Liberty Newspost Mar-2-2012

Curated News Edition
- 02/03/12
http://www.LibertyNewspost.com
Tornadoes reported in Alabama - CBS News

(Top Stories - Google News)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:01:10 AM
Emergency management officials told CBS News that one tornado has touched down in Limestone A severe weather system in County, and another in Madison Northern Alabama and Tennessee County heading towards an produced at least two tornadoes e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l i n on Friday, March 2, Meridianville. 2012. (National Weather Service) Buckhorn High School and Last Updated 12:20 p.m. ET Middle School in New Market, (CBS/AP) Two tornadoes have Ala., have been damaged, with reportedly touched down in part of the roof torn off the middle Alabama Friday, leveling houses school. The students are said to be and damaging a school and a jail, safe - no injuries reported as a severe weather system according to CBS Affiliate continues to sweep across a WHNT, but a nearby farmhouse region from southern Ohio w a s r e p o r t e d c o m p l e t e l y through much of Kentucky into d e s t r o y e d . Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. Madison County officials have The NOAA's National Weather told CBS News of "major damage Service Storm Prediction Center to several houses" in the area of has upgraded today to a "High Harvest and Monrovia, but there Risk" for tornadoes across the is no word yet on injuries. Ohio and Tennessee Valleys Officials told CBS News one of F r i d a y a f t e r n o o n a n d i n t o the twisters cut a 4-5 mile swath. overnight hours - that indicates a The Associated Press is reporting higher threat for than for February that several houses were "leveled" 29, when a string of twisters in one neighborhood in the across several states killed 13 Walker Lane area. people. WHNT is also reporting the [unable to retrieve full-text content] [unable to retrieve full-text content]
Limestone County Correctional Facility took a direct hit, with several injuries reported. An EMA officer told CBS News they are "in the middle of a life and safety event." Huntsville Utilities is also reporting several large outages affecting 35,000 customers in northwestern Madison and Limestone Counties reports WHNT. At 10:44 a.m. CT the National Weather Service's doppler radar indicated a tornado located near Jericho in Perry County moving east at 45 mph. The National Weather Service said severe storms are likely
across north Alabama from Friday afternoon through Saturday morning. A tornado warning was issued Friday morning for eastcentral Limestone County and northern Madison County. The weather service said there's a chance of long-track tornadoes, strong winds, flooding and large hail. A tornado warning was also called in southeastern Franklin and north central Jackson Counties. Twenty school systems including the cities of Birmingham, Fayetteville and Russellville, and Colbert, Cullman, Etowah, Giles, Lauderdale, Lawrence and Walker Counties -are dismissing students early because of the possibility of strong storms. WHNT: Updated School Closings WHNT: List of tornado shelters in northern Alabama Early twister detection tech gets an upgrade
Elsewhere, CBS Affiliate KMOV has received a report of a possible tornado that touched down in Clinton County in Illinois. Minor damage was reported in the north New Baden area about four miles south of Trenton, and roof and shingle damage in Belleville. In parts of eastern Missouri a large amount of hail fell, with several reports of hail the size of a quarter in places ranging from Florissant in St. Louis County to Hermann, about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis. There were no immediate reports of significant damage. 58 Photos Midwest storms View the Full Gallery 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/
Syria blocks Red Cross from entering city of Homs

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Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:58:46 AM
GENEVA (AP) The International Committee of the Red Cross says Syrian authorities have blocked an aid convoy carrying emergency supplies from entering the Baba Amr district in the city of Homs. By Remy de la Mauviniere, AP French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced on Thursday that French journalist Edith Bouvier and her colleague William Daniels, who were trapped in Syria, were now safely out. By Remy de la Mauviniere, AP French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced on Thursday that French journalist Edith Bouvier and her colleague William Daniels, who were trapped in Syria, were now safely out. The president of the Red Cross says the decision to deny aid groups access to Baba Amr is "unacceptable." Jakoba Kellenberger was quoted in a statement Friday saying the aid group would stay in Homs overnight in the hope of entering Baba Amr "in the very near future." The Syrian government had given the Red Cross permission Thursday to enter Baba Amr after security forces took the district
from rebels. The Red Cross dispatched an aid convoy to an embattled neighborhood in the Syrian city of Homs Friday, and the U.N. said it was alarmed by reports of execution-style killings after the Syrian army seized the area from rebel forces. The seizure of Baba Amr by the Syrian army was a blow to the rebels seeking to overthrow the regime of authoritarian President Bashar Assad. The central city of Homs, Syria's third largest, has emerged as a key battleground in the 11-month-old anti-Assad uprisings. France said Friday it is closing its embassy in Syria, a day after two French journalists escaped to Lebanon after being trapped for days in Homs. Before government forces stormed the area Thursday, it had been under a tight siege and daily shelling for nearly four weeks. Activists said hundreds were killed and many lived for days with little food and no electricity or running water. A spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Friday the agency had received unconfirmed reports of "a particularly grisly set of summary executions" involving 17 people in the area after government forces entered.
Activists smuggled Edith Bouvier across the Lebanese-Syrian border Thursday and she is being treated at Beirut's Hotel-Dieu de France hospital. The attack that wounded Bouvier also injured British photographer Paul Conroy and killed American reporter Marie Colvin and French Rupert Colville did not provide p h o t o g r a p h e r R e m i O c h l i k . details but said his office was Conroy and Spanish reporter seeking to confirm the reports and Javier Espinosa were smuggled called on both government and out of Syria this week. Another rebel forces to refrain from all French reporter, William Daniels, was traveling with Bouvier. forms of reprisal. The International Committee of Activist videos posted online the Red Cross said it sent a Thursday showed the burials of convoy of aid trucks to Baba Amr Colvin and Ochlik in Baba Amr from the capital Damascus early early this week. The Syrian Friday after getting permission government said it dug up the bodies after taking Baba Arm so from the government. Khalid Arqsouseh, a spokesman they could be repatriated. Syria has faced mounting for the Syrian Red Crescent in international criticism over its Homs, said the seven 15-ton trucks were carrying food, milk b l o o d y c r a c k d o w n o n t h e powder, medical supplies and uprising, which started with blankets. They were expected to peaceful protests but has become reach the area early afternoon, increasingly militarized. The U.S. has called for Assad to despite snow along the route. Also Friday, a French journalist step down and Hillary Rodham wounded last week in a rocket C l i n t o n s a i d h e c o u l d b e attack in Baba Amr last week that c o n s i d e r e d a w a r c r i m i n a l . k i l l e d t w o o t h e r W e s t e r n Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir journalists is expected to fly home Putin blasted the West Friday for to France from Beirut, said a backing the Syrian opposition senior Lebanese security official, against the government, saying it who spoke on condition of has fueled the conflict. a n o n y m i t y i n l i n e w i t h Putin called for both Syrian government and opposition forces regulations.
to pull out of besieged cities to end the bloodshed, adding that Western refusal to make that demand of opponents of President Bashar Assad has encouraged them to keep fighting. "Do they want Assad to pull out his forces so the opposition moves right in?" Putin said at a meeting with editors of top Western newspapers in remarks carried by state television. "Is it a balanced approach?" French President Nicolas Sarkozy made the announcement in Brussels, where EU leaders were debating their response to the Syrian military's crackdown on the opposition uprising in Syria. The EU leaders also were discussing a proposed joint statement that would call for those responsible for the repression in Syria to be held to account for human rights violations against civilians. The United States and Britain already have closed their embassies in Syria. "We have decided to close our embassy," Sarkozy told reporters in Brussels. "What is happening is a scandal," he said, noting that the European Council already has "condemned in the harshest terms what is happening in Syria." SYRIA page 4
Headline/ Technology/
Obama to Israel: Postpone any Iran attack

(USATODAY.com Feed)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 7:19:00 AM
President Obama says he will ask Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to postpone any military plans to attack Iran and give sanctions more time to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Obama also told The Atlantic that, if necessary, he will order the U.S. military to destroy Iran's nuclear program if it refuses to forgo the means to making nuclear weapons. "I think that the Israeli government recognizes that, as president of the United States, I don't bluff," Obama said in an interview. "I also don't, as a matter of sound policy, go around advertising exactly what our intentions are," Obama added. "But I think both the Iranian and the Israeli governments recognize that when the United States says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say." Obama meets with Netanyahu on Monday, the day after the president addresses the pro-Israeli lobbying group AIPAC. Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic reports:
In the interview, Obama stated specifically that "all options are on the table," and that the final option is the "military component." But the president also said that sanctions organized by his administration have put Iran in a "world of hurt," and that economic duress might soon force the regime in Tehran to rethink its efforts to pursue a nuclearweapons program. "Without in any way being under an illusion about Iranian intentions, without in any way being naive about the nature of that regime, they are selfinterested," Obama said. "It is possible for them to make a strategic calculation that, at minimum, pushes much further to the right whatever potential breakout capacity they may have, and that may turn out to to be the best decision for Israel's security." The president also said that Tehran's nuclear program would represent a "profound" nationalsecurity threat to the United States even if Israel were not a target of Iran's violent rhetoric, and he dismissed the argument that the United States could successfully contain a nuclear Iran. "You're talking about the most volatile region in the world," he said. "It will not be tolerable to a
number of states in that region for Iran to have a nuclear weapon and them not to have a nuclear weapon. Iran is known to sponsor terrorist organizations, so the threat of proliferation becomes that much more severe." He went on to say, "The dangers of an Iran getting nuclear weapons that then leads to a free-for-all in the Middle East is something that I think would be very dangerous for the world." The president was most animated when talking about the chaotic arms race he fears would break out if Iran acquired a nuclear weapon, and he seemed most frustrated when talking about what he sees as a deliberate campaign by Republicans to convince American Jews that he is anti-Israel. "Every single commitment I have made to the state of Israel and its security, I have kept," he told me. "Why is it that despite me never failing to
support Israel on every single problem that they've had over the last three years, that there are still questions about that?" Though he struck a consistently pro-Israel posture during the interview, Obama went to great lengths to caution Israel that a premature strike might inadvertently help Iran: "At a time when there is not a lot of sympathy for Iran and its only real ally, [Syria,] is on the ropes, do we want a distraction in which suddenly Iran can portray itself as a victim?" He also said he would try to convince Netanyahu that the only way to bring about a permanent end to a country's nuclear program is to convince the country in question that nuclear weapons are not in its best interest. "Our argument is going to be that it is important for us to see if we can solve this thing permanently, as opposed to temporarily," he said, "and the only way historically that a country has ultimately decided not to get nuclear weapons without constant military intervention has been when they themselves take [nuclear weapons] off the table. That's what happened in Libya, that's what happened in South Africa."
And though broadly sympathetic to Netanyahu's often-stated fear that Iran's nuclear program represents a Holocaust-scale threat to the Jewish state and the Jewish people, Obama suggested strongly that historical fears cannot be the sole basis for precipitous action: "The prime minister is head of a modern state that is mindful of the profound costs of any military action, and in our consultations with the Israeli government, I think they take those costs, and potential unintended consequences, very seriously." But when I asked the president if he thought Israel could damage its reputation among Americans with an attack on Iran -- an attack that could provoke Iranian retaliation against American targets, and could cause massive economic disruption -- he said, "I think we in the United States instinctively sympathize with Israel." 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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SYRIA
continued from page 2
French Ambassador Eric Chevallier had only recently returned to Damascus after being recalled to Paris for consultations. He was sent back to help try to get the two French journalists out of Syria. Photographer Daniel Williams and Edith Bouvier, a reporter for the daily Le Figaro who suffered leg fractures in an attack that killed two colleagues, escaped to Lebanon on Thursday. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
In China, reporting on Tibetan and Uighur unrest is nearly impossible - Christian Science Monitor
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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 (china - Google News) on someone else's site, please read Submitted at 3/2/2012 7:35:47 AM the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentonly/faq.php#publishers. Five AFP Filters recommends: Donate to China Air Quality Standards: Two-Thirds Of Cities Failing Wikileaks. Huffington Post 03/ 2/12 07:43 AM ET AP BEIJING -- Two-thirds of China's cities currently fail to meet stricter air quality standards that the government wants to phase in
China Air Quality Standards: Two-Thirds Of Cities Failing - Huffington Post

over four years to combat notoriously smoggy skies, a senior Chinese environmental official said... China says most cities fail to meet new air standard AFP China cities 'will not meet new air standards' BBC News Two-Thirds of China's Cities Fail on Air Standards ABC News all 155 news articles
Rossi's Villarreal future uncertain A Different League

(Andrea Rossi - Google News)
Ford, Staff writer / March 2, 2012 Uighur residents walk past Submitted at 3/2/2012 9:46:35 AM armed... Christian Science Monitor 12 people killed in clash in In China, reporting on Tibetan restive western China Houston and Uighur unrest is nearly Chronicle impossible Deadly Clashes Erupt in Western Christian Science Monitor China New York Times Western China- home to a Chinese Authorities Raise Death Muslim Uighur minority and Toll in Xinjiang Violence Wall ethnic Tibetans - has been rocked Street Journal by violence in recent months. Washington Post- The Australian Chinese authorities are keeping all 46 news articles reporters out of the area. By Peter
Two Chiefs' Styles Make for China Congress Buzz - Wall Street Journal
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Rossi's Villarreal future uncertain A Different League By David Redshaw Giuseppe Rossi's days at Villarreal appear to be drawing to a close if the words of his agent Andrea Pastorello are anything to go by, according to Las Provincias. The striker has been out of action since October, 2011 after rupturing... and more
Wall Street Journal Two Chiefs' Styles Make for China Congress Buzz Wall Street Journal BEIJINGThe Communist Party's inner debate about China's future won't be on public view at the National People's Congress next week, but is encapsulated in
the appearance of two provincial leaders, both candidates for promotion to the party's top body... Leadership drama brews as China lawmakers meet San Francisco Chronicle China probes ex-police chief in political scandal CBS News all 122 news articles
Cold Fusion: A Cure For High Gas Prices Seeking Alpha

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Cold Fusion: A Cure For High Gas Prices Seeking Alpha Andrea Rossi's E-CAT has recently reported here that it has discontinued the relationship with National Instruments (NATI) and initiated one with Siemens AG (SI) to develop controllers for these units. Siemens also has a line of small steam powered...
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Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum spar over Ohio - live coverage - The Guardian
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:15:54 AM
Rick Santorum (above) and Mitt Romney heading for a Super Tuesday showdown in Ohio. Photograph: Tannen Maury/EPA 12 noon: So Rick Santorum is in a three-way in North Carolina. According to the opinion polls that is, in real life Rick Santorum would never be found between two men. This new poll from PPP finds Santorum on top ok, I'll stop now of Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich: Rick Santorum's taken the lead in the Republican Presidential race in North Carolina with 31% to 25% for Mitt Romney and 23% for Newt Gingrich. A month ago Gingrich and Romney were tied for the lead with Santorum running 10 points behind. Romney's staying competitive in North Carolina despite the fact that GOP voters there are pretty tepid toward him. Only 43% have a favorable opinion and an equal 43% see him negatively. That makes him less popular than both Gingrich (45/41) and Santorum (58/29). Obviously Romney benefits from Santorum and Gingrich splitting the more conservative vote in the Tarheel state. Without Gingrich in the mix, Santorum would lead
with 43% to 33% for Romney and 10% for Ron Paul. 11.30am: From the Yawno McBoring files: Mitt Romney is beating Ron Paul like a gong in Virginia, according to polling ahead of Super Tuesday's primary. Because the Santorum and Gingrich campaigns couldn't organise a celibacy drive in a convent, they failed to get their names on the Virginia ballot, so leaving Mitt Romney and Ron Paul as the only candidates for GOP electors there. Great choice!
That's like having to pick between Wonder Bread or raw kelp for lunch. The net result is: Romney leads Paul by 56%-21%. The Roanoke College Poll also offers a glimpse of what might have been: it also polled the race with all four contenders, and it found Romney in a close marginof-error race with Santorum, by 31% to 27%. Well done Virginia GOP. Instead of an exciting primary with lots of attention and advertising, you get nothing.
something of an ice-breaker for Monday's visit by Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to the White House. 10.55am: Judge Richard Cebull has been sending more emails about President Obama although this time they are letters of apology rather than jokes about his mother having sex with dogs. So that's an improvement by the Montana Chief US District Judge. After Judge Cebull's racist email was exposed by the Great Falls Tribune newspaper yesterday, Cebull has sent a letter of apology to Obama, which reads: I sincerely and profusely apologize to you and your family for the email I forwarded. I accept full responsibility; I have no one to blame but myself. I can assure you that such action on my part will never happen again. I have 11.15am: The Atlantic has an requested that the Judicial Council interview with President Obama, of the Ninth Circuit review this on the subject of Israel and its matter. Honestly, I don't know likely response to Iran obtaining a what else I can do. Please forgive nuclear weapon, with Obama me and, again, my most sincere saying "I don't bluff": apology. I also don't, as a matter of sound PS: can I please keep my job? policy, go around advertising Well at least that's a proper exactly what our intentions are. apology. But I think both the Iranian and Cebull has indeed reported the Israeli governments recognize himself to the the judicial council that when the United States says it of the San Francisco-based 9th is unacceptable for Iran to have a US Circuit Court of Appeals. And nuclear weapon, we mean what we say. MITT page 6 The interview is an obviously
MITT
he has company: the watchdog Common Cause has also filed a complaint with the 9th circuit, accusing Cebull of violating federal judicial canons and of conduct "prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts." But what should we make of this report by the Associated Press out of Helena, Montana, which appears to excuse Cebull's behaviour: Cebull's dislike of Obama reflects some Montanans' views of the president and the backlash to his key policies. Oh well, that's all right then? 10.38am: And even more polling details, from the new PPP poll of Washington state, where the GOP caucuses this weekend. It highlights one of Mitt Romney's secret political weapons: Mormons. Idaho, Utah, Nevada and now Washington: If Romney does end up winning Saturday night it will be a large Mormon vote that puts him over the top. We find that 14% of likely caucus goers are Mormons and 64% of them support Romney to 15% for Paul and 13% for Santorum. Romney actually trails Santorum 35-32 with nonMormons. Other groups Romney is particularly strong with include seniors (44-31), men (37-28), and moderates (34-22). 10.20am: More details from the latest polls in Ohio. Ramussen found a huge
improvement in the state for Mitt Romney after his win in Michigan. Santorum is still in the lead with 33% compared with Romney's 31%, but 70% of Ohio Republicans think Romney will be the eventual nominee (even if less than half of them actually want to vote for him in the primary): Overall, 67% have a favorable opinion of Santorum, and 66% say the same about Romney. For Santorum, those numbers represent an eight-point decline, while Romney's numbers are a two-point improvement. Fiftyfour percent (54%) offer favorable reviews of Gingrich, but just 38% are that upbeat about Paul. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Ohio voters are certain of how they will vote. Thirty-five percent (35%) could change their minds, and eight percent (8%) have no initial preference. Santorum leads by 20 among Very Conservative voters, while Romney has an 18-point advantage among those who are Somewhat Conservative. Santorum leads among those who earn between $20,000 and $75,000 annually. Romney leads among other income groups. The new Quinnipiac poll actually finds little change since before the Michigan result, with Santorum on 35% and Mitt Romney on 31%. That compares to a 36% to 29% Santorum lead in a 27 February poll by the same group: Santorum leads Romney 34-28
percent among men and 37-33 percent among women, 40-27 percent among self-described conservatives and 42-25 percent among Tea Party members. Romney leads Santorum 46-26 percent among self-described moderates. So what does that all mean? OTWT as we say in the trade. 10am: Tensions are rising as the Super Tuesday showdown approaches for the Republican candidates and Mitt Romney's campaign labelling Ohio's primary as a "must win" for Rick Santorum's presidential ambitions. Here's a summary of the news from Ryan Devereaux: Recent polling shows Rick Santorum is holding on to narrow lead over Mitt Romney in Ohio. According to a new survey from Quinnipac, the former Pennsylvania senator has 35% of support from likely Republican voters while Romney has 31%. Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, has 17% and Texas congressman Ron Paul has 12%. Ohio is considered one of, if not the, most crucial state up for grabs on Super Tuesday, which is less than a week away. Meanwhile Public Policy Polling has Romney nosing just ahead of Santorum in this Saturday's Washington caucuses. According to PPP, Romney has 37% while Santorum comes in with 32%. Paul has 16% and just 13% support Gingrich. The figures indicate a substantial reversal.
Just two weeks ago Santorum's favorability in the state was far better than Romney's. In his latest effort at seeming normal, Mitt Romney has reassured Nascar fans that he too wears "garbage bags". On Sunday he attended the Daytona 500 and told AP that while he doesn't follow the sport closely, he has friends who are Nascar team owners. The multimillionaire then went on to make fun of the inexpensive rain ponchos the common sports fan sometimes wears. "I like those fancy raincoats you bought. Really sprung for the big bucks," he reportedly said. After apparently realizing the comment could be interpreted as rich guy snobbery, Romney backtracked, saying ""Look, I've worn a garbage bag for rain gear myself...We're out there in the rain. The rain was getting us soaked. I didn't have a raincoat myself. I would have liked one of those." ABC's John Karl has uncovered footage of Romney explaining that he is a "big believer in going where the money is." The former governor adds, "the money is in Washington". The video was secretly recorded in 2002 by Romney's Democratic opponents while he spoke to a group called the New Bedford Industrial Foundation. Romney, who frequently cirticises his opponents for being Washington insiders is heard saying: "I want to go after every grant, every project, every
department in Washington to assure that we are taking advantage of economic development opportunities." Newt Gingrich has blamed teachers for the increasing acceptance of same-sex marriage. While taking part in a conference call in which a woman suggested that same sex marriage would lead to humans marrying dogs, Gingrich pointed out, "Remember we have now had a whole two generations of teachers who explained to us 'you shouldn't render moral judgment, after all it's all situation ethics, who are we to decide,' and that's been a major problem." President Obama's birth certificate is likely a forgery, Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio has concluded. The publicity-seeking Maricopa County sheriff held a press conference yesterday to announce the findings of a "sixmonth-long investigation" by his friends. 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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Pa. governor draws ire for interfering in state's Senate seat battle
(The Front Page)
Democrats and was himself a registered Democrat who voted in the Democratic presidential It was the most unique meeting primary in 08. o f t h e [ R e p u b l i c a n ] s t a t e One of Welchs opponents spoke committee Ive ever been to! to HUMAN EVENTS and pulled former Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) no punches. exclaimed to HUMAN EVENTS, Theres no question that what we shortly after the tumultuous witnessed was over the top and meeting of the Pennsylvania unprecedented, former State Republican State Committee, Rep. and conservative Sam Ive seen Republican governors - Rohrer told us, There were state - Dick Thornburgh (1978-86) and committee members who came to Tom Ridge (1994-2002), for me in tears after the Hershey example -- try to get state meeting and said their arms were committees to do their bidding. twisted so badly [to support But, believe me, no one rolled up Welch] that they were threatened h i s s l e e v e s a n d w o r k e d a with the loss of state jobs. committee the way [present Gov.] Rohrer, who served 14 years in Tom Corbett did at the meeting in the state Legislature and was the Hershey. runner-up to Corbett in the 2010 English, himself a state primary for governor, also committeeman, could have been charged that the committee speaking for many who attended endorsement rejected the wishes that party conclave. In a move of thousands of people who t h a t m a n y K e y s t o n e S t a t e signed petitions requesting that R e p u b l i c a n s s a y w a s the process be kept open and there unprecedented, Gov. Corbett be no endorsement before the secured the endorsement of the primary. He cited a meeting at state committee for a Republican the Hershey Lodge two days candidate to oppose Democratic before the state committee vote in Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. this fall. The which State Chairman Bob reason that Corbetts move is so G l e a s o n i g n o r e d p e t i t i o n s controversial is twofold: first, containing the signatures of there are five candidates seeking t h o u s a n d s a s k i n g f o r n o nomination in the May primary endorsement. Rohrer added that and second, Corbetts favored the endorsement process was a candidate, businessman Steve slap to the freedom movement -W e l c h , h a s c o n t r i b u t e d t o that is the tea partiers, the 9/12
activists, and the property rights movement, all of whom have just become very involved in the party. What a beautiful opportunity this would have been to reach out to new people for the party, and to do so at a time when Republicans are one million down in party registration here in Pennsylvania, said Rohrer, who also headed Americans for Prosperity in the state. Along with Welch and Rohrer, other Republican hopefuls are coal executive Tom Smith, attorney Marc Scaringi, and decorated Vietnam War veteran Dave Christian. Although Welch has contributed to Republicans, he also donated to leftist Democrat Joe Sestak when he unseated Republican Rep. Curt Weldon in 06 and changed his registration from Republican to Democrat two years later and voted for Barack Obama in the presidential primary. When HUMAN EVENTS brought up these controversies with Welch at a Republican breakfast in Lancaster County last October, the candidate explained that he contributed to Sestak because of corruption investigations swirling around Weldon (who was never charged with any crime), that he changed to Democrat out of disgust over widespread
government spending under George W. Bush, and voted for Obama because he felt he was the easiest opponent for John McCain to defeat. And, he quickly added, I was wrong in a big way. Some Republican activists have no problem with what others call Welchs apostasies. Jen Walton, president of the Doylestown Republican Club, told HUMAN EVENTS that [a]s for the Welch issue, it's been an interesting topic. I'm not sure on this one. It's very strange especially with his voting history and semi allegiance to the Democratic side of things. But, perhaps we need someone who is on the line to win over the Democrats and defeat Casey. He may have a strength we are unaware of when it comes to getting a Republican elected. But many others, as Sam Rohrer made clear, dont share this view. Gov. Corbett defends his actions As conservatives throughout Pennsylvania continued to register their disappointment with Gov. Corbett for his unusually strong effort to line up support for Steve Welch this year, the Republican chief executive strongly defended his actions to HUMAN EVENTS. Corbett, who spoke to us during the National Governors Association meeting in Washington this weekend, made
no apologies for securing a preprimary Senate endorsement by the state Republican committee for Welch. Insisting there was a difference between his neutrality in the Republican presidential sweepstakes with his stand for Welch over four opponents in the Senate primary -- Its a state race -- Corbett said he supported Welch because hes been helpful to the [Republican] party, a successful businessman. The governor also told us that Welchs nomination would add geographic balance to the ticket, since hes from Chester County and the attorney general candidate is from Central Pennsylvania and the candidates for auditor general and treasurer are from Southwest Pennsylvania. Corbett said he was not bothered by Welchs re-registration as a Democrat in 08 and admission he voted for Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania primary. My understanding is that he did this as part of Operation Chaos, the governor told us, referring to Rush Limbaughs encouragement of Republican voters to cross over into Democratic primaries in 08 and support whom they thought was the weaker presidential candidate. PA. page 9
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Buchanan the crusader survives

(The Front Page)
When word came that Patrick J. Buchanan was let go by MSNBC after what had been a profitable and happy relationship, it forced one to recall that Buchanans 50year career in politics and punditry should have ended at least three or four times prior to this breakup. Yet again, Buchanan will return, said Timothy Stanley, the author of The Crusader: the Life and Times of Pat Buchanan." Stanley, a writer for Londons Daily Telegraph, said the former Nixon speechwriter, driver and professional son, held back by illhealth from responding to the Media Matters campaign against him this winter, will soon sign on with a new media outlet just as strong as before. It was good news for the book, released Feb. 14 (Thomas Dunne Books, 464 pages, $27.99), Stanley said, to have Buchanan in the news again. In the preparation for the book, Stanley interviewed Buchanan extensively, which allowed him to produce a cooperative, but unauthorized biography. Many of the cooperating family members, and the friends and fellow travelers, took the opportunity to set the record straight and weigh in on their favorite vintage. None of it mean, some of it sad. M y p a t h c r o s s e d w i t h work for his New Hampshire Buchanans when I volunteered to primary campaign from the last
Opposing us was a television crew from PBS directing a confrontation between the candidate and some gay rights activists. A small fight broke out, but public television was not ready for it. Later, we were told to brace for Buchanans exit. Now, public television was ready, and their activists were on their marks ready to deliver their lines. The back door opened and we surged forward. Because our backs were to the diner, we learned from the disgusted faces in front of us it was a feint, and the candidate had gone out another way. In another moment, I was in a van one morning with other volunteers, mating flyers with the windshields of cars parked outside of every church in the Manchester -area for Sunday services, still another smiling and dialing from the list of canvassed voters. By Monday, everything was in flux. Frontrunner and then Senate Majority Leader Robert J. "Bob" Dole was supported by much of the Republican hierarchy, and Gov. Stephen E. Merrill made it his personal mission to deliver the Granite State to the man from Russell, Kansas. When the weekend began, it was Doles race to lose, and by Monday afternoon, he had lost it. It was in the air that not only would Buchanan win the primary, weekend through the vote. It was Saturday morning; I was blocking access to a diner where Buchanan was having breakfast with locals. BUCHANAN page 9
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BUCHANAN
but only Buchanan could take the fight to Clinton and beat him. When the votes were counted Buchanan beat Dole 27 percent to 26 percent. After a short speech to supporters, Buchanan boarded a campaign bus for the airport and a rally in South Carolina. Then, it was off to Arizona for the coup de grace one week later. We all knew in Arizona, Buchanan would finish off Dole and the rest of them. How could he not? Spoiler alert: In the week between New Hampshire and Arizona the world decided it preferred not to be turned upside down. Once in Arizona, Buchanan donned a black cowboy hat and held a rifle high above his head to a cheering crowd and thrilled photographers. It was the opportunity Dole and Forbes were waiting for and they took it. Buchanan would run for president one more time in 2000, but the closest he got to the White House was on the bus taking him away from the Manchester rally in
1996. Stanley does a good job introducing Buchanan to nonmovement Conservatives. For the uninitiated, "The Crusader" serves as a very good greatest hits album. For the initiated, there are plenty of deep tracks, too. Yes, there is the Maureen Dowdinspired narrative of the brawling Buchanan Boys tearing up 1950s Georgetown, the Burn the Tapes memo to Nixons bunker. What about the resignation on Air Force One flying home from Nixons visit to China? Yes, its in there. What about Buchanans Christmas party sucker punch of Columbia School of Journalism classmate Kim Willenson? Yes, its in there. Drinks with Hunter S. Thompson? Yes. The backroom deal for the 1992 GOP Convention? Yes. Stanley seemed to take special delight in retelling the story of the letter to his parents telling them his job writing editorials for the St. Louis Post Dispatch was a
license to kill. Then, after stringing the reader along, before dropping on him the news that one of the targets of Buchanan's relentless editorials, Warden Nash, killed himself. One must have sympathy for anyone tasked with chronicling such a long and tumultuous career of a man constantly losing battles and winning wars, winning battles and losing wars. Buchanan as much as any man made Nixon president, and he was the one to tell the Nixon family it was time to pack. Stanley quotes Thompsons retort to Buchanans comparison of the just-ended Nixon administration to the Myth of Sisyphus: Sisyphus got mashed... and Pat Buchanan will survive in the footnotes of history as a kind of half-mad Davy Crockett on the walls of Nixons Alamo -- a martyr, to the bitter end, to a flawed cause. Buchanan is the man who invented the unleashed TV punditry we all watch all hours of
the day on the cable news channels, but since MSNBC ended their marriage, he is home watching along with us. Will he be back? Of course. The title calls Buchanan a "Crusader," but the messge of the book is that he is the "Survivor." Neil W. McCabe is the editor of Guns & Patriots. McCabe, was a reporter and photographer at The Pilot, Boston's Catholic newspaper for several years. An Army reservist, he served 14 months in Iraq as a combat historian. Follow him on Twitter 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.
Cold Fusion: A Cure For High Gas Prices Seeking Alpha

(Andrea Rossi - Google News)
Cold Fusion: A Cure For High Gas Prices Seeking Alpha Andrea Rossi's E-CAT has recently reported here that it has discontinued the relationship with National Instruments (NATI) and initiated one with Siemens AG (SI) to develop controllers for these units. Siemens also has a line of small steam powered...
PA.
Corbett did not address Welchs support of Sestak in his successful race against Republican Rep. Curt Weldon in 2006. Welch faces four conservative opponents in the May primary to choose an opponent to Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. 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.
Raspberry Pi, Aakash: The Tale Of Two $35 Devices

Nidhi Subbaraman (Fast Company)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 12:08:03 PM
Two portable computers aim to here's a look at their rocky roads revolutionize education and to reality. access to technology across the world. As they begin pre-sales,
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Obama seeks concrete resolution to Iranian threat - Jerusalem Post

Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:17:53 AM
Buffett hormones will boost US housing - New Zealand Herald

(housing - Google News)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:30:55 AM
US President Barack Obama intends to tell Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in their upcoming meeting that he wants to solve the Iranian nuclear problem "permanently, as opposed to temporarily." In an interview with The Atlantic released on Friday, Obama said, "Our argument is going to be that it is important for us to see if we can solve this thing permanently, as opposed to temporarily." He continued, "The only way historically that a country has ultimately decided not to get nuclear weapons without constant military intervention has been when they themselves take [nuclear weapons] off the table. That's what happened in Libya, that's what happened in South Africa." According to The Atlantic, Obama was concerned that a premature Israeli strike on Iran would make the regime less isolated. "At a time when there is not a lot of sympathy for Iran and its only real ally [Syria,] is on the ropes, do we want a distraction in which suddenly Iran can portray itself as a victim?" the US president rhetorically asked.
Trying to shore up the US commitment to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, Obama said, "I think that the Israeli government recognizes that, as president of the United States, I don't bluff." "Both the Iranian and the Israeli governments recognize that when the United States says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say," he continued. Netanyahu and Obama are scheduled to meet during the prime minister's visit to Washington this week for the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference. When it comes to supporting Israel, Obama seemed to argue that his actions - and not his sometimes-frosty relationship
with Netanyahu - proved his commitment to the Jewish State and its security. "Every single commitment I have made to the state of Israel and its security, I have kept," he told The Atlantic. "Why is it that despite me never failing to support Israel on every single problem that they've had over the last three years, that there are still questions about that?" While he and Netanyahu come from different political traditions, Obama said they have a strong working relationship. "For the most part, when we have differences, they are tactical and not strategic." Plus, he added, "I think we in the United States instinctively sympathize with Israel." Ultimately, the US president expressed that he believes it is up
to Israel to decide what is best for its security, but hopes to influence Israel's decision-making process. "I don't presume to tell them what is best for them," he said, before laying out the case for allowing sanctions and external pressure to work. "You're talking about the most volatile region in the world," Obama said. "The dangers of Iran getting nuclear weapons that then leads to a free-for-all in the Middle East is something that I think would be very dangerous for the world." 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.
Market Playground Buffett - hormones will boost US housing New Zealand Herald He recounts last year predicting that a US housing recovery "will probably begin within a year or so". He admits being "dead wrong" and that five of Berkshire's housing-related businesses bore the brunt of that expectation. He believes the housing... Deconstructing Warren Buffett on Bonds, Gold and Housing Market Playground all 56 news articles
Blatter says soccer must turn to technology

(Sports News Headlines Yahoo! News)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:09:27 AM
FIFA President Sepp Blatter says he thinks he can convince soccer rule-makers to implement goalline technology.
Top News/ Culture/ Food/
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Bloom To Power iCloud Servers, Yelp's IPO, Apple To Launch TV Service By Christmas?, 10 Sprint Phones To Get Google Wallet
Nidhi Subbaraman (Fast Company)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 12:15:26 PM
Breaking news from your editors at Fast Company, with updates all day. Apple To Use Bloom For Its Cloud. A new report says Apple is going to use Bloom, the strange, exciting new fuel cell tech company with big-name clients, to boost power to its expanding iCloud data center. Apple's already got a few units running on test, and the cells will work in parallel to the massive solar array Apple also has planned. --KE --Updated 12:05 p.m. EST Yelp's $900 Million IPO. Social review service Yelp hits the stock markets today with a share price of $15 each. That places the value of Yelp at $900 million, and could raise as much as $123 million in cash (before expenses) for Yelp to expand. Yelp reported a loss of $16.7 million last year. --KE
--Updated 9:45 a.m. EST Apple To Launch TV Service By Christmas? Apple may be muscling into the TV arena by this holiday season, and despite obstinate resistance from cable providers, may launch a service before the year is out. Apple is rumored to have a new Apple TV set in the works as well, but a content service, the New York
has already enabled with the technology: Samsung's Nexus S, the Galaxy Nexus, and the upcoming LG Viper. --NS Android App Flaw Peeks At Photos Too. After demonstrating the iOS app flaw that could let developers view photos on your iPhone, The New York Times showed off a similar snag in Android devices as well. Apps that browse the web can view photos, copy them, and post them on a website, the Times reports, after the reporting team commissioned an app that could do just that. --NS Post has learned, is the company's retailers building a product that --Updated 5:45 a.m. EST priority. --NS will let you check out with your [Image: Flickr user insouciance] Yesterday's Fast Feed: Andrew --Updated 6:55 a.m. EST cell phone. --NS Retailers Building Mobile Ten Sprint Phones To Get Breitbart Dead At 43, SETI Payment Service. While mobile Google Wallet. Google hopes to Crowdsources, Branson "Versus" carriers and device makers test introduce the Google Wallet in Assange For Google+ Debate, and out mobile payment options, ten more Sprint phones this year, more. retailers are racing to the same Osama Bedier who heads Google target. The Wall Street Journal Wallet and Payments said at the has learned that Walmart and Mobile World Congress. This will Target are among several big add to the three phones that Sprint
Game On: Poker Quiz

(HowStuffWorks Daily Feed)
Comforting Casseroles
(Cooking Light: Editor's Picks)
[unable to retrieve full-text
content] We'll bet you've played a hand or two of poker in your lifetime. But just how well do you
know the game? Go all-in on the How Poker Works quiz. Ante up!
[unable to retrieve full-text content] These classic comfort
dishes are great any time of year, but their warm heartiness make casseroles ideal for colder months.
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Follow Up: Cell Networks Fight To Be More Than Mere Data Pipelines
Kit Eaton (Fast Company)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 12:03:26 PM
As the AP notes, at last week's Mobile World Congress there was a good deal of attention delivered to a company called Pinger. This was partly due to the company stall's fortuitous location at the trade show, partly because it's a leading example of newgeneration companies that offer their free or low-cost non-SMS messaging services to smartphone customers. International phone networks were also at the show, of course, and they were loudly complaining about Pinger and its ilk. Telecom Italia's CEO Franco Bernabe is quoted in a thinlyveiled attack at these companies: The players "have based their innovation in the mobile domain, without a deep understanding of the complex technical
environment of our industry" and that is causing more and more "problems to the overall service offered to the end user and driving additional investments for mobile operators." So, let's get this straight: These firms are innovating on a longestablished platform and because they're successful--thanks to
offering cheap or zero-cost messaging to their clients--it's squashing the overall performance of your network and making you invest more money? Interesting argument. It's not at all because you've failed to innovate yourself, and networks like yours around the world have ripped off consumers
for years with vastly-inflated fees to send (and in some cases receive) SMSs? No, that would be silly. What Franco and his fellow cell company CEOs are really afraid of isn't Pinger, of course. It's Apple and Facebook and Skype. The first two of these are changing how consumers use IMs
on a vast scale, and enabling them as direct replacements for SMSs on smartphones--with Apple's iMessage business the most obvious attempt because it threads both SMS's and iMessages together seamlessly in a single app. Because these chat channels use data, rather than SMS's, they don't cost consumers SMS fees, and that's actually making the industry lose potential cash. Ultimately your cell phone network will be like your water company--a boring, necessary, but brand-irrelevant pipeline for a utility. Only flowing data, not water. [Image: Flickr user ranjithsiji] Chat about this news with Kit Eaton on Twitter and Fast Company too.
US housing market, fiscal policy pose risks: IMF - Reuters

Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:29:10 AM
US housing market, fiscal policy
pose risks: IMF Reuters PUNTA DEL ESTE, Uruguay (Reuters) - The US economic
recovery could be dented by a renewed drop in housing prices in the short term and the country lacks a "credible, comprehensive"
fiscal plan, posing a major medium-term economic risk,... and more
Business/
13
In France, Election Year Is All About Meat And Anti-Muslim Sentiment

Scott Baldauf (Business Insider)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:27:54 AM
her strong attacks against Sarkozy for being soft on Frances Muslim community are an indication of You know its an election year in how concerned Le Pen thinks France when the far-right French people are about presidential candidate starts immigration. And they are a talking about meat and Muslims. window into a larger trend of Marie Le Pen, leader of the unease in a recessionary Europe National Front, recently alleged about how to deal with large that French President Nicholas Muslim minorities who initially Sarkozy had bowed to Islamic came for temporary work, but radicals, in particular about how ultimately stayed on, bringing Muslims butcher animals for t h e i r f a m i l i e s a n d c u l t u r a l consumption. Ms. Le Pen who p r a c t i c e s w i t h t h e m . has often called for stricter RELATED: In tight French immigration laws and warned election, Sarkozy is suddenly about creeping sharia (Islamic everywhere law) in the past argues that the A half-century ago, many influence of Muslim minorities European countries encouraged was so strong that today all the the immigration of laborers from meat available for purchase in the Middle East and South Asia. Paris is halal. According to The loss of so many working-age cultural practices, Muslims only men during World War II meant eat the meat of animals that have that Europeans had to turn had their throats cut, allowing the elsewhere for the laborers to help blood to drain away. man their factories and rebuild "This situation is deception and their economies. The assumption the government has been fully had always been that these aware of it for months," Le Pen laborers would return home; but said at a National Front rally in like American soldiers after Lille. "All the abattoirs of the World War I, many Muslim Paris region have succumbed to laborers didnt want to go back to the rules of a minority. We have the farm back home after they saw reason to be disgusted." Paris. Whether Ms. Le Pen is right on Jonathan Laurence, a political the halal issue or not President scientist at Boston College and Sarkozy says shes wrong and that a u t h o r o f t h e b o o k T h e only 2.5 percent of the meat in E m a n c i p a t i o n o f E u r o p e s Paris is either halal or kosher Muslims, says that France is not
controversy over an Islamic cultural center in New York City near the World Trade Center and with Oklahomas attempt to restrict the consideration of sharia law in US courts. But rejection of anothers culture is counterproductive, says Laurence. If Europeans are worried about the influx of Islamic culture, the worst thing they can do is alienate Muslim migrants from the larger society. In certain cases, this could push disaffected young Muslims into the waiting arms of that small minority of preachers with radical agendas. A better method, Laurence says, would be to accept alone in its concerns over its bans of a northern Spanish region that Muslims are in Europe to growing Muslim minorities. against the public calls to prayer stay, and then grant Islamic The big picture is that in the last at local mosques. All of these communities the same official 20 years how much things have moves reflect growing concern status and regulatory practices changed, and how governments among some Europeans that their t h a t C h r i s t i a n a n d J e w i s h have realized that people are here culture is being eroded by recent congregations currently enjoy. to stay, says Professor Laurence, immigration of people with Allow Muslim prayer spaces to in a recent conversation with different cultural practices and register officially, and you wont Monitor editors. But now, as the religious beliefs, says Laurence. have street prayers, he says, European economy is shrinking or Such practices may be legally referring to the practice of holding staying flat, European politicians justifiable, Human Rights Watch Friday afternoon prayers in public have realized there is election says, but in practice they are spaces such as sidewalks or public gold in undoing the little they got discriminatory toward religious parks for lack of available prayer spaces. Help provide theological done in changing their laws to minorities. accommodate Muslim minorities. Banning certain aspects of training for local imams, and you You can see it in France's 2011 Islamic practice may be popular wont have to rely on foreign ban on Muslim head scarves for with voters within the majority imams with radical agendas. women, in Switzerlands 2009 community and indeed, there is Such accommodation may be ban on the construction of a similar anti-Islamic mood FRANCE, page 14 minarets at mosques, and in the present in the US as well, with the
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Business/ Products/
My Irresponsible, Hands-Off Review Of That Lytro Camera Everyone Is Going Nuts For
Steve Kovach (Business Insider)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:26:00 AM
FRANCE,
Lytro I discovered is that it takes a while to learn how to spot and frame pictures that show off the cameras refocusing abilities." The New York Times: " The effect makes photography almost like cinematography, revealing things vividly in the foreground and background. Refocusing a Lytro image, I felt like one of those C.I.A. agents in the movies who is looking at satellite images and asks some technician to enhance the picture until Carlos the Jackal comes into focus." The Verge on why the Lytro only works well in optimal lighting conditions:"Lighting quickly reaches a point where the focusing effect doesnt work that well either, and photos are so noisy as to be unusable even at small sizes."
There's a new toy on sale now that's had gadget nerds going crazy for the past few months. It's called the Lytro; it's a very expensive digital camera that lets you refocus images after you take them. You can also post photos using Lytro's software and let people play around with them afterwards. The photos look like this: Click around and you can change the focus. It's pretty neat. You can check out a bunch of other Lytro images here > There's a lot of fancy tech behind the Lytro, but I won't go into what makes it tick. What's important are the results and how easy (or hard) it is to use. Lytro didn't send me a camera to review, so here's what some other reviewers are saying: Walt Mossberg, All Things D:"But the main drawback to the
Mashable:"You also should have a sense of what this camera is for. This is not a camera for pros or science nerds interested in mining light fields. This is primarily a camera for casual photographers people who probably take most of their pictures on a cellphone or a Flip camera. Its simple to use, and the photos are clearly crafted for sharing."
not the optimal replacement for your regular digital camera or DSLR. You're also stuck using Lytro's software and web plug-in to share photos. That's pretty limiting. Yes, the Lytro is an impressive bit of technology. One day, I hope to see it squeezed into a smartphone or DSLR. But right now, it's just an expensive and gimmicky companion for your normal point-and-shoot. I can't imagine a situation where See the rest of the story at someone would choose the Lytro Business Insider over a traditional point-and-shoot Please follow SAI: Tools on or smartphone camera. It seems Twitter and Facebook. more like a cool feature that See Also: should be a part of a "normal" Here Are a Bunch Of Eyecamera, not an extra gizmo. Popping Photos Taken With The Maybe that wouldn't be so bad if World's Most Powerful Camera the Lytro wasn't so expensive. Phone You'll have to pay a whopping You Don't Have To Spend A $399 for the 8 GB (holds about Fortune To Get One Of Those 350 photos) model and $499 for Fancy 4G Phones the 16 GB (holds about 750 Motorola's Droid RAZR photos) model. That's a lot to pay MAXX Is A Winner Because Its for a one-trick pony. Based on Battery Lasts Forever [REVIEW] what I've read about the Lytro, it's
difficult to muster in these times of political and economic uncertainty, so Laurence says the next best option would be benign neglect. We need benign neglect. If you keep polarizing positions, then the radicals of both sides will dig in their heels, he says. But if you want to resolve these issues, then you have to accommodate the minority community. RELATED: Think you know Europe? Take our geography quiz. This post originally appeared at The Christian Science Monitor. Please follow Europe on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story See Also: Nicolas Sarkozy Confirms He Will Run For Second Term As French President Sarkozy Had To Hide In A Cafe After Protesters Booed Him And Threw Eggs Why It's Over For France's Nicolas Sarkozy
Top Posts Of The Week And Open Thread

Laura Northrup (The Consumerist)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:30:00 AM
[unable to retrieve full-text content][UPDATED] Banker Leaves 1% Tip, Suggests Server Should "Get A Real Job"
Restaurant Says 1% Tip Receipt Is A Fake Room-Borrowing Landlord Is Mentally Ill, Running A Scam, Or Both Reminder: Turn
Off Your Google Web History Today 3 Things Not To Buy Online Landlord Tries To Use Leap Day To Screw Tenants Out
Of Deposit
Business/ World News/ Technology/ Finance/
15
Use This Interactive Tool To See The Real Cost Of Credit Card Debt
Noelia de la Cruz (Business Insider)
payments at a 15% APR. You'll be paying for 17 years! Next, use the tool to calculate how many Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:30:00 AM popular US purchasescoffee, ReadyForZero, a tech company gas, iPhonesall that interest based in San Francisco, created an could buy. Based on your debt, interactive tool to show just how that's 3.7 tanks of gas per year. much time and money credit card With gas prices soaring, you debt can ultimately cost you. Let's could probably use the cash. say you're $3,000 in credit card Finally, use the tool to compare debt. First, plug in the number: y o u r d e b t t o t h e n a t i o n a l do. Check out ReadyForZero's ReadyForZero calculates how household average,$9,437. Your free debt reduction plan for more much interest you'll pay if you debt ($3,000) is well below that, info. o n l y m a k e t h e m i n i m u m but you still have some work to Now see how one writer clawed
her way out of her $3,000 credit card debt > Please follow Your Money on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story See Also: INFOGRAPHIC: Bet You Can't Guess Which Generation Has The Best Credit 8 Money Moves That Will Rescue Your Marriage INFOGRAPHIC: Where The Frack Is All Our Gas Money Going?
Home Builders Announce Housing Finance System Reform Plan MarketWatch (press release)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:38:13 AM
Home Builders Announce Housing Finance System Reform Plan MarketWatch (press release) WASHINGTON, Mar 02, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today announced a new comprehensive framework for housing finance system reform that would transition Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to a new mortgage... and more
China's Xinjiang Crackdown Jeopardizes Ties With Turkey, Muslim World

(World Politics Review: Articles)
Debt crisis: live

Telegraph Staff (Finance News - Business news from the UK and world)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:07:16 AM
Minister said as 25 EU states with the exception of the UK and Czech Republic - signed a new fiscal pact.
Britain secured a number of key demands at the summit to boost jobs and growth, the Prime
homeland as East Turkestan and have long resented Chinese rule. In recent years, restrictions on the A string of self-immolations and use of the Uighur language in a dramatic crackdown in China's schools, an influx of Han Chinese Sichuan Province has kept Tibet m i g r a n t s a n d c u r b s o n t h e in the public eye in recent months. religious freedoms of the Muslim Yet the deaths of 20 people in Uighurs have exacerbated ethnic violent clashes Tuesday in China's tensions. ... other restive border region, the This entry passed through the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Full-Text RSS service if this is Region, brought Beijings other your content and you're reading it major domestic crackdown back on someone else's site, please read into the international spotlight. the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentXinjiang is home to a large only/faq.php#publishers. Five population of ethnically Turkic Filters recommends: Donate to Uighurs, who refer to their Wikileaks.
Importance of Innovative Leadership - Jackie Freiberg Discusses the Influence of Strong Personality (TrendHunter.com)
(TREND HUNTER - The Latest Trends)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:11:02 AM
( TrendHunter.com) Jackie Freiberg has twenty years of experience in leadership and innovation-based management. She has authored and co-authored several books, including 'Guts,' 'Nanovation' and 'Boom!' Her area of focus...
16
News Wire/
Obama and Netanyahu set to confront divisions over Iran

(Reuters: Top News)
act militarily on its own in coming months. Seeking to defuse tensions ahead President Barack Obama meets of the meeting and persuade Israel Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin to hold off on any attack on Netanyahu at the United Nations Iranian nuclear facilities, Obama in New York, September 21, said he would give Netanyahu 2011. assurances that the United States Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarqu "has Israel's back" and that "I By Matt Spetalnick and Jeffrey don't bluff" when it comes to Iran. Heller In an interview with the Atlantic WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM| magazine, Obama repeated the Fri Mar 2, 2012 11:58am EST U.S. refrain that "all options are (Reuters) - Just days before what on the table" but spoke in more could be the most consequential direct terms of possible U.S. meeting of U.S. and Israeli military action if sanctions and leaders in years, aides to President diplomacy fail to curb Tehran's B a r a c k O b a m a a n d P r i m e nuclear ambitions. Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are "It includes a military component. s c r a m b l i n g t o b r i d g e s t a r k And I think people understand differences over what Washington that," Obama said when asked fears could be an Israeli attack on about U.S. intentions. Iran's nuclear sites. It was unclear, however, whether Further complicating Monday's that would be enough to placate White House talks is a trust deficit Netanyahu, who was visiting between the two men that has Canada on Friday before flying to been magnified by mounting Washington on Sunday. pressures of the U.S. presidential "If you don't want me to attack campaign. Obama's Republican now, I want guarantees," an foes are eager to paint him as too Israeli official quoted Netanyahu tough on Israel and too soft on telling top Obama aides who Iran. visited Jerusalem last month. "If N e t a n y a h u i s c o m i n g t o you're saying, 'we'll take care of Washington to press Obama to you', you're not saying that clearly more forcefully declare "red enough." lines" that Iran must not cross in The White House has signaled its nuclear program, Israeli that Obama, who has pledged to officials say, even as speculation prevent Iran from building a mounts that the Jewish state could nuclear weapon but has been
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:58:25 AM
vague on how far he is prepared to go, will resist pressure for a public policy shift. Instead, amid growing signs that U.S.-led international sanctions are starting to take a toll on Iran, he will seek to persuade Netanyahu to hold off on any military strike to give those measures and diplomacy time to work, U.S. officials say. But Israeli officials say they fear that time is running out for an effective Israeli attack as Iran buries its uranium enrichment program deeper underground. Monday's meeting was supposed to have been a defining moment for the American and Israeli leaders, a chance to present a united front as international pressure on Iran intensifies. Underscoring the gap between the two allies, the Israelis also complain that the Obama administration is undercutting the deterrent effect of their threat to use force by publicly questioning the timing and wisdom of airstrikes on Iran, which says its nuclear activities are for generating electricity. Calls for a tougher approach on Iran are also coming from Republican presidential hopefuls, who see Obama as vulnerable on the issue as he seeks re-election and will seize on any public rift with Netanyahu.
BEYOND "ALL OPTIONS ON THE TABLE"? Netanyahu will be pushing not only for Obama's acceptance of whatever action Israel decides to take but for stronger language against Iran that goes beyond the "all options are on the table" mantra on U.S. intentions, Israeli officials said. Washington has been working to convince the Israelis that a go-italone attack would cause only a temporary setback to Tehran's nuclear ambitions while possibly plunging the already-volatile Middle East into chaos. And Obama's aides insist that an explicit U.S. military threat would be counterproductive right now, especially due to the potential for further spikes in global oil prices and the risk that Tehran might backtrack on overtures seen as opening the door to renewed nuclear talks with world powers. But a source close to the administration's thinking on Iran said the president might try to placate some of Netanyahu's concerns in private and could also pledge even more sanctions to tighten the vise on Tehran. The White House has proposed the two leaders issue a joint statement after they meet, but the idea has yet to be firmed up, an Israeli official said. A show of solidarity on certain issues might
help keep differences under wraps on others. An administration official also would not rule out the possibility that Obama could harden some of his rhetoric on Iran when he addresses the largest U.S. proIsrael lobby in Washington on Sunday, the day before he sees Netanyahu. Despite that, U.S. officials doubt that Netanyahu will go as far as providing assurances that Israel will consult Washington - its biggest source of military assistance -- before launching any strikes on Iran, which has called for the destruction of the Jewish state. Even if Obama privately reassures Netanyahu that the U.S. has the firepower to deliver a devastating blow to Iran's nuclear program further down the line, the Israelis have made clear they cannot rely on that commitment alone. "Anyone who thinks that Israel is not going to make its own decision, particularly on an issue they view in existential terms, is kidding themselves," said Obama's former Middle East adviser, Dennis Ross. One line of thinking within the Obama administration is that keeping it in the dark about any OBAMA page 20
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Red Cross aid convoy reaches Homs

(Reuters: Top News)
and 50 were arrested. We fear they will be massacred. Where is the world?," said one activist. By Samia Nakhoul Defiant protesters took to the BEIRUT| Fri Mar 2, 2012 streets after Friday prayers in 11:33am EST towns and cities across Syria (Reuters) - A Red Cross aid Homs, Hama, Deir al-Zor, Deraa convoy prepared to enter the and several districts in Damascus, shattered Baba Amro district of t e l e v i s i o n f o o t a g e s h o w e d . Homs on Friday after a Syrian Activists' video footage appeared o f f i c i a l d e c l a r e d t h e a r e a to show troops shooting at "cleansed" and the opposition demonstrators. The London-based spoke of a massacre by President Syrian Observatory for Human Bashar al-Assad's forces. Rights said at least 13 people The residential district became a were killed when troops fired a symbol of resistance to Assad mortar at a protest in the town of a f t e r g o v e r n m e n t t r o o p s Rastan. Independent verification surrounded it with tanks and of such reports is extremely artillery and shelled it intensively difficult and foreign media are all for weeks, killing and wounding but shut out of Syria. civilians cowering in its ruined "God curse you Hafez for having buildings. a son like that," shouted protesters Rebels withdrew on Thursday in in reference to Assad's late father a key moment in the year-old who ruled Syria for three decades uprising. An official at Syria's until he died in 2000. "The people Ministry of Foreign Affairs and want to announce Jihad (Holy Expatriates said the army had War)," read a banner. "cleansed Baba Amro from the In Geneva, the United Nations foreign-backed armed groups of human rights body reminded terrorists." Assad of his obligations under Activists said Syria's army had i n t e r n a t i o n a l l a w . " W e a r e begun hunting down and killing alarmed at reports starting to insurgents who had stayed to come out of the Baba Amro cover their comrades' retreat, district of Homs after it was taken although the reports could not be over by government forces verified. They said 10 young men yesterday," spokesman Rupert were shot dead on Friday. It was Colville said. not immediately clear how many One pro-government figure said rebels had been killed in the troops had "broken the back" of onslaught and how many had t h e u p r i s i n g a n d t h e r e b e l withdrawn. withdrawal heralded impending "All men who remained in the victory over what he termed a neighborhood aged between 14 Western-backed insurgency.
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:33:27 AM
The ICRC said a convoy had reached Homs and was preparing to enter Baba Amro. The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) said on Thursday it was leaving the district -- normally home to 100,000 residents. Only a few thousand people remain. Conditions in the heavily bombarded district are hellish. TV footage showed heavy snow and freezing weather, with residents lacking electricity or fuel for heating. There is also a shortage of food and medical supplies. Barely a building has escaped damage from artillery shelling and many are pock-marked with bullet holes. For graphic of Homs link.reuters.com/huh86s ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ "DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT" In a rare show of unity with Western powers, Russia and China joined other Security Council members at the United Nations in expressing "deep disappointment" at Syria's failure to allow the U.N. humanitarian aid chief Valerie Amos to visit the country, and urged that she be allowed in immediately. It was the first statement on Syria from the council, which has been deadlocked on the issue, since August last year. But it was not immediately clear how far Moscow and Beijing - hitherto Assad supporters - had shifted their position. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin appeared to distance himself further from Assad in an interview with a group of European editors, saying he had no special relationship with the president. "It is up to the Syrians to decide who should run their country ... We need to make sure they stop killing each other," the London Times quoted Putin as saying on Friday. France announced it would shut its Syrian embassy and was ready to step up support of the rebels if the UN Security Council cleared the way for such a move. "Dictators will all, one day, have to pay for their actions," President Nicolas Sarkozy said. British Prime Minister David Cameron said Syria's rulers would be held to account. "We need to start collecting the evidence now so that one day, no matter how long it takes, there will be a day of reckoning for this dreadful regime," Cameron told reporters at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels. The European Union was planning to call for increased pressure on Assad, including sanctions, according to a draft of its conclusions. It was also preparing to urge the Arab League to convene a meeting of the Syrian National Council, which it said it recognized as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people. The EU has over the past months been adding names to a list of
people it sanctions with travel bans and asset freezes. As news of the opposition pullout from Baba Amro spread, video footage released on the internet appeared to show the bodies of American journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik being buried in Homs, where they were killed in shelling eight days ago. French journalists Edith Bouvier, who was wounded in the same bombardment, and William Daniels flew to Paris on Friday from Lebanon, Sarkozy said, the last of a handful of reporters trapped in the city. Armed rebels and defecting soldiers have been spearheading the revolt against Assad that began with largely peaceful protests inspired by the Arab Spring, but escalated after a government crackdown. As the drama unfolded in Homs, a Lebanese official close to Damascus said a defeat for the rebels in Homs would leave the opposition without any major stronghold in Syria, easing the crisis for Assad, who remained confident he could survive. President Assad, a Londontrained eye doctor, is increasingly isolated internationally in his struggle to crush the armed insurrection. Turkish President Abdullah Gul told Reuters on Thursday that Russia and Iran would soon RED page 19
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News Wire/
'I Love You' Apparently Not Welcome in Any Language

(FOXNews.com)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:53:11 AM
Miranda Washinawatok, 12, was reprimanded by a teacher at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Shawano, Wis. for using her native Menominee language in the classroom. MILWAUKEE While the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay has apologized to the Menominee Tribe and the family of a seventhgrader who was punished for using her native language at school, the girl's mother said Tuesday that she still wants her daughter's teacher fired. Tanaes Washinawatok said Julie Gurta, who teaches at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Shawano, did not accept blame for her actions in a letter that was supposed to be an apology. Washinawatok said her 12-yearold daughter, Miranda, interpreted the words "Hello" and "I love you" and then added how to say "thank you" when talking to two girls in class Jan. 19. She said Gurta overheard and "slammed her hands down on the desk and stated, 'You are not to speak like that. How do I know you're not saying something bad? How would you like if I spoke in Polish and you didn't understand?'"
The girl was benched from a basketball game later that day for having "an attitude problem," Washinawatok said she was told. Washinawatok said she met with diocese and school officials, including the teacher, over the past month and they agreed to send apology letters. Washinawatok explained the issue is sensitive because tribal members used to be beaten for speaking their language in the schools, which is part of the reason they are losing their language. In the mid-1880s, the federal government established boarding schools that prohibited Native American students from acknowledging their culture, including language. Students were punished for using their native languages until the 1960s, and many elders still alive are afraid to teach the languages to children. Washinawatok received letters from Gurta, assistant basketball coach Billie Jo DuQuaine, principal Dan Minter and the diocese's director of education, Joseph Bound. In Gurta's Feb. 22 letter, she wrote her "firm reactions" were not intended to single out the girl or the language. She said Miranda spoke to her in a disrespectful manner several times that day and
had behaved inappropriately on other days as well. "Unfortunately, the actions of your daughter were not brought to your attention as quickly as they should have been, and for this I apologize," Gurta wrote. Washinawatok described the teacher as insensitive and having an "arrogant, narrow-minded way of teaching." She said she planned to send a certified letter Tuesday to the diocese asking that Gurta be fired. "I don't want this to happen to another family or another student," Washinawatok said. Bound acknowledged there was a need for cultural diversity training for staff, students and families. Deacon Ray DuBois, spokesman for the diocese, said it was working with a relative of the
Washinawatoks to develop a program to use in the school in April or May and possibly other schools after that. "We ask for your forgiveness for our actions that have inflicted heartache, pain and anger to all those who have felt these emotions over the past several weeks," Bound wrote. "It is our hope that with this greater awareness, we can begin to repair any harm that has been caused and to be able to build new and improved relationships." Washinawatok said the principal told her the coach asked for the girl to be benched, but the coach denied it. Minter apologized in his letter for any hurt he caused, and DuQuaine apologized for "a breakdown of communication" that led to the
girl being benched. Washinawatok said she didn't think DuQuaine's letter was a "proper apology" either, but she was leaving it up to the diocese to pursue any further action. Messages left at the school for the principal, teacher and assistant coach were not immediately returned. DuBois said the local parish makes hiring decisions, and the diocese has only an advisory role. A message left for parish Pastor Len Evers wasn't immediately returned Tuesday. Washinawatok said her daughter is dealing with the situation the best she can, at times shutting down to questions. But she said her daughter is mature and respectable and was bothered by the fact the teacher didn't ask what she said. "That was the thing that bothered her the most: the fact that Julie Gurta assumed she was saying something bad," she said. 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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Dershowitz: Media Matters Crossed Line Into 'Bigotry'

(FOXNews.com)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:53:11 AM
RED
Harvard University professor Alan Dershowitz alleged Friday that Media Matters has "crossed the line into anti-semitism" by tolerating an employee who uses charged language to criticize supporters of Israel. Dershowitz, a liberal Democrat who is a staunch supporter of Israel, first started speaking out against the liberal media watchdog group last month. He went further in an interview on Fox News, saying Friday that Media Matters has crossed the line into "bigotry." The professor directed his complaints at one staffer in particular, M.J. Rosenberg, for downplaying the Iranian nuclear threat and repeatedly employing the term "Israel firster" -- an epithet that implies somebody's loyalties are to Israel before America. "When you accuse Jews of dual loyalty, you invoke a canard that goes back hundreds of years and falls into the category of antisemitism," Dershowitz said. "To
the extent that Media Matters hired him to do that and is tolerating him, they have crossed the line into anti-semitism." Dershowitz called on Media Matters to fire Rosenberg, but also called on the White House to disassociate itself from Media Matters -- warning that their cozy relationship would cause problems in the 2012 reelection campaign. "The president should do to Media Matters what he did to Jeremiah Wright-- totally disassociate, rebuke and say 'I stand with Israel,'" he said. Rosenberg, a senior foreign
realize they had little choice but to join international diplomatic efforts for Assad's removal. The United Nations says Syrian security forces have killed more than 7,500 civilians since the polite, in covering the issue of a revolt began last March. Syria's possible war with Iran. government said in December that "There is no need here to describe "armed terrorists" had killed more who the Israel Firsters are. They than 2,000 soldiers and police are those people (of whatever during the unrest. ethnic background) who (Additional reporting by Mariam invariably support Israel's policies Karouny, Oliver Holmes and over those of the United States," Laila Bassam in Beirut, Stephanie he wrote. Nebehay in Geneva, Steve Dershowitz, though, argued that Gutterman in Moscow and Nour Israel's and America's interests are Merza in Dubai; Writing by aligned, and said Rosenberg was Samia Nakhoul, editing by Janet effectively accusing people like McBride) him of "treason." This entry passed through the "It's the oldest of charges ... policy fellow, often writes about accusing Jews of dual loyalty, and Full-Text RSS service if this is the heated rhetoric in Washington it can't be tolerated, whether it your content and you're reading it regarding the possibility of a comes from the left or the right," on someone else's site, please read conflict with Iran over its nuclear he said. "The tent is not big the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentprogram. He is a sharp critic of enough to include people who only/faq.php#publishers. Five Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin have engaged in bigotry against Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks. Netanyahu and has been warning the Jewish people." the U.S. against joining his Click here for more Media administration in any military Matters coverage. campaign against Iran. This entry passed through the Rosenberg is hardly alone in Full-Text RSS service if this is those opinions, but his critics your content and you're reading it complain he also resorts to name- on someone else's site, please read calling in the course of making his the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentarguments. only/faq.php#publishers. Five I n a c o l u m n l a s t m o n t h , Filters recommends: Donate to Rosenberg argued that the "Israel Wikileaks. firster" term is "accurate," if not
Johnson's crew chief surprised by suspension

The crew chief for five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson says the car that failed
inspection at Daytona had previously passed with the same configuration more than once.
20
News Wire/ Sports/
Yelp shares soar on market debut

(Reuters: Top News)
OBAMA
has since fallen below the offer price of $20 a share. Yelp's shares were trading up 62 Jeremy Stoppelman, co-founder percent at $24.60 on Friday and CEO of yelp Inc., San morning. At that level, the Francisco, California, testifies company is valued at about $1.43 b e f o r e a S e n a t e J u d i c i a r y billion -- about 17 times its 2011 Subcommittee hearing called ''The revenue. P o w e r o f G o o g l e : S e r v i n g On Thursday, Yelp had priced its C o n s u m e r s o r T h r e a t e n i n g IPO at $15 a share, above its Competition?'' on Capitol Hill, indicated range of between $12 September 21, 2011. and $14. Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing ( Yelp's website has more than 25 By Tanya Agrawal and Aman million reviews of a range of local Shah businesses and services -- from Fri Mar 2, 2012 10:45am EST plumbers and shoe-repair shops to (Reuters) - Consumer review restaurants and nightlife options. website Yelp Inc's shares traded The San-Francisco-based more than 60 percent above their company was started eight years initial public offering price in ago in 2004 by former PayPal their market debut on Friday, as engineers Jeremy Stoppelman and investors rushed to buy a piece of R u s s e l S i m m o n s , w h e n the growing local advertising Stoppelman was in search of a market. doctor and online searches turned Yelp's stellar debut follows those up only generic lists on health of other Internet sensations like insurance websites. LinkedIn Corp, Groupon Inc and Stoppelman told CNBC he Zillow Inc. But while those stocks wanted his company to become made large first-day gains, they the Amazon.com Inc of local have since declined. advertising. Groupon stock soared as much as "We're just scratching the surface 56 percent on its opening day, but of local advertising," Stoppelman
Israeli military plans might be best for the United States since any sign of complicity would inflame anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world. But even without a direct U.S. said. " ... It's an enormous role, there will be deep suspicion market." across the Middle East that Israel The company, however, faces would not act without a green stiff competition from Facebook; light from Washington. Google Inc through its recent buy ELECTORAL CALCULUS of restaurant reviewer Zagat; and Still, an Israeli strike ahead of the others like Groupon and Angie's November 6 election would put List Inc. Obama in a political bind. He Stoppelman said he was not fazed would be reluctant to come down by competition from the likes of hard on Netanyahu for fear of Google. undercutting support among Yelp had 66 million unique Jewish voters and other pro-Israel visitors and was used in 5.7 constituencies. million unique mobile devices on Ross, who has advised both a monthly average basis in its Democratic and Republican latest quarter. It was active in 46 administrations spanning three markets in the United States and decades, suggested that the 25 internationally at the end of "noise" from Israel over a possible last year. strike was geared more toward (Additional reporting by Nicola pressuring the international Leske in New York; Editing by community for further sanctions Supriya Kurane and Lisa Von than foreshadowing an imminent Ahn) attack on Iran. This entry passed through the "Now that it's an issue of the Full-Text RSS service if this is world against Iran, Israel likes it your content and you're reading it that way and would not be on someone else's site, please read inclined to act precipitously," the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentRoss said. only/faq.php#publishers. Five Still, it remains unclear whether Filters recommends: Donate to Netanyahu will pay much heed to Wikileaks.
Obama's words of caution. At their last Oval Office meeting a year ago, Netanyahu embarrassed Obama by lecturing him about Jewish history. But relations have thawed somewhat as Obama has taken a tougher line on Iran while refraining from any new Middle East peace drives. Obama also scored points with Israelis for opposing a Palestinian bid for U.N. statehood recognition last September. But some Obama aides remain suspicious of Netanyahu's motives. They are convinced that he would prefer to see a Republican take control of the White House in 2013 for fear that Obama's re-election would give him a freer hand to push anew for Israeli concessions to the Palestinians during a second term. (Editing by Anthony Boadle) 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.
Jury deliberates in ex-Bronco's sex assault trial

Jury deliberations have resumed in Colorado in the sexual assault
trial of former Denver Broncos cornerback Perrish Cox.
News Wire/ World News/
21
Teacher Leaves Family, Job To Live With Teen Student

(FOXNews.com)
Epoch Times | National, World, China, Sports, Entertainment News

(Epoch Times | National, World, China, Sports, Entertainment News)
resulting from the 'James Hooker to Jail Page' will put Hooker in Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:53:11 AM legal jeopardy Feb. 28, 2012: Enochs High Hooker quit his teaching job at School student Jordan Powers, 18, Enochs High School last week and James Hooker, 41, talk about and left his wife and children, one their relationship during an of them an Enochs student, to live interview in Modesto. with Enochs senior Jordan M O D E S T O , C a l i f . A Powers. California school teacher has quit Hooker first met powers when his job and left his wife and kids she was a freshman in high to move into an apartment with an school, but maintains that their 18-year-old student less than half physical relationship did not begin his age. until she was 18. The Modesto Bee says the teen's Power's mother said she has mother, Tammie Powers, has e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e p a i r h a d waged a Facebook campaign inappropriate relations long against the teacher since her before and she believes he abused daughter moved out of the his authority as a teacher. family's home last week and into a Modesto police are investigating Modesto apartment with 41-year- whether there was inappropriate old James Hooker. contact before the girl turned 18 Powers hopes the publicity last fall.
Pacific. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that economic growth and job growth will Hooker acknowledges the couple remain sluggish for years. hurt a lot of people, but says they Top Stories decided to follow their hearts. North Korea has agreed to a Liu has been in the news lately Jordan said she knew that many m o r a t o r i u m o n i t s n u c l e a r because of allegations his mayoral people did not understand the p r o g r a m i n e x c h a n g e f o r c a m p a i g n h a s u s e d i l l e g a l desperately needed food aid, fundraising tactics. Questions nature of the relationship. about Lius fundraising were first "[He's] my best friend. I mean he's officials said Wednesday. Wang Lijun, the former police raised by The [...] more than just a lover," she said. Click here to read more from the chief and deputy mayor of This entry passed through the Chongqing, may have participated Full-Text RSS service if this is Modesto Bee. NewsCore contributed to this in or directed the harvesting of your content and you're reading it organs from Chinese prisoners of on someone else's site, please read report. the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentThis entry passed through the conscience. P r e s i d e n t B a r a c k O b a m a only/faq.php#publishers. Five Full-Text RSS service if this is your content and you're reading it unveiled the new national security Filters recommends: Donate to on someone else's site, please read strategy on Jan. 5 that directs the Wikileaks. the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content- military to focus on potential only/faq.php#publishers. Five adversaries in Asia and the Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.
Gove loses 'private email' battle - BBC News

(Nation - Google News)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:04:28 AM
Sky News Gove loses 'private email' battle BBC News
Emails sent by Education Secretary Michael Gove from a private account should be subject to the Freedom of Information Act, it has been ruled. Information Commissioner Christopher
Graham said Mr Gove's messages dealt with departmental business and... Gove loses FOI battle over emails The Press Association Gove told to disclose 'Mrs Blurt'
email Financial Times Michael Gove told to release details of email sent from private account The Guardian Public Service- Sky NewsInformation Commissioners
Office (ICO) (press release) all 12 news articles
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World News/ Technology/
The Realist Prism: Hopes and Challenges Don't Count China as Serbia Becomes an EU Candidate Out in Middle East
(World Politics Review: Articles) (World Politics Review: Articles)
Aberdeen votes for futuristic garden project Financial Times

Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:30:48 AM
revolutionary upheaval decide to punish China for its support for Submitted at 3/2/2012 4:09:00 AM the old regimes. The conventional wisdom in U.S. Last September, I described policy circles is that Chinas Chinas hands-off approach to the support for autocrats in the Arab Spring as a gamble: Beijing Middle East, most recently was hoping that although postmanifested by its veto of a revolutionary governments might proposed U.N. Security Council initially view China unfavorably, resolution sponsored by the Arab over time, the lure of forging League that called for Syrias mutually beneficial ties with Bashar al-Assad to step down, has Beijing would override any placed Beijing on the wrong side resentments. Six months later, the of history. Last week, U.S. Chinese gamble seems to be Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, paying off. ... speaking at the conclusion of the This entry passed through the Friends of Syria conference in Full-Text RSS service if this is Tunis, warned the Chinese that your content and you're reading it they are setting themselves on someone else's site, please read against the aspirations not only of the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentthe Syrian people but of the entire only/faq.php#publishers. Five Arab Spring." The implication is Filters recommends: Donate to that Beijing will find itself Wikileaks. increasingly isolated as successor governments installed after
BELGRADE, Serbia -- European Union foreign ministers this week approved Serbia as an official candidate for EU membership, paving the way for EU heads of government to confirm the decision at a summit yesterday. But though good news for Serbia and a European project intended to embed democracy and stimulate economic development, while bringing to an end to the cycle of European wars, the approval is just the beginning of what will be a long and challenging road. EU accession is unlikely to come before 2020, and, as is abundantly clear from the experience of Serbias neighbors, it is no panacea. Serbia has suffered more than
most Eastern European countries since the fall of the Berlin Wall, admittedly in large part due to the decisions made by its leaders. The political heart of the former Yugoslavia, it fought a series of bloody and disastrous wars with its neighbors as they seceded, for which Serbia and ethnic Serbs in the region are still paying the price. Democracy came only after the 2000 revolution, a decade after its neighbors to the north and east. ... 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.
BBC News Aberdeen votes for futuristic garden project Financial Times By Andrew Bolger, Scotland Correspondent The people of Aberdeen have voted narrowly in favour of a controversial plan to replace historic gardens in the city centre with a futuristic City Garden Project costing 140m. A referendum attracted 45301 votes... City residents back gardens revamp The Press Association Union Terrace Gardens: Aberdeen residents approve 140m plan Scotsman Voters back Aberdeen's City Garden Project in referendum BBC News For Argyll- Scottish Daily Record- stv.tv all 30 news articles
Christian World Adoption

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23
Blame me not Rahul if UP poll Horsegate: David Cameron admits Tributes to officer killed in riding Rebekah Brooks's police results not in our favour: Tamworth Digvijaya Singh - Times of India horse - latest - Telegraph.co.uk
also refused to put the blame on Rahul, who had led the... Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:46:23 AM Digvijaya Singh rakes up UP IBNLive.com Prez rule issue, again Hindustan Blame me not Rahul if UP poll Times r e s u l t s n o t i n o u r f a v o u r : Congress turning UP gun on Digvijaya Singh itself Daily News & Analysis Times of India UP Assembly Elections: No NEW DELHI: Congress general hurdles in Nitin Gadkari's way for secretary Digvijaya Singh on securing another term Economic Friday said he and not Rahul Times Gandhi should be held responsible Zee News- Indian Express if election results in Uttar Pradesh all 99 news articles are not in favour of the party. He
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:27:29 AM
Telegraph.co.uk Horsegate: David Cameron admits riding Rebekah Brooks's police horse - latest Telegraph.co.uk Prime Minister David Cameron has admitted he did ride Raisa, the horse lent to former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks by the Metropolitan Police. Follow all the latest here. By Donna
Bowater 17.10 The latest suggestion in horsegate is that... Cameron changes tack in Murdoch horse row Reuters UK From the horse's mouth: Cameron did ride Brooks' Raisa Channel 4 News David Cameron: I did ride expolice horse lent to Rebekah Brooks The Guardian The Periscope Post- The Press Association- AFP all 487 news articles
shootout Newcastle Herald

Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:21:13 AM
LNP denies secret Clive Carr key face in Palmer meet - Gold Gillard Cabinet Coast Bulletin News New Zealand Herald
(Nation - Google News) (Nation - Google News)
A Bob each way then Julia Gillard gets her man The Australian BBC News Australian PM Julia Gillard's Carr key face in Gillard Cabinet shock pick to replace Kevin Rudd New Zealand Herald Telegraph.co.uk By Greg Ansley On Monday Bold switch catches Julia Governor-General Quentin Bryce, Gillard's party by surprise Herald back from a state visit to New Sun Zealand, will swear in a new The Daily Telegraph- Lithgow Cabinet that defies claims Prime Mercury- ABC Online Minister Julia Gillard had been all 1,493 news articles rolled by her ministers within days of her leadership victory.
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:31:05 AM
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:34:32 AM
BigPond News LNP denies secret Clive Palmer meet Gold Coast Bulletin News THE LNP has denied holding a secret meeting in Brisbane on Monday to discuss how best to handle Gold Coast billionaire and party donor Clive Palmer in the final weeks of the election campaign. High-ranking LNP
sources yesterday told the Bulletin the... A question of funding Brisbane Times Queensland business leaders paying up to $22000 for QForum access to LNP's... Courier Mail Evidence mounts against the general The Australian Sydney Morning Herald- ABC Online- NEWS.com.au all 113 news articles
Sydney Morning Herald Tributes to officer killed in Tamworth shootout Newcastle Herald FORMER Hunter police officer David Rixon was ''a wonderful husband, father and police officer'' who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty. Senior Constable Rixon, pictured, a father of six who has served in blue since he was a teenager,... A life of police service ends in a split second The Australian Senior Constable David Rixon spent his life protecting others Herald Sun Daily routine turned deadly for slain cop David Rixon The Daily Telegraph Sydney Morning Herald- ABC Online- The Canberra Times all 258 news articles
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World News/ Technology/
SC dismisses PIL on Was under pressure to Vodafone tax verdict resign: Gen VK Singh - Hindustan Times - Times of India
dismissed the plea for quashing the... Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:13:10 AM Supreme Court dismisses PIL IBNLive.com against Kapadia Livemint SC dismisses PIL on Vodafone SC dismisses PIL against Chief tax verdict Justice of India, Justice SH Times of India Kapadia Indlaw.com NEW DELHI: Holding that a PIL Apex court dismisses lawyer's questioning CJI SH Kapadia petition in Vodafone case Hill being part of the bench which Post delivered the Vodafone tax matter SME Times verdict as "highly scandalous, all 35 news articles frivolous and irresponsible", the Supreme Court on Friday
not effectively" closed the issue but ruled out his resignation. "It would be dishonest to say that that Zee News I was not under... Was under pressure to resign: Yes, was under pressure to resign Gen VK Singh after Supreme Court verdict, says Hindustan Times Army Chief NDTV PTI Army Chief Gen VK Singh, SC has side-stepped age issue: who lost his battle with the Army Chief India Today defence ministry on the age row, all 26 news articles feels the Supreme Court has "not
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:23:23 AM
Spartan-Inspired Soccer Ads - The Bilbao Athletic Campaign Features Intense Training (TrendHunter.com)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:51:03 AM
( TrendHunter.com) The Bilbao Athletic campaign appears to be inspired by the legends of Sparta. It specifically touches on how Spartan warriors were raised and molded to become some of the fiercest fighters in the world....
iPad 3 named iPad HD in parts listing

Rue Liu (SlashGear)
of Griffins parts listing, which showed three case accessories Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:43:47 AM designed for a new iPad HD Apples much hyped iPad 3 may with the 3 in parentheses. In actually be named the iPad HD, a d d i t i o n t o t h e p u r p o r t e d according to parts listings from evidence, Fonfara also claims to iPad accessories manufacturer have confirmed with Belkin on Griffin. Despite Apples simple the new iPad name. approach towards device names, With only a few short days ahead its never been an easy task of the actual unveiling event on guessing what the companys next March 7, large manufacturers hot product will be called and the would likely know what to expect, next-gen iPad is no exception. a l t h o u g h t h e r e s s t i l l t h e Weve definitely heard of the iPad possibility that theyre also HD name before when rumors guessing. Plus, the iPad HD name first spread about the upgrade to a has circulated before so its not a Retina-like HD display. huge revelation. Apple could still Michael Fonfara tweeted early surprise us with an iPad 2S. Story this morning an image allegedly Timeline
iPad 3 launch dates teased on Feb 23rd 2012 iPad 3 rumored "Retina Display" gets video fondle on Feb 24th 2012 Apple iPad 3 event March 7 confirmed on Feb 28th 2012 Three iPad 3 versions with no Home button tipped on Feb 29th 2012 iPad 3 launch may include 8GB low-cost iPad 2 on Mar 1st 2012 iPad HD tipped for September alongside iPhone 5 on Jul 7th 2011 Apple doubling up on next-gen iPad 3/iPad HD suppliers tip insiders on Jul 11th 2011 iPad 3 casing reportedly leaks on Feb 21st 2012 iPad 3 fascia reportedly leaks on Feb 22nd 2012 [ via Gizmodo] iPad 3 named iPad HD in parts listing is written by Rue Liu& originally posted on SlashGear. 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Technology/
25
YC-Backed Flypad Wants To Turn Your iPhone Into A Steering Wheel

Rip Empson (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:45:41 AM
Smartphones have a lot of cool technology built in, from high-res touchscreens to gestural command features, like shaking, rocking, or rolling, and motion sensing via accelerometers. Just as mobile computing is revolutionizing the way we communicate and interact with the world, unsurprisingly smartphone technology is also having its way with gaming. Since were rarely without our mobile devices today, mobile gaming (especially social-mobile) is becoming increasingly popular but thanks to the wizardry of smartphone tech a number of intrepid souls are turning back to explore the interactive possibilities between our mobile devices and our hardware our desktops, etc. The most entertaining example of which would be the ability to transform our smartphones into game controllers. Joypad, for instance, is transforming iPhones into game controllers for iPads, Macs, and PCs by syncing them over BlueTooth or Wi-Fi, just as Brass Monkey is doing for browserbased games.
Today, a member of the current batch of Y Combinator startups called Flypad joins the group of entrepreneurs looking to game-ify smartphones, albeit with a more specific focus. Flypad transforms the iPhone into a steering wheel for PC racing games, allowing gamers to steer their vehicles of choice in games like Need For Speed: The Run with their iPhones. Initially, the team was on a similar trajectory to that of Brass Monkey, in that it offered support for Android and iOS that, through apps and Wi-Fi, linked smartphones to browser-based Flash games. However, the team found that browser-based games attracted a more casual gaming audience that didnt care quite as much about peripherals (devices connected to a host computer) as more hardcore gamers playing PC racing games. To that point, the newest version of Flypad has seen 7,000 downloads in beta testing and is resonating particularly in international markets, where the cost of buying controllers, steering wheels, and the like, are higher. Going forward, Flypad has two immediate goals, which are to increase the amount of play-able
racing games (and beyond) in its bullpen, as well as rolling out a full set of APIs for game developers, which allow them to easily add the iPhone as an input for their games. Of course, integrating with existing games is just the beginning, as the teams eventual plan is to enable a whole new class of games to be developed. Typically, game controllers today are simply just pieces of hardware, but eventually controllers themselves will be running their own complex software, opening up whole new ways of interacting with games. Some of the other solutions out there today, says Flypad Cofounder Ayo Omojola, tend to have heavy developer focuses up front, but, at the end of the day, gamers dont play games because of the phone or the novelty of the technology, they play because they love the gameplay or experience of their favorite racing games. So Flypad focused on offering a quick way to preload content into the experience, so that gamers dont have to worry about the technical side, they can just sit down and play. So, while they initially offered a browser mechanic that enabled
gamers to quickly play on the Web, although HTML5 in progressing rapidly, the gameplay just wasnt the quality as those Steam games, for example, which is why Joypad is currently offering compatibility with some of the games in the Need For Speed series, DIRT3, Burnout, and Ignite. Certainly, Flypad faces some friction in that it isnt platform or device agnostic, and the fact that many serious gamers prefer fixed-wheel controllers to something more free-wheeling like a smartphone control; however, at this point Omojola says that the team is focused on killing the experience of PC racing games on the iPhone. Next, the founding team, which also includes Aurav Namit and Femi Omojola, plans to actually embed themselves in their users living rooms, so that they can better observe the habits of gamers, how they play, what their engagement looks like, etc. But for now they know that opening their doors to other game developers represents the best immediate opportunity for increasing the number of games (and features) that they can integrate with their smart, motionsensing steering wheel. To do so,
the team recently released its Flash API, and is looking to launch its Unity API next. Of course, in the big picture, it might be easy to see Flypads technology as an add-on, but in reality, their smart steering solution is meant to get developers excited about creating games for smartphones, and that in turn, hopefully encourage gamers to follow. Whats more, the real nifty bit of the technology Joypad offers is the ability to provide users with dynamic interfaces on their smartphones, which change in realtime, so that, say, if youre playing Madden, your playbook only shows up on your phone and not that of your opponent. The technology around mobile device-controlled has so much potential, and although its still fairly novel to most gamers, Im sure we can expect some cool things out of Flypad as they push forward. For more on Flypad, check them out at home here and in the intro video below:
26
Technology/ Finance/
Windows 8 makes its beta debut

Steven Musil (CNET News)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:41:03 AM
and implementation. Photos: Windows 8 beta unveiled at MWC 1-2 of 11 Scroll Left Beta of next iteration of the OS Scroll Right lands, while Apple announces what is expected to be an iPad 3 event. Also: Facebook and Zynga breaking up? week in review Making the biggest splash at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, this week was Microsoft, which took the wraps off the next iteration of its operating system. Microsoft is trying to sew up the seams that separate mobile Windows 8 Beta: Hands-on with phones, laptops, desktops, and Microsoft's tablet-friendly OS tablets and offer consumers a Where to get the Windows 8 " c o n s i s t e n t " e x p e r i e n c e , beta regardless of what type of device Windows 8 apps: Get 'em while they are using, Microsoft's Steven they're free Sinofsky said as he unveiled the What Microsoft wants you to beta for the Windows 8 operating think about the Windows 8 beta system. The company is doing so Windows 8 on ARM, but don't by focusing simultaneously on the hold your breath operating system, apps, and Windows 8 FAQ hardware. More headlines As a result, using Windows 8 Apple sends out invites for s h o u l d b e a " s u p e r f u n March 7 iPad event Apple invites experience," Sinofsky said. members of the media to an event Windows 8 has undergone more in San Francisco next week, than 100,000 code changes since where the company is expected to the Developer Preview was unveil the next version of the released and will feel much more iPad. "refined," Sinofsky said. He Why the iPad 3 could be in short called Windows 8 a "generational supply change" in its design, function, eBay's iPad trade-ins up tenfold
according to The Wall Street Journal. Guess who'd like to 'throttle' AT&T now? Would an AT&T 'toll-free' data service stifle app innovation? AT&T solidifies data-throttling details for unlimited users Verizon to offer shared family from same time last year data plan by midyear The carrier The curious case of the missing confirms that it's aiming to unveil iPad 3 home button a family data plan around the iPad 3 may come in three flavors middle of the year as more people Facebook launches Timeline for strive to connect more devices. Pages The new timeline feature is Apple wins another one against now available for Pages as well as Motorola in Germany A German personal profiles, allowing users court has ruled that Motorola to visually check out the history Mobility violates a patent Apple of a business or brand. holds related to the way in which New York Times Facebook photo galleries are displayed in Timeline harks back to 1851 mobile operating systems. Zynga takes its first step toward a Yahoo picks patent fight with post-Facebook future New Facebook How Anonymous initiatives, including a standalone channels 'the will of the people' gameplay site, give the social (Q&A) A member of Anonymous g a m i n g c o m p a n y s o m e tells CNET why the activist effort independence from Facebook. But targets government and corporate it's not cutting the cord just yet. Web sites, even in the face of Are Facebook and Zynga about arrest, and why it has your best to break up? interests at heart. Zynga readies 'private cloud' to Interpol sweep nets 25 run partners' games AT&T to A n o n y m o u s s u s p e c t s have app developers pick up Anonymous: Occupy the bandwidth tab? Carrier considers November election Kim DotCom: system that would allow app Why didn't MPAA sue me? The p u b l i s h e r s t o p a y f o r t h e MegaUpload founder says his s u b s c r i b e r s ' u s e o f a p p s , attorneys told him his service was
legal. In seven years, he never got so much as a cease-and-desist letter from any major copyright owner. MegaUpload founder to remain free on bail Kim DotCom wants $180,000 per month to live on Chinese get past censors and onto Facebook, YouTube, Twitter The Far East government is known for strict censorship when it comes to social networking, but this week its citizens caught onto a glitch in the system and glimpsed an uncensored world. China occupies Obama's Google+ page Also of note Space station control codes on stolen NASA laptop Microsoft hires FTC attorney and public critic of Google Andrew Breitbart, controversial Internet news pioneer, dead at 43 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.
'Your bills are low', British Gas boss Phil Bentley tells customers
James Hall (Finance News Business news from the UK and
Profits of 522m, but British Gas boss says his company is being
squeezed, too.
Technology/
27
Google's fiber installation patent idea shows broadband dreams

Stephen Shankland (CNET News)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:43:52 AM
The Net giant tries to patent a technique for using a flat, flexible housing to lower the cost of bringing a superfast Internet to homes. Just how big will Google Fiber be? Google's patent application covers ideas to lower the cost of bringing high-speed fiber-optic networks to houses. Apparently Google has put some thought into this idea of bringing super-fast fiber-optic broadband to Kansas City. The company has applied for a patent for "general edging systems and methods," which the application bills as "a low-impact, convenient, time-efficient and cost-saving optical fiber deployment technology." The application describes a flat, perhaps bendable strip of "edging" that carries fiber-optic lines or coaxial cables tucked within. The edging could be slipped into a shallow slot, perhaps along a fence or driveway or dug into a lawn, or it could be camouflaged to fit into the garden or patterned to look nice if exposed. Another idea in the application: the edging could come in several sections that snap together. Or it
could be made hollow with a sealed tube through which fiberoptic lines could be blown after the housing is installed. Nobody ever accused Google for
not thinking big, and perhaps the patent application sheds some light on how ambitious it thinks Google Fiber can go beyond Kansas City, Kan. and Mo.
Everybody loves the tremendous expense pays off. data capacity of fiber-optic lines, Cheaper and faster installation but so far it's mostly been could make it more economical to economical only for long-haul GOOGLE'S page 29 lines where its installation
28
Technology/
[Infographic] What We Learned From Mobile World Congress & RSA 2012
Dan Rowinski (ReadWriteWeb)
security and mobility. You can check out the first one, setting the Submitted at 3/2/2012 8:40:00 AM stage for RSA and MWC here. Two conferences 6,000 miles One of the biggest issues when it apart this week have set the comes to security and mobile is agenda in the mobile and security the notion of "mobile device industries for the year ahead. management" (MDM). This is the M o b i l e W o r l d C o n g r e s s i n term bandied about by enterprise Barcelona is the most important IT denizens when attempting to gathering in the wireless industry deal with the "bring-your-owna l l y e a r w h i l e t h e R S A device" (BYOD) phenomena in Conference in San Francisco is corporations across the world. To the table setter for all of the be completely honest, it is kind of cryptographers before Black Hat a played out topic. Enterprises hits Las Vegas in July. struggle with it because IT MWC 2012 was a product- departments often move with the focused event, as most wireless speed of a glacial slug. While IT conferences tend to be. We saw departments move slow, the new devices coming from Nokia security vendors providing MDM (a 41-megapixel camera on a solutions move fast, clamoring Symbian, what?!), HTC, Huawei over each other to provide a new and ZTE. RSA was more issue service that is often no different focused. That makes sense since it from any of their competitors. is harder to roll out a new security When it comes to device and product than a couple new security management, MDM is smartphones or tablets. At the the Plane Jane Vanilla of mobile same time, there was a distinct security. i n t e r s e c t i o n o f t h e t w o Some of the smarter security conferences. See below for what vendors have started adding more we learned this week. core services to mobile security. Sponsor For instance, BlackBerry has Below is the second of two always been good at MDM as exclusive infographics that well as application and document Juniper made for ReadWriteWeb security. Its Mobile Fusion this this on the intersection of product, scheduled for a full
On the show this week, fleas! Massive prehistoric fleas that is, because archaeologists have release in late March, brings its Updates from RSA discovered fossils revealing that BlackBerry Enterprise Server What Security, Where? Keys to the ancestors of today's fleas functionality to other smartphone the RSA Conference were a lot bigger than the jumping platforms and device vendors. Nebula Cloud Pioneer at RSA: critters of today. Also, the Mobile Motorola subsidiary 3LM(Three OpenStack Won't Secure Itself World Congress trade show is Laws of Mobility) provides one of Expert Panel at RSA 2012: over for another year but we were the most comprehensive security Who's Responsible for Cloud in Barcelona to get hands-on with solutions across application, Security? the smartphones and tablets you'll document, device, encryption, RSA 2012: VMware CTO be seeing on sale over the next 12 virus protection and more. Proposes Virtual Business Phones months. We have a full report Check out the links from RSA to Secure Real Ones about that. And if you thought and MWC below as well as the RSA 2012: Security Engineers you couldn't fit the components infographic from Juniper. Seek Prophecy in Mick Jagger, of an entire functioning PC into a Did you attend either of these Aretha Franklin USB thumb drive, well, you'd be events? What were your biggest RSA 2012: Bruce Schneier on wrong. We'll explain why on the takeaways? Let us know in the the Threat of "Big Data, Inc." show today. comments. News From MWC All that and more is on today's Mozilla Putting all the Pieces T o p i m a g e c o u r t e s y o f podcast, so listen now and don't Together to be a Smartphone S h u t t e r s t o c k D i s c u s s forget to subscribe in iTunes! Contender By: Nate Lanxon, Continue AT&T's Dual-Sided Pipe is Bad reading... for Developers
Brightcove Wants to Be Your End-to-End HTML5 Mobile Development Platform The Only 5 Things That Matter at Mobile World Congress Google Plus Motorola: The Gadget Geek's Dream Scenario With Windows 8, Microsoft Learns From the Mobile Revolution Samsung: One Tablet Closer to Irrelevance
Wired.co.uk Podcast 65: Quad -core phones, huge fleas, future of cars
Nate Lanxon
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:31:00 AM
Technology/
29
GOOGLE'S
bring fiber-optic lines all the way to people's houses (fiber to the home, or FTTH). That would make it easier for Google to fulfill its dreams of fast, cheap Internet access everywhere. The Kansas City testbed will have speeds of 1 gigabit per second -- something like 100 times what higher-end plans today offer -- and there was a report last year that Google Fiber could extend to Europe. In Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt's speech at Mobile World Congress this week, he said, "By 2020, fiber networks will be deployed in nearly every city," and of course he expects Google services to be riding atop those networks. "The Web will be everywhere, but it'll also be nothing. It'll be like electricity. It'll just be there," he said. It's unclear just how much Google hopes to profit directly from Google Fiber. Faster Net services mean more searches, more advertising, and more customers for Google Apps, so --
like Android-- Google Fiber can be seen as an ennabler for Google's current businesses. Google won't comment on its specific plans, but Google Fiber project leader Kevin Lo said in 2011, "This is a business for us. We expect to make money. We don't expect to lose money ... This thing has to make economic sense, and it does." Building and operating Net infrastructure also could give Google a bit of moral high ground, or at least bargaining power, in its struggle to keep telecommunications companies from trying to get Google, with data-intensive services such as YouTube, to shoulder some network infrastructure costs. With Google Fiber, the company becomes a network operator, too. Google bears the brunt of telcos' criticism of "over-the-top" players who send data over networks and generate an outsized portion of the profits. Some of that concern was on display at Mobile World Congress, for example from Sunil
Bharti Mittal, president of Indian wireless network operator Airtel. "When somebody watches YouTube on a mobile phone and ends up [with a] big bill, he curses under his breath at the telecom operators. But YouTube is consuming a massive amount of resources on our network. Somebody's got to pay for that," he said. YouTube should pay operators an "interconnect charge" to fund the network improvements, he said. Schmidt expressed sympathy for the operators' plight. "I'm very sensitive to these arguments because i think they're true," Schmidt said. "It's very difficult to be a telecom operator right now. You have a tough regulatory environment [which means] It's difficult to raise your data plan [prices]. You have to [upgrade] your equipment to 4G. You have customers who are busy using enormous amounts of the bandwidth that's so scarce for you. Governments, in addition to regulating you to death, charge
huge fees for new spectrum" for wireless services. "We at Google are critically dependent on this infra building out. We're trying to be respectful of the very real problem that the operators have," Schmidt said. Via Kansas City Star Google's patent application describes a flat, perhaps flexible strip 50mm to 70mm wide and 1mm to 5mm thick that would carry fiber-optic lines. It could be left aboveground, buried partially, or buried 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.
The Globe and Mail: Tim Warmels on How Trendspotting Can Help Businesses Innovate (TrendHunter.com)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:31:02 AM
( TrendHunter.com) Trendspotting is a popular concept many businesses are inheriting as a way to stay relevant and better connect with consumers; as the popularity of this concept increases however, so does the question...
Samsung Galaxy S III To Launch In April?

Jordan Crook (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:52:15 AM
While not launching the next Samsung flagship at MWC in Barcelona was probably the right choice for Samsung, that doesnt change the fact that were itching with anticipation over when the Galaxy S III will show its pretty
little edge-to-edge face. We know most of the specs(well, rumored ones at least), which means we know well see a 4.8inch Super AMOLED Plus display, a quad-core Samsung Exynos CPU running at 1.5GHz, and a little 4G LTE icon. What we dont know, however, is when well see any of this.
But reports are now leaking out of Korea, citing Samsungs global marketing and advertising agency Cheil Worldwide, claiming that the phone we hate to wait for should show up in April. Things dont get any more specific than that unfortunately, but this still gives us plenty to work with. For one thing, we already knew
that launch date rumors were circling around the March/April time frame. Secondly, Samsung itself confirmed that the phone would arrivebefore Summer, which leads us to believe that narrowing the launch period down to April seems correct. Weve also heard that the S III will launch simultaneously in over
50 major markets, rather than seeing an incremental roll-out like the S II. This means that whatever launch date is given will likely apply to us in the States, instead of Samsungs home team getting early access.
30
Technology/ Featured/
iPad 3 Retina Display could hurt app downloads over 3G

Lance Whitney (CNET News)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:16:32 AM
A 20 MB file size limit imposed by Apple for 3G downloads could be trouble for apps designed for the higher-resolution screen. Will a Retina Display iPad create trouble for certain apps? The Retina Display expected to appear on the next iPad should make users happy but may present challenges for developers. As detailed today by The Next Web, the higher resolution used by the Retina Display will increase the pixel count and size of graphics used in iPad apps designed for the new screen. With some apps doubling in size, developers may bump into a limitation imposed by Apple that restricts apps larger than 20 megabytes from being downloaded over 3G. Downloading over a Wi-Fi connection would still be an option as always, but users who need an app with no Wi-Fi available would be out of luck.
The restriction would pose more of a problem for apps that include both iPhone and iPad versions since iPhone users are more likely to download an app on the go. Apps with a dedicated iPhone version obviously wouldn't be affected. And apps geared just for the iPad would be safe, at least among tablet users who have only
Wi-Fi. Sales could go down for many app developers if all iPad users were restricted to downloading their programs via Wi-Fi, TNW noted. If a high-resolution iPad does debut next week, Apple has the option to bump up the 3G download limit.
But data cited by TNW noted that the limit would need to be upped by around 273 percent, putting it close to 60 MB. A 2,048-by-1,536-pixel Retina Display has long been a rumored feature for the next iPad. And the tablet's potential name may be a further clue. Part listings leaked by case makers revealed that the next iPad could actually be dubbed the iPad HD, according to Gizmodo. Apple did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment. But we should know more on March 7 when the company is expected to launch its next iPad. 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.
[Infographic] 20 Cases Solved By Using Facebook

David Strom (ReadWriteWeb)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:24:05 AM
James Q. Wilson, 1931-2012

William Kristol (The Weekly Standard)
James Q. Wilson James Q. Wilson, perhaps the
best political scientist of the past half-century, has died. I took his course as an undergraduate, was a teaching assistant for him as a graduate student, and he served on my dissertation committee. We
intimidated by him ever really to seek to become a good friend. stayed in touch over the years, though I think I was too
The website Criminal Justice Degrees Guide posted an interesting infographic today about how Facebook played a pivotal role in solving 20 different criminal cases. Police are finding ways to use the social networking site to track down cyberstalkers, pranksters gone awry, and inappropriate posting of information. The UK police have reported a sharp rise in Facebookrelated crimes in the past few years. Sponsor So don't be posting on your status page about trying to hire a hit man, or keep those animal torture vids to yourself. Discuss
Technology/ Featured/
31
Social Retargeting Ad Network Googles Chrome RadiumOne Raising A $50M ratings deflate Round At A $500M Valuation from metric change
Leena Rao (TechCrunch)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:14:03 AM
publishers. RadiumOne gets this data directly from social networks Were hearing that RadiumOne, (which sell anonymous user an online ad network that aims to behavior data to advertisers), its combine social and intent data to own gWallet offer platform, serve ads, is finalizing a monster b l o g g i n g platforms, $50 million round from investors. microblogging platforms (i.e. While the funding isnt closed yet, T w i t t e r ) , U R L s h o r t e n e r s , w e v e h e a r d f r o m i n d u s t r y photosharing websites and other sources that the valuation is applications, including its own hovering around $500 million pre- consumer apps (group messaging money. app Ping.me and Via.Me). As RadiumOne, which has social media users share raised$33.5 million to date, mines information like links, blog posts, s o c i a l d a t a a n d u s e t h i s videos and more, RadiumOne information to identify relevant analyzes this data to place the consumers for brands. The startup consumers on a social graph that analyzes how users interact with will accurately describe their one another on social networks to behavior. find the consumers that identify Yesterday, the company debuted with a brands current customer Via.Me, an iOS app that allows b a s e , a n d t h e n s e r v e s you to capture, filter, and share advertisements to this audience pictures, images, videos, audio across the companys network of and other content across multiple
social networks. The company was founded by serial entrepreneur and gWallet founder Gurbaksh Chahal. Chahal sold his ad network BlueLithium to Yahoo for $300 million in 2007 and at the time, Chahals company was the fifth largest ad network in the United States and the second largest in the United Kingdom. Chahals non-compete contract with Yahoo ended in October 2010, and he got back into the online ad business with RadiumOne. Were hearing that the company is on track to surpass $100 million in revenue this year. And clearly the companys valuation has increased since its last round in 2011, which pegged the company at$200 million. Stay tuned.
Rue Liu (SlashGear)

Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:31:42 AM
Obama Leads Santorum by 3, Romney by 6

Jeffrey H. Anderson (The Weekly Standard)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:01:00 AM
points, which is within the margin of error, while Mitt Romney trails Obama by 6 points. shows Rick Santorum trailing President Obama by 3 percentage
Rick Santorum The latest Rasmussen poll of likely general-election voters
Googles Chrome browser took a small hit in the ratings recently, not due to any decrease in popularity but to an adjustment in the way that usage is measured. Market research firm Net Applications said that the prerendering technology used in Chrome had been inflating its usage share. The technology speeds up browsing by preloading web pages in the background that it predicts users will visit. The technology has only been used by Google and was implemented in Chrome 13 and is even more aggressively used in the latest Chrome 17. Using a special algorithm, Chrome predicts the likelihood of a search result link to be selected by the user. It then pre-loads the page of that link so that it appears instantly if a user clicks through. However, a user may not end up visiting the link at all, which Net Applications believes creates unviewed visits. Net Applications believes that these unviewed visits should no longer be included to measure Chromes usage share, which is what has slightly deflated the
browsers ratings. The unviewed visits from pre-rendering are said to have accounted for 4.3 percent of Chromes daily unique visitors in February. Hence, Chromes market share was dropped from 18.94% to 18.90% in the previous month. Despite the small setback, Chrome remains in third place when it comes to desktop browser share. Microsofts Internet Explorer is still taking the lead at 52.84%, followed by Firefox with 20.92%. Safari is a ways behind Chrome at 5.24% and then Opera at 1.71%, rounding out the top five. Googles Chrome ratings deflate from metric change is written by Rue Liu& originally posted on SlashGear. 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
32
Technology/ Finance/
Twitter Turns Over User Information In Criminal Probe Of Occupy Boston

Dave Copeland (ReadWriteWeb)
Twitter lost a three-month legal battle and turned over subscriber information for a user indirectly tied to the Occupy Boston movement. The fight to withhold the information has drawn support from the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing one of the people whose information was subpoenead. As we reported in December, Twitter ignored requests from the Suffolk County District Attorney's office to not alert users to its request for information. Twitter's guidelines for law enforcement say the company notifies users when information is requested unless forbidden from doing so by
protest; Graves declined to tell the newspaper how it had dealt with those requests. While Twitter users are allowed to, and often do, sign up anonymously or using aliases, the information could include IP addresses of where updates were made from last fall during the statute or court order. Occupy Boston protest. Sponsor Twitter spokesman Matt Graves "Twitter's recent communication told the Boston Globe that the with our office gave both parties a company had given the D.A.'s clear understanding of what office i n f o r m a t i o n information was relevant to our on@pOisAnON, an account that probe,'' a spokesman for the D.A's is associated with the name of office said in a statement. "We G u i d o F a w k e s a n d i s n o w requested and received only that suspended. The D.A.'s office, information. This is a focused which has not released the focus investigation, not a fishing of the criminal inquiry, had also expedition.'' Photo courtesy of requested information on Shutterstock.com. Discuss the@OccupyBoston and certain hashtags associated with the
Intel website leaks full Ivy Bridge lineup

Kelly Hodgkins (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:27:00 AM
Tim Geithner blasts Wall St for 'amnesia' over financial crisis

Richard Blackden (Finance News - Business news from the UK and world)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:00:33 AM
US Treasury Secretary hits back at criticism of financial reform.
Intel apparently slipped and briefly posted a Spring product list that outed 17 desktop chips and 11 notebook chips. Many of these chips were listed in an earlier leak and could land in Mac and PC hardware this year. The PDF document was pulled from Intel's website, but not before the list was grabbed by ComputerBase. You can check out the list of processors in the
graphics below and get a sneak peek at some of the processors and integrated GPUs that Apple might use in revisions of the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac minis or iMacs. [Via Electronista] Intel website leaks full Ivy Bridge lineup originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Source| Permalink| Email this| Comments
Technology/
33
Square to pilot-test iPads in NYC taxicabs

Michael Rose (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:15:00 AM
Zemlin praises 16 Linux computer: Windows license costs more than four Raspberry Pis
Ryan Paul
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:42:00 AM
While some things about getting around New York haven't changed much -- the subway is still faster than a taxi 95% of the time, and good luck hailing a ride to the outer boroughs on a rainy Friday afternoon -- the technology inside the taxis has been upgraded quite a bit in the past five years. Cab riders in the Big Apple have had the option of paying by credit card since 2008, and they now "enjoy" ride-long backseat video from the local ABC and NBC affiliates playing on an embedded touchscreen display (yes, there's
an off button). That's not the end of the innovation road, however; the commission that administers taxi rules in the city (the TLC) began the RFP process for upgrades to taxi tech almost three years ago. Yesterday, the TLC approved three 30-unit pilot installations of iPads in taxis, replacing the backseat displays. NY1 reports that two of the vendors testing the tablets, VeriFone and CMT, are the same ones who built out the current system. The third is a familiar player in the iOS commerce crowd: Square, known for its trademark white card reader and dead-simple payment process. TLC chief David Yassky
suggests that the new systems may increase rider use of credit cards. The iPads are scheduled to show up on the road in the next two or three weeks. If you find yourself taking a ride with an iPad, let us know. [hat tip to Macgasm] photo by Dave Caolo Square to pilot-test iPads in NYC taxicabs originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Source| Permalink| Email this| Comments
In a blog post written this morning, Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin praised the Raspberry Pi foundation's $35 (22) Linux computer, which met tremendous demand when it launched this week. In his blog post, Zemlin discussed the important role that the Linux platform plays in enabling innovation around lowcost computing.
The Raspberry Pi foundation launched with the aim of building an inexpensive system that could be used to teach computer programming to young students. They developed a pair of bare ARM boards priced at $25 (16) and $35 (22) that include a 700Mhz ARM11 CPU and a 256MB of RAM. The devices are roughly the same size as a deck of playing cards. By: Ryan Paul, Edited by: Dan Smith Continue reading...
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Technology/ Obituaries Culture/
Daily iPad App: Fuze Meeting HD connects to telepresence systems

Michael Rose (TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 12:00:00 PM
The flexible Fuze Meeting web conferencing platform already had a very solid iOS story, with the ability to schedule and start meetings from the iPad (including m u l t i p a r t y H D videoconferencing). Now, with the recently released version 4.0 of the app, the company is building a bridge to corporate high-end conferencing gear. The new app is compatible with Fuze's Hosted Telepresence Connect service, which allows iPad users to join in videoconference sessions with
high-end installed systems from Cisco, Polycom, LifeSize and other vendors. These enterprise conferencing room systems don't come cheap, but adding the iPad clients into the mix expands their flexibility and may increase their
utilization. (If you have to ask: the Telepresence Connect service starts at US$2,000 a month for connection to three endpoint systems.) In addition to the big-ticket feature, the new app version also
includes the ability to start a meeting recording from the iPad, touch annotation of shared documents, and more. The free app paired with a trial Fuze account allows you to test out the meeting functionality; monthly plans start at $29. Daily iPad App: Fuze Meeting HD connects to telepresence systems originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 Adam Pash (Lifehacker) 12:00:00 EST. Please see our Submitted at 3/2/2012 8:30:00 AM terms for use of feeds. Source| Permalink| Email this| It's Friday, which means... You did it! Celebrate in this week's Comments open thread. More
Break Down Boundaries in This Week's Open Thread [Video]
Location-aware iPhone app tells the stories of London's Hackney

Mark Brown
Hackney Hear -- an iPhone app that delivers location-specific
audio clips as you potter through London Fields -- will hit the App Store on 8 March. The app uses the iPhone's GPS to pinpoint your exact location, anywhere in London Fields or
Broadway Market. It will then trigger multiple layers of interviews, archive audio and music as you move through the borough. Stand still to hear more
of a story, or move on to discover something new. By: Mark Brown, Edited by: Nate Lanxon Continue reading...
Co-author of 'broken windows' policing theory dies (AP)

(Yahoo! News: Obituaries)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:12:37 AM
AP - A prominent political scientist whose "broken windows" theory influenced a nationwide
move toward community policing has died at a Boston hospital.
Technology/ Culture/ Policy/
35
Parks Canada to track grizzly bears with GPS

Mark Raby (SlashGear)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:51:56 AM
If Yogi and BooBoo were to relocate from Jellystone to Banff or Yoho National Park in Canada, the ranger would be able to see exactly where ther picnicpilfering adventures took them. In the real world, the parks department in Canada has announced it plans to tag grizzly bears with GPS collars. The organization has cited safety concerns. Safety, that is, for the bears. There have been a number of cases where bears outside the two aforementioned parks were killed
by trains on nearby tracks. By collaring the animals and monitoring their locations, they can help prevent them from wandering in that direction again. The plan calls for around a dozen bears to be collared, whose
movements will be tracked for four years. This comes as a direct response to a joint initiative between Parks Canada and the Canadian Pacific Railway. Theyve devoted $1 million to curb the unfortunate
bear deaths. Fine scale GPS data provides detailed patterns of use that can answer specific questions about how and why bears travel through certain habitats or routes, including the railway tracks, explained Parks Canada biologist Tom Hurd. [ via Edmonton Journal] Parks Canada to track grizzly bears with GPS is written by Mark Raby& originally posted on SlashGear. 2005 - 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Heroes of Their Time - By Shaun Walker

SHAUN WALKER (Foreign Policy)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:14:16 AM
In Russias hinterlands, a small group of disgruntled villagers are staging an odd protest against the government -- but not quite against Putin. BY SHAUN HEROES page 36
What is it like in the eye of a tornado?

Charles W. Bryant (HowStuffWorks Daily Feed)
Dorothy Gale and Toto might be able to tell you. Same with Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt. But aside from in "The Wizard of Oz" and "Twister," has anyone ever been in the eye of a tornado and lived to tell about it? It seems that a couple of people have -- a man in 1928 and another in 1943. We'll get to them on the next page, but
first, let's get into these tornadoes ourselves and see what all the fuss is about. We all know what tornadoes look like, but what are they? The American Meteorological Society's official definition is "a violent rotating column of air, in contact with the ground, either pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud" [source:
American Meteorological Society]. A -tornado forms as a thunderstorm approaches. In the lower atmosphere, increased wind speeds create a horizontal but invisible spinning tube. Once the storm rumbles through, rising air tilts this tube from its horizontal position to the more recognizable vertical funnel shape. From there, tornadoes can have wind speeds up to 300 mph and cause a great
deal of destruction where they touch the Earth. They uproot trees, flatten houses and send cars flying through the air like Frisbees. The sound is often described as a freight train barreling through your home. You can learn more about tornadoes and how they're rated in How Tornadoes Work. So if a tornado can fling a car and turn a house into toothpicks, how in the world can anyone survive
standing in the eye of the beast and what's it like in there? We'll get two firsthand accounts on the next page. 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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HEROES
WALKER| MARCH 2, 2012 LERMONTOV, Russia In a quiet corner of Russia, far, far from the iPad-savvy throngs who have formed the backbone of growing protests in Moscow in recent weeks, a very different protest is going on. Lermontov is a small town of around 20,000 inhabitants, located near the foothills of the Caucasus mountains. The chemical factory on the outskirts of town is the only major employer, and while the mountain air is pleasant, the scruffy two-story buildings that line the streets are mostly in a sorry state of disrepair.The average local salary is 11,000 rubles (about $380) per month, and like many provincial Russian towns, the main goal for young people with even a modicum of ambition is to get out. There is a general understanding, as in hundreds of towns across Russia, that the local authorities and the people in charge are feckless and corrupt, and there is not much that ordinary citizens can do about it. Now, inspired in part by news of mass protests in distant Moscow, unrest has been bubbling over here too. But in Lermontov, named for the iconic Russian poet who was killed in a nearby duel, the scene is a lot more Gogolian than sweeping Russian romanticism. When the 15-person town council, elected a little over a year ago, was disbanded in December - apparently under pressure from the regional governor -- new elections were set for this coming
Sunday, March 4, the same day as the presidential elections that will almost certainly return Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin. The previous councilors were banned from standing in the new vote by the town's court on absurd technicalities. The councilors say it is because the regional governor wants to append Lermontov to the neighboring city of Pyatigorsk, giving him access to plots of municipal land still to be sold off in Lermontov. It is the sort of thing that happens all the time in Russia, where political power means access to juicy financial opportunities, and all manner of dirty tricks are used to ensure that the right people are in the right positions. But the reaction among Lermontov's former councilors has been unusual: Instead of taking it lying down (or, in the manner of 1990s Russia, hiring some contract killers), they decided to go on hunger strike. Eight of them, all former councilors, set up mattresses right in the foyer of the local administration building, rather grandly referred to as the "White House," and said they would not eat a thing until they were put onto the ballot or the elections were postponed. The police were told to remove them but refused to carry out the order, which led Russian media to start talking about a "mini revolution" in Lermontov. When I visited on Feb. 24, it was day five of the hunger strike, and the protesters had agreed to move
to another building, although they insisted they had no intention of giving up the fight. "This is not about Putin," said Valery Belousov, a 57-year old former councilor. "This is about us trying to do something good for our town and being pushed out by corrupt regional authorities. On the whole we support Putin. We don't want to ruin the presidential elections, we only want our local ones to be fair and honest." By its peak, on the morning of March 1, the number of hunger strikers had risen to nearly 40, while three members of the initial contingent have been hospitalized. The Kremlin's regional representative has told them they are heading down a "cul-de-sac," but Belousov said they were still resolved to continue the struggle. On the day I was there, the local prosecutor paid a visit. Afterward he announced to the local media that he suspected the hunger strikers were secretly snacking while nobody was looking. (Although they reacted with outrage, a reporter who visited on day four of the hunger strike caught one of the candidates being slipped a chocolate bar. When confronted, the sheepish donor claimed it was "medicine.") Confusion and posturing was the order of the day. A harried woman came rushing in one afternoon to complain that local television had falsely broadcast that four of the strikers had given up, and chaos broke out when news came that a demonstration in support of the strikers, planned
for Feb. 26, had been canceled by local authorities. (It went ahead anyway, drawing a crowd of up to 2,000 locals backing the strikers.) Perhaps the most surprising episode of all was when Alexander Demyanov, who represents Putin's United Russia party, showed up. A 61-year-old former lieutenant in the Soviet Army, he arrived in full military uniform, fresh from the courtroom where he too had been told his candidacy for the elections was invalid, after he had backed his colleagues from the former council. Mopping rivulets of sweat from his face with a handkerchief, he announced he was going home to get changed and would be joining the hunger strike. "When the Soviet Union was betrayed by its leadership and fell, I promised I would never believe in anything again," he said. "But I believed in Putin, and I joined United Russia. I still believe in Putin. But the behavior of officials on the local level is disgusting." The intrigues of the political wrangling in Lermontov are complex and bewildering, with various accusations flying over unsigned documents, underhand deals, and subversion of regulations. There were all sorts of rumors in town that the hunger strikers had been manipulated by the former mayor, who was just as corrupt as those trying to unseat him, but at least some of the townspeople believed that the council that had been ousted had made a genuine difference.
Anatoly Zavorotynsky, a 61-year -old engineer, said the reason the council had been disbanded was because its members had actually tried to do some good for the local people rather than simply skimming a cream of cash off city coffers for themselves. "These people were trying to do something," he said. "Things changed. I'm sorry, but before, under the previous regime, it was impossible to get into the White House." The older administration, he said, was completely inaccessible, whereas the new council had been responsive, addressing residents' complaints and holding citizen advice meetings in Lermontov's White House. "I'm sorry, but these people were more accessible," said Zavorotynsky. A number of other people mentioned that the recent council had reopened a nearby lake to the public; previously, they said, it had been illicitly rented out for private use. On the whole, the discontent in Lermontov remains on a local level and is confined to issues such as lake access and petty corruption. Zavorotynsky, for one, said that he still plans to vote for Putin in Sunday's election. "If Putin knew what was happening here, I'm sorry, but he would have sent someone to sort it out." Anyone can stand for election to the town council -- all you need is to obtain the signatures of 29 local people supporting your candidacy. Most of those on hunger strike HEROES page 40
Policy/
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The LWOT: Obama Sidesteps NDAA Detainee Provisions - by Jennifer Rowland

JENNIFER ROWLAND (Foreign Policy)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:26:06 AM
BY JENNIFER ROWLAND| MARCH 2, 2012 Obama sidesteps NDAA detainee provision President Barack Obama on February 28 issued guidelines for situations in which the FBI, instead of the military, can retain custody of an al-Qaeda-linked terrorism suspect who is not a U.S. citizen ( AP, AFP, WSJ, CNN, NYT). The new guidelines effectively nullify the detainee provisions in the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act that mandated military custody for any terrorism suspect believed to have ties to al-Qaeda, in a move that angered many of the Republicans who supported the provisions. A Pakistani-born former resident of Baltimore and current Guantnamo Bay detainee, Majid Khan, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to being a courier for al-Qaeda and training to carry out suicide attacks, becoming the first high-value detainee to accept a plea deal, which guarantees Khan a lighter sentence in exchange for his testimony against other terrorist suspects (AP, BBC, NYT, ET, AJE, CNN, Reuters, Post, Miami Herald). The Post's Peter Finn examined on March 1 the impact this plea deal
could have on the debate over
using military commissions to
LWOT: page 39
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Policy/
Talking Points - By Steven J. Rosen

STEVEN J. ROSEN (Foreign Policy)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:12:18 AM
It's time for Barack to reset his relationship with Bibi. Here's how. BY STEVEN J. ROSEN| MARCH 2, 2012 A hallmark of U.S. President Barack Obama's approach to Israel has been to confront Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly about areas of disagreement almost every time they meet. The headlines are always about settlements, occupied territory in Jerusalem, restraining Bibi on Iran, and pushing Israel on borders. Obama's theory seems to be that you have to show daylight with Israel to get progress on peace and win friends in the Muslim world. But what if the president tried the opposite approach? He could begin by using his speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference this coming Sunday, March 4, to build trust and win the confidence of the Israeli government as a foundation for future diplomatic cooperation. What could Obama do to set a new tone? Here are four ideas. 1. Obama should sharpen the message his administration is sending to Iran. Netanyahu believes recent comments by senior U.S. officials cautioning Israel against striking Iranian nuclear sites have reassured the Iranians and encouraged them to
press ahead with their nuclear program. Particularly disturbing were remarks by Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who referred to the Iranian government as a " rational actor" and said an attack by Israel would be "destabilizing" and " not prudent." To restore credibility to the threat that "all options are on the table," what if Obama repeats this weekend the
exact words Senator Obama said at the AIPAC conference in June 2008, during his presidential campaign: "I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Everything in my power. Everything." Hearing those words from a sitting president would be hard to ignore. 2. For more than three years, Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas has refused to sit down with the Israeli prime minister for serious top-level peace talks. In taking this position, Abbas is openly violating the solemn pledge he made in November 2007 in front of the foreign ministers of 47 countries at the Annapolis peace conference. There he said: "We agree to immediately launch good-faith bilateral negotiations [and to]
engage in vigorous, ongoing, and continuous negotiations." Abbas is now ignoring the core commitment his predecessor Yasir Arafat made to then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in September 1993: "The PLO commits itself to the Middle East peace process and declares that all outstanding issues relating to TALKING page 41
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LWOT:
prosecute terrorist suspects versus using civilian courts ( Post). Guantnamo commander Rear Adm. David Woods said on March 1 that a copy of the English-language jihadist magazine Inspire previously reported to have been found in the detention camp never actually made it into the hands of any detainees ( Miami Herald). His statement came as a bit of a surprise because in January a military prosecutor used the presence of the magazine in the camp as justification for Woods' controversial policy of inspecting mail sent to the detainees from their attorneys. Cairo airport authorities mistake man for al-Qaeda leader Authorities at the Cairo International Airport on February 29 arrested a man who arrived from Pakistan by the name Mohammad Ibrahim Makkawi, the same name listed as an alias of al-Qaeda leader Saif al-Adel ( AP, Post, CNN). Egyptian authorities later clarified that Makkawi was not Saif al-Adel, but was wanted for questioning in Egypt over his involvement with an Egyptian jihadist group that fought against the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak in the early nineties. Indian police on February 29
arrested two men accused of planning to bomb public places in the capital city of New Delhi, and alleged to belong to a local terrorist cell sponsored by the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba ( AP, BBC, Hindustan Times, Dawn). Both suspects were identified as Indian nationals, and were carrying explosives and coded messages when they were seized. Authorities in Nairobi are hunting for a woman suspected of planning a terrorist attack against civilians in Mombasa last December, who has used three different identities, including that of Samantha Lewthwaite, the widow of one of the 7/7 London Underground suicide bombers Germaine Lindsey ( Guardian, Independent, Tel, AP). A senior police officer in Nairobi said the woman is "not a small fish," and plays a significant role in an alShabaab-linked terrorist cell in Kenya. Jose Pimentel indicted in state court Jose Pimentel, who was arrested last year as he allegedly got close to completing three pipe bombs he planned to detonate in New York City, has been formally indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan on charges of weapons possession and conspiracy as a
crime of terrorism, authorities said on February 29 ( NYT, Reuters, AFP). Pimentel is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from the Dominican Republic, who converted to Islam and went by the name Muhammad Yusuf, and is described as a "lone wolf" by police. The BBC featured a story on February 29 on the increasing use by U.S. authorities of undercover sting operations to catch suspected terrorists ( BBC). Iraqi refugee Mohaned Shareef Hammadi, who is accused of conspiring to send weapons from the United States to al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), allegedly boasted to a confidential informant about having worked with insurgents in Iraq placing IEDs in order to kill U.S. soldiers, according to an FBI search warrant application obtained by the Associated Press ( AP). Hammadi is scheduled to go on trial in Bowling Green, Kentucky accused of 12 charges on July 30, while his coconspirator Waad Ramadan Alwan pleaded guilty to 23 terrorism-related charges in December, and was to be sentenced on April 3, though his lawyers have requested a sentencing delay ( AP). The New York City Police Department is coming under increasing scrutiny for its secret
surveillance of Muslims living in the Northeast, revealed in a series of articles written by the Associated Press' investigative team, which detail the motivations and tactics involved in police monitoring of mosques, Muslim student groups, and cafes frequented by Muslims ( AP, NPR). Several civil rights groups, as well as government officials, have called for formal investigations into the legality of the NYPD's actions, as it was revealed on February 27 that millions of dollars in White House funds might have been helped pay for the surveillance efforts ( AP). NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly on February 27 defended his department's intelligence program, accusing critics of having "short memories as to what happened here in 2001 ( NYT). And U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on February 28 that the Justice Department will review the allegations to decide whether they warrant an official investigation ( AP). Trials and Tribulations A French court on February 27 tried three men in absentia who are accused of carrying out a gun and grenade attack on a Greek cruise ship in 1988 that killed nine
people, three of whom were French citizens ( AP, AFP). The prosecutor of a U.N.backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik alHariri on March 2 filed a new indictment adding a fifth suspect to the list of Lebanese Hezbollah members thought to be responsible for the attack ( Reuters). Indonesia's top court on February 28 reinstated a 15-year jail term assigned to radical Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who has been a vocal supporter of violent jihad against the United States ( Tel, Jakarta Globe, AFP). 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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HEROES
were bumped from the list by court decisions stating that signatures collected in support of their candidatures had been falsified. Collecting signatures is the bane of the opposition in Russia: The liberal politician Grigory Yavlinsky, who had hoped to stand against Putin in Sunday's presidential elections, was struck off the ballot after the Electoral Commission found that some of the 2 million signatures he was required to submit were forged. He insisted the decision was "totally political." It's a lot easier to detect foul play from the authorities when the matter at stake is 29 signatures, not 2 million. "I know 80 percent of the people in this town. I've lived here for half a century. Why on Earth would I need to falsify signatures?" asked Viktor Kapustin, a 75-year-old Communist who is one of the strikers. In one particularly surreal episode, the candidates said a handwriting specialist told the court that certain signatures had been forged, even as the candidates presented the signatories themselves -- who were more than willing to testify to the court that they were genuine. "We had 29 people outside the court, saying they were ready to swear on God's holy name that they were backing our candidates," Belousov said."But the court was ruling them out because some graphologist said the forms were completed in the same hand."
Such absurdities are straight from the pages of a short story by Nikolai Gogol, and even the names in this provincial saga are exquisitely Gogolian. Among the members of the former council are a Mr. Kapustin (which translates as something like Mr. Cabbageman in English), a Mr. Belousov (Mr. Whitemustache), and a certain Vladimir Tyutyunikov (which means nothing but sounds frankly absurd). The last of these is currently the acting head of the town council, until new elections are held. "People just decided that they didn't want to be treated like cattle any more," said Tyutyunikov, emphasizing that underneath the often amusing peculiarities and the provincial pettiness of the situation, there is a more serious point. "They've always been told that everything will be decided for them, and now they want to take hold of their own destiny." While the protest mood in the town has intensified, many are keen to stress that they are still backing Putin. But when quizzed, their support seems mostly due to a fear of the other options rather than a positive belief in the frontrunner. While there is a good deal of support for the hunger strikers, many people are so disillusioned that they assume all sides are crooked. Still, the number of people getting politically engaged is growing. Even the police in Lermontov seem eager for change, or at least for some excitement. "If only you
could take us back to Moscow with you. I really want to go to the protests there," one of the officers guarding the hunger strikers' building said to me, unexpectedly. I asked if he meant to take part in them or to crush them. "I dunno, I haven't decided yet," he replied. "It would just be so much fun to see all those people together in one place. Nobody ever does anything like that here." "Of course in Lermontov, people's concerns are much more based around local issues," said Ilya Ponomaryov, a Russian Duma deputy who visited the strikers."But the basic reason why people are coming out to protest is the same as it is in Moscow. Nobody there wants a revolution, they just want to have control of the way they live." Although the protesters in Moscow may chant grand slogans of democratic dreams, it is the minutiae of governmental inference that has done much to leave a feeling of anger across Russia, especially with authorities on a more local level. It's the cracks in the road not repaired, the complaints about untidy flower beds unanswered. "The attitude of the regional government is to say, You're trash and your opinions don't matter. We'll decide everything for ourselves,'" Tyutyunikov said. Late in the evening on March 1, the strikers called off their vigil after a visit from Stanislav Govorukhin, the chief of Putin's electoral campaign, who told
them the prime minister had taken an interest in the situation. "We've been promised that the petition from Lermontov citizens is now under the personal control of Vladimir Putin, and in the near future a decision will be taken that complies with the law," the strikers said in a statement calling off the hunger strike. Sure enough, on Mar. 2, the news came that Lermontov's court had satisfied the strikers' main demand and postponed the local election until May, allowing time for the strikers to prove the court had acted illegally in kicking them off the ballot. For now, Putin is still able to play the "good Tsar, bad nobles" card and step in as savior. But even in Lermontov there are some who are beginning to believe the regional injustices occur because of -- and not in spite of -- the system Putin has developed. "Of course, given my position as an acting official, I wouldn't want to make any comment on that," Govorukhin said with a knowing smile. "But they do say that a fish rots from the head downwards." 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.
Brain injury in high-def with fiber tracking

(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:00:00 AM
New imaging technology will allow doctors to clearly see for the first time neural connections broken by traumatic brain injury. Called High Definition Fiber Tracking, the technology shows injuries much like X-rays show a fractured bone, according to researchers from the University of Pittsburgh in a report published online in the Journal of Neurosurgery. In the report, the researchers describe the case of a 32-year-old man who wasnt wearing a helmet when his all-terrain vehicle crashed. Initially, his CT scans showed bleeding and swelling on the right side of the brain, which controls left-sided body movement. Full story at Futurity. More research news from top universities. Photo credit: Walt Schneider Laboratory Permalink| Leave a comment
Culture/
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TALKING
permanent status will be resolved through negotiations." And he is defying the Middle East Quartet's appeal of March 2010, which called for "the resumption, without preconditions, of direct bilateral negotiations that resolve all final status issues as previously agreed by the parties." On more than 13 occasions, Obama and his top officials have publicly rebuked Netanyahu on points of disagreement. Not once has any Obama official similarly remonstrated with Abbas. This Sunday is an opportunity for Obama to restore some balance in how he assigns blame for the sorry state of the peace process. It is time to single out Abbas's refusal to negotiate with Israel. 3. At last year's AIPAC conference, Obama upset Netanyahu by pressing Israel to accept the 1967 borders with land swaps as a starting line for negotiations. This year, Obama could restore some balance by bringing up a final status issue for which he believes the Palestinian camp needs to take a similar forward step. He could call on Abbas to acknowledge that it is
unrealistic to expect that the 5 million people now registered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency as Palestinian refugees will be "returning" to Israel (where, in any case, more than 90 percent never lived). Yes, Palestinians will find this upsetting as a rejection of their "narrative," but no more so than Israelis when they are told that the lands of their ancestors are occupied territory that rightfully belongs to the Arabs. And it would support the administration's plan, announced in June 2011, to get both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government to adopt Obama's principles " as a basis for negotiation." 4. George W. Bush's administration announced in July 2002 that it would veto one-sided anti-Israel U.N. Security Council resolutions, a policy known as the Negroponte Doctrine. The Obama administration has never revealed whether the United States remains committed to this doctrine. As a presidential candidate, Obama wrote to Zalmay Khalilzad, then Bush's ambassador to the United Nations, urging him to "ensure
that the Security Council issue no statement and pass no resolution" that fails to blame the Arab side for the attacks that provoke Israeli responses. "The Security Council should make clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against such actions," Obama wrote. "If it cannot bring itself to make these common sense points, I urge you to ensure that it does not speak at all." Obama's ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, said in July 2010 that the United States would "combat all international attempts to challenge the legitimacy of Israel -including and especially at the United Nations." In February 2011 she said the United States was vetoing a unilateral statehood resolution because it "could encourage the parties to stay out of negotiations and, if and when they did resume, to return to the Security Council whenever they reach an impasse." At AIPAC on Sunday, Obama could add deterrent value to these principles by pledging that the United States will veto all one-sided resolutions against Israel at the Security Council.
If Obama decides to work with Netanyahu, instead of confronting him, the president might get some surprising results. Unlike Israeli leaders from the left, prime ministers from Netanyahu's center -right Likud party who are prepared to take bold steps -- like Menachem Begin giving up the Sinai or Ariel Sharon disengaging from Gaza -- might not advertise in advance the concessions they are willing to consider. It is time to recognize that Netanyahu is the Israeli people's clear choice to lead their nation, and the president of the United States does better when it works with him than when it works against 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.
What is the future of your music collection?

(HowStuffWorks Daily Feed)
Will cloud storage change the way you collect and store your music collection? Join John as he explores the advantages and disadvantages of digital music collections -- and how this may change the...(more info) Will cloud storage change the way you collect and store your music collection? Join John as he explores the advantages and disadvantages of digital music collections -- and how this may change the future of music altogether. 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.
Mila Kunis Rises Early For a Dior Show

Allie Merriam (PopSugar)
Mila Kunis reported to Dior's Fall 2012 show today during Paris Fashion Week, as did Olivia Palermo and supermodel Natalia
Vodianova. She headed to France to participate in the stylish fun as the current face of the brand's Miss Dior handbag line. Mila's in good company working with Dior, a company that also has contracts with her Black Swan
costar Natalie Portman and even
Charlize Theron. Mila shot a Dior ad yesterday, during some time away from the catwalk. She's one of the many celebrities checking out the presentations, along with Kristen Stewart, Salma Hayek, and more. Kristen Stewart
attended Balenciaga, while Salma's made the rounds at shows and parties with her fashion mogul husband Franois-Henri Pinault. View Slideshow
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Economy/
Barclays Debunks The Greatest 'Urban Legend' Of The Labor Market

Joe Weisenthal (Money Game)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:28:05 AM
The unemployment rate has been falling precipitously over the past several months, from 9.1% last summer, to 8.3% as of the January reading. There's a good chance it will fall to 8% or lower very soon. But the unemployment rate these days always seems to carry with it an asterisk, because detractors like to point to this number: The Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate. The number of people involved working or looking for a job just keeps falling as a percentage of the overall population, so they say the unemployment rate is a foul number, distorted by the fact that in this economy, so many people have just given up. James Pethokoukis at AEI has argued that the "real" unemployment rate is actually 11%, a number that would make Obama's economic record looks really dismal. And though Pethokoukis generally writes from a conservative angle, we should note that it's actually not just an anti-Obama thing. Lots of people from across the spectrum worry that the official Unemployment Rate is bunk, and that it's masking All that being said, people are a much deeper jobs crisis. aware that there are two sides to
the question. Part of it is, as Pethokoukis
would argue, is people have given up attempts to find a job
BARCLAYS page 44
Economy/
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Public Pension Ponzi Scheme; New York Cities Borrow From Pension Plan to Make Contributions
noreply@blogger.com (Mike Mish Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)
In the worst possible form of kicking the can down the road, at the worst possible time as well (given the lofty overvalued condition of the stock market), To Pay New York Pension Fund, Cities Borrow From It First. When New York State officials agreed to allow local governments to use an unusual borrowing plan to put off a portion of their pension obligations, fiscal watchdogs scoffed at the arrangement, calling it irresponsible and unwise. And now, their fears are being realized: cities throughout the state, wealthy towns such as Southampton and East Hampton, counties like Nassau and Suffolk, and other public employers like the Westchester Medical Center and the New York Public Library are all managing their rising pension bills by borrowing from the very same $140 billion pension fund to which they owe money. Across New York, state and local governments are borrowing $750 million this year to finance their contributions to the state pension
system, and are likely to borrow at least $1 billion more over the next year. The number of municipalities and public institutions using this new borrowing mechanism to pay off their annual pension bills has tripled in a year. Public pension funds around the country assume a certain rate of return every year and, despite the market gains over the last few years, are still straining to make up for steep investment losses incurred in the 2008 financial crisis, requiring governments to contribute more to keep pension systems afloat. Nationwide, the cost of public retiree benefits has soared in recent years, and states including California, Connecticut and Illinois have been borrowing to pay, or even deferring, their pension bills. Many states are worse off than New York. New Jersey is still paying off bonds issued in 1997 to close a hole in its pension system. But New York appears to be unusual in allowing public employers to borrow from the states pension system to finance their annual contributions to that system. In Poughkeepsie, which is
contributing $3.6 million into the state pension system this year and borrowing nearly $800,000, Mayor John C. Tkazyik, a Republican, said rising pension costs and new federal accounting requirements for retiree health coverage could have dire consequences. It could bankrupt the city, Mr. Tkazyik said, adding that the city had cut its work force, to 367 from 418 employees, in four years as it struggled to compensate. Perverted Math Only with the most perverted actuarial math can anyone fund a pension plan by borrowing from it. Unfortunately, it's not just cities that are borrowing money from plans to fund them. New York state borrowed $575 million in the current fiscal year, and $782 million in the next, under Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's proposed budget. The True One Percent The following video may come across as a bit over-the-top in terms of presentation, but the examples are accurate. Link if video does not play: Government Employees: The True 1% Public Pension Ponzi Scheme
As I have commented on numerous occasions, defined benefit pension plans are going to bankrupt numerous cities and states. Several smaller cities have already gone bankrupt over union salaries and pensions. Numerous other cities are on deck. The public pension Ponzi scheme will fly apart as soon as one major city declares bankruptcy to get those pension benefits tossed out in court. Realistically speaking, numerous cities such as Los Angeles, Houston, and San Diego are already bankrupt, as are second tier cities like Oakland, Newark, Cincinnati, and Baltimore and others too numerous to list, they just have not admitted it yet. Simply put, pension promises have been made that cannot and will not be kept. In the meantime, defined benefit plans need to end, city services privatized or eliminated, DavisBacon and prevailing wages laws scrapped, national right-to-work laws implemented, and at the top of the list, collective bargaining of public union workers need to stop immediately. It's time to abolish collective bargaining, a practice that makes slaves out of everyone. I make the
case in ... Collective Bargaining neither a Privilege nor a Right Paul Krugman, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, others, Ignore Extortion, Bribery, Coercion, and Slavery; No One Should Own You! Clearly, huge battles loom over these issues. Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http:// www.sitkapacific.com/ account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.
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Culture/
BARCLAYS
completely, and are apparently planting themselves on the couch of relative, or just burning through their savings or doing whatever they can do to survive without income. But there's also a demographic component. Back in December, Bill McBride at Calculated Risk pointed out that Great Recession aside, demographers had already been calling for a decline in the participation rate. This chart plots the current participation rate against predictions that were made by researchers in 2002 and 2006. As you can see, the decline in workforce participation was never in doubt, so if you're trying to calculate the "real" unemployment rate simply by holding the participation rate fixed from some point in time, you've already erred. All of this is a long way of getting to the fact that Barclays economists Dean Maki, Troy Davig, and Peter Newland have a brand new paper called Dispelling An Urban Legend, which blasts the idea that labor force participation is mostly being dragged down by depressed workforce exiles. Instead it's really mostly about the
demographics. Specifically, they write: Consistent with our view, only a third of the drop in the labor force participation rate is accounted for by those who say they want a job, and only about 15% by those who want a job and are also of prime working age (ie, 25-54). Thus, we view the possibility of a large and sudden return of previously discouraged job seekers to the labor force as remote. Why are Maki, Davig, and Newland so confident that this is really a demographic story? A really big part is this chart: As a share of the total population, those aged 55 or older have jumped by nearly 5% in a decade. The big loser demographic was the 35-44 year old cohort, which is the prime working age population, and which saw its share of the population drop 4%. Still, how do we know that the people who have left the workforce don't really want to get back in? Well, the BLS asks them: DO YOU WANT A JOB? And the vast majority say: NO. From Barclays again: Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that tracks individuals not in the labor force supports our view that
structural factors are the primary explanation for the decline in participation, as it suggests that the majority of those not in the labor force do not want a job. Figure 8 illustrates this point (note that all numbers are expressed as a percentage of the civilian population (ie, 16 and over). The labor force participation rate fell by 2.1pp between Q4 2007 and Q4 2011. Of this, 1.4pp reflects those who no longer want a job and 0.7pp who do want a job; this provides a proxy for how much of the decline in labor force participation has been structural (ie, permanent) and how much has been cyclical (ie, temporary). In turn, of those who no longer want a job, more than half of the increase in the share of those not in the labor force has been in the 55+ age cohort. Of those who dropped out of the labor force since Q4 2007, only 34.5% are classified as wanting a job, and only 14.7% want a job and are of prime working age (ie, 25-54). We see the 0.7pp rise since Q4 07 in those workers who are not in the labor force, but have said they want a job, as consistent with the current cyclical gap we estimated in the previous section. The fact that the majority of those who fall in the no longer want a
job category are in the 55+ age bracket suggests a significant move into retirement. This is consistent with the rise in the proportion of the population receiving social security benefits for retired workers. They go into things a lot more, with all kinds of econometrics, but the bottom line is: There's been a big demographic shift, and most of the people who have left the workforce do not want a job. Yes, the phenomenon of labor force exile is real, but not enough to discount the improvement in the jobs market. Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story See Also: CHART: Actually, U.S. Unemployment Is Not That Bad CHART OF THE DAY: Life Is Just More Volatile In America CHART OF THE DAY: It's Pretty Obvious What's Driving Unemployment
How to Find the Perfect Linux Distribution for You [Linux]

Whitson Gordon (Lifehacker)
Linux is a badass open-source operating system. Take it from a card-carrying Linux lover. But it's not without problems. One such problem: There are nearly six hundred different versions of Linux out therean incredibly overwhelming number to even the most experienced of Linux users. If you've tinkered with Linux a bit and want to move beyond the basics, here's how to narrow down that selection and find the distribution that fits your needs. More
Economy/
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President Obama's Lies Regarding U.S. Dependency On Foreign Oil

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Mish Shedlock) (Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis)
The Los Angeles times notes Obama, chart in hand, presses his case on gas prices As rising gas prices are putting pressure on politicians to act, President Obama called on Congress to vote quickly to eliminate subsidies for the oil industry, returning to a favorite target the president. Obama repeated his case, outlined in a speech last week, that there is "no silver bullet" to rising gas prices. He highlighted his administration's effort to reduce dependence on foreign oil and boost development of alternative energy. This week he introduced a new prop to illustrate his point. As Obama spoke, a chart popped up on television screens behind him. The graph showed U.S. dependence on foreign oil falling since 2005 -- from 60% of net imports to 45% in 2011. The White House handed out copies to the crowd. Obama told them to take it home -- "it makes for a great conversation piece at
parties." "Now, one reason our dependence on foreign oil is down is because of policies put in place by our administration and my predecessors administration. And whoever succeeds me will have to keep it up." Really? No, Not Really? The Facts show that President Obama is disingenuous at best, and a blatant liar at worst. I lean towards the latter. Reader Tim Wallace provides charts to prove it. Petroleum Distillates Usage click on chart for sharper image That looks pretty good, doesn't it? But what the heck does it have to do with reduction in foreign demand, and more importantly, Obama's role (or lack thereof) in achieving those gains. For the answer to those most pertinent questions, let's display the usage in terms of foreign demand. Petroleum Distillates Percentage Usage Chart Explanations Reader Tim Wallace writes ... Hello Mish I almost went apoplectic today reading on line that the President
precise, foreign petroleum usage in his administration went from 37% to a peak of 41% last year, currently at 39.9%. The only way Obama can take credit for the decline in consumption caused by the recession, is to take credit for the recession itself. Mike "Mish" Shedlock h t t p : / / globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot. com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an is now claiming to have cut our Of more interest is the fact that asset management firm whose dependency on foreign oil, and although the amount of foreign oil goal is strong performance and that the US has imported less each has declined, it has grown as a low volatility, regardless of year of his Presidency. percentage of our overall supply. market direction. Visit http:// Foreign oil imports have indeed During the Obama Presidency we w w w . s i t k a p a c i f i c . c o m / d r o p p e d t h r o u g h o u t h i s have become more dependent on account_management.html to learn more about wealth Presidency, but as the attached foreign oil, not less! charts show, there is a reason for His entire speech was management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka that drop - a tremendous decline d i s i n g e n u o u s a t b e s t . in USA usage overall. This is Tim There you have it. President Pacific. because of a declining economy, Obama absolutely did not cut N O T b e c a u s e o f " a l t e r n a t e dependency on foreign oil. In fact, sources" or any of the other lies foreign oil dependency rose from t o s s e d o u r w a y b y t h e roughly 37% to 40% under his government. administration. To be more
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Economy/
THe FeDeRaL ReSeRVe FiRe DePaRTMeNT...

williambanzai7
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:58:58 AM
FIREMAN TIM My wife looks up from the newspaper with bewilderment at another story about people in the financial world or their lobbyists complaining about Wall Street Fire codes. Four years ago, on an evening in
March 2008, I received a call from Jimmy Con the CEO of Bear Stearns informing me that they had a giant toxic inferno in their building. Bear Stearns was the smallest of the major Wall Street fire traps, but it was deeply entwined in financial markets and had the perfect mix of innovative flammables.
When the CEO of Bear Stearns called that night, it was not because I was his firm's supervisor or regulator, his mistress or his poker partner, but because I was then the head of the Federal Reserve Fire Department of New York, which serves as the volunteer fire department for Wall Street. The financial fire regulations in
the law at that moment were as tragically antiquated and weak as they are today. Neither the Fed, nor any other federal agency, has the necessary comprehensive fire code enforcement authority over Ponzi tinderboxes like Bear Stearns, hazardous waste operations like AIG, governmentsponsored chemical waste dumps like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
and financial arsonists like Goldman Sachs. Fire Code Regulators such as myself did not have the mental bandwith they needed to oversee and impose prudent fire safety practices on large nonbank financial institutions. And they had no authority to extinguish FEDERAL page 48
Economy/ Culture/
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OOPS: Wynn Announces Approval For Huge New Casino, Then Takes It Back (WYNN)
Eric Platt (Money Game)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:37:00 AM
SECOND UPDATE: Wynn Resorts mistakenly filed a claim with the SEC regarding approval of a land deal in Cotai this morning, news that sent shares more than six percent higher. However an amended 8-K filing with the SEC that followed later in the morning shows that the announcement was premature and the Government Printing Bureau in Macau, which prints the Official Gazette, had yet to publicly grant approval. "On March 2, 2012, a Current Report regarding the gazetting of the Cotai Land Concession Contract on Form 8-K (the Land Concession 8-K) was filed by mistake by the Company's agent. The filing was not authorized by the Company. The Cotai Land Concession Contract has not been gazetted. The purpose of this filing is to retract the Land Concession 8-K in its entirety," the company said in a report. Trading in Wynn was halted on the news but rallied higher after 11:55 a.m.
The announcement covers a strip of land sitting between Coloane and Taipa islands in Macau that Wynn Resorts hopes to develop into the largest casino and resort on the island. UPDATE: Shares in Wynn Resorts have surged six percent following strong results out of its Macau division and news that it had made progress on plans to develop a second resort on the island.
The company's subsidiary Palo Real Estate Co. Ltd. was granted an initial 25-year lease to construct operations on the Cotai strip, a newly reclaimed area between Coloane and Taipa islands in Macau. Wynn Macau, a second Wynn subsidiary, will manage gaming operations there. Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau also announced that revenues in the region soared 22 percent in
February, even as a calendar shift put the Chinese New Year in January. Sales topped MOP24.29 billion, or $3.04 billion, during the month, with year-to-date results up 28 percent. Wynn shares were halted at 10:18 a.m. before the announcement. ORIGINAL: Wynn Resorts shares have been halted pending an announcement. More to come. Recently Wynn has made headlines over an ongoing dispute within its board, and the company ousted company co-founder Kazuo Okada. Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story See Also: Here Are 6 Stocks Making Huge Moves Today Wynn Resorts BEATS On Earnings, But Revenue Growth In Macau And Las Vegas Falls Short Of Expectations ANSWERED: Should You Send A Handwritten Or Email Thank You Note After An Interview?
Happy 30th Birthday, Jessica Biel - See Her Hottest Bikini Pictures!
Lauren Turner (PopSugar)
Jessica Biel turns 30 tomorrow! The actress, who recently became engaged to Justin Timberlake, works hard for her super hot body and shows it off on the red carpet. She really flaunts her fit form, though, when she steps out in a two-piece. She's worn sexy bikinis in magazines, at the beach, and on yachts, and we've rounded up some of the best moments click through to see them all! Fame/Flynet View Slideshow
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Economy/ Culture/
Guest Post: If This Is Such a Strong Economy, Why Does This Chart Look Recessionary?
Tyler Durden
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:05:51 AM
Submitted by Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds If This Is Such a Strong Economy, Why Does This Chart Look Recessionary? Is the U.S. really a post-oil economy? One way to gauge the real economy is to look at charts of the GDP, wages, household debt and the price of oil; another way is to correlate all of these on one chart. The following chart (courtesy of frequent contributor B.C.) plots these four metrics thusly: GDP/ (wages/household debt)/price of oil. What pops out of the chart is what happens when oil spikes higher or declines. In 1973, the first oil shock sent the economy off a cliff. Conversely, when oil fell to $12/barrel in the late 1990s while wages were rising strongly, the plotline peaked, reflecting a strong economy. In 2008, oil spiked to $140/barrel in 2008, household debt reached record heights and wages began stagnating, and the economy fell into a sharp recession. When oil
Should You Send a Handwritten or Email Thank You Note After a Job Interview? [Ask The Readers]
Melanie Pinola (Lifehacker)
A quick, effective thank you note sent to your interviewer reinforces your interest in the job and may help him or her remember you better from the giant pool of applicants. But you might wonder whether you should pen or email your thanks. More plummeted back to $40/barrel in early 2009, the plotline spiked up. When oil prices and household debt are high while wages stagnate or decline, the economy sinks to recessionary levels. Here are B.C.'s observations: This chart utterly discredits the economics profession and those who claim that the post-industrial economy ("deindustrialization" and "financialization") is not oilconstrained and the service economy is what the rest of the world should adopt as the normative standard at $100+/ barrel oil. The current plotline is hovering just above the recessionary levels of late 2008. Does this reflect a strong economy, or one that is weak? If oil keeps climbing, what will that do to a visibly weak economy? The Bulls are convinced that the U.S. has decoupled from the rest of the world and from the price of oil. This chart makes the opposite case: the price of oil matters, especially when wages are declining and household debt is elevated. Average: Your rating: None Average: 4.4( 14 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.
FEDERAL
fires at these firms, or bank holding companies. The fire safeguards on banks were much tougher than those applied to any other part of the financial waste origination and storage system, but even those provisions were not strong enough to prevent the mother of all blazing asset backed /derivative kahunas. The failure to modernize the FEDERAL page 49
Culture/ Featured/
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FEDERAL
financial fire safety system sooner is the most important reason why this financial wildfire was more severe than any since the Great Depression, and why it has been so hard to extinguish the fires of the crisis. Our failure to implement safety reforms is why the crisis has caused gross domestic product to fall at an annual rate of 9% in the last quarter of 2008; why millions of Americans lost their jobs, homes, businesses and savings; why the housing market is still so far from recovery; and why our national debt has grown so significantly. In order to calm the sheeple, President Obama asked Congress to create the appearance of fire reforms quickly, even though no one in office seems to know how
to put the fires out and even if they did who would pay them to do so? Put simply, The DoddFrank Wall Street Fire Code Reform and TBTF Protection Act, signed into law by the president on July 21, 2010 is a flame retarded regulatory farce. Four years after the financial wild fires began to unfold, some people seem to be suffering from amnesia about how close America is to complete financial conflagration under the outdated regulatory system we now have. May I say Lloyd, no small feat to deliver. My wife occasionally looks up from the newspaper with bewilderment while reading another story about the proliferating wild fires in the
financial world and says: "WTF are you doing everyday numb nuts?" To this I confidently reply...absolutely nothing. Tim Geithner Average: Your rating: None Average: 5( 3 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.
Wills Wrong
William Kristol (The Weekly Standard)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:05:00 AM
The estimable George Will is almost ready to hoist the white flag on the 2012 presidential election. Neither Mitt Romney nor Rick Santorum, he writes in his column for this Sunday (an advance copy of which was obtained by Politico), seems likely to be elected. And while conservatives, Will advises, should vote for whichever is nominated, there may well come a point when conservatives turn their energies to a goal much more attainable than . . . electing
Romney or Santorum president. It is the goal of retaining control of the House and winning control of the Senate. . . . [C]onservatives this year should have as their primary goal making sure Republicans wield all the gavels in Congress in 2013.
Video: Darpa's Robo-Arm, Now Taking Phone Calls

Katie Drummond (Wired Top Stories)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:30:00 AM
Sure, the militarys got plenty of crazy robots in development. But only one of em can take phone calls and carry your luggage all by itself. The robot on display in the video above is being developed by Darpa, the Pentagons blue-sky research agency, as part of their Autonomous Robotic
Manipulation (ARM) program. Launched in 2010, the initiative aims to come up with robots that can perform highly complex tasks (bomb dismantling, for one) with very little human input. Okay, so the ARM bot isnt exactly ready to replace a bomb squad but she just might make a pretty good secretary. Only two years into development, the robot as shown in the video can perform 18 different tasks, including stapling papers and
opening doors, with complete autonomy. How? By using an array of cameras, embedded sensors and ultra-sophisticated software that integrate vision, force and tactile sensing. In other words, these robots are designed to use senses that are extremely akin to our own seeing a cup, feeling the shape of a bag to perform a variety of tasks. That kind of integration is whats poised to make the ARM robot so damn remarkable. Right now,
robots can accomplish some pretty impressive feats jumping over 24-foot fences, or hauling 400 pounds through the wilderness but typically they rely on a lot of input from a human operator. The ARM robot, Darpa hopes, will need little more than high-level instruction before venturing off to complete a mission. Next up for the ARM project are more complex, complete tasks. Like opening a bag and finding
the hidden gun. Or pouring you a scotch and adding just the right amount of ice. 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/
200 Milliseconds Can Mean Life Or Death For High Frequency Traders
Rob Wile (Money Game)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:02:18 AM
Speed, or lack thereof, kills. In one of the first studies to quantify the opportunity cost of slow algorithmic trades, Martin L. Scholtus and Dick van Dijk of the Erasmus University Rotterdam found that on an average trading day, a delay of 200 milliseconds can result in significant missed opportunities. Setting up 27,424 technical trading rules for the S&P 500, NASDAQ 100 and Russell 2000 indexes, the researchers compared the difference in performance for optimal trades executed instantly versus those executed at delayed intervals. Trades executed after 200 miliseconds underperformed the instant trades by 3% on average. And after 1 second? Forget it. "About 85% of all improvements to the best bid or ask (BBA) quote are either removed or fully executed within 1 second for (the S&P 500)," the researchers write.
iFoodstamps
Tyler Durden
The figure was 60% for NASDAQ and 70% for the Russell 2000. On days with low volatility, a delay of just 50 miliseconds can prove costly. Here are the graphs that prove it: Please follow Clusterstock on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story See Also:
SEC Sues Quant Over An Undisclosed Error In His Trading Algorithm The Pressure Is On These 4 Goldman Traders To Boost Trading Revenue Next Quarter Check Out The Sanitary Canal Where Divers Recovered Citadel's Secret Trading Info
But it's not all good news for iCommunism: as of December the benefit per household has dropped Think Apple is the only thing to a series low of just $280.5. One allowed to hit new records every can only hope this money is being month? Think again: presenting spent on edible iPads and not on iFoodstamps - the number of silly things such as iPot. Americans living in poverty (or at Finally, for the supreme least doing a damn good job of d e f i n i t i o n o f i r o n y : f o o l i n g t h e g o v e r n m e n t i n Average: pretending they do). As of Your rating: None Average: 4( 4 December, per SNAP this number votes) just hit another record high of This entry passed through the 46.5 million, an increase of Full-Text RSS service if this is 384,000 in one month (and ending your content and you're reading it the trend of declines from October on someone else's site, please read and November), 2.4 million in the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content2011 (about as many as have only/faq.php#publishers. Five dropped out of the Labor force, Filters recommends: Donate to hmmmm), and 14.3 million since Wikileaks. Obama took office.
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:12:52 AM
Culture/
51
New Archaeological Discovery Questions Jesus' Bodily Resurrection

(Christianpost.com > Most Popular)
February 29, 2012| 2:53 pm (Photo: The Christian Post / Luiza Oleszczuk) Replicas of two ossuaries (bone boxes) discovered on a site in Jerusalem, which some scientists believe to be tombs related to Jesus Christ and his family. Here seen presented at Discovery Times Square in New York during a press conference on Feb. 28, 2012. The originals remain at the site and it is impossible to remove them at the time, the scientists said. The team of scientists, lead by biblical scholar James Tabor and documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, co-authors of the newly released book, The Jesus Discovery: The New Archaeological Find that Reveals the Birth of Christianity, claim the newly explored sealed tomb dating to the 1st century CE, is proof that the nearby tomb discovered a year earlier contains Jesus' remains. Tabor and Jacobovici believe the new tomb, which they explored in 2010 with a robotic camera, is closely tied to another nearby tomb referred to as the "Jesus Family Tomb" or the "Garden Tomb." The tomb was first uncovered by construction work
in 1981, but religious reasons did not allow exploration. In a 2007 documentary, Jacobovici claimed that the "Jesus Family Tomb" ossuaries had once contained the remains of Jesus and his family. The tomb contained ossuaries with inscriptions containing the names Jesus, Mary, Joseph close to each other. That is little likely to be coincidental, the scientists said, even though at the time some scholars dismissed these claims, saying the names were mere coincidence. Dr. Ben Witherington, New Testament professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, had noted at the release of the 2007 documentary that the names etched on the ossuaries are extremely common place. For example, the name Mary was the most popular female name during that time and place, while the name "Jesus" was popular in the first century and appeared in 98 other tombs and on 21 other ossuaries. Nevertheless, the scientists believe that the "Jesus Family Tomb" is located on the land once belonging to Joseph of Arimathea, who, according to Scriptures, had Christ's body placed in his own tomb. Like us on Facebook Now, the newly explored tomb,
located only 200 feet from the "Jesus Family Tomb," "ups the likelihood" that the theory is correct, Tabor told The Christian Post. The tomb contains several ossuaries that have images and inscriptions related to Jesus' resurrection, Christianity, and what the authors suggest is the first image of a Christian cross. During a Tuesday press conference in New York at Discovery Times Square, the authors pointed to inscriptions on the bone boxes as evidence. One of them carries the sign of a fish, which the scientists interpreted as a reference to Old Testament prophet Jonah, and associated with Jesus' death and burial. The same box shows an inscription scientists say suggests resurrection and what looks like a sign of cross. "Whether it's a Christian cross or not, normally if you find a cross like creation on an ossuary most scholars would say 'Well, it's not necessarily a cross, it could represent a gate or a doorway,' something like that, but with the Jonah image, I think there is more of a likelihood for it to be a cross," Tabor told CP. The sign of Jonah makes the discovery easier to interpret, he claims, because Jesus is quoted as saying, in Matthew 12, "as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish
for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights." "Everything was done properly, scientifically," Tabor insisted during Tuesday's press conference at Discovery Times Square. (Photo: The Christian Post / Luiza Oleszczuk) Documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici recounts the discovery of what he and a few other experts claim to be bone boxes coming from Jerusalem tombs related to Jesus Christ and the early history of Christianity, at Discovery Times Square in New York during a press conference on Feb. 28, 2012. The findings are the earliest testimony of faith in the resurrection of Jesus, pre-dating the oldest known copy of the New Testament Gospel and even the Gospels themselves, the scientists claim. The carvings are believed to be the earliest Christian symbols ever discovered, and have been in the tombs for the past 2,000 years. They are "the m o s t i m p o r t a n t archaeological find since the Dead Sea Scrolls," Jacobovici said Tuesday. Tabor and Jacobovici's theory is controversial, especially since the scientists believe they might have discovered Jesus' bones in one of
the ossuaries. That theory goes against the belief of most Christians that Jesus appeared bodily to his disciples after the resurrection, and ate with them before finally ascending to heaven, as explained in the Gospels. One of the disciples is recorded in the Bible to have also touched the nail prints on Jesus' hands. Furthermore, the scientists believe that there is a possibility that in the same tomb and next to the remains believed to be Jesus' are bones that might have belonged to Mary Magdalene. Still, Tabor argues, the discovery does not necessarily go against Christian faith. "What I encourage people to do is take these tombs one at a time," Tabor told CP. "This tomb, rather than being a threat to Christians, i s a n a m a z i n g archaeological evidence for early Christians recording their faith in Jesus' resurrection." Therein comes the question of the meaning of "resurrection," he said. "Does it mean getting a new spiritual body? That's been debated by Jews and Christians for centuries what kind of body will the resurrection body be? It doesn't necessarily involve the old body, especially if the old body NEW page 55
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Culture/
Bishop Joseph Walker III Accused of Sexual Assault by 4 Women

(Christianpost.com > Most Popular)
(Photo: Mt. Zion Baptist Church) Bishop Joseph Warren Walker, III of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn., has been accused by four women in a lawsuit of sexual assault and at least one forced abortion. March 1, 2012| 11:20 am Four former female parishioners sued the pastor and five other leaders for "clerical malpractice" and a "conspiracy [to] recruit young women for purposes of sexual, psychological and spiritual exploitation," local media reported. The women are suing for $5 million, according to local news station WTVF-TV. The women allege they were sexually exploited and abused during counseling sessions sponsored by Mt. Zion Baptist Church, and that church leaders recruited women for exploitation and sex for nearly 10 years. Mount Zion is one of Nashville's largest churches with some 25,000 members and growing at a
phenomenal rate of over 1,800 members per year, according to the church's website. Walker started his ministry at the church in 1992. Only one of the accusers has revealed herself, while the others have chosen to remain anonymous. The name of one of the accused church leaders, other than Walker, was also revealed. The Christian Post did not manage to immediately contact Walker or his church for a comment. However, the Davidson County Courts' clerk confirmed to CP that the lawsuit is on file. Like us on Facebook The plaintiff who went public, Valencia Batson, spoke to WTVF Wednesday. She said she believes it was time for her to "say something." She emphasized she does not care for the money that might potentially result from the lawsuit, but about the safety of any woman who is in the church now or who "can't move forward with her life." Batson reportedly declined to comment about specifics like times and dates of the alleged assaults or the nature of the
evidence against the church. Both Batson and her attorney reportedly said they fear for their safety after filing the lawsuit. But Batson's attorney said they have made no reports of any threats. Mount Zion issued a statement to the media saying: "The only thing this action demonstrates is that anyone can sue, sometimes anonymously, no matter how ridiculous the claims or how sensational the charges." It is "truly sad that a church and its leaders can be attacked with such shocking and ugly charges," the church officials said, adding that they were convinced the plaintiffs are looking to win financial gains from the lawsuit. "It appears this action is not a quest for truth or justice, but instead solely for money." One of the accused church leaders, Pastor Kerry Bryant, who is no longer with the church after working there for 20 years, has also issued a statement, calling the accusations false and expressing his conviction that the plaintiffs look for financial gains, reported WTVF. As no specific places, events,
times or dates are noted in the lawsuit, observers wonder if it will be able to stand up in court. The Mount Zion congregation, as well as Walker's wife, Stephanie Walker, have been supportive of the pastor. Mrs. Walker spoke to the congregation Sunday. "Please don't mistake these tears for tears of sadness. I absolutely love my husband and support him in every way," she said, as quoted by MSNBC. Walker reportedly addressed the issue in the Sunday sermon himself. "And I said, 'Then Lord, why now,'" he said, as quoted by MSNBC. "And the Lord said, 'Because you've been encouraging marriages and empowering young people. You've got 2,000 men praying at the altar and you ask, 'Why now?'" Walker is one of the region's most popular pastors. Next to being a spiritual leader, he is also a counselor, philanthropist, community activist and author who penned several books on marriage and relationships, including Love and Intimacy. In 2010, Walker and his wife founded the Dr. Joseph &
Stephaine Walker Foundation, a nonprofit aiming to help people "help themselves and those around them lead productive and satisfying lives." Walker also launched in 2001 a community project "committed to low- and moderate-income families and to community economic development," called the New Level Community Development Corporation. Walker has also appeared on TBN's (Trinity Broadcasting Network) "Praise the Lord" program. SEE VIDEO OF BISHOP JOSEPH WALKER P R E A C H I N G Luiza.o@christianpost.com;@Lui za_CP 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/
53
Angry Birds, Meet Jailbirds: New App Helps You Snitch on Your Friends
Spencer Ackerman (Wired Top Stories)
Photo: Flickr/Miss_hg In less time than it takes to play a turn in Words With Friends, smartphone users can report a suspicious person to the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security. The domestic counterterrorism agencys West Virginia branch, in association with the West Virginia governors office, unveiled a new mobile app called the Suspicious Activity Reporting Application this week. With the assistance of our citizens, important information can quickly get into the hands of our law enforcement community allowing them to provide better protection, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said in a statement. The app is available in the Apple App Store and the Android Market. I downloaded it onto my phone. The interface is simple. After informing you that you should dial 911 for an actual emergency and asking if you want to submit your geolocation information, the app is fundamentally a camera function. You can annotate the image you capture with date and location (if you didnt enable the auto-geolocation function); additional details like a
Subjects name, gender, eye color, hair style and more; and vehicle information if applicable. And you can submit your own information, allowing the authorities to contact you, or choose to submit it anonymously. Once you click the green Submit Report bar, the picture youve snapped and the information youve recorded goes to the West Virginia Intelligence Fusion
Center, a partnership between state law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security. The longer you wait the less accurate eyewitness information becomes and evidence fades, the fusion centers director, Thom Kirk, said in the statement. This isnt the first time that law enforcement has branched out into mobile applications. Kentuckys
a suspected crime, to send information to the Fusion Center. Nor is it clear how long the Fusion Center can keep information on U.S. citizens or persons sent to it through the app. (More broadly, the guidelines for the nationwide network of homeland security Fusion Centers dont spell out so-called minimization procedures for any of the information they collect.) In other words, theres nothing in the app to stop you from snapping a picture of your annoying neighbor and sending it to the attention of federal and state counterterrorism agents in West Virginia, who can keep information on your neighbors face, body and perhaps his vehicle for an unspecified period of time. Its also unclear why West Virginia thinks its citizens need app-based suspicious activity reporting. A February study from state homeland security division the Triangle Center on Terrorism launched Eyes and Ears on and Homeland Security at Duke Kentucky for the iPhone last University found that not a single year. Its interface is different, but plot or alleged plot involving Muslim-American terrorism its functionality is the same. On its face, theres nothing about occurred in the state in 2011. the app that protects either the ( . P D F ) A W a s h i n g t o n P o s t civil liberties of citizens or the investigative project in 2010 busy schedules of West Virginia found that West Virginia was one homeland security operatives. of only 15 states that has no You dont have to affirm that you ANGRY page 54 have evidence of a crime, or even
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Culture/
'Jesus Discovery' Has 'Zero Percent Chance' of Being True, Say Experts
ANGRY
terrorism convictions in state or federal courts since 9/11 and ranked 36th in states receiving federal homeland-security cash in 2009. Were currently looking at our (Christianpost.com > Most modern Christians believe: Jesus Jacobovici of fabricating the unknown or unclear," wrote other services to see what else Popular) Christ rose from the dead and m e a n i n g s o f a n o t h e r w i s e Magness. makes sense to move to the ascended to heaven, leaving no unimportant historical find for Christopher Rollston, an expert in mobile platform, the states February 29, 2012| 6:54 pm trace of a tomb or bones behind, publicity, fame, and book sales. Semitic epigraphy at Emmanuel The new tomb about 200 feet a c c o r d i n g t o t h e B i b l e . I n Their book was released Tuesday. Christian Seminary in Tennessee, homeland security director, from the "Jesus Family Tomb" a d d i t i o n , n o s c r i p t u r e e v e r "It's an ordinary middle-class said he and others will remain Jimmy Gianato, said in the is marked with the first Christian mentioned Jesus marrying or Jerusalem burial cave," Amos unconvinced because of a lack of statement. It might not be long before the Department of symbol, the cross. It also has having children in over 30 years Kloner, the first archaeologist to evidence. Homeland Security which has m a r k i n g s a l l e g e d l y s a y i n g on earth. examine the site over 30 years "Dramatic claims require dramatic "Divine Jehovah, raise up, raise Many experts agree with the ago, told MSNBC. "The names on evidence," he wrote on the ASOR been exploring new spy tools up" and a drawing of a fish with a Christian viewpoint that the the caskets are the most common blog. "The claims of Tabor and derived from the military follows suit on a national level. stick. controversial findings are false, names found among Jews at that Jacobovici for this tomb are no This entry passed through the "In my assessment, there's zero not only for faith's sake, but to time." more convincing now than they Full-Text RSS service if this is percent chance that their theory is p r e v e n t a r c h a e o l o g i c a l a n d A 1996 documentary by the BBC were then." your content and you're reading it correct," Andrew Vaughn, scientific misuse as well. on the same subject led Kloner to SEE VIDEO REPORT BY THE on someone else's site, please read e x e c u t i v e d i r e c t o r o f t h e Like us on Facebook a similar conclusion: "They just M A K E R S O F T H E J E S U S the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentAmerican Schools of Oriental " N o t h i n g i n t h e b o o k want to get money for it." DISCOVERY DOCUMENTARY only/faq.php#publishers. Five Research, told MSNBC of the 'revolutionizes our understanding More doubt has been cast on the SEE VIDEO OF FIRST findings. For him, the second of Jesus or early Christianity,' as research, especially when the R E P O R T O N T H E J E S U S Filters recommends: Donate to tomb does not strengthen the case the authors and publisher claim," a r t i f a c t s , m a r k i n g s , a n d DISCOVERY FROM LAST Wikileaks. that the first one is authentic. Duke University biblical scholar inscriptions being discussed have YEAR The original "Jesus Discovery," Eric Meyers told MSNBC. "We never been viewed by the naked This entry passed through the book is based on a 1980 finding may regard this book as yet eye; Jacobovici used a robotic Full-Text RSS service if this is of 10 small caskets known as a n o t h e r i n a l o n g l i s t o f arm equipped with a camera to your content and you're reading it o s s u a r i e s t h a t a l l e g e d l y presentations that misuse not only gain access to the tomb without on someone else's site, please read contained the bones of Jesus the Bible but also archaeology." disturbing it completely. the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentChrist and his family. One of the "It pains me to see archaeology "The current claim is based on only/faq.php#publishers. Five casket's inscriptions reads "Judah, hijacked in the service of non- finds that have no context, as they Filters recommends: Donate to son of Jesus," which the book scientific interests," agreed Jodi have not been excavated. All we Wikileaks. writers radically say indicate that Magness, a religious studies have are photos taken by a robotic Jesus started a family. professor at the University of arm of objects (or parts of The radical assertions of both North Carolina at Chapel Hill. o b j e c t s ) , t h e d a t e s a n d findings contradict many things Some experts accuse Tabor and identification of which are
Culture/
55
Users Expect Websites to Load in the Blink of an Eye

Scott Gilbertson (Wired Top Stories)
NEW
That rule still holds, its just the amount of time thats changed. Nowadays the Times claims Submitted at 3/2/2012 9:07:00 AM users drop off after a mere 400 Think your three-second page milliseconds, and a difference in loads are just fine? Think again. page load time of just 250 According to engineers at milliseconds is enough to convey Google, even the blink of an eye a distinct advantage over your which takes around 400 competitors. milliseconds is too long. Its that last number thats Thats the word from the New perhaps most interesting. Anyone York Times, which makes an whos browsing the web via a 3G unusual foray into the world of connection can tell you that if web development with its article youre only willing to wait 400 For Impatient Web Users, an Eye milliseconds for a page to load, Blink Is Just Too Long to Wait. you arent going to see much of Some web developers may the web. On mobile networks remember the days of the two- bandwidth constraints are even second rule (and no, not the one more of an issue than they were that applies to dropping food on when the two-second maximum t h e f l o o r ) . T h e e s t a b l i s h e d was popularized. Users seem to wisdom well-tested at the time understand this, but they dont see by usability experts like Jakob it as an excuse. Now, perhaps Nielsen and others was that more than ever, slight differences after two seconds the number of in page load time can give your users willing to wait for your page site a significant advantage over to load dropped off significantly. competitors, according to the
Google and Microsoft engineers quoted in the Times piece. In other words, users may still, in some circumstance, be willing a wait a second, but if your competitors page is even 250 milliseconds faster, you can kiss your users goodbye. Dont believe us? Head over to the Times article and see if Googles engineers dont convince you. When youre done weve got a few tips on how to speed up your website and make sure that no one has the edge on you. Here are a few helpful articles from the Webmonkey archives: 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.
has gone decayed or gone to dust." "If we found evidence of people celebrating their faith in resurrection, that's good news for you," Tabor tends to tell Christians he believes might feel threatened by the discovery, he revealed. "Because before this, you didn't have any archaeological evidence at all for beliefs in Jesus' resurrection." "This discovery by Tabor and Jacobovici will no doubt provide thoughtful new dialogue from both ends of the spectrum about one of the most discussed and divisive archaeological findings in recent history," Discovery Times Square CEO James Sanna said in a statement. Sanna also emphasized that the museum does not take a side on the findings. The ossuaries the authors suggest
are part of the "Jesus Family Tomb" are currently on display at Discovery Times Square, and coincides with the publication of Tabor and Jacobovici's book, The Jesus Discovery. A film titled "The Resurrection Tomb" will air this spring on the Discovery Channel and Vision Television in Canada. Luiza.o@christianpost.com; @Luiza_CP 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/
Launch pad sites boost baby turtles odds

(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:07:00 AM
Where leatherback turtles are born may be as important for their chances of survival as how good they are at dodging lifes obstacles. The study, conducted by marine biologist George Shillinger at the Stanford University-affiliated Center for Ocean Solutions in Monterey, California, and a team of colleagues, indicates that strong currents off the coast of
Costa Rica may help whisk the baby turtles to safer habitats. Shillinger says the study showed a so-called hatchling highway off Playa Grande beach in Costa
Rica, where winds create large eddies that provide shelter and nutrients for the turtles. The highway appears to transport the turtles into warm offshore waters
where they can grow quickly. The study shows that there are areas in this world that are special for the leatherback and if you destroy the nesting beach, you take away from the turtles a very important launch pad, he says. Full story at Futurity. More research news from top universities. Photo credit: Sam Friedrichs Permalink| Leave a comment
Scarlett Johansson Takes on an Iconic Role

Allie Merriam (PopSugar)
Scarlett Johansson has a role in a Psycho remake- People George Clooney can be quite articulate when he wants to beLainey Gossip John Mayer releases new details about his next album- HuffPost Entertainment
Adrienne Bailon takes wardrobe malfunctions to a whole new level - TooFab Prince Harry's South American tour starts today!- Us Weekly Is Tim Tebow the latest in Taylor Swift's long line of famous boyfriends?- The Daily Beast Hear the song Arcade Fire made for The Hunger Games- BuzzFeed Presenting the Downton Abbey rap!- The Frisky
Will you see The Lorax this weekend?- Rotten Tomatoes
See Emily Blunt's best style moments- Wonderwall Demi Moore has left rehabLifeline Live What's Matthew Perry's new project with another Friends alum?- Zap2It What's up with Justin Theroux's new too-tan makeover?Celebitchy
20 cases solved through Facebook [infographic]

(Holy Kaw!)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:11:00 AM
Via Criminal Justice Degree Guide. (H/T Muhammad Saleem) Catching criminals. Permalink| Leave a comment
Politics-Left/
57
Red Crescent blocked from Homs district

(AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE))
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:50:08 AM
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said that it was unable to enter the Homs district of Bab Amro on Friday, where it had hoped to bring in aid and evacuate the sick and wounded. "The ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent Society [SARC] were not allowed to enter the Bab Amr district of Homs today," Jakob Kellenberger, ICRC president, said in a statement issued in Geneva on Friday. "It is unacceptable that people who have been in need of emergency assistance for weeks have still not received any help. We are staying in Homs tonight in the hope of entering Bab Amr in the very near future. In addition, many families have fled Bab Amr, and we will help them as soon as we possibly can." Syrian authorities had given the independent agency a "green light" on Thursday to enter on Friday, the statement said without providing further details on what had prevented their humanitarian operation to start. Violence continues Earlier on Friday, Syrian activists had accused government forces of carrying out execution-style killings and burning homes in a restive neighbourhood in the city of Homs, while the Red Cross headed to the area following a bloody, month-long siege to
dislodge rebel forces. France said on Friday it is closing its embassy in Syria, a day after two French journalists escaped after being trapped for days in the central city of Homs. The United States and Britain already have closed their embassies in Syria. Syrian forces retook control of the district, called Bab Amr, on Thursday, and there were growing fears of revenge attacks after the rebels withdrew. The Red Cross reached Homs, but had yet to enter Bab Amr. Bassel Fouad, a Syrian activist who fled to Lebanon from Bab Amr two days ago, said a colleague there told him on Friday that Syrian troops and progovernment gunmen, known as shabiha, were conducting houseto-house raids. "The situation is worse than terrible inside Bab Amr," Fouad said. "Shabiha are entering homes and setting them on fire." His colleague said the gunmen lined 10 men up early on Friday and shot them dead in front of a government cooperative that sells subsidized food. He said Syrian forces were detaining anyone over the age of 14 in the three-story building. "They begin at the start of a street and enter and search house after house," he said. "Then they start with another street." The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said it had received reports of 10 people slain in front of a co-op
and called on the Red Cross team heading to Homs to investigate claims by residents the building is being used a prison. Another group, the Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), said 14 were killed. The claims could not be independently verified. Information from inside Bab Amr has been difficult to obtain in recent days. Activists elsewhere in the city said those in Bab Amr stopped using satellite connections for fear the government could use them to target strikes. Others accuse the government of scrambling signals. The central city of Homs, Syria's third largest, has emerged as a key battleground in the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad that began in March 2011. Activists said hundreds were killed during the nearly monthlong siege, and many lived for days with little food and no electricity or running water. The UN said it was alarmed by the reports of execution-style killings after the Syrian army seized Bab Amr from rebel forces in a major blow to the opposition. In Geneva, a spokesman for the
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the agency had received unconfirmed reports of "a particularly grisly set of summary executions" involving 17 people in Bab Amr after government forces entered. Rupert Colville did not provide details but said his office was seeking to confirm the reports and called on both government and rebel forces to refrain from all forms of reprisal. The Red Cross, meanwhile, sent a convoy of aid trucks to Homs along a snow-covered route from the capital Damascus early on Friday after getting permission from the government. Khalid Arqsouseh, a spokesman for the Syrian Red Crescent in Homs, said the seven 15-tonne trucks were carrying food, milk powder, medical supplies and blankets. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, called the events in Syria a "scandal", adding that the European Council "condemned in the harshest terms what is happening in Syria". French ambassador Eric Chevallier had only recently
returned to Damascus after being recalled to Paris for consultations. He was sent back to help try to get two stranded French reporters out of Syria. Those reporters flew out of Lebanon on a medically equipped plane on Friday after being smuggled out of Syria the night before. One of them, Edith Bouvier, was wounded last week in a rocket attack in Bab Amr that also wounded British photographer Paul Conroy and killed American reporter Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik. Another French reporter, William Daniels, was traveling with Bouvier. Conroy and Spanish reporter Javier Espinosa also were smuggled out of Syria this week. Activist videos posted online on Thursday purported to show the burials of Colvin and Ochlik in Baba Amr early this week. The Syrian government said it dug up the bodies after taking Bab Amr so they could be repatriated. The West has stepped up its criticism of Assad's regime amid mounting reports of atrocities at the hands of security forces. The US has called for Assad to step down and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the US secretary of state, said he could be considered a war criminal. Russia reacts Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime RED page 60
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Politics-Left/ Gaming/
Serbia moves closer to EU membership

Serbia, which began the application process in 2009, had been widely expected to gain EU European Union leaders have candidacy in December after the endorsed Serbia as a candidate for capture and extradition to The membership in the 27-nation bloc. Hague earlier in the year of the Thursday's confirmation of country's last two war crimes candidate status is seen as a suspects, Ratko Mladic and Goran historic step for a nation that only Hadzic. 13 years ago was the target of a That move was ultimately NATO bombing campaign. delayed by Germany, who wanted "This is a remarkable result," said to see more progress in talks with E U P r e s i d e n t H e r m a n V a n the former Serbian province and Rompuy after a meeting of the partially recognised republic in bloc's heads of state in Brussels. Kosovo. "I hope Belgrade will continue to Germany and Britain are among encourage good neighbourly 22 EU member states to have relations in the Western Balkans," recognised Kosovo since it he said. declared independence in 2008, Serbian President Boris Tadic although five EU members, s a i d t h e p r o s p e c t o f E U including Spain and Greece, have membership paved the way for not recognised Pristina. " e c o n o m i c a d v a n c e a n d Serbia became a pariah state prosperity", but warned of a lot of under former president Slobodan w o r k a h e a d t o l a u n c h Milosevic in the 1990s as negotiations. Belgrade and Serbian armed "Citizens of Serbia have suffered groups waged wars against the heaviest burden of overall Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina reforms in our country (necessary) during the chaotic breakup of the for it to become a democratic former Yugoslavia. society based on the rule of law, NATO forces bombed much of in which human and minority the country in 1999 in response to rights are respected and European a crackdown by Serbian forces on values confirmed," Tadic said in a ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. statement released by his office. Milosevic was toppled from
power in 2000 and sent to face war crimes at The Hague, where he died in 2006 before his trial was completed. Neighbourly relations Being granted candidate status is only an initial step on the road to EU membership for Belgrade. But it will still probably have to wait a year to open actual accession negotiations, which can then take several more years. The EU has not set recognition of Kosovo as a formal requirement for Serbia's candidacy, but insists Serbia establish "goodneighbourly relations" with its former province. Over the past year, the two sides have been engaged in EUmediated talks, focusing mainly on practical matters, such as management of joint borders and border crossings. Kosovo is recognised by nearly 90 nations, but Serbia has blocked its membership in the UN, where many countries also reject unilateral declarations of independence. Tim Judah, a London-based Balkan analyst and author, told The Associated Press news agency that the EU decision was good for Serbia. "It means that
minds can concentrate on building a better Serbia for the future, and not resort to looking back to the past." Brussels' endorsement of its membership bid is seen as politically important for Tadic, whose party faces fierce opposition from nationalists in forthcoming elections. Serbia's candidacy continues the progress of former Yugoslav republics towards EU membership. Slovenia became the first former Yugoslav state to join the EU in 2004, while Croatia last year signed an accession treaty to join the economic bloc in 2013. Montenegro and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia already have candidate status, while Bosnia and Kosovo have the status of potential candidates. 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.
Rumor: Assassin's Creed 3 screens leaked

Jordan Mallory (Joystiq)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 12:00:00 PM
Four screenshots claiming to be from Assassin's Creed 3 have surfaced on Reddit, and while we haven't been able to completely verify their legitimacy, they looked convincing enough for us to pass along to you, our dear readers. You're invited to draw your own conclusions, but from where we're sitting they sure as hell look like the real deal. Is our new assassin hunting that moose? What role in the revolution does that dog play? Why is that dude standing like Napoleon? Is he having his portrait painted? Why doesn't the painter see the assassin running up with his series-branded tomahawk? These are the questions. Gallery: Assassin's Creed 3 Rumor: Assassin's Creed 3 screens leaked originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
Politics-Left/ Featured/
59
Iranians vote in legislative elections

Polls in Iran's legislative elections will remain open for an additional two hours on Friday, in the country's first national vote since the disputed presidential elections in 2009 that ignited extensive protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Turnout in Friday's election for the 290-seat Islamic Consultative Assembly has been watched closely by authorities, because it is considered an important indicator of how much of the country backs the conservatives, who dominated the outgoing assembly. Click here to see our spotlight on the elections A high turnout could also provide a boost for a government under tremendous pressure, both domestically and internationally. Unemployment remains high, and international sanctions over the countrys nuclear programme have further increased economic pressure. Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was the first to cast his vote as the polls opened.
I believe this is a duty for us, and a right. We should exercise our right and carry out our duty," he said after casting his ballot. With the virtual absence of the reformist coalition from the race, analysts believe the election has turned into a contest between factions within the increasingly divided conservatives. Al Jazeeras Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from the capital Tehran, said: "The people that have come out this morning in this polling station in northern Tehran say it is the their absolute duty to vote.
They will carry out what the supreme leader wants. Opposition absent "The absence of the opposition in the ballot is something that has not gone unnoticed. The movement has boycotted these elections because they have virtually been excluded from political life in this country since the 2009 presidential elections," she said. While the results will not have much impact on foreign policy, it will determine the balance of power as tensions have escalated
between the camps loyal to Khamenei and Ahmadinejad. The parliament has been traditionally very critical of Ahmadinejad. It is very important for this president to maintain some sense of power over the legislative body in his last year in office," our correspondent said. Human rights organisations raised concerns about the government's crackdown on dissent before the vote. Amnesty International said the country had "dramatically" intensified crackdown on freedom of speech through a wave of arrests. Human Rights Watch said on Thursday the country's parliamentary elections would be grossly unfair because of arbitrary disqualifications and other restrictions. 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.
An open challenge to PandoDaily

(Dave Winer's "Scripting News" weblog)
I mentioned this in passing in an earlier post, but it deserves special attention. PandoDaily, a new publication spun out of the ashes of TechCrunch, ran a piece mocking the concerns about the lack of security for personal data on iPhones. So, if they're really so unconcerned, considering that they probably use iPhones too, would they be willing to publish their address books, now -- today -- in entirety, without any editing. Every contact, phone number, address, email address, every bit of data they have put into their iPhones. So that everyone can see it? Please include your calendar, and all photos. Remember, no editing, no selection. Everything on your phone is public, now. And available for everyone to download. If they do this, I will give $100 to Sarah Lacy's favorite Kickstarter project and express my admiration for the consistency of their philosophy. Update: Hacker News thread on this topic.
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TV/ News Photos
RED
minister, blasted the West on Friday for backing the Syrian opposition against the government, saying it has fueled the conflict. But his foreign ministry made it clear that it will not be able to stop other countries from launching a military intervention if they try to do it without UN approval. Putin called for both Syrian government and opposition forces to pull out of besieged cities to end the bloodshed, adding that Western refusal to make that demand of Assad's opponents has encouraged them to keep fighting. "Do they want Assad to pull out
his forces so the opposition moves right in?" Putin said at a meeting with editors of top Western newspapers in remarks carried by state television. "Is it a balanced approach?" Russia and China supported the council's demand Activist groups said protesters took to the streets in towns across Syria on Friday, many of them met with tear gas, gunfire and mass arrests by Syrian security forces. The Syrian Observatory said 10 people were killed in the town of Rastan near Homs when a mortar landed near marchers. The LCC said 16 were killed in the same event, among 52 reported dead
nationwide. Protesters dubbed Friday the day of "Arming the Free Syrian Army", reflecting a widening perception that only military action can stop the crackdown on dissent and hasten Assad's downfall. 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.
Jennifer Lopez Sports Short Glittery Frock As 'Idol' Judges Celebrate Top 13 ... - Celebuzz
(news photos - Google News)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:48:50 AM
made the cut by clicking through the gallery below! Access Hollywood - Celebrity Kansas City Star News, Photos& Videos Access Jennifer Lopez Sports Short Hollywood Glittery Frock As 'Idol' Judges PHOTOS: JENNIFER LOPEZ Celebrate Top 13... WEARS MALE GROIN Celebuzz PROTECTOR Yahoo!7 News Also in attendance was host, Jennifer Lopez 'V' Cover Shoot Ryan Seacrest. The quartet posed Features A Rather Prominent... for some photos, as JLo showed Bulge ( PHOTOS) Huffington off her gams in a super short Post dress. Not up to speed as to who all 605 news articles the final 13 are? Check out who
Miriam Shor: Scrapped Show Titles Worse Than Good Christian B**ches
Miriam Shor (TV on HuffingtonPost.com)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:55:00 AM
Good Christian Bitches is the title of a book. Which became the working title of a TV pilot for ABC. Which caused quite the furor. So the working title became Good Christian Belles. And then just GCB. And that's what America will be watching when it premieres on Sunday, March 4 at 10 p.m. EST ... or so my accountant hopes. I happen to be in it; watched the
whole title hoopla unfold. Fascinating. I began to wonder: Have there been other shows whose titles have undergone such gerrymandering? Would we have watched Seinfeld if it were called Jerry! Or Friends if it were called I've Never Seen An Apartment Like That In New York City And Seriously How Could They Afford That? So I did a little research. Here's a list of a handful of other show titles that were deemed unworthy. I don't know. I would have watched them.
1) I'm Really, Really Drunk Apparently this was the working title for six or seven different game shows in the mid 1970s. My guess is it just lacked the "excitement" that words with a fighting connotation like "feud." or numerical value like "10,000" provided. That said, I personally find drunk people extremely exciting. 2) I'm 22 and I Wont Stop Talking Attention grabbing, I know, but sometimes the people on this reality show were 20 or 21 or
even as old as 23, so it just didn't make sense. Funnily enough, they too considered the title "I'm Really, Really Drunk." 3) Eat Your Pet This was a show that never made it to air in which people competed with each other to see who could eat their pets the fastest. I have no idea why this didn't last. 4) Pustules, Rashes and Boils!(And its spin-off Celebrity Pustules, Rashes and Boils!) Yes, these were exactly the kind of thrilling, real-life medical emergencies you might see on this
show, but obviously the network was afraid that this kind of clinical terminology was just too complex for people. Especially celebrities. 5) Pimp My Kids Clearly they scrapped this title for a reality show about the fascinating world of children's pageants, because it too closely resembled the title of another show.
TV/ Science/
61
Selene Luna: A Challenge For Rosie

Selene Luna (TV on HuffingtonPost.com)
discrimination as much as someone like me. I was hoping Rosie would do the admirable Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:43:00 AM thing and take responsibility for I'm an actress, comic, and her comments, so I wrote her a burlesque artist who happens to letter, challenging her to an be a little person. I'm also a interview on her TV show. I sent Mexican woman, but the greatest the letter directly to The Rosie form of discrimination I endure Show's executive producer. To on a regular basis is purely about d a t e , I ' v e y e t t o r e c e i v e a my short stature. My father never response, so I decided to publish failed to remind me that I am a my letter on The Huffington Post, fighter and survivor, so I do not b e c a u s e a r e s p o n s e t o subscribe to victim mentality, as it irresponsible prejudice deserves accomplishes nothing. In fact, I equal time in the media. have a sense of humor about my Before I share the letter, I'd like situation and created a stand-up to share one of my favorite c o m e d y c a r e e r a r o u n d i t . quotations, from Catherine Biden, Nonetheless, I believe when mother of Vice President Joe people do wrong, they should be Biden: "No one is better than you. held accountable. Everyone is your equal, and Recently, Rosie O'Donnell made everyone is equal to you." Dear bigoted comments about little Rosie, people on The Rosie Show. I hear You may not remember meeting cruel comments about little people me with Margaret Cho back in '07 all the time, and it usually rolls off in NYC. I'm the little person who me. If I cared what people was a featured burlesque act in thought of me, I wouldn't be in Margaret's Sensuous Woman showbiz. But Rosie's comments show. struck a chord with me because I I was overwhelmed with hurt and expected more from an intelligent, disappointment by your recent lesbian, female comic who has comment, "I'm a little ashamed e x p e r i e n c e d h a t e a n d about it ... [but] I have a mild fear
or anxiety around little people." I realize little people are an easy target because there simply aren't a lot of little people in the world; we're not a significant voice to contend with. You were someone I admired and revered as a female comic and champion for equality. The irony is that you are a gay woman with first-hand experience in the battle for equality. I have come to your defense countless times when I've encountered people in the entertainment business who criticize you, and boy you sure made me look like a fool. The issue is not that you have this warped opinion about little people. I think everyone should be free to have any ignorant, private thoughts they please, including me. However, you were so cavalier in sharing such a bigoted sentiment on a large public platform, making a momentous contribution to intolerance. You would never get away with saying, "Black men scare me" in a public forum. This only confirms you actually believe little people are subhuman and do not deserve the common
courtesy and respect you would give a stranger. I find it most disturbing that you may be raising your children with this mentality. We are living in a hate-filled age when, for the first time in history, people are fighting hate, but your willingness to degrade someone for being different only contributes to the prejudice. That said, I do not believe you are the problem; society at large shares your narrow views about little people, and about anyone born different, for that matter. If you have any bit of sisterhood left in you, I'd like to challenge you to an interview on your show. I would like the opportunity to show you and your audience that people like me actually have a heart, soul, and mind. Perhaps, together we can turn a bad thing into a good thing. Very truly yours, Selene Luna Selene Luna will be performing in New York City on March 31. Click here for more information.
The Canon 5D Mark III Is Here

Dan Nosowitz (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now)
Canon 5D Mark III Dan Bracaglia Canon's followup to the 5D Mark II, easily one of the most popular DSLRs ever made, is finally here, and it looks like a healthy sequel (and competitor to the recentlyannounced Nikon D800). The major upgrade in the Mark III is the new autofocus system, but it also gets a sensor overhaul, a new image processor, an SD card slot alongside the typical CF, and an onboard external mic and headphone jack for taking video. Our photo-fanatic sister site PopPhoto has the full story.
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TV/ Products/
No More Room For Gender Stereotypes When It Comes To Buying Fancy Stuff
Mary Beth Quirk (The Consumerist)
Simpsons Christmas Card Photo Series

Christine Friar (TV on HuffingtonPost.com)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:39:27 AM
"The Simpsons" may be on their 23 season with 500 plus episodes of history to draw on, but that doesn't mean the creators don't have any idea of what the characters would be like if they
were to age a little bit. In fact, episode 9 of season 23(which aired on Dec. 11, 2011), featured a flash forward of future Simpsons Christmases, complete with holiday cards depicting the family's evolution. But if you missed it on TV, you don't need to worry, because Redditor Ramquat actually took
the time to screenshot each individual card and create one long timeline of Simpsons Christmas future. So those of you dying to know how Maggie looks as an adult: the wait is finally over. Via Blame It on the Voices PICTURE:
beautiful thing knows no gender lines. "The demand for men's shoes has been growing incredibly Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:00:00 AM fast." Times used to be, men shelled Accessory retailer Coach is still out the big bucks for fast cars and mostly devoted to women, but the women drooled over expensive men's boutique section in the designer shoes. But with high-end flagship NYC store has seen lots spending on the rise again, it of traffic as well. seems men and women aren't " M e n a r e b e c o m i n g m o r e r e a l l y s h o p p i n g a l o n g comfortable...We have men stereotypical lines anymore. coming into the store that got a Sports cars and stilettos for wallet for a graduation gift 10 everyone! years ago and [leaving] with a To that point, CNBC cites Bain briefcase. They're trading up into & Company, which says demand the brand," said one Coach exec. for luxury items has grown by Seems this shift isn't just in the double digits recently, and luxury world either plenty of retailers are seeing a new "trend" guys in skinny jeans are surely namely, men shopping like relieved they don't have to steal women and vice versa. their girlfriends' denim anymore. In this case, shopping like a man And haven't you heard? Men are includes buying Ferraris. In the even grocery shopping now! Will past, women in North America wonders never cease? accounted for only 1% of sales for Luxury Goods: Men Buying Like the super speedy sports car. Now, Women, Ladies Shopping Like 10% of Ferrari drivers are women. Guys[CNBC.com] In China it's even greater, at 30%. This entry passed through the As for the men, they're ogling Full-Text RSS service if this is designer shoes in a way they your content and you're reading it didn't used to. on someone else's site, please read "Over the last few years I have the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentnoticed a lot of people, men, are only/faq.php#publishers. Five interested in shoes," shoe designer Filters recommends: Donate to Christian Louboutin said, adding Wikileaks. that the hankering to own a
Products/ Food/ News Photos
63
2012 Annual Auto Issue: Seven ways to avoid a lemon

Consumer Reports News (Consumer Reports)
repaired. Beware of flood damage. It might be hard to spot, but water can Submitted at 3/2/2012 7:14:59 AM permeate a car and cause ongoing 2012 Annual Auto Issue: Seven problems. A moldy or mildew ways to avoid a lemon smell, discolored carpeting, or Our best and worst used car lists intermittent electrical problems can steer you to models that have may be signs. reliable track records. But any Check the fluids. Wet spots in the vehicle can become a clunker if it engine compartment or under the h a s b e e n n e g l e c t e d o r h a s vehicle can indicate leaking oil or sustained accident or flood fluids. Inspect the level and damage. You can protect yourself condition of the engine oil and from buying someone elses transmission fluid. Gritty or problems by knowing what to gelatinous oil indicates that it look for. hasnt been changed regularly. Check for signs of collision Thin, frothy oil thats the color of repair. Those include mismatched chocolate milk may point to a body panels; a door, hood, or blown head gasket or to a severely trunk that doesnt close properly; damaged block or cylinder head. or paint overspray on chrome or Fine metal particles in the oil rubber trim or in the vehicles reflect internal damage or heavy wheel wells. You can also test for wear. The transmission fluid the presence of body filler with a should be bright red to light small magnet. If it doesnt stick reddish brown, not dark brown, well to a steel panel, the car may black, or mustard colored; those have filler under the paint, which colors or a strong burned smell could indicate that a dent has been can indicate serious problems.
an overheating engine. Check the vehicles history. A vehicle-history report from CarFax or Experian Automotive can alert you to possible odometer fraud; reveal past fire, flood, and accident damage; or tell you whether a rebuilt or salvage title has ever been issued for the Read the smoke signals. If the vehicle. But those services dont tailpipe emits blue smoke after the catch everything, so a clean report car has warmed up, the engine is no guarantee that a car is may be burning oila bad sign. problem-free. Billowing white smoke indicates Get it inspected. Have any used water in the combustion chamber, car thoroughly inspected by a usually because of a blown head qualified mechanic. He should gasket, damaged cylinder head, or also check for any recalls related e v e n a c r a c k e d b l o c k a l l to the car and verify whether the work was done. expensive repairs. Step on the gas. While driving, See our guide to buying a used does the engine rev excessively car. before the car accelerates? That is Subscribe now! S u b s c r i b e t o a common sign of a misadjusted or worn-out clutch, or a damaged ConsumerReports.org for expert automatic transmission. Listen for Ratings, buying advice and k n o c k s a n d p i n g s w h i l e reliability on hundreds of accelerating, which could reflect products. Update your feed preferences
Starwatch Consumer | Shutterfly deals with Kodak for online photo services - Kansas City Star
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:48:29 AM
Starwatch Consumer | Shutterfly deals with Kodak for online photo services Kansas City Star Eastman Kodak Co., the photography pioneer reorganizing in bankruptcy, agreed to sell its on -line photo services to Shutterfly for $23.8 million. Accounts of Kodak Gallery's 75 million users in the US and Canada would be transferred to Shutterfly under... and more
Cooking with Quinoa

About the size of pellets of couscous, quinoa cooks in about 20 minutes. The only special Small, round, and a good source handling required with quinoa is of protein, iron, and fiber, quinoa to give it a good rinse before is a quick and flavorful way to get cooking; otherwise, the grains can in a serving of whole grains. be bitter.
First up, Quinoa Tabbouleh. Traditionally made with bulgar, our version of the Middle Eastern salad features quinoa along with other traditional ingredients: fresh herbs, tomato, and cucumber. View Recipe: Quinoa Tabbouleh
N e x t B e e t , B l o o d O r a n g e , only/faq.php#publishers. Five Kumquat, and Quinoa Salad Filters recommends: Donate to This entry passed through the Wikileaks. 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-
64
Products/ Food/
AT&T clarifies who will be datathrottledand it likely won't be you

Lower Cholesterol Naturally

The clarification follows a period during which the company was sending warnings of impending Submitted at 3/2/2012 7:59:59 AM throttling to some users who were AT&T clarifies who will be data- using less than 3 GB, and were throttledand it likely won't be paying the same $30 for their you unlimited plans. (Such plans are A T & T y e s t e r d a y i s s u e d a no longer available for new welcome clarification of just AT&T accounts, but customers which of its wireless customers who had them when the company with unlimited data plans are at shifted to metered plans had the risk of having their service option to keep them.) slowedor throttledafter The warnings spurred a firestorm they reach a certain data limit for f r o m s o m e c u s t o m e r s w h o the month. Meantime, detailed received them. Especially angry information on just how much were some who received the d a t a u n l i m i t e d A T & T messages despite usage that was customers use suggests that the below the 3 GB level, since those vast majority are unlikely to be folks were paying AT&T just as dinged with a data slowdown much as customers with a metered under the new rules. plan with that same limit. To AT&T now says that service will Parul Desai, senior policy counsel be slowed only to unlimited f o r C o n s u m e r s U n i o n , t h e customers who consume more advocacy arm of Consumer than 3 gigabytes of data during a Reports, the move seemed more month. Thats the data limit for l i k e a n e f f o r t t o s q u e e z e the companys $30-a-month data consumers into limited data plan. plans than to address supposed
not, use more than 2 GB of data a monthwith fewer than 1 percent using 5GB or more. Those stats might make it all the more galling to some that the company chased after the relatively tiny slice of its unlimited users that were exceeding 2 GB of data usage a month. And perhaps all the more runaway data usage. The coup de grce for AT&T's understandable that AT&T was pursuit of sub-3GB users was its the least-satisfying carrier for recent loss of a small claims court customer service in our latest case in which a California student Ratings of cell-phone service, was awarded $850 after AT&T available to subscribers. throttled his service, beginning, he Info For Smartphone Customers said, when he had used between w i t h U n l i m i t e d D a t a Plans[AT&T] 1.5 and 2 GB in a month. So how much should the typical Subscribe now! S u b s c r i b e t o AT&T unlimited customer worry about being throttled under the ConsumerReports.org for expert new rules? Probably not a lot. Ratings, buying advice and Data-usage information from r e l i a b i l i t y o n h u n d r e d s o f Validas, a company that gathers products. Update your feed and analyses wireless usage, preferences shows that only around 5 per cent of AT&T customers, metered or
Ours is a pill-popping culture, so its no surprise the default method for lowering high cholesterol levels is usually medicinal. Drugs are readily available. Theyre effective. And the pill approach requires very little effort. Yet studies show that diet and lifestyle changes can be as or even more powerful than many drugs. Better yet, these natural methods help lower heart disease risk without negative side effects. Employ one (or all five) of these strategies and chances are cholesterol numbers will improve. Already taking cholesterol-lowering meds? These changes can enhance a drugs effectiveness. The ultimate goal: total cholesterol less than 200 mg/dl; 100 mg/dl or less for LDL or bad cholesterol, and 40 mg/dl or higher for HDL or good cholesterol. Next Get Moving 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/ Daily World/
65
Daily electronics deals: JVC Everio 64GB full HD camcorder

Comcast Techs Get The Hip-Hop Anthem They Have Long Waited For
Chris Morran (The Consumerist)
products or the Web sites that sell themthough some of the sites may be included, and Submitted at 3/2/2012 5:59:59 AM recommended, in our Ratings of Daily electronics deals: JVC retailers for computers and other Everio 64GB full HD camcorder major electronics(both available Today's electronics deals, to subscribers). Price shouldn't be courtesy of The Consumerist: your only criterion. Be wary of TigerDirect: Sapphire Radeon lower-priced deals that seem too HD 7770 1GB Video Card (28nm, $44.99 , free ship good to be true, and check return PCi-E 3.0, 1GH) $129.99AR Free NewEgg: Rise of Nightmares - policies for restocking fees and Ship Kinect [Xbox 360] $19.99, free other gotchas. Adorama: Pogoplug POGO-P21 ship For general buying advice for Multimedia Sharing Device many of the products on sale $26.99 Neither Consumer Reports nor above, check out our free Buying Adorama: JVC Everio 64GB The Consumerist receive anything Guides. Subscribe now! Full HD Camcorder $199.00 with in exchange for featuring these S u b s c r i b e t o Free Shipping deals; the posts are intended to be ConsumerReports.org for expert Best Buy: Refurb Samsung purely informational. These deals Ratings, buying advice and AudioBar Stereo Speaker System are often fleeting, with prices r e l i a b i l i t y o n h u n d r e d s o f for $100 + free shipping changing or products becoming products. Update your feed unavailable as the day progresses. preferences Entertainment These posts are not an Toys "R" Us: Tiger Woods endorsement of the featured PGA Tour 13 [Xbox 360, PS3]
they tip me a hundred") to being on time to not sleeping on the job. Of course, we add the caveat that Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:15:00 AM we have no definite proof that the Comcast and techs for just man in the video is a Comcast about every cable company employee, though all evidence don't receive much in the way of seems to show that he and the love, as people tend to focus on other men and women in the clip the bad experiences over the are indeed citizens of Kabletown. good, but there is finally an Anyway, put on your headphones anthem that celebrates the trials, and have a listen: tribulations and victories of the We also stumbled on this supermen and women who install and sexy slow jam from a Comcast fix (or at least try to fix) your tech: cable and internet connections. Thanks to Joe for the tip! "Ridin Around and Fixin It" by This entry passed through the Antoine Richmond, essentially a Full-Text RSS service if this is cover of 2 Chainz' "Spend It" that your content and you're reading it replaces that song's lyrics with on someone else's site, please read details of life as a cable tech in the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentNew Jersey, "ridin' around town/ only/faq.php#publishers. Five two ladders up/four windows Filters recommends: Donate to down." Wikileaks. The song covers everything from messy customers' houses ("I hope
Matthew 3:1-2 (03-02-12)

(Verse of the Day)
In those days John the Baptist came ... saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Matthew 3:1-2(NIV) Thoughts
on Today's Verse... These words sound strange in a world that is afraid to tell the truth about sin, wickedness, and evil. Yet every lost person desperately needs to repent -- to change his or her heart and life, seek after God, and live
for Jesus as Lord. Yes, salvation is given to us by God's incredible grace. On the other hand, grace that leaves us unchanged is not true grace. Grace not only forgives us through Jesus' sacrificial death on the Cross, but
it also liberates us from the empty your glory. In Jesus' name I pray. and destructive life without God Amen. and his guidance. My Prayer... Forgive me, dear Heavenly Father, for my sin. I want to turn my heart to you and live my life according to your will and for
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Products/ Gaming/ Sports/
Flash In The Brain Pan: Snowball

(Woot! - One Day, One Deal)
Are you ready for some pinball? Yeah you are, and Snowball is gonna serve it up to you. Charming style. Isn't that great? The board's too big for a single screen shot. Yeah, well, it's fun when you're trying to explore, but I'll tell you now, it's gonna be awful when you trigger a snow-multiball and one rolls off the screen to a place where you can't even see it. But hey, that won't happen often, and even if it does, how many times do you get a chance to play pinball at work? Especially on a table with so many different nooks and crannies?
All pinball pros know that fully mastering a table can take hundreds of plays, so if you're looking for full disclosure, here it is: there are plenty of angles I never managed to hit even once. But I played for about an hour
straight and I gotta admit it... I had a good time! My advice is to play the first time for fun (so you can figure out all the flippers and how to use the magnet towers and the firing springs and the best way to control that cute little boxcar
over on the right). Then, once you know the basics, you can take a second, more serious pass. You'll be focused then, and can start keeping track of your score. And by the third play you'll know the basics, and that's when you drop the snowball hammer. But even if you just slam keys randomly, I think you'll find Snowball to be a great timewaster. Don't forget to turn on the (- Bing News) speakers, because that Charlie Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:10:35 AM Brown-style winter jazz is a nice - FIFA replacement for the beeps and BAGSHOT, England boops you might be expecting. President Sepp Blatter says he thinks he can convince soccer rule Perfect for a Friday! -makers to implement goal-line technology. FIFA page 67
FIFA President Blatter says soccer needs to turn to goal-line technology for 2014 WCup Minneapolis Star Tribune
Notch gives $3 million Mojang dividend to employees

Richard Mitchell (Joystiq)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 12:30:00 PM
If you're looking for an employee from Minecraft developer Mojang, you might want to look out your window, because they are currently over the moon. Mojang head Markus "Notch" Persson tweeted yesterday that he will distribute his 2011 Mojang dividends to his employees. The rub: said dividends totalled "about
three million dollars" before tax. That is, to put it mildly, one hell of a bonus. Mojang staff members have made their feelings known on
Twitter, with Lydia Winters, Mojang's director of fun (no, really) revealing she was "incredibly stunned." Business developer Daniel Kaplan,
meanwhile, admits to crying "tears in shock and happiness." Mojang "boss" Carl Manneh noted that Mojang is "the best company in the world." We'd be
inclined to agree, but Notch has yet to acknowledge our application to become Mojang's Head of Monitor Dusting. Notch gives $3 million Mojang dividend to employees originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| Email this| Comments
Social Media/
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FIFA
A high-profile mistake at the last World Cup persuaded Blatter to end his long-standing opposition to the high-tech aids. The International Football Association Board will assess the latest test results on Saturday before sending approved firms into another phase of checks ahead of a final decision in July. Blatter says "we don't want a repeat of last World Cup ... I think I can convince the IFAB board that we must go forward with technology." Although UEFA President Michel Platini is against computer calls, Blatter says he doesn't want to be at "a World Cup and witness another situation. I would die." THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. LONDON (AP) Soccer is in no rush to implement goal-line technology, a high-ranking FIFA official said as rule-makers are expected to sanction the next round of testing. FIFA President Sepp Blatter has said he hopes to have high-tech aids in place by the 2014 World Cup, but vice president Prince Ali said the pace is too quick. The International Football
Association Board will assess test results from eight systems on Saturday before sending approved firms into another phase of checks before a final decision in July. "Referees are part of the game and I would feel a bit depressed if every day something is coming out about how they are not capable of doing their jobs," said Prince Ali, who does not have a vote on the matter. "There is no rush. I think football can survive (without goal-line technology) ... it should be a process and evolution." What also concerns Prince Ali, a Jordanian who joined FIFA's executive committee in June, is the risk of creating inequalities, by giving a "natural advantage to games at a certain level against others." He highlighted how in some countries, like Jordan, clubs would struggle to afford goal-line technology. However teams or national team would face rivals who could have advanced in the same competitions with the benefit of computer calls. "These things have to be taken into account if it is a regulation," he said Thursday. "There are some countries that cannot afford to implement it and ... technology
is always an advantage if you are used to using it against others who are not." Some sports, including tennis and cricket, use similar technology. At major tennis tournaments, only a few of the many courts in use are equipped with the replay system. Instead, Prince Ali said he agrees with UEFA President Michel Platini's use of additional referees' assistants. After being tested in continental club matches, the fiveofficial system will be deployed at the European Championship, which starts in June. Although Prince Ali won't be one of the four FIFA delegates with a vote at the IFAB meeting on Saturday, he will be making his own presentation to the body, urging them to overturn a ban on Islamic female players wearing hijabs. Five years after headscarves were deemed unsafe to be worn in matches, he will ask IFAB, which is also made up of the four British associations, to respect cultural traditions and approve hijabs that are held in place by safe Velcro fasteners. Another vote at IFAB will be on whether to permit teams to use a fourth substitute in extra time after several FIFA committees
have backed the recommendation to improve the quality of matches and reduce the number of injuries. An item returning to the agenda again this year is an attempt to amend the so-called "triple punishment" of sanctioning certain fouls with a penalty kick, red card and suspension. FIFA has acknowledged that the current system is "widely considered to be too severe." Rules are amended with six of the eight available IFAB votes. Changes typically take effect on July 1, but can be fast-tracked for a major tournament if the panel agrees. ___ Rob Harris can be reached at http://twitter.com/RobHarrisUK 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.
iPad 3 Video Preview Reveals Magical Capabilities

Charlie White (Mashable!)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:59:01 AM
The iPad 3 will soon be rolled out into the international spotlight, but somehow, magician and performance artist Simon Pierro gets his hands on the iPad 3 earlier than anyone else. Hes been kind enough to give us the honor of premiering his latest video, and its magic. Were not sure if youll be able to get your new iPad to do the same tricks Simons does, nor will you be able to elicit the same reactions from Apples digital assistant, Siri. Even so, were still wishing the iPad 3 would include Simons exclusive helium app. He does have a point, though: Were thinking Siri will be on board the iPad 3 (or will it be the iPad HD?). This is not the first time Simon has taken us on a journey into the future with his iOS antics. Not only did he give us an exclusive video preview of iOS 5, but he revealed to us last Halloween that the iPad can be downright supernatural. More About: ipad 3, Magic, Simon Pierro, YouTube
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Sports/
Fan Opinion: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Has Shot at Points Lead on Southwest Swing - YAHOO!
(- Bing News)
By Todd Jacobs, Yahoo! Contributor Network Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been progressing at a slow rate with Hendrick Motorsports but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The most popular driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup is on a winless streak of epic proportions but the future looks bright. Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored his last win in Michigan. Photo by Dave Hogg Wikimedia Commons Dale Jr. is sitting within striking distance of the points lead and he is heading to a track where he has run well. Dale Jr. has not been consistent at the Phoenix International Raceway but he does have two wins on the track and he enters the race with momentum. No one would have thought the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy team would have a shot at leading the points after the Southwest swing but Steve Latarte and Junior have their best
opportunity to make their mark early in the season. The new Phoenix configuration and new pavement throw a different look to the track but most of the drivers have not expressed any problems with the altered track. Last season Dale Jr. finished 10th in his second race with crew chief Latarte and now with a year under their belt the two are looking to take it to the next level. Latarte has had success on the flat tracks with Jeff Gordon and Earnhardt has performed well on the flat short tracks in the past as well. This is the season many fans are looking for The No. 88 team to bust out and finally win some races and contend for a NASCAR Sprint Cup title. Junior told Sports Illustrated in an interview after Daytona, "I'm looking forward to getting to Phoenix and the rest of the tracks to start really getting control of my destiny and trying to make some things happen for me and win some races,'' The resurgence of Dale Earnhardt
Jr. could come as Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 Lowe's team fall off the map. Johnson enters Phoenix with a negative point total after finishing 42nd and being docked 25 points for an illegal C-post on his car at Daytona. With the new point scoring system Johnson's season is all but
over and Hendrick Motorsports could have a new No. 1 team in the garage. The time is now for Dale Eanrhardt Jr. and Steve Latarte. Four to five wins is not out of the question for the former NASCAR Busch champion and a title is a definite possibility with a Hendrick Motorsports engine under the hood. Get ready Dale Jr.
fans, this is finally the year you have waited patiently for. *Todd Jacobs is an avid race fan who has followed NASCAR since the '70s and is a fan of all disciplines of racing. Todd has attended NASCAR races on all the Southwest stops including: Fontana, Infineon Raceway, Phoenix and Las Vegas. Sources: Sports Illustrated: Dale Jr. not contemplating what could have been at Daytona 500 NASCAR Integrated Media: Phoenix Subway 500 Statistical Advance Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content. 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.
Gaming/ Featured/
69
15 years of Scripting News

Dewey Defeats Truman The random rotating header graphic for today is one of my Submitted at 3/2/2012 7:48:29 AM favorites. Harry Truman holding Sometime in the spring of 1997, up a newspaper saying he had lost the date is subject to discussion, a the election, one that he had just b l o g f i r s t a p p e a r e d a t won. I love it for so many www.scripting.com. reasons. First, don't be upset when The one you're reading right now, everyone counts you out. I've had Scripting News. people say that my career was You'll find that no other blog has over, so many times, and so far yet claimed 15 years on the they've always been wrong. You'd planet. Just as five years ago we think by now they would stop were first to reach the ten-year predicting it, but nope -- they still milestone. think you can't be innovative, It's tough being first because even when you've spent a life people don't know what to make s t u d y i n g a n d p r a c t i c i n g JC Fletcher (Joystiq) Labs for exergaming devices. of it. innovation. IA Labs' last announced gaming Whether you think the first day They also said Truman was a shit Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:30:00 AM product was the " XR Station," a was February 1, as Rudolf president, but what did they We know you've been unable to controller attached to a big lever, Ammann does(and he has done know. Turns out he was one of s l e e p r e s t f u l l y s i n c e t h e that players must exert pressure the research) or if you think as I our best presidents. He got us announcement of InterAction on -- push, pull, lean -- to operate. do that it's April 1 (maybe through all kinds of tough binds, Laboratories' 2010 lawsuit against It also showed the " Sqweeze" in because it gives me something and did it with an understated Nintendo, so you'll be relieved to 2008: a Wiimote peripheral with non-idiotic to do on one of two purely American grace. He looked know the situation is resolved. two rubber grips to squeeze. blog holidays), the fact is this meek, but he also gave em hell, Nintendo announced this morning Continue reading Wii Fit patent blog both has been here for a long and had something funny to say t h a t a M a r y l a n d j u d g e h a s lawsuit dismissed time and has (the thing I'm most about it. summarily dismissed the case, Wii Fit patent lawsuit dismissed proud of) inspired many others to No one thought he could follow which alleged that Nintendo's Wii originally appeared on Joystiq on open their veins on the Internet the great Franklin Roosevelt, who Fit games and Balance Board Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:30:00 EST. for all to see! was indeed a great president. But accessory (among pretty much Please see our terms for use of every other Nintendo peripheral) feeds. violated patents owned by IA Permalink| Email this| Comments
(Dave Winer's "Scripting News" weblog)
Wii Fit patent lawsuit dismissed
he held his own and gave geeks all over America hope. PandoDaily needs a clue Read this piece if you're suffering from low blood pressure. This is what a company town looks like. What matters is what the money people want. Our private info? Oh come on, lighten up. Well, the problem is they're users too, in Silicon Valley, and their competitors, now that they know it's open season on contact info, photos and calendar info, are probably going to start going after it, if they haven't already done so. Can't wait to see their tune change when they finally get a clue. Unless they're all willing to publish their address books now, in entirety, without editing? If they were willing to do that, well I'd eat my words. Funniest picture ever? I think this might be the most funny picture ever posted to this blog.
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Science/
Will People Alive Today Have the Opportunity to Upload Their Consciousness to a New Robotic Body?
Clay Dillow (Popular Science New Technology, Science News, The Future Now)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:22:27 AM
Bottled Consciousness? Gaetan Lee via Wikimedia A Russian mogul wants to make sure the answer is yes, and soon When Steve Jobs passed away last year, a joke bounced around-not that there was anything particularly funny about it--that the man who had done so much to shape modern technology hadn't really died at all, but rather had figured out how to upload himself into the Mac OS so he could live on with us, and with his products, forever. The notion was ostensibly so far out as to be ridiculous. But not everyone sees it that way. At the recent Global Future 2045 International Congress held in Moscow, 31-year-old media mogul Dmitry Itskov told attendees how he plans to create exactly that kind of immortality, first by creating a robot controlled by the human brain, then by actually transplanting a human brain into a humanoid robot, and then by replacing the surgical transplant with a method for simply uploading a person's bot. He thinks he can get beyond consciousness into a surrogate the first phase--to transplanting a
working brain into a robot--in just ten years, putting him on course
to achieve his ultimate goal-human consciousness completely
disembodied and placed within a holographic host--within 30 years time. Pushing aside all the extremely difficult technological challenges for a moment, there are a couple of important to considerations tied up in Itskov's vision. First, while the later phases of his project are so far out as to seem ridiculous, phase one is totally feasible (in fact it's already being done). From there, the leap to phase two-human brainpower transplanted into a mechanical robot--is a quite a leap. But if we are willing to allow that it might be possible even within the next 30 years, then we have to consider a further possibility: that many people alive today--like the twenty-something author of this piece--could be confronted with this kind of technology in their lifetimes. Which is terrifying and amazing and disconcerting all at the same time. We've already started down the road toward shedding our corporeality. But is it even within the realm of possibility? Phase one--creating a robot controlled by a human brain--is already well within reach. In fact, DARPA is WILL page 72
Science/ Technology/
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PopSci Q&A: Kate Findlay Talks About the Confluence of Quilting and the Large Hadron Collider
Dan Nosowitz (Popular Science - New Technology, Science News, The Future Now)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:06:00 AM
How a quilter ended up in the pages of a particle physics publication We first became aware of Kate Findlay's work thanks to Symmetry Magazine, which publishes articles relating to particle physics. Kate isn't a particle physicist; in fact, she's not even a scientist. She works as an art teacher at a private elementary school in the U.K., and also makes these amazing quilts. Symmetry's interest (and ours, and yours, we think) comes from her inspiration for one particular line of quilts: the hardware of the Large Hadron Collider. We've put together a gallery of her work, and also did a little Q&A with her, below. Click to launch the gallery of quilts. PopSci: How long have you been making quilts? Do you work with other materials? Kate Findlay: I have not been making quilts that long, really. My first one was in 2008, about six months before I started work on the Hadron Collider series. I
have always been a painter in my spare time, mostly landscapes and still-lifes, but I work exclusively in fabric now, even when doing more pictorial pieces (like my Henley river series on my website). PS: Where did the inspiration come from to look to the LHC? KF: I was reading The Times in September 2008 and came across an illustrated article about the LHC. I knew about it anyway, but something just struck a chord with me and I immediately started researching online to find more images. I was very excited by what I found and knew without a shadow of doubt that this was something I wanted to develop into a body of work. (CERN gave me permission to use their photos.) PS: What about the LHC spoke to you as regards quilt-making? Why that connection? KF: The LHC is a remarkably beautiful machine. Its symmetry, the repeating motifs, [and] the colors were all things that I was drawn to--for any textile artist, pattern and color are top of the list and the LHC has all these! The other aspect I particularly liked was the idea of a regular circle
within a square; I wanted to explore variations on this theme. Working in fabric is extremely slow and laborious, and there have been a number of occasions over the past three years when I wished I was just painting the subject. But fabric has an added dimension, its texture and sheen, which has really worked for me in making these pieces. PS: How did you come across the LHC's work? Were you a fan of that branch of science beforehand? KF: I did know about it, but in a pretty general way--just what had come up in the news and through people talking about it. I have always liked science, but certainly wasn't paying much attention to the physics of it all. That has changed with this work, and I have been reading up on the physics discoveries of the 20th century and what the current theories are, although I confess I don't understand much of it! PS: What is it about the LHC that you're trying to capture in these quilts? How do you choose the colors, patterns, and techniques that go into them? KF: When I started, I was just enjoying creating pieces that had
a flavor of parts of the machine I had seen images of. As I read more, I have been trying to get some of the physics concepts into my work. One of the things that has struck me most is the aspect of scale--the huge Hadron Collider is trying to split infinitesimally small subatomic particles--to find out how our vast, vast universe is put together. So I have found aspects of astronomy creeping in to my work as well as studies of how atoms are formed and split. The colors in my work have been very influenced by things I have seen in the CERN photos as well as using lots of metallic fabrics. More recently I have started to dye and screen print fabrics to get more subtle effects. The early pieces were mixed media: mostly fabric, but incorporating wire, card, beads, strange objects and anything else that achieved the right effect. The large quilts are more traditional in construction, being three layers, but without anything stuck on to the surface. I realized belatedly that I need to be able to roll them up to store them, as they take up a lot of room!
Chrysler Uconnect drops Autonet Mobile for Sprint

Daniel Cooper (Engadget)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:47:00 AM
Chrysler's in-car Uconnect EVDo system allows you to stay connected over WiFi on the go, with your vehicle acting as a 150foot wireless hotspot around your whip. It's been announced (in what is quite possibly the world's shortest ever press release) that Sprint is replacing Autonet Mobile as the infrastructure partner behind the service. Now you'll be able to tweet while doing 90 on the interstate thanks to the company's Emerging Solutions Group which will have direct responsibility for the partnership. Continue reading Chrysler Uconnect drops Autonet Mobile for Sprint Chrysler Uconnect drops Autonet Mobile for Sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| | Email this| Comments
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WILL
already working on it via a program called "Avatar" (which, incidentally, is also the name of Itskov's project) through which the Pentagon hopes to create a brain-machine interface that will allow soldiers to control bipedal human surrogate machines remotely with their minds. And of course there are all the ongoing medical prosthesis projects (DARPA is involved in a few of these as well) that have shown that the human nervous system can interface with prosthetic enhancements, manipulating them via thought. Itskov draws a clear arc from what we have now to the consciousness-containing holograms that he envisions. All we have to do is attack the technological obstacles in between, one at a time, until we get there. If only it were that easy. But Itskov also makes a valid point. In the past decade alone we've witnessed brain-machine interfaces emerge from the realm of nascent, futuristic ideas to mechanisms firmly rooted in reality. There's still so much we don't know about the brain, but better technology (and an
abundance of funding in this field spurred by the horrific neurological and extremity injuries inflicted on American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan) is expanding the envelope of possibility every year. What Itskov is really saying-though in a very ambitious way-is that we've already started down the road toward shedding our corporeality via prostheses that interface with our nervous centers. If you can interface a brain with a hand, and then a brain with an entire arm, why not a brain with two arms? With two legs? With everything else? The question now is figuring out where the limitations lay--just how far down that road we can go. And what a hypothetical road it is. Theoretically, as long as one could keep his or her gray matter from decaying, he or she could continue to "live" indefinitely (at least if you buy into the idea that our consciousness lives in the wiring of our neurons). Phase three of Itskov's plan--dispensing with the physical brain and uploading consciousness directly to a computer or robot--does away with the organic matter entirely,
making your consciousness as permanent as that CD-ROM version of Myst that still lingers in the bottom of one of your desk drawers. People as programs-paging Kevin Flynn. Of course, there are myriad reasons why uploading human consciousness to some kind of computer won't work, not least of which being the fact that every attempt we've made at creating a computer that functions just like the brain has come up far short. And creating a hologram that also contains that consciousness? We're not seeing it--not in thirty years, not in this century. Still, progress is being made in neural networks, microchips modeled on living brains, and entire computers set up to mimic the brain's functionality. We've built synthetic analogs for all kinds of organs. The brain is the most complex of all, but following a certain line of reasoning--the line Itskov seems to be following--it's only a matter of time and determination before we deliver a neurological analog as well. All that is to say that Itskov's vision, while overly-ambitious (and we like overly ambitious here), is not as completely far out
as it sounds--at least not the earlier phases. People that are today firmly connected to their living bodies, consciousness all bound up in their craniums, may within their lifetimes be presented with a choice. Call it selective corporeality. In the future, questions about mechanical immortality--do we really want to live beyond our bodies as "conscious" machines? Is a robot or computer driven by a living brain a person, with all the rights and privileges inherent therein? Can i get jets implanted in my robo-hands and robo-feet so that I can fly like Iron Man?--could become, to some degree, actual questions that we have to consider, this time nonhypothetically. It's more than my nonmechanically enhanced consciousness can even start to think about.
Politics-Right/ News Photos
73
More States Reconsidering National Standards Overhaul

Lindsey Burke (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation)
Not so fast. That was the message from South Carolina leaders on Wednesday, concerned about their states involvement with the national standards education agenda. Despite being called conspiracy theorists by the U.S. Department of Education, the South Carolina Senate Education Committee voted to study further the impact that adopting national standards and tests would have on taxpayers, families, and teachers in the state. The measure had bipartisan support, and the standards will be examined along with a proposal introduced by State Senator Mike Fair (RGreenville) to completely pull the Palmetto state out of the national standards overhaul. South Carolina is right to be concerned about the impact that adopting national standards and tests will have on education in the state. Before we surrender control of our classrooms to outside parties, we need to have an open and transparent debate so
we can understand what were getting into, said Fair. South Carolina representatives arent alone in their desire to reexamine their involvement in the Common Core national standards, an effort to define what every public-school student in America will learn. Policymakers in Utah are now taking a second look at the decision to surrender control of their education standards to national organizations and Washington. Utah State Senator Margaret Dayton (R) has introduced a proposal that says the state may exit any agreement, contract, memorandum of understanding, or consortium that cedes control of Utahs core curriculum standards to any other entity. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the proposal passed unanimously in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday. Its a signal that policymakers in the state are concerned about surrendering their standards-setting control. Then there are states like Wyoming that have had doubts about the Common Core national standards since last August. And
for good reason. As Rick Hess recently wrote: The Common Core has been aggressively supported by this administration. Whether one thinks that makes the exercise nationally-imposed is mostly a matter of semanticsIts ludicrous for [Education Secretary Arne] Duncan to pretend otherwise. Race to the Top, the administrations ESEA blueprint, and the waivers all reward the adoption of Common Core, while RTT included $330 million to develop Common Core assessmentsfunds that, with little concern for the niceties of statutory prohibitions, are helping to develop curricular and instructional materials. State policymakers are right to have concerns about the Common Core national standards. If adopted, states will be surrendering control of their education decision-making authority to national organizations and distant bureaucrats in Washington. As the Pioneer Institute has recently reported, national standards adoption will cost states nearly $16 billion. Pioneer also
notes that the U.S. Department of Education is running afoul of three laws prohibiting the federal government from being involved in curriculum. And notably, groups across a wide spectrum have voiced concerns that national standards wont improve educational outcomes. As Jay Mathews noted in The Washington Post last week, Common Core standards are the educational fashion of the moment, but your childs teacher can name many similar plans that went awry. Except this time, if implemented, this educational fashion of the moment will have permanently ceded more state and local education control to Washington at great costs to state taxpayersin dollars and educational freedom. 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.
Android and iPhone Photo Snooping: What You Need to Know - TIME
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:31:41 AM
TIME Android and iPhone Photo Snooping: What You Need to Know TIME By Jared Newman | @OneJaredNewman | March 2, 2012 | + Smartphone users got another reason to worry about privacy this week, when the New York Times reported that iPhone and Android apps can spy on your photos without permission. Not Just iOS: Android Apps Can Secretly Copy, Upload Photos Tom's Guide Google response to flaw that lets apps steal photos: Ditch insecure apps... ITworld.com photos vulnerable on Android phones too Economic Times Android Apps AppoliciousKnow Your Cell all 33 news articles
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Politics-Right/
South Africas Ruling Party Expels Populist Troublemaker

Ray Walser (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation)
Franklin Center Remembers Warrior Andrew Breitbart

Lachlan Markay (The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation)
struggles for ANC leadership in 20072008. Within the ranks of the ANC, Malema worked to unseat President Thabo Mbeki Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:00:24 AM On February 29, South Africas and swing power behind the oncer u l i n g A f r i c a n N a t i o n a l disgraced Zuma. We are Congress(ANC) party expelled prepared to die for Zuma. We are Julius Malema from its ranks. prepared to take up arms and kill Malema was a lightning rod for for Zuma. massive dissatisfaction in South Malema was first charged with Africa, where poverty, inequality, hate speech when he said a young and lack of opportunity blight the woman whom Zuma allegedly lives of millions. Yet his call for a raped actually had a nice time. revolutionary rather than a reform Zuma was acquitted of the rape track clearly threatened to send c h a r g e . M a l e m a w a s a g a i n South AfricaAfricas largest censured for singing the antieconomycareening into crisis apartheid anthem Shoot the and conflict rather than the Boer. socialist, redistributionist paradise As an advocate of muscular black Malema envisioned. nationalism, Malema demanded By age 28, Malema had become a that Zuma nationalize South household name in South Africa. Africas vital mining industry and He rose within the structures of urged a policy of land distribution the ANC party to become chief of e v e n i f i t m e a n t a R o b e r t the ANCs youth wing. Andrew Mugabestyle seizure of property Harding of the BBC described from white farmers, a practice that Malema as the swaggering, helped to ruin neighboring articulate, comic, bullying, Hugo Zimbabwe. C h a v e z o f S o u t h A f r i c a n Malema once more angered the politics. ANC brass when in August 2011 Malema grabbed headlines as a h e a c c u s e d B o t s w a n a s militant supporter of current democratic government of being a President Jacob Zuma in the bitter puppet regime and a footstool
of imperialism and suggested that the ANC Youth send a commando team to help implement regime change. Meanwhile, the flamboyant Malema appeared to live beyond his means and became the subject of corruption investigations. With Malema sidelined, President Zumas battle to retain the presidency and the leadership of the ANC this year became easier. Yet it also indicates that Zuma and the ANC still have enormous work to do to strengthen internal discipline, put national interests first, and deliver effective policy responses to the rank-and-file followers while preserving racial peace, rule of law, and a free-market economy in South Africa. 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 state-based journalism organization the Franklin Center on Thursday released its own tribute to the late conservative activist and new media pioneer Andrew Breitbart. The video, titled Warrior, gathers some of Breitbarts more powerful moments, including a clip from an interview with our own Rob Bluey. Heritage President Ed Feulner remembered Breitbart in a post of his own yesterday. We all mourn Andrew today, but we cant allow our sorrow to consume us, Feulner wrote. The challenge for us, for all conservatives, is to react to todays sad event by
following his example, by picking up the sword that lies on the ground before us. Other Heritage staffers also shared their memories of Andrew, and discussed his impact on them personally and on the conservative movement. We all mourn the loss of a truly great man and an inspirational figure. Our deepest condolences go out to Andrews wife and his four children. 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.
Social Media/
75
Apple Struggling to Sign Media Companies for Streaming TV Service [REPORT]

Lauren Indvik (Mashable!)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:10:58 AM
Reports indicate that Apple is struggling to get media companies to sign on to its rumored streaming TV service. Speculation surrounding the service and its TV hardware component kicked off in December. Citing unnamed sources, The New York Post says that media companies are unwilling to agree to Apples terms over content packages and pricing. We decide the price, we decide what content is Apples negotiating stance on the matter, says a source. Little is known about the streaming service itself, which Apple has not confirmed that it is working on. Its possible Apple is designing a service that would enable owners of iOS and Apple TV devices to purchase subscriptions to individual channels, similar to the way users can purchase subscriptions to newspapers and magazines via the Newsstand. Or Apple could
bundle those channels together to create its own cable TV-like group subscription offering. Currently, Apple allows users to purchase and download individual TV shows and movies through its iTunes Store. A streaming subscription service would accelerate users access to video content, and put Apple into more direct competition with the likes of Netflix and Hulu Plus, as well
the iPad 3 at a press event on Mar. 7. Perhaps well learn more about this rumored streaming service at that time. BONUS: Apple TV Imagined with Magnificent Curved Screen Slightly iMac Look From the front, it looks a bit like a conventional TV or all-in one Mac Click here to view this gallery. Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, mishooo More About: apple, Apple TV, Media, online television, online tutors, subscription streaming For more Entertainment coverage: Follow Mashable Entertainment as cable TV providers. increased competition in the on Twitter Apple has had great success in subscription streaming space has Become a Fan on Facebook cajoling the music industry to shifted power from content Subscribe to the Entertainment agree to licensing options on its distributors (i.e. Netflix, Amazon, channel terms both with the iTunes Hulu Plus) and to the content Download our free apps for Music Store and the iTunes Match owners themselves. The net effect Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad service. The company has long of this battle over content is that struggled, however, to secure securing content deals is more major deals with television and expensive than ever. movie studios. Rumors indicate that Apple This struggle is not unique to might be unveiling its nextApple. In the past 12 months, generation Apple TV along with
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Social Media/ Daily World/
Hackers Will Replace Terrorists as Top Threat, Says FBI

Alex Fitzpatrick (Mashable!)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:29:23 AM
Arctic expedition leaders cleared over polar bear killing of British student
Kiran Randhawa (Evening Standard - News)
Could Anonymous be the next alQaeda? FBI Director Robert Mueller warned a group of cybersecurity experts on Thursday that online attacks will replace terrorism as the most serious threat facing the U.S., according to The Associated Press. Mueller pressed private businesses and Internet security firms to secure American digital infrastructure from rogue hackers and attacks sponsored by foreign governments. We are losing data, we are losing money, we are losing ideas and we are losing innovation, Mueller said at the RSA Digital Security Conference in San Francisco. Together we must find a way to stop the bleeding. Counterterrorism is still the FBIs top priority, but the agency is working to better equip itself
that the rifle fired only after several attempts, and tripwires meant to trigger flares failed to go Submitted at 3/2/2012 5:37:47 AM off. government networks and O r g a n i s e r s o f t h e A r c t i c But Lars Erik Alfheim, deputy increasing the amount of cybersecurity information-sharing expedition on which a British governor of Norway's Svalbard done between government and teenager was killed by a polar Archipelago, said an investigation b e a r h a v e b e e n c l e a r e d o f had found human error was not to private businesses. blame. "The equipment had been The bills differ, however, on n e g l i g e n c e . The death of Eton schoolboy tested, but the tripwire did not whether or not the Department of Homeland Security should be Horatio Chapple in a savage bear detonate," he added. "Technical against online attacks. Trained allowed to set cybersecurity attack was a "tragic accident" that studies have revealed there were cyber defense divisions are now s t a n d a r d s w h i c h p r i v a t e could not have been prevented, no malfunctions to the rifle, the in every FBI field office. Theyre companies must meet. A bill Norwegian officials have ruled. cartridges or the tripwire flares. watching for all kinds of digital s p o n s o r e d b y S e n s . J o e The 17-year-old was part of an "The accident was the result of a crimes such as mortgage fraud, Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan expedition organised by the n u m b e r o f u n f o r t u n a t e terrorist recruitment drives and Collins (R-Maine), gives that British Schools Exploring Society circumstances. Neither BSES nor Internet attacks. power to the DHS, while the other ( B S E S ) t o t h e i s l a n d o f any of the individuals should be SEE ALSO: Anonymous: We bill, backed by Sen. John McCain Spitsbergen last August. The 13- c h a r g e d w i t h c r i m i n a l Were Infiltrated by Police| ( R - A r i z . ) a n d f i v e o t h e r strong team set up camp on the n e g l i g e n c e . " R e p u b l i c a n S e n a t o r s : K e e p Republican senators, does not. Von Postbreen glacier and were Mr Chapple's parents David and Government Out of Cybersecurity Do you think cyberattacks are sleeping in five tents when the 39- O l i v i a , f r o m B i s h o p s t o n e , M u e l l e r i s n t t h e o n l y more dangerous than traditional stone bear struck Mr Chapple was Wiltshire, are reported to have government official making such terrorism? Sound off in the killed and four others injured by appealed against the ruling. the rampaging animal before team This entry passed through the warnings. The FCC chairman comments below. recently highlighted the threat of Image courtesy of iStockphoto, leader Michael Reid, 27, managed Full-Text RSS service if this is to shoot it in the head with a rifle. your content and you're reading it cyberattacks. The U.S. Senate is PashaIgnatov also debating the proper approach M o r e A b o u t : a n o n y m o u s , Students Patrick Flinders, 16, and on someone else's site, please read Scott Smith, 17, who were sharing the FAQ at fivefilters.org/contentto combating cybercrime. cybersecurity a tent with Mr Chapple, were only/faq.php#publishers. Five Two competing bills both call for seriously hurt. Filters recommends: Donate to beefing up the security of Expedition organisers had faced Wikileaks. charges of negligence after reports
Daily World/
77
Chris Huhne hires Harry's lawyer

Paul Cheston, Courts Correspondent (Evening Standard - News)
his affair with Lib-Dem aide, Carina Trimingham. He resigned from the Cabinet last month when the charges were Submitted at 3/2/2012 5:33:06 AM Former Cabinet minister Chris announced and this week was H u h n e h a s h i r e d H a r r y revealed to have claimed a Redknapp's legal team to save 17,000 payoff. Huhne intends to him from the threat of jail. plead not guilty and said he stood At his first appearance at down to "avoid distraction". He Southwark crown court today, was replaced by Ed Davey. Huhne was represented by elite Mr Kelsey-Fry, a charming and criminal lawyer John Kelsey-Fry, urbane QC, has a string of high who last month helped the profile court triumphs. Tottenham manager to be cleared They include Oscar-winning film of tax evasion charges. director Roman Polanski in a libel Redknapp's solicitor, Jane Glass battle with Vanity Fair, England of Burton Copeland, is also footballer Steven Gerrard, who representing the former Energy was accused over a Liverpool Secretary. Huhne, 57, was told nightclub brawl, and champion today that he will face a two-week jockey Kieron Fallon, who faced trial in October. race-fixing charges. He is accused of perverting the As a prosecutor he also appeared course of justice by dodging in a large number of IRA trials penalty points on his driving and also defended Jane Andrews, licence when he claimed that his the former dresser of the Duchess then wife, Vicky Pryce, was at the of York who murdered her wheel when he was caught boyfriend Tommy Cressman. speeding in 2003. Pryce, 59, an economist from At that time the Liberal Democrat Clapham who also faces a charge was a Euro MP and driving home of perverting the course of justice, from Stansted airport. The claims has recruited a stellar QC as well emerged after Huhne and his wife in Clare Montgomery. of 26 years separated following Ms Montgomery is so highly
thought of in Bar circles she is known as "two brains". She has a formidable reputation for her forensic analysis and unforgiving cross examinations. In the last year she has played the leading role in the attempts to extradite British businessman Shrien Dewani to South Africa over the killing of his bride, and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to Sweden over sexual assault allegations. Both deny the accusations. Huhne and Pryce will face an equally strong prosecution team in Andrew Edis QC, who last month prosecuted an al Qaeda-inspired terrorist plot, and Oliver Glasgow. At Westminster magistrates' court last month the former spouses gave each other the cold shoulder, sitting eight feet apart and avoiding eye contact. Today there was a single seat between them in the dock and they could be seen exchanging the odd muttered remark to each other during the 10 minute hearing. They addressed the court only to answer to their names at the beginning of the hearing. The court was told that the trial judge
is expected to be Mr Justice Fulford. There will be further hearings in March, which the defendants will not have to attend, and in May when they will be expected to formally enter pleas to the charges. The couple had a bitter divorce following Huhne's affair with Ms Trimingham, a bisexual PR adviser. Mr Justice Saunders remanded them on unconditional bail and told them: "The next date you two will be required to come to court will be for a plea and case management hearing in the week starting May 21." The defendants left court separately with their legal teams without exchanging a further word to each other. 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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Daily World/ Technology/
I know what I need to do... just give me four more years, says Boris
Peter Dominiczak, City Hall Correspondent (Evening Standard - News)
precept if re-elected, will claim he has put 445 back in Londoners' pockets by freezing the tax over the past four years. Submitted at 3/2/2012 5:43:30 AM Boris Johnson today claimed he However, it has emerged that the has saved Londoners almost 500 figure is calculated by assuming over the past four years as he that Mr Livingstone would have prepares to unveil his vision for dramatically raised tax had he London in a speech this weekend. won the 2008 election. Mr The Mayor will tell tomorrow's Livingstone today described that Conservative Party spring forum claim as "nonsense". that he can "see what needs to be A spokesman for Mr Livingstone done" for the capital as he reveals said: "Ken left strong balances his nine-point plan for a possible that has made a council tax freeze second term. ] possible. Ken has said every year Mr Johnson will use the speech of this mayoral term that he would t o a t t a c k h i s r i v a l K e n have frozen the council tax, so the Livingstone, saying he sees "real story is nonsense, but Boris risks for this city and this Johnson's council tax freeze is country" if the Labour candidate massively cancelled out by his is elected on May 3. In his first fare rises." major set of announcements in the Appealing for another four years mayoral election campaign, he t o c o n t i n u e h i s i n v e s t m e n t will also pledge to create 200,000 programme, he will say: "I feel new jobs, restore 300 acres of like a man who has built half a green space in the capital and bridge. I can see the other side. I plant 20,000 street trees. can see what needs to be done. The Mayor, who has said he will "I hope I am not normally seen as cut his share of the council tax a pessimistic sort of character but
on May 3, I am afraid I see real risks for this city and this country." Criticising Mr Livingstone, he will add: "The problem was that the whole budget was out of control. My determination to end the waste and mismanagement of the previous mayor has freed up the money to pay for a strong plan for our future." The Mayor will also pledge to invest 221million to transform high streets and reduce Tube delays by 30 per cent by 2015 if elected. He says that by cutting waste at City Hall, he will be able to free up 3.5billion for services. 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 Engadget Interview: RIM VP of Enterprise Alan Panezic at MWC 2012 (video)
Myriam Joire (Engadget)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 12:12:00 PM
This week at Mobile World Congress we had the opportunity to talk with Alan Panezic, VP of Enterprise at RIM about what the company is doing to keep existing business customers (and possibly even lure new CIOs) in the warm and secure embrace of its enterprise services while still giving users personal freedom to fully enjoy their devices. RIM's secret weapon? BlackBerry Balance on the PlayBook running OS 2.0(of course) and BlackBerry
Mobile Fusion on the server side. Take look at our video and remember -- that corporate PlayBook of yours may still lack BBM integration but IT professionals are people too, so be gentle with them! The Engadget Interview: RIM VP of Enterprise Alan Panezic at MWC 2012 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 12:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink| | Email this| Comments
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WaPo: Gosh, arent Breitbarts foes being awfully kind to him after his death?
Ed Morrissey (Hot Air Top Picks)
Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:35:23 AM
posted at 11:35 am on March 2, 2012 by Ed Morrissey You see, these are the moments when well miss Andrew the most. The Washington Post offers a longish obituary on Breitbart after his passing, but includes this rather laughable assertion about halfway through: Mr. Breitbarts political adversaries are speaking kindly about a man they often vilified. Theres no point in engaging in political debate today, said Ari Rabin-Havt, executive vice president of Media Matters for America, a liberal media-criticism group that once branded Mr. Breitbart an ideological liar. My sympathy is with his wife and children. Arianna Huffington, founder of the liberal-leaning Huffington Post, said in a statement: I was asked many times this morning for my thoughts on what Andrew meant to the political world, but all I can think of at the moment is what Andrew meant to me as a friend, starting from when we worked together his passion, his exuberance, his fearlessness. Mr. Breit-bart helped Huffington start her Web site in 2005. Later in the piece, though, the
Post admitted that the response they got was less than kind: News of Mr. Breitbarts death sparked such hostile responses from some readers that The Washington Post had to premoderate the comments section on its Web site. WaPo blogger Jennifer Rubin howls at this assertion: Charlie Spiering and others have gone to the trouble of collecting the hate-filled tweets that celebrated his death. Its not simply stray wackos but the supposed cream of the liberal crop that could not contain itself. Suggesting a protest by the Westboro Baptist Church in his honor? Sure. Rolling Stone obscenity? You betcha. Even the Daily Beasts David Frum(a largely fallen conservative who often tangled with Breitbart) opined: Public figures are inescapably judged by their public actions. When those public actions are poisonous, the obituary cannot be pleasant reading. (To be clear, Frum did not rheotorically dance on Breitbarts grave.) For a newspaper that supposedly wanted to report on the subject their article certainly opined on it the Post couldnt even muster the curiosity to Google the reaction. Twitter is a reliably volatile forum and collecting
reactions there wouldnt be a fair representation of the reaction among Breitbart opponents, but Slates Matt Yglesias isnt just some guy on Twitter, either, and he tweeted that The world outlook is slightly improved with @AndrewBrietbart dead. Some of his opponents did handle the news in a professional and classy manner, including Media Matters for America, which gave a surprisingly humane response, much to their credit. However, that was hardly the norm yesterday, as the Post would have its readers believe and the fact that they had to premoderate comments gave them a big clue as to what the actual reaction was. Jen notes the irony of her newspapers spin: The irony here is that Breitbarts enemies are being civil! is preceisely the sort of cant that Breitbart raged against. He (recall the lefts reaction to the Arizona massacre) decried and debunked the pretense that the left was so much more genteel and dignified than the right. He delighted in retweeting the vicious tweets about him so that the veneer of civility would be stripped away. And it is largely to Breitbarts pioneering spirit that there are a flock of New Media outlets to, in his absence, immediately take up the task of balancing, prodding and
debunking what used to be a mainstream media monopoly. Indeed. That just makes it even more incumbent upon us to take up where Andrew left off. Meanwhile, Mickey Kaus replies to Frums article: David Frum could not have known Breitbart. At least thats the most charitable reason I can think of for why he picked the occasion of Breitbarts sudden death to promote the cheap, bogus meme that Andrew had a giddy disdain for truth and fairness as long as a story helped his side. Just as all is fair in a shooting war, so manipulation and deception are legitimate tools in a culture war, writes Frum. Ive known right-wingers who were like that (See, we attack Kerry with this, and by the time he answers weve moved on to the next charge!) Breitbart wasnt one of them. Yes, he had a jaundiced view of the left, and a pugilisticI might say, Frumesqueview of the Middle East. But he said what he though was true, even when that hurt his side or put his own career at risk. Exhibit A: At the height of Weinergate, the moment of Breitbarts greatest triumph, he began to have doubts about the key source, one Dan Wolfe, who had caught Rep. Anthony Weiners off-color tweet. Instead
of burying these doubts, Breitbart went public with them, something that threatened to badly complicate his sides narrative. (Is there a real Dan Wolfe or has someone for months elaborately pretended to be?) He got a lot of grief from some conservatives for this.** Exhibit B: Breitbart was a powerful speaker, and in the early days of the Tea Party he opened for Glenn Beck at rallies. But in his view the Tea Party was a success because it was a big tent focusing on cutting the size of government, not on social issues (where Breitbart, as pretty much of a South Park Republican, often agreed with the left). Becks turn to vague religiosity annoyed him, and he said it. He knew this wasnt going to get him in good with Beck, and it didnt. I would go so far as to say that Breitbart had an instinctive honestypretty much the opposite of what Frum charges. I dont know the ins and outs of the Shirley Sherrod mess, in which Breitbart posted a video the end of which had been lopped off before he saw it. But I guarantee you Breitbart posted it because he felt it truthfully made a legit point (and he wasnt aware what the rest of it would show). I also WAPO: page 82
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Why Does Rush Limbaugh Get Away With Calling a Young Woman a 'Slut'?
Conor Friedersdorf (Politics : The Atlantic)
There is no excuse for Limbaugh's behavior, and nothing redeeming in it. His words aren't merely Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:14:04 AM illogical. It isn't just that he seems Many conservatives ignore or to misunderstand that birthexcuse in the talk-radio host control pills cost the same behavior that they'd be horrified whether someone has sex once to engage in themselves. per month or twice every single See web-only content: day. The problem isn't just that he http://www.theatlantic.com/ misrepresented the fullness of her politics/archive/2012/03/why- testimony. Beyond all that, he has does-rush-limbaugh-get-away- once again shown himself to be with-calling-a-young-woman-a- coarse, vulgar, bullying, callous, slut/253903/ and needlessly cruel. He really said that she should This is hardly the first time. post a sex tape online. I wish I Defending himself during a 2010 could show you a picture of her controversy, Limbaugh said, "If father and mother. I wish I had you read all the way through the video of the moment when a story, you'll find that they are friend or co-worker said to them, livid at me, even though I've " H e y , d i d y o u h e a r R u s h called nobody a 'bitch,' I called Limbaugh talking about your nobody a 'whore,' I called nobody daughter?" I wish I could show a 'slut.'" you her grandfather's face when Guess that excuse won't work he found out. I'd like it if they all anymore. had a chance to confront the host There's his sexist quip that about his comments. He'd blush NASCAR's Danica Patrick should deep red with shame. He'd hate be expected to crash because she's what he's become. "a woman driver." In the course of It hardly matters whether you running through various anal-rape agree with Sandra Fluke, or if you jokes Limbaugh has made over think she is advocating on behalf the years, Gabriel Winant harkens of suboptimal policy, as I do. back to a clip in which an
apparent rape victim describes a finger being inserted into her rectum while Limbaugh laughs at it. John K. Wilson, who wrote a book about Limbaugh, digs up another example of his commentary on women: My cat comes to me when she wants to be fed. I have learned this. I accept it for what it is. Many people in my position would think my cat's coming to me because she loves me. Well, she likes me, and she is attached, but she comes to me when she wants to be fed. And after I feed her -- guess what -- she's off to wherever she wants to be in the house, until the next time she gets hungry. She's smart enough to know she can't feed herself. She's actually a very smart cat. She gets loved. She gets adoration. She gets petted. She gets fed. And she doesn't have to do anything for it, which is why I say this cat's taught me more about women than anything my whole life. But we put voices in their mouths. I run through this history -- there are more examples -- so that Limbaugh apologists cannot portray these latest remarks as an
aberration. They are not. This is what the man is like. He is nevertheless invited to the White House by Republican presidents, praised by conservative magazines, given honorary titles by conservative think tanks and defended by conservative bloggers. What confounds me most about it is that Rich Lowry and Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review, Bill Kristol of The Weekly Standard, Matthew Continetti of the Washington Free Beacon, Glenn Kessler of The Claremont Review of Books, Arthur Brooks at the American Enterprise Institute, Edwin J. Feulner of the Heritage Foundation, fellow talkradio host Bill Bennett -- none of these people would ever dream of going before a national audience and calling a female law student half their age a slut and a prostitute. None of them would ever dream of joking that if she wants her health insurance to cover birth control she should put a sex tape on the Internet. If a deranged gunman held a loved one hostage and forced them to make those remarks, as if of their
own volition, they'd feel deeply embarrassed and ashamed doing it. Yet when Limbaugh says these things -- when he said other things as indefensible in the past -- he remained and remains a frequently celebrated, seldom criticized figure within the conservative movement. The Dittoheads are kept happy, but discredit is brought upon the movement. No leader of the conservative movement is willing to defend Limbaugh on the merits. They just stay mum. It's embarrassing. This article available online at: http://www.theatlantic.com/ politics/archive/2012/03/whydoes-rush-limbaugh-get-awaywith-calling-a-young-woman-aslut/253903/ 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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81
Did the Conservative Supreme Court Dash Romney's White House Hopes?
John Aloysius Farrell (Politics : The Atlantic)
By opening up the campaignfinance system to super PACs, the justices enabled Romney's opponents to hang on and severely weaken him. American politics is generous with ironies. But here's one to savor. Our Wild West campaignfinance system -- deregulated by the conservative bloc on the Supreme Court and embraced by Republicans for both ideological and strategic reasons -- may be dousing the party's hopes to win the White House. Mitt Romney's innovative use of a campaign super PAC has done him great service. The Restore Our Future PAC has raised tens of millions of dollars from a selection of elite donors, and produced the attack ads that have bludgeoned his rivals, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. But it's that same unbridled campaign finance system that lets Gingrich and Santorum remain in the race, despite their organizational shortcomings and personal flaws. MORE FROM NATIONAL JOURNAL Congressional Ethics Cases Disproportionately Target Black Members
GOP Takeover of the Senate Now Unclear David Walker for President
Gingrich and Santorum have precisely those sort of deeppocketed pals. And so the Republican primary In days of yore (like, as recently campaign drags on -- like a as 2008) a string of losses would "political death march," as GOP discourage donors, dry up funding strategist Ron Bonjean has and force a longshot candidate memorably put it. The candidates from the race. But in the new hopscotch around the country, campaign era, there is no greater tearing each other down and asset than a very rich friend. In adopting extreme positions to Sheldon Adelson and Foster appeal to the conservative base, Friess and a few donors like them, thus alarming independents and
foregoing opportunities to focus fire on President Obama. Organizational liabilities -- like the failure to get on the ballot or compete for delegates in key states and congressional districts - are papered over with super PAC money, allowing the long shots to keep campaigning. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. The Supreme Court's Citizens United case, and a subsequent federal-court decision
informed by Citizens United called Speechnow v. FEC, were supposed to favor Republicans because they lifted limits on giving by corporations, wealthy individuals, and other traditional GOP donors. The fiscal issues that dominate the national debate -- taxes, debt, regulation -- were seen "as an agenda in which the interests ... DID page 84
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Cruelty, Cont.
Ta-Nehisi Coates (Politics : The Atlantic)
Earlier today I wrote that arguably the dominant trait of the conservative movement was cruelty. I obviously meant that word "arguably" to be there. But to give some sense of what I meant, I offer the following: Sandra Fluke, a third-year student at Georgetown University Law School, was barred from testifying by Rep. Darrell Issa, the committee chair at the faith-based hearing on Capitol Hill, because he deemed her unqualified. Issa said the panel was supposed to focus on religious freedom and Fluke is not a member of any clergy. She eventually spoke to a Democratic hearing spearheaded by Pelosi on Feb. 23, where she talked about the need for birth control coverage. Fluke spoke of one friend in particular who needed contraception to prevent ovarian cysts. Rush Limbaugh, though, had a different take on Fluke's testimony. On his show Wednesday, he suggested that the
reason Fluke cannot afford birth control is because she is having too much sex. "Can you imagine if you're her parents how proud of Sandra Fluke you would be?" he said. "Your daughter...testifies she's having so much sex she can't afford her own birth control pills and she agrees that Obama should provide them, or the pope." Fluke testified that without insurance coverage, contraception can cost a woman as much as $3,000 during law school. "Three thousand dollars for birth control in three years? That's a thousand dollars a year of sex -- and, she wants us to pay for it," Limbaugh said, adding that high school boys applying to college should consider Georgetown. "They're admitting before congressional committee that they're having so much sex they can't afford the birth control pills!" The conservative radio host continued:"What does it say about the college co-ed Sandra Fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex, what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a
prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex. What does that make us? We're the pimps." Limbaugh shied away from his word choice towards the end of his show, saying "So, she's not a slut. She's round-heeled. I take it back." Round-heeled, though, is a euphemism for the same thing, an old-fashioned term for a "promiscuous woman." On today's show, Limbaugh turned up the heat and suggested that women who use insurancecovered birth control should post sex tapes online: "So Miss Fluke, and the rest of you Feminazis, here's the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex. We want something for it. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch," he said. There is a way of conveniently marginalizing Limba ugh as a "radio host" who doesn't really speak for any aspect of the present conservative movement,
or any element of the GOP electorate. It's a strange position given Limbaugh's immense popularity, the timidity elected Republicans show when asked about his comments, and the prominent role he's been given in the past at C-PAC. The deference he enjoys stands in stark contrast to his apparent status as an old uncle who just happens to say incredibly cruel things which say nothing about the greater family. Nevertheless, influence or not, it is worth calling this what is is--the normalization of cruelty--and asserting, no matter how redundant, that is wrong and evidence of the lowest aspects of humanity. This article available online at: http://www.theatlantic.com/ politics/archive/2012/03/crueltycont/253878/ 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.
CA death penalty poll shows dramatic consensus

Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:10:04 AM
WAPO:
know that there were plenty of stories presented by the cohort of young conservative journalists that he refused to publish because he wasnt certain theyd hold up. He didnt pretend to have the institutional standards of, say,
CBS and Dan Rather. But he had a commitment to truth, independent of ideology, that (as Frum notes) many on left and right lack. Be sure to read it all. 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 12:10 pm on March 2, 2012 by Ed Morrissey Longtime readers know that I personally oppose the death penalty, and that mine is a minority opinion around here and Im comfortable with that. If I wasnt, I might look for moral support from one of the most hopelessly liberal states in the country, my native state of California. Surely, if one state would have an electorate opposed to the death penalty, it would be the one who keeps cluelessly electing Democrats in a near-oneparty government despite thundering towards fiscal and economic collapse. Right? Wrong: By 2:1, CA Voters Back Death Penalty: 61% of registered voters from the state of California say they would vote to keep the death penalty, should a death penalty initiative appear on the November 2012 ballot, according to this latest SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for KGTV-TV San Diego, KPIX-TV San Francisco, KFSN-TV Fresno, and KABC-TV Los Angeles. 29% say they would vote to eliminate the death penalty. Keeping the death DEATH page 83
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Rasmussen: Romney within 2 in Ohio

DEATH
and eight percent (8%) remain undecided. Conventional wisdom is that the Submitted at 3/2/2012 10:00:31 AM continuing candidacy of Newt posted at 11:00 am on March 2, Gingrich helps Romney, but 2012 by Ed Morrissey Rasmussen finds that Romney Rasmussen corroborates the Q- does slightly better when Gingrich poll from earlier today showing is taken out of the equation: that Mitt Romney has made up If its a two-man race, Santorum significant ground on Rick and Romney are tied at 43% each. Santorum in the key Super That, too, represents a huge Tuesday state of Ohio. While c h a n g e . T w o w e e k s a g o , Quinnipiac conducted its survey Santorum led Romney by 28 from Tuesday through Thursday points in a head-to-head matchup this week, Rasmussen conducted in Ohio. its survey of 750 likely voters The crosstabs are similar to those entirely yesterday. Two weeks in the Q-poll this morning. There after being 18 points behind is almost no difference between Santorum in Ohio, Rasmussen men and women and the overall now has him within two: margin, so Santorum has no The latest Rasmussen Reports gender gap in Ohio. Santorum telephone survey of Likely does better among younger voters, Primary Voters in Ohio, taken last while Romney has a 15-point night, shows former U.S. Senator edge among seniors. The split Rick Santorum attracting 33% of between very conservative and the vote and Mitt Romney earning somewhat conservative are 3 1 % . T h a t s a s i g n i f i c a n t nearly mirror images again, 45/25 tightening of the race. Two weeks for Santorum among the former ago, Santorum led Romney by 18 and 42/24 for Romney among the percentage points. latter. Santorum wins Former House Speaker Newt Republicans by three, while Gingrich is now in third place Romney wins independents by with 15% of the vote, and Texas t h r e e . T h e o n e i n t e r e s t i n g Congressman Ron Paul runs last difference between the two is that with 11% support. Two percent Santorum was winning the highest (2%) prefer another candidate, income group in the Q-poll, while
he trails Romney in Rasmussen by six among those who earn more than $100K. The race is still obviously in flux, and it should be a nailbiter this weekend. Both men have about the same favorability rating in Rasmussen as well as Quinnipiac (66/31 Romney, 67/29 Santorum), so that wont be a hinge for latebreaking deciders. The biggest factor that could come into play from the Rasmussen poll is the candidate strength question, which Romney wins 45/25 and gets a consensus double-digit lead across almost all demos (only a four-point lead among very conservative voters and two points among Tea Party voters, however). Santorum will have to make the case in Ohio that hes better positioned to beat Barack Obama in the fall, especially since a plurality of 49% say thats the most important quality in choosing a nominee. 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.
penalty law in California is supported by a majority among all groups except liberals, who are divided. Honestly, its not news that Californians support the death penalty. Theyve repeatedly voted for it, and even bounced a Supreme Court justice off the bench for obstructing executions, the late Rose Bird thirty years ago. Whats so fascinating is just how much Golden State voters support it. More women than men want the death penalty to remain in place (63% to 59%). Every age group has a majority supporting it, from younger voters at 57/31 to seniors at 62/29. Majorities of black and Hispanic voters support it, even while opponents claim it gets applied in a discriminatory fashion against minority defendants. Its no surprise to see 70% of Republicans supporting it, but 56% of Democrats do as well and even a plurality of selfdescribed liberals want it as an option (48/44). How popular is it, geographically speaking? In the San Francisco Bay area the liberal bastion of California 56% of voters support the death penalty. The other bastion of liberalism, the Los Angeles megalopolis,
supports it 64/27. I suspect the reason for this might be the continued oxygenation of Richard Ramirez, one of the most evil criminals ever, who continues to languish on Death Row more than 22 years after being sentenced to death in the Night Stalker murder/rape/robbery spree of the mid-1980s. His continued oxygenation also provides a pretty good example of whats wrong with the death penalty in California, too, but the thought that a parole board or a governor could set this lunatic free is probably enough to make the death penalty look like a good option to keep in hand. And frankly, even though I oppose the death penalty, as someone who lived through the Night Stalker nightmare, I find it hard to blame California voters for that belief. 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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DID
aligned with the Republican Party have more at stake," says Anthony Corrado, a campaign finance expert from Colby College. Republican congressional leaders and conservative pundits rushed to defend the Supreme Court, and to praise the Citizens United ruling. But the unintended consequence of letting those millionaires and billionaires give unlimited money to candidate super PACs has been a divisive, costly primary race, which now threatens to go on, and on, and on. "These parallel campaign organizations" -- the super PACs - "have allowed these candidates
to stay in the race," says Corrado. "Essentially a couple of big donors have kept them going." There may be more surprises ahead, says Trevor Potter, one of the nation's top campaign finance lawyers. Who knows but that some billionaire will decide to drop $10 million, or $100 million or even $1 billion by Election Day, shattering expectations and predictions? Americans "have not fully grasped the different environment," that we are in, Potter told a gathering at the Brookings Institution Thursday. "It only takes one billionaire ... to change the equation entirely."
Image: Reuters This article available online at: http://www.theatlantic.com/ politics/archive/2012/03/did-theconservative-supreme-court-dashromneys-white-house-hopes/ 253890/ 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.
Insert Coin: UNRULY Headcase, wants to make your GoPro less 'so so'
James Trew (Engadget)
aluminum case aimed at making the GoPro infinitely more Submitted at 3/2/2012 11:19:00 AM mountable. Unlike the bogIn Insert Coin, we look at an standard plastic housing, the exciting new tech project that Headcase Pro has a self-tightening requires funding before it can hit door that should prevent it from production. If you'd like to pitch a flying open on impact, along with project, please send us a tip with gunk-repelling rubber sealed "Insert Coin" as the subject line. b u t t o n s . M o s t p l e a s i n g t o We've had a bunch of fun testing frustrated directors will be the out GoPro cameras, but one thing nine threaded mount holes, letting that has always been a source of you attach it to your existing frustration is the fiddly mount tripods and peripherals. Also, the s y s t e m . A p r o b l e m t h a t ' s Headcase Pro is large enough to seemingly inspired a Kickstarter work with the BacPac and battery project called Headcase Pro. packs without the need to change Effectively it's a lightweight doors, and a protective lens ring is
$25,000 goal. Still not sure? Then focus on the video after the break for a demo. Gallery: UNRULY Headcase Pro / Headgear Continue reading Insert Coin: UNRULY Headcase, wants to make your GoPro less 'so so' Insert Coin: UNRULY Headcase, wants to make your GoPro less 'so so' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 a final sweetener. For those of us choices and protects your lens. 11:19:00 EDT. Please see our with more amateur needs, there is Think this has got legs? Or simply terms for use of feeds. Permalink| the Headgear model, which fits want one for yourself? Then $328 Kickstarter| Email this| Comments around the standard GoPro case, will get you one of the first run, but still bumps your mount and push the project along to its

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