Source: www.donanimhaber.com --- Saturday, August 10, 2013
iOS platformu i?in uzun s?redir kullan?labilen Blipfoto uygulamas? Android platformu i?in de haz?rland? ve Google Play market ?zerinde kullan?ma sunuldu. Temel olarak foto?raf ?zerine kurulu sosyal bir a? olma ?zelli?i ta??yan Blipfoto, kullan?c?lara g?nde sadece bir adet foto?raf y?kleme imkan? veriyor ve bunlar ?zerinden 365 g?n foto?raf projeleri olu?turulmas?n? sa?layabiliyor. ...
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Farkl? yap?s?yla dikkat ?eken Blipfoto isimli foto?raf uygulamas?, iOS sonras? Android i?in de yay?nland?
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First Subaru, Now Toyota Teases Upgrades For RWD Sports Car
2013 Toyota GT 86 with handling upgrades - Image: Carsguide
2013 Toyota GT 86 with handling upgrades - Image: Carsguide
Sign up for our Daily Newsletter Get daily news, spy shots and more! In the same week Subaru showed a new STI-tuned BRZ concept, Toyota rolled out a version of its GT 86 sports car, a Scion FR-S to U.S. readers, fitted with some of its own performance upgrades. The vehicle, described as a prototype, was presented to Australian media at an event organized by Toyota to mark one year since the launch of the GT 86 in the land down under.Like the tS (tuned by STI) upgrades fitted to the recent BRZ concept, the upgrades on the GT 86 can best be described as mild. However, they do show that Toyota is at least considering enhancing its popular sports car.
The upgrades include new forged alloy wheels from BBS, which measure 18x7.5 inches and are shod with staggered width 215-millimeter front and 225-millimeter rear Dunlop Direzza R-spec tires. Non-adjustable Sachs dampers were also fitted at all four corners. The upgrades are aimed at improving the car?s cornering stability while also improving its looks. You?ll note the wheel pattern resembles a design used for the halo Lexus LFA supercar.
The GT 86?s chief engineer Tetsuya Tada was down in Australia to help present the prototype. He said the upgrades were the first of many still under consideration for production. They will be introduced gradually to help maintain demand once current orders are filled. Overseas, Toyota already offers a factory aero kit for the GT 86 but has been reluctant to launch similar upgrades in the U.S. Hopefully that policy will change soon.
For more photos of the latest Toyota GT 86 prototype, head over to Carsguide.
_______________________________________
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Friday, August 9, 2013
Easy to find autographs of college stars for sale
NEW YORK (AP) ? A simple search on eBay reveals Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel is far from the only college football player whose autograph is for sale.
Pick a star and you can find memorabilia with a supposedly verified signature.
South Carolina's Jadeveon Clowney. Ohio State's Braxton Miller. Oregon's De'Anthony Thomas. Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater. Alabama's AJ McCarron. The list goes on and on.
The difference is ESPN has reported the NCAA is investigating whether Manziel, the Texas A&M quarterback, got paid to sign autographs, which would violate amateurism rules. That has led to other schools being asked questions about whether their players earned money for signatures.
If the allegations against Manziel, made by unidentified sources to ESPN, are proved true by the NCAA, his eligibility for the coming season could be in doubt as well as his status as a Heisman winner.
ESPN reported that a top autograph authenticator had authenticated nearly 1,000 Manziel autographs.
Brandon Steiner of Steiner Sports, which is the official collectible and memorabilia company of the NBA, the New York Yankees and Notre Dame, among others, said his company does not do business with college athletes.
He said Manziel would likely be able to sign a contract with a collectibles company of at least $100,000 after he went pro.
"I know there is a vibrant Heisman Trophy collectible audience out there," he said.
A market flooded with Manziel autographs could cost him money later, Steiner said.
"It creates market confusion and takes a lot away from the category," Steiner said Wednesday.
Other college athletes might want to take note.
Two sports websites ? bustedcoverage.com and goodbullhunting.com ? found what appeared to be dozens of authenticated items signed by Clowney online, and that led to questions for South Carolina officials.
Associate athletic director Chris Rogers said Wednesday the school's compliance office has looked into the Clowney autographs on eBay and found no violations had occurred.
"The websites that we've looked at and the pictures and autographs and items that we've found over the last academic year, we've not had any issues to suggest that anything impermissible had occurred," Rogers said.
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said school officials have determined Miller had not profited from the numerous items found online with his signature. Smith said the quarterback signed many autographs at a Big Ten preseason kickoff luncheon. Presumably fans or memorabilia brokers then went and sold items they got autographed for free.
"We've already looked at it," Smith said. "There's no issue there."
Louisville came to a similar conclusion.
"We are aware of many of the items for sale online that have been autographed by several of our student-athletes with remaining eligibility. As we are required to do by NCAA rules, we regularly review these items and send correspondence to the seller(s) requesting they remove the item for sale," the school said in a statement. "We have and continue to educate our student-athletes that it is not permissible to accept any type of compensation for their autograph or the sale of memorabilia. We have spoken with Teddy Bridgewater and we are comfortable that no violation has occurred."
Clowney, Bridgewater and Miller enter the season has prime contenders for the Heisman.
Manziel became the first freshman to win it last season. It's unclear if an NCAA violation would cause the Heisman trust to reconsider Manziel's victory.
Heisman Trust's rules state: "The recipient must be in compliance with the bylaws defining an NCAA Student-Athlete."
"The Heisman Trust never comments on speculation," Heisman spokesman Tim Henning said Wednesday.
Reggie Bush's 2005 Heisman Trophy was later vacated after the NCAA found he had received improper benefits during his winning season.
___
AP sports writers Pete Iacobelli in Columbia, S.C., and Rusty Miller in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.
___
Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/easy-autographs-college-stars-sale-190747492.html
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Thursday, August 8, 2013
Special Redbox rental code coming today via Facebook
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A (Toy) Shark With a Frickin' Laser (Pointer) Attached To Its Head
As lasers go, this pointer won't do much damage outside of maybe burning a few retinas if pointed in the wrong direction. However, if you're a supervillain presenting your plans for world domination to a panel of evil venture capitalists (redundant, we know) this shark with a frickin' laser pointer is the only way to go.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/a-toy-shark-with-a-frickin-laser-pointer-attached-1069579635
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More than Snowden keeping US, Russia at odds
WASHINGTON (AP) ? How do U.S. leaders feel about Russia's behavior? Not angry, just very "disappointed."
Over and again as they try to patch up troubled relations, Obama administration officials end up reaching for that word that doleful parents use to scold a wayward teenager.
The latest disappointment ? Russia's embrace of a fugitive who leaked U.S. secrets ? pushed President Barack Obama to cancel a one-on-one summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month.
Moscow's willingness to harbor National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is an example of the kinds of "underlying challenges" that keep getting in the way of his efforts to ease tensions between the former Cold War rivals, Obama says.
Some of the other issues frustrating U.S.-Russian relations:
___
SYRIA
The two nations are at odds over the civil war. Russia has shielded Syrian President Bashar Assad from international sanctions and provided him weapons, despite an international outcry.
The U.S. says Russia's support is allowing Assad to cling to power despite more than two years of violence which, according to United Nations estimates, already has killed 100,000 of his people.
The U.S. and Russia have agreed on the need for talks between Assad and the rebels in hopes of ending the war, and Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have launched a joint initiative to try to get both sides to the negotiating table. The U.S. would like to see Russia do more to force Assad's hand. Kerry and Lavrov are to meet Friday in Washington.
___
MISSILE DEFENSE
Russians have a long-standing beef about the U.S. missile defense system planned for Europe, dating back to the Reagan administration's disputes with the Soviet Union. The Russians see the system as a threat to the viability of their own nuclear arsenal as a deterrent. American officials have always maintained that the missile defenses are meant to protect NATO allies and counter any threat from Iran.
Obama was denounced by Republican critics when in March 2012 he was caught, unaware that he was speaking into an open microphone, assuring Russia's then-president Dmitry Medvedev that he would have more flexibility on the issue once re-elected. Russia complains there's been little sign of movement on missile defense since Election Day.
___
HUMAN RIGHTS
Americans object to the way Russian leaders have tried to silence critical voices.
The White House said it was "deeply disappointed and concerned" when opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced to five years in prison on embezzlement charges last month. A colorful blogger turned protest leader, Navalny challenged the Kremlin by exposing corruption, mocking Russian leaders and running for mayor of Moscow.
In April, the U.S. imposed financial sanctions on 18 Russians over human rights violations. The sanctions were sparked by the death in prison of a Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, who had accused police and officials of stealing $230 million in tax rebates. Officials accused of profiting from the scheme or persecuting Magnitsky were hit with sanctions.
U.S. leaders joined musicians and free speech advocates around the globe in denouncing the imprisonment last year of members of the punk rock band Pussy Riot. The three women were convicted of hooliganism after staging an anti-Putin protest inside a Russian Orthodox Church.
Putin bristles at the U.S. criticism.
___
ADOPTION
Putin signed a law last year banning U.S. adoptions of Russian children. The move was viewed within the U.S. as retaliation for the Magnitsky law that set in motion human rights sanctions against Russian officials.
___
CIVIL SOCIETY
After returning to the presidency last year, Putin has waged a campaign of harassment and intimidation against civil society groups, the non-governmental organizations that take up causes such as protecting human rights, helping immigrants, defending voters' rights or promoting environmental protection.
Russia also expelled the U.S. Agency for International Development, which had promoted democracy and civil societies in Russia for two decades.
The Kremlin accused USAID of using its $50 million annual budget to influence Russian politics and elections and weaken Putin's hold on power.
___
GAY RIGHTS
Violence against gays long has been a problem in Russia. Now the U.S. is criticizing Russia for an official crackdown on gay rights.
A new Russian law imposes fines and up to 15 days in prison for people accused of spreading "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" to minors. The law covers views expressed online or in the news media. And it bans gay pride rallies.
Russian officials say the law will be enforced during the 2014 Olympics in the city of Sochi.
Asked about that Tuesday on "The Tonight Show," Obama said he has "no patience" for countries that intimidate or harm people because of their sexual orientation.
___
Associated Press writers Donna Cassata, Deb Reichmann, Matthew Lee and Julie Pace contributed to this report.
___
Follow Connie Cass on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ConnieCass
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Sunday, August 4, 2013
Younger generation of doctors has more debt, shorter hours and better work/life balance
Dr. Lawrence Robinson is vice dean for clinical affairs and graduate medical education at the UW School of Medicine, in Seattle.
It?s not just another speech about walking uphill to school ? both ways ? in the snow: New doctors do have it different from their older colleagues.
And they want different things, too.
Physicians just graduating from medical school or embarking on their residencies will have shorter hours, bigger debt and more work/life balance than doctors who finished school in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
?The only limit (in those days) was you could only work 168 hours per week, because that was all the hours there are in a week,? said Dr. Lawrence Robinson, vice dean for clinical affairs and graduate medical education at the UW School of Medicine. ?There was no limit ? in some cases people would work over 100 hours a week.?
New doctors have the stress of major loans, but they have more leverage for things like time off and regular hours because there is a smaller supply of doctors relative to demand, he said.
?The average medical student in the United States graduates with $150,000 worth of debt,? Robinson said. ?So they are worried about paying this all back by the end of their residency and when they go into practice.?
Medical schools and residencies aren?t producing enough physicians to meet the need, and with health insurance reform, more people will have access to care, further increasing the demand.
?The need for physicians is going up significantly in this country and in our region,? he said. ?The gap between how many physicians we think we?ll need and the number we think will really be available is widening over time.?
The changes started in the early 2000s, when new regulations placed a limit of 80 hours a week on residents' work schedules.
Valerie Bauman covers health care, nonprofits and the marijuana industry for the Puget Sound Business Journal.
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Friday, July 26, 2013
Obama says GOP opposition to debt limit 'deadbeat'
By JOSH LEDERMAN
Associated Press
Associated Press
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Casting House Republicans as stubborn deadbeats, President Barack Obama sought Thursday to discredit House Republicans in upcoming fiscal fights by painting them as roadblocks to a thriving middle class.
With Obama and Congress approaching all-too-familiar showdowns over spending levels and the nation's borrowing limit, Obama used a visit to a seaside port in Florida to argue that the nation's economic agenda should be immune to the partisan backbiting he faulted Republicans for instigating.
"Shutting down the government just because I'm for keeping it open - that's not an economic plan," Obama said, wiping sweat from his face in a muggy port warehouse. "Threatening that you won't pay the bills in this country, when we've already racked up those bills, that's not an economic plan - that's just being a deadbeat."
In the last of three stops on a two-day tour to reframe his broad economic vision for the nation, Obama pitched the need for enhanced American infrastructure at this port and others across the country - and for better roads, bridges and power grids. But while he touted his efforts to streamline permitting, the president offered no new proposals for how Americans and their leaders could accelerate a lethargic economic recovery.
Obama warned that if Republicans continue with their "my way or the highway attitude," dire consequences could await for Americans. He encouraged voters to use next month's congressional recess to tell Republicans who'll be in their home districts that gridlock is unacceptable. "It could plunge us back into financial crisis," the president said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., questioned the point of Obama's big push in a speech on the Senate floor Thursday. "At some point, campaign season has to end and the working-with-others season has to begin," McConnell said. "At some point, you have to stop promising an 'ocean of tomorrows' and start actually working with the representatives of the people."
Obama praised Senate Republicans for being willing to compromise on issues like immigration, then drew a distinction with House Republicans, whom he repeatedly accused of bringing the economy to the brink. But Obama, too, at times has taken an uncompromising approach with ultimatums that force his opponents to give in or no deal. He's refused to consider any budget that includes the across-the-board, automatic spending cuts known as the sequester that went into effect in March.
The 2011 battle between Obama and House Republicans over raising the government's borrowing limit brought the nation close to default and resulted in a hard-fought budget deal. Obama says he won't be bullied on the debt ceiling again, but many in Washington believe the need to increase the borrowing cap later this year will prompt some kind of budget bargain.
A new poll by the Pew Research Center shows that pessimism about the economy remains widespread. The poll conducted last week found that 82 percent of Americans think the economy is in fair or poor condition and 67 percent are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the U.S. today. Forty-four percent think it will be a long time before the nation's economy recovers, while only 28 percent say it's currently recovering. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Even among Democrats, just 38 percent think the economy is recovering. But there are signs of slow improvement: The housing market is recovering, the stock market is booming, and unemployment is falling despite remaining uncomfortably high at 7.6 percent.
After a examining the port's giant cranes used to lift shipping containers onto ships, Obama spoke to a few hundred workers in the sweltering warehouse. He lamented that the U.S. was lagging behind China and Germany on fixing infrastructure and said that's why he's working to speed up the federal permitting process.
"The businesses of tomorrow are not going to locate near outdated roads and old ports," he said. Improvements to the port so more supertankers can come in would mean more workers spending more money at restaurants so that the waitress serving them, for example, can spend more money on an iPod, he said.
In making his plea for more spending on public works projects, the president is also relying on support from corporate leaders whose businesses either benefit from government financed construction or rely on up-to-date transportation systems to move their products. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been pressing Congress for greater spending on infrastructure and has allied itself with the president's effort, but in a statement Wednesday, chamber President Thomas Donohue also put some distance with Obama by saying such a public works initiative must be tied to less regulation, lower taxes and less overall government spending.
"The president correctly underscored the importance of infrastructure, education and immigration to our economic future," Donohue said. "But in order to grow and create lasting private sector jobs, we must have more economic freedom and while reining in government spending, taxes and debt."
The visit also marked Obama's first to the state since the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the man charged in the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. The case has generated a painful, nationwide debate about racial prejudice, but Obama didn't mention the case in his public remarks.
The broad economic themes Obama illustrated Thursday will be followed up in the coming weeks by another series of speeches drilling down on key sectors such as manufacturing, education, housing, retirement security and health care. Advisers say some of those speeches will contain more specific policy proposals, both for legislation and executive action Obama can take without congressional approval.
The first of those addresses was to come Tuesday, when Obama will travel to Chattanooga, Tenn., to promote American competitiveness at an Amazon fulfillment center, which packs and ships products to online purchasers. The White House said some new policy ideas will be unveiled during that visit.
___
Follow Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/22927607/obama-economic-tour-buffeted-by-low-expectations
Thursday, July 25, 2013
What's in a name? Debate rages over Tulsa landmarks honoring Ku Klux Klan member
Sue Ogrocki / AP
People walk past The Tavern in the Brady Arts District in Tulsa, Okla., on June 27. The area is named after Wyatt Tate Brady, who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
By Justin Juozapavicius, Associated Press
TULSA, Okla. -- When Wyatt Tate Brady arrived here in 1890, Tulsa was just a spit of a town ? an untidy tangle of dirt streets and a handful of tents occupied by white men seeking their fortune in uncharted Indian lands.
Tulsa Historical Society via AP
A shoe salesman by trade, the brash and ambitious Missourian saw an opportunity and seized it. He opened a general store, followed by a hotel ? the first with baths.
By the time Oklahoma became a state in 1907, Brady was a celebrated city father. He signed Tulsa's incorporation papers, started a newspaper and chartered a train filled with boosters, including humorist Will Rogers, to promote the new boomtown to people in the East.
But a lesser-known side of Brady has become the focus of debate in his adopted hometown nearly 90 years after his death. The son of a Confederate veteran, Brady was a member of the local Ku Klux Klan. And new questions have emerged about his involvement in the most notorious event in Tulsa history, a 1921 race riot that left 300 black residents dead.
The issue is especially sensitive because Brady's name is all over town ? on a street, a mansion, a theater and a historic neighborhood. It's also the name of the city's most ambitious development effort in a generation ? a glitzy downtown entertainment district.
Brady's membership in the Klan was never a secret. It had been noted in Tulsa's historical records but was largely forgotten until a new Tulsa-based literary magazine, This Land, published a long article in late 2011 by author Lee Roy Chapman, who detailed Klan activities and Brady's involvement with the group.
Tulsa Historical Society via AP
Smoke rises over Tulsa's Greenwood District during race riots on June 1, 1921. The violence left 300 blacks dead and hundreds more wounded in a span of 18 hours.
Specifically, the article said, Brady created an environment of racism that led to the riot. Dozens of businesses were looted and burned to the ground, and the chaos decimated the Greenwood District, where grocers, newspapers, prominent doctors and attorneys had thrived in an area historians often call the Black Wall Street.
Even before the article was published, Tulsa had struggled to come to terms with its racial past. Black leaders had complained that the riot has been downplayed in local history. The city council, community leaders and residents are weighing what to do about a once-proud name that is suddenly tainted.
"There are councilors who are concerned and ashamed that we have this name, and we know what Mr. Brady stood for," said Jack Henderson, the council's lone black member who plans to introduce a law Thursday to rename Brady Street as Burlington Street.
Blacks account for roughly 16 percent of the city's population of 400,000.
Henderson's proposal, which is expected to come to a vote next week, reflects a recently discovered 1907 document on which someone crossed out Burlington Street and wrote Brady Street in its place.
The downtown area is "growing like it's never grown before," Henderson said in an interview. "So changing the name of the street isn't going to stop the momentum."
The council has asked business owners in the new Brady Arts District about the name, which is widely used in promotional marketing. The owners opposed any name change, concluding that it's better to be reminded of the city's checkered past in order to create a better world.
"Rather than seeking to revise history, today's residents, visitors and merchants should regard the name as a demonstration of a new set of principles," they said in a July 14 letter. "Removing the name is to surrender to the past."
Business owners have also protested that changing the name of the street would confuse visitors and hurt sales, among other concerns.
Most politicians have remained mum on the issue. Others quarrel with the idea that Brady was a major instigator of the riot. Mayor Dewey Bartlett said he's read accounts that showed disagreement over Brady's role in the unrest.
The mayor wants to keep the Brady name, citing concern that the renaming effort could become a slippery slope for other streets and landmarks named after people with questionable pasts.
"We look at history as a good teacher, not something to emulate, obviously, but in this case something to learn from and avoid," Bartlett said in an interview. "My opinion, I guess, is that I have not heard a strong groundswell of support for changing the name and to what? What are we going to call it next?"
The entertainment district is at the core of Tulsa's effort to rejuvenate its moribund downtown, which had long been pocked with half-empty offices, blank storefronts and weeds. The improvements come after the city invested decades, and many millions of dollars, in failed attempts to revive the area.
Today the district has been reborn. It has a new ballpark, boutiques, a cigar bar, trendy restaurants and a museum and park dedicated to Oklahoma's Dust Bowl balladeer, Woody Guthrie. The elegant Brady Theater is one of the jewels, opened by Brady in 1914 as the biggest arena between Kansas City and Houston. It's now a popular showplace for indie and classic rock shows.
"We've been here over six years, and no one seemed to notice or care" about renaming Brady Street, said Janet Duvall, executive director of the Tulsa Glassblowing School, one of many specialty shops that have taken root along the street in question. "The success is finally here, and now we think we need to put someone else's name on it."
Others say the name can serve as an omnipresent reminder of "never again" as the city moves ahead.
"It's like changing the name of the city of Tulsa because it has a racist past," said Kuanza Johnson, a California transplant and teacher, who is black and lives in the Brady Heights Historic District. "Where do you stop?"
Anna Taylor, a white resident of the historic district, agrees, saying the city need not dredge up the battles of the past.
"It's not going to change anything," she said.
Confusion over the name seems especially apparent in the Brady Heights neighborhood, a section of large, nearly 100-year-old homes, including the Greek Revival-style mansion Brady built in 1920 and named Arlington, after Robert E. Lee's Virginia estate.
Once home to business barons, the neighborhood is now is full of young families in fixer-uppers and newcomers to the city. Until recently, many never even knew who the district was named for.
Still, "You don't revamp history," said Susan Kufdakis, who lives with her parents in Brady's old mansion, which has been turned back into a single-family house after being divided up in apartments. "You shouldn't forget who Brady was, but you keep history the way it is."
Sue Ogrocki / AP
Elba Kufdakis, left, and daughter Susan Kufdakis speak outside the historic Brady Mansion in Tulsa, Okla., on June 27.
This story was originally published on Thu Jul 25, 2013 4:20 AM EDT
? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Google to fund Wi-Fi hotspots in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO: Google is offering $600,000 to set up free wireless internet hotspots in 31 public spaces in San Francisco, but city officials said they need to review annual maintenance costs before it could be approved.
Google has previously funded public wireless projects in its home city of Mountain View, California, in New York Chelsea's neighborhood and around Boston's South Station. The search giant is based 30 miles away from San Francisco but employs hundreds of workers who commute from the city.
San Francisco officials say public internet service is long overdue for a city that has eclipsed Silicon Valley as the epicenter of the startup ecosystem in recent years, attracting a dramatic influx of venture capital investment and young tech workers.
"There are cities not only here in the US but in many, many foreign countries where free WiFi is ubiquitous. We have a lot of work to do," Supervisor Mark Farrell, who spearheaded the negotiations with Google, said by telephone Wednesday.
Mission Dolores Park, the weekend mecca of San Francisco's young tech crowd, would be among the areas covered by the plan, as would tourist destinations including Alamo Square as well as Washington Square in North Beach. Some less affluent areas such as the historic Portsmouth Square in Chinatown and the Tenderloin Recreation Center would also be included.
In a statement, Google executive Veronica Bell said the company hopes the free WiFi will be "a resource that the city and other local groups will be able to use in their efforts to bridge the digital divide and make their community stronger."
Because it controls so much of the Web, Google benefits from an increase in Internet use. The company reported $50 billion in revenue in 2012, mostly by selling ads targeting Internet traffic. According to a new study released this week, Google's various properties account for a quarter of all US Internet traffic.
The company said it would not own or manage the network. The angel investor Ron Conway, one of Mayor Ed Lee's staunchest political allies, is coordinating the project through his non-profit SF.Citi.
Members of the local board of supervisors, who still have to formally approve the gift, said the project would undergo a normal review process to make sure that government contracts to install and maintain the service are properly awarded. In 2006, a similar plan to install wireless coverage in San Francisco was scuttled after the deal came under political scrutiny. Officials also said they would review the details of the system's maintenance costs.
In the case of New York City, the network in Chelsea cost $115,000 to build but $45,000 a year to maintain.
San Francisco parks director Phil Ginsburg called Google's gift "no strings attached" and said the city could bear the maintenance costs. Google's donation would cover two years' worth of maintenance costs, which amount to $50,000, he said.
Ginsburg said officials picked 31 locations out of the city's 200 public spaces based on a criteria of geographic and economic diversity. Some areas, including Golden Gate Park, were too big to cover with the sum donated by Google.
Installation of the equipment could begin as early as December and be completed by mid-2014, Farrell said.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Britain's economy better off inside EU - government study
By Peter Griffiths
LONDON (Reuters) - The economic benefits of Britain's European Union membership outweigh the loss of independence on policy, the government said on Monday in a review that will underpin Prime Minister David Cameron's plan to renegotiate EU ties and hold a referendum.
Cameron rattled many business leaders, EU members and wider trading partners in January when he promised to claw back powers from Brussels and hold a vote by 2017 on whether to stay inside the 28-nation bloc or leave.
His flagship policy has raised the prospect of Britain leaving its main trading partner after 40 turbulent years marked by arguments about the nature of London's relationship with its European neighbours.
France and Germany have signalled they want to keep Britain in but will resist "cherry-picking" EU policies, while U.S. President Barack Obama suggested Britain should try to fix its relationship rather than walk away.
Before the start of renegotiation, Cameron ordered a review of how the EU affects British life across 32 areas, from health and education to the economy, tax and immigration.
The first six reports were published on Monday, looking at areas including the single market, taxation and foreign policy.
Access to a market of 500 million people means Britain's gross domestic product is "appreciably greater" than it would otherwise have been, the review found. However, it noted the opposition to EU regulation and "constraints on policy-making".
The document offered no figure for the gain in economic output due to the single market but it cited six other studies, five of which said membership was worth up to 6.5 percent in extra GDP. The sixth said GDP was 3 percent lower due to the EU.
"Is that trade-off, between cost and benefit, between economics and politics, of overall benefit to the UK? It is not possible to give a simple, unambiguous, and universally accepted response," the review said. "But most observers, and indeed most of the evidence received for this report, answer positively."
'AWKWARD PARTNER'
The British government has described the review as "the most extensive analysis of the impact of EU membership on the UK ever undertaken". It aims to present the views on both sides of the "in/out" argument, rather than reach a verdict on Britain's membership.
Critics say it fuels a perception of Britain as an awkward, semi-detached partner, prone to weighing its ties with Brussels in terms of costs and benefits rather than committing fully to a unification project born out of the ashes of World War Two.
The studies were published with little fanfare as parliament was in summer recess and on a day when a royalist nation was feverishly awaiting the birth of a future heir to the throne, ensuring the EU review is unlikely to hog national headlines.
Cameron's spokesman denied the release was timed to avoid inflaming eurosceptics within his ruling Conservatives.
The prime minister is under pressure to appease rebellious Conservatives who believe Britain could prosper outside the EU. They see the bloc as a bloated, wasteful, meddling bureaucracy that threatens the sovereignty of national parliaments.
The right-wing Daily Telegraph newspaper, which published a leak of the survey, chose to focus on what it called the massive cost burden of EU rules on British business.
Cameron is also threatened by the UKIP that took a quarter of the vote in the areas it contested at local elections in May and is aiming for a big score in next year's European Parliament elections.
Poll suggest more Britons want to leave the EU than stay in. The most recent YouGov poll in May said 44 percent would vote to leave, 34 percent would opt to leave, 17 percent were undecided and four percent would not vote.
The government will publish a total of 32 reports between now and the end of the review in 2014.
(Additional reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Paul Taylor)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/britain-says-eu-membership-review-reveals-pros-cons-133524691.html
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Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Stamos' 'Full House' band to reunite on 'Fallon'
TV 
18 hours ago
Jason Kempin / Getty Images file
John Stamos will appear as his "Full House" character Jesse Katsopolis on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" on Friday.
Have mercy! Jesse and the Rippers are back!
Jesse Katsopolis, John Stamos' character on the 1990s sitcom "Full House," and his fictional band The Rippers are set to reunite this Friday for a performance on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon."
The band was last seen playing at Uncle Jesse's nightclub, The Smash Club, sometime around 1995.
Jesse Katsopolis has been tweeting over the past few weeks that a Rippers reunion may be coming. Stamos even posted a video on his Instagram account Monday of himself and the Rippers singing the "Full House" theme song, along with the caption, "never thought I'd be singing THIS song.
There's been no word yet if any of his "Full House" co-stars will be on-hand for the Rippers reunion, but several -- including Candace Cameron Bure -- have tweeted their support.
This isn't the first time Fallon has played a part in reuniting '80s and '90s television casts. In 2009, he enthusiastically lobbied for a "Saved by the Bell" cast reunion, and even managed to get "Bell" star Mark-Paul Gosselaar to appear on his show in character as Zack Morris. Earlier this year, Fallon also staged a reunion with the cast of "The Cosby Show."
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/john-stamos-reunite-his-full-house-band-fallon-6C10651619
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Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Randy Travis is 'awake and alert,' doctor says
Celebs 
18 hours ago
Wade Payne / AP
Randy Travis performed at the Country Music Awards Music festival in Nashville, Tenn. in June.
Country music superstar Randy Travis remains in critical condition but has stabilized, his doctors said in a joint statement Monday at The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano in Dallas, Texas.
His doctors said they continue to piece together his sudden illness and expect him to recover in a few months after considerable aggressive physical therapy.
Travis, 54, who was hospitalized on July 7 and was placed on life support, later suffered a stroke on July 10 that required surgery to relieve the pressure in his brain, his doctors said.
Travis was suffering from a viral illness that affected his heart, "but that seems to have tipped over a more chronic condition," Dr. Michael Mack said in the statement Monday. The Grammy-winning singer has now been diagnosed with "idiopathic cardiomyopathy, which means he has scarring of his heart muscle that is causing his heart to be weak and not able to support his circulation without help of either medical devices or medication."
Doctors performed a biopsy of Travis' heart muscle and, while it showed scar tissue, it does not reveal an active infection. "This is not the appearance of either drugs or alcohol causing the heart condition," Mack added. "Mr. Travis does have a family history of cardiomyopathy and it is more likely related to that."
Travis remains on a ventilator to help him breathe during hospitalization, but he is being weaned off that support, Dr. Gary Erwin said. He no longer requires mechanical devices to support his heart either, he said.
"In terms of his stroke, he has responded well to the surgical procedure he had to relieve the pressure in his brain," Erwin said. "We're seeing improvements in brain scans showing decreased swelling of his brain. He is awake and alert, interacting with his family and friends and beginning to start doing some early physical therapy."
Travis will remain hospitalized for two to three weeks, and then will be transferred to another facility where he can receive aggressive physical therapy, Erwin said. Doctors expect it will take Travis months to recover from the stroke.
Travis' fianc?e thanked his friends, family and the public for their love, affection and prayers.
"I know that Randy feels each and every one of those," Mary Davis said in a statement. "He feels the hands of the doctors and the care of the nurses and the love of his fans. His friends and family have all been touched by that. He is responding well to voices and he sees and he understands. He's miles beyond where any of us thought he would be days ago."
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/randy-travis-awake-alert-doctor-says-6C10643237
Sultan Qaboos University submarine wins prize in US
Maryland (United States): The submarine Sultana II designed by the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) students' team won the fourth place in the 12th Human-Powered International Submarine Race (ISR), which was recently held in eastern Maryland in the United States.
Twenty-four teams from the United States, Germany, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, and other countries participated in the race, which was hosted by the Research and Modelling unit of?
the US Navy.
Dr Jamil Abdoum, associate professor at the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the SQU College of Engineering, and Dr Nasser bin Ahmad Al Azri, assistant professor in the same department, led the group of science students: Salim bin Sultan Al Ma'amari, Eyad bin Hisham Al Balushi, Hamza bin Mohammed Al Mahrouqi, Nawaf bin Hussein Al Balushi, Rashid bin Nasser Al Shabibi, and Said bin Hilal Al Jabri.
Dr Nabil bin Zahran Al Rawahi, head of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, said SQU had participated in this race for the second time, and it has achieved a good result compared with last year.
New additions
Dr Jamil Abdou said some additions have been introduced to the submarine, including the use of carbon fibre material instead of fibreglass, which resulted in a reduction in the weight of the submarine from 120 kilograms to 30 kilograms, improving the submarine's movement and giving it persistence and a steady pace.
The group's participation is aimed at developing the students' design skills through the practical application of the theoretical material they have studied.
Heavy rain both helping and hurting Cambria County farmers, State College School...
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Source: http://www.facebook.com/WJACTV/posts/10151750923364308
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Activists Need To Tell Dirty Harry, ?Don?t Nuke The Senate For Union Bosses!?
According to reports, Harry Reid and his fellow Senate Democrats are looking more and more like they are going to push the nuclear option on behalf of unions bosses in order to confirm Barack Obama?s National Labor Relations Board nominees?including his two constitutionally-challenged ?recess? appointments.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Sunday signaled that the Senate remains headed toward a historic remake of its rules this week to ease the confirmation of some of President Barack Obama?s nominations.
If you are one the millions of other Americans who see Harry Reid and his fellow Democrats action as nothing more than kowtowing to union bosses, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace has launched a website for individuals who are opposed to union bought and paid for politicians changing Senate rules just to get their way.
Contact your Senator now to tell Harry Reid Don?t Nuke The Senate.
_____________________
?Truth isn?t mean. It?s truth.?
Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)
Get LUR updates on Twitter.
Source: http://www.redstate.com/2013/07/14/activists-need-to-tell-dirty-harry-dont-nuke-the-senate/
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The thankless job of step parenting | Step Talk
When people who aren't step parents or part of blended families ask what its like, I often compare it to a career in the CIA. When you are in the CIA if you do something right you get no thanks or recognition, its actually kept a secret, but if a CIA agent screws up, you better believe the media and general public will be all over it. Most step parents do take on the financial risks/burdens to support their families, most of the step moms take on the typical female roles when it comes to maintaining their home, but unlike the bm don't get the real rewards. How many of you have worked your butt off to juggle the money to pay for a nice Christmas (or anything for that matter) to have the kids turn to dad and say "Thanks dad you're the best!" I do have to say, my DH is very supportive of me, and in those situations does give me credit to the kids and I do get a mumbled "oh thanks" but without DH forcing it, I would probably once again be over looked.
When have you ever watched the academy awards and heard someone thank their step parents? When have you ever attended a high school graduation and heard the valedictorian thank their step parents? I sure haven't! The truth is, many of these people probably do have step parents, and if they did end up being successful, they probably have the type of step parents that we're good role models, that did make the financial and emotional sacrifices it takes to raise a child, that we're up all night when the child had a nightmare or was sick, that stayed up until midnight to wash the baseball uniform so it would be ready for the next day, that can spell any word in the kids vocabulary books because on the way to school everyday they quizzed them, that got yelled at for being late for work because they had to drop a homework assignment off at school that was left on the kitchen table, that stood in line for 2 hours on black Friday to make sure skid got what they wanted for xmas because with all of the cs and financial burdens such xmas gift would be way out of price range any other day of the year, and when the kid does turn out half way decent you get to stand by and hear what a great bm and dad they have, how even with the divorce bm and dad did a great job.
I understand that I didn't give birth to my skids. I have a son that I did give birth to, and I understand the difference in the way I feel about skids vs. bkids. I typically compare the bond with skids to the relationships I have with my younger siblings, they are family, I love them, I would do anything for them and they are as much part of my family as my kids, but the love I have for my own is just a different kind of love. I don't expect skids to love me in the same way they love mom (I have to throw in here that I do have great skids so I can't imagine how much worse this is for the people who don't) and even though they love me in a different way than mom, it is difficult to know that the majority of what I do for them is over looked. BM is a toxic manipulative human being, her house is messy and disgusting and has no order, the kids eat garbage while there and buy new underwear when they run out of clean ones. When I look at this and think to the future, any domestic capabilities they end up with will be in spite of her and perhaps as something learned from me, the same goes for any academic or athletic success, but do you really think anyone will recognize this?
Source: http://www.steptalk.org/node/161183
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More than 100,000 protesters take to the streets in Brazil
Marcelo Say?o / EPA
Thousands of people participate in a protest against rising public transport costs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 17 June 2013. Earlier police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of protesters near the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The demonstrators were protesting rising public transport costs and the billions of dollars spent on the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, reports said.
By Bradley Brooks, Associated Press
SAO PAULO ? More than 100,000 people took to the streets in overwhelmingly peaceful protests in at least eight cities Monday, demonstrations that voiced the deep frustrations Brazilians feel about carrying heavy tax burdens but receiving woeful returns in public education, health, security and transportation.
In Sao Paulo, Brazil's economic hub, at least 65,000 protesters gathered at a small, treeless plaza then broke into three directions in a Carnival atmosphere, with drummers beating out samba rhythms as the crowds chanted anti-corruption jingles. They also focused on the cause that initially sparked the protests last week - a 10-cent hike in bus and subway fares.
Hundreds of protesters in the capital, Brasilia, peacefully marched on congress, where dozens scrambled up a ramp to a low-lying roof, dancing on the structure's large, hallmark upward-turned bowl designed by famed architect Oscar Niemeyer. Some congressional windows were broken, but police did not use force to contain the damage.
"This is a communal cry saying: `We're not satisfied,"' Maria Claudia Cardoso said on a Sao Paulo avenue, taking turns waving a sign reading "(hash)revolution" with her 16-year-old son, Fernando, as protesters streamed by.
?
Stringer/Brazil / Reuters
Demonstrators shout anti-government slogans during one of many protests around Brazil's major cities in Sao Paulo June 17, 2013.
"We're massacred by the government's taxes - yet when we leave home in the morning to go to work, we don't know if we'll make it home alive because of the violence," she added. "We don't have good schools for our kids. Our hospitals are in awful shape. Corruption is rife. These protests will make history and wake our politicians up to the fact that we're not taking it anymore!"
The protests come after the opening matches of soccer's Confederations Cup over the weekend, just one month before a papal visit, a year before the World Cup and three years ahead of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The unrest is raising some security concerns, especially after protests last week in Sao Paulo and over the weekend in Rio produced injury-causing clashes with police.
Monday's demonstrations saw some violence. In Rio de Janeiro, a small group of protesters set a car on fire and threw rocks and flares at police. In the southern city of Porto Alegre, protesters hurled rocks at commuter trains.
But those were the exceptions to the peaceful norm.
Protest leaders went to pains to tell marchers that damaging public or private property would only damage their cause.
Police, too, changed tactics. In Sao Paulo, commanders said publicly Monday they would try to avoid violence, but warned they could resort to force if protesters destroyed property. During the first hours of the march that continued into the night there was barely any perceptible police presence.
The Sao Paulo march itself was a family oriented affair: A group of mothers received a rousing cheer when they arrived at the plaza where the march began, brandishing signs that said "Mothers Who Care Show Support."
"I'm here to make sure police don't hurt these kids," said Sandra Amalfe, whose 16-year-old daughter chatted with friends nearby. "We need better education, hospitals and security - not billions spent on the World Cup."
Officers in Rio fired tear gas and rubber bullets when a group of protesters invaded the state legislative assembly and hurled things at police. But most of the tens of thousands who protested in Rio did so peacefully, many of them dressed in white and brandishing placards and banners. Many people in the city left work early to avoid traffic jams downtown.
In Belo Horizonte, police estimated about 20,000 people joined a peaceful crowd protesting before a Confederations Cup match between Tahiti and Nigeria as police helicopters buzzed overhead and mounted officers patrolled the stadium area. Earlier in the day, demonstrators erected several barricades of burning tires on a nearby highway, disrupting traffic.
Protests also were reported in Curitiba, Belem and Salvador.
Marcos Lobo, a 45-year-old music producer who joined the protest in Sao Paulo, said the actions of police during earlier demonstrations persuaded him to come out Monday.
"I thought they (the protests) were infantile at first because of my preconceived notions," Lobo said. "Then I saw the aggression."
Another protester, Manoela Chiabai, said she wanted to express her dissatisfaction with the status quo.
"Everything in Brazil is a mess. There is no education, health care - no security. The government doesn't care," the 26-year-old photographer said. "We're a rich country with a lot of potential but the money doesn't go to those who need it most."
In a brief statement, President Dilma Rousseff, who faces re-election next year and whose popularity rating recently dipped for the first time in her presidency, acknowledged the protests, saying: "Peaceful demonstrations are legitimate and part of democracy. It is natural for young people to demonstrate."
Ariadne Natal, a professor at the University of Sao Paulo whose research focuses on violence, said protesters want to "take advantage of this moment when we have foreign visitors, when the world's press is watching, to showcase their cause."
"The problem we've seen is that the police action is trying to prevent these protests," she said. "What we need to figure out is how the protests as well as the big events can be carried out democratically."
Brazilians have long accepted malfeasance as a cost of doing business, whether in business or receiving public services. Brazilian government loses more than $47 billion each year to undeclared tax revenue, vanished public money and other widespread corruption, according to the Federation of Industries of Sao Paulo business group.
But in the last decade, about 40 million Brazilians have moved into the middle class and they have begun to demand more from government. Many are angry that billions of dollars in public funds are being spent to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics while few improvements are made elsewhere.
Protests are routine in Brazil, but few turn violent. Security experts say the demonstrations aren't the main danger for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who will descend on Brazil from now through the Olympics in 2016.
However, Joe Biundini, whose FAM International Group provides security details to executives attending the Confederations Cup, said there is a danger of escalating violence from the protests if authorities don't negotiate with demonstrators.
"If the government doesn't sit down with them it could get worse in future matches," Biundini said.
?
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? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Filibuster showdown may be averted, Sen. Reid says
Republican senators, from left, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., walk from the floor to a closed-door caucus after a compromise between the Democratic majority and the GOP minority on filibuster rules, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, July 16, 2013. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid credited Sen. McCain, with helping broker a breakthrough.The Senate just voted 71-29 to end a two-year Republican blockade that was preventing Richard Cordray from winning confirmation as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Republican senators, from left, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., walk from the floor to a closed-door caucus after a compromise between the Democratic majority and the GOP minority on filibuster rules, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, July 16, 2013. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid credited Sen. McCain, with helping broker a breakthrough.The Senate just voted 71-29 to end a two-year Republican blockade that was preventing Richard Cordray from winning confirmation as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is surrounded by reporters as he returns to his office after meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 15, 2013. The Senate Democrats that make up the majority and the Republicans that comprise the minority are gathering in a rare closed-door meeting in the Old Senate Chamber for a showdown over presidential nominees that have been blocked by a GOP filibuster. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., center, walks to closed-door meeting in the Old Senate Chamber for a showdown over presidential nominees that have been blocked by a GOP filibuster, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 15, 2013. Reid insisted in advance that Republicans permit yes-or-no confirmation votes on all seven of the nominees at issue. If they won't, he declared, Democrats will change the Senate's rules to strip them of their ability to delay. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is surrounded by reporters as he returns to his office after meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 15, 2013. The Senate Democrats that make up the majority and the Republicans that comprise the minority are gathering in a rare closed-door meeting in the Old Senate Chamber for a showdown over presidential nominees that have been blocked by a GOP filibuster. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is surrounded by reporters as he and other lawmakers walk to a closed-door meeting in the Old Senate Chamber for a showdown between Republican and Democratic leaders over presidential nominees that have been blocked by a GOP filibuster, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 15, 2013. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid insisted in advance that Republicans permit yes-or-no confirmation votes on all seven of the nominees at issue. If they won't, he declared, Democrats will change the Senate's rules to strip them of their ability to delay. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Senators moved toward resolving their feud over Republican filibusters of White House appointees on Tuesday, hoping to avoid a Senate rules change by Democrats that would worsen the partisanship already troubling the chamber.
Officials said that both parties were discussing a plan to permit prompt confirmation for most of the contested nominees, including Tom Perez to head the Labor Department, Gina McCarthy to run the Environmental Protection Agency and Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The Senate voted 71-29 to clear the way for eventual confirmation of Cordray, whom President Barack Obama installed when the Senate was in recess, angering Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid expressed confidence that a broader deal was within reach, even if it would leave open the possibility of future filibusters of Obama's executive nominees. Reid had been threatening to change the rules, to bar such filibusters.
Senators are not questioning the ability to keep using filibusters -- in which 41 of the 100 senators can block action -- on legislation and judicial nominees, who seek lifetime appointments.
Under the current proposal, Obama would drop efforts to win confirmation for two members of the National Labor Relations Board and name two replacements who would receive speedy consideration. Richard Griffin and Sharon Block were originally named to their posts as recess appointees, meaning they bypassed confirmation. An appeals court has since ruled their appointments were invalid, and the Supreme Court has agreed to review the case.
The proposed agreement would not resolve deep partisan divisions over the future use of filibusters to block a president's executive nominees.
"It is a compromise, and I think we get what we want, they get what they want. Not a bad deal," Reid said on the Senate floor.
The developments unfolded the morning after a closed-door meeting of nearly all 100 senators, eager to avoid a rules change that could poison relations between the two parties.
If ratified, the deal would mark a retreat by Reid from his insistence on Monday that Republicans promise not to filibuster future executive nominees. Republican leader Mitch McConnell had privately offered to clear the way for the currently contested nominees -- providing Block and Griffin were replaced -- officials in both parties said. That's largely the deal Democrats agreed to on Tuesday.
Reid credited Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., with helping broker a breakthrough.
McCain told reporters it was "probably the hardest thing I've been involved in." Noting the Senate recently passed a bipartisan immigration bill, he said, "Maybe we can show more momentum toward bipartisanship. Is it a panacea? No, but I think it's an important step forward."
Democrats acknowledged that a rules change probably would have prompted Republicans to retaliate by doing even more to reduce the minority party's rights if the GOP regained control of the Senate. That could happen as early 18 months from now, after the 2014 elections.
"It's a decision that, if they actually go through with it, they will live to regret," McConnell has said.
Unlike the 435-member House, the Senate has a long and bumpy tradition of granting rights to minority-party members. The most powerful tool is the filibuster, which can kill a measure by using endless debate to prevent a yes-or-no vote.
The mere promise of a filibuster can block Senate action on almost anything unless 60 of the 100 senators vote to overcome it. Filibuster-proof majorities are rare, and Republicans now hold 46 Senate seats.
Both parties have accelerated their use of the filibuster threat in recent times. Since Obama took office in January 2009, Republicans have threatened filibusters repeatedly, infuriating Democrats.
Reid said Lyndon B. Johnson faced one filibuster during his six years as Senate majority leader. In the same length of time as majority leader, Reid said he has faced 413 threatened filibusters. The tactic, he said, blocks action on routine matters that Congress once handled fairly easily.
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters the Senate "needs to confirm this president's nominees in a timely and efficient manner." That will be true, he said, "for the next president, and the next president after that. This has become ridiculous."
Asked Monday if Obama worries that a filibuster rule change would make the Senate even more dysfunctional, Carney said, "Well, it boggles the mind how they would achieve that."
This notion that things can't get much worse in the often stalemated Senate seems to have convinced numerous senators and interest groups in recent months that there was little risk in talking about changing traditions to end at least some of the logjams.
___
Associated Press writers Alan Fram and David Espo contributed to this report.
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Sony abandoned plans to measure gamer sweat on PS4 controllers
Before Sony arrived at its final design for the DualShock 4 controller, the company trialled prototypes that measure skin conductivity to detect a player's emotions. In an interview with Stuff, Sony's lead system architect Mark Cerny says the company "looked at pretty much any idea [it] could think of," before settling on a modified version of the DualShock 3 design that includes a touch-sensitive center trackpad and light bar.
"Would it help to measure the galvanic response of the skin? We tried out a tremendous number of things - and then we went to the game teams to ask them what they thought they could use from the controller," said Cerny. As Sony moved away from including biofeedback technologies that could detect players' stress levels based on how much they sweat, the PlayStation 4 chief also admitted that older controllers had "not been ideal for first-person shooters." In a bid to improve that, Cerny says the DualShock 4 will feature improved triggers and joysticks that feel "extraordinarily natural." The controller will be available alongside the PlayStation 4 when it ships this holiday season.
"We looked at pretty much any idea we could think of."
Sony isn't the first gaming company to look into biometric feedback to improve its gaming experience. In May, Mike Ambinder, Valve's resident experimental psychologist, said the company had already begun conducting sweat-based experiments with the game Left 4 Dead, adjusting the gameplay according to a player's level of excitement. It also developed a modified version of Portal 2 that allowed users to control the game using only their eyes.
Source: http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/16/4527736/sony-biometric-sensors-dualshock-4-ps4-controller
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Snowden revelations: What more does he have?
Journalist Glenn Greenwald says the former NSA contractor has 'thousands of documents' that detail how the security agency operates.?
Journalist Glenn Greenwald speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, July 14, 2013. Greenwald, The Guardian journalist who first reported Edward Snowden's disclosures of U.S. surveillance programs says the former National Security Agency analyst has "very specific blueprints of how the NSA do what they do."
Silvia Izquierdo/AP
Enlarge? A daily summary of global reports on security issues.
Skip to next paragraph Arthur BrightEurope Editor
Arthur Bright is the Europe Editor at The Christian Science Monitor.? He has worked for the Monitor in various capacities since 2004, including as the Online News Editor and a regular contributor to the Monitor's Terrorism & Security blog.? He is also a licensed Massachusetts attorney.
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In a pair of interviews this weekend, a key journalist involved in reporting on Edward Snowden's revelations about US spying activities offered new insights into the data the former National Security Agency contractor has yet to reveal ? and what sort of leverage he has to dissuade the US from acting against him.
Glenn Greenwald, a columnist for the Guardian and one of the first to report on Mr. Snowden's information, told the Associated Press over the weekend that the ex-contractor has "literally thousands of documents" that are ??basically the instruction manual for how the NSA is built.??
??In order to take documents with him that proved that what he was saying was true he had to take ones that included very sensitive, detailed blueprints of how the NSA does what they do,?? the journalist said Sunday in a Rio de Janeiro hotel room. ...
Greenwald said he believes the disclosure of the information in the documents would not prove harmful to Americans or their national security, but that Snowden has insisted they not be made public.
??I think it would be harmful to the U.S. government, as they perceive their own interests, if the details of those programs were revealed,?? he said.
Snowden is thought still to be in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, where he arrived some three weeks ago from Hong Kong and has remained since. On Friday, he attended a meeting with a number of Russian lawyers and human rights officials and announced that he would seek temporary asylum in Russia until he is able to find a secure route to Latin America, where several countries have offered him permanent asylum. Snowden was photographed at the meeting looking thin but healthy.
Mr. Greenwald told AP that Snowden remains "concerned" about his well-being, "but he?s not going to be in any way paralyzed or constrained in what he thinks he can do as a result of that." Greenwald also addressed the measures that Snowden has taken to dissuade those seeking to harm him for his disclosures, including a much rumored "dead man's switch" that would automatically release more sensitive documents should he be incapacitated.
??It?s not just a matter of, if he dies, things get released, it?s more nuanced than that,?? Greenwald said. ??It?s really just a way to protect himself against extremely rogue behavior on the part of the United States, by which I mean violent actions toward him, designed to end his life, and it?s just a way to ensure that nobody feels incentivized to do that.??
In a separate interview published over the weekend, reports Reuters, Greenwald said that publication of Snowden's data in toto would be the US government's "worst nightmare"?? suggesting the import of the unreleased documents.
"Snowden has enough information to cause harm to the U.S. government in a single minute than any other person has ever had," Greenwald said in an interview in Rio de Janeiro with the Argentinian daily La Nacion.
"The U.S. government should be on its knees every day begging that nothing happen to Snowden, because if something does happen to him, all the information will be revealed and it could be its worst nightmare."
Greenwald also told the AP that he expects to continue publishing stories on US espionage activities over the next four months. While Snowden has offered to abide by Russian President Vladimir Putin's request that he "stop his work aimed at harming our US partners" in exchange for temporary asylum, Greenwald already has material in hand that he plans to use in future articles.
Upcoming stories would likely include details on ??other domestic spying programs that have yet to be revealed,?? but which are similar in scope to those he has been reporting on. He did not provide further details on the nature of those programs.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/RlFJFTt7HXI/Snowden-revelations-What-more-does-he-have
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