at a prison in the United Arab Emirates purportedly tortured U.S. Muslim Yonas Fikre at the FBI's request, while interrogating him about his Portland, Oregon mosque and imam during his 106day detention there ( AP). Fikre says he travelled to the UAE on a business trip in 2011, and was detained there by non-uniformed policemen, who asked him for the same information about his religious community that FBI agents had requested from him
two years earlier, and that he had declined to give. Seven prominent journalists and civil rights activists have filed suit against Attorney General Eric Holder, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and other top U.S. officials over the recently approved National Defense Authorization Act, which the plaintiffs claim puts them at higher risk of arrest, and allows the indefinite detention of American citizens on U.S. soil ( LAT). The Post's Spencer Hsu, Jennifer Jenkins, and Ted Mellnik published a must-read on April 17 about the highly secretive, nineyear Department of Justice review of FBI forensic documents, undertaken after an FBI forensic scientist testified in 1995 that he was pressured by his superiors to leave out findings that did not support the prosecutors' theory of the 1993 World Trade Center bombings ( Post). The DoJ never released any of its findings, and did not notify any convicted defendants of forensic errors in their cases. Al-Nashiri attorney said military tribunal unconstitutional Defense attorneys for Abd alRahim al-Nashiri, who is on trial at Guantnamo Bay for allegedly masterminding the 2000 USS Cole bombing, argued on April 18 that the military tribunal is unconstitutional because it applies
only to non-U.S. citizens, discriminating against people "simply by the accident of where they were born" ( Reuters). The transfer of the last remaining Western detainee at Guantnamo, Canadian citizen Omar Khadr, is now up to the authorities in his home nation, and both U.S. and Canadian officials say this move is likely to happen sometime soon. Pentagon officials said on April 19 that two Chinese Muslim Uighurs have been transferred from Guantnamo Bay to El Salvador, becoming the first prisoners to be released from the prison in over a year, and bringing the number of detainees remaining there to 169 ( Reuters, AP, WSJ). Chinese authorities had requested the men be transferred to Chinese custody, but the United States refused on the grounds that they would be persecuted in China. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Economy/
TEAR
THIS
March, right after Saudi-led military forces rolled onto the island to help the government restore order, the Defense Department enacted a voluntary evacuation plan for family members and non-essential civilian personnel. The American Bahrain School, a Defense Department-run school for military kids, the scions of wealthy Bahrainis, and other international students, shut down at the same time, mainly due to transportation problems and what a State Department travel warning characterized as "sectarian groups patrolling areas throughout Bahrain and establishing unofficial vehicle checkpoints." "We didn't want a whole bunch of high-schoolers getting stuck somewhere," a Navy spokesman told me at the time. Like other pillars of the 60-year old American military presence here, the school has close ties with the ruling Al Khalifa family. The crown prince is a graduate, and the school's official Web page
praises "the judicious leadership" of King Hamad Bin Isa al Khalifa, "his wise government," and his "steering of the country towards prosperity, glory and success." Principal Douglas McEnery played down the uprising's impact on the school, which is now open as normal. "The only times it has impacted our operations at all was after hours," McEnery said. "The winds were blowing in an unfortunate direction to bring tear gas into our campus. We brought in all the students. That has only happened three times." It's anyone's guess how Bahrain's uprising will end. Antigovernment protesters in the kingdom say there is no way they can turn back now -- the rift between the two sides has only been widened by the case of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, a prominent activist whose hunger strike recently entered its second month. The Khalifa family, rulers of the island since the 18th century, views any substantive
democratic reform as an existential threat. The return of peace to this island seems, at this point, to be little more than a distant dream. In the meantime, U.S. troops and their families will continue to report for duty in Bahrain, adjusting themselves to the new normal as best they can. "I just tell them not to be frightened," the Navy wife said of the advice she gives to recent arrivals. "Either side is not out to get you in your car with your children. But you don't want to get stuck in the middle of them." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
available to future U.S. military commanders. His remarks envisage an expanding set of threats. Many of these will not end up being serious enough to merit attention from the Pentagon. Policymakers should define which security problems merit the Pentagon's notice and those that allies and other agencies should monitor. Such clear guidance will help the Pentagon focus on the threats that can alter the global strategic balance as opposed to those that are non-strategic nuisances. For those that remain on the Pentagon's plate, planners should ponder whether the FYDP's forces, organizations, and weapons are really a good match
for the world Dempsey has described. Aside from spending cuts, the administration's new plans are not that new. The next team to arrive at the building will have some leftover work to catch up on. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
This Chart Of Apple Vs. The S&P 500 Is Just Too Painful To Look At
Joe Weisenthal (Money Game)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:45:06 PM
This is just getting too painful!
Apple down over 1%, while the S&P is solidly positive. Apple shareholders, avert your eyes.
Please follow Money Game on
Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story
Economy/
45
Reflections on "Small Wars" and Military Waste; Four Reasons Congress Wastes Money on Useless Defense Programs
noreply@blogger.com (Mike Mish Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)
contractors in a rapidly changing world seems evident. Something that I wrote critiquing one branch of the military, the Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:59:00 AM A close friend of mine since high Navy, and its fixation on large school frequently writes for ships, seems relevant to this Foreign Affairs Magazine, the discussion. In that article Small Wars Journal, and places appearing in the May 18, 2011 like Janes's Defence Weekly. issue of Janes Defence Weekly I His latest article in the Small said: W a r s J o u r n a l h i g h l i g h t s What is the most effective way to compelling reasons that bigger, achieve the missions of the US more expensive, weapons systems Navy: sea control, sea denial, "borrowed from the end of World power projection or protection of War II or the Cold War" are far open commerce? In an age of too costly and are not even what networks, small wars, unmanned is needed in today's world. systems and diffusion of military Please consider a few snips from technology, the best solutions are D i s r u p t i v e T h i n k e r s : M o r e unlikely to be found in highly Thoughts on Disruption and expensive, complex, centralised National Security by David Wise. s y s t e m s r e q u i r i n g m a s s i v e The Military Needs More manpower. Answers are likely to D i s r u p t i v e T h i n k e r s , b y be found in ways that distribute Benjamin Kohlmann reminded firepower to lower-cost platforms m e o f w h a t i s s u r e l y f a s t for more widespread and rapid becoming the quote for our times deployments on more numerous, when Sir Ernest Rutherford, the but less visible, lower-signature father of nuclear physics, once vehicles. Solutions are likely to said to his staff: Gentleman, we stress reliability over theoretical have run out of money. It is time e l e g a n c e , q u a l i t y a c h i e v e d to start thinking. through quantity and simplicity The futility of large, inflexible over complexity while utilizing military bureaucracies, procuring the emerging capabilities of large, complex, over-engineered robotics and unmanned systems. systems from the few large, One real world example that inflexible remaining general illustrates this point can be found
War II or the Cold War will not suffice. The last attempt, the Long War, was a tepid stew not worthy of being served. We face a period of human history that will be unprecedented. How do we intend to use all of our strengths economic, technological, social as well as military to lead the world? The brayings from Washington are not promising. The supposed deficit hawks who are keen on in a small New Hampshire control the littorals and would be revolutionizing the safety net and c o m p a n y , J u l i e t M a r i n e . applicable to missions from social contract want to give a free Interestingly, Juliet describes patrolling for pirates, keeping pass to the military complex not itself , not as a defense contractor bodies such as the Straits of merely wanting more of the same, but as a maritime technology Hormuz open from swarm attacks but rather increased amounts of think tank that is developing to also supplying offshore oil rigs. the same. innovative solutions for naval and As yet untested, the Ghost and the Wasting money on outmoded commercial applications. o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s y s t e m t h a t concepts in the name of defense Juliet claims that it can develop produced it merit a lot of attention actually saps the national strength systems in one third the time and and, if verified, emulation. Most on which our power ultimately at one third the cost than achieved interesting of all, Juliet developed rests."The Ghost" t h r o u g h u s u a l m i l i t a r y the Ghost on its own nickel, More Images of "The Ghost" on procurement procedures. Juliet without any government funding. Gizmag. has developed Ghost which As promising as all of this may On March 9, 2011 Juliet Marine they claim to be the worlds first b e , d i s r u p t i v e t h i n k i n g a t Systems, Inc. Announces Antisupercaptivating ship. Reportedly operational and doctrinal levels p i r a c y S e a - b a s e d S e c u r i t y Ghost achieves very high speed has to be preceded by disruptive P l a t f o r m , G H O S T . through hull friction that is 1/ thinking at the level of grand International piracy has been 900th of conventional surface strategy. Warmed over or consistently growing. In Somalia ships. updated versions of worldviews alone, pirates today hold 33 REFLECTIONS page 48 The vessel was designed to borrowed from the end of World
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Economy/
FoodStamp Nation
Tyler Durden
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:03:03 PM
The USDAs Food and Nutrition Service released a new report on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, commonly known as Food Stamps) earlier this week with some fresh data on the program. Given our earlier note on Mr.EBT, we thought the following brief clip from Bloomberg TV on the $82bn-peryear program would provide some rather shockingly sad insights and then Nic Colas' recent focus on the SNAP report provides some much more in depth color. First and foremost, there are 46.5 million Americans in the program as of the most recent information available (January 2012), comprising 22.2 million households. Thats 15% of the entire population, and just over 20% of all households. Moreover, despite the end of the official Great Recession in June 2009, over 10 million more Americans have been accepted into the program since that month, and the year-over-year growth rate for the program is still +5%. The USDAs report is, not surprisingly, very upbeat on the utility of the program. Fair enough. But what does it mean when 20% of all households cannot afford to buy the food they need for their families? To our thinking, it highlights an underappreciated new facet of
American economic life one that will be felt everywhere from the ballot box to the upcoming Federal Deficit debates. Food Stamps The Long Shadow Of The Great Recession Nic Colas, ConvergEx. Like most people in finance, I have been trained to think about information that occurs At the margin. Yesterdays price for a stock plus todays information yields the closing price at 4pm. The same holds true for macroeconomic data as it relates to bond prices, levels for commodities, and so forth. There isnt time to revisit everything that happened in prior days and weeks and months we take it for granted that asset prices have that all figured out. How many times
have you heard Oh, thats old news; its in the stock. Its all fun and games until someone loses an eye, as the old saying goes, and assuming that the past is the past is fine until its not. There wasnt much about the Financial Crisis of 2007 that wasnt knowable in 2006; you just had to have a reasonable imagination and a respect for the irrationality of markets once the system began to break down. But one lesson of the last five years and there are many is that you shouldnt just assume that Its all in the stock. Reality checks on anything and everything are worth the time and energy. One topic I personally find worth re-examination is the question, How has America changed in the
past five years that will cast a shadow over the countrys history over the next 50 years? Think back to the Great Depression and youll find the seeds of programs such as Social Security and even Medicare/Medicaid. The deprivation of that decade convinced America that it wanted a society that actively tried to make life better for those at the bottom rungs of the economic ladder. Take care of the old with a stipend from Social Security. As the generation that lived through the Depression reached older age, they realized that they needed health care as well. Enter Johnsons concept of a Great Society and health care for senior citizens and the poor Medicare and Medicaid.
The modern Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which most of us know as Food Stamps, also got its start in the Great Depression. It was an effort to link the surplus food of the agricultural system with the poor in the nations cities. Those in tough economic circumstances could buy Stamps that would entitle them to buy both regular foodstuffs as well as discounted surplus produce. The program went dormant during World War II but President Kennedy resurrected it in 1960, altering it from a pay-for-stamps system to a straight entitlement. With some tweaks and alterations, this is the program we have today a nationwide system of evaluating those who at risk of food insecurity (typically making less than 130% of the poverty line) and giving them money to purchase food. The trouble, as I see it, is that the SNAP program has become wildly successful. That is not a slam against the people that use it I personally agree that no one, especially a child, should go to bed hungry in America. But its not hard to see where this program is creeping its way from counter-cyclical stimulus and support to a lasting entitlement program that will be very hard to change. The USDA division that provides the infrastructure for the SNAP FOODSTAMP page 49
Economy/
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Demographics and Changing Social Trends Behind Gasoline Sales Plunge; What About Car Sales?
noreply@blogger.com (Mike Mish Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)
Frontier Group study Transportation and the New Generation: Why Young People Are Driving Less Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:03:00 AM It's no secret (at least it shouldn't From World War II until just a be) that gasoline sales have few years ago, the number of plunged. Here is a chart from my m i l e s d r i v e n a n n u a l l y o n April 6 post Another Plunge in 3- A m e r i c a s r o a d s s t e a d i l y M o n t h R o l l i n g A v e r a g e o f increased. Then, at the turn of the Petroleum and Gasoline Usage for century, something changed: Jan, Feb, March 2012 Americans began driving less. By Jan-Feb-March 2012 petroleum 2011, the average American was and gasoline usage vs. the same driving 6 percent fewer miles per three months in prior years. year than in 2004. click on chart for sharper image The trend away from driving has Every month for quite some time, been led by young people. From the rolling average of petroleum 2001 and 2009, the average and gasoline usage has been annual number of vehicle-miles trending down. The question is traveled by young people (16 to "Why?" 34-year-olds) decreased from Some pin this on car mileage 10,300 miles to 7,900 miles per improvements but that answer is capita a drop of 23 percent. The easy to discredit. Fuel efficiency trend away from steady growth in has been rising for more than a driving is likely to be long-lasting decade, but the plunge did not e v e n o n c e t h e e c o n o m y start until the Great Recession in recovers. Young people are 2007. driving less for a host of reasons However, the Great Recession is higher gas prices, new licensing over, yet gasoline sales have not laws, improvements in technology rebounded. Is this an indication t h a t s u p p o r t a l t e r n a t i v e another recession is on the transportation, and changes in horizon? That the recession never G e n e r a t i o n Y s v a l u e s a n d ended? Something else? preferences all factors that are Transportation and the New likely to have an impact for years Generation to come. Inquiring minds are reading a Americas young people are
from those of older generations. Many young people choose to replace driving with alternative transportation. According to a recent survey by KRC Research and Zipcar, 45 percent of young people (18-34 years old) polled said they have consciously made an effort to replace driving with transportation alternatives this is compared with approximately 32 percent of all older populations. Many of Americas youth prefer to live places where they can easily walk, bike, and take public transportation. According to a recent study by the National Association for Realtors, young people are the generation most likely to prefer to live in an area characterized by nearby shopping, restaurants, schools, and public transportation as opposed to sprawl. Some young people purposely reduce their driving in an effort to curb their environmental impact. In the KRC Zipcar survey, 16 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds polled said they strongly agreed with the statement, I want to protect the environment, so I drive DEMOGRAPHICS page 50
decreasing the amount they drive and increasing their use of transportation alternatives.
According to the National Household Travel Survey, from 2001 to 2009, the annual number of vehicle-miles traveled by young people (16 to 34-yearolds) decreased from 10,300 miles to 7,900 miles per capita a drop of 23 percent. In 2009, 16 to 34-year-olds as a whole took 24 percent more bike trips than they took in 2001, despite the age group actually Young peoples transportation shrinking in size by 2 percent. priorities and preferences differ
In 2009, 16 to 34-year-olds walked to destinations 16 percent more frequently than did 16 to 34year-olds living in 2001. From 2001 to 2009, the number of passenger-miles traveled by 16 to 34-year-olds on public transit increased by 40 percent. According to Federal Highway Administration, from 2000 to 2010, the share of 14 to 34-yearolds without a drivers license increased from 21 percent to 26 percent.
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Culture/
REFLECTIONS
hijacked ships and 711 hostages, according to ICC IMB figures. Piracy is growing at about 10% per year and the heaviest activity is centered in Somalia. Juliet Marine Systems is discussing with the shipping industry the use of GHOST boats to provide private security patrols for their ships and insurance customers. Smaller boat owners wishing to navigate close to areas of concern would also be able to contract for security for their transit. Sancoff says, "This service, made possible by GHOST technology, could prevent tragedies such as the recent Quest hijacking, that resulted in the killing of four Americans, and the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, which also could have ended with American fatalities." Free Market Solution Please note that " The Ghost" was not designed with taxpayer dollars. Also note that the free market itself may provide a solution to Somalia pirates. Contrast the design approach by Juliet Marine with the military procurement process we have today, complete with costs overruns at taxpayer expense for grandiose ideas that cannot possibly work in the first place. Recall that the 911 attack was made by a group of "air pirates" using not much more than razor blades and surprise. Yet, Romney
wants to build a strategic missile defense system. Why? Apparently Romney is still reliving World War II and the Cold War, both of which were won decades ago. Is there any risk of a nuclear missile attack on the US. The answer is no. Moreover, even if there was risk, such an attack might be impossible to stop anyway, especially if launched from a submarine or small boat just offshore. Note there is a far greater risk of a suitcase nuke attack for which there is no defense other than stopping it via intelligence gathering. We could easily slash our defense budget in half if we stopped fighting stupid wars, pulled our troops back home from the 140 countries they are stationed, and focused on smaller, lighter tactical weapons and weapons with general defense capability rather than bigger war-mongering machines. We have indeed run out of money, and it's long overdue that we start thinking about real strategic " defense" needs as opposed to preparing to do simultaneous battle with Iran, China and the rest of the world. We do not need battleships to defeat Somalian pirates. Indeed the above press release suggests we do not even need US military
at all for that purpose. So what do we need battleships for? What do we need more nuclear weapons for? Don't we have enough nukes to blow up the entire world already? Why do we need troops in 140 countries? If troops are needed to defend other countries, shouldn't those other countries pay us to have us there? These are the kinds of adult questions we should be asking. So why isn't Congress tackling those questions? Four Reasons
military complex hell-bent on starting more wars. Thus, even if we solved entitlement issues (that both parties refuse to touch and/or cannot compromise on), constant wars and ever-increasing military budgets will eventually bankrupt the nation. History shows reckless military spending has been the downfall of every great nation. Sadly, the US is on a collision course with exactly that reality. Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. Defense contractors bribe com Senators and Representatives with Click Here To Scroll Thru My campaign contributions. Those Recent Post List Mike "Mish" who are "soft on defense" do not S h e d l o c k i s a r e g i s t e r e d get bribe money and have a hard investment advisor representative time getting elected. for SitkaPacific Capital Congress likes jobs in their Management. Sitka Pacific is an districts and absurd levels of asset management firm whose c o m p l e t e l y u s e l e s s d e f e n s e goal is strong performance and contracts provides high-paying low volatility, regardless of jobs. market direction. Visit http:// Neanderthals like Mitt Romney w w w . s i t k a p a c i f i c . c o m / are still fighting the Cold War. account_management.html to The Supreme Court absurdly l e a r n m o r e a b o u t w e a l t h ruled that corporations are people, m a n a g e m e n t a n d c a p i t a l thereby enabling the warmongers preservation strategies of Sitka a n d d e f e n s e c o n t r a c t o r s t o Pacific. outspend any candidate who is not committed to more wars. Unfortunately, both president Obama and Mitt Romney are committed to the industrial
Eau de Apple: Smell like a MacBook Pro

(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:16:00 PM
Drive gadget geeks olfactory bulbs wild by dousing yourself in the smell of a freshly opened Mac. A new cologne by Air Aroma and Greatest Hits captures the aromatic funk of the aluminum casing, plastic keys, and crisp cardboard packaging, triggering memories of that first Mac experience. Scent specialists created the fragrance, dubbed De Facto Standard, at a lab in France by carefully piecing together glue, plastic, rubber and paper smells to perfectly match the odor emitted while unboxing. "Hey, baby, your unibody is so slammin', you don't need an optical drive." Full story at OhGizmo. All the Mac, none of the funk. Permalink| Leave a comment
Culture/
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FOODSTAMP
program, which is technically a joint Federal/State effort, put out an interesting report earlier in the week that gave me a chance to think through the programs goals and consider its role in American society. A few points from the report as well as the basics on the program here: As of January 2012, the most recent month available, there are 46.5 million Americans in the program. That equates to 22.2 million households. To put these numbers in perspective, that is 20% of all households in the country. If the Food Stamp Nation were it state, it would be the largest one in the Union. If the adults enrolled in the SNAP program (about half the total) all voted for one Presidential candidate in the Fall, they would represent over 2x the margin of victory in the last election. SNAP is not supposed to be the only source of food purchasing power for a household in the program. The calculations used by the USDA to determine the amount of the benefit assume that SNAP participants will spend 30% of their income on food. Keep in mind that the food component of the Consumer Price Index is 8%. The average household in SNAP receives $277 /month; the average participant receives $132/month.
The typical SNAP participant is a child under the age of 18. This demographic accounts for 47% of the program. Households with children account for 71% of all demand for SNAP. Surprisingly, the elderly are only 8% of the program. Households in the SNAP program are overwhelming reliant on other government transfer payments to make ends meet. Earnings only represent 30% of their income. The remainder comes from Social Security (21%), Social Security Insurance/ Disability (21%), child support payments (10%), and other mostly government payments. Its hard to know how long the current cohort of participants those who started receiving benefits in the last 3-4 years will be in the program. Those in the program in the early-to-mid 2000s seem to stay enrolled for long periods of time 7 years on average. Over half of those who left the program returned within 2 years. Less than half of the SNAP benefit paid monthly goes to buy food. This is an unexpected finding, but the math behind it shows that when a household starts to receive SNAP, they shift spending patterns. If the SNAP benefit for a given household is, for example, $100/person then the
typical increase in food purchases is $14-47/person/month.
recession. Have we reached a point where Americans want a clear and potentially permanent I could go on and on the link to social safety net? And how far the full report is included below. should it go? Again, the current Theres some surprising stuff in SNAP program is a cheap way to there, like the fact that typical provide this, so from a budgetary Democratic states are much worse or societal standpoint it is hard to at ensuring that their poorer argue that it breaks the bank. But citizens are enrolled in the what if it is an emblem of program than all those supposedly something greater? In many ways heartless Republican enclaves. Or I think this is a big chunk of what that, contrary to what youve read the November election will be in the press, EBT cards (the credit about, and at least the Food Stamp card-like method of payment used program seems to show that by SNAP) cant be used at ATMs Americans have made up their in strip clubs and casinos. That is minds. another program entirely. Report: http://www.fns.usda.gov/ But my key takeaways are that a ORA/menu/Published/SNAP/ large percentage of the population F I L E S / O t h e r / 20% of households is a big BuildingHealthyAmerica.pdf number is locked into this Average: program. There are endless Your rating: None Average: 5( 5 studies in the world of behavioral votes) finance that show that people are This entry passed through the very quick to budget increases in Full-Text RSS service if this is disposable income as permanent. your content and you're reading it And dont forget that by the on someone else's site, please read USDAs own numbers, most of the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentthe benefit is effectively NOT only/faq.php#publishers. Five being spent on food. In the Filters recommends: Donate to narrowest sense, the money spent Wikileaks. on the SNAP program is tiny relative to the Federal budget - $6 billion a month, or a drop in the $270 billion/month government spend. But this is where I wonder about the long shadow of the last
Boston's Fenway Park Is 100 - See the Red Sox's Most Famous Fans
Allie Merriam (PopSugar)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 9:25:58 AM
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are just some of the celebrities who've logged good hours in the stands at Boston's Fenway Park over the years cheering on the Red Sox. Both Boston boys have brought girlfriends there on dates - Matt romanced wife Luciana there, and Ben's showed it to wife Jennifer Garner. Ben even set a pivotal scene in his 2010 movie The Town inside Fenway! Ben and Matt are in good company when it comes to showing love for both the Red Sox and Fenway. In honor of the park's big 100th anniversary today, click through to see some of the Red Sox's most famous fans! View Slideshow
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Culture/
DEMOGRAPHICS
less. This is compared to approximately 9 percent of older generations.
(especially points 2 and 4) will help put a cap on car sales. Thus, those looking for auto Between 1980 and 1990 those sales' reversion-to-the-mean plus The trend toward reduced driving not in the labor force was an overshoot, may have seen the has occurred even among young relatively constant while the labor overshoot already. people who are employed and/or force grew at a steady rate. Mike "Mish" Shedlock are doing well financially. Between 1990 and 2007 the h t t p : / / labor force grew faster than those globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. The average young person (age not in the labor force. Huge rise in those "not in labor com 16-34) with a job drove 10,700 Since 2008 those not in the force" Click Here To Scroll Thru My miles in 2009, compared with labor force is in a strong uptrend Boomer demographics and Recent Post List Mike "Mish" 12,800 miles in 2001. while the labor force has been retirement (much of it forced) S h e d l o c k i s a r e g i s t e r e d From 2001 to 2009, young flat. C h r o n i c l o n g - t e r m investment advisor representative people (16-34 years old) who unemployment for SitkaPacific Capital lived in households with annual Nearly 9 million have dropped Changing social trends in Management. Sitka Pacific is an i n c o m e s o f o v e r $ 7 0 , 0 0 0 out of the labor force since younger generations, no doubt asset management firm whose increased their use of public November 2007 while the labor accelerated by the recession and goal is strong performance and transit by 100 percent, biking by force itself is flat. It is safe to student debt low volatility, regardless of 122 percent, and walking by 37 assume that group of dropouts is Declining real wages leave market direction. Visit http:// percent. driving far fewer miles on consumers with less discretionary w w w . s i t k a p a c i f i c . c o m / Whitson Gordon (Lifehacker) average than they were before. spending cash (think shorter account_management.html to Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:30:00 AM Long-Term Unemployment Boomer Demographics vacations closer to home) learn more about wealth Android: If you've used Generation Y is not the only The mass retirement of boomers, High price of gasoline management and capital Android's Facebook app recently, reason behind the plunge. Please much of it forced retirement is Increase in online shopping preservation strategies of Sitka you know how slow and bloated consider Mean Duration Long- also in play. By forced retirement means fewer trips Pacific. its become. If you're tired of Term-Unemployment. I mean those who exhausted Improved fuel rates and cashstaring at the Facebook loading From 1980-2010 the average unemployment benefits and for-clunkers screen, Fast Facebook is a cool, length of unemployment is retired to collect social security customizable, blazing fast between 15 and 20 weeks. Now it benefits even though they really What About Car Sales? Facebook client for Android. is 40. The unemployed are not want a job. Points two and three are a subset More driving to jobs they do not have. Cash-for-Clunkers of those "not in labor force". Labor Force vs. Those Not in Timing is such that we can safely Looking ahead, points 1 through 4
Labor Force Labor Force Analysis
rule out cash-for-clunkers as a significant reason behind the plunge. Likewise, improvements in fuel mileage have continuous over decades and cannot account for a sudden plunge. Reasons for Plunge in Gasoline Sales in Order of Importance
Fast Facebook Brings a Speedier, Ice Cream Sandwich-Inspired Facebook Experience to Android [Facebook]
Experiment with Food and Wine Pairings with The Perfect Dish for It: Pizza [Food]
Melanie Pinola (Lifehacker)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 9:30:00 AM
Pairing wines or other drinks
with food may seem really complicated because of the intricate play of flavors. You don't have to have a sommelier's trained
palate, though, to explore and
learn more about how drinks pair with foods. One easy meal to use as your base is pizza. More
Economy/
51
Google 1Q 2012 Earnings Update

Reggie Middleton
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:29:33 AM
Google posted robust 1Q results topping the consensus estimates by a wide margin revenues increased 24% to US$10.6 billion as against US$8.6 billion in the same period, a year earlier. This was significantly higher than the consensus estimate of US$8.2 billion for the period. Revenues were in line with our estimates we expect full year revenues to total US$43.1 billion. Revenues
from Google websites accounted for around 69% of total advertising revenues while that from the partner websites contributed to around 27% of revenues. The remaining 4% of revenues were accounted for by licensing and other fees. Geographically, the US generated around 46% of total revenues, UK accounted for 11% of total revenues while other markets accounted for the rest 43% of revenues. Growth in revenues was driven
by an increase in click volumes, especially in the US market. The number of clicks increased by a significant 39% year-on-year and 7% quarter-on-quarter during 1Q highlighting the increasing popularity of the search engine. However, on the flip side, the cost -per-click or the average cost paid by advertisers declined 12% yearon-year during the period largely due to the growing business in the emerging markets and mobile space, which usually carry lower margins. Nonetheless,
Google's strong position in the mobile space including both smartphones and tablets is enabling the company to generate robust revenue growth. The Company also continues to benefit from the success of its DoubleClick ad exchange as well as the overall improving quality of advertisements. Google also witnessed growth in the European and Asian markets. Japan registered strong performance largely on account of higher contribution from SMB segment.
Total costs increased 16% yearon-year to US$3.8 billion as against US$2.9 billion in the same period, a year earlier. This was largely due to the fact that the Company made investments in new products, increased its advertising expenses as well as increased wages. Further, higher amortization charges, the data center operations cost as well as content acquisition costs drove the overall cost of sales higher. As a GOOGLE page 53
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Economy/ Culture/ Sports/
Guest Post: The Market's Getting A Wedgie

Tyler Durden
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:38:18 PM
Via Charles Hugh-Smith of OfTwoMinds blog, The "risk-on" stock market is getting a wedgie, and so is its "risk-off" counterpart, the U.S. dollar. The U.S. stock market is getting a wedgie, and so is the U.S. dollar. That matters, as wedges tend to break up or down in a big way. Stocks are a "risk-on" trade, the dollar is a "risk-off" trade, so they are riding a see-saw with wedgies. Yes, I realize this is an unpleasant image, so let's turn to the charts. A wedge is characterized by a compression of price into a narrowing triangle as Bulls and Bears battle over who will lead the next trend. The wedge is clearly visible on a daily chart of the S&P 500 (SPX). Note the loss of momentum in the recent uptrend as RSI, the Bollinger bands and the 20-day moving average (MA) are all trending down. We see two wedges on this
PopSugar's Picks: Our 10 Favorite Eco-Loving Celebs!

PopSugar (PopSugar)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:22:05 AM
weekly chart of the U.S. dollar index (DXY, or on stockcharts.com, USD). The first wedge was traced out between May and August 2011, and it broke to the upside in early September 2011, resulting in a 10% gain in the next few months. Now another wedge has been traced out around the key longterm line of support and resistance around 80. The direction of the break may be telegraphed by MACD, which is solidly above
the neutral line and the stochastic, which is also trending higher. Here is a daily chart look at the same wedge. Even the MACD has formed a wedge of consolidationindecision. Since the SPX is risk-on and the dollar is risk-off, then any move in one will likely be reflected in the other. These wedges are nearing the point of decision, so next week might be slightly more interesting than the previous three weeks. Average:
Your rating: None Average: 5( 2 votes) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
In honor of Earth Day, which is Sunday, we're taking a look at the celebrities who love giving back. Whether they're thinking green in their own lives or promoting environmental habits and products, these stars do their part to help clean things up. Click through our slideshow to see who made the list, and make sure to check out all of our eco content ahead of Sunday's holiday. View Slideshow
Rare baseball card sells for $1.2M at auction

A New Jersey man paid $1.2 million for a rare 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card in an online
auction that brought interest from many potential buyers who had never owned a card before, the
sale organizer said.
Economy/ Culture/ Sports/
53
GOOGLE
result, higher costs had a negative impact on gross margins which contracted by 136 basis points to 64.4% as against 65.8% in the year earlier quarter. Operating expenses increased 16% year-on-year to US$7.3 billion as against US$6.3 billion in the same period, a year earlier. A 25% jump in selling and marketing expenses was largely responsible for the spike in operating expenses. The R&D expenses in fact declined as a percentage of sales during 1Q. Higher operating expenses had an adverse affect on margins which contracted 77 basis points to 31.8% during 1Q.
From the profitability perspective, Google outshone nearly all its competitors as earnings increased by a significant 61% to US$2.9 billion (or US$8.75 per share) as against US$1.8 billion (or US$5.51 per share). Further, the Company continues to have a strong balance sheet with cash balances at an enormous US$49.3 billion at the end of 1Q. All paying subscribers should download the Google Q1-2012 Valuation Summmary, wherein we have updated the valuation numbers for Google using a variety of metrics. Google still exhibits the
likelihood that they will control mobile computing for the balance of the decade. A couple of bits from our archives... Average: Your rating: None Average: 3( 2 votes) This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
NFL commish, Minn. governor talk stadium urgency

Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:45:20 AM
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says Minnesota legislators need to act this year to approve a new publicly financed stadium for the Vikings.
19 Facts About McDonald's That Will Blow Your Mind (MCD)

Gus Lubin and Mamta Badkar (Money Game)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:12:00 PM
McDonald's just reported its first quarter financial results this morning. The global fast food chain generated $6.54 billion during the period and delivered earnings per share of $1.23. Global comparable sales increased 7.3 percent. While the top and bottom line came in line with analysts' expectations, there are plenty of facts about the company that you
may find completely unexpected. The restaurant giant has grown through the recession and recovery. Which makes sense since it sells more than 75 burgers every second. McDonald's' daily
customer traffic (62 million) is more than the population of Great Britain Source: Yahoo Finance McDonald's sells more than 75 hamburgers every second
Source: McDonald's Operations and Training Manual via Side Dish McDonald's feeds 68 million people per day, that's about 1 percent of the world's population Source: Societe General via Dominic Chu See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.
Facts about Earth Day [infographic]

(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:44:00 PM
Via HR Block. (H/T @ritubpant) Appreciate the Earth by going green. Permalink| Leave a comment
54
Culture/ Featured/
Ailing Chuck Colson Praised for Legacy of 'Moral Courage, Biblical Insight'
(Christianpost.com > Most Popular)
blesses us with more years of Chuck Colson's service to people. He has built a legacy that will continue to grow and we need him ( P h o t o : F a c e b o o k / C h u c k on the scene in today's troubled Colson) Chuck Colson, founder of age more than ever," said Tom Prison Fellowship, is seen here in Minnery, Senior Vice President of this undated photo. Focus on the Family, in a phone interview with CP. April 18, 2012| 5:10 pm Colson was hospitalized after "For nearly four decades, Chuck speaking at the Breaking the Colson has been used greatly by Spiral of Silence conference on God to advance the Gospel, March 30 in Lansdowne, Va. The comfort prisoners and show P r i s o n F e l l o w s h i p f o u n d e r compassion to their families, and s u f f e r e d a n i n t r a c e r e b r a l stand for truth in the public h e m o r r h a g e a n d u n d e r w e n t arena," Rob Schwarzwalder, surgery the following morning to Senior Vice President for the remove a pool of clotted blood on Family Research Council, told his brain. His condition worsened The Christian Post Wednesday. on Tuesday, however, and Jim "Few Christian leaders have built Liske, CEO of Prison Fellowship, a ministry with the reach and revealed today that he may soon e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f P r i s o n "be with the Lord." Fellowship, Breakpoint, the Doctors revealed that during his Centurion program and many hospital stay, Colson has been other initiatives." able to talk, hear, and process "May the Lord strengthen his information as well as execute wonderful family during this demands. difficult time," Schwarzwalder Like us on Facebook added. Colson served as an aide to "We sincerely hope that God President Richard Nixon and
pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the Watergate scandal in 1974. He converted to Christianity soon after, and has been known for his defense of the sanctity of life, his traditional stance on marriage and support of religious freedom. In recent years, Colson has pushed for Christian political leaders to sign the "Manhattan Declaration," a testament proposed in 2009 that identifies and pledges to support the three most foundational issues in society the sanctity of life, the historic understanding of marriage, and religious liberty. Colson helped draft the declaration, and explained that although these three issues do not comprise the whole scope of Christian moral concern, they can be viewed as the most foundational. "We're not segregating issues," Colson expressed. "We're saying all these issues are important but they flow out of three foundations." Twitter was full of messages
from various Christian pastors and figures across the nation offering their support for Colson and his family Wednesday. "Great leader, great thinker, great Christian, great friend. Well done, faithful servant," wrote apologist author Lee Strobel, who has published over 20 books. "Would love to eavesdrop on conversation between Chuck Colson & Jesus if Chuck passes," he added. Bobb Wann, pastor and worship leader at the American Missionary Fellowship in Portland, Ore., tweeted: "Prayers for the family of Chuck Colson. Thankful for his God-honoring life & legacy." "Pray for Chuck Colson's family, and thank God for the man's faithful witness," tweeted Travis Gilbert, associate pastor of Rodgers Baptist Church in Garland, Texas. "My friend Chuck Colson will soon be home with the Lord, taking a turn for the worse yesterday w/doctors advising family to gather," said James Emery White, senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church
in Charlotte, N.C. Other acknowledged mistakes Colson had made in life, as all do, but praised him for turning his life around through the help of Christ. "Chuck Colson is near death. A sinner saved by grace who became a great man of God. Christianity will miss his faith and work," wrote Pastor Mark Decker from CrossWalk Worship Center in Enon, Ohio. A famous quote by Colson was retweeted by many: "Remain at your posts and do your duty for the glory of God and His kingdom." READ: FOCUS ON THE FAMILY PRESIDENT JIM DALY REFLECTS ON WHAT CHUCK COLSON MEANS TO HIM This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Negotiating With Iran, 1979 and 2012

Elliott Abrams (The Weekly Standard)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:40:00 AM
As the United States and other
members of the P5+1 commence negotiations with Iran, it is worth recalling the classic analysis of Irans negotiating style sent in from the U.S. embassy in Tehran
on August 13, 1979. The author of
the cable, political counselor Victor Tomseth, and the man who authorized it, charge daffaires Bruce Laingen, became hostages when the embassy was seized on
November 4, 1979.
Culture/
55
TD Jakes: Scripture Condemns Homosexuality; Not My Job to Give Opinions

(Christianpost.com > Most Popular)
began. "The perception in our society today is that if you don't say you're for same-sex marriage April 17, 2012| 12:04 pm or if you say homosexuality is a Speaking with Oprah Winfrey sin that you're homophobic and during her new series, "Oprah's you're against gay people. And Next Chapter," Bishop T.D. Jakes that's not true." of The Potter's House in Dallas, The pastor continued, "I'm not Texas told the media mogul he called to give my opinion. I'm thinks homosexual acts are called as a pastor to give the condemned in the Scriptures and scriptural position on it," the it is not his job as a pastor to give pastor added. "Doesn't mean that I personal opinions. have to agree with you to love Jakes, whose church boasts about you. I don't dislike anybody. I 30,000 members, appeared on love everybody." "Oprah's Next Chapter" on April Winfrey went on to ask if Jakes 8 to discuss his ministry, marriage thinks being gay is a sin. and how he deals with critics. Like us on Facebook A l s o b r o u g h t u p i n t h e "I think that sex between two conversation, which at one point p e o p l e o f t h e s a m e s e x i s included the pastor's wife Serita condemned in the Scriptures, and Jakes, were accusations some as long as it is condemned in the people have not been welcomed Scriptures, I don't get to say what to Jakes' megachurch. I think. I get to say what the Bible "Would you say that everybody is says," Jakes said. embraced in your church?" "I'm not particularly political. I'm Winfrey asked. "Cause you know not particularly denominational. you have been accused of saying I'm not worried about any of that," that gay people would not be he added. "I'm not anti-gay, I'm welcome." not anti-anything. I don't want to "That's not true at all," Jakes even be known by what I'm
against." Critics immediately contradicted Jakes' comments by branding the pastor's statements as "homophobic" and "anti-gay," with some in the liberal media even calling the megachurch pastor hypocritical in light of an incident involving one of his son's several years ago. New York-based Gawker.com portrayed Winfrey as asking Jakes if he "likes gay people," while calling the minister a bigot. "[...] she lets Jakes spout anti-gay sentiment while swearing off homophobia," Gawker's Rich Juzwiak writes in his article, titled "Anti-Gay Pastor Doesn't Want to Be Known For Being Anti-Gay." Juzwiak claims that by "disagreeing" with gay people, one is actually "disagreeing with something that is fundamental to their existence: how they love." He goes on to insinuate that holding a biblical view of homosexuality "values an institution over human beings who are going to love each other and be together anyway, like they
have been since the dawn of time." Dismissively calling Jakes' "love" for homosexuals worthless, Juzwiak points readers to a 2009 report on Jermaine Jakes' arrest in a "gay sex sting" in a local park. Jakes' stepson was accused of exposing himself to two undercover police officers. Gay publication, Dallasvoice.com, took its criticism of Jakes stance on Scripture and homosexuality even further, stating that the minister "is condemning the countless LGBTQ youth who are among his flock at the Potter's House, perhaps pushing some closer to suicide" and shaming those possibly infected with HIV/AIDS through a homosexual encounter. In his interview on "Oprah's Next Chapter," Jakes told Winfrey he wants to be known for what he is for, saying, "I'm for people bettering themselves, no matter who they are and where they are, doing all they can to be all they can be." The Potter's House, a
nondenominational church with dozens of outreach ministries, was founded in 1996 and "brings together the down-and-out, the homeless and released offender to sit beside the up-and-coming, the celebrity and the community leader," according to a description on its website. SEE VIDEO OF T.D. JAKES BEING INTERVIEWED BY OPRAH WINFREY READ: CHRISTIANITY IS NOT ABOUT GOING FROM GAY TO STRAIGHT; IT'S ABOUT TURNING FROM SIN T O J E S U S nicola.menzie@christianpost.com @namenzie This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Culture/
Kickstarter of the Week: Instaprint your Instagrams

Tim Maly (Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:41:00 PM
A pair of Instaprint printers. Photo courtesy of BREAKFAST Everyone loves Instagram. Mark Zuckerberg loved it so much that he spent a billion dollars on it, which led other people who loved Instagram to write hilarious posts about the future of the service. In the midst of all of this is Breakfast, a company that loved Instagram so much that it built a locative printer on top of its APIs. Now its trying to take its prototype to market. We love the metaness of a printer that pulls faux-retro photos from the internet. We love it so much, were annointing it as our first Kickstarter of the Week. Heres how it works: You configure the printer with a hashtag or a location and connect it to the internet. It links itself up with instagram, looking for photos tagged with that hashtag or the location. When it finds one, it automatically prints it out. Ever been to a wedding with disposable cameras on every table? Instaprint is kind of like that. This makes it perfect for parties and special events. Ever been to a wedding with disposable cameras on every table? Instaprint is kind of like that, and also kind of like a
photobooth, but for the 21st century. We all still love holding a photo in our hand from a fun night or special moment, but we dont want shoeboxes of them laying around, says Andrew Zolty, Instaprints creative director, Being able to take a modern-day platform and give back a small piece of this retro love is just the right amount to fill that small space in our hearts. Say what you will, this is still the
best interface for browsing photos. Image courtesy of Breakfast. Breakfast first developed a prototype of Instaprint in 2011. It came out of a water-cooler conversation about what could be done with Instagrams newly released APIs. With Instagram being clearly inspired by the old Polaroid instants, we started chatting about how it would be cool to be able to turn Instagrams into those old
prints, says Zolty. They gave themselves two weeks to bring a prototype to SxSW. The company chose Kickstarter as the path to market because it enables it to maintain complete control over every aspect of its work. Breakfast was built to embrace the roller coaster of emotions that goes with growing a company that way, he says. The other big benefit to Kickstarter, Zolty says, is that it allows Breakfast to test the waters
and ensure there is a demand before throwing its full weight into converting Instaprint from a prototype to a consumer product. At the moment, that test looks daunting, as Breakfast is still under half of its $500,000 funding goal with less than 10 days to go. Whatever happens, Breakfast has already started renting out the prototypes. Instaprint has made an appearance at the Grammys and concerts at Madison Square Garden. As for Instagrams new owner, Zolty strikes a cautiously optimistic note. The prospect of access to Facebooks 845 million users is amazing, but not if it changes the product. Like most dedicated Instagram users out there, we hope the product retains its simplicity and is transitioned in the smoothest way possible. You can support the project and pre-order your own Instaprinter on their Kickstarter Page. If you just want to rent the printer, you can find out more at Instaprint.me. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Culture/
57
FBI Uses 'Sledgehammer' to Seize E-Mail Server in Search for Bomb Threat Evidence
Kim Zetter (Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:41:00 PM
In an effort to uncover the source of bomb threats sent to the University of Pittsburgh, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized an entire server on Wednesday that is used by anonymous remailing service Mixmaster as well several progressive rights groups. The server was seized from a colocation facility in New York with a search warrant served by the FBI. In addition to Mixmasters remailing service, which helps human rights activists and others prevent their communications from being traced to them, the server was used by the Seattlebased digital activist group Riseup Networks, as well as May First/ People Link, a politically progressive internet service provider. The server was operated by European Counter Network, an ISP based in Italy. The seizure silenced more than 300 e-mail accounts, between 5080 e-mail lists, and several websites, according to a statement about the seizure released by Riseup on Thursday. The seized
hardware had served academics, artists, historians, feminist groups, gay rights groups, community centers, and free speech groups, among others. The FBI is using a sledgehammer approach, shutting down service to hundreds of users due to the actions of one anonymous person, wrote Riseup spokesman Devin Theriot-Orr in the statement. This is particularly misguided because there is
unlikely to be any information on the server regarding the source of the threatening emails. Mixmaster is designed to prevent authorities from tracing emails it does not record logs of connections or details of who sent messages making it of little use to authorities Theriot-Orr said. There is therefore no legitimate purpose for the FBI to seize this server because they will not be able to obtain any information
followed up with explosives, however. The FBI did not respond to calls for comment. Its not the first time the FBI has seized entire servers, resulting in a loss of business and service to multiple parties not a target of an investigation. In 2009, the FBI seized multiple servers in a raid on a Texas data center over an investigation into VoIP fraud that was prompted by complaints from AT&T and Verizon about unpaid bills owed by some of the data center customers. As a result, Liquid Motors, which provides inventory management and marketing services to national automobile dealers and was not part of the investigation, was unable to fulfill its service about the sender, he wrote. This contracts with customers. It was i s p l a i n l y e x t r a - j u d i c i a l just one of about 50 companies punishment and an attack on free that were put out of business by speech and anonymity on the the raid. internet and serves as a chilling Photo: IceNineJon/Flickr effect on others providers of This entry passed through the anonymous remailers or other Full-Text RSS service if this is anonymous services. your content and you're reading it Dozens of threats have been on someone else's site, please read made targeting the university the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentsince February, some of which only/faq.php#publishers. Five were delivered to media outlets. Filters recommends: Donate to T h e t h r e a t s h a v e n o t b e e n Wikileaks.
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Culture/ Finance/
Chuck Colson 'Will Soon 10 Cool Things You Be With the Lord;' Family Didn't Know About Stephen Hawking Gathers at Bedside
Jane McGrath (HowStuffWorks Daily Feed)
future of the human race. Many find it surprising, for (Christianpost.com > Most talk happily with Patty and the clotted blood on his brain. instance, that, despite his Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:00:56 PM Popular) kids it seems that God may be During his recovery, he has been influential body of work, calling him home," the CEO able to talk, hear, and process Even if you don't follow the Hawking hasn't yet been awarded added. information as well as execute developing theories in physics, the Nobel Prize. We'll talk about (Photo: The Christian Post) Liske has asked for continuous demands, doctors reported. you have probably heard of the s o m e o f t h e r e m a r k a b l e Chuck Colson, founder of Prison prayers for both Colson and his Colson served as an aide to renowned physicist Stephen distinctions he has received, Fellowship, speaking to hundreds family. President Richard Nixon and Hawking. Most known as a however. of pastors and ministry leaders at "I cannot tell you how much your pleaded guilty to Watergate- brilliant mind in a paralyzed body, Another interesting fact: t h e 1 9 t h A n n u a l N a t i o n a l prayers, cards and well-wishes related charges in 1974. He he's prided himself on making his Hawking was born on Jan. 8, Conference in Woodbridge, Va. have meant to Patty and the converted to Christianity in the c o m p l e x p h y s i c a l c o n c e p t s 1942, which just happened to be on Tuesday, April 9, 2008. family and to Chuck," he said. wake of the Watergate scandal. accessible to the public and the 300th anniversary of Galileo's "He loves you all deeply, and I S E E V I D E O O F C H U C K writing the bestseller, "A Brief death. April 18, 2012| 12:08 pm know his greatest desire beyond COLSON'S FAMOUS AND History of Time." But this has just been the warm"It is with a heavy, but hopeful seeing Jesus is that the work he INSPIRATIONAL 2 MINUTE And if you are a fan of Conan up. Next, we'll delve into some heart that I share with you that it and all of us have been called to WARNING SERMON O'Brien, "The Simpsons" or "Star fascinating and unexpected facts appears our friend, brother and will continue. As Chuck would R E A D : I M A G I N E L I F E Trek," you might have seen him about Hawking, including some founder will soon be home with say, 'Remain at your posts and do W I T H O U T H E A V E N brandishing his cool wit during things about his profoundly the Lord," said Jim Liske, CEO of your duty for the glory of God This entry passed through the guest appearances on those inspirational story. P r i s o n F e l l o w s h i p , o n and His kingdom.'" Full-Text RSS service if this is shows. This entry passed through the Wednesday. Like us on Facebook your content and you're reading it Even if you are familiar with his Full-Text RSS service if this is Doctors have advised Colson's Colson, 80, fell ill while speaking on someone else's site, please read academic work, however, there your content and you're reading it family to gather at his bedside at the Breaking the Spiral of the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content- are many interesting facts you on someone else's site, please read after the evangelical leader's Silence conference on March 30 only/faq.php#publishers. Five might not know about Hawking, the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentcondition "took a decided turn," in Lansdowne, Va. The Prison Filters recommends: Donate to stretching from his time at school only/faq.php#publishers. Five according to Liske. Fellowship founder suffered an Wikileaks. and gradual development of Filters recommends: Donate to "[W]hile we had seen some intracerebral hemorrhage and disability to his opinions on the Wikileaks. h o p e f u l s i g n s f o r C h u c k ' s underwent surgery the following recovery including his ability to morning to remove a pool of
Web address regulator ICANN still hasn't fixed IT glitch

Katherine Rushton (Finance News - Business news from the UK and world)
The regulator in charge of the world's internet addresses is facing fresh embarrassment after
an IT glitch delayed its highlypublicised battle for addresses for the second time.
Culture/
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Padcaster Turns Your New iPad Into a Complete Video Production Rig
Christina Bonnington (Wired Top Stories)
lens, promising a cost-effective method for tapping into the performance of Apples improved Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:42:00 PM camera hardware. The Padcaster gives your iPad In the image above, a Carl Zeiss legs and a lens. Photo courtesy lens was attached to the case The Verge using Padcasters $80 Lenscaster The third-generation iPad has a mount. The case itself is made of great camera, but youre not going aluminum, but inside its padded to shoot high-quality video by to ensure a comfortable, snug fit holding the tablet in your hands, for your Apple tablet. and awkwardly aiming it at For those questioning the iPads content. No, youre going to video chops, know this: The thirdbenefit from some mechanical generation model can record assistance, and the Padcaster 1080p video at up to 30 fps, could be the solution. Its a super which is actually on par (specsturdy, $200 iPad case that wise, at least) with some DSLRs. attaches to a tripod and a camera Although the iPad certainly wont
give you the same 35mm quality look as top-of-the-line DSLRs, it does offer the added benefit of acting as an all-in-one workstation where you can not only capture
photos and video, but also edit it too. In all, a Padcaster/iPad combo could be an invaluable combo for shooting, editing and distributing polished videos
remotely, on the fly. The Padcaster debuted at the National Association of Broadcasters 2012 show in Las Vegas this week, and its on sale now. Future models will be available for the iPhone and other kinds of tablets. via The Verge This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
MythBusters: Buried Treasure

(HowStuffWorks Daily Feed)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:00:56 PM
MythBusters videos of all time Views: 920109 (we're guessing you haven't seen Runtime: 03:27 This video's THESE in a while, if at all). List page>> MythBusters: Buried Treasure : Added: April 16, 2012 http:// our sites Videos : Discovery Channel d s c . d i s c o v e r y . c o m / v i d e o s / video You need the Flash Player mythbusters-buried-treasure/ Now mobile version 10.1.0.0 or higher and a P l a y i n g M y t h B u s t e r s : shop JavaScript enabled browser to MythBloopers Witness Adam run stay connected view this site. Playlist ( 25) Info naked, Jamie become frustrated corporate About This Playlist MythBusters: and Tory twist his tongue in this Discovery Channel Videos Buried Treasure Take a look at series of early bloopers. CONTENT LINKS 15 Discovery.com's most popular Video Added: January 01, 1970 Enterprise Feedback
Management CRM Integration This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Culture/ Finance/
Zac Efron Has Lots of Ladies by His Side as The Lucky One Hits Theaters
Lindsay Miller (PopSugar)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 9:56:57 AM
Zac Efron and Taylor Schilling teamed up last night at the Cinema Society and Men's Health screening of The Lucky One in NYC. Zac is the magazine's latest cover star, and though the publication is geared toward guys, he had the support of plenty of women yesterday. His leading ladies Taylor and Blythe Danner shared the spotlight with him, while Nicky Hilton and model Doutzen Kroes likewise stopped by to see the film. One of the most important women in Zac's life - his mother, Starla - has also had a chance to watch the movie. Last night, Zac said he felt
awkward during the love scenes when Starla joined him for a recent screening. Zac admitted that he even tried to sneak out of the theater during the hot-andheavy moments. View Slideshow
Play house with breakfast

(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:54:00 PM
If youve given up trying to get the kids to stop playing during breakfast, might as well make the most of it and whip up some edible dollhouse furniture with this unique project by Ryosuke Fukusada and Rui Pereira. According to their website, This project was born as a
reflection about the velocity of the contemporary furniture industry and how the consumers are unable to digest the huge amount of new products launched every year. For this Salone we propose an alternative way of experiencing furniture. We present the furniture pan, an object that mixes both traditional Japanese small cakes baby castella with a Portuguese egg-based pastry called ovos
moles. Thats some deep thought for such an early meal, but hey, what a great excuse to go hogwild on the toppings doing a bit of interior decorating on your breakfast bites. Full story at Sapore dei Mobili via Neatorama. Furnishing with food. Permalink| Leave a comment
Debt crisis: as it happened, April 20, 2012

Matthew Sparkes and Amy Wilson (Finance News Business news from the UK and world)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:30:02 PM
meltdown in the eurozone after George Osborne agreed to bolster Britain's contribution to the global bail-out fund.
Another 10bn of UK taxpayer money has been put at risk of a
Culture/ Politics-Left/ Finance/
61
Aircraft crashes near Islamabad airport

What Are Some Good Workouts I Can Do if My Body Isn't What it Used to Be? [Ask Lifehacker]
Thorin Klosowski (Lifehacker)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:00:00 AM
(AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE))

Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:54:34 AM
Dear Lifehacker, More
Syria unrest mars UN truce amid mass protests

Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:14:59 PM
SYRIA page 62
described to us harrowing scenes of bodies scattered everywhere, many of them mutilated, many of Up to 127 people are feared dead them in pieces." after a Boeing 737 crashed while Saifur Rehman, an official from trying to land in bad weather near the police rescue team, said the the Pakistani capital Islamabad, plane came down in Hussain officials have said. Abad village, about 3km from the The Bhoja Air flight from main Islamabad highway. K a r a c h i c a m e d o w n i n Medical officials have told local Rawalpindi, outside Islamabad's media that rescue teams and international airport, police ambulances were facing difficulty official Fazle Akbar said, adding in accessing the site of the crash that emergency teams have been because of the rush of people sent to the site. around it. "There is no chance of any Witnesses told Dunya News, a survivors. It will be only a television channel, that flames miracle. The plane is totally could be seen rising from the destroyed," he told the AFP news crash site and the fire had agency from the crash site. reportedly engulfed several A l J a z e e r a ' s I m t i a z T y a b , buildings, The Express Tribune reporting from Islamabad, said the newspaper reported. area of the capital was hit by a Television channels showed heavy rain and thunder storm at charred parts of the aircraft strewn the time of the crash. across a street in what appeared to "We've been told there were 57 be a residential area. men on the flight. There were 55 "Fire erupted after the crash. The women, five infants and four wreckage is on fire, the plane is children as well as six crew, completely destroyed. We have which brings us up to 127 come with teams of firefighters people," he said. and searchlights and more "A witness at the crash site rescuers are coming," Rehman
told Geo television. An airport source said the plane had been due to land at Islamabad airport at 6:50pm (1350 GMT) but lost contact with the control tower at 6:40pm and crashed shortly afterwards before reaching the runway. Islamabad airport, which was shut down after the crash so that emergency vehicles could rush to the site of the crash, has now been reopened, Pervez George, the spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Authority, has told Geo television. Bhoja relaunch Bhoja Air relaunched domestic operations with a fleet of five 737s in March, according to newspaper reports, when the airline was planning to start flights connecting Karachi, Sukkur, Multan, Lahore and Islamabad. Bhoja had been grounded in 2000 by the Civil Aviation Authorities amid financial difficulties, the reports said. The worst aviation tragedy on Pakistani soil came in July 2010 when an Airbus 321 passenger jet
operated by the private airline Airblue crashed into hills overlooking Islamabad while coming in to land after a flight from Karachi. All 152 people on board were killed in the accident, which occurred amid heavy rain and poor visibility. The deadliest civilian plane crash involving a Pakistani jet came in 1992 when a PIA Airbus A300 crashed into a cloud-covered hillside on its approach to the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, killing 167 people. Are you near the crash site, or do you know anyone with internet access there? Tweet us on @AJELive or email yourmedia@aljazeera.net with updates, videos or photos. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
British twins Alexander and John Hunter 'used stock-picking robot in million-dollar con', claims SEC
Harry Wilson (Finance News Business news from the UK and
British 20 year-olds fleeced thousands of investors, claims
SEC.
62
SYRIA
Syrian soldiers have fired bullets and tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters, activists said, as state media reported a deadly roadside bomb explosion, in the latest violence to defy international efforts to calm the country's crisis. Protesters on Friday spilled out from mosques onto the streets in cities and towns across Syria, calling for the downfall of President Bashar alAssad, chanting in support of the country's opposition armed forces, activists said. The Local Co-ordination Committees, an opposition activist network, reported the deaths of at least 36 people, including three children. Meanwhile, state television agency said 10 security personnel were killed by a roadside bomb planted by "terrorists" in Sahm al Golan village in the southwest of the country. It said that the bomb weighed 100kgs but gave no other details. A ceasefire plan, drafted by former UN chief Kofi Annan, technically went into effect last week, but has been steadily unravelling. Both the government and the opposition blame each other for violating the truce. Ban Ki-moon, the UN SecretaryGeneral, said Damascus was not honouring the ceasefire and that violence was escalating. Observers deal
A h m a d F a w z i , Annan's spokesperson, said: "During the course of next week we hope that those that we are seconding from missions in the area who can move quickly will be there and we will make the numbers up to 30." Only seven of the 30-men strong advance mission have so far arrived in Syria, and the Security Council must pass a resolution allowing the full mission which could number up to 300. The preliminary agreement between the UN and the Syrian government states that observers will have freedom to go anywhere in the country by foot or by car, take pictures, and use technical equipment to monitor compliance of the truce. But in a move likely to anger the opposition, the head of the team currently in Syria said they will not patrol on Fridays, the day of the week when the biggest numbers of protesters normally takes to the street. "We don't want to be used as a tool for escalating the situation. So we will avoid going on patrols on Fridays," Colonel Ahmed Himmiche, from Morocco, said. Protests were reported in the capital Damascus and its suburbs, as well as in the northern city of Aleppo, the central regions of Hama and Homs, in eastern towns near the border with Iraq and in the southern Daraa province. "Security is extremely tight in
Damascus," said activist Maath al -Shami, adding that despite the wide presence of plainclothes security agents, there were protests in the capital's neighborhoods of Qaboun, Midan, Barzeh and Mazzeh. 'Neighbourhoods shelled' Shelling was reported in several neighbourhoods of Homs, the central city where government forces have been fighting armed opposition groups for months. The Local Co-ordination Committees said at least 12 people were killed there. It also reported the deaths of nine people in the northwestern province of Idlib, seven in Damascus, four in Aleppo, two in the Damascus suburbs of Douma, one in Qamishli and one in Deraa. According to the UN, more than 9,000 people have been killed since the uprising Assad began 13 months ago. On Thursday, the US secretary of state called for the Security Council to adopt an arms embargo and other tough measures against Syria. Addressing the so-called Friends of Syria group in Paris on Thursday, Hillary Clinton stopped short of calling for outside military intervention, but said it was time to impose more consequential measures on Assad if his country failed to abide by the peace plan. "We have to keep Assad off balance by leaving options on the
table,'' Clinton said. "We need to start moving very vigorously in the Security Council for a Chapter 7 sanctions resolution, including travel, financial sanctions, an arms embargo, and the pressure that that will give us on the regime to push for compliance with Kofi Annan's six-point plan." 'Unhindered access' Under Annan's plan, the Syrian government is required to pull troops and heavy equipment out of towns and cities - which Ban said it has not done. Thursday's agreement obliges the troops to return to barracks located "a minimum of 2-3 kilometres outside the perimeter of these population centres". According to the deal, the Syrian government must allow unhindered access of UN personnel to facilities, locations, individuals and groups considered of interest. As for the opposition, the agreement states that Annan must confirm that opposition fighters stop "all acts of aggression against Syrian army formations, bases, convoys and infrastructure ... against government agencies, buildings, infrastructure as well as private and public properties" and "commit to stop all illegal activities ... including assassinations, kidnapping or vandalism". At their meeting in Paris, the Friends of Syria group called the
peace plan the "last hope" to resolve the Syrian crisis, but cautioned that they were ready to consider "other options" if Annan's mediation efforts broke down. Foreign ministers of countries including France, the US, Saudi Arabia and Qatar said they would do everything to ensure the plan succeeded. "Every day that passes means tens of new Syrian civilian deaths," Alain Juppe, France's foreign minister, said as he read out the conclusions of the meeting. "It is not time to prevaricate. It is time to act. Though fragile, the Annan mission represents a last hope. "If this were not to happen ... the UN Security Council and international community would have to look at other options." Russia and China, two of Syria's strongest allies, were absent from the Paris meeting. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Politics-Left/
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Sudanese forces 'liberate Heglig town'

Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:32:17 PM
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has said his troops have defeated South Sudanese forces who occupied his country's main oilfield, but added that the battle was not over. "They started the fighting and we will announce when it will end, and our advance will never stop," Bashir told a rally attended by thousands in Khartoum on Friday. He dismissed a statement by his Southern counterpart Salva Kiir that the occupying troops had withdrawn. "There is no withdrawal. We beat them by force... Until now, their people are running," Bashir, wearing an olive army uniform, said at military headquarters. Defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein earlier announced on state television that his soldiers "were able to liberate Heglig town by force" after a 10day occupation by South Sudan. Our enemy suffered heavy losses in people and equipment," Hussein said. Border clashes between Sudan and South Sudan escalated last week with waves of air strikes hitting the South, and Juba seizing the Heglig oil hub on April 10. While religious leaders in the north were calling during Friday prayers for a holy war to reclaim the territory, South Sudan's Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin gave the first
word that the crisis, which had sparked fierce international diplomacy to avert a wider war, was easing. "An orderly withdrawal will commence immediately and shall be completed within three days," he said, reading a presidential statement. Benjamin said the ownership of the region would be decided by the court of arbitration. Arab League meeting Jonathan Temin, the director of the Sudan Programme for the US Institute of Peace, told Al Jazeera that "this is the highest level of violence that we have seen between Sudan and South Sudan in recent years". "The news that South Sudan is withdrawing from Heglig is encouraging. But in Khartoum in the north, they are saying they have taken Heglig militarily. So it remains to be seen what the real story is." The confusion about the fate of Heglig comes as the Arab League said it would hold an emergency meeting over renewed violence between Sudan and South Sudan. Ahmed bin Helli, deputy secretary-general, said on Thursday that the meeting, requested by Sudan, would bring together the regional bloc's foreign ministers and will be held next week in Cairo, the Egyptian capital. Sudan and South Sudan have clashed over Heglig, an oil-rich
his hand on Sudan, we will cut it," Bashir told thousands of people in El-Obeid, North Kordofan's capital. "Heglig is in Kordofan," he said in the speech broadcast on state television, dancing and waving his walking stick. Al Jazeera's Peter Greste, reporting from Bentiu in South Sudan, said neither side is willing to give way. He said military sources inside South Sudan spoke of a "renewed outbreak of very heavy fighting at town some distance north of Heglig". region that accounts for about 50 fully agreed where their shared The developments come as a US per cent of Sudan's oil production border lies nor have they reached envoy said on Thursday that and is currently occupied by agreement on how to share oil Sudan had agreed "in principle" to troops from the south. wealth that is pumped from the allow assistance into South Kordofan, where aid workers say South Sudan, which gained border region. that hundreds of thousands could independence last July after Hague court ruling voting in a referendum to secede A ruling by the Permanent Court go hungry. from Sudan, claims it occupied of Arbitration in The Hague in Princeton Lyman, US special Heglig after it was attacked by the 2009 appears to put Heglig in the envoy on the two Sudans, said he Sudanese army. S u d a n s t a t e o f S o u t h e r n called on authorities in Khartoum It has so far ignored calls by the Kordofan, which the South now to show that they are serious about putting an aid proposal into international community to pull disputes. its troops out, saying it is Sudan's p r e s i d e n t , action, amid fears it will soon be defending its territorial integrity. meanwhile, has said he will "cut" too late due to rain. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary- the hand of aggressors and retake " I p r e s s e d a g a i n f o r t h e general, has called the south's the contested Heglig region. In- government to prove this and seizure of Heglig an "illegal act" depth coverage of North-South prove it rapidly because the rainy season is nearly upon us. They and urged the two nations to strife over border negotiate to avoid all-out war. O m a r a l - B a s h i r , S u d a n ' s have said yes in principle but Colonel Philip Aguer, the president, told a rally in Sudan's they've got questions about its spokesperson of the South Sudan North Kordofan state on Thursday implementation," Lyman said. army, said the Sudanese army had he would not surrender "an inch" Speaking by telephone from carried out attacks on the south on of the country and that he would Khartoum, Lyman said that the situation "is getting worse and Wednesday and on Thursday in firmly deal with its enemies. the latest clashes. "We will not give them an inch of SUDANESE page 64 The two the sides have never our country, and whoever extends
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TV/ Products/
SUDANESE
people are in real basic need for both food, medicines". This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-
only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
WATCH: Schmidt's Workout Video

Chris Harnick (TV on HuffingtonPost.com)
Which carrier offers the best services and monthly bills (audio)
Consumer Reports News (Consumer Reports)
a spin class and warns he's not some amateur spinner, he's a "cardio freak." Because in Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:34:10 PM Schmidt's world, spinning is about Schmidt has a workout video. the rhythm of the music meeting Your day just got better, didn't it? the rhythm of your heart "in a To say " New Girl's" Schmidt is culmination of spirituality in the the breakout character of the 2011 form of stationary bicycle riding." -2012 season is pretty much a big Plus, he's decked out in super understatement. Played expertly tight bike shorts and a revealing by Max Greenfield, you can't help tank top. Enjoy! but love the self-professed d-bag. Want more Schmidt? Check out I n t h e v i d e o , c r e a t e d b y his dating profile video. Greenfield, the ladies man teaches
with Dave Graveline." The Sound Byte featured on the Consumer Reports News Blog was aired on Submitted at 4/20/2012 9:29:59 AM the prior weekend's "Into Which carrier offers the best Tomorrow" broadcast. services and monthly bills (audio) About Into Tomorrow Packaging all your home Now in its 17th year,"Into servicestelecommunications, Tomorrow with Dave Graveline" Internet, and cable TVinto one covers the latest in consumer plan from a single provider Listen to Consumer Reports' e l e c t r o n i c s a n d t e c h n o l o g y promises a big cash savings on Sound Byte podcast to hear what a v a i l a b l e t o d a y a n d i n t o monthly bills. But which provider our survey of consumers like you tomorrow. The show airs on more offers the best plans for your found to be the best deals in than 180 AM and FM radio limited bucks? bundled servicesand more stations around the U.S. and can Consumer Reports Electronics importantly, the "work arounds" be heard globally through various Editor Paul Reynolds stopped by to consider if you can't get every sourcesincluding America's the Into Tomorrow show to service in one monthly plan. Armed Forces Networks and discuss the latest findings from Click to download and play the p o d c a s t s o f p r e v i o u s " I n t o our annual survey of Consumer S o u n d B y t e a b o u t b u n d l e d Tomorrow" episodes. Subscribe Reports readers. The good news: s e r v i c e s . now! Bundled services such as Verizon About Sound Bytes S u b s c r i b e t o FiOS fiber optics plans can Every week, Consumer Reports ConsumerReports.org for expert conveniently keep some green in experts produce a short audio Ratings, buying advice and home owners' wallets. But the bad segment which covers a wide r e l i a b i l i t y o n h u n d r e d s o f news? Consumers' choices in variety of issues regarding products. Update your feed providers are limited to the c o n s u m e r e l e c t r o n i c s a n d preferences companies and services in their technology for "Into Tomorrow neighborhood.
TV/
65
'Supernatural' Star Talks Ghost Rules & A Monstrous Concern

Laura Prudom (TV on HuffingtonPost.com)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:29:58 PM
Death has never been much of an obstacle on The CW's " Supernatural" (Fridays at 9 p.m. ET), where our two lead characters have both been to heaven, hell and back again without missing a beat. So when the cult hit chose to kill off one of its most enduring and beloved characters, Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver), earlier this season, our mourning was tempered by the hope that we might see that trademark trucker hat again sooner rather than later. The show returns tonight (April 20) with the first of five uninterrupted episodes leading up to the May 18 season finale, and by the looks of things, dearly departed Bobby isn't letting his ghostly transformation get in the way of his hunting prowess. HuffPost TV caught up with Beaver to discuss what's coming up for Bobby now that he's no longer in the land of the living, and the difficulties he's encountered while trying to obey the "ghost rules." How did the producers present the news of Bobby's demise to you? Did you always know that your absence was only going to be temporary?
They presented it to me in the classic "we have good news and bad news" format. They started with the bad news. Then they tried to mellow it out a little bit with the good news, but it didnt help much because they were pretty vague about the good news. They said, Were going to kill you, but youll probably be back. They said that I would be back in the last episode or so. They werent sure how much or in what state, but not to worry about it, that they loved me, and theyll never get rid of me. I didnt believe any of it. [Laughs.] I was pretty nervous. But once again, this is the second series in a row where I managed to get the Viking funeral. Ive been killed off on two shows now; in both of them I got really, really great sendoffs. So, the great thing about "Supernatural" is that demise never means demise. Never say forever. After such a great sendoff in "Death's Door," were you at all concerned that your return would lessen the emotional impact of Bobby's death? Well, I never quite felt they should have left me dead! [Laughs.] Im way too fond of my paycheck as well as the people I work with. But Ive always thought that one of the amazing things about this show is that
theyve managed to maintain the dramatic power of death even with people experiencing it more than once. That's true -- we just get to cry more often. Yeah -- Im not sure how that works, but I think the people who put "Supernatural" together have figured out a miraculous way of holding on to the audiences attention and sense of concern. Im glad, because I can imagine a show that kills off its main characters and brings them back as often as this one does not being successful at it. But somehow or other, the threat of death still carries a lot of weight on this show, even though weve found ways to at least temporarily put it off on occasion. Actors seem so tactile by nature - has it been difficult trying not to interact with props and with Jared and Jensen when you're not supposed to be able to touch anything or be visible to them? Well, Spencer Tracy said the secret to acting is to walk in, say your lines, and dont bump into the furniture. Ive really found that advice very useful in this particular situation, because I dont have to say as much stuff because nobody can hear me. So, I can put more of my concentration into not touching anything. Its weird. There have
been some acting challenges that I never thought about having. In some ways it is easier, in some ways its confusing. I dont know all the rules of being a ghost so they can say, "Oh, you cant do that." In fact, there was a scene in [this] episode that we had to reshoot because it turned out I broke a ghost rule and didnt know it. We had to go back and do it again like a month later. Somebody said, No! Havent you watched this show? Ghosts cant do that. I went, Oh, okay. Nobody caught it when we were doing it. Like I said, its a new game with new rules. We know that this week's episode involves a haunted house, so can we expect to see a little ghost-onghost action once Bobby's inside with the boys? Oh, absolutely. A lot of the story is the boys trying to get up to speed on what they ought to do about whats going on in this haunted house, while Bobby is going about the business of doing what ought to be done. So, its a bit of a job for Bobby that ends up kind of dovetailing with what the boys are doing. Theyre kind of lagging behind -- but that's usual; those idjits are always lagging behind. Next week's episode summary mentions Bobby wanting to help Sam and Dean, but that his rage
towards Dick for killing him is getting in the way. Can you expand on that at all? Well, first off, a lot of what we see in Bobbys new state is his frustration with not being able to do what he used to be able to do and having these new ghost rules that hes not used to. But at the same time, hes got this intense anger at Dick for what Dick did to him. And he finds that ghosts have a lot more trouble controlling their anger than people do. So sometimes it gets in the way. Sometimes its something he can manage and use to his advantage, but sometimes it gets in the way of what he wants to do. We've seen from previous ghosts and reapers that if Bobby sticks around as he currently is, there's a good chance that he'll end up becoming the kind of monster he used to hunt. Is that going to be a primary concern in the last few episodes of the season? Thats definitely going to be a concern as the last episodes of the season play out: Bobby trying to swim against the tide insofar as what ghosts are destined to become. Well see how well he swims ... Are you glad to have Bobby back? Do you think he'll succumb to his ghostly impulses as the 'SUPERNATURAL' page 66
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TV/ Talk/
Walter Talks 'Fringe's' Episode 19: 'Fans Will Love It'

Laura Prudom (TV on HuffingtonPost.com)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:19:23 PM
'SUPERNATURAL'
Loyal fans of " Fringe" (Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox) know that the producers like to dream up something special for each season's 19th episode -- in previous years, we've been treated to an animated acid trip through Olivia's mind and a noirish musical fairytale -- and the April 20 episode, "Letters of Transit," is no exception. Set in a dystopian version of 2036, in which the Observers have taken control of our world, the episode is, as Joshua Jackson told HuffPost TV, "a template" for what the show's potential fifth season could be. When HuffPost TV visited the set in early March, the cast was in the middle of filming Episode 20 (expect more on that next week), but the events of 19 were still firmly fixed in John Noble's mind. "19 was unusual in the sense that we didn't have the leads involved," the actor, who plays Walter Bishop, explained. "That was Walter with two really big, important guest stars, Henry Ian Cusick and Georgina Haig. It felt, to me, like it was a really strong episode. The two guest actors did a fantastic job, which is not easy to do, to step into an established
company. It is out of the box and is somewhere else completely. I think that the fans will love it. Some fans of this type of material will like it anyway because Henry Ian Cusick was such a big star in 'Lost,' but also, this new girl is just full of wonderful energy, too." Noble reiterated Jackson's prediction that 19 would provide viewers with more of an idea of what next season might hold if Fox decides to renew the thrilling sci-fi series. "It's going to turn out to be an exceptional episode in its own right, but its also profound in what it will tell us about where we go from here. The great question at this point is: Do we get Season 5? I think what the writers are doing is sitting down and establishing a scenario whereby we can launch into a fantastic Season 5. If we dont get it, well finish off with a fantastic finale ... and ['Letters of Transit'] is a wonderful episode in and of itself." In a primetime landscape that seems increasingly interested in allowing one actor to perform multiple roles on the same show, "Fringe" has been in the vanguard of perfecting that technology and character development. Noble revealed that, as of Episode 19, he'll have played nine separate versions of Walter Bishop on the
series so far. "Its a lot of fun as an actor because it keeps me trying to refine and to finish small parts [of Walter]," he enthused. "Every time we see a time shift or a universal shift, then obviously, the people are subtly different or, in a time shift, something hasnt happened or something has happened. For example, I could tease, what would Walter be like if he hadnt had parts of his brain removed? What would he be like as an older man? Thats a pretty big tease." The episode also brings the mysterious Observers into focus again ... this time as mankind's oppressors instead of impartial witnesses or inadvertent saviors. "What well notice in the work around now -- and weve already started to notice it -- is the reemergence of the Observers as critical players," Noble said. "Theyve always been there from the very beginning. The first time we saw an Observer was Episode 1. It wasnt the pilot; it was episode one. We saw this fellow standing there. At one stage, the director said, 'Make sure you get a shot of that fellow.' And we all thought, 'Who is that?' And as time went on, they kept occurring and sort of ebbed in and out of importance in terms of the show. Now, they come to the forefront as incredibly centrally important.
From a viewers point of view, I like that idea of the outside threat or the outside force of evil that is beyond our petty relations as human beings between each other. Certainly, weve gone down that path. We will continue, I believe. I think if we get a Season 5, we really want to pursue that goal. Im just speculating, but weve certainly gone there at the present." Having seen the episode, I feel confident in saying that I would be thrilled to watch the "Fringe" team further explore the world they've created in "Letters of Transit," which extrapolates many of the themes the show has already explored in new and compelling ways. To say much more would be to ruin the episode's many delicious twists and turns, but in my mind, it's one of the show's finest installments to date, establishing a world every bit as detailed and fascinating as the multiple universes we've already come to know and love, while introducing two fullyformed characters that I'd be eager to spend more time with. Tune in to experience it for yourself on Friday, April 20 at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.
season progresses, or do you think he'll end up alive again (despite the cremation)? Weigh in below! "Supernatural" returns with an allnew episode tonight, April 20, at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.
TED: Christina Warinner: Tracking ancient diseases using ... plaque - Christina Warinner (2012)
TEDTalks (TEDTalks (video))
Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:13:02 AM
Imagine what we could learn about diseases by studying the history of human disease, from ancient hominids to the present. But how? TED Fellow Christina Warinner is an achaeological geneticist, and she's found a spectacular new tool -- the microbial DNA in fossilized dental plaque.
Products/
67
3D cameras such as the Lumix DMC-3D1 take your photos to next dimension
U.S. Airways CEO Really Wants To Get His Merge On With American Airlines
Chris Morran (The Consumerist)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:50:24 AM
can also capture 2D images and video simultaneously, since it has two lenses and two sensors that Submitted at 4/20/2012 7:59:59 AM can be used independently. And 3D cameras such as the Lumix the Lumix 3D1 can capture 2D DMC-3D1 take your photos to photos simultaneously at different next dimension focal lengths: One can be zoomed Although it's not for everyone, a out to a 25mm wide-angle setting, few of the basic cameras we've and the other is zoomed all the just reviewed and added to our that is a rugged model. way in to a 100mm setting. Not Ratings include a special feature: But the Panasonic Lumix DMC- too surprisingly, it's among the the ability to shoot 3D images. To 3D1($460) is more interesting: priciest subcompacts in our view the effect, you do need an Unlike the other cameras, it has Ratings. HDTV with 3D capabilities. two lenses (as well as two You can check out how well the Two of the cameras, the Nikon sensors). These are folded 4x latest models fared in our digital Coolpix S6300 ($230) and the optical-zoom lenses that keep the camera Ratings(available to Olympus Tough TG-320 ($180), camera body thin and compact. subscribers). Subscribe now! produce this effect in a more-or- The camera also includes a very S u b s c r i b e t o less simulated way, using just one wide-angle capability (25mm). As ConsumerReports.org for expert lens to create a 3D effect. Both I mentioned, you can also shoot Ratings, buying advice and models also capture only still 3D video in 1080i resolution. The r e l i a b i l i t y o n h u n d r e d s o f p h o t o s i n 3 D , n o t 3 D Lumix 3D1 also has a 3.5-inch products. Update your feed videoalthough with the Tough touch-screen LCD (which does preferences camera, you can conceivably not display 3D images or video). shoot underwater 3D stills, since The versatile Lumix DMC-3Di
To date, the folks at U.S. Airways have been quite coy about their intentions regarding a possible marriage to strugglingbut-adorable American Airlines, saying things like "we're not opposed," and that they "wouldn't rule it out," but all that double talk may have ended with the latest hot-and-heavy chatter from U.S. Airways' CEO. After receiving the blessing of three of American's labor unions regarding a possible merger, U.S. Airways' Doug Parker put on his best Barry White voice and said that hooking up with American while it works its way out of bankruptcy, "represents a unique opportunity that we should not ignore." Is it getting hot in here? "To get to an actual merger, many things must happen, including gaining the support of AMR's creditors, its management team and its board of directors," Parker told his employees in an e-mail.
"But this is obviously an important first step along that path and we are hopeful we can all work together to make this happen." Lest anyone thing that American is looking to get married just to stave off insolvency, the company says that all the merger talk from the unions and U.S. Airways "do not in any way alter the company's commitment to pursue our business plan or our focus on moving steadily through the restructuring process." Isn't it cute how American pretends to be single and independent when we all know these two are just going to walk down the aisle in the final act? US Airways CEO Talks Up Merger[WSJ.com] This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Products/ Food/
Olive Garden Accidentally Serves 10-Year-Old A Rum Cocktail

Mary Beth Quirk (The Consumerist)
Citi Shareholders Sue Bank's Directors For Paying Executives Too Much
Chris Morran (The Consumerist)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:40:41 PM
front of the boy, and he proceeded to drink half of it. No adults at the table had ordered alcohol. Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:00:00 PM The waitress realized she had It's been awhile since we've had a done something wrong and told new "kid gets booze at chain her supervisor. His mom says restaurant" story, so, take it away, management assured her the boy Olive Garden: Police say a 10- would be fine, but the family took year-old boy made his way him to a local hospital. Alcohol through half a rum cocktail at an was discovered in his system, and Olive Garden in Indianapolis an officer at the hospital said the before the waitress realized her boy seemed "shaken up" but mistake. His family said he wasn't "alert." acting like his normal self. Booze There have been a spate of will have that effect. incidents somewhat recently Local WISH News says the boy's involving minors accidentally mom had ordered him a kid's i m b i b i n g a l c o h o l a t c h a i n drink, a Wildberry Frullato. But restaurants, including a Japanese the waitress accidentally dropped restaurant serving sake to a 2-year off a four-ounce rum drink in -old; Outback Steakhouse giving a
4-year-old a free vodka slushie; tequila smoothies at a Chili's for three kids and the list goes on. This isn't even Olive Garden's first brush with accidental booze. They reportedly put sangria in a sippy cup for a toddler just a year ago. * Thanks for the tip, Jeff! Indy Olive Garden serves rum to boy, 10[WISHTV.com] This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Earlier this week, the shareholders of Citigroup said "hell no!" to the notion of paying company CEO Vikram Pandit $15 million. Today, they took their anger a step further and filed a lawsuit in federal court, saying Citi execs should not be rewarded for doing a so-so job. Tuesday's vote to reject Pandit's pay package was the first time a major U.S. bank's shareholders have nixed an executive compensation plan since they were given the right to do so by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. According to the suit, filed yesterday in a Manhattan federal court, the fact that 55% of shareholders voted against Pandit's raise part of a total $54 million executive compensation package "has cast doubt on the board's decisionmaking process, as well as the
accuracy and truthfulness of its public statements." The plaintiffs say the lawsuit, which asks for Pandit and the bank's directors to pay damages back to the company, is necessary to confirm the validity of the shareholders' vote: "Absent this (lawsuit), the majority will of the company's stockholders shall be rendered meaningless." Pandit's pay for 2010 was only $1 (though he was probably still able to get by on the $800 million Citi paid for his hedge fund in 2008). Shareholders rejected the proposal to pay him $15 million for his 2011 efforts. Citigroup CEO, directors, sued over executive pay[Reuters] This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Save on Organic Foods

Submitted at 4/20/2012 3:00:00 AM
season produce is often imported, which has another downside besides increased cost. Produce When produce is in season and is that has to be shipped thousands plentiful, prices fall. But when its of miles has to be picked before out of season and theres less of it, its ripe, says Phil Lempert, we pay more. Moreover, out-of- editor of Supermarketguru.com.
That means you get less taste for your money. Find out what items are coming into peak season now with our In Season spring guide. Next Grow your own. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is
your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Products/ Gaming/
69
Rechargeable battery chargers recalled due to shock hazard

Submitted at 4/20/2012 6:59:59 AM
Rechargeable battery chargers recalled due to shock hazard About 48,000 Digital Concepts Compact Travel Chargers are being recalled by Sakar International Inc. of Edison, N.J. The rechargeable battery chargers can fall apart, exposing consumers to the internal components which pose an electrocution or electric shock hazard says the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The safety recall affects silvercolored battery chargers with a sticker which says "Digital Concepts" and "Compact Travel Charger." The chargers, designed to hold two AA or AAA batteries,
have model numbers CH-1600S and CH-1600-RS and a date code of MID#: 0801110. Both numbers can be found on the white label on the underside of the charger. Also on the underside are three screws and a retractable power plug. The rechargeable battery chargers were sold at Cobra Digital, LotLess, Ocean State Jobbers and RadioShack from January 2011 through February 2012 for about $10. There have been no reports of
injuries from the defective battery chargers. However, the CPSC advises consumers to stop using the recalled battery charger immediately and contact Sakar International Inc. (toll-free: 877397-8200 or website: www.sakar.com/recall) for a replacement product. Source: Sakar International Recalls Battery Chargers Due to Electrocution, Electric Shock Hazard[CPSC] Subscribe now! S u b s c r i b e t o ConsumerReports.org for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products. Update your feed preferences
PixelJunk 4am launching May 15, includes visualizers for your music
JC Fletcher (Joystiq)
or musician, there's a feature that may appeal to you. In the PlayStation Blog post announcing Q-Games' three-dimensional the release date, lead designer music performance visualizer ... Rowan Parker announced that experience PixelJunk 4am, which "PixelJunk 4am can be used as a we can neither describe nor play stand-alone music visualizer to without some handwaving, will be play your favorite music from released on May 15, the company your PS3." Five visualizers will a n n o u n c e d t o d a y . T h e f r e e be available right away, and you Pixeljunk 4am Viewer, which can unlock more by playing the allows you to watch others' 4am game. performances live, will also be out Gallery: PixelJunk 4am that day. PixelJunk 4am launching May Before the official release, a beta 15, includes visualizers for your will be distributed to some music originally appeared on PlayStation Plus members on May Joystiq on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 1. During this time, Q will host 13:00:00 EST. Please see our s p e c i a l l i v e p e r f o r m a n c e s terms for use of feeds. including one by DJ and 4am Permalink| Email this| Comments producer Baiyon. Even if you're not a Move owner
Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:00:00 PM
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Products/ Gaming/
Flash In The Brain Pan: Johnny Upgrade

(Woot! - One Day, One Deal)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:00:00 AM
Are you a natural capitalist? Well, then, you owe it to yourself to master Johnny Upgrade, the most bootstrappin' hero the world has ever known. Here he is the moment you begin the game: With only a dollar to his name, Johnny doesn't even have the strength to walk to the nearest coin. He's nothing more than an intern in the game of life. And what happens? Well, he bites it almost instantly. But by investing his single dollar in the future, Johnny gains the
power to take a baby step toward those other coins. And once he has those coins, the sky is the limit. That's right, little Johnny Upgrade has the power to better
the more time he can have, and eventually Johnny will be taking lasers in the face and shrugging it off. Which is good, because after a while you'll have some enemies to defeat. If you seriously believe in the self-made man, Johnny Upgrade is the game you've been waiting for all your life. Start making Johnny earn his keep, and don't himself through cash. What better forget to post your score in the A m e r i c a n h e r o c o u l d t h e r e forums below. Highest one by possibly be? The longer you play, Monday will be our weekly the richer Johnny gets, and the Quality Post winner! richer Johnny gets, the higher he can jump, the longer he can live,
PSA: Fez soundtrack now available for purchase, free streaming

Richard Mitchell (Joystiq)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:30:00 PM
Product page lists May 9 release date for Datura in the UK

JC Fletcher (Joystiq)
announced, we'd argue that this page constitutes fairly official notice in itself. Datura, the dreamlike PSN Move There's no corresponding US game about exploring a magical page, but it's likely that a May 9 (and likely metaphorical) forest, release in the UK means Datura will be released in Europe on May will come to North America on 9, according to a Sony UK May 8, the nearest Tuesday. In product page for the game. While any case, the new trailer (above) n o t h i n g o f f i c i a l h a s b e e n should make sure you have plenty
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:30:00 PM
of questions to go with this latest answer.
Fez keeping you up at night? Do you struggle to sleep as the solutions to puzzles maliciously circle around in your brain, refusing to take shape? You might as well compliment the madness with the full Fez soundtrack. You can now stream the entire album for free, or secure a download for a measly seven bucks. Composed by Rich Vreeland (A.K.A. Disasterpeace), the Product page lists May 9 release soundtrack features 20 deliciously date for Datura in the UK lo-fi tracks. Go ahead and give it a originally appeared on Joystiq on listen. At least then you can Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:30:00 EST. convince your friends that it's not Please see our terms for use of just playing in your head. PSA: Fez soundtrack now feeds. available for purchase, free Permalink| Email this| Comments streaming originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
Science/ Daily World/ News Photos
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Photos: Fenway Park 100th Anniversary Denver Post

(news photos - Google News)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:14:03 PM
Philippians 4:20 (04-20-12)

(Verse of the Day)
Video: Making a Stream of Water Flow Up, Using Trickery

Dan Nosowitz (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:28:03 AM
his glory! Let today be a day of thanks and praise. My Prayer... Submitted at 4/20/2012 2:00:00 AM You are worthy, dear Father, of To our God and Father be glory e v e r y w o r d o f p r a i s e m y for ever and ever. Amen. imagination can find and every P h i l i p p i a n s 4 : 2 0 ( N I V ) word of thanks my tongue can Thoughts on Today's Verse... pronounce. You are glorious, When was the last time that you majestic, holy, mighty, and prayed and didn't request things a w e s o m e . Y o u a r e p a t i e n t , from God and you simply thanked forgiving, sacrificial, loving, and and praised him? Why not use tender. You are more than I can today as a day of thanks and imagine and closer than my very praise? Don't ask for anything; breath. Your greatness exhausts just praise and thank the Father! m y v o c a b u l a r y a n d y o u r Praise him for who he is, what he generosity overwhelms my heart. has done, and what he is going to Please be glorified in my every do! Thank him for blessing you, thought, deed, and word. In Jesus' saving you, and bringing you into name I praise you. Amen.
Droplets Frozen in Mid-Air Brussup If you only watch one optical illusion today in which a stream of water appears to have droplets freeze in mid-air or inch their way backwards back into the tube from whence they came, make it this one. The effect is caused by syncing up a camera with the vibrations of
CBS Local Photos: Fenway Park 100th Anniversary Denver Post In this July 9, 1946, file photo, a capacity crowd watches the annual Major League Baseball All -Star Game game at Fenway Park on Boston. The Red Sox will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fenway's opening on April 20, 1912, when they host the New York... Boston Public Library Releases the water. The speaker behind the Historic Fenway Park Photos CBS stream of water is generating a 24 Local hz sine wave, and the camera is Fenway Park Has Seen Changes, filming at 24 fps, which causes But Bears Plenty of Resemblance the water to appear frozen. Or, to Its 1912 Self... NESN.com you can adjust the hz rating of the (blog) wave and move the stream very all 1,909 news articles slowly forwards (at 25 hz) or, much crazier for our purposes, very slowly backwards, at 23 hz. Check out the video: [ YouTube]
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Science/ News Photos
New Report Urges Extreme Caution Against Infection When Landing on Alien Worlds
Paul Adams (Popular Science New Technology, Science News, The Future Now)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:11:05 AM
Taking photos enhances the birding experience Houston Chronicle

Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:47:28 AM
Enceladus and its Plumes of Water NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute As Earth humans begin to seriously consider sending missions to icy worlds like Europa and Enceladus, one of the necessary concerns has to be protection of the environment where such a mission would land. It would be a shame to arrive on a fascinating alien world only to immediately seed it with Earth microbes, carelessly infecting the local ecosystem, ruining the unique scientific opportunity and
possibly incurring the wrath of the local alien ruler. A new assessment by the Space Science Board looks at which destinations are most in need of protection from microbes -Europa, Enceladus, Titan, and
Triton, it concludes -- and sets out a series of protocols for deciding how and where best to assess and deal with the risk. COSPAR [Committee on Space Research] guidelines require that less than 1 in 10,000 missions will deliver a
single viable microbe that is able to grow on a solar system destination, i.e., a 10-4 probability of contamination per mission flown. Failure to meet this mandated objective could impose requirements for more stringent cleaning or terminal bioloadreduction procedures comparable to that employed by the Viking missions. In extreme cases, satisfying planetary protection requirements might require spacecraft redesign or cancellation of an entire mission. The report is available as a free PDF here.
Taking photos enhances the birding experience Houston Chronicle Photo: Kathy Adams Clark / Kathy Adams Clark/KAC Productions Frame-filled images of birds are captured with a lens in the 300mm to 500mm range. It also helps to slowly walk as close to the bird as possible. Photo Credit: Kathy Adams Clark.
Counting Crows at the Paramount Theatre, 4/19/12 (photos) - Reverb

Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:07:33 PM
Counting Crows at the Paramount Theatre, 4/19/12 (
photos) Reverb Photos by Lisa Higginbotham, heyreverb.com. Counting Crows at the Paramount Theatre on
Thursday, April 19, 2012. Photos by Lisa Higginbotham, heyreverb.com. Counting Crows at the Paramount Theatre on Thursday, April 19, 2012.
and more
FYI: Where Is The Center of the Universe?

Rose Pastore (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now) FYI Universe Stocktrek Images/ FYI: page 73 Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:19:18 PM
Politics-Right/
73
FYI:
Getty Images First, it's important to know that the big bang wasn't an explosion of matter into empty space-it was the rapid expansion of space itself. This means that every single point in the universe appears to be at the center. Think of the universe as an empty balloon with dots on it. Those dots represent clusters of galaxies. As the balloon inflates, every dot moves farther away from every other dot. The space between clusters of galaxies expands, like the rest of the universe, at an accelerating rate. (Gravity keeps the clusters themselves the same size.) Edwin Hubble first observed this phenomenon in 1929, when he noticed that the light from distant galaxies shifted to the red end of the spectrum, as though it had been stretched as it traveled
through space. By measuring the wavelengths of the light, Hubble observed that galaxies were expanding away from each other at a rate proportional to their distance from one another. In the beginning, the universe was a single point. Where was that? It was, and still is, everywhere. Scientists even have proof: Light from the big bang, in the form of cosmic radiation, fills the sky in every direction. Have a burning science question you'd like to see answered in our FYI section? Email it to fyi@popsci.com.
Congressman May Subpoena DOE on Stimulus Funding for Ecotality

Lachlan Markay (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation)
Ecotality is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for insider trading. Scribes three-part series Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:19:36 AM The Energy Department has yet examined the subpoena sent to the to comply with a congressional CEO of an Ecotality subsidiary, request for information on a t h e c o m p a n y s p o l i t i c a l stimulus-backed company under connections, and its tenuous investigation for insider trading financial footing. and facing serious financial Harris said DOE had not difficulties. responded to his request by the Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), who April 13 deadline. In an exclusive chairs the House Energy and interview with Scribe, he said he Environment Subcommittee on would give DOE until the middle Science, Space, and Technology, of next week before exploring asked Energy Secretary Steven other avenues for obtaining the Chu for a detailed summary of requested information. the Ecotality project in a letter in W e h a t e t o b r i n g i t t o late March. Oversight, Harris said, referring Ecotality is a poster-child for the to the House Oversight and administrations push to get a Government Reform Committee. million electric vehicles on the While he stressed that he will road by 2015. The company continue to try to work with DOE, manufactures charging stations in the end you could always for those vehicles, but after subpoena the agency for the receiving more than $115 million information. to install those charging stations, Harris voiced concern over Ecotality is far behind schedule. D O E s d e c i s i o n t o a w a r d As Scribe reported last year, Ecotality an additional $26
million, even as the SEC opened its investigation and the company struggled to fulfill its obligations under the stimulus awards. Was anybody paying attention over at the Department of Energy, he asked or was this just on autopilot? The Ecotality experience, Harris explained, are indicative of the administrations larger green energy policy. Its like groundhog day, he said. We get up every day and the same thing is happening. Its Solyndra, then its Ener1, and now its Ecotality. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Politics-Right/
Now Online: The Heritage Guide to the Constitution

Julia Shaw (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation)
and how its been interpreted over the years. Its searchable. You wont need Google to search the Constitution Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:17:53 AM T h e C o n s t i t u t i o n m a d e a anymore. Search the entire comeback these past few years. In document and hundreds of essays 2009, then-House Speaker Nancy by the nations leading legal Pelosi (DCA) replied to a experts on the historical context, question about t h e meaning, and judicial constitutionality of Obamacare interpretation of each clause. with Are you serious? The Untangle years of contradictory American people were serious. case law and find the original T h e y b e g a n c a r r y i n g t h e meaning of the First Amendment Constitution everywhere, read it and how it protects freedom of to their representatives, and then speech and freedom of religion. elected new Members of Congress Its user-friendly. who would actually read it too. ConstitutionOnline.com was Reading the Constitution has designed with your mobile device been a great start, but its not in mind. Whether Android, enough. Now, we need to learn i P h o n e , T a b l e t , o r i P a d , w h a t i t m e a n s . H e r i t a g e s ConstitutionOnline.com works authoritative source on the and looks beautifully on them all. Constitution is a tool to do just Weve made it much easier to that: ConstitutionOnline.com. Facebook or tweet you favorite Its comprehensive. Heritage clause. brought together 100 of the Its teachable. You dont need to nations best legal experts to go to law school to learn the create the only clause-by-clause Constitution. Teach yourself the examination of the Constitution Constitution with the teaching
for Congressmen and their staff seeking ways to flex their constitutional muscles against the Professor-in-Chief (who may want to take a glimpse to learn what the Constitution actually means). ConstitutionOnline.com is for anyone who hungers for a deeper understanding of our First Principles and how they influence todays debates. No document is more central to securing the Blessing of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity than the United States Constitution, and no website is more thorough than ConstitutionOnline.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is c o m p a n i o n t o t h e g u i d e . u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e your content and you're reading it A p p r o p r i a t e f o r c l a s s r o o m Constitutions main concepts. on someone else's site, please read settings, reading groups, or I t s f o r e v e r y o n e . the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentindividual self-study, the teaching ConstitutionOnline.com gives only/faq.php#publishers. Five companion covers every clause in students a real education on the Filters recommends: Donate to the Constitution, summarizes each C o n s t i t u t i o n a n d p r o v i d e s Wikileaks. essay in the guide, and includes teachers with a tremendous exercises and quizzes to facilitate resource for their classes. Its also
Politics-Right/
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Confidence in Economy Fizzling, New Poll Shows

Mike Brownfield (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:08:13 PM
If you ask the American people, they dont have much good to say about the U.S. economy. According to a new poll by Quinnipiac University, most say they are worse off financially than they were four years ago, and they dont expect it to get better anytime soon: The surge of economic optimism may have stalled as American voters say 41 35 percent they are worse off financially than four years ago, and 51 percent dont expect their personal financial situation to change in the next 12 months, while 32 percent expect it to get better and 13 percent expect it to get worse, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Voters say 68 27 percent the economy is in a recession, but say 53 43 percent it has begun to recover, the independent Quinnipiac University poll finds.
Though the economy has seen some modest improvement 120,000 new jobs were added in March those numbers were well below expectations, and 12.7 million Americans (8.2 percent of the work force) remain unemployed. Heritages Rea Hederman, Jr., writes that these latest jobs jumbers are clearly disappointing and indicate that the
labor market recovery is still struggling even years after the recessions end. And though the unemployment rate dropped from by one-tenth of a percent, Hederman explains that its due to workers leaving the labor force instead of finding new jobs.(Post continued below chart.) The American people are feeling the weight of the lagging
economy, and their vision for the future is growing cloudier, as Quinnipiac reports: A small majority of American voters think the economy is improving, but the groundswell of optimism we saw in recent months seems to have hit a wall, said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Last
October, voters said 77 20 percent the country was in recession. By February public opinion was rosier with voters saying 66 30 percent the country was in recession, a solid positive move. But now, voters say 68 27 percent, we are in a recession. The momentum has slowed if not reversed. Similarly, in September voters said 68 28 percent the economy was NOT beginning to recover which turned to 54 43 percent in February that it WAS beginning to recover. But now that number has stalled with voters saying 53 43 the economy has begun to recover. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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Social Media/
Comedian to Watch 250 Netflix Movies This Month, Wants Your Picks
Kate Freeman (Mashable!)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:46:46 AM
and iJustine. Another video saw him trying various outrageous acts in a vain Comedian Mark Malkoff has attempt to get thrown out of an slept with celebrities, brought a Apple store. And another project: goat into an Apple store, and Mark Lives in Ikea follows moved himself into IKEA. Malkoff as he moves from his Now he wants to make the most apartment, while its being of his Netflix subscription and fumigated, into an IKEA store. he needs your help. My apartment is 80% IKEA Over the course of one month, anyway; itd be like living at Malkoff aims to watch 250 home, he says in the video. movies thats 400 hours of Hes documenting the Netflix streaming video. Im curious to project on his blog and will post a see how many films a Netflix video in late May on the website, subscriber can watch in a month, My Damn Channel. The he said. Even more I want to see project started on April 16 with the best value I can get for my 15.5 hours of classic films such as $7.99. Harold and Maude, A Clockwork If I watch 250 films, that works Orange, and The Graduate. Nice out to about 2.9 cents per film. way to spend a day, right? Malkoff has said he will devote Wrong, says Malkoff. After a an entire day to movies picked by few days of watching movies 15 Mashable so let us know what h o u r s a d a y i t s b e e n he should watch in the comments. challenging, he told Mashable. A former staff member for the A few times Ive watched entire Colbert Report, Malkoff is also s c e n e s a n d t h e n i n s t a n t l y the creator of Celebrity forgotten what I watched. Sleepovers, where he spends the It also doesnt help that Ive slept night at various celebrities five or less almost every night. I homes, including Ed Begley, Jr. havent left my apartment since I
Wednesday was classic comedies. Thursday is documentary day. Friday is for 80s films such as St. Elmos Fire and Dirty Dancing. Documentary day is my favorite so far of on my Netflix Project. Currently watching # 29 Page One: Inside the New York started the project four days ago. Times. Malkoff is asking people on Mark Malkoff (@mmalkoff) Facebook and Twitter for film April 19, 2012 suggestions that are available on Im doing a day of the worst Netflix streaming. Two of the films ever made which will documentaries he watched on feature titles such as Cool as Ice Wednesday came from Twitter starring Vanilla Ice as well as and Facebook suggestions. Troll 2, he said. He also wants to get some Im also doing a day forcing company while watching the myself to watch stuff I would movies. never watch such as Justin Im hoping to get a some well Bieber: Never Say Never and known actors to come to my Sense and Sensibility I might apartment to do live commentary have to medicate myself to get on their films, he said. I would through that day. love if F. Murray Abraham would By the end of the project, watch Amadeus with me and Malkoff says, he wants Netflix to bring his Oscar. He also said declare a Mark Malkoff Day h e d l i k e t o h a v e S t e v e and hopes Netflix CEO Reed Guttenberg over to watch Diner. Hasting will invite him to visit Hes organized the movies into their corporate offices. theme days. Monday was 70s I hope Mark enjoys his time films. Tuesday was 90s films. watching movies and TV shows
on Netflix, was all Joris Evers, a Netflix spokesman, would say. Malkoff said at first his wife wasnt thrilled about the idea of him watching moves for 15-and-a -half hours a day, but has enjoyed watching some films with him. When I initially pitched her the idea I tried to spin it that we could have a date night every night watching movies, but she wisely didnt buy it, he said. What movies do you think Mark should watch? Remember, it has to be something thats available on Netflix. Tell us in the comments. Photo courtesy of Malkoffs blog. More About: Mark Malkoff, netflix, streaming video For more Entertainment coverage: Follow Mashable Entertainment on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook Subscribe to the Entertainment channel Download our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Social Media/
77
What Is the Future of PR? Find Out at Mashable Connect

Jennifer Diamond (Mashable!)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:41:43 AM
Public relations is rapidly changing to keep up with the rapid pace of social media. PR is no longer a siloed function or an afterthought; smart organizations are using new PR tactics to grow their businesses, better connect with users and increase their brand equity. At our biggest conference of the year, Mashable Connect, Mashables SVP of marketing and communications Stacy Green will sit down with public relations leader Sara Evans to discuss the current and future state of PR. Their conversation will explore the influence of individuals versus brands, hijacking online conversations for PR, the impact of social on the industry, and the latest trends shaping future PR. This is your last chance to get tickets to Mashable Connect! This three-day conference is a must-attend event for leaders of the Connected Generation. This is a rare opportunity to spend time with digital leaders and influencers, hear from some of the leading minds tackling the toughest issues in the space, make valuable connections, and spend time with the Mashable team. Sara Evans Sarah Evans is the owner of
Sevans Strategy, a public relations and new media consultancy. Its her personal mission to engage and employ emerging technologies in all communication that connects her with a rapidly growing community of more than 120,000 people. A self-described social media freak, Sarah created and moderates#Journchat, the firstever weekly live tweetchat for public relations professionals,
journalists and bloggers. She previously blogged at PRsarahevans.com and shares a daily resource for public relations professionals called Commentz. Sarah can be seen in Vanity Fairs Americas Tweethearts, Forbes 14 Power Women to Follow on Twitter and Entrepreneurs Top 10 Hot Startups of 2010. Follow Sara on Twitter@prsarahevans. Stacy
trends in digital PR. Follow Stacy on Twitter@stacygreen. Event Information Our annual destination conference, Mashable Connect, brings our community together for three days to connect offline in an intimate setting at the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World. Registration is now open. Held in a unique location away from everyday distractions, Mashable Connect is a rare and valuable opportunity to be surrounded by digital leaders across industries. Youll spend time with Mashables passionate and influential community, hear from top speakers who will provide insight into the the technologies and trends that are shaping the next era of digital innovation, and get to spend time with the Mashable team. To keep Mashable Connect as Green intimate as possible, only a Stacy Green is senior vice limited amount of tickets are president of marketing and available. communications for Mashable, You can see our full agenda of where she is responsible for the topics and speakers here. A Look companys brand, marketing and Back at Last Years Mashable all communications. Before Connect joining Mashable, she spent 1. Mashable Connect Race several years at the New York Powered by Gowalla Times, where she led digital PR Team members check in to a race and worked on social media marketing for nytimes.com. She WHAT page 78 recently wrote about five key
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Social Media/ Technology/
Storify Adds GetGlue Tool to Help TV Networks Follow Viewer Reaction

Samantha Murphy (Mashable!)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:19:22 PM
WHAT
for 16% of all comments about TV in March, being second only to Twitter, which took 69%. Social media storytelling tool Meanwhile, the recent premiere of Storify is adding GetGlue to its HBOs Game of Thrones was a list of social media tools to help huge success on GetGlue, and it TV networks engage with viewers accounted for 50% of all tweets and build stories from viewer from users who said they were comments about their shows. around television to enrich their Watching Game of Thrones. Entertainment social network stories with commentary from Do you interact with social media GetGlue will join Storifys list of p a s s i o n a t e t e l e v i s i o n f a n s . while watching TV? Do you think social media sources along with Ultimately, the tool aims to social TV will really be the wave o t h e r p l a t f o r m s , i n c l u d i n g provide a deeper look into the of future viewership? Let us know Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and social buzz and fan reaction in the comments. Instagram. Storify users curate around television. Image courtesy of iStock, comments, images and videos to The integration will kick off on Neustockimages. build social stories in a new media F r i d a y n i g h t a s t h e B l a c k More About: Entertainment, format that is interactive and Entertainment Television (BET) getglue, Social Media, social tv, network will use it for its news Storify, TV social. Users create their stories within special I Am Trayvon: A Family For more Entertainment Storify by dragging and dropping Fights for Justice. coverage: comments, photos and videos. The concept of social TV is on Follow Mashable Entertainment The stories can then be embedded the rise, as more home viewers on Twitter log in to social networks to Become a Fan on Facebook anywhere. SEE ALSO: How Oprah is discuss whats happening with Subscribe to the Entertainment Revolutionizing Social TV in their favorite shows in real time as channel they air. Real-Time Download our free apps for Storify said TV networks can use According to social monitoring Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad GetGlues social commentary firm Trendrr, GetGlue accounted
location at Magic Kingdom during the Mashable Connect Race powered by Gowalla. Click here to view this gallery. Supporting Sponsors Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, fotosipsak More About: Conference, Events, mashable connect, pr, trending For more Social Media coverage: Follow Mashable Social Media
on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook Subscribe to the Social Media channel Download our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Inmarsat hands LightSquared a lifeline, hopes to get that $56 million back later
Daniel Cooper (Engadget)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:36:00 PM
job elsewhere) and get the project back on track. Cynics might suggest it's only been given the Remember LightSquared? Of breathing room because it's not course you do, it was the noble worth being pushed into Chapter yet doomed attempt to build a 7 bankruptcy, to which we say nationwide 4G LTE network. shame on you, you naughty Days before Sprint dumped it, cynics. billionaire Philip Falcone's Continue reading Inmarsat hands enterprise defaulted on a $56 LightSquared a lifeline, hopes to million spectrum allocation get that $56 million back later payment to British satellite Inmarsat hands LightSquared a o p e r a t o r I n m a r s a t . N o w lifeline, hopes to get that $56 LightSquared's biggest creditor million back later originally has offered a stay of execution to appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 g i v e t h e c o m p a n y t i m e t o Apr 2012 13:36:00 EDT. Please o v e r c o m e t h e r e g u l a t o r y see our terms for use of feeds. hurdles(we'd suggest praying Permalink| | Email this| Julius Genachowski gets another Comments
Daily World/
79
Former Manchester City footballer Ched Evans guilty of raping teenager

(Evening Standard - News)
Shakespeare goes global in huge festival

(Evening Standard - News)
looked elated as the verdict was read out. Submitted at 4/20/2012 9:52:14 AM His family and friends in the Sheffield United and Wales public gallery reacted by shouting footballer Ched Evans was found "Yes, yes". guilty of raping the then 19-year- One man left the courtroom and old at a hotel following a night could be heard screaming. out in Rhyl, north Wales, last Judge Merfyn Hughes QC then May. rose and everyone in the public His co-defendant, Port Vale gallery was ordered to leave the defender Clayton McDonald, was court. found not guilty of the same McDonald remained in the dock charge. with Evans, 23, of Penistone, Court proceedings were disrupted South Yorkshire, who held his after McDonald was acquitted, head in his hands and cried prompting a brief adjournment. hysterically. The court heard that both men McDonald hugged Evans and the admitted they had sex with the two footballers, who first met woman, who cannot be named for when they were both at the legal reasons, but the prosecution Manchester City youth academy, said she was too drunk to consent banged heads together. to sexual intercourse. When the judge returned to the In her evidence to police, the court, the jury foreman gave the woman said she has no memory guilty verdict against Evans. of the incident and believes her The Sheffield United centre drink may have been spiked. forward threw the headphones he The jury first returned a not- was using to follow the trial on guilty verdict on McDonald after the floor and then looked shocked. four hours and 52 minutes of Judge Hughes told McDonald he deliberations. was free to leave the dock and McDonald, of Crewe, Cheshire, after the footballer exited the
court, shouts of "No, no" could be heard. In a statement released via Sheffield United's website, Evans's lawyers said: "Ched Evans is shocked and extremely disappointed with the decision reached today by the jury at Caernarfon crown court to convict him of the charge brought against him. "Mr Evans firmly maintains his innocence in this matter and is being advised regarding an appeal of the decision." Sheffield United said the club recognised "the seriousness of these events and as such wishes to respond in a responsible way when it has taken sufficient time to consider the matter fully". This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
of Russias Chekhov International Theatre Festival which is taking Submitted at 4/20/2012 9:40:51 AM part, said it was a great The World Shakespeare Festival, o p p o r t u n i t y t o s h o w t h e i r promised in the bid that won admiration for the genius of London the 2012 Games, kicks world theatre. off next week with nearly 180,000 In addition to the professional tickets already sold. productions, 7,000 amateurs will The festival, which launches on be performing in Open Stages, the S h a k e s p e a r e s b i r t h d a y o n RSCs project to bring am-dram Monday, will see nearly 70 into the celebration. productions at venues across the Its producer, Ian Wainwright, country in an unprecedented said: Amateur productions bring international collaboration. to the stage people with different It is spearheaded by the Royal life experiences from those of S h a k e s p e a r e C o m p a n y b u t professional actors. includes contributions from The World Shakespeare Festival, venues such as the National supported by BP and the National Theatre and even the British Lottery, runs until November. Museum. The museum will open an www.worldshakespearefestival.or exhibition in July showing g.uk London as a world city 400 years This entry passed through the ago through the perspective of the Full-Text RSS service if this is Bards plays. your content and you're reading it The Globe is presenting all of on someone else's site, please read Shakespeares plays in different the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentlanguages over the next six weeks only/faq.php#publishers. Five in a venture it has dubbed Globe Filters recommends: Donate to to Globe. Wikileaks. Valery Shadrin, general director
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Daily World/ Politics/
London's most affordable areas will also be the fastest growing

Don Levett (Evening Standard News)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 9:50:19 AM
Daniels: Romneys campaign is too negative

Tina Korbe (Hot Air Top Picks)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 11:46:02 AM
In terms of average house prices, the least expensive areas in London are Barking & Dagenham (181k), followed by Bexley (215k), Newham (211k), Waltham Forest (224k) and Croydon (246k) according to LSL's latest property index data. Yet when looking at the London borough house price rankings, there isn't so much a North vs South divide as an East vs 'the rest' one - a divide that broadly maps onto the London Plan's anticipated areas of greatest population growth over the next 20 years, no doubt partly in anticipation of the after-effects of the Olympics. The mapping should not surprise. The growth projections are in part a recognition of where extra units
can be squeezed in - a fact clearly reflected by the 'island' of low projected increases in the City & West End - extremely dense areas where any new housing has to compete aggressively with commercial concerns. Yet they also indicate huge anticipated demand for cheaper London housing. Given that much has been made of the ability for so -called 'brownfield' sites to accommodate new property requirements, it is clear the next mayor will have to test their ability to deliver. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
posted at 12:46 pm on April 20, 2012 by Tina Korbe That Mitch Daniels endorsed Mitt Romney doesnt mean hell offer nothing but unqualified praise of the former Massachusetts governor. Today, the Indiana governor delivered some tough love to Romney, whose campaign Daniels described as too negative. The governor, whos often cited as a potential Republican running mate for Romney, reportedly told the newspaper that political victories that follow slash-andburn campaigns seldom lead to great accomplishments, referring to the already-bitter war underway between Romney and the presidents re-election campaign. Spend the precious time and dollars explaining whats at stake and a constructive program to make life better, Daniels said. And as I say, look at everything through the lens of folks who have yet to achieve. The writer of the piece, Matthew Tully, wrote that Daniels took a pause, then continued with disappointment: Romney doesnt talk that way.
He added: You dont change one thing about the policies you advocate or your principles, he said, noting instead that candidates should simply make clear how their policies would lift up those who are struggling. Daniels implied that he thinks Romney is campaigning to win but not necessarily to govern. The kind of campaign style Daniels outlines is ideal, but the Indiana governor forgets that Romney has to win to be able to govern. Plus, Romney is up against the Campaigner-in-Chief who won in 2008 precisely by campaigning to win and who in this election year has governed shallowly, in a way to try to help his campaign. Romney has been running for president for more than four years and his policy proposals are fairly well-developed. In every interview, he works in substantive policy information. Take his interview with National Review Online yesterday: He discussed his plans to expand energy development in this country, along with his plans to clean up a corrupt bureaucratic culture and administer the executive branch more efficiently than the president. From a horserace perspective, though, the most memorable lines in the interview
were jabs at Barack Obamas lavish vacation habits and dogeating. Romney said hed have no time for elaborate vacations as president. Later, he said, I dont recall that Ive eaten anything truly bizarre. True, interviewer Jim Geraghty baited him into both sound bites but, nevertheless, those kind of savvy witticisms stick on the campaign trail. Indeed, its been the most pleasant surprise of all to see that Mitt Romney and his team will flex their rapid-response muscles again and again until the president backs off of petty attacks. If the president continues the attacks, hell continue the counterattacks. The strategy is such to pique voters interest in the man from Massachusetts, who, until now, has come off as a little, well, dull. Interest piqued, theyll pay attention to his policy proposals and, for the most part, theyll like what they read. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Politics/
81
How Americans Lost Trust in Our Greatest Institutions

Ron Fournier and Sophie Quinton (Politics : The Atlantic)
that shuffle -- cut adrift." The Whitmires couldn't make their payments anymore. Submitted at 4/20/2012 9:52:04 AM They applied for a trial loanIt's not just Washington. Across modification through an Obama the country, citizens' faith in their administration program, and when city halls, newspapers, and it was granted, their monthly bill churches is fading. fell to $473.87. But, like nearly a M U N C I E , I n d . - - J o h n n y million others, the modification Whitmire shuts off his lawn was canceled. After charging the mower and takes a long draw lower rate for three months, their from a water bottle. He sloshes mortgage lender reinstated the the liquid from cheek to cheek higher fee and billed the family and squirts it between his work $1,878.88 in back payments. boots. He is sweating through his Whitmire didn't have that kind of white T-shirt. His jeans are dirty. cash and couldn't get it, so he and His middle-aged back hurts like his wife filed for bankruptcy. His hell. But the calf-high grass is cut, attorney advised him to live in the and the weeds are tamed at 1900 house until the bank foreclosed, W . 1 0 t h S t . , a h o u s e t h a t but "I don't believe in a free Whitmire and his family once lunch," Whitmire says. He moved called home. "I've decided to keep out, leaving the keys on the the place up," he says, "because I kitchen table. "I thought the bank hope to buy it back from the should have them." bank." A year later, City Hall sent him Whitmire tells a familiar story of salt for his wounds: a $300 h o w p u b l i c a n d p r i v a t e citation for tall grass at 1900 W. i n s t i t u t i o n s d e r a i l e d a n 10th St. Telling the story, he American's dream: In 2000, he swipes dried grass from his jeans bought the $40,000 house with no and shakes his head. "The city money down and a $620 monthly dinged me for tall weeds at my m o r t g a g e . H e m a d e e v e r y bank's house." After another pull payment. Then, in the fall of from the water bottle, Whitmire 2010, his partially disabled wife kicks a steel-toed boot into the lost her state job. "Governor ground he once owned. "You can't [Mitch] Daniels slashed the t r u s t a n y b o d y o r a n y t h i n g budget, and they looked for any a n y m o r e . " excuse to squeeze people out," Whitmire is an angry man. He is Whitmire says. "We got lost in among a group of voters most
now because of a mortgage company and an incompetent government." RELATED AT NATIONAL JOURNAL How Institutions Are Crumbling (Pictures) Live Chat at 2 p.m. Friday With Ron Fournier Restoration Calls -- Complete Coverage Why Muncie is Middletown and More Whitmire is a story of Muncie, and Muncie is the story of America. In this place -- dubbed "Middletown" by early 20thcentury sociologists -- people have lost faith in their institutions. Government, politics, corporations, the media, skeptical of President Obama: non organized religion, organized -college-educated white males. He labor, banks, businesses, and feels betrayed -- not just by other mainstays of a healthy Obama, who won his vote in society are failing. It's not just that 2008, but by the institutions that the institutions are corrupt or were supposed to protect him: his broken; those clichs oversimplify state, which laid off his wife; his an existential problem: With few government in Washington, which notable exceptions, the nation's couldn't rescue homeowners who onetime social pillars are illhad played by the rules; his bank, equipped for the 21st century. which failed to walk him through Most critically, they are failing to the correct paperwork or warn adapt quickly enough for a him about a potential mortgage population buffeted by wrenching hike; his city, which penalized economic, technological, and him for somebody else's error; demographic change. a n d e v e n h i s e m p l o y e r , a Knock around Muncie for proof: construction company he likes City Hall, like Washington, is even though he got laid off. "I petty and polarized, driving down was middle class for 10 years, but v o t e r e n g a g e m e n t . S t o d g y it's done," Whitmire says. "I've mainline churches are losing lost my home. I live in a trailer worshipers in droves. Low-tech
and unruly public schools are prompting parents to pull their children out. The city's oncebeloved business class shuttered its factories, leaving a legacy of double-digit unemployment and helplessness. Labor unions once credited with creating the middle class are now often blamed for the demise of industry. Even The Star Press, Muncie's daily newspaper once venerated for holding locals to account, was gutted after a jobkilling merger in 1996 and the sale, a few years later, to media giant Gannett. Muncie is a microcosm of a nation whose motto could be, "In Nothing We Trust." Seven in 10 Americans believe that the country is on the wrong track; eight in 10 are dissatisfied with the way the nation is being governed. Only 23 percent have confidence in banks, and just 19 percent have confidence in big business. Less than half the population expresses "a great deal" of confidence in the publicschool system or organized religion. "We have lost our gods," says Laura Hansen, an assistant professor of sociology at Western New England University in Springfield, Mass. "We lost [faith] in the media: Remember HOW page 82
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Walter Cronkite? We lost it in our culture: You can't point to a movie star who might inspire us, because we know too much about them. We lost it in politics, because we know too much about politicians' lives. We've lost it -that basic sense of trust and confidence -- in everything." We've been through this before, and Muncie is again instructive. Nearly nine decades ago, sociologists Robert and Helen Lynd moved here to document the transition away from an agrarian economy. Americans were battered by unbridled commercialism, stymied by an incompetent government beholden to special interests, and flustered by new technologies and new media. The Lynds found a loss of faith in social institutions. But, somehow, institutions adapted or gave way to vibrant new ones. The Catholic Church took on poverty, illness, and illiteracy. The Progressive movement, embodied by Theodore Roosevelt, grappled with the social costs of modernization and equipped the government to offset them. Labor unions reined in the corporate excesses of the new economy. Fraternal organizations, a new concept, gave people a sense of community that was lost when knitting circles and barn-raisings died out. Perhaps the problem is merely cyclical. "To a degree unlike any time since the Lynds' time, we've lost trust in one another and the institutions that are supposed to
hold us together," says James Connolly, director of the Center for Middletown Studies at Ball State University here. Yet unlike that earlier era, vibrant new institutions are not generally springing up to replace the old ones. And even when they do, they don't always restore Americans' faith in institutions and each other. Schools are worsening (especially relative to competitors abroad); politicians are limited to small-bore, partisan measures; and corporations' power over people like Johnny Whitmire is rising. What if, this time, institutions don't recover -and our faith dies with them? Yes, frustrated citizens have tried to fill the vacuum. Like-minded "followers" and "friends" feed us news online; people sometimes barter on eBay rather than bow to big corporations; and parents increasingly homeschool their children rather than expose them to failing public schools and unsafe streets. But this is coping, not institutional adaptation. And sociologists say we need the control that institutions provide: It's how things get done. When people trust their institutions, they're better able to solve common problems. Research shows that school principals are much more likely to turn around struggling schools in places where people have a history of working together and getting involved in their children's education. Communities bonded by friendships formed at church are more likely to vote, volunteer,
and perform everyday good deeds like helping someone find a job. And governments find it easier to persuade the public to make sacrifices for the common good when people trust that their political leaders have the community's best interests at heart. "Institutions -- even dysfunctional ones -- are why we don't run amok in the woods," Hansen says. Still, no metrics exist to measure life without institutions, because they've been around as long as humankind. The first institution was the first family. The tribe was the first community. The first tribe's leader was the first politician, and its elders were the first legislature. Its guards, the first police force. Its storyteller, a teacher. Humans are coded to create communities, and communities beget institutions. What if, in the future, they don't? People could disconnect, refocus inward, and turn away from their social contract. Already, many are losing trust. If society can't promise benefits for joining it, its members may no longer feel bound to follow its rules. But is the rise of disillusionment inexorable? Can institutions regain their mojo? History offers hope, but Whitmire's story, and the story of Muncie, say no. GUTENBERG TO GOOGLE Beneath a 110-foot Gothic tower, 180 worshippers at High Street Methodist Church scatter across pews that could hold twice that many. A balcony capable of seating hundreds more rings three
sides of the church. It is empty. Nattily dressed worshippers crane their necks to watch robed choir members, a cross bearer, and two ministers walk down the main sanctuary aisle. A booming pipe organ marks each step. After an opening prayer, a dozen whitegloved handbell ringers perform "Beneath the Cross of Jesus," composed by an Englishman in 1881. Ten or so children are among the worshippers, a couple of them small enough to fit on a parent's lap, but the vast majority of congregants are middle-aged or older. Pastor N. Dale Mendenhall uses his prayer to ask the Lord to help guide "the best in people of all ages" in the community. "We live in a city struggling to regain its future direction," he tells them. Away from his pulpit, Mendenhall confesses that his own downtown church is struggling to regain its direction. The 176-year-old institution is emblematic of a trend in Muncie and America: Mainline churches are losing relevancy and worshippers because they have failed to adapt to the changing needs of their communities. From 1981 to 2011, High Street's membership dropped 52 percent to 700. The average Sunday attendance declined 27 percent to 379. That decline reflects the experience of older religious institutions around the country. Those who have left the Catholic Church, for instance, now outnumber those who have joined
it 4-to-1, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life's 2008 survey. The large Protestant denominations have lost more than a million members in the past decade or so. The most telling statistic may be the number of Americans who declare themselves "unaffiliated" with any church tradition; it has been rising since the 1960s, and it topped 16 percent in 2010, according to Gallup. The goings-on at Union Chapel Ministries, just a few miles away, help explain why traditionalists are languishing. Sitting on a 40acre plot, Union Chapel is part of a fast-growing multibillion-dollar religious industry in America that is adapting one of the world's oldest institutions to fit modern times -- by giving congregants a sense of connection many had ceased to feel elsewhere. These so -called mega-churches are led by charismatic pastors with the skill set of corporate marketers; they sell not just the word of God but also the utility of God's teaching in an era of atomization and economic change. What would Jesus do about long-term unemployment, school bullying, and Facebook? These churches help worshippers figure it out. Union Chapel's pastor, Gregg Parris, speaks in phrases you'd expect from an M.B.A. ("I'm in the word business") or a sociologist ("We're going from a Gutenberg world to a Google world"). He keeps his sermons HOW page 83
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simple because "you can't assume everybody knows the Lord's Prayer," and he strives to make the liturgy relevant to life's challenges. His church offers counseling for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, marriage problems, alcoholism, and sexual abuse. Union Chapel heavily promotes its social clubs to buoy connection-starved people. The services are casual, hip, and focused on middle-class Muncians who feel abandoned amid economic change. "My job," Parris says in an interview at his office, "is to fill in the gaps where our institutions have failed us." After the service, people of all ages gather in the coffee shop and concession area outside the gymnasium, chatting, reading the newspaper, and browsing the bookstores. To be clear: That's the church coffee shop, the church concession area, the church gymnasium, and the church bookstores. Many in the congregation wear T-shirts and sneakers; no man wears a suit. "They seemed to just take care of their own," says Nancy Hopper, who joined Union Chapel in 1993, when she grew unhappy with the rural church she had worshipped at. "I like reaching out to the community." If Parris's church is fresh, new, and relevant, John Hunt, the head usher back at High Street, knows how his church is perceived. "Some people think it's cold and unfriendly," he says. Mendenhall, too, knows he's failing to reach people, as are other traditional
churches struggling to keep pace with the times. As the 60-year-old Methodist pastor puts it, "Churches are still stuck in the mentality that we just have to fling our doors open, and people will come. That's not the case anymore. Just look around." Traditional churches often cater to people who no longer exist -men and women guaranteed long marriages, many children, and a single job that lasts a lifetime. Today, as people search for moral grounding in an uncertain world, what is more relevant to them, Mendenhall must wonder: choirs or rock bands? Church-basement socials or Starbucks? Bake sales or yoga classes? Missions that serve the poor overseas or those that help the church's own destitute neighbors? It's not that Mendenhall isn't trying to adapt. He very much wants to draw the same people that Union Chapel serves -- or even just to recover some of his own flock. High Street Methodist's poverty campaign is now focused more on Muncie's poor than on the needy overseas. It has a nontraditional service with somewhat modern music. Mendenhall has reached out to a downtown-based vocationaleducation college in hopes of attracting students. Back in his office, he is intrigued to hear about Parris's coffee shop and wonders if something similar might make his church a gathering spot. But he's not sure his white-haired church board would go for it. "The way we've
always done it," he says with a sigh, "is not going to do it.""THE LIGHT GOT DIMMER" Maranda Whitehead remembers fondly her son Jordan's first days at the neighborhood public school. He was "excited, happy, thrilled to go to kindergarten," she says. It was downhill from there. Teachers could barely keep track of the students in their crowded classrooms; they had no money to keep up with modern trends in technology or education; they didn't form relationships with parents, not even Whitehead and others who wanted to get involved; and after the early grades, they taught a rote style focused on the state's compulsory tests. MORE FROM NATIONAL JOURNAL Was Obama's 'Silver Spoon' Remark Aimed At Romney? The GOP Identity Crisis: Round Two Manchin Isn't Sure Whether He'll Vote for Obama "Every year," Whitehead says of Jordan, "the light got dimmer and dimmer, and finally he hated school." His joy of learning didn't return until she enrolled him in the sixth grade at Hoosier Academy, one of many charter schools that have sprung up across Indiana to provide an alternative. It's a national trend: Parents are fed up with traditional public schools because they are failing to adapt -- or failing outright. The number of charter-school students
nationwide has nearly quadrupled over the past decade to more than 1.6 million in the 2009-10 school year. In 2007, the most recent data available, the number of homeschooled students was about 1.5 million, a 76 percent increase since 1999. Many new charter schools cost the state less money than traditional schools and craft school-specific curricula, free from rigid state and district requirements. And although they spring from Indiana's attempt to create competition for (and, thus, higher quality in) public schools, they also represent a demand-side phenomenon: Parents would not seek alternatives to a healthy public-school system. Indiana surrendered to the demand in 2001, when its Legislature sanctioned charters. A few years later, it went further and allowed state funding to follow the student. Muncie's two high schools began hemorrhaging pupils, and the pace is picking up: They have lost more than 17 percent of their enrollment since the 2007-08 school year. At Hoosier, four days a week, the queue of small sedans, SUVs, and trucks waiting to drop off students forms a wide circle around the parking lot. The academy leases space in the unused wing of a Catholic school on the city's south side. Under its "blended" model, children go to their classrooms two days a week for face-to-face instruction. Three days a week, they work at home with a parent or other adult while connected electronically to the high-tech
school. Teachers and coaches meet at least once a month to review each child's progress. "Everybody is on the same page all the time," Whitehead says. Coordination with parents is a given. "It took me a whole school year to see he wasn't keeping up" in public school, says Jamie Leffel of her second-grader. Frustrated, she too moved him to Hoosier. What he got there highlights where the public schools have gone wrong. Hoosier students receive a passport to the digital age: Everyone who qualifies for a free or reducedprice lunch is eligible for a free desktop computer and printer, as well as an Internet stipend. Pupils still need to take governmentmandated standardized tests, but the academy's computer-driven metrics allow teachers and parents to track how well the kids are doing in real time. (They record the grade for every assignment, confirm that work is completed on time, and inform teachers that students need special attention when they can't exceed 80 percent performance after the first few attempts.) It's a high-tech education for a high-tech world. Parents get a constant stream of emails and, therefore, feel more invested. With Hoosier's approach, "the partnership with the parent and teacher becomes crucial," says Melissa DeWitt, the academic director of Hoosier Academies, the parent company based in Indianapolis. HOW page 85
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On National Pot Day, A Speech President Obama Should Give

Andrew Cohen (Politics : The Atlantic)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 10:39:49 AM
More Americans today support medical-marijuana use than support the death penalty. So if Obama won't lead here, then perhaps he should follow. Reuters It is April 20, 4-20, 420, 4:20, a date and a number which means one thing to America's older generations and quite likely another thing to its newer ones. In the lingo of the marijuana world, and now even far beyond it, "420" is both a state of mind and an appointment -- the time of the day, and especially on that particular day of the year, to smoke pot. It's been this way since 1971, says Wikipedia, and this year, with the observance coming on a Friday, the Internet has been ablaze, you might say, with gleeful chatter about all the observances (furtive and otherwise) planned to mark the event. "Tomorrow is 4/20" was even trending on Twitter for hours and hours on Thursday. With this timing in mind, and with this week's news that President Obama is in trouble with young voters, I thought it might make sense to briefly suggest the language of a speech he might give on this topic. It's time. Not only are younger voters
more strongly in favor of legalizing marijuana, but a significant majority of Americans are in favor of permitting medical marijuana use, a CBS News poll last fall showed. And here's what the president should say in a speech from a room in which he is surrounded by medical marijuana patients whose chronic pain or seizures have been eased by the drug: My Fellow Americans: Every day this Administration
seeks as best it can to evaluate our nation's existing policies and priorities to determine whether they continue to make sense or whether they are counterproductive to America's evolving goals and ideals. As individuals, we make these sorts of re-evaluations all the time in our own lives. We learn from experience what works and what does not. We change our minds. We strive to be better. And as a nation we must do the same to
ensure that the path we have chosen is still the one we want to be on. So, after careful consideration and a through review by the Justice Department, and with the consent and cooperation of other relevant federal agencies, I announce today that this Administration will have a new approach to the issue of medical marijuana in those states which have legalized it. Our new policies are consistent with the
promises I made as a candidate, they finally make good on pronouncements I made early in my term, they are faithful in their traditional deference to states' rights, and they sensibly redirect federal resources at a time when we need every budget dollar we can find. I have directed the attorney general to issue a directive to all U.S. attorneys and other federal NATIONAL page 86
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Surprisingly, you won't get an argument from Muncie Community School Superintendent Tim Heller. "If we were doing our job," he says, "why would parents want to go to charter schools?" Heller worked in Indiana schools, including Muncie, for 32 years before leaving to run a wealthy publicschool district in Kentucky. He returned last year to find Muncie's system a shell of its former self. Years of declining enrollment has strained budgets, Heller said, and violence in the high schools worries administrators and parents. Add a high-profile scandal (a high school principal failed to report a rape allegation) and it's not surprising that parents are voting with their feet. In the Bluegrass State, Heller put laptops in the hands of every one of his high school students. But in Muncie, he has been ordered to slash some $4 million (about 8 percent) from the budget. Plans to install wireless Internet are just plans, for now. Teachers can't offer the kind of real-time metrics that their competitors at Hoosier can. Heller is challenging his staff to recognize why parents are yanking their kids. He is also cracking down on unruly students and raising academic standards. He plans to convene a meeting of parents who homeschool their children or send them elsewhere. "I want to ask them, 'What don't we do that you need us to do?' " But he hasn't reversed any trends yet. And further budget cuts -- not
an unreasonable expectation as Washington passes debt off to states and municipalities -- could reinforce the vicious cycle."LET HIM SPEAK!" The first City Council meeting in 2008 is the stuff of legend. Republican Sharon McShurley had just become Muncie's first female mayor. (Her margin of victory: 13 votes.) Coming into the session, it was all-out partisan war. Democrats were contesting the election in court. Republicans accused Democratic council member Monte Murphy of voter fraud after rounding up a half dozen witnesses who said that Murphy pressured them to vote Democratic on the absentee ballots he collected. The Democratic-controlled council had vowed to gridlock city government if that's what it took to consign McShurley to a single term. The hearing opens and in walks Cary Malchow, a clothing-shop owner bearing political ambitions and what might as well be a lit fuse. He demands that the City Council investigate one of its own. "This city has a member on its council, Monte Murphy, who has been publicly accused of the ultimate misconduct," Malchow begins. Bang! Bang! Bang! President Sam Marshall pounds his gavel to protect his fellow Democrat. "Sir, we will not have any ..." But Murphy doesn't need Marshall's help. He makes his own defense. Publicly accused? "By who?" More interruptions.
"No, wait a minute. He brung up my name. By who?" Malchow calmly replies that he read about the accusations in the newspaper. Returning to his prepared remarks, the businessman cites a city code allowing for corruption inquiries, before he is cut off again. "Hey!" Marshall shouts. "We're going to stop this meeting if this continues ..." Malchow is undeterred. If Murphy consents to an investigation, then he can "prove his innocence," Malchow says. "By saying no, you're leaving no doubt in everybody's mind of a cover-up and that the gentleman is surely guilty." At this pronouncement, all hell breaks loose in City Hall. "That's enough! Marshall shouts, banging the gavel. "That's enough! That's enough, sir! You've had enough time." "No, I haven't," Malchow avows. Marshall rolls up his sleeves in a cartoonish gesture. He looks ready to fight. "You've had your three minutes, sir." "No, I haven't," Malchow says. "We have set standards ..." "Sir!" Marshall yells. "... for students ..." "Sir!" "... athletes ..." "Sir!" "... and coaches and teachers ..." "Get this guy out," Marshall growls. McShurley's crowd of supporters jump to their feet and chant, "Let him speak! Let him speak!" Marshall gets up and declares,
"This meeting is over." He grabs his glasses from the council table and walks away. People are wagging fingers and shouting. Within hours, the video is on YouTube. Four years later, Democratic and Republican voters remember it with pinched faces and rolled eyes. "And we wonder why people don't vote in this city?" asks Virginia Nilles, Muncie's head librarian, the force behind a civic group formed to fill the leadership vacuum at City Hall. And why should voters trust City Hall? The rookie mayor's arrogance and Democratic intransigence ensured that McShurley's term was a disaster. Murphy was convicted of felonious possession of absentee ballots and stripped of his council spot (the charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor). McShurley got revenge against Marshall by laying him off from his city job (he had been a supervisor at the city's street department while serving as council president). Over lunch in a downtown restaurant, McShurley looks back on four years of voter discontent and says, "We have ourselves to blame." In 2008, she had confessed that her election was the result of a less-than-honest campaign: While promising to bring new jobs to the city, she didn't tell voters that they would have to settle for far less pay and benefits in postindustrial Muncie. "They want $30-an-hour factory jobs, $15-an-hour benefits packages. No continuing
education," a dismissive McShurley told a reporter a few months into her term. "They want it just like their grandparents had it, just like some of their parents had it." Four years later, McShurley has little regret. "Why wasn't I more honest with voters?" she asks. It's a rhetorical question: "They didn't want to hear it." Voters may have lost faith in their leaders, but the leaders, too, have lost faith in the people. McShurley didn't trust voters to accept the truth in 2007, so she danced around it. It's no wonder that just 19 percent of the voting-eligible public cast ballots in last year's mayoral race. And it's a national problem: After a 50year decline, just 14 percent of respondents in a 2011 Gallup Poll said that the federal government could be trusted "a great deal." It's a vicious cycle. Voters don't like hard truths; so politicians spin us; so we don't trust politicians; so politicians pander and lie to us. In this, too, Muncie's story is the story of America. FIGHTING CITY HALL "I'm here to appeal my weed citation." Johnny Whitmire's issue is the third item on the agenda for the Muncie Board of Public Works and Safety. For this official occasion, he wears a clean jean jacket. Despite everything he has been through, he'll take a chance that government can help. The board meets every Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the City Hall auditorium. A dozen people, HOW page 88
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officials that they may no longer raid or threaten to prosecute medical-marijuana growers and distributors in those states that have legalized the use of the drug. As of today, the federal government will be content to allow state authorities to monitor those growers and distributors to ensure that they are complying with state law. To those states we say: We are still here to help you if you need us. To the American people we say: No longer will your federal tax dollars be spent interfering with these particular state policy choices. I also have directed Attorney General Holder to specifically inform federal prosecutors and investigators that they may no longer threaten with prosecution under the Controlled Substances Act those state employees in medical-marijuana venues who are merely doing their jobs as required under state law. These civil servants should not have to live in fear of federal prosecution when they are merely enforcing duly-enacted state laws. This is a matter of both common decency and common sense, and it is another way in which we can reduce the size of the federal footprint in medical-marijuana venues. To the extent that these state policies conflict with existing federal drug laws I call upon the Congress to change the law. To the extent this Administration may interpret its regulations to give effect to today's pronouncements, we will, trying
when we can to show a measure of respect for those state jurisdictions which have decided to experiment with medical marijuana legalization. Some of these states will do better than others. And the ones which do it well will be copied. That's how tenable policy is formed, from the grassroots up, and this administration will no longer chill state efforts to make such policies work. Moreover, while I do not condone the general legalization of marijuana, it is clear that the time has come to broadly reassess the factual and legal and historical bases for its current classification under the Controlled Substances Act and other federal laws. At a minimum, our national laws should explicitly recognize the rights of states to permit their citizens to use medical marijuana. And a broader study of the current legal and factual rationale for federal marijuana laws would allow us, ultimately, to make a more informed policy choice on the merits here. Let's hear from the economists and the law enforcement community. Let's talk to educators and prison officials. Let's get state and federal auditors on the record explaining the costs and benefits of our current national policy toward marijuana. How much does that policy cost? What will be the costs of changing it? How will it affect public safety? And what should the federal government do on the day after a state's voters approve a measure
that legalizes marijuana use beyond the medical context? Sooner or later, if the current trends continue, that will happen. Do we want to continue to spend billions in tax dollars criminalizing marijuana sales, or do we want to consider raising billions in tax revenues by legalizing and then taxing marijuana sales? Is it time to treat marijuana the way we treat alcohol and cigarettes, or do we want to continue to allow old classifications to guide us? For decades, for generations, these questions were beyond the mainstream of American political thought. But no longer. As a nation, we ought to be able to talk about this, rationally and sensibly, as part of a larger conversation about economics, crime, revenues, civil liberties, and individual responsibility. The reason I know it's time to change course and perhaps recalibrate our national priorities on this controversial topic isn't just because I read the latest polls which show growing support for marijuana legalization and a strong majority in favor of medical marijuana use by ill patients. All over the country, new voices are speaking out for a re-evaluation of our current drug policies. And in the past 15 years alone no fewer than 16 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of medical marijuana. This is more than a trend. It is a sea change, the nation's new reality. If you don't believe me, believe
Pat Robertson. The Christian conservative icon recently made a compelling social and economic case for the legalization of marijuana. Like millions of his fellow Americans, Mr. Robertson is repulsed by the idea that California today spends more money on prisons and prisoners than it does on public schools. Marijuana possession laws, in part at least, are to blame for that. Mr. Robertson wants to direct money from prisons to schools and that makes perfect sense to me. At least we ought to seriously talk about it. And if you don't believe Pat Robertson, believe Milton Friedman, the Reagan-era conservative economist, who pronounced in 2005 that Americans would see huge savings -- approximately $14 billion in combined savings and tax revenues -- if the United States were to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Again, I don't agree that we should go this far at this time. But I do believe we ought to be talking about this. To give you some sense of perspective, more people today support the use of medical marijuana (77 percent) than support the death penalty(61 percent). Of course, I am not here to condone drug or alcohol use. As a politician, as the president, as a man, I have seen with my own eyes the destruction caused by drug and alcohol abuse. And as a father I can assure you that I don't ever want my girls to use drugs. I
will continue to talk with them, as Michelle and I already have, about the dangers of drug use, especially for teenagers. And I am sure that those conversations will continue even after both of our kids have left the nest. That's what parents do. That's what doctors do. But it's not what the federal government should be doing. Just last week, at the Summit of the Americas in Colombia, I said that "legalization is not the answer." But I also told my host, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, that I'd be willing to talk whether our drug laws may be "doing more harm than good in certain places." Medical marijuana is one of those places. Our policy toward it over the past few years has done more harm than good. We have gone too far in threatening federal sanctions for lawful state activity. I am responsible for that. And also responsible for this shift. It's time to change. If our friends in Congress disagree, on either side of the aisle, then let them come forth and rail against the rights of states to be free from federal oppression; let them argue that federal interference in state and local matters doesn't go far enough; let them proclaim that they believe that the federalization of criminal law is a grand idea; let them criticize state and local governments for experimenting with such laws. The truth is our NATIONAL page 88
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Hey, whos up for another Stagnant Spring?

Ed Morrissey (Hot Air Top Picks)
horizon, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:21:03 PM said Thursday, at the start of posted at 1:21 pm on April 20, meetings here that will focus 2012 by Ed Morrissey on Europes troubles and global On Sunday, Secretary Treasury growth. Ms. Lagarde implored Tim Geithner hemmed and hawed world leaders not to become a bit when asked by NBCs David complacent. Gregory whether the US would Forecasters have said that the have a third straight spring of trends point to a moderation of disappointing economic growth. economic growth in the United Today, the New York Times tries States, but they still expect the to reset expectations and make recovery to continue this year. a few excuses, too: The slowdown in part reflects an Some of the same spoilers that unusually warm winter, which interrupted the recovery in 2010 pulled forward economic activity, and 2011 have emerged again, making January and February raising fears that the winters seem artificially good and perhaps economic strength might dissipate making recent weeks look worse in the spring. than they truly were. In recent weeks, European bond Still, the breadth of the recent yields have started climbing. In weakening of activity shows that the United States and elsewhere, the economy remains fragile, as is high oil prices have sapped typical in the years following a s p e n d i n g p o w e r . A m e r i c a n financial crisis. employers remain skittish about At the same time, the Department hiring new workers, and new of Labor reported today that the c l a i m s f o r u n e m p l o y m e n t disappointing jobs numbers in insurance have risen. And stocks March was no anomaly. Job have declined. growth slowed in a number of There is a light recovery states: blowing in a spring wind with Fewer U.S. states reported job d a r k c l o u d s o n t h e gains last month, reflecting a
slower pace of hiring nationwide. The Labor Department says that 29 states reported job gains in March, while 20 states lost jobs. Thats worse than February, when 42 states added jobs. Well, not to be too snarky about this, but whats new, exactly, about these issues? Europes debt crisis has been unfolding for years. High oil and energy prices have been a perennial problem, not just in the US but around the world. These are not acute issues, but chronic problems that Obama has had three years to address. So far, he and his economic team still seem unprepared to offer real solutions. As another Stagnant Spring approached, what has been this administrations focus? Hint: it hasnt been to disentangle the US from the EU debt crisis or ramp up petroleum production and refining in the US. The big push since the end of last summer has been the Buffett Rule, which would solve none of these issues, create no jobs, and only address less than one-half of one percent of the deficit and our own debt crisis. Obama really needs Wall Street to bail him out, but these days,
Wall Street has become a lot more skeptical of Obama and of the data his administration produces on economics. Elizabeth MacDonald reports at Fox Business that economists have begun to suspect something fishy in the initial weekly jobless claims reports from the Department of Labor: The Department of Labor has revised higher the number of people who filed for unemployment benefits for the first time in 58 out of the last 59 weeks. The same has held true since the beginning of the year. There have been 14 weeks of jobless data this year, and there have been 14 revisions. And all 14 were revisions that made the claims picture higher than what the government originally reported. This is a very odd trend indeed; economists note it is not unusual for weekly jobless claims to be revised, as the governments methodology for its initial estimate might not adequately take into account factors like seasonal adjustments or undercounting by states. But why are
jobless claims now virtually always revised in the same direction higher? Wall Street is beginning to be more skeptical. Economists have already warned that jobless claims data should be viewed over time to pick up on trends. Nomura Global Economics has taken a look at the issue, too, and warns Wall Street to bet that the revised numbers will be skewed higher. It notes that the undistorted trend likely lies closer to 370,000 to 380,000. So the White House isnt just losing credibility on their policies theyre losing credibility on their statistics as well. Dont expect that to encourage investment this spring. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
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mostly city employees, file in as board attorney John Quirk calls the meeting to order. The agenda fills one double-spaced page and hints at nothing special: Old business ... Comptroller's reporter ... AT&T bill ... Weed Appeal. Sitting behind an elevated polished-wood dais, Quirk and two other board members look down on Whitmire when his turn comes. Quirk tells Whitmire that the house at 1900 W. 10th is still in Whitmore's name. "It's a fairly common practice," he says. "Citi doesn't want any liability should anybody get hurt on the property." "So I'm liable for a house I don't live in or own?" Whitmire sputters. Yes, Quirk says. "I move that we put a $300 lien on the property and waive your fine, Mr. Whitmire." "What exactly does that mean?" Whitmire asks. Quirk explains that the board's action would require whoever buys the house to pay the weed fee. "What if I buy it back?" Whitmire wants to know. Despite everything, he still has hopes.
"In that case," Quirk answers, "keep track of the times you cut the lawn, and we'll add to our motion a waiver of the lien should you buy the house back from Citi. That sound fair to you?" "Sounds like a deal to me," Whitmire agrees. The board votes unanimously for the motion. Whitmire wanders out of the auditorium. "Oh, my God," Whitmire says, his eyes wide with a smile. "Something just worked at City Hall." Desperate enough to try, Whitmire showed up to fight City Hall at a public meeting attended by few other members of the public. Somehow, after his travails, he thought government would work. Even more miraculously, it did. A low-level city board gave a guy a break. Its members showed that institutions can respond to change and help people after all. But it's a small victory for Whitmire. He and his wife are still unemployed. He is no longer eligible for the federal mortgagerelief program. He is bankrupt. His credit is destroyed. And he's
living in a trailer, with no expectation of rejoining the middle class. He has been buffeted, again and again, by forces that never had his interests at heart. As he strolls out of City Hall and makes plans to cut the grass at 1900 W. 10th St., this man from Middletown still has little reason to believe in the system that took so much from him. Image: Ralf-Finn Hestoft This article available online at: http://www.theatlantic.com/ politics/archive/2012/04/howamericans-lost-trust-in-ourgreatest-institutions/256163/ This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
new policies are conservative in the traditional sense of the word. The White House can be tough on crime without being blind to the needs of a small minority of ill Americans who benefit from medical marijuana. Our new policies will not force anyone to use medical marijuana if they don't want to. They will not make medical marijuana legal in any state in which it currently is not. And they will not neuter federal efforts to enforce the nation's many other drug laws. In fact, federal resources now devoted to the medical-marijuana front will be redirected toward other law enforcement priorities. In an age of limited budgets, we need to be smarter about how we pend our money. This change will allow us to be smarter -- and isn't that what this Administration's critics and adversaries are always beseeching us to be? I can speak only for the executive branch and today I have. I now ask Congress to consider these questions and to enact appropriate, measured legislation that acknowledges the factual and legal realities surrounding the use of medical marijuana in America. And I stand ready to help the lawmakers in any way I can to explore other reforms on laws that prohibit marijuana use. Surely this is an issue that transcends party -or at least joins liberals and libertarians in a common goal. As a federal government, the powers
of which are limited by the Constitution, we have better things to do with our time and our money and our energy. On drug policy, some will call this a retreat. Some will call it a surrender. The truth is it is neither. It is instead a reflection of our ability as a people to recognize the change within us and to adapt our policies to reflect those changes. That dynamic has been unfolding now on a state level for nearly a generation. We see it in the polls and in the questions our nation's young people are asking of us. We see it in the faces of medical marijuana patients who need the drug to get through the day. Today, the change we all know has arrived will be formally recognized on the federal level. It's about time. This article available online at: http://www.theatlantic.com/ politics/archive/2012/04/onnational-pot-day-a-speechpresident-obama-should-give/ 256121/ This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Politics/ Technology/
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The Ed Morrissey Show: Duane Senate black box bill could see 2015 car models Generalissimo Patterson & ship with data recorders the Week in Review
Joseph Volpe (Engadget)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 1:13:00 PM
Ed Morrissey (Hot Air Top Picks)
Seattle. We want to encourage prayers for Marizelas family, and also try to reach anyone in the Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:53:27 PM area who knows where Marizela posted at 1:53 pm on April 20, might be and ask them to contact 2012 by Ed Morrissey the police. Today, on the Ed Morrissey The search has its own website Show (3 pm ET), well take a now, Find Marizela, for the latest look at the past week with Duane in the efforts to bring Marizela Generalissimo Patterson of the home. There is also a fund for the Hugh Hewitt Show. Duane and I family to keep the search efforts will talk about all of the weeks going. Be sure to check there and events, including the advent of the at Michelles site for further Mormons Are Weird media developments, and keep the blitz that started this week. All of family in your prayers. this and more and stay tuned Americas Most Wanted is now for a preview of tonights Hugh on the case, too. Hewitt Show. Michelle has a new update on the The Ed Morrissey Show and its case on the one-year anniversary: dynamic chatroom can be seen on Exactly one year ago today, my the permanent TEMS page be 18-year-old cousin Marizela sure to join us, and dont forget to (known affectionately to her keep up with the debate on my family and friends as Emem or Facebook page, too! Mei) Perez disappeared from Marizela Perez has been missing the University of Washington for a year. campus in Seattle. Marizelas case has a connection She is still missing. here at Hot Air, as she is the Those words form on the cousin of the Boss Emeritus, c o m p u t e r s c r e e n w i t h Michelle Malkin. Michelle is disembodied disbelief. But my trying to spread the word through heart is screaming: Facebook and Q13Fox/KCPQ in SHE IS STILL MISSING. WHY,
DEAR GOD, WHY?!!!!! The not-knowing is every parents worst nightmare. It brought normal life to a standstill for Marizelas parents, Edgar and Jasmin. And yet, they have to keep living and working and praying for their only daughter. Because that is what they must do. Their strength and dignity through all the suffering has been an inspiration to me. There have been no new developments in Emems case. No word from the police or the medical examiners office. No activity on her bank accounts or social media accounts. And no response from the Google legal department to our request for help in January. Keep the prayers coming. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Black boxes aren't just for airplanes anymore, it seems. Though car companies have been installing the devices at their discretion since the early aughts, a new bill, ominously entitled Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, has just passed Senate approval containing a provision that would mandate the inclusion of these Event Data Recorders in all automobiles produced from 2015 and on. Privacy fans may already be reaching for those protesting pitchforks, but keep in mind this legislation still needs to pass the House of Representatives on its way to becoming law. And given its other, more controversial elements (i.e. revoking passports for unpaid back taxes), it could still head back to the recycle bin. If it does pass Congressional
muster, you'll still have ownership of any collected data, so long as the court doesn't require you to hand it over. Regardless of the outcome, we wouldn't breathe a sigh of relief just yet -- your car might be snooping on you as we speak. Just check your owner's manual. Senate black box bill could see 2015 car models ship with data recorders originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink PCWorld| InfoWars| Email this| Comments
90
Politics/
When Will Rick Santorum Endorse Mitt Romney?

Molly Ball (Politics : The Atlantic)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 8:14:19 AM
Before he gets behind his erstwhile opponent, the former Pennsylvania senator wants respect to be paid -- and needs time to heal. Reuters Now that Rick Santorum has suspended his presidential campaign, the only remaining suspense surrounding the former Pennsylvania senator involves whether, and when, he'll dutifully fall in line behind Mitt Romney. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Tom Fitzgerald writes that Santorum is waiting "to be seduced" by Romney: Why the delay in endorsing? For one thing, Santorum has a campaign debt of at least $900,000, and he is busy reaching out to supporters, through the conference call and email among other things, to donate money to
retire the debt. He also apparently is intent on leveraging a role at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, such as influence on the party platform, and respect for conservatives in a Romney administration. Romney was in Pennsylvania for a couple of days this week, but Santorum laid low. On Monday
night, Santorum held a conference call with supporters nearly simultaneous with a Romney speech in Philadelphia, raising some local eyebrows -- was it intentional counter-programming? The next day, Romney visited Bethel, near Santorum's hometown in the western part of the state; Harrisburg, the capital,
where he secured the endorsement of the state's governor, Tom Corbett; and Lancaster, where Santorum was originally scheduled to speak at a GOP dinner along with Romney and Newt Gingrich but pulled out of the program. ("Santorum's not here tonight, and if you ask me why, it's because he's
embarrassed," a 72-year-old party activist named Carl Sideman opined to me at the event.) A person close to Santorum told me practical considerations play a role, but there is also some simple healing to be done. Santorum will come around in the coming weeks, the source said -- "when the hurt feelings disappear." This article available online at: http://www.theatlantic.com/ politics/archive/2012/04/whenwill-rick-santorum-endorse-mittromney/256133/ This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Technology/ Social Network/
91
TIME 100 and the Democratization of Influence

Lynn Fox (The Official Klout Blog)
Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:10:45 PM
Fifth Avenue Frogger brings everyone's favorite roadkill to New York City (video)
Tweet Everyone has influence, and influence is the ability to drive action. Youve heard Klout say this time and time again. The 2012 TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World have been Brian Heater (Engadget) generator in tow, letting people named, and this year the list experience the game it was meant speaks volumes to the shift of the Submitted at 4/20/2012 12:49:00 PM to be played: on a sidewalk in web from pages to people, and the For all their charm, the arcade plain view of traffic. Check out a profound effect this has on games of the 80s didn't really video of the game after the break, influence. offer much in the way of gritty including a desperate plea from a As TIME Editor Rick Stengel realism -- not like today's titles, talking frog who really wants a writes in his excellent opening certainly. Tyler DeAngelo's new trip to the Smithsonian. letter, Before microphones and take on video game hall-of-famer Continue reading Fifth Avenue television were invented, a leader Frogger certainly goes a ways Frogger brings everyone's favorite had to stand in front of a crowd toward lending the gaming classic roadkill to New York City (video) and bellow. Now she can tweet a some grit. DeAngelo installed a Fifth Avenue Frogger brings phrase that reaches millions in a webcam trained on Manhattan's everyone's favorite roadkill to flash. Influence was never easier Fifth Avenue, using code to New York City (video) originally or more ephemeral. This is an translate that footage into data appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 that allows players to experience a Apr 2012 12:49:00 EDT. Please real-time, real world traffic flow see our terms for use of feeds. in a modded version of a Frogger Permalink Joystiq| 5th Ave. machine. The creator has been Frogger| Email this| Comments known to drag the machine onto the famed New York street,
important statement from a publication that issues the annual barometer of real-world influence. Time put these words into action with the inclusion of people like Manal al-Sarif, the woman who was jailed for driving in Saudi Arabia (its illegal for women to drive in the country), and Samira Ibrahim, who stood up to the courts in Egypt over forced virginity tests. These women are part of the 47 percent of people who are not scored by Klout because they are not active on social media. Were working on that. However, the internet gives us the opportunity to measure how the people who are active in social media influence each other online. Some 53 percent of of the TIME 100 have Klout Scores, ranging from Rihannas 95 to Donald Sadoway, the MIT scholar who
measures in at 23. The average Klout Score among those on the list is 62. Interesting entrants on the list are also extremely active and influential online. Outside of the U.S., Russian watchdog Alexei Navalni comes in at 81 that is higher than the average of all U.S. politicians on the list (80). The highest mogul on the list also resides outside of the U.S. Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista clocks in at 77, higher than mogul cohorts Chelsea Handler(73), Sheryl Sandberg(52) and Warren Buffet(64). Our desire is to help every person understand and unlock their influence. We have a long way to go before were able to fully realize that goal, but were encouraged by TIMEs recognition that we are all influential, both online and off.

Liberty Newspost April-20-2012

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