clubland gusta: February 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Rosa Parks statue unveiled at Capitol

President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio applaud at the unveiling of a statue of Rosa Parks, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

FILE -- In a June 15, 1999 file photo Rosa Parks smiles during a Capitol Hill ceremony where Parks was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington. Parks will become the first black woman to be honored with a full-length statue in the Capitol?s Statuary Hall on Wednesday Feb. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Khue Bui, file)

President Barack Obama speaks at the unveiling of a statue of Rosa Parks, left, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama, accompanied by, from left, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., applaud at the unveiling of a statue of Rosa Parks, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama speaks in the Capitol Rotunda on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, during the unveiling of a statue of Rosa Parks, second from left. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The nation's most powerful politicians honored Rosa Parks on Wednesday by unveiling her statue in a permanent place in the U.S. Capitol. President Barack Obama praised Parks as an enduring reminder of what true leadership requires, "no matter how humble or lofty our positions."

Parks became the first black woman to be depicted in a full-length statue in the Capitol's Statuary Hall. A bust of another black woman, abolitionist Sojourner Truth, sits in the Capitol Visitors Center.

"We do well by placing a statue of her here," Obama said. "But we can do no greater honor to her memory than to carry forward the power of her principle and a courage born of conviction."

The unveiling brought Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and other congressional leaders together in the midst of a fierce standoff over automatic spending cuts set to go into effect on Friday.

Setting that conflict aside, Obama and Boehner stood on either side of a blue drape, tugging and pulling in opposite directions on a braided cord until the cover fell to reveal a 2,700-pound bronze statue of a seated Parks, her hair in a bun under a hat, her hands crossed over her lap and clasping her purse. Obama gazed up at it, and touched its arm.

At the same time across the street, conservative Supreme Court justices voiced skepticism about the relevance of the Voting Rights Act, one of the major legislative victories of the movement to which Parks devoted her life.

Parks' civil rights movement colleague Jesse Jackson, whose son former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. sponsored the bill to place Parks' statue in the Capitol, said Parks "fought her way into history," and on three occasions, took literacy tests required of blacks who wanted to vote. She passed all three, Jackson said.

Parks' statue is positioned between those of suffragist Frances E. Willard and John Gorrie, considered the father of refrigeration and air conditioning. Boehner, R-Ohio, pointed out that Parks' gaze seems to fall directly onto a statue of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy.

"Here in the hall, she casts an unlikely silhouette ? unassuming in a lineup of proud stares, challenging all of us once more to look up and to draw strength from stillness," Boehner said.

Parks died in 2005 at age 92. Dozens of her family members, many of them nieces and nephews, attended Wednesday's ceremony and said they were pleased to see their ancestor honored.

"Racism is a continual struggle," said Zakiya McCauley Watts, 28, of Detroit. "We have the laws, but we have to have the mindset to back that up. People see all types of injustice happening and no one is doing anything about it," Watts said.

Watts' cousin Faye Jenkins, 28, of Cincinnati, Ohio, said she volunteers with inner-city youth providing counseling, helping teenage moms and working with the homeless. She said the statue of Parks will tell the younger generation "to always just do the right thing."

On Dec. 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man in segregated Montgomery, Ala. She was arrested, touching off a bus boycott that stretched over a year.

Her act of disobedience, and the masses of protesters who walked for months on end rather than break the boycott, are the reason "that I stand here today," the president said.

"It is because of them that our children grow up in a land more free and more fair, a land truer to its founding creed," Obama said. "And that is why this statue belongs in this hall ? to remind us, no matter how humble or lofty our positions, just what it is that leadership requires."

Some at the event echoed Obama's sentiment.

"The struggle goes on. The movement continues. The pursuit is not over. To honor Rosa Parks in the fullest manner each of us must do our part to protect that which has been gained," said Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.

Dorthula Green, 58, took an early train from New Haven, Conn., to join a line of ticketholders waiting in the Rotunda to see the statue on its debut.

"When I heard that this was happening, I said, 'I gotta be here,'" Green said. "I grew up in South Carolina. I knew the history and the kinds of things she went through."

___

Follow Suzanne Gamboa at http://twitter.com/APsgamboa

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-27-Black%20History-Rosa%20Parks%20Statue/id-b826f730d11f4bb98f6861401013c378

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Google CFO: Will cling to cash for acquisitions

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Google's chief financial officer says the company plans to cling to its steadily growing stash of cash to pay for potential acquisitions and other investments that could boost the Internet search leader's profits.

Patrick Pichette explained Google Inc.'s rationale for holding on to its $48 billion in cash in response to a question posed Thursday at a Morgan Stanley technology conference.

The money-management policies of publicly traded companies are getting more attention as more firms hoard huge amounts of cash instead of introducing or increasing dividends to reward stockholders.

Apple Inc., the world's most valuable company, is currently under the most scrutiny because it holds $137 billion in cash.

Pichette says Google wants to have plenty of cash so it can "pounce" on acquisition opportunities. He didn't identify potential targets.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-cfo-cling-cash-acquisitions-191702514--finance.html

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Pirate Bay abandons Sweden for Norway and Spain after legal ...

Published time: February 26, 2013 13:47
Edited time: February 26, 2013 13:44

The Swedish Pirate Party has handed over hosting of the Pirate Bay to sister parties in Norway and Spain after the country?s copyright lobby sent a letter threatening criminal charges for hosting the controversial file-sharing website.

The Swedish Rights Alliance gave the party until Tuesday to cut all ties with the Pirate Bay following threats of serious legal consequences. In a letter sent directly to the party's board members earlier this month, the Swedish Pirate Party was accused of violating copyright law by acting as an Internet service provider for the popular bittorrent site.

The alliance also charged that the Supreme Court of Sweden had ?legally settled that not only those who operate an illegal file-sharing service, but also those who provide internet access to such an illegal service are committing a criminal act.?

The Rights Alliance said that such violations of copyright law could entail stiff fines for noncompliance, payment of damages and even potential prison terms. ?These rules apply to legal entities, including non-profit organizations such as The Pirate Party and Serious Tubes, their board members, and other representatives of the organizations,? the letter continued.

The Pirate Bay?s decision to move its web-hosting services to Norway and Spain likely stems from legal precedents indicating more favorable climates for file-sharing sites.

In 2010, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and several movie studios were unable to force a Norwegian ISP to block the Pirate Bay. Spanish courts have so far failed to react to dozens of site closure requests from rightsholders, and threats from the United States that Spain will be put on a trade blacklist.

Swedish Pirate Party Leader Anna Troberg hailed the shift as a positive sign that despite legal pressure at home, the movement is continuing to become an international platform for reforming copyright laws and patents.

?Today, there are more than sixty different Pirate Parties all around the world. Every cut connection to The Pirate Bay will generate two new connections,? Torrent Freak quoted her as saying.

She further said that to take the Rights Alliance on at this time would not be prudent, despite the tenuous legal claims leveled at the Pirate Party.

?It would be crazy to enter a game where the rules are decided by the other team,? she said. ?The Pirate Party?s mission is not to produce martyrs for the copyright industry. Our mission is to create longterm political change that ensures that the copyright industry in the future will not be allowed to threaten companies, organizations and individuals into silence with our common judicial system as a weapon.?

Source: http://rt.com/news/pirate-bay-leave-sweden-472/

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A Day in the Life of the Republican Party?s Search for Newness (TIME)

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Jobless, cities could be first to feel budget pain

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, accompanied by White House press secretary Jay Carney, briefs reporters on the sequester, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal answers questions during a news conference outside the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, following a meeting between National Governors Association (NGA) and President Barack Obama. From left are, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garc?a Padilla, Jindal, and NGA Vice Chair, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama addresses the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, accompanied by fellow members of the House GOP leadership, responds to President Barack Obama's remarks to the nation's governors earlier today about how to fend off the impending automatic budget cuts, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. From left are, Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kansas, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va., Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., Boehner, and Rep. James Lankford, R-Okla. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Who'll be the first to feel the sting?

Jobless Americans who have been out of work for a long time and local governments that are paying off loans to fix roads and schools are in tough spots when it comes to the automatic federal budget cuts that are scheduled to kick in Friday.

About 2 million long-term unemployed people could see checks now averaging $300 a week reduced by about $30. There could also be reductions in federal payments that subsidize clean energy, school construction and state and local public works projects. Low-income Americans seeking heating assistance or housing or other aid might encounter longer waits.

Government employees could get furlough notices as early as next week, though cuts in their work hours won't occur until April.

The timing of the "sequester" spending cuts has real consequences for Americans, but it also has a political ramifications. How quickly and fiercely the public feels the cuts could determine whether President Barack Obama and lawmakers seek to replace them with a different deficit reduction plan.

Eager to put pressure on Republican lawmakers to accept his blend of targeted cuts and tax increases Obama has been highlighting the impact of the automatic cuts in grim terms. He did it again on Monday, declaring the threat of the cuts is already harming the national economy.

Republicans say he is exaggerating and point to rates of spending, even after the cuts, that would be higher than in 2008 when adjusted for inflation. All Obama has to do to avoid the damage, House Speaker John Boehner said at the Capitol, is agree to the GOP's recommended spending cuts ? with no tax increases.

By all accounts, most of the pain of the $85 billion in spending reductions to this year's federal budget would be slow in coming. The dire consequences that Obama officials say Americans will encounter ? from airport delays and weakened borders to reduced parks programs and shuttered meatpacking plants ? would unfold over time as furloughs kick in and agencies begin to adjust to their spending reductions.

"These impacts will not all be felt on day one," Obama acknowledged in a meeting with governors at the White House on Monday. "But rest assured the uncertainty is already having an effect."

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned that the federal government would be unable to "maintain the same level of security at all places around the country" once the automatic cuts began to take effect.

The public will feel the results "in the next few weeks," she said, and "it will keep growing."

The majority of the federal budget is in fact walled off from the cuts. Social Security and veterans' programs are exempt, and cuts to Medicare are generally limited to a 2 percent, $10 billion reduction in payments to hospitals and doctors. Most programs that help the poor, like Medicaid, food stamps, subsidized school lunches, Pell Grants and supplemental security income payments are also exempt.

Still, the Pentagon will feel the brunt of half the cuts. Pay for active military is off-limits for cuts, so the rest of the defense budget must absorb the hit. The Obama administration says defense contractors have already ramped down work, contributing to a dip in economic activity in the fourth quarter of last year. The Navy has decided not to deploy an aircraft carrier as planned to the Persian Gulf.

Elsewhere, the White House's budget office says long-term unemployed Americans would lose an average of more than $400 in benefits over the year. The cuts do not affect state unemployment benefits, which jobless workers typically get soon after their loss of work. The federal reductions could begin immediately, though some analysts say the government could delay them for a short period to avoid a harmful hit on the economy.

Bill Hoagland, a former top Republican Senate budget aide and now senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington think tank, said the administration must be "betwixt and between" when it comes to addressing reductions in programs like jobless aid.

"They want to make sure the American public knows this sequester is a bad thing, but they also don't want to disrupt the economy too much," he said. "It's not that the reductions won't take place. But they could delay the impact of that until later in the year."

Administration officials also say the Treasury Department is prepared to begin reducing subsidies that cover interest payments by state and local governments on public works, school and renewable energy projects. That means those governments will have to find money in their budgets to make up the difference in bond interest payments, and while that might not affect projects already under way, it could delay new construction efforts.

The sequester, says Douglas Rice of the Center on Budget and Policy priorities, also would mean that families that leave subsidized housing would be less likely to be replaced with people from waiting lists, and that eventually some families could lose their apartments.

Many federal programs, like heating aid for the poor, already have many more people seeking assistance than the program budgets can cover. Funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, for instance, has fluctuated greatly in recent years, with the administration proposing to cut it by 13 percent this year. In such cases, it may be impossible for people denied aid to know whether it's because of the sequester since they might have been denied help anyway.

In some instances the cuts will be felt not by beneficiaries being thrown out of programs but by longer delays to get help. In the case of subsidized housing, for example, there are already long waits for assistance in most of the country.

In the case of the Women, Infants and Children program for low-income pregnant women and their children, the government has generally tried to make sure that every eligible woman can get food aid. States aren't permitted to cut the food benefit, which means fewer people will be served. The Agriculture Department says it will prioritize things so that pregnant women and nursing mothers keep their aid but post-partum women who do not breastfeed could lose their aid.

Who gets hit first also depends on how the government's budget flows. Education aid to school districts, for instance, is delivered in the fall, so impacts won't be felt until the new school year. But some teachers are already being informed that they could lose their jobs in August or September. Most Head Start programs won't feel cuts until the upcoming school year, too.

Some programs, like subsidized child care for the poor, are run by states, which will have flexibility in how to allocate the cuts. Just one in six eligible low-income families benefits from a federally funded child care slot. Cuts to the program leave states with difficult options: reduce the number of children cared for, require poor families to contribute more or cut payments to providers.

"I don't think people are going to feel it as dramatically as the administration has been suggesting," said Hoagland. "I'm not questioning the administration's numbers, I'm questioning their timing."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-25-Budget%20Battle-Casualties/id-a11e7a0b01d74bb38adbaf5e24b92cdd

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High-stakes trial resumes over 2010 Gulf oil spill

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? A University of California-Berkeley engineer who played a prominent role in investigating levee breeches in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina is scheduled to be the first witness Tuesday at a trial involving another Gulf Coast catastrophe: the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Robert Bea, an expert witness for the plaintiffs who sued BP PLC and other companies involved in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, will share his theories about what caused BP's Macondo well to blow out on April 20, 2010, provoking an explosion on the Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and spewed an estimated 172 millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf.

Bea's testimony was scheduled for the second day of a civil trial that could result in the oil company and its partners being forced to pay tens of billions of dollars more in damages. The case went to trial Monday after attempts to reach an 11th-hour settlement failed.

The second witness slated to appear on the stand is Lamar McKay, president of BP America. The highest-ranking executive of BP scheduled to testify in the courtroom, McKay is likely to discuss corporate decisions that were made throughout the duration of the disaster. It was not clear if there would be time for his testimony Tuesday, however. Other BP officials were expected to give videotaped testimony.

In pretrial depositions and in an expert report, Bea argued along with another consultant that BP showed a disregard for safety throughout the company and was reckless in its actions ? the same arguments made in opening statements Monday by attorneys for the U.S. government and individuals and businesses hurt by the spill.

Attorneys for BP tried to block the testimony of Bea, whom they accused of analyzing documents and evidence "spoon-fed" to him by plaintiffs lawyers. BP accused Bea and the other expert, William Gale, a California-based fire and explosion investigator and consultant, of ignoring the "safety culture of the other parties" involved in the spill, in particular Transocean Ltd., the drilling company running operations aboard the Deepwater Horizon.

Gale does not appear on a list of potential witnesses to be called during the trial.

Just last year, Bea testified for plaintiffs who sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over broken levees in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

In opening statements Monday, U.S. Justice Department attorney Mike Underhill said the catastrophe resulted from BP's "culture of corporate recklessness."

"The evidence will show that BP put profits before people, profits before safety and profits before the environment," Underhill said. "Despite BP's attempts to shift the blame to other parties, by far the primary fault for this disaster belongs to BP."

BP attorney Mike Brock acknowledged that the oil company made mistakes. But he accused Transocean of failing to properly maintain the rig's blowout preventer, which had a dead battery, and he claimed cement contractor Halliburton used a "bad slurry" that failed to prevent oil and gas from traveling up the well.

BP has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other criminal charges and has racked up more than $24 billion in spill-related expenses, including cleanup costs, compensation for businesses and individuals, and $4 billion in criminal penalties.

But the federal government, Gulf Coast states and individuals and businesses hope to convince a federal judge that the company and its partners in the ill-fated drilling project are liable for much more in civil damages under the Clean Water Act and other environmental regulations.

One of the biggest questions facing U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who is hearing the case without a jury, is whether BP acted with gross negligence.

Under the Clean Water Act, a polluter can be forced to pay a minimum of $1,100 per barrel of spilled oil; the fines nearly quadruple to about $4,300 a barrel for companies found grossly negligent, meaning BP could be on the hook for nearly $18 billion.

The judge plans to hold the trial in at least two phases. The first phase, which could last three months, is designed to determine what caused the blowout and assign percentages of blame to the companies involved. The second phase will determine what efforts the companies made to stop oil from spilling, and how much crude actually spilled into the Gulf.

During opening statements, BP and its partners pointed the finger at each other in a tangle of accusations and counter-accusations. But BP got the worst of it, from its partners and the plaintiffs in the case.

Jim Roy, who represents individuals and businesses hurt by the spill, said BP executives applied "huge financial pressure" to "cut costs and rush the job." The project was more than $50 million over budget and behind schedule at the time of the blowout, Roy said.

"BP repeatedly chose speed over safety," Roy said, quoting from a report by an expert who may testify.

Roy said the spill also resulted from Transocean's "woeful" safety culture and failure to properly train its crew. And Roy said Halliburton provided BP with a product that was "poorly designed, not properly tested and was unstable."

Brad Brian, a lawyer for Transocean, said the company had an experienced, well-trained crew on the rig. He said the Transocean workers' worst mistake may have been placing too much trust in the BP supervisors on the rig.

"And they paid for that trust with their lives," Brian said. "They died not because they weren't trained properly. They died because critical information was withheld from them."

A lawyer for Halliburton defended the company's work and tried to pin the blame on BP and Transocean.

"If BP had shut in the well, we would not be here today," Halliburton's Donald Godwin said.

Brock said Transocean's crew members ultimately were responsible for well control on the rig and didn't need permission from BP supervisors to shut in the well.

"Shut in the well, then seek advice," he said.

Underhill, the Justice Department attorney, heaped blame on BP for cost-cutting decisions made in the months and weeks leading up the disaster. He said two BP rig supervisors, Robert Kaluza and Donald Vidrine, disregarded abnormally high pressure readings that should have been glaring indications of trouble.

Kaluza and Vidrine have been indicted on federal manslaughter charges.

The 2010 spill fouled marshes, killed wildlife and closed fishing grounds. Scientists warn that the disaster's full effect may not be known for years. But they have reported dying coral reefs and fish afflicted with lesions and illnesses that might be oil-related.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/high-stakes-trial-resumes-over-2010-gulf-oil-102125525.html

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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Father Charged for Leaving Toddler in Truck while at Strip Club ...

VAN NUYS, Calif. ? A father is facing charges after he allegedly left his 2-year-old daughter in a truck while he went inside a strip club and got drunk.

24-year-old Santos Barillas, a Canoga Park resident, was charged with child endangerment among other charges.

911 dispatchers got a call just after midnight that the toddler was locked in the truck outside the 7557 Club on Woodley Avenue.

Officers arrived at the location to find the man asleep with the child in the back seat of the Toyota pickup.

The man was taken into custody and child services were called to assist with the care of the little girl.

Investigators interviewed several bar patrons and workers who confirmed the man was inside the club without the child.

The suspect was allegedly intoxicated at the time of his arrest.

The temperature had dropped into the 40s overnight in the area of the club.

Christina Pascucci reports.

Source: http://ktla.com/2013/02/25/father-charged-for-leaving-toddler-in-truck-while-at-strip-club/

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Do You Want The Government To Manage Your 401k Or IRA? | The ...

401k

The Democrats have had their eyes on our 401k and IRA accounts for quite a while. The national debt is $16.5 trillion and growing by the minute. Their appetite for spending is insatiable, and there aren?t enough earners left to tax to pay for it all. But, look at all the money middle class Americans have saved for their retirements. Shortly after the 2012 election the left started referring to 401k?s as subsidies, and at the time I noted:

The main message here is that anyone who worked and saved for what they have didn?t earn it. Your earnings, in their minds, belong to someone else. You may not be rich by anyone?s standards, but if you worked and saved for your whole life, in their minds you?re fair game, because there?s someone out there who didn?t work and save. And now somehow that?s your problem. This is the Obama world. Maybe you worked and saved for your entire life as a middle class American. If the money you saved pushes you into the ?rich? category by their standards you now must be punished.

That?s how they think, but they know they can?t come out and say that. So instead they?re going to ?help you? manage your retirement.

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is weighing whether it should take on a role in helping Americans manage the $19.4 trillion they have put into retirement savings, a move that would be the agency?s first foray into consumer investments.
?That?s one of the things we?ve been exploring and are interested in in terms of whether and what authority we have,? bureau director Richard Cordray said in an interview. He didn?t provide additional details.

They have such a great track record when they ?foray? into other areas of our lives. Had they not ?forayed? into the mortgage market our retirement accounts wouldn?t have taken such huge hits in 2008. If they haven?t forayed into bank bailouts the taxpayers wouldn?t be giving real subsidies to the Too Big To Fail banks to the tune of $83 billion per year. But we?re supposed to trust them with our retirement accounts? Look at Social Security and the public pensions, they?re all going broke. That?s why they want to foray into our 401k?s.

That article linked above is a Bloomberg article from about a month ago. Zero Hedge picked up on it earlier this month, and recently American Thinker had a lengthy article on the subject and today Maggie?s Notebook covered it. But I haven?t heard much about it in the rest of the media. Be sure to follow the links, they all have a lot more information. ?And the idea of the government raiding our retirement accounts isn?t new, they?ve been talking about it since at least 2008 ? see here, here and here. I?m sure they?re just waiting for the right crisis to come along so they can justify their actions.

Update: Here?s an angle I hadn?t thought of before. Do you think the Democrats float these ideas so people get nervous and withdraw funds from their 401k?s prematurely so the government will get a tax windfall?

Tags: 401k, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, control, government, IRA, manage, retirement

Source: http://lonelyconservative.com/2013/02/do-you-want-the-government-to-manage-your-401k-or-ira/

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Monday, February 25, 2013

That Six-Strikes Anti-Piracy Plan Could Be Rolling Out Tomorrow

A tougher stance on piracy from all your friendly neighborhood ISPs has been a long time coming. Wisps and shadows of a policy involving throttled Internet speed and blocked pages have been around for over a year, and have gradually solidified into a six-strikes plan aimed to make a pirate's life a hassle. And mounting evidence says it all starts tomorrow. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Trfvi-e0oPo/that-six+strikes-anti+piracy-plan-could-be-rolling-out-tomorrow

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Video: Denard Robinson at the NFL Combine

February 24, 2013

The Staff of TheWolverine.com
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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Samsung announces HomeSync - a 1TB media streaming hub with Android and multiple format support

Samsung HomeSync creates connected media experience for the whole family

Provides home cloud for storing, sharing and streaming content

across multiple devices

Barcelona, February 24, 2013 ? Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd., a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced Samsung HomeSync, a home hub solution that a shared storage fit for a family, the best entertainment experience on a big screen TV, and a new way of enjoying your HDTV through a familiar and smarter Android user experience.?

Shared Storage for a Family

HomeSync?s 1TB drive can help you sync to multiple devices, providing shared or private storage for all your content. It supports eight separate accounts to cover a whole family, and allows each user to upload and download content from multiple devices and instantly share with other family members. File encryption and user-specific ID and password ensure content in a user?s private area remains separate from the shared area in HomeSync.

Entertainment on a Big Screen

The HomeSync brings the best of Android gaming, movies, TV shows and streaming content direct into your living room. It allows you to stream content from your Galaxy device wirelessly to the TV ? letting you watch, see and use all your home videos, photos and apps, and all at a full HD 1080p.

Giving any HDTV new Smarts

Users can enjoy the full and familiar Android experience with HomeSync?s Jelly Bean media player and access to Play Store and all of your apps. ?HomeSync also enables new ways to interact with your content via the control modes enabled wirelessly on the phone.

HomeSync will be available from April 2013 in select countries and continue to expand globally.

HomeSync specifications

Component		Description
CPU		1.7GHz Dual Core
Memory		1GB DDR3 + 8GB eMMC + 1TB HDD
? Connectivity	LAN	Gigabit Ethernet
	WiFi	802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz & a/n 5GHz HT40 2x2 MIMO Channel Bonding
	Bluetooth	V4.0
? ? Interface	USB 3.0	External USB I/F Connection (x2)
	Micro USB	PC Connection 11pin mUSB (x1)
	HDMI out	Support (HDMI1.4)
	Optical Audio	Audio Amp. Connection
? Codec	Video	H.264, H.263, MPEG4, VC-1, Sorenson Spark, WMV7/8, MP43, VP8, DivX
? Codec	Audio	MP3, AAC LC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA 9std/10pro/Lossless, FLAC, Vorbis, AMR-NB/WB, Wav, Mid, AC-3
DRM		HDCP 1.3/2.1, Playready, Widevide, Trustzone

*All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.

*Android, Google, Android Beam, Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Latitude, Google Play Store, Google Play Books, Google Play Movies, Google Plus, YouTube, Google Talk, Google Places, Google Navigation, and Google Downloads are trademarks of Google Inc.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of?televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 236,000 people across 79 countries with annual sales exceeding KRW 201 trillion. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/PhoneArena-LatestNews/~3/6JAs01nG5YY/Samsung-announces-HomeSync---a-1TB-media-streaming-hub-with-Android-and-multiple-format-support_id40129

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Sony PlayStation 4: Dr Gadget wonders about the details

The gala ceremony in which Sony Corp. announced PlayStation 4 series gaming consoles, left few questions unanswered that have left Dr. Gadget wondering.

Questions about PlayStation 4 left unanswered:

1. PlayStation 4 Cost

2. Backwards compatibility

3. Whether it will play used games

4. How is it going to look

5. What will be function of TouchPad

1. Cost of PlayStation 4
Cost of the gadget is one of the most important considerations for any avid gamer, but in the case of the PS 4, it is still a mystery. The PlayStation 3 made a debut at $600 way back in 2006. It was quite natural for gaming fraternity to balk at the price at that time.

While it is quite true that the Android phones, iPhones, and other smartphones might not be a match for the provess of the Sony PS4, the Japanese multinational electronics giant may still have to consider being light on the pockets of consumers lest it wants to alienate them.

2. Will gamers be able to enjoy used games on PlayStation 4?
Speculation is rife that the PlayStation 4 might not play the used titles. The game disc identifier is rumored to be associated with a particular account, something that will kill the chances of enjoying them on the latest generation PlayStation 4.

Sony worldwide studios president Shuhei Yoshida is not very helpful by saying, "PlayStation 4 discs will work on any of the consoles." How things pan out in this regard remains to be seen.

3. What about old games?
Sony PS4 is not backwards compatible, so the old games would not run on it. However, Gaikai streaming services provide a workaround; older generation PlayStation games could still be accessed with the help of PlayStation Cloud.

4. The touchpad ? what does it do?
Sony happened to brag about the touchpad, but was somewhat short on the details. The DualShock 4 controller of the PlayStation 4 enjoys a prominent position on the face of the controller.

The design has left the experts as well as developers perplexed. Would it be used to navigate between different menus or touch controls are going to feature on the PS 4 big time? It is also possible that the function might be inspired from OUYA design, but nothing can be said with complete surety at the moment.

5. How the exterior is going to look?
There is no word on the exterior either. Says Yoshida, "The console hardware isn't finished, but we thought this was a really good time to show our games."

That essentially means the PS 4 announcement raises more questions than answers. We shall have to wait for some time before concrete details about the console emerge.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tsfeedsfilmy/~3/oVfYkyb-QVQ/sony-playstation-4-dr-gadget-wonders-about-details.html

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'Genesis death sandwich' discovered in Bible

www.searchvisualizer.com

When mentions of "life" and "death" are plotted in Genesis, a pattern emerges.

By Megan Gannon
LiveScience

Researchers using text-analysis software say they've discovered a new literary device in the first book of the Bible: the "Genesis death sandwich."

The name refers to a familiar rhetorical structure ? sandwiching bad news in between the good. In the case of Genesis, the slices of white bread are themes of life, and the slimy cold cuts in between are mentions of death.

"The structuring of life and death in Genesis appears to be something that hasn't been noticed before," researcher Gordon Rugg, a senior lecturer in Computing and Mathematics at Keele University in the United Kingdom, wrote in a blog post on Thursday. "We think it's a standard literary device being used on a larger scale than had been previously realized. No aliens, no secret codes, no conspiracies, but some striking images, and a great name for a band."

For their study, Rugg and his colleagues ran the King James version of the text through software known as the Search Visualizer, which plotted mentions of life in red and death in green on a single gridded page representing the whole book. Their results showed frequent mentions of life in the opening and closing verses of Genesis.

For example, toward the end of the book, when Joseph is reunited with his brothers, he tells them: "Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life" (Genesis 45:5). Meanwhile, mentions of death are clustered in the middle, the researchers found, especially in Chapter 27, when an aging Isaac talks to his son Esau, saying, for example, "Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death" (Genesis 27:2).

The researchers say this structure is an example of a literary convention known as inclusio, also called bracketing, where one theme frames another. Rugg acknowledged that it is uncertain whether or not this "death sandwich" convention was applied to the text intentionally. Nonetheless, he says it might have been used to cushion the negative messages of death, or perhaps to put life and death in stark contrast. [The 10 Weirdest Ways We Deal With the Dead]

"Whether it was a deliberate use of inclusio or a subconscious use is an open question," Rugg wrote. "We don't think that this structure is likely to be a coincidence, given the number of times the two words occur within Genesis, and given that these are themes that have long been recognized as significant within it."

Rugg and his colleagues ran other searches using the software for words not considered significant by scholars, finding no specific patterns in the book of Genesis. However, they did find the word "woman" appears overwhelmingly in the first part of Genesis, while it rarely pops up in the second half, Rugg wrote. Another term, "begat," illustrates something scholars have long recognized -- that the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John mirror the themes and structures of the Old Testament (which includes Genesis); sure enough, "begat" showed a striking cluster in the first part of Genesis, mirroring what was found in the first part of the gospel of Matthew, Rugg said.

Rugg and David Musgrave of Amridge University in Alabama presented their research at November's meeting of the Association of Schools of Oriental Research in Chicago.

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

Source: http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/22/17058384-genesis-death-sandwich-discovered-in-bible?lite

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Saturday, February 23, 2013

Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana - Stress Reduction & Relaxation

What are your thoughts CLICK HERE to leave us a "Your2Cents? comment.Want to be in the know for the next weather event, the next school closing or the next big breaking news story?

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Source: http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/insight/Cancer-Services-of-Northeast-Indiana---Wellness-192316521.html

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Texting Manual 4 Every1: The role of SMS in the law

From LOL?s to WTF?s, the world of texting has become "The New Language" and a lot of people have taken this wave to a whole new level. But do you have what it takes to keep it up with this new way of communication? Help is here: Texting Manual 4 Every1, now including an uncensored section ONLY for adults. Want to down load the Android App instead to ur cellphone?

Source: http://tm4e1.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-role-of-sms-in-law.html

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India vs Australia, 1st Test, Day 1: Moises Henriques cracks a half-century on h...

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

Source: http://www.facebook.com/cricketnext/posts/10151732714259409

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Friday, February 22, 2013

Treasure-filled warrior?s grave found

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend, "Doug" (24), and I (22) have been in a long-distance relationship for a year, but we were friends for a couple of years before that. I had never had a serious relationship before and lacked experience. Doug has not only been in two other long-term relationships, but has had sex with more than 15 women. One of them is an amateur porn actress.I knew about this, but it didn't bother me until recently. Doug had a party, and while he was drunk he told one of his buddies -- in front of me -- that he should watch a certain porn film starring his ex-girlfriend. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/treasure-filled-warrior-s-grave-found-slideshow/

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A look at South Africa's justice system

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) -- A look at the justice system in South Africa and what Oscar Pistorius faces after the double-amputee Olympic athlete was charged with premeditated murder in the Valentine's Day shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp:

---

THE BAIL HEARING

The bail hearing in the Pistorius case represents a mini-trial to determine if he will remain in custody until a trial or can be freed with conditions. Defense lawyers offered written statements from the athlete and his friends to state their case. By offering the affidavits, the defense was able to enter the evidence without having to put their emotional client, who has broken down weeping a number of times in court, on the stand. Prosecutors offered their own version of events and called the lead police investigator, Detective Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, to give testimony. But by putting Botha on the stand, they opened him up to detailed cross-examination by Pistorius' lead defense lawyer, Barry Roux. Botha has since been dropped from the case.

---

DECIDING BAIL

Pistorius faces the harshest bail requirements in South African law after the judge agreed with the prosecution's premeditated murder charge for the purposes of bail. Pistorius' lawyers must prove there is an "exceptional" reason to have him freed before trial. They also have to show that he doesn't represent a flight risk, that he will not intimidate witnesses and that he won't commit acts of violence or encourage others to do so. If Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair decides Pistorius might violate any of those terms, he can order him held until trial. If bail is denied, Pistorius can immediately appeal to a higher court. Pistorius is currently being held in Pretoria's Brooklyn police station, but those denied bail typically go to a prison.

---

JUSTICE IN SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa is one of just a few countries in the world that that has a court system that takes root in Roman-Dutch law. Because of this, those appearing in criminal trials do not have the option of a jury trial, which is common in the United States and other countries. Instead, a single judge will hear the entire case and then rule on a person's guilt or innocence. The judge can be assisted by two advisers during the trial. Those advisers generally offer assistance in looking at the more technical aspects of the evidence given at trial. If found guilty, a person can later appeal the ruling or the sentence they receive.

---

THE PENALTIES

Premeditated murder, which Pistorius is charged with, can carry a sentence of life in prison. There is no death penalty in South Africa. A lesser murder charge carries a sentence of 15 years to life. Pistorius could still see his charge downgraded to culpable homicide, meaning that he unintentionally killed Steenkamp, which is what he maintains. A conviction on that charge carries much less time in prison.

Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OLY_PISTORIUS_SHOOTING_SOUTH_AFRICAN_JUSTICE?SITE=KGO&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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HP revenue falls 6 percent, beats Wall St view

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co's fiscal first-quarter revenue fell 6 percent to $28.4 billion (18.6 billion pounds), but it beat Wall Street expectations in a flat to shrinking personal computing market, sending its shares up over 5 percent.

The world's No. 1 PC maker also gave an outlook that came in higher than Wall Street expected.

Analysts had on average expected HP, which like Dell Inc is struggling to sustain sales growth as smartphones and tablets surge in popularity, to record revenue of $27.8 billion in the December quarter.

The company's stock rose 5 percent, from a close of $17.10 on Nasdaq, in after-market trade.

HP on Thursday estimated fiscal second quarter earnings per share of 80 to 82 cents, higher than the average Wall Street forecast of 77 cents.

HP is struggling to shore up its credibility on Wall Street while battling shrinking margins in an increasingly cut-throat PC market, reduced IT spending, and an internal overhaul that involves thousands of layoffs.

Chief Executive Meg Whitman, who took the helm over a year ago after a failed bid to become governor of California, has plunged HP into a years-long turnaround to recapture some of the Silicon Valley icon's former growth trajectory.

She said the company's efforts at recovery is gaining traction but acknowledged "there's still a lot of work to do to generate the kind of growth we want to see."

Revenue at HP's personal systems division fell 8 percent, while sales in its enterprise group slid 4 percent during the quarter.

(Reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Richard Chang)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hp-revenue-falls-6-percent-beats-wall-street-211637597--finance.html

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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Study reveals new clues to Epstein-Barr virus

Public release date: 21-Feb-2013
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Contact: Bonnie Prescott
bprescot@bidmc.harvard.edu
617-667-7306
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Researchers identify a second B-cell attachment receptor for this widespread virus

BOSTON -- Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) affects more than 90 percent of the population worldwide and was the first human virus found to be associated with cancer. Now, researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have broadened the understanding of this widespread infection with their discovery of a second B-cell attachment receptor for EBV.

The new findings, which currently appear on-line in Cell Reports, reinforce current directions being taken in the development of a vaccine to guard against EBV, and raise important new questions regarding the virus's possible relationship to malaria and to autoimmune diseases.

"Our discovery that CD35 is an attachment receptor for EBV helps explain several previously unsolved observations," explains the study's senior author Joyce Fingeroth, MD, a member of the Division of Infectious Diseases at BIDMC and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

First discovered in the early 1960s, EBV is one of eight viruses in the human herpesvirus family. The virus affects nine out of 10 people at some point in their lifetimes. Infections in early childhood often cause no disease symptoms, but people infected during adolescence or young adulthood may develop infectious mononucleosis. EBV is also associated with several types of cancer, including Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and has been linked to certain autoimmune disorders.

"EBV was the first human virus that was discovered to be a tumor virus," explains Fingeroth. "In fact, individuals who have had infectious mononucleosis have a four times increased risk of developing Hodgkin's disease." After the initial infection, the EBV virus remains in a person's body for life.

To gain entry, viruses must first attach to their host cells. For herpesviruses, receptors on the viral envelope become connected to complementary receptors on the cell membrane. In the case of EBV, the virus gains access to the immune system by attaching to primary B cells.

Nearly 30 years ago, Fingeroth and her colleagues discovered that this attachment occurs via the CD21 protein, which until now was the only known B cell attachment receptor for EBV. The recent finding that B cells from a patient lacking CD21 can be infected and immortalized by EBV had indicated that an alternative attachment receptor must exist. The identification of this second receptor -- CD35 -- by Fingeroth's team, led by first author Javier Ogembo, PhD, of BIDMC and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, not only underscores an important finding regarding primary infection but also underscores the importance of EBVgp350/220, (the virus protein that has been found to bind to both attachment receptors) for the development of a vaccine against EBV.

"The EBV glycoprotein gp350/220 is the most abundant surface glycoprotein on the virus," notes Fingeroth, adding that these results further suggest the virus fusion apparatus is the same for both receptors. "An EBV vaccine might be able to prevent infection or, alternatively, greatly reduce a person's risk of developing infectious mononucleosis and EBV-associated cancers, without necessarily preventing the EBV infection itself."

Interestingly, she adds, whereas a human has now been identified to be lacking the CD21 receptor, no persons are known to lack CD35.

"CD35 is a latecomer in evolution and in its current form, exists only in humans," says Fingeroth. "We know that it is often targeted in autoimmune diseases and was recently identified as a malaria receptor. Our new discovery may, therefore, reveal new avenues for the exploration of unexplained links between EBV, autoimmune diseases, malaria and cancer."

###

In addition to Fingeroth and Ogembo, study coauthors include BIDMC investigators Lakshmi Kannan, Ionita Ghiran, Anne Nicholson-Weller and George Tsokos; and University of Massachusetts Medical School investigator Robert Finberg.

This study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (R01A10635710) as well as support from the American Heart Association, the St. Baldrick's Foundation, and the Cancer Research Institute.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School and currently ranks third in National Institutes of Health funding among independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC is clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a research partner of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit www.bidmc.org.

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Study reveals new clues to Epstein-Barr virus

Public release date: 21-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Bonnie Prescott
bprescot@bidmc.harvard.edu
617-667-7306
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Researchers identify a second B-cell attachment receptor for this widespread virus

Interestingly, she adds, whereas a human has now been identified to be lacking the CD21 receptor, no persons are known to lack CD35.

###

[ | E-mail |

Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/bidm-srn022113.php

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Stanford University is first college to raise $1B

Associated Press

Posted on February 20, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Updated yesterday at 12:04 AM

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Stanford University has set a new record in college fundraising, becoming the first school to collect more than $1 billion in a single year.

For the eighth straight year, Stanford ranked first in the Council for Aid to Education's annual college fundraising survey, which was released Wednesday.

The report found roughly 3,500 U.S. colleges and universities raised $31 billion in the 2012 fiscal year. That's 2.3 percent more than the previous year but just below the 2008 record of $31.6 billion.

Topping the list was Stanford at $1.035 billion, followed by Harvard University at $650 million, Yale University at $544 million, the University of Southern California at $492 million and Columbia University at $490 million.

The top 10 fundraising schools collected $5.3 billion, or 17 percent, of the $31 billion.