http://tinyurl.com/a48wpe6
I never went into debt because there is life and bills after Christmas. I read the report with amazement that people are still piling up debt when despite the government waffle, we all know harder times are on their way.?
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Former President George H.W. Bush has been moved from the intensive care unit to a regular room in Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. Bush, who is 88, was admitted for respiratory problems following a bought of bronchitis.
Former President George H.W. Bush delivers the keynote speech before receiving an honorary Doctor of Public Administration degree at Suffolk University in Boston in 2006. A spokesman says Bush's condition continues to improve and that he was moved Saturday, out of intensive care and into a regular hospital room.
Elise Amendola/AP/File
EnlargeFormer President?George?H.W.?Bush's condition improved enough for him to be moved on Saturday out of the intensive care unit and into a regular room at the?Houston hospital?where he was admitted last month for respiratory problems, a spokesman said.
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Bush, 88, who served as president from 1989 to 1993, entered?Methodist Hospital?on Nov. 23 for treatment of what doctors said was bronchitis, and he was moved into the ICU last Sunday after suffering a number of medical complications, including a persistent fever.
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the mucous membranes lining the air passages through the lungs.
"President?Bush's condition has improved, so he has been moved today from the intensive care unit to a regular patient room at the?Methodist Hospital?to continue his recovery," the family said in a statement from his spokesman,?Jim McGrath.
"The Bushes thank everyone for their prayers and good wishes," it added.
McGrath said on Friday that?Bush's condition was getting better and that he was even singing at times in his communications with doctors and nurses.
He added in an email reply to Reuters on Saturday, "George?Bush?is the most relentlessly upbeat man you'll ever meet, and his spirits have been good throughout this ordeal." He declined to disclose any information aboutBush's prognosis or how much longer he might remain hospitalized.
Bush, the 41st U.S. president and a Republican, is the father of former President?George?W.?Bush. In a political career spanning four decades, he also served as a congressman, ambassador to the?United Nations, envoy toChina, CIA director, and vice president for two terms under Ronald Reagan.
Bush?has lower-body parkinsonism, which causes a loss of balance, and has used a wheelchair for more than a year.
Additional reporting and writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Peter Cooney
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BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stock markets rose Friday, hours before President Barack Obama and key lawmakers were to meet at the White House to try to hammer out an 11th-hour budget compromise to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. Wall Street also appeared set for a session of gains.
Lawmakers have until Monday night to reach a deal before hundreds of billions of dollars in automatic tax increases and deep cuts to government spending kick in. Such a drastic reshuffling of money could throw the U.S. into another recession, economists have warned.
However, failure to avoid the fiscal cliff doesn't necessarily mean tax increases and spending cuts would become permanent, since the new Congress could pass legislation canceling them retroactively after it begins its work next year.
Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial futures were marginally higher at 13,005. S&P 500 futures gained nearly 0.1 percent to 1,411.80. European shares were mixed in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent to 5,959.89. Germany's DAX was nearly flat at 7,653.34. France's CAC-40 shed 0.1 percent to 3.670.03.
The day's market strength was in Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.7 percent to 10,395.18, its highest level since March 10, 2011, the day that a mammoth earthquake and tsunami pummeled Japan's northeastern cost. Export shares posted big gains as the country's currency continued to recoil against the dollar. Mazda Motor Corp. jumped 4.8 percent and Isuzu Motors Ltd. surged 4.5 percent.
Investors have been cheering newly named Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his calls for more public works spending to reinvigorate the economy. He also wants the Bank of Japan to raise its inflation target from 1 to 2 percent to drag the country out of two decades of deflation, or steadily declining prices that have deadened economic activity.
But Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong, said he was skeptical that the new prime minister's roadmap would prove effective in the long run.
"He will increase the deficit, print more money and try to spend out of the recession. If you print or borrow money, you give the economy a sense of false hope," he said. "It's like taking opium. You feel good but eventually you have to come down."
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.2 percent to 22,666.59, while South Korea's Kospi added 0.5 percent to 1,997.05. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5 percent to 4,671.30.
"The fiscal cliff seems to have lost its negative influence on global markets," said Lun. "Even if it falls into the fiscal cliff, you will only reduce the deficit by about $100 billion. In Chinese terms, it's like trying to douse a fire with a cup of water. They should do what Europe has done and try to impose austerity."
Markets got some lift from optimistic data out of the U.S. on Thursday and a statement from the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, who said in an interview that the worst of the debt crisis in the 17 European Union countries that use the euro appears to be over.
In the U.S., the average number of people seeking unemployment benefits over the past month fell to the lowest level since March 2008, a sign that the job market is healing.
Benchmark oil for February delivery rose 24 cents to $91.11 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 11 cents to finish at $90.87 per barrel.
In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3180 from $1.3240 late Thursday in New York. The dollar gained to 86.12 yen from 86.02 yen.
___
Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-stocks-ahead-us-fiscal-cliff-talks-035809449--finance.html
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Ten years ago, Steven Spielberg released the science fiction blockbuster Minority Report. The film featured a futuristic computer system with a user interface controlled by gestures. Tom Cruise swept aside data, searching through video and zooming into photos ? simply by implementing a series of hand motions.
Today, this technology is a reality. Oblong Industries, a tech startup based in Los Angeles, recently released its G-Speak platform, a user-interface that closely resembles the futuristic system demonstrated in Minority Report. The similarities between the Minority Report system and the G-speak platform are no coincidence as Oblong?s co-founder, John Underkoffler, was the scientific consultant and developer who created the user interface for the film.
Photo by Steve Jurvetson: John Underkoffler explains the human-computer interface he first designed as part of the advisory work for the film Minority Report.
Gesture-controlled user interfaces aren?t exactly brand new. In fact, the most popular gesture-controlled UI currently resides in 18 million living rooms across the world. Microsoft?s Kinect component for its Xbox gaming system provides full-body 3-D motion capture, facial recognition and voice recognition capabilities. Its applications, however, are limited to gaming and entertainment.
New revolutions in technology and mathematics have introduced the possibility of bringing touchless UI to every computer and device. This new wave of human interface is what many believe will be next big transformation in modern technology.
Kwindla Kramer, CEO and co-founder of Oblong Industries, is one such believer. In fact, leading the evolution of human-machine interface is the backbone of his company?s mission. The idea is to bend technology to suit our natural needs, instead of bending our needs to suit technology.
?These new UIs give us more natural ways to interact with the computers in our lives. Pointing at screens to move content around, flying through 3-D spaces with just hand gestures, and using a television without ever picking up a remote control are all new ways of using, and thinking about, digital experiences,? explained Kramer.
Courtesy Photo: Kwindla Kramer, CEO of Oblong Industries believes that turning computing from a single-screen, single-device activity to a multi-screen, multi-user, multi-device way of creating, communicating and collaborating is the next big technology frontier.
The examples Kramer provides aren?t hypothetical. G-speak technology allows users to navigate and control data by pointing and gesturing at a screen. Users can also ?fly? through 3D spaces by manipulating angles of perspective. The Israeli company, Prime Sense ? which supplies the sensors for Microsoft Kinect? released a new product for Smart TVs earlier this year. The application, called reach UX, features a gesture-controlled interface that allows users to select, browse and control movies and entertainment programs through a series of simple gestures such as sweeping, pulling and releasing.
Leap Motion is another product that is emerging into the field of gesture-controlled interfaces. The Leap is an iPod-sized USB peripheral that creates an interactive 3D interaction space of 8 cubic feet around your computer. The sensor is scheduled to be released in early 2013 and can be used to control any PC or Mac through hand motions. It is designed to be compatible with a variety of applications and can be used in lieu of other interface apparatuses such as the keyboard and mouse.
Like G-speak, the Leap sensor is designed to control computers with natural hand and finger movements. It can differentiate between individual fingers and can even identify a stylus or pencil as an object separate from the user?s body. In order to track these nuanced movements, the Leap team used a patented mathematical approach that allows the Leap to sense movements within .001 millimeter of accuracy.
?We believe everyone will benefit from the Leap,? said Leap Motion CEO Michael Buckwald. ?The intuitive nature of Leap?s motion control will enhance all computing activities across gaming, productivity, education, and much more. At the same time, Leap will allow users to perform more traditionally complex tasks, such as photo manipulation or 3-D modeling, with greater control and ease.?
Courtesy Photo: Michael Buckwald, CEO of Leap Motion, claims that the ability to control any computer with nuanced hand and finger movements will fundamentally transform the way people interact with computers.
According to Buckwald, the Leap sensor is 200 times more accurate than any other technology on the market, and it works for tasks that make up the vast majority of our interactions with a computer. Before its release to the public, thousands of developers will have the chance to interact with this new technology for free. For other consumers, the price to take home the Leap is $70.
Like Oblong Industries, the Leap Motion team has identified the evolution of touchless human-machine UI as the next great disruptive trend in technology. Buckwald sees practically limitless capabilities for the new technology.
?We envision a day in the near future when our motion control technology will be used in most consumer products ? not just computers, but cars, appliances, medical devices, smartphones, tablets and more. We?re also excited by the ideas we?ve seen from developers applying for our developer units,? Buckwald said.
Kramer offers a more pragmatic view of these early, revolutionary technologies.
?Both of these sensors are still relatively low-resolution and have fairly small sensing volumes,? Kramer said of Leap Motion and PrimeSense. ?They?re great, and they provide lots of new opportunities for product development and for research. But in terms of the full trajectory of these technologies, we?re in the early days.
?By 2015 we?ll see spatial and gestural interfaces as a standard feature on computers (including tablets and phones),? predicts Kramer. ?The mouse won?t go away. There are too many programs in use that were designed around the mouse. And we?ll still use touch screens as well. But more and more of our computing will be spatial and gestural.?
While G-Speak, Leap Motion, and PrimseSense represent steps on the path to creating a fully interactive digital world, technology still has a long way to go before a fully interactive network of spatial and gestural interaction reaches its potential.
?Big technology transitions happen when cost, capabilities, and good software and product design all line up,? explained Kramer. ?Graphical computing was incubated in research labs for 15 years before Apple kick-started the shift from command-line computing to graphical UIs in 1984 with the introduction of the Macintosh.?
Source: http://www.cmn.com/2012/12/could-the-mouse-be-obsolete-by-2015/
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Pakistan's interior minister dismissed today Pakistani Taliban conditions for a cease-fire, including changes to the constitution and a break with the US.
An Afghan border policeman feeds a detained suspected Taliban member near Walli Was in Paktika province, near the border with Pakistan in November.
Goran Tomasevic/Reuters/File
EnlargeEra Ismail Khan, Islamabad and Peshawar, Pakistan
The Pakistani Taliban have seized at least 22 men from a paramilitary force in attacks on three checkpoints in northern Pakistan, a regional official said on Thursday, but Taliban and other Pakistani sources put the number even higher.
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At least 22 men were missing, two had been killed and one was injured after the overnight attacks, said Naveed Akbar, a regional official whose remit covers the paramilitary units.
Other Pakistani officials said at least 30 men had been taken, a figure confirmed by Taliban spokesmen.
This comes just after the Pakistani?Taliban?have outlined conditions for a cease-fire, including the adoption of Islamic law and a break with the?United States, a spokesman said Thursday, an offer dismissed out of hand by the interior minister.
The?Taliban, in a letter sent to the?Pakistan?daily The News, also demanded that?Pakistan?stop its involvement in the war pitting Afghan insurgents against the?Kabul government?and refocus on a war of "revenge" against?India.
The letter from?Taliban?spokesman?Amir Muawiya?comes as the focus in?Afghanistan?shifts from a military push by NATO troops to potential peace talks, and amid speculation of a rift between top?Pakistan?Talibanleaders.
Military officials told Reuters last month that?Pakistan?Taliban?leader?Hakimullah Mehsud?had lost operational command to his deputy,?Wali ur-Rehman, considered to be more open to reconciliation with the?Pakistani government. The?Taliban?deny Mehsud has lost command.
The Pakistani?Taliban?are a separate entity allied to the Afghan?Taliban. Known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan?(TTP), they have launched devastating attacks against the Pakistani military and civilians.
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Should you buy a stop snoring mouthpiece or just stick to free home remedies to reduce or get rid of your snoring? Well that all depends on what kind of snorer you are, how often you snore, and if your snoring can lead to other health complications. I will begin by explaining why we snore.
Why do we snore? The simplest and most common answer for that is a blocked airway. Whenever we sleep, either our tongue or jawline can collapse into the back of our throat and lean against it during the night. This causes our air passage to be rough. When we breath in and out with a blocked up airway, it causes vibration in the tissues located at the back of our esophagus. That vibration goes on to produce the sound we refer to as snoring.
The dangers of snoring. This may come as a shock to some, but snoring does pose some serious health issues. These could range anywhere between Obstructive Sleep Apnea to cardiovascular diseases. It may even cause some brain damage. It is not something to be taken lightly. If you are someone who snores, or have a loved one that does; you should definitely look at what options are available for treatment. I say this, because snoring only gets worse with age. Along with all the health risks associated with it.
Home remedies to stop snoring. There are a handful of things you can try out at home to see what they can do for you. Here are some examples of good home remedies proven to work.
If those do not cut it for you, there are some paid options. Although these options cost money, they also have a higher effective rate. I guess you do get what you pay for. Here are some paid options to stop snoring.
Personally I would suggest a mouth guard above all other options. They have the highest success rates. They are also reasonably affordable. I did a lot of research and found some good anti snoring mouthpieces. Here are some anti snoring mouthpieces.
Not all mouthpieces were made equal. I suggest that you go on the web and do your own research as well. The way to do that is by simply typing in the brand name with review afterwards. Research is very simple, but it can be very helpful in deciding which brand of mouthpiece is best for your needs. Good luck, and good night folks.
Source: http://www.streetarticles.com/sleep-snoring/free-and-paid-methods-to-stop-snoring
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Dec. 26, 2012 -- Sales of the prescription weight loss drug Qsymia, the first such drug to get the FDA's OK in 13 years, are increasing, despite earlier reports of sluggish interest.
For the week ending Dec. 7, more than 2,000 new prescriptions for Qsymia were filled, according to Source Healthcare Analytics, a provider of pharmaceutical market data. That compares to 1,163 filled prescriptions for the week ending Nov. 23.
Depending on who you talk to, the drug, which went on sale in mid-September, is a godsend or a disaster.
Gwen Barton, 57, of New York, participated in a Qsymia clinical trial. She dropped 50 pounds in 18 months. She gained back half of that after the trial ended, then started back on the pill in early December.
The pounds came off again. "I have lost 12 pounds so far and I'm very happy,'' she says. She wants to shed another 40 pounds on her 5-foot-5-inch frame to get to 140 pounds.
Barton offered to share her story through the public relations firm for Vivus, the maker of Qsymia.
When the FDA approved the drug earlier in 2012, Sidney Wolfe, MD, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, called the decision ''reckless.''
His opinion hasn't changed, he says. "The history of diet drugs is a disaster," he says.
Michael Miller, chief commercial officer at Vivus, declined to release sales figures or quote prescription numbers until January, when fourth quarter results are in.
"We are pleased," he says of sales. "We have been gaining traction."
The drug is only sold through certified mail-order pharmacies whose personnel have finished a Qsymia-provided training program.
That was part of the risk reduction that Vivus agreed to with the FDA.
Average cost of the recommended dose is $160 for a one-month supply, Miller says.
Insurance coverage is not yet common. "About 1 out of 5 prescriptions are covered," he says. "The average co-pay is $50 or $60."
Qsymia combines two drugs already on the market: phentermine and topiramate.
Phentermine is an appetite suppressant. (It was the ''phen'' part of the popular weight loss combination pill fen-phen. After reports of lung problems and heart valve damage surfaced, related to the ''fen'' or fenfluramine, the FDA requested fenfluramine's withdrawal from market in 1997).
Topiramate may work by suppressing appetite and helping you feel full, according to the drugmaker.
Qsymia is approved only for those who have a body mass index or BMI of 30+, termed obese, or a BMI of 27+, termed overweight, with another weight-related problem such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
It is prescribed with the understanding that patients will follow a healthy, reduced-calorie diet and get regular exercise.
Barton says she walks for exercise. She drinks a lot of water and has given up fatty foods, sodas, and another old favorite, doughnuts.
Thanksgiving was not the struggle it once was. "No seconds, no thirds, I didn't bring food home," she says.
Source: http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20121224/qsymia-gaining-traction?src=RSS_PUBLIC
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By Carol Pierson Holding
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Last week, at Seattle?s Newground Social Investment holiday party, the firm?s Founder
Bruce Herbert, a leader in SRI, gave a toast in which he applauded Bill McKibben?s?leadership in fossil fuel divestiture. Herbert asked the crowd to support McKibben?s efforts, both in attending events (Herbert attended McKibben?s ?Do The Math? divestiture launch) and in our investment practices.
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At first, I was thrilled. I wondered if the Do The Math campaign had already spread beyond college campuses to the broader SRI investment community. If so, the movement was spreading even faster than I could have hoped.
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Four days later in Newtown Connecticut, a 20-year-old gunman trained a semi-automatic gun on a 2nd grade classroom, killing 20 small children and 6 adults. In the midst of writing about fossil fuel divestiture, I realized there was something bigger going on: despite all the successes the SRI industry can claim, it has been a failure when it comes to products that kill.
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SRI was first practiced by religious groups who refused to invest their money in companies whose products were harmful to their congregations, mostly alcohol, tobacco and gambling. These ?sin? screens have been in place for at least sixty years. Later, other screens were commonly added for harmful industries such as pornography, weapons and the military. But none of these industries has been seriously affected by SRI.
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This is not to undercut the work that SRI has done. Over the years, it has played an important role in anti-war, anti-nuclear, environmental movements, civil rights and economic justice, including most famously apartheid.
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But as Robert Zevin, an early SRI advocate, says in a blog for Huffington Post, SRI?s original moral purpose has been subsumed to profit:
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?Many of us are now embarrassed to say that our religious or moral or political views should and do affect our investment selections. We know the gatekeepers don?t want to hear it; and they know that many of their institutional clients definitely don?t want to hear it.?
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And investors have even less influence when they simply refuse to invest. The old guard of SRI would hold stocks just to give them a seat at the table ? or rather, at the annual corporate meeting. Now, even investors as socially minded as the Gates Foundation are interested in only one thing: returns. That Foundation may do worlds of good for global health, but its biggest investments after Berkshire Hathaway are in McDonald?s and Coca Cola, two companies most at odds with children?s health.
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At least sixty years of investors boycotting the gun trade has yielded zero result. In fact, SRI activism works best when rewarding companies that care about being good, whose products sustain life rather than take it. For example, CSRHub, the social responsibility data aggregator, created a special issue called ?NRA Anti-Gun List? so that CSR executives can support companies that take a stand against guns, rather than providing a list of gun manufacturers and dealers to boycott.
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Only new regulations prompted by consumer outrage will restrict guns. I fear the same is true for climate change. Noble a thought as it is ? and as much as we all love having an outlet for our outrage ? the truth is, divestiture itself will have as little effect as investment screens for guns. But the moral outrage that the campaign is sparking, like the moral outrage sparked by the massacre in Newtown, is a different story. I look forward to restrictions and even bans being enacted at all levels of government on both guns and fossil fuels. Investors and consumers can take care of keeping the responsible companies in line. I am thankful we have other means to handcuff the really bad businesses.
Photo is courtesy of?Patrick Feller?via Flickr CC.
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Carol Pierson Holding writes on environmental issues and social responsibility for policy and news publications, including the Carnegie Council?s Policy Innovations, Harvard Business Review, San Francisco Chronicle, India Time, The Huffington Post and many other web sites. Her articles on corporate social responsibility can be found on CSRHub.com, a website that provides sustainability ratings data on 5,000 companies worldwide. Carol holds degrees from Smith College and Harvard University.?
CSRHub provides access to corporate social responsibility and sustainability ratings and information on nearly 6,500 companies from 135 industries in 70 countries. By aggregating and normalizing the information from over 185 data sources, CSRHub has created a broad, consistent rating system and a searchable database that links millions of rating elements back to their source. Managers, researchers and activists use CSRHub to benchmark company performance, learn how stakeholders evaluate company CSR practices and seek ways to change the world.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Csrhub/~3/dt8tFE60CCQ/oil-and-guns.html
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Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/12/19/broken-city-set-visit/
This Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 photo shows the sign in front of the Harrold Independent School District in Harrold, Texas. The K-12 school has a policy allowing teachers and other school employees to carry concealed weapons, a controversial policy that's now being considered in at least five other states in the wake of last week's deadly elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn. (AP Photo/Angela K. Brown)
This Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 photo shows the sign in front of the Harrold Independent School District in Harrold, Texas. The K-12 school has a policy allowing teachers and other school employees to carry concealed weapons, a controversial policy that's now being considered in at least five other states in the wake of last week's deadly elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn. (AP Photo/Angela K. Brown)
In this Aug. 25, 2008 photo, students arrive for the first day of classes at the Harrold Independent School District in Harrold, Texas. School personnel are permitted to carry guns at the school. Attorney General Greg Abbott was asked Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 if teachers or other school personnel should be permitted to carry guns, and he noted that some districts around the state ? like Harrold Independent School District in North Texas ? already allow that. But, he added, that would be a matter for the state Legislature when it reconvenes Jan. 8. (AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Ron T. Ennis) MAGS OUT; (FORT WORTH WEEKLY, 360 WEST); INTERNET OUT
In Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 photo, the town's water tower rises above the railroad tracks in Harrold, Texas. The rural town's lone school has a policy allowing teachers and other employees to carry concealed weapons on campus. Some lawmakers in at least five other states are looking into similar legislation in the wake of last week's deadly elementary school shooting in Newton, Conn. Anti-gun groups oppose the measure. (AP Photo/Angela K. Brown)
HARROLD, Texas (AP) ? In this tiny Texas town, children and their parents don't give much thought to safety at the community's lone school ? mostly because some of the teachers are carrying concealed weapons.
In remote Harrold, the nearest sheriff's office is 30 minutes away, and people tend to know ? and trust ? one another. So the school board voted to let teachers bring guns to school.
"We don't have money for a security guard, but this is a better solution," Superintendent David Thweatt said. "A shooter could take out a guard or officer with a visible, holstered weapon, but our teachers have master's degrees, are older and have had extensive training. And their guns are hidden. We can protect our children."
In the awful aftermath of last week's Connecticut elementary school shooting, lawmakers in a growing number of states ? including Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota, South Dakota and Oregon ? have said they will consider laws allowing teachers and school administrators to carry firearms at school.
Texas law bans guns in schools unless the school has given written authorization. Arizona and six other states have similar laws with exceptions for people who have licenses to carry concealed weapons.
Harrold's school board voted unanimously in 2007 to allow employees to carry weapons. After obtaining a state concealed-weapons permit, each employee who wants to carry a weapon must be approved by the board based on his or her personality and reaction to a crisis, Thweatt said.
Employees also must undergo training in crisis intervention and hostage situations. And they must use bullets that minimize the risk of ricochet, similar to those carried by air marshals on planes.
CaRae Reinisch, who lives in the nearby community of Elliott, said she took her children out of a larger school and enrolled them in Harrold two years ago, partly because she felt they would be safer in a building with armed teachers.
"I think it's a great idea for trained teachers to carry weapons," Reinish said. "But I hate that it has come to this."
The superintendent won't disclose how many of the school's 50 employees carry weapons, saying that revealing that number might jeopardize school security.
The school, about 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth near the Oklahoma border, has 103 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Most of them rarely think about who is carrying a gun.
"This is the first time in a long time that I've thought about it," said Matt Templeton, the principal's 17-year-old son. "And that's because of what happened" in Connecticut.
Thweatt said other Texas schools allow teachers to carry weapons, but he would not reveal their locations, saying they are afraid of negative publicity.
The Texas Education Agency said it had not heard of any other schools with such a policy. And the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence did not know of any other districts nationwide that allow school employees to carry concealed handguns.
But that may change soon.
Oklahoma state Rep. Mark McCullough said he is working on a bill that would allow teachers and administrators to receive firearms training through the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, which would authorize them to carry weapons at school and at school events. Other states are proposing or considering similar measures.
However, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder this week vetoed legislation that would have allowed concealed weapons in schools, churches and day care centers, saying he seeks a more "thoughtful review" that includes school emergency policies and mental health-related issues.
In Texas, guns have an honored place in the state's culture, and politicians often describe owning a gun as essential to being Texan. At the state Capitol, concealed handgun license holders are allowed to skip the metal detectors that scan visitors.
Gov. Rick Perry has indicated he would prefer to give gun owners the widest possible latitude. Just days after the Connecticut attack, Perry said permit holders should be able to carry concealed weapons in any public place.
Last year, many Texas lawmakers supported a plan to give college students and professors with concealed handgun licenses the right to carry guns on campus, but the measure failed.
Opponents insist that having more people armed at a school, especially teachers or administrators who aren't trained to deal with crime on a daily basis, could lead to more injuries and deaths. They point to an August shooting outside the Empire State Building, where police killed a laid-off clothing designer after he fatally shot his former colleague. Nine bystanders were wounded by police gunfire, ricochets and fragments.
"You are going to put teachers, people teaching 6-year-olds in a school, and expect them to respond to an active-shooter situation?" said Ladd Everitt, a spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, who called the idea of arming teachers "madness."
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner said she would not have felt better if teachers at her children's Seattle school had been armed during a May shooting at a nearby cafe. A gunman killed four people at the cafe and another woman during a carjacking before killing himself. The school went on lockdown as a precaution.
"It would be highly concerning to me to know that guns were around my kids each and every day. ... Increasing our arms is not the answer," said Rowe-Finkbeiner, co-founder and CEO of MomsRising.org.
Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign, said focusing on arming teachers distracts from the "real things" that could help prevent a school shooting "and at worse it furthers a dangerous conversation that only talks about guns as protection without a discussion about the serious risks they present."
As the debate continues, Harrold's school plans to leave its policy unchanged.
"Nothing is 100 percent at all. ... But hope makes for a terrible plan, hoping that (a tragedy) won't happen," Thweatt said. "My question is: What have you done about it? How have you planned?"
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Associated Press writers Juan A. Lozano in Houston and Nomaan Merchant in Dallas contributed to this report.
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Published on December 19, 2012 by W.E. Ning
The very first spy shots of the new Brilliance BS6, aka Zhunchi. Strangely each shot shows only a part of the vehicle, so we are probably looking at clay models here. The new BS6 is scheduled to be launched on the Chinese auto market in late 2013.
The current Brilliance BS6. Facelifted twice, last time was in 2010. Price starts at 112.800 yuan and ends at 249.800 yuan. Engines: 170hp 1.8 turbo and 129hp 2.0. The latter engine is very old and will disappear in the new car, likely to be replaced by a naturally aspirated 1.8.
Front loox a bit like Mercedes-Benz C-Class. I guess BMW won?t mind?
Via: Sohu.
Source: http://www.carnewschina.com/2012/12/19/spy-shots-new-brilliance-bs6-pops-up-in-china-in-parts/
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JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Events in the life of South African President Jacob Zuma, who was elected Tuesday to again head the governing African National Congress:
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? April 12, 1942: Born in Inkandla in the rural Zulu heartland.
?1959: Joins the ANC as a teen and just a few years later is arrested while trying to leave the country illegally. Jailed for 10 years on Robben Island, alongside Nelson Mandela.
?1975: Goes into exile. For the next decade and a half in Swaziland, Mozambique and Zambia where he was appointed chief of the ANC's intelligence department.
?1990: ANC unbanned and Zuma among the first leaders to return to South Africa.
?1994: After first all-race vote, serves as economic affairs minister in KwaZulu-Natal, his home province.
?1999: Then-president Thabo Mbeki names him deputy president.
?2003: Prosecutors say they have a case against Zuma, but not one they are sure they can win, and so decide not to prosecute. Zuma was accused of taking a 500,000-rand bribe to protect a French arms company from a government probe into corruption. The corruption investigation centered around a 1999 deal for South Africa to buy ships, submarines, helicopters, jets and other weaponry from European and South African firms.
?2005: Fired as deputy president, but remains deputy president of the ANC under Mbeki, after being implicated in corruption trial of close friend and financial adviser Schabir Shaik. Later that year, prosecutors say they will charge Zuma with two counts of corruption.
?2006: Judge strikes Zuma's corruption case off the roll because the prosecution is not ready. That same year, Zuma is acquitted of raping an HIV-positive family friend, although his confession that he took a shower to prevent the risk of AIDS earned him ridicule.
?2007: Zuma beats Mbeki in ANC leadership race. Within days, Zuma is indicted on corruption charges.
?2008: Judge dismisses corruption case on procedural grounds in ruling that raises possibility of political meddling in the case. ANC responds by firing Mbeki as the nation's president, replacing him with Kgalema Motlanthe, seen as a caretaker until Zuma can take over.
?Early 2009: South Africa's second-highest court rules in favor of prosecutors' appeal, clearing way for new corruption trial against Zuma. However, nation's top prosecutors, acknowledging case had been tainted by political meddling, drop corruption charges and say they won't be refiled, though they insist case is solid.
?April 22, 2009: Zuma's ANC party sweeps parliamentary elections.
?May 6, 2009: South Africa's Parliament elects Zuma as the country's next president.
?May 9, 2009: Zuma sworn in as president of South Africa.
?June-July 2010: South Africa hosts successful World Cup, which Zuma said showed nation's ability to stand on world stage and be "united in our diversity."
?May: An art gallery shows "The Spear," a painting of Zuma with his genitals exposed. The ANC demands the painting be removed and vandals later deface it.
?August: Police officers open fire on striking miners, killing 34 in the worst violent attack by state security forces against protesters since the end of apartheid. Zuma faces criticism for his response and the ANC is accused of ignoring the poor they should represent.
?December: ANC holds its convention in Mangaung to pick its leader for the next five years, overwhelming re-electing Zuma over Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/look-life-south-africa-president-jacob-zuma-110223300--politics.html
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Abrams
By Alan Boyle
Giving someone a book about science is like running an experiment. You construct a hypothesis by trying to figure out what interests the prospective recipient, test the hypothesis with the gift book, and then find out whether the book takes an honored place on the reading table ??or gathers dust on the shelf.
To maximize your chances of success, consider the setting for the experiment. Is the book destined for the coffee table, the library table, or the kids' table? If it's the coffee table, make sure that the pictures are big and beautiful. For the library table, you want a well-told story. And the best books for the kids' table are fun as well as factual.
I've gone through my own book pile as well as end-of-the-year reviews to come up with five books for each of those types of tables, plus a few pointers to alternate selections. In each category, I've tried to cover a wide spread of topics ??to maximize the chances that the experiment will be successful. Who knows? You may even want to run an experiment or two on yourself:
For the coffee table:
More Than Human by Lewis Blackwell and Tim Flach: Beautiful portraits of animals ranging from pandas and elephants to bats and snakes. Who knew a pig could be so ... beautiful? Get a preview from Brain Pickings?(Abrams, $65).
Chronicle Books
"The Where, the Why and the How"
The Where, the Why and the How: 75 Artists Illustrate Wondrous Mysteries of Science, by Jenny Volvoski, Julia Rothman and Matt Lamothe. Why do we blush? Why do cats purr? The essays and fanciful illustrations will entertain and educate. Check out the YouTube video?(Chronicle Books, $24.95). ?
Firefly Books
Hubble's Universe: Greatest Discoveries and Latest Images, by Terence Dickinson: There's a new Hubble picture book every year, but this year we're lucky to have one authored by the guy who wrote "NightWatch" and "The Universe and Beyond."?Dickinson talks about his space odyssey in a publicity video?(Firefly Books, $49.95). Alternate selections: "Planetfall" and "Space Atlas."
Against All Odds
"The Human Face of Big Data"
The Human Face of Big Data, by Rick Smolan and Jennifer Erwitt: The photographers behind the "Day in the Life" art-book series look at how networks and data are transforming our world. Want to go beyond the printed page? Of course you know there's an app for that. Check out the press kit.?(Against All Odds, $50).
Vendome Press
"Royal Cities of the Ancient Maya"
Royal Cities of the Ancient Maya, by Michael D. Coe and Barry Brukoff: Just in time for the Maya non-apocalypse, a Yale anthropologist (Coe) and an award-winning photographer (Brukoff) team up to produce a beautiful book that provides a wide-angle view of the ancient Mesoamerican culture and its art. (Vendome Press, $50).
For the library table:
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, by David Quammen. A science reporter travels the world to track down how diseases make the jump from animal species to humans, causing diseases ranging from AIDS and SARS to Ebola and Lyme disease. In the process, Quammen raises disturbing questions about the Next Big One (W.W. Norton, $28.95). Alternate selection: "Zoobiquity."
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail ? But Some Don't,?by Nate Silver: How many statisticians actually become a punching bag for pundits? Silver, who made the jump from baseball stats to political predictions with his FiveThirtyEight blog, ticked off conservatives by insisting that President Barack Obama had a high probability of re-election. It turns out that Silver was right. Silver's?book guides you through the promise, the peril and the paradox behind prediction (Penguin, $27.95).?
Life's Ratchet: How Molecular Machines Extract Order From Chaos, by Peter M. Hoffmann: The world is getting smaller and smaller thanks to nanotechnology. Hoffmann, a physics professor at Wayne State University, delves into the nano-nexus of chemistry, engineering and biology. How does all that molecular machinery give rise to life itself? Brace yourself for some unconventional answers (Basic Books, $27.99).
Masters of the Planet: The Search for Our Human Origins, by Ian Tattersall: How did Homo sapiens come to rule the earth? What happened to all those other hominid species, including our Neanderthal cousins? The curator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History draws upon recent research to tell the story of our species' rapid rise (Macmillan, $26). Alternate big-name selections: E.O. Wilson's "The Social Conquest of Earth" (published in April) and Jared Diamond's "The World Until Yesterday"?(yet to be released).
Why Does the World Exist? An Existential Detective Story, by Jim Holt. Is "reality" unreal? Scientists think they just might be able to answer that deep question ? but the even deeper question has to do with "why." Why is there something rather than nothing? Holt checks in with some of the world's deepest thinkers during his personal quest for answers. "Reading this book feels like working out in one of the finest philosophical and intellectual gyms in town," one of Amazon's reviewers writes. Just make sure you keep your mind stretched and limber?(Liveright, $27.95). Alternate selections: "Particle at the End of the Universe," "A Universe From Nothing" and Neil Shubin's yet-to-be-published book, "The Universe Within."
For the kids' table:
Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas, by Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm: Is it possible to do a book about phytoplankton for elementary-school kids? You bet. "Ocean Sunlight" explains how tiny ocean plants support a food chain that leads up to giant whales as well as us humans. It's one of the finalists in the 2013 Science Books and Film Prizes competition, sponsored by Subaru and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Scholastic, ages 4 and up, $18.99).
Destined for Space: Our Story of Exploration, by Don Nardo: This book traces humanity's fascination with the cosmos, starting with the ancient Greeks, going through the glory days of human spaceflight and looking into the future. The Planetary Society's Emily Lakdawalla says it's "lavishly and excellently illustrated" (Capstone paperback, ages 9 to 13, $8.95). Check out Lakdawalla's other space-related reading recommendations for kids.
Animal Grossapedia, by Melissa Stewart: This is one of the "outstanding science trade books" published in 2012 for K-12 students, according to the National Science Teachers Association. "Just gross enough that children will read it, with a good variety of examples and nice focus on vocabulary," the NSTA says (Scholastic, ages 8 to 12, $8.99). Check out the rest of the NSTA's picks. Alternate selection: "Grossopedia," yet to be published.
A Warmer World: From Polar Bears to Butterflies, How Climate Change Affects Wildlife,?by Caroline Arnold and Jamie Hogan: How do you explain climate change to kids? This picture book takes on the tone of a nature journal, explaining how a changing climate alters ecosystems and forces animals to adapt or die. (Charlesbridge, ages 7 to 10, $16.95). Alternate selection for grown-ups: "Global Weirdness."
Big Questions From Little People, and Simple Answers from Great Minds, by Gemma Elwin Harris: Do animals have feelings? Why can't I tickle myself? Harris has gathered up 100 questions from grade-school kids ??and enlisted luminaries such as author Mary Roach, biologist Richard Dawkins, chef Gordon Ramsay and linguist Noam Chomsky to serve up the answers. To tell the truth, this book is directed as much at big people as it is at little people (Harper Collins, age 9-ish and up, $24.99).
What's on your reading table? What would you like to get (or give) this holiday season? Share your faves in a comment below, or on the Cosmic Log Facebook page. And for still more book suggestions, check out the Cosmic Log backlist:
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the?Cosmic Log?community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other science and space news coverage,?sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered via email. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about dwarf planets and the search for new worlds.
Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/18/16001599-seasons-readings-in-science?lite
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After the vintage marriage telegrams were mailed out, the partying was done, the homemade honey jar favors were passed out, and guests tapped their dancing shoes on the dance floor, the one memory that Annie remembered most was the ?first look? moment she shared with Andrew. It?s a moment that even photographer, Michelle Gardella?points out as being an emotional one. You?ll hear all about it in a sec, for now let?s get to all the pretty details!
Annie found her Jenny Packham dress at Everthine Bridal and it set the tone for the entire wedding. She felt it had a vintage 1920s feeling and wanted to play on that notion, without getting too much into a theme.
Annie & Andrew?s first look was, in the words of Michelle Gardella, intense. They had all agreed to keep their first look just between the two of them ? no audience. Michelle took them to a remote location on the vineyard with no wandering eyes. It set the tone for an amazing first look. Andrew was completely overcome with emotion and Michelle decided to put her camera down for a few moments to leave them to experience the moment. The images she did get tell it all beautifully ? including the backwards hug that Annie gave Andrew seconds before he turned around to see her!
Annie?s white bridal bouquet had white garden and spray roses, ranunculus, white anemones, white lilacs and peonies.
The honey jars were a labor of love by the bride?s father- who is an amateur bee keeper. He harvested and jared the honey that was also used as escort cards using tea stained tags & red baker?s twine just days before the wedding.
Their wedding music went a little like this?
For the processional, they played ?First Breath After Coma? by Explosions in the Sky, the recessional song was ?I?ve Seen A Face? by The Beatles, and they danced their first?dance to ?How Lucky We Are? by Meiko.
Congratulations Annie + Andrew!
Venue: Jonathan Edwards Winery?/?Wedding Planner: Sarah Taggart?of A Polished Plan?/?Photographer: Michelle Gardella Photography?/?Caterer: Russell Morin Fine Catering?/?Florist: Hana Floral Design?/?DJ: Power Posse Productions /?Officiant: Mary Coburn?/?Rentals: Rentals Unlimited /?Beauty: dd Nickel?/?Hair: Rachelle Hawkins /?Stationery: Pistachio Press?/ Bride?s dress:?Jenny Packham?/?Broach & Earrings: Untamed Petals?/?Bridal Shoes: Ivanka Trump /?Sandals: Ellen Tracey?/?Bridesmaids Dresses: Ivy & Aster?/?Groom Suit: Hugo Boss /?Groom & Groomsmen Ties: David Donahue /?Groom Shoes: Magnanni
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Source: http://www.100layercake.com/blog/2012/12/18/connecticut-vineyard-wedding-annie-andrew/
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