Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Colorado State football team trying to climb Mountain West standings

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

Source: http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20130729/SPORTS0201/307290036/-1/rss09

matt lauer albert pujols the shining jobs report tiger woods masters 2012 nikki haley stan van gundy

G.I. Joe Retaliation Exclusive: A Look Behind the Mask of Cobra Commander

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/07/gi-joe-retaliation-exclusive-a-look-behind-the-mask-of-cobra-com/

nfl wes welker Conclave tmz Sizzurp the bachelor What is a Jesuit

Bradley Manning acquitted of aiding the enemy

FILE - In this Monday, July 29, 2013, file photo, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted to a security vehicle outside of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md. U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was acquitted Tuesday, July 30, 2013, of aiding the enemy for giving classified secrets to WikiLeaks. The military judge hearing the case, Army Col. Denise Lind, announced the verdict. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

FILE - In this Monday, July 29, 2013, file photo, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted to a security vehicle outside of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md. U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was acquitted Tuesday, July 30, 2013, of aiding the enemy for giving classified secrets to WikiLeaks. The military judge hearing the case, Army Col. Denise Lind, announced the verdict. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, left, is escorted to a security vehicle outside of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Monday, July 29, 2013, after the third day of deliberations in his court martial. Manning faces charges including aiding the enemy, espionage, computer fraud and theft for admittedly sending hundreds of thousands of classified documents and some battlefield video to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted to a security vehicle outside of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Monday, July 29, 2013, after the third day of deliberations in his court martial. Manning faces charges including aiding the enemy, espionage, computer fraud and theft for admittedly sending hundreds of thousands of classified documents and some battlefield video to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, right, is escorted into a courthouse in Fort Meade, Md., Tuesday, July 30, 2013, before a hearing in his court martial. The military judge hearing Manning's trial is expected to announce her decision Tuesday afternoon. Manning faces 21 counts including espionage, computer fraud and theft charges, but the most serious is aiding the enemy, which carries a possible life sentence. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

(AP) ? More than three years after U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was arrested for giving classified secrets to WikiLeaks, a military judge acquitted the former intelligence analyst Tuesday of aiding the enemy but convicted him of espionage, theft and computer fraud charges.

The judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, deliberated for about 16 hours over three days before reaching her decision in a case that drew worldwide attention as supporters hailed Manning as a whistleblower. The U.S. government called him an anarchist computer hacker and attention-seeking traitor.

Manning stood and faced the judge as she read the decision. She didn't explain her verdict, but said she would release detailed written findings. She didn't say when she would do that.

The charge of aiding the enemy was the most serious of 21 counts Manning faced and carried a potential life sentence. His sentencing hearing on the convictions begins Wednesday. He faces up to 128 years in prison.

Manning's court-martial was unusual because he acknowledged giving the anti-secrecy website more than 700,000 battlefield reports and diplomatic cables, and video of a 2007 U.S. helicopter attack that killed civilians in Iraq, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver. In the footage, airmen laughed and called targets "dead bastards."

Manning pleaded guilty earlier this year to lesser offenses that could have brought him 20 years behind bars, yet the government continued to pursue the original, more serious charges.

Manning said during a pre-trial hearing in February he leaked the material to expose the U.S military's "bloodlust" and disregard for human life, and what he considered American diplomatic deceit. He said he chose information he believed would not the harm the United States and he wanted to start a debate on military and foreign policy. He did not testify at his court-martial.

Defense attorney David Coombs portrayed Manning as a "young, naive but good-intentioned" soldier who was in emotional turmoil, partly because he was a gay service member at a time when homosexuals were barred from serving openly in the U.S. military.

He said Manning could have sold the information or given it directly to the enemy, but he gave them to WikiLeaks in an attempt to "spark reform" and provoke debate. A counterintelligence witness valued the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs at about $5.7 million, based on what foreign intelligence services had paid in the past for similar information.

Coombs said Manning had no way of knowing whether al-Qaida would access the secret-spilling website and a 2008 counterintelligence report showed the government itself didn't know much about the site.

The defense attorney also mocked the testimony of a former supervisor who said Manning told her the American flag meant nothing to him and she suspected before they deployed to Iraq that Manning was a spy. Coombs noted she had not written up a report on Manning's alleged disloyalty, though had written ones on him taking too many smoke breaks and drinking too much coffee.

The government said Manning had sophisticated security training and broke signed agreements to protect the secrets. He even had to give a presentation on operational security during his training after he got in trouble for posting a YouTube video about what he was learning.

The lead prosecutor, Maj. Ashden Fein, said Manning knew the material would be seen by al-Qaida, a key point prosecutor needed to prove to get an aiding the enemy conviction. Even Osama bin Laden had some of the digital files at his compound when he was killed.

Some of Manning's supporters attended nearly every day of two-month trial, many of them protesting outside the Fort Meade gates each day before the court-martial. They wore T-shirts with the word "truth" on them, blogged, tweeted and raised money for Manning's defense. One supporter was banned from the trial because the judge said he made online threats.

Hours before the verdict, about two dozen demonstrators gathered outside the gates of the military post, proclaiming their admiration for Manning.

"He wasn't trying to aid the enemy. He was trying to give people the information they need so they can hold their government accountable," said Barbara Bridges, of Baltimore.

The court-martial unfolded as another low-level intelligence worker, Edward Snowden, revealed U.S. secrets about surveillance programs. Snowden, a civilian employee, told The Guardian his motives were similar to Manning's, but he said his leaks were more selective.

Manning's supporters believed a conviction for aiding the enemy would have a chilling effect on leakers who want to expose wrongdoing by giving information to websites and the media.

Before Snowden, Manning's case was the most high-profile espionage prosecution for the Obama administration, which has been criticized for its crackdown on leakers. The espionage cases brought since Obama took office are more than in all other presidencies combined.

The WikiLeaks case is by far the most voluminous release of classified material in U.S. history. Manning's supporters included Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg, who in the early 1970s spilled a secret Defense Department history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

The 7,000 pages of the Pentagon Papers showed that the U.S. government repeatedly misled the public about the Vietnam War.

The material WikiLeaks began publishing in 2010 documented complaints of abuses against Iraqi detainees, a U.S. tally of civilian deaths in Iraq, and America's weak support for the government of Tunisia ? a disclosure that Manning supporters said helped trigger the Middle Eastern pro-democracy uprisings known as the Arab Spring.

The Obama administration said the release threatened to expose valuable military and diplomatic sources and strained America's relations with other governments.

Prosecutors said during the trial Manning relied on WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange for guidance on what secrets to "harvest" for the organization, starting within weeks of his arrival in Iraq in late 2009.

Federal authorities are looking into whether Assange can be prosecuted. He has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on sex-crimes allegations.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-07-30-Manning-WikiLeaks/id-58c27a080832493db2627e4d3b85a82c

courtney robertson ben flajnik hunger games premiere red meat bachelor ben jon hamm kim kardashian law school rankings

Cyclospora: 398 Sick, Bagged Salad Source of Multi-State Outbreak ...

Cyclospora, a rare parasite usually found in tropical or sub-tropical regions, has sickened 398 people in 15 states, hospitalizing 21 of them. Most, but not all, of these illnesses are part of a multi-state outbreak linked to contaminated bagged salad mix sold at grocery stores and served at restaurants.

Cyclospora Outbreak?The evidence points to a salad mix containing iceberg and romaine lettuce, as well as carrots and red cabbage as the source of the outbreak reported in Iowa and Nebraska,?? said Steven Mandernach, chief of the Food and Consumer Safety Bureau of the?Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIA). ?Food Poisoning Bulletin has been reporting restaurant lettuce as a source of Cyclospora illness for weeks. ?Nebraska?s Department of Health and Human Services reported that the? pre-packaged, pre-washed salad mix ?came through national distribution channels.? The tainted produce was not grown in a garden or commercial field ?in Nebraska or Iowa, health officials said.

Cases in Iowa and Nebraska make up 55 percent of Illnesses reported. Other states have have confirmed that some of their cases are linked to these outbreak cases.

There are a total of 398 cases from 15 states. They reported the following totals to Food Poisoning Bulletin today: Iowa (143), Texas (122), Nebraska (76), Florida (24), Wisconsin* (10), New York (5), Illinois* (4) Georgia (3), Connecticut (2), Missouri (2),? Arkansas* (1), Kansas *(1), Minnesota (1), New Jersey (1), Ohio (1),?(*Notes: Arkansas health officials do not believe their case is part of the outbreak based on information from an interview with the patient. Florida has not found a common restaurant or food exposure among its case patients.? One of the cases in Illinois was likely exposed while visiting Iowa. The case in Kansas was likely exposed while visiting Nebraska. In Wisconsin, eight of the 10 cases are linked to the outbreak, one is not and one is pending test results. ?The total number of cases in this story is current per each state today and therefore exceeds the number on the CDC?s most recent update.)

Fewer than 150 Cyclospora cases are reported nationwide each year. In the past, outbreaks in the U.S. have been linked to travel or imported produce including?mesclun lettuce, basil, snow peas, and raspberries.?People become infected with Cyclospora when they eat or drink food or water containing microscopic amounts of fecal matter contaminated with the parasite.Symptoms of an infection, called cyclosporiasis, ?can take up to two weeks to develop and last for as long as two months. They include: explosive diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, bloating, gassiness, abdominal cramps, weight loss, loss of appetite, low-grade fever, fatigue and malaise. Anyone experiencing these symptoms for more than a few days should see a doctor, especially if?your eyes have a sunken look, a dry mouth and tongue, or you have reduced urine output and tear production which are all symptoms of dehydration.

Cyclospora-ImageCyclospora infections are treated with an antiobiotic that contains sulfa called Trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) which is sold under the brand names Bactrim, Septra and Cotrim. There is no effective alternative to these drugs. Patients with a sulfa allergy can have supportive care of symptoms.

Source: http://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2013/cyclospora-398-sick-bagged-salad-source-of-multi-state-outbreak/

JJ Cale the bachelorette ufc The Wolverine regions Alfonso Soriano Ariel Castro

How Scientists Hacked a Normal Microscope Into a Gigapixel Superscope

How Scientists Hacked a Normal Microscope Into a Gigapixel Superscope

Microscopes are a dime a dozen in universities, so there's plenty of fun to be had hacking 'em any way you can?like a team of researchers from Caltech, who have developed a cheap and easy way to increase their resolution by a factor of 100.

Read more...

Source: http://gizmodo.com/how-scientists-hacked-a-normal-microscope-into-a-gigapi-960623388

global payments eli young band wrestlemania country music awards 2012 wrestlemania 28 results

Super rich or super dumb? When partying is bad PR

wealth

4 hours ago

Everyone loves a good party. Except, on occasion, the image-conscious super rich.

From Steve Schwarzman to Sean Parker to Steve Cohen, billionaires who host ill-timed or ill-considered parties can quickly feel the PR pain?especially at a time of growing populism and negative attention on the rich.

Cohen's weekend soiree is just the latest in the ongoing series of wealth parties gone wild. According to someone familiar with the matter, Cohen held a party with $2,000 of tuna at his 10-bedroom beach estate in the Hamptons on Saturday?just two days after his firm was indicted for insider trading.

It was a small gathering by billionaire standards, only a "few dozen people attended," Reuters reported.

(Read more:SAC's Cohen throws a party, despite indictment)

Hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen, founder and chairman of SAC Capital Advisors, responds to a question during a one-on-one interview session at the ...

STEVE MARCUS / Reuters file

Hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen, founder and chairman of SAC Capital Advisors, threw a party over the weekend that many viewed as gauche given that the U.S. Attorney's office had just charged his company with insider trading.

The party was aimed at thanking donors to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, a popular charity among the Hamptons set. On Saturday, the fund held its Super Saturday fundraiser, which included stars like Kelly Ripa and Edie Falco, in Water Mill, N.Y.

A spokesperson for the fund said that while Cohen purchased a VIP table at the event, they are not sure if he attended. They said that any party at Cohen's house "was not connected in any way" to its Super Saturday fundraiser.

The big problem with the party, of course, was timing. Cohen's hedge fund, SAC Capital, had been charged two days earlier by the U.S. Attorney with a "systematic" insider trading scheme from 1999 to 2010. While Cohen may be trying to give the appearance of normalcy to friends, family and co-workers, some PR experts say his party was ill-timed.

"What he should really be doing is keeping a low profile," said Robert Dilenschneider, the founder and CEO of The Dilenschneider Group, a communications firm. "If he can beat the charges, then he can have a party. But not before."

The party follows Cohen's equally defiant purchases over the past year. In November, he bought a Picasso painting for $150 million. And this spring, as his legal battles were heating up, he acquired a $60 million home in the Hamptons. (The party took place at a different oceanfront residence.)

(Read more: Hamptons home sales hit record)

Dilenschneider said that Cohen's party and purchases could also impact his legal case.

"A judge sitting there reading about the Picasso and real estate and party would be asking, 'Why is this man doing this when he has such a serious matter in front of him?'" Dilenschneider said. "And for any jury, they can't even think about purchasing a $150 million painting. They would say, 'Who is this guy?' "

Of course, Cohen is not the first billionaire to experience party backlash. Sean Parker had to do damage control after his wedding in Big Sur resulted in environmental violations. After the incident, Parker made a $2.5 million donation to a conservation group. Parker has said that the violations were not his fault and that he was careful to preserve the forest during the planning and wedding.

(Read more:Most outrageous weddings)

Private equity chief Steve Schwarzman has also learned the downside of conspicuous partying. His 60th birthday party in 2007 attracted widespread media attention. It came amid rising anti-Wall Street sentiment and months before housing prices started to weaken and credit began to tighten leading up to the financial crisis.

The party featured a reconstruction of Schwarzman's living room at the Park Avenue Armory as well as a private concert by Rod Stewart.

?By CNBC's Robert Frank. Follow him on Twitter @robtfrank.

More business news:

Follow NBCNews.com business onTwitter and Facebook

? 2013 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663286/s/2f4fc715/sc/1/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Csuper0Erich0Eor0Esuper0Edumb0Ewhen0Epartying0Ebad0Epr0E6C10A789315/story01.htm

sag aftra mega mill power ball livan hernandez soledad o brien mega ball lottery winner

Obama confers with Democrats on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama focused on "jobs, middle class, growth" Wednesday in a Capitol Hill meeting with Democrats on pressing issues ranging from immigration and spending to the rising crescendo of questions about the new health care law.

In the first of two closed-door sessions, Obama spoke with House Democrats broadly about finding common ground with Republicans and financial gains as the economy emerges from the worst downturn since the Depression. His fellow Democrats pressed the president on getting his help in next year's midterm elections as the party tries to reclaim the majority in the House.

Leaving the meeting, Obama said his message was about jobs and economic growth.

"It's really about a focus on growing the middle class in this county after a trend of not just recession but really a couple decades of really all of Americans working really hard and not making economic progress for themselves or their kids ... Whatever we do that has to be obviously at the top of our minds," Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa., told reporters.

House Democrats presented the president with a birthday cake; Obama turns 52 on Sunday. Later in the morning, the president was huddling behind closed doors with Senate Democrats.

The sessions come just days before lawmakers leave the capital for a six-week recess and the prospect of facing constituents back home at town halls at a time when polls show Congress being held in low regard.

Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., said Democrats asked the president for his assistance in next year's midterm elections, traditionally a rough ride for the party controlling the White House.

The first major rewrite of immigration laws in a generation and legislation to keep the government running without interruption are paramount issues for Democrats. So is the president's contentious health care law, with uninsured people able to start shopping for a health plan on Oct. 1.

Provisions of the law that still baffle many Americans kick in on Jan. 1 although the administration announced earlier this month that it would delay a key requirement that employers with 50 or more workers offer affordable coverage, or face fines.

As Obama presses his economic agenda across the country, he's playing one chamber against the other in Congress, hoping Americans will hear his calls for compromise and conclude it's not his fault that little is getting done in Washington.

Call it a congressional two-step: Praise Senate Republicans for modest displays of cooperation, then contrast them with House Republicans, whom Obama has started describing as stubborn saboteurs. It's a theme Obama has used repeatedly to bolster his argument that he's the one acting reasonably as he prepares for clashes this fall with Congress, whose relations with Obama have always been notoriously strained.

"A growing number of Republican senators are trying to get things done," Obama said Tuesday as he unveiled a new fiscal proposal in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Days earlier, Obama accused the House GOP of risking another financial crisis by issuing ultimatums over the debt ceiling and government funding.

"We've seen a group of Republicans in the House, in particular, who suggest they wouldn't vote to pay the very bills that Congress has already racked up," Obama said. "That's not an economic plan. That's just being a deadbeat."

Obama has reason to be cautiously optimistic about the Senate, which passed a far-reaching immigration overhaul Obama sorely sought with bipartisan support and struck a deal over Obama's nominees that has led to a flurry of confirmations after months of logjam. A number of prominent GOP senators have also criticized a Republican plan to threaten a government shutdown unless funding is cut off for Obama's health care law.

But even in the Senate, there's skepticism about Obama's intentions. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said Obama's contrasting tone about the House and Senate amounts to a divide-and-conquer strategy that calls into question the White House's outreach.

"These discussions have been going on for five years and no agreements have been reached yet," Sessions said. "It could be the president is playing the Senate like a fiddle."

On most issues ? including pressing tax and spending matters ? Senate and House Republicans are unified in their opposition. There was no telling Republicans apart Tuesday, for instance, as they panned a corporate tax cut and jobs spending package the White House had portrayed as a concession to Republicans ? who oppose using tax revenue to support more spending. That proposal will be among the topics Obama discusses Wednesday when he meets separately with House and Senate Democrats.

For a president who vowed to change Washington and bust through gridlock, peeling off a handful of votes on immigration and nominees is hardly a case study in government by consensus. In fact, when Obama persistently knocks House Republicans, it only seems to reinforce that he's unlikely to get any major legislation through the House in his final years.

Senators, who represent statewide constituencies, may have fewer misgivings about working with Obama, and in recent weeks Obama's top aides, including his chief of staff and budget director, have held regular meetings with some Senate Republicans that both sides describe as productive and affable.

In the House, where most members come from lopsided districts that overwhelmingly favor or oppose the president, there's even less middle ground to navigate. In fact, White House aides say it would be counterproductive to cozy up to House Republicans, who need to prove they're actively fighting Obama's agenda lest they face a primary challenge from someone more conservative.

"They worry they'll face swift political retaliation for cooperating with me," Obama said last week in Galesburg, Ill.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said leaders want Obama more engaged with the GOP rank and file. He said Republicans perceive Obama's recent speeches as an attempt to get his head in the game for upcoming fights rather than a genuine attempt to move forward on policy.

___

Reach Josh Lederman at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-confers-democrats-capitol-hill-144115468.html

john kerry Roswell UFO Incident Ramadan 2013 nigella lawson Kim Sears Rebecca Liddicoat julianne hough

A Fuelband-like Collar Shows You What Life Is Like As a Polar Bear

Those nifty Fuelbands and activity trackers can measure pretty much anything you do and even knows when you're having sex. So why not use similar technology to try and understand mysterious animals like the Polar Bear. That makes so much sense! And even better, why not add a GoPro camera to see what life is like for these majestic beasts.

Read more...

    


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/1oH7hQC3dDI/a-fuelband-like-collar-shows-you-what-life-is-like-as-a-970431674

new smyrna beach st. joseph puerto rico primary manning peyton florida state meghan mccain

Washington RD 2: (4) Milos Raonic def. (Q) Samuel Groth 7-5 6-4






it's not really surprising..while Sam possesses one of the biggest serve on tour, his serve lacks the variety and placement comparing to the best servers. A top tier player, even with a weak return will be able to get a considerable amount of his serves back to play.

Source: http://www.menstennisforums.com/showthread.php?t=313921&goto=newpost

Sylvia Kristel st louis cardinals Steelers Schedule tory burch Al Smith Dinner Herman Melville Books Kyna Treacy

Be Edward Snowden and run away from CIA agents in this phone game

Be Edward Snowden and run away from CIA agents in this phone game

Control Edward Snowden in a game in which you will keep running and running through Moscow's airport corridors on a non-stop getaway from evil CIA agents. If you have an Android phone, try this game now. Then delete it five minutes later.

Read more...

Source: http://kotaku.com/theres-an-edward-snowden-game-and-yes-its-a-runner-951954898/956341796

Tony Awards e3 Edward Snowden Xbox One new Mac Pro brody jenner brody jenner

Republican donors send letter to GOP: ?Take action? on immigration

Former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who started a political action committee, Republicans for Immigration Reform, organized more than 100 business leaders, who sent a letter today to Republican members of Congress urging for immigration reform with a path to legalization.

?Immigrants are often entrepreneurial, family-minded, and guided by faith. ?These are Republican values,? says the letter, according to the New York Times.???These are Republican values.? The GOP donors urge Congress to provide a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants, provide a way for U.S. companies to hire the workers they need while making it ?impossible? to hire undocumented workers, and to secure the border.

?Doing nothing is de facto amnesty,? the influential Republican donors say.

?What tends to happen during the month of August is that members go home and they go to town hall meetings and they check up on their offices in terms of phone calls and letters, and that?s where they get bombarded,? said Gutierrez in an interview. ??So Republicans who are for immigration reform ? and I believe there are many ? we need to make our voice known in August.?

The donors who signed the letter include Republicans such as Karl Rove, former Vice President Dan Quayle, and business leaders such as the founder of Staples, Tom Stemberg.

Gutierrez, who was an influential Republican under the Romney campaign but went on to criticize the party?s rhetoric and stance on immigration, recently wrote an opinion piece on The Hill about the GOP need to support reform.

?And as an immigrant and proud lifelong Republican who came to America in search of opportunity, I can tell you that the only things perhaps more outdated than our immigration system, are the nonsensical?and misguided statements espoused by some extremist elements of my own party,? wrote Gutierrez?recently.

Immigration advocates are putting pressure on House leaders, though it is expected that the House will not vote on any immigration bills until they come back from summer break ? meaning votes possibly in September or October.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Source: http://nbclatino.com/2013/07/30/republican-donors-send-letter-to-gop-take-action-on-immigration/

Tropical Storm Flossie Huntington Beach riot Frank Castillo Mackenzie Rosman Paula Patton Eileen Brennan Jake Peavy

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Coroner: DJ Kidd Kraddick died of heart disease | blog.heart.org

Nationally syndicated DJ David ?Kidd? Kraddick likely died from complications caused by one of the most common forms of?heart disease, according to a?preliminary coroner?s report?released Monday.

Granville Morse, the deputy coroner of Jefferson Parish in Louisiana,?told The Dallas Morning News?that Kraddick?s heart was enlarged and several arteries were blocked, causing his heart to fail.

Kraddick, 53, hosted the Dallas-based radio show called ?Kidd Kraddick in the Morning.??It aired on more than 75 stations across the country, and was broadcast on the television show ?Dish Nation.? He died Saturday in New Orleans while at a golf tournament for the charity he started,?Kidd?s Kids, which sends chronically and terminally ill children to Disney World.

Dr. Vincent Bufalino ? a former recipient of the national Physician of the Year award from the American Heart Association ? said the circumstances sound quite familiar. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of Americans, and what Kraddick appears to have had occurs in about 350,000 of those roughly 1.5 million deaths annually.

The root of the problem is a buildup of ?plaque? in the arteries. That leaves less room for blood to get through.

?It?s basically like putting your finger over the end of a garden hose and blocking the flow,? said Bufalino, who is Senior Director of Cardiology at Advocate Healthcare. ?Eventually there?s not enough room for the blood to pump. Then the heart goes into a very fast heart beat ? so fast that it stops.?

Bufalino, who was commenting generally about heart disease and not about Kraddick?s case, ?stressed that there are several factors that can help identify who might be at risk.

?First, if you have a positive family history ? people under 60 who?ve had a bypass, a heart attack or keeled over suddenly ? then you?re at risk,? he said. ?Second is cigarette smoking. By itself, that doubles your risk. And diabetes is just as powerful. It will increase your risk several times. So if you?re a diabetic smoker with a family history, then you could really be in trouble.?

Having high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and being overweight or obese are also risk factors. (See graphic below.)

?The more of those you have, the more likely it is that you?ll develop blockages,? Bufalino said. ?The good side is that if we detect the blockages, then 90 to 95 percent of the time, we can treat them. We can prevent you from having an event. So if you have two or more of those risk factors ? regardless of which ones ? then you need to get screened.?

In addition to knowing the risks, Bufalino encourages people to know the warning signs, including shortness of breath and tightening in the chest.

?If you go up a flight of stairs and you?re panting at the top, that?s not normal, you should be evaluated,? he said. ?And if you have any type of burning or squeezing in your chest ? it doesn?t have to be the old ?elephant on my chest? feeling ? take it seriously. Don?t just assume it?s acid indigestion.?

As scary as all this may seem, there is also some encouraging news: Treatment has come a long way in just the 35 years that Bufalino has been practicing. That?s even more reason he hopes people learn to recognize their risks and symptoms, and act on them.

?When I was training in the late ?70s, if you got to the hospital with a heart attack, you?d spend three weeks there, then be disabled for six months or maybe the rest of your life ? and you had an 18 to 20 percent chance of dying while in the hospital,? he said. ?Flash forward to today. You can go from the emergency room to the catheterization lab and have a blockage opened in 90 minutes, spend three days in a hospital and be back at work in two weeks ? and we lose less than 2 percent of patients.

?Think about that: We went from 20 percent dying to 2 percent dying; that?s a 10-fold improvement in my generation. That shows you that if you suspect you have a heart problem, it?s not something you should sit at home waiting for it to get better.?

The American Heart Association offers many resources about heart disease:

Kraddick photo courtesy of 106.1 KISS FM.

Source: http://blog.heart.org/coroner-dj-kidd-kraddick-died-of-heart-disease/

Jordan Spieth WWE Trayvon Martin Riots bastille day adam sandler

Condoms May Boost Beneficial Vaginal Bacteria

In addition to preventing unwanted pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, condoms may help good bacteria in the vagina flourish, a new study from China shows.

Sexually active women in the study who used condoms had larger colonies of beneficial microbes in their vaginas compared with women who used other forms birth control, the researchers found.

The scientists focused on lactobacillus, a group of bacteria that dominates the natural flora of the vagina for many women. The microbes, which produce lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide, help the vagina maintain an average pH of 4.5, comparable to the acidity of beer or tomato juice. This "acidic buffer system," as the researchers called it, is thought to block harmful bacteria from taking up residence and causing infections.

Though there may not be a "normal" microbiome for a healthy vagina, the presence of lactobacillus is thought to help prevent bacterial vaginosis, which is an imbalance of vaginal bacteria that causes itching, unusual discharge and unpleasant odor. Beneficial bacteria have even been linked to a decreased risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

In the new study, the researchers at Beijing Friendship Hospital recruited 164 healthy, married women in China, between 18 and 45 years old, who were not using hormonal birth control, such as the pill, as their regular method of contraception.

Among the participants, 72 were using condoms, 57 were using an intrauterine device (IUD), and 35 were using the so-called rhythm method, in which a couple abstains from sex on the days pregnancy is mostly likely to occur. The researchers found that the population of lactobacillus was significantly higher in the condom group.

Sexual activity can disrupt the balance of the vagina's ecosystem, especially when semen (which has a pH of 7.0 to 8.0) enters the mix, the researchers said.

The results suggest that condoms can help the vagina maintain its natural acidic defenses, the researchers said.

However, the researchers warned that condoms might not be the best way to prevent unwanted pregnancy for everyone.

Condoms have a failure rate of 15 percent with "average use," which takes into account human errors in using them. In contrast, IUDs have a failure rate of 0.6 percent to 0.8 percent in the first year, and can be effective for more than a decade after insertion,?the researchers said.

The new study was published online this week in the journal PLOS One.

Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

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

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/condoms-may-boost-beneficial-vaginal-bacteria-122104550.html

lottery tickets mega lottery sag aftra mega mill power ball livan hernandez soledad o brien

Official Android Jellybean Runtime to Hit Blackberry Soon

update_devices

Blackberry has been fervently working on a massive upgrade to their Android emulator which takes it from 2.3 to Jellybean. This will allow major apps like Candy Crush Saga and Viber to finally work on the entire line of Blackberry Smartphones. There is currently a leaked OS that is fairly polished, which is an indication that Blackberry will release it in the next month.

The Blackberry Z10, Q10, A10, Q5 and Playbook all have a built in Android emulator which allows users to load in their own Android apps. This helps offset the lack of quality content in the Blackberry App Store and put power in the users hands to convert and install their own apps. Most apps these days are not being written for really old versions of Android, so this Jellybean update to the emulator is huge news and a boon to worldwide customers.

If you want to install the Jellybean update right now, you can visit this tutorial that outlines the entire process. Installing Android apps is not as cut and dry as just loading in an APK file to your device, instead you have to convert the APK to a BAR file. We have an automatic converter that does this for you, you can check it out HERE. You can also watch a few video tutorials, if you are totally unfamiliar with loading in your own apps.

Michael Kozlowski (3113 Posts)

Michael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about electronic readers and technology for the last four years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the Huffington Post, CNET and more. Michael frequently travels to international events such as IFA, Computex, CES, Book Expo and a myriad of others. If you have any questions about any of his articles, please send Michael Kozlowski an email to michael@goodereader.com


Source: http://goodereader.com/blog/tablet-slates/android-jellybean-runtime-to-hit-blackberry-soon/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=android-jellybean-runtime-to-hit-blackberry-soon

Olympus Has Fallen Arnold Palmer Invitational 2013 arnold palmer invitational Chinua Achebe The Croods ashley greene marquette university

California State Fair Comes to an End

SACRAMENTO ?

From the music to the games, and who could forget rides, the California State Fair had something for everyone.

The final day of the fair wrapped up with thousands of fair goers.

Yesterday was the largest day for the fair with roughly 80,000 attendees.

Final numbers will be revealed on Tuesday.

Source: http://fox40.com/2013/07/28/california-state-fair-comes-to-an-end/

space shuttle discovery spacex tupac hologram tupac back tax deadline death race buffet rule

Animal Attraction: New York Ends Shark Fin Trade

Fourteen major animal welfare, environmental and conservation organizations are applauding Gov. Andrew Cuomo for signing into law A.1769b/S.1711b to end New York?s contribution to the dire collapse of shark populations worldwide. Taking effect on July 1, 2014, the law passed the state legislature under the leadership of Assemblymember Alan Maisel, D-Brooklyn and Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-Buffalo bans the possession, sale, trade and distribution of shark fins. Violations are punishable by up to 15 days in jail and $100 fine for each fish.?

New York ? one of the largest markets for shark fins outside Asia and the largest port of entry for shark fins on the East Coast ? joins seven states and all three Pacific U.S territories in passing similar laws to provide critical protection to sharks and preserve the health of the world?s ocean ecosystems.

The bipartisan state legislation is championed by Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-Buffalo, and Assemblymembers Alan Maisel, D-Brooklyn, and Linda B. Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, with the sponsorship support of 75 state legislators, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, D-Queens, in addition to more than a dozen New York City Councilmembers through a resolution by Councilmember Margaret Chin, D-Lower Manhattan. It also has the support of every Chinese American legislator in the Empire State.

Assemblymember Alan Maisel, D-Brooklyn, said: ?Sharks occupy the top of the marine food chain and are a critical part of the ocean ecosystem. I am honored to join with Senator Grisanti in this historic effort to prevent the possession, sale and trade in shark fins in New York. I applaud the Governor for taking the final step in this process by approving the legislation. Our success will hopefully lead to additional nationwide actions to stop the inhumane and ecologically devastating shark fin trade.?

Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, said: "I am so pleased that with the Governor's signature today, the possession and sale of shark fins will finally be illegal in New York State.? New York will no longer be complicit in the reprehensible practice of shark finning, which has led to the demise of shark populations worldwide. I commend the tireless efforts of Assemblymember Alan Maisel and The Humane Society of the United States in getting this important work accomplished.?

Senator Mark Grisanti, R-Buffalo, said: ?I am proud to be the Senate sponsor of A.1769b/S.1711b, prohibiting the possession, sale, and trade of shark fin in New York. The decimation of the shark population is a serious concern as it has a detrimental trickle-down effect for the entire oceanic food chain. With the shark population in serious peril, and other countries and states passing legislation to protect sharks, New York should be a leader in extending protection to these magnificent animals.?

U.S. Congresswoman Grace Meng, D-Queens, said: "I would like to congratulate Assembly Member Maisel and Senator Grisanti for taking the lead on this initiative. Shark finning is an irresponsible practice driven by the shark fin trade which kills millions of sharks every year. This law will help protect global shark populations for many years to come. It's critical for the environment and we must ensure that we do all we can to protect it."

New York City Council Member Margaret Chin, D-Lower Manhattan, said: "I am proud that New York is joining seven other states to ban the sale of shark fins and stand united against the cruel and inhumane practice of shark finning. I hope that New York will serve as an example not only nationally, but internationally, and that one day soon we will be celebrating the end of this industry all together."

California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, Oregon, Washington, American Samoa, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands have enacted similar laws in recent years. The trade is spurred by the demand for shark fin soup, an expensive Chinese delicacy and status symbol commonly served at banquets and other celebrations.

Statements from the organizations leading the effort to protect sharks:

Patrick Kwan, director of grassroots organizing for The Humane Society of the United States, said: ?New York will no longer be a haven for the cruel and unsustainable trade in shark fins. The Empire State has long taken action to protect other threatened and endangered species such as tigers and elephants, now we?re taking action to protect sharks and help end the cruelty of shark finning worldwide.?

Beth Lowell, campaign director for Oceana said: ?New York said ?no? to shark fins today. The widespread support for this ban shows that sharks are worth more in the oceans than in a bowl of soup. By reducing the demand for their fins in New York, we can help to protect sharks worldwide.???

Michael Skoletsky, executive director of Shark Savers, said: ?Sharks are critically important to a healthy marine environment and divers like me have grown to appreciate sharks as being intelligent and graceful animals. Thank you, New York, for opting out of the deadly shark fin trade that is primarily responsible for devastating shark populations throughout the world.?

Iris Ho, wildlife campaigns manager of Humane Society International, said: ?Tens of millions of sharks are killed every year to meet global demand for shark fins. We applaud the humane leadership of New York Assemblymembers Alan Maisel and Linda B. Rosenthal, Sen. Mark Grisanti, Congresswoman Grace Meng, and Councilmember Margaret Chin for championing this historic effort and Gov. Andrew Cuomo for finalizing this law to end cruelty and protect shark populations and ocean ecosystems.?

Peter Knights, executive director of WildAid, said: "New York is the last major market for shark fin in the US to close and this encourages China, which has banned shark fin from state banquets, to take further action to reduce demand for shark fin. Finally some respite for beleaguered shark populations."

Alejandra Goyenechea, international counsel for Defenders of Wildlife, said: ?Finning is decimating the world's shark populations at an alarming rate and now New York has a chance to join the worldwide movement dedicated to halting this practice and ensuring this species' survival. This is truly an example of 'Think globally, act locally'."

John Hocevar, oceans campaign director for Greenpeace USA, said: ?Scientists are still just beginning to discover the role sharks play in maintaining a balance in our oceans. Ending the shark fin trade is a very important step in reversing the damage we have done through this unnecessary and wasteful practice."

David VanLuven, policy director for Environmental Advocates of New York said: "Existing laws banning shark finning are not enough to address the worldwide harvest of shark fins - a harvest that is inhumane and destroys fragile ocean ecosystems. Governor Cuomo and state legislators have set a national standard for other states to follow."

Roger Downs, conservation director for the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter said: ?The important role that sharks play in maintaining marine biodiversity cannot be overstated. The catastrophic drop in shark populations across almost every species has sent shock waves through ocean ecosystems globally. Gov. Cuomo and the New York legislature should be commended for banning the sale of shark fins as a signal that New York is serious about the recovery of these keystone species.?

Christopher Chin, executive director of The Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education, said: ?Sharks are vital for healthy ocean ecosystems, but their populations have declined dramatically the last few decades as a result of human greed and lack of understanding. Animals at the top of the food chain, such as sharks, have few natural predators, so they are slow to mature and have very few young. As a result, they are extremely sensitive to fishing pressures, and are slow to recover from overfishing.?

Kate Dylewsky, program assistant for Born Free USA, said: "Born Free USA strongly believes that eliminating the market for shark fins is crucial to shark protection. While sharks face many threats in the wild, ?shark finning? is certainly the cruelest. It is time for New York to do its part in ending this horrifying practice."

Elizabeth Hogan, campaign manager for World Society for the Protection of Animals, said: "Shark finning is an extremely cruel and inhumane practice driven by the shark fin trade in which fishermen catch sharks, cut off their fins and throw the still-living animals back into the water, where they die slow and horrifically painful deaths. WSPA is happy to see New York state take this step to protect sharks from this needless cruelty, and plan to help other states follow their lead."

Marie Levine, executive director of the Shark Research Institute, said: ?Much of the shark fin trade uses fins hacked off living sharks. If we found dogs and horses with their legs severed, bleeding and dying, the public outrage would be deafening. The difference is that finning takes place at sea, out of sight. Because the trade is largely unregulated and unmonitored, and finning often takes place beyond national and state jurisdiction, the most effective method to bring an end to this brutal practice is through legislation such as this.?

Facts:

  • The fins from up to 73 million sharks are used to make shark fin soup each year.
  • Conservation, fisheries enforcement and a shark finning ban in the U.S. alone are not enough to conserve sharks. A ban on shark fin products is the most effective way to eliminate the demand for shark fins and to eradicate shark finning around the world.
  • In March 2013, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species listed certain shark species on Appendix II ? the first time shark species with high commercial value have been granted such protections in the 40-year history of the convention.
  • Shark fin soup is often the most expensive item on restaurant menus and typically served simply as a symbol of status. It has no nutritional value and is the main driver of the multi-billion dollar international shark fin trade. The dish is highly controversial because of the manner in which shark fins are harvested outside of the U.S. and the precarious status of many shark populations.
  • In 2011, President Obama signed the Shark Conservation Act to strengthen the federal law against shark finning at sea and require that sharks be landed with their fins still attached.


SOURCE and LINK:
The Humane Society of the United States
http://www.humanesociety.org

Source: http://www.khou.com/community/blogs/animal-attraction/Animal-Attraction---217397391.html

NCAA Bracket 2013 Robert Morris spring lululemon jon hamm southern university biggest loser

Mexico's navy vice admiral killed in ambush, authorities say

MORELIA (Mexico) Mexican authorities say gunmen have ambushed and killed a high-ranking navy official and the officer escorting him.

Prosecutors in the western state of Michoacan say Sunday's attack on Vice Admiral Carlos Miguel Salazar happened on a dirt road near the town of Churintzio.

Prosecutors spokesman Alejandro Arellano says the commander's driver apparently took the dirt road because the main highway had been closed. He says an officer serving as the admiral's bodyguard was also killed. He adds that a woman and man were injured.

Navy spokesman Jorge Vazquez says only that two members of the force have died but hasn't released their names.

Since Tuesday, gunmen apparently working for the Knights Templar cartel have been staging a series of attacks on federal police convoys, killing at least four officers.

Source: http://timesofindia.feedsportal.com/c/33039/f/533965/s/2f446541/sc/8/l/0Ltimesofindia0Bindiatimes0N0Cworld0Crest0Eof0Eworld0CMexicos0Enavy0Evice0Eadmiral0Ekilled0Ein0Eambush0Eauthorities0Esay0Carticleshow0C214413790Bcms/story01.htm

Tony Awards e3 Edward Snowden Xbox One new Mac Pro brody jenner brody jenner

Chris Kimble: ??Time to Short Japan?s Nikkei Index ... Again???

Chris Kimble: "Time to Short Japan's Nikkei Index ... Again?"

By Doug Short

July 29, 2013



This morning Chris Kimble sent me an email with the following observation:

Back on May 24th the Power of the Pattern suggested shorting Japan's Nikkei index due to it hitting a 20-year falling resistance line. The Nikkei declined almost 20% in a couple of weeks, after it hit this line and then hit the 50% Fibonacci support line and bounced back towards resistance.

His email included a link to his Friday "Talk Your Book" interview with Phil Pearlman, the executive editor of StockTwits. We learn Chris's rationale for shorting the Nikkei via the leveraged inverse ETF ticker EWV.

For some context, here are Chris's three most recent charts of the Nikkei 225 that I've featured on this website:

Posted May 13th (see post)

?

Posted May 23rd (see post)

?

Posted June 7th (see post)

?

At one point in his interview, Chris mentions a Fibonacci pattern in the Nikkei. For the past three weekends I've been featuring a Fibonacci overlay on the Nikkei as part of my world markets weekend update. Here's the most recent:

Note that chart above goes through Friday's close. Today the index closed at at 13,661.13, down another jaw-dropping 3.32%.



For information about Kimble Charting Solutions, send an email to services@kimblechartingsolutions.com.

?

?

?

?

Remember, if you have a question or comment, send it to .

Source: http://advisorperspectives.com/dshort/guest/Chris-Kimble-130729-Nikkei-Update.php

bachelorette loretta lynn Flossie the bachelorette ufc The Wolverine regions

On rooftops, a rival for utilities

energy

13 hours ago

Panels in the Deer Valley section of Phoenix. Utilities say the subsidies given to solar-minded homeowners are too generous.

Joshua Lott for The New York Times

Panels in the Deer Valley section of Phoenix. Utilities say the subsidies given to solar-minded homeowners are too generous.

For years, power companies have watched warily as solar panels have sprouted across the nation?s rooftops. Now, in almost panicked tones, they are fighting hard to slow the spread.

Alarmed by what they say has become an existential threat to their business, utility companies are moving to roll back government incentives aimed at promoting solar energy and other renewable sources of power. At stake, the companies say, is nothing less than the future of the American electricity industry.

According to the Energy Information Administration, rooftop solar electricity ? the economics of which often depend on government incentives and mandates ? accounts for less than a quarter of 1 percent of the nation?s power generation.

And yet, to hear executives tell it, such power sources could ultimately threaten traditional utilities? ability to maintain the nation?s grid.

?We did not get in front of this disruption,? Clark Gellings, a fellow at the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit arm of the industry, said during a panel discussion at the annual utility convention last month. ?It may be too late.?

Advocates of renewable energy ? not least solar industry executives who stand to get rich from the transformation ? say such statements are wildly overblown. For now, they say, the government needs to help make the economics of renewable power work for ordinary Americans. Without incentives, the young industry might wither ? and with it, their own potential profits.

The battle is playing out among energy executives, lawmakers and regulators across the country.

In Arizona, for example, the country?s second-largest solar market, the state?s largest utility is pressuring the Arizona Corporation Commission, which sets utility rates, to reconsider a generous residential credit and impose new fees on customers, months after the agency eliminated a commercial solar incentive. In North Carolina, Duke Energy is pushing to institute a new set of charges for solar customers as well.

Nowhere, though, is the battle more heated than in California, home to the nation?s largest solar market and some of the most aggressive subsidies. The outcome has the potential to set the course for solar and other renewable energies for decades to come.

At the heart of the fight is a credit system called net metering, which pays residential and commercial customers for excess renewable energy they sell back to utilities. Currently, 43 states, the District of Columbia and four territories offer a form of the incentive, according to the Energy Department.

Some keep the credit in line with the wholesale prices that utilities pay large power producers, which can be a few cents a kilowatt-hour. But in California, those payments are among the most generous because they are tied to the daytime retail rates customers pay for electricity, which include utility costs for maintaining the grid.

California?s three major utilities estimate that by the time the subsidy program fills up under its current limits, they could have to make up almost $1.4 billion a year in revenue lost to solar customers, and shift that burden to roughly 7.6 million nonsolar customers ? an extra $185 a year if evenly spread. Some studies cited by solar advocates have shown, though, that the credit system can result in a net savings for the utilities.

Utilities in California have appealed to lawmakers and regulators to reduce the credits and limit the number of people who can participate. It has been an uphill fight.

About a year ago, the utilities pushed regulators to keep the amount of rooftop solar that would qualify for the net metering program at a low level; instead, regulators effectively raised it. Still, the utilities won a concession from the Legislature, which ordered the California Public Utilities Commission to conduct a study to determine the costs and benefits of rooftop solar to both customers and the power grid with an eye toward retooling the policy.

Edward Randolph, director of the commission?s energy division, said that the study, due in the fall, was a step toward figuring out how to make the economics work for customers who want to install solar systems as well as for the nonsolar customers and the utilities. The commission wants to ensure, he said, that, ?we aren?t creating a system that 15 years from now has the utility going, ?We don?t have customers anymore but we still have an obligation to provide a distribution system ? how do we do that?? ?

The struggle over the California incentives is only the most recent and visible dust-up as many utilities cling to their established business, and its centralized distribution of energy, until they can figure out a new way to make money. It is a question the Obama administration is grappling with as well as it promotes the integration of more renewable energy into the grid.

Utility executives have watched disruptive technologies cause businesses in other industries to founder ? just as cellphones upended the traditional land-based telephone business, producing many a management shake-up ? and they want to stay ahead of a fundamental shift in the way electricity is bought, sold and delivered.

?I see an opportunity for us to recreate ourselves, just like the telecommunications industry did,? Michael W. Yackira, chief executive of NV Energy, a Nevada utility, and chairman of the industry group the Edison Electric Institute, said at the group?s convention.

The fight in California has become increasingly public, with the two sides releasing reports and counter-reports. A group of fast-growing young companies that install rooftop systems, including SolarCity, Sungevity, Sunrun and Verengo, recently formed their own lobbying group, the Alliance for Solar Choice, to battle efforts to weaken the subsidies and credit systems.

They have good reason. In California, as intended, net metering has proved a strong draw for customers. From 2010 to 2012, the amount of solar installed each year has increased by 160 percent, almost doubling the amount of electricity that rooftop systems can make, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. With federal tax credits and a rebate program for installation costs under the California Solar Initiative phasing out, determining how much to pay customers has become even more critical.

?Net metering right now is the only way for customers to get value for their rooftop solar systems,? said Adam Browning, executive director of the advocacy group Vote Solar.

Mr. Browning and other proponents say that solar customers deserve fair payment not only for the electricity they transmit but for the value that smaller, more dispersed power generators give to utilities. Making more power closer to where it is used, advocates say, can reduce stress on the grid and make it more reliable, as well as save utilities from having to build and maintain more infrastructure and large, centralized generators.

But utility executives say that when solar customers no longer pay for electricity, they also stop paying for the grid, shifting those costs to other customers. Utilities generally make their profits by making investments in infrastructure and designing customer rates to earn that money back with a guaranteed return, set on average at about 10 percent.

?If the costs to maintain the grid are not being borne by some customers, then other customers have to bear a bigger and bigger portion,? said Steve Malnight, a vice president at Pacific Gas and Electric. ?As those costs get shifted, that leads to higher and higher rates for customers who don?t take advantage of solar.?

Utility executives call this a ?death spiral.? As utilities put a heavier burden on fewer customers, it increases the appeal for them to turn their roofs over to solar panels.

A handful of utilities have taken a different approach and are instead getting into the business of developing rooftop systems themselves. Dominion, for example, is running a pilot program in Virginia in which it leases roof space from commercial customers and installs its own panels to study the benefits of a decentralized generation.

Last month, Clean Power Finance, a San Francisco-based start-up that provides financial services and software to the rooftop solar industry, announced that it had backing from Duke Energy and other utilities, including Edison International. And in May, NextEra Energy Resources bought Smart Energy Capital, a commercial solar developer.

But those are exceptions.

?The next six to 12 months are the watershed moment for distributed energy in this country,? said Edward Fenster, a chief executive of Sunrun, adding that if their side prevailed in California and Arizona, it would dissuade utilities with net metering programs elsewhere from undoing them. ?If we don?t succeed, the opposite will be the case and in two years we?ll be fighting 41 of these battles.?

This story was originally published on July 29, 2013 in The New York Times under the headline, "On rooftops, a rival for utilities."

Copyright ? 2013 The New York Times

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663286/s/2f4d8660/sc/31/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Crooftops0Erival0Eutilities0E6C10A784196/story01.htm

George Zimmer juneteenth anchorman 2 Instagram Video Odin Lloyd russell brand conundrum

Report: Church Pastor Allegedly Shoots and Kills Relative Who Had Just Entered Sanctuary

KBMT-TV reports that a Texas church pastor allegedly shot and killed a man who entered the church this morning.

The incident reportedly occurred at Belgrade Baptist Church in Kirbyville, Texas, a town about 130 miles northeast of Houston.

KBMT-TV reports a woman claimed her 34-year old brother, Curtis Paul Jones of Bon Wier, ?was shot at least three times?around 11am Sunday morning as he entered?the church.?

The woman added that the shooter is an uncle and?the pastor of Belgrade Baptist.

KBMT-TV says it contacted the?Newton?County Sheriff?s Office to confirm this information, ?but the dispatcher says she could not release details about the shooting and?information will be released by an investigating deputy. The name of the victim and the accused shooter have not been confirmed by the Newton County Sheriff?s Office.?

This is a breaking news story. Updates will be added.

(H/T: KBMT-TV)

?

Source: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/07/28/report-church-pastor-allegedly-shoots-and-kills-relative-who-had-just-entered-sanctuary/

diane lane drew peterson Argo bonnaroo Ashley Morrison El Chapo Guzman Christmas Abbott

Toshiba outs Satellite E45t / E55 mid-range laptops, Intel models have Dragon Assistant pre-loaded

Toshiba outs Satellite E45t / E55 mid-range ultraportables, Intel models have Dragon Assistant pre-loaded

A few months after introducing its Kirabook flagship, Toshiba is back with some mid-range laptops that bring some of the same understated design elements. The 14-inch Satellite E45t Ultrabook and the 15-inch E55, announced today, have the same pared-down look as the Kirabook, except they're made of aluminum instead of pressed magnesium, and the bottom isn't made of metal but rather, textured plastic. The screen resolution is also lower, at 1,366 x 768; these are middle-of-the-road machines, after all. On the bright side, they all support 802.11ac WiFi -- of a surprise on otherwise humdrum systems like these. The E45t, which will be sold only at Best Buy and on Toshiba's site, comes in just one configuration, with a Core i5 Haswell processor and a 500GB hard drive paired with an SSD. Perhaps most interesting, though, is that the E45t will come with Dragon Assistant on board for simple voice commands (think: shutting down the computer, doing a web search, controlling multimedia playback, et cetera). You can expect to find that next week, on August 4th, with a suggested retail price of $818, though a Toshiba rep told us it'll likely sell for $799.99 once it actually hits shelves. Just a heads-up.

The 15-inch version, meanwhile, will be offered with either a Core i5 processor and touchscreen (that's the E55t) or a quad-core A6 APU. There are actually two AMD models: one configuration comes with a touchscreen (that would be the E55Dt) and one has a non-touch panel (that's the E55D). Strangely, the non-touch model also offers lesser storage; that has a 750GB HDD, while the touch version goes up to a full terabyte. Either way, you get a number pad, which you won't find on the 14-incher, though you'll be missing out on that Dragon Assistant app with the AMD models. These will be available in September, a little later than the 14-inch model, with the non-touch E55D going for $580 and the touchscreen E55Dt priced at $700. We haven't yet confirmed pricing for the E55t, that lone Intel-based model, but we'll update this post once we do.

Filed under:

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/29/toshiba-satellite-e45t-e55d-e55dt/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

john lennon leann rimes Jacintha Saldanha pearl harbor japan earthquake thursday night football Butch Jones

Gunmen kill eight Tunisian troops as political tensions grow

TUNIS | Mon Jul 29, 2013 8:01pm EDT

TUNIS (Reuters) - Gunmen killed at least eight Tunisian soldiers on Monday, staging the biggest attack on the security forces in decades as political tensions rose between supporters and opponents of the Islamist-led government.

President Moncef Marzouki called the ambush on Mount Chaambi, near the Algerian border, a "terrorist attack" and announced three days of mourning. Tunisian troops have been trying to track down Islamist militants in the remote region since December.

Tunisians fear they may be sliding into one of the worst crises in their political transition since autocratic leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was forced to flee during a 2011 uprising that set off revolts across the Middle East.

"In all countries of the world, when the state faces a terrorist attack people come together. But I don't see anything like that happening in Tunisia. All we see is divisions and chaos," Marzouki said in a televised address.

"I call on all politicians at this historic moment to stand for the nation and unite."

Residents said that thousands took to the streets in the town of al-Qasreen, near the site of the attack on the army, and many protesters were demanding the government's ouster.

In the capital, Tunis, more than 10,000 took to the streets as well in one of the biggest protests since the opposition began mobilizing against the government.

"Tunisia is free, out with terrorism, out with Ghannouchi," protesters shouted, referring to Rached Ghannouchi, leader of the Ennahda party.

"Since they (Ennahda) came all we've seen is a string of catastrophes," said protester Noura Saleh, who was waving a red Tunisian flag and crying. "Get out, we hate you!"

SOLDIERS MUTILATED

State television cut off normal programming to show pictures of the dead soldiers and wounded comrades, broadcasting Quranic verses and patriotic anthems in the background.

"After the soldiers were ambushed and shot dead, their throats were slit and their clothes were ripped," a military source told Reuters.

"After that, three soldiers pursuing the attackers were wounded when a landmine exploded."

Instability has been rising amid growing political chaos. Last week, Tunis was hit by its first-ever car bomb, though no one was hurt.

The secular Ettakatol party, a junior partner of the moderate Islamist Ennahda, called on the ruling party to step down to stave off more turmoil. It said a new administration representing a wider consensus was necessary.

"If Ennahda rejects this proposal, we will withdraw from the government," Lobni Jribi, a party leader, told Reuters.

Prime Minister Ali Larayedh ignored the calls to create a unity government and said he would carry on leading the country.

Protests aimed at ousting the government intensified last week after the second assassination of a secular opposition politician in six months.

The government blamed hardline Salafist militants for both attacks, but the opposition holds Ennahda responsible. It argues that the leadership has not done enough to investigate and crack down on militant attacks.

Despite previous unrest, Tunisia had been a model for democratic transition among the "Arab Spring" states. But divisions are growing between government backers and the opposition, which has been emboldened by the Egyptian army's ousting of elected President Mohamed Mursi and subsequent crackdown on his supporters.

Ennahda supporters are determined to avoid a similar fate.

The opposition may be able to mobilize Tunisians further against the government after Monday's ambush, which shocked the country and increased anti-government sentiment on social media.

UNIONS MULL STRIKE

Many people joining the growing street protests express anger at Tunisia's instability and economic stagnation. Others are frustrated that the constitution, originally promised within one year after the 2011 uprising, has yet to be completed and are suspicious of the transitional government.

This week the opposition rejected all concessions and efforts at reconciliation by Ennahda and said it was planning to create its own rival "salvation government."

Tunisia's powerful General Union of Tunisian Workers was in talks with the opposition on Monday. It said it was considering a strike, a move that would paralyze much of the country.

Larayedh struck a note of defiance in a speech on Monday, calling the opposition protesters "coupists." He also challenged his critics to act constructively.

"We are open to all kinds of dialogue with all sides," he said. "Any specific proposals to increase the effectiveness of the government, bring them forward."

A Constituent Assembly is only weeks away from completing a long-delayed draft constitution to be put to a referendum.

The secular opposition has called for the 217-member Assembly to be dissolved. In the last few days, more than 70 lawmakers have left the body and set up a sit-in protest outside its headquarters.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara and Erika Solomon; Writing by Erika Solomon; Editing by David Stamp and Eric Beech)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/topNews/~3/rwuGkUbpV1o/story01.htm

BBC Selena Gomez royal baby Dennis Farina Ultron Guardians of the Galaxy iOS 7 Beta 4

Animal Trials

So in our legal history humans have put pigs on trial, I also know of at least one swarm of bees and a thunderstorm.


Thunderstorm? If so, why hasn't the asteroid that destoyred the dinosaurs been tried yet? It committed several genocides, at the same time!

Than again, if it hadn't come along life might have evolved in quite different way, so maybe we should celebrate it as a hero instead? :teehee:

Edited by ToJKa, Today, 07:36 PM.

Source: http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1468103-animal-trials/

london snl Eva Longoria Wardrobe Malfunction drake eva longoria April Macie nicki minaj

Monday, July 29, 2013

Austria faces questions over Nazi-era bell dedicated to Hitler

Hanns Kammerstaetter / AP

The bell, with Adolf Hitler's name on it, in the castle of Wolfpassing, Austria - in this 2004 file photo.

By George Jahn, The Associated Press

VIENNA, Austria - Like many others in Austria's countryside, a tower bell above the red-tiled rooftops of Wolfpassing village marks the passing of each hour with an unspectacular "bong."

But this bell is unique: It is embossed with a swastika and praise to Adolf Hitler.

And unlike more visible remnants of the Nazi era, the bell was apparently overlooked by Austrian officials up to now.

Ensconced in the belfry of an ancient castle where it was mounted by fans of the Nazi dictator in 1939, the bell has tolled on for nearly 80 years. It survived the defeat of Hitler's Germany, a decade of post-war Soviet occupation that saw Red Army soldiers lodge in the castle and more recent efforts by Austria's government to acknowledge the country's complicity in crimes of that era and make amends.

Some of those efforts have focused on identifying relics of that time and ensuring they're either removed or put in historical context. As an example, officials often cite government moral and material support for the restoration of the Mauthausen concentration camp, where a museum documents atrocities for school children and other visitors.

The Wolfpassing bell pays homage to Hitler for his 1938 annexation of Austria ? a move supported back then by the majority of the nation's citizens. It describes Hitler as "the unifier and Fuehrer of all Germans" and says he freed the "Ostmark" ? Nazi jargon for Austria ? "from the yoke of suppression by foreign elements and brought it home into the Great-German Reich."

Local historian Johannes Kammerstaetter says most villagers would have known about it.

But village mayor Josef Sonnleitner asserts even the villagers had no clue until the first media reports last month on the "Fuehrerglocke," or "Fuehrer Bell."

"Nobody cared until all this publicity," Sonnleitner?said on the telephone. He refused a request for a longer interview, saying he was busy for the next two weeks with haying.

In any case, the government's recent sale of the castle ? with all its historical trappings ? has suddenly made the bell an issue beyond the sleepy village of 1,500 people about 60 miles west of Vienna.

In a country particularly sensitive about suggestions it has not fully faced its Nazi past, officials are scrambling for explanations of why the bell apparently evaded notice for so long. They also are under pressure to justify a ruling by the government agency in charge of historic monuments that it must remain part of the castle as part of its heritage? despite the refusal of the new owner to say what he plans to do with it.

Propagating Nazi values or praising the era is illegal in Austria.

Kammerstaetter, the historian, asked state prosecutors to examine whether the government's sale of the bell was a criminal offence. He says the change of ownership could constitute a case of "spreading National Socialist ideology" on the part of the government agency in charge of state-owned property.

Raimund Fastenbauer, a senior official of Vienna's Jewish community, invokes other concerns, noting that other Hitler-era relics like the dictator's house of birth in the western town of Braunau have become a magnet for neo-Nazis.

"I think the best thing would be if the bell disappeared and was buried somewhere," he says.

For its part, the government says that the sale was legal, along with the decision to keep the bell in the belfry as an integral component of the castle.

Economics Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner says the agency overseeing the sale was not aware of the inscription.

He notes in a letter to Kammerstaetter that "the bell up to now was neither publicly displayed nor generally accessible," adding that he does not see the sale as constituting a criminal offense.

Ernst Eichinger, a spokesman for the agency responsible for government real-estate, says that with a portfolio of more than 28,000 buildings ? many of them huge ? "we cannot search every centimeter" before a sale.

Concerns are heightened by the lack of clarity about what the new owner, Tobias Hufnagl, plans to do with the relict.

Sonnleitner, the Wolfpassing mayor, says has not been able to directly contact Hufnagl, despite weeks of trying.

Despite numerous Associated Press queries, Hufnagl said he had "no interest" in discussing the matter.

This story was originally published on

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663309/s/2f4c4864/sc/9/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A70C290C197543720Eaustria0Efaces0Equestions0Eover0Enazi0Eera0Ebell0Ededicated0Eto0Ehitler0Dlite/story01.htm

apple Sagrada Familia Animal Crossing New Leaf wwdc santa monica college Shannon Richardson Terrilynn Monette