Thursday, January 31, 2013

Taking the Java Bull by the Horns

The United States Department of Homeland Security Computer Emergency Readiness Team has recently been advising computer users to update or switch off Java in browsers. Oracle's Java is a programming language that's used in browser plug-ins. It's used by vendors to make applications function across operating systems.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/2817d71c/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C7720A10Bhtml/story01.htm

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Your Social Networking Credit Score

Errol Damelin, CEO of Wonga, speaks during the Digital Life Design conference. Errol Damelin, CEO of Wonga, speaks during the Digital Life Design conference (DLD) at HVB Forum on January 23 in Munich, Germany.

Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images

The buzzword tsunami that is ?big data"?a handy way of describing our vastly improved ability to collect and analyze humongous data sets?has dwarfed ?frictionless sharing? and ?cloud computing? combined. As befits Silicon Valley, ?big data? is mostly big hype, but there is one possibility with genuine potential: that it might one day bring loans?and credit histories?to millions of people who currently lack access to them. But what price, in terms of privacy and free will (not to mention the exorbitant interest rates), will these new borrowers have to pay?

In the not so distant past, the lack of good and reliable data about applicants with no credit history left banks little choice but to lump them together as high-risk bets. As a result, they either were offered loans at prohibitively high rates or had their applications rejected.

Thanks to the proliferation of social media and smart devices, Silicon Valley is awash with data. While much of it has no obvious connection to finance, some of it can still be used to make accurate predictions about the user's lifestyle and sociability. As a result, a new generation of companies is beginning to deploy algorithms that sieve through these data to separate trustworthy borrowers from those likely to default and to price their loans accordingly.

Some?like the Hong Kong-based Lenddo, which currently operates in the Philippines and Colombia?do so by scrutinizing the applicants' connections on Facebook and Twitter. The key to getting a successful loan from Lenddo is having a handful of highly trusted individuals in your social networks. If they vouch for you and you get the loan, your select friends will also be notified of your successes in repaying the loan. (In the past, Lenddo even threatened to notify them?exerting maximum peer pressure?if you had problems repaying the loan.)

Similarly, the U.S.-based LendUp, which hands out short-term loans with high interest rates while allowing its most trusted established clients to move to more attractive longer-term packages, looks at social media activity to ensure that factual data provided on the online application matches what can be inferred from Facebook and Twitter. Not surprisingly, most such startups?including Lenddo and LendUp?are financed by the same venture capitals who have backed much of the social media boom. (Accel Partners, one of the first investors in Facebook has funded Lenddo; LendUp has received support from Google Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz.)

Social media is just the tip of the iceberg. Wonga, an extremely ambitious online payday-lending company based in London, even considers the time of the day and the way a candidate clicks around the site in determining whether to grant a loan. It rejects two-thirds of all first-time applicants. Kreditech, a Germany company that seeks to provide "scoring as a service," looks at 8,000 indicators, such as "location data (GPS, micro-geographical), social graph (likes, friends, locations, posts), behavioral analytics (movement and duration on the webpage), people?s e-commerce shopping behavior and device data (apps installed, operating systems)."

Those without smartphones or Twitter accounts need not despair. Even simple cellphones are sources of data with great predictive value. Thus, Safaricom, Kenya?s largest mobile operator, studies how often its customers top up their airtime, how regularly they use the voice service, and how frequently they use the mobile money function. Once their trustworthiness has been established, Safaricom would gladly lend them money. But mobile operators moonlighting as banks aren?t the only ones leveraging these data: A Cambridge-based startup called Cignifi is using the length of calls, the time of the day, and the location of the call to guess the lifestyle?and hence the reliability?of loan applicants in the developing world.

All these efforts are premised on the sensible idea that current models of assessing creditworthiness focus on too few indicators, shutting off many potential borrowers who pay their bills on time but don't have good (or any) credit histories. ?Big data? can separate the lazy slackers from those who truly deserve better loan terms. The goal, then, is to get as many data as possible, perhaps even nudging potential applicants to pre-emptively disclose as much information about themselves as possible. In yet another puzzling paradox of the modern age, the rich people are spending money on expensive services that protect their privacy and improve their standing in Google's search results, while the poor people have little choice but to surrender their privacy in the name of social mobility.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=9e0b5ca42fc8790e394f95b7031a13e7

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Video: Viral prankster pulls off a ?B? sting

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50638693/

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Chris Brown says he feels like crucified Jesus

Danny Moloshok / REUTERS file

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, TODAY

Chris Brown threw himself back into the headlines Monday night when he posted an Instagram picture of a painting of Jesus Christ on the cross?and wrote, "Painting the way I feel today. Focus on what matters!"

The controversial singer was already back in the news thanks to an alleged fight over a West Hollywood parking space that reportedly took place between Brown and singer Frank Ocean.

Authorities responded Sunday night to a call of a fight involving six men, the LA County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

"Deputies talked to witnesses who stated that Chris Brown and the victim were involved in an altercation over a parking space," the statement added. "The altercation allegedly led to Chris Brown punching the victim."

Steve Whitmore, the LA County Sheriff's spokesman, said that no charges have been filed against Brown yet, but that Ocean "is desirous of prosecution in this incident."

On Monday, Ocean tweeted, "got jumped by chris and a couple guys. lol. i only wish (Ocean's dog) everest was there." A minute after tweeting that, he also tweeted, "cut my finger now I can't play w two hands at the grammys."

Ocean and Brown are both nominated for Grammy Awards. That ceremony will be held Feb. 10.?

A spokesperson for Ocean told TODAY he had no comment.

As for Brown, more than 2700 people have commented on his Christ artwork.

Wrote one, "Glad to see you are feeling pain like Jesus ... but there is no Jesus here, you burnt that bridge a long time (ago)."

Another fan was more supportive, saying, "You have good in you. I just want to remind you that if you have faith, nothing can separate us from our Lord Jesus."

And yet another moonlighted as an art critic, writing, "You forgot the arms, the outline is sloppy, there isn't any depth, the characters in the back look like midgets, you forgot 'INRI,' the anatomy is terrible, the green makes everything look nauseous."

Brown has a famous fan, too. In a cover story in Billboard magazine's upcoming issue, teen singer Justin Bieber?said that while he?won't be attending the Grammys this year, but he'll be pulling for Brown. "I'm a fan," Bieber told the magazine. "His music is really good. That's what they should focus on: the music."

Related content:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2013/01/29/16755188-chris-brown-compares-himself-to-crucified-jesus?lite

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Tornado Watch for all of N Georgia Through 4pm

All of N Georgia has been put under a tornado watch through this afternoon. Tornadoes, damaging straight line winds, and large hail are possible in the watch area as we go throughout the day.?

What we are seeing this morning is just a taste of what we will be seeing this afternoon as we are expecting a ful day of severe weather to affect the N Georgia area. Stay tuned to 11alive and 11alive.com, plus this blog, for the latest information of the threat for severe weather today.

Remember I am always tracking the weather on my facebook page, come join the 10,000+ fans that get all kinds of weather and other stuff:?MIKE'S FACEBOOK PAGE. You can also follow me on twitter:?MIKE'S TWITTER PAGE.

Source: http://wizarmy.11alive.com/news/weather/155621-tornado-watch-all-n-georgia-through-4pm

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Welcome But Seriously... the newest blog at #SciAmBlogs


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I am super-excited to announce the launch of the newest blog on our network, But Seriously? , written by my friend Brian Malow, the Science Comedian. Apart from doing science stand-up comedy, Brian is also the Curator of the SECU Daily Planet at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, has produced videos for TIME magazine, and has written and talked seriously about the role of humor in science communication. His blog will combine some of all of it ? his humor, his serious thoughts, and his videos, often interviewing interesting people in the worlds of science and science communication.

But Seriously?, launched earlier today. Go to the first post and say Hello to Brian.

Bora ZivkovicAbout the Author: Bora Zivkovic is the Blog Editor at Scientific American, chronobiologist, biology teacher, organizer of ScienceOnline conferences and editor of Open Laboratory anthologies of best science writing on the Web. Follow on Twitter @boraz.

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

Previous: #SciAmBlogs Friday ? Glassfrogs, Age of Miracles, bad smells, Rotifer in Motion, chemophobia, Geodesign and more. More
The Network Central
Next: #SciAmBlogs Monday ? Kenyan mesopredators, Up-Goer Five, Commenting, #scio13, Historic Meteor Procession, Public Statistics, Davos, and more.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=44bec4407739403befd37c4529cbe053

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Cadavers honored in med student dissection lab

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., medical student Jimmy Beasley, left, speaks with Joan Terry, about her sister, donor Judy A. Clemens, after a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., medical student Jimmy Beasley, left, speaks with Joan Terry, about her sister, donor Judy A. Clemens, after a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., family members watch as a medical student lights a candle atop the remains of their grandfather, donor William N. Kelly, during a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., A military honor guard folds the flag of a Viet Nam veteran and anonymous donor, during a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., Linsdey Ellingsen, granddaughter of donor William N. Kelly, wipes a tear from her eye as a song is sung during a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

In this photo taken Friday, Jan. 25, 2013, in Gary, Ind., medical student Sarah F. Shaaban reads from the Quran during a memorial service for bodies donated to science at Indiana University School of Medicine - Northwest. During the hour long service, relatives of donors gather around the steel tables where their loved ones were dissected along with the medical students who worked on the bodies during the previous semester. The students read letters of appreciation, clergy offer prayers, and tears are shed. The program is geared towards teaching the medical students that this is not merely a cadaver, but a person, and their first patient. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

(AP) ? When medical students have finished their study and practice on cadavers, they often hold a respectful memorial service to honor these bodies donated to science.

But the ceremonies at one medical school have a surreal twist: Relatives gather around the cold steel tables where their loved ones were dissected and which now hold their remains beneath metal covers. The tables are topped with white or burgundy-colored shrouds, flags for military veterans, flowers and candles.

The mixture of grace and goth at the Indiana University School of Medicine-Northwest campus might sound like a scene straight out filmmaker Tim Burton's quirky imagination. Yet, despite the surrounding shelves of medical specimens and cabinets of human bones, these dissection lab memorials are more moving than macabre.

The medical students join the families in the lab and read letters of appreciation about the donors, a clergy member offers prayers, and tears are shed.

Family members are often squeamish about entering that room. This year's ceremony was last Friday, and relatives of one of the six adult donors being honored chose not to participate. And some who did attend had mixed feelings.

Joan Terry of Griffith, Ind., came to honor her sister, Judy Clemens, who died in 2011 at age 51 after a long battle with health problems including multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis. Terry said she felt a little hesitant about being in the dissection lab and was relieved that nothing too graphic was visible.

"I was kind of looking forward to coming," Terry said. "This is ... like a closure. I know Judy's not with us anymore. I know that she's dancing on the streets of gold in heaven. She's probably smiling knowing that her body's helping other people, helping these young doctors learn something about her, because that's what she wanted. That's the type of person that she was. She was always giving."

More than three dozen students, donors' relatives and campus staff members crowded the anatomy lab during Friday's memorial, surrounding the tables and standing solemnly along the room's perimeter. Some dabbed their eyes as prayers and remembrances were said, but faces were mostly stoic and there was no sobbing. The lab's usual odor of formaldehyde was strangely absent, masked perhaps by the sweet aroma of bouquets decorating the cadaver tables.

Some donors' relatives wore formal funeral attire. Terry, noting her plain pink T-shirt, said her sister wasn't a fancy person, either. Terry closed her eyes and struggled not to cry during the service, saying beforehand that Clemens "would be upset if I did."

Abdullah Malik, a medical student who worked on Judy Clemens, thanked her in a letter he read aloud during the ceremony.

"To have the courage and fortitude to endure as much as she did is a testament to her strength and an inspiration to us all," he read, standing next to Clemens' sister beside the dissection table holding Clemens' remains.

Ernest Talarico Jr., an assistant professor and director of anatomy coursework, created the unusual program and began holding the laboratory ceremonies in 2007. The cadavers are considered the medical students' first patients, and students are encouraged to have contact with the donors' families during the semester, too.

At other medical schools, donated bodies remain anonymous and students never meet the families. Talarico said his program humanizes the learning experience.

Talarico views the services as life-affirming and a chance to give thanks. The education these donated bodies have provided is invaluable, he says, teaching doctors-to-be how the body works, and what causes things to go wrong.

"We look at it as a celebration of the lives of those individuals and the gift that they have given to us," Talarico said.

He considers the location fitting.

"I think it is appropriate in that we honor them in the setting in which they desired to give what they viewed as their last gift to humanity," he said.

Malik, the medical student, said knowing the donors' identities and meeting their families enriches the students' medical education.

"Once you put a name and a face to the body that you're working with, once you kind of put an identity to it, you kind of connect to it in a really meaningful and powerful way," he said.

Medical student Kyle Parker said he admired the donors' relatives for showing up, and wondered if he were in their shoes, "would I be willing to meet the people who have actually dissected my family member?"

Parker said he hopes the answer would be yes.

___

Online:

Indiana University School of Medicine-Northwest: http://iusm-nw.medicine.iu.edu

___

AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at: http://www.Twitter.com/LindseyTanner

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-29-Cadaver%20Memorial/id-d4773c807cf843de9dfb6b5c92adc6de

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Shouldn?t More Be Done to Prepare New Teachers?

We've all been inside a classroom, and there's a good chance we've each had at least one teacher who wasn't prepared for the task at hand.

For far too long, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), this trend has gone unnoticed by policymakers.

In an effort to propel lawmakers into action, the organization put out a report entitled the 2012 State Teacher Policy Yearbook. It grades the country, and each state, on how well it prepares incoming teachers. America was given a D+ on teacher preparedness policies, and zero states were given an A.

Alabama, Florida, Indiana, and Tennessee ranked at the top of the list, each receiving a B-. Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming received failing grades.

The reports points out that only 24 states require a basic skills test when screening applicants. Also, it exposes how shockingly low standards are for elementary school teachers.

While teaching kids to read is perhaps an elementary teacher's biggest responsibility, it isn't treated that way at the policy level. "Only 10 states appropriately assess teacher proficiency in effective reading instruction. And only 11 states adequately test new elementary teachers' knowledge of mathematics."

The problem, according to the report, is that while many states are focused on identifying effective teachers in the classroom, they are "neglecting opportunities to get it right from the start by setting rigorous standards and high expectations for what teachers should know and should be able to do before they are licensed to become teachers."

Ellen Moir, founder and CEO of New Teacher Center, a nonprofit dedicated to improving student learning by accelerating the effectiveness of new teachers and school leaders, echoes this sentiment. She wrote on TakePart that, "Despite the current focus on making sure all educators are effective, we are not setting up most new teachers to make a difference, and their students pay the price."

Moir calls the first year of teaching a "sink or swim" experience and believes teaching mentors can make a big difference. She writes, "Research shows that when new teachers receive the right support, they are more effective and remain in the profession. What does the right support look like? We call it comprehensive new teacher mentoring and induction. It involves the guidance of successful, experienced teachers who have been trained to mentor new teachers and create relevant, timely opportunities for groups of new teachers to learn together."

The NCTQ report touches on mentorship before teachers even receive their first teaching position. It points out that only three states?Florida, Indiana, and Tennessee?require the educator assigned to mentor a student teacher be proven as an effective teacher. Today, placement is more likely to be "the luck of the draw."

NCTQ president Kate Walsh said in a statement, that she hopes policymakers will use this report as a roadmap "on how to get teacher effectiveness right from the start." They can do this, she says, "by setting higher expectations for what teachers need to know and are able to do before they are licensed to become teachers."

Do you think teachers need more preparation before they step foot inside a classroom? Share your thoughts in comments.

Related Stories on TakePart:

? Diary of a First-Year Teacher: Finally, I?m Out of Survival Mode

? Diary of a First-Year Teacher: The First Month

? A California Teacher?s Secret to Raising Grades and Morale

Jenny is the Education Editor at TakePart. She has been writing for TakePart since 2009 and previously worked in film and television development. She has taught English in Vietnam and tutors homeless children in Los Angeles. Email Jenny | @jennyinglee | TakePart.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/more-done-prepare-teachers-213000127.html

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'Downton Abbey' is hit with tragedy

By Gael Fashingbauer Cooper , TODAY

Don't think for a minute that "Downton Abbey" isn't as soapy as "The Young and the Restless," or that any characters are safe. In a heart-wrenching turn on Sunday's episode, Sybil's childbirth at Downton went horribly, horribly wrong. While her childhood doctor Dr. Clarkson fought to have her taken to the hospital for a new-fangled C-section, the new doctor Robert brought in, Sir Philip Tapsell, insisted she would be fine.

Joss Barratt / Carnival Films

Lady Sybil and Tom hold their newborn daughter, for the family's one short moment of happiness.

She was not. After delivering a healthy daughter, Sybil went into eclampsia-prompted seizures and died while her family begged for someone, anyone, to do something. Cora blamed Robert, Robert blamed himself, and everyone is devastated, especially new widower Tom.

Sybil's death was agonizing to watch, especially the frustration of how the family's social class affected their decision-making. Robert wanted Sir Philip -- who'd delivered the children of duchesses -- to deliver his grandchild, and poor Dr. Clarkson's past work with Matthew and Lavinia didn't exactly help his cause. And Cora being on Clarkson's side -- "I would have taken her (to the hospital) an hour ago" -- didn't help, as she deferred to her husband, as was expected.

The death shook the massive house. Seeing the white-faced staff in nightclothes hearing the news and watching tough guy Thomas break down was a brilliant example of how much Sybil, the "sweetest spirit under this roof," was loved. And other moments nailed it as well -- the motherless baby's cry just as Sybil passed away, and the Dowager Countess' suddenly unsteady legs as she entered the house after hearing the news. "We've seen some troubles, you and I," she told Carson. "Nothing worse than this."

But darn it, Mary and Edith, can't you just get along? With Sybil's dead body lying before them, Edith tried again to get her oldest sister to say they'll try and pull together but Mary just can't do it.

The other plots couldn't help but be completely buried under the weight of Sybil's death. Isobel may regret hiring clumsy Ethel as her cook, but at least it's respectable work. New footman Jimmy's attractive to the female servants, but it's Thomas' interest in him that rattled him. Matthew was worried that he's infertile, even though he and Mary have only been wed a few months. Mary's furious that Matthew was tentatively questioning her father's business acumen. And Edith got an offer for a regular newspaper column, sparked by her letter to the Times about women's suffrage.

Joss Barratt / Carnival Films

Ladies Mary and Edith were thrilled to gain a niece, but later, even the loss of their sister couldn't pull them together.

Bates and Anna's plot received the most screen time after poor Sybil, but is there anyone out there who's not sick of this one yet? Vera Bates' best friend, Mrs. Bartlett, let slip to Anna that she saw Vera scrubbing pastry out from under her nails, which means that Vera herself made the poisoned pie that killed her. Getting Mrs. Bartlett to admit what she saw is going to be a challenge, but she'd better admit it soon, because time just stops when the cameras travel to Bates' dreary prison.

Rest in peace, Lady Sybil. Like Melanie in "Gone With the Wind," you were the quiet glue that held the Crawleys together, and with you gone, more cracks will emerge in the family facade.

Best Dowager Countess quotes:

  • "When may she expect an offer to appear on the London stage?" ?-- Because obviously that's Edith's next step after a newspaper column.
  • "If there is one thing that I am quite indifferent to it is Sir Philip Tapsell's feelings." -- If only Robert had felt the same way about Sybil's snooty doctor.
  • "A woman of my age can face reality far better than most men." -- So Robert, you needn't protect her from the word "urine."
  • "Don't look at me. Cora is right. The decision lies with the chauffeur." ?-- Tom may be Sybil's husband, but he still once drove cars at Downton, and no one will ever let him forget it.

What will you miss most about Sybil? Tell us on our Facebook page.

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Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2013/01/18/16586844-downton-abbey-is-hit-with-tragedy?lite

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Tancredo Won't Smoke Pot, After All

Tom Tancredo has just said "no."

Under pressure from his wife and grandchildren, the former GOP congressman will renege on a public pledge to smoke marijuana, which he made after losing a bet on Colorado's pot-legalization initiative on Election Day.

Tancredo, a conservative Republican who has been out of Congress since 2009, supported Colorado's Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana in his home state when it passed on election day. Tancredo said he had never smoked marijuana and that he did not condone its use, but argued that the government shouldn't tell adults what they can or can't ingest.

The former congressman never thought it would pass. "I thought it would take at least one more time around to do it," Tancredo told ABC News last week. He made a bet with film producer Adam Hartle, who was in Colorado to make a film on the pot measure, agreeing to smoke marijuana if it became legal.

Recently, Tancredo said he would make good on the bet, agreeing to inhale "just a puff" with Hartle, leaving the filmmaker to handle the marijuana procurement. On Friday, he even suggested Democratic Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper should join in.

But that made a lot of people unhappy, including Tancredo's family, and now the former congressman says he won't do it.

"My wife is absolutely-she's pissed," Tancredo told ABC News last week. "Oh man, she is not happy."

Neither were his conservative backers.

"My conservative friends just believe what I'm doing is encouraging people to smoke it," Tancredo said. "I don't think people should. That decision is up to an individual. An adult, in this society, is not something the government should have any control over."

Finally, on Friday night, Tancredo cracked under pressure from his grandchildren.

They were "very upset with grandpa," Tancredo told ABC News, and for him, that was it.

"Will have to welch. Political heat is one thing. Am use to that," Tancredo wrote in an email. "Heat from my family is quite another."

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tom-tancredo-wont-smoke-pot-161410633--abc-news-politics.html

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Monday, January 28, 2013

Money fears vs. real benefits in Medicaid choice

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama thinks his health care law makes states an offer they can't refuse.

Whether to expand Medicaid, the federal-state program for the poor and disabled, could be the most important decision facing governors and legislatures this year. The repercussions go beyond their budgets, directly affecting the well-being of residents and the finances of critical hospitals.

Here's the offer:

If states expand their Medicaid programs to cover millions of low-income people now left out, the federal government will pick up the full cost for the first three years and 90 percent over the long haul.

About 21 million uninsured people, most of them adults, eventually would gain health coverage if all the states agree.

Adding up the Medicaid costs under the law, less than $100 billion in state spending could trigger nearly $1 trillion in federal dollars over a decade, according to the nonpartisan Urban Institute.

"It's the biggest expansion of Medicaid in a long time, and the biggest ever in terms of adults covered," said Mark McClellan, who ran Medicare and Medicaid when George W. Bush was president.

"Although the federal government is on the hook for most of the cost, Medicaid on the whole is one of the biggest items in state budgets and the fastest growing. So there are some understandable concerns about the financial implications and how implementation would work," McClellan said.

A major worry for states is that deficit-burdened Washington sooner or later will renege on the 90-percent deal. The regular Medicaid match rate averages closer to 50 percent. That would represent a significant cost shift to the states.

Many Republicans also are unwilling to keep expanding government programs, particularly one as complicated as Medicaid, which has a reputation for being inefficient and unwieldy.

Awaiting decisions are people such as Debra Walker of Houston, a part-time home health care provider. She had a good job with health insurance until she got laid off in 2007.

Walker was recently diagnosed with diabetes, and she's trying to manage by getting discounted medications through a county program for low-income uninsured people.

Walker estimates she earned about $10,000 last year, which means she would qualify under the income cutoff for the Medicaid expansion. But that could happen only if Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, reconsiders his opposition.

"I think that would be awesome if the governor would allow that program to come into the state," Walker said. "That would be a help for me, robbing Paul to pay Peter for my medicines."

She seems determined to deal with her diabetes problem. "I don't want to lose a limb later on in life," said Walker, 58. "I want to beat this. I don't want to carry this around forever."

As Obama's law was originally written, low-income people such as Walker would not have had to worry or wait. Roughly half the uninsured people gaining coverage under the law were expected to go into Medicaid. The middle-class uninsured would get taxpayer-subsidized private coverage in new insurance markets called exchanges.

But last year the Supreme Court gave states the right to opt out of the Medicaid expansion. The court upheld the rest of the law, including insurance exchanges and a mandate that virtually everyone in the United States have health coverage, or face a fine.

The health care law will go into full effect next Jan. 1, and states are scrambling to crunch the numbers and understand the Medicaid trade-offs.

States can refuse the expansion outright or indefinitely postpone a decision. But if states think they'll ultimately end up taking the deal, there's a big incentive to act now: The three years of full federal funding for newly eligible enrollees are only available from 2014 through 2016.

So far, 17 states and the District of Columbia have said they'll take it. That group includes three Republican-led states, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer was prominent among GOP leaders who had tried get the law overturned.

An additional 11 states, all led by Republicans, say they want no part of it. Perry says it tramples states' rights.

The remaining states are considering options.

In some cases, GOP governors are trying to persuade balky legislatures led by Republicans. Hospitals treating the uninsured are pressing for the expansion, as are advocates for the poor and some chambers of commerce, which see an economic multiplier from the infusion of federal dollars. Conservative foes of "Obamacare," defeated at the national level, want to hold the line.

The entire debate is overshadowed by some big misconceptions, including that the poor already have Medicaid.

Many of them do, but not all. Medicaid generally covers low-income disabled people, children, pregnant women and some parents. Childless adults are left out in most states.

The other misconception is that Medicaid is so skimpy that people are better off being uninsured.

Two recent studies debunked that.

One found a 6 percent drop in the adult death rate in states that already have expanded Medicaid along the lines of the federal health care law. A second looked at Oregonians who won a lottery for Medicaid and compared them with ones who weren't picked and remained uninsured. The Medicaid group had greater access to health care, less likelihood of being saddled with medical bills, and felt better about their overall health.

Skeptics remain unconvinced.

Louisiana's health secretary, Bruce D. Greenstein, is concerned that the Medicaid expansion could replace private insurance for many low-wage workers in his state, dragging down quality throughout the health care system because the program pays doctors and hospitals far less than private insurance. He says the Obama administration and Congress missed a chance to overhaul Medicaid and give states a bigger say in running the program.

"Decisions are made by fiat," he said. "There is not any sense of a federal-state partnership, what this program was founded on. I don't feel in any way that I am a partner." The Obama administration says it is doing its best to meet state demands for flexibility.

But one thing the administration has been unwilling to do is allow states to partly expand their Medicaid programs and still get the generous matching funds provided by the health care law.

That could have huge political implications for states refusing the expansion, and for people such as Walker, the diabetes patient from Houston.

These numbers explain why:

Under the new law people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line, about $15,400 for an individual, are eligible to be covered by Medicaid.

But for most people below the poverty line, about $11,200 for an individual, Medicaid would be the only option. They cannot get subsidized private coverage through the new health insurance exchanges.

So if a state turns down the Medicaid expansion, some of its low-income people still can qualify for government-subsidized health insurance through the exchanges. But the poorest cannot.

In Texas, somebody making a couple of thousand dollars more than Debra Walker still could get coverage. But Walker would be left depending on pay-as-you-go charity care.

"It's completely illogical that this has happened," said Edwin Park, a health policy expert with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which advocates for low-income people.

Federal officials say their hands are tied, that Congress intended the generous federal matching rate solely for states undertaking the full expansion. States doing a partial expansion would have to shell out more of their own money.

"Some people are going to be between a rock and a hard spot," said Walker.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/money-fears-vs-real-benefits-medicaid-choice-153041942.html

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Sunday, January 27, 2013

Facts About registry cleaner for windows xp: Were You Aware The ...

Facts eusing free registry cleaner review

Yet cautious a pc individual you are, false and excess access are still particular to see their means into your computing machinery. Such invalid registry entries locate their means into the computer system when, for instance, a device vehicle driver (the software that regulates the basic communication of an equipment tool with the electronic pc) misfunctions - which is instead an usual occurrence. bad registry entries may additionally occur throughout un-installation of pc software applications from your computer system, when all the registry access the computer had actually made pertaining to the computer software when you initially installed it stay in your computer machine - despite the fact that you have actually uninstalled the tool - as a result making such entries added.

Nevertheless if you attempt to correct the issues your own self, ensure to have a back-up of your registry before doing so. While you make use of registry cleaner software, it constantly maintains a back up of your registry declares automatically. You may give the command ntbackup. exe in the Run conversation box to produce a back up of your registry.

Registry cleaners boost the computer system efficiency by making the registry clean. Cleaning the debris and void entries manually is a tedious activity, so using registry cleansers make the job trouble free-and-easy. Registry cleansers automate the procedure of trying to find entries, missing file, and broken web links. These additionally settle the issues, recommend the computer system support professionals.

Finest cost-free registry cleaner has number of benefits which are promoting individuals's life throughout the globe. As you understand it would be incredibly trouble virtually inconceivable to eliminate clutter and invalid access from the system on manual basis, however with the help of best cost-free registry cleaner you can effortlessly try to find the invalid information and snare it for eliminating.

In addition to this, the Windows vista registry cleaner could deal with virus issues and can promptly remove it. Viruses, Spyware and trojans are a huge cause for computer troubles, with Windows Vista also ... Vista's suitable registry cleaner are prepared for such functions.

Registry cleansers correct the 'registry' which is a data source that stores info and configurations about your COMPUTER. They function to browse through the registry data source and take care of any of the wrecked files that often jam it up. The registry database is prone to making Windows run gradually and with errors, as it is often loaded with many tainted and broken files that make your COMPUTER take longer to refine the environments it needs. http://bestwiseregistrycleaner360.co.uk

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Or you'll just be down load an affordable registry cleaner.such as Frontline Registry Cleaner. That maybe what Used to a minimum of. It was somewhat pain free, with the exception of forking your $35. Still a good deal cheaper than technological innovation school and the mechanic shop.

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ReviverSoft website place is usually also a great element. The actual computer animated computer repairman, Reggie, makes your personal machine such as it has the sophisticated costs significantly less difficult. A How For you to articles or blog posts available from Reggie present you with stepwise guidelines about subjects related to pc registry. They can make it easier to in routine maintenance concerns including defragmenting, removing program, improving the particular cell phone browser computer software furthermore as application fix things. This weblog segment establishes to get involving great assistance to newcomers.

After that run 'Disk Defragmenter on the Start >All Programs >Accessories >System Tools >Disk Defragmenter.The following properly tidies your hard disk drive, adding many of the data files within a a great deal more logical design therefore, the laptop or computer will get these people easier and as a consequence a lot more quickly.

When House windows 89 1st present computer system registry database, development plus remedy for Home windows computer software features enhanced, nevertheless the functionality in addition reduce over time. The reason why to get personal computer delaying is really because pc registry databases is growing too large and failed to help download in to the memory space without resorting to the very slower digital memory space.

Keeping Storage Place Absolutely free As we have described, hard drives work with critically the same manner, no matter if you will be operating Windows 7 or some other computer, so it is crucial that the specific amount associated with living space remain free for your innovative Windows 7 machine. Trying to keep free of charge hard drive area makes it possible for your laptop or computer to implement the excess living space for short term information, particularly significant when you are huge over the internet. Without a lot totally free space, you will cope with all manner of bugs along with downturn till a little space will get settled.

The cheapest means of cleaning right up is usually to carry out guide common routine maintenance about the computer system registry. Perhaps 3 5 decades from now, any time .World wide web software develop into widely used, fo the time being, most of us still in making employ might know about possess and make use of many registry washing tools.

Software piracy on the web is not a secret. Internet sites like The Pirate Clean honestly sell and have numerous landscapes a day. Lots of people tend to acquire windows registry cleaners along with other software package readily available submit giving in addition to . torrent web sites. The reason regarding this is certainly: "why spend when you buy this free of charge?" In this posting you will definitely get to know a number of the threats at the rear of grabbing unlicensed registry products by illegal torrents.

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Information About aml registry cleaner review

Most of us recognize just how frustrating as well as stressful it is to cope with continuous computer overall performance difficulties along with method failures. Picking a choice by what merchandise would be better to repair registry errors merely adds to which anxiety.

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For advanced people, it can be convenient to manage to change which recognized problems you wish fixed. Virtually all amateur people won't need to worry about this selection since the majority of considerable Experience registry scanner software packages are meant to fix merely essential data files.

Every pc seller would like his or her equipment to be able to be as durable as possible, and also thankfully, computer existence (which include parts such as the harddrive) may be steadily expanding for many decades. Nonetheless, zero pc is going to are an extremely long time with no some clever, regular personal computer routine maintenance, also in new operating systems including Home windows 7.

Fortunately, it really is pretty very easy to diy. Just acquire among the many good Computer cleaner applications which are easily obtainable on the web, along with your personal computer registry mistakes might be a subject put to rest. These kinds of packages scan the body, discover and proper the down sides routinely.

After knowing that a specific report just isn't around the world, customers may well then utilize Registry Reviver so you can get it. You could possibly see a big eco friendly key in the bottom right nook pertaining to accomplishing this activity. Seasoned consumers make decide on the individual if they should ignore this particular aspect or even remedy it.

When 'microsoft' introduced .Web platform back 2002, Windows registry may be replaced by xml setting report using extension associated with . config, with increased plus much more .Web application, Registry troubles have been diminished. Nevertheless, until the subsequent release of House windows 7, House windows individual nonetheless should take care of the personal computer registry with a few software program, except if they in no way put in over 12 software, including deleted applications.

Bloated registries usually are not necessarily a problem since the OS is made to skip over unacceptable records, along with the further Central processing unit time needed to learn the actual personal computer registry mustn't be as well apparent. Even so presently there perform seem to be cases where running a clean up system can cause a important performance enhancement.

Source: http://www.magentoo.com/node/69817

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Arts and Entertainment: Top Theaters in Boston to Visit

The city of Boston is one of the best places to visit theaters. You will find different types of live performances and will be amazed with all the concert halls the city has to offer.

The Citi Performing Arts Center

The Citi Performing Arts Center, found in the Theatre District, houses the Wang Theatre and the Shubert Theatre.It's the largest performing humanities center in all of New England and offers opera, theater, music concerts, Broadway musicals, and more. The Wang Theatre was initially the Urban Theatre, retitled the Music Hall when it was essentially the home of the Boston Ballet, became the Urban Center in 1980, and was finally named Wang Theatre after Doctor An Wang made a massive donation. The Shubert Theatre is a smaller theater and seats 1600 folks. It was reconstructed in 1996 and re-opened with the 1st touring production of the Broadway musical Rent.

The Boston Opera House

The Lion King Brodway show was performed at the Boston Opera House after it went a complete makeover in 2004. At this moment, the acoustic and the view from the audience is excellent.

Symphony Hall

Symphony Hall is among the most noted concert halls in Boston and is home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was built for the Symphony in 1900 and is considered one of the absolute best concert halls in the world for acoustics. The Boston Pops Orchestra and Handel and Hayden Society also think of it as home.

The colonial Theatre

The Colonial Theatre has been active continuously since it opened in 1900 which makes it the oldest of the Boston theaters to have acheived that. In the 1st part of the 20 th century many Broadway producers would debut their show at the Colonial Theatre first, before opening on Broadway. , Carousel, Porgy and Bess, and Seussical The Musical. Today it is sometimes the 1st theater for state tours of Broadway shows.

Orpheum Theatre

One of the oldest theaters in Boston, the Orpheum Theatre opened in 1852 as the Boston Music Hall and was the 1st home of the New England Conservatory and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was for a while a vaudeville theater and became the Orpheum Theatre in 1906. Now it is a mixed use hall that shows onstage music concerts.

Cutler Majestic Theatre

Emerson College houses the Cutler Majestic Theatre and offers many different sorts of fine humanities performances. It is one of many theaters in Boston that offer shows by lots of the finest groups in New England.

Berklee Performance Center

Berklee Performance Center is probably one of the latest of the Boston theaters, opening in 1976. It's a part of the prestigious Berklee School of Music and presents over 2 hundred performances every year from students and world famous musicians alike.

Source: http://aae4u.blogspot.com/2013/01/top-theaters-in-boston-to-visit.html

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All This, and Heaven Too

All This, and Heaven Too

Friends, lovers and foes are established amidst a tragic plane crash. Set on an island somewhere in the middle of the Pacific ocean, the survivors must band together and create a bond much stronger than anything they have ever known. ((closed for now))

Owner:

Game Masters:

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?All This, and Heaven Too?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.


Hello any creepers :) if any of you have questions about the plot or the setting itself, please post here!! I'm excited to finish the plots and characters so you can all have a splendid time!

Also, if this generates more interest, I will be adding more characters and plots :)

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breezeblocks
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China-Hollywood Connection Changes Movie Business (Voice Of America)

Share With Friends: Share on FacebookTweet ThisPost to Google-BuzzSend on GmailPost to Linked-InSubscribe to This Feed | Rss To Twitter | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

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Saturday, January 26, 2013

Rodriguez Playing 2013 Coachella Music Festival With Fellow Detroit Musician Danny Brown

A movie based on his musical career, "Searching For Sugar Man," is nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar, and he's just been announced on the lineup for California's massive Coachella Music Festival. Not a bad year for Detroit singer/songwriter Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, once a star in South Africa who lived for decades in relative obscurity in Detroit, will play on the third day of the Indio, Calif. concert series. In other Michigan connections, Detroit rapper Danny Brown will perform on the second day after appearing briefly at last year's festival when rapper Childish Gambino brought him on stage. Brown has received more and more acclaim in the last year.

And there's the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who have been named as headliners for the Sunday shows -- drummer Chad Smith hails from a Detroit suburb. But while Motor City music lovers might be pleased by the additions of local talent, there's many more who are disappointed with the lineup.

The Coachella Festival's lineup will perform over two weekends, April 12 to 14 and April 19 to 21. Also headlining the festival are Blur, Phoenix and The Stone Roses, plus the returns of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Postal Service. Look below for the full lineup and get all the details of the 2013 festival.

2013-01-25-BBbaQzQCQAAYu_P.jpglarge

  • Blur

  • The Stone Roses

  • The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

  • Modest Mouse

  • Lou Reed

  • Jurassic 5

  • Passion Pit

  • Tegan And Sara

  • Band Of Horses

  • Metric

  • Local Natives

  • Of Monsters And Men

  • Phoenix

  • The xx

  • The Postal Service

  • Sigur Ros

  • New Order

  • Hot Chip

  • Grizzly Bear

  • The Red Hot Chili Peppers

  • Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

  • Vampire Weekend

  • Social Distortion

  • Wu-Tang Clan

  • La Roux

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/25/rodriguez-coachella-2013-danny-brown_n_2550534.html

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Dung beetles follow the Milky Way

Friday, January 25, 2013

You might expect dung beetles to keep their "noses to the ground," but they are actually incredibly attuned to the sky. A report published online on January 24 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, shows that even on the darkest of nights, African ball-rolling insects are guided by the soft glow of the Milky Way.

While birds and humans are known to navigate by the stars, the discovery is the first convincing evidence for such abilities in insects, the researchers say. It is also the first known example of any animal getting around by the Milky Way as opposed to the stars.

"Even on clear, moonless nights, many dung beetles still manage to orientate along straight paths," said Marie Dacke of Lund University in Sweden. "This led us to suspect that the beetles exploit the starry sky for orientation?a feat that had, to our knowledge, never before been demonstrated in an insect."

Dacke and her colleagues found that dung beetles do transport their dung balls along straight paths under a starlit sky but lose the ability under overcast conditions. In a planetarium, the beetles stayed on track equally well under a full starlit sky and one showing only the diffuse streak of the Milky Way.

That makes sense, the researchers explain, because the night sky is sprinkled with stars, but the vast majority of those stars should be too dim for the beetles' tiny compound eyes to see.

The findings raise the possibility that other nocturnal insects might also use stars to guide them at night. On the other hand, dung beetles are pretty special. Upon locating a suitable dung pile, the beetles shape a piece of dung into a ball and roll it away in a straight line. That behavior guarantees them that they will not return to the dung pile, where they risk having their ball stolen by other beetles.

"Dung beetles are known to use celestial compass cues such as the sun, the moon, and the pattern of polarized light formed around these light sources to roll their balls of dung along straight paths," Dacke said. "Celestial compass cues dominate straight-line orientation in dung beetles so strongly that, to our knowledge, this is the only animal with a visual compass system that ignores the extra orientation precision that landmarks can offer."

###

Current Biology, Dacke et al.: "Dung beetles use the Milky Way for orientation."

Cell Press: http://www.cellpress.com

Thanks to Cell Press for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126454/Dung_beetles_follow_the_Milky_Way

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