Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/jenelle-evans-sonogram-photo-posted-on-twitter/
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Sunday, January 20, 2013
5-year-old girl suspended for bubble gun remark
MOUNT CARMEL, Pa. (AP) ? A 5-year-old Pennsylvania girl who told another girl she was going to shoot her with a pink toy gun that blows soapy bubbles has been suspended from kindergarten.
Her family has hired an attorney to fight the punishment, which initially was 10 days but was reduced to two.
Attorney Robin Ficker says Mount Carmel Area School District officials labeled the girl a "terrorist threat" for the bubble gun remark, made Jan. 10 as both girls waited for a school bus.
Ficker says the girl didn't even have the bubble gun with her and has never fired a real gun. He says she's "the least terroristic person in Pennsylvania."
School district solicitor Edward Greco tells pennlive.com (http://bit.ly/13Nu0QF ) officials are looking into the case. He said Friday school officials aren't at liberty to discuss disciplinary actions.
___
Information from: The Patriot-News, http://www.pennlive.com/patriotnews
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pa-kindergartner-suspended-bubble-gun-remark-035057936.html
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Saturday, January 19, 2013
more family love :: winter home moments. - life in motherhood ...
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Anna Nicole Smith?s Calif. home sells
17 hrs.
This week in celebrity real estate, Anna Nicole Smith?s home has sold, six years after her death, and actor Jeremy Renner listed a mammoth mansion for sale.
Anna Nicole Smith?s home sells; proceeds go to daughter
Six years after the death of Playboy Playmate and reality-TV star Anna Nicole Smith, her Studio City, Calif., home has sold.
Smith purchased the home under her given name, Vickie Lynn Marshall, in April 2005 for $1.335 million. Upon her death in 2007, Smith?s daughter, Dannielynn, and the child?s father, Larry Birkhead, moved into the home. Birkhead successfully won a paternity suit and gained custody of Dannielynn in April 2007. Smith?s daughter, although a minor, is a beneficiary of her mother?s estate.
However in April 2011, Howard K. Stern, Smith?s one-time lover and the executor of her will, gained the court?s permission to transfer the home under his name. He immediately placed the home on the market with an asking price of $1.75 million. Stern was cleared of charges in Smith?s accidental death this past November.
A nod to Smith remains in the home: A giant painting of the late model hangs in the entryway. One of the rooms is still decorated for a girl, presumably Dannielynn.
The proceeds of the sale, after taxes and real estate commissions, will go to Dannielynn.
Smith?s former home, located at 3646 Avenida Del Sol, Studio City, CA 91604, measures 4,700 square feet and has 5 bedrooms and 5.5 baths. The Mediterranean-style home is perched above the city with dominant views from its balcony and pool area.
Jeremy Renner lists art deco mansion for $24.95 million
Actor Jeremy Renner is best-known for his action-packed roles in blockbusters such as ?The Bourne Legacy? and ?The Avengers,? but the two-time Oscar nominee also has a knack for real estate, having flipped several Los Angeles-area homes with his business partner over the years.
His latest project, a 10,000-square-foot Beverly Glen estate, is now on the market for $24.95 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The listing describes the home at 107 Delfern Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90077 as a ?roaring ?20s art deco home fit for a 21st-century Howard Hughes.? Designed by Kristoffer Winters, the six-bedroom, 11-bath, single-story mansion sits on two extensively landscaped acres and includes 14-foot ceilings, five fireplaces, a theater, cobblestone drive, pool and spa.
The property was last purchased for $7 million in 2010 and is listed by Branden Williams and Rayni Romito of Hilton & Hyland.
As for Renner, he?s keeping quite busy on the professional and personal fronts. His latest film ?Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,? hits theaters Jan. 25, and he?s expecting his first child later this year.
Related:
? 2006-2013 Zillow Inc., All Rights Reserved
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/anna-nicole-smiths-calif-home-sells-1B8039394
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How Would Stockton Bankruptcy Cut Pensions? - California Political ...
Photo courtesy Dougtone, flickr
Bond insurers who want CalPERS to share the financial pain of the Stockton bankruptcy do not answer a key question in lengthy court filings: How would ?bloated? and ?overly rich? pensions be cut?
The insurers backing $250 million worth of Stockton general fund bonds argue that the city?s bankruptcy plan gives them major cuts but spares the largest creditor, CalPERS, whose annual bill to the city is expected to nearly double in the next 10 years.
During a 90-day mediation with creditors required under a new state law before filing for bankruptcy, Stockton did not negotiate with CalPERS, say Assured Guaranty and National Public Finance Guarantee.
Instead, National?said in a filing?last month, Stockton chose ?to protect the unsustainable CalPERS pensions that it awarded, but that the city itself cannot now afford, while forcing its other creditors (including National) to foot the bill.?
How negotiating with the California Public Employees Retirement System before filing for bankruptcy would be expected to significantly cut Stockton?s soaring pension costs is not clear.
CalPERS has served notice, notably in Vallejo and San Bernardino, that it will dip into its deep pocket for an all-out legal battle to prevent bankruptcy from being used to cut pensions.
Stockton does not want to cut pensions, arguing that its proposal to eliminate retiree health care is how debt reduction in bankruptcy is shared by employees, who are the actual creditors while CalPERS is just the middleman.
The federal bankruptcy judge handling the case, Christopher?Klein, told?a UC Berkeley conference the court cannot impose a plan to adjust debt, but does rule on eligibility for bankruptcy and whether the plan to adjust debt is fair to creditors.
The judge appointed a mediator in August, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth Perris, to meet with creditors in an attempt to reach a ?consensual plan of adjustment.? An eligibility hearing, originally scheduled Jan. 8, was pushed back to Feb. 26.
Filing for bankruptcy in June gave Stockton an automatic stay on debt collection. Now in the view of some, the creditors will lose much of their leverage if Stockton is found to have met the eligibility standards required for bankruptcy.
The carefully structured Stockton bankruptcy plan appeared to be following the Vallejo model, where the main cuts in bankruptcy were to retiree health care and bond debt.
In addition to facing heavy losses if they have to pay bondholders, the insurers may fear a trend that could affect their industry and the bond market. Stockton has responded to the bond insurer decision to contest the city?s eligibility for bankruptcy.
The insurers say it was not until they contested eligibility that the city met with a consultant to develop a ?business case? for not impairing CalPERS and inquired about cutting an unusually generous 5 percent cost-of-living adjustment for pensions.
And it was not until Dec. 4, say the insurers, that Stockton asked CalPERS for a ?hardship? rate reduction, which could save the city $1.25 million this fiscal year and a total of $4.5 million over three years.
The hardship rate would give Stockton some short-term relief, but presumably increase the long-term debt. The annual city CalPERS payment, $16.8 million this fiscal year, is expected to be $30.2 million in fiscal 2020.
Movement by CalPERS seems unlikely. The state constitution (amended by labor-backed Proposition 162 in 1992) makes the CalPERS top priority protecting pensions. Minimizing taxpayer costs, which had equal standing, became a secondary priority.
A 17-page statement issued by CalPERS last July spelled out the widely held legal view that a series of court decisions mean pensions promised on the date of hire are ?vested? rights, protected by contract law, that can be cut only if offset by a new benefit.
Beyond the legal obstacle, CalPERS only administers pensions: collecting, investing and paying out the money. Pension amounts are set through legislation or, before reform legislation for new hires last year, bargaining with public employee unions.
If CalPERS were given a fair share of Stockton debt reduction, a financial ?haircut? along with other creditors, how would CalPERS pass that along to the Stockton employees and retirees?
Some guidance might come from procedures used when private-sector pensions fail and the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. takes over pension payments. But it?s not mentioned in the bond insurer court filings last month.
The Assured Guaranty?filing last month?cited testimony from a city official who said she was unaware of any attempt ?to study alternative benefit structures with other pension administrators or agencies? to replace CalPERS.
?Nor did the city ever consider withdrawing from CalPERS and placing its existing pension funds on deposit with another pension administrator, such as what was done in San Francisco,? said the Assured filing.
The brief mention of a switch to another retirement system (San Joaquin is one of the 20 counties with an independent retirement system operating under a 1937 act) did not explain how the change would reduce pension costs.
Stockton has a ?monumental? unfunded liability, said the Assured filing. estimated by CalPERS on a market value basis to total $322.5 million for both plans, safety and miscellaneous.
If in the future Stockton is not in bankruptcy and unable to ?satisfy? its unfunded liability and needs to withdraw from CalPERS, said Assured, the city ?could face a draconian termination liability? ballooning to $946 million and a lien on its property.
?Unless the city is willing to tackle its pension liabilities and obligations to CalPERS, there is no legitimate purpose served by permitting it to remain in Chaper 9 (bankruptcy),? Assured argued.
The National filing said Stockton is ineligible for bankruptcy for three reasons: a failure to seek concessions from CalPERS, a ?self-interested? decision by staff and council members who are CalPERS members, and a lack of ?good faith? negotiations.
A broader Assured filing goes beyond the CalPERS issue and argues that the city budgeted itself into insolvency, continues to overspend, has not tried to maximize revenue, has no grasp of its finances and cannot produce accurate and timely reports.
Assured supports its argument with four reports from experts. City officials are said to have acknowledged that city wages and benefits have been excessive, inflated in some cases by an estimated 25 percent.
The Assured filing rebuts a city contention that lower pensions would result in a ?mass exodus? of police officers, noting among other things that 1,300 persons took a police agility test last month.
A statewide pension reform signed by Gov. Brown in September gives all new hires the same low pension, Assured said, further weakening the city contention that high pensions must be maintained to remain competitive in the marketplace.
(Reporter Ed Mendel covered the Capitol in Sacramento for nearly three decades, most recently for the San Diego Union-Tribune. More stories are at?http://calpensions.com/)
Source: http://www.capoliticalreview.com/top-stories/how-would-stockton-bankruptcy-cut-pensions/
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Friday, January 18, 2013
Pitt study warns of skin cancer apps
Diagnosing skin cancer via smartphone?
Perhaps there should not be an app for that.
A study by the University of Pittsburgh evaluated four smartphone apps that evaluate melanoma by analyzing images submitted by the users.
One app works by having a board-certified dermatologist look at the photos, while the other three apps analyze the images by computer algorithm.
The best-performing of the computer-driven apps missed 30 percent of the melanoma cases, while the worst-performing missed 93 percent. The app that used actual physicians to diagnose the melanomas worked well, correctly identifying more than 98 percent of the submitted images.
The study's lead researcher, Laura Ferris, worries that misdiagnosis by smartphone could harm patients in the long run.
"If they see a concerning lesion but the smartphone app incorrectly judges it to be benign, they might not follow up with a physician," she said. "A three-month delay could be the difference between high survival and low survival."
The study did not identify the apps by name.
"There are more apps out there and more coming out all the time," said Dr. Ferris, assistant professor of dermatology at Pitt's School of Medicine. "It's better to make a statement on the fact that they're out there than to say, 'This one is good and this one is bad.' "
The findings were published online Wednesday in JAMA Dermatology.
The idea for the study came about when a patient asked Dr. Ferris what she thought about these types of smartphone apps. She and other dermatologists started playing around with the apps by submitting test images and eventually decided to conduct a formal study.
They used actual images of both melanomas and benign skin lesions taken from patients being treated at UPMC, and evaluated only the apps that would allow submission of previously existing photographs.
Some of the apps were free, while others charged a small amount, such as $4.99 for unlimited images. The app that uses physicians to evaluate the images charged $5 per image, she said.
Dr. Ferris said that she understands the temptation to find a low-cost, quick way to see a dermatologist. "I know I have patients who are pretty sensitive to cost, and it's very appealing to get this official-looking answer back without worrying about having to pay a co-pay," she said.
Dermatologists have some of the longest wait times of any medical specialists -- one study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology reported an average wait time of 38 days -- while the three computer-based apps returned their answers in minutes. The app that used board-certified dermatologists returned answers in about 24 hours.
But time and cost aren't worth the possibility of postponing diagnosis on a fast-moving disease, she said. "With melanoma, it's such a time-sensitive thing," she said. "It grows and gets deeper, but it's curable if you can get it earlier."
On the flip side, researchers were heartened by the high level of accuracy displayed by the app that used board-certified physicians to evaluate the images. Because of long wait times for dermatologists, it's useful to have technology that can serve patients without immediate access.
UPMC has a small-scale tele-dermatology program of its own, she said, in which hospitals without dermatologists send pictures to dermatologists in Pittsburgh. The program is only for patients already in hospitals, and not for patients at home.
"Nothing replaces being in the room with a patient," she said, "but if we can't put dermatologists all over where the patients are, we're lucky in our field that we can use pictures and images."
Apps for health care of all varieties are big business, from checking heart rate to counting calories. Even just for dermatology, there are many different online services, including those provided by Iagnosis, a Washington County company founded last year that also uses doctors to help patients diagnose 250 different skin problems.
Medical apps are largely unregulated by the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Ferris said, with the exception of apps that interact directly with devices that are already regulated. The FDA is currently discussing plans to regulate other devices, a change that Dr. Ferris would support.
"The people who made these apps weren't conscientious or thoughtful, with no validation," she said.
Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/health/pitt-study-warns-of-skin-cancer-apps-670673
FBI complies with FOIA request; releases blacked-out pages
Blacked out FBI document (ACLU)
The FBI and the American Civil Liberties Union seem to have very different interpretations of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
As surfaced by the website Arstechnica, the FBI recently complied with a request from the civil rights organization?sort of.
The ACLU had filed the FOIA request back in July. The request asks for two memos that outline how the FBI interprets the Supreme Court decision blocking law enforcement from using GPS to track a suspect?s car without a warrant.
As the ACLU reported, the organization has just received a response?almost all of it blacked out. The darkened memos had been mentioned publicly by an FBI official during a panel discussion at the University of San Francisco.
One memo apparently outlines GPS tracking on things other than cars, and the other how the FBI interprets the Supreme Court case on other forms of tech besides GPS. The documents can be seen here and here in PDF format, along with the ACLU's original FOIA request.
Writing on the ACLU website, staff attorney Catherine Crump noted, "The Justice Department?s unfortunate decision leaves Americans with no clear understanding of when we will be subjected to tracking?possibly for months at a time?or whether the government will first get a warrant."
Crump added that "this is yet another example of secret surveillance policies?like the Justice Department?s secret opinions about the Patriot Act?s Section 215?that simply should not exist in a democratic society. Privacy law needs to keep up with technology, but how can that happen if the government won?t even tell us what its policies are?
The ACLU says that it will next ask the courts to force the Department of Justice to release the memos without all the redactions.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/fbi-complies-foia-request-blacked-pages-214357663.html
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Samsung Tips New Colors for Galaxy Note II ... in Korea
After topping 5 million unit sales in just two months, the Samsung Galaxy Note II is now getting a makeover.
Samsung today announced that it will be releasing the Note II in "amber brown" and "ruby wine" along with its usual "titanium gray" and "marble white" color options. The bad news? The new color options are limited to Samsung's home country of South Korea at the moment.
The amber brown version is already available in South Korea, while the ruby wine mode is expected to arrive in the next week, according to mobile tech blog Unwired View. There's no word yet as to whether the new jewel-toned devices will make it to the U.S., but a more global rollout is expected to start sometime soon.
The new models will stay exactly the same on the inside, but sport a new, iridescent-looking brown or red shell. Even the S Pen tucked into the device is getting a paint job to match.
The device boasts a 5.5-inch, 1,280-by-720-pixel display, and runs on Google's Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean operating system. It has a 1.6-GHz, quad-core Exynos processor, optimized for LTE networks, as well as 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, plus a microSD card for expandable storage up to 64GB.
Samsung debuted the oversized phone/tablet, or "phablet," in late September, and by November it reached 5 million unit sales, a milestone that took the original Galaxy Note about five months to hit. The Note II is now on sale in all regions, including Asia, Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, and Africa.
For more, see PCMag's review of the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the slideshow above.
For more from Angela, follow her on Twitter @amoscaritolo.
Source: http://feeds.ziffdavis.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/breakingnews/~3/MHUjHTTVLGQ/0,2817,2414430,00.asp
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New Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 N5100 to take on Apple?s iPad Mini soon?
At the end of December, we told you about an unannounced Samsung device, called GT-N5100.
Now, Chinese website VR-Zone claims the N5100 will be officially called Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 ? if that?s true, it will sport an 8 inch display, not a 7.7 inch one, as previously rumored. In any case, VR-Zone says the display will have 1280 x 800 pixels. Furthermore, the publication seemingly confirms that the new Note comes with an S Pen stylus.
Other expected features: Android Jelly Bean, quad-core 1.6GHz Samsung Exynos processor, 2GB of RAM, 5MP rear camera, MicroSD card support, and a 4,600 mAh battery. The Galaxy Note 8.0 might be officially announced next month at MWC 2013 (25 ? 28 February).
Update: SamMobile is also confirming the name of the new Samsung device.
At 1280 x 800 pixels, the Note 8.0 has a resolution higher than the one of Apple?s 7.9 inch iPad Mini (1024 x 768), which will be its direct competitor in the tablet market. However, we?ve heard that Apple is readying a new iPad Mini for 2013 ? this should feature a Retina Display with 2048 ? 1536 pixels. Naturally, the new iPad Mini will be superior to the Galaxy Note 8.0, at least when it comes to screen quality. Sure enough, it remains to be seen exactly when Apple launches its next-generation 7.9 inch tablet.
It?s said that Samsung would unveil at least two other new Galaxy Note models this year: a 6.3 inch one (possibly called Galaxy Note III), and a 13.3 inch one.
If you liked the post, you might find these interesting too:
? Samsung Galaxy Premier i9260 priced in Asia, will be launched this month. Grey version unveiledGoogle?s Project Glass could be operated via laser projected virtual keypad/keyboard ?
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/UnwiredView/~3/F8_QNitwjSw/
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Thursday, January 17, 2013
Manti Te'o mocked online with 'Te'oing' Twitter trend
Zap2it
12:59 p.m. EST, January 17, 2013
The Internet community doesn't feel very sympathetic for Manti Te'o, the Notre Dame linebacker duped by an online troll who positioned himself as Te'o's long distance girlfriend. It's being described as a "Catfish"-style hoax, but that doesn't mean anyone needs to feel bad for the man who was duped.
No, now people are taking to Twitter to take their own stab at "Te'oing" someone. Users are posting images of themselves posing with imaginary girlfriends and boyfriends in a trend that is both hilarious and sad. Here are some examples:
Just walked in on my girl in the shower #teoing twitter.com/Webb_Squad/sta...
@erikainge3 feeding my lady a grape. #teoing twitter.com/DarthPredator/...
-- Clint (@DarthPredator) January 17, 2013All my girlfriends are in the same class! Uh oh.. #Teoing twitter.com/KDx17/status/2...
-- Kenyan Drake™(@KDx17) January 17, 2013Having a nice morning coffee w my invisible BF. #Teoing twitpic.com/bw001j
-- Nina Parker (@MzGossipGirl) January 17, 2013Just doing what any good boyfriend would do #teoing @mattv31 @erikainge3 twitter.com/sthomas419/sta...
-- Sam Thomas (@sthomas419) January 17, 2013#Teoing is becoming a big sensation that my imaginary boyfriend and I can't stop laughing at the moment.
-- Sydni Alexandra (@_Syddddd) January 17, 2013Don't expect the Te'o story to end here. Notre Dame has announced Te'o will hold a press conference later today, and the Twitter account of his "dead" girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, has also said that it will tell all later today.
"It isn't fair to drag Reagan and Troy into this.. a lot of truths and myths need to be addressed here, and they will be at noon PST [today, Jan. 17]," the account tweeted.
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Stryker copies Medtronic in move to buy Chinese orthopedics maker for $764M
They say imitation is the best form of flattery.
In announcing that it was buying Chinese orthopedics company Trauson Holdings Company Limited, Kalamazoo, Michigan-based Stryker (NYSE:SYK) is following in the footsteps of medical device heavy weight Medtronic.
Barely four months ago, the Minnesota medical device maker announced that it was buying Kanghui Holdings, which described itself as a top player in the spine and trauma market in China.
And Thursday, Stryker announced that Hong Kong-based Trauson is a ?leading traumamanufacturer in China and a major competitor in the spine segment.?
This is how Stryker?s CEO Kevin Lobo described the deal:
T?he acquisition of a leading player in the Chinese trauma and spine market underscores our commitment to strengthening our presence globally. With its research and development expertise, manufacturing capabilities and strength of its distribution network, Trauson is a compelling opportunity for Stryker to drive growth in China and other emerging markets for years to come.?
That statement hews pretty closely to the message that Medtronic?s Omar Ishrak delivered on his company?s first Chinese acquisition.
?Kanghui represents a significant investment in China, accelerating Medtronic?s overall globalization strategy with an established value segment distribution network and strong R&D and operational capabilities,? Medtronic?s CEO said in September.
Even the money that each agreed to shell out for their Chinese acquisitions is not too far apart. Stryker is paying $764 million in an all cash transaction with the transaction valued at $685 million, net of cash. Medtronic doled out $816 million in cash, though excluding Kanghui?s cash, the transaction was worth $755 million.
These two acquisitions underscore how much the medical device industry is banking on emerging markets for growth. Up until now, the industry has been behind other industries in capitalizing on the opportunity presented by globalization.
2013 might be the year to change all that.
Copyright 2013 MedCity News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.kentucky jayhawks wwe wrestlemania oakland shooting mega millions winning numbers autism speaks ubaldo jimenez
New Jenzabar Release Aimed at Increasing Continuing Education ...
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Jenzabar?, Inc., a leading provider of software, strategies, and services for higher education, announced today the latest release of Jenzabar?s continuing education software, Jenzabar Higher Reach?. The ?Lion? release of Higher Reach helps continuing education and workforce programs increase student enrollments and operational efficiency through marketing tie-ins and significant online enhancements.
The latest release of Jenzabar Higher Reach is aimed at improving students? online experiences through a more personalized and social environment. Institutions using Higher Reach can configure the platform to greet prospective students with a progressive shopping experience, including suggested courses, popular selections, recently viewed items, and social media integration. Other new features include a keyword search, cross-selling opportunities, and back-office updates for more efficient payment and reporting processes. The student-centric enhancements in Higher Reach provide methods to convert more website visitors into enrolled students and enrich the user experience.
?As Jenzabar designs a new release, the strategy is to leverage our relationships with current clients who know how our platforms need to evolve to best support their expanding businesses,? said Chris Hartigan, Vice President and General Manager of Jenzabar?s Continuing Education Solutions Group. ?The Lion Release of Jenzabar Higher Reach was developed in partnership with several notable customers, including Hofstra University. With the new features and functionality, continuing education, extended learning, workforce development, and adult learner programs are able to market and sell more courses while providing a more personalized student experience.?
Jenzabar Higher Reach is a flexible, full-featured, scalable software solution uniquely aligned with the complex needs of any institution that offers continuing education, certificate, or workforce development programs. Higher Reach supports the entire continuing education ecosystem, from prospective students and candidates all the way through graduation. The Lion release was named after Hofstra University?s Lion mascots.
About Jenzabar, Inc.
Jenzabar, Inc. is a leading provider of enterprise software, strategies, and services developed exclusively for higher education. The company offers integrated, innovative solutions to advance the goals of academic and administrative offices across the campus and throughout the student lifecycle. As a trusted partner serving more than 1,000 campuses worldwide, Jenzabar has over four decades of experience supporting the higher education community. Jenzabar is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. For further information, please visit www.jenzabar.com.
Source: http://buyersteps.ulitzer.com/node/2513629
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Stell? Audio Clutch Bluetooth speakers for women
This Stell? speaker adds a fashionable touch not usually seen in portable Bluetooth speakers. ?Inside the Stell? Audio Clutch?is a stereo pair of “proprietary (1.5?)?acoustic drivers” that will connect to any Bluetooth-enabled device (range of up to 50 feet). ?If you’d rather, you can connect your device to the speakers via USB or 3.5mm audio [...]
Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/01/15/stelle-audio-clutch-bluetooth-speakers-for-women/
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Wednesday, January 16, 2013
President Barack Obama: Ban military-style assault rifles and high ...
President Barack Obama hugs 8-year-old Grant Fritz, who wrote to the president to request tougher gun laws, during a Wednesday news conference on proposals to reduce gun violence. Vice President Joe Biden is at left. (AP photo)
WASHINGTON ? Braced for a fight, President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled the most sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence in two decades, pressing a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.
A month after that massacre, Obama also used his presidential powers to enact 23 measures that don?t require the backing of lawmakers. The president?s executive actions include ordering federal agencies to make more data available for background checks, appointing a director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and directing the Centers for Disease Control to research gun violence.
But the president, speaking at White House ceremony, focused his attention on the divided Congress, saying only lawmakers could enact the most effective measures for preventing more mass shootings.
?To make a real and lasting difference, Congress must act,? Obama said. ?And Congress must act soon.?
The president vowed to use ?whatever weight this office holds? to press lawmakers into action on his $500 million plan. He is also calling for improvements in school safety, including putting 1,000 police officers in schools and bolstering mental health care by training more health professionals to deal with young people who may be at risk.
The National Rifle Association promptly took issue with Obama?s proposals, and even supportive lawmakers said the president?s gun control measures face long odds in Congress.
?Attacking firearms and ignoring children is not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation,? the NRA said in a statement. ?Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected and our children will remain vulnerable to the inevitability of more tragedy.?
House Speaker John Boehner?s office was non-committal to the president?s package but signaled no urgency to act on the legislative proposals. ?House committees of jurisdiction will review these recommendations,? Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said. ?And if the Senate passes a bill, we will also take a look at that.?
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said ahead of Obama?s presentation that he didn?t know whether an assault weapons ban could pass the Senate, but said there are some measures that can, such as improved background checks.
?There are some who say nothing will pass. I disagree with that,? Leahy, D-Vt., told students at Georgetown University Law Center. ?What I?m interested in is what we can get.? Continued...
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called Obama?s package ?thoughtful recommendations? and said the Senate would consider legislation addressing gun violence early this year.
?The tragedy at Sandy Hook was just the latest sad reminder that we are not doing enough to protect our citizens ? especially our children ? from gun violence and a culture of violence, and all options should be on the table moving forward,? he said.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus dismissed Obama?s measures as ?an executive power grab.?
?He paid lip service to our fundamental constitutional rights,? Priebus said of the president, ?but took actions that disregard the Second Amendment and the legislative process.?
Acknowledging the tough fight ahead, Obama said there will be pundits, politicians and special interest groups that will seek to ?gin up fear? that the White House wants to take away the right to own a gun.
?Behind the scenes, they?ll do everything they can to block any commonsense reform and make sure nothing changes whatsoever,? he said. ?The only way we will be able to change is if their audience, their constituents, their membership says this time must be different, that this time we must do something to protect our communities and our kids.?
The president was flanked by children who wrote him letters about gun violence in the weeks following the Newtown shooting. Families of those killed in the massacre, as well as survivors of the shooting, were also in the audience, along with law enforcement officers and congressional lawmakers.
?This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe,? Obama said. ?This is how we will be judged.?
Seeking to expand the impetus for addressing gun violence beyond the Newtown shooting, the president said more than 900 Americans have been killed by guns in the month since the elementary school massacre.
?Every day we wait, the number will keep growing,? he said. Continued...
The White House has signaled that Obama could launch a campaign to boost public support for his proposals. Nearly six in 10 Americans want stricter gun laws in the aftermath of the Newtown shooting, with majorities favoring a nationwide ban on military-style, rapid-fire weapons and limits on gun violence depicted in video games, movies and TV shows, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.
A lopsided 84 percent of adults would like to see the establishment of a federal standard for background checks for people buying guns at gun shows, the poll showed.
The president based his proposals on recommendations from an administration-wide task force led by Vice President Joe Biden. His plan marks the most comprehensive effort to address gun violence since Congress passed the 1994 ban on high-grade, military-style assault weapons. The ban expired in 2004, and Obama wants lawmakers to renew and expand it.
Other measures Obama wants Congress to take up include limiting high-capacity ammunition magazines and requiring background checks for all gun buyers in an attempt to close the so-called ?gun-show loophole? that allows people to buy guns at trade shows and over the Internet without submitting to background checks.
Obama also intends to seek confirmation for B. Todd Jones, who has served as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives since 2011.
The president?s plan does little to address violent images in video games, movies and entertainment, beyond asking the CDC to study their impact on gun crimes. Some pro-gun lawmakers who are open to addressing stricter arms legislation have insisted they would do so only in tandem with recommendations for addressing violence in entertainment.
The president?s long list of executive orders also include:
? Ordering tougher penalties for people who lie on background checks and requiring federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.
? Ending limits that make it more difficult for the government to research gun violence, such as gathering data on guns that fall into criminal hands.
? Requiring federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations. Continued...
? Giving schools flexibility to use federal grant money to improve school safety, such as by hiring school resource officers.
? Giving communities grants to institute programs to keep guns away from people who shouldn?t have them.
Source: http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2013/01/16/news/doc50f6d675aaf2d768766603.txt
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Friday, January 11, 2013
Dakar: un accidente dej? dos muertos y siete heridos
Por: EFE
Dos personas han resultado muertas y siete heridas en una colisi?n que se produjo a las 21:30 horas del mi?rcoles (hora de Per?), entre dos taxis y un coche de asistencia del Rally Dakar a diez kil?metros de la frontera de Per? con Chile, adonde se dirige la carrera.
Tanto los tres ocupantes del veh?culo de asistencia como el taxi que evit? la colisi?n frontal, que dio varias vueltas de campana y estaba ocupado por cuatro pasajeros, resultaron heridos.
Mientras que en el taxi que choc? frontalmente con el coche de la carrera, ocupado por seis personas, el conductor y un viajero resultaron muertos.
Todos los heridos fueron trasladados a hospitales de la localidad peruana de Tacna, desde donde podr?an ser trasladados en avi?n medicalizado, en funci?n de su gravedad, hasta Lima.
Las autoridades peruanas han abierto una investigaci?n con el fin de determinar las causas exactas del accidente.?
IMPORTANTE: Los comentarios publicados son de exclusiva responsabilidad de sus autores y las consecuencias derivadas de ellos pueden ser pasibles de las sanciones legales que correspondan. Aquel usuario que incluya en sus mensajes alg?n comentario violatorio del reglamento ser? eliminado e inhabilitado para volver a comentar.
Source: http://elsolonline.com/noticias/view/160577/dakar-un-accidente-dejo-dos-muertos-y-siete-heridos-
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Gaming Made Me: Nathan Grayson's Violence | Rock, Paper, Shotgun
By Nathan Grayson on January 9th, 2013 at 1:00 pm.
I don?t think violence is necessarily bad. But I do think ? especially in gaming ? that it?s highly misunderstood, and I argued as much quite recently. But what can we do about that? As ever, I?m erring on the side of reflection and transparency. So here we are. I?m Nathan Grayson, and I was made by violence.
Walking down an unfamiliar San Francisco street one night, I passed some people. I didn?t feel overly threatened or anything. They were just other humans meandering down a junked-up road, and it was dark.
But then I started fantasizing about what would happen if one of them attacked me. Details gushed out of my brain as though from some enraged thought-volcano.
First, I?d knock the guy unconscious. Knee/knee. Up against a wall, face/mid-section, one/two. Crack, crack, crack, crack. Knees and clinches offer control. Basic self-defense. Doing what?s necessary. But that?s not where my mind stopped.
Eventually, he?d wake up. It probably wouldn?t take long. Maybe I?d break an arm while he was out. Or stomp a hand into a tangled mess. Perhaps something more drastic. My next thought was teeth. One by one. Crack, crack, crack, crack. Because maybe this hypothetical assailant had hurt other people before. Badly. Maybe he deserved to suffer.
As my fantasy faded and I saw the eerily empty street in front of me again, a crystallizing moment provided two epiphanies. One: That is fucked up. ?Two: In my head, the vision had been of a stylized videogame action sequence. The camera angles, the satisfying heft of each strike, every crunchy splat of sound, each whistling note of blood. Even the role I?d placed myself in ? that of some twisted arbiter of relentless, necessary justice ? was one I find myself drawn to in games and other media.
The thing that struck me most, though, was that it all rushed in so quickly. So automatically.
?-
One day in elementary school, a teacher pulled me aside from a couple friends I?d been chatting with. I grew up scared to death of disapproval, so I desperately avoided stepping out of line whenever possible. This, then, was terrifyingly atypical.
?You talk about death and killing a lot,? he said. ?You really shouldn?t do that so much.?
?-
I was one of those kids. Games ? many of them quite violent ? were a part of my life from the word ?go.? I actually had a conversation with my mother about it very recently. I don?t think she really knew what I got my hungry little hands on back in my single digit age, but I don?t really blame her for it. My young life hardly revolved around games or other potentially violent media. I was always expected to achieve good grades in school, get involved in various extracurricular activities, be reasonably social, engage in a constant ideological war with ?You must be this tall to ride?? signs.
Games. I couldn?t see the ones and zeroes yet ? the thin, easily twisted puppet strings and smoke-and-mirror hallways that held each illusion together ? so it all felt so real. No, no, not in the ?Pikachu tells me to kill? way out-of-touch politicians dream about, but I thought I was gazing through some rainbow lightning technomagical window into another world.
Around the ripe old age of seven, I became obsessed with Warcraft II. Obsessed in the strictest sense of the term ? in that unfaltering, unquestioning childlike fashion we all wish we could recapture and hurl in the general direction of our wildest hopes and dreams, resulting in a froth-and-spittle enthusiasm explosion. I spent months playing and replaying the campaign, making my own maps, imagining new scenarios, wishing I was a badass ogre mage, poring over official art, and ? perhaps most impressively ? making my own. These were full-blown artistic endeavors, too. My Sistine Chapel was a series of me-sized paper recreations of pretty much every unit in Warcraft II. To be clear, I mean that they were my height. Gleaming, glorious, blood-soaked warriors of suitably imposing stature. My paper dolls were not to be trifled with.
I embarked on similar projects with the likes of Diablo, Goldeneye 64, and Doom ? all before I was even ten. I drew pictures of men being shot in the head (and, naturally, given my still-maturing comedic repertoire, the groin as well), people losing limbs, weapons caked in rust and blood, and many other things of that nature. I thought it was all so damn cool. But I also don?t think violence was necessarily the core of the appeal. Sure, it might have been the hook, but I was ultimately reeled in by a desire to bring these places and characters and sights and sounds to life. I so badly wanted to make them real that, well, I tried. And in doing so, I made them my own.
?-
Veins throbbed in the teacher?s neck like worms crammed in a can. He was purple, bellowing anger. One of my classmates wouldn?t stop talking. He hurled a marker in the student?s general direction and then stormed out of the room.
Later, I found out he went on to have another, similar episode, only it ended with a steel chair instead of a marker. Thank goodness chairs don?t fly very far.
?-
Christmas Eve, I am thirteen. I receive the then brand new Dragonball Z: Budokai as a gift, and rush up the tinsel-and-ornament-strewn stairs to play it. After cruising through the story mode?s early bits, I confront the series anti-hero Vegeta. And I die. 29 times.
I know this because I started keeping count, and I remember the exact number to this day because I got so angry. I shouted, kicked, hurled the controller, bit the controller until my teeth hurt, went on extended diatribes about how stupid my character was, ranted at the game for being unfair, and just generally, well, lost it.
I?ve always had a temper. Over the years, I?ve become better at controlling it, but games have a way of bringing it screaming to the surface. Sometimes, I cool down quickly. Other times, my mood?s ruined for hours. There?s just something about constant, repetitive, out-of-my-control failure that presses my buttons far beyond any sort of breaking point. I hate it. Hate it, hate it, hate it. So it makes me act violently ? at least, in the moment, anyway.
But there?s a certain absurdity about it, you know? I mean, it?s just a game. And when I pull back and examine what I?m doing, I feel like I?m watching someone succumb to ridiculous road rage in highway traffic. It?s not fun, but worse things have happened. So it just looks? silly.
For me, though, gaming rage and road rage really are two sides of the same coin. Futility is the root of those temper tantrums ? not the inherent aggression of shooting a man or (gasp) turning a wheel. I think the maddest I?ve ever been at a game was Mario Party. Because seriously, fuck random star handouts and sudden, impossible come-from-behind comebacks and everything Luigi loves and stands for. When I hold a controller, I want control. If that expectation is denied ? whether I?m behind a keyboard-and-mouse or a steering wheel ? I don?t take it well.
Are my reactions problematic? I?m not entirely sure. But I?ll take hitting a controller over a person (or, er, a car) any day of the week.
?-
I remember walking into the locker room and being shocked at just how much blood there was. Granted, the near-blinding white tile made it stand out all the more, but still: could a human head really hold all that blood?
There?d been a fight. At my tiny private elementary school in suburban Texas, those never happened. Well, almost never. I don?t remember being disturbed by it, though. Just curious.
?-
I?ve never gotten into a fight. Not a real one, anyway. But I love hitting. It may very well be one of my absolute favorite things in this world.
Like many starry eyed nerdlings, I was first attracted to martial arts because Ryu, Ken, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and all of their furious-fisted ilk wailed on my imagination until the brain damage was molded in their image. Basically, I wanted to punch and kick and produce whaling harpoons from my wrists. (Incidentally, I was Scorpion for Halloween one year.)
In middle school, I clumsily fumbled my way into a gi and tried my feet at Taekwondo. I was never a particularly athletic child, but martial arts just stuck. I loved the purity of it all. I didn?t need to worry about complicated rules, having crappy aim, or getting screamed at by umpires or vampires or however baseball works. It was just me and one other person. And we?d hit and hit and hit, and whoever hit better won.
Granted, there was a bit more to it than that, but it was all so satisfying and immediate. It felt amazing ? my brain basting in a stew of its own chemicals and each blow rattling off cheekbones and rib cages ? in between getting punched in the nose all the time. And training was just like Everquest, only a million times better. Each day, I?d grind until I cried blood and sweat tears, but progress ? though slow ? was obvious. Tangible. Addictive. Little by little, I was becoming strong.
But I wasn?t just hitting bodies. My training partners became my community. My family. We?d train for hours each day, and then we?d go out and watch UFC cards together or descend upon smoothie stores like some kind of protein-powder-lusting plague. I had friends, I had an outlet for my feelings, I had a work ethic.
I had a home.
?-
?The new kid?s slacking,? one of my seniors at my Taekwondo gym whispered to me. ?Spar him extra hard.?
I did. I hurt him so badly that he had to sit out for the rest of the session. And it was fun.
?-
He looked so surprised. Shocked, even. Zone of the Enders 2 on PS2: the main character had just been shot. An alleged ally stabbed him in the back, and he just sort of floated there, baby planetoids of his own blood orbiting around him in a space station?s low gravity. His face was a mask of fear and pain. Eyes wide. Helpless. Scared. Dying.
It was the holiday season, and my mom, my sister, and I went out to lunch with my grandparents later that day. But I couldn?t stop thinking about it. That face. That scene. I had no appetite. Months later, thinking of that scene produced the same effect.
I still haven?t finished Zone of the Enders 2.
I?m glad. If growing up with games had desensitized me to the ramifications of violence, pain, and death, experiencing that scene from an M-rated game suddenly put it all in perspective. Was I too young for Zone of the Enders 2 when it first came out? Absolutely. But, in retrospect, I think I needed it. For a lot of reasons.
?-
Recently, I was talking with a friend about life and perspectives and extremely well-informed (and attractive) viewpoints on early modern philosophy. Eventually, that brought us to the topic of humor and how it manifests in different people.
?Yeah, I?m pretty whimsical,? I offered. ?You know, prone to winding, ridiculous flights of fancy and all that stuff.?
?Hm?? he grunted back, chewing on my statement for a moment. ?I don?t know. I always thought your jokes were pretty morbid, all things considered.?
?-
I?m a bit of a hypochondriac. Usually, it?s cancer. Everything?s cancer. Last year, I nearly missed my best friend?s college graduation because I was certain I?d found something in my chest. I wanted to cancel my flight and go home. I spent the night before wide awake and sick to my stomach. I was so, so, so scared. I cried a bunch. I called my mom at 4am and she talked me down a bit. But I was so sure I was dying. This was the end. I was going to waste away into an empty husk of dead skin and mulched bones, and my precious consciousness would fade into nothing. Forever.
I?ve never been more terrified in my entire life.
The world?s a horrifying place. To hear some people tell it, everything?s out to kill us, and death?s primed ? coiled, snake-like ? to strike at any given second. In many ways, my life hasn?t really gone out of its way to disprove that point of view, either. I?ve had a fairly pampered existence in the grand scheme of things, but even then, I grew up in a world of easily enraged authority figures and peers, constant fear that ?the terrorists will win,? pain, disease, shootings, paranoia, sadness, and war. Meanwhile, the unending information barrage of the modern era ensures I never have a chance to forget about those things. Don?t get me wrong: I love living in these times. I love life. I?m happy. But I?m also afraid, because let?s face it: there?s so much to be afraid of.
I think I seek out violence because I?m so scared of death. I crack jokes about killing and death, I laugh in the face of over-the-top murdersplosion action movies, I listen to all kinds of exceedingly angry music, I?m addicted to fight training, I have all these empowering, in some cases sick fantasies. I surround myself with violence. Because when I do it that way, I?m in control. I can explore it. It?s mine. I own it.
And, as ever, in the game.
?-
In spite of the ups and downs of my relationship with it, I personally enjoy violence. I really do. It?s empowering. It?s intoxicating. It?s fun. But it?s also one of the scariest things in the entire world, and what?s even scarier is that ? if I lost control, if my temper beat the teeth right out of my conscience ? I could inflict it on someone else. I?ve done it in my head a thousand times. It?s not even hard. I?m human. On some level, it?s natural.
When I walk down those dark, nearly naked streets, I?m most afraid of my fantasies. Afraid of myself.
But there?s a voice, a whisper, a lingering tickle between my ears that tells me to stay in control. I mean, duh. I have to. That?s the way it?s always been. Over the years, games have told me a lot of things. They?ve told me that violence looks cool ? some without even attempting to demonstrate potential consequences. Others have beaten it into my brain that death is an awful, awful thing to be feared above all else. But most of all, games have taught me that ? at the end of the day ? I?m accountable. If things go horribly awry, it?s probably because I ? the player, the human being ? fucked up. I can?t blame the situation or the heat of the moment or someone else, and I certainly can?t blame videogames.
Violence is natural, but so is control. To conveniently write off or forget either one of those facts would be a horrible abomination of a folly. No matter how constricting the situation, my actions are ultimately my own. Sometimes, I take pride in that. Other times, I dread it. And when I?m walking alone at night? I?d say it?s probably a mix of both.
I think that?s how it should be.
Source: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/09/gaming-made-me-violence/
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Thursday, January 10, 2013
Five Things: Special Education Council, Funeral for Braintree ...
Born on this day in history: Hall of Fame baseball player Willie McCovey (1938), Frank Sinatra Jr. (1944), Rod Stewart (1945) and Pat Benatar (1953).
1. The Special Education Parent Advisory Council meets at Thayer Public Library in Conference Room B at 6 p.m.
2. Also at the library this evening is a Thayer Public Library Board of Trustees meeting at 7 p.m.
3. A funeral will be held at 10 a.m. today for Braintree Police Detective Maura Cesarini, who died of cancer after a long battle this past weekend. The service is at Holy Family Church 601 Tremont St., Duxbury, MA 02332.
Uniform of the Day: Class A long sleeve w/tie, cover, white gloves
Chief Russell Jenkins said the BPD will wear black arm bands and maintain its flag at half staff for one month in honor of Cesarini.
4. The Rotary Club of Braintree meets at Emerald Hall today at 12:15 p.m.
5. Clear skies continue today and tonight in Braintree, according to the National Weather Service. High around 43 and low around 26 degrees.
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