Monday, February 11, 2013

Lumio desk lamp takes light reading literally (video)

Image

With the future of reading heading squarely in the direction of electronic devices, what to do with the old timey book form? Build a lamp, of course. During a recent visit to the City by the Bay, we popped into the TechShop hackerspace and were introduced to Max Gunawan, the designer behind Lumio (not to be confused with a certain smartphone line of similar name). The product, developed in that very space, offers up a cool take on the desktop lamp, fitting it into a wooden, old timey-looking book form. Open it up and the pages fan out into what looks like a paper lantern.

It's an LED light powered by a lithium ion battery that'll give you around eight hours on a charge. Due to the foldable nature of the Lumio, the device is portable and can be opened into a number of configurations, to suit your needs. Gunawan is a couple of days away from launching a Kickstarter page for the project, in hopes of getting together $60,000. Interested funders will be able to pick one up for around $95 -- wait for it to come to market, and that price will jump to around $125 or $135.

After the break, check out a video of Gunawan giving us the lowdown on Lumio.

Comments

Source: Hello Lumio

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/09/lumio-desk-lamp/

the colony kids choice awards ncaa final four 2012 uk vs louisville university of kansas buckeye west side story

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Wireless weather alerts don't go to all users yet

Warning bells went off in the newsroom on Thursday. Not the usual ones about breaking events and looming deadlines, but rather an "Imminent severe alert," about the coming blizzard, that popped up on smartphone screens.

The messages caught everyone off guard, not because they weren't aware of the storm ? the Weather Channel made that impossible. Rather, no one realized that their phones could do that, or how, or why. Messages arrived on Android phones and iPhones, T-Mobile and Verizon models. And no, it wasn't from the Weather Chanel app.

Instead the alarms came from the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system, which was set up by the FCC, FEMA and most wireless providers in April, 2012. It includes three kinds of alerts ? messages from the President, warnings about "severe man-made or natural disasters" and AMBER Alerts about missing children.

The system includes the big four providers ? AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile ? as well as smaller companies such as Cricket and Bluegrass Cellular. All told, those companies account for 97 percent of cellphone customers, says CTIA, the industry group of wireless companies.

But far from 97 percent of subscribers can get the service. In fact, only a few models ? and not always the newest ? are able to receive the alerts. And wireless providers offer varying amounts of information. Sprint and Verizon support the iPhone 5 (Verizon also supports the iPhone 4s, if upgraded to iOS 6 software). AT&T doesn't list any of its iPhone models. And Cricket, which also sells iPhones, mentions WEA support only for the Blackberry Curve 9350.

Sprint's website doesn't mention anything other than the iPhone 5, and T-Mobile doesn't list any phones at all.

Apple's rivals fare even worse. Only Verizon supports the ultra-popular Samsung Galaxy S III; although AT&T does offer support on the S II, along with seven other phones. Verizon lists by far the most WEA-capable models ? nearly 40.

How can you tell if your phone can receive WEA alerts? According to CTIA and the phone companies, you should see a "Wireless Emergency Alerts Capable" badge on the box. But that may not help you if you're shopping online. We checked the specs for iPhone 5 and Galaxy S III models that the providers said had the capability and found nothing on their webpages. To make things more confusing, the service is sometimes also know as CMAS or PLAN. But we didn't find those, either. [See also: 2-Minute Expert: How Much Smartphone Data Do I Need?]

And even if you do have WEA, the messages may not always be helpful. In our case, we knew about the coming storm long before the alerts ? which rolled in over the course of about an hour. Even some people with the same carrier got the word at different times.

In some other cases, the alerts are simply false alarms. "The tornado warning was a good 30 to 50 miles south of my location and we had no warnings posted by the weather service for our area," wrote a customer on Sprint's support page in July. "Sunday's alert was for a tornado warning 78 miles west of me and it was heading south east. Not even in our direction."

Clearly the new system still has a way to go. But fortunately, people in the Northeast are likely to know that a storm is coming whether or not they got the popup alert.

Follow TechNewsDaily on Twitter@TechNewsDaily, or on Facebook.

Copyright 2013 TechNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/wireless-weather-alerts-dont-go-all-users-yet-1B8310242

storm shelters nick lachey chevy volt christina hendricks lifelock camp david hawaii weather

Saturday, February 9, 2013

akila gujarati news paper: Sports Apps: A Substitute For the Real ...

Applications are dominating the internet, particularly on mobile devices. There are all sorts of applications out there, including a number of great sports applications. From checking on scores to looking at the latest stats to watching all sorts of video highlights, there is a sports app for just about everything and anything related to sports. Some actually think people are watching fewer sports on television and attending fewer sporting events in person because the apps have become so intricate. Here?s why sports apps are great, but not a substitute for the real thing.

Unpredictability

The reason sports are so popular is because of their unpredictability. Sports were really the world?s first reality show, and anything can happen. People like this idea, and there?s no simulating it in a sports app. Even if you watch video highlights, you aren?t getting the real thing. There?s nothing like sitting down at a game and seeing a miraculous catch or record-breaking event. Sports apps can do a lot of things, but they can?t recreate the experience of seeing something happen before your eyes.

Real Time

Related to the unpredictability of sports is the fact that people want to see them in real time. Watching highlights on your phone or computer can be great if you miss the game, but there?s no real replacement for seeing something happen in real time. Mobile sports apps are more of a summary of what has happened as opposed to a recreation of the actual event.

Use Them at Games

On top of this, mobile sports apps can be used at games. When combined, the duo of an app and a live event can make an amazing team. Imagine yourself at your favorite NFL team?s stadium, taking in the sights and hearing the crowd roar. This is something you could never do at home. Now imagine tracking your fantasy football team on your phone as the game progresses. You can have the best of both worlds.

Sports Gaming Apps

If sports app do end up overtaking real sports, it will be because people play sports gaming apps as opposed to going out to play themselves. In addition to all the fantasy sports and stats apps out there, there are also some that allow you to play real games on your phone or computer. These games can become addicting, limiting the time spent playing real sports. Unfortunately, sports apps don?t provide the great exercise or team-building skills of real sports. It is unlikely sports apps will ever become a true substitute for the real thing, but they?re getting closer.

Ultimately, sports apps are an amazing addition to the sporting world. They provide all kinds of analysis and data that can?t be found anywhere else. Nonetheless, there?s no substitute for the real thing. Whether watching on television or in person, sports provide an excitement that cannot be recreated. They are unpredictable and occur in real time, and those traits cannot be simulated with a sports app. For the best results, use your mobile apps while attending sporting events.

Will wrote this on behalf of The Board Basement, a retailer of discount snowboards and Sanuk sandals UK, check out their sale items today for amazing discounts.

Source: http://www.sports-niche.com/sports-apps-a-substitute-for-the-real-thing/

woolly mammoth belize resorts nikki minaj grammy performance shel silverstein niki minaj grammy performance grammys 2012 deadmau5

Source: http://akila-gujarati-news-paper.blogspot.com/2013/02/sports-apps-substitute-for-real-thing.html

Obama Acceptance Speech 2012 dow jones Selena Gomez ariel winter Paige Butcher David Petraeus Petraeus

Behemoth storm drops 2 feet of snow on Northeast

BOSTON (AP) ? A behemoth storm packing hurricane-force winds and blizzard conditions swept through the Northeast on Saturday, dumping more than 2 feet of snow on New England and knocking out power to 650,000 customers in the region.

More than 28 inches of snow had fallen on central Connecticut by early Saturday, and areas of southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire notched 2 feet or more of snow ? with more falling. Airlines scratched more than 5,300 flights through Saturday, and New York City's three major airports and Boston's Logan Airport closed.

The wind-whipped snowstorm mercifully arrived at the start of a weekend, which meant fewer cars on the road and extra time for sanitation crews to clear the mess before commuters in the New York-to-Boston region of roughly 25 million people have to go back to work. But it could also mean a weekend cooped up indoors.

For a group of stranded European business travelers, it meant making the best of downtime in a hotel restaurant Friday night in downtown Boston, where snow blew outside and drifted several inches deep on the sidewalks.

The six Santander bank employees found their flights back to Spain canceled, and they gave up on seeing the city or having dinner out.

"We are not believing it," said Tommaso Memeghini, 29, an Italian who lives in Barcelona. "We were told it may be the biggest snowstorm in the last 20 years."

The National Weather Service says up to 3 feet of snow is expected in Boston, threatening the city's 2003 record of 27.6 inches.

In heavily Catholic Boston, the archdiocese urged parishioners to be prudent about attending Sunday Mass and reminded them that, under church law, the obligation "does not apply when there is grave difficulty in fulfilling this obligation."

Halfway through what had been a mild winter across the Northeast, blizzard warnings were posted from parts of New Jersey to Maine. The National Weather Service said Boston could get close to 3 feet of snow by Saturday evening, while most of Rhode Island could receive more than 2 feet, most of it falling overnight Friday into Saturday. Connecticut was bracing for 2 feet, and New York City was expecting as much as 14 inches.

Early snowfall was blamed for a 19-car pileup in Cumberland, Maine, that caused minor injuries. In New York, hundreds of cars began getting stuck on the Long Island Expressway on Friday afternoon at the beginning of the snowstorm and dozens of disabled motorists remained early Saturday as police worked to free them.

About 650,000 customers in the Northeast lost power during the height of the snowstorm, most of them in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Mass., lost electricity and shut down Friday night during the storm. Authorities say there's no threat to public safety.

At least four deaths were being blamed on the storm, three in Canada and one in New York. In southern Ontario, an 80-year-old woman collapsed while shoveling her driveway and two men were killed in car crashes. In New York, a 74-year-old man died after being struck by a car in Poughkeepsie; the driver said she lost control in the snowy conditions, police said.

Forecasters said wind gusts exceeding 75 mph could cause more widespread power outages and whip the snow into fearsome drifts. Flooding was expected along coastal areas still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, which hit New York and New Jersey the hardest and is considered Jersey's worst natural disaster.

In Manhattan, streets normally bustling after midnight, were quiet Saturday but for the hum of snow blowers, the scrape of shovels and the laughter from late night revelers who braved the snow.

Bill Tavonallo, 39, said he walked home on purpose from a Manhattan bar to enjoy the snow falling.

"With Sandy, we were scared. But this is wonderful," he said, his glasses crusted with ice. "It's nice to have a reason to slow down."

In Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick enacted a statewide driving ban for the first time since the Blizzard of '78, a ferocious storm that dropped 27 inches of snow, packed hurricane-force winds and claimed dozens of lives.

In New York, Fashion Week, a series of designer showings with some activities held under tents, went on mostly as scheduled, though organizers put on additional crews to deal with the snow and ice, turned up the heat and fortified the tents. The snow did require some wardrobe changes: Designer Michael Kors was forced to arrive at the Project Runway show in Uggs.

For Joe DeMartino, of Fairfield, Conn., being overprepared for the weather was impossible: His wife was expecting their first baby Sunday. He stocked up on gas and food, got firewood ready and was installing a baby seat in the car. The couple also packed for the hospital.

"They say that things should clear up by Sunday. We're hoping that they're right," he said.

Said his wife, Michelle: "It adds an element of excitement."

___

Associated Press writers John Christoffersen in Fairfield, Conn., Samantha Critchell and Colleen Long in New York and Sylvia Wingfield in Boston contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/behemoth-storm-drops-2-feet-snow-northeast-102158903.html

gone with the wind michael jordan checkers imbibe msg network ray j anthony shadid

You're descended from a fuzzy, bug-eating, scampering critter, say scientists

And so are all other placental mammals, according to a new morphological and genetic analysis that paints a clearer picture of our Cretaceous-period common ancestor.

By Charles Choi,?LiveScience Contributor / February 7, 2013

An artist's rendering of the hypothetical placental ancestor, a small, insect-eating animal with a long, furry tail. The research team reconstructed the anatomy of the animal by mapping traits onto the evolutionary tree most strongly supported by the combined phenomic (physical traits you can see) and genomic data and comparing the features in placental mammals with those seen in their closest relatives.

Image courtesy of Carl Buell

Enlarge

A tiny, furry-tailed creature is the most complete picture yet as to what the ancestor of mice, elephants, lions, tigers, bears, whales, bats and humans once looked like, researchers say.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

These new findings also suggest this forerunner of most mammals appeared shortly after the catastrophe that?ended the age of dinosaurs, scientists added.

"Species like rodents and primates did not share the Earth with nonavian dinosaurs, but arose from a common ancestor ? a small, insect-eating, scampering animal ? shortly after the dinosaurs' demise," said researcher Maureen O'Leary at Stony Brook University in New York.

The study was so thorough that the team, made up of 23 scientists from around the world, was able tospeculate on the appearance of this hypothetical ancestor inside and out, from its brain and inner ear bones to its ovaries and even what its sperm may have looked like (it sported a head and tail like modern-day sperm cells do).

The largest living branch of the mammalian family tree holds the?placentals?? mammals that keep fetuses alive with placentas, as opposed to?marsupials such as kangaroos, which raise offspring in pouches, or monotremes such as platypuses, which develop fetuses in eggs. [See Images of the Furry Mammal Ancestor and Descendants]

"There are over 5,100 living placental species and they exhibit enormous diversity," said researcher Nancy Simmons at the American Museum of Natural History.

The roots of placentals

Much remains controversial about the origins of placentals, such as when they arose and how they diversified. Fossil evidence suggests they evolved after the?end-Cretaceous mass extinction?event about 65 million years ago that ended the age of dinosaurs; and the "explosive model" based off this data proposes that placental lineages emerged and diversified to fill niches left vacant after this catastrophe. However, genetics research suggests placental lineages were actually far older, hinting their diversification was linked to the breakup of the continents before the end of the Cretaceous period.

"In the field of mammal research, there had been a big divide between people working with DNA and others working on morphology," said researcher John Wible at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

To uncover the roots of the placental family tree and help resolve the decades-old debate as to when placentals evolved, an international team of researchers took part in a six-year research collaboration called Assembling the Tree of Life. The project adopted two distinct approaches to evolutionary studies ? molecular data, which examines DNA, and morphological data, which looks at anatomical features such as bone length, types of teeth and the presence of stripes in the fur. [Animal Codes: 10 Coolest Genome Sequences]

The molecular team gathered DNA sequences of living animals while the morphology team analyzed the anatomy of both living and extinct mammals. The molecular team was limited largely to living mammals, because researchers currently cannot extract genetic material from fossils more than 30,000 years old, so morphological data was key when it came to exploring more ancient branches of the mammal family tree.

"Discovering the tree of life is like piecing together a crime scene ? it is a story that happened in the past that you can't repeat," O'Leary said. "Just like with a crime scene, the new tools of DNA add important information, but so do other physical clues like a body or, in the scientific realm, fossils and anatomy. Combining all the evidence produces the most informed reconstruction of a past event."

Mammal morphology bank

When it comes to studying morphology, a dataset of 500 anatomical characteristics, or "characters," is often considered large. However, for this new project, the researchers generated a groundbreaking 4,500 characters using a cloud-based and publicly accessible database called MorphoBank.

"We couldn't have accomplished this without MorphoBank," said researcher Michelle Spaulding at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. "This website allowed members of the team, spread all over the globe, to work simultaneously."

Combining both DNA and morphological datasets led to an unprecedented amount of information for each of the 83 mammals they investigated.

"It's not that we hadn't combined morphology with DNA before," Spaulding said. "This time, we ratcheted up the amount of morphological detail phenomenally, providing a larger anatomical base for the study as compared with DNA than is typical."

What our ancestor looked like

From all this data from living and extinct mammals, the scientists extrapolated the appearance of the most recent common ancestor of all placental mammals.

"We have all these placentals alive today, from?elephants to shrews, from things that fly to things that swim," Spaulding said. "What could?the common ancestor of these things?that are so different possibly look like?"

The scientists then worked with an artist to illustrate this ancestor. In addition to a furry tail, the researchers suggest the four-legged creature likely ate insects, weighed from 6 grams (about the weight of some shrews) up to 245 grams ? less than half a pound ? and was more adapted for general scampering than built for more specialized forms of movement, such as swinging from trees. Also, its cerebral cortex ? the part of the brain linked to higher mental processes ? was probably convoluted, folds linked with greater brain activity, the researchers found.

"That's the power of 4,500 characters," Wible said. "We looked at all aspects of mammalian anatomy, from the skull and skeleton, to the teeth, to internal organs, to muscles, and even fur patterns. Using the?new family tree of mammals?in tandem with this anatomical data, we were able to reconstruct what this common placental ancestor may have looked like." [Meet the Mammal Ancestor (Infographic)]

Their research also suggested placental mammals appeared after the end of the age of dinosaurs, with the original ancestor developing about 200,000 to 400,000 years after the event.

"This is about 36 million years later than the prediction based on purely genetic data," said researcher Marcelo Weksler at Brazil's National Museum at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

This supports the notion that the mass extinction was a critical event in mammalian evolutionary history. "The diversification of placental mammals was not tied to the breakup of continents from a supercontinent, Gondwana," O'Leary told LiveScience.

The discrepancy between these findings and past research that looked only at genes is the result of the way genetic studies "assign a rate of change to genes through time," O'Leary explained. "A weakness of that approach is that it involves many assumptions about rates of gene change through time."

In the future, "I will continue looking for key fossils from the Late Mesozoic and Early Paleogene that help us contribute even more to this family tree," O'Leary said. "I have been working in Africa to make such discoveries with projects in Mali and Senegal. I plan to continue trying to make fossil discoveries that expand the placental mammal family tree."

The scientists detailed their findings in the Feb. 8 issue of the journal Science.

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

Copyright 2013?LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/SuZO6d81oVI/You-re-descended-from-a-fuzzy-bug-eating-scampering-critter-say-scientists

george washington russell westbrook horsetail falls ice t new york knicks president day lin

Man pleads guilty in fake plot to bomb Federal Reserve

NEW YORK (AP) ? A Bangladesh native accused of trying to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank in New York with what he thought was a 1,000-pound car bomb pleaded guilty Thursday to terrorism charges stemming from an FBI sting.

"I had intentions to commit a violent jihadist act," Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis told the judge. "I deeply and sincerely regret my involvement in this case," he said in a soft voice.

The 21-year-old faces a possible life term at sentencing on May 30.

He was charged in October with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al-Qaida. Investigators said in court papers that he came to the U.S. bent on jihad and worked out the specifics of a plot when he arrived.

Investigators said Nafis contacted a government informant, who then went to federal authorities. They said he selected his target, drove a van loaded with dummy explosives to the door of the bank and tried to set off the bomb from a hotel room using a cell phone he thought had been rigged as a detonator. But it was all fake.

He also believed he had the blessing of al-Qaida and was acting on behalf of it, but he has no known ties to the terrorist group, according to federal officials.

During the investigation, Nafis spoke of his admiration for Osama bin Laden, talked of writing an article about his plot for an al-Qaida-affiliated magazine and said he would be willing to be a martyr but preferred to go home to his family after carrying out the attack, authorities said.

And he also talked about wanting to kill President Barack Obama and bomb the New York Stock Exchange, officials said.

But family members in Dhaka said they did not believe he was capable of such actions.

"My son couldn't have done it," Quazi Ahsanullah said after his son's arrest.

Nafis, who was working as a busboy at a Manhattan restaurant at the time of his arrest, came to the U.S. as a student. His parents said he was terrible in school in Bangladesh and that he persuaded them to send him to study in the U.S. as a way of improving his job prospects. They don't believe he was planning an attack.

He moved to Missouri, where he studied cybersecurity at Southeast Missouri State University. He also became vice president of the school's Muslim Student Association and began attending a mosque. But he withdrew after one semester and requested over the summer that his records be transferred to a school in Brooklyn. The university declined to identify which school.

The Federal Reserve Bank in Manhattan, located at 33 Liberty St., is one of 12 branches around the country that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, make up the Federal Reserve System that serves as the central bank of the United States. It sets interest rates.

The Federal Reserve is one of the most fortified buildings in the city, smack in the middle of a massive security effort headed by the New York Police Department where a network of thousands of private and police cameras watch for suspicious activity.

___

Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/terror-suspect-pleads-guilty-phony-ny-plot-173901396.html

just friends chronicle george lopez bedtime stories micron susan g komen kenyon martin

Russian bill looks to hide gay identity, affirm democracy of the majority

The country faces two competing visions of democracy, one that emphasizes majority rule versus another that stresses minority protections.

By Fred Weir,?Correspondent / February 7, 2013

Steam from an electric power plant rises over Red Square with historical museum, left, St. Basil's cathedral, central, and Kremlin, right, in downtown Moscow, Russia, Jan. 23, 2013.

Mikhail Metzel/AP

Enlarge

Russia's State Duma is preparing a bill that will ban "homosexual propaganda," which even supporters admit will effectively criminalize almost any overt public expression of gay sexual identity.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

The public battle over the draft law has highlighted two different visions of Russian "democracy" and pitted them against each other.

The bill, which passed its first Duma reading late last month with just one deputy opposing it, will outlaw gay parades and gay-themed events, as well as ban the dissemination of information about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues. It heads into its crucial second reading early next week, with most experts saying it enjoys overwhelming political support and is unlikely to see any major amendments. The draft law would impose fines of up to $165 for individuals who violate the rules, and up to $165,000 for organizations.

Supporters of the bill, which is strongly backed by the powerful Russian Orthodox Church, argue that Russia is a non-Western and "conservative" democracy that defends traditional values and shields the feelings of the majority from the aggressive encroachments of pushy minorities. They say they're not out to persecute gay people, but that they must not be allowed to bring their sexual orientation into the open, where it may influence the attitudes of minors and offend the beliefs of most Russians.

"Duma deputies understand that it's just one step from homosexual propaganda to permission for gay couples to adopt children," says Nina Ostanina, a longtime Communist deputy and expert with the Duma's commission for family, women, and children.

"We see the processes that are going on in European countries, like France and Britain [where same-sex marriages have recently been approved] and we are not going to go in that direction.... With this law the Duma will bar the road to such all-round permissiveness. We have our own traditions, we are a Christian country, where 60 percent of people prefer Christian ways. In our Family Code a family is defined as a union between a man and a woman," she adds.

The case for a different Russian road for dealing with its increasingly outspoken LGBT community was recently made by former Kremlin adviser Sergei Markov in the English-language Moscow Times.

He argues bluntly that "Russia defines its political system not as a liberal democracy with an emphasis on the rights of minorities but as a democracy that respects the rights and wishes of its majority.... The majority's position is clear: LGBT lifestyles are immoral and sinful, and while individuals have the right to live as they please, they have no right to promote such behavior among others who find it alien and offensive. Obviously, public rallies and attempts to create a positive image of LGBT lifestyles on television would be considered propaganda and would be banned."

Protecting minorities

But members of Russia's LGBT community say they are working for a different idea of democracy, one that would enable all citizens to live in one's own way?rather than letting a conformist majority dictate for all.

"Democracy is not about going along with the majority, but making sure all minorities are protected and have equal rights," says Olga Lenkova, communications manager for Vikhod (Coming Out), a St. Petersburg LGBT group.

"We need to go in the direction of dialogue and public information. In the circumstances of today it's very hard to talk about sexual identities," and the proposed law will make it almost impossible, she adds.

Russia decriminalized homosexuality in 1993, and civil society groups representing the LGBT community are by now a solid fixture on a Russian political landscape that still lacks a strong women's movement or major organizations to defend the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.

"A whole new generation has grown up, and young gay people are not used to hiding their sexual orientation," says Igor Kochetkov, chairman of LGBT-Net, a nationwide coalition of gay groups.

"In this issue the state is clearly siding with the most conservative part of society.... ?It will lead to the growth of homophobia and hatred. Many people take it as an official signal, and it has already led to a rise in violence against gay people," he says.

Strong majority?

Though polls show anti-gay prejudice gradually eroding in Russia, an opinion survey taken last year by the independent Levada Center in Moscow found that almost two-thirds of Russians find homosexuality "morally unacceptable and worth condemning." About half thought gay rallies and same-sex marriage should be banned, while?almost a third thought homosexuality was "an illness or the result of?psychological trauma."

The bill currently before the Duma is a tougher version of one that has been in place in St. Petersburg and several other Russian regions for the past year. Though the main thrust of the St. Petersburg law?was to prohibit homosexual propaganda aimed at minors, Ms. Lenkova says it isn't being employed that way.

"We've only seen one case of someone being prosecuted under this law," in almost a year, she says.

"But indirect applications are many. For example, when LGBT groups apply for a permit to hold a legal rally, it is denied on the basis of this law. When people attend other kinds of legal events carrying rainbow flags or other LGBT symbols, they are detained. We find it very hard to rent any venue for our events, because people are afraid of being prosecuted under this law.... It seems obvious that the overarching goal of it is not 'to protect minors' but to force us out of the public space altogether," she says.

Coming out is perilous

One example of how the new Duma bill may already be chilling the wider atmosphere, even before it's been passed into law, is the apparent firing late last month of one of Russia's better-known public personalities, Anton Krasovsky, from Kontr TV, an Internet TV station he helped to found in December.

Mr. Krasovsky had been holding a discussion of the Duma anti-gay bill on his program, Angry Guyzzz, when he made his own first public admission that he was gay. He immediately found himself asked to leave and the link to his show excised from the station's website.

"I had said, 'I'm gay, and I'm just the same kind of person as you are, as our president is.' I added that maybe [after this] I'll be asked to take my work book [which in Russia means termination of employment]," Mr. Krasovsky said in an interview published this week in Snob, a magazine owned by liberal billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.

"And, indeed, they told me to take my work book," he said.

The controversy comes amid a conservative offensive that has already seen a raft of new laws passed by the Duma?to crack down on politically-active NGOs that receive foreign funding, tighten up the definition of "treason" so that it might apply to almost anyone who works with foreigners, and lay down an infrastructure for censoring the Internet.

Last summer two members of a feminist performance art group named Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a penal colony?for a brief but blasphemous "punk prayer" performed in an empty church. The case against them was that they had committed an act of "religious hatred" that allegedly offended Russia's Orthodox majority.

"We see this [anti-gay] bill in a wider context. The conservatives are striking back. The Russian Orthodox Church and political power are very intertwined and have a lot of influence just now," says Lenkova.

"The situation is not easy, but we should be optimistic. Other countries have been here before and with dialogue and education they have moved beyond it," she adds.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/KErfaBn5MWY/Russian-bill-looks-to-hide-gay-identity-affirm-democracy-of-the-majority

sessions march madness scores doonesbury padma lakshmi daughtry lakers trade ann arbor news

Friday, February 8, 2013

Wall Street rises, Nasdaq at 12-year closing high

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Nasdaq composite index closed at a 12-year high and the S&P 500 index at a five-year high as stronger U.S. and international trade data lifted stocks on optimism about the economy.

The S&P 500 also posted a sixth straight week of gains for the first time since August.

Data showed Chinese exports grew more than expected, while another report showed the U.S. trade deficit had narrowed in December, indicating the U.S. economy strengthened in the fourth quarter.

"That may have sent a ray of optimism," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Trading volume on Friday was below average for the week as a blizzard swept into the northeastern United States.

The technology sector led the day's gains, with the S&P 500 technology index up 1 percent. Gains in LinkedIn Corp and AOL Inc after they reported quarterly results helped the sector.

The market has posted strong gains since the start of the year, with the S&P 500 up 6.4 percent since December 31. But the advance has dragged in recent days, with fourth-quarter earnings winding down and few incentives to continue the rally on the horizon.

"I think we're in the middle of a trading range and I'd put plus or minus 5 percent around it. Fundamental factors are best described as neutral," Dickson said.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 48.92 points, or 0.35 percent, at 13,992.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 8.54 points, or 0.57 percent, at 1,517.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 28.74 points, or 0.91 percent, at 3,193.87, its highest closing level since November 2000.

Shares of LinkedIn jumped 21.3 percent to $150.48 after it announced quarterly profits and gave a bullish forecast for the year.

AOL Inc shares rose 7.4 percent to $33.72 after the online company reported higher quarterly profit, boosted by a 13 percent rise in advertising sales.

The CBOE Volatility index, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, was down 3.6 percent at 13.02. The gauge, a key measure of market expectations of short-term volatility, generally moves inversely to the S&P 500.

"I'm watching the 14 level closely" on the CBOE Volatility index, said Bryan Sapp, senior trading analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "The break below it at the beginning of the year signaled the sharp rally in January, and a rally back above it could be a sign to exercise some caution."

Signs of economic strength overseas buoyed sentiment on Wall Street. Chinese exports grew more than expected in January, while imports climbed 28.8 percent, highlighting robust domestic demand. German data showed a 2012 surplus that was the nation's second highest in more than 60 years, an indication of the underlying strength of Europe's biggest economy.

Separately, U.S. economic data showed the trade deficit shrank in December to $38.5 billion, its narrowest in nearly three years, indicating the economy did much better in the fourth quarter than initially estimated.

Earnings have mostly come in stronger than expected since the start of the reporting period. Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies now are estimated up 5.2 percent versus a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. That contrasts with a 1.9 percent growth forecast at the start of the earnings season.

Molina Healthcare Inc surged 10.4 percent to $31.88 as the biggest boost to the index after posting fourth-quarter earnings.

(Additional reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Nick Zieminski and Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wall-street-rises-nasdaq-12-closing-high-211901638--finance.html

Feliz Navidad Netflix down Ryan Freel Melissa Nelson foot locker champs champs

Thursday, February 7, 2013

FoodPanda, Rocket Internet's Answer To GrubHub And Delivery ...

FoodPanda, a Rocket Internet-backed online platform for aggregating and delivering food from take-out restaurants, is today announcing that it has expanded to 12 more emerging markets, taking the total number of countries that it covers to 23. The company is also in the process of raising money to help fuel the growth, essential to compete against the likes of GrubHub in the U.S., or Just-Eat or Delivery Hero based in Europe, all of which have also raised hefty funding rounds to expand their labor-intensive operations.

Rocket has a track record of raising large rounds for its incubated companies, with recent deals including $26 million for Lazada, an Asian Amazon clone, $13 million for Stripe-alike Paymill, and potentially up to $80 million for online fashion site Lamoda. As for who might be investing this time around, Rocket tends to turn to a number of repeat investors, including JP Morgan, Holtzbrinck, and Tengelmann.

Like other Samwer/Rocket ventures, FoodPanda is getting a lot of mileage out of bringing successful e-commerce business ideas ? in this case, offering a logistics, online ordering and analytics backbones to take-out food businesses ? in markets that its would-be rivals have yet to tackle. FoodPanda?s new markets include Brazil, Chile, Ghana, Hungary, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Russia, Senegal and Ukraine, where it operates under a variety of brands ? foodpanda,?foodalia, foodnation, hellofood, hungrypanda and pidiendo ? and?has forged ?thousands? of partnerships with takeout restaurants.

FoodPanda says that it is continuing to add more, with the focus remaining Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Given that FoodPanda focuses almost exclusively on less affluent markets, and that Just-Eat raised its most recent round, $64 million, last year at one of the lower points of the European recession, it?s seems that this is at least one online business model that works despite larger economic forces at play.

But like other Rocket ventures, Rocket seems to take a hedged approach to the business ? launching a number of businesses in a variety of areas, to see which works best. There is also the opportunity to leverage systems created for one business in another ? for example, Payleven?s mobile payment solution can become the basis for collecting money from customers that take orders via FoodPanda.

?We have built strong relationships with thousands of partners, including the best restaurants in every country. That is how we provide the greatest culinary variety online. We see an impressive demand for food ordering online user-friendly, fast and most convenient,? said?Ralf Wenzel, FoodPanda?s co-founder and newly appointed?global MD appointed to further concentrate its expansion strategy and fundraising goals. Wenzel used to be the COO of Moneybookers and before that was an SVP at mobile content company Jamba/Jamster, once a part of News Corp. when it had high ambitions in new media.


Rocket Internet GmbH invests in the development of innovative companies in the internet industry. Their passionate, dynamic, highly motivated team works to establish promising business models in the market.

? Learn more

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/05/foodpanda-rocket-internets-answer-to-grubhub-and-delivery-hero-now-delivering-food-in-23-countries-and-raising-money/

hayden panettiere raul ibanez completely wrong mila kunis stacey dash christopher columbus columbus day

Embry-Riddle To Offer Degree In Space Operations

Next, Embry Riddle can can launch the nation's first ever bachelor's degree in Flying Car Operations to supply the commercial flying car industry with skilled graduates in the areas of flying car policy, operations, regulation and certification, as well as flying car safety, and flying car driving program training, management and planning.

Once there is a viable commercial space industry and Flying Car Industry, Embry Riddle will becomes the Harvard for these industries.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/ixFS-05DwHE/story01.htm

us soccer bobby brown arrested the happening black panthers mauritania obama open mic jefferson county colorado

The 5 Basic Insurance Policies Everyone Should Have - Mint

Insurance Policy

When it comes to buying insurance, there are so many options on the market today that you might not know what?s necessary and what?s superfluous.

It?s important to be covered, but you can also be too covered. Paying for too much insurance takes money away from other areas, such as your emergency fund and your retirement savings.

When it comes to insurance, there are basically five types that everyone needs.

Health Insurance

This is the big one. In 2009, over 60 percent of all personal bankruptcies were related to health insurance costs.

When purchasing health insurance, consider the following:

  • Needs: Young and healthy single people require less coverage than those with young families, the elderly, or those with chronic health issues. Do you plan on using your insurance a lot? If so, you?re going to want a low deductible and copays.
  • Doctors: One of the first questions you should ask about a plan is if it allows you to keep your current physician.
  • Cost: You can obviously only afford so much, so know what you can afford. Shopping for plans with higher copays and deductibles will save you money on your premium.

Car Insurance

Not only will you want car insurance, nearly every state requires that you have it.

For those with an older car, no more than the bare minimum may be required.

However, if you have a newer car or a car with a high value, you will also want to insure it against theft.

The main types of car insurance are:

  • Liability: Liability coverage comes in two forms: bodily injury and property damage liability. These cover damage to others and their property. They do not cover the driver or passengers.
  • Personal Injury Protection: This type of coverage will cover medical expenses related to driver and passenger injuries.
  • Collision: Get collision insurance if you want your insurance to cover the cost of damage done to your car, whether you are at fault or not.
  • Comprehensive: Collision only covers damage done in an accident. For example, if a tree falls on your car and destroys it, you?ll need comprehensive insurance to get compensation.
  • Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist: This covers you in the event that the person who hits your car does not have enough insurance to cover the damage ? or any coverage at all.

Homeowner?s or Renter?s Insurance

Renter?s insurance covers you against damage or theft of personal items in an apartment. For urbanites, the low cost of renter?s insurance can be well worth the peace of mind that it provides.

Homeowner?s insurance is absolutely essential. It protects your most valuable asset against damage and theft.

However, sometimes homeowner?s insurance isn?t enough to fully protect your home.

Ask your insurance agent if you need additional insurance against flooding, earthquakes, fires and other disasters that might not be covered under standard plans.

Life Insurance

No one likes to think about it, but life insurance is an essential component of protecting your family in the event that you pass before your time.

There are costs associated with dying, such as burial and mortuary fees. Further, if you are the primary breadwinner, life insurance will help your family to offset the lost income.

The latter is the main reason that people get health insurance. The single and childless might not need life insurance, but everyone else should invest in a policy now.

Disability Insurance

Disability insurance is actually quite a bit like life insurance. It reimburses you for income lost during periods of time that you are not able to work.

As one third of all Americans are disabled at some point, having this insurance makes good financial sense for the single and married, parents and non-parents.

Disability insurance can cover permanent, temporary, partial and total disability.

No one knows what tomorrow might bring and disability insurance is relatively cheap ? far less than the cost of not having it if something goes wrong.

Five Unnecessary Insurance Policies

There are a number of insurance policies that most people probably do not need. These include:

  • Flight insurance: Flying is one of the safest ways to travel.
  • Life Insurance for Kids: Life insurance exists to replace lost income. Children have none.
  • Accidental Death Insurance: Even the accident-prone should skip this insurance, which generally contains so many restrictions that it is nearly impossible to collect.
  • Disease Insurance: A good health insurance policy is probably a far better investment than trying to cover yourself for every type of ailment out there.
  • Mortgage Life Insurance: Another redundant form of insurance, a good term life policy will cover your mortgage in the event of your death.

Protect Yourself Without Paranoia

The urge to protect yourself against any calamity is understandable. Most people would rather pay a little bit of money every month rather than worry about coming up with a larger amount of money during a time of crisis.

On the flip side, some people might think that they have nothing to worry about. The five types of insurance identified in this article are general policies most everyone should have.

The five unnecessary types of insurance mentioned are policies that are uncommon and are most likely a waste of money.

Everything else falls somewhere in between: Some people definitely need certain policies (such as malpractice insurance), while some will never need others (flood insurance for a home on a hill in the Arizona desert).

?The 5 Basic Insurance Policies Everyone Should Have? was written by Nicholas Pell.

Source: http://www.mint.com/blog/planning/the-5-basic-insurance-policies-everyone-should-have-0213/

barry sanders barry sanders jimmie johnson juan pablo montoya crash chardon high school shooting mark martin cleveland news

New Eyewear Could Help People with Red-Green Color Blindness

Glasses based on a new color vision theory are already being used medically to enhance vasculature and bruising beneath skin. Now they are being tested to aid those with color blindness, although the lenses inhibit the perception of yellows and blues


Ishihara color perception Ishihara color perception plate. Image: Wikimedia Commons

Why do humans see colors? For years the leading hypothesis was that color vision evolved to help us spot nutritious fruits and vegetation in the forest. But in 2006, evolutionary neurobiologist Mark Changizi and colleagues proposed that color vision evolved to perceive oxygenation and hemoglobin variations in skin in order to detect social cues, emotions and the states of our friends or enemies. Just think about the reddening and whitening of the face called blushing and blanching. They elicit distinct physiological reactions that would be impossible without color vision.

A few years ago Changizi left Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he was professor to co-found 2AI Labs with Dr. Tim Barber. Their Boise, Idaho-based research institute, funded via technology spin-offs coming out of their work, aimed at solving foundational problems in cognitive science and artificial intelligence. The move allowed Changizi to continue to conduct academic work with more intellectual freedom and less of a reliance on grants.

Fruits of their labor
Last summer the team at 2AI developed three pairs of glasses called O2Amps based on Changizi?s color vision theory. By visually enhancing oxygenated blood and blood pooling, the lenses amplify the social cues that allow users to perceive emotions more clearly.

The eyewear is being used for a number of innovative applications. The first is medical. The lenses enhance vasculature beneath skin, helping nurses identify veins; they also amplify trauma and bruising that might be invisible to the naked eye. Many hospitals are putting the O2Amps through trials, and seeing positive results. The eyewear is also potentially useful for police and security officers? imagine if a TSA agent could more easily perceive nervousness? as well as poker players.

An answer for red-green colorblindness?
Now a new application for the O2Amps is emerging. Last November, 2AI Labs distributed lenses to people who are color blind to see if they would help. The researchers were particularly interested in their Oxy-Iso variety of lenses, which they predicted would diminish red-green deficiency ? a genetic anomaly present in about 10 percent of males.

A string of positive user reviews is confirming their effectiveness. Without the eyewear, one volunteer, a neuroscience professor at the University of Sussex named Daniel Bor, failed the Ishihara Color Test, a means of testing colorblindness. These recognizable tests involve colored plates with a circle of dots containing a number visible to people with normal color vision but invisible to people who are colorblind (or have difficulties perceiving some colors). With the lenses, Bor received a perfect score. ?Without [the Oxy-Iso], I scored almost nothing, but with the specs got all the answers correct,? Bor said.

One downside is the Oxy-Iso lenses hinder the perception of yellows and blues at the expense of enhancing reds and greens. This is especially problematic for drivers because the eyewear renders yellow lights nearly invisible. Furthermore, it does not correct total color blindness.

2AI Labs is also in the midst of developing interior lighting with the O2Amp technology. Using recently acquired grant money Changizi and his colleagues are studying applications for architectural lighting and windows. So far they?ve created a prototype lamp for living spaces that reduces glare and creates ?warm? human-friendly illumination they are calling the ?O2Lamp.? According to their website, the prototype will also ?filter the light itself so that everyone in the room experiences the effects, no eyewear needed.?

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=6e531b5d52416de75940c1691ada617c

keith olbermann andrew bynum the time machine michelin tires michelin tires rett syndrome where the wild things are

Syria, Mali crises tops Islamic summit agenda in Cairo | Morocco ...

by Taieb Mahjoub

CAIRO, Feb 6, 2013 (AFP)

Heads of state from across the Islamic world meet in Cairo Wednesday to tackle crises ranging from Syria?s civil war to the battle against Islamist militants in Mali, with their sharp differences expected to be laid bare.

Syria will not be represented at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit even though much of the debate is expected to be focused on the conflict that has ravaged that country for almost 23 months, leaving tens of thousands dead.

The meeting will gather leaders of 26 of the OIC?s 57 states, with Egypt?s first Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, assuming the organisation?s rotating presidency.

The gathering will call for ?serious dialogue? between the Syrian opposition and government officials ?not directly involved in oppression? according to a draft resolution obtained by AFP.

The call for dialogue, drafted by foreign ministers after two days of preparatory meetings, will pile pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to respond to a surprise offer of talks by Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, leader of the opposition National Coalition.

The document stresses the need to maintain ?Syria?s territorial integrity and sovereignty?, while underlining that ?the main responsibility for the continued violence falls on the Syrian government?.

The United Nations says more than 60,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which began as an anti-regime uprising but deteriorated into civil war when Assad?s forces used violence to put down protests.

The attendance of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in the first visit to Egypt by an Iranian president since Iran?s 1979 Islamic revolution, could complicate debate.

Iran is the chief regional backer of Assad, while Egypt and Gulf powerhouse Saudi Arabia bitterly oppose the Syrian president and support rebels seeking his ouster.

A meeting is scheduled between Egypt, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia ? members of a quartet dealing with Syria ? on the sidelines of the summit.

The two-day meeting had been scheduled to take place in 2011 but was postponed due to the regional uprisings that overthrew four Arab dictators, including Egypt?s president Hosni Mubarak, the OIC?s secretary general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said.

The summit ?will discuss the major conflicts in the Islamic world,? the former Turkish diplomat told AFP.

It will provide OIC members, with their differing foreign policies, a chance ?to coordinate positions and support the states? sovereignty and territorial integrity,? he said.

The Cairo summit will also discuss the conflict in Mali, where France is pursuing attacks against Islamist militants.

Egypt and Qatar have in the past said that the conflict in Mali needed to be resolved politically.

The Islamic leaders will also discuss the issue of Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian territory, a subject regularly brought up at OIC summits since the organisation?s creation in 1969.

The questions of Islamophobia, Muslim minorities in the world and economic cooperation in the Islamic world are also on the agenda.

Sectarian tensions between the Islamic world?s Sunnis and Shiites were brought to the surface on Tuesday during Ahmadinejad?s visit to Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam?s highest seat of learning.

Senior Al-Azhar clerics launched into a tirade against ?some Shiites? for insulting some of the Prophet Mohammed?s companions as the Iranian president listened with noticeable unease.

Ahmadinejad was also targeted by a shoe-throwing protester as he left a Cairo mosque. Four people have been detained over the incident, a security official said.

Source: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/02/77190/syria-mali-crises-tops-islamic-summit-agenda-in-cairo/

superbowl commercials OJ Brigance What Time Does The Superbowl Start 2013 Psalm 91 Super Bowl 2013 Commercials Evasi0n NFL.com

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Helping the next generation of climbers ascend

peakstoplains_kidsclimb_banner

Mention BJ Tilden to anyone who follows climbing and they will likely recognize the name.

His climbing resume showcases his versatility with high-level accomplishments in ice climbing and bouldering, said climber Steve Bechtel. But he?s known best for his accomplishments in sport climbing.

Kelsey Dayton

Kelsey Dayton

This summer Tilden claimed a first ascent on ?Moonshine,? in Wild Iris, considered Wyoming?s hardest climb and rated a 5.14d.But on a Monday afternoon Tilden wasn?t working on a new climbing project, or pushing his body through one last pitch. Instead, he inspected knots tied by teenagers in the gym. His hands glided over the rope, showing them how to belay more efficiently. He called out encouragement and suggestions for hand holds.Tilden?s resume doesn?t impress the kids he?s teaching to climb.

?He?s just sort of ?the guy,?? said Bechtel, who owns the gym.

Tilden has taken a custodial role in Lander?s climbing community, developing new routes, exploring new areas and now nurturing the next generation of Lander climbers.

The class Tilden is teaching is part of an effort in Lander to introduce local kids to a sport that draws people to the town from all over the world.

?For the most part, in climbing ? and in a lot of sports ? you don?t get elite level athletes interested in beginners,? Bechtel said. ?It?s like having a PGA pro golfer teaching you golf.?

Tilden was born in Cody. A family friend, Bobby Model, introduced Tilden to the sport. Then, while visiting his sister in Bozeman, Mont., Tilden discovered the climbing gym, where he begged his sister to take him every day of his visit. He was hooked.

In Cody Tilden had a group of friends who got into climbing at the same time, something he took for granted.?When he moved to Lander in high school, he started climbing with people like Andy Skiba, Bechtel and Todd Skinner.??It?s not even a hobby per se,? Tilden said. ?It just becomes part of your lifestyle.?

Jake Calhoun, 13, practices climbing at Elemental Performance and Fitness' climbing gym in Lander. Calhoun is part of a class taught by climber BJ Tilden meant to get Lander kids excited and interesting in rock climbing. (Wyofile/Kelsey Dayton)

Jake Calhoun, 13, practices climbing at Elemental Performance and Fitness? climbing gym in Lander. Calhoun is part of a class taught by climber BJ Tilden meant to get Lander kids excited and interesting in rock climbing. (Wyofile/Kelsey Dayton)

His life became dedicated to improving himself physically and mentally. It?s a constant in his life that has kept him focused even during tumultuous times.?He took for granted he had people to mentor him and climb with. Climbing can be a tough sport to break into because you need instruction and a partner.While people travel to Lander from all over for the climbing often described as ?world class,? many kids who grow up in town don?t pick up the sport.

?The kids have no idea what kind of resource they have right here,? Tilden said.

It was something Lander climbers noticed.

?It?s like living outside the Louvre and not knowing there?s a good art museum in your neighborhood,? Bechtel said.

It could be the lack of climbing role models, or intimidation of a sport that can be dangerous to novices, or even the lack of interest of getting outside, said Brian Fabel, director of the International Climbers? Festival.

?We?re competing with video games, fast food and the internet,? Fabel said.

Climbing teaches focus and problem solving. It?s an individual sport, but one that comes with a strong sense of community, he said. It also fosters a connection with the outdoors and Lander.?So many kids leave the state as soon as they finish high school, said Bechtel, a Wyoming native. Climbing is a way to connect them to their home state and maybe entice them to return.

It also is a way to keep kids out of trouble. Maybe a kid won?t go drinking if he or she knows the next day they are going to tackle a particularly challenging climb, Bechtel said.

The International Climber?s Festival offers two Fremont County youths a chance to climb the Grand Teton each year. But it?s only two people. Classes through the local parks and recreation program?reach kids at young ages in the summer, but Fabel wanted to find a way to reach more kids and came up with the idea of indoor climbing classes for teens.

BJ Tilden talks to Noah Peschio about belaying at a climbing class at Elemental Gym. (Wyofile/Kelsey Dayton)

BJ Tilden talks to Noah Peschio about belaying at a climbing class at Elemental Performance and Fitness in Lander. (Wyofile/Kelsey Dayton)

Through grants aimed at getting kids outside, the class was subsidized. Kids pay $100 for six weeks of instruction twice a week, as well as climbing gear they get to keep at the end of the session.The class starts with the basics of bouldering where kids learn how to move on the indoor climbing wall without a rope. Bouldering teaches technique, but also is an aspect of the sport they can pursue on their own.

Later in the class they learn rope work; how to belay someone so they are caught by the rope if they fall, and how to climb higher than would be safe without the rope.

Kaili Hampton, 16, started climbing through a parks and recreation program years earlier, she said. ?Not many kids at her school climb, so she?s always looking for opportunities. She took the class wanting to get better ? bouldering especially improved her technique ? ?but also always looking for a chance to climb and maybe find a new climbing partner or two for the gym in the future.

Brothers Zach Calhoun, 18 and Jake Calhoun, 13, grew up climbing with their dad Mark Calhoun. Climbing teaches kids to set goals, gives them a sense of freedom and an outlet for their energy, Mark Calhoun said. Even with their experience with climbing with their dad, the boys were able to learn technique and safety steps.

The class was open to 10 kids, but Fabel had to recruit hard to get participants in the first session. Another session is planned to start in mid-February and the goal is to offer outdoor sessions in the spring. Fabel hopes word-of-mouth will get kids interested in the classes and the sport in general. It seems to be working. Class ends at 5:15, but most of the kids stay and keep climbing.

Published on February 5, 2013

Source: http://wyofile.com/2013/02/20013/

farrah abraham Paul Ryan Speech chris cooley chris cooley condoleezza rice bill cosby Perry Hall High School

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Terrorists with Western links a growing threat

FILE - This Oct. 2008 file photo shows Imam Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. Al-Awlaki was born in 1971 in New Mexico where his father was studying agriculture as a Fulbright scholar. The son was educated in the United States but left in 2002, eventually returning to Yemen where he became a key figure in the local al-Qaida branch, which U.S. authorities believed was the most dangerous of the al-Qaida franchises. Al-Awlaki's fluent English and articulate speaking style won him a huge following among disaffected young Muslims in the West. He and another American, Samir Khan, who edited al-Qaida's Internet magazine, were killed in a U.S. drone attack in Yemen on Sept. 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Muhammad ud-Deen, File)

FILE - This Oct. 2008 file photo shows Imam Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. Al-Awlaki was born in 1971 in New Mexico where his father was studying agriculture as a Fulbright scholar. The son was educated in the United States but left in 2002, eventually returning to Yemen where he became a key figure in the local al-Qaida branch, which U.S. authorities believed was the most dangerous of the al-Qaida franchises. Al-Awlaki's fluent English and articulate speaking style won him a huge following among disaffected young Muslims in the West. He and another American, Samir Khan, who edited al-Qaida's Internet magazine, were killed in a U.S. drone attack in Yemen on Sept. 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Muhammad ud-Deen, File)

FILE - These undated photos released by the FBI show Adam Yahiye Gadahn. Born Adam Pearlman in Oregon, Gadahn converted to Islam in 1995 and moved to Pakistan, where he joined al-Qaida as a propagandist. Using the name "Azzam the American," he appeared in numerous al-Qaida videos, denouncing U.S. moves in Afghanistan and elsewhere and threatening attacks on Western interests abroad. (AP Photo/FBI, File)

FILE - This undated photo released by the U.S. Marshal's Service on May 19, 2010 shows Faisal Shahzad. On May 1, 2010, two street vendors alerted police to smoke coming out of a vehicle parked on New York's Time Square, which had been rigged with a bomb that failed to explode. Two days later, federal agents in New York arrested Shahzad, a Pakistan-born U.S. citizen who lived in Bridgeport, Conn. Shahzad was sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2010. (AP Photo/U.S. Marshals Service, File)

FILE - This December 2001 photo provided by the Plymouth County Jail shows Richard C. Reid. Reid was a British citizen who converted to Islam in prison. After his release he traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where authorities say he trained with al-Qaida. More than three months after Sept. 11 attacks, Reid boarded an American Airlines flight in Paris bound for Miami and tried to detonate a bomb in his shoes. In 2002 he was sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty to eight counts of terrorism and attempting to destroy a commercial airliner. (AP Photo/Plymouth County Jail)

FILE - This 2003 picture provided by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences shows Nidal Malik Hasan in his graduation photo when he completed his M.D. degree. Born in Arlington, Va. to Palestinian parents, Hasan joined the U.S. Army in college and became a military psychiatrist. Colleagues said that during an assignment at Walter Reed Medical Center, he was deeply affected by dealing with young soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hasan was wounded and captured by police on Nov. 5, 2009, after he allegedly opened fire on soldiers in Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13 and wounding 29.(AP Photo/Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)

They are called "homegrown terrorists," Western citizens highly prized by Islamic militant groups because they can move across borders and carry out attacks easier than people from Middle East or South Asian nations.

Two such people ? one Canadian and one Australian ? are believed to have been involved in the July 18 bus bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian driver, according to Bulgarian investigators. Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov of Bulgaria said the two were members of the Lebanese Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah, which in turn is linked to Iran.

Here are some examples of Western citizens who have been linked to terrorism both in their home countries or abroad in recent years:

LONDON SUBWAY BOMBING

Four young Britons ? three of Pakistani and one of Jamaican origin ? carried out a series of suicide attacks July 7, 2005, on the London public transport that killed 56 people. More than 700 people were injured. All four had lived normal lives under the police radar and had no criminal records. They carried home-made bombs in backpacks. Al-Qaida released video testimonies of two of the bombers who denounced the West and declared their allegiance to Osama bin Laden.

SHOE BOMBER

Richard Reid was a British citizen who converted to Islam in prison. After his release he traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where authorities say he trained with al-Qaida. More than three months after Sept. 11 attacks, Reid boarded an American Airlines flight in Paris bound for Miami and tried to detonate a bomb in his shoes. He was subdued by passengers and crew members, and the plane landed safely in Boston. In 2002 Reid was sentenced to life without parole after pleading guilty to eight counts of terrorism and attempting to destroy a commercial airliner.

DAVID COLEMAN HEADLEY

Headley, a Pakistani-American, used his U.S. passport to travel frequently to India, where he allegedly scouted out venues for terror attacks on behalf of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist organization. The al-Qaida-affiliated group used the information to plan and carry out the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India, in which more than 160 people died. Last month Headley was sentenced by a U.S. federal court in Chicago to 35 years in prison for his role in the Mumbai attacks.

TIMES SQUARE FAILED BOMBING

On May 1, 2010, two street vendors alerted police to smoke coming out of a vehicle parked on New York's Time Square ? an area teeming with tourists. Police found the vehicle was rigged with a bomb that failed to explode. Two days later, federal agents in New York arrested Faisal Shahzad, 30, a Pakistan-born U.S. citizen who lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut, after he had boarded a flight bound for Dubai in the Persian Gulf. Shahzad confessed to the attempted car bombing and said he had trained at a Pakistani terror training camp. Shahzad was sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2010.

ANWAR AL-AWLAKI

Al-Awlaki was born in 1971 in New Mexico, where his father was studying agriculture as a Fulbright scholar. The son was educated in the United States but left in 2002, eventually returning to Yemen where he became a key figure in the local al-Qaida branch, which U.S. authorities believed was the most dangerous of the al-Qaida franchises. Al-Awlaki's fluent English and articulate speaking style won him a huge following among disaffected young Muslims in the West. He and another American, Samir Khan, who edited al-Qaida's Internet magazine, were killed in a U.S. drone attack in Yemen on Sept. 30, 2011.

MAJ. NIDAL MALIK HASAN

Born in Arlington, Virginia, to Palestinian parents, Hasan joined the U.S. Army in college and became a military psychiatrist. Colleagues said during an assignment at Walter Reed Medical Center, he was deeply affected by dealing with young soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. FBI investigators alleged that he corresponded by email with al-Awlaki. Hasan was wounded and captured by police on Nov. 5, 2009, after he allegedly opened fire on soldiers in Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13 and wounding more than two dozen. Hasan, who was paralyzed from the waist down in the shooting, was charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. A trial date has not been set, and he could face the death penalty if convicted.

ADAM GADAHN

Born Adam Pearlman in Oregon, Gadahn converted to Islam in 1995 and moved to Pakistan, where he joined al-Qaida as a propagandist. Using the name "Azzam the American," he appeared in numerous al-Qaida videos, denouncing U.S. moves in Afghanistan and elsewhere and threatening attacks on Western interests abroad. U.S. authorities filed treason charges against him in 2006 and have offered a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction. Despite rumors he had been killed or captured, Gadahn appeared in a video last September marking the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

GLASGOW AIRPORT ATTACK

On June 30, 2007, a jeep loaded with propane canisters slammed into the terminal of the Glasgow International Airport in Scotland, setting the building on fire. Five bystanders were injured. Both occupants of the vehicle were arrested. Police identified them as Bilal Abdulla, a British-born, Muslim doctor of Iraqi descent and Kafeel Ahmed, the driver. Anti-terrorism officials said Abdulla became radicalized due to the Iraq war. Ahmed, an Indian engineering student, died of his burns. Abdulla was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 32 years in prison.

AHMAD OMAR SAEED SHEIKH

Following his education in Britain, the British-born Sheikh traveled to South Asia, where he joined Islamic militant groups. He was sent to prison for kidnapping Western tourists in India in 1994, but was released to Pakistan five years later in an exchange of prisoners following the hijacking of an Indian airliner to Afghanistan. In 2002 he was convicted of kidnapping and murder in the death of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and sentenced to death. His appeal is still pending in a Pakistani court.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-05-Homegrown%20Terrorists/id-81f6bd526d8a4380a14f0207702ccaad

miami dolphins buffalo bills pittsburgh steelers seattle seahawks ryan tannehill cispa space shuttle new york

Father of five facing divorce rammed his car into the family home ...

An architect facing divorce has admitted ?arson with intent do endanger life? after driving his car into the family home in Horwich, near Bolton.

Andrew McGarry drove his Vauxhall hatchback through the front garden and rammed a wall.

The 37 year-old then climbed out of the burning car and told onlookers: ??I couldn?t have hoped for it to go any better. She?s not having the house.?

He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder when it was discovered that his estranged wife Heather, 27, and their three children were in the house at the time. The living room window caught fire but she and the children managed to escape through the back door.

McGarry met his wife in 2005 and they married the following year. But the relationship fizzled out and following allegations of domestic violence and Mrs McGarry was granted a non-molestation order last summer which forbade him from contacting her.

However McGarry breached the order and after being warned, drove his car at the house without checking whether anyone was inside at the time.

Judge Timothy Clayson told McGarry: ?You were plainly deeply frustrated, angry and annoyed at the break-up of your marriage. You comments at the scene are a further indication of the fixation you had in seeking to inflict damage on your former wife. It is clear to me you are someone with a very controlling, rigid, personality which results in your putting your own interests, feelings and desires ahead of those of others.?

McGarry, who has two children by a previous relationship, was jailed for eight years and also made the subject of an indefinite restraining order. This forbids him from having any contact with his wife or children, or from going anywhere near the family home.

Photo of Horwich by?Ickleweb?via Wikipedia

Was this post valuable?

Share this post

Get free family law updates

Source: http://www.marilynstowe.co.uk/2013/02/05/father-of-five-facing-divorce-rammed-his-car-into-the-family-home/

kowloon walled city ronda rousey vs miesha tate lindsay lohan snl lindsay lohan on snl real housewives of disney awakenings phantom of the opera

Killzone: Mercenary dev talks PS Vita optimisation, AI tech | VG247

Mon, Feb 04, 2013 | 22:16 GMT